Written for Writer's Month 2022. Prompt #26: Scream.
Happy reading!
Arthur Weasley was in his study, working through some paperwork for the Ministry. Finishing another report about finger-burning car keys he marveled at the silence which permeated the house. He could hear his wife, Molly, bustling about downstairs, but it was so much more quiet than usual it was making him feel strange.
It was the first time the two of them had the house to themselves in decades. Up until then there was no moment when there wasn't at least one child in the house with them; however, Ginny had gone to Hogwarts this year, leaving the house empty of children. It had been months since school started, and most would have expected them to get used to the silence. They have, for the most part – it wasn't as creepy now as it was in September – but still, every now and then, Arthur found himself taken aback by the lack of noise.
He shook his head a bit, feeling both proud of his children growing and saddened by the quick passage of time. He reached out to take another piece of parchment, planning on writing another report when he heard a scream coming from the ground floor.
He felt his insides freeze in fear. Parchment long forgotten, he rushes down the stairs, brandishing his wand in his hand. He expects to see an intruder in the house, trying to hurt Molly; however, he finds her shaking uncontrollably, holding a piece of paper in her hands.
Arthur comes closer to her, taking her into a hug, trying to comfort her despite not knowing what was wrong. She leaned into him, but her shaking didn't seem to diminish – if anything, it looked to be getting stronger and stronger. She offered him the paper she was holding, not able to tell him what she read. Holding her tightly with one hand, he took the paper with the other and began to read.
Dear Mr. and ,
I am sorry to inform you that your daughter, Ginevra Weasley, has been taken to the Chamber of Secrets...
Arthur read the letter in a haze. Ginny – their Ginny – was in a secret chamber of the Hogwarts castle, the one which was said to hold the legendary monster of Slytherin. He began shaking a little as well, his skin growing pale with fear.
A few minutes passed with the two of them just standing there, trying to wrap their minds around the horrifying piece of news. The letter didn't say much; there was no explanation about what they were doing to save her, how long she'd been gone... Slowly, Arthur pulled himself together a little.
"Molly? Molly, I know this is horrible – I can't believe it either – but we need to go."
He could sense her lifting her head a little.
"We need to go to Hogwarts and hear for ourselves what happened, and how we can help."
He coaxed her a little more, trying to get her to snap out of it and take action. If he were honest, the whole situation was extremely terrifying – not only the fact that his daughter was in mortal danger, but also the way his wife was practically shattered by it. He was used to Molly being a ball of fire, impossible to shake; seeing her like this hit him really hard.
Finally, she managed to calm down enough for them to go to the fireplace and Floo over to Hogwarts. Speaking the address, they stepped into the green flames and tumbled through the network.
A few seconds later they were standing in Professor McGonagall's office. Arthur hadn't been there for a very long time – ever since he'd been a student at Hogwarts himself, in fact. Molly, on the other hand, was no stranger to the room, having been there the few times the twins went too far with their pranks, causing a chaos big enough to warrant Professor McGonagall contacting them.
Minerva was there now as well, her face ashen.
"Molly, Arthur – you're here," she said in a weak voice, sounding years older than she was.
The two of them came closer to her, firing off questions.
"Have you found her?"
"Are there any news?"
They were hoping to hear good news – news of their daughter having been rescued between the time they were sent the letter and the time they arrived at the school – but it was not to be. Pale-faced, Minerva looked at them in a sorrowful manner.
"Maybe it would be better for you to sit down. We haven't found her yet."
Hearing they needed to sit down they both felt a shockwave of terror ripple through them – surely it couldn't be that... Thankfully, Minerva said they hadn't found Ginny yet, so it couldn't be the worst news. Still, they sat down with great trepidation.
"We haven't found Ginevra yet, I'm afraid. However, there has been another development – a horrible one."
Minerva stopped there, choked a little by the whole situation. Arthur and Molly looked at her with bated breath.
"Two students found out about Ginevra being taken, and decided to take the matter into their own hands. They – they have gone to the Chamber as well, trying to save her."
As much as Molly and Arthur wanted someone to save Ginny, they knew two students didn't really stand a chance against the monster of Slytherin – though noble, the two students were almost definitely on a suicide mission.
"Who – who are the two students, Minerva?" Molly asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. However, what she heard next was worse than anything she could've imagined.
"Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley."
Arthur and Molly felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of them. The news of Ginny being taken was horrifying, but to hear that Ron had gone after her? And Harry as well – he might not have been their child, but they cared a lot about him as well. Going after her, really – even if they had been sixth of seventh years they wouldn't have had much chance of surviving, but in their second year? It was horrible.
"And now? What do we do now?"
They looked at Minerva, hoping for an answer. However, it wasn't that simple.
"At the moment, we are waiting for Albus – he should be getting here every minute. Once he's there, we'll try to get into the Chamber and rescue them. In the meantime, unfortunately, all we can do is wait."
Molly opened her mouth to argue, to say they couldn't possibly just wait, but she remained silent. After all, there wasn't much to be done – their best hope was Dumbledore. Their hearts heavy with worry and fear, they sat down to wait.
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