A/N:  Somehow I don't think that Dumbledore gives out Prefect and Head Boy badges lightly.  Percy obviously has some good qualities, or he wouldn't have done so well at Hogwarts.  Call me a sentimental fool, but I confess I just can't reconcile myself to the idea of an Evil Weasley.  I don't think Arthur and Molly Weasley could raise a seriously bad kid, let alone a Death Eater.  But I do know it's possible for even Good Guys to make serious errors in judgment, and I believe Percy did.  In this chapter, we—through Harry's eyes—get a look at Percy's point of view to find out the whys and wherefores of our Wayward Weasley, as well as a demonstration of those particular qualities that made Percy a Gryffindor.

Chapter Two:  A Journey in the Dark

*****

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." ~ Arab Proverb

*****

Percy Weasley glanced at the door, and already they could hear shouts as the Death Eaters reached it.  "No time.  Come on."  He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him away from the door, and they set off at a run down a long corridor with plain white walls.  This was obviously not a public part of the Ministry.  Percy glanced over his shoulder as they heard the door open with a bang, and the running feet started after them.  "Incommodare!" 

Harry looked back and immediately wished he hadn't; the white corridor seemed to be twisting and shifting, the very air rippling and bending, and he could just barely see the Death Eater's stopping and shouting in confusion.  "What'd you—"

"Quick, that won't hold them for long."  Percy tugged at Harry's arm again, and led him to a pair of heavy gray doors that paint was flaking from.  A lopsided sign read, General Staff.

Harry noticed that Percy's Ministry ID badge also listed him as general staff.  "I thought you worked for Minister Fudge," he said.

Percy shoved the door open.  "Not anymore," he said grimly, and motioned Harry inside. 

The General Staff room was another big, open area that reminded Harry of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that he'd visited with Mr. Weasley, only this place was even louder and more crowded and cluttered.  There weren't even cubicles; the desks were lined up close together, with people squeezing in and out, carrying stacks of files and papers.  All looked young and frazzled, all wore plain and unassuming robes, and aside from the hustle and bustle of hard work, all appeared completely oblivious to the danger approaching.

Percy used a sonorus charm and bellowed, "Everyone, listen!" The work stopped, and faces looked at him in surprise.  "The Ministry's at Code V!  Get to the emergency exits!"

Harry was startled; he had never seen Percy quite like this.  Even as a rather pompous Head Boy, no one had taken him very seriously.  But his shout was impossible to ignore, and the workers immediately dropped what they were doing and leapt from their seats, heading across the room.  "What's Code V?" he asked as Percy led him through the crowd.

"You-Know-Who, of course," said Percy.  Then he shouted, "No, not the main door exits!  It's a security breach, we'll take the other one!"  The office workers turned away from the door and moved to one side of the room.

"Weasley, where's the key?" cried a voice from the front of the crowd.

Percy yanked a lanyard from around his neck.  "Let us through!"  He brandished the key with one hand and kept a tight grip on Harry's wrist with the other.  He stopped at what appeared to be a flat stretch of wall with a little dent in it, and pushed the key into the dent.

"Is that Harry Potter?!" exclaimed someone, and many people gasped.

"You can get a bloody autograph later.  There's Death Eaters coming," snapped Percy, and the key clicked in the hidden lock.  He shoved the wall open and pushed Harry through.  "Come on!"

Harry stumbled into what appeared to be a dimly-lit cave.  "What…"

Percy pulled him aside so the rest of the workers could get through the door.  "Tunnel.  They run under the Ministry buildings."  Outside in the big office, there was a loud crash, and screams rang out.  "Go, go!" He pushed Harry and other random witches and wizards ahead of him as they heard curses being shouted outside.  "Damn, we'll never seal it off before they get here.  Move it, come on!"  He paused before a bend in the tunnel, and stood back against the wall.  "Back, Harry," he ordered, and pushed Harry behind him.  Harry peered past Percy's shoulder as the last of the panicked Ministry staff rushed into the tunnel.  Percy aimed at the black robes clambering over upset desks and piles of books toward the opening.  "Moenoccludo!"

With a great crash, the wall-door slammed shut in the Death Eaters' faces, and nearest tunnel walls caved in against it.  The ceiling of that section tumbled down on top of the rubble, thoroughly blocking the entrance with stone.  Behind them, lanterns flickered to life along the tunnel walls.  "Weasley?" said a shaky voice, and Harry saw that all the Ministry staff were waiting in the tunnel behind them.  The speaker was a wizard at the front of the group, not much older than Percy.  "What—"

"Move now, questions later," said Percy flatly, and jogged into the dim tunnel, urging the others along.  He caught Harry's arm again.  "Don't get lost.  This place is a maze."

"Will that hold them?" asked a wide-eyed blonde witch, hurrying along beside Harry.

"For a few minutes, maybe, but if we can get out of here, we'll make it."

"Can't you apparate?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Only to the atrium," said another wizard ahead of them.  "Death Eaters there too?"

"Probably," said Percy.  He pointed to a fork in the tunnel.  "Left, you lot!  Left!"  They obeyed, and Percy caved in the ceiling of the right tunnel.  "Come on, get around the bend.  Evanesco!" he vanished their footprints as they ran.  "With any luck they'll try the right."

Harry stared at Percy as they ran.  "You left Minister Fudge?"

The red-haired wizard pursed his lips, but someone behind them said, "Uh-uh.  Sacked."

Harry winced and was wondering what to say when they heard an explosion behind them.  "Ssh!  Hurry!" hissed someone.

The noise of running Death Eaters was getting louder, as was the breathing of many of the Ministry staff.  And it seemed to be getting closer.  "Don't think they fell for your red herring, Weasley."

Percy aimed his wand over his shoulder and hissed, "Pateo magus!"  In the gloom, a trail of white light appeared, following them down the tunnel.  "Oh, damn!"

"What's that?" hissed Harry.

"Tracer!" said another witch.

"Probably after Potter," said the wizard who'd told Harry about Percy's job.  Sure enough, the white stream did appear to be heading toward Harry.

They reached another fork.  "I'll take one, then, and you take the other," Harry suggested.  "Then the Death Eaters'll follow me."

"Right, you lot, go!" Percy whispered, and the workers dashed down the right tunnel.  But Percy didn't follow them.  Instead he turned to Harry.  "Come on."

"No, you should go with them!" Harry protested as he ran down the tunnel with Percy at his heels.

"Can't, you don't know the way out," Percy replied.  "Besides, even you can't take that many Death Eaters alone.  Conturbo!" The white stream of tracing magic flickered and stopped. 

As the darkness grew heavy with the sounds of their footsteps and ragged breathing, Harry looked at him and asked, "Why?"

They dashed through a long stretch of tunnel before Percy said, "My parents would go mad if anything happened to you."

The shouts of the Death Eaters were getting very close.  "Move, you slugs, move!"

Percy pulled Harry to a stop and aimed his wand at the wall.  "Patefacio!"  The wall seemed to crumble, and exposed a black space.  "Quick!  Inside!"  They dove into the darkness, then Percy hissed, "Occludo!" and the crumbled stone leapt back to where it had been, sealing them into the tunnel wall.  "Shh.  Ostendo."

The space they were in was no bigger than a closet, but the wall facing the tunnel had gone clear.  Through it, Harry and Percy watched and held their breath as the Death Eaters raced past.  "He's thrown off the tracers!"

"You bloody fools!" shouted one, his hood off, and Harry recognized Lucius Malfoy.  "The Dark Lord will have all our heads if we've lost the boy again!"

"He can't be that far ahead of us, hurry!" said someone as they vanished around another bend.

Percy waited several heartbeats before reopening the hiding place.  "How'd you do that?" Harry whispered.

"Which?" asked Percy as they started back toward the Ministry.

"All of it."

"You'll start learning the really interesting spells this year, for N.E.W.Ts," Percy replied with a ghost of a smile.  "Hurry, they'll realize soon we've doubled back."  He led Harry down a smaller, darker tunnel.

Harry blinked in the gloom.  "How do you know your way through here?"

"A project for the Minister.  I was to see that all the tunnels were in working order in case of an attack.  I had the workmen put in another entry for the general staff, so they could get out if anything happened," said Percy, and squinted as they came to another break.  "This way."

"When was that?" asked Harry, frowning.

"Mmm, let me see, he started me on it back in March, and we finished right after the attack in the Department of Mysteries."

Harry nearly stopped in his tracks.  "Fudge had you doing that?"

Percy looked at him in confusion.  "Well, yes.  Among other things."

He couldn't help himself.  "You were working on escape tunnels under the Ministry back when we supposedly 'weren't in any danger,' and I was a flipping madman raving about Voldemort's return?"

Percy flinched sharply, whether from Voldemort's name or embarrassment, Harry couldn't be sure.  He walked faster and muttered, "That wasn't the reason he gave."

"Oh, and what was it?  Protecting the Ministry from a possible attack by wild badgers?"  Harry supposed he shouldn't be nasty to someone who had probably saved his life, but the thought that Fudge might have really known what was going on infuriated him.

But Percy, despite having risked his own life to help Harry and the Ministry staff, still seemed to have retained that bizarre loyalty.  "I'm not exactly at liberty to tell you."  Harry snorted in disgust and stalked ahead.  "Take that branch to the right," Percy said from behind him.

They walked on in silence for several minutes, then Harry asked, "Have you been in touch with your family at all?"

Silence.  And then, "Not since the day after the Department of Mysteries.  How are they?"

"All right.  The Aurors moved them out of the Burrow into hiding."

"I know.  They moved me out of my flat.  Most of the Aurors' families are in hiding as well."

"Did Death Eaters goes after people's families in the first war?"

"They did, and they tried to strike Madam Bones' house two weeks after the Department of Mysteries attack."

Harry was startled.  "I hadn't heard about that!"

"It was in the Daily Prophet.  No one hurt, thank heaven.  She had Aurors with her; all the higher-ups had started getting Auror escorts home.  After that they started moving everyone."

"Oh."  It felt strange, being this awkward around a Weasley.  "How much further is it?"

"Not much, I hope."

"You hope?"

"Well, some of the exits come up into the Ministry building, and I don't think it'd be wise to use them at the moment."

"No, I guess not."  They trudged on until the silence started getting to Harry again.  He flailed around for something to talk about.  "What's Minister Fudge like?" Oh, brilliant, Harry, now THAT'S a safe topic!

Percy kept his eyes on the tunnel ahead.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't really know him.  You worked for him for a year, you must," Harry said.

When Percy was silent, Harry began to think he wouldn't answer, but then he said, "Minister Fudge is very, erm, dedicated."

"Oh.  I suppose…his job must be hard.  With all that responsibility and…everything," said Harry.  You got yourself into this conversation, idiot, you can get yourself out!

"Ahem.  Yes, the job is hard," said Percy.  "Gilbert Whimple always says it's a damn thankless business, serving the people.  All they ever do is complain."

"Really?" said Harry in surprise.

"Lord, yes," Percy sighed.  "That was part of my job, sorting through the Minister's complaint letters."

"I imagine he gets a lot of them."

"He does.  And then the staff had to answer all of them.  I was lucky; all I had to do was read them."  Percy shook his head. "We got over a hundred in one day once."

"Wow," said Harry.  "When was that?  After the news about Voldemort?"

"Then?  No, after that news broke we got thousands.  The hundred in one day was something to do with a new law on owl care," Percy told him, scowling.  "I never understood why so many people didn't want to treat their owls properly."

Harry gaped.  "What did the law say?"

"It was a limit on how many miles an owl could fly per week," Percy explained.  He seemed grateful too for something to pass the time on.  "To keep them from being worked to exhaustion."

"You mean…if a person doesn't keep track of how far their owl flies, they could hurt it?" Harry asked, appalled.  I never thought of that when sending Hedwig with…

Percy shook his head.  "It doesn't really affect people like you, Harry, or even Fred and George with all their correspondence to their friends.  The average owl is very strong, and can fly all over England without tiring.   The law was targeted at businesses, like wizard shipping companies, that send lots of bulk mail and package deliveries.  Some of those firms work their owls until they drop right out of the sky, and don't blink once.  They've got the money to replace them."

"That's terrible," Harry whispered.  Then he exclaimed, "And people complained?"

"Keep your voice down.  I think we've lost them for the moment.  Oh yes, there were complaints.  You see Whiz Deliveries and Speedy Owl Service had a big advertising campaign, trying to get people to protest against the bill.  They told people that the Ministry was abusing its authority by telling people what to do with their owls, and that we were going to restrict owl use so nobody could send mail more than twice a week, and other nonsense."

"But couldn't you tell them that wasn't true?  Surely nobody would want owls to be abused!" Harry protested.

Percy sighed.  "We did.  General Staff and the secretaries responded to over a thousand complaint letters on that issue alone, explaining exactly what the law would do.  But some people just don't listen."

"Why not?"

"People don't trust the government sometimes.  Lots of times," said Percy, the bitterness clear in his voice.  "It's bloody hard work, and we get paid less than we would doing the same jobs for, oh, a wizarding law firm or Gringotts or the like.  But everyone thinks we're shady."

Harry scratched his head.  He'd never really thought of the Ministry like this.  Of course, his experiences with Cornelius Fudge had been less than pleasant even in the best times, but on the other hand…there must be something to be said for it, when he thought about Mr. Weasley or Madam Bones.  And what about all those people who worked in the General Staff room?  By the looks of them, they were all just young, green wizards and witches fresh out of Hogwarts crammed into tiny spaces doing loads of work only to get griped at.  What made someone stay in a job like that?

Without thinking, he said, "I'm sorry you lost your job with Minister Fudge."

Percy looked away and shrugged.  "Well.  There were a lot of, mm, shake-ups after the news about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came out.  And I moved up once, I can do it again.  Working in the Minister's office was, um…well, it was, er…a, erm, useful experience.  I, ah, learned a great deal."

Harry nodded.  "True, at least having spent a year there, he probably taught you a lot about…mm…how the Ministry works and all."

"Well, er, I didn't spend that much time with the Minister himself.  He's a busy man, you know.  When I was with him, I usually just took dictations like I did when y—yes, well.  But there was another of his Undersecretaries that I worked with a bit more, Henry Wallace.  He was more my supervisor, you know, and he was a terrific chap.  Taught me lots of the ins and outs."

"Well, that's good," said Harry.  "Is he still there?  Maybe he could write you a recommendation to another office sometime."

"No, Hank was another one sacked in the shake-up.  But he got a new job over at the American Wizarding Embassy.  Likes it too; we still write.  He says Yank wizards are a bit odd, but it's fun, and they've got better security than we do."

"Maybe you could go work there, then," suggested Harry, as they came to another fork in the tunnel.

"Bear left," said Percy, indicating the narrower of the two branches.  "I thought about it, but I'd rather stay at the Ministry.  Lots of people quitting now because of You-Know-Who.  Someone has to bear it out and keep the government going, unless we want Death Eaters to take over."

Good point. Better Fudge than Lucius Malfoy, I suppose.  Maybe.  Harry watched as Percy cast another magic detection charm behind them, but no more tracers had found them.  "I don't suppose the Ministry's going to lift the ban on underage magic?  Defending ourselves against Death Eater attacks without magic could be rather hard."

Percy looked sheepish.  He was obviously recalling the hearing last year.  "Er, I know Madam Bones was writing an amendment to it that would extend the 'Exceptional Circumstances' clause so that defensive spells won't need a hearing.  It'll almost surely pass."

"And even if it doesn't, Professor Dumbledore's back on the Wizengamot.  They'd never convict someone who used magic for protection," said Harry.

Bringing up Dumbledore was obviously a bad idea.  Percy scowled.  "That's right and good, if it's justified, I suppose, so long as he doesn't keep trying to abuse his influence on the wizarding community."

Harry's head snapped toward Percy.  "Dumbledore's never done that!"

"You don't know that, Harry," Percy retorted.  "If you'd seen all the letters I read last year saying Dumbledore should be Minister--"

"Big ruddy deal!" Harry snapped.  "Dumbledore didn't write them!  And he'd never leave Hogwarts anyway.  He wasn't after Fudge's job!"

"Well…maybe not, but that didn't stop people from comparing the Minister to him.  All the time, Dumbledore, Dumbledore, Dumbledore!" Percy spat.  "All that did was destabilize the Minister's administration and take his mind off the work he was supposed to be doing, because everyone was always talking about Dumbledore the bloody miracle worker!"

"What of it?  Dumbledore's the greatest wizard in the world!  Should he have to hide his skills or lock himself in a closet just so Fudge won't look incompetent?"

"Don't talk about the Minister like that!"

"Your bloody Minister just can't stand criticism, can he?  Maybe politics is thankless, but if he's doing a lousy job, he deserves to be told so," Harry said.

"Oh?  And did he deserve Dumbledore trying to raise a bloody army against him?  You were there, Harry, that I remember.  Tell me what that was all about!  Tell me what Dumbledore's recruiting pitch was.  What was he organizing you lot for, if not to attack the Ministry and Mr. Fudge?" Percy demanded. 

Harry faltered.  They had stopped right there in the tunnel and were glaring at each other, arms folded.  What would Percy do—or rather, who would Percy tell—if Harry explained what had really happened?  He knew better than to trust Percy not to say anything, and he might even be expelled from Hogwarts if…but then there was the little matter of the truth… "That was a lie," he heard himself say.

Percy blinked.  "What're you talking about?"

"Dumbledore didn't organize that group.  He had nothing to do with it.  He made the story up to protect me, because he knew Fudge was paranoid enough to swallow it."

Percy took a step back.  "You're lying."

"No, I'm not," Harry muttered, feeling very tired.  "The name was just a joke.  Herm—I started the club early in the year when Umbridge wouldn't teach us Defense.  Those of us who knew Voldemort was back wanted to be ready to protect ourselves."

Percy had flinched again when Harry mentioned Voldemort.  "Professor Umbridge did teach you Defense…"

"That git?" Harry laughed.  "She didn't teach us a bloody thing!  She was just Fudge's lap dog there to take over Hogwarts—"

"That's not true!"

"All those so-called Educational Decrees, since when does the Ministry try and get control of a school away from the people who're supposed to be in charge—"

"Dumbledore was defying Minister Fudge—"

"Dumbledore doesn't answer to Fudge where Hogwarts is concerned!  I remember that from the hearing; the Ministry's got no authority over students, or at least he's not supposed to.  I remember the other wizards resigning their positions because Fudge was overreaching his power, they said!  None of this would've happened if Fudge hadn't been trying to stick his nose where it didn't belong—"

"The Minister has a right to prevent plots against him—"

"The only one trying to 'take over' anything was Fudge!" Harry fumed.

"Dumbledore and his followers were—"

"Dumbledore's not organizing any 'followers,' you bloody idiot, that's Voldemort.  Dumbledore's just earned the kind of respect that your git of a Minister will never have because he's such a bloody paranoid idiot—"

"That's disloyalty to the Ministry—"

"And since when do any of us owe any loyalty to the bloody Ministry!  I thought this government business was all about serving the people, not serving Fudge!  Fudge and your precious Ministry's supposed to work for us, not the other way round!"

"Minister Fudge was doing what he thought best for the Hogwarts students by keeping an eye on things," said Percy, but Harry could see his resolve starting to crack.

"Him and Umbridge!  She was the one who sent those dementors after my cousin and me."

Percy blanched.  In a shaky voice, he said, "That's impossible."

"Ask Ron and Ginny if you still think I'm crazy.  She admitted it, in front of them, right before she tried to use the Cruciatus curse on me."

"What?"

"She…I…I started getting strange dreams about Voldemort.  Oh, stop it, it's stupid to be afraid of his name.  The night of the attack in the Department of Mysteries, I fell asleep and saw…the Death Eaters going there.  I…I sort of panicked.  I went into a school fire trying to…find Dumbledore and tell him what was happening.  But Umbridge caught me, and Ron, Ginny, and Hermione'd been keeping watch, and that's when it happened."  Harry grimaced at the memory.  Playing hero…oh Sirius.  Of course, he couldn't tell Percy the real reason.

Percy looked horrified.  "Did she…would she have…she only tried?"

Harry nodded.  "Hermione made up a story so she wouldn't do it.  She wanted me to tell her where Dumbledore was, but I didn't know."  At least it wasn't a total lie.  It made him sad, actually.  Percy was the only Weasley Harry had to lie to.

Percy actually seemed to believe him.  "But she'd have done it?"  Harry nodded.  Percy looked about to be sick.  "If you…if…you couldn't, or you didn't tell her, do you think she'd have…would she have cursed…"

Oh.  That explained it.  "Would she have used the Cruciatus on Ron or Ginny, you mean?" Percy flinched harder than when Harry had mentioned Voldemort.  "I don't know.  Probably.  She actually gave Filch approval to whip Fred and George a week before—lucky they took off.  I guess it's a good thing she was so focused on me that night.  If she'd thought it would get me to talk, she might have tried cursing Ron and Ginny."

Percy turned slowly away and headed on down the tunnel.  "We should keep moving," he muttered, and silence descended again.  Now Percy was walking close to the tunnel wall, and every now and then Harry saw him put a hand on the smooth stone, as if to steady himself.

It had been satisfying at first, to destroy Percy's illusions about his heroes, but now Harry felt a bit ashamed.  True or not, it had obviously shaken Percy much more to realize what might have happened to his siblings.  Harry trotted a few steps to walk next to him.  "It wouldn't have happened, though.  She might have tried, but I'd never have let her."

Keeping his eyes on the tunnel ahead, Percy murmured, "How could you have stopped her?"

"I'd have hexed her or tackled her if I had to before I let her hurt Ron and Ginny."  Percy said nothing but grabbed for the wall again.  His head hung.  "Anyway, she didn't.  It never went that far.  But it was Hermione who stopped it."

Percy narrowed his eyes at Harry as they walked.  "But you took them with you to the Department of Mysteries."

Now it was Harry's turn to flinch.  "I, well, I didn't want Ginny to come.  But she wouldn't let us stop her.  And I…knew better than to even try and talk Ron and Hermione out of it."

"Meaning you at least wanted them with you, even though you were going after Death Eaters."

"They're my friends," said Harry.  "And you don't know everyth—"

"They got hurt," said Percy.  Harry had to turn away.  "So perhaps you'd better explain to me what they were doing there.  Why you, a bunch of Hogwarts fifth years who by your own admission didn't know enough defensive magic, went charging off to the Department of Mysteries knowing, as you claim, there were Death Eaters there, rather than calling at least for Aurors.  The Ministry is kept very secure; they would at least have looked into it."

"There was…an important reason," said Harry through his tight throat.

"What."

"I…I can't tell you.  No, I'm sorry, I can't!" Harry insisted, raising a hand at Percy's furious face.  "It's…it has to do with my family, and it could put people in danger if you—"

"Dumbledore!" groaned Percy.

"What?"

"Dumbledore was there, wasn't he?  And it has to do with…family, of course," Percy slapped his forehead.  Harry stared at him in confusion.  Percy looked triumphant.  "That's why he takes so much care of you, lets you get away with everything.  Dumbledore is your family, isn't he?  He's your…well, can't be your father, I suppose, maybe your grandfather?  Great uncle?"

The whole idea was so ludicrous that Harry found himself giggling.  "'Luke, I am your father.'"

Percy blinked.  "What?"

Harry couldn't stop laughing.  "Sorry, sorry, Muggle cliché.  No, Percy, you've got it wrong, it wasn't Dumbledore.  I mean, we're not related.  It was a, uh, erm, a thing in the Department of Mysteries that has to do with my family.  It was…something that could be dangerous to a lot of people.  But because I'm the only Potter left, I'm the only one who could get to it.  But I didn't realize that at the time, so when I came, the Death Eaters wanted to use me to reach it."  He sighed.  Trying to play hero.

"So it was a trap.  That's how they got hurt."  Harry looked away and nodded.  Percy sighed.  "What are you, a Seer?  Is that how you had the dreams?"

"No, I'm not a Seer.  I don't really understand it, but we think it has to do with the scar," said Harry.  "When Voldemort tried to kill me, he, the magic caused it."

"So you could, sort of, spy on him?"

"Sort of.  But when he realized it was happening, he sent the Death Eaters to the Department of Mysteries hoping to lure me there.  And it worked," Harry sighed.  "So yes, if you're wondering, it is my fault Ron and Ginny got hurt."

Percy was quiet.  "So how'd you manage to get out of there without a scratch?"

The idea was so absurd Harry nearly laughed out loud.  But then he realized that in a way…it was true.  All the same, "I didn't."

"You weren't at St. Mungo's or the hospital wing at Hogwarts."

"No, what happened was…different.  I can't be specific."

Percy sounded skeptical.  "But something did happen to you?"

"Your eagerness is touching," he muttered.

"I didn't mean it like that.  I just wondered why you keep taking my brother with you on these escapades if you always come back unhurt."

"I told you, I didn't," snapped Harry.  He shivered, remembering the serpent's coils around him, and the pain, and that more than his words apparently convinced Percy.

"Sorry."  Percy gestured ahead of them.  "I think we're almost there."

"Bout bloody time," Harry said, and Percy chuckled in agreement.  Their pace quickened to a jog, and Harry thought he saw light around the next bend.  "Where do we come out?"

"On the common about half a mile south of the building.  Oh, and if we run into any Muggles, we were, ah, surveying the sewers."

"Right, then," Harry said, thinking they didn't look much like sewer workers.

They rounded the corner, and the first thing Harry saw was a thin stream of light coming from what looked like a crack in the ceiling of the tunnel.  The stream flowed down through the dusty air, illuminating the woman robed in black, her gaunt face twisted with cruel amusement.  "Well, well!" This time her voice was syrupy sweet, reminding Harry of Umbridge.  "Hello again, little Harry!"

*****

To be continued…

*****

Next time:  Percy discovers firsthand  exactly what Harry's been up against all these years.  Will the Weasleys ever have a reunion or will they become the next family shattered forever by Bellatrix Lestrange?

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