Percy walked into the room and sat down in a chair next to the window on Harry, Ron and Hermione's left side. "When did you get here?" Ron asked solemnly. "About 5 minutes ago. Had to see Mum first; I knew she was going to be panicked, so I thought I might quell that fire first," Percy chatted, looking at the three of them with a wary eye. "I told Mum that I should come upstairs and thank the person responsible for my last-second rescue. So, my thanks and gratitude, Harry," Percy dipped his head into a bow.
"But that's not really why you came up here, is it?" Hermione asked. A wry smile appeared on Percy's mouth. "Not entirely. You were always the cleverest witch of your age, but I'm sure you're tired of hearing it. Undoubtedly perceptive... but not, perhaps, as much as Ron." Percy's eyes switched focus on to Ron, who's eyes immediately dropped to the bedspread.
"So now I have a few questions for you three," Percy's eyes shifted focus from Ron to Harry. "You've hardly been forthcoming," Hermione started, but was silenced by a hand on her shoulder. Ron stood up, a look of intrigue on his face. "I'm not here to point fingers. I just want to know the truth. Answer for an answer?" Ron negotiated, his voice piqued with interest. Percy looked at the window and then down at this lap. "I'll answer what I can, which is admittedly not much," he conceded. Ron looked over at Harry. "I'll answer what I can," Harry said, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Percy nodded. "Alright, shoot," Percy said. Ron looked to Hermione, who dug some parchment from her pocket.
"What prescription are your glasses?" Both Ron and Hermione looked back at Hermione like she was crazy. Percy thought a moment, his lip between his teeth. "They are for...hmm... a very advanced stage of astigmatism, in conjunction with an inability to change my focus quickly," he answered very carefully. Hermione scribbled that down with a quill she had pulled from her hair. "My turn. Harry, the rest of your vision please?" Percy looked expectantly at Harry, who met his look fiercely. "A bloke in a padded room banging on the door. Voldemort finding out Snape was a traitor and hearing plans for finding some people," Harry replied, a half smirk blooming on his face. Percy opened his mouth to ask a second question but stopped.
"What type of code are the symbols in the last quarter of your diary?" Hermione questioned. Percy bit his lip. "... I can't answer that," he said after about a minute. "Why?" Ron asked suddenly. Percy shot him a look. "Try again," he said to Hermione, avoiding Ron. Hermione tucked her legs under her, getting comfortable on the bedspread. "Why is Fudge keeping an eye on you?" Ron shot suddenly. Percy rolled his eyes. "Because he's concerned with my ability to perform in his administration," Percy said drolly and smirked. "Does anyone outside the three of you and Ginny know about the diary?" "No," Harry flat out lied. Percy looked him in the eye and, after a beat, sighed. "You're good liar Harry, but not that good. Who else knows?" "Neville. That's all," Hermione answered. Percy looked Hermione in the eye and nodded.
"What time period do your sketches of the children take place in?" Hermione brought up. Percy closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His eyebrows furrowed and he exhaled vehemently. He ran a hand through his hair. "I hope... I hope it is in the past," he replied quietly. Percy ripped his glasses off of his face and massaged the bridge of his nose, keeping his head tilted towards the ceiling. He slipped them back on after a beat. Harry couldn't help but see Ron flinch when he took them off. Percy stood up and walked over to the bed. "Do you know why Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley?" He hung over the footboard. Harry looked down at the bed. Looking back up at Percy, he shook his head. "I was outdoors, probably. Saw their opportunity," Harry answered bitterly. Both Hermione and Ron's face didn't agree. "No, that can't be the reason. No one came into the ice cream shop. I'd more say... a distraction?" Hermione looked over at Percy. A frown tugged at his face. "I was thinking along the same lines, unfortunately."
"Who is the bloke in my vision?" Harry spoke. Percy gave him a half smile, letting himself lean back away from the bedframe. "You also connect the dots well, Harry. I am being completely honest when I tell you that I have no idea what name he was born with," Percy voiced before letting go of the bed. He strolled over to the door. "Dad knows why, doesn't he?" Ron said and Percy stopped at the door. "Ron," he spoke deliberately and with a pointed look. "That's why he just let you go, when you left. Because he knew why," Ron interrupted. Percy shook his head. "Ron, I promise you that Dad has no idea, and if I were you, I wouldn't bring this up to him, or anyone else." Percy stepped through the door, and as he shut it behind him, Ron grabbed the interior handle. Percy turned around, still holding the exterior handle. He looked down at the floor and pulled Ron into the hallway.
"Ron, I read the diary. And those last couple of pages aren't in my handwriting," Percy said slowly and under his breath. Ron froze under Percy's hands gripping his shoulder. "Ginny showed me, yell at her. When did your visions start?" Ron paled and his lips sealed up tight. "They aren't visions," Ron nearly stuttered. Percy took a step back and looked up to the ceiling. "Not visions?" Percy repeated, looking back at Ron. Ron shook his head. "Dreams, generally," Ron shrugged. Percy was stymied. "When did they start?" Percy asked again. Ron looked down. "That is something I can't talk about," Ron replied, a small grin spreading into a wide, sarcastic one. Percy smiled back. "Must have been the incident at the Ministry of Magic, then. I suppose I could go and pull up the report..." Percy trailed off, his eyes pulled to the left. His jaw dropped.
With her mother momentarily consoled, Ginny took the opportunity to see if she could find out if Neville was alright. He had been carted off to St. Mungo's with a concussion shortly after the blast. The house was bustling with Order members, all seemingly searching for someone- she hadn't gathered who. She slipped into the dining room and saw Tonks eating a plate of eggs. Ginny smiled and walked past her to the kitchen door. Loud argumentation echoed behind the swinging door and, not recognizing the voice, stopped. Another voice shouted something loudly and there was a thunk. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you. Severus Snape is on a rampage and I wouldn't want to get under foot," Tonks offered, her eyes still focused on her plate. Ginny stepped back from the door and sat down next to Tonks. "Do you know how Neville is?" Ginny asked, changing subject. Tonks shook her head. "When they brought him in, the healer said that it was only a mild concussion- blast knocked him out of his chair and he smacked the back of his head. Probably just going to keep him overnight for observation; general procedure for head wounds," Tonks reassured Ginny, stuffing the last of her scrambled eggs into her mouth.
The door into the kitchen ripped open, Arthur Weasley striding out of it. "Tonks, you're with me, hello Ginny dear," he smiled quickly at her and breezed out into the parlor. Tonks raised her eyebrows and pushed herself out of her chair. "Duty calls," she grinned and followed Arthur out. Ginny stood up slowly and picked up the plate and fork from the table. She pushed the swinging door inwards and peeked into the kitchen.
Severus Snape was lying stiff as a board on top of the butcher block island. Remus sat on a stool next to him, reading the Daily Prophet. "Professor Lupin?" Ginny asked, her voice high. Remus started and put down his paper. "Oh, hello Ginny. Please, I'm no longer your professor. Call me Remus," he smiled broadly and folded the paper on his lap. Ginny tiptoed to the sink and put the dishes in there. "Sir, what happened to Professor Snape?" Remus patted the stiff on the chest- Snape's eyes were fixed with an angry glare. "Severus was acting irrational and needed to be calmed down for the time being. He should be able to break through the full body bind in a bit- I put a little more oomph in it than I think he thought I was capable of," Remus smirked. He turned to look down at Snape and the grin remained. "Severus, it would hardly do for you to run after Esme and end up dead. Arthur said he'd bring her straight here." The glare shifted down from skyward to meet Remus's caring eyes. The curse seemed to break off him with all the audibility of shattering glass. Severus sat up on the counter and looked over at Ginny. "Miss Weasley, out," he growled, he looked at Lupin like he was going to sock him again. Ginny's eyes grew wide as Severus glided off the counter and stood, his demeanor menacing. Ginny nearly squeaked as she backed quickly out of the room.
"Dad?"
The voice hadn't been that loud, but it was loud enough. The menacing look melted before Ginny's eyes to one that she had seen before, but never on Snape's face. He looked amazingly like her mother. Snape blew past Ginny, knocking her over onto the hardwood floor and nearly pushed the door off of it's hinges. Lupin bent down to help Ginny up, who looked a bit stunned, but said nothing as he led her into the dining room. All she could see was the back of Snape's dark cloak slightly bent over, thin, white-clothed arms wrapped around his middle. A voice, distinctly feminine and slightly nasal rose from the black mass. "Dad. DAD! Broken rib!" The dark cloak immediately expanded. Snape backed away and Ginny could finally see a young woman standing in the parlor.
The most surprising feature about her was her hair. Glossy, wavy and a dark, glinting garnet, it was piled into a messy bun at the back of her head. The other surprising thing was her lack of wizard robes- she stood in the hallway in a long sleeved white shirt, blood soaked slashes across the chest. Dark washed jeans hung well over her flip-flopped feet- dirty, torn at the knees. There were features about her that smacked of Snape- the pale complexion (thought black streaks of dirt jetted around her forehead and cheeks), dark hair (at least, from what Ginny could tell by her eyebrows), a slightly hooked nose. But Ginny could tell from 40 feet away that her eyes were a forest green, darker than Harry's and bordering less on the blue and more on the hazel; and her lips could never be described as thin. She was hardly curvaceous, but rather seemed solid- someone you couldn't push over if she didn't want you to. Which begged the question how she got the blood on her chest.
Severus hugged his daughter gently around her shoulders, the heavy sigh of a relieved parent escaping his lips. "Dad, I'm fine, really," her voice reassured gently. He led her over to the couch, sitting down next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Ginny boggled- the concerned air, the worried features. This couldn't possibly be Severus Snape- perhaps a twin? Her dad dropped down onto the coffee table and Albus Dumbledore strode in. He looked over her way and the french doors from the parlor into the dining room shut with a whim, the drapes drawn. "I don't believe I just witnessed that," Ginny muttered under her breath. "Amazing to think he'd actually reproduce," Lupin guffawed scathingly. Ginny shot him a surprised look, but she couldn't stop the smile from coming to her face. "Have you met her?" Remus nodded. "There are elements of Severus about her, no doubt. But when I met her, over the Christmas break that I worked at Hogwarts, she was sweet, shy though. Not very good in large groups, but actually quite nice when you get her one on one," he answered. "Prof... er... Remus. You haven't heard from Neville have you?" Remus nodded. "Kingsley is at the hospital with him. The doctor said he would be released tomorrow afternoon if nothing turned up overnight." Ginny gave him a smile and dipped into the kitchen. She swung around and went through the other door towards the stairs.
And straight into Esme.
"Oh! Geez, I'm so sorry," the woman stood up and offered a hand to Ginny. Her accent was muddled and she had never her the phrase "Geez" come out of anyone's mouth before. She took the hand and stood up. "Do you have any clue where the bathroom is?" she asked demurely. Ginny blinked. "Er... sure. Upstairs," Ginny replied choppily. She led Snape's daughter down the hallway to the staircase. "So. Your Snape's daughter?" Ginny remarked conversationally. Behind her, the girl blushed a bit. "Oh... yeah. I imagine you have him for potions at Hogwarts, right?" she asked. Ginny stopped on the landing and nodded. She smiled at Ginny and leaned on the bannister. "Yeah. I get that a lot when I come into town. They talk to you and you give them your last name and all of a sudden, they expect you to start berating them for their dismal potion marks." She drew herself up and put on a sneer quite like the one that was usually plastered on Snape's face during instruction. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," she said, her voice a perfect imitation of Snape's drone if a little higher pitched. Ginny couldn't help but giggle. "I think he gives that speech to every group of first years he has. Keeps you incompetent losers on your toes," she added with a sarcastic smirk.
"Ginny," Ginny outstretched her hand. She took it and gave it a firm shake. "Esme, pleasure to meet you," she replied, smiling. "Are you Arthur's daughter?" she asked halfway up the second flight. "Yeah. How did you guess? It couldn't have been the bright red hair, could it?" Ginny said, rolling her eyes. Esme laughed. "Spoken like someone with a true grudge for their family's name. I sooo know what that is like," Esme remarked, extending that 'so' nice and long. "This is a monstrous house, does your family..."
Esme had reached the top of the third floor. Two guys stood in the corridor, muttering low to each other. The elder one turned to look at her, and her jaw couldn't help but fall open as recognition sparked in her mind.
Ron followed Percy's eye line and saw Ginny standing at the top of the staircase, with a woman standing behind her. The woman swooned back a bit, but was saved as she tightened her grip on the bannister. "Holy fuck..." she whispered reverentially. Percy shook his head 'no' almost indeterminably. She took a step towards Ron and Percy and then stopped.
"You are who I think you are. Aren't you?" she quietly spoke. Tentative. Nervous.
Percy gulped, and Ron could see that his grip on the doorknob was the only thing keeping him standing. The woman edged forward a bit more. She stopped and took in a deep breath.
"Did they come after you too, JJ?"
Ron's eyes seemed to finally register the bloody strokes across her chest. This must be Snape's daughter- she didn't appear too badly off- a little dirty, her jeans torn. Percy nodded again, a little more noticeably. He let out a huge breath Ron didn't know he was holding. Wait- JJ?
"I honestly don't believe we're in the same city, let alone the same corridor, Riti."
Esme smiled. So did Percy. And Harry connected the dirty face, dark red hair, and bright smile with a picture from Percy's diary.
Author's Notes: Whew. Still no answers! Next chapter should do it, I think. Blah. Thanks DB, catch the rest of you later!