Lunch was sandwiches. Esme was doing drawn out calculations on a paper napkin with a quill, every now and again reaching next to her to take a measurement from Ron with a long, thin, silver bar with a gauge on the top of it.. Hermione, sitting next to Ron, occasionally would lose focus with the table conversation and make attempts to maneuver her eyes around Ron to see what she was doing, but not even she could make heads of tails out of the furiously scribbled numbers.
For the most part, attention of the table was focused on the Weasley matriarch, who was doing dishes with a grim demeanor. She scrubbed at the porcelain sink, but her heart wasn't in it- her eyes were focused on the Weasley clock, now removed to Grimmauld's kitchen. Bill read sleeping, but Arthur's read traveling and as it clicked over to home, she started slightly. "Esme, dear. Can I trouble you for a moment?" she asked quietly. Jolted out of her thoughts, Esme turned to Molly. "Sure," she replied slowly, getting up and folding her calculations into her pocket. Molly nodded and gave Esme a small smile. She led Esme out of the kitchen, the door swinging behind them.
A few moments later, Esme returned. She sat back down and finally took a bite of her uneaten sandwich. "What was all that about?" Ginny asked, and Esme realized that the entire group of Weasleys and extended friends network has turned their attention to her. Esme, halted in mid chew, swallowed. "She needed me to hook up a VCR to a TV," she replied, giving a knowing look to Harry and Hermione.
"A what to a what?" Ron blurted. "A VCR is a device that can replay events that you have recorded in the past. A TV is a monitoring device- it allows a person to watch theater whenever they'd like," Neville answered thoughtfully. At everyone's surprised look, he shrugged. "Two years of Muggle Studies, I think I should know what a television is," he said curtly, taking another bite of his ham and cheese.
"Where did Mrs. Weasley get a telly from?" Hermione asked. Esme shrugged. "Don't know, but she has a video tape that she wants to show Mr. Weasley. He just got back from an overnight shift," Esme replied, pulling back out her napkin and running over her numbers. Fred looked over at George, who grinned. "Did she ward the door when you left?" Fred asked, a devious grin on his face.
Fred and George held Extendable Ears to the door of the library. Ron, Ginny, Harry, Neville, Hermione, Percy and Esme gathered around the two of them, dead silent. "Arthur, I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you..." Molly sobbed, taking huge, hiccuping gulps of air. Whatever Arthur though about anything, they couldn't hear. The familiar 'zapf' of a television turning on echoed through the Extendable Ears and then the 'buzzzz' of dead air lingered. "Just watch, dear," Molly said sadly, probably pressing the play button on the VCR.
"Quite a marvelous device this is- aren't muggles astounding? Imagine recording all their memories on a little tape- it's like a traveling pensieve! Wonderful... oh, it's on? Well, alright. No need to worry, Arthur, this is you speaking- it's not a trick. Today's date is... 15 October, 1986. Right. Well, Arthur old boy, if you're watching this, then one of two things has happened: one, our dear wife has passed on and you're sorting through her things... or two, something terrible has happened to Percy, and you need to be fully educated on the situation."
"Now, don't go blaming Molly for keeping this a secret from you, Arthur. I'm not entirely pleased with it either, but it is... was the right thing to do. You see, quite a bit of your memory has been modified to accommodate a period of time that must not be spoken of. Six years, in fact. You see, six years ago, Percy was kidnaped."
"Oh... I hadn't thought about that. Supposing this readjustment failed, and he was removed... Percy was your third son, after Charlie and before Fred and George. In any case, Molly was out with Percy and the twins one afternoon in Diagon Alley's Madam Lithovka's Children's Emporium to get coats for the children when it was attacked by Death Eaters. Well, all of Diagon Alley was- I'm sure you remember that. I don't like to think that the Ministry has enough power to obliviate EVERYONE that was there. But they took Percy and a few other children his age- he was three then... for four years there was nothing... no answers, no trace..."
"Four years of torture by Death Eaters intent on training him to become a warrior of destruction. I don't know the theory behind the terrible things they did to him and all the other children, and frankly, I don't think I want to, but he survived... Somehow, he survived. He didn't even know his name... ::a strangled breath::..."
"Today, Percy comes home, a bit over two years since we found out he was alive. It has been a long, arduous journey, Arthur, I can tell you that. In a way... I'm almost glad my memory will be erased of this incident... it is a terrible thing...a terrible thing to have your child not recognize you. But the doctors believe that the majority of the children are stable enough to return home- Percy, they say, loves the idea of having siblings. There is always the chance it may not work... but I have to believe it will. I have to believe that you're watching this in a future where all of our children have grown into strong, loving adults. With You-Know-Who gone, perhaps that future can exist."
Fred and George pulled the ears of the door and looked solemnly at the group gathered around them. They tucked them in tandem into their pockets. "We should leave them alone," George said quietly, looking at the door sadly. "Oh God... I can't keep hearing this over and over," Esme said, slightly green. Percy put a pale, slightly trembling hand on her shoulder, and she tore down the hall, up the stairs to the bathroom.
"Your first birthday," Ginny muttered suddenly. Percy turned to her for clarification. "It's the first memory I have of you. Your 10th birthday- it must have been the first one you can remember too. Mum still has the dress I wore, with the red ribbons. We found it in the back of your closet when we were cleaning it out for Neville. No wonder you looked so wary of the other kids," Ginny frowned.
But Percy had a small grin on his face. "Best cake I'd ever eaten. First cake at that point... raspberries... loads of whipped cream... chocolate cake... she even remembered to leave off the candles," Percy reminisced, his eyes glazed with the sheen of memory.
"I remember at your sorting ceremony, you nearly passed out when you saw the candles floating in the Great Hall," Charlie said, appearing from within the parlor. Percy gave a tight, wry smile. "I'd better go check on Esme," Percy said, turning to go up the staircase. "Percy, Dumbledore was on the fire- he said some doctor..." Charlie said. Percy never heard the end of it- his eyes rolled up in the back of his head, and with a strangled cry, he collapsed on the staircase, unconscious and seizing.
Percy groaned loudly, trying to check to see if his head was still attached to his body before realizing that moving would require a lot more effort than he could make at the moment. He had felt this way before, and as that memory came back to him, he winced. "Percy! Percy, oh my poor boy... what happened?" Molly threw herself over Percy's torso, sobbing. Instead of saying exactly what happened, the only words he could manage to say was, "Oh God..." His body rolled over of it's own accord on to his side, and tears started to creep down his cheeks. And then, with a heavy moan, he started to cry. Molly looked down at her son and pulled him to her bosom, shushing the white noise that she hoped would stay his tears.
After some time, Percy realized that there were more than two people in the room. Esme lie unconscious on the couch across from him- they were in the parlor- and her father was sitting on an embroidered dining room chair carefully keeping the strands of her hair from falling into her face. Backed against the wall was Arthur, who seemed to be trying to remain as stoic and optimistic as possible by focusing his eyes on some far-away point. Standing next to Arthur, with a hand on his shoulder, was Albus Dumbledore, who was strangely trying to avoid Percy's eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the movement still stiff. Oh. Percy closed his eyes; he felt his mother press her lips to his forehead and slid the heavy horned-rims over his ears. Her fingers trailed down his jaw line and nipped at his chin before he heard the rustling of Molly's skirts as she stood up.
Percy's eyes opened again some time later, with less resistance than before. He rolled onto his back slowly, his light blue collared shirt bunching underneath him. His legs were still stiff, but the sharp tingle of new motion was coming back into his arms, and he winced as he tried to push himself into a sitting position and failed. His head thunked back onto the cushion of the couch, and the contact seem to reverberate through his head. "Are you alright, son?" came Arthur's voice. Percy's mouth, a hard line, tried to curl into a small grin. "Not... really," he choked out, managing to push himself into a reclining position, his head pillowed on the arm of the couch. He let out a large sigh with the effort, his head hanging back over the edge of the fabric slightly. Percy turned his head- Esme hadn't moved a muscle.
"Someone's dead," Percy said finally, rubbing at his throat. The hand snaked around to the back of his neck, and he nearly bit through his lip with the pain that shot through his body. "Who's dead?" Arthur asked loudly, which jolted Severus Snape out of wherever his mind had gone for the moment. Percy shook his head- at least, as much as he could. "I don't know. Could be any of the three, I don't know. But someone is dead," Percy repeated, his eyes closed in thought.
"I thought the six of you weren't connected mentally," Dumbledore remarked, his eyes no long avoiding Percy's. "We aren't," Percy replied quickly. "The suppressors... Minister Fudge thought it might keep us in line; if we could feel the pain of each other- so far it's only worked when one of us has died. After Krisgios... it did. It wasn't as if we needed reminding... but... it's hard to forget when you go... unconscious and can't move properly for 8 hours. "Percy added, and would have shrugged his shoulders if he could. Instead, he just sighed heavily.
"I guess they decided to use something other than a snake," Severus said dryly, giving Percy a pointed look. Dumbledore gave him a strange look, which changed into a knowing one, but said nothing. He didn't have to. "It wasn't Him," Arthur said, looking at Dumbledore. Albus shook his head no. "Which doesn't mean that Lord Voldemort didn't order it done," Albus added.
Esme stirred on the couch- for a moment, it looked like she was going to go back into a seizure. But she didn't- she merely opened her eyes and said in a very hoarse voice, "Owwww..." Severus's attention snapped back to his daughter, who was blinking rapidly. "Esme?" he asked tentatively. "Bloody... contact...ohhhh..." Esme moaned, her face changing from one of concentration to one of shocked realization. "It'll be alright, dear. It'll be alright." Severus cupped her cheek, running a calloused thumb under her eye to catch a tear. "No... no... it won't. But thanks," she choked out, managing to give his hand a slight squeeze. She took a deep breath and swallowed it- she wasn't going to cry. This was her actively not-crying.
"I've been putting away money to get contacts for awhile," Percy said as the two of them laid rather motionless on the couch. The adults had vacated the room- Arthur to tell the rest of the family that Percy wasn't in a coma, Dumbledore to meet with someone and Severus to work on lesson plans- leaving Esme and Percy to regain their mobility. Esme turned her head towards Percy. "Why?" she asked, looking at him as if he was crazy. "Because these thick monstrosities are annoying and everyone asks me how I ended up with the awful vision considering no one in my family wears glasses," Percy explained, trying to give his glasses a haughty look and merely ending up looking cross-eyed.
"Contacts are twice as annoying. I only got them because I couldn't get plastic goggles made for the lab with the right prescription and I was tired of wearing my glasses under my goggles. Plus... I kind of like them on you," Esme answered nonchalantly. Percy leaned back, examining Esme. "Really?" he inquired, looking at her as if she was crazy. Esme eyebrows shrugged. "Yeah," she replied, and then after a thoughtful pause, "Er... do you know what a superhero is?" Esme asked Percy, who gave her a strange look and said no.
"Well, a super hero is a hero with super-powers. Like, being able to fly, or being able to shoot fire out of your eyes or something; but generally super heroes use their super powers to save the world from a villain. Muggles write comic books and make movies and television shows about them. They are supposed to show the exemplary and not so exemplary sides of humanity."
"In any case, arguably the most famous one is called Superman. Uh... he was from a planet called Krypton, and when he was a baby, his parents shot him off in a spaceship to Earth. The planet was going to explode and his parents knew it but no one believed them, so he was the only person shot into space. So anyways, baby Superman gets shot off into space, Krypton explodes and his ship crash lands on Earth- Smallville, Kansas, which is a state in the middle of the US. But as he was streaking across the sky in his little pod, he happened to get spotted by a couple, the Kents, who couldn't have children and desperately wanted one. So the spaceship crashes and they think it's a meteor, so they go to examine it at and, wow, a baby!"
"So they adopt the young Superman and call him Clark and raise him to be a good kid, and then, when he becomes a teenager, he finds he has all these superpowers: he can fly, super strong, super fast, x-ray vision, laser vision... nothing can hurt him," at this, Esme gave Percy a knowing look, "except for this rock called Kryptonite, which glows with this nuclear waste green light. Clark graduates high school and decides to be a journalist in the big city- Metropolis, it's called. And he gets there and decides that he should use his powers for the good of humanity. So he become Superman the super hero... gets himself a cape, tights, flies around the world and stops evil-doers in their tracks."
"But the thing about Superman was... well, he was always Superman and it was really Clark Kent that was the actual costume he wore. He put on this mask of normalcy and went to work and was Clark, but he was always really Superman. It was just who he was: this fantastic person who didn't give a thought about sacrificing his life for others and just did what he could because it was right. And you know what the only difference was between Clark Kent and Superman? Physically? A pair of glasses," Esme finished with a small smile on her face. She didn't dare look over at Percy, but if she had, she would have seen a very flustered, very embarrassed Percy.
"Glasses?" he repeated, unconvinced. "Yup; that was all it took. A pair of glasses and no one ever connected the dots between Clark and Superman. I mean, Clark Kent was... well, a bit stiff. He followed all the rules, was very interested in getting to the bottom of every situation to find the truth. Didn't go in for the action-packed lifestyle, was... mild-mannered. So while there was a distinct physical resemblance between Clark Kent and Superman, everyone thought it couldn't possibly be him," Esme replied. The two lay on their respective couches, actively avoiding each other's glances. "Well," Percy said, coughing a bit nervously. Esme bit her lip. "It's an interesting parallel. Of course, Clark didn't have red hair. It was that shiny blue-back, and it was... well, not so curly," Esme pointed out thoughtfully.
Percy seemed to think it over. "I could dye it," he began but Esme's cry of shock stopped him speaking. "You will do no such thing! You'd look absolutely atrocious with black hair, you'd look like a gawky vampire!" "You dye your hair red- I know it was black, I can tell by your eyebrows," Percy shot back in defense. Esme rolled her eyes. "For one, the red I dye it is a more magenta red- I could never pull off the orange-red hair color like you have. For two, the whole reason I dye my hair is because I look like a vampire with my black-brown color. Have you met my father? Stick a pair of fangs in his mouth and people would be chasing him with a cross and stake. I'm sure his students wouldn't even need the fangs..." Esme joked, chuckling to herself. "There is only one thing worse than carroty red-heads dying their hair black and that's pale, dark brunettes who dye their hair blonde. Ugh," Esme added, shivering a bit. The two of them lay in a slightly uncomfortable silence.
"So stay with the glasses, then?" Percy asked, trying to keep his grin small and not really succeeding. "Yeah," Esme replied, trying not to blush. Percy nodded his head. "Thanks," Percy said after a moment, smiling at Esme. Esme sighed, and would have said something had she not a moving figure caught her eye.
"Mum?" Percy called out. Mrs. Weasley looked at her son fondly, coming into the parlor and putting a kiss on his forehead. "We just got word from Severus's connections. They found Hiroko Okinabe's body in a temple in Kyoto 20 minutes ago. She'd been dead for about 2 hours... I just thought you should know," Molly said sadly, giving her son a comforting smile before giving the same one to Esme
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Author's Notes: Chapter 14 in the bin. Hooray Fluff! Because I always like seeing my name in Author's Notes when I review, I have to say thank you to Miss Piratess (at least 7 more times) and my wonderful db- I can't thank you enough. Oh... and thanks for reading, Mary. When you get here, that is. I suppose I should take this opportunity to add that Superman doesn't not belong to me- it belongs to DC Comics and WB Television. It's amazing what will come to you at midnight when you're sick with cold and sticking zycam sticks up your nose while watching Major League 2. In any case, after the whole confusion with chapter 10, I hope that Arthur's little video will clear everything up for people. If it doesn't, you know where to find me :) Thanks everyone.