All the King's Men

By Perse

Chapter 2: Reunion

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Arthur Weasley was trying to present a calm and collected front. Perhaps he should have realized that Molly knew him better than that, but pretending to be strong for his family's sake had become second nature lately. Internally, he was a wreck.

Arthur loved his son. The last two months had made him painfully aware of the depth of that love.

But he and Percy hadn't had a civil conversation in over a year. He wasn't sure what to expect from the boy now. That was assuming that Percy was in any state to talk to him. All he knew was that he couldn't wait to see that his son was safe.

He couldn't get to the fourth floor of St. Mungo's fast enough. Molly was matching him stride for stride, a tense silence hanging between them.

Remus was waiting for them at the entrance to the ward.

"Remus, where is he?" Molly asked breathlessly.

"He's alive; he's okay." He assured them, and let them soak it in for a moment before amending slightly, "He'll be okay. The Healer needs to speak with you before you see him, though."

Arthur would have questioned him further, but the Healer was quickly making her way to them. She looked very familiar, though at that moment he couldn't remember her name to save his life. "Arthur, Molly," she greeted them warmly. "Let's step into this office for a moment," she suggested, gesturing to a small nearby room.

"Shouldn't someone be with Percy?" Molly asked, a bit of panic evident in her tone.

"Bill's in with him, Molly. He got here a bit ago. And I'll be right out here," Remus said. "Go on," he coaxed, gesturing for them to follow her.

Somewhat reluctantly, they followed the Healer into the office and took seats in the chairs before the desk. "Can I get either of you a drink of water or anything?" she asked politely, obviously trying to put them at ease.

It didn't work. Arthur found Molly's hand and gripped it tightly. "No, thank you. Please, just tell us what's wrong with our son."

She studied them for a moment, then nodded. "Physically, there is evidence that he's been through some trauma. His nerves are damaged, enough to suggest repeated use of the Cruciatus curse. He has some bruising and cracked ribs, which tells me there was probably some physical beating. Nothing is too serious. He will heal."

Arthur tried to soak that in, knowing that he should be thankful for the lack of severity. He pushed his feelings about the torture aside, needing his mind clear in the here and now. He'd been dealing with the fear all summer; he'd deal with the reality later. Right now, he got the impression that there was something more she had yet to tell them. She had talked specifically about his physical state. "Was he...able to tell you about his ordeal?" Arthur ventured.

She met his eyes, and he dreaded her answer before she even spoke. "No," she acknowledged. "He can't tell us anything about it. He seems to have developed amnesia."

They both stared at her for a few beats, not quite grasping it. "He doesn't remember his abduction?" Molly questioned.

"No, but it's more than that. He didn't remember his name until we told him. His memories are completely blank."

Molly's grip on his hand had become tight enough to cut off circulation. "Is it..." Arthur paused, cleared his throat, and spoke again more clearly, "Is it some sort of memory charm?"

"I can't be sure yet," she admitted. "But I don't think so. There is such a thing as traumatic memory loss. We have seen the results of prolonged torture before. You know the Longbottoms, right?"

Arthur involuntarily cringed, and felt Molly do the same at his side. Still, he nodded for the Healer to continue.

"Percy's mind is not broken, at least not in that way. But it is entirely possible that he reached some sort of breaking point and his subconscious simply...blocked everything out."

"So...what do we do?"

"I need to keep him here for a bit. We'll let him heal physically and see if there is anything we can do for the memory. But if I'm right and it is all psychological, his memory will likely start to come back to him naturally. Probably in bits and pieces, as he's able to handle it." She paused, probably sensing how overwhelming this was for them. "But we can talk about that a bit later. Right now, I'm sure you'd like to see him."

"Yes, definitely," Molly said faintly.

They stood as she came around the desk to join them. Arthur hesitated, then asked, "He's not going to recognize us?"

"No, he's not. And, I should warn you...Percy seems to have latched onto his brother rather quickly. He needed a stable presence, someone who knew him and who he had concrete reason to trust. But beyond Bill, he's probably going to be a bit overwhelmed. Don't be alarmed if he doesn't respond that well to the rest of the family...or even to the two of you at first." She paused, watching them closely. Then she offered, "Would you like a few moments before you see him?"

Molly was shaking her head, but Arthur said, "Yes, just a moment please."

The Healer nodded. "Certainly." She stepped out, pulling the door shut behind her.

Arthur turned to his wife, who was looking rather displeased with him. "I want to see him, Arthur."

"I know, I know. I do, too. But just take a moment, Molly."

"I just want this nightmare to be over."

"So do I. And this is a miracle, but it's not over yet. Our son is not going to know us, Molly. We need to be ready for that."

But really, there was no way to be ready for that. They both learned that a few short minutes later when they followed the Healer behind the curtain.

Bill was seated beside him on the bed, having a soft conversation. Both boys looked up as they entered the area. At the sight of his wayward child, Arthur felt a powerful surge of emotion.

Percy merely looked at them blankly, if a bit apprehensively.

Arthur found himself not knowing what to do. Molly, however, went with the emotion she was feeling. With a barely suppressed sob, she went directly to the bed, arms outstretched. "Percy..." she whispered brokenly, reaching for him.

It was the wrong thing to do. Percy now looked alarmed and jumped skittishly to the side, into Bill. His brother wrapped an arm around him in response, whispering that it was all right.

Percy had never been very open to physical affection anyway. He hadn't been comfortable with Molly's smothering hugs in a long time. It should have been little surprise that he instinctively jumped away from strangers now. Nevertheless, it was heartbreaking.

If Molly had looked upset before, she was devastated now. She dropped her arms and stepped back, visibly trembling. Arthur stepped to her side and wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders, eyes glued all the while to his sons.

He'd had a nightmare like this shortly after Percy had disappeared. Only in it, Percy had his memory. He had simply rejected his parents. Somehow, this was worse. Arthur suspected that was due to the fear now present in Percy's eyes.

"Percy," he called softly. He waited until Percy focused on him and held his gaze before he continued, "we didn't mean to frighten you. We're just...concerned. I'm your father, Arthur. This is your mother, Molly."

Looking a bit embarrassed though still quite uncomfortable, Percy pulled away from Bill. "I'm sorry," he offered softly.

"No, it was my fault," Molly put in shakily. "It's just...we've been so worried..."

She put a trembling hand to her mouth as a very awkward silence descended over them. Percy kept glancing at them as if hungry for the sight of them, but as soon as he met their eyes he looked away.

Bill cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Percy and I were just talking about you two."

"Bill says that we work together," Percy spoke up tentatively, looking up at Arthur.

Arthur glanced at Bill over Percy's head. His eldest shrugged as if to say, 'It's sort of true.' Arthur looked back to Percy, forcing a smile. "Yes, we do. We work for the Ministry of Magic."

Percy nodded as though he knew what he was talking about. But Arthur suspected that while he might remember what the Ministry was, he had no memories of working there...and no clue that the job was at the center of their conflict.

In fact...he had no way of knowing that there was any conflict.

And Arthur had a moment of realization. As hard as this was, as painful as it was to see Percy so lost...they were being offered a blank slate. A second chance with the son who had drifted so far that they had feared they would never get him back.

Bill was looking at him in a way that suggested he had already thought of that. As if to demonstrate, he reached to briefly rub Percy's back in comfort. And not only did Percy allow it, he actually leaned into it, smiling briefly at his brother before looking back to their parents.

Encouraged by the comfort level Bill had established, Molly tentatively pulled away from Arthur and stepped a bit closer to the bed. "Has Bill told you anything about home and the rest of the family?"

Percy visibly tensed.

"We haven't really gotten that far yet," Bill answered for him as Arthur shot a questioning look in the Healer's direction.

She came closer and spoke softly, such that the others would not overhear. "It should be a very familiar subject, but it isn't at all familiar to him. That frightens him. And he seems to get agitated when frightened."

That made sense. A few moments later, Arthur was wishing fervently that Molly had heard it.

She was still inching closer, trying to connect with her child. "Your brothers and sister have been very worried about you, too."

Percy shook his head, clearly frustrated. "I don't remember them."

"I know, I know," she soothed. "But it will come back to you. I just want you to know that they love you and will want to see you soon."

Instead of comforting him, that seemed to agitate Percy further. "I won't know them," he stuttered. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face in a way that suggested he was getting a headache. "There's so much...I don't know if I can keep everything straight!"

Arthur stepped closer, deciding to intervene. "That's okay," he soothed. "You don't have to—"

"But I should! They'll know me, better than I know me, just like all of you! And I won't know anything..." he trailed off, even more frustrated because he couldn't explain himself well. His breathing was quick and shallow, his knuckles white from the tight grip he had on the sheet. The Healer had stepped forward and Bill had shifted closer in alarm. Arthur wondered if this was some form of panic attack.

Molly backed away. The Healer took her place and reached to take his pulse, talking to him softly and telling him to calm down. Bill moved to rub his brother's back again, trying to help.

Slowly but surely his breathing returned to normal, and then Percy was left once more looking embarrassed by his reaction. "Sorry," he mumbled softly.

"Well," Arthur finally broke in to the ensuing silence, then offered awkwardly, "is there anything we can do for you? Anything you'd like to ask us?"

Percy looked down again, obviously still out of sorts. "I'm really rather tired right now," he responded faintly.

Observing this, the Healer spoke up. "Percy has had rather a long night. Perhaps we could let him rest, and you could come back a bit later."

At once reluctant to leave him and desperate to get away from the painful awkwardness, Arthur looked to Molly. She looked upset, but nodded nevertheless and had schooled her face before she turned back to Percy. Arthur said, "We should probably get back to the rest of the family. They need to know that you're all right."

Very cautiously, Molly began moving closer to him again. She waited until Percy had caught her meaning and nodded a slightly fearful assent, then she hugged him gently. He was stiff, but he managed to bring his arms around her as well. She let him go fairly quickly, and he managed a slight smile as she pulled away.

Arthur decided not to push things. He kept his distance, though he did offer his son a comforting smile. "We'll be back soon, okay? We're glad you're all right."

Percy didn't say anything, but Arthur took comfort in the fact that the fear was gone from his face for the moment. It quickly returned, however, when Bill stood. He looked up at his older brother in a way that Arthur hadn't seen since Percy was five. It was a fearful, 'protect me from the world' look. It made Arthur want to grab him, take him someplace safe, and never leave him alone again.

It probably had a similar effect on Bill. Arthur watched as his eldest son reassured his brother that he would be right back, before stepping around the bed to them. He and Molly managed to keep smiles on their faces as they said goodbye and then stepped out of the curtain.

Outside, both of their smiles collapsed. Remus came to meet them as Bill hugged his mother.

"I'll stay," Bill said simply. It clearly wasn't up for debate in his mind.

"As will I," Lupin put in.

"Remus, you look exhausted," Molly protested.

"I'm fine, Molly. I'll stay until someone can relieve me."

Arthur was simply nodding his thanks. He had expected that Remus would stay, and that after that there would need to be an Order member here at all times to stand guard. It still might not be safe. But as a father, he felt better at the moment knowing that Bill would be close by as well.

Bill went back to his brother. After a talk with Remus, made brief because of the very little information he could provide them, Arthur and Molly summoned their strength and headed out of St. Mungo's. They had other children to attend to.

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tbc

Next chapter: Molly and Arthur talk to the rest of their children, and a flashback to the initial news of Percy's disappearance.

Reviews are still welcome!