Disclaimer: My cats are telling me I have no life, and that I get the best kicks out of writing Harry Potter fan-fiction. They would never let me do something so heinous as to profit from it.
Chapter Five -
Percy
"Harry, wake up!"
Harry groaned, and slapped an arm away from his shoulder. He was having the best sleep he'd had in at least three months, and the person jiggling his shoulder was ruining the experience.
"Harry, mate, you promised you would come with us!"
"C'mon, Harry." Said a second voice, and suddenly Harry's mind clicked into place. He opened his eyes, to stare into those of Ron and Neville. Both of whom had asked Harry to come along to see Percy and Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom that day.
"Right." Harry said grumpily. "I'm up."
"Good." Said Ron. "Mum was getting worried. She says you're normally up with the sun. It's already ten o'clock!"
Harry pushed aside the blankets, and had to forcefully stop himself from summoning his jeans to himself again. There was no way he would be able to keep his magic secret if he were to do that. He stood, and walked across the room to get them.
"Are you guys ready to go... oh!" Ginny stood in the door that she had barged through, staring at Harry in naught but his boxers. "Sorry!" She yelled, gave a quick one-eighty, and ran from the room with cherry coloured cheeks.
First Neville, then Ron began to snicker. Harry just rolled his eyes at them, trying not to blush, and slipped into his jeans. He grabbed a fresh tee-shirt from his trunk, and put on his socks.
He was hungry, so he ran to the kitchen, grabbed a bite to eat, and rushed out the door with Ron, Ginny, Neville, and four Order members.
Harry always felt a bit of shame and frustration when he thought about how he was always being watched and surrounded. He felt the same now, but as the four members were Mad-Eye, Tonks, Remus, and Mrs. Weasley, he felt a bit more as though he were just leaving Grimmauld Place with a bunch of friends.
When they arrived at St. Mungo's, they trooped immediately up to Percy's floor, and slipped into the Spell Damage ward.
Harry was again, a bit nervous, but he remembered that Ron had told him that Percy was doing better. Nothing could be worse than the way things were before, could they?
He was wrong.
Percy was now sitting up, and Bill Weasley, the eldest of the siblings, was helping wash and dry Percy's hands like those of a baby who had gotten into a pile of dirt. Percy himself was trying to pull them away, and Bill was chastising him for being naughty.
"Hey, Perce!" Said Ron jauntily. "Thought I'd bring you some friends."
Mrs. Weasley held back, and let the youngsters move forwards.
"Hi Percy." Ginny let her arms go round her brother's neck. He didn't return the hug, but stared behind her, directly at Harry.
For the first time in weeks, Percy had emotion in his eyes.
Fear.
"Hello, Percy." Harry said quietly, and Percy flinched. "Are you feeling all right now?" he asked as gently as he could.
Percy still said nothing.
"It's all right, I can see that you are." Harry saw Percy's empty waterglass on his nightside table, and gestured to it. "Would you like me to refill your water, Percy?"
Slowly, Percy Weasley nodded, still looking at Harry with fearful eyes. Harry wished it would stop, and that Percy would go back to the way he was. Even if he had to be the same pompous git that he had always been, it was better than this... child living in an adult's body.
Harry filled the glass from the nearby sink, while the Weasleys fretted over Percy some more. When he returned, he handed the waterglass over to Percy, and he took it tentatively, then tilted it to his mouth, and began to glug.
"Little thirsty there, eh Perce?" Said Ron, laughingly.
A scratchy squeak pushed it's way through Percy's mouth, and all who were present gasped.
"What's that Percy?" Harry asked as if he had not heard anything unusual.
"More please." Said Percy, and handed the glass to Harry. Harry took it, but instead of filling it back up he put his hand close to Percy's shoulder. When there was no perceptible flinch, Harry slowly lowered the hand to comfort him.
"Percy, your brothers tell me you haven't eaten any food since you've been here." He said quietly. "Would you like something to eat too?"
No one else wanted to talk. It might interrupt this talkative spell Percy was having.
Percy slowly nodded.
"What would you like then?"
Percy looked at Harry fearfully, and another squeak escaped his lips.
"What was that Percy? You're going to have to speak up."
"Chicken." Said Percy.
"All right, we'll get someone to send you some chicken." Harry nodded to Ginny, who seemed to be the only one able to move. She slowly backed away, and began to run to the nearest Healer.
The chicken arrived, double time, and Percy took up a fork and began to plow his way through the fried chicken the same way he had the glass of water. Harry gave Ron a look to tell him they needed to be alone. Ron backed slowly away, and escorted his mother and Remus behind the curtain so they could listen without Percy realizing they were there.
As Percy was taking the last bites, Harry again pressed him to talk. He knew Percy hadn't yet said anything to anyone, and it now looked as though he was the only one who could get Percy out of his self-inflicted prison. Harry took the job a bit reluctantly, but with the good of the Weasleys on his mind.
"Percy do you remember what happened to you? Just say yes or no, you don't have to tell me."
"Yes."
Harry nodded. "Do you remember that I was there for awhile too?"
Percy looked very nervous. "Yes."
"What did I tell you then?"
"That you would send for help." It was the most Percy had said since he had been taken, and Harry could hear Mrs. Weasley's sobs begin from behind the divider curtain.
"And did I send for help?"
"Yes."
"Do you trust me, Percy?"
"Yes."
"Do you believe me when I say that you are completely safe now?"
Percy stared up at Harry in what looked like bewilderment. "Yes." He said, nearly gasping as he said the word.
"Are you safe now Percy?"
"Yes." Percy actually smiled. And he looked up at Harry with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.
"Why?" said Harry.
"I never believed you before." Percy whispered. "You were right. He's back." And he began to weep.
Harry took Percy's tray from in front of him, and sat down on the bed. He extended his arms, and let the emotionally crippled man fall into a hug.
When Percy no longer needed any support, Harry gently pushed him away, and looked into his eyes. "It doesn't matter what you believed then. This is now, Percy, and your family is very worried for you."
Percy nodded again.
"Will you talk to them if I leave? They want to know that you're all right."
Percy nodded.
"Let me hear you say it Percy."
"All right." He said, and Harry slowly backed away, and signaled Ron, who walked cheerfully around the corner.
"All right then Perce?" He asked. "Are you tired?"
"A little." Said Percy, and he lay back. Ron tucked the blankets more securely around his brother. "Where's mum?" Percy asked.
"Right here." Molly sobbed from the opening in the curtain, trying to sound as normal as possible.
"Hi mum." He said, and Mrs. Weasley made a choking noise.
"Hi Percy." She sniffed. "I'll be right here if you need me."
"Thanks." Percy said, and drifted off to sleep.
Ron walked over to Harry, and looked at him curiously. "That was amazing." He said honestly.
Harry shook his head. "I could tell he was waiting for me to come. I spoke to him when I was inside... the vision, and I told him I would send for help. He was waiting for me to tell him that I was the one who had actually sent people to save him. I think he was afraid that Voldemort had tricked him."
"I don't understand, but it worked, so I'll have to take your word for it." Ron shook his head, and he clapped his arm around Harry's shoulder.
000000
The next morning, Harry read the last six editions of the Daily Prophet, something he had been putting off for as long as possible. The Prophet had shown itself to be a notoriously unreliable newspaper, and Harry had learned to take each article with a grain of salt. Every once in awhile though, he would come across a completely unbiased and well-written article, usually crammed on to the last page as if the editors were somehow sneering at the writer's opinions. Percy's attack and subsequent rescue and hospitalization were written in acceptably sketchy detail on the bottom of the second from last page of the Tuesday edition. It seemed they were trying to pretend that the Minister's right hand man, Percy Weasley had been attacked and tortured by thugs due to his working relationship with the Minister, and had been rescued by a friend, who had taken him to hospital.
They had no mention of his current condition, nor of the fact that he was now being guarded twenty-four-seven.
On page three, buried in the classified ads, Harry saw an article about how some muggles were convinced they'd seen Sirius Black, the notorious escaped mass murderer, somewhere around Anglesey. Harry only wished it were true. The wizarding world still didn't want to accept the fact that Sirius was innocent, and there was no way they would ever believe that he was actually dead. That he had died to save his godson.
Because of the rocks-for-brains minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge, Sirius' will and testament could not be opened. Harry thought that perhaps Remus would be getting quite a settlement if it were to be read. Sirius would not be so ignorant as to leave his considerable trust to Harry, who already had quite a large pile of money waiting for him in Gringott's Wizarding Bank. Apparently, Harry's parents had been quite well off. As had Sirius been, due to the fact that apparently he was the last actual direct line descendant of the Black family, so the considerable wealth of that line passed to him alone. But Remus would never take charity from either friend when he was younger, and Harry thought he might even try to dispute it if he was left money in Sirius' will.
Which still could not be opened.
All of the other articles in the news focused on 'He-who-must-not-be-named,' and his apparent silence since the acts in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry.
Harry tore the last paper in half in his frustration.
They would never learn.
000000
Just after lunch, Professor Dumbledore had called Harry into the study to speak alone with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about his current standing in the Order. Harry was a little nervous, but he hoped they would understand.
"How is Percy doing?" Harry asked quietly as he tentatively pushed the door aside.
Mrs. Weasley smiled, and nodded. "He's doing quite well. They say he should be able to come back here to stay with us within the week."
"You won't be taking him back to the Burrow?"
Mr. Weasley squeezed his wife's shoulder reassuringly when she grimaced. "Percy says he doesn't want to go back. I think he's afraid of being there."
"That's understandable." Harry said, just as professor Dumbledore walked into the room.
"What is it you wanted to discuss with us Albus?" Mrs. Weasley folded her hands demurely, and took a seat in one of the chairs.
Dumbledore didn't bother to skirt the issue. "I wanted to let you both know that I have invited Harry to join the Order, and he has accepted."
Mrs. Weasley suddenly went pale, and her eyes shot sparks. "He's just a child Albus! How could you put him in danger like that...?" And suddenly she was weeping on her husband's shoulder again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.
"I will not allow him to go off on missions yet, nor will I ask him to risk his life for us. I am not an intentionally cruel man, Molly. He has the right to decide for himself, even if he is not yet legally of age."
"But he's so young..." Molly's sobs choked Harry's heart, and he felt he should comfort her too. He felt a little guilty now for accepting the headmaster's offer without consulting her. She was after all, the only mother he had ever known.
"Mrs. Weasley, I need to know as much as I can. I'm a danger to everyone around me if I am naïve."
"How can you say that Harry! You don't know what you're talking about!"
"I know the prophecy." Harry stated bluntly.
Molly's tears rolled down her face, but her eyes were surprised. By the look on hers and Arthur's face, Dumbledore hadn't told them the complete contents of the prophecy.
"Obviously professor Dumbledore hasn't told you about it."
Mr. Weasley put his arm around his nervous looking wife. "We knew that there was one about you that could be dangerous if You-know-who heard it, but we don't know the contents."
"I have not told anyone in the order the true nature of the prophecy, Harry." Said Dumbledore. "It was not for me to tell, and I will not do so without your permission." The older man was not facing him, but looking almost wistfully out the window. As if he wished most fervently that he were elsewhere right at that moment.
Harry nodded thankfully at him. All this time, he had thought everyone else was trying to keep the secret from him, when in truth, they hadn't even known the secret themselves. "I have to tell someone." Harry stated bluntly. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are the closest things I have to parents. They deserve to know."
Dumbledore nodded, and swept from the room. The door clicked shut behind him, and Harry turned back to look at the Weasleys. They looked quite honoured at Harry's devotion to them, but also a little frightened.
"I'm sorry you have to hear this, but I'm glad I'm the one telling you." Harry went to them, and took both their hands. "I haven't even told Ron or Hermione...Anyhow, when professor Dumbledore was looking for a new Divination teacher about sixteen years ago, He met with professor Trelawney in the Hogs Head pub in Hogsmeade." He paused, and looked into both their eyes for strength. "She told him a prophecy then that I haven't been able to get out of my mind for the last month. It goes like this.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies." Here Harry took a deep breath. "At this point in the prophecy, an eavesdropper was discovered and thrown out of the building, but it was too late. The man went off to his master and told him what he heard."
"But that's so vague Harry. It might not be you!" Mrs. Weasley looked so hopeful, and Harry hated to dash her enthusiasm.
Harry looked at her pointedly to stop her hopes from rising. "The eavesdropper did not hear the whole prophecy." He saw her eyes darken with tears, and felt her hand begin to shake in his.
"And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal." Harry let go of Mr. Weasley's hand, and touched his finger to the very famous scar on his forehead. He returned his hand to Arthur's and continued with the prophecy. "But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not." Harry took another deep breath, for this was the part of the prophecy he loathed the most. "And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives."
Mrs. Weasley let a small whimper escape her lips.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
Silence permeated the room.
"That's a barbaric thing to tell a child." Mrs. Weasley looked angry again, but she was still crying.
"Barbaric, maybe." Harry answered her honestly. "But we both know that as long as he is still alive, I can't have a normal life. And that means I might have to know some things that someone my age probably shouldn't. I need to understand why things happen the way they do."
Mr. Weasley was staring at Harry with an expression of great pain and pity, absently rubbing one hand on Mrs. Weasley's back. "I can see that you haven't been a child now for a long time, Harry. When did that happen?"
Harry just shrugged, but he felt slightly better for getting the problem of the prophecy off his chest. "I don't want pity." He said emphatically. "I was born into a mission of my own, and if I live through its completion, I will have time to be a child then."
Mrs. Weasley's eyes sprouted hot tears and she gathered Harry into her arms, holding him for all she was worth.
Mr. Weasley just looked at Harry sadly. "Things don't often go backwards Harry."
"Ah!..." Harry ripped himself viciously out of Mrs. Weasley's arms, and pressed his palm to his forehead. He'd felt a particularly strong twinge, and he realized what was going on.
Voldemort was incredibly happy.
Had he been listening to his conversation? Did he know the prophecy now? Harry couldn't waste time worrying. He had to find out.
Mrs. Weasley had begun to shake again, Harry calmed his tense muscles and pulled his hand away from his forehead.
"What is it?" Mr. Weasley asked nervously, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry didn't answer. He closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
For a moment, Harry tuned everything out. All of his pain, and both of Ron's parents. He became nothing, looked for nothing, and had nothing.
All of a sudden, he could see everything.
