Chapter 18 – Mommy's Dearests

Somehow Ron had managed to get a significant lead on Harry and Ginny. Ginny was still dragging Harry by his hand, and Harry's stomach was starting to squirm for some unidentifiable reason, while his hands suddenly felt clammy. Passing it off to hunger, Harry shrugged and let the tiny witch drag him down the street. Once they got to the store Harry went to open the door and Ginny dropped his hand with a slight squeeze.

"Thank you Harry," she said with a smile as she walked through the door. Harry's stomach gave another lurch and he figured he was a lot hungrier than he thought. By the time they reached their table, Ron was already ordering for the four of them.

"And these two will have just a regular sundae each, with extra chocolate topping," he said with a smile and then pointed at Harry. "And he's paying, so give the bill to him."

"Nice," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "Forgive my brother Harry, he's the soul of tact and appreciation."

Harry smiled and shrugged. "I learned during our first year that I should never get between Ron and food."

"Unless you wanted to lose a finger, or hand, or arm," Hermione added with a giggle. "Do you remember that time when Seamus reached for the salt in front by Ron's plate? It took Madam Pomfrey twenty minutes to get the fork out, and that was an accident."

The three of them howled with laughter at Ron's expense as he went bright red. He started spluttering, trying to defend himself fruitlessly. He was saved when their ice cream arrived and he hungrily dug in. The laughter fading, the other three quickly followed Ron's lead and started demolishing their treats.

Harry was astonished that he finished first, until he realized that Ron's sundae was at least twice as big as everyone else's which explained why Ron was still eating. Waiting for first Hermione, then Ginny to finish, the three of them watched in something close to awe as Ron methodically ate through the mountain of ice cream, fudge toppings, and whipped cream, saving one cherry till the very end. As he ate the last bite, a little chocolate dribbled down his chin and Hermione leaned over to wipe it off with her napkin.

Just as she wiped off the last of the chocolate off Ron's face, all heads turned as Ginny squealed with delight, shouting out to Neville Longbottom who had just walked in with his grandmother.

"Neville," Ginny cried out. "Good to see you! What are you doing here today?"

Neville rushed over with a big smile and greeted the foursome.

"Gran and I are here to buy a new wand for me, since mine got snapped, erm, you know," Neville said, responding to Ginny's question. "We stopped here for some ice cream first, Gran's got something of a sweet tooth."

Smiling, Mrs. Longbottom waddled over with her massive hat and nodded at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. A pleasure to see you. I dare say I appreciate all you've done to bring change to the Ministry, Mr. Potter. I certainly had no regard for that imbecile Fudge, and I'm pleased to see your father as Minister Mr. Weasley. He'll do a bang up job. Now, where shall we sit?"

Harry quickly invited them to join them at their table and was pleased with the relieved look that Neville gave him. After ordering, Harry and Hermione started talking with Neville's grandmother about the changes at the Ministry while Ron and Ginny talked quietly with Neville about his summer.

The ice cream arrived quickly, and disappeared almost as fast. If Mrs. Longbottom and Ron were in an eating contest, no one at the table was sure who would win. As Mrs. Longbottom sighed contentedly she gave an appraising look at Harry as he tried to pay the bill surreptitiously.

"There's no need for that young man," she said firmly. "We'll treat today."

"Mrs. Longbottom, thank you," Harry responded, just as firmly. "But I insist. I didn't manage to send Neville anything for his birthday, the least I can do is treat the two of you to some ice cream."

Neville looked at Harry with an awed silence before mumbling out his thanks while Mrs. Longbottom looked again at Harry with that speculative look.

"As a matter of fact," Harry continued, "I think I owe my friend here something a bit more than just some ice cream. He saved my life in June and I never appropriately thanked him. I know just what to get him."

Standing and motioning for everyone to follow, Harry led his curious friends to Mr. Ollivander's shop. Opening the door for everyone to enter before him, Harry closed the door behind him and calmly rang the bell. After waiting for a moment or two, a familiar figure stepped out of the back and greeted his customers.

"Mr. Ollivander," Harry replied. "Neville here is looking for a top-notch wand, and as it was his birthday recently, and since he broke his old one on my account, I'm going to insist that I pay for it."

Harry's voice was immediately drowned out by loud protests from both Neville and his grandmother, but Harry refused to relent.

"Neville, be reasonable," Harry argued. "You broke your Dad's wand to save my life. You didn't have to go to the Ministry with me and you didn't have to stick with me the whole way through. You risked your life, you broke your nose. Let me do this for you, as a friend."

Neville was dumbfounded by Harry's display of generosity and friendship and just nodded silently, overwhelmed by emotion. Mrs. Longbottom was about to say something, but after looking at the two young men in front of her, and sensing the obvious emotional weight of Harry's words, she let out a loud sigh and shrugged her shoulders at Mr. Ollivander.

"You heard the boy Ollivander, get my grandson a wand."

Mr. Ollivander smiled and started pulling out boxes of wands for Neville to try out. He tried out holly, oak, redwood, and sandalwood. None of those fit. He tried wands with a phoenix feather core, a unicorn hair, a dragon heartstring. None of those worked for Neville. Sighing in frustration, Mr. Ollivander tried dozens of wands and nothing seemed to quite do the trick.

Finally the light of inspiration hit his face and he climbed to the top of a shelf and reached deep back, almost pushing his whole body back on the shelf to reach all the way back. Pulling out a box that was covered with dust, Mr. Ollivander looked speculatively at Neville and offered a tiny grin.

"I don't know if this will work, but I don't have many options left," he said with a smile.

Mr. Ollivander carefully opened the box, breaking a centuries old seal, and held out the box to Neville. Neville peered inside and gingerly put his hand on the wand and grasped it in his fist.

Almost immediately his hand started to glow a soft, vibrant green color. The color slowly spread along his arm, and in a flash his whole body started glowing that bright green color that looked so clean it was almost alive. Neville's eyes widened and he looked frantically from Mr. Ollivander to his grandmother to Harry. With nods of encouragement he waved his wand and a bright light shot out of the end. Several feet away a tiny plant appeared and started growing rapidly. With a startled look, Neville shot another spell at the plant and it stopped increasing its size.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "How'd that happen?"

"This wand fits you quite well, my dear boy," explained Mr. Ollivander. "It is quite an unusual wand, made by an ancestor of mine several centuries ago. He only kept the one with that material. He made others, but ended up destroying them after no customers bought them. In its core you have the feather and hair of a gryffon. The wand itself is made from a plant, not a tree. My ancestor worked with the plant for years to strengthen it so it would be usable, the work of several decades, I assure you."

"What is it?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. "What plant?"

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Neville whispered, just barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Exactly," said Mr. Ollivander with a bright smile.

Harry quietly paid as Neville showed his grandmother a few other spells with his new wand and again found himself opening the door for the crowd. Not that he minded. But he was surprised when his friends all gasped in shock as they left the wand shop.

People were running down the street, trying to rush into the Leaky Cauldron. Many witches and wizards were panicking and others were dropping their parcels in fear and then quickly Apparating away from the crowd, leaving their shopping behind.

Confused, Harry pushed past Hermione and looked down the street, but couldn't see anything that was causing a disturbance. Then he noticed the covering of frost rapidly spreading across the windows of the nearby shops . He looked up in the air and saw blurred figures swooping around in the sky.

"Dementors," he spat. "We have to help."

"Not a chance Harry," Mad Eye said, removing his Invisibility Cloak and making a quick motion with his wand. "We have to get you lot to safety. Now."

Harry drew his wand and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. I can cast a Patronus, and it's corporeal. So can Hermione, and I think Ron and Ginny can as well. We can help. Look at them out there, everyone's panicking and they need us."

Harry walked towards the rushing crowd and Mad Eye raised his wand again.

"I'm sorry Professor," Harry said, without looking at Moody. "But I'd think about that before you do anything. Are you certain my protection isn't still in effect? I'd hate to see any spell rebound on you, and right now I'd imagine that any spell you cast would be construed as hostile."

For the first time that he could recall, Alastor Moody faltered. The young man in front of him raised a good point. Not even Dumbledore was entirely certain how that protection worked in every detail, and Moody didn't propose to be the one to find out. More importantly, the boy had offered him a perfectly acceptable excuse to let them all fight the blasted Dementors without getting yelled at by Molly for endangering their lives. Moody lowered his wand and nodded at Harry with a feral grin.

"Sorry, but we won't go," said Harry, seeming to know exactly what argument Moody was having in his mind. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny nodded their agreement with Harry as they drew their wands. "I'll explain it to Mrs. Weasley when we have time, but we have to get out there now. Before someone gets kissed."

"All right, but we do it my way. You lot stay behind me. You all cast your Patronus and herd the damn monsters to the other end of the street until all of the civilians get clear. Then we get clear to. I'm sure Arthur will be sending Aurors as soon as possible."

Moody stomped towards the crowd, pushing the terrified civilians out of his way, followed closely by Harry and the others.

"When we push these creatures back, I want all of you to get to the Leaky Cauldron and Floo out of here," he barked at the panicked mob. "Start running," he snapped as he thrust out his wand and shouted "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A huge spray of silver shot out of his wand and a scruffy looking three headed dog materialized in the center. The dog's tail was shortened, as if it had been cut in half, one of its heads was missing an eye, and all but one of its six ears had savage bites taken out of them. Harry saw that the front left paw was missing a toe, and despite the circumstances he smiled at the thought that this Patronus was very fitting to its owner.

Before he faltered from the foul nature of the Dementors, Harry thrust out his wand and followed Moody's lead by casting his Patronus charm. Prongs shot out of his wand, glowing silver with the strength of Harry's will. The two animals quickly charged through the swarm of Dementors floating above the center of Diagon Alley. Prongs lowered his head and charged at the Dementors, batting several of the dreadful beasts out of his way.

"Hermione, I've never cast a solid Patronus," Ron whispered, doubting himself. "I don't know if I'll be able to now."

"Ron, don't you think that maybe you've got a happy memory or two locked away that will fuel your Patronus?" Hermione asked calmly, trying to reassure her boyfriend.

"Well, maybe," he said. "What's yours?"

"It used to be the time when you and Harry saved me from the Troll."

"And now?"

"The first time we kissed. That's my happiest thought," Hermione said with a smile as she pulled out her wand and aimed it skywards.

As Harry concentrated on Prongs, out of the corner of his eye he saw Ron grab Hermione's hand and the two of them shouted in unison, silver spray flooding out of their wands. Hermione's graceful otter darted out ahead of her colliding in to a Dementor that had shot towards the fleeing patrons. As the otter corralled to Dementor away, Harry watched with surging approval as the mist from Ron's wand formed into a massive war horse. Harry immediately recognized it as the steed that Ron had mounted in their first year when saving the Stone from Professor Quirrel. The steed was massive, probably twice as tall as Prongs, and it bowed its head and plunged into the fray. After a moment they were joined by a massive bumblebee, a hundred times bigger than a real live bee, but it was obviously Neville's Patronus, and Harry thought it quite appropriate for the Herbology expert.

Hermione's otter skittered between the Dementors, pushing the Dementors back, away from the ground, while Ron's war horse and Neville's bee pushed them further up into the air. Prongs and Mad Eye's three-headed dog came in from the flanks and effectively pinned the Dementors in the skies above Diagon Alley as the frightened witches and wizards entered the Leaky Cauldron. The crowd thinned as everyone eventually made their way into the tavern.

"Harry, we can make our way now," Mad Eye said. "Everyone's out of here, so we can get out of here."

Harry nodded in agreement and motioned to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Neville grabbed his grandmother's hand and pushed her behind him, protecting her from the dark creatures. They all started slowly backing away from the Dementors while Ginny walked with her back to them, her wand pointed in front of her should anything attempt to attack while the others were distracted. Mad Eye watched in approval. The Dementors just floated silently, having been pushed back far enough to avoid the effects of the Patronus spell. As they reached the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry turned and pulled open the door.

Taking a quick look inside to ensure that it was safe, Harry motioned to the others to enter and returned his attention to the Dementors and Prongs who was slowly marching back and forth, prowling sentry in front of the foul beings. Neville looked at Harry and released his Patronus.

"I've got to get Gran to safety," he said. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, go," Harry replied. "We'll distract them while everyone escapes and then Moody will get Aurors here from the Ministry. You two go now. I guess we'll see you at school."

"I guess," Neville nodded nervously. "Thanks for the wand Harry, really. C'mon Gran, we got to go."

Mrs. Longbottom nodded her head and the two of them ran in to the tavern. Harry saw the flash of green flame out of the corner of his eye and relaxed a little as the two of them escaped.

Harry then nodded at Hermione and Ron to release their spells, the otter and war steed faded away into a silvery mist and they ran into the tavern.

"Where should we go? Hermione shouted. "We can't Floo to Headquarters and the Burrow might not be safe."

"Go to the Ministry," Mad Eye roared back, "Arthur added new security there and it'll be secure. Now go!"

Ron and Hermione grabbed a handful of powder and ran into the fireplace, shouting "The Ministry of Magic!" as they dove into the flames and disappeared. Just as Moody turned to shout to Harry and Ginny a shaft of green light shot into the air in the middle of Diagon Alley and the echoes of the spell that caused it rang in Harry's ears.

"MORS MORDRE!"

A scowl crossed Harry's face and his eyes furrowed in anger. He couldn't see the wizard that had cast that dirty spell, and he didn't recognize the voice. In the sky above him the results of the spell started to waft into shape, a green skull with a snake entwined in its gaping mouth, the symbol of Voldemort, taking hazy form.

Prongs galloped through the green mist, his silver radiance not diminishing in the slightest, but the Dementors, finally realizing that the otter and war steed were gone pushed forward.

"Quick," Moody shouted to Harry and Ginny. "You two go now, we'll follow."

Before they could react, another spell shot through the air, this time aimed at Harry.

"Stupefy!" the voice shouted, and Harry turned and saw the spell racing towards him. Out of instinct Harry ducked and tried to pull Ginny down with him, but she stepped away from his grip and shouted a quick shielding spell. The stunning spell shot straight toward her and hit her shield with a resounding clang, bouncing harmlessly away from her shield. In a slight blur she waved her wand and cast three quick hexes in the same direction that the stunner had come from. Waiting for a sound, none came.

"The bastard is Apparating in and out, I can't get a lock on him," Moody said ferociously. "Not and concentrate on those bastards up there, that is."

"Leave them to me," Harry said. "Prongs can keep them at bay long enough for you to find him and blast him, whoever he is."

Moody cast a speculative glance at Harry while his magical eye kept whirling around, looking for their opponent. Moody finally shrugged and nodded in affirmation. "Your mother's going to have my hide, young miss," he sighed as he released his Patronus, the dog fading away with a growl. Stomping away from Harry and Ginny, he whirled his Invisibility Cloak around himself and disappeared from view.

"Two can play at this game, Deatheater," he mumbled as the soft sound of his Apparition softly popped in the air.

Ginny stepped closer to Harry and cast her shield again. Smiling up at him she gently poked him in his ribs. "You know Ron and Hermione are going to be furious with us."

"Yeah, well, we didn't know a Deatheater was here when they went. You know, you can go if you want, I'll be fine. Once Moody catches the Deatheater, we'll leave."

"And leave you alone with those things?" Ginny asked, pointing up to the Dementors who were pressing a little closer since Prongs was the only Patronus keeping them away. "Not a chance Harry."

"I thought I'd give it a shot, this way I can tell your Mum I did," Harry replied with a forced grin.

Just then they heard the sound of someone Apparating nearby and they both snapped their heads in the direction of the sound. The wizard muttered a spell and a beam shot out of nowhere towards Harry and Ginny. But instead of shooting straight towards the two of them, and Ginny's shimmering shield, the spell shot up at the roof of the building. With a bright explosion, a portion of the building came crashing down at the two of them.

Harry gasped and grabbed Ginny by the shoulders, pulling her away from the collapsing rubble. They tumbled to the ground, bumping into each other and losing their breath as the shock of the fall hit them both. As they stopped rolling, Harry started choking from the dust that blew at the two of them, but urgently pointed his wand in the direction of where he thought his attacker was standing.

Another "Pop!" of Apparition and the familiar voice of Mad Eye Moody shouted a series of hexes and curses at the other invisible wizard. Harry groggily saw the spells intersect with their attacker, and for a moment he glowed with the series of spells. With a strangled cry the wizard fell to the ground with a thud, and Harry could see the edges of an Invisibility Cloak revealing the telltale black robes of a Deatheater. Moody also removed his own Invisibility Robe and stomped over to the fallen Deatheater. As he kicked the man, turning him over, Moody paled with a gasp and fell to his knees. A trio of Dementors swooped down from the sky and hovered just a foot above Moody. With a murmured cry of "Expecto Patronum" he tried valiantly to summon his three-headed dog back into existence. The silvery vapor started to coalesce, but several more Dementors swarmed down and knocked Moody off his knees, forcing him to collapse on his back.

Harry stood up in the rubble, trying to clear his head, but he could faintly hear the cries of his mother, merged with the cries of Sirius as he fell through the Veil. Trying to concentrate on a happy thought, Harry flashed through memory after memory, trying to trigger his spell. But the cries in his head were too loud and Harry was overwhelmed. Collapsing to his knees with his hands over his ears, Harry started shivering and twitching from the agony in his head.

Ginny was rigidly standing just a few feet away from Harry. She was covered in a layer of dust from the building and pieces of mortar stuck to her chin where a thin line of blood was oozing. She heard the sibilant voice of Tom Riddle, memories from her first year at Hogwarts, taunting her as she opened up the Chamber of Secrets. The image of the basilisk pushing through the rubble startled her, but somehow gave her the resolve she needed.

"That monster's dead," she muttered to herself. Gripping her wand, she thrust it out in front of her and screamed bloody murder. As courage infused her, washing through her mind, she became clear headed. Searching through her mind, she found her happiest memory. Staring defiantly at the looming Dementors she scowled and shouted "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Hoping against hope that her animal would finally appear, she was disappointed when the silver mist did not materialize into a solid form. But the silver spray was very strong, strong enough to push the Dementors away from Moody and away from Harry. Ginny stepped forward, standing in the middle of the two fallen men and concentrated on her happy thoughts. The Dementors seemed to howl in rage, having been denied their prey and started battering at Ginny's shield.

Just as Ginny thought she was going to be overwhelmed, Moody started to stir. With a quick glance at Ginny and Harry, Moody clutched his wand, shook his head, and roared defiantly "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" His three headed dog appeared and immediately took off after the Dementors, knocking them away from Ginny's shield, shoving them back into the sky.

With a quick swoop of his arms, Moody picked up Harry and the fallen Deatheater and started moving towards the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

"C'mon young Weasley, let's get out of here. I don't know where the Aurors are, but we need to get away, now."

Ginny nodded and dropped her shield. With quick waves of her wand she pushed piles of rubble out of the way of the door, clearing a path for herself and Moody. Mad Eye grunted in approval and motioned for her to go through the door first. As they made their way to the fireplace, Ginny started to pick up the Floo powder but paused when Moody put a hand on her shoulder.

"These two can't travel that way, not right now," he said. Pointing at a broken chair with his wand, he made a complex wave with his wand and said "Portus."

The chair glowed blue for a moment, then the light faded. Moody shoved the Deatheater onto the seat and shot ropes around him, securing him to the chair. He then grabbed hold of Harry and took hold of the chair, motioning for Ginny to do the same.

Just as Ginny grabbed at the chair she saw the familiar, imposing figure of Albus Dumbledore appear suddenly on the streets of Diagon Alley. With a resounding echo his voice rocked throughout the Alley.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he roared with righteous fury, silver spray shooting out of his wand and the glorious form of a phoenix bursting forth.

"Damn!" snapped Moody as the familiar effect of a portkey snapped them away, leaving Dumbledore to eliminate the threat.

---XXX---

Ron and Hermione emerged from the fireplace at the Ministry of Magic, only to find that Diagon Alley was not the only place with problems. Once more the lobby of the Ministry of Magic had obviously been the site of a significant battle. Blast marks scorched the walls in dozens of places. Furniture had been blown to bits, and there were several bodies lying on the ground. Instinctively the couple drew out their wands and stepped back into a corner, trying to see what was going on.

Out of the corner of his eye Ron saw a flash of balding red hair several yards away and turned in that direction.

"Dad?" he called to the familiarly shaped figure. "What the bloody hell happened here?"

"Ron?" Mr. Weasley asked in surprise. "What are you doing here? And Hermione too?" he asked as he stepped closer to them. "I thought you were shopping today."

"We were Dad. Diagon Alley was attacked by Dementors. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"KINGSLEY!" roared Mr. Weasley, no longer just the concerned father but also the powerful Minister of Magic. "Dementor attack at Diagon Alley," he barked. "Find whatever Aurors you can, minus the guards, and get over there now."

"Right away Minister," Shacklebolt replied. "I'll inform Albus as well."

"No, I'll do that," sighed Mr. Weasley. Kingsley nodded, then turned and started jogging down the hallway, barking commands and telling the small band of Aurors to follow him. Mr. Weasley returned his attention to Ron and Hermione. "And where are your mother and sister? And Harry?"

"Ginny and Harry are with Mad Eye, they should be following us momentarily," Ron said hurriedly. "Dad, there were dozens of Dementors, it was intense. But Harry, Mad Eye, Hermione, and I, we each cast our Patronus and held them off so everyone could escape. But I don't know where Mum is. I thought she'd be here."

"No," Mr. Weasley said, his eyes widening. "I thought she was with you. When did you separate?"

"Pretty early," Ron said, concern growing in his mind. "We went to Gringotts and then Fred and George's. Oh sweet Merlin, I forgot about them. Where are Fred and George? We have to go back and get them."

"Ron, stop," Mr. Weasley said, trying to calm his son down, which was difficult since Mr. Weasley himself was starting to get worried. "Every merchant at Diagon Alley has an emergency Portkey they were given for a situation like this. They are sent to a safe locale where we can make sure they are all okay. They'll be released once the Aurors declare Diagon Alley to be safe. So the twins are fine, I'm sure. But where could your mother be?"

"I don't know Dad, I'm worried," Ron said, his voice choking.

"Me too, Ron, me too."

---XXX---

Mrs. Weasley squared her shoulders as she walked out of Fred and George's shop. She hadn't told her husband or her other children, but she had another reason for the trip to Diagon Alley that day other than to let her charges do some shopping.

Every mother tries to tell herself that she treats each of her children fairly and loves them all equally. But every mother of more than one child knows, deep down, that there is always one child that's just a bit more special, a bit more protected, a bit more dear in her heart. For Molly Weasley that child was Percy.

Despite his numerous shortcomings, and they were obvious even to her, Molly knew that he was her most precious child. He needed the most love, needed the most care, and needed his mother the most. It was true even if he didn't necessarily realize it.

She would never give up hope that he could be brought back into the fold. She hoped that he'd find a way to seek forgiveness, admit his errors, and forgive his family for whatever slights, perceived or real, that he had felt over the years. Nothing could ever sway Molly's hope, and she was determined to make it happen.

So for months Molly had tried to reach out to Percy. Owls were sent to his apartment, his office, and to Penelope. They all went unanswered, but still she wrote more. When Arthur was in the hospital Molly thought her heart would break when Percy didn't even stop in to see his father. But she rationalized it away, coming up with one silly excuse for her precious child after another. Then when Arthur became Minister, one of the proudest days of her life, she had fervently hoped that Percy would rejoin the family.

Her heart soared when Harry had approached him and they had an urgent conversation. Her sixth 'son,' precious to her as all the others, had tried to help Percy find his way home. But something happened. Certainly she didn't blame Harry, but how could she blame her poor wounded Percy?

When Percy ran out of the courtroom, weeping in hysterics, Molly's heart almost broke into pieces. To see her precious Percy reject the family so thoroughly, so completely, it gnawed at her soul.

Of course Molly wasn't stupid. She knew how blind her son was to the real world. He was so obsessed with political power and righteous indignation with the Order. No mother could possibly ignore it. But instead she found ways to excuse his boorish behavior, or blame herself for not doing something, anything, to help him see the error of his ways.

But finally a ray of hope came shining through. Percy had responded! It was a short note, terse and to the point, but her son had asked to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron, in a private room for lunch.

Of course she would go, there was no doubt. She sorely wanted to tell her husband, to bring him with her, but she resisted that temptation. Bringing her wayward son back to the fold would require a mother's patience and skill. And Molly was committed to doing it, however long it took her, whatever the cost. If she could have her whole family back together, she'd do it.

Her hands were always what gave her away, she thought ruefully as she turned the handle. They always shook slightly when she was nervous, no matter what she did to quell the shaking. Opening the door, she poked her head in first, to give her hands a moment to calm down.

"Percy," she said in a calm and clear voice that belied her nervousness. "Darling, are you here?"

"Hello Mother," Percy said, very formally as he stood up from his chair and gestured her in to join him at the table. "Please, take a seat."

Molly immediately rushed forward to grab her son in one of her trademark hugs, but just as she reached his side she sensed something different, something odd, about her son's demeanor. Nervously she hesitated, fighting every instinct to grab her precious boy, she haltingly took her seat.

"I'm so grateful that you finally responded to my letters, Percy," Mrs. Weasley started. "I just want you to know that I love you, I will always love you."

A tear formed in Percy's eyes, but that emotion was not reflected in his voice.

"Yes Mother, thank you," he said, almost coldly. "Now, as to why we're here. I want you to talk with father for me, to offer him our- er, my help. He's making several mistakes, naturally, and a steady hand needs to guide the Ministry."

"Well, of course, Percy," Mrs. Weasley said with a strained voice. "If that's what you want, we can do that. You know your father would welcome your help, all you have to do is ask him."

Percy had obviously ordered food because just at that moment it arrived. Molly served herself, and out of habit served Percy, and nervously started to eat while filling Percy in on the rest of the family. It was normal, inane chatter that all mothers are good at filling nervous space. But Percy seemed completely disinterested in the news and ate almost mechanically.

It was his eyes, Molly realized. His eyes truly gave him away. Despite the mechanical nature of his voice, the almost stiff movement of his body, his eyes were in turmoil. Glistening with tears at each mention of his siblings, his pupils seemed to contract in pain when Molly mentioned the names of Ron and Ginny in particular.

As she tried to determine what exactly was wrong with her child, she paused when she saw him haltingly grab a platter of biscuits that was there when she had walked in. Confused, she reached up and took hold of the platter, not having asked him for it. At that moment his eyes contracted in horror and a soft gasp escaped from his lips.

"Oh Mummy, forgive me," he groaned.

Before Molly could react, before she could think, she felt the obvious pull of a portkey as the two of them disappeared in a blink.

---XXX---

"Mother, stop crying," Draco said commandingly. "We all have to make certain sacrifices, just accept it and move on. You do want to help assure the Dark Lord's victory, don't you?

Narcissa raised herself up on her shoulders from her prone position on her bed with tear stained eyes. She looked at her son with deepest loathing. From the moment he was born she had doted on him with every fiber of her being. She had focused all of her attention on Draco, trying to mold him into a future leader of the country, or the world. Narcissa knew that her husband and the Dark Lord would inevitably win, but she also knew that they would eventually die, by natural or unnatural means. So of course the future leader must be prepared.

She had given Draco every advantage, every opportunity, every resource he would need to be that leader. She had protected Draco from her husband's rages in those trying years when the Dark Lord had vanished. She made sure that Draco went to Hogwarts, over her husband's most strenuous objections. Durmstrang was all well and good, she knew, but the elitist in her knew that Hogwarts was still better. Even with that wretched Dumbledore running the place.

And what better luck than to have her darling Draco at school with the famous Harry Potter! What better foil could her darling ask for in his rise to power? If Draco could torment the 'hero' of the wizarding world, demonstrate his pure blood superiority over that orphan boy, well then, the world would know that they were ruled by a truly superior being.

But this was too much. What the Dark Lord asked of her was too big of a sacrifice, even for her darling Draco's future. Why would she have to be the pawn in this game? Why did she have to be an integral part of her husband's rescue? Couldn't they find another?

Narcissa had begged the Dark Lord to consider other options, but he refused. She had pleaded with her son to intervene, but he coldly rejected her. After everything she had done for him, after every sacrifice she had made for him, her son sided with that foul abomination over her. Despair clenched at her soul and she shuddered with desolation. And tomorrow morning the day of her doom would be at hand.