Deconstruction

Chapter Thirteen: Two Faces of the Same Coin

The meeting with the Weasleys ended when Arthur was called back to the Ministry. While Remus went off back to his cottage, Molly busied herself with making dinner as the brothers continued to discuss finding Percy again. They went into another room with the rest of pictures and other things from Oliver's flat.

"What the Hell was Percy mixed up in?" exclaimed Bill frustrated. "He never does things easy."

Charlie took a deep breath. "What do you think Remus meant by he can handle it? It's like he knows something. Every time we've hit a dead end, he comes up with something more."

"You ever wonder how he makes his living. I mean ever since that Toad, Umbridge, made it so that werewolves and the like can't find employment so easily," said Fred, thinking out loud. "He was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor one year. It was Percy's seventh year and our fifth. Ron's third."

"Yeah, and he was very good, too," said George. "I'd say the best DADA professor we've ever had, but after Snape announced to the world that he was a werewolf, Lupin didn't stick around."

Bill said, "We don't know him as well as you two do. I mean we've known him on and off and only in the meetings. But, you're right. Did Professor Lupin and Percy know each other outside of class perhaps?"

"I don't know," said Fred as he glanced at George.

George added, "Percy was Head Boy and it was a very busy year. The Dementors moved in to catch Sirius Black, and he had his N.E.W.T.s on top of that. How he made it through that year was amazing."

"Okay, let's assume a couple of things," said Bill as he got to his feet. "First off, let's assume for the first time that Percy knew what was going on. He decided to leave on his own because that's what the evidence says. Let's also assume that Remus Lupin knows what's going and that the timeline is wrong. Percy didn't kill Penelope, and if he along with Alistair were friends with her, then we can assume that neither of them would kill her. So, that leaves Lestrange. He could be the one behind all of it. Everything."

"If Lestrange is as dangerous and deadly as Remus has said, then how can Percy face off against him? What makes Remus so sure?" asked Charlie.

"I don't know," admitted Bill. "All I know is, if Remus has that much faith in Percy, then we need to believe that he's not dead and that he's somewhere out there. What if Percy had planned it all this way? I mean if there was one thing Percy knew how to do, it's plan ahead. He's always been very good at chess."

Fred shook his head, "That's assuming we're right. If this whole thing has taught any of us anything, it's that we don't know Percy at all."

They fell into silence after that and remained that way for a good amount of time. The puzzle was just getting larger with each passing instant. One could put a puzzle of a picture together and could still be unable to understand what the picture means. That was going to be the end result.

When Tonks regained consciousness again, she was free of the chains. She still couldn't move her body though. Someone had put a partial body binding curse on her. It was more terrifying than the chains. Her whole body was paralyzed, except for her head. She shut her eyes. She heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

The person came down to her level and caressed her cheek. Tonks would have shuddered if she could. His fingers grazed her lips again. It was familiar sensation. The same one from before. She opened her mouth just enough to take a nip of the fingers, but they cleverly pulled away before she had a chance. Her teeth clashed against each other, making her jaw hurt.

"I see you're awake," said the voice calmly. "I must apologize for the lapse in hospitality earlier."

"Who are you?" whispered Tonks in a hoarse voice. "Where am I?"

"You looks so much like her. Most of the family has boys now," he whispered almost wistfully. "Yes, you look so much like her."

"Like who?" demanded Tonks. She was having difficulty breathing.

"You look like her before the Ministry threw us into Azkaban," the voice continued. "So young. Remarkable." The fingers caressed her cheek again. Tonks used whatever strengthen she had to jerk her head away. The fingers seemed to have sensed her next movement and a lock of her hair was caught in his fingers. "Very much like her," he whispered.

"Who?" she whispered desperately. "I'm an Auror. There will be people looking for me. It won't take long. If you just let me go now, it will give you enough time to move on. What do you want from me?"

"The Ministry ruined my life," the voice whispered. His fingers gripped the lock of her hair tightly. He pulled slightly and a burst of pain resonated in her scalp. "They took everything from me."

"I don't understand. You won't tell me who you are. How can I understand?" moaned Tonks as she felt tears prick the corner of her eyes. "You're hurting me." It was frustrating when someone demands understanding without the slightest explanation. "Make me understand."

The person didn't want to explain because he was gone before she even realized it. Tonks was not only tired and afraid, she was also hungry. She hadn't eaten in hours, but it really wasn't that important at the moment. Nothing in her Auror training would have prepared her for this. She didn't know what was going to happen to her and that was the scariest thing of all.

Arthur was busy talking to Minister Diggory who was explaining some of the situation. "I have an uneasiness about this upcoming meeting," he revealed as he poured himself a cup of tea. "It's been too quiet lately."

"Why should that bother you, Amos?" asked Arthur.

Minister Diggory gave a shadow of a smile. He had thrown himself completely into his work after he was done grieving the death of his only child. However, no parent could ever be over grieving about the death of a child. "I've heard that you're looking for Percy," said the minister.

Arthur was a little amazed. "How did you find out?"

"The Ministry has its eyes and ears everywhere."

Arthur felt a little uncomfortable as he took a sip of his tea. "Interesting. It's surprising that you'd say that in your position, yet your predecessor was taken down by his own corruption." Arthur didn't mean it as an insult. He was just pointing out something that interested him.

Minister Diggory sat back down on the his favorite armchair. Arthur was meeting with him in the Minister's residence rather in his office. "The Ministry has a special network that maintains the balance of power within it. It's to ensure that the Ministry doesn't crumble under its own weight. The Game has been around for almost as long as the Ministry has been around."

"The Game?"

"It's a special network of agents trained to be Aurors, but they're not. They called players," said Minister Diggory. "I believe it has been call that traditionally because the Ministry didn't want it to seem too sinister."

"Sounds pretty harmless to me."

"I don't even know who most of the players are, but I have a feeling that your son might have been one. How else could he take down the last Minister?"

Arthur's mouth was agape with shock and he snapped his mouth shut. "That's impossible. Percy wouldn't do that."

"How do you know that, Arthur?" asked Minister Diggory. "I looked into it today after I heard from one the players of the Game. His background and education are what makes me suspect him. As a father, you must be proud to have such a brilliant son."

Arthur nodded. "I refuse to believe that there is a network of people out there in charge of watching our every move."

"There are been attempts on my life that haven't been brought the public's attention," revealed Minister Diggory. "I'm afraid I'm not that popular with some of the hardliners. I'm hoping this meeting with drum up some support and goodwill among us. It has been very difficult to settle things since I came into office. You wouldn't believe the other messes that were left behind. Your son was his aide, so my own aide has gone through the files."

"What did Percy leave behind?" asked Arthur.

"He left all of the evidence against Fudge," replied Minister Diggory. "It was so much evidence that Fudge confessed. He was utterly betrayed by Percy. He thought he had control over him."

Arthur gave a hollow laugh. "That was probably Fudge's biggest error, thinking he had any control of over him. If there is one thing from all this I have learned about my own son, it's that."

Minister Diggory's eyes flickered for a moment. His voice softened as he said, "Arthur, just because you have other children doesn't mean that he's any less your child. I would hate to think that you will live the regret of never knowing him. You may not get that chance." He looked away for a moment.

Arthur didn't look at the Minister for a moment and knew that his friend required a moment. "There was evidence that something happened to him, but I don't know what happened," he whispered. "Something terrible that he couldn't come to us and ask for help. He was always like that, Amos. No matter how hard something was, Percy just had to figure it out for himself."

"Has he always been successful?"

"Come to think of it, yes. Always."

"Then, you maybe worrying about nothing, Arthur," pointed out the Minister. He cleared his throat as a gesture to change topics and return to business. "Do you have the revised itinerary for the meetings?"

"Yes," said Arthur. "I've read it over. You want me to meet and greet them? Are you so sure about that?"

"I would rather have someone I trust meet them. I've gotten rid of almost all the people who were under Fudge," replied Minister Diggory. "The Ministry needed a fresh start after all that. Arthur, how would you feel about being promoted out of your current position?"

Arthur shook his head, "I'm afraid, Amos, that I can't possibly do that. You have your passions and I have mine."

Minister Diggory gave him a smile, "I figured as much, but it didn't hurt to ask."

It was going to take some planning. Percy was going to have a plan several phases ahead. He had found a safe place to stay that he used to meet Ali and Penny at before. He had taken a big risk going there, but he had little choice at this point. He had to prepare himself for what he had to do.

Percy had some powers on his side. He had the ability to be invisible when required, maneuvering and manipulating the background to the point where his actions bled into the foreground. Many people would consider that ability that of a villains, but that was a matter of belief, morality, and disposition. If Percy was feeling particularly deceitful, he was known to use it. After all, growing up in the Weasley family as the third son with years separating his younger siblings from the older ones required that he learn how to manipulate his environment.

And this what he did in so many words and way to Dr. White, despite his fondness for her, Percy controlled her as a means to an end. However, Percy meant everything he said to her and that was where his other power came from. He was charismatic, but only when he told the truth and didn't hold himself back. Percy knew his weaknesses better than his strengthens.

He was the type of man who one could know for years and still know nothing about. He was the type of man who kept parts of him sealed away because he was a highly sensitive person, and the only person in his family who could attest to that was his mother. His friends who could say that about him were Oliver and Penny. They were the ones who knew him best.

He was both compassionate and empathetic. A person who was filled with deep complexities that his brothers were only starting to discover. Why Percy never touted his own goodness and would glorify his shallow accomplishments? That was unknown to himself, but it was because it showed some weakness in a family full of brothers. Bill and Charlie had what one could classify as manly occupations, which was something that Percy found hard to live up to.

That was how he was up till his last year in Hogwarts. It was the year that changed his life completely. In that single year, his path was set in a different direction, but even he couldn't have imagined where this would lead him.

Percy supposed that Alistair didn't know what was going to happen either. There was a part of Percy that couldn't declare Alistair as an enemy. They had known each other for only a few years, but under the worst of circumstances. That was what was going to make the next phase difficult for Percy. Because even though Alistair had betrayed him and Penelope, Percy couldn't imagine him doing whatever it took to stop him.

Even with his limited years of experience, Percy was still more than capable of carrying out one of the rules of his occupation: complete the task with whatever means necessary. Percy sighed. He didn't even have a wand with him, but that wasn't too important him. He couldn't cast spells that required him to say incantations. What he did at the hospital was an ability that took years of honing and practice. It was uncommon power among full grown wizards and witches.

Most of the time, a wand was used to focus the powers of any given witch or wizard. However, every one of them had the ability to use magic without a wand, but it was a skill that waned with the usage of a wand. Using wands focused the magic, but they also became the root of dependency among the wizarding population. During Percy's training, he was forced to learn how to focus his magic without the aid of a wand.

As his instructor and recruiter told him, one had to be able to function without a wand just in case one was ever separated from it. Percy faithfully learned how to harness this ability and was more graceful in its use than Penny ever was, but then again her gift was in healing. She was able to learn all those powers and spells easily.

Percy and Alistair were matched evenly in skill. Combined with Percy's inability to completely see Alistair as an enemy, and that was going to be a deciding factor in all of it. Percy just didn't know how deep Ali was.

Tonks awoke again when someone had taken off the body bind on her. The same person pressed a cloth against her head. She jerked away from the person because she could tell that he was one of the people who was holding her captive. The hand didn't pull back, but proceed cautiously with the cloth.

"I can't stay here for long," he whispered. It was the second voice. "He's not going to kill you, but you're going to wish he has after a while. I know I do."

Tonks' throat was dry, but she was able to say in a weak voice, "Who are you?"

"A fool," he replied. "I'm too weak to stop him. He's been doing this to me for months. I need you to get to Percy. You know him, don't you?" He didn't wait for her to answer as he hurried on, "He has to know that whatever happened it wasn't him who did it. It wasn't even me. He's got to stop him. He's mad." The voice was so different from earlier, but the fear was very real.

He pulled his hand back suddenly and got to his feet. From what she could see, he pocketed the cloth, which was a handkerchief. He hastily stepped back from her as the other man walked in. She raised her head slightly.

"What are you doing?" demanded the man. She could tell that he had a beard. He drew out his wand and raised it. "Ah. I see. It seems that you've been able to break free again."

The other man stepped back away from him. "Please just let her go. She can't possibly hurt us. Wipe her memory clean and let her go. Just don't do anything else to her. Like what you did to Percy. I've done everything else you asked."

"What did you do to Percy?" asked Tonks as she sat up. She realized that she was dressed just in her undershirt and jeans. Her feet were bare. She felt cold and she didn't even want to know who removed her other clothes. "What did you do to him?"

"I'll tell you what he did," started the younger man. "He had me set up a trap and he used me—"

"Enough of this," interrupted the older man as he pointed the wand straight at the other man's chest. "Imperio"

The facial expression on the younger man's face contorted into a cold, emotionless void. Tonks realized that was the reason why he was so different before. The older man turned his wand on her and she pulled away from it. She pressed her back against the cold wall.

"You keep asking about him." There was a distinct mockery in his tone. "For someone, you've never met before; you care a great deal about him. One might even believe that you are in love with him." There was disgust coupled with layers of mockery. "I'll give you some credit though. At least you have the sense to fall for a pureblood unlike your mother, even if he is a Muggle lover. Considering how he felt about that Mudblood witch, I'm sure that you would have made a lovely pair."

"It's amazing how much you resemble her," he said as his expression soften. "If only she was more loyal to me, but it seems that fate hasn't been all that cruel to me." He stooped down to her level and grabbed her chin. "You're young enough to be molded, but not so young that you wouldn't be enjoyable."

Tonks was practically plastered to the wall. Her body was weak from hunger and her throat was parched. He caught her chin. No more words came from his lips as he pressed them hard against hers. She kept her jaw clutched and her teeth together to keep him from invading her mouth any further. Her eyes were wide open in shock. She was too afraid to pull back and too repulse to allow it to continue.

He didn't give her time to decide as he pulled back as quickly as he had descended. She stared at him wide eyed. "My dear, I am the one who decides what happens here even to the smallest detail," he whispered. A chill ran down her spine as she tried to look away from him, but he wouldn't allow it. He gripped her chin tightly and let her go. She almost sank to the floor.

"Go out," he ordered the younger man who slowly moved out. "I need you to come back and tell me what I need to know."

"Yes," said the younger man as his voice returned to the way it was the first time Tonks had heard it.

As soon as he was gone, the older man turned his attention back to her. "I decide who lives and who dies," he told her coldly.

Tonks didn't say anything as she looked at him as it began to sink in that whatever he had planned for her was a fate worse than death.

AN: Tonks' mother's family isn't the nice pureblood family like the Weasleys. Bellatrix is pretty twisted, so I'd make the assumption that her husband would be as well. Arthur is having a meeting with the Minister at that same moment. The meeting with the foreign VIPs is to take place not too long after that. And since July 16th is coming soon, the rest of the story will be quickly. There will be double posts for the week. Once in the beginning and another again towards the end of the week.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.