"George Albert Weasley! Get your hand away from that pie or so help me I will make it so you never have children!" shouted Ginny furiously.
"Alright, Alright!" cried George drawing back his empty hand. "Sheesh," he muttered in an undertone to Fred. "Great idea putting Ginny in charge."
"I didn't know Albert was your middle name." whispered Fred.
"It's not, it's Dana." returned George.
"Huh" said Fred thoughtfully. "Didn't know that either. I'd stick with Albert."
"Whatever Fredrick Ashley." George retorted scornfully.
"Hmm, I see why we've never discussed our middle names before." Fred said reflectively.
"How about you stop muttering about your girly names and try to fix the mashed potatoes!" Ginny demanded.
George rolled his eyes. "Remind me why we're doing this?" he asked Fred in an undertone.
"I dunno, masochism I guess." was Fred's only reply.
The four youngest Weasley's and Harry were making a late Christmas dinner to surprise their mother. Bill and Fleur had taken their new baby girl Aurore for a trip to visit Fleur' parents in France. Just as they were supposed to leave for home a large storm had descended.
Apparating in stormy weather was dangerous, and though Voldemort had been defeated six months ago the Floo networks were still severely damaged from various death eater attacks. Fleur had refused to take the baby on a portkey in the middle of such dreadful weather. Mrs. Weasley had been torn between her concern for the baby's health (Aurore being the well documented light of her existence) and her desire for a the whole family to be together on the first Christmas since the dark lord's reign had ended.
Fred had helpfully pointed out that the whole family wouldn't be there anyway since Charlie was stuck in Romania and Percy was a prick. For some reason this didn't seem to make her feel better.
So it happened that two days after Christmas Mr. and Mrs. Weasley headed off to London to pick the little family up at Kings Cross, the first travel arrangements that Fleur and Bill had been able to make.
Harry had been the one with the idea of a surprise dinner, which the twins promptly took credit for. None of them really knew anything about cooking, but they figured since Ginny was a girl she would probably have the biggest aptitude for it. So they put her in charge. A decision they were coming to regret more and more with each passing minute.
Ron sighed in aggravation from his seat at the counter. "Ginny I don't even think it's possible to make radishes into roses. Do you see how tiny they are?" he asked holding up a mutilated radish.
"Well use your wand, dummy!" ordered Ginny impatiently.
"I AM using my wand!" answered Ron through gritted teeth.
"Fine then, you do the potatoes and Fred will do the radishes!"
"I am not doing radish roses." insisted Fred.
"Well I can't do them! I'm cooking the turkey!" Ginny yelled.
"Really?" said Fred scathingly. "Then would you care to explain why it's doing a jig on top of the cupboard?"
Ginny flushed a deep red. "I AM WORKING ON THAT! I DON'T EXACTLY SEE YOU DOING ANYTHING TO GET IT DOWN!"
The turkey was in fact dancing on the cupboard. Ginny was sure she had done the spell exactly how she had seen her mother do it but as soon as she finished the incantation the turkey had jumped up and started shimmying around the kitchen. Every time she waved her wand to try and get it to stop it would shake a drumstick at her cheekily and dance out of reach.
"It's ok Gin, at least its getting browner." said Harry encouragingly from his position scraping the burned bits off the rolls. Ginny shot him a look.
At that moment Fred dropped the pot of lumpy, overcooked potatoes he was trying unsuccessfully to salvage and its contents flew across the increasingly sticky floor.
"AARGH!" screamed Ginny as the turkey jumped down on her head, spring boarding itself out of the window. Ginny hopped back and slipped in the pile of mashed potatoes and pushing George into shelf where the pies were cooling…..
════════
"How simply wonderful of you children to surprise us with Christmas dinner!" said Mr. Weasley happily from his seat at the table.
"Yes dears, it was marvelous of you!" Mrs. Weasley was in very good form, delighted both at having her little granddaughter in her arms again and the surprise arrival of Charlie at the train station.
Ron and Harry smiled weakly and Fred and George exchanged dark looks.
Ginny smiled. "It was really no big deal. I hope everyone likes Chinese…" she said passing around the cartons serenely.
Some hours later the family was sprawled comfortably around the living room talking, laughing and arguing pleasantly.
"Hey Ginny, have a candy." offered Fred.
"No, thanks…" answered Ginny rolling her eyes.
"Bill darling, I know I've said this before but the hair thing is just getting silly…for goodness sakes you're a father! I could just nip upstairs and bring down the scissors, it won't take me a moment…"
Bill laughed. "You don't say…"
"Gin, I'll trade you this bag of taffy for two chocolate frogs out of your stocking…"
"I'm good Fred, thanks." answered Ginny with a raised eyebrow.
"I like ees 'air. Eet is what made me love heem." Fleur announced desicevely, causing Mrs. Weasley to scowl
"Ha! Take that Ron! Check!" shouted George triumphantly.
Ron rolled his eyes. "First of all, That is a bishop not my king, and second of all…checkmate!" he finished moving his knight into position and watching the little figure leap of his horse and wrestle the George's king down. Harry laughed from where he sat viewing the match.
Ginny was curled up by the fire talking to Hermione on the Weasley's newly acquired and magically installed telephone.
"…so I used the numbers book you gave me and ordered take away…Ron picked it up and had to call Harry seven times to figure out the money…it really is silly using paper, what if it ripped?"
"Seriously Ginny, if you don't want taffy how about a bag of chocolate covered raisins…you know how much I love chocolate frogs…."
"Charlie where on earth did you find such excellent specimens?" Mr. Weasley was asking his son incredulously as he examined the collection of old television tubes his son had just presented him with.
"So how's Switzerland? Meet any devastatingly handsome Sven's yet?" inquired Ginny playfully.
Ron seemed to become very interested in the conversation all of the sudden.
Ginny laughed. "Gunter's are just as good! What…? Ugh, hang on Hermione." Ginny put the phone down and faced Fred who was hovering next to her. "Fred! I am not going to eat one of your stupid 'turn you into a kitchen sink' poisons!" she yelled.
"Ginny, you wound me!" said Fred with exaggerated hurt in his voice. "If it were a prank I'd give it to Ron! Excuse me for trying to give my baby sister a treat!"
Ginny snatched the bag impatiently from him and tossed a piece to a very merry Pigwidgeon. He caught it in his beak and continued to zoom happily around the room with no change.
Fred gave Ginny a look. "See? I told you."
All of a sudden Pig started flashing violent shades of purple, blue and orange.
Ginny stuck her tongue out. "See? I told you" she mimicked.
"Oh, way to go Ginny! You could have killed my owl!" cried Ron.
"Oh sure, worry about the owl but laugh if it's your sister!" she returned.
"What do you mean 'could have been killed'?" asked George indignantly. "Why Fred, I think they doubt our skills!"
Fred started to reply but was interrupted by the sound of a sharp, loud sired. The family turned to look at the large grandfather clock that stood by the window. Percy's hand had spun suddenly and violently to 'Mortal Danger'.
No one moved. No one spoke. For the first twenty seconds, no one breathed.
Mrs. Weasley was up first. She jumped off the couch to stand in front of the clock in abject horror. "No…" she whispered. "No no no no!" she cried, shaking her fist at the clock as though reprimanding it, telling it to move her son back to safety!
Mr. Weasley rose just as suddenly. "We'll find him." He said firmly, though his face was very pale.
"How?" asked Mrs. Weasley wildly. "How, when we've been looking for him for months? How are we going to find him now?"
"We'll find him!" he said forcefully. "Bill, go to the bank and try to find out anything about activity on Percy's account, maybe we can track him that way."
"But Dad, you have to have a key to get into an account! I don't even know what number Percy's account is!" protested Bill.
"Try! Ask around! Bribe a goblin! I don't care! Just try!" shouted Mr. Weasley.
Bill nodded and rose to leave.
"8-0-7-3!" cried Mrs. Weasley suddenly.
Bill looked at her confused.
"Before he left us it was 8073!"
Bill nodded again and disapperated with a resounding pop.
"Fred, go to diagon alley and comb every inch! Rally your contacts, get Mundungus to help!"
Fred rose and disapperated without a word.
"George, I want you to go straight to St. Mungo's, show the staff his picture and have them contact other hospitals, every hospital! Go!"
George was gone before he finished his sentence.
"Charlie, head straight to the Ministry to get the aurors involved. I'm pretty sure Kingsley is working tonight…no, on second thought Harry, why don't you go, you know the aurors best." said Mr. Weasley. "Charlie, I want you and Ron to go to Hogsmeade…maybe someone there knows something.
Mr. Weasley turned to the others as Charlie, Ron and Harry disappeared in a rush of air.
"Ginny, stay here and take care of your mother."
Ginny opened her mouth to demand to take part in the search, but caught sight of her mother's ashen face. She nodded silently.
Mr. Weasley took a deep breath and turned to his shaking wife. He pulled her close and kissed her head gently. "We'll find him." He whispered."
He grabbed the his wand which was lying on the coffee table and was gone.
Ginny looked dumbly at the receiver she held in her hand and then mechanically held to her ear.
"Percy's dying. I'll call you back." She said and hung up the phone. And then burst into tears.
Mrs. Weasley did not appear to hear. She sank to the floor and stared at the clock with an empty, desperate look in her eyes. Ginny crawled over to her and put her arms around her, crying softly. Fleur was holding the now wailing baby. Together they sat and watched the clock.
For hours they waited without a single change. Then all of the sudden, the bells stopped and the hand that bore Percy's name in gold lettering slipped back to 'Unknown Location'.
Ginny and Fleur stared at each other, and for the first time all night Mrs. Weasley drew in a long shaky breath.
"Is he…" began Ginny the tears beginning to well again.
"He's alive." Mrs. Weasley gasped out.
"How do you know?" asked Ginny quietly. "How do you know?"
"Because his hand would have disappeared if he…if he…" she couldn't get the words out
"He's alive." repeated Ginny.
"Yes." said Mrs. Weasley tremulously. "But where is he?" and for the first time all night she began to weep.