Altercations
By Neurotica
Seventeen
A team of Aurors and Forensics wizards Apparated onto the front lawn of the Burrow, followed closely by Arthur Weasley who burst past them and into the awaiting arms of his nearly hysterical wife. Sirius sighed and turned to his squads, assigning jobs in a rush. He and Tonks took the hardest job of all: questioning the Weasleys and Hermione. The cousins entered the Burrow through the kitchen door, finding the family congregated around the table, and Molly sobbing in Arthur's arms. Tonks led Ginny and Hermione, whose eyes were red and puffed, into the sitting room, leaving Sirius with the twins, Bill, Molly, and Arthur. He sat at the table with another sigh and started with Bill.
"When did you last see Ron?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Dinner last night," the oldest Weasley child answered promptly. "Charlie, Fleur, and I left here around eight."
"Did you notice anything odd when you left?"
Bill shook his head. "No, not really."
Sirius asked him a few more questions—Had Ron said anything about running away? Any idea where he could have gone if he had run away?—and moved on to the twins. Sirius had known Fred and George Weasley since they were eight years old, and he'd never seen them look more serious before. It was rather disturbing. Neither of them could tell the Auror anything about Ron's whereabouts after ten o'clock, when their younger brother yelled at them for filling his sock drawer with stink pellets.
"Not really our best prank ever," Fred said, attempting a smile.
"But we hadn't done anything to him in a while and we didn't want him to think we'd forgotten about him," George finished.
All Molly and Arthur could tell him for certain was that they'd said good night to Ron at nine—Arthur had to be in at the Ministry early, so they'd turned in early.
"What about the wards?" Fred asked suddenly. "Can't they tell you if someone's come or gone?"
Sirius nodded. "I've got someone checking the wards right now. Listen, I'm going to go up to Ron's room, if that's all right, to see if I can find anything." Arthur nodded his permission and Sirius left the kitchen.
He entered the sitting room, glancing at the Weasley family clock to confirm what Molly said as he passed. "Tonks," he said quietly, interrupting the conversation his cousin was having with Ginny. "Come upstairs with me, please."
Tonks nodded, smiled bracingly at the girls, and stood to follow Sirius up the crooked stairs. They found Ron's room easily—it was the one with all the orange Chudley Cannons merchandise.
"And Remus says Harry's room was a mess," Sirius muttered, taking in the clothes and books scattered all over the floor. "What did you get from the girls?"
"Well, he was definitely in here around midnight," Tonks began. "Hermione was in here with him."
Sirius blinked. "Hermione Granger?"
She nodded. "She says they were just talking."
"Yeah, that was always my excuse too," Sirius said without any trace of humor in his eyes. "All right, so Ron was here at least until midnight. Did Hermione say anything about him acting oddly?"
"I asked, and she said no more than usual."
"Okay, start looking around for anything out of the ordinary," Sirius said, turning to look around the room. He took out his wand and cast a charm that would detect any magic performed in the room in the last twenty-four hours. His eyes widened a touch when his spell concluded that a Stunning spell had been cast just past two a.m.
"Sirius, you need to see this," Tonks said slowly. Sirius turned. His cousin was at Ron's desk, holding a piece of parchment. He took it from her hands and read aloud:
Mum and Dad—
I've run away to somewhere you won't find me. It's better this way.
Goodbye.
Love,
Ron
"Bull shit," Sirius scoffed. "First of all, that's the worst runaway note I've ever read in my life—mine was a hundred times better than this fuzz. Second of all, there was a stunning spell cast in here last night. Ron wouldn't leave home without his Cleansweep... Or his wand," he added, spotting Ron's willow wand under a stack of comic books.
They heard footsteps on the staircase and turned around find Remus standing at the door. "Find anything?" he asked awkwardly.
"Ron's wand," Sirius said, waving it around. "Someone used a Stunner, and this note—I think it was planted."
Remus took the note and read it, his eyebrows high as he finished. "This isn't Ron's handwriting, anyway," he said, handing it back to Sirius.
"How do you know?" Tonks asked.
"It's legible," Remus said simply. "I taught the boy for three years, and I was never able to read his papers without a translator. His handwriting is worse than yours, Sirius. This looks like..." Remus shook his head. "But it's not possible..."
"What?" Sirius said.
Remus sighed. "It looks like Percy's handwriting, like he wrote this really hastily."
"Percy?" Sirius said flatly.
"Like I said, it's not possible. But that's what it looks like to me."
"You're sure?"
Remus nodded. "Pretty sure..."
Sirius turned to Tonks. "We're going to Azkaban." Tonks nodded. "Did you tell Harry?" he asked, turning back to Remus.
The other wizard nodded. "He's downstairs with the girls."
"Figures," Sirius said, looking at the note again. "Before we go, I want to see what the others found out about the wards."
"What are we going to tell Molly and Arthur?" Tonks asked.
"No idea," the Head Auror said. "We'll figure something out. C'mon."
The three of them went downstairs where they were immediately ambushed by Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and the twins, who were all asking questions at once. "We're not sure yet," Sirius said, prying Harry's death grip off his robes. "Just hang tight. We're going to find him..."
Molly had gone upstairs to rest for a bit, so Sirius led Arthur outside to fill him in on what he and Tonks found in Ron's bedroom. After seeing the note, Arthur confirmed that it was indeed Percy's handwriting.
"But how could he have written this?" Arthur asked. "He's in..." he trailed off, his jaw clenched. It seemed he still hadn't gotten over his third oldest son's betrayal of the family.
"I'm not sure, but Tonks and I are going out there when we finish here," Sirius said. "We'll find out, Arthur," he promised.
"Hey, boss!" Auror Savage called, approaching the others. "We checked the wards around the property, and there was a hole big enough for a well-built wizard to get through just on the other side of the orchard. Magical Forensics found a few footprints, and they're analyzing them now."
"So they broke through the wards?" Tonks asked. "How are the wards still up if there's a hole in them?"
"Well, that's the odd thing," Savage said. "We don't know. The wards are still functioning properly except that one spot."
"I want somebody to reinforce the wards," Sirius said. "Tonks and I are going to Azkaban. Contact me when Forensics finishes with those footprints." Savage nodded and went back to word.
Arthur wanted to go to the prison with the Aurors, but Sirius talked him out of it, telling the frenzied man that he needed to stay with his wife and children. The last time Sirius had seen Percy, the younger wizard had been thin and sickly looking, his hair long and dirty—Arthur didn't need to see his son like that right now. Remus, however, didn't listen when Sirius told him that he didn't need to be there. So Sirius, Remus, and Tonks Apparated to the stormy seacoast and boarded the small wooden Muggle boat. Sirius tapped the edge with his wand to speed up their progress to Azkaban, and the three of them sat wondering what was happening to Ron and if they'd ever be able to find him.
Azkaban Prison wasn't the punishment it had once been when the dementors guarded the prisoners. But although the dementors had left a few years ago, the chilling atmosphere remained. Some said it was merely psychological that one could walk into the stone fortress and feel as though there was no hope of ever being happy again. Some said it was because the dementors had been there for so long the stones of the prison walls had absorbed the power of the dark creatures. The prisoners were no longer left with only their worst memories as company, but many had started to go mad nonetheless, and nobody inside the Ministry of Magic could explain why.
In the maximum-security ward, where the majority of the prisoners were housed these days, the lingering effects of the dementors were more intense than in any other part of the prison. The farthest cell in the corridor held a young man belonging to a family that was widely known to be fighting against the dark Lord Voldemort. His twenty years of life didn't hold many bad memories, save perhaps his frustrations with his younger twin brothers.
Percy Weasley's worst memories consisted of the last few years before his capture by Sirius Black and Kingsley Shacklebolt. He'd always been very ambitious, determined to have more than what he grew up with. His parents had always encouraged him in his studies and his goals of eventually becoming Minister of Magic.
But that had been before he'd discovered his true path in life.
The Dark Lord had promised him power beyond his wildest dreams—wealth, fame, respect, Percy could have had it all. Percy and the Dark Lord had much in common—both had been Head Boys during their seventh year at Hogwarts; both were ashamed of their families. Percy knew much about his master, about his tainted bloodline, and his Muggle of a father. This made no difference to Percy; he never thought much about wizarding bloodlines. After all, his own family was nothing but a bunch of blood traitors.
Percy's first mission for the Dark Lord had been to murder Harry Potter using a poison developed by the Dark Lord himself during the first war. Percy's family had moved in with Potter and his guardians in the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, and Percy had been able to keep his cover and get access into the old house. One morning, Percy had snuck into Number Twelve with the poison. He'd soon enlisted the help of Kreacher the house-elf. Percy ordered Kreacher to hide the poison until the werewolf Lupin left for his mission in France and Potter had gone to bed. The Dark Lord warned Percy that the poison would cause much pain for Potter and that Black would come running to his precious godson when he heard the boy's screams. Percy personally made sure a silencing charm was placed around Potter's bedroom.
That was where Percy made his first mistake; he'd miscalculated which room was Potter's, and had instead put a silencing charm around his sister Ginny's room. Luckily for Percy, his master had been more upset with Severus Snape for brewing the antidote, and Percy wasn't punished too fiercely for his blunder.
Percy now spent his days waiting for the moment his master would come to set him free. He hadn't forgotten the night in the Ministry holding cells, when Naomi had come to bust Snape out. He understood that it would have been quite difficult to sneak numerous prisoners out of the Ministry—Black wasn't the only Auror there that night—and he knew it'd only be a matter of time before his fellow Death Eaters would come for him.
The door into the ward opened. Percy paid no attention to it; the wizard guards came in often to check the prisoners. Only when three sets of footsteps continued down the corridor and stopped outside Percy's cell did the young wizard look away from the ceiling. "What do you want?" he sneered at the visitors.
Black approached the bars and opened the door using a nonverbal charm. Only select Ministry Aurors knew the charm, cutting down on the amount of people who could open the cells. "We're going to have a chat, Percy," Black said evenly. "Get up and come quietly. Or if not, I can put a Silencing Charm on you and drag you out by your ears. Your choice."
Percy glared at the Head Auror, but stood. He'd always had a slight fear of Sirius Black—most people did. Black grabbed his upper arm tightly, keeping his wand pointed at the prisoner as they passed Tonks and Lupin. "Hello, Professor." Percy smirked. "Did you enjoy your meal a few months back? Too bad the silver didn't do its job properly..."
"Shut it, Percy," Black growled, jabbing his wand sharply into Percy's side. Percy chuckled lightly at the reaction and the startled glance he saw Black and Lupin exchange.
The Aurors and Lupin led Percy to the prison's interrogation room—Percy was sure he knew why, but he wanted to watch Dumbledore's stooges struggle to get information out of him. Black pushed his prisoner roughly into a cold metal chair, which immediately wrapped Percy in chains around the arms and legs. Black and Tonks sat across from him, and Lupin leaned calmly against the wall, observing.
"Where's your brother, Percy?" Sirius asked coldly.
"Which one?" Percy replied smartly. Slowly, Sirius reached into his robes and pulled out the note found in Ron's room and placed it on the table in front of Percy.
"Where's Ron?" the Head Auror asked quietly.
"How should I know?" Percy asked stiffly.
"That's your handwriting," Sirius responded. "I've got two people who've confirmed it, including your father. So unless you want to deal with the consequences, I suggest you tell me where Ron is."
"Consequences?" Percy laughed. "I'm in prison; what could you possibly do to make do to make it any worse?"
"Oh I could do a lot, Percy," Sirius said in a deathly quiet voice. "I haven't forgotten what you did to my godson and I could make your pitiful existence much more miserable than it already is. So be a good lad and tell us what you know."
Percy sneered. "I don't know anything about Ron."
"But you wrote this note, right? How did the note get from your hands to Ron's desk? As you've said, you're in prison. Percy, if I have to use Veritaserum, I will."
Percy considered them for a moment. "You should really keep a closer eye on your Aurors, Sirius." He grinned darkly.
Sirius sat up straighter in his chair. "What do you mean?"
"What's it worth to you?" Percy asked, examining his fingernails.
"Percy, I won't hesitate to take a bit of frustration out on you. We're not bargaining here; you're going to tell me what you know, and then you're going back to your cell until I need you again," Sirius said, highly tempted to pick up his wand to curse Percy anyway.
"Why should I tell you anything if I'm not getting something out of it?"
"It's either that, or I beat you to a bloody pulp," Sirius said. "And nobody in this room will stop me."
Percy looked at Remus and Tonks; both stared stonily back. He'd already pushed his limits quite far, and he knew if he smarted off to Sirius anymore, the Head Auror wouldn't hesitate to make his threat a reality. Sirius was twirling his wand between his fingers, glaring at the prisoner, waiting. Percy decided he wasn't in the mood to deal with the concussion Sirius would surely give him for not answering.
"Very well," Percy said, attempting his normal pompous tone, and at the same time, trying to keep the frightened squeak from his voice. "One of your Aurors is working for the Dark Lord. He was inspecting the prison one night and told me of the plan. He said the Dark Lord needed me to write a note resembling my brother's handwriting. I don't know where Ron is; probably in the Dark Lord's hideout. But I do know he's there as bait. The Dark Lord is trying to get Potter to go after Ron, and when he does, the Dark Lord will kill him."
Sirius exchanged another glance with Remus. "Who's the Auror?"
"I believe his name is Johnson."
Later that evening, Emmeline arrived at the Burrow just after work. She'd tried to get away earlier, but her workload had been far too heavy. Molly was still asleep—when asked, Arthur admitted to slipping a Sleeping Draught in his wife's tea. Emmeline didn't blame him. There'd been no word from Sirius, Remus, and Tonks, so there was no need in having Molly awake and pacing around.
Emmeline and Bill took care of preparing dinner for everybody, though none of them seemed to have any sort of appetite. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny hadn't moved from their spots on the sitting room sofa. Hermione had been crying most of the day while Harry held her. Emmeline couldn't imagine what it felt like for them, wondering where their best friend was and if he was even still alive. Sirius told her once that just being associated with him, Harry, and Remus, was a death wish. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Voldemort knew who Harry's best friends were—Hermione's parents had been murdered because their daughter's friend happened to be the Boy-Who-Lived. It was no way for kids to live, fearing that they or their family could be killed or taken from them.
The backdoor of the Burrow opened and Sirius, Remus, and Tonks finally entered. The sound of the door attracted all the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione in the sitting room—they came running, staring expectantly at the new arrivals for news. Arthur pushed past them, having just come down from his and Molly's bedroom.
"Did you find out anything?" he asked Sirius desperately.
The Head Auror looked past Arthur at their audience. "Perhaps we should talk outside..." Arthur grabbed his cloak from a kitchen chair and allowed Sirius to steer him into the backyard.
Inside, Remus barely had a chance to sit before Harry practically pounced on him. "What happened?" he demanded quietly.
"Harry," Remus said, shaking his head. "Now isn't the time."
"Where's our brother?" Fred asked. Emmeline thought she head his voice catch.
"We're not sure," Tonks answered. "Look, you've all got to understand that this is going to take some time. We've only got one lead, and it's not a very good one..."
Ginny sniffed and rested her head against Harry's shoulder; he put an arm around her shoulder, his free hand holding Hermione's tightly. "You will find him, right?" Harry asked, looking from Tonks to Remus.
"We're going to try," Remus said hoarsely. It sounded as though it was breaking his heart to watch the kids worry like this.
Bill cleared his throat softly. "Why don't you lot go upstairs for a bit?" he told the younger children. Fred and George led Harry, Hermione and Ginny out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Emmeline sat beside Remus, who immediately took her hand in his.
"What happened at Azkaban?" Charlie asked. "Did you talk to Percy?"
"Oh yeah," Tonks said darkly. "We talked to him. He admitted to writing the note, but he's got no idea where Ron is—and this was after Sirius threatened to beat the hell out of him. He said Mark Johnson has been working for Voldemort for a while, and Sirius is really pissed."
"The Auror?" Emmeline asked with a raised eyebrow. "I knew him in school, dated him for a month in fourth year, actually..."
"Really?" Remus asked with his own raised eyebrows. "You know, you and I have this odd habit of dating Death Eaters. It's very disturbing." Emmeline slapped him on the shoulder.
Bill laughed slightly, but with very little conviction. "Has Sirius talked to this Johnson yet? Maybe he knows where we can find Ron."
"After he talks with your father, Sirius is going to the Ministry," Remus said. "Look, Bill, Charlie, right now we've got no idea where Ron is. Percy was no help except telling us about Johnson. We're going to do our best, but unless we can figure out where Voldemort's hideout is..." He sighed heavily. "We're going to do our best..."
Sirius and Arthur entered a few minutes later, Arthur looking angrier than any of them had ever seen him. He passed through the kitchen without a word to anybody and went up the stairs, presumably to be with Molly. Bill and Charlie followed their father not long after, and Sirius stood to leave for the Ministry. "I'll meet you guys back at Headquarters," he said tiredly. "Remus, thanks for coming to Azkaban with us," he added awkwardly.
Remus nodded without looking at him and Sirius Disapparated with a pop. Tonks was going to stay at the Burrow that night with Bill and Charlie for extra security, and Remus and Emmeline prepared to take their own leave. Harry glared at Remus when the werewolf went upstairs to get him, but Remus' raised eyebrow had more power, and Harry followed him to the fireplace without a fight.
Once back at Number Twelve, Harry stumbled out of the fireplace to the table and fell into a chair, promptly burying his head in his hands. Emmeline, wanting to give Remus and Harry some time alone, said she was going up to check on Naomi. The older wizard sat beside the boy and put an arm around his shoulder. "Harry, are you okay?" he asked quietly.
Harry shook his head and lowered his hands. "It's all my fault," he muttered.
Remus sighed heavily. He'd had a feeling Harry would try to blame himself for this at some point, but he hadn't been able to figure out what to say to him when it came up. "This isn't your fault," he said quietly but firmly. "You've done nothing to cause this, and there was nothing you could have done to stop it."
"No, but I'm the one Voldemort really wants," Harry said bitterly, not looking at Remus. "My friends suffer because I survived a curse that should have killed me. You and Sirius have been through hell because of me. If I wasn't around, everyone would be a lot happier, not to mention safer."
Remus increased his grip on Harry's shoulder. "Look at me," he said sternly. Harry ignored him, so Remus reached out with his free hand and turned the boy's face to look at him. "I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that again, do you understand me? Nothing that has happened to any of us is because of you. As for being happier without you..." Remus shook his head, looking directly into Harry's eyes. "Harry, you mean the world to me. I would die if it meant you would be happy and safe. You've made me happier than you can ever imagine by just existing. From the day you were born, I knew my life would never be the same with you around, and I mean that in the best way possible. Without you, I'd have no reason to fight, or to live. Not one person who loves you would be happier if you were gone. Look, there are three people in the entire world that I cannot live without. That's Sirius, Emmeline, and you. The three of you are my world.
"Now, do you honestly believe Voldemort would stop coming after us if you were gone? Harry, he's been after Sirius and me since we left Hogwarts. We've pissed him off way too many times in our lives, and that has nothing to do with you. I know you're worried about Ron, but you cannot blame yourself for what's happened. We will do everything we can to bring him back. In the meantime, I need you to not do anything stupid."
"He's my best friend!" Harry said. "If it was Sirius Voldemort had, wouldn't you want to rush in and save him?"
"Yes," Remus said honestly. "I understand where you're coming from, but please, Harry, leave this to us. Voldemort wants you to go after Ron. He expects it. You'd be playing right into his hands."
"So you just want me to sit around and do nothing," Harry said flatly.
"I know it's hard," Remus said. "But sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is sit on the sidelines and watch."
"I want to help..."
"I know. If there's anything you can do to help, you'll be the first to know, but until that time, please—I'm begging you here—don't put yourself in a position that you could get hurt, okay?"
Harry was unable to look away from Remus' eyes, though he tried. Finally, he nodded jerkily. "Okay."
Remus smiled slightly. "Thank you," he said hoarsely, pulling Harry close. The boy buried his head into the wizard's chest, and Remus saw his shoulders begin to shake before he felt a wet spot appear on his shirt.