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Imaj-natif – Thanks for a wonderful review! And I update again! I am on holidays now and have time to write. It won't be so from September till January. So, I use all time I have now. It won't be just Percy's POV as you'll see from this chapter. Charlie's POV might also appear as well as some other family members'.
On with the story!
"George!' – I exclaim but my brother presses a finger to his lips.
I frown and shut up. Than I whisper: "What's up? What are they talking about?"
"Percy," - he answers darkly.
We just came back from our shop. Well, we have an apartment above the shop but we come to the Burrow for the weekends because of Mother. She is so worried and upset and all that and wants to see all her children as often as possible. So, weekends are for her. There's security on the doors and all but we know how to break it without anyone knowing. So, the question arises: why do we need this protection-curses if even such prankers as George and me can easily break them? Voldemort will break them before anyone of us we'll be able to shout: "Help!"
So, noone in the house knows that we are already home. Every time we promise Mum that we'll knock before entering the house. But… Every time… Well, you know us…
"Charlie! Don't tell me that Fred and George's childish, silly pranks can be the reason for Percy leaving us," - mum says disbelievingly.
"It's not the main reason, Mum. But it's one of them. And it is really the main one why he is not coming back, - Charlie says patiently. – Do you remember last Christmas? I understand that they were angry with him but what they did was inexcusable even if he behaved not so as they would have wanted him to".
I blink and frown. I don't quiet remember what we did. It was almost eight months ago. Something nasty, I think. But he deserved that, didn't he? Why is Charlie talking about us being the reason for leaving? It was Voldemort's return and Percy's promotion. It wasn't…It wasn't anything to do with us.
"He thinks that we had never trusted him. That we expected him to do something like that, - Charlie continues. – And the younger ones even more so than you or Dad. Mum, I didn't hear their quarrel. I don't know how it really was. But it seems to me that you and Dad overreacted about that promotion and all. And knowing Percy's ambitions… You could have been more gentle. After all… He wasn't on the third task. He didn't hear Harry. And all that… You couldn't expect him to jump with joy when Father said that Fudge wanted him as a spy on the family. And well… Fudge promoted him anyway although he could no longer be a spy for him, isn't it?"
I remember that day. Percy came home very happy. He didn't quiet believe in Voldemort's return. He and father argued several times about that. Nothing serious, though, before that day. Father got angry and started shouting before Percy even could finish one sentence, a very rare thing with our usually calm Father. Percy wanted to say something but Father didn't let him. He was shouting for about ten minutes, I think. Percy didn't get a chance to say anything, now returning back to the events that took place two years ago, I have to admit that. When Father finished, Percy was silent for a minute or two. Than he shouted something about his loyalties and his choice, rushed to his room, packed his trunk and left in less than an hour. Mum was crying, Father was angry. We all were angry. At Percy. For leaving. For not believing.
Charlie's words echo in my head. "You could have been more gentle", "expected him"... Yes. We, George and me, always thought Percy different from us. But we never expected him to do something like what he did after the Turnament. I suddenly remember how worried he was during the second task when Harry and Ron didn't emerge from the water in time… He was worried and he even forgot that he was one of the juries. Ron was not too happy when Percy was dragging him to the bank but … Why did he think that we expected something that horrible from him. But, after all, we did nothing to prevent him from leaving, nothing to calm Dad down. All we thought about was: "Percy's carrier is more important for him than his family!" But, honestly, did we give him any serious reason to believe in Voldemort's return? Apart from our trust in Dumbledore and Harry. And that was… He didn't trust us. He didn't trust his own family. That's what hurt us mostly.
Our pranks… We never wanted to hurt him. His seriousness. His bossiness. Mum always talking about him as an example for us…All that made him an ideal target for our jokes. But he never looked hurt. Angry, yes. But hurt.
By the look of George's eyes I understand that his thoughts I similar to my own.
"Mum, Percy asked me not to tell anything to others, apart from you and Dad. That includes Fred and George, especially. He wants to reconcile with you but he is afraid of their reaction," - Charlie says.
Mum starts saying something but we no longer listen. We leave the house as quietly as we entered.
George looks at me sadly: "Well… What do you think?"
"I think that Percy is being a fool. And that we are no better than him," - I state.
"Do you know his address in London, Fred?
"I learnt it when Mum went to Percy two years ago. Do you think we can go? I mean… We are not supposed to know about…," - I feel uneasy.
"We'll tell him that, luckily, we were eavesdropping," - George replies without hesitation.