XV—A Devastating Family Secret

The common room was filling with Gryffindor students a few days later, when Ron and Ginny returned from home looking fatigued, "I told mum, you send your condolences," Ron muttered to Harry and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione sighed, taking him in her arms as he slumped onto her chair, "Thank you. I wish I could have been there with you," she comforted kindly.

"No you don't," Ron said, as Ginny sat down opposite Harry, "It was pretty awful, always having a member of the Phoenix follow you around and what with mum and Ginny bawling and Fleur crying, even though she didn't know what a prat he really was."

"Yeah, and then there was Ron, 'why are we even having a funeral for him, he hated us anyway'!" Ginny retorted moodily.

Ron met her with a fierce glare, "Oh shut up, Ginny. I was just saying out loud what everybody else was thinking!"

"Not mum and dad, they were devastated and you know that but you continued anyway!" Ginny exclaimed, standing up, trying to intimidate Ron. Ron stood as well, dwarfing her. It seemed to the pair of onlookers that this argument had been ongoing the entire time they were gone. Her teary blue eyes bore into his fierce glare, "We all were, devastated, not only by his death but—" she paused, thinking for a moment, as if changing what she was about to say, "what with all of the things that we left unsaid. He was our brother and a Weasley no matter what he did to get ahead in his career. He was made promises that he couldn't refuse. Did you ever stop once to think that maybe he did what he did because he was tired of competing with the rest of us? What with Bill and Charlie already out on their own with wonderful careers, and Fred and George always catching mum's attention whether it was good or bad. You're mum's little baby boy no matter how dumb you are and I'm the only girl so where did that leave him?" She took a step toward him, forcing him to back into the table. Her cries were attracting the attention of others in the common room but she continued, "His good grades were always overshadowed by the rest of us, after all, he was no smarter than Charlie was. They were proud of him and treated him equally but we always got a little bit more love from our parents. He didn't fit in and so he did what he thought was right and he left us. And you just won't drop it will you, Ron? It was horrible what happened but even after his death you have to keep complaining about how much better he was than you!"

Harry could not let this continue. Ginny was crying now and seeing her tears sent awful shivers down his spine, so he suddenly took her into his arms where she sobbed openly into his chest. Ron stood stricken dumb by Ginny's sudden out pouring of emotion. The common room fire reflected in his eyes while he stood in a stance that said he was ready to fight back; his fists clenched his feet apart. However, he simply stood there, mulling over what he had just heard. Hermione tried to take his hand in order to comfort him, although it was obvious she took Ginny's side of the argument. Ron sneered at her pulling his hand away.

"He was a horrible person," Ron stated furiously, "Don't you remember when mum sent him that Christmas sweater he sent it back. It has nothing to do with attention, Ginny. He was ashamed of us and of being a Weasley. I say good riddance." He glared at Harry, who glared back, his jaw loose, unbelieving, before Ron turned abruptly and stormed out of the common room up to the boy's dormitory.

"Come, Ginny, let's go upstairs and talk," Hermione suggested though she was looking insinuatingly at Harry. Wiping her tears, Ginny nodded, Harry closed his eyes for a moment and reopened them after a deep breath. He unfolded his protective arms and released her. He left her with Hermione and she watched as he went to speak with Ron.

"What in the world is your problem?" Harry erupted.

He caught Ron by surprise; he was sitting on his bed fuming with nothing better to do than pick the stitching out of his bed spread.

"My problem? Am I the only one who hated him?" He exclaimed, "I mean sure, everybody would say just how much Percy was detested after he left, but as soon as he dies all of a sudden he's turned into the family angel and now he's watching over us. It's a load of bull if you ask me. He hated us while he was alive, and he hated the Phoenix and everything it stood for. We all thought he was for the blasted Ministry a confused bunch of idiot they are. I don't see how he's changed now that he's dead."

Harry sighed and looked at him strangely for a moment as if trying to make sense of what he said. Suddenly he saw Ron in a different light. He was being insensitive toward everybody's feelings about Percy's fate because inside he was tortured just as much, if not more, than everybody else who knew his older brother.

Harry sat down on Ron's bed beside him; he nodded and said solemnly, "Its okay mate, I understand."

"He didn't try to reconcile anything with the family for two years and now he's gone," Ron cried irately. He took a deep gulping breath as if he were having trouble catching it, "It makes me think, you know. We don't have any time left at all. What if something happened to me tomorrow and I didn't tell Hermione that I love her or I didn't tell my dad that I think Muggle stuff is interesting too."

His enlightening speech frightened Harry though he didn't show it. He said nervously, "You like Muggle stuff?"

"That's not the point!"

"I know," Harry said softly as Ron wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands, "it's alright to think that way. It just means you want to live your life to the fullest and why shouldn't you? I mean, who knows right?"

Ron nodded in agreement, his breaths coming shakily now, "You won't tell anybody will you?"

"What are best mates for? I do think that you should apologize to Ginny though, she's just grieving in a different way from you—"

"I'm not grieving—"

"Apologize anyway. And saying something nice to Hermione won't hurt either."

"I didn't do anything to Hermione!"

Harry cocked his head to the side in a 'you're-going-to-regret-it-if-you-don't' sort of way. Ron returned his expression with a nod in understanding. He stood from his bed, wiping his eyes once more to be sure. He asked nonchalantly, "So how have things been around here?"

"Hermione and I worked on Amorarmor Annularion."

Harry wasn't sure if Ron felt a jolt of hope arise from the pit of his stomach like he did but his words seemed to lift his friend's spirits.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Professor McGonagall made me copy out a page from a book she found about the spell, it's the only book that has the spell in it. Hermione and I spent all day yesterday practicing it. She says I'm really good at it," he said proudly.

Ron nodded, he really didn't seem to care anymore, as if the spark that made him so enjoyable to be with had dissipated and what was left was a soulless version of Harry's best friend. Harry recognized the symptom; his friend was trying to think of something to fill the void that was left in his heart after his brother left. The resentment that he had sustained no longer had a place to fit and he was confused. He tried to place it on Ginny but realized that he would only result in pushing her away and he needed his sister.

"Ron, they're going to find out who did this to Percy," Harry assured him.

"Right, of course they are," he said quickly staring at his shoes. Tears formed in his eyes again and he looked at Harry, "But what then?"

"What do you mean? They'll be sent off to Azkaban of course."

"What if it was Him?" He said cautiously. Harry was about to retort but Ron continued, "There were some things that the papers were pressured not to publish by the Ministry and that only top members of the Ministry, our family and the Order knows about."

"Like what?"

"It would destroy what little reputation our family has," he paused. "After he died, we found the dark mark on his wrist," he said quietly. Harry could see the bitterness swell in his blue eyes. He was ashamed of his departed brother but more he was confused. He thirsted for answers that he could not attain. "It's unbelievable yet… It makes perfect sense."

Harry had to agree. Percy's sudden departure from all things related to his family couldn't have been easy on him so there was one explanation, "Maybe he left your family to protect you."

"He left our family because he hated everything we stood for!"

"Maybe he didn't have a choice he was pressured to become a death eater and he left because he cared too much about you to give you into Voldemort. He still had some sense left and decided to be a death eater but not drag you into it. Besides, with your entire family in the Order, it would have been difficult for him to be a Death Eater with your family not knowing about it. He had no other option. He cut all ties and he did it to protect you."

Ron didn't seem to have an explanation but Harry's made sense. Voldemort had hoped to infiltrate both the Ministry and a pure-blood family known to despise the dark arts. Percy had always been ambitious in his career; Harry thought that perhaps he had been tempted with a higher position if he could get information. However, instead of staying with his family and receiving information about the Order, he chose to protect them and gain information solely through the Ministry. Harry wondered briefly how many others were in similar situations. He had made a deal with the Devil himself.

"Harry," Ron said, he looked as if he were going to be sick, "how much longer to people have to suffer?"

At Ron's question, Harry suddenly felt responsible for Percy's death, for all of the recent deaths. If he had defeated Voldemort before he never would have been murdered. He swallowed the lump in his throat before admitting, "I don't know, Ron. I can't honestly make any promises."

AN: Thanks for reading! Please comment!What did you think of the newest twist?