Uncomfortable Meeting

On 31 August 1994, Arthur Weasley prepared to eat his lunch (corned beef sandwich and an apple) that his wife packed for him this morning. Tomorrow, he'd be absent from the office until the kids were on the Hogwarts Express; he dreaded an incident would explode on Platform 9¾ when Molly caught a glimpse of Harry Potter. She was using a family wand today because they still didn't have spare galleons to buy his wife a new wand. And the wound on her head continued to bleed.

Just after he finished his meal and cleaned off his desk, there was a knock on his door. Auror Proudfoot stuck his head inside the room and said, "Director Bones wants to speak with you in her office."

"What about?"

The Auror shook his head and said, "Don't ask questions. Let's go."

It was a short trip down two different hallways to the director's office where Arthur stepped through as the door was pulled shut behind him. He recognized Amelia Bones of course, and the other couple in the room left him uncomfortable. The faces of the woman and man were obscured somewhat, and Arthur found he wasn't interested in their identities.

"Arthur Weasley, I am unhappy and disappointed."

"Uh…I'm sorry to hear that, Director."

A long moment passed in silence before she asked, "Aren't you the least bit curious why I'm unhappy and disappointed – and talking to you?"

Glancing at the couple in the room, Arthur let out a sigh and replied, "I am unable to think of anything that I might have done to make you unhappy or disappointed, Director Bones."

Amelia opened a folder and pushed a series of photographs across the table to Arthur. The wizard was confused – the photos displayed the posterior of a teenage boy with several jagged tears across the flesh. In the magical photos, the blood continued to weep from each wound.

"I have reliable reports that your wife did this to Harry Potter."

Arthur fainted; Amelia allowed the man to hit the floor and remain there for a moment. With a single hand gesture, she prevented the woman – a healer – from rising to help the wizard on the floor. Amelia cast a spell that woke Arthur and he struggled back to his feet. He leaned on the director's desk until she hissed, "Stand up straight and tell me why you didn't report this assault to someone!"

Over the next ten minutes, Arthur explained that Albus Dumbledore wanted Harry Potter safely ensconced at the Burrow until 1 September. The boy had back-talked Molly about some matter and his wife lost her temper.

Bones scowled and said, "Then Children's Services will remove all underage children from your home in the next hour to examine them for similar scars. Your wife will be arrested and without doubt, she'll be in Azkaban for ten years or more."

"No, Molly never hurts our children! She hexes them with stinging hexes when they need it."

"These are not stinging hexes!" Amelia shouted, pointing to the photoes.

"Harry's best friend with my son Ron," Arthur said, ignoring the photos for the moment. "He loves coming to the Burrow to escape his muggle relatives."

"Muggle relatives?" asked Amelia. "Explain!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't explain?"

The obscured man's face mumbled some words that Arthur couldn't understand or hear clearly. Amelia's face grew dark with anger, and she asked, "Are you a member of an organization called the Order of the Phoenix?

"Uh…yes."

"And did Albus Dumbledore give you orders regarding Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

"Can you explain those orders?"

"No," replied the wizard growing more uncomfortable.

"Did Albus Dumbledore give you information about Harry Potter's place of residence?"

"Yes."

"And about his guardians?"

"Yes."

"And do the oaths you made to Albus Dumbledore mean you can't share that information with me?"

"Yes."

After a moment, Amelia pointed to a chair and said, "Sit."

Arthur did as he was told – after being married to Molly for twenty years, he was used to being ordered about by a strong woman. He noticed Amelia and the couple talking in quiet voices, but he stayed quiet.

"Arthur, does Dumbledore know what happened at your home on 23 August 1994 when your wife assaulted Harry Potter?"

"Yes, of course. We told him that Molly and Harry argued, and Harry ran away.

"Did you tell him that Harry was injured? That he was bleeding when he left your home?

"No. Was Harry bleeding?"

Now Amelia's temper exploded. Throwing the pictures at the man, she declared, "Idiot! You're an idiot, Arthur Weasley!"

The photos were forced back into the man's hands. "Look at the photo of his pants! They're dark with blood! Look at the photo with the blood still weeping out of the wounds!"

Amelia took back the photos and came around the desk to get close to Arthur. Standing in his face, she ordered him, "When I dismiss you from this office, you are to return to your family home. You will inform your wife and your underage children that they are to have no contact with Harry Potter. You will inform your older sons of the same restriction. If anyone named Weasley pesters, bothers, importunes, questions, jostles, or speaks to Harry Potter, I shall arrest your wife and publish these pictures in the Daily Prophet. Can you imagine what the public will do to your wife, to your children, and to you that same morning?"

"But you can't do that."

"Why?"

"Dumbledore plans to send Harry to us every summer."

Staring at Arthur strangely, Amelia repeated her earlier statement, "You're an idiot!"

The woman in the room said something and Amelia nodded.

"Go, Arthur. Speak to your wife and children now. If I hear one word of anyone named Weasley or called Weasel speaking to Harry Potter again, you'll all be in Azkaban so quickly, the Dementors will have whiplash!"

There was much shouting at the Burrow when Molly wailed about losing her seventh son and Ron whined about no one to do his homework for him. Arthur made a special effort to speak to George and Fred who didn't take his warning seriously until he arranged for a trip for his twin sons to Azkaban the next Saturday with Director Bones. The twins remembered the effects of the Dementors from the past year and feeling them much closer was worse. And then Madam Bones introduced Fred and George to a few of the long-term residents of the prison and they were truly scared. The boys were very quiet when they returned to the ministry and promised their father they would stay away from Potter.

The night of 31 August, Arthur Weasley felt a stirring in his stomach as a binding weakened.

&&^^&& CHANGE SCENE: Start School / 1 September 1994

The students arriving for the traditional ride to Hogwarts were surprised by the presence of Aurors on the platform and inside the train. Every passenger car had a pair of Aurors on duty for the entire ride. They confiscated wands from two students casting offensive spells at other students, and despite protests from an angry Draco Malfoy, no one was injured or jinxed on the journey to Scotland. Ron and Ginny Weasley looked angry whenever they walked by the compartment where Harry sat with Neville, Luna, and Hermione, but his 'Weasel-notice-me-not-Weasley' charm hid the compartment for the entire trip.

Luna asked Harry to share the charm with her while Hermione marveled that Harry Potter had mastered a powerful charm so easily. Neville frowned but said nothing about the comment, while Luna chortled. The young Ravenclaw witch asked, "Why wouldn't Harry master his own creation?"

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade, the Aurors used portkeys to move two students back to the DMLE in London. Parents would be forced to come to the office and learn about probation or possible prison terms for their children. Inside the castle, the students learned that Auror Alastor Moody (retired) would be their DADA professor. The sorting was quiet and the firsties were divided between the four houses.

Albus Dumbledore appeared disgruntled because there were no special announcements other than the continued Forbidden Forest, and the ban on jokes from Zonko's shop in Hogsmeade. The governors and the ministry refused to consider sponsoring the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The directors at Beauxbâtons removed the headmistress when she argued to host the tournament at their school. Karkaroff fared even worse at Dramstrung for simply contemplating attending – he vanished after a meeting with the commissars who oversaw the school and a new headmistress from Moscow was appointed.

&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE

Harry Potter found himself more relaxed with the beginning of the school year than any previous September –his godfather had been cleared and now had legal custody of him. The goblins were working to get Sirius released from Saint Mungos, and Ted Tonks was acting as his lawyer now.

Thanks to Amelia Bones, there was an understanding in place that kept the Weasleys away from Harry. Arthur agreed to everything and for once forced his will onto his wife and children. None of the Weasleys – adults or children – could approach him, leave traps for him (tricks and pranks), or speak to him.

In the first two weeks of September, Harry quickly realized that Ron (and Ginny) kept him distracted from his studies for the last two years. Now he turned his full attention to schoolwork. Hermione stayed close to Harry during the day and eventually Ron grew tired of plotting revenge he could never inflict; he could never find Harry outside of a classroom.

To distract Ron, a sneaky house-elf and his elven friends made certain that plates of biscuits were left within easy reach for the youngest Weasley boy at all times of the day and evening. As a result, Ron spent much of each day in a food coma.

&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE

The headmaster seemed distracted when the first of October rolled around, and Hogwarts was focused on education. The Aurors – who reported to Moody, not to Dumbledore – kept order in the hallways and arrested students who attacked other students.

The Aurors arrested the Weasley twins for pranking a large group of first-year students. Molly was notified first because Arthur was in the field dealing with some enchanted muggle items. Arriving at the DMLE in full force, Molly reached across the desk and grabbed the receptionist by his robes, demanding for her sons to be released. Head Auror Scrimgeour stunned Molly and sent her to lockup for a week for assaulting the Auror at reception.

"They're not Slytherins! This is a mistake!" Molly shouted for everyone to hear as she was dragged away, the wound on her head bleeding freely again. When Arthur arrived ten minutes later, the healer was wrapping the Auror's head with bandages, Molly was in a cell, and Director Bones was frowning when she turned to address the wizard.

"Molly seemed to think your twins were exempt from the ban on bullying," Amelia stated. "Something about Dumbledore enjoying their pranks."

"Well, Albus does laugh at the purple hair."

"What about the transformations into canaries and giant squirrels? They're particularly painful."

"Painful? No, George and Fred assured me there's no pain."

Amelia handed Arthur a candy. "Then you can try one."

The father chewed the soft candy and swallowed before the painful transformation occurred. And the pain of the change remained for the whole ninety seconds of the enchantment. When the giant yellow canary returned to its human form, Amelia handed him a second candy.

"The squirrel form is even more painful."

Arthur hesitated but the look in Amelia's eyes would not allow him to skip the experience. The giant squirrel hurt much more than the canary – the magic to create the long busy tail was particularly painful for the full sixty seconds. When Arthur transformed back into himself, he panted and struggled to find a standing position that wasn't painful. In his stomach, a binding was stretched and frayed even more.

"Now, here's what's going to happen, Arthur Weasley," Director Bones said. "Your twins are on probation for the remainder of this year at Hogwarts. You and your wife are responsible for their behavior. They turn seventeen in just over a year. If something like this happens again, all four of you will be in Azkaban for ten years if I bring the case to the Wizengamot."

Arthur's entire body ached, and his mind was overwhelmed by what his sons had done to other children.

"Yes, Director Bones," replied Arthur. "Might I have a pain reliever?"

"No."

When Arthur protested, Amelia explained, "Your sons didn't provide any pain relievers for the twenty-three children at Hogwarts who went through this pain this week."

"Twenty-three?" asked the wizard, aghast at the number as the last of the binding fell away from Arthur's magical core.

"Molly seemed to think the Headmaster approved of torturing the 'muddy brats' as she called them," Bones reminded the man.

"Where are Fred and George?" Arthur said. "I want to speak with them."

Amelia's opinion of Arthur Weasley changed that day. He berated his sons for torture. Then he made them each eat a Canary Cream and then a Squirrel Squiggle. After their transformations, he refused them pain relievers. His anger was cold and quiet but scared the two teenagers.

"Do you feel that pain? That's what you made those children feel! You're as thoughtless as Death Eaters!" He asked, "Do you realize you can go to Azkaban for torturing your fellow students?"

Fred and George hung their heads in shame for their father using those words to describe their actions. Arthur shouted at them with tears in his eyes, "You visited the prison last week! And you felt what that was like for five minutes! Can you imagine ten years in Azkaban?"

Arthur left Fred and George in a holding cell overnight with their mother just down the hall, screaming every time the silencing charms wore off. The noise reminded them of Azkaban the entire night.

The next morning, Arthur retrieved the twins from lock-up. With Auror Tonks as an escort, Arthur took the twins back to Hogwarts. Their father led the twins to the sixth-year boy's dormitory in Gryffindor Tower and searched through the trunks of both twins for every trick and prank item. A third trunk, hidden under the bed was full of prank materials and Arthur destroyed it completely. Everything except for their notebooks was banished. These, he shrank and stuck into his pocket.

"If I see good grades at Christmas, you might get these back. But I better see Exceeds Expectations across the board!"

Tonks attempted to interrupt, saying, "Mr. Weasley, Snape will never grade them with EE in potions."

Arthur turned to the young woman and commanded, "Shut it!"

Stepping out of the room, Tonks found a crowd outside the room in the hallway. Several of the younger students looked hopeful that the terror twins were being properly chastised. Ron and Ginny Weasley decided to make themselves scarce before their angry father came out of the room. Harry and Hermione had remained in the common room with their reading and homework.

When Arthur left the dormitory, he approached the seventh-year prefects and asked, "Why isn't Professor McGonagall here?"

The prefects explained, "McGonagall never comes to Gryffindor unless it's to drag Harry Potter off to the headmaster's office. Your son Percy kept the twins under control but now that he's graduated, there's no one with any control over them."

Arthur Weasley moved through Hogwarts like a wild and angry storm. He interrupted McGonagall writing a report for the Governors that Albus was supposed to write. They argued loudly for many minutes and then Arthur went in search of the headmaster. When Albus was found, the angry father slammed Dumbledore up against the wall and called him a 'charlatan parading around as a headmaster.' With Auror Tonks and three other Aurors as witnesses, Dumbledore had to talk fast to calm Arthur down rather than casting compulsions and calming charms.

When he left Hogwarts, Mr. Weasley wasn't done with dealing with leaders. The next day at the ministry, he begged Madam Marchbanks for a meeting to discuss the problems his children experienced at Hogwarts. She agreed to help on two conditions. First, Arthur would remain engaged with these matters and get checked for compulsions and potions regularly at the DMLE. Second, he would impose his will upon Molly and forbid her from ever sending another Howler to anyone at Hogwarts.

At the end of her week in lockup, Arthur took Molly home. The DMLE healer spoke tot eh couple and urged them to take his wife to a Cursebreaker soonest.

The wizard told them, "There's something of a curse in that head wound."

Ignoring the healer, Molly cajoled Arthur to return to the Burrow. There, he laid out the consequences of the twins' latest creations and the use of younger children as test subjects. He spoke of the help Madam Marchbanks was giving him with their children's education, but this only made Molly yell and scream in protest – especially when Arthur explained about the ban on howlers – but Arthur remained steadfast.

"Albus will settle the matter," Molly replied as if that resolved all their problems without noticing the look on her husband's face. When Arthur continued to argue with her, she wondered if the binding Albus used before their wedding had failed. She was convinced it had failed after he forbid her from using howlers under any circumstances or visiting Hogwarts without him present.

&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / A Saturday in September

The next day was a Saturday, and with his wife confined to the Burrow without any howler paper, Arthur went to the ministry and used a communication floo in the DMLE offices to speak with other Hogwarts parents and the members of the Board of Governors. The firestorm ignited by an angry Arthur Weasley spread. The Board of Governors and parents demanded substantial change at Hogwarts that Dumbledore could not stop.

By Halloween, Snape was on probation, McGonagall retained a single position as transfiguration professor, and a new wizard served as deputy headmaster. Professor Charity Burbage was the head of Gryffindor House, and she was in the common room every evening. The new deputy headmaster worked willingly with the Aurors, enforced the rules about bullying students, and nagged Severus Snape about his terrible instruction methods. Some adult was always present in the Potions classroom when Snape and any students were present. And each of his detentions received oversight by the deputy headmaster or one other head of house.

During all this time, Dumbledore continued to struggle to bring the Tri-Wizard Tournament to Hogwarts without any success. The momentary halt to sales tax collections from stores in Magical Britain shook confidence in the government enough there were calls to stop all unnecessary expenses for a time and this tournament with foreigners certainly qualified as 'unnecessary'.

END SCENE