First of all, many thanks to all of you, both for reviewing and to be so patient with me. I know that my updating has been erratic at best, and I'm afraid it'll keep being so as I still have one exam left, but I'll try to finish writing the last part of this chapter as soon as I can. Once more, thank you people, without your support I wouldn't have gotten this far.

WARNING: This is an AU fic, but this chapter contains mild BOOK SIX SPOILERS. Beware.

Part Three: Ron and Ginny - Side B

'Oliver?'

And right he was, because standing in front of him was none other but the former captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch team himself. However, he looked so different from the formidable boy who used to push Harry and his teammates over the edge in each training session that it was no wonder none of them had recognized him at once. For one thing, it was odd to see him in Muggle clothing, which Harry hadn't even seen him wearing during the Quidditch Cup (against all the Ministry's regulations, he'd been wearing a Puddlemere United set of robes) but that wasn't all. Although Oliver had always been a corpulent boy, now he had definitely gained some weight and he no longer stood upright as if he had a broomstick instead of a spine. His shoulders were slumped, his countenance was worn and his eyes were circled by lines of exhaustion that hadn't existed two years and a half ago.

'In the flesh.' There was a somewhat awkward pause, during which everyone kept gaping at Oliver. He cleared his throat.

'So... I guess this isn't a social visit, is it?'

'No' both Ron and Ginny replied at once. Hermione seemed to feel the need to add:

'Professors Lupin and Rosemberg were escorting us to the Order's Headquarters, when we were attacked...'

Dawning comprehension shone on Oliver's face.

'That's why Lupin was here... Oh, and they left you here as they figured out what was going on, right?' Hermione nodded. 'Well, then it's really lucky that we met, 'cause today's supposed to be Percy's shift but I forgot my sketches here, so...'

As soon as he'd said this he seemed to regret it. He shifted uncomfortably and shot Ron and Ginny an uneasy glance – evidently, Andrew wasn't the only one who knew of Percy's family issues.

'You work here as well?' Harry inquired, trying his very best to keep the note of shock out of his voice. He simply couldn't imagine why would Oliver Wood trade a much dreamed Quidditch career for... well, this.

Suddenly, though, he remembered something he'd read in the Prophet a while ago... something about an accident Puddlemere United's newest goalkeeper and raising star had suffered... Harry remembered worrying a little about Oliver, but the Prophet said he was alright. Harry frowned. Obviously, the accident had been much more serious than the Prophet had let on.

'Yeah, Percy got me the job.' This time, Wood refrained from looking at Ron and Ginny. 'Not as glamourous as being a Quidditch star, but it has its compensations.'

'Like what?' Ron blurted out, sounding astounded. He shrugged.

'Like knowing that, for the first time in your life, you're doing something useful' he replied mildly. He turned to Harry. 'I heard of you becoming Gryffindor's Captain.' A smile lit up his features... making him look at least five years younger, and much more like the Quidditch-obsessed boy Harry'd known. 'Congratulations!' he exclaimed as he patted Harry's arm with the strength he remebered from their training sessions. 'I knew you had it in you...'

Before Harry could reply, though, the door burst open, hitting against the wall.

'Percy Weasley, don't you dare to hide from me! You promised you'd come with me, so now there's no walking out from this...'

She stopped dead on her tracks as everyone stared at her. It was a tall girl in her late teens or early twenties, who seemed to be all angles and articulations, with short, red hair. As she took in the sight before her, she blinked, confused.

'Er... Percy's not here?'

'Well... no,' Oliver replied, who now seemed to be having a hard time at concealing his amusement. 'I daresay he's not.'

'Oh, damnit!' she exclaimed, her shoulders sinking.

'But you can meet his family,' Oliver said. 'Vi, these are Percy's siblings, Ron and Ginny, and their friends, Harry and Hermione.'

'Oh, hi. Nice to meet you,' Vi, who by now looked quite flustered, said.

'Nice to meet you too,' Hermione replied as Harry gave her a faint nod. Ron, on the other hand, looked sulky and Ginny was eyeing the newcomer with a strange look in her eyes.

'So, you're a Slayer as well?'

Vi started at Ginny's question. 'Yeah, I am...'

'And you're dating my brother, aren't you?'

At these words, Harry winced, Ron's face lost all trace of sulkiness to reflect pure shock instead, and Hermione shot her a horrified look at her bluntness. Ginny remained imperturbable.

On the other hand, Vi and Oliver just stared at her. Slowly, very slowly, they turned their heads to share a glance...

...and burst into hysterical laughter.

'D-Dating y-your br-brother?' Vi was laughing so hard that tears strolled down her cheeks, whereas Oliver was grabbing his ribs and shaking. 'You've got to be kidding me!'

Ginny looked confused. 'But I thought... That Chiara girl mentioned that Percy had a girlfriend and...'

'And you thought it was me,' Vi finished for her, hiccuping, as she burst into laughter again.

'Well... yeah.'

Oliver was the first one to recover. 'Oh, I don't know what tales those wretched Slayers have been telling you, Ginny, but trust me, Vi's not Percy's girlfriend.'

'And what were you looking him for?' Ginny asked Vi suspiciously. 'It didn't seem it had nothing to do with work.'

'Ginny, who cares?' Ron hissed behind her, but she only had eyes for Vi, who had stopped laughing – although an amused twinkle remained in her eyes.

'Oh, that,' she said, drying the tears on her face with the back of her hand. 'Well, last week I helped Percy to get something for Naoise, so now he had to help me to get a present for my boyfriend...'

'Who's Naoise?' Ron asked, sounding interested in spite of himself. Vi's eyes twinkled.

'If you open the first drawer, you'd find out.'

'Vi!' Oliver exclaimed, startled. The woman shrugged.

'They are his family, aren't they?'

In the meantime, Ginny had jumped from the desk, circled it and pulled open the first drawer before Hermione could stop her. Ginny's eyes widened just a little as she eyed the framed picture she'd taken out.

'Oh,' she whispered. 'She's not bad.'

Harry peered over her shoulder, ignoring Ron and Hermione, who were both decidedly looking in the opposite direction. He let out a faint gasp.

Harry still remembered Percy's first girlfriend, Ravenclaw's Prefect Penelope Clearwater. She'd had a pretty, although insipid face, carefully curled hair and fair skin untouched by any form of make up. The young woman who winked at him from the picture couldn't have been more different.

The first thing that caught his eye was her unnaturally bright blue hair – not even Tonks could pull off that shade – and the mischievious smile her purple lips formed. Her clothes didn't seem to be what Mrs. Weasley's would've approved, either.

'Pretty, huh?'

Harry started at the sound of Ginny's voice.

'Um, guess so. Not-not my type, though...' he stammered because, although the woman could be called stunning, Harry thought he preferred red to blue... Remembering that Ron was close, though, he hastened to push that thought out of his mind.

'Oh, c'mon,' Ron exclaimed, as he snatched the picture from Ginny's hands. His jaw fell open. 'Bloody hell...'

Pursing her lips in an Aunt Petunia's fashion, Hermione grabbed the picture.

'Honestly...'

However, she gaped too and a frown formed on her face.

'This is Percy's girlfriend? She doesn't look like she's his type...'

Oliver took the picture from Hermione's hands and hastened to put it back in its place.

'His type might have changed.'

'Seems like a lot about Percy has changed,' Ron snorted. Vi scowled.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

When Ron opened his mouth to reply Oliver cut him in.

'Vi, why don't you bring a couple more chairs?'

For a moment it seemed like Vi, whose gaze shot daggers at Ron, was going to refuse. However, Wood had on his face the very same stern look he used on the Weasley twins during Quidditch practices, so after making a noise that sounded like 'hmph!' she left.

A silence followed her departure. Oliver waited for a few seconds before heading towards the door, as he said:

'You should be careful how you talk about Percy. A lot of people like and respect him here.'

'Despite all he has done?'

Oliver closed the door with a harsh push.

'Yes, Ron, despite all he's done. 'Cause, believe it or not, people can make up for the mistakes they make.'

'Make up for his mistakes? He hasn't even come around to apologize!'

'Maybe he hasn't apologized to you yet,' Oliver said evenly, 'but that doesn't mean he hasn't been trying to make ammends with the rest of the family.'

'What do you...?'

'I meant exactly what you heard. And, by the way, Percy isn't the only one here who has messed it up badly... actually, Percy's mistakes pale in comparison to some of the stuff others here have done.'

There was a note of true bitterness in Wood's voice, and Harry suddenly wondered which changes had his old captain undergone. Something in his tone told him that he wasn't just talking about Percy – but before he could give the matter much thought, Vi had returned.

'Here you have.' She passed the chairs over to Oliver 'I gotta go now, somebody's got to watch the newbies.'

Harry got the distinct impression she wanted to avoid staying in the same room as Ron, and Oliver must have sensed this as well as he made no attempt to stop her. Instead, he forced a smile and asked:

'So, how's your Quidditch season coming up?'

-

Later on, they found themselves at the cafeteria, where Andrew joined them. The blonde man didn't look like he'd forgotten his argument with Ron, but choose to ignore the boy, sitting in a corner instead with his books and notes. Hermione, after getting bored of the never-ending chat about Quidditch, went to join him and they talked quietly of unpronounceable things.

As he was imparting some piece of Quidditch-related wisdom, Oliver broke in mid-sentence and soon Harry could see why: Percy and Faith had returned, the first looking exhausted, the second, mildly bored.

'So,' Oliver began, 'what did you find out?'

'Perce, explain,' Faith ordered, sinking down on a bench. In no time she'd grabbed the closest toast and started to put marmalade on it, ignoring everybody else.

With a sigh, Percy sat next to her, but in a blink he was in full lecturing-mode:

'Well, they were indeed M'Fashnik demons. We found out that they were actually hired, not by Death Eaters, but by the owner of a shop in Knockturn Alley – a certain Mr. Borgin. It transpired that one of his warehouses was located nearby the place you were attacked, a warehouse that has been robbed much lately – so he hired the demons to attack anyone magical who walked too close to his belongings.'

'That's completely nuts!' Harry couldn't help to exclaim. Percy smiled tiredly.

'That depends on what you're guarding... and from whom.'

'Where are Professors Rosemberg and Lupin now?' Hermione asked, as Andrew handed Percy a cup of coffee. Faith looked up.

'Reporting the attack to their boss. They'll be back any minute now.'

Glancing at Ron, who was glowering and at Ginny, whose lips were pursed in a rather Mrs. Weasley-esque fashion, Harry thought that the only reason he cared for their teachers' quick return was to prevent a possible and very imminent disaster.

'Harry,' Oliver inquired, resuming their chat as if they had never been interrupted, 'what's Katie's replacement like?'

'Oh, Ginny likes him very much, considering she's snogging him... in public.'

Percy choked on his coffee. Ignoring him, Ginny narrowed her eyes as she glared at Ron.

'Oh, shut up, as if you and Lavender didn't...'

'You... you have a boyfriend?'

Ginny raised her chin defiantly.

'Yeah. You've got a problem with that?'

Percy started.

'Oh, no, not at all. Er... congratulations, I guess.'

She stared at him blankly. Ron reddened, opening his mouth to say somtehing nasty, but then Oliver jumped to his feet.

'Well, I have to go. It was nice seeing you all again...'

'Oooh, Oliver's got a date. Is the girl from the coffee shop or...?'

'Geez, Andrew, what are you, five,' Faith sneered and Andrew stuck his tongue out at her when she turned her head. Percy, to Harry's surprise, tried to hide his laughing face in his mug. Oliver ignored them all.

'Harry, I'm sure you'll beat them up fair and square. You were the best player I ever had in my team and you were never reluctant to train hard –' Harry inwardly groaned at the memory of Wood's merciless training sessions – 'so it'll be a piece of cake.'

'Thanks, Oliver.'

'And good luck to you too,' he told Ginny and Ron, who nodded.

'See ya, Oliver.'

'Bye, everybody.'

And with that, he had gone. Harry reflected for a moment in the strangeness of seeing Oliver Wood again, no longer the imposing boy who'd been his captain, but as a worn-out grown-up man. He remembered the day they'd met, when he'd just been a mere first-year terrified at the prospect of getting expelled, and now Harry had his spot in the team... Suddenly, he felt very old.

'So, how old are you anyway?' Faith asked Ginny. 'Fourteen?'

'Fifteen.'

Faith nodded as she swallowed her last bit of toast and grabbed another one. She smirked and leaned closer to Ginny.

'You know, I did much better things than just making out in public when I was your age...'

'Faith, we all know what a colourful life you have lead, but I rather you didn't give her any ideas...'

Harry looked at Percy, stunned at the lack of pompousness he approached his new boss – sure she was no Barty Crouch, but still. Instead of looking affronted, though, Faith's smirk became more pronounced.

'A lil' touchy, aren't you?'

'For your information,' Ginny said, her gaze fixed on the ceiling, 'I don't need to be protected, I can very well take care of myself.'

Percy backed off instantly. 'Of course you can, I didn't mean to imply... You have every right of dating whomever you like. I'm sure he's a delightful young man...'

'You'll keep saying that when he jumps on your lil' sis' bones?'

Percy glowered at Faith.

'I'm trying to be mature here and not act all Neandertal-like saying how much I'd like to maim the bloke that lays a finger on my sister, thank you very much, Faith.'

Everybody gaped at him, thunderstruck. Apparently unaware of this, Percy continued to drink his coffee.

'Faith! Could you c'mere for a second?'

Harry winced, but let out a relieved sigh when he saw that the girl standing in the doorway wasn't Chiara Valenti. Faith stood up at once.

'Coming.' When she was reaching the door, she turned once more to look at them. 'And all of you, behave.'

'When haven't we?' Andrew replied but Faith had already left.

'You didn't need to do that,' Ginny said after a short silence. Percy looked up.

'Do what?'

'Act as if you were concerned for us.'

Harry felt a knot forming in his stomach and he exchanged a glance with Hermione, his worry reflected in her brown eyes. This wasn't going to be pretty...

'Hey!' Andrew exclaimed, his scowl returning.

'It's okey, Andrew, never mind.' Percy turned to Ginny, leaving his mug on the table. When he spoke, his voice was even and low. 'So, you truly believe I do not care for you?'

'You did not show it very much, did you? Oh, wait,' Ron's eyes were suddenly alight with a dangerous gleam, 'you did, didn't you? I seem to recall something... Oh, yes, your letter, the one you sent me last year full of brotherly concern...'

'Ron...'

He ignored Hermione.

'A letter in which you had no better idea than insulting my best friend and advise me to turn into Umbridge's lapdog...'

Percy winced, clearly stung by his words. He looked away for a moment, Ron's eyes digging invisible holes in the back of his head, and took a deep breath.

'I am not proud,' he began, still not looking at them, 'of many of the things I did last year, including that letter. When I wrote it, I had just spoken to Umbridge, who had given me a rather scary report of Harry's recent behaviour and who had mentioned in passing how dangerous it could be for you to keep hanging out with him.' He snorted. 'And yes, I was stupid enough to let her words get at me. And to believe all the crap Fudge made up as well, but that's another story.'

He let out a sigh and, to Harry's surprise, he turned to look directly at him.

'I really regret all the hideous things I said about you in that letter. It was false, unfair and uncalled for and I should have known better than to believe such things of you. I know that saying "sorry" doesn't fix things, but if I could take it all back I would.'

Harry's eyes locked with Percy's blue ones. Ron snorted and Hermione nudged him, but Harry didn't break eye-contact. Percy was being sincere, there was no doubt. But his words had cut so deeply. Although Harry hadn't showed it at the time, it had terribly hurt the thought that somebody who knew him as well as Percy did could believe all those things about him...

As an echo that came from very far away, Harry remembered how Sirius had once said that, as soon as Voldemort stopped hiding, all at the Ministry would rush to ask for their forgiveness on their knees, although he wasn't sure he'd grant it himself...

That decided it. There had been so many things he would have liked to tell Sirius, but there was always something that stopped him and he'd put it off for later, until one day he was gone and "later" was no longer a possibility. Harry glanced at Ron, still red with fury: no, Ron couldn't get it. He'd never lost anyone close and didn't know what it felt like. Harry did.

'It's okey, Percy. I forgive you.'

Percy gaped at him for a moment, surprised. Then he smiled, faintly, and he looked many years younger, as if a terrible weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

'Thank you, Harry.'

Hermione smiled and Andrew let out a relieved sigh, whereas Ron looked nothing short of aghast. Harry avoided his gaze: one day, he would understand.

'Well, I don't!' he burst. 'Not after all the things you told Dad and the way you treated Mum, as if they both were filth, just an inconvenience you had to avoid to become Minister of Magic!'

Percy straightened and clenched his jaw. For the first time, he looked like he was losing his patience.

'I'm aware of how unfair I was, Ron, and therefore I apologized to them. They have already forgiven me for what I did to them. Can't you do the same?'

'And what about what you did to us?'

Ginny's low whisper made Harry's hair to stand up. Her face was very pale and her eyes shone strangely.

'You didn't just walk out on Mum and Dad, Percy. You walked out on us. You didn't just say you were ashamed of them: you said you were ashamed of us as well. Oh, sure, you didn't put it into words, but the message was clear all the same. You said you cared, but you abandoned us.' Her voice trembled and Harry's heart clenched at the hurt in her tone. 'You once said you'd take care of me, remember? But you left me behind, and I didn't even get a letter from you in an entire year. You didn't care enough to send me one, did you?'

'Ginny, that's not true...'

'Don't, Percy. Just don't.'

And before anyone could stop her, she had leapt to her feet and bolted for the door, tears rolling down her face. Hermione hastened to follow her.

Percy just stared, his face chalk-white, at the spot Ginny had been sitting just a moment ago. Not even Ron dared to open his mouth. The air around them thickened, Ginny's hurt voice still lingering in their ears.

'Perce, c'mon now!'

They all started and turned to see Faith standing on the doorway, hands on her hips and a grim look on her face.

'Vamp nest, East End. Let's go.'