A/n: My sincerest apologies to all of my dedicated readers. I know it's been a while, but I've just started working 8 to 5 every day, and quite frankly it beats the crap out of me. I'm in charge of a day camp, which basically means I'm babysitting 14 munchkins for 9 hours a day with only one helper. It can be a real pain, but it does make every day rather interesting.

Good news is I have this week off, which is the only real reason as to why I'm updating. Unfortunately, I have to work another 2 weeks after this week, so don't expect any more updates until after that. More good news is that these next 2 weeks are my final 2 weeks, so I'll be able to finish this story! Then again, I have to find time to go to the doctor, get my wisdom teeth pulled, and put a cap on my front tooth, as well as spend time with my grandparents and godmother who are coming in next week. Well, my summer should end interestingly enough. But enough about my hectic life; I'm sure you've all skipped this part anyway!

So here's the next chapter, and stay tuned for the final two installments in the weeks to come….

CHAPTER SIX: Percy's Redemption

More people were beginning to rise, beginning to help others. The trio stayed away from the groups of Healers, from the questioning eyes of those beginning to stir. Ginny tensed under Harry's hold on her waist, and he turned to where she was looking. Arthur Weasley was holding his son in his arms, crying openly for everyone to see, but he did not care. Percy's hollowed eyes stared at the sky, completely blank. A dementor had taken his soul away. Tears were falling down Ginny's face, and Hermione was shaking with uncontrolled sobs. Harry could not watch this heart-wrenching scene, so he guided the girls away. Because they all had to know. They had to.

The minute Arthur Weasley had received the distress Floo from Kingsley Shacklebolt, he had jumped into action. Molly was to stay at St. Mungo's with other volunteers to prepare and help with the Healers, Minerva was called to send in as many students from Hogwarts she deemed worthy to fight, and the Order members where rounded up and together they Apparated to Godric's Hollow.

Since then, he had been fighting flawlessly, taking down each witch and wizard that bothered to stand in front of him. After all, he was fighting for a lot more than the safety of the Wizarding World.

He was fighting for the safety of his family.

With that thought in mind, nothing seemed to slow him down as he continued to fight, ignoring the slight doubt creeping into his mind like a dark shadow.

However, unbeknownst to Arthur, every family member was helping with this war, one way or another.

Including his third-eldest son, Percy.

When Percy had heard the Aurors taking action in the Ministry, he couldn't bear to think his family might very well be on their way as well. He knew, though, that they'd have to be; they were in that Order, weren't they?

Yes, he'd been a miserable pompous git to them before, but that didn't mean he wanted any of them hurt.

So the minute he had heard of the destination he left to fight.

And when he landed all he could really make out were the visions of Aurors battling Death Eaters. He only knew faces from the Ministry, though—he couldn't make out anyone he knew.

Then, suddenly, he sought out fiery red hair; Ron was fighting with a Death Eater Percy identified as Peter Pettigrew from the wanted posters at the Ministry. Percy felt a hard lump form in his throat as Peter sent out a Slashing Hex that hit Ron in the arm. Percy wondered vaguely if Ron had heard about the Thousand Galleon reward placed on the capture of the Dark Lord's right hand man, and if he was out to get it. Percy vaguely remembered the letter he wrote Ron nearly three years ago, telling him to be a good boy much like Percy had become; to listen to the Ministry so everything would be alright for him. So much for that, eh?

Just as Percy started walking over to rectify the situation, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He turned around to see a swarm of Dementors slowly making their way across the battlefield. And he also noticed they were getting dangerously close to his father, who must have arrived when Percy wasn't watching.

So he did the only thing he could think of.

He ran.

Arthur had taken down another wizard when he felt cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck. His legs, for some reason, had also started to tremble. He ignored the telltale signs and continued to fight, until something made his heart stand still.

Percy, his son Percy, was running and shouting something at him. Just as he was turning toward his son, however, a new enemy sprung up seemingly from nowhere and a new battle was waged.

Percy swallowed hard as he realized his father had recognized him and ignored him. He couldn't really blame him, though; he'd been doing that to his father for the past three years.

Percy raised his wand and tried to remember the pride he felt as a result of one of the Minister's compliments. He glowed internally at the memory and took careful aim at the Dementors that were slowly closing in on his father.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Arthur continued to fight, ignoring the feelings of dread and despair on him. Why was this doubt affecting him now?

Percy ran forward as his Patronus took out the closest Dementor. He knocked Death Eaters out of the way and ran to his father.

Arthur's breath was catching in his throat now, as he sent spell after spell at anyone and anything wearing dark robes. If this kept up he'd have to rely on non-verbal spellwork, which wasn't his strong suit.

Percy's Patronus, along with the help of others, had slowly taken affect as some of the Dementors began to retreat. However, there were still a few left, including one heading right for his father. He ran forward, knowing what he had to do.

Arthur could feel some of the darkness alleviating, and his throat felt less constricted so he could fire off his curses with more vigor. However, now he felt something nagging at the back of his mind.

Percy darted between fights and launched himself on the Dementor slowly advancing on his father, who was furiously fighting with Death Eaters left and right. The dark creature shrieked and elbowed Percy in the face, causing his glasses to break and blood to gush out of his nose.

It was then Arthur felt it; that strong paternal urge that a child of his was in trouble. He looked left and right as he continued to fight. Who was it? Where were they?

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose and searched blindly for his glasses; he really was useless without them. Well, he was pretty useless with or without them, he supposed. He didn't really blame Penelope when she left him years ago; or that his family disowned him, much like he had them.

The Dementor was taking its toll on Percy's mind as it raised its dead rotting hands. His mind, much like his sight, was clouded as the dark creature slowly pulled its hood down.

Arthur was becoming positively frantic now as he barely took concern for those around him in search of his child in trouble. He was close; he could feel it.

It was probably lucky Percy was unable to see the sight before him; underneath the hood was the face of death. The skin was thin, gray, and scabbing, and there were no eyes to this creature; only a gaping, shapeless hole sucking the air around, stripping it of happiness and hope.

The creature wrapped its hands around Percy's throat and slowly raised him up…his head was being forced upwards…he could feel hot, rancid breath on his ice cold skin….

Arthur stopped dead in the street. His breath caught in his throat as he realized which child was in trouble.

"Percy…."

As Percy listened to the rattling whisper of the Dementor draw near in paralyzing fear, he could swear he heard something behind him.

Arthur ran to his son. He had tried, with disastrous results, to produce a Patronus. He was too distracted and upset to think up anything happy at all.

"Percy! PERCY!"

Percy could hear someone shouting, but as he felt the Dementor clamp its rotting mouth over his, he could not answer.

Arthur momentarily froze as he watched the Dementor slowly take his son's soul away. He felt dampness on his cheek as he realized he was crying. He darted forward.

"PERCY!"

Everything was flashing before Percy's eyes in a white haze. All the memories of his childhood, family, friends, time at school, and work at the Ministry crossed over his mind; love, hate, jealousy, anger, sadness, guilt, happiness, and pride flashed through his heart. A tear escaped his eye.

And then there was no more.

Percy fell to the ground; devoid of any and all emotion, thought, and will.

Arthur pushed past the only two people left standing around him as he finally made it to his son's side, too late. The Dementor loomed over them both as Arthur shakily lifted his son's head from the ground.

"P-Percy, c'mon son…w-wake up," Arthur mumbled as he rubbed some of the dried blood on his son's face. "I'm here…it's t-time to g-get up."

Percy's glossy eyes made no sign of recognition as they continued to stare into a void no one else could see.

"Percy," Arthur whispered longingly, "son…."

The Dementor, its hood still down, could barely seem to contain its glee as it slowly reached its clammy, scabbed hands towards the old wizard.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" a stiff, commanding voice shouted.

A bright, glistening Patronus in the form of a large feline came out of the speaker's wand and quickly pounced at the opportunity to get rid off the dark menace once and for all.

"Arthur," Minerva McGonagall reprimanded, staring intently at his back, "what's this? Putting your guard down in the middle of a battlefield? Come along, up you get."

Arthur turned to look her in the eye, nothing short of devastation written on every inch of his face. "Minerva…."

The Headmistress seemed to falter slightly as she stared at him; he seemed completely lost. "Arthur…what's happened?"

Arthur sighed and maneuvered his body a bit to reveal the limp Percy in his arms. McGonagall gasped and put a hand up to her mouth.

"A-Arthur, is he…dead?"

Silence answered her question as tears rolled down the father's face, his son clutched tightly to his chest.

Nagini the snake lay dead in the gutter, taken care of by Harry earlier before the final fight. With the final Horcrux out of the way, Harry was able to finally destroy the darkest wizard of all time. They passed on down the street.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had Apparated to the miserable neighborhood of Godric's Hollow. At one point it had been a nice friendly neighborhood, full of nice friendly neighbors.

Now it was nothing short of a ghost town.

"Bright cheery place, eh?"

Harry gave Ron an appraising look, but Ron merely shrugged his shoulders. "What? Just trying to lighten the mood…."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she muttered something that sounded like 'Honestly' under her breath.

Ron grinned in a self-satisfied sort of way as he rolled up his sleeves. "Alright, where's this great filthy snake we're supposed to get rid of?"

Harry glanced around the dilapidated neighborhood he had lived in for a year; all of the houses were crumbling slightly and only seemed to be held up by magic.

"I think we should start at your parents' old house, Harry," Hermione said stoutly.

Harry nodded his head and all three descended down the street towards the charred remains of the Potter's old house, wands at the ready.

They only got halfway down the road, however, before Hermione shrieked as she pointed to something maneuvering its way through the tall grass of an old yard.

Harry and Ron stepped cautiously forward, wands raised, towards the creature. A low hiss sounded from the grass.

"On three, Sectumsempra?" Harry directed, keeping his wand aimed at the spot the grass last moved.

"Right," Hermione said, keeping her eyes glued to where she was aiming. "One…."

The creature, as if sensing danger, darted forward at an alarming rate to where the three were standing in the road.

"Three!" Ron shouted.

"Sectumsempra!"

A spitting sound came from the yard, and seconds later a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet in length, emerged from the grass and descended into the street in front of them, leaving a trail of blood.

Hermione stiffened slightly but kept her eyes narrowed at her target. Ron merely cleared his throat and kept his wand steady. Harry stepped forward in front of the other two and raised his wand.

"Where is your master?" Harry asked. His ability to speak Parseltongue caused the question to sound like a series of hisses to Ron and Hermione, but they remained silent, waiting for the snake's reaction.

Nagini's black beady eyes locked onto Harry's bright green eyes. "He knew you would come here…Master always knows…."

"But where is he?" Harry tried again, a bit more forcefully than he had intended, as sparks flew out of his wand.

"He waits for you…" Nagini replied, seemingly unperturbed by Harry's agitation. "He is ready for the final battle. He sent me here to wait for you…to tell you…Master knows all…. Dusk…tonight…he will be here. And if you do not show…Godric's Hollow will be gone before the dawn…."

Harry didn't need to reply to the threat; after he killed the snake, Harry would be able to face Voldemort and finally defeat him, once and for all. There was no turning back now.

In the time Harry had taken to mull over the coming evening, Nagini quickly turned and started to move swiftly down the gutter.

"Impedimenta!" Ron shouted, in the same instant that Hermione sent off a non-verbal Freezing Charm. Both spells collided with the great snake and it slowed down considerably, although it continued to slither down the gutter, blood still oozing from its injuries.

Harry ran up to the beast, Ron and Hermione at his side. The snake hissed as it saw who was coming up.

"Master…my Master…I must return…he needs me…."

Harry turned to the other two. "Another round of Sectumsempra?"

Both nodded and all three poised there wands at the bleeding snake's slithering body.

"Sectumsempra!" the three chanted, and the snake twisted and writhed as more blood poured from the body.

Hermione made a noise in the back of her throat and looked away. Harry and Ron watched on, determined to wait until she stopped.

After a few more minutes, Nagini ceased to move. The snake made a few more shuddering motions, and then lay perfectly still.

"Is it…dead?" Hermione squeaked.

Harry carefully leaned down and poked the snake with his wand. It didn't move.

"I think so," Harry replied.

Ron kicked the snake so it rolled over in the gutter.

"Ron," Hermione scolded, more relieved than angered that the snake hadn't come back to life to snap at her assailant.

"Definitely dead," Ron ignored Hermione with a nod of his head. Then he turned to look at Harry. "Well? What now?"

Harry kept his eyes on the dead snake. "We get help." He glanced up the street towards his old house. "And then we wait."

A/n: Yep, so there's your explanation as to why everyone's fighting at Godric's Hollow in the first place, and what happened to poor old Percy. Now I know not many people like Percy, but honestly I think he's going to do something to redeem himself in the seventh book. Hopefully nothing this drastic, but then again he does have a lot to make up for….

Well, thanks to my new reviewer, ginny278, and to my favorite authoress and faithful reviewer, Solstice Muse.

Things to look forward to in the next chapter: RON! That's basically it. Do you honestly need another reason to read it? But yeah, Ron kicking Wormtail butt in the next chapter. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Moody will also make cameos. So please review (I gotta get it up to 10! C'mon guys, help a girl out!), and see ya next time (hopefully it won't take another month).

-dieselwriter