The Prodigal Son

Arthur checked if the Leaky Cauldron had any rooms, but they were also full. Tom, the bartender, had said all the Muggle inns in the area were full too, so Arthur didn't bother checking them.

Having no clue as to where he would go, Arthur set off down Diagon Alley, watching his feet as he walked. Diagon Alley had been restored and most shops had opened back up, but most were closed for the night and the cobblestoned street contained a trickle of shoppers and people going home from work.

When he finally stopped and looked up, he saw that he had walked all the way down to the joke shop. It looked odd being dark and closed up, not touched for weeks. He wondered if George would ever be able to go back now that Fred was gone. It was difficult for him to even stand there, so he set off again before his thoughts and the sight of the joke shop got to be too much.

Arthur wasn't looking where he was going when he bumped into a young man with red hair and glasses.

Arthur looked up distractedly at the stranger. "Oh, excuse me."

It took a minute for each to register who they were seeing. Once they realized who the other was, their attitudes changed immediately, and both stood tall and rigid.

"Father," Percy said pompously, giving a curt nod.

"Percy," Arthur replied with a stiff tone.

He began to walk away when Percy's voice stopped him.

"Wait…D-Dad is it too late?" Percy hated how childish his voice sounded then.

Arthur turned slowly, taken aback, to face his son. "You…you called me Dad." Percy hadn't called him that since he was in his third year at Hogwarts. The past few years it had always been Father. Arthur hated it every time Percy called him Father.

Percy nodded.

He studied his son before asking, "Is what too late?"

"Coming back. I was stupid and a git. You were right – all of you were right. I've regretted leaving, and I've been wanting to come back, but I've always felt it was too late. Almost everyone in the family has almost died since then and Fred –" Percy swallowed hard and finished quietly "- Fred did."

"No, it's not too late. Son, it would never be too late. You should've known that."

Percy walked over to his Dad and they held each other in a tight embrace, tears springing to both of their eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I really am. I-I love you."

"I love you too, Son. I played a part in all of this too, so it was as much my fault as it was yours."

They both hastily wiped their eyes when they pulled back.

"How's everyone holding up, by the way?"

"It's been rough." Arthur cleared his throat. "Especially on George."

"And Mum?"

"Well, you know you're mother. She's been keeping busy, trying to distract herself."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine," Arthur replied unconvincingly.

Percy nodded, though not believing his father.

After a short, awkward silence, Percy asked, "Are you alright?" gesturing to Arthur's bloodied face, stretched shirt, and the black bag he was carrying.

"Yes – I mean, I'll be fine." He waved off Percy's concern.

"Will you tell me what happened? Why you're out here so late. Why you're carrying a bag."

"No – no, I don't really want to talk about it." Arthur replied while scratching the back of his neck, avoiding his son's gaze.

"Come on, you can tell me, I mean I know I've not been around but…" Percy gently urged his father.

"It's not you, Perce. It's just…I'm ashamed of myself is all," Arthur mumbled.

"Oh, okay," Percy looked downcast. "Well, I guess you should get home and get all that taken care of."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Arthur said distractedly. "I'm glad we could work this out. I'm sure everyone else will be happy you're back."

"Do you think I could come by for a few minutes, tonight?"

"R-right now?" Arthur stuttered.

"Yeah. Is there something wrong with that? I mean, I don't have to tonight. I just wanted to see everyone, especially Mum. I was real ugly toward her –"

Arthur cut off his son's rambling, "No – I mean – it's just – well – I'm not going back to the Burrow tonight." He didn't want Percy to feel unwelcome, but he didn't want to tell him what happened either.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" This didn't make any sense to Percy. Why wouldn't his father go home, especially after getting a beating like that.

Arthur thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to say without telling Percy about the fight. "It's not that I don't want to. It's that I…can't." He said this last word quietly. "And I'm not sure where I'm going, because everywhere is full."

"So that's why you have a bag." Things were starting to make sense to Percy, but not completely. Why was he all beaten up? Why couldn't he go home? What had he done to be so ashamed?

Arthur nodded.

"Dad, please tell me what happened."

He could tell Percy wasn't going to let this go and he would find out eventually, so he decided to get it over with, "Alright, but not out here. I don't want to be overheard."

"Well, my flat is just over there," Percy pointed to a green building down the road. He led the way to his flat. "And you can stay with me too, if you want."

"Thanks, Perce, but I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"The family's a bit divided on this. I just don't want to put you in the middle like this and risk you not being welcomed back by everyone."

"Let me hear your side of the story and decide for myself, then we'll figure out where you're staying."

Arthur and Percy entered the flat a few minutes later. It was a nice little flat with a sitting room, one bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen with a small table. It looked like Percy was making a decent living.

"Dad, why don't you get cleaned up then we can talk. The bathroom is just through there." Percy pointed to a door across the flat.

Arthur got cleaned up and changed then joined his son at the small, round kitchen table.

"You look a lot better," Percy said. "You want some firewhiskey or butterbeeer or something?" Percy asked, walking over to the cabinet.

Arthur hesitated before replying, "No, thanks." Then added under his breath, "That's what got me into this mess."

"What do you mean 'that's what got me into this mess'?" Percy asked while sitting back down across from his father.

Father and son sat in silence. Arthur was trying to piece together what had happened that afternoon. He wasn't completely certain of the events that had led to his banishment from the Burrow – just that he had almost hit Molly.

Finally, Percy broke the silence, "Dad, what happened?" he asked, looking at his father inquisitively.

Arthur took a deep breath. "To be honest with you, I'm not exactly sure."

Percy scoffed. "How can you not be sure? It was just a few hours ago –"

"Yes, it was a few hours ago, Percy, but I was drunk." He paused, ashamed of what he was about to confess, "I have been almost all the time when I've been at home the past couple weeks."

"But, Dad, why? I've ever only seen you drink at social gatherings, and that was two butterbeers at most."

"Well, I began drinking a bit more after you left the family. I would just get so angry with you, with myself I just wanted to forget what happened even if it was just for the moment. As time went on, I didn't drink as much. But with time other events took place, and I would have a drink to relax…It was never a problem until these past couple weeks."

"…What caused it to be a problem?"

"Like I said downstairs, Fred's death has been quite hard on us all. I did my best to hold the family together, but it was all in vain. No matter how hard I tried, I failed at bringing back some sense of normalcy. As the head of the family, it is my job to protect the family, hold everyone together, and be strong when no one else can be…..and I failed at all of those things. I was unable to perform any of my patriarchal duties successfully. It was too hard for me to see my family in the state it has been in, and I got tired of having to constantly put on a façade. So I've been spending most of the time in my shed drinking whenever I've been at home."

Hearing this caused Percy to feel sorry for his dad. His dad felt like he had to be strong for the entire family, and felt that if he couldn't then he was failing his duties to the family. Percy placed his hand on top of his father's and looked him in the eyes, "Dad, no one expects you to be strong. We lost a brother, and both Mum and you lost a son. No one could have stopped that from happening. You haven't failed anything or anyone, and you need your own time to grieve too."

Arthur thought about his son's words for a moment then nodded. "I guess you're right. I haven't really thought about that. Thanks, Perce."

"Well, they wouldn't have kicked you out just for drinking. What did you do?" he asked tentatively.

Arthur leaned forward and put his face in his hands. Tears were stinging his eyes when he looked up at Percy. "We had a big fight and I almost –" He couldn't quite bring himself to say it - "I almost hit her." A solitary tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. "She was terrified…and I'm the one who caused her fear. I'm the one she was scared of."

"Oh, Dad," Percy breathed.

"That's not even the first time. There have been a couple other occasions where I got angry and hit the wall, but none of those were ever this bad and she had never been scared, just upset. She's been trying to help me and get me to talk about what's bothering me, but I'm not ready to talk and she doesn't understand that."

Percy was speechless. He had never known his father to be a violent man. His father was always loving, gentle, and open, not harsh and closed off. He stared at his father over the next few minutes, trying to understand. This made Arthur nervous.

"Please say something."

"You said everyone was divided on this?"

Arthur nodded.

"Why?"

"Ron, Charlie, and Bill think I would've actually hit her. George and Ginny don't. I'm not sure where your mum stands, though she did kick me out."

"Would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Have hit her."

"I'm…I'm not sure."

Percy continued to ask his dad a series of questions which were answered in detail. Arthur also went over what had been going on since the final battle and what had taken place that afternoon from start to finish, but avoiding talking about his feelings. This conversation spanned the next hour until Percy was satisfied and had no more questions.

Percy sat back and crossed his arms. He had come to his own conclusion.

"No." It was all he said.

"I understand."

Arthur grabbed his bag and headed for the door. Percy didn't move.

"No, you wouldn't have hit her."

Arthur stopped in the middle of turning the doorknob.

"I don't think you meant anything you said or did. I'll try to help, and you can stay here until this is all sorted."

"How you came to that conclusion, I don't know," Arthur said as he sat back down at the table, "but thank you."

"Tomorrow, I'll go over and talk to Mum. But, if you keep drinking and if I feel like you're not trying to fix this then I'll have to ask you to leave, and I will have to take Ron, Bill, and Charlie's side of this."

"You won't have to worry about that -"

Just then there was a light knock on the door.

A/N: Phoenix Rising, there's you some Percy. Sorry it took a while. Hope you enjoyed it. And there's more Percy to come!