Taking Responsibility

The next morning, Arthur woke up on the couch with a horrible headache. The smell of breakfast and the sound of yelling filled the house.

The previous night was quite fuzzy, as it usual. He remembered coming home late, getting in another argument with Molly, and drinking until he fell asleep on the couch. For some odd reason, he thought Charlie was there also. That didn't explain why their kids were arguing, or why Molly was not stopping it.

Arthur rubbed his face and sighed. Apparently, he would have to deal with the kids this morning.

He gathered the sleeping draught and firewhiskey from the previous night, and took a gulp of the latter before entering the kitchen.

Upon entering, he discovered which of his kids were fighting: his two youngest and his second oldest. George sat quietly, staying out of it. Harry was trying to calm Ginny down while Hermione scolded Ron as he spat out insults about their father to Ginny. Charlie was red in the face as he was in a shouting match with his sister. Arthur assumed Bill and Fleur were at Shell Cottage…Molly was nowhere to be seen.

George was the only one who noticed Arthur as he watched from the doorway.

"I'm staying here!" Ginny fiercely told her second oldest brother.

"I've told you, you are going with Mum. She said you have no say in this until you're of age, and even then, she doesn't want you near him," Charlie explained supposedly for the umpteenth time.

"And who's supposed to take care of him if we all leave? He's passed out on the couch this morning for Merlin's sake," she shot back.

"I'm staying actually," George chimed in, making eye contact with his father. Charlie didn't notice his brother's comment as he was too preoccupied with Ginny; otherwise he would have jumped on George as well. Not only did he want Ginny safe, but he didn't want any of his other siblings in contact with their father either.

"George and I are the only ones who don't want to just abandon him when he, obviously, needs his family most right now."

The topic of last night's argument came back to Arthur…Molly had left him. When she had told him she was taking Ginny, he brought up their deceased daughter and began blaming her for the failed pregnancy, even though he didn't believe a word that came out of his mouth…And he had physically hurt her again; that was where Charlie came in. As these thoughts flooded back to Arthur, he felt utterly repulsed by what he had done and how he had been treating his wife the past few days. But wait. Hadn't she been the one to start all of this? Molly had been ignoring and mistreating him first. He was pulled back to the scene in front of him as his daughter mentioned his name again.

"Doesn't Dad get a say in this?"

"No, he doesn't. It's not safe for you to stay here right now. He's chang-" Ron answered instead of Charlie this time, but was cut off.

"I know. 'He's changed! He's not the man who raised us'!" Ginny echoed her brothers' words from a few weeks ago. "That doesn't mean we just leave him."

"Ginny, if you want, I'll stay here. And I'll come see you every day," Harry offered.

"What the bloody hell, mate?" Ron shot at his best friend, appalled that he would even suggest such a thing.

"Sorry. You're my best friend, but she's my girlfriend," the raven-haired boy defended himself.

"Listen!" Charlie interrupted. "Anyone can do what they want. But, Ginny, you have to go to Muriel's with Mum."

"Yeah? Try and ma -" Ginny began.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Arthur roared over the din at the table. All heads snapped to the Weasley patriarch who slammed the two bottles on the table, almost shattering them from the force. This burst of rage frightened everyone. "This is the last thing I want to deal with this morning," he seethed.

Regaining his courage first, Ron stood and began accusing his father. "You're already drinking this morning?"

Arthur was taken aback by how fast his youngest son recovered. "It – It's from last night," he stuttered.

"So you have then," Ron stated.

Glaring at his son, Arthur replied, "I did not say that. You're putting words in my mouth."

"You didn't deny it either." Now, Charlie had gotten his courage back. He should have been the first to stand up to their father, seeing as he's the oldest present and a dragon trainer, but he had seen the damage his dad could do. "See, Ginny, this is why you can't stay here."

"He's not dangerous. He's our Dad," she argued.

"He hurt Mum. You want him to hurt you too?" Ron stated.

"That wasn't on purpose." Ginny pointed out, thinking she was helping her case.

"Exactly!" Ron exclaimed.

"QUIET!" Arthur barked. "Shut up and sit down, all of you!" They all obeyed immediately.

He rubbed his face as he briefly paced the room, trying to get his temper in check. His kids didn't need to see that side of him. He didn't even know about that side of him until the war ended. All his life, he had been mild-mannered and even-tempered. Stopping at the head of the table, he firmly placed his hands on the back of an empty chair and bowed his head, now thinking of what he needed to do.

When Molly told him she was taking their daughter, he was upset. This morning his sons, and even Ginny, had made some valid points against her staying with him. And, as much as he didn't want her taken from him, he really didn't want to hurt his little girl.

Arthur blew out a long breath and grabbed the two bottles previously slammed on the table. Everyone was surprised when he put them both in the cabinet. He, then, pulled out a hangover potion and drank some before returning to stand at the head of the table.

Looking around the table, Arthur could see how apprehensive his kids were. This should never have happened. Kids should never have to look at their father this way, especially his. Molly shouldn't have felt unsafe with him, and Charlie, along with any of his other kids, should not have had to protect their mother from their father, or witness what their son had last night. There was no redeeming himself – No way of fixing this…

It was over.

Slowly shaking his head, Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head before looking back up. Everything was ruined because of him, so he now would have to man up and do his best to keep things from getting worse.

"I'm not going to make any excuses - Please, don't interrupt me -" Arthur calmly added when Ron was, no doubt, about to make a snide remark, "nor am I going to seek anyone's forgiveness. I don't deserve it. I will never be able to forgive myself for what I've done to this family, so I don't expect any of you to either…This family has been through hell, and it is entirely my fault. Everything that has happened since the end of the war is because of me."

No one was expecting this. They thought Arthur would blow up and blame everything else, but he did the exact opposite.

Now, Arthur addressed his daughter directly. "Ginny, I have no idea why you are defending me. Thank you, but you need to listen to your brothers. What they are saying is true. And you have even made some good arguments against your own case without realizing it.

He turned his gaze to Charlie. "Charlie…Son, you and Bill have had to step up and take on a parental role because I have failed in my patriarchal duties recently. Neither of you should have had to do that."

"No, we shouldn't have. And never call me that again." Charlie couldn't hold is tongue any longer. He had done better than he expected. Normally, Charlie would have interrupted him around the time Ron almost had, but Arthur calling him 'Son' sent him over the edge. As far as he was concerned, the man standing in front of him had no right to call him 'Son' anymore.

"Same here," Ron piped up.

That six word sentence hurt Arthur deeply, even though, on some level, he knew those words would be spoken by at least one of his kids sooner or later. "Okay," he said quietly, remembering why he needed to keep calm. "Just know that I am proud of each of you for doing what you know is right, standing by your mother, and all the other accomplishments you've made in your lives. And I love you all - including Bill, Percy, and your mother - more than any of you could ever imagine, even though it hasn't seemed that way recently…I am extremely sorry for everything that I have caused," Arthur said sincerely as he addressed the table as a whole again.

"Look, no one is going to Muriel's." Ginny's mood immediately lifted. Ron and Charlie looked ready to protest. George seemed to be indifferent. "Let me finish," Arthur hastily added, preventing another shouting match. "It's not fair for everyone to have to leave because of me. So, Charlie, I want you to go tell your mother she can move back in. I will be out of here in thirty minutes. No one will have to worry about me coming around, and I'll make sure there is enough money in our vault for whatever she needs whenever she needs it." Clearing his throat, Arthur added quietly, "And – uh - Charlie, please tell her that I didn't mean anything I said last night, and that it was very wrong for me to say those things."

Charlie was unsure if he would convey that message to his mum. His father didn't deserve to have any communication with her, but as he thought about it more, he realized if he didn't tell his mum what Arthur had just said, she would continue to think what her husband had told her was true and that would be worse than allowing his father to have what he didn't deserve.

"I will," Charlie answered truthfully. Arthur had no doubts that his son would pass on his message.

Everyone else in the room was completely lost. Charlie had not elaborated on what occurred the previous night, but it was serious enough for their mother to leave. Not quite catching on to how serious this short exchange between her brother and dad was, Ginny hopped up.

"I'm going with you," she blurted.

"Ginny, we have been through this. No," Charlie said exasperatedly.

"Dad?" she asked hopefully.

Of course, Arthur had already decided he wasn't going to fight for Ginny and every fiber of his being was telling him to shut everyone out, but he couldn't help but hesitate with his answer. His daughter meant the world to him, and her eagerness to go with him showed how much he meant to her. He looked Ginny over and landed on her eyes. They were so much like her mother's - big, brown, caring, pleading, but also holding a spark of fire. He had already hurt the woman he loved. He would never be able to forgive himself if he harmed his little girl. Now, he understood where Molly was coming from.

"Your brothers and mother are right," he answered, regretful yet stern. "You're staying here with your mum."

"What about when I turn seventeen?"

"No."

"Someone needs to take care of you -"

"- I am a grown man. I can take care of myself," Arthur cut off his daughter, a bit harshly.

"Yes, you have done such a great job with that lately," Ginny said sarcastically.

Arthur slammed his fist down on the table. Ginny quickly took a step back. Charlie and Harry instinctively moved in front of her. Ron, who was on the opposite side of the table, drew his wand while George was prepared to stop his little brother if he tried to do anything.

"No, and that is final! I'm not arguing with you on this," Arthur exploded, having lost any control he had left on his temper.

"This is why Mum doesn't want you near him, Ginny," Ron said.

Arthur saw how familiar this looked, except this time it was Ginny. And that scared him more than anything.

"I'm - I'm sorry. Ron's right. I don't want to risk hurting you," he said, backing away.

"I can go though, right?" George spoke up. "You need someone just...to be there."

"No, George," he sighed. "No one is going with me. What I need is to work things out on my own."

With that, Arthur rushed out of the kitchen to pack his bag and grab a quick shower. He wasn't sure where he would go, but he had all day to figure that out. Right now he was already an hour late for work. He avoided his kids on the way out and didn't look back before disapparating.

A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed Chapter 13. It was supposed to have more to it, but I had written this about a year ago and didn't realize how long it was. So, chapter 14 is in my notebook and all I have to do is type it out, add a few things, and edit it which, after all that, it will probably end up being two chapters.

While I spend a couple days working on that, y'all have a chance to give some input on the story. Such as…Do y'all want a conversation between Charlie and Molly, or maybe Charlie and Bill, or anyone really after this whole debacle? It doesn't have to be between just two people or even in the family. The only restriction is that it can't be Percy, because I have big plans for him in the very near future (Hmhm, the chapter that is in my notebook).

So, Phoenix Rising, you'll have lots of Perciness, though I'm not sure you'll be too happy with him. And thanks for that review. I love getting a rise out of you.

Keep those reviews coming!