"Does this count as kidnapping?" Arthur said out the side of his mouth toward his wife. He and the family were leaving the station at a speed faster than a 'brisk' walk. All the while trying to act as innocent as possible. For Arthur, it wasn't honestly a problem, he was used to acting natural when anything but was occurring. Likewise, his Mollywobbles, to the world as nothing more than a homemaker, was smiling happily as if everything was right in the world; though the difference between himself and Molly was that to her it was, and to him, he was aware of what could happen. Outside himself and his wife, Ron and Ginny had only been let into the plan hours ago, due to that, they looked like Yule had come early. Percy, unfortunately, was a nervous wreck but thankfully wasn't complaining publically. While the twins, for all of their pranks, had expressions that screamed that they were doing wrong - then again, Arthur might just be used to those expressions.
The family rushed together through the station, from the train itself toward the Ford Angela at their 'brisk walk.' All the while, they boxed in the smallest figure between them to hide her from the public eye. And wasn't that just one more sign? She was shorter than even Ginny, who was a year younger than her. Holly Lily Potter was a minuscule creature, wearing the now fitted clothing that Ginny had passed to her over the year - without even being asked! Her black hair had been smashed under one of Percy's hats disguising the color. While Ron had stolen her glasses and was bodily leading her, so she didn't walk face-first into anything. Her owl had been sent ahead by the twins. All this had been in the effort to ensure no one noticed that the Weasley family… was kidnapping the girl-who-lived.
Arthur peered at the pre-teen, catching a glimpse as Ginny bounced excitedly at her side and he saw her reddened eyes. Soundlessly she cried, with her hands pressed to her lips to muffle any sounds that might escape and give her away. Ron, his wonderful son, chatted on and pretended he didn't see it as he excitedly told her everything they'd do that summer. Ginny, still recovering from what had happened with that bloody diary, agreed energetically - more excited than he'd ever expected after what she'd been through. As he listened in, he heard Ginny gush about sharing a room for the first time in her life.
"Of course not, she's willing!" Molly proclaimed, re-catching his attention. Her eyes scanned the area like a dragon ready to breathe fire at the slightest perceived slight. Arthur had no doubts Charlie would confirm his comparison. Regardless, Arthur hummed a confirmation to Molly's comment because it was true. Holly was very willing to join their family, but she was also very willing to join any family to escape those Dursley's. Which wasn't as comforting a thought as he'd like.
Now, he and Molly had spent much of the year attempting to find a proper, legal, way of getting Holly away from those people but it had proved a challenge. They'd started most obviously, by visiting the pair themselves once they'd sent the children to Hogwarts. The meeting had, to be as kind as possible, gone badly. The bars the twins told them about had since been removed, but other signs within the house itself hadn't. The cat-flap Molly had overheard about had been present, the cupboard - Arthur couldn't even fathom the closet - carried signs if one was looking closely. And after Molly had threatened the woman that had been related to Lily - honestly, he couldn't see the resemblance at all - the dirty truth had come out.
After that visit, Molly and Arthur had debated what to do for their next step because they absolutely could not allow Holly to return there. If it hadn't been bad enough after the kids' daring escape, Molly and Arthur's visit had definitely made things worse for the child. On the other hand, the proper authorities to contact in the magical world wouldn't do anything about it. It was partly - entirely - due to the pureblood's in charge of the Wizengamot not wanting anyone looking into how they raised their heirs. So abuse in all forms was shoved under the rug, all because the magical world didn't possess a system to counter it. A friend of Arthur's, a woman who had been a victim of childhood abuse had blatantly told him there was nothing to be done outside of therapy as an adult, muggle therapy because mental health wasn't commonly spoken of either. Arthur was still in awe after speaking to a few muggle 'sky-terra-pists.' All this left Molly and Arthur at a standstill and an impending question, could they really do nothing?
The answer was blatantly a no, but the most straightforward method was to just take the girl who lived into their home… illegally. For any other child, it wouldn't be questioned in their world. Sirius had run away at fifteen and spent his every summer after at James Potter's home and no one ever asked about it. That hadn't just been a one-time occurrence either. Andromeda had spent a significant amount of time at Arthur's childhood home after she'd been burned from the family tree. And though Holly was younger, her relatives wouldn't miss her, and it would only be for the summer as far as a public knew. The problem was, Holly was the girl-who-lived, she was a public figure and if anyone found out the truth… Arthur didn't want to imagine what would happen to him, Molly, and the kids.
But then there was Holly. Ron's best friend, an innocent little girl, a very abused young lady, and someone Molly and Arthur needed to help.
Still, they were torn, indecision rushing through their hearts and minds. Until a floo call came in from McGonagall Minerva, and everything settled into place even as their worlds dangerously rocked. He and Molly had sat at Ginny's bedside, watching her breathe in and out. He kept a hand on her chest, feeling the steady up and down motion, just to remind himself that yes… his daughter was alive. Then he'd cast his eyes toward a steadily sleeping Ron who'd blurted the entire story to them, and to Holly curled in the smallest of balls. Even in sleep, she protected her head, but her expression… it was utterly innocent. Arthur had known then what they had to do, and Molly had agreed one-hundred percent.
The savior, the girl-who-lived, was eleven years old and had faced Tom Riddle - Voldemort - and a basilisk to save Ginny. She was a hero, and she was eleven years old, a baby. And Molly and Arthur would risk themselves to protect her from any more cruelty.
That night Arthur and Molly planned everything out, the next day they contacted Percy and the twins for aid. Each acting out their part to smuggle Holly out of the platform without raising suspicions from the parents picking up their own children. Right past the muggles at the station, and straight into the Ford Angela. Because they were kidnapping Holly Potter, and nothing was going to stop them.
"He's here," Molly said out of the side of her mouth as she tried to plaster on an innocent expression across her face. It was twitching and a terrible attempt, but at least she tried to act innocent as she spotted the monster of a being - worse perhaps than Voldemort in her opinion - Vernon Dursley. The man was taking all the time in the world to exit his vehicle, preparing to pick up his niece. As Arthur watched an expression of pure cruelty twisted the man's face, and Arthur knew he was imagining all the cruelties he wanted to subject their daughter to-
Molly's hand stopped him before he stormed toward the beast and socked him across the face. He felt his skin burn holding himself back by a breath as he watched the man saunter into the station.
"We don't have long Arthur, quickly before he notices she's missing and before she notices him."
He exhaled through his teeth and nodded a single time sharply. Arthur forced his eyes away from the man and tilted his head so the kids couldn't see the violent expression on his face. Then he marched toward the driver's side of the car and hopped in quickly. He didn't try to speak as Molly hopped in on the other side and glanced back cheerfully.
"All buckled in family?"
From behind five of their children responded with a positive and Molly frowned: "I said 'All buckled in family?'"
More confirmations, but again, only five. So Molly slid her eyes to Holly, and she politely waited. After ten seconds, Ron nudged her and whispered quickly in her ear. Holly turned bright red and rushed to stutter out: "Y-yes, I'm… err, ready!"
Arthur started the car feeling far better than he had a moment ago, and Molly sat forward, making herself comfortable as they started down the road toward home. Casually, as they drove down the road, Arthur cleared his throat, turned to his wife, and brought up the secret he'd been keeping for quite a while. "So, that thing I won for the summer," the trip to Egypt they hadn't told the children about, the one that involved the Weasley's but got complicated when it came to their newest illegal addition. Molly glanced his way and gave a curious noise. As of that moment, Arthur had actually been intending to stay behind with Holly as he sent the rest to visit Bill… until Arthur ran into a bit of luck. "I have a co-worker, and please don't be upset Molly-wobbles, but he was able to make a Muggle passport for Holly and for us. That way, we can all go on the trip together." He grinned her way, wondering if she would be furious with him, he wasn't sure how far they were going to push the crime-breaking after the first one committed that afternoon. He was counting on the high it would be giving Molly now that they had succeeded at stealing a child.
"Oh, Arthur!" Molly thankfully beamed at him, "that's wonderful, they'll love it!" they glanced in the review mirror together just in time to see Percy successfully get Holly to stop crying and laugh. "Goodness knows Bill wants to meet her after everything we've told him, and Holly deserves a chance to meet her eldest brother."
Holly rubbed her hands together nervously as the plane touched down. She'd spent the whole trip between Ron who had tried to melt into his seat because on her other side was Arthur who'd chatted with the flight attendant the entire time about the hows and whys of how an airplane flew. Holly was fairly certain the woman thought Arthur a bit touched in the head and had offered him the chance to see the cockpit when they landed.
Which meant they left the plane a little bit later than everyone else because Arthur had dragged Ginny along to meet the pilots with him while the rest of them had declined out of embarrassment, or fear like Holly. Not a fear of the plane, but constant fear that eventually this joy would be ripped away from her. When Ron had grabbed her at the station and had refused to release her despite her half-hearted protests that she had to go back to the Dursley's, she'd been confused but relieved. She'd been terrified the last month of Hogwarts, convinced she was heading to her death after everything that occurred that year. Twice she'd escaped Ron and Hermione's presence to prevent herself from having a panic attack in front of them, both times she'd holed up in the bathroom and had sung to her soulmate. He had, as if sensing her fear, sang back in secure, calm tones which helped her calm down enough to go back.
Then Ron had hissed his parents plan to her as they rushed through the station. She'd been boxed in by Weasley's and told she was staying with them and was not to be returning to the Dursley's ever again. Holly hadn't believed that to be a possibility especially after she'd asked Dumbledore to stay at Hogwarts at the end of her first year. He'd said he had to return to the Dursley's and her aunt to keep the protection her aunt gave her, and she'd believed it. Until Ron reminded her shrewdly, it hadn't done a thing against Tom Riddle, so there was no point in trying to keep it up.
So Holly was given Charlie's old bed which had been moved into Ginny's room. Ginny happily showed Holly which drawers and shelves were hers, and then unpacked and put up posters and made the room theirs instead of just Ginny's. Hedwig got comfortable with Errol, and Holly with the chaotic schedule that was the Weasley family.
Truthfully, however, she couldn't settle. She was constantly prepared for everything to go badly, that she'd anger Molly and Arthur enough that they'd kick her out. Every shattered plate, every sign that someone might be angry and Holly would try to hide. Molly constantly told her it was fine, the plate didn't matter, that she was allowed to fight with Percy over the bathroom as much as the other children, that she could argue and complain about the chores because every child did. But she didn't believe it.
She continued to cringe when Ron was grounded over back-talk to his mother. Or when the twins turned Ginny's hair blue, and she chased them all over the house to shatter one of Molly's potter plants. Or when George and Fred abandoned their de-gnoming chore, and Holly finished up alone until Arthur dragged the pair back by the ear with a bit of furious whisper and gesturing in Holly's direction.
The vacation Arthur won had been nice, except Holly kept thinking about how much it cost to bring her along as well. So as much as she loved the plane and flying in general, she had spent the entire flight on pins and needles wondering how she could offer to pay for herself without offending and had the feeling it would be an impossible endeavor.
She exited the plane with Molly and felt another fissure of uncertainty enter her heart. Place her in front of Tom Riddle and a basilisk, and she was as solid as a rock. Ask her to face down Voldemort himself possessing her professor and Holly could handle it. But, ask her to live with a family that finally wanted her and… and she was a nervous wreck.
"Bill will be picking us up." Molly explained to them, "hopefully Arthur and Ginny don't take terribly long, I don't want him to wait."
Holly cringed again, she got along well with the Weasley's so far. But Bill and Charlie, the eldest boys, she hadn't yet met, and she was terrified they'd dislike her. She really wanted to meet them, but at the same time didn't want to intrude in on the clear family vacation. This was Percy, George, Fred, Ginny, and Ron's time to see their brother and she couldn't help but feel she was intruding no matter how many times they told her she wasn't.
Her soulmate hummed a diddy in her head, but for once, it didn't help as Arthur and Ginny left the plane, and the group headed out together. Her hands wrung together as she attempted to keep to the back of the group as they went down the escalators and headed for immigration and then baggage claim. The entire time during both, the former as Arthur charmed the poor man to accept Holly who looked so different, and the second she found herself dragged to the front of the group by Ron or the twins. Her bag also happened to be last out, so Holly had no excuse to hide behind the ground because she had to find the bloody thing.
"AH!"
Holly flinched when Ron suddenly screamed as he went to close his bag which had opened at some point during the flight only to discover Scabbers had apparently snuck into his suitcase. Holly relaxed slightly as the group discussed the occurrence. Errol and Hedwig had flown to Bill's directly for the trip, but Scabbers couldn't go through the Muggle airports, so Ron had asked a girl named Luna who lived nearby to check on him. Apparently, Scabbers protested the idea.
"Better keep a closer eye on him," Holly commented, finding it within herself to tease as Ron settled his pet on his shoulder and sheepishly blushed.
"We'll have to owl him back in his carrier." Molly sighed but accepted the addition because she had to. Thankfully for Ron, the incident was dismissed as Holly's bag finally showed up and they could leave… to meet Bill.
Holly whimpered inaudibly following meekly as they left the airport in time to see a redhead with a ponytail holding out a sign with the word 'Weasley +.'
Bill was… attractive. Holly immediately found herself blushing at the roguish look, and the bright red hair; a look that a future version of herself would say was her 'type.' But her at that moment realized with horror that she very much had a budding crush on the eldest Weasley. Something that did not go unnoticed by Molly, or Arthur. The young man who knew by then from his parents how truly nervous Holly was about the whole situation, she had not hidden it as well as she thought.
So as the Weasley's walked up, Bill tossed aside his sign, bypassed his siblings and parents, and scooped Holly right off the ground. "Here's my newest sister! Welcome to Egypt kiddo!" Holly squeaked blushing up to her roots as he spun her around in a tight hug. Embarrassed beyond belief at her reaction, she burrowed her head into her hands as they spun. Before he finally placed her back on her feet and leaned down to peer right into her eyes.
"Welcome to the family Holly, and remember… I'm the only brother you can trust."
She giggled, and gave a nod in time for Bill to be tackled and sent to the ground by four of the five remaining Weasley kids. Percy alone remained behind patiently even if he looked like he too wanted to join the chaos and only narrowly refrained. Holly almost did as well, until Ron cried: "get him Holly!" and with only a moment's hesitation, tossed herself into the chaos and finally relaxed.
"Akmen-what?" Holly asked, ignoring Ginny who was a blushing giggling mess behind her. The 'Mummy' before her smiled kindly and corrected her with a gentle smile, which really only made Ginny worse.
"Akmenrah, a pleasure." The living Mummy bowed before her and Holly thought for the first time that Egypt was a rather eventful place.
Holly's vacation had been interesting so far. With the sudden introduction into puberty as she crushed hard on Bill even while her soulmate happily sang in her head unaware of her new realizations. She'd tried her best not to make it obvious but clearly failed when Molly calmly took her aside and gave her the speech and explained for the first time what a period was and how she was to react to it. Holly had been mortified, more so when Ginny had been dragged in as well because she'd passed by at the wrong time. After that, Holly couldn't stop blushing for ages.
Bill had shown them all over the Muggle areas of the cities, portkeying and apparating them all over the country for the best dinners and sights. Before they'd gone on wizard tours across the countryside to see the pyramids. The first had Holly accidentally seeing a Muggle ghost trapped in some ancient artifact that Bill told her to ignore; apparently the yellow and purple-haired figure was a common one and cursed or something. The second pyramid had Fred getting cursed, which had Bill showing off the magic he knew to fix the problem - it did not help her crush.
After that, Arthur and the Weasley's, sans Bill, had been carted off for an interview and a photoshoot with the daily prophet over Arthur's winnings. Bill took her one on one to dinner, and she'd been a stuttering mess the whole time as Bill regaled her with various stories from his childhood. It gave her an interesting look into Charlie whom she hadn't met, as well as a toddler version of Ron, Ginny, and a young Fred, George, and Percy. He'd also told her in several ways that she could rely on him no matter what, they were family now… that also didn't help her crush.
After the rest of the Weasley's had been released, they went to their third pyramid, which had the twins 'accidentally' locking Ginny and Holly behind a wall in a secret part of the pyramid. Trapped and too much of a Gryffindor to not explore, Holly and Ginny had ventured on to find a way out. Which had them running into the living Mummy, Akmenrah.
"How do you know English anyway?" Holly asked as the Pharaoh led her and Ginny to the exit.
"I might sleep during the day, but where my sarcophagus is placed allows me to hear your people venturing through my home. After enough years, I picked up the language well enough. And believe it or not, you are far from the first young witch to mistakenly get trapped in the tunnels."
"Wow," Holly noted as they turned down another path and Akmenrah turned off yet another trap complaining that his guards kept turning them on every time he turned them off. As they walked Holly saw a few drawings which looked like people singing and perked. "Hey, how do soulmates work if your a living Wizard Mummy?" she'd assumed he had to be magic to do what he was doing, even if he hadn't confirmed it, he still wasn't surprised by her wand when she'd mistakenly pulled it on him.
"The same as yourselves I should expect." He gave them both a charming look, and Ginny squealed into her hands. "We sing our songs, and our mates hear them… or so I assumed."
"Assumed?" they both asked, and Akmenrah gave them a boyish grin.
"When I lived I had no match to my voice, it was only after my death that I was able to hear them. I hear them grow now, and I am looking for a way to escape into the light to finally be with them."
"You're going to revive yourself?" Ginny asked, "and… go to your soulmate… that's so romantic!"
"Perhaps." He agreed as they went around a corner and he ran his fingers on a set of runes causing a rumble of stone to sound. Holly and Ginny turned and watched moonlight begin to filter in as a doorway opened and freedom was revealed. "But here is your way out, you should return to your parents… surely they are missing you."
"Thanks!" Ginny chirped, "we will."
She squeaked again when Akmenrah kissed her hand and bid her farewell before he turned to Holly to do the same. Holly allowed it not feeling as strongly with the Pharoah as Ginny clearly did, but still liking his company. After he pulled back, she allowed herself a single moment of hesitation before offering: "My… brother works in the pyramids if you want… maybe I could send him your way? Maybe you two could find a way to allow you to live during the day too?"
Akmenrah smiled warmly and suddenly surged forward to hug her. "My thanks, Miss Holly! I would gladly accept your offering."
"I'll… I'll tell him then." She said hugging the Mummy back before he returned her to the ground and they stepped back. "Goodluck with your soulmate though, if I don't see you again."
"And you with yours." He returned easily.
Ginny and Holly left the pyramid with a final goodbye, and Ginny was quick to nudge her. "'My brother.' Man mum and dad are gonna be thrilled! Bill too! He's trying so hard to make you like him."
"He is?!" She choked, and Ginny laughed.
"Oh sure, he told me he was scared you were nervous around him with all that stuttering you're doing, and he's our older brother, so he wants you to be able to come to him without being scared. This will make him so happy!"
"EH?!"
"Merlin Holly, with how nervous you are around Bill I can only imagine how bad you'll be around Charlie, he's covered in these awesome dragon scars!"
"…is… he, oh…?" her face went a bit airy and Ginny bust out laughing which continued until they heard Molly's voice cry their names in relief as the family came running over while Holly melted down mentally over how obvious she'd been.
In the end, Ginny had been right, Bill had been thrilled when Holly asked if he'd meet Akmenrah - who would only help Bill's work considering he was a magical living Pharaoh. And had promised to visit the Pharoah even as they finished off their trip and headed back a bare day and a half later. The family bade Bill a fond goodbye at the airport as their trip ended, with Bill promising to owl Holly about Akmenrah and Holly continuing to blush up a storm.
They returned to the daily prophet speaking of their trip, in which Holly's name wasn't spoken.
Followed by a week later, as a haggard figure plastered the front of every paper and every page. As a single gifted paper hammered a crucial nail into the wood of fate and caused Sirius Black to finally escape Azkaban, with a single thing on his mad mind.
It was Percy who opened the door. At the time Arthur was at work, Molly was grocery shopping, and Ginny had been at Luna's house to hang out. The twins were 'experimenting' in their room which was why they hadn't answered it, while Holly and Ron had been upstairs attempting to learn some muggle card games which Hermione had mentioned had her latest letter. She'd apparently learned to play with her father and wanted to try playing with Ron and Holly - mostly so she and Holly stopped loosing at chess. So Percy found himself on the front steps, in his pajama's, before the minister for magic himself who was looking for Holly. And really, what could Percy do but invite the man in?
Holly was summoned with Ron close behind and settled in front of the minister as Percy frantically changed and made the tea he was suddenly desperately grateful that his mother had taught him to make. As such Holly stood there before a man she'd never met before and tried very hard not to make it seem like she was there because she'd run away.
"So… err… this man escaped, and you're- err… checking on me?" she questioned with a twitching expression on her face. Holly desperately wished Arthur or Molly was home, or that Percy had any idea what to do either. The high pitch nervous laughter Percy was managing so far wasn't helping at all.
"Yes, my dear! We were worried when we went to check on your Muggle relations home and discovered you weren't there!"
"AH REALLY." That was too loud, Holly cringed as Percy suddenly laughed sounding a bit hysterical and Ron started to blabber. How was she was only one good at covering her ass in this place! "Well you see, Ron invited me over last week, didn't you Ron?"
"Y-yeah I did, I definitely did that last week, last week I did it!"
"He did, I helped with the letter!" Percy put forth, "the letter we wrote, to invite her. You know that one?"
"Yeah, I know that letter."
Holly felt sweat build at the back of her neck as Ron and Percy dug their graves. "I've been here for the week, just after Ron got back from Egypt and it sounds like quite a trip! The ministry is so great for helping them with it." She waved at Percy and Ron to shut them up, "Ron was telling me all about it, it's almost like I was there." Holly gave a polite smile as Percy violently twitched. "Didn't my relatives tell you that?"
"Oh they did, they did!" the minister rushed to cover, pleased by her compliments and unwilling to tell her how quickly he'd been kicked out of her Muggle home. He'd never been so offended, but he didn't want the girl-who-lived to know that, she could use it against him. Technically the woman had screamed at him that she had been with the 'freakish redheads,' and he'd inferred the truth from that.
"That's good." Holly actually relaxed at that already imagining Petunia and Vernon screaming at the minister, which might have actually been amusing to see.
"Oh, yes, it is… say, lad, when did you say your parents were going to get home?" the minister turned to a panicked and very red Percy.
"Err… that's… the… my mother- she…" he whimpered wilting.
"About an hour, sir." Ron piped up, "she's just gone to the alley for groceries
"An hour, oh very well then."
"Very well?" all three of them asked at the same time only to learn the man intended to wait. Holly was convinced by then Percy's brain would have melted, but thankfully Molly returned early and was shockingly capable of stringing together a story based on the nonsense Holly rushed to tell her before she went to meet with the man himself. She, Percy, and Ron were, of course, kicked out. Not that it stopped them from all listening, including the twins who realized what was happening and Percy who was dying to know. So, laid out of the stairs lay the five of them as Molly met with the minister.
It was with Ron's elbow in her side, Percy's leg pressed to her own, George hovering over her head, and Fred squeezed underneath her that Holly learned the truth about her parents and their deaths. Of the secret keeper, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and the mad man who escaped an impenetrable prisoner just to hunt her down. Thankfully Holly was not even close to alone as the truth came out.
As George shifted dropping his chin onto her head and reminding her, he was there. As Ron reached sideways removing his elbow to wrap Holly in a one-armed hug. As Percy pressed his entire body against her side in a silent, stoic reminder that he accepted her into his family, and even with an inability to string together a story, he still wanted her there at the potential cost of his dream job. As Fred rolled all the way over just so he could hug her. And as a voice sang in her heard as always reminded her that even if this man had cost her, her parents, that she still had a family.
Soundlessly Holly sobbed as Molly assured the minister that Holly was well looked after for the summer, that she wouldn't be left alone, and then bid the man a pushy goodbye. And she continued to cry as Molly found them all wrapped up on the stairs having realized early on they were listening in. Carefully Molly slid Percy and Ron to the side, George off Holly, then nudged Holly out of Fred's arms and into her own. As Molly hummed soothingly rubbing Holly's back as she wept and ensured that for once Holly had a mother's arms to cry into as her world shattered.
Shanks sat with his back against the helm and his eyes on his journal as he softly hummed matching the tune his soulmate was humming. She often sang that particular tune, so Shanks knew the words - sort of - to sing along, though he didn't actually know the meaning just yet.
"Get up and go, gotta greet the rising sun."
He swayed a bit and grinned at the parchment before him. Over the last year, Shanks had been working on this little project every chance he could get. Day by day he went to Roger stealing words from his soulmates songs and getting the man to translate them for him all to learn his soulmates language. True the grammar was terribly difficult to understand, and true Shanks was missing a lot of words. Really his attempts were patchwork at best. But he was trying, and after a year he was doing quite well he thought.
Soon he'd be able to translate Binks Sake to surprise her. He just wanted Roger to check over his translation one last time before he actually sang the song for her.
Closing his journal, Shanks jumped to his feet and sent out a small burst of haki to locate his captain. He was still learning the art, and Rayleigh had warned him often not to over-use it due to his age. The burst revealed he was with Rouge in Crocus' office, so Shanks started that way. Only a few minutes later, Shanks nearly tossed the door open without so much as knocking.
"-It's not good-" Crocus cut off his sentence as Roger and Rouge spun to see Shanks standing there with a bright grin.
"Shanks." Roger playfully glared at him, but Shanks faltered. Something was off about the three, something he couldn't place. "How can I help?"
Dismissing it and trusting his captain Shanks said: "I finished translating Binks sake, can you check it on last time?"
Roger inclined his head and moved toward Shanks, "of course, give it here."
Crocus made an aborted movement and frustrated sound, but Roger completely ignored the man. While Rouge likewise stepped forward, both of them ignoring the doctor which certainly wasn't the first time Shanks knew.
"Is this for your soulmate?" Rouge asked as Roger sang through it testing the song, amazingly Shanks was pleased to say he could understand the words coming out of Roger's mouth, unlike the other two present… if his translations were correct, that was.
"Yes, once I learn the language, we can sing each other better hints. Right now, I know nothing about her!" Shanks made a frustrated noise and Rouge giggled her hand covering her mouth. It was a way to cheat the system she knew. While you couldn't sing out your direct location, you could sing out obvious hints about yourself. When they'd been teenagers Rouge had sung about ladies with rouge lips and pink hair to give Roger an indication of what she'd looked like. While Roger had sung countless pirate songs, and one particular farmer's song which involved a straw hat.
"It sounds right lad." Roger finished the song and handed the journal back to Shanks, "try it out for her."
"Thanks, captain." Shanks backed off a bit holding the papers tight in his grip a burst of nervousness crept into his heart. He… he was wary. Years she'd not sung to him, and Shanks had no idea why- what if this scared her-
"Lad… she'll be thrilled." Roger assured him before Shanks spiraled too hard. "She's destined to be yours, she won't turn you away."
"But what if she stops singing again…" he couldn't stop but voice his fear.
"I doubt it." Rouge said, "likely that had little to do with you, and more to do with an outside reason."
"She'll appreciate the effort you put in." Roger agreed, "now, sing!"
"Right." He flexed his fingers, "okay." He turned rushing for the perfect place to sing to her, leaving the three adults abruptly.
Crocus eventually stepped forward, pushing away from his desk and moving his hand which had been hiding the results of his latest test from Shanks' eye. He went to speak, only to be interrupted by Rouge. "He's adorable Shanks, young love… I can't wait to see the young lady that matches him."
Roger's lips quirked and he leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek: "she'll have to be quite the creature to match that boy, they'll change the currents those two."
Crocus closed his eyes at the wistful tone to Roger's words because that future would not be one he'd see: "Roger… we need to talk about this."
"No, I don't think we do." He turned and grabbed Rouge's hands, tugging her toward the door, "We've got a song to listen to, right love?"
A crack of a breaking twig sounded in the darkness outside the burrow. Holly leaning against the tree at the farthest end of the property glanced up. Dark as it was Holly couldn't make out much past the grass. She knew during the day the hills lay out toward Luna Lovegood's home - whom she'd briefly met several days previous - and it was covered in bramble and enchanted plants. Holly had been warned several times against venturing out there, she'd been told quite a few stories about Ginny, George, and Bill all getting lost and trapped until Molly or Arthur could rescue them. She was also aware that hearing such a specific noise meant that it was likely she was about to be jumped by one of the gnomes, coyotes, or rabbits that lived in the bushes.
Holly closed her book, the first magical book she owned that wasn't a school book. She'd gotten it for her birthday, and it was all about the legend of the high-elves and how they might have left their world for another. Holly hadn't quite had the chance to read it yet because of the chaos of the Weasley home. A disorder that most of her loved, it was warm, active, and always bustling. But that a small part of her was exhausted with.
Holly never got a moment to herself, not even in the bathroom was she ever left alone, and it was quickly draining to someone who had spent so very long isolated. So despite the danger on her life, Holly liked to sneak out after dark, sit by the tree, and read in the dying light of the sun. And yet, despite that danger, Holly never imagined that snapping twig was anything but a small animal.
Technically, she hadn't been wrong exactly.
The bushes shifted and rattled as Holly slowly closed her book eyes near the roots in preparation. Gnomes she'd learned were small monsters, and she was in no mood to deal with one right then especially since their scratches needed to be treated, and she wasn't exactly allowed to be in the yard. It was actually her first act of rebellion that Molly and Arthur knew about and were trying to encourage. Which was why Molly was sitting under a disillusion charm on the stairs to ensure no one snatched her new daughter from the yard.
Thankfully for Holly, it was not a gnome that poked its nose out of the bushes. A medium-sized black form crawled out of of the darkness and onto the grass, littered with cuts and scrapes from the plants, among other things. The black dog flopped out before her in exhaustion. Holly sat frozen with her book in her lap as she took in the dogs pitiful appearance and cringed in sympathy. Large gaping spots of fur was missing, what had to be mange covered large areas of its body. She could clearly see the ribs and couldn't help but wonder how the dog had even walked with how emancipated it's whole body was. Blood sluggishly fell from new and old scrapes that to a sailor would scream scurvy on a human. It lay there too exhausted to move, and for all Holly knew, it could have just died, she had no idea… but she had to check.
Carefully and slowly, Holly put down her book and crept into a squatted position as she crawled toward the dog. Soothingly she hummed the song her soulmate sang that always made her feel better. The dog slid an eye open, and it's tail swatted the ground in a weak wag, so Holly dared to move closer and sink her hands into the fur on its head. "It's okay." She soothed, "I have you."
She glanced toward the burrow and bit her lip. Daring to read outside was a small step to bringing an animal into the house, but if she didn't then… then it would probably die, and Holly didn't want that. "Okay… okay…" she carefully eased her arms under the dog's body and lifted it up with a lot of awkwardness. It was thin, yes, but it was still a rather large breed, and she was only thirteen. Wobbling and nearly tripping several times Holly made it to the door not realizing Molly had spotted her, the dog, and had rushed inside to 'meet her.' Personally, Molly wasn't thrilled, but she likewise didn't want to turn the dog away when Holly was only trying to help. They were trying to encourage her to ask them for help, and this was a perfect chance to see if she would or not.
Holly by then made her way into the burrow and gently placed the dog on the floor beside the couch. She was unwilling to dirty up the sofa with the dog even if she'd seen George drop an entire experiment on the cushions just a week previous, which caused it to smell for days. With the dog on the floor, Holly leaned back and hesitated, she could hear Molly in the kitchen but was incredibly nervous to call on the woman for help.
"What is that?!" Exclaimed Ron's voice and Holly flinched as she realized he'd come down the stairs intending to fetch her before it got actually dark outside.
"…a dog."
"A grim!" Ron corrected in a high pitched tone, "where did you get it?!"
"He came out of the bushes, and he's just a dog, Ron." Holly eyed the dog trying to figure a breed but couldn't due to its state, "he's… a lab and… err… a… something else."
"Merlin Holly."
"He needs help," she insisted, "do…. Do think Miss- Molly will be mad?"
"Well." Ron approached eyes intent on the dog, "I dunno, they said no when Ginny brought in that gnome… but it was a gnome, so no one was surprised. There was also the spider incident-" he made a face, "-thank Merlin they didn't let the twins keep that one. Merlin above, it really looks like a grim. What is your luck?"
"Potter luck." She quoted Hermione quickly as she ran a hand in the dog's fur when it got a bit twitchy at Ron's voice. Its eyes were full and bright and were intent on Ron in an odd way.
"Right, forgot about that… well, it is in the house now, so the best we can do is ask. At worst she'll probably send it to a magi-vet. Which I think I need to bring Scabbers too, he's been so sick lately. I think maybe the trip made him sick." Ron glanced toward the kitchen, ready to call his mother when Ginny came around the corner with a limp form in her hands.
"Hey Ron, I think Scabbers is-" whatever she was going to say Holly would never know. Not as the dog too weak to walk mere minutes before launched to its feet and bodily threw itself, jaws snapping, at Ginny. Ron was knocked sideways, sent flying into the coffee table when it shoved him to the side, and Ginny screamed as Scabbers bit her and the dog slammed into her chest feet first. Teeth caught air as Scabbers went spinning and Ginny was sent crashing into the family clock. Glass shattered, yells echoed upstairs in concern as the dog bounced off Ginny to chase down Scabbers.
Under the table they went as they quickly rounded the room. Ron was torn between checking on Ginny who was sobbing, and now blood covered, or saving his rat which was running for its life as the living room was steadily destroyed. Holly didn't hesitate as she dove for the dog, as bad as Ginny was, Holly's entire being was frantic with how badly she'd get in trouble for bringing the dog inside the house in the first place-
Molly stormed into the room with her wand up- Holly caught the dog around the back legs a second too slow. And the dog's sharp teeth crunched into Scabber's small body. Someone screamed as the rat gave a dying screech as teeth slid right into its lungs, it might have been Holly or a horrified Ron, but their cry was nothing compared to the screams they both released as Scabber's vanished and a bloated fat man replaced him.
The body hit the ground, the man already dead when the dog had caught him, with his rib cage caved in.
Holly screamed, kicking frantically away from the stranger with the dog still in her arms. It had utterly relaxed now that its mission was complete and allowed her to drag it back toward the broken couch. Which was when Arthur, the twins, and Percy came pounding down the stairs tripping over each other in their haste.
They came upon the living room destroyed, Ginny sobbing in a shattered clock, Ron turning over and throwing up, Molly too shocked to understand what happened, and Holly sitting there with a filthy black dog in her arms.
Arthur often forgot his mother had been a Black, but at that moment, he was very aware of it.
Upon finding the situation in the living room, Arthur had raced into emergency mode and had taken charge. He'd bid the softer George to collect the story from Holly who he believed to be the most functional at that moment, Fred to remove Molly from the situation, Percy to handle Ron before he'd rushed to Ginny's side to discover if she needed the hospital or not. Thankfully most of her wounds were superficial, and once Fred had calmed Molly, she had been able to heal Ginny. Which left Arthur to handle… the body.
How the calm afternoon had resulted in a corpse in his living room, well that had come from Holly. But he'd greatly overestimated how composed she'd been at the time.
Sobbing and nearly incoherent George had held her and the dog which refused to be parted from her side as she gasped out the story filled with more apology than information. The story seemed simple enough, she'd found a dog, brought it in to be looked after and it had done after Scabbers. That alone Arthur understood, the dog had to have some terrier in it, and Arthur knew they hunted rats. And that the dog got hold of the sickened rat was likewise understandable. The problem was after the dog caught the 'rat.'
"No Holly." He soothed brushing her tears away, "it's alright sweetheart, it's a good thing you brought the dog in. If you hadn't, we never would have known he wasn't a rat." And that thought he shoved back for when she wasn't in front of him, "you did so good Holly, so good."
She gasped and hiccuped, frantically wiping her face and glanced to the body. A reminder that Arthur had a corpse in the living room and all the children had seen it. Only two remained in the area with it now, but that was definitely a problem he had to deal with. "b-but, who is he?"
Arthur grimaced and glanced at the body, at the unmistakable face of a man he'd thought he'd known well and the truth edged at the corners of his mind. "That… that is Peter Pettigrew." He admitted honestly. George's eyes went huge, and both children froze looking at him. Arthur nodded and calmly explained: "we knew each other very well, he was part of the Order during the first war… we called each other friends, I… mourned him when he died... when I thought he died."
"But dad-" George blurted before snapping his mouth closed as Holly finished the thought in all their heads.
"If he's- he was alive, then how come everyone thinks Sirius Black killed him." Her hand absently sank into the dog's head, and it gave a snuffling satisfied sound in its sleep.
"That I don't know, but I believe whatever happened twelve years ago was far more complicated than I first thought."
"It can't be a coincidence that Black escaped now could it?" George pressed for information Arthur didn't have, "do you think… "George had a sharp mind, and he could guess, but there was no way of knowing the truth. Not since Pettigrew was dead and Black was on the run.
"We can't know." Arthur said as he stood his back cracking as he got up, "now you two, head to your rooms… and give the dog a bath and some food."
"Wait, we're keeping it?!" George blurted as Holly obediently stood dragging George with her.
"We are," Arthur confirmed ruffling Holly's hair as she calmed and placed himself between the kids and the body. He hadn't lied to Holly, it was a good thing what the dog had done. But what Arthur hadn't mentioned was how furious he was that the rat that slept in both Percy and Ron's beds all throughout their lives was a fully grown man. The very idea had him enraged, he couldn't breathe from the anger of it and couldn't express how pleased that the random arrival of the dog had revealed this. True, the death was unfortunate… but as he'd said, his mother had been a Black and no Black was utterly sane, not even him.
Arthur nudged the pair out of the room and was left alone with the corpse, a corpse that should not exist. Legally he ought to call the Aurors then about the situation, but even if Arthur worked for the ministry, he was aware of its faults. A body in his home, the corpse of Peter Pettigrew around the girl-who-lived, if Lucius discovered this Arthur's family would be destroyed and he knew it. If this truth came out so too would his kidnapping of Holly, willing or not, that might result in a trip to Azkaban.
Arthur wouldn't risk it.
"Levicorpus." He intoned wand pointed at the body.
His mother was a Black, and this was not the first body he'd… disposed of, he had fought in a war after all.
"Dear?" Molly whispered after Arthur returned alone without a single spec of dirt on his person.
"Yes, Molly-wobbles?" he greeted, noting that the living room had been set right and the blood wholly removed from the carpet.
"Do you think Sirius could be innocent?" she questioned in the darkness of the room, the kids long asleep as the witching hour came upon the house-hold.
"I think… it's possible, but between his innocence and Holly's safety, she comes first." As all the kids did.
Together Arthur and Molly discussed the event Molly never asking where the body ended up, while Arthur didn't question how easily Molly removed blood stains from the house as he hadn't the first time she'd needed to. A decade after the war and signs of it lingered on and always would. As they chatted about what to do about the kids and what they'd seen the children slept on. George filled with theories and plans, Fred curled around him already haunted by the sight. With Ron who had crept into bed with Percy, and Percy who hadn't complained as they shared an equal thought about the rat they thought to be a pet. Or with Ginny and Holly slept feeling secure together in the same bed with a large black dog situated happily between them, at peace mentally for the first time in twelve years.