Harry and Merope to the Rescue - Chapter 35
Disclaimer:
I don't own the HP universe, unfortunately.
Update is just to fix some missing words I didn't notice during proofing.
It had been a week since Molly Wealsey's attempt on Little Harry's life. Arthur Weasley's body had been found hanging by a noose in the orchard that surrounded the small paddock at the Burrow. He had apparently thought it best to commit suicide, rather than face the wizarding world after what his wife had done. There was only a note pinned to his chest that said, "I'm so sorry." The Weasley children that could understand were devastated, they were now essentially orphans, considering their mother was likely going to Azkaban for life, if she didn't receive the Dementor's Kiss.
After the news had reached Hogwarts, those who had been bullying Bill stepped it up a notch, it was all done outside of the presence of the professors, so nothing was ever done to the perpetrators. The only time they seemed to be discovered by the professors was when Bill decided to fight back, with him seeming to be the one only who lost the most points or earned a detention.
Bill stayed in the library as much as possible, which seemed one of the few safe havens he could find, as his bullies didn't want to lose library access. He would stay in the library for hours studying wards and runes, which he figured out how to use to keep his homework from being destroyed and to protect himself in his bed while he slept.
Bill stayed in contact with his uncle Bilius, and when he asked his uncle what was to become of him and his siblings. His uncle explained sadly that as much as he would like to take Bill and his siblings in, he did not have the means to be able to take care of all of them in addition to his own children. The other Weasleys, despite being sympathetic to the children of Arthur Weasley, were not responding to Bilius' attempts to help with placement.
Feeling saddened and abandoned, Bill wrote a heartfelt letter to Mr. Hadrian Potter and begged for his help.
Potter's Refuge:
Now, Harry had not known about the bullying that Bill had been experiencing at Hogwarts (or considered the possibility of it) until he received the letter from him describing it. In the letter, Bill also explained what his uncle Bilius said in regards to his and his siblings' placement. Harry had been wondering why the other Weasleys had not been in contact regarding the other children that he took into his care, and now he understood.
So upon receiving Bill's letter, he called the family together and requested that Charlie keep an eye out for the younger children (with the exception of Ginny, who was asleep in a playpen next to where Walburga had taken a seat) while he and the adults spoke in private.
After activating the built-in privacy wards, Harry read Bill's letter aloud to Merope, Walburga, Sirius, and Remus, there was silence for some time as everyone pondered the dilemma.
Walburga, who had been watching Ginny with a soft look as she slept, spoke first. "I'll take all of them in. They are related to me, their grandmother was a Black. I have sufficient space in my home and the money to care for them, and I have Kreacher and all of you for help."
"Mother, are you serious?" asked Sirius.
"No, that would be you, son." Walburga responded with a smile.
Sirius started laughing in wonder, "I can't believe you have finally used that joke after all these years!"
Harry smiled and said, "Are you sure, Walburga? I know that you and Moody are seeing each other, if things progress into more than they are, do you think he will be okay with helping to raise someone else's children?"
Walburga smiled and said, "Alastor will be fine with it, Harry. While we do enjoy each other's company," Walburga fought off a little blush, "we are too set in our ways to become more than very good friends. So while he may be an occasional visitor at Grimmauld Place and we do go out on the occasional date, it still gets lonely at Grimmauld Place when I stay by myself there. Besides, they are family and I have the space, money, and inclination to take them in. And if anyone dares to bully Bill after he is taken in under the protection of the Blacks, there will be hell to pay."
Harry smiled in response. He found it a bit comical the way she tactfully admitted to her and Moody's relationship as being friends with benefits. Because he was a gentleman and it wasn't any of his business he didn't comment on it and said, "Well, then it's settled. I'll go with you to make arrangements at the Ministry, although I doubt anyone would dare try to put a stop to it."
After a few more minutes of talking and making plans, Harry deactivated the wards and let Charlie know that the adults were done with their private discussion. Then he and Walburga left to go to the Ministry and take care of all the paperwork and legalities.
A short while later, Harry and Walburga returned from the Ministry and called all the children to them to share the news. Kreacher was called to serve tea and biscuits. Once everyone was finished, Harry cleared his throat and smiled gently to the Weasley children.
"I know you children have been experiencing some hard times the last few months, and I wanted you to know that we're truly sorry for the pain that you have had to go through due to the actions of others." Harry noticed that Charlie and Percy seemed to be the most affected by that statement, but were doing their best to remain strong. The twins were paying attention, but it was anyone's guess as to how seriously the situation had affected them. Ron and Ginny had wandered (toddled in Ginny's case) over to Little Harry and weren't paying attention to the adults, not that they would have had a full understanding of what the significance was anyway.
"I also understand how lost you must feel, not knowing what's going to happen to you now that your parents are unable to be with you and take care of you," continued Harry somberly. "Your father's family seem to either be unwilling or unable to take all of you in, so we," indicating Merope, Walburga, Sirius, and Remus, "have discussed it and we have some news for you, which I hope you will find to be good news." Then Harry gestured to Walburga.
Walburga smiled gently at the children and said, "I have petitioned the Ministry and have been granted permanent guardianship over all of you."
Charlie's and Percy's eyes lit up and Percy asked, "Even Bill?"
Walburga nodded, "Yes, even Bill. I have a large house in London with plenty of rooms for everyone to have their own room. We'll also expand my cabin here, I call it Gran's Place, so that they'll be space for us all when we're here to visit." Charlie and Percy were fighting the instinct to run into her arms, because they were not sure if that would be appropriate, but when she opened her arms to show they would be welcome, they ran at her and engulfed her in a hug, after a moment, the twins joined in. The Weasley children were ecstatic, while they had loved their parents, they had not been able to feel particularly close to them and they had grown quite attached to the Potters and Blacks during the short time that they had been living on the island (which they were amazed by).
Sirius smiled and said, "Welcome to the family kids! You can all call me Uncle Sirius or Padfoot." Then he pointed to Remus and said, "And you can call him Uncle Remus or Moony." Remus gave a smile and nod.
When everyone turned to look at Harry and Merope he said, "Of course you're welcome to call us Uncle Harry and Aunt Mary." Merope smiled and nodded in agreement. They then found themselves with an armful of young Weasleys as well.
Hogwarts:
Bill was sitting by himself at the end of the Gryffindor table closest to the professors (not that they were likely to help him) in the Great Hall for breakfast as far away from the other students as he could get. He had just finished filling up his plate when a hush came upon the Great Hall and all was silent, causing him to look up to see what was happening. His eyes widened in fright when a red howler landed in front of him and he swallowed back his fear. Knowing it only made things worse when one didn't open a howler straight away, he bravely opened it and waited and was in shock when the howler did not begin to shout at him.
"Hey, Bill! This is Hadrian Potter, thank you for writing to me to inform me what you had heard from your uncle, along with what your experience in your first year of Hogwarts has been. You'll understand by the end of this howler why I chose to respond to you this way instead of a regular letter.
"Hello, Bill. My name is Walburga Black and I wanted to let you know that you need not worry about yourself and your siblings anymore. My son and I have taken you all into the House of Black and you now fall under the protection of House Black. When you are not attending Hogwarts, you and your siblings will be living with me. If anyone and I mean ANYONE gives you a hard time, THEY WILL FEEL THE WRATH OF THE HOUSE OF BLACK!
"Hey, Bill! Sirius Black here, you can call me Uncle Sirius or Padfoot from now on. If you need anything, and I mean absolutely anything, you can write to me at any time. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you during the summer holidays.
"Hello, Remus Lupin here, I'm a good friend of the family and you are more than welcome to call me Uncle Remus or Moony. I'm sure we'll see a lot from each other as I spend much of my time with the Potters and Blacks. I also look forward to meeting you during the summer holidays and getting to know you.
"This is Padfoot again! I just wanted to add that Moony and I look forward to teaching you some pranks to get back at those who think they can mess with you.
"Hi, I'm Mary Potter, you may call me Aunt Mary and my husband Uncle Harry. We look forward to seeing you this summer. We were saddened to hear that you have had a poor experience at Hogwarts and that the professors have been doing a poor job of stopping the treatment you have received. Don't worry dear, if those listening haven't caught on by now that you're off limits, they are a special kind of stupid and will reap the consequences. To the adults that should have intervened, HOW DARE YOU TURN A BLIND EYE TO THE BULLYING HAPPENING IN THE HALLS OF HOGWARTS! I DON'T CARE WHAT A CHILD'S PARENTS MAY HAVE DONE, HE IS NOT HIS PARENTS AND HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT THEY HAD DONE. I SWEAR TO MERLIN THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES IF I HEAR THAT EVEN A HAIR ON HIS HEAD HAS BEEN —
"Dear, I think you've made your point. Anyways, Bill, yes, you can call me Uncle Harry and I also look forward to meeting you over the summer. It looks like we're about out of howler, so we're going to say goodbye now. I hope you enjoy the rest of your school year and we'll see you when we pick you up at King's Cross Station when Hogwarts Express comes to drop you off."
When the howler was finished, everyone could see the huge grin on Bill's face as he dug into his breakfast with more enthusiasm than he had been showing before. All the students and professors could think to themselves was, "Oh, shit!"
THE DAILY PROPHET
MOLLY WEASLEY SENTENCED / PLACEMENT FOR WEASLEY CHILDREN
By: Rita Skeeter
Dear readers, it is my solemn duty to inform you that Mrs. Molly Weasley has been sentenced to life in Azkaban for the attempted murder of the Boy-Who-Lived, as the Wizengoment was unable to reach a majority vote when it came to deciding to impose the Dementor's Kiss.
It has also come to this reporter's attention that the guardianship of the children of Molly and the late Arthur Weasley has been granted to Madam Walburga Black of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. When questioned about her reasonings she had this to say:
"The children's paternal grandmother was a Black and as the remaining Weasley relatives seem to be unable or unwilling to take care of them; therefore, I decided to take it upon myself to give the children a stable and loving home. I have spent time with them and find them all to be well behaved and delightful children who should not be held responsible for the sins of their parents. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black has plenty of wealth to take care of all seven children without having to split them apart and place them into different homes."
Bilius Weasley stopped reading the article and smiled to himself. He was glad that things would work out for young Bill and his siblings. He was sorry that he and his wife could not take them all in, but believed that it all would work out for the best now that the Blacks had stepped in. Now the children would be given a chance to actually live, instead of just struggling to survive.