News of Ron's death was announced over breakfast the day after Harry and Draco had witnessed Ginny being escorted from Gryffindor Tower by Professor McGonagall. McGonagall was the one who announced the sad news before breakfast was served. The entire school was shocked by the news, and Harry and Draco also managed to convince people McGonagall's announcement was the first they'd heard of the redhead's demise.
Surprisingly, or perhaps not considering Ron's recent behaviour, there wasn't a great deal of sadness at the announcement. Most people were shocked, but very few were genuinely saddened by Ron's death. Harry didn't even pretend to be sad as by now everyone knew how he really felt about Ron. However, he was pretty shocked by the lack of emotion from elsewhere in the school. Either Ron's recent behaviour had well and truly turned people against him, or else there were more people in the school that might side with the dark if push came to shove.
The day after Ron's death shook Hogwarts, news broke that Madam Pomfrey had been found dead in her cottage. Unlike Ron's death, there was a genuine outpouring of emotion from the students. The staff also seemed more shook up by the news, and there was a genuine air of grief around the school.
Although the other consequence of the double death, were the rumours that started to spread throughout the castle. It hadn't escaped people's notice that Ron had died shortly after attacking Harry and Hermione, while Madam Pomfrey had been sacked for not picking up on Hermione's injuries. Of course, no-one had the guts to ask Harry if his family were responsible for the deaths, but he heard the whispers.
Severus had also heard the whispers of gossip, and not just from the students. He knew the staff were also gossiping and speculating on whether or not the dark had been involved in the duel deaths. Not that Severus was planning on addressing the rumours, unless someone specifically asked him about them. However, he did organise a staff meeting to deal with the fact he was going to have to take some time off for Hermione's transplant.
The staff meeting occurred a couple of days after the news of Madam Pomfrey's death had broken, and when Severus entered the staff room with Lucius and Beth, it was the hot topic of conversation amongst the staff. When the trio appeared, the conversations stuttered to a halt, although by this point Severus, Beth and Lucius had all heard enough to know what the staff were thinking.
"Before we begin, perhaps there's something people want to ask me," Beth said as she grabbed a cup of tea and settled down for the meeting. "I would rather people confronted me, rather than spread nasty rumours based on what they think might have happened."
"No-one is spreading any rumours," Pomona Sprout promised the Potions Professor. "We're merely discussing recent events."
"So sad, to lose both a student and member of staff," Filius Flitwick added with a sigh.
"Yes, it's tragic," Lucius drawled, his tone indicating he thought it was anything but tragic.
"So Minerva, is there anything you want to ask me?" Beth demanded, focusing on the Head of Gryffindor, as she'd been the one doing most of the gossiping.
"Since you've raised the subject, I will ask what we're all wondering," McGonagall replied bravely. "Did you and your family kill Ron Weasley and Poppy Pomfrey?"
"Of course not," Beth lied, sounding and looking extremely innocent.
"You have to admit it's a hell of a coincidence," McGonagall continued, not buying Beth's act of innocence, although it was clear most of the other staff members were. "Ron had just attacked your daughter and grandson, and then you were furious about Poppy missing Hermione's injures."
"I won't deny the deaths haven't exactly saddened me, or any of my family come to that," Beth answered. "But that doesn't mean we had anything to do with them. Both the Weasley boy and Poppy were punished."
"I hardly think Poppy losing her job is considered sufficient punishment in your eyes," McGonagall snorted.
"Why not?" Beth asked. "Not only did she lose her job, but she would have struggled to find work elsewhere. Her life was shattered. I didn't have to kill her to make her suffer."
"From what I heard dozens of rejection letters were found at her cottage," Lucius piped up. "No-one in the medical profession would give her a chance, not when she was sacked for negligence and didn't have any references. Is it any wonder she had a heart attack due to the stress?"
"Exactly, she was suffering without me having to lift a finger," Beth said with a smirk. "Besides, didn't it say in the papers that there was no sign of forced entry? From what I read, Poppy was home alone when she died."
"And what about Ron?" McGonagall pressed. As much as she hated to admit it, Beth's arguments about Poppy seemed sound, but that didn't mean the dark weren't responsible for Ron's untimely death.
"What about him?" Beth asked with a frown.
"After what he did, I could imagine there was a lot of hatred aimed towards him from your family," McGonagall answered.
"There was, and still is," Beth confirmed. "But that doesn't mean we were involved in that boy's death."
"I heard it was suicide," Flitwick said quietly.
"Poppycock," McGonagall snorted. "Where did you hear that?"
"I have a friend who works at the Ministry," Flitwick replied. "According to him, he heard the Aurors investigating the accident talking about the possibility of suicide. Apparently since his suspension he's been depressed and spending a lot of time down beside the lake."
"Bernard Nott told me the same thing," Lucius supplied helpfully. "Apparently one of the Weasley boys told the Aurors it was his first thought when he heard his brother was dead. Bernard also said that even though no-one else in the family will admit the same thing, it was clear a few of them had the same thoughts."
"Nonsense," McGonagall tutted. "I refuse to believe that a sixteen year old boy would take his life. He had everything to live for."
"Did he?" Beth asked with a raised eyebrow. "He'd been suspended from school, with his permanent exclusion merely a formality. That would mean he would struggle to get any sort of job that wasn't menial work. Not to mention the of legal action hanging over him. The Ministry hadn't formally pressed charges, but given what subsequently happened to Hermione the charges were being amended to take into account her injuries."
"What sort of charges were being considered?" McGonagall asked with a frown.
"There's the obvious ones of using an unforgivable curse," Beth replied. "But then the added charges would have involved attempted murder, or at the very least serious bodily harm. There was no way that he would have escaped a prison sentence."
"I had no idea," McGonagall muttered.
"That's what happens when you spread rumours without knowing all the facts, you're often completely wrong about things," Beth said sharply. "Now if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about the Weasley boy. I'm more concerned about my daughter who's lying in hospital, ready to undergo a major procedure."
"What sort of procedure?" Sprout asked, giving Beth a sympathetic smile.
"She's going to have a kidney transplant at the weekend," Beth answered.
"Which is the reason for this meeting," Severus said, deciding to get things back on track now Beth had made McGonagall squirm. "I will be the one giving Hermione the kidney she needs. The procedure isn't as major for me, but I will still be off work for a couple of weeks. In my absence, Lucius will be taking over as Headmaster."
"Lucius?" McGonagall hissed. "But I'm the deputy Headmistress."
"I'm well aware of that," Severus replied. "But given your remarks today, I'm not sure I trust you, Minerva. I need someone I can trust to take charge, and Lucius is that person."
"You can't do this," McGonagall replied.
"I can, and I have," Severus said. "If you don't like the situation, Minerva, you know where the door is. This is a temporary measure. I will be away from Hogwarts for two or three weeks maximum. In my absence Lucius will be in charge, and if anyone has a problem with that, they're also free to leave."
Severus was silent as he let his words sink on. Slowly, his turned his gaze on every member of staff, waiting for any of them to object to his decision to hand the reigns over to Lucius for a short while. No-one objected, and finally he turned his attention back to McGonagall, who looked as though she was sucking a lemon.
"Minerva?" He questioned quietly.
"It's your decision, headmaster," She replied through clenched tenth.
"Yes, it is," Severus replied with a nod as he turned his attention to the rest of the meeting and making sure there was no problems before he took a few weeks off.
C.O.T.D.
"Not a chance," Ginny screamed at the top of her voice as she glared at her father and brothers.
Ginny had been back at home for a couple of days following Ron's death, and Arthur had just informed her that she would be returning to Hogwarts a few days after Ron's funeral. So far, Ron's funeral hadn't taken place as the official investigation was still underway. By this point it was clear the Ministry were going to declare Ron's death an accident, not that Ginny thought it was an accident at all. She knew some of her brothers, Percy especially, thought Ron had killed himself, but she knew the truth. He'd been killed in retaliation for what had happened with Harry and Hermione. Ginny had expected to find some support in her theories, but the only one who thought the same as her was Molly and her mother was in such a state she'd been confined to bed for the last day or so.
"This isn't up for discussion, Ginny," Arthur said firmly. Normally he was a pushover where his children were concerned, but right now he was putting his foot down. "You will be going back to Hogwarts."
"You can't make me," Ginny hissed.
"Since you're not seventeen, I can make you," Arthur replied. "Like it or not, your school days are not over."
"I can't believe you want to send me back to school with killers," Ginny wailed. "We all know Ron was killed because of what he did to Hermione and Harry."
"Now is not the time to discuss that, Ginny," Arthur warned. Since Ron's death, Molly had been in a state and the last thing he wanted was Ginny urging her on in her hatred of Harry, Hermione and their family. A feud would only lead to more grief, and Arthur was convinced the grief would all be theirs.
"This isn't about Ron, this is about you, Ginny," Bill said gently to his younger sister. "If you don't go back to Hogwarts and take your exams, your whole life will be ruined."
"I don't need exams to succeed," Ginny protested.
"Yes, you do," Percy argued. "Without proper exam results, you're doomed to spend the rest of your life in a dead end job."
"You mean like yours?" Ginny shot back, smirking when her brother winced at the mention of his lowly job in the Ministry. "Just where have all your top marks got you, Percy? The second Nott took over as Minister, you were discarded, and not because of your qualifications, because of your name. Face it, unless we change things, we Weasleys are doomed. We are never going to be successful as long as the dark are in charge. We need to fight. Ron understood that."
"And look where that got him," Charlie said quietly. "If you're right, Ginny, our brother was killed because he fought back. We don't want the same thing to happen to you."
"It won't," Ginny vowed. "But I can't just sit back and pretend as though everything is alright. You can't expect me to go back to school as though nothing has happened."
"No-one wants you to pretend nothing has happened," Arthur said with a weary sigh. "But fighting with the dark isn't getting us anywhere, Ginny. All it leads to is people getting hurt, innocent people like your brother. Losing you will kill your mother, Ginny."
"I know," Ginny admitted with a sigh as she slumped down on the sofa next to her father. "I would just rather be here with you lot."
"We would love you to stay, Ginny, but we're thinking of you," Arthur said as he wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "Returning to Hogwarts is what's best for you."
"Besides, if you don't return the dark have won," Charlie said slyly, deciding to try a different tack on his sister. "Don't let them win, Gin. Go back and show them you won't be beaten. Show them we won't roll over and let them take charge."
"We're not going to stop fighting, Ginny," Bill added forcefully. "We just need to be smarter about how we go about things. We won't give up."
"No, we won't," Ginny whispered, silently promising Ron that she would get revenge for him. She would find whoever had killed her brother and she would make them pay.
