Arthur Weasley strolled into his office Monday morning cheerfully whistling off key. It was just like any other day, Molly had made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and The Daily Prophet had proved uninteresting, as usual. In fact, lately it had very little hint of scandal or controversy. Although it made Arthur uneasy he could help but feel a little overjoyed at the prospect of finally being at a time of peace. When he stepped into the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office he saw Perkins sitting behind a considerably larger desk than the one he had occupied only four years earlier. In fact, many things about the office had changed since Shacklebolt had taken over as Minister. Not only were Perkins and Arthur no longer forced to work in a closet but now they had a much larger space with a much larger salary to match. Perkins looked up from his work as Arthur entered the room.

"Morning, Arthur. You have a note on your desk from the Minister."

"Shacklebolt? Hm… I wonder what he wants." Arthur replied curiously, picking up the note. Perkins shrugged and continued scanning the report he was doing. Arthur slid into his chair and sliced open the seal of the note.

Arthur,

Could you please meet me at my office as soon as you get a chance? I have a meeting with the British Prime Minister tomorrow and I have a couple of questions about electricity.

Sincerely,

Kingsley Shackleboltf

Arthur chuckled as he set the letter in the top drawer of his desk.

"I'll be back, Perkins." Arthur walked swiftly to the elevator and made his way to the Ministers office. Once securely in the elevator he mentally ran over all the things he had learned about electricity and other important facts he knew about Muggles. The doors opened and Arthur spotted a well-known face among the crowd. A man with jet black hair and green eyes stared back at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley." Harry greeted him.

"Harry, my boy." Arthur clapped him on the shoulder. "Are you still coming over tonight for dinner?"

"Of course." Harry grinned at him. "I've been looking forward to it all week."

"Good! You and Ginny don't stop by enough."

"Having trouble with the empty nest, eh?" Harry chuckled at him.

"Well, not so much me but Molly. After raising seven kids and having them all leave… She just misses everyone, is all."

"I can only imagine." Harry smiled. "Where are you headed off to anyway?"

"Oh! The Minister," Arthur used the title for the benefit of those he was sure were eavesdropping, "has asked me to discuss electricity with him. That reminds me, I have a question for you about that. So, the plug goes into the outlet, not the other way around, right?" Harry chuckled softly at the question. He was honestly surprised Mr. Weasley had been able to pronounce the word properly in the first place.

"That's correct. Oh here's my floor. I'll see you tonight." Harry waved goodbye before stepping out.

"Thanks for the help, Harry." Arthur replied as the elevator doors swung shut.

Upon arriving at the Minister's office Arthur directed himself toward the secretary. Samantha Mayfield sat primly at her desk flipping through a Witches Weekly magazine. She was a pretty witch with green eyes and fiery red hair that Arthur had a fondness for.

"Good morning, Samantha. I have a request from the Minister. He wants to see me?" Arthur handed over the note to her.

"Oh yes, Arthur. But he just stepped out. He's on the sixth floor if you care to meet up with him." She handed the note back to him, smiling.

"Thank you, Samantha." Mr. Weasley grinned and turned away from her. He had reached the sixth floor before he realized he had no idea where Kingsley would be. He decided he should just wander around until he spotted Kingsley. Where to begin? Arthur pondered. He spotted a big sign with MSO printed on the front and decided that was as good a place as any. He just hoped he didn't get into too much trouble for being there. Not that it was likely, Arthur Weasley was pretty much welcome anywhere in the Ministry these days, other than the Department of Mysteries. He strode to the door and knocked. No response. He tried again. Again, no response. Well, here goes.

As Arthur pushed open the door to the Ministry surveillance office he noticed a crowd around one of the monitors. They were all whispering animatedly and Arthur immediately recognized Ben Howe, a portly man with whom he had recently become pretty good acquaintances with. He said something Arthur couldn't hear and the others laughed. Arthur moved closer to see what they were all distracted by since none of them had acknowledged his presence yet.

"I didn't know Weasley had it in him." Ben stated. Arthur's ears prickled at the familiar surname. He edged closer to them trying to see the screen.

"Oh he most certainly does." A tall, blonde implied sexually. Arthur was suddenly taken aback. He strode swiftly to the crowd. Unsurprisingly they didn't pay much attention to his footsteps. They actually didn't seem to be able to pay attention to anything besides the monitor.

"You would know." Another woman that Arthur couldn't see replied causing a smirk from the blonde. He finally reached the crowd, still unable to see at what they were looking.

"What is going on here?" Arthur said crisply. Every head turned in his direction, horror spelled out in all of their faces. Arthur immediately knew why. Just beyond the heads he saw two familiar people entwined in a compromising position. One of them had bright red hair, the other brown bushy hair. As Arthur stood in shock and the seconds ticked by more and more clothing was shed. Suddenly he snapped into paternal mode he stalked to the screen without saying a word and flung his hands across it shielding it from view. The crowd all groaned at the obstruction causing Mr. Weasley to frown in disgust at them.

"What is wrong with you people? This is obscene. How can you take advantage of your position by watching them? I expected better."

"Now Arthur, its our job to monitor these safe houses. We can't help it if your son ignores that fact." Arthur's face flushed red in anger and embarrassment. The nerve of this man! How could Ron be so stupid? Why is Hermione there? Why is Ronald in a safe house? He is supposed to be out in the field… A thousand thoughts and questions flickered through his mind.

"Can't you give them a little privacy?" Arthur seethed his arms still outstretched. One wizard moved his head to try and see past his arms and Mr. Weasley shot him a warning look.

"As far as we can tell Mr. Potter told them they were being watched and they chose to carry on."

"Harry knew about this?" Arthur raised his voice. Anger poured through his veins.

Ben nodded. "He's been in there a couple of times since Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger were moved in." Arthur dropped his hands. If Ron and Hermione didn't care about being seen, he couldn't do anything else about it. What he could do, was talk to Harry Potter about what the hell was going on with his son and why he wasn't on assignment.

Harry looked up from his desk suddenly when he heard voices shouting outside his office.

"I don't care if he's busy! This is a matter of importance!" Arthur Weasley yelled. Harry walked to his door and opened it quickly. It wasn't like Mr. Weasley to yell at anyone much less Harry's assistant. When Harry appeared at the door, Arthur rounded on him.

"You!" Arthur pointed at him. "We need to talk. Now." Arthur wasn't shouting but the tone in his voice warned Harry that he meant business. This can't be about electricity… Harry thought miserably.

"Of course. Come in. What can I do for you? Another question about electricity, perhaps?" Harry's attempt to lessen the tension and lighten the mood fell flat. Recognizing his mistake, Harry stood behind his desk and pointed to the chair in front of it. Arthur remained standing.

"What assignment is Ron on?" Arthur asked strained. He was trying to contain his anger.

"I can't say exactly. Why?" Harry had a bad feeling about this.

"Really because I just walked down to the Surveillance Office to find Kingsley and instead I saw Ron." Arthur looked at him pointedly. "On screen. With Hermione." Busted. Harry thought. His lie came crumbling to his feet.

"Uh." Harry cleared his throat. He wasn't sure what to say. "What makes you think I know anything about that?" Before he proceeded he needed to know how much Arthur already knew. Harry avoided looking Arthur in the eye and turned to look down at his report.

"Because Ben Howe can't keep a secret and he said he's seen you in the safe house, which brings up another point. Why is my son in a safe house?" Fornicating. Arthur added mentally.

"Probably because he's in danger." Harry said exhaustedly and looked at him directly in the eyes.

"Why?" Arthur sat down in the proffered chair.

"Long story short. Ron saw Hermione and she showed up at his house begging him not to tell anyone he'd seen her. He kept his word but it didn't matter, her identity was compromised because she had gone to see him."

"What does this have to do with Ron?" With difficulty, Arthur chose the question carefully.

"Well because she had gone to see Ron Weasley, a famous Auror, they were instantly suspicious and not only did they capture Hermione but they made an attempt for Ron too. I pulled Hermione out before they could kill her and on the way I grabbed Ron." Harry sighed. It was exhausting knowing the fury that was yet to come. Arthur Weasley didn't know half the story.

"It was a good thing you were there to save them, but how did you know where Hermione was? She disappeared into the night; nobody knew anything about where she had gone…" Harry grimaced guiltily as Arthur suddenly realized the truth of Harry's expression.

"No." Arthur shook his head. "No. You couldn't have known! Nobody knew. You said- but I thought- did Ron know all along too? Was he just acting? I mean how else could he-uh-be intimate with her? He'd never forgive her." Harry squeezed his eyes shut and mentally prepared himself for the worse. He had to tell a man he admired about the worst thing he had ever done.

"Ron didn't know anything, but I knew."

"You knew?" Arthur was sounded more shocked than angry and Harry took that as a good sign. Maybe because Arthur was so logical he would understand the reasons why Harry had been so foolish. Maybe there was a chance that he wouldn't have to divorce Ginny and never see the Weasleys again. Maybe Arthur could help Ron to forgive Harry. But then again, maybe his worst fears would come true. He needed to come clean.

"Everything. Where she was, who she was with, why she left. You name it, I knew it." Arthur looked deadly. He wanted to shout obsentities into oblivion and curse Harry but the calm, reserved side won out. He stood up slowly and reached for the note he had dropped onto the floor

"Does Ginny know?" Arthur looked back at Harry who eyes were suddenly pleading with him to not tell.

"No." He croaked out. "But I'd like to be the one who tells her. Please."

"Well I guess you have a lot to explain at dinner tonight." With that, Arthur turned on his heel and walked swiftly out of the office, leaving Harry with knots in his stomach.