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William Weasley leaned against the wall by the doorway of the private room Percy had been placed in. Molly sat at his side, using a wet washcloth to bathe his face. Percy's fever had spiked again on the way here and his breathing more labored. The doctor's had immediately put him on oxygen when they had gotten here.
Molly hadn't said any more than five words to him since he had arrived at Hogwarts. William knew his sister-in-law had never been very fond of him. Thought he was a bad influence on her children. Irresponsible.
Naturally that made him an easy target for her anxiety over her son. The fact that his trouble with the ministry had kept her from going to Percy's side when she first heard he was sick, only made it easier for her to take things out on him.
William was determined not to make things worse by getting into an argument with his sister-in-law. If being mad at him made her feel better, than so be it. He could take a little yelling. As much as he tended to get into trouble, getting yelled at was nothing new. However, he had told Arthur he'd look after his family for him and William was bond and determine to do just that. To show Arthur, that he could be trusted. That he wasn't just his little brother that he was always bailing out of trouble.
Right now there wasn't much he could do. Getting Molly away from Percy's bedside right now would be pointless although he knew that battle was inevitable. The hospital had set aside another room for them to rest during their stay. William was assuming that was where Charlie had disappeared to as he had left the room twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes that William had spent debating on whether he should go look for Charlie or stay here with Molly.
In the end, staying with his sister-in-law had won out. If something should happen, well he just knew Molly shouldn't have to deal with that alone although William kept praying that it wouldn't come to that. That some how, despite what the doctor's were saying, that Percy would pull through this. That he would start getting better instead of worse.
Hearing approaching footsteps, William glanced over his shoulder. He saw Charlie coming back.
"I thought maybe you went to get some rest," William said softly as Charlie stopped in the doorway.
"Nah, I was just walking," Charlie responded softly, his eyes on his brother and mother."Maybe we should send another owl to Bill?"
"Already did as soon as we got here," William told him.
Charlie nodded. Part of him wished Bill was here already.
"Wish there was something more we could do. I feel so helpless."
"I know what you mean," William said reaching out and putting an arm across Charlie's shoulders, pulling his nephew close to him.
Arthur found himself back outside the room the school had provided for him during his stay. He had been wandering around the school grounds for the last couple of hours. He figured the walk would help him clear his mind. That the trip down memory lane might give him things to think about other than his sick son.
It hadn't worked. His mind wasn't here at Hogwarts at all. It was with his sons and wife at St. Mungos. The note from William saying they had arrived at St. Mungo's hadn't helped matters any. William had written that Percy had gotten worse on the trip there and the doctors now had him on oxygen. As much as they hadn't wanted to pull the other kids out of school, it was looking like they may just have to do that. Arthur knew he couldn't leave his other kids here alone wondering and worrying about was going on and yet he wanted to be at St. Mungo's too.
Arthur entered the room just as tears started to fall. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the bed. He leaned his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe he was crying. He was suppose to the strong one. The one that his wife and kids could lean on in this trying times and here he was falling apart.
This summer had been rough on Percy but he had pulled through. Arthur hadn't thought Percy could possibly get worse than he had the last time and then he had seen him this time. This was definitely worse. Arthur was starting to think that they might lose him this time. Arthur didn't know what he would do if that was the case.
He heard a knock on the door.
Arthur quickly wiped the traces of the tears away. There was no way he was going to let anyone else see him crying.
Standing up he crossed over to the door. Opening it up he found Fred and George standing there. He could tell something was troubling them by the look on their faces.
"Dad we need to talk to you," Fred said.
"Come on in," Arthur told them stepping aside. He gestured for the twins to have a seat on the bed as he pulled over the desk chair. Placing the chair in front of them he sat down in it. "So what's on your minds."
Fred and George looked at one another. It was clear that neither one of them really wanted to bring up what they had come here to talk to him about. Arthur looked from one twin to the other, trying to patiently wait for one of them to speak. Finally with a sigh George spoke up.
"Its about Percy," George said looking over at his father. Fred was staring at a spot on the floor. "We know how he got sick and its our fault," George said quickly before he could chicken out.
The words out, George watched his father's face. He could see his look go from curiosity and concern, to confusion and just a tad bit of anger.
"I think maybe the two of you had better explain things a little bit better," Arthur told his son looking from George to the silent Fred. His voice was calm and even. Both Fred and George knew it was the tone he used when he wanted to yell but was trying not to.
George quickly started filling him his father in on the events of a few nights ago. About the dare and their trip to the Forbidden Forest. About how Percy had come looking for them to keep them from getting in trouble.
"You two should've never took that dare," Arthur said standing up and walking toward the wall of the room.
"We know that," Fred said. "But we never thought he would come out after us. Percy's usually turning us in not trying to bail us out of trouble."
"I'm at a loss about what to do with the two of you," Arthur said turning back to face his two sons. George and Fred both quickly looked down at the floor so that they didn't have to see the disappointment in their father's face. "I keep telling your mother that the two of you will grow up. Start thinking things through, and taking responsibility for your actions and you both keep proving me wrong. Your not little kids anymore."
"We know that," George said softly.
"Did either one of you stopped and think about the possible consequences of your actions."
The twins shook their heads.
"Dad we're sorry," Fred said. "Really we are," Fred said his voice trembling.
"Yeah," George said chiming in. "If we hadn't taken that stupid dare, Percy never would have gotten sick."
"Now you don't know that," Arthur said quickly. He could see how guilty his twin sons were feeling over their older brothers illness and while their actions may have contributed it too him he knew they weren't to blame and laying blame anyway would only drive them further apart at a time when they needed to pull together. Needed to be there for one another. " Granted being out in the rain didn't help matters but you never know, he might have still gotten sick."
Author could see the doubt on Fred and George's faces. They knew he was trying to make them feel better.
"So what are we looking at, grounded till we're eighteen," Fred ventured wanting to get the punishment part over with.
"I think the two of you are doing a good enough job at punishing yourselves this time around," Arthur told them. He really did feel bad for his two kids. If Percy didn't pull through this, he wasn't sure how Fred and George would handle it but at least they had come clean. At least he knew to keep an eye on the two of them. "I don't want you telling your mother this though. She's quite upset as it is. This would only upset her more."
Fred and George nodded, shocked that they were escaping a punishment from their father and relieved they didn't have to face their mother.
The medi-wizard turned from Percy Weasley's bed, a grave look on his face. He motioned for Mrs. Weasley, Charlie and Will to follow him out of the room. Reluctantly, Molly followed him. She really didn't want to leave her son, nor was she sure she wanted to hear what the medi-wizard had to say. From the grave look he wore, she knew it couldn't be good.
When his patient's three family members were outside in the hallway, Jordan Black, pulled the door shut. Glancing around to make sure the hallway was empty, he leveled his gaze at Mrs. Weasley.
"He's getting worse isn't he," Molly asked before he could say anything.
Jordan nodded.
"He is. The fever isn't breaking and that's taking a toll on his body. He's also having increased difficulty breathing." Jordan paused. He knew the words he was going to say next was going to be hard for the family to take. "This isn't going to be easy but its something that we need to address right now."
Molly reached out and grabbed Charlie's hand. She needed his support right now as she was dreading the doctor's next words.
"If Percy continues to worsen, he soon won't be able to breath on his own. If it should come to that, do you want him placed on a vent?"
Molly closed her eyes. It was exactly what she had been fearing. She felt Charlie squeexe her hand.
She was aware of the medi-wizard still talking, going over the the benefits and dangers of vents. She was only half aware of what he was saying. Her mind was still trying to grasp that her son was so bad that she even had to consider this.
She knew what she wanted to do. As a mother, she wanted to do whatever she could to save her son. The real question though was what would Percy want? She knew putting him on a vent was no guarantee that he would recover. Was it fair to him to put him through that? To drag out the inevitable?
"If you need some time to make a decision . . ." Jordan began. He stopped talking when he noticed Mrs. Weasley shaking her head.
"No," Molly said finally able to find her voice. "Do everything you can for him short of placing him on machines."
"Are you sure?"
Molly nodded, sure that if she tried to talk again she would start crying.
"Okay. I'll be back a little later to check on him again," Jordan said and then headed down the hallway.
"I'll go send an owl to Arthur and Bill," Will said, already walking away before Molly had a chance to answer even if she had been able to.
Without a word, Molly opened the door to her son's room and walked back inside. She sat down in the chair at Percy's bedside and tooke her son's hand. For the first time since she was a little girl, she started praying.