Summary: The dust settles after the epic battle in the Department of Mysteries and what remains is a family in tears. Little do they know that this is just the beginning of a long road of suffering.

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~Who wrote this crap

Suffering

Chapter Two: Alive For Now

Sirius stepped into the sunlight and took a breath of fresh air. He was a free! Free! He laughed. He laughed from the bottom of his heart. After years of being a prisoner of Azkaban, years of feeling nothing but despair, he had escaped only to be taken to another hell, the hell he had grown-up in and vowed never to return -Grimmauld Place. But none of that mattered now, because now he was free! He could go anywhere and do anything! He could go to Harry's Quidditch games! He could be with his godson! The warmth of the morning sunlight filled him inside and out. It was truly wonderful to be alive!

He heard laughter behind him.

"You're grinning like an idiot." Ginny laughed from the castle steps. "It suits you."

"I could sing too, if you'd like?" Sirius said. He took a deep breath. "OHHH~"

"No, no, stop, please!" Harry laughed, waving his arms. "Don't sing anymore! We've already been through enough today!"

"Some people so happen to like my singing!" Sirius said in mock offense. "I use to get request from many a lady to sing for them."

"Yeah, sure," Ginny said unconvinced. "And I bet-"

"Ginny!"

They turned around to see a breathless Neville running up to them.

"Professor Lupin's back... He's looking for you" Neville said between breaths "says he has news about Percy."

"Is it good news?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Dunno," he said. "Fred and George didn't look too happy though."

"Fred and George?" Harry said.

"What are they doing here?" Ginny asked.

Neville shook his head. "Ask them for yourselves. They're in the hospital wing," he panted.

Sirius waved his wand and a goblet of water appeared out of thin air. He handed it to Neville who drank it gratefully.

Ginny and Harry ran off to the Hospital Wing and Sirius hurried after them.

Sure enough when they entered the Hospital Wing there were Fred and George deep in conversation with Lupin. They were keeping their voices low. Madam Promphry had probably told them off for talking too loud while Ron and Hermione were sleeping in the beds besides them. And like Neville said, they didn't look too happy. Ginny felt a knot form in her stomach. But when the twins caught sight of the three of them staring at them they smiled.

"There they are!" Fred said, with a grin on his face.

"All hail the conquering heroes!" George said. The twins began whistling and applauding. Sirius took a bow.

"Quiet!" hissed Madame Pomphry.

Fred pointed to Sirius, "And what's this?" he asked in a quieter voice.

"Can it be?" George said squinting at them.

"Sirius Black has been unleashed!" they said simultaneously.

"Congratulations," Fred said shaking Sirius' hand.

"So, Sirius Black, you're a free man now," George said. "What are you going to do next?"

But Ginny wasn't the least bit interested in what plans Sirius had at the moment, she wanted to know about her brother.

"How's Percy?" she asked, looking hard at the twins.

The smiles fell from their faces. Fred and George looked at each other with uncertainty.

"He's . . . alive," George said slowly.

"-for now" Fred added.

The knot in her stomach tightened. She could tell by how vague they were being that something was wrong . . . really wrong.

"How bad is it?" she asked, making sure that her voice didn't reflect how nervous she felt.

They paused for a moment, all the while not meeting her eyes.

"Tell me!" she demanded.

When they looked at her their expressions were serious.

"It's pretty bad, Gin," Fred said.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked.

"Gin, he was cursed by You-Know-Who," Fred said grimly.

"Which is never a good thing," George said with the same disheartened expression.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked again, more forcefully.

Fred and George glanced at each other, then shook their heads sadly.

Ginny's stomach dropped.

She braced herself. "He's going to die, isn't he?" she asked, unable to keep her voice from trembling.

Twins didn't answer, but their silence was all the answer Ginny needed. . . Percy was dying. Percy- that self-absorbed, self-righteous git was actually dying. But he- he couldn't die- it wasn't fair- it wasn't right. And anyone who knew Perfect Percy knew how he always had to have things be right.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked beside her, voicing her thoughts.

"I'm afraid so," Lupin said, he looked at her. "They're going to do everything they can for him, but . . ."

Ginny wasn't listening. Lupin's voice had trailed off as she numbly sat down at the foot of Ron's bed. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to think. She just let her mind travel back to the last moment she saw Percy.

He had been bleeding from his head.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, noticing the blood.

"Personally, I've been better." Percy said rubbing his head. They could hear sounds of the battle coming from behind the door. "I'm going to help the others." he said decisively.

She looked him in the eye. This was the brother she remembered from her childhood. The protective big brother that would make Slytherins do lines for taking Luna's things and take points away from anyone who bullied Neville; the caring (though bossy) big brother that would force a Pepperup Potion down her throat when she looked ill. If her ankle wasn't so bad she might have hugged him, because she never realized how much she had missed him until now.

"Be careful." she said, meaning every word.

Percy smiled at her. It was a sincere, kind, and loving smile- her father's smile.

"I will." he said. Then Percy drew his wand and ran through the door.

"I told him to be careful." Ginny muttered.

"It's my fault," Harry said, sitting across from her on Hermione's bed. He gripped the bed sheets tightly. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid-"

"This is not your fault, Harry," Sirius said sitting beside him. "Voldemort did this, not you. So don't even start thinking like that."

"But-"

"Harry, shut it," Fred said cutting him off.

"The only mistake you made was not inviting us along," George said.

There was a long moment where no one spoke; they just dwelled in their thoughts until Fred broke the silence.

"He's not going to take this well, Percy," Fred said.

"Yeah, think of all the work he will miss," George joked halfheartedly.

Ginny glared at him, "That isn't funny," she snapped. "None of this is. . ."

Sirius looked at Lupin. "How long does he have?" he asked.

"The Healers aren't sure," Lupin told them sadly. "A few weeks at most, a few hours at least."

Ginny's head shot up. "A few hours?" she echoed.

Lupin nodded.

Suddenly things became a lot more real and a lump formed in the back of her throat. She swallowed the lump and let out a shaky breath. "Is he awake?" she asked. "Can we talk to him?"

The twins shook their heads. "He's sleeping." Fred told her.

"And they don't know when or if he'll wake up." George added sadly.

"So he might die without us ever-." Ginny stopped. Her face flushed and she fought back the urge to cry. "I don't want him to die thinking that we hate him."

George sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her. "We don't either."

"Can we go to the hospital in case he wakes up?" Ginny asked no one in particular.

"Sure," Fred said. "Mum, Dad, and Bill are already there." he held out his hand. "Let's go see them, shall we?"

Ginny took it and together they walked to the doors. Fred looked around him and then stopped. George hadn't followed them. "Coming Gorgie?" he asked his twin.

"You two go ahead," George said. "Charlie still doesn't know about Percy. I'm going to the Ministry to see if I can get him an international Portkey. He should be here too, don't you think?"

Fred nodded. "We'll see you at the hospital then?"

George nodded. "If he wakes up-"

"-We'll make sure you know." Fred finished.

With her brother's arm wrapped around her shoulder, Ginny and Fred left the Hospital Wing.

Sorry it's such a short chapter. The next one will be longer I promise. Please review- let me know what you think.