Sorry it's been so long guys. Like I said in the previous chapter reality has this annoying way of sneaking back into my life every now and then. But I have not given up on this story!

~Who Wrote This Crap

Zoran- I have taken your request and agree; Percy does need to have a break down. But sadly it will not be in this chapter, however the next chapter. . .

And now for the next installment of

Suffering

Chapter Four: Grudges

Molly let the tears fall down her face as she watched her son drift off to sleep. For all she knew she had just spoken the last words her son would ever hear. At least they were words of love, right? And she really did mean every one of them with all her heart. But no matter how hard she tried to reassure herself, she couldn't help but doubt that her son believed her. And it was this thought that was making her cry the hardest.

Someone pulled her into a hug and softly spoke into her ear.

"Come on, Mum, it'll be alright." her eldest son soothed. "We can't go breaking to pieces every time he goes to sleep, now can we?"

"But what if he doesn't wake up?" Molly cried, "I never got t-to tell him how p-proud I am of him, or-or-"

"You were able to tell him you love him," Bill said. "and that's more important than anything."

"But I don't think-" Molly swallowed. "I don't think he believed me." her eyes welled up once more.

"Of course he believes that you love him, you're his mother-" Bill started.

Molly shook her head. "I said that 'We love you'. What if he doesn't believe that the rest of us love him? What if he doesn't believe that Fred loves him or George, or Ron, or Ginny? They've been treating each other so horribly lately. What if he's convinced that- that they hate him? W-what if-" With every sentence she grew more and more upset until she was sobbing too hard to continue.

Bill looked over to his father for help, but tears were streaming down his face too. It was moments like these that Bill hated being the first born. It was his responsibility to be the strong one when neither of his parents had the strength to make it through hard times like right now.

"He'll wake up." Bill said reassuringly. "You know how stubborn he can be. He won't give up without a fight. And when he does wake up we can clear everything up and make sure that he knows that no matter what's happened, we love him- all of us."

Molly nodded unable to speak for fear that she would start sobbing again.

The door opened again. Charlie stopped in his tracks and took in the sight of his mother and father crying. He held his breath when he caught sight of his little brother lying motionlessly in the hospital bed.

Charlie looked at Bill. "Is he-?"

"He's not dead." Bill told him, reading his mind.

Charlie quietly closed the door behind and went to his little brother's bedside. His father put an arm around him.

"I didn't get George's message till today. I was off tracking Hornbacks. I got here as soon as I could." Charlie explained. "George said it was bad, really bad. He said that... he might not make it. Is that true?"

Bill nodded and Mum whimpered.

"Merlin, what happened to him?" Charlie asked staring at Percy's still form.

Bill motioned for Charlie to follow him. He led him out of the room and together they walked down the hall. "It's a long story."

Ron sat silently in his bed in the Hospital Wing. Hermione was still asleep and Harry had left with Sirius to go to the hospital, so it was just him and his sister.

"Ron?" she said quietly.

A few minutes ago Ginny had told him about Percy, and he hadn't spoken since. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. He knew what he should feel. He should feel sad, he should be upset that his brother was dying, but there was only word that could describe what he felt. Ron was angry.

But he wasn't angry at the Death Eaters, he wasn't even considering seeking revenge on them. He was angry at Percy. Percy, after everything he's done, after abandoning them, disowning them, he goes and pulls a stunt like this? Did he really that just because he's dying Ron would forgive him? The more Ron thought about it the angrier he got. It wasn't enough that he slammed the door in Mums face and made her cry every time she heard his name. Now he was trying to guilt Dad into apologizing? Ron wouldn't fall for it, so he decided that if Percy did die, then he would refuse to miss him, the prat.

"Ron?" Ginny was staring at him, waiting for a reply.

Ron looked at her.

"Madam Pomfrey said, since it's a hospital, you can go see him if you're back by three o'clock."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Ginny asked taken aback.

"I don't want to see him."

"Ron, he's dying." Ginny told him like he didn't understand. "This may be our only chance to tell him that we don't hate him."

"I do hate him."

"No you don't. You only think you do."

"He's a prat."

"He's our prat."

"Not anymore, he isn't." Ron said with a glare. "He chose to leave us. He made his choice and he doesn't want to be part of our family anymore."

"You are so thick." Ginny looked at him with disbelief. "You don't get it do you? None of that matters anymore!"

"Yes it does!"

"Do you even know why he's in the hospital? Why he's dying?" Ginny asked. She didn't wait for an answer. "He's dying because he came after us!"

"He was trying to get us in trouble!" Ron argued.

"No he wasn't! He was looking out for us!" she insisted. "But what do you know? You probably don't remember. You were loony for most of it."

"I remember enough to know that he followed us down there just to cover his own arse!"

"He saved your life!" Ginny shouted.

Ron hesitated. "When?"

"In the Brain Room! Don't you remember?" Ron furrowed his brow trying to clear the fog that was his memories of the other night.

Ginny pointed to the fresh scars on his arm. "You summoned one of the brains from the tank and it started strangling you. Do you remember that?"

Ron did indeed remember something strangling him last night. Had it really been a brain? Yeah. . . yeah it was. . . But as hard as he tried the memory was still blurry. He couldn't remember how he had gotten free.

"Did you actually see Percy save my life?" Ron asked Ginny, looking her straight in the eye.

Ginny hesitated. "Well. . . no" Ron scoffed. "But he was the only one left in the room!" Ginny reasoned. "It had to have been him."

"But for all you know I could have gotten free myself." Ron said smartly. He had to suppress a victorious grin when he saw how furiously red Ginny's ears had turned.

"You know what? Your right, maybe Percy didn't save you. Maybe he just walked right out of the room and left his little brother to fight for his life by himself."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Ron said spitefully.

"What is wrong with you?" Ginny exclaimed. "He's our brother, not some heartless Death Eater!"

"He might as well be!" Ron said furiously. "He certainly acts like one, don't you think? Ambitious, self-centered, a complete prat- the Sorting Hat made a mistake putting him into our house. He should have been in Slytherin!"

Ginny stepped up to him, her face so red he swore she was going to hit him.

And she did.

Ginny's slap echoed off the walls of the empty wing. Ron brought his hand to his cheek. The whole left side of his face was hot and stinging.

"You are a terrible person, Ron." she panted with absolute rage. "I hope you remember that every day for the rest of your life after he dies."

With that she stormed out of the wing, slamming the door with the force of a hurricane.

Percy had woken up late that night to everyone's relief. Charlie had been searching for something edible in the hospital's cafeteria when Fred came running up to him with a smile on his face, telling him the good news. They had no idea how long Percy would be able to stay awake or if he would ever wake up again if he fell back asleep, so it was essential that they whole family be assembled immediately by his bedside. Ginny had gone back to Hogwarts to get Ron. Bill had sent his Patronus to tell George. And Fred had been sent to find him. Now the two of them were quickly making their way to Percy's ward hoping with all their hearts that he was still awake.

But when they closed in on the ward they were met with gloomy, angry faces and a sobbing mother.

Charlie came to a halt a feeling of dread spread through him. Where they too late?

"What's wrong? What happened?" Fred asked looking to George who looked like he either wanted to kick something or cry.

"He doesn't want to see us." George muttered angrily. "We're there trying to comfort him and he demands that he be left alone. Well, fine! If the prat wants to die alone then he can bloody well die alone!"

"George, calm down and stop shouting!" Dad snapped.

Bill glared at his little brother "You have no idea what he's going through right now. He's probably a little overwhelmed now, don't you think?"

George huffed and sat down in an abandoned wheelchair looking defeated.

Hurried footsteps echoed from down the hall. Everyone looked up as Ginny came rushing towards them, Harry and Sirius following in her wake.

"Is he still awake?" she said with desperate eyes. "I want to see him."

"Yeah, well, he doesn't want to see us." George said a trace of hurt in his voice.

"What?" She asked not sure she had heard him right.

"He's sitting in there feeling sorry for himself." George said clearly upset.

"He has the right to." Fred told his twin. "He is kind of dying."

"So? Who cares what he wants?" Ginny asked looking confused. "He doesn't have time to be alone! I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going to pass up what might be the only chance I have to make amends with him."

Having said that she headed straight for Percy's room.

Mum tried to call her back.

But she had already closed the door behind her.