Warning: Offscreen Murder
Word Count: 493
Challenges: L4: Office of Misinformation: Trio Era fic / Easter Egg, Polka Dot, Day 4: The Burrow
Bring It To Your Door (I'm Sorry)
The Burrow stood, strong and proud and always a little… crooked. Harry loved it. It was his favourite place; and it contained all of his favourite people.
He still hesitated before he knocked on the door.
He could hear someone in the kitchen, and he waited patiently for Molly to open the door. He knew it would be her; she was the only one that stayed up so late, or at least, that stayed downstairs in the kitchen so late.
She cracked the door, and then blinked when she saw Harry.
"Harry, dear? What… we weren't expecting you."
"I know," Harry murmured quietly. "I know, and I'm sorry for just turning up uninvited, but—"
"Oh, dear, no, you never need an invitation, you're always welcome here." She opened the door more fully, and then gasped when she saw the state of him. "Merlin! What on earth happened to you?"
"I… the Ministry might be here soon, looking for me," he admitted, swallowing hard. "My Uncle is… I think I killed him."
…
Molly wrapped Harry up in a blanket and put a steaming hot chocolate in his hands before she went to wake her husband. He had work in the morning, but this was more important, and Harry would need all the support he could get if the Ministry were to take a bad view of the situation.
She'd already sent her Patronus to Albus, telling him that it was urgent and to come immediately, but she knew the headmaster had a lot on his hands at the moment.
The Wizarding world had finally accepted You-Know-Who's return, and with that came the clamouring need for Dumbledore's help to calm the masses and help the Ministry with a plan. If only they'd listened a year ago, they wouldn't be in such a mess, but Molly wasn't overly surprised by the way it had all happened.
Fudge was a fool, he always had been.
It remained to be seen if Scrimgeour would follow suit.
"Arthur, dear, wake up."
Arthur blinked blearily at her. He hadn't been asleep for long, and he immediately knew something was wrong. "What is it?"
"It's Harry."
…
Harry felt awful. A trail of Ministry workers, Aurors, even the new Minister himself had been in and out of the Burrow the whole night, and neither Molly nor Arthur had gotten any sleep.
Dumbledore had just left, the last of the visitors, and the sun was peeking through the windows.
"I'm sorry for bringing this to your door," Harry whispered, when Molly sat down beside him on the slightly clumpy sofa. "I just… I didn't know where else to go."
Molly wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him in, so he was leaning with his head on her shoulder. As the first tears fell from his eyes, Molly tightened her grip and said, "I told you, dear. You're always welcome here, and we'll always want to help you. You're family."