A/N: I had someone ask for me to write the whipping (or aftermath) in Harry's POV. I'm just bringing this up in case others wondered the same. I'm not going to be doing that. I have no desire to write that at all. I still have notes that I sent to myself in my email about this story from when I first started it back in 2009. I've been following them, though I've changed some stuff because they had too much, and I think I wasn't as sensitive as a teenager or something as I am now. The last chapter was one of the ones I changed a lot. My notes originally had Harry be whipped (though not in his point of view)to eventually just moving on from the whipping, but I changed my mind. I even debated for a long time on whether or not I'd even keep that part in. In the end, I decided to leave it but to gloss over it as much as possible and then to have his memory erased of the incident. Some of my notes are about the adults (especially Molly) and even Bill and Charlie moving on from it. Vernon and Petunia will still feature in it at times, and they've had their wake up call after seeing what Marge did, so it's why I decided to leave it but to only summarize it.
I looked up both Bill's and Charlie's birthday's, and Bill's is November 29th and Charlie's is December 12th. It's why I have Bill in third year and Charlie in the first year in case anyone wonders. Both their birthdays are after the September 1st cut off date.
Bill would be lying if he said that at first, he hadn't only wanted Harry as a brother just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived. However, as he got to know the little boy, he started to see him as Harry Potter, a sweet young boy, who for some reason had to be abused. He couldn't understand why anyone would ever hurt such an innocent child. The thought of someone doing that to his younger brothers and sister disturbed him greatly.
He'd wanted more than anything for Harry to be his brother so that he could grow up to be in a happy home. They didn't have a lot of money, and Harry would likely have to use their hand-me-downs, but it was a lot better than living with people who hurt him almost every day. According to Harry, he was spanked for the most trivial things. On his last day at his aunt and uncles, he'd been spanked just because he'd tripped over a dog!
Now Harry was with them permanently, and Bill felt ecstatic by this. Not only did he have a new brother, but Harry could finally be given the love he deserved. The love that he likely hadn't been given since he was a year-old.
Neither he nor Charlie had told their schoolmates about Harry. There was the chance at first that he couldn't stay with them, not only that, but everyone and their brother would want to be their friends just for the opportunity to meet Harry. Their parents were hoping to keep it hushed up until they couldn't. Bill suspected it wouldn't be too much longer before people found out that Harry Potter was living with the Weasley's.
He felt on edge waiting for his parents and Harry to come back home. His siblings were busy rushing around and decorating and making crafts for Harry's homecoming. Their old babysitter, Tina, an old friend of their mothers had left after baking a cake and then hanging the banner for them. Bill glanced at his old watch every so often.
"Look!" Fred shouted excitedly.
Bill whirled around to look at the fireplace, expecting to see that the flames had turned green. The fireplace was still empty, and Fred wasn't pointing at it. He instead was pointing at his mother's old clock. It didn't tell the time the way regular clocks did. Instead, it kept track of the family. There was a hand for each family member. All the children's hands were pointed at the word: Home. Their parent's hands were both pointed to: 'Meeting,' but their hands weren't the only ones there. A new hand had appeared there with the name: Harry Potter.
"That means he lives here now doesn't it?" Fred asked. "It just appeared! He gets to stay, right?"
"It must," Bill said as he made his way over to examine the clock more closely.
He didn't understand the clock too well, except that over the years, his sibling's names had been added on after they were born. Ginny had been the last one four years ago, but now Harry's was there. He'd never asked his parents how the magic worked.
"I hope they'll be home soon," George said eagerly. "How come Harry's just jumped to Mortal Peril?"
"It must just be confused right now," Percy responded. "It's new after all. Harry can't be in danger, he's with mum and dad, and they would be in mortal peril too if he were."
Bill frowned at the clock. He couldn't remember if the younger children's had jumped around the clock like that, but they must have done. Percy was right after all. It was not possible for Harry to be in mortal peril when he was with their parents. From what he remembered from his mothers letter, the orphanage was supposed to be as safe as Hogwarts anyway. So it wasn't as if some dark wizard could have gone in to grab him. From his understanding, there were wards on the place to prevent that.
"Must be that," he finally said with a shrug. "Why don't you lot finish the crafts you were making for Harry?"
The younger kids turned away from the clock and went back to the kitchen table. Charlie, however, remained by the clock. He too was frowning at it.
"But Bill, didn't mum and dad say that Harry's aunt and uncle would be there too?" Charlie asked in a low voice so the younger kids couldn't hear. "What if they have done something to him for telling the truth?"
"But they'd have to get past mum, dad, Dumbledore, and whoever works there," Bill responded. "Let's not worry about it, and look; it's gone back to meeting. He's fine. I bet it did that for all of us too."
Charlie nodded, but he didn't look convinced. He looked worried, but he turned away and joined the other kids at the table. Bill didn't want to admit it, not even to Charlie, but he did feel worried now. It was back to meeting, but what if something terrible had happened?
He finally turned away as well, and then went back to the table. He was sure Harry had to be okay. Percy was right; he was with their parents. His mother would do anything to protect Harry, just as she would do anything to protect them. She saw Harry as her own son. Bill smiled as he realized that Harry was her son now. He had a new brother! It was as exciting to him as it had been when each of his siblings had been born. He didn't remember Charlie being born, but he remembered Percy.
He remembered sitting in this very spot, waiting eagerly for his parents to show up while Auntie Muriel watched them. The moment his parents came into the kitchen, with tiny Percy in his mother's arms, Bill had rushed forward to greet his newest baby brother. Charlie, who was sulking because he was no longer the youngest (though he grew attached later on) refused to.
"Welcome to the family, little brother," he'd said as his mother lowered Percy for him to see.
Bill had reached out to touch Percy's hand, and his baby brother had squeezed his hand. To this day, he liked to think that Percy had responded to his greeting by squeezing his hand. Bill had done the same for each of his siblings afterward, although there had been a little more excitement when Ginny had come home because he was able to say: "Welcome home, little sister."
He was going to greet Harry the same way as he'd done with the others. The best part was that Harry would definitely be able to understand it. And he had a feeling it would mean more to the little boy than it had ever meant to the others. The others all knew they had a home with a loving family. Harry was finally getting that after four years of neglect and abuse.
"Bill, how do I spell welcome again?" Ron asked.
"Look at the banner, mate," Bill told him and he pointed up at the banner above their heads.
"Oh yeah!" Ron said excitedly.
"It starts with a W like Weasley," Ginny said with a smile.
Bill glanced over to see that she was drawing someone, likely Harry, on a broomstick. It had a stick figure person and a broom. Bill hadn't joined in on making crafts with the other kids. Instead, he'd made a card for him at school with letters that flashed different colours. Charlie, the creative one, was busy writing a story about a boy and his dragon. He was writing it on a green dragon cut out of construction paper. He wasn't sure what Percy and the twins were working on. All three were trying to keep theirs secret from the others.
The kids were all busy with their projects when the fireplace finally lit up.
"Get ready!" Charlie said excitedly.
They were all planning to stand in a group near the banner. They wanted Harry to see his new family greeting him. Moments later, their mother stepped out with Harry in her arms, and then their father followed seconds later. Something seemed off about his parents, but he wasn't sure what. He decided to ignore it for the time being. He just wanted to see his new little brother. The last time he'd seen Harry, they hadn't been sure if he could stay or not. It was official now, otherwise, the clock wouldn't have made a new hand.
Once Harry was standing and facing them, Bill stepped forward first.
"Welcome to the family, little brother," he said.
Harry beamed back.
"Thank you, big brother," Harry responded excitedly.
They all moved forward to give Harry a group hug. The little boy was ecstatic. He began hugging each other them in turn before going for another round of hugs.
"Mummy, look!" Fred said as he pointed at the clock. "It says, Harry Potter."
They all turned to the clock again, and this time, the Harry Potter hand was pointed to home with everyone else. Their mother's eyes widened before she turned to look at their father.
"That was quick. I thought we would have to add it ourselves, but it showed up on its own just as all of yours did," she replied.
"Look, Harry," Ron said. "Look at the clock."
Harry knew what the clock was for. He'd questioned what it was his first night there. His mouth dropped open as he stared at it, and then he rushed forward to look at it more closely.
"This is my home!" He said excitedly. "It says I am home now! I'm part of a real family now!"
And then be burst into tears, but Bill knew they were happy tears this time. Quite a few times since he'd come to stay with them, he'd cried quite a bit, and it was always because he was distressed about something. This time, he was crying from happiness.
"I have a home," he said happily as he wiped his tears away.
"Yes and now you're my brother," Ron said with a smile as he rushed over to hug Harry. "Now we can do everything together like Fred and George do 'cause we're the same age. Don't cry, be happy, Harry."
"I'm very happy," Harry told Ron giving him a tearful grin.
"Mum, the hand pointed at Mortal Peril for a few minutes," Charlie said. "Does that happen when a new hand is added to the clock?"
Bill thought he saw sadness on his parent's faces as they looked at each other. His feeling from before returned. Was Charlie right? Had something happened to Harry? His parents usually tried to hide their worry from them, but they'd never been successful. Though he'd been quite young when You-Know-Who had been in power, he remembered how worried they always were. His mum had always tried to act happy, but he'd seen right past it. He saw past it now.
"Yes of course," their father finally said. "It takes a few moments for it to be accurate. It's nothing for any of you to worry about. Now, it looks like you lot have been quite busy. So why don't you show Harry what you made for him?"
"We made cards and stuff for you," Ron told Harry excitedly.
He grabbed him by the hand, and the two boys rushed over to the table, the rest of the kids followed excitedly. Bill followed at a slower pace.
"Ow!" Harry exclaimed as he sat down. "How come I hurt? Did I fall off my broom?"
Bill glanced over at his parents who were exchanging looks again. What had happened? Why did it look as if his mum had been crying? He hadn't noticed that until now, but she had tear stained cheeks, and she looked so sad. Harry seemed to forget his mystery pain as the younger kids began showing him what they'd made for him.
"Charlie, guess what!" Harry exclaimed after he'd looked at Ginny's drawing. "They had a toy snitch in the playroom. I caught it every time! I think I must have fallen though because I hurt. I don't remember falling, but I must have."
"I'm sure you'll feel better soon," their father said quickly. "In fact," and he reached into robes pocket to pull something out. In his hand was a toy snitch! They'd always wanted toys to go along with the toy broom. "Rilla gave this to me for all of you to play with. They have a lot of toy snitches there. It's for all eight of you to play with, so no fighting. Why don't you show everyone how you caught it, Harry? We'll make dinner while you do that."
"Okay," Harry said excitedly.
The others began yelling excitedly about the toy, even Charlie. His younger brother could still be a little kid at heart. Bill, however, didn't get up with the others. He wanted to know what happened to Harry. He no longer believed that the clock had malfunctioned just because Harry was new to the family. Something had happened, and now his little brother was in pain. It was written all over his parent's faces.
"Are you coming, Bill?" Ginny asked when he didn't get up.
"Soon," Bill told her. "I just want to finish something. You lot go outside with Charlie. I'll be out soon."
He waited until the kids were ready to go out. The moment Percy shut the door behind him, he turned to his parents who were talking in low whispers.
"What happened?" He demanded. "And don't tell me nothing. I'm not a little kid anymore. I can tell something happened."
"It's nothing for you to worry about dear," his mother said.
Bill sighed. His parents, especially his mother, always wanted to protect him from bad news or scary things. Didn't they understand that he was fourteen now, and a third year at Hogwarts? He was also a teenager. That meant he was a big kid now. He knew more about You-Know-Who and what happened while he was in power. He knew more about Harry's old living situation than his siblings did as well. So why couldn't they be honest with him? He was the oldest, and he was tired of being treated like a kid.
"I am worried about it," Bill responded. "He's my little brother now, and I know something happened to him."
"We just didn't want to stress you kids out," his father said. "We know how much you care about Harry. We know how upset you all were when you found out about his old life. We didn't even want you to know about abuse, but now you do."
"You can't always protect us from that stuff," Bill pointed out. "Please just tell me. I'm almost a grown up, and I won't tell the others. Not even Charlie."
"Harry can never know," his mother said. "Even when he is older. We don't want him to ever find out."
"I won't tell him," Bill insisted. "I promise."
His parents glanced at each other again before they joined him at the table. His father pointed his wand at the door and murmured something. Bill had a feeling he put something up so that they'd be alerted if the kids came back in. Whatever it was, it had to be bad then.
"Marge, Vernon's sister, spanked Harry and then she whipped him," his father finally said. "That's why he is a little sore. The Healer said the pain should be gone soon though."
Bill stared at his father. Had he heard him right? He took a deep breath. He felt furious. Hadn't those people done enough to Harry? How could she do that? How did she even manage to get a hold of him anyway? How could someone do that to his little brother? Had his parents erased Harry's memory? Was that why Harry didn't know about it? He had so many questions.
"How did she manage to do that?" Bill finally asked. "I thought that place had all sorts of protective spells on it? Or is that something you just told me?"
Not that long ago, his parents had told him in a letter, that if Harry had to go to the orphanage for magical children, he'd be safe there. Was that a lie so that he wouldn't worry?
"It is supposed to be," his mother replied. "They're trying to figure that out. The wards aren't supposed to let anyone in with malicious intent. Usually, someone has to be let in."
"But then how did she get him?" Bill asked. "Shouldn't someone have at least been watching him?"
Somehow someone had failed Harry, again. The first time was when it was decided that he should stay with his aunt and uncle, and this time someone had left him alone so he could be beaten.
"We asked the same while he was napping son," his father said with a sigh. "They thought he was safe. They have so many protective spells, even cushioning ones in the playrooms. Harry asked if he fell off his broom, but if he had, it wouldn't have hurt. There are too many safety charms in their playrooms for that to happen. They want children to be able to act like children there, so if someone falls down, it won't hurt them. If a kid is injured in there, they get alerted. So they thought he would be safe. Children aren't even allowed to leave the room without a trusted adult. Somehow, all their safety spells recognized Marge as someone who is trustworthy. Rilla told us that they are going to investigate the matter as thoroughly as possible. Nothing like that has happened before in all the years it has been opened."
"We wanted to blame them at first," their mother added with a sigh. "We are furious that this happened, but it's not their fault. They thought he was safe, and so did we. It's the Dursley's fault. Petunia and Vernon didn't have anything to do with the whipping, we could tell that they were shocked, but it's still their fault. They brought her there, and they were the ones who told her awful lies about him. However, she is the main one at fault. She went there and whipped a little boy for no reason at all. Even Vernon and Petunia were angry with her for it."
Bill shook his head. He couldn't get over his shock. Since Harry had been there, they'd known that he'd been abused. Even Ginny and Ron knew, but they all thought it was over. Harry was with them, and both Dumbledore, and the woman called Rilla had promised that Harry would never be hurt again. Yet, it had happened right under their noses the moment those people came back into his life and he didn't understand why! His little brother was just an innocent child who wanted a family to love him, and he'd been whipped!
"I can tell you're upset," his father said. "And it's why we didn't want you to know."
"I just don't get it," Bill said. "Why would someone want to hurt a little boy? And there is something wrong with their spells! If your clock could recognize that he was in danger, then why couldn't their spells?"
"That is a good question," his father said as he glanced over at the clock. "Though he was never actually in mortal peril, but it doesn't make sense that the clock recognized that something was wrong, and their spells didn't."
"Today is supposed to be a good day for him, and he was whipped!" Bill said furiously. "I hate the Dursley's!"
He couldn't remember ever truly hating someone, not even You-Know-Who, and that was more because he feared him than anything. However, he hated all three of the Dursley's. For whatever reason, they didn't want Harry to be happy. They wanted to continue to torment an innocent child, and he felt that they shouldn't even have Dudley.
"It's why we had that memory erased," his mother said. "Once the pain is gone, he'll be able to finally enjoy his childhood. It should be fairly soon, but we have a pain potion just in case. He was given some before he was healed, but we'll probably give him more after dinner."
"But why does it still hurt?" Bill asked.
He'd been hurt enough times, but once his mother healed him, he felt fine. The worst he'd had was when he'd broken his arm a few years ago. Even then, the pain hadn't really lasted long.
"The whipping was really bad, particularly on his backside," his father answered. "If it had just been a spanking, it would have been gone right away. Marge brutally whipped that little boy though. Some pain lasts a little longer, even after it's been healed. It's why we want him to be distracted. If he's playing, he'll forget about the pain, and it should be gone by the time he thinks about it again. Why don't you go out and play? You're home to see Harry after all. We'll call you all in when dinner is ready."
Bill nodded and got up. He suspected his siblings, or at least Charlie would know why he'd stayed inside. He was sure they were going to be asking what he found out.
"And Bill? You may tell Charlie later, but none of the other kids. The rest never need to find out, but I know Charlie will be asking," his mother said as if reading his mind. "Just make sure you tell him when the others aren't around."
Bill nodded again and then walked over to grab his winter cloak to put on. He paused, however, and turned back to his parents.
"What if Harry remembers this when is older?" He asked it was something that had been nagging him since he'd suspected that Harry's memory had been erased. "Someday he'll be fourteen like me, and he might want to know. He already asks a lot of questions, and I bet he'll remember everything about this day. It's the day he got a new family after all. Sometimes kids do remember a lot of things, I do."
He certainly remembered the good things as well as the bad things.
"If he remembers when he is older, and he wants to know, we'll explain it. For now, it's better if he just sees this as a day that he joined our family," his father said. "We didn't want him to associate this day with that."
Bill left the kitchen thinking about everything he'd been just told. In a way, he wished he hadn't found out because it made him sad. He debated on whether or not he would tell Charlie the truth after all. On the other hand, he was glad to know that his parents trusted him with the secret. He just hoped Marge would be punished big time for what she did!
Molly sighed as she finished the night time chores. She glanced over at her clock, something she'd been doing since she found out Harry had been added to it. All of her children's hands, including Harry's, was pointed at Bed. She felt very happy to see his name included as well, but she continued to feel sadness from the earlier events. How could Marge whip Harry?
Thankfully, by the time she had dinner ready, Harry was no longer in pain. He'd sat down at the kitchen table happily discussing how many times he'd caught the snitch.
"I don't hurt no more!" He suddenly exclaimed. "I wonder why I did hurt," and then the subject was dropped.
She knew her eldest was right. Harry was a very intuitive child, and there was a chance he'd remember later on that for some reason he'd been in pain on the day he joined their family. He might even put two and two together once he was older since he knew that the Dursley's had been there as well. Likely, he wouldn't guess it was Marge since he didn't know she'd been there too, but he may suspect either Petunia or Vernon had hurt him.
Bill was also very intuitive. He always had been, even as a toddler, he'd pick up on her emotions. She'd always done her best to shield him from it because she was the mother, and children were never supposed to see their parents upset. That had never worked for either her or Arthur though. The children, especially the older ones always picked up on it. She hadn't wanted Bill or Charlie to know what happened to Harry, but they were right. They were growing up, and she couldn't always shield them from the truth. While the others believed that the clock was confused, the two older boys hadn't.
Charlie had just gone to bed not too long ago. He'd come down to ask them questions about what had happened after Bill told him the truth. Both boys were very upset about it, but both promised not to tell the younger ones about it. She knew out of all of them, Ron would likely take it the hardest. He'd been deeply distressed when Harry first came, to the point that he'd had nightmares.
She was lost in her thoughts when there was a loud knock on the door. She went to answer it, but she heard Arthur answer it. Moments later, he and Rilla entered the kitchen.
"I'm sorry to come so late," Rilla said as Arthur offered her a seat at the table. "But I couldn't stop thinking about Harry. How is he?"
"It's okay; we're glad to have you over after everything you've done for us. He doesn't remember a thing thankfully, and he is no longer sore," Molly responded.
"I'm so glad. I just wish I could have done something to prevent what happened today," Rilla said. "I feel so guilty, and so do the staff at the orphanage. It shouldn't have been able to happen."
"We don't blame you," Arthur told her. "But have you figured out how she got in?"
"Would you like some tea?" Molly asked Rilla.
"No thank you," Rilla told her. "And Albus has some theories. We're still trying to figure it out. Albus thinks that since Petunia and Vernon were allowed in, the wards automatically allowed her in without needing permission. All three came together, and she's related to Vernon. Since muggles are generally not allowed in, it gave them an exception since they knew about the place. It has anti-muggle charms on it, so they usually can't even see it. That doesn't explain why the spells didn't realize her intent because she went in intending to hurt Harry. They should have stopped her. We think they must only recognize that in witches and wizards but not muggles since most muggles don't know it's there."
"Makes sense," Arthur said with a nod. "Our clock recognized that something was wrong."
And he quickly explained their clock to her. Rilla glanced over at it with surprise. During the observation period, she'd never noticed the clock. Molly had never known anyone else with one like hers, so she wasn't shocked to see Rilla's reaction. Most people were surprised by it.
"That's a very extraordinary clock, and Harry's name appeared on it today as well? It's even more shocking that it realized he wasn't safe, but our spells didn't," Rilla said not taking her eyes off of it. "I've never seen anything like it, and I've been in many wizarding homes."
"We were hoping you might be able to explain why the clock knew but your spells didn't," Molly said.
"I wish I did, but I've never seen anything like that. I don't know understand how it even works," Rilla responded and then turned back to face them. "But the staff are doing their best to figure out why it happened, and to stop it from happening again. I think the theory Albus has is likely the right one. They never thought to protect children from muggles since the anti-muggle charms already do that."
"Again, we don't blame you or the staff," Arthur told her.
"Albus and I have already been talking to the Wizenmagot about a hearing for Marge. Allison, the Healer, has already said she'll testify at a hearing if she has to. She is very upset about what happened to Harry as well. Albus brought over a Pensieve. We watched the memory," Rilla continued, and she suddenly looked very tired. "I won't go into detail, but you were right to have it erased. She didn't just whip him. She said some really awful things to him before it happened. Harry was crying before she hit him because what she said to him was horrifying. Petunia and Vernon were disgusting for what they did to him, but not even they said those awful things. Something is very wrong with that woman, and I thought Vernon and Petunia were despicable. I believe once that memory is seen, Marge will get what she deserves."
Molly didn't even want to think of what Marge could have said to Harry. She didn't want to think of how he'd felt before and during the whipping. He'd likely been terrified when she'd taken him from the playroom. It was bad enough that she had to see the aftermath of it.
She would never forget the moment he'd entered the waiting room, or the fury she'd felt when he told her that he'd been spanked, or how upset she'd felt when she saw how bad the whipping was. Then when Harry had woken up, he'd been worried that they didn't want him anymore because he could sense that they were upset. She wished that she could have the memory erased forever as well. Bill's reaction to the whipping had been upsetting as well. He liked to think he was all grown up, but he'd shown how vulnerable he still was when he'd found out.
"But I can also see that Harry will finally have the loving home he deserves," Rilla said when neither she nor Arthur said anything. "The moment I met you, Molly, I knew that you and your family were the right fit for Harry. I've always been able to sense these things; it's why I went into this field. I've never been wrong on my impressions when it comes to people. It's the reason I pushed so hard for Harry to live with you, despite your financial situation. That was the main concern. I knew you were the perfect family for him. It's a gift I've had since I was a young child. I can sense things about people, especially when they are lying, and any child I've placed into a home has always grown up happy. And while what Petunia and Vernon did was terrible, they are truly remorseful for what they and Marge did," and then she scowled. "It's just disgusting that it took them seeing Harry be whipped for them to realize that they were very wrong to hurt him. I'm not sure what will be decided at the hearing, but I am going to put in the recommendation that Marge will never be allowed to be alone with Dudley, or any other child."
Molly still felt that Petunia and Vernon shouldn't be allowed to keep Dudley either, but Dumbledore had already spoken up for them. She was glad that both Rilla and Albus were going to do what they could for this situation with Marge, however. Given the woman's opinion on certain dogs, she didn't think that Marge should be allowed to own pets either. She'd actually once bragged about drowning pups who were runts. Molly said all this to Rilla who nodded.
"Unfortunately, I don't think we can do that. There is no proof that she's been abusive to her dogs, but I agree that she shouldn't be allowed around an innocent animal as well as an innocent child," Rilla answered. "And there isn't anything more we can do to Vernon and Petunia. Hopefully, they'll learn from this experience and try to be better people."
Rilla stayed for a little longer before departing. She assured both of them that she would do whatever it took to make sure Marge paid for her crime. Molly was very pleased with this, and she just hoped that she too could move on from it. All she wanted to do was give Harry a very happy home from that moment forward. The other children had accepted him as their brother the moment they'd taken him home. She knew her kids would help with making Harry feel apart of a family at last.