Chapter 3 - A Death

Everyone stared open mouthed at Percy. The news just wouldn't sink in. Harry felt his heart start to beat faster as the initial shock wore off. Kinsley couldn't be dead. There was no reason for him to be. Voldemort was gone, so why would anyone perish now. Maybe he had gone off peacefully and not as Harry imagined, but then why would Percy be standing in front of them with such a look of displeasure on his face?

"What happened?" Harry broke the silence. Everyone jumped, they had forgotten anyone else apart from themselves was present in the room. Harry himself was shocked at how strong his voice had been, he hadn't thought he would be able to make a sound never mind string words together. For a minute Percy was silent. His tongue seemed to be tied, and he was having problems even opening his mouth.

"He was found in his office, whoever it was used the killing curse." He spoke as fast as he possibly could, thinking perhaps that if he said it quickly it would not sound as bad.

It was complete silence that met this statement, and no one looked as if they wanted to speak again as Percy made his way over to his mother and put his arms around her neck as she sobbed quietly into him. Harry saw Hermione grab Ron's hand and they looked at each other. He felt as though he was interrupting a quiet moment between them when he realised that they were whispering, and it wasn't love-sick things that they were whispering either, he could tell. They had suspected something, he realised as he lip-read. But he knew that he wouldn't know what they were saying until later on that night, Mrs Weasley was silently ushering them into the sitting room, as Mr Weasley and Percy grabbed their coats, ran out to the garden gate and disapperated, they had gone to the Ministry. Harry expected that the death of Kinsley would have caused pandemonium.

As the darkness outside pressed in against the windows, the wind shaking the spiders sheltering in the cobwebs, the Weasley family, Harry and Hermione sat in an uncomfortable silence, none able to break it, some crying and others just staring into the fire. But the silence was broken when Mr Weasley and Percy arrived back from the Ministry. They had departed to their work place because of the devastation that Kinsley's death had left behind. But when they returned they both had graver faces, growing ever closer to despair.

"What is it Arthur, what's happened? Percy?" Mrs Weasley sounded slightly distraught and the others knew exactly how she was feeling. Mr Weasley paused for a second, but they no longer cared about being careful, or treading water, so he just came out with it.

"Lucius Malfoy got to the Ministry first. He was nominated to be the next temporary Minister." There were loud cries at this, and shouts of anger.

"He will enforce chaos on the Wizarding world, and there's nothing I can do." Mr Weasley sat down wearily in the chair next to the dull fire and put his head in his hands.

"But Arthur," whispered Molly Weasley quietly, "he might not. They didn't fight in the battle against "him" after all did they? They became mutual when it mattered."

"Molly my dear," and Mr Weasley raised his head and looked at his troubled wife, "these are the Malfoys we are talking about."

The next day Harry awoke to a dull morning. He turned over onto his stomach and peered out of the window. The weather seemed to be showing his feelings by shrouding The Burrow in dark, stormy clouds. They made the sky grey and dull and seemed to depress Harry even more as he moaned at the thought of Lucius Malfoy controlling the magical ministry. He realised that Ron was not making loud grunts as he usually did in his sleep, and when he turned round he noticed that Ron was lying awake, his eyes wide open and he looked very pale. Harry didn't think that Ron had slept much either because as he looked he noticed dark rings under his eyes. Harry thought of all the hours he had spent lying awake. After everything that had happened. He was living at the Weasley's, he was going back to Hogwarts. Now this. What could he do? How could he stop evil spreading thick across the country? How could he stop Malfoy?

Ron slowly rolled off his bed onto the floor, this was usual routine for him he could never be bothered to actually get up, and slowly pulled himself to his feet. Smiling weakly at Harry he started to dig about looking for clean clothes. Harry pulled the duvet off himself and got out of the comfy warm bed he would gladly have stayed in for the rest of the day, and started to pull his clothes on. It was when they heard the front door bang shut that they began to race each other to the door, Ron still pulling on a pair of jeans and Harry having trouble putting his socks on as he hopped out of the doorway towards the stairs. Ron tried to run down the steps, and as he passed Harry he obviously thought he had beaten him as he bore a slightly amused expression. However he didn't look very happy as he saw Harry appear at the bottom of the long staircase after apparating. Ron obviously hadn't thought of that, but as he was no good at it he decided to safely make his way down muggle style, so Harry left him to it as he walked over to the kitchen door and pulled it open. There, as expected, sat Mr Weasley helping himself to egg and bacon and looking happier that he had done the night before. Hermione and Ginny were laughing as Crookshanks ran across the room chasing a fallen grape that Ginny had thrown for him to catch. Mrs Weasley was complaining that Mr Weasley was getting too thin due to stress, and George and Lee were sitting at the other end of the room in deep discussion, ignoring the occasional dirty look that they received from Mrs Weasley.

"What's going on?" Harry asked and everyone turned to see him in the doorway, looking slightly confused at the sudden change in mood, no one was even frowning, it was weird.

"Good news Harry!" Mr Weasley smiled up at him. "Our dear old friend Lucius Malfoy has been told that he is not capable of becoming temporary Minister of Magic!" Mr Weasley grinned as he said the words "not capable" but he said nothing further on the matter of the Malfoy's disgrace.

"What do you mean? Why?" Harry entered the room shocked at the news that was coming to his ears.

"The fellow Ministry officials told him that they would in due course offer him the position, but for now they were going to appoint another person," Mr Weasley grinned at Harry as he said the next bit, "apparently they just couldn't trust him after what happened with He Who Must Not Be Named."

Harry nearly jumped for joy at the news, however the words "in due course offer him the position" still rang in his brain, but he dismissed them as Ron came panting through the door.

"What have I missed?" He was bright red in the face and at the sound of his voice George and Lee separated and George turned to Ron.

"Everything Ron. It's a shame your not wanted. Even mum and dad admit it, they wanted a girl. You know, easy to scare, quite weak," he nodded as he thought of anything else, then he noticed Ginny and Hermione leave their chairs, " some of the time, quite weak SOME OF THE TIME!" He quickly added before any of the females in the room could hit him. "However, you come pretty close to that description. Maybe I'll start calling you Rona and I'll get Ginny and Hermione to put pigtails in your hair." And with that he got up and started dancing around the room waving his arms and curtseying to Mrs Weasley, who whacked him round the head with a newspaper. He soon sat down looking very disgruntled and began another hushed up, lengthy discussion with Lee, as Ron went to sit with Hermione and Ginny to find out what he had missed.

The rest of the morning went rather smoothly, it was even better when Percy arrived, a large smile plastered onto his round face.

"Percy," Mrs Weasley threw her arms round his neck, "how's Penelope?" She always asked this. Since Percy and Penelope Clearwater had moved in together she had waited for an engagement and still it hadn't come.

"She's fine mum. She sent these." Percy handed over a basket and Mrs Weasley opened it up. Inside were an assortment of flowers ranging from purple and pink sweet peas to red and white roses.

"Oh!" Mrs Weasley gasped. "Are these all grown in your front garden?" She looked up at Percy in astonishment.

"Yes," he smiled looking very smug, "when you wake up that's all you can smell, those and the fusias, lilies, petunias and many others that I can't even begin to explain. But anyway I'm not here for that." He turned round to face Mr Weasley and he shone with happiness. "I was so proud to hear the news I had to come over straight away."

"News?" Mr Weasley answered looking slightly confused but also very interested.

"Has Hermit not delivered the post yet?" Hermit was the owl that Hermione had bought the Weasleys. She had finally decided enough was enough when their other owl Errol had flown into the window again, and had fallen into a pan of soup. Ron had managed to catch him before any serious damage had been caused but Hermione had felt so sorry for the poor, decrepit animal that she had immediately gone to Diagon Alley and bought another one. A rather stupid barn owl that kept getting lost.

"No," Mr Weasley answered, "he hasn't, why?"

"This is great," Percy said to himself, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, "guess who got the position for the temporary Minister of Magic!"

Everyone waited patiently, Percy didn't seem to be able to hold it in much longer so Harry saved him the bother. "Who?"

Percy looked at him then looking back at Mr Weasley said one word that changed the middle-aged man's life for ever. "Dad!"