Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.
Previous Chapter Summary: Harry presents his idea on a practice wand that underage witches and wizards would be able to use without breaking the Statute of Secrecy or the Underage Magic law. The students of Hogwarts head home on the Express for the Christmas holidays and Harry finally gets to meet his godfather but the trip is somewhat darkened due to Sirius and Remus finding out that Peter Pettigrew is still alive.
Arthur Weasley was slightly nervous as he made his way from his small office to the office of his boss, Amelia Bones. He had gotten a notice just moments before informing him that he was expected to come see her with all due haste and his mind immediately jumped to all different kinds of scenarios on why she would have summoned him, naturally focusing on the worst. Oh Merlin, how could he tell Molly and the kids if he got fired, especially right before Christmas?
Arthur had nearly worked himself into a frenzy by the time he finally reached the door that led to Madam Bones' office and had to steady himself before raising a hand to knock. "Enter" was immediately barked from the other side and he opened the door to reveal his boss sitting behind her desk and looking at him with a very serious expression. There was something different about her and it took him a moment to realize that her ever present monocle was currently hanging by its chain instead of secured on her right eye like it normally was.
"Come in Mr. Weasley and please shut the door behind you." She instructed and as soon as he did she raised her wand and cast several charms to secure the door and ensure that nobody could listen in or enter without her say so.
"Umm, your note said there was something you wished to discuss with me Madam Bones?" Arthur asked hesitantly, startled by her behavior and getting even more nervous as he heard the door squelch behind him with a sealing charm.
"Yes, please have a seat." She waited until he was comfortable and then jumped right in. "Mr. Weasley, what can you tell me about Scabbers?"
That took him by surprise and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "My son's pet rat?"
"Yes."
As confusing as the random question was, Arthur realized that there would be no elaboration on it so answered. "Well, my son Percy found him in our garden when he was younger and because we don't really have the money to buy the kids pets, Molly and I decided to let him keep it when he asked. When he was made prefect this year we bought him an owl as a reward and he passed Scabbers down to our youngest son Ron."
"How long ago did your son find Scabbers?"
Arthur ran a hand through his thinning hair as he thought about it. "I believe it was about 10 or so years ago, possibly during November or December. It was cold outside and Percy brought him in when he found him as he didn't want him to freeze to death."
Amelia raised an eyebrow at that. "So, shortly after the death of the Potters?"
That was certainly a strange way of putting it, as if this entire conversation weren't strange to begin with, but Arthur answered anyway. "Yes, I suppose it was."
"I see." Was her only reply as she looked at her desk and opened a folder. She had been livid when Mr. Flamel had come in with a picture of the Hogwarts Gryffindor first years and told her that the rat in the photo was in fact the Animagus form of Peter Pettigrew and how they had found out about him. She had immediately gone to St. Mungo's to interview Sirius Black and Remus Lupin herself, threatening them with everything she could think of short of a stay in Azkaban if they were playing some sort of prank. She left satisfied that they were telling the truth as well as with a filled out Animagus Registration form for Mr. Black.
"Madam Bones, may I ask why you're asking me about my son's rat?" Arthur asked as she pulled the photograph from the folder.
"Before I do, could you please look at this photo and confirm whether the rat in this picture is Scabbers?" Amelia said and handed it over.
Arthur took it and smiled when he saw his son's beaming face as he stood amongst his fellow Gryffindor first years. "Yes, that's Scabbers."
Amelia took the photo back and placed it in the folder again before giving Arthur a grave look. "Mr. Weasley, what I am about to tell you must not under any circumstances leave this room. If you breath a word of this conversation to anyone outside of this office before I give you the ok to do so, you will find yourself out of a job faster than you can say Stupify. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Y…yes Madam Bones, you have my word." Arthur replied in bewilderment.
"Good. Now, you know all about the fiasco with Sirius Black and how it was Peter Pettigrew and not Mr. Black that betrayed the Potters and killed all of those Muggles correct?"
"Of course, Molly has been sending Sirius care packages every so often while he has been in St. Mungo's."
Amelia actually cracked a smile at hearing that. Molly Weasley's cooking was legendary around the floor as she often sent sweets for Arthur to share with his co-workers, the frequency with which she did so increasing as her children started to leave home and there weren't as many mouths to feed during their stay at Hogwarts. "Glad to hear it. This next bit is where things get rather complicated I'm afraid. You see, I received a visit earlier from a concerned citizen who provided me with this photo and some very surprising information to go along with it."
"And Scabbers has something to do with this?"
"He has everything to do with it. They informed me that they believe that Peter Pettigrew is alive, is actually an Animagus, and has been masquerading as your family pet in order to hide from the law and the Death Eaters." Amelia said.
Arthur sat in stunned silence upon hearing this. Madam Bones believed that the pet rat that had been living with him and his family for the past 10 years was actually a mass murderer? But how could that be? The only strange thing about Scabbers was that he had lived far longer than any normal rat would have ever lived… which actually made sense if he were an Animagus, now that he thought about it.
Then instances he hadn't really given much thought to at the time bounced up and slapped him in the face. Walking into a room and finding Scabbers sitting on top of a copy of the Daily Prophet with his head moving slightly back and forth as if he were reading it, only for him to scurry to the side and immediately begin chewing on the corners when he realized someone was watching or finding him hidden under a chair or around a corner whenever they would have former Order members visiting when Arthur knew for a fact that Percy had taken him upstairs with him to go to bed.
'Oh Merlin! My children have shared a home with a murderer for ten years.' Arthur thought and went deathly pale. "I think I'm going to be sick." He said out loud.
Amelia got up and poured them both a cup of tea, putting two sugars with a dash of milk into Arthur's, and handed his to him as she went to sit back down with her own.
Arthur didn't need to wonder how the Head of the DMLE knew how he liked his tea and took a large swallow instead, burning his tongue slightly. "Thank you. I don't understand how something like this could happen."
"Like I said, he is most likely hiding from both us and the Death Eaters and wanted to stay with a wizarding family so he could keep tabs on what was going on in the world. He probably chose yours since you are somewhat close to Dumbledore and your family is large enough that you had enough to be going on with than pay any attention to your son's pet rat. Quite smart of him actually."
"What are we going to do? I couldn't stand him being anywhere near my family now that I know." Arthur said.
"That is actually why I brought you here to tell you rather than storm into your house with several of my most trusted Aurors. Given his history so far, it's entirely possible that the moment he saw us he would transform back and start casting curses left and right, putting your family at risk. I would like to avoid that if at all possible." Amelia answered.
Arthur took another gulp of tea. "I would as well. Do you have a plan then?"
"Of course. Though you are not an Auror, I know very well that you are able to handle yourself under pressure and could probably pass Auror training if you ever chose to change careers." Amelia was of course referring to his time spent with the Order of the Phoenix during the war. "Therefore, I would like you to help us capture the rat so that we may be sure that it is Pettigrew and, if it is, prosecute him to the full extent of the law."
"You want me to do it?"
"I didn't come to this decision lightly Mr. Weasley. Using Polyjuice did spring to mind but I was not confident that I or any of my Aurors would be able to pose as you well enough not to make Mrs. Weasley, and therefore Pettigrew, suspicious and I have already told you what would likely transpire were we to attempt to raid your home. I believe it would be much easier if you were to go home and act as normally as you can while waiting for a chance to stun the rat while a squad of Aurors and myself wait outside."
Images of all the things that could go wrong should he mess up the opportunity to catch Pettigrew flashed through Arthur's mind. Amelia was right though, Molly would most likely sense something amiss right away if one of the Aurors tried to pose as him and he couldn't think of any other way that they could go about this. "I guess I don't have any choice. I don't want that man anywhere near my family for any longer than is necessary."
"Good man." Amelia nodded approvingly. "The way I see it, the easiest way to do this would be for you to simply wait and go home at your regular time, since it's nearly the end of the work day that shouldn't be too bad. When you get home be sure to act as normally as possible and keep an eye on the rat without making it too obvious that you're doing so. Figuring out the best time to stun him will be difficult but it would be better to wait until he is easily in the open then find an excuse to pull your wand and quickly stun him. Do you think you would be able to do that?"
"I think so." Arthur replied nervously. She made it sound so easy.
"Once you stun him, make sure your family does not touch him, and come outside to let us know as quickly as possible. Like I said, we will be surrounding your house and waiting under disillusionment so all you have to do is raise your wand in the air to let us know it's ok for us to come in and retrieve him."
"What if I mess up and he is able to transform before I stun him."
"If that should happen, shoot off red sparks towards one of the windows and try to defend your family as best you can. Once we see the sparks we will immediately come in to help while also setting up anti-apparition and portkey wards so he can't escape." Amelia desperately hoped that nothing like that would be necessary as there would be absolute chaos inside the house with all the children and she certainly didn't want any of them harmed.
Arthur nodded but still looked unsure about the whole thing.
"If you don't feel comfortable with this method then we can try and think of another way but it must be before you leave for the day."
Arthur thought of his children and the danger they could be in were anything to go wrong but sat up straighter with a determined look on his face. "I'm willing to try Madam Bones. I'd do anything to protect my family."
"I don't doubt it Mr. Weasley and thank you for agreeing to do this. Despite the fact that you couldn't have known that Pettigrew was hiding with you, there will more than likely be a lot of blow back from this. Hopefully, you assisting with his capture will help stem much of it. Mr. Black has even volunteered to replace your son's pet with any of his choosing."
"Sirius? What does he have to do with it?"
"He is the one that recognized Pettigrew while looking at photographs his godson had taken while he was at Hogwarts."
"Oh." Was all Arthur could find to say to that.
After going over the plan to make sure Arthur knew what he needed to do and trying to think of different scenarios that would allow Arthur to pull his wand and not make Pettigrew suspicious, he was finally dismissed and allowed to go back to his office. The last 45 minutes of work went agonizingly slow for him but it gave him a chance to settle down and try to think of excuses should Molly find anything wrong with him.
Arthur took a deep breath as he stood before one of the many floo stations in the main lobby of the Ministry, trying to calm his racing heart. He knew that Madam Bones and her Aurors had already left to take up stations around his home but that fact did not comfort him one bit. Deciding to just get it over with as soon as possible, he stepped into the fireplace and yelled, "The Burrow!" and then in a softer voice so nobody could hear, he spoke the password that would allow him through to his home, "Mollywobbles."
He closed his eyes and endured the nauseating journey and just as he stopped spinning, planted his left foot firmly on the ground to keep himself from spinning any further and pushed off a bit to steady himself. This was done in just a few seconds and when he got his bearings back Arthur opened his mouth and shouted out, "I'm home," with as normal and chipper a voice as he could manage.
Molly came bustling out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, and gave him a kiss in greeting. "You're just in time for dinner dear. Why don't you go and freshen up and I'll have the table set by the time you get back down. Oh, can you let Fred, George, Percy and Ginny know to come down as well? Ron is already waiting at the table of course." She said as she began to make her way back through the door.
As Arthur made to answer however, she stopped and turned back to him with a look of concern. "Are you all right Arthur? You look a tad gray."
Reassuring himself that he would be able to tell Molly the truth soon enough, Arthur lied to his wife. "I'm fine, we just had a man today that lost 3 of his toes due to some jinxed shoes. Not the prettiest site I've ever seen."
"You poor dear." She said with concern lacing her voice. "Well my stew should help put some color back in your cheeks and I'm sure a glass of Firewhiskey wouldn't go amiss later tonight."
Arthur managed a smile and pecked her on the cheek. "You are quite right Molly. I shall be down in a bit." He said and began making his way up the stairs.
The first room he came to was of course Ginny's and he knocked softly on the partially open door. His only daughter stopped humming and looked up from the magazine she had been reading. "Dad!" She squealed and rolled off the bed, ran to him, and jumped into his waiting arms.
"Oomph." He grunted when he felt his back straining as he lifted her up to give her a hug. "I think you are starting to get too big for me to be able to do that for much longer Ginny."
She simply giggled and gave him a hug in return.
"Dinners about ready. Why don't you go help your mum set the table?" He said, setting her down.
"Ok." She replied happily and bounded down the stairs.
Arthur made his way further up the stairs, stopped on the second floor landing and, ignoring the keep out sign hanging on the closed door, knocked loudly. He heard hurried whispers on the other side and what sounded like furniture being moved back and forth before the door was finally pulled open a crack and a brown eye peeked through.
"Hullo Dad. What can we do for you?" Fred asked and opened the door farther so Arthur could see George sitting on his bed with a book open on his lap.
"Dinner is almost ready." He said and grinned. "Also, I would recommend finding a better spot than under George's bed for whatever you are trying to hide from your mother. It's a tad obvious don't you think?"
Fred and George looked at each other before breaking out in twin grins of their own.
"Right you are old chap." George said standing up and tossing the book onto his brother's bed.
"We'll be sure to find a better spot once we get back up here." Fred said and they both clapped him on the shoulder as they made their way past him and down the stairs.
"I don't know why you encourage them Dad." Percy said from behind him where he was standing in the doorway of his own bedroom.
Arthur smiled at his 3rd eldest son and said. "They are quite brilliant when they put their minds to it and their experiments are mostly harmless. I always believed it's better not to stifle my children's creativity as long as they don't deliberately harm anyone."
Percy sniffed his disapproval of his father's views on the matter but kept silent and made his way down to the kitchen.
Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, Arther finally made it to their bedroom on the 4th floor, freshened up, and was stepping through the door of the kitchen a few minutes later. He was doing good so far he thought as he pulled out his chair at the head of the table, sat down, and absorbed the chaos that was the norm for most of the Weasley family meals.
Fred and George were sitting on the left side of the table with Percy and Fred was continuously moving bowls, plates, cups, and utensils into Percy's space while whispering to his twin conspiratorially and throwing expectant glances in Ron's direction. Percy, who was attempting to disperse the small pile of dishes that had accumulated in front of him before it fell to the floor, hastily reached across the table and snatched the Hiccough Sweet that Ron was about to put in his mouth out of his hand and started arguing furiously with the twins when they tried to take it back. Ron looked angrily at his older brother for taking his sweet before realizing that Percy had just saved him from the painful experience of hiccoughing uncontrollably while trying to eat hot stew and folded his hands across his chest so as not to be tempted to eat anything else before dinner started. This was made difficult when Ginny ran over with a basket of fresh buns that she set on the table before snatching one up, breaking off a piece, and popping it into her mouth. She moved the basket out of Ron's reach when she saw him looking at it, poked her tongue out at him, and went to sit down to Arthur's right.
The delight Arthur usually felt at the mayhem surrounding him dwindled significantly when he saw the head of Scabbers peaking out of Ron's pocket. He knew he couldn't get to him safely yet but that didn't stop Arthur wanting to reach over and snatch the rat up, if only to get him away from his children. He was broken out of his thoughts when Molly came over and set the large pot of stew down in the middle of the table.
Dinner progressed normally after that, though Arthur knew he was a little too quiet if Molly's concerned glances were anything to go by, and he felt the time finally come when everybody had finished dessert and Molly stood to start cleaning up the table. Arthur would occasionally help her levitate the dishes and such into the kitchen so was not worried about looking suspicious when he also stood, pulling his wand.
Scabbers, as was the norm, had migrated to the table top when dinner was almost done to snatch up any scraps that the kids was willing to give him and hadn't budged from his position on Ron's left all through dessert.
Arthur raised his wand as if to cast the levitation spell but instead, jabbed the wand straight at Scabbers and yelled. "Stupefy!" To Arthur's dismay, the jet of red light streaked straight towards the rat but hit Ron's hand instead as he reached over to pick Scabbers up and with him being at the end of the large table away from Arthur, the distance gave him just enough time to unknowingly intercept the spell.
Ron's body went limp and he fell to the floor amongst astonished cries from his siblings and mother while Scabbers jumped off the table and ran for the living room.
"Arthur, what are you doing?" Molly cried as she made to go to her unconscious son.
Arthur set off red sparks directly at the window facing the front lawn before running after Pettigrew and shouting over his shoulder. "Keep the children in here Molly and keep your wand out and ready to defend."
Upon crossing the threshold into the living room Arthur saw that Pettigrew had transformed back into his human form and was pointing his wand straight at him. Not knowing what spell Pettigrew was about to use and unwilling to let it go through the door where his family was, Arthur stood his ground and hastily threw up a shield as a fiery orange light came streaking towards him. The spell hit his shield and ricocheted off to the right, hitting the stairs and causing a large explosion that obliterated half the staircase and parts of the wall.
Pettigrew stumbled backwards a bit as large pieces of debris pelted him and Arthur, ignoring the stings and cuts he received from the same, attempted to disarm him but his spell missed when Pettigrew tripped over one of the many small tables scattered about the living room and nearly fell. The small mousy looking man raised his wand to cast another spell but before he could, the front door was blasted open and Amelia Bones, followed closely by the towering figures that were Kingsley Shacklebolt and Rufus Scrimgeor. They zeroed in on Pettigrew instantly and all three raised their wands.
Pettigrew hurriedly cast a purple looking curse at the three but it was successfully blocked by Shacklebolt while Bones and Scrimgeor began casting both disarming and stunning spells at the fugitive. Due to the small living room and numerous couches, chairs, and tables crammed into it, Pettigrew had very little space in order to dodge the barrage that was directed at him and before he could decide whether he would be better off transforming again to try and escape, he was overwhelmed and finally brought down when bolts of red light hit him in the face and leg.
When Arthur saw that the Aurors had everything under control, he spun around and raced back towards the kitchen shouting, "Sugar mice!" just before storming through the doorway. Thankfully, Molly recognized their old safety password that let the other know it was them and all was safe.
"Is everyone all right?" He asked, looking around.
Recognizing the tone in her husband's voice when he had run out of the room, Molly had immediately woken Ron and herded the children to the side of the table nearest the wall then flipped it onto its side so they could hide behind it, causing the food and dishes she never got a chance to clean up, slide to the floor with a crash. The explosion that came from the other side of the wall startled them all and they waited with bated breath as the house shook from the impact, causing dust to fall from the ceiling, and finally steady itself again.
Molly looked at her children to make sure they were properly hidden and smiled proudly when she caught site of Percy kneeling farther down behind the table with his wand drawn and a determined look plastered on his face. Ginny was clinging to his side, white as a sheet, and he had his free arm protectively around her. The twins also had their wands out but were slightly distracted by the questions coming from Ron, who was wondering what was going on. Molly so wanted to go help her husband but knew that if anything happened to him that she might need to defend the kids from whoever it was that he was fighting.
Sooner than she expected, the fighting stopped and there was silence beyond the doorway. She kept everyone down when they made to get up and heard footsteps starting towards the kitchen. Molly raised her wand to fire a curse over the top of the table but stopped herself as she heard Arthur's voice shouting the safety password she hadn't heard him use since the war.
Arthur watched as everyone emerged shakily from behind the large table, looking to see if anybody had been injured. Upon seeing him, Ginny let out a cry and ran towards him with tears spilling down her face. Arthur picked her up when she got to him and the little red-head immediately locked her arms and legs around him in a death grip while the rest of his family made their way over as well.
"Arthur what is going on?" Molly asked with worry and not a little bit of anger.
"Perhaps it would be best if I answered that for you Mrs. Weasley." Amelia said as she stepped through into the cramped and messy kitchen.
"Madam Bones? You certainly got here quickly." Molly said in bewilderment.
"As it so happens, I was already here." Amelia said and explained the situation to the astonished family. "There was some spell damage to your living room and your staircase took a beating but once we are done gathering evidence and taking pictures we can assist you in repairing everything."
"Peter Pettigrew?" Molly asked horrified.
"I'm afraid so. But he is now in our custody and will soon stand trial for his crimes. I would like to ask you and your family not to say anything about this though until I am able to make a public statement. I believe it will be best, especially for you, as it will give me a chance to explain to everyone the part that your husband played in helping to capture Pettigrew." Amelia said.
Molly hardly heard anything she said though, being so focused on one point in particular. "Peter Pettigrew has been under our roof for the past 10 years? Sleeping in the same room as my children?"
At that realization, Ron and Percy looked absolutely green and both gulped audibly as if they were trying to keep down their dinner.
Amelia managed to get a promise from each of the Weasleys that they wouldn't breath a word of what happened until the story broke in the Phrophet as well as each of their statements before she made her way back into the living room to see how much longer her Aurors would be, leaving the family of red-heads to converse amongst each other.
"I am sorry I hit you with my stunner Ron." Arthur said and placed a hand on his son's head. "I was obviously trying to hit Pettigrew but you and I seemed to have had the worst timing. I am just glad everyone is alright."
"Alright?!" Ron shouted, near hysterics. "I let a murderer sleep in the same bed as me!"
Seeing her son going into a panic, Molly hurried over to one of the kitchen drawers and pulled it open, revealing numerous potion vials of different sizes filled with an assortment of different colors and painstakingly labeled, laying neatly organized within. She had begun keeping the potions she used most often in drawers all over the house in case she and Arthur or the children needed them, making sure to inspect them and replace them with a new batch whenever one expired.
It didn't take long for Molly to find what she was looking for and she was soon back at her youngest son's side. She opened the small vial of light pearl blue liquid and held it out to Ron, who took it without question and downed it in one gulp. It took only a few seconds for the Calming Draught to take effect and Ron gave a content sigh as his eyes glazed over slightly.
Arthur went about straightening up the kitchen while Molly made sure that the rest of their kids were doing ok, especially Percy since he had yet to regain his normal complexion since Madame Bones had spoken to them. Ginny still refused to let go of him however and Arthur's back was seriously beginning to creak and groan as he cast spells this way and that to get everything cleaned up.
Just as he finished and finally convinced Ginny to get down, Madam Bones walked back in to let them know that they were done gathering evidence and that Auror Shaklebolt would remain to assist him in repairing his home. Arthur followed her through the doorway back into the living room and walked over to Kingsley, who was standing patiently near the broken staircase, as she walked out the door.
Repairing the wall and stairs took no time at all with both men working together and only a few more minutes for Arthur to set the living room to rights. Kinglsey left shortly after they finished with an invitation to dinner sometime in the near future to look forward to. He may be a great Auror but Kinglsey would be the first to admit that his cooking skills left much to be desired and the only times he could get a decent meal was if he went out to a pub or restaurant. Having lost his parents shortly after the war, it had been ages since the bachelor had had a nice home cooked meal.
A/N: Soooo… I made a boo boo. I absolutely 100% forgot that the Weasley parents and Ginny went to Romania for Christmas and the others had to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. I only realized my mistake after I had completed writing the whole chapter D: and rather than come up with a different method of catching Pettigrew and making you guys wait even longer, we are just going to pretend that Molly and Arthur decided to save money and not go to Romania after all. Maybe they can use that money to get Ron his own wand instead, since I'm sure a trip to Romania costs much more than 7 Galleons ;P