Chapter Eleven: The Woes of Mr Weasley

Arthur Weasley was sitting at his desk at work, and as it was a Friday afternoon, he wasn't really paying much attention. He was too busy thinking about what was happening tonight. Tonight he was moving his whole family out of the Burrow to go to Grimmauld Place in London. He had been going there every night this week to help get it ready for tonight. In his humble opinion, the place was a dump, and he did not envy anyone whose task it would be to clean the place, even using magic. He suspected that the task would fall to Molly and his children, although calling them children just felt so wrong these days. Bill was in his mid-twenties, as was Charlie, Percy was almost twenty and the twins, Fred and George, were of age now. Arthur then thought of his youngest son, Ron, he might only be fifteen but he had seen more than most people his age. Ginny was almost fourteen and had been a victim of Dark magic already in her short life so far. He could just imagine what Ron was going to say when he found out that he would be helping to clean that awful house, and spend most of the summer doing it.

The truth be told, he felt it was a waste of a young wizard's talent to make him a clean a house instead of asking him for ideas on planning and strategy, after all, Ron was one of the best chess players he had ever come across, in fact Arthur would not be at all surprised if he could defeat Dumbledore at the game. But alas, Molly would never allow Ron to be involved with any of the goings on, and if she had her way, none of the others would be involved either. Arthur felt it was wrong that Molly treated them all like children, but he never felt it was his place to say anything as she was the one who did most of, if not all the work in the raising of their children. Arthur shook his head again as the word children went through his mind. There was just no way that they could be just kids anymore, Voldemort rising again had seen to that.

At last, five o'clock arrived and so he bid Perkins a safe journey home and a goodnight before leaving for home. On his way, he saw Percy in the atrium. He had not seen Percy all week, and he knew that Percy had not been to the Burrow all week as he had moved to a new flat in London that was close to the Ministry of Magic. As he took in Percy's appearance, he noticed that he did not look like someone who should have been investigated for his conduct as he should have consulted a superior when Barty Crouch stopped coming into work and had taken up his work for him in his place. In fact, Arthur could see that Percy had a look on his face to suggest he had good news, so, together the two of them Apparated to the Burrow.

Before anyone could greet him or Percy, Percy spoke.

'I've got news, good news, in fact,' he said.

'Well, let's hear it, Percy,' said Molly.

'I've been promoted!' said Percy, boastfully.

'Really, to what, dear?' asked Molly.

'I'm now Junior Assistant to the Minister!' he replied.

Arthur took a look around the kitchen to gage the reactions of the rest of them, and as he did so, he noticed somebody was missing.

'That's wonderful!' said Molly, proudly, 'isn't it, Arthur?'

'Where's Ron?' Arthur asked.

Before Molly answered, he noticed his wife share a look with Bill and the others before saying, 'He's gone to Muriel's for the summer.'

Arthur knew right away that his wife was lying. Not because he could tell when she was lying, it was because he knew that Ron despised Muriel just as much as he did, if not more.

'Where's Ron?' Arthur asked again.

'Show him, Mum,' said Bill.

'Show me what?' said Arthur, impatiently.

Molly then handed him the letter Ron had left behind.

With every word Arthur read, he found himself getting angry as well as a little confused, when he had finished, he said, 'Explain!'

Molly then told him about the meeting with Remus that she, Bill and Charlie had attended and what decisions had been made.

Arthur Weasley was not happy, not happy at all.

'So, let me get this straight, Molly, Remus Lupin, you, Bill and Charlie all decided that Ron should be tossed aside like yesterday's garbage because of one mistake, and not doing as well as the rest of his siblings on his schoolwork? And then forcing Hermione into a relationship with a boy she does not love, hurting Ron and Hermione even more?'

Molly nodded.

'So, what happened?' Arthur asked.

'Ron and Hermione hooked up instead!' said Ginny, outraged.

Arthur could not stop the smile that appeared on his face.

'Do you mean to tell me that you're all taking Potter's side in all this?' asked Percy.

'With You-Know-Who back –'

'You believe Potter, do you, Mother? You believe Potter is telling the truth?' said Percy.

'He wouldn't make up anything like this! His parents' murderer being back is not something Harry would lie about!' said Molly.

'According to the Minister, Potter is lying!' said Percy.

'But what do you think, Percy? You, what does your gut tell you?' Arthur asked his third eldest son. 'What is your opinion?'

'I … don't know what to think … I mean if he is telling the truth, there is still the matter of his behaviour towards Ronald!' said Percy.

'Who cares?' said Ginny.

'I care!' Arthur shouted, making them all jump, 'he is my son, and I'll have words with anyone who would try to hurt him in any way!'

It was then that there was a knock on the door so Molly jumped to open the door to find Dumbledore waiting outside.

'Good evening to you all; forgive me, but I thought I heard raised voices?' said Dumbledore.

'Yes, you did, Albus,' said Arthur.

'Is it true, Headmaster, that You-Know-Who is back?' asked Percy.

'Yes, I am afraid that it is true, Percy,' said Dumbledore.

'The Minister said that the Diggory boy died in an accident,' said Percy.

'No, my dear boy, he was murdered by Lord Voldemort, or at least it was on his orders …'

'The Minister says you and Potter are lying to cause destabilisation in the Ministry,' said Percy.

'We are not lying, and we have no reason to lie about something as serious as this. Cornelius has become blinded, and therefore, he will not listen to reason or warn the public of the very real danger to our way of life.'

Percy was gobsmacked. 'So what are you going to do, Headmaster?'

'Whatever I can to make sure Voldemort is not as strong as he was the last time he was powerful, but I can only do so much …'

'You see, Percy, because the Minister won't get off his backside and do his actual job, Professor Dumbledore is going to do all he can to fight You-Know-Who and his followers, and we're going to help all we can,' said Bill.

'How?' asked Percy.

'Recruiting more help, protecting Harry among other things,' said Bill.

'Why are you protecting Harry Potter? What makes him so special?' asked Percy.

'Harry has a pivotal role to play, I'm sorry I cannot say any more than that, but if you wish to stand alongside your family, and fight against Lord Voldemort, you would be most welcome …' said Dumbledore.

'I need to think about this … you see, I was promoted to the Minister's staff today,' said Percy.

'Really?' said Dumbledore, 'that's interesting …'

'Why?'

'Because you would make an excellent spy with your proximity to Cornelius, please do not misunderstand me, I have no interest in being the Minister of Magic, but I will need to know what he is doing … who he meets … you see, we cannot afford for him to be alone with suspected Death Eaters … people like Lucius Malfoy … if someone like that were to use the Imperius Curse upon Cornelius, it could lead to all sorts of problems …'

'In that case, I shall help in any way that I can,' said Percy.

'Spoken like a true Gryffindor and Weasley,' said Dumbledore, 'now, are you all ready to go to Headquarters?'

'We would be, Albus, but Ron is not here,' said Arthur.

'Where is he?' asked Dumbledore.

Arthur handed Dumbledore the letter he had just read, saying, 'I can only apologise for the contents, Headmaster.'

Dumbledore read the letter as he waved away Arthur's apology.

'I am very sorry, Arthur …' said Dumbledore, when he had finished.

'Why, it's not like you forced Ron out of his home and away from his family,' Arthur replied.

'No, I did not. However, I do not think he will be in danger at the present, what with Voldemort and his followers lying low, and Ronald has always struck me as a fighter and a survivor …'

The silence in the Burrow's kitchen was broken by Molly.

'Shouldn't we be going?'

Dumbledore agreed and so with a flick of his wand he sent Fred, George and Ginny's trunks to Headquarters, before showing them all a piece of parchment that read:

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

Once everyone had read and memorised the parchment, they all left the Burrow to Apparate, with Molly taking Ginny by Side-along Apparition.

Upon their arrival in the street full of dilapidated houses, they followed Dumbledore to where number twelve should be, remembering the parchment, the house appeared and were told go inside and to keep quiet in the hallway. They followed Dumbledore into what was once an elegant drawing room.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke once more.

'For those of you who do not know one another, this is Arthur Weasley, his wife, Molly, and their children, Bill, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny,' began Dumbledore, 'I am sure you can all manage to introduce yourselves, as most unfortunately, I have to leave.'

Dumbledore left without another word.

'Kingsley Shacklebolt,' said a tall, black man with a deep voice.

'Tonks,' said a young woman with pink hair.

'Remus Lupin,' said a man with shabby robes.

It was then Arthur saw red and stormed up to Lupin and punched him hard in the face, sending him to the floor.

'OI!' shouted a voice, but was ignored as Arthur began to speak.

'Who the bloody hell are you to pass judgment on my son? What gives you the right to say he's not good enough? Do you have any idea what you've done?'

Another man had come into the room and helped Remus to his feet, before turning around to Arthur and said, 'Welcome back to the shithole, Arthur.'

'Hello, Sirius,' Arthur replied.

'Sirius, as in Sirius Black?' asked Percy, shocked.

'The one and only, nice to meet you, kiddo,' said Sirius, nonchalantly.

'Perce, don't wet yourself, he's innocent,' said Bill.

Percy scowled at Bill, but did not speak.

Remus had recovered enough to answer Arthur's questions.

'I did what I felt was best for Harry …'

'So you felt it was best to cast aside my fifteen-year-old son who has more experience with the Dark Arts than almost anyone else his age? Not to mention, a talented young wizard with a mind for strategy and planning?' said Arthur.

'Strategy and planning?' asked Remus.

'Ron is easily the best chess player I've ever seen, and I'd wager that he could beat Dumbledore!' said Arthur.

'So he can play chess, big deal!' said Ginny.

'Be quiet, Ginny, if you know what's good for you!' Arthur scolded.

'He turned his back on Harry when Harry needed him the most,' said Remus.

'Yes, he did, but he came back and came to his senses, didn't he? Are you going to stand there and tell me that you never made a mistake when you were a teenager?' said Arthur.

'No,' said Remus.

'So what the bloody hell gives you the right to pass judgement on my son? Did you know that Ron has run away from home? Did you know that my wife was going to leave him with someone he despises? And what's all this bollocks about forcing Hermione Granger into a relationship with a boy she doesn't love?'

Arthur took out the letter Ron had left and handed it to Sirius, who read it aloud.

'Did you bring the owl?' he asked, when he had finished.

'I think so, why?' asked Arthur.

'Because I gave that owl to Ron, I said he could keep him as it is my fault he no longer had a rat.'

'What happened to Scabbers?' asked Percy.

'Scabbers was and is an Illegal Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew,' Sirius told him, 'He was the one who betrayed James and Lily, and blew that street apart, killing those muggles.'

Percy nodded, before saying, 'Why didn't you say anything during your trial?'

'What trial?'

Percy's jaw dropped before Sirius continued.

'I was sent to Azkaban without a trial by Barty Crouch Senior.'

Percy went even paler.

'Yes, well, it's getting late, and I think it's time my children were in bed,' said Arthur.

'I agree, there's a lot of work to be done on this house,' said Molly.

'And who's going to be doing that?' asked Ginny.

'You are, along with Fred and George, and I'm sure Harry will lend a hand when he gets here,' said Arthur.

'What, no way!' said Ginny.

'You'll do as you're told, young lady, and to think, if you hadn't pushed Ron away, he would've been here to help you …' said Arthur, 'even though it's a waste of his talents …' he added.

'What talents?' said Ginny, spitefully.

Arthur heard and he had had enough, he took Ginny forcibly by the hand and led her away from the room, then upstairs into one of the bedrooms and closed the door behind them.

'Dad, what are you doing?' Ginny asked.

'You've bad mouthed your brother for the last time … at least, in front of me …' Arthur replied.

Arthur then put his daughter over his knee before delivering a series of hard smacks to her backside. However, he did not stop there as he pulled Ginny's skirt up to reveal her underwear, which he pulled down to her knees and started to smack her backside again, as Ginny kicked and cried out in pain. Arthur ignored her pleas for him to stop as he spanked her, and continued to hold her in place as he delivered her punishment. As Ginny reached behind to put her hand in the way, Arthur caught her hand and moved it aside holding it and her in place as he continued.

After ten minutes and to Ginny's relief, he stopped.

However, Arthur took out his wand and conjured a wooden-back hair brush.

'Please … no more, Daddy …' she whined.

'You've had this coming for a long time, Ginevra,' he replied.

Ginny looked back to see what her father was holding and her eyes went wide, before she said, 'Please, Daddy, don't use that brush, it hurts so much already …'

'You should have thought of that before you bad mouthed your brother, your own flesh and blood …' he said sternly, before beginning to use the brush.

The sounds of the brush cracking on Ginny's bare backside filled the room along with Ginny's cries and pleas, as she kicked in vain. Arthur then moved his swats to the back of her thighs, hitting the sit spots, making Ginny cry out even louder as the tears poured down her face.

After ten more minutes, Arthur stopped and pulled Ginny's underwear back up and her skirt back down again.

'I think that will do for tonight, Ginevra, you may get up and get ready for bed,' said Arthur.

Ginny stood up straight and wiped her eyes, saying nothing.

'Once you're ready for bed, go to sleep,' said Arthur.

'Yes, Dad,' she replied.

Arthur then left the room for Ginny to change for bed.

When he went back into the drawing room he told Fred and George to go to bed, before going to bed himself. He would have words with Molly and Bill in the morning.

When he awoke the next morning, Arthur found Bill and Molly in the kitchen alone. He gave Bill a bollocking for his part in the meeting, and gave Molly what for as well. He then went to the Ministry to get a Portkey that would take him to Romania on Monday. When he came back, he gave Remus the evil eye before telling off Fred and George. On Sunday he decided to have a nice long rest before the trip to Romania to speak to Charlie. He also decided he needed time away to think about things, so he would stay in Romania for a week.

A/N: In case it wasn't clear, the vast majority of chapters 9, 10 and 11 all took place on the same day.