Chapter 2: Conclave (Part One)
Molly Weasley may have many flaws: She's a bossy-boots, intimidating, nosy, old-fashioned about premarital sex (even if she'd violated that norm no less than a million times), easy anger, quick cursing, and with lethal precision when she threw the cooking ladle when someone disobeyed her orders...! But what she wasn't, was being insensitive to the feeling of family.
As soon as she became aware that Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron and their respective offspring did not show up at the burrow on Christmas Day at the usual time, she set to work reminding them of their obligations to the family on this date. When Ginny's patronus explained to her with a broken voice in an attempt to avoid sobs, what had happened and that the two aurors had not been heard from for more than 14 hours, George disappeared himself at the moment without further explanation, while Molly, overcome the initial shocks of the news and the unexpected disappearance of the surviving twin, organized what has since been called, 'The Weasley Response Team' or as George sarcastically called it when he found out after a while: 'Move-your-pale-Weasley-ass-or- Mum's-wand-will-do-it-for-you. '
Percy and Arthur darted towards The Ministry using the Floo web from the burrow. Patronus were sent to Bill, Fleur, and Audrey. And Charlie, who was enjoying the Christmas holidays, was commissioned to bring his little sister, Hermione, the latter's parents, and everyone's children to the family home. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, The Weasleys' family home became the headquarters during the crisis.
The first to arrive was Fleur, who arrived at the burrow visibly worried and accompanied by her two daughters. Although she had confirmed that Bill was fine, the goblins had shut down Gringotts and were holding all the employees hostage. Especially specialists in defensive and curs-breaking spells. It was also known that the goblins had hired as many security trolls and mercenaries as they could.
The red-haired sports commentator of The Prophet maintained the fortitude of the Auror's wife who has had to go out in the line of duty too many times. The façade of apparent imperturbability, intended above all to keep her children calm, could not deceive the sharp gaze of the other women, who perceived the sleepless night and silent weeping in her dark circles and eyes reddened by crying.
Charlie's looks was quite different.
Scowling and shaking his head in denial, his appearance was that he had been arguing with a particularly stubborn female dragon that at some point, made him move particularly fast when she threw a flare at him to show that she was not willing to give an inch in his decision no matter how rough and experienced a dragon keeper Charlie was. Judging by the disgusting bogey on his lapel, it was very likely that he had continued to ignorantly insist on the warnings or had not moved fast enough.
"Don't look at me, Mom!" He said when Matriarch Weasley gave him an inquisitive look, asking wordlessly why Hermione and her other granddaughter were not in the burrow at that very moment. "She was completely crazy! And by the way…" Charlie turned to his little sister, looking at her intensely with a frown. "You and me, we are going to have a few words about your dramatic need to teach your bat-bogey spell to all my sisters-in-law when this is all over." He pointed at her with his wand before turning to look back at his mother. "Hermione kept insisting that something very strange was going on and that she wouldn't move from the house until someone gave her news of Ron." Charlie made a nasty face and gave Ginny a dangerous look again, when he noticed the dangling bogey that was swaying on his lapel and as he looked for a rag to wipe himself, he turned to his mother again. "She insisted that it was very strange that after a general call to the aurors, there was not a single piece of news either in the prophet or in the wireless connection. Not in Muggle newspapers or that square thing with little peoples moving around inside." Charlie tossed the stained rag into the laundry basket. "Hermione said that after all those non-hints, she sent a patronus to Kingsley, invoking for the first time her status as a war hero, and that she hasn't even received a reply yet. Judging by the way she looks, I'd swear she's thinking of personally showing up at the ministry and blowing up one by one any and all locked doors that stand between her and the minister." He ended up simulating an explosion with both arms theatrically. "I think the only thing that's stopped her from doing it up to this point is that she doesn't know what to do with or doesn't want to be separated from little Rose. But at some point she'll add two and two and call someone in the family or show up here for herself."
Another roar and the characteristic green flare were what caught Molly's attention as she found her son Percy leaving the home.
"Percy! Thanks to Merlin..." Her tirade was interrupted when the third of Mrs. Weasley's offspring addressed her looking as if he had been run over by the Hogwarts Express.
"Mom. Listen to me for a moment because I don't have much time and I have to get back to The Ministry right away..."
"Nonsense, son! How is The Ministry going to keep you there on Christmas Day? And why do you come back so disheveled? Did you have a few drinks in your department? I think your father and I teach you better, by the way. Dad, Where…?"
"MOM!" Percival Ignatius Weasley, who had never raised his voice in front of his mother in his life all, interrupted her with a shout as he took her hands and looked her intensely in the eyes. "Audrey has been instructed not to leave her post at St. Mungo's and Dad is in The Ministry meeting with The Minister. At first they didn't even let us through the big hall. But just the moment they identified him and me as the secretary of the ministry, they had us taken to a private room." Seeing the face of pure panic that his mother was beginning to have on his face, he hurriedly said, "Daddy's fine. Don't worry about him," he said as he stroked her hands with his thumbs. "As soon as we got to the room, Kings... The Minister came out to meet him and took him to his office. They left me there waiting, but it wasn't for long, Mom." With relief, he felt her mother's face relax as she knew that her husband was okay. "Soon dad came out, looking worried as hell and told me we don't to wait for him at home, that he had urgent things to attend to in the ministry. I was about to return when the minister himself came out of his office and told me that I should stay too. Only when dad asked him to let me come back for a while so as not to alarm the family, considering that both Ron and Harry were already missing, The Minister agreed, mom. Only on the condition that he should not say a word of this to anyone. It's even possible that I'm talking too much already." Percy glanced at Fleur with the clear indication that this instruction also affected her.
"Merlin, Percy. What's going on out there?" Molly almost groaned as her son kissed her cheek before he went back to the fireplace after taking a handful of floo powder from the jar set up right next to it."
"Really, Mom? I have no idea. Magic Ministry!" It was the last Molly Weasley heard just before Percy vanished into the green flames.
"I'm going to get her." Fleur says that with her determination, she is unconsciously radiating so much magical power and Veela enchantment that it is so overwhelming to those present that it knocks them out. "And not another word until we both meet here. While I understand that you are tempted to protect her, she is also part of the family and having overcome everything she has done, no matter what, she has a right to know."
With the innate grace of her heritage and with an elegant succession of movements that seemed pure ballet, Fleur covered herself with her coat while throwing a handful of powder and disappearing in a flash.
Coming out of the stupefaction caused by the unleashed power of his mixed-race sister-in-law, Charlie bursts into laughter as his eyes alternate between his mother and his little sister.
"Let's be clear... Which of you, women, said she wasn't good enough to be a Weasley.