I'm back! Now before we get started there's one thing that I would like to mention.

* Updates! I promise that I will definitely update at least once a month. I know I know! This isn't enough and it will take some time to get finished but I simply haven't got the time to update every week. I will endeavour to try and update every two weeks but I can't guarantee that this will be possible so I will promise to update once a month minimum.

Anyway on with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter Twenty Seven:

By Rosa241

Arthur POV:

Jennet walking into my office had my mind flashing back to Charlie's second year and for a moment worry had flared up within me. I know Lucius was behind those allegations, of course since the letter was anonymous I couldn't prove anything. Thankfully she'd come to me before making the letter and its contents known to her boss.

Flashback:

"Arthur I'm sorry to intrude but I really do need to speak to you." My heart stops for a moment as she steps into my office and shuts the door. Something tells me I'm not going to like this.

"Jennet. Lovely to see you. What brings you to my door?" Thankfully my voice doesn't waver as I speak and if she sees the nervousness on my face she says nothing of it.

"I'm led to believe that you have Harry Potter staying with you?" Just like that the worry that had flashed in my mind disappears for a brief second.

"Of course. Lad's spending Christmas with us." For a second she says nothing, hesitating before finally speaking.

"Can I trust you to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret?" She's not one to break rules. Truth be told she broke a lot of rules by coming to me first instead of going straight to her boss as she should have done.

"Yes. Yes of course." Sighing with what I assume is relief.

"We're investigating some concerns about Harry Potter's home life." It's not as much of a surprise as I'd like. Ever since we got Percy's letter, which Molly had promptly shared with Minerva, I've been waiting for something like this. "I'm sure you know the concerns raised in your sons letter. Well I'm going to need to speak to him."

"You need to speak to Percy?" Part of me couldn't help being worried at the thought.

"And Ronald as well. I've been well informed that as he's Harry's best friend then he may well have more information." Ah now that could be a problem.

"Right. Jennet I assume you won't be talking to Harry about this until you know a little more." After everything that had happened with Charlie I'd read up on the procedures just in case Lucius felt like being a right old git again. Thankfully he hadn't but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"Naturally. The last thing we want is to bring these worries to young Harry before we know any more."

"Well Percy shouldn't be a problem however knowing Ron the first thing he'll do when you've spoken to him is go straight to Harry." Her face falls and I can tell that hadn't crossed her mind. Percy could of course be trusted to keep this to himself but Ron would no doubt feel some sort of loyalty to Harry.

"I need to speak to him eventually but perhaps I can put this off for a little while longer. The boy will be staying with you for the entirety of the Christmas holidays I trust?" Nodding my head I almost see her sigh in relief. Just what is going on in that house? "In that case perhaps I can make other enquiries first."

End Flashback:

Ron would no doubt be able to tell them much more than Percy but there's no point bringing Harry into this until absolutely necessary. Having already made my decision I pack up my desk and pull on my coat. It's been time for me to leave for over an hour now but my conversation with Jennet has been racing through my mind.

By the time I get home Molly's already put the tea on the table and I don't miss her glare at my lateness. With all the kids being home for Christmas she wanted us to spend more family time together. Tea passes with much laughter and many smiles which makes my heart warm. All of them seem so happy and truth be told so am I. It's been a while since we've had all of them home and I hate to think of my family scattered at Christmas.

"Percy? Can I have a quick word?" He says nothing as I pull him out into the garage but judging from the frown on his face he wants to.

"What's going on?" Watching him for a moment I almost feel lost. When did he get so tall?

"We have a conversation to finish." His face falls into confusion before he remembers our conversation at the school and realisation dawns on him. For a moment neither of us say anything as we settle in the garage. Truth be told I've been thinking about this since we spoke before and I wish I'd been able to finish this conversation a lot sooner. "You said before that you didn't mind being different now. What changed?"

"It's strange but…" He trails off as he speaks and for a moment it's like he doesn't know what to say. Almost as if he's searching for the right words. "I spent so long thinking that because I was different that meant that there was something wrong with me. That me being different was a bad thing."

"You're not as different as you might think." It's true. Percy was an odd mix of Molly, Bill and Charlie. It had taken a long time to realise it but it was true.

"I know that now but I spent a long time thinking that being different to the others was a bad thing. Every time that Fred and George played a prank on me or when I disagreed with someone all I could think about is that it was because I was different." How have I never seen this before? "Then I kind of had an epiphany."

He says nothing for a moment as we sit in silence and I can't stop myself putting my arm around his shoulders. Whilst he doesn't say anything I can tell that he appreciates the gesture.

"I just realised that I'm kind of glad that I am different. Being different didn't have to be a bad thing." Squeezing his shoulder as he tapers off he smiles at me before continuing. "Somewhere along the line I realised that me being different might actually be a good thing in this family. Different perspective on things, different way of thinking about things…being different didn't mean that I wasn't a member of this family."

His words shock me into silence and I can't help but sigh. How have we never realised this? How did he go so long in this family without realising that he felt so different?

"Before you even start this isn't your fault or mums. It's down to me." Somehow he must have read my mind completely. Like his mother.

"How can it not be my fault? I should have seen this." We should have noticed how he felt, we should have done something. He should never have been alone on this.

"Because you didn't do anything to make me feel like that. This was all on me, this was all in my head that's what I'm saying. I convinced myself that I was wrong for being different even if I'd told you about it I don't think that it would have made a difference. I think I needed to solve this one by myself." I'm blown by his words. We all knew that he was twice as intelligent as anyone else in this family. Bill had gone on and on about it when Percy had first started Hogwarts. Merlin knows we got enough letters over the years about him excelling and then over the summer in his O.W.L's. Of course Bill and Charlie weren't slouches when it came to their tests, both having aced everything but both of them would willingly admit (and had admitted it in the past) that Percy was more than intelligent than both of them. I know this. When did he get so wise though?

Percy POV:

For a while Dad and I sit in silence both thinking through everything that I've said. I meant it. Every single word of it was true. All the things that I thought about myself and my family it didn't come from anyone else. It always stemmed from my own feelings. Granted that Fred and George didn't make life easier by constantly going at me but I doubt that I made things easier for them either. Always lecturing them and always going on.

I needed to sort out everything in my own head before I could even begin to settle things with the others.

"Now there's one other thing that I need to talk to you about." Now that surprises me. I'd expected Dad to finish our conversation over Christmas and I'd spent a long time thinking about what I was going to say. It took a long time last time round for me to admit my own responsibility in things, that maybe I was just as much to blame as the others. Now though…now I know the truth.

"What's going on?" Judging from the look on his face I doubt this next thing is good.

"It's about Harry." Wait what? "The Child Protection Department is looking into some concerns about his home life and they want to talk to you."

"Me? Why me?" Of course I know why. I sent the letter, I started this whole thing in motion so it's really no surprise that they would want to see me.

"Your letter. That letter you sent to your mother. They want to see what it is that you know." Which means that things are going exactly the right way. Harry will soon be safe with his Godfather and out of reach of his Aunt and Uncle.

"When?" He gives me a look, something I recognise as pride, before he speaks.

"Tomorrow morning. I'll take you with me to sort this out."

Everything's working out just right.

Abby POV:

Looking down at the information in front of me I can't help but sigh. How has this been going on for all this time? A knock on the door brings me out of my depressing thoughts.

"Come in." To my surprise Jennet walks through the door. "Oh hi. I thought you'd gone home."

"Yes I could say the same to you." She takes a seat opposite me and I can see the frustration seeping off of her. I say nothing as I wait for her to continue. "Now I've spoken to Arthur and he's going to bring in his son to speak to me. The older one, Percy, not the younger one."

"I thought you were going to speak to them both." That is what she said after all.

"I was planning on it until Arthur mentioned something. As soon as we speak to Harry's friends they'll both go straight to him and he'll find out about this whole thing before we want him to. If that happens then for all we know he'll clamp up out of fear or out of some sort of twisted sense of family." Damn. I hadn't thought about that. "We can't risk that kid giving us a bunch of nonsense in order to protect his aunt and uncle or because he's too scared to tell us the truth."

"Well in that case it's probably a good thing I didn't get round to seeing Hermione Granger today." Her eyebrows furrow as I speak and I can see the confusion. "I got back from my meeting this morning all ready to head out only to find a letter waiting for me."

Handing her the letter I can't help but reread what it said in my mind.

Dear Miss Montgomary,

I apologise for not being able to speak to you in person. I had intended to speak to you when I saw you visiting the Dursleys but you were gone before I got the opportunity. I was passing when you got to the house and I couldn't help over hearing. You were there to speak to them about young Harry. That poor dear.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Arabella Doreen Figg and I've lived across the road from young Harry since before he came into the care of the Dursleys. Over the years I've witnessed the poor treatment that boy has received which has disturbed me greatly. I've thought about raising the issue before but I'm afraid that I haven't been able to since the ministry doesn't think to highly of us Squibs. Judging from the way in which you spoke to that woman I'd wager that your heart is definitely with young Harry and that you'll take me seriously. At least I hope so.

I cannot reveal everything in this letter since I am unable to write everything that I want to. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be able to come and speak to me. I believe I may be able to reveal some insight into the treatment that poor boy has received.

Yours Sincerely,

Arabella Figg.

"Arabella Figg. How genuine is this?" Grabbing the piece of paper I'd managed to track down this afternoon after the letter had arrived I hand it to her.

"I managed to track down a death certificate for a woman who appears to be her mother. She's registered as being half witch and having three children. Two boys and a girl. Both boys were registered as wizards and both have since died. The girl was named as Arabella but other than that there's no other mention of her. Then again if she's a squib there wouldn't be. I didn't want to go and visit her without speaking to you first." She sits back in her chair and thinks for a moment before she answers.

"Okay. So tomorrow go and speak to this woman and see what she knows. She may well end up not being the most helpful but if she has the information that she thinks she does then who knows. I'm going to go over to the school tomorrow and see if I can speak to Minerva, get her record on file."

It's a testament to how distracted I am that it doesn't occur to me until after she leaves that she should already have Professor McGonagalls word's on file. She made the complaint so it's standard procedure.

What are you up to Jennet?

Okay so Jennet is definitely up to something but what? What's that woman got planned?

Can Mrs Figg help?

Arthur and Percy finally finished their heart to heart. Yay! I've been waiting to do that scene and finally couldn't resist any more. A nice bit of fluff to melt your hearts.

Until next time,

Bye x