A gift for xanphibian! Title: Carrying On Author: TBA Giftee:xanphibian Pairing/Characters: Percy/Snape Rating: R Word Count: 8,836 Warnings: DH Spoilers, Highlight for warnings *violence, brief moments of torture, canon character deaths* Disclaimer: These fictional characters were created by and belong to JKR. She has the castle, I have… well, let's not go there. Summary: When Percy looks back on this year, all he will say is "I did what I had to do."
Author's Notes: Many thanks go to my betas, who came through at the last minute for me, and to the person I bounced all my ideas and thoughts off of. Much love. (FYI - There are direct quotes from DH in this fic. Please don't blame me for that grammar.)
They had fallen into their normal positions, with Percy on his back with Severus on his side, draped over Percy in a sated manner. Also normal was their post-coital discussion.
"Thicknesse is under Imperius," Severus said, smoothing a hand down over Percy's ribs. Percy tightened his arm around Severus in response, but said nothing. "It's likely he will kill the Minister within the next few weeks."
Well, normal for them.
"Not when Harry's leaving his relatives, I hope?"
"No, thanks to both our efforts, though that would have been ideal for Him." Severus paused, then continued almost reluctantly. "His second choice is your brother's wedding."
Percy tensed, relaxing a little as Severus' hand began its soothing stroke up and down his side again. "From fire to fire then. I think we've abandoned the frying pan altogether. Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Isn't there always something I need you to do?" Severus said with a snort. "Shacklebolt is prepared for the assassination, but you, being undersecretary, have more of a reason to be near the Minister. When the Minister is killed, send a Patronus to Shacklebolt; he will then send one to warn those at the Burrow. A few seconds could mean the difference between people being able to escape the wedding and not."
Throat tight, Percy nodded.
"I hope you don't think a family as large as yours is likely to make it out of this war unscathed." Severus' voice was harsh, but the continual soothing motions of his hands belied his tone. "I think you will be very lucky if you lose no more than one or two of your relations."
"I know," Percy whispered. He turned toward Severus and kissed him. "When do you have to leave?"
"Not for an hour yet," Severus said, returning the kiss. "Plenty of time."
---
Percy was just finishing up a report on Dementor movements when Umbridge sailed by his tiny office, giggling over something she was rolling between her hands. He had a bad feeling about this. Reaching under his desk, Percy pulled out a memo directed to Umbridge.
Diverting her messages was a hassle, but every once in a while Percy managed to obtain key information that he could pass on to Severus. He usually held onto at least one message. She let things slip when she was excited, so Percy tried to take advantage of her loquaciousness, using the memos as an excuse to speak with her. After making sure his glasses were clean and brushing the wrinkles out of his robes, Percy strode down the hallway to her office.
"I do beg your pardon," Percy said, rapping on the half-open door. "I'm afraid this landed on my desk, though it is directed to you."
Before she could say anything, Percy was at her desk, leaning over to hand her the memo. She hid the object quickly, but not before Percy caught a glimpse of blue eye. It could be an eyeball, he mused while she took the memo, but that wouldn't… his stomach dropped as he remembered the only person he knew who had a magical eye.
"Thank you, Percy." Umbridge simpered at him and Percy felt his stomach churn. "This really is a very important memo. I can't think how it got to you."
Percy managed to smile at her, though it took real effort. "Bit of shoddy charms-work, I'd say. Someone not paying enough attention."
"Much unlike yourself," Umbridge said with a giggle. "You really have the most amazing attention to detail."
"I do my best, Dolores," Percy said, offering her the slightest of bows. "Afraid I need to get back to my report though. The Minister has asked for it by the end of the day."
He made it back to his desk and sat there for a moment, breathing in and out slowly. The Order had moved Harry last night. Clearly at least one person had died and had not been recovered. Mentally Percy added another task to his list for the day: find out what they'd done with Moody's body.
---
Nothing like having to ask your ex-girlfriend if she'll look for an Auror's body in the morgue at St. Mungo's, Percy thought as he walked away from Penelope's flat.
She'd been irritated that he wouldn't tell her exactly what was going on. But, with a bit of research and some surprisingly adept sleuthing, she had been able to confirm that Moody's body had not been to St. Mungo's in the last few months, alive or dead.
With a step and a turn, Percy Apparated into his living room and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Severus sitting on the couch. Ordering his heart to calm down, Percy walked over and gave his lover a kiss.
"Tea?" Percy asked, but Severus shook his head and pulled Percy down onto the couch. Percy felt cold dread move through him. "Did something happen at the raid? I already know about Moody, Umbridge has his eye…"
"George lost an ear," Severus said, cutting Percy off. "I did it."
"But he's alive?" Percy asked, feeling a wave of relief at Severus' nod. "I suppose you had to keep your cover."
But Severus shook his head. "Dolohov was aiming at Lupin. I tried to take him out, but I had to make it look as though I were aiming at Lupin as well. Your brother turned at exactly the wrong moment."
"He can live without an ear," Percy said. He flung his arms around Severus, nearly giddy in his relief that George was alive. "Better his ear than Lupin."
Severus finally seemed to relax into the couch. "Moody's body, or at least the organic parts, has been burned. As you have seen, Umbridge has the eye, while Yaxley claimed the leg and turned it into a hideous cane…"
---
As the week sped by, more and more top Ministry officials were either put under Imperius or turned voluntarily. Percy kept his head down and his mouth shut, while the hallway outside his office seemed to fill with whispers and quick meetings. He could never quite hear what was being discussed, and no one bothered approaching him.
He'd received an invitation to Bill's wedding, but at Severus' request, would not be attending. He would be at the Minister's side. The gilded parchment sat on his bedside table accusingly and Percy couldn't bring himself to pen even the politest refusal. Maybe one day he'd be able to tell them where he'd been.
Four p.m. on Friday came and Percy paused in his work, thinking of Bill and Fleur, who were, at this moment, being joined in marriage. The thump of Scrimgeour's cane pulled Percy back to the presence, and he looked up to see the Minister heading for his office.
Scrimgeour nodded at Percy, and Percy nodded back, biting his lip to keep from calling out. Percy would probably get both himself and Severus killed if he warned the Minister, but he couldn't help feeling like a coward for just sitting here.
As the afternoon turned into evening, Percy occupied himself with filing and busywork. His presence here this late was not remarked upon; he usually stayed late at least twice a week. There was a stir outside in the hallway and Percy looked up to see Thicknesse heading for the Minister's office, followed by four or five top Ministry officials.
Heart pounding, Percy picked up a file the Minister had requested earlier and followed the men down the hallway, though at a good distance. They didn't seem to notice him, so intent were they on their goal.
One after another the men all entered the Minister's office. Percy stopped just outside the door, listening. There was no argument, no announcement to Scrimgeour of what was going on, just a spell spoken by a steady voice and the thump of a body hitting the floor.
Percy steeled himself and knocked on the door, then opened it immediately. Looking up from Scrimgeour's spasming body, Thicknesse barked, "What do you want?"
The men in the office all had their wands pointed at Percy, who simply looked into Thicknesse's dark eyes and said, "The Minister asked for this report by tonight."
"I'm Minister now," Thicknesse said, and a rumble of agreement came from the men surrounding Percy.
"Congratulations, sir," Percy said. "Here's the requested report."
Handing the file to Thicknesse, he turned and walked back toward his own office. It was all he could do not to break into a run.
He probably had one shot at a Patronus before someone walked by again. Pointing his wand, Percy called up a memory (warm summer day birds calling insects buzzing scent of lemon verbena wafting from the garden as he rescued Ginny from mischievous twins and large brown eyes gazed up at him solemnly as she said "You're my favourite brother") and cast. It took only a few seconds for Percy to imbue the figure with a message and send it through the outside wall, away from Thicknesse and his men, to Shacklebolt.
In under a minute, a lean hippogriff stood in front of Shacklebolt and spoke one word in Percy's voice.
"Fallen."
---
In just a few days the Ministry was turned upside down. One day Percy Flooed into the Atrium to see a new statue – Wizards dominant over Muggles. The next day various Ministry employees began disappearing. Some of them came back; others did not.
While he knew he was being watched, Percy knew that as long as he did his job, he would not be removed. Both his Pureblood status and the long-known disconnection with his family offered him the best protection a non-Death Eater could have. Even the Dark Lord recognized the need for government and bureaucracy in soothing, or perhaps confusing, the minds of the general populace.
The week after the takeover Severus had Percy meet a contact at Flourish and Blotts to pass on the same information that he gave Severus. As Percy usually visited the bookstore several times a week, the meetings always went unnoticed, due mostly to the fact that the contact looked different each time they met.
One of his newest duties was writing propaganda for the Daily Prophet, which was under the direction of several minor Death Eaters and published whatever the Minister required. Thicknesse always gave him a topic or two, most of them against Muggleborns or Harry Potter. It seemed like every few days Umbridge was drafting a new law "for the protection of Wizarding people."
Penelope had disappeared from St. Mungo's, but the paperwork Percy managed to get his hands on indicated the entire Clearwater family was missing. He hoped they had gone into hiding. Several junior and senior Undersecretaries went missing, though Percy never found out what happened.
Umbridge began spending most of her time interrogating Muggleborns and suspected Muggleborns. Moody's eye appeared one morning, sunk into the wood of her door. Every time he passed by, Percy vacillated between wanting to blast the door to bits and take the eye for a respectful burial. The only thing that kept Percy from doing the latter was that he'd seen Umbridge cast a Sensor Spell on it, which would alert her if the eye was removed.
Most of August passed by without seeing Severus, but Percy kept up his practice of gathering information and copying important papers, giving one set of copies to his contact and saving one for when he saw Severus again. The filing clerks were all very fond of Percy, as he found his own information and cleaned up after himself. They never paid any attention to what information Percy was copying and even went so far as to offer him a cup of tea and a pastry when he left.
Percy was just coming back from one of these visits, important papers shrunk and tucked into the side of his shoe, when he saw Severus walking with Thicknesse toward the Minister's office.
"Weasley! My office!" Thicknesse said.
Percy hastened to follow. There were more headlines to go to the Prophet and Percy quickly copied them, casting surreptitious glances at Severus, who was sitting across from the Minister. Severus looked tired, but not unwell. Neither Percy nor Severus gave any indication they were anything other than former professor and student.
"Weasley," Thicknesse said, halting Percy as he was about to leave with his notes. "It might interest you to know that Professor Snape is now Headmaster Snape. That will need to go in September 1 edition of the Prophet."
Schooling his face to show pleasure and admiration, Percy turned to the two men and focused his gaze on Severus. "Congratulations, Headmaster. I'm sure my brother and sister will be delighted."
"I'm sure all the students will be thrilled," Severus said dryly.
Thicknesse was looking at Percy with suspicion. "Only your sister going this year, as your brother is deathly ill with spattergroit. Very contagious. We couldn't allow him back into the school being that ill, not that he's even able to stand."
"Ill?" Percy asked, feeling his chest constrict. "Dying?"
"You didn't know?" Thicknesse sounded surprised.
"I've barely spoken to my family for two years, sir," Percy said numbly.
Percy glanced over at Severus, who seemed unconcerned. Surely Severus would have mentioned something if his brother was truly that ill. Taking a deep breath, Percy excused himself and walked out of the Minister's office.
---
Percy hurried along the hallway, thinking he really had to pay more attention to exactly who was in the lift before he got on. It could have been disastrous if his father had tried to speak with him. At least Runcorn being on the lift precluded his father trying to convince him to come back to the Burrow.
His father never tried to do that, but Percy had always been very careful not to be alone with him, just in case.
Something caught his eye, or rather a lack of something, and Percy slowed down to take a closer look. His heart sank when he saw Moody's eye missing from Umbridge's door.
Shite.
Not wanting to draw attention to it, Percy kept walking, went into his office and shut the door. Sitting down behind his desk, Percy tried to think who would have the audacity to pull the eye out of the door.
There was a commotion out in the hallway. Percy leapt up and hurried to open his door, where he found several Aurors clustered around Umbridge's door.
One of them ran toward the Ministers office, while the other two headed for the lifts.
"… lock down the Floos…" was all Percy heard as they raced by.
So it wasn't a Ministry employee, it was someone who had snuck into the building. Someone who was probably in the Order, if they'd taken Moody's eye. Someone who hadn't been seen in the hallway… Polyjuice? Invisible…
"Shite!" Percy ducked back into his office as the interns turned to see who had cursed.
Thicknesse and several others ran past Percy's door to the lifts; the interns followed almost immediately, curious as to what was going on. The hallway was silent.
Homenum Revelio showed Percy was the only person on this floor and, without wasting another moment, he ran toward Umbridge's office. The Aurors had left it open, so, after casting an Obscurus charm to form a barrier in front of the portraits, Percy slipped inside and went straight to the filing cabinets.
Rifling quickly through the drawers, he found files on everyone, but not the general list he was looking for. In the third drawer to the left in her desk, however, Percy found what he was looking for – her exhaustive list of Muggleborns, Half-bloods and their families, including who had registered and who had not. The list had names, addresses, ages, place of employment, and, worst of all, dates of capture or planned capture. Specific marks showed who was in Azkaban, who had been interrogated and released and those who were known to be on the run.
Snatching up a blank scroll, Percy set a quill to copying the list. It felt as though it took ages; Percy kept checking his watch, not knowing when someone would be back. If Severus had not impressed on him how important this list was, he'd never have dared to do this.
The families must be warned, Severus had said. You're the only one who might have a chance at accessing the list without them finding out.
Percy wondered what Severus' reaction would be to finding out it was probably Ron, Harry and Hermione that had offered the distraction Percy needed. Halfway through the list, Percy started pacing only to stop when something caught his eye. Dumbledore was waving at him cheerfully from the front of Rita Skeeter's book.
Percy waved back, then gestured at the black barrier hanging like fabric from the top of the walls to the bottom to make sure Dumbledore knew it was important for the portraits not to hear Percy. Dumbledore winked at him, placing a finger on his lips, and Percy gave him a nervous grin.
The copy charm finished with a flourish, and both scrolls rolled up and sealed themselves. As he tucked the original back into Umbridge's desk drawer, Percy heard voices outside. He snatched the copy and ducked under the desk, lifting the Obscurus charm once he was Disillusioned.
"Yaxley managed to get to the intruders, but what happened to Dolores?" Thicknesse asked.
"They've taken her to St. Mungo's, as she hit her head pretty hard when she was Stupefied," Percy heard someone say as they tossed a file on Umbridge's desk. "She should be back tomorrow."
Percy could hear the portraits trying to get Thicknesse's attention, but he ignored them, heading out of Umbridge's office with the unknown person. The door closed behind them and Percy breathed a sigh of relief. Casting another Obscurus charm, Percy scrambled out from under the desk and headed for the door. He opened it a crack and peeked out. Thicknesse and the Auror he'd been speaking with went into the Minister's office and the hallway seemed clear.
Moving quickly, Percy opened the door just wide enough to slip out, removed the Obscurus charm and shut the door behind him. Percy made it back to his office without seeing anyone else. After he closed the door and removed the disillusionment, Percy was surprised to find himself shaking.
---
"I cannot believe he pulled the eye out of her door," Percy said. "Of all the idiotic ways to get caught."
Severus shrugged, bony shoulder rising and falling under Percy's hand. "They did get what they needed, though. And enabled you to get that list."
"And somehow they got all those Muggleborns out," Percy added. "You should have heard the Minister letting Yaxley have it for that one. I'm sure once she gets out of St. Mungo's, Umbridge will get her fair share of the blame."
"I assure you," Severus said. "Their punishment will be even worse when they face the Dark Lord."
"Good," Percy said. He shivered. "I nearly got caught, too. Thank Merlin for disillusionment charms."
"Indeed," Severus said, then kissed Percy, providing a thorough distraction from thoughts of getting caught.
---
Percy was in a meeting with Thicknesse the day after the break-in (or break-out, for the Muggleborns), when Yaxley marched in and tossed a chunk of flesh on the Minister's desk.
"All I got of them," Yaxley said. "The girl realized I was there and got them away again. But we got the house."
Thicknesse turned the piece of skin and muscle over, and Percy could see it had freckles on it. Ordering himself not to be ill, Percy continued writing the latest Prophet article and tried not to look at what was most likely part of his brother.
"Anything worthwhile inside the house?"
"Few hexes at first, then some bloody house-elf that's apparently bound to Potter. He disappeared before we could grab him, though, and took everything that had been lying out on the kitchen table. We're trying to identify where he went."
"And the Mudbloods from interrogation?"
"Gone." Percy could hear Yaxley grinding his teeth. "Apparently when I went after the three, no one had the sense to grab the rest of them. They went out through the Floos and then Apparated away together."
"Weasley."
"Minister?"
"Put a list of their names in the Prophet: wanted for immediate questioning. Make up some crime for each of them. Or the same one for all of them, I don't care."
"Yes, sir," Percy said, catching the scroll Yaxley tossed his way.
"If that’s all, Minister?"
Thicknesse waved Yaxley out. "Go on, I know you've got a lot to clean up."
Putting a final flourish on the Prophet article, Percy handed it to Thicknesse. The Minister read it over quickly, grunting in approval.
"You've got quite a way with these, Weasley. Most impressive."
"Thank you, sir," Percy said, taking back the scroll. "I'll just run this one over to the Prophet, along with the ones you looked at earlier."
When the lift arrived, there were only two people on it. One was bound, while the other had his wand on the prisoner, a Muggleborn Ministry employee.
"Dawlish," Percy said to the Auror, ignoring Cresswell and his pleading look.
"Weasley."
There was silence on the short ride to the Atrium. When the lift doors opened, Percy gestured Dawlish to go first. As soon as Dawlish couldn't see, Percy aimed a Confundus at the small of the Auror's back. It wasn't much, but maybe Cresswell would notice and take advantage.
Juggling his scrolls, Percy headed for an open Floo. All but one of the scrolls would be delivered to the Prophet. The last one, full of encoded information on the Ministry, would be handed over to a contact in Flourish and Blotts, who would deliver it to Lovegood for printing in the next Quibbler.
It probably wasn't much help in the long run, but it felt like something.
---
September turned into October turned into November. Percy gathered what information he could and passed it on to Severus and to the Quibbler. He managed to see Severus at least once a week and heard more about his sister than his family probably did. He couldn’t help but be proud of her for trying to steal the sword of Gryffindor and leading the students who were quietly rebelling against the Death Eaters.
Severus complained about it, but seemed quietly pleased the students were fighting back. They hated their Headmaster, but seemed to focus most of their attention on protecting others and standing up to the Carrows. Severus was scornful about the graffiti-adorned walls, but he said it gave the students heart to see it.
"They're doing much better than I thought they would be," Severus admitted. "Protecting the younger students, taking punishments, standing up to the Carrows' pet students."
"Students have impressed Severus Snape? Wait, I think I see the world coming to an end," Percy teased.
Severus rolled his eyes. "As though the world needed help ending."
They both were quiet for a while after that disheartening thought.
"That Lovegood chit might be onto me," Severus said finally, burying his face in Percy's neck. "I think she was the one that started focusing their efforts against the Carrows rather than against me. Fortunately neither of them is a Legilimens, so there's little chance of that getting out."
Percy laughed and ran his fingers along Severus' bare thigh, making the older man shiver. "I dare any Legilimens to get anything sensible out of her head. Have you ever tried to talk to her?"
---
Christmas eve and day was quiet and a bit lonely, though Percy was glad to have an extra couple of days away from the Ministry. He had a small tree in the corner with fairy lights and a present beneath it for Severus, for whenever the other man had a chance to show up. It wasn't always easy to get away.
At nearly 2 a.m., two hours after Christmas was officially over, Percy was awakening by the crack of Apparition.
"Sev'rus?" Percy mumbled, fumbling for his glasses.
"Don't bother," Severus said.
When he squinted, Percy could almost make out his movements in the dark as Severus stripped away dark clothes to reveal pale, smooth skin. Percy shivered when Severus crawled under the covers, pressing himself up against Percy's warm body. Wrapping his arms around Severus, Percy kissed the other man's cold lips.
"You're freezing," Percy said, but he didn't ask where Severus had been. It was better not to know and, in the end, it wasn't that important. In the morning, Percy decided it was best not to mention that Severus had been muttering something in his sleep about swords, ponds and foolish, trusting children.
---
Percy still met with his contact in Flourish and Blotts, though his information had stopped appearing in the Quibbler and started being announced on the newly infamous Potterwatch. He listened at home, wand hovering just over the wireless in case someone showed up and he needed to flick it to another channel. It was a small comfort, hearing those familiar voices.
---
"… Potterwatch."
Percy caught the last word of what Yaxley was muttering excitedly to himself and made an abrupt turn in order to follow the man. The Death Eater was staring down at some parchments in his hands and heading for the lifts, so Percy followed at a short distance.
This late at night, they were the only ones on the lift. Yaxley looked at Percy suspiciously before shoving the loose parchments into his robes.
"Evening, sir."
"You're here late, Weasley," Yaxley said. "Weren't you just leaving?"
"Forgot some files I meant to take with me," Percy said, trying to look sheepish. "I'm just glad I remembered before getting all the way home."
The lift arrived on level one and Yaxley gestured Percy to go ahead. As he tapped his wand on his office door to unlock it, Percy watched out of the corner of his eye, seeing Yaxley continue on. A quick glance showed no one else around, so Percy stepped back out into the hallway.
"Stupefy."
The spell hit Yaxley before he could even turn around. Percy hurried to the prone body and dug around Yaxley's robes for the parchments. Scanning them quickly, he realized the MLE had managed to identify the area the Potterwatch was sending from.
There was a noise in the Minister's office and Percy refolded the papers and tucked them back into Yaxley's pocket. Thinking quickly, Percy slashed the carpet beneath the toe of Yaxley's shoes, then conjured a large stone. One good whack on the side of Yaxley's head and now the evidence seemed to show that Yaxley had tripped and hit his head against the wall. Percy banished the rock.
"Rennervate," he said, just as Thicknesse came out of his office.
"What the hell is going on, Weasley?" Thicknesse snarled, drawing his wand.
Percy lowered his wand, pointing it away from Yaxley and Thicknesse. "It seems he tripped, sir. I was in my office when I heard a great thump and, when I came out, he was lying here."
Groaning, Yaxley tried to sit up.
"Careful," Percy said. "You've taken quite a knock."
"Minister, I've…" Yaxley said, patting his robe pocket.
"Go on now, Weasley," Thicknesse said, attention now on whatever Yaxley needed to tell him. "He'll be fine."
"Of course, sir. Have a good evening."
Walking back to his office and warding the door, Percy tried to figure out how to warn Lee. Did he dare say anything directly to him? Flooing was out, too easily tracked, and, if the MLE was already watching the area, Apparition would be easily detected. Plus he didn't even know if Lee lived there, or if they just went there during Potterwatch.
Who else had been on the show? Percy thought he'd recognized Shacklebolt and Lupin's voices, and he could have sworn Oliver was on there at least once before. There had been some others, but not anyone he'd recognized. Taking a deep breath, Percy tried to calm his thoughts. He had two days to find someone and warn them.
A day and a half later Percy was sitting in Puddlemere United's stands, watching the team practice. He'd been here often enough a year or two ago, back when he and Oliver were still together. The gatekeeper had recognized him and didn't make a fuss when Percy asked to watch practice like he used to.
Near the end of practice the seeker zoomed by, gave Percy a glance, then sped to the goal posts and said something to Oliver. Ten minutes later, Oliver flew over to Percy as the rest of the team headed for the locker rooms.
"Hello, Oliver."
"'lo, Perce," Oliver said, sitting down beside Percy. "Good to see you again."
"You too. Doing anything for supper?" Percy gave him a genuine smile, glad their break-up had been amiable. It was going to be much easier to ask for Oliver's help than it had been to ask for Penelope's.
"No plans. Let me just get cleaned up a bit and we'll go."
Waiting on a chair outside the locker room brought back bittersweet memories. He and Oliver had fallen apart as easily and affectionately as they'd come together, and both of them had moved onto someone else quickly. Not that anyone knew Percy was with Severus, but Percy knew Oliver knew he was with someone.
Some of the team gave him speculative looks as they left, but no one said anything. Percy wondered if Oliver's new boyfriend would get an owl about him and Oliver, but shrugged at the thought. He was Oliver's responsibility.
"Ready?" Oliver said, appearing in the doorway, hair still damp from his shower. "That wizarding pub in town is still open, or we can Apparate to London."
"The pub is fine," Percy said with a smile. "Feel up to walking to town?"
Oliver looked at him a moment, curiosity showing in his face, then nodded. "Sure, Perce. It'll be good to stretch my legs."
And there will be no one around to hear us, Percy thought.
They made small talk until they were out of sight of the pitch, then Percy drew his wand and cast a spell to make sure they were alone.
"What's going on?" Oliver asked. "The last time you randomly stopped by like this was to talk about that disaster of a Christmas dinner Scrimgeour made you drop in on."
Percy took a deep breath. "I need to know if you're involved in Potterwatch at all."
"Yeah, I am," Oliver said in a low voice. "Only been on a few times, but I help with it when Lee needs me. You listen to Potterwatch?"
Percy nodded, giving a wry smile. "I have to make sure you're using the information that I've risked my job to get."
"Risking your job? Hell, Perce, forget about your job, what about your life?" Oliver was nearly yelling at this point. "You know what they'll do if they find you passing on information! God, don't you remember what happened with they caught that Raystor fellow smuggling files out of the Ministry? Floo accident, my arse."
"What's life without a bit of risk?" Percy said, trying for cavalier and missing entirely. He shook his head. "Truly, though, this information is important and at this point I'm the only one with access to the files. At least I'm smart enough to make copies; Raystor was an idiot for trying to get the originals out."
Oliver rubbed his face with one hand. "Just be careful."
"When have I ever not been?" Percy asked, reaching out to pat Oliver on the shoulder. Get back on topic, Percy told himself. "So, Lee?"
"I do know how to get to him… if you need me to," Oliver admitted.
"I do," Percy said. "They've identified the area the broadcasts are from, though not the specific house. I expect they'll try to hit during the show with a couple Aurors at each suspect location. Or they may have narrowed it down by now; my information is already a few days old."
"Okay," Oliver said. "Here's what we'll do. We've got some time, so we'll have dinner like we'd planned, then you go on your way like normal. Lee won't be at the location until the show broadcasts and I don't know where he lives to warn him otherwise. I'll be there waiting for him and the others to warn them off."
"Don't tell them I told you," Percy said. "If someone at the Ministry finds out…"
"I know." Oliver wrapped a burly arm around Percy's shoulders in a comforting hug. "I'm not about to risk your life after you just saved ours."
"Thanks, Oliver," Percy said, leaning into the embrace. "I'm sorry to involve you in this, but you were the only one it would make sense for me to see."
"It's all right. We're all in this together," Oliver said. He dropped his arm, giving Percy a sympathetic look. "I figure most days you're much closer to the fire than the rest of us. Be careful."
"I will."
There was quiet for a moment as the town grew in the distance.
"So this boyfriend you keep refusing to tell me about," Oliver began.
Here we go again, Percy thought.
---
"Hem, hem."
Percy looked up to find Umbridge standing in the door of his office, looking uncommonly serious. "Good morning, Dolores. Can I help you with something?"
"I'm afraid the Minister needs to see you in his office. Immediately," she said. She appeared to be looking at him closely, though he couldn't figure out why.
"Of course," Percy said, putting down his quill and following her out of his office. "Has something happened?"
"In a way." She gestured for him to precede her into the Minister's office.
Thicknesse was standing behind his desk, with Yaxley and several others standing around the room. Umbridge closed the door and stood in front of it as though blocking Percy's escape. Percy willed his hands not to tremble.
"Your father didn’t show up for work this morning, Weasley," Thicknesse said without preamble. "Where is he?"
"Didn't show up?" Percy echoed. "I don't… is he ill?"
"No owl saying he was ill," Yaxley said, crossing his arms and glaring at Percy. "We've been to the Burrow and no one is there. In addition, your sister didn't go back to school. In case you've forgotten, Weasley, that's illegal."
Thicknesse leaned in until he was only inches away from Percy's face. "Where are they?"
"I don't know!" They'd gone into hiding and hadn't even warned Percy. "I never speak to them, you know that!"
"Do we?" Umbridge said from behind him. "My dear, I urge you to tell us everything you know."
Percy shook his head, trying not to panic. "I haven't spoken to any of them for over a year. I've always done my best to avoid seeing my father while I'm at work. Why would they tell me anything?"
"Very uncooperative of you, Weasley," Thicknesse said, shaking his head. "Surely you must know something."
"I don’t, I swear! I…"
The Minister raised his wand. "Crucio."
Percy arched at the burning, ripping agony that poured through his veins and roiled beneath his skin. Barely feeling his skin split as his head hit the ground, Percy began convulsing. Thicknesse stopped, leaving a reverberation of pain along Percy's skin. He could taste blood in his mouth from where he'd bitten his tongue.
"Anything to say now?"
Percy groaned and rolled over, pressing his face against the plush carpet.
"Perhaps a little time with Dolores and Hadrian will help. Nothing which can't be repaired, of course."
"Of course, Minister," Umbridge cooed as large hands grasped Percy and heaved him up.
The world spun as Percy was dragged to the lifts; he could hear soft exclamations and gasps as he and Yaxley went by, but no one said anything. In a shorter time than Percy would have hoped for, they arrived at the Ministry holding cells, where Yaxley dropped him on a table.
"Now," Umbridge said. "Let's see if you can't be more forthcoming, shall we?"
---
Percy sprawled on his bed fully dressed, too tired to even take off his shoes. They'd shoved him through the Floo only an hour earlier, laughing as they told him to take a long weekend.
Percy cursed himself once again for not keeping any pain potions in his flat. As ordered by Thicknesse, they had healed him, but had not found it necessary to ease his pain. He almost thought it was worse feeling the bones in his hands knit themselves slowly together than it had been when they'd broken them earlier that morning.
He must have fallen asleep, because when he woke up to the crack of Apparition, evening had fallen.
"Severus?" Percy managed to croak.
"Lumos," Severus said as he came into the room. "Bloody hell."
"I'm fine," Percy assured him, trying to sit up. "They just didn't give me any pain potions."
"You're still covered in blood," Severus said, gently shoving Percy back down. "What did they do to you? And why? Here."
Percy took the small vial from Severus and downed it, moaning in relief as the potion quickly began to take effect. "I've never been so glad you carry all those vials and flasks with you."
"And now you see why I do." Severus banished Percy's clothes to the hamper and began performing cleansing spells.
"My family's gone into hiding and Dad stopped coming into work," Percy said, wincing as Severus manoeuvred Percy into a pair of pyjama pants. "They thought I might know something, despite knowing I never see them or talk to them."
Severus frowned and lined up several small vials on the nightstand. "They only have your word you don't talk to your family. I suspect the torture was designed to… confirm that, if you will."
"Yes, because screams are so comprehensible," Percy muttered.
"For them, any reason will do."
"True," Percy said. He felt the bed dip as Severus lay down beside him. Percy sighed, curling onto his side and pressing up against Severus. "I wonder where they went. Someplace safe, at least, if the Ministry can't find them."
"Probably under Fidelius or Unplottable," Severus agreed, wrapping his arms around Percy.
There was a moment of silence.
"If you wish for protection, I would be willing to be your Secret Keeper."
Percy thought about that for a few minutes, brain slightly fuzzy from all the potions, but eventually shook his head. "Someone needs to keep an eye on what they're doing."
---
Naturally, the next month was quiet, and all Percy had to focus on was not flinching when he heard Umbridge's girlish giggle. He gathered information as usual, passing it on to Severus and to his contact at Flourish and Blotts, and kept quiet at the Ministry. For the most part, he was ignored.
Severus was the one to tell him Ron, Harry and Hermione had been captured and brought to Malfoy Manor. Hermione had been tortured, but they, along with several others in the dungeon, had managed to escape.
"You need to reconcile with your family," Severus said one night as they lay naked in Percy's bed, windows open to let the cool spring air into the room.
"Might be easier to do if I knew where they were," Percy pointed out. "I didn't want to, even six months ago. But now…"
"They will take you back, though the amount of grovelling you will have to do will probably be significant."
Percy laughed, wrapping his arms around Severus. "I almost wish they'd apologize too, though I doubt that will ever happen. I'm not the only one who has said or done hurtful things."
"Unfortunately, they have the majority," Severus said. He ran his fingers through Percy's wildly mussed curls. "I'm afraid you will be the one asking for and accepting forgiveness."
"Mmm. After everything settles, I'll probably need to have a talk with Dad, clear the air."
"There is one thing they need to know," Severus said. "You need to tell them what their sudden disappearance did to you."
Percy shrugged, uncomfortable. "It's over now, I'm fine. It doesn't matter."
"As you say," Severus said, but he didn't sound as though he believed Percy.
---
Percy raced along the tunnel, hoping he wasn't too late. The silvery doe had appeared in his flat not ten minutes earlier, speaking in Snape's voice.
"The Final Battle is at hand. Aberforth at The Hog's Head can get you to the castle to fight. Your family will be there. There was a pause and then two final words. Be careful.
Distracted by the memory, Percy tripped as he left the tunnel, landing on the floor in an ungraceful heap. He scrambled to pull himself up and was startled to find himself face to face with most of his family. Say something. Anything.
"Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I – I – "
It wasn't a good start, obviously, as they all just stared at him. The Veela girl his brother had married broke the silence with some non sequitur about Lupin's infant. Lupin said something in return, but Percy could hardly hear it over the panic in his mind over what to say. Grovel, Severus had said.
"I was a fool! I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a – a – "
"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," Fred finished for him.
Percy swallowed, accepting the humiliating words. "Yes, I was!"
"Well, you can't say fairer than that." Fred held out his hand, but before Percy could take it, he was being embraced by his mother. He'd thought his father would be the hard one to win over, but Percy could see the emotion in his father's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dad," Percy said and found himself wrapped in his father's arms.
"What made you see sense, Perce?" Fred asked.
Percy had known that question would come and was prepared for it.
"It's been coming on for a while," he said, rubbing at his eyes with his cloak. Best not to mention the torture. "But I had to find a way out and it's not so easy at the Ministry, they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with…" not Severus "… Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight of it, so here I am."
"Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these," George said. Percy gave him an affectionate look, grateful that they were all accepting him so easily. "Now let's get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters'll be taken."
Percy turned to his brother's wife and offered his hand. "So, you're my sister-in-law now?"
"Fleur Delacour Weasley," she said, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "I am so glad to finally see you."
"And I, you," Percy said, smiling as Bill clapped him on the shoulder.
He'd heard about his eldest brother's scars, but he hadn't realized just how horrific the damage had been. He was alive, though, and grinning like a madman at Percy. That was all that mattered. "It looks as though everyone is heading for the Great Hall. Shall we follow?"
Ten minutes later, Percy found himself seated at the Gryffindor table between Bill and Fred as McGonagall explained what was going to happen. When Voldemort's voice echoed throughout the hall, Fred tensed. Reaching over, Percy rested a hand on his brother's arm. Someone began to shout about grabbing Potter, and Percy found himself standing with the rest of the Gryffindor table, wand in his hand.
"As though he'd stop once he had Potter," Percy muttered, then flushed as his parents looked at him, feeling defensive. "You didn't see what they've done to all the Muggleborns."
A large, warm hand rubbed his back and Percy turned to find himself face to face with Charlie, who wrapped him in a tight hug.
"I'm glad you're here," Charlie said.
Before Percy could respond, Harry was at their table asking about Ron and Hermione, and then Kingsley was organizing the defence of Hogwarts. When Fred and George volunteered to guard the passageways, Percy offered to go with them. Fred was at one passageway, while George was at another and Percy at a third. Other people that Percy didn't know well, if at all, were covering the remaining passageways.
Percy, Oliver and several younger students (or possibly ex-students) stood at their assigned passageway entrance for a few moments before Percy had an idea.
"We'll collapse it."
Oliver gaped at him. "What did you say?"
"Collapse it," Percy repeated, determined that this was the right course of action. "They'll need us in the main battle, but we also need to make sure no one comes in from behind. So we'll collapse it."
The others looked at each other, slowly beginning to nod in agreement. Percy opened the hidden entrance and listened for a moment. Hearing nothing, he pointed his wand down the passage and nodded at the others to do the same.
"Reducto," Percy said. "All together on three. One, two…"
"REDUCTO!!!"
There was a massive rumbling. The defenders dove to each side of the tunnel entrance, covering their heads against the rubble that came flying out. Percy found himself sprawled face-up on the floor with Oliver lying on top of him.
"Been a while," Oliver joked as he rolled off Percy.
Agreeing to split up, Percy took several students and headed for Fred's tunnel, while Oliver took the rest and went to George. They made it to Fred just in time to see Death Eaters exit the tunnel, hexes and curses flying. With a shout of mixed terror and fury, Percy took on one of the masked wizards, while Fred took on another.
As they ducked and shielded against the flurry of curses, Percy and Fred were quickly separated from the rest as the two Death Eaters pressed them backwards, toward the Room of Requirement. When Percy got in several good hexes, the Death Eater he was battling began to back off. A stray hex from Fred zoomed by the Death Eater's face, knocking his hood back. Percy felt a surge of vindictive pleasure as he recognized the Minister.
"Hello, Minister!" Percy yelled as he ducked a severing charm that was aimed at his neck. Thicknesse paused for a second, allowing Percy to get a perfect Transfiguration spell past his defences. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"
Fred howled with laughter as Thicknesse began sprouting spines. "You're joking, Perce!"
The second Death Eater fell beneath a barrage of Stunning Spells and landed beside the small sea urchin that was the Minister for Magic. Fred was grinning widely at Percy.
"You actually are joking, Percy… I don't think I've heard you joke since you were – "
The world fell apart.
Percy managed to land on his feet after being thrown against the wall, but he reeled unsteadily as the floor shook with the aftershocks of the explosion. The first person he saw was Ron, staggering to his feet just down the hallway. The second was Fred, lying perfectly still.
"No – no – no!" Percy found himself shouting. He ran to Fred, shaking him. Not possible. Not now, he begged. We just… "No! Fred! No!"
Vaguely Percy knew Ron was kneeling beside him, tears streaming down his cheeks, but Percy only had eyes for Fred. Daring, wonderful Fred, who had died laughing. There was a rushing noise in his ears, blocking out all else, and Percy could feel a slow rage rising. They had killed his little brother, and Percy wanted nothing more than to make them pay.
He didn't remember hiding Fred's body or abandoning Ron, Harry and Hermione to go fight. Ron told Percy later he'd gone after Rookwood in a rage, leaving Ron, Harry and Hermione behind. Some time later Percy snapped back to awareness when he heard Voldemort's voice echoing through the castle and found himself kneeling next to Fred's body.
The rage left and Percy felt the subsequent emptiness fill with sorrow. Leaning down, Percy pressed his lips against Fred's forehead, just as he used to do before bedtime when the twins were small. Back when Bill and Charlie were off at distant Hogwarts and they still thought Percy was the greatest brother ever.
"I'm sorry, Fred," Percy whispered. "We wasted so much time, didn't we?"
Percy cast a featherweight charm on Fred and gently lifted the body in his arms.
"Percy?" Oliver said from behind him. Percy turned. "Oh, hell, Perce. Fred?"
Blinking back the tears that suddenly threatened to fall, Percy nodded.
"Come on," Oliver said. "They're laying them out in the Great Hall."
Suddenly exhausted, Percy let Oliver guide him around obstructions and collapsed staircases, down to the Great Hall. A heart-rending wail broke through the quiet as Percy came in view of his family, who were helping to lay out the dead.
Percy lowered Fred to the floor, careful even though he knew Fred couldn’t feel anything anymore.
"Mum," Percy said, voice breaking as she threw herself over Fred's body, shaking with sobs. His dad knelt beside her, gently running his hands over her hair, while George bent over Fred's head, crying and whispering unintelligibly. Bill and Fleur stood wrapped around each other, and Ron suddenly appeared at Percy's side.
Unsure of what to say, Percy simply put his arm around Ron and held on.
---
"Hello, Severus," Percy said as he knelt in the partly dried pool of red and silver. Severus' blank eyes stared up at the ceiling, and Percy reached to close them. "You warned me this might happen, though I'd hoped it wouldn't. I guess you were right. At the end, I was the only one who was on your side. Though I think Harry understands a little more now."
A series of cleaning spells took care of the residue of blood and memories over Severus' clothes and the wooden floor.
"Fred's gone, but we reconciled, all of us, just like you told me to. He… he laughed at my joke, too. He died laughing. I think he would have liked that. Lupin and Tonks are gone and so is that Creevey boy that always annoyed the hell out of you. And you. You're gone." Percy paused for a moment as his throat grew too tight to continue. "I don't know about anyone else… I haven't had time to ask or to look at each of the bodies. Most of the Death Eaters are dead, and the rest are locked in the dungeons. Dad and I took out Thicknesse, though. Mum took out Bellatrix and wasn't that unbelievable. Never knew Mum could move that fast."
Severus was clean now, and Percy held his wand over the gaping wound in Snape's neck, weaving the dead flesh together.
"And Voldemort's gone. He did it to himself, in the end. Another killing curse rebound. I wonder if you'd guessed that might happen."
With Severus' neck whole again, Percy moved on to the clothes, repairing the small rips and tears from hexes and curses and sewing on buttons that had been torn off. That done, Percy untangled Severus' hair until it lay flat, then gently ran his fingers along Severus' face, smoothing out lines and taking one last, long look at him.
"I suppose we never really loved each other, did we? We had a good year, though. In some strange way, we needed each other. We took care of each other. And that was enough."
Severus' wand, alder with dragon heartstring, had fallen a short distance away. Percy crossed Severus' hands over his chest, tucking the wand in his right hand.
"I'll miss you."
---
They all sat around the garden the night after Fred's funeral, watching the fireworks George had prepared. Percy leaned against his mum, feeling the warmth of his father's hand on his shoulder.
The fireworks spelled out Fred's name and ended with a giant explosion of colour. The silence that followed was deafening.
"Percy?" his father said. "You haven't had much to say, since the battle."
"No," Percy said. "I suppose not."
There was a moment's silence, then his mother spoke up. "We'd like to know about this last year. Was it… bad? Did you…"
Percy took a breath, and let it out slowly.
"It wasn't good," Percy said. He gave a short, humourless laugh. "Horrible, really, at the end."
He fell silent again, but no one pushed him. Somehow, in that moment, Percy felt they understood.
Taking a deep breath, Percy began his story. "When Scrimgeour was killed, I was there…"