Ron sighed, rubbing his face tiredly as he sat in Percy's room waiting for his older brother to wake up alongside his mother, father, and Hermione.
He glanced through the open door at the twin's room, glad that Bill was home to keep an eye on George until he woke up.
"How much longer?" Molly asked, wringing her hands with as she looked at her sleeping son, her face etched with worry.
"It won't be long," Arthur replied soothingly. "The Dreamless Sleep potion should wear off soon."
"What are we supposed to do, Arthur?" Molly asked, her voice cracking. "…This, it's just… it's too much."
"I know Molly," Arthur said, rubbing his wife's back comfortingly. "I've talked to some of the other parents. They're going through the same things we are. A few of them hired mind healers to talk with them. They said it helped."
"But we can't afford that, can we?" Molly asked, her heart breaking all over again, looking between Ron, Hermione, and Percy still asleep on the bed feeling helpless.
"We'll find a way," Arthur replied. "We'll take a loan from the goblins if we have to, but we'll figure something out. We always do," he said reassuringly.
Percy blinked, rubbing his face as he opened his eyes. He hated the grogginesses that came with drinking the dreamless sleep potions, but he would take that over the nightmares any day of the week.
He couldn't bring himself to tell his parents what he'd seen, what he'd done, and pile onto their problems, especially after everything George was going through.
"Hello son," Arthur said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder, startling him. "Easy," he said. "You're alright."
"D-dad," Percy stuttered, sitting up to not only find his father there but also his mother, alongside Ron and Hermione. "What's going on? Did something happen to George?"
"We're not here to talk about George, son. We're here about you," Arthur said calmly.
"Me?" Percy asked, trying to brush them off. "I didn't do anything."
"I know son," Arthur replied. "You're not in trouble. We're just worried about you. You were there during the battle, just like your brothers. We want to make sure you're ok."
"I'm fine, I told you," Percy said, forcing a smile onto his face. "I got hit with a stunner right from the beginning. I didn't even see what happened. I just woke up in St. Mungos with everyone else."
"We found the cauldron in your closet," Ron said quietly, doing his best to not make it sound like an accusation. "We know you've been dousing yourself with dreamless sleep potion every night."
"Of course I have," Percy blustered, his mood immediately shifting as he saw the door to his closet open, his cauldron uncovered.
He went on the offensive, knowing there was no point in denying it. "You can hardly blame me, can you?" He snapped. "With you and twins screaming your heads off every single night, how do you expect me to get any sleep?" He demanded, feeling a flash of anger, followed by a profound sense of grief.
Arthur and Molly shared a look, taken aback by Percy's reaction, both of them falling silent, no longer sure of how to handle the situation.
"You've been using it during the day as well," Ron replied, filling the silence that followed, careful to keep the accusation out of his voice.
"It isn't good for you, you know that," Hermione chimed in. "The Dreamless sleep potion is addictive, and those headaches you've been dealing with are only going to get worse if you keep using it," she added, remembering the warning from her potions book.
"What would you know about it?" Percy snapped, rounding on Hermione this time, watching as she fell silent, averting her eyes.
Percy sighed, looking down, suddenly feeling guilty for lashing out. "…Sorry.. I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean that. I know you're dealing with a-"
"It's ok," Hermione interrupted. "You don't need to apologize. We're all going through the same things you are. Some days are just worse than others."
"Percy, what really happened?" Ron asked. "Don't lie. I know there's more to it than you told us."
Percy's face crumbled, his eyes welling up with tears as his facade finally crumbled. "…I lied," he admitted. "Simon… he was standing beside me when it happened. Th-they hit him with a cutting curse in the stomach. He fell," he hesitated, his voice thick with emotion. "He was bleeding… god, there was so much…"
"I… I panicked… and I ran, he called out to me. Simon, he begged for help, but I was so scared. I didn't even look back. I just - I just kept running, then everything went black. When I woke up… I didn't know what happened. I looked for Simon… but I couldn't find him. I found out later from one of the healers he died."
"Oh Percy," Molly cried out, running to hug her son, only to be pushed back by Percy as he scrambled off the bed.
"NO! Don't you get it, mum?! I'm a bloody coward," Percy yelled, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm a Gryffindor and I ran!" he shouted, stunning everyone into silence. "It was my job to protect him! I was a Prefect, and I ran," he finished softly. "All my brothers stood and fought, and if I had done the same, Simon would still be here."
"…Percy, there's no way of knowing that," Ron said, having no idea how much his brother had bottled up all this time. "You're not a coward. You were in an impossible situation. What happened to Simon… it wasn't your fault."
"You didn't run," Percy said, slumping back down on the bed, cradling his head in his hands. "You fought, that's what everyone said. You didn't..."
"Percy," Hermione tried sitting down beside him. "We were all terrified," she admitted. "None of us knew if we were going to make it out alive. You weren't wrong to be afraid, and you weren't wrong to run. None of what happened is your fault. The only ones to blame are the people that attacked us."
"Hermione," Percy sighed, wiping his face. "You don't understand. I've known Simon since our first year. He was my best friend," he said, his voice cracking. "We met on the train to Hogwarts, and now he's gone, and the last thing he saw was me running away from him while he begged for help."
Hermione sat there quietly, putting a comforting hand on Percy's shoulder. She didn't know what to say to make him feel better, to take away his guilt. None of them did. The only thing she could do was sit there next to him so that he knew he wasn't alone.
***
"Xeno!" Rita called out as she stepped into the house. "We need to get to work on the next article. How soon will we be ready to print?"
"Rita," Xeno called out. "I'm in the kitchen! You're going to want to come look at this."
"What is it?" Rita asked, stepping into the kitchen, only to be handed a letter by Xeno. She furrowed her brows, skimming through it. "The National Media Oversight Board? What the heck is that?" she mumbled, continuing to read, her eyes narrowing angrily when she finished the letter.
"That bastard," she growled, throwing the letter on the table. "He knew!"
"What?" Xeno asked, confused. "What are you talking about? Who knew?"
"Dumbledore!" Rita spat. "He's the one that's behind all this. Fudge was right," she said, repeating what Fudge told her earlier.
"This is bad Rita," Xeno said, shaking his head. "It says this board has to approve every article before we can even print it. They're going to use this to shut down the Quibbler."
"Can they even do this?" Rita asked, re-reading the letter, looking for any loopholes. "Legally I mean?"
"They can," Xeno replied. "They called an emergency session to vote this into law. First offense is a six-month stint in Azkaban, the second is a year, and third is ten years, and that's only after printing a retraction. They can hold us indefinitely until we do."
"What can we do?" Rita asked. "We can't let this stand."
"Nothing," Xeno said, shaking his head. "They voted unanimously to institute the board, the light and dark families alike. They all want to bury the truth, and after what Fudge told you, I can see why."
"Alright," Rita said, after a long pause. "I'm going to find out what really happened, then we'll figure out how to get the truth out. I don't care if we have to go door to door, but we're not giving up."
"Right," Xeno said, nodding his head, admiring Rita's determination. "I'm going to get in touch with a barrister, and see if there's a way we can get this sorted out legally."
"I have a few leads I'm going to follow up on," Rita said, heading to the fireplace. "Fudge told me there were three first years that saw what really happened at the ritual site. I'm going to go track them down."
Xeno looked down at the latest copy of the Prophet, extolling the heroics of Albus Dumbledore in disgust, not believing them for a second, but he could see how the masses would swallow it up, especially the witches and wizards that didn't have any children at Hogwarts when it happened, and those that remembered the last war.
"Who are these kids?" He asked curiously.
"Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley," Rita replied, reaching for a pinch of floo powder. "I think my best bet is to track down Weasley. I talked to his family when Harry opened Merlin's vault. I'll just have to do some digging to find out where he lives."
"You don't have to do that," Xeno replied. "Their daughter Ginny plays with Luna. They live at the burrow. It's actually where she is now."
"Alright, I'll head over there now, thanks," Rita smiled. "You figure out the legal stuff, and I'll run down the story," she said, throwing a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace, and giving Xeno a wink, leaving before he could get another word in.
"Typical Rita," Xeno said, shaking his head ruefully. "Leaving me to do all the hard work while she has all the fun."
***
"Oh Luna," Ginny said, looking at her friend. "It's been absolutely awful. I can't believe the Ministry is making my brothers go back to Hogwarts after what they've been through."
Luna nodded, looking at Ginny sympathetically. "Do you want to come to my house for a little while?" She offered helpfully. "Maybe it will help to clear your head."
Ginny shook her head. The offer was tempting, just to have a few moments where she didn't feel like she was walking on eggshells around her brothers. "I can't. I don't want my mum to worry about me, too."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Luna asked. "Maybe getting it off your chest will help."
Ginny took a breath, thinking for a moment before nodding. "…They left in September, just like always, except that Ron went this year too," she added.
"But when they came back… they weren't the same anymore," she said, struggling to explain her feelings. "It's like they're strangers sometimes. George is always so angry, he gets into arguments with everyone now, even Fred. They haven't pulled a prank since they got back."
"I thought for a while Percy was ok… but he's not. I hear him sometimes. He blames himself for what happened."
"What about Ron?" Luna asked. "You didn't mention him."
"He has nightmares. I hear him screaming sometimes too," Ginny replied. "But he's handling it better, at least I think he is. Ron's also the only one that can get George to calm down. He even gets between Fred and George when they get into an argument, but I'm worried about him, too. He's been running around, keeping the family together. He's even looking out for me. I don't know how he does it. He wasn't like this before… he was…"
"A boy?" Luna offered, cracking a smile, remembering the times she'd been over before Ron went to Hogwarts. He was never cruel, but he was oblivious sometimes, and didn't always know when he'd said something he shouldn't have.
"Yeah," Ginny said with a watery smile. "I miss him sometimes, the way he used to be… do you think things will ever go back to the way they were before?"
Luna shook her head sadly, remembering the conversations she'd overheard between her father and Rita when they thought she was sleeping. "They need help," she said, repeating what her father and Rita had said. "After what they've been through. All of them need to talk to mind healers, learn how to cope with what happened."
Ginny nodded her head. "Yeah, but my mum and dad said they're really expensive. They said they're going to look into it, but I don't know how we're even going to afford it. I told them not to worry about Hogwarts for me in September, to use the money to help my brothers instead."
"What did they say?" Luna asked.
"They didn't say anything," Ginny sighed. "My mum just got really sad, then they hugged me."
"…My dad and I can help pay for Hogwarts," Luna offered. "After my mum… died. Your mum came over and took care of both us."
Ginny reached forward, hugging Luna tightly, remembering how she'd first met Luna, how lost, and alone she looked when mum brought her to the burrow. "You're a good friend Luna," she mumbled.
Luna said nothing, hugging her friend back just as tightly, only pulling apart when they heard a knock at the door.
"Are you expecting anyone else?" Luna asked, curiously.
"No," Ginny replied with a frown, hearing her mother's footstep downstairs, approaching the front door. "Come on, we might as well go see who it is."
Luna followed Ginny down the stairs, looking over Molly's shoulder to see it was, her eyes lighting up as she recognized who it was. "Rita!" She exclaimed, rushing forward to hug the reporter. "What are you doing here?"
"Luna," Rita smiled, hugging her back. "Your father said you would be here."
"Did he ask you to bring me home?" Luna asked curiously, breaking the hug.
"No, I'm here on business," Rita replied. "But after I'm done, I can," she offered.
Luna nodded her head eagerly, hoping that Rita would stay for dinner. Her father always seemed happier when she was around.
Ginny blinked, watching Luna and Rita Skeeter talking like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Luna told her about Rita joining the Quibbler, and even talked about their vacation together, but it was something else entirely to see it for herself.
Her friend, Luna Lovegood, was friends with the most famous, or infamous, depending on your point of view, reporter in the world.
"Hell Miss Skeeter," Molly greeted the woman she'd briefly met before the start of the school year, but she couldn't keep the tiredness out of her voice, even with the excitement of having the famous reporter at her doorstep.
"Hello again, Mrs. Weasley," Rita replied, also noticing how tired the woman looked. "It's good to see you again. I wish it was under better circumstances."
"You remember me?" Molly asked in surprise, thinking about how many people Rita must have met in the course of her job.
"Of course," Rita replied with a smile. "A family as interesting as yours would be hard to forget, for anyone. May I come in?" She asked.
"Oh," Molly exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Where are my manners? Yes, yes, of course. Please come in. Can I make you a cup of tea?"
"Girls?" Rita asked. "Would you mind if I spoke to Mrs. Weasley alone for a little while?" She asked.
"Ok," Luna replied, knowing that Rita liked to conduct her interviews one on one. "Come on, Ginny," she said, taking her silent friend's hand and leading her back upstairs. "I can tell you more about my trip with Rita and my dad."
"Thank you," Rita smiled. "And yes, Mrs. Weasley. I would absolutely love a cup of tea."
Mrs. Weasley smiled, later remembering that it was the first smile she'd had since her boys came home. "I won't be long," she said. "Why don't you have a seat here, and I'll be back in a few minutes with some tea and snacks," she said, walking to the kitchen.
"Actually, Mrs. Weasley," Rita said, following her into the kitchen. "Don't trouble yourself. Here," she said, guiding her to a chair. "You have a seat. I'll make the tea."
"What?" Molly asked in surprise, watching as Rita Skeeter puttered around her kitchen like it was the most normal thing in the world for her to do. "No, I can't have you do that. You're my guest."
"Nonsense," Rita dismissed. "You look like you've been on your feet all day, and I'm not too bad around the kitchen. I might even surprise you," she said with a good natured wink.
"There we are," Rita said, placing the cup of tea in front of Molly before sitting down beside her.
Molly took a sip of tea, letting out a contended sigh. She couldn't remember the last time she could just sit back and enjoy a good cup of tea.
"Mrs. Weasley?" Rita asked, after giving the woman a few minutes to compose herself. "I'm here to find out what really happened at Hogwarts. I don't believe the Prophet is telling the truth, or at least the whole truth. Your son Ron was there, and one of the few people that saw the battle to the end. I'd like your permission to speak with him, and if he's up to it, share a few memories of the battle."
"Ron?" Molly asked, looking up from her tea. She knew better than to ask Rita how she knew about Ron's involvement, but felt an overwhelming urge to protect her son.
"I know," Rita said, putting her hand over Molly's comfortingly. "If I were in your position, I wouldn't want my son to re-live that day either, but burying our heads in the sand won't fix what's broken. We need to expose the ones responsible for what happened, and hold them to account. It's the only way we can move forward."
Molly felt her eyes well up with tears as she considered Rita's words and how difficult things had been for her children. "Do you think it will help them get better?" She asked hopefully.
"Honestly? No," Rita replied truthfully. "But I know what happens next. There were hundred of students that lived through what happened, that know the truth. Eventually, probably a lot sooner than we think, the Prophet is going to brand them as liars, attention seekers, and unhinged. They're going to spin their stories to make them look crazy. That will be what truly breaks them."
"Why?" Molly sniffled. "Why lie about it? Why not tell the truth? What do they hope to gain by keeping this secret?"
"Gain," Rita replied, shaking her head. "They're not doing this to gain anything. They're doing this to hold on to their power. When the truth comes out, they won't be able to hide their failures. They won't be able to sweep everything under the rug like they always do, and they know that. This time it's different. They're scared. They know their power, their wealth, their influence, all of it. It's all hanging on a knife's edge."
Molly stared at Rita for a long moment. She knew exactly who Rita was referring to. It was an open secret that the Wizengamot did as they pleased, never being held accountable for their actions, but what Rita was asking her for was dangerous for her, and for her family.
The Wizengamot wouldn't just sit back and allow this to happen. They would go on the attack, and her family would be caught in the crossfire.
"…I'm sorry," Molly said quietly. "I can't help you. I wish I could, but my boys have been through enough already."
Rita sighed, looking at Molly. There was a time that she would have pushed back against Molly's concerns, even gone around her to talk to her children directly, to get the story no matter the consequences, but she wasn't that same person anymore.
It left her with a major problem. The only way the article would have the impact it needed was if she shared the memories of the students, published their names, and what happened to them, and she couldn't do that without putting them at risk of retaliation from the Wizengamot.
She thought about Luna, putting herself in Molly's shoes, and knew she would have to find another way.
"It's ok," Rita said, patting Molly's hand gently as she rose from the table. "I have leads I can pursue. I won't involve your family," she promised.
"You will," Ron interrupted, standing in the door frame, a defiant look in his eyes. "I'll tell you what happened."
"NO!" Molly said, standing up from her seat, her tea cup crashing to the floor. "I forbid it! You've been through enough, all of you have!"
"They lied about everything," Ron said, ignoring his mother. "It wasn't Dumbledore that saved us. It was Harry."
"Stop Ron," Rita said, even surprising herself as she went against every one of her journalistic instincts. "Your mother's right. I shouldn't have come."
"NO!" Ron shouted. "If you don't publish this story, no one will know the truth!" he said, ripping the copy of the daily prophet off the table and crumpling it in his hands, tossing it to the floor. "That's all lies! Bought and paid for by the Wizengamot. They bloody well knew, and did nothing to help us!"
"You don't understand," Rita said, trying to explain. "They'll come after you. Look what they already did to Fudge, and he was the Minister. Do you think they're going to show the same caution against a first-year student?"
"I don't care," Ron said angrily. "I've watched my family fall apart over the last few days, and I know I'm not the only one! Harry didn't back down when a literal demon tried to invade our world! And you know what? He kicked its arse!" he spat. "After that, do you think a bunch of bureaucrats scare me?"
Molly stared dumbfounded at her son. He had been tight lipped about what really happened, even with her and Arthur. She was so shocked by his outburst she didn't even think to admonish him for swearing.
"I talked to Hermione and Draco, and they're both with me, with Harry," Ron added. "We can deal with a bunch of pencil pushing over the hill, career bureaucrats. The only question I have is, are you up to it, Rita Skeeter!?" Ron demanded. "Do you want to know what really happened? Are you prepared to write the article that finally exposes the Wizengamot for what it truly is?"
Rita looked at Ron, her mouth agape. She glanced at Molly, seeing the same expression on her face, then watched as it slowly turned into a look of determination.
She had only met Harry Potter a hand full of times, heard what Fudge had to say about him, but she could clearly see Harry's influence in Ron's words and actions, his sense of justice, his need to help others. She could see it all in Ron Weasley, and if she had to guess she would see the same in Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy when she finally spoke to them.
"Tell me everything," Rita said, sitting back down at the table and pulling out her quill and parchment.
She knew Xeno would figure out a loophole to get around the Wizengamot mouth piece, this oversight board, or whatever they called themselves. He was always better at the business side of things. She had faith in him, and she would do what she was best at, write the story that would expose the greatest cover up in wizarding history.
***
Hi! Thanks for reading. This was originally supposed to be part of chapter 72, but I decided to split it up. When i re-read it, it just felt too jarring to switch between what was happening with Harry, and Ron's and his family. That said what did you think of the chapter?
The intention was to show the battle had consequences, even for the victors, and it wouldn't be something easily forgotten. Just about everyone that survived the battle is dealing with PTSD in one form or another, and their families are feeling the effects as well, and while the focus of the chapter is on the Weasley's the same thing is playing out in other wizarding families as well.
Please take the time to review, let me know how the story is going.
If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.