Sticks & Stones

It was mid-November, so the sun set very early. By the time most people left their jobs, it was already dark. It was no different for wizards and witches, so when Percy Weasley Apparated from the Ministry foyer to the alley near his flat in London, he appeared in darkness.

Percy was mildly disoriented by going from the brightly lit foyer to a dark alley at night, so he was still trying to adjust when four voices all said “Stupefy!”

Fred and George lifted the unconscious Percy between them while Ron and Ginny checked to make certain no one had seen anyone. It was a residential area, and the local flats were all tenanted by young up-and-coming businessmen and women—very like Percy, in fact, except almost exclusively Muggle. When they were certain no one had witnessed the magic, Ron pulled a tarnished silver ladle out of his robes and held it out. The five siblings all touched the ladle—Fred draped Percy’s arm on it—and Ron tapped it with his wand and muttered “Portus!”

They appeared outside of Percy’s flat in the tall building next to where they’d been standing. Ron cast Alohamora on the door, but when it didn’t work he and Ginny both cast several more powerful unlocking charms until the door opened. Fred and George maneuvered inside awkwardly with Percy between them, George muttering something about how Percy must be fattening up on that Ministry salary. Ron and Ginny slipped in after, glancing around to make certain no one saw what was happening, and shut the door behind them.

Fred and George unceremoniously dumped Percy in a handy armchair, while Ron and Ginny cast several Silencing Charms and protective spells to ensure they weren’t interrupted. When they were through they turned their attention back to Percy. “Get his wand,” Ginny said.

Fred searched Percy’s pockets until he found Percy’s wand. “Anything else interesting in there?” George asked curiously, reaching for Percy’s robes.

“George, come on,” Ginny said wearily.

“Wait a minute, Ginny,” Ron said suddenly. “There might be something… suspicious on him. It might be a good idea.”

Ginny hesitated, and then shrugged, so Fred and George emptied Percy’s pockets. “Percy has the most boring items in his pockets of any wizard or witch in existence,” said George with mild disgust as he tossed aside a deluxe eagle-feather quill.

“What a shock,” Ginny retorted ironically.

“Oho, what’s this?” Fred exclaimed as he produced a piece of parchment. It was grubby from being handled frequently, and had been folded and refolded many times. “Not at all like what Percy would carry, is it?” he said triumphantly, unfolding it.

“Well?” Ginny asked. “What is it?”

Fred’s eyes scanned the parchment, and his face went white. “Bloody hell,” he croaked.

“What?” George demanded. When Fred didn’t move or respond, George snatched the parchment from his hand. “To Ms. Penelope Clearwater,” he read. “ ‘My dear Penelope, would you do me the great honor of bestowing upon me your hand in the eternal bond of marriage—”

“Little Percy’s running around,” Fred moaned, holding his head in his hands. “All of them studying and adding up numbers… Oh Merlin, if he has a girl she’ll be just like McGonagall…”

“Relax, Fred,” Ginny said, stifling a laugh. “He obviously hasn’t asked her yet.” She took the parchment from George and considered it. “He wouldn’t still be carrying this around if he’d actually asked her,” she concluded. “See, he wrote the date and then scratched it out, but it was in April—”

“Wait a second—April?” Ron asked. “He wanted to ask Clearwater back in April, but hasn’t yet? Why not?”

“Because he’s a spineless coward?” George suggested lightly.

“Or,” Ginny said darkly, “because he wasn’t allowed to under the Imperius Curse.”

“I still say he wasn’t under when he went off at Dad,” Ron grumbled.

“I say we find out,” Ginny replied. She tossed the parchment onto a table and pointed her wand at Percy. “Incarcerous!” Ropes appeared out of nowhere and bound Percy to his chair. “Draw your wands,” she ordered. Once everyone’s wand was pointed at Percy, Ginny braced herself. “Let me do the talking, understand?” The three boys nodded. “Right. Rennervate!”

Percy’s eyes flickered open. He looked utterly bewildered for about three seconds, and then his eyes widened as he realized he was restrained. “What in—” His jaw dropped when he saw his four siblings glaring grimly at him. “How dare you?” he snapped. “Untie me this instant! I cannot believe—”

“—that we’re still alive?” Ginny interrupted.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t play stupid!” Ron snapped angrily. “Fenrir Greyback sold you out, Percy—just like you sold us out! I bet you didn’t expect us to live long enough to pass that bit of information on, did you?”

“Ron!” Ginny said warningly, and Ron shut up. “Percy… we’re going to break you of the Curse you’re under,” she said with a bit more empathy.

“Curse? What on earth are you on about?” Percy asked haughtily.

“The Imperius Curse,” Ginny answered.

“I am not under the Imperius Curse!”

“The Curse won’t let you admit it,” Ginny said. “But I know you wouldn’t have done everything you have unless you were forced to. Ron… let’s do it.”

“Don’t you dare cast anything on me—”

“Bindus Vox,” Ginny muttered, and Percy’s voice was stolen. He mouthed furiously at them, but couldn’t make a sound. “I’ll take it off when we’re done,” she told Percy. “Ready, Ron?”

“Yeah,” Ron said, and they each stood to one side of Percy.

Hermione and Pansy had taught them the Charm—Pansy had taught it to Hermione weeks before when they’d had to free Seamus from the Imperius Curse. It didn’t take long; once they were done Ginny and Ron looked at each other, puzzled. “Did it work?” Ron asked.

“I—I don’t know,” Ginny said. “Hermione said she could feel when the Curse on Seamus broke…”

“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Fred asked rhetorically.

He looked expectantly at Ginny, who sighed. “Yes, all right,” she said, and produced a crystal vial from her pocket. Percy peered at it warily, and mouthed What is that? “It’s Veritaserum, Percy,” Ginny answered.

Percy’s eyes went huge, and he began to thrash in his chair, trying to get loose. Fred and George practically sat on him to hold him steady while Ginny stepped closer. “Fred, George… tilt his head back,” she said.

Percy fought so hard that they eventually had to Stupefy him again. “I’ve never seen anyone fight like this,” Ginny said vaguely, staring nervously at her unconscious brother.

“Except Seamus,” Ron pointed out. “And he was under Imperius.”

“That’s true. All right… George, open his mouth?” George tilted Percy’s head back and pulled his jaw down; Ginny took the dropper from the vial and dripped three drops into Percy’s mouth. “Okay,” Ginny said, and they all stepped back. Ginny pointed her wand again; “Finite Incantatem,” she said to remove the Voice-Stealing Charm, and then she again cast Rennervate. As soon as Percy’s eyes were open Ginny asked “What’s your name?”

“Percy Ignatius Weasley.” Percy answered immediately. Then he sneered. “I will see to it you wind up in Azkaban for this!”

Ginny frowned. Percy didn’t exactly seem grateful to have been liberated. “Have you been freed from the Imperius Curse?” she asked.

“No,” Percy said, sounding smug.

Ron, Fred and George looked as stunned as Ginny felt. “But how is that possible?” she gasped.

Ginny had meant it as a rhetorical question, but the Veritaserum made Percy answer. “Because I was never under the Imperius Curse!”

“What?” Ginny couldn’t believe it. “But—but you fought with Dad—you meant all of it?”

“Of course I did!” Percy snapped. “Father is a fool! He’s a disgrace to the very concept of pureblooded wizards! And all of you are just as bad! I had hoped there was a chance for the two of you,” he said coldly to Ron and Ginny. “I’d thought perhaps you were young enough that you weren’t indoctrinated with Father’s absurd notions, but it quickly became obvious I was wrong!”

“You mean—you mean you actually told Fenrir Greyback what I said?” Ginny yelled furiously. “You sold all of us out to Voldemort?”

“Yes! Perhaps once you’re all gone I’ll be able to carry on the pureblood name of Weasley with a bit of dignity!”

Ginny was small, but she was also strong. Her fist connected with Percy’s jaw hard enough to make a popping sound. “You bastard!” she shrieked, tears of anger lighting up her eyes. Ron and George had to grab her to keep her from strangling Percy, dragging her back while Fred cast Stupefy a final time. “You sick, evil—how could you—”

“Ginny, he’s out,” Fred said dully. “He can’t hear you any more.”

Ginny stopped fighting, as the moment Ron and George cautiously released her she sank to the floor, sobbing. Ron knelt down and put his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. “Why?” she cried. “H-He didn’t have to h-hate us…”

Ron didn’t answer her—there was no answer to give, so he kept silent. There was no sound for a long time except the sound of Ginny’s crying. Finally she calmed enough to think again. “Are- are you all right?” she asked Ron quietly.

“Yeah,” Ron said quietly. “Yeah, I’m okay. Are you? Percy isn’t worth crying over, you know.”

“I know,” Ginny said. “I wasn’t crying for him.” She wiped her face on the front of Ron’s robes, and he didn’t protest. “Thanks,” she whispered. Ron just shrugged self-consciously. “Are you all right—?” she started, turning to face Fred and George, and couldn’t keep herself from laughing. The twins had taken it upon themselves to ‘decorate’ Percy—meaning that Percy’s hair was bright green, his robes a hideous shade of mauve, his ears were sprouting cauliflower and his glasses had grown fake eyebrows and a bushy mustache. Ginny would have bet a small fortune that the glasses were affixed to Percy’s face.

“Ah, that cheeky smile makes it all worthwhile,” Fred said fondly to Ginny.

“I guess you’re okay, then,” Ginny said, grimacing at them.

“Fine and dandy,” George agreed. He plucked a fancy-looking hat off a hook, absent-mindedly transfigured it into a codpiece, and strapped it atop Percy’s head. “We were never under the impression Not-So-Perfect Percy had been taken over, Gin, so this wasn’t exactly a shock,” he admitted. “We really came so we could bestow our own personalized brand of revenge on the Big-Head Boy.”

“That’s right,” Fred agreed. He reached into an inner pocket inside his robes and pulled out a Weasley brand firework—it was one of the big ones. “I promised to deliver this to Percy in a very special way, you see.”

“And we suspect we can borrow a dragon from Charlie for an afternoon,” George added.

“No,” Ginny said, standing up. “It’s not that I disapprove, mind you,” she told her crestfallen brothers. “But we’ll send him to the Ministry like we did the Death Eaters.”

Ron stood up slowly. “That hardly seems like enough,” he said, a bit of his restrained anger coming through.

“I thought you’d want a few more shots at him yourself!” Fred said, practically whining like a kid who’s been told ‘No!’

“Oh, I do,” Ginny growled. “But we’re not going to anyway. Fred, George, clean him up. I’ll alter the Portkey Harry gave me to send him to the Ministry.”

Grumbling, Fred and George set about restoring Percy to his neat, prissy self. “I don’t get it, Ginny,” Ron said. “Percy didn’t just shun us, he didn’t even only hurt Mum and Dad—he sold us to Voldemort! He actually tried to get us killed! Why don’t you want to—to get some revenge?”

“I do want to,” Ginny replied. “But it’s going to be hard enough telling Mum and Dad that Percy’s going to Azkaban—and why.”

Ron went slightly pale, and nodded dumbly.

“What about the Veritaserum?” Fred asked. “Considering what Percy’s already done, it wouldn’t surprise me if he told the Ministry all about it…”

“Let him,” Ginny said with a shrug. “We checked and double-checked, and technically there’s no law that says you can’t use it on an adult. It’s frowned upon, especially if it’s against their will, but they can’t actually do anything to us. Besides, we’ll wait to send Percy to the Ministry until it’s worn off… then he won’t even be able to prove we did it.”

“Yes he could,” Ron said. “They could take out his memory…”

Ginny shook her head. “The Ministry does have strict rules against the removal of memories, even with the person’s consent. They won’t break or bend those rules to confirm something that wasn’t illegal anyway.”

“Where did you hear this stuff?” George asked in awe.

“Tonks likes me,” Ginny answered with a smirk. “And she’s pretty mischievous.”

Ginny converted the Portkey Harry had made so that it would send Percy to the Ministry, and affixed it to him. Fred, who had a knack for forgery, took some pieces of parchment from Percy’s desk and studied them a bit. Then he took some blank parchment, and after a few failed tries he produced a note that looked uncannily like Percy had written it himself:

I passed information to He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named and his followers.
-Percy Weasley

They stuck the note to the front of Percy’s robes, where it would be impossible to miss. Then they waited a bit, arguing half-heartedly about what to say to their parents, until they were certain the Veritaserum had worn off. “It should be well past by now,” Ginny said finally. “It’s been an hour and twenty minutes.”

“Thank Merlin,” George said, standing up and stretching. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

They all stood, and Ginny drew her wand again. She went to tap it to the Portkey on Percy, but hesitated. “What’s wrong?” Fred asked.

“If I do this,” Ginny muttered wretchedly, “Percy spends the rest of his life in prison.”

“He deserves it!” George insisted hotly.

“I know, but—”

“Ginny, we don’t have a choice,” Ron said tentatively. “We can’t let Percy keep on as a spy—he could be giving Voldemort information from inside the Ministry!”

“I know,” Ginny snapped. “But doesn’t this feel a little like what Percy did? We’re turning him in!”

“We’re doing it for our own protection!” George said.

“Percy thought he was protecting himself,” Ginny retorted. “Look, I know we have to!” she added when Ron opened his mouth. “I’m just not happy with sending a member of our family to Azkaban for the rest of his life, no matter what he’s done! How would you like to have your wand broken, and live for decades after without magic, knowing that you brought it on yourself by hurting the people closest to you?”

“That won’t ever happen,” Fred said, irritated, “because I wouldn’t ever do that!”

“If you think you’ll get through this war without doing something else just as bad, you’re fooling yourself,” Ginny said bitterly. She turned back to the unconscious Percy and stared at him for a long moment. Then she quickly leaned down, tapped the Portkey and said “Portus!”

Once Percy had vanished, Ginny turned back to her brothers. “Come on,” she said dully. “We have to go to the Burrow.”

The four of them silently slipped out the door, shutting it behind them, and Apparated. They appeared just outside the range of the Anti-Apparition spell around the Weasley house near Ottery St. Catchpole. After exchanging glances, the four siblings trudged up the path and knocked on the door.

After a moment the curtain pulled aside and Molly Weasley’s face appeared. “Ginny!” she exclaimed. “Ron! Fred, George! Oh, it’s wonderful you’re here—”

Mrs. Weasley began to open the door, but Mr. Weasley appeared and stopped her. “Molly, you have to make certain it’s them!”

“Oh Arthur, that Ministry rule is absolutely ludicrous!”

“Mum, it’s okay,” Ginny said through the door. “Um… when you were making me stay here and I was angry with you, I showed you both something—um, something very private—to try to make a point.”

Ginny saw her mother blushing bright red. Clearly Mrs. Weasley hadn’t forgotten about Ginny’s rather suggestive tattoo that all but branded Ginny as Harry’s. “Well, Arthur?” Molly said pointedly.

“Er, yes… I think that’ll do,” Mr. Weasley said, and stepped back to let Mrs. Weasley open the door.

Mrs. Weasley went to hug her children as they walked inside, but she clearly sensed their anxiety. “What is it?” she asked anxiously, stepping back next to Arthur. “Something’s happened, hasn’t it?”

“Has someone been hurt?” Mr. Weasley asked, clutching Mrs. Weasley’s hand.

“No, no one’s hurt,” Ginny said. “Not exactly.” She waited until Fred had shut the door before looking into the eyes of her parents in turn. “But yes, something happened, mum. We… we have something we have to tell you.”