Percy Weasley stared at the paperwork on his desk, not really seeing it. “How did I get here?� he asked himself aloud, putting his head in his hands. Of course, he knew how he got to this point. He had been a right prat, leaving behind his family to pursue his old dreams of joining the Ministry. That’s how he arrived at the point where he was alone in his office at 11 at night, trying not to think about the fact that he was working to capture and kill not only innocent muggle-borns but his own family as well.

He missed them. All of them. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t regret that fight with his father, didn’t regret storming out on Christmas, didn’t regret not going into hiding with them when the rest of his family had no other choice.

He lifted his head now, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a well-worn photo of a family of redheads, all laughing and embracing each other. He watched as his mum embraced Ginny, then smoothed the girl’s hair. Ginny, exasperated with her mother, turned to Fred, who was laughing at something Charlie had said about his dragons (he recognized the look on his older brother’s face as the one he only got when talking about his work). Meanwhile, Ron watched as George juggled… something, Percy couldn’t tell. Bill reached over and swatted George’s hand, making him drop it all, and the three of them laughed. His father watched over the family with his arm around his wife, smiling and taking in the scene.

Only Percy himself was missing from the photograph. He had been in it, but his photographic self seemed to have walked out when he did; the others didn’t appear to have noticed. Percy smiled sadly to himself. Perhaps they were better off without him.

He was pulled out of his reverie by a sudden breeze, the source of which was obvious when Percy looked up, startled. A shining, silver goat had arrived in the office: Aberforth Dumbledore’s Patronus. It spoke in his voice: “Potter’s arrived. Come to the bar if you’d care to join the fight.�

Percy was stunned at the sudden arrival of the Patronus. A fight? Now? Percy wasn’t prepared for this; he had never even had a proper duel. That, of course, was not something that the rules at school had allowed for, so it was, of course, something that Percy Weasley would never have done. No, fighting wasn’t for him….

But then he thought about the first part of the message. “Potter’s arrived.� This must mean that his youngest brother had also arrived. Surely, the rest of the family would have joined. And wasn’t this the very reason that he had contacted Aberforth in the first place? So he could join the resistance?

With one last glance at the photo still clutched in his left hand, Percy stood up, straightened his glasses, and pulled out his wand, turning on the spot.

…

Percy slowed from a run to a walk as he neared the end of the corridor behind the portrait. He was no longer nervous about the battle, which Aberforth had briefed him on when he arrived. He was still anxious, however. What if he ran into one of his brothers? What would he say? What could he say? What if- even worse- he ran into one of his parents?

He summoned up the courage that had landed him in Gryffindor house all those years ago as he approached the end of the tunnel- he would have to deal with that when he met them. He put on a burst of speed and he stumbled into a large, well-lit, mostly empty room. He straightened his glasses, saying, to whoever was present, “Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out so I- I-�

It was then that he realized that almost his entire family was in the room (Where were Ron and Charlie? he couldn’t help but wonder). He stared at them, dumbstruck, and they stared back at him, looks of deep disgust on the faces of the twins.

There was a long moment of silence before Bill’s wife (Fleur, if he remembered correctly) broke it by loudly asking something of Percy’s old Professor Lupin. They and Harry were soon fawning over a picture in loud, falsely cheerful voices.

But Percy hadn’t come to the battle just to keep being miserable to his family. He wanted to tell them how sorry he was, how much he had missed them, but he didn’t know how to begin. He didn’t think simply saying sorry would suffice, especially not for Fred and George, who were still glaring at him as though contemplating starting a battle here, even as one raged in the castle around them. It soon became obvious that he would have to be the first to say something, so Percy decided to start with an admission.

“I was a fool!� he cried, surprising himself with how loud it had come out. He was also not proud of how desperate he sounded, but now was not the time to worry about that. He forged on with more apologies. “I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a-a-�

“Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron,� Fred supplied coldly, when Percy was at a loss for words. It sounded so much worse when Fred said than it had all those times Percy had thought it; he had still had some hope that perhaps his family didn’t feel that way, that they had missed him as much as he had missed them. He avoided Fred’s gaze now, realizing that it had been stupid to hope for any better than this.

“Yes, I was!� he agreed, glancing again at Fred. To his surprise, his younger brother was half-smiling.

“Well, you can’t say any fairer than that.� Percy, stunned and happier than he had been in a long time, took the hand that Fred offered him.

After Fred accepted him back, Percy was no longer nervous. He embraced his mother happily when she ran forward to him, and the reunion with his family was a happy one indeed.

…

Percy had gone with a small group, led by George, to guard one of the secret entrances to the castle. Now that he had his family back, he wasn’t going to let all of them out of his sight. As they moved, George shouted orders to the others.

“Alright, men!� he started. Then, noticing the curly-haired blonde who had come along with them, he hastily added, “And women!

“This entrance leads directly into the cellar of one of the shops in Hogsmeade. We probably won’t get any trouble from the other end, but we need to stay alert! You two stick together, watch each other’s back,� George said, indicating the blonde girl and their other companion, a dark haired young man. “You’re with me,� he added to Percy.

They stopped at the statue of a hump-backed witch. “You listen to see if anyone is coming up the tunnel,� he said to the other two, tapping the statue with his wand and muttering an incantation so that it opened. “We’ll watch the hall.�

Percy and George stood in silence for a few moments, waiting for something to happen in the deserted hallway. They could hear the battle beginning in the castle around them, but they were to stay at this entrance, keeping watch where Death Eaters could arrive at any moment. Percy was suddenly anxious again. Not because of the battle; he thought now that he could deal with it, that it may even feel good to fight now that he had something to fight for again. He was nervous because this was the first time he had been alone with his brother in years.

“Er…� he began, casting about for something to say. Then his eyes rested on the side of George’s head, where he had an ear missing. Percy had, of course, heard that George had been attacked (he had tried to keep up with his family, even without contacting them), but it was still quite a shock when he found himself staring at the hole in the side of his brother’s head.

“What happened?� he said quietly, his concern evident in his voice.

George glanced up and, noticing what Percy was looking at, grunted, “Snape happened.� He then looked away, back down the empty hall.

“You’re still angry,� Percy said. That was a stupid thing to say, he thought immediately. Of course he’s still angry.

George seemed to agree with him. He cast another dark glare in Percy’s direction before staring again down the hallway. Another few moments passed in silence, and Percy started to wonder why George hadn’t chosen to partner with the blonde girl who had come with them. She was, after all, quite attractive. Percy was about to ask him if he wanted to switch when George started to speak.

“You know-� he began angrily, but his words were cut off by shouts coming up the stairs. It seemed that the battle had, at last, reached them.

“Action at last,� George said, seeming to forget what he had been about to say and smiling slightly. “Oi! Out here!� he called to their companions.

The small group ran to meet the battle front that was slowly advancing toward them. Percy realized, with a slight shock, that Fred was among them. Seeing his brother fight like this made the battle all the more real, he thought, as he aimed a curse at one of the two Death Eaters that Fred had been fighting.

“Fred!� shouted George. “Where’s Lee?� There was great concern in his voice, Percy realized. He remembered that Lee Jordan had been good friends with the twins while at school.

“He was hit!� Fred responded, hitting one of the Death Eaters in the face with a Stunning Spell. “We had no choice but to leave him. I need to go back to make sure he’s alright!�

“Let me,� George replied, breaking through the Death Eaters and running back the way Fred and the others had come. “Perce, stay with Fred!� he shouted over his shoulder as he went. One of them aimed the killing curse at him, missing and blasting a hole in the wall next to George’s head. Percy pointed his wand at the man and shouted a curse, drawing the attention of the Death Eater off of George and onto himself.

…

Percy and Fred, along with a few others who had been stationed with them, continued battling the group of Death Eaters. They backed their way up more sets of stairs until they were on the seventh floor, and only Percy, Fred, and two Death Eaters remained.

As they rounded a corner, Percy heard footsteps behind him. Hoping they were friends, rather than more Death Eaters, he continued casting spells at the one he was dueling. If the people behind him were on the wrong side, Percy and Fred were—

But he needn’t have worried. He recognized the voices that shouted out spells, and those spells hit the men dueling the two brothers. Encouraged by Ron, Harry, and Hermione joining the fight, Percy laughed when he saw the face of the man he had been fighting for the last two flights of stairs. “Hello, Minister!� he shouted as he continued to cast spells at the man who had been his boss. “Did I mention I’m resigning?�

Fred laughed appreciatively. “You’re joking, Perce!� Soon both Death Eaters had fallen and Fred turned to Percy. “You actually are joking, Perce… I don’t think I’ve heard you joke since you were-�

And that’s when it happened. Just when Percy had thought they were finished, they were out of danger, at least for now, when Fred was smiling and laughing like Percy had always known him to do. Just when Percy was starting to feel like family again, it all fell apart. The castle wall was blown apart and Percy watched a large part of it come into contact with Fred, throwing him backwards forcefully, just before Percy himself was hit.

It took him a moment to register what had happened, but he knew he had to find Fred. He knew Fred was hurt. “Fred,� he muttered. “Where are you, Fred?�

He didn’t have to look far, though, before he saw a tuft of red hair poking out from underneath a large bit of the wall. “Wand…� he said, his thoughts still coming slowly. Where was his wand? He looked down at his hand, surprised to see it still clutched there. He levitated the heavy chunk of rock off of his brother and hurried to his side.

“Fred, wake up!� he said. He looked at his wand again, then pointed it at Fred. “Ennervate.� Fred didn’t stir. “Ennervate!� he repeated, refusing to believe what he knew must be true.

“Percy,� he heard Ron say above him. He didn’t know how long Ron had been standing there. “Perce, I think he’s-�

As Ron sank to his knees beside them, Percy abandoned the attempt with his wand to take Fred by the shoulders, shaking him, willing him to wake up. “No- no- no! No! Fred! No!� he shouted, feeling tears spilling from his eyes. He couldn’t lose his brother, not now.

Percy was aware of Ron’s and Harry’s attempts to move him away from Fred, but he ignored them, throwing himself back over his brother. Fred couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t, and Percy would protect him until he woke up.

This soon proved to be impossible, as Percy would wind up in the same state as Fred if he didn’t move, or at least stand up and fight. Percy didn’t know how he would do that, but he knew he must. He must protect Fred.

Harry, of course, had the answer. He picked Fred up and Percy helped move him out of the way. Making sure that his brother would be safe here, Percy ran off in search of more Death Eaters. He had to kill them, to get them back for Fred, until Fred could fight for himself again.

He spotted a Death Eater and shouted his name, thinking that Fred couldn’t be dead. Because if he was, then it was all his, Percy’s, fault.