Finally Home by Weasley Mom
A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.
Harsh, dry sobs wracked George Weasley as he knelt with his brother next to the immobile form of Mrs. Weasley. Fred put an arm around him, as they tried to find comfort in each other's prescence as only twins can. Their heads were bowed. Their anguish was even more palpable for the joy which they normally exuded.
"No! " Harry whispered, dropping to his knees next to them. "Not her too... no."
His whole body shook. He reached out and gently took one of her cold hands in his. He pulled it to him, squeezing it. He nearly dropped it when he felt a faint, but very definate, squeeze in return. Gasping, he felt her wrist for a pulse and could have cried in joy when he felt one. It was heartrendingly weak, but it was there.
"She's alive!" he breathed. "Fred, George she's alive!" Twin heads snapped up, and hope returned to twin sets of eyes.
"We've got to help her," George cried. "Mum? Can you hear us?" A faint fluttering of her lashes was the only response he received. Looking around, Harry spotted Remus and McGonnagall rushing towards them. Getting up, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him to his guardian.
"Remus! Mrs. Weasley... she's hurt. It's bad, Moony. We have to get her to St. Mungo's now!" he shouted. Remus' eyes widened in concern as he and Professor McGonnagall followed Harry back to Molly Weasley. Lupin quickly took charge. Conjuring bandages, he efficiently bound them around her. They slowed, but did not completely stop the blood which leeked from her side.
"Fred, George... Do you think that you two can apparate with her?" Remus asked. They nodded, determinedly.
"Good. Go then. Get her to St. Mungo's," he ordered. They each grabbed a hold of their mum and disappeared with a pop.
"Minerva," Remus said, turning to Professor McGonnagall. "Go to Hogwarts. Let Ron, Ginny, and Hermione know what has happened. They will want to get to St. Mungo's as well, I'm sure. The rest of us will head to the Ministry, so that Arthur and the boys can get to Molly's side," Remus said. Everyone nodded and disappeared, except for Harry and Remus.
"I should go to Ginny and Ron..." Harry began.
"I know that is where your heart is Harry, but they are going to need us at the Ministry," Lupin interrupted. Taking the portkey from earlier, he reset it for the Ministry. Harry grabbed a hold of it, and felt the familiar tug as it activated.
A pitched battle raged in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, almost immediately, felt himself growing cold, and heard the familiar screaming eachoing in his ears. Dementors glided everywhere as aurors and Ministry officials attempted to hold them off. He saw the Weasleys, Hagrid, 'Dung, Moody, and Tonks guarding the elevators to the detention level from a determined group of death eaters. Harry saw no sign of Professor Dumbledore, although from the sound of distant explosions he could hear, he assumed that the headmaster was busy elsewhere.
"Nymphadora!" he heard Remus shout. What could only be described as a swarm of dementors was converging upon Tonks, who had been battling in front of the outermost set of elevators.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry hollered, sending his patronus charging to the rescue. Remus quickly followed suit, scattering the dementors. They raced towards Tonks. Remus reached her first and pulled her with them, away from the main part of the battle.
"Are you allright?" he asked. Though pale and shaking, she nodded. He immediately pulled a bar of chocolate from his robes and handed it to her.
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Diagon Alley?" Tonks demanded, breaking off a piece of chocolate and popping it into her mouth.
"Molly's hurt. We have to let Arthur and the boys know. There may not be much time," Remus said .
"Oh no!" Tonks exclaimed.
Harry only dimly heard her. This was wrong. Mrs. Weasley could be dying. She needed her family and they were stuck here, fighting. The dead and injured lay scattered across the floor of the very Ministry itself. Harry saw Perkins, Mr. Weasley's assistant, sitting in a corner staring sightlessly ahead and knew he had been the victim of a dementor.
"This has to stop... now," Harry said, and began to walk towards the center of the battle.
"Harry! What are you doing?" he heard Remus call. He ignored him, closing his eyes. For the first time in his life, Harry consciously began to tap into the power which he had only been able to access in fear and anger. Taking a deep breath, he focused on drawing the energy to him and harnessing it. Opening his eyes once again, he saw people staring at him in awe and knew that he was covered in the green fire which had become so familiar to him. Stretching out his hand, he cast the patronus charm once more.
"Expecto Patronum!" he roared. Harry felt a surge of power rush from his chest, up his arm, and out through his fingertips. He blinked in astonishment. Instead of the silver stag form his patronus normally took, a flaming green pheonix soared through the mass of dementors. A series of unholy shrieks rose from amongst the black forms. Those the new patronus touched began to smoke and steam. Almost as one, they retreated before him, pouring out of the Ministry like ants from an anthill. The remaining death eaters, realizing that their most fearsome allies had deserted them, apperated away. The pheonix wheeled around to hover before Harry, who reached out his hand to it. There was a curious sense of merging when they touched, then the patronus dissipated.
"Certainly know how to make an entrance don't you boy?" he heard Mad-Eye Moody growl from behind him. Whirling to face him, Harry abruptly became aware that he was the focus of every eye in the room, as well as quiet a few murmured conversations. Normally, he would have been absolutely mortified to be the center of attention like he currently was. Just now however, he did not have time to worry about it.
"Where is Mr. Weasley?" Harry demanded impatiently of his former professor.
"I'm right here, Harry," Arthur Weasley called from nearby. He walked over to them, and, seeing Harry's face frowned. "What is it? What's happened?"
Harry saw the concern, and a trace of fear, in Mr. Weasley's kind face. He had no idea how to tell him something like this. He had never been more relived then when he felt Remus' hand on his shoulder and heard his guardian's hoarse voice saving him from breaking the news.
"We need to get to St. Mungo's now, Arthur. Bill and Charlie will want to come too. And Percy if he's here," Remus said.
"The twins?" Mr. Weasley asked, his voice shaking.
"No Arthur. The boys are fine," Remus replied. Mr. Weasley shook his head in disbelief.
"No... Not Molly, Remus. Tell me it's not Molly," he gasped.
"I'm sorry Arthur. The twins took her to St. Mungo's, but she was in pretty bad shape," Lupin said gently. The two oldest Weasley children, seeing their father's obvious distress, hurried over to him.
"Boys find Percy. We need to get to St. Mungo's," said Mr. Weasley in a shaky voice.
"What's going on Dad?" Bill asked, looking from his visibly shaken father to an uncommonly grave looking Harry.
"It's your Mum, Bill," Harry said softly.
"Mum?" Bill said. His mind would simply not wrap around the concept of the unsinkable Molly Weasley in St. Mungo's. She had not even gone there when his brothers and sister were born, but had had them at home instead.
"What about Mum?" Charlie demanded.
"She was injured in the fighting at Diagon Alley," Mr. Weasley said, as though he couldn't really believe it himself.
"But she's allright though?" Bill asked urgently, his eyes begging them to say that she was. Harry looked down, unable to lie to him.
"Fred and George took her to St. Mungo's. She was alive but..." He couldn't force himself to say anymore. Bill, who had always seemd so in control to Harry, took a step back, shaking his head in denial. Charlie put a steadying hand on his older brother's shoulder, offering him silent comfort.
"We...we need to tell Percy, Ron, and Ginny," Mr. Weasley said, running a shaking hand through his thinning hair and making it stand on end. It was painful for Harry to see him looking so lost. These were the people he considered his family, and he had no idea how to comfort them right now.
"Minerva went to get Ron and Ginny, Arthur. Harry and I will find Percy and meet you all there," Remus told him.
"C'mon Dad. We'll go through the floo. I don't think apperating is a good idea for any of us just now," Charlie said as he lead his father and older brother toward the fireplaces, which lined one wall.
"Have you seen Percy in all this mess, Alastor?" Lupin asked the auror, who had been watching the sad, all too familiar for him, scene unfold. Moody took a quick look around, his magical blue eye revolving crazily in his head.
"There, with Dumbledore," he said, pointing to a door across the room as Percy and the headmaster strode in it. Remus and Harry made their way over to them. Harry was struck immediately by how different Percy looked. He still had the same air of pompous arrogance as he always had, but there were shadows in his eyes which spoke of lessons learned the hard way. The muggle phrase "sadder but wiser" popped into his mind.
"Harry? Remus?" the headmaster said, eyeing them gravely.
"There was a problem in Diagon Alley, Albus," Remus said, casting a surreptious glance at Percy. "Molly Weasley has been injured. Fred and George took her to St. Mungo's. I sent Minerva to get Ron and Ginny. The rest of us came here to let Arthur and the boys know and assist in the battle. I'm sorry, Percy."
"My mother was injured?" Percy said, shocked. "How bad is it? Is she going to be allright?"
"We don't know Percy. She was in pretty bad shape though. I'm sorry," Remus said again.
"You should go to her, Percy," Dumbledore said gently. Percy shook his head.
"They won't want me there," he said softly. His face mirrored his guilt and pain.
"You're wrong, Percy. Yes, your brothers and sister are mad at you. Truthfully, they have every right to be, but they won't turn you away right now. They know how much it would mean to your Mum for you to be there. Seeing the family reunited may be just the thing she needs to give her the strength to fight," Harry said. Percy drew himself up to his full height and smiled sadly at Harry.
"Thank you, Harry. For what it's worth, I am truly sorry for all of it," Percy said. Harry nodded.
"I know you are, Percy. Now go to your family. They need you," Harry said. With a final nod, Percy strode to the nearest apparation point and disappeared.
"That was very nicely done, Mr. Potter. I understand you've been quite busy today," Dumbledore said solemnly. Harry looked around at the devastation that the attack had wrought in the Ministry. Across the room, Hagrid, 'Dung, Tonks, and Moody were busily working to help the injured. Help had arrived from St. Mungo's, but with all the fighting, every available hand was needed.
"It needed to be stopped, and I had the power to stop it. Anyone else in the Order would have done the same," Harry shrugged. He had always been uncomfortable in taking any praise for his actions. This held especially true when so many had fought so bravely, as they had today.
"Damn!" Remus said. "We need to get Harry out of here now, Albus." Harry followed Lupin's line of vision and saw several dozen reporters pouring out of the fireplaces across the room. Most of them were headed Harry's way, with Rita Skeeter in the lead. Harry cringed.
"Yes, I imagine you'd rather avoid that. I believe your friends are need of you as well, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said kindly. Taking a bag of Bertie Bott's from inside his robes, he quickly turned it into a portkey holding it out for Remus and Harry to take hold. Waving impishly at Rita, Dumbledore activated it and Harry felt a pull behind his navel as he was whisked away to St. Mungo's.
A/N: One more chapter down. I hope you liked it. Thanks go out to the wonderful Danielle for moderating, my son Will for being my beta and telling me when I forget about people who are supposed to be in the room (I had to add in Hagrid and 'Dung I forgot both of them were there), and finally... thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. I'm still having issues responding to reviews so, I'm going to answer a couple of the questions I have been asked.
-American 89 had asked about Harry's age when his parents died. It's my understanding that his parents died when he was 15 months old. He woul have been walking and starting to talk by then.
-elka78 asked why Crabbe and Goyle weren't arrested with Draco. While Ginny and the others were fairly certain that Crabbe and Goyle were involved, there just was not enough proof to get them. Also, no. Harry will not tell the D.A. that he was almost sorted into Slytherin, or at least I'm not planning on it.
Once again, thanks for reading and for all of your extremely nice reviews. Next chapter, St. Mungo's, the fate of Mrs. Weasley, and more with Percy.