Weasley Family Fallout

Chapter 10: Family Dinner

Truthfully, Molly wasn't sure. She hadn't seen him since he disappeared earlier. To avoid suspicion from any of her children, she told Percy she thought he was up in their bedroom.

On his way upstairs, Percy left Audrey in the hands of his siblings, hoping they wouldn't scare her off.

Percy knocked lightly on his parents' bedroom door.

"I fucking swear, Molly..." was the answer he received through the door.

"Fa – Dad. It's me. Percy," the confused, bespectacled young man called back.

Nothing happened.

"Um. Is everything okay? Can I come in?"

As there was still no answer, Percy took the liberty of entering his parents' bedroom. What he saw next shocked him. His father had not gotten dressed yet and was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Dad, what are you doing? Audrey is here. You can't be dresses like this when I introduce you," Percy said, slightly panicked.

Arthur checked the time.

5:48. Was it already time for dinner? He wasn't even hungry, although he hadn't eaten anything all day. Nowadays he rarely had an appetite. After a couple minutes, Arthur sat up on the edge of the bed.

It was only then when Percy noticed how drawn his father looked.

"Are you alright?" Percy asked.

Arthur ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"I'm fine," he lied. "I'll be down in a bit."

With that, Percy took his leave. It was obvious his father wasn't being truthful with him, so he decided he'd ask his mum about it.

Before going to the kitchen, Percy checked on his girlfriend who seemed to be getting on well with his siblings, Harry, Hermione, and Fleur.

"Is everything alright, darling?" he asked.

Audrey gave a small start as she had not noticed Percy was behind her. "I'm wonderful," she replied with a great smile. "Your brothers are quite entertaining."

"Just making sure they haven't scarred you for life yet." He gave a small grin.

"Oi!" Charlie caught his younger brother's attention from across the room. "We only scar people we don't like, Perce."

The room exploded with laughter as this was mostly true.

Once the laughter died down, Percy told Audrey that he would be back in a minute then headed into the kitchen.

Sensing her son's appearance, Molly said, "Well, it sounds like everyone is having a good time. It hasn't felt like this for quite some time now. It's a pleasant change...Hopefully, it will stay this way," she added under her breath, but Percy still heard.

Putting two and two together, he decided not to beat around the bush, but to still be gentle. "Have you and Dad had an argument?"

Molly glanced at Percy before answering. "No. Why would you ask such a thing." She wasn't lying. It was had only been an outburst from Arthur earlier, not an argument.

"I just - you know - checking how things are. What with everything that has happened recently," Percy stumbled over his words. He didn't want to tell her how his dad greeted the initial knock at the door. "Well, anyway...Is he ill?"

Molly stopped in her tracks. The seriousness of the way her son asked concerned and confused her.

"What do you mean?"

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "You haven't noticed anything? He was still in his house robe when I went up there, and he looked exhausted."

"He shouldn't be tired at all. He slept all day," Molly informed her bewildered son.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Percy shrugged. "I need to get back in there. He'll be down any minute."

"Let them know supper will be ready in about five minutes, dear."

"Yes, ma'am."

Just as Percy announced that supper would be ready soon, Arthur entered the room. His appearance was completely different than upstairs; his hair was fixed, he wore his usual casual attire, and he didn't look tired at all.

This abrupt change took Percy by surprise. "Uh – Er – Oh, Dad, this is Audrey."

Audrey stood up and faced Arthur, extending her hand in the process. A broad smile spread across Arthur's face as he shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Audrey. Hopefully this brood hasn't startled you too badly."

"No, sir, they haven't. I actually like the big family feel. I'm an only child, so it's a good change."

"Well, I'm glad." Then he turned to Percy. "Close your mouth, Son."

Percy snapped his mouth shut and a light blush crept up his cheeks. "Sorry," he mumbled. He hadn't realized his mouth was slightly agape. He was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with his dad.

At that time, Molly appeared in the doorway.

"Supper is ready," she said with a smile.

Before taking his seat, Arthur bent down and placed a chaste kiss on his wife's cheek. All through the evening it was like he was his old self. The only people who were confused were Molly and Percy because they had seen how he was acting earlier in the day. Everyone else, aside from Audrey, thought things were returning to normal.

Hours quickly passed. Percy and Audrey said their good-byes and thanked Molly for the meal. The others began getting ready for bed and, soon after, disappeared into their various bedrooms.

Once he and Molly were alone, Arthur let down his façade. It had been exhausting acting like nothing was amiss. This may have been a relief to Arthur, but for Molly it caused her emotional pain to return. She hated seeing him like this, and she hated the way he treated her whenever he was in one of his moods.

Molly decided to confront him again once they were in bed.

"Arthur...What is going on?" She braced herself for her husband's temper...It never came.

Arthur let out a heavy sigh. He had no energy to have an angry outburst. Instead, he mumbled something about not wanting to talk about it and that he was too tired to anyway.

"Fine then." It was clear that he was worn out. "You have to promise me that we will talk about it tomorrow," Molly said sternly. She wasn't going to let this pass. She would do everything in her power not to let him throw his last chance away.

Her husband was already half asleep, but he heard her. "Sure, sure. Tomorrow," he mumbled.

Satisfied, Molly was able to fall asleep slightly less concerned. He was finally going to open up.