𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐍 ⦊ 𝘩. 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 ✓ {editing}

― ix. weatherby

Mrs Weasley stared at him. Then, flinging her arms around him, she exclaimed, "Oh, Percy!" 

"You must forgive this intrusion," said Scrimgeour. "Percy and I were in the vicinity — working, you know — and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing you all." But Percy showed no sign of wanting to greet anybody else. He stood, poker-straight and awkward-looking, staring over everybody else's heads. Mr Weasley, Fred, and George were observing him stony-faced.

"Please, come in, sit down, Minister!" fluttered Mrs Weasley.

"No, no, my dear Molly," Scrimgeour said. "I don't want to intrude, wouldn't be here at all if Percy hadn't wanted to see you all so badly."

"Oh, Perce!" Mrs Weasley gushed, reaching up to kiss him.

"We've only looked in for five minutes, so I'll have a stroll around the yard while you catch up with Percy. If anybody could care to show me your charming garden...Ah, that young man's finished, why doesn't he take a stroll with me?"

Harry rose slowly out of his chair. "Erm...yeah, sure" 

"Wonderful! Well, we'll be back shortly." Scrimgeour's eyes met Percy's intently, before darting to Edelyn. 

The awkward silence that was left in Scrimgeour and Harry's departure's wake was then broken when Percy coughed as if to clear his throat and turned to face Edelyn. "It's nice to see you again," he said.

Edelyn raised an eyebrow at him; to have greeted her before even acknowledging the presence of his father and siblings was odd, to say the least. Before she could make any response, however, Fred snarled coldly, "Spit it out, Perce. What's the real reason you're here?"

Mrs Weasley frowned reproachfully at Fred, but he simply continued to stare at Percy with glassy eyes. Percy, meanwhile, ignored him completely and said, "May I please have a word in private, Edelyn?"

"Whatever you have to say, you can just say it here," she said flatly.

"It is a sensitive matter."

"All the more reason."

"Fine," said Percy stiffly. "The Ministry is trying to make amends and would like you to make a statement."

"A statement on what?" 

"A statement of forgiveness. A statement saying that you forgive the Ministry of Magic for the wrongful imprisonment of your father."

There was a moment of deafening silence before Edelyn's thighs rammed into the side of the table. "Excuse me?"

"It was an unfortunate situation—"

"Unfortunate situation?" she spat, shooting Percy a glare that was worthy only of a Black.

He cowered slightly and said, "All the evidence pointed — there were more than fifty eyewitnesses—"

"He never even got a fair trial!" Edelyn hissed. "The Ministry just chucked him in there, and then pointed fingers at him once again last year when there was another breakout from Azkaban!"

"The only logical conclusion then was that Black was behind it," Percy retorted defensively.

Edelyn shook her head in incredulity. "You're unbelievable! The bloody Ministry's the reason I only had a year with my father, and you're telling me they want me to send in a statement of forgiveness?!"

Percy swallowed thickly. "Prisoners are allowed to write letters and to have visitors," he pressed. "It is not the fault of the Ministry that Sirius never contacted you."