TW: mentions of abuse
I was in the guest room upstairs, removing cobwebs from the ceiling as sobbing sounds filled my ears. My brow furrowed and I clutched my wand tightly in my fist as I slowly made my way toward the sound. I reached the drawing room door where the sounds seemed to be the loudest and carefully pushed it open. As I looked around the room I saw Molly huddled in a corner, clutching her wand as she stared at a body on the floor. Ron. My eyes widened as I ran toward her.
"Riddikulus!" she sobbed, pointing to the body, which quickly changed into Bill's as Harry entered the room and Molly muttered the charm again, her voice cracking. It was a boggart. They'd been saying how they needed to get up here and get rid of it but Molly had insisted she would take care of it.
"Molly, come with me. We need to get you out of here. We'll only make the boggart stronger." I gently took her arm, trying to lead her out of the room and she collapsed against me.
"No... no," she sobbed.
"Mrs. Weasley, just get out of here!" Harry called as the boggart shifted into his own body. "Let someone else-."
"What's going on?" Remus called as he entered the room, followed by Sirius and Alastor. I turned to face them but my eyes locked with the boggart instead. It briefly took the form of Percy before shifting once again, trying to decide which of us to torment. A snakelike hissing filled my ears as my father materialized in front of me.
"My beautiful daughter," he whispered, reaching out a hand to touch my face as I gently pushed Molly toward Remus who was raising his wand. "I'm so proud of you," the boggart whispered.
"You're not real," I hissed.
My father chuckled, a low hiss in his throat. "Perhaps not here... but I am real there." His hand pointed to the other side of the room where Malfoy Manor materialized in a cloud of black smoke, Lucius, Narcissa, and Bella standing outside of it. "They're all waiting for you... waiting for you to come home."
Bella was smiling, waving at me as I ran toward them, or rather a much younger version of me ran toward them. My laughter filled the small room as a 15 year old me jumped into Bella's arms. My father watched the scene unfold as they led me into the house before he turned back to me. "Come home, child," he begged, his voice barely a whisper as it sent chills down my spine.
"Riddikulus!" I shouted and the boggart quickly changed, though not into anything funny. This time it was a familiar little girl, huddled against the wall.
"I warned you," my uncle hissed as a belt was raised, coming down with a sickening smack against my skin. "That little Slytherin friend of yours will be dead by tomorrow," he hissed, his laughter sending chills along my skin. My hands were sweating as I tried to grip my wand to say the charm, but no words came to me.
"Riddikulus!" Remus shouted and the child disappeared, being replaced by a silver moon. He waved his wand once more and it disappeared as I breathed a sigh of relief, my head beginning to spin. I expected to hit the floor but I felt a pair of arms reach around my waist, holding me upright as I heard Molly sobbing.
"Pup, are you alright?" Sirius asked me as I turned to face him.
I swallowed thickly, slowly nodding my head as Remus assured Molly everything was alright and that if anything happened to her and Arthur we would take care of her children. It was a dark thought but one she needed to be reassured of nonetheless.
We left the room, closing the door behind us as we tried to forget the horrors of what we'd just seen: everyone dead and my family waiting for me to come home.