Bill Weasley was mad. No, he was furious. He had gotten the letter earlier that morning during breakfast about his sisters. Apparently, Hogwarts had some unnamed creature merking about petrifying students, but it had taken Ginny and Perci and dragged them to their lair. Bill thought someone was playing a ruse on him. The idea was that a school like Hogwarts was housing a creature capable of doing these things to students. Someone from the school still needed to contact him. The letter that had been sent to him was from a student. It was addressed to Lord Weasley. While Bill was still getting used to the title, the idea that it carried any weight in protecting his family, he would take it.
Bill apparated into Hogsmead, knowing he would not be able to inside the Hogwarts grounds due to the wards. 'Safest place in Wizarding England, my arse," Bill thought as he rushed towards the Hogwarts path.
"Lord Weasley," a voice that Bill had become regular with called his name from behind. Turning around, Bill saw Lord Flint making his way up the path, his pristine black cloak flowing behind him as he walked.
They had had regular owl contact ever since meeting Lord Flint Erebus Flint at the meeting. They had spent a good deal at Gringotts with the goblins going over the bonding contract between their families. Bill was used to only some of the pureblood affairs. The Weasley name had been drug in the mud with their family's ideologies for the light and Dumbledore.
"Lord Flint," Bill greeted back as he bowed his head, "did you also get a letter about this morning's incident." Bill could feel the bite in his words as he thought more about how the adult staff in the school had not contacted him regarding his family's situation.
"I did indeed." The two began to walk together as they headed up the path and onto the grounds of Hogwarts. While it was the afternoon, the courtyard was empty, and the school's silence was eerie. The school kept the children safe after allowing his sisters to be taken. "You are projecting your feelings," Lord Flint drawled as he looked at the younger male. "Keep calm."
Bill felt like he was chastised by a father a bit when Lord Flint gave him those looks. Bill sometimes wished Aurthur would have taught them social protocol and magical control when they were younger. Bill was generally a cool-tempered man. He had worked on a job site with about eight other men in the hot Egypt sun. Bill would have to have a cool head about him. However, he was too controlling. He wanted answers, now before later, to know precisely what would happen and why. Bill was sure that was a product of his raising. The constant unknowing change, no routine, and no structure left Bill with a controlling problem.
Taking a deep breath, Bill gave Erebus a nod before they opened the doors of Hogwarts and walked in. Bill was not sure where they were supposed to go, but it would seem his accomplice did. Bill followed after as they walked towards the great hall. All the staff argued in the middle of the grand entrance.
"It would seem that the Hogwarts staff has neglected to inform Lord Weasley nor me about the dangers our Wards and Heirs are in?" Lord Flint relayed, his voice was calm and harsh as he raised a single black eyebrow making his face sharper.
"I do not understand where you heard such a thing from," Professor McGonagall's voice was shrill as she stood up straighter trying to convey the sense of being in charge.
"It does not matter how we heard it. Is it true? You have a creature running around the school petrifying students, and they have kidnapped both Ginerva and Percilla Weasley?"
The way the staff looked at one another told the two all that was needed. Bill could feel his anger build as he looked around at the ones in charge of keeping his siblings safe. "Where are my sisters?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm like Erebus.
"Mr. Weasley, unfortunately, I am unable to give you any details," McGonagall began, her voice clipped.
"Lord Weasley," Bill cut in his voice, growing a hard edge after being dismissed so flippantly. "So whatever right you believe you have is null and void when it comes to the Weasley children because while my parents are still alive, I am Lord of this family, so I get guardianship over everyone with the Weasley name." While Bill recognized he was repeating what Lord Flint had told him during their first meeting, it did not matter. Bill stood taller as he stared the older woman directly in the eyes.
Professor McGonagall was Bill's own head of house when he was in Gryffindor. She was the one who gave him his head boy badge. However, he was no longer in school. Bill was a grown man. A Lord of a house, he was going to gain respect.
"Unfortunately," Professor Snape drawled as he looked over at McGonagall and then back to Lord Flint, "We do not know where they are." The dark hair professor stayed silent as the commotion around him got louder.
"Are. You. Serious?" Bill asked as his eyes turned straight to McGonagall. "Who is trying to find out where my sisters are?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore left instructions," McGonagall began trying to express that everything was handled, only to be interrupted again by Lord Flint.
"From what I hear, Dumbledore is no longer the headmaster, the Board of Governors voted against him. You have been put in charge until it is said otherwise, but you're telling me you neglected to find your students because of instructions left by an overthrow Headmaster?" Lord Flint asked calmly, an eyebrow raised as he stared at the flustered McGonagall. "I would like to see my son. Now."
Bill stood there, his mind racing, 'where were his sisters?' 'Why was his family not notified? Would his parents have even come?" The idea that both his mother and father would have sat at the burrow and allowed Ginny and Percilla to suffer because they believed in Dumbledore sickened Bill.
"He should be in the Common Room," Professor Snape stated before leading the way. Bill needed to figure out what he was supposed to do. He felt rooted to the spot as he stared at his previous head of the house. He had thought that Minerva McGonagall was the epidemy of what a head of the house should be. She was strict, but she cared about her students. However, that wasn't the case, as she did not even care to know where his sisters were.
"If my sisters are not found safe," Bill began, his voice coming out far away, "I will personally sue this school for all it is worth and take your jobs."
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Percilla felt like her mouth was on fire as stomach acid rose up into her mouth. She was breathing. Her body felt sluggish when she rolled over her head, laying on the stone floor as she began coughing up bile. The fact that she was alive was the only thing she could think about. When Tom left her after their chess game, the room also left. She stood in darkness as anxiety began to eat away at her when she could not see her hand in front of her face.
Percilla felt like she was going mad. Being stuck in her own head with nothing around her began eating away at her resistance. However, the gasps' air coming into her lungs was sweet relief. Percilla could hear things around her, but she was not paying attention. Her body was sore like she had run the entirety of the world and back. Her head was pounding as sweat began to bead on her neck and face. It wasn't until she began to taste salt that she realized it was her own tears.
Curling in on herself, she wrapped her arms around her stomach as she cried and coughed up liquid. She had been stuck in a Horcrux, her sister had sold her to pay off her debts, and she was willing to make a vow to the Dark Lord.
Had she made it? Percilla needed to figure it out. She had never made one before, and it was not something so quickly discussed in the Weasley household. To be honest, at that point, Percilla was not sure she even wanted to be a part of the Weasley household.
"Percilla!" A loud call was heard. The pounding in Percilla's head spiked with the house noise causing her to cry out as she shielded her face from the stone.
She could feel a presence behind her, but she did not try to move as the cool of the stone lulled the debilitating pounding in her head. "Cilla?" A softer voice asked as a hand rested on her arm. It was warm and calloused. The thumb ran gentle circles on her cold skin. It was Marcus, Percilla was sure of.
"It hurts," Percilla whispered, her voice cracked like she had screamed for so long but also like she had not used it in years.
"I know, love. Let me get you out of here. Can you roll over here?"
Percilla knew that he was trying to remain calm. Marcus was a lot of things, big, strong, protective, great at quidditch, and intelligent. However, staying calm and level-headed was different from his strong suit. Percilla wanted to comply, but she was just so tired, and her muscles were so weak.
"No," she whispered, "move me." The silence was suffocating when she couldn't hear him speak anymore. Percilla's breathing began to speed up at the thought that she had been back under the spell, but then she felt the hand move, and another appeared at the base of her neck.
"I," Marcus began but stopped shortly, "I am going to have to touch your hair. It is still in the braid, but I will have to touch it to pick you up."
Touching a witch's hair was taboo unless another was given permission. The idea of brushing a witch's hair you were not bonded to could be a horrid offense. Percilla knew this; Marcus knew this.
"Please," Percilla whispered, her eyes opening a sliver even in the dim lights of the chamber, causing her head to hurt. "It's yours anyways, please, Marcus."
Percilla acknowledges his rough fingers touching her neck and the bottom of her legs before being picked up off the stone floor. Percilla kept her eyes closed but soon was pressed against a warm body. Her arms rose as she wrapped both arms around Marcus' neck for security. Percilla had always prided herself on being strong and not showing weakness. She had struggled and fought to have excellent grades and become school prefect all on her own. However, at this moment, she was scared and was glad that Marcus had come for her.
"Wait, Marcus," Percilla heard Harry speak quietly, but Percilla didn't move her head from Marcus' shoulder. "What about Ginny?"
Percilla wrapped her arms tighter around Marcus when he moved, "What about her? She can stay and rot down here for all I care. She betrayed Percilla." The hate was evident in his voice as he spoke, but Percilla wasn't sure she felt that way.
She has hurt more than anything. Ginny had always been her baby sister. Percilla had seen herself as Ginny's guardian growing up, but it would seem resentment grew on both sides. Percilla hated having to take care of Ginny. The idea of giving up her time to follow a toddler through the home to make sure she didn't hurt herself had made Percilla mad. However, she had done it because her mom had said to, and Percilla wanted to make her parents happy. Always tried to make them happy and proud. They had been proud when Bill got Prefect and then Head-boy badge. However, the pride slowly dwindled with each child. Percilla was tired of trying to make people who did not care happy.
"Yeah, but she's Percilla's sister," Harry's words sounded conflicted. Percilla groaned softly. She wanted to comfort the young boy, but she stayed put.
"If you want to carry her, then that's you," Marcus stated, giving no room for an argument. "If you remember, we must go up those stairs again."
Percilla could hear the sign before she felt the skin on her forehead. The slight stubble told her it was his chin, "Cilla," he whispered, giving her a soft moment only she gets to experience from Marcus.
"She took my wand," Percilla whispered back, cracking her eyes slightly, but it was blurry. "But she needs a healer too."
Marcus groaned low, and Percilla wished she could have seen his face, "you Gryffindors, I swear, can never just think of yourselves. Alright, Potter, you know the spell to levitate? Focus on her and lift her up. If you don't concentrate or enunciate your words clearly, it will not work." Marcus began to walk a bit before stopping and turning back around, "if you dropped her a few times, 'by accident,' of course, who's going to tell."
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The light from the girls' bathroom was far brighter than in the chamber. Marcus blinked a few times before tightening his grasp on Percilla, ensuring she did not leave his hold. A sense of relief flooded the boy when he noticed she was awake. While she needed medical attention, it didn't matter. She was alive.
Marcus turned around to be able to observe Harry bring in a floating Ginny. While she had not woken up from the interaction did not surprise him. Dealing with dark magic and artifacts was something that no witch or wizard could do for long before they began to hurt themselves. Ginny Weasley had spent months with the diary and would probably need a mind healer when it was all said and done.
"Close it, Harry," Marcus stated, and if he got a little satisfaction from watching Ginny hit the floor when Harry took his concentration off, he wouldn't say. However, they made their way toward the hospital wing with the chamber closed and the diary in Marcus' pocket.
The letter his friends sent to his father was a success when Marcus heard the demanding voice before rounding the corner. Marcus was, however, surprised when he noticed a tall red-headed wizard beside his father that was not Percilla's father.
"Cilla," Marcus whispered as he slowed his strides, "can you tell me who that man is?" Marcus was a protective man. While he did not know who the man was standing beside his father, he had Weasley red hair, which meant he was some part of her family.
Percilla's eyes cracked open a bit and blinked. She was able to get them opened wider as she looked around. Marcus was so happy to see those blue eyes once more. "Bill," she whispered softly before moving her eyes back to his own. "Marc," she whispered again, raising her hand to play with the overgrown hair on the back of his neck, "don't leave me."
"Oh goodness!" Madam Pompfry's voice called, cutting the others off. "Where did you find them? Oh my gosh, bring them, bring them."
Marcus wanted to warn the woman not to order him around like a house elf, but he bit his tongue. Percilla needed help; she was alive but still needed to be checked.
Marcus walked over and laid Percilla down gently on one of the beds, ignoring the fret of the teachers around him. Lord Weasley was having his own fuss when Marcus walked past. The man was calling his sister's name, which was probably not what the Lord had wanted to see. Marcus would meet the man later at a better time, a formal introduction.
"Marcus," Percilla said, cracking her eyes and holding her hand out for him to take. The feeling of his larger hand in her own calmed her nerves as Professor Pomfrey milled about running scans. "I need a headache potion, please," Percilla said weakly, "maybe an anti-nausea one." Percilla felt she would feel better if she could just be sick one good time, but it stuck in her throat like a snitch fluttering around.
Once those potions were down her throat, she could open her eyes without the pounding behind them to drown her out. Percilla didn't let Marcus' hand go the entire time. He grounded her. While she was being poked and wands waving over her, Percilla just wanted something stable.
Marcus waved away the persistent healer who wanted to check him for issues and Harry, who had migrated over to the top of her bed. Percilla had to stop herself from holding his hand as well. The problems they had dealt with during the chambers were emotional, and Percilla just wanted to talk to the two of them about it.
"Perci," she heard Bill say breathlessly when the healer left her bedside to tend to Ginny. Percilla's eyes softened slightly as she smiled at her older brother.
"Your hair is longer," she whispered, her voice box rough from disuse, "it looks nice."
Percilla couldn't help the small snort when she noticed her brother's eye roll as he came closer. Percilla also noticed Lord Flint following along, his face stern with sharp eyes. They were dark brown, Marcus' eyes. "Lord Flint," she acknowledged nodding her head slightly.
"Hello, Percilla," Lord Flint's elegant voice said as he came closer, "although I would have hoped our meeting would have been under different circumstances." Percilla gave him a slight nod and smiled. She had wanted that too. "Nevertheless, I am glad you are safe. Marcus, if we could talk outside in private?"
Marcus could feel Percilla's panic go up as he stood. It was heartbreaking to see her eyes go wide for him. Leaning over, he kissed the hand he held tightly, "I'll be back. Harry, stay with her." The younger boy jumped into action, taking Marcus' spot beside her as Marcus followed behind his father.
While Marcus was tall, his father had close to two inches over him, which always worked in intimidation. Lord Flint was not amused with his son's actions today, but he understood the need to protect their betrothed at any cost. "What happened?"
Marcus began to explain the day to his father. It took a while as the exact details of the chamber and the creature was more challenging to point out. The look of confusion, anger, and frustration was present during the conversation with his father. While it was not unusual emotions for Erebus Flint, being directed at Marcus was. Marcus pulled the diary out of his back pocket giving it to his father. "Harry made a vow with the Dark Lord to be brought back."
Erebus closed his eyes for a moment as he began to rub the bridge between his eyes, trying to calm himself down. "Okay," he gritted out, "anything else you've done this term you would like to tell me about?"
Marcus opened his mouth with a pained look, "um, I may have adopted Harry Potter, and he will have to come live with us. Legally, we went to Gringotts, and I signed the paperwork."
"You adopted Harry Potter?" Lord Flint questioned again, ensuring he had heard his son. With Marcus' nod Erebus' signed, "why?"
"Cilla wanted it," Marcus shrugged, not going to sugarcoat his reasoning. While he could have mentioned the muggles and the abuse, it was not his story to tell.
Lord Flint straightened himself up and stared at his boy, "so you've decided all this, son? You've adopted that boy, and you'll marry her after school." Marcus gave another nod which Erebus hated but accepted with the problems that had happened today. "Well, I better tell your mother. It's short notice, but she'll want to go shopping before the school year ends for Potter's room. But that does not get you off the hook. Everything you did today was reckless and dumb, Marcus, but I understand it, and we will talk about it together as a family when you get home from school."
Marcus gave a sharp nod of his head, "Thank you, father. Um, father, Lord Weasley?" Marcus asked, raising his eyebrow as he looked back towards the Hospital wings door.
Erebus gave a slight face before he corrected himself, "he could be useful. I've spoken to him on several occasions. We went to Gringotts to work on your betrothal contract. Why they didn't inform me of your choices then is appalling. A little brash and hard-headed."
Marcus snorted, which he knew was not becoming, but he was not in the mood for decorum, "oh yeah, I think that is in the DNA of a Weasley."