Weasley Family Fallout

Chapter 19: A Proposal and A Proposition

A Proposal and A Proposition

With Percy gone on his big, important date, Arthur had the flat to himself. If all went as planned, it would be late before Percy even returned. Therefore, there was no need to go spend a lot of money at a bar or pub. He could just pop out to the liquor store and save several sickles.

Arthur had been stretched out on the sofa and the next thing he knew he was flat on his back on the floor. Rubbing his forehead, he sighed then returned to his previous spot. The clock across the room read 9:23. He thought he had dozed off, but he had been asleep for nearly two hours.

Damn. I was supposed to be at George's twenty minutes ago, Arthur thought. However, he couldn't bring himself to make a move. Naps were supposed to make you feel better, weren't they? How come he felt worse than when he had nodded off then? Good news was that he was still drunk. Arthur picked up the bottle from the table and resumed his earlier activities. He could talk to George and Molly some other time.

It wasn't twenty minutes later that Percy's fireplace roared to life. Not being bothered to move, Arthur stayed sat on the couch as his son stepped through.

Sighing, George shook his head. "I should've known. You know, I was hoping you had just fallen asleep or just simply forgotten."

"I did fall asleep," Arthur pointed out, still not getting up.

Ignoring his father, he continued, "...No, I can't be that lucky, can I?" Pausing, George looked around the small flat. "Where's Percy?"

"On a special date with Audrey," was his father's simple answer.

"Does he know what you're doing right now?" George asked, not wanting to believe his older brother would allow something such as this to take place in his house.

After taking another pull of firewhisky, Arthur snidely replied, "Not unless he's psychic, which I highly doubt he is. The boy is just book smart. That can only get you so far in life. I'm surprised he's made it this far with such restricted intelligence."

"Dad, how could you say that? Percy's brilliant and ambitious. He's made it farther than any of us could in a lifetime. I mean, he has one of the highest positions in the Ministry. On top of that, he's letting you stay here regardless of your actions."

Arthur abruptly stood, having to balance himself as he did so. "Are you saying that I'm not ambitious? That I couldn't get to that position if I wanted to?"

A flashback of Arthur and Percy's row from a few years ago flitted through George's mind. Crap. He did not choose his words wisely.

"No! That's not at all what I'm saying. I'm just defending my brother since you decided to bad mouth him all of a sudden! But that's not why I came here. You gave me your word that you'd come over and help me with Mum tonight!"

"It's not a dire situation. It could wait another day or two. Something else came up and I couldn't make it." Arthur made to push past his son, but George shoved him back, causing him to lose his balance and fall back on the sofa.

"Old Ogden's is what came up. That shouldn't take precedence over your family! I'm not letting you go back on what you said. So here," George summoned a vial of Sober Up potion," you're gonna take this, clean up, and come with me."

"George, you can't -" Arthur began to protest.

"Take it or I'm telling Percy what has taken place here tonight," George threatened.

In another fifteen minutes or so, the two were ready to go. However, even after the shower, George had to use a charm to conceal the stench of firewhisky.