Weasley Family Fallout

Chapter 26: Promotion

The weekend passed without incident. Ginny and Harry worked the morning shift at the joke shop. Bill "needed" Arthur's help at Shell Cottage Saturday, and Percy invited him to breakfast Sunday. In all honesty, they were only trying to keep their father busy. George made sure Ginny and Harry only worked morning shifts during the week to ensure their dad wasn't alone in the evenings. None of the boys wanted Arthur to do something to disappoint their little sister. Hell, they might even kill two birds with one stone because Arthur always made it a point to be home right after work, no one saw him drinking, and his mood seemed to have lifted the tiniest bit.

The first few nights, the trio ended up eating out. Arthur had attempted to cook one night, but it turned out to be more like Hagrid's rock cakes. Harry took over after that. Bill, Fleur, George, Percy, and Audrey even came over for dinner one night.

The weekend had been rather enjoyable, even for Arthur. The full days and time spent with family kept everyone's minds busy. However, after Ginny and Harry went to bed was the worst for Arthur. It wasn't the sleeping on the couch. He was used to that. It was the deafening silence - the intrusive thoughts – the little voice that told him no one would find out if he drank this late. He resisted it.

On the other hand, Molly wasn't doing so well. There was practically no one at the Burrow. Ron and Hermione would not be back from Australia for a few more weeks. Charlie was working with Hagrid and preparing to move. Bill and Percy each only had a half a day to spare. She couldn't help thinking about what Arthur had told her when he left with Ginny. She wanted to make up with him, but she couldn't bring herself to. She wasn't ready to forgive him yet. If Friday night was any indication, he was still drinking. The dreadful loneliness won out. Molly invited Conner over both days.

The following weekend was similar, except that Charlie moved Saturday. Bill and Conner helped. Molly cooked a week's worth of food for her second oldest. Percy was stuck at work all weekend. Molly had thought Ginny or George would at least owl her by now. The only post she received was an update from Ron telling her it looked like he and Hermione would be gone longer than expected.

The next week and weekend passed without incident for Arthur. The kids kept coming around. As for Molly, Charlie would pop in for dinner and she would invite Conner over quite often.

Monday morning, Arthur received a letter from Kingsley requesting his presence at the end of the day. Due to the formality of the letter, Arthur couldn't help being nervous. He had only been intoxicated at work twice, and that was nearly two months ago. Maybe Kingsley would cut him some slack. Arthur wasn't sure why he would have waited this long to confront the issue, but there was no other reason he could think of that would cause this much formality. Usually, Kingsley would come to Arthur's office to chat, not the other way around.

Upon entering the Minister's outer office, Arthur looked to Percy for clarification, but Percy did not let on if he knew anything. Instead, he treated his father as another work colleague and informed the Minister of his arrival. Arthur was then let into the Minister's inner office.

Kingsley was pouring himself a drink at the small, ornate liquor cabinet in the corner of his office. He glanced over his shoulder and shot Arthur a smile. "Good evening, Arthur," he greeted.

"H-How are you, Kingsley?" Arthur stuttered, scratching the back of his neck.

Kingsley turned away from the cabinet "Busy. I've actually needed to talk to you for a while now. Other things have had to take precedence."

Shite! Arthur cursed himself, He knows. He's a good friend. He'll let you off with a warning. "Oh?"

"Yes, but we will get to that in a minute. Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?" Kingsley offered.