Weasley Family Fallout

Chapter 39: Uncertain Outcomes - Part 1

After a fortnight off work, it was back to the daily grind for Arthur. His demeanor at work gradually changed over the last weeks of the year. He was less strict and formal than he had been during the first several months of being department head. Now, at the start of the year, he was laidback and friendly, chatting with colleagues again and allowing department meetings to be more relaxed, all the while maintaining an air of authority.

This positive change did not go unnoticed by those who worked with him. In previous months, it was well-known that Mr. Weasley, as his subordinates called him, was not one to cross. But as the week progressed, they became more comfortable around him. Perkins even commented on how nice it was to see Arthur back to his old self. All in all, the department had become a much more pleasant place to work.

During the Monday department meeting the second week Arthur was back, someone knocked on the conference room door. When Arthur called for the person to enter, Ian stuck his head in.

"Arthur, I need to talk to you."

"I'm in the middle of a meeting. Can it not wait?" Arthur sternly asked. Even though he was in a much better mood, he still did not appreciate interruptions such as this. He had a department to run and respect to command, after all. If he let people - even his own brother - come in and interrupt, his underlings may take advantage of his lighter, softer personality.

"It's important."

"Fine. Wait outside, and I'll come talk to you in a few minutes." He looked back down at the folder in front of him.

Ian hesitated. "Arthur...it's Gramps."

Arthur's head snapped up.

"We need to go."

Arthur swallowed hard before looking to the man sitting to his right. "Perkins –"

"Go ahead. I'll finish up."

As soon as the door closed behind him, Arthur asked his younger brother, "What happened?"

"They got a lot of snow last night. Part of the roof on the barn caved in. Gramps went to repair it without using magic. Desmond and I went over for lunch, and when Desmond went to get Gramps, that's when we found him. He must have slipped. No one knows how long he was out there," Ian explained as they walked briskly through the Ministry. "It could've been minutes or it could've been hours."

Damn it! Arthur warned Gramps months ago that something might happen if he didn't start using magic to help out. Yes, Gramps was still a strong, healthy, able-bodied man, but he was no spring chicken. And it wasn't as if Gramps couldn't use magic; Arthur saw him use it on a daily basis, just not with farm work.

A knot formed in his stomach as a thought occurred to him: He and Gramps never got around to fixing the leak in the roof. What if that's what caused it to collapse? Gramps should have never been on that roof by himself. And it would have been Arthur's fault if the leak weakened the roof, because he had insisted Gramps not repair it without him, but he'd busied himself with work and then gotten swept away when Molly decided to give him another chance. He made time to help with chores, but repairing a hole the size of a Snitch would take much more time. They could have taken some time to fix it while building the extension, but it had slipped both of their minds.

"Where did it collapse?" Arthur asked.

"Somewhere near the front." Arthur gulped. The leak was near the front. "It's not massive. A few feet in diameter."

"Will he be okay?" Arthur asked.

Ian sighed, "Don't know yet."

Not much later, the two brothers walked into the St. Mungo's waiting area. It was easy to spot the crowd of redheads in the far corner – Well, all redheads except a bald wizard, a grey-haired wizard, and a grey-haired witch, who were Gramps's brothers and Gran. The sea of redheads contained Arthur's other four brothers and Gran and Gramps's five remaining sons.