A/N: This is the epilogue to my story "Fallen from Grace." I'd like to dedicate this final epilogue… thingy, to Miss Piratess – she made the ghost thing cool….
Disclaimer: Not mine… hers. I think you all know who I'm talking about….
The Burrow hadn't changed since he'd last seen it. There was the same clutter, the same warmth, the same feeling of love. Percy was staring at the family clock, it had been there for as long as he could remember; his hand was still pointing to "Mortal Peril". He reached out a hand to touch it, momentarily surprised by the pearly white transparency of his arm before he remembered the events of the last few days.
He smiled grimly he wasn't in peril anymore. But he had been… the worse kind. But he'd made up for it now. He'd done everything he could to set things right. There was just one last thing he wanted to do. Something that he had to know….
Percy moved from the kitchen to the next room. His mother was pacing nervously, watching the clock with tears streaming down her face. She was waiting for news, Percy guessed. His father was sitting at the table, halfheartedly tinkering with a muggle telephone. His brothers and sister were nowhere to be found; Percy frowned, before looking out the window and seeing all of them sitting in the yard. It was eerily quiet. Even the twins were still and silent.
A knock came to the door, Percy tensed, this is what he'd been waiting for. Molly jumped at the sound then quickly walked over to the door and opened it. Dumbledore was standing on her doorstep, looking solemn. His mother paled but politely invited him in.
"I'm afraid I have news about your son, Mrs. Weasley." Dumbledore began before Molly held up her hand to quiet him.
"Just a minute. I know the others will want to hear this as well." She said, going to the window and calling in the rest of her children.
When all the Weasley's were finally present, Dumbledore cleared his throat before speaking, "I'm afraid that your son is no longer with us." He said gravely, "He was killed by the Death Eaters just this morning."
Molly gasped, her face going whiter, she swayed where she was standing. Gently Arthur led her to a chair. "Why?" She gasped, "Why would they do that?"
Calmly and quickly Dumbledore told them the entire story. He told them about Percy deciding to join the Death Eaters, then backing out after being forced to murder a muggle. He described in detail the conversation he had with Percy after he decided to leave, about the late night sessions they'd shared to discover the location of the Lestrange mansion, and finally about the werewolf settlement – how he'd been responsible for averting disaster.
Percy found himself blushing by the time Dumbledore was finished. He'd made him sound so… noble. But Molly seemed to appreciate it. She was still crying, but she didn't seem nearly as distressed.
"He left a message for all of you." Dumbledore continued, "Professor Snape was with him shortly before he died. He wanted you to know that he was sorry, and that he loves you. I sent Professor Snape to get Percy out of there, but Percy knew that to do that Professor Snape would be exposing himself to be a spy. He decided to stay, to sacrifice his life for the wizarding world. He showed true courage in the face of certain death. You should be very proud of him."
The Weasley's sat, looking shell shocked by Dumbledore's words. The only sound in the room was the sound of Molly and Ginny crying. Ron was awkwardly trying to comfort Ginny while looking ready to cry himself. Charlie stood for a second, looking lost before abruptly leaving the room. Percy remembered Charlie always had to be alone and outside before he could deal with anything. Bill was hugging his mother; Percy wished with all his might he could help her, that he could give her some kind of comfort.
Fred and George looked thunderstruck, "Who was it?" George asked hoarsely.
"Excuse me?"
"You said he was turned in by the same guy who… killed him." Fred said, his voice breaking with emotion, "Who was it?"
"I believe it was a young man by the name of Broder." Dumbledore said, "But I must ask you not to do anything…."
The twins exchanged grim looks before apparating out with a loud crack. Percy grinned, he felt very sorry for Broder all of a sudden.
His father… Percy looked around. His father was the one he was really interested in, the reason he hadn't moved on right away. He father had left the group to stand by the window. Tears were streaming down his face, but his eyes were shining with pride. "That's my boy…" He whispered as Percy came in closer, "My son…"
Percy breathed deeply, silvery tears shining in his own eyes. That was it. That was all he needed to know. Gradually he felt himself begin to fade.
"Look." Ginny suddenly cried, she was pointing at the clock – her mouth was slack with shock and her tear filled eyes were open wide. Percy spun around and looked at it. His own hand had moved from "Mortal Peril" to "Home." Percy smiled and kept his eyes trained on his family as he disappeared.
A/N: I can't believe this is over… it seems like I just started writing it! It has done it's job though… keeping my mind occupied so I wouldn't drive myself crazy with anticipation waiting for the next book, which will come out in exactly 12 hours my time. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Artemis Moonsong: Thank you so much for reading! It means a lot that you reviewed all of those chapters! I've really enjoyed reading your stuff so it means a lot that you liked mine so much. Thanks for the comment about Percy, I like making people reconsider their opinions about characters.
GMUXMenSoaps: Thank you so much for the complement! And thank you for reading and reviewing!
Mystical Witch: Yes…. Yes I am. I'm hoping that you are happy with this conclusion.
Rutu: Thank you so much for all your reviews! Like I wrote you feel free to write an alternate ending if you want. Thanks, by the way, about the ending. That's why I stuck with it despite the pleas for a happy one. It just never seemed right for me to end this any other way.
Xtin2000: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed this, and I'm happy I met you through this! I can't wait to read more of your story… so… send me stuff soon!
Zoran: Sorry, he did. But he's at peace right? I am probably going to be writing more stories about Percy… but I'm gong to wait to see what is going to happen in the next book… 12 hours left to go! Thank you for all your reviews I really appreciate them.
Thank you all for reading.
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