Birthday Cake and Happy Endings

Time moves on and seasons change to follow in its footsteps. Soon a red haired clan was brought together to witness the first birthday of the youngest member. Percy had named him Arthur for his father, and watched as grandfather and grandson read some muggle storybook Hermione had brought as her gift. Percy still felt the distance between his brothers but was grateful to see their anger at him did not extend to his son. Except for the twins referring to him as Art instead of his given name, Percy could not complain in the slightest of the Uncles treatment.

His sister had extended her love and forgiveness to him as easily as she held her nephew. Arthur’s ability to stand and take his first steps could easily have come from the toy broom Charlie had sent from Romania along with a letter for Percy to keep his nose clean. Percy had rolled his eyes at the choice of language, but knew his brother had forgiven him. Bill had simply wrinkled his nose and questioned why any woman would have bred with him. The easy joke was punctuated by Bill slapping him on the back and yelling at Fred to get away from the, “only other good looking Weasley man.” Having taken custody of his nephew, Bill strode off to see what his current girlfriend Fleur thought of it.

The twins were around him the most. While they had been very nasty to him the first night he stayed for dinner, they did cool down and were now civil. However, Arthur could do no wrong and was quickly learning the identical men were easy marks for his little heart’s desires. A gurgling look for them was guaranteed to earn him a cookie or toy. Several toys had been invented for him purely in an attempt to make him happy. Percy was relieved to note that each toy was completely harmless and that George and Fred would rather lose their shop then harm a single red hair from their nephew’s head.

Ron was civil but short with him still. He would play with his nephew with reckless abandon as long as he thought Percy was not around, but would remain stiff and formal in his presence. Percy was bothered by this treatment but knew it was because Harry was his friend.

Percy sighed. Harry was not his favorite person. That had not changed in the last year. Percy knew to be civil for the sake of family harmony, but he could not bring himself to like the young man. He knew that Harry understood his feelings, and Percy was relieved to see that Harry respected the boundary between them and made no attempt to cross it. Harry brought a simple gift for Arthur, wished him a happy birthday and then kept his distance.

Cake was brought in and everyone wished his son a happy birthday. Little Arthur looked bravely at the cake before smashing a fist through it. Everyone laughed while Molly took pictures for the mantle. Percy helped pass out the cake and cleaned his son when he had eaten his fill of grandma’s delicious concoction. A nap was necessary for the birthday boy and Percy carried him up to his old room, where Molly had set up the nursery for her grandchild’s visits.

Percy shut the door and watched Arthur sleep, his lips occasionally making sucking sounds, as though he dreamed of bottles. He smiled wistfully, wishing his Penelope could have seen her son turn one. Fatherhood began the moment he took his son from his mother and although she allowed him to spend a few weeks at the Burrow, she made it clear that he was Arthur’s father and needed to be the one to take care of him. The only concession she made was agreeing to sit for him while he was at work. This arrangement continued even after they moved back to his flat, and oftentimes Molly fed them both dinner before sending them home in the evenings. Percy learned to appreciate both his parents more, and reconciliation came when he was able to acknowledge he had judged too harshly what he perceived as criticism to his promotion.

Percy quietly left the room and joined his family in the kitchen. The dishes had been vanished away to the cupboards and groups of people laughed or chatted quietly in small groups. A smile from Arthur to Molly made Percy look away to give them their moment. He knew that he and his family were far from perfect, but this party reminded him that each member of his family was more important to him then he ever realized.

The End

Thanks for reviewing folks. Yes I waited till the end to name Percy’s munchkin, to be fair I’m not sure whether Wizards get birth certificates so I went with the assumption that if nobody knew she had the baby then nobody knew what Penelope named him and so Percy was free to rename him. The end is abrupt, but still a work in progress family wise. This is not a forgive and forget scenario, this is a working it out over time situation. Given enough time I see Ron coming around and the twins being better behaved. It is easier for older siblings to forgive younger ones since they always see them for the mistakes they made growing up, harder for younger siblings to find out the older one isn’t perfect. The family will never be what it was, but perhaps, Percy will feel less persecuted by his brothers and in turn learn to relax his attitude about them. In this type of scenario, I do not see Percy forgiving Harry and Harry is not the type of guy that is going to press Percy for reconciliation. I think Percy is an arse of a character at times, but where family is concerned I really believe he would rise to the occasion if any of them was in danger. Otherwise I promise not to write another story unless I finish it before posting. I totally felt guilt in the time it took me to get back to this one.