8 April '86: Someday We'll Heal: Weasleys

[Fabian Prewett]

8 April 1986

the morning after this and this

He didn’t sleep a wink.

Tossing and turning in the too small for him bed, Fabian was distraught. The way he’d left things with Kyra was eating at him, the same way the way he’d left things with Arthur was eating at him. And everything from his past was bubbling to the surface, threatening to spill over. It’d been five years since he’d felt this strongly about the Bones death, but he couldn’t help but think about them. About how he’d betrayed them by promising to let one of their murders go free. A fresh vow between him and Carrow, but it wasn’t something he regretted doing. He could have found another way, he was sure of that. He could have found something to drag the Carrows into the Ministry for, but he didn’t have that kind of time. Not now that he had found Kyra and Griffin.

Giving up on sleep, he tossed the blankets off him, pulling on a shirt before he made his way downstairs. The kitchen was quiet for now, but soon it would be bustling with children for breakfast. With a wave of his wand, he started the coffee going and took a moment to look in the fridge for something to start cooking. Making breakfast was the least he could do to get back in the good graces of his family. Before long, he had eggs and sausages cooking, and was sipping on coffee when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He wasn’t sure he was ready to face Arthur after their argument last night, but he also wasn’t sure he wanted to face Molly either - because he wasn’t sure how much Arthur had filled her in on. Regardless, he poured another cup of coffee, turning to hand it over with a smile.

[Arthur Weasley]

Arthur wanted the Burrow to be a safe space for everyone in their family. From the aunt that drove him batty to the brother-in-law whose surprise visit had brought a mixed bag of tidings, he wanted to welcome them all in. To ensure that they knew they were safe, loved, and cared for within these mismatched walls. But his conversation with Fabian last night had not gone entirely according to that wish. Finding out the truth about his history with Kyra Thatcher, that he had a son with the muggle woman, that he'd modified years of her memories, including the Bones family's death - Arthur didn't want the truths Fabian had finally felt compelled to share to come between them. He had responded out of old angers and fears, and was trying to loosen his hold on them after this fitful night's sleep. He is a good man who did a terrible thing. He’s realized his mistakes. He came to you for help. He is trying to do better, for her and their son. 

Arthur had kept their conversation to himself upon going to bed, letting Molly know that her brother was having a difficult moment and would stay the night, that they could speak to him in the morning. The story was not his to tell, and he doubted that Fabian would try to keep it in when face-to-face with his sister. But after hearing the door to their house open a few more times during the night, he hoped that the young man would indeed be there come the daylight. And so, after checking in on the children on his way down - Bill and Charlie enjoying the benefits of the last days of their Easter holiday by sleeping in, Percy brushed and dressed and reading while Ron tried to leave his bedroom without clothes - and asking they stay upstairs while food was prepared, entering the kitchen to the smells of coffee and breakfast in progress confirmed that he'd made it back. Arthur took the mug offered by his brother-in-law, sipping as he took in the other's rather rough appearance.

"I've not yet told Molly," he breached quietly. "I can keep the children occupied when you do. Where did you go last night?"

[Fabian Prewett]

He’d play some Quidditch with Charlie today, as he had promised, and he was sure Bill would want to get in on the fun. Maybe even Percy would join in. First, he was going to help degnome the garden, as he watched through the kitchen window to see them wandering about. He was sure Fred and George would have some new antics they wanted to show him (and truthfully, the twins had a soft spot in his heart since he was a twin himself), and he would make sure to spend plenty of time with Ron and Ginny. He knew that spending time with his niece and nephews didn’t make up for the trust he had broken between him and Arthur, nor the trust between him and Kyra. But it was easier to think about the kids here than to think about the fact he might not ever see his son again. Or the fact that very likely, he still had to break this news to his sister. And he was positive that Molly was going to be absolutely furious with him.

It was Arthur who had come down, and that was a small relief. But at his question, Fabian took a moment to keep an eye on breakfast instead of looking at his brother-in-law. He needed to tell someone, in case Carrow tried to get around their vow, but he also couldn’t break the vow while telling Arthur. Luckily, that would be easy enough to do. He had chosen his words as carefully as possible. “I went to the Wyvern - not to drink, to see Alecto Carrow,” he said quietly, leaning back against the counter as he sipped his coffee. “She...she’s the reason I didn’t go back to Kyra five years ago. Kyra and I had gotten married before I left.” More big news that he hadn’t shared with his family because between the small wedding at the Ministry and his choice to leave, there had hardly been a week. “Carrow found out, threatened her life if I went back to her. I didn’t know about Griffin then.”

He did have to wonder if Carrow had known about Griffin before he was born and if it was part of the reason she had threatened Kyra’s life if he returned to her. It didn’t matter now, he knew, Kyra and Griffin were safe. He’d spend some time in the next few days making sure the wards around Kyra’s siblings and parents were still up. He’d write to Roderick and Amelia, let them know what was going on - they hadn’t seen Kyra since he had left. But he did wonder if their other friends that knew Kyra had known this the whole time and had neglected to tell him. “I made an unbreakable vow to ensure their safety, and in return assured Carrow’s safety from the Ministry for her crimes.”

[Arthur Weasley]

Arthur drank the coffee without tasting it, eyes trained on the man as he reluctantly pulled back the layers of this mess. Knockturn Alley, to meet a Death Eater, who had threatened his wife, and now had made an Unbreakable Vow to ensure their mutual survival? He felt for Fabian. Truly, he did. Of all the rocks and hard places to be stuck among, nothing about the situation was black-and-white, nothing about it was easy. But he couldn't help but feel that what Fabian had done was the most impulsive response, and one that could have far-reaching consequences that Fabian would have thought of, considered - and said to hell with? You know who it is you've unleashed. How could you? He couldn't know what solution they could have come to together, but surely, surely, they could have determined something less damning.

"Where's the line, Fabian? The line you won't cross? Because I'm looking for it, as hard as I can, as I try to understand," he seethed through gritted teeth, mug slammed to the counter. "The consequences - " Arthur abruptly cut himself off, undeniably hot under the collar and not wanting to say something he'd regret, to push the man out of their home when it was clearer by the moment that he needed them. He knew he wasn't his brother-in-law, and his brother-and-law wasn't him. They had had their own experiences through the war, their own means of surviving, their own choices to make when their backs were against the wall. But when You-Know-Who had isolated him, made offers and threats hand-in-hand, he'd said no. The decision hadn't been made lightly or without consequence, and the war had changed them all. But if given the chance to do it again, he'd make the same choice. For uncountable reasons, but at the top of the list - Molly still recognized him. He still recognized himself. How much more of himself could Fabian afford to give away and still say the same? Had that day already come and gone? Looking at him - seen too much, beaten down, but still trying, still grasping, still hoping - Arthur could catch a glimpse of the spirited lad he'd met half a lifetime ago. But only just.

With any luck, this next chapter would bring him peace. A life with his son, the woman he'd once loved, where they could sleep soundly and not look over their shoulders anytime they were on the wizarding side of the street. And Arthur hoped that this would be their reality one day. He hoped dearly, fervently, that this would work out in their favor. But the what if's could hardly be ignored. "I understand the instinct to do everything in your power to keep your family safe. But what you've just sacrificed, what this protection means for her? I suppose we can only hope that she keeps her side of the Vow? That she doesn't take this as a free pass to go back to her old ways? That she's not mad enough to lose her own life if it means she gets to have the last laugh and take theirs?"