Confrontation
“Thanks again, Ginny.” Percy says through the telephone. Ginny still isn’t used to the damn thing, but Harry kept insisting that everyone was going to be using telephones soon enough and it was good practice to keep one in the flat. She doesn’t like how his voice crackles in her ear.
“No problem, Percy. Where would it be?” She says into the receiver, looking out of the window. It was barely December, and the snow seemed to be intent on burying the streets in a flurry. Percy had just called to ask her and Harry to stop by his house; Audrey was out of town for work, and Percy had dropped the twins off at the Burrow to spend the weekend before going into the office. Ten minutes into the workday, he got a frantic Floo from their mother, telling them him that he’d forgotten to pack Lucy’s favorite toy.
When she heard this, she winced. Lucy Weasley was very particular about her routine. She’d babysat once, and when the show that was always on at 4pm on the muggle television didn’t air, she genuinely thought she was going to have to tale Lucy to St. Mungo’s. Percy couldn’t leave, and with Audrey out of town, she’d been a last, desperate resort.
“Wiggles should be in the kitchen. Or maybe the den? Or one of the cabinets…” he trails off, voice sounding frazzled.
“We’ll find it.” Ginny reassures. “I’ll call when we give Wiggles to Lucy.”
“Thank you, thank you!” Percy exclaims. There’s some shouting coming from the background and some muffled swearing.
“Ugh. I gotta go. Stupid diplomatic events.” He hisses. “These Americans, I swear. Well, Kowalski’s okay, but everyone else…”
Ginny chuckles. “Just go. See you later.”
“Bye!”
The telephone clicks. Ginny sets the device down in its cradle. She’s not even sure how or why the Ministry of Magic had a muggle phone. Maybe Harry really was onto something about them.
Harry looks at her expectantly from the small kitchen table. Their flat was modest, probably more modest than it needed to be given Harry’s Gringotts account and her wages from Quidditch, but they had decided to live together somewhere smaller and more economical until they figured out if they wanted kids or not. Ron and Hermione were around their age and had already started, and Bill had his little ones, plus George’s… they were no stranger to children. When Ginny had brought it up, Harry had only mumbled some excuse. It had taken a lot of discussion to pry the truth from him; he wasn’t sure he’d be a good dad. Ginny had scoffed at the idea of course, Harry would be a lovely father, but he hadn’t been so sure. Now with her career taking off with the Harpies… it seemed like there was never a good time. It would be a big adjustment to their lifestyle.
Still, she loved their flat, with its scraped floors and busted windows. It had been the first place she was able to call her own outside of the Burrow. Harry always talked about how close there were to something called “the tube”, whatever that was.
“Well?”
She shrugs. “Lucy left Wiggles at home and Percy’s freaking out.”
It’s now Harry’s turn to wince. He had been babysitting with her during Lucy’s meltdown.
“Right. Let’s get Wiggles, shall we?”
He stands and makes his way to the fireplace. It’s smaller then what could arguably be called comfortable, but it got the job done. He takes a handful of powder and gives it to Ginny.
“Meet you there.”
Ginny crouches into the fireplace as the flame ignite and turn green. “Percy Weasley’s Home.” She says clearly, dropping the powder. In an instant, she’s zipped through heatless flames. She blinks, and their living room has changed into Percy’s. She steps out of the fireplace, her back cracking. Merlin, she was getting old.
Moments later, Harry appears. He’s got soot on his glasses. Ginny wipes it away with the wave of her wand.
“Thanks.” Harry says, looking around. Ginny’s pleased to see the coffee table she and Harry got for Percy’s wedding is still front and center. She’d be pissed off if it was tucked away like the dining china that Bill and Fleur had gotten them.
Harry takes out his wand. “Accio Wiggles!”
There’s no response, no flying stuffed toy. “It must be stuck somewhere.” Harry muses.
“Percy did say it could be in a cabinet. If the door is closed or locked…” she shrugs. They both know the limits of the spell. She sighs.
“Better start looking.”
Harry and Ginny walk down the long hallway, past Percy’s own telephone in it’s cradle attached to the wall and into the kitchen. She opens one of the cabinets and sees the old wedding dishes from Bill. She wrinkles her nose and shuts it.
They shuffle around for a bit, first looking at cabinets at eye level, and then the ones closer to the ground which Lucy could have gotten into. When that doesn’t work, Harry starts to stand on the tips of his toes to reach for the upper cabinets.
He opens the first one, and a stuffed rabbit with a pink bow tumbles out, along with a thrash of papers. It smacks him in the face, skewing his glasses.
“Found him.” Harry mutters, adjusting his glasses. He sets Wiggles on the table and bend down to pick up the papers.
“Excellent work, Harry. You found him with your face.”
“I try.” Harry says dryly.
Ginny walks over and bends down to help her husband pick up the papers. She gathers up a few papers with a bunch of numbers into one blue folder labeled ‘taxes’, then a few certificates about muggle science into a green folder labeled ‘vaccines.’ There’s a black folder next to Harry foot. She reaches for it stands up, her back cracking yet again. She examines it- the folder is blank with no label, no delicate cursive describing what its contents should hold. She’s about to flip it open to see if any papers were still in there so she could figure out what needed to go into it when her husband draws in a sharp, surprised breath.
“What the-,” Harry says suddenly. Ginny peers at him over the folder. He’s got the rest of the papers in his hand, but he’s frowning at whatever’s he’s reading.
“Narrative… The undersigned has probable cause to believe the above-named defendant…” Harry trails off for a moment.
“This is a muggle police report.”
Harry’s been through a lot. He knows this. He knows it from the way he sometimes wakes up screaming, or whenever he sees someone with vaguely brown hair and eyes wearing a yellow and black jumper, he finds himself back in a stadium in front of people screaming. He knows it when he closes his eyes and hears his mother’s screaming.
He’s not got a monopoly on suffering, but sometimes it’s damn hard to forget it.
So, when he read the words ‘Police Report’, it’s like someone’s hit the brakes in his brain.
“A muggle police report,” he finds himself repeating. “In Percy’s kitchen.”
“What?” Ginny asks, setting the folder down on the counter. “How do you know it’s a police report?”
Harry winces, the paper crinkling a bit in his hands as he thinks back to his early childhood. “The Dursleys. Sometimes the neighbors would call the police.”
His wife scowls. “I wish you’d let me-,”
“We’ve already talked about this, Gin. Besides, Dudley and I have a good relationship now.”
It was true. After a few years of therapy, Dudley had reached out to Harry out of nowhere and apologized. Over the past couple, they had repaired their relationship as cousins. Harry had even been invited to Dudley’s wedding next month. Vernon had not been.
“At least your uncle!” his wife protests unhappily.
“Eye for an eye, babe.”
“The world would be blind, yeah. But I’d be happy about it.” She grumbles. She’s had her heart set on hexing his uncle for the past ten years.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
His eyes wander across the page, skipping every other word or so as he skims it. Then he sees his brother-in-law’s name next to the word victim and his heart skips a beat.
“Wait, Ginny. I think this is about your brother. It says he was a victim of… common assault?”
Ginny walks over quickly. She squints at the paper in Harry’s hands. “What’s that?”
“It’s what muggles get charged with if they hit someone. Dudley was facing it once, but they dropped the charges later.”
“So, someone hit my brother? What’d he do to upset someone that much?”
They both look down at the paper.
I,Constable Andrews, (ID 859), responded to Carston Road, No 6, within the jurisdiction of City of London Police, in reference to a possible common assault. It should be noted, at the time of the incident, I was on official duty as a law enforcement officer of the City of London Police (CLP). It should be noted at the time I was driving a marked CLP patrol vehicle (0136) with attached spotlight, overhead light bar and reflective CLP markings. I was wearing a standard issue class C uniform that is navy blue in color with City of London Police patches on both sleeves, name badge on the right breast and CLP badge prominently displayed on the left breast. I was also wearing my standard issue basket weave leather duty belt with agency issued equipment around my waist, making me clearly identifiable as a law enforcement constable.
At approximately 2155 hours, I arrived at the above-mentioned location and made contact with residents within No. 6. Aadhya Singh-Able (other) answered the door and allowed me permission to enter the home. Within the home, I announced myself as a Constable with CLP and asked for the residents to step out. Two occupants of No. 6 entered, a white male and a white female. I immediately separated the individuals to speak to all parties separately. Singh - Able stated to having been sleeping next door, and did not witness any altercation, instead only hearing shouting, after which she dialed the police.
The male later identified as Percival Weasley (victim) provided me the following information in a verbal statement: The victim told me he returned home today from a work trip. Since he has been home, he and his wife Audrey Weasley (defendant) have been in a verbal altercation for multiple reasons. The victim stated he made multiple attempts to have leave the home, but she physically refused to allow him to leave. The victim explained the verbal altercation began escalating and the defendant began grabbing the victim by his arms using both hands to hold the victim. The victim made efforts to create distance such as pushing the defendant away to create distance. The victim created distance to protect and defend himself from the defendant. The victim advised me while the defendant was physical, she was being verbally abusive to the victim making unfounded statements that he was actively cheating on her and calling the victim derogatory terms (IE: bitch, cunt). As the argument escalated, the defendant forcefully grabbed the victim by his inner left arm and began to squeeze it. Observed minor bruising and a scratch to the inner portion of left arm. I also observed redness to chest area.
The victim stated moments later Singh -Able knocked on the door and informed them that she had called the police. Minutes later, CLP arrived. It should be noted, the defendant and the victim have been in an intimate relationship for approximately nine years, and currently both reside in the same home. There are two children in common. The victim was hesitant while speaking and stated he did not want to press charges. The victim refused to prosecute criminally and did not wish to testify in court. He refused to sign most of the domestic violence paperwork; however, he signed the victim's request for confidentiality. He was provided with a guide for victims and witnesses. He did not complete a sworn or written victim statement. I informed the victim that my priority is to protect everyone present from injury or further harm and asked him to reconsider. The victim stated he understood, however made it very clear to me that he did not wish for an arrest to be made.
After speaking with the victim, I made contact with the defendant to obtain her side of the story. I introduced myself as a constable with CLP and asked the defendant to explain what occurred tonight. The defendant provided me the following in a verbal statement: The defendant stated she picked up the victim earlier today and they had been arguing. The defendant claimed she was trying to fix things with the victim however it was not working. The defendant did not provide any further information at this time. Due to the aforementioned investigation, I determined the defendant to be the primary aggressor. The victim declined to press charges.
Important Information
Describe Relationship: The victim is the defendant's husband.
Children present? (If so, was child services contacted? Call takers name?): There were no children present during this incident.
Describe Injuries (Weapons used?): The victim received minor bruising to inner left arm. He also received a minor scratch to the same area.
Photographs (Take photographs of the victim, suspect and scene): A photo of the victim's injury was taken and submitted into CrimeData.
Other evidence obtained: My body worn camera was active during this incident. Footage uploaded to CrimeData.
If suspect was not arrested, why? (How and/or where did you attempt to locate the suspect? Is the suspect on probation? Was an arrest warrant obtained?): Audrey Weasley was not taken into custody for assault by beating. Victim refused to prosecute criminally.
Is there an injunction for protection order in place? There is currently no injunction for protection in place.
History of domestic violence? (Reported? If so, case number?): There is documented history of domestic violence Re: Case 3524DR, Case 7665DR, Case 9802DR. The victim and the defendant are the same in each aforenoted case.
“Holy-,” Harry’s fingers tremble a bit as he reads the last sentence. The report mentioned other cases. He all but drops the paper into Ginny’s hands and immediately begins to rummage through the folder resting on the counter, uncaring of the blatant violation of privacy. He finds another police report. And another, and then a third. All of them say the same thing more or less- Percy gets hurt by Audrey, a neighbor or bystander calls the police, and Percy declines to press charges.
Ginny hasn’t moved from her spot. She’s staring at the police report, dated from last month. The other three are spread out, going as far back as early summer. Harry knows that things must get really, really bad for neighbors to call the police. None of them were called in by Percy himself.
“There’s got be-,” he finds himself saying, but quickly shuts up. He had been stupidly about to say that there had to be at least dozens of incidents before someone finally called the police.
“I’m going to kill her.” Ginny says quietly. Harry freezes. He’d almost forgotten she was there with him.
He’s not sure about Percy and Ginny’s relationship. He knows that they had been closer when they were younger. He can distinctly remember Percy urging her to drink PepperUp potions during her first year and the whole mess with the diary.
He also knows that when Percy and Arthur had their argument and subsequent fallout, they’d basically gone non-contact for about three years, up until the final fight at Hogwarts. Percy had always been sort of an odd character. When he was younger, he’d thought Percy was a prick and terribly boring. He did still secretly think Percy was still boring (who can talk about cauldron depth for three hours straight?), but no longer thought he was a prick. He had just been doing his duties and what he thought was right, even if it was for the wrong people. Harry knew almost better than anyone what working for the right reasons, but the wrong people was like.
He saw Percy occasionally, at reunions and parties and holidays. He’d always seemed happy, with Audrey and the then the girls at his side. How long had this been going on? When Percy was handing out presents at Christmas, was Audrey hurting him? Was he hiding the fact that he’d been hurt? When they left, did Audrey scream at him for hours? Did she hurt the girls?
Just what else is Percy been hiding?
He’s mind’s whizzing like a wizbee and he forces himself to look at his wife. She’s got an odd look on her fac, almost serene looking if not for the dull glint in her eyes.
“I’m going to kill her.” Ginny says again. She sets the paper down, picks up her wand, and starts to walk to the fireplace.
Shite!
“Ginny,” Harry says, quickly stepping in front of her, raising his hands to keep her from hunting down her sister-in-law and demanding trial by combat.
“What?”
“She’s-, you can’t-,”
“The hell I can’t!”
“You shouldn’t. Besides, Percy said she’s out of town. You don’t know where she is.”
Ginny blinks.
“Good point. Let’s call Percy and ask where she went.”
“No,” Harry says. “Think about this. Percy probably doesn’t want anyone to find out, and you killing his wife would be highly frowned on by the law. And me. And your mother, for sure.”
“She’d be fine with it if she knew.”
“But she doesn’t, Gin. And it seems like no one does. I’d be very upset if you got locked away in Azkaban.”
Ginny frowns openly now, her eyes stormy. “I’m going to kill her.”
Harry runs a hand through his hair. “Ginny, please. Let me talk to him. He probably loves her a lot and he’d never forgive you.”
“She’s hurting him.”
“I know,” Harry sighs sadly. “Trust me, I know. Let me talk to him first before you do anything, okay? I understand. It’ll be a heck of a lot more effective.”
Ginny’s brows furrow as she weighs what Harry’s said. He can almost hear the gears turning as she thinks. Finally, she releases some of the tension in her shoulder.
“Fine. You can talk to him first.”
“Here,” Harry says, pushing the stuffed toy into Ginny’s hands. “Get that to Lucy. Poor Mum is probably up the walls right now.” He gathers the papers together and slips them into the black folder.
“I’ll go to the Ministry. I know we’ve got that diplomatic envoy this week, but I’m sure Percy can spare a few minutes.”
Ginny smiles at him. “You know, Harry I think we should have children. You’ll be a great dad.”
Harry’s heart thumps in his chest.
Maybe, maybe.