The sky was on the verge of dusk, the gray-blue taking on one of the day's rare gentle moments.
On the street, pedestrians hurried along with their heads lowered, their steps brisk. No one stopped to admire the sky at this moment. After a day's running around, they were more eager to return to their warm homes and share the day's amusing stories with their families.
Eda stood at the street corner, still wearing the same dark green dress. Her beautiful figure stood out against the drab buildings around her. She was waiting for someone, someone who refused to go home.
The sky darkened another shade, and suddenly a young man with fiery red hair appeared at the street corner. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. His expression was desolate, and even his clean and tidy clothes could not conceal the exhaustion covering him from head to toe.
Percy Weasley, the third son of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
This summer, he had fallen out with his family and moved to London alone, pursuing the power and status he dreamed of. Every day after work, Percy would Apparate at this street corner and return to his little dwelling.
This street corner was very secluded. Even the most mischievous children rarely came here, but today Eda had been waiting here for him in advance.
Percy naturally saw Eda in the shadows, but he did not approach to greet her.
Lowering his head, Percy pretended not to see anyone and hurried away. But before he had gone more than a few steps, a tall man with an extremely thick covering of hair blocked his path.
"Sergei, move aside." Eda ordered from behind Percy. "Don't block the distinguished Mr. Weasley's way, lest he find an excuse to send you to Azkaban."
The heavily haired man stepped aside. He even closed his eyes.
The way was clear, but Percy did not leave. He turned around and looked at Eda. He said coldly, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be celebrating at the Burrow right now? Celebrating that you helped Harry Potter escape punishment."
"Oh, you still recognize me, and you still remember the Burrow." Eda said. "I thought the Minister's favorite would have forgotten all of that by now!"
Percy did not want to listen to Eda's sarcastic remarks, nor did he want to argue with her.
He turned around again and wanted to go home. No, a place with family was what truly counted as home. The place Percy Weasley was returning to was merely a house, an empty house.
"Let's talk for a couple of minutes, just the two of us." Eda said. "Just you and me."
"There's nothing to talk about." Percy said with his back to Eda. "I'm busy. I have a lot of things to do."
"Are you busy with the thickness of the bottom of the cauldron that's going to change history, or busy spying on your parents?" Eda asked irritably. "Or has the Minister given you some very important task?"
The sarcasm in her words was unmistakable. Percy's expression immediately became ugly, and he stopped in his tracks.
Crossing the filthy, narrow street, Eda and Percy arrived at a small café. The little roadside shop was somewhat dirty and somewhat messy, and the waiter's attitude was terrible as well.
Percy wrapped both hands around his coffee cup. His eyes never left the coffee as he said, "The coffee here is quite good. You should try it."
Eda had absolutely no desire to try the coffee in front of her. She was afraid she might drink something else along with it.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot." Percy said. "You're the eldest young lady of the Rosier family now. Your status has changed long ago..." It was a rather hurtful thing to say.
Percy took a sip of coffee and continued, "Go ahead. What do you want to talk about? If you're here to persuade me to go back, don't bother. It'll just waste both our time."
He obviously knew the purpose of Eda's visit, so he shut down that line of conversation immediately, lest things become unpleasant for both of them once it was brought up.
"We've known each other for so many years. Do you really think those words will work on me?" Eda looked outside through the window, where she happened to be able to see Sergei.
Percy sighed and said, "I'm not going back. You're all wrong. You've all been deceived by Dumbledore..."
"That is something I witnessed with my own eyes." Eda cut in. "Have you already forgotten what happened to Ginny? She's your own younger sister!"
Eda continued, "Or have you been blinded by this so-called power? Look at the power you have. It's only gotten you living in a place like this, being ordered around like a dog by an idiot!"
Percy desperately wanted to argue, but Eda was right. He really did live in this filthy, shabby place, and his position in the Ministry of Magic had not improved at all.
The only reason he had become the Minister's assistant now was because Fudge wanted to make use of him.
"This is only superficial. The Minister trusts me very much!" Percy said, although even he did not believe his own words. There was no confidence behind them.
He took a sip of coffee to compose himself, then continued, "I've only been in the Ministry for a short time. My political career has just begun. I'll become more and more important, and I'll get closer and closer to the center of power. I can do it."
Percy, the least humorous of all the Weasley children, was frighteningly stubborn.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had always treated Eda well, regarding her as their daughter, and Eda also regarded the Weasley family as her own. Eda did not want to make them sad, which was why she had forced herself to come and persuade Percy, hoping he could change his mind.
But looking at Percy like this, Eda's hopes were destined to come to nothing.
"Go back. They miss you very much." Eda picked up the coffee cup, but she could not bring herself to drink it.
"Go back for what? So Fred and George can tease and joke about me?" Percy also looked out the window. The blurry glass distorted his features, making it impossible to recognize what he originally looked like.
Percy continued, "I don't want to be like Dad, wasting my entire life stuck in some insignificant position. Making the children wear hand-me-down robes and use old textbooks. I know what you're going to say. I just don't want to live like this anymore. Is that wrong?"
"You're not wrong. But are Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wrong?" Eda suddenly slammed the cup onto the table. "You broke with your family, ran off to London alone, and pledged your loyalty to the damn Ministry of Magic. Do you think that means you'll get to live the so-called good life?"
Percy irritably scratched at his hair, making it look like a blazing wildfire.
He said, "You don't know anything! From the very first day I entered the Ministry, I was affected by Dad's reputation. 'Oh, you're Arthur Weasley's son.' That's what everyone who met me said!"
"I finally managed to earn Mr. Crouch's trust, but then he disappeared. He died! The people at the Ministry don't trust me. They investigate me." Percy spoke almost frantically. "All because my surname is Weasley, because I'm Arthur Weasley's son!"
Obsessed. Percy at this moment was a complete obsessive. He only believed in what he saw and what he thought.
The setbacks in his career had only intensified his ambition, causing him to attribute his failures to his background, to believe that his father, who also worked at the Ministry, was holding him back.
In reality, anyone in Percy's position would have undergone an internal investigation after Barty Crouch disappeared. It had nothing to do with Mr. Weasley's position, nor anything to do with his standing.
Percy himself simply could not see that. His ambition had blinded him.
"I struggled step by step to escape Dad's bad reputation, but what happened?" Percy continued. "He openly sided with Dumbledore, openly opposed the Ministry, and supported the claim that 'You-Know-Who has returned.' Did he ever think about me!"
"Bad reputation? Arthur Weasley?" Eda asked uncertainly. "That's the funniest joke I've ever heard! You're more humorous than Fred and George."
Eda was truly speechless! If it were not for his children, Mr. Weasley could have lived his quiet life with Mrs. Weasley like last time, ignoring the storm outside.
But things were different now. Mr. Weasley was the head of the family, and he had to think about his children. That was why he stood on Dumbledore's side. He did not want his children to live in a completely dark world.
"Mr. Weasley's decision was made after careful consideration. He did it for everyone's sake." Eda patiently said, "Voldemort has returned. That is an indisputable fact, Percy."
Percy suddenly laughed, his laughter loud and grating.
He said coldly, "Of course, I know. You saw it with your own eyes, after all! But so what? That isn't a reason for you to oppose the Ministry. Right now, you're like those bad students at school, feeling smug because you've broken the rules!"
"We have never opposed the Ministry of Magic. We oppose Fudge, who refuses to believe the facts." Eda said. She was now deeply disappointed in Percy.
Percy took off his glasses and threw them onto the table, then tiredly rubbed his reddened eyes.
"There's no difference as far as I'm concerned. Harry can oppose the Ministry because he has Dumbledore's support. You can oppose the Ministry too. You don't just have Dumbledore, you also have the Rosiers. But the Weasleys, we have nothing. All we have is the title of being pure-bloods."
Percy's voice was somewhat sorrowful, with a trace of determination. He continued, "You can all back down. You can bow your heads to the Ministry at any time. But the Weasleys can't. The Weasleys have nowhere left to retreat. I don't want to go on like this anymore. I want to climb higher, to reach a position where no one dares ignore me. For that, I will pay any price!"
Eda said bluntly, "Right now, you're like a baby who can only cry for milk, a coward who knows nothing but how to complain!" As she spoke, she stood up and prepared to leave. She was utterly disappointed in Percy Weasley as he was now.
"You make me feel like I don't know you anymore." Eda said coldly. "You've been controlled by your inferiority complex, your obsession, and your ambition. The person you are now is unworthy of the Weasley name. And from now on, please call me Miss Twist. Make sure you remember that!"
"If you can, take a little more care of Ron and Ginny for me. They're both still young."
Eda did not respond. She placed a banknote beneath the bottom of the coffee cup, then rose from her seat. She continued, "Goodbye! No, never again! Mr. Weatherby!"
With that, she strode out of the crowded, noisy Muggle café.
"Weatherby, huh!" Percy muttered. After putting his glasses back on, his eyes were no longer red.
He picked up Eda's untouched coffee and poured it into his own cup. He took a sip. It was very bitter. He reached out to add some sugar, but happened to see Eda looking at him from outside the window.
Through the somewhat blurry glass, Percy saw Eda moving her lips.
He could not hear what she was saying, but he clearly knew what his little sister wanted to express.
Percy Ignatius Weasley was the biggest fool in the world!
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