What if she's an angel?

Ron walked down the stairs quietly and glanced around. Molly was seated on the armchair in the cluttered living room, her gaze fixated on the large photo album in front of her. Slipping into the kitchen so as not to disturb her, Ron poured a glass of water for himself and sipped it slowly. Leaning on a wall, he looked at his mother with sad eyes.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" Molly turned around and saw her youngest son standing there. Smiling weakly, Ron walked over to her and settled by her feet, resting his chin on her lap. His eyes fell on the picture in front of her.

It was a picture of Ginny's sixth birthday. She was looking extremely messy with cake in her lovely fiery hair and icing and cake on her face. Fred and George were, if possible, messier than her. The three of them were laughing at one another's predicament and pointing out clean spots on the faces. Bill who had a plate of cake in his hands, on the other hand, was chasing a very disturbed Percy. Charlie and Ron were wrestling on the ground with whatever that was left of the badly massacred cake. Arthur was laughing the background while Molly looked on, obviously disappointed by the happenings in the Burrow that day. But there was an unmistakable pull on her lips, as if she was trying not to laugh.

"You remember this day, don't you?" Molly smiled softly. Ron nodded. Molly had tried to bake a cake Muggle-style but Fred and George found it a need to test drive their little gags in the cake itself. They had protested, saying that their jokes had to work under all conditions. After the tenth failure cake, Molly conjured up a cake in exasperation. The cake barely lasted an hour; the joy lasted throughout that day; but the memory lasted forever.

"How about this one?" Ron pointed to the picture on the nest page.

Charlie was playing with Ginny, tossing her high into the air then catching her as she fell. Fred and George were standing around, waving their arms in the air, trying to steal Ginny rather unsuccessfully. Ginny, meanwhile, was gurgling with laughter. Her eyes twinkled more brightly than ever while her favorite brothers continued with the throwing and fighting.

Ron remembered that he was the one who took the picture. After taking the picture, Fred jumped on him and the camera broke. Arthur walked out, fixed the broken camera for the millionth time in that day and promptly kept it.

"I never did try to understand her. I thought I did already but I was wrong. And now, it's too late... I can't turn time back and change it, to help her more... Maybe it's better this way too. Maybe she's happier," Molly sighed.

Ron's heart ached a little as he looked at the little bundle of joy. Just then, something wet landed on the back of his hand. He looked up and saw that his mother was sobbing as if her broken heart would never mend. Wordlessly, Ron got up and sat on the armrest of the chair, holding her tightly and kissed her forehead.

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Maybe she's an angel sent here from heaven
and she's making certain that you're doing your best
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Arthur bustled around the office and rubbed his balding head in frustration. The form had disappeared on him again even though it was on the table just seconds ago. A knock on the door startled him and he raised his head, only to bump it with the open cupboard door.

"Come in."

"Dad?" Percy's head popped into the doorway. Arthur nodded and Percy entered the office, closing the door behind him. The office was in a mess.

"That bloody form is missing! How am I to do the report? Fudge wants it by this evening and it's already half-done. I simply cannot find the time to start all over again!"

"Is this it?" Percy said, stooping down and picking up a fallen parchment. He handed it to Arthur who sighed in relief. Taking the form from Percy, Arthur sat down by the table and was about to finish it up when he realized that there was no space on his table at all. Percy shook his head and started to stack the parchments neatly on his father's table. Arthur grunted his thanks and busied himself with a quill and his work.

As he worked, Percy cleaned up the table for his father. Without looking up, Arthur then asked, "Why did you come in to look for me?"

"I wanted to see if you needed help."

"Oh, ok," was the short reply. Percy looked at Arthur. Age was visible on his father's body. Wrinkles lined the tired and flustered face and the wizard was definitely not as lively as Percy remembered him to be. He remembered the time when Arthur jumped on Lucius Malfoy in front of the bookstore. They had to buy books and it was Ginny's first year in Hogwarts. It was also the same year Ginny opened the Chamber of Secrets and unleashed the hidden beast in Hogwarts.

Percy shook the memory out of his head and continued packing the table. However, his mind kept returning to the time Professor McGonagall had told him that Ginny was trapped in the Chamber. He could not find it in him to believe even his own teacher. After accepting the fact, worries for Penelope vanished without a trance and all he could think of was how frightened his little sister would be. Percy felt so helpless then. He knew Ginny could not handle it. She never had to for her six brothers were normally there, standing up for her, fighting for her, taking care of her. But there was nothing he could do. Professor McGonagall had assured him that Lockheart would help but that detail only made Percy more worried. He did not like Lockheart at all. He could respect Lockheart as a teacher but found it hard to respect Lockheart as a wizard. Wizards did not go around bragging.

Percy then picked up a fallen photo frame on the table. The picture caught his attention. Arthur was carrying Ginny in his arms and both of them were sharing a private joke. Percy and Bill were in the picture too. They were behind father and daughter, poking one another in a way that siblings did and laughing too. His finger lingered on the little girl longer then he expected.

"You miss her? I miss her too," Arthur said softly. Percy looked at him and saw that Arthur had put the quill down. Then Arthur sighed, "I haven't been a very good father, have I?"

"Don't say that, Dad."

"It's true. I'm always so busy at work. It got worse after Ginny started school. I just didn't spend enough time with any one of you kids after that. And You-Know-Who was returning and with a vengeance. My little girl needed me. But I wasn't there for her. I wish I were. I wish I had sat down and talked to her after her trauma in her first year. I didn't. I left it to her mother. Oh, I regret it so much, you know?" Arthur said sadly. "I never tried to understand her problems. I never tried to understand any of my children's problems. It was always the office for me."

"Don't blame yourself, Dad."

"I do, Percy," Arthur said. He looked at the unfinished report in front of him, frowned, and then rolled it up. "This can wait for today. Fudge will just have to deal with the fact that I'm a family man. Come on, Percy. We're going home now. I need to spend time with the family. I need to be part of it, to help everyone."

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To take the time to help one another
Brother are you going to pass that test
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"You guys are awfully quiet in there. Can I enter?" Bill knocked on the twins' door. A muffled reply was heard and Bill opened the door anyway. George and Fred were bent over something on Fred's bed.

"What are you guys up to now?"

"Come here and take a look, Bill," Fred beckoned. Bill walked over and saw an open book. There was neat writing in it and he instantly recognized it as Ginny's writing.

"I don't think you should be reading her things."

"She knows we'd read her diary," George said as-a-matter-of-factly. He pointed to a paragraph. "This is her last entry and it reads here: Fred, George, you two are the biggest idiots I've ever met in my life. You're always poking into my things, literally as well. I know you guys just want the best for me, or yourselves at times."

George coughed and stopped reading. Bill took the diary over and continued reading from there onwards.