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𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘𝐒 and Hermione plus Harry arrived at the Burrow safe and sound, a red eyed Molly approached them with a newspaper titled "WORLD CUP DISASTER" with a black and white photograph in her hands.
Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!"
"Arthur – I've been so worried – so worried –"
Molly flung her arms around Arthur's neck, and the Daily Prophet fell out of her limp hand onto the ground.
"You're all right," Molly muttered distractedly, releasing Arthur and staring around at them all with red eyes, "You're alive. Oh boys –"
And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together.
"Ouch! Mum – you're strangling us –"
"I shouted at you before you left!" Molly said, starting to sob. "It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh Fred... George "
"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay," said Arthur soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house. "Bill," he added in an undertone, "pick up that paper, I want to see what it says –"
When they were all crammed into the tiny kitchen, and Hermione had made Molly a cup of very strong tea, into which Arthur insisted on pouring a shot of Ogdens Old Firewhisky, Bill handed his father the newspaper. Arthur scanned the front page while Percy looked over his shoulder.
"I knew it," said Mr. Weasley heavily. "Ministry blunders... culprits not apprehended... lax security... Dark wizards running unchecked... national disgrace... Who wrote this? Ah... of course Rita Skeeter. "
"Who?" Marina asked. She wasn't interested in the Daily Prophet.
"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!" said Percy furiously. "Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans –"
"Do us a favor, Perce," said Bill, yawning, "and shut up."
"I'm mentioned," said Arthur, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he reached the bottom of the Daily Prophet article.
"Where?" spluttered Molly, choking on her tea and whisky. "If I'd seen that, I'd have known you were alive!"
"Not by name," said Arthur. "Listen to this: 'If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.'
