Title: If You Can

Author: Thea Luthor

Disclaimer: Duh, don't own 'em. Just write vicariously through JK

Author's Notes: Well, here it is, finally, with about 50 days to go before the real thing.  I hope you enjoy. Just a side note, as I write, I listen to music and there were several pieces that kept coming up over and over again. In a way, it was as though I had compiled my own "If You Can" Soundtrack. And every character has a theme song. I will list their themes at the beginning of each chapter. Let me know if you agree/disagree, or can suggest something else. OH! Inner dialog is in italics. That is kind of important to note.

The summer heat beat down on the house in Tunbridge Wells (Kent). Hermione Granger pushed her annoying hair off her face as she put the last of the things she thought she would need in a knapsack. What exactly a seventeen year old girl needs when she heads off with her two best friends to battle the forces of evil, she wasn't sure, but she figured that she had covered the basics. Wand, a few change of knickers, tooth brush, dental floss, some books, moisturizer, and sunscreen. That should do it, she thought and looked in the mirror.

"Mum, Dad, I have some…news," she said to her reflection, rehearsing what she would say to them, how she would tell them that she wasn't going back to school. She hated leaving before graduation, but if Harry and Ron were hell bent on chasing after Voldemort, she had better go with them to make sure they didn't do anything foolish that would get themselves killed. There was enough of a chance of that happening without being foolish.

Her frown at that thought was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. She quickly walked down the stairs, wondering who would be calling when her parents were out. None of her friends could be at her house. She opened the door and nearly slammed it shut again in surprise.

There, standing on her doorstep, was Percy Weasley.

"Percy!" she said excitedly, "come in, come in. What are you doing here?" She took his arm and practically dragged him inside. He refused to be dragged.

"Hermione," he stopped her, disengaging their arms, "this isn't a social call." She immediately stepped back from him and felt for her wand.

"What are you doing here then?" she hated the fact that her voice betrayed how afraid she was now.

"I am here on official ministry business. May my associates and I come inside?" he gestured towards the two goons that flanked his shoulders.

"Sure," she replied, moving out of the way. She led them into the kitchen and sat at the table. Percy sat across from her, while the two "officials" stood against the wall. He placed a small black box in the center of table between them.

The decision for Percy Weasley to be assigned this particular task was not made by the man in question. Like so many other things in life, it was handed down from on high. Scrimgeour and his flunkies at the Ministry were not stupid. They realized that Harry, and his accomplices, would decide to go after Voldermort alone. They simply didn't know how, when, and exactly who would be going. When Granger failed to reply to an assignment from Professor McGonagal, the gig was basically up.

Percy had been chosen because he had the closest relationship to those involved, namely Harry, Hermione, and his brother, Ron. Always looking to forward his place within the Ministry, young Weasley was more than happy to "volunteer" to be the government's emissary. He understood that playing nice with the boys in charge couldn't hurt, regardless of how short their time in power.

While he did have many self-promoting reasons for accepting this task, he wasn't being completely selfish. If Scrimgoeur was right, then his brother and Hermione, whom he had always been fond of, despite everything, would be walking into danger without any defense. If Harry wanted to sacrifice himself, that was fine as far as Percy was concerned, but Ron and the girl were a different story.

It had been a long two years since he had turned his back on his family. While he always put on a brave and haughty front, Percy secretly missed his parents and siblings desperately. Breaking away from such a close family was like hacking his arm off, and some days the pain was excruciating. The assignment he had been given was a win-win for him. He would look good to his bosses AND to his parents and older brothers, who would be quite pleased that he had single-handedly prevented Ron from overtly placing himself in harms' way, at least for the time being. What the kid did after graduation was his own affair. His hope was that preventing Ron and the others from running off would put him back in at least some of the other Weasleys' good graces.

"Can you state your name please?" He asked. Hermione realized that the device was some type of recorder.

"What is this about?" she countered.

"Just please state your name."

"Hermione Jane Granger"

"Are you a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"At present I am on vacation."

"A yes or no will suffice." Hermione swallowed. What if they had a lie detector?

"I don't know." She answered as honestly as she could. Percy took a breath.

"Did you receive a commendation letter from Headmistress McGonagall inviting you to be Head Girl?" Tears pricked Hermione's eyes when the word "headmistress" was attached to McGonagall's name. She blinked them away.

"Yes."

"Did you answer it?"

"No." she said lamely. Percy visibly softened. He leaned closer to her.

"Hermione, you intended to drop out of school, didn't you?" He gave her a sympathetic smile that made him look so much like Ron it made her heart ache.

"Not really 'drop out,'" she evaded, "more like a 'sabbatical.'" He sighed.

"I understand that you are very upset about Dum…the events at the end of last term. But it is in everyone's best interest for you to go back to school." She hesitated, a rebuttal on her lips that would give Ron and Harry away. "I know what Harry's planning. That's why I'm here." He became all official again, silently praying that it would distract her enough to keep her from calling his bluff.

"Miss Granger, by order of the Ministry of Magic, you are required to attend Hogwarts for your final year. You are to remain at this residence unless Ministry officials, and ONLY Ministry officials arrive to escort you to your intended destination." He leaned forward again. "You are so important to the Ministry, Hermione, more than you realize. We just want to keep you safe."

"What about Ron and Harry?" she retorted sharply.

"We'll take care of them too. To be honest, we need you three alive and in one piece."

"Do you really think that you are going to stop the two of them from doing whatever it is that they have their hearts set on?" she gave Percy a pitying look.

"You leave that to me. In the meantime, get ready for your last year of school. Being Head Girl is a great honor, you know, and a lot of fun." He smiled at her when she made a face.

"What about Voldemort?" Finally, the two goons shifted nervously.

"We have a plan for that, don't you worry. In the meantime, we'll be watching the house, just in case." He pushed away from the table and started to leave.

"You should write your mother, Percy," she said as he was nearly out the door to the kitchen. He sighed. "She misses you."

He looked at her over his shoulder. "Where do you think I'm going right now?"

The Burrow looked just as he remembered it, approaching from the road. The little path that led to a small wrought iron gate. The foliage that his mother had such a gift with, growing nearly as fast and as abundantly as her children. He had asked his associates to wait in the village. With so much history, he wanted to do this alone. He stood at the gate and took a deep breath, not quite ready to go in just yet.

It amazed him that no one was around. All the children were grown up now, so there was no impromptu quidditch game going on in the back yard or shrieks from the recipient of one of the twins' antics. The person he most needed to see was there though, that's all that was important.

He saw his quandary emerge from the kitchen door, taking some rubbish out to the heap. Had he really gotten so tall? Where had those shoulders come from? Percy swallowed nervously. His baby brother at present probably outweighed him by at least twenty pounds. If he decided to be difficult, which was inevitable, things could get very ugly, fast.

"Ron," he called, opening the gate and stepping within the bounds of the house. Ron froze, and Percy realized that he was trying to place the voice. He hadn't been away for that long, for Merlin's sake! Ron turned around. When he saw his brother, Ron felt as though the wind had gotten knocked out of him.

"So it is you," was his greeting, "what do you want here?"

"We have to have a talk, Ron."

"Oh, really? Is this going be another lovely little chat where you tell me to turn my back on my family, my friends, and everyone I love?" Percy felt his temper get kindled, but refused to take the bait. He gave a tired sigh.

"Did you tell them that you were running off yet?" he asked, trying to throw the younger Weasley off guard.

"How did you know about that?"

"Hermione told me." Now Ron looked ready to choke the life from him. Percy had forgotten. Dropping her name had been the wrong tactic.

"What have you done to her?" Ron took a menacing step forward.

"Nothing, nothing! You can owl her yourself in ten minutes time. I just have to talk to you. I'm giving you some added responsibility, so to speak. Can we go inside?"

"Fine, but hurry it up. I don't want to be late for work."

After seven minutes, Ron was feeling less angry and more worried and scared. How had they figured it out? Had someone heard the trio at the funeral? Had Harry told someone? Oh, wait, Percy was talking again…

"So I am leaving him in your charge. Harry will listen to you, Ron. All you have to do is keep him at school and out of trouble. He will have plenty of time to battle…'He-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named.' Trust me."

"So you want me to keep Harry Potter, the kid that has been told he is the savior of all and sundry, at Hogwarts, where he saw Dumbledore murdered, for ten whole months? You're batty!"

"He doesn't have a choice, Ron. And neither do you."

"Well, that's nothing special; I've never had much of a choice about anything," Ron huffed.

"We'll be bringing Harry here in two days. You are to keep him out of trouble for the rest of the summer as well. But I can't imagine he would want to hurt Mum and Dad, so he will most likely behave."

"What about Hermione?"

"What about her?"

"When is she due to arrive?"

"She won't be."

"What?" this was asked with savage calm.

"There is no reason for her to be here. She will be perfectly safe at her home in Kent. Besides, it would be better if you two didn't get your hands on her. You're a bad influence." Percy thought that sounded perfectly reasonable.

Ron, however, did not.

"No, no. That's unacceptable." He sat back from the table and crossed his arms over his chest, adopting a most stubborn pose.

"I'm sorry, but you are hardly in the position to make demands."

"Aren't I? You come in here and give me all these extra little jobs and then you tell me that you are going to keep one of my best friends away for the whole summer 'for her own good?' What about Bill and Fleur's wedding?"

"I didn't think that she would be invited."

"She's my guest."

"Oh, I see." He hadn't realized that they had progressed that far. Hmm. "Fine, we will bring her for the wedding."

"And then she can stay for the rest of the summer. It's only two weeks after that until term starts anyway."

"Ron…"

"That's the deal, Percy. Take it, or leave it." Percy sighed and held out his hand. Ron took it and smiled smugly, savoring his victory.