Wordless, by Penknife (PG)

[anenko.livejournal.com]

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Gen
Author on LJ: penknife
Author’s Website: Penknife to Paper
Why this must be read:

The Arthur Weasley of canon is often clueless, or comic relief, hardly the stuff heroes are made of. Here, we see that there are all kinds of heroics, all sorts of bravery. Arthur is a good man, and he does his best for his family (and *all* other families) in trying times. Penknife’s Arthur is a man worthy of respect.

At lunchtime, Arthur goes outside to eat his sandwiches in the park. It's still chilly, but he can watch the Muggles going by and toss crusts to the pigeons. It never ceases to amaze him the way a whole other world goes on that they never touch. He picks up coins and chips wrappers in the park and brings them back to his desk, turning them over like messages in bottles.

Some part of him thinks they deserve to know what's happened, what's happening. A woman goes by holding a boy and a girl by the hand; the boy looks to be three or four, the girl maybe six. The girl is skipping. Arthur wants to stop the woman and say "please believe me, I'm doing the best I can." He wants to kneel down and put his hands on the boy's shoulders and promise him that he will get to grow up.

Wordless