Ch 10 pt 1

Ah, Mr. Weasley!" Gilderoy stood beside his table in the Ministry cafeteria as the other Wizard approached. "So, good of you to agree to meet with me," he continued. "I am, as you know, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, and Hogwarts' most beloved Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor."

Arthur shook his hand and returned his beaming smile with a small one of his own.

"I know you are a busy man, Arthur. May I call you Arthur?" The wizard nodded agreeably. "Oh, good, thank you for that honour. Call me Gilderoy." They settled back in their chairs. "I hope you don't mind, but I ordered dinner for both of us. It's humble fair, I know, but filling, nonetheless, right?" Actually, it was the most expensive meal on the menu, with a small bottle of wine for drink. A rich dessert was included.

He waved his wand and the noise level around them dropped significantly. Walden Macnair, seated at the next table, seemed relieved as the privacy enchantment went up. "There now, no eavesdroppers," he said happily. "I asked to meet you to talk about your children. I don't normally do things like this, who am I to tell another how to raise their children? After all, I am one of England's most eligible bachelors." He smiled winningly at the curious Wizard. "But I like your boys and wish to help you."

Arthur was looking a bit alarmed.

"They aren't in any trouble, don't fear!" he added jovially. "I just have some observations for you to think about." The Weasley head of family relaxed.

"Percy, first. Percy is . . . well there's no easy way to say this. He's a right prat. He worships authority and doesn't understand that rules are guidelines and not carved in stone. That there are nuances to any situation, mitigating factors, and damning facts. That you can be within the letter of the law and still be completely wrong. That you can obviously break the law, but still be right to do what you did." The red-haired man was staring at him. Gilderoy nodded firmly. "You need to sit down with the boy and have several nice long chats about the reality of what it's like in the Ministry. How many will exploit a young man's naivety and dedication and then throw him to the wolves when it suits their purpose, denying they even know the boy. Use many real-world examples that you've seen in your career. Tell him what warning signs he needs to watch for in his superiors and colleagues to keep himself safe. Make sure he understands that the politician that pats him on the back is concealing a knife in that hand — and that in the Ministry everyone is a politician, even the interns." He stared back at the Wizard levelly. "If nothing is done, you will see him turn on his own family rather than think for himself and see that his superiors not only are wrong, but frequently pretend to believe things they know are untrue and hurtful."

Arthur cleared his throat, "Surely you exaggerate?"

"Sit down and talk with the boy, and you'll see the truth of what I say. After all the time I've spent travelling the world, and all the Wizards and Witches I've met during those travels, well, I've become a very finely tuned judge of character. I am rarely wrong. I would like to be wrong in this instance, but I doubt I am.

"Percy's an adult and he's not going through a phase. Unless you help him, I foresee nothing but misery for him and his relationship with your family. And he is a splendid young man with a bright future before him. He needs to learn that kowtowing to your superiors to curry favour is a short-term strategy that will yield long-term difficulties. And once you lose your integrity, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to regain it. And that someone offering him an unearned promotion to responsibility is really looking for a patsy to take the fall when things go bottom-up."

Arthur looked down at the table, frowning.

"By the way," Lockhart continued, "did you know he's had a girlfriend since last year? It's an open secret at Hogwarts. And yet he doesn't think his own parents should know."

Arthur looked up sharply at that.

"Maybe you should arrange to meet with him in one of The Three Broomsticks' private rooms in Hogsmeade this coming weekend. Discuss a few things with him, hmm? Wizard to Wizard. Why wait until next summer when it might be too late?"

"Next, we have your son Ronald. And he has many problems, all correctable if something is done now. Unfortunately, almost all his problems are the fault of the twins."

"The twins? Fred and George?" Arthur was astonished.

"Yes. Let me explain. First, Ron is horribly jealous of his brothers. He feels, and rightly, that no matter what he does it will never be enough. If he gets on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, so what? Three of his brothers already did that. What if he makes Captain of the team? Oh, that's right, Charlie already did that. Well, what if he scores in the top of his class? Oops, Percy, Bill and Charlie all have that honour. Well how about becoming a Prefect, oh, Percy, Bill and Charlie, again, did that! Well, okay, how about Head Boy! Oh dear, Bill did that and it looks like Percy will, too.

"And you know what would be worse for him? What if he tries and fails at any of those? Will his mother ever forgive him for not doing as well as his brothers? She already ceaselessly compares him to his brothers, and he always comes up short. Why bother trying if you know it will never be good enough?

"So, what's the poor boy to do? Nothing he does will stand out and have his parents say, 'Wow, Ron, that's incredible, nobody in our family has ever done that!' He's afraid he'll always be in the shadow of his brothers.

"That would be bad enough, but the twins are making things worse. They continually belittle and browbeat him, and use him to test their pranks. They treat him as a pet to torment, not as a brother they should help.

"And his friends, true friends they are, make him look positively stupid. Hermione is head and shoulders above him academically, and Harry is always at the centre of attention.

"Nobody notices Ron unless he gets into a fight with Draco Malfoy. And his broken wand isn't helping him."

Arthur was looking appalled at these revelations. "Broken wand?"

"And there's more. He has the eating habits of a starving werewolf. It's truly disgusting to watch. Except for his two friends, nobody will sit near him at mealtime." He paused for emphasis. "And that is entirely the twins fault. They screw with his food so much at home, Mr. Potter tells me, that if he doesn't stuff his food into his mouth as fast as possible, they dose it with a prank. They don't treat him as their brother, they treat him as an test rat on which they try their experimental potions and spells. A test subject to check their potions for harmful effects — and who knows what type of damage any hidden side-effects may have had on the poor boy? Maybe that's why he seems to always be ravenously hungry! And you do nothing about it!"

Arthur sat up at that declaration. "I . . . ."

"Do nothing!" stated Gilderoy, interrupting and waving his hand imperiously. "If you had done something, this wouldn't have happened! Here!" He put two small vials filled with a silvery liquid on the table. He put a finger on one bottle. "This is a memory of an incident Mr. Potter witnessed at your home last summer. He was kind enough to let me copy it. Watch Ron and the twins closely. Watch how you and your wife react." He moved his finger to the second bottle, "This is a memory of an incident I saw in the Great Hall at mealtime. Watch them both, then come back and tell me I am wrong."

He stared at the Wizard challengingly. "Send an owl to Hermione and Harry asking them to describe, honestly, Ron's eating habits if you believe I am exaggerating. For the unvarnished truth from an uninvolved third party, do the same with Neville Longbottom. He's a Pure-blood and knows the proper manners one is supposed to display in public."

"Far be it for me to tell another how to control his family, but what I suggest you do is tell the twins that they are grounded next summer, all summer, until their brother learns and uses proper table manners," he suggested kindly. "And they can't coerce him in any way, shape, or manner. No potions, no spells, no hexes, no pranks to force him to change. They can only encourage him or, perhaps, bribe him.

"And the grounding means they are banned from their room! They sleep outside in a tent that they put up every evening and take down every morning. It means no pranks, no planning pranks, no visiting friends, nothing. If you hear any loud bangs, smell any strange smells from the tent, then they can spend the summer sleeping under the stars without a tent. Their siblings are not test animals for their pranks. If they want to be productive, they can teach Ron to be the best Quidditch player in the world. That would make him happy! And make sure they include their sister! She's developing quite the inferiority complex from her brothers denying her the right to do things that they and even other Witches do."

"They can spend their copious spare time taking care of the farm. This is their punishment for using their brother and sister as test prank-subjects and teaching Ron to eat like a rabid starving dog. Once he starts eating like a proper Wizard, you'll rescind the grounding." He stopped and let the other Wizard think for a few moments. "But they are still banned from using their siblings as test subjects."

Gilderoy smiled and turned his charm on full. "I'm not your enemy, Arthur," he said kindly. "I want you and your family to prosper. I've willing taken on the mantle of the Dark Wizard Messenger because I want your children to succeed. Please think carefully about what I've said.

"I know you don't have a pensieve, but if you go to Madam Bones and tell her that I, Gilderoy Lockhart, gave you some memories that it is vital you see I'm sure she'll let you use the one the D.M.L.E. has." After the tips and help he's given her, his name should have some pull. "If she says she can't, owl me and I'll make arrangements to get you access to one immediately."

He straightened, pulled out his wand, and dispelled his muffling charm.

"Now that that's done, let's enjoy this wonderful repast!"

The rest of the meal Gilderoy nattered on about his books, pretending not to notice that the man was deep in thought. Only occasionally did he directly address a question to Arthur, to which the Wizard could reply with a simple yes or no.

As they were starting desert, Gilderoy noticed Macnair seemed to be getting ready to leave. He turned to Arthur and said jovially, "Well, what do you think about those rumours that Mr. Malfoy is talking with the Aurors? I heard that Madam Bones paid a call on him at his manor recently." Macnair stilled and leaned on his elbow scowling, as he pulled a parchment from his robes. That it also moved him fractionally closer and let him listen better was merely incidental. "With what they say about how he's not that stable mentally," Gilderoy continued, "I wonder if she's hoping he'll accidentally reveal information about some of the Death Eaters she knows the D.M.L.E. missed ten years ago?" He leaned closer over the table conspiratorially, and loudly said, "Perhaps she's hoping that he really wasn't imperioed and has been meeting with others so she can trap them, all together, eh? It would be quite a feather in her cap to prove some of those who cried, 'It wasn't my fault,' were lying, hmm?" He sat back, "And the best part would be that Lucius, in his current mental state, wouldn't even realize he was letting loose things he shouldn't, so he wouldn't even warn his friends he might have slipped up. Why, he might even deny meeting with her and the Aurors completely!"

Arthur was looking at him, puzzled. "No, I haven't heard any such thing."

Gilderoy waved his hand, "Ah, well, it's probably just a rumour." He took a drink from his wine glass. "But, you know, as the old saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire."

The Professor studiously attacked his dessert as the Death Eater at the next table slowly stood and left. Harry/Gilderoy had hoped to spread the rumour by merely being loud in the staff dining room, that he managed to secure a table near a known Death Eater had been exceptional luck. Of course, using a discomfort hex on the previous occupants to get them to move to another table had helped.

A few minutes later, after a wonderful dessert, they were standing to leave. "You know, Arthur, sending a howler to Hogwarts and humiliating your children in front of their peers and professors is a terrible thing to do. Young children can be incredibly cruel, and a howler triggers days of taunts, jokes, and mean pranks at the expense of the recipient. I know it's rather common, but it truly borders on child abuse, I think. Kind of like knowing that Dark families beat their house-elves is one thing, but teaching your children that they should do that too, is another. Besides, think how you would feel if Molly sent you a Howler about forgetting an appointment and it arrived while you were in a Department Head meeting?

"You should ask your wife if she has ever thought of that. How she would have felt at receiving one from her mother when she was a mere First or Second Year and made a mistake. And, outside of humiliating her, did it really make a difference in how she acted?"

The look Mr. Weasley gave him indicated that there were going to be many lengthy discussions in the Burrow over the next few days.