Healer Woodcock continued, "Can I assume you were aware what could happen if your son received a severe enough blow to his groin? Getting hit by a troll's club certainly qualifies as severe. Your son will never be a father, actually we had to remove his reproductive organs as they were so badly damaged. His magical core has also received another shock from which we don't think it's likely to recover. This is why there is a decision to be made, your youngest son is now effectively a squib eunuch. There is an option to wipe his memory and place him in the muggle health care system as someone who's been in an automobile accident and now suffering from permanent amnesia."
Healer Woodcock continued speaking before the parents could jump down his throat, bitter experience had taught him this was by far the hardest part. "I know this at first glance appears heartless and barbaric but my job as a healer is to do what I think is best for my patient. Consider if you will what this boy's life will now be like as part of a large pureblood family. We all know how our society looks down on squibs, your son will have the added burden of being a eunuch. He will have to helplessly watch as his family perform magic, get married and have families of their own. Knowing that life will always be denied to him. It is not unheard of for families to keep their child only for the same child to take their own life as they got older. Your son is the first patient I have ever heard of with his additional problem on top of losing his magic, as such we can only surmise how much worse it will be for him. With no chance of ever marrying and having children, even the prospect of having a magical offspring is denied him. In the muggle world, he would only have the one problem to deal with."
Arthur and Molly felt as if they were trapped in quicksand and being dragged under, how could any parent rationalise that never seeing their child again would be the best thing for that child? Charlie couldn't offer any words of comfort, it would appear they were dammed if they did and cursed if they didn't.
Healer Woodcock hoped this was never a position he found himself placed in with one of his children but he had a job to do here. "We will keep him sedated until you reach a decision. Should you choose the muggle option, he will awake in a muggle hospital with some magically produced paperwork transferring him there. Having him wake here so you can say goodbye is such a bad idea it's now specifically prohibited in this hospital."
Both parents sat there, unable to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing, assuming there was a right thing to say in this situation. Their child's future was on the line here and whatever decision they took it was going to hurt.
They had been sitting there in silence, both parents crying while Charlie stood behind his mother and tried to offer some support by resting his hands on her shoulders. The healer couldn't help as the decision was theirs to make.
It was into this atmosphere that a very tired Amelia Bones walked, she took a seat because she needed one. "Arthur, Molly, I'm so sorry about Ron. It would appear he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The person who let the troll into Hogwarts is dead and there is currently a nationwide hunt ongoing for Albus Dumbledore after his part in this tonight."
Amelia then took a deep breath, this was without doubt the worse part of her job. "The headmaster knew Voldemort wasn't dead and had set a trap for him inside the school, we've since discovered it claimed another victim. While dismantling these traps, tiny scraps of a school robe became apparent. On further investigation, we were able to determine more. I'm sorry to be bringing you this bad news at a time like this but your son Percy never left Hogwarts, he was caught and killed in a trap set by Albus Dumbledore. He will face charges for this as soon as we catch him."
Molly totally broke down, she was wailing and sobbing with only Charlie keeping her in the seat. Arthur moved over to Molly to try and offer comfort but it was to Amelia his questions were directed. "How? Why?"
"Near as we can guess, Percy was determined to prove himself. He got past the first test only to find himself in a dark pit full of Devil's Snare. The only crumb of comfort I can offer is that it would have been quick. Hogwarts is now closed and the children will be sent home tomorrow, make that today. Dumbledore has totally lost the plot and now claims Harry Potter is the dark lord, he set out to kill the boy with only the wards they had erected around their propety preventing this happening. I currently have every available auror scouring the country for him. There was already a trial, instigated by Lord's Potter and Black, scheduled for Monday morning. We intend to add the charges of his crimes against your family as well. He'll go to Azkaban only if he escapes the dementor's kiss. He told my aurors that specific corridor was sealed when they searched the castle, like everyone else they believed him. Why wouldn't they, he was Albus Dumbledore!"
Molly's wailing diminished as she now managed to focus on something, "I can't lose two Arthur, not two of my babies. It would kill me Arthur, not two. I can't lose Ron as well, I just can't!"
Healer Woodcock had watched the drama unfold before his eyes. As a healer he was trained not to get personally involved, you would need to be made of stone not to be moved by the heartrending anguish these parents were experiencing. He couldn't do it so stuck his neck out, "There may be a third option for your youngest son!" The hope expressed in the family's faces gave Woodcock the confidence to promote his radical idea.
"There is an operation the muggles pioneered that can physically turn your son into your daughter. There would have to be a post operative potions regime but, as he hasn't quite hit puberty yet, they should be very effective. We are not talking being able to bear children here but they would at least be able to physically have sex and lead a near normal life as a female. As we all know, female squibs have a far easier time of it than their male counterparts. The only reason I'm suggesting this is I know the family is moving out of the country to build a new life, the child couldn't possibly stay in Britain after this opperation. In Cairo, no one there need know your new daughter used to be your son. It's obviously a bit more complicated than that but it is a viable option and I thought you should know about it."
The healer then faced a barrage of questions and answered every one of them as best he could, the hope was visibly growing in their eyes. Woodcock had been a healer long enough to understand what was going on here, the grief of their older son's death was being suppressed as they concentrated on the survival of the other child in their world. They would do their mourning later when the crisis had passed. He didn't think the boy would survive into adulthood in their world against the crushing blows of losing his manhood and magic. Woodcock was still considering what was best for his patient, he considered the difference between living as an amnesia induced eunuch muggle or a squib female to be a coin toss.
It was also clear to the healer that losing two of her children would destroy the mother, he was trying to perform a balancing act of what would be best for the entire family. It was a horrendous decision and he could only hope they didn't regret it in later years but then again, life was full of what if's.
They finally got there and Molly declared, "Ronald Weasley will be no more, in his place we will have Ronda!"
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