This was written for round 6 of the Quidditch League Challenge. I was given the genre "post-war". I then chose two optional prompts: Come On, Come Out by A Fine Frenzy; "Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience."

Word Count: 1,395

"Alright, I suppose that adjourns this meeting?" The Prime Minister glanced at Percy under thick eyebrows, and he nodded once. The Minister clapped his hands together, and immediately chairs were pushed back and papers stored into briefcases. "Well, then, until next time. Keep those wayward wizards of yours under control, eh, Weasley? I would much rather only meet every solstice, as we had agreed."

Percy bowed his head slightly, replying that this meeting had only been called to order because things had been getting out of hand, that this man had come close to breaking the wizarding code of secrecy. It was an unforeseen complication that he hoped would not happen again.

"Yes well, I suppose it can't be helped." The Muggle Prime Minister extended a hand; Percy shook it firmly. "I have other matters to attend to but please feel free to grab a coffee, tea, or cake before heading out. Send Kingsley my best."

"Thank you, sir, and I will, of course, send your regards to the Minister."

The three Muggles left the room, tucking their blue briefcases under their arms. After three years of working with the department of inter-governmental relations, Percy found the attire of respectable, high-status Muggle officials a little odd. All of them were older than Percy. Mr. Palmer was a middle-aged man, in his late thirties, with a kind face and tired eyes. Mr. Murphy was recently made a grandfather, and he was the intelligence analyst; he was the one who gathered the information on cases of questionable magical involvement and made the decision. Percy was not quite sure what Mr. Chapman did but the older man was rather quiet, extremely observant, and had Percy not been a wizard, he would have made him very nervous.

The Prime Minister paused at the doorway. He turned back, one hand on the door, to peer at the Muggle woman who was still gathering her things: stacks of papers, detailed graphs and charts, a small device he was told carried "4G" worth of documents, and a laptop.

"Audrey," he addressed her, and though he still sounded professional, his eyes twinkled with affection. "You can head out at five tonight. Take the night off, enjoy it. You've done enough this week. Oh, and do pass by and see your parents sometime this week. They do enjoy having you over for social purposes, you know." He gave her a meaningful look, nodded once in Percy's direction, and left.

With a jolt, Percy realized that they were the only ones in the room.

Audrey Blair was a charming Muggle woman, with more cunning than could possibly be good for her. She was only a little younger than him, maybe closer to his brother Ron's age than George's, but she had more ambition than the two of them combined. Normally, she hid her dark eyes behind the thick, black frames of her correction lenses, with her long brown hair drawn up in a smart ponytail. But sometimes, as she had it now, she would leave the lenses behind, opting for the plastic little lenses he learned were called contacts. Her gaze was intelligent and intense, and it made him a little more than apprehensive. She was feisty, quelling a raging temper to just a simmer – just enough to be taken seriously in this field of men. Audrey had a commanding presence and, at least to Percy, seemed to dominate the conversation by just her mannerisms.

He did not know how it happened but somehow they arrived at the door at the same moment. Instinctively, he held the door open for her, waiting patiently as she walked by. She turned her eyes upward, catching his eye from under her lashes as she walked by but she did not stop, nor did she address him. As she turned the corner, however, the heel of her shoe caught the upturned corner of the carpet, and she stumbled. Her arms flew out to catch herself, releasing the files of notes and debriefing packets that had been so meticulously organized. In the split second stumble, the papers scattered over the crimson carpet.

"Oh!" She groaned in frustration, and then got down on her hands and knees to rearrange the files. Percy was crouching at her side in an instant. Without any thought to politics or proper protocol, he reached out to catch her wrist with one hand while whipping out his wand with the other. Her eyes widened but she gave no other hint of shock or surprise as, after a muttered incantation, the packets and loose-sheets began to organize themselves back into the red folders, the little metal staples tightening their grip and the corners undoing the tiny creases before jumping into place. When the last list had tucked itself atop the thick packet of wizarding customs, Percy picked up the two folders with two hands and passed it to her.

"Well, that was…interesting," she commented drily, her eyes following Percy's wand as it was tucked away into his robes.

"It was nothing," he replied humbly. She made a non-committal noise, and then paused.

Suddenly, Percy was hyper aware that this was his moment. They were alone, they were talking about something other than the political occurrences in the country, and she was looking at him expectantly. Instantly, his heart began to pound, his emotions swiveling from reserved to anxious. What if she said no? Merlin! What if she said yes?

What was the worst that could happen? It wasn't as if she could turn him into a toad or anything unnatural. Was he really willing to let the possibility of greatness go simply because his pride might get a nasty hit of rejection?

No. He wasn't.

"So, Audrey," he said confidently, liking the way her name curled off his lips. "The Minister mentioned that you had the night off. Do you have anything special planned for the night?"

She eyed him from beneath her lashes and a coy smile tugged at her lips. Percy resisted the urge to bounce on his feet. Trying to fight the anxiety, he rooted his feet into the ground, puffing out his chest in the process.

"Actually, I don't. I thought I would call up a friend or two, see what is going on, but no, I do not have anything planned." She gazed at him expectantly, and he realized that she was not a passive participant waiting for the rules to be explained; she was an experienced player, sharp and calculating as she waited patiently for her turn in this game of courtship. If he wasn't careful, she would send him careening away in flames. This idea, however, did not quench his desire for her; if anything, it made it worse, thrilling him with the prospect of a challenge. Somehow his mind took note that she was leaning towards him, looking right at him and holding his gaze. She was attentive and far from unwilling.

"Well, how would you like to go out for dinner. Say…seven o'clock?"

Audrey raised a thin eyebrow. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Weasley?"

"Yea, I suppose I am." Percy cocked his head, trying to hold back a smile. Keep it cool, keep it cool, he instructed himself. It would not do to appear too eager. "And please, it's Percy."

"Percy," Audrey repeated, testing it out. Percy found himself repressing a shiver. And then suddenly she smiled. "Well then, Percy, I guess I will be seeing you at seven. Can I expect to ride in an automobile or should I dress for a unicorn ride?"

"Actually, we don't really ride unicorns. Would a dragon be okay?"

She laughed, and he joined in with her, a deep rumble that did not reflect the boyish giddiness within. For this he was immensely grateful.

"Why don't we compromise: an ordinary mode of transportation to an extraordinary dining local?"

She agreed whole-heartedly, eagerly even. When they parted, it was with the promise of seeing each other again very soon. As Percy returned to the wizarding society of London, his thoughts were still on the Muggle woman. Suddenly, he did not want to wait to test the waters; that would be his first date, possibly his last, but he wanted to make it count. He was going to ensure it was the most magical night she had ever experienced.

ugh...not a good piece at all, I am actually a bit afraid to reread it. my head cannon for Percy/Audrey is that Percy takes on a job with the Ministry that deals with Muggles. he still wants a respectable position but his ego deflates a little bit, and he understands what his father was trying to portray to him all along. so he heads the committee of Muggle government relations. Audrey is the Muggle PM's daughter (yes, this makes her a Muggle) and while she is not magical, she is just as ambitious as she is. a tough cookie.

this was a bad week so I took about 35 minutes to put something together, reach the minimal word count of 1000 and submit it before the round closed. feel free to attack this.