Chapter One: "We're going to be good friends, I just know it"

Audrey walked into the living room of her home and set a fresh batch of cookies down for her daughters to eat. She took a seat on the large chair and watched with a smile as her girls excitedly raced to get a cookie. Molly, her youngest, climbed onto her lap with a mouth full of cookie, while her older daughter, Lucy, sat on the floor, reading a book she had gotten from her father. Both girls looked so much like Percy, with curly red hair, and freckles. Lucy even had a pair of horn-rimmed glasses; she was her father's daughter in every way.

As the girls discussed cookies and Lucy's book Audrey snuck a peak at the clock. Percy's hand was firmly situated at work, she noticed, which not an uncommon sight. The clock had been a gift from Percy's mother and it kept track of each member of the family. It had become a tool she relied on, keeping her from worrying more than necessary.

"Looks like your Dad's staying late at work tonight." She said to her daughters.

"Mummy how did you meet Daddy?" Molly asked, looking up at her Audrey with large, interested eyes.

"Well, that's quite a story; would you like me to tell you?" Audrey asked. She smiled a bit when she noticed Lucy turn towards her with interest.

"Yea, how did you and Dad meet?" Lucy asked.

Audrey smiled as she thought back to her first day at Hogwarts, the first day she met Percy.

Audrey skipped absentmindedly through the halls of the train, looking for a good place to sit. She was very picky about whom she wanted to sit with, and so far she hadn't found anyone that struck her fancy. As she looked into each of the cars she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted a nearly empty car ahead of her. She quickly decided this was her spot, no doubt about it, she could practically see her name written on it. She stood at the door for a second just looking in. A nervous looking boy who seemed to be about her age sat in the car alone with an open book in his lap. He looked over noticing her in the door and gave her a weak smile. She smiled back as she opened the door and sat down across from him.

"Hello there!" She said with a smile.

"Hi." He said, tilting his head just slightly, looking bewildered.

"What's your name?" She asked, mirroring his head tilt.

"Um, Percy, Percy Weasley." He said.

"You have a very odd name Percy Weasley, but I like it! I'm Audrey Darcy, by the way." She said holding out her hand.

He just looked at it for a second before he reached out and shook it timidly, as if she might bite. "It's nice to meet you." He added, remembering is manners.

"You too. Is it your first year at Hogwarts?" She asked looking out the window, watching the country side fly past.

"Yes, yours?" He asked.

"Yes. It's going to be brilliant, don't you think?" She asked.

"I hope so." He said looking down at his feet.

She turned away from the window with a serious expression. "You're not nervous, are you?" She asked.

"My brothers go and they told me horror stories about it. The hat that sorts you into your house, it bites you know!" He said, matter-of-factly.

"That's rubbish! My uncle says that Hogwarts is probably the best place ever, and he knows everything about everything." She said. "Besides it can't be that bad, if they survived." She said with a smile.

He thought about it for a second then looked back at her with a huge smile. "You're right, I never thought of it that way." He said.

"You and I are going to be good friends, Percy Weasley, I can tell already." She said.

"Oh, really? How do you know?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, I just sort of know." She said.

"I hope you're right." Percy said quietly, mostly to himself.

Percy and Audrey spent the entire ride to Hogwarts chattering quickly and excitedly. They talked about everything they could think of, mostly about school, and what they thought it would be like. Percy told her stories about his family and his home. Audrey listened intently, interjecting stories of her own family or home from time to time.

"And you should see the garden gnomes," Percy said. He opened his mouth to finish his thought as the train squealed to a stop.

Audrey's attention immediately turned to the window. She turned back to Percy with a smile. "We're here!" She said excitedly as she jumped up.

Percy stared out the window for a few minutes, not moving. "There sure are a lot of students." He said.

She grabbed his shoulders and turned him to look at her. "Don't worry, we'll go together." She said as she grabbed his hand. She tugged him out of his seat and began pulling him towards the platform and off the train.

"What if we don't get sorted into the same house?" Percy asked her as they stepped off the train.

"We will both be Gryffindors, I'm sure of it." She said as they followed the others towards the boats.

As they were walking they were stopped by a very tall, older redhead. "Who's this then?" the boy asked Percy with a sly smile.

Percy immediately dropped Audrey's hand, and looked up at the boy. "Bill, this is Audrey, we met on the train." Percy explained, not looking Bill in the eye.

Audrey watched Percy for a second before she held her hand. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Audrey." She said matter-of-factly.

Bill looked down at it for a second before awkwardly taking her hand and giving it a little shake. "Yea, yea I caught that." He said. He looked over at the water. "I'd better not keep you from your boats. I'll see you in there Percy, and it was nice to meet you Audrey." he said.

Audrey waved enthusiastically as he walked off. "Well he seemed nice, who was he?" She asked Percy as they both climbed into a boat.

"My brother." Percy said absentmindedly as he stared at Hogwarts in awe. "I've seen pictures, and read about it in the books, but I never imagined it looking like this." He said.

She watched, just as captivated, and couldn't help but smile. "It's brilliant, just like I suspected."

As the boats landed on shore Percy got out first and grabbed Audrey's hand to help her out of the boat. She climbed out, and thought nothing of the fact that Percy continued to hold her hand as they walked into the great hall. Both of them looked around not believing their eyes as they took in just how large and grand Hogwarts really was.

Audrey smiled down at Molly who was looking up at her in awe.

"I can't wait to go to Hogwarts." She said.

"Soon." Audrey said with a smile.

"Did you and dad get sorted into the same house?" Lucy asked. During the story she had scooted closer, so she was nearly touching the chair.

Audrey nodded. "We did. It was a very proud moment for me, when I became a Gryffindor." She explained.

"Was Uncle Bill nice to you? When did Uncle George start school? Did you ever go to the Burrow to meet Gran and Gramp on holiday? When did you realize that you were in love with dad? Was it on the train?" Lucy asked, speeding through each question, just to ask another.

Her mum just laughed. "No, I didn't realize that until much later. At a ball, but that's a story for another time." she started; she looked over at the clock, and noticed that Percy's hand had moved to traveling. She started nudging the girls up. "Now you two had better get up to bed before your dad gets home and realizes I let you stay up past your bed time." She said with a smile.

"If we are quick to bed will you tell us more?" Molly asked.

"Only if you're quick to bed." Audrey said.

The two didn't waste a second running out of the room, bounding up the stairs towards their bedroom. Audrey could hear dresser drawers open and slam shut and the sound of them jumping into bed. She pulled out her wand and extinguished the fire she had going, watching as the last of the flames dance back into her wand. With a sigh she turned around, only to see Percy standing in the doorway. She jumped a bit, shocked at his quiet appearance.

"The girls are up late, I see." He said.

"I'm sure they'll be asleep soon." Audrey said. She pulled him close and hugged him tight, kissing his cheek. Every time he walked back though the door she felt the stress and the nerves of the day just vanish. She had grown into a worrier after the events of years past, and there was nothing better to calm her nerves then seeing him come home safely each and every day. It never failed, that first sight of him made her want to hug him and never let him go.

"Well, not before they here the next part of the story, of course." Percy reminded her with the knowing smile he wore so well.

"Well, I did promise." She said. "I bet they'd love it if you came up and helped tell the story." She added, laying her head on his shoulder, still hugging him tightly.

"I'm going to have to; otherwise you're going to paint me all wrong." He said.

"You mean I wasn't supposed to tell them that you're a nargle?" She said.

"What in Merlin's beard is a nargle?" Percy asked.

"Honestly, I'm not exactly sure." She said with a smile, as she grabbed his hand and walked up the stairs towards the girls' room. "But I'm sure it bares a strong resemblance to you." She added with a laugh.

"Sometimes I wonder about you." Percy said shaking his head.

"Only sometimes?" she said, giving him a wink.