AN: Hello again! Well this is my entry for the fifth round of the Quidditch Comp! My prompts were: Dialogue: "We're running out of time.", Dialogue: "Who is she?", and Forgetful. So I hope that you guys enjoy! And good luck to the other quidditch players!
"Percy!" my partner yelled as we ran through the burning house. "We're running out of time! Let's go!" I looked around at the flames in the kitchen before moving to the next room.
"I can't leave yet!" I called back. I had heard the screams of someone as soon as we had entered the house. I wasn't about to let them burn alive. The tricky part though was getting to them.
I ran through into the living room and looked around for any sign of a person. That's when I heard the screams again. I looked around and saw a staircase near the back of the room. That's where the screams were coming from.
I rushed up the stairs as fast as I could, taking them two at a time. I followed the screams until I reached a bedroom.
"Hello?" I called into the room. It seemed like the flames hadn't quite reached the room yet but the heat sure did.
"Hello?" a small voice asked from the corner of the room farthest away from me. I quickly walked over to see a small child, most likely a girl, sitting there.
I kneeled down in front of her. I took in the girl's appearance. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and couldn't be older than ten. "My name is Percy," I told her after a minute. "I'm here to help you." I pulled my wand out and pointed it at her. I could see the terror in her eyes and I quickly said, "I'm just going to check if you're hurt, don't be afraid." I cast the simple spell before putting my wand away. "What's your name?" I asked her.
"Lucy," the girl replied as I stood.
"Hello Lucy," I said sticking my hand out. The girl took it and I helped her to her feet. "Now, I'm gonna have to ask you to run as fast as you can. The sooner we get out of here the better."
Lucy nodded and we took off. I ran down the staircase towing the girl behind me. We ran through the first floor before finally reaching the front door. Just as we reached it a burning ceiling beam fell right in front of us.
Lucy let out a terrified scream. I could feel her shaking hand still clasped in mine. She tugged on my hand and asked, "What are we gonna do now?"
I looked down at her innocent green eye. I knew that I had to get this girl out of here.
I pulled my wand out again. I pointed it at the beam and shouted, "Aguamenti!" Water shot out of my wand and extinguished the flaming beam. I slid my wand away once again. I then helped Lucy over the beam before climbing over it myself.
With a hard shove I opened the door. I took Lucy's hand once again and said, "Run." We took into the darkness surrounding the burning house.
Once in a safe spot in a bundle of trees we stopped. I quickly conjured my patronus, an owl, and told it, "I'm by the trees just north of the house. Found a little girl. Get over here now." I sent it to my partner before looking back at little Lucy. I noticed that she was only wearing her nightie so I took off my coat and put it around her shoulders.
"Thank you," she said looking up at me. We were both silent then. It was a minute before Lucy asked, "What's gonna happen now?"
"We're gonna find your parents and figure out where you can stay so that you're safe," I told her.
"Percy!" I heard my partner shout as he came running up. Behind him was a woman who looked about my age.
"Ron," I let out thanking Merlin that my little brother was safe. I had already lost one brother; I didn't need to lose another. I walked up to him and gave him a quick hug.
That's when I heard a shout behind me. "Mum!" Lucy yelled as she ran to the woman. I noticed that they had the same green eyes but the woman's hair was jet black instead of brown like Lucy's.
I looked at my brother once again. I raised my eyebrow silently asking for an explanation. "He name is Audrey Carlson. Her father was a Death Eater but he had turned back to the light during the battle. He was killed in the fighting. Death Eaters attacked her and her daughter Lucy to make them pay for his decisions. They killed her husband, Lucy's father, two years after the war ended.
Audrey walked over to me then. She was holding Lucy's hand in order to help comfort the young girl. "Thank you," she told me with a small smile. "I don't know what I would have done if Lucy had been killed."
"It's no problem. I'm only doing my job," I replied. I could feel my face starting to heat up. I looked at Ron who was smirking at me. "We should get you out of here. Do you have some place safe to stay? Maybe with a relative?"
Audrey shook her head and said, "No. We have no one left."
I grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him over to the side. "I'm gonna take them back to my house. They'll be safe there and I'll be able to keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't go into shock or anything," I told my little brother.
Ron gave me a shocked look and hissed out, "Are you crazy?" I stared at him as he continued. "You know it's against policy to bring them home."
I groaned. "How could I forget?" I asked running a hand through my hair.
"You've never been forgetful before Perce," Ron said. "Especially about rules. What's gotten into you?"
I didn't say anything as I glanced back to where Audrey was talking softly to Lucy.
"Oh," Ron said following my gaze. "I see what it is."
I looked back at my brother and said, "It's just for tonight. They need a place to stay and I have an empty guest room. I still have some of Penelope's old clothes that I can give to Audrey and Lucy looks about the same size as Molly."
"Don't do this Percy. You know it's wrong," Ron tried again.
I ran my hand through my hair again. "I can't just leave them Ron."
"Don't do anything you'll regret," was the only my brother had to say.
"I won't," I replied.
We were both silent until he said, "I'll head back to the Ministry; do up some of the paperwork. Get them somewhere warm and safe."
I nodded at my brother. With a crack he was gone. I slowly walked over to Audrey and Lucy. "I'm going to take you back to my place since you have nowhere else to go."
"Thank you for being so kind," Audrey told me as I took her hand. "I know a lot of people who wouldn't be as kind as you are."
I let a small smile cross my lips as I Apperated us back to my house.
"Dad!" someone cried as soon as we had landed. I let go of Audrey's hand as my own daughter embraced me.
I let go of her after a few moments and asked, "Molly what are you still doing up?"
"Uncle Harry told me that you went on a mission. I waited up to make sure that you were okay," my ten-year-old explained to me.
"Where is Uncle Harry now?" I asked her.
"He went home when he thought I had fallen asleep," she told me with a sly smile.
I chuckled and said, "How did you end up more like you Uncle George than me?"
Molly laughed and hugged me again. That's when she noticed Audrey standing behind me. "Who is she?" my daughter asked.
"Molly, this is Audrey and her daughter Lucy. They're gonna be staying with us for tonight," I explained. I looked at Audrey and Lucy and said, "This is my daughter Molly."
Audrey smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you Molly."
Lucy yawned and said, "Hullo."
I looked at my daughter again. "Hello," she replied looking between the two.
"Molly," I said grabbing her attention. "I want you to go get an old pair of pajamas for Lucy. She won't be staying in your room but she doesn't have any other clothes so I wanted to give her some of your old things. Is that alright?" Molly nodded and I smiled. "That's my girl," I said embracing her once again. When she pulled away from me I gave her another smile.
"I'm glad you're safe," she mumbled before taking off to get the clothes.
I stood up and looked at Audrey. "I apologize for her. She's never been the same since her mum died."
"I understand," she replied placing a gentle hand on my arm.
I gave her a small smile in return. We both fell silent then. That's when Molly came back with the clothes. She handed me the things.
"Thank you Molly," I told her as I kissed the top of her redheaded head. "How about you head to bed now? I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in." Molly nodded and head back to her bedroom. I turned back to Audrey and Lucy then. "The spare bedroom is back this way." I led them back to room. "The bathroom is the door on the left. Here are some clothes for Lucy and I can get you some in a minute."
"Thank you…" Audrey paused. "I guess I never learned your name."
"Percy," I told her quickly. I felt my face heat up once again. "Percy Weasley."
"Thank you Percy. I know I've said it a lot but I can't say it enough. You've done so much for me and Lucy. I don't know how I can repay you."
I felt my face heat up even more as I mumbled, "Don't worry about it." With my face bright red I turned and left the room.
I quickly got the clothes for Audrey and then went to tuck in Molly. After that I sat in the living room with a small glass of Firewhiskey.
"Are you alright?" Audrey asked sitting on the sofa across from me.
"I'm fine," I replied. "How are you holding up?"
"Still shocked but we'll be alright," she told me. We were both silent again. I took a sip of my drink and looked at her. "Can I ask you a question?" I nodded my head as I took another sip of the alcohol. "What happened to Molly's mum?"
I let out a sigh and looked at a picture on the side table next to me. "She was killed three years ago by Death Eaters. My family was, and still is, a large supporter of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, when he was still alive. The Death Eaters have never stopped coming after us," I explained.
"I'm so sorry," Audrey told me.
I looked from the picture to the woman across from me. "Molly looks so much like her, besides the hair of course. Red hair was always a family thing. But the blue eyes she gets from her mother."
We both fell silent once again. I finished my drink and said, "Well we should head to bed. It's going be a long day tomorrow."
I stood and Audrey did as well. "Goodnight Percy," she told me.
"Goodnight Audrey," I replied with a smile. I slowly walked to my bedroom. I changed into my pajamas and fell into my bed.
But I couldn't sleep. All I could do was think about the woman in the spare bedroom. She reminded me of Penelope. Not necessarily in looks seeing as my lost wife had blonde hair and blue eyes where as Audrey has black hair and green eyes. But their personalities were almost the same, or at least from what I could tell.
I knew then that I wasn't just going to let this woman and her daughter walk out of my life the next morning. I was going to do whatever it took to keep them with me, even lend a helping hand or two.
AN: Sooo, what did you think? I know that they were kinda OCC but I had a really hard time with this. Not a huge fan of Percy but I think I did alright. Anywho please let me know how I did! Thanks a ton!
