View From the Library by te'Shara
Chapter One
Percy Weasley sat in his den, smirking. He had settled himself into his favorite chair and was listening to the leather crackle beneath his weight. He was feeling quite pleased with himself.
He closed a dusty Ministry folder and swept his sleeve over the surface of the glossy desk in front of him, removing the small bits of dust that had fallen out of it.
He was thankful he had taken his father's advice when he had all his work robes made out of a hard-wearing tweed. It suited him and it didn't show all the dust you were bound to be covered in from working in the Archives. Plus, if you chose the right pattern, it made your hair look better than it actually was. As the only Weasley male that wasn't losing his red hair, Percy imagined himself wearing tweed for the rest of his life.
He adjusted his gold-rimmed spectacles and practically swaggered in his seat with self-satisfaction. He thought he'd be trapped in his den all weekend, but what the Minister had thought was a giant budget problem ended up being a simple clerical error.
He flipped the folder over and initialed the back of it, admiring the way his tidy scrawl looked alongside the rows of other men that had come before him. It wasn't quite as fancy as E.R. who had become Minister of Magic in the late part of the last century, but it was a great deal more legible than M something-or-other. The rest of that unfortunate souls' mark was so untidy no one could decipher it.
Percy, himself, had done several drafts of his initials before he had finally settled on a pattern that was both legible and elegant. It nearly had a small flourish at the end, but Percy decided that would be too pretentious. If he was going to be Minister of Magic one day he wanted his ascent to appear humble and dedicated rather than pretentious. The people tended to respect men like that, especially in rough times.
He sighed and set the folder down before leaning back in his chair.
His den was a cozy place. He had carefully constructed it to be the most comfortable room in his small house, with its dark woods and amber glass. He had reasoned it would most likely be the room he spent the most time in, and he was right.
These days, it seemed as if the owls never stopped coming, even when he was at home on his day off. Last Wednesday he had awakened to find three of them patiently perched on his windowsill. Thankfully, they had been instructed not to wake him. At least his coworkers were polite, if not always competent.
It was a sunny day outside. He had expected to stay in all afternoon crunching numbers and cutting funding for Ministry programs, but it looked like he was going to get the afternoon off and everyone was going to get to keep everything after all. It would be nice to have a break for a change.
His gaze went to his desk and lingered for a moment on a small picture of a brown-haired witch. She was smiling at him, her expression frozen in place. He was thankful to have a Muggle picture of her. He wasn't sure if she'd still be in the frame if her picture was allowed to move.
I think maybe we should take a break.
Percy snorted at the words Penelope had said to him. What on earth did they mean anyway? How long was he supposed to wait while she figured out what she wanted?
He tried to distract himself by scanning the shelves that lined the walls with the realization that he could actually istart/i one of the books he'd been meaning to get to, when he heard a scrabble at the window.
His head snapped around to see a Ministry owl and he felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized the tips of its ear tufts had been dyed a dusty rose color.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew who it was from and it was wrong. He knew it was wrong. The very thought of it was wrong, let alone acting on it, but he reluctantly got to his feet anyway.
He unlatched the small brass hook and pushed the window open gently. The Ministry owl looked up at him with wide yellow eyes and quirked its head to the side as Percy reached out to take the small scrap of parchment it was carrying.
He smiled at the owl. He wondered if it objected to being charmed; if it was made fun of by the other Ministry owls. His concerns were immediately snuffed out
Need your help with an issue concerning the Department of Experimental Mayhem.
Percy couldn't help but quirk a corner of his mouth at the words, even though he felt a tickling in the pit of his stomach that almost felt like guilt.
"Hold on," he told the owl before turning back to his desk and picking up a quill. He scrawled a hastily on the back of the parchment before giving it back to it. "Take this back to her."
The owl hooted before taking flight and Percy watched it go, soaring over the garden, over the tops of the trees, before to broke out into open sky and was free.
For a moment Percy envied the owl.
"So what exactly does 'taking a break' mean?"
Percy shook his head at his younger brother and stirred his strawberry milkshake with a long straw. "I have no idea."
Percy and Ron were sitting at the counter of Franklin Fortescue's Ice Cream Emporium, watching people walk by on the street as they waited for Ginny to join them. A small girl with emerald green robes and long blond ringlets stop to gawk into the shop window for a moment, but her father, a stern-looking man with a large mustache, tugged her away quickly.
Ron took a sip of his chocolate milkshake and frowned as he seemed to mull things over in his mind. "Is she seeing anyone else?"
"Not that I know of," Percy said shrugging. "Even if she is, do I get to have an opinion?"
"You always get to have an opinion." Ron snorted. "Sometimes it really doesn't matter, but you still get to have one."
"I suppose sometimes it's just best to let things ride out. See what happens." Percy took a deep breath and sighed.
"That's what I always do, mate." Ron raised a hand at Ginny, through the window of the ice cream shop. She was carrying several large blue bags and was beckoning them. "Most of the time it's just better that way. You never know if something is meant to be until it happens."
"I suppose so." Percy swallowed hard, feeling pangs of guilt. "It's not like we're married or anything."
"Exactly!" Ron clapped Percy on the back, making his older brother wince. "The one for you might be right around the corner! Someone unexpected!"
Percy nodded as he stared into his milkshake, poking at it with his straw, making small peaks in the thick liquid. "I bet you're right."