Summary: A moment in the life of Audrey and Percy Weasley as Audrey realizes just how much she and her husband have changed since their youthful, power-hungry days.

Written for HPFC "Last Kiss" Competition.

Rules:

1. Can be either a one-shot or a two-shot.

2. Minimum word count of 300.

3. DUE DATE IS AUGUST 1ST

4. Choose a number between 1-20, which will be your song lyric!

5. Choose a number between 1-15, which will decide which pairing you get!

Pairing: Percy/Audrey

Lyric: Never imagined we'd end like this.

XXXXXXX

Audrey watched her husband put his clothes on, getting dressed for the day. He was a long cry fro the little Minister's Undersecretary she'd met him as, but she knew that, no matter what the job, she'd love him just as much. Whether he wanted to be the Undersecretary he used to be, the Minister he used to aspire to be, or the brave, noble auror he was now, the truth was that Percy would always be her wonderful, brave hearted husband.

Catching onto her train of though, he turned towards her somewhat pompously, "I was thinking of running for Minister," he announced.

She smiled up at him from her place in their bed, "That's great honey."

He faltered, his eyes flashing under his bright red hair, "You… you think so?"

No matter what, she knew she'd always have faith in her husband, "You'd make a great Minister Percy."

He frowned, no doubt thinking back to the last ones. Ever since the end of the war, the Wizgamont had declared a sort of Muggle democracy period of seven years' length, to avoid another power grab reminiscent of Voldemort's worst days. Now, seven years after the fateful Battle of Hogwarts, the wizarding world was finally ready for a new Minister of Magic, who would nobly lead their world into better times.

"You don't… think I would get…" he faltered in self-doubt, "Like before?"

Having met him at his worst time, Audrey remembered the pompous boy who had always fawned over the Minister. She could clearly recall his ambition to grow, to rule, to do everything right, and his somewhat blind trust in his superiors. Percy had always been the kind of person that needed someone to follow and she knew that what he was really questioning now was his ability to lead.

"No Percy. After all," she joked to him, getting out of bed and giving him a quick kiss, "You have me to keep in line."

He smiled blissfully at her, a smile full of love and trust. It was her favorite thing about him, his smile, because it truly symbolized everything he'd overcome. When they'd first met, Percy only had two smiles. The first was his smile to please his superiors, a fake, gaudy thing that never reached his eyes. The second was infinitely worse, a smile of achievement, where his eyes glittered with the success of beating an opponent down to the ground. This smile, the one she saw now almost daily, had taken her three years to coax out of him. It was the smile of true happiness. As long as he had this smile, she'd have him.

"Minister," he said to himself, as if he was testing it out.

Leaving her husband to go make breakfast, Audrey smiled to herself. She'd never told him when they'd met, but she'd been disgusted by his hunger for power when she'd first known him. Not, as some might think, because of what it meant in him, but because she realized that the way he acted was identically mirrored in her own ideals. They'd been two lost souls, desperate for power, not knowing true happiness. Somehow, they'd bonded together, finding each other in their desperation and finding true fulfillment in life, fulfillment that power could never bring.

No, Audrey had never imagined that her life – their lives – would end up like this but honestly, if she could go back, she wouldn't change a thing.