Author Notes: Hi. This is the sequel to my FF "The story of how I meet Audrey." It's a Percy and Audrey story, but with a little moment of Percy with his parents Molly and Arthur. During and after the war. I hope you like it.
The second "face off" of Percy and Audrey.
"Audrey? Audrey?" Percy had been wandering Hogwarts castle for more than half an hour, calling her name, but to no avail. Damn it! Why hadn't the girl just done as he had said? What if something had happened to her? What if... He could not bear to let the idea form in his head.
How could he have such strong feelings for a girl he had just met? He had been with Penelope for over three years. She had been his first for everything, yet he had never felt so empty, so lost, as he felt now. A boy, who was wearing a Ravenclaw robe passed by. Percy stopped him.
"Excuse me, have you seen a girl around: average height, tied-up brown hair, green eyes?" he asked.
"No, sorry," replied the boy. Percy shook his head dejected; there was no trace left of her. Tears began streaming down his face. Only a few weeks earlier had he learned of the death of his dorm mate and only friend he'd ever had at this school, Connor. He had just lost his brother Fred - he couldn't lose the woman he loved too. Percy had never believed in love at first sight, he had always been one who believed in practical things, and he certainly didn't consider love to be one of those, but he no longer had any doubts on the matter. He had inescapably and hopelessly fallen in love with her. How could this have happened? Was it during their second meeting or maybe even when they had met for the first time? Percy didn't know.
A few hours earlier.
The battle was heating up at Hogwarts. Flashes of red and green light darted through the crowd of fighters. Percy was looking around, wand in hand when he saw her. Just then, a girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail cast a perfect disarming spell against one of the Death Eaters. He recognised her immediately; it was the girl he had spoken with at the Leaky Cauldron a few hours earlier. What the hell was she doing here? He cursed himself out of the blue for not even having gone to the trouble of finding out her name.
"Nice shot, Audrey!" exclaimed a far too cute boy next to her. Audrey? So that was her name? And who was that tall, dark boy who fought by her side? Percy thought in a fit of…jealousy? No, impossible, he had just met her. Advancing stealthily towards her, he took her by the arm and dragged her into an empty room, slamming the door behind him.
"Hey, Percy what are you doing? Let go of me!" she said, and then yanked free of his tight grip. The latter looked at her with a fire in his eyes.
"Damn it! What are you doing here?" He asked, bringing his face close to hers, daring her to hold his gaze, but she did not move an inch. They were so close to one another that had someone walked in; they would have thought the two were about to kiss. Percy could see every individual nuance of her beautiful green eyes.
"What do you think? I'm fighting! I'm defending my school."
"Can't you see it's dangerous? Why didn't you stay at the Leaky Cauldron as I asked!" Percy exclaimed.
"Because I can take care of myself, and I don't need a man, what's more, one I just met, to tell me what I can and cannot do. I mean seriously, who the hell do you think you are?" Percy was about to respond when a blast on the other side of the door violently brought him back to reality. A battle was unfolding inside the castle walls, and no matter how much he tried to remain optimistic, that could have been the last time he would see her. Moving even closer, he hugged her, squeezing her against his chest. Audrey did not resist him, despite the absurdness of the situation, but perhaps it was precisely for that reason that she did not object.
"Be careful," he only said.
"You too. I wouldn't want there to be no one waiting for me if it all ends well, especially if it's a cute boy like you."
"I've already heard that line," he said.
"Me too. A boy who had drunk a bit too much said something similar in an attempt to impress me." Percy could not help but smile, despite the tragic circumstances.
"And did he succeed?"
"Maybe," she said.
"Audrey, before you say your school," Percy said remembering his words. They both knew that chatting as they were doing had no sense, but it was as if they were reluctant to say goodbye to each other.
"Yes, I finished my studies here three years ago. I was in Huff..." The door opened with a thud, making them jump. A Death Eater had just been flung to the ground. The pair left the room quickly, and Audrey began fighting against a rather plump Death Eater. Damn, she's good, he thought but had no time to tell her as much because Pius Thicknesse, the former Minister of Magic for whom he worked, darted ahead. Percy chased after him. The battle had only just begun.
Time passed by quickly at Hogwarts, and everyone who was left prepared to spend their first night in the castle following the end of the war.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here at Hogwarts, dear?" Molly asked Percy, her eyes still watery.
"No. I'd rather go back to my flat. Just for tonight," he said.
"Okay then," she replied, more understanding than ever. "And Percy."
"Yes?" he asked, inviting her to continue.
"I'm really glad you came back." Percy to that phrase hugged her mother, who squeezed him. His father watched the scene without saying anything. Actually, they had not exchanged so many words since he came back, but his gaze towards him seemed peaceful.
"So am I. I only regret not having done it before."
"What matters is that you're here now," she said. Percy nodded.
"I'll come back early tomorrow morning to help out. I promise." He felt sorry at the thought of abandoning all of his family, but he wanted to be alone, he needed to be alone with his thoughts.
"See you tomorrow, son," his father said just before he left. Percy had not cried as he hugged her mother, but this time he struggled to hold them back.
"See you, Dad." Soon after, having distanced himself from the walls surrounding Hogwarts, he apparated into his small London flat.
Once home, he fell on the sofa like a dead weight, absorbed by his grief. Yes, the battle had been won, but at what cost? Percy sat motionless on the couch, for who knows how long, until someone knocked on the door. For a moment, he considered pretending there was no one in, but then got up and went to answer the door. With dishevelled hair and crumpled clothes, Audrey looked at him from the other side of the door. She seemed tired and had puffy eyes that were almost in tears, but she was alive and had come all the way to his house looking for him.
"Audrey! How…" Percy began, but she interrupted him.
"I told you I could take care of myself."
"Yes, you did." That answer seemed to anger the girl who, having closed the gap between them, began kicking and punching him with all the strength she had left.
"You left Hogwarts without even telling me. I looked for you around the whole school; I thought you were dead!" She cried despaired.
"Calm down, Audrey. I'm here," he said trying to stop her by wrapping his arms around her.
"You didn't even look for me."
"Oh, believe me, I did," he said, and then leaning her against the wall kissed her fully and passionately. Both were surprised at how their lips adapted perfectly to each others.
"I was afraid I'd lost you. Afraid I wouldn't have the time to get to know you better," Audrey said, once the two had pulled away from one another, to catch their breath.
"Me too, but it's all over," Percy replied, gently wiping away the tears from her cheek with his thumb. Audrey looked at him as if she were undecided whether to say something else or not.
"I'm sorry about your brother," she said in the end.
"How did you know?"
'I couldn't find you. I saw a group of people with ginger hair, and I recognised Ron. Your mum told me where you'd gone and at that moment I saw the body." Percy closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears for the second time.
'Oh, Percy I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...' Damn it, why hadn't she kept quiet?
"It's all right Audrey, and please don't be sorry." Then without another word, he led her into the bedroom.
"Percy, we barely know each other," Audrey said, realising where he had taken her.
"I know Audrey; I just thought maybe you might like to rest a little."
"Actually, I could really like it, but what about you?"
"Well, I have a comfy sofa in the other room. Don't worry."
"No, absolutely not. It's your home; I can't let you sleep on the sofa." And so, after a little squabble, they agreed that the bed was big enough for both of them. Despite their promise to respect each other's personal space, the pair ended up lying on the bed all night, in each other's arms, until they saw the first light of day peering through the window. If Percy thought back to the fact that he took almost a year before spending a night with Penelope, he felt like laughing. When they got up, they both gave a refreshed before Audrey decides to return to her apartment and Percy to join his family at Hogwarts. It would take some time to forget all the losses and move on, but Percy now felt that sooner or later, everything would work out.