* I refuse to be like my father. He's such a joke.*

Percy hurried to get his report on imported racing brooms with faulty braking systems done on time. His hand was flying furiously over the four foot long parchment, not once wasting a single drop of ink from his quill.

* Hmmph! He doesn't even realize what people are saying. They snigger behind his back when he walks by with an enchanted teacup he got from a muggle antique shop, but HE smiles and acts like he conquered He Who Must Not Be Named. The fool.*

Percy flipped open a large book on his desk and started researching the names of all the dealers that had had complaints about their brooms. He ran his finger down the list picking out the repeated offenders first. He dipped his quill into a red ink, to make the names stand out better, and started copying the names of the broom dealers down.

* I would never want Penelope to need things like mother is always in need of things. And OUR family will never wear second hand clothes or have so many kids that we can't afford to support them properly. I mean really! The things I used to have to wear to school were disgraceful! *

Percy got so angry he jabbed a little too hard when he dotted an i. He muttered to himself as he wiped up the blob of ink to keep his report neat and tidy. He sighed and realized that he just couldn't keep his mind on his work. It was hard to keep working when you knew that Ministry Officials were watching your every move.

*Like it was my fault the Mr. Crouch disappeared! How was I supposed to know that the owls weren't being sent by him!*

What a fiasco that turned out to be for Percy. And now with Mr & Mrs. Weasley spreading some wild rumors that He Who Must Not Be Named was back, Percy was having an extremely difficult time at work. People turned in the corridors to watch him go past, laughing at the 'Weasley boy' with the crazy, paranoid parents.

There just didn't seem to be any way to distance himself from his father's reputation as a crazy muggle loving fool.

* Poor Penelope, she's been such a dear. She's the only one who has stood by me this entire time. But her parents will see that she stops caring for me. I see the way they look at me. *

"IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Percy yelled out loud and brought his fist down on his desk with a mighty bang. He looked up at his small office's door just in time to see a tour group of witches from the States walking by with their tour guide who shot him a nasty look for interrupting her standard tour speech.

Percy's ears turned red with embarrassment. This was getting out of hand. He just couldn't do anything right lately. He needed some way to distance himself from his family, but he wasn't sure how.

He started thinking about how he and Penelope had talked of eloping and getting their own little starter cottage. They had tossed the idea around but had eventually decided against it. Percy started twirling the quill pen and wondering if that really was such a bad idea. He could get out of the house and away from Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and his parents. No more ghoul in the attic, or de-gnoming the garden, at least not unless it was his own garden.

He and Penelope could finally be together. He licked his lips in anticipation of what their first night together would be like. He'd give her the moon if he could. His mind wandered briefly to the times at Hogwarts when they had a few 'stolen' minutes alone.

* Ahhh. But there's the trick Percy old boy, you can't afford the moon. You can't even afford a ring, and Penelope deserves a ring. Gotta keep saving. Gotta keep living at home. I guess it isn't so bad. Ginny and Ron don't really bother me that much, and it IS nice to see Harry during the summer. Fred and George aren't so bad, when their asleep!*

Percy sighed and picked up his quill again, after all it was only about the fourth time that day he had had that exact same conversation with himself.