A/N: For the Globetrotter Drabble Competition (Los Angeles: write about taking the easy way out) and If You Dare (138. Choices).

He'd sworn that his family had been foolish. They had followed Dumbledore blindly, placing their trust in an old man following the word of a child. He'd clung to his belief that he'd made the right choice, that his position in the Ministry had been worth that sacrifice.

And now the truth is out. Percy has been the blind fool. All those days spent hanging on to every hope that You-Know-Who hadn't returned have turned to dust.

He knows he should go home and apologize. However hard it may be, he knows his family will forgive him and welcome him back with open arms. It's the right thing to do, the sort of road a noble Gryffindor would take.

But Percy has always had a Slytherin heart. Hasn't he already proven as much, exchanging his family for power? And now, he's too far gone, and denial is too sweet, too simple a choice to give up.