A/N: Modern!AU
Audrey's dad used to tell her that things didn't always go the way they were supposed to when it came to life. She wished she knew then that he was referring to her life.
He also told her that when she'd find love, he'd give her the world. Except when she first seen Percy Weasley, the thing he gave her was a train token at the station where she worked.
She looked forward to it each day, having that dazzling smile that complimented his blue eyes and neat, red hair looking at her briefly before he got onto the train.
He was just perfect. If only she could have the courage to actually say something to him so they could live happily ever after.
Well, it'd be close enough to a happily ever after.
Then that day had come; he actually said something to Audrey (it was only 'Hi', but it was something), but all she could do was smile and look down timidly.
It was such a perfect moment, and she had to ruin it with her loss for words. Feeling bad for herself, Audrey pouted and leaned against the window of her booth. If she hadn't, she might not have seen that a couple of kids had knocked Percy onto the tracks.
When the sound of an approaching train reached her ears, Audrey's breath hitched as she scrambled out of the booth to try and save her future husband from his fatal end.
Audrey was right behind the doctors as they went back and forth animatedly about Percy's condition and vitals. Her heart was pounding in her ears at the thought that Percy might not be okay, but also because she had saved him.
If she hadn't have been there...Audrey didn't want to think about it. Hugging herself and biting her lip, Audrey continued to follow the doctors until they reached a pair of double doors. One of the doctors stopped her before she could step any further.
"Ma'am, you can't come farther if you're not family," one of the doctors said, holding a hand out to stop Audrey from moving farther.
"But-" Audrey started to protest, but she was once again stopped by the doctor and his stern stare.
"I am sorry, but family only," he said before going through the doors and following behind the stretcher Percy was laying in.
The double doors closed, and Audrey watched from the small window as they took Percy around the corner to one of the rooms. She sighed dejectedly, a frown on her face. "I was going to marry him," she said in a soft tone.
Unbeknownst to Audrey, one of the nurses had heard her and had a determined expression on her face.
oo0oo
The nurse had escorted Audrey to the room that Percy was residing in, and Audrey gave the nurse a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," the nurse said as she backed away. Audrey's attention was on the sleeping form in the hospital room, so she didn't hear the nurse call her 'his fiance' to another worker.
Audrey didn't have a lot of time to watch Percy in his peaceful slumber (that she heard to be a coma from the doctor) because a group of redheads came down the hospital hallway, frantic and loud.
"Oh, my baby!" exclaimed the older woman of the lot, her curls bouncing with each hurried step she took before collapsing on the bed Percy was in.
"You're going to suffocate him, Mum," a young boy said before he was hit by the young girl next to him. The older man stood behind the woman, pressing his hands on her shoulders.
"Come now, Molly," he said, "let's give him some space."
Molly cried in response, leaning into the man's chest while he rubbed her shoulders and looked at Percy with sadness in his eyes.
Audrey felt out of place standing in the room at such an intimate moment, but she didn't get far before two identical boys nudged each other.
"Who are you?" the boys asked at the same time.
Audrey blinked and inwardly cursed as all eyes were turned on her. "I erm...I was just...you see…" she stammered and jabbed her thumb towards the door as she tried to inch her way out for a quick getaway.
That was a failure because the doctor came in at that exact moment and opened his mouth.
"This is Mr. Weasley's fiance," he answered.
The family all turned to each other, then to Percy, and landed on Audrey. "His fiance?!" they all exclaimed at once.
Audrey winced and opened her mouth to deny it, but it was too late. Molly was hysterical, moving to cup Audrey's cheeks and babbling nonsense. The man had to pry Molly away from Audrey and introduced everyone to her. He further explained how long it had been since they'd seen Percy and that he was happy to welcome her to the family.
Audrey would have been happy if she was actually marrying Percy.
Audrey stood at the door of the Weasley home. It was Christmas Eve, and they had given her the invite at the hospital; she was 'family' now that she was Percy's fiance. It didn't feel right going through with the lie, but it would be the first time Audrey hadn't spent the holidays alone since her dad passed away years ago.
Before she lost her nerve, Audrey knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open the door and tell her to leave because they knew she was an imposter.
Except when the young girl–she remembered her being called Ginny–opened the door, Audrey was pulled into welcoming arms.
"I'm so happy you made it," Ginny said with a warm smile, guiding Audrey into the living room where her siblings were. "Mum made you a sweater, so you're officially a Weasley, even before saying 'I do'."
"The sweater isn't all it's cracked up to be," Ron remarked as he tugged at the collar of the sweater he wore. It was a bright scarlet shade with the letter R on the front; it was lined with white fur with green specs on it.
"Don't mind him," Ginny said, "he's just mad because he has more green in his fur than everyone else."
"I don't see you wearing yours," Ron retorted.
Ginny merely snorted, causing Audrey to cover her mouth to keep a giggle from escaping. The two girls sat down as Fred and George looked over to Ron with teasing grins.
"It's okay, Ronnikins," George said.
"We'll let Mum know-" Fred added behind George.
"That you-"
"Want more green-"
"Around your neck," they finished together. Ron glared from the couch he was sitting on and was about to throw a pillow until Arthur and Molly came into the room with jolly smiles.
Molly had a tray of sweets as well as some fabric slung over her arm. Arthur had a tray with a tea pot and cups.
"Welcome to our home," Molly said with happiness laced through every word; it made Audrey feel even more welcomed and ever so guilty.
"Molly has dinner cooking, but we thought to have something in here by the fire to pass the time," Arthur explained, setting his tray down next to Molly's on the floor. He beckoned the children to all gather around by the fireplace as he and his wife sat down.
Ron had gone to the pastries with no hesitation, grabbing as many as he could fit in his hands. Ginny and the twins shook their heads but followed suit with Audrey behind them. She clasped her hands together and looked nervous as they each grabbed a cup and a pastry.
Molly looked at her with a soft look. "It's alright," she said, "and before I forget…" Molly took the fabric that was on her arm and held it out for Audrey to take.
It was a bright scarlet sweater with her initial on it, much like the others that Audrey seen on the Weasleys, but hers had golden specs in it instead of green. She rubbed the sweater, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
As the night grew to an end, Audrey was getting ready to leave, but was coerced to stay to open presents with them in the morning; that meant that they had thought to get her something at such a short notice.
Audrey wasn't sure whether she was crying from guilt or happiness.
As she laid on the couch, preparing to sleep under the blanket Ginny had provided, she caught talk about someone named Charlie was not able to make it, but Bill would be arriving within some hours.
Oh crap. Who was Bill?
When Bill returned home for the holidays, the last thing he expected was to find his brother in a coma. Not to mention the fact that he was engaged.
He was skeptical about it at first, not seeing how she could be his fiance, but Audrey had somehow proven she knew Percy well enough to marry him. He had to let it go; besides, it was the first time in a while that he saw his mum and dad so excited about something, so Bill wouldn't take that away from them.
It was a shame Charlie couldn't make it back from being overseas; he'd have a kick out of things himself.
So Bill took it upon himself to be Audrey's 'helper' while she was there during the week to straighten things out while Percy was incapable to.
He had gone to her apartment with her after meeting at Percy's condo to feed the cat that was there.
He hadn't known that Percy would ever consider owning a cat, but then again, he wouldn't have imagined Percy being engaged to the woman he was following around.
She was a brunette, and Percy preferred blondes. She was sweet and clumsy, and Percy wanted refined and cold.
Bill didn't get it, but he'd be happy for his brother. After all, it was his fiancé.
There was still something Bill couldn't quite put his finger on about her; though the smile he'd receive when he was around her kept his mind occupied for a while.
While that sounded dandy, it was definitely not. Bill didn't want to enjoy her smile and company so much; if he did, then he'd want to be around her more.
He couldn't be around her more, or something may happen that Bill couldn't allow.
Too bad.
As two weeks passed and a new year came, the more time he spent around Audrey with his family, the more he wanted that alone time with the woman. It was bad, wanting his brother's fiancé.
oo0oo
Audrey was enjoying the prospect of being part of the Weasley family each day she spent time with them, particularly the time she spent with Bill. They would talk about the world, where they wanted to explore and what they wanted from the experience.
She felt so comfortable yet nervous around him, and it was scary because she never felt that way when it came to her fantasies of Percy.
When the conclusion of the situation came to her mind, Audrey felt even worse about how things came about.
Not too long after coming to a conclusion, Audrey received word from the Weasleys that Percy was awake, and after hearing of the stories during his slumber (due to losing his memory of the last two months), he wanted to turn over a new leaf and marry his 'fiancé'.
When Audrey heard the news, her feelings were mixed. Once before, she would have been completely ecstatic. But now it made things more complicated.
Could she go through with marrying Percy when she had fallen for his brother?
Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding the bouquet in her hands.
This was it; she was going to marry Percy Weasley and have the life she wanted.
Was it really what she wanted anymore? It was too late to think on that question because the door had opened to the small chapel, and the music had begun to play.
Audrey walked slowly down the small aisle, seeing the Weasley family all sitting there with happy expressions on their faces.
Percy was standing at the altar with the officiate with a content expression on his face. Behind him stood Bill, who she saw didn't look the happiest he could be.
She knew why, and it was all his fault. These new feelings Audrey felt in her stomach was all his fault.
The music stopped when Audrey was in position next to Percy, and the ceremony began with the officiate speaking. Her eyes scanned her husband to be, seeing the small smile on his face. She bit her lip and glanced behind her at the small group gathered for the day.
Against her better judgement, Audrey looked over to Bill. She saw a look of longing in his eyes, a look that she wished that she could unsee.
It meant that she couldn't go through with this because she knew that she had a similar look that wouldn't go away anytime soon.
"I object," Audrey said softly, causing everyone to gasp and look in surprise.
"I hadn't gotten to that part yet," the officiate said with raised brows.
"I also object," Bill piped in with a finger raised.
More gasping and heated whispers went through the room, and Percy tried to mask his shock and confusion.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
"I would like to know the same thing," Ron said as he stood up, but Ginny quickly shushed him and set him back down.
Audrey opened her mouth, looking at all the expectant looks thrown in her direction. "I-I can't do this," she started, "I would be living a lie if I went through with this marriage."
Dropping the bouquet, Audrey flopped her arms to her sides and swallowed hard. "The truth is, I only saved Percy that day at the train station, but that's it." She looked down in shame, but she knew she had to continue. "Someone had misheard me in the hospital when I wanted to make sure Percy was alright."
Audrey shook her head to keep the tears from falling. "We were never engaged, but I fell in love with all of you. For the first time in years, I had a family again, and I didn't want to let it go." Tears had spilled from her eyes anyway, and she met Bill's eyes one more as she gave a shaky laugh. "But I have to. I'm so sorry."
Without another word, Audrey ran out of the chapel. As soon as she was behind the doors, she could hear arguments ensue. She had ruined everything, but it was for the best.
Audrey sighed, taking the tickets at the station for the few people who were needing to take the train. She wasn't sure what had transpired truly over the past three weeks, but it pained her to be back alone.
She had a family, the man of her dreams, and a sense of belonging.
But Audrey couldn't live through the lie that had been created from a miscommunication with a nurse. She had to tell the truth, even if she was giving up everything she could ever ask for.
Including the man she really had fallen in love with.
Bill deserved to know the truth; they all did. The Weasleys had been nothing but amazing to her, and she had been deceiving them all.
It didn't matter now; Audrey was just going to fall into step of what her life had always been before she saved Percy.
Without looking up, Audrey picked up the token that was dropped into the bowl, but the token in her hand was not a token.
Blinking in surprise at the ring held between her fingers, Audrey looked up through the booth screen to find all the Weasleys sans Percy, standing expectantly with Bill in the front with a grin.
"Propose to her already," Molly said excitedly.
"He's trying to, dear," Arthur replied with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Let him-" Fred said.
"Do it-" George added after Fred.
"Mum," the twins said simultaneously.
Molly huffed and hit the boys softly on the shoulders. Meanwhile Bill cleared his throat as his eyes locked with Audrey's.
"Mind if I come in?" he asked her with a playful look in his eyes.
Audrey bit her lip, shaking her head. "Not without a real token."
Bill slipped a token into the bowl, and Audrey opened the door for him to enter the booth.
Sitting in her spot, Audrey looked up to Bill as he took her hand and held it between both of his. "Audrey, will you marry me?" he asked.
A smile grew on Audrey's face as she nodded, standing up on the tip of her toes to kiss the man in front of her.
Beyond the booth glass Audrey could hear the cheers and whistles of the family, but her focus was mainly on Bill.
If someone told her a month ago that her life was going to be like this, she wouldn't have believed them; but Audrey had love and a family behind her.
And it happened while Percy was sleeping.
A/N: Written for The Houses Competition and HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)
(THC) House: Hufflepuff; Year/Position: HoH; Category: Themed; Prompt(s): [Event] A Proposal
(HSWW) Assignment #4 Religious Education Task 4: write about someone making a false claim or believing something that isn't true.
Insane House Challenge: Restriction - No Slytherins
365 Prompts Challenge - 144. Genre: Family
Disney Challenge: Part of Your World - write about someone who wants to belong somewhere
True Confessions Day: write about someone confessing someone
Liza's Loves: Volpina - write about someone who lies about a relationship/friendship
Scavenger Hunt: write about a fanon pairing
Lent Challenge: No Angst
Word Count: 2,893