Percy stared at the stacks of papers ahead of him and felt a familiar pain start to form deep in his sockets. He took off his glasses and pressed his palms flat against his eyes.

He'd only been in this department for eight days, and already he was exhausted of it. Percy supposed it was much harder to be back at the Ministry because he'd hoped to be rid of it forever. Nine days ago he had resigned from the Ministry in the middle of a battle. Moments later his world had come apart. A shudder passed through him as he worked to keep himself from crying.

In the days after the battle, he tried to be there for his family in ways he hadn't been for three years. He'd missed so much in those three years...

Even before he had betrayed the family for his bloody ambition, he had missed so much. He rejected them all the time. At Hogwarts his younger siblings invited him to sit with them at Hogwarts dinners and he'd reject them to spend more time with other prefects. They'd ask him to play Quidditch, and he'd stay in his room to write pompous love notes to Penelope. They'd ask him about a book he was reading and he'd snap at them to leave him alone. He would throw himself into grades, prefects, power, his job… And what did he gain from it? Nothing that meant anything. How could he have thought it meant so much?

Then he betrayed his family. He chose Cornelius Fucking Fudge and his personal pride, over his own wonderful family. He'd missed birthdays, the twins opening their shop, Bill coming back from Egypt. He could have been working with the Order and Dumbledore to save the world, but he decided it was better to serve a coward who helped let Voldemort gain traction for over a year. His father nearly died from a snake bite, and he didn't so much as inquire about his health. Ron almost died from poisoning, and he didn't send an owl or anything to his little brother. His eldest brother got mauled by a werewolf, and he didn't check on him once. The whole family was there, and he wasn't. For three years he could have been making memories them. He could have made memories with Fred… But he hadn't. Now his brother was dead. Everything was wasted.

His parents were happy to have their son back, and accepted him as if nothing had happened at all. He didn't deserve it. His mum had tried hundreds of times to reach out to him, and he rejected her every time. He was so cruel to his father as well. Yet there they were, hugging him, and smiling at him; the lost son returned. Not even treating it as if he had left of his own stupid accord.

Bill and Charlie were...polite. He had disappointed them so deeply, he was grateful they were even talking to him, let alone being kind. They would discuss funeral plans and more with him, made sure to include him whenever the siblings were doing something, invite him to sit down near them at meals. His younger brothers and sister though… They struggled to accept him, and he did not blame them.

Ron mostly ignored him, save the odd question asking where someone was, if there was no one else to ask. He and Ron had never been the closest: hell, no one had been close to Percy; but he and Ron had more memories of him being an overbearing big brother and Ron yelling back in protest, than happy memories. He supposed the happiest memories they shared, just the two of them, where when he taught Ron how to play chess. Ron was just five, but took to the game very quickly. Percy had always been quick to speak to Ron in a knowing way, giving advice, whether wanted or not. Now, he didn't know what to say to Ron even if his presence were welcome. His little brother was now a war-weary hero, who had seen more combat than Percy ever had, or probably would, in his lifetime. What use could Percy ever be to him?

Ginny barely seemed recognizable to Percy, now. She'd gone from being an adorable chubby cheeked kid who was barely into her teens, to a beautiful young woman. He missed everything in between. She even was in a serious relationship with Harry now. She hadn't said a word to Percy, hadn't hugged him, and wouldn't look at him. The few times she actually did look at Percy, he could see disdain and distrust evident in her fierce eyes. Seeing the little girl he'd used to hold as she cried, be so fiercely independent and distrusting of him, stung. There used to be such trust and love between them, but now? Percy had no idea how they could ever have that dynamic again.

Then there was George. The twins were the very first to forgive him when he came back during the battle. They may have teased him mercilessly as children, but they'd also always been the first to try and drag him out of his studying torpor to enjoy holidays, spend time with the family, and just enjoy life. He would always protest and scowl, but deep down Percy felt warmed by their overtures. Their eyes would crinkle and they'd give him one of their sly smiles, knowing they'd gotten to him. Now, the few times George looked at him, Percy just knew his brother was thinking 'It should have been you who died.'

And it should have. Percy was right there next to Fred when he died. He wasn't sure what caused fate to make the debris crush Fred instead of himself, but Percy wanted to curse it every day. If Percy had died, it would have been so much easier on everyone. He'd already hurt them, rejected them, been out of their lives- and they were fine without him. They'd grown up, found love, fought evil wizards, survived countless near-death experiences… And not once would his presence had made it better. Fred's death, though, left a gaping wound in every single person's heart. They would never be able to fully recover from his death… and Percy hated himself for it. If he had just moved slightly to the left, or fought Thicknese down a different corridor, or not made a joke that distracted Fred.

After the battle, Percy thought he'd never be back at the Ministry. For the first time in his life, he had no plan for his future at all, really. It all seemed a hopelessly foggy gray blank. Then Kingsley had approached him, asking for his help.

The Ministry was, predictably, in shambles. Percy was more aware of the obscure laws Thicknese and his ilk had put in place that made it difficult for travel by any Wizarding method. The Department of Magical Transportation had been gutted under Thickneses's tenure. 'Traitors' were frequently jailed, and some even killed, for trying to assist muggleborns escape with portkeys or setting up secret floo subnetwork connections. Families throughout the UK had been torn apart. With the DMT in its current state, reunifying with loved ones was difficult. Many muggleborns weren't even aware the war had ended, as they were avoiding all things magical in hopes of surviving.

When Kingsley had approached Percy, he'd come in person to the Burrow, as he had to speak with most of the family (along with Harry and Hermione) in one capacity or another to help with the Post-War Reconstruction. They were gathered round the table for dinner as Kingsley went over a number of issues with Dad, Bill, Charlie, Ron, Harry and Hermione, when suddenly he turned to Percy to ask a series of questions.

Percy had been silent at the table, and looked up from his food to answer, blushing a bit as he realized many eyes were on him.

That was when Kingsley asked Percy to be the main liaison and organizer for the DMT and international communications with various other departments. He noted how Percy was uniquely poised to be aware of a number of issues, and had the subsequent skills and experience to help speed along reunification efforts with families.

Percy looked around the table at the mention of reunifying families. A mix of questioning glances, penetrating looks, and one hard glare (from Ginny) met him. Percy was no use at home, so nodded and agreed to help in any capacity he could.

It was at times a painful undertaking. He would be arranging a portkey for a family, and they'd be aglow with happiness thinking they'd be united with all their loved ones. He'd list off who all was coming back and their faces would fall as they realized many of their family hadn't made it. He'd have to look up names to see if their death had been listed by Snatchers, or if they were imprisoned, if they were alive but soulless due to a dementor. It was awful.

Percy gave a deep sniff a tried to refocus on his work. His inbox was consistently so full that he started keeping file boxes next to his desk, so he wouldn't have to worry about the mounting papers falling over.

It was then that Percy heard a great laugh coming from the corridor outside his office. Percy wanted to hex whoever had the audacity to be laughing and happy in this wing of the Ministry. Most of the people here were in pain. Most people had the decency to be serious and wear black armbands throughout the ministry. As happy as people were the war was over, now was a time for mourning and rebuilding, not laughing so loud it echoed down the hallway.

He stuck his head outside his office door to see a woman laughing with a little boy, no more than five or so years old. She was tan with caramel colored hair, and was wearing a dress the color of Ron's room. She also was making fart noises with the five year old. He giggled with glee and they nearly fell over with happiness. Percy felt some of his earlier ire dissipate. Maybe it wasn't so terrible for someone to be able to laugh. He'd give anything to see George laugh again.

"So are you ready now, mijo?" she asked the little boy.

He nodded and took her hand as they stood and walked directly towards Percy.

The young woman looked shocked to see Percy standing in the doorway staring at them, but quickly fixed another smile on her face.

"Hi there, are you Percival Weasley?" she asked.

He blanched at the use of his full first name being used. As much as an uptight berk as he was, he never went by anything but Percy his entire life.

"I am," he supplied opening the door wide to let her and the little boy in.

He was used to random people needing him, and had not bothered to check his appointment schedule. He'd normally check them off as soon as they arrived.

"I'm Audrey Morales, and this-" she said pushing the small boy forward a bit, "is Milo."

The boy who had been laughing so heartily earlier, now wore a shuddered look as he eyed Percy. Percy was rather tall and unapproachable, he knew, so he did his best to smile in a congenial way so as not to intimidate the boy.

"Hi Milo," he said stooping a bit.

The boy glared at him.

"Say hi, Milo," she said with a gentle poke.

"Hullo," he mumbled, rolling his eyes, going behind the desk and sitting in Percy's chair. The woman said nothing to stop the child from such behavior. Milo looked quite at home as he found some blank parchment and a pencil Percy's dad had given him. The child began to draw as if this was normal. Percy wasn't around kids much, but he'd never seen such a weirdly independent child in his life.

Percy sat in front of his his desk and indicated the chair next to him for Audrey. He eyed the woman and boy for a moment. He supposed they were mother and son, though she looked a bit too young to have a child that age. She must have had him straight out of Hogwarts, or wherever she went to school. Perhaps that was why her child was so undisciplined. Percy definitely didn't recognize her.

"How can I help Mrs Morales?"

"What? Oh no, I'm not married!" she said, making a face. Young and unmarried with a five year old… Percy tried his best to look non-judgemental at that.

"And you can just call me Audrey. Everyone does."

Percy nodded, hoping she'd get down to business. As they'd spoken many more parchments had arrived in his inboxes. He reached across his own table and grabbed his appointment book. The was no appointment scheduled for Audrey, nor anyone else booked for at least an hour.

"Did you make an appointment with me? I'm not seeing it on the schedule."

"No, I decided to skip that and just come here," she said, looking a bit irritated with him.

"Well... You need to make an appointment for me to help you. I'm very busy right now, and-"

"You don't look very busy to me," she supplied, looking around his office with an impertinent shrug.

Percy sat up straight, feeling put out.

"It might not look busy, but I have a lot of paperwork to get through, and there's a line of people who need to be seen. It's scheduled out so we can most efficiently have their cases handled. If everyone just randomly showed up at people's offices with no appointments, then it'd be chaos. And I think we've all had enough of chaos, don't you agree Miss Morales?"

"I'm not leaving this office until you help us," she said fiercely, giving his table a kick.

"Please just make an appointment," he said, rubbing at his right eye socket. "I don't want to escort you and your son out, but I will if I must."

"I'm not her son," Milo said rather loudly, giving Percy a hearty glare. "I'm here for my mum and dad. You're supposed to help. Audrey said so, right Audrey?"

"That's right," she said.

"Look, I'd love to help, but you need an appointment first. Go to the-"

"I know where to go. I've been there already. I've been everywhere already."

"He's not going to help. No one helps," said Milo, looking a bit less angry, and more sad.

"Pobrecito," she murmured, holding his hand. "Nice one, Percival."

"It's Percy, and the rules state you need an appointment."

"Screw the rules! No! I have been sent back and forth around this ministry for days now, trying to get Milo the help he needs, and no one is helping. For some reason, people seem to think you're the person to talk to, but the wait is weeks, and this little boy has waited long enough. He hasn't had either of his parents for eight months. Are you really going to make him wait now that the Ministry will help him find his family?"

Percy sighed.

"This is… I'm not supposed to," Percy said. He looked between the glaring woman's hazel eyes, and the little boy. He had never broken a rule in his life. Well, he had, but never anything severe. Now was as good a time as any, he supposed. He falteringly rose and spelled a 'do not disturb' sign on the front of his door, before shutting the door.

He turned back to them and gave a sigh.

"Alright, I'll do what I can."

The fierce look immediately fled from her face, and Audrey let out a whoop before hugging Percy around his middle.

"Thank you so much! You hear that Milo?"

Milo didn't look happy. He looked wary. The look on his face reminded him of the glares Ginny was giving him. Audrey was still firmly gripping him in a hug, as she air-kissed his cheeks.

Percy stiffly removed himself from Audrey's grasp. Her emotions turning on a dime left him dizzy.

"You can't tell anyone I helped you out of turn."

"Of course."

"I mean it. If you start telling other people, then before you know it my office will be swarmed with people."

"I understand."

"It goes against the rules, so if you tell anyone-"

"¡Ay, ya! ¡Entiendo!" she let out. "I know! Percy, I know. I'm not trying to ruin your career or whatever. I'm just trying to help this little boy, then you'll never have to speak to me again. Well, you will, because I have more cases I'll be bringing you, but this is the only one that needs to be handled out of turn. I swear."

Percy nodded, before a question sprung to mind. "Wait… More cases you'll be bringing in?"

"Yes. I'm a caseworker for reunification of families, particularly, children and their parents. I was tired of the stupid bureaucratic red tape keeping Milo from seeing any progress. You'll be seeing a whole lot of me."

Percy wasn't so sure he wanted to see a lot of Audrey Morales. She didn't look or act like any case worker he had met. She looked more ready to go to the beach than be in an office advocating for people going through the most painful experiences of their lives. She also didn't seem to have much respect for rules and regulations. He hoped she wouldn't bring Milo next time, as the child was disturbing.

"Well, let's get to work!" she said, taking Percy and shoving him towards his desk. "We have some ice cream to eat, and a video game arcade to get to, right Milo?"

"Right!" Milo called back.

"Right," Percy replied, feeling cross. Not everyone had time ice cream and whatever games she was talking about. He didn't have time for such leisure, and wondered how she had the audacity to to demand his time on her schedule, when Percy's was swamped in horror stories and paperwork. Ah well, he had said he'd help, and Percy was anything but a liar. Maybe he could convince someone else to take her future cases. She was pretty enough that he knew a few young men in the department who would be happy to take her off his hands. It was too bad she was such a vexation, for Percy didn't get a chance to see many pretty witches in the Ministry anymore.

"Nice work, Milo!" said Audrey, ripping Percy from his reverie. Milo was looking intently at the drawing he was making. Percy looked at it to see it was a stick figure with freckles and glasses, making an ugly frown.

"I think he really captured your expression, don't you?" asked Audrey, looking far too amused.

No. He definitely didn't want to see a lot of her, not matter how pretty she was.

TO BE CONTINUED

Audrey is of Spanish descent in my mind. So I'm half Mexican and just used the spanish my family uses most of the time. Maybe it's not the same for people that are Spanish vs Mexican, I wouldn't know- so she might come across as more Mexican. :P

Milo is based a lot on one of my nieces, who is this fearsome little creature who is so amazingly dgaf and angry, and I love her for it. You have to emearn/em her respect. She's the best.