For the Apprentice Competition (word: midnight; genre; Hurt/Comfort; dialogue: "I promise you, i'll..."; song: Numb, Marina and the Diamonds, specifically, the line "I can't breath and I can't smile"; song: Summertime Sadness, Lana Del Rey, specifically, the line "I've got that summertime, summertime sadness"); the story beginning challenge (The vines wrapped around him, swirling, twisting, grabbing, and he was drowning.); the Pairing Diversity Bootcamp (12. stag night); the Sherlock Competition (The Blind Banker: "You had a row with a machine?" "Sort of. It sat there and I shouted abuse at it.") and the Doctor Who Competition (Adam Mitchell)
The vines wrapped around him, swirling, twisting, grabbing, and he was drowning.
His brother's face was always in his head. He wasn't supposed to be the one who lived – he had been the one who betrayed his family, and Fred had been the one who had seen the truth.
He should have been the one who had died.
George, at least, felt the same way, he knew that much from the looks that he sent him when he though that Percy wasn't looking. But no one else understood why he felt that way.
Fred wouldn't have wanted him to feel that way, they told him. And all Percy wanted to scream was that they didn't know what Fred would have wanted, because Fred was deaddeaddead, and they'd never know how he would have felt about his traitor brother once the heat of the battle had worn off.
Which was why he was here, well on the way to being drunk out of his mind, instead of at home, with the rest of his family.
They had just buried Fred today, and Percy couldn't watch them break down. Not without every tear reminding him that it should have been Percival Ignotus in the ground, not Fredrick Gideon.
He was looking forward to being at the bar until it closed at midnight, still five hours away. Maybe by then, he would have forgotten everything that was troubling him, at least for some time.
The last thing he had expected was for her to walk into the bar.
Audrey Lewis was his assistant. Shacklebolt had refused to fire him after the war had ended, saying he was one of the few members of the Ministry left who hadn't actively collaborated with the previous establishment.
He had been given charge of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and the freedom to hire whoever he wanted to.
Audrey had been the first person who had impressed him. Nearly everyone he had interviewed before her seemed to think that getting the job meant immunity from whatever crimes they had committed under You-Know-Who's rule, but Audrey had been the first person who seemed to actively care about the Ministry and the Wizarding world.
He'd hired her on the spot.
In the week since the end of the battle, Audrey had somehow managed to fit herself seamlessly into his life. Sometimes, he wondered how he had managed to survive before her.
She seemed to able to anticipate his needs in a way he didn't understand, and he really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was at seeing her there.
"You know this is being stupid, right?" she asked bluntly as soon as she reached him, motioning the bartender to stop bringing him drinks.
"This is none of your business, Ms. Lewis," he replied, proud of the fact that he had spoken without slurring his words.
She simply threw him an arch look before grabbing onto him and Apparating away from the bar.
Within seconds, they were standing outside of a charming little house. Had he been sober, Percy was sure that would have noticed any number of things about the place. Instead, he lurched away from Audrey towards the nearest bushes, heaving as he emptied his queasy stomach into them.
"I should have warned you that I was going to Apparate," Audrey's voice mused unapologetically from somewhere behind him, "But really, you only brought this upon yourself."
It was only after he had stopped throwing up that he was able to glare at the woman.
"Ms. Lewis-"
"Save it," Audrey replied, interrupting him. "Your brother was the one who asked me to find you and take care of you, Mr. Weasley. I think that makes it my business, don't you?"
And before he could reply, she had dragged him inside what was obviously her house.
The house was cozy, decorated in way that immediately made Percy think of Audrey. It was the sort of house he had always dreamed of owning when he was growing up. But facing down an irritated Audrey, Percy found he couldn't concentrate on the beauty around him for too long.
"What were you thinking?" she hissed. "How is going and getting drunk going to help your family at all?"
"In case you hadn't noticed, helping my family seems to be the last thing I'm capable of doing!" he exclaimed. "I'm the reason they had to deal with today, after all – I'm the reason Fred's dead! ME! If I hadn't distracted him, I'd be dead and he'd be alive, just the way it's supposed to be!"
"You idiot!" Audrey replied. "It's not your fault, and none of them think that! They need you there to help them through it, and I'm more than happy to blame you for not being there, but blaming yourself for your brother's death is just plain stupid!"
"George agrees with me," Percy said sullenly. "It is my fault."
Audrey sighed. "You moron," she said, all heat having disappeared from her voice, "George was the one who asked me to look for you. I think that shows that he doesn't blame you better than anything else, don't you?"
The knowledge of that fact shut Percy up instantly.
Seeing that he had finally started to realise that maybe he had been wrong, Audrey pulled him towards a sofa and sat down next to him.
"Percy, your brother gave his life so that the rest of his family could live. He loved you – all of you – and he would have wanted you to be happy. Weren't you the one who told me he forgave you before the battle?" she asked. "I don't think drinking yourself senseless is the best way to repay that sacrifice, do you?"
Of everything that anyone had said to him since he had lost his, it was those words that were the first to truly affect him.
Audrey was right. No matter what could have happened, Fred had forgiven him. And Percy wasn't exactly honouring his sacrifice much with the way he was carrying on.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, duly chastised. "I promise you I won't drink like that again."
"I know," she replied gently. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, but I appreciate it all the same. Now – I think it might be best if you slept off the alcohol for a few hours before returning home. I'll let your family know you're safe. You can take the guest room, it's free at the moment – just down the hallway, to the right."
"Thank you," he murmured as he made his way towards the room. "You didn't need to do this."
Audrey watched him disappear into her guest room. "You may not realise it," she murmured to herself, "But I did need to do this, Percy Weasley – for you."
My first time writing the two of them! I hope you like it :)
Please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)