Memories
Percy always dreaded the time he spent lying in bed trying to fall asleep. It was pretty much the only time of day when he wasn't working, so the memories were able to flood his mind at full force.
They were mostly sad memories that made his heart heavy and mind achy with regret. They were memories of endless teasing from his brothers, of Penelope breaking up with him the summer after his seventh year, of storming out on his family and desperately wanting to go visit his father in the hospital and keep the lumpy jumper his mum sent him, but being unable to swallow his pride. Percy remembered going to The Burrow that Christmas, and how the warm embrace from his mother did nothing to take away the pain caused by his siblings' glares. Most of all, he remembered the overwhelming pain and guilt that came with seeing Fred's lifeless body lying among the rubble. If only he hadn't made that stupid jokeā¦
It didn't matter that everyone told him countless times that it wasn't his fault. It didn't matter that George pointed out, through another bout of tears, that if it wasn't for him, Fred wouldn't have died with a smile on his face. Nothing anyone said could alleviate the giant weight on his shoulders. It just wasn't fair that Fred, who stayed loyal to the family and seemed to be loved by all, had to die and Percy, a "Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron" survived.
He stayed at The Burrow after the battle, but left two days after Fred's funeral, unable to cope with the grief that filled the normally lively house, the walking on eggshells around everyone, in fear of saying the wrong thing and setting someone off. He moved back into his flat in London and threw himself into work at the Ministry. For the most part, it did help take away some of the grief and guilt he was feeling, because when he was working so vehemently on getting things back in order after the war, there wasn't really much time left to think about anything else.
But now he lay in bed, body tired but mind racing, unable to sleep, painful memories coming back to haunt him.
