Percy's POV

There hadn't been anything special about today; everything had gone the same way it's gone for the past year and a half. Percy walked into his office and took off his overcoat as usual. He set his briefcase on the ground, sat in his big chair, and picked up the file of new cases that had been left on his desk. It wasn't until he heard someone clear their throat that he noticed there was someone else in the room. She was sitting near the window and had made something like a desk for herself out of the one of his old tables. She looked at him attentively, with some of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Her skin was naturally tan and her curly hair had been pulled up into a high bun. He watched as she tapped her foot impatiently, bringing him to notice her long legs, and unusually high heels for a ministry worker. She was definitely beautiful, but he had no idea why she was there. Her sudden laughter brought him back to reality, and he found himself involuntarily smiling in response.

"Good morning." She chirped in a strong accent. "My name is Audrey Carizzales; I'm your new assistant."

"Percy Weasley." He responded as he walked towards her, ready to shake her hand. The girl, Audrey, surprised him and laughed before standing to greet him in a hug. "Will you just excuse me for a minute?" Percy was not one to use foul language, but for some reason he kept repeating 'what the hell?' under his breath, all the way to the Minister's office. He didn't even knock, as he rushed into Kingsley's office.

"Percy, I was expecting to see you soon." He greeted calmly. "What can I do for you?"

"Well Kingsley, do you have any idea about this Audrey girl? She's in my office and is claiming to be my new assistant."

"That's because she is your new assistant. Her interview was amazing; we think she's going to be great for the job."

"I don't doubt your judgment in her abilities, but I don't need an assistant." He replied.

"I know you don't think it's possible, but you work too hard. You come in first thing in the morning and you're the last one to leave. You never use your vacation days and rarely spend time with your family. You need help."

"But-"

"No but's Mr. Weasley. At some point you have to realize that it's ok to have a life outside of work. Take a break, see your family, have some fun."

"Fun?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Yes. That thing normal people engage in every now and then. Audrey is your new assistant and that's that."

"Yes, sir." Percy couldn't deny that he worked hard; that's just the way he was. All of his life he had to work hard to get the things he wanted, but now he just used work as a means to stay busy. If he wasn't drowning in work at all times, he'd have no excuse to not visit his family or deal with all of the issues he had going on. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to loosen up a bit, and a break wouldn't certainly hurt. Plus it'd be nice to have someone around.

"So I've got an assistant?"

"Yes."

"Very well. But Audrey's so….well, she's very uh, friendly."

"Well that works out perfectly. You don't have any friends, right?"

Audrey's POV

Walking into the Ministry for the first time, Audrey could tell that she was way overdressed. Correction, everyone else was way underdressed. Her first order as assistant to someone really important was going to be helping these people with their wardrobes. She'd checked before she came in today, there was no dress code unless you are a part of the Wizengamot, so there was no need for everything to be so dull. Her purple high heels were probably the brightest color this building had ever seen.

When she walked into her boss's office, she immediately noticed how tidy it was. Everything looked like it had been set in the same place for years; and there had been no attempt at decoration. She had arrived 20 minutes early on purpose, just in case, and figured she had some time to kill. She wanted to show her boss that she was ready to get to work as soon as possible, so she made a desk for herself with a table that had been pushed to the back of the office.

Audrey rarely ever got nervous, and actually felt a rush of excitement as she heard the door knob turn. A man walked in, and went straight to business. He said nothing to her and didn't even look her way. She wondered if he even knew she was coming and cleared her throat to get his attention. His expression changed from shock, to confusion, to observant. She could tell he was studying her, so she studied him back. He was tall and pale, with adorably red hair. He wasn't fit like a Quidditch player, but he wasn't exactly thin either. His shape was kind of perfect. He was dressed nicely and his lips were set in a couldn't help but laugh a little at him, which caused him to smile- a gesture that looked out of place amidst his hard-set features. The staring contest had been fun, but she figured it might be a good time to introduce herself.

"Good morning. My name is Audrey Carizzales; I'm your new assistant." She greeted. His initial reaction to her voice led her to believe the Australian was pretty thick, which probably confused him. He walked towards her to shake her hand, and he introduced himself as Percy Weasley. She hadn't heard the name Weasley since she left Hogwarts, and instantly got the connection to Ginny. She hugged him, impulsively, before he excused himself from the room.

He had come back a while later, and seemed to have warmed up to the idea of having her as an assistant. Either that or he was spouting out random directions and policies just for the hell of it. She was to be here by 8, take notes in meetings, keep up with his schedule, run other errands, and most importantly, intercept all letters from his family. Her first week of work had been easy enough. She did everything he said, and they even talked every now and then. When a letter came to him from Ron Weasley, she couldn't help but interfere. She had gotten a similar letter from Hermione, and she knew that it was the invitation to their wedding. Audrey knew it wasn't her place, but she put the letter on Percy's desk thinking he might open it out of curiosity. When he saw it he immediately put it on her desk and reminded her about his no-contact policy with his family.

"Why?" she asked, even though he probably wouldn't tell her, nor should she question her boss.

"Well, it's better for everyone if we just don't have contact."

"I really doubt that, but ok. It won't happen again."

"Thank you. Now, you seem to have a grasp on the rules and your duties, but I just want to remind you that this is not a place for fun." He said seriously.

"Really? Because I've been here for a week and this place just screams fun to me." She responded. Audrey immediately regretted it, and thought he'd fire her or throw a fit, but surprisingly he laughed at her joke. They'd only spent about 8 days together, but she could tell that the two times she gotten him to smile were more than he'd had all last year. She liked it when he smiled.

"Pardon me?" he asked. Oh shoot, she had said that out loud. Well, no need in taking it back, it was the truth.

"I just noticed that you have a nice smile; I like it." He stared at her again, and for the first time in a long time she blushed.

"Are you Australian?" he asked randomly.

"I was born in Australia and my father's from there-"

"But you look-"

"Latina? Well my mother's from Portugal; Lisbon actually. It's confusing, I know."

"It's interesting; I like it." Was he flirting with her? For the second time in a long time; Audrey blushed.

Percy's POV

It had been three months since Audrey had come to the ministry to work with Percy, and for some reason, the two of them were friends. For some reason he smiled and laughed and joked when she was around him, and every now and then he could make her blush. He enjoyed her company and for some reason, she enjoyed his as well.

They'd learned a lot about each other in that time. She knew his favorite coffee and what he liked to have for lunch. He knew autumn was her favorite season, and that she lived in a small flat with her cat named 'Puppy'. He also knew that she named him puppy because she was allergic to dogs, and had gotten a cat instead. She knew he loved Mondays and that he secretly thought working at the Ministry was boring. He told her things he had never told anyone else. She listened. Audrey was spontaneous and genuine and fiery; she reminded him of home. She reminded him of Ginny. For the past three months they had been co-habitating within his office and Percy wondered if that was the only reason they got along. She could just be friendly with him because she spent so much time with him at work, and for some reason that made him upset.

"Percy, you have a meeting in an hour with the Under Secretary. Should I get the conference room ready?" she asked.

"No."

"Do you want to have the meeting here or-"

"Cancel the meeting; we're taking the rest of the day off."

"Excuse me? Did I hear Percy Weasley say he's leaving work? Early?"

"Yes. If we get out of here now Kingsley shouldn't see us leave."

"Oh my goodness, Percy's coming out of the fun closet!" she teased as she grabbed her purse and coat. He grabbed her by the hand and the two of them ran through the halls of the ministry like children. It reminded him of the time when he was 8 and had to come to work with his father. Bill and Charlie had been running around the Ministry and Percy told on them.

He felt sort of ridiculous, but when he looked at Audrey she looked like she didn't have a care in the world. She laughed her contagious laugh, and like always, he smiled at the sound. When they got to the washrooms, they went their separate ways and flushed themselves out of the ministry. Percy met Audrey at the women's entrance, where she was still laughing and had let her wild curls out of her tight bun. "So now where are we going?"

"I figured I'd go home and relax. You can do whatever you like, you've earned a day off." He answered. He had the urge to ask her to stay with him, but figured that'd be too much.

"Oh no, you're not getting rid of me that easily Perce. We're going to enjoy this day."

"You want to spend your day with me?"

"Who wouldn't want to spend a whole day with their best friend outside of their stuffy old office? Let's go, time's a wasting!"

Audrey's POV

Audrey and Percy had gotten closer than she'd ever expected. He thought he was boring and uptight, but she thought he was just passive. She thought it was sweet that he was kind of awkward, and that he acted like a gentleman around her all of the time. He was charming and thoughtful where most guys usually treated her with no respect at all. She liked the fact that she could make him smile and that he could make her blush. It was kind of a secret game of hers to see how much she could get him to smile every day. She liked that Percy didn't regard other girls the same way, and she found it sweet when he got all overprotective around other men. Audrey liked Percy, and she had a feeling that he could feel the same.

"So Perce, where are we going for lunch today?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you I won't be going to lunch; we're having the final vote on the workplace relationship policy."

"Good! That's a stupid policy, go vote it down boss!"

"Are you crazy? I'm voting in favor of the decree."

"Percy, why would you vote for that?"

"Romantic relationships in the workplace are completely inappropriate. Could you imagine dating a co-worker?"

"Yes."

"Oh yeah? Who?" he asked in his jealous voice. She laughed as that confirmed to her that he might just like her too.

"No one."