Sorry for the delay, but I have a fairly long chapter for you. Over 3000 words!

Also, there are some things in here that aren't canon at all, but they make the story more interesting, so I made them up! This story is officially an AU, not just because of some details in this chapter, but also more things later on in the story.

This chapter is also kind of dark, but the next few chapters will be packed full of action to make up for the darkness, so... yeah

*I probably should've included this last chapter, but I know there isn't a counter curse for the Cruciatious. I just thought, hey, if it's such a terrible curse, why hasn't anyone ever thought of a counter curse. The fault in that person's plan would be that thinking through the Cruciatious is nearly impossible.

ALSO, IMPORTANT : I AM GETTING READY TO POST A NEW STORY. I HAVE THE SUMMARIES OF A FEW IDEAS ON MY PROFILE. PLEASE READ THOSE AND VOTE ON THE POLL OR REVIEW THE ONE YOU'D LIKE POSTED ON ANY OF MY STORIES. THANK YOU!

WARNINGS: MENTION OF A MISCARRIAGE AND A BAD NIGHTMARE (IT'S ITALICIZED; YOU CAN SKIP ANYTHING THAT'S BOLDED, BUT ANYTHING THAT'S JUST ITALICIZED NEEDS TO BE READ)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

When the days are cold

And the cards all fold

And the saints we see

Are all made of gold

When your dreams all fail

And the ones we hail

Are the worst of all

And the blood's run stale

-"Demons" by Imagine Dragons

Percy tapped his foot wildly, looking back and forth, up and down the street.

He was supposed to meet Audrey at two PM on the corner of Terry and Birchenwood (if you've read my other story, Sacrifice of Brothers, this place will seem familiar).

It was already two fifteen.

Percy held his coat closer to him. The air was freezing, which seemed fitting, considering Percy would be attending a funeral after this. Penny's funeral.

"Hello."

The voice startled Percy so badly, he was barely able to stop himself from jumping and drawing his wand in the middle of a Muggle street.

He turned to face Audrey Hunter.

She hadn't changed much since Hogwarts. She was still shorter than him (but since Percy was so tall, she was probably considered average height), and still as slim as ever. Her hair was longer than it had been, but it was still a mess of untamed curls, like Percy's and Hermione's (before she'd turned 13). Her eyes were a pretty brown with flecks of green. Her appearance was mostly the same, but she had started to develop in... other areas.

Ahem, priorities, Percy.

Oh, right. Anyway, she was dressed in a green dress with black leggings (this must've been a Muggle style or something) and a black hoodie with the hood up.

After sizing her up, Percy met her eyes. She smiled; that hadn't changed either, and Percy was glad, although he'd never admit that to himself or anyone else.

"You haven't changed much," Audrey said before adding, "physically."

"Neither have you," Percy agreed, "physically."

But she had definitely changed mentally. The teenage Audrey would've never done something like this. The teenage Percy wouldn't have either, though.

"Let's go back to my place, where it's more private," she told him.

She led him to a street less than a block away. The houses all read Grimmauld Place. Grimmauld Place 10, 11, 13... They came to Grimmauld Place 15.

"Hey, where's 12?" Percy asked.

Audrey grinned. "Why, aren't you observant? Most people either don't notice at all, or assume somebody messed up the numbering.

"The Black family used to live there; they have tons of spells to hide it. My family hated living so close to a 'dark family,' in their words. But my dad liked playing with the two boys until their mother found out and came by, raving about blood traitors. My father never saw them again after that."

Percy nodded. "I know the feeling. You know the Malfoy family?"

Audrey nodded. "Yes, why?"

"I used to play with their older boy, Bennet."

She frowned. "I thought they only had one child."

"They do now. I used to play with him before Hogwarts. He hated his name, and he told me to call him Brandon. As soon as he turned eighteen, he was going to change it.

"But then, his parents found out he was friends with me. Lucius exchanged words with my father, and I never saw Brandon again. A week later, there was an article in the newspaper about Brandon being involved in a terrible accident. There's a rumor that Lucius killed him when he found out his son was involved with blood traitors.

"Maybe that's why Draco is the way he is. He was there, and he never told anybody what happened, so with enough bribery, the case was closed."

"Wow," Audrey whispered.

"Pureblood families sure cover things up well," Percy said.

"Yeah," Audrey agreed, staring at where Grimmauld Place 12 supposedly was, as if remembering something. "They sure do."

They stood there in silence until finally, Audrey turned to the door and unlocked it. She stepped aside to allow him entrance.

"Come on in."

Percy stepped inside, and out of the back room came a woman.

She was obviously Audrey's mother. She could've been Audrey's twin, if she weren't older. She wore a nice dress with flowers around the hems, and there was a bright smile on her face.

The woman hugged him; Percy was so surprised, he nearly fell over. He vaguely noticed Audrey stiffling a laugh.

This woman reminded him of his mother.

Percy stopped that train of thought in its tracks. This wasn't the time to get distracted.

"You must be Percy. I'm Audrey's mother, Lucy Hunter. Please, call me Lucy."

Percy smiled at her. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine. Now, I believe you two to be very responsible. No funny business," she said with a stern face.

Percy blushed. "Of course not."

Audrey burst out laughing. "Percy, she's messing with you."

"Oh... well, as my brothers and sister say, I never can take a joke."

Audrey smirked. "Got that right, Mr. Perfect Prefect."

Percy glared at her before snickering.

"I'm not so perfect. You should've seen me when I cursed Marcus Flint when he called my girlfriend some names I dare not repeat."

"I didn't see you, but I saw Marcus. He walked around with those boils for weeks. Now, anyway, thanks, Mum. We'll be upstairs."

Audrey lead Percy to her room. The room was just like Audrey. Clean, but still cozy with books and journals everywhere.

"Why so many books? I thought you were a Hufflepuff, not a Ravenclaw."

"Says the Gryffindor that spent every waking moment enforcing rules or in the library."

"...Good point."

"So anyway," Audrey suddenly turned serious. "The Muggleborns you rescued. How are they?"

Percy put up a muffling charm. He trusted Audrey's mother, but you can never be too careful.

"They're fine. No life threatening injuries. They're at Safe House 1."

"Good. What's our next plan?"

"Well, to get the Muggleborns out of the Ministry itself, distraction is the key. I'll find a distraction and get to the Muggleborns to tell them the plan. Afterwards, you, Oliver, and I will show up (invisible, in cloaks, or in a disguise of some sort). You lead the Muggleborns to the floo while Oliver and I cover you. Then, we get the hell out of there, and take them to Safe House 2."

"What if somebody notices you're missing from the Ministry?" Audrey asked.

Percy smirked. "They won't."

He pulled a small remote from his pocket and pressed the button.

Audrey let loose a little shriek (good thing Percy put up that charm) when another Percy appeared in the room with them.

She took a few small steps forward and ran her hand through him. He fizzled, making a sound like static on a radio.

"It's a hologram," Percy explained. "I programmed him so that he throws Stupefies and disarming charms. I also programmed him to aim for us, but since he isn't real, neither are his spells. Observe."

The hologram took out his wand and shouted, "Expilliarmus!"

A red light shot out, but it frizzled out before it'd even traveled a foot away from him.

"If it did come within contact of human skin, it would give them a minor shock, like when you touch a doorknob that has a lot of static. Overall, though, no harm done."

"How did you make this?" Audrey whispered.

Last year, Percy may have puffed up with pride, but now... after all the wrong he'd done, it was hard to look past that and at all the right he had done.

He shrugged. "It was quite easy. I went to the library and found a book on it. I really just followed the instructions."

Audrey nodded, but she still looked to be in a state of shock.

"Anyway, to them, it'll appear as if I were never gone."

Audrey smiled. "There's no way this plan could go wrong."

"Don't jinx it," Percy reminded her.

"Oh, yeah."

"Now," Percy said. "We'll carry it out on Monday, but Penny's funeral starts in ten minutes."

Audrey patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, Percy."

"That's why I'm doing this. To make sure as little people have to feel this way and to make her proud."

Audrey smiled. "She would be proud of you."

Percy smiled back. "I sure hope so."

Percy hated funerals (didn't everybody?).

Oliver was there, as were many of there former classmates. There wasn't a body; she'd been burned, along with the other dead Muggleborns. The burial was honorary. Only a headstone with no casket beneath it.

"Penelope was a wonderful girl," her father was saying. "She was everything you could ask for in a daughter. Smart, kind, head strong but still polite. Brave. She will never be forgotten."

He stepped down, and everyone clapped, quietly.

"Next," the preacher said. "Percy Weasley."

Some of the people were surprised. Percy and Penny's relationship had been secret. Others knew because they'd seen Percy kiss Penelope outside the Great Hall in his sixth year when she'd been unfrozen. Penny's close friends glared at him; they'd known how badly the relationship had ended, and the things Percy had said.

"For those of you that don't know," Percy said, struggling to speak past the lump in his throat, "Penny was my first and only girlfriend. When I had no one in my life- siblings, classmates... none of them really liked me- Penny was there.

"She was.. my everything, my world. I loved her more than I loved myself.

"But a few years ago, I'd proposed to her. We were to be married in 1996, and she was carrying our baby. But... she lost them, only a week after we found out we were having twins- a boy and a girl. We'd even started discussing names.

"After she lost them, we were grieving. She said some things; I said some things that I can never take back. We broke it off, and I always wanted to apologize, but I'd... I'd back out of it before I'd even reached her front door. You'll never know how much I wish that I'd knocked that night and swallowed my pride and just said that I was- am- sorry.

"Now, I never can."

Percy stepped down, and he was shocked to see that many people were crying after his speech. Even Oliver; Percy hadn't seen him cry since his girlfriend cheated on him in fourth year (Oliver was a player, but he'd really loved her; Percy remembered going up to her the next week. Let's just say she'd been sorry she'd ever messed with Percy Weasley's friend).

Her funeral continued, and as it drew to a close, Percy stood and was about to Apparate back to his flat when he felt a small hand pull on his sleeve.

He turned. It was Penelope's sister, Isabella.

Isabella had only been six when Percy first met her the summer after seventh year. She was fast approaching nine now. Gone were the overly chubby cheeks and uneven blonde hair she'd tried to cut when her parents weren't looking. She still only came to his waist, but she would look just like Penny in a couple years with curly blonde hair held by a red headband. She wore a red dress with a black jacket to block the cold air. Her eyes were crystal blue, just like Penny's.

"Thank you," Isabella said.

"For what?" Percy asked.

"For being Penny's first love," Another voice said.

It was Kristen, Penny's thirteen year old sister. She'd only been ten when Percy last met her, and now, she was taller and was going through her awkward stage. Acne was starting to pop up; she was gangly; her hair was straight and short and growing unevenly. Her eyes were just like Penny's, too.

She looked just like Penny had at thirteen. Percy knew, though, that Kristen would be one of the prettiest girls in school by the time she was fifteen. Just like both of her older sisters...

"Yeah."

Speaking of her...

Tiana was older than Penny by five years, and was now almost twenty-seven. She was tall and curvy with curly blonde hair. She wore a black skirt and a white shirt with a black coat. Her blue eyes were rimmed red from crying over her little sister.

She had a baby of her own now, too. She held a small bundle in her arms; the baby couldn't have been more than a few months old.

"She loved you very much," Tiana told him. "She showed up crying on my doorstep after you two broke it off. She didn't stop crying for weeks, and I hated you for hurting her. But then, I saw you one night. At her flat. You were crying, and... I knew she'd hurt you just as much as you'd hurt her, but neither one of you would apologize."

"Maybe if we had things would be different," Percy said.

She nodded. "Maybe. Penny told me about the time you stood up for her, after someone called her a name. When you came by the house, you were so polite and sweet and Isabella and everyone else in the family loved you. My dad even said that he couldn't ask for a better soon to be son in law."

"Penny wanted me to give these to you," Kristen said, handing him a tiny journal and a necklace.

Percy examined the necklace. "I gave this to her for her sixteenth birthday," he realized.

Kristen nodded. "She knew they would take it when she arrived at the Ministry; she didn't want that."

"She also wanted to say that she loved you," Isabella added.

Percy nodded. "Thank you. For forgiving me."

Tiana nodded. "It was the least we could do after you made Penny so happy."

Percy smiled at them. "Goodbye," he said before Apparating away.

Percy changed into a Muggle T-shirt and sleep pants when he got home before sitting on the sofa and reading from the journal.

Dear Percy,

I'm not sure if these letters will ever reach you, or if I want them too. I just want you to know that... I'm sorry for everything I said. I'm sorry I called you an emotionless moron, an ambitious bastard, and so much more.

Grieving parents don't always stay together; I was hoping we'd be an exception, but the loss of our little boy and girl was just too much.

Before we lost them, I wanted to ask you about some names.

Crystal, because that's what you always called me because of my eyes.

Asher, meaning one who is blessed.

They'll never take their first steps or get married or have kids. I'll never even hold my babies, Percy.

You would've been a great father, and someday, I know you will. Somebody will call you Daddy one day, Percy, but I have a feeling they won't be calling me Mommy.

I love you, my brave knight.

-Penny

Percy started sobbing; he couldn't read anymore tonight. He was in tears after the first letter; how would he feel after the last?

He put the journal away and crawled into bed.

He should've known that after the day he'd had, nightmares would haunt him.

The first part he'd seen before; he'd had the same nightmare for months after they'd lost the babies.

He was standing beside Penelope as she lay in the hospital bed, blood coating her gown and the sheets.

"Aw, Penny, honey, it's over, " Percy whispered to her. "Penny? Penny!"

She was completely still, her blue eyes wide open and filled with blood, as though the crimson was her tears.

"PENNY!"

"Mr. Weasley," a nurse said, coming over with another. They both held objects wrapped in blankets, one blue, one pink.

"Meet your children."

They showed him the babies, both deformed and covered in sticky blood. The girl had her eyes wide open, and they were identical to Penny's empty blue eyes. They'd been almost four months along.

"NO!"

The dream changed.

"Damn it, Weasley, tell me who the other Freedom Fighters are!"

"Never..." Percy spat out blood.

The man walked into his hazy vision. He was tall, but his face was covered by a death eater mask.

"TELL ME!"

"No!" Percy yelled, forcing his weak voice to be stronger.

"Crucio!" Percy didn't even have the strength to scream.

"Are you going to tell me now?"

Percy shook his head. "You won't hurt my friends so long as I'm alive."

"I know how to make you talk," the man growled. "Get in here!"

The door opened, and three men stepped in. They raised their wands, a curse on all of their lips.

Aw, fuck.

Percy woke up, breathing hard.

That dream was the most vivid he'd had in a while.

A wand poked at his throat.

"Don't make a sound, or I will kill you."

Aw, fuck.

I don't know what happened with the hologram thing; I was either very tired or in a sci-fi mood when I wrote it. Do you think the song's fitting (Demons by Imagine Dragons)?

I also should have warned you, but this story will feature a lot of BAMF Percy because let's face it, he needs one of those stories. He doesn't have a whole bunch of them.

Thanks for reading! And sorry, the chapter turned out so dark, although I still think it was pretty interesting (not as interesting as the chapter about their plan will be, though. *evil laugh*).