After that week with Percy's family, things began to go downhill. Percy had been quietly talking with Arthur, Ron, and Harry about a house we had found when a coworker overheard. The next day when I went out grocery shopping, the wizarding press snapped dozens of pictures of me that ended up on the front page of every newspaper and magazine there was. Percy and I no longer had a private life. They discovered our apartment building, Percy's family was questioned about us whenever they left their houses, and Percy couldn't escape the stares of his coworkers.

However, in me the fear had settled in stronger than ever. There was no longer a chance of hiding my past from the wizarding world. The press was trying every possible avenue to find my story, which was driving Percy insane. He came home every night positively exhausted, but he refused to ignore the letters that would arrive consistently. They were from friends of his who were working on the newspapers and magazines. They warned us every night of stories that were going to be run the next morning, asking if he wanted to use his power as the Minister of Magic to defer them. I told him that he didn't have to, that they were all lies anyway, but everynight he wrote back asking them to stop the printing of the stories.

Four weeks later, Molly had gotten tired of our excuses and insisted that we come to breakfast or else she would arrive on our doorstep.

Percy managed a smile when he saw me step out of the bathroom. "You look beautiful, love."

I glanced down at the light green sundress and simple white sandals that I had on. "I'll clash horribly with your hair," I said quietly. "Perhaps, I should change."

He pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head before threading his fingers into my straight, dark brown hair. "We could never clash," he whispered.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his middle. "That's not what those newspapers say," I mumbled against him. "Didn't you hear? We've been fighting about whose family we're going to spend your birthday at."

He picked me up, forcing me to wrap my legs around him before he went over to the bed. Suddenly I was underneath of him, my head, laying on one of our plush pillows. "I thought I was spending my birthday with you." His breath brushed against my ear, creating shivers down my spine. His lips found their way up and down my neck, then he moved so he could look me in the eyes. "Audrey, my love, please ignore those newspapers. They're going to print false stories for as long as they can think them up."

"You mean until they find the real story."

"They won't," he promised. He shifted against me, smirking when my eyes glazed over ever so slightly. "I believe we have bigger things to worry about, love."

I pulled him closer with my legs. "Let's stay here for a little while longer."

"Marriage, Audrey, dear." He chuckled at my incredulous look and slipped from my grasp.

OOO

Molly's hands fluttered over us nervously, not saying a word. She stared at us a moment longer before leading us into the living room. "You two sit while I make some tea."

Ron glanced up at us from where he was playing with Teddy and Hermoine on the floor. "You two look bloody terrible."

Ginny smacked the back of his head, but no one disputed his words.

"You don't look terrible, my love," Percy said to me quietly.

I smiled at his words, letting him give me a quick kiss before Molly came back into the room. "Are you two sleeping alright?" she worried. "You look awfully..."

"Mum, we're fine," Percy promised.

"Don't you lie to me, Percy Ignatius-"

"We're trying to adjust to this new life, Molly," I interceded softly. "It came a lot faster than either of us thought."

She seemed to deflate of all anger at Percy as her eyes took us in. Molly gave my knee a pat and then squeezed Percy's hand. "What can we do?"

Percy shook his head. "Nothing, Mum. We're handling it."

A half hour later when we were sitting around the table eating breakfast I felt something nudge against my feet. At first I thought it was Percy trying to flirt and then I realized it was a little boy attempting to cuddle.

"Teddy?" I asked.

He looked up with a yawn. "Tiwed."

"How'd you get under the table?"

He shrugged and wiggled closer.

"Wouldn't you rather come up here with the rest of us?"

His turquiose hair flashed the infamous Weasley red and then returned. "No one's talking to me," he mumbled.

I moved back a little further and opened my arms to him. He sighed quietly, but obliged my request. "I'll talk to you, Teddy. I've been meaning to ask you if you had fun at the beach."

In a matter of seconds the little boy went from being shy and reserved to launching into a full description of everyday we had spent at the beach. He moved around my lap to face Percy so he could describe the day Percy had had too much fun throwing me into the ocean.

Ginny leaned over next to me. "Teddy really warmed up to you," she said quietly. "It makes Harry happy to see him smiling so much."

"He makes me forget everything else going on," I admitted.

OOO

George handed me a glass filled with a liquid Percy had shared with me many times. "Why are you handing me a glass of Firewhiskey?"

His eyes sparked with humor. "You and Percy drink it often?"

"What your brother and I do is between me and him," I teased. "Really, why are you handing me a glass at ten o'clock in the morning?"

He glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen. "The Daily Prophet just came and their stories are-"

"Where's Percy?" I ignored the drink and worked my way to the kitchen to see Percy standing over the small table in the kitchen. His shoulders were tense and his jaw was clenched painfully tight. "Percy?"

His eyes met mine and he shook his head. "I'll deal with it. Don't worry, love."

I ignored Molly, Arthur, Bill, and Fleur and went to his side. In big, bold letters was a headline that declared that I had been cheating on Percy with some man named Nicholas. The article detailed everything down to the fact that the Weasley's no longer had any tolerance for me.

"Percy, there's nothing to-"

"This won't happen again, Audrey. I will fix it. No one will ever think these things of you, I promise."

My hands found his shoulders and I gently eased him from the table. "I did not cheat on you with anyone."

"I know you didn't, love."

"Then who cares what others think? You and I know what is really happening between us and that is all that matters. If we had kids then it'd be different, but the two of us are adults who know how to handle ourselves."

"They can't go on printing-"

I smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "They can print whatever they want. In a few weeks, they'll print that I was tortured and then maybe not too soon after that they'll print that we're engaged..."

That made him laugh, and it wasn't his courteous "I'm laughing to be polite" laugh. No, it was his earnest, happy, true to self laugh. "Nice hint," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"The point is," I said, "that we can't control what they write about us. We'll keep things private; our dates can be where they wouldn't expect us, we'll keep your proposal a secret-"

"Are you trying to tell me something, my love?" he teased.

I grinned at him. "Just making sure you've gotten the memo."

He chuckled, pulling me closer. "I have, and I understand what you're trying to say. I just don't want you to be hurt."

I shrugged my shoulders. "'Eh, I'm an American. I can handle the ridiculous rumors that the newspapers comes up with." I glanced over at his family watching us and was suddenly conscious of Percy's hands roaming closer to my bottom. "Perhaps we should return to proper conversation."

He nodded before giving me another kiss. "I need a drink."

"You can have the one George tried to give me. I left it out there with him." I waited till he went out to the living room before letting out a breath I had been holding in. "He won't say it, but he's worried about you all, too." I folded up the paper and turned to look at the four of them. "Eventually they're going to drudge up stories of when he left you all. He feels he deserves everything he gets, but he wants to keep all of you out of it."

A flash of pain crossed Arthur's face, but he was quick to hide it. "Percy's quite different since the war."

"Since he met you," Bill added quietly.

"Audrey, love? Do you want to come watch the Quidditch match?"

"I'll be there in-" My eyes caught a familiar picture on the back of the newspaper. Penelope Clearwater had given an interview on her past relationship with Percy. She was still as beautiful as she was when Percy had first fallen for her.

Molly squeezed my shoulder and turned the newspaper over. "He could live without her," she said quietly, "but he cannot live without you. Trust me, I'm his mum."

I smiled at her and then Percy was there pulling me into his arms. "Are you coming?" I let him kiss me as he tugged me to the backyard where his siblings were fighting over brooms.

A little while later I found myself leaning back against Percy's chest between his legs as we watched his siblings play their second match. He was sitting against one of the trees in their huge orchard, his parents not too far from us with Victoire and Teddy playing with toy wands.

Percy played with my left hand for a torterously long amount of time before his chin rested on my shoulder. "I can't figure out how to ask you properly," he admitted suddenly.

I kept my eyes on Ginny and Bill weaving in and out of the others as they passed a quaffel back and forth. "Percy, I was joking with you earlier, sweetheart. We don't need to get engaged right now. We've got time."

His thumb rubbed circles on my hip bone. "I've been planning it since the first night at the beach," he whispered.

I couldn't help the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach at his words. "Just wait for the right time, Percy."

He chuckled and kissed my neck. "Easy for you to say. You don't have to worry about the perfect ring, perfect words, perfect place."

"Percy, we are everything but perfect. Let's keep it like that."