OMG, OMG! I finished another chapter. [Does a celebratory dance. Remembers she doesn't know how to dance. Stops and coughs.] Anyway, I hope you like it.

By the way, I still don't own the Harry Potter series. I will keep you posted on any changes regarding that matter.

It takes a great deal of self-reflection for a person to recognize his or her own faults. Admitting these faults aloud can often be extremely painful.

Growing up Percy had an unexpected talent for self-doubt. The thoughts that plagued his mind became increasingly more negative, until he exploded.

"Why can't I do anything right!" He roared, slamming his course book onto the table. His mother looked up, startled. She tapped her wand on the side of the pot, stopping the spoon from stirring for a moment.

"Percy dear, you're only in your first year, you're bound to have some difficulties with your school work. Why, even Bill sometimes…"

Percy tuned her out after that. Was it supposed to be comforting that his perfect older brother mucked up a charm one time in his first year? Percy had to be better than that. Percy had to excel past the levels of his brothers, so that his mother would smile at him differently than how she smiled at the others.

How else was Percy supposed to feel validated?

"Yes mum, of course, I'll try again," He said quietly, cutting off whatever well-meaning praise she was gushing about Bill. Mum smiled at him.

"That's my good little boy, such a hard worker you are." She kissed the top of his head, and went back to stirring her pot.

Percy sighed, well, that was something at least.

Even if he failed over and over again, someone knew he was working hard to get it right.

Now that he was older, doubt stung just as harshly…but… Percy still had to try, or else he felt empty rather than hurt. Emptiness was worse than pain. If he got it wrong then he would try again.

The idea of ruining his chances with Audrey was unimaginable. Or rather, he could imagine thousands of scenarios for it, and each one hurt more than the last. Still, if he never tried, he might lose his chance entirely. Audrey was clever, Audrey was filled with childish energy, but Audrey was only human. Like most people, Audrey needed someone to lean on. Percy would like to be that person for her. All ready, she felt like his most reliable, sturdy person. If he couldn't be the same for her then well…

He would probably cry, to be honest.

Grown men should not think like that. Though he had began by running, Percy now walked down the stairs as slowly as possible. Once he reached the room where he had left Audrey, he came to a full stop.

Oh Merlin, the door was closed. Muffled voices resounded from somewhere within.

Gryffindors should not pace outside of dinning rooms, afraid to open the door.

Well, Percy had always been a little different.

He coughed, and he politely knocked three times. The door opened. Lucy's bright eyes flashed across his form, and her face slipped into relief.

"Good timing young man." She ushered him in. Percy took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold.

Audrey had been somewhat annoyed when Percy rushed out of the room after her dad. She thought he was going to be there for her but then…She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the feeling. Percy was solidly, but he was a little hard to get through to sometimes. She would have to be clearer about what she wanted from him. Besides, she didn't want to act like her mum. Speaking of which…

"I don't think you can question my ability to study science, after all, haven't you abandoned that path for a more fantastical one?"

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Isn't magic just science we don't understand yet*?" She asked bitterly.

"I said that," Mrs. Green remembered.

Audrey nodded. "Yes. That was the day Professor McGonagall came to tell us I was a witch. I was scared…It should have been a scam, because magic couldn't possible be real, that would be way too amazing… My reality was shaken, but you smoothed out my worries."

The two of them stayed up all night whispering excitedly about the new possibilities the existence of magic opened up. The next day her mum bought her a new journal so she could document all of her discoveries. Audrey boarded the Hogwarts Express ready and willing to absorb the new information thrown at her. Writing in her journal became a daily activity, every night before she went to bed. She wrote about her classes, with carefully quilled facts, and amusingly drawn stick figure cartoon explanations. She wrote about her daily war on the subject of Charms. All of Audrey's precious experiences went into that journal. There were quips about the Potion master's hair, loving essays on her new best friend, Ollie the ultimate Quidditch geek, and exclamations of the fantastic invention of wizarding chocolate. Through the journal she told her mum about her conquers and her defeats.

When the train pulled back to the station, her mother wasn't there. "She had a very important meeting," Her father told her. "She'll be tired afterwards…say, why don't we pick up some ice cream? A little for us and a little for her?" Audrey grudgingly agreed. She thought it was the first time she trudged to the ice cream shop.

When mum finally got back home, Audrey was waiting with a tub of mum's favorite flavor in one hand, her journal in the other. Her mum looked questioningly at her as she unstrapped her shoes. "I thought we could eat and read it together," Audrey said hopefully. Mum shook her head.

"Not right now Audrey, I've got some phone calls to make. You can put the ice cream on my desk." Audrey did what she was told, stamping her feet all the way. "Audrey?" Mum called after her. Audrey spun around, her eyes shinning—"You've all ready eaten some ice cream today, right?" Audrey nodded. "Make sure to brush your teeth."

In the morning Audrey found her mother asleep at her desk. Ice cream dripped steadily down the side of the cartoon, pooling into a pink stain on the front of Audrey's journal. Audrey was certain it had never been opened.

"That stupid journal," Mrs. Green snorted. Audrey looked up, shaken out of her memories. She glared fiercely.

"You know, it was your idea in the first place—and you didn't even bother to read it!"

Mrs. Green quirked an eyebrow. "Didn't I? I read the whole thing in one sitting, when I should have been focusing on making phone calls to gather the misplaced data. My boss chewed me out the next morning, and I told him to…" She cleared her throat, "…buzz off, as I had a rather bad ice cream hangover."

Audrey stared wide-eyed at her. "Wait…you actually…what?"

Mrs. Green shook her head. "Seriously, it was your fault for making it so engaging. It was supposed to be a report you know, clean facts and the like. It was not supposed to be an intriguing narrative about the ups and downs of my daughter's magical school life. Honestly, sometimes I think you and your father are way too alike." Mrs. Green's froze awkwardly. "What now? Audrey…why on earth are you crying?"

Audrey hid her face in her hands, shaking her head wildly.

Of course, this was the exact moment someone decided to knock on the door. The two Green women jumped. Lucy stood up quickly, tucking her hair behind her ears. Mrs. Green stared at her.

"You know Lucy…I had forgotten you came back into the room," Mrs. Green said. Audrey nodded rapidly, feeling a hot flush of embarrassment spread across her face. Her feelings increased tenfold when Lucy opened the door to reveal Percy standing there.

Lucy looked over him. "Good timing young man." She smirked and practically dragged him into the room. Audrey bit her lip. Percy's hair was cutely tousled as if he'd been nervously running his hands through his hair.

"You okay?" She asked suddenly. Percy gave a short chuckle of shocked laughter.

"Am I okay? I rather think that was my line. Audrey, you're crying." He stepped forward half an inch, wringing his hands. "Do you…I mean, if you need anything, anything at all, just say the word and I will do my best to give it to you."

"I like him. He's sappy, but I like him," Mrs. Green said abruptly. Lucy nodded, rubbing her chin like a wise old man.

"For once, I agree."

"Er, I suppose, thank you," Percy said to both of them. "Audrey—" Before he could say another word she jumped forward and squeezed him so tightly he had to gasp for air. Then she let go and pounced similarly on her mother.

"Thank you, thank you for reading it," She said happily, kissing both of her mother's steadily reddening cheeks. "I'm still a bit angry at you, and I don't doubt we will get into millions of other fights but…at least that's one issue cleared away."

"And thank goodness for that." Lucy got in between them, patting their backs hard. Mrs. Green frowned deeply. Audrey wiped her eyes, blowing her nose on her Christmas jumper. "Now, I've got a suggestion for the four of us, and I think it's quite a good one."

"What's that, red wine and a card competition?" Mrs. Green asked, her frown beginning to melt away. Lucy snapped her fingers.

"Right in one. I guess we are sisters after all." Mrs. Green rolled her eyes. "Still, Audrey and Percy are bound to find that boring," Percy opened his mouth to disagree, but Lucy continued without giving him a glance. "Why don't the two of them take a nice walk into town? Audrey can show him around. By the time they get back, dinner should be ready and we should be nicely mellowed. What do you say darlings?"

Audrey taped her chin thoughtfully. "Sounds good to me, Percy?" Percy nodded slowly.

"Whatever you like." Seeing the town Audrey grew up next to sounded interesting…and Percy wasn't sure he wanted to be around when Lucy got drunk.

Audrey practically skipped out of the house, Percy making long strides to keep up with her.

"So, were you scared of my aunt's reaction to a little red wine?" Audrey asked teasingly when they were through the end of the parking lot and onto the side of the road.

"Ah…not exactly…" Percy caught Audrey's look and shrugged. "Well yes actually, can you blame me?"

"I won't, but you'd be wrong to think she's the scary one. She does mellow out you know, after drinking. That's one of the many reasons she's such a health nut. Alcohol makes her low energy and she prefers being a bit more…zippy. Anyway, mum's the one you've got to watch out for in this case."

"Really?" Percy was surprised at first, but thinking back on Mrs. Green's intense facial expressions, perhaps it was to be expected.

"Definitely. At least, I think so. It's been a while…" Audrey sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Anyway Percy, what would you like to see?"

"In the town?" She nodded. "Any place you want to show me is fine," She frowned. "Though," Percy suddenly had an idea. "If you could think of any small shop that might sell something my dad would like…spark plugs maybe, though mum might get angry at me if I encourage him…"

Audrey laughed. "Well, as fun as sparking Mrs. Weasley's wrath sounds, lets keep the ratio of emotional family breakdowns down a minimum, shall we? Hmmm…ooh, how about a nice wheelie chair? I noticed Arthur's slouching a bit, like my dad does. We could find a nicely made chair with a supportive back and the ability to roll all around the room."

Percy smiled. "That does sound like something he would enjoy. And it would be a thoughtful gift as well. Why not? Though I would like to see some places from your childhood, if possible."

"I'll put in some effort."

As the two of them came into the town, Audrey pointed out the different shops and buildings.

"That's sort of a museum that focuses on the history of this place…it has like dusty clothes and tarnished spoons in it," Percy gazed at it, fascinated with the idea, but Audrey quickly steered him away. "Then there's the post office where the owner used to give me a lolly sometimes—speaking of which there's a very popular sweets shop up in that direction." Percy kept walking straight. His senses twitched and he turned around to see Audrey pouting imploringly at him.

"…So, should we take a look in this sweets shop?" Percy said amusedly. Audrey bounced up and down like a puppy.

"Yes, yes, come on Percy, let's go!" She pulled him along across the way.

When they got inside Percy breathed in the warming scent of rich chocolate. Audrey was crouching down beside the counter, her breath clouding the glass. "Perhaps you should stand…" Percy started to suggest, glancing around them to see if anyone was staring.

"Look at all the colors," Audrey insisted eagerly, grabbing his hand. Percy tilted his head to the side, pursed his lips, and finally kneeled down beside her. She pointed out the fruit shaped marzipan treats, as well a couple of small moist cakes. In the next case there were neatly arrayed squares of different flavored fudge, and individually wrapped toffees.

There was also a large assortment of packaged goods, such as liquorices, jellies and mints.

"What are you getting then?" Percy asked curiously.

"There's this double chocolate hot chocolate," Audrey closed her eyes dreamily. "You can still taste the sweetness hours after you drink it." She elbowed him gently. "Shall I order two cups?"

"No thank you, it would ruin my appetite," Percy said automatically. His stomach growled in disapproval.

"We can definitely work up an appetite on this tour," Audrey grinned. Percy adjusted his glasses uncertainly. Audrey shrugged. "Well get something at least, just to tide you over."

"Okay…"

Percy walked out of the shop clutching a cup of mint tea in his hands. Audrey was slurping down her infamous double hot chocolate in record speed. Percy sipped his tea in mild disappointment. The tea was good, flavorful, but nothing compared to the overwhelming smell of chocolate to his right. Audrey noticed him watching.

"Drink," She ordered, shoving it towards him. He took a swallow, then another, and another. By the time they reached their destination Percy had finished over half of the chocolate. His tea had somehow ended up with Audrey, who was drinking it in a subdued sort of way, betwixt loud sighs. He reluctantly, with only a hint of guilt, handed her drink back over. "I do believe you owe me an extra special hot chocolate."

"And you owe me a tea," He retorted, without meaning to. She blinked at him.

"Indeed," She nodded. "But your debt is much heavier than my own. If you do not repay me you will regret it horribly." With that she marched very seriously into the furniture store.

Percy followed her, unsure of whether to feel amused or afraid.

Percy had unexpected fun roaming through the shop, trying out the different chairs. Audrey turned it into a game.

"What sort of person would buy this one?" She wondered aloud, sitting with some trepidation on a lilac, heart shaped plush seat, with an outline of lace. Percy wrinkled his nose.

"Possibly my great aunt Muriel," He said. "I wouldn't put it past her anyway."

"…Sorry, but I don't look forward to meeting her."

"No need to apologize, no one ever looks forward to that," He assured her. He glanced around the shop, spotting a more subtly colored black leather chair. "How about this one for dad?" He sat down and immediately sunk into its hidden depths. If it had been a wizarding chair Percy would have assumed it had some sort of swallowing curse on it. Audrey had to tug hard to pull him out.

"That chair is for a person who never has to stand up," She reasoned. "How's this?" She pointed out a blue one, with sizable wheels on the bottom. She sat down. "Give me a push?" Percy ended up pushing her around the store, faster and faster until the shopkeeper stopped them.

Percy's ears got hot as Audrey hopped off it. "Not that one," He said.

There was a rather nice softly colored gold one, but when Percy checked the price tag he stumbled backwards. Audrey peeked at it.

"Oh," She winced. "A bit steep."

"A bit?" Percy thought it was outrageous.

"Yes, well, I like Arthur a lot, so if you think this is the one then I'll put up the money."

Percy shook his head vigorously. The Weasleys had a thing about letting other people pay for them. Besides, if Audrey bought it, then it would be her gift, not his. "We can do better, let's keep looking."

The tired looking shop keeper finally asked what it was they were looking for, and led them to the perfect chair.

It was a dark red chair, comfortable, with a supportive back and reasonably sized wheels underneath. The price fit nicely into Percy's range. He carefully counted out the muggle currency, exchanging a glance with Audrey to make sure he was giving the correct amount. They left the chair at the store, so Audrey could pick it up with her car tomorrow morning.

"It's the least I can do," She told him. "It'll be easy to transport after I shrink it anyway." Percy shushed her, looking around to make sure none of the muggles heard. It appeared they were all wrapped up in their own businesses.

"Where to next?" He asked. Audrey scratched her head.

"Let's walk while I think, 'kay?"

"Sure." Percy followed her forward.

The pavement was still damp from the earlier rain, though the sun had been aggressively bright throughout most of the day. Now the sky was becoming rosy colored and the crowds began to thin.

"Lots of people are heading back to their families I guess," Audrey mused. Percy nodded. "I suppose we should too…though there is one more place I'd like to show you."

"Lead the way."

"Well thank you good sir." Audrey tipped a non- existent hat as she flourished a bow. Percy chuckled, and mirrored her movements. He stuck his arm out.

"What is this mysterious place my dear lady?"

Audrey locked arms with him. "We will go to the park if you please."

She grew quiet as they walked along; she seemed to be thinking something over.

They turned the corner and slipped through a narrow alleyway into a green grassy area. Percy could see a pond sparkling in the distance, past an open gate. The wind picked up and Audrey's scarf danced away from her. She cursed and the two of them ran after it.

Percy clumsily swatted it to the ground just stopping it from diving into the water. It landed strategically in a pile of mud. Audrey sighed. Percy frowned.

"I apologize for my lack of hand-eye coordination skills."

"Well, I'm the same way," Audrey shrugged, picking up the scarf. "Anyway…" She glanced around them, and then snuck her wand out of her pocket, prodding her muddied clothing with it.

"Audrey!" Percy said warningly. He was somewhat annoyed that she was skirting the law directly in front of a Ministry official. Audrey smirked.

"Calm down Percy the prefect. The park is within my area so I'm allowed to do magic here,"

"Oh." Percy felt relieved.

"…I think," Audrey added hesitantly. Percy narrowed his eyes at her. She grinned sheepishly. "Still, it's a nice place, don't you think?" She pointed out at the pond, the wide-open sky above them, the bare trees circled around.

"Yes," Percy agreed begrudgingly. It was a lovely view. The wind ragged again, and Audrey's hair attacked her face. Percy laughed as Audrey battled with her curls, pulling an elastic band out of her pocket and tying her hair up into a bun. Her appearance suddenly stirred a memory. "You wore your hair like that when I interviewed you for the position of editor that day."

Audrey looked up questioningly, and then tapped the top of her head in recognition. "So I did. I forgot. Katie couldn't tame it, so we just stuffed it into a bun. Since then I've talked to Hermione about it in length, and Harry about it in passing. They both have had similar problems, but I think we've all decided that it's best to leave our hair as it is in the long run."

Percy stared. "Well, I think it looks quite nice either way." Audrey beamed at him. The wind settled down into a delicate breeze.

"Thanks I was—"

A loud bang rang out from above. Audrey grabbed at Percy's sleeve, and then laughed in relief when they saw the red and blue fireworks erupt in the dimming light of the early evening.

"I guess someone couldn't wait until midnight," She said. Percy felt overly aware of how tightly she was holding on to him. He could see the celebratory sparklers reflected in the pond in front of them. Glittering spots of light leapt off the surface of the water guiding his eyes the bare curve of her neck as she tilted her head upwards. It was pleasantly quiet with just the two of them here, but it was such as short walk back to the Green household, where they would join three chatty family members and a cook.

"I won't wait either," Percy said suddenly, leaning towards her. Audrey froze, caught up in the fierceness of his blue eyes. Their lips met. Audrey smiled into the kiss, sliding her hands down his back and pulling him in closer. She was so close… Percy's heart beat rapidly. An electric zing went off in his brain chasing any doubts away. He gripped her shoulders and the kiss deepened. The taste of hot chocolate and mint tea mingled and grew stronger.

Finally Percy touched the side of her face, drawing away slowly. A stupid grin tugged at his lips as she breathed heavily in his arms. He was oddly tempted to say something cocky about the bright look in her eyes—or better yet, kiss her again.

Audrey straightened up and bumped her forehead against his. "Glad you became impatient," She said. Percy couldn't stop smiling.

"Yes, me too."

So yes, they kissed. Finally. Hopefully this is a good forward step in their relationship...but who knows...? Anyway, I understand my updates are crazily spaced apart, but I am doing my best as many RL things tend to get in the way of writing.
That said, any reviews spur me on with much more vigor. Also, I would appreciate some responses as we tip-toe into the romance (for example: is it too awkward, unbelievable or stupid?) as I've never really written that sort of thing.

Thanks a ton for reading, and any responses you have given or will be giving,

AoiKuroNekoSan

*Arthur C. Clarke, or Jane Foster from Thor, take your pick.