AN: I'm not exactly sure about this because this is only the second time I've wrote Percy and the first time I've written Audrey. So go easy on me maybe? And please leave a review telling me what you thought because I really appreciate it.

This was written for the Pairing Diveisty Boot Camp Challenge (impetuous) and the Flower Language Challenge (Gladiolus)

Also written for round five of the Quidditch League Competition with the prompts; "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." – To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. Dialogue: Who is she? and Radio. (Harpies, Chaser 3.)

Word count: 1,908

Disclaimer: I'm am obviously not a British writing by the name of JK Rowling so anything you recognize is obviously not mine.

Starting Anew

It's the best thing for your career, the voice inside his head constantly tells him.

And being the person that he is, he listens to it. He walks out of on his family, cuts all ties with them and refuses to acknowledge them. Because he's more worried about his job than anything else and to him, image is everything. Especially for the Junior Assistant to the Minister.

He sends his Weasley sweater back to his mother, unopened which most likely leaves her in tears. As much as it kills him to do it – he feels like it's the right thing to do. This job means everything to him and so he does the first thing he think he should do.

Even if his family may never forgive him.

He's dead.

Dumbledore's dead.

Killed by Snape – of all people.

Percy's always appreciated Dumbledore so he goes to the funeral but he stays towards the back. His family won't want to see him – not after what happened. He doesn't really blame them, he deserves it.

He sees Ginny leaning towards Harry for support and crying which causes his heart to break. He wishes he could reach out and place a comforting hand on her shoulder; but he can't do that. He lost that privilege a long time ago.

He disappears as quietly as he appeared – too ashamed to face anyone.

The ministry's not the same anymore. Not since you-know-who has taken it over (he's not at all comfortable with saying his name out loud.) But he suffers through it, quietly. It's all he can do, since he can't go home. Not after how he left things with his mum and his family.

That is all your fault, Percy.

You're the one who walked out without looking back.

He had been so obsessed with his job and his image that he completely overlooked his family. A family that was always there for him and a family that he really never appreciated – one he took for granted. He didn't realize what he had until he lost it and he was regretting his decision to leave.

He spends most of his free time, sitting in his flat, listening to Potterwatch. It's one of the few things that keep him sane when everything around him is going to hell.

He's relieved when he doesn't hear his family's names when they tell the deaths. That means that they're safe – for now, at least. Even if he doesn't know where they are, they're safe and that's what keeps him going.

Lightening has struck. That's the code word that everyone's been waiting for. Harry's at Hogwarts and a battle is slowly brewing.

As soon as he hears the words on Potterwatch, he's on his feet and running out the door faster than Oliver Wood can say Quidditch.

He's acting impetuous, but he doesn't care. This is one impulse that he's sure about.

He will fight and fight hard. He'll put everything he has into this battle. His family may still hate him, but he'll feel better knowing that he's done something good for once in his life.

He can't just sit around at home like a bloody coward while his whole family is out there, risking their lives. He's a Gryffindor for Godric's sake.

He's hurrying down the tunnel connecting the Hogs Head to Hogwarts and hopes that he isn't too late. He clambers out of the end of the tunnel and lands on the floor with a great thump. He uses the edge of a nearby chair to pull himself up.

His glasses are lopsided, but he doesn't care enough to fix them. "Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I—I—"

He splutters into silence after he takes in the scene in front of him. Standing around the room is his whole family – who don't look real happy to see him.

He purses his lips together, trying to think of something to say, but he doesn't know what to say. What he should say. What do you say to your family after you walked out on them as horribly as he did? He hadn't exactly expected to run into most of his family that soon in the night.

There's a terrible tension in the air and it's making him quite uncomfortable – even with Fleur trying to break the ice with a question about Teddy.

"I was a fool!" Percy cries at random, bringing up what Gryffindor courage that he can. "I was an idiot…I am an idiot. A pompous prat."

"You're a Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," Fred states.

"Yes," Percy says, agreeing. "I was."

Percy's running down a corridor with Fred and George when he sees him. Anger flares up in the pit of his stomach and he's appalled that he once backed him. He couldn't believe that he had been stupid enough to turn his back on his family.

"Hello, Minister!" he yells, sending a jinx straight at Thicknesse. "Did I mention that I'm resigning?"

"Are you joking, Percy!" Fred yells. "I don't think I've—" but his words were cut off because of an huge explosion just a few feet away.

It all happens so fast that he doesn't even process it until it's too late. He's thrown backwards into the wall and slowly slides to the floor. When he gets to where he can see, he can see his brother laying on the floor, unmoving and his stomach drops.

Not Fred…No!

Anything but Fred.

It can't be. He can't be…

He finds himself walking towards the lifeless body but doesn't remember telling his feet to move. Before he knows it, he's kneeling next to his brother's body, shaking him. As if that could wake him up – but it couldn't.

Nothing would.

Fred was dead.

There wasn't a damn thing Percy or anyone could do to help him.

Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

This is my fault.

Harry's dead. Their last hope has been killed but that doesn't stop anyone.

They're not going to give up so easily. Not without a fight. They've come too far to give up now.

He can't give up, not now. He will avenge Fred's death if it's the last thing he does.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"

He spins around and sees his mum running towards Bellatrix, her wand clutched tightly and pointed straight at her.

He stands off to the side with everyone else as he watches his mother's duel with Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort's duel with Kingsley, Slughorn and McGonagall.

His mother kills Bellatrix. Harry's alive. Voldemort is finally dead.

It's finally over. They've done it, but he doesn't feel victorious.

"We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one and Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!" he hears Peeves shouting up and down the hallways.

But Percy doesn't feel like having fun. He doesn't feel like doing anything. His brother is dead because he couldn't do anything to save him.

Maybe he's a coward after all. What kind of person just stands by and lets their brother get killed?

He's not worth the Weasley name.

He's standing in the great hall, staring down his brother's lifeless body and he feels himself shaking.

This isn't fair.

Fred's gone and George is a wreck.

That should be me.

George is walking towards him and before he knows it, he's being pulled in for a hug. He doesn't know why George does it, but he's the first to welcome him back into the family.

Percy can't fandom why; Fred's death was his fault. He didn't deserve to be counted as a Weasley anymore – not after what he did.

But maybe he can understand why George did it. He'd just lost a brother and he doesn't want to lose another one. So he's doing anything he can to not let that happen.

It's a week after Fred's funeral when he sees her after he agrees to have a talk with Kingsley at the Ministry. A beautiful woman with wavy, brown hair that falls past her shoulders and bright and cheerful brown eyes is standing a few feet away, talking with another woman.

"Percy," Kingsley says, trying to get his attention.

Percy shakes himself out of the daydream and glances over at Kingsley. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Kingsley gives a small smile. "Go talk to her."

"One question," Percy asks. "Who is she?"

"Audrey Collins; department of International Magical Cooperation."

He doesn't know why he does it or what he's thinking. After all, he's not good with these kinds of things. He's hardly ever had a girlfriend before and rarely asked girls out. Penelope has been his first and only girlfriend.

But he's standing in front of her, introducing himself and then asking her out on a date.

Their first date is in her favorite muggle coffee house. She's already sitting at a nearby table when he pushes through the door. There's a radio, playing music softly in the distance and for the first time in a month, he feels calm.

"I'm not late, am I?"

She shakes her head. "I'm just early."

They chat and learn more about each other and soon are laughing as if they've known each other forever. He learns that she was a Ravenclaw just a year below him and was a prefect as well, her favorite color's purple and she's a muggle-born.

He smiles as she tells a story about when her younger sister climbed up in a tree after her pet cat and refused to come down.

They meet more times after that in muggle restaurants, they took a stroll through a park and she even dragged him to a muggle theater to see a movie.

It was weird, but Percy soon got used to it and enjoyed the movie – even if he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"I've had fun," Percy says as they're walking down the sidewalk towards her house.

Audrey nods. "I have too…More fun than I've had in a while."

Percy falls quiet. It still feels weird that he's out having fun and having a life when Fred was robbed of that freedom.

Audrey cocks her head. "Whatever it is you're thinking it's not your fault."

Percy looks at her and raises an eyebrow with a confused look on his face.

"It's obvious," she replies. "Everyone is still thinking about the war. I still do; things happened that I wish hadn't. But it was out of my control and it's something that I can't change…Don't beat yourself up over something that's happened that you can't go back and fix. It'll only drive you insane."

She's right.

Somehow her words stick more than anything his family has told him recently.

The next time they meet by chance in Diagon Alley where they accidentally bump into each other. After sharing a laugh, they decide to go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

That's when Percy finally plucks up the courage to kiss her and he's even happier when she kisses him back.

For the first time in months, Percy finally feels content and happy. This is finally his chance to start anew and make a new beginning. To forget about the past and just worry about his future.