Disclaimer and Author's Note: I don't own anyone, J.K Rowling does. I am TRULY SORRY for not writing in ages. I really am. I became very caught up in my Peter Pan musical and final exams. But now I'm off on summer break and I can write up a storm for the lot of you! I have one full month to continue the adventures of Vanetta Wood and Percy Weasly. So, without further ado…

1 Chapter 8: Lovely Morning Hangovers

To say that Percy Weasly did not feel well would be a gross understatement.

He groaned miserably, rolling onto his back. His head throbbed as though he had been severely pounded by Bludgers. Unfortunately, this was the Weasly house, the busiest, loudest house on the face of the earth. And things were very unfortunate for anybody who chanced to have a headache.

He opened his eyes and was hit square in the face by a massive amount of sunlight. He waved his hand shakily in front of his face as if to brush away the offending sunbeams.

After several moments of adjusting to his hangover, he painfully sat up and groped for his spectacles. Putting them on, he squinted through his sleep induced haze at the Time-Keeper on his nightstand.

It was twelve o' clock. Work started at eight o' clock. This meant that he was late. Damn.

"Hermes," he yelled, voice coming out a croak. There was no response. Fred and George had better not have borrowed Hermes at this extremely inopportune time!

"Hermes, get over here you little feathered git!" He yelled, this time louder.

There was a flapping of wings and his tawny colored owl swooped in through the skylight in Percy's bathroom. Hermes ruffled his feathers in a highly offended manner.

"Yeah well, if you'd come the first time we wouldn't have this problem," Percy complained to the bird, as he swung his long legs over the side of the bed.

His room rotated queasily before settling into place and massaged the bridge of his nose unhappily. He knew there was a reason that he didn't drink often. And this was it.

Shoving himself off of the bed, Percy stumbled over to his desk, shoving his paperwork to one side. He rummaged in the desk's rough wooden depths before finding some spare parchment and a quill. Now for that letter to the Wood girl…

Dear Ms. Wood,

I, the Minister of Magic, have the pleasure of informing you that you have been accepted to the post of Secretary and Personal Assistant to the Minister of Magic. I request that you begin your duties upon receiving this letter. Your office hours shall be from eight in the morning till ten in the evening including a lunch break, which you will take with the rest of our staff. I thank you and enclose your Ministry ID.

Sincerely, Percy Weasly

There, he thought, signing his name with a flourish. That ought to do the trick. Carefully folding up the bit of parchment, he placed it in an envelope and thrust it in Hermes general direction.

"There, take it you bloody owl," he groused, receiving no response on Hermes part.

"Go on then, take it, do you WANT me to be sick all over you and the letter?" He scowled. While he actually wasn't feeling too nauseous, he knew that was bound the get Hermes' attention. And, as he had predicted, the letter was snatched from his hand and was gone in a flurry of feathers.

Percy rubbed his face with one hand and staggered over to his closed, yanking out dark blue robe with black trimmings and tossing it on the bed.

He also snagged a vial of Inebriated Elixir from a box on his closet floor, yanked the cork out of it, and drank it down in one gulp.

The effects of the potion washed over him and he found to his joy that his headache lessened and his room stopped spinning at random intervals.

He tossed the empty vial into the box, feeling very pleased with himself. When he had found out, through trial and error, that his mother had no sympathy with hangovers, he had compiled a large boxful of Inebriated Elixir for such occasions when he had been drinking.

Percy grabbed the dark blue robes from his bed and went into his bathroom to clean up and get dressed.

God Inebriated Elixirs were wonderful things, he thought fervently, as he began to shave, with absolutely no problems from his previously rotating room.

Two hours later he had shaved, showered, and dressed and was heading downstairs when he was hit upside the head by Hermes, who had apparently returned.

Percy swore, loudly and with feeling, rubbing the back of his head. He glared at the owl, who, oblivious to everything, landed on the banister and began to preen.

"Percy, is everything all right dear?" Mrs. Weasly called up from the kitchen.

"Fine Mum," Percy yelled back, shooting Hermes another dirty look.

"Are you going to take breakfast?" Mrs. Weasly pursued.

"No, I'm already late for the office as it is," he replied, lapsing into the pompous tone he was well known for.

He trotted down the rest of the stairs, giving his owl a wide berth and swinging into the living room to get some Floo Powder.

"His mother appeared in the doorway to the living room, wiping her hands on her apron and looking imploringly at him.



I've got a meeting with the School Governors and the Vampire Guild Mum," he said, heading her off before she could insist that he stay for breakfast.

She sighed, wiping flour off of her wand, "I understand. I expect to see you at dinner then?"

"Of course," he assured her. There was no way in heaven that he was going out drinking with ANYBODY, much less Daedalus, again.

"Good," Mrs. Weasly smiled, brown eyes crinkling slightly.

When his mother was pleased all was good in the world, Percy thought sardonically, taking a handful of Floo Powder from the flowerpot on the mantle.

"TO THE MINISTRY!" He called out, throwing the powder onto the roaring flames, which rose even higher and turned green.

He stepped forward into the fire, feeling the telltale cool breeze around him, and was tugged forward through the Floo Network.

Finally, he found himself tumbling, roughly, through his grate at the Ministry and cracking his head, rather painfully, on his desk.

Right then, he thought, as he his headache returned tenfold, lets get to work.