by Calypso
Percy dropped his gray eagle feather quill and leaned back in his desk chair, stretching his back, which ached from hours of sitting at his desk. He stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up a bit. He flexed his cramped hand a couple times and picked his quill up again.
After a moment he dipped the quill in ink and resumed scribbling away on a piece of parchment. His hand ached, his arm ached, his back ached but he worked diligently. Percy took his job at the Ministry very seriously and was determined to make something of himself and make his family proud. He remembered how proud his mother was when he made Prefect and then Head Boy and how happy he was despite the teasing of his younger brothers.
Percy frowned slightly, thinking of the teasing he endured from all of his brothers. They never took him seriously and treated his work, ambitions, and achievements as big joke. According to them, Percy was too uptight; his only love was work. Percy frowned more deeply. That wasn't true. No, he didn't relax much or take time for fun and games, but he didn't have time for fun -- he was too busy. He hadn't even taken the time to date since he and Penny broke up in his seventh year. But work wasn't his only love. Percy cared deeply for his family.
Percy shook his head, remembering the worst moments of his life -- the times one of his siblings was in danger. When Percy was in his first year, Fred and George (who were nine at the time) had wandered off inside Gringotts and the entire family thought that the twins had been sucked into one of the vaults. Percy spent hours with his mother looking for them and it was he who eventually found them riding the dangerous Gringotts mine cars.
When Charlie first started his job in Romania he was burned by a dragon; Percy was relieved when he learned his brother received only a minor burn that could be treated easily. In his fifth year Ron and his best friends, Harry and Hermione, went after the Sorcerer's Stone. Percy nearly had a seizure when he heard about Ron's adventure but he felt immense pride in his little brother's defeat of McGonagall's chessmen. In his sixth year he spent half the time fussing over Ginny who looked ill and pale. When they had gotten word that she had died in the Chamber of Secrets, Percy locked himself in his dorm and shook uncontrollably as tears of shock and mourning streamed down his face. In Percy's last year at Hogwarts Ron was nearly attacked by a convicted murderer and later in the year was injured in an incident that had something to do with Sirius Black.
And just last year, during the second task, he was worried about Ron again. As a TriWizard Tournament judge he knew perfectly well that Ron would be fine but when more than an hour had elapsed and Harry was still underwater, Percy had begun to panic. He paced by the shore waiting. Finally he saw them emerge; Harry and Ron, carrying a little blonde girl who must have been another hostage. Percy went splashing out into the lake, all dignity forgotten, to meet his brother.
"Percy?" Percy looked up from the report he was writing and his musings. Arthur Weasley was standing in the doorway, pulling his cloak over his robes. "I'm Apparating home now. Are you ready to go?"
Percy shook his head. "No dad, I still need to finish this report on the International Muggle Secrecy statistics in the past year. The statistics about what the Muggles are noticing have risen considerably in the last two months. Most likely because of..." Percy trailed off and Arthur nodded, understanding the unspoken words. Most likely because of Voldemort's return. The Weasleys were some of the few who knew about Voldemort's return and both Percy and his father knew perfectly well that the bits of magic that Muggles had witnessed were caused by Death Eaters. This made it all the harder for Percy to compile a report as Minister Fudge still refused to believe that Voldemort was rising again.
"Don't work too late," Arthur said firmly, knowing his son would work all night to make his report perfect if he could. Perct nodded and turned back to his desk. Arthur vanished with a faint pop and Percy began compiling various dates and incidents into his notes.
Almost three hours later Percy put down his quill. His head ached from exhaustion; he rubbed his fingertips against his temples. He stood up and walked to the door, pulled his cloak off an old coatrack and slipped it on after checking the pocket of his robes for his wand. He turned and scanned the large office, noting that every desk was empty. He was usually the last to leave in his office. After making sure everything at his desk was in order he followed his father's example and Apparated to the Burrow.
Percy appeared in the kitchen and saw that the room was darkened and empty. Voices from the living room filtered in and Percy could tell all of his family (save Bill and Charlie who bith worked outside the country) was there. He was able to distinguish each voice and could hear snippets of the various conversations.
"Ha! I win again!"
"Oh, shut up Ron. Just because you can beat me at bloody chess--"
"Fred! Watch your language!"
"Sorry Mum."
"Mmhm, I'm sure you are. Just watch it. Sorry Arthur, now what were you saying?"
"Fudge is being as stubborn as ever! He seems to think that Muggles are completely stupid. But they notice.."
"So you see Ginny, Beater is undoubtedly a better position than Chaser."
"George, you're just saying that because you're a Beater!.."
"Fred! You're cheating! That pawn was over there!"
"I think you're seeing things. That can't be healthy.."
"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. Of course I'm saying that because I'm a Beater. Would I play a positon that wasn't great?"
"Yes. As big of a Quidditch fanatic you are, you would."
Percy tuned out and fixed himself a plate of cold chicken, left over from supper. He ate quickly in the dark kitchen, leaning against a counter. He would have joined his family but he would have felt somehow out of place and with nothing to add to the conversations. When he had finished, he rinsed off his plate and dried his hands with a red and white towel hanging by the sink. He poked his head into the living room and called, "I'm home everyone. I just ate and I'll be off to bed now. 'Night."
Fred and Ron were still busy arguing over chess and nodded slightly in Percy's direction, without a pause in their squabbling. George looked up and said, "Night Perce. Got to get rested up for another exciting day of work, eh?" He chuckled and turned back to Ginny. Ginny looked up also and smiled. "Good night Percy. See you in the morning." Arthur echoed "Good Night" and Molly bustled to the door and hugged Percy. "Good night dear, sleep well."
Percy kissed Molly on the cheek and Apparated to his room, too tired to walk up the long, rickety staircase. He dragged his feet across his plain, nearly bare room towards his bed. Percy's eyelids drooped as he changed into blue flannel pajamas and flopped onto his bed. He dropped his glasses onto his small bedside table and buried his face in his pillow. Exhaustion overtook his body and he feel into a deep, dreamless sleep just seconds after his head hit the pillow.
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