April 5, 1997

It wasn't the sunlight coming in through the window that woke me, because there is no sunlight at five in the morning. It was not Percy's quiet snoring either. What woke me was an alarm clock. An obnoxious one that sounded like a flock of magical birds singing a harmonious tune that began quietly only to grow louder as moments passed.

There was a quiet groan from somewhere behind my neck with a warm breath of air and a muffled noise from Percy as he silenced the clock before he went back to sleep.

My nightgown was bunched up around my waist and I could not fix it with how tightly Percy had curled around me. He was pressed tightly against my back, one arm under my pillow and the other around me just beneath my breasts. My fingers were entwined with his, tracing the joints of his fingers and the bumps of his knuckles. One of his legs was between mine, pressing against me in a way I found really comforting and intriguing. I was warm and kind of sweaty, but I didn't mind enough to move.

This was nice. Really nice. I like this.

I took a deep breath and tried to go back to sleep.

"PERCY! YOU UP?"

There was a voice from the living room, faint and echoing with a crackle as if it were coming from the fireplace.

Percy groaned and pulled me closer to him, well, he tried too, I didn't think we could get any closer together.

"That's Oliver…"

Right, Percy told me that he and Oliver jogged together on Saturday mornings. Oliver's family apparently had a nice woodland area attached to their farm property and they were both in agreement it was safer to run together then by themselves, or they would go to Oliver's Quidditch team's pitch. I think that's a male bonding thing.

"Not sure I wanna go…"

"PERCE!"

Percy released his hold on me, detangling himself from me and getting out of bed with a groan. I felt strangely bereft and lonely with his leaving even if I could hear them talking in the living room. I was not sure I wanted him to go either.

Even if I couldn't hear definitively what was being said, from the cadence of the hushed mumbling, it sounded like Percy was going. He wasn't coherent enough to come up with an excuse.

I rolled over to the middle of the bed and pulled the blankets up to my chin.

Space. So much space. I'm going to sprawl myself out like a starfish and wake up at a normal time after the sun rises.

Perfect!

I heard Percy shuffle back into the room with a yawn.

"I'll stop by the bakery down the street for breakfast on the way back. I assume you want coffee?"

"Please."

There was the sound of a squeaky wardrobe door and the rough sliding noise of an opening drawer. I kept my eyes closed, the situation is already strange and I'm not ready to put seeing my first fully naked man on the list of things that happened in the last four hours, a list that included my first corpse, my memory of Walker's unmoving hand peeking out from behind the desk made me shiver. No, Percy had manners, he wouldn't change while I was in the room.

Percy's voice was low, "I'm putting some clothes out for you on my trunk. I'll be back in an hour or so."

He moved to the side of the bed and kissed me on the cheek before leaving the room with a fresh change of clothes draped over his arm.

Oh, I guess he was getting dressed in the bathroom. That was fine. Now I had the bed. All of the bed!

The front door closed and I closed my eyes to go back to sleep.

It took several minutes for me to give up on sleep. I was definitely awake and that was unlikely to change. Ugh…

I need something to read. As much as I like Percy's mystery novels and law books that were on his bedside table, I don't think I'm really in the mood to sink into those. It was too early to engage in plots and loopholes. I would have to find him a short story anthology, maybe some Westra Quinn or the Jack N. Money comedies?

Wait, I saw something under the bed when I came in here.

I sat up and reached under the bed to see if I could find the book he had shoved under the bed in a very un-Percy manner. It would either be something interesting or embarrassing. I could feel the corner of a book against my fingertips.

Ah-ha!

With a final stretch I grasped the book and pulled it out with a satisfied smile before flipping it over to reveal the title.

Twelve Fail Safe Ways to Charm Witches

Oh! I have to admit my curiosity is piqued. I'll never tell him I saw this. Then I would have to admit to similar texts in my own bedroom.

I opened the book to examine the table of contents to find a quick note in scribbled handwriting.

Percy,

I'm not saying it's not a grey area to date in the office, but I am telling you that she doesn't answer to you. If you decide to pursue this, I think this will be a great help.

Helped me with Pearl.

Keep in touch, tell me how it goes!

Eddie

A flicker of memory stirred inside me. Eddie's wedding. He was talking to Pearl about a book he had mailed to Percy, I couldn't remember the title, but this was clearly it.

Oh boy.

I opened the table of contents, more out of curiosity of how young men were taught these things than any desire to invade Percy's personal business.

I scrolled through the table of contents and giggled over how most of it was about social things. Compliments. Manners. Meeting the parents. All the things that would make or break an introduction, early stage romantic flirtation and kill a dating term of a year. Pretty adorable.

I turned to the second page of the table of contents, wondering about the other six sections of this book and what kind of social graces they covered. Surely Percy did not require much help in this regard, he had such pleasing manners that I was sure he could spend time in Lucinda's company and she would have no complaints at all aside from his lack of familial ties to generational wealth.

These sections were about sex.

I closed the book, deciding that maybe I did not need to be that nosy after all, even if it did amuse me.

Oo0Oo0

By the time Percy returned with a cup of coffee, newspaper and a small bag of baked goods, I had been up and dressed for about half an hour. Something he seemed surprised by. He probably expected me to still be in bed, but once the hope of sunlight peered through the window, I did not have it in me to stay in bed. Plus, it made me feel lazy to do so in someone else's home. He gave me the coffee and the newspaper before slipping away to take a shower while I emptied the bag on a plate from the kitchen and started the kettle.

I set the paper aside and read the letter I had received from Lucinda, delivered by a very tired great horned owl who wore Diagon Alley owlery tags, implying that Lucinda had apparated to Diagon Alley and paid for the service. Before he left to return to his roost I gave him two of Hermes' owl treats as a tip, something that deeply upset the newly returning Hermes who was giving the delivery owl a disgusted look for intruding. I gave Hermes two treats in the interest of fairness after the mail owl left and began to pet Hermes while cooing about him being my favorite owl, which seemed to soothe his offended ego.

Audrey,

I heard about the attack on your apartment building from a reputable source (Hannah Rokesby, her son has a room there and he's a very nice young man) and since you did not answer your floo this morning, nor did not find you at the Leaky Cauldron, I must hope that you are staying with one of your friends. Merlin forbid you have spent the night wandering London. I require you to present yourself in person for a family brunch at ten o'clock sharp to offer Tavish and I irrefutable proof that you have not been murdered by purist lunatics. I do not wish to fight with your father about where you would be buried. It would be inconvenient as I have reserved you a lovely spot in the Ainsley family plot right next to me.

Warmest Regards,

Lucinda

Alright then. Since I was not telling Lucinda I had stayed at Percy's, I decided to tell her I ended up going with my neighbors to a No-Maj hotel for the night. That would have to do. I would have a small breakfast here to get my mind right and get ready to head back to my place for a change of clothes.

I could hear Percy singing in the shower, his voice barely audible over the fall of the water. I did not know this about him. I could not tell if his voice was good or not. I turned my attention back to the paper, I would have more opportunities later to form an opinion on this particular idiosyncrasy. The other quirk was that I had apparently gotten him into American politics and he started picking up an American newspaper that an American expat a few blocks away sold at his novelty shop.

Werewolf Pack Council Organizes Protest in MACUSA

The self-proclaimed Werewolf Pack Council has arranged werewolves from across the country to wave signs and sit in at MACUSA Headquarters. They congregated in front of the elevators and blocked the entrance for MACUSA staff members and government officials. Those involved were moved within the hour and taken into custody, but soon released due to the technicality of not breaking any of the usual laws related to protesting and public menacing.

Council leaders were not present for this protest, many are still in hiding after the uprising last year, including Sassaba Lowella and Rudina Lupe who have not been seen since the Yellowstone Uprising, (See pages 3-4 for their capture information). Both werewolves are currently still active within their individual pack territories and have evaded capture by MACUSA officials.

The Yellowstone Uprising killed four werewolves from various known packs, injured and humiliated at least ten Aurors and Wilderness Officials who were reportedly left in varying states of undress in the woods after being ambushed by the rebellious faction.

Percy stepped into the room and flashed me a smile as I turned the page in the newspaper. He was freshly attired in a sweater and some nicer pants than the sweatpants that he slept in. His hair was still slightly damp and his glasses were still a bit foggy from the heat of the shower.

"What do you think of that?" Percy asked as he moved into the kitchen to make some tea. "You were right, American politics is a good break from everything going on here. No offense, of course, but your country's politics are mad. An uprising like that would never happen here."

"None taken, I can't explain any of this to people here without looking like I need to be recommended to a good mind healer."

That earned a chuckle from Percy who stepped back into the room holding his tea and made his way to the vacant chair next to me so we could share the coffee table. He leaned back with a contented sigh that reminded me of a much older man. I passed him scones he had picked up that morning that I plated for the sake of appearances and kept them warm with a charm on the plate.

Percy sipped his tea while I turned the page of the paper to be greeted with a new headline that made me freeze.

Graves Speaks Out on Proposed Parselmouth Registry

Governor Adam Melgren (Virtus- North Dakota) of the House of Representatives has passed the bill to the Senate for the instatement of a Parselmouth Registry despite fierce opposition from Governor Maria Begay (Populi- Texas) and her caucus.

Senator Ebenezer Sallow (Virtus- Florida), the Senate majority leader, brought the proposed motion from the Governors of the House to the Senate floor today to instate a Parselmouth Registry originally brought to the floor and rejected in 1851.

"Parselmouths are dangerous, their affiliation with Dark Arts has long been proven through history in Europe and here in the States. The Dark Witch Nathaira claimed the ability and wrought havoc in the west ambushing wagons for money and killing the occupants with her band of venomous serpents! She killed seven Aurors and countless civilians when robbery was no longer enough for her! Now we have Voldemort causing chaos again in a country that is one of our oldest allies! Who knows what he could inspire in those already susceptible to the Dark Arts?"

Resistance to the motion came immediately from Senator Teagan MacQuiad (Populi- California), they are currently working to get more young people involved in politics as part of an outreach program.

"Are you going to paint human beings with the same brush? Treating them as identical, mindless pawns in your mission of fear mongering? Shame on you! We know there are more Parselmouths among the Native Americans and the Indian immigrants. How about you explain why you are really scared, Senator?"

The Senate quickly devolved into a shouting match between various factions leaving Vice President Martinez to call an end to the session for the day and to reconvene in the morning.

In a rare display, President Graves broke rank to denounce the effort from his own party.

"I have spoken against this issue once before when I served in the Senate and I will continue to do so now as President. We have many groups in this country who practice cultural traditions that involve serpent pageantry in some capacity and ability. While the events in Britain are frightening, we will not paint American citizens with a brush of fear or degrade them by treating them as second class citizens and as an unproven threat. As long as I remain in office, Parselmouths will not have to live in fear of prejudice from their government."

According to reports from MACUSA Headquarters, President Graves was seen entering the office of Senator Sallow. This paper was unable to verify the nature of this discussion but Sallow appeared more subdued on the floor during the next registration deliberation.

I bit my bottom lip and chewed it nervously. I was shocked. My father had always tied his party line, he needed support for his eventual successful run for the presidency, but this was a whole different caliber than his previous breaks with senior party members. He had spoken up for Parselmouths against his own party before, but that was years ago, he had less to lose for doing so then he did now, it made him stand out then and endeared him to the general population, showing his flexibility and ability to break ranks as needed as a maverick. Now he had far more to lose and stayed in step with a position he had stated years ago in an off the cuff comment.

I… I was a little impressed, and comforted. This fight would rage on for a few weeks yet and I would have to keep an eye on it.

I folded the paper back up and put it on the table so I could sip my coffee and think.

I was surprised that no similar efforts had been made in England for a Parselmouth registry, but then again, it was a very rare ability and would be considered a waste of government funds to try and implement. It's not really a list if only two or three names are on it, and there is too much risk of being called out for prejudice and discrimination for being on the list. Parselmouths and werewolves were different in many ways that made it easy to avoid the idea and reality of a registry.

Percy coughed quietly, clearing his throat to get my attention and pulling me out of my thoughts.

"You don't have to go back to your flat, you know."

I had no clothes and was wearing an old handmade sweater of Percy's that was a little too big for me and a pair of lounge pants (trousers he called them) that were very comfortable, but I needed to go back for other reasons. Mainly Lucinda. The state of her handwriting told me that no matter how flippant she was in trying to mask her worries, her shaky handwriting revealed the truth of her feelings.

"I don't," I started slowly, taking another sip of coffee, "But I need to see Lucinda, and I can't do that in your old clothes."

Percy nodded slowly, his mouth moving as though he wanted to say something else but he stopped himself short of actually saying it.

"I'm sure she's worried about you."

"She does. She's kind that way, though she says otherwise. I think Lucinda has a very clear view of herself, but not always how other people see her. They see a kinder Lucinda than what she does."

"If you need to come back," Percy stirred his tea slowly, his knee bouncing quickly, "or if you just want to, my door is open."

"Thank you. I'll try not to do that at two in the morning again." Despite the grim subject matter, I couldn't help but grin. "I really appreciate you letting me stay over."

"It was not trouble."

We passed the last hour together in a comfortable companionship, discussing the news and arranging some of our next safety questions. It was overall a more pleasant morning then I would have expected after the events of the previous night.

Oo0Oo0

Author's Note: 'Not just about wandwork' indeed.

This chapter is pretty quiet and a last minute edition, I didn't think jumping forward would serve the narrative at all after the last chapter so we get some politics and a peek into Percy's little world.

Fun fact- Great Horned owls are the fastest owls on record who can reach speeds of 40 mph. Lucinda going to Diagon Alley to rent one specifically when Audrey did not answer her floo is a logical one.