This takes place after Half Blood Prince, but should contain no spoilers (I don't think). It's the first thing I've written in years. I'd love to know what you think!
Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the character herein. I am only borrowing them in fannish pursuits.
Right. Just go and talk to him, nothing too difficult. She'd kissed him, by Merlin, so how hard could talking to him be? But at that exact moment, watching Percy scribbling something on a memo, the task seemed monumental.
And so she didn't move. In fact, Penelope Clearwater remained standing exactly where she was, behind a large file cabinet, peering around it as if guarding herself from some vicious creature on the other side. It wasn't until nearly ten minutes later that Percy happened to glance up and catch a flash of dark curls hanging around the corner of the file cabinet.
He knew those curls, and instantly tensed. It's not as if he didn't know his once-girlfriend was working at the Ministry, and in his department even – he'd carefully avoided the thought and girl for years now. He could do so now, and she might just walk away, but something compelled him to open his mouth. "Penny?"
It was crazy that one word could invoke such emotion, and yet it did. Penny's heart seized, and she felt as if she should crouch down and hide until the feeling passed. Yet, at the same time, some part of her was spreading a feeling of euphoria that could not be denied. He'd said her name! So, carefully she straightened herself and brushed off her robes, fixed her hair, and strolled out as if she'd just happened to be behind that cabinet for some important reason that was not spying on her ex-boyfriend.
"Hello, Percy," she said cordially. "How are you?"
That hadn't been difficult at all – never mind the thumping in her chest.
Percy's fingers tightened nervously around the quill they held, the only sign of emotion he'd show, beside the small, polite smile on his lips. "I'm well, and you? How is work going? I've seen some of your reports, and they're top notch. Very well done."
Penelope wasn't sure whether to be angry that his first question had been about work or to delight that he'd complimented her, but decided to lean towards the nicer of the two.
"Thank you. I'm quite enjoying my work. Did you see the last project I worked on – Ancient Familial Laws of Goblins? I was fairly certain the Minister had requested it be translated from the original by hand, since my manager was always peering over my shoulder to see if it was done yet."
"He did – doesn't trust a spell to translate the nuances of the words correctly. I hear he was quite pleased with the work you did. You could really make a name for yourself in the department if you keep this up."
"I…" Really? She thought she already had, and that was why she'd been chosen for the translation in the first place. "Thank you," was all she could manage to reply.
Still able to read her moods, Percy's eyes narrowed as he watched her. Hadn't he said the right thing – the nice thing? He'd taken an interest in her work, commented on her proficiency…why wasn't she happier? "I'm sure the Minister will be turning to you with more work soon, given how pleased he was."
Penelope held her head a bit higher. "Well, he may have to look elsewhere. I'm currently in talks with Professor McGonagall about returning to Hogwart's, as staff." An exaggeration, but also an easy way to kill two birds with one stone – if there was no truth to the rumors of an opening, then Percy would know that and call her on it. But if it was true, certainly the Minister's assistant would know, and his reaction would be telling. Beyond that, she'd be able to gauge how Percy felt about her leaving, and show him that she didn't have to rely on some small time translating position – that she could move up in the world as well.
His blue eyes widened, having never considered Penelope wanting to work anyplace else. "I didn't know you were interested in teaching, Penny. When did this happen? Did McGonagall contact you, or did you write to her yourself? If you're unhappy here, I'm sure a transfer can be arranged – a different department, perhaps."
"There is only one department her that I really want to work for, and you know that, Percy," she replied, more harshly than she meant to. "But since some of us can't get our dream jobs right away, we have to work up to them. At Hogwart's I can continue my studies while helping to shape other people's lives. I find I rather like the idea." She crossed her arms tightly. "Besides, I'm rather tired of being in a cramped little cubicle where nobody even knows my name or the job I do."
"Don't be ridiculous, of course they know who you are, or they wouldn't bring you things to do, now would they?" Really, couldn't Penny be more reasonable about this? Hogwart's was the last place he wanted her right now. "And you know, you'll get far more practical knowledge here than you would at a school. There you'll be stuck on one subject, at a lower knowledge level than you currently possess. Here you could expand your horizons, learn new things, and better yourself at the things you already know. Do you really think you'll become an— get the job you want – by teaching Muggle Studies at a school that's only barely staying open as it is?"
Penelope recoiled a step, her big brown eyes sharpening and focusing upon Percy. "You used to love Hogwart's just as much as I still do, let me remind you, since you've obviously forgotten a great deal, of late," she spat out, her heart racing. "And for your information, it's unlikely that I'd be teaching Muggle Studies, since I'm much more qualified for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, despite my heritage. In my free time at school I could talk to the other professors and read any book the schools vast library has to offer. I could learn a lot more there than I could here, translating documents hardly anyone reads and fewer yet care about."
"But which are still important and closer to where you want to be in the end!" Percy countered, his voice rising enough that it drew attention from a few people in desks around them. He quickly got up and grabbed Penny's arm, dragging her down the hall with little struggle and eventually ending up in a small supply closet.
"Let---go!" Pulling away, finally, Penny glared at him through the almost non-existent light.
"I'm not going to have rumors flying around here about how I was arguing with you in the office, so if you want to talk, we can do it here."
"Oh, yes, because nobody will talk about how you pulled me into a tiny supply closet," Penelope replied snidely. "I don't have anything else to say to you, anyway. I should have never have come to see you in the first place."
Aha! Percy's lips lifted, just slightly. "Well at least we're alone here." Taking out his wand, he gave it a quick wave at the door. "Silencio."
"Just like old times," she blurted out before she could stop herself, still quite angry.
"Penny…that's not fair. We're talking work."
"Well so what if we are?" Suddenly she pounded her fists of Percy's chest. "This all goes back to you being a git anyway, so we might as well talk about that too, while we're here!"
Percy raised an eyebrow and grabbed Penelope's wrists, as gently as possible, pulling her closer. "Will you please calm down. This is getting us nowhere, and the longer we're in this closet, the more people are going to be talking."
"Yes, and you wouldn't want anyone saying you'd ever snogged some muggle-born cubicle dweller, now would you, Percy. It might ruin your chances of a promotion," Penny shot back, pulling her hands out of his grasp and turning away from him in a huff.
"That's not…when did I ever say that?" Percy asked, defending himself.
"You didn't have to – you made sure not to say anything at all, actually."
Percy winced and took a deep breath before wading back in to try to calm Penny down. "Things got busy. You were setting up your flat and moving and I was too, and then I was getting settled into my job, and before I knew it, it had been a year. You stopped talking too, you know. I thought about writing you, but figured by then you wouldn't want to hear from me anyway."
"I always wanted to hear from you," Penny replied, her voice much softer than it had been. "But you never wrote, never said anything at all. It was like everything that we'd shared meant nothing to you, and I'd just been some stupid school crush. Now that you were in the real world, you didn't have any need of me anymore."
That explained a lot, and even Percy could understand, now, why she'd been so angry with him. "That wasn't it at all, Penny," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and leaning down to place his chin on her shoulder. "I never cared that your parents were Muggles, except that it put you in more danger, you've got to know that. I think you're brilliant. You're beautiful and witty and kind, and one of the smartest girls I've ever met. You're a fantastic witch, and anyone who doesn't see that has to be blind."
Her body relaxed, leaning back into him. "Really?" Penny sniffled, lifting a hand to make sure she hadn't cried before turning around.
"Really," Percy confirmed with a nod. "Now will you stay here at the Ministry?"
"Percival Ignatius Weasley…" she growled. "If you think you can just charm me into doing things your way you've got cabbage for brains. I want to go to Hogwart's, and if they'll have me, that is exactly where I intend to be, come the beginning of the term."
Which he had known, of course, but had to try anyway. "I had to try. The Minister will be upset that we lost a good translator to Hogwart's."
Penny let out a long sigh, and tried not to smile. Damn him for knowing exactly how to manipulate her. "You'll just have to tell him that said translator is your ex-girlfriend, and that she simply couldn't stand to work with you any longer, now won't you?"
"Oh, he wouldn't like that at all – doesn't much like mixing personal lives and business. Highly frowned upon." Percy grinned, pulling her closer. She'd been right when she said it was like old times.
"Then tell him which position I really want, and if it's not available, he can find me at Hogwart's when it is." Leaning up on her tip-toes, Penny placed a small kiss on Percy's lips. "And write something nice to your sister, won't you? You've been downright mean to your family, lately, and while I may defend you to Ginny I won't pull my punches with you. Nice, none of this rubbish about her being a tramp, and nothing bad about your dad or brothers." And then, reaching back, she turned the handle and opened the closet.
"Yes, thank you Mister Weasley, I've been trying to find more memo paper for days now," Penny said, quite casually, as she stepped out, grabbing a pad of paper as she went.
Percy looked confused and quite dumbfounded, but then shook his head and cleared his throat. "Of course, you're most welcome, Miss Clearwater. I'll make sure to make it more readily available in the future."
He watched her walk away, and wondered to himself what exactly this all meant.