A/N: Dear readers and reviewers…Sorry this chapter took a month. August was really busy for me. I'll try to post chapter six more quickly. Never fear, though…I will not forget dear Percy and Penelope. I hope you enjoy. More intrigue and romance, of course. I love, love, love your feedback so give forth.

Hiding - Chapter 5

There were some really great things about living on your own. He could work as late as he wanted, no one cared. His freshly laundered towels would still be freshly laundered and that leftover panang curry in his cold cabinet would still be neatly wrapped and untouched. He had always craved privacy. Now he had it. There were, however, some things about living on your own that were just plain difficult. Coming home to an empty dark flat was the worst.

It was almost 9:00 and it had been a long day. Tomorrow the news would hit. What had he called it? 'An exciting phase in the Minister's plan?' Lucious Malfoy's plan was more like it. Sometimes he thought Malfoy was just trying to keep Fudge distracted so that he was unaware of the Death Eaters under his nose. They'd gotten Sturgis Podmore. Percy shuddered as he thought of what had happened. First, Mr. Crouch and now Sturgis.

Percy turned the key and lit the lamps. The room was almost bare, but from his window the skyline of London sparkled. He liked it. It was different from the mountains of Hogwarts or the fields and hedgerows of home. The door clicked shut and he swung his work satchel to the floor, heading straight for the panang curry. He was starving and his mouth watered as the pungent spices warmed. As he opened a drawer and started for a fork, a muscular arm wrapped around his neck. He felt his left elbow pulled up tight behind his body. He couldn't move and his mind raced as a quiet deep voice breathed against his ear, "What are you going to do now, Percy? Think hard."

His wand moved lightly against his chest in his inner robe pocket, but he couldn't reach it, not like this. He looked down and saw boots behind him. He could think of only one thing. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he rammed the heel of his own boot into the toe of his assailant. For a shocking second the grip slacked as the owner of the boots reacted. It was enough. He turned and ducked and apparated behind the sofa. Crouching low he fumbled quickly for his wand, took a deep breath and stood. "Get your hands off my dinner!"

The intruder stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth and grinned slyly, "Not too shabby little brother. Not exactly the most macho move, stepping on my foot, but it got the job done."

Percy sighed and collapsed to the sofa, "Hand me a butterbeer, Bill."

Bill relinquished the curry, then uncorked a butterbeer for Percy and one for himself. He tapped two large books that had appeared on the table. "I brought you two new text books. One is my old curse breaking text. It's really good. The other is Tonx's first year Auror text."

Percy grabbed excitedly at the books, "Thanks Bill. And tell Tonx I said 'thanks' too. I'll start reading them tonight."

"What worries me is that you're not getting any hands-on practical work. You need to quicken your reflexes. You should be working out every day, Percy. When Charlie comes home he's going to want to test you, you know."

Percy swallowed, "I know. I'll work on it."

Bill sank to one of the small wooden chairs at the table and leaned back precariously, "Rough day, huh?"

"You could say that," Percy said dryly. "Umbridge will begin tomorrow as the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. She's going to wreak absolute havoc. I also don't like the idea of Malfoy having easier access to the school. He's definitely up to something." Percy looked up, "Bill, how's Mum? Has she been sleeping OK?"

Bill's eyes narrowed, "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Oh just something someone said."

"Mum's on edge, Perce. She almost let it slip the other day about you in front of the kids. She's frustrated with Sirius, worried about you, and really worried about Harry. Ron made prefect though, that cheered her considerably."

"I heard," Percy raised his eyebrows. "Did you know Umbridge, Malfoy and Fudge have already had a meeting to discuss the school prefects?"

"Why would they do that?"

"Well think about it. If one of their goals is to take over the school and turn students from Dumbledore, what better place to start than with the school leaders," Percy shook his head. "It won't work though, Ron's smart enough to see through Umbridge. What does he know about Harry?"

"Nothing. Harry doesn't know about Harry."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to keep him in the dark, Bill? I mean, I don't think Harry would ever intentionally hurt anyone but they've already put Mr. Crouch and Sturgis under the Imperius Curse. We've seen Ginny possessed. Now we think he's trying to enter Harry's mind and nobody's telling Ron? Not even telling him to be careful??" Percy gritted his teeth, "If I had had some clue last year and not been so blind, maybe Mr. Crouch wouldn't be dead, maybe we wouldn't be in this entire mess."

"Listen, Perce, you've got to stop beating yourself up about that. Nobody knew what was going on with Mr. Crouch and it's not like you were the only one who worked with the man. Anyway, he was going to find a way back somehow, so now we have to deal with it. I know how you feel about Ron, but I don't see any alternative. You can't expect to tell Ron something and not tell Harry, you know that won't work, and Dumbledore doesn't want Harry to know yet, so we just have to trust for now."

Percy downed the last of his butterbeer, then stood and began to pace. "What if I could just give Ron a little warning. Just a 'heads up', you know?"

"How are you going to do that without blowing your cover? We need you where you are. You can't do anything to jeopardize your job."

"I'm not sure," Percy sighed. "But I'm going to think about it."

"Fair enough," Bill grinned as he uncorked his second bottle. "So on to your love life, little brother, how's the princess?"

"She's fine."

"Spending some time over at her place aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Only that Kingsley Shacklebolt says you come in every Monday morning humming and puffed up like a peacock."

Percy turned three shades of red, "He didn't say that to Dad, did he?"

"No, no just me…so this is getting serious?"

Percy stiffened then relaxed at his brother's calm and steady expression "Bill, if I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Of course."

"I'm buying a ring. It's really expensive, so I have to put a little on it every month, but I figure by this summer I'll have paid it down enough." Percy pushed his glasses up and looked at Bill nervously, "What do you think?"

Bill looked stunned for a moment then started to laugh, "I think it's great! Good for you. Give us all a reason to get through this bloody mess. Whoa, can you imagine, Mum? She'll go ballistic. Poor Penelope won't be able to plan her own wedding."

"You cannot tell her, Bill!" Percy shook his head but a grin spread across his face, "Anyway, I'm not worried about Penny. She's pretty used to getting her own way."

Bill nodded, "I know a girl like that. What is it about the Weasley men and the women we choose?"

"Maybe one day we'll get them all in one room and watch the sparks fly." Percy chuckled then, studied the rim of his butterbeer, "That would definitely be…interesting."

Bill fixed his brother with a warm gaze, "One day we'll do it for sure. Listen, Perce, I've got to get back, but I came to give you an official message. If you are still set on it, Lupin and Sirius will meet you for your first lesson Friday night at 8:00 at Headquarters. Mum and Dad won't be there."

"Good."

"Percy, are you sure about this?"

"Oh, I'm positive."

"Well, it's your call. Just do me a big favor and be careful." Bill walked to the center of the room and smiled gently. "I'll see you around, little brother."

Percy picked up the bottles and dishes, and flicked his wand at the sink. Sometimes he forgot he had older brothers. There had been times in his life that they hadn't seemed all that relevant. But then there were the times he had wanted nothing more than to make them proud and times they had reminded him, he wasn't alone.

He went to his desk and pulled out some parchment and a quill. Perhaps Ron could not admire him the way he admired Bill. Perhaps he would even hate him. He would always be there, none the less.

****

Penelope stuck another cold mug under the draft and angled it slightly. She had been working behind the bar at the Owl's Nest for two weeks now and she felt she was beginning to get the hang of it. It was a friendly little pub where Ministry Wizards and other professionals came to relax after work. Day or night, the pub always had a warm dusky light that soaked the slick wooden bar. Patrons chattered over the latest wizard music and waitresses wore modern wizard clothes in black. It was all illusion. In reality, the kitchen was bright and noisy and smelled of grease and cleaning solutions and by the end of the night her pretty black dress smelled of sweat and food and beer.

Percy had been less than thrilled when she had told him she was working in a pub, but he had seen the logic of the flexible hours and in the end he had said it was her decision. It wasn't really all that bad. It did take organizational skills and mixing drinks was kind of like mixing potions. She took an order, made change for a waitress, and delivered the frosty mugs to three legal wizards before she noticed that Percy had slipped in. It was hard to contain the joy of seeing him. What she wanted was to tell everyone in the room that the person she was in love with, the kindest, bravest, noblest person in the world was sitting all alone at the end of the bar. Instead she had to pretend she didn't know him.

"What can I get you?"

"How about a Bacchanal Brew?"

"On draft?"

"A bottle's fine."

The legal wizards at the other end of the bar were beginning to get drunk. They whispered and chuckled deeply as they watched her.

"Hey, what's your name?" the one with dark hair called.

"Penelope."

"Penelope, that's a pretty name. Do you have a boyfriend, Penelope?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"My friend here, was wondering what you're doing when you get off work."

"Nothing with your friend, that's for sure. One more round, boys? Then I think you better call it quits."

"Don't play hard to get, pretty Penelope."

"Oh but I am."

Oscar, the manager arrived just in time, and he pursed his lips beneath his shaggy handle bar mustache. "Penelope, we need four more cases of mulled mead from the cellar. You're going to need some help getting all that up."

The legal wizards all stood at once, but Oscar eyed them wisely. "Cool your boots boys." He looked around and spotted Percy, "You down there, could you help this lady with some cases from the cellar?"

"Certainly," Percy replied.

Oscar turned on the downcast trio, "You don't really think I'd let you boys follow her down into cellar, do you? How about some coffee, on the house."

Penelope motioned for Percy to follow her into the kitchen, then opened a door on rickety steps descending into a black hole.

"Better light your wand," she said as he started downward and she shut the door behind them.

"I thought I was going to punch those guys," Percy muttered angrily.

"Oh pooh, they're harmless," she said as she hurried down the steps then fell into his arms, "you, on the other hand…"

She didn't finish. She tried to tell him everything she felt without words. The cellar smelled of musty cold dirt, but he smelled of starched cotton and wool, of sweet aftershave mixed with salty white skin. "Come home with me tonight," she breathed.

He groaned, as if in pain, "It's against the rules, Pen. We've said only on weekends, remember?"

"I won't be here this weekend. I've got to go to Glasgow."

He looked concerned and pushed her hair behind her ears, "Why do you have to go to Glasgow? Is something wrong?"

Penelope nodded, "I got a letter from Iris today. Grandmother fell. It doesn't sound too serious. The muggle doctor said nothing was broken but she still wants to see me. I think she's starting to worry about some things. Iris said she wants me to meet with our attorney and go to a board meeting. Oh, Percy, I hate this, I hate it. I'm going to have to live some lie, some story grandmother has told them about where I am and what I'm doing. And then I'm going to have to stand up in front of those men in suits and they'll all look at me as, 'the strange girl with the money, the girl who should have died'."

Percy pulled her tight and buried his face in her hair, "I don't want you to say that ever, ever again. We're going to get through this Pen, we're going to beat them all, and when we do I promise you there will be no more pretending, no more hiding."

His kiss matched the intensity of his words. The fact that he approached everything intensely was her own selfish little secret. "Please Percy, come tonight. I'll be off in half an hour."

"I'll wait for you," he whispered.

Overhead, someone dropped a tray and the crash was followed by a loud profanity.

"We better get the mead, it's over here," she pointed at a stack of wooden crates in a corner. Percy levitated three toward the stairs as Penelope magically opened the door. "I'm right behind you," she called. She levitated the last crate and was startled as a rat ran into the black shadows. Penelope shuddered. "I guess this place is rat paradise," she said to herself as she followed Percy upward.

****

He met Professor Lupin and Sirius in the basement kitchen of the Black house. He could sense his mother's warmth in the room. Pots twinkled merrily from hooks along the walls, stacks of white dishes gleamed from the cupboard and the smell of herbs and roots mixed with the warm smoke from the fire.

The two men at the long table seemed happy for the moment. Professor Lupin looked smaller to Percy every time he saw him, but tonight his smile was almost boyish. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Sirius Black laugh. To tell the truth it unnerved him slightly as he remembered Ron standing in front of him in outgrown pajamas with fear on his face and slashed linens on his bed. But that was the past, and tonight he would put those thoughts out of his mind. He was a student again.

"Welcome Percy, would you like something to drink?" Lupin signaled for Percy to sit at the table.

"No thanks. I really appreciate your doing this. I promise I am going to work really hard and perhaps I can learn quickly so we can set things in motion."

Professor Lupin looked down at his hands. "Before we begin, I want you to give me your oath on the phoenix that you will always use extreme caution. What you are undertaking could be the most dangerous mission in the Order."

"I should be doing it," Sirius remarked glumly.

"But you'd be recognized, Sirius, so it would be pointless," Percy replied.

"Yes, and unfortunately, I have time constraint issues," Lupin sighed. "So what you are offering to do is both very brave and very important. It is also very illegal, you do understand that Percy? If you want to back out it's really OK."

Percy swallowed hard. He was going to have to live with the consequences of this choice no matter what they were. "I understand. I brought him into my family, I'll be the one to see this through. But I promise, I will be careful."

"Alright then," Lupin continued, "Becoming an animagus requires an in-depth understanding of transfiguration but combines some of the principals you've learned about apparition. You've been apparating for over two years now and you've mastered level five. That's excellent. I know you were outstanding at Transfiguration as I've discussed the subject with Professor McGonigall. So you should move things along really quickly once you identify."

"Identify what?" Percy asked.

"Percy, have you picked your animal?"

"Oh yes, of course. I thought I'd be a rat too, that way I could follow in the same places, you know. Maybe talk to other rats, if you can do that sort of thing."

"Yes, you could and that would be logical but it may or may not work."

"Why wouldn't it work?"

"Well you can't always self transfigure into just any creature. You have to innately understand the creature."

"Big mistake number one," Sirius said darkly, "Not wondering why Peter could identify with a rat."

Lupin cleared his throat, "Yes well, moving on. If you want to try a rat what we need to do is work on seeing the world through a rat's perspective. Let's start with some cheese." Lupin crossed to the cupboard and brought out a plate of warm cheese. "This cheese should be particularly strong."

Percy sniffed. "It smells awful."

"But to a rat it would smell delicious. Look at the cheese, Percy. Smell the cheese. Now close your eyes and imagine the cheese from the perspective of a rat."

Percy closed his eyes and tried to imagine the cheese as something huge and beautiful. It smelled like day old vomit to him. Now he was imagining cheese covered in vomit. Oh God, this wasn't working at all. "I'm sorry, let me start again," he said.

"Take that stinking cheese away, Remus!" Sirius scoffed. "Look Percy, for me it helped to think about the physical aspects of the creature. How did dirt feel under my paw? How did fur feel on my back? Maybe if you think about feeling small and quick. Why don't you try getting down on your hands and knees and thinking about your tail and…"

"Wait a minute - You have GOT to be kidding!" Percy said horrified.

Remus rolled his eyes, "That was very helpful, Sirius. Thanks a lot."

"Sorry, it was just an idea," Sirius shrugged.

"Percy, if I may,"Lupin said gently, "I'm not sure a rat is really your animal. Do you even like rats?"

Percy thought about this. "Well, I did like Scabbers, once."

"That's a club," Sirius muttered bitterly.

"But," Percy continued, "I'm not sure I would ever want to see things from his perspective. That's really unimaginable to me."

"Percy, I think you have the talent to do this, but I don't think you'll ever transform into a rat. Just as James found Prongs and Sirius found Padfoot, you're going to have to find your own identity. Only you can do that. Why don't you think about it? Let us know when you're ready. We'll be here."

Later that night he sat at the small table in his flat and searched his mind for an animal he could identify with. A cat - no. A horse - no. A lion - no. A lot of good that would do, anyway. How would he spy on Peter Pettigrew as a lion? He felt like a failure. He had been so sure about this and now it seemed hopeless. Hermes landed in front of him and he stroked the soft feathers at the base of the owl's neck. The bird stared back at him with glowing eyes. Hermes always seemed to know things. Percy smiled at his pet, "What secrets do you keep, Hermes?"

The owl moved closer and he became entranced by its steady gaze in the flickering candlelight. Slowly the table slipped away and he saw darkness. No, he was darkness. He was moving through branches and limbs with grace. He was flying, but not with some stick between his legs. Here he felt balanced and strong. Now he could see, see the landscape, see the ground. He dove and pulled legs that were sharp and deadly forward. He saw his goal, twitching and lurking in the tall grass. He stabbed once. It was done.

He was at the open window and the coming winter wind whisked curtains across his face. He turned and sank to the floor, resting against the wall. Hermes watched him, frozen on the table. "The rat catcher," Percy whispered. And he could have sworn the owl winked.

****

Far away, in the kitchen of the Burrow, a glass shattered to the floor as Molly Weasley tried to control a shaking hand.

In a manor in Scotland, Penelope Clearwater screamed out in her sleep.

And at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a certain librarian lay unconscious in the most restricted part of the restricted section.