A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I live to please!

Percy woke up, sweating slightly. His head slowly cleared and he became aware that he was lying on something soft. Something softer was draped up to his chin and he shifted so that it covered his face. His head hurt and his joints ached. He wanted to rub his eyes, but his limbs were like lead and he wasn't even sure if he remembered how to use them.

Without his glasses, the world was a mass of muted colours, and he thought he liked it better that way. It made it easier to stay underwater where the world was quiet. The only thing he could somewhat make out was the soft, mint green pillow pressed against his cheek.

He didn't know where he was, but he figured it didn't matter. Any moment, his body would start to move, forcing him to keep himself alive when all he wanted was to fade away. Get up. Eat. Go to work. Say what they tell him to. Do what they tell him to. Meanwhile Dad was a few feet away and couldn't hear him screaming-

"You're awake."

An unfamiliar voice, gentle and feminine. Something new crouches down in front of him. A blurry blob of inky black, surrounding a small and pale circle. Two flecks of pale blue peering at him. Percy flinched and closed his eyes tightly.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Everything, Percy wanted to say, but his voice was gone. Her voice was too loud, sending flares of pain through his skull. Everything was too bright, and his skin crawled. He felt like a stranger in this body, and he just wanted to find a hole to crawl into and die.

He heard a soft sigh, and then a hand on his shoulder, withdrawing quickly when he flinched. "Let me know if you need anything. Alright?" The voice was soft and gentle.

Percy curled up tighter and listened to her fading footsteps. Briefly, he wondered if she was an angel and he was dead. But if he was dead, surely he'd feel better than this, right? Unless he was in Hell. Maybe he was. Were they his sins even if he had no choice?

Maybe there was no death. Or maybe this mockery of life he's lived was really his Hell and he's been dead for a long time...

When Percy opened his eyes again, his vision was a bit clearer, the light wasn't quite as bright, and his skin didn't itch quite so much. His head was still a chaotic mess of confusion, terror, and pain, and his heart sped up when he couldn't find anything familiar. No brick fireplace, no clock with his face on it, no knitting basket-

No Mum in the kitchen because last time he saw her she cried and he wanted to turn back and comfort her, but his legs weren't his own and the door slammed behind him; he'd never see her again unless they made him kill her and-

A soft hand touched his shoulder, not too familiar, but familiar enough, and this time he didn't flinch away, but leaned into the contact. The hand then moved to his back and rubbed circles into the practically non-existent flesh.

"You feeling better buddy?" The voice asked and Percy wondered how he ever could have found it loud and painful. It was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard, promising safety and it's finally over. I'm free I'm free I'm free and I can open my eyes by myself now.

Slowly, his eyes peeled open. The girl was crouched down in front of him, her face inches from his own. Hair so dark it was almost black waved and curled past her shoulders. The biggest pair of eyes he'd ever seen were full of concern and curiosity. Her pale pink lips curved into a frown.

If I am dead, he thought, she's definitely an angel.

"W'ter," he rasped.

The frown turned into a relieved smile and she nodded. "Coming right up."

Leaning back, she reached behind her and picked up a glass with a weird stick-thing sticking out of it. She held the end of the stick to his lips, raising an eyebrow when they didn't part, and even poking him in the face with it.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He just blinked. Why was there a stick in the water? What did she want him to do with it? Her frown was back and he felt regret. He liked her smile. It was pretty and made him feel like everything was going to be okay. When she prodded him again, he relented and opened his mouth.

It was chewy, whatever it was. He poked at it with his tongue and found that it was a hollow tube. Something in his mind clicked and he sucked...only to immediately choke when the water rushed up and hit the back of his throat.

The glass disappeared immediately and the hand was rubbing his back again.

"Easy," the girl soothed. "Not so fast now."

When the coughing subsided, the glass was held up again. This time Percy knew to be more careful. The water tasted like heaven going down his parched throat. The girl smiled again, patting his shoulder as she took the empty glass away.

"Better?" she asked.

He nodded.

"You hungry at all?"

As soon as she mentioned it, he felt his stomach give a loud grumble. He suddenly realized that he could smell something good. He took another deep inhale. It was so familiar and wonderful but he couldn't remember what it was. It smelled like home and love and he wanted it now.

"Whoa! Easy!" The girl caught him as he tried to pull himself up off the couch and his head started spinning. Weakly, he clutched her arms and let her guide him to sit back down. He sighed in frustration. He just wanted to stand up! He wanted eat something and actually taste it! Why weren't his limbs working the way they should?

"You have to relax," the girl said. "Just relax and I'll bring you some supper. Alright?"

Weakly, he nodded, hands fisting against the quilt wrapped around him. His angel stood up, but not before giving him a stunning grin and taking his hand in hers and lightly shaking it.

"I'm Audrey by the way," she said, "Audrey Blake."

"Percy," he said quietly. "...Weasley," he added as an afterthought.

If she thought his last name was odd, she didn't give any indication. "Nice to meet you Percy Weasley."

He could hear her moving around in the kitchen. She began to hum and her soft voice was like a balm on his shattered nerves. He felt himself relaxing as his eyes drifted shut.

Chicken soup, he suddenly remembered. That was what he was smelling earlier. Like his mum would make for him when he was sick-No. Can't think about them. They hated him and thought that he was a no-good Ministry loving prick who made his mother cry-

"This is so fucked up," he muttered.

"What is?" Audrey reappeared in the living room, holding a steaming bowl. She set it down on the coffee table and took a seat on a plush looking red armchair. It was then that Percy finally took a look at his surroundings; well as much as he could anyways.

He realized immediately that Audrey was a muggle. The walls were painted dark blue and had various unfamiliar ornaments on them. One was a circle with what looked like string weaved into it with feathers hanging down. Another he recognized as a painting of the Wild Hunt. There were other poster paintings that he'd never seen before.

From his position on the couch, he could see the dining room and the sliding glass door and through that the porch and backyard. He wondered how he missed the small...telly-visan (tel-vision?) in front of him.

"Where am I?" He finally asked.

"My house," Audrey said. "I didn't think you wanted me to call the police. I had to drag you back here."

Percy bit his lip. He didn't remember much about last night. Only a mess of colour and sound until finally blissful darkness. He thought he might have apparated somehow, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Where's my wand?" he asked, voice cracking.

"Wand?" Audrey frowned.

He nodded almost frantically. "My wand! Long brown stick with a carved handle?"

"Sorry mate," she said. "I didn't see anything like that."

Percy wanted to cry. Not only was he as weak as a kitten, now he was trapped god-knows-where in the muggle world with no way of contacting anyone or getting out. Pain and humiliation at having lost his most precious belonging raged through him, making his chest ache and his stomach turn.

"When you say wand...what do you mean? Like a toy wand?" Audrey frowned, as if she was trying to figure out why a grown man would be so torn up over a child's toy.

A harsh, wet laugh escaped Percy's throat. His hands dug into his hair, pulling at the roots and sending stinging pain throughout his scalp. His shoulders shook and he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He gasped and wheezed, wide eyes staring at the floor as he rode out the panic attack.

"Jesus! Calm down. Oka-THE FUCK?"

The panic in her voice managed to snap Percy out of his painful fog. His head snapped up as he looked into Audrey's wide, bugging eyes. Blearily, he looked in the direction she was staring at. His mouth dropped open.

Behind him, her bookshelf was tilted halfway to the floor. Cracks had appeared along the sides and several books were hovering about a foot up in the air. Percy swallowed, his panic suddenly draining out of him, leaving him exhausted.

The bookcase finally crashed to the floor, the lamp on top shattering. Percy bit his lip, staring down at the mess. He recognized the burst of accidental magic immediately even though he hadn't had one since he was twelve.

And it had happened in front of a muggle.

Slowly, he turned back to the stunned face of Audrey Black. Her mouth was open, lips forming a perfect O, and her eyes were two saucers. She was staring at him with a look of shock and confusion.

He shrugged helplessly. "I'm a wizard."