Percy's POV

Percy had made a lot of mistakes in his life and this could very well be his next. Somehow he had let Audrey persuade him to try and make amends with his family. It sounded like a terrible idea as soon as she got the words out, and he'd said no. But then, she did that thing where her eyes go a bit darker and it looks like he's the only thing she's ever wanted in the whole world. Audrey was hands down the sexiest woman on the planet, and if Percy wasn't swayed by her seductions he was very well the dumbest man on the planet.

Needless to say, Audrey had gotten her way, and now he was standing in the cold, on Christmas Eve, at The Burrow, with a woman that none of them had ever seen before. His father would be silent, his brothers would take turns beating the daylights out of him, Ginny would hurt him just as bad with only words, and his mother; oh Merlin, his mother would probably have a heart attack. This was a terrible idea.

"We shouldn't be here, this was a mistake." He said as they waited for someone to answer the door. It felt weird being back, and to show up out of the blue on Christmas Eve was something close to crazy. Audrey grabbed his hand reassuringly before stepping closer to him.

"This is possibly the best idea I've ever had; everything will be fine." She said before knocking on the door again.

"That's the exact opposite of what I'm thinking right now."

The door finally swung open and revealed a young woman holding a baby that had to be about 2 years old. The woman was an inch or two shorter than Audrey, and had fiery red hair that stopped at her waist. It was Ginny, and she just stared at him without saying a word.

"Gin, who was that?" he heard Harry yell before coming to the door. "Bloody hell."

"Buddy hell!" the baby repeated. Audrey laughed at the toddler and Ginny seemed to notice her for the first time.

"Audrey?" she asked skeptically. Percy was now confused. He knew that he'd told Audrey about all of his siblings, but how did Ginny know Audrey?

"Ginny, it's been too long! May we come in?"

"Of course you can, sorry it's just that…well Percy I…I can't believe you're really here." She said before throwing herself at him. He let go of Audrey's hand so he could wrap his little sister in his arms. The two of them hadn't so much as waved to each other in over 10 years, but none of that seemed to matter for a short while. The sentimental moment came to abrupt end when Ginny smacked Percy on the back of the head. "You insensitive little prat! I can't believe you'd come here!"

"Listen-" he tried, but quickly stopped when Ginny raised her hand warningly.

"You know what? I know you're thinking that I'm going to get angry and rip you a new one, BUT I will not yell at you." Ginny said calmly as she walked towards the kitchen. "Oh Mo-om! We have a guest!"

Audrey's POV

There was a lot going on in the Weasley household for it to seem so quiet. There was the constant sound of forks hitting plates, and the occasional cough or sip every now and then. The male Weasley's seemed to be competing to see who could actually set Percy on fire with their eyes, while Harry just looked around awkwardly. Teddy, who Audrey had connected to Ginny in some way, was having a conversation with Fleur's pregnant belly, and Hermione was tapping her finger on the table impatiently. Molly and Arthur seemed to be in their own little bubble and Ginny looked like she was holding back laughter, just waiting for the fighting to start. It wasn't unlike Audrey to break awkward silences; but it wasn't her place, so she lightly kicked Percy hoping he would catch on.

"Hello everyone!" he said awkwardly. Oh for the love of Merlin, she thought he'd say something a little more meaningful. His brothers seemed to liven up at his dense greeting; let the craziness begin.

"Hello there Percy. Fancy seeing my kid brother here at his own home. Please enlighten us on what our lowly souls have done to deserve your presence at our dinner table." Bill shot back.

"I- I- I-"

"You- you- you- what?" Ron interrupted. "Decided to get down and dirty; slum it up with the old Weasley clan for a night?"

"No, I-"

"Have you suddenly remembered that you're a part of this family as well? Or, are you here on some kind of secret Ministry mission?" asked George.

"If you'll just hear me out-"

"Listen, if we want to hear the tale of how we lost two brothers in the war-"

"That's enough!" their mother screamed, silencing the entire house. "Enough! I don't want to hear another negative word out of any of you. Listen to what Percy has to say."

His brothers had been hard on him, but they did what they were told. Everyone turned to Percy and gave them the full attention to hear what he had to say. Personally she had no idea what he would say and Audrey could sense the nerves coming off of him, but she looked at him and tried to convey as much love and support as she could with just her eyes.

"I'm sorry, to all of you. My behavior these past few years has been terrible and I am truly sorry for the way I acted. I abandoned you all and tried to disassociate myself from this family, and for that I don't think I can ever forgive myself. After the war I wanted so badly to come back home, but I didn't feel like I deserved to be a part of the family. I thought I didn't belong and that if I just distanced myself from you, you wouldn't have to deal with the burden of trying to accept me as your brother and son.I kept to myself for all those years thinking that I was doing what's best for you all but I was wrong. I realize now that I have nothing without family and I was a fool for ever fighting against it. I know a stupid apology won't make up for everything I've missed, but I hope that you all will give me the chance to get to know you again. Give me a chance to show you all that I've changed, and have become a different man than the selfish, pompous, insecure boy I used to be. I'm not asking you to forget what I've done in the past, but to just consider letting me be a part of this family's future."

The silence that followed his speech was filled with tension, but she knew everything would be ok.

"Was that an apology?" Ginny asked, obviously trying to hold back tears.

"Well I'll be damned, Percy just apologized." George teased. "Welcome back." Audrey was secretly dancing inside; her plan had been brilliant. His apology helped, but coming over today to talk to them had been all her idea.

"My boy!" his mom cried as she made her way over to him. "Oh, this is wonderful! Come Arthur, let's make everyone tea! Would you like some as well dear?" she said to Audrey.

Percy's POV

At that moment all eyes went to Audrey, who was practically jumping up and down with excitement at this point. He would bet anything that she was praising herself for her hand in the night's events, and was just waiting for her chance to get to talk to his family.

"Yes, please." She said happily, making Percy smile. He loved seeing her happy. "It's so nice to finally get to properly meet all of you; I've heard such good things! We brought gifts for everyone, should we give them to you now or later?"

"Later is fine." Ginny answered. "What I want to know is how you and Percy got together. You two are together right?"

"Yeah, well we met through work about a year ago." She answered coolly. Percy had no idea how she could just speak with them like she'd known them all her life. There was no hesitation or any signs of discomfort, she just jumped right in. "Right after graduation I decided to quit modeling and get a more serious job; and what's more serious than the government?"

"You just graduated?" Bill asked.

"She graduated with me and Hermione." Ginny answered quickly. So that was how the two of them knew each other. Interesting. "So you quit modeling and now you work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with my brother?"

"That's an interesting career change." Hermione added in that judgy voice that would be rude if you didn't know her.

"I used to work there, but I quit. I had never really intended for that to be a permanent thing, and I was ready for a change. I'm thinking about trying fashion next; or maybe Quidditch or something." Percy couldn't help but laugh a little at the woman sitting next to him; she really was something. "Don't laugh, I'm serious!"

"I know you are, that's why it's funny." He responded.

"Well Audrey, you seem to be very interesting and fun and adventurous." Ron complimented. "Why on earth are you dating Percy?"

"Because I love him." She answered simply. Percy chuckled again at how simple that was. He loved her and she loved him and it was easy.

"How?" George teased.

"Good question. It's got to be some form of mind control; that's the only explanation I've come up with so far." He joked. For the first time, ever, his family laughed at his joke, rather than at him. It felt good to let his guard down and kid with them. This was what family was supposed to feel like, and Percy had been missing out all along.

Audrey's POV

This day couldn't have gone any better if Audrey had hand-written a script. She couldn't believe he was worried that his family wouldn't want him back, and now she could say 'I told you so' as much as she wanted. She had gotten to see Ginny and Hermione again, and had avoided the awkward topic of being too young to date Percy. More than that she had killed at 'meet the family'. Everyone genuinely seemed to like her, and she had a play date with Teddy next week that she was truly looking forward to. Ron had challenged her to a pick-up game of Quidditch and she and Fleur were going shopping after her baby was born in May. His father had been fascinated with her knowledge of muggles and the fact that she knew how to drive, and George said he could get used to having someone around that was actually funny besides him.

All in all she had a good time, and she really looked forward to spending more time with them because that meant Percy would be spending time with them as well. She couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift than knowing she single-handedly brought a family back together. She was practically Father Christmas.

"Well, I think it's time we get going. See you all tomorrow?" Percy asked.

"Yes, of course. It was lovely meeting you Audrey, please keep in touch dear." Molly said as they made their way out of the door. She had convinced Percy to let her drive there, and unlocked the car so he could get in while she said her goodbyes.

"Of course I will, I had a wonderful time. See you all soon."

"Hey Audrey!" Ginny called before Audrey could get too far away. "I don't know what happened or what you did, but thank you for bringing my brother back home."

"He was always coming back; I just sped up the process. You know I'm impatient." She said with a small laugh. She hugged Ginny and kissed Teddy goodbye, then climbed into her car. "I really want to say I told you so but I don't want to ruin the moment."

"Very funny." Percy responded dryly, even though he was smiling. "I think my family likes you more than they like me."

"They like me a lot, but they love you."

"I love you." He said surely. Audrey knew for a fact that she and Percy shouldn't make sense. They were complete opposites and didn't have much in common, but she was also sure of the fact that when he said that to her, nothing else mattered. Being loved by someone gives you strength, and she felt strongest when she was with him.

"I love you too. And don't you forget it."