Audrey sat in the corner of the common room, looking lazily at a book. The twins had gone off to cause some trouble, no doubt, and she took solace in hiding behind her book where no one would bother her. She happened to look up, just as Percy was walking in the common room, his eyes looked around until they locked on to hers. She looked away quickly after seeing the sadness that filled his eyes at the sight of her. It broke her heart to be the cause of his pain, but she was still too hurt to be rational or reasonable. She pulled her book up to cover her face, she knew no one would notice the tears that had begun to fall, but she didn't want to risk it, knowing there was a chance he would be watching.
"Tears aren't allowed." Fred said sitting in front of her pulling her book down so she could look at him.
"Tears? I don't know what you're talking about." She said turning away for a second to wipe her cheeks.
"You're a terrible liar, Audrey, you shouldn't even attempt it." Fred said.
"You caught me, I'm a sucker for a sappy book." Audrey said.
"I cry every time I read, Quidditch Through the Ages as well." Fred said with a knowing smile.
"I miss him, alright?" Audrey said in a whisper. "I just hate this." She added.
Fred grabbed her hand. "Then just go say something to him." He said.
She shook her head. "I'm not ready to do that yet." She said simply.
"No tears." Percy said sitting next to Audrey on the couch. He reached his hand up, and wiped away the tears. "What are these for?" He asked.
"I miss him." She said simply as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"I know, we all do." Percy said, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "It means a lot to the girls to hear this, even if they don't realize how much it may hurt you." he said.
Audrey shook her head. "I want them to know Fred like I knew him. He deserved to be in their lives, even if it can only be through stories." She explained.
"You're very right." Percy said kissing her forehead. "I'm sure we'll be woken up first thing tomorrow to hear about the rest of the fight." He said with a yawn.
"It's your turn to tell the next part. You should have your side represented as well." She said.
"So I should tell them that I was a git and couldn't see what was right under my nose?" He asked.
"That's not what I was thinking, the truth, but not what I was thinking." Audrey said with a smile.
"What were you thinking then?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrow in curiosity.
"I was thinking you should tell them that about Penny like I told them about Fred." Audrey suggested.
"I could do that." Percy said standing up. "Every good trip takes a detour I suppose." He said grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. He pulled her close and swayed back and forth, dancing with her to the music in his head.
"Ours took a couple." She said with a sigh, dancing along.
"But they brought us here, so I'm ok with that." He smiled.
"You're a hopeless romantic, Percy Weasley." She said as he twirled her out, and spun her back in.
Percy dipped her down and pulled her back up, kissing her softly. "You bring it out of me." He said.
Audrey laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, taking in every moment as if time was standing still. "I love you." She whispered, not opening her eyes.
"I love you too." He replied.
The next morning woke up feeling déjà vu as she was being poked in the arm. "Good morning girls." She groaned into her pillow.
"Dad's poking not us." Molly said.
Audrey looked over to see Percy's face grinning back at her. She shook her head. "Of course he is." She said rolling her eyes. She sat up and stretched as the girls looked at her and Percy expectantly. "Don't look at me; the next part of the story is all your dad's." She said.
"Dad, tell us what happened." Lucy said.
Percy walked over to where Audrey sat looking nervous and obviously upset. He sat down next to her, fiddling with his robe. He sat thinking about what he would say for a second before clearing his throat, causing Audrey to look up from her book towards him.
"Percy, what are you doing here?" She asked, annoyed by his presence.
"Please don't send me away. Penny's been petrified." He said simply.
Audrey didn't know what to say. She reached over and pulled him close, hugging him tightly.
"I'm sorry Audrey, I don't know what I did to make you cross with me, but I'm sorry for it." Percy said putting his arms around her. He took in the feeling he got from being with her again, and it almost masked the pain and worry he had for Penny.
"That's not important now." Audrey said pulling away from him. "How did this happen?" She asked. She couldn't understand the events of the past few months, but she knew that all these people getting petrified wasn't a good thing.
"I'm not exactly sure." Percy said looking down at his hands which were still fumbling with his robe.
Audrey grabbed them, and held them tight. She looked into his eyes. "She'll be fine." She said simply.
Percy looked back into Audrey's eyes, and watched as they filled with pain as she reassured him. He didn't understand it, why did looking at him cause her so much pain?
"I feel completely useless." Percy said, knowing that if he mentioned her feelings, she would only deny being upset.
"I know, but as soon as they can figure what's happening to everyone, they can stop it. You've just got to try your best to help everyone stay out of harms way." Audrey said.
"I've already failed at that." Percy said looking down. "I wasn't even there to help my girlfriend." He whispered.
"You can't beat yourself up over it." She said. Audrey looked up and caught eyes with Fred who smiled at her. She gave him a weak smile back, letting him know that it wasn't the joyous occasion he was thinking it was.
Percy watched the exchange, wondering what it meant. It seemed like every time he saw Audrey she was either with Fred or both of the twins, and he couldn't quite understand what had sparked that. "Are you and Fred, um, together?" he asked, clearing his throat, embarrassed that he was asking.
Audrey shook her head. "Not exactly." She said. "He's been taking care of me." She explained.
"What did I do to make you so angry at me?" Percy asked.
Audrey looked down. "It's complicated." She said simply.
"I can follow it." Percy said grabbing her hand.
Audrey shook her head, and pulled her hand away. "Now's not really the time. Do you just want to study, like the old days?" She asked giving him a smile.
Percy nodded, knowing that Audrey didn't want to talk anymore. "That would be nice." He said.
The rest of the night the two sat together in near silence reading and writing their essays. It seemed like every time Percy's mind would wonder to Penny Audrey would know, and put her hand on his, silently letting him know she was there. After everyone had left the common room to go to bed Audrey shut her book and stood up.
"It's late." She said.
Percy stood up, and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. "Thank you." He said, not letting her go. He felt her arms tighten around him as she hugged him back.
"I missed you." She said before letting go. "Goodnight Percy." She said with a smile.
"Goodnight Audrey." Percy said as he watched her walk off towards her bedroom. He didn't go up to his room though. Instead he sat on the couch, and put his head in his hands. He finally lost control of his feelings and let his tears fall. He couldn't stop blaming himself. Had he been there he could have done something, even if he would have been the one to be petrified. His heart ached with the worry he felt for what would happen next. He had never felt so useless, so weak in his entire life, and it tore at him. He felt the same way he had the first night without Audrey, as if he had been torn away from the one thing he relied on the keep his sanity, and his happiness. He felt lost without her, and he had grown to rely on Penny, no he seemed without both. Audrey was there, but it was different now, she looked as if the very presence of him was painful, and I couldn't figure out why; what had he done to hurt her so badly. Percy's mind raced for hours as he sat near the fire, finally as he could hardly keep his eyes open, he drug himself to bed, to a fitful night's sleep.
Molly crawled across the bed and pulled her dad in for a hug. "Don't be sad." She said.
Percy smiled. "I'm not sad anymore." He said pulling her into his lap. "How could I ever manage to be sad when I have you and your sister always making me so happy?" he asked. Molly could only giggle happily her dad hugged her.
"Was Penny ok?" Lucy asked, sitting on the end of the bed.
Percy nodded. "After your Aunt Ginny was taken into the chamber and your Uncle saved her they were able to heal everyone." He said. "She got a job at the ministry after the war. You've probably seen her walking around sometime when you've come to see me at work." He explained.
"That's good." Lucy said, looking deep in thought.
Molly looked at Audrey very seriously. "I'm glad Daddy chose you and not Penny in the end." She said.
Audrey smiled and ruffled Molly's hair. "You know, I am too." She said. She stood up. "Now, I'm thinking I should go cook us a big breakfast, what do you think?" she asked.
"Yea!" Molly said standing up, and pulling her dad, downstairs to help make breakfast.
Audrey was about out of the room when she turned back to see Lucy hadn't moved. She walked back over and sat next to her on the bed. "What's got you thinking so hard?" She asked.
"You and dad. I guess I never thought about you guys not getting along, or being with other people." Lucy said.
Audrey smiled lovingly at her. "There are some bumps along the road, but we're better for it." She explained. "Every bump along the way brought up to where we are today, and I couldn't imagine having to spend my life without your dad and you guys." She added.
Lucy nodded, and hugged her mom.
"Breakfast?" Audrey asked, hugging her daughter back.
Lucy nodded as she pulled away. "Yea, that sounds great." She said with a smile.
"Good, cause you're sister's expecting it, and there's no arguing with her once she's got her mind set." Audrey said with a bit of a laugh.
Lucy groaned. "Don't I know." She said.
Audrey just laughed as she put her arm around her daughter's shoulder, and walked downstairs together with her to join Percy and Molly in the kitchen.