From here on out, it was getting a little harder to show the different perspectives, so chapters will have combined POVs :)
13. Make Me a Match
"George, be a dear and grab me some ingredients from the apothecary in Diagon Alley," Molly called from the kitchen.
"Mum, absolutely not," George replied immediately, storming into the kitchen. "It's the day before Valentine's and I'd like to live to see the light of another day."
Percy found it incredible that a month had already zoomed straight by him. Sometimes, he would wake up and it would feel like it was just the day after his tea with Audrey, but then his groggy eyes would adjust and catch sight of the calendar, and he would soon realize that it had been one, two, three, then four weeks.
Four weeks, and his mind still wandered to a cup of tea he shared with Audrey Callaghan. It shocked Percy to think that he used to be suspicious and wary of her. If anything, she was a little more rebellious and daring than himself, but certainly not pretentious and hateful.
"Quit being so immature and do your own mother a favour, will you?" Molly scolded.
"If you're really worried, I'll protect you, Georgie," Percy taunted as he ate his eggs and toast.
Percy had paid a visit to the Burrow for a Friday night dinner, however, George took the opportunity of his presence to spike his older brother's pumpkin juice, as a friendly joke, of course. Anyways, Percy was in no shape to apparate back home and ended up spending the night in his old room, much to Molly's happiness. Percy himself couldn't pretend he was terribly disappointed by the arrangement. He could never scramble eggs quite as well as his mum.
As for George, Percy figured that only Merlin knew what his mischievous younger brother was even doing at the Burrow that early in the morning. What Percy did know was that George's apprehension towards being around desperate single witches the day before Valentine's Day was his way of keeping a sliver of unhappiness in his life. He had muttered something, albeit in a drunken stupor, about happiness making him feel guilty one night when Percy was checking up on him. It was hard to see George like that, and then pretend like everything was fine during the day, but Percy wasn't about to rush him out of mourning or anything. Even Percy himself wasn't sure he was over Fred's death.
"Fine then. It's not like any girl would get near a git like you," George answered, grabbing his scarf. "Hop to, Perce!"
"Can I at least finish my breakfast in peace?" Percy asked.
"No, you can't," George answered, "not once you've devoted your life to protecting me from the desperate claws of single witches."
"Now you're just being melodramatic."
"Well, don't ruin it, you prat."
Of all the days for Audrey to find herself out and about in Diagon Alley, it just had to be the day before Valentine's Day. Even the gloomy Slug and Jiggers Apothecary had small, pink heart bubbles floating near the ceiling, and each time one passed through Audrey's line of vision, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She really would have to teach Erin to use their cleaning potion more sparingly. Ingredients didn't come cheap - they cost both galleons and patience.
As Audrey's thoughts wandered to Erin, she turned her gaze towards the blonde witch. Erin batted her eyelashes and smiled gracefully as a young wizard walked past them in the apothecary. Her gaze followed after him until he turned a corner, then the blonde woman gave a dejected sigh and leaned on one of the apothecary shelves.
"It's hopeless, Audrey," she grumbled. Then, as another young wizard walked past, she began smiling and batting her eyelashes once more.
"Erin, quit it. You reek of desperation," Audrey scolded after the man turned a corner.
"You reek of loneliness," Erin shot back.
"Well, I don't give a rat's ass," Audrey replied monotonously, her eyes scanning the shelves for the necessary ingredients.
"Seriously, Audrey, you need to get out there," Erin said. "Not just to, you know, get some, but also to not be cooped up at home or the Ministry all the time."
"No, thanks," Audrey replied curtly.
"Come on," Erin whined.
"I hate Valentine's, anyways," Audrey continued.
"Why would you hate such a wonderful holiday?" Erin asked with a gasp.
"Because I can buy my own bleeding chocolate. I don't need some guy to do it for me."
"Oh, it's not just that, Audrey. It's the romance," Erin supported with a dreamy tone. "Isn't it nice to have a guy make you feel special?"
"No."
"You have no soul."
Audrey gave an absentminded nod, hoping that Erin would understand it meant that she was no longer listening.
Truth be told, Audrey didn't exactly hate Valentine's Day. There was nothing wrong with a little saintly festivity, as far as she was concerned. It was something she had celebrated quite extravagantly in her youth. She just hadn't felt like celebrating much of anything, even Christmas, since her family's death. Audrey had not yet arrived at the point in her life where she didn't feel guilt every time she had fun. Unfortunately for Audrey, 'fun' included meeting guys. Or 'getting some,' as Erin had put it.
Talking with Percy was fun, though, another, albeit smaller, part of her brain said, and Audrey couldn't help but agree. It had been fun, and liberating, and Audrey never felt guilty about it. That small meeting had a lasting effect on her, both good and bad. It was good because she was less grumpy and more sociable. It was bad because she had started subconsciously searching for Percy's red curly hair every time she walked through the halls of the Ministry of Magic, and it was a really distracting habit. Maybe that was the real reason Audrey couldn't bring herself to enjoy Valentie's Day.
She really had to stop letting her mind wander so far, though. A cup of tea was just that, and nothing more. Right?
"Do we need this?" Erin asked, shaking a jar of eel eyes in Audrey's face.
Audrey grimaced. "Uh, no. Thank goodness." Erin had never been good at making potions but, thankfully, Audrey had excelled in Potions class during her time at Hogwarts.
As Erin moved from Audrey's line of vision to continue searching for ingredients, Audrey felt every part of her freeze in place.
Through the wet shop window, Audrey's eyes caught sight of Percy approaching another person - a blonde woman, to be exact. Audrey squinted to get a better look at her features and racked her mind for a name.
Then, it hit her like a brick. Penelope Clearwater.
Yes, it certainly felt like a brick, or perhaps even an anvil.
Audrey could feel her heart growing so heavy it nearly shot through the floor, but she wasn't sure why. She wasn't sure at all, really, why she felt so dejected when seeing Percy and Penelope together. Sure, they had been a couple for a while at Hogwarts, and afterwards probably, but that was no reason for Audrey's chest to feel as constricted as it did in that moment, or for her hands to tremble and weaken.
Crash.
"Bloody hell," Audrey muttered as she realized she had dropped the clay pot of porcupine quills that she had been holding. She glanced at the glaring shopkeeper with an apologetic look. "Sorry! I'll clean it up. See? Fixed."
With a few waves of her wand, the pot was repaired and the quills were back inside it. Audrey crouched down to pick it up and heard Erin come up behind her.
"Oi, you're never clumsy," she said observantly as Audrey stood up.
"You don't have to be a twat about it," Audrey grumbled in reply, but avoided her gaze and shook her head so her hair obscured her features. She didn't want Erin to see her flushed face. There was nothing that Audrey hated more than being flustered. If she ever agreed with her mother on anything, it would be that one must avoid being perceived as weak at all costs - physically and emotionally, of course.
"Merlin, Audrey, what's wrong with you?" Erin asked with a light frown on her face.
"Sod off, Erin," Audrey mumbled. Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, she noticed two familiar statures and nearly groaned out loud. And people wondered why she didn't believe in luck. "Oh! What a surprise."
Unfortunately, Percy had decided to enter the apothecary, along with George. It took every ounce of Audrey's strength not to storm out of the shop right in that moment, but she reminded herself that she wasn't about to cower in the face of a challenge. Even if her heart was nearly jumping out of her chest.
Instead, Audrey found herself absentmindedly wondering if George knew about her and Percy's little tea talk, or if Percy had decided to keep that from him. It was a stupid thing to think about, but for some reason Audrey didn't really want anyone else to know, especially not George. She didn't want it to turn into some joke that he would keep in his ammunition belt.
"A surprise indeed," Erin agreed, coming up beside her. "Well, don't just stand there, Audrey. Introduce us!"
"Erin, I swear on Merlin's baggy trousers - "
"Oh, fine, I'll do it!" the blonde witch interrupted, shooting her hand out for the brothers to shake. "Hi, I'm Erin Donoghue. Something tells me that the two of you already know my dear friend, Audrey."
"Pleasure, Erin," George greeted, shaking her hand. "I'm George Weasley, and this is my older brother, Percy. Say, what are you two Irishwomen doing out here in the cold?"
"Well, funny you should - "
"We're getting some things, as I suspect you two are," Audrey said, interrupting Erin, who gave her a begrudging look. Audrey glared back pointedly, then turned her attention back to George. She really had to stop glaring so much - it would give her wrinkles. "We'll leave you to it."
Audrey wasn't sure if she was getting annoyed by Erin because she was truly being too desperate, or because Audrey was still so shaken by seeing Percy and Penelope together. Nevertheless, she didn't want to stay in the presence of the Weasley brothers longer than necessary.
"Now, hold on a second!" George exclaimed, stopping Audrey from turning away. "It's been a while, Audrey, and I don't think you've had a formal introduction to Percy, so – "
"We've met. Leave it, George," Audrey interrupted stiffly. "We wouldn't want to keep you."
However, part of her softened when she realized that Percy had not, in fact, told George about anything. So, when Audrey's eyes met Percy's, she gave him a curt nod and a small smile before turning away and heading for the cash register. The words 'let's go for lunch' nearly spilled from her mouth when her gaze met Percy's, but she kept it bottled up. Clearly, he was preoccupied with someone more special, and Audrey was not about to put herself in that compromising position.
Audrey tried to pay for her ingredients and leave the apothecary as quickly as possible. Erin trudged after her with a displeased look on her face. Once the two women were out in the slushy streets of Diagon Alley, Erin grabbed Audrey's shoulders and stopped her in her tracks. Audrey turned to face Erin with a heavy sigh.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Erin demanded. "The tall one was cute! I mean, he was missing an ear, but cute. The point is, you can't condemn me to the same lonely fate that you've placed upon yourself just because you're scared."
"Nothing's wrong with me," Audrey replied stonily, crossing her arms. "And I'm not condemning you to anything. By all means, go ask him out. And don't call me scared." She decided she would leave out the small detail that George was probably in no shape to take a girl on a date. If Erin wanted to be bold and brave, she could do it without Audrey's help.
"Why did you get so shaken all of a sudden?" Erin asked as her features contorted to express concern.
For a small moment, Audrey considered continuing her facade. However, it dawned on her that Erin would only continue bugging her, and if she didn't at least get something off of her chest, she would continue to find everything Erin did absolutely annoying. Besides, it wasn't like Audrey at all to keep things from Erin.
"I don't know, okay? Just let me steam a bit," Audrey answered. After a pause, she added, "I'm sorry. It's not you. I'll tell you when I'm ready."
"I know that, silly," Erin said, a small smile forming. "We're like sisters. So I'm always here for you. Even if you're an absolute bitch to me. But not too much of a bitch."
Audrey laughed. Leave it to Erin to turn a sweet moment into a silly one.
The two women hugged and just as they were turning to leave, they found themselves stopped in their tracks once more.
"Audrey! Wait a minute."
As Audrey and Erin left the store, George turned to Percy. "You've met? When?" he asked, a confused look on his face.
"I told you. We see each other at the Ministry," Percy replied. His eyes still flickered towards the door, even though Audrey was long gone. Part of him wished he could whisk her away with another cup of tea and make everything all right, but that was their small secret.
"I've known Audrey for a while, Percy. I've never seen her so agitated, and I've dumped a lot of strange things on her head and caused her a lot of stress," George said. Percy was impressed he could say that last part with a serious face. "So spill the beans: how'd you meet?"
"We ran into each other, had a small talk. Leave it, George." Percy was starting to feel uncomfortable. For some reason, he didn't want anyone else to know how he knew Audrey. He just wanted to know her, and that was it. So much for our small secret, Percy thought to himself.
"Huh. Look at that. The two of you use the exact same tell-offs," George observed. Then, he added mockingly, "'Leave it, George.' Tell me, Perce, when do I ever leave anything?"
Percy rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the stocked shelves. "What do you want?"
"The truth, of course."
Percy paused and thought carefully about his answer. "We ran into each other at Flourish and Blotts a month ago. Had some tea."
"In a bookstore? Sweet Merlin, Percy..." George said with exasperation. Percy gave him a scowl. "And? What else?"
Either George knew him too well or Percy wasn't very good at keeping things hidden. "I was the court scribe for a trial she was a witness in earlier that day. She was pretty shaken by it. That's why I offered to buy her tea."
George didn't reply immediately, and Percy was sure he was thinking up some silly joke to crack at his expense. Maybe that's why he didn't want to tell anyone about Audrey: he didn't want it to be just another one of George's jokes.
However, when George did finally reply, they were not the words Percy was expecting.
"Percy, you flat-out rejected Penelope."
"That's completely unrelated," Percy replied immediately, almost as if he had the answer planned.
When Penelope had asked him out to a dinner, just a few minutes earlier, he promptly rejected. She was in his past, and it felt as if there was something - perhaps, someone - in the present that had a very strong grip on him. Now, after seeing Audrey, he was starting to think it was her, but that couldn't be possible. He was just being cordial.
"Is it?" George asked challengingly. He gave Percy a shove, which made him look at George with a scowl. The look on his younger brother's face was one of seriousness. It was strange on George's features. "You better go out there and talk to her."
"I'm not going to make a fool of myself for nothing."
"Oh, Percy, I don't think it would be for nothing. I mean, Flourish and Blotts? You two are something else."
I'm not terribly happy with this chapter but... it's here. Stay tuned for chapter 14 :)