Okay, so this chapter is a LOT longer because there was no where I could cut it off without... dragging everything out for longer than necessary. SIGH.
15. Humiliating
Percy strode to the front door of his flat as the doorbell rang, attempting to tie his necktie at the same time. After nearly tripping over thin air, he decided it would probably be a better idea to do one thing at a time.
As soon as Percy opened the door, he let out a heavy sigh.
"Not now, Oliver," he said wearily. "It's Monday. I've got to get to work."
"Well, I don't, so enjoy my company, you prat," Oliver stated with a joking smile as he walked past Percy and into the flat. "Besides, I brought breakfast. I think I'm expediting your morning, if anything."
"By all means, come in," Percy muttered sarcastically as he shut the door. "There's a pot of tea on the table, if you like. Congratulations on getting off reserve, by the way."
"Wonderful, and thank you," Oliver replied as he sat down at the dining table and poured himself some tea. "So, tell me: any exciting developments lately? Not work related, of course."
"You want to do this now?" Percy asked. Oliver nodded emphatically and Percy sat down with a heavy sigh. He resumed working on his tie as he replied, "Are you trying to make conversation, or give me a challenge? 'Not work related.' That's funny."
"Challenge, of course," Oliver replied as he pulled a scone out of the bag he brought.
After some thought, Percy also took a scone and replied, "Well, actually, there is something. I ran into Penelope in Diagon Alley, and she invited me over for dinner this past weekend."
"Oh, Perce, please tell me you didn't - "
"I didn't, because I'm rather confused at the moment. There's this woman - "
"Now this is a development!"
"Can you just keep your mouth shut for one minute?" Percy asked, growing irritated. Oliver shrugged and Percy continued, "Anyways, there's this woman, and honestly, when I first met her, I thought she was... disagreeable. Now, though, I can't get her out of my head - and I mean that in a good way. I don't know what it is, Oliver."
"Did she go to Hogwarts?" Oliver asked, clearly interested to find out more about the woman that had Percy in such a state of confusion.
"Yeah," Percy answered. "Her name's Audrey Callaghan."
"Oh! I know Audrey!" Oliver exclaimed. "I mean, I've only talked to her a handful of times, since she wasn't in our year, nor did she play Quidditch, but she seems nice enough."
"What? You know her?" Percy asked in shock. How Oliver knew someone that was in Slytherin and didn't play quidditch was beyond him.
"Sure. Talked to her just this weekend. You know she was a Slytherin, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. That's not the point. Oliver, I have an idea," Percy started. "Can you ask her what she honestly thinks of me? I feel like she's holding back."
"Percy, do I look like a bleeding matchmaker to you?" Oliver asked. Then, while emphatically shaking his head, he added, "No way in hell am I going around asking women what they think of you. What's the big deal, anyways? You're single, she's single - you really have nothing to lose."
"It's odd, Oliver. When I'm around her, I feel like I could tell her anything. I'll say something stupid one of these days. I know I will."
"Any chance you're not going to go barmy over this?"
"Not bloody likely."
Words could not describe how much Audrey hated concealment and disguise training.
Audrey's back was pressed flat against the floor - ground, actually - with an extremely uncomfortable leaf blanket of sorts covering her. The training room had been transfigured and decorated to look like a forest. Obviously, Halloway would not skimp on the weather. The forest room was muddy and chilly, with the occasionally bone-shivering breeze passing through.
This was the first round of tests for concealment and disguise. First test: keep yourself hidden in an unknown setting. Audrey had been shoved into the room with a total of five minutes to come up with something. She decided to transfigure that ridiculous leaf blanket out of a small log lying around, and even went for mud in her hair and on her face just to be safe. She had decided against hiding behind a rotting, fallen tree - far too predictable - and instead flattened herself near a small collection of bushes next to a shallow stream.
Then, she had to think of spells. She automatically placed a Disillusionment Charm on herself, but that would disappear if she got distracted. Then, as a precaution, Audrey cast a small shield around herself, with a Knockback Jinx that would be activated if anyone would search through the bushes. That would give her a head start on disarming. Audrey kept her wand close to her chest, underneath the covering of leaves and branches she transfigured, and tried to steady her breathing.
The rest of the test was straightforward. After Audrey's five minutes to think quick and conceal herself, another trainee would come in and attempt to find her in ten minutes or less. The only way of getting full marks was by not getting found at all; however, Audrey would still score fairly well if she was found and won in the duel that would commence.
The moment Audrey heard the door creak open and dry leaves crunching under someone's feet, she began to count down from six hundred. It kept her mind away from nervousness, and her senses more focused on what was going on around her.
Audrey was down to one hundred seconds left when she heard a yelp as someone flew across the room.
Damn it. Audrey leapt up, not stopping her counting, and immediately shot a Disarmament Charm. She was sure that her Disillusionment Charm had worn off. The other trainee - one of the women - dived behind a tree to dodge Audrey's spell and immediately shot a Stunning Spell after Audrey, which she deflected.
After that, the duel turned into a stalemate. The two trainees were trading hexes and deflecting, and it was beginning to tire Audrey. She knew that if she couldn't decisively win the duel, her final marks would not be very good.
Fifty-four, fifty-three, fifty-two, fifty-one...
Audrey's eyes skimmed the room and landed on a large rock near her opponent. That was when the idea came to her.
With a flourish of her wand, Audrey cast a non-verbal lumos maxima as she shielded her own eyes, filling the room with a blinding light. She ran for the rock and ducked behind it. The light still filled the room, but it was starting to diminish. From her position behind the rock, Audrey had a fairly good idea of where her opponent was, and she didn't even need to look when she casted her Knockback Jinx.
Twenty-four, Twenty-three, Twenty-two, Twenty-one...
Audrey heard another shout of pain and a thud as her opponent landed. The light had diminished enough at this point that Audrey could see the silhouette of her opponent attempting to get back up. Audrey shot an Incarcerous Spell to bind the woman. Once the light was mostly gone, she ran over to disarm her.
"Done!" shouted a voice from an unknown source. "And with fourteen seconds to spare. Well done, Callaghan."
Audrey sighed in relief, removed the ropes from her opponent, and helped her up. The woman was scowling, but took Audrey's hand nonetheless. The two walked out of the training room together and found Halloway, along with their respective assigned Senior Aurors, waiting for them directly outside.
"Impressive, Callaghan," Halloway praised. Then, for good measure, he added, "Not a perfect mark, but I'm sure you're not surprised."
Audrey clenched her jaw to keep from replying. She had noticed Halloway making more remarks about her absence of a perfect mark in any tests they had, and Audrey assumed that he had taken note of her arrogant tendencies. Well, if he wanted to irk her, she would not give him that satisfaction - no matter how much it killed her inside.
"Thank you, sir," Audrey replied stoically.
Halloway narrowed his eyes at her, but decided to turn towards the other trainee and said, "Your performance was somewhat mediocre, Fairweather, but the searching test is not weighted as much as the concealment test, so you still have an opportunity to redeem yourself."
"Yes, sir," Fairweather replied.
"All right, then! Unless your assigned seniors want to speak with you, you are free for the day," Halloway instructed. "I expect both of you in the duelling rooms tomorrow, practicing with the first and third year trainees, while everyone else finishes their tests."
Halloway stormed off, and before Fairweather could be pulled aside by her Senior Auror, Audrey placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. The woman turned to her with a scowl.
"Um - good job," Audrey said. She wasn't quite sure why she felt like she needed to tell her that, but something had compelled Audrey to approach the woman. "Halloway is just a firm believer in tough love, I think."
"Why do you care? You did well," the woman shot back. "It's not like I stood a chance against you, anyways. I heard some rumours that your dad trained you in duelling before you were even of age."
"What? That's rubbish," Audrey replied, her brow furrowing in confusion. Honestly, the rumours people spread were of a mad imagination far beyond her. "I mean, my dad talked to me about duelling, but I only duelled with him a handful of times, and only after I turned seventeen. It was all in sport, really."
"So then you're just naturally talented, eh?" Fairweather asked sourly.
"I'm trying to be nice to you, and it's kind of hard when you're being so bitter," Audrey snapped. "Good job on your test. My name's Audrey, if you happen to care."
"Oh. I thought - because - I mean, people always say you're..." she trailed off and looked away.
"A sneaky Slytherin?" Audrey finished, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Fairweather slowly nodded and said, "Yeah. But I guess not. Thanks... Audrey. I'm Allison. Um, if it's worth anything, I heard that out of all of our tests, there's always one that you nearly fail and one that you do perfect on so... we have some time to do better, I suppose."
"And some time to mess up," Audrey added jokingly. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah, for sure," Allison said with a smile, waving goodbye as she turned around to talk to her assigned Senior Auror.
When Audrey walked into the tea shop, she noticed that Percy was already there waiting for her. She inwardly cursed her luck. Audrey had been hoping that she would have arrived first so she could have used the extra time to compose herself. She was quite sure that she had a smudge of dirt on her chin from her test, and she felt extremely out of breath.
But there was no backing out now. Percy had seen her, and was waving to get her attention. Audrey forced a smile and approached the table he was sitting at.
"How was your training today?" Percy asked as he slid a cup of tea towards her. He was still in his work clothes, and Audrey immediately felt self-conscious of the casual muggle attire that she had changed into after training.
What is it about those glasses that makes him more attractive?
Audrey! Pull it together!
Audrey cradled the cup in her hands, enjoying the warmth it spread through her fingertips as she looked into the tinted water to avoid Percy's gaze. "All right. I had a test for concealment today, so that's why I'm a bit dishevelled."
"I didn't notice," Percy said kindly.
Audrey scoffed and looked up from her tea. "Please. I'm not that obtuse," she replied. "Be truthful, or don't say anything at all."
Percy looked taken aback at first, but he quickly recovered and added, "You do have a little something..." he trailed off as he gestured to the right side of his jaw.
He enjoyed that about her. Audrey was almost jarringly honest, which was quite refreshing. However, that didn't mean that she didn't keep things to herself. It just meant that he could trust that whatever she did say would be truthful to a T.
"Ah. Splendid," Audrey muttered. She rubbed at her jaw to get off whatever was there - probably mud. "Merlin, I'm tired. My arms feel like jelly."
"And yet, this is what you want to do for the rest of your life?" Percy asked. His tone was jovial, conversational. Kind.
"Of course!" Audrey exclaimed with a smile. "I mean, gruelling training is a small sacrifice compared to the achievement of doing my dream job, don't you think? And I guess it's a little fun, too, when it doesn't stress the hell out of me."
"How do you tell a small sacrifice from a large one, then?" Percy asked in a more somber voice.
Audrey raised an eyebrow and replied, "Well, that's an awfully deep question."
Percy laughed lightly. "Don't get me wrong. I understand your ambition - if anything, I'm exactly the same. It's just that this is sort of a second try at my dream job for me, and the first time around... well, I think I sacrificed too much."
"And you don't want to do that again," Audrey added. Percy nodded and Audrey said with a small shrug, "Well, you can never know when you've sacrificed too much. The only people that see that are the ones that love you. Erin keeps me in check - I just listen to her, really."
"And what if you think you know better?" Percy asked.
"Well, you were certainly over-confident back in the day," Audrey said sarcastically.
"You could say that," Percy replied quietly.
"Listen, everyone makes mistakes," Audrey started. "Some more than others. Some make bigger mistakes. The point is to never repeat them, and from what I can tell, you're doing a fine job of that. And if you're ever a big enough of an idiot to not listen to your family again, then I'll come and give you a big whack upside the head myself to bring you to your senses."
"And how could you possibly know if I'm not listening to my family?" Percy asked, a smile fighting its way onto his face.
"I'm sure I can get George to send me an angry letter if that's the case," Audrey answered. "I trust you, though. I think you're smart enough to not do the same thing all over again."
"Goodness, Audrey, do you do anything wrong?"
Audrey's eyebrows shot up as she said, "Excuse me?"
"I didn't mean - "
"I know what you meant, and I'll gladly let you know that I spent the last twenty years of my life doing all the wrong things," Audrey interrupted. She wasn't angry, or even surprised, that Percy had asked that. She worked hard to maintain an air of excellence, and if people were failing to see her flaws, then that meant she was doing a great job. However, a small part of her had hoped, for some reason, that Percy could see past that.
"You think you're ambitious?" Audrey continued. "Well, you've clearly never seen me when things don't go my way."
"Ambition isn't necessarily a bad thing," Percy said.
"Oh no, but hubris certainly is," Audrey replied. "On my first day back to Auror training, we were practicing deflection. My partner cheated and threw a jinx when it was my turn, and I dodged it instead of using a Protection Charm. My supervisor made a point of announcing that I barely passed and it just... made me so furious. Not that he said I barely passed, but that I couldn't think of a way to deflect the second jinx."
"So you're a perfectionist," Percy reasoned. "I think I can live with that."
Audrey smiled faintly and added, "You know, I had this stupid silent debate with the Sorting Hat in first year. Slytherin or Ravenclaw - I wanted Slytherin."
"Really?" Percy was surprised to hear that. Surely, if he had the choice...
Audrey shrugged. "That was where my family went. That was where my friends were, few as they were. It seemed reasonable."
Now that Percy thought about it, he had a bit of a debate with the Sorting Hat as well. At the mere mention of Ravenclaw, Percy's mind started reeling with the silent exclamations of "Gryffindor!" for the same reasons that Audrey wanted the Hat to shout Slytherin. Perhaps he understood Audrey better than he realized.
Percy smiled and, just like he did that day in January in the tea shop, reached across the table to enclose her hand in his. However, instead of the surprised look that Audrey had on that day, she only smiled lightly. "Well, if you ever get too hubristic," Percy started, "I'll personally make sure you come to your senses. It's the least I can do to return the favour for that whack."
"And how will you ever know if you need to do that?" Audrey asked, mimicking his own question.
"Judging by the nature of hubris, I'm sure I'll hear about it," Percy replied jokingly.
Audrey laughed and said, "I would be honoured to have you bring me to my senses, Percy Weasley."
Once they had finished their teas, they had prolonged their stay by ordering some biscuits, and by the time they left the tea shop, Diagon Alley was cloaked in darkness. Percy had offered to walk her home, saying something about how unsafe it was to apparate into darkened alleys, and Audrey had happily accepted.
Although she would have been lying to herself if she said it didn't make her feel the least bit... wrong.
As far as Audrey was concerned, Percy had a girlfriend, and he would be better off keeping her away from the creeps in filthy London alleys. However, Audrey was also quite good at fooling herself. They were friends, and that was fine and dandy. It was the late nineties, after all. There was no reason that a man and a woman couldn't be friends.
"I prefer cold London over hot London, if I'm being perfectly honest," Percy observed as the two of them distanced themselves from the muggle entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
"Me too," Audrey replied with a smile. "I guess it has something to do with growing up on the Irish coasts. It's always wet and windy."
"And the heat is so suffocating," Percy added as he nodded in agreement.
"I would love to move back to the seaside, one day," Audrey mused. "For now, with Auror training, London is easier. I guess only time will tell if I'll get that opportunity."
"My brother lives on the seaside, with his wife," Percy said. "In Cornwall. It's quite lovely there. Must've been nice to grow up right by the coast."
Audrey smiled faintly as she replied, "It certainly was."
After a few more minutes of walking, some of which were spent in a comfortable silence, Audrey's pace slowed to a stop in front of an old apartment building, weathered by rain and the industrial fumes of Muggle London. She turned to Percy and forced a smile to hide her... whatever she was feeling. Disappointment didn't quite cut it, but Audrey could tell she felt a little... defeated.
To hell with 'it's the late nineties,' Audrey thought to herself. I'm bleeding attracted to this idiot, and there's nothing I can do about it.
And when she really put her mind to it, it all made perfect sense. They had similar interests and were both extremely ambitious and studious, so they could easily understand each other. It wasn't just about their similarities, though. Percy was sensible enough to cause a wave of calmness to come over Audrey every time she was with him, and she was daring enough to bring out his outspoken side.
Most importantly, though, Audrey could talk to him. She didn't need to protect him from bad memories, and she didn't need to fear being judged by him. Initially, of course, she had thought he was a bit of a judgemental prat, but perhaps she had confused simple curiosity for biased appraisal, because ever since they had run into each other at Flourish and Blotts, he had been nothing but... understanding. Compassionate.
"What's on your mind?"
Percy's question snapped her out of her self-evaluation, and she immediately felt her face heat up, as if she thought he could read her mind. Merlin, how old am I? Fourteen? Audrey reprimanded herself. Although, Occlumency Lessons would certainly be a sound investment.
"What makes you think anything's on my mind?" Audrey shot back smartly, her faint smile turning into a smirk.
"It's that look in your eyes. I can practically see the gears turning behind all the..." Percy trailed off suddenly, and his own face started to turn an interesting shade of red.
"All the what?" Audrey asked curiously.
"Um... I was going to say 'behind all the green,'" Percy muttered, "but then I realized how stupid that sounded."
"Well, I've got to agree with you: that is kind of silly," Audrey replied with a cheeky smile, "but it is kind of sweet that you know my eye colour."
She really enjoys teasing me, Percy observed with a slight smile. Strangely enough, it didn't frustrate him, like when his brothers did it. When Audrey teased him it felt... loving?
Merlin, no! Where the hell did that come from?
Friendly. Yes, it felt friendly. She was a friendly teaser.
"Well, it really stands out, you know," Percy replied. "It's really..."
"Green?" Audrey suggested, following up with amused laughter.
"Merlin, this is embarrassing," Percy muttered with a nervous laugh as his hands fidgeted with the collar of his robes.
In that moment, watching Percy laugh along with her and fidget around nervously, something clicked for Audrey. She felt compelled to do something.
Something very, very stupid.
In one swift movement, Audrey had placed her hands on Percy's shoulders and her lips against his. The moment she felt his lips pushing back against hers, Audrey stayed true to her course. Percy kissed her in an oddly numbing way, his hands moving to her waist to pull her closer. Audrey felt her heart race in excitement, then slow down in the comfort of it all, only to speed back up again and repeat the cycle.
However, Audrey's mind was not as focused as she would have believed. Soon enough, the logical part of her brain, quickly growing smaller, politely reminded her of the ugly truth of the situation.
Ahem. That is a taken man, you bint.
Audrey immediately jumped a good foot away from Percy, her hands going to her chest to make sure that her heart was still there. Finally finding her voice, Audrey stuttered out, "I'm so sorry! Bloody hell – I swear – I'm not – oh, Merlin, I'm horrible. I swear I'm not some homewrecking slag. Good grief – I'm so sorry, honestly. Let's pretend it never happened."
Percy's brow furrowed in confusion. "Homewrecking... what are you talking about?"
"I know you have a girlfriend, and I should have never done that," Audrey rambled, "I'm so sorry. I can even Obliviate you, if you like."
"What? Audrey, stop – sweet Merlin," Percy said, trying to make sense of her words. "I don't have a girlfriend."
"Charms aren't my strong suit, but – wait," Audrey cut herself off abruptly and gave Percy a perplexed look. He's... single? "You don't – but... so, you're telling me that you don't have a girlfriend?"
"No," Percy answered with a laugh. "Why did you think that?"
"Oh, for the love of Helga…" Audrey groaned. "I'm so bloody embarrassed."
Audrey was not known to make silly, frivolous assumptions about people, and especially not about their relationship statuses. She was a straightforward, occasionally investigatory, and mature woman - not some rash and perhaps slightly jealous girl. Moreover, Audrey had something of a moral code, despite being a Slytherin. Even if Percy didn't have a girlfriend, what kind of person did that make her if she was willing to kiss a bloke that she thought was in a relationship? She didn't even want to know what he thought of her now.
"Audrey – "
"No!" Audrey shouted as she turned away from Percy and started heading for the apartment building. "I don't want to hear one more word about this! It's so bleeding humiliating. Just leave it. Good night."
"But – "
"Good night!"
As Percy watched Audrey enter the apartment building in a frenzied rush, he muttered to himself, "I was just going to say that was a damned good kiss."
That woman would be the death of him.
Thanks for reading, and if you get the chance to review, thank you for that, too! I want to say thank you to some of the people that have kindly been reviewing (and helping me improve) this story: Summer Leigh Wind, TwiBeams, nymphxdora, and ChatterChick! :) Lots of heart-shaped cookies for all of you!