"How long are we supposed to wear these clothes?" Joey asked the next morning. "I mean, I've been wearing these for two days. I've slept in these! And frankly, I smell bad!"
"Joey!" Audrey shot him a sharp look. "We're lucky to be alive! But I guess when I think about it, you're wearing dirty clothes. This could be really serious."
"Audrey," her mother shot her a look similar to the one she'd given Joey.
"Well," Percy said slowly, "I don't think that the Ministry would have gone through your house….not with all the other things that they've been worrying about….."
"I'll go," Audrey interrupted. "One of us needs to stay here with my family in case the Ministry finds out where we're hiding."
"So I'll go to your house and you can stay here with you family," Percy contradicted. "You shouldn't leave whereas the Ministry isn't suspicious of me so I'm free to come and go as I please."
"And we ought to keep it that way!" Audrey said, her voice rising. "If one of us gets caught, a Muggle-born going back to her house to retrieve some personal effects is much less suspicious than a Ministry Official going where he shouldn't. Oh, and by the way, thank you for reminding me of the fact that the Ministry isn't after you!"
"And what if you're caught?" Percy asked.
"Then I'm caught! They'll have no proof about you or my family. If they catch you, they'll search your apartment, this cottage, not to mention your family's house!" she retorted.
Percy was about to say something, but when she said "your family's house," he closed his mouth and took a deep breath. "It's safer if I go."
He stood to leave, but Audrey had one more thing to say. "Good luck finding my house."
He stopped in the doorway and turned to face her. "What do you mean?"
"I've always been pretty good at protection charms. Unless you already know where my house was, your chances of ever finding it are unlikely," she smiled smugly, but didn't meet his eyes.
"Then how'd the Ministry find you and take you in for questioning?" Percy asked suspiciously.
"They already knew where I lived. They had me down since I was eleven, remember?" she raised her eyebrows challengingly. "I put the charms on my house ever since You-Know-Who came back. I suppose the Ministry just had me down because I lived around Muggles."
Percy looked torn and Audrey looked up at him interested in what he would say next. "Fine. On your head be it."
Audrey stood up, smiled brightly, and hurried out the door. Percy watched as she Disapperated once she was finally out of the charm's borders.
"She's just like her mother," Mr. Simons said. "Stubborn. I learned a long time ago that it's best to just agree with her. You're never going to win anyway."
Mrs. Simons scowled at him, but said nothing.
"Um, I'll keep that in mind, sir," Percy said, a little confused. Joey smirked and Mr. and Mrs. Simons gave him knowing looks.
XXX
Audrey took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the house she'd lived in for almost her entire life. Until she was eleven, she'd never noticed that her house had a scent; she learned that it was homey and welcoming. She'd always believed that her house was scentless, and then she'd come home from Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. While she loved Hogwarts, she always looked forward to coming home, sometimes just to inhale its scent if nothing else. No matter how many friends she had at Hogwarts, they could never make up for her family.
She knew that it wasn't safe to stay long, but Audrey found herself wandering about the house just reminiscing on all the things that had happened in the house when she was younger. She didn't know how long she just stared at the kitchen table remembering when she was eight and she helped her mother bake her birthday cake. She spent even more time sitting in her father's favorite chair in the living room. Finally, remembering why she was there, Audrey went through the house, sending her families personal effects back to Ignatius Weasley's cottage. After sending back all the photo albums, her family's clothes, several books, and various other items that her family would like to keep, Audrey slowly entered her room.
She sent her clothes back quickly so that she could have more time to say goodbye to her room. Audrey picked up the homemade quilt off her bad and smiled sadly. She and her grandmother had made this about a year before Joey was born. Her pillowcase was covered in signatures doodles of the girls who shared her dorm at Hogwarts. As they had gotten older, her friends had started charming their signatures and drawings to move and/or change colors. Audrey looked up at the picture hanging just above her dresser. It was of her seven-year-old self holding up her new baby brother.
Audrey stood up and sighed. She took the picture and stuck it in her pocket. After sending her favorite books (not that she really needed to; Ignatius' library was filled with many, many wizard novels that she'd never read) back to the cottage, Audrey looked at her quilt and pillowcase. She would take the quilt, no doubt, it was the pillowcase that she was worried about. It had the signatures of all her dorm mates at Hogwarts, but it did not have her own. It would be a dead give-away of who she was if she was caught with it; all anybody had to do was look up the Gryffindor girls of that year to see who the missing girl was. After looking at it apprehensively once more, Audrey folded it up with her quilt and hurried back downstairs.
Audrey stepped out the doorway, but stepped back in immediately. This was most likely the last time that she would ever set foot in this house. Looking back in the living room, Audrey whispered, "Goodbye house," before hurrying outside to Apparate back to the cottage.
XXX
It was only fifteen minutes before Percy regretted his decision of letting Audrey go back to her house. He paced the living room anxiously, not noticing the amused looks he was receiving from Audrey's family.
After half an hour, her family began to grow nervous as well. Where was she? Had she been caught? Should he go after her?
After an hour, Percy was deeply considering trying to find her, but he didn't know where she was, and if this was a trap, he'd only be leaving her family unprotected.
Finally, after an hour and a half, stuff began appearing in the living room. Clothes, books, photo albums, and other items kept popping up, all mixed together with what seemed to be no sense of organization; this calmed him down. When the objects began to appear, he knew that Audrey had to have been safely at her house.
After about two hours of being gone, Audrey appeared outside the borders of the charm around the cottage. She had something in her arms: a bundle maybe. She hurried over to the house and nearly ran into Percy who stepped out of the cottage in only two large steps.
"What took you so long!" he nearly shouted.
Audrey raised her eyebrows. "It's good to see you too."
"Two hours! You could have gotten caught! I should have gone instead of you! What was I thinking!" Percy blustered.
"And here I thought that you didn't care," Audrey said sarcastically. "I didn't know that you would be so worried. And if it's really that important," her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I was saying goodbye to the house. I'll probably never be there again, you know."
"Are you saying that you took two hours because you were feeling nostalgic?" Percy asked looking furious.
"You know," she took a step toward him, glowering, "you are the only person I know who would use that big of a word when angry." With that, she spun on her heel and stalked off.