July 9, 1996

The first week of July was like something out of a nightmare. The continuous chaos of everyone realizing that they were now at war once more with one of the most dangerous, most powerful dark wizards of recent memory unleashed a sense of terror and dread that was all encompassing. Walking into work became an act of weary resignation, one hand resting on a wand while your eyes moved about, waiting and watching for anything suspicious.

Reports of the death of a woman named Emmeline Vance outside of the Prime Minister's residence were met with a low rumble and wide eyes.

The death of Amelia Bones in her own home where she had clearly put up a real fight had turned the low hum of repressed worry to a great roar. The rumor was that Voldemort had killed her personally.

The report of Dementors gathering in swarms and appearing to breed, feeding off the despair and hopelessness of a shocked populace only increased the anxiety within the Ministry.

Ollivander the wandmaker had reportedly been kidnapped by Death Eaters out of his own shop.

And I officially had a new boss who was working out of his old office in Magical Law Enforcement until the end of this week to ensure he knew absolutely everything about Voldemort's return.

Though, none of these things were as frightening as the this newspaper headline.

"Oh no." My voice was a quiet whisper as I stood in the middle of the office holding the newspaper like a dummy. "Oh, hell no."

Jack Graves Victory: New MACUSA President Decided

I was going to be in this country for seven years at least.

Breathe. Breathe Audrey!

I wanted to be sick.

I was so consumed by my own thoughts that I didn't hear Percy come up behind me to read the paper over my shoulder.

"Oh, well, that was an upset."

I moved my head slightly. The war in the United Kingdom had pushed support for my father even further over the edge.

"I take it you didn't vote for him?"

"He owes me money."

And paternal affection, but I was not going to say that.

"He's your cousin, right?"

I nodded, unable to make any sort of noise while my mind tore itself in several different directions as I skimmed the article. "What's he like?"

"An unmitigated ass."

What a question, Weasley.

There was a a huff of laughter from over my head and I could feel him stepping away from me as if realizing how close we were for a few brief moments.

"I didn't realize you shared a name with his daughter," Percy said as he moved towards his desk. I ignored my base instinct to freeze or puke on the floor like a cat. "I'm sure that was confusing at family reunions."

I had an answer for this if my tongue would move.

"Yes, our great-great grandmother was very influential in the New York social scene. I can't say I know Jack's daughter very well, she's a sad kind of girl, a hermit really. I haven't seen her in years, though I heard she's in Canada researching ancient burial sites thanks to her dad's connections." I did not know if there were any ancient burial site in Canada but that was good. Put some more detail in there. "The rich, successful side of the family doesn't want to see my side unless there is an obligation to do so. It can be embarrassing for them."

Percy nodded, having enough social graces not to pry any further to preserve my dignity.

England, I had found, loved the social class system while I found it silly to navigate or define, but I did know that Percy was climbing up in the Ministry from a background that was not immediately favorable to success in a society based on people knowing other people. I dismiss Jack's daughter as a sad rich kid, he should lose interest entirely in asking any further questions.

Nice job, Audrey. You can do this.

Oo0Oo0

July 10, 1996

"Hey, kids!"

Percy and I looked up from the paper we were reading. I had gripped the back of his chair in a white knuckle grip at some of the latest headlines about arson and attacks on No-Majs while I read over his shoulder.

"We're not kids, Eddie!" Percy fired back before closing the paper and handing it to me over his shoulder.

"It's true, ageism is a serious offense when we could live over a hundred years," I added as I sent the paper across the office to land in the trash bin as a newspaper crow.

"Well, good luck filing that complaint because I just gave my notice. I'm quitting immediately!"

"What?" Percy and I turned to look at Eddie who was looking smug in the doorway in a more casual dress than I had ever seen him in before, aside from last week when I saw him in his bathrobe. He wore a white button down shirt, the buttons undone to reveal the start of his chest, the sleeves were rolled up to just below his elbows and a pair of dark blue jeans.

I'm getting married!" His face flushed and his smile widened. "I asked Pearl the other day and with everything going on, we've decided to go to Spain and stay with her family."

"Do you even speak Spanish, Eddie?" I asked, my mouth dry at the suddenness of this reveal.

"Best way to learn is to pick up a lover." He smiled carelessly and leaned against the doorframe. "Pearl and I are having a party so how about you two swing on down for a wedding with some of our friends?"

"Right now?"

"After work, around four. We'll feed you around six."

Clever man, he caught us on a break and finalized the deal with food."

"Eddie, we're not dressed for this!"

Eddie motioned down at himself with a satiric grin that made me laugh. "You think I am, Perce? You should see Pearl. This is a business casual affair." He reached into his pocket and threw Percy a small box. "Here! Hold the ring for me, I haven't shown her yet and she's looking for it. The wedding's at Pearl's pub, I'll see you both there at four!" He waved and sauntered out the door like a dancer, humming the wedding march.

Percy and I exchanged a look before focusing on the door Eddie had just walked out of. Well, that explained why Eddie had been so… cagey the last few days.

"I can't believe this!"

"What? That Pearl would marry Eddie?"

"No. The fact that he would leave right now!"

"Open the box!"

"What?"

"I want to see the ring." Eddie seemed a man who had a good eye for jewelry, I wanted to see if my assumption was correct.

"Seriously?" He obliged me by opening the box with a flick of his thumb to show what was inside.

"Oh, pretty!" I couldn't stop the breathless exclamation. It was a gold band with intricate flowers surrounding a large pearl in the center. It was more of an engagement ring, but perhaps that was what one did when they eloped, then pick out a traditional wedding band after the wedding together. Pearl was going to love it!

Oo0Oo0

"I now pronounce you bonded for life!"

The crowd erupted in a rush of cheers and applause that echoed through the space of the pub, the sound reverberating off the walls.

When it came time for the kiss, Eddie took Pearl by the waist and dipped her back while the guests cheered and whooped in excitement. I could seen the shine of the ring on Pearl's finger. The kiss went several seconds too long, causing me to look anywhere else as my face turned red at the shameless intimacy of it, accidentally locking eyes with an equally embarrassed Percy before we both silently agreed to look in opposite directions. By the Twelve, Eddie's mother was here!

Mr. and Mrs. Smith soon came apart and walked arm in arm up the aisle with bright smiles and into the room Pearl had left when she came down the aisle. I assumed they had a bit of official paperwork to finish before being recognized in the eyes of the law as a married couple.

It was odd to see genuine joy after two weeks of chaos, but it was so refreshing to be reminded that good things were still possible in the world. The crowd was asked to stand and the room was quickly changed through magic that vanished and moved the chairs, bringing forth tables from the other end of the room and into place with flourish in the span of about two minutes leaving all of us guests on a newly revealed empty floor for dancing. We were quickly hustled off the floor and to the tables where there were pitchers of water and a bottle of firewhiskey at each.

There were roses in an array of colors springing to life on every table and multicolored lights appearing from rafters in small jars, giving the room a soft ambience appropriate for a wedding. The crowd was small but enthusiastic, consisting of about thirty people aside from Percy and myself. We were quickly taken in by Eddie's mother who was as warm and teasing as her son as she invited us to sit with her. Percy was soon nursing a glass of firewhiskey next to me while Simone Smith sang Pearl's praises for accepting the hand of her silly son.

Though, she was clearly a bit annoyed by her son's decision of a small, quick ceremony and the lack of her No-Maj relatives.

"It can't be helped. With the war and everything, it might be for the best to not see all of my cousins for a time." Simone sighed and took a sip of wine as the music continued to play in the background. Several couples were dancing, I was pretty sure Percy and I were the youngest guests by at least ten years. "Plus, we don't have to worry about exposing muggles to things they can't handle. Don't need Kay freaking out if something moves. She's very jumpy. Surprising for someone who hunts ghosts as a hobby."

"I've never actually met a No-Maj," I said before noting the look of confusion on Simone's face. "Muggle, I mean."

"Ah, pureblood are you? You should get out more. They're dim, but well-meaning, like most wizards."

Humans are all the same, magic or not, that is true, but there are things a No-Maj will never understand about our world and the limits of magical power. Scourers would always be a threat, even if they did not originate on American soil.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," Simone smiled and pushed a strand of white hair back into place. "I barely had time to get ready in any case, my Eddie has always been a bit too… spontaneous for his own good. I'm surprised he even got that job in the Minister's office."

"He's very smart, I think he acts like that so he doesn't get any extra responsibilities."

His extra responsibility was convincing Pearl to marry him, but I kept that thought to myself.

"True, he did that at home, I'm surprised the idea worked for him at his job. Though, I think it helps that he had two very smart coworkers. He raves about you and Percy here." I felt my face flush. "Says you're both too smart for what you're doing now."

"That's nice of him to say." I could not tell if my face was returning to normal or not. Secretarial work was steady and had regular hours, but I was not sure how I would spend my life after leaving the Ministry. With Jack winning the election, I may be safer staying in the Minister's office and pleading my case with Scrimgeour, if not I would have to look for a new job I could do from my apartment. "We've enjoyed working with Eddie and he will be missed."

Percy nodded in agreement before Simone engaged him into a discussion about the Ministry's wartime policy.

The music began to play, Eddie and Pearl came out of the back for their first dance to applause. They both bowed before starting to dance, Eddie's hands on her waist and Pearl's on his shoulders. He whispered something in Pearl's ear that made her giggle.

For a brief moment, I considered what my own wedding would be like, there was no reason for me to attend many weddings when I was in the states. My father was older, most of his friends and relatives were married, the last wedding I went to was when he married Vanessa. I had a lovely time with Vanessa's father who let me pet the goats and ride the mule on the family's farm while he tried to engage with my sulky brother. He died a couple of years later in a farming accident but he always sent nice little trinkets for me and Alex, which I think softened my brother's opinion on the man.

It took a moment for my thoughts to form, should I get married, I wanted something quiet, maybe thirty people to justify a bar so people would not complain about a lack of liquor. A simple dress, Pearl's was absolutely lovely. Outside, while it did not feel cramped in the pub, a summer or early autumn wedding would be lovely and would not irritate my spring allergies. An open sky in the countryside would be a really nice place for a party.

I had a fleeting vision of my brother talking with some faceless man I assumed was the groom. Alex looked older then he had when I last saw him, he was graying slightly at the temple the way our father had in the pictures I had seen of him as a young man. Some part of me imagined that the faceless groom had the functional family I had long desired, free of political ambition that kept me entwined by association and reputation.

Yes, that seemed perfect.

"A shame these days," Simone said with an air of mischief that made me take my eyes off the dancing couples in the middle of the room.

"What would that be?" Percy's voice kept me listening as my eyes went back to the crowd with a quiet sigh.

"That young people would rather sit with an old woman than go dance."

I tried to forget the memories of my very awkward prom experience. No date, frumpy robes and spending the evening with some of my more colorful classmates in a room off the dance floor. I had wondered about dancing, the idea and the emotions that described it in books was fascinating to me and the girls in my dormitory talked about it and their dates incessantly with a chorus of girlish giggles after the event.

I was sure most of the people here were in relationships of some sort, so I was not going to expect any of my fantasies on the matter to-

"Audrey, would you like to dance?"

Percy was half out of his chair, his hand extended to me with a smile. I took note of the empty glass of firewhiskey in front of him while trying to ignore Simone's amused expression as he continued to look at me with an eager, but slightly nervous expression.

"Uh… Sure!" I slid my shoes back on and allowed him to help me to my feet and lead me out to the dance floor.

It felt alarmingly easy and awkward to put my hand in his and let the other rest on his shoulder, his other hand resting on the middle of my back. I never had a proper partner dance, for some reason all Ilvermorny taught us how to do was square dance, I could still hear Mrs. Valkov telling us to 'Leave room for Merlin!' in her hawkish tones while the boys and girls held increasingly sweaty hands and spun in a circle. Ilvermorny had yet to produce the famous square dancer the school so clearly desired. The art school in New York however produced at least one dancer of some sort every year.

I did my best to remember how I got through square dancing as a twelve year old. The man leads, I follow and try not to step on his toes the way I did to Anton Weiss. Okay, I can do this.

The music was very slow and easy to follow for someone like me who had very little sense of rhythm. Was I supposed to look at him? He was looking at me! That's a lot of eye contact! Should I focus on the ceiling decorations? The other dancers?

Percy's hands were warmer than I thought they would be, I was expecting them to be cold and clinical.

"You're very tense," Percy's low voice pulled my attention over to him instead of whatever I was looking at.

Ironic coming from a man who was wound tighter then a spring.

"Sorry," I loosened my nervous grip on his hand while he led me through another simple three steps that I was quickly picking up by repetition. "Where did you learn to dance? Hogwarts?"

"No, my mother taught us, attempted too I should say. My brothers just swung each other into tables."

Percy had never brought up his family with me before. This was unusual. Though, I had never brought my own either.

"Your poor mother."

Percy nodded, with a slight smile. "She said wanted us to know how to conduct ourselves in public, but with seven children we were basically a bunch of barbarians. "

"Seven?" That was more children than I would ever consider letting in my home, let alone coming out of my body. "Are you the oldest?" He acted like an older sibling.

"Third."

"Poor you. I imagine you were the good one?"

"It wasn't hard."

I laughed.

"What about you?"

"I'm a traditional middle child with a big age difference in both directions." Aldridge did not count as a sibling, at this point in his life he was a potato that made cute faces so we would not let him get kidnapped or leave him in a box on a street corner. Besides, with… everything going on, I figured I could get by mentioning two siblings and not three as another layer of protection for my private life. "Not much to say."

Percy nodded and led me through the rest of the dance, the close proximity not even registering for me as our conversation drifted to who would replace Eddie as the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, both of us seeming to sense that that was the most either of us wanted to discuss our relatives. Percy said he would like Eddie's old job, but did not think he had the experience and was content where he was for the moment. I was thinking that maybe what I had said to him during our talk had a bit of a hand in his thinking.

He led me back to our table when the song ended and dinner menus appeared on the table in puffs of smoke.

Oo0Oo0

"Your ex-coworkers are cute," Pearl gushed as she clutched Eddie's arm with an adoring smile as I stepped out of the restroom and into the hallway. The happy couple had stolen a few moments alone at the entrance to the hallway, the only thing shielding me from view was a very large, very fake palm tree. "Audrey's a sweet girl and Percy's a bit of a puppy."

I brushed a loose strand of hair out of my face with a grin. It was always nice to hear compliments. Though, frankly I always imagined Percy as a hummingbird, or a bee, he always need to be doing something.

Eddie chuckled, "He is a puppy, he's been pining after Audrey for months."

Huh?

"You have been saying that. I thought you were just talking?"

"No, no." Eddie's tone grew smug and playful as his voice lowered a few notches. "I sent Percy a letter about it yesterday, I doubt he's read it, I said on the envelope to open the accompanying package on Sunday. I want to be on the continent before he reads it so he doesn't track me down."

Pearl gasped, "Don't dangle that in front of me without details!"

"I catch him looking at her a lot, and apparently he flirts by bragging about his job, which women never find attractive-"

"I can agree with that."

"Ha ha. You dangle that over me a lot."

Pearl giggled. "You make it very easy!"

"I also thanked him for the hours of entertainment he provided for me and Elizabeth, before telling him that's not how you pick up women and that he should read the enclosed copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. One last bit of advice from his supervisor."

I leaned against the wall and reflected back on my interactions with Percy over the last few months. He'd brought me water, but I thought he was being nice because I was crying all day. The nice talks we had over lunch once a week when he said Eddie wanted to take a late lunch. Was that Eddie trying to set us up for his own entertainment? The Christmas gift of admittedly really good quality coffee and a mug? There were vague memories of my New Year's drinking shenanigans… Wait… Was he trying to pick me up at a funeral?

Well, Aunt Araminta always said one never benefited from eavesdropping, but I could not pull myself away.

I put a hand over my chest and took a deep breath to steady myself and thought back to the dance.

Something told me Percy did not heed given instructions for once in his life.

I was going to keep it together. I was going to be calm. I was going to pretend I had not heard any part of that conversation. My life would be normal and would proceed as it has for the last several months. Percy was my coworker, there's a war, there are a lot of reasons that we would not be able to explore… whatever this thing was.

I turned and walked back into the restroom to give Pearl and Eddie time to be pulled back to the party of well-wishers.

Oo0Oo0

"You shouldn't go alone," Eddie protested as the clock chimed the midnight hour and I got to my feet. The rest of the party had trickled out the door, citing children and general exhaustion as they wished Pearl and Eddie the best and a safe trip to Spain. "Really, Audrey, it's dangerous out there now."

I shrugged, I had walked around New York without issue. I had never had a problem before and I was not expecting one now.

"I'll be fine. No need to worry." I hugged Pearl who had risen from her seat with open arms and kind whispers of thank you in my hair for coming to the wedding. "Thank you for inviting me." I hugged Eddie next, he was solid in my grasp and gave me an affectionate squeeze before we pulled apart. "Take care of yourselves."

"You too, Aud. We'll come back to visit when the war's over."

Percy stood up from the table with a quick smile at Eddie and Pearl, "I think I'll head out too."

Hm?

"Eddie's right," Percy smiled in a way that was an odd mixture of smug and nervous. "Nobody should be walking alone these days, probably best we go together."

I shrugged. "If you like."

The conversation I had overheard between Eddie and Pearl rattled through my mind as Percy said his goodbyes to the happy couple, Eddie taking an opportunity to ruffle Percy's hair, Pearl pulling him into a hug before Percy could say anything to Eddie about not being a child.

I tried to put it out of my mind once more as we made our way to the door. There was no merit in Eddie's opinions, he was a fanciful creature. The thoughts returned immediately as Percy handed me my cloak from the hook on the wall with a grin.

Oh. Maybe there was some merit in Eddie's opinions.

Our fingers brushed and my stomach flipped, I remembered how warm his hands were during the dance.

My fingers fumbled with the needlessly fancy clasp of my cloak, the material feeling heavier than it should have on my shoulders. I glanced up at Percy after I was finished, he was fixing the collar of his cloak.

"Ready?"

I nodded slowly. I never realized how his cloak brought out the color of his eyes. No, I had noticed, but it has never struck me this hard before because with his usual, serious workplace expression it was easy to ignore how blue his eyes were.

Percy held the door open for me like a gentleman and we began our walk down the street as the door clicked shut behind us.

It was a breezy, cool night for July. Though as late as it was I should not have been surprised. The glow of the street lights illuminated the street, allowing the pair of us to keep a steady, consistent watch for anything or anyone suspicious.

"Did you see the combat spell pamphlets the Ministry is preparing?" Percy asked, his voice low so I had to shift closer to hear him. "Fourth year level spellcraft at best."

"I did, and agree, but most people don't study defensive magic after the fifth year level. A lot of people don't even use it after graduation."

"Have you ever dueled anyone before?"

I paused, my grandfather Atticus had taught Quincy, Alex and I the basics of dueling. Alex had been a member of the Ilvermorny Dueling Club and had placed second in the school tournament. Grandpa was… not impressed with me. He said I was meek and unaggressive, not qualities that were admired in a Graves family duelist. He had started teaching Annette the basics after she had received her wand the start of the summer and proclaimed her a natural.

It was odd to be jealous of an eleven year old, but I got over it.

"A bit, I'm not very good though."

"Didn't you get an O in your Defense class?"

"Yes, but… You can get a good grade for understanding theory because they don't judge the practice of the thing."

"I'm sure you're more than adequate," he said it with such confidence that it almost made me believe it. "I… I owe you an apology."

"Hm?"

"I was… You had a better read on Dumbledore and Fudge than I did. You were right that none of the political motives made sense, I didn't want to see it."

Oh! He just admitted I was right! I did my best not to gloat, instead smiling encouragingly to keep him talking. I did like praise.

Percy looked around, keeping watch to make sure we would not be ambushed by anything nefarious as we turned a corner. He lowered his voice and I moved closer to better hear him, bumping against his arm in the process as he slowed to match pace with me.

"The Ministry will have this… situation well in hand with Scrimgeour as Minister. I don't believe this war will last long with the head Auror in charge.

"I agree," I set aside my doubts and Elihu's thoughts on the mismanagement of this whole affair. Surely such incompetence couldn't happen twice, and I had not really worked with Scrimgeour yet. Millie said he was a firm personality. I mean, ignoring the threat of a known dark lord was something that could only happen once, right? Perhaps the reason the Aurors were not investigating over the last year was interference from the Minister? Fudge did see dissenters everywhere with little provocation. "Therefore, there is no reason for me to return to the states."

"I disagree-"

"I'm not sure why you are so concerned about it, Percy." I looked up at him, his face looked a bit flushed under the streetlights, though perhaps that was one of the hazards of being a redhead that Misty complained about, the light from the streetlight seemed to set his hair aflame while I tried to focus on anything else "I'm not scared."

"That's not the point."

I looked at him with a quizzical expression, "What is the point then?"

Percy was quiet for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts. He fussed with his sleeves before shoving his hands into his pockets. "I remember the first war. People disappeared. The dark mark would just appear over people's homes and law enforcement would know what was inside."

The dead. The house would become a tomb. Like Amelia Bones, a thought that personally frightened me.

"You have an opportunity to live safely by going home. I don't understand why you are not taking it!"

What could I say? That I had built a life here? That my family was here and not in the United States? That going home would mean becoming a political pawn of my father, always having to watch what I say and how I said it because it would reflect on him no matter the situation or who I was speaking with? No. I would prefer to take my chances here where I could cast doubt and have a private life, even if it was in the shadow of a war.

Was I wanting to stay out of affection and love for the people here, or was I wanting to use the conflict to disappear from my father's reach?

I couldn't say any of that to Percy without looking callous.

I settled on the simple explanation.

"Lucinda needs me here, she's frail and needs extra help with things."

Lies. Somewhere in my mind I could hear Lucinda berating me for the description of her as a fragile old woman.

"I'm sure you could find someone to help your aunt," Percy's eyes bore into me for a poor explanation for risking my life. "I'm sure Lucinda would prefer you were safe than possibly losing your life for tending to her."

"I would prefer to tend to Lucinda here then worry over her from America!"

My teeth clenched and my jaw set, Percy meant well as he was apt to do. I knew leaving would be the easy choice, but I could not leave Alex here when I finally had something to lead me towards him. I could not leave this family I found in Lucinda and Tavish to an uncertain fate. Misty and Zara deserved better of my friendship than to watch me run home before a year had even passed. Valencia was running a newspaper that was critical of governments and corruption, I wanted to help her clear her conscience in regards to Alex and I needed to see that through.

Percy and I stopped at the alleyway that was the designated apparition point for the area and looked at each other for a moment, before Percy glanced about to make sure we were out of sight of No-Majs and other potential dangers.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Get home safe."

There was something in his expression that was unspoken, like there was something else he wanted to say in that instant. The way he looked at me made me want to take a picture of the moment to hold it close to me for the rest of my life. It did not matter that my father had upended my life twenty-four hours ago, that my idiot brother was in the thick of a conflict that had begun out of the public eye. Percy did not see any of that, he knew nothing about it. He was looking at me like he was seeing something he had never seen before, his gaze was soft in a way I never really associated with him before and it made my face warm at the intensity of it.

Suddenly, embarrassment washed over me at his scrutiny.

"Thank you for the escort! Bye!"

I turned down the alley to the apparition point feeling confused and almost stupid. In an instant I turned on a heel and was sucked through a tight tube of magic to be deposited just inside of the gates of Thornell. I staggered back and leaned against a tree, putting a hand over my chest and a deep breath to steady myself before slumping to the cold ground below.

People, boys, never paid me any mind. Most of them were frightened by my father's political standing or the Graves name in general, I had a tendency to be picky about my crushes for the same reasons. Could I bring this boy home to meet my parents and not have him be scared off with minimal effort? Could this person talk politics with my father?

I was an uncomfortably thoughtful thirteen-year-old.

Though if he was able to agree with my father's politics, I would have to dump him immediately because we would clearly never last. If I was looking for someone at all, I needed someone who might be able to hold their own with my father should we ever speak again. Jack Graves respected people who knew what they wanted, who had the same drive he did, if only in his day to day affairs with people outside of the family. As for myself, I appreciated ambition, but ambition was something that had to be tempered or it would focus too much and burn away at everything within its vicinity.

I couldn't deal with this right now. There were so many other things going on with the new Minister, my father winning his election and me moving out to my own apartment in a couple of weeks while the country moved to open warfare with a dark wizard they had ignored for a year and this potential new lead I had on my brother.

Percy was pretentious, and had no critical thinking skills, but… well yeah, he was cute. He liked to listen to me and he was not a bad conversationalist if he could focus on something other than work.

I needed to put all of that aside because I had other things to deal with. I had to prioritize. No romance would be in my future, I refused to rush into anything and wartime romance was not something that held interest for me outside of novels.

I had seen a whirlwind courtship gone wrong with my parents, I was not going to repeat my mother's mistakes.

Besides, we were both too sensible for office romance, I was not inclined to quit my job and Percy would have to die before he gave up his. I imagined he would die at his desk and they would have to drag his corpse out of the support staff office. Hell, he would probably rise from the dead to go back to work.

Though, it would kill him again to never rise higher than Personal Assistant to the Minister of Magic.

"For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." - Thomas Jefferson

Oo0Oo0

Author's Note: Alright. Part One is complete and this seems like a good spot to take a break and build a buffer as we move into the Half-Blood Prince timeline, you all get shipping as a treat.

On a personal note, I've been accepted to grad school in January of next year! I need this time to apply for scholarships and apply for FAFSA, because they want to 2020 tax records and nobody was making money in 2020. It seems a good time to go! As for what this means for the story, I may do updates twice a month instead of every week so I can do some scholarship applications this month. I will see how much gets done this month. The outline is generally (80%) complete, there is a very special two parter that needs some extra attention. I'll put a couple of snippets on Tumblr in the interim.

Posting will resume on April third! Stay safe out there!