Springfic: "Home is What the Heart Wants" for paradise_loved
Title: Home is What the Heart Wants
Author: Phil_Urich
Recipient: Paradise_Loved
Character(s): Percy Weasley
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 3,990
Warnings (highlight to view): None
Summary: Percy pays a visit to the family after the war and sets about making things right.
Betas: oddnari
Home is What the Heart Wants
Percy,
Family Dinner on Saturday. We’d love to see you. Feel free to bring a friend…
The letter had gone on for a few more pages. General updates on the family, questions about his life, complaints, assurances that all was forgiven and finally, “Love, Dad and Mum”.
It had been eight months since he’d last seen them. That had been Christmas time and the mood in general had been a sombre one. Fred’s death was still fresh in everyone’s mind and even George hadn’t done the annual trick, something he and Fred were known for while they were growing up. One year they’d managed to charm Percy’s gift to attack him, another time they’d found a way to charm the Christmas tree to call him a prat whenever he passed by. Percy had wished every year to have a nice, quiet Christmas, but when his wish had finally been granted he’d come to find that the silence was like a vacuum, allowing for no good cheer nor the warmth that only a family could provide.
This dinner would be different though. Fleur was pregnant with she and Bill’s first child and his Mum had guaranteed their appearance at dinner in her letter to him. Surely his Mum and Dad’s first grandchild, even if it were still in the womb, would bring some joy to the occasion.
As he approached the door he could hear the noise coming from inside the small house he’d shared with his family. ‘They’d never been a quite bunch,’ he thought. He knocked loudly against the wooden door, the second door that house had seen since the first had been utterly destroyed in a wrestling match between his two older brothers when they were 17 and 15, respectively. He’d stood by afterwards, listening to their father berate his brothers for fighting in the first place and then helped install the second door, even though he wasn’t needed or at fault.
There was a brief hush in the noise and after what sounded like a small tussle, and a threat from his mother, the door was finally opened to reveal his rosy-cheeked mother smiling at him as if he were an answer to her prayers. He leaned in and gave her a stiff hug, even as she pulled him into her waiting arms, while his dad clapped him on the back.
“Welcome home, Percy,” his mother said as she finally released him. Pulling back, he was greeted by the sight of his various family members all giving him looks, some surprised, others unconcerned by his presence. Harry and Hermione didn’t really seem to know what to make of his appearance so they looked away. He turned his eyes back to his mum and dad.
“Thanks, Mum, Dad. I brought a bottle of wine for dinner, if that’s all right?”
“Course it is, son. We’ll crack it open during dinner,” his father said, as he took the bottle of wine from Percy’s hand. “Now come in.”
Percy stepped into the house and pulled the door shut behind him, letting out a slow breath when he heard his siblings’ conversation pick up where they’d left off, and he no longer felt their eyes on him. He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack near the front door and walked in, unsure as to where he should sit or who would actually want to speak to him. When he’d been living at the Burrow he’d always stayed in his room and read until it was time for dinner.
“Percy, fancy a drink before dinner?” Charlie asked from the couch.
Looking around the room and not feeling especially welcome by his other siblings, Percy said, “All right.”
Charlie grinned. “Good.” He stood up and began walking towards the front door. “Mum, Percy and I are going out. We’ll be back before dinner,” he said as he grabbed the doorknob and twisted.
“Dinner’s in two hours, Charlie,” their mum said from the kitchen
“We’ll be back.”
“The both of you will be washing dishes, if you’re not back in time,” their mum threatened weakly.
“All right, Mum. I’ll have us back by then.”
“You’d better.”
Percy gave her a quick wave and followed Charlie out the door. “Where are we going?” Percy asked as they left the house.
“The Leaky Cauldron, where else?” Charlie said with a grin before apparating.
“Where else,” Percy muttered. It had been a joke between Fred and George to invite Percy to as many events at the Leaky Cauldron as possible when the boys had still been on…decent terms. His own self-importance had blinded him to the cleverness of the joke. Where else but the Leaky Cauldron would you invite a man who seemed to have chosen a career in cauldron-bottom standards over his family? He apparated.
~*~
As Percy walked into the Leaky Cauldron he was greeted by noise the tavern probably hadn’t heard in nearly two years. The farther he made his way into the main room of the tavern the more he heard snippets of laughter, plans to rebuild, hope and occasionally, regret. It was the latter he felt most at home with.
“Percy! Over here,” Charlie shouted from across the room. Percy looked around till he finally caught sight of his brother holding up a pint glass. He walked quickly across the room, nearly tripping over a woman’s bag as he went, which earned him a dirty look from her husband despite Percy’s hurried apology.
“Take a seat. I got you a drink,” Charlie said, as Percy finally made it to the table. “You still like Molden’s, right?”
“Yes, Molden’s will be fine, thank you.”
Charlie shrugged his shoulders. “No problem. Dad tells me you’ve enrolled in the Auror Academy. How’s that?”
“It’s,” Percy said slowly, trying to carefully choose his words, “it’s quite different from my last job at the Ministry.”
“’spose there’s not much dealing with dens of cauldron swindlers.”
“Or managers whose sons are controlling them through the Imperius curse.”
“Too true.” Charlie took a drink from his glass and then set it down. He then crossed his arms over his chest, as if he’d issued an unsaid challenge to Percy.
Percy didn’t take the bait. He’d never been able to hold his alcohol all that well and he thought most drinking games were rather pointless. “When are you coming home?”
Charlie laughed. “Did Mum tell you to ask me that?”
“No, I just wondered if you might not come back and live here. There’s some perfectly good dragon keeps here and I still have a few favours in the Ministry. It’s possible I could get-“
“Percy,” Charlie cut him off. “I like living abroad. The first year or so was hard, but I love Romania,” he said, with a note of finality. “You should visit sometime.”
Percy bit his bottom lip, willing all his arguments to simply disappear. It was said that the Weasleys were a stubborn bunch. No one in the family epitomized that more so than Charlie.
He took a drink from his own glass as he tried to think of something else to say. It had been nearly two years since he’d had an actual conversation with any of his family, but with Charlie it had been longer. He didn’t know what to really talk to his brother about.
“Hey, Percy, you recognize the bar maid?” Charlie asked, with a slight nod towards the opposite corner of the room.
Percy turned in his chair and saw a blonde-haired woman he vaguely recognized from his days at Hogwarts. “I believe she was a Hufflepuff,” he said absentmindedly, before turning back around.
“That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“You don’t think she’s a bit attractive?” Charlie asked with increased annoyance. For all of his so-called smarts, Percy could be rather dense at times.
“She’s all right,” Percy said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
Charlie shook his head. “What’s your type then, hmm? You prefer tall to short? Busty or average?”
“I’m not having this-”
“Tan or pale skin,” Charlie interrupted. “Loud or qui-“
“Tan,” Percy said. “Can we end the conversation now?”
“We’ve never had this conversation before, Perce. I have had this conversation with every one of my siblings save you. So what is it you’re looking for in a girl? I mean assuming you like them.”
“I like dark hair, glasses are an advantage and, if put to the point, I would prefer a woman who is well-spoken and is my height or, at the most, two inches shorter. Are you happy now?”
“Nutmeg-brown or sort of a polished tan?”
Percy groaned. “Can we please talk about something else?”
“Fine, what would you like talk about little brother?” Charlie leaned back in his chair and emptied his glass in one quick swig.
“What was Angelina doing at the Burrow?”
“She and George are sort of seeing one another, I think. Mum didn’t spell it out for me or anything. You should ask George. He’d be able to tell you better than I.”
“True,” Percy said without looking Charlie in the eye.
Charlie snorted. “You’re not going to ask, are you?”
“It’s not really any of my business.”
“Never stopped Mum. I’m not saying you want to pry into every aspect of our lives, Percy, but it might be nice to have an actual conversation with you. One where we hear about what’s going on in your personal life, rather than what’s going on at your job and one where we might actually feel you care about us.”
“I do care!”
“I’m not saying you don’t, but what I’m saying is none of us can read you. We never know what you’re thinking so some of us assume the worst. If you just told us what was going on or even asked us what was going on then things might not have gotten so bad between you and everyone else now.”
Percy looked away from his brother and polished his glasses for a moment. He hated being reminded of what he’d done and he hated that it was his older brother that was the one doing the reminding. Charlie hadn’t even been there for most of it. Did he really have the right to tell Percy how it could have been avoided?
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is that simple. You just have a need to make things harder than they are,” Charlie said, firmly.
He glanced down at his glass and took a drink. “If it’s so simple then where do I start?”
Charlie placed his hands on the table and stared at his brother for a moment. “Merlin, Percy, you haven’t figured it out yet? You start with Bill and Fleur. You’ve already got Mum and Dad on your side. You’ll need some more allies. Bill and Fleur weren’t there when you left the house and all that. They know what happened, but I think they’re a little more willing to forgive and forget. You get in their good graces and I think that George, Ron and Ginny will soften up a little. It’s still an uphill battle, but you’ll have a few of us on your side.” He honestly felt bad that his brother was in such a situation, but knew his younger brother could always use a little more humility.
Percy nodded and placed his now empty glass down. “I don’t deal with people often.”
“Now’s a good time to start. Come on.”
~*~
When they got back Charlie decided to go around back to see if Bill and Fleur might be outside, while his brother went inside. Percy could smell the dinner his mother was preparing. His mouth began to salivate at the thought of roasted chicken and baby carrots with a side of potatoes and greens. “Mum,” he greeted.
“Hello, Percy. Did you and your brother have a good time?”
“Yes, Mother, I was wondering if you knew where Bill and Fleur might be.”
“Backyard. They’re watching your brothers play Quidditch with Harry and Angelina.”
“They’re playing two on two?”
“Yes. They said it beat staying indoors. Suits me just fine. You know how Ronald can be when he’s hungry. The match’ll give him something else to focus on.”
“Hmm, well then I suppose I’ll see what they’re up to outside. Thanks, Mum.”
“All right, Percy,” his mum said, as she checked one of the pots and gave a satisfied nod.
Percy looked out into the yard just before stepping through the back door. Bill and Fleur were sitting near the house in the two wooden chairs his Uncle Gideon had made by hand. Charlie had found an old broom and was now riding across the skies with his two younger brothers and their friends. Not for the first time Percy wondered where he fit into this picture. His mother’s eyes and her means of keeping order when she wasn’t around, he supposed. Certainly not his father’s.
“Have a seat, Percy,” Bill said.
For a moment the invitation sounded almost too good to be true. If it had been George or Ron that offered it, even Charlie for that matter, he might have suspected a trick, but Bill had always been the fair-minded one of the family. He made his way over to Bill and his wife and sat beside them.
Nothing was said for several minutes as the three of them calmly watched the others play Quidditch. Finally, Percy said, “I want to apologize to both of you.”
“Don’t worry about it, Perce,” Bill said, without taking his eyes off of the Quidditch match. “You heard what Mum said. All’s forgiven.”
“I should have been at your wedding though, Bill,” Percy protested.
“Wasn’t much to see, Percy. Prom-”
“Eet was ze most beautiful wedding you would have evar seen, Percy,” Fleur interrupted, the tone of her voice daring either man to disagree.
Percy held his breath for a moment as he waited for her temper to continue to rise. Instead he saw her features soften after a moment of silence.
She smiled at him. “We ‘ave pictures, eef you would like to see? Per‘aps you would ‘ave dinner with us in two weeks? I could show you ze pictures then,” she suggested in a lighter tone, her eyes dancing with amusement at the fear he’d shown only a few seconds ago.
“Yeah, Percy. We don’t get much company,” Bill said, turning to look at his brother with a wry grin.
“In two weeks? That should be fine,” Percy said.
“Dinner in ten,” their mum yelled from the house.
Bill looked up at his mum and gave her a wave. “Listen Percy, I’ve told George and Ginny to lay off a bit. You might get an ugly look or two, but they’ll get over it, all right?” Bill said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as he did so.
Fleur quickly nodded her agreement. It had not been so long ago when she to was trying to earn the Weasley family’s approval, so she was able to relate to Percy’s problem. “Do not worry, Percy. Once zey see you are a changed man zen zey will realize that family is more important than pride.”
“Thanks Bill, Fleur,” Percy said gratefully.
“Good, now what are you bringing to our dinner?”
~*~
“So what was it you did to get dish duty?” Percy asked George as they entered the kitchen and placed the dirty dishes near the sink.
George put on an apron. “Mum caught me placing ton-tongue toffees by Harry and Ron’s plates before the Quidditch match.”
Percy smirked as he started to prepare the water and soap. “Better than being caught throwing a baby carrot at your only sister during dinner.”
“True. So looking forward to dinner at Bill and Fleur’s?” George asked, as the two of them washed dishes the Muggle way, per their Mum’s orders.
“Oui,” Percy said, dryly.
George snorted and for just a moment he remembered that it had been Percy who’d told him the first joke he’d ever heard.
“So,” Percy said, feeling slightly uncomfortable, “You’re seeing Angelina?”
“Yeah,“ George replied as he directed a set of freshly dried plates to their mother’s cabinet.
“OK.”
“Is it?” George asked quietly. He’d had plenty of people give the two of them a pitying look when they saw him and Angelina walking about the town.
Percy was at a loss for words. Charlie would have just shrugged his shoulders. Bill would have had something wise to say. Percy was never one to look beyond his own point of view. To him everything was perfectly black and white, not always, mind you, but most of the time. George dating Angelina, the girlfriend of his dead brother, was certainly odd, but it wasn’t illegal or something he felt he had any right to offer his opinion on so he simply said, “Yes.”
George nodded and they continued in silence for a few moments.
Percy put away the glasses, counting them one at a time as he did it. It was a peculiarity he’d picked up when he was five and never quite seemed to be able to let go of.
“Percy, do you think you could have a look at the store’s books this week?” George asked from behind him. “Make certain the bills are paid and the money’s accounted for and all that. Alicia does it usually, but she’s off with her boyfriend, so I thought a former headboy might be the next best thing.”
“Certainly,” Percy said, just barely keeping a grin off his face. He hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Of all people, he would have thought George would be the one to outright deny him a part in the family and yet, here he was, the one with more right than anyone in the family to hate him, offering an olive branch.
“So what about you, then?” George asked. “Any young ladies on the horizon?”
The way he said it, plainly and without any sort of pressure, was all George, but the way he worded it reminded Percy so much of Fred that for just a moment he was uncertain whom he was talking to. “No, well…”
“Well. C’mon man, don’t leave me hanging here. Who’s it?”
Percy crossed his arms, hardly believing he was going to share something with George that he wouldn’t have shared with Charlie. “She’s a new woman in the Ministry’s Library. Patil is her last name, but we haven’t spoken or anything of the sort so…”
“Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?”
“Ravenclaw,” Percy replied, as he started to scrub their mother’s large pot, the last dish they’d have to wash for the evening.
“Parvati’s sister then.”
“Yes,” Percy said, feeling just a bit anxious now that his prankster of a brother knew the girl he was attracted to. It was the sort of thing his brother tended to use to his advantage rather than Percy’s.
“Good luck with that.”
Percy looked at his smiling brother. “Will I need it?”
George just shrugged his shoulders. “A little luck never hurt anyone.”
“True,” Percy agreed with a shake of his head as he began drying the pot.
“I’m going to check on Angelina. She went out to the shop with Dad so…”
“Right. You wouldn’t want your girlfriend to develop a sudden interest in tellyphones and batteries,” Percy joked. His father’s love of Muggle items and his inability to pronounce their names correctly was always good fodder for a joke amongst the Weasley siblings.
“Exactly,” George said, before leaving the kitchen.
Percy grinned as he put the pot away. He hadn’t had an actual conversation with either of the twins in almost five years. It felt good.
~*~
He cast one last glance around the kitchen to make sure everything was clean and in their places, and turned to go upstairs.
“Percy.”
Percy turned to see Ron standing behind him in the hallway, looking rather uncomfortable.
“Yes?”
“I heard what you said to George. About helping him with the shop.”
“That’s right. Just a little bit of bookkeeping,” Percy said with a shrug.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll do it.”
“What?” Percy asked, perplexed by this change of events.
“Don’t help out. We don’t need your help. We can do it without you. We‘ve done it before, so don‘t worry about us,” Ron said.
“You’re my brothers though, Ron. I want to-”
“We don’t need you, Percy,” Ron said, furiously. “You abandoned us for two years and we did all right then and we’ll do all right now!”
“Ronald Weasley, you stop yelling at your brother this very instant,” their Mum said from the hallway entrance.
Ron was silent for just a moment.
“Now apologize to your brother.”
Percy felt like he was ten and Ron was six all over again. Ron being told to apologize for spilling Percy’s new ink everywhere when Percy hadn’t let him look at it. Ron was just as defiant now as he was then though.
“I’m not apologizing to him, Mum. He’s a git.”
“Apologize now or go to your room,” their Mum said.
“I’ll go to my room then,” Ronald said crossly, leaving before either Percy or his Mum could retort.
Hermione made her way to the two of them. “I’ll talk to him,” she said softly, but with the same determination Percy remembered when she’d first entered Hogwarts.
For a moment Percy could see the hesitation in his Mum’s eyes, the unwillingness to give up her authority to a woman who’d only been dating her son for a few months now, but finally she nodded. “I have to go prepare dessert,” she said, and walked back to the kitchen, the tiring afternoon showing in the sag of her shoulders and the way she held her head.
~*~
As the evening drew to a close Percy could still hear the hushed voices of Hermione and Ron in one of the back rooms, arguing, while Harry simply sat with Ginny near George and Angelina, recounting highlights from their earlier match. Bill and Fleur sat opposite him, occasionally making conversation with him, but mostly just enjoying each other’s company. Charlie was talking with their dad and mum, entertaining them with tales of a recent expedition of his into Transylvania to find a rare species of dragon. He felt a little left out of it all and then it happened.
George looked up with the same smile he and Fred always shared when they were about to enact a practical joke of some sort. It bordered on friendly, but if one looked into the twins’ eyes they’d see the mischief that lay within them.
“Hey Harry,” George said.
“Yes?”
“What was Parvati’s sister’s name?”
“Padma.”
“Right. Padma,” George said, aiming a knowing look at Percy. Angelina rolled her eyes in mock reproof, but George ignored it. “Did you get that, Percy? The name of the girl in the library is Padma.”
Percy looked hurriedly to his Mum, ignoring the looks Bill and Charlie were giving him. He could see her putting it together ever so slowly until…”Percy! You’re interested in a girl who works at the library? Who is she? What’s she like? How come you didn’t tell us about her?” His mother asked in rapid succession.
“Is she a nutmeg-brown, Percy?” Charlie asked, clearly enjoying Percy’s growing embarrassment.
Bill gave him a grin while George, Harry and Ginny simply sat back and enjoyed the show.
The questions continued for most of the evening despite his rather terse responses (yes, no, I don’t know, Mother, etc.). Despite it all, the embarrassment, the barrage of questions and the constant threat of meddling from George and Charlie, Percy found it almost comforting. As if he were finding his place in his family again.
Author: Phil_Urich
Recipient: Paradise_Loved
Character(s): Percy Weasley
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 3,990
Warnings (highlight to view): None
Summary: Percy pays a visit to the family after the war and sets about making things right.
Betas: oddnari
Home is What the Heart Wants
Percy,
Family Dinner on Saturday. We’d love to see you. Feel free to bring a friend…
The letter had gone on for a few more pages. General updates on the family, questions about his life, complaints, assurances that all was forgiven and finally, “Love, Dad and Mum”.
It had been eight months since he’d last seen them. That had been Christmas time and the mood in general had been a sombre one. Fred’s death was still fresh in everyone’s mind and even George hadn’t done the annual trick, something he and Fred were known for while they were growing up. One year they’d managed to charm Percy’s gift to attack him, another time they’d found a way to charm the Christmas tree to call him a prat whenever he passed by. Percy had wished every year to have a nice, quiet Christmas, but when his wish had finally been granted he’d come to find that the silence was like a vacuum, allowing for no good cheer nor the warmth that only a family could provide.
This dinner would be different though. Fleur was pregnant with she and Bill’s first child and his Mum had guaranteed their appearance at dinner in her letter to him. Surely his Mum and Dad’s first grandchild, even if it were still in the womb, would bring some joy to the occasion.
As he approached the door he could hear the noise coming from inside the small house he’d shared with his family. ‘They’d never been a quite bunch,’ he thought. He knocked loudly against the wooden door, the second door that house had seen since the first had been utterly destroyed in a wrestling match between his two older brothers when they were 17 and 15, respectively. He’d stood by afterwards, listening to their father berate his brothers for fighting in the first place and then helped install the second door, even though he wasn’t needed or at fault.
There was a brief hush in the noise and after what sounded like a small tussle, and a threat from his mother, the door was finally opened to reveal his rosy-cheeked mother smiling at him as if he were an answer to her prayers. He leaned in and gave her a stiff hug, even as she pulled him into her waiting arms, while his dad clapped him on the back.
“Welcome home, Percy,” his mother said as she finally released him. Pulling back, he was greeted by the sight of his various family members all giving him looks, some surprised, others unconcerned by his presence. Harry and Hermione didn’t really seem to know what to make of his appearance so they looked away. He turned his eyes back to his mum and dad.
“Thanks, Mum, Dad. I brought a bottle of wine for dinner, if that’s all right?”
“Course it is, son. We’ll crack it open during dinner,” his father said, as he took the bottle of wine from Percy’s hand. “Now come in.”
Percy stepped into the house and pulled the door shut behind him, letting out a slow breath when he heard his siblings’ conversation pick up where they’d left off, and he no longer felt their eyes on him. He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack near the front door and walked in, unsure as to where he should sit or who would actually want to speak to him. When he’d been living at the Burrow he’d always stayed in his room and read until it was time for dinner.
“Percy, fancy a drink before dinner?” Charlie asked from the couch.
Looking around the room and not feeling especially welcome by his other siblings, Percy said, “All right.”
Charlie grinned. “Good.” He stood up and began walking towards the front door. “Mum, Percy and I are going out. We’ll be back before dinner,” he said as he grabbed the doorknob and twisted.
“Dinner’s in two hours, Charlie,” their mum said from the kitchen
“We’ll be back.”
“The both of you will be washing dishes, if you’re not back in time,” their mum threatened weakly.
“All right, Mum. I’ll have us back by then.”
“You’d better.”
Percy gave her a quick wave and followed Charlie out the door. “Where are we going?” Percy asked as they left the house.
“The Leaky Cauldron, where else?” Charlie said with a grin before apparating.
“Where else,” Percy muttered. It had been a joke between Fred and George to invite Percy to as many events at the Leaky Cauldron as possible when the boys had still been on…decent terms. His own self-importance had blinded him to the cleverness of the joke. Where else but the Leaky Cauldron would you invite a man who seemed to have chosen a career in cauldron-bottom standards over his family? He apparated.
~*~
As Percy walked into the Leaky Cauldron he was greeted by noise the tavern probably hadn’t heard in nearly two years. The farther he made his way into the main room of the tavern the more he heard snippets of laughter, plans to rebuild, hope and occasionally, regret. It was the latter he felt most at home with.
“Percy! Over here,” Charlie shouted from across the room. Percy looked around till he finally caught sight of his brother holding up a pint glass. He walked quickly across the room, nearly tripping over a woman’s bag as he went, which earned him a dirty look from her husband despite Percy’s hurried apology.
“Take a seat. I got you a drink,” Charlie said, as Percy finally made it to the table. “You still like Molden’s, right?”
“Yes, Molden’s will be fine, thank you.”
Charlie shrugged his shoulders. “No problem. Dad tells me you’ve enrolled in the Auror Academy. How’s that?”
“It’s,” Percy said slowly, trying to carefully choose his words, “it’s quite different from my last job at the Ministry.”
“’spose there’s not much dealing with dens of cauldron swindlers.”
“Or managers whose sons are controlling them through the Imperius curse.”
“Too true.” Charlie took a drink from his glass and then set it down. He then crossed his arms over his chest, as if he’d issued an unsaid challenge to Percy.
Percy didn’t take the bait. He’d never been able to hold his alcohol all that well and he thought most drinking games were rather pointless. “When are you coming home?”
Charlie laughed. “Did Mum tell you to ask me that?”
“No, I just wondered if you might not come back and live here. There’s some perfectly good dragon keeps here and I still have a few favours in the Ministry. It’s possible I could get-“
“Percy,” Charlie cut him off. “I like living abroad. The first year or so was hard, but I love Romania,” he said, with a note of finality. “You should visit sometime.”
Percy bit his bottom lip, willing all his arguments to simply disappear. It was said that the Weasleys were a stubborn bunch. No one in the family epitomized that more so than Charlie.
He took a drink from his own glass as he tried to think of something else to say. It had been nearly two years since he’d had an actual conversation with any of his family, but with Charlie it had been longer. He didn’t know what to really talk to his brother about.
“Hey, Percy, you recognize the bar maid?” Charlie asked, with a slight nod towards the opposite corner of the room.
Percy turned in his chair and saw a blonde-haired woman he vaguely recognized from his days at Hogwarts. “I believe she was a Hufflepuff,” he said absentmindedly, before turning back around.
“That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“You don’t think she’s a bit attractive?” Charlie asked with increased annoyance. For all of his so-called smarts, Percy could be rather dense at times.
“She’s all right,” Percy said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
Charlie shook his head. “What’s your type then, hmm? You prefer tall to short? Busty or average?”
“I’m not having this-”
“Tan or pale skin,” Charlie interrupted. “Loud or qui-“
“Tan,” Percy said. “Can we end the conversation now?”
“We’ve never had this conversation before, Perce. I have had this conversation with every one of my siblings save you. So what is it you’re looking for in a girl? I mean assuming you like them.”
“I like dark hair, glasses are an advantage and, if put to the point, I would prefer a woman who is well-spoken and is my height or, at the most, two inches shorter. Are you happy now?”
“Nutmeg-brown or sort of a polished tan?”
Percy groaned. “Can we please talk about something else?”
“Fine, what would you like talk about little brother?” Charlie leaned back in his chair and emptied his glass in one quick swig.
“What was Angelina doing at the Burrow?”
“She and George are sort of seeing one another, I think. Mum didn’t spell it out for me or anything. You should ask George. He’d be able to tell you better than I.”
“True,” Percy said without looking Charlie in the eye.
Charlie snorted. “You’re not going to ask, are you?”
“It’s not really any of my business.”
“Never stopped Mum. I’m not saying you want to pry into every aspect of our lives, Percy, but it might be nice to have an actual conversation with you. One where we hear about what’s going on in your personal life, rather than what’s going on at your job and one where we might actually feel you care about us.”
“I do care!”
“I’m not saying you don’t, but what I’m saying is none of us can read you. We never know what you’re thinking so some of us assume the worst. If you just told us what was going on or even asked us what was going on then things might not have gotten so bad between you and everyone else now.”
Percy looked away from his brother and polished his glasses for a moment. He hated being reminded of what he’d done and he hated that it was his older brother that was the one doing the reminding. Charlie hadn’t even been there for most of it. Did he really have the right to tell Percy how it could have been avoided?
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is that simple. You just have a need to make things harder than they are,” Charlie said, firmly.
He glanced down at his glass and took a drink. “If it’s so simple then where do I start?”
Charlie placed his hands on the table and stared at his brother for a moment. “Merlin, Percy, you haven’t figured it out yet? You start with Bill and Fleur. You’ve already got Mum and Dad on your side. You’ll need some more allies. Bill and Fleur weren’t there when you left the house and all that. They know what happened, but I think they’re a little more willing to forgive and forget. You get in their good graces and I think that George, Ron and Ginny will soften up a little. It’s still an uphill battle, but you’ll have a few of us on your side.” He honestly felt bad that his brother was in such a situation, but knew his younger brother could always use a little more humility.
Percy nodded and placed his now empty glass down. “I don’t deal with people often.”
“Now’s a good time to start. Come on.”
~*~
When they got back Charlie decided to go around back to see if Bill and Fleur might be outside, while his brother went inside. Percy could smell the dinner his mother was preparing. His mouth began to salivate at the thought of roasted chicken and baby carrots with a side of potatoes and greens. “Mum,” he greeted.
“Hello, Percy. Did you and your brother have a good time?”
“Yes, Mother, I was wondering if you knew where Bill and Fleur might be.”
“Backyard. They’re watching your brothers play Quidditch with Harry and Angelina.”
“They’re playing two on two?”
“Yes. They said it beat staying indoors. Suits me just fine. You know how Ronald can be when he’s hungry. The match’ll give him something else to focus on.”
“Hmm, well then I suppose I’ll see what they’re up to outside. Thanks, Mum.”
“All right, Percy,” his mum said, as she checked one of the pots and gave a satisfied nod.
Percy looked out into the yard just before stepping through the back door. Bill and Fleur were sitting near the house in the two wooden chairs his Uncle Gideon had made by hand. Charlie had found an old broom and was now riding across the skies with his two younger brothers and their friends. Not for the first time Percy wondered where he fit into this picture. His mother’s eyes and her means of keeping order when she wasn’t around, he supposed. Certainly not his father’s.
“Have a seat, Percy,” Bill said.
For a moment the invitation sounded almost too good to be true. If it had been George or Ron that offered it, even Charlie for that matter, he might have suspected a trick, but Bill had always been the fair-minded one of the family. He made his way over to Bill and his wife and sat beside them.
Nothing was said for several minutes as the three of them calmly watched the others play Quidditch. Finally, Percy said, “I want to apologize to both of you.”
“Don’t worry about it, Perce,” Bill said, without taking his eyes off of the Quidditch match. “You heard what Mum said. All’s forgiven.”
“I should have been at your wedding though, Bill,” Percy protested.
“Wasn’t much to see, Percy. Prom-”
“Eet was ze most beautiful wedding you would have evar seen, Percy,” Fleur interrupted, the tone of her voice daring either man to disagree.
Percy held his breath for a moment as he waited for her temper to continue to rise. Instead he saw her features soften after a moment of silence.
She smiled at him. “We ‘ave pictures, eef you would like to see? Per‘aps you would ‘ave dinner with us in two weeks? I could show you ze pictures then,” she suggested in a lighter tone, her eyes dancing with amusement at the fear he’d shown only a few seconds ago.
“Yeah, Percy. We don’t get much company,” Bill said, turning to look at his brother with a wry grin.
“In two weeks? That should be fine,” Percy said.
“Dinner in ten,” their mum yelled from the house.
Bill looked up at his mum and gave her a wave. “Listen Percy, I’ve told George and Ginny to lay off a bit. You might get an ugly look or two, but they’ll get over it, all right?” Bill said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as he did so.
Fleur quickly nodded her agreement. It had not been so long ago when she to was trying to earn the Weasley family’s approval, so she was able to relate to Percy’s problem. “Do not worry, Percy. Once zey see you are a changed man zen zey will realize that family is more important than pride.”
“Thanks Bill, Fleur,” Percy said gratefully.
“Good, now what are you bringing to our dinner?”
~*~
“So what was it you did to get dish duty?” Percy asked George as they entered the kitchen and placed the dirty dishes near the sink.
George put on an apron. “Mum caught me placing ton-tongue toffees by Harry and Ron’s plates before the Quidditch match.”
Percy smirked as he started to prepare the water and soap. “Better than being caught throwing a baby carrot at your only sister during dinner.”
“True. So looking forward to dinner at Bill and Fleur’s?” George asked, as the two of them washed dishes the Muggle way, per their Mum’s orders.
“Oui,” Percy said, dryly.
George snorted and for just a moment he remembered that it had been Percy who’d told him the first joke he’d ever heard.
“So,” Percy said, feeling slightly uncomfortable, “You’re seeing Angelina?”
“Yeah,“ George replied as he directed a set of freshly dried plates to their mother’s cabinet.
“OK.”
“Is it?” George asked quietly. He’d had plenty of people give the two of them a pitying look when they saw him and Angelina walking about the town.
Percy was at a loss for words. Charlie would have just shrugged his shoulders. Bill would have had something wise to say. Percy was never one to look beyond his own point of view. To him everything was perfectly black and white, not always, mind you, but most of the time. George dating Angelina, the girlfriend of his dead brother, was certainly odd, but it wasn’t illegal or something he felt he had any right to offer his opinion on so he simply said, “Yes.”
George nodded and they continued in silence for a few moments.
Percy put away the glasses, counting them one at a time as he did it. It was a peculiarity he’d picked up when he was five and never quite seemed to be able to let go of.
“Percy, do you think you could have a look at the store’s books this week?” George asked from behind him. “Make certain the bills are paid and the money’s accounted for and all that. Alicia does it usually, but she’s off with her boyfriend, so I thought a former headboy might be the next best thing.”
“Certainly,” Percy said, just barely keeping a grin off his face. He hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Of all people, he would have thought George would be the one to outright deny him a part in the family and yet, here he was, the one with more right than anyone in the family to hate him, offering an olive branch.
“So what about you, then?” George asked. “Any young ladies on the horizon?”
The way he said it, plainly and without any sort of pressure, was all George, but the way he worded it reminded Percy so much of Fred that for just a moment he was uncertain whom he was talking to. “No, well…”
“Well. C’mon man, don’t leave me hanging here. Who’s it?”
Percy crossed his arms, hardly believing he was going to share something with George that he wouldn’t have shared with Charlie. “She’s a new woman in the Ministry’s Library. Patil is her last name, but we haven’t spoken or anything of the sort so…”
“Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?”
“Ravenclaw,” Percy replied, as he started to scrub their mother’s large pot, the last dish they’d have to wash for the evening.
“Parvati’s sister then.”
“Yes,” Percy said, feeling just a bit anxious now that his prankster of a brother knew the girl he was attracted to. It was the sort of thing his brother tended to use to his advantage rather than Percy’s.
“Good luck with that.”
Percy looked at his smiling brother. “Will I need it?”
George just shrugged his shoulders. “A little luck never hurt anyone.”
“True,” Percy agreed with a shake of his head as he began drying the pot.
“I’m going to check on Angelina. She went out to the shop with Dad so…”
“Right. You wouldn’t want your girlfriend to develop a sudden interest in tellyphones and batteries,” Percy joked. His father’s love of Muggle items and his inability to pronounce their names correctly was always good fodder for a joke amongst the Weasley siblings.
“Exactly,” George said, before leaving the kitchen.
Percy grinned as he put the pot away. He hadn’t had an actual conversation with either of the twins in almost five years. It felt good.
~*~
He cast one last glance around the kitchen to make sure everything was clean and in their places, and turned to go upstairs.
“Percy.”
Percy turned to see Ron standing behind him in the hallway, looking rather uncomfortable.
“Yes?”
“I heard what you said to George. About helping him with the shop.”
“That’s right. Just a little bit of bookkeeping,” Percy said with a shrug.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll do it.”
“What?” Percy asked, perplexed by this change of events.
“Don’t help out. We don’t need your help. We can do it without you. We‘ve done it before, so don‘t worry about us,” Ron said.
“You’re my brothers though, Ron. I want to-”
“We don’t need you, Percy,” Ron said, furiously. “You abandoned us for two years and we did all right then and we’ll do all right now!”
“Ronald Weasley, you stop yelling at your brother this very instant,” their Mum said from the hallway entrance.
Ron was silent for just a moment.
“Now apologize to your brother.”
Percy felt like he was ten and Ron was six all over again. Ron being told to apologize for spilling Percy’s new ink everywhere when Percy hadn’t let him look at it. Ron was just as defiant now as he was then though.
“I’m not apologizing to him, Mum. He’s a git.”
“Apologize now or go to your room,” their Mum said.
“I’ll go to my room then,” Ronald said crossly, leaving before either Percy or his Mum could retort.
Hermione made her way to the two of them. “I’ll talk to him,” she said softly, but with the same determination Percy remembered when she’d first entered Hogwarts.
For a moment Percy could see the hesitation in his Mum’s eyes, the unwillingness to give up her authority to a woman who’d only been dating her son for a few months now, but finally she nodded. “I have to go prepare dessert,” she said, and walked back to the kitchen, the tiring afternoon showing in the sag of her shoulders and the way she held her head.
~*~
As the evening drew to a close Percy could still hear the hushed voices of Hermione and Ron in one of the back rooms, arguing, while Harry simply sat with Ginny near George and Angelina, recounting highlights from their earlier match. Bill and Fleur sat opposite him, occasionally making conversation with him, but mostly just enjoying each other’s company. Charlie was talking with their dad and mum, entertaining them with tales of a recent expedition of his into Transylvania to find a rare species of dragon. He felt a little left out of it all and then it happened.
George looked up with the same smile he and Fred always shared when they were about to enact a practical joke of some sort. It bordered on friendly, but if one looked into the twins’ eyes they’d see the mischief that lay within them.
“Hey Harry,” George said.
“Yes?”
“What was Parvati’s sister’s name?”
“Padma.”
“Right. Padma,” George said, aiming a knowing look at Percy. Angelina rolled her eyes in mock reproof, but George ignored it. “Did you get that, Percy? The name of the girl in the library is Padma.”
Percy looked hurriedly to his Mum, ignoring the looks Bill and Charlie were giving him. He could see her putting it together ever so slowly until…”Percy! You’re interested in a girl who works at the library? Who is she? What’s she like? How come you didn’t tell us about her?” His mother asked in rapid succession.
“Is she a nutmeg-brown, Percy?” Charlie asked, clearly enjoying Percy’s growing embarrassment.
Bill gave him a grin while George, Harry and Ginny simply sat back and enjoyed the show.
The questions continued for most of the evening despite his rather terse responses (yes, no, I don’t know, Mother, etc.). Despite it all, the embarrassment, the barrage of questions and the constant threat of meddling from George and Charlie, Percy found it almost comforting. As if he were finding his place in his family again.