Percy Weasley

“I truly appreciate your offer, Minister but I’m going to have to decline. I still have a lot to learn, the mistakes earlier this year is proof of that. I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t believe he had done it, Percy’s heart in his throat as he walked as quickly as he could from the office. His breath seemed to stutter in his chest as he weaved his way through people, eyes wide as the fear descended. Up until that moment, he was still a Ministry worker, still had a path to follow, was still someone. Now there was nothing. Not a single shred of himself still in place as he prepared himself to say goodbye to his dreams and aspirations.

It wasn’t how he imagined he’d spend his birthday, ruining his career with hopes that his family would welcome him back. There wasn’t a single birthday wish sent to him, no owl or even a message delivered. To a degree it was normal for Percy, never one to make a big fuss over one simple day but it didn’t take away the hurt as the day passed, the ugly four walls that he called his room at the Leaky Cauldron forcing the isolation deeper. He didn’t know what to expect but the cold shoulder wasn’t it, a simple owl just asking how he was would have been enough for him, would have gave him something to hold on to as the darkness settled in his mind.

Percy knocked nervously against the door, his head poking in just enough to catch sight of his dad behind the old wooden desk, head low in busywork. “Dad, do you have a moment?”

Arthur tensed, his face kept low to the desk as Percy walked into the cramped room. It was exactly as Percy remembered from his childhood, not a single thing changed even if it did feel much smaller than when he was a child. He took the chair from the corner as sat across from his father, the same chair that Percy fought over when he and his brothers went to work with their dad, Percy sitting proudly as he pretended to do work. 

“Dad this is important. It’s about Fudge and that promotion he offered me.”

Softly, Arthur set his quill down but he never looked at Percy. “Let me guess. It’s a great opportunity for you. I’m horrible for not allowing you to mess up again due to your lack of expierence. I’m in a dead-end job, so I have no concept of what this means to you.” Arthur’s cold gaze turned up to Percy slowly. “Which is it? Or is there something else your brilliant knows that the rest of us can’t begin to understand?”

Percy bit back the response, not wanting or looking for a fight. Three steady breaths in, Percy collected himself, reigned in the anger and replaced it with the perfect smile he mastered. “None of those things. I’m trying to tell you -”

“You know how I feel about this and that isn’t going to change.” The words cut Percy off, short and sharp as Arthur moved the papers over his desk.

“Dad . . . just listen for a moment. I’m not trying to change your mind, just to get you to see.”

Arthur scoffed. “Don’t pretend this isn’t about you stepping up and getting some power.”

“That’s nothing to do -” Calmness, Percy reminded himself, the corner of his smile twitching as everything he said was ignored. Arthur had his mind set on what Percy was planning, that he had already taken the position before he left the Burrow. “This is about us, it impacts the whole family.”

“You really think this is something so spectacular it will have some grand effect on us?” The condescending tone cut at Percy, beat down his fight little by little. “You know, I’ve had it with your ego and self-righteousness.”

“Dad, just listen -”

“No. Don’t you dare pretend this is about anything other than you. All you care about is your next move, the next step to take without caring who you have to step on to get there. You went back home after running away like a child, not caring that for a second time you broke your mother's heart! Just once . . . just once Percy I wish you’d act like a part of this family.”

Percy’s gaze moved to the ground, skimming the floor as the words layered on top of him, pushed him down until they were all he could focus on. Everything he had to say, to let his father know was gone from his mind. The words were so unlike his father, the near hatred behind them that stalled the breathes Percy needed to for control. 

“Why can’t you be more like your brothers instead of this deplorable, pretentious prat? They would all have the good sense to know better than to even entertain this ridiculous job.”

“I turned down the position.” The words were spoken quietly, Percy’s vision blurring, hands trembling as he quickly cleared the fog from his glasses. 

“What?”

He gave himself a moment, worked back down the rise of tears as he found his voice. Glasses back on, Percy looked up at his father directly, his eyes locked on Arthurs. “I didn’t take it and I was never planning too.” He watched as his father’s blanked in response to his words, quickly tried to take back everything he had said; every cruel and vicious cut he made to Percy’s heart. The sadness swept from him, a tide of unfiltered anger rising in its place. “Don’t, I don’t want your apology. But seeing how highly you think of me, I’d hate to disappoint you by acting like a Weasley. You can send my things to the Leaky Cauldron, I wouldn’t want to upset anyone by showing up.”

Percy rose unsteadily from the chair, relishing in the sudden chalky color on his father’s face. He didn’t wait a moment longer, the door to his office slamming behind him as Percy stormed off. His mind raced, emotions battling within for a chance to escape, to run wild until he hand nothing left to give. 

“Percy! I didn’t think I’d catch you today. Happy -” Zoshia’s words faltered, her excitement dying with them as he passed the exits. “Where are you going?”

“To see Fudge.” He couldn’t look at her, didn’t want her to see the distress on his face. It was a battle to keep it together, to maintain his composure as he walked through the halls. “I’m taking the job.”

“You’re what?” Zoshia rushed in front of him, her hands out as she awkwardly shuffled side to side to keep Percy from taking another step. “Percy stop, just stop for one second! I thought you were going to talk to your dad.”

“I did,” he replied bitterly, glaring at those whose gaze lingered too long in his direction. 

Brown eyes closed, fingers pressed against her temples as Zoshia made her annoyance clear with an aggravated sigh. “What did he do?”

The question itself threw Percy, the fact that she asked not what Percy had done wrong but what his father did. No one ever saw Arthur as anything but loving and supportive, the perfect father figure and friend.

 “I’m a deplorable, pretentious prat who will amount to nothing and should act like his brothers and learn what it means to be a Weasley.” Zoshia’s eyes widened as Percy rubbed his under his glasses, making sure there was nothing there that would give away the hurt that was ripping through him. “Why screw myself in every aspect? It doesn’t matter if I take this position or not, I’ll always be regarded as less than this sh*t at the bottom of his shoe.”

Zoshia stepped closer to him, her hand catching his as Percy tried to step away, keep her at a distance. “You did explain what we discussed, right?”

“I tried, but I couldn’t even get a word in.”

There was a flash over her features, a menacing look that was there for one moment and then gone before Percy could even blink. Her hand squeezed over his, reassurance that he wasn’t alone. “Go for it.”

“You’re supposed to talk me out of this,” Percy mumbled, his voice swaying as the emotions took control, a crack in his wall forming. “I need you to tell me not to.”

Red hair bounced against the rough shake of her head. “Take that bloody job. You were trying to do what they believed was the right thing, willing to give up everything and your dad can’t even be bothered to listen to you. Nevermind what he said to you.” She spoke with a passion, heated words behind a fire in her eyes as if she shared his pain. The step was small, the tips of Zoshia’s shoes pressed up against his, her attention fixed up at him as Percy went unnaturally still to the unwanted closeness. “Prove your dad wrong, make him eat his words. But more importantly, play Fudge at his own game.”

The space between them opened back up, Zoshia backing down despite the anger that simmered over her features. She waited for him to make the first step, quietly at his side as they advanced on Minister of Magic’s office. Percy’s heart raced, his life crashing down around him, falling into a pit of flames that he couldn’t put out. Everything he believed he fixed just caused another mess, another rupture in the world he knew. 

Zoshia nudged him lightly with her elbow as they stood outside the grand doors, Percy unmoving from the fear that kept him rooted. “Do this if it’s what you want. Stop thinking about others, focus on you no one else. Just know, no matter what you choose, I’ll still be here waiting for you.”

Percy knew what he wanted, his head high as he walked into the office he never thought he’d see again. “Hello Minister.”

Coat slung over his shoulder, Fudge froze for a moment at the sight before him, surprised annoyance clear on his face. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Weasley.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Fudge looked up at him perplexed, the winkles on his face more pronounced as his eyes and lips pinched. “I’m sorry?”

Percy stood a little taller, his shoulders squared back. He knew how it all made him look, the inability to make a simple decision reflecting poorly down on him. “I’ve changed my mind, I want the position.”

“I assume you’ve come with a list of conditions.”

“No.” He thought about it quickly, the idea hitting him and once again he retracted his words. “Actually, I want a desk. Not one of those tiny things down in transportation, but a real proper desk with an office.”

“That’s it? A desk and office.” 

Percy could see the amused smirk on the Minister’s face and his cheeks went ruddy. “I don’t think I’m in a position to really demand anything else.”

“You’re not in a position to demand anything,” Fudge corrected, a coldness in his voice. “But, you are saving me the time of having to search out another for this position. Monday you’ll have your office and desk.” 

Zoshia stood just outside the office, her lower lip trapped between her teeth as Percy emerged from the office and he felt small gratitude that she waited for him. Fudge stuck out his hand at Percy, chest puffed up in victory as Percy shook it. Percy had made a deal with the devil, the Cheshire grin of Fudge’s twisting up over his face. 

This was not how he imagined he’d spend his nineteenth birthday.