Novel-Length Fic: A Year of Worry and Hope
Title: A Year of Worry and Hope
Word Count: ~70,000 + and counting; 1047 for the chapter three and a half ;)
Rating: PG-13 (I *think* it stays PG-13 all the way through the story.)
Summary: Essentially, the events of "Deathly Hallows" from Percy Weasley's and Audrey Mitchell's points of view, including frequent cameos by Fred and George Weasley, and the Longbottoms, as well as other canon characters.
Chapter 1: When Percy Met Audrey
Chapter 2: Going Out
Chapter 3: Weasley Wizard Wheezes
Chapter 3.5:
CHAPTER 3.5: Seeing Is Believing-A Fred and George Outtake
Words: 1047
When he heard the door bark, George looked up from his conversation with Lee.
"Audrey! Good to see you!" Lee rushed over and gave Audrey a bear hug, almost picking her up in his exuberance. Audrey laughed, and hugged him back quickly.
"It's been a while, Audrey. Have you been ignoring your favorite shop owners?" George laughingly shook his finger at her.
"I haven't been ignoring you, George. I've just been . . . busy." Audrey couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"From that smile I bet I can guess what you've been busy with." George smirked and waggled his eyebrows.
Audrey's cheeks pinkened. "Stop teasing me, George, or I might leave without buying anything."
George clasped his hands over his heart. "Oh, the horror!" Lee chuckled. "I notice you didn't deny it, though."
Audrey's blush deepened. "No, I didn't."
"You have a new boyfriend?!" Lee asked.
"Yes."
"Who?" George and Lee asked together.
"Since both of you were teasing me, I don't think I'll tell you."
"I wasn't teasing you! That was George. So who are you going out with?"
"Nope. You laughed, too. Not going to tell you."
George leaned over the counter. "We have our ways of finding out these things, you know."
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then." Audrey turned and pretended she was going to leave.
"OK, OK. You win . . . for now. What can I get for you today?"
Audrey giggled. "I need a birthday present for Sara. I thought I'd get her the lip gloss and moisturizer she likes."
"She fancies the mango, doesn't she?"
"How do you remember that?"
"I wouldn't be a very good businessman if I didn't keep up with the preferences of my regular customers."
"Well, I'm impressed, George."
"For that, Audrey, I'll go get the products for you." George headed over to the Wonder Witch section, leaving Lee and Audrey at the counter.
"So tell me Audrey, who's your new boyfriend?"
Audrey laughed. "Not telling . . . at least not right now."
"Here you go, Audrey, and I'll include a sample of our new Wonder Witch Eye Cream, free of charge. Would you like this gift-wrapped?"
"That would be lovely. Thank you, George." Audrey paid for her purchases, gave a cheery wave to Lee and George, and left the shop.
"Well, I should get back to work, George." Lee waved as he left the shop.
"Later, mate." George returned the wave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fred put down his stack of boxes and rubbed his eyes. He was either going mental or his eyes were playing tricks on him. He went out into the main part of the shop and called,
"Oi, George!"
"Yeah?" George walked over to Fred.
"I would swear I just saw Percy."
"Ha,Ha, Forge. If you're going to take the mickey, you can do better than that."
"George, I'm serious. I was getting Wonder Witch products out of the storeroom, and I'm sure I saw Percy in the defense section, but he Apparated before I could say anything."
George gave Fred an incredulous look, as he grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the counter. He picked up a whirling green ball from behind it. "Well, someone did just Apparate." He glanced at other various colored balls in turn. "But the sneakoscope is quiet, nothing on the Dark Mark Detector or the Shoplifting Sensor. And no one’s been in here in disguise, since the Illusion Illuminator is dark."
"Fine. You've proven we didn't have a disguised Death Eater like Malfoy again, but I'm telling you I saw Percy."
Fred and George heard the door quack, and Lee Jordan came running over to them.
"Mates! You aren’t going to believe what I just saw!"
"Lee, I thought you had to get back to work?"
"I do, George, but I had to tell you Audrey is snogging your brother Percy practically in the middle of Diagon Alley."
"I told you I saw Percy! Show me where, Lee." Lee and Fred ran for the door with George close behind them.
Lee pointed, and they saw the snogging couple, who shortly after came up for air. Audrey whispered something to her boyfriend, and they both Apparated away.
"That really looks like Percy."
"How in bloody hell can you tell that, Fred? All we saw was the back of his head!"
George turned to go back to the shop, and Fred and Lee followed.
"Well, we know that was Audrey," Lee said, "We were just talking to her. And she said she had a boyfriend, but wouldn't tell me who, which I thought was strange. But if it was Percy . . ."
"Percy is not the only redhead in Wizarding London! All we were able to see was that bloke's hair. Plus that bloke Audrey was snogging was wearing Muggle clothes. I doubt Percy has worn Muggle clothes in his entire life!"
"George, we've only seen Percy once in two years. Who knows what he would wear? And Audrey is Muggleborn . . ."
"Do you really think Perfect Percy the Pompous Prefect would be snogging in the middle of Diagon Alley?"
"If Audrey would have snogged me like that, I wouldn’t have cared where we were."
George rolled his eyes. "Lee. Audrey did snog you."
"Not like that she didn't. Audrey and I were just snogging to have fun because seventh year was the worst bloody year ever. We were never serious, especially since she'd just ditched that wanker she went out with for almost four years. The snogging we just saw wasn't the snogging-is-fun sort of snogging. She had her hand on his arse. That was definitely the snogging-that-leads-to-shagging sort of snogging."
"Lee!" Fred moaned and clutched his head, "Don't talk about Percy shagging! Now I'm going to have to scourgify my brain."
"I still say that bloke wasn't Percy!" George insisted.
"Okay, George. I bet you 20 galleons the bloke we saw Audrey snogging is Percy, and that Percy was in our shop."
"I'll take that bet, too!" Lee agreed.
"Whatever. So if that bloke is Percy, I give each of you 20 galleons? How are we ever going to figure that out?"
"Easy. Audrey’s a regular customer. Next time she comes in here, we corner her and ask."
"Deal."
Chapter 4: Muggle Weekend
Word Count: ~70,000 + and counting; 1047 for the chapter three and a half ;)
Rating: PG-13 (I *think* it stays PG-13 all the way through the story.)
Summary: Essentially, the events of "Deathly Hallows" from Percy Weasley's and Audrey Mitchell's points of view, including frequent cameos by Fred and George Weasley, and the Longbottoms, as well as other canon characters.
Chapter 1: When Percy Met Audrey
Chapter 2: Going Out
Chapter 3: Weasley Wizard Wheezes
Chapter 3.5:
CHAPTER 3.5: Seeing Is Believing-A Fred and George Outtake
Words: 1047
When he heard the door bark, George looked up from his conversation with Lee.
"Audrey! Good to see you!" Lee rushed over and gave Audrey a bear hug, almost picking her up in his exuberance. Audrey laughed, and hugged him back quickly.
"It's been a while, Audrey. Have you been ignoring your favorite shop owners?" George laughingly shook his finger at her.
"I haven't been ignoring you, George. I've just been . . . busy." Audrey couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"From that smile I bet I can guess what you've been busy with." George smirked and waggled his eyebrows.
Audrey's cheeks pinkened. "Stop teasing me, George, or I might leave without buying anything."
George clasped his hands over his heart. "Oh, the horror!" Lee chuckled. "I notice you didn't deny it, though."
Audrey's blush deepened. "No, I didn't."
"You have a new boyfriend?!" Lee asked.
"Yes."
"Who?" George and Lee asked together.
"Since both of you were teasing me, I don't think I'll tell you."
"I wasn't teasing you! That was George. So who are you going out with?"
"Nope. You laughed, too. Not going to tell you."
George leaned over the counter. "We have our ways of finding out these things, you know."
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then." Audrey turned and pretended she was going to leave.
"OK, OK. You win . . . for now. What can I get for you today?"
Audrey giggled. "I need a birthday present for Sara. I thought I'd get her the lip gloss and moisturizer she likes."
"She fancies the mango, doesn't she?"
"How do you remember that?"
"I wouldn't be a very good businessman if I didn't keep up with the preferences of my regular customers."
"Well, I'm impressed, George."
"For that, Audrey, I'll go get the products for you." George headed over to the Wonder Witch section, leaving Lee and Audrey at the counter.
"So tell me Audrey, who's your new boyfriend?"
Audrey laughed. "Not telling . . . at least not right now."
"Here you go, Audrey, and I'll include a sample of our new Wonder Witch Eye Cream, free of charge. Would you like this gift-wrapped?"
"That would be lovely. Thank you, George." Audrey paid for her purchases, gave a cheery wave to Lee and George, and left the shop.
"Well, I should get back to work, George." Lee waved as he left the shop.
"Later, mate." George returned the wave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fred put down his stack of boxes and rubbed his eyes. He was either going mental or his eyes were playing tricks on him. He went out into the main part of the shop and called,
"Oi, George!"
"Yeah?" George walked over to Fred.
"I would swear I just saw Percy."
"Ha,Ha, Forge. If you're going to take the mickey, you can do better than that."
"George, I'm serious. I was getting Wonder Witch products out of the storeroom, and I'm sure I saw Percy in the defense section, but he Apparated before I could say anything."
George gave Fred an incredulous look, as he grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the counter. He picked up a whirling green ball from behind it. "Well, someone did just Apparate." He glanced at other various colored balls in turn. "But the sneakoscope is quiet, nothing on the Dark Mark Detector or the Shoplifting Sensor. And no one’s been in here in disguise, since the Illusion Illuminator is dark."
"Fine. You've proven we didn't have a disguised Death Eater like Malfoy again, but I'm telling you I saw Percy."
Fred and George heard the door quack, and Lee Jordan came running over to them.
"Mates! You aren’t going to believe what I just saw!"
"Lee, I thought you had to get back to work?"
"I do, George, but I had to tell you Audrey is snogging your brother Percy practically in the middle of Diagon Alley."
"I told you I saw Percy! Show me where, Lee." Lee and Fred ran for the door with George close behind them.
Lee pointed, and they saw the snogging couple, who shortly after came up for air. Audrey whispered something to her boyfriend, and they both Apparated away.
"That really looks like Percy."
"How in bloody hell can you tell that, Fred? All we saw was the back of his head!"
George turned to go back to the shop, and Fred and Lee followed.
"Well, we know that was Audrey," Lee said, "We were just talking to her. And she said she had a boyfriend, but wouldn't tell me who, which I thought was strange. But if it was Percy . . ."
"Percy is not the only redhead in Wizarding London! All we were able to see was that bloke's hair. Plus that bloke Audrey was snogging was wearing Muggle clothes. I doubt Percy has worn Muggle clothes in his entire life!"
"George, we've only seen Percy once in two years. Who knows what he would wear? And Audrey is Muggleborn . . ."
"Do you really think Perfect Percy the Pompous Prefect would be snogging in the middle of Diagon Alley?"
"If Audrey would have snogged me like that, I wouldn’t have cared where we were."
George rolled his eyes. "Lee. Audrey did snog you."
"Not like that she didn't. Audrey and I were just snogging to have fun because seventh year was the worst bloody year ever. We were never serious, especially since she'd just ditched that wanker she went out with for almost four years. The snogging we just saw wasn't the snogging-is-fun sort of snogging. She had her hand on his arse. That was definitely the snogging-that-leads-to-shagging sort of snogging."
"Lee!" Fred moaned and clutched his head, "Don't talk about Percy shagging! Now I'm going to have to scourgify my brain."
"I still say that bloke wasn't Percy!" George insisted.
"Okay, George. I bet you 20 galleons the bloke we saw Audrey snogging is Percy, and that Percy was in our shop."
"I'll take that bet, too!" Lee agreed.
"Whatever. So if that bloke is Percy, I give each of you 20 galleons? How are we ever going to figure that out?"
"Easy. Audrey’s a regular customer. Next time she comes in here, we corner her and ask."
"Deal."
Chapter 4: Muggle Weekend