Novel-Length Fic: A Year of Worry and Hope
Title: A Year of Worry and Hope
Word Count: ~73,000 + and counting; 2410 for chapter nine
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: Seeing Is Believing
Chapter 4: Muggle Weekend
Chapter 5: Loneliness Revisited
Chapter 6: Unusual Correspondence
Chapter 7: A Surprising Start to September
Chapter 8: More Surprises
Chapter 9:
CHAPTER 9: The Long Haul
Words: 2410
Audrey waited at the red light sipping her third Diet Mountain Dew of the morning. Without Uncle Ed's knowledge, she'd managed to sneak a cooler out of the house with a few more Diet Dews. She was so tired! But she wasn't sleepy-tired. Lately if she wasn't studying, she was asleep. She was frustrated-tired. Today marked three months since she had last seen Percy, and there was no end in sight! She still had six months until she finished her degree, but didn't really even care. Her handful of phone calls from Sara helped-at least Neville, Aunt Gussie, Percy, Lee, or any of the rest of Percy's family had never been mentioned in The Daily Prophet. She supposed "no news was good news" . . . they hadn't been arrested since those names were listed. Sara hadn't managed to get much further information about Lee's radio broadcasts, except that Auror Moody had been killed in a battle with Voldemort. Audrey had cried for hours when she'd heard that. She remembered him so fondly. One time when she was visiting Aunt Gussie with Nanny, Moody had come over, and Audrey had invited him to the "tea party" she was having with her dolls. He not only played along, but charmed her dolls to talk!
Audrey sighed as the light changed and she started driving again. These maudlin thoughts were not going to help her mood. As she passed The Botanical Gardens, she saw a sign "A Hoot in the Night-11 AM, 1 PM, 6PM." Audrey practically made a U-turn in the middle of the busy road, and swerved into the entrance. For the first time in her life, she was skiving off classes and spending the day at the Botanical Gardens. That would help her mood.
"A Hoot in the Night" wouldn't start for an hour and a half so Audrey wandered around The Gardens thinking. She had always been friendly and outgoing, but she couldn’t get close to the people in her classes because she didn’t want to lie to friends. She told people her boyfriend was in the British equivalent of Special Forces and was on a secret mission so they couldn’t contact each other. In this town, telling anyone her boyfriend was in the military earned her instant sympathy, but even those deployed overseas had email privileges. That got harder to explain, so Audrey just avoided people for the most part. She occasionally went for coffee with classmates or studied together on campus-she had a couple of group projects so didn't have much of a choice there, but she kept the conversation limited to school work and small talk. She couldn't even say that things were different in England, because there were plenty of people from England around who would know the truth. Audrey had never realized the number of businesses that had offices in Huntsville, Alabama and somewhere in England.
Of course, with the number of classes she was taking, Audrey had little time for socializing. She went to church with Nanny and Uncle Ed and for their weekly lunch afterwards on Sundays. Nanny and Uncle Ed’s friends were fun and didn’t press her for details about Percy's situation. Nanny had told some story that kept them quiet. Audrey didn’t care what-she was just thankful for the reprieve. And at the dance classes, she could pretend she needed to concentrate on the steps and not talk too much-that wasn't very far from the truth.
Audrey arrived at the outdoor amphitheater in plenty of time to get a good seat for "A Hoot in the Night". She had always loved bird shows, but it had been a long time since she had taken the time to attend one.
They started by talking about a variety of owls. The owls' caretaker who had brought them was extremely knowledgeable and obviously loved the birds she cared for. Audrey had the feeling the poor woman would have a heart attack if she ever found out that owls delivered mail and had very powerful magic. Audrey had never had an owl of her own as her parents absolutely forbid it, but the school owls had always liked her, and she got on well with Hermes. She couldn't think too much about Hermes because that would lead her to thinking about Percy, and she was trying to improve her mood.
The caretaker, trainer, Audrey hadn't paid proper attention to the woman's title, brought out Casey, a baby vulture. Audrey was shocked at how positively adorable the little vulture was. She followed her trainer around like a puppy. The trainer talked about how clean and smart vultures were, how they helped the environment by eating dead things-Audrey didn't want to look at or think too hard about what the "treats" were that the trainer was giving Casey, but she realized why Aunt Gussie liked vultures so much. She would have been glad to take Casey home for a pet. She wondered if vultures were capable of delivering the mail like owls . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Percy really had to quit hiding in loos, and especially not in the shower. He had turned into a prune. He did not want to go to work. He tried to think of a happy thought as he continued getting ready, but those were hard to come by these days. It had been four and a half months since he had seen Audrey. People were disappearing from the Ministry every day. If someone even looked at a Death Eater the wrong way, they were being sent to Azkaban for treason. And the Death Eaters were no longer trying to hide the fact they were Death Eaters. The Ministry was being run by people who openly supported You-Know-Who. It was the people who did not support You-Know-Who who had to hide their true allegiance. All Percy could do was keep his head down and avoid making anybody angry. He was comforted by recently seeing his dad at a distance in the corridor, so at least Dad wasn't in Azkaban. Percy was biding his time until something happened, and maybe he could do something to help take down You-Know-Who. Maybe he could reconcile with his family. Maybe they could find it in their hearts to forgive him for being the world's biggest prat. Maybe. Percy's life was one big maybe.
He couldn't procrastinate any longer and began his daily trudge to work. He had to survive one more day. That was his mantra-he had to get through the day so he'd be around when Audrey came back.
Percy looked forward to the nebulous someday when You-Know-Who would be defeated and Audrey could return, but what had been sustaining him for several months were his visits with Aunt Gussie. He really enjoyed his two meals each week at her home, and eagerly awaited the appearance of the silver vulture in his living room to announce a new episode of "Potterwatch". Aunt Gussie had also been teaching him some dueling techniques and spells she knew from her days as an Auror. Percy was fairly pathetic at dueling. He had never even gotten a single spell through Aunt Gussie's shield, and she was over seventy! But at least he was getting some practice.
When Percy arrived at his office, he looked at his calendar and found a happy thought: Neville would be home from Hogwarts today for the Christmas hols. While Percy enjoyed spending time with Aunt Gussie, he was surprised how much he had missed Neville, the closest person he had to a friend.
***
Percy survived another day at the Ministry. He came home, changed clothes, petted Hermes and Twoey, made himself a sandwich, and was comfortably ensconced on his sofa with his book. He had barely begun his second chapter when he saw silver light. There was a large Mimbulus mimbletonia in front of him. A Mimbulus mimbletonia Patronus? That was-different, but strangely appropriate for Neville. Neville's voice said from the plant, "Percy, come over. Potterwatch is on! Merlin, Gran's going to be upset she missed it . . ."
Percy Apparated immediately. As he arrived, he heard Lee's voice.
". . . evening, Listeners! Apparently, there is no longer anywhere sacred in the Wizarding world! First of all, You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters took over the Ministry. Then they infiltrated Hogwarts. They have been swarming over England for the last several months instigating dementor activity, killing Muggles for fun, and hunting down Muggleborns with their vigilante snatcher groups, but today they boarded the Hogwarts Express and kidnapped a student."
Percy gasped, "Not Ginny?!"
Neville choked out a quiet, "No."
"Luna Lovegood was taken by force from the Hogwarts' Express. Despite the heroic efforts made by her friends at great personal risk, Luna was taken prisoner in order to be held for ransom in the hopes of silencing her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of The Quibbler, and outspoken supporter of Harry Potter. Our thoughts and prayers are with Luna and Mr Lovegood that they will remain safe and be reunited again soon. And to those students who tried to help, you are true Gryffindors. Luna's capture is NOT your fault. Believe me, getting yourself killed won't help. Stay safe and keep the faith. This is River, signing off."
Percy was stunned. He remembered Luna's visits to The Burrow to play with Ginny when she was a little girl. Ginny had been to the Lovegood's as well. Percy started Hogwarts when Ginny was 6, so he hadn't seen Luna too much after that, except occasionally over the summer, or in the corridors at Hogwarts. Captured by Death Eaters . . .
Percy heard Neville make a sound and turned to look at him. It looked like Neville was trying desperately not to start sobbing.
"Neville? You tried to save her, didn't you? You heard what Lee said, it's not your fault."
"I know." Neville sniffled, then blew his nose in a handkerchief he took out of his pocket.
Percy wanted to be comforting but didn't really know how. He put his hand on Neville's shoulder. Neville winced in pain and twitched.
"I'm sorry! Are you hurt?" Percy looked at Neville who winced and tried in vain to stretch his arms. Percy noticed something on Neville's neck and said, "Is that blood?!"
"Where?" Neville turned his head to look where Percy was pointing and winced again.
"Neville, you're hurt. Did the Death Eaters curse you when Luna escaped? What in Merlin's name happened?"
Neville sighed deeply, and slowly told his story. "Three Death Eaters came into the compartment on the train where Luna, Ginny, and I were sitting. They each cast a stunner. One hit Luna. Ginny and I ducked in time and tried to curse back, but they avoided our spells, and they weren't interested in a duel anyway. One of them picked up Ginny and held her, while the other hit me in the head, and I fell and hit the other side of my head on the wall. I think I lost consciousness for a minute. When I came to, Ginny was tied up, Luna was gone, and I had two bumps on my head and one hell of a headache. I spelled Ginny free, and she conjured a flannel and wet it with her wand, so I could have a lie down with a cool cloth on my head. Ginny was ok, other than being angry about the Death Eaters taking Luna, and Gran made me a poultice for my head when I came home."
Percy was worried for Luna, relieved Ginny was all right, but still confused because he knew Neville was omitting something. "That doesn't explain why there's blood on your neck."
"I didn't bleed on Gran's sofa, did I?" Neville turned away from Percy, examining the sofa.
"Neville. There would not be blood on your neck if you weren't hurt. Please let me help you, if you don't want to tell your Gran. Between four younger siblings and helping Penelope study for her Healer exams, I have picked up rather a lot of healing spells."
Neville sighed again, but nodded. He seemed resigned and gestured for Percy to follow him. They went first into what Percy assumed was Neville's bedroom, and then into the connected bathroom.
"There's dittany and essence of murtlap in the cupboard. Of course, essence of murtlap is better if it's fresh, but this will have to do." Neville took off his Hogwarts robes and let them drop to the floor.
Percy gasped before he could stop himself. Neville still had on his T-shirt, but his back was so bloody that it had soaked through.
"That bad, huh? This is from detention earlier today. The Carrows are getting more creative. I didn't show Gran because I don't want her to worry."
Percy didn't want to make Neville feel worse, so he stammered, "N-no, it's not really that bad . . ."
Neville turned to look at Percy and laughed, "Percy, mate, you are a terrible liar. Just get on with it. Gran won't be home for a while yet." Neville moved to pull off his T-shirt and winced.
Percy didn't think anyone had ever referred to him as "mate" before. It was rather a good feeling. He stopped Neville from removing his shirt. "If you don't care about this T-shirt, I think it will hurt less if I just cut it off." Neville nodded.
Percy did a cloth-severing charm on the shoulder and side seams. The front of Neville's T-shirt fell to the ground, but the back was stuck on by all the blood. Percy gently pulled it off and tossed it in the bin. He pressed his lips together tightly to keep from vomiting at the sight of Neville's back. The skin was so torn, Percy couldn't tell where to do the charms to knit it back together. There were going to be scars. He used his wand to wash Neville's back and siphon off the blood, performed a disinfectant charm, liberally applied the murtlap essence to help with the pain, and then poured on the dittany. Even though Neville's back was smoking and had to be very painful, he didn't even wince. Percy thought he would have passed out in the same situation.
Neville glanced over his shoulder at his back, and said, "Thanks, Perce. That's a lot better. I could certainly use a drink. You?"
"Yeah, sounds good." Percy spoke cautiously, still hoping he wouldn't vomit, as he followed Neville into his room. Neville paused to grab a clean T-shirt before heading back downstairs.
Chapter 10: New Experiences
Word Count: ~73,000 + and counting; 2410 for chapter nine
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: Seeing Is Believing
Chapter 4: Muggle Weekend
Chapter 5: Loneliness Revisited
Chapter 6: Unusual Correspondence
Chapter 7: A Surprising Start to September
Chapter 8: More Surprises
Chapter 9:
CHAPTER 9: The Long Haul
Words: 2410
Audrey waited at the red light sipping her third Diet Mountain Dew of the morning. Without Uncle Ed's knowledge, she'd managed to sneak a cooler out of the house with a few more Diet Dews. She was so tired! But she wasn't sleepy-tired. Lately if she wasn't studying, she was asleep. She was frustrated-tired. Today marked three months since she had last seen Percy, and there was no end in sight! She still had six months until she finished her degree, but didn't really even care. Her handful of phone calls from Sara helped-at least Neville, Aunt Gussie, Percy, Lee, or any of the rest of Percy's family had never been mentioned in The Daily Prophet. She supposed "no news was good news" . . . they hadn't been arrested since those names were listed. Sara hadn't managed to get much further information about Lee's radio broadcasts, except that Auror Moody had been killed in a battle with Voldemort. Audrey had cried for hours when she'd heard that. She remembered him so fondly. One time when she was visiting Aunt Gussie with Nanny, Moody had come over, and Audrey had invited him to the "tea party" she was having with her dolls. He not only played along, but charmed her dolls to talk!
Audrey sighed as the light changed and she started driving again. These maudlin thoughts were not going to help her mood. As she passed The Botanical Gardens, she saw a sign "A Hoot in the Night-11 AM, 1 PM, 6PM." Audrey practically made a U-turn in the middle of the busy road, and swerved into the entrance. For the first time in her life, she was skiving off classes and spending the day at the Botanical Gardens. That would help her mood.
"A Hoot in the Night" wouldn't start for an hour and a half so Audrey wandered around The Gardens thinking. She had always been friendly and outgoing, but she couldn’t get close to the people in her classes because she didn’t want to lie to friends. She told people her boyfriend was in the British equivalent of Special Forces and was on a secret mission so they couldn’t contact each other. In this town, telling anyone her boyfriend was in the military earned her instant sympathy, but even those deployed overseas had email privileges. That got harder to explain, so Audrey just avoided people for the most part. She occasionally went for coffee with classmates or studied together on campus-she had a couple of group projects so didn't have much of a choice there, but she kept the conversation limited to school work and small talk. She couldn't even say that things were different in England, because there were plenty of people from England around who would know the truth. Audrey had never realized the number of businesses that had offices in Huntsville, Alabama and somewhere in England.
Of course, with the number of classes she was taking, Audrey had little time for socializing. She went to church with Nanny and Uncle Ed and for their weekly lunch afterwards on Sundays. Nanny and Uncle Ed’s friends were fun and didn’t press her for details about Percy's situation. Nanny had told some story that kept them quiet. Audrey didn’t care what-she was just thankful for the reprieve. And at the dance classes, she could pretend she needed to concentrate on the steps and not talk too much-that wasn't very far from the truth.
Audrey arrived at the outdoor amphitheater in plenty of time to get a good seat for "A Hoot in the Night". She had always loved bird shows, but it had been a long time since she had taken the time to attend one.
They started by talking about a variety of owls. The owls' caretaker who had brought them was extremely knowledgeable and obviously loved the birds she cared for. Audrey had the feeling the poor woman would have a heart attack if she ever found out that owls delivered mail and had very powerful magic. Audrey had never had an owl of her own as her parents absolutely forbid it, but the school owls had always liked her, and she got on well with Hermes. She couldn't think too much about Hermes because that would lead her to thinking about Percy, and she was trying to improve her mood.
The caretaker, trainer, Audrey hadn't paid proper attention to the woman's title, brought out Casey, a baby vulture. Audrey was shocked at how positively adorable the little vulture was. She followed her trainer around like a puppy. The trainer talked about how clean and smart vultures were, how they helped the environment by eating dead things-Audrey didn't want to look at or think too hard about what the "treats" were that the trainer was giving Casey, but she realized why Aunt Gussie liked vultures so much. She would have been glad to take Casey home for a pet. She wondered if vultures were capable of delivering the mail like owls . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Percy really had to quit hiding in loos, and especially not in the shower. He had turned into a prune. He did not want to go to work. He tried to think of a happy thought as he continued getting ready, but those were hard to come by these days. It had been four and a half months since he had seen Audrey. People were disappearing from the Ministry every day. If someone even looked at a Death Eater the wrong way, they were being sent to Azkaban for treason. And the Death Eaters were no longer trying to hide the fact they were Death Eaters. The Ministry was being run by people who openly supported You-Know-Who. It was the people who did not support You-Know-Who who had to hide their true allegiance. All Percy could do was keep his head down and avoid making anybody angry. He was comforted by recently seeing his dad at a distance in the corridor, so at least Dad wasn't in Azkaban. Percy was biding his time until something happened, and maybe he could do something to help take down You-Know-Who. Maybe he could reconcile with his family. Maybe they could find it in their hearts to forgive him for being the world's biggest prat. Maybe. Percy's life was one big maybe.
He couldn't procrastinate any longer and began his daily trudge to work. He had to survive one more day. That was his mantra-he had to get through the day so he'd be around when Audrey came back.
Percy looked forward to the nebulous someday when You-Know-Who would be defeated and Audrey could return, but what had been sustaining him for several months were his visits with Aunt Gussie. He really enjoyed his two meals each week at her home, and eagerly awaited the appearance of the silver vulture in his living room to announce a new episode of "Potterwatch". Aunt Gussie had also been teaching him some dueling techniques and spells she knew from her days as an Auror. Percy was fairly pathetic at dueling. He had never even gotten a single spell through Aunt Gussie's shield, and she was over seventy! But at least he was getting some practice.
When Percy arrived at his office, he looked at his calendar and found a happy thought: Neville would be home from Hogwarts today for the Christmas hols. While Percy enjoyed spending time with Aunt Gussie, he was surprised how much he had missed Neville, the closest person he had to a friend.
***
Percy survived another day at the Ministry. He came home, changed clothes, petted Hermes and Twoey, made himself a sandwich, and was comfortably ensconced on his sofa with his book. He had barely begun his second chapter when he saw silver light. There was a large Mimbulus mimbletonia in front of him. A Mimbulus mimbletonia Patronus? That was-different, but strangely appropriate for Neville. Neville's voice said from the plant, "Percy, come over. Potterwatch is on! Merlin, Gran's going to be upset she missed it . . ."
Percy Apparated immediately. As he arrived, he heard Lee's voice.
". . . evening, Listeners! Apparently, there is no longer anywhere sacred in the Wizarding world! First of all, You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters took over the Ministry. Then they infiltrated Hogwarts. They have been swarming over England for the last several months instigating dementor activity, killing Muggles for fun, and hunting down Muggleborns with their vigilante snatcher groups, but today they boarded the Hogwarts Express and kidnapped a student."
Percy gasped, "Not Ginny?!"
Neville choked out a quiet, "No."
"Luna Lovegood was taken by force from the Hogwarts' Express. Despite the heroic efforts made by her friends at great personal risk, Luna was taken prisoner in order to be held for ransom in the hopes of silencing her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of The Quibbler, and outspoken supporter of Harry Potter. Our thoughts and prayers are with Luna and Mr Lovegood that they will remain safe and be reunited again soon. And to those students who tried to help, you are true Gryffindors. Luna's capture is NOT your fault. Believe me, getting yourself killed won't help. Stay safe and keep the faith. This is River, signing off."
Percy was stunned. He remembered Luna's visits to The Burrow to play with Ginny when she was a little girl. Ginny had been to the Lovegood's as well. Percy started Hogwarts when Ginny was 6, so he hadn't seen Luna too much after that, except occasionally over the summer, or in the corridors at Hogwarts. Captured by Death Eaters . . .
Percy heard Neville make a sound and turned to look at him. It looked like Neville was trying desperately not to start sobbing.
"Neville? You tried to save her, didn't you? You heard what Lee said, it's not your fault."
"I know." Neville sniffled, then blew his nose in a handkerchief he took out of his pocket.
Percy wanted to be comforting but didn't really know how. He put his hand on Neville's shoulder. Neville winced in pain and twitched.
"I'm sorry! Are you hurt?" Percy looked at Neville who winced and tried in vain to stretch his arms. Percy noticed something on Neville's neck and said, "Is that blood?!"
"Where?" Neville turned his head to look where Percy was pointing and winced again.
"Neville, you're hurt. Did the Death Eaters curse you when Luna escaped? What in Merlin's name happened?"
Neville sighed deeply, and slowly told his story. "Three Death Eaters came into the compartment on the train where Luna, Ginny, and I were sitting. They each cast a stunner. One hit Luna. Ginny and I ducked in time and tried to curse back, but they avoided our spells, and they weren't interested in a duel anyway. One of them picked up Ginny and held her, while the other hit me in the head, and I fell and hit the other side of my head on the wall. I think I lost consciousness for a minute. When I came to, Ginny was tied up, Luna was gone, and I had two bumps on my head and one hell of a headache. I spelled Ginny free, and she conjured a flannel and wet it with her wand, so I could have a lie down with a cool cloth on my head. Ginny was ok, other than being angry about the Death Eaters taking Luna, and Gran made me a poultice for my head when I came home."
Percy was worried for Luna, relieved Ginny was all right, but still confused because he knew Neville was omitting something. "That doesn't explain why there's blood on your neck."
"I didn't bleed on Gran's sofa, did I?" Neville turned away from Percy, examining the sofa.
"Neville. There would not be blood on your neck if you weren't hurt. Please let me help you, if you don't want to tell your Gran. Between four younger siblings and helping Penelope study for her Healer exams, I have picked up rather a lot of healing spells."
Neville sighed again, but nodded. He seemed resigned and gestured for Percy to follow him. They went first into what Percy assumed was Neville's bedroom, and then into the connected bathroom.
"There's dittany and essence of murtlap in the cupboard. Of course, essence of murtlap is better if it's fresh, but this will have to do." Neville took off his Hogwarts robes and let them drop to the floor.
Percy gasped before he could stop himself. Neville still had on his T-shirt, but his back was so bloody that it had soaked through.
"That bad, huh? This is from detention earlier today. The Carrows are getting more creative. I didn't show Gran because I don't want her to worry."
Percy didn't want to make Neville feel worse, so he stammered, "N-no, it's not really that bad . . ."
Neville turned to look at Percy and laughed, "Percy, mate, you are a terrible liar. Just get on with it. Gran won't be home for a while yet." Neville moved to pull off his T-shirt and winced.
Percy didn't think anyone had ever referred to him as "mate" before. It was rather a good feeling. He stopped Neville from removing his shirt. "If you don't care about this T-shirt, I think it will hurt less if I just cut it off." Neville nodded.
Percy did a cloth-severing charm on the shoulder and side seams. The front of Neville's T-shirt fell to the ground, but the back was stuck on by all the blood. Percy gently pulled it off and tossed it in the bin. He pressed his lips together tightly to keep from vomiting at the sight of Neville's back. The skin was so torn, Percy couldn't tell where to do the charms to knit it back together. There were going to be scars. He used his wand to wash Neville's back and siphon off the blood, performed a disinfectant charm, liberally applied the murtlap essence to help with the pain, and then poured on the dittany. Even though Neville's back was smoking and had to be very painful, he didn't even wince. Percy thought he would have passed out in the same situation.
Neville glanced over his shoulder at his back, and said, "Thanks, Perce. That's a lot better. I could certainly use a drink. You?"
"Yeah, sounds good." Percy spoke cautiously, still hoping he wouldn't vomit, as he followed Neville into his room. Neville paused to grab a clean T-shirt before heading back downstairs.
Chapter 10: New Experiences