Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I make any money.

Part One - Looking Out

Sterile. Clean.

Two words that could never have been used before to describe Percy's house when it had actually been a home; however, they were the only two that suited the building now as he took his normal thirty second pause upon entering the front door -out of hope and silent desperation that this really wasn't his reality now. That the last few months had only been a dream -a nightmare that wouldn't let him wake up.

He stood there looking for the dishes piled in the sink; the washing on the coffee table -basket full of clothing waiting to be folded and put away; the latest art project by the girls spread over the kitchen table; Audrey's latest quilt piled onto the couch with the armrest as her favourite pin cushion. Every day he stood there and waited to hear the girls running to him with Audrey's robust laugh not far behind before she would wrap her arms around him and greet him with a breathless "'Bout time you got home" and a kiss that would make his girls squeal, "Gross!".

The house remained silent. There weren't any feet running to him; no laughter to fill his ears and heart. Nothing to make him feel worthwhile.

And why should the stupid house make any sound?, he thought. The girls are at the Burrow and Audrey is still dead.

With a heavy sigh, Percy sat his bag down on the bench under their coat rack. He lightly fingered the gauzy scarf of Audrey's that still hung there. It was one of a million things here and there that he had left in place; the items he couldn't bring himself to box away for the girls. With every touch of the soft, beloved fabric, he remembered the day it had arrived from Japan and how happy Audrey had been while he watched her in amazement. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out then, nor could he now, what was so special about the white, blue, and grey fabric. It hadn't made a difference to Audrey when he had commented about it being 'just a bit of fabric'; what had mattered was it had been special to her. Her need for beautiful fabric one of the many things he would never understand about his wife, but now he missed the way her face smiled as she showed him her purchases. His mind further drifted along the day that the scarf's fabric arrived, Percy could still remember how she left dinner, in the midst of it cooking, to sew up the scarf with the cherished fabric. With a painful smile, he removed his own scarf and coat to hang it up on the peg next to Audrey's, just like he always did; so his things could touch hers, and hopefully retain some of her scent, even if he was starting to forget exactly what she smelled like. With a sad smile, Percy realised he could still taste the burnt roast from that evening. Sighing heavily, he caressed the scarf with a light touch one more time before moving into the kitchen.

Like he always had done after a long day at work since her death, Percy pulled a large glass from the cabinet. He put a few ice cubes in the bottom and filled the rest of the glass with bourbon -Audrey's bourbon to be exact, from a small distillery in the States. Just another one of those things she just had to have and nothing else would do.

Standing at the sink, he looked out the window as he started to sip at the bourbon. Even in the darkness, he could still spot the tree she had planted when they first got married years before. It wasn't large by any means, but it had been big enough and sturdy enough two summers ago that Percy enlisted Ron's help of hanging the simple swing that now blew casually in the late November chill.

If he thought hard enough, Percy could see Audrey swinging under that tree: her dark blonde hair
pulling away from the knitting needles she had pinned it up with; her cheeks flushed with pink from happiness and glee; the sundresses she favoured, even in the winter, whipping around her legs as her bare feet maintained her momentum.

Audrey hadn't been his life. She had been his everything.

From the moment he had stumbled into her on the streets of Muggle London, she had not only turned his life upside-down, she had become the centre of it. His eyes never left the swaying swing whilst snow started to fall again. He became lost in his memories of the day that changed everything, the day that finally gave him an excuse to actually live instead of merely striving to exist.

For the life of him, he couldn't understand why he had to go into Muggle London to pick up his Mum's birthday gift. George, Ron, Ginny or Harry could have done it –they were all far more comfortable in Muggle London then he would ever be.

Grumbling about all the work he had left on his desk and the deadlines he should be meeting instead of picking up the blasted gift, he hadn't been paying to any of his surroundings until someone bumped into him.

Bump may have been an understatement as someone small jumped up into him; wrapping their arms around his neck and their legs around his waist as they joyfully said:

"And here you are! I was about to give up on you."

His eyes widened as he took in the beautiful face inches from his own and wondered what the hell was going on. He had been moments away from asking that specific question when the girl wrapped around him whispered quickly, "Sorry about this. I do hope you won't mind," before kissing him -Percy Weasley.

No girl just ever kissed him.

Well, Penelope may have but not like this. This was something else. Something better.

His unsure hands gained confidence quickly and wrapped around her body; holding her tight against his now-crumpled suit. All the while her own hands held his face in place, as if to ensure that he would not be the one breaking the kiss first. Like he would ever do that. He may have been the fool of the family, but no one had ever accused him of being stupid.

The kiss, something so impulsive and so not him shattered the world as he knew it. When she finally allowed the kiss to end, Percy's eyes flew open to take her in. All his eyes could see was her slightly parted lips breathing heavily, the colour of which were the most wonderful shade of pink. One of Percy's hands left this nymph's waist and came up to her face. Gently, he touched her swollen lips in awe that he had done that to such a beautiful creature.

"So are you going to tell me your name, my future husband?" she whispered breathlessly.

It took several moments before her actual words sank into Percy's consciousness; however, when they did ,his eyes quickly left her succulent lips to find the brightest brown eyes he had ever seen -the colour of fine Firewhisky lit up by candlelight- looking at him with a contented, peaceful expression.

He didn't know how long it took him to say, "Only if you marry me today," but the look on her face and the kiss that would follow made the rashest decision he had ever made worth it.

Even then as he found his fingers on his own lips, moments like those when he could swear he smelled Audrey's penchant for a vanilla perfume just behind him, Percy thought he could feel her lips on his own again.

The fact that a deep breath produced none of Audrey's vanilla laced scent, however, brought him crashing back to a reality he still couldn't bring himself to face –the mere fact she was gone and that she wasn't coming back to him.

Percy took several more deep breaths to settle himself before giving in to the monster that lingered just below his tightly controlled exterior. He finished off the rest of his drink with several gulps, relishing in the familiar and comforting burn before filling the glass to the brim again.

He knew he needed to eat but dinner had become the hardest part of his day. Audrey had never been much of a cook, but she had been better than him. Staring at the open fridge, looking at the one or two items on every shelf, his mind could have sworn that he actually heard Audrey's voice teasingly say:

"I think you married me quickly just so you would never have to cook again."

It had never been true. For honestly, even though he had married her in a rash impulse and the only one of his life, for every day that passed he couldn't bring himself to regret his decision to marry a woman he didn't know. When he had found out about her 'little gift' as, she termed it, it hadn't changed any thoughts he had towards the rash marriage. It was a marriage that had caused her parents' eyes to roll as they muttered, "Not again", whilst his family -more specifically his mother and eldest brother shouted, together, "You did what?" In the case of his younger siblings, they had simply gawked before falling out of their seats laughing.

Grabbing some sliced ham, he set about making a small sandwich which served as his usual dinner Sunday through Thursday to soften the blow of his bourbon consumption, so he could actually make it to work the day after. The other days of the week, his dinner consisted of bourbon until he passed out on the couch with an album of all his favourite pictures of his beautiful, crazy, free-spirited wife on his lap.

He just wished the plain ham sandwich on rye looked appetizing.

Heaving yet another heavy sigh, he plated the blasted thing and with his sandwich in one hand and his bourbon in the other he turned, taking a step towards the table in the kitchen; however, he froze before he could take another step; the table had been a major stumbling block for him – one yet to be overcome. Since Audrey had left, he had been unable to actually sit at the table for any reason, because all he could see when he looked at the table was her: her eyes bright and merry, her laughter filling the room, as well as the girls'.

"Why exactly do they need two cakes again?" Percy knew he was asking for the hundredth time, two years in a row, but he couldn't understand why his darling wife had made separate cakes for the girls yet again for their birthday.

"Just because they share a birthday doesn't mean they have to share everything," Audrey explained for the hundredth time, for the second year in a row. Anyone else probably would have been fed up with him and his constant questions by then, but Percy knew that Audrey had the ability to tolerate his extreme practical side as well as he was able to cope with her flightiness.

He watched as, for the second year in a row, she set one cake in front of Molly before putting what appeared to be an identical one in front of Lucy. Rolling his eyes, he continued as he took his seat at the table.

"But you made two identical cakes."

"No I didn't. They may both have chocolate icing but one is a butter cake with a peach filling and one is a white one with raspberry icing," Audrey retorted, looking at him like he was an idiot before a smirk appeared on her face. "Just like they like."

His eyes never left her as she lit the candles with a lighter as she made silly faces at the girls while she did so. Casually she spoke to him, her tone contrasting sharply with her words. "Just because they're twins, it doesn't mean they're one person."

Percy never asked her again. In fact, he never questioned Audrey's almost obsessive obsession to not dress the girls alike, even though his mother insisted upon it every time they stayed at the Burrow. And every time he would pick up the girls from the Burrow, Audrey's words of -just because they are twins, doesn't mean they're one person- would always echo in his ears because he could see the difference it made in comparison to growing up with Fred and George. For though they were physically identical with Audrey's dark blonde hair and brown eyes, Molly had taken after Audrey with her free-spirited nature that Percy doubted could ever be contained or restrained, Lucy was the one to follow the rules to such an extreme that even he had tried to convince her (unsuccessfully) to loosen up on more than one occasion.

Looking at the empty table -the one that would never be the source of his happiness again- Percy sighed and turned towards the sofa that had become his table since Audrey had left him while he made a mental note to tell his mum to make two birthday cakes for the girls' next birthday.

Percy had just stepped into the living room when a large green flame appeared to fill the room. In
shock from seeing someone actually use his Floo, the plate and glass in his hands tumbled to the ground, breaking. He had been so thankful that his family had left him alone after Audrey moved on; he was surprised at the internal desire filling him quickly at that very moment that a member of his family would come and see him. When a body appeared through the immense green smoke, Percy's jaw slackened when his eyes didn't see the red head of any of his family members but instead saw the chocolate brown of his best friend Oliver -yet another person he hadn't seen since his life had reverted to the way it was before Audrey blew into his life: him choosing to shut everyone out.

"How could you, Percy?" Oliver screamed. His face flushed red to such a degree that even his neck was splotchy.

The sight of Oliver's hotly coloured face and bright brown eyes brought back a passing memory of a simpler time. A moment in his life when it was just him and Oliver; it never mattered what anyone else thought of him, as long as Oliver stood by and with him.

"So is it true?" Oliver called out, walking through the flat's front door.

"Depends on what you are talking about," Percy replied, slowly sipping on the brandy he had poured himself. He just knew he had done the right thing; he just couldn't understand why his family didn't agree with him. These were dark times and the Ministry and the people were what mattered; and if the Minister needed Harry's public support to maintain the calm then so be it.

"Something about you choosing the Ministry over your family?"

"Don't want to talk about that," Percy snapped, taking a large drink of his brandy.

Oliver flopping onto the sofa next to him caused him to jostle his drink. He thought about snapping at Oliver for it but thought twice when Oliver quietly said, "You still have me."

Percy knew that Oliver had a point. He always had had Oliver; since they were 'firsties' together. Setting the drink down, he leant back on the couch and whispered, "Thank you."

"Doesn't mean I agree with you though."

"I know," Percy whispered. "I know."

"Answer me, dammit!" Oliver continued, stalking over to where Percy still stood with his feet frozen to the ground. "Don't just look at me like that! I know bloody well you have some logical explanation all worked out as to why you did such an unforgivable thing today."

Percy had absolutely no idea as to what Oliver was talking about. It wasn't like he had spoken to any of his friends or family since Audrey left him; he had just kept to his hole of an office deep within the Department of Mysteries. Not even Unspeakables liked to venture there: it was too close to the Veil and everyone knew that the Veil was cursed. Percy, however, had never believed any of those tales, not even after Audrey abandoned him. For the Veil had kept people away, protecting Percy from false words of empathy and attempted shared comforts of sympathy. He may have been a fool a lifetime ago but he was no-one's fool now – he knew those that came around him came due to Audrey's infectious laughter and energetic countenance; everyone just tolerated him to be around her.

"Perce!" Oliver's yell brought him abruptly back to reality. With a slow blink, he realised that Oliver's face was mere centimetres from his own.

Percy didn't say anything to his flustered friend, instead he just stared at him, trying to figure out if the moment was real, for the swirl of surreal sensations enveloping him told him otherwise.

He could feel the tightening grip of Oliver's hands around his biceps and the pressure of his best friend's nails pressing into him, marking him.

Audrey used to do that, Percy thought. Memories of her ragged nails piercing his skin in lustful desperation filled his mind. Looking down, he saw nails making marks that Percy could only long for before: the rough chewed nails adorning firm calloused hands worn from brooms transformed into painted, chewed nails adorning calloused hands worn from a needle and thread. Percy waited for them to loosen their grip as they always had, at the moment when Audrey knew she had finally had his complete attention after the girls had gone to bed. The moment failed to arrive. Oliver's nails didn't stop their impending breaks in his skin. In confusion, he looked up half expecting to see Audrey's English rose skin, her Firewhisky eyes, her dark blonde hair held in place with the accursed knitting needles he was forever sitting on, but his Audrey wasn't there.

Oliver was.

Percy watched as Oliver's eyes softened in their own form of confusion while he tried to deal with his rushing grief that Audrey wasn't standing in front of him. That she would never stand in front of him again. Percy's head fell forward as the grief overwhelmed him, but he did not cry; he hadn't been able to, hadn't been able to bring himself to -for if he cried, then she would really be gone and he had no reason to live, if that was the case.

Oliver's fingernails finally stopped digging through his shirt and before Percy could do anything else, Oliver's arms wrapped around him., bringing with them a surprising amount of comfort in their unsurprising strength. In response, Percy wrapped his own arms around Oliver's waist, clinging to the first warmth of support he had found. In order to take in all that Oliver was silently offering, Percy had to press his body against Oliver's. Turning his head to the side and nestling his face against the stubble infused neck, Percy found the comfort he needed in the roughness he found there amongst a light vanilla scent.

"I miss her," Percy whispered into Oliver's neck, his best friend's scent invading his nostrils. He found himself nuzzling Oliver's neck trying to get a deeper whiff of the decidedly intoxicating smell. Percy froze when his mind recollected Audrey doing the same thing to him.

The simple thought of never experience that again -something so decidedly Audrey- caused the pressure to reform in his chest, something akin to feeling anything -a first since Audrey disappeared from his life leaving a gaping hole in her wake. In response, his hands gripped Oliver's shirt; his ability to stand seemed wholly dependent on Oliver at that moment.

"We all miss her," came Oliver's reply, softly spoken into Percy's ear. "Because we lost the both of you that day. Not just her."

Oliver's words replayed over and over in Percy's mind as he clung to his best friend. It had never
crossed his mind that anyone would actually miss him. He had been so sure for so long that his family's forgiveness for his stupidity during the War had been more Audrey's doing than his own, from her laugh and charismatic personality as well as her devoted love of life while strangely loving him. He -Percival Ignatius Weasley- was nothing without her; it had become painfully obvious how devoid of life his life had been before she charged in and took over. He had had a life for the past few years because of her: all his daydreams had come true due to nothing more than her spirit and her inconceivable love for him.

"Percy, please," Oliver whispered in his ear. "Your girls miss you. They don't understand."

That tore at the hole where Percy's heart had once been. Every night he prayed for his girls, that no man or woman would ever break their heart like Audrey had broken his.

"They want to come home, Percy." Oliver's voice cracked, thick with emotion. All Percy could do was tighten his hold and press his face deeper into Oliver's neck for he was completely unable to form any words due to the pain in his throat.

"Percy, they've lost their mother."

Percy knew that. He knew that better than anybody.

"Mr. Weasley, I need you to leave the room."

It wasn't the urgent tone that racked Percy's soul, it was the fear in the MediWitch's eyes as the surprisingly strong woman pulled him away from Audrey's side.

"Mr. Weasley," the woman said again as she pulled on his arm, whilst Percy tried to get back to his now-silent wife. Her once flushed face had begun to turn grey as other medical personnel clamoured around her bed.

"Audrey!" He yelled, trying to get back to his wife: the whole heart and soul of him.

"Mr. Weasley!" The MediWitch screamed as he broke free. In desperation, he tried to get back to Audrey, his eyes focused on her grey face.

He managed to pull aside one of the medical personnel before throwing them to the ground. He went to grab Audrey but he didn't get the chance as someone wrapped their arms around his waist and pulled him back.

He kept screaming her name as that person pulled him out of the room. It was the last time he would see his beautiful wife -lifeless on that hospital bed.

His beautiful wife was gone. Percy just knew it at the very moment.

War hadn't taken everything from him -their longed for son had.

"They don't understand why they've lost you too."

Oliver's soft whisper brought Percy out of the memory that always kept him awake at night: the medical personnel trying to save his wife whilst his youngest brother was forced to hold him back until someone eventually stunned him.

When he had awoken later that day, all that remained was Ron and Oliver. The rest had left the pair to tell him what he already knew to be true while they attended to his girls.

"I can't do it without her," Percy whispered out loud for the first time, though he had told himself that truth every time he looked into his girls' empty rooms and the nursery that had never been used.

"Yes you can. If I can handle them by myself with help from your family when I have to go out of town, then you can do it too."

When Oliver's words sunk in after a lengthy moment, Percy's head jerked up, clocking Oliver in the jaw before he pushed away from his best friend. The combination of the two movements sent Oliver flying back over the sofa's arm.

Percy just stood there starring at his best friend, trying to figure out why the girls were with him and not his Mum. He tried to ask Oliver the obvious question several times as he watched the man get to his feet, but he couldn't get the words out; he had been so sure that the girls had been at the Burrow the entire time.

Though he got out nothing more than an assortment of 'why, 'what', and 'how?', Oliver
evidently understood what Percy was trying to ask as he answered simply, getting to his feet.

"Audrey's orders."

"What?" Percy breathed, blood rushing from his brain. Leaning against the nearest wall, he then slid down it. Looking at his hands, which had started to wring themselves together, he continued, "She knew?"

"What do you mean you just know things?" Percy found himself asking as they washed up one evening. Although he had only been married to Audrey for a week and known her for maybe two hours longer than that, it just felt so right. His world, after years of being an outsider in his own life, finally felt perfect with him actually in the middle of it.

"I can't really explain it," Audrey answered as she dried the plate she was holding. "I have these dreams that come true. They aren't really visions like the Ministry wants you to believe -my OWL score in Divination speaks to that."

Intrigued, Percy looked towards his beautiful wife and found himself actually teasing someone as he playfully asked, "You do realise that now you have to tell me what result you got?"

"No," came her giggly reply as she put down a plate and grabbed the clean bowl from his hands. "Let's chalk it up to being bad and leave it."

"Well if you 'just know' things than you couldn't have gotten a Dreadful or a Troll. So what did you get, an Excellent? Maybe a Pass?"

When Audrey didn't answer him, Percy turned his head to look at her and found her blush was redder and deeper than even what Ron was capable of.

"You got a T?" he exclaimed, dropping the bowl he had been washing into the sudsy water, causing a significant amount to splash back onto him.

"Only the Ministry would think that someone could test Divination skills," Audrey growled in a
way that made Percy choke back a laugh, because her growl was about as ferocious as a hissing kitten. "Stupid crystal ball and tarot cards and astrological charts. Predictions on demand – really!"

He hadn't been married long but he knew enough to change the direction of the conversation. "So what's something that you dreamed that's come true?"

"You," she whispered, speaking to the bowl in her hand and not him as he stared at her. "That day in Trafalgar Square was my last chance to have you before I lost you forever."

Confused, he put down what he held and took a plate away from her. Setting the plate down, he dried his hands and pulled her towards him. Softly he kissed her as his hands went to her hips, then he lifted her onto the counter. He whispered, "What do you mean that was your last chance? I wasn't seeing anybody when I met you and was just going to my parents' that night."

With a soft smile, she replied, "You're one of those lucky souls. You get to have two loves while those who love you will only have you. If I hadn't gotten to you then, then they would have had you as they always have had... And I wanted my chance with you. To know what they knew already; what it's like to be loved by you. The man I loved in my dreams since I was seven; though it took me several years to find you and a few more waiting on you to notice me before I just took the initiative."

"What did she tell you?" Percy pleaded as Oliver took a seat by him.

"Well you know how she was – telling you just enough-"

"Oliver."

"She said that there would be a time that you couldn't care for the children and we shouldn't force the issue. That they should come and live with me, until you did something unforgivable in my eyes."

"And what were you supposed to do then?"

"Confront you. Pull your head out of your arse any way I could think of and remind you that not only are you still here, but there are people here that love you and miss you. She said I would have plenty ammunition by the time Pansy had talked me out of killing you... which I found her doing today while Ron took the children out of the house."

"I'm nothing without her," Percy whispered to his hands as he tried to make sense of Audrey's version of the future.

"No you aren't. You were someone before her: you were our Percy. After her, you just became her Percy. And we couldn't hate her for the man she brought out in you but don't ever think that we didn't love you for who you were before she came into your life."

"Nice try Oliver," Percy responded with a hallow laugh. "You all don't miss the old stick in the mud arsehole that I was; the one that even my family hated more often than enough."

"You are never going to let you go are you?" Oliver huffed. "Fred and George never liked anyone who prevented their own ideas regarding fun and Ron had a best friend with the weight of our world on his shoulders. And those are just three of them! Charlie and Bill liked you just fine and Ginny did too when you weren't trying to be her big brother too much and I liked you. Why can't that be enough for you; enough for you to get your head out of your arse?"

Percy didn't know. Resting his head on Oliver's shoulder, he elected to not say anything.

"And it bothers me so much that I have never been enough for you. All those times I know I was the only friend you had because you did your damnedest to push everyone but me away; all those nights we spent together in the dorms or in that stinking flat after graduation. You even turned down the Head Boy Quarters to stay with me in the Tower...

"I just don't understand how I was never enough, could never be enough, would never be enough.

"Now look at me. For the last eight months, I've been taking care of your children to give you time to grieve because that's what Audrey made me swear I would do nine months ago. I have always done everything you and Audrey have asked me and yet again, it's not enough, I'm not enough."

Silence filled the room as Percy remained quiet next to Oliver. He had no clue as to how much time lapsed before Oliver whispered, "Sometimes I wonder though, if I had gotten my courage up before the day you went to lunch and came back married that maybe you would have taken a chance on me and seen me." He paused. "Seen that maybe I could be enough."

Percy had no idea what to say once it became clear that Oliver was done talking, especially since he wasn't exactly sure what Oliver was talking about. The man had meant so much to him over the years. For Merlin's sake, he had been Percy's best friend since their first year at Hogwarts. Oliver had been the one to take care of him when he had been terribly homesick and missed his pain-in-his-arse younger brothers; he had been his sounding board when Fred and George finally arrived and decided to be hell bent on single-handily destroying the school; been on his side in wrangling their behavior by his fifth year; been the only one to speak to him when he had been foolish enough to try and throw his family away; and most of all, when the guilt Fred's death had almost eaten him alive, Oliver had been the one to pull him back, just like Ron had been the one to pull George back from the edge. Oliver had been his everything until Audrey.

Audrey.

Two people would love him.

Oliver.

Percy's head jerked up again, clocking Oliver in the nose. Scrambling to his feet as Penelope's words of ending their relationship because he was clearly in love with someone else, someone not her, kept playing over and over again as he straddled Oliver's lap. Taking his best friend's face between his hands, he whispered, "You were more than enough. Before Audrey you were my everything."

"Don't say things you don't mean," Oliver snapped at him, taking Percy aback. Oliver's hands gripped his wrists, trying to pull them away.

"Who says I don't mean them?" Percy pleaded as Oliver managed to pull his hands from his face.

"You don't get to play with my feelings," Oliver growled. "Just-"

"I'm not playing here," Percy said desperately, as Oliver tried to push him from his lap. Grabbing at Oliver's shirt, he fought to keep the wizard close to him.

"You are! After all these years of waiting for you, I finally tell you that I wish I could have been or
could be enough for you and then you say things like that?"

"What was I supposed to say? It only clicked when I was getting ready to tell you that up until Audrey you were my everything? Penelope dumped me because she said I was in love with someone not her, and it just finally made sense."

"How convenient for you, Percy!" Oliver yelled, finally succeeding in pushing Percy off of him.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want my best friend back! I want your children to have their father again: the girls to spend time with their daddy, the one they want to see more than anything else; and your son to actually know you and to call you Daddy and not me!"

The air in Percy's chest rushed out of him as he just stared at Oliver who was now leaning over him. Percy just stared into Oliver's brown eyes, which were just a shade darker than Audrey's, whilst he tried to determine if Oliver was telling the truth. All he saw was Oliver's anger ebbing away.

"Percy?" He heard the confusion in Oliver's voice but he couldn't respond; he was trying so hard to break through the numbing fog he was realizing he had been living in.

He had a son. One that was alive and not buried with Audrey like he thought.

"Percy?"

Oliver's gentle voice whispered. A soft touch pressed against his cheek. Percy jumped at the affection. Shrinking away, completely ashamed of himself, trying to recollect being told his son had survived the traumatic birth but he couldn't.

Percy could remember Ron and Oliver. Both their mouths moving but once they had said she was gone forever, all sounds disappeared as the fog set in. The dense fog he had spent the last eight months in.

"Percy."

The sharpness of Oliver's voice reminded him he wasn't alone. Tears welling in his eyes, Percy
choked, "Eight months?"

"Audrey was very specific," Oliver said simply, kneeling in front of Percy. Percy's eyes stayed on
Oliver's face as the man's hand caressed his cheek.

"Eight months!"

"She said you wouldn't come back to us unless we left you on your own. She told Ron that if we forced you to be a parent to Ollie, then we risked losing you forever. You Mum wasn't keen about it but even she saw reason after a bit."

Hearing his son's name tore at him. They had named him Oliver like Percy and Audrey had planned. The tears burning his eyes started to trickle down his face as he faced the failure he was as a father.

"Why now? Come to rub it in my face how I failed my children?" Percy screeched, throwing himself back, knocking his head hard against the floor.

"No!" Percy didn't fight Oliver as he pulled him back into a sitting position before he continued, "I
came over here because today was Molly and Lucy's birthday! You sent them nothing: not a card, not a gift. You didn't even make an appearance. All they wanted was to see you on their birthday. I have spent the entire day with Ron and Pansy trying to make them happy; to give them the birthday they deserved. Ollie may not know you now but we can change that; he won't remember this time apart from you but the girls? They will never forget what you did today Percy. Never."

The tears started to flow faster down Percy's face. Reaching out, he grabbed onto Oliver to pull him close and bury his head into Oliver's chest. Through his tears, he begged, "I didn't mean to forget. I didn't."

There were so many more things Percy wanted to say but couldn't. Instead, he settled for crying all the tears he hadn't been able to cry since Audrey had passed away.