AN: Everyone thought that Percy walked out on his family three years ago. He didn't. When Rookwood dies, the imperius is lifted and Percy is left struggling with his reclaimed free will. Unable to face his family, he finds refuge in the care of an eccentric muggle with an odd taste in art.

Audrey Blake was minding her own business, stumbling home after a drunk night at the club, when a nearly catatonic red-head is literally dropped on top of her. Her habit of taking in strays extends to this odd, broken man, and she finds herself becoming increasingly attached to her new roommate.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I a witch disguised as a fanfic writer.

The exact moment Augustus Rookwood died, Percy Weasley was walking down the streets of London, carrying a bag of groceries. Nobody noticed the blank, almost milky white eyes, or the stiff, robotic posture. The almost unnerving, expressionless pale face, or the way his shirt and coat seemed to hang off his bony frame.

They did however, notice when that paper bag fell to the ground, and the young red-headed man keeled over, gasping and choking as if he'd forgotten how to breath (which he very well might have). His face went a ghastly shade of white as he fell to his knees. Hands grabbed his hair, holding on so tightly that little beads of blood started to appear at the roots. An awful sounding keen escaped his throat as her curled up on the pavement.

Unresponsive, he barely noticed as people squeezed his shoulder or gently shook him. All he knew in that moment was that the lights were two bright and the sounds were too loud. Even the mild summer heat caused goosebumps to spread across his sensitive skin.

If he had stuck around long enough for the ambulance, Doctors would have said that he suffered from severe sensory deprivation, even though the explanation would make no logical sense and baffle them to no end.

Instead, just as the blaring sirens could be heard, Percy flew to his feet, eyes glazed and almost feral. He backed himself into the brick wall until he couldn't go any further, just wanting to escape the chaos around him.

Barely aware of the wand in his hand and the wide-eyed public surrounding him, he twirled on the spot and vanished to the crowds astonishment. One lady's hand flew to clutch her cross, lips whispering a silent prayer.

Few people noticed the red curly lock as it floated to rest at the pavement. The only sign that Percy Weasley was there at all.

Hundreds of miles away, the Weasley family celebrated the end of the war, and the miracle that they all got out alive. It would be another two weeks before they realized that one of their own had disappeared.