Title: Alone

Summary: Do you know what it's like to feel alone in your own family? Percy Weasley does. Oneshot. First of the Grace Prewett oneshot series.

Author: Alexis

Characters: Percy Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Grace Prewett (OC)

Book: Goblet of Fire

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K Rolling. Anything else is mine so no touching.

Do you know what it's like to feel alone in your own family? Because Percy Weasley does.

It's not that they don't love him, oh no, he knows they love him; just as he loves them. It's just that they don't understand him. And it hurts.

They were all outside laughing, playing and joking. All of them having fun and not one of them noticing that he wasn't there with them. None of them came up to ask him if he wanted to join in the fun.

Not that he'd really want to. It was childish and immature and completely idiotic. But god how he wished that he was part of it.

A huge bang from outside startled him and he realized that he had had enough of this foolishness. He slammed the window open "Will you keep it down?" he bellowed a properly annoyed expression on his face.

"Sorry Perce" said Bill, grinning. "How are the cauldron bottoms going?"

Percy sighed to himself "Very badly" he told them peevishly before slamming the window shut again tears sparkling behind his glasses, though he would never allow them to fall.

Oh no. No one would ever know how he felt.

"...the match went on for five days last time."

"Wow – I hope it does this time!" Harry said enthusiastically.

"Well, I certainly don't," Percy replied sanctimoniously. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days"

"Yeah someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred.

"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" said Percy, going very red in the face, "It was nothing personal!"

Percy don't think Fred knew he could hear when he said "It was, we sent it"

And for the second time that day he felt like crying.

But this time it didn't go unnoticed.

Grace frowned at the look that came over her cousins face and grabbed his arm before he could shut himself away in his room again.

"are you okay?" she asked studying his face.

He gave her a curt nod and walked into his room shutting the door in her face, but she had seen the real answer in his eyes. She had seen the hurt.

And it wasn't the first time either. She had seen it on more then one occasion. But it wasn't just the hurt in his eyes that tugged at her heart; it was the longing.

The longing to be part of the family. To have Bill look at him like he does the twins and Charlie. To have Charlie actually listen to him when he speaks. For Ron to look up to him like he does their other brothers. To have Ginny admire him like she did Bill... or believe in him like she believes in Fred and George.

All Percy wanted to be was wanted. And she could see it written clearly on his face.

So later when everyone had all gone up to their rooms for the night Grace grabbed the twins by the elbows and pushed them in the room Bill and Charlie were sharing.

"Something the matter Gracie?" Bill asked frowning as the twins exclaimed outraged and muttered under their breath about the rudeness of women.

Grace closed the door and stood in front of it her arms crossed over her chest her face stormy. "What" she began sharply "Is wrong with you people?!" it wasn't a question.

The four boys blinked. "Sorry?" Charlie asked frozen in the act of pulling off his tee-shirt.

"You know I almost expect it from Fred and George, they've always been ignorant little prats-"

"Hey!" George exclaimed while Fred said in a very offended tone "Excuse me?"

Grace ignored them "But really Bill, Charlie I would have thought you two would know better!" then she gave them a look that brought a whole new meaning to the term 'if looks could kill'.

Bill sat down on his bed -which was actually Fred's "I'm sure we'd all feel properly ashamed if we actually knew what you were talking about Gracie." he told her calmly.

"Percy!" she snapped as if it was the more obvious thing in the world.

The boys were silent for a moment, too afraid to ask and anger her more. Fortunately for them Fred was never one to submit to fear. "What about the great prat?" he asked.

"That!" she all but yelled "Just that! You can't even mention him with out using some sort of insult!" she ranted "What is wrong with the lot of you? Are you really so high up in your own little worlds that you can't see how much you're hurting your brother?!"

"Hang on" Charlie said slowly "What's wrong with Percy?" he asked.

She scoffed "Nothing, all Percy wants is to be part of this family. To be wanted and understood." Grace unfolded her arms and pinched her nose "the only thing wrong with Percy is that he feels unbearably alone in his own family."

There was silence for a long time. This time even the twins looked ashamed of themselves.

"We've never..." Bill trailed off.

"What?" Grace asked sarcastically "left him out? Please. You do it all the time. Last week when you all went to play Quidditch and he stayed in his room reading, or how about this morning when the lot of you were out side fighting with the bloody tables?"

George frowned "He was working... and he's bloody rubbish at Quidditch anyway." he said simply.

"That's not the point!" She cried "The point is that you never asked. You never cared enough to stop for five seconds to see if he even wanted to tag along." She flung open the door and stormed out.

Percy looked at her when she walked out his arms over his chest. She stoped dead in her tracks felling blood rush to her cheeks "How long have you been listening?" she asked quietly.

"I don't need to you to fight my battles for me." his voice was stiff and angry ignoring her question.

"You never would have said anything to them." Grace answered walking past him. "and for what it's worth Perce, you're not alone. Your family loves you... they just don't know you. And a lot of that is your fault. Because you don't try either." she squeezed his arm and climbed the stairs to the girls room tears streaking down her face.

"Grace?" It was day's later, the night before Grace, the twins, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione were due to go back to Hogwarts. Grace was curled up in one of the big arm chairs next to the fire staring at it but lost some where far away in her own thoughts, the other's had gone to bed but like always Grace was waiting up for Uncle Arthur and Percy to get home.

Percy sighed and rested a hand on her shoulder and said her name again pulling her from her thoughts. "Can I talk to you?" he asked quietly. His normal stiff, pompous tone had been shed.

She smiled, this was the side of Percy that she liked the most; the one very few ever saw. The real Percy, the honest, scared, lost little boy that loved his family more then anything. "Of course."

He nodded absently sitting down in front of the chair, his back to her staring into the fire like she had been only moments before. They were silent for a long time before he said slowly, "I realized something that the World cup... when the Dark Mark appeared."

She bit her lip remembering the fear of that night, "What's that?"

"You were right."

"About?" she asked, absently playing with his red hair.

"Me... and the others." he replied "I am alone. And I never would have said anything to them."

She smiled sadly, "I never should have either Percy... I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it. When I saw how hurt you were the other day... I just got so mad."

He looked up and took her hand gently in his own "Don't apologize." he said softly "I want to thank you." he told her.

Grace blinked confused "thank me?"

"You did something for me... something I was too afraid to do for myself. And I want to thank you for noticing. I didn't think anyone ever did... I don't even know if I noticed until you said something." he paused. "So thank you, for... being there... for caring."

Smiling she climbed off the couch and sat next to him wrapping her arms around his middle "Always" she answered "I will always care."

"So will we" Another voice said from behind them. They turned to see Bill, Charlie, and the twins standing there watching them.

That night Percy cried for the first time in a long time, because he had finally realized how very not-alone he really was.