The war was over and Percy Weasley was trying to figure out what to do now. He had made amends with his family and his old girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, but still like something was missing. Ron was going out with Hermione Granger, Ginny was dating Harry Potter and George was beginning a relationship with his friend, Angelina Johnson. Bill married his girlfriend, Fleur Delacour, last summer. Percy was still not on speaking terms with his family so he missed the wedding, but he had met Fleur at the battle of Hogwarts.
Percy agreed to go out on the blind date with girl named Audrey, but he was a bit nervous. It had been a while since he had been on a date and he was a bit socially awkward. The date had been set up by Bill and Fleur. So at seven o’clock he disapparated from his flat and went over to the Indian Restaurant in Diagon Alley and asked for Audrey Bennett.
“Over there,” the waiter said. A young woman with brown hair and blue eyes was sitting at a table waiting for someone. Percy went over to the table where she was sitting.
“You must be Percy,” she said. “I’m Audrey.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, and had a seat.
“Thanks,” she said.
They examined the menu, and then the waiter came to place their order.
“How long have you worked at Gringotts for?” Percy asked.
“Three years, I started their around the same time Bill and Fleur did,” she said. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Four,” said Percy. “Bill is the oldest, then Charile, then George. George had a twin named Fred, but he died during the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron is the youngest of the boys, then there’s Ginny, the only girl.”
“I feel bad for her if she has a boyfriend,” joked Audrey.
“Yeah, she’s had words with Ron about that,” said Percy. “I’m right in the middle. After Bill and Charlie, then before the others.”
“I know Bill and Fleur are married, what about the other brothers?” she asked.
“Nope, the others are single. George has a girlfriend, and so does Ron, and Ginny has a boyfriend. Charlie is still single.”
The waiter came and served their orders. They ordered Naans for appetizers. Percy ordered the lamb curry and Audrey had ordered the Tandoori chicken.
“How long have you worked at the Ministry?” Audrey asked.
“Since I left Hogwarts,” said Percy. “I originally worked for Crouch.”
“Are you going to go back?” she asked.
“I expect so, it should be better now that Kingsley Shacklebolt is in charge,” Percy answered.
After talking some more the two left. Percy paid the tip and for the date. Audrey suggested going and playing a game of Wand Ball.
The two went over to the arena and the person explained the rules: To pelt each other with magic paint pellets. Percy looked a bit unsure, but didn’t want to give Audrey the impression that he was stuffy, so he decided to give it a try. She heard from Bill that he could be a bit stiff, so she decided to take the chance to loosen him up.
Audrey flicked her wand and the pellet and it hit Percy in his sleeve. He looked a bit taken aback but flicked his wand tentatively and some of the pellet sprinkled Audrey.
“Is that the best you can do?” Audrey teased, and flicked three magic pellets at Percy, which hit him on the arm, the chest and the shoulder.
Never one to like being outshone, Percy aimed some magic pellets at Audrey, all of which hit her on the face. Soon it was an all out battle. Percy was laughing harder than he had laughed in a long time. He was normally so serious, but he was surprised at how much fun he had.
Audrey had heard that Percy was a bit stiff, and her impressions of him at Hogwarts was that he was rather pompous and a bit too serious, so it was nice to see him enjoy himself and relax. After cleaning up a bit they apparated at Audrey’s flat. Percy walked her to the door.
“I had a really good time,” Audrey said. “Thanks.”
“I did too,” said Percy.
“So maybe we can meet again?” Audrey asked.
“I’d like that,” Percy replied.
There was definitely a connection there, he felt he met someone who understood him and it also felt good to just have fun and not be so serious.
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