The newborn morning sun, golden and gentle, illuminated Penelope's profile through the thin curtains. The girl's skin was glowing enticingly in the dawn light.
Having gazed at her infatuated all through the night, Percy's heart stirred once more with desire and tenderness mixed together. However, recalling the exhaustion his reckless, passionate impulses had brought Penelope during their reunion last night, Percy broke into a foolish, besotted grin.
He ultimately restrained his urges with difficulty, merely leaning his face closer and gently kissing Penelope's warm cheek with softness.
But even this slight, careful movement awakened the sleeping girl. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly with confusion, and after her lashes fluttered delicately like butterfly wings, she slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the morning light.
The face directly in front of her left Penelope momentarily dazed, disoriented. For a moment she wondered if she was still dreaming, if last night had been fantasy. But reality crashed back, and the quickly recovering girl let out a shy, startled gasp.
She instinctively pulled the covers up higher to shield herself, suddenly became self-conscious in the morning light. She curled her body defensively, and turned her face away in what seemed like sulkiness or embarrassment.
After waiting a moment without hearing any soothing words or gentle teasing, without Percy saying anything at all, a slightly puzzled Penelope cautiously turned her head back. The face she saw still wore that same foolish, adoring smile.
Love and pure happiness blossomed instantly in her heart like flowers opening to sunlight. Penelope bit her lower lip, barely suppressing a grin, propped herself up with her arms, and threw herself eagerly into Percy's embrace. Their lips met and their ears pressed together in tender friction, gentle nuzzling.
Holding the girl securely in his arms, breathing in her scent, Percy gazed around this small room—no more than thirty or forty cramped square feet which grew increasingly bright and cheerful with the strengthening morning light coming through the window.
He suddenly understood, why his parents, despite living with so many brothers and sisters in the cramped, chaotic restrictions of the Burrow, despite the poverty and the noise and the hand-me-downs, could still find such profound contentment and joy.
Love made small spaces sufficient.
Love made poverty bearable.
Love was enough.
"Would you like something to eat, Percy?"
Hearing Percy's heartbeat change tempo beneath her ear, Penelope propped herself up on her elbows, looking down at him with an expression of naive innocence and sweet concern. The bedding slipped partially from her body as she moved, and the sight made Percy feel dizzy.
"I just want to hold you a little longer. Just this."
Percy's voice was rough with emotion. He pulled Penelope gently back into his embrace and covered her carefully with the blanket, tucking it around her shoulders.
Overwhelmed with happiness, Penelope's lips bloomed into a radiant smile that transformed her entire face.
"But don't you have to go to work at the Ministry today? It's a weekday."
She glanced toward the window, judging the time by the sun's position.
"If you don't eat something, you won't have the energy to handle your demanding workload. You told me how busy you are."
At the mere mention of the Ministry, bitterness flashed in Percy's eyes. However, he didn't complain or launch into his usual defensive explanations. With a calmness he himself couldn't quite comprehend, couldn't identify the source of, he simply said softly,
"Oh, I'm not planning to go anymore."
"What's happened, Percy? What do you mean?"
Penelope started in alarm, completely pulling away from Percy's embrace to stare in astonishment at that face she could never mistake, that she knew so well.
They had been in love for a long time before graduating from Hogwarts. She knew Percy intimately, knew his ambitions and dreams and fears, and these were absolutely not words that would ever come from his mouth. Percy lived for the Ministry, for advancement, for recognition.
"It's nothing serious, Penelope, everything's fine, actually—"
Percy sniffed, his nose was suddenly tight with suppressed emotion. The youthful innocence that had lingered stubbornly on his face throughout his time at Hogwarts and his first year at the Ministry seemed to have vanished entirely overnight.
It had been replaced by something else—genuine tranquility and an unmistakable, maturity.
"Listen to me, Penelope—"
Percy continued surveying the room with new eyes, seeing it differently than he would have yesterday.
The place Penelope rented was truly small by any standard—no proper living room, no space for entertaining. Just one bedroom barely large enough for the narrow bed, a washroom too cramped for two people to occupy simultaneously, and a simple kitchen consisting of a hot plate and a few shelves.
But at least everything was tidy, organized, and the room was filled with a scent that captivated him completely.
"Can I live here with you, Penelope? Would you want that?"
The reunited couple gazed deeply into each other's eyes, searching, finding answers, needing no further words to understand each other completely.
Penelope pressed her lips together, thinking rapidly. This small apartment was only a short-term rental. If she didn't get the workshop job, she would have to honor her agreement with her parents and return immediately to their rural farm in Gloucestershire.
But in this moment, in Percy's arms, Penelope cast that promise completely aside, discarded it without regret, filled only with fierce resolve and certainty.
She nodded slightly, giving Percy a tender smile before leaning against his shoulder again.
"If you'd like to stay, Percy, of course there's no problem at all. But you'll have to split the rent with me—I don't have that much money."
They both laughed softly, quietly, sharing the moment. Percy tightened his hold on Penelope's slim waist, took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, his tone becoming resolute and determined.
"I've figured some things out, Penelope. I plan to move out from home. And... I also plan to resign from the Ministry of Magic."
Penelope's lashes trembled slightly with surprise at this declaration. She neither cried out in shock again nor immediately expressed blind support for such a serious decision. She simply asked softly,
"You still haven't told me, Percy—how did you even find me? How did you know my address? I never told you I was in London."
"Oh, well, it was like this—"
Percy stroked her chestnut curls with a somewhat wistful smile.
"I went to Hogwarts yesterday on the Minister's orders to find Professor Watson. Before I left the castle, Professor Watson asked me to deliver a document folder to Remus. You might not know this, Penelope, but the wizard behind that successful learning machine workshop—the one you applied to—is actually Professor Watson. He's the money and brains behind it. What he asked me to pass to Remus contained employment résumés, applications for new hires. Yours was among them."
Percy paused, his voice becoming warmer.
"Oh, and I have good news for you, news you've been waiting for—you've been accepted by the learning machine workshop. You got the job."
Professor Watson. Percy's mind conjured that handsome, authoritative face, those eyes as deep and mysterious as the void of space, seeing everything. Though he had absolutely no evidence, though it would sound paranoid to say aloud, Percy was absolutely certain that Penelope's résumé mysteriously landing directly on his face last night was no coincidence.
That man had seen through the fear and confusion in his heart, seen through the enormous void within him, and found what could fill it.
If this conversation had been happening last night, before Percy had arrived, Penelope would certainly have cheered ecstatically at this news, would have jumped for joy. But now, with infinitely greater joy already having found her, she could view this career matter with new calmness and perspective.
She raised her face from his shoulder, looking at the trace of world-weariness that had appeared prematurely in her young lover's face and said gently, with compassion,
"You must have suffered quite a bit this past year at the Ministry, haven't you, Percy?"
'Suffered quite a bit.'
The simple words hit Percy. His body trembled slightly. He exerted all his willpower to suppress the sudden, overwhelming urge to cry, to break down completely. His eyes burned.
Since graduating from Hogwarts and entering the Ministry with such high hopes and expectations, absolutely no one had cared whether he'd suffered any grievances, whether he was happy, whether the work was crushing him. No one had asked. No one except the girl currently in his arms, looking at him with such understanding.
"Yes, I've certainly had my share of hardships—"
Percy said hoarsely, his voice breaking slightly. Meeting Penelope's clear, non-judgmental gaze, feeling completely safe with her, he no longer suppressed his desperate need to unburden himself, to confess everything.
He told her every single thing that had happened since entering the Ministry. Including why he'd visited Professor Watson at Hogwarts yesterday, what he'd been sent to do, and the cold reception and rejection he'd received there. He held absolutely nothing back, letting it all pour out.
"So, you understand why the Minister wanted Ms. Umbridge to teach at Hogwarts, and why Professor Watson adamantly opposes it?"
Penelope asked gently when he'd finished.
"Oh, it's rather obvious, isn't it?"
Percy's smile was complicated, self-mocking, bitter.
"The Minister can't tolerate the pressure and implicit criticism Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson put on him just by telling the truth. So, he wants to send Umbridge to Hogwarts specifically to cause trouble for them, to spy and undermine.
I've always understood this on some level. Oh, it was so foolish of me—I was just deliberately pretending not to see it clearly, lying to myself because I wanted that promotion so badly."
"But you don't need to leave the Ministry, do you, Percy?"
Penelope raised her hand to rest it comfortingly on Percy's chest, feeling his heartbeat.
"Remember? Working at the Ministry has always been your dream."
"And it still is, even now, the dream hasn't changed—"
Percy said softly.
Having broken through a certain suffocating fog that had been clouding his judgment and vision, Percy finally dared to face his own heart honestly, to examine his real motivations. He extended one hand into the air above them, grasping at nothing, watching the golden sunlight slip through his spread fingers like water.
"But I must admit that the Ministry as it exists now, corrupt and broken and controlled by Fudge, isn't what I love, isn't what I dreamed of. And it's not something I can handle or fix yet. I'm not ready, not strong enough. There will come a day when I return to the Ministry but before then, I need to learn and grow.
I think that's also what Professor Watson wanted to tell me, what he was trying to show me—that I must enrich myself first, gain real experience and wisdom, before I have the ability to deal with genuinely complex situations and moral choices. I plan to go work at the learning machine workshop where you'll be working. It's a very special, unusual place, and I genuinely believe it will help me grow into who I need to become."
'You've already grown so much, Percy—'
This thought flashed warmly through Penelope's mind, but she said nothing, only hummed softly in agreement and affection, snuggling closer.
"Oh, I'm sure I can convince Dad—he'll definitely support me in this, will probably be relieved actually."
Percy sat up straight suddenly, gripping Penelope's bare shoulders with both hands, looking at the misty, love-filled eyes on the girl's flushed face. He asked hopefully, almost pleadingly,
"Could you come home with me to the Burrow, Penelope? When I tell Mum I'm leaving the Ministry and she's probably about to tear me to pieces with her bare hands, or worse, cry—you could at least help restrain her a bit, calm her down. When she's angry, Dad is completely useless—"
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