Journal of Percy Weasley

He still couldn't believe what he had read. Almost terminated his posting? How dare Scrimgeour even allude to doing such a thing when Percy had already accomplished so much? The people of Hogsmeade had barely known there even was a Ministry office there, and now they were the talk of the media!

With a frown, Percy began to feel a sense of deja vu. He realized it couldn't have been a coincidence that the Hogsmeade posting had come up shortly after he had made inquiries as to any open positions in the Ministry upon deciding to return from overseas. Just like the posting in Ottawa had popped up the day after Scrimgeour had commented on how Percy's estranged relationship with his family could possibly affect the Minister's office in the new political reality of the post-Voldemoort world. He'd been expected to sit aside in his little corner of Hogsmeade, organizing things but still sticking to the status quo.

However, Percy was no longer the same sycophant that had spent his days sucking up to Crouch and Fudge. He knew sometimes change was necessary, and apparently unlike Scrimgeour, understood that the media could be an extremely useful tool, but to work it, one needed to be its ally - for every give there is a take, after all. Scrimgeour was part of the old order, mostly interested in keeping himself in power. Percy, however, genuinely cared about the improvement and advancement of wizarding society.

He would have to be more careful in the future, but he refused to stop his work.

Have finally finished the work on the office, and I must say, it looks quite good. Treated the outside to a new coat of paint, magicked away the graffitti and treated the wall with an anti-graffitti spell.

Treated the inside to a makeover as well. Painted the walls - that eggshell white was so passe - a cream shade tinted with yellow to open up the room, and accented with a deep brown to contrast. Such a lovely effect! Spruced up my office, not just getting rid of all that dust and dirt, but painting the walls a nice dark aqua with white accents. Got myself a new chair - one needs his comfort, of course.

Designed a new filing system for Capper and sat down with him, reorganizing the current files into the new system - will have to keep an eye on this one to make sure he doesn't cheat and start filing willy-nilly again.

All but threatened Miss Midgen with relocation if she ever called me jackass again - though with the current state of things, that'd be a welcome change for her, I'm sure.

It's been a rough week, but it's been well worth it. The office is neat, tidy, and a proper representation of what a Ministry office should be...

But I'm so exhausted, mentally and physically. I miss my friends. When I'd overwork myself, they'd drag me out to a nearby strip club or drag show, and we'd just drink, have fun, and if we were lucky, leave the place with a nice hunk of man-meat.

Merlin, I need to get laid. But that'll have to wait until after I've gotten started on the rest of town. I have the press conference coming up, then a few visits to local businesses. I'll have to make a trip out to the Auror substation and meet this pitiful fellow they've got in charge of Hogsmeade and see if I can whip him into shape.

It's hard to be the responsible one, sometimes. The one others call in to fix the big messes. There's no power, no glory - only the pride of a job well done. The ones I help never even take the time to thank me, though their lives are made so much easier.

Tis the life of a genius, I guess. Forever unappreciated, overlooked... I guess I should be used to that, by now.

Will my family hear I'm here after my conference, and will they even care? It's been ten years - long enough for them to have forgotten me and stopped caring.

I've never forgotten them, though. Every day, I peek into my black chest and look at all the objects I've accumulated in their memory. I doubt I'll ever have the courage to give them to their inteded recipients - at least not in person. But they're there and they're mine, my memories, proof of my love, even.

I'll just have to wait and see.

Monday, September 25 - approx 8am

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~*~*~*~

Percy re-entered his apartment, bumping the door closed with his hip as his hands were presently full, and stepped into his tiny kitchen. He set his coffee and bag of danishes on the table, then reached up for one final stretch. He had woken up early, as he always did, and had opened up his briefcase of shrunken belongings to pull out the box containing his casual clothes. After pulling on a t-shirt and shorts, and his favourite running shoes, he had left for a jog up and down the street, stopping at a nearby cafe on the way home to pick up some ‘breakfast'.

He decided to retrieve his docket and start reading up on Hogsmeade while he ate his food. It was full of the usual information - taxes, infrastructure, etc - and he absorbed all the information like a sponge until he was forced to pause in shock. An Auror substation that was practically unmanned with only one Auror? And from the sounds of him, the one they had was quite a sorry one indeed. He sighed - he would have to mention something to the Minister about improving security in this town.

He sipped on his coffee, missing Starbucks. What he would give for a tall, dark, espresso roast. He continued his reading, noticing that the last time a health or safety inspector had visited the town had been... May 1964? That couldn't be right? He shook his head, growing more and more concerned. He was beginning to see why he had been so quickly given the assignment to this posting - the town was obviously in need of his help.

He finally came upon a sheet describing the Ministry office itself. There were two on staff - Blithe Midgen, receptionist, and Gillus Capper, file clerk - both of whom had kept the office running after the last Director had retired. Other than that were the typical lists of responsibilities of the Ministry's representatives, all of the regulations and laws they were required to enforce... but thus far, Percy had found no evidence of their actual enforcement. They were simple matters - such as ensuring vendor and restaurant licences were kept up-to-date, and taking actions to ensure the safety of the populace in the event of a disaster. Perhaps he would take care of the licence verifications immediately - it would, after all, give him an opportunity to meet some of the townspeople and to get a feel for the town at large.

He next came across an index of local businesses and skimmed it to familiarize himself with some of the local personalities... oh Merlin. Arthur & Molly Weasley, proprietors of the Three Broomsticks? His shock grew and his breathing became more laboured with every name he read. Ron Weasley, proprietor of Ron's Quidditch Supplies? And Ginny Weasley, proprietor of the Goddess Gallery? Oh Merlin, what had he gotten himself into? If he wanted to settle back into British wizarding society without his family's interference, this was the wrong place to do it!

He briefly wondered if it was too late to resign his posting, then shook his head. Of the many things that could be said about Percy, he could always be trusted to persevere, to never simply give up without putting in his best effort. He would have to make the best of this opportunity.

After all, there was no requirement for him to touch base with members of his family that he hadn't spoken to in the last decade.

He took another sip of coffee, letting the flavour wash over his senses and temporarily ease his worries. He quickly skimmed through the rest of the list, finally reaching the last part of the docket - an envelope stamped Confidential. The papers within told of recent incidents involving werewolves and vampires that the Ministry was trying to keep hushed. Apparently, the people at large were to be protected from the truth yet again. He briefly giggled, imagining Jack Nicholson as the Minister, shouting out, "You can't handle the truth!" He knew he would reluctantly do as the Minister requested in keeping the matters quiet should they reoccur - unless there was some inherent threat to the town, of course. Percy took his responsibilities seriously, and no matter what the Ministry demanded, he would take action if the lives and livelihoods of the townspeople were in any danger.

After all, he was certain that the Ministry would trust his judgement.

He began to wonder how the Ministry's reputation in the eyes of the townspeople must have suffered lately, with these incidents and the lack of adequate (in his eyes) Auror presence in the town. An idea began germinating, but he would have to wait until after he had appraised the state of the Ministry office to decide on a course of action. However, if his suspicions were correct, perhaps the people of Hogsmeade needed to be reassured that the Ministry would no longer be ignoring them and their concerns... and a lovely press conference might do the trick!

Setting down the docket, he looked up at a nearby clock. He now had one hour to shower and change if he wanted to make it to the Ministry office for 9am. He had been told yesterday not to worry about making an appearance his first day here, but there was work to do, and Percy was never one to shirk his duty. Apparently, he was once again expected to clean up the messes left by others, and to bring order to chaos. The sooner he began, the sooner it would all be over and he could finally relax.

That settled, he took the first step on his imaginary itinerary and headed for the showers.

Percy finished folding over the final flap of the box containing his work effects. He sealed it with a spell and a melancholy smile before shrinking it and placing it gently in his briefcase.

There. All done.

He stepped out of his office and looked out among his fellow Britons who made up the Ministry of Magic's bureau in Austin, Texas. He would miss them, though they had not grown close (all of his friends worked elsewhere, both muggle and wizard, and they would be celebrating his departure later that evening). His stay here had been quite profitable, as the office was now far more efficient than it had ever been before his arrival, and he appreciated their small part in helping him achieve that goal.

"Everybody, I would like to say a few words before my departure," he said, startling his co- workers. A few glared at him over their computer screens - ah, how charming that thanks to him, they were so absorbed by their work that they were annoyed by his interruption. "Have no fear; I will make it short so that you can return to work immediately once I have finished.

"I would like to say thank you for making my stay a lucrative one. I entrust all of you to continue the practices I have put into effect, and I will speak favourably to the Ministry of the work we have done here.

"I would also like to say that I am impressed with your powers of observation. You must have noticed quite long ago how I dislike noisy crowds, cigarette smoke, and awkward, family-centric conversations, and thus decided to forego the traditional farewell party. I am touched by your consideration.

"Finally, I will say that I will most definitely miss the people on this continent. The Canadians were a credit to their heritage, though a might obsessed with hockey and their inferior beer. The Mexicans were quite colourful, and I enjoyed the opportunity to practice my Spanish - though I have yet to figure out why they were offended by my simply saying that I enjoyed my stay so much I wish they had been conquered by Britain rather than Spain. And last but not least, my American friends who have earned a place in my heart, despite their vast arrogance, their overabundance of pride, and insistence that they can do anything better than we can."

He paused, hearing a sound from one of the secretaries. She sat by her desk, hands clasped over her mouth, body shaking in what must surely have been the effort to restrain her emotions. See there, her eyes were watering. The poor dear must be absolutely broken up over his leaving. He smiled sympathetically and decided not to bring attention to the lady's predicament.

"Thank you again, all, and I wish you the best in your future endeavours."

Feeling a sense of pride at the success of his speech, he fetched his favourite Orlando Magic jacket from the front closet, slipped on his cowboy hat (without which he surely would stand out among the Texans), and stepped out the front door for the last time with a sense of relief. Though appreciative of all his hard work, his co-workers had been quite boring, always talking about themselves and their families. Not a single one of them could appreciate a fine martini, and few of them ever ventured out into the muggle world. He briefly wondered how they would fare without him, but quickly put the thought from his mind. It was time to venture home to finish the last of his packing, then join his friends for a dinner party in his honour.

On his way home, he absorbed the details of everything around him, realizing just how much he would miss this place, and all the others he had seen over the last five years. However, he missed Britain even more, from Diagon Alley to Hogwarts, from the Daily Prophet to Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

It was long past time he returned home.