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Percy Weasley had always been the most studious and ambitious of his siblings. The Sorting Hat had briefly considered putting him in Slytherin, but influenced by his family's values, it had placed him in Gryffindor.
His ambition once led him to make choices that distanced him from his family. He’d accused his father’s lack of ambition of causing their poverty—words he would come to regret deeply. But in that time apart, Percy realised money had never mattered. Fred's death had shown him what truly did: love, family, and connection.
He'd never been poor in what counted most—unconditional love. In losing touch, he finally understood the wealth he had always had and decided he wanted something like that too.
To ease his loneliness and fulfil his desire for a family, Percy knew he needed a wife. He’d never disgrace his mother with a child born out of wedlock.
“So, how do you find the one, your true love?” Percy asked Bill one day.
“Kiss a lot of witches and then you know,” Bill had replied simply.
“Without talking to them first?” Percy asked, perplexed.
“No, of course not, just get to know them and then kiss them to make sure it feels right.”
“Like a true love’s kiss?” Percy asked, trying to gain a better understanding of what Bill meant.
“What are you on about, Perce? Have you been reading too many books again? No, I’m talking about attraction, you know.”
“Right,” Percy replied rather lamely.
Having had no better suggestions from his friends and other brothers, Percy decided to date and kiss as many witches as necessary to find the one. So when all his dates had been pleasant but none of the kisses had had that attraction, Percy decided to take drastic measures. Hoping to find some spell or potion to guide him to his true love, he went to the largest magical library in the country, Quilson’s Library in London. It was one of Percy’s favourite places. It reminded him of Hogwarts’ Library—big tables, comfortable chairs you could endlessly sit in for hours without getting back pain. One night in the library’s relationship section, Percy found countless theories on finding his true love—but none felt reliable. The thick dust on the books told him others hadn’t found much hope in them either.
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After kissing countless witches with no result, Percy just stopped. He was tired, and he’d lost all hope of finding his true love. He decided to focus on his family, friends, and work instead.
When Percy left his job at the Department of International Magical Co-operation, it was already past six. The newest Department Head was even more demanding than the late Mr Crouch, even outside of working hours. Percy decided to change and eat before going to Harry Potter’s twentieth birthday party. He was grateful that he was now on good terms with his family and was happy to be invited to Harry’s birthday party, as George had hinted that something spectacular would be happening.
Guessing an engagement and anticipating a lot of photographs, Percy had bought some new robes in preparation for this party. After showering and having a quick bite for dinner, he flooed to Shell Cottage with Harry’s present under his arm.
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Upon entering the already overcrowded Shell Cottage, he noticed that Hagrid stood out on the terrace so he could still be part of the conversation but not inconvenience anyone due to his size. Luna Lovegood and Oliver Wood soon joined him, drinks in hand. After slowly making his way through the packed crowd to his parents to give them a hug, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered at exactly seven o’clock.
Harry was pleasantly surprised by all the people there, and his smile broadened upon seeing their faces.
After some people congratulated Harry and people started mingling, George kissed Angelina on her cheek, which made Percy feel even more alone. George jumped on the large dining table and placed his wand to his throat, “Sonorus.”
The talking died down to quieter chatter.
“If you could all be quiet for just a moment, please, I have trouble hearing Lee.” George pointed to his missing ear and grinned.
Everyone laughed and then it became quiet.
“Welcome to Harry Potter’s twentieth birthday party!”
Cheers sounded from all around, to which Harry smiled awkwardly as he still didn’t like to be the centre of attention even if it was amongst friends.
“I have a surprise for you all tonight! One year ago, when I told Professor Slughorn that I wanted to do something special for Harry’s twentieth birthday, I asked him to brew Harry a potion. Some of you might remember the honourable Zygmunt Budge, who described the creation of this life-altering potion as the crowning achievement of his career.”
“Ooh!” Hermione exclaimed, and then her eyes went wide. She went to whisper something in Harry’s ear, but before she could do so, to everyone’s surprise, Neville spoke up.
“The inventor of Liquid Luck?” Neville asked. George smiled down at him from the dining table and nodded.
“Indeed, Neville. I asked him to prepare twenty doses worth of Felix Felicis, so that Harry and his nineteen invitees could enjoy three lucky hours together.”
“You’re joking!” Ron called out in disbelief.
“I am not, my dear brother. You see, when Harry won the Triwizard Tournament, he won a thousand Galleons worth of prize money, which he nobly offered to Cedric Diggory’s parents,” George said, voice steady despite the emotion behind it. “But they refused. So, feeling it wasn’t right to keep it, Harry loaned it to Fred and me.”
George paused, blinked quickly, and cleared his throat.
“He told us to ‘get inventing,’ and that’s how Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes began. We’ve done just that—spread laughter and magic—and now, it’s time to repay him. With interest. So, at eight, we’ll all take three hours’ worth of Felix Felicis. Enough time to celebrate the birthday boy before things get too... chaotic.”
George raised his butterbeer. “From Fred and me—happy birthday, Harry.”
Cheers of happy birthday sounded from all around, and Harry smiled a little awkwardly again. Ron and Hermione, who stood on either side of Harry, had both swallowed too at hearing Fred’s name. When Percy turned to Bill, Charlie and Ginny, he saw that Ginny was holding both of their hands. Bill was holding Fleur’s hand too and when George kissed Angelina, Percy felt the loneliness boil beneath the surface. He wanted what they had.
The fact that Percy felt so alone, together with Fred’s loss, even though his family was there for him, was harrowing. He decided to wait until eight. If the mood didn’t lift, he’d leave. But the thought of returning to his empty flat felt worse. So he promised himself he’d stay as long as the others did—and maybe ask his parents if he could sleep at the Burrow. He was alive. He should celebrate, as Fred would’ve wanted.
He forced himself to join in on the conversations and after congratulating Harry and handing him his present, he saw Bill motioning him to follow him into the quiet kitchen.
Bill looked at him intently and handed him a butterbeer. “How’s work?”
Percy was unsure what he was reading in Bill’s face. Was it concern? Possibly.
“Busy, we have to draw up a new contract with the French Ministry about the Quidditch World Cup. If we don’t sign it this week, only a handful of English witches and wizards can go. That would be a catastrophe for the department,” Percy answered whilst feeling his eyes burn from sudden tiredness.
Bill looked at him and remained silent.
“You know I’m just tired,” Percy divulged softly.
Tears welled up in Percy’s eyes and he blinked them away immediately.
Bill, who understood beyond the meaning of the word, put down his butterbeer on the kitchen counter and hugged Percy.
Hugging him so hard that his glasses went askew, Percy felt Bill tremble as Percy hugged him back.
The pain, the immense pain that both felt for losing their brother, the regret that Percy felt for his past choices, it was all too much.
Tears streamed down Percy’s face and he inhaled loudly in a sob.
They stood there together, just for a while, until the emotional burst of pain had subsided.
When they let go, Percy brushed his tears away and saw that Bill had been crying too, as his shirt was wet now.
Bill took a sip from his butterbeer, and Percy followed his lead.
“You’re lonely.”
It wasn’t a question. It was just a statement.
Percy didn’t look at Bill when he replied, “Yeah.”
“Fleur has a cousin–” Bill started, but Percy shook his head.
“I want to find the one. My person. My true love. I know many won’t believe in it, but I do. I’ve looked in all the books I could to find a potion or a spell, I’ve kissed so many witches, and nothing. I want what you have with Fleur, what Mom and Dad have and what all the others have. And I couldn’t be with a French native—I’m sorry, but the accent annoys me too much.”
Bill laughed, “Maybe Felix will help you.”
“Maybe,” Percy said, thinking.
When both men had drunk and Percy had asked all about how Bill and Fleur were doing, a loud bell sounded from the living room.
“It’s time,” Bill stated.
When Percy made his way to the living room, Bill put his hand on his shoulder.
“Hang in there, Perce.”
“Thanks, Bill.”
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Percy looked around the room.
Everyone was holding their flask of Felix Felicis in high anticipation. It was an odd mixture of people, Percy thought as he looked around the room. His whole family was there with partners, the party was made complete with Hagrid, Lee Jordan, Oliver Wood, Luna, Neville and the oddest two out, the Patil twins. True, they had been members of Dumbledore’s Army and if Percy remembered correctly, the dates to Ron and Harry’s Yule Ball. But why were they invited here?
“Three, two, one, drink!” George yelled, and all around the room, people emptied their flasks.
For a fleeting moment, he felt that everything would be alright. Then a sense of determination dawned on him. He would stay at the party and ask everyone how they were doing. That was the best thing to do, obviously. Deciding he wanted some fresh air, he headed to the French doors when he overheard Hermione tell Ron, “I’ve invited them because both Lee and Oliver are single and looking for a girlfriend, and the same goes for Parvati and Padma.”
Before he could hear another word, he accidentally bumped into Fleur.
“Sorry,” Fleur exclaimed in nearly-perfect English, and she placed her hand softly on his upper arm.
“It was my fault, I apologise.” Percy smiled before continuing, “You know, Fleur, I’ve been wanting to tell you that I’m really happy with you as my sister-in-law.”
Fleur smiled broadly and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Perzee.”
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“Mind if I join you?” Percy asked Luna, who was standing alone in the garden, looking at the gnomes.
“No,” Luna replied without looking up.
Luna was pleasantly divergent from many things that were normal to most people.
“How are you, Luna?” Percy asked, genuinely interested.
“I’ve found my mother’s diary. She was experimenting with developing new spells,” Luna explained.
Percy, who had instantly wanted to say that it was against the law and could be very dangerous outside a safe, Ministry-approved laboratory, swallowed and felt Felix making him say something different.
“Any interesting spells?” Percy asked.
“Loads.” Luna nodded, her eyes still on the gnomes.
“Anything that could help me find the one?” Percy joked.
At these words, Luna turned to face him and looked him in the eye. “Do you mind kissing girls?”
Finding the question quite peculiar, he just raised his eyebrows slightly and answered, unsure, “No, I don’t mind that at all.”
“Are you open to trying it? Because my mum has created a spell and wrote that it worked, so it should be safe.”
Usually, he would have screamed no, but Felix nudged him to be brave. “Sure.”
Now, Luna smiled broadly and took out her wand from behind her head, because it held her hair in some sort of updo.
She pointed it at Percy and asked, “Are you ready to find true love?”
“I am.” Percy felt the truth in his words.
“Osculum veri amoris!”
Percy felt a tingling sensation all through his body before resting pleasantly in his heart.
“What does it mean?” Percy asked.
“A True Love’s Kiss. So go and kiss some girls, and when your heart warms up, that’s when you’ve found the one.”
“Kiss some—I’m at Harry’s birthday party, Luna! I can’t just leave!”
At that moment, a Patronus appeared. A white swan in the voice of his boss, Gregory White, said, “Weasley, bring the translated French lawbook to me in The Dragon’s Heart. The French delegate’s here right now.”
Eyes widening, he thanked Luna and ran to the fireplace to floo home without saying goodbye to anyone.
Accioing the book to him, he flooed to the Dragon’s Heart, a big building in London where international meetings were held.
He found himself walking to the room they were in, without knowing it, but feeling where to go. He handed the book to his boss, who looked pleasantly surprised at Percy’s timely appearance and classy robes.
Gregory quickly skimmed through the pages to get to the right paragraph and held it out to the French delegate.
“See, this is what I mean. We have contracted the additional number of seats for a hundred years,” he said, pointing to the text.
The French delegate, a bulky man with a big moustache, nodded. “Until 2025, then.”
“Actually,” Percy added, Felix making him bolder, “there’s a fifty-year sign-off time limit, and by that law, you’re twenty-five years too late to deny us access to the next hundred years’ worth of Quidditch Cups. You can, however, sign off now for the hundred years after that.”
The man grunted in acknowledgement, and Gregory gave Percy an impressed look. He held the contract in front of the man, who signed in defeat.
“Welcome to the Quidditch World Cup,” the man said, standing up.
“Thank you, it was nice meeting you,” Gregory said.
Percy also shook his hand, and when the man had left, Gregory smiled proudly at him.
“Well done, Percy.”
Percy was surprised at the first name, as he had been Weasley until now.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you that I’ve told Kingsley that you have a real drive to become a Department Head someday. You’ve given everything these past few months, and I can see that you want to improve relations worldwide. You’re good at that.”
Astonished by this high praise, Percy uttered, “Thank you, sir.”
But in his mind, he realised that hearing what he’d wanted to hear all these years, that he was on his way to become a Department Head, meant a lot less compared to achieving his goal of finding his true love. To feel the connection with his family. To laugh with his friends.
“You’re welcome. Now let me buy you a celebratory drink at the Dancing Bowtruckle.”
Once they had their drinks in their hand and were standing at the edge of the bar, they looked around into the not-so-busy club.
After some small talk about work, his boss left, clearly under the false impression that Percy would want to be Minister.
Pondering over everything, Percy felt like going to the bathroom. On his way there, he passed a group of men who were clearly saying some sexist comments, which Percy chose not to hear.
Upon re-entering the dancefloor, he found himself in the middle of the way of a nice-looking girl with short dark hair. Trying to step aside to move out of her way, she kept walking straight at him.
“Hi,” she greeted.
“Hi,” Percy replied.
“I am on a dare; would you mind if I kissed you? I have to kiss one guy, and the other guys here seem, uh, not really my type.”
Percy’s excitement piqued at possibly kissing a girl with the True Love’s Kiss spell and finally finding his true love.
“Because they’re-” Percy started, looking back at the group of men and found himself trying to find a word that didn’t sound really rude, when she said, “perverts.”
“Alright,” Percy nodded, more to her choice of words than to his agreement to kiss her, but then she said, “Good,” and she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
The sensation in his heart did nothing; it was still there, pleasantly buzzing, but not warming his whole heart.
“Do you have other friends who need to kiss a guy?” Percy asked, never asking this kind of question without Felix.
The girl eyed him for a moment and then laughed.
“Follow me,” she said and grabbed Percy by the hand.
They arrived at a table filled with girls who were laughing and talking.
“Audrey?” The girl who just kissed him addressed a very pretty girl with long brown hair and long eyelashes.
“Yes?” Her eyes fell onto Percy and he felt like he knew her.
“I dare you to kiss him,” the girl said.
All the other girls at the table were ooh-oohing and smiling. The girl named Audrey walked over to him and he placed his hand softly behind her neck.
It was fireworks, not only in his body, but in his heart. This was it.
This was his true love. She was here in this world for him. And he was here for her.
Audrey.