He'd had his confidence boosted, somewhat, when he'd spoken with Susan, but Percy was still nervous as he walked into the 'Sticks. Part of it, he supposed was the MacDougals. The other was what he wanted to discuss with Penny. Something told him it wasn't going to go well.

"Is Penny about," he asked the man behind the bar. Percy didn't know which MacDougal it was, but was happy it wasn't Brody.

"Mayhap," Duff answered suspiciously. He knew exactly who was speaking to him.

"Dinna be an arse," Cullen snapped. He looked at Percy. "Aye. She's here. I'll fetch her. Or would ya rather speak away from the crowd? Our Nana has a sittin' room upstairs. I suspect Pen is readin' there. She does tha' a lot. 'Specially this time of day."

"Aye she's there," Shannon replied. "Wit Nana and Kirsty and wee Andrew. Follow me, Weasley."

She set an tray of drinks down at a nearby table for the gents there and tossed a look at Percy over her shoulder to see if he would follow.

Percy nodded to the more polite and less hostile man. "Thank you. I believe the sitting room would be preferable." He followed the woman to the back and up a set of stairs. He had to walk quickly to keep up with her. Nerves flitted in his stomach, and he cleared his throat nervously when she stopped in front of a door.

"This is it then?"

"No," Shannon replied, smirking. "I've led ya astray. Tis m'bedroom and I play to have m'wicked way wit ya."

Percy fought the color he could feel rising in his cheeks. He stammered a moment, then pushed his glasses up his nose, quite firmly.

"Somehow, I feel that I might not survive the experience, madam."

"I think ya would. I've a soft touch. I'm the MacDougal tha's goin' to be a healer, ya know."

Shannon opened the door and grinned at her sister and her grandmother.

"Penny has a visitor."

Kirsty was bouncing her infant son on her knee while Nana read a book, her knitting charm going strong next to her. Penelope's looked up from her own book, eyes going wide.

"I think perhaps my wee Andrew needs a change," Kirsty said, beating a hasty exit.

"Thank you, Shannon," Nana replied. "Do come in, boy. Let's have a look at ya. Havna seen ya up close since ya were a wee one. Come on then. Dinna be shy. I dinna bite... hard."

Shannon grinned at Percy. "Good luck wit tha' then."

"You've been nothing but helpful," Percy replied dryly before turning to Penny and the older woman.

"Your memory must be sharper than mine, as I don't quite recall the occurrence," Percy said, moving a little closer in. "Good evening to you, and you, Penelope." He tried not to fidget under the look the MacDougal Matriarch was giving him.

Nessa MacDougal knew she was making the young man nervous. That was good. She liked a proper amount of fear in a man.

"Aye, my memory is quite sharp, laddie. Ya were in nappies still. I suppose ya want a private audience wit Penny, here. I'll oblige iffen Penny is agreeable."

Penelope was horrified by this. "Of course I am I-"

"I can smell yer fear, though. Tha's good. Remember tha' I'm spry wit my wand still."

Penelope put a hand to her eyes as Nana gathered her things to leave.

"I like th' look of ya, laddie. Smart. Sharp. Keep yer wits to ya and dinna upset Penny."

Penelope breathed out when she left. "I'm so terribly sorry. They're all like that, I am afraid. Very protective. Thank the stars Mac isn't about. She might have punched you for good measure. I've never met anyone who liked to hit people more than she."

She was nervous and rambling.

Percy smiled wanly. "I was treated rather well, all accounting. I'm glad Brody wasn't about. The man looks as if he'd skin me alive and dance on my bones, given the chance. But that's neither here nor there."

He sat across from Penny, not quite on the edge of the seat. His palms were sweating. He should be this nervous. Penny was quick with her wand. He hoped it wouldn't resort to that.

"How are you, Penny? I've been remiss in correspondence, I'm afraid." Because you're a coward.

"Tired, but well. Brody wouldn't harm you. He's really quite gentle. He, Cullen and Shannon are actually the most peaceable of the MacDougals. It's Mac, Duff and Nana you need to watch for. What of you then? Still working in the archives?"

She obviously hadn't seen the way Brody MacDougal looked at Percy Weasley. Ever.

"Slaving is more like," he shrugged. "I like it well enough. I'm hoping to hire more help, but the funding just isn't there. The Minister seems to have her eyes elsewhere." Percy pushed his glasses up his nose and pushed his hands to his lap so he wouldn't fiddle with the stray bit of hair that had fallen out of its queue.

"IwantJackforthesummer." It all came out in a rush, and completely bypassed the careful speech he'd prepared.

Penelope blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Damnit." He swore under his breath. "I'm absolute pants at this parenting deal, Penny. I'm not you, and I'm not my father. I want a chance though, and weekends aren't going to do it. I wanted to talk to you before I spoke to Jack. I'd like him to stay with me for the summer."

"The whole summer?"

She felt panicked. She'd never been away from Jack for that long. Penelope liked knowing where he was, knowing she could walk into another room and see him when she wanted. Sure, Percy was his father, but she had done the work.

It was uncharitable for her to think this way. Percy had his reasons.

Still, a part of her was wanting to stand up and point a finger and shout at him that where was he when she was changing nappies and fussing through colds and skinned knees and working multiple jobs to feed their son.

That ever nagging guilt ate at him. He moved from his chair to in front of Penny.

"Yes. I'll understand if you say no, Pen, but I won't like it, and I'll fight it if I have to. I need to be there, to at least try before resigning myself to let the MacDougals raise my son."

"I'm not going to say no, but you can't have him the whole summer. Summer is always our time."

She got up and walked to the window to look out.

"I am very angry with you, you know. I feel like I did most of the work and now you want to share in the benefits, but I would never deny you Jack, Percy. Know that. But if you do not want to, as you say, resign yourself to MacDougals having a hand in his upbringing, then you have to speak up. You have to stand up, man up."

She turned to look at him.

"You have it in you to be just as great a father as Arthur, but you do have to try. Arthur isn't perfect, so you can't go into this like you do most everything else, expecting it to be flawless. Parenting is messy, Perce. It's trial and error, and it is never-ending."

"You did do most of the work. You still do. I know that. I don't deny that. What do you think I'm doing? I'm trying, trying to do the right thing here, Penny. I'm trying to be a father. I can't do that if I'm not around my kid. I can't do that if you're hovering waiting to see how I'm going to handle it and tsking when I don't do it the way you do. I'm not perfect."

He took a breath to try and keep his voice down. He wasn't here to argue.

"I no longer expect that of myself, seeing as I grew up. I don't expect it of others. Especially not from a child."

"Hovering? Tsking?" Penelope gave him a look that was pretty much the calm before the storm.

She reigned herself in though. Percy was one of the few people who knew how her temper was when riled.

"I wasn't speaking of Jack being perfect. You'll find out his quirks soon enough. Especially if his best mate is anywhere near him. She's pretty much a devil in braids. I was talking about you. You're going to make many more mistakes as a father."

Penelope sighed.

"We have plans the weekend of Hannah Abbott's wedding. Jack's carrying the rings for her, and I promised him a bit of the beach after. As I said, summer is our time, so that weekend, he is with me. I am fairly certain he will be agreeable, but on the off chance Jack is not, you aren't taking him. He also had plans to visit your mum and dad for a week and also to visit Fred and Katie for a spell. That will have to be worked around."

She felt like she was ordering him about, but his request was rather last minute, and some plans had already been made at this juncture.

"I was thinking the Italian coast so he could learn the Weasley way to pick up women, but I'm sure we can work around it, " Percy said, sarcasm slipping out. At the look Penny gave him, his eyebrow rose.

"I'm joshing. Of course, I don't want him to miss out on anything. I just want primary care for a while. See how it works. Maybe have some kind of point of view."

"Please stop acting like I am trying to freeze you out. Did I say no? I did not. I am just lying down some conditions. I would think you of all people would understand that. You're the one that decided seven years ago that we'd be better off without you. Well, we weren't. So please stop treating me like I am some horrible harpie who doesn't allow you a say in things. You chose, and it wasn't me."

He blinked, and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he shut it firmly.

"It was always you I chose. I'm sorry if you think different." He was making a mess. This was not how he'd envisioned this going. "Please let me know what you've planned with Jackson, and when I may speak to him about this summer. If he doesn't want to go, then I'll not press."

"I'll go get him right now," Penelope said in a defeated tone.

She was tired, getting a headache, and this whole conversation was making her want to cry.

"Your actions say I was not who you wanted, Percy. You left me no hope. I stayed solitary for so long. I didn't like being by myself anymore," she said, voice cracking. "I wanted help. I spent six years alone and terrified. They killed April, I thought they'd killed you, and what would they do to Jack because he was a Weasley? I was tired of hoping it was just some horrible nightmare and I'd wake."

She moved quickly to fetch Jack before the tears started in earnest and she became splotchy and snotty and unable to form proper sentences.

He managed to tug on her hand before she could reach the door. He pulled Penny to him before she could protest, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Penny Lane." It hurt him to see her so hurt, and knowing that he was the cause.

Penelope just let him hold her a moment. She suspended time and pretended it was different, it was the past. There would always be a part of her that would belong to Percy. There were things she had shared with him that she could never share with anyone else.

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Thank you. I'll just go fetch your boy."

Penelope gave his chest a friendly pat.

"Our boy."

She smiled at him before going to get Jack. Penny would go to Nana's room and wait it out while Jack talked with his father.

Jack stuck his head in the sitting room. Heather tried to follow, but Penelope grabbed her and steered her off.

"I just wanted to SEE him."


Jack entered the room warily. His mum had been crying. He could tell these things, but he wasn't going to ask about it. He didn't know if he should.

"Yes, sir?"

Percy rubbed the bridge of his nose and sat down on the nearest chair. Hard.

"There's no need to sir me, Jack," he began. "I was wondering if you'd like to spend the summer with me. In London."

"Mum doesn't want me here?"

"Oh, good Merlin, yes, your mother wants you. The thing is, even though I've done a shoddy job of it, I want you with me, too," Percy said, eyes going wide.

"Oh. All right then. Do I still get to be in Hannah's wedding? What about the beach? Uncle Fred said I could visit. What about Grandmum and Grandpa? Grandpa was going to take me flying in the car. What about Heather? If I stay with you, can she visit? I'll make her promise not to hit anyone."

"Of course. It would all be the same, you'd just be with me more. If you want. I won't be hurt if you say no." That was a lie of course, but he wouldn't use guilt.

"Well, no. I mean, it's only fair you get a turn too. I can bring Georgie? Mac got me a new tank for him. She and Neville are moving out. Especially after Daphne had nightmares. She and Uncle Charlie had a fight. Daphne cried a lot. Then this man who's friends with Astoria, Daphne's sister, took Daphne away. Duff said he was Russian and funny. Well, he said queer, but I didn't notice anything odd about him."

How was it that he got more of the family gossip from a seven year old than anyone else?

"You'll have to tell me all about it, soon. I'll let your mum have a bit more time before it's just we men, yes?" Percy said, standing and rubbing a fond hand over Jack's head. It might give Penny a bit more time to adjust to the idea, and think about it some.


"All right. I expect an owl first," Jack said with some authority.

"Yes, sir."


SUMMARY: Percy asks Penny for Jack for the summer, and makes a bit of a mess of it.