Percy waited patiently and attentively through Oliver's Rant Against the Sanctity of Steady Girlfriends - really, it grew in complexity and amusement every time Percy heard it - smirking at the differences in their character on this matter. He would rather have liked a female companion, but as he'd screwed things up with every woman who'd expressed even remote interest in him...
"Business as usual," he replied, tight-lipped at Oliver's last. Oliver was one of the few people who knew how personally devastated Percy was over the fall of the Ministry, which of course also made him one of the few who didn't assume Percy was a blind and ambitious simpleton.
"Steak and kidney pie in the canteen today."
His lunch was all Percy was usually willing to share regarding his work days, and the only time of day, too, he was like to spy Audrey. Thus, a bright spot.