It didn't take Percy long to drain the remaining vodka from his glass. He listened to Ginny with the simmering patience borne from knowing he was right and that overcoming this rift between him and the twins would be a miracle in and of itself.
At the same time, Ginny's confident tone gave Percy a spark of hope that maybe, just maybe things could be fixed between them.
"I'm not groveling," he muttered.
Talking about the War was old history for Percy, but more recent for Ginny - Percy realized this when he spoke. "We were in the middle of a battle. Of course the Death Eater was directly at fault. But if I hadn't distracted Fred at that exact moment... maybe he would've been able to evade." His frown became deeper. "George wrote and told me himself that he blamed me. What were his words? Something to the effect that the family got me instead of getting to keep Fred. That I was the rotten part of the bargain. Sure, George said he forgave me, but I'm sure the resentment is still there."
He lifted his glass to his mouth for another drink, then realized it was empty, so he hoisted himself off the sofa for a refill. "You don't even know what I went through when I was separated from the family."