InsaneJournal

The surge of emotions was strong in him; he felt a mix of guilt, anxiety and worry at potentially making his father wait for him, yet again.  He'd had to cancel for the previous evening as he'd been dumped with a ton of paperwork that was expected to be completed by Friday, today.  He'd stayed late, after having owled his dad a small note and then had worked long into the night, only to return at the crack of dawn.  He hoped Arthur would understand; his dad used to be a Ministry man himself and knew about last minute things.  Percy could remember many a time that his dad was dragged out of bad to go fetch some Muggle item that had been hexed to reek havoc on unsuspecting Muggles.  Percy had not been allowed to accompany his dad on those recalled excursions; Percy could only remember the pride he'd felt at the time for his father and his diligence to his job.  Arthur had always been Percy's role model, with one's nose to the grind stone, so to speak.  And it had made it all the more harder when they'd split; Percy had always respected and treasured his dad's opinion and advice.   To be told that he was a pawn, just a lackey to be manipulated and used by the current administration had been almost too hard to bear; it had been harsh enough to certainly drive Percy away in a snit.

And keep him away.

Percy apparated on the outskirts of Hogsmeade's  from a spot outside of the Ministry; after landing, he hurried towards the center of the village, certain that he'd spot the shop his brothers had opened there.  He caught sight of it almost immediately and began to slow his feet slightly, looking about for an older red headed version of them all, his dad.  He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say; the rehearsed words had changed more times than he'd admit openly, and with his slight fatigue, the versions were starting to tumble together in his head.  He knew he was going to apologize.  He knew he was going to admit to being a git.  Other than that, he wasn't quite sure what else he'd say.