Friends
Percy is sitting at home when a brick flies through his window.
He’s not expecting it, obviously. He’s sitting at his tiny kitchen table looking over some paperwork that Kingsley had sent over- he was due back to work on Monday and he needs to prepare.
He’s elbow deep into reading the new broomstick regulations when there’s a resounding CRASH. Glass shatters and he instinctively ducks, throwing himself from his chair and under the table. He grips his wand tightly, ready to start firing off spells, but nothing else happens. That was it.
Heart racing, he pulls himself off the floor. The small window above his kitchen sink is shattered, and laying on the table is a red brick. Percy picks up the brick, examining it. There’s no writing on it, no charms or jinxes as far as he can tell. He peers out the window. There’s no one he can see in the small courtyard adjacent to the window.
Maybe it was just some dumb kids. No matter. Percy fixes his window with a careless wave of his wand, and it’s like nothing has happened in the first place. He places the brick on the counter. There's a knock at his door. He goes to open it.
“Penelope?” he asks. Penny is standing in the doorway, a sad little smile on her face.
“Hey Perce.” She says, her voice croaking.
“What’s the matter? Come in.” He ushers her inside this tiny flat. Her eyes are looking a little red.
“Sorry for bothering you- I know it’s-,”
‘It’s not a bother. Sit down. Tea?”
She nods, so he goes off to the kitchen to put the kettle on. He finds some teabags and makes her cup extra milky. When he returns, she’s sitting on the couch.
“Steven and I broke up.”
Percy freezes, halfway on the couch. Penelope had been dating someone? Someone named Steven?
“I-, er,”
Penelope waves a careless hand.
“He’s this guy- a muggle. We, ah, started seeing each other a few weeks after we stopped talking. He basically just dumped me.”
Percy immediately feels a rush of shame wash through him. He and Penny hadn’t talked for nearly six months because of Audrey. He hadn’t even known she’d been seeing anyone. What’s worse is that she had STILL been seeing him up until now. Even after they’d reconciled.
“Penny, why didn’t you say anything?”
She sniffs, taking the tea from Percy.
“You had other stuff going on.”
“So did you!” Percy points out, feeling upset. Had he been that much of a burden- that much of a terrible friend that he’d neglected her? Her words should’ve been comforting. But there was something in the way she said it—like she was trying too hard to convince herself that it was okay. It didn’t feel okay to Percy. Not when the weight of the months they’d lost hung between them like a shadow.
Penelope shakes her head, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips despite the tears threatening to spill. "No, it's not that. You were... well, you were... with Audrey." She hesitates for a moment, her voice softening. "I didn't want to add to the weight you were carrying."
“I’m sorry,” Percy says, his voice quiet. “It wasn’t just about me, Penny. It was about us. I was too wrapped up in everything else to even notice I was—” He swallows hard, “I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
She doesn’t immediately answer, her eyes on the cup of tea, fingers tracing the edge. When she does finally look up at him, her eyes are steady, but there’s a trace of something hidden deep behind them.
"It’s not just about you, Percy,” she says. “It’s about me too.”
Percy’s stomach clenches. “I don’t understand,” he admits, setting his tea down. “What do you mean?”
Penelope’s expression softens, but the sadness in her gaze is sharp. “I mean... I didn’t say anything because I thought you were already too... busy. Too focused on your own life to deal with mine.” She pauses, swallowing before continuing.
“You were with Audrey. And I get it. You were in love. But I was sitting here, in the background, waiting for you to see that I was still here.”
Percy’s chest tightens. “I—Penny, I never meant to—”
She holds up a hand, stopping him. “I know you didn’t. But that doesn’t change the fact that I felt like an afterthought. That’s how it felt, Percy. Like when things got tough, you turned away from everything that wasn’t her.”
Percy flinches, the words cutting. It isn’t the first time he’d suspected something like that, but hearing it from Penny—the person who had always been there for him—made it hit differently.
“I’m sorry,” he says again, more urgently this time, his voice low. “I wasn’t thinking. I should have—”
“No,” she cuts him off. “I’m not asking for apologies. I’m asking for you to actually show up. Not just when it’s convenient, not just when you feel like it. You can’t keep acting like I’m second place to... everything else. And you can’t keep hiding behind excuses. From yourself or from Audrey. I know it wasn’t your fault, but it just… it hurt.”
There was a beat of silence, and Percy stared at her, unsure how to respond. His mouth felt dry, and he suddenly wished he could make the words right, but they kept getting caught in his throat.
Penelope took a deep breath, and her voice softened. “Look, I just -, I need to know that I matter, too. I’ve been here for you all these years, Perce. I just need you to show up. For me. Not because you feel guilty or because it’s easy. But because you want to.”
Percy’s heart pounded, his mind racing. He had never realized just how much he had shut down in the face of everything with Audrey, how much he’d let slip away without even realizing it. And now, sitting across from him, was the person who had always been there for him—his oldest, closest friend—and he had almost let her slip through his fingers too.
“I do want to, Penny,” Percy says finally, the words feeling raw, “I want to be there for you. I want to fix this. I... I’ve just been so tied up with everything else, I didn’t realize how much I’ve been ignoring you. I’m not proud of that.”
Her eyes search his face as if trying to gauge whether he was telling the truth. And then, slowly, she nods, as though coming to some silent agreement with herself. “Okay.”
Percy feels a rush of relief.
“I won’t make excuses anymore,” he promises, his voice steady. “I’m here. For you.”
Penelope’s lips quirk up in a small smile. “I think I can work with that.”
“Steven, huh?”
She nods, pursing her lips. “Steven. He’s a muggle. Owns a coffee shop.”
There’s a brief silence between them. He leans back against the couch, allowing the quiet to settle, only the sound of the kettle in the kitchen breaking the stillness.
After a few moments, Penelope speaks again. “I’m sorry for showing up like this, Percy. I didn’t mean to dump all this on you.”
Percy turns to her. “You never have to apologize for needing a friend, Penny. You’re not a burden.” And he really, really means it.
“Thanks, Perce. I really needed to hear that.”
Maybe they can rebuild this friendship, piece by piece. And maybe, just maybe, he can start being the friend she deserves.
“So. Tell me about Steven. Was he an idiot?”
Penny smiles genuinely for the first time. “Yeah. He was.”
It’s not perfect, and it’s not easy, but it feels like a step forward.
And for now, that’s enough.