Freedom Isn't Always a Good Idea

Freedom Isn't Always a Good Idea

"I, Percy Ignatius Weasley, hereby declare myself Minister of Magic for hereon out. I will be your boss and you will listen to me under all circumstances. I will-" Percy was standing in front of his mirror, making sure his robes were perfect and his hair was combed just right. He was also getting a bit carried away with his imagination before George walked in, once again forgetting to knock.

"You'll what?" George asked, looking amused. "Use too big of words in context that makes no sense in attempt to confuse us all?"

"You will leave!" he shouted, point to the door. "I don't enjoy being disrespected by my fellow classmates, let alone my own brother, Fred."

"Oh, is that so? I don't really like it when my own brother can't even remember my name!" he cried, slamming the door behind him.

Percy sighed. Another day of his brothers fooling around. Couldn't they understand that he was a very important person to the Wizarding world? Of course not, who really gave a damn about Percy Ignatius Weasley? Not his family, that was for sure. Not anyone, for that matter. To the students at Hogwarts he was just some prat that cared far too much about his marks. But they didn't know who the real Percy was. The real Percy was intelligent, wise, kind, generous, and could hold a decent argument about wizard politics if given the chance.

The real Percy was sixteen years old, single, boring as hell, enjoyed learning, and hadn't even had the chance to be an intern at the Ministry of Magic. His letter had been declined again, so he had to spend his summer with his family. The horror of it all! His brothers didn't even enjoy his company, why would he want to spend an entire summer with them? It was then that he had the bright idea to propose an opportunity his parents couldn't refuse.

***

"So you want to go to London? For the whole summer?" Arthur Weasley asked his son.

"That's correct, father. I would like to obtain the knowledge of what it's like to be on my own. It'll be a learning experience," Percy explained, showing them the charts he had made.

"That's sounds lovely, dear, but we can't afford something like that," Molly Weasley told him sadly.

"Don't worry, mother. I've already spoken with Dumbledore and he's agreed to pay if I tutor next year," Percy told them, grinning. "I've gotten it all planned out."

"Arthur?" Molly asked him. When he nodded his head, Percy grinned again.

"This is just the thing I need!" he cried, shaking his parents' hands in thanks. "I've already packed, and I leave tomorrow evening."

"Oh, this is so wonderful!" Molly cried. "I'll prepare a feast for you!"

***

Percy Ignatius Weasley stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, breathing in the fine air of freedom, although it smelt of old rags, liquor, and body odour more than freedom. No matter, perhaps that's what freedom really smelt like. He joyfully went up to his room and set his trunk beside his bed. He pulled out his wand and neatly arranged his clothes into the wardrobe. He studied the room and sat on his bed. What was he to do now?

He walked down to the bar and ordered a drink. He always did enjoy the taste of butterbeer. He sipped his butterbeer and realised that something wasn't quite right. It didn't feel like freedom. He then decided to order a Firewhiskey on a whim. As he took his first gulp, he coughed uncontrollably. Maybe going on a whim wasn't such a good idea. He set the mug down and continued to drink his butterbeer.

He glanced around the room, full of shady and mysterious people playing cards and drinking their alcoholic beverages. Was this freedom? He decided to walk over to one of the men and play cards.

"Twenty galleons a round, boy," he growled, scratching his beard.

"That's awfully unreasonable, sir," Percy tried to tell him.

"Is tha' righ'?" the man asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "How'd you figure?"

"Well, first off, your grammar doesn't even meet the lowest of standards. May I suggest you get a tutor? It'd do wonders for such ignorance. Secondly, it's a simple, fun game of cards. Why put a price on a friendly game between friends?" he asked, grinning.

The man glared and nodded. "I see whatcha mean," he answered. "Have you ever been punched before?"

"Well, no, that's highly unprofessional. See, I'm going to be Minister of-" But Percy couldn't tell the man what he was going to be, for the man had punched him. "That's so very rude, sir. I demand an apology!"

The man grunted and stormed out of the pub, yelling as he went. He must be in a bad mood, Percy told himself.

He stood up and glanced around. Perhaps he needed some fresh air. He walked out of the pub happily, walking down the streets of London. He saw a river and walked over to it. He could see ducks swimming around, though he didn't know what they were. He leaned over the rail to get a better look when he fell straight into the water. Gasping for breath, he splashed around, screaming for help. He didn't know how to swim, and that was definitely a bad thing not to know how to do in water. The water carried him away to the other side, where he quickly Apparated back to the right side of London. He was soaking wet, lost his hat, and couldn't remember for the life of him what those darned birds were called. To say the least, he was a bit unhappy with how his first night was going. But Percy was optimistic; he'd find something good out of every situation.

He walked around some more, and while he was reading a lit-up sign, he bumped into a woman. Or...so he thought.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, miss," he told the "woman."

"That's alright," the "woman" answered with a deep voice.

Something was awfully strange about this woman, but Percy couldn't quite place it. "My, you have a deep voice," he commented.

"I would bloody well think so," she answered. "I am a man."

Percy paled. "But why then are you wearing woman's clothing?" he asked.

As the...man tried to explain to Percy the art of cross-dressing, Percy became quite horrified at the thought. He definitely wasn't in Ottery St. Catchpole anymore. He kindly thanked the man for teaching him such a lesson and went on his way. He decided he had too much fun for one night, and went up to his room. As he slipped into his nice, warm covers, he noticed something crawling on the floor. It was a spider. Percy screamed like a little girl and jumped on the table. And that was where he remained for the rest of the night. Percy left the next morning to go back to the Burrow. He had learned something, which was what he wanted. Percy Ignatius Weasley was never going to London alone ever again.