Disclaimer: Don't own.

Written pre. HBP, so nothing after OOTP counts in this universe.

I have reworked, and rewritten some of this story. Percy's Pain has always been one of my favourite fan fictions, which out of all that I have written in my day, and the sheer number I have immensely enjoyed (completed or not), is a feat. I decided, quite simply, that it needed some work to be even better. To those who have read before, not too much has changed from the original story, the essence is the same, some chapters haven't changed at all. But I can now say, for myself, that this story is now complete.

To my many faithful reviewers, who followed this story when it was first written, please know I truly appreciated your words, and was sorry to lose them. However, reposting from nothing seemed the right thing to do. You don't have to review again, but if you did, I'd love you all over again.

In warning, for anyone new, this story is about homosexuality, and the affect it can have both on the person who discovers they are gay, and those around them. It looks into homophobia, bullying/harassment, and family. There is also a light romance (of the homosexual variety), but it is very tasteful, as I am not the kind to write full out smut/sex scenes. Besides, romance is far more important to the story, so that is what is here.

Now that you have been warned, please go forth and enjoy. And please review.

PERCY'S PAIN

Chapter 1

Bill,

I know I'm the last person you ever want to hear from; I'm the last person anyone wants to hear from. But I'm not writing because of that, I'm writing because…

Remember the year I started Hogwarts and you told me to owl you if I ever had a problem? Does the offer still stand after everything I've done? Because I believe I may have a problem.

Percy

Bill,

Ignore that last letter; it was a momentary lapse in judgement. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Percy

Bill looked at both letters, Percy had once written to him, in second year, asking what to do about a bully in school, his letter formed in much the same way as the first he had received. Almost conversational, in the awkward way of Percy. But it was the second letter that concerned Bill, it translated, basically, into 'I really need your help but I don't want to be a bother'.

He had received a similar one to this when Percy had been in fourth year and being bullied again. Bill had made the mistake of disregarding his feelings that time and it had ended up with Percy in the school hospital wing, as he had found out from the twins, who Percy had made promise not to tell their parents. He was not about to do so again, no matter how angry he was with what Percy had put them all through in the summer before Ron's fifth year, and all subsequent years.

With great purpose he looked over the letters again, he didn't know where Percy lived now, but if he concentrated enough maybe he could reach him. So he concentrated, apparated and hoped.

He found himself in a cramped room, with an old worn sofa to one side, a desk with a leg missing, propped up by old books, a threadbare blanket was crumpled on the ground over a thin pillow, obviously, someone slept in here. Convinced he was in the wrong place Bill paused, perplexed, before raising his wand.

He was about to apparate out when there was a shuffle behind him and a soft gasp. He turned and his eyes widened in shock.

"Percy?" he managed.

Percy regarded him with warily, an almost frightened look in his eyes. His arms were wrapped around his chest, showing just how thin he was, his robes hung off him, his glasses sat awkwardly on his nose.

"You… You…" was all Percy managed to get out, but Bill understood.

"Of course I came Percy." He stepped forward to his brother, Percy's face crumpled, and Bill could see the tears in his eyes. He pulled his little brother into a hug, absolutely shocked at this pitiful version of his normally so collected and reserved brother. "Shh…" he mumbled softly. "Shh… its ok."

Percy broke into quiet, raging sobs, causing what felt like spasms course through his body. "Shh." Bill whispered, stroking his brother's fiery hair softly, feeling his heart break as Percy cried.

"Why did you…" Percy pulled away suddenly, rubbing one hand over his eyes, turning away, trying to tidy up the room; he lifted the blanket and began folding and refolding it.

Bill watched him, his heart clenching. "I made the mistake of ignoring my feelings before and you ended up in the infirmary at school. I wasn't about to do it again."

"But after what I did… what I am…" Percy closed his eyes tightly, swaying on his feet; he fell back onto the seat, that groaned loudly and buried his face in the blanket, though he didn't cry again it was obviously a near thing.

Bill settled himself on the seat, pulling Percy to him again. "Percy, no matter what you did I am not about to let something happen to you that I could prevent."

Finally, Percy calmed down again and got to his feet, picking up the grimy pillow and putting it where he had been sitting. "Would you like some tea… some biscuits? I… I bought them in case… in case you came… do you?" His tone was faintly pleading, desperate.

"All right Percy." Bill nodded, biting his lip as he watched Percy shuffle into the kitchen. He shuffled out ten minutes later with a little pot, the handle broken and two chipped cups and a little plate of biscuits on a tray, he set the tray down on the desk and poured the tea, he carried it over to Bill, his hands shaking slightly. Bill accepted the cup with a worried smile.

"I… I…" Percy struggled to say something. "I'll get the milk." He whispered dashing back into the kitchen; he came out after a while with a little plastic bottle of milk and handed it to Bill before he got himself a cup of tea.

They sat in silence, Bill stoutly refused to let on that he noticed that the milk was a bit sour and the biscuits stale; but it infused his worry for Percy more. Finally, he put the cup down and waited for his brother to look at him. When he didn't Bill plunged right in.

"Percy, what happened to you?"

Percy bit his lip hard. "I… I don't know what you're talking about." He whispered, cringing slightly.

"Percy, the flat? That fact that you're thin enough to be a stick. Perce, what happened, tell me, why did you write to me?" Bill said in his gentlest tone, afraid of scaring Percy.

Percy blinked and looked up, despair shining in his eyes. "I'm sorry Bill." He mumbled. "I should never have written to you. I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you did!" Bill exclaimed, he got to his feet and paced for a moment, Percy watched him with wide vulnerable eyes. Bill stopped, taking in Percy's appearance and his mind was made up. "Perce, you're coming home with me."

"What-?" a flicker of hope flitted through his eyes before they darkened again. "I… I can't… work." He mumbled his tone desperately sad.

"No Percy, write in and say you won't be going, you are coming home with me and that's final." Bill said, wondering at the look of fear that passed through Percy's face. "Perce, Percy, what's the matter?"

"I can't Bill… I…I can't…"

Bill frowned. "Then I'll write in, I'm sure you're due about four years worth of holidays anyway."

"No!" Percy cried. "No… I'll write."

"Ok Percy, but do it quickly, where's Hermes?" Bill glanced round, realising suddenly that he had not noticed the owl.

"I sold him." Percy mumbled almost inaudibly.

"You sold your owl? Why Percy?" Bill asked, shocked, Hermes had been Percy's pride and joy from the moment he got it.

"I had to."

Bill looked around again, and it dawned on him. "Oh… Come on Perce, you can write at my house and send it with Banquo." He caught Percy's hand and pulled him towards the fireplace. "I assume it's connected?"

Percy nodded meekly.

Bill nodded. "Well that's something," he picked up a bit of floo powder and gave it to Percy. "Just say William Weasley's residence, ok?"

Percy nodded and stepped into the fireplace, said the words softly and disappeared. Bill followed quickly to find Percy staring dismally at the soot stain he had made on the floor. "Its ok Perce, we'll clean it later, go write that letter, the paper and Banquo are in the next room."

Percy shuffled through to the write the letter, Bill slipped quickly over to start the water boiling slowly; he would make something to eat after he made sure Percy had written a letter that said he wouldn't be back for possibly a month, or until Bill deemed him ready to go home.

Bill walked up behind Percy, frowning when he noticed how his shoulders stiffened and his writing stilled.

"You ok Perce?" Bill asked; he was beginning to sound repetitive.

Percy took a deep breath and nodded before continuing to write. Bill read the letter as it was written, as he had foreseen Percy had put, 'a few days', instead of indefinitely, Bill took the quill and corrected it. Percy looked up, confused.

"You're staying here until I'm sure your ok Percy, and I don't know how long that will be."

"But…"

"But nothing Perce, now sign it and we'll get it sent and we'll get some proper food into you."

Percy signed and watched with a half worried, half-terrified expression as Bill tied it to Banquo and sent the owl off.

Bill lead him back to the kitchen, and sat him down and place a steaming cup of tea in front of him. "Ok, what would you like?"

Percy watched Bill make something to eat, he wasn't sure what exactly, but anything had to better than stale biscuits. Percy looked at the cooling cup of untouched tea in front of him, feeling tears well up in his eyes again, he cursed himself for a fool, Bill would hate him even worse if he kept bursting into tears.

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and fought them, his shoulders shaking with the effort. He felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder and he looked up, startled.

"Percy, if you need to cry, you need to cry, stop holding it in."

Percy sniffled a bit before giving in, throwing his arms tightly round Bill's waist and crying again. Bill manoeuvred himself onto the bench and once again held his brother, stroking his hair softly.

"Percy, what happened?" he whispered.

Percy mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?" Bill asked.

Percy shook his head into Bill's shoulder. After a moment he looked up, his face tear stained. "Thank you." He said.

"No problem Perce, no problem."

xxx

Getting Percy to talk about what happened to him was like getting blood from a stone; Bill just couldn't make sense of it, obviously something very bad had happened. he had no money, or at least none that he made any use of. He hadn't been eating right; he was totally exhausted, he had slept most of the three days away, had thrown up whatever food Bill managed to get into him, and got upset at the strangest times and over the strangest things.

Bill needed to know what had happened before he could even begin to think of how to help Percy. He was startled out his thoughts by a very ruffled looking Banquo. He stroked the owl's feathers as he undid the message. It was for Percy.

"Percy!" Bill called softly to his brother, who had curled himself up on the sofa, reading one of Bills books, after having asked permission. That was another thing that bothered Bill, Percy always asked could he do things before doing them, his eyes always lowered, very, very submissive. "A letter."

Percy swallowed hard and accepted the letter, opening it slowly, as if afraid of its contents. As he read his hands shook more and more until the letter finally fell from his hands, he was near tears again. Bill picked up the letter and read it slowly.

Weasley,

I do not recall approving a request for time off. You know very well that all vacation time must be scheduled a month in advance. I would strongly suggest that you return to the office immediately.

Just remember Weasley, a word in the right ear can make or break your career.

"Percy, who sent this?" Bill asked, not liking the thinly veiled threat in the written words.

Percy looked down.

"Percy!" Bill said, louder, his anger showing. "Who sent this?"

"F… F…"

"Fudge?" Bill asked, his tone hard, covering his shock.

Percy nodded, becoming anxious.

"Why would he send you a letter like this? What does her mean 'a word in the right ear'? What is this about?" he waved the letter around for a moment. "Why is he threatening you? Yes Percy--" he said before Percy could even think to deny it. "It's a threat, you couldn't prove it, but it's a threat. What the hell is this? He didn't approve vacation time? I know for a fact that you haven't taken a day off from work in years, you wouldn't unless you were made to, and he's denying you time off?"

Percy began to shake all over, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to suppress the tears. "He… he sent it be… because I… I… I'm… I owe him for letting me work at all! I should be there!" he jerked out of his seat and was almost at the fireplace before Bill had the presence of mind to stop him.

"Perce, what do you mean you owe him for letting you work, what is it?"

"I… I…" he couldn't get it out.

"You're what Percy?"

Percy took a deep breath, jerking away from Bills grasp and said in a bitter and cutting mutter. "I'm Gay!" then he realised what he had said, his eyes went wide and he began to tremble.

Bill started at him in shock for a moment before having the presence of mind to go to Percy, envelop him in a warm hug and reassure him. "That's it Percy? You're gay? Is that why you've been so closed off with me?" he pulled back to see Percy's shocked face. "There's nothing wrong with being gay Percy, nothing at all, I'm not going to hate you for it."

Percy looked at him, hope again in his eyes. "Really?" he whispered.

"Really."

Percy buried his head into Bills shoulder again, his trembling subsiding a bit.

Bill held him until he remembered the letter; he pulled away again, pushing Percy gently back to the chair. "Is that the secret Fudge knows? Is that what you're so scared of? He can't break your career just by telling people your gay you know" he said gently.

Percy wrapped his arms around himself, looking away.

"Percy," Bill realised it was something more then, even Percy wouldn't be so rundown and exhausted, so ashamed, if it was just about his career. "I need to know, what has he been doing to you? Did he dock your pay or something? Is that why you're so thin and living in that place? What happened?"

"He found out." Percy whispered softly, causing Bill to lean in to hear what he had to say. "I… I don't know how… he called me into his office and told me… he told me that… that m… my kind weren't welcome… that I should be… thrown onto the street like the… like the dog I was… but he said he would keep me on, he said I was lucky because nowhere else would take me, not after… not after finding out what I was…" Percy began to sob again. "If I… if I was ever sick or anything… he wouldn't let me take it off, told me I had to work to make up for being what I was…"

"What?" Bill asked, bewildered.

"I didn't believe him… not at first. But then… then… I tried to ignore it, but he didn't stop… and then some others in the office started. And everything just went wrong… I don't know how! It just did… and then he said he'd tell--" he cut himself off here, visibly flinching from the thought of who Fudge would mention him to. "It just didn't matter after that… I couldn't eat anymore, couldn't sleep. I just… just…and I couldn't let him tell, I couldn't! But he didn't care, no matter what I did, how long I worked… it just wasn't good enough… and I… I…" he collapsed completely into tears and couldn't go on.

Bill held him until he fell asleep from exhaustion, his heart raging within him, how could anyone take advantage of someone like that? He carried Percy to bed, and sat beside him, now at least he knew some of what was wrong, he could attempt to deal with it. Percy began to toss and turn restlessly after a while; Bill stroked his forehead and tried to calm him.

He wanted nothing more than to go to the ministry, find Fudge and punch his lights out, but he couldn't do that without leaving Percy, and Percy needed him, needed him to show him that he wasn't hated for being gay, needed him to just be there.

Bill debated telling anyone else, he would need someone to watch Percy if he had to leave suddenly, he went through the possibilities. Mum? no, she would smother him, dad? No, they never did really get along; the twins Ron and Ginny were defiantly out, which left Charlie. Charlie would understand once it had been explained to him.

Bill looked at his brother and sighed. How could things have gotten so out of hand?