Later that morning, Percy was graced by a visit from the Minister himself. It wasn't all that unusual for Mr. Shacklebolt to run his own errands on occasion, though he didn't have time to stop and chat much. Percy was never sure if he was impressed at the man's determination to keep tabs on his organization or uncomfortable with the attention.
"Good morning," Mr. Shacklebolt said, letting himself in after two brief knocks.
"Hello, Minister," Percy replied, standing up hastily, suddenly very aware of how little progress he'd made so far that day.
"How are you getting on, Susan?" Mr. Shacklebolt asked Miss Bones.
"I am making progress," she responded calmly, looking the Minister in the eyes for a moment before returning to her task.
"Excellent. I've got another packet for you, Percy." He placed an intimidatingly large pile of paper onto Percy's desk. "I know restructuring requests are not exactly under your purview, but if you squint it almost has to do with that Floo policy you worked on." He smiled grimly. "I'm being unfair to everyone with all this, but I'm confident you will do great work."
"Of course, Minister." Percy hoped no one could hear the dismay in his voice. "I'm happy to do everything you need."
The Minister raised his eyebrow at him for a moment, then transferred his gaze to the corner where Miss Bones worked.
"Don't forget, Mr. Weasley, that I am authorized to do quite a bit more than filing, if you feel that would be helpful to accommodate the Minister's request."
Percy turned toward her irritably, but she met his gaze with her usual calm expression, eyes flickering momentarily toward Mr. Shacklebolt. It was then Percy realized he'd been neatly caught. Of course the Minister would want to ensure his assistant was being used to her potential.
He looked back toward Mr. Shacklebolt, who was looking back at him, expressionless. Percy knew his pride would not win, not with the two of them staring at him like that. He took a deep breath.
"Thank you, Miss Bones. We shall discuss the distribution of tasks a little later."
The Minister nodded briefly, then made to leave the office. "Sorry to drop off more work then run, but I have a meeting in just a few minutes. Have a good day, both of you."
"Bye, Kingsley," Miss Bones called. Percy did not move or speak until the door was safely shut behind the Minister.
"I didn't realize you and the Minister were on a first-name basis," he snapped, then abruptly changed tack. "If you wouldn't mind taking a look at these restructuring requests and ascertaining exactly what you can do to assist me in them, I would much appreciate it, Miss Bones."
She smiled serenely. "It will be my pleasure, Mr. Weasley. Will you be continuing work on your Floo regulations for the time being?"
"Yes," he replied, surprised that she had paid so much attention to his tasks at hand even while filing. Was I ever that efficient? "I'll be cracking away at that for a while more today."
The visit from the Minister had momentarily galvanized him out of his weariness, and he felt almost engaged as he worked for a while. When the fatigue began to set back in, he reminded himself of how closely she must be watching him, perhaps preparing to report his every move back to the Minister.
After a while, Miss Bones stood and left with a quiet, "I'll be back in a few." She returned with a midmorning tea for both of them. Percy's surprised gratitude brought a smile to her face -- the first truly happy expression he'd seen her wear.
All at once, she became a little more human to him. Not that he'd consciously been thinking of her as an emotionless automaton, but other than the time the day before when he had nearly brought her to tears, she had only shown him an imperturbable, professional exterior.
"What do you do with your life, Miss Bones?" he found himself asking as he poured some tea.
She looked sharply at him, clearly shocked at the unexpected question. "I'm not sure what you mean. I'm assisting you."
Percy smirked a bit. "When you're not babysitting an unproductive Ministry employee, what do you do?"
"I wouldn't call it 'babysitting,'" she retorted, "and I just left Hogwarts, so for the time being this is a large part of my life."
Percy had just decided she was determined not to tell him anything about herself when she added, "I am studying to join the Magical Law Enforcement team as well."
"Oh, as an Auror?"
She bit her lip. "I never took N.E.W.T. Potions. And the whole 'fighting evil wizards' bit didn't appeal to me...until this past year. You could say I've got some experience, and I think I could do well. But I have to work quite hard before they'll even consider my application. If not, there are other positions in that department. I'd even take the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, though I hope my aunt's name would do me more favors."
Percy winced. "The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office is more important than we sometimes give it credit, but it is small. I am sure they would find somewhere else for you -- if you don't succeed at becoming an Auror." He changed the subject quickly, before she could make the connection of just who worked at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. "So if you've just left Hogwarts, you must know my brother?"
"Of course. I was in Ron's year, though we never spent much time together apart from Dumbledore's Army. I knew Fred and George as well."
Percy's wince was more pronounced this time, and she immediately went white. "I-I'm sorry for your loss," she stammered.
He couldn't respond. He'd heard that platitude so many times in the past few weeks it had lost all meaning. But he could tell she meant it, and the sight of her pale, stricken face unstuck his throat long enough for him to say, "Thank you."
She looked down, fidgeting with her teacup. Percy was about to suggest they head back to their work -- effectively ending the conversation, allowing him to descend into the sorrow he was once again teetering toward -- when she looked up again.
"Mr. Weasley, I also remember you at Hogwarts. You were an excellent Head Boy."
With that, Miss Bones blushed scarlet and scurried back to her corner. Percy couldn't help but smile, and her kindness brought him back from the edge. He glanced once more toward her, studying the page in front of her as if it was the only interesting thing in the world.
"Thank you," he murmured, before turning his own attention to his work.