A/N:: Wow, it's been a while since I've written last, especially with these two lovebirds! Anyway, I'm not sure if I should make this a series or not... I'm not good with commitments, ha ha. But hey, if the public wants it, we'll see. Enjoy the story! Also, thanks again to my lovely beta reader, Mary, and I'm sorry that I forgot your username... it's been a LONG while, and for that, I am EXTRA sorry.
Penny strolled down the streets of Hogsmeade, twirling her umbrella as her galoshes splashed through ankle-deep puddles. What had been a sunny afternoon had turned gray with an autumn shower in the short time it took to walk from the castle to the main road. Penny hardly took notice, however, and enjoyed the cool weather as she headed for her favorite nook just outside of the town's busy atmosphere.
It had been rough going the first few months of school and a rainy day promised Penny clear passage through the Hogsmeade streets. It wasn't that Penny hated running into people, it was just the recognition that showed in their faces when they saw her. Some even muttered to their friends, "There's that bookworm girl. What a stuck-up prick, thinking she's so great because she studies." But Penny was hardly stuck-up and so embarrassed by their words that she wasn't able to defend herself.
The only person, it seemed, that had never passed judgment on her was that equally brilliant Gryffindor, Percy Weasley. He was the kindest person she knew and had often been her partner in classes they had together when others fled. She had enjoyed his company since first year but was only now realizing how her bud of interest in him had bloomed. Penny liked his laugh, the way he nudged her gently when she did something perfectly, his personality and discipline in his studies and so much more. But Hogsmeade visits were not times to be dreaming about boys. She was there to escape that world of expectations; that unobtainable idea of juggling a boyfriend, studies, and friends. Penny was in Hogsmeade to visit her favorite little store and get some quiet reading in.
Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, at the end of High Street, was a tiny store that Penny loved to utilize. The plans had finally gone through to build a tiny coffee shop at the back of the store which was mostly obscured by shelves, making Penny one of the few frequent visitors. Only Class-A nerds and the like even stopped by to purchase a quill, let alone find out about the back of the store. When Penny did find herself with another customer in the shop, she found them to be older, middle-aged women or (even older) men. It was unsurprising, then, that she had presumed herself to be the only true patron of the coffee shop until that cool, Saturday, afternoon.
If she had considered it thoroughly, the possibility that another student would eventually encounter the shop would've been more readily available in her mind. The fact that Penny couldn't even fathom a classmate's presence in her little nook of heaven only went to show her naivety. At the age of fifteen, Penelope Clearwater was hardly an example of perfect maturity, but she bereted herself constantly for the slightest mistake. The most obvious of said mistakes happened to be the aforementioned naivety of that day. This was all simply in her nature.
Penny had entered Scrivenshaft's with a skip in her step, as was her usual reaction to an autumn afternoon. The cozy building was silent despite the patter of rain on the shingled roof outside. She glanced around the shop and noticed the owner, Mr. Scrivenshaft, grinning at her from his seat behind an old, wooden counter. She nodded with an equally large smile and shrugged out of her plastic rain slicker.
As Penny approached the back of the shop, she let out a breath of relief, one she hadn't realized she was holding in. After sitting through the first few weeks of school and taking diligent notes in preparation for the O.W.L. tests, she could finally return to a place without piercing stares and judging glances. It wasn't as though she'd planned to be one of Hogwarts's smartest students, it had simply happened.
Penny headed through the small café to her favorite comfortable armchair without taking in her surroundings. She'd already trekked across the black and white linoleum tiling, stared at the millions of twinkling lights illuminating the store, and tested all of the seating options what seemed like hundreds of times before, and felt no need to search for any outlying changes to the familiar scenery. Before she could fully appreciate her seat, however, Penny sensed a peculiar difference in the atmosphere of the store.
Instead of Mr. Scrivenshaft's adorable little wife, Mrs. Scrivenshaft, at the counter, there sat a recognizable classmate of hers. His lean, almost lanky figure, sat ram-rod straight on a wooden stool behind a glass display of pastries that made up the counter. Penny swallowed in an attempt to wet her throat; when that didn't work, she simply nodded at him politely. Percy smiled warmly and waved to her (and to no one else, for they were the only two in the room, Penny had checked by glancing around in astonishment).
Penny managed to keep her cheeks from turning beet red and tried to focus on what was right in front of her, not who was ten feet behind her. She hugged her unusually light messenger bag to her chest for a few seconds before feeling uneasy once more. Penny's new fear stemmed from her abnormally light bag, an ordinary occurrence to some, but to her it meant that things were missing. She hesitantly lifted the flap to look inside the bag and was horrified to find nothing but her hard-back copy of Jane Eyre.
Where there used to be quills, ink, scrolls of parchment, notepads, and even her wallet there was now a gaping hole through which Penny could see her own lap. Penny let out a quite audible gasp (although its high-pitched nature made it sound like a shriek) and stood up, shoving her hand through the messenger bag in shock. As her hand burst through the hole and waved at her animatedly she felt a hand on her shoulder, increasing her heartbeat to what was surely higher than a safe level.
Penny twisted her head around, panic-stricken, and came face-to-face with Percy Weasley. The fifth year students looked at one another for a moment; Penny was clearly unprepared for this sudden encounter. Her shock upon seeing her five-year crush out of the blue mixed with her anxiety for the lost items and she became light-headed. The last thing she remembered seeing before passing out was the concerned furrow above Percy Weasley's beautiful eyebrows…
"…enny. Penny? Penny, there you go, come on, wake up." Mr. Scrivenshaft beamed down at her as she began to come to. Penny realized that she was lying on one of the coffee shop's sofas and sprang up immediately, stumbling a little with the sudden change of altitude.
"Mr. Scrivenshaft, all of my… but I just lost… everything. Everything's gone." Penny mumbled hopelessly, sinking back into the sofa. She cradled her head in her hands and felt a rush of sadness engulf her. Suddenly that familiar and warm hand found her back again and she turned her head slowly this time. Percy was grinning down at her and holding her copy of Jane Eyre out to her with the hand not perched on her back. Penny took it slowly and nodded her thanks to him.
"Penny, are you alright?" Percy asked, "Actually, I was able to find most of your things. There was a clear trail from the gates entering Hogsmeade all of the way here. You must've ripped the bag on those iron gates." It was then that Penny took the time to investigate her surroundings better. Instead of the neat, tidy appearance of the shop, the floor was strewn with books and notebooks drying and her parchments and wallet were closest to the fire, but out of the flames' reach.
Before Penny could think much about it, Percy hopped over the top of the couch and had sat next to her, draping the arm that'd been touching her back across her shoulders now. She wanted to express her gratitude but, as it ran in the Clearwater family, Penny couldn't quite find the words. Instead she wrapped her arms slowly around Percy's neck and buried her face into his slightly damp shoulder, hoping he understood the gesture.
Although Penny couldn't see it from her position, Percy's face quickly turned a mottled red color and he patted her back lightly. So marked the beginning of a beautiful… something.