Percy Weasley grew up around Quidditch.
All his siblings were avid players of the sport, even his sister – just because the rest of his family were unaware of her lock-picking abilities did not mean he was. And even though he never had any interest in it, he was still sucked into the world of Quidditch by virtue of being related to Quidditch-fanatics.
When he entered Hogwarts, he had made it a personal rule that he would never attend any of the house matches – he saw enough of the sport being played at home, thank you very much.
Of course, he also befriended someone who was more devoted to the sport than any of his siblings – Oliver Wood. This proved to be rather detrimental to his vow – as soon as Oliver joined the Gryffindor team as Keeper their second year, Percy was doomed to being present at each and every one of the matches played in the school. He either had to support Oliver, or give the other boy support while he inspected the other three teams for any weaknesses that could be exploited.
Up until their fifth year, the only problem Percy had with that was one of principle. He wasn't interested in the sport, so he didn't understand why Oliver insisted on dragging him along to watch matches.
And then – then came the first Gryffindor Quidditch game of fifth year. The rest of the school was waiting desperately for it – it was, after all, a chance to see Harry Potter in action. Harry Potter, for whom the strict "no first-years on Quidditch teams" rule had been broken. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, who would undoubtedly be brilliant at the sport. Most people were already planning the stories they would tell their grandchildren.
Percy had to admit, he was curious about it himself. It was the first match he could remember that he was actually excited about watching. He doubted Potter would be as good as the school gossip was boasting off, but there was no doubt that he had the ability to play. Oliver's vacant look every time he returned from a practice told him that much.
The excitement over Harry Potter only lasted until the two teams took to the air.
He'd known he was attracted to Oliver since sometime in his third-year. It had been difficult for him to accept that at first, but by the time fifth-year rolled along, he had accepted it. So he was prepared for being momentarily lust-stricken at the sight of Oliver in his Quidditch robes – it had happened before.
What he was not prepared for was having the same reaction when he saw Marcus Flint.
He didn't pay attention to the rest of the match, deeply shaken by the realisation that he not only like Oliver, but had somehow developed an attraction to Flint – a Slytherin – as well.
He had grown up learning that people only loved once in their lives – his mum and dad were the perfect example. Did his attraction to two people at once mean that he was somehow damaged – wrong? He didn't know.
But what he did know was that that incident had him deeply shaken. Liking a boy wasn't something that was hard to accept. Liking two boys together – he couldn't think about it.
And when the attraction didn't dim, and instead seemed to grow deeper as the year passed –
Fred and George might have had their own ideas of his reasons behind locking himself in his room once he returned home after the school year, but it was necessary. He needed to be alone so that he could get used to what he was feeling, something that was impossible when you roomed with one of your crushes in school.
This is Uni, who inspired this with her prompt of a PercyOliverMarcus love triangle
For:
The If You Dare Challenge, Prompt 33. Ugly Clutch
Character Diversity Bootcamp, Prompt 43. Horrid
Pairing Diversity Bootcamp, Prompt 27. Never
Slash/Femmeslash Bootcamp, Prompt 16. Shock
Diagon Alley Challenge, Quality Quidditch Supplies
Musical Terms Challenge, Sotto
Key Signature Competition, D# Minor
Latin Challenge, Debeo
HP Potions Competition, Befuddlement Draught
Something Like It Challenge, Reality or Something Like It
Snakes and Ladders Challenge
Florence and the Machine Challenge, All This And Heaven Too