Disclaimer: Not mine
For Jemma-Jo, thanks for reminding me just how important it is to have someone there for you.
Jemma-Jo+Biology+AfricanSavannah+Notepad=This
Pairs
It's a good thing to be part of a pair. No one buys one shoe; a knife is practically useless without a fork, and three's a crowd. This wasn't the best analogy Percy Weasley had ever come up with, but he knew it was true, especially the last one. Things tended to work out in pairs, Weasleys were no exception to this rule: Molly and Arthur; Bill and Charlie; Fred and George; Ron and Ginny. That was how things were.
Sometimes he wondered what it was like to have a best friend, or just a close friend, any sort of real friend really. Teachers that tell you that you can be anything you want are lying. The first time he saw the Mirror of Erised he thought it was his reflection in a normal mirror. Then when he stepped closer, he knew. The red hair was just a little too dark, the eyes closer to bright Weasley blue than his own duller grey. Even before seeing the inscription he'd known it was his twin. The other half of his pair. He'd gone back, even knowing the dark history of men dying in front of the mirror. He couldn't help it.
His twin, Thomas, would act like he was really alive, waving, smiling, talking to him. It made things easier having someone to talk to. Even someone whose responses he couldn't hear. He never looked at Percy like he was silently wishing that he would just shut up and go away. Thomas found him interesting, he wanted Percy not Fred, or George, or Bill, or Charlie, or Ron. Percy. He learnt to lip-read out of a book, it took most of his birthday money to owl-order it. They fitted together perfectly, as pairs apt to do. Thomas was a little more daring, a little bit funnier than Percy. Unlike the twins he still understood that the rules had to be followed Percy.
He'd laughed when Percy first brought up the rules, "I don't know all the rules Percy. I don't need to, you'll keep me on the right track." That had brought a smile to Percy's face. There was never anything better than talking to his brother. For the first time he understood why his parents thought family was so important. It wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be to talk to a sibling when you were part of a pair.
One night the room he had come to think of as his and Thomas's exclusively was occupied by someone else. It had been a jolt of cold water. Harry Potter didn't see what he saw. He didn't see Thomas. That was when Percy had really realised. Thomas wasn't real. Percy wasn't part of a pair, there was no Percy and Thomas, just boring, old, rule-abiding Percy. Percy felt a pang of dislike for Harry Potter. He left Harry alone that once, he didn't know what Harry saw, but everyone deserved that perfect moment of happiness at least once. He would warn him off if he saw him during one of his prefect rounds.
The next morning he approached Fred and George at the breakfast table. Maybe the pairs rule didn't apply here, afterall, they were friends with Lee Jordan.
"We didn't do it."
The words burst from them in perfect unison. He had a new-found appreciation for the twins, they were being funny without hurting anyone. They were much more amusing when he wasn't the butt of their jokes.
"I just came to talk."
"Just to talk..."
"...with us?"
He felt his mouth dry up. So he just nodded.
"Sure, sounds like fun."
"Shuffle up George."
Fred shuffled up. Percy bit back a smile. It felt good to be accepted by his brothers. He listened closely as they started to talk about quidditch. He'd have to look up some of those plays later, they sounded really interesting. It had been a while since he'd kept up to date with all the latest quidditch news. Halfway through breakfast or so, Percy started to feel an itch between his shoulder blades. He suppressed the urge to move or itch. He had to act normal or Fred and George would hardly be likely to want to repeat the experience.
The itch spread and intensified until it became almost a burn. He clenched his hands into fists under the table and regulated his breathing. George shuffled up closer to him. Fred took his cue from George as usual, welcomingly warm against Percy's other side. Percy didn't mind the itch so much now, he'd have it checked out later. It wasn't getting any worse, it could wait, he was bonding with his brothers.
"Percyyyyy."
They drew out as the simultaneously leant their heads against his shoulders.
"Yes."
"You're not feeling..."
"...at all itchy..."
"...are you?"
They were using their show voice, the one that made all the Gryffindors in the immediate vicinity lean over to see what was going on. His chest knotted up, it was a prank. All of this had been yet another episode in an unending series of sadistic practical jokes. Well if they wanted everyone's attention, who was he to deny them. He stood up, smoothing down his uniform. He deliberately ran a hand through his hair then looked at it.
"It is considered polite to tell people you have lice before they sit down next to you."
He stepped away from them and moved at a controlled pace through the hall. Outside the hall he shuddered and put some distance between himself and the more populated corridors. Then he sank back against a wall. He shouldn't have done that. It was cruel of him, he'd just been so angry, then the tears came.
Doxie dust, that was what they'd poured down his back. He'd had too much, it had made him pass out. That's what he was told when he woke up in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had said she'd try her best to get rid of all remnants of the injury. Doxie poison tended to resist healing, Percy knew that. When Madam Pomfrey said she'd try, he knew that it meant he would almost certainly have a new scar. When she asked who had done it, he said he didn't know. This would merit expulsion, he couldn't do that to them. They were stupid, immature, thoughtless, but not cruel, not really.
It took a couple more days before he decided to make a last effort with Ron. Ron didn't have Ginny with him and Harry had gone to the mirror without him. Ron while not as alone as he was, would maybe be a little more receptive to a friendship. Unlike the twins, Ron didn't try to humiliate him, or injure him. He did make it clear though that he had better things to do then talk to Percy. So that was that. Over.