For Arty (The Lady Arturia). Happy Birthday!
Take a Breath
"Expecto Patronum!"
Percy concentrated so hard that a vein stood out on his forehead, but his efforts were in vain. All that left the tip of his wand was a wispy, powdery white trail. He flung his wand down on the coffee table in front of him, and sank down into an armchair, trying to choke back the threat of tears.
It was the fifth evening in a row that Percy had been up all night in the Gryffindor Common Room, trying desperately to produce a full, corporeal Patronus. Trying to learn the spell was taking away the attention he needed to be paying to his upcoming O.W.L examinations, but for the first time ever, he didn't care. He needed to learn the Patronus charm.
The fifth years had been studying the Patronus charm for the last few weeks, and not that many students were able to produce one yet, but that didn't make Percy feel any better. He was used to being able to master a spell on the first or second attempt, no matter how difficult it was.
"You know, you're never going to be able to perform the charm while you're so stressed out about it," a familiar voice came from somewhere above him. Percy looked up, seeing his friend and classmate, Oliver Wood, looking over the balcony where the dormitories were. He groaned inwardly as Oliver hurried down the stairs into the common room.
Oliver stood in front of Percy, and pulled his wand from the pocket of his pyjama bottoms. "Expecto Patronum!" he announced, and much to Percy's disgust, a milky white falcon burst from the tip of his wand, and began soaring laps around the common room.
Percy seethed with jealousy. "That is completely unfair!" he hissed, jumping out of his armchair to reach Oliver's height. "I have been trying for weeks in vain to produce a perfect Patronus! All I've done is study how to cast one, and stay up all night trying to do it! I haven't slept, I haven't studied for my Ancient Runes O.W.L—which, by the way, is next week!" Percy's face was burning with anger, and Oliver took a step back. "But you! You play Quidditch every weekend and practice during the evenings and I never see you doing homework, but you can just cast a full corporeal Patronus like that!" Percy snapped his fingers to enunciate his point, and glared at Oliver.
"Can you calm down?" Oliver asked, holding up his hands. "Take a breath?"
"I'm perfectly calm!" shouted Percy. His voice rang through the common room, and the pair listened to the echo bouncing off the walls. Finally, Percy pursed his lips and said nothing else.
"There are some spells that you just can't sit and read about to learn," Oliver explained. "You're so nervous and anxious about performing the spell, that you can't possibly be able to think of a happy memory while you're trying to cast it."
Percy visibly relaxed. "You're right," he admitted. "I've been so focused on trying to make it work that I haven't been concentrating on a happy memory." He paused, looking at Oliver. "Which happy memory do you use?"
Oliver smirked. "I have a few," he said cheekily. "You feature in quite a lot of them."
Percy flushed. "I do? Well, what were you just thinking about?"
"Do you remember the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match last year?" Oliver said. "Gryffindor lost, but you found me sulking in the changing room afterwards. I was so angry with myself, but you told me that you believed in me, and it was just a blip. And then…"
"And then you kissed me," Percy finished quietly. Oliver reached out and took Percy's hand.
"You believed in me then, and I believe in you now. Try it again."
Percy nodded and picked up his wand. He squeezed his eyes closed, and focused on the memory as hard as he could; thinking of every little detail about that moment. The smell of dirt and sweat on Oliver's clothes when he found him in the changing room, and his warm lips touching his when they kissed awkwardly, for the first time.
"Expecto Patronum!"
"Percy. Open your eyes."
Percy did as he was told, and gasped in shock. A pale white barn owl had erupted from the tip of his wand, and was flying around the common room with Oliver's falcon.
"I did it!" Percy turned to Oliver, his eyes bright. "I did it! I…" he paused, scanning Oliver's face. "You did it."
Oliver reached up and stroked Percy's cheek with his fingertips. "No, you did it." He pressed his lips to Percy's forehead. "Now, let's go back to bed. I think you have an Ancient Runes O.W.L to study for tomorrow. You'll need your rest."
Percy grinned, and followed Oliver back up the stairs to the dormitory, leaving their patronuses to fade out of view in the common room.
Written For:
- Assignment #9/Religious Education Task #8: Write about someone's first time producing a Patronus.
- Scavenger Hunt: Write a slash pairing
- Film Festival: (emotion) Nervous, (dialogue) "Can you calm down? Take a breath?"
- Writing Club/Character Appreciation: (setting) Hogwarts
- Writing Club/Shannon's Showcase: (word) Believe, (theme) Reaching goals and overcoming obstacles
- Writing Club/Ami's Audio Admirations: (emotion) Jealousy
Word Count: 825