AN: First attempt at writing Harry Potter fanfiction. I'm aware that my characterization of Percy and his relationships with other cannon characters may be off but then I never did like how he was portrayed as I always kind of liked him. Other than that I'm trying to stick to what is portrayed in the books/movies.
"You'd never make it without getting caught," Lee Jordon said looking at his friends George and Fred Weasley. "And you two have been in enough trouble already especially after the other night."
"I still can't believe our own brother turned us in," Fred grumbled.
"Well he is trying for Head Boy," George reminded him, thinking of all the times over the summer Percy had warned them not to ruin his chances for obtaining the highest honor a student could achieve at Hogwart's.
"I still think their too chicken to go to the Forbidden Forest period," Shaun Clearwater, a Slytherin, who had originally dared the Weasley twins to make the trip, chimed in.
"Chicken!" Fred exclaimed a little too loudly as he attracted the attention of Professor Flitwik.
"You four, a little less talking and a little more reading will you," Flitwik said, who had assigned the class to read the chapter on Remember Charms from their book.
The four students quickly turned their attention back to their Charms books for a few minutes, waiting for Flitwik to turn his attention away from them. A few minutes later, Fred saw Flitwik go back to his own book and he looked away from his book and addressed Shaun.
"George and I will go tonight. What do you want as proof."
"A Trident Toadstool," Shaun said with a grin. "The Forbidden Forest is the only place they grow."
"You got it," Fred told him. "We'll go tonight," Fred said looking at his twin for confirmation.
"Your going to lose us points," Lee told Fred.
"Only if we get caught and we aren't going to get caught," George reassured.
"You two are crazy," Lee said.
"Boys," Flitwik said again.
Fred, George, Shaun and Lee once again went back to their books. Fred and George were no longer at all concerned with their assignment though. Both were trying to figure out a way to sneak out of the castle with no one noticing.
Even when Flitwik started discussing their assignment their thoughts were else where. Luck was on their side though, as Flitwik didn't bother asking them any questions. Neither twin was too worried about missing the lecture though, as Lee took good notes and they could catch up on what they were missing.
When Flitwik finally dismissed the class, Fred and George quickly gathered their books and headed for the door.
"If we're going this evening, we should go around dinner," Fred whispered to George. "Most people will be in the Great Hall and sneaking out will be the easiest."
"We'll want to be back before curfew. Being caught breaking curfew again is way to risky. McGonagall will expel us for sure," George replied as Lee fell in step with them as they headed down to the dungeons for their Potions class with Snape. "I say we get to the Great Hall at the start of dinner, eat something real quick and then head for the forest."
"Sounds good," Fred said. "If anyone asks while we're leaving so early we'll say we're going to the library to look stuff up for homework."
"I can't believe you two are going to do this," Lee said. " Can't you ever pass up a dare."
"No," Fred and George answered in unison without breaking step.
Lee followed the twins shaking his head. Sometimes he wondered how his two best friends had even managed to make it this far. He and his Gryffyndor classmates had taken bets as to how far the twins would make it during the first week of their first year. The longest anyone had given them was half way through their second year. Lee himself had given them three months. Here they were in their fourth year and hadn't been kicked out yet, although evidently they weren't done trying.
Percy, Oliver Wood, and Emily Spinnet were discussing their Arithmancy lesson over dinner that evening when Ginny Weasley came into the Great Hall in tears. She spotted Percy at the far end of the table and made her way to him. Emily stopped in mid sentence as Ginny approached them.
"Ginny what is it?" Percy asked his little sister threw herself at him. He put his arms around her and pulled her into his lap.
Through her tears, Ginny told him that a few of the second year Slytherins were telling the first years stories about the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. Telling them that Creevy and Mrs. Norris were just the beginning and it wouldn't be long before someone was killed.
It took Percy twenty minutes but he was finally able to convince Ginny that the kids didn't know what they were talking about. That the Professors at Hogwart's would figure out who was behind what was going on and that she needn't worry about any monster.
Emily excused herself to go meet with Penelope Clearwater, and Ginny took her chair next to Percy to eat her own dinner. Oliver and Percy went back to discussing their lesson, Percy casting glances at his younger sister. He noticed she seemed to be moving her food around the plate more than she was actually eating anything.
He was getting worried about her. She seemed paler than usual. She had been having trouble sleeping, nightmares waking her up in the middle of the night. Several times she had ended up in his room, too scared to go back to her own dormitory. Fred and George weren't helping matters either with their continual teasing about the monster. Percy was considering writing home and suggesting to their parents that they bring her home for awhile even though he knew Ginny would never forgive him. He knew how much she wanted to be hear. How long she had dreamed about this.
Ginny's plate was still half full when she said she was done eating. Percy thought about trying to force her to eat more but decided to let it go this time. As upset as she had been coming into the Great Hall he didn't think he'd have much luck. Together, Oliver, Percy and Ginny headed out of the Great Hall, Ginny staying close to Percy.
The three of them had just entered the stairs to head to Gryffindor Tower, when they heard Snape and McGonagall talking. Their voices were getting closer to the stairwell.
"Rumor has it the Weasley twins are sneaking out to the Forbidden Forest on a dare," Snape was telling McGonagall.
In the stairwell, Percy put a hand on Oliver's arm to get his attention. When Oliver looked his way he mouthed the words, 'hold up'. Oliver nodded his head and moved to one side of the stairwell so he wasn't as noticeably to the professors when they passed by.
"I swear those two will be the death of me," McGonagall said as she and Snape walked by the stairwell on their way to the main entrance of the castle. "Nothing seems to get through to them. If I catch them out their tonight, I'm seriously considering expelling them."
"If they were in my house, I would've have expelled them a long time ago," Snape commented.
McGonagall said something in reply but they couldn't make out the words.
Oliver looked toward Percy. He knew what Percy was going to do before Percy even said anything.
"I'm going to look for George and Fred. Maybe I can find them before Snape and McGonagall. Can you make sure Ginny gets back to Gryffindor Tower?"
"Percy, what if you get caught."
"I'll be in less trouble than they will."
"You turned them in for breaking curfew the other night and yet now you're willing to break school rules to keep them from getting in trouble."
"Getting in trouble and getting expelled are two different things," Percy told him. "I'm not willing to let them get expelled and ruin their lives without trying to help them out. I just can't."
Oliver nodded. His little brother would probably be starting at Hogwart's next year. If put in this position, Oliver knew he would do the same thing. It was just strange to see Percy even think about breaking any rules. They had been friends since their first year at Hogwart's and Percy had always been a by the book kind of person. Always wanted to do everything perfectly. Went out of the way to make the professors happy. Wanted to do nothing else but make his parents proud of him. To get out from under his older brothers' shadow.
This hadn't exactly made his peers like him. When he became Prefect, he wanted to do the job with the same perfection that he had thrown into his schoolwork for the last four years. He did the job well but it didn't help his popularity any. He could tell Percy's younger brothers didn't care much for him, George and Fred never passing up a chance to pull a joke or do something to get under his skin while Ron just tried to steered clear of him. Still, Wood stood by him. Defended him from classmates who just didn't understand him. Though this act was so unlike Percy, Wood thought it was a step in the right direction.
"Be careful," Oliver told him taking Ginny's hand.
"I will," Percy replied and then walked back down the steps.
He made his way to a corridor that led to a side entrance. As he stepped outside he felt the frigid air go right through his cloak and thought of his winter cloak up in the dormitory. To his left he saw, in the fading light, Professors Snape and McGonagall walking toward the Forbidden Forest. He was just going to have to brave the cold if he had any chance of finding his brother's before his two teachers.
Trying to stay out of sight, Percy headed toward the Forbidden Forest at a run. It was growing darker quickly. By the time he was halfway to the forest, he could just barely see his hand in front of his face. With a clap of thunder, an icy rain started to fall. Percy reached the edge of the forest, his robes soaked through to the skin. He couldn't ever remember being so cold.
As an attempt to put the cold out of his mind, Percy concentrated on what had brought him out here in the first place - finding his brothers. Having no idea where they would be, he simply picked a direction and started walking, looking for any sign of Fred and George. He wasn't sure how long he had been searching when he heard laughter. Knowing it had to be his brother's and not his teachers, Percy headed in that direction.
"I can't wait to see Shaun's face when we show him this mushroom," Fred said holding up the Trident Toadstool that he held in one hand. In his other hand was his wand, which was glowing and giving the twins some light to see where they were going.
"I know what you mean," George said grinning. His smile faded though as he saw a figure approaching him. As the figure came into the light of his brother's wand though he breathed a sigh of relief. "Percy! What are you doing out here."
"Looking for you two," Percy replied his teeth chattering. "Snape and McGonagall are out looking for the two of you. McGonagall is considering expelling the two of you if she catches you."
George had realized that his older brother was not dressed to be out in the weather and was concerned. Percy had always seemed to be hit hard by illness. Just this summer he had been hit with two bad upper respiratory infections. Being out in the rain and cold tonight definitely wasn't good for him.
"You still shouldn't have come out in this weather," George told him shrugging out of his heavy winter cloak. "You're going to get sick."
"I wasn't going to just sit by and watch the two of you get expelled," Percy replied as George helped him into the cloak he had just taken off.
"Yeah, it wouldn't look good to have brother's who were expelled would it," Fred muttered.
"We need to get back to the castle before Snape and McGonagall find us," Percy said choosing to ignore Fred's remark.
The three of them headed in the direction that Percy had come from. They were just about at the edge of the forest when they heard voices. Grabbing a hold of Percy, Fred and George ducked behind some bushes.
"Perhaps the rumor was wrong," McGonagall was saying.
"Either that or we missed them. They definitely weren't in the Great Hall at dinner time," Snape grumbled, the light from their wands coming into view of the Weasley boys.
"Well anyway, I think its pointless to go traipsing around the woods anymore. I think we should head back to the castle."
"Perhaps your right," Snape said with a tint of disappointment in his voice. He would have loved to have caught the Weasley twins red handed. Those two were forever making a fool out of him with their childish pranks.
"I'll head right to the Gryffindor Common room when I get back. Check and see if they're there," McGonagall said as the two teachers disappeared into the dark again.
"We've got to beat them back to the castle," George said standing up. The last thing he wanted to do was explain to his parents how he got suspended.
The three boys started off at a run toward the edge of the forest, making sure they weren't going the same direction the teachers had taken. Shortly they broke through the tree line. In the distance they could see the lights in the windows of the castle. A soft blue light to the left showed them where Snape and McGonagall were. As quietly as they could they sprinted toward the castle.
Out of breath, they reached the side entrance that Percy had come out of earlier. Not stopping to catch their breath, the three of them hurried inside and made their way to the Gryffindor Common room. The students in the room looked up as the three Weasley's came inside.
"Did you get it?" Lee asked looking up from his school book that was open in front of him.
Fred held up the Trident Toadstool triumphantly.
"McGonagall is still on her way up here," Percy reminded his brothers through chattering teeth as he headed toward the steps leading to his dormitory. "If she catches us wet she's going to know we were outside."
Tossing the toadstool to Lee, Fred headed toward his own dormitory. George not far behind him. A few minutes later they came back into the common room.
Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard's Chess, Ron winning as usual. George made his way over to them.
"Harry, let me take your place. McGonagall will think I've been playing chess the whole time."
"Okay," Harry said standing up. If it would help keep Fred and George out of trouble he was more than happy to do it.
As George took Harry's seat, Percy came out of his dorm, school book in hand. Finding an empty arm chair he sat down and opened the book. Oliver went over and sat down next to his friend. Even though he was in dry robes, Percy was still shivering.
"You okay?" Oliver asked softly.
Percy nodded.
"I'll go get you a blanket," Oliver said standing up.
"No," Percy told him. "McGonagall might get suspicious."
Before Oliver could say anything else the door to the Common Room swung open. The students once again looked toward the door as McGonagall strode into the room.
"Where are Fred and George Weasley?"
"Right here, Professor," the twins answered from the table where George and Ron were continuing the chess game. Fred and Harry were hovering around watching.
McGonagall looked at them critically, obviously looking for some sign that they hadn't been there long.
"Percy, Emily, can I see you in the corridor please," McGonagall said addressing the two Gryffindor prefects.
"Yes Professor," Emily said standing up from her chair by the fire side and heading toward the door. Sitting his book aside Percy followed her.
Once out in the hallway, McGonagall addressed her two prefects.
"There's a rumor that the Fred and George Weasley snuck out to the Forbidden Forest tonight. Professor Snape and I went out looking for them but didn't find anything to support that rumor. Can either of you account for those two's whereabouts this evening."
"I did see them when I first came into the Great Hall for dinner. I'm not sure when they left."
"Percy?" McGonagall asked looking from Emily to Percy.
"Well they've been in the common room since I got back from the Great Hall myself," Percy told her. It wasn't a lie exactly. He just wasn't admitting that he had just got to the common room from dinner a few minutes ago. That he had made a detour to the Forbidden Forest himself before coming back to the common room.
"Very well," McGonagall said. "I'll see you in class tomorrow," she told them.
As Percy and Emily headed back into the common room she turned and headed back down the stairs.
"Thanks," Percy told Emily.
"Although I wouldn't have minded turning in those two," she told him nodding to where Fred and George were watching as Ron and Harry resumed their game, "I don't want to see you get in trouble." She looked back over at Percy who was still shivering slightly. "Let's get you back over to the fireplace," she said taking his arm and leading him to the fireside chair she had been sitting in.
As Percy sat down in the chair, Oliver came over with a blanket in his hand, holding it out to Percy. Percy took it without a word and wrapped up in it. There wasn't much use in denying he wasn't still cold.
"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey," Oliver suggested.
"Aren't we suppose to have a study group for our Potions Test tomorrow?" Percy asked his classmates, tying to divert there attention away from himself.
"Let me get my book," Oliver said walking over to the table he had been sitting in. He had known Percy long enough to know he wouldn't get any further on the current subject right now.
Emily grabbed Percy's book from the chair he had been sitting in and drug two chairs closer to where Percy was sitting for herself and Oliver. Picking her own book up off the floor she sat down in one of the chairs. Oliver joined them a few moments later and they started to study for the next days test. A few other classmates joined them shortly.
"Let's see it," Shaun said coming over to the Gryffindor table the following morning. He was hovering over Fred and George a smirk on his face. It was he who had started the rumor the night before about the twins. He was sure the fact that Gryffindor hadn't loss any points meant that the twins hadn't been caught. He also felt sure that the reason they hadn't gotten caught was because they had never gone out to the forest.
His smirk faded away though as Fred pulled the Trident Toadstool out of a pocket of his robes and held it up to him.
"How did you . . .?"
"Quite easy," Fred said simply.
"Yeah even with having to dodge a couple of professors," George added. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you Shaun?" he asked easily. He and Fred had chatted about it late into the night and they were sure that Shaun had been the one who had given them away. Had tried to get them busted so that he would win the bet.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Shaun said calmly as he dug money out of his pockets. Grudgingly he dropped the coins in Fred's outstretched hand and then headed over to the Slytherin Table.
"Maybe we should split our winnings with Percy this time," Fred suggested looking down the table where Percy sat with classmates. "Snape and McGonagall probably would have caught us if it wasn't for him."
"You got a point," George said following his brother's gaze. Percy had been quiet all morning. It had seemed strangely quiet this morning without Percy's bossy voice telling them to get moving so they wouldn't be late. Even now, two first years were arguing a couple seats away from him and Percy hadn't even attempted to put a stop to it. Watching him, George thought he looked a little paler than usual.
Just then Percy got up from the table and headed out of the Great Hall.
"I'll be right back," George told his twin and stood up, hurrying to catch his older brother. "Hey Percy," he called out.
Percy didn't hesitate or even look over his shoulder. Either he hadn't heard George or was pretending he hadn't heard him. Breaking into a jog, George got close enough to grab his brother's arm. "Perce . . ."
"Leave me alone," Percy said wrenching his arm away from his brother but turning to look back at George.
"Thank-you for last night," George said sincerely, getting the words out before his brother had a chance to disappear on him.
"Is everything a big joke to you guys or what? You and George need to grow up. I'm not going to keep bailing you out of trouble. Next time I might just let McGonagall expel you."
George didn't know what to say. He could tell his brother was frustrated with them but he also, for the first time ever, could hear the concern in his voice. Felt like his brother really cared about what happened to them and this wasn't just about upholding rules.
Percy turned and continued on his way to his first class leaving George standing in the hallway. George watched until his brother turned a corner, and then headed back to the Great Hall.
Oliver looked over his shoulder to see where Snape was. He was currently hovering over the back row of students. He wasn't paying attention at all to the front.
"Percy," Oliver hissed nudging his friend with his elbow. Percy had fallen asleep while taking the test.
Lifting his head up off his arms, Percy looked around trying to figure out where he was at. Taking in the classroom he remembered he was suppose to be taking a test. Mouthing the word thanks to Oliver he looked back down at the paper in front of him.
Percy tried to concentrate on the words on the paper in front of him. Tried to shut out how he was feeling. Ignore the fact that he was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. Tried to keep the words in front of him from blurring together.
"Mr. Weasley."
Percy jerked awake again. Glancing down he saw that he had only managed to answer one more question since Oliver had woken him. He looked up from the test paper to see Professor Snape hovering over him.
"It's usually easier to take a test with one's eyes open," Snape said easily.
"Sorry Professor," Pecy said quickly and quietly. He looked back down at his test paper and read the next question.
"Perhaps you should go see Madame Pomfrey," Snape suggested, showing mild concern. Percy Weasley was one of the better students in his class. Falling asleep, especially during a test was completely unlike him. Not to mention he looked extremely pale.
"I'm fine," Percy said turning his attention back to the test. "It won't happen again."
Snape was quiet, but Percy sensed him hovering above him. Percy resisted the urge to look up at him and concentrated instead on the test paper in front of him. It was some time before Snape moved away from him and though he wasn't sure how, when the bell rang he had managed to get through the test.