A/N: This is a response to the 50 Days of Inspiration Competition created by Fire the Cannon. This fic is going to be filled with various parings (some romantic, some not) and one-shots. My story is rated M because although the rating for individual chapters will vary, there is likely to be some moments deserving of a M rating.

Day 1 Prompt: Character must use a quill

Paring: Percy/Hermione

Genre: Romance

Rating: T

Summary: Hermione and Percy have somehow found each other and they bask in each other's presence following a dinner at the Burrow.


Scratch. Dip. Dip. Scratch.

A sigh of frustration. And then -

Boom!

Percy's ink bottle exploded splattering the dark liquid his person, making a slippery mess of the floor, and covering various items on his writing desk. Most unfortunately, the abundance of ink ruined the letter he had begun to write earlier. His prankster brothers must have done something to it when Percy went to fetch an apple from the kitchen. He should have known something was up when his quill wouldn't gather the ink on its tip in spite of the times he dipped it into the small vial.

"Fred! George! You guys are real prats you know that!" Percy yelled as he stood up swiftly from his chair and turned to face his now wide open bedroom door. The twins, who had been watching for the explosion to happen from around the door frame, laughed heartily and strolled away gaily from the scene of the crime. Percy didn't have the ridiculously dramatic temper of their brother, Ron, so they felt no fear of a physical counterattack. The twins would have noticed the long sheet of parchment that was filled with his writing, but they exploded his jar of ink anyway knowing his writings would be damaged. The arses. At least his brothers view his life too boring to be interested in reading what was on the parchment; their reaction to that would have been interesting.

Percy mumbled a few swears under his breath and huffed at what was left of the ink bottle. If he had acted when he noticed there was an issue with the bottle, maybe her letter wouldn't have been destroyed. He had nearly finished it at the time of its destruction and had planned to send it today. Her letters often kept him sane and Percy knew how much it meant to her when he wrote, especially because it was usually hard for them to meet. The letter he had been writing would have her smile and now all the words he had written were gone and irretrievable. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair only to discover that his russet curls had been splattered with ink as well.

"Hey Percy...bloody hell. What happened here?"

Ginny had poked her head in Percy's door to inform him that was going to be served a little later tonight, but was distracted by the black liquid that covered the majority of surfaces in that area of the room. At his sister's voice Percy sat up straighter in his chair and took his glasses off his face and began to rub at the spots with a clean corner of his soft blue shirt.

"I'm sure you already sussed it out; it's a bit obvious."

Percy did not want to show Ginny that he was not just irritated by the prank, but upset that his brothers cared for him so little even after so many years. He consciously schooled his features into what he hoped was a convincing mask of indifference. A natural reaction for Percy was to answer his sister rudely; it was a fallback that few people cared to try and see through. Ginny just raised an eyebrow in response to his tone.

"You could've just said it was Fred and George; everyone heard your shouting, so there was no need to be a pillock. Mum sent me up here to tell you come down to dinner as soon as its ready. A friend of Dad's from work is going to come by and Harry and Hermione are coming over too. So be nice. And take a shower." She gave his sitting form on more glance before leaving to share her mum's message with her other brothers.

Percy blinked a few times before his sister's message registered. Then his heart did a happy little jump. He didn't know she was coming for dinner tonight.

'Surely she would have mentioned it in her last letter?' The freckled man wondered. He recalled that her last letter reached him roughly five days ago; maybe she had not known she would be coming over at that time. If he hadn't been so busy with his new job and managing living at The Burrow again he would have been able to write to her sooner, perhaps finding about her arrival a few days sooner.

After bumping into Hermione a several months prior in Diagon Alley the pair had maintained casual correspondence through owl that lasted for a few solid weeks. Hermione had initially offered to send Percy a letter to let him know if her newly purchased book, Creature Counterparts: Why Witches and Wizards are Drawn to Dangerous Animals, was a good readand the letters slowly changed to represent the more than platonic feelings the man and woman were beginning to feel for the other. That phase of correspondence had started months ago. They tried to meet up whenever possible and the relationship was moving in a direction that both of them enjoyed very much. When he had to hear his Ron and Ginny arguing, he soothed his aching head with thoughts of Hermione's smile and memories of her sweet kisses. This would be the first time he would see her in a few weeks and she would probably arriving in a little over an hour.

Standing, Percy made a mental to-do list while glancing around at his room. His desk, floor and other various items were obvious victims of Fred and George's prank. Ink had also attacked his face, clothes, and hair. Percy moved his hands to his face in frustration. Realizing that he could do for a shave prompted another sigh from the resident knowledge hound. He knew that Hermione would want to meet up with him sometime during the evening and his room was a likely rendezvous location. It was time to get to work.


Looking in the mirror, Percy decided to throw his green button-down over his white shirt. Leaving the top button open, Percy looked at his reflection and was satisfied. His face was clean shaven and he was prepared to get through a night with his occasionally hostile siblings and his father's guest in order to spend time with Hermione later on. While rearranging his glasses on his face, Percy began to hear excited voices from Ron and Ginny downstairs. Harry or Hermione must of arrived. Willing the warmness to leave the back of his neck, Percy cleared his throat and left his room.

"Harry," Percy heard Ginny say in a soft voice. "Mum's still cooking and Hermione hasn't shown up yet; take a walk with me?"

Harry nodded and Percy saw the pair slip out of the door as he walked into the hall. By the sound of it, the rest of his family was in the sitting room being entertained by his father's lively guest. Avoiding that room, Percy headed to the kitchen where his mum was -

"Oh Percy dear!" Percy's mom exclaimed as she directed the plate that nearly hit Percy onto the dining table. "I thought everyone was in the sitting room!"

"I figured I would be more of use in the kitchen. I can take care of the table for you, Mum."

Percy moved toward the utensils and plates and opted to finish setting the table by hand. When Molly smiled in gratitude and thanked him; Percy allowed himself to relax around his mother and smile as well. The rest of his family usually tolerated him with varying amounts of distaste, but his mother seemed to have a soft spot for her bespectacled son. Setting the last of the silverware on the table, Percy turned his head toward the sound of soft footsteps approaching the kitchen. He straightened his glasses on his face and righted his posture, interested to see who would walk through the door. Percy wasn't prepared, however, for his breath to catch in his throat.

Hermione walked into the kitchen and offered a smile to Mrs. Weasley.

"Hello Molly; I figured since everyone else seems to be enjoying themselves in the drawing room, I might help you set the table."

"How sweet of you Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, a bit proud that despite his rash personality Ron had managed to maintain such a compassionate and sincere young woman as a friend. "Percy has already set the table though, dear. All that's left to do is set out the food."

The brunette (who hadn't spotted him when she first entered the room) looked around to find Percy standing off to one side of the long dining table. Despite his slow beating heart that was steadily filling with pleasant emotion, Percy managed to produce a professional sounding: "Good evening, Hermione" if only for the presence of his mother.

And then she smiled. Percy suspected that his reaction to her smile was a bit dramatic, but it happened outside of his control. His body went stiff and he sucked in a sharp breath: it had been so long since he'd seen that smile. She was stunning. Hermione looked at Percy with eyes so warm he felt as though she were somehow embracing him. Percy wondered vaguely if Hermione's eyes had been so lively and bright at Hogwarts and he had just failed to notice. Still smiling, Hermione crossed the room toward Percy. He welcomed her with a small smile and took a few moments to admire the way her deep red blouse subtly complimented her figure. Her hair was pulled away from her face but Percy still had the urge to run his fingers through her alluring locks.

Hermione stopped walking when she reached Percy, standing closer than was necessary. Her right arm reached out to lightly hold the fingertips of his left hand.

"Hey, Percy." Hermione said softly as she smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "It's nice to see you."

After a few moments of holding each other's gaze, Hermione became more aware of the small distance between the two and her cheeks became a bit more pink. It seemed Percy had noticed their closeness as well, but was not going to comment on it. Hermione half expected Percy to enjoy her presence but avoid looking at her, awkward because his family was still loud around the corner and his mother could be heard arranging trays across the room. Instead he was staring intently at her. Or more specifically her lips. The young woman felt her heart rate jump and her breathing hitched a bit. Now he was staring into her eyes again. At almost a cruelly slow pace Percy began to lean down towards her lips. Entranced by the moment, Hermione tilted her face towards his ever so slightly and -

"Dears," Molly called from the far side of the kitchen, pretending to be unaware of the moment she just interrupted. "Do you think I could get a bit of help with these last few trays? My youth has remained in my spirit, but there's a bit less youth in my biceps."


Percy huffed again in annoyance. The meal had seemed to drag on a bit more that he expected that it would, what with three extra guests to change up the monotony. Currently he was holed up in his room making nonsensical marks on the letter parchment with his quill. His plan was to sneak Hermione away for a walk after dinner but those damn friends of hers reached her first...he wondered how she would manage sneaking up to his room with the other attendants to the meal enjoying her presence so much. It had been so long since he had seen her in person; knowing she found an anecdote of his entertaining was one thing, but he had a desire to see her face transform beautifully into a smile or laughter. By the sounds of it, the conversation in the sitting room had slowed. He could hear Fred and George call out their goodbyes as they left to return to their flat above the joke shop. Percy was glad they were gone and hoped that Hermione hadn't decided to just go home for the night. It was rather late, but surely she would have found a way to say goodbye to him?

"I didn't leave," was Hermione's greeting as she stepped into Percy's room, closing the door behind her with a nudge of her foot. She kept eye contact with him as she crossed the room to where he was seated in his desk chair. As she neared Percy's form he dropped his quill and stood to face her. "The others think I've left, but I wanted to see you. It's been a while, Percy."

He reached forward and gathered her slender hands in his own.

"I know." was his reply.

Tugging her gently, he pulled her arms forward to wrap around his waist and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Bending down, Percy rested his chin on the top of Hermione's head and his eyelids closed slowly. He could feel Hermione tracing random patterns on his back with her fingers. Using a small amount of wandless magic Percy put out the candles in the room. The pair held onto one another, swaying subtly to the sound of nature from outside his window.

Stepping out of the embrace, Hermione looked Percy in the eyes and began removing her trousers; Percy followed suit. Shirts came off and soon Percy stood before Hermione wearing only his boxers. Hermione had stripped down to a tank top and knickers. Walking backwards, Percy turned to place his glasses on his bedside table. Percy held out both of his hands for Hermione to take as he climbed into his bed. Hermione followed and they settled in together under the sheets. Hermione sighed in satisfaction as she curled up next to Percy, her head over his heart and an arm stretched over his chest. She shifted a bit to allow her left leg to cross his as he lay on his back. Percy had worked an arm around Hermione's waist and held her close.

"Is this where we are, Percy?" Hermione questioned softly. "Where we can be together and nothing else seems to matter? I don't think I've ever shown so much of myself to anyone. It's just the way I feel for you..." She left her sentence to hang unfinished knowing, somehow, that Percy wouldn't mind because he understood.

"This is what I want Hermione: you and me. This feels like all I've ever wanted. And nothing else does matter, not now."

Hermione shifted closer and Percy placed his right hand over the hand that rested on his chest. He turned his neck to place a gentle kiss on Hermione's head. It was his turn to sigh as he laid in awe of the beautiful moment. Hermione's body fit so wonderfully next to his own. The moon and stars shined softly over the pair as if to preserve the bliss of the moment. Quiet sounds of conversation came from levels below. This is where they are now. Stranded on an island where it was the two of them, lost in each other. Nothing else mattered.


A/N: I found so much pleasure in writing that. I usually consider myself more of a poet, but I know I am a creative writer in general. It felt great that I was able to write this simple one-shot that was meant to come across as sincere. With creative work, I belong. In this art I am home (hence my pen name).

Thanks for reading and please review. If you liked it, disliked it, were indifferent, or spaced out: I wanna know. It's a curiosity of mine.:)