Percy Weasley was bleeding. He had just shouted himself hoarse at some second-years who were attempting to duel in a school corridor with the result that he walked straight into a suit of armour. Now he felt a sharp pain on his forehead and could feel a trickle of blood on his face. He backed a few paces and examined the cut in the armour's reflection for a bit before tapping his wand at it.
"Episkey," he murmured and the cut sealed itself at once.
"Hi, Percy."
Rudy kids, he thought angrily as he turned around to see who was talking to him.
"Oh, hello, Ginny."
"You are bleeding," she pointed out, frowning at him.
"Not anymore," Percy replied grumpily, wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve. "It was nothing. What are you up to? I hope you didn't come here to duel like some of your classmates did earlier."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Those idiots? No, I've only been-"
"Looking hot, Weasley! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Both Ginny and Percy turned around. It was Oliver Wood, broomstick in his hand and a smirk on his face. Percy froze, looking stern and angry.
"Keep talking to my sister like that, Wood, and I promise I will put you in detention during every Quidditch match this season," he hissed through gritted teeth.
Oliver ignored him and, shouldering his broomstick, disappeared through the front door and towards the Quidditch pitch.
"Why do you hate him so much?" Asked Ginny as she and her brother watch the Quidditch captain march away.
"I don't hate him," Percy spat, still looking angrier than the occasion warrantied. "Please tell me you don't fancy him," he suddenly turned to his sister. "He is such a prat, not interested in anything but the stupid quaffle. Just… keep liking Harry, okay? He's alright."
Ginny grinned, turning slightly pink, but didn't say anything.
"Anyway, I gotta go, I promised to meet Penny for breakfast and I'm already late. See you around," Percy added and headed into the Great Hall, leaving Ginny in the Entrance Hall still looking curiously after Oliver Wood.
Penelope was waiting for Percy at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, reading The Daily Prophet over her bowl of porridge. She nodded slightly when Percy joined her, but continued to look into her paper.
"The Ministry really are a bunch of-" she suddenly stopped as she caught sight of Percy's face.
"You are covered in blood, Perce."
"Still? Stupid second-years," he grunted.
Penny took out her wand and flicked it silently towards Percy's face. The smeared blood vanished.
"Thanks." He reached for some toast and started buttering it.
"So, what are we up to today?"
"As if there were ever any question about that, Weasley. Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw in half an hour, and we are going to slaughter you."
"No chance," Percy swelled. "We have Potter, and we never lost a game since he joined the team. And," he stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth, "Wood's an excellent keeper."
"Yes, you would know about that," Penelope sniggered.
"Shut it, Clearwater. I may not like him, but I still do care about Quidditch you know. So, ten galleons as usual?"
Penny agreed the the pre-arranged bet and they shook hands.
Mostly everybody at school thought that Percy and Penny were dating, and they were not refuting the rumour. It was true that Percy's first kiss was with Penny, but then, they were young and it was an experiment. Neither of them meant anything serious by it. They were best friends from the time they both started at Hogwarts, and now, in their seventh and last year, they knew more about each other than anybody else. The idea of them being together was ludicrous.
"I knew it!" Percy Weasley shouted later, as the Gryffindor Quidditch team hugged in mid air and then flew a winning circle round the pitch.
"Ten galleons to me, if you please," he grinned and stretched his hands towards Penelope, who grudgingly paid the lost bet. Percy sighed.
"They are going to be insufferable tonight, celebrating and partying all night. And we've got exams coming up, I need to concentrate on studying you know," he complained as they made their slow way back up to the school.
"You could join them, you know," said Penny. "Have a little fun for a change."
"What, listen to Wood's hundredth replay of the match and endless talk about tactics and stuff? I don't know where you learned about fun, Penny, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons."
They separated as they reached the upper floors, Penelope heading for the Ravenclaw tower and Percy for the Gryffindor one.
As he had predicted, the party was in full swing by the time he arrived into the common room. He grunted in annoyance as he sat down in a corner, prepared to start on his Astronomy homework.
"Truth… No, no, dare! Dare!" someone shouted, giggling.
"Alright. I dare you to… Toooo… Admit your undying love to this portrait of professor Snape."
Everybody fell about laughing as the former one proceeded to fulfil their task.
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator…
"…and I promise to love you until…"
…and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations…
"with all my heart, professor Snape, will I forever cherish…"
…recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology…
Percy couldn't concentrate. He tried to read his textbook, but snippets of the conversation, shouting and laughter from the jolly people behind him were drifting in and out of his head, distracting him.
"Okay, my turn," said Alicia Spinnet, a chased on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She sinned the bottle they were playing with, which stopped pointing at Fred.
"Truth or dare?"
"Definitely truth, I am NOT kissing George again," the twin said, throwing a disgusted look at his brother. "I mean, I love you and all, but everything has its limits, you twisted freaks."
"Truth it is," sniggered Alicia. "Tell us, Fred, do you and George ever swap dates?"
"Uhh, tough one. Yeah, we did it once, but unfortunately Angelina spotted us in an instance. It was fun while it lasted, though." The twins laughed, while Angelina threw a dirty look at them both.
Percy rubbed his temples and contemplated vaguely that he might just as well go to bed, there was simply no way he would get any work done in this environment. He closed his book and made to stand up, when something the others were saying caught his ear.
"Oliver!" Fred shouted, as the spinning bottle came to a stop pointing at the muscular form of the Quidditch captain. "Now, I think it is time you finally tell us - back me up, people, we all want to know - what happened between you and my dear older brother."
Percy froze where he stood.
"I mean," Fred continued, "why does he hate you so much? You used to be friends, didn't you? What did you do to him? Did you interrupt him while he was revising for an exam or something?"
Percy shot a quick warning look at Oliver Wood, who, almost involuntarily, looked back at him, taking a deep breath.
"Here, a fant," said Percy suddenly. He took of his t-shirt and threw it amidst the group of playing people. "He doesn't need to answer now, if I recall the rules correctly."
There was complete silence. He stood there, half naked and looking daggers at Fred. After a while, Percy added: "We promised not to talk about it." He shot a look at Oliver, who was now slouched in his chair looking pale, almost sheepish, and the rest of the room, all of whom were confusedly flicking their gaze between the two men.