Crystal by Kazza
Rating: PG-13
Angst, Soppiness, Percy, Weasleys
Setting: Two and a half years after the events in GoF
Spoilers: All 4 books.
Author's Note: This is a very soppy story with excessive Weasley family drama and ladles full of soppy angst and occasional cuteness. You have been warned. :)
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, except Crystal who I've probably borrowed from somewhere else. The characters and the world of Harry Potter belong to people more talented and cleverer that I. This story is merely intended as a tribute and as a bit of silly fanfic fluff.
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Crystal
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Part One
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The Knight Bus screeched to a halt on the dark country laneway.
"Here you are, sir and ma'am, The Burrow." The female conductor smiled cheerfully at the red headed man. "Good to be seeing you back here, Mr Weasley."
Percy watched his meagre luggage thump onto the ground.
"Thank you," he said hoarsely. The conductor nodded and closed the bus's ancient door. Percy watched the Knight Bus rumble away then stared around at the shadowy landscape.
'Is it good to be back?' he wondered as his mind compared the familiar shadows with his memories of home. Everything looked familiar and yet somehow it was all completely different from the home he'd left so long ago.
The house was dark. Either his family hadn't received his owl, reasoned Percy, or they hadn't bothered to wait up for him to arrive. He had hoped they would be slightly happy to see him but obviously that wasn't to be the case.
Crystal's head lolled against Percy's shoulder, breaking into his thoughts. Percy hefted her sleeping form in his arms. He couldn't blame her for sleeping. He was tired too. It had been so long since he'd had a decent night's sleep. He could only remember being more tired once in his life and he didn't want to think about that horrible time at the moment.
Percy stared down at his luggage and sighed. He didn't have the energy to carry both it and Crystal. The luggage would just have to stay where it lay for the night. Perhaps the gnomes that ran riot in The Burrow's gardens might not have totally destroyed it come morning.
"Need a hand?" said a familiar voice.
Percy's shoulders twitched at the shock of hearing a voice in the dark, seemingly empty laneway, the movement made Crystal moan in her sleep. Charlie Weasley stepped out of the shadows.
"Hi Perce." Charlie's gaze took in his brother's too thin body, the patched robes and the haggard exhaustion in the younger man's stance.
Percy nodded a greeting. It was all he could manage at that moment without embarrassing himself.
"I'll take the luggage, shall I?" Charlie said in the calm, gentle tones he reserved for skittish dragons.
Percy nodded again and hefted Crystal a bit higher in his arms. "What," he said hoarsely, then cleared his throat, "what are you doing here?"
"Dumbledore contact me. Said you were coming home." Charlie picked up a bag and looped the long rope tied to the handle over one of his broad shoulders. "You didn't think I miss it?" Charlie reached for the second bag and picked it up.
"Merlin's Beard! What you got in this, Perce? Quaffles?"
"Books mainly." Percy said quietly.
"Why isn't that a surprise," muttered Charlie as he charmed the bag and floated it down the lane. "Oh, by the way," he added, "no one else knows yet that you're coming home."
"But I owled."
"I intercepted your letter." Charlie stopped the floating bag and turned to face his brother. "Perce, you know how overexcited we Weasley's get. Well, Bill and George are home. They'll be enough to start with. Besides," Charlie grinned, "I think you could use a nap before you face Mum."
Percy nodded again and concentrated on making his tired body walk the length of the meandering path.
The brothers walked slowly towards the house; Charlie watching Percy's unsteady steps. Charlie's mind was filled with thoughts about his younger brother. When had Percy got so frail? When Charlie had last seen Percy, six months earlier in Hamburg, Percy had been lean and fit. Now it looked to Charlie like Percy had the weight of the world on his back and hadn't eaten or slept in a month.
It seemed like a lifetime since that Percy had left Hogwarts, yet Charlie knew it was barely more than three and a half years since Percy had leapt headfirst into a job at the Ministry of Magic. A job that Percy had, uncharacteristically, abandoned only a year later when he'd eloped with Penelope Clearwater and fled England. Sadly, their marriage had been brief - the Death Eaters who had vowed to kill all the Clearwaters and had killed Penelope's parents, had left Percy a widower a year later.
It was only now that the Death Eaters concerned were dead and Voldemort was busy elsewhere that Percy was free to return home. Charlie hoped Percy was strong enough to cope with this homecoming. The Dragon Trainer turned Courier barely recognised the bearded, ragged man as his spit-and-polish neat brother.
Charlie stared at Percy in the questioning way that Percy had always hated. After a few moments the stare began to bother Percy.
"What is it Charles?" Percy asked peevishly. He watched as a broad grin spread across Charlie's face.
"There you are." Charlie's smile grew even wider. "Good to have you back, Perce."
To be continued
Rating: PG-13
Angst, Soppiness, Percy, Weasleys
Setting: Two and a half years after the events in GoF
Spoilers: All 4 books.
Author's Note: This is a very soppy story with excessive Weasley family drama and ladles full of soppy angst and occasional cuteness. You have been warned. :)
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, except Crystal who I've probably borrowed from somewhere else. The characters and the world of Harry Potter belong to people more talented and cleverer that I. This story is merely intended as a tribute and as a bit of silly fanfic fluff.
--------
Crystal
--------
Part One
--------
The Knight Bus screeched to a halt on the dark country laneway.
"Here you are, sir and ma'am, The Burrow." The female conductor smiled cheerfully at the red headed man. "Good to be seeing you back here, Mr Weasley."
Percy watched his meagre luggage thump onto the ground.
"Thank you," he said hoarsely. The conductor nodded and closed the bus's ancient door. Percy watched the Knight Bus rumble away then stared around at the shadowy landscape.
'Is it good to be back?' he wondered as his mind compared the familiar shadows with his memories of home. Everything looked familiar and yet somehow it was all completely different from the home he'd left so long ago.
The house was dark. Either his family hadn't received his owl, reasoned Percy, or they hadn't bothered to wait up for him to arrive. He had hoped they would be slightly happy to see him but obviously that wasn't to be the case.
Crystal's head lolled against Percy's shoulder, breaking into his thoughts. Percy hefted her sleeping form in his arms. He couldn't blame her for sleeping. He was tired too. It had been so long since he'd had a decent night's sleep. He could only remember being more tired once in his life and he didn't want to think about that horrible time at the moment.
Percy stared down at his luggage and sighed. He didn't have the energy to carry both it and Crystal. The luggage would just have to stay where it lay for the night. Perhaps the gnomes that ran riot in The Burrow's gardens might not have totally destroyed it come morning.
"Need a hand?" said a familiar voice.
Percy's shoulders twitched at the shock of hearing a voice in the dark, seemingly empty laneway, the movement made Crystal moan in her sleep. Charlie Weasley stepped out of the shadows.
"Hi Perce." Charlie's gaze took in his brother's too thin body, the patched robes and the haggard exhaustion in the younger man's stance.
Percy nodded a greeting. It was all he could manage at that moment without embarrassing himself.
"I'll take the luggage, shall I?" Charlie said in the calm, gentle tones he reserved for skittish dragons.
Percy nodded again and hefted Crystal a bit higher in his arms. "What," he said hoarsely, then cleared his throat, "what are you doing here?"
"Dumbledore contact me. Said you were coming home." Charlie picked up a bag and looped the long rope tied to the handle over one of his broad shoulders. "You didn't think I miss it?" Charlie reached for the second bag and picked it up.
"Merlin's Beard! What you got in this, Perce? Quaffles?"
"Books mainly." Percy said quietly.
"Why isn't that a surprise," muttered Charlie as he charmed the bag and floated it down the lane. "Oh, by the way," he added, "no one else knows yet that you're coming home."
"But I owled."
"I intercepted your letter." Charlie stopped the floating bag and turned to face his brother. "Perce, you know how overexcited we Weasley's get. Well, Bill and George are home. They'll be enough to start with. Besides," Charlie grinned, "I think you could use a nap before you face Mum."
Percy nodded again and concentrated on making his tired body walk the length of the meandering path.
The brothers walked slowly towards the house; Charlie watching Percy's unsteady steps. Charlie's mind was filled with thoughts about his younger brother. When had Percy got so frail? When Charlie had last seen Percy, six months earlier in Hamburg, Percy had been lean and fit. Now it looked to Charlie like Percy had the weight of the world on his back and hadn't eaten or slept in a month.
It seemed like a lifetime since that Percy had left Hogwarts, yet Charlie knew it was barely more than three and a half years since Percy had leapt headfirst into a job at the Ministry of Magic. A job that Percy had, uncharacteristically, abandoned only a year later when he'd eloped with Penelope Clearwater and fled England. Sadly, their marriage had been brief - the Death Eaters who had vowed to kill all the Clearwaters and had killed Penelope's parents, had left Percy a widower a year later.
It was only now that the Death Eaters concerned were dead and Voldemort was busy elsewhere that Percy was free to return home. Charlie hoped Percy was strong enough to cope with this homecoming. The Dragon Trainer turned Courier barely recognised the bearded, ragged man as his spit-and-polish neat brother.
Charlie stared at Percy in the questioning way that Percy had always hated. After a few moments the stare began to bother Percy.
"What is it Charles?" Percy asked peevishly. He watched as a broad grin spread across Charlie's face.
"There you are." Charlie's smile grew even wider. "Good to have you back, Perce."
To be continued