A/N: Written for the Gryffindor Tower Valentines contest. Thanks to Jules for the super-fast beta and to Jo and Mis for answering my frantic questions on MSN Oh, by the way, the title is shamelessly adapted from Dickens 'A tale of two Cities' and observant people will see that I stole a line from 'A Knight's Tale' in here somewhere.
Penny Clearwater (always Penny, never Penelope) entered the Great Hall, took one look, and promptly started blushing furiously. Pink hearts, flowers and dwarves as cupids? Oh my.
She tried to keep her thoughts away from a certain red-haired Gryffindor, shaking her head bemusedly as she wondered who in the world would have done this. However, noticing the lurid pink robes on the teacher's table as she sat down, she immediately realised who was responsible.
'Happy Valentine's day!' Lockhart beamed, casting a glance around the great hall that made Penny's more frivolous housemates, among which were Padma Patil and Mandy Brocklehurst, giggle girlishly.
What a self-centred idiot, Penny grinned ruefully as Lockhart began extolling the virtues of his fan club.
Since he was merely stating that he'd got somewhere in the region of forty cards, Penny tuned him out, glancing around the hall to gauge the other students reactions, which ranged from blank horror and amusement to girlish squealing. She also double-checked to make sure none of them were engaging in irresponsible behaviour. She was a Prefect, after all. Her eyes alighted on the Gryffindor table, where Percy was sitting with his head down, ears gradually becoming redder, and that little tuft of hair at the front of his head sticking up again, at which point any thoughts of Prefectdom went thoroughly out of the window.
However, any more thoughts in this vein were disturbed as the double doors of the hall banged open, revealing a dozen dwarves in the most ludicrous get-up of wings and harps. Accompanied with squeals of "Oh, isn't that cute!" the dwarves spread throughout the crowd, accosting various embarrassed, blushing girls and gruff, red-faced boys and delivering their messages of teenage devotion.
Penny was trying to prepare herself for the event of a dwarf delivering a possible, (not certain, her Ravenclaw mind reminded her) but a probable card from Percy, and how to cope with the fact that she had a sort-of boyfriend being unceremoniously announced to the whole Great Hall. Gazing at the nearest dwarf apprehensively, she sensed that it was coming towards her until, surprisingly, an owl fell into the pumpkin juice.
"Oh no! This has ruined my pink sweatshirt! I wanted Justin to see that!" wailed Su Li, as her best friend, Sally-Ann Perks, hovered around comfortingly.
Penny rolled her eyes. "Dispareo," she said testily.
With one wave of her wand, Su's shirt was clean again. Crisis resolved, Penny turned back to the owl, who was hooting feebly and offering a crumpled letter tied on its leg to her, provoking much hilarity from the Gryffindor table. As she unrolled it and watched the owl take off, she saw the neat, precise script addressing the letter to her. Only one person she knew would remember the correct charm that would stop the ink running, and be thoughtful enough to always use it, even when there was no usual chance that the letter would get wet.
Penny-
I did not wish to embarrass you publicly with the usual frivolous Valentine traditions, yet I do have something prepared. Will you meet me in the Muggle Studies classroom on the left-hand corridor of the first floor at 7.30 pm tonight?
Yours,
Percy.
Smiling at the formality that made Percy so uniquely Percy, Penny reached into the pocket of her robe for a spare Self-Inking Quill and scribbled a quick note in return, furtively Banishing it across the hall to the Gryffindor table, making sure that Percy caught it, and not one of his irrepressible twin brothers!
Hurrying through the corridors, late again, Penny struggled to tame her hair, forcing several clips into it and tapping it with her wand. When she reached the door of the Muggle studies classroom, she hesitated for a moment before pushing it open, knocking gently.
"Percy? Hope I'm not too late, it took a while for me to get out of…" Penny's voice trailed off as she looked at the transformed room.
Candles were lit everywhere; the occasional one sputtering out from too much wax, causing the light in the room to flicker. A soft jazz tune by a little-known Muggle singer was playing in the corner from a discreetly placed radio. Smiling as she recognised her favourite singer, Penny gasped as she noticed that the room had been charmed to look like the interior of 'The Golden Goblet' – one of the most prestigious and well-hidden restaurants in Diagon Alley - with elaborate crimson and purple velvet drapes around a centrally placed table that was set for two.
"Of course you're not too late," came a soft voice from the corner, as Percy stepped out from the shadows.
Penny was amused to notice that he was wearing a Muggle suit that he must have obtained from his father, and that he looked extremely uncomfortable in it, judging by his _expression. However, it does make him look very tall… mused Penny, also noticing how the black offset the rich auburn of his hair very well.
Lately, Penny seemed to have noticed a lot about Percy; that his hair had darkened to a rich auburn, but still had that part that stuck up at the front of his head. As Penny looked at it, she itched to reach up and smooth it down, though she knew that that tuft would never yield to human touch, as the inherently fastidious Percy would no doubt have tried to tame it.
She suddenly became aware of the awkward silence in the room as she and Percy stood studiously not looking at each other, the sound of the jazz singer the only noise in the room.
"Well… shall we sit down?" offered Penny tentatively, feeling like she was making some huge error in some sort of test by breaking the fragile silence that pervaded the room.
She moved to sit down, but Percy suddenly moved around to her chair and pulled it out for her, as if he was suddenly remembering the proper code of etiquette.
"Here, let me do that," he fussed, bustling around her in a way that was slightly reminiscent of his mother's mannerisms, making Penny grin fondly.
He tapped her napkin with his wand, which instead of neatly covering any place that food may spill on, turned into a huge bunch of a dozen roses, which were not a merely conventional red, but were shimmering so many colours that they seemed luminescent.
"Oh, Percy…" gasped Penny, reaching out to touch one of the shimmering rose petals, "you didn't have to do this, these must have cost an absolute fortune!" she continued, feeling her eyes inexplicably shimmer with tears, touched at the kindness that this gift showed.
"Erm…" he interjected sheepishly, his glasses slipping down his nose slightly, "That was supposed to happen after we'd had dinner, I forgot that I'd charmed that napkin to do that. I'm really glad you like them, though. Really glad." he repeated excitedly, before realising that his voice was approaching the stage where he ceased to make any sense. By now the blush on his face was noticeable, even in the dim light, which made him look even more adorable to Penny.
"It doesn't make a particle of difference to me whether they're before dinner or after. I love them, Percy, I really do. They're the sweetest present that anyone's ever given me…"
And you are beginning to sound like those brain-dead idiots who do a lot of giggling and not much else! admonished Penny's brain in the middle of her speech, making her stop talking and blush suddenly. Percy looked at her in concern.
"Are you quite all right?" he asked, his usual pompous façade back in place, yet still nevertheless pervaded with an aura of concern, as he leaned forward slightly over the table, inching his hand towards hers.
"Yes, Percy, I'm fine," responded Penny gently, smiling affectionately at him, "You worry too much, you know that?" she said gently, her hand moving unconsciously to squeeze Percy's hand, which was still extended towards her.
Even though she and Percy had held hands a few times now, every time it happened Penny still got an electric thrill in her stomach, partly from apprehension and partly from anticipation.
Percy smiled back at her, looking relieved and more relaxed than she had seen him lately. He really must get some rest, Penny thought, all these attacks have had everyone constantly on their feet. Also, he works so hard, especially when it was one of his own house that was attacked.
Penny hadn't known Colin Creevey personally, but she could see that it shocked Percy when one of his own house was attacked, and more so when the same thing had happened to the amiable Gryffindor ghost just before Christmas. In general, unobtrusive to everyone else, Percy did actually care about the students when they were under his care, which is why he appeared pompous and fastidious to those who didn't know him.
The object of her thoughts was now sitting there slightly bemused, as during Penny's little tangent he had tapped both of their plates with his wand, and now a sumptuous smell was evident. Penny inspected her plate more closely and saw that it was her favourite food; salmon surrounded with many vegetables. As Penny tended to stay away from most meat and fish except salmon, she concluded that Percy must have researched by asking one of her friends what her favourite meal was.
However, both their plates were still lying untouched, as their hands were still entwined in the middle of the table.
"Oh!" said Percy suddenly, perhaps realising that Penny knew that he had lost attention for a while.
He withdrew his hand awkwardly, causing Penny to giggle and him to blush, ducking his head down in embarrassment and starting to cut up his pommes au gratin. Penny could see that the back of his neck was still red.
All through the meal, Penny felt a heightened awareness in the room that she had scarcely noticed before. The knowledge that she had Percy in such close proximity to her, instead of sitting a safe distance away on the other side of the hall, made her senses work overtime to the point that she could feel everything more than normal. The food she was tasting, the music she was hearing, and the inherent aura that came from Percy's proximity to her were all amplified to a larger extent than ever before. The unfamiliarity of this feeling made Penny slightly uncomfortable, but as her ankle turned slightly, touching Percy's foot and making him jump, she decided that this new, unfamiliar feeling was not bad at all.
Pushing her curly hair back, she proceeded to finish the remains of her dessert - a sublime chocolate pudding - occasionally glancing up at Percy and finding that he was glancing at her at the same time. The couple eating in a comfortable yet expectant silence. When she had finished, Percy reached over and tapped her plate with his wand, causing her plate to become clean and a bottle of Winifred's Finest White Wine to appear, together with two glasses.
"May I?" Percy enquired, having struggled to use a corkscrew before remembering that there was a simple charm used to open wine bottles, as he inclined the bottle towards one of the glasses, looking at her inquiringly.
Penny nodded her consent, smiling at Percy's ingrained sense of propriety and fairness, always the gentleman. She sipped the wine delicately, accustoming herself to the alcohol, breathing deeply in order to counteract the effect that the alcohol usually had on her. Concentrating on her drink, she only looked up at the clink of a glass on the table, to see that Percy was standing up, a set, determined look on his face.
"Penny… erm… would you do me the honour of letting me have this dance?" he asked tentatively, yet with a determined tone to his voice, offering his hand to her.
"I'd love to," Penny smiled, as she took Percy's hand and rose next to him.
He flicked his wand towards the radio with the other hand, increasing the volume of the music, then closed the distance between Penny and him, holding her in a conventional ballroom dancing position as if she were as fragile as a china doll. They started moving slowly to the music, which at that moment was one of the faster songs. As the music increased in tempo, their movements matched it. Penny could only marvel at Percy's faultless dancing technique, as the rest of her thoughts were one dizzying mass of steps, music and the feeling of having Percy close to her.
Song flowed seamlessly into song and Penny lost all sense of time as the music became slower and the distance between her and Percy decreased. There had been silence between them since Penny's acceptance of his invitation, but this was a different kind of silence. This comfortable silence seemed to indicate that the connection that she and Percy shared transcended the boundaries of common language. Penny's analytical Ravenclaw mind could not even begin to understand the pull, the incredible sense of rightness that she felt as she looked up into his warm brown eyes.
By this time, Percy had his arms entirely around her, and Penny closed the remaining gap between them and put her head on his chest. Any attempt at dancing had degenerated to mere swaying as she could feel the pressure of his cheek on her hair and the slight tickle of his breathing. Closing her eyes for a second, she revelled in his smell, his way of dancing, and everything that made him inherently Percy. She felt him tug slightly on her hair, running his hands through the curls, and looked up, at which point she impulsively kissed him.
As the candles died down, and the wireless dimmed in the background, the couple stood there, kissing awkwardly, yet with a growing amount of passion. Penny felt slight discomfort from the awkward position her arms were in, and the fact that her nose was squashing against Percy's glasses, but nevertheless burrowed closer, knowing that this felt right. She could feel Percy beginning to relax, as well, as they communicated to each other their love, devotion and feelings that could be only realised in the event of a kiss, yet fail to be described in heavy handed words.
Suddenly, a giggle invaded their world of euphoric bliss. Penny tried to ignore it, tightening her arms around Percy, yet still wondering what the alien sound could be. However, Percy must not have been so keen to ignore it as the kiss was gently broken. She saw him mouthing a quick apology to her, and then turning to the door, breaking into a run as he saw who was there. The mystery figure disappeared in a blur of red and a high-pitched giggle, pursued by Percy, who was shouting one word.
'GINNY!!' he shouted, as he careened down the corridor, bumping into a suit of armour as he turned the corner. Still slightly disorientated from the kiss, Penny shook her head in amusement, as she turned to clear up the debris. She knew only one thing.
Ginny was going to hold that over her brother for a long, long time.