It was late june, the sky was deep blue and cloudless, the pink of the sunset finally disappearing completely to make room for the stars. Percy Weasley, Alex Crawford, and Will Chase lay on the flat rooftop of Alex's home. The boys were all 11, Alex being the youngest. It was his birthday that day, which was the only reason the three best friends had been allowed to sleep on the roof. They had positioned themselves in a circle, all facing inwards. Will lay on his back with his arms under his head to look at the stars. Alex sat with his knees up, his arm draped across his legs and his chin resting on his arm. Percy lay facing the two of them, propped up on his arms with his chin cupped in his hands. The three boys had spent all night laughing and talking about the girls in their year, the end of school, and the vast amounts of work assigned to be completed by the beginning of school. But Percy wasn't very interested in their conversation. He hadn't yet told his two muggle best friends that he wouldn't be attending school with him and that they would, essentially, be parted for good. Percy was anxiously awaiting his letter from Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry which he would be attending come September.
Percy was anxiously trying to think of how to tell his two childhood best friends the news when he was startled from his thoughts. "Hey Perce," Alex called, throwing crisps at him. Percy snapped his head up.
"Yeah?" He responded feebly.
"What's wrong with you today? I've mentioned Lori Bell at least 4 times and you haven't even blinked. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, 'm just tired I s'pose," Percy responded, trying to slur his words slightly to emphasize his point. "Besides, I don' even like Lori, I keep tellin' you lot that." Percy was avoiding the subject, but he couldn't help it. He had no idea how to break the news. And what if he did end up telling them and they weren't even upset? Alex and Will shared a look, but they didn't try to bring it up again. Besides, they didn't have to. Percy became perfectly talkative after that, giving his input on which books the two boys should read (because of course Percy had already read them all), their new school's sports team ("They're awful at football, but at least they have better colors than black and red."), and even the girls of their year.
"C'mon mate, how d'you not like Lori? Everyone in our year likes Lori, and besides, you always get all flustered around her." Will enthused.
"Y'know she goes out of her way to be near you because she thinks it's funny when you blush." Alex confided.
Percy tried to think of a response that would satisfy his friends, but they just didn't get him. He simply didn't like Lori. Sure, she was beautiful, with her wavy blonde hair and wide green eyes, but she was also cruel and dim-witted. She couldn't hold a conversation with Percy, much less want to. "Lori's cute I guess, but I like Donna Hall. She's smarter and nicer."
"Donna?" Percy's friends were astounded.
"But she's so ugly!" Alex cried.
"She looks like a man, Perce." Will whispered.
"I think he's going insane." Alex chuckled to Will.
"Maybe he's in denial," Will muttered back.
"Maybe he's just queer," Alex scoffed, and the two roared with laughter at a joke Percy didn't find particularly funny. Percy just sat there, picking at the threads in his sleeping bag and trying to hide the blush that crept up his ears. Maybe, he wasn't going to miss his "best friends" as much as he thought.