Written for pippi55's 'Phobias Challenge' on the HPFC Forum.
Phobia: Frigophobia - Fear of cold or cold things.
Character: Percy Weasley
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Percy Weasley was not one to be afraid.
But when it came to cold...he was terrified. He was constantly fearful of being left out in the cold, being abandoned and left to freeze. Healers called it Frigophobia, or the fear of the cold.
England was no California, and as a child he used to run into his parents' bedroom almost every day during wintertime andhide under the sheets till morning, away from the cold. This resulted in Molly taking up knitting so as to keep up with her son's demands for warm clothing. Until one evening, when Ginny caught her mother discreetly pushing a freshly-knitted jumper under the door, and demanded a jumper of her own.
"Why Percy gets a new jumpie? I want one too!" three-year-old Ginny demanded. Ron tugged on his mother's sleeve. "Me too, me too! I want mine in maroon!" Four-year-old Ron was especially proud that he knew one of 'those difficult colours', and he would ask for everything he owned to be maroon, although his mother drew the line at maroon-coloured ice-cream.
This eventually become a tradition, and every Christmas, Molly would give each of her family members a Weasley jumper.
Even during their arguments, Percy never refused a Weasley jumper. Although he was no longer absolutely terrified of the cold (or so he claimed), he would unwrap each jumper and carefully fold it up, tucking it away in his closet. There were only three occasions when Percy returned a jumper – and Molly cried each time.
The first was when Percy was thirteen. He'd had an argument with his mother, and when she'd sent him the sweater, he'd sent it back, writing that he "didn't take things from strangers".
The second time was just after he'd stormed out of the house. He'd sent it back without a note or a card.
The third time was nearly three decades after the Fall of Voldemort. He'd been posted to Italy for a year, and during the first Christmas, the sweater and a note had been sent back, politely informing the family that he'd died a week ago.
Every Christmas after his death, Molly would take a freshly-knitted sweater to his grave, fold it neatly, and place it on the gravestone, insisting that just because he was six feet under didn't mean he wouldn't be cold, and she'd remind everyone about how he terrified he was of the cold.
When Audrey went to quietly retrieve the jumper that night, she was puzzled to find that the space at the top of the grave was empty, and there was no sign of a jumper having ever been placed there. And even more odd was that even though the other graves were partially covered in snow and icy to the touch, Percy's grave was always practically glowing with warmth, just like it was during the summer.
(Some things just can't be explained.)
