Hello all! Well, last chapter attracted a fair bit of interest, so here's a quick update for you! Well, relatively quick... Thanks to SlyvanSpirit, gngrlvr1, RussiansNekojinlover, Jooh, passionate4pens94, dearmanica, Qoax, Bboop and LuLuSims for reviewing, to Jooh, Qoax, Bboop and LuLuSims for story-alerting, to Jooh, udonluvr5, Bboop and LuLuSims for faving, and to Teddy bear Cullen and LuLuSims both for author-alerting and author-faving. Also big shout-out to everyone who read my one-shot "Daffodils For Luna", and to everyone who read Lacrima's one-shot "The Amazing Adventures of Crookshanks The Wondercat" or whatever that cumbersome piece of fiction was called... ;D
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... JRK doesn't do Ginny-bashing. Oh my.
21. Too Much Information
Percy, Oliver and Charlie were wandering around Diagon Alley. It was the day after Oliver had arrived at the Burrow to spend the holidays with the Weasleys, and now he had been invited out to their annual pre-Christmas shopping trip. Molly and Arthur had disappeared somewhere to do their shopping, so the three boys were left in charge of Ginny, who had promptly told them that they were a bunch of bores and was going to Florean Fortescue's to meet some friends. They hadn't exactly argued – Ginny hadn't exactly given them a choice.
It was then that they decided to go their separate ways to buy gifts for one another, and Percy had decided to hex two birds with one spell by heading to Quality Quidditch Supplies, where he was sure to find something nice for Oliver and Charlie. As he entered the store, he saw that they were proudly advertising several broomsticks that Percy honestly had no comprehension of nor money to afford. He very nearly considered getting Oliver a Puddlemere jersey that they had sitting in one display cabinet, but then he realised that Oliver very probably had one just like it already, so decided against it. There was a very nice watch that looked like a snitch, but he chose to get that for Charlie – his watch had stopped working a while ago. And anyway, the snitch-watch was second-hand, and while he and his family tended to go for the purchasing of second-hand gifts, he couldn't bear to get anything that he knew someone else had used before for Oliver.
After half an hour, he left the store, full of anguish that he couldn't choose anything for Oliver. Percy coped with the annoyance as he did any other – he pushed it aside and pretended that it wasn't happening, instead going to various other shops, buying a Muggle-style radio for his father, some chocolates with a meade filling for his mother, some gag items for the twins, Ron and Ginny, and finally a very nice notebook indeed for Bill.
But that still didn't solve the problem of what to buy for Oliver. So Percy bought a necklace for Penelope and a detective novel for Kathleen. He didn't like to think of it as retail therapy – rather, putting off the inevitable. And then he saw them. There, in the windows of the shoe store, was the most amazing pair of boots Percy had ever seen. And they would look perfect on Oliver. Grinning wildly, he dashed into the store.
"Excuse me," he addressed the lady behind the counter, "how much are those boots in the window?"
The lady walked up to him, and asked him which ones he meant. "Those? Those are 25 galleons."
Percy gulped. Despite the money he had been saving up for years, all he had left in his wallet were 24 galleons. All he had to show for his pathetic little life, 24 galleons.
"I only have 24... on me... right now..." he admitted shame-facedly.
The lady looked up at him (for he was indeed much taller than her), frowning. "I'm sorry, sir. These boots are 25 galleons. You'll have to find a galleon from elsewhere if you want to buy them."
As she spoke, she looked him up and down, taking in his shabby robes and worn shoes.
"I'll be back," Percy said as he dashed out the door, looking the Alley up and down for Charlie. He and Oliver were standing out Florean Fortescue's, their bags filled with presents, no doubt, and waiting for Ginny.
"Charlie!" Percy cried, out of breath. "A galleon!"
"What?"
"I need a galleon!"
Grabbing Percy, Charlie pulled him away from Oliver, a worried look in his eyes. "Percy, please don't tell me you've spent all your money already?"
"It's fine," Percy panted, "I'll get a job at the end of this year; I don't need any more money until then."
"How much have you got on you?"
"24."
"Percy!" Charlie exclaimed, alarmed. "What on Earth do you need 25 galleons for?"
"Boots," Percy said.
"Boots?" Charlie was incredulous.
"For Oliver," Percy added.
Charlie's countenance suddenly changed. "Oh, for Oliver... I suppose you won't get any Christmas sex if you don't buy him something nice?"
Percy flushed red. "Shut up. I just want to get him a good present, you know. Because I..."
Charlie smiled, and slapped Percy on the back. Even though his older brother was shorter than him, he packed more of a punch, and Percy very nearly fell over at the contact. "You love him, of course."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a galleon. "Go on, bugger off and buy those boots."
Percy would have thanked Charlie immensely, but he turned away before he could say anything and went back over to where Oliver was standing. The two brothers had never been particularly close – Percy was more the studious type, while Charlie couldn't care about much except Quidditch and dragons. But now, it seemed, they had something in common. For perhaps the first time ever, Percy didn't feel as if he was that much of an anomaly in his family after all. Not knowing what else to do, Percy turned and rushed back to the shoe store.
"25 galleons," he said proudly to the sales assistant. She looked surprised, but nonetheless accepted the money and handed over the boot. Percy gratefully stowed them in his bigger-on-the-inside bag that he had cleared of schoolbooks and parchment for this one day of the year. And with that, he headed back to Florean Fortescue's, where it seemed that Ginny was still busy with her friends.
"Have you two done all your shopping?" he asked Oliver and Charlie.
"Pretty much," Charlie said, "I just need to find some things to send to my boys in Romania."
Percy frowned. He wasn't sure that he wanted to contemplate what sort of things Charlie might send to his "boys in Romania"...
"I'm all done," Oliver said. "My owl's gonna have a bloody hard time delivering all of this crap, though," he added, patting his bag, which was evidently full-to-bursting, despite its svelte appearance. "You?"
"I'm done," Percy said, feeling rather proud of himself indeed.
"Great! Let's get ourselves some treats, then," Oliver said.
When they got to the counter of the ice cream parlour, Percy instinctively reached for his pocket, only to be rudely reminded that until he got himself a job, it would be empty. His childhood pocket money from his parents only went so far, and now he was of age, he wouldn't be getting any more of that.
"Oh," he mumbled, blushing.
"Never mind," Oliver said with a smile, "I'll shout you."
Percy raised his eyebrows. "That makes no grammatical sense whatsoever."
"It's a Muggle thing," Oliver explained patiently, "when you buy something for someone else, you're 'shouting' it to them."
"That's a bit stupid," Percy thought aloud.
"I suppose it is," Oliver said with a laugh, before proceeding to "shout" Percy an ice cream sundae.
xxx
It was Christmas Eve, and there was probably no place in England more busy than the Burrow. Molly had been in the kitchen since... well, long before everyone had woken up. The noises coming out of there were unbelievable, and thankfully no-one need venture within, because at regular intervals, food just appeared on the dining room table. Charlie and Arthur were sitting in the lounge playing a heated game of exploding snap when the door burst open and Bill glided (not literally) inside. He was about to call out, to draw attention to his presence, when Molly appeared in the corridor, and smothered her eldest son in hugs and kisses.
"Charlie," she called out, "go and fetch your brother and sister. Oh, and Oliver! Let them know that Bill's here!"
Charlie dashed up the stairs, only to find Ginny already on her way down. "Bill's here!" he said.
"I know, I heard gushing," she remarked snippily.
Charlie shook his head, muttered "where'd she go wrong?", and headed off to Percy's room. Unsurprisingly, the door was locked.
"Percy, Oliver, Bill's here!"
Inside the room, Percy paused mid-snog, yelled out "COMING", and he and Oliver took a few moments to collect themselves. He swore he could hear Charlie grin as he said through the door "of course you are."
Some entirely un-suspicious minutes later, Percy (and Oliver, much to Bill's surprise) appeared downstairs to greet the eldest child of the Weasley brood.
"How's my worthy successor this fine Christmas?" Bill asked Percy, shaking his hand firmly.
"Carrying out my duties to the best of my abilities," Percy replied proudly, with a much stronger handshake than he had way back in chapter one, "and thoroughly enjoying every second of it."
Bill nodded, satisfied with this answer. "I always knew you were Head Boy material, I've got to see. But honestly, from what I've heard, I'm surprised you're not wearing your badge now!"
Percy frowned, blushing slightly. True, he was very proud of his Head Boy status, and he did tend to wear his badge rather more than he needed to... in fact, thinking about it, he realised that the only times he really took his badge off were when he showered, or when he and Oliver... let's not go there, thought Sober Percy.
"I don't usually wear it out of school," he replied with a sniff of superiority.
"Yes you do," Ginny said with a tone of objection, "I bet the only times he takes it off are when he's showering or shagging his girlfriend."
A sudden silence descended over the Weasley family. Molly and Arthur looked as though they had just been hit by a train (or two), Bill looked amused, Percy, Oliver and Charlie looked decidedly uncomfortable, and Ginny looked immensely proud of herself.
"Percy," Molly began, her mother-mode going into overdrive (like it was ever switched off!), "why have we never heard about this girlfriend of yours?"
"Because," Percy replied, red as a beet, "I don't have one."
"You don't have to lie to us, Percy," Arthur said comfortingly, placing a hand on a very angry indeed Percy's shoulder, "we're you're family!"
Almost as if on cue, Molly dissolved into happy tears. "I'm SO PROUD OF YOU!" she cried, throwing herself around her very angry indeed son's skinny torso.
"I don't—"
"What's her name?" Bill asked, curious.
"She's not my—"
"Penelope Clearwater," Ginny chimed in, evidently having done her research, "she's a sixth year Ravenclaw with massive—"
Charlie helpfully stepped in here and put a hand over the nearby Ginny's mouth. "Look, guys, listen to Percy – I think he's trying to tell you that he doesn't actually have a girlfriend."
"That's RIGHT!" Percy exclaimed, breathing out in a heavy sigh. "That's what I've been saying!"
"Oh, Percy," Molly said, still not letting go of him, "it's okay if you haven't worked up the courage to ask this girl Penelope out yet; you will in time!"
"I don't want to—"
"Listen, son," Arthur said, "after Christmas we'll sit down and have a talk, you and I, and see if we can't sort out this Penelope business, okay?"
"And now let's just leave the topic," Charlie said hastily, as Molly ushered the whole family into the lounge room.
Percy, Charlie, and Oliver – looking about as awkward as he ever had – lingered outside for a bit.
"Fuck," Percy muttered sharply beneath his breath, "fuck fuck fuck."
"I didn't know you swore," Charlie stated with some amusement.
"Don't worry, nobody knows much about me," Percy said bitterly.
Oliver gave him a comforting pat on the back, about as much affection as he dared show. "Don't worry, Perce, we'll get past it. We always do. You're Head Boy – you can do anything."
Percy nodded, smiling faintly, and then turned to go into the lounge room.
"You just called him 'Perce'," Charlie observed, more amused by the second.
"I can do that," Oliver said proudly, "... now."
xxx
In the aftermath of the Weasley Christmas Feast, everyone was tired, bloated and (mostly) drunk. Arthur had, with some pride, allowed Percy his first Christmas drink, happily ignoring the one flaw of Hogwarts – the culture of teenage alcoholism. Of course, both Percy and Oliver, though only recently of-age, had been drinking since they were at least fourteen. It was hard to go through that school and avoid the temptation of a taste. It didn't really help that they Three Broomsticks were more than happy to give a kid a butterbeer, and the teachers were more than happy to turn a blind eye.
Still, none of this had stopped Percy from pretending that it was his first time, and using that as an excuse to drink more than he knew to be healthy with the safe excuse that he didn't have any experience to know how much was too much. Can you really blame him, though? He was trying to drown his sorrows, and boy did he have sorrows.
Charlie and Bill were indulging in a high-energy game of Wizard Chess, which is so much more fun when you're drunk, and had monopolised the lounge with their noisy antics. Molly and Arthur had insisted that they cast silencing spells around the room, as they were looking to have an early night, so that they wouldn't have such bad hangovers when the others were all awake and opening their presents.
Ginny, the only one too young to drink, had stormed off to bed in a huff, not wanting to be surrounded by all the drunk adults.
Drunk Percy was out in the freezing garden, getting some clear air into his head before he "turned in" for the night.
And Completely Smashed But Still Enough In Control Of His Own Mind To Have A Cunning Plan Oliver was decking Percy's bedroom with all the mistletoe in the world.
xxx
Percy was awoken on Christmas Day by a knock on his door. Groggy and hung-over, he pulled on some clothes and stumbled over to the door.
When Charlie opened the door, the first thing that caught his sight was the copious amounts of mistletoe in the room. It was hanging from all corners of the ceiling, draped over the bookshelves, littered across Percy's desks, and covering up several aspects of a buck-naked Oliver, positioned conspicuously on Percy's bed. His first thought was "too much information!"
His second thought was "thank Merlin I opened the door".
"Oh, Charlie," Percy mumbled, slurring his speech somewhat, "thank Merlin it's you."
"My thoughts exactly," Charlie replied, "now, wake that lump on your bed up and get downstairs. It's midday and everyone's getting impatient to open their presents."
"Oh, shit," Percy exclaimed sleepily, "see you in a few minutes, then."
He shut the door in Charlie's grinning face.
When they finally made it downstairs, expertly timing their arrivals so that it didn't look like they'd been up all night together making more noise than high-energy Wizard Chess, the Weasleys were all waiting by their presents, ready and eager to open. So, putting breakfast off for a few minutes – it could wait – they all sat down with their piles of presents.
Percy had received a jumper from his mother, knitted in a very fetching burgundy, a second-hand Muggle novel from his father, a scroll of fine (and expensive!) Egyptian parchment from Bill, an Ancient Runes book that looked like an Ancient Rune itself from Charlie, and some Licorice Wands from Ginny. Percy really didn't like Licorice Wands, but the fact that Ginny had bought him something was in itself an achievement. And from Oliver, he received a small metal box that, when opened, released an array of colour lights that could be charmed to display any image or text that you wanted them to. Much like the lights, Percy was charmed.
On the whole, his gifts went down fairly well. Molly was delighted by the chocolates, and Arthur was doubly-delighted with his new radio. Ginny was apathetic, as expected, about the gag items, and Bill was pleased enough with the notebook. Charlie was thrilled by the watch – it was the "grooviest" thing he'd ever laid eyes on, apparently.
But the shock of the day, and the event that would no doubt be remembered as a dramatic Weasley Christmas moment for the rest of their lives, was when Oliver opened his present from Percy.
Turns out that despite all his brains and diligence, Percy had forgotten to remove the price tag.
Oh dear.
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Love it? Hate it? Want to print it out, take it to bed with you and read it every night? That's okay too, if you leave a review! All reviews guaranteed a reply!
Author's Note: Well well well. I so enjoyed writing this chapter. Have I mentioned that I love writing all things Weasley? Maybe? Yes? Okay... This chapter is called "Too Much Information" for several reasons: one; Charlie thinks it at one point, two; Ginny gives away too much information, and three; Percy leaves too much information on his present to Oliver. HOW COULD I NOT?
Until next time,
- Legs
NEXT TIME ON RULED BY SECRECY: Back at Hogwarts, the author comes up with a plot device, possibly involving Peter. Yeah, remember him? It's gonna be dramatic. :D