AN:
Hogwarts Auction
Day 24, Auction 4: (word) fierce
Word count: 499
Percy grumbled as he took his place in front of the makeshift goal post. He hated Quidditch. He hated the way the broom felt underneath him. He hated the height that would lead to a nasty injury if he fell. And he hated that his siblings got competitive and loud whenever they played the game. One screw up, and Percy would hear about it for days.
But Ron was in bed with a fever that the usual potion hadn't cured, and the twins and Ginny had been insistent on playing with even teams. His mum, usually on his side in these sorts of matters, had shooed him out to the field with them while claiming that the fresh air would do them all good. Really, she just wanted them out of her hair to deal with Ron. Percy wasn't stupid, but he still didn't want to play Quidditch, even if it helped his mum out. It wasn't fair that he had to do his least favourite thing just because Ron was sick.
He gripped his broomstick tightly to account for his sweaty palms and stared at Ginny to avoid glancing at the ground far below him. He couldn't believe that she was smiling. At only five, she shouldn't have been on a broom yet as far as Percy was concerned, but it wasn't like anyone took his opinion into consideration. Never mind that it was probably illegal if anyone bothered to look at the laws.
The twins joined them in the air with their old Quaffle in their hands.
"All you have to do is block the ball, Percy," Fred said, raising an eyebrow like he was challenging Percy to mess up.
"Yeah, yeah," Percy snapped. "I understand how the game works, believe it or not."
Fred shrugged and took his place in the middle of the makeshift field.
It was Percy and Fred versus George and Ginny. That was what the twins had decided was fair. Percy would have grumbled about being considered as good as a five-year-old, but he'd been too stung by it to say anything at all.
Fred tossed the Quaffle into the air, and Percy braced himself as Ginny snatched it and took off towards him. Percy stiffened. There was a fierce look in her eye that threw him off guard. He'd known Ginny was headstrong for a kid, but he hadn't been prepared for how intense she would be while playing Quidditch.
She threw the ball, and Percy scrambled to catch it but missed by several inches. Fred let out a loud curse that Percy would have scolded him for if he weren't busy working through his embarrassment. Ginny smirked and flew straight at George, who gave her a high five.
Percy's cheeks burned, but he didn't think he should be blamed for the failure. Ginny had seemingly turned into someone else in those three seconds. He swallowed. Whatever hope they'd had of winning was gone. Percy refused to even glance Fred's way.