A Moment by the Lake

A/N:  Come on, people!  I know more than two people have read my last chapter!!  If I don't see some more reviews, I'm going to assume people have lost interest and discontinue this story. So if you want to see more of this, I'd better start seeing reviews!  I don't care if you flame it, at least give a constructive flame!  …Thank you.

            A small tawny owl flew into the Great Hall at about dinnertime, despite the fact that most arrived in the morning, and dropped a letter onto his owner's lap before settling down next to a piece of chocolate pie, looking at it hungrily.

            Percy looked over at the letter on Kristen's lap, then up at Kristen.  "From your parents again?"

            She nodded.  "Yes…  They've been sending me a lot of letters from home lately," she commented, feeding her owl a piece of cake.  "Kip just hasn't been the same anymore, have you Kip?" she asked affectionately, giving her owl a small pat on the head.  It blinked once and hooted softly, hopping around the dishes.

            "Oh…I see," Percy responded just before stuffing a piece of apple pie into his mouth.  Chewing on it thoughtfully, he added, "Do they want anything or do they just miss you?"
            "I don't know," she replied, looking thoughtful.  "I guess they just miss me," she shrugged. 

            "It makes sense," Percy said, serving himself another piece of apple pie.  "I mean, Christmas is getting closer and I'm sure they're just thinking of you more often than usual."

            "Yeah…  I guess so," she remarked, but she didn't seem satisfied.  At this point, Kip  took flight again suddenly, which seemed to shake Kristen out from her thoughts.

            "Hey!" she said, smiling cheerfully.  "The Christmas dance is coming up, isn't it?"

            As if recalling something, Percy put down his fork and looked at Kristen.  "Yeah, I meant to ask you about that."  He cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward.  "You think maybe you could go with – "

            But Percy didn't finish his question because at that point, Penelope Clearwater walked up to him.

            "Hello, Percy!" she grinned at him, regarding a rather surprised-looking Kristen as if she wasn't there. 

            "Er…"  Percy blinked.  "Hello there, Penelope." 

            "How have you been, Percy?" she asked, sitting herself down in the small space between Percy and Kristen, forcing poor Kris to the side.  She looked at Penelope in unflattering, stunned silence.

            Penelope tossed her curls over her shoulder, nearly swatting Kris on the face with them.  She flashed a prissy smile at Percy who was staring at her from behind his glasses, a blank, disbelieving expression on his face.

            "Say, the dance is only a few weeks away, isn't it?" started Penelope, a false-offhanded tone to her voice which cut through the air, breaking the awkward silence hovering around them.

            "Well..yes, it is..I think it's the twenty-first – "

            "Wonderful!" Penelope interrupted, flashing him another pearly-white smile.  "I just haven't been able to find anyone to go with," she droned on.  "How about you…?" she asked Percy carefully.

            "Erm.."  Percy tried to glance at Kristen, but she was blocked from view by Penelope's mountain of curls.

            "Well, I was about to ask – "

            "Why, that's perfect!" interrupted Penelope yet again.  "You haven't got anyone and I haven't, so we can just go together."

            Percy just stared at her with his mouth partly open as if to say something, but finding himself at a loss for words.

            Kristen, meanwhile, was glaring daggers at Penelope behind her back, her hands clenched, down out of sight.

            "W..well, I don't think…" Percy managed to sputter out, looking around as if somewhere, he'd find a way out of this rather awkward predicament. 

            Kris, luckily, chose to stand up at this point and let herself be heard.  "Excuse me…Penelope, is it?" 

            As if suddenly noticing Kristen for the first time, Penelope whirled around, finding herself face to face with an apparently cool, calm, and collected Kristen Mimswell. 

            If she noticed that Kristen was about to lose her temper, she made no sign of it.  "Well, hello there," Penelope said cheerfully, extending her hand, which Kristen didn't take.

            "I'm afraid Percy can't go with you," stated Kris slowly, giving Percy a swift glance which somehow told him to keep his mouth shut.

            Penelope raised her eyebrows.  "And why is that?" she asked, slowly getting to her feet so that she was eye-level with Kristen.

            Percy remained seated, wondering just what Kris was going to say, but keeping his mouth shut all the same.  He watched Kristen, seeing as how Penelope had moved so that she could now be seen.  He glanced her over, her stance, her gaze, her tone of voice all seeming to be screaming: "WARNING!!".

            "Because…" Kristen continued, fixing her grey eyes into Penelope's.  "He's going with me."

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            After dinner, Percy was walking a very amused looking Kristen up to her common room in silence, both reliving the last few moments they had spent with Penelope in the Great Hall.

            They stopped at a picture showing a lush lake, surrounded by a forest inhabiting common woodland creatures which would often come out to take a drink of the lake water.

            Kris stopped and turned to Percy.  "Goodnight, Perce," she said simply, giving him a friendly smile good-night.

            He nodded back to her.  "Goodnight." He started to turn and walk away, but stopped mid-turn and faced her again, a mischievous look in his eyes.  "By the way…" he began with a small smirk.  He leaned against the wall by the portrait nonchalantly, Kristen a couple of feet in front of him.  "I don't recall ever saying that I'd attend the dance with you."  He raised an eyebrow teasingly, "Now where would you get an idea like that?"

            She regarded him a moment then grinned, taking a step forward so she was looking him right in the eyes, warm grey meeting soft, pale blue.  "Would you rather go with Penelope Clearwater, then?  I'm sure I could find someone else to grace me with his presence at the ball, Mr. Weasley."

            He laughed softly and shook his head.  "No, no…  I'd gladly be your escort, Ms. Mimswell." He got off the wall and bowed a little, mockingly, smiling as he righted himself up again.

            Kristen grinned and shook her head.  "You really are something, you know that?" 

            Percy shrugged, still wearing a smile, which seemed to fade slightly as they both continued standing there in the hall, watching each other. 

            Percy looked around, suddenly noticing how quiet everything was if you didn't include sound of the lake in the picture rippling softly.  He then turned his gaze back to Kristen, meeting her eyes which were still fixed upon him.  He suddenly was aware of how close they actually were.

            She glanced down at the floor a moment, then looked back up, meeting his eyes again.  "I'd better get going," she muttered softly, the distance between them seeming to close even though they weren't consciously aware of it.

            "Yeah…that'd be a good idea," Percy whispered quietly, unaware of Kristen's hands on his shoulders or his hand on her neck, gently drawing her closer to him.  They both shut their eyes, the distance between closing slowly.

            The bell rang just then and they each drew, nearly leaped, back quickly. 

"I have to go," said Percy suddenly and Kristen nodded, each knowing that was the bell to signal light's out. 

            Percy quickly, but silently, made his way up to the Gryffindor common room while Kristen muttered the password and slipped quietly into a hole that suddenly appeared by the portrait.