Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series and all related products is the copyright of J. K. Rowling, Warner Bros., and various companies I don't know about. This fanfic is intended for entertainment purposes and is not for profit. No copyright violation was intended. The storyline and any original characters that show up in this fanfic is the property of Mang Guo. Please do not post or reproduce this fanfic in any form without my consent.
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Chapter Two: A Meeting of Sorts
The morning of the first of September dawned far too early in Oliver's opinion. Despite his attempts to remain stoic about his impending trip to a magic school, he had found himself reorganizing his suitcase several times the previous night. At one point, he'd actually been oscillating between bringing pyjamas with vertical stripes and pyjamas with horizontal ones. His father, after sticking his head into the room to see why Oliver's lights were still on at two in the morning, had immediately put an end to the whole affair.
What followed had surprised Oliver immensely: following the trip to Diagon Alley a week ago, his relationship with his father had returned to its pre-invitation-to-Hogwarts state, with Oliver starting polite, formal conversations at the dining table, and Argil responding in a cool, distant fashion. So, when his father had told Oliver to bring both pyjamas, and then proceeded to show him how a suitcase might be expanded with a wave of one's wand, Oliver was decidedly impressed. What ensued was a lengthy discussion about what life at Hogwarts was like.
By the end of the conversation, Oliver was sniggering as his father described rather ruefully -- and with a pained expression on his face -- the time when he'd been caught sneaking out after curfew. Apparently, a professor had been wandering the halls when a nutcracker in a portrait had asked the teacher in an off-handed manner whether he'd seen a boy heading to the Griffyndor common room. What followed had been a rather silly pursuit in which Argil had tried to outrun the teacher. Unfortunately, the clamour that resulted from the chase had awoken quite a few sleeping portraits, and so they were more than happy to assist the professor in catching him.
Oliver raised an eyebrow in mock amazement. "You, father? Sneaking out after curfew? I wouldn't have thought it was possible."
Argil snorted, giving his son a light punch in the shoulder. "Hey, I used to be young, too."
"Sure," Oliver drawled, casting his father's greying hair a doubtful glance. Grinning, he asked, "So you were in Griffyndor? Was it easy to make friends?"
His father paused, looking thoughtful before answering slowly, "Well, it's far easier making friends with those from your own house. I've found, though, that some of the more meaningful friendships I've formed have been with people from other houses." He hesitated before continuing. "You'll find that there might be some animosity between houses, but you really shouldn't let such petty things as house rivalries impede you from making friends with different types of people."
Oliver looked at his father curiously. "Did you make any friends with people in other houses?"
Argil remained silent for a while, and Oliver was just beginning to think he'd said something wrong again, when his father replied quietly, "Yes, I suppose I did become quite close to a couple students from another house. I've lost contact with one of them, and the other... Well, the other is usually too busy, but we keep in touch." Clearing his throat, he glanced at his son, then at the clock on the nightstand, and smiling faintly, he said, "Enough about my adventures. You better get to sleep soon, if you're to start any adventures of your own tomorrow... Today, if I'm to be precise."
Oliver frowned, but reluctantly gave in to the yawn that told him he really was quite tired. "Wake me up when it's time, all right?" he murmured as his dad tucked the blankets around his shoulders.
His father nodded in response, but the gesture was lost on Oliver, who had already closed his eyes. For several minutes, Argil Wood sat on the bed, listening to his son's breathing gradually slow down. But when he stroked his wand, and it responded with a faint, warm tingling, he was reminded of why he'd been walking by his son's room in the first place. Sighing, he stood up, turned off the bedroom lights, and left Oliver to his dreams of Hogwarts.
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When Percy Weasley found himself on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, waiting for his mom to bring his younger siblings across the barrier, he was rather startled by the realization that he was nervous. He'd received first hand accounts about Hogwarts from Charlie, who'd graduated from there two years ago. Any other missing details had been filled in by a fairly recently published book entitled Hogwarts: A History. Still, when he saw the platform bustling with students, most of whom already had house badges pinned to their cloaks, he was quite relieved that his mother had insisted on accompanying him to the train station.
As he strayed away from the barrier to get a closer look at the other kids, he inadvertently got in the way of another student. Just as he opened his mouth to apologize, the other boy snarled, "You again!"
Percy took a double take, and to his chagrin, realized that it was the same boy he'd bumped into at the bookstore in Diagon Alley. "Oh, Adidas! I'm really sorry," he started. "and not because I bumped into you just now -- although I am sorry about that! -- but because I had no idea you were a squib. If I did, I wouldn't have mentioned Hogwarts. Really, it was an honest --"
"There! See, dad? I told you the guy was making fun of me. First, he calls me Adidas. Now he calls me a squib," the boy interrupted harshly while gesturing at someone behind him. Only then did Percy realize Adidas wasn't alone.
Turning to the other man, he apologized, "You must be Adidas's father. I'm sorry if I hurt your son's feelings. I hadn't intended to."
The other man smiled. "Actually, my son's name is Oliver. You must be mistaking him for someone else. And," he added, "he's not a squib. He's actually starting his first year at Hogwarts today. I'm Argil Wood by the way." He then stuck his hand out, all the while smiling in a rather amused sort of way.
Percy automatically took the proffered hand, all the while trying to register what the other man had just said. If the boy's name was Oliver, that meant his name wasn't Adidas, which meant... Oh. Oh. He could feel his face warming up. Stammering, he replied, "Pleased-pleased to meet you, Mr. Wood. I'm Percy Weasley. It'll be my first year at Hogwarts too." He paused before saying hurriedly, "I do hope your son and I can be good friends."
Oliver muttered something incoherent, and his father shot him a look before turning back to Percy. "Did you say your name was Percy Weasley?" he asked. "Are you, by any chance, related to one Arthur Weasley?"
Percy nodded. "Do you know my dad?" he asked eagerly, hoping that an association of sorts would mend the obvious rift between him and Oliver. "He works at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Do you work at the Ministry, too?"
Mr. Wood seemed to swallow something that sounded very much like a cross between a laugh and a snort before replying carefully, "No, I don't work at the Ministry, but I do know your father. We've -- how should I put this? -- ran across each other several times in the past. Business, you know?"
Percy didn't know, but he nodded, and was about to reply when he was interrupted by his mom calling from behind him. "There you are, Percy! I thought I told you not to move. There are far too many people here, and you could get lost -- oh, hello. Is this a friend of yours?"
Percy sighed. Turning to his mom, he started the round of introductions. When he repeated Argil Wood's name a second time for his mom, she seemed to start slightly before smiling uncertainly. "Ah, so you're the Argil Wood I've heard so much about. We've missed you here in the Wizarding World. How are you doing these days?"
Argil paused before responding vaguely. "Oh, I'm not doing too bad. Business, you know, is as good as usual. It takes up quite a bit of my time, but..." he trailed off with a shrug.
Mrs. Weasley nodded in reply, and what followed was a rather long, uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, Oliver tugged at his father's sleeve, stating in a rather annoyed voice, "Let's go, dad. We still have to get my suitcase on board."
Smiling apologetically at Mrs. Weasley, Argil tipped his head slightly. "If you'll excuse us," and then, without waiting for a response, he turned to lead his son in the direction of the Hogwarts Express.
Mrs. Weasley watched father and son walking away in contemplative silence before turning to Percy. "Well, that was certainly interesting! Argil Wood goes into hiding for half a decade and pops up one day to bring his son to Hogwarts. If the rumour mills at the Daily Prophet get a hold of this, things will certainly get interesting."
"What do you mean?" Percy asked curiously, pushing his trolley stacked high with suitcases while glaring at his younger twin brothers who were throwing around Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "Do you know Mr. Wood?"
Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "No, though I wish I did. From all accounts he's a romantic -- and a brave one at that! Argil, you see," she began, "belongs to a long line of pureblood wizards. They have nearly two hundred years of history, I believe. Anyway, according to some rather unreliable sources, he married a Muggle years and years ago."
"And that made him brave and romantic?" Percy asked sceptically.
His mom laughed, poking her son in the head. "No, silly! But think about it: You-Know-Who was rising to power during that time. For someone from a pureblood family to marry a Muggle would be like inviting You-Know-Who to curse your entire family. Furthermore, Argil didn't even attempt to hold the marriage in secret. Don't you think that's a rather brave and romantic thing to do?"
Percy shrugged, already losing interest in the story as he approached the train's first car. Stepping around his trolley, he began unloading his bags. Turning to his twin brothers, he said sharply, "Fred! George! Mom didn't bring you with us so that you two can fool around. Help me out with my bags."
The twins rolled their eyes, and in unison, began chanting, "Bossy Percy needs help with his smelly baggies! Bossy Percy needs help with his smelly baggies! Bo-ssy Per-cy! Bo-ssy Per-cy!"
Percy grit his teeth as he tried to push a particularly heavy trunk off the luggage pile. "I can't believe how immature you guys are. If all you two can do -- oh, for Merlin's sake!" he yelled as his suitcases tumbled off the trolley, missing his head by mere inches. The twins began chortling and poking each other in the ribs, and Percy, already feeling high-strung from his meeting with Oliver Wood, whirled on them. His face quickly turned a livid shade of red as he hissed furiously, "Are you two having fun yet? Huh? I'm asking you -- are you guys having fun yet? In case you haven't noticed, my suitcases almost fell on my head while I tried to unload them by myself. And what were you two doing the whole time? Throwing around candy and making up silly rhymes! Is there even a slim chance that you guys might stop messing around long enough to be productive? If not, I'd appreciate it if you two would just get lost!"
By the time Percy had finished his rant, Fred and George were gaping at him, eyes wide with surprise. They had originally set out to annoy their older brother, but now, it seemed as if Percy really was angry.
Mrs. Weasley sighed and stepped between Percy and the twins, glaring at Fred and George as she pulled out her wand to levitate the luggage off of the ground. "You two stay here and watch Ron. I'll help Percy with his trunks." She sighed again, muttering to herself, "Really, I should've just left you two at home. You'd think I would know better by now..."
George opened his mouth as if he had something smart to say in response, but after a sharp jab by Fred in the stomach, decided against it. Instead, he smiled wanly and took Ron by the hand. "Of course, mom," he said to Mrs. Weasley's departing back. "We'll be right here when you get back."
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"Percy, dear," Mrs. Weasley said hesitatingly as her son began climbing into the Hogwarts Express. "Is something wrong? I've never seen you get quite so upset over Fred and George's teasing. You know that they didn't mean any harm, don't you?"
Percy sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Yes, mom. They never mean any harm." he murmured. "I guess it's the first year jitters, you know? And to top it off, I think I've already made an enemy... I don't think Oliver Wood likes me very much."
Mrs. Weasley looked at her son in surprise. "You mean that little boy who was with Argil Wood? Why would you think that? He didn't seem to have anything against you."
Percy sighed again. His mom hadn't been with him in the bookstore, and she'd missed half the conversation with Oliver when his trolley had bumped into the other boy. She wouldn't understand. Forcing a smile, he laughed lightly. "You know what, mom? You're right -- why wouldn't Oliver Wood like me? I'm probably just paranoid... Guess I stayed up too late last night, trying out spells and panicking when they didn't work."
Mrs. Weasley smiled at her son. "That's probably it. And as for those spells not working, don't worry about it! You're as smart as Bill when he was your age -- maybe even smarter. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we had another Head Boy in the family seven years down the road. Now," her smile broadened, "come give your mother a goodbye kiss."
Percy blushed, and like the eleven year old that he was, started complaining, "Mom," he whined even as he threw his arms around his mother's waist. "I don't do the hugs and kisses thing anymore, you know that."
Mrs. Weasley laughed, leaning over to plant a firm kiss on her son's forehead. "Now, why do I find that hard to believe?" Hugging him again, she whispered, "Well, I guess I won't embarrass you in front of your new classmates, so I'll tell you really, really quietly: I'll miss you."
Percy smiled and he replied softly, "I'll miss you too, mom. Don't forget to pick me up for the Christmas holidays."
With a final kiss on the forehead, Mrs. Wesley let go of her son, steering him up onto the train. "Send us an owl once you get to Hogwarts! And remember to study hard! You're to be the next Head Boy in our family, you know?"
Something flickered across Percy's face before he laughed flippantly. "Of course, mom. Why, it's practically a given!"
Mrs. Weasley stood on the platform for a few more minutes, waving and making faces at her son through the window. When the train finally began pulling out of the station, Percy's waving became slightly more frantic, and the last words his mother heard before he rolled out of earshot was a faint, "I love you."
As the Hogwarts Express turned a corner and moved out of sight, Molly Weasley sighed. Most of the time, when Percy talked, it was in a very mature, very grown up fashion. But occasionally, as was the case when he'd called out to her as the train rolled out of the station, she was reminded of the fact that deep down, he was just an eleven year old boy.
But still... The thought of another Head Boy in the family made her slightly giddy, and even as she noticed the twins throwing the last of their jelly beans at Ron, she couldn't help but smile at the thought. Two Head Boys...
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On the Hogwarts Express, in a compartment near the end of the train and away from the excited chattering and hubbub of other first year students, Percy Weasley had slumped into his seat. He was running over his conversation with his mother, and everything focused on her last words. "I just might," he murmured expressionlessly. "I just might be the next Head Boy in the family." His breath hitched, and he turned to the window, taking care to stare unblinkingly at the scenery rushing past.
A long time ago, someone had told him that blinking only made the tears come faster.
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Author's Notes: Hi everyone! (Mang Guo looks around.) If there's even an 'everyone'... ^^;;; Anyway, hopefully, this chapter came out okay. Do let me know what you think, since I'm trying to improve my creative writing skills. As for my personal take on this chapter... Ughhh... It didn't turn out the way I expected. The first half was going fine, and the last half was a total struggle. (Can you guys tell?) Anyway, again, I await your flames, feedback and speculations with bated breath. =)
Until next weekend...!
-- Mang Guo