Percy Weasley x Reader

[Theme: Students]

Today was the day I had waited five years for; the announcement of whether I had been chosen as the Gryffindor prefect. McGonagall had spoken to me before the term ended about my prospects and from what she suggested, it seemed like there were good odds! There were a few other girls who put their names forward but I had good grades and at least a decent reputation.

Waiting through summer was agony until a week before the term was due to begin an owl came and dropped a letter through my window. It bore the Hogwarts seal and I felt a ball in my throat. This was it... With my thumb, I separated the seal from the envelope and pulled out the letter.

Dear Miss L/N,

We are most pleased to inform you that you have been selected as the new Gryffindor prefect. Your badge has been included and we hope you wear it with pride.

Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall

The small red and gold badge fell from inside the envelope and onto my lap. I held it shakily between my fingers as the bright letters of 'PREFECT' solidified to me that this wasn't prank. But that means there's so much to do, so much to prepare! The Head Boy and Girl will be wanting to speak to me as soon as we get on the Hogwarts Express!

Even so... I wondered who the boy prefect would be... I'd heard rumours of prefects secretly dating. Who could blame them? Being alone in a dark corridor in the depths of night with only your wands to light the way? Not to mention the Prefect's Bathroom! It sounded like a dream and it was no surprise their skin always looked so good.

That also raised the question of what kind of prefect I was going to be. Should I be strict and uphold the rules in pride of my house? Or should I be laxer to maximise the odds people listen to me? The last thing I wanted was for people to not take me seriously, either because I had a stick up my backside or I was a wet wipe.

There was still a week to go so I had plenty of time to figure my strategy out. Plus, whoever the boy was could well determine how I go ahead. There was one person I didn't want it to be but the odds of it being him were zero to none. Off the top of my head, there were numerous boys who deserved it more than that authority-praiser Percy Weasley.

...

The Hogwarts Express had just departed. It took me a moment to remember that I had to go to the prefects' carriage and not sit with my friends and I wound up being slightly late. I pulled open the door to meet an array of different faces.

"Sorry I'm late!" I exclaimed and took the free space.

"First day and you're already behind. Merlin knows why Professor McGonagall picked you."

I blinked in the direction of the voice. Ginger. Tall and thin. Glasses. A voice pushed too formally that it made him sound like a jackass. My worst fear had come true... Percy Weasley. So much for my midnight romantic strolls.

"Weasley." I said with a forced smile and took my seat opposite him, next to the Head Boy. "How pleasant to see nothing has changed about you."

Percy had opened his mouth to rebut when the Head Boy wiggled his finger between us. "Now, now, you two. If you want to fight, do it in your own time, not prefect time. You represent not only the school but all Gryffindors. If you two working together is going to be an issue, I can speak to McGonagall at any point. Am I clear?"

Great, five seconds in and the Head Boy thinks I'm a nuisance. I glared at Percy and reluctantly went "Yes, sir."

Percy, on the other hand, straightened his back, readjusted his tie and kept a confident look. "You'll have no trouble from me."

I had to look out the window to hide my silent scoff. He was piling all the blame on me despite all I had done was arrive a couple of minutes late. He called me out and he has the audacity to take it like I was the issue. If I haven't choked him out by the end of the week, I'll have to thank some higher power for giving me the strength to hold back.

...

The moment the train arrived at Hogsmeade, I dived out of the carriage to get as far away from Percy as physically possible. The less time I had to spend with him the better. I just knew that this would be the worst next three years of my life, and so help me if Percy and I became Head Boy and Girl together. Merlin knows how his brothers put up with him... actually... that could be an idea.

The first years took the boats over to the castle while everyone else took the magically drawn carriages. As I approached, I spotted my targets: Fred and George. They were sitting with their friend Lee Jordan and when they spotted me, George gave a friendly wave while Fred cackled at a joke.

I lept up and sat next to Lee. Leaning forward, they knew I meant some form of business. "Okay boys, I need your help."

"What kind of help?" George questioned.

"You do know that doesn't come cheap, L/N." Fred added

Classic Weasley twins. Any moment from them was a penny-pinching opportunity to make a catastrophe of a prank. Somehow, I was less worried about dealing with them than Percy, but if I could get them on my side, this could end up being an excellent business deal.

"Well, boys, I have a proposition for you." I started which garnered their attention in an instant. "I'm sure you realised your dear older brother is now a prefect."

Fred let out a bellow of laughter. "It may have come to our attention after the seventh time he told Mum and polished his badge while saying 'Now people will respect me' under his breath."

Sheesh, his sucking up is going to be worse than I thought...

"Point is," I continued, "I know since he's your brother, you're going to make things a nightmare for him."

They both nodded eagerly.

"What if I agree to turn a blind eye to your shenanigans so long as it's him you're giving Hell to and not me?" I proposed and Fred's eyes were glowing.

"What's the catch?" George asked, still sceptical.

"No catch. Your brother already sold me out to the Head Boy within the first ten seconds of meeting him. So if you want to throw a Dungbomb at his head, be my guest. I won't go help him."

I held my hands out for both twins to shake. They did so in a quick fashion and internally, I was relieved to have them on my side. Not having to deal with their pranks and the possibility of them directing Peeves away from me too was a power that few could muster.

Now the question was how to wield this new power for good...

...

The rest of the ride there was more than pleasant. I needed a good reminder that not every member of the Weasley family is a 'pinhead', as the twins described. They made sure at every moment to give me the confidence to seek them out should Percy start being a prat. Their knowledge of how to wind him to speechlessness was unparalleled. Admittedly, I asked them to teach me their tricks but they refused, claiming it was a secret technique passed down through Weasley blood.

"Pleasure doing business with you, L/N." Fred called as we disembarked the carriages and I went on ahead to meet some of the more timid first years that hung around the back of the crowd.

They all looked up at me with awe. It was pretty adorable considering that was me once upon a time. Most of them looked terrified as we came to the doors of the Great Hall. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to give them any words of encouragement and slipped inside. The hall was bustling like every start of year feast.

Originally, I had planned to stock up on sweets from the trolley but hadn't had the opportunity because Percy had put me in the Head Boy's bad books. I didn't want to look like my mind was distracted. Disgruntled, I sat down with a group of other people in my year, some of which congratulated me on being a prefect, and others saying they'll try their best to stay clear of me.

"Don't worry, guys. I may be a prefect now but that doesn't mean that I'll suddenly become a stickler for the rules. Trust me, with Percy Weasley being the other prefect..."

I didn't get to finish my sentence before they all groaned and sighed.

"Really? McGonagall picked Weasley? He's going to make every year awful." a girl protested.

"Honestly, I don't know why he's such a prune. His brother, Charlie, wasn't like that, and the twins are some of the most popular kids in school." an elder boy remarked.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't get me started. At least you don't have to do night patrols with him. I'd much rather do them with-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence until the sound of a spoon gently padding against the side of a goblet echoed throughout. Everyone came to a gradual silence and it was time for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.

All of the unhoused first years waddled in like ducklings following behind mother duck McGonagall. They stopped before the step to the teachers' table and marvelled at the Sorting Hat. I remembered my sorting all those years ago. Coming from a Muggle family, there wasn't pressure to be in a specific house. Hufflepuff seemed like the ideal house initially, but the Sorting Hat insisted that I would be in Gryffindor.

Honestly, with how cunning I was, I probably should've been in Slytherin had it not been for my blood. I suppose the closest next thing would be Gryffindor; the strength and courage to use your deviousness.

As the Sorting came to a close, Dumbledore did his usual speech with the typical "stay out of the Forbidden Forest" sayings every year. However, he deviated from the preciseness of previous times.

"This year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Everyone started darting their heads around for some sort of enlightenment. Dumbledore sat down without giving us any further information, much to his bothersome style. What on Earth could be there that would shut down that entire corridor, though? Something bad enough to cause a 'very painful death' too...

"I bet it's some sort of ancient powerful rune. You look at it and it blinds you forever!" the girl chattered away.

"Nah, I bet Hagrid's got some beast held up in there. It's going to be a hassle getting to Charms now." the boy remarked.

As if to shut up all of the minglings, food started to appear before us from the kitchens. Nobody knew how it appeared but there was food and plenty of it to go around so people didn't pay it any second thought. I piled up my plate with a mixed array and just as I was about to take a bite, a hand patted my shoulder several times.

I shoved the hand away and it continued to pat like a pestering gnat. "Leave me alone, I'm trying to eat!"

"L/N!" the pest sneered and I cringed when my brain recognised that tone.

"Oh my God. Weasley, sit yourself back down before I throw this chicken leg at you." I threatened and tore into a big bite.

He folded his arms and glared. "Smart plan unless you want to get detention for the rest of term. If you bothered to check the itinerary, you'd notice you were supposed to sit with the rest of the prefects to discuss scheduling for the night watch."

"If you bothered to check the itinerary..." I mocked as I chewed through the chicken. "Fine. Suit yourself." Goodbye, chicken wing, I'll miss you dearly.

I came to sit with the other Gryffindor prefects. Fortunately, all of them were pleasant apart from Percy. They made sure to introduce themselves and we got to work deciding shifts.

The Head Boy pulled out a rota that had labels throughout the week. "It's two and a half hours each day patrolling different areas of the castle. Myself and Anri will take the third floor on Mondays and Thursdays."

This discussion would continue for a good fifteen minutes until it came to focusing on me and Percy.

"You two will take Tuesday to patrol the third floor. That means tomorrow is your first shift. I do not want to hear any kind of fights breaking out. We are a team and I expect you to work like one."

"But-" Percy tried to interject and the Head Boy refused to let him in.

"No 'buts'. You knew what you were signing up for when you submitted your interest. If you're unhappy, drop the badge. Otherwise, pack it in."

Tomorrow was going to be a long night...

...

After a long day of lessons and a fruitful dinner, it was finally time for the moment I had been dreading all day. Percy had deliberately been avoiding me as much as he could. He was in an extra bad mood thanks to Fred and George changing his badge to say 'PINHEAD' instead of 'Prefect'.

He took his stance as a prefect far too seriously. Within a day, rumours were going about that he made a first year Ravenclaw cry because their tie wasn't the right length. Was that something that I needed to bring up with him later? His actions gave me a bad impression too if I let them go unchecked. The Head Boy was right, I may hate him, but we do need to compromise somewhat in our ideals.

The sky outside was a dark purple with the stars and the moon guiding lost travellers' ways. Everyone had since gotten to bed, leaving the common room eerily silent apart from the sounds of the ghosts beyond the portrait.

I waited for about five minutes before I started getting impatient. Where was he and what was he doing? It wasn't until I was about to muster up enough agitation to drag him out of his room did he finally emerge.

"Where have you been?" I chastised him, putting my hands on my hips and staring him straight down. "We're supposed to be by the third floor in ten minutes!"

"I was held up speaking to a third year boy trying to sneak out." he replied and went to step through the portrait without looking back at me.

That poor boy. He probably just wanted a midnight sneak or something. I couldn't hear any crying but Percy must have made sure he would never try such a feat again.

We walked our way through the Grand Staircase and promptly arrived at the third floor. Knowing that the entire right wing was off-limits because of something that very likely would kill us did put me on edge but I refused to let Percy know that.

I pulled out my wand and cast a simple Wand-Lighting Charm to guide the way. Every corner was concealed in deep impenetrable darkness and as we continued our pacing, some of the slumbering paintings would yell at us to turn our lights off.

"We have some things to discuss, Weasley." I started after one of the paintings tried to throw a pear at me except it merely fell into the backdrop.

"You're right, we do." he snapped back.

Oh really? So he has an agenda. That'll be interesting.

"A certain bird told me you had a go at a Ravenclaw girl today. A first year. You made her cry?" I said, trying to not set him off on a tangent immediately.

"Her tie was an inch too long. It's disrespectful to the entire school if she didn't uphold the dress code." he protested back.

"Did you know how to do your own tie back when you were in first year or did Charlie do it for you?" I questioned fiercely, trying to make him see how unfair he was.

He seemed to go red in the face which merged with his ginger hair. "I-I learnt quickly enough."

"That'll be a no then. How would you feel if on your first day to a place you'd never been to before where someone you were told would be safe to rely on yelled at you for something as trivial as a tie length?"

"That's not the point, L/N, and you know it. We're prefects; we're supposed to uphold the school rules."

This was exactly the reason why I didn't want to be a prefect with Percy. If he had been anyone else, this could've been a relaxing, perhaps even fun, experience. Instead, I was having to watch my mouth to not send Percy spiralling into an unwanted monologue of how amazing and honourable it is to be where we are.

I sighed and reduced how high I was holding my wand. "Percy, please. I don't want to work with you as much as you don't want to work with me but we're going to have the next three years doing this together. I just want us to be on the same page with how we're going to be doing this."

"I hardly see why that's necessary when you're the problem." Percy remarked, preparing to turn left when I was heading right.

"The route said to go right, you pain."

"You'll find it said to go left."

"Merlin- you know what? Go left. I'm tired of trying to reason with you. Go suck up to the Head Boy and McGonagall some more and alienate yourself further. There's a reason why your brothers are popular and people hate you. Because you're a suck-up!" I yelled which earnt me the shushings from many paintings.

"Perhaps you ought to learn to have some discipline in your chaotic life!" he chastised, pulled his cloak over his shoulders more and stormed down the left side.

I was fuming and I wanted to do everything I could to get him kicked off being a prefect, or suffer while he did it. How can someone be so far up their own backside that they can't see what they're doing to try to achieve order causes more issues?

All he had to do was speak to that Ravenclaw nicely and help her adjust her tie. She would've learnt a life skill and would still trust prefects. Now, she probably wants to go home and won't tell anyone if something bad happens...

If I can find her tomorrow, maybe I can try to make amends...

...

Fortunately, I had a free period the following day and took a look to see where the first year Ravenclaws were having their classes. Apparently, they were having Transfiguration so I waited down the main corridor they would need to go through to reach that classroom.

A group of Ravenclaws went past and it was obvious which one Percy had yelled at. Her eyes were dark and she clutched her book to her chest to hide her tie. She must have hardly slept. I stood out to try to talk to her and when she saw me, she flinched back, almost hitting the person walking beside her.

"Hey, hey, it's alright." I try soothing her and she was already near tears. "You're not in trouble. Can I pull you over for a second?"

She nodded hastily and allowed me to guide her to the side of the corridor. Her hands were trembling and I genuinely thought she was about to burst out crying.

"My name is Y/N L/N, one of the Gryffindor prefects. I heard yesterday one of the boy prefects gave you... a bit of a talking to. Is that right?" I asked, taking the book from her and allowing her to sit down on the stone seating.

Again, she nodded and didn't say any words.

"I see. As I said, you're not in trouble. I wanted to help you and show you what a proper prefect should have done in this scenario. He's a bully, that one. The rest of us are nice so you can rely on us if you need anything, okay?"

"O-Okay." she whimpered but was starting to relax now she knew she wouldn't be yelled at.

Her tie was slightly too long and a little bit scruffy. It was likely her parents taught her how to do her tie but she hadn't mastered the intricate parts. I took my tie from my neck and held it out in my hands.

"I'll show you how to do it properly and then you can follow along. Don't worry about being late to class, I'll tell McGonagall you got lost." I advised and showed her how to do the full Windsor tie. "How about that?"

"I-It's a lot easier than what Mummy showed me." she said and took her own tie off. She tried to follow through with how her mum showed her and she was right; there were many more steps in her method and that was why the tie ended up so long.

"This way is easier and you can control the length. Give it a try, I'll help you."

She eyed me for guidance and I guided her through the steps so she could manage to do it on her own. Within a few attempts, she had managed to do an almost perfect tie. She was glowing with happiness and relief.

"I think I did it!" she said with a beam.

"It's really good! Well done! Here." I pulled the tie around her neck and gently tightened it to the correct length. "That's what prefects are supposed to be doing. If he gives you trouble again, let me know and I'll give him a talking to."

Surprisingly, the girl stood up and gave me a big hug which I reciprocated. My heart swelled knowing I managed to fix what damage Percy had done.

"Thank you! I better go now!" she said, took her book and ran to class.

I smiled and looked outside the window for a few moments at the sun outside. It brightened my mood until a certain figure cast a shadow upon me. Looking over, I saw it to be Percy.

"Wow, a sudden overcast! No, it's just you." I said as his eyes met mine. I thought he was going to make some snide comment. He surprised me with how soft his voice was.

"I saw what you did there." he told me and moved out of the way of the sun's rays. "She was breaking the rules, why did you help her?"

A sigh overcame me and I couldn't believe I was having this conversation with a fifteen-year-old boy. "Teach a man to fish and he'll feed for the rest of his days. It's the same principle. Fix the problem and the problem will never arise again. You can't tell a problem to go away. It'll be there to come back to and it could be worse."

He looked at me speak with confused eyes. Was he understanding any of what I was saying?

"That girl... She needed help. You yelling at her wasn't going to make her tie readjust overnight. Because of you, she would've been too scared to ask how to fix it. I found her and taught her how to do her tie properly and she thanked me for it. If you were watching, you saw her face. There are two different ways to authority, you know. Ruling with fear and ruling with love."

Percy continued to be silent.

"You can be that big scary prefect if you want but you'll end up with everyone hating you. Or you can rule with love and have people respect you and come to you if they need help. I know which I'd prefer to be. I suggest you end up figuring out which one you are before you make another child cry."

With that, I picked up my school bag and headed to go enjoy the remaining sunshine before my first period. Percy did not follow me and only watched as I departed. I could only hope it gave him some food for thought.

...

Later that day, as I was patrolling the halls and after helping a first year find their lost toad, I thought I heard Percy round the corner. There was someone crying and I knew Percy had been the culprit. Of course he would never change. Why did I expect better?

I peered around the corner, not going to act yet, and I saw Percy kneeling down to meet the eyes of a young boy. Their hands were covering their eyes as they cried.

"A-And then P-Professor S-S-Snape said that my potion was aw-f-ful. He gave me de-detention!" they wept and Percy put a hand on their shoulder.

"What potion was it?" he asked the child.

"W-Wiggenweld Potion."

Percy nodded, deep in thought, before he gave his answer. "Were you struggling with the Flobberworm Mucus? I know Snape liked to get us to extract it ourselves."

"Yeah." the child replied meekly.

Percy opened his satchel and pulled out his textbook. He turned it to a particular page and showed it to the boy. "Snape won't tell you this but you can hold them like this and squeeze to get the mucus out. See?"

"That's completely different than what he told us!"

"He was probably testing you. Tomorrow, you can show him this technique and he won't be able to say anything." Percy continued and the boy looked relieved.

"T-Thank you, sir." he said and ran off towards me.

I threw myself behind the pillar but he saw me and gave away my position.

"Your friend is really nice! I'm glad all prefects are nice!"

"That's... great. Do your best, alright?" I replied with a small laugh. The boy continued on his path and as I turned to reveal myself properly, Percy was standing with a blank look on his face.

"You were watching." he remarked.

"Yeah. Looks like we've been watching each other an awful lot today, huh?" I replied. "What happened there?"

Percy pulled his hands behind his back and returned to his headstrong posture. "That boy was upset so I helped him. That's all."

No, there was something more than this. The Percy I knew would never help someone who needed it.

"Is that really the case?" I pushed and Percy refused to let up.

"Yes. Now, if I may-"

He was about to leave when a panicked Kettleburn tramped towards us with a horrified look. His missing arm and half-missing leg natural look showed his experience with magical beasts. Anything that terrified him had to be dangerous.

"Oh thank goodness, you two." he said, coming to a stop and taking several deep breaths. "This is urgent."

"What is it, Professor?" Percy asked with worry.

"I'm afraid that a Chimaera has escaped from the sanctuary grounds and may have wandered into the castle. Please, collect as many students as you can and return to the Great Hall with haste. I will do my best to find it, but you must protect them." he told us and headed away to search for the beast.

I hadn't learnt about Chimaera since it was a fifth year Care of Magical Creatures topic that we hadn't gotten to yet. My knowledge extended to that they were XXXXX-level classification, meaning that only the most experienced wizards should ever fight this creature lest you want to die a painful death. Wait, could this be what was on the third floor?

Even if it was, this wasn't the time. We had been given a task as prefects and fulfilling it was essential. The question was how we were going to do it. Percy was eyeing me like he was expecting me to make the first move.

"You seem to know people better." he commented uncomfortably. "Where would people be right about now?"

I blinked at him. Percy Weasley giving someone else the reins? It sounded ridiculous but it was happening right now. "It's been a sunny day and it's edging on lunch. The courtyards would be the main areas to look around."

"Lead the way." he said, motioning me to go forward.

I wanted to ask him where this change of attitude had sprouted from. No matter, I could get it out of him once everyone was safe. We had to do that first.

...

We ran around the castle and encountered prefects leading other students to the Great Hall along the way. Thanks to my knowledge of popular relaxation spots, we were able to gather the majority of students with the aid of the other houses. The Great Hall was bursting with confused students, many of which had no clue why we had been gathered.

Percy and I delivered another two students to the Hall and the Head Boy walked over to us with a smile.

"I see you two have sorted out your differences. Good job." he said proudly.

Had we? I wasn't entirely sure about that but I wasn't going to protest it in case it was the truth.

"I've just done a head count and it seems we're down by one girl. Are you sure you looked everywhere?"

I thought carefully about everywhere we had gone and surely our footfall would have covered everything with the other prefects. Nothing was coming to me.

"I think we looked everywhere. I hope she comes by soon." I relayed unhappily and the Head Boy walked away.

"The third floor right wing corridor." Percy said aloud and with shock. "Nobody would've checked there. Perhaps she went there to hide."

"What? Are you sure?" I exclaimed and remembered what Dumbledore had told us. If it was the Chimaera that was inside the corridor, she could be in great peril.

Percy confirmed his suspicions and I felt an urge in my stomach. I ran towards the doors of the Great Hall and left without looking back. I continued to make my way to the third floor when Percy stopped me on the stairwell.

"What are you doing!? It's against the rules to go in that corridor!" he yelled and halted me in my tracks.

"There's a girl's life at risk, Percy! I'm not going to let her die because of some dumb rule!" I spat back and went to move when he grabbed my wrist and held me back. "Let go!"

"I'm not letting you get yourself in danger. Not when-"

I flung my wrist from his grip. It was sore where he touched me. "Look, you can continue to be Dumbledore's lap dog, never learning independency and when the rules need to be bent. Or you can come to help me save this girl and do more good than sitting in the Great Hall. Your choice. I'm going whether you decide to come or not."

Percy was silent and I took that as his answer. I continued running until I made it to the corridor. Opening the door, everything was coated in thick cobwebs and none of the braziers was lit. I listened closely for if the girl was here.

Under my breath, I called out "Is there anyone here?". No response. They must be further in.

Pressing forward and trying to ignore my heart pounding in my ears, a quiet sound pierced the darkness. It sounded like... growling. Could it be... the Chimaera? My breathing escalated but I kept going. The growling got louder.

A shadow leapt from the darkness and caused me to step backwards and fall into one of the braziers. It fell over with a loud crash and whatever was hiding dashed past, sobbing and whimpering. It must have been the girl. She was here after all. At least she was safe. Now I just had to get out of here...

I knelt down and hid behind a pillar that barely concealed my body. The growling was moving around and it sounded like it had cornered me in. My wand was gripped tightly in my hand and I wasn't sure what to do. There was no opening... Was I trapped?

The beast started coming into view... The striking mane of a lion. It could smell me. It could sense my fear. I was trembling.

Suddenly, a bright flash shot across the room and struck the Chimaera in the face. With the precious moments I had to spare, I shot across the room to the opening. As I fell through, I wound up in the arms of my saviour.

I looked up and saw Percy clutching me tightly. He was winded from having run to catch up to me.

"Percy... You came?" I said trying to get my breathing back to normal.

"You were right. I-I didn't want to let something happen because I chose to follow the rules. There's more to being a prefect than doing whatever we're told." he replied and the look on his face told me he was relieved to see I was safe.

He released me from his grip and I brushed down my skirt. "I didn't think you'd change face..."

"I wasn't going to but you showed me there are other ways of achieving the same end. In more proactive ways."

"Damn it, Percy. Damn it..." My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest and I wound up pulling him into a tight hug. He really had listened. He really was going to change. Could this be the prefect arrangements that I had wanted all along?

I pulled away and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Say, uhm... if you're more willing to break the rules a bit... How about we get something from the kitchens on our route tonight? A ten-minute deviation won't kill anyone."

Percy hesitated for a second before smiling. "Normally, I'd say absolutely not, but it looks like it might make you happy... and you might do your job better."

"Hey!" I protested. "I mean, you're not wrong, just... it's not only about me getting some extra food. It's about you too."

"About me?" he questioned. "Why would I want something from the kitchens?"

"You really are as clueless as Fred and George say you are. I'm... asking you out in the most prefect way possible. To... to get to know each other!"

Percy went bright red and fiddled with the fabric of his robes. "I suppose we can take a short detour then."

It was hard to say just how much Percy had changed, but for now, it was enough. Maybe I could break more into him and he would learn to let go more. If he continued down the path he was on, he would wind up alienating everyone important to him.

Perhaps now, he could keep those bonds, forge new ones, and possibly in the future, lead to something he could cherish forever.

This was going to be a long three years.