Percy awoke the next morning when the sun began to shine brightly in his room. He looked across at Oliver's bed to find that Oliver was still missing. He had to still be in the common room, or else he had gotten up early to practice that thrice-damned Quidditch. Percy continued to look at Oliver's bed....the quilt was gone, but the sheets were all messed up, too. Did Oliver come back to the room to sleep last night? If he did, then where was his quilt? Something else was wrong about this, too. The walls looked....different. Unnaturally baren. And then things clicked for him. He wasn't looking at Oliver's bed like he had every other morning of his Hogwarts career- he was looking at his own. He rolled over and looked at the wall over the bed that he was in. The large poster, bearing the words "Quidditch: It's a life partner, not a career" and a team of both male and female players clad in blue uniforms was on the wall as it always had been. And beside him, Oliver was lying. Beautiful, fragile little Oliver.

Percy looked at the clock. It was time for breakfast. In fact, they were probably a little late. All of the other Gryffindors would be in the Great Hall already. The Ravenclaws would be, too- they always managed to get there first. However, the Hufflepuffs always seemed to be late- they meant well but had trouble being punctual. It annoyed Percy, but not as much as the Slytherins. They liked to come in late and be as noisy as possible when doing so. They wanted to show that they didn't have to follow anyone's rules or schedules. Professor Dumbledore never repremanded them, but Percy would had he been the headmaster.

Percy reached out one fair, freckled hand towards Oliver, shaking him gently. Oliver moaned slightly and rolled over, attempting to get away from him. Percy laughed quietly and grabbed his wand off of the bedside table that was inbetween their beds. He conjured up a wash cloth and then magically wet it with ice-cold water. Sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind, right? Percy reasoned with himself before deciding to place the cloth on Oliver's neck. That would get him up. Oliver sprung out of bed with an energy that he had not shown the night before and Percy stood up, smiling triumphantly.

"Percy! What did you do that for?" Oliver asked in his thick Scottish brogue. Percy grinned devilishly in response.

"Feeling better today?" he asked "It's time for breakfast and classes. Are you coming?"

"Ummm....no. I think I'll....ummm....sleep a bit longer, okay? I'm still not feeling perfectly well." Percy nodded and got up to dress before realizing what Oliver was trying to do and turning around. He wouldn't let him not eat.

"I'll bring you breakfast in here, then. We can eat together." Percy said.

"No, it's okay. You'll be late for classes if you take the time to bring food up here." Oliver persisted.

" I don't mind, really! What will you have to eat?" Oliver shook his head in response, turning slightly white. It was as if food scared him, Percy thought. "Ol, I'm not going anywhere until I see you eat something! We're going to eat together, okay? I'll bring you back something. You stay here." Percy put on his robes and performed a locking-charm on their dorm room door so that it could only be opened from the outside. He then proceeded to the Great Hall where he took a plate with a little bit of everything- fruit, toast, eggs, sausage, flatcakes and waffles. He dodged the questions from Ron about where he was going and took the pitcher of Pumpkin Juice that sat in front of his place, despite Ron's protest. He returned to the room and unlocked the door. Oliver had gotten back in bed and was currently facing the wall, staring vancantly again. Uh-oh, Percy thought, it's happening again. He turned to go get Madame Pomfrey when Oliver looked at him.

"Perce? Why do you care about me so much?" he asked "No one else does. Not my Quidditch team, not the teachers, not any of our other classmates. I'll bet that no one else would have even noticed that I hadn't been in classes, if it hadn't been for that fall. " Percy began to protest, but Oliver continued. "I do appreciate what you're trying to do for me, I really do, but I still don't want to eat, okay? I still feel sick. Maybe tomorrow..." he trailed off.

"How about you just take a few bites today, okay Ol? You've got to eat to gain back your stength. I brought a lot of food for you." He offered Oliver the plate, yet Oliver still shook his head. "Just one piece of fruit, okay?" he picked up a blueberry and gave it to him. Oliver still shook his head, so Percy cupped his hand around Oliver's delicate jaw and looked him straight in the eyes. "Please. Eat." He impulsively ran his index finger across Oliver's lips, and Oliver shut his eyes. His lips were so perfect. Pink and succulent, so juicy that the Raspberries on the breakfast plate were probably ashamed to be in the same room as Oliver. Percy just wanted to kiss those lips. Oh no, there he went thinking like that again. He couldn't kiss Oliver. He liked girls, and he was sure that Oliver did, too. Yet, Oliver tilted his head up towards Percy's and the desire burned more furiously than before. Percy leaned in and kissed him gently. It was only for a second, but in that one second Percy found bliss. He pulled away as suddenly as the kiss had began and looked away, embarassed. He cleared his throat before looking back at Oliver, but Oliver didn't seem embarassed. In fact, Oliver leaned in and kissed Percy again, longer this time. Time may have actually stopped as they were kissing, Percy wasn't sure. All he knew was that he wanted to be with Oliver like this forever. He ended the kiss again and the intellectual side of him regained power. He popped a blueberry into his mouth before joining lips with Oliver again. He moved the blueberry with his tongue and pushed it into Oliver's mouth. Oliver squirmed when he realized what was happening, but swallowed the fruit none-the-less. Percy picked up another berry and repeated the process. Fifteen minutes later, when all of the berries were gone, Percy checked his watch. It was almost time for class. He informed Oliver, but Oliver decided to stay in their room and sleep through the morning classes. Percy nodded and left the room, kissing Oliver on the forehead before doing so.

As the door shut, Oliver used his tongue to retrieve the now-crushed berries from his cheek and spit them into a napkin, dropping them in the garbage can.