I've Changed, I Really Have
By Moony
Yay! Thanks to all my 8 reviewers! Shout outs at the end! –Moony
Chapter 3
At six o'clock in the morning, Percy woke up to a loud banging on his door.
"What the…" he muttered groggily.
He slipped his robes on, and made his way to the door. Who would be here at six in the morning?
He grasped the doorknob and opened the door. Standing there was Penelope. Seeing her made Percy jump.
"What are you doing here? Do you realize what time it is?" he groaned.
Penelope checked her watch.
"Well, according to my watch it is six o'clock."
Percy rolled his eyes.
"I'm going back to sleep. You can do something."
With that, he shuffled back into the bed, and tried to fall asleep again. Dang, he never woke up this early. But Percy was a light sleeper. If he woke up, he could never fall asleep. But this time he tried hard. Except it didn't work. The blue glow was becoming golden, and he could hear Penelope banging pots in the kitchen. She was making something.
The aroma of chocolate chip pancakes wafted in, and Percy knew it would be impossible to sleep. He rose and dressed, then headed out to the kitchen where Penelope was cooking.
"You did that on purpose!" Percy whined.
"Did what on purpose?" Penelope asked innocently.
"Chocolate chip pancakes! Where'd you find the chocolate chips anyway?"
"They were in the pantry," Penelope said, waving her hand toward the pantry. Percy remembered. Mum had sent those long ago.
"Accio syrup! Accio butter!" Percy said.
The syrup and butter came whizzing to a stop at the table. Penelope put two stacks in front of two chairs, and sat down in front of one as forks and knives came flying to the table also.
Percy sat down across from Penelope.
How odd it was, to see Penelope across the table, eating pancakes in his apartment, sitting in his chair, using his silverware.
There was a long silence, only broken by the sound of sipping or pumpkin juice and the chewing of pancakes.
"Why the hell are you here?" Percy finally asked, when all the dishes had been cleared.
"I dunno. I wanted to be here again, to see you again. You know, just see how your life was going," Penelope said thoughtfully.
"At six o'clock in the morning!"
"Oh, that was to bug you," she said, grinning.
Percy rolled his eyes. She hadn't changed that much after all. Silence filled the room again. Percy wanted to ask what went wrong with her marriage, what happened, but he wasn't sure how to word it. And he was afraid Penelope was going to bite his head off, after all, it was still kind of awkward to meet your old boyfriend.
They sat there for what seemed like a long time, before Penelope said something again.
"Percy, how come you're so… I dunno. You're not the overly ambitious worrywart I used to date…"
Percy stared.
"I was ?"
"Haha, yeah, to tell you the truth, you kind of were. I was trying to get you to loosen up and not overanalyze things. You've changed. You're more… I dunno, sad kind of. You just feel the angst hanging around you. Are you guilty?"
Percy blinked. She sounded like a psychologist or something.
"You've changed too Penny. You used to be more… quiet and shy. You never really spoke your mind, like you do now. What happened to you? Was it – " Percy hesitated.
Should he ask? He wasn't so sure. But the words came spilling out of his mouth, "Was it your marriage?"
He saw Penelope's eyes widen, he saw her hands grip the edges of her seat. He saw her body become stiff. He saw the angry look coming over her. Percy gulped, but soon her body softened.
"I guess the marriage did change me, kind of. It made me stronger. I don't really want to tell you, but I suppose you told me about your life…"
She took a deep breath and stared at her hands, fidgeting. Then she stood up.
"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot! I'll tell you later Percy, come on, we have to go!" she said.
"Go? Where? I didn't – "
"Here, here," Penelope said, walking to the fireplace, and throwing Floo Powder in.
She stepped in and pulled Percy along too.
"Diagon Alley!" she said loudly.
"Penelope, tell me what is – "
He stopped as the green fire began to whirl, and ash flew into his mouth and nose. He couldn't breathe, and he tried to hold on to his glasses.
At last the fire stopped, and Percy stepped out all covered in ash. Penelope was next to him.
"Penelope, what in the world are you – "
"Oh shut up Percy, let's go!"
They headed down a long alleyway that Percy had never noticed before. They went down twists and turns, and the place was beginning to get very eerie. Percy had a bad feeling.
"Penelope, where are we going? How come we didn't apparate?"
"You can't apparate to this place! Don't worry, just trust me."
At last, they came to a very rickety, door. Its paint was wearing off and it looked ugly. Percy did not want to open it. But Penelope had already seized the doorknob and pulled the door open. A blast of loud music came from it, and Percy looked inside.
"Penny… it's a dance – "
She grinned.
"I know."
gryffindork23: Yay! I'm glad you like it! Right, about Penelope's past,we might have to wait a bit... oh yes, Penelope will help. You'll see as the story goes. He will get new work, I assure you.
IamSiriusgrl: Yay again! I convinced someone to read a Percy fic! Yay! Go Penelope the life saver!
Miss Piratess: Thanks so much for reviewing my stories a lot. :) You make me happy, because I love your fics, and I know that you read mine too. I love Percy fics also, and Percy/Penelope is adorable. So, he has Penelope here! And about the work letter, well, I don't think Percy's in the mood to argue. AND yes, something did go on with Penelope's marriage, but we'll have to see about that... later.
chubby redburn: Thank you!
Jennifer: I'm sure it must be, I don't like stories that have Percy gay.
maaike-fluffy: I like Percy like this too. I'm glad you share my opinion!
hydraspit: goes under trance Must... update... must update... lol.Yes, I thought Fudge wouldn't be happy if Percy broke off from his family.
samurai-lapin: I'll update!