Here is the next chapter. For future reference Tom Senior is Tom Riddle and Tom Junior is Harry Potter. Please read and review thanks, love Angel x
Percy was entirely stunned. Not only did no one in Hufflepuff ask him what had happened they didn't even care about it. He had been severely misinformed about what Hufflepuff was like. He had thought everyone there was soft and entirely mollycoddled all the time but it wasn't true at all. He'd been shown to the common room and told how to enter it. Professor Sprout explained what happened to someone if they got it wrong when entering the house and he was shocked into silence that the house which was often thought of as the weakest house was the only one with a defence mechanism against intruders. He suddenly felt much safer indeed and slightly guilty. She led him into the common room which was circular in shape.
It had a domed ceiling and some round hobbit like doors which led down to the dorms. There was another door leading to a conservatory full of plants with an adjoining music room. Helga had wanted her badgers to be fully well rounded. The common room contained many hanging magical Devils Ivy and Monstera plants which all hung from the ceiling and could brush the tips of your hair if you were tall enough. It had many overstuffed couches and a few chaise lounges. It was somehow more luxurious then he could have ever imagined. He was led into a side office where Pomona had him take a seat opposite her desk. She had two offices one inside and one outside the house.
"Welcome to Hufflepuff Mr Weasley. I can but assume that as you are no longer a prefect the job was too stressful on you. You'll get no judgement from me so don't worry. Hufflepuff house like all other houses has its own in house rules we must follow. I will go through those with you now!" she said checking to see if he was ok. He nodded to tell her she could go ahead.
"As you will know prefects wear golden badges with a p on the front of them. In Hufflepuff house if you ever see a prefect wearing a purple silk scarf around their neck it means they are under no circumstances to be disturbed. No two prefects may wear their scarves at the same time and no one may wear it for more than four hours maximum. Now as you can see I have an office here and outside the house as well. I do not have the roles of Professor McGonagall so I am in here each evening to offer help and support to my badgers when it is necessary. Because I don't have too many roles it does mean I can do a better job!" she said as his eyebrows rose in surprise.
"I guess so. You're right though she never was available to be in the house and help people out where necessary. I'm sure I'll be able to settle in here eventually. I'm sorry in advance but Hufflepuff doesn't seem like the soft coco and cuddles kind of place I thought it was!" he said with a nervous laugh as she laughed with him.
"My goodness me Mr Weasley is that really what others think of us? Certainly not. We are known as the duffers but we are blunt to a fault, do not accept crap and have many contingency plans for almost all situations. We may not show it but we have this backbone that we use whenever we necessary. Most of the time we do the work and shut up without complaining. First years get homesick which is just a reality of life. We do our best to support them and help them move on. We do not condescend to them and not only prefects are expected to help with this. You will find your grandmother can be very loud when annoyed and so I do know you had an issue with this. Will you be able to restrain yourself here?" she asked him carefully.
She'd not heard everything just that he'd given little to no support to the sad first year who had been homesick and left feeling utterly traumatised after speaking with him. She hadn't truly known why he'd been kicked out of Gryffindor but didn't care either. It wasn't her place to judge. It was her place to support. Part of her couldn't help feeling that if Minerva didn't have so many bloody jobs she might actually be an efficient head of house. It was ridiculous that her students didn't see her in their own house unless there was an emergency. Some Gryffindors had told her this before and she'd been stunned to hear it. She was in Hufflepuff each evening for two hours in case her badgers needed help with anything the prefects couldn't help with or simply if they'd rather speak to her about it. It was just a more efficient way to run the house.
"Ok now I have been informed by Professor McGonagall that your younger brother Ronald complimented a school house elf who bound herself to him immediately afterwards. Your parents know about it and are fine with it she just asked me to inform you so you're not shocked if a house elf appears there before him. Also if you wish to invite a friend into common room you may do so at any time before curfew. They can enter with you and may not see how you enter the house either. This can also be used for family members Percy. I see no reason for you to be alone. Do you have any questions?" she asked as he grimaced very visibly at the thought of bringing family here. Here was actually quiet so he wouldn't wish to disturb that by bringing his rambunctious brothers into the house. He might bring his girlfriend Penelope here though. She had found out what had happened and although very unhappy with him had not left him. She had said it was good that he realised he couldn't handle being a prefect and got out while he could. He didn't like that everyone had thought he'd not wanted to be a prefect because he had very much so he just hated all the questions and socialisation it required to be one.
"How do I access the dorms Professor and what are the bathroom situations like? I also love studying too much sometimes but is there a place for me to do so quietly without being disturbed? Gryffindor can be too rambunctious and annoying so studying there can be a pain in the neck. Thanks for telling me about Ron. I'm sorry about him he's a bit useless. If he gives you trouble in any of your lessons tell me and I'll sort him out" he said passionately as she scowled deeply.
"Five points from Hufflepuff for ridiculous conduct towards family members. You do not handle him as you nicely put it as that is my job. If you must know we've already had one lesson and he's actually rather talented at it even if he is lacking the confidence at the moment. I am hoping his new house elf will help him out with that. You need to learn to think before actually speaking or else you will sink before you've even learned to swim Mr Weasley!" she chided seriously as he fought hard to not roll his eyes.
"As to your questions we don't have traditional dormitories here as Helga felt it wouldn't be conducive to a good learning environment and she knew everyone needed their own spaces. Each level has a number from one to seven to indicate the floor you should go to based on your year level. You will obviously go to level six. There you will find a door with your name on it which will be your room. In it you will find your own bed, wardrobe and study desk to use for your homework and so on. Each level has three bathrooms so people may use them as and when they please without needing to rush around like headless chickens in the morning" she said as he smiled brightly at the thought of getting his own space. He would finally be free of everyone else and could just be left alone to study without needing to do anything else. He should have known however that Hufflepuff wasn't like that only he didn't stop to think of it.
"Every Friday night here in Hufflepuff the elves supply some drinks and snacks for two hours while the whole house gets together to listen to music or play games. Attendance is mandatory as we don't like to leave anyone out. We include as much as we can so no one ever feels left out. Those in Hufflepuff must work for whatever it is they want in life as nothing in this life is free but here we don't begrudge people moaning about it along the way. The end result is what truly matters anyway. If you need help in any way do not hesitate to ask me or anyone else for that help. Don't come crying to me if things go south because you didn't ask for help because I will not care at that point. Come with me please!" she said leading him outside into the common room once more.
"I need everyone's attention please. Please welcome Mr Percival Weasley our newest member. I expect you all to help and support him in settling in to this his new house. We don't know why he was resorted and we don't care. Gryffindors loss is our gain. I have gone through the rules with him so he will know everything now. I will have a schedule ready for him in the morning based on whatever it is he takes. Welcome!" she said patting him on the shoulder kindly as everyone else clapped and welcomed him with open arms leaving him feeling exceptionally out of sorts and confused. He wanted to head straight for his room but couldn't do that as it would have been considered anti-social and this annoyed him. He was stunned as an owl flew in through an opened window dropping a letter from his mother into his lap. He was stunned as she'd not said she'd be writing him. How inconvenient he thought ripping into the letter and sitting on a free chaise lounge to read it in peace.
Dear Percy,
It's me mum. For years now I have been doing something wrong and it is something I need to deeply apologise for. I have always hated the house of Slytherin with a passion for something some of its members did to me in my own youth which is not at all good. It would be the same as everyone saying I was responsible for the actions of Peter Pettigrew just because I was a Gryffindor member. Essentially in my youth I was asked to become a death eater and when I refused I was tortured by a group of Slytherin members close to death. When your uncles Fabian and Gideon heard about it they tricked those members to walk through the veil to their deaths without once casting a spell on them. I was so proud of them for that. I have been getting counselling for the things I have gone through and I am starting to feel better.
For years I have gone on and on about the importance of great grades because my own father was like that with me. I have never told you that you could be anything else and for this I deeply apologise. If you find that a job in the ministry is not for you then I implore you to do whatever it is which gives you joy the most. You will always have our support no matter what you decide. I hope that Hufflepuff can teach you the humility you need. I was stunned to find out Frederick and George get excellent grades but because of you were afraid to show me that. They were afraid they couldn't properly be themselves because of the things you had been saying to them at school and the things I was saying to them here. We all assumed they got bad grades and did bad things because they never shared their grades with us which is not good at all. We all need to work on doing better and making sure no one in the family feels left out.
Because we've all been doing such a bad job this summer you'll be getting the counselling I've been getting. It truly does help and will help to make you a better brother and son. Having the bad views you do is not healthy. In my day your father and I were prefects before he went on to be the head boy himself. We loved what we did and made our house proud. I hope you can make your new house proud. Professor McGonagall should have considered more than your wonderful grades when choosing her prefect and did not. It then for this reason that she suffered the consequences of her actions. She doesn't get to complain after the fact. I have forbidden Professor Dumbledore from calling any of my children to his office any longer because I can no longer trust his judgement given some things he's been doing recently.
Ronald has a new house elf called Shelly who answers to him and us. She is his elf and cares for him a great deal. I will not have him slandered or bullied for it or anything else. If you find you cannot say anything good or constructive then Percival you must shut up. No one cares what you have to say when all you say is crap and just you remember that any time you think of being a jerk with anyone. You have really let me down but you are not beyond redemption hence the counselling. You will take all you are given gracefully and you will not complain. Ronald will be getting a few new things soon curtesy of his elf and you are not to read too much into it. Also he is not to be threatened by you ever again are we clear?
He wrote to us concerned he was a bad son? He is eleven Percy! He shouldn't have to think like that yet YOUR ACTIONS made him think this way. You should be exceptionally ashamed of yourself. I want you to think long and hard about all you've done and ask yourself if you even deserve to have brothers and a sister. Particularly think of Ginevra Percival. Would you want her to date someone like you? Would you accept that kind of treatment if someone else gave it to her? The answer is no so why should you be any different. Although we are bitterly disappointed in you that does not mean we do not love you. Take care of yourself Percival,
Love,
Mum & Dad x.
He read the letter tears streaming from his eyes. He'd let everyone down and what she had said about Ginny had been startling and true. He was now settled into his new house and hopefully things could work out for him in the future. He definitely didn't want Ginny dating someone like him.