For the If You Dare Challenge on the HPFC.
— Prompt & Prompt Number: Music To My Ears, Prompt 058
i.
When Percy spots Penelope in the hallway, he somehow finds his legs carrying himself behind a large pillar. He stands, mostly hidden, peering around the column. He knows—really, he knows—that he shouldn't be doing this. Watching her like this… He's not proud of it.
But Penelope is standing next to Fred and George, of all people. They're both chatting animatedly. Even from a distance, he can tell that they're bouncing off each other, finishing each other's sentences and all, the way they always do. Penelope looks positively enraptured, her blonde hair flowing when she tips her head back and laughs at one of their jokes.
It makes his heart clench. It seems unfair that he'll never be able to make her smile like that. That the twinkle in her eye and the crinkle at the corner of her lips won't ever be for him.
It also shocks him out of his stupor—he's hiding behind a bloody pillar. He refuses to be this kind of ridiculous over a girl.
But before he can turn to leave, Fred catches his eye. And much to Percy's horror, Fred's lips quickly turn up into his trademark grin. He knows. It's possibly the most horrifying moment of Percy's life.
ii.
Later, Fred slides onto the bench next to him during dinner, and Percy braces himself for the inevitable teasing at his expense.
"You should ask her out," Fred says, plucking a bread roll from the centre of the table. "I think she likes you."
And because denial would undoubtedly make things worse, Percy opts for a snappy, "You don't even know her."
"Seems like I talk to her more than you do."
"That's not true. We talk when we do rounds together. And when we have classes together. And just yesterday she asked me for help with her Potions essay…"
Fred laughs. "Ah, yes. Homework. How romantic. Every girls' dream."
Percy can't do this. He can't really be getting advice on girls from Fred. He's only fifteen, for Merlin's sake! The thought of it makes Percy give a piece of chicken a particularly hard stab with his fork.
"She was asking us about you."
"What?"
Fred looks sideways at him. "When you saw us with her earlier. She was asking us about you."
"What?"
"You've such a way with words, Perce." But he seems to take pity on his older brother because once more, he says, "She was asking about you. Wanted to know if you like Sugar Quills. Don't worry, I told her that you much prefer Ice Mice."
"I hate Ice Mice."
"I know."
iii.
She was asking about you. She was asking about you. She was asking about you.
He can't get the words out of his head. Even when she's right in front of him, asking him all about the properties of Chinese Chomping Cabbage—a vegetable that he must admit is most fascinating—he can't stop thinking about it.
"Perce?" Penelope looks across at him, wide-eyed. "You okay? You seem distracted."
"I'm fine."
She smiles at him, bright and true, and he wants to bang his head against the table.
"Maybe you just need a pick-me-up." She fumbles in her book bag for a moment before presenting him with a packet of Ice Mice. "Your favourite, right?"
"We can't eat in the library," he says before he can stop himself. And when her face instantly drops, he knows he's made a mistake. So, quickly—and even though he really does hate Ice Mice—he tugs the bag towards him. Hesitant, he says, "Maybe just this once."
Her grin comes back. Finally. He's done something right.
"Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" he asks, confidence restored. "I was wondering if you might want to go with me."
She was asking about you. She was asking about you. She was asking about you.
It's all he can think about in the beat of silence.
"That would be great." Penelope toys with her blonde plait, and Percy wonders if maybe she's just as nervous as he is. But her voice doesn't waver when she says, "It's a date."
And for the first time in forever, Percy thinks, I guess I should thank Fred for this.