AU! Fred lives. Percy/Hermione.
Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and wizardry
House: Thunderbird
Class: Charms
Task: Caterwauling Charm: an unwelcome person
Word Count: 2109/4500
A Slight Nudge In The Right Direction
As the years passed, the feeling that he was unwelcome around his family began to prick at Percy's subconscious. It was a terrible feeling; it gave him a sinking feeling in his gut and made him feel depressed. They didn't do anything specific to make him feel like he was unwanted, but the feeling still niggled at him.
Percy Weasley had always felt like he was different from his siblings. And he was right. While he preferred to spend time reading books or experimenting with different charms, his siblings preferred a hands-on approach to life.
The only things Percy had in common with his family was that they all loved Quidditch and had Weasley as their last name. Therefore, whenever Percy tried to spend quality time with his siblings, he felt uncomfortable with their brash and outgoing nature. They were always so loud and energetic; Percy often felt drained in their presence. And when he tried to talk to them about it, they often mocked him and belittled him. Or so he thought.
As the years passed, the feeling that he was unwelcome around his family began to prick at his subconscious. It was a terrible feeling; it gave him a sinking feeling in his gut and made him feel depressed. They didn't do anything specific to make him feel like he was unwanted, but the feeling still niggled at him.
At Hogwarts, he was the only boy in his dorm room who wanted to spend his time studying for OWLs and NEWTs instead of chasing after a girl or having fun in Hogsmeade. By the time he was seventeen, he had pulled himself completely away from everyone around him. No-one even batted an eye when he informed them of his new job at the Ministry. They congratulated him, but Percy still felt as if he wasn't good enough to join in on their conversations — their more intriguing conversations. And so, Percy drifted away.
At work, his boss called him by the wrong name, but Percy didn't mind. He felt as if he was recognized for his efforts, which was what he wanted, but soon, he realized his colleagues didn't care about him at all. He often overheard them talking about going out to lunch together or down to the pub after work, and he always hoped they would invite him along. But they never did. He was still the outcast.
It was not until after the war had ended that he found the one person who changed his perspective on life.
Hermione Granger sat across from him in the Ministry's cafeteria with a measly sandwich in front of her. She pushed a book towards Percy as she sipped on her cup of tea. "Would you like to borrow my book, Percy?"
Percy stared at the book with confusion. He hadn't read it before, but he was curious as to why she was offering it to him. They were just co-workers, as far as Percy knew, and his colleagues had never offered him a book — they had never sat with him at lunch either.
"Bill mentioned you might have the book I was looking for. The Advanced Guide to Arithmancy by David McClenaghan?" Hermione asked, leaning towards him hopefully.
"Yes, I do have that book," Percy said, still staring at the book in front of him. "Why are you giving me this book?"
"Well, I thought you'd like to read it… and you'd let me borrow the book I mentioned," she said sheepishly.
Percy frowned, still confused. No one had ever offered to lend him a book before, and he was clearly out of his comfort zone. Hermione understood he didn't feel very comfortable with her and sighed.
"It's okay, Percy. You don't have to give me your book. You can still read mine, though," she said, rising to her feet. "I'll see you later."
Percy didn't know what came over him, but the next thing he knew, his fingers were wrapped around her delicate wrist. "I'll bring you the book tomorrow," he said and hesitated for a moment. He thought, 'To hell with it!' "And maybe… we could discuss these books over coffee?"
A bright smile formed on Hermione's face, and Percy wondered why he hadn't ever considered befriending her. Maybe it was because he thought she was just his brother's friend, but now that she was his colleague, maybe he could…
"I'd love that!" Hermione said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "I've never had someone to discuss books with — I bet it's fun, huh?"
Percy looked down with embarrassment and muttered, "I wouldn't know… I've never discussed books with anyone before."
Hermione's smile widened as she said, "Well, it'll be a new experience for both of us."
Neither of them knew it, but that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship for them both. The first time they had sat down to discuss their thoughts of the books they had borrowed from each other, Percy had hedged around his real thoughts and feelings. He had continued to agree with her, terrified that if he disagreed with her, she would leave and never talk to him again.
But then, in the middle of their one-sided conversation, Hermione had stopped and said, "Percy, you cannot possibly agree with everything I say. Tell me your honest-to-Merlin thoughts about this spell."
Percy had hesitated before he had asked, "You want to know my… real thoughts about this?"
"Yes! If I had wanted someone to agree with everything I say, I'd just go find Ron and Harry. So, be frank with me."
A sense of burden had lifted right off of his shoulders, and Percy had straightened in his chair. "Well, in my opinion…"
They had gotten so lost in their debate that they didn't even realize the coffee-shop was closing and that it had gotten really late. Percy had dreaded that she would leave him just like the handful of girls he had dated in the past, and to stop that from happening, he had accidentally blurted out, "Would you like to continue this conversation at my place? I'll make us some dinner."
"That would be lovely, thank you," she had said sweetly and taken his arm to Apparate with him. His mind had gone blank at her touch, but he had managed not to Splinch them.
Over dinner, their discussion of books had led them to converse about the other books they had read, and Percy and Hermione had realized they were kindred spirits. They didn't always agree on the topics they discussed, but they were open-minded enough to listen to the other's opinions.
As time passed, they began to spend more and more time with each other, and Percy started to feel as if she liked his presence in her life. Too insecure to ask her, he remained silent.
As neither of them was an extrovert, they would often just curl up on each other's couch and read their latest tome in silence, occasionally asking the other about what the thought of so-and-so. Hermione had told him that they didn't need to talk about trivial matters to fill the silence, and it had helped Percy feel very welcome.
Hermione's presence in Percy's life positively affected his personality, but none of the Weasleys realized it until the day Percy strolled into the Burrow with his arm wrapped around Hermione's waist.
"Woah, what's this, huh?" Bill asked, wagging his eyebrows at them. "Is there something we should know, Percy?"
If Bill had teased him a few months ago when he still felt like he wasn't welcome to socialize with them all, Percy would have lost his composure and gone on the defensive. But now, he smiled proudly and dropped a quick kiss on Hermione's temple before sauntering out to the living room.
"What the… Did he just…" Ron gawked at Percy's back with disbelief. "Mione, he just kissed you!"
"Yes, that's what he does when he walks away, Ron," Hermione explained, walking over to hug her friend. "It's a habit."
"Percy kissed you! Percy!" Ron cried, flailing his arms around, and Hermione laughed.
"It's not like he snogged me in front of you, Ron. He doesn't do that in public."
"He snogs you? Merlin, do you even know who we're talking about?" Ron wailed, horrified at the news.
"Whom we're talking about," Hermione corrected him as she walked after Percy. "He's a really wonderful man, Ron. I really like him."
"And I like you, Hermione," Percy said from the couch. He looked a bit tense at the proceedings, and Hermione went to sit beside him. The moment she took his hand, his whole body relaxed, and everyone in the room noticed it.
"Well, congratulations, Mione," Ginny said with a grin. "You've managed to make him sit in a room with us and talk without insulting us. This has to be a new record."
Percy wanted to crawl away into a hole and never resurface, his former insecurities and negativity rising. But Hermione squeezed his hand, aware of what he was going through, and she looked at him pointedly. Percy took a deep breath in to calm himself and said, "I have something I would like to say. To everyone. This has been on my mind for a long time, and I think it's time I do this."
The others all looked confused but nodded, encouraging him to continue.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, glanced at Hermione quickly, and said, "I've never felt like a part of this family. I always thought I was different than you, and I never fit in with you all."
Immediately, everyone started protesting that he was their brother and that he was their family, and Percy raised his hands to silence them. "Please, let me finish." Once everyone was calm again, he continued, "I know I was too much to bear, but I only wanted to feel... welcome. All my life, I felt like the odd one out. Mum and Dad were always together, Charlie had Bill, Fred and George never went anywhere without the other, and even Ron and Ginny were incredibly close. I was always the loner, and I just… I just wanted to be accepted for who I was. And I knew I wasn't anything like you all. I remember Charlie once joked that I was adopted, and… to be honest, that's what I felt like most of my life. Adopted."
He paused to take a deep breath, his face revealing how vulnerable he felt at the moment. Everyone was silent as they listened to Percy talk from his heart. Hermione squeezed Percy's hand to silently encourage him, and he squeezed back, grateful for her support. If it weren't for Hermione, Percy knew he would never have been able to reveal his innermost feelings to his family. She was truly his little miracle.
"Hermione is the one who showed me that… I'm not unwanted. She showed me that she wants me and that I'm welcome in her life. I've always felt unwanted, and even though you might not have realized it, that's how you made me feel. You never wanted to include me on your plans... or spend time with me unless absolutely necessary. No one ever listened to what I wanted to do, and most of you even barged in on me when I was busy with my work. It made me feel as if my feelings, my thoughts, my… existence didn't matter to anyone... I was the butt of all jokes and pranks, and I know you might have thought they were funny — and now, I think they had been funny — at that time, all I could think was that none of you respects me."
"Oh, Merlin! My sweet child!" Molly sobbed, tears streaming down her face in torrents. "We never meant to make you feel like that!"
"She's true, Perce. Shit, I didn't realize how badly we messed you up," Bill muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Perce."
"Us too," Fred and George said in unison, looking deeply ashamed for once in their lives.
"It doesn't matter now, guys," Percy said, shaking his head. "I just wanted to get it off my chest, that's all."
"I think this was very brave of you," Ginny said, getting up from her chair and coming over towards Percy. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Percy's shoulders. "I'm sorry you felt that way, Percy. Please, forgive us. We never meant to make you feel like you didn't belong. You're our brother, and we should have thought of our actions."
Percy felt tears prick at his eyes when the rest of his family came over and enveloped him in their arms. Hermione tried to lean away to let them have their family moment, but Percy pulled her closer, squeezing her hand tightly. After all, he would never have strengthened his ties with his family if it hadn't been for Hermione.
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