Helloooo again, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Keep reviewing, it's what keeps me writing. Again, I'm sorry the last few chapters took so long to get up. Not to worry though, I'll update regularly for now on. Remember to review, and if you like the story enough, recommend it to your friends! Happy reading:)
Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter and all it's characters do not belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling.
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He woke me the next morning with soft kisses over my eyes. I moaned and rolled over, thinking it was a dream. He persisted, blowing into my hair. Once he planted his lips on the back of my neck, the memory of the previous night flowed back into my mind. My eyes snapped open and I spun around to face him.
He had to leave. He had to get out before Percy walked in. No, wait, the locks would keep him out. What if he undid them? Oliver had to leave. What if Percy heard him? What if Percy already knew? He could have come in during the night and seen. Oliver, get out!
But his easy smile and the way his eyes closed when he leaned forward and gave me a kiss made my mind shut up. Who cared if someone, even Percy, were to walk in? At least he was here. That's all that mattered. I didn't want his arms to leave my body. He was all that mattered.
"Percy might find us soon." He whispered, stroking my hair.
"So? Let him."
"You know we can't do that. Not yet. Give it time, Penelope. It'll all work out. We just have to give it time."
Well, maybe I don't want to wait. Maybe I don't care what Percy feels, or what everyone else would say. Maybe our happiness should be all that mattered.
"I know. It's our secret." MERLIN! Why do I always have to say what people want to hear, and not what I think? Well, at least I got enough nerve to tell Percy what I thought. Or maybe it was just that he finally pushed me over the limit of my patience.
"I have to go." He began to push himself up and I panicked at the absence of his body pressed against mine.
"No!" I instantly threw my arm around the back of his neck just as he hovered above me, pulling him back down. I pressed my lips to his, not allowing him to break away even for a second. He consented to my will, and settled himself over me again, resting his body on mine.
When I finally let him pull away slightly, his lips brushed against mine as he spoke.
"Percy is going to be awake soon. I have to go."
"But I don't want you to go. Please don't." I was whining like a baby. I knew I would lose him in another minute and I was desperate to hold on.
"And how do you expect me to leave once Percy is up? It's better safe then sorry. I'll see you later."
"But who knows the next time we'll be able to kiss?" His forehead rested against mine and his lips touched mine. But that was it. Only a touch.
"Soon."
His weight lifted off of me, and he knelt beside the bed. His arms folded and his head lay on its side on top of them. I turned and propped up on my elbow to face him.
Just as his mouth opened to say something, there was a loud bang on the door and Percy's voice coming from the other side. Our eyes widened and he was instantly up. Before I knew it, he planted a kiss on my forehead and was at the window. Turning, I saw him slowly mount his broom which hovered just below the window outside.
Before I could say anything, the window was shut except for an inch, and he was gone.
"Penelope. Penelope! We are going to be late. I know you're awake. Stop being so bloody infantile and open the door now."
I groaned to myself and buried my face into the pillow. Leaning over the side of the bed, I groped around for my wand until the tips of my fingers brushed against it. Gripping it finally, I muttered the spell into the pillow, unlocking the door.
"Penelope, come on now. You've overslept for 15 minutes. This is a waste of time, now open the door!" He was on the other side yelling and jiggling the handle.
Rolling my eyes and shaking my head, I turned away from the door and muttered to myself. "Why don't you try pushing the door, you bloke."
When he finally acquired some common sense, he put all his weight onto the door, falling into the room. If he hadn't been holding the door knob, he would have fallen flat on his face.
I looked at him clinging to the door knob, dangling just above the ground, and I just couldn't help myself but laugh at him. But it turned into an uncontrollable laugh that had me gripping my stomach and tears started to stream. I supposed it was just all the dumb things he's done since we've been together that all came to mind at that time, and I just couldn't hold it in anymore.
Percy, of course, did not take it very lightly. He was up and boiling while I couldn't stop laughing. The redder he got, the harder I laughed. This really didn't lighten the situation at all.
"It certainly is not funny, Penelope." He muttered through gritted teeth.
"I- I can't- I can't help it! Hahahaha! You're just so damn ridiculous sometimes." It started to slow down, but I was still having trouble breathing. I watched him fume while I panted for breath.
He looked around the room, with his usual inspecting eye, to be sure everything was in order. His head snapped in the direction of the window, which had a cool breeze blowing threw the small opening. As he walked over to it, I saw there was a mist on it. Oliver had drawn a heart in it, which didn't appear to be disappearing any time soon, as Percy grew nearer and nearer.
I held my breath as he finally reached it.
"Honestly, you need to be more responsible. You'll catch your death if you leave your window open all night." He closed the window and turned, hands on his hips in a scolding manner. I let out my breath and flopped down onto the bed. He was honestly so dense. "Now, I hope a good nights rest has given you some sense. You obviously said some things last night that were in the heat of the moment. Now, I forgive you, but let's just both forget it all. Okay?"
I was completely speechless out of pure amazement. He was really that self-centered. Before I could say anything in protest, he was a foot away, already puckered up and ready to kiss.
"No!" I pushed him back and he stumbled, completely bewildered.
"What?" He managed after a minute of him remaining puckered up, wondering what was going on.
"I'm not sorry for what I said. Percy, when are you going to understand? How many times do I have to tell you? We are over!" Oh god, we had to go into this again. My throat is going to be sore for a month.
"You can't be serious. You're going to throw away everything we had after all this time together? We're graduating Hogwarts this year, and you really want to leave it with no one to be with? That is completely unstable!"
"That makes no sense at all, Percy Weasley! And if that's the only reason you want to stay together, then we have no business going out anyway. We are finished. No matter what you say. And how do you know we'll be alone when we leave? We are obviously not the right people for each other, so why waste our time?" Well, at least I wouldn't be alone. I wasn't so sure about him. After all, who would possibly be able to stand him?
"That's not the only reason I want to stay together. I love you." He looked at me like I was the one who was crazy.
"Oh God! You throw the word 'Love' around like it has no difference from any other word. You don't know what love is!"
"Of course I know what love is. I've loved you, haven't I?"
"Percy, we were never in love. Not really. Listen to me now. It's over."
"That's not very responsible, Penelope."
"Oh! Damn your responsibility! I'm following a new type of responsibility now! To myself!" With that, I stormed out of the room and down the hall, into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
I turned the water on, adding my special scent and climbed in. I could have really used a relaxing bath, but I just didn't have the time right now. I really did need to get to the Great Hall.
Finishing up, I made my way back to my room. Thankfully, Percy had left. Throwing on my robes, without really caring if the were wrinkled or not, I left my room and was soon out of the common room, not stopping to see if Percy had left or not.
Looking at my watch, I had 15 minutes to spare, so I decided to take the long way downstairs. I enjoyed looking at the tapestries and old paintings. Over the years, they became as familiar as my own home. Since I spent most of my life at Hogwarts anyway, it really was more of a home to me anyway. I was going to miss it. I knew I needed to take in as much as I could this year. I had to remember it all. If only I could avoid Percy as much as possible, this year would be 10 times better.
I stopped and looked down the hallway I had to take. I had taken it so many times before. Maybe this time, it was better to take a new way. A way I had never been down before. After all, trying new things seemed to be my thing lately.
So instead of taking the left, in which I knew exactly what it held at the end, I took the right, a corridor which was completely a mystery to me. It wasn't much different from any other corridor. The paintings were there. Tapestries. Messes on the wall from Peeves that Filch had yet to clean. It wasn't any more dimly lit than the other halls. There were no noises that were out of the ordinary. But still, it was an adventure for me. I almost felt like a first year again, walking the halls for the first time.
I stopped to study one particular painting. It showed what seemed to be a Hogwarts hallway, packed with students. For some reason, I'm not sure what, it seemed that two students stuck out the most. A boy and a girl. Perhaps it was that they were painted brighter, or the position they were in. They weren't anywhere near each other, but they seemed to radiate towards each other. This picture was different than the rest. No one was moving. They were all stationary. But still, the two figures seemed to be connected. I tried to look for a signature, but before I could find one, I was suddenly jerked backwards.
Before I could scream a hand was over my mouth. The last thing I saw was the painting against the opposite wall as a tapestry fell over an opening in the wall which I was pulled into. My eyes squeezed shut as I was pushed against a wall and someone's body pushed up against mine, pinning me in a standing position.
I whimpered as his hand stayed over my mouth and his finger traced my jaw line. He blew on my face as he softly shushed me. My eyes still pursed shut, I refused to look at my captor. I didn't know what he was going to do with me, but as long as I didn't look at him, I would have that much less knowledge of what he was capable of.
Why did I have to take a new way? I could have been in the Great Hall by now, sitting, waiting for my meal. I could have been safe. Instead, I was in some dark hole in the wall, being held by God knows who, waiting to be violated in some way.
I would do anything to be out of here. I would even be back in my room fighting with Percy. Surely he couldn't get away with this, could he? In Hogwarts? Wasn't there something here to protect students from this kind of harm? What would Oliver think? Would I even be able to tell him? If I looked now, I would be able to name my assaulter, be able to have him punished. But if I looked, I would have to know forever the face of the one who did it. I didn't know if I could live with that.
If only someone would come along. Even if they did, I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything. My wand was out of reach, and he was so heavy against me I couldn't move.
Soon, I was overwhelmed and tears started to stream down my face. I didn't sob though. I was completely still. Only the tears showed my distress.
He kissed the drops off my cheeks. I didn't even realize it when he did it. I felt so numb from fear. I only noticed the tears were gone when he finally uncovered my mouth and pressed his lips to mine. Tasting the saltiness, I finally realized what he had done.
All I could think about was Oliver. If only he were here now. This caused more tears to fall, and he only kissed them away again.
"Open your eyes." He crooned in a soft and low voice. I didn't recognize it. It was too low for me to really hear. He didn't want anyone else hearing him either. "Come on now, open your eyes." I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to look into his face and realize exactly what he would do to me.
He kissed away more of my tears, gently, as if he barely was touching my face.
"Come on, just open your eyes."
