Percy sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. It was the last day of school before winter break and he was one of the only of the few people seated at breakfast. Although, it was rather early, but he was hopeful that the Great Hall would remain empty.
He hadn't slept at all because he was certain that if he were to drift off into a dream that it would be haunted by the events of what happened the day before. He ran it through his head for the millionth time:
His impulsive action and desire to kiss Oliver.
Oliver's blunt and harsh rejection.
The pain of watching Oliver walk away from him remained strong. Even the cold that took ahold of him remained; he had stayed crying on the ground for a few hours and a thick layer of snow had settled on his back. It was only until the sun was lazily setting behind the snow covered landscape that he decided to head back to the castle.
Walking back towards the castle was just as painful. He had no idea of the actions that Oliver had taken in his burst of rage. Had he told the entire castle? Would people know? And, the question that tortured him most of all, how would his family react?
As he sat in the Great Hall asking himself these questions, not touching his breakfast, he had failed to realize that the room was getting full the way it usually did. He kept glancing at the door to see if Oliver Wood or any of his family would walk in.
Then, Fred and George walked in, and behind them were Ron, Hermione, and Harry. They were all looking grim. Or…was that just Percy's paranoid imagination?
"Morning." Percy said as normal as he possibly could when they reached him and sat down around him.
Fred hesitated. "Morning…brother."
Percy took the first bite out of his toast.
Ron wouldn't look at him.
Hermione fidgeted awkwardly.
"You guys…are…awfully quiet." Percy said trying to sound normal. His worst fears were quickly coming true.
"What's wrong—with you lot?" Percy said when no one answered. Silence.
"Fred…(I'm George)—right. George tell me right now."
"Well, people are saying really…awful things about you." Hermione said when George didn't answer.
The color was drained from his face. "Like what?" he mumbled.
"They're saying…" Hermione was about to speak when a loud noise interrupted her sentence. The owls delivering mail had arrived and within a matter of seconds the Great Hall was a swallowed up by the noise of flapping wings and screeches.
An envelope dropped in front of Percy. It was a Howler.
"What on Earth?" Percy said incredulously.
"It's a Howler from Mum and Dad!" he said holding it up for them to see. They didn't seem surprised.
"Well what did you expect Mum to send you, cookies?" Fred asked sarcastically.
"What do you mean?"
"PERCY IGNATIOUS WEASLEY!" came Mrs. Weasley's thundering voice. The entire Great Hall were now focused on the Howler and were even more intrigued at the fact that such a model student like Percy would receive a Howler.
"NEVER DID I THINK—IN A MILLION YEARS THAT I WOULD HAVE TO SEND A HOWLER TO YOU! MY BOY THE PREFECT.
"LISTEN TO ME PERCY. LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER.
YOU. ARE. NOT. GAY." There seemed to be an extremely loud and lingering echo at the word 'gay.'
"YOU BETTER REALIZE THAT BEFORE YOU COME BACK HOME IN THE SUMMER. GOODBYE." And the letter was over.
"Gay?"
"I knew it!"
The entire Great Hall was now riled up about the scandal. He looked around. He was now surrounded by a sea of scrutinizing eyes. But among them…a particular pair of brown eyes stood out.
It was Oliver Wood…they held eye contact for a few seconds. Oliver shook his head disapprovingly at him and mouthed the word "gay."
"NO!...NO!... SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" He began to cry uncontrollably…he closed his eyes and rammed his hands against his ears to shut out the noise.
It was then, that a sweaty and out of breathe Percy woke up from the terrible nightmare he had just experienced. Though it had been dream, there were some things had happened for real: his eyes were wet with tears and his hands were cover his ears.
He looked around his surroundings…it wasn't his dormitory. It was the Gryffindor coon room. Then he remembered that in his restlessness he had wandered down to the common room in the middle of the night. He must have fallen asleep then.
Through the window, Percy could see that the sun was just barely beginning to rise. The sight of the sunrise made him cry harder. He longed for summer…maybe then the coldness that had hijacked his body would disappear.
"Penelope." he said, suddenly remembering that he had promised her that they would meet in the prefect's restroom early in the morning.
He attempted to collect himself before heading out but to no avail. When he had stepped through the portrait hole a fresh batch of tears rushed down his face.
His teeth began to grind. I don't want to cry, he thought, I don't want it to hurt. As much as he wanted it to stop hurting, this pain was like an itch: he had to scratch it to soothe it. But like all itches, the more he scratched, the more irritated it became. And so once again, began Percy's memory of the events that had happened the day before.
"ARGH!" he yelled and began to ran when the thought of Oliver walking away created a new wound in his heart.
Percy didn't stop running until he reached the prefect's restroom.
He entered the prefect's restroom sweating, crying, and out of breathe. He would desperately inhale for air but couldn't because his sobs were making it hard. His clothes, the ones he had worn yesterday too, were wrinkled and drenched in sweat.
For a small amount of time, Percy cried in a corner of the restroom until he was able to control the tears. They weren't rushing out but he knew that the wrong memory would set them off again. He made his way over the sink and splashed his face with water so that it wouldn't be so obvious he had been crying.
He fixed his hair too because it was cow-licked having slept on his left side on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room. Percy examined himself in the mirror. His face and hair were too wet. He got out his wand and performed a spell on himself. Instantly he was dried.
Perfect. He didn't look out of breathe or frantic, but he didn't like that his eyes were still red and that his clothes were conspicuously wrinkled. But he trusted that Penelope wouldn't be able to notice that he was hurting…although the pain was still there.
A few minutes past before he heard the door to the restroom and, sure enough, Penelope Clearwater walks in.
He turned to look at her and she returned the gaze.
Percy cleared his throat and walked up to her. "Penelope."
"Good morning." She reached out for a handshake but Percy went in for a hug.
"Sorry." they both laughed embarrassed. This was turning out to be another nightmare.
"Listen…" she began, "the reason why I've been behaving the way I have is because…I think I deserve an explanation."
"That's quite understandable."
"Please. Explain."
Where to begin? He opened his mouth to say something but then changed his mind. This was difficult.
He looked at Penelope who was staring at him expectantly. His forehead began to sweat…he couldn't think straight. Not at this moment.
"P—Penelope," Percy began crying, "the reason—I ended our relationship…is because I—I'm in lo—I…" he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her that he was in love with Oliver Wood.
Not when her eyes showed as much pain as his did. It was then that he understood. Penelope had fallen in love with him the way he had for Oliver Wood. He had rejected her just as Oliver had rejected him.
"Penelope—I'm terribly sorry…I love you. I –really do." he said. Percy did indeed love Penelope, but it wasn't the type of love he felt for Oliver. However, Penelope thought it was exactly this.
She began crying too and she threw her arms around Percy.
"I love you too." she said through tears. The two embraced for a long time.
Suddenly, Penelope began kissing him passionately on the lips. He felt as her tongue slipped through his lips and into his mouth.
He tried pushing away but he was afraid of offending her.
"What's wrong?" Penelope asked. Percy looked into her eyes. All traces of sorrow were now gone and replaced with hope.
Who was he to take that happiness away from her? Who was he to make another person suffer the way he had….?
"Nothing…" he said reluctantly and began kissing her back. He wasn't going to be responsible for a broken heart.
Penelope, although a very good kisser, was not satisfying Percy. The smell of her breathe was not minty like Oliver's was. Her body smelled like vanilla…sweet, but he longed to smell pines. He longed to smell Oliver.
Percy disappeared into his mind with Oliver, leaving his body on auto pilot.
"What are you doing, Percy?" asked Oliver in his mind.
Before he could answer he became aware of his body again. His shirt was off and Penelope's exposed breasts were pressed against his bare chest.
He quickly went back to Oliver.
"I don't know Oliver…" he said in his head.
Back into reality again, his eyes were filled with tears. He had Penelope pressed against the wall. His penis had now penetrated her vagina. She was whimpering in pain…or perhaps pleasure.
Percy shut his eyes. He was desperately searching for Oliver.
"You're a monster…you're vile and filth on the inside Percy. How could you do this?" Oliver said in Percy's head.
"I'm sorry…" Percy responded.
Oliver shook his head in disapproval the way he had done in his dream and began walking away.
"Come back!" Percy cried.
Fully conscious now, he realized that he and Penelope laid naked on the floor. Their fingers intertwined. Her head resting on his chest.
He got up and threw his clothes on quickly and began to walk out of the restroom.
"Where are you going?" Penelope asked.
"People will get suspicious." and he walked out.
When the door to the prefect's restroom closed behind him he sprinted to the Gryffindor common room. His sobs were now very audible and violent and he alarmed a few people when he rushed through the portrait hole crying and ran up to his dormitory. Thankfully, no one who knew him was there.
He sat on his bed looking out of a window at the frozen landscape. A gentle snow was falling. He couldn't help notice how white and pure the snow was. And he…he was vile and filthy. He was laying down now. His eyes closed and they didn't open for a very long time.