I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. Enjoy!
-Rooney1077
When Perci got back, it was late. She wasn't sure how long she was with Fred and George, they lost track of time. She assumed she must've been there for hours since she left when classes where still going on and returned at 3:00 in the morning. Perci quietly took off her jacket, not wanting to wake the other girls who were sleeping soundly, and changed into pajamas. She slipped into bed, dreading sleep, for she knew the nightmares would come. However, that was the first night in a long time where Perci didn't have one.
Perci sat sleepily at her desk in the Potions room, flipping through a scrapbook Sirius had given her. She watched the pictures, not feeling anything. She had yet to put her memories back in her head. She wanted to wait, and watch them with Harry, but she was getting tired of constantly not feeling anything when Harry mentioned them. They were her memories and she had every right to have them back, but she felt the need to share them with her brother. Perci flipped to a certain page. It was a picture of her, Lily, James, and Harry. She assumed they were trying to take a family Christmas photo–it was snowing lightly outside. They were standing in front of a church. Perci wondered if she would've been Christian if Sally hadn't taken her away and introduced her to the Greek gods. She looked to be about 2. Perci realized this must've been taken around the time Sally had taken her and her parents had died. James was rocking her back and forth, laughing. Perci had his glasses on and was giggling profusely. Lily was trying to calm down a crying Harry. It was slightly chaotic. Perci smiled, imagining how that must've felt.
She was snapped out of her wondering by a large cauldron being slammed down on her desk. Above her stood Dean, who refused to meet her gaze. Perci rolled her eyes and looked into his cauldron full of Essence of Dittany. It was a purplish color which immediately signaled to Perci that Dean had incorrectly brewed the potion. Perci pulled out her wand and made a small incision on her palm. She dipped it in the potion. If he had even a little bit correctly made it, her skin would've grown back and the wound cease to exist. When Perci pulled it out, her hand was green. She sighed and healed her hand and gave Dean his grade.
"For starters, the color should be brown. Also, it's should've healed me, so..." Perci trailed off awkwardly. Dean looked down at his grade and sauntered off without a word. Perci groaned and ran a hand through her hair. Before she could move on to the next brew, Dean was back with a medium sized frame. He put it on her desk, faced down.
"That was what I was going to show you in the Room of Requirement. Probably not what you were thinking." He laughed humorlessly. "I probably would've kissed you, though, so thank God that didn't happen." Perci felt a small pang in her chest. "If your intentions aren't pure, then let me be." With that he walked away from her, leaving Perci speechless. She flipped the frame over and sighed. It was the painting of her by the Womping Willow. Dean had taken her out and set up a picnic there. He begged her to let him paint her. It was the first time he drew her. Perci smiled lightly at it, it was beautiful. On the back of the frame it was signed, 'Thank you for making this semester one of the best. Yours, D.T.'.
Harry came up behind her. "What's that?"
Perci jumped and placed the frame on the table. "Oh, er, a gift." Harry rose an eyebrow before giving her his cauldron. "Why do I even need to check yours? I know you did it all right with that book."
Harry sighed. "I know you don't approve–"
Perci lowered her voice to a whisper. "Harry, I looked up that spell, Sectumsempra, and it's a nasty one. It's like an invisible sword. It slashes deep cuts across the victims body, causing them to bleed to death." Harry shuffled uncomfortably. "Whomever made that spell, isn't the kind of person you should be learning from. It's dangerous."
"I don't intend on using any of the spells on anyone, Perce. You don't have to worry. I'll be fine." Harry calmly explained and took his grade sheet and left with Ron and Hermione. Perci sighed, watching them go. It wasn't him she was worried about when it came to that book.
"Perci, before you leave," Perci looked up to see Slughorn standing right in front of her. He seemed slightly nervous. "I wanted to invite you to my supper party tomorrow evening."
Perci was surprised. She was under the impression that Slughorn didn't like her, or didn't trust her at least. "Er, sure I'd go." As long as there'd be food, Perci would be fine with attending his probably boring dinner party. Slughorn gave her a toothy grin and a nod, then left her to finish her grading. Perci continued grading everyone's cauldrons before heading to Alchemy and the rest of her classes. Perci was on edge the entire day, waiting for Bellatrix or Roy to show up, but they didn't. It was the first day in months that they didn't haunt her. She even thought she might be having a good day. That is, until Snape told her to stay after class for a moment.
"We need to start Occlumency immediately. I've realized that every second Bellatrix has to invade your mind, she could find out valuable information, or possibly destroy you," Snape stated bluntly.
Perci wasn't surprised anymore. A lot of people in her life wanted to destroy her. She shrugged her shoulders. "When do we start?" She asked.
Snape grabbed her gently by the shoulder and led her out of the room. "Immediately."
Perci looked back. "But...lunch," she murmured wistfully. He dragged her through the halls, past portraits and students and professors. They finally came to a stop at a blank wall. Snape placed his hand on it and closed his eyes. The wall quickly morphed into two large, intricately shaped doors, the Room of Requirement. Snape pulled them open and pulled them closed quickly behind them. The room was tiny and stacked with numerous bottle of who knows what. There was a small chair sitting against the wall. It was dark, musty, and smelled terrible. Perci thought Snape must've felt right at home then. Snape motioned for her to sit down in the small, uncomfortable looking chair, and Perci did so begrudgingly.
Snape drew his wand and pointed it at her. Perci could help but scoot back in her chair. "In the past, the Dark Lord often took pleasure in invading people's minds, creating visions meant to torture them in to madness, much like what Bellatrix is doing to you. The power of Occlumency will help shield you from her influence or access. I am going to attempt to penetrate your mind, look into your memories. You are going to attempt to resist me. Are you ready?" Perci took a deep breath, readying herself. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect. "Legilimens!" She definitely didn't expect the excruciating pain that followed.
The first major memory Snape saw was not one he particularly wanted to see ever again. He guessed it was Perci's first time. Perci was tangled up with the Diggory boy, Cedric. They looked young, maybe 15. It was in a field under blue skies. The sun was shining and they were laying on a picnic blanket laughing. He saw parts of Perci that he wished he'd see of Lily. Then he thought, 'That was creepier than usual.' Perci knocked him out of that memory quickly.
"No! Stop!" Perci growled. It wasn't enough to make her really angry, enough to make her change. That was what Snape was looking for.
"Resist!" Snape yelled before going back into her memories. This time he came across one that sparked his interest. Perci was much younger, maybe 6 or 7. Her short, black hair was put up in pig tails. She was playing in the sand with what looked to be Sally Jackson. Snape felt a wave of anger seeing the woman, but pushed it down. Perci was now looking into the ocean. A man's face appeared, his green eyes that mirrored the sea twinkled. He gave her a large, toothy smile and then vanished. It was longer before Snape was knocked out of that memory.
"You're getting worse at this, Potter! Stronger, focus." One more time Snape went searching. He found another memory, one he had a feeling about. He used all of his strength to push against Perci's guard and look into it. This was one recent. The sun looked to be setting. Perci and Fred Weasley stood on a balcony talking. Fred began to back away, shaking his head with his arms crossed against his chest.
Perci grabbed his face and made him look at her and then ran her thumb along his cheekbone, saying something. Fred began to say something, but Perci interrupted him. Tears slid down her cheeks. By then they were both in tears. She stood on her tip-toes, and pulled Fred down so she could reach him. She pressed her lips to his and kissed him with everything she had. After a moment, she pulled away. Perci said something before backing away from him and turned toward the horizon. Perci climbed onto the railing and with one last look at Fred, she jumped down from the ledge. Fred ran to the railing to see Perci fly up in her Phoenix form, still with her backpack on her back. She flew away from him.
Snape could feel something hot on his chest. He was violently shoved out of her mind. He 'awoke' to see his chest on fire and a halfway turned Phoenix snarling at him. She swiped at the professor with her talons, her eyes glowing a terrifying fire-y orange. Snape casted a shielding charm over him, protecting himself from Perci's wrath. She spoke through her transformation, "No! Not him!" Her voice was low and harsh. Snape hoped that maybe she would've calmed down, but she didn't. Her anger seemed unstoppable. Snape racked his brain for a way to calm her. Fred.
"Think of him, Perci! Think of Fred! How would he feel if he saw you in this state?" He yelled. The small room burst into flames. Wrong thing to say, Snape. Good show. "Think of his eyes," Snape started. "Think of his smile, his warmth. I know you love his warmth, Perci. I saw it. I know how you feel about him. It's so strong it's terrifying. I know." His mind wondered to Lily. "Think of all the reasons why you need him. Think of a future with him. Just imagine Fred." Perci shut her eyes tightly and squeezed her head in between her hands. She screamed at the pain, but the fire began to die down. Snape saw her talons retract and skin go back to its normal tan. Perci fell back into the chair, dazed and breathless. Her breathing was heavy and raspy. Snape quickly conjured up a glass of water, handing it to her. Perci shakily drank the whole glass.
"I'm sorry," Perci muttered, looking down at her hands.
Snape pulled up a chair beside her and shook his head. "I told you I would find you a way to control yourself." Snape paused. "All you have to do when you feel it taking over you–all you must do is think of Fred. He is what ties you to reality, as cliche as it is to say." Perci put her head in her hands. Snape hesitated, but put his pale hand on her shoulder in what he meant to be a comforting way. Perci looked up at him with raised eyebrows and a growing smirk.
"Thanks, Snapey-Poo." With that Snape gave her a hard glare and withdrew his hand. He pushed his chair back to the wall and straightened his robes.
"We'll continue tomorrow night." Snape turned to leave.
"Wait," Perci started, causing Snape to turn, "I, er, have a dinner party with Slughorn and the other teacher pets tomorrow night."
Snape gave her an unamused look. "Don't go."
Perci sighed and got up. "I have to. I already said I'd be there. With all of this disappearing I've been doing, people will start to ask questions. They'll wonder what's going on, and that could lead to some very not-so-good things happening," she explained.
Snape nodded, seeming to understand. "Fine. We will resume lessons the day after the Quidditch match. All day. You will take a sick leave for that day." With that, Snape left the tiny room, leaving Perci to collect her bearings.
That next day, Perci shuffled up the slippery, snow covered steps of the west tower, heading toward the Owlery. She wasn't cold at all as the harsh wind seemingly tried to throw her off the tower. She was hoping to find a letter from Fred. They agreed to write to each other. Perci was the first to start the correspondence. She told him about her problem with controlling her animagus. Although, she didn't let him in on what allowed her to control herself. She was just getting his trust back, and didn't need him getting freaked out to early. She'd save that for later on. Perci was so caught up in her thoughts she ran into someone, falling into the solid stone wall of the Owlery. She cursed, feeling a knot already forming on her shoulder. She turned to give the person an earful, but shut her mouth seeing who it was. Dean was hunched over, picking up a package and his letters from the snowy ground.
Perci bent down and helped gather his letters. "Sorry, wasn't looking where I was going," she apologized softly.
Dean shook his head, not looking at her. "It's fine." He pushed past her, trying not to touch her at all. Perci rolled her eyes as his pettiness.
"Dean," he turned to face her, "thank you for the painting. It's beautiful." She gave him a small smile.
Dean looked down. "Well, it's easy to paint something beautiful when the subject is beautiful, too," he muttered almost to himself, but Perci easily heard it. She ignored the response.
"Sorry, again." Perci turned to enter the Owlery, but Dean's reply stopped her.
"If the reason you've been avoiding me is because of your animagus side getting in the way, that's a terrible excuse." Perci didn't turn, and that seemed to annoy him. "Perci, if you aren't looking to be with me or whatever, that's fine. I can work around it. But I really did enjoy getting to know you and talking to you. That can still go on without the flirting and stuff. We could be friends, you know." Perci rubbed her eyes and mulled his speech over for a minute. Dean was about to tell her to forget it when she turned around.
"Alright. That would be nice." She said. Dean gave her a nod and a smile before heading down the steps carefully. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She hated him hating her. Perci finally entered the Owlery and looked for Achilles, her owl. She found Achilles sitting in one of the stone cubbies, cleaning his grey and brown feathers. Under him was a medium sized envelope and a small package. Perci grinned and took the two items, petting Achilles and giving him a small owl treat she had 'borrowed' from Harry. "Thanks, buddy," she whispered. Perci looked at her watch and cursed. She had 15 minutes until she needed to be back to the castle to go to Slughorn's dinner party. She morphed into her animagus and flew off to the castle, swiftly coming to a perch at the small window to the Gryffindor common room. She looked inside seeing an already dressed Harry and Hermione, probably waiting for her. She pecked on the window, grabbing their attention. Harry his wand at the window and opened it. Perci flew straight in, going past them, and heading up to the girls dormitory. She transformed and quickly pulled on her knee length black dress, checked her face in the mirror, and hurried down the steps to meet Harry and Hermione.
"That was quick," Harry remarked.
She grinned at them. "Look at me, defying stereotypes." Hermione rolled her eyes and led them to Slughorn's room where the dinner party would take place. As soon as they arrived they were greeted with soft classical music and house elves carrying plates of food around. Perci felt her stomach growl. "This food better be good, or I'm leaving," she muttered. Slughorn, catching Harry's eye while he was searching for Ginny, headed their way.
"Harry, m'boy! Glad you came," he gave a low laugh, and seemed to notice the other two girls finally. "Good to see you Ms. Granger, Ms. Potter." He nodded at them and turned back to Harry. "Come, come. The elves are just now setting the table." At that he pulled Harry toward the table expecting Hermione and Perci to follow along. Hermione had a sour look on her face at the mention of the house elves setting the table. Perci rolled her eyes with a smile and pulled her to the table.
Throughout the appetizer and entrée Slughorn talked about all of the amazing and dangerous things he'd done in his long life. Perci was on her third plate when she heard her name. Perci's head jerked up looking at Slughorn expectantly, waiting for him to continue. "I'm sure we have all been wondering it since you returned to Hogwarts and your name was cleared..." The Professor started. "Did you kill Cedric Diggory?" Perci clenched her jaw. She was thankful no one had directly come up to her and asked something like that. Perci hated being put on the spot like Slughorn was doing. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he seemed unfazed.
Harry shook his head, presumably saying she didn't have to answer that. Perci shrugged and inhaled deeply. She shouldn't have come to this. She should've known that he would've attacked her like that. No one snaps out of not liking someone in that short a time period. "No, I didn't kill him," she stared through a clenched jaw. Perci gripped her fork tightly. She glanced up, and a dark figure moved across her vision. Perci focused on the moving figure. It finally stopped right behind Slughorn. Bellatrix gave her a sly grin and a wave of her bony, pale fingers. Perci gulped, feeling herself get hot.
Slughorn took a sip of his ale. "And what about Edgar Roy? I heard from a buddy in the Ministry, you had a, er, confrontation with him." He gave her a wide smile and glowered at her. Behind him, Roy appeared. Suddenly, Perci could hear her voice scream, "Avada Kedavra!" A green light appeared and hit Roy straight in the chest, causing him to be thrown back against the wall. The next thing Perci knew, Bellatrix was behind her. She drew her dagger and stabbed Perci straight through the hand that was resting on her leg. Perci wanted to scream but her mouth wouldn't move. Bellatrix cackled and whooshed away along with Edgar Roy and her dinner plate.
Sitting in front of her was now a large bowl of chocolate treacle that was almost melted. Perci looked around, but no one was paying attention to her. Slughorn was talking to Marcus Belby, whom unapologetically shoveled the treacle in his mouth.
"Do you see much of your uncle Damocles, Belby? Now, those of you who don't know, Marcus' uncle invented the wolfsbane potion." Slughorn informed the rest of the table, who of course did not know. Perci frowned, looking over at Harry, who had been staring at the door. He didn't seem fazed at all.
Belby replied, stopping for a moment to swallow his food. "Not much of him, no. Him and me dad don't get on. Says his Potions are rubbish, he says." Belby shoveled more treacle into his large mouth. Perci didn't understand what was happening. Did she dream that? The pain in her hand that rested on her leg said otherwise. Perci glanced down, just to make sure she wasn't crazy. Her hand was bleeding profusely. Blood dripped onto her thigh and down her leg. Perci looked back up and around the table to make sure no one was paying attention to her. Then she started to silently cry.
Salty tears dripped down her cheeks and onto her injured hand. Small puffs of smoke billowed up from her hand. Her skin burned as she watched her hand heal slowly from the tears. Perci grinned, glad she tested that out.
"Ms. Potter, are you alright?" Came a raspy voice across from her. Perci glanced up, quickly wiping her tears away. Slughorn looked at her confused and slightly concerned. He must've noticed her crying and the smoke, Perci guessed.
"Er, yeah. I'm fine," she replied shortly.
Slughorn nodded. "Well, we were discussing parents and family members..." he trailed off glancing at her. She didn't have any family besides Harry, and he couldn't ask about Harry when the boy was sitting right next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blaise Zabini smirk smugly. Slughorn searched for a topic. "Oh! What will you be doing after Graduation, Ms. Potter?"
Perci had thought long and hard about what she should do. She knew what she wanted to do, but the world didn't need another pro Quidditch player or Potions Master. Perci knew she needed to do something that would benefit the wizarding world. "I've thought about becoming an Auror, or possibly a hit-witch." A hit-witch is a division of Aurors who go out and hunt very dangerous wizards and witches or beasts. "Something that would benefit the wizarding world." Slughorn nodded, surprised at her answer.
Blaise Zabini scoffed. "You'd be good at that," he muttered. Perci shot him a harsh glare, making him squirm slightly.
"I knew a tremendous hit wizard, Bombardius Griffith. Captured Jugson during the first war. Wonderful man." Slughorn provided. Perci nodded.
Suddenly the door to the room slammed shut. In walked a puffy, red eyed Ginny Weasley. "Sorry I'm late, Professor."
Slughorn waved her off. "No matter, no matter. Come, sit!" He turned to one of the house elves by his chair. "Go retrieve Ms. Weasley a bowl of Treacle," he ordered. Just as Ginny was making her way to the table, Harry abruptly stood, staring at her. Perci and Hermione gave him a look and he sat down.
Hermione leaned over to Harry. "They've been fighting. Ginny and Michael." Harry felt a wave of anger rush through him at the thought of anyone fighting with the youngest Weasley. The rest of the dinner party went smoothly with Slughorn showing them The Shelf, and explaining why each person was there. Perci noticed Lily, her mother. She saw Harry smile at the picture.
Perci didn't feel anything.
Perci awoke the next morning in the best mood she'd been in for a while. Today was the first Gryffindor Quidditch game, and of course it was against Slytherin. She was ready to get back into the amazing game. Perci pulled on her tight Quidditch robes and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws wished her luck, saying they hoped they beat Slytherin. Most Houses hated Slytherin. Perci quickly thanked them and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Ron, who looked sick. "You ready for today, Ron?" Perci asked upbeatly, slapping him on the back. She grinned and took a long swig of pumpkin juice. "I know I am."
Lavender Brown walked towards the group. She stood next to Ron, staring at him intently. "Cheer up, Ron!" She said. "I know you'll be brilliant!" Ron smiled weakly at her as she walked back to the Patil sisters, giggling all the way. Perci shot her a disgusted look. Harry gave him a sympathetic look.
"Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?" He offered. He needed his keeper and best friend feeling his best.
Ron stared down at his plate and picked up a piece of toast, biting into it violently. "Whatever, I don't care."
Hermione put her paper down. "How is everyone feeling?"
Perci gave her a large grin, stuffing her face with bacon. Harry smiled at her. "Fine," he replied handing Ron a glass. "Here's some pumpkin juice, mate. Drink up."
Hermione narrowed her eyes as Harry as Ron raised the cup, about to take a sip. Her eyes widened. "Don't drink that, Ron!" She hissed, slamming her late on the table. Perci jumped along with Harry and Ron. "Harry, you just slipped something in his cup!"
Harry rose an eyebrow. Perci took Ron's cup and smelled it. She glanced up at Harry, seeing him give her a look she gave the cup back to the keeper. "I dunno what you're talking about." Harry took a bite of his eggs. Ron stared back and forth between Harry and Hermione. She glared intensely at Harry.
Ron continued the drink to his mouth. "Ron, don't," she warned. Ron uncertainly took a sip and the downed the drink. He smacked his lips as Hermione stormed off from the table. Perci stared confused at Harry, but shook it off.
"Nearly time," Perci informed them and got up from the table. Harry and Ron followed her out of the Great Hall with Gryffindors cheering and Slytherins hissing at them. Perci patted Ron on the back. "Don't worry about them." She could tell the other students bothered him. Ginny soon joined them along with Dean and her boyfriend Michael. She rose an eyebrow at Ron's sick looking face, but ignored it.
"Pretty ideal weather," she said. Harry nodded, grinning at her, ignoring Michael's presence. "And guess what? The Slytherin Chaser Vaisey-he took a Bludger in the head yesterday during their practice, and he's too sore to play! And even better news- Malfoy's gone off sick. He can't play either!" She explained excitedly. One less Beater for the Chasers to worry about. And no Malfoy sweetened the pot for Harry. Ginny and Perci walked ahead too excited to control themselves, leaving Harry, Ron, Dean, and Michael to walk together awkwardly in silence.
Harry turned to Ron. "Fishy, isn't it–Malfoy not playing?" He said in a low voice so Dean and Michael wouldn't hear.
Ron shrugged. "Lucky, I call it. And Vaisey off too? He's their biggest goal scorer. I didn't fancy going against him." Harry could tell Ron was slightly more animated than he was before. By then, they had five limits left and were getting ready in the locker room. When they were done putting their equipment on, they walked out onto the pitch, their broomsticks on hand.
Perci stopped just before she stepped into the pitch. Dean came up behind her, carrying his Beater stick. He stared out onto the pitch with her. "Nervous?" He asked.
Perci nodded wordlessly. She breathed in and out, trying to get rid of the nauseous feeling in her stomach that she had acquired while lacing up her boots in the locker room. "This is my first game in two years." Perci started backing away from the field. She went out of view and slid down against the tunnel wall, putting her head in her hands.
Dean followed her and squatted down in front of her. He put his large hands on her knees. "Hey," he gently shook her knees to get her to look at him. "You are one of the best Chasers Hogwarts has seen in decades. You made the team your second year and played over seventh years. You scored 20 goals against Hufflepuff in one game. You are incredible. You just have to be confident in yourself." Perci stared at him, controlling her breathing. Perci could feel her skin grow hot and her eyes burn a great orange. She moved back fro Dean and closed her eyes tightly. Dean furrowed his brow. "Hey, hey. You're fine. You don't have to hide." He whispered. He stood up. "I'll be at the edge waiting for you." He walked away giving her time to compose herself.
Perci remembered what Snape had told her. "Think of him," he had said. Fred. Perci thought back to the first time she had met Fred.
It was Perci's second year. She sat irritably in Filtch's office, twiddling her thumbs with her feet on his desk and her head back. She had been caught by the squib when she and Peeves sprayed water all over the floor in front of Slytherin's common room and Perci had frozen it. They hid behind a column and broke out into fits of laughter whenever a Slytherin would unknowing walk onto the ice and slip. The fun ended when Filtch himself had slipped on the ice. He then made Perci clean up the mess by herself as Peeves watched. Of course she was the only one who got in trouble as Peeves was a ghost. Filtch had dragged her back to his filthy, tiny office, waiting for Professor McGonagall. Perci wasn't looking forward to that. She hated disappointing Professor McGonagall.
Perci had been sitting there for about 30 minutes. Her butt was beginning to cramp when the the door to his office was pushed open. In walked, well...pushed, two lanky ginger boys–identical twins. They looked young, probably first years. She couldn't help think they were both attractive, but Cedric Diggory had alway taken the prize for her. He was probably waiting in the Library for her like they said they would. The two boys were covered in purple and green glitter, and behind them, so was Filtch. They grinned as Filtch dragged them by the color of their robes and pushed them toward the two empty seats on either side of Perci.
"Wait here while I go get Professor McGonagall. Any of youse move and I'll get Snape to hex you!" He threatened before slamming the door to his office shut. As soon as the door was closed the twins turned to her.
The one on her left gave her a wide grin, and offered her his hand. "George Weasley, first year. Great to meet you Perci Jackson. Fred and I think you're a wonderful Chaser." He said all of that faster than Perci could comprehend. Perci gave him a nod and awkward smile before shaking his outstretched hand. She muttered a thanks. She turned to the other twin, Fred, who gave her a small smile. "Fred," he said and shook her hand lightly.
"Perci," she replied.
"What're you in here for?" George asked.
Perci grinned. "Froze water outside the Slytherin common room." She laughed remembering back to about 40 minutes ago. Good times. "What about you?" She asked, looking to George. He seemed like the more outgoing one of the two. To her surprise, Fred replied.
"Exploded a box of glitter in the kitchen. We were testing one of our products."
Perci gave him a curious look. "Products?"
"We plan on opening up a joke shop," George told her.
Perci rose a brow. "Quite the competition out there with Zonkos."
Fred shrugged his shoulders seeming to get more comfortable around her. "We're having trouble with the brewing part of the magic, though."
"You see, Perci, we're rubbish at Potions," George continued. Fred nodded along with a wide smile. Perci chuckled at the smile. He seemed proud to say they sucked. Perci liked that.
"Well I have Potions with fourth years. If you ever needed help or anything, I'd be happy to..." she trailed off.
"That would be brilliant!" Fred exclaimed. The boy shook his head, glitter falling out her his hair and into his eyes. Perci laughed softly.
Dean felt Perci come up beside him after a minute. She was very calm, but he could still see apprehension in her eyes. "You know," she began, "I haven't been in this arena since the first challenge of the Triwizard Tournament." It was more of a statement than a question, Dean noted. He nodded, remembering the tournament.
"You ready?" He asked, looking down at her.
Perci took a deep breath and nodded. The two Gryffindors stepped onto the pitch together and were greeted with roars and cheers from their Gryffindor section and Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's sections. Slytherin's boos were drowned out. Perci and Dean took their positions on the ground of the pitch. Harry was in the middle with Slytherin's captain and Madame Hooch, dressed in her usual referee robes.
"Mount your brooms. On my whistle," she was ready to release the balls. Perci felt a large grin come across her face. She mounted her broom staring right at the Quaffle in Hooch's hands. "Three...two...one!" And she blew the whistle throwing the balls in the air. Perci immediately kicked off the frosty ground and caught the Quaffle before anyone else. She had to immediately dodge a Bludger aimed at her head. She threw the Quaffle Ginny, swerving past each Chaser and Beater she came across with great speeds. Ginny threw the Quaffle back to her after getting slightly trapped by Beaters. As soon as Perci caught the Quaffle she was on a one on one with Slytherin's Keeper. She plummeted toward him with the Quaffle. As soon as she was almost nose to nose with him at the middle goal, she threw it through the other goalpost to her left, earning Gryffindor 10 points.
A voice that wasn't Lee Jordan's voice rang through the commentator's box. "Well, there they go, and I think we're al surprised to see the team Potter's put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley's patchy performance last year as Keeper, he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain is bound to get you somewhere. Oh–and Gryffindor scores! Perci Jackson–sorry, Potter, gives Gryffindor its first 10 points of the year! McNally must've been dreading Potter being Chaser once again this year!"
Perci threw Katie the Quaffle after a Bludger nearly hit her broomstick. Katie then threw Ginny the Quaffle, but was intercepted by a Slytherin Chaser.
"Oh, and here comes Slytherin's first attempt on goal. It's Urquhart streaking down the pitch and–" Urquhart shot at the far goal. "–Weasley saves it, well he's bound to get lucky sometimes I suppose..."
With about 30 minutes through the game Perci had scored 6 more goals, Ginny scoring 4, and Katie scoring 3. It was 140-0. Gryffindor was massacring Slytherin. Ron had made a couple incredible saves. The crowd began chanting "Weasley Is Our King". Harry had grown irritated with the new commentator, Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff whom he hated. Harry zoomed past Dean, while looking for the snitch, a large grin on his face. "Hit a Bludger at him!" He called. Dean laughed and the next time he found a Bludger, he knocked it toward the commentators box, hitting Zacharias in the gut.
Perci, once again scored. Harper, Slytherin's seeker was getting irritable. He went up to his Beater, took the beating stick and as Perci, Ginny, and Katie Bell were going straight for the goal, he hit Perci straight in the face with the bat with tremendous force. Perci screamed in pain, and flew to the ground, before she hit the ground, she threw the Quaffle with as much force as she could at Ginny. The entire crowd, except for the Slytherin's, booed and screamed at Hooch to call something. The Weasley caught it and flew past the Beaters, scoring. Perci hit the ground with a thud, and skirted across the sand, blood that leaked out of her head wound leaving a trail behind her.
She lay face down on the ground, her anger piercing through her pain. She'd felt worse. With a furious scream Perci was pack in the air, her eyes blazing orange, her talons out, and her skin burning hot. She saw red as she looked for Harper. He was trailing behind Harry, chasing the snitch. Perci didn't care if Madame Hooch was watching. She was heading straight for Harper, going so fast she was a blur. Perci hit him full force, tearing through the arena. Harper fell off his broom, but somehow landed safely on the ground outside of the arena where no one could see. Perci glared around, looking for who allowed Harper to land safely. Perci's eyes caught Snape's who was standing on the ground. Perci composed herself, just thinking back to her time meeting Fred again, and flew back into the arena. By then Harry had caught the snitch and the rest of the team was on the ground celebrating, the crowd roaring, in particular Luna's lion hat. Perci grinned and landed on the ground joining her teammates. But a nagging feeling in her chest made her look up at the stands again. In the stands, she could see a familiar head of messy orange hair. She could just imagine his brown eyes, and a warm feeling spread through her entire body. A large smile stretched across her face. Perci mounted her broom and sped up to see him.
Fred loved Perci's after-the-game look. She was always sweaty, for she put everything she had into each game, and her hair was a mess. As was her robes. They were always covered in mud or dirt and sometimes blood. As Perci flew up to him in the stands all he could think was he had never seen a more beautiful human being, and didn't think one would ever exist or trump Perci's beauty inside and out. He was only slightly worried about the bat she took to the face, but knew she could handle it and herself. Perci landed her broom on the edge of the stands right before she was swarmed by her fellow Gryffindors. Fred had to admit, he missed Quidditch. Not as much as he missed her, though. Perci politely pushed past the crowd dropped her broom and enveloped Fred into a huge hug. Fred lifted her off her feet, hugging her back just as hard.
"You didn't have to come," she murmured against the nape of his neck.
Fred laughed and let go of her. "Perce, it was your first game back. And it was against Slytherin. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Well, maybe for the whole world..." he trailed off giving her a grin.
Perci rolled her eyes and hugged him again. Fred pushed her back gently and slightly, taking a look at her wound. He touched her skin right below it, not missing the way Perci flinched. "I'm okay. I can stitch it up." Fred pulled out his wand. He placed his hand on her cheek, gently turning her head.
"Tergeo," he muttered. The blood on Perci's face was now gone and her skin began stitching itself back up. He didn't remove his hand from her cheek. All Fred could do was stare at Perci. They were leaning in. Fred had waited for this moment since the last time he kissed her, all of those months ago. He was tired being hurt, and scared, and sad. He didn't have the time of day to be mad at her anymore. Perci had her hands him his jacket, pulling him down, for she was already on her tippy toes.
"Oi! Perci!" A voice called. Perci sighed, gritting her teeth. She let go of Fred, pulling away to turn to the voice. Harry waved her down. "Team talk in locker room!" He called over the noise. He looked past her and gave Fred a stern look. Perci nodded and turned back to Fred.
"Will you–" she began.
"I'll be in the common room waiting." He nodded. Perci gave him one last smile before mounting her broom and flying over the crowd and down to the ground. She hopped off and headed for the locker room.
After Harry had finished his speech, which was very long and boring, if Perci might add, the team went back to celebrating. Perci sat down on the bench by her locker and began taking off her boots and Quidditch robes. She pulled on her jeans when Seamus Finnigan entered the locker room. "Party in the common room!" He yelled before pulling Dean along. Perci grinned and quickly pulled a shirt over her bra and headed out of the locker room with her bag of robes and wand in tow. She felt someone come up behind her.
Harper matched his stride with her. "What are you?" He demanded without look at her.
Perci furrowed her brow. "A woman." He stared at her with a confused look. "I know. Women are a curious species."
"You know that's not what I'm talking about. Your eyes–and you nails," he stuttered.
"Thanks, but I'm not interested." Perci left him in the dust as she hurried off to the castle. Harper stared after her. He was going to have to tell Malfoy there was something odd going on with the girl Potter.
Perci practically ran to the common room just thinking Fred would be there waiting for her. She didn't care about the party or anyone else. She longed to see Fred. It had been too long–almost a full week. Yes, she did miss George, but things with Fred were different. She quietly said the password, which was now S.P.E.W. She wondered how Hermione must've gotten that to happen. As soon as she entered the common room, everyone cheered and whistled. She assumed they must've done that for every team member. She was somehow the last one there. Music blared through the radio. It could barely be heard over the yelling, laughing, and chattering of everyone in the common room. Perci noticed a few Hufflepuffs along the Gryffindor madness. Perci wasn't a fan of tight, crowded spaces like this. Perci looked around for Fred, but came across Ron and Lavender wrapped around each other in a corner practically eating each other's faces. Perci's happy face morphed into one of disgust. Perci saw Harry run off after Hermione and knew that she had seen Ron and Lavender, too.
Perci finally found Fred talking animatedly with Lee Jordan who had been in the hospital wing for getting hexed by some Ravenclaw in Charms. She sat beside Lee and laughed at a horrible pun he had just made. The three of them spoke and joked for a while until Perci informed them that she needed some air. Lee rolled his eyes as Fred followed her closely behind. They reached the balcony of the tower. Perci took a chug of her butterbeer and leaned against the railing, thinking back to Harper. She was anxious just thinking about what rumors he could spread with what he saw. She would need to look into that later. Fred came up beside her. "How are you doing with everything?" He asked. She was sure he must've been talking about the whole Bellatrix, Edgar Roy, animagus thing. She was tired of talking about that. Things were getting better, but she still had a long way to go. Perci was glad she didn't see Bellatrix during the game because she wasn't sure how she would react.
"Better," was all she said. A silence followed. It wasn't awkward, but not exactly one the two enjoyed. "I'm tired of this, Fred." Fred gave her a confused look. "I'm tired of this Voldemort crap, always feeling like I'm terrified of hurting someone because I can't control myself, and I'm tired of you not being comfortable around me. I know things will never be the same because we crossed that line. But I don't want things to be the same. I don't know if you do or not, but–" Fred stopped her speech by pushing her up against the wall and kissing her roughly.
"I definitely don't want to go back to the way things were before. Then, I couldn't do this," he kissed her gently on the lips. "Or this," he kissed her sharp jawline. "Or this," he finally went to her neck and kissed, sucked, and nipped. Perci closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of being close to him. Once again they were interrupted in the worse time for Fred was just taking off her shirt.
Harry walked onto the balcony and stopped abruptly seeing the position his sister and Fred were in. His eyes widened and his jaw went slack. In a matter of seconds, his jaw was set, face pink, and a glare was aimed at the Weasley twin who had backed away from Perci and stared at the ground. Perci hid her red face and chest. "I think it's time to rejoin the party, Perci." Perci was the older out of the Potter siblings, two years older, but she felt as though her bigger, older brother had just caught her making out with a Slytherin or something. Perci knew that now was not the time to test Harry. So she nodded and went to walk toward the entrance of the balcony where Harry stood. "With your shirt." Perci nodded and went back to Fred who still held onto it. He gave it to her, earning a wink. He tried to hide his smile, but it was to no avail. Perci pulled it over her head and walked past Harry and down the steps back to the common room. Harry glared heavily at Fred. He loved the boy like a brother, but not when he was all over his sister. Harry thought about hexing him, but shook it off and left the Weasley.
"Perci, what the hell was that?" He whispered-yelled.
Perci shrugged. "What I assume you want to do to Ginny, brother dear." She glared at him. Harry reddened thinking about Ginny. "I'm sorry, Harry. I know how much you like Ginny. But Fred is the one thing I won't give up for anyone, not even you. I love him." With that, Perci left him to go join Hermione on the couch.
Harry remembered how if Perci was with Fred, Ginny's brother, then he could never be with Ginny. Harry hated the fact, but was willing to give up dating Ginny for he knew that Perci didn't love anyone or anything as much as she loved Fred. Harry would just have to live with it because he couldn't see anything between them dying anytime soon. Harry should learn not to jinx things.