Hogwarts - 1994

Percy watched as Oliver turned his back to him and walked down the platform to the portal to the muggle world. He didn't look back.

Percy let out a long sigh.

This is for the best, he tried to convince himself.

He didn't know if it was working.

He picked up his trunk and began wheeling it down the platform towards the spot where his mother usually waited for them at the end of every year. He was sad that his time at Hogwarts had come to an end, but he was looking forward to working in the ministry. It had been his ambition for the longest time to work for the ministry, he even had hopes of one day becoming the Minister for Magic, but for now he was grateful to just get an internship. Despite the fact that his father worked in the ministry, he had gone to great lengths to secure this internship. He had a feeling that his father wasn't exactly the most well-respected member of the ministry, what with his eccentricity and his obsession with muggles. In truth, Percy could never understand his father, he felt ashamed of him and hoped that the other members of the ministry would overlook his unfortunate family relations.

He made his way through the throngs of students disembarking the train, and eventually managed to locate his family, their bright red hair made them particularly easy to find in a crowd. When he reached the gaggle of redheads, his mother ran to hug and congratulate him on graduating, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. Percy flushed.

"Mother, please…" he murmured.

Molly Weasley took no notice of her son's discomfort but released him and began ushering him and his siblings to the portal. In the pack of Weasleys, Percy found himself mercifully fading into the background as the more animated members of his family talked loudly over each other. Percy was left to ruminate mostly uninterrupted.

His last year at Hogwarts had been…eventful. He had finally realised his feelings for Oliver and when they kissed, he had allowed himself to think maybe, just maybe, Oliver had feelings for him too. That was until he pulled away and saw that look on Oliver's face. He winced as he recalled that particular memory. They never spoke of the kiss again, but Percy knew Oliver regretted it. Percy was crushed. He had lost his best friend and the person he loved in one fell swoop.

After the events of that night, he spent increasingly more time hiding himself away in the library, accompanied only by Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw friend he had become close with over the years. There had always been rumours, circulated mostly by his own siblings to get a rise out of him, that they were dating but these seemed to increase the more time they spent together. After a while, they gave up correcting people and allowed them to assume what they wanted to assume. They knew the truth, and the truth was that Penelope only had eyes for Gemma Farley, a Slytherin prefect in their year.

They spent more than a few of their study sessions bonding over their unrequited crushes, especially after that kiss. Percy lamented about it on more than one occasion. At one particularly low point after a rumour had gone around that Oliver was dating Alicia Spinnet, Percy hid in an unused classroom and broke down in tears. He was being consoled by Penelope when Ginny walked past the door and, mistaking a comforting hug for a kiss, ran off before he could explain what was actually going on.

The rumours only got worse after Ginny told Fred and George that she saw them kissing. The whole school knew about it within an hour. There was no point trying to clear up the rumours, his denial would only convince people more. He didn't see Oliver that day, but he heard later from Katie that the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice that evening had been gruelling and its captain a lot more intense than usual. Quidditch was always Oliver's greatest fixation, but after the events of that week, it was the only thing he would allow himself to think about. Wood chased that House Cup with a determination that bordered on obsession, and it paid off.

Gryffindor won the House Cup, Percy passed his N.E. with flying colours, and before they knew it they were on the train home. When they arrived at the platform, they disembarked the train from different compartments but they caught each other's eye on the platform.

Oliver's expression was difficult for Percy to read, something in it was sad, but there was also confusion, hurt and anger.

Percy's expression mirrored that sadness, but with an overwhelming sense of defeat. He wanted to run to him and try to apologise for the kiss and everything that had happened that year, but he knew he couldn't fix this.

Percy looked down at his hands for a moment, his brow furrowed.

He was angry with himself for not having the courage to talk to Oliver, to at least say goodbye before they parted ways perhaps forever. When he finally looked up, the brunette was turning away from him, his eyes downcast and Percy thought he might have seen a tear running down his cheek but couldn't be certain.

He sighed.

This is for the best.

August 1994

It had been a long and hot summer. Percy threw himself into his internship at the ministry, working long hours and rarely coming up for air. One such rare occasion was the Quidditch World Cup. He knew Oliver would be there and that was almost enough to put him off going entirely, but he knew of a few higher ups in the ministry who would be in attendance, it would be a good opportunity to rub elbows and make connections.

Or at least that's what he thought. His cheeks burned as he relived the painfully embarrassing scene earlier when Mr. Crouch had called him "Weatherby" in front of his family – how the twins had grinned and snickered. They had been calling him that all afternoon, but he finally had some respite after the match was over and the twins were too busy celebrating Ireland's victory.

Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he overheard Harry talking to Ron. Apparently, he'd just bumped into Oliver and heard that he's been signed to Puddlemere United's reserve team.

Percy's cheeks started to warm again after hearing Oliver's name unexpectedly.

He needed some air.

Percy sidestepped the twins in the middle of their third rendition of the Ireland team's chant, hurrying out of the tent. Once outside, he began walking aimlessly. The sun had set but the sky still held a dark orange hue. The campground was full of glowing tents lit up from the inside, outside there were floating lanterns and the occasional small bonfire. Attendees could be heard laughing, cheering and chatting for miles in each direction. The place thrummed with magic and mirth. It was almost enough to take Percy's mind off Oliver.

He weaved through the marquees, trying to make a mental note of the turns he took so he might be able to find his way back without having to use magic. As he passed, he could occasionally hear snippets of conversation, it seemed some silencing charms had been dispelled in the heat of the celebration or perhaps forgotten to be cast at all.

Then Percy heard a familiar voice coming from a nearby tent.

"Mum, really I'm fine."

Oliver, he thought.

"I'm just worried about you Oliver. I know you've always been passionate about Quidditch, but now it's all you think about. You never seem to have time for anything else, and you haven't seen any of your friends since graduating."

Percy could tell from Oliver's tone that he was exasperated by the conversation he was having with his mother but trying to hold back from snapping.

"This is a big opportunity for me, I can't mess this up, I have to put everything I have into it or I might not get another shot at playing Quidditch professionally."

"I know, but you push yourself too hard sometimes. What about that friend of yours, the redheaded one? Clancy- no that's not it… oh, what was his name?"

"Percy." He said, sounding exhausted.

"That's the one. You haven't spoken about him in months, and I remember a time when you would talk about him almost as much as you would talk about Quidditch."

"He's…I'm… look, we just don't have time for each other anymore. He's working at the ministry now." Oliver stumbled over his words a bit, sounding more than a little defensive.

If his mother noticed, she didn't comment on it. Instead, she sighed, and Percy heard the sound of a mug being put down on a table.

"Okay, okay. Just think about what I said, will you?"

"Fine."

There was a long pause, before the shuffling and scraping sounds of a chair being pushed along a wooden floor could be heard inside the tent.

"I'm going for a walk." Oliver announced and Percy heard footsteps moving closer to the tent entrance.

He jumped and quickly ducked behind a nearby camp hoping he hadn't been spotted lurking. He heard the tent door open, and he waited a little while before poking his head around the side of the tarp that was obscuring him from view.

He saw a dejected Oliver Wood, looking in the direction of the Weasley's tent. He sighed before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Percy slowly exhaled and hovered in the same spot for a few moments, before heading back to his family's tent.

Moments later, as he neared the entrance, he heard a loud explosion and then the screaming and shouting started.

Panic gripped Percy's heart and he turned to run in the direction Oliver went. He needed to know he was safe. There was a flurry of movement all around him as people were running in all directions, cries, shouts and more explosions were ringing in his ears as he ran. Percy searched every terrified face as it passed him, hoping to find Oliver among them. Seconds passed like hours, and eventually he saw Oliver in the distance, crouched down with his mother and father, all holding each other as they apparated to safety with a loud crack.

A wave of momentary relief washed over Percy before another wave of adrenaline hit him. He had to find his family, he had to make sure they too were safe.