Percy tossed his quill down with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes. The dissertation for Professor Lupin was killing him. Even though he knew he still had a little over four months left to complete it, it was a lot more difficult than he had originally anticipated. Especially since he wanted to write a rough draft first before copying out the final product.
"Percy . . ."
Oliver's groggy Scottish brogue pulled Percy from his DADA thoughts. He turned in his chair to look at his boyfriend who was staring blearily from his bed.
"Come to bed," Oliver muttered, patting the space next to him. "It's late."
"Usually that's my line," Percy teased, casting a Tempus. It was one o'clock in the morning. He was the one usually telling Oliver to stop going over Quidditch strategies and come to bed. He stood with a large stretch, pajama top riding up to expose his hips.
"Don't tempt me," Oliver said. Percy laughed, putting out the candles he had been working under and shuffled over to Oliver's bed. He slid out of his slippers and slipped under the covers that Oliver lifted for him.
"I don't like how much time you're spending on your homework," Oliver murmured into Percy's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I think you love your homework more than me."
"It doesn't complain," Percy answered. Oliver pinched him gently and he chuckled, rolling over so that he could press his face into Oliver's chest. The steady rhythm of his boyfriend's heart was soothing, and he felt the tiredness he had been ignoring for the last few hours begin to catch up with him . . .
A piercing, terrified scream split the air. Percy shot out of bed heart pounding. That was Ron! He would recognize that scream anywhere. It was like when Ron had fallen through the ice on the pond in the orchard over winter break of Percy's first year. Ron had only been seven, and he had screamed like that too.
The same feeling of panic that had filled Percy in that moment returned. He had felt it one other time, last year when Zacharias Smith had knocked Ron down the staircase, and he had slammed his head into stone.
What was happening now?
Bursting from his bedroom, wand drawn, Percy sprinted down the spiral staircase to the third-year dormitory. Doors were opened as he passed, Fred and George fell into the staircase after him, their own faces wide with terror.
The door to the third-year dormitory opened and something big and black bowled over Percy before disappearing down the staircase. Fred cast several spells after the shadowy blur but missed. Percy scrambled to his feet and lunged into the room. Ron was pressed up against his headboard, screaming, while the other boys looked on from their beds, terrified.
"Enough!" Percy shouted, racing to Ron's side. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders, shaking him. "Ron! Ron, it's me! What's the matter? What happened?"
"It was Sirius Black!" Ron screamed, grabbing Percy's arms. "It was Sirius Black! He was standing over my bed and he had a knife and he tried to stab me!"
Terror seized Percy. It was suddenly hard to breathe. Sirius Black? Here? In Gryffindor Tower? He yanked his brother to him, hugging him tightly even as Ron continued to scream and sob into his shoulder. A quick look at the bed showed Percy that there were several stab holes in the mattress. A terrified squeak came from beneath the covers and Scabbers stuck his nose out. Still holding Ron, Percy scooped up his old rat and gave him to Ron which helped to calm his brother down a little. Ron turned his attention to his rat, stroking the poor thing as it trembled. Percy was surprised the rat had not died from fright this year, what with Crookshanks after him and all.
"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall came barging into the room, wrapped in a tartan robe with a night cap on her head. Percy glanced at the door where Oliver poked his head in. Ah, so that was who had fetched their Head of House.
"It was Sirius Black!" Ron cried again. "He tried to stab me!"
"Sirius Black?" McGonagall cried. "Here?"
"Professor, I think he's telling the truth," Fred said. "When we came running down the stairs, something came out of the third-year dorms. We weren't able to catch it."
"And there are stab markings in his mattress," Percy added, motioning to the bed. McGonagall took one look at the mattress, paled, and ordered everyone down to the common room.
Once the whole house was gathered in the common room, McGonagall took a roll call. Surprisingly, everyone was present, which Percy thought was a miracle unto itself. There was always someone from Gryffindor sneaking about after curfew. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost three in the morning.
McGonagall then turned and knocked on the back of the portrait guarding the door to the common room. Sir Cadogan grumbled at being disturbed so much in one night. McGonagall leveled the bumbling portrait with her best glare.
"Sir Cadogan," she said, "did you let someone into the common room who was not a student? A man?"
"I did indeed!" Sir Cadogan seemed proud of himself. Percy thought the portrait ought to be burned. The knight had been the source of great anxiety and consternation ever since he had taken over guarding the Gryffindor common room since the Fat Lady had been sent off for restoration. The knight did not stick to the usual weekly password change, and instead, changed the password whenever he felt like it. Percy and McGonagall had complained to Dumbledore several times, but the headmaster had not seemed too concerned about it. In fact, he thought it made it that much more difficult for unwanted persons to get into the common room!
Percy had argued that that also meant students were more likely to be stuck outside in the corridor which negated the safety that Dumbledore thought the portrait granted. Dumbledore had not been pleased with his disagreement.
"Why did you do that?" McGonagall demanded. "Only students and teachers are allowed into common rooms!"
"He has the password!"
"What do you mean 'he had the password'? I don't think my students are going about handing common room passwords out to wanted criminals!"
"Yes, he had the password, my fair lady! He had a whole list of passwords in fact!"
Percy's eyes widened and he and everyone else turned immediately to Neville. The poor boy had gotten stuck several times outside the common room and had been keeping a list of passwords given to him by Sir Cadogan. Most the students relied on Neville when they did not know the password.
The boy's face was now stark white, and he looked like he was going to faint. Seamus helped him sit as McGonagall rounded on Neville.
"How could you be so irresponsible?" the woman demanded.
"I swear I didn't lose it!" Neville cried. "I had it this evening after dinner! I don't . . . I don't know how he could've gotten it!"
That was true, Percy thought, rubbing his hand up and down Ron's spine. His little brother was still heaving heavily in his arms and his freckles stood out even worse than usual. He and Neville and several sixth years had been stuck outside the portrait hole while Neville figured out which password to use since Sir Cadogan had changed the password between the last class of the day and dinner time.
"You should have been more responsible, Mr. Longbottom," McGonagall stated. Neville sniffled.
"That's not fair, Professor!" Percy cried. McGonagall raised an eyebrow while everyone turned to given Percy an incredulous look. "Neville wouldn't've had to keep a list of passwords if Sir Cadogan just did what he was supposed to and kept to a regular password schedule. I've complained about it to the headmaster as have you and nothing has been done! It's clear Sir Cadogan is not fit to protect the common room and should be immediately replaced! It's his fault that Sirius Black gained access to the common room not Neville's!"
McGonagall was silent for several beats as she stared Percy down. He tried not to be intimidated, but his Head of House was a formidable woman!
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, for your words," the woman finally said. "I will take them under consideration when I speak to Headmaster Dumbledore. Which I shall do now. If you could please ensure that everyone else gets back to bed, I would appreciate it. No one is to leave the Tower until it's time for breakfast. Understood?"
Everyone nodded. McGonagall huffed and strode from the common room. They all heard her, very sternly, tell Sir Cadogan he was not to let anyone who was not a staff member into the common room regardless of if they had a password or not.
"I'm not sleeping in my bed!" Ron cried, clutching at Percy.
"Of course not," Percy soothed. One look at the prefects and they began herding the other students to bed. The third-year boys huddled together near Percy and even Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati lingered. "You'll sleep with me tonight. Or Fred and George—"
"No! You!"
Fred and George grabbed their chests as if mortally wounded which at least made Ron laugh.
"Could we maybe sleep somewhere else?" Seamus asked.
"You can bunk with me and Oliver or with the fifth years," Percy said, nodding to Fred, George, and Lee.
"Er . . . you're furthest away from the portrait hole," Neville squeaked. "I'd rather stay with you." Dean and Seamus nodded. Percy nodded and herded the third years up to his and Oliver's bedroom. Oliver was already back there and four camp cots had popped into existence in the far end of the room.
"How did these get here?" Dean asked as the boys clamored into their cots. Ron refused a cot and instead snuggled under the covers on Percy's bed without even asking him! The nerve of little brothers sometimes! Percy tried to give Ron the stink eye, even though he was not truly annoyed. Ron gave him a smile and buried himself further. Scabbers clamored up onto the top of the headboard.
"Hogwarts just knows these things," Percy told Dean. "It's why every dorm is the same size but has a different number of beds. Hogwarts just . . . knows how many beds to put in once the Sorting's done and all."
"Magic's so cool," Dean answered.
Percy turned his back on the third years to give Oliver an apologetic look. Oliver tried not to laugh as he pulled the bed curtains closed. Percy slipped into bed with Ron and wrapped an arm around Ron's shoulders. His brother was still trembling a little.
"What do you think Mum will do when she finds out?" Ron asked.
"Maybe she'll send a Howler to Dumbledore," Percy answered. Ron laughed.
"Yeah maybe."
"Quite frankly, I'd be terrified to be Sirius Black. Hell hath no fury like our Mum."
"Oooh, maybe she'll go looking for him and find him. Put the aurors to shame!"
Percy laughed at that, ruffling his brother's hair before letting silence fall over them. Neither of them truly slept for the rest of the night, but Percy didn't mind. Not if it meant Ron still looked up to him, just a little bit.
As always, by the time breakfast ended the next morning, everyone at Hogwarts knew that Sirius Black had broken into Gryffindor Tower and tried to kill Ron. Percy knew that the gossip mill went fast, but the sheer speed of it amazed him.
"I'm so sorry!" Was the first thing that Harry said when he and Aria followed Ginny to the Gryffindor table halfway through breakfast.
"Why're you sorry?" Ron asked. "You didn't let Sirius Black in."
"Yeah, but he's after me!"
"Then Azkaban really addled his brain since we look nothing alike!"
"What?" Fred and George cried in shock. "He's an honorary Weasley, Ron! How can you say he doesn't look like us?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"What's Dumbledore going to do now?" Ginny wondered out loud, stealing some of Fred's bacon. "That's twice that Black's gotten into the castle."
"Maybe Mum'll come and guard the castle," George said. "I wouldn't want to mess with her."
McGonagall approached the group at that moment.
"Weasleys," she said, "you're wanted up in the headmaster's office."
Percy herded his siblings after McGonagall as she escorted them to the gargoyle that protected the headmaster's office. Inside the office, they found Professor Dumbledore sitting behind his desk sharing a cup of tea with their parents. Molly was immediately on her feet and embracing Ron.
"Mum!" Ron cried. "Too tight!"
"Hush you, let me hold my baby!"
Fred and George snickered. Ginny looked half offended at being displaced as the baby of the family. Arthur came and embraced the twins and Percy.
"Are you three all right?" Arthur asked.
"We're fine," Fred answered. "The third years slept with Percy and Oliver last night afterwards."
"Good job looking out for them, son," Arthur told Percy, patting his cheek. Percy gave Arthur a small smile, unable to help but puff out his chest a little at making him proud.
Molly released Ron and turned to her eldest sons.
"Where were you three?" she demanded. All the Weasleys blinked in surprise at her.
"Wh-what?" George cried.
"Why weren't you looking after your brother?" Molly demanded, tears streaming down her face. "He could've been killed and what were you off doing?"
"Er . . . sleeping," Fred answered.
"Molly," Arthur soothed. "I understand you're upset, but the blame is on Sirius, not the boys."
"They're always off doing their own thing!" Molly sobbed, pressing Ron to her side. Ron looked horrified at Molly. "Off with their jokes and . . . and . . . and Percy! You're supposed to look after your siblings!"
Percy immediately felt any warmth that his father's pride had given him evaporate, to be replaced with something cold and hollow. It was like whenever the twins got up to mischief and he was blamed for not stopping them or looking out for them. What exactly was he meant to do?
"I never did like Sirius Black!" Molly wailed, running her hand through Ron's hair even as he tried to tug out of her grasp. "Never trust a Black!"
"Molly," Arthur said sharply, cutting off anything else she might say. Molly sniffled and Arthur handed her a handkerchief while gently moving Ron to his side. "Molly, I'm half Black."
"Not your side of the family," Molly sniffled, waving the handkerchief. "But Percy—"
"Percival is not to blame for any of this, Molly," Dumbledore finally said, pouring another cup of tea. He levitated it over to Molly who took it and began noisily sipping. "He and the twins, I understand, did try to stun Black as he escaped, and Percy was instrumental in keeping Gryffindor house calm and orderly in the aftermath. He is an excellent example of what a Head Boy ought to be, and a good, protective elder brother. You could not ask for a better son."
Fred and George looked torn between teasing Percy and agreeing with Dumbledore. Percy felt his cheeks warm at the compliments and he was sure his entire face must be as red as his hair. Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist, smooshing her face into his stomach. He idly wondered when she would be too tall to smoosh her face into his stomach.
Awkward silence fell over the family for a moment, only broken by Molly's sips of tea. Arthur eventually turned back to Percy.
"Your mother is upset," he said, "she didn't mean what she said." He looked down at Ron. "We were terrified when Professor McGonagall told us what had happened."
Percy nodded, a lump forming in his throat.
"I know," he managed to say, "it's okay." Ginny's embrace tightened. Ron opened his mouth, clearly ready to argue, but one sharp look from Percy silenced him.
The Weasley parents stayed for a few more minutes before kissing their children on the heads and exiting out through the Floo. Dumbledore gave the Weasleys lemon drops and shooed them off but held Percy back.
"I want to discuss a few things you said to Professor McGonagall last night," Dumbledore said as Percy watched his siblings leave the office. "About Sir Cadogan." The office door closed.
Percy gulped.