Summer 1991
Percy Weasley
Percy smiled as he rounded the corner and saw Penelope waiting for him next to the transfiguration classroom. He noticed that her hair seemed a shade darker in the evening light and danced a fine line between blonde and brown. It was the kind of effect that, at the right moment, might have stolen a breath or two, if his mind wasn't elsewhere.
"Ready?" She asked him with a polite smile.
Percy nodded in return. Truthfully, he was still thinking about Ron and how he could further help his brother, but he knew he had to do his duties too. If he had forsaken his patrol even for a single night then all sorts of chaos could disturb morning classes. The last thing he wanted was to make the school worse just because his parents were being impractical. It was bad enough that they had already hurt Ron and even the twins in a roundabout way.
He walked with his partner to the end of the corridor where they turned left and down a more secluded set of stairs. Percy pushed his hand into his robe pocket and tapped his finger against a letter he had written at the end of supper. He wasn't sure if it was enough, but he was also concerned that it was too harsh. He felt like he had been torn in half with one side wanting him to give his parents the respect they were due and the other wanting to tear into them and reveal every negative thought he had ever had. His letter landed somewhere in the middle of the two extremes but leaned towards the latter. It was something he never would have normally written.
"Are you alright?" Penelope asked him.
"Sorry," Percy mumbled, and he felt his cheeks turn pink. "I just have a lot to think about, Penny."
She smiled at him again, it felt reassuring. "You can tell me about it if you want. Sometimes it's good to get things off your chest."
"It's about my family, there is a bit of an argument going on," he paused. "My parents and the twins are on one side and I'm on the other."
"Your youngest brother, right?" She guessed .
He nodded. "My parents and the twins think that there is something wrong with him, morally. I just don't see it. He was upset today and he reminded me a lot of myself. So I want to help him, I want to be on his side, I think my older brother Charlie is on his side too, but I've never spoken against my parents before."
"It can be difficult when families fight. My sister and I used to get into arguments when she still lived with us. We would go for entire weeks without speaking to one another. It was all rather silly, but I think it was important too. We had to let each other know how we felt, otherwise, we would just bottle up the feelings." Penelope said.
Percy nodded. He wasn't sure he could keep his opinions to himself anymore, he had reached a breaking point and maybe Penelope was right. There had to be a time when he could share his feelings and stop them from festering deep inside him. His words were for Ron's sake but they were indicative of his feelings too.
"I'm glad you're my partner," he said. "It's good to be able to talk to someone about things, especially someone who isn't a Gryffindor."
Penny blushed and averted her eyes.
"I think you're right, I think it's important to let my parents know how I feel. I have to be able to focus on our classes and I can't do that if they're bearing down on my brothers." He said. "It's just frustrating because my brother, Ron, didn't have a choice. I know how hard the first year can be even without worrying about what house you're in."
"Is he having a bad time in Slytherin?" She asked.
"He said he wasn't and I'd like to believe him. You and I both know that they aren't all that bad."
"Of course not," Penelope nodded. "Most Slytherins are half-bloods and wouldn't go anywhere near all of the politics. He is in a very pure year, though."
"Oh?"
She nodded. "Yes, almost all the Slytherin first years are purebloods. I looked into all of them during breakfast, just in case any of the first years in any of the houses needed help."
He managed a small laugh. "You're such a Ravenclaw."
She laughed too. "Honestly, you're not a very typical Gryffindor. You're far too well put together, not brutish at all."
He blushed again and thanked her quietly.
"Any way I can help?" She asked. "With your situation, I mean? I can try to have some of the first-year Ravenclaws befriend your brother if you want. That might make your parents feel better about the company he's keeping."
"No, I don't think he'd like that. I think he just wants a chance to be himself without having to worry about what my parents think. I think we are a lot alike, which scares me. Sometimes I wish I had that freedom too, I mean they're very supportive of what I want to do but I'm afraid that I might fail them. I place enough pressure on myself that I don't appreciate their feelings piling on top of it."
"I'm sure whatever you do will be brilliant, you're one of the smartest students in our year."
Percy laughed. "I wish that was true."
"You could use some of your brother's Slytherin pride, we both know you achieve O's in everything. I mean, Percy, I'm pretty smart and even I have a few Es."
He couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, I'm really trying."
"I can tell, and I'm sure your brother appreciates that you're taking time away from your studies to help him deal with this."
"I hope so, up until recently I was never very close with Ron. He got in a quidditch accident almost a year ago and started worrying about being a powerful Wizard," he explained.
Penelope nodded. "I remembered that you went home for a while, was that why?"
"Yes, it was. I'm really glad I went, but I also don't know if I might have given Ron a shove towards Slytherin. Not that it matters anymore, I just hope I'm not responsible for all the fighting."
"I'm sure you aren't, a single event couldn't have changed someone so much. I'm sure that your brother was always going to be a Slytherin no matter what happened last year. If anything, Percy, you probably pushed him towards a more sophisticated house, like Ravenclaw."
He laughed again. "You just wish you had a Weasley."
"Well, I'm sure your brother is great, but I doubt he's as great as you are," she said with a smile. Percy's cheeks grew redder.
"I wrote a letter," he quickly changed the subject. "For my parents, and I don't know if it's too harsh."
"Sometimes being harsh is a good thing, it shows how you really feel. If it's the truth then you should definitely send it. Sometimes people get scared by their feelings, but it helps to just embrace them. It's not as if they will be changed tomorrow, maybe the hurt will change but the thoughts are still there."
"I think you're right, do you mind if we patrol towards the owlery? I know it's late but Hermes won't mind."
"Owls are mostly nocturnal," Penny teased they? Why don't they teach that in Care of Magical Creatures?
They spoke more about Percy's letter as they made their way to the top of the west tower. Percy couldn't remember every word that he had written but he explained it well enough to give Penelope a clear idea of what exactly he was trying to say. He was thankful that she agreed with him and that she too had similar feelings about her own family. He learned that Penelope's sister had been appointed as the magical representative to Germany and that she too worried about living up to her parents' expectations. Percy knew however that Penelope was a very bright witch and he didn't think that she would have any trouble climbing the ministry's ranks.
At the top of the west tower, the owlery was carved into a large circular room. Large gaps that might have once been windows were bare to the night sky with small gusts of wind bringing a chill to the air. Along all the walls there were an endless number of stone nests where owls perched and hooted softly, all of them looked at the two interlopers with wide bright eyes.
Percy found Hermes in one of the nests nearest the stairs. His owl hooted at him softly and nuzzled into his hand.
"He's very handsome," Penny said and she too offered her hand to the owl. Hermes considered her for a moment and then let her touch his boy, Percy thought.
Percy tied the letter around Hermes' leg and gave him a few more scratches before sending him out towards the Burrow. Percy felt his stomach fill with worry and he wondered if he had made the wrong choice. As he turned back around to the room his eyes rested naturally on Penelope. He felt himself freeze for a moment and whatever worries he had all seemed to disappear.
"Thank you," Percy almost whispered. "I needed someone to push me.'
"Well, it's the least I could do. Maybe on our next patrol I'll have something to tell you about." She said, and Percy couldn't help but notice the way the moonlight reflected off her hair. "It's beautiful isn't it?" He watched her eyes drift towards the sky.
A million dots of light twinkled above them, some close and others distant. They formed shapes and constellations that radiated magic and told of things yet to come. An archer of stars stretched out his bow, and dipped his arrowhead in the milky darkness of night.
"They say that centaurs tell the future from the stars," he said, he had read the fact in one of their textbooks.
"That would be good. I'd imagine it's nice to know what comes next, it must be reassuring to have everything planned out for you. I took divination, but I couldn't make sense of anything."
"I don't think it's real," Percy said. "It's not the same as prophecy, it's just guessing and if you guess enough times then you're bound to be right."
"Maybe," she looked away from the sky. "But still, it would be nice to know where our lives will lead us. After all, everything can change so quickly."
"The stars change every night, don't they?"
"Yeah, so maybe the future isn't set in stone. Maybe it can be changed."
"What would you change?" He asked. Percy had an entire list of things he wanted to do, entire journals filled with ideas and dreams.
"I'd just like to be happy, a job where I can make a difference, and a family that loves me. If I had all of those things, then I probably wouldn't change much." She looked around the Owlery and then laughed. "Maybe I'd make the wind not so cold."
Percy laughed with her. "I'm not sure that the stars have anything to do with the wind."
"Maybe not," she agreed.
They took their time walking back down into the west tower and then back into the school proper. Percy enjoyed the conversation as they went and his world felt a little lighter. He found it hard not to smile and laugh with Penny, especially when her own smile was bright enough to light a room and her laugh was infectious.
By the time the night had ended and it was time to return to their common rooms, Percy almost wished they had more hours to patrol. He wouldn't mind the quiet sleepless nights so long as Penelope remained his partner. He walked her to Ravenclaw tower where they said their goodbyes, and he felt his chest ache slightly when she left.