Chapter Text
The tension between the two was palpable, and all it did was brew discomfort. Surrounded by an abundance of people dressed in muggle clothes and the luggage that fathers hastily dragged across the platform, Penelope was trapped. She could barely hear her own discontented thoughts. Perhaps her growing discomfort was simply a defensive reaction rather than a true fear of anything. There was nothing about this situation that was comfortable, and nothing as of yet that could soothe her.
Her feet moved as quick as they physically could across the platform, she could not remember ever being so eager to escape before. Natalie stood to her left, hand clung tightly to her purse and lips stretched thin into a partly repressed expression of something Penelope could not identify. She was either embarrassed or exasperated – Penelope had not yet chosen which. Her father stood on the other side, eerily calm for a man in the same vicinity as his ex-wife and estranged daughter. His smile was genuine, dimples pulling the corners of his lips widely on either side. He glanced around the platform with curiosity, his eyes avoiding the two next to him. Whatever happened to apologising for not being able to make it? That would have been far less jarring, and Penelope had stopped being upset at her father’s absence when she was thirteen anyway.
The three had barely spoken four words combined that morning, unable to alleviate the tension wafting in the air, stifling any icebreakers they could have used. Penelope wondered how she went from fighting her mother avidly to shifting closer and placing a soothing hand on her arm. It was her father, she knew, who walked as if the three of them were a unit; even when he hadn't been part of said unit for many years. His attempts to slot himself into a place in this moment where a place did not exist for him to slot himself into infuriated her, it caused tension in her shoulders and a swirling storm of unsaid words.
Wisely, she had chosen to farewell her parents before entering Platform 9 and 3/4, feeling as though she would have to explain a lot more than she would have liked to her father if she had taken them both with her. Besides, her mother had always been unsettled at the idea of shifting through a wall. She reached for him first, embracing him very briefly. He clung to her tightly in the few seconds they were together before she released him.
"Bye, sweetie, you'll do great. Remember to think of your old Dad once in a while, alright?"
Penelope didn't respond, instead she moved to hug her mother. Natalie held her close and made it a point to hold her longer than he had. Penelope rolled her eyes but accepted her fate. They were competing for her love; and no matter how much more lenient her father was or how much more they got along, he was the one who had left her. His actions had been cowardly; therefore she had no choice but to side with her mother.
"Study hard, I don't pay for your textbooks only for you not to use them. No boys either, you know my rules. Write me when you can."
She chuckled to herself silently as she moved away, discomfort no longer gnawing at her. Her mother gave the same speech every single year. Study hard, no boys, write whenever. It was all part of the routine, a comfort in the face of unfamiliarity. Her father was here, she would be a prefect, OWLs were right around the corner, and Percy Weasley would be hers soon enough. Or at least, she sure hoped everything would work out the way she had planned. Why was this transition into change rattling her so radically?
She walked through Platform 9 and 3/4 with the knowledge that her mother would have to explain her disappearance in great detail, and that she was already exhausted from the day that would be ahead of her. She hoped to get it all over with as soon as possible, that the day would pass by her quickly.
The variety of people crowded at the nifty platform never ceased to amaze her. The multitude of people who never changed even as all four seasons cycled through time was absolutely fascinating. There were snooty purebloods who sectioned themselves off, away from everyone else on the platform, either with each other or their own families. Everyone else scrambled to say goodbye to one another and checked their luggage repeatedly as if time was moving quicker for them than for everyone else. Mothers cried and children squirmed away from their parents' embrace as soon as physically possible to run to the friends they hadn’t seen all summer. Everything ran as per usual, and a familiarity amongst the jarring nature of change was all Penelope needed to feel completely at ease in her own skin.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted flaming red hair above the crowd. In that moment, she knew she had found him. Like a beacon, the flash of colour guided her to where he was. Penelope walked with haste towards him, paying no mind to the disgruntled people stepping out of her way.
Percy Weasley was wrapped tightly in a warm embrace by the one and only Oliver Wood. His hands were tangled into Oliver's now longer hair and his head was burrowed into the crook between his neck and shoulder. Oliver had his arms wrapped around Percy's middle, clutching at his robes securely, as if to keep him in place. Penelope couldn't hear their conversation, she doubted anyone but the two of them could. Her gaze shifted from the train's door to the two of them once more and her shoulders stiffened. A muted laugh and bright smiles were exchanged between the two slowly, time was sprinting away from everyone else but not from the three of them. Percy tugged teasingly at the hair in his grasp, smiling idly whilst Oliver ranted passionately on something or another. Percy did not make eye contact with Oliver, but Penelope knew he was listening avidly. Penelope’s gaze broke away from the two hastily, questions running her mind ragged.
In Percy’s world of wide sights and even wider ambitions, there was a small space fit for humans who could share his world with him. She had thought the space to eventually be hers, in the very beginning, before her doubts began to arise. What if that space had already been claimed, engraved permanently somewhere she could not see? What if only one person could fit in that space, and what if it wasn’t her?
"Penelope! Hello!"
Percy's exclamation interrupted her internal monologue, causing her to break out into a smile. She bounded closer to the pair, who were still very close together but no longer touching. Her doubts ebbed to a dark place in the back of her mind she could not see into, and they were dismissed without hesitation.
"Percy, hi! It's been a long while, hasn't it? It’s so good to see you."
Percy nodded avidly, "It has been, and it’s a delight to see you also. Congratulations once again on getting prefect, what did I tell you the entire time? I knew you would get it - I'm always right, you know. Always."
"And he never lets anyone forget it!” Oliver interjected with a wide grin, batting his eyelashes at Percy who glared at him before turning back to face Penelope once more, “I'm Oliver Wood, captain of Hogwarts' best Quidditch team and founder of the 'Percy Weasley's friends' club. Welcome to the alliance, glad to have some company around these parts."
Penelope giggled violently with a hand over her mouth whilst Percy rolled his eyes. She had always wondered if Oliver Wood was what her friends believed him to be - if he was sweet but self-centred. They seemed to be off base, no one else was accusing Oliver of behaving in such a manner. However, he was a Quidditch player, it wasn't a radically shocking thing for them to assume. Quidditch players were virtually celebrities at Hogwarts, and the rumours that surrounded them were wilder than the ones surrounding other people.
"Happy to be here! Though, you are wrong about being the captain of the best Quidditch team at Hogwarts. Ravenclaw is the best team, obviously. How was your summer? Percy mentioned that you went to Italy for a while."
The two delved into small talk about their holidays and the weather, all things you discussed when meeting a friend of a friend. Percy watched contently on the sidelines, seemingly glad to not be at the centre of attention. Penelope paid less mind to the words being said and more to the feelings Oliver's face conveyed. She mentally noted down every smile and every laugh. Their corner of the platform was quieter than the other pockets of space around them, and it took her a minute to realise that this was very much deliberate, most likely for Percy’s convenience.
Oliver was enthusiastic and cheery, perfectly polite as well. He chuckled at her quips and grimaced at the mention of the overbearing summer weather. Only once did he rant about Quidditch, and even then it was somewhat short-lived. Why would her friends lie about Oliver? He was not self-centred at all, as far as she saw. Was it all a ploy to keep her away from Percy? She did not believe them capable of deliberate manipulation, it was most likely concern more so than anything else.
The large, towering clock indicated that they had five minutes to board the train; a shorter timeframe than most assumed it was.
"We should all be going, there's only five minutes left to board," Percy said.
Oliver nodded in agreement and reached for the suitcase by his feet. He carried it with one hand which led Penelope to wonder if he had gotten someone to place a feather light charm on it.
"I'll see you in our compartment later, Perce?"
"Yes, and I presume that if you're not there, you're with the Quidditch team?"
"Spot on, Perce! See you then! Nice meeting you Penelope!"
Penelope waved briefly at Oliver's retreating form and turned to Percy who looked at her expectantly.
"To the prefect's carriage, then?" He asked her.
"Lead the way."
Penelope moved to walk behind Percy and struggled to catch up when he did begin to walk. He was a quick walker, much to Penelope's annoyance. His legs were simply too long for her to keep up with. He led her not to the door nearest to them but to a door at the very south of the train, where not many students were crowded at.
The carpeted floors and the cramped halls gave her a rush of nostalgia, and for a moment she could deceive herself into believing she was 11 again. 11, and terrified of what was going to come next. Accompanied only by the book in her hand, unsure if she would make any friends other than the castle library. Penelope shook her head and exhaled sharply, she was not 11 anymore, thank god, she was 15. 15, and excited for whatever would come next. With her close group of friends, only unsure of what could go wrong.
Penelope entered the prefect’s carriage after Percy, taking her seat next to his usual spot. It was the largest carriage in the train, that much was clear. There was an open space plan to it, and there was enough bench space to fit 24 kids, though only 18 would need it. Most of the other prefects were already seated, and they greeted both her and Percy upon entry. The train began departing a minute afterwards, leaving the two to converse amongst themselves.
"Excited for your first ever patrols? Or are more excited to guide the first years out of the Great Hall to the Ravenclaw dormitories? The first day of school is a very busy one for us."
Penelope placed her hand on her chin, seriously contemplating it for a few moments before giving up. She simply could not decide, so instead she answered jokingly.
"I think I'm most excited to show off that badge to the other Ravenclaw fifth years,” she joked, chuckling slightly to herself.
She expected Percy to begin telling her that was an inappropriate thing to say or something of the sort, but he did not. Instead, he nodded his head knowingly.
"Every fifth year prefect is, it's a rite of passage, I believe. It would be strange if you weren't excited."
"Oh, so the sixth year prefects aren't excited that they're still prefect? They never show off their badges at all?"
Percy raised his eyebrows at her, and the glint in his eyes told Penelope that he was about to be awfully cheeky. For all that it was worth, Penelope adored seeing his teasing side, the sarcastic and snarky side that often only emerged within great comfort.
"Well, you see, they've already shown them off the previous year. It would be awfully arrogant and terribly unprofessional to do it for a second year in a row."
"Oh yes, terribly unprofessional."
Penelope grinned and raised her eyebrows teasingly, amused. Though Percy was not smiling, there was a spark in his eyes which indicated to her that he was also thoroughly amused. Moments after, the meeting commenced and both faced the Head Boy and Head Girl. They briefly introduced themselves and what the prefect role involved, before doling out instructions for patrolling the train.
"Weasley, you'll take the far north end with one of the fifth year prefects, if that's alright."
Percy perked up ever so slightly, "Perfect, I'll take Penelope with me," he glanced at her and tilted his head, silently asking her permission.
“That’s fine with me,” she agreed quickly.
The rest of the meeting went on in the same fashion, sixth year prefects often being partnered up with fifth year prefects with the expectations of mutual respect and mentorship. Penelope zoned out most of the meeting, she figured that Percy would talk to her about whatever she had missed anyway. Instead, she asked herself more questions she would need to answer. What was Percy like during patrol? Was he a very good prefect, better than his counterparts, even? Would it add to his already overwhelming appeal, would it check off another three boxes in her mental checklist?
The two walked out of the prefect’s carriage and leisurely made their way to the upmost end of the train.
"Your friend Oliver was nice, you two really are close. Suppose I just had to see it to fully realise it," Penelope commented idly.
Percy smiled softly at the mention of Oliver, his eyes glancing downward in an almost sheepish expression. His cheeks were dusted with a very light shade of pink, clearly pleased. Penelope watched this with intrigue and waited for him to formulate an answer. Would he smile and blush like that at the mention of her name one day, she asked herself. Would he avoid everyone’s eyes solely to think of how he was supposed to answer simply to such a complex statement?
"He is nice, and we are very close. Since we're roommates and in a lot of the same classes, it's hard to get away from him sometimes. Not that I would want to, anyway. Well, you knew all that already, I believe I've mentioned him before."
Mention was a bit of an understatement, but she supposed it made sense. Oliver was Percy’s best friend, and it wasn’t as though Percy had many friends in the first place. Of course he would be fond of the few who did stay by his side, despite any flaws he may have possessed.
"You have a little," she fibbed, not wishing to confront Percy more than she was already about to, "I was surprised, well, not surprised, intrigued to see that the way you described him was completely true."
The words were out of her mouth before she could take them back. The moment she finished speaking, she turned away regretfully, wincing softly at the impact her words were about to have on Percy. If she had turned back to him, she would have seen the smile slip from his features and a confused scowl replacing it. He was glaring down at her, as if to challenge her to continue her thought. But she didn’t turn, therefore she could not see the slowly sinking anxiety in his eyes, the way they widened.
"'True'? How do you mean?"
"Well..." she hesitated.
Slowly, she rotated her head to face Percy, only to see anxiety. It was not too surprising; Percy was anxious in nature most of the time. Still, it was alarming to see how quickly he had melted into the anxiety, the way his breathing was deliberate and his cheeks had lost their flush. He did not fidget, but his eyes pierced hers in a way that made her skin crawl. Penelope had never seen him like this before, he was usually rather docile around her.
However, she had started this. It was best she finish it. She knew better than to expect him to accept a ‘never mind’.
"I've heard a few whisperings from my friends, that's all. Rumours that he's a little bit… self-centred," she winced at the end of this, about to elaborate but instead wisely choosing to stay silent.
Percy’s nostrils flared and his gaze grew sharper. He seemed to be restraining himself from full-blown anger, repressing the words he truly wanted to say for her sake.
"And how many people believe this, exactly?" he instead asked, fighting to keep his tone rational.
"Erm... not many. Just a few people."
Percy’s sighed very deeply and turned away from her to face the path they walked upon instead. His barely restrained wrath frightened her, confused her to no end. He had never acted in this manner before, not even when other people mocked him in clear sight in the Hogwarts halls. What about the statement could have possibly angered his calm temperament to such an extent?
"These people are just misusing the term. Oliver may be obsessive about Quidditch to extreme points and he might be intense in personality, but this doesn't translate into self-centredness. It isn't even a bad thing! Oliver is one of the kindest, most selfless people out there! I want to give a stern scolding to whoever came up with such an insipid rumour," he snapped, voice increasingly growing louder and sharper as he spoke.
Penelope was silent for a moment, assessing the situation in front of her. Percy, who was first and foremost her friend, and only secondly angry, needed to be calmed down before his ears burned with wrath.
"Wow... you're a really good friend to him. I promise you it isn't as big as you think it is. Most people say he's sweet if that makes you feel better," Penelope reassured.
Percy sighed, “Alright. Thank you for telling me that anyway, even if it did frustrate me. It was the decent thing to do.”
Silence befell the pair for the short rest of their walk. It was not necessarily awkward; it was merely prominent. Penelope asked herself silently if Percy would feel the need to say anything else at all.
Finally, they arrived at the north carriage and checked the first two compartments in silence. They found no contraband or misbehaviour, merely nervous first years awkwardly attempting to converse with one another. The third compartment was the loudest of them all, clearly whoever was in there had not bothered with spells of any kind. Upon approaching the compartment, Percy groaned and pushed his glasses up his nose.
“My brothers and their friend are in this compartment, let me handle it.”
Penelope unlocked the door and opened it, she stepped to the side to allow Percy to handle whatever was about to come next. He seemed to be taking deep breaths to calm himself to approach them, and that was when she knew that whatever this would be, it would not be pleasant.
Three boys, two with wild red hair and one with dreadlocks sat on the floor of the compartment. Their seats were covered in a variety of lollies and miscellaneous
junk. On the walls of the compartment crawled a massive tarantula, one of the magical variety she presumed. Its cage was sat on the floor outside of the circle the three boys sat in. She knew who they were, there was not a single person in Hogwarts who did not. The boy with dreadlocks was the Quidditch commentator, she did not know his name but she knew his voice from anywhere. The two boys with red hair were Percy’s younger brothers Fred and George, the supposed terrors of the Weasley clan. Upon seeing them, she quickly decided she did not want to involve herself in this debacle.
"Is that a tarantula, boys?! Which one of you smuggled that here?" Percy interrogated, absolutely infuriated with the three’s latest antics.
The three grinned amongst themselves and gestured to one another furiously in a form of non-verbal communication, quickly enough that Penelope was unable to make any sense of it at all.
"Oh relax Perfect Prefect, what makes you assume we smuggled him in here as if he were the newest Zonkos product?"
"Our own brother, presuming we smuggled him in! The pain, boys! My heart is simply writhing with agony!" The twins spoke one after the other in perfect harmony, as if what they said were lines rehearsed for hours on end.
Fred, George and Lee all laughed boisterously loud and Percy sneered down at them, pulling himself up straighter. Penelope was curious to see where this would lead to, all she knew was that there was no possibility of it being pleasant.
"I don't trust the agonised act for even a second. I asked which one of you smuggled it in here, and I would like an answer."
Lee smirked and turned to face the twins, hand over his heart and eyebrows raised in a mock serious expression. The tarantula creeped down the wall and Penelope monitored its movements solely so she did not have to witness what was in front of her.
"The prefect doesn't trust us, twins! How does that make you feel?"
The twins dramatically pretended to wail, crocodile tears falling down their cheeks with a perfected elegance. They must have done this countless times before, all whilst resisting the urge to laugh. The Weasley twins were powerful menaces, Penelope then decided, with far too much control of other people’s emotions. They held the power of laughter and infuriation in their hands, and she would have admired them for it if it weren’t impacting Percy the way it was. Percy’s ears were flushed pink, which contrasted awfully with his hair. Blue eyes were blazing, it was the only way Penelope could identify that he was angry.
"Oh Georgie dearest, whatever shall I do? Our own big brother, the loser in the doorway, the pompous prefect doesn't trust us? Aren't you just devastated?" Fred placed his hand over his chest and spoke as if his heart itself were speaking.
"Devastated? Sure. Trust is very important in the Weasley family, you know,” George nonchalantly added, coyly looking up at Percy with eyes that danced with mischief.
"A shame... but we always knew there would be at least one freak amongst the seven of us. Is anyone really surprised that it would be our dearest Percy?"
The two roared with laughter and Lee let out a few chuckles at their exclamations. Percy flushed red and the vein in his forehead jutted out. If his eyes had been blazing before, they were positively burning now. He was even more furious than he had been minutes beforehand when he heard about Oliver. Upon the sighting of Percy’s emotions, the twins grinned widely and laughed even harder. Penelope could not bring her eyes in the direction of the three boys, or else she may just die of embarrassment. Percy was already absolutely humiliated; he did not need to witness her own second-hand embarrassment on his behalf.
"That is enough! Penelope, please contain the tarantula and don't kill it. 30 points from Gryffindor for your comments and a detention for smuggling the tarantula. Who you will have your detention with will be determined by Professor McGonagall upon your arrival to Hogwarts. Unless you would like to lose even more points, I advise you stop talking."
“No, not Terry the Tarantula!” Lee exclaimed.
Penelope placed a spell on the tarantula to keep it still but breathing; and floated it out of the compartment away from them all. She kept it floating in the air, quickly looking away the moment its eyes began to rapidly dart around in all eight of its eye sockets. The four boys stared at one another with a variety of emotions ranging from anger to hilarity, and it horrified her to no end. How Percy had not stormed out of the compartment yet, she did not know. They had called him the freak of the family to his face, yet he did not beat up either of them. Despite her own second-hand embarrassment, she couldn’t look away from the shitstorm in front of her.
"You can't shut us up, big bro, no matter how much you want to."
"Watch out for your hair, that will be the next thing your heart freezes."
They both snickered to themselves, hitting one another to stop themselves from laughing. Not even Lee joined in, he merely watched the twins with horror in his eyes.
"Goodbye, Pompous Percy."
Their carriage door slammed shut in front of Penelope as Percy stepped forward harshly. Percy's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and his eyes avoided Penelope's. His hands were curled up into fists and his breath was shaky, he could not control it no matter how hard he tried. Penelope's jaw was unhinged for a second before she composed herself. They could not both be emotional; it was Percy's turn as far as she was concerned.
"They humiliated you in there; how could you just let them walk all over you like that?" she asked worriedly.
Percy merely sighed, still avoiding her line of sight.
"I couldn't stop them even if I wanted to, please just leave it alone. I'm embarrassed enough as is."
A sickening feeling was bubbling inside Penelope’s stomach and it was rising in her throat. As soon as it reached higher, she realised what it was. It was sadness. A realisation that she should have known sooner; a realisation that she should have intervened. She should have used some of that Gryffindor courage people always preached about and yelled at them. Percy should have never been the one to handle them, and it was all her fault.
"They shouldn't get away with it, I know you told me in your letters that they treated you horribly, but I could have never imagined it was to this extent."
She should have imagined to that extent, should have known it was to that extent. They were brutal and merciless; she had seen them during April Fools day and during the days before Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch matches.
"But they do, and life isn't fair,” Percy concluded sharply, “Now, let's monitor the rest of the carriage."
Penelope looked away and walked to the fourth compartment. The two continued to silently survey the compartments, taking turns to talk with the various passengers. From fearful first years to noisy seventh years, they followed through quickly. On their way back to the prefect’s carriage, after a long period of silence, Percy spoke once more.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, and that I lost my temper on you. You're right, I shouldn't let them walk all over me."
Penelope shook her head and reached out to move his cheek gently so he was making eye contact with her. He looked away immediately and Penelope let go, giving up on trying. Percy was never fond of eye contact.
"It's not your fault, they're young. Young people don't understand how their words can hurt others."
Percy clicked his tongue softly and huffed out a chuckle, one of disbelief.
"Oh, they understand alright. That's certainly an optimistic perspective you have there."
"It is, maybe you should adopt that perspective as well. Don't let it get you down too much, they have to grow up someday, surely."
Percy seemed be transfixed with the corridor in front of him for a moment before he inhaled sharply and faced the never-ending doors.
"Someday."
He seemed to be contemplating what else he was going to say, the words swimming in his brain but stuck upon his tongue. Finally, he turned towards her and gripped her shoulder gently, stopping her from walking any further.
"Thank you. I know I don't say such things often enough, but you're a very good friend."
A soft smile overtook Penelope’s expression and warmth filled her from within. They were closer now than they were in May already, she could just feel it. Worming him into her heart would not be a problem now, she was certain of it.
"You're a very good friend too. I hope that I'm lucky enough to get even closer to you this year."
"So do I... so do I."
Hours later, Penelope fidgeted with her hair and twirled it around her finger as Dumbledore’s voice boomed around the room, saying the same speech he did every single year. At this point, she could not bring herself to listen to the calm, yet loud words being spoken anymore. Instead, her eyes wandered across the Gryffindor table and searched for Percy's bright red curls. She was quickly able to find him towards the front with his back towards her. Across from him was Oliver, and next to him were two girls. Penelope believed his younger sister Ginny to be the girl on his left, and Hermione Granger to be the girl to his right. Strangely enough, both Harry Potter and Percy’s younger brother Ron were absent, when they usually would have sat across from Hermione. She shrugged internally at this, deciding it was best to just leave it alone. She contemplated the emotions he could have possibly been battling whilst listening to Dumbledore's speech. Was he paying avid attention to the front, or did he allow himself to zone out entirely?
It would have been completely understandable if he were still upset, or even angry from the events that had transpired on the train. He had a lot to think about, as did she. She was so immersed in her own thoughts that she did not notice the increased chatter and the food that surrounded her. It was once the smell of roast chicken hit her nostrils did she snap out of stupor. She piled food onto her plate hurriedly and glanced up only to see a grinning Diana and a concerned Mary. Penelope raised her eyebrows in question and turned to face a mirthless Cecilia.
"What is it?"
Diana snorted, "What do you mean 'what is it'? You have been staring in the direction of a certain stuffy prefect for more minutes than appropriate for girls to stare at boys. Explain yourself, Pen."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I wasn't staring at anyone.” She glared at Diana sharply, in a failed attempt to shut her up.
"Sure, love, as if we believe that,” Diana scoffed, rolling her eyes and leaning back to give her a stare of all-knowing.
Mary gave Diana a look and offered a hand to Penelope.
"Ignore Diana, we're just slightly worried on your behalf is all."
Penelope narrowed her eyes in suspicion and stared at the hand Mary had offered.
"What is there to be worried about? I wasn't staring at him and we've already established that there's no possible way he's a pureblood supremacist. He's a Weasley, for Merlin's sake!"
"Well, it would be a good thing to not check him out or consider dating him. Because erm..."
Mary and Cecilia stared back and forth between one another and Penelope, unsure of who would be the one to speak. Diana sighed loudly, only speaking once all three of them were paying attention to her.
"He's gay, ladies. We can just say it, you know. No shame to it."
Penelope’s eyes widened and her hands dropped the cutlery she had been holding. No, no, he could not be, her master plan was entirely dependent on him. Besides, what were they basing this off anyway? Stereotypes? That he did not like to play sports, or that he read more books than he talked to people? That he didn’t objectify girls like other boys did?
"What? Has he said that himself? I thought the whole being gay thing was still a bit stigmatised in the wizarding world, even if it's less than the muggle world.”
Mary shook her head, "Of course he didn't say it himself, no one confirms that sort of thing about themselves out in the open anyway."
"It's just something everyone knows, or, you know, suspects. That's why boys in his year level make fun of him so much. Other than him being a massive suck up and pretentious killjoy, of course," Diana interjected, mirth dancing in her eyes.
Penelope crossed her arms in front of her chest and exhaled deeply in annoyance.
"I'm pretty sure he likes girls; he probably just hasn't acted on any feelings he has. You shouldn't be spreading such rumours around."
Mary, Cecilia and Diana gave each other a look of knowing. Knowing that Penelope was more sceptical of rumours than most and that she was unwilling to believe anything that could get someone mercilessly teased unless it was absolutely true.
"Oh Penny, have you seen the way he acts around Oliver Wood?"
"Definitely something going on between them. There’s no way two boys that close are just friends.”
Cecilia shook her head in agreement with Diana’s statement. Penelope wanted to bang her head on the table at the absurdity of it all, did her friends not believe in platonic love? How many friends did they assume to be dating one another anyway? And just how many people believed in the potential relationship between Percy Weasley and Oliver Wood?
"They're friends, it would be a bit wild to assume they're not close. It doesn't mean they're in love or something."
Percy only had two friends; it was unlikely he would be distant from either of them.
"I don't know, a lot of people in the year above believe it to be true. The theory also has quite a bit of traction in our year level. Maybe it isn't true, perhaps he will get a girlfriend. Anything is possible,” Cecilia assured her.
"Just promise us you won't date him. He has enough personality flaws as is, and he's different to his brothers. He may be a secret blood supremacist. You really never know until someone states their beliefs aloud. We don’t want you getting hurt, we love you a lot, Penny. Cecilia's right, you never know," Mary told her gently.
Penelope exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes at the three, visibly annoyed with all of them. Cecilia looked sheepish and even Diana looked a bit guilty, they did not like to provoke Penelope, they were just trying to keep her safe. She loved them dearly; she knew their feelings towards her. But she was not as naïve as they thought her to be, not as much of a daydreamer. At least, that was what she convinced herself of. She refused to let them be right, they weren’t allowed to be right. If she could not date Percy, who else in the wizarding world was she supposed to date?
Her friends’ caution was overbearing at that point, now more so than ever. She was exhausted. The day they stopped telling her who she could date and who she could not date, she would die of shock.
"Okay, okay. I promise. How about we stop talking about this now, alright?"
Penelope tuned out the following conversation between her friends and instead ate the dinner piled on her plate despite her loss of appetite. What were they thinking, spreading such things around? Trying to worry her in such a manner? Percy was an essential part of her master plan to get a boyfriend, he was the only boy she could possibly allow herself to fall in love with. He was the sole person who fit her ridiculously high standards, and she would be damned if he did not end up falling in love with her.