Breaking Protocol {Percy Weasley}

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Percy didn't realize he was smiling until Ginny pointed it out, and not subtly at all.

"I really should snap a picture of you." She said, plopping down in the seat across her brother in the Great Hall. Percy frowned, chewing on a celery stick as he eyed his little sister. "Aw. The smile is gone so soon? C'mon Percy, it's alright to be happy. In fact, if I remember correctly, Fred and George have been trying to get a smile out of you since forever."

"Well, they aren't very amusing if you ask me." Muttered Percy. Ginny snorted, causing Percy to look up at her with a disgusted face.

"Maybe to you, but everyone else finds them funny. Maybe now that you're with Clara, you'll get their jokes-"

"They're not jokes." Snapped Percy. "They're irresponsible, unplanned disasters that just so happen to get a laugh out of a few dimwitted people." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest.

"I find them funny sometimes." She huffed. Percy rolled his eyes at her.

"Ginny, you should know better." He scoffed. Ginny just narrowed her eyes at her older brother, and Percy knew the wrath of the Weasley girl was about to be unleashed upon him. Percy often admired the fire Ginny had inside her, but he did not like it so much when it was pointed in his direction.

"You know what? Sometimes I wonder what Clara sees in you. You still seem like a stuck-up prat to me, and I don't think it's written in your DNA to change." She rose violently from her seat, flipping her ginger hair over her shoulder as she stuck her nose in the air and marched over to her group of friends. Percy didn't realize he was holding his breath until she was a safe distance away.

He sighed, gathering up his book bag and sauntering out of the Great Hall. Ginny had let Percy off easily. He knew the damage that girl was capable of, and she had left him without so much of a scratch.

Percy could sense the eagerness of the students and the stress-laced air around him due to the Gryffindor versus Slytherin final match this coming Saturday. Percy rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. Why students stressed more about Quidditch games rather than upcoming exams was beyond Percy, and the fact that even Clara was getting antsy about it only boggled the boy further. Percy had spent nearly every day after classes in the library with his girlfriend, going over her charm notes and the proper movements of her wand in order to perfect the spell; and whenever the weather wasn't too atrocious, Percy took Clara outside to practice the water-making spell especially. While Clara was pleased with her improvements, Percy thought she had a long way to go before she was excellent.

Percy had asked Clara to study with him again outside, knowing she still couldn't get a majority of her charms right, but she had turned him down. Apparently, Clara and her friends had plans and Percy could not understand what they could possibly be doing together when he knew Clara had a mountain of Muggle Studies Essays to work on. Percy was delighted to know Clara had received an OWL in Muggles Studies and had taken the class in N.E.W.T level when he first saw her timetable, but upon discovering she was a muggle-born, Percy knew she was merely taking the class because it was an easy credit for her. As the boy made his way to the library, he wondered what his father would have to say about Clara's exceptional marks in that class.

Percy had taken Muggle Studies as well, knowing that the class was an exceptional subject that all Witches and Wizards should continue to take, however much to his disappointment, Percy hadn't gotten an OWL for that class. It was something that Clara held over his head, knowing she had an OWL he didn't, however, he still received seven OWL's last year, while Clara only got five.

It was definitely strange being in a class with Clara where she knew more than Percy did, but having a father who didn't know the purpose of a rubber duck, Percy understood why Muggle Studies wasn't his top class.