only him • percy weasley

one

chapter one; WATCHING A SUNSET

The hall was rich with noise as students made their way down the hallways to their first class of the morning.

Astrid Kent stood at the edge of it all, her best friend standing beside her, laughing at the chaos that had since erupted in the narrow corridor.

"Best tradition ever." Nolan chuckled as the pair watched Professor Sprout yell at a second year for accidentally walking into the wrong bathroom.

Astrid and Nolan loved to watch the beginning of term corridor chaos unfold before they went to their first class because it was amusing to see the majority of the students run around as though they had never been to Hogwarts even after navigating the halls for at least three years.

"Kent!" A stern voice barked, "Anderson!"

Astrid tore her amused gaze from the fifth year whose bag had split open to where Percy Weasley was marching toward them.

"Hey, Weasley." She beamed at him, "How has your morning been?"

He glowered up at her.

"Why aren't either of you in class?" He questioned, his chest puffing out as though she hadn't already seen the Prefect badge pinned there.

"Free period," Nolan answered.

"Classes don't start for another fifteen minutes." Astrid pointed out as she dropped down from the two foot window ledge, landing on the balls of her feet before she smirked at the lanky teenager, "But that begs the question of why you aren't in class seeing as you're usually, what, an hour early?"

Nolan chuckled from above her as the ginger-haired male stared at her for a moment in shock.

"I am a Prefect." Percy finally said, "You don't get to question me."

"Are you a Prefect?" The brunette girl asked in a false shock, "I had no idea, you've never mentioned it before."

"Course he has." Nolan exclaimed as he also dropped down from the ledge, landing directly next to his best friend and throwing his arm around her shoulder, "Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, you're right, it was last year." Astrid replied, snapping her fingers together in faux realisation, "All day, every day, all year."

Percy huffed as the two linked arms and began to make their way down the chaotic corridor.

"Don't make me give you detention," He called after them.

"You can't give other Prefect's detention, Weasley!" Astrid responded loudly as she looked over her shoulder at the male, sending him a wink as she rounded the corner and the blushing Gryffindor disappeared from view.

"He gets so mad when he's reminded that you're a Prefect." Nolan chuckled.

"He's cute when he blushes," Astrid pointed out almost absentmindedly before they parted ways and as descended the staircase toward the Potions classroom, Nolan's laughter following her as she went.

With five minutes before her class was set to begin, she made her way into the dungeon classroom and bustled over to the table that was second from the front before she set her bag on the bench top. She took a seat on the stool as she pulled her textbook from her bag, along with a few rolls of parchment and a quill.

By the time she was ready for the class, only two other's had entered and begun to lay out the items they needed for class and were waiting silently when Snape exited his office, eyeing the three of them critically as he waved his wand and words began to form on the board.

The Draught of the Living Dead.

✦❀✦

Her hair was dancing across her shoulders in the cool Autumn breeze, the ends brushing against the grass that she was sitting on as she gazed out across the large lake at the setting sun.

She was one day into her N.E.W.T classes and she was already more stressed than she had been while studying for O.W.L's the semester before and sitting against a large tree watching as the sun slowly began to disappear, she felt wonderfully content for just a brief period of time, momentarily forgetting about her mountain of homework waiting for her back in her dorm.

"Kent!"

She glanced over her shoulder to see Percy marching his way toward where she was sitting and she sighed, turning her attention back to the breathtaking sunset.

"Hello, Weasley," She greeted him with an uncharacteristically polite smile as he stopped next to her.

"You should be inside." He told her sharply after ignoring her greeting, causing the girl to glance down at the watch on her wrist in surprise, unaware of how much time had passed, before she rolled her eyes when she realized that she hadn't lost track of time.

"Curfew isn't for another three hours." She told him, her tone laced with disbelief, "I'm allowed to be out here. Also, I have rounds tonight after curfew so..."

"Yes, but you have homework that is due tomorrow." He answered after she had trailed off, "You should be doing it."

Astrid smiled up at him.

"Are you, Percy Weasley, worried about my grades?" She asked him teasingly, making the younger male huff, annoyed with the bubbly girl.

"No."

"You are!" She exclaimed excitedly, "But no need to fret, only one of my pieces is due tomorrow and it's quite simple so I can do it tomorrow before class."

Percy looked horrified at her procrastination process before he shook his head, turning his attention towards the lake where the tentacles of the Giant Squid could be seen popping up and wriggling in the evening breeze.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" He asked before he gave her a lecture on the importance of needing to do your homework right away.

"Watching the sunset." She responded, "Would you like to join me?"

He opened his mouth to refuse when Astrid reached out and grasped his hand, gently tugging him onto the grass next to her.

"Just for a few minutes." He finally grumbled out, settling himself onto the ground.

Astrid smiled at his stiff posture just as the last rays of daylight left the sky.

"Have you ever been relaxed?" She questioned curiously, grinning slightly at the glare he sent her.

"Of course I have." He responded stiffly with a small huff, "Have you ever not procrastinated doing anything?"

"Probably not." She shrugged, "But, I still scrape passes so it's all okay."

Percy scoffed and it was at that moment that Astrid Kent decided to help the rule-abiding Prefect have some fun, even if it was just one single time before they graduated.

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percy and astrid barely like one another but i already adore them with all my heart.

thanks for reading!

~r