only him • percy weasley

three

three; SIGNING

If there was one thing that everyone knew about Astrid, it was that she absolutely detested doing her Prefect rounds with Percy and she had ever since the very first time they had walked their first-round together in their fifth year and despite their recently blooming friendship, that little fact hadn't changed about the girl.

She could not help the many rolls she had cruelly subjected to her poor eyes to in the last hour since they'd taken over from the fifth year Ravenclaw and Slytherin, especially after he had given a rather stern talking to as well as detention to a second-year who had broken curfew by eight and a half minutes.

"What?" He snapped when he saw Astrid sigh dramatically from the corner of his eye before she opened the broom closet she had stopped in front of and peered inside for anything suspicious.

"Well, you could have been a bit softer on the kid." She responded after she closed the door with a loud snap and began to walk again, deciding that he needed to understand that he couldn't keep snapping at children, "He was clearly on his way to his Common Room."

"He missed curfew," Percy told her sternly.

"By a couple of minutes," Astrid answered with a disbelieving chuckle, not understanding why he was being so anal on the subject, "Surely, you've missed curfew before, even if it was by a few minutes."

"We're supposed to be protecting them." He replied tightly and Astrid sighed softly, her mind wandering to the message written on the wall only a month ago.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
HAS BEEN OPENED
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR. . . BEWARE

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit terrified of the events unfolding around the school and all of the petrified students, including that poor little first year she had given directions to on many different occasions.

"They're already scared, Weasley." She murmured, "Don't add to it by freaking them out when you stop them."

Percy huffed in irritation but he didn't argue and Astrid had to smile when he only reprimanded the next student hurrying to her Common Room, instead of blowing a gasket when he saw her sprinting in the opposite direction of the library with sleep in her eyes.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" He asked, effectively breaking the comfortable silence that had stemmed around them in hopes to learn something about his new friend.

"I'm going home, spending the afternoon with my Dad and the evening with my Mum." She responded after a moment as she attempted to remember where she was headed first, "How about you?"

"My parents are going to visit my brother so we're all staying here." Percy told her with a smile, "Why are you spending Christmas with only one of your parents at a time?"

"They're separated, and not awfully fond of spending more than ten minutes in one another's presence." Astrid answered with a frown, "So, Felix, Greta and I spend lunch with one and dinner with the other every year."

Percy stared at the shorter girl for a moment with concerned eyes when he caught the frustration in her eyes, "That must be awfully time-consuming."

"A bit, yeah." She huffed a small laugh, "It's been easier now that Greta can side apparate us to and from, Dad absolutely hates apparition and Mum doesn't have the Floo Network connection so they always drove us but two hours with your lanky siblings pressing their legs all up in your space was never fun."

Percy perked up as he excitedly asked, "You've side apparated before?"

Astrid grinned up at him and just like that, the topic turned cheerful as they discussed their upcoming Apparition lessons and what they were going to do together in Hogsmeade that weekend.

✦❀✦

"Hello, gorgeous."

Astrid peered up from her notes and smiled widely at Nolan as hooked his leg over the bench across from her and placed his bag beside him.

"Hey handsome, how was your test?" She asked, remembering that he had been complaining about an Arithmancy quiz that he hadn't studied for.

Nolan shrugged as he reached forward and grabbed a bread roll and a butter knife from the table, "I think I did okay, how was Lockheart?"

At the mention of her incompetent Defence Professor, Astrid groaned in frustration and slowly began to feel the effects of her previous headache that she had begun to have each time she had to sit in a classroom with the famous moron.

"Being an Auror isn't even worth it at this point." She told him desolately, "I can't concentrate, he's not teaching us anything, and I'm quite certain that my muggle mother could teach me more than he could."

"To be fair, Lucy could teach anyone anything." Nolan pointed out as he watched his irritated friend and attempted not to chuckle at the look on her face.

"That's beside the point." She responded, "I know it's difficult to find a teacher every single year but surely there were better applicants because, at this point, it just seems as though Dumbledore is taking the piss."

"Oi, Kent." Astrid turned her attention to where her roommate Sally was seated a little further down the table and rose her eyebrow in silent question, "Isn't that your brother glaring at you?"

Astrid frowned in confusion before she turned and glanced over her shoulder to see Felix glaring at her from where he sat three tables away and she made a face at him as he raised his hands and signed a few words at her about a letter he was sending to their father and whether or not she'd like him to add something to it for her, causing her to roll her eyes before she signed a message back that had him sticking his tongue out at her and turning back to the parchment in front of him.

She smirked to herself as she turned back so she was facing Nolan who shook his head in amusement when she turned back to Sally and shrugged, "Never seen him before in my life."

Nolan chuckled as he helped himself to one of the biscuits on Astrid's plate.

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nolan and astrid's relationship makes me so happy and that is all.

thanks for reading!

~r