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That morning, Percy sat across from the twins at the Gryffindor table, eyeing them warily in case they were already up to something early in the morning. George simply yawned at him and Fred was busy shaping the food on his plate into a frowny face that vaguely looked like Snape.
When he was sure his brothers would not be the cause of any breakfast incident, Percy took his Transfiguration textbook out of his bag so he could get the next chapter fully annotated before the start of classes. Completely focused on his work, he absentmindedly grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice to sip on. It seemed to him like the juice tasted a little bit different than usual, so he looked up to see what was in his glass, but he instead ended up catching sight of someone striding towards his brothers and him with a serious frown on his face.
Oh no.
Not Oliver Wood.
What was he thinking, sitting with the twins when there was a Quidditch match on the upcoming Saturday. Everybody knew Oliver harassed his team to no end. And Percy… well, Percy needed to get away from Oliver as much as he could. For reasons. Reasons he refused to think about and had nothing to do with the fact that Oliver, his roommate and friend of seven years, was very nice. And when he said nice, it meant he was a nice person, sure, that wasn’t the problem. But he was also very nice looking. Nice looking, and charming, and fun to be around, and adorably clueless about social conventions.
So it was clear that Percy had to avoid Oliver, or one day he might let slip some kind of silly love confession that gave away all those most likely very unrequited feelings.
Being in the same dorm was hard enough, but they had different schedules, so they rarely bumped into each other or stayed in there just the two of them. The last time it happened, Oliver had come out of the shower wearing only his pyjama pants, and Percy had to pretend he had a Prefect meeting to get out of the room before he could drool all over his Charms essay. After that, he’d made sure they were never alone in the same room.
Without bothering with a greeting, Oliver stopped in front of the twins and put his hands on his hips in an authoritative stance. It wasn’t attractive at all, so Percy buried his nose in his book. He couldn’t make out a single letter.
"Weasleys. I need to talk to you about the match. Now, this is crucial information so you’ll have to pay attention… Oh, hi there Percy, didn’t catch you this morning." He stopped suddenly to grin at him, and there it was, the smile Percy thought about every night before bed. Whether he wanted it or not, his brain just thought it was a wonderful idea to think about Oliver’s smile at night instead of Arithmancy formulas like, you know, a normal person.
He felt his traitor Weasley ears turn bright red as he did not expect Oliver to even acknowledge his presence, since he seemed so focused on giving a Quidditch lecture to the twins. Stammering a half-assed greeting, he scrambled to get up from the table, knocking the glass he had just drunk from. As the liquid poured over the table, a purple smoke emanating from it raised in the air, and Percy realized it was definitely not pumpkin juice.
George looked up at him, his eyes widening suddenly.
"Wait. Percy, did you just drink this?"
"Yes! I thought it was pumpkin juice. What did you put in my glass?!" He shrieked, his eyes going from Fred to George at speed-light.
"Nothing!" George replied with an indignant look, "And that wasn’t your glass, it was next to my textbook and it doesn’t even look like a glass from the Great Hall!"
Now that he mentioned it, it looked more like a vial than an actual glass. Fred apparently thought it was a good moment to pitch in.
"You were so engrossed in your book, you didn’t even pay attention to what you put in your mouth."
"Really, Perce."
"What would Dad think? That was our Potions homework."
"What."
Percy felt his stomach drop. That was it. His brothers had ended up killing him after all.
"Why would you leave that on the breakfast table?!" Oliver asked with absolute disbelief, Merlin bless him.
George opened his mouth to answer, but Percy suddenly felt very light-headed and swayed dangerously, barely catching himself up from toppling over his half-eaten breakfast.
"Am I going to die?" He asked desperately, trying to remember what potions they studied in Fifth Year at this time of the year.
"It’s fine," Fred said, and he had the audacity to roll his eyes. "You’re not going to die, it’s only a Sleeping Beauty Potion."
That’s even worse! Percy realized with utter horror, and almost wanted to scream. He tried to take a step back but couldn’t feel his legs and ended up stumbling over the bench. Just before he could faceplant the Gryffindor table, Oliver quickly moved forward and caught him in his arms. Suddenly, he couldn’t tell if the dizziness was from the potion or the strong hands he felt on his shoulders. Those bloody Keeper reflexes.
"Percy, are you all right?" Oliver frowned at him, looking worried and confused and adorable.
Percy blinked helplessly as he heard a commotion around them, people rising from their chairs to look at them and teachers coming their way. Everything was blurry except for Oliver’s face and his deep brown eyes. He focused on them, trying to put things back into focus, but nothing in his body seemed to work as usual. He struggled to even open his mouth to speak.
"I think I’m…" he tried, and then everything went black.
***
"I don’t get it."
"For the third time Wood, it was a Sleeping Beauty Potion." Fred stated, a slight hint of exasperation in his words that, ironically, sounded a bit like Percy. "In order to wake up, the person who drank the potion has to be kissed by the first person who talked to them."
"You talked to Percy right after he drank, so now you have to kiss him." George added matter-of-factly.
"It’s really not that confusing."
They seemed way too calm about the whole situation.
"What sort of potion is that?!" Oliver screeched, absolutely not calm and wondering if he could find two other Beaters before the upcomming Saturday if he strangled them on the spot.
Fred and George shared a look and shrugged at him.
"What do we know, we just do our homework."
"Like studious little students."
"We’re pretty good at Potions, you know."
"Of course you are." Oliver rolled his eyes, still fighting the urge to strangle them in order to distract himself from the fact that he might have to actually kiss Percy Weasley, his secret crush since Fifth Year. He wasn’t ready to unpack that.
Madam Pomfrey came out of her office holding a vial that he thought might be an antidote, but she simply shoved it in his hands like he was the man for the job.
"Mr Wood!" she exclaimed energetically, "Are you the one doing the kissing?"
"Wha— I… I mean…" Oliver stammered, "Is there really no other way?"
He looked at her helplessly, but she only gave him a deadpanned look.
"We could wait for it to pass," she sighed, "but it might take up to several weeks, even years, depending on the strength of the potion."
The twins perked up at that.
"Oliver, you know Percy would be pissed to miss weeks of classes."
"Yeah, you wouldn’t want to be responsible for that."
"You’re the ones who’d be responsible for that!" He snapped, but the twins couldn’t look less bothered.
"Eh, agree to disagree," they replied in unison, and Oliver felt his eye twitch.
"I’ll let you boys figure this out. I have to check on the Invigoration Draught I’m brewing, the cold season is approaching." Madam Pomfrey said, looking tired and too old for this crap. Honestly, Oliver couldn’t blame her. "Make him drink this when he wakes up, or he’ll feel very sleepy." She added, motioning to the vial, and then she was gone in a flurry of white robes.
Oliver looked at Percy’s soft features resting on the fluffy pillows of the infirmary’s bed. He looked younger without his glasses, as they were neatly folded on the bedside table, and his eyelashes seemed to brush against his cheeks in an oddly peaceful way. Percy rarely looked peaceful, but it was a good look on him, and Oliver kind of wanted to make sure he felt that way more often.
Being roommates with Percy since their First Year, they always had been on decently good terms, even though their interests diverged massively. Throughout the years, Oliver had learned that Percy could be funny, sweet, a very good tutor, and surprisingly knowledgeable about Quidditch. It was only in his Fifth Year that he realized his feelings for Percy were a little bit more than pure friendship. But his friend was dating Penelope Clearwater at the time, and Oliver had decided to shove his feelings in a little drawer at the back of his head. Plus, he didn’t need any distraction from Quidditch. Winning the Cup was the ultimate goal, and yearning over Percy was not going to help him accomplish that. He’d done a decent job at concealing his crush while still maintaining a good relationship with him, but he’d recently noticed that Percy seemed to avoid him, and that was quite worrying. He simply hoped this Sleeping Potion matter wouldn’t pour oil on the fire.
Oliver swallowed thickly, tightening his grip on the vial in his hand, and then turned to the twins who were both staring at him expectantly.
"Please save our brother?"
"… Fine," he sighed. He didn’t really have a choice anyway, did he? There was just one small problem. "Do you have to be here?"
"Well, we need to make sure you won’t take advantage of our poor Percy." George said casually, and Fred added, "Or that he doesn’t molest you in his sleep."
They both nodded vigorously with angelic smiles on their faces.
"Right." Oliver was not convinced.
He turned to Percy once more, straightened up his shirt and took a deep breath. Sitting on the bed, he put his arms on both sides of Percy’s head. He was feeling very odd, knowing that he was invading his privacy, and he couldn’t help but stress over what Percy would think of all this. Surely if this was the only way to wake him up, he’ll understand. Percy was a very intelligent person, he’ll be able to move on and Oliver could go back to his unrequited pining.
Of all the times he’d imagined his first kiss with Percy, that was definitely not one of the scenarios he pictured. And he definitely never imagined having the twins as an audience. Life was unfair like that apparently. With any luck, Percy wouldn’t even remember any of this. That’s what he told himself when he leaned in, feeling his heart about to burst out of his chest. As he touched Percy’s lips with his own, he couldn’t help but close his eyes for a split second, before he quickly got back up. He didn’t want to look like he was lingering.
But Percy still had his eyes closed, looking as peaceful as he was before.
"It’s not working," Oliver said, turning to the twins. They frowned at each other, then at Oliver himself.
"Come on Wood, have you never kissed someone?"
"Sure you can do better than that!"
Oliver glared at them, exhaling through his nose. He leaned in again, but was suddenly faced with bright, opened blue eyes, and he jumped off the bed like he’d been burned.
Percy blinked twice, turned his head to face Fred and George, and the peaceful look gradually morphed into an ominous death glare. The twins were already on their feet when he opened his mouth to speak.
"Go. Away."
They scrammed as if there they were being chased by a Blast-Ended Skrewt. The death glare then turned to Oliver, who barely repressed a quiver. Remembering Madam Pomfrey’s instructions, he handed the vial to Percy, hoping it would protect him from any verbal or physical assault he was about to throw at him.
"Here. You should drink this."
Percy grabbed the vial and downed its content, then proceeded to stare back at Oliver.
"Umm." he started, not knowing what to do with himself and very much wanting to scamper like the twins. "How are you feeling? Do you know what happened?"
"I figured it out." His voice was hoarse from the sleep, but his face was still pinched in a very I’m going to skin the next person who speaks-manner
"I had no choice," Oliver felt the need to explain himself, "they told me the first person who spoke to you had to kiss you or you’ll be out for weeks and…"
"Oliver." Percy cut him off. "Don’t you remember when we studied the Sleeping Beauty Potion in Fifth Year?"
"Errrrr…" He tried to recall the lessons about that particular potion, but all he could remember about his Fifth Year was being excited Harry Potter was on the Quidditch team and having a gay panic when he realized he had a crush on Percy. Also Professor Quirrell being You-Know-Who and all that, whatever happened at the end of the year.
"The kiss thing," Percy kept on in a flat voice, "it only works if at least one of the people actually likes the other. Romantically."
Oliver raised his eyebrows.
"Oh. Oh." Did Percy realize Oliver had a crush on him? Oh, this was bad.
But Percy only looked down, seeming weirdly embarrassed.
"I’m sorry," he said in a small voice that broke Oliver’s heart.
"What? Why?" he asked scandalized, not understanding what he’d done to upset his friend.
Percy suddenly looked up with an impatient look, and Oliver noticed his ears were bright red.
"Well? Haven’t you picked it up by now? It worked because I like you. I’m sorry you have to find out like this." His tone swelled up with anger. "Fred and George are going to pay for this…"
"What?" Oliver interrupted, "No, I like you. That’s why it must’ve worked." Oliver took a step towards the bed to get closer, but Percy didn’t even seem to have listened to him.
"No Oliver, I’m the one with a crush on you, this is all my fault."
He crossed his arms and looked away, clearly embarrassed but also very annoyed. The redness on his ears had spread to his cheeks, and the back of Oliver’s brain vaguely registered it as incredibly endearing, before he countered.
"Percy it’s my fault, I’m the one with—" but then he realized. "Wait, why are we arguing?!" he half-yelled hysterically, "If understand this correctly, I like you, you like me. We should be making out right now!"
Percy opened his mouth for a comeback, frowned, then stared at him with a confused look.
"Oh…" He said when the idea finally seemed to reach his brain. To be fair to him, he had just been knocked out by a sleeping potion. "Right…" his confused expression was slowly replaced with a shy, pleased smile. "Wait. Are you sure?"
"Am I sure that I like you? I’m pretty sure, yes." Oliver scoffed. When had he ever said something he wasn’t sure of? Being a Quidditch Captain meant being confident in your decisions and sticking to them.
"Really?" Percy’s smile still looked a little bit incredulous.
Oliver sat back on the bed with a huff and shifted closer, catching one of Percy’s hands in his and squeezing it for emphasis.
"Percy, I’ve been pining over you since you bullied me into studying for the O.W.L.s in Fifth Year. How about I kiss you for real this time, so I can prove it to you?"
"I… Yes, I mean. If you’re sure you-"
Oliver only heard « yes », and he promptly cut him off after that, leaning in once again for a kiss, even pushing his luck in bringing his hand to Percy’s cheek. He didn’t hesitate to close his eyes this time, and he didn’t hesitate to linger. When he felt Percy’s lips earnestly press against his, he decided that that would be what they would call their first kiss. You know, when they would tell the story at their wedding and all.
When they parted, Oliver couldn’t help but let a goofy smile spread on his face. He was glad to see that Percy was mirroring his expression.
"Since I bullied you into studying, then?" he said teasingly.
"I might have a thing for that bossy Prefect voice of yours," Oliver admitted shamelessly, glad he could finally say that out loud.
Percy raised his eyebrows.
"Interesting," he said, surprise mixing with a tone of approval. His blush was deepening and Oliver wanted to see if he could make it any worse.
"We should kiss again. You know. So you can make sure I really really like you."
"Right, of course. That makes sense." A little bit more and Oliver was sure he would be able to see smoke coming out of his ears.
"And then you can tell me for how long you’ve been liking me so much."
"I can tell you right now," he said, looking at him dead in the eye and all trace of embarrassment gone, "Last year, you stayed with me when my sister was kidnapped in the Chamber of Secrets and I was waiting for my parents to arrive. That was very nice of you."
Now it was Oliver’s turn to feel his cheeks and neck flush helplessly. At that time, he hadn’t meant to act nice in a special way. He’d just wanted to make sure Percy was okay and didn’t stay by himself while he was waiting.
"Then," Percy added, "after that, I realized that you were extremely… well-built." He laid a hand on Oliver’s upper arm and the hint of a playful smile peered on his lips.
"I see, so you’re just in it for my body."
"Exactly."
He shrugged.
"Fine with me."
With a chuckle, Percy grabbed the back of his neck and drew him closer, and on his lips, Oliver could feel the shadow of his smile.