Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The war had ended and everything was going great. Fine. Perfect even!

They had lost a lot of good people during the war though. Like Professor Lupin and Tonks. Colin Creevey and Lavender Brown.

Percy shook his head, it would do no good to dwell on those names. Two years had passed since then, everyone else had moved on. Fred had just narrowly survived, being in a coma for six months before he woke up. But he was okay now.

And yet…he almost wasn’t. He was almost just another name that would have been circling around the survivors' heads. And it would’ve been Percy’s fault.

He was the one who made that stupid joke. He was the one who distracted his brother. He—he needed to stop thinking about it. His thoughts were going to that dark place again and his friends would have his head if they knew what he was thinking.

Percy chews on his bottom lip for a second—a nervous habit he had picked up that Oliver pointed out to him, the only person who paid enough attention to him to even know he had nervous habits—before pulling out a piece of parchment paper and a quill.

He could write to his friends, tell them he needed some time away from the Burrow, where Molly had insisted the entire family stay for the holiday. He couldn’t really blame her though. She had almost lost a child during the war.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like his family. On the contrary, he loved them. He loved them enough to break ties because that was what was safer for them. But of course they didn’t see it that way.

And yes, he had come back and joined them for the final fight, but neither side apologized for their actions. Percy because he had nothing to apologize for and the others because they didn’t know the full story.

Of course, part of that was Percy’s own fault, but he knew they wouldn’t believe him if he ever did tell them. They still treat him as though he will turn his back on them at any second. As though he was a traitor. They still treat him like he is never there, and he should have been used to that by now, used to feeling unseen. Because that was how he felt his entire life growing up.

But Fred had almost died.

He wanted to hold tight to his siblings so badly, to experience the love that they all showed each other.

But he couldn’t. Because they didn’t trust him. Or even believe in him. And he thought that staying here for Christmas would help alleviate some of the tension but it didn’t. Because they never even tried.

He had always been the odd one out, and now that they were all grown up with their own jobs, it was obvious that he would never have a true place in the family. No matter how much the thought hurt.

So he just couldn’t stay in this house that never once felt like a home to him for Christmas, which was his least favorite holiday already, and just pretend like he was fine with being the forgotten Weasley. Again.

He needed to get away.

He finished off the four letters, signing them and folding them up nicely, and was just about to grab Hermes from his cage when it happened.

A large BOOM echoed and the house shook, dust falling from the rafters and mice scurrying away.

Percy darted from his seat, halfway down the stairs before he realized that he had left his wand on his bedside table.

Just as he was about to go back up to grab it, another BOOM sounded, the house shaking again, and he heard a sharp shriek that sounded exactly like Ginny.

Following it were multiple shouts of shock or hurt, all sounding like his family, and without a thought he sprinted the rest of the way down the stairs and onto the lawn. The snow was ice cold on his bare feet but he barely felt it because standing in front of the house, facing down his family, was a death eater.

He couldn’t tell which one, the stupid mask doing its job in blocking their features, but it was someone powerful.

So powerful that his family was already struggling. Ginny’s arm was drenched in her blood, her face a pale white color that reminded Percy terribly of her experiences during her first year of Hogwarts.

Ron’s left foot was bent at a horrible angle and Charlie was crouched in front of him protectively, a deep slash on his forehead making blood drip into his eyes.

George had a cut dangerously close to his heart but he stood strong in front of his twin, who’s injury during the war had prevented him from being able to actually use magic ever again.

Bill seemed the least hurt among his siblings, and he stood protectively in front of the group, but Percy saw how he was favoring his right leg, and how his left arm hung limply by his side.

Surrounding them were the bodies of at least three other death eaters and Percy had only a second to wonder how he had just heard them fighting.

Only a split second because the death eater that was floating in the air had sent a spell towards where his family was standing on the ground.

Percy had never seen a spell like that but he had no time to think before he apparated from his spot directly in front of his family.

He heard the loud shout of ‘No!’ from Bill, and the horrified shouts of ‘Percy!’ from the rest of his siblings before the spell hit him directly in the chest, blasting him backwards.

He landed on his back in the middle of the family and saw tendrils of green reaching out from his body, grabbing those around him and pulling, before the tendrils in his head grabbed his own consciousness and yanked it harshly.

His last thought before everything went black was ‘I fucking hate Christmas.’

Chapter Text

Fred jerked into a sitting position with a gasp, a shout of ‘Percy!’ escaping his mouth. His shout roused the rest of the family, all of them jerking up and to their feet in a panic, eyes searching for the third eldest Weasley.

Fred stumbled to his feet a moment after them all, allowing only a second to question how he was able to move fluidly without any pain before he shoved that thought to the back of his mind. That didn’t matter right now.

It took only seconds for the family to realize Percy wasn’t with them. A record for them, Fred thought bitterly. After the war, after his coma, his views on his third eldest brother had changed drastically.

He had said that he didn’t remember being in a coma, that he didn’t hear anything any of them had said. That was a big fat lie. 

He heard a lot. But he kept that quiet because he saw Percy’s face when the doctor mentioned he might have heard everything that happened. Because Percy was there almost every day, once the rest of the family cleared out. And he talked. He talked a lot.

He talked about his time at Hogwarts, he talked about his job at the ministry, he talked about his cats back at his apartment. But more importantly, he talked about his feelings. He talked about how sorry he was for leaving the family, but that he had to for their protection. He talked about how he felt when he was pushed aside. He talked about how he wished it was him who was injured, not Fred.

So Fred kept quiet. He kept silent because Percy looked terrified that Fred might have heard everything he had said. But he became more aware of his surroundings, and his siblings' feelings after that. Especially Percy’s. And in doing so he realized that Percy was still being left out. Like before the war. And he was the only one who even noticed.

But he had no time to focus on that. 

“Where are we?” Ginny asked, looking over her once injured arm cautiously. It was completely healed.

In fact, all of their injuries were healed, including George’s ear.

Bill frowns, mind running through all the types of spells he knew. “That spell the death eater fired at…” he pauses for a second. Because it was fired at him first. Yet Percy had…he clears his throat, picking up where he left off. “I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. It could be an ancient spell found in really old books or made specifically by the person. That just makes it even harder to figure out how we get out of…wherever this place is.”

The others all nod, deciding to ignore the pause in the beginning of his statement.

“But then where’s Percy?” Ginny asks, worried for her brother.

“Yeah, he’s the one who got hit with the spell, so why are we here and he’s not?” Ron wonders, voice coming out a little bit harsher than he had intended.

Charlie crosses his arms as he asks, “did anyone else feel tendrils or something drag them somewhere before everything went dark?”

Everyone nods in agreement before Fred lets out a gasp. Instantly everyone whips around to look at him in concern, thinking something was wrong, but he just stared back with wide eyes.

“When I was in my coma, Percy talked about—”

“Wait I thought you couldn’t hear anything from when you were in a coma,” George butted in, staring at his twin in betrayal.

Fred grits his teeth, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Obviously I lied.”

“Why?” Ron asked.

“That’s not important right now! What’s important is that Percy was talking about this new spell he heard the death eaters had made! When hit with the spell, the person’s consciousness is sent into their memories and trapped in one of them. Anyone in the vicinity of that person is also dragged into their mind. He said that the ministry believed Death Eaters were using it as a new way of getting information from their targets. Because the memories were clear and there would be no information missing. The only way out was to go through all of the memories lined up and then find the person!” When Fred finished talking, he felt slightly out of breath. He was honestly surprised he had remembered all of that.

“How would he know the spells death eaters had made?” Ginny asked. She was genuinely curious, but she winced as her question came out slightly accusatory.

Fred crosses his arms uncomfortably, “He never told me how he knew, just that he knew.” Another lie. But it wasn’t his story to tell. Either Percy would tell them later or they would find out…if this spell was true.

“That explains the tendrils we felt…” Bill said after a moment of silence, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the thought of being in his younger brother’s mind.

“If we are in Percy’s mind then why is it empty?” George asks. 

Except, as soon as he had asked that the plain gray room they seemed to be in shimmered and slowly changed into a familiar room. Percy’s room at the Burrow. 

It was cluttered, nothing like how the siblings remembered it being whenever they got a glimpse into it. It was always organized and spotless.

But here, it was, quite frankly, a mess. Clothes were strewn about on the floor, quills and parchment were littered everywhere.

The only clean space was the desk with a singular book on it. So naturally, their attention was drawn towards it.

The book was a dark green in color, with silver lining and silver words. 

The Memories of Percival Ignatius Weasley

“Why is it in Slytherin colors?” George mutters, laughing at the sharp elbow to his side by Ginny. “Relax, it was a joke. I have a couple Slytherin friends now that the war’s over.”

Bill gently separates the two before saying, “I think what George meant was that why those colors for Percy’s memories specifically. It wasn’t a jab towards Slytherins.”

George nods smugly, sticking his tongue out at his sister who rolls her eyes in response.

“Should we open it?” Ron asks, peering at it from the side as if he could read between the pages.

They all share a look before Bill grabs the cover and lifts it.

Chapter Text

There was a pulling sensation as the surroundings around them spun into a blur before clearing suddenly. 

They were still in Percy’s room, except it looked clean once again and slightly different than they were used to.

His Hogwarts trunk was open and laying near the door, clothes folded neatly and books stacked perfectly. A pair of robes hung on the wall and a wand was placed perfectly on the bedside table. There was a cage near the bookshelf, holding a familiar rat.

Ron shuddered as he stared at the rat. “I kind of forgot Percy had him before me.”

Ginny rubs her brother’s shoulder for a form of comfort and he gives her a grateful smile before turning back to observe the room again. 

“So…it’s Percy’s room…but where is he? And what’s the timeline?” George asks, flopping on the bed with a huff, kicking at Charlie who sat next to him.

Bill opens his mouth to answer but he’s interrupted by the door banging open. Ron lets out a high pitched shriek and George tumbles off the bed with a thud.

Percy, an eleven year old Percy, walked over to the rats cage, a large grin on his face.

Fred lets out a shudder as the memory version of his brother walks right through him and he quickly gets out of any other potential path Percy would take.

Bill and Charlie stare wide eyed at the young Percy. They had forgotten how…small…he was when he was eleven.

“At least we know what the timeline is at least,” Ginny mutters, also wide eyed as she watches her older brother. He was shorter than her right now!

“Scabbers, can you believe it!” Percy shouts, lifting the rat up and spinning around. “We’re going to Hogwarts tomorrow!” He places a small peck on the rat's forehead before rushing over and face planting on his bed.

Ron gags almost automatically, remembering when he had also acted like that with the rat.

His siblings send pitying looks, remembering how disgusted Ron was once he found out who Scabbers actually was.

Bill frowns, “did…did anyone check in with Percy? I mean…he had Scabbers for longer.”

There was guilty silence from the siblings as they all shared looks. No, they hadn’t checked in with him. They hadn’t made sure he was okay with the revelation that his own pet was a grown man who basically helped kill Harry’s parents.

Before any of them could say anything, either to defend themselves or to offer an apology, Percy turns over on his bed.

He places Scabbers on his chest, using one finger to rub the animal’s head as he stares up at his ceiling, chewing on his bottom lip.

The siblings opt to ignore the rat for the time being, moving closer to their brother on the bed so they don’t miss anything.

“What house do you think I’ll be in?” Percy whispers to the rat. Scabbers tilts his head, blinking at Percy who chuckles. “Yeah I know, stupid question. I’ll probably be Gryffindor like Bill and Charlie.”

“Of course he’ll be Gryffindor!” Ron says proudly. Ginny frowns, looking at the smaller version of her older brother. Why would he be worried about what house he was in? 

He’s silent for a moment as he continues looking up, before he lets out a sigh and picks Scabbers up, placing him on the bedside table. He turns on his side, looking at the rat with a fond look as the animal curls up in a ball against the alarm clock.

Percy blinks a couple times before burying his head in his pillow, his arms coming up to hug the object tightly. “I hope it’s Gryffindor. I’m already the black sheep of the family for some reason, being in a different house would just make it worse.” 

His voice is muffled by the pillow but his siblings hear it anyway. Bill adjusts his position slightly in shock, Percy was already feeling like this when he was eleven!?

“Why would he say he’s the black sheep? He’s eleven, he hadn’t gotten his pratty personality yet,” George says with an eye roll.

Fred crosses his arms, staring at his brother with worry. “He…” Fred clears his throat, conscious of all his siblings looking at him with their utmost attention. He needed to say this correctly so they understood. “He had mentioned…uhm…during my time in the coma, that he always felt left out growing up. Because Bill and Charlie were closer in age and both ‘rebels’ they hung out more. And…I mean…George and I obviously hung out a lot. Ron and Ginny were only a year apart and Ginny preferred the type of stuff that Ron liked compared to what Percy liked to do. He said that he just felt…there. Not a part of anything and kind of…in the background.”

There was silence after his words and Fred hoped that meant they were thinking about what he had said and not just wondering how to change the topic.

“I…didn’t realize he felt like that,” Bill said suddenly, eyes downcast. He should have realized, He was the eldest sibling, but he just...hadn't.

Their surroundings blurred, stopping any conversation they were about to have as they wondered what was happening.

The space around them cleared to show Percy following a younger Bill and Charlie onto the train.

“So…where are we going to sit?” Percy asks, dragging his luggage behind him. Bill and Charlie both share a look before Charlie turns around with a faux upset look.

Bill and Charlie both flinch, now they felt like jerks doing this. The other siblings stare at them in confusion which quickly turns into shock as the memory continues.

“Actually, Perce, first years aren’t allowed to sit with students in the years above them. You have to find a place with another first year.”

“What the hell!” Ginny shouts. “That’s such a mean thing to do!”

“I know, I know!” Bill says, hands out in a placating gesture. “I get that now. But there I’m sixteen and no sixteen year old wants an eleven year old following them around on the train to Hogwarts .”

Ginny crosses her arms, “Percy let me sit with him my first year. And he had prefect duties to do.”

“Yeah but he’s…Percy,” Charlie mutters. “He doesn’t have…”

Ginny rolls her eyes. “What? Doesn’t have what? Friends? Because I distinctly remember Oliver Wood sitting with us. Along with a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. And all four of them seemed to be pretty good friends.”

Bill sighs, “Look, we know what we did was mean but it’s in the past, there's nothing we can do now.”

Percy furrows his eyes, “I don’t remember reading about that in-”

“It’s one of the newer rules!” Bill interjects, ruffling Percy’s hair. “Now Charlie and I are going to find our friends, you go find someplace to sit!”

“I wonder how heartbroken he was after finding out it wasn’t a new rule,” Fred mutters, rubbing salt into the wound and taking slight glee in the looks on his brother’s faces at his words.

The two are gone before Percy can say anything and he huffs, rolling his eyes before muttering, “if you didn't want to sit with me you could have just said so. No need to make something up to try and not hurt my feelings, I’m not an idiot,” under his breath.

If anything, that just made Bill and Charlie feel even more guilty. He knew and he didn’t even tell mom or dad that they had just left him on the Hogwarts Express?

George frowns, the fact that he wasn’t even heartbroken or surprised was…painful.

He looks down at the ground, starting forwards before bumping into someone, knocking both of them to the ground.

The younger siblings stifled laughs as both Bill and Charlie had jerked forward like they could catch him when he fell. Instead they had ended up knocking into each other.

Percy sits up, rubbing his head and fixing his glasses, looking over at the older Slytherin girl he had bumped into. “Apologies, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The Slytherin girl scoffs, getting up and pushing Percy back to the ground as he tries to get up. “Clearly. Your glasses look about ready to fall apart. Do you really not have enough money to buy a new pair? How pathetic.” 

Charlie frowns at the scene, if he and Bill had stayed with Percy then this wouldn’t have happened. Percy wouldn’t have been picked on during his first few minutes of going to Hogwarts.

She stalks away after that and Percy just stares after her with his head tilted in slight confusion. 

“Why does he look confused?” Ron asks. If it was him, he would have been glaring at that girl. He would have been pissed off. Not confused

A young boy rushes over to him, extending a hand to help him up, which Percy takes gratefully. “Are you okay? She was such a jerk.”

“Oh my god is that Oliver!?” The twins shout in shock. “He looks so young!”

Percy brushes himself off, picking up his trunk again. “I’m fine, and it was my fault anyways. I should have been paying attention to where I was going.”

The boy shakes his head, “Eh, she still didn’t have to say all that mean stuff about you. Oh! Do you need a place to sit? You can join me, there’s no one else in there.”

The boy leads Percy to an empty cabin as Percy mouths, ‘mean?’ in confusion.

“Does he seriously not realize that she was bullying him?” Bill asks in confusion. If he didn’t realize that then…had he been bullied during his years at Hogwarts without even realizing?

“But how doesn’t he get it?” Ron asks.

“Percy’s never been the best at…understanding social cues,” Charlie explains.

“I’m Oliver, by the way. Oliver Wood! What’s your name?”

“Oh! I’m Percival Weasley. But please just call me Percy,” the redhead responds, setting his trunk down and sitting across from Oliver.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Percy! So are you a half-blood, pureblood, or muggleborn?”

“Pureblood,” Percy responds. “I’m guessing you’re not muggleborn if you know those terms?”

Oliver shakes his head with a laugh, “Nope! I’m a half-blood. My mum's a witch and my dad knew she was a witch since they met, no idea how though. But she uses magic in the house all the time and all those magic terms as well.”

As the two talk, the scene changes again to show the Great Hall. Oliver and Percy are standing side by side, still whispering to each other, as McGonagall starts calling names out.

“I never realized they were that close before getting sorted,” Ginny mutters. “I thought they would have become friends after having to share a dorm for a couple rooms. Their personalities are completely different.”

Fred and George both shrug, “It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries. How they haven’t killed each other yet.”

“Wesley, Percival!”

Percy stiffens as his name is called out. 

Oliver grabs his arm before he can go up, “Hey, uhm…promise to still talk no matter what house we get?”

“Aww, he’s being clingy,” Charlie says with a grin. He was glad that Oliver and Percy had stayed friends throughout all those years, they were good for each other.

Percy’s eyes widen slightly at the prospect of someone wanting to stay friends before nodding with a small smile.

He lets out a deep breath as he sits down on the chair.

As the sorting hat is placed on his head, the sibling’s surroundings go pitch black, shouts of shock come from all of them before a light appears in front of them, showing the sorting hat on a stool, Percy standing in front of it.

“Is this…in his head?” George asks with wide eyes

“We’re in Percy's head, while already in his head?” Ron mutters, eyes going crossed as he tries to make sense of that thought.

“I think this will show us the conversation Percy had with the hat,” Ginny mutters.

“Oh good, I’ve always wanted to know what took him so long. It was like 10 minutes until he was sorted,” Bill says in exasperation.

“It was five,” Charlie says, rolling his eyes.

“Hmmm, Percival Weasley. You have a very curious mind.”

Percy chews his bottom lip nervously. “Curious as in, definitely a Gryffindor?”

“Obviously he’s a Gryffindor,” Ron mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Wow, Ronniekins! How’d you know?” George mutters teasingly. Prompting a ‘shut up’ from the other.

The hat lets out a laugh, “You do have some qualities of a Gryffindor. You have a lot of determination. Determination to make it into the Ministry and to make your family proud.”

Percy nods his head with a smile, but the smile drops as the hat keeps talking.

“However, you also are filled with curiosity about everything around you and you have the strong urge to learn. Those are very strong qualities for a Ravenclaw.”

“I knew it was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!” Charlie shouts, startling the rest of the siblings. “I told you Bill! I told you that there was a possibility he was being sorted into Ravenclaw. You called me crazy but I was right! I was RIGHT! WHO’S THE CRAZY ONE NOW!?”

“Still you,” Bill mutters as the rest of the siblings stare at Charlie with wide eyes.

“So…it’s…50/50 right? Cause if it’s 50/50 then you have to take my opinion into account and-”

“But you also possess strong loyalty to those you care about and you’re an extremely hard worker. Those are good qualities every Hufflepuff possesses.”

Charlie stops his gloating. “Wait…he could've been a Hufflepuff as well?”

“That’s three out of the four houses!” George shouts in shock.

“Wow, George, really putting those math skills to use,” Fred mutters teasingly, laughing as George lightly punches him in the arm. But his laugh is hollow because he knows what’s coming next. And while the family's views have changed he still didn’t know how they would take this. He was worried for Percy.

Percy keeps chewing his bottom lip as his hands fidget with his shirt. “So…so you have to choose between those three houses?”

“Why does he look so nervous?” Ginny asks, heart dropping as she already knew the answer. Because he knew that it wasn’t just those three houses, just like she knew. Her mother always said how she was smart, just like Percy. So if she could figure it out, from the colors of the book back at the beginning to the reaction he was having then he also had to have figured it out.

The sorting hat laughs again. “Oh no, while you possess all those qualities, they aren’t your most prominent ones. No, the most prominent qualities that you have-”

“Wait…what does the hat mean?” Ron asks.

Percy closes his eyes, looking down. He already knew what the sorting hat was going to say.

“-are your ambition, leadership, and cunning personality. These qualities make-”

The siblings go silent as the hat lists off the three traits, two in knowing silence but the others in shock.

“A Slytherin,” Percy whispers, still staring at his feet as tears fill his eyes.

Fred grimaces, hating how hollow Percy’s voice had sounded. Percy, this Percy, had known the entire time he might have been a Slytherin. That was why he was so nervous the night before.

“Wait…I don’t understand,” Ron starts before he’s interrupted by Ginny. “What don’t you understand Ronald? How Percy's a Slytherin? Or if that’s why he left? Because…what…you think he’s evil because he was supposed to be in Slytherin.”

“What!?” Ron shouts in shock, eyes wide at the accusation from his sister. “I don’t-”

“Percy’s not evil! Not everyone in Slytherin is evil!” Fred shouts, glaring at Ron.

“I didn't say tha-”

“Yeah, so what if Perce was supposed to be in Slytherin, he’s still annoying prat Percy regardless of his house,” George adds on with his arms crossed.

“I DON’T CARE THAT PERCY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN SLYTHERIN! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN SLYTHERIN!” Ron finally shouts, hands clenched into fists. “If you would just let me finish my sentence for Merlin’s sake!”

He starts pacing, ignoring the looks of surprise from his siblings. “Honestly, do you just assume the worst everytime I open my mouth or what? I was saying that I didn’t understand how he ended up in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. I mean, I ended up in Gryffindor because it was 50/50 for me so the sorting hat let me choose but in the memory it said that while Percy possessed the traits of all four houses, the ones of Slytherin were more influential to his personality. So I was just wondering how he got put into Gryffindor instead.”

At the end of his rant he looks back at his siblings who were all staring at him with open mouths and guilty expressions.

“Sorry, Ron,” Ginny mutters. “I was just…I just didn’t want anyone badmouthing Percy just because of the house he was supposed to be in I guess.”

“I’m sorry too,” Fred muttered. “I was nervous about all your guys’ reactions to this so I guess I just snapped without giving you a chance to explain yourself.”

At their confused glances he explains, “Perce talked about it during my coma…”

Bill looks over at Ron, “You were supposed to be in Slytherin?”

Ron shrugs, “This isn’t about me, this is about Percy. I’ll tell you guys more if we ever get out of here.”

“Okay,” Charlie says, hand on his shoulder. He then turns to look at the others, “I guess this explains the color of his memory book.”

Ginny nods, “Yeah. But now I want to watch the rest of this memory and figure out how he was put into Gryffindor still.”

“Yes so you’re house will be-”

“NO!” Percy shouts, finally looking up at the sorting hat, hands clenched into fists by his side. “You can’t put me into Slytherin!”

“Well, that’s why then,” George responds. “Right? Because if you ask the sorting hat not to, it won’t!”

Ron frowns, “No…cause I know for a fact that Neville asked the sorting hat not to be sorted into Gryffindor yet he still was. Because he had all the traits of one. Just like Percy has all the traits of a Slytherin. So…it has to be for a different reason.”

“When did you get so smart?” Ginny asks with a sly grin, nudging him to show that she wasn’t being mean.

Ron snorts, “Guess Hermione’s rubbing off on me.”

“Why not? You possess all the traits of one.”

“Yes, but you said it yourself, I also possess the traits of any of the other houses. So you can put me into one of those instead.”

The sorting hats tone changed slightly, “And why don’t you want to be a Slytherin? Because they’re evil?”

“Why does the sorting hat sound so offended?” Bill asks in slight confusion.

Fred gasps, “Was the sorting hat a Slytherin!?”

“Wow, you’ve cracked the case Fred,” George responds seriously, nodding his head. “Well done.”

“I have always wanted to be a detective,” Fred mutters thoughtfully, hand on his chin, as the others roll their eyes fondly.

“What?” Percy asks, tone laced with disbelief. “No! Slytherins aren’t evil. It’s the people themselves who are evil. There have probably been plenty of evil Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws. Besides, Merlin himself was a Slytherin. I know a lot of Slytherins get a bad rep because of the…the bigoted, small minded view of other wizarding families but I’ve never believed that myself.”

“Wow,” Charlie mutters with wide eyes. “That…is an extremely mature outlook for an eleven year old.”

“That’s Percy for you,” Bill says with a grin, arm slung over the second eldest’s shoulder. “Our little nerd.”

The sorting hat is silent for a moment before responding. “Then why don’t you wish to be a Slytherin?”

“Because…my entire family is expecting me to be Gryffindor. I’m already different from them all, being in a different house would just make that worse and….if the other house is Slytherin…” Percy trails off as a tear slides down his cheek.

Bill’s grin fades, face going pale again. Percy was crying…because he was scared of how his family would react? Of how he would react?

“That’s…that’s…that’s bullshit!” Ginny shouts, fighting back her own tears. “Why would he think that we wouldn’t care for him just because he’s a Slytherin!?”

Ron smiles sadly at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Well, when everyone’s expecting you to be a certain thing and act a certain way then the idea of having to be different…can be terrifying. Especially for an eleven year old who already feels apart from his family.”

“Is that why you asked to be a Gryffindor?” Charlie asks quietly.

Ron shrugs, “Wouldn’t you have asked the same? I mean wouldn’t any of us? Ask to be in Gryffindor because that’s what our family always is?”

There’s a moment of silence before everyone voices their agreement. 

Ron nods, “And then think of Percy, who already feels left out. Honestly, I don’t blame him for being terrified of the prospect of being in Slytherin. I was and I didn’t even feel that out of place in the family.”

There’s more silence as Ron’s words sink in.

Bill groans, pulling Ron into a hug. “When did you get so wise!? I'm supposed to be the older, all-knowing sibling!”

“Pretty sure that’s Percy’s job,” George mutters with a small grin.

When he speaks again, his voice is shaky. “I want to be in Gryffindor. I know that me asking to be in Gryffindor because I’m scared of my family's reaction is the opposite of what a Gryffindor should be but…please.” His voice breaks on the last word and he brings his hand up to wipe away the tear.

The siblings all watch the scene in silence, not knowing what to say. What could they say? Here was their brother, someone who seemed to ever let anything get to him, breaking down over what house he was supposed to be in.

“Admitting that you’re afraid, is one of the bravest things a person can do.”

The siblings are thrown back into the Great Hall as the sorting hat shouts, “GRYFFINDOR!”

“So that’s how he did it,” Ron mutters.

“What? Let the Gryffindor attitude overtake the Slytherin one?” Charlie asks.

Ginny rolls her eyes, “No, idiot. He’s still more Slytherin than Gryffindor, he just made the sorting hat feel sorry for him.”

“Wait, really? But then why did the sorting hat say that?” George asks.

“Because the sorting hat isn’t supposed to take the person’s feelings into account,” Ginny explains, “unless it’s 50/50,” she adds with a look over at Ron. “So, while Percy admitting he was scared was a brave thing to do as the sorting hat said, it still didn’t fully change his personality. It just showed the hat that he did still have the qualities of a Gryffindor while also making the hat feel bad for him.”

Bill sniffs, “Why are the two youngest the smartest? What happened to us, Charlie?”

“Oh shut up.”

Percy gets up and walks to a seat at the table, smiling as Bill and Charlie cheer for him as loudly as possible. Bill ruffles his hair as he sits and Charlie lightly punches his shoulder. “Knew you’d be a Gryffindor,” he whispers as Oliver is called up.

“Uhhuh, sure you did,” Fred mutters, rolling his eyes teasingly.

Charlie pouts, “I was still 25% right about my guess though!”

“I don’t think your math is right.”

“Shut up Bill!”

“You did not, you started getting worried the longer it took,” Bill laughed, hitting the back of Charlie’s head.

Charlie splutters in response but Percy doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation, chewing his bottom lip nervously as he waits for Oliver to get sorted. 

He lets out a breath of relief and claps loudly as Oliver heads over to sit in the spot next to him, nudging his shoulder with a large grin.

The surroundings around them blur again as time speeds up to show Percy sitting on a bed in the dorm room. Him and Oliver are the only ones in there.

“Why are we the only two in here again?” Percy asks. The rest of the night had been a blur for him.

“I forgot those two shared a dorm by themselves,” Charlie mutters.

“Probably drove each other up the wall,” George laughs.

Oliver flops down on his bed on his back, spread eagle. Despite there being three other beds in the dorm, the two had chosen the ones right next to each other.

Ginny smirks, it seems they were already toxically codependent the first night they met. She couldn’t wait to see the reaction of the rest of the family when they realized how deep their friendship actually was.

“Apparently there were extra boys in Gryffindor than usual and since we were the last two sorted we got the extra room,” Oliver explains.

Percy nods, pulling his legs close to his chest, arms wrapped around them. “Why…uh…why do you think that is?”

“Honestly? I think it was because two first years were supposed to be in a different house, but then they convinced the hat to put them in Gryffindor,” Oliver says, rolling onto his side to look at Percy.

“Damn, Ollie got it right on the money,” Fred says with wide eyes. 

“Okay, but then who would the other boy be?” Ron asks.

Ginny rolls her eyes. Why were they all idiots?

“Oh,” Percy mutters, tightening his grip around his legs.

“I was supposed to be in…uh…Ravenclaw,” Oliver says after a moment of silence.

George chokes on his next breath. “WHAT!?”

“There’s no way!” Fred shouts.

Percy fixes him with a flat stare. “Really? You, in Ravenclaw?”

“Even Percy doesn’t believe it!” Ron says, arms in the air.

“Yes! Honestly. Apparently drawing and thinking up strategies for sports plays is a smart person thing. Need a lot of emotional intelligence for that I guess,” Oliver explains with a smile. “I just asked to be in Gryffindor so that I’d get to hang out with you.”

“Wait, why is that actually so sweet,” Charlie asks, staring at the two with a fond look. He remembered when Oliver joined the team as a second year. Percy was in the stands during every game. That first game, when Oliver took a bludger to the head, Percy was the first person on the pitch at his side.

Ginny muffles her snort. Soon. The memories would hopefully show them all soon. 

Percy chuckles, looking down at his feet. “Well I was…also supposed to be in a different house.”

“Wait, seriously!?”

“He told Oliver, the biggest hater of Slytherin? Really?” Bill asks in shock.

“Pretty sure he only hated Flint,” George explains.

Fred shakes his head, if only they knew.

“Yeah..uhm…sorting hat said I had the qualities of…all of them,” Percy mutters, going a bit quiet at the end.

“Even Slytherin?” Oliver asks, voice teasing.

Percy’s tongue darts out to lick his lips nervously as he sniffs quietly. “I…the sorting hat said that…uhm…Slytherin. I was supposed to be in Slytherin.”

The room goes quiet and after a moment Percy lets out a choked off sob. His hand came up to cover his mouth as he buried his face in his arms.

Bill takes a step forward, wanting to comfort his brother but stops, remembering that this was a memory. That he couldn’t. He clenches his hand into fists instead.

“I-I’m sorry…I…Slytherins they…they aren’t all evil, it’s just a stupid misconception that every person in Slytherin is going to end up evil but that’s not true. And I…I just didn’t want to disappoint my family so I asked for Gryffindor instead and…I…I’m sorry…”

“Why is he apologizing?” Charlie whispers, not wanting to watch the scene but also unable to look away.

“Because he’s afraid that Oliver, his first friend, is going to hate him. Because of the…in Percy’s words…stupid misconceptions of the wizarding world,” Ginny says sadly.

Oliver jumps off his bed and sits down next to Percy, wrapping his arms around him gently and letting the boy bury his face in his shoulder.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay. My mum always hated that rumor so I never believed that Slytherins were always evil and Gryffindors were always good. Okay? It’s okay,” Oliver mutters.

“Huh, I didn’t know that about him,” George mutters to Fred.

“Yeah, kind of hard to believe that after having to spend Quidditch games with him every year,” Fred responds with a grin.

The two sit in silence as Percy composes himself. He sits up, still sniffling slightly as he takes off his glasses and rubs at his eyes.

“S-sorry…guess I’ve been holding that in for a while,” he mutters sheepishly.

“It’s alright,” Oliver responds, hand still on Percy’s back. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t going to be sorted into Ravenclaw, I made that up.”

“I KNEW IT WAS A LIE!” George shouts gleefully. Ginny smacks him for startling her.

At Percy’s incredulous look Oliver quickly clears up, “I was supposed to be Slytherin as well. But…I didn’t know your view on them and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Not very brave of me, huh?”

“WHAT!?”

Bill smacks his forehead, “Oh my god it was so obvious! Gryffindor had two extra first years but Slytherin had two less! How did no one put that together!?”

“Who’s gonna believe that two Gryffindor’s were supposed to be in Slytherin?” Charlie says.

Percy snorts, putting his glasses back on. “I don’t know, saying you were supposed to be Ravenclaw was a pretty brave thing to do.”

“Oh my god, was that a joke!?” George yelps in shock.

“Oi!”

The siblings go silent as the scenery around them changes back to the cluttered version of Percy’s room. The book shuts itself with a loud SNAP .

Added onto the desk was a picture of Percy and Oliver when they were eleven. They had somehow gotten a hold of Slytherin scarves, and they were wearing them in the picture on top of their Gryffindor robes. It was a loop of Percy jumping on Oliver’s back with a large grin, which quickly fades into a mute shout as Oliver loses his balance and falls into a pile of snow, Percy still on top of him.

Chapter Text

“That’s a cute picture,” Ginny says, running her hand overtop of it. “I wonder where they got those scarves though.”

Charlie gasps, “ They  were the two who stole the scarves!? Merlin’s beard! I spent ages trying to track the thieves down!”

“Hold up, Percy, our Percy, stole something? From another house?” Ron asks with wide eyes.

Ginny shrugs, “Everyone goes through a rebellious phase at some point in their lives.”

“It’s PERCY!”

“To be fair, we’re all kind of learning that we…don’t really know him as well as we thought we did,” Bill says. 

Fred sighs, shoving books off of the bed and flopping down on it. “That was only the first memory and it seemed to take forever. How many of them are we going to have to go through before we find him?”

George sits down next to his twin, rubbing his back. “We’ll just have to keep watching them. He’ll be in one of them. He has to be.”

“Yeah but we don’t even know which one he’ll be stuck in! What if it’s a really bad one and he’s stuck reliving it over and over again until we find him? What if it takes years to get through all the memories! It could go through his life day by day for us and we’d be no closer to finding him!”

“Well there’s not enough room on this desk for hundreds of photos,” Ginny says, causing all her brothers to look at her in confusion.

She gestures to where the photo was. “It didn’t appear until after the memory was finished and,” she goes to pick it up but her hand passes right through it, “I can’t pick it up. I think that after each memory we watch, a photo will appear on the desk to show something that relates to what we watch. If we fill the desk then we might be able to get out.”

“That makes sense,” Bill agrees. “Filling something with photos allows there to be a limit of the amount of memories watched. That means that we’ll only see the important things. Or…what Percy deems important in his life I presume.”

“Great, so we’re going to be watching him studying for tests and taking tests,” Ron mutters, a smile on his face to show that he wasn’t actually upset.

“I guess sending us back here gives us time for a break if we need one, to talk about what we saw or to gather our thoughts,” Charlie adds on.

“Talk, you say?” Fred asks, sitting up. His worry was eased for a little while at least now that he knew there wouldn’t be thousands of memories to go through. 

George nods, instantly understanding what Fred was trying to say. “If you wish to talk then,” he whips around to Ron who caught on to what was happening and stood frozen like a deer in headlight.

“My dearest brother,” George continues with a large grin.

“How about,” Fred adds.

“You tell us-”

“About you almost-”

“Getting sorted-”

“Will you two stop that!” Bill snaps, hand on his head to try and stop the oncoming headache. Fred and George both pout but everyone’s gaze stays on Ron who looked like he’d rather be anywhere but right there.

“I said I’d tell you all about it once we got out ,” Ron whines.

“Yeah, but we aren’t doing anything important right now, just waiting for a memory to start,” Charlie butts in, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Ron sighs, sitting down on the bed with a huff and crossing his arms. “I feel like I told you all there is to know.”

Bill shrugs, “then tell us again.”

Ron gives him a look before relenting and leaning back against the wall. “Well I sat up there and the hat was all ‘oh another Weasley, I bet you want me to put you in Gryffindor’ and I was all ‘well duh’ and then the hat was like ‘but what if I told you that you had the qualities of a Slytherin as well?’ and I was like ‘well put me in Gryffindor anyways because everyone in my family’s Gryffindor and it’d be weird and awkward if I wasn’t’ and the hat was like ‘okay!’ and then I was put into Gryffindor.”

“I have a feeling it was more angsty than that,” Ginny mutters, unimpressed by the display. Ron just shrugs.

Fred and George both get to their feet, clapping dramatically and pretending to wipe away tears. 

“Oh Ronniekins! That was beautiful!”

“Truly a one man show!”

Ron just shakes his head, muttering a quiet ‘shut up’.

The book suddenly snaps open, startling everyone, and a flurry of color surrounds them all as they’re pulled into a new memory.

Chapter Text

The siblings are shocked to find themselves in the halls of Hogwarts. Bill spots Percy and quickly runs over to him, the other siblings following. They have to set a quick pace to keep up with the boy.

Percy rolls his eyes at something Oliver had said as the two walk through the halls. Oliver has a bag slung across his torso with books, quills, and ink in it while Percy is carrying his books, quills stuffed in the pockets of his robes.

A Slytherin boy walks up to them, knocking the books out of Percy’s hands and using his shoulder to push harshly against the Gryffindor’s.

Bill jolts, once again trying to help the memory version of his brother but his hands pass right through the books as they clatter to the ground.

“Wait…he got bullied?” Charlie asked, voice hollow. How had he not realized?

“Stupid nerd,” the kid says as he walks away, laughing with the rest of his friends.

George frowns, only he was allowed to call Percy a stupid nerd. Not…wait…

“Was that Flint? Did fucking Flint bully Percy during his years at Hogwarts!?” George shouts in shock, staring over at where a younger Marcus Flint stood.

“Is that why Oliver hated him so much?” Ron asked.

“It could be,” Ginny mutters, crossing her arms. How had she not realized that Percy was getting bullied? It couldn’t have stopped after his first year, that wasn’t how Flint worked.

Percy rolls his eyes, kneeling down to pick up his books. 

“What kind of insult was that?” He asks as a fuming Oliver bends down to help him. “I mean, how can I be stupid and a nerd at the same time?”

“Why is he so unbothered?” Charlie mutters. Percy got so worked up whenever one of the twins teased him, so why was he just ignoring the Slytherins?

Oliver glares over Percy’s shoulder and the retreating forms of the Slytherins, “Who cares how good of an insult that was, Flint is a bloody jerk and he should get in trouble for bullying you!”

Percy rolls his eyes, walking in the direction of the library with Oliver following him. “I’d hardly call this bullying. He’s just knocking my books down and calling me a nerd. To be fair, I am a nerd.”

“That is literally what bullying is!” Ron shouts, hands in the air as the siblings follow the two. “How does he not realize that!?”

Fred frowns, was Percy not reacting to it because it happened every day for him when he was home? They had all done basically the same thing. Knocking things out of his hands by ‘accident’ and calling him a nerd. Was he just desensitized to it that he thought it was normal?

“Yeah, but he’s calling you a nerd to be mean!” Oliver protests. “And knocking your books out of your hands every time he passes you is horrible.”

Percy scoffs, finding a table and settling into it, Oliver across from him. The two pull out sheets of parchment and their quills as Percy grabs one of the books flying over his head and places it down in between them. 

“It’s really not, he could be doing a lot worse.”

Begrudgingly, Bill has to agree. At least it was just name calling and knocking books. While he knew that type of bullying could cause mental harm, at least it wasn’t anything too physical.

Oliver sighs, focusing on his paper. This was a losing argument and he knew it, they had it almost every day after all.

<>

Percy stares into the lake, bottom lip clenched firmly between his teeth and hands in fists at his side. All his school books floated on the surface, ruined. Flint and his friends laughed off to the side.

The siblings jolt at the quick change of scenery, seconds ago they were in the library and now…

Bill stiffens. Percy had lied.

Ginny glares over at where the Slytherins were standing. “What a bunch of jerks! Knocking his books out of his hands is one thing, but throwing them in the lake!? They could get ruined!”

Fred tilts his head curiously, Flint didn’t seem all that happy about doing it. He was laughing with his friends, sure, but it looked fake.

Percy takes a deep breath, unclenching his hands and releasing his lip, licking away the sliver of blood that had formed. 

Instead of turning to the Slytherins, he just wades into the water, grabbing his books and carefully taking them out of the liquid. Thankfully, all the pages were intact, just soaked.

“Why…why didn’t he yell at them?” Ron asks. “That…he has to see that that’s clearly them picking on him!”

He gathers them all up and then heads towards the castle, not noticing the confused look on Flint’s face.

As he gets inside he runs into Bill, who takes one look at his robes and books and instantly stops. 

“Bill?” Charlie asked, looking between the younger version in the memory and the Bill with them now, who had a pained look on his face.

“Percy? What happened? Are you okay?” Bill asks, hand instantly on his younger brother’s shoulder.

Fred lets out a quiet sigh of relief. For a moment, he was worried that Bill would ignore the state of Percy or even blame Percy for the books without asking what was wrong. 

Percy gives Bill a large smile, laughing sheepishly, “I'm fine, Bill! I was writing a paper under a tree outside and the wind picked it up and blew it into the lake. I ran after it and kind of got all wet.”

There was silence as the siblings stared at the scene in shock. Bill just looked down.

“But…why are your books wet?” Bill asks, gaze sharpening to where the Slytherins had finally entered the castle as well. They freeze instantly at the angry gaze of the sixth year.

George lets out a breath. Bill would connect the dots and then the Slytherins would lose house points. Percy couldn’t weasel his way out of this one.

Percy follows his gaze and quickly lets out an embarrassed cough, prompting Bill to turn back to him. “I…uh…I kind of picked my books up to chase after it and I didn’t realize until after I had gotten into the water. I know, that was really stupid of me but none of them are ruined, just wet!”

“Why…why is he lying?” Ron asks in a strangled voice. “He…he clearly knows it’s bullying if he’s lying about it!”

Bill frowns, looking between Percy and the Slytherins that Percy was refusing to spare a glance.

“Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything,” Bill prompts cautiously.

Percy just smiles at him. “I'm sure! Now I have to go, gotta dry off before supper.” He leaves without giving Bill a chance to answer.

“I should have kept prodding for answers. I knew what happened, I could clearly see what was going on but I just believed him!” Bill blurts, hands in fists. Charlie grabs one of Bill’s hands in his own, prompting Bill to look at him.

“Hey, that’s not your fault. You had no reason to believe that Perce would lie to you about something like that. And while your brain could come up with an idea of what happened, you didn’t know if it actually happened until we watched this memory. That’s not your fault.”

Bill just lets out a breath. “I still should’ve made sure he was alright.”

“Maybe, but there’s no use worrying about it now. Unfortunately, it is in the past,” Ginny mutters.

<>

Another scene change leaves them all frazzled once again as they look around.

Percy walks over to his usual table in the library but stops at a strange sight. Flint is sitting there, a bag of books in his hand and looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Just fucking leave him alone!” George shouts, hands in fists. “Doing it in the corridors is one thing but now the fucking library!?”

Fred places a hand on his twin's shoulder, calming him down. “Just watch, okay?”

Percy just shrugs and starts heading to a different table but Flint jumps to his feet, stopping him with a shout of, “Weasley!”

The siblings, minus Fred, all glare at him.

Percy turns back to the table cautiously, eyes now searching for any traps but after finding none he begrudgingly sits across from the Slytherin.

“What do you want?” 

Ron snorts without entirely meaning to. He hadn’t expected Percy to sound so angry. He had been basically ignoring everything that had happened so far.

Flint snorts at the venomous tone from the Gryffindor. “So you can be mean?”

“Of course he can,” Ginny rolls her eyes. “But that doesn’t mean you should keep looking for a reaction!”

When Percy doesn’t respond Flint just sighs and shoves the bag over to him. Percy tilts his head in confusion but opens the bag, eyes widening at the sight of what was inside: pristine copies of all the books that had been thrown into the lake along with a whole new roll of parchment paper, brand new quills, and a new pot of ink.

“Uhh…what.” Ron stares into the bag with wide eyes, his siblings shoving him aside to get their own look and going silent soon after.

“Wha…I…ho…” Percy was at a loss for words.

Flint crosses his arms, leaning back in his seat. “I don’t like being in debt to someone and I don’t like saying thanks or apologizing. So there.”

“‘In debt’?” Charlie asks. “In debt for what?”

“Flint’s officially gone off his rocker. I knew it had happened at some point but I never realized it happened this young,” George mutters.

“Saying thanks? For what?”

“You could have told your brother what was happening but you lied instead and probably saved all our asses from getting into trouble,” Flint mutters.

George scoffs, “Of course it’s for that. I still don’t understand why Percy lied.”

Percy snorts, prompting a look from Flint, so he hurriedly explains. “I wasn’t trying to ‘save your asses’ I just didn’t want to get Bill involved. It was hardly a big deal.”

Bill frowns, why wouldn’t Percy want him involved?

“Hardly a big deal!?” Flint sputters. “We literally destroyed your books! Not to mention the rest of the shit we’ve been doing these first few weeks!”

“Why does he sound like he cares?” Ginny asks, voice venomous. “He’s been the main cause of this!”

Percy shrugs, “Honestly, I don’t really care. You want to bully me? Fine, go ahead. I don’t see the reason why though.”

“He doesn’t care!? He should care, I mean if it was another student Professor McGonnagal would have known from the beginning!” Ron shouts in shock.

“Reason? It’s because you’re-”

“A Gryffindor?” Percy asks, raising a brow. At Flint’s nod he scoffs again. “Right, real mature. Bullying a Gryffindor student just because you’re in Slytherin and our houses have this rivalry. You can participate in this house rivalry all you want, I don’t care. But don’t expect me to fight back because, like I’ve said, I. Don’t. Care. It’s stupid!”

Fred shakes his head, “That’s why he ‘doesn’t care’.” He does finger quotes around the last two words of the sentence. “He knows it’s because of the house rivalry and he doesn’t want to get involved. Probably something to do with the fact that he was supposed to be in Slytherin.”

George frowns, crossing his arms. “So what if he was supposed to be in Slytherin? That doesn’t mean he should let Slytherins bully him!”

Ginny lets out a quiet ‘oh!’, before adding on. “No, it’s because they’re only bullying him because he’s a Gryffindor. They’re not bullying him because he’s a nerd or anything else. They’re bullying him because of the houses. He doesn’t react because he basically doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction. He doesn’t want the ‘house rivalry’ to work.”

“Oh,” George says, before shaking his head. He should’ve still told someone…instead of letting it be. What if it got worse?

“Is that why you’ve never given a reaction?” Flint asks, sounding genuinely curious.

Percy nods, “I mean, yeah? It doesn’t matter to me. Though, I'd prefer it if you didn’t ruin my books again, they’re expensive.”

George lets out a sigh. At least he knew how to stand his ground.

Flint crosses his arms, looking almost sheepish. “If it means anything, it wasn’t my idea to throw them in the lake. I just wanted to hide them somewhere. That’s why I bought you new copies, in case they got ruined.”

“So he can be nice,” Ron jokes halfheartedly, rolling his eyes. “Still doesn’t excuse the fact he was bullying Perce.”

“Oh, well…thanks…I think?” Percy gets up, going to take the books out of the bag but Flint stops him. 

“The bag’s for you as well, uhm…to make it easier to carry them I guess.”

Fred smiles slightly as the other siblings all share confused looks. He had a feeling he knew what Percy was going to do next.

Percy frowns, looking at the boy curiously for a moment. “I see. Thank you. You’re welcome to join Oliver and I in the library if you wish to study with us.”

Percy leaves before Flint can give him a response.

“WHAT!?”

<>

“You invited him to study!?” Oliver shouts in their dorm as Percy busies himself in putting away the new books. “The guy who has been bullying you for the past two weeks of your first year at Hogwarts!?”

“YEAH LISTEN TO OLIVER!” Bill shouts, not even bothered by the scene change this time.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS HE THINKING!?” Charlie adds on, pacing around the room.

The other siblings would find it amusing if they weren’t also confused at Percy’s decision. That being said, Fred found it fucking hilarious and he had to force himself not to laugh. It was getting increasingly harder though as Ron started trying to bang his head against one of the bed posts and George looked like he was close to trying to shake memory Percy back and forth.

“Yes, that’s him,” Percy remarks, tone bored.

Ginny covers up her giggle at his response, knowing her brothers would not appreciate that. Though, her gaze fixes on Fred as he watches the scene with amusement, maybe one would join her in laughing if she did.

“Why!?” Oliver exclaims, hands in the air as jerks up from his seated position on his bed.

Percy sighs, turning around with his hands on his hips. “Because, Oliver. If he has the decency to buy me new books and a bag to go with them, then he can’t be all that bad. Because maybe the only reason he’s been acting that way is because he feels pressured to. Because him acting that way towards me might be the same as me begging the sorting hat to put me in Gryffindor.”

Thankfully the last line stops the movement in the room and calms down the angry Weasleys. 

Bill rubs his face, “While I get where he’s coming from-”

“You absolutely do not,” Charlie mutters quietly, yelping as Bill slaps the back of his head before continuing.

“-I still don’t think it’s a good idea to invite him to study .”

“What, would you rather Perce ask him on a date?” Fred jokes.

He regrets asking that as Bill goes an unhealthy pale color. Fred hopes it’s just because of the thought of Percy on a date with a Slytherin who had been bullying him, who also happens to be Marcus Flint , and not Percy on a date with a male.

Oliver lets his hands drop, sitting back on the bed. “Fine. But don’t expect me to be civil with him right at the beginning.”

Percy chuckles, shaking his head. “I don’t expect you to, besides he might not even show. I never really gave him the chance to accept or decline.”

Ron chuckles, “I kind of missed that he just walked away after asking that.”

“Power move, honestly,” Ginny adds with a laugh.

“What the fuck is a ‘power move’?” Charlie whispers to himself.

Oliver smiles at him, “Guess we’ll just find out at our next study session.”

<>

Flint was sitting awkwardly at their usual table when the two appeared. He was already getting looks from the other students in the library and he looked a second away from darting.

“He actually showed up?” George asks in shock.

“This won’t end well,” Bill mutters, already expecting the worst. What if it was a prank?

Oliver sighs, muttering a quiet, ‘here we go’.

Percy just smiles, walking forwards and nodding at the Slytherin. “I booked us a private room, thought that’d be better.”

“Since when did the library have private rooms?” Ron asks.

“Even I didn’t know that,” Charlie mutters.

Flint nods back, grabbing his bag as he gets up. “I didn’t realize there were private rooms in the library.

Percy shrugs, “They’re all located in the restricted section, but Madam Pince trusts me.”

“WHAT!?”

“He….he’s able to just hang out in the RESTRICTED SECTION!?” George shouts incredulously.

“That’s not fair!” Fred adds on.

He hurries off as the other two stare after him with open mouths before quickly regaining their senses and hurrying after him.

There’s an awkward silence as the three of them settle into the private room, the rustling of parchment the only noise being made.

The siblings all find chairs to sit in as well, still not over the fact that Percy in his first year at Hogwarts was allowed in the restricted section.

Ron chuckles, pointing something out to Ginny, who also starts laughing. Flint and Oliver seemed to really hate each other.

Percy finally looks up to see the other two staring daggers at one another and he clears his throat, prompting them both to redirect their gazes to him.

"How did he get Oliver to listen!?" George shouts, "he never listens!"

“Oliver and I usually help each other with Astronomy and Charms. I’m better at Charms than he is and he’s better at Astronomy,” Percy explains. “The other classes we’re both pretty mediocre at so usually we can put our heads together and figure it all out. Although we do struggle a bit with Herbology and Potions.”

“I didn’t think that Percy actually struggled with anything,” George mutters.

Marcus nods begrudgingly answering with, “Well I know nothing about Herbology but I’m pretty good at Potions. Astronomy and Charms would be helpful to have extra help as well I guess.”

Percy grins, “That’s great! We can all help each other then.”

“His positivity is insane,” Ron says, shaking his head.

Ginny nods with a laugh.

Oliver sighs, “Yeah…great.”

Percy elbows him in the side, smile still in place, as Marcus glares at him.

Oliver chuckles nervously, “I mean..uh…just upset that nobody will still be able to help with History of Magic.”

Ginny muffles her laughter as the others groan at the thought of History of Magic. 

“I’m surprised that Percy isn’t able to help with that. Seems like a class he’s enjoy,” George teases, rolling his eyes.

Marcus groans, “Ugh, as if. That class is so boring!”

Bill watches the scene quietly. He didn’t want to admit it but…the three of them already seemed comfortable around each other. It couldn’t have lasted long, right? People would know if a Slytherin and Gryffindor were friends after all.

“It’s an interesting subject!” Percy argues. Oliver rolls his eyes, “Perce, you fell asleep yesterday during it.”

“ Percy fell asleep during class!?” George shouts, eyes wide as Ron gapes at the younger version of his brother.

“There’s no way!” Ginny shouts with laughter, leaning onto Ron.

Percy flushes as Marcus snorts, muttering “It’s not my fault that Professor Binns is a boring teacher!”

“That we can agree on,” Charlie nods in agreement.

The image blurs on the three of them finally getting to work on their homework. The book shuts and the picture that appears is of all three of them in the library. It’s a loop of an embarrassed looking Percy throwing a heavy book at a grinning Oliver, who just narrowly ducks to avoid it, Marcus in the background hunched over and shaking with laughter.

Chapter Text

There’s a moment of silence as the siblings take in the new picture. Fred smiles, Percy looked really really happy. He was glad that Percy was able to find some good friends in his first year of Hogwarts.

“I guess Flint joined them continuously for studying,” Ginny remarks, noting that the picture was taken a time when they were definitely more comfortable and open with each other.

“I wonder when he stopped,” George sighs, flopping back onto the bed. The younger siblings moved closer, deciding to ignore the two eldest in the corner of the room bickering about something.

“Why do you assume he stopped?” Ron asked, nudging George to the side so he could also sit on the bed.

“Come on, you know how much Oliver despises Flint! Also, I feel like we would have noticed if those free stayed friends throughout all the years of Hogwarts. Neither Percy nor Oliver are that good at lying,” George explains with a bored expression, kicking his foot out at Ginny as she tries to drag him off the bed.

Fred hides his grin behind his hand. While Percy didn’t talk about his entire life to him while he was in a coma, Percy had definitely talked about his friends.

<>

“I should have noticed!” Bill hissed out through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to punch the wall. He didn’t want to draw the attention of the others.

“Bill, we’ve already had this conversation in the memory.” Charlie leans against the wall, arms crossed. “It is not your fault. Percy didn’t want you to know and when Percy wants to hide something, he’s shockingly good at it. Remember how Mum never found out it was you and Perce that broke her favorite teapot?”

“How did you know about that!?”

Charlie shrugs, “I saw you guys break it but I’m not a snitch. I thought you two would get caught instantly, she’s great at catching people in a lie, but Perce was flawless.”

Bill sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. “I just never thought he’d lie to me .”

Charlie offers the oldest Weasley a rueful smile. “Well, we did kind of ditch him on the train. He probably thought he’d be a bother.”

“That’s not making me feel any better.”

There’s a curse followed by a loud thud, causing Bill and Charlie to look back over at the bed in concern.

George was on the ground, Ron on top of him, as Ginny sat crisscrossed on the bed with a pleased expression. Fred stood near them with a small grin.

Bill goes to say something, but the book once again snaps open.

Chapter Text

The memory starts with the group of three boys packing up their bags, they were in the same study room from the last memory.

“They’re studying again ?” George groans, leaning against Fred.

“It’s Percy, all his main memories are gonna be studying,” Ron teases.

Bill frowns, crossing his arms as he glared at Flint. When would Percy stop being friends with him?

As they walk out of the room, they stop with surprise at the empty library. 

“Guess we got a little carried away with studying…everyone’s left,” Percy mumbles. “It must be pretty late.”

“Uh oh, Perfect Prefect Percy’s out past curfew!” George shouts gleefully, holding his head in pain after Charlie slaps the back of it.

“It was a joke!”

“We definitely missed curfew,” Marcus deadpans, ducking away from Oliver’s hand as the Gryffindor goes to smack the back of his head with a hissed, ‘no shit!’.

George grumbles at the fact Flint got away without a bruised head.

Percy rolls his eyes, leading the way out of the library and down the quiet, empty halls. He rounded a corner and instantly froze, motioning with his hand behind his back as he plastered on a sheepish smile.

“What’s he so freaked out about?” Ron wonders, moving to peak his head around the corner. He jumps back with a yelp and hurries into the broom cupboard shouting, “Dumbledore!”

Ginny rolls her eyes and drags Ron out by the back of his sweater. “Ronald, this is a memory.”

“Thought you’d be cooler about sneaking around since that’s what you, Harry, and Hermione were always getting up to,” Fred teases.

Marcus and Oliver share a confused glance as they quickly shuffle inside a conveniently placed broom cupboard.

“That was my hiding spot,” Ron pouts, crossing his arms.

“Why’d he make those two hide?” Charlie questions.

“Mr. Weasley,” Dumbledore says with a smile. “I believe you are out past curfew?”

Percy chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry, Headmaster! I was in the library because I had an essay due for Potions and I wanted to make sure that I got the proper information for it and I must have lost track of time and-”

“Calm down, Percy,” Dumbledore says, hand up to stop him from talking. Percy instantly shuts his mouth, looking down at his feet.

The Weasley’s all stare at the younger version of their brother with open mouths and wide eyes.

“Tha-he-it-he’s lying! To Dumbledore! ” Ginny screeches, shocking her brothers out of their frozen states.

“No, no he’s just bending the truth a little!” Bill says nervously, trying to keep the image he had of Percy together. “He just doesn’t want to get in trouble, obviously, so he’s just making his story a bit better!”

“THAT’S LYING!”

“SHUT UP CHARLIE!”

“Did you have supper?” The older wizard asked.

Percy shakes his head and mumbles, “I was too busy studying.”

“See, he’s being truthful,” Bill states firmly, offering no room for arguments.

“Well, I happen to know that there’s a fruit portrait down this hallway that leads directly into the kitchens. All you have to do to open it is tickle the pear. I’m sure the house elves will be happy to make you something.”

Percy jerks his head up with wide eyes, “Really?”

Dumbledore nods, “I can’t have you missing meals. But you need to head right back to the dorms once you’re done. And do try to pay attention to the time in the future.”

Percy nods as Dumbledore walks by, not even glancing at the broom cupboard.

“Of course Dumbledore gives the one person in the castle who refuses to break rules the key to getting into the kitchens after hours! It took Fred and I so long to figure that out and Percy just knew!? ” George shouts, falling onto his knees in disbelief.

“Ruined potential.” Ron shakes his head with a sigh.

As soon as he rounds the corner further down, Percy instantly straightens up, the sheepish look on his face replaced by one of annoyance. He shakes his head as the other two stumble out of the cupboard, knocking down brooms and tipping buckets over as they do.

“Woah, mood change,” Ginny teases, looking over at Bill with slight worry. She had a feeling he was going to crash out again.

“Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t hear you two arguing,” Percy says with a sigh, crossing his arms.

“I’m surprised Percy did hear them! I couldn’t,” Fred said with a pout. He was standing the closest to the cupboard in the hopes to hear some sort of argument.

Marcus shrugs, “I’m more surprised that he let you go without even taking away any house points.”

Percy shrugs. “Why do you think I made you two hide? He favors Gryffindors, that much is obvious, and I’m ‘Percy Weasley’! I can do no wrong!” At the end of his sentence, Percy’s voice rose into a high pitched mocking tone as he fluttered his eyelashes.

Bill choked on his spit as the other Weasley’s stared at Percy in a new light. 

Fred knew that Percy was obviously different than the booksmart, perfect student act he put on. But he was not expecting this!

“SINCE WHEN WAS PERCY COOL!?” George shouts, betrayed once again. He was fully laying on the ground now, looking like a puddle of despair.

Ginny snorts and kicks him in the side. “Drama queen.”

“No he’s right,” Ron shoots back, also kicking George who mutters a small, “Why are you guys kicking me?”

“Why does first year Percy know the effect he has on the teacher’s already and how did he learn how to use it on said teacher's!? What happened between his first year and all the other years! He’s basically acting like a cooler version of Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill combined!”

“Hey!”

“Oi!”

“I take offense to that.”

“Ouch.”

Marcus and Oliver both snort, shoving Percy as the three head down the hallway. 

The Weasley’s follow the trio, all silent as they think over the previous events they had just watched.

Marcus speaks up after a moment of silence. “So are we gonna stop in the kitchen? I’d love some food and Dumbledore told us how to get in!”

The three share a look before the scene changes to them sitting down in chairs, bowls of steaming stew in front of them. Hot pumpkin juice was in their cups and there were plates of bread, crackers, and numerous desserts spread out in front of them as well.

Ron walks right into the kitchen wall at the abrupt scene change as Bill lands on the table before rolling to the floor. The others, thankfully, are in the empty space of the scene, laughing at the two.

“Ohh, that looks so delicious,” Ginny mutters, staring at the food on the table. One thing she missed about Hogwarts was the amazing food.

As they dug in, the portrait swung open, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff student walking through. The two groups froze, staring at each other in surprise for a moment before the house elves ushered the two newcomers into seats across from the trio, their own bowls of stew placed in front of them.

“Hey, Ginny, are those two the same people you saw sitting with Percy on the train?” Charlie asks, remembering their conversation from an earlier memory.

“Yeah, actually! I guess this must be how they met.”

The Ravenclaw shrugs, picking up her bowl and shoveling the stew into her mouth. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail that swished with every move.

The Hufflepuff girl was a bit more hesitant, staring cautiously at the three across from her. Eventually her hunger outweighed her nervousness and she brushed her black braided hair out of her face as she picked up a spoon.

“I don’t know, they don’t seem very friendly with each other right now,” Ron mutters, rubbing at his bruised nose.

“Probably because of Flint,” George says, nudging his twin in the side. Fred shoots back a small smile to appease his brother.

After a few bites the Ravenlcaw spoke up, “I’m Penelope! She’s Cassidy. What’s your names?”

“Wait! Like Penelope Clearwater? Percy’s girlfriend!? ” Ron shouts, pain forgotten now.

Ginny hides a snort. Yeah. ‘Girlfriend’.

“I’m Percy, that’s Oliver, and that’s Marcus,” Percy responds pointing to each of his friends as he introduces them.

“I’m surprised a Slytherin is friends with two Gryffindors,” Cassidy mutters. Her face is mostly hidden by her thick braids, but Percy can make out some features, mainly the girl's vitiligo: a spattering of pale skin tone covers her face and the rest of her body from what he can see.

“So am I,” Bill whispers to himself, settling against one of the cabinets and crossing his arms.

Marcus raises his eyes, sending a glance over to her for a moment before he grabs a piece of bread. “Who said we were friends?”

“Dick,” George hisses.

Percy rolls his eyes, “don’t be like that. You love us.”

“I never said that,” Marcus shoots back, ducking as Oliver throws crackers at him. “Hey!”

Percy sighs, stuck between the two as they threw bread and crackers at each other. He ignores them, barely flinching as some of the food lands in his own stew, and refocuses his attention on the two girls in front of him watching the three with amusement.

The siblings stared in shock at the scene unfurling in front of them. 

Charlie had to, begrudgingly, admit that the three did act like good friends. At least for now.

“Sorry, why is Percy so unbothered sitting inbetween the two!?” Ron shouts incredulously, pointing at the food that was flying over his head.

“He’s used to sitting inbetween the twins,” Bill and Ginny deadpan at the same time.

“So what brings you guys to the kitchens?” 

Penelope smiles, “Well Cassidy and I usually sneak out all the time to hang out since we’re from different houses. We don’t always come down to the kitchens but sometimes we do. Though we’ve never run into anyone else before.”

Percy nods, “we were studying in the library and lost track of time. Since we skipped supper we decided to head down here for a bite before heading back to our dorms.”

“Oh, I guess that explains why a Slytherin and two Gryffindors are hanging out then,” Cassidy says. 

Marcus nods, finally done throwing food at Oliver. “Yep. Only for studying. It’s purely business.”

“Was that a joke!?” Ron whispers to George, eyes wide.

“It can’t be, he’s not smart enough for jokes,” George whispers back.

Cassidy nods knowingly. “Of course. What if us two joined you? Purely for business.”

Percy smiles, “That’d be great! I usually help with Charms, Oliver does Astronomy, and Marcus helps us with Potions.”

Penelope grins, “Oh perfect, the three classes I struggle with!”

Cassidy smiles, “I can help with Herbology if you guys need it?”

“Definitely,” Oliver says, nodding his head.

Penelope grins, “Well I don’t know what else you guys need help with but I’m great at History of Magic.”

“HOW IS SHE GOOD AT HISTORY OF MAGIC BUT PERCY ISN’T!?” George explodes, hands in the air. “I feel like my entire world view is shifting.”

“I guess that explains how they all became friends though,” Charlie says, ignoring George’s current crash out. “It started as study help and eventually just evolved from there.”

There’s a moment of silence before Marcus jumps up with a loud, ‘YES!’ as Oliver pumps his fist in celebration. Percy snorts, “That’d be perfect.”

The memory fades out as the book shuts and a new picture is in place of the five in the kitchens. It’s a loop of Cassidy throwing a pie in Marcus’ face, Percy dumping a bowl of soup over Oliver’s head, and Penelope sitting on a shelf above them all, throwing handfuls of food on them all.

Chapter Text

The family stares at the picture in shock.

“ Why is Percy having a food fight with them WHEN HE NEVER HAS ONE WITH US!?” George shouts in outrage, trying to grab the picture to rip it apart.

“I didn’t know he knew how to have fun,” Ron whines, sitting on the bed with his face in his hands.

On the other side of the room, Charlie nudges Bill gently with his shoulder. “Are you all good?”

Bill sighs, nodding. “Yeah, fine. I just can’t wait until the memories stop showing Flint.”

Charlie chuckles, shaking his head. “Same. I mean, it’s nice to know he’s no longer bullying Perce, but it’s really painful watching them act like friends.”

Bill goes to respond but the book has already reopened, the light spilling around them.

“Why does this break seem shorter!?” Ron shouts over the noise of them moving through the memories.

“I don’t know!” Bill responds, shaking his head as the light disappears. 

They’re back in the restricted section again, except this time, the group is searching through the different books on the shelves instead of studying in the room and it is clearly late at night.

“Uh…there’s no way Percy is actively searching through the restricted section instead of studying. No way,” Ron says firmly, shaking his head.

“Maybe he was peer pressured?” Ginny suggests hesitantly.

“Percy, what are we even searching for?” Cassidy asks, rummaging through the shelves.

“Well that theory was quickly shot down,” Ginny mutters, having to stop herself from breaking into laughter at her brother’s incredulous faces.

“A book on spells!” Percy responds with a grin. “Specifically on spells you can use underage without getting in trouble!”

The group freezes, looking back at Percy with wide eyes.

The group freezes, staring at the younger version of their brother with wide eyes.

“No, okay, no.” George says, breaking the silence. “I don’t believe this is actually our brother. It can’t be. That death eater’s spell must have broken or something. There’s no way this is Percy!”

“George,” Fred starts, only to be cut off by his twin holding his hand out. 

“No! This, it’s, this can’t be Percy! Percy is all boring and rules and and and,” George is breathing heavily by now, shaking his head. 

“Percy can be more than the little box you put him into,” Fred retorts, feeling upset for his other brother.

“Shut up, Frederick!” George hisses, whirling on his twin and instantly shutting down anyone else from saying something. “If Percy was this rule breaking cool kid then why-why did he shut us down anytime we tried to have fun? Why did he get us in trouble anytime we were caught? Why didn’t he join us , instead of Flint!”

“George…” Fred mumbles, shocked to see tears in his twin's eyes.

“I think we might have to put a pin in this conversation until after the memory…” Bill quietly says, almost remorseful. “The memory started playing again.”

Fred swallows before nodding. George just turns back to the memory.

“I can’t believe people think you’re the good one,” Marcus mutters before pulling out a blank piece of parchment from the shelves.

“Is that-” Ron mutters, eyes wide. Ginny nods her head and whispers, “it definitely is.”

“Why is there just a random piece of trash in here?” The Slytherin asks, waving the parchment around.

He yelps, almost dropping it, as words appear in black ink.

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs kindly ask for the stinky Slytherin to put this paper down in fear that he will infect it with his stupidity

“Woah what the fuck!?” Bill shouts in shock.

“What is that?” Charlie asks, looking at the younger siblings, who all had faces of disbelief.

“It’s the Marauders Map,” Ron mutters. “Fred and George got it from Filch’s office and then passed it onto Harry.”

Penelope and Oliver both snort, quickly covering their mouth as Marcus shoots a glare over at them.

Percy hums, looking at the words with a small grin. “So it’s a piece of prank parchment. My brothers would love this.”

George’s eyes widened at that. Percy was definitely talking about him and Fred. Yet he was smiling about the thought of them finding it, not upset.

Padfoot would like to point out that this is more than ‘prank parchment’ though what this is might be hard for your feeble mind to fully comprehend.

Marcus grins as Percy rolls his eyes. 

“Prank parchment or not, this thing is hilarious,” Marcus says.

Wormtail wishes he could thank the Slytherin for the compliment. However, he would rather die.

Ron snorts as Bill and Charlie exchange a look.

“Wasn’t Wormtail,” Charlie starts, being cut off by Ron.

“Wormtail was Pettigrew, Prongs was James Potter, Padfoot was Sirius, and Moony was Professor Lupin. They made the map when they were in Highschool.”

“WAIT WHAT!?” Fred and George shout.

“Sirius Black-”

“Created this map-”

“With Professor Lupin-”

“Do you seriously mean-”

“The same people-”

“We think-”

“You mean-”

“I mean-”

“Would you two stop that!?” Ginny shouts, instantly shutting Fred and George up.

“Why are you guys calling it a map?” Bill asks, just wanting someone to explain.

“Never mind, this thing sucks,” Marcus growls, shoving the paper back into the shelves to avoid looking at the response. “Can we get back to breaking the rules now?”

Percy takes the paper out, nudging Marcus with his elbow teasingly. He tilts his head at what’s now written.

Moony would like to ask if you are up to no good.

“Oh my god,” Fred whispers. “Don’t tell me Percy unlocks it.”

“He wouldn’t,” George says. “He…he couldn’t, right?”

“Unlocks what!?”

“Uhh…I don’t think so?” Percy says in slight confusion.

“We definitely are, we’re in the restricted section for Merlin’s sake,” Penelope jokes.

Padfoot would love to point out that you are definitely up to no good then.

“Fine, we’re up to no good,” Percy groans, muttering ‘teamed up on by a piece of parchment and my friend. Unbelievable.’

Do you solemnly swear it?

Percy stares at the parchment in silence as his friends snicker.

“It’s…it’s giving him the key,” Ron says in shock.

George huffs, crossing his arms. Why did Percy get this?

“Yeah, do you solemnly swear Perce?” Oliver teases as Cassidy leans against the bookshelf to keep herself up.

“Whatever, I solemnly swear that I am ‘up to no good,’” Percy grits out, glaring at his friends.

He looks back down at the parchment only to gasp in shock at the map that was now in his hands.

“Wait, that’s a literal map of Hogwarts…” Bill mutters.

“With the names of people and everything,” Charlie adds on, staring down at the map.

“Percy actually had the map,” Ron says in a hushed voice to Ginny.

“Are…are those our names!?” Marcus shouts in shock, staring down at the map.

“Holy shit,” Penelope breathes out, watching as the nametag of Filch slowly gets closer to where their nametags are. “Guys, if this is actually real then Filch is coming.”

“Shit!” Oliver whisper shouts, hurriedly grabbing his bag and heading to the door.

“No! That’s where Filch’s nametag is,” Percy hisses. He looks back at the map for a moment. “On the map, it shows a hidden corridor…follow me!”

The siblings watch in silence, still reeling from what was happening.

Percy takes down the rows of books, not even checking to see if the others are following him.

He stops in front of another bookshelf, causing the others to run right into him.

“It’s a dead end,” Marcus growls. “The map is lying!”

“No,” Percy says, eyes searching the shelf. “It’s hidden for a reason.”

He grabs a book, trying to pull it out. Instead, the entire book shelf swings open, showing a corridor.

“Leave it to Perce to figure out how to open that,” Ginny says with a small smile. 

Instantly the group runs through, the bookshelf slamming shut behind them.

The siblings all hold onto each other as they’re pitched into the darkness and pulled through the memory, ending up in a small underground room at the end of the corridor.

There’s bookshelves on one of the walls, a table and comfy chairs in the middle of the room, and a fireplace in another wall.

The group of friends runs into the room and stops in shock. As soon as they enter, the fireplace turns on, flames flickering and lighting up the room even more.

“Woah, that’s so cool,” Ron shouts. “Did they have this secret hideout throughout all their years at Hogwarts!?”

George frowns, looking around the room. The revelation from earlier had distracted him for a moment but now his thoughts were back.

Percy drops the map on the table and immediately heads towards the bookshelf.

“Woah, I’ve never even heard of these books before,” he mutters, running his hand along the spines.

“Well, I say we’ve definitely finished our mischief for sure,” Cassidy jokes, looking around. “We’ve got our own hide out.

“Don’t you mean, ‘Mischief Managed!’” Penelope jokes.

The memory blurs on them realizing the map disappeared at Penelope’s words. The new picture shows the five of them hiding behind a wall and muffling their laughs. The map is open in Marcus’ hands and on the other side of the wall is Filch getting stuck in a trap they had made.

Chapter Text

George scoffs, staring at the picture. “Of course. He does pranks with them.”

“George,” Fred mutters, noticing how their siblings went to the other side of the small room and started up their own conversation to give them space.

“Don’t even start, Fred,” George hisses, whipping around to face his twin. “Aren’t you upset as well!? He’s over here breaking the rules with no care but the moment we do it he gets us in trouble! So many of our pranks and ideas had to be reworked so he didn’t find out about them because he would bust us the moment he did!”

“Of course I’m upset,” Fred answers, voice quieter. “I don’t know why Percy always got us in trouble for things he did as well. I’m angry that he hid this part of himself from us and had fun with Flint instead of his own brothers.”

“Then why does it seem like you’re on his side!?”

“Because right now isn’t the time to be angry! We are trapped in his mind. Our physical bodies got dragged in here! Percy is still knocked out somewhere with a Death Eater! We don’t have the time to be upset over things that have happened in the past when right now Percy could be in trouble and we can’t help him until we find his consciousness in his memories!” Fred was panting when he had finished, hands clenched into fists. Why did it seem like he was the only one who was worried about what was happening outside?

“I…” George stopped, chewing on his bottom lip as he looked away. “I wasn’t thinking about that,” he continued, voice softer. 

“Besides, for all we know one of these memories will explain why Percy kept busting us and if they don’t, that’s something we can ask after we get out of here safely. All of us,” Fred says, hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll try to rein in my anger,” George mutters. “I can’t make any promises though.”

As soon as the words leave George’s mouth, the book flips open to another memory.

Chapter Text

The next memory opens on the group of friends in the room they had found. Marcus and Oliver are doodling on parchment together while Penelope is writing on parchment for one of her classes. Cassidy is curled up in one of the armchairs by the fire, reading a book. Percy is sitting at the table with the others, going through one of the dusty books from the shelf.

“They’re back in the room,” Bill mutters, looking around.

“Obviously. The previous memory wouldn’t have shown them finding the room if it wasn’t important,” Ginny retorts, rolling her eyes teasingly.

He turns a page and instantly sits up straighter, prompting the others to look over at him.

“You find something good?” Oliver asked.

“It’s a spell,” Percy says, reading off the pages in the book. “To enchant gemstones.”

“I have plenty of enchanted gems at my house,” Marcus sighs, “if you want one that badly I’ve got you covered.”

“Of course he does,” George mutters under his breath.

Percy rolled his eyes, “not that type of enchanted gemstone you dumbass. This spell is different! I’ve never seen any magic like this before.”

“What does it do?” Cassidy asked, getting up from her chair and walking over.

“It makes it possible for people to talk to each other through the gemstones!”

“I’ve never heard of a spell like that,” Charlie says at the same time Ron asks, “like a phone?”

“Like a phone?” Penelope tilts her head.

“No! Like in our minds. If you enchant the gemstones all at the same time then the people wearing them can communicate with their thoughts, all they have to be doing to talk is touch the gemstone.” 

“WHAT!?” Ginny shouts in shock, moving to stand behind Percy to try and read the book over his shoulder.

“That would be extremely helpful for undercover agents,” Bill mutters, hand on his chin. “I can’t believe that spell isn’t common knowledge.”

“Well it’s in a forgotten book, so it’s probably really old,” Fred mutters. Percy hadn’t talked about this, maybe it was too hard of a spell for him and his friends?

As Percy reads the group gets more and more excited.

“There’s even an annotation here that says with enough practice if you tap the gemstone twice while thinking about one of the other people in possession of one you get teleported right to them, and it doesn’t set off any alarms for magic. Including underage magic and magic in front of Muggles.”

“So you actually found a way to do underage magic without getting caught,” Penelope says. 

“Holy shit,” Fred mutters, eyes wide. There was no way Percy and his friends had actually managed to use this spell. There couldn’t be.

“Except…the only gem that works for it is Painite.”

“Isn’t that 9,000 galleons!?” Cassidy shouts in shock, her book dropping to the ground with a thud.

“Yeah,” Percy sighs, face planting on the open book in front of him. “We were so close too. That would’ve been awesome.”

The siblings breathe out a sigh of relief at that. Any more magical secrets about their brother and they might’ve just exploded.

The scene shifts to a different time of them in the same room. Percy is going through another book while Penelope is helping Percy take notes on the book. 

Oliver and Marcus are trying to play basketball with crumpled up pieces of parchment paper. Cassidy is watching the two as she snacks on popcorn.

“Is Marcus playing a muggle game?” Ron asks in disbelief, watching the scene with wide eyes.

Bill frowns. The slytherin had to be putting on an act or something. There was no way he was actually being friendly and playing muggle games.

“This game is so weird, the balls don’t float?” Marcus asks as Oliver groans. This seems to not be the first time he’s asked.

“No, Marcus. They’re basically like quaffles.”

“Who plays a game with just quaffles? Where’s the fun in that?”

“Hey, have you guys decided whether or not to go home for Christmas?” Cassidy pipes up, stopping the fight before it begins.

“Damnit, I wanted to see a fight,” Ginny grumbles.

“Agreed,” George mutters. When would Oliver become the Oliver he knew? The one who despised Flint and would gladly start a fight with the guy for no reason at all. It had to happen soon, right? There was no way two people in his life that he thought he was close to had been lying to him the whole time.

“I’m staying,” Marcus says, flopping in a chair across from Penelope and Percy. “I don’t think I can take a month of parents talking about how elite we are.”

Cassidy giggles at that, “well I’m also staying so you won’t be alone! There’s no way I’m missing out on Christmas at Hogwarts! I bet the food is the best.”

Charlie has to hide a smile. Maybe Marcus wasn’t as bad as the others thought he was. He obviously disagreed with his parent’s view points. He didn’t say anything though, aware of Bill glaring at the slytherin.

“I’m staying as well,” Oliver says, sitting next to Percy. “My mum and dad are going on a trip together then.”

“Guess I might as well stay,” Penelope jokes, “someone’s got to keep you three in line.”

“That’s almost all of us!” Cassidy says with a grin before turning to Percy in question.

Percy just shrugs, “might as well stay. I doubt my family would notice the difference anyways.”

“That’s depressing,” Marcus mutters, yelping as a stray paper hits him in the face.

The siblings still. There it was again. Percy, and eleven year old Percy, feeling distant from his family. Back when they hadn’t even been trying to distance him.

Ginny fiddles with her sleeve nervously. If that was how Percy felt at this age, how much worse did it get in the future? Especially during the whole ministry fiasco. What if it was all a misunderstanding?

She shook her head. No. It couldn’t be. Yeah she felt bad for the treatment of her brother right now, but he deserved it later.

<>

It’s obviously Christmas morning. Their room is decorated and there’s a bunch of presents under the small tree they had put near the fireplace. The group are also wearing Christmas sweaters, minus Percy who somehow got his hands on a Slytherin jumper.

Bill glowers at the jumper, restraining himself from saying anything and taking deep breaths. Percy was supposed to be a Slytherin, of course he got his hands on a jumper. Especially since he had already stolen a Slytherin scarf. Slytherin’s weren’t all bad either. He was too fed up with Flint right now and putting all his anger into anything Slytherin. That wasn’t fair.

“Isn’t it like Weasley tradition to get a Christmas sweater from your mom?” Penelope asks, sipping hot cocoa.

“Yeah…why isn’t he wearing it?” Ron asks Ginny quietly. Percy always wore the jumper during Christmas. Was he embarrassed about wearing it in front of his friends?

Percy nods, “it’s in my room! I didn’t wear it because you said the theme was ugly Christmas sweaters.”

Oliver nods in understanding and Cassidy snorts into her own cup of cocoa as Marcus lets out an offended gasp.

Ron lets out a surprised snort as his siblings start laughing. Of course. Why would he think that Percy was embarrassed? 

Penelope claps her hands together, “let’s open our gifts!”

The memory fast forwarded a bit and now they were all sitting on the ground, opened presents in front of them.

Oliver had gotten a new quidditch sports book, talking about all the teams and their players, from Penelope, a fox fleece blanket from Cassidy, and a crocheted fox from Percy.

Cassidy got a book about bugs from Penelope, a bug themed fleece blanket from Oliver, and a crocheted butterfly from Percy.

Penelope got a schedule enchanted to fly around her head as a swan if she was late for something from Oliver, a chocolate quill and a real quill made from swan feathers from Cassidy, and a crocheted white swan from Percy.

Marcus got the same quidditch book as Oliver from Penelope, a quill shaped like a broom that can actually fly from Cassidy, and a crocheted dog from Percy.

Percy got a book on rare spells from Penelope, a chocolate quill and a real quill made from crow feathers from Casiddy, and a schedule like Penelope’s except it would turn into a crow from Oliver.

“I didn’t know that Percy knew how to crochet,” Ginny says, tilting her head as she kneeled to take a closer look at the animals.

“I didn’t realize he liked Crows that much,” Charlie muttered, feeling guilt well up in his chest. How had he not known his own brother’s favorite animal? He knew all his other sibling’s favorite animals.

“Of course Marcus didn’t get them anything,” George mutters to himself quietly. As long as he didn’t let Fred hear, he could be as mean as he wanted to.

“Okay, Marcus, why did you insist on going last?” Penelope asked once they were all done opening their presents. 

George frowns, okay maybe Fred was right. He needed to reign in his anger. He was proved wrong in mere seconds.

Marcus grins and presents them all with small jewelry boxes. 

Penelope gets a delicate blue flower necklace, Cassidy gets a silver bracelet with a yellow stone made to look like a bee, Oliver gets a ring with a red stone shaped like a quaffle, and Percy gets a new pair of glasses with a delicate red stone in each corner.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Cassidy says, slipping her bracelet on. It magically shrinks to fit her wrist perfectly.

“This is so detailed,” Penelope mutters, looking at the flower now hanging from her neck. Her necklace had also shrunk to fit her perfectly.

“Nice,” Oliver grins, looking at his ring that had sized itself to fit on his pointer finger.

“How the hell did you know my prescription?” Percy muttered, switching the glasses out.

“Woah, those are amazing,” Ron mutters with wide eyes. “I wonder how much they cost.”

“Probably a fortune,” Charlie says, staring at Percy’s glasses. That explained why they looked newer when he saw them after Christmas.

“They have to be enchanted,” Ginny says. “They resized to fit the person.”

Marcus smirks, showing off the green earring in his left ear. “All the gems are painite. My house is apparently decorated with them so I asked the house elf to send me some of each color.”

The room goes dead silent. There was no way.

Ginny chewed on her nails. She wanted to be mad at Percy for never telling her about this, but she knew she couldn’t. He was living his own life in Hogwarts. He was taking chances and discovering things with his friends. She couldn’t be mad at him for that.

Fred stares in shock. So they actually had the gems? This entire time? He thought back to his days at Hogwarts, how Percy seemed to randomly appear near Oliver. Fred had always thought he just never noticed his brother, maybe he had been behind the other boy, but now he knew the truth. Percy had literally randomly appeared because of those gems.

Bill frowns. If the group had those gems, then what happened when Flint inevitably left? A small part of him knew the truth. Knew that they had all stayed friends. But he didn’t want to believe that. 

George clenches his hands into fists at his side. Of course. Of course Percy got these cool gadgets to help him with his ‘mischief’. Percy kept getting all of this stuff while he and Fred had to scrounge around Hogwarts, hoping Percy didn’t bust them. They had to find the map in Filch’s office and spend hours trying to figure out how to open it. Yet Percy got the answer handed to him on a silver platter. 

Ron frowns. Those gems would have been so useful during the war. Especially for those left behind in the castle. Why hadn’t Percy done anything? He could have helped so many people.

Charlie just smiles at the scene. He was glad Percy had this. Had these friends to share this with. Percy had always thirsted for knowledge, and seeing his efforts pay off? Charlie was happy for him.

The group of friends stare at him with open mouths and wide eyes as he continues.

“I already enchanted them AND I added an enchantment to the jewelry itself so that it can’t be taken off by anyone else.”

The memory darkens on the other four tackling Marcus to the ground in a hug. The new picture shows Marcus smiling into the ‘camera’ and then the other four randomly appearing behind him, making him jump in shock and the others collapse in laughter.

Chapter Text

Oliver knelt in the snow, holding a pair of broken glasses in his hands. His thumb ran over one of the red gems as he looked around. 

The burrow yard was empty. The only sign that anyone had been outside was the blood staining the snow and the indents made in the snow. A lot of shoe prints and one full body.

Behind him, Marcus, Cassidy, and Penelope checked the parameters, trying to see if they could find who had come and gone. 

Oliver got to his feet. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley weren’t home, he had checked their hands on the clock indoors. The hand with Percy’s name was pointed to ‘Lost’ while the siblings were all pointed to ‘Traveling’.

It didn’t make sense. There had obviously been a battle, a forgotten death eater mask showed that clearly if the blood hadn’t been visible, but for the other siblings to be traveling? Were they looking for Percy?

“His glasses fell off?” Cassidy asked, noticing the broken facial wear in Oliver’s hands. “That shouldn’t be possible.”

“It’s not,” Marcus grits out. “Percy had to have taken them off on purpose.”

“But why?” Penelope questioned, looking at the others.

Marcus had teleported to Percy the moment he got the letter, his was delivered first, planning to apparate away with him to the area in the woods the five had hung out in as kids where they would wait for the others. He had appeared, a joke on the tip of his tongue about how Percy didn’t need to send a letter since they could talk in their minds that had died the moment he saw the broken glasses, blood, and abandoned house.

Instantly he spoke to the other three using their painite and they appeared on the Burrow lawn in a matter of seconds.

“He must have taken them off so the Death Eaters wouldn’t notice the gems,” Marcus said grimly. It was just like Percy to risk his life to keep their secret hidden.

“Of course,” Penelope muttered. “Even if they didn’t know what the gems were for, the magic on them is easily seen by a revealing spell. They’d know it was a charmed gem. Plus if we were to teleport to him using the gems, we would be at a disadvantage because we didn’t know about the Death Eaters.”

“Who cares!? He’s a blasted idiot for taking them off!” Oliver shouted, hands clenched into fists now that the glasses were in Cassidy’s hand. 

“Oliver, I get you’re worried about him-” Marcus starts, only to be cut off by the other boy.

“No you don’t! He’s my husband, not yours!”

“And he’s my friend! Basically my brother,” Marcus shoots back. “So maybe I don’t get it exactly like you do, but I’m still worried about him!”

Oliver doesn’t respond to that, so Marcus continues.

“He knows how smart we are. He wouldn’t just leave his glasses off to protect us if there wasn’t any other way for us to find him. Especially if there’s a chance of his siblings also being in danger. We’ve got the resources and the magic to find where he is.”

Oliver lets out a breath, nodding his head. “Alright. Where do we start?”

Cassidy holds out the mask to Oliver and Marcus. 

“With this.”