FIC: A Family Christmas [Percy/Luna]
Dec. 4th, 2012 06:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mini_fest_mod posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
mini_festTitle: A Family Christmas
Author/Artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alisanne
Pairing(s): Percy Weasley/Luna Lovegood, Severus Snape/Harry Potter (background only)
Prompt: #166: Percy - Christmas without the family.
Word Count/Art Medium: +/- 1800
Rating: PG
Contains (Highlight to view): *None that I can think of.*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Thanks to my beta, who shall be named later, and to those who helped me when I needed it. You know who you are. Thanks also to the fabulous fest mods. Happy Minifest, everyone!
Summary: No matter what, family has to claim you.
A Family Christmas
A Family Christmas
Rolling up the last of his parchment, Percy looked around his tiny cube of an office. It was, as usual, spotless, everything organised, not a quill out of place. A lot of his colleagues had decorated their offices for the holidays but he hadn’t. It wasn’t...professional. I imagine Dad did, though. Percy sighed. Mum probably even did it for him.
He shook his head. The last time anyone in his family had visited his office they’d mocked his neatness. “I’d have been able to pick this one as yours from twenty feet up on a broom,” Charlie had said, grinning as he’d looked around.
Percy sighed. Of course, that had been back before the war.
He’d expected the war ending to change everything. With Fred gone, however, once the dust had cleared, he’d found his mother standoffish, his dad distant, and his brothers...sad. It had been difficult to be around them. Ginny, always the one he’d most identified with, had been too busy chasing after Harry Potter to have time for Percy, and so he’d just faded into the background again.
Sometimes he wondered if he hadn’t been secretly adopted. I wonder if anyone’s even noticed that I haven’t been attending Sunday dinners? he thought as he packed up his stuff to go home. There hadn’t been a Floo, an owl, or even a Patronus from anyone in his family since the Order of Merlin ceremony. And now it’s almost Christmas. Not that that matters.
Pushing the impending holiday from his mind, Percy opened his office door and moved into the hallway. He typically worked late, so there was rarely anyone about when he was leaving. Which was why he didn’t check as carefully as he might normally have for someone passing by. As he spun around after closing his door, he ran smack into someone. There was the fleeting impression of pale eyes, floaty blonde hair and bells, and then Percy was on the ground, looking up at the ceiling.
“Oh! Are you all right?”
Sitting up, Percy fingered his head. The back of his skull was sore from where he’d hit the hard floor, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
“Did you hurt your head?”
Percy looked up into silvery-grey, rather protuberant eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, good, then.” The girl, who was wearing tiny red bells in her hair, looked vaguely familiar, offered him her hand. “You’ve got a rather bad case.”
She helped him up easily and as he stood looking down at her, Percy recalled where he knew her from. We were at Hogwarts together. She was a Ravenclaw. Lucy or Lulu or something. “A bad case?”
“Of Wrackspurts.” Rather than releasing his hand, she’d turned it over and was staring at his palm. “Oh,” she said, tone sad. “I see.”
“You...see?” Percy repeated, confused. Realising his parchments were littering the hallway, he tried to retrieve his hand. “Er, excuse me, but I need to gather my things,” he said.
“Oh, I can help with that.” With a muttered word from the girl, Percy’s bag opened and all of his spilled items began shuffling themselves inside.
Percy blinked. He’d never seen magic like that before. “What spell is that?” he choked.
“Oh, just something I created.” The girl smiled up at him. “I’m always dropping my things you see.”
Percy could feel the situation getting out of control. Clearing his throat, he said, “Erm, right. Well, Miss...”
“Lovegood,” she supplied, smiling up at him. “Luna.”
“Yes. All right. Ms Lovegood.” Percy tugged at his hand again, to no avail.
“Most people call me Luna.” She tilted her head. “You have very red hair.”
“I...yes. Everyone in my family does.”
She nodded. “Yes they do.” She smiled. “No matter what, they’d have to claim you, wouldn’t they? You could never pretend to not be related to them.”
Percy blinked. “No, I...suppose not.”
“Not that you’d want to,” Luna continued blithely, still holding on to his hand. “They’re a lovely family.”
“I suppose they seem that way, yes.” Percy’s lips tightened. “Look I hate to be rude, but...may I have my hand back?”
Luna nodded. “Of course.” Looking down, she carefully traced a shape in his palm. “There. That should take care of them.”
She let go of him and Percy took his hand back, staring at it. It’d felt...tingly at her touch. “Of...whom, exactly?” he asked, resisting the urge to touch her again.
“Wrackspurts.” She shook her head. “You have a terrible case, really.”
“I...do?”
“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, they’re still there. This calls for a drastic treatment.”
“What does that even mean-- Merlin!” Percy gasped as Luna’s mouth covered his, his arms automatically going around her waist for support.
She kissed the way she spoke, straightforwardly, without reserve. Before he knew it, Percy found their tongues entwined, and discovered that he was being pressed against the wall by her body, which had curves in all the right places. He had a hand halfway to her breast before his brain caught up and he drew back gasping. “What are you doing?”
Luna licked her lips. “Kissing you.” Stepping back, she inspected him, nodding as if pleased. “Wrackspurts hate kissing.”
“I...see.” Percy had no idea what she was talking about, but he wasn’t about to argue. “Look, Ms--”
“Luna.” Patting his cheek, she handed him his bag. “It’s almost Christmas. Wrackspurts do their worst during holidays. You should be careful.” And with that she spun on her heel and took off down the hallway, disappearing around a corner.
“Well,” Percy whispered into the empty corridor. “That was interesting.”
She was mad, Percy thought for the fifth time since getting home. Utterly insane.
And yet, some of the things she’d said had made sense. His family was his family, it wasn’t as if he could ever not claim them. No one would ever see him and not realise he was a Weasley. And, in his heart, he was proud of them. They were heroes. His mother had killed Bellatrix Lestrange. His brother had helped Harry Potter defeat Voldemort. His sister... Percy sighed. He knew Ginny had her sights set on Harry Potter, but something told that wasn’t meant to be.
Scanning his empty flat, Percy thought about what his parents’ house probably looked like just then. It’s probably a madhouse. I bet Mum cooked way too much food, as usual. And I’m sure there are plenty of random people about. She loves collecting strays.
Blinking, he sat up straight. He was a bit of a stray just then, wasn’t he? He had nowhere to go for Christmas. Nowhere but home, a small voice in his head reminded him. The place where they have to take you in.
“Will they even want me?” he said aloud. “What if they tell me to leave?”
They can’t disown you, the voice in his head that sounded disturbingly like Luna reminded him. Just as you can never deny them.
Looking at the clock, Percy saw it was seven. Christmas Eve meant his mother was frantically cooking, so the house would smell amazing. His flat, by comparison, was sparse, bare. He blinked back tears. Whatever had made him think he could manage Christmas without his family?
Determined, he stood, Summoned his robes, and strode towards his Floo. “The Burrow!” he cried, throwing powder into the fireplace.
As he’d expected, there were several people there. Stepping into the living room, he saw Charlie talking to Minister Shacklebolt. Across the room was Harry Potter cosying up to, of all people, Severus Snape.
“Percy?”
Percy spun, finding himself face to face with his dad, who was blinking at him as he if he was hallucinating.
Smiling tremulously, Percy said, “I...Do you have room for one more?”
Everything seemed to go quiet. Arthur froze, and for a moment Percy thought he was going to be rejected, and then he was in his father’s arms, and Arthur was squeezing him, shaking. “Percy. Merlin. Of course we do. We always have room for you, son.”
By the time his dad released him, they were both was wiping their eyes. Before Percy could say a word, though, he was spun and pulled into another hug. Charlie, he realised. And within moments they were joined by Bill, Fred, Ron and Ginny, who squirmed her way in.
“Who’s here? Oh!”
The family, who had been hugging the stuffing out of Percy, all stepped back. Molly, clad in an apron, hands covered with flour, was at the door.
“Hullo, Mum,” Percy choked out.
With a loud shriek, Molly ran for him, enveloping him in a hug so tight that he had difficulty breathing for a moment. Or that could have been his own emotions choking him, Percy wasn’t at all clear at that moment.
Minutes later his mum was babbling about how she’d not wanted to smother him and about how much she’d missed him. “It almost killed me that you weren’t coming to Sunday dinner,” she sobbed into his robes. Percy didn’t even mind the mess she was making. He’d missed her. He’d missed them all.
By the time the dust settled he’d been put to work cutting up potatoes and he didn’t even mind. Ginny had already told him she needed to talk to him later, and Fred wanted his opinion on a new WWW product. Percy was sure he’d have purple hair by the end of the night and he was even looking forward to it.
He’d just finished the potatoes when a small hand slid into his. Percy jumped, startled, blinking down at Luna. The bells in her hair were no longer red but green. To match her orange dress, no doubt. “I knew you’d find your way home,” she said, smiling up at him. “You just needed some help with directions.”
“Luna?” Percy shook his head. “How are you here?”
“I was invited.” Unabashedly, she leaned up and kissed him.
Percy kissed her back for moment before recalling where he was. Pulling back self-consciously, he looked around, only to find his mum beaming at him, Ginny grinning and Fred giving him the thumbs up sign. He coughed. “Do I have more Wrackspurts or something?”
Luna shook her head, bells tinkling as she did so. “Oh no. That was just because I wanted to kiss you.”
Of course. Percy felt laughter bubbling up inside him and, grinning down at her he said, “Right. I should have known.”
Author/Artist:
alisannePairing(s): Percy Weasley/Luna Lovegood, Severus Snape/Harry Potter (background only)
Prompt: #166: Percy - Christmas without the family.
Word Count/Art Medium: +/- 1800
Rating: PG
Contains (Highlight to view): *None that I can think of.*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Thanks to my beta, who shall be named later, and to those who helped me when I needed it. You know who you are. Thanks also to the fabulous fest mods. Happy Minifest, everyone!
Summary: No matter what, family has to claim you.
A Family Christmas
Rolling up the last of his parchment, Percy looked around his tiny cube of an office. It was, as usual, spotless, everything organised, not a quill out of place. A lot of his colleagues had decorated their offices for the holidays but he hadn’t. It wasn’t...professional. I imagine Dad did, though. Percy sighed. Mum probably even did it for him.
He shook his head. The last time anyone in his family had visited his office they’d mocked his neatness. “I’d have been able to pick this one as yours from twenty feet up on a broom,” Charlie had said, grinning as he’d looked around.
Percy sighed. Of course, that had been back before the war.
He’d expected the war ending to change everything. With Fred gone, however, once the dust had cleared, he’d found his mother standoffish, his dad distant, and his brothers...sad. It had been difficult to be around them. Ginny, always the one he’d most identified with, had been too busy chasing after Harry Potter to have time for Percy, and so he’d just faded into the background again.
Sometimes he wondered if he hadn’t been secretly adopted. I wonder if anyone’s even noticed that I haven’t been attending Sunday dinners? he thought as he packed up his stuff to go home. There hadn’t been a Floo, an owl, or even a Patronus from anyone in his family since the Order of Merlin ceremony. And now it’s almost Christmas. Not that that matters.
Pushing the impending holiday from his mind, Percy opened his office door and moved into the hallway. He typically worked late, so there was rarely anyone about when he was leaving. Which was why he didn’t check as carefully as he might normally have for someone passing by. As he spun around after closing his door, he ran smack into someone. There was the fleeting impression of pale eyes, floaty blonde hair and bells, and then Percy was on the ground, looking up at the ceiling.
“Oh! Are you all right?”
Sitting up, Percy fingered his head. The back of his skull was sore from where he’d hit the hard floor, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
“Did you hurt your head?”
Percy looked up into silvery-grey, rather protuberant eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, good, then.” The girl, who was wearing tiny red bells in her hair, looked vaguely familiar, offered him her hand. “You’ve got a rather bad case.”
She helped him up easily and as he stood looking down at her, Percy recalled where he knew her from. We were at Hogwarts together. She was a Ravenclaw. Lucy or Lulu or something. “A bad case?”
“Of Wrackspurts.” Rather than releasing his hand, she’d turned it over and was staring at his palm. “Oh,” she said, tone sad. “I see.”
“You...see?” Percy repeated, confused. Realising his parchments were littering the hallway, he tried to retrieve his hand. “Er, excuse me, but I need to gather my things,” he said.
“Oh, I can help with that.” With a muttered word from the girl, Percy’s bag opened and all of his spilled items began shuffling themselves inside.
Percy blinked. He’d never seen magic like that before. “What spell is that?” he choked.
“Oh, just something I created.” The girl smiled up at him. “I’m always dropping my things you see.”
Percy could feel the situation getting out of control. Clearing his throat, he said, “Erm, right. Well, Miss...”
“Lovegood,” she supplied, smiling up at him. “Luna.”
“Yes. All right. Ms Lovegood.” Percy tugged at his hand again, to no avail.
“Most people call me Luna.” She tilted her head. “You have very red hair.”
“I...yes. Everyone in my family does.”
She nodded. “Yes they do.” She smiled. “No matter what, they’d have to claim you, wouldn’t they? You could never pretend to not be related to them.”
Percy blinked. “No, I...suppose not.”
“Not that you’d want to,” Luna continued blithely, still holding on to his hand. “They’re a lovely family.”
“I suppose they seem that way, yes.” Percy’s lips tightened. “Look I hate to be rude, but...may I have my hand back?”
Luna nodded. “Of course.” Looking down, she carefully traced a shape in his palm. “There. That should take care of them.”
She let go of him and Percy took his hand back, staring at it. It’d felt...tingly at her touch. “Of...whom, exactly?” he asked, resisting the urge to touch her again.
“Wrackspurts.” She shook her head. “You have a terrible case, really.”
“I...do?”
“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, they’re still there. This calls for a drastic treatment.”
“What does that even mean-- Merlin!” Percy gasped as Luna’s mouth covered his, his arms automatically going around her waist for support.
She kissed the way she spoke, straightforwardly, without reserve. Before he knew it, Percy found their tongues entwined, and discovered that he was being pressed against the wall by her body, which had curves in all the right places. He had a hand halfway to her breast before his brain caught up and he drew back gasping. “What are you doing?”
Luna licked her lips. “Kissing you.” Stepping back, she inspected him, nodding as if pleased. “Wrackspurts hate kissing.”
“I...see.” Percy had no idea what she was talking about, but he wasn’t about to argue. “Look, Ms--”
“Luna.” Patting his cheek, she handed him his bag. “It’s almost Christmas. Wrackspurts do their worst during holidays. You should be careful.” And with that she spun on her heel and took off down the hallway, disappearing around a corner.
“Well,” Percy whispered into the empty corridor. “That was interesting.”
She was mad, Percy thought for the fifth time since getting home. Utterly insane.
And yet, some of the things she’d said had made sense. His family was his family, it wasn’t as if he could ever not claim them. No one would ever see him and not realise he was a Weasley. And, in his heart, he was proud of them. They were heroes. His mother had killed Bellatrix Lestrange. His brother had helped Harry Potter defeat Voldemort. His sister... Percy sighed. He knew Ginny had her sights set on Harry Potter, but something told that wasn’t meant to be.
Scanning his empty flat, Percy thought about what his parents’ house probably looked like just then. It’s probably a madhouse. I bet Mum cooked way too much food, as usual. And I’m sure there are plenty of random people about. She loves collecting strays.
Blinking, he sat up straight. He was a bit of a stray just then, wasn’t he? He had nowhere to go for Christmas. Nowhere but home, a small voice in his head reminded him. The place where they have to take you in.
“Will they even want me?” he said aloud. “What if they tell me to leave?”
They can’t disown you, the voice in his head that sounded disturbingly like Luna reminded him. Just as you can never deny them.
Looking at the clock, Percy saw it was seven. Christmas Eve meant his mother was frantically cooking, so the house would smell amazing. His flat, by comparison, was sparse, bare. He blinked back tears. Whatever had made him think he could manage Christmas without his family?
Determined, he stood, Summoned his robes, and strode towards his Floo. “The Burrow!” he cried, throwing powder into the fireplace.
As he’d expected, there were several people there. Stepping into the living room, he saw Charlie talking to Minister Shacklebolt. Across the room was Harry Potter cosying up to, of all people, Severus Snape.
“Percy?”
Percy spun, finding himself face to face with his dad, who was blinking at him as he if he was hallucinating.
Smiling tremulously, Percy said, “I...Do you have room for one more?”
Everything seemed to go quiet. Arthur froze, and for a moment Percy thought he was going to be rejected, and then he was in his father’s arms, and Arthur was squeezing him, shaking. “Percy. Merlin. Of course we do. We always have room for you, son.”
By the time his dad released him, they were both was wiping their eyes. Before Percy could say a word, though, he was spun and pulled into another hug. Charlie, he realised. And within moments they were joined by Bill, Fred, Ron and Ginny, who squirmed her way in.
“Who’s here? Oh!”
The family, who had been hugging the stuffing out of Percy, all stepped back. Molly, clad in an apron, hands covered with flour, was at the door.
“Hullo, Mum,” Percy choked out.
With a loud shriek, Molly ran for him, enveloping him in a hug so tight that he had difficulty breathing for a moment. Or that could have been his own emotions choking him, Percy wasn’t at all clear at that moment.
Minutes later his mum was babbling about how she’d not wanted to smother him and about how much she’d missed him. “It almost killed me that you weren’t coming to Sunday dinner,” she sobbed into his robes. Percy didn’t even mind the mess she was making. He’d missed her. He’d missed them all.
By the time the dust settled he’d been put to work cutting up potatoes and he didn’t even mind. Ginny had already told him she needed to talk to him later, and Fred wanted his opinion on a new WWW product. Percy was sure he’d have purple hair by the end of the night and he was even looking forward to it.
He’d just finished the potatoes when a small hand slid into his. Percy jumped, startled, blinking down at Luna. The bells in her hair were no longer red but green. To match her orange dress, no doubt. “I knew you’d find your way home,” she said, smiling up at him. “You just needed some help with directions.”
“Luna?” Percy shook his head. “How are you here?”
“I was invited.” Unabashedly, she leaned up and kissed him.
Percy kissed her back for moment before recalling where he was. Pulling back self-consciously, he looked around, only to find his mum beaming at him, Ginny grinning and Fred giving him the thumbs up sign. He coughed. “Do I have more Wrackspurts or something?”
Luna shook her head, bells tinkling as she did so. “Oh no. That was just because I wanted to kiss you.”
Of course. Percy felt laughter bubbling up inside him and, grinning down at her he said, “Right. I should have known.”
