Swimming: Hallelujah
Author: Teague
Author Email: macteague at lycos.com
Date: August 1, 2002
Category: Romance
Pairing: Percy/Oliver
Spoilers: Fourth book, definitely. But hey, if you haven't read all four, why are you wasting your time reading THIS? Go read the books, and say three Hail Rowlings as penance.
Rating: PG-13
Summary:
Yet another summer afternoon.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the characters and entire backstory of this. Not mine, not using them for profit, merely for entertainment and to increase my writing skills. Consider this a sincere form of flattery.
Oliver found himself swept into the kitchen, seated, and handed tea by Ginny before he had time to think. She'd changed a lot since last year. But then, he supposed kids her age did. He wondered when he'd started thinking of thirteen-year-olds as small children, rather than as third years. Maybe when they were his friend's baby sister.
"How's Percy?" he asked. Returning to the country to find Percy the footnote of a scandal had been unexpected. Not a word of it had reached him through Percy's nearly daily letters. He still wasn't sure if he was angry, offended, or just very, very worried.
"Well, he's temporarily suspended for not reporting Mr. Crouch, can't go back to work till September, and is blaming himself for everything bad that's happened since he was born. Possibly before."
He saw the traces of worry around her eyes and tried to reassure her. "Well, that's Percy for you, he's an overachiever even when it comes to guilt. I'm sure he's been very thorough in his condemnation of himself."
A giggle escaped from behind the small, freckled hand covering her mouth. "He'll be glad to see you. I thought the two of you were going to just about kill Hermes, you had him carrying letters back and forth so much."
"Well, you know, lots of news. He never wrote a word of this though." Anger crept into his voice.
"You know Percy, when things are going well, you hear about them till you want to throttle him. Things go bad, he gets...stoic," she said, almost apologetically.
"That's one word for it," Oliver muttered darkly. Another word might be 'stupid', or 'stubborn' or even 'really bloody stupid'. But that was three words. "Is he around," he asked, trying not to look anxious.
"Is who around? And who are you, by the way?" A voice said from the doorway. A man in his late twenties or early thirties stood there, and the earring and ponytail would make him Percy's oldest brother, Bill. Oliver suddenly felt vaguely shabby and intrusive.
Ginny moved closer to him. "This is Oliver, Percy's...friend," she said, hesitantly. Oliver heard the faint pause before 'friend', and knew Bill did too as his eyes widened slightly.
"We're not- That is- " he said, searching for something to say.
"So you're Oliver," Bill said thoughtfully, reversing a chair and sitting down.
Oliver was beginning to think dropping in unannounced was not one of his better ideas.
"And you've come to see Percy."
"Yes?"
"Am I going to have to throw you off our property for making things worse?"
"Worse?" Oliver heard the hurt sound in his voice and winced.
"Leave him be, Bill. He's not like Percy's so-called friends at the Ministry. Percy's always happier when he's around," Ginny said indignantly.
"He is? What did those Ministry blokes do?" Oliver glared at Ginny, fists clenched.
Bill laughed abruptly and waved Ginny to silence. "All right, Ginny, I trust your judgment. Oliver, nice to meet you. The rest, including Percy, are down at the pond. I just came up to change and get Ginny."
"I've got to change," Ginny squealed, losing all signs of her sudden maturity, and Oliver and Bill exchanged grins as Oliver slipped out the back door.
The path to the pond was familiar now, and he could hear yelling and splashing. Somehow the yelling seemed lower-pitched this year. He entered the clearing and tossed his robes and bag aside. Four redheads bobbed in the midst of what looked like a geyser of water, but he spotted Percy lying out the far bank of the pond. In their usual spot, Oliver thought, feeling vaguely guilty for thinking of it that way.
He walked around the pond as quietly as possible. Percy lay still, with his eyes closed, which somehow just made the dark circles stand out more in his pale face. Oliver could have counted his ribs, as they stood out, deforming the smooth skin. He looked, and he didn't like what he saw, not one bit.
"Percy?" he said softly.
Blue eyes opened instantly. "Hello, Oliver," Percy said distantly. "I wasn't expecting you. I guess you've heard, then."
"Yeah, I heard," Oliver said.
Percy gave a curt nod, as if that was the end of the conversation. Hell, as if he thought Oliver would just LEAVE now, and that was just bloody stupid. Sometimes all Percy's brains didn't do him the least bit of good.
Oliver sat down beside Percy, and unceremoniously pulled the other man closer, wincing at the way his collarbones stood out. "What've you DONE to yourself, you git?"
Percy stared at him before replying, hesitantly, "Oliver. You know, right? I messed up. Phenomenally. In the most major and destructive way I could possibly have done so, and with no excuse other that that I was too proud and too stubborn, and - "
"Percy," Oliver said absently, running his fingers along the offending collarbones, "Did I ever give you the impression that I thought you were anything but a normal, fallible, man?"
Percy shivered in the pause before answering, "Err... No?"
"There you go then," Oliver mumbled, growing distracted as he ran his hands down Percy's arms. Too thin altogether, just skin and bones. Obviously he hadn't been eating, causing his family no end of worrying, the prat.
"So you're just... Oliver, what are you doing?" Percy said, voice taking on a distinct squeak as Oliver slip his hands across Percy's ribs.
"Too bloody thin, what've you been doing, FASTING?" Oliver grumbled.
Percy burst into laughter, leaning forward to rest his head against Oliver's shoulder, body shaking. He sounded a little hysterical, but Oliver wrote it off as the release of tension and concentrated on the feel of Percy's warm breath on his shoulder.
"You. Are. Completely. Mad." Gasped Percy.
"Well, there's news then," Oliver mock-grumbled, sliding an arm around the sun-warmed body.
They both looked up at the sound of a throat being politely cleared.
"You must be Oliver. Of the 'Daily Letters' fame." The unfamiliar man said with a smile. He was draped half across a low lying branch, and his red-hair and stocky build meant he was probably the other older brother, Charlie.
"Yeah, that is, yes - " Oliver could almost feel the heat radiating from Percy, and a glance confirmed that Percy was well on his way to outdoing himself on the blushing front.
"Just noticed he two of you over here and thought I'd recommend you go swimming. Or go away, whichever. Mum would be a little ... perturbed if the little ones saw something they shouldn't." Charlie looked so deliberately casual that it took a minute for his meaning to sink in.
"We're not!" Oliver protested, at the same moment Percy said "We wouldn't - We aren't'. Why would you-" Percy was nearly beside himself.
Charlie looked amused and directed a pointed look to where Oliver's hand rested on Percy's hip, just at the waistband.
Hastily, Oliver snatched his hand away. "Whoa. No! I wasn't - "
"Oh bloody hell, I'm going swimming," Percy muttered, as he untangled his legs from Oliver's, leaving him feeling oddly bereft.
Left sitting on the bank, facing Charlie alone after Percy entered the water, Oliver stuttered, "I wouldn't... take advantage - I- "
"Clam down," Charlie said kindly. "And go catch up with my brother. That's the most I've seen him smile all week."
Oliver rose to get into the pond.
"Oh, and Oliver?
"Yeah?" Please kill me. Not another brotherly lecture. This really couldn't get any more embarrassing.
"You should still be in practices another three weeks."
He would know. He didn't know Oliver, but Oliver knew all about Charlie Weasley. Best seeker the school had, until Harry. Turned down professional Quidditch for dragons. Clearly insane. "I took personal leave for a week," Oliver muttered. The water did not quite muffle the sound of Charlie laughing.
~~
Percy was playing tag with Ginny and the twins when Oliver caught up. He frowned at the hectic colour of Percy's cheeks, but assumed Bill, who was throwing the ring for Ron nearby, would say something if Percy were over-exerting himself.
He still couldn't believe Charlie had thought he'd take advantage of Percy in his current state. Sure, he'd had PLANS, before this. After all, Percy had broken up with Penelope last year, and he hadn't started dating anyone else. And Oliver thought, even though Percy never came out and said it, that he was waiting. For Oliver to say something.
Which he'd fully intended to do, before seeing Percy today. It was out of the question now. Percy needed a friend, and a friend was exactly what he was going to get.
Percy's smile was hesitant, so Oliver beamed back reassuringly. And was promptly smacked on the arm by Ginny. "Tag! You're it!" She chirped angelically before swimming away. Laughing, Percy took off in the other direction. They'd set him up!
He went after Percy, of course.
He didn't catch him till he finally trapped him amidst some overhanging tree branches.
"You're it," Oliver said firmly.
"All right," Percy said agreeably, kissing Oliver on the cheek and heading off in search of his brothers and sister.
Kissed, thought Oliver. Kissed me. Someone should tell him I'm not taking advantage of him till he's feeling better. Wait. I mean I'm not 'taking advantage' ever. When he's recovered, I'll tell him how I feel, and he'll say how he feels, which is hopefully - Well, obviously -
Someone slapped him on the shoulder. "You're it," Ginny said cheerfully.
"Again! What is this, a conspiracy?"
"Percy went that way," Ginny said, pointing.
With a long-suffering sigh, Oliver went to find Percy. It wasn't hard, since he was treading water in the only other part of the pond that was properly screened by the trees.
"You're it," Oliver said softly, looking into amused blue eyes.
"Better swim away, then," Percy said.
And kissed him.
On the forehead.
By the time Oliver opened his eyes again, Percy was halfway across the pond. Oliver began to suspect that he was not the one taking advantage here, and clearly Percy had come up with some plans of his own before the events of the Tri-Wizard Cup.
Percy tagged Ron. Who tagged George. Who then tagged Percy. Who ignored Oliver treading water right next to him and tagged Ginny!
To Oliver's aggravation, they continued in that fashion for half an hour. Finally, he threw himself in Ron's path. "Tag me," he growled.
Ron, looking far too amused for such a young kid, complied, and Oliver went after Percy with the single-minded dedication generally reserved for Quidditch.
Percy evaded him.
And again.
Until Oliver drove him into that same section of the pond, and kissed him.
Swiftly.
Quickly.
And okay, the third kiss lasted a little longer. He pulled himself away reluctantly.
Percy looked at him, with a smile trembling on his lips.
"Uh. You're it?" Oliver said, weakly.
Percy laughed till he nearly drowned himself. Eventually, Oliver gave up and laughed with him.
~~
They walked down the path in a jumbled, ever-changing group.
"Oh no, Bill, Oliver and I aren't... like that. We're just friends." muttered Bill as he passed Percy and Oliver to keep Ron from injuring Fred. Ron's growth spurt put him on even footing with his older brothers now, and he was taking every opportunity to take advantage of that.
"Oh no, Ginny, it's not - Your brother and I aren't -" Ginny murmured, apparently to Charlie.
"Charlie, Oliver and I write so often because we're in the habit. Why don't I write my other old roommates as much? They're not much for corresponding," Charlie said, slightly louder, and the two of them laughed from behind them.
Percy marched along, head high, ears and neck flaming red. Oliver used his newfound privilege to reach over slightly and brush his hand against Percy's. And tried not to grin too fatuously when it was caught and held.
The End
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