The Error of My Ways

Chapter Two: Realization, Reconciliation and Something More

Percy had been spending the morning going from one store to another picking up supplies for his next field assignment for the Ministry of Magic. Fudge was still acting as if Voldemort had not returned and was some figment of everyone's collective imagination but Percy knew otherwise and so did the others in his small group. He was now rather tired, even though it was so early in the day and decided a cool drink at the Leaky Cauldron would be just the thing.

Sitting down at the only empty table left, he closed his eyes and went over the details of his assignment. It would not be easy and he was somewhat uncomfortable with the arrangements. It brought to the surface too many unresolved issues. Well, he wasn't in this to be sociable so he pushed the feelings down and deliberately tried to think of something other than…

 Sighing, he opened his eyes and took another sip of his drink. This really was getting out of hand. Where was his normal exemplary self-control?

 Noticing movement to his left, he glanced over and thought he could make out Harry. He was about to wave when someone grabbed him around the neck and pressed a cheek against the back of his neck. He tried to turn around to see who had accosted him when someone leaned his head back and, in a haze of brown hair, pressed their lips against his.

 Something deep inside of him cried out from beyond the cold exterior he presented to the world. Something warmed to the touch and, in doing so, refused to be relegated any longer to the perimeter of his existence. The kiss was soft, hesitant and gentle. Then, the face pulled away and he was left momentarily dazed.

 "Hermione Granger!" he thought to himself in shock.

For the briefest of instants, he felt an overwhelming desire to kiss her again. However, the sight of Harry laughing hysterically on the floor quickly brought him back to reality, and anger at his perceived weakness quickly replaced the desire. He retreated into his protective shell and made a rather cutting comment to Hermione who stared at him as if he were a ghost.

* * * * *

 Hermione was rendered speechless as she realized that she had not kissed her sometimes-obnoxious friend Ron but his older brother, Percy. The colour of her face rivalled the colour of that infamous Weasley hair that had caused the confusion. This would have been an opportune time to disapparate…if only she knew how.

 

 "Note to self, learn disapparation before embarking on an exercise of abject humiliation," she thought angrily.

 "Would you be so kind as to explain to me what you were trying to accomplish, Hermione? I never would have expected someone of your intelligence and professional polish to engage in such horseplay" Percy could be so cuttingly polite…Hermione winced at the coldness in his voice. She couldn't say anything to defend herself when she saw the anger in his face. It was nothing compared to how angry she was at herself. This was not supposed to have happened.

 "Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself and your behaviour?" Percy looked as if he was ready to curse her and Harry, having a fit of hysterics, really wasn't helping the situation a great deal. She had to say something…didn't people who were facing a firing squad always get a few last words?

 "I…I am so sorry, Percy," she stammered, still blushing furiously, "I was…well, your brother…Ron…well, he was teasing me and I…I wanted to…get him back…you know embarrass him somehow…all I saw was the back of your head…I thought…I thought…" she couldn't continue because Ron had just walked in. She glared at him fiercely.

 "What?" Ron asked, somewhat puzzled at the death glare he was receiving.

 Hermione could not answer him for how humiliated she felt. She could only glare in silence…a very uncomfortable silence.

Ron turned to his brother "Hullo, Percy. Ministry let you have lunch for a change??"

 Percy immediately fixed his angry gaze at his younger sibling. He did not say a word and did not seem too eager to provide an explanation.

 "What is with you guys?" Ron asked, looking from one to the other, "You look like you're ready to go at each other's throats." He then noticed Harry wiping tears from his eyes from having laughed so hard, "What is going on?"

 Percy cleared his throat.

 "Apparently, your friend here," he pointed to Hermione who still hadn't recovered her ability to talk coherently, "thought that you needed a small lesson in humiliation and mistook me for you."

 "And…"

 "And she put me in a…compromising position in front of all these patrons," Percy said stiffly, blushing slightly.

 Ron's face showed his confusion.

 "Will you stop talking like Fudge and tell me what happened? Harry, these two aren't much help. Did you see what happened?"

 "Yes."

 "And…"

 "Hermione kissed Percy…on the mouth…in front of everyone," he stated, trying very hard not to burst out into laughter.

 Ron gave both his brother and Hermione an incredulous look.

 "You're kidding!"

 Hermione finally started talking.

 "Honestly, Ron, it was a mistake. I came up behind him. I was expecting you here. I just zeroed in on the red hair and…well…can I help it if everyone in your family has almost identical shades of distinctive red hair?"

 "I can't believe I missed that…I wish I could have seen…"

 "You would have seen nothing, " Percy interrupted, somewhat calmer now "For goodness sake, Ron, it's bad enough for a Ministry employee to…well, be mistaken like that without you acting like a complete and total fool and blowing situations completely out of proportion. Hermione, I am sorry that I was angry with you. I know I over-reacted but..well, given the circumstances…I didn't really give myself a chance to think about my actions."

 Percy held out his hand and Hermione shook it with relief.

 "Your hands are so cold," Percy thought to himself, "I must have scared you half to death."

 "I really am sorry, Percy," she said contritely. Percy nodded and gestured that, perhaps, they should leave.

The four of them walked out of the pub, with everyone watching them in merriment. You couldn't say that a day at The Leaky Cauldron was ever dull.

 Percy and Hermione walked ahead of Ron and Harry (who was giving Ron a play-by-play description of what had happened, suitably exaggerated of course).

 "So, Hermione, I understand you have been chosen Head Girl of your year," Percy said with a smile on his face. It seemed he had left all his anger back at the pub. She practically beamed at him in pride.

 "How did you…let me guess, Ministry connections?" Hermione asked.

 Percy tapped the side of his nose knowingly and Hermione laughed, much more relaxed now.

 "It is what I have always wanted since I learned I was going to Hogwarts," she said happily. "It really is a dream come true for me."

 "This is much better," she thought. She really looked up to Percy and considered him competition in a lot of ways. For instance, she was aiming to get better NEWTs than he had and he had achieved the highest scores in over fifty years.

 "It is a great honour and a great responsibility to be chosen Head of one's year. I was the second in my family to do it and, I must say, it was one of my best experiences at Hogwarts," he added.

 Hermione could hear Ron imitating Percy and Harry's choked laughter. She chose to ignore both.

 "Boys!" she thought to herself in exasperation.

 "I am really looking forward to it. My parents are very proud of my accomplishments in school. I am all they have…I don't have all the siblings you do," she said sadly.

 Percy looked at her in some surprise. Although he knew Hermione was an only child, he never thought that it was something anyone would be sad about. Having more siblings than one could shake a wand at made the thought of being an only child quite appealing.

 "She's smart," he thought, "Very smart. Looks like she knows what she wants to do in life. Dedicated? Without a doubt and not afraid of hard work either. Full of spirit. Attractive…well, yes…I wonder why she doesn't have a boyfriend?" Percy wondered and then caught himself…it really wasn't any of his concern…he had other things on his mind although, as he admitted to himself, they were not nearly as pleasant.

 "Well, you can adopt Ron if you like," he said suddenly in a serious voice.

 Hermione looked at him in shock. Was there a note of mischief in those brown eyes? She smiled.

 "And deprive you of such a mature younger brother? That would hardly be sporting of me," she returned in an equally serious tone.

 There was no doubt about it, his eyes were definitely glinting.

 "So, brother dear," Ron piped up, eager to join the conversation, "what brings you to Hogsmeade? Out collecting market research on cauldron thicknesses again or is it wand diameters this time? Perhaps they have promoted you and you are now ensuring that all parchment manufacturers adhere to standard dimensions?"

 Harry was putting forward a valiant effort not to laugh as he did not want to offend Percy.

 To their surprise, Percy smiled, "You are somewhat correct, Ron. I will be working on a new assignment that promises to be challenging and very interesting. I was collecting some things I might be needing and I believe that I have everything I require except a couple of textbooks."

 "Textbooks?" Ron asked with wary eyes.

 Percy continued, pretending not to notice his brother's question, " I simply wanted to make sure that I was prepared. What do you think?" Percy opened up the parcel he had been carrying and inside were some quills, ink, parchment and…

 "Percy, why do you have a Hogwarts robe?" Harry asked.

 "What the hell is going on, Percy?" Ron shouted…as a horrifying possibility opened itself to his panicked mind.

 Hermione looked at the robe more closely.

 "That's a professor's robe," she commented to no one in particular.

 "Very astute observation, Hermione. I am going to be teaching History of Magic at Hogwarts this year. Since Professor Binns was, sad to say, exorcised by that hapless group of Slytherin first years at the end of the last school year, the position was vacant and Headmaster Dumbledore asked if I could take it…there is more to it than just a teaching position but, well, you know, Ministry business." Percy held himself up proudly.

 Ron paled to the extent that his freckles looked almost black. Harry smiled and Hermione was still looking at the cloak, touching it delicately as if it were a precious treasure.

 "No, Dumbledore would never do that to me. This is worse than Snape" Ron said in a hollow voice.

 Harry smacked Ron on the shoulder with a big grin.

 "No more sleeping in class for you, Ron. Percy will be the first living Professor we've had in that course."

Ron frowned.

 "Not when I get through with him," he said through a clenched jaw.

 "Oh, come on, Ron," Hermione chucked him playfully on the chin, "it's not that bad. You might actually enjoy the class…take it as a sort of competition…see which Weasley will win in that wizarding collection of dates, places and events that makes up History of Magic. The drama of the Druids. The troubles of the Trolls. The greatness of the Goblins." she breathed in a sultry voice, wringing her hands together for effect.

 Harry looked at her as if she had suddenly told them she was going to the Yule Ball with Crabbe.

 Ron sighed, "You forgot the weirdness of the Witch, Hermione."

 Harry nodded, "Uh, right. Hermione, we are going to go to the Quidditch supplies store and we'll meet you in front of Ollivanders in about half an hour. Come on Ron," he practically dragged the red haired boy with him and, within moments, they were both lost in the crowd.

 Percy coloured slightly…just now, her voice…it had reminded him of…

 "Honestly you boys are completely hopeless," Hermione threw her hands up in a dismissive gesture. She turned to Percy and noticed that he had a faraway look in his eyes.

 "Percy?" she said in a low voice and touched his arm gently.

 Percy, still somewhat dazed, grabbed her hand and kissed it, then pressed it to his heart.

 Hermione was in shock. She could not move. She could feel Percy's heart racing beneath her trembling fingertips. Her heart was racing too. This had to stop. She tapped him gently on the shoulder, trying to bring him back from that distant place he had somehow traveled to.

 Percy looked down at her and, in the instant before his eyes cleared, Hermione found herself looking into a gaze of pure love. She shivered in response. Then, it was gone. He released her hand, blushing furiously and apologizing profusely for his behaviour.

 "Don't fret about it, Percy," she heard herself say, "You've been under a lot of strain lately and this new assignment must be very important in order for you to need to be so close to Dumbledore. If there is anything I can help you with, let me know. If I can help The Boy Who Lived, I can certainly help his best friend's older brother," she smiled, trying to ease his discomfort…and hers.

 "Where are you going?" Percy asked, somewhat shaken.

 "Flourish & Blotts. I need some supplies. I already have most of the textbooks…I usually pick a few up at the beginning of the summer so that I can read them before the new school year starts. I am trying to get into Auror training and I need really high marks," Hermione knew she was rambling but couldn't help herself.

 "You can never start studying for NEWTs too early. I need to go to Flourish & Blotts myself to pick up the textbooks I need for my classes this year. I'll walk with you."

 The pair walked to the bookstore in silence, secretly wondering what the other was thinking. Percy held the door open for Hermione, an awkwardly formal gesture, and then they separated briefly to pick up what is was they needed. They paid for their purchases and stood outside the store, trying to think of something to say.

 "I have to go meet Ron and Harry now," Hermione broke the silence.

 "Hopefully, Ron will not have spent all his money on Cannons regalia," Percy smiled nervously.

 "That would not surprise me in the least. I will see you at Hogwarts then, Percy. I think you will do a great job."

 "Thank you, Hermione, I am looking forward to going back to Hogwarts."

 "Goodbye and thank you for being so good about…well, the situation I inadvertently put you in."

 "Don't mention it. Goodbye Hermione."

 Hermione walked over to Ollivanders with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. That look he gave her…no one had ever looked at her like that. It was like being swept away in a wave of warmth and comfort she had never known before. She felt so cold now and so alone. What had happened just then?

 Percy, walking back towards the Leaky Cauldron, was wondering the exact same thing.