Since It Has Been Clear (Percy)

[Alicia Spinnet]

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LITTLE DARLING, THE SMILES RETURNING TO THE FACES
little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
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<sup>Today is Ali's fourth birthday. Her father somehow manages to wrangle a small pony for the affair and a six tiered chocolate cake. Ali succeeds in only stuffing her gullet with sugar and barely scrambling up the side of the equine for a photo.
Now, today is not Ali's birthday. Today, Ali recalls rule seven religiously. It has not been Ali's birthday, or at least to her, since she turned four. It has been only her days, blending with days, which blended with days. They flow, rapidly twisting into the time stream, certainly not cake batter. The brunette didn't need cake anymore.
All she needs is rule seven, most days.

Rule Seven: don't let it rub into your hair. Make sure your hair is in tact. No one will suspect if your hair remains perfectly untainted.
More importantly, just don't eat cake.

High heels were an instrument of precision and Alicia Spinnet had spacial judgement issues. A single mistake, a misstep only led to a tumble and on stairs, she was less than trustworthy. She was mastering the technique, just as she had mastered so many before. Yet a rough tumble here and there was not hard to accomplish on a bipolar stairwell. Ali often wondered if the grandeur of the shifting sets was a mere ruse; a simple mask to dress up it's contorted and estranged personality.
Constantly changing it's mind...

Or perhaps, it was merely eccentric, at this point Ali merely wanted to rip her pumps from her toes, and shred off her school skirt; perhaps scribble down a few notes for potions and then fall asleep for a few days. Perhaps for a few years. A single week into a series, another chapter, another schooling year and she already felt the invisible weight on her shoulders, causing a slouch in her spine. Her petite frame swayed side to side as she clicked upward, skidding slightly as the stairwell decided against it's current path. She gasped, exasperated, another groan as it finally quaked, cracking against another marble setting in order to show a new route.
Like a new train set, each small piece of track clicked perfectly together, snapping in a pattern that gave a small ounce of satisfaction to the constructor.

No satisfaction; recall rule seven, keep a constant clicking like a consistant humming between radio programs.
Her hair twisted about her shoulders as she leveled herself, smoothing her robes which bore the gryffindor emblem; so terribly abrasive; so horribly brave. She cursed rather loudly, swearing as the stairwell made another rapid decision amongst the golden mise-en-scene. The atmosphere was damp that friday evening, causing the paintings to shed off their light into the extravagance; gold trims with a glow.
It was blinding; too much. Way too much.

The brunette scrambled to keep up and ergo, scrambled right into a force, as she swung herself from the clipping edge of staircase, her black pumps skidding over the sheer glassy, marble, cream colored and reflective. Seeing herself in the cool tile, she could imagine her skin against the cold surface and therefore, imagined her bed once more.
"Fuck, watch where you're_ Percy?"
The force, however, prevented any other thoughts. She blinked as she swiveled past whoever had stood in her path; yet the heat was too familiar to ignore and eye contact, a fault of her own, was made. Her wide brown eyes, flat and oak, met...

They were ashen; they were pale, much like the shade of his skin.
He had never stolen her pink purse, the tiny one with the faux fur trim like George and Fred had led her to believe. But she flushed now and made direct eye contact with a boy she wanted quite desperately to forget.
But she couldn't. Not with ashen green irises and tinted hair; not even real red, she insisted.
She had done so terribly well and now, before Percival Fucking Weasley, she couldn't remember rule seven.
Keep it... out of your hair?</sup>

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LITTLE DARLING, I FEEL THAT ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING
little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
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tagged; princy weasley
lyrics; here comes the sun by the beatles
listening to; my love
by sia
word count; words
credit; to brooke from caution

[Percy Weasley]

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Stick around, and it may show,

But I don't know,
I don't know

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[/i].

But sometimes Percy wanted a little more than nice. He wanted that booming laugh that was reserved for Bill or the naughty chuckles snuck to Fred and George. He wanted...something akin to affection.

But maybe that was selfish. At any rate, he had a job to do. Right now he was checking the individual portraits to be sure that nothing would offend their Muggles. He had already planned on removing two paintings in which the subjects belted out insults in French and another that did nothing but spout insults about non-Hogwarts schools.

Why a powerful man like Albus permitted such things, Percy would never understand. He shook his head and bent over a small notepad, cursing himself for not bringing a Quick Quotes Quill or at least a self-inking model. This whole process was so much more awkward with his ink pot sloshing around in the same hand as his notebook. He had to prop the notebook on the edge of his knee, making him stand like an awkward flamingo to try and jot down the name and location of the painting so Filch could easily find and remove it.

He had just uncapped his bottle of black ink when something barreled into him. The thick black fluid gushed over the sides and onto Percy's newly polished shoes and the stone stairs. Irate, especially with the shouted demand to "Fuck, watch where you're going" he spun around to give the student a piece of his mind.

Instead his brain stuttered. Alicia. Alicia Spinnett. Had her eyes always been that shade of chocolate?

"Percy?"

Percy cleared his throat and stammered to an answer. "Hullo, Alicia...erm, how do you do?"

The last time he remembered seeing Alicia was back at The Burrow with her and his brothers causing mayhem. Percy had all but grown up with Alicia and sometimes the association was painful. She had been a participant in many Weasley events...including the unpleasant ones. Witness to the multitudes of arguments between Percy and his father, no one understood the Weasley family quite like Alicia Spinnett.

"Look at what you've done," he sighed with annoyance. "Filch will have my head when he sees the mess we've made." He shook his head at her. She hadn't grown up at all in all the time Percy had known her. Save her vocabulary full of vulgarities, Alicia was perpetually six in Percy's mind. A very mischievous and troublesome six year old. Even at eight, Percy could recognize that the girl would make his life...interesting to say the least.

"Help me lighten the stain at least...Must you run from place to place as if there is a race?" Percy moved his glasses higher up on his nose. "Incorrigible, really."

He looked up at her again, something odd frothing in his stomach. It was similar to anxiety so Percy attributed it to his body innately preparing for some sort of dreadful prank that she was about to unleash upon him.

She did look rather good, though. Percy would have to give her that.


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Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her.
You know I believe and how?
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tag. Alicia words Around 900 status completed listening to The Age of Rockets notes Can't wait credits banner goes to abbie.doll of caution2.0![/font][/center][/font]

[Alicia Spinnet]

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LITTLE DARLING, THE SMILES RETURNING TO THE FACES
little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
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<sup>Oh she knew that fourteen year old with scuffed knees and what she believed to be an oedipal complex toward his father. Oh her world had been filled with that little boy; of the vicious tantrums. Bill had this. Bill had that. Fred and George did this. Fred and Alicia did that; George only assisted, father, only assisted.
She recalled the fourteen year old, glancing sadly over to the bread bowl, while Fred plopped across from him with a large red bar of soap in his mouth, clamped between his jaws.
More importantly, a fourteen year old who just quarreled with his own father in order to gain his attention; no favor, merely attention.
Ashen green; rose colored hair.

The ink coated the reflective tile, splattering over the pristine flooring and staining the cracks, the sharp interruptions to an otherwise perfect surface. Ali loved it.
Six year old Ali had pitied eight year old Percy.
Ten year old Ali had adored twelve year old Percy.
Fourteen year old Ali clung to sixteen year old Percy's every single word.

Sixteen year old Ali had given up. Lost cause; simple as that. All she could recall now is how Fred and George's faces would have contorted if she had even breathed a word of adoration.
In truth, Ali knew Percy; she believed quite well. Even as his hands shook now, kneeling to attempting to contain the spillage, she could predict every single swift movement, terribly exact and almost guilty. He hadn't spoken to them and she still knew every word; like it was yesterday.
He was still fourteen; still desperately snapping at his father; or even wanting to learn the mechanics of a toaster.
She would have died to learn the mechanics of a toaster.

"Hullo, Alicia...erm, how do you do?"
"Ali, my name is Ali." She hadn't really meant to snap, but the ink that had splattered now sunk into her skirt, just as her heart was escalating into her throat. She murmured something under her breath and tossed her hair irritably, her claws threading through it, examining the chocolate hints in it. She appeared unamused.
Being six had been easy; this whole experience, feeling as if she couldn't breath. She could deal without.

He babbled, speaking of her ill-fortune, her mistakes and how she had swiveled about. She swallowed and remembered rule seven, just in chance she needed to utilize it later. In the pit of her stomach, her hollow ego sank.
What was she exactly? No, sixteen did not even exist. She cried over a stock of broccoli now, staring into the cool inky black that tore against the white cream near Percy's oxford shoes. Quite professional.
Alicia bent now at the knee, kicking off her pumps, so that her toes padded gently in the ink. She snatched at her satchel rolling her eyes,

"Jesus, Princy, don't be so dramatic. It isn't a crisis or the bombing of Berlin? Alright?" She knelt on his level, a pull in her chest as she whipped out her wand and attempted her basic knowledge of housekeeping magic, to no avail.
Must you run from place to place as if there is a race?
"What is the fun in walking? There is none." She snapped, deadpanning slightly, her large irises scanning his high cheekbones.
She only assisted, Percy, only assisted. He never knew when to have fun even when assisted. So why did her heart nestle in her fucking throat?

She swallowed and then looked away, inquiring, "What the hell are you doing here anyway? It isn't to see Ren, Ginny or the twins. That much is obvious." Ali bit gently before melting away at the stain slightly with the tip of her wand; willow wood and eyed the boy.
Ashen green.
She shifted before him; her creme colored blouse matching ashen eyes as she sighed.

No one really wanted to be six.</sup>

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LITTLE DARLING, I FEEL THAT ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING
little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
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tagged; princy weasley
lyrics; here comes the sun by the beatles
listening to; my love
by sia
word count; words
credit; to brooke from caution

[Percy Weasley]

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Stick around, and it may show,

But I don't know,
I don't know

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Masking a vague pang of hurt, Percy rolled his eyes. Was it really so blatant that he and his family were no longer close? Surely, the others couldn't expect Percy to maintain regular communication with his family? Such a ridiculous standard would never be pressed on the shoulders of Bill or Charlie, would they?

Fresh annoyance sparked hot in his flesh as jealousy flared through his veins. The weakest Weasley, the most obnoxious Weasley, the Weasley that no one liked.

"That is none of your business. I'm working. And that's all that should concern you." He stood up so promptly that his knees popped and more ink sloshed over the sides and onto his trousers. He flushed with embarrassment: that was a move that Bill would have pulled off nicely. Ronald less so, but with perhaps the same amount of effect.

Percy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He flicked his wand casually with a practiced hand for cleaning spells; he used them often enough. "Scourgify." The ink stain lifted considerably, but the damage had been done: Percy was once again the unwilling clown. Fred and George couldn't have pulled a prank better. Percy was flushed, soiled, and humiliated. Welcome back to Hogwarts, Percival. Hang your dignity at the hook next to the door.

He looked at Alicia heatedly. Perhaps he could disguise his humiliation as pure annoyance. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Alicia?" He didn't like the sound of utter defeat that weighed on his tongue like lead. Percy turned away with a look of what he hoped to be indifference.

Percy needed out of there immediately. The dark splotch on his trousers felt as if it were burning into his very skin. Both disgusting and asymmetrical. Percy was tempted to clone the ink stain on his other leg, but that would be truly absurd. He wanted to apparate back to his comically minuscule flat in London and forget that this whole incident had ever occurred.

He chanced a glance back to Alicia, noticing that there was something alive and hot in her eyes. Unaccustomed to such an expression angled at him (Percy could identify exhausted annoyance within a flap of pixie wings, but this look was novel). Hatred then. Scorn. Disappointment. It wasn't good whatever it was. Percy tilted his chin upwards, but his sinking heart didn't follow its directions.

There was no one in this world that actually liked him.


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Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her.
You know I believe and how?
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tag. Alicia words Around 650 status completed listening to Jack's Mannequin notes Emo! Percy credits banner goes to abbie.doll of caution2.0![/font][/center][/font]

[Alicia Spinnet]

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LITTLE DARLING, THE SMILES RETURNING TO THE FACES
little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
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<sup>Oh dear lord; he is staying and all breath was suddenly evaporated into the atmosphere. All single fragmented thoughts froze and her pink lips parted, gaping at him. Her flat brown eyes skimmed Percy's own infuriated expression; she had caused him said anger and almost flushed due to this.
Yet none of his feelings really mattered at this moment; he was staying. Stay. Ing.
She spoke the word in her mind multiple times over and still could not grasp the concept.
His tie wasn't straight and therefore when he spoke,
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Alicia?"
She leaned forward and promptly, snatched his tie, nearly ripping it from his waistcoat. Her nimble nails plucked at the red streaked slice of fabric.
He could do nothing for her; she could do quite a bit for him, if he would let her.
Not like, she really wanted to.

No one wanted to help Percy Weasley.
Percy wore a shocked expression as Ali smoothed the tie down, adjusting it so that it appeared at least somewhat neat. The brunette stood before him; waiting, expectant, as if she was yearning for approval.
Oh god, she was yearning for approval from the weasel himself. He didn't even talk to his family. She wrinkled her nose suddenly before remarking,
"If you're going to work, at least try to look presentable, Princy." She scoffed gently before adding quickly, "Meaning be sensible enough to at least straighten your tie..." She tucked her tiny, birdlike wrists behind her back, glancing to her feet.

Suddenly, a new objective struck her and she raised her head with a somewhat cocky expression, a sharp suspicious in her eyes. She narrowed her gaze, tilting her head, her brunette tresses crinkling slightly. She bit her lower lip and then asked pointedly,
"What exactly about your work involves Hogwarts? Don't you work in International Affairs, Princy?"
Percy suddenly, started trotting one way and Ali was quick to follow, her step keeping time with his own.

She tried her hardest to remember rule number seven; by even talking to Percy she was getting something she obviously did not deserve. She was indulging and she already felt the need to rid him of her presence, but like chocolate cake, she just told herself one more bit.
They took to the stairwell, Percy becoming annoyed obviously with Ali's presence.
Just one more bite.

The dim lights wrapped around her high cheekbones and strung them almost to his own. They appeared practically Aryan amongst the dim, high lights and grandeur gold straiwells.
Two more bites.</sup>

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LITTLE DARLING, I FEEL THAT ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING
little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
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tagged; princy weasley
lyrics; here comes the sun by the beatles
listening to; my love
by sia
word count; words
credit; to brooke from caution

[Percy Weasley]

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Stick around, and it may show,

But I don't know,
I don't know

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[/i]?!" He's shouting and the sound echoes down the hall, an audible splotch in the corridors. Percy winces and tries to pedal off again. Another idea strikes him before he can and he turns to Alicia suddenly. The abrupt gesture puts them entirely too close and when Percy attempts to rectify the situation by taking a step back, he tumbles a few steps downwards.

Fate isn't entirely cruel though, and allows him to remain vertical. He merely loses his footing and is forced to grip the banister. But grip it he does and he holds firmly to the last perfect line in this ridiculous little scene.

Percy feels tired. He tries his hardest to believe that he's here for a good cause. But he's not. He knows that he isn't here for any sort of purpose. The Ministry just wanted to get rid of him without really firing him. Pointless.

"What do you want from me, Ali?" The sharpness has returned to his voice and--to Percy's immense relief--he sounds annoyed instead of pathetic. He runs with it as fast as his feet will take him. "Because honestly, I'm sure there are better things that can be done with your time than wasting mine."



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Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her.
You know I believe and how?
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tag. Alicia words Around 600status completed listening to Radiohead notes Percy likes to throw himself pity parties. credits banner goes to abbie.doll of caution2.0![/font][/center][/font]

[Alicia Spinnet]

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LITTLE DARLING, THE SMILES RETURNING TO THE FACES
little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
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<sup>Today is still not Ali's birthday; in fact, today could be Ali Spinnet's worse day.
Obviously, Percy was over-reacting; he had had a tendency to do so since their childhood. The more things changed, the more Percy remained the same. He had proven himself terribly predictable; yet in his predictability, his actions became unpredictable. Those eyes never darted nor widened in the same manner.
Ali just wanted to eat half of a chocolate cake and call it a night as Percy wailed. Another blatant fact was that she, of all beings, had dared to correct his precious little existence. Ergo, the boy now stumbled about, whirling to face her with a shocked expression.

Torsos brushed, however. Contact was not expected on Ali's part and her lips parted as she stared into his rattled countenance. He suddenly stumbled away, tripping down the shifting stairwell. The brunette emitted a low rasp of surprise, clicking downward, outstretching toward the young man. She felt her heel slip as Percy let out supply of statements,
"What do you want from me, Ali? What do you want?!"

Gravity favored the pricks of society and so Ali crashed forward, colliding with the young lad, who luckily and hastily clasped her elbows, her clumsiness obviously caused him to add,
"What do you want from me, Ali?"
Wasn't it so plainly obvious? Alicia cursed gently, as she still poised herself before him, her skin prickling with humiliation. Not even Percy Weasley could see that it nearly killed her to admit what she felt. Any sort of emotion needed to be smothered.
She suddenly had the urge to change her hair color and join the witness protection program. Anything to simply fade away into the background. Then maybe, people would simply forget her existence. Dying alone could be a solace; she reminded herself grimly as she lifted her gaze to Percy;
He had eyes just as round as a silver dollar fish. He always had.

Even after hers had died. She swallowed now. What had he even said? Something about wasting time?
"I just..." She could feel her heart racing, "Have you ever seen a silver dollar fish, Percy?" Of course, he had. She had brought her precious pet around the Weasley's home. She wanted to tell him about his eyes; but gravity still favored pricks and the stairwell underneath them shook in protest; shifting positions in the tall hall. She leaned backward, behind her as she stood parallel to Percy, to lean against the banister.

"Shit. Just forget it." She murmured; her head bent, revealing the silver strip of fabric that was her headband to the boy. She could not fathom as to why she had even lingered in front of Percy for so long. She was merely a piece of furniture in the background of his life at this moment. She let her nails dig into the cool surface of the banister; her eyes examining the manner in which her black pump clad toes cut into the marble flooring.
You used think...
She used think...

She didn't even know why, but Percy still fit like a puzzle piece into her thoughts. It must've been a sick desire for self abuse. The red headed male still terrified her, in the manner that when she finally did look at him, she became certain that her existence would be spent entirely alone.
Percy did not fit into the train tracks though.
She neared him once more, quirking an eyebrow, suddenly speaking,
"It is good to see you, Percy."

What was the point in holding on to the one person who would never quite understand her?</sup>

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LITTLE DARLING, I FEEL THAT ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING
little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
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tagged; princy weasley
lyrics; here comes the sun by the beatles
listening to; my love
by sia
word count; words
credit; to brooke from caution

[Percy Weasley]

Aug 21, 2010 22:30:41 GMT -6 Percy Weasley said:

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Stick around, and it may show,

But I don't know,
I don't know

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Percy's eyebrow shot up on its own accord. He looked at her this time. Something in her tone screaming Look at me! in a way that Percy didn't quite know how to resist. His eyes ran over her fists, a mirror image of his own, and the taught emotion behind her face. It occurred to him that she might be feeling a similar sense of frustration and humiliation. The very fact that she might be feeling something stuck in Percy's chest and made him uncomfortably tense in his throat. It felt very much like empathetic pain for this odd creature before him.

Alicia, in Percy's mind's eye, had never been desperate. She had always been an image of caustic control and grinning wit. The instigator of the mischief Fred and George stirred and the soul benefactor of impish charm. The Weasleys' own personal patron saint of pranks.

Now it seemed very possible that he had gotten it all wrong.

Well, I'll just buy her the goddamned fish then...

Percy looked down thoughtfully at his shoes. It was entirely possible that this wasn't just some sort of crossfire annoyance or bantering entertainment for Alicia. It could very well be...well, a connection of sorts.

"It is good to see you, Percy."

At this, Percy looked up and his mind staggered with a, When the hell did she get so close? and a, Good Merlin move, man!

Percy didn't move of course, that would be too much in line with self preservation and Percy was awful at that sort of thing. So, true to his stunning intellect and utterly suave mannerisms, Percy uttered a profound, "Huh?" once more.

Merlin alive, no wonder Bill always teased him for being a complete social buffoon.




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Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her.
You know I believe and how?
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tag. Alicia words Around 600status completed listening to Radiohead notes Percy likes to throw himself pity parties. credits banner goes to abbie.doll of caution2.0![/font][/center][/font]