Head Prat

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Gender: Male
Age: 119
Sign: Aquarius
Country: United Kingdom

Signup Date:
February 12, 2020

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06/25/2020 03:04 PM 

You said you'd be there [Firecracker]


It was astonishing, the way Hogsmead even after all of these years never seemed to change. Fragments of the war still remained, some places keeping it as a reminder of what had happened, to pay tribute to those from the village that fought against the death eaters and fell. Percy walked quickly through the streets, memories of his own time spent there during his own time at Hogwarts. The years had gone by far too quickly, a blink and Hogwarts was over. Another and the war had happened. Another and he was at his lowest. It seemed to slow once as Percy stopped rushing, stopped pushing for perfection and started enjoying life. Married with two kids, the now fourty-five year old finally had a life he was proud of.

He rushed down the street as time pressed down on him. He was already late, already missed the big match that Rose had begged him to turn up for. He had always a quidditch fan, Percy was thrilled by the invite, the final match that would set who would win the Quidditch House Cup and Rose was in competition for captain next year. He made it a point to promise her that no matter what he would be there. Promises were horrible things though, always unkept and forever broken.

They were easy to spot the moment Percy entered the Hogshead, the massive gathering that filled a majority of the room, their loud laughs filling whatever space was left. Every sibling of his were grouped together just as they had while growing up. Even their own children were tightly knitted with each other, best friends with each other. Percy beamed as he crossed over to Rose, a bundle of her favorite sweets tucked under his arm. “Rose! How was the match, I bet you crushed them.”

Tactfully she dodged his attempt at a small greeting of a hug. He knew it before she even said it, guessed what would be going to happen before he even arrived. “You said you’d be there,” Rose snapped, her arms crossed angrily. “You promised.”

It was the first time Rose had ever snapped at him, directly called him out on something he messed up on. Usually his little niece was more reserved over his mistakes but looking at her now, she wasn’t so little anymore. Fifteen was a hard age, Percy’s oldest barely older than her and even with Molly he was at a loss of how to handle her, never mind Rose who took after Hermione.

“I know. Listen, I’m sorry things just got-”

“Was it because of work?”

“No.” Percy’s face scrunched back, puzzled by the accusation that was outdated. It had been years since someone made the remark about his work being a priority. “No, what would give you that impression?”

Slender shoulders shrugged, her head tilted towards his brothers. “Uncle Charlie, he says you used to do this kind of thing all the time, I guess he and daddy had a bet going if you’d even show up.”

It hurt, even after all these years. Percy believed they had moved on, that they had grown stronger - forgave him for his lapses in judgement, but nothing had changed. Not a single damn thing and Percy’s face flushed to match the vibrant hue of Rose’s hair. He didn’t need this, not today.

He hadn’t been at work the past two days, hadn’t slept or done anything other than sit beside Zoshia at Mungo’s. No one knew, not even their kids and he preferred to keep it that way. The accident was one thing, hurt on the job but Mungo’s hadn’t released her after new issues began. Her fear of what was happening was evident on her face no matter how hard she tried to hide it, terror that she was becoming sick just like her mother had. Percy had to be strong, had to put his own fear of losing her aside and be what she needed in that time. It had been Zoshia who pushed him to go to the match but he had fallen asleep while she was taken for testing, waking up to no new answers and late for Rose’s match. He was exhausted and it showed.

“Rose, I swear I would have been here . . .”

“Were you drinking?” Percy’s face contoured, a fury that had Rose stepping back from him. He didn’t need to ask her how she found out, Percy’s eyes locked on the source who grinned at him from across the room. “Uncle Charlie told me, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Percy’s jaw locked, the familiar twitch in his hand returning after years of absence. Stress that he used to thrive in now brought him to his knees, made the sweet aroma of the ale and firewhiskey that more appealing to him. It was nearly twenty-two years since he had a drink, roughly fifteen years since he felt the tug. His life had turned up, a life that had been rock bottom finally beyond the mend and better than just good. Until now.

The corners of his mouth twitched as he swallowed hard. “Yeah, well your Uncle Charlie is a d*ck.”

“At least he bothered to show up!”

“Your aunt needed me, now that is enough.” Percy rarely ever raised his voice, even when growing up he was always softer spoken with his tone and level in check. The few times he had always ended in disaster and were a lesson to him. Percy checked himself, lowered his voice that still held authority to get his point across as she began to defend herself. “Not that this is any of your concern or that I need to explain myself to you. Now, I’ll happily leave if you don’t want me here, Zoshia needs me.”

Rose gaze lingered on him as if she could sense something was off. Her own anger and disappointment faded, replaced with concern that made her look so much like Ron when he was younger. “Is Aunty Zosh okay?”

His answer should have been instant to put her at ease but Percy hesitated in his own uncertainty. The delay caused his nieces eyebrows to lift and quickly Percy shook his head. “Of- of course.” He struggled to say it, tried hard to keep his face neutral. He still couldn’t figure out how the accident at work led to where they were now, how she was still in a place she was terrified of without knowing when she would get out.

“Uncle Percy?”

He forced the smile onto his face. He needed someone to talk to, to vent at but he’d never burden any of his nieces or nephews with it, especially not Rose. “You know what her work is like, just a minor accident. Just don’t tell anyone, yeah. Especially not Molly or Lucy.” He waited for her nod, a small thing that made Percy nervous. He hadn’t lied to her, and he wasn’t asking her to lie for him but it was still a horrible situation to put her in. He just didn’t need anyone to worry, didn’t need his own children in a panic and demanding answers that he couldn’t give. “Now, did you kick their arses?”

“You know I did. So you know, we won by the way, 180 to 130 even though they caught the snitch.” Rose smiled softly, a silent apology for what she had said and understanding of what he asked. She nudged Percy with the edge of her broom, pushing him towards his family. “Uncle Percy is finally here! He was on the other side of the stands because he got here a bit late! Told you Uncle Charlie, you owe my dad his money and ten galleons.”

She lied for him, covered for him in what others believed was just him returning to his old ways. He couldn’t return the smile she gave him, the weight of it all hanging off his shoulders mixed with everything else.

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