𝕒𝕤𝕡í𝕕𝕒 | shield

VIII. The First Task

November 22nd, 1994

Despite Draco being a close friend of Percy's, Percy had never quite clicked with the rest of Draco's friends, mostly because they consisted of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, both of whom were as thick headed as they sounded. However, they were the only reasons Percy preferred to stay away. Pansy Parkinson was one of the better ones. She was, contrary to popular belief, only a misguided girl following her family's beliefs. Then there was Blaize Zabini, a half-blood, though not quite in the way Percy was, and had a mean swing as Slytherin Chaser. Daphne Greengrass and her younger sister, Astoria, were purebloods who both drooled over Draco whenever possible, though were not nearly as unbearable as made out to be either. Then there was quiet Theodore Nott, excellent in Transfiguration but not so much in Potions, which lead to him and Percy spending many hours together a few years ago as Percy had been dubbed the go-to tutor for his godfather's subject.

Like the rest of the school, they had all taken it upon themselves to ignore his presence and speak about him behind his back - as long as Draco was not present, of course - and so Percy was quite stunned when he left his dormitory two days before the first task, hoping to aid Harry in the library, to find Pansy and Theo waiting there for him.

"Erm... good morning?" Percy stated, though it sounded more like a question.

"Percy," Pansy said, her brown eyes looking rather... sad? "We have something you might want to see."

And so, here Percy was, hiking through the Forbidden Forest in broad daylight with two young fourth years leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked after a while of walking behind the two quiet Slytherins. "You know, I could get in serious trouble if I'm caught out here with you two, especially now that I'm an adult in the eyes of the Ministry-"

"Can you shut your trap?" Pansy deadpanned, stopping in her step which caused both Percy and Theo to almost trip at the abrupt halt.

Percy straightened out, patting down his robes as though nothing happened. "Hey! You're dragging me out here on mysterious, one-sided information here. I think I should know where we're going!"

Pansy rolled her eyes, a little growling-sound escaping her lips which reminded Percy somewhat of Clarisse's battle cries. It made him nervous.

"What Pansy is trying to say," Theo said, voice much calmer than that of the pug-faced girl -what, Percy wouldn't deny it!- "is that we're trying to help you."

They continued walking, leaving Percy confused behind them. Huh? Slytherins trying to help him? The so-called blood-traitor? When he realized they were gone, he yelped and ran after them.

By the time he found them, they had stopped again, kneeling down behind some bushes. Pansy and Theo hissed in unison and grabbed his arms, tugging him down between them.

"What the hell is going on?!" Percy whispered hotly, grabbing his arms back and glaring between them so sharply that even Pansy looked away.

"It was Draco," Theo whispered, "he told us to bring you out here because you had to see something."

Percy was getting more confused by the second. He massaged his temples with his fingers, groaning. He hadn't spoken to Draco in days, not since he bore witness to Draco edging Harry on nastily in the courtyard the previous week before proceeding to try and fire a curse at Harry's back. If it wasn't for Moody turning the young Malfoy into a ferret, Draco would have probably been strangled by Percy later on.

"Bloody hell, that kid's going to be the death of me. What did he want me to see?" He muttered.

"We don't know, exactly," Pansy said.