Normal Days

Technically speaking, Brutus was against school policy. Technically speaking in the sense that, Hagrid had snuck a dragon onto school grounds two years ago and he was very much still here. So Percy was going to capitalize on that. 

They reached Hogwarts ground at around noon, managing to avoid the students milling about in Hogsmeade. Diagon Alley was a loss cause, Percy just hoped none of the teachers were there buying last minute lesson supplies. Mainly he was worried about Flitwick. And Oliver was too over the moon to care. Dog! He and Percy finally got a dog! Dog! And Percy! He was dating Percy! Percy! 

This was a pretty great day to be Oliver motherfucking Wood. 

Their first stop was Hagrid's so they could have someone to watch over Brutus as they went to classes. Finals really were coming up, the panic of it welling up in Percy. Post nut clarity hitting, Merlin, he has a dog. How is he going to care for it during finals week!? DURING JOB HUNTING?? Would Mum even want to take care of the dog?? Or would he live on the farm with Oliver’s parents? But Oliver lived far away from Percy, and in a muggle-populated place no less. Would Percy get visitation to see Brutus? Oh no, what did he do, this was a mistake, this was—

“Percy your anxiety needs to shut up, I can hear it from here.” The ginger almost drops the bag of stuff to shake Oliver’s shoulders. 

“Where’s Brutus going to live after we graduate? Oh, Oliver, we graduate in less than a month, I think I’m going to be sick.” Oliver pulls him close, Brutus going over to Percy and sniffing his shoe. 

“It’s going to be fine. Brutus can stay with my parents, we have a floo connection so don’t be a stranger. Plus, look at him, he’ll love it on the farm. And finals are going to be a piece of cake for you, don’t you have the charms textbook memorized?” Then, just for good measure, Oliver kisses him. Because they’re dating, wow Oliver is having a great day. “There’s no way the Percy Weasley is going to be felled by a couple of stupid tests.” 

“Right. Right.” Percy says, then lurches forward to kiss Oliver again. “Luck, right?” Percy whispers against Oliver, then takes the remaining couple of steps to knock on Hagrid’s door. The door swings open moments later, Percy clearing his throat. 

“Hello Hagrid, sorry to bother you on such short notice, but we need a favor.” 

The inside of Hargrid’s house was warm compared to the outside, cozy too. Strong wood, probably from some magical tree, could barely be seen from the amount of equipment the gamekeeper had strung up. Something was bubbling in the fireplace, fresh rock cakes being placed on the table by the man himself. 

“Percy! And Oliver, too. What can I do for you two lovebirds? Here, take some rock cakes, just out the fire.” Percy groans, Oliver eagerly grabbing one of the rock cakes. He liked throwing them during Quidditch practice for an extra hard version of a bludger. 

“I knew the rumors would spread, but you already heard about it?” Hagrid chuckles, waving Oliver to come in. 

“‘Course I did! Yer brother stopped by with ‘Ermione and ‘Arry to tell me all about the way Oliver ‘deflowered’ you in front of him. He’s traumatized, that one.” 

“More like demented.” 

“More like dead when I get my hands on him.” Percy says, anger flaring. How was Ron that fucking dumb? 

“Oh! And who’s this handsome little fellow?” Hagrid asks. Oliver grins, letting Brutus off his leash. The “little” puppy charges at the half-giant, licking his fingers.

“This is Brutus, we just got him today from muggle London. He’s almost a year.” 

“A year? Oh, just barely a grown up, ain’t he. Fang!” Fang raises his head from his spot on the couch, taking note of the other great dane. He jumps off, barking at the other dog. “Bark” is a loose term, Fang booms at the other dog. And Brutus, bless his heart, barks right back with a squeaky “boof”. 

“It seems like they like each other!” Percy exclaims, moving to the floor to continue petting Brutus. Oliver takes a seat at the table right across from Hagrid. 

“‘Course they are, yer Brutus is a friendly one. Y’know, I’m not too entirely sure, but isn’t it not allowed fer student to have dogs with them?” Hagrid says, quirking an eyebrow at the students. 

“Well, that’s true. But, we’re not going to be students in a few weeks. Perce and I graduate this semester.” 

“Oh, I forgot! Congratulations you two!” 

“Thank you, Hagrid. But, in the meantime while we’re doing finals and Oliver kills the Gryffindor Quidditch team with practices,” 

“Hey!” 

Percy ignores him, “Would you be able to watch Brutus? We’ll still be here everyday to feed him and walk him, but he won’t be too happy locked up in our dorm for most of the daytime. And, you’ve got Fang, and I’m sure my brothers would love to help once I threaten to sicc mum on them if they don’t, plus—” 

Hagrid cuts him off, waving him off, “‘O course I’ll look after yer pup, he and Fang are getting along great!” Fang lets out a little “hmmph” at his name, going away from Brutus to Hagrid’s side. Hagrid laughs, letting a heavy hand fall on Fang’s head as he scratches him behind his ear. “And I have no problem watching the little one, but!” Hagrid waves a finger at them, “I ain’t keeping nothin’ from Dumbledore, the moment he asks about it I’m telling him it’s yer dog.” 

“So, if Dumbledore sees Brutus…” Hagrid cracks a smile. 

“If Dumbledore sees Brutus.” 

“Oh, thank you, Hagrid!” Percy exclaims. 

“‘O course, it’ll be good for Fang to have company anyhow. It’s going to get a bit sad around here, after all.” Percy and Oliver look at each, confused at Hagrid’s drop in energy. 

“Why? What’s happening?” 

“Oh, I’m surprised none of third-years tol’ you two yet. Buckbeak got a lil too excited the other week, ended up scratching the Malfoy boy.” Percy’s stomach drops. Oh right, this was Ron’s third year. Harry’s third year, when Sirius broke out. 

Hagrid continues his story, “It was just a cut, but Malfoy Senior’s mad, calling for an…” Hagrid sniffled, then bawls. His sobs almost as loud as Fang’s howling, “He’s calling for an execution of my Buckbeak. But Buckbeak didn’t do nothing wrong,” He takes out a handkerchief from the sleeve of his jacket, blowing his nose noisily, “They’ve got a date set to, to.” Hagrid couldnʻt muster up the words to describe how Buckbeak would be executed, “in a couple ‘o days. It don’t look too good for me or for Buckbeak.” 

“What?! Aren’t Hippogriffs endangered species? You can’t just kill one because it scratched a student!” Oliver exclaims. He remembers Buckbeak fondly, he was one of the main forms of transportation during war times. And, after all the dust had settled, Buckbeak was still with them, retiring with Hagrid and a few other treasured animals deep in the Forbidden Forest. He always came round to the big holiday events at The Burrow, though. 

Hagrid fixed him with an odd look, “Wood, I didn’t know you paid attention in yer Care of Magical Creatures class. Yeah, they are ‘n endangered species, but nothing can be done if a species puts the life of a wizard at risk.” 

Percy huffs, “That’s ludicrous! Malfoy is probably just using this injury for attention.” 

Hagrid makes a noise of agreement, “Seems like it. But Fang’s been pretty upset about the whole thing.” Percy and Oliver made a point not to say that Fang was not the only occupant of the house who was upset, especially when Hargrid noisily blew into his handkerchief again. 

Percy, Oliver, and Hagrid spent the rest of the daylight hours catching up. Or, Percy and Oliver didnʻt talk that much since Hagrid has a lot to say about his last couple of years. Sometimes, Oliver forgets that, out of all of the Professors, Hagrid has probably had the most interesting life. Especially considering that for most of Harry’s second year, Hagrid was in their maximum security prison for a crime he did not commit. 

But it seemed like Hagrid’s jovial disposition must have been a deterrent for a lot of the dementors at the time. Not that Hagrid knew, or even guessed.

“Was ‘o simple matter of not letting them ghouls touch my face. Easy enough when there were bars in my cell. And the rats that came by must have been some sort of magical, they could sing!” A good majority of Percy and Oliver talking was spent on Percy trying to figure out how the magical rats could sing. 

Then, with Hagrid’s new teaching position. Where Oliver was able to figure out where exactly in third year they were at in terms of Harry “One of my godfather’s is a criminal for a crime he did not commit and the other one is a werewolf” Potter. Hagrid does talk about Lupin, too. 

“Oh, Professor Lupin is a gift. I only hear good things about him, and it seems like a lot of my third years have taken quite a shine to him.” 

Man, maybe Oliver should do some, like, intervening with the timeline? Because he genuinely did like Lupin as a professor, he was probably the best one. Maybe Moody would have been too, if he hadn’t been body snatched. Truthfully, Oliver didn’t have the first clue on how to mess with the timeline in an ethical way. Like, how would what he does now affect what happened in the future? Has he already changed time permanently by dating Percy early and adopting a dog with him? 

Those thoughts were too hard, and the tea that Hagrid put in front of him and Percy was telling him not to worry too much about the future. Yeah. Oliver is good on a broom and he’s got a Percy with him, if he wants to change the timeline for the better, he probably could do so easily. But not right now, right now the tea is warm and Brutus’ fur is soft. 

So the hours continue to tick by, and Percy is just sharing a funny story about Ron getting locked out of the house when there’s knocking at the door. 

“Blimey, where has the sun gone! Maybe you two ought to be getting back and grab dinner.” Hagrid gets up to open the door. Percy and Oliver follow suit, saying their goodbyes to Fang and Brutus. Then they hear Hagrid exclamations, of “‘Ermione, ‘Arry, Ron!” 

The three make their way into the room, Ron immediately noticing Percy and pointing his finger at the other ginger. 

“What are you doing here!?” 

“What are you doing here!?” Percy fires right back, slipping into older brother mode. Before Ron can pick a fight, he notices the second dog. 

“Oh, Hagrid, you got another dog?” 

“No, that’s mine and Percy’s,” Oliver says from the floor next to Percy. Sometime during their talk, both he and Percy moved to the floor with their backs against the couch. “His name’s Brutus.” Hermione and Harry came deeper into the room to say hi to the new dog. 

“Oh, he’s adorable, is he a mastiff?” Hermione says, holding out her hand for the dog to sniff.

“I’m not sure, I think he’s a great dane? The man at the shelter didn’t really say.” 

“Is Fang really big, or is Brutus just really small?” Harry asks, letting Brutus lick his hand. 

"Fang is really big, but Brutus is still a puppy, he’s going to get way bigger.” 

“Look at his spots, he’s almost like a dalmatian,” Ron says, smiling a little at the dog. Then quickly snaps out of it, yelling at Oliver, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER?” 

Oliver, for his part, looks serious for all of five seconds before he busts out laughing. “What didn’t I do to your—” He gets elbowed in the ribs for that, hard. Ron grows a brighter red. 

“Oliver’s just joking. A really dumb joke.” Percy glares at him, Oliver blows a kiss, “But yes, we are dating now. We uh. Made it official today.” Oh Merlin, Percy can feel his face practically on fire. Ron is a matching red, too. Meanwhile, Hermione and Harry seem immune to the Weasley embarrassment. 

“Congratulations you two!” 

“Did you guys get the dog to celebrate getting together?” 

“A good way to celebrate if I ever heard so myself!” Hagrid says, pulling out a few more teacups for his newly arrived guests. My, if this many people were going to visit, Hagrid should look into expanding his house! 

A few more hours pass by, talking about the little meet-cutes of Percy and Oliver, Brutus, even how Hagrid got Fang in the first place. 

“He was a little thing, shivering in the rain. On Hogwarts property, too! Got him all cleaned up and fed. Then he decided that he wanted to stay with me.” Fang whines, putting his head in Hagrid’s lap on the couch. Despite the large size of the furniture, only Hagrid and Fang sat on the couch, the rest of the students sprawled out on the floor.

At one point, even Harry comes in with his own stories, though a bit sad. “I’ve always wanted a dog, not something small and yappy, but like Fang.” Percy smiled at that. “Maybe golden retrievers? They love running around, would probably spend hours just following you on your broom.” Harry’s eyes lit up at that. Ron groans at the look in his eyes. 

“You’d probably name him something stupid, like Stick.” Harry laughs. 

“I’m not original! And Stick sounds like an awesome name.” Oliver mentally cringed, yeah. Harry wasn’t the best with names, and to this day he’ll never understand how “Albus” was a good name for any child. Percy, on the other hand, was having a mental laughing fit over how Harry managed to finesse the name of his actual golden retriever a good twenty years from now. And Stick really did love sticks. But also stones, grass, anything outside, really. 

It’s when Hermione starts falling asleep that Percy realizes just how late it is. Checking the muggle timepieces, he’s surprised to see 9:24 staring right back at him. Curfew would be soon! And, oh fuck. Was he still a head boy? Did he have rounds? Who was head girl? Wait, yes. Yes he was. And. And. Was it Alicia? Angelina? Shit, was Hermione head girl? No. No she’s in third year. Right. 

“Well, it’s about time I escort you three back to the dorms so we don’t get house points taken away.” 

“That’s rich, coming from someone that snuck a dog on school grounds,” Ron says, yawning a little as he stands up to stretch. 

“It’s better than an entire dragon.” Surprise flits across Ron’s face. 

“Who told you!?” And Percy pauses in his step. Ron told him. But Ron told him absolutely shit faced on the day before his marriage to Hermione. 

Percy recovers quickly, “I’m Charlie’s favorite, of course he’d tell me.” 

“No, I’m Charlie’s favorite!” Well, Krum was probably Charlie’s favorite. But not yet. 

The Weasley brothers have their fight as the others help clean up the errant mugs. Oliver goes out to take Brutus and Fang for a walk. Everything gets done pretty fast, Oliver coming back in to drag Percy out by his arms while Hermione and Harry hold Ron back by his jumper to prevent a fight. 

“Do you two get your anger from your hair color or from your lack of soul?” Oliver wonders out loud as they start their way back to the common rooms. 

“Ron gets it from his lack of brain cells.” Percy says, entwining his hand with Oliver. Ron is taken aback, that comeback was fast. 

“Why would there be prisons in my head?” Ron asks, looking at Percy like he’d grown a second head. 

“Ron, don’t you know what brain cells are?” Ron shakes his head. 

Oliver was kind of in the same boat. Hogwarts and his farm-life-living from before didn’t really give him the background knowledge in basic biology or science in general. He ended up picking up what a brain cell, mitochondria, nucleus, and cell wall were from Percy’s little moving videos that he had a slight addiction to in their 30s. 

“It’s what a brain is made out of.” Hermione tries to explain. 

“A brain is just made out of brain.” 

“Do you know what cells are?” Harry asks, and Ron looks at him with confusion on his face. 

“Of course I know what cells are mate, Hagrid was locked up in one last year.” Now it’s Harry’s turn to look confused. Percy, on the other hand, looks horrified. 

“Merlin, I forgot no one taught you science. Ron, do you know what a mammal is?” 

Ron thinks for a bit, then goes, “Yeah, they’re those fat sea creatures Harry showed me from his time at the aquarium.” Harry goes a bit speechless. 

“Ron, those were manatees. Mammals are animals that give live birth.” 

“Live birth? Compared to what, dead birth.” 

“No, like. To eggs. So chickens aren’t mammals because they lay eggs. But sharks are mammals because they give live births.” 

“Wait, what does that have to do with cells?” And so the rest of the trip back to their dorm is spent trying to catch Ron (and to an extent, Oliver) on basic muggle science. 

“So you’re telling me, that elektricity just happens. In the wild!?” Oliver exclaims, stepping through the portrait door. Percy rolls his eyes. Hard. How his boyfriend so dumb. Then another wave of happiness scoops over him. His boyfriend. 

“That’s wicked. Do you think it can power magic the same way it can power muggle telefones.” 

“Phones, Ronald.” Hermione emphasizes the beginning of the word, “Phones with the ‘ph’, not with an ‘f’.” 

Harry groans, plopping on the couch and stretching. 

“Mate, you better not be tired just from a little bit of walking. We have our last match pretty soon, need to have you in peak physical position.” 

“I’m just tired. All of this grim stuff has me stressed out. In class, Professor Trewlaney predicted that it would come to get me.” 

Percy snorts, “She does that a lot, it never comes true though. Last year she predicted that I would end up alone and kill myself.” 

“She predicted what?” Came the reply from both Ron and Oliver. Percy looks surprised. He might not have remembered much from his time at school—ok, he might not have remembered pretty much anything from his time at school but he remembered that much. 

“Yeah, it happened in my fourth year, I think? Tried to hold off on taking Divination as long as I could. Then she predicted that I would hang myself so I just dropped the class and did double Arithmatics.” 

There was a beat of silence, then Oliver was up and going to the portrait wall. “Iʻm going to hang her.” It takes the Golden Trio and Percy pouncing on Oliver to get him to calm down. By the time they're all situated on the couch and Oliver is calm enough to not consider physical assault as action plan number one, it's peaceful. 

“Oh, this was your first time visiting Hogsmeade right?” Oliver asks, which earns him three confused looks. 

“Mate, are you feeling alright? It's almost finals week.” Oliver inwardly balks. Fuck. He even confirmed his timelines with Hagrid. He covers for his misstep, rubbing his temple. 

“I donʻt know mate, maybe one too many bludgers.” Ron gives a hearty chuckle. 

“Figured out of all of us you'd be the most brain damaged! Cʻmon, we should probably be getting to bed anyways.” Ron says. Hermione shoots him a strange look. 

“Ron, it’s almost like you’re being responsible.” Hermione observes, both her and Harry looking concerned. He goes red, shoving the closest person to him (Harry). 

“Shut up! I’ll have you know that sometimes I like a good night's sleep.” Something dawns on Harry. 

“Oh! You didn’t finish McGonagall’s assignment did you?” He gets a pillow thrown at his face, Harry making a run for it and Ron continues pelting him with the downy items. Altogether forgetting that he could use magic. Hermione chuckles, going up to the girl’s dormitory. 

“Goodnight you two! And congratulations for finally getting together. I think Neville wins the betting pool.” 

“Of course there was a betting pool.” Percy grumbles under his breath, snuffing out the flames in the furnace and following Oliver back up to their dorm room. 

They got ready for bed in companionable silence, idle talk as they rummaged through their respective drawers and entered and exited the bathroom. The night came to a close with both of them still in Percyʻs bed, covers drawn up tight. Small “goodnights” exchanged, and with the replacing of candle flame for moonlight, both saw sleep through dreary eyes.