Egg?
Lirum’s hands were good as new after a few minutes of letting the burn paste work its magic.
“I think you’ve missed most of your care of magical creatures lesson.” Percy joked, sliding off the hospital bed.
“Oh I can’t wait to be accused of doing it on purpose to avoid Cedric!” They laughed.
“Who’d accuse you of that?” He asked, helping them up.
“Cedric.” They scoffed.
“Did something happen with him as well?” Percy asked, concerned.
“Remember how I said my best friends lied about the party?” A look of realisation flashed on Percy’s face. “Yeah, him too.”
“I mean surely he had a reason.” Percy offered.
“You? Making excuses for people breaking the rules and doing bad things?” Lirum huffed. “This year truly is full of surprises.”
“I’m being serious, he’s your friend. Who’s going to look after you when I graduate at the end of the year.” He answered exasperated.
“I don’t need people to look after me.” Lirum answered, mildly offended. Percy threw a look back at them that said otherwise. “Funny you made an excuse for him and not your brothers.”
“I rather prefer you being friends with him over my brothers.” Percy said confidently. “He’s a good boy. A bit air headed sometimes, but he’s a good friend, and responsible enough to be a prefect and quidditch captain!”
“You’re an idiot.” Lirum giggled.
“Not to mention, he has honest intentions with you.” He listed
“And your brothers don’t?” Lirum asked,
with a grin.
“He’s not trying to get into your pants, so yes!” He huffed pacing back and forth. “Which is more than I can say for either of my brothers or that Slytherin boy!”
“And you’re oh so concerned with what goes in my pants?” They replied, trying their hardest to keep their laughter down so they could see where this was going. “Also, the Slytherin boy? You mean Adrian? You think he’s trying to sleep with me?”
“Oh don’t act like you can’t tell.” Percy said incredulously. Then stopped for a moment and laughed covering his face, before groaning. “Oh Merlin, you can’t tell!”
“Oh come off it, every boy I talk to is not gay!” Lirum argued only to earn an even more exasperated look. “They’re not!”
“Lirum, if a boy follows you around like a puppy, gets mad on your behalf, and looks at you like you are Merlin’s reincarnation. He’s in love with you!” He froze for a second, before speaking in a very resigned tone. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”
“Percy I think you just assume if someone’s willing to talk to me they’re romantically interested.” They corrected, plainly. “Besides I’m pretty sure he’s got a thing going with Haneda, you know the pretty girl Slytherin prefect.”
Percy took in a deep breath and just stared at them for a moment.
“I know we’re not supposed to assume things about people we don’t know, but do you have a gaydar at all?” He asked, far too seriously. “Yurika Haneda, and Adrian Pucey are the most obvious case and point version of lesbian, gay solidarity I’ve ever seen in my life personally.”
“Everyone can’t be gay!” Lirum argued, watching him lose his composure, worse than he already had.
“Have you ever thought about maybe it’s all the queer individuals who go out of their way to try and befriend you?” He suggested.
“Oh.” The realisation finally dawned on them. “What about Cedric? He went out of his way to befriend me?”
“He’s some sort of tangy? I just haven’t figured it out yet.” Percy said, certain.
“He has a girlfriend!” They argued matter of factly.
“He could be swing both ways. You’ve made it relatively clear you do. It shouldn’t be a surprise really.” He explained.
“He’s said very specifically, he’s not gay.” Lirum argued
“So did you!” He stressed. “Personally I think he’s a bit of an egg.”
“A what?!” They questioned, watching him sigh.
“Just that he might not have realised yet…honestly I think in a few years he might be she, or more like you, at least somewhere in the middle.” He stopped to think for a second. “We’ve gotten so off track. Regardless, definitely some flavour of queer.”
Lirum went to argue but stopped. He did love dressing in women’s clothes and makeup. That was just a stereotype though it didn’t necessarily mean anything. He had listed out what boys he would go for first out of their year though. They couldn’t tell Percy that though. That would absolutely make him more certain Cedric was gay or an “egg”?
“Anyway we need to get you back to class. You should have Arithmancy next right?” Percy asked, trying to find his composure again after his lengthy rant.
“Hey Percy?” Lirum asked, grinning.
“Is everything alright? Why are you looking at me like that?” He questioned suspiciously.
“Why do you know so much about the queer community here at hogwarts?” They teased.
“I-Well I-“ Be panicked realising he’d given a bit too much away. “It was my duty as a prefect and now Head Boy to be educated on-“
“Really? It seems to me Cedric might not be the only ‘egg’.” They giggled watching him turn red, and flustered.
“That’s not what that means.” Percy groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Please don’t call anyone that. Oh, this is excruciating! Egg is just for trans individuals, but despite quite obviously being trans yourself I don’t think you know what that means either.”
“This feels a little unfair. How do you know all this? It’s not like you're super popular, I can’t imagine Prude Percy asking questions about sexuality to anyone.” Lirum asked, staring at him.
“Charlie had a lot of- you know what Tonks is a good resource! Go write Tonks a letter.” Percy said, opening the door and gesturing for them to go through it. “Hopefully they’ll send you a book or something.”
“Do they make books about this?!” Lirum asked, shocked, making their way towards the door.
“I don’t know, but you need one.” Percy quipped, as he followed them out.
“Percy, I have almost no friends, and I live with my grandfather. As dearly as I love him we are so very very painfully out of touch with the rest of society. How do you expect me to know things like this if not from the few friends that I do have?” Lirum asked, watching him blankly nod.
“Have any of your other friends attempted to explain anything to you?” He questioned, giving them an odd look.
“The first three years, until I met Tonks when I heard people whisper about me being trans I thought it was a slur. Because that’s how my muggle family treated the word.” Lirum said in all seriousness. “The only reason I know what it means now was a very awkward conversation in which Tonks had to explain that people meant it as in like to transition one’s gender and not that they were taking the piss for me for being a metamorphmagus.”
“That’s absolutely horridness, and I would pay every sickle I have to my name to have been there.” Percy replied laughing. As much as they hated the reason for it, they’re heart ached seeing his first genuine smile all year. “Come on we haven’t got all day you’ve already missed a whole class and you can’t miss another. You’ve got Arithmancy, and it is one of the hardest to catch up on.”
It was barely even November, but it felt like a year since August. A year since they’d stopped talking. A year since he’d smiled at them, or even at all. Lirum would usually be upset with him for laughing at them, but it was a small price to see him happy again. Head Boy Percy spent most of his time scowling at the students who refused to listen to him. How could they be angry to see him act like their friend again.
“You’re not going to be happy to see who’s waiting for me when we get there.” Lirum teased walking past him and out of the door.
“What, why? None of my younger brothers would even dream of being in Arithmancy.” Percy quizzed, trying to think of who could be waiting. Lirum just grinned watching him stop to brainstorm who he would want to see. “No, it can’t be…Lirum it’s not the Slytherin, right?”
Lirum could only laugh leading the way. Sure enough when they arrived Adrian was waiting for them at the door.
“Ah, you’re ok. That’s good, your hands look much better. I’m sorry I-“ Adrian started getting cut off by Percy.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?” He started, standing behind Lirum.
“I am in class, but as you see it hasn’t started yet. So, as a prefect I was waiting to make sure an injured student was able to return to class promptly.” He answered, surprisingly prepared for Percy’s antics. “You’re doing the same aren’t you? Should I not follow the example set by our Head Boy?”
Lirum froze thinking to themself. Are they fighting? That definitely seemed to piss Percy off. Which is weird because he’s smiling. Not how he would smile at them though. Instead the only thing they’d seem like it was the smile Fred and Ron gave to Draco Malfoy when he’d called Hermione a Mudblood on the quidditch pitch, or the one they’d barely caught on his father before he and Lucius Malfoy fought in Flourish and Blotts. Unlike his brothers or father though, he bit his tongue. He turned back to Lirum to address them instead.
“Will you be joining me in the library after class to re start our study sections?” Percy asked. It was Lirum’s turn to freeze. They’d agreed to George studying with them, but that was before they’d found out about the party, or made up with Percy.
“I’m sorry, I made plans for today when we still weren’t seeing eye to eye.” Lirum said, a tad awkwardly.
“Class is starting! Prefect are not excused from learning.” Professor Vector said, strutting past them. “In or out, if your out you can go see the deputy headmistress.”
“Let’s go sit down, we can talk to Percy later.” Adrian said, gesturing Lirum into class. “You understand, being responsible and all, right head boy?”
“Why do you two get so weird when you’re together?” Lirum asked, walking towards their desk.
“Hum?” Adrian asked, following Lirum to their seats.
“You and Percy!” Lirum clarified. “You get so weird around each other! It’s oddly tense!”
“Well, if he wasn’t so aggressive, and possessive, I wouldn’t need to.” Adrian argued, taking his seat.
“I-“ They struggled, trying to find a good defence. “He-“
“Quiet please, class is starting. You all have your O.W.L.s this year you’ll need what I’m teaching.” Professor Vector said, making her way to the front of the class.
The rest of the class passed normally. Lirum sat, and took notes completely distracted from how they’d felt hours ago. Instead thinking of what they would say to George. If he even showed up to study with them, that was. Percy had stolen their attention away almost completely from their anger. So much kept happening they kind of hoped he wouldn’t show up. That they would go to the library and get stood up, and their short lived relationship would be over as quick as it started. They wouldn’t have to worry about how to handle the lying situation, or the party. It could all just be over and they could go back to Percy where he would be there waiting at their table like he always was.
They also needed to write Tonks a letter. What would they even say? Dear Tonks, how do I be gay? how to tell if my friends are gay? How do I know if people like me? What is an egg? Percy wasn’t really much of a help with that. Could they bear to tell Tonks that Percy had to try explain what an egg was. She’d get a kick out of that for sure. Tonks wouldn’t make fun of them for not knowing would they?