from a dream to a bloody nightmare
Wednesday, 4th of November, 1987
All this running in motion
Time slips by until you're lost in your mind
Who you gonna find?
Who you gonna find?
Can't you call in the sculptors
And paint a sky?
You know I want to live inside
Who you gonna find?
Who you gonna find?
- motion
It didn’t matter how many times Percy had watched the sunrise, it always made him breathless. The way so many different colors leaked out into each other, pouring themself all around the night sky, the midnight blue slowly giving in to the burning red, orange, light pink, then yellow.
At that time, Percy knew it wouldn’t take long until the hot colors gave way to the light blue sky that apparently would accompany them during the day. Or not. He couldn’t be sure anymore, since it was autumn and it would soon be winter, the skies became more and more unpredictable.
Percy pressed his cheeks against the cold window, a sigh escaping his lips as he stared outside. Hogwarts seemed to expand itself in front of his very eyes, the infinite green touching the blue of the sky at some point.
He didn’t need to go outside to know the day would be incredibly cold. The sun shone above him, the wind kissing his face as he shivered. The best kind of day.
“Psst!” Someone said, so close to his ears that Percy actually felt their lips brushing his skin.
Percy turned so fast he fell off of where he was sitting face-first on the floor. An unmistakable laugh sounded above him, and Percy turned to see what he already knew he would find: Oliver Wood’s satisfied grin.
“What are you doing up?” As Percy did his best to yell-whisper before Wood offered his hand to push him up. As soon as Percy caught it, Oliver let go of him, making Percy fall on his ass again.
Oliver immediately started to laugh.
“Shh! You asshole, it’s not funny!”
“But it is!” Oliver somehow managed to say before clasping both hands on his mouth to hold back another laugh.
Grimacing, Percy ignored the hand Oliver offered once again, getting up and pushing Wood from his place beside the window. Now on the floor, Oliver blinked his pretty eyes at Percy, making the latter sigh - something he found himself doing quite often when Wood was around, which meant almost all the time.
He wasn’t sure how he hadn’t yet noticed, but Wood’s eyes in the morning were greener than during the day, the usual caramel color was so clear that it was almost green, and if Weasley got close enough he was sure he would be surprised by very much green eyes staring back.
He didn’t dare to get closer to Oliver, though. He simply looked from afar.
“What do you want?” Percy realized he didn’t sound very friendly, but honestly, Wood had scared the shit out of him and then proceeded to be the annoying prick he somehow thought charming. Percy had said multiple times it only made him insufferable, but Wood insisted it actually made him look cooler than anyone else and Percy was simply jealous.
“To spend time with my best friend, of course”, Oliver said, making his cat eyes at Percy, who sighed once more.
“You’re such a liar, Wood”
“Not a liar. I simply distort the truth a bit to make myself seem like a better person sometimes.” Percy couldn’t help but smile at that.
The tips of Percy's fingers repeatedly touched the wood underneath it, creating a weird melody Oliver was paying close attention to. “What do you call that? Because I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of a liar”, Weasley replied, his teeth biting his lips so he would stop smiling.
Looking only at the other boy's fingers, Wood said, “‘Tis not.”
“Okay”, Percy put his hands up as if giving up on the conversation.
Oliver got up and slightly pushed Percy aside as he sat beside him. He didn’t say anything for a moment, only stared out of the window, humming a song Percy didn’t recognize.
“Wanna know something really cool I recently found out?” Percy asked as Oliver groaned. He usually did that whenever he offered very interesting pieces of information he had learned, but he knew that deep down Wood adored those little facts and remembered most of them.
“Not really”
Ignoring him completely, Percy proceeded, “If you take a dictionary and open it where the definition of ‘liar’ is, there’s a picture of you”
Oliver elbowed Percy so hard he fell off again, knees hitting the ground strongly as all the air left his lungs and he made a little "uuf" sound.
“Asshole”, he whispered to Wood, with all the breath he had. He let his head lie against the wooden floor for a moment, just looking at the ceiling. Percy had recently found that it was way easier talking to Oliver when he didn't have to look in his face. And, even if he didn't know exactly why, he had more than once looked away from him when talking.
Oliver didn't seem happy with that, as he kicked Percy until they were looking into each other's eyes again. “And just below ‘pain in my ass’ there’s a picture of your stupid face, Weasley”, Oliver said, that annoying grin was back.
Percy didn’t even bother trying to get up, he simply made himself comfortable, still staring up at the other boy, a smile of his own tugging his lips. He hated how smiley he looked when talking to Wood.
“Do you plan on ignoring my question forever?”, he asked.
“Not forever, no. Just for a while longer”, as Percy rolled his eyes, Oliver caught Percy’s pillow and put it behind his back.
“You’re such an asshole”, Percy fairly concluded.
“Pretty much. Oi! You know what day it is today, right?”
And then Percy finally understood what made Oliver Wood get up before he absolutely had to. He groaned, hiding his face with his hands. Dammit, Wood would be a prick during the entirety of the day, he wouldn’t let Percy pay attention to any of their very important classes and probably wouldn't shut up for a single second.
“I hate you”
“Nah, you don’t. You LOOOOOVEEEE me!”
“I really don’t”
“Yeah, you do”
“Not true”
“Who’s lying now?” Oliver raised his brow but didn’t wait for Percy’s outraged reply, “C’mon. You’re excited. At least a bit.” When Percy shook his head, Oliver insisted, “Yes, you are! Don’t lie to me, Weasley!”
“Am not lying.”
“How can you not be lying?! It’s quidditch!! The first match ever”, seeing Percy’s expression, he said, “Okay, so perhaps not ever, but still. It’s my first time watching it!” Oliver beamed, his face lit up with happiness and the usual bit of mischief.
“No, it’s not” Percy scoffed. He had just noticed how he somehow always ended up contradicting everything that came out of Oliver’s mouth. As if he knew the boy better than Oliver knew himself.
Which, now that he thought about it, could very easily be true. Wood lived out of his head, although Percy wasn’t sure that expression existed, now it did because it summed Oliver Wood up. Oliver would do anything to avoid being alone, quietly. He couldn’t manage his own thoughts, for a reason Percy never had the courage to ask, so it seemed possible that Percy understood him more than himself.
“It is!” Oliver insisted, making Percy look horrified, and bringing him back to the conversation. Oh, that had quickly escalated from 'pretty bad' to 'absolutely horrible'.
“You’re that obsessed with flying around with no supervision at all and you’ve never watched a quidditch match?”, Percy's voice had a scared tone in it, however, Wood didn't notice.
“Not once! Isn’t this exciting? Both of us, watching our house destroy those stupid Slytherin… pricks. Huh. I really need to work on new insults for this match”
“Nope. Not exciting and please don’t work on new insults. You already know way too many.”
___________
Oliver gestured with his hands as if that meant something, before blinking his eyes at Percy. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Paused for a second, eyes never leaving Percy's, excitement expressed through all his features. It was hard not to smile.
“What?” Percy asked since they had been in the same situation three times before, and Oliver was so choked up it usually took him ten minutes to formulate a comprehensible sentence.
“This is-”, he shook his head, as if unable to find the word to describe that ridiculous - in Percy’s point of view - situation.
“What?”, he asked again, slowly losing his patience, though the small grin was begging to turn into a full-blown smile.
“It’s-”, but before he could answer, Charlie Weasley flew by so quickly Percy wouldn’t have recognized him if it wasn’t for the bloody red hair.
His hands in the air, he had the audacity to wink at Percy, all happening weirdly in slow motion, that one-second stretching itself so Percy - and unfortunately Oliver too - could understand what was happening.
Percy closed his eyes, hating every single second. Why, oh why, had he let Oliver convince him to go watch such a stupid game? And now, if the way Oliver’s eyes were shining was any indication, he would be doomed for eternity, Wood always making him watch that bloody thing by his side, because, for some absurd reason, he couldn’t do anything by himself.
He wouldn’t admit it to himself, but the idea of Oliver asking someone else to watch Quidditch with him just didn't sit right, so he couldn't find it in him to say no. Ever.
He didn't understand enough about the sport to know who exactly pushed his brother from his broom directly to the ground - some feet away -, but that did not stop him from yelling indignantly alongside everyone else from his house. Oliver muttered some words even Percy wouldn't like to repeat, worriedly watching as Charlie was quickly taken to the hospital wing.
After that, the game became even more aggressive, as if every hit Gryffindor landed was in Charlie's name, and Percy couldn't help but like them all a bit for it. He should not have been surprised, he still had to find someone who didn't really like Charlie - or who was immune to his charm, something Percy had tried and failed to copy his whole life.
As Oliver cheered loudly while Gryffindor was announced as the winner, Percy realized he simply would never be able to deny himself seeing that happiness on the other boy’s face. And perhaps that was the real reason he was doomed.
________
Happiness doesn’t last forever, or at least that was what Percy always told him - something that probably Molly always said -, however, he hadn’t expected it to last so little. The adrenaline still ran through his veins as he explained every second of the match to Percy on their way back to the common room.
“You do realize I was there, right? Everything you saw, so did I”, Percy said, earning a smug smile from Oliver.
“You weren’t paying any attention, Weasley, so I’m doing you the favor of explaining every little thing that happened so next time you’re more interested in the match”, he said, a little bit too excited about the whole thing.
They kept going, Oliver talking nonstop while Percy tried his best to look annoyed. Everyone that saw the two walking down the hallways in the chilly morning would smile, the usual Wood and Weasley duo with their usual expressions, acting like they usually did.
It didn't bother him, though. There was something so calming about having Percy as part of his routine, having the same conversations with the same opinions every week, having eaten the same things while Percy urged him to go faster. It all made it a bit more bearable - even when things in his head were far from that.
It was with that in mind that Oliver turned to Percy, ready to speak his mind when his eyes landed in Marcus, the insufferable Slytherin that couldn't let the two be without an obnoxious comment - Percy had taught him that word. He found himself using it every now and then. It made him feel very much smart, and it made Percy smile a bit, though Oliver was sure he didn't even realize he did that.
"Hey, Weasley, on your way to see your shitty brother?", Marcus said, before forcing his way through them with his shoulder. Oliver would've rolled his eyes at how cliche it all was if he hadn't seen the way Percy's expression fell, and his entire body curled into itself. Then, it felt like his entire body was on fire.
How fucking dared he?
"Wood, don't be stupid", Percy said, because of course he knew Oliver was seconds away from solving the problem with his own fists.
He didn't respond, too angry and scared he wouldn't be able to hold back if he said anything at all.
Oliver would've let it go, because Percy asked him to and there were not a lot of things Oliver wasn't willing to do if he asked for, but then the asshole had to go and open his mouth once again.
"Poor, Weasley. Literally", he snickered and his stupid friends laughed alongside him. And it was too much, it was simply too far.
Percy quickly tried to grab Oliver's vest, but he was too fast, out of his way and with fists flying in Marcus's direction before he could blink.
Though Wood was sure Marcus had it worse, his hand hurt so much with the impact he had the urge to cry out, biting his lips to keep it in and not to embarrass himself. The sound of bones crushing made him gag. None of it was enough to make the pure rage dissipate, so he kept hitting, with all his fury and strength.
Soon enough, there were multiple hands pushing him away, and it took him a minute to make out Percy's cries for him to duck. It was too late, one of Marcus's friends was already on top of him, while the other was kicking and laughing. Somehow, he managed to brush the one hitting him off and had his hands on the other one's neck when all of them rushed away.
McGonagall rushed down the hallway, yelling "OLIVER WOOD" so loudly he was sure everyone in the school heard it.
Bloody hell.
_________
"Hey, Charlie", Oliver waved happily at his brother who lay in one of the beds in the hospital wing, as if he hadn't just made his house lose 20 points and as if his nose wasn't bleeding so much he was all covered in Gryffindor's colors.
"Damn, Wood, what happened to you?", Percy was sure that was Charlie trying to be severe, though the glint in his eyes made him look nothing if not proud. That only made Percy angrier, how could everyone be so goddamn stupid and inconsequential?
"Long story", Percy muttered, not in the mood to listen to Oliver gloat himself for something as trivial and retarded as a fight.
"Not really, it's a great one though", and because Wood was clearly planning on telling his brother - his older brother. Charlie! - the tale of how much of a stupid asshole he was - Percy was aware of how much he was using the word "stupid" and it did bother him, but he couldn't find any synonym at that moment -, Percy glanced at him with a glaze that clearly said, "Shut it!".
Thankfully, it worked. Oliver sighed before saying, "One day I'll tell you", took another look in Percy's direction, and added, "Or perhaps not. I won't tell you. Ever."
Shaking his head, Percy sat down on the chair beside Oliver's bed, not daring to even glance quickly in his brother's direction, worried about what he would think. Oliver getting into a fight because of a Slytherin that liked to humiliate a Weasley. Really, it was so unbelievable it was almost funny. If Wood wanted to go fist-fighting everyone that said demeaning things about his family, they'd have a problem - and a long long list of enemies.
"I hope you're happy", he muttered loud enough so only Oliver could hear him.
"I wouldn't use that precise wording, but sure, happy would do", he was smiling in that Oliver Wood way that made Percy want to hit him and… well, something else at the same time. He couldn't say exactly what, but it made his chest expand and his breath hitched a bit.
"Whatever, Wood. You'll have detention for a week and that ruins everything!" He didn't say what it ruined, because, in all honesty, he didn't know. Oliver shook his head as if saying that he was very aware of that.
"I'm sorry, okay? But he deserved that, Weasley and I'm not gonna say I wouldn't do it again"
"It doesn't sound like you're sorry", he fairly pointed out.
"Because I'm not, but I wouldn't dream of telling you that."
Percy was smiling despite himself. He closed his eyes for just a second, too tired after everything that went down, only to fall asleep there, sitting beside Wood, the smile still tugging his lips.
_____________
It was, finally, the last day of his detention, and Oliver could not be happier. It has been a tortuous week, really, full of homework he didn't have time for - Percy insisted he found a way to do it all and profusely refused when Oliver begged him to do some of it in his place. He said that he should pay the price for being a hot-headed stupid prick, and didn't seem inclined to change his mind - and not enough hours of sleep because of the not ending list of things McGonagall wanted him to do before the end of the week - he hadn't finished in time, but she didn't seem mad about it, just told him she would keep the list for when he ended up in detention once again. Oliver found it incredibly pessimist thinking, but now, thinking about it, it was probably more realistic than anything.
Percy was waiting for him in the place he had waited for those last week, with the same tired expression Oliver was sure was reflected in his own, trying to hide his yawn with his hands. "Weasley", Oliver greeted, trying not to sound as happy as he was to see his friend. "Long time no see." That made Percy giggle, and Wood stared at him in complete awe. He must be really tired if he had actually giggled because of something he had said.
"Don't be dramatic, Wood. I was busy with our Potions assignment during lunchtime, and had a headache in the afternoon", he explained quickly.
"Bad enough for you to miss class?", it was an understatement to say Oliver was surprised by that. When Percy hadn't shown up for class, he didn't know what to think of it but hadn't had time to go to their common room to check on him before rushing to detention. In all honestly, he had thought Percy wouldn't show up to pick him up, but there he was. "You do look bloody awful", he admitted.
"Thanks, mate"
"Anytime. Shall we?"
Percy led the way back, and Oliver chatted his ears away, filling his friend into every little detail he had missed while in his room recovering. Oliver felt pretty bad about it, since it was probably his fault, Percy coming out to pick him up from detention late at night, in his pajamas during the cold autumn. It was a terrible idea, really, though not one they had discussed. Percy had simply shown up the first day and Oliver was scared of asking for a reason, scared he would stop coming altogether if he did that. So he didn't ask and Percy kept showing up, it made it all a bit less terrible.
Taking off his scarf, he wrapped it around Percy's neck, looking up and founding the boy staring at him with his mouth slightly open. "You shouldn't have come out when you're sick, Perce."
Weasley slapped his hands off, fixing the scarf but not taking it off. This time, Oliver kept his smile to himself, and it was, once again, something they didn't discuss. It didn't bother him the fact that more and more they had small things not mentioned, though perhaps it should. But Wood had never had the urge to tell everything to Weasley, he had a feeling he already knew everything he thought.
They walked in silence.