Mirrorball

Pink Floyd were playing on the background as Percy did nothing but lay on her bed and look at the ceiling. It was one of these rare moments of peace that she had while in her dorm, since none of her dormmates were there to bother her. She knew it was too good to be true and that sooner or later someone would come in and start unnecessary drama for no reason. There were three potential candidates – Lucrecia Parkinson being the most likely to ruin Percy's good mood. 

Ever since she was sorted in Slytherin, she was seen by her classmates as the "outcast", the one that didn't belong. Percy was a Muggleborn and getting sorted into that house was a sin on its own, considering Salazar Slytherin's rhetoric about not letting Muggleborn people into Hogwarts. Despite that, the Sorting Hat thought it was a good idea to put her there instead of Gryffindor, that it previously wanted. It'll build character, it had said. But Percy didn't want to build a character, she just wanted some peace and quiet.

To say that everyone in her house hated her would be an understatement. She was bothering her classmates just by merely existing and she suffered for it. Most of them weren't kind enough to let her get away with only some angry looks and insults that they whispered to each other and then snickered about – no, it never was that simple.

Lucrecia Parkinson was a great example of what a thirteen year old was capable of doing just because they didn't like someone. Unfortunately for Percy, Lucrecia wasn't just her classmate but they also shared a dorm together. She was a first class bitch – the kind that sabotaged Percy's potions, hid away her homework so she would be late for class trying to find it and, of course, constantly reminded her that her existence was tainting the school and the Slytherin house.

Lucrecia's goon was the third roommate, a girl named Natalia McMillan. She followed the other girl around, laughed at her jokes on command and was generally the one who took care of the collateral damage. Wherever Lucrecia was, Natalia was behind her, making sure her pillow was soft enough for her huge head or pushing people away so they could give her some space. It was honestly pathetic and the only reason she was acting like that in the first place was because Natalia was a halfblood and thus, on thin ice according to the purebloods.

Amara Selwyn was the fourth and final girl that Percy had to share a dorm with. Unlike the other two, she was actually pretty decent – even if she did hate Percy, she didn't bother trying to show it in unnecessary ways. She mostly kept to herself when it came to Slytherins and was usually seen hanging out with the Ravenclaws. She didn't really acknowledge Percy and the two never shared anything more than a dorm and a "good morning" (still, much preferable than trying to make her life a living hell).

That was the main reason why she usually hung out with the Gryffindors. The only Slytherins she involved herself with were Severus and Blythe Rosier. She was three years older than her and a friend of her brother and his girlfriend, so that was how the two knew each other. Ted, being an annoying overprotective brother, had Blythe check on Percy once in a while to make sure everything was fine and report to him whatever his sister wasn't telling him. Unfortunately for him, the older girl was no snitch, but still made sure to check on her, knowing how the rest of their housemates treated her. The brunette seemed to have her own problems though, so Percy never liked to bother her unless it was about something really serious. 

Us and Them came on the radio when someone entered the dorm and interrupted her thoughts. It was Natalia, but thankfully she seemed to be alone. She was wet from head to toes, her strawberry blonde hair seemed like seaweed and her mascara was running down her face. Percy thought that the sight was delightful, but she kept a neutral expression, not wanting to show her satisfaction. "What happened?" she asked after getting up and sitting across her own bed, loud enough to be heard over Natalia, who was letting out a string of curses.

That was when she finally noticed she wasn't alone in the dorm. Her expression was twisted in anger, which wasn't that common for the girl, at least compared to the other Slytherins. "What do you think, Tonks?" Her surname sounded like an insult, as she spat it out. "The Marauders happened! Them and their bloody pranks-"

As much as Percy hated the group of four and found their pranks to be immature and childish, she sometimes found herself appreciating the choice of their victims. Their worst practical jokes were always targeted at the Slytherins, which would be offensive to her if most of her housemates weren't proved to be bullies that deserved getting bullied back.

"You better leave now, because Lu got pranked too and if you think I'm angry... you don't want to see her," Natalia warned her. "She will literally combust if she sees you here," she muttered, after taking off her robes and casting a drying spell.

"How is this my fault?!" Percy yelled.

"She thinks you told them to do this," she said, causing the brunette to look at her with a shocked expression. Of course they would blame her, they seemed to blame everything on Percy these past few years. Changes in the schedule, Slytherin losing the House Cup, global warming... yes, Persephone Tonks was truly evil and clearly the one that caused every possible problem. Natalia continued, "You're always around the Gryffindors anyway, as if you needed to make it any more clear that you don't belong in here."

She didn't need to hear any more and she knew she could never reason with her dorm mates, especially Lucrecia, who was bound to enter the dorm in any minute and go berserk on her. She instantly got up and without sparing a second glance at the other girl, she left the dorms. Making her way through the almost empty common room, she decided to go find Lily.

Percy could never defend herself against the other Slytherins – mostly because she knew how many of them there were and how every little action of hers would be twisted into something more than it actually was. The only way she knew how to deal with them was to ignore them. That's how she dealt with all of her problems, why would this be any different? Perhaps she was too passive, but even if she snapped and stood up for herself, it would not make a difference. She would still be a muggleborn in Slytherin, the black sheep. 

She hadn't realized she had already reached the training grounds while angrily walking until she bumped into a very familiar group of boys. "Watch where you're going!" she yelled at the one closer to her, which was Sirius Black. The most typical of his annoying smirks formed on his lips – there were many girls that would kill to be noticed by him, to be in Percy's position (because apparently bad manners and an obnoxious amount of cologne were considered attractive in the wizarding world?), but she couldn't say she felt the same.

"Hey, relax Tonks," she heard Remus Lupin. He was the mediator amongst the group, the less emotional one who actually used his remaining brain cells. Still, the condescending tone in his voice didn't exactly help the ticking time bomb that was Percy at that moment.

"Just because you lot act like you own the school doesn't mean you actually do," she continued, crossing her arms to her chest.

Percy hated the Marauders enough to not feel bad when she took her anger out on them. The only person inside that group of boys that she actually liked was Peter Pettigrew. The chubby boy was between Potter and Lupin and was looking pretty amused at the sight of the girl snapping at them, though he was trying his best to hide it. Percy and Peter had become partners in potions last year and had developed a very unusual friendship over the time, if she could even call it that. Unlike the others, she thought he was actually very nice, although it seemed like she was the only one who appreciated him more than his other friends.

"What's up your arse this morning?" Black asked and held his head up high in a desperate attempt to create the illusion of being taller than Percy. "If anything, you should be thanking us for what we did to the Slytherin pricks."

"Thanking you?" she repeated, getting angrier by the second. "Thanking you for what exactly? Being kicked out of my dorm because Parkinson thinks I told you to prank them?"

James raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, though it mostly seemed like he was trying to calm Percy the same way a bullfighter would be trying to calm down a bull. She had to admit that she enjoyed the thought of them being scared of her, at least to a level. It gave her a sense of control, one that she desperately lacked. "Woah, slow down. It's not our fault your friends are paranoid."

"Friends?"

"Dormmates," he quickly corrected.

"Don't forget she doesn't have any friends, Jamesie," Black added with a mocking tone. "Evans is like her master, she acts like a house elf when she's around her. Right?"

That was the first time Peter spoke during this conversation. "Sirius!"

Percy had most definitely turned red at that comment. She was always deeply concerned about how others viewed her and what Black had said only lowered her self esteem. "You'd know all about house elves, wouldn't you? You and your bloody psycho family," she yelled.

She was pretty sure that if she wasn't a girl, Sirius would have punched her after that one. But she did enjoy the sight of his face, the knowledge that she had gotten to the root of whatever issues the boy had. Tonks, Black, 1-1.

He had opened his mouth, a furious expression on his face but no words came out. "You two are insufferable," Lupin muttered and put his hands on Black's shoulders, firmly guiding him away. Potter followed without even looking back, although Peter seemed hesitant to.

"Uh, I'm sorry for your dormmates," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. She nodded. "And I'm sorry for Sirius as well... he has no filter."

It was usual for those two to fight every time they were around each other. Percy wasn't sure why he hated her, but in her mind she had a whole list of reasons why she despised him.

"Noted." There was a moment of awkward silence, so she filled it. "It's fine though, you don't have to apologise."

"See you in Potions?" Peter had always been worried that Percy would at some point stop talking to him due to her hatred for his friends. He had told her last year, the last day before everyone returned to their homes for the holidays. She was surprised to realise that she genuinely enjoyed his company and didn't want to cut him off.

"Sure."

She watched as Peter ran after his friends and she wondered whether that was how she appeared to other people as well. Someone who was constantly running after her best friend, a person no one noticed unless she was with the Gryffindor. Percy knew that it was most likely true, as much as she hated to admit it. She was quite dependent on Lily, especially when it came to social situations. Was she ever going to fight with her, all of their other friends would take Lily's side. Because they were Lily's friends and had probably just accepted that these two were a package deal. Ironically enough, Peter was the only one of her friends that didn't hang out with Lily first.

She was still feeling flushed when she finally noticed where Sev and Lily were sitting and approached them. They were sitting next to each other, under the shade of a big tree and there were some books next to them, but they weren't studying. When Sev noticed her, he smiled at her way but quickly realised something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?"

Lily immediately switched to worried mother mode. "What happened? Are you feeling sick? Want to sit down?"

"I am fine," she replied but sat opposite to them. "I just had an unpleasant talk with the Marauders- Well, mostly Black to be fair."

Severus nodded, as if he immediately understood everything. While the trio shared the same opinions on the group, Sev seemed to have an even bigger problem with them. While Percy was mostly annoyed by Black and occasionally Potter, Sev hated them all equally. He had every right to, considering how they acted towards him, but at times even Percy could tell he was being unnecessary. It was most likely just a Slytherin thing.

"He's a git. What did he say to you?"

"Can we switch the subject?" the brunette said, not wanting to talk about Black's comment. "I just want to relax."

Sev seemed like he wanted to insist, but he was cut off. "Did you two hear about Flitwick's announcement?" You could always count on Lily to think of a conversation topic and change the subject in matter of seconds.

"About the Duelling Club?"

The redhead nodded. "It seems interesting, although I don't think he will let many of the younger students to join."

Severus scoffed at that. "I doubt it has anything to do with age. It's just that most kids our age are idiots and duelling is the last thing Flitwick wants them to do."

"Are you thinking of signing up for it?" Percy asked him, her interest piqued already.

"Absolutely," he said. "It will be very rewarding and a great opportunity to practise everything we've been taught over the years."

"You should sign up for it too, you know," Lily gently nudged her with her elbow. "You are great at D.A.D.A, perhaps one of the best in our year."

"Yeah, right," Percy chuckled.

"Being humble doesn't suit you," the other girl joked.

Sev interrupted them. "Why won't you join, Lily?"

"I would prefer to focus on other subjects to be honest. I realized that I'm a bit behind on History, so I need to catch up."

"History is bullshit."

"Language, Percy!" Sev who had previously nodded at her comment now shook his head in agreement with Lily, causing the girls to burst out laughing.

"Sorry, mother," she rolled her eyes at her friend but couldn't hide a smile. She was feeling much more calm and relaxed after hanging out with her friends and had almost forgotten about the previous fights. The three stayed there until they had to get up and go to class, agreeing to meet later again.