The Secret Kitchen and the New Kid
The days at school settled in smoothly, almost without them noticing. Percy had formed a nice friendship with Neville, whom he tried to help become less nervous and downcast. Meanwhile, Harry had made friends with Ron.
Both brothers had finally made their first friends at school; and that seemed to brighten their day-to-day life quite a bit. Except, well, for classes; especially Potions. And having to run into idiots like Malfoy on the way to them.
Neville was sitting patiently, looking at Percy, who was doing a quick training session with a wooden stick. As he watched, he kept eating a small bun he had gone to get from the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry also woke up early with Percy to do some exercise, but Harry finished much faster because it was only to maintain his physical condition. Percy, on the other hand, had to train his sword technique; if his performance dropped even a little, his master, Mr. Einjard, would surely kick his butt. And he would not accept "school responsibilities" as an excuse.
Harry went to eat his breakfast while Ron continued sleeping deeply. He was not exactly someone who woke up early. Neither Harry nor Percy had been either, until their daily routine began to change as they met their family members. Because yes; to them, everyone who entered their lives was family. The Knights, Aunt Mor, cousin Dred; all of them.
"Why are you training with a sword if we're wizards?" asked Neville, unable to hold back the question that had been circling in his mind ever since he saw Percy attacking with that stick as if it were a sharp blade. Even as a stick, it looked really cool.
"Who says wizards can't be knights?" Percy replied, stopping for a moment.
Neville thought about that. And of course, there was no one who had ever set such a rule. So he simply kept eating his bun.
Percy had a bit of sweat on him, but he was done for the day. At least he would have an excuse to say he never skipped his training.
He walked over to his bag beside Neville and wiped the sweat off with a towel he kept inside. He was already used to carrying those things around since he was a child; so many years of training had turned it into routine.
Then Percy got really hungry, since he still hadn't eaten breakfast. And even though Neville shared one of the buns he'd brought, Percy knew it wouldn't be enough. He would have to make a quick visit to the Great Hall before breakfast time ended.
However, while walking through the hallways with Neville, he spotted a first-year student being pushed around by several Slytherin students. They were mocking him for the way he walked.
"Stop it!" the boy said, trying to move out of the way. But two taller and fatter boys were at his sides. They were Crabbe and Goyle, who were pushing him between them while laughing with their idiotic faces.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Percy shouted immediately, running toward them.
Crabbe and Goyle looked at Percy with mocking expressions, without a hint of fear, as if they were about to pick a fight with him for interrupting their fun.
"Eh, uh… Professor McGonagall, here!" Neville suddenly yelled, waving behind Crabbe and Goyle.
Both boys turned around instantly… and sprinted away at full speed.
Percy stopped; there was no point chasing them now. Then he turned toward Neville.
"You're copying my style," he said with a slight smile. Obviously, Professor McGonagall wasn't anywhere nearby; Neville had just used the trick Percy had suggested he use when Percy wasn't around and some idiot bothered him.
Neville smiled, somewhat embarrassed, and scratched his head. Both of them approached the student who had ended up on the floor; Crabbe, while running away, had bumped into him with his huge body, knocking him down.
The boy was wearing a yellow tie, which meant he belonged to Hufflepuff. Normally everyone wore the same robe in the same color, so the ties were the only way to tell them apart. Well, some first-years still didn't wear their house crests on their robes.
The reason was simple: they had to buy them from the Weasley twins. And those two were hard to find on normal days.
Percy offered his hand to the young boy to help him up. The boy was slightly tan and wore his wizard hat tightly fitted, letting only a small lock of wavy hair peek out on one side. He seemed a bit taller than Percy, but at the same time had that truly harmless look; the kind of kid bullies always picked on.
When he stood up, he took a few strange steps, as if he had trouble with his ankles.
"Uh… thanks," the boy said softly.
Percy looked at him for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "Are you a first-year? I don't think I saw you at the Sorting Ceremony," he added.
"Oh, yes, I arrived a bit late. I'm an exchange student from the United States," the boy said quickly, with a certain nervousness.
"United States?" Percy repeated with interest. He himself knew that he and his mother were basically of American blood, unlike his brother, who was English. But after living his whole life in England, hearing the name of the country only made him raise an eyebrow with curiosity.
"Exchange? Then you come from Ilvermorny?" Neville asked.
"Eh? Yes… no… no, I went to another school," the boy said, almost as if he didn't recognize the name he had just heard.
But of course Percy and Neville didn't notice anything suspicious about that.
"By the way, I'm Percy," Percy introduced himself casually.
"Oh, and I'm Neville," said Neville, still a bit nervous; that part of his personality hadn't disappeared even with Percy encouraging him to change little by little. Obviously it would take time.
"Uh… I'm Grover," the boy introduced himself. And although he seemed nervous, just like Neville, it wasn't hard to tell he was trying to appear calm.
While Percy walked, he thought that perhaps it was his destiny to meet lonely kids and help them. Although if Harry knew what he was thinking, he would look at him like he was an idiot for thinking that.
"So… Hufflepuff, huh. What's it like?" Percy asked, trying to keep a conversation going.
"It's fun," Grover said. "Everyone is really friendly and they love eating a lot. I think it suits me," he added with a smile. "Even the upper-year students told us where we could find the kitchen."
Upon hearing that, Percy quickly moved closer to Grover.
"You know where the castle's kitchen is?" he asked with a completely serious look, remembering he was quite hungry.
Grover looked at him and leaned back a little, pulling his face away from Percy's, since Percy had grabbed him by the shoulders. "Yes?" he said, more like a question than an answer, not knowing how to react.
"Good, Grover. Welcome to the gang," Percy said as he let go of his shoulders and smiled with a bit of arrogance, as if he were the leader of some high-class gang.
Grover looked slightly confused. "Thanks?" he replied again, not really sure how he was supposed to react.
"Alright, let's go to the castle's kitchen," Percy said as if he were giving the first official mission of the newly formed gang. He took the lead, with Grover and Neville following behind. However, Percy quickly realized he didn't actually know where the kitchen was, so he turned around.
"Ahem… you have to guide us," he told Grover.
"Oh, right," Grover said, hastening his steps and moving to the front to guide them.
Meanwhile, not far away, Harry walked with Ron, who had already woken up and had run into him on the way as they prepared for their next class.
Harry saw the strange group from afar: Percy, Neville, and an unknown boy walking together. As soon as he saw them, he noticed his brother more cheerful than usual, which brought a small smile to his face. Percy was normally around Harry, trying to protect him all the time.
But between the two of them, Percy was the friendlier one; he could make friends easily. Still, in primary school, both had been considered the two "weird kids," either because of their personalities or the strange events that always happened around them. None of that helped. Both had found it hard to make real friends.
And it seemed all of that had changed at Hogwarts, where all those oddities and eccentricities were part of everyday normality.
Even so, Harry noticed something about Percy. Sometimes Percy seemed to feel strange among wizards, as if he didn't fully fit in. Unlike Harry, who felt a natural connection to magic, Percy still had an invisible wall between himself and the magical world. Something like he tolerated it because it was his brother's world, rather than fully accepting it as his own.
But seeing him there, walking with Neville and that new boy, making friends… it seemed like that invisible wall was starting to break.