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Tweak says, "Candy is Dandy"

Percy Ignatius Weasley (youngestmformev) wrote in pandorarpg,
@ 2011-10-24 22:14:00

Entry tags:

!status: complete, ^date: october 31 2003, character: daphne greengrass, character: percy weasley

Rated PG
Who: Percy Weasley and Daphne Greengrass
What: Waking up after a terrible nightmare
Where: Percy's flat, Exeter
When: October 31 - 7:25 am

That night, Percy had suffered from a terrible nightmare that had left him trembling and sweating in horror. What worried him, however, was that it wasn't the nightmare he'd been having regularly for the last five years, as had been the night before - a nightmare of his brother's death and accusations of Percy having been responsible for it. This time, it had been as if he had been someone else, a man in love with a beloved wife, but who had been forced against his very will to do the most horrific things to her...

It was fortunate, then, that he had an extensive collection of Dreamless Sleep potions for the nights that it was difficult to face another moment of sleep, yet at the same time was necessary for him to get a good night's rest. The Ministry Hallowe'en gala was that coming night, and he needed to be prepared.

And thus it was that he was awoken from his dreamless sleep, but he didn't quite know what it was that had woken him. His eyelids opened slowly, his vision remaining fuzzy and unfocused without his glasses, and saw nothing but the wall of his bedroom. He listened and used every sense to figure out what was different - after all, he'd grown up with Fred and George as brothers, and he'd learned long ago that Constant Vigilance was the only thing keeping him from spending the day without being covered in purple polka dots.

He thought he heard breathing... but that couldn't be. Nobody had spent the night in his bed - save him - ever since he and Penny had broken up years ago. He slowly began turning, expecting to see a freckled face smiling at him and teasing him for having a stick up his arse even in his sleep. However, there was no teasing, and he could have sworn that there was no red hair next to him. Confused, he reached out to his night-table to fetch his glasses and slid them onto his face.

Upon seeing the strange blonde head on the pillow next to his, he let out a decidedly un-masculine shout and modestly pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"Who are you, and which of my brothers put you up to this?!"

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vernus
2011-11-01 05:02 am UTC (link)

A small smile turned the corners of Daphne's lips upward, and was gone a few moments later when he asked about the dream. Normally, she wasn't this open with anyone except her sister. Percy seemed to inspire trust though, and she sighed, allowing herself to slouch for a brief moment before sitting upright again. Remembering wasn't something she wanted to do now that she had gotten her mind off it. Still, that was why she was there, wasn't it?

"She was," she started and looked confused with herself for a moment. "Well, she was cutting me apart, really. Piece by piece. Started with my feet and moved on up. There was blood everywhere, and the more I screamed the slower she did it so I felt everything. And she laughed. I suppose with the clown from yesterday, I'm a little hypersensitive."

Without thinking, Daphne reached down and scratched her ankle. It was then that she noticed for the first time the spot she had on the inner part of it.

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youngestmformev
2011-11-01 11:22 pm UTC (link)

Percy nodded, sympathizing. His nightmare had been equally terrible, and for a moment he toyed with the idea of telling her of his so that she may not feel so alone. The idea was immediately quashed, however, as Percy Weasley did not bother others with nightmares, not since he was nine and crawled into Bill's bed because he thought the winter wind was a Dementor come to Kiss him.

"I believe anyone would be hypersensitive after something like that," he assuaged.

"Whenever I have a bad dream, no matter how terrible, I take a few moments to think about it and force myself to see how it is just a dream. I would take a few deep breaths, let the tension out, and try to put it behind me. As long as it's just a dream, then it cannot hurt you. We control them, not the other way around."

He didn't know if the words would help her, but they had helped him on occasion.

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vernus
2011-11-02 02:23 am UTC (link)

"Tell me, Percy," she began, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest as her lips pursed. These were not ordinary dreams, she had felt pain where the woman had cut her. Every big slice, and the finer she cut, the more pain she had felt at first. Of course, this was hours ago, and the pain had stopped by now. At the time, it had burned and stung. "What did you dream about?"

She looked at him across the small room and felt her eyebrow go up questioningly. A moment later she crossed one leg over the other, and her trousers went up slightly at the bottom. It was then she saw the little mark for the first time. Odd.

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youngestmformev
2011-11-02 02:40 am UTC (link)

Percy's eyebrows lifted and his mind quickly sought out some sort of answer. "Well, when I was young, I used to have nightmares that Death Eaters would come to take my family. They actually were after my family when I was very little, and so the fear was justified."

His eyes couldn't help but notice the motion of her legs, and without his consent, lingered on them long enough to notice the small mark on her ankle. The mark looked nearly identical to the one on the back of Percy's neck.

He groaned. "My apologies, I fear you've been an accidental victim of my brother's pranks. He must have done something to my sheets, and it rubbed off on your ankle." He winced. "When I find out what he's done and how long it will last, I'll let you know."

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vernus
2011-11-02 04:43 am UTC (link)

"You dreamed Death Eaters were coming for your family," she asked, though couldn't help the tone that came with it. He was a pureblood, and admittedly, his family were muggle loving blood traitors, but that was neither here or there. Daphne's ideas of politics had shifted quite a bit over the last ten years of her life. She had even gone through a phase where she wanted to be just like Bellatrix Lestrange. It was a phase she hoped to never have to speak of. Still, she couldn't help the slightly condescending tone that slipped from her mouth. She fought to keep herself from saying, Yes, because you lot have so much that the Dark Lord wanted. What with all that money and influence. "Is that what you dreamed last night? That Death eaters were coming for you?"

Her eyes looked down at the spot and she looked away quickly. The spot was in the exact place the red haired woman had been cutting when she first started laughing. The spot. It had to have something to do with her.

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youngestmformev
2011-11-02 01:44 pm UTC (link)

Percy felt like shrinking away at her reaction. "I didn't say it's what I dreamed last night. In fact, I don't remember having said that I'd had any sort of dream last night, the night before, or last week," he finally said, stiffening with his old pomposity that always came up like a wall to protect his inner self.

"And for the record, they did come for us. We were in safe houses until I was five, as a matter of fact. It's not unusual that such would be a child's nightmare."

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vernus
2011-11-02 06:13 pm UTC (link)

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, though did so internally and added a shake of the head. Aside from stopping the Weasleys from reproducing, she couldn't think of any reason why anyone would have wasted their time with the family during the first war. During the second war, certainly, she had heard her parents arguing enough times to know that the Death Eaters thought the Weasleys were hiding Harry Potter.

"You're deflecting," she said bitterly, and her lips pursed tightly together.

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youngestmformev
2011-11-02 06:44 pm UTC (link)

Percy unconsciously echoed her pursing lips. "If I am deflecting, it's because my dreams are not the issue at hand. I wasn't the one so disturbed by what I saw last night that I crawled into bed with a near total stranger. Which was extremely dangerous thing to do, as you know."

Merlin, he was doing it again - concern and self-protection turning into his usual sanctimonious-sounding speech. He tried to catch himself, he really did, but it wasn't always in time. And then, it was only because he was trying for his family, not because he wasn't right to speak and feel that way.

"But then, I'm a little more accustomed to dealing with nightmares than most." This was the only concession he would give.

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vernus
2011-11-02 07:30 pm UTC (link)

Daphne felt her eyes narrow momentarily before she looked away, she had to look away so that when she rolled her eyes, Percy didn't see her do it outright. She ran her tongue along the top of her teeth, because if she had wanted someone to act like her father, she would have gone to Azkaban and seen him.

"Are you always this difficult," she asked, the second question she was probably not going to get an answer to. And the third. "And let's be honest here, what were you going to do, read the index of one of your books to me until I dropped dead?"

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youngestmformev
2011-11-02 10:55 pm UTC (link)

Her question had him huffing defensively, and placing his mug on the coffee table so that he could cross his arms over his chest. If he'd wanted someone to act like one of his siblings, he'd have gone to the Burrow for this sort of punishment. Though, admittedly Daphne was far nicer to look at.

"I'm sure if you'd ask anyone in my family, they would surely answer yes to that question," he replied snippishly. "As for what I would have done, you should not underestimate me. I may appear to be nothing but a paper-pusher," he said with words that sounded oft-spoken, "but I fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, after all."

He looked over at her, wondering how in Merlin's name they had come from having a lovely breakfast to facing each other down in such a manner. This woman was simply impossible, that must be it.

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vernus
2011-11-03 06:02 am UTC (link)

"Ooh," she said in a biting tone, one that she didn't even make an attempt to hide. Her eyes widened as she did and she rolled them right after. "You and a half score of thoroughly untrained wizards. Look, I understand, you keep people at arm's length because you much prefer to keep it that way. If people can't get close, you can't get invested, and then you can't get hurt. Plus it helps with your political aspirations if people think you're always in control. Maybe it comes from being the red-ish-black sheep of your family, maybe it comes from technically being a middle child. Or maybe the fact that you're afraid to be vulnerable with people because you've been taken advantage of. I may not have been acquainted with you long, but I can guarantee I know more about you than you know about me. And let's be honest, what do you know about me? My name is Daphne, I'm a seamstress, I'm afraid of clowns, my mother is a cow and I had a moment of weakness in which I came to you. I can admit when I need help. You can't.

"And just so we're clear, a good leader can admit when he needs help, they don't take everything on themselves. You want to be Minister? Start there. People will never stand behind a Minister they think is hiding something or can't admit things are beyond their control sometimes. Take Fudge, for example. A little honesty wouldn't have hurt him. Let's say, for argument's sake, that you become Minister. How are you going to handle it when nothing is in your control? You can't be Minister and be in control of every single thing. That's why you have a job right now. Because the person in charge can't do everything. So now I ask again, what did you dream about last night? Or are you going to deflect? Again."

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youngestmformev
2011-11-03 11:41 am UTC (link)

Every time Percy had opened his mouth to argue, it was shut again by the continuing stream of words. He listened with incredulity at her accusations, and... felt his heart ache as he knew she was right. Somehow, she could see right through to him in a way his own loved ones never had.

But then she struck the greatest chord of all, seeing right into his greatest desire and turning it in her favour.

It was as if she'd found the weakest point of his personal wall, and with a tiny jewelry hammer, had struck it repeatedly until she managed a hole large enough to reach into. It left him bare in a way he was not accustomed to. Yet it also left him nothing to lose, for she could already see into that inner self, and she hadn't walked away.

He met her eyes with Gryffindor courage, despite his fear that every ounce of terror he had felt at the nightmare would come showing through.

"I'm someone else. I know this because I'm standing, facing a woman I've never seen, but whom I love beyond life itself. She's sitting, tied to a chair, and my body is moving without my wishing it. I can feel myself fighting, wanting to stop it, but I can't. I watch myself walk forward, and with some sort of instrument, I cut off her fingers one by one. This woman I supposedly love more than anything, and I'm being forced to torture her to death. I can't help her, I can't save her, I can't even save myself. I fail to stop it, and she dies..."

With every word he spoke, his tense body began trembling until the only thing that was keeping him together were the arms tightly wrapped around his body.

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