Chapter Text
Percy Weasley woke with a start. His eyes fittered around his room as he lay in bed, taking in the bright morning rays that splattered on his walls and the singing of the birds outside.
For anyone else, it was the start of new ordinary day. For Percy Weasley, though unaware, it was the day everything changed.
He got up from bed slowly, feeling as if moving too fast would bring a bout of dizziness. A strange feeling of wrongness was encompassing him. Something was off.
Unsure of himself, he tried to brush it off as the start of a bout of sickness and started getting ready for the day. Already he could hear the murmur of life through the door. His siblings must have awoken and started on breakfast.
He walked down the stairs slowly, holding onto the banister, and didn't try to avoid the squeakiest of steps as he usually would. The murmur of life has turned into full blown chatter and laughter, and Percy suddenly felt an ache so deep in his heart he stumbled.
At the dinner table he could see his father sipping his tea as he read the newspaper, the twins whispering to eachother and laughing with their mouths full, Ron was stuffing his mouth with strawberry jam covered toast as Ginny was talking his ear off about something or other. From the kitchen he could hear his mother humming a tune as a clattering of pans and pots rung out.
While witnessing the domesticity of his family he couldn't shake off the feeling inside him. A sort of nostalgia making his throat sour.
His mother makes her appearance then, and upon seeing his pale form in the doorway she leaves whatever plate she was carrying on the table and rushes over without even a good morning to fuss over him.
"Percy, dear, are you feeling alright? You're pale as a ghost!" she frets, brushing her hands over his forehead and into his disheveled hair.
He swallows down a lump before opening his mouth. He was about to say he's fine but he's feeling so off kilter today that all he wants is for his mom to make it better.
"I don't think so, mum. I might be coming down with something..." he mumbles out.
"Oh that won't do! Come, come!" he ushers him towards the table. "Eat something, will you? I can't give you a Pepper Up potion on an empty stomach."
As he approaches the table he mumbles out a quiet "Morning" to his father and siblings before sitting in a chair with a thud.
At this point Ginny turns to him and notices his condition.
"You look awful" she comments.
"I feel awful" he comments back.
She just smiles at him and continues with her rant. Something about Quidditch? Percy has already tuned her out in favor of focusing on his breakfast.
He barely gets any bites in, having no appetite, tough his mother's Pepper Up potion warning makes him manage.
Once he's drunk the potion he feels a bit better, the feeling of something being… off, though, it stays. It makes him feel rather wary, inexplicably. Makes him look behind his shoulder as if the twins are about to spring a prank on him.
He shakes it off, for now. Breakfast is over and the Weasley family is dispersing around the house, everyone going to do their own thing.
Percy climbs back up the stairs, grateful that it was easier than the descent, and locks himself in his room, as he usually does.
He's not very social, even with his own family, and they seem to have realized this and are used to letting him have his space. He is just about to shuffle through his books, in search of reading material when he suddenly feels like he's being watched.
He freezes without meaning to, turning around slowly until a shabby cage shows up into his vision. A rat resides inside, looking at Percy with small beady eyes.
"Scabbers?" asks Percy, as if the rat would answer.
A squeak is heard in the room, making Percy's skin prickle and shoulders shudder. He would've already crossed the room and taken his pet out of the cage but something is keeping him frozen still. The image of his beloved rat does not comfort Percy as it usually would have.
'Odd' thinks Percy, even as his breathing grew heavier and the feeling of wrongness from this morning got stronger.
Standing frozen in his room, staring at his pet rat as it squeaked in confusion, he realized what a strange picture it painted and quickly shook himself off and finally approached the rodent.
"I'm sorry" he said to the rat as he opened the little door and took it out, petting it "I'm not feeling well this morning."
The feeling is more to soothe himself than the rat, but somehow even holding the rodent only seems to make Percy feel worse. His heart is beating faster and his hands are sweaty, but there's no definite reason for his symptoms.
The day goes on as usual. Percy doesn't end up feeling better but getting used to the off feeling instead, going through his routine without a hitch. He continues his daily reading and reviews his over the summer homework a millionth time. All the while the rodent rests in his lap or on his shoulder.
Once night comes, Percy ends up falling asleep quickly. Throughout the night he tosses and turns, dreams and nightmares plaguing him.
He can smell blood, hear screams, and feels a cold metallic feeling in his hand. He thinks he can hear a soft "tink, tink, tink" sound repeatedly and a voice that sounds like his, but older, wronger, speaking in intelligible words.
When he awakes it's morning once again.