Thursday, September 1st, 1994
Seeing Naomi wave as she walked away and joined the Mitford triplet, the Ravenclaw waited a few moments before deciding to make a move. He heard Hagrid's booming voice as the half-giant ushered the new first-years down the mountain path and reminisced about his first day here. The boy glanced up to see rainclouds forming that looked more dangerous than the one from earlier. The sound of thunder echoed through the valley beyond.
After the first years had left, Percival walked towards the exit. He passed the map of the Great Hogwarts Region as he reached the cobblestone stairs. Looking down, the Ravenclaw saw a muddy divot caused by repeated usage. In the time it took him to reach the exit, the dark rainclouds now covered everywhere between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.
He stood with his right hand outstretched and eyes tightly shut, cocooned by the warm glow of the everlasting candle and the pale shimmer from the moon. A few drops of rain pattered onto his outstretched hand. He sensed something approach. A cold sensation passed through his body, and a warm shiver ran down his spine. Percival felt the soft, scaly nuzzle of a young Thestral against his palm.
Opening his eyes, he faced the creature. Its empty white eyes met his. Its large, doll-like eyes seemed to hold the answer to the meaning of life. Yet, it was also deprived of joy, anger, and sadness. Such juxtaposition unnerved the head boy.
"Percy!" Isabel's sudden shout startled the young Thestral.
The Thestral blinked rapidly as it took a few steps back. The thestral unfurled its wings with a graceful yet hurried motion, revealing the bat-like structure. The wing was a delicate network of membranes stretched between elongated bones. With slow, measured steps, the young thestral circled around with its nuzzle in close proximity to him. Despite its skeletal appearance, the thestral continued to retreat. Its movements were silent and swift, almost ghost-like as it glided across the ground.
The young Thestral joined the small group of Thestrals, approaching, pulling a carriage behind them. Isabel's head was sticking out from the window. The older Thestral seemed to chastise the younger one before the group positioned it in the centre. The small herd had rearranged itself by the time it stopped before the Ravenclaw boy.
When the carriage came to a stop, Isabel opened the door, ushering Percival inside. Before Percival could sit down, Priscilla drew her wand, pointing it at the only boy in the carriage. *Exsicco.* With a quick upwards flick, the tip of her wand glowed a dull red-ish purple hue. The fabric on his body shivered. Beads of rainwater rose from his robe like silver mist before vanishing with a soft puff. Percival gave a grateful nod before taking a seat next to Jessica before he became the bearer of bad news.
"We have to take a detour to the boathouse," the head boy said as groans reverberated around the luxurious interior.
"May we ask 'Why?'" Isabel asked.
"There aren't enough boats for the first years. We assume that Hagrid forgot to tie some down, and some got lost or drifted away," Percival explained.
"Why can't Naomi do it? You said Naomi was on boat duty earlier," Jennifer said.
"Something more important came to our attention, and she's dealing with that. Which means I'm back on boat duty," the Ravenclaw boy replied.
"Is she having another incandescent love affair?" Isabel guessed. "That's what she was doing last time when she said something came up."
"Wait! What?" the room replied, and Isabel quickly looked outside to admire the rainclouds.
"This time it is a real emergency. Although we can't see the clearing today, she is willing to turn a blind eye tomorrow," Percival said.
"Okay," Jennifer replied.
"Doable," Gabrielle said, as she returned to maintaining her wand.
"At least that means we're not going to be late on the first day back. And if that did somehow happen, Merlin forbid McGonagall being the one to catch us," Priscilla said as the carriage turned to look at her.
"You've just jinxed us. Why? Why do you have to jinx us?" Jennifer asked, shaking her head slowly.
"I... I..."
"Stop talking. You've already invoked Murphy's Law. We don't want you to invoke Cole's Law as well?" Jennifer said as Gabrielle stared and prepared herself.
"What's Cole's Law?"
"Coleslaw is a salad made primarily from shredded raw cabbage with mayonnaise," Jennifer said as both Gabrielle and Percival shook their heads. The head boy could have sworn Isabel was ready to jump after hearing the terrible joke.
Priscilla shook her head as Jennifer turned back to hide her snigger and open the flap at the front. She rang the bell and told the creatures she couldn't see that their destination was the boathouse. The carriage moved faster. A hush descended as Jennifer tried to calm down.
"So, how were your summer holidays?" Jennifer said as she broke the silence.
"I feel like a whinge is coming up," Gabrielle said quietly as she adjusted her posture.
"Mine was going well. My father and I spent the summer in Italy; then we went to support Percy during the duelling circuits. By the way, congratulations on winning the mixed doubles with Fleur. Then we came home, and I was telling Aunt Teresa about the trip before she went nuclear. Can you guess why Percival?" Jennifer said as she held her gaze.
"Oh fuck!" Percy exclaimed quietly as he remembered the promise he made to his mother. After last year's competition and almost being maimed, Percival promised his mother he would compete in the Duelling Circuits. His mother had understood it as he wasn't going to compete, full stop, while he meant he wasn't going to go solo anymore. "And I was with my grandparent for the rest of the summer. Christmas is going to be hell!"
"You could spend Christmas at Hogwarts this year as well," Isabel chimed in.
"And miss the third Christmas in a row. You want me dead, don't you?" Percival said as he slid down his seat and slouched. "I just hope her secret admirer does something again to take the focus off from me."
"Didn't your mother's secret admirer take her to Poland last year?" Priscilla asked as both Jennifer and Percival nodded. "Does she have any Muggle recommendations? My fiancé and I are planning to go there for Yule."
"Aunt Teresa did tell me about this one place, where they... Fiancé?" Jennifer said, confused, as the carriage slowly caught up. "You're engaged? Congratulations," the Ravenclaw Prefect said before the carriage was filled with shrieks of excitement.
"Do tell," Gabrielle said as she took Priscilla's hand in hers and gazed at her expectantly.
"I will. But after he fetches the boat. I don't want to tell the same story twice."
Percival waited for the carriage to stop. Once it did, the Ravenclaw boy got off. Learning his lesson, the boy summoned an incorporeal umbrella and ran towards the boathouse. The boathouse stood nestled at the water's edge, its weathered stone walls adorned with creeping ivy and patches of moss. A sloped roof, fashioned from aged timber beams, sheltered the structure, blending with the landscape. As Percival approached, the scent of damp earth and lake water hung in the air.
As he hurried along the dock, a sturdy wooden dock extended from the boathouse, stretching out into the glassy surface of the lake, providing a safe and convenient pathway to the entrance. The dock was well-maintained, with handrails and lanterns to guide students during night-time escapades.
Inside the boathouse, wooden benches lined the walls, their surfaces polished smooth from years of use. Lanterns hang from the rafters. Along one side, a row of small wooden boats rested on racks, their hulls gleaming softly in the dim light of the lanterns.
Percival drew his wand again and cast a silent levitation charm on four of the small boats. They levitated behind him as he went out to the lake. The boy gently placed it down.
"Despulso."
The four boats slowly glided towards the other side of the lake. They weren't travelling to the right location, but Hagrid could sort that out, thought the boy. Percival re-summoned the umbrella and headed back to the carriage. Casting a quick Scourgify and cleaning the mud off his boots, the Ravenclaw boy re-entered the carriage.
When the Ravenclaw boy entered the carriage again, he saw Gabrielle holding a ring to light.
"Do you know what that ring is?" Gabrielle asked as she handed the ring to him after he sat down.
Percival held it to the light. The ring was silver. It could be either white gold, silver or platinum. It appeared slightly greyish, so not silver, and given how Priscilla was allergic to a lot of things, platinum made sense with its hypoallergenic property. As for the gemstone, Percival remembered Priscilla's collection of white sapphire jewellery. However, this ring did not have the same soft sparkle as her other jewellery.
"Platinum with a diamond. I can't tell the carat. Edwardian set, most likely a family heirloom," Percival said as he handed the ring back to his newly engaged friend.
"I didn't expect you to actually get it," Gabrielle said with a look of surprise.
"Aunt Teresa has a white gold ring with an Edwardian set sapphire," Jennifer explained.
"I don't remember if I said it yet, but congratulations," Percival said as Priscilla responded with a simple 'Thank You'. "However, I must ask you. Are you happy with this arrangement? Or at least content?"
"I would have this ring if I weren't content, Percy," Priscilla said as she put the ring back on its chain and wore it around her neck. "It could have been worse. He could have been worse. I could have been married off to an 80-year-old wizard. My fiancé is the second son of an Albanian pure-blood family. He is kind and sweet and is willing to let love grow between us. Not exactly what I wanted, but it's enough. I think we can make it work."
"Are we invited to the engagement celebration? Or has that already come to pass?" Gabrielle asked.
"Of course you're all invited. We only signed the contracts. The ceremony will be held in Albania," Priscilla said. "We agreed that we wanted it to be done according to the olde ways; however, most of that is outlawed here. So Albania, it is. Not sure when it is, given that he is visiting with the Durmstrang delegations."
"What Durmstrang delegation?" Percival asked, confused.
"You weren't here when we spoke about it," Gabrielle said. "You'll find out soon enough. Speaking about that, my mother mentioned that Beauxbatons said no to the extended format. The British Ministry wants to keep it as close to the original as much as possible."
"What original? Can someone tell me what's happening?" Percival asked, a little more confused.
"As Gabs said, you'll find out soon. I'm fairly certain Dumbledore will mention it at the sorting," Jennifer said. "If he doesn't, we might tell you closer to the date."
"Wait, that means you didn't hear my story earlier," Gabrielle said excitedly as the other girls sighed. "You remember my sister and her husband, right? During the summer I stayed over there with them in the States. We went hunting, and they let me use a sniper. So during one of these hunts, my brother-in-law spots this huge deer. Enorme. A giant. We quickly go into one of the bushes to stay out of sight. He lined up the shot and then moved over and let me do it. So I was staring down a scope with the biggest deer I've seen in my whole life on the other side. I'm breathing. The deer is breathing. The whole forest was holding its breath." Gabrielle took a moment to breath and mimed holding a sniper, re-enacting the moment. She let out a huge breath, and mimed pulling the trigger. "Bang! Straight down. One shot. I checked the scope again, and it was on the ground. We then went to confirm the kill and tag it. We had to come back the next day, as it was too big. He even taught me how to skin it. I have a Polaroid somewhere in my luggage if you want to see it."