Stolen Kisses by joybelle423
Stolen Kisses
‘Percy, not here!’ Penelope pulled her hand out of her boyfriend’s grasp, looking around to make sure nobody had noticed.
‘There’s nobody here, Penny,’ objected Percy with a pout. ‘Besides, it’s not like I was going to kiss you –’
‘Shh!’
‘I was just holding your hand,’ he finished with a sigh.
Percy had met Penny during their fourth year at Hogwarts when they were partnered in Herbology. At first, they were merely acquaintances. After all, Percy had no time for girls. He viewed them as a necessary but unfortunate part of life, talking to them as little as possible and definitely not becoming friends with any of them.
But Penelope Clearwater had completely changed his mind about the opposite sex. Instead of giggling at him, or teasing him, or ignoring him, she treated him … normally. It took quite a bit of getting used to, but eventually Percy relaxed around her. Not entirely, of course. Relaxing wasn’t something that Percy did lightly. But he could talk to her and work with her without feeling too uncomfortable, and that meant that to him, Penelope wasn’t just a girl, but a regular person.
Then his mind changed back again, another adjustment Percy could trace back to Penelope.
They were repotting bouncing bulbs, Percy remembered. It was a hot day, and out in the greenhouse, all the students were sweating under their thick black robes. Penelope had unbuttoned the top of her robe slightly and rolled up her sleeves, and her long curly hair was tied up messily to keep it off her neck.
Percy had glanced up to ask Penelope a question and was caught off guard when he saw the way the sun was filtered through her hair, looking like a golden halo around her head. At that moment, Penelope pushed some escaping strands of hair off her forehead with her dirt-covered fingers, leaving a smudge behind.
The dirt on her face contrasted with her beautiful hair, and Percy felt his well-regulated heart skip a beat.
So Penelope wasn’t just a regular person any more. Oh, no. She was a girl.
It took Percy many more weeks to work up enough courage to walk with Penelope after class or to talk to her about anything other than magical plants and how to care for them. And it took many more weeks before Percy managed to send the letter he had written for her. Even then, he nearly called Errol back, but Fred and George had come into the kitchen and they certainly would have said something. His mum had worried about him all day, saying that he looked ill, but he was perfectly normal the next day. Because Penelope had written him back.
And as they say, the rest is history.
‘I know,’ Penelope said softly. ‘But … I’m just not ready to tell anyone yet, you know?’
‘Yes, I know.’
He looked so crestfallen that Penelope felt sorry for him. She stopped in front of a vacant classroom and, looking left and right, pulled him after her.
‘What –’ Percy began, but that was all her could get out before Penelope pushed him back against the door and pressed her mouth to his.
Percy objected for about two seconds before giving in and kissing her back. Prefect rounds were important, of course, but he was a teenaged boy.
He wrapped one arm around Penelope’s waist and tugged her closer, cupping her face with his other hand and tilting it slightly for better access. She returned the favour by slipping her hands into his vivid red hair and gently scraping her nails against his scalp. At the contact, Percy growled into her mouth and deepened the kiss. He walked Penelope backwards, and when she bumped into a desk, he spun around and sat down so his mouth was at the level of Penelope’s.
Penelope smiled against his mouth, and Percy lost himself in the feeling of her kisses, her touch, her taste. Moments like these were rare, and he wanted to savour this for as long as possible.
He was just getting the courage to run his hands up and down her sides when a muffled shriek broke his concentration. Jerking back from Penelope, he saw his baby sister Ginny standing by the door, her hand over her mouth. A shabby black book was lying on the ground in front of her. She must have dropped it, Percy realised, since he and Penny would have tripped over it if it had been there earlier.
‘Ginny!’ Percy hissed. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘N-nothing,’ she stammered, her cheeks blushing bright pink under his furious glare. ‘Just leaving, actually. Sorry!’
She swept the book off the floor and clutched it to her chest before dashing out the door.
Percy closed his eyes and groaned. Nobody was supposed to know about them; he couldn’t imagine what Penny could be thinking. He cautiously cracked open one eye and peered up at Penny’s face. To his surprise, she was turning red and biting her lips to keep from laughing, but the worried expression on Percy’s face was too much. She burst out laughing.
‘Oh, you should have seen the look on your face!’ she gasped, leaning her forehead against Percy’s chest. ‘I’ve never seen you that … that horrified and embarrassed at the same time!’
He smiled half-heartedly, grudgingly.
‘It’s not funny,’ he muttered.
‘No, no. You’re right, it’s not,’ Penny agreed, her eyes twinkling, but her mouth twitched and she snorted out a laugh, clapping a hand over her mouth to keep the giggles at bay.
‘Liar,’ Percy said affectionately before tipping up her chin and kissing her.
Penelope pulled back and smiled.
‘Prat.’