In Scotland
a Harry Potter story
by midnight_angel_girl
Oliver Wood threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace of his parent's house. "Charlotte Campbell." He called into the fire. He and Percy had been asked to house-sit for his parents in Scotland for the week. Since they arrived, Percy had been acting, well, not like himself. A few seconds later, Charlotte appeared.
"Hey, Ol. What's up? Still at Mum and Dad's?"
"Yeah. Umm, I need some advice. Percy's seemed different since we arrived here."
"Different, how?"
"He hasn't been spending much time with me. He says he has a headache and wants to sleep all the time."
"Anything else?"
Oliver hesitated, his face scrunching up. Turning his head, he sneezed. "Heh-cheshoo."
"Bless you. Allergies acting up on you?"
"Not too bad. Just more stuffy than usual. You know I sneeze all the time anyway."
"I know. Now, Percy, has he said anything else?"
"Umm, he says his head hurts and his ears have been bothering him. He wants to sleep a lot."
"He may want to sleep just because he isn't feeling well" Charlotte interjected. "What else have you noticed?"
"Now that I think about it, his voice does sound different, thicker in a way. And he's been blowing his nose a bit more than normal."
"I know he's allergic to Pepper-up. Is he allergic to anything else?"
"Just dust." Oliver thought for a moment. "Wait, he did have a touch of hay fever our last year at school." He remembered. "Do you think that could be it?"
"Possibly. You guys aren't that far from school. Do you want me to pop in and have a look at him?"
"Please, if you wouldn't mind."
"Let me just tell Ian, and I'll be right over."
10 minutes later, Charlotte stepped out of the fireplace in her mom and dad's house. "Thanks for coming." Oliver told her, giving her a hug.
"No problem, Ol. Where's Percy?"
"Upstairs in my old room. Heh-chuhh."
"Bless you. I did bring you a mild allergy potion if you want to take it."
Oliver nodded, knowing that the last part was not a suggestion. "Thanks, Char." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose.
"I'll go look at Percy. Have you told him I was coming?"
"I told him you were coming over. I didn't tell him why since he got a bit crabby the last time I told him to take a headache potion."
"I know someone else who used to get the same way."
Oliver blushed. "I'll take you up there."
Oliver led Charlotte up the stairs to his childhood bedroom. His room was painted blue and spacious. Various posters of past Quidditch players decorated the walls. Percy lay on the double bed, covered by a red and blue quilt. "I'll handle things from here." Charlotte told him, noticing that the waste bin was half full of crumpled tissues. Oliver nodded, heading back downstairs. "Percy?" Charlotte called, laying a hand gently on his shoulder.
Percy woke up quickly. "Charlotte?" She noticed that his voice was deeper than usual and thick with congestion
"Oliver called me. He's worried about you and wanted me to have a peek at you."
"I'b fide."
"Percy, when you put a `d' on the end of fine, you usually aren't."
"It's dothig."
Charlotte looked at his red, tender-looking nose. "You've been blowing your nose a lot lately."
"Dot really. Heh-shishh, ushshoo, hey-ushshhh, huhh-ishoo."
"Bless. Percy, the bin is half full of tissues, and your nose looks really sore. How have you been feeling, really?"
He blew his nose loudly. "Not great. I've had a headache ever since we got here. I don't know, maybe I'm coming down with a cold."
She pressed her wrist to his forehead. "No fever. Oliver said you said your ears hurt."
"Not so much. They more sort of itch."
"Do your eyes itch at all?"
"Sometimes. I've been really stuffed up since we arrived, and I've been sneezing a lot. Hey-ishh, ishoo, ihhkishh, ihhkshh, ihh-kishhoo." Like that."
"Bless you." She handed him a fresh tissue so he could blow his nose. "Oliver said you had a wee bit of hay fever your last year at Hogwarts."
"I did. Why?"
"We're only about 130 kilometers away. So there`s probably the same plants here. It is allergy season here; Ol's have kicked in."
"I had't doticed." He blew his nose again.
"It's hard to tell with him; he sneezes so much anyway, but he's a lot stuffier than normal."
"Why'd he call you?"
"He was worried about you because you weren't acting like yourself."
Percy blushed. "He's a great boyfriend. Hey-ehshoo, eh-heshh, aiieshoo. Do you have aythig I cad take for this? I really do feel pretty lousy. Uh-sheshh, uhhehshoo, heyeshoo, uhhhshhh."
"Bless you again." She pulled a bottle out of her bag as Percy blew his nose a few times. "Take this once a day. It won't make the hay fever totally go away, but you'll feel a lot better."
"Thanks." Percy told her as she poured him a dose of the potion.
"Take it at about the same time everyday, ok?"
Percy nodded, swallowing the cup's contents. "How long before it works?"
"About a half hour" She informed him as Percy reached for the tissues again. "Hehehshh, hehkshh, uh-keshh, kehshoo."
"Bless you." Oliver said from the doorway. "Everything alright?"
"Just fine." Charlotte told him.
"It's allergies. Sorry I didn't say anything to you, but I forgot about our seventh year. And you were so excited to be home, I didn't want to ruin it for you."
"That's alright. I'll forgive you. Charlotte fix you up, then?"
"Yeah. She gave me a potion to take, so I should start feeling better soon."
"Good." Oliver went over to the bed and wrapped his arms around Percy, kissing him gently.
"I'll be heading back home now." Charlotte started to slip out of the room.
"Thanks, sis." Oliver said before he started kissing Percy again. "I'll enjoy this more now that you're feeling better.
This was inspired by all of TG's house/dog sitting mentioned in her lj. I also decided to keep this short (1000 words exactly)