Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and Ron stood with their noses pressed against the window, looking out into the garden.
They could see Percy lying half naked in the grass, his shirt discarded a few feet from him, his glasses pushed up on his forehead.
As one, they turned their gaze to the bushy haired girl watching their brother intently. She was hovering by a tree, half hidden behind its rough brown trunk. It wasn't much different to the other tree she'd been hiding behind, five minutes before. Percy didn't seemed to have noticed yet, but Hermione had been watching him for the past twenty minutes and was slowly inching her way towards him.
Ron had noticed it first, the strange obsession Hermione seemed to have developed for Percy. He'd catch her asking Percy questions she already knew the answer to or offering him a drink if they had all been out playing Quidditch. More then once Ron had even caught her blatantly staring at Percy, licking her lips on one occasion. He'd let the twins know his suspicions and they had, in turn, recruited Bill and Charlie into the mission, aptly named Operation-What-Potion-Had-Hermione-Accidentally-Swallowed?
Percy sighed contentedly and let the sun's warm rays tan his already bronzed chest. It was a guilty pleasure, tanning like this, and if his brothers ever found out, there would be no end to the teasing. Ever. He used a special potion that tanned the skin but protected it against the harmful rays. No need to be unsafe.
The grass was soft under his back and the breeze blew gently against his warm skin. He raised his knees slightly and let his toes sink into the soft grass. It was another small guilty pleasure, being outside with his shoes off.
It was unseasonably warm, today. Just a few fluffy white clouds dotted the skyline and Percy had rushed through his jobs, eager to be outside, enjoying the sunshine. He knew his brothers were inside somewhere, and hoped none of them glanced out the window and spotted him. Apart from Ron, they were all in their twenties now, but their favourite game still seemed to be, 'Let's Annoy Percy.'
Thank God for Hermione, he thought to himself. He saw her as his intellectual equal. Sensible, intelligent, serious and not pray to silly whims like his sister. He didn't think his mother would ever forgive Ginny and Harry for eloping.
Hermione bit down on her lip, carefully keeping her sensitive body away from the rough bark of the tree, and prayed for some relief. She stifled a moan as Percy raised one tone arm to cover his eyes against the bright sun. She could see quite clearly the well-defined muscles in his torso. His firm pecs and rippling abs glistened in the sun, slicked with sweat and the potion he had lathered on his body.
Hermione sighed blissfully and inched around the tree, desperate to get a closer look at the man she had been lusting after for weeks, no, months. It had started when Hermione had accidentally walked in on him dressing after a shower. That was the first time she'd caught sight of his body.
His towel had been tucked loosely around his waist as he stepped into a pair of blue and white checked cotton boxer shorts. His hair was still wet from his shower, and it was in a messy disarray from where he'd run the towel over it. Hermione had wanted to run her fingers through it, mess it up even more. The towel also had to go.
At first she was shocked by the strong wave of lust that had washed over her but the more time she had spent with the often forgotten Weasley brother, the more she saw they were right for each other. More than that, they were destined.
"What is she doing?" Fred asked. He didn't realise it, but the hand that was supporting him as he leaned over the kitchen sink, was actually resting in his afternoon snack; a half eaten piece of peach pie. The brothers all leaned in closer to get a better look as Hermione left the comfort of her tree and started in on closing the distance between herself and Percy.
"Are you sure they're not pranking us?" George checked. He, above all, was most affronted by Hermione's interest in Percy. That may have had something to do with the six-page letter he had written her after the war, professing his love to her. Once Hermione had realised it wasn't a joke, she'd very gently, and kindly, let George down, stressing that though she liked him very much, she didn't think they could ever be together that way. It had taken George six months but he had eventually gotten over his crush and was now happily dating Verity.
However, that was not the point.
"What's so special about Percy?" he demanded. But the brothers had no answers for him. So they again turned their attention to Hermione, desperately trying to figure out what she might have ingested to make her think there was something – anything – appealing in Percy.
Percy's eyes opened as a shadow fell across his face. It was Hermione.
"Hey, Hermione," he said and propped himself up on his elbows. "What are you up to?"
She fidgeted nervously before dropping down onto the grass next to him.
"Nothing, just enjoying the scenery." She smiled brightly, a blush tinging her already rosy cheeks pink. "What – what are you doing?" she stuttered, trying for casual indifference.
Percy smiled crookedly at her. "Just indulging in some guilty pleasures. Sunbaking," he confessed.
Hermione giggled and Percy smiled back at her.
He had always thought Hermione to be intelligent, brave, witty, but these moments when she blushed and giggled unnerved him. He theorised it was because when Hermione was asking him about ancient runes it was easy to see her as a fellow scholar but when she giggled like that and studied him through her eyelashes, it came crashing down on him what Hermione was also, before anything else. She was a woman. A beautiful, graceful, soft, seductive woman.
"Did you want to join me?" he asked. He didn't really want her to lie down, then he couldn't see her face. Or her arms or her hips or her hands, which he could imagine so perfectly wrapped around his –
But when she was lying down, she wouldn't be able to see how her presence, her sighing, womanly presence, was affecting him, in more private areas. That was the theory, anyway.
"Sure, I'd love to. But do you have any sunblock or anything?" Hermione asked, not so innocently. Her mind was already formulating plans.
Percy nodded enthusiastically and from under his shirt, he pulled out a bottle of the potion and began to hand it to Hermione.
But she shook her head. Very casually, too casually, Hermione unbuttoned the light cardigan she wore and stripped it off, revealing the singlet she wore underneath.
"Can you do my shoulders?" she asked and turned her back to Percy, offering him her smooth, inviting skin to massage the potion into.
"Sure," Percy choked out and sat up, his glasses falling into place. His hair was messed from lying on his back for so long and Hermione fought the familiar urge to bury her fingers into the ginger mess.
She breathed a sigh of contentment as his fingers made contact with shoulders and the top of her back. Methodically, he massaged the potion in.
Hermione revelled in the feel of his strong, confidant hands on her. She breathed in deeply and moaned out her satisfaction.
His potion application had turned into a neck rub and Hermione was in heaven.
Her toes dug into the soft grass and as Percy moved lower down her back, she tipped her head back so her face received all the sun's warmth.
"I'm going to kill him," growled Bill. As the oldest, he felt a certain protectiveness over both Hermione and Ginny. Even Luna and her sudden string of boyfriend's was not immune to his 'big brother' routine when she came by the house. "He's got his filthy, grubby hands all over our Hermione. Let's get him."
Charlie nodded and they started for the door, only to be stopped by Ron.
"No, he's our brother. We need to get to the bottom of what's wrong with Hermione. If it was him who gave her some sort of lust potion, then we'll kill him."
Charlie and Bill nodded and reclaimed their positions at the window. Bill continued to mutter under his breath.
Charlie watched the pair carefully. They didn't speak, Percy appeared to be giving her a massage and Hermione was definitely enjoying it. He huffed out a noise of dissatisfaction.
He thought it would be himself that Hermione chose, if she was going to choose any Weasley. He was intelligent, strong, handsome, if he did say so himself. He was a top Quidditch player but he also cared about animals.
Something was terribly wrong with Hermione, for her to choose Percy over him, and he wanted to find out what it was.
Percy leaned forward slightly and breathed in the flowery smell of Hermione's hair. She smelled like the garden and the outdoor and like sunshine.
Her supple body felt amazing under his slightly shaking fingers and he didn't want to speak lest he break the spell and Hermione told him to bugger off.
So, he stayed silent and continued his rubbing. She was like putty in his hands, slowly leaning her back into his chest. His hands worked at her lower back now, kneading and smoothing out the tension. Her body relaxed against his, a perfect fit and he spread his legs, shifting so that they splayed out either side of her body, with Hermione sitting in between them, her backside not quite resting against his crotch.
She sighed again and her fingers caught a hold of his hands, bringing them around to rest lightly on her thighs. Her head fell back against his shoulder and her head tilted ever so slightly to the side, exposing the long creamy column of her neck. Without thinking about it, his fingers played lightly in the folds of her light cotton skirt that rested against her legs. He leaned forward slightly to reach further down her legs to her well-toned calves and glorified in her smooth skin. His head tucked in and he placed his lips to her slender neck and sucked on the faintly pulsing skin.
Hermione let her head drop further to the side, exposing more flesh for Percy's beautifully warm lips to travel along. His fingers raked back up her legs, catching her skirt and bringing it with him til nearly the entire expanse of her legs were revealed. The heat of the sun and fire of his fingers, warmed Hermione's skin and she sank further into the toned body behind her.
Hermione could hardly believe that she was here, in Percy's arms, where she'd dreamed of being for countless nights. She shifted back, grinning lazily in pleasure when her backside encountered his stiff erection.
One of his hands shifted, removing itself from her thigh and travelling slowly up over her hip. Hermione eyes closed and she groaned in ecstasy as Percy's long fingers slipped under her cami and made slow circles against her skin, finally coming to rest against the soft mound of her cotton covered breast.
She turned her head as Percy raised his and she met his smouldering green eyes. A brief smile flickered across his face just before Hermione boldly straightened up and deftly pressed her lips to his.
"Kill him!" Ron roared and, as one, the five brothers charged outside.
"Death to Percy!" Fred cried. The other boys echoed, 'Death! Death!' as they convened on the unsuspecting couple.
"Hermione?! What are you doing? Are you ill? We've let this go on long enough, you've been stalking Percy for months now, just tell me… have you been poisoned?"
George reached down and slapped at Percy's hand.
"And remove your hands from her breasts!"
"Ron!" Hermione cried, straightening her skirt and allowing Bill to pull her to her feet. "I am not dying, nor is there anything wrong with me."
"Was it a potion?" Charlie asked, grabbing her hand. "It was a potion wasn't it? That's the reason you've been falling for Percy."
Percy sat on the ground, thoroughly confused and extremely angry. He stumbled to his feet and pulled Hermione's hand from Charlie's.
"Hermione, what are they talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know!" Fred sneered. "She's been mooning after you for months, staring at you, asking you questions, batting her eyelashes at you."
Hermione blushed bright red and slowly raised her eyes to Percy's.
"Hermione?" he asked. "Is that what's been happening?"
She nodded slowly.
"Was it – was it because of a potion?" His voice broke and he waited with baited breath for her answer.
"No," she breathed out. "Of course not. It was… do you remember that time in the bathroom?"
"Ohh," Percy said, comprehension dawning on him.
His brothers exploded.
"What time in the bathroom?!"
"If you have laid one hand on her-"
"She was supposed to want me!"
"You seduced her, you blackheart!"
"You just wait until Mum hears about this!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Percy.
"Want to get out of here?" she whispered to him. He grinned down at her, not able to hide his excitement at the thought of picking up where they had left off.
"Sure."
The boys watched in stunned horror as they couple turned on the spot and were gone.
They stared, dumbfounded at where Percy and Hermione had stood only moments before.
"Amortentia!" Ron declared. "He's definitely slipping her some love potion."
They boys all muttered in agreement before falling silent.
"What do you want to do now?" Charlie asked.
"Ginny and Harry are in the orchard, we could go spy on them," George suggested.
They shrugged in casual agreement.
"Death!" Bill cried. "Death to Harry Potter!"