Author's Note: Many thanks to my Magpies for the peptalks and betaing. :)

Written for…

Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Team/Position: Montrose Magpies, Captain. Task: Write about Percy & Ron

Hogwarts Assignment #1. Lesson: Zoology. Task: Write a character performing one of the following actions. (Hiding in fear, Lashing out in anger)

Teddy Bear Trouble

1,279 words

"Time to pack up your old room, Percy!" Molly said with much more excitement than Percy felt.

"Do I have to move?" he wondered aloud, sliding off the bed obediently and standing by his mother's side as she waved her wand around the room, packing his books and belongings neatly into one small box.

"Yes, darling. Your sister is turning two next week and it's time she got her own room."

"But this is my room. Can't Ron share with the twins?"

Molly grimaced at the thought. "I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, you'll have fun upstairs. It's a bigger room, and you won't be so lonely, all the time you spend reading in your room."

Percy sighed and followed her upstairs, feeling it best not to mention that he spent so much time in his room to avoid the noise and havoc that toddlers made.

The nursery sat at the top of the house, just below the attic. Percy grudgingly made his way to the room, watching with arms crossed as his father levitated Ginny's crib out of the room, the toddler on his hip. Molly began packing up the girl's belongings the same as she'd done with Percy's while he made his way to Ron's bed, where the three-year-old sat playing with his teddy bear, Pepper.

Percy sat at the foot of the bed and scowled as his bed was positioned beneath the window and his belongings rearranged to fit the empty shelves. The room may have been bigger, but it wasn't all his. Most of the floor was covered in Ron's toys, and the walls were filled with childish drawings.

He felt the bed dip as his youngest brother crawled closer to him, Pepper tucked under an arm. "This is gonna be fun," Ron said excitedly. Percy had his doubts.

:-:

He waited until his parents had gone to fix up Ginny's new room before taking his belongings off the shelves and rearranging them. His mum hadn't put the books in the right order and that simply wouldn't do.

It took him a half hour to get everything the way he liked it, with the books on the highest shelf to stay out of Ron's grubby reach, and his prized chess set—a Christmas gift from Uncle Bilius—set up on the small desk shoved in the corner of the room.

"Can I play too?" Ron asked hopefully, watching Percy set the board up.

"No. This is a game for big kids." Percy lowered himself to the toddler's height, using his best impression of his mother's stern voice. "No touching, alright?"

Ron's face fell. "Okay, Percy." The older boy watched, feeling only slightly guilty, as Ron toddled back to his pile of wooden stacking blocks.

:-:

After a fitful night of sleep, Percy was sure he was going to have to convince his parents to give him his old room back. Not only did Ron make far too much noise in his sleep, but the moon decal above his bed glowed at night. Percy didn't mind the light to read to, but it was near impossible to sleep with, even with his back turned to it.

He retreated to the garden after breakfast, hoping for a bit of peace and quiet where he could strategize. His parents wouldn't consider switching his room again unless he came up a plan that worked for everyone - and getting himself and all of his siblings to agree on something would be quite the feat in itself.

There was an old weathered bench in the garden that was perfectly shaded beneath a large oak tree, and it was Percy's favorite spot in the yard. He burned easily in the hot summer sun, and tried to avoid physical activities where he could, unless Charlie literally forced him to play.

Peace, as usual, was too much to ask for in a house occupied by screaming children. The twins decided it was a beautiful day to play with their brooms—miniature sticks that only hovered a few feet off the ground. They stuck to the other side of the yard, laughing and chasing each other, and making it difficult for Percy to concentrate on the diagram he was drawing in his notebook. Suddenly he felt a gentle tapping on his knee and looked down to find Ron staring at him with wide blue eyes.

"Can me and Pepper color with you?"

Percy stifled a groan. "Not today, Ron. Go play with George and Fred. I'm sure they need a Keeper for their game."

"Okay…" Ron wandered off, head hanging low with disappointment, to play with the others while Percy returned to his work.

He was only semi-aware that anything was happening, content as the loud laughter ceased and the garden was quiet for a few moments, until a scream—unmistakably Fred's—echoed out. Percy instinctively dropped his notebook and ran to see what was wrong.

The three small boys were gathered around a broomstick—Fred's, judging from the green string tied around the handle. George's, still in his hand, had an orange string. Percy ran up beside Ron, who was hugging Pepper to his chest and immediately tried to hide behind Percy.

"What's going on?"

Fred knelt down beside his broom, picking up small bits of twig and straw. He glared at Ron's cowering form. "I was flying and Ron grabbed my broom, and he broke it!"

Absently ushering Ron out of hiding, Percy tried to defuse the situation. "I'm sure he didn't mean to break—"

"He did! He broke it!" Fred threw the fistful of twigs to the ground in anger.

Beneath his hand, Percy felt Ron go still. He looked down and followed the toddler's gaze—not to Fred, as he expected, but to the creature held in Ron's arms. Where once he held a well-worn teddy bear close, Pepper was now a giant hairy spider, writhing in his arms.

The brothers fell silent for a few seconds, all in varying degrees of shock at the burst of underage magic, before Ron threw the hideous creature from his arms and ran for the safety of the house, the twins erupting in fits of laughter as he did.

Percy shook his head at the mayhem and ran after Ron, only stopping briefly in the kitchen to fill his mother in on what had happened.

He found Ron curled up on his bed, rocking as tears streamed down his face. Percy mentally berated himself for causing this. He should have known not to leave the twins alone with Ron. Even without the accidental magic, they sometimes played too rough with the toddler.

He slowly sat down beside his brother, careful not to startle him, and placed an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I should have let you color with me."

Ron shifted, curling into Percy's side and burying his face in Percy's favorite shirt. He winced as he felt it grow wet with tears. He shrugged and began to rub circles onto his brother's back.

"It's alright. We'll get you a new bear."

"No!" Ron mumbled. "No Pepper."

"Okay. No bears." Percy looked around the room for some way to distract him, sure that his mum was busy dealing with the twins. His eyes landed on the pristine chess set in the corner.

"Hey, how about I teach you how to play chess?"

Sniffling, Ron peeked out from hiding, the faintest hint of a smile forming on his lips. "Really? You'll show me?"

Percy smiled down at him and nodded. Ron really wasn't so bad, he supposed. It would take a bit of time to feel comfortable in the new room, but it wasn't as bad as he expected.