Surprise at the End!
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Percy was not some kind of math genius, no, definitely nothing of that sort. He was not like Hermione, who could probably recite Pi to a thousand decimal places.
But what Percy was really good at was applying mathematical principles, like geometry and physics (even if he did not always know the fancy names for them), into his spellcasting.
This allowed him to make up new spells on the fly, or modify existing ones to do new and interesting things.
This ability to practically apply theory was most definitely a NEWT-level skill, maybe even higher. And Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher, was most certainly very interested in having him try to pass out of her class early too.
This was much to Percy's private dismay, as he actually kind of liked Arithmancy, even if it was challenging.
Transfiguration, on the other hand, was basically a class he now attended just for fun. It really was not all that interesting to him anymore, or much of a challenge, not since he had that big realization.
After he discovered that he had been doing magic wrong for all this time trying to force it instead of guide it Percy had corrected his approach. And the results were clear for everyone to see.
He became a natural at Transfiguration almost overnight. He could now allow his strong imagination and even stronger willpower to directly dictate the outcome of his transfiguration spells.
He was very, very good at it. And while he still had a lot of theory to learn from the textbooks, the fact that he was a registered Animagus and a magical one at that was almost sure to bag him an 'O' (Outstanding) in the NEWTS, the highest grade possible.
So, of course, Professor McGonagall, the Head of Transfiguration, was also quite insistent that he should try and pass out of her subject this year as well.
If Percy did not know any better, he would almost start to think that every single professor in the school secretly wanted him out of Hogwarts for some strange reason... but nah, that must just be his imagination running wild.
Charms, however, was basically his Achilles heel... hehe, that was a funny thought, considering his namesake.
But all joking aside, Professor Flitwick, the Charms master, was genuinely concerned for Percy.
The boy made very little progress in understanding the theory behind Charms, even though his practical work, when he actually managed to get a spell right, was still leagues above most of the other students in his year.
While Percy could technically still pass his overall NEWTs without needing a high grade in Charms, Professor Flitwick was very adamant that Percy should at least try to obtain an 'EE' (Exceeds Expectations). So, Percy often found himself hating Charms class more than life itself. It was just so fiddly and frustrating.
And then there was Defence Against the Dark Arts (DADA), which was... well, it was odd.
Percy had absolutely no problem with the theory in DADA. He felt like he was practically born to fight monsters and dark creatures; he could probably memorize all the DADA textbooks in his sleep if he really wanted to.
And thanks to his natural skills with creating new spells on the fly, his practical DADA work was pretty much perfect as well. He could handle almost any dark creature or curse they threw at him.
But, there was one small, annoying thing holding him back from trying to pass out of DADA early. And that one thing was Professor Moody, the current DADA teacher.
Percy had actually approached Moody a few weeks ago with the idea of taking his NEWT early for DADA. But the grizzled old Auror had shot him down immediately, and quite harshly too.
"You are not nearly ready for what is really out there, Yanky," the man had spat out, using that slur like it was the foulest curse word imaginable. "Your over-confidence will be the death of you yet, boy. Mark my words."
Percy had honestly no clue what he had done to piss Professor Moody off so badly, but he really did not want to push it and find out.
So, unfortunately, without a teacher's official permission, Percy could not even attempt to take the DADA NEWT early. Which meant DADA was pretty much the only advanced class he would be taking for the rest of the year that he was not actively trying to clear and get out of.
That did not mean he did not try and learn something extra from the seventh-year DADA books on his own time, though.
Yeah, no, absolutely nothing was going to stop Percy from reading everything he could get his hands on about magic. He may not have been a total bookworm like Hermione, but he did truly love magic in all its forms!
And that was why, for the past few weeks, Percy always found himself so incredibly busy.
He was either working on one of his many side projects in his hidden workshop (like the maps, or new prank items), studying for his early NEWTs, making out with Fleur in some quiet corner (when they were not arguing about their future together, that is), or going out at night in his majestic pegasus form to fly around the castle grounds for a bit, just to feel the wind in his wings.
Since everyone now knew about his Animagus form, it seemed pointless not to have a little bit of fun with it when he could.
April 22nd:
"Seventy-five percent of the profits!" Percy argued, his voice rising.
"Fifty percent!" George Weasley shot back, equally stubborn.
"Seventy-five percent! It has to be!" Fred Weasley insisted, crossing his arms.
"Fifty percent, and not a Knut more!" George repeated firmly.
Percy groaned, running a frustrated hand through his messy black hair. "Look, you two want me to invest all my own money, and all the prize money I might win as Triwizard champion, into this joke shop business of yours! And, on top of that, you want me to provide all my uniquely designed magical products, my rune-based gag toys, for you to sell! That is way more than what you two are putting up in terms of risk and actual product development!"
"Hey! We are splitting our fifty percent stake-" George exclaimed indignantly.
"-Fifty-fifty! That means we each are only going to get twenty-five percent of the total profits in the end!" Fred finished, looking equally outraged.
"We cannot possibly afford to split just twenty-five percent between us!" George cried.
"It is inhumane! It is robbery!" Fred added dramatically.
Percy groaned again, throwing his hands up in the air in complete defeat. "Alright! Alright! That is it! I am done arguing with you two! This is pointless!"
"Fine by us!" Fred retorted.
"Go somewhere else then to find a shop to sell your fancy toys!" George added, sticking his chin out.
"See if we care!" they both said together, glaring at Percy.
Percy grumbled under his breath, glaring right back at the stubborn twin brothers. They kept intense eye contact for over a full minute, none of them willing to back down. Finally, Percy spoke again, his voice calmer but still firm. "Okay, new offer. I want all the profits from the direct sales of my specific items. My Quick-Quotes Quills, my self-shuffling cards, my prank dungbombs, everything."
"We cannot possibly differentiate all the item sales like that," Fred argued, shaking his head. "The accounting would be a nightmare."
"Then," Percy countered immediately, "fifty percent of all our total shop profits must be set aside as dedicated funds for research and development of new products. R&D money."
"Hmm, R&D..." George mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Can we use those funds too, for our own ideas?"
"Of course," Percy agreed. "But, if I find out you two are wasting that money on stupid things, like more pink bunny slippers, then I 'ave the right to revoke your access privileges to those funds. Understood?"
"That sounds... reasonable," the twins said together, nodding slowly after a moment of silent twin-communication.
"Deal then," Percy said, extending his hand towards them.
"Deal!" the twins cried out in unison, each grabbing one of Percy's hands and shaking it enthusiastically.
"What is all this about then?" Gordan, who had been sitting nearby listening to the whole argument, asked curiously as he watched Fred and George get up and leave, heading back to their own table with triumphant grins.
"We were just talking about the new joke shop zey want to set up after Hogwarts," Percy informed him with a satisfied smirk of his own.
"A joke z'op?" Fleur asked from beside Percy, raising an elegant eyebrow in surprise.
Percy nodded. "Yup. Fred and George want to set up a big joke shop, one that can rival Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade, maybe even put it out of business. As such, zey want me to be a partner, mainly to make all the cool, new rune-based magical devices and prank items. Zey figure if I can lure students in with my popular inventions, like my Quick-Quotes Quills and stuff, then zey can snatch them into buying all zeir own classic Weasley prank stuff too."
Fleur's eyebrow rose even higher. She looked at Percy with a mixture of disbelief and something else he could not quite read. "You are t'e youngezt registered Animaguz in over a century," she stated slowly, "and t'e only magical Animaguz in all of recorded 'iztory. You fought a real, live dragon and won. You 'ave incredible control over almozt all formz of water. And your big goal in life... iz to create a simple joke z'op?"
Percy just grinned broadly, his eyes shining with genuine enthusiasm. "Yup! I cannot imagine a better or more noble thing to do with my life than to spread cheer and laughter to as many people as possible!"
Fleur groaned, a sound of pure exasperation. "You could become a professional curse-breaker, Perzy. Zey make a lot of money, you know. You could travel the world, 'ave adventures."
Percy just shrugged dismissively. "What do I need a lot of money for anyway?"
"A 'ouse, perhaps?" Fleur suggested. "Maybe enough money to buy nice things, for yourself, for... for us."
Percy rolled his eyes, switching back to English for emphasis. "Fleur, look, if I really want money, I can just sell one of my pegasus feathers. I read somewhere in the Daily Prophet just last week that some idiots 'ave been tricked into buying normal pegasus feathers for over a thousand Galleons each, just because zey thought it might 'ave been mine."
Fleur huffed, crossing her arms. "You are starting to sound like someone who will just sit around in ze 'ouse all day and be lazy, doing nothing."
Percy shrugged again, a wistful look in his eyes. "Yeah, well, my life has been pretty tough and chaotic so far, you know? I will be perfectly 'appy if I can just live the rest of it quietly in a nice, peaceful 'ouse somewhere, maybe with a kid or two running around."
"Yes, but-" Fleur started to argue, then she stopped herself. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to stay calm. "You cannot just do not'ing, Perzy. You 'ave so much potential."
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If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters you could take a visit on my patreon Or check it out.
http://patreon.com/SageOf016