Stonehaven Cottage PV Closed

@Winnie Harper

Attire: Link

In the distance, a crackle erupted through the air followed by a lonely figure floating to the ground gracefully. Percival had managed to find the port key with the help of his father, who thought it was only best to see him off. His parents were a bit skeptical of the fact he was going to visit a muggle family for a school assignment, but if it meant him getting a better grade they didn't mind as long as he was careful. They all however agreed not to tell his grandparents, who were quite stuck in their ways when it came to the other world.

Lightly brushing himself off, Gray began to slowly make his way down to the beautiful cottage that was only down the hill. For the occasion, he wore some sturdy mountain boots, stylish jeans, a black jacket, and his signature black sweater. It was quite nippy, so it was only right to protect himself from the elements and potential work they were going to ask him to do. In all honesty, it would be a surprise if they didn't ask him for help while he was present. It was a farm, something had to be done somewhere.

As he came around to the front of the house, his gaze admired the design of the cottage they lived in. Percival's house was almost triple the size of this alone, but Gray had to admit houses like this always seemed to be more cozy to live him. Carefully opening the entrance to their garden, he slowly shut it behind him and slowly walked up the garden with the blue flowers surrounding him. His mom would be in love with these, she was a keen gardener and always interested to try and get new plants in her already impressive display.

If things went well, he'd ask what they were.

Gray came up to the door and checked himself over before finally knocking on the door three times. For some reason, he was oddly nervous about meeting Winnie's family. Percival didn't remember the last time he met another student's family, other than San's a long time ago.

Hopefully, they wouldn't set the dogs on him if they had any.

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Interacting: @Percival Gray

Outfit: ✿

..	English | Irish | Saoirse

Winnie's hands froze mid-braid when she heard the knocking against the door. "He's here!" She almost squeaked over the loud chorus of the dog's barks, quickly combing through her half-braided hair before unbraided the opposite side. There was no time to properly fix them now. Spot and Dot were already wagging their tails excitedly, rushing towards the front door to greet whoever was on the other side.

Saoirse could only raise her brow, a bemused smile forming on her lips.

"Down!" Winnie scolded Dot when she pushed up on her front paws to try and peek out the mail slot in the door. She reached down to hold Spot by her collar as she opened the wooden door, "Percival, hi—" Wiggling through the crack in the door, Dot bolted outside, feathered tail wagging as she started to invade the poor Slytherin's personal space and sniff every inch of him she could reach.

The Ravenclaw's face darkened in embarrassment, and Spot took the opportunity to wiggle away from her grip and join her sister in sniffing their company, "S-Sorry about them... You know how dogs are." Dot was already flopping over onto her back, as if she were demanding a belly rub.

The wooden door opened wider as Saoirse appeared behind her daughter, wiping her hands on her apron. She took a moment to study her daughter's classmate, before offering him a smile, "You must be Percival. Welcome to Stonehaven Farm, I hope your journey wasn't too long." Of course as a muggle she had no idea how instant it was, having to spend hours traveling to see her own mother and father in London.

Snapping her fingers a few times to grab her dogs attention, Saoirse pointed towards the kitchen behind her, "Get back in here." Spot and Dot hopped up and trotted back into the cottage. When Winnie started to take a step back inside her mother shot her an amused look, "I was talking to the dogs, love, but on that topic... Come inside." She said, practically ushering the two in.

Saoirse's kitchen continued the charming theme from outside. The stone wall that framed the exterior was exposed, wooden shelves lining the walls were packed with various house plants and spices. Perhaps the stand out feature was the sage green cabinetry with wooden countertops. Several baskets full of eggs and veggies sat A black wood-burning stove crackled with warmth and kept the small space well heated. Hand crocheted dish towels hung from the hooks on the wall, but one was covering a basket that had been pushed into the corner.

Winnie offered Percival a smile before following her mother inside. A green wooden dining set sat on the opposite site of the kitchen, and she slid into one of the chairs.

"I'm so glad you're here," Saoirse continued, much to Winnie's horror, "Ever milked a goat before, Percival? We've got a few to milk this morning—"

"Mum. He didn't travel all this way to help us with farm chores." The Ravenclaw interrupted her mother, shooting her a look.

"Teasing, I'm teasing. I wouldn't make him milk a goat his first day, maybe feed the chickens." She offered a playful wink, before turning to grab the kettle off of the stove, "In all seriousness, you must be hungry from traveling. Do you have a tea preference? Sugar? We have herbal too. Winnie baked some muffins this morning."

"They're blueberry." Winnie revealed, tugging a gingham cloth off of a basket that had been placed on the table.

@Winnie Harper

Attire: Link

Behind the door, Percival heard some muffled shuffling and the unmistakable sound of Winnie telling someone to stay down. As he raised a brow, the door suddenly opened to reveal a dog bursting from inside the house. Gray didn't react at first and watched the excited pooch sniff as much of him as possible, but soon enough he couldn't help but release a small smile and give the dog a good stroke. Kneeling down in the process, he got down to his level and continued the attention she deserved "Calm down, you don't want your masters to give you no treats later" he said calmly before looking up to Winnie "I know the deal, it's not my first broom ride with these loyal creatures"

Upon seeing Winnie's mother, he respectfully got to his feet and gave a brief nod "Thank you, Mrs Harper. I assure you it wasn't a hassle to get here" he responded without commenting about her sense of time. Gray had to remember he was talking to muggles here, not wizards or purebloods. They probably expected him to get that transport called trains or tractors, whatever you called the darn things anyway. Giving Winnie a brief look to tease her silently, they were soon ushered into the comfy confines of the house.

Percival's eyes examined and looked at every last thing that was around him, from the stone walls to the woodburning stove that gave warmth and a calm atmosphere to the small household. It was far better than he could imagine, one which only enticed him to get a small house like this when the opportunity came to him. Coming up to the table, he slowly pulled out a chair and gave a brief smile back to Winnie as his attention was soon brought back to his mother. Milking a goat? ha, that would have been an interesting task indeed "I'm afraid I have very little knowledge I'm afraid. Although, I am not against doing some work on the land if you have any tasks that need doing" Gray was a hard worker who appreciated practicality, it kept his mind and hands busy instead of doing nothing.

"Can I have herbal, please? I will let you surprise me regarding what kind." Percival said politely before looking at the basket of muffins on the table and smiling at Winnie "Impressive, I didn't know you were also a master baker Winnie" he said in congratulations on her skills. If Gray were to try, he wouldn't have known where to start.

"If you don't mind, can I try one of them now?"

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Interacting: @Percival Gray

Outfit: ✿

..	English | Irish | Saoirse

Winnie had to bite back a smile as she watched the Slytherin interact with the pups. It was probably a good sign that Percival didn't seem startled by the dogs, because plenty of animals took up residence at Stonehaven Farm and it was definitely not the place for anyone nervous around four legged creatures. Dot seemed particularly taken with the Slytherin as she pranced around the chair he had taken a seat in before flopping onto the floor by his feet, her tail thumping steadily against the floor.

Winnie's mother offered their guest a smile at his use of formal language, but the Ravenclaw's cheeks were pink when she noticed Percival's pointed look. "There's no need for formalities, dear. You can just call me Saoirse. I'm glad to hear it was a stress-free trip."

"You didn't use a Portkey, Percival?" Winnie interrupted to ask with a raised brow.

"A poor key? Did you have trouble starting your broom up with it?" Saoirse asked with a headtilt as she tried to imagine a broom's engine not starting up, "Oh... It's hard for me to wrap my head around the way wizards travel; it takes me several hours and a good ferry ride to get over to London to see my parents."

Winnie waited until her mother was turned away from them to face palm. The woman had been married to a wizard for how many years? Surely she knew what a Portkey was. She didn't bother correcting her; there was no point.

"Again, he didn't come here to work." Winnie reminded her mother with a look

"I won't put him to work on the farm... Just yet." The older woman teased, "Joking. You can always feed the animals as you show him around the farm, though. Don't forget to take a bottle for Butter; she's having trouble feeding from her mum."

This was something Winnie could agree to, a happy medium allowing her to still show the Slytherin around the farm without working the poor guy to the bone.

"Oh, I'm not really. They're just my Grandma's recipe, my muggle grandmother. She wrote all her recipes down for me." As Saoirse returned to their side to lay a floral patterned bread and butter plate in front of each of them, Winnie plucked the muffin on top of the pile out and placed in on Percival's plate.

"Here, dear, let me zap that for you first." Saoirse offered, taking the plate back and walking across the kitchen. On a small stand was a microwave, and she opened it to place the muffin inside of it.

"I bet you would be good at baking, Percival. It's actually a lot like making a potion! There's certain ingredients you need to measure and add in a certain order." Winnie assured him, her mother crossing the kitchen to set the now warmed muffin in front of him.

"Potions sound like magic soup to me." Saoirse piped in with a grin. She placed a teacup in front of Percival and Winnie, the pattern identical to the plate's. A tea kettle in her other hand, she started to pour the steeped water into their cups. "Funnily enough, this tea is called 'Magic Potion'. Unsure why; it's mostly just raspberry flavoured."

Her eyes flickering between the two teenagers, Saoirse cleared her throat and took a step back, "Well, I suppose I should allow the two of you to hang out. We'll drive into town in around two hours to visit your grandparents." She warned Winnie, wiping her hands on her apron, "Your grandmother is insisting on gifting your friend some books, and you know how she gets when you try to turn away her presents."

"Oh yeah, I should have warned you about that," Winnie offered the Slytherin a nervous glance, "she will not take no as an answer."

"I'll leave you two it; no closed doors if you show him your bedr--..."

Saoirse didn't even get to finish her sentence when Winnie shot her a horrified look, her cheeks burning a dark red, "MUM! Ohmygodohmygod--" The Ravenclaw questioned her choice to invite Percival over and wished she could cease existing to stop the embarrassment. What if this was all some sort of cruel joke and he didn't actually want to be friends with her? Like when they had poured the pig's blood on Carrie. Oh GOD... What if he told people at school?

@Winnie Harper

Attire: Link

Percival nodded to the request to call her by her first name. He wasn't sure as to what she wanted to be called at first, so it was always a safe bet when it came to meeting someone's parents for the first time "I did use a portkey, flying over the sea can be a long and tedious task at times" he explained, his mouth forming a slight smile when she rambled about muggle journies such as a ferry. Gray couldn't imagine what that was by any stretch, maybe they'd know later in their muggle studies.

"Winnie, I'm open to doing some work if needed. I may be pureblood, but I don't sit down in a chair all day barking orders" Gray insisted "My parents encourage me to do work when possible. It's so I never go lazy..." Unfortunately, that's what most purebloods were like. All they did was get their servants to do the dirty work.

Looking at the muffin placed on his plate he reached over to grab it up until her mom insisted on zapping it. Why would they want to "zap" a perfectly good muffin, wouldn't that make it uneatable and disgusting? Gray however wasn't going to question it and instead watched curiously as she placed it in the thing they call a microwave. The only that took his attention away was Winnie making the comparison between potions and baking, a combination which made sense come to think of it "You think? I've never had the opportunity to give it a go. Maybe you'll have to give me a crash course" Gray asked, just before the now hot muffin was put in front of him.

Choosing to let it cool down first, he looked back up to Miss Harper as she also put down some fresh tea "Thank you" Gray said with a brief nod, quietly taking in the ramblings and knowledge of muggle that he barely understood. It was clear where Winnie got her long winded rambling from. The whole thing wasn't bad, if anything he found it cute. However, when her mother mentioned getting books his eyes seemed to perk up slightly "Books? How fascinating. We don't have an opportunity to read books from muggle authors" he stated, knowing that most of the library at home was packed with wizarding world greats "I'll be happy to take them, as long as it isn't a pile the height as me"

Finally picking up the muffin, he happily took a bite and was excited to see what the zapped ones tasted like. However, just when he was about to swallow Winnie's mother instantly made Gray's cheeks go red and choke. Coughing loudly with his head leaned over the floor, he placed the muffin back on the plate and looked at an equally as embarrassed Winnie.

That was mothers being at their best...

"I didn't think a muffin would be my demise but it came close," he said sarcastically at first, a small relieved chuckle escaping his lips "I assure you there will be no closed doors. I have only come to visit, nothing more, nothing less," he said calmly while finally taking another bite of the muffin to finally get a grasp of what it tasted like.

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Interacting: @Percival Gray

Outfit: ✿

..	English | Irish | Saoirse

Winnie regretted taking a sip of her tea the minute Percival mentioned he didn't have an opportunity to read muggle books, "WAIT, WHAT?!" Her eyes were widened as she stared over at the pureblood. She still couldn't wrap her head around how removed from Muggle society some of them were. Her pureblood grandparents had been labelled blood traitors by her great-grandmother simply for owning a book store they allowed muggles to shop in. It wasn't as if they let them into the magical section... Or let them know about it.

"S-So you haven't read any of the classics? Jane Austen? Charles Dickens? ... What about Stephen King? Do you know about him? JRR Tolkien?!"" She started to ramble off author's names, her look of shock still plastered on her face.

"Well, Percival, it seems you've broken Winnie." Saoirse mused with a soft chuckle.

"W-What about poetry? Edgar Allan Poe? Emily Dickinson? Mum-- help--" The Ravenclaw looked up at her mother with furrowed brows.

"I'm sure he grew up with different authors. Forgive her; she was homeschooled by a muggle until she went to Hogwarts." Saoirse said dismissively, as if it explained her daughter's quirks.

"You're the 'muggle' who homeschooled me!" Winnie pointed out in disbelief.

Her mother nodded, "uh huh. I said what I said."

She had slipped away before Winnie could protest further, leaving her daughter with a burning red face that she buried into her hands. Poor Percival almost choked on his muffin, but his next words had Winnie peeking at him through the gaps of her fingers in horror, "I-I didn't invite you over to do-- I'm not that kind of girl!" This was how she died. Right here and now, of embarrassment.

She took in a sharp breath and pulled her hands away from her face, "I invited you here because I wanted to hang out with you, and because... I need your help."

With a quick glance towards the door to make sure her mother hadn't stopped to listen in on their conversation, Winnie leaned forward to softly explain, "Remember at the ball when I said this is the first time Matt had done something rude to me? Well, that isn't true... Actually, I found out a lot this summer. Like apparently I've been carrying around a memory potion without even knowing it. A-And I found this in one of my old notebooks from second year..." Reaching into her pocket, she revealed a crumpled up note that said, 'If you forget that you wrote this, it was Matt.'

"It's my handwriting... And I don't remember writing it. I haven't flipped through this notebook since my third year so... It's been in there for years now." Her eyes locked onto Percival’s, raw with terror, and a shaking hand dug into her pocket again to reveal more notes, "that's not the only one I found..." She scattered a few other notes onto the table, all holding ominous warnings such as, 'don't trust Matt', 'it was Matt', 'Matt is the reason', 'Matt is not to be trusted'.

She swallowed hard, her voice dropping even lower, "... I... I know these are big accusations, and his family is very powerful. I don't know what to do, Percival. If I try to walk away from him, what's stopping him from... Doing whatever he did again? The only thing I can think of is playing along until I have more evidence, but I'm scared."

Tears welled in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them back, "and I can't do it alone. I've obviously tried before and failed. I need someone... Someone he wouldn't suspect." Someone who seemingly disliked her.

@Winnie Harper

Attire: Link

"I've certainly never heard of Austen, Dickens or King. Are you even sure that JRR Tolkien is even a person? It sounds like the name of a business rather than anyone of note" Percy responded, his head slightly nodding to Edgar's name being mentioned "Poe is the only one I've heard, only because of the rumors stating that he was secretly a wizard posing as a muggle" this had been flying around for years now, but it has never been proven to be true even after all this time "I'm afraid your mom is correct, wizarding authors are the only ones I know. Maybe after today though, I might know a bit more after a trip to the bookstore."

Watching her mother leave, the Slytherin let out a brief chuckle from the embarrassing moment "Winnie, I wasn't thinking about doing that either don't worry" Gray smirked, an expression that would soon fade when Winnie began to explain his true intentions of being here. Nodding along quietly, he listened to every word. Everything that was suspected was finally coming to light about that slimy brat. There was no doubt in his mind Matt had always been like this, Winnie confirming it was the final nail in the coffin.

Looking into her eyes he could see the terror that was plaguing her, one that Matt had done himself. Everything from the notes, the poisoning, and the fact he was using his family's influence to try and get what he wanted? That was enough to make Percival's mind up pretty fast about his answer to the ginger-haired girl. Gray slowly reached to her shaking hands and grasped them, slightly squeezing to help calm her down "You don't need to be scared Winnie" he said softly while looking into her eyes "You don't have to do this alone"

The fact Matt had been doing this for seemingly so long angered Percival to the bone. Even though they had recently become friends, Winnie didn't deserve to live in fear as she did. She was thoughtful and harmless, making her an easy target for thugs like Matt to do what they wanted. Gray didn't care about the danger his family brought with it. If they wanted to go down with a sinking ship, then he'd let them do so.

"His family being "powerful" is the least of my concerns, especially when mine could remove all of that in a heartbeat" Gray muttered, uninterested in what influence they held "I will not tell you what that means, but if his family does get involved, you'll soon find out," he said with a more serious tone than before. They didn't normally involve themselves with muggle business. Although, when pureblood families start stepping out of line, that's when things start to get interesting "I can enquire about them with my father to see if he knows of them. He may not be able to provide too much though..."

There was also his grandfather who was the patriarch of the family. Victor Gray knew everyone, but at the same time, he was also old fashioned with his views.

"Either way, you will have my support, Winnie. I can't let fellow purebloods flaunt their power on innocent people, even if they are not from this world" remarked Gray, not moved from the threat Matt posed to both of them "People like Matt do not deserve to be in the wizarding world. They put us to shame, as well as those who are working hard to prove they belong here"

"I will help you no matter what, okay? we just need to figure out what to do next. Like you said, the both of us will need more evidence to disprove his lies "

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Interacting: @Percival Gray

Outfit: ✿

..	English | Irish | Saoirse

"JRR Tolkien is one of the greatest writers in recent history..." Winnie responded with knitted brows. She knew what books she would be sending the Slytherin home with. She knew that fantasy worlds with magic would likely seem... Well, less magical to people who had grown up in magical settings, but it was still a good story.

"Well... That makes sense..." She nodded and glanced back down at the basket of muffins, "You have a thing with Opeila." She had seen them kiss at the mistletoe event, much to her distaste.

She could feel the anxiety building up in the pit of her stomach, only for it to all release when Percival assured her that she didn't have to do this alone. It was the first time in weeks that she had felt a glimmer of hope. Still, she couldn't stop her lip from trembling. "Thank you, for believing me."

The warmth of his hands helped to ground her, a soft blush rising in her cheeks for a moment. She managed to stop trembling long enough to smile weakly over at him. "I know I don't understand pureblood society, but Percival... His family, they're not just some bullies. They have power, I've read about them in the paper." Though the Ravenclaw likely didn't have to tell the Slytherin about it; he did seem to have a thing for newspapers.

"Your father, does he work for the ministry?" Percival seemed certain that he could handle it, his confidence was soothing. Little did Winnie know she had hardly scratched the surface on discovering Mathias' manipulations.

"We... Have to be careful. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you." Her voice cracked as she spoke. What if Matt tried to erase Percival's memory too? "What if you forget me or go back to hating me...?" She felt terrible; their friendship had just started and she was already putting so much on him. "Matt doesn't know we've been talking. We could exchange messages, notes of some kind, to try and stay under the radar."

Her eyes welled with tears of relief when the boy promised to help her. For a moment, she couldn’t find the words to respond. Before she could overthink it, she let go of his hands and stood up from her seat. Within seconds she had thrown her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. Her trembling stopped, her face pressing against his shoulder. "Thank you..." She said, her voice barely a whisper.

After giving him another squeeze, she pulled back to use the back of her hand to wipe away tears, "Sorry..." She mumbled, her cheeks flushed. "I should have asked first."

@Winnie Harper

Attire: Link

"That remains to be seen, Winnie." he said smiling in response to her bold statement of JRR Tolkien. Percival was going to give them a chance if given the opportunity, today was probably going to be that day. However, he hoped there weren't too many books to carry back with him. Traveling with it through the portkey would be a pain, and probably be quite messy if it wasn't done correctly. His father knew what to do anyway if worse came to worse, working for the ministry always required transporting items through the portkeys if needed.

Tilting his head slightly, he almost laughed at the fact of him and Opheila having a thing "Winnie, trust me we are only friends. That kiss was a one off considering there was a mistletoe above our heads, it isn't anything deep" Gray replied honestly. He had grown fond of the girl over the years, but their relationship was never going to get past anything other than friends. Right now, there was only one girl on his mind, he just wasn't ready to spill his heart to her yet...

Then, in response to his support, Winnie thanked Gray for believing in her "Don't mention it" Gray said softly as he watched her nervous expressions flash across her face one by one. She was worried about the implications it had not only for her but for himself. It wasn't known how bad Matt or his family could get, so she had every right to voice her concerns to the ever ready Gray "Don't worry about me or my safety, that's the worst you can do. I know what I've signed up for Winnie, whatever happens is because of my making." the boy reassured, squeezing their hand once more to try and calm her down.

Not many people knew how powerful Gray's family were, he never really boasted that fact about the castle. However, in this situation, it was best to voice it to reassure he had his backing "Yes, so does my mother. If his family does anything that breaks wizarding laws, they won't be doing it for very long." Gray wasn't going to reveal the exact positions, but it was enough to reassure her that they weren't the only ones with "Power"

"For now, we will keep exchanging messages to keep under the radar. I may not be able to investigate with you, but as long as we both do our part we'll soon get something of note to use against him" he said with a warm smile, something Gray only reserved for people he cared for "I will never go back to hating you, dear Winnie." Then without warning she moved forward to hug him tightly. Gray seemed to hesitate at first, yet after his cheeks began to blush he soon wrapped his arms around her to keep her close.

Giving her his own squeeze, Gray finally pulled away and looked at the tears in her eyes. Reaching over, he'd use a finger to wipe anyway any loose tears "Don't ever apologise for that, hugs don't come around so often for me" Gray said, a thrown briefly flashing across his face before getting out of his seat.

"Come on, let's stop feeling sorry for ourselves. Those chickens will be hungry by the time we get to them..."