Sleigh bells jingling were almost the last thing on his mind.  Percy was still mortally embarrassed over how he'd behaved after tasting a certain enchanted cupcake that Ms.Ayla Collins had cooked up.  Would he ever be able to look her in the eyes again after making such a fool of himself?  At least the spell had worn off by now.  Thank goodness it was just for 24 hours!  Still...embarrassment lasted far longer, especially for Percy Dervish. 

The timid, young Ravenclaw was still attempting to shake it off...when he heard something in the distance.  And he heard shouting...frantic shoutng.  Percy seemed to wake up out of a trance and look in the direction of the yelling, only to yelp and leap up into the air with a fright.  Sleds were rocketing his way and past him on either side.  He was in the way of the sled races!  How could he have been so careless as to wander onto the race trail?!?  Percy began trying to dodge out of harm's way with a rapid series of grunts, dashes, and hops.

"Aiiii!  Stop!  Wait a second!  Please-whoa!  Slow down!  Watch out!  Wait for me to-just!  HALT!"

Percy's voice boomed somewhat as he extended a hand in a stern, uncharacteristic manner...a mere moment before he got plowed into.

Abby let out a whoop as the sled zoomed down the hill, picking up speed as she focused on the red finish line in the distance. She was not a big teenager and wasn't paired with anyone, but what she lacked in momentum she made up for in enthusiasm, laughing madly at each bump and curve in the race course. Abby leaned forward, cheeks stinging from the cold as she kept an eye on the other sledders. Some of them had cast wind shields or charms to make the sled go faster before the race, and some foolish souls were attempting to cast magic while sledding. Abby didn't care. She was having a grand time without magic.

Then something curious appeared in the distance. Was it a tree? An upturned sled? A- a person! He kept hopping out of the way of the sleds, shouting for them to stop. As if they could!

"Move!" Abby cried, trying to shift her sled to the right and get past him. She was not going to lose the race because of this duffer!

As luck would have it, the boy did move. Right in her path! The sled creaked and groaned under the sudden weight, and Abby scooted back as far as she could go to make room, shrieking as the sled veered to the side wildly.

Now they had momentum.

"Hold on!" She ordered him, attempting to steer the sled back on track. But she steered too sharply, and they started going in circles, until another sled hit the very tip of theirs. In the haze of the spinning, she could have sworn the passing sledder had given her the evil eye, as if it were her fault, and she raised her hand to send off a very unladylike signal that would make Aileen blanch if she could see it, when suddenly...

The sled was no longer on the sledding course. They bounced onto the street of Hogsmeade, where the snow was much patchier and pedestrians gawked at the out of control sled.

She had never yelled so loud in her life, and had never wished more that people would stop staring long enough to move their bums! After nearly crashing into a poor old grandmother that didn't look so poor as she shook her cane at the pair, the sled finally slowed to a stop inches away from the cocoa booth. The customers eyed her warily.

"Merlin's flipping beard!!" Abby exclaimed, flopping back on the sled in exhaustion. "We're alive!" She sighed dramatically, catching her breath. Then she sat up a bit and frowned at the boy in front of her. "Why'd you have to get in my way like that? Did you just think oh, I'm going to take a stroll righhhht in front of the sleds until I see a pretty girl, and then I'm gonna purposefully step in her way and hijack her sled, 'cause I'm so clever. Uh huh, I'm onto you. So not fair!"

Abby stood and started dusting herself off, waiting for an explanation.

Percy flipped over and onto the sled in a rather undignified crash.  He splayed out all over the sled in a dazed, dizzy, and groaning heap.  Sure, the impact had hurt...but at least the sled didn't run physically over him...but merely knocked him up into the air.  That was a plus.  And at least Abigail had cushioned the fall for him after the initial impact.  Of course, had he been thinking more sensibly...he would have more quickly scrambled from any physical contact with her person.  But he was shocked with pain at the moment.

"Ow OW!  Holy Merlin's hand grenade that hurt!"

Finally when the pain began as a mere throb all over his body, Percy sat up and attempted to gather his wits.  He clutched onto the sled quickly, clinging to it for his dear life under Abby's command.

"Sorry!  I-I just wasn't paying attention and I....I didn't mean to get in the way!  Are you alright?"

That was more like Percy.  The bookish Ravenclaw was a nervous wreck, but this was a rather adrenaline pumping series of unusual events.  As they spun in a circle and were crashed into by a passing sledder...Percy's brown eyes bulged at whatever gesture Abby had given the agitated sledder.  Did she just "thumb her nose" at the competition?  Just after this distraction...Percy's eyes would bulge again and he would howl out at the top of his lungs as they veered off course and down into the busy main street of Hogsmeade!

"Wuh!  Wuh!  AHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Watch ouuuuuuuuuut!"

With all this rapid speed and momentum, this action packed thrill ride was finally slowing down...just before making impact with a cocoa booth.  Percy twitched several times there, his teeth grit as he clutched onto the sled...Percy remained practically paralyzed there, allowing his mind to catch up with the action's intensity that had pounced them both so suddenly.  Finally...after Abigail spoke, Percy heaved a heavy sigh and slumped from his rigid posture.

"I-I'm glad we lived.  I really didn't mean to cause any trouble.  I-"

Wait...Abby referenced herself as a pretty girl.  Percy recognized this as being a true fact, and suddenly all the blood rushed to his head and reddened his face as if he'd been slapped silly. 

"I really didn't mean to!  Honest!  I just wasn't paying attention and...I'm sorry?"

Percy bit the right corner of his bottom lip as he winced awkwardly.

"Are you quite alright?"

The boy's face was as red as one of those Fire Engineers she'd read about (some scary muggle transport device with blaring sirens and hunky men in uniforms). He apologized, but it was the way he stumbled over his words and gnawed at his lower lip that made her irritated expression soften.

"Oh, it's fine," she waved her hand at him. "I'm fine. All in one piece!"

Abby looked around her, wondering if the race was over, which it had to be at this point. Too bad they were stuck in the streets of Hogsmeade with a stray sled and nervous pedestrians.

"Are you alright?" She suddenly asked him, remembering he'd taken quite a fall when she'd barreled into him. Abby looked sheepish for a second. "I tried to dodge you, I really did. I space out allll the time so I guess I can understand why you weren't paying attention. I've never stumbled into the middle of a sledding race, though! That's a new one!"

She clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled. Now that they were safe and on solid ground, the collision from earlier struck her as comical.

Percy was truly embarrassed and as the adrenaline wore thinner and thinner, he became more and more nervous.  The awkward Ravenclaw was now beginning to analyze his every word, his posture, his facial expressions...how was his hair?  Hopefully he was looking good and could still rebound from this unusual method of meeting and become more interesting.

"Oh brilliant!  I'm glad that your one piece is....fine."

He stumbled over his words a bit there and his brown eyes shifted about somewhat, as if searching for an escape from that phrase.  Luckily, Abigail broke the silence by inquiring as to his own well being.

"Oh yes.  I'm well.  Just a little banged and bruised up is all, but it's not a train smash!"

Ironically...it was actually more of a sled smash.  Percy knew that Abby had not intended to run him over.  Who would?  That would be pretty cruel and mean spirited, but then again Percy had known some pretty vicious bullies at Hogwart's.

"Yes.  Well.  I do try not to make it a habit of...being run over.  They say that can be hazardous to one's health."

Did Percy just crack a joke?  His reserved smile certainly indicated so. 

Abby grinned at Percy's joke about his health, and then glanced at the sled in the middle of the street. She took one step away from the sled. Then two. Abby glanced furtively around, sighing when the cocoa booth owner gave her a stern look and gestured at the intruding sled.

She'd been hoping to sneak away and leave the evidence of their crazy sled ride behind!

Still, if she was expected to do something about it, maybe this bashful boy could help.

"Well, I guess I should..." Abby picked up the front end of the sled and tugged it forward with exaggerated slowness.

"Oof!" It was the kind of cute little exclamation that caused most people to do things for her. Percy seemed like the sweet type, too.

Now for the puppy dog eyes. She fixed her gaze on him, looking a little embarrassed, a little guilty. "Could you...?" Abby waited for him to lift up the other end of the sled.

"Thanks!" She chirped, letting the sled drop from her hands and acting completely oblivious to any surprise or dismay on his part. Abby stuck her hands in her coat pockets and began leading the way down the street, back towards the sled races.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned cheerily at him. "I'm Abby, by the way. What's your name?"

It worked!  Percy got a grin out of her.  It actually felt rather good to make a successful joke, even on such a small scale.  The brainy Ravenclaw was too preoccupied analyzing the situation, how he was presenting himself, and how Abby was reacting to him to really watch what exactly Abby was looking around at.  Finally, Percy snapped to attention with Abby's grunts and straining.  He rushed forward to quickly pick up the other end of the sled.  Of course there was a rope attached in order to drag the heavy lunk around. 

"Oh, allow me!"

Percy was a gentleman through and through.  Abby didn't realize this most likely, but she didn't even need to apply the puppy dog eye, but it really did melt him in addition.  Humorously enough, he was already in motion to tote the sled along anyway.

"You're quite welcome."

Percy followed after Abby, assuming they were merely returning the sled wherever it belonged.  He wasn't one to question people, unless it was absolutely necessary. 

"Abby?  Lovely to meet you, Abby.  My name's Percy Dervish."

Percy realized he sounded a little uptight and rigid.  He needed to loosen things up somehow...so in the process, he relaxed his facial features and his very proper speech.

"Suuuup?"

Abby's eyes widened in surprise and she clapped her hand over her mouth again, half-stifling the burst of giggles. She couldn't help it. Percy's "suuuuup" sounded so awkwardly endearing, and like he was trying to impress her.

But the giggles probably weren't helping his ego. She managed to calm down, though her eyes still sparkled in amusement.

"I know you! Well, sorta. I've heard about you before. You go to Hogwarts, don't you? My sister's a professor there."

Abby glanced at him, smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. You're on her good list. No coal in the stocking for you!"

She loved telling people that Aileen was a professor, because the generally positive reactions made her feel like she'd done something impressive just by being related to her. Abby wondered if he'd guess which professor her sister was right away, or not. She secretly hoped that Aileen had talked about her, even though it went against her 'keeping professional life and everything-else-life separate' philosophy.

Abby glanced back to see how he was handling the sled. He didn't seem to mind carrying it at all, which surprised her. She was almost, almost tempted to give him a hand just because he was being so nice about it, but shrugged and quickly got over that urge.

Percy wasn't quite certain if Abigail was laughing with him or at him.  If it was the former, he hadn't quite caught up yet.  But...at least it seemed like she was enjoying his company.

"Oh?  Yes.  Yes, I'm a 5th Year Ravenclaw."

However, when Abby mentioned her sister being a professor at Hogwart's, his mind instantly darted to one professor.

"Your...last name isn't Reid by chance, is it?"

Perhaps he saw a similar twinkle in the Reid sisters' eyes.  Perhaps it was something in their smiles.  Or perhaps Professor Reid was simply the first professor that came to Percy's mind in general.  When Abby mentioned his status, Percy perked up visibly.

"Well that's certainly good to know!"

Suddenly Percy could think of nothing but Professor Reid in a pair of stockings by the fireplace...AH!  Snap out of it Percy!  He stopped for a moment, but then continued to drag the sled along the way.

Ooo! He'd guessed it right the first time! Abby beamed at him, nodded, and fluffed her hair. Her sister was known as the attractive one of the family, and she liked to think that he'd seen the family resemblance.

"I know!" She laughed. "So you must be a fifth-year. Ravenclaw? Probably around my age, then."

They passed many festive booths, and the smells of cider and mint wafted out from the doorways of the pubs. She paused along the path when he did, wondering if he was getting tired pulling the sled.

"Do you need a break?" Abby asked. "I can get us something warm to drink. You can tell me about your classes. Your classmates. Gossip. All that stuff!"

Aileen talked about her students a fair bit, but she focused the most on her favorites, and didn't know nearly enough about the important things (like who was dating who) that Abby would have liked to hear. But Percy went to Hogwarts! He was a student! He had to know.

Percy lucked out on that guess it seemed.  It seemed Abby was proud of her sister and this was good.  How a person interacted with their family showed a great deal of depth and Percy was suddenly imagining the two sisters and how they might interact.  Why was Percy imagining them braiding each other's hair and giggling about boys and term papers?

"That's me.  I'm 15."

Percy found the irony in his birthday being on America's Independence Day to be humorous with his English heritage, but there was no need in bringing that up now was there?  He walked along with Abby and followed her gaze to and fro as he continued pulling the sled.

"A break?  Sure.  If you'd like, that sounds rather nice actually."

Uh oh...more talking.  This made Percy nervous, but he nodded sheepishly nonetheless.

"I'm not really much for gossip, but...I'll do my best?"

"Kay! Be right back!" Abby told Percy, rushing into one of the pubs and ordering two hot ciders. It only took a few minutes, because she sneaked up to the front of the line and then acted oblivious to any complaints from behind her. Smiling at the bartender seemed to help speed things up, too.

Abby was back outside in a flash and handed Percy one of the drinks, glad that he didn't seem to mind talking to her and that the 'what school do you attend' question hadn't come up yet.

"So," she took a sip of cider and peered at him over it. "I heard that the frogs invaded the girl's lavatory right before midterms. And they traumatized the first-years and hid in the library, and that there were so many of them that the weight of those frogs broke one of the library tables!"

She paused, but didn't pause long enough for him to respond to this. "And, there was supposedly an egg project set up by the Care of Magical Creatures professor, and the eggs staged a rebellion one day, hopping into the Headmistress's office and knocking over all her things." Or maybe that was wishful thinking on Aileen's part.

"And, is it true that Sasha and Neely are dating? Who else is, do you know?"

Abby's eyes were wide, waiting for him to confirm or deny these rumors. Though she wasn't in the loop, she couldn't help but feel like she knew some of the students already, just by hearing about them.

"Oh-...kay."

Percy found himself struggling to keep up with Abigail's speed of breakneck socializing!  It certainly had been a strange turn of events...ambling about in embarrassment over the previous day's events, only to be run over in a sledding race by a random stranger who just happened to be Professor Reid's little sister!  Ahhh...Professor Reid...and Percy would be alerted to reality's presence again as Abigail spouted out various comments and questions that rivaled the speed of sound.

"Oh-"

"I-"

"Well-"

Percy was unsuccessful in commenting at this point, being repeatedly cut off by the excited, talkative Abby.  Percy shrugged faintly finally at the repeated stream of questions.

"I don't really keep up with school gossip.  Sorry."

Surely Abigail had been hoping for more info out of Percy, but he simply didn't have it.  Sasha seemed like a nice, quiet, fellow Ravenclaw...but Percy didn't really know Neely, though it surprised him to hear that the pair might be an item.  Then again, Percy's own encounter with Ayla Collins was rather eye opening in itself.  Suddenly Percy wished for the inspiration to turn the questions back on Abigail.  After all, she seemed to enjoy talking...and was far more comfortable with it than Percy was.

"Enjoying winter break so far?"

Abby's shoulder's slumped. "Bummer!" She frowned a little. Maybe he didn't want to talk to her much after all? Or maybe she'd overwhelmed him with questions. She had a tendency to talk a mile a minute, especially with the quieter ones that would let her.

He asked her how her break had been going so far, and Abby plastered a smile on that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Mmhmm, definitely. Lots of free time. Lots of fun things to go to, like this festival."

The problem was, she didn't have anyone to go with. Though Aileen was on break from teaching and had spent a lot of time with Abby lately, Abby knew that they couldn't spend every single second together or they'd drive each other crazy. Her crup, Roxy, didn't talk. Just slobbered and gazed at her adoringly. Her parents were annoying. Beyond family, she had no real friends, no social life, no one to stir up trouble with.

"What about you? I bet you have lots of plans, lots of friends, right?" If her voice was a little wistful and envious, she didn't notice, and glanced at him as she sipped at the cider in her hands.

Percy hated to disappoint anyone, especially a member of the fairer sex.  Would that he had the courage to match his chivalrous heart..perhaps being named Percival after one of King Arthur's famed Knights of The Round Table would not be such a misnomer after all.

"I'd wager that your sister knows a good deal more about those kinds of questions than I do actually.  Do the two of you talk about Hogwart's current events rather often?"

That had been the most Percy had uttered since he met Abby.  In fact...that might have been more than the sum of his words up to this point!  It was good to see her smiling though and Percy couldn't help but smile in return, though his own remained more bashful than Abby's.

"Oh well....I suppose I could go to the Festival.  It sounds rather nice..."

Percy was nervous though.  He hated to go anywhere alone and it felt as if that were his only option...aside from bringing his pet toad Grammar along.  Had he not collided with Abby tonight, he would've likely been carrying on a conversation with Grammar or stuffed away in his room with his nose in a book

"Well I...sure, sure."

The proper Ravenclaw had quickly realigned his sentence's progression.  Percy had to at least cast the illusion of being close to as cool and popular as he yearned to be.  Percy wouldn't outright lie...but he was trying to portray himself in the most favorable light.  Still...Percy felt he had to make an amendment to his statement.

"...but I guess most of them are acquaintances really.  It's hard getting to know people...sometimes!"

And tossing in the "sometimes" couldn't have hurt.  Percy hoped Abby didn't think of him as a complete social invalid.  He could only imagine how vastly different their lives must have been...