THE SKY WAS STILL dark when he woke up. He had hoped it would be bright out, bright enough to chase away the demons that haunted his subconscious and tormented his nights.
But it was a harsh winter this year, and the darkness was everlasting, as usual.
He sighed and pulled a quilted blanket off of his scrawny body. There was the rough feeling of beat-down, black denim against his legs and he realised he had fallen asleep still dressed in the previous day's clothes. Where they had used to fit his body perfectly, now the waistband drooped several inches and his shirt fell and sagged from his shoulders.
He had always been skinny. There was a brief phase where he'd had the same broad, chunky body Charlie had, but then he had grown six inches and leaned out. Still, he'd never been as dangerously thin as he was now.
Skin and bone.
The term had never before been so accurate.
He dragged his body out of bed, and forced his legs to stumble across the cold floor tiles and into the bathroom across the hall.
He felt his back pocket for the worn-out mahogany wand and raised it to the lamp.
"Lumos."
As the dim blue glow began to light up the room, he wiped the gathering condensation off of the mirror and stared at his reflection.
"My name is Percy Weasley." He kept his voice barely above a whisper and spoke slowly, carefully enunciating each syllable in an almost disbelieving tone.
His eyes remained transfixed on the reflection of his face. Hollowed cheekbones, lifelessly pale eyes, purple lips, and thinning red locks. It had been eight months since the war ended and his face was now unrecognisable.
"Losing your mind, dear?" asked the mirror, in its sickly-sweet voice.
"Something like that," replied Percy Weasley.
_______
i'll try my best to update but don't count on it lmao
