*A/N – Hello everyone! I am new here in this crossover world, so treat me kindly! Dozō yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Also, for those of you who have read this before and are now going, "What? Wait a second—I thought this part went like this," I would like you to know that I edited this for various reasons: being unable to continue on the current storyline being the main one. Oh, and if you haven't read Son of Neptune, I recommend that you do before reading this crossover fic. This takes place right at the end of SoN, and I mean right at the end. Anyway, enjoy the revamp of this story. I do not own this material; rights go to Rick Riordan and J. K. Rowling. Nice to meet you all! ~Tardis*
Percy
Percy was having an off day, even before he was covered in green slime. Just thinking back on it made his brain hurt. It wasn't as if he deserved to be thrown around like a kid in DHS, but that seemed to be all that happened to him anymore. 'Here, Percy! Go to the Roman camp! They'll be friendly!' 'No, go to the crazy Hecate place! We kinda promise you won't die!' He vaguely wondered if his life would ever be normal, even for demigod standards.
It all started with a seemingly harmless step forward. Percy, still in his new praetor clothes, was walking side-by-side with his new friends, Hazel and Frank. His half-brother Tyson was running ahead of them, excited. Why? Because after eight months, Percy would be getting his old life—his old friends—back. Still, he was nervous. Octavian and Reyna had backed him into a corner and he knew it. All of his hope was riding on the Romans and the Greeks getting along, which may or may not happen. However, all of his insecurities and fears were washed away by the overwhelming feeling of happiness. He was going to see Annabeth. He knew her for sure now. He knew her tastes, her likes, her dislikes, her feelings… and he so wanted to see her face. But he wouldn't. No, he had to take that stupid step forward and fall through the ground.
Percy was now floating through darkness. It wasn't a new feeling, per say, but it was definitely disorienting. It wasn't exactly like he was shadow-traveling—in fact, he wasn't even moving. He felt his feet firmly planted on a surface, but he just couldn't see anything for his feet to be on. He was standing on air. A thousand candles floated around him, reflecting like there were mirrors everywhere while the occasional green or pink meteor shower flew past him a thousand different times. He was once again in his orange t-shirt and jeans, but they no longer looked as though they had gone through a nuclear war zone. The Camp Half-Blood logo he knew to be on his t-shirt was still faded beyond recognition, but it was as though he had just woken up in the Wolf House. However, this was definitely not the Wolf House.
After a few moment of contemplating if this was what astronauts felt like in space, Percy was finally greeted by the worst sight in his life.
June, the thousand-year-old hippie.
Okay, so maybe she looked a little better. Trash bags no longer covered her clothes and her hair was a lot darker brown, her skin a lot less wrinkled. She still seemed like a hippie, though, with her blue muumuu dress and animal skin bomber jacket. However, the malice behind Percy's internal monologue was just when considering who exactly he was talking to.
"Lady Juno," Percy said.
The goddess smiled. "Well done, Percy Jackson. I would have never imagined your quest would be so successful."
Something about the goddess' tone made Percy a little on edge. It was almost sarcasm, and from experience, Percy knew that gods and sarcasm usually didn't mix.
"Um… where am I?" he asked, paying close attention to her reaction.
She seemed to tense, but didn't get to answer his question. Instead, footsteps could be heard on some form of floor as a new woman entered the space. She wore a dark suit and robe over that. Her caramel-colored hair was tied in a plait down her back. Her eyes—a startling neon green color—stared straight into Percy's. The most notable feature about her, though, was the cat-like look about her face.
"Percy Jackson… so nice of you to join us," she said at length after her stilettos settled.
"Lady… Hecate?" Percy guessed.
The goddess smiled. "Correct, Percy."
There were about a thousand questions circulating in Percy's head, but he settled on "What do you want?"
"Patience, Percy. Everything will reveal itself in time, but right now you have a job to do."
She said it as if the fact that Percy was now floating among a million candles instead of being at Camp Jupiter was only minor problem.
"Well, I can't exactly do that until I get out of… what exactly is this place?" he asked.
An amused smile turned the corners of Hecate's cherry-red lips. "It doesn't really matter where you are. The point is, your request was approved."
Percy quickly went through the past few months in his head, but was drawing a blank. He didn't remember asking anything of a goddess, much less one he'd never seen before. "What request?" he asked.
"The request to get the eight months of your life back, obviously. My cousin told me the whole story and agreed to give those eight months to me," Hecate said flippantly.
"Hang on a sec," Percy said angrily. "I thought you wanted me to unite the Greeks and the Romans. What, did you just suddenly decide the fate of the world could wait eight months? What do you think the Greeks will assume when I'm suddenly not there? Or the Romans?"
"I warned you about your temper, Jackson," Juno spoke this time. "I would have thought you'd be happy. Besides, it's not like everything we've accomplished up till now is for nothing. As long as you don't die on this quest, you will see your precious daughter of Athena and all will be as it was before you came."
It took all of Percy's self-control to not slap Juno. After all the stunts she had pulled with not only his life but the lives of most of his friends, this was how she was going to make things better? After a deep breath and count of three, Percy spoke again. "And you didn't tell me this last night because…?"
It was Hecate's turn to answer Percy's questions. "I was just informed of this new problem this morning. So, do you want the eight months back or not?"
Percy thought about their offer. It was way too good to be true. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he probably didn't have a choice. After all, in Juno's defense, he had chosen the harder path, rather than the easy one.
"Alright, fine. I'll do it. Now what is it you want me to do?"
At this answer, Hecate's eyes brightened considerably. Now they were almost casting their own light. "That was a good answer, Percy. I want you to get back something that was stolen from me: my torches. Get them back by June 24th, and you can have your old life back," she explained.
"Okay. Where are they?" Percy asked impatiently.
"Somewhere in England. One of my least favorite legacies has them. I need you to assimilate into the world of my children in order to get it back. If they found out the source of my power was missing, chaos would reign. I don't need that now.
"If this legacy succeeds in his plans, the only one who could stop him will die, and we don't want that. If no one is there to stop him, he could then in turn use his power to destroy both camps."
Percy took all of that in. "So how exactly do you want me to 'assimilate'?"
Hecate paused as another smile lit her face. "I need you to attend a special school for my children. However, these children of mine are legacies from so far back, they do not remember where their magic came from. That truth has been lost to them. The idea of demigods of any kind may lead to mass panic. Tell no one of your parentage or of your mission, including the most important part: Protect Harry Potter with your life. Befriend him, become his enemy, I don't really care which. Just make sure he lives to see June 24th."
"I'm going to a school? For special Hecate kids?"
"Yes, Percy. I will give you their powers until June 24th. After that, you're on your own."
"And how exactly am I supposed to use your powers?" he asked. Seriously, from what Percy remembered, the Hecate kids had power that Percy didn't even want to know about—his time as a guinea pig notwithstanding.
With a small smile and a snap of her fingers, the world around Percy began to fade to smoke. Juno had completely disappeared, leaving only Hecate, and she too was becoming a wisp of vapor. "You're going to a school, child. They'll teach you…" was the only answer Percy would receive.
Finally, the world gave way completely to a train station. Before him was a bright red engine with gold and black lettering. The thing was seriously cool and totally straight out of the nineteenth century, and that was a son of Poseidon talking. Kids and parents were all milling around the train, loading things like pets, trunks, backpacks, and of course, the kids themselves. They looked to be all between sixth grade and seniors in high school. The train issued a warning whistle and the crowd became a little more frantic in their loading endeavors.
Percy looked down and discovered a duffle bag at his feet. It looked like your standard Nike bag, but instead of the strange check-mark-like logo was a monogram of two torches crossed in an 'x'. Shrugging, Percy picked up the bag (which was seriously heavier than he expected) and loaded himself onto the train.
Inside, the train resembled old passenger cars with different compartments, several seats a piece. However, he seemed to have gotten there a little late: most of the compartments were full. He kept muscling past kids. He wasn't really sure where to sit himself. He stumbled around from car to car, weaving in and out of groups of students, until he heard some relief.
"Come on, Harry. If we get a move on, we might be able to save them some seats."
Harry? As in Harry Potter? Percy sincerely hoped he had heard the name right and began to go in the direction he heard the girl. It wasn't until he filtered into the last car that he realized who must have spoken. All the way at the back, a girl with bright red hair that could probably match Rachel's was getting into a compartment along with two boys, both around Percy's age. To Percy's relief, they didn't slide the door closed.
"Hey, is there still room?" Percy asked. The compartment was mostly empty, so there obviously was. Besides the trio, only a girl with platinum blond hair sat in the corner by the window.
"I guess so," the redheaded girl said with a shrug. Percy quickly slipped in and threw his duffle bag on the floor. He'd have to go through it later when no one was watching. After all, Percy definitely didn't trust anything a god gave him anymore.
He decided to take a seat by the window, next to a kid with dark hair and glasses. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked really angry. On his forehead was a strange scar shaped like a lightning bolt. Just looking at the thing made Percy's internal radar go nuts, but he didn't say anything.
"So um… have a good summer, Luna?" the red headed girl spoke again. This time, it was to the blond. Even with his dyslexia, Percy could tell she was reading the magazine upside down. Maybe she had dyslexia too, Percy thought. There was a stick stuck behind her ear and she wore radish-shaped earrings. All in all, this girl was very strange, even for demigod standards.
"Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know," the blond replied in a very dreamy voice. Finally, she looked right into the eyes of the bespectacled teen. "You're Harry Potter."
The kid's jaw clenched. "I know I am," he snapped.
Percy wasn't really sure what got this Potter kid's toga in a twist, but he felt his reply was a little too clipped to be socially acceptable.
However, the other boy in the compartment didn't seem to think Harry was rude at all. In fact, he began to snicker just a little. The atmosphere became a lot less tense. The boy was the same age as Harry with a round face like Frank.
"And I don't know who you are," Luna said to the boy. His face fell.
"I'm nobody," he replied quickly.
The red haired girl rolled her eyes. "No you're not," she sighed. "Neville Longbottom—Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw." She turned to Percy. "And who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Percy. Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you…. Um…?" he replied quickly.
"Ginny Weasley," she supplied the name. "Nice to meet you too."
"You're from America," Luna spoke to Percy.
Percy blanched. "Uh, yeah… yeah I am."
Ginny giggled at the boys' discomfort as Luna hid once again behind her magazine. The train ride continued on in silence for the most part. Percy took to looking out the window, hoping not to disrupt any normal conversation, but it seemed no one was comfortable talking around Luna anyway. Out the window, the countryside passed by with little towns and whatnot spread out sporadically. The journey started out sunny, but it soon became overcast, as if just Percy being there wasn't a bad omen enough.
After quite a while, Neville spoke up. "Guess what I got for my birthday?"
"A toad?" Percy guessed quietly, thinking of the amphibian in Neville's hand. He apparently wasn't quiet enough, as everyone heard him.
"No, I've had Trevor for years. Look at this!" And with that, he pulled out a cactus. Well, at least it looked kind of like a cactus. There were boils all over it and it was grey, two things cacti are usually not. However, it did not sate Percy's curiousity.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Neville said proudly. "It's really, really rare! I doubt there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."
Harry finally broke his angry demeanor. "Does it—er—do anything?" he asked. Percy had wondered the same thing. His internal radar was pinging again; this time in warning. He wanted to be anywhere else.
"Loads of stuff! It's got an amazing defense mechanism! Here—hold Trevor for me," Neville said as he handed his toad to Harry. Percy's demigod reflexes were starting to make him fidget. He needed to get out that compartment. Now.
Neville took out a stick, much like Luna's, and gave the cactus a sharp poke.
That's when Percy's day reached an all-time low. He would have taken on just about anything rather than the green slime that found its way all over him and his clothes and his duffle bag. Somewhere, Juno was probably laughing her godly butt off watching Percy wipe the goo off his face and glare daggers at Neville.
"S-sorry! I haven't tried that before! Didn't realize it would be quite so… don't worry though! It's not poisonous—" Neville gasped. Good thing too, Percy thought as Harry spit some of the gunk out of his mouth, or Percy's quest would be one short trip.
It was at that moment that a new girl joined the group. She was tall and pretty with Asian features and long black hair. "Hi Harry… oh, bad time?"
Harry looked mortified. He managed to get a "hello" out, though, and Percy couldn't deny Harry earned some points for that. If Annabeth had seen Percy like that, he probably would have just put his foot in his mouth for fear of embarrassing himself even more.
"Um… well, I just thought I'd say hello… bye then," she immediately closed the door to the compartment.
Ginny thankfully (with the help of some pretty helpful magic) managed to get rid of all the slime and the smell with a flick of her stick. After a few more apologies from Neville, the group lapsed into silence again.
This crazy world of these so-called "witches and wizards" was way more to wrap your head around than the idea of thousand-year-old gods being real, or so Percy thought. At least everyone already knew a huge percentage of the old stories of Greece and Rome (thanks Homer). This was completely new and the exact opposite of what Percy had expected.
After a while, an old lady came by with a 'trolley' asking if they wanted some sweets. Percy grabbed something that resembled Twizzlers and found them to be satisfactory. It was about ten minutes after that a boy with red hair and freckles and a girl with bushy brown hair entered the compartment. The redhead threw himself down next to Ginny, who he bared a remarkable resemblance to.
"Thank goodness! I'm starved!" he said as he grabbed a 'chocolate frog' and downed it faster than Grover with an enchilada.
"Well, there are two prefects in fifth year from each house," the girl said haughtily. She sat down on the other side of Neville. "A boy and girl."
"Guess who got Slytherin?" the boy sneered.
"Malfoy," Harry guessed. The boy nodded and slipped back in the chair, eyes closed in exhaustion.
While Percy tried to figure out what a prefect was, the girl continued on listing who in their class got the honor.
"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often. And we can give out punishments if we find someone misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something…" the boy continued.
"You've been a prefect all of one day and you already are planning to abuse it?" the girl asked.
It was about that time when the boy noticed Percy. He looked cautiously from Harry to Ginny.
"Oh, Hermione, Ron—this is Percy Jackson. Percy, this is my brother Ron and Hermione Granger," Ginny said by way of introduction.
Percy waved half-heartedly. They half-heartedly smiled back.
"Are you a transfer student?" Hermione asked.
Percy wasn't really sure how to answer that, but was thankfully saved the trouble. The door once again slid open. This time, a skinny, pale boy walked in. He had this regal air about him that made Percy immediately detest him. That, and the entourage that flanked this newcomer. What were they, Percy wondered, Dumb and Dumber?
Before the pale boy even opened his mouth to speak, Harry had snapped at him. "What?" he asked hatefully.
The pale boy clicked his tongue. "Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you detention."
"Shut up, Malfoy," Ginny said under her breath.
"You see, I, unlike you, have the authority to hand out punishments," the Malfoy boy continued.
"And who are you?" Malfoy asked. At first, Percy wasn't sure who this kid was talking to, but seeing as how Luna didn't make any introductions, it seemed as though it was directed at Percy after all.
"Nobody," he replied. He then cracked a small smile, remembering the time he retrieved the Golden Fleece…. Which reminded him of how much he missed Annabeth…
"Well, I am Draco Malfoy and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from people like Potter and Weasleby," he replied.
"Well, thanks, Malfoy, but I don't think I asked," Percy said, his words clipped.
There was a heavy tension in the compartment for a few moments. "I'd be careful, whoever-you-are… or you're likely to meet a very sticky end."
Percy had been through a lot in the past week: he'd gone on a quest, thought he was going to die a few hundred times, released Thanatos, fought a giant, became a praetor, and been vaulted into another quest. His nerves were a little shot, to say the least.
"Thanks for the info. You can leave now," he half-sighed.
The Malfoy looked at the occupants of the compartment hatefully before turning on his heel and marching out, his lackeys in tow.
The compartment had lapsed into complete and utter silence. Everyone, even Luna Lovegood, was staring Percy in the face, as if he really were some freak. Then…
"That was bloody brilliant—!"
"Ron!"
"—I can't believe you did that! The look on Malfoy's face!" Ron continued to rave about Percy standing up to Malfoy for about five minutes, although it became rather incoherent underneath Hermione's reprimands.
"Honestly, Ron! We'll be at Hogwarts soon. We had better change," Hermione said finally.
While everyone started to dig through trunks, Percy sifted through his duffle bag. There were about four pairs of slacks, button-ups, vests, and a huge cloak. Not to mention the addition of several ties, nectar and ambrosia, and a ton of books. Although he wasn't new to the whole 'school uniform' thing, he didn't have to like it. Percy wrinkled his nose unhappily as he got out the cloak like everyone else and threw it over the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jeans. Curiously, Percy checked his pocket. Riptide was there, as it should have been, but so was a stick, just like Luna or Neville's. It must be a wand, like on all those stupid movies, Percy thought as he slipped it back into his pocket.
Sure enough, they did arrive at a castle within only an hour of Hermione's warning. Getting off the train was as much of a pain as getting on it, Percy decided. Students seemed very lost, and Percy was no different. However, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't go wrong following Ginny and Hermione, so he tailed them until he reached 'the carriages.'
"Creepy," Percy muttered when he saw what was pulling the carriages.
'Hey, we didn't go around saying you were creepy, did we?'
Huge, spectral horses were staring him right in the face. The closest one winked a milky white eye at him. After a closer look, the horses really were more like pegasi, with huge leathery wings to match their leathery skin.
'You act as though we're the first thestrals to talk to you, my lord! Jeez, get out more often!'
Percy bit back the fact that they were in fact the first 'thestrals' he'd ever seen, but instead settled with a small salute. At that moment, Hermione glanced back at him and Percy was forced to scratch his forehead to cover up the fact he just greeted a couple of deathly-looking pegasi like old bros. Definitely not a usual thing to do.
"W-what are those things?" Harry practically squeaked.
"What things?" Ron asked, looking rather concerned.
"Those things… pulling the carriages!"
"What things pulling the carriages? Harry, the carriages pull themselves, like always," Ron said.
Harry looked unperturbed. "You mean you can't see them?"
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances that were not missed by either Harry or Percy. Suddenly, Percy was really glad he didn't step up and tell Harry he saw them too. Where Harry would just be a freak, Percy would probably be a freak and then get killed for it.
After a long silence, Harry joined Percy and the rest. However, while Harry was probably trying to figure out if he was crazy, Percy was wondering what the punishment was for being a demigod…
