(A/N: A bit cliche, but I wrote this a while ago. So I thought, 'Why the hell not?' Hope you like it.
Lying on a bed in a bar called the Leaky Cauldron with a stick in his pocket, Percy Jackson couldn't help but wonder how things got that way. He'd just gotten home when his mother started screaming about a man that had just appeared in their living room. He supposed that was where it started.
Percy looked over to another bed that was made and spotless. The Old Man had been gone a few hours, saying that he had to get things ready for Percy's arrival. That was one thing Percy wasn't looking forward to. His arrival. Where he'd have to stand in front of the school and say 'hi'.
Unsure of what to do, he pulled out the stick he'd paid a couple Galleons for. It was nice. Bland, sure, but nice. It was smooth fashioned but Percy could still feel the soft rivets in the wood that flowed as if it was water itself. It was completely black but seemed to have an accent of green when it was in the light.
It was weird but it didn't feel right in his right hand. It was the hand he held Riptide in, so he supposed it was because he wasn't used to the feel or weight of it (though it practically weighed nothing). Instead, it seemed at home in Percy's left hand.
What had Ollivander said? Acacia wood with a Thestral hair, eleven inches? That was it. Said something about darkness or something or other. Percy wasn't paying attention to the guy, he just wanted out of the creepy shop with the twice as creepy shop owner.
With nothing else to do, Percy fell asleep like that. The stick in his left hand and his golden ballpoint pen in his right. And while no nightmares came to him, it made him remember what the hell started this.
Three Days Ago
Percy walked through the front door of his mother's and step father's apartment quietly, not wanting to wake them if they were asleep. He thought about how funny it would be of he walked into the kitchen like he never went to camp over the summer and asked for blue pancakes.
It didn't happen like that. The moment the door shut, Percy heard his mother scream. He rushed into the living room, Riptide was capped and at the ready in his hand. As soon as he entered the room, Percy noticed the man. His mom was off the sofa and hiding behind it.
The man didn't look like much. He was tall, had a long white beard he tucked into a belt, wrinkles, half moon glasses, and his hands were at his sides. But Percy knew that looks were deceiving. The man stood rigid, his shoulders were tense, and something was hidden up his sleeve.
At that moment, Paul came out carrying a baseball bat and wearing sweatpants and a white undershirt. It was clear he had been sleeping.
"Oh, dear me," the Old Man cried. "I am terribly sorry. I meant to apparate in the hallway."
"Who are you?" Sally asked. She had apparently gotten over having a man appear in front of her. Or she had gotten used to having random people suddenly appear in the middle her apartment. Either way, she was calm.
"You are Sally Jackson, yes?" The Old Man asked. She nodded hesitantly, but the Old Man ignored this. "Just the person I wished to see. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry."
"What do you want?" Sally demanded. Percy remained in the hallway, unseen by the trio but still close enough to hear what was going on. The moment the Old Man said "Dear me," Percy had already used the hallway wall as cover.
"I believe you should sit down. It may take a while," the Old Man told her. Sally complied and Paul joined her, his hand never leaving the bat. Dumbledore sat down on Percy's claimed chair across from them.
Percy loved that chair. It had tall arm rests and it was green and he sunk into it whenever he sat down. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on Riptide while he shoved his left hand into his pocket. It had started shaking, like it does every time he anticipated a battle. It shook like it should be doing something, anything. But Percy shoved it in his pocket, just to keep his enemies from seeing it as a sign of weakness.
"What is this about?" Paul asked. Percy could hear the strain in his voice. He first had to deal with Percy and his father's side of the family and now this. Percy Luck strikes again.
"I believe you have a son named Perseus Jackson, yes?" The Old Man asked. Percy could feel himself tense up and the water in the apartment along with him. Though he couldn't help but smile a little when the Old Man referred to Paul as his father. Paul was the one he never had.
"What do you want with him?" Sally asked. Her voice was hard and defensive and Dumbledore picked up on it right away.
"Nothing but good intentions, my dear," he responded as he tried to placate her anger. "In fact, I came to help young Perseus."
"How and why?" Paul asked this time. Percy risked a peek and saw that his mother was in Paul's arms, more than likely being restrained by the teacher before she can try to attack the Old Man. Percy could see that Paul was talking for Sally's benefit as she was trembling. Percy knew that he isn't a god; he didn't have that aura. But he was something else.
"I think the best way is for me to show you," the Old Man said. With that, he took out a long and crumbly looking stick and pointed it at the vase in front of them. It held some moonlace, a child of the original plant he had gotten from Calypso. It had dropped seeds and now that she was free, the plant spread like wildfire, even inside.
Percy watched as the Old Man twitched the stick and the water start to rise out of the vase. For some reason, Percy didn't like it at all. It could have been that water was his domain, it could have been that the man was certainly not a god, but he felt a severe dislike for this man's ability to control his element. Without a though, Percy's gut clenched and the water promptly fell to the floor.
Though the man looked a little confused, he put his stick away and turned to Sally and Paul.
"Do you know about wizards?" The Old Man asked. Paul and Sally nodded. "Well, they're real. They mainly reside in England though there are those in other countries like America."
"Why are you telling us this?" Paul asked. "Why are you here?"
"I'm telling you this because Perseus is a wizard," Dumbledore replied. "Many years ago, you, Ms. Jackson, had a grandchild or parent that went to my school. However, they seemed to have given you up as you are a squib. A non-magical being from a magical family. Because you were given away and are in America, the wizarding government known as the Ministry of Magic, found no need to keep watch on you."
"If I'm not magical, how did Percy become a wizard?" Sally asked. Percy risked a peek and saw that she was really, really calm. He wouldn't be. In fact, he was freaking out right now. He had no reason to believe the Old Man, but something told him that it was true. Something in his body agreed with the Old Man.
"It seems that the magical gene skipped a generation in your family and came back with Perseus," Dumbledore explained. "Unfortunately, because you weren't being watched, the Ministry missed Perseus as a wizard and he could not be invited to Hogwarts when he was supposed to."
"When was he supposed to be invited?" Paul asked.
"On his eleventh birthday," Dumbledore answered. Percy tensed and he could tell the water in the house did as well. "When a wizard is eleven, he or she is invited to the closest wizarding school. Hogwarts hold spots for families that have attended Hogwarts. If you had gone to Hogwarts and moved to America, your son would still be invited to Hogwarts simply because he was on the roster."
"And you believe Percy is a wizard why?" Sally asked. "What makes you believe that Percy is a wizard?"
"Four years ago, around the time the summer had started, there was a powerful amount of magic coming from this area." Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye. "Untrained wizards often cause accidents. Such as sparking a dummy cannon into working?"
Percy stopped breathing. Was that magic? He just thought that it was some freak accident! Was that why the custodians were looking at him weirdly? Because the cannon wasn't supposed to work?
"There's also a danger to having a wizard untrained," Dumbledore warned. "The magic that isn't being used can take a life of its own. Destruction and death trail behind it in its path. If he goes untrained, it could kill him. Though it's surprising that he has lasted this long; they usually die from magic overload before twelve. Reaching sixteen is just remarkable."
Sally looked ashen when she heard this. "Where is young Perseus? I wanted to meet him- if that's alright with you?"
"You can come in now Percy!" Sally yelled. How she knew he was in there, he didn't know, but he did as she told him. He stepped out from behind the wall and into the living room, putting Riptide back into his pocket.
Dumbledore had a look of shock on his face while Paul had a look of mild surprise. His mom was the only one of them not shocked or had a look of confusion on her face. She simply had a small smile that tried to reassure him that nothing bad was going to happen, even though he knew more than enough to protect himself.
Present Time
Percy was shaken awake by the man he was just dreaming about. Albus Something Somthing Something Dumbledore- A.K.A. the Old Man, to Percy- was standing over the seventeen year old. The twinkle in his eyes that usually held there were dimmed but they were bright enough to see that the Old Man was putting up a front.
"It's time, Perseus." Dumbledore's twinkle brightened when Percy groaned. Percy had given up on trying to make the Old Man call him Percy. He had long since learned that anyone immortal would never stop calling him by his full name. And Dumbledore looked like he had lived a long life.
Dumbledore meant that it was time to go to Hogwarts. Percy was to be 'sorted' before the other students got there so he wouldn't be sorted with the first years. He was also going to stay there for a month so he could study four years worth of spells and potions. Maybe get a tutor that was in the same house as his.
"Ugh." Though Percy hated it, he rolled out of the rented bed anyways. The sun shone through the windows of his tiny room. "Alright," Percy said. "You mind if I take a shower first?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Of course not," he said. "I'll go down to pay Tom for the rooms. Do try to hurry, though."
Percy nodded and waited until Dumbledore had left until he headed to the bathroom. He turned the faucet of the shower on and used his powers to create a rainbow. Taking a drachma from his pocket, he said, "Hey Fleecy, could you do me a solid and show me Annabeth Chase?" He threw the drachma into the rainbow and watched it disappear.
A second passed before the rainbow turned see through, showing Annabeth Chase, his blond, daughter of Athena girlfriend. She was in her bunk in the Athena cabin, reading a book in Ancient Greek. He could see it was another one of her architecture books.
"Annabeth," Percy called. She jumped, scaring the shit out of her.
"Percy!" She yelled. She hadn't spoken to him in days. He knew that she didn't know about the wizard stuff. He was told to keep it a secret. He knew he couldn't not tell her something, so he told her that he was accepted into a boarding school for troubled kids in England. That he'd live there with a few hundred or so other kids that were accepted all over the world.
"Hey, Wise Girl," Percy greeted. A smile spread across her face, making Percy feel as though he was flying. She didn't know what she did to him. "How are you doing?"
"Me?" She asked. "I'm still at camp. What about you? You're the one who went off to a school in England!" Her eyes became starry as she thought about the country. "It has one of the best architecture renovations in history! Castles, homes, and the Tower of London-"
"Annabeth," Percy interrupted. "Take a breath. I'll try and take a lot of pictures." Despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to take a picture of anything at all- simply because he wasn't allowed to show people anything about the magical community- he knew Annabeth wouldn't accept just pictures. She wouldn't allow Percy to ruin it for her.
She huffed. "Don't you dare." Her glare was playful and Percy smirked. "I'll just have to visit you Christmas Break."
Percy shook his head. "Can't," he told her. "No one who doesn't go to the school is allowed over. And I'm coming to camp over break." He saw her smile at the mention of his visit over break. "I'm calling 'cause I'm heading over to the school now and I don't know when I'll be able to IM you again. I'll call once I'm settled in."
"Okay Percy," she said. She seemed a little disheartened by the fact that he wasn't staying to talk for long. "Have fun. I love you."
"Love you too," he said back. He waved his hand through the Iris Message, cutting off the connection. Realizing he actually needed to take a shower, Percy stripped down and got in the showers, trying not to take a glance in the mirror. He didn't need to see the scars again. He didn't need to see the jagged trails knives had left in his skin from when he was tortured in Tartarus.
It had been a few months since then. He still had nightmares, of course, but they weren't as bad as they used to be. The first couple of weeks, Percy and Annabeth couldn't fall asleep away from each other. Especially Annabeth. Since the curse that was placed on her, she had been afraid that he would disappear the moment she closed her eyes. It got better with time, though. Eventually they were able to fall asleep without each other, not that they ever did. They still slept in the same bed in Cabin Three.
Percy stepped into the water, watching as the water not do a thing to help him with his scars. Tartarus was permanent. It made sure that the memories could never go away. The same with monsters. It brought out the worst in him and made sure that he could never forget it. And he hated the thoughts that came with it. If I can control tears, what else can I control? Is it anything with water? How far can I go? Could I actually kill a god?
Those thoughts paraded around his head for weeks, months even, before he put a clamp on it. He shut down those thoughts simply by being near the gods, near his father and his girlfriend's mother and his cousins and uncles. Just being near them sent those thoughts down the drain like blood from one of his reopened scars.
The hot water fogged up the mirror, obscuring his image as he got out of the shower. He dried off using his powers and dressed in a different pair of clothes. A white long sleeve button up with dark jeans and a black belt. Dumbledore said there was dress code but since Percy was from America and it was the Ministry's fault that they missed him in the ledger, Percy managed to haggle a pardon of the dress code. He didn't have to wear robes or dress pants, but he did have to wear a white long sleeve button up and the colored tie of his house.
Which he was going to find out as soon as he got to Hogwarts.
Percy opened the bathroom door and went into the main room. His things were all stuffed into a corner and Dumbledore was sitting on his rented bed. He smiled as he looked towards Percy. It was a gentle smile, meant to reassure the teenage demigod hero. It worked.
"I'm not sure about this," Percy told him as he made sure his stick- wand- was in his left pocket and he patted his right to make sure Riptide was there. They both were. He still had reservations about going to Hogwarts but as time went on he grew excited to the idea of learning magic, despite the fact that he would be behind everyone else.
"I'm sure you'll find you belong there, Perseus," the Old Man said. Percy nodded and Dumbledore smiled. "Your bags will be taken to the school separately by the house elves."
Percy didn't bother acting shocked. Since being welcomed into the wizarding world, Percy had seen a lot of shit he hadn't understood. Where Dumbledore got his money for his books and wand- a white wizarding bank called Gringotts, the place was run by goblins. Small, pointed ears, glares and scowls, and barely any hair, goblins were practically an army by themselves. Couple that with the fact that his wand was made from the tail hair of the underworld's equivalent of a pegasus, Percy didn't really think that anything could bother him anymore.
"What are house elves?" Percy asked.
Dumbledore turned to Percy and explained. "House elves," he said, "are creatures that work for the school- or family if they go back long enough- for free."
"Like slaves," Percy summed up. He didn't like the idea of slaves-
"Yes but they enjoy the work," Dumbledore said. "Unless it is hurting them or a bad situation, they like working. Hogwarts employs hundreds of house elves and they enjoy the work the school gives them."
Satyrs. That was one thing that came to Percy's mind. They were the Satyrs of the wizarding world. Except they weren't scared into it by a wine god and a council of pompous dicks. Though, Grover did clean the Council of Cloven Elders up, so they were a lot better now than when they were during the Second Titan war.
"Okay." The response seemed to put off Dumbledore for a second before he smiled. "So how are we getting to Pig's Pimples?"
Dumbledore frowned. "While I appreciate your remarkable ability to adjust to the wizarding world, I must ask that you don't insult my school." Percy nodded and mumbled a quiet but quick apology, much like the ones he used to give his mortal teachers or his mom.
"How... Uh, how are we going to Hogwarts?" Percy asked.
"Apparation," the Old Man answered. "It's a form of wizard transportation. Though due to wizards being unable to apparate on school grounds, we'll have to land in the town near the school, called Hogsmeade."
"Nice name," Percy commented.
"I need you to hold on to my arm and don't let go," Dumbledore instructed. "The first time apparating can be... disgruntling."
Percy nodded and gripped the arm that was handed out to him. Dumbledore made sure that he was holding on tightly before suddenly Percy felt his stomach warp around his intestines. It only lasted a couple seconds and then everything was fine again. Percy was in a separate place but everything was fine.
And Percy couldn't help but let out a whoop of exhilaration. It felt like shadow traveling. Different, of course, but just as heart racing and blood pounding. Dumbledore stared at him as he laughed and turned to the headmaster.
"Can we do that again?" Percy asked. Dumbledore smiled.
"Maybe some other time," Dumbledore offered. "For now, we must get you settled at Hogwarts."
Percy nodded. For the first time, Percy looked around at his surroundings. Hogsmeade was a small town with shops and restaurants, with green grass covering the entire expanse of land. The sun wasn't high in the air, rather looking like it was still rising. In the distance, a massive castle rose high in the sky on a hill. It was unbelievable.
There wasn't a person in sight. The houses were like those in Diagon Alley; compact, a little crooked, and gave off the vibe of homeliness.
"Where is everybody?" Percy asked the Old Man. Dumbledore simply smiled at Percy's curiosity.
"They are more active during school times," Dumbledore answered. "Your mother signed your permission slip so when the time comes, you can come here with the rest of the students. Now if you'll follow me, please."
Dumbledore started walking and Percy had no choice but to follow.