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Chapter 1: The thief and the snitch

Click.

Draco jolted a little at the sound. His dog, Morty, gave a startled jump as well. He looked at Crabbe and Goyle sitting opposite him at their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, but they didn't seem to have heard anything. It must have been his imagination. After all, it wasn't possible that he could hear scissors clicking from outside the train…

He looked again towards the three old ladies that had been sitting on a bench outside, knitting a huge sock. They weren't there anymore.

As far as he could see, they weren't anywhere on the platform. Draco blinked.

Great. First day at school and I have hallucinations.

Quickly, he cast that thought aside. He had other things to worry about. He caught sight of the strange boy he met at Madam Malkin's walking on the platform, looking a bit dazed. Draco frowned. The boy had claimed both his parents were wizards, yet the complete ignorance of the magical world he had demonstrated during their brief discussion and the way he was looking around at the moment, both pointed towards Muggle-born.

Not that it mattered. He wouldn't want to be friends with him anyway. That boy gave him the creeps. He could feel there was something very wrong with him – something unnatural. He had no idea what it was, but he still wanted to be as far away from the boy as possible.

So now he was stuck with the boys his father had ordered him to befriend, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, or, as he referred to them in his mind, Dumb and Dumber.

He glanced at the two huge boys sitting opposite him with contempt. His only hope was that his other fellow Slytherins would prove to be more interesting company than this pair of morons.

Suddenly, the door of their compartment slid aside a little and a blond-haired head popped in.

Draco frowned as the boy's eyes wandered around the compartment. When they locked on Draco's, his face broke into a grin. Ignoring Draco's scowl, the boy opened the compartment door completely and slid inside, pulling his trunk behind him.

"I don't recall giving you permission to join our compartment," said Draco, looking annoyed, as the boy heaved his trunk with a grunt and placed it on the luggage rack without help.

"I don't recall asking for a permission," said the boy with a smirk as he sat down next to Draco. His accent sounded American.

Draco instinctively met Crabbe and Goyle's eyes, only to be faced with even more confusion than his own. It figured.

He turned his gaze back to the intruder who was now sitting leisurely beside him. He was probably a first year like them. He was a little taller than Draco and more athletic-looking. He had sand-colored hair and tanned skin. He was dressed in Muggle clothes – an orange T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a weird leather necklace with five multi-colored clay beads.

The boy suddenly jumped a little on his seat, as he heard Morty growling – a low, cold sound that made your blood turn to ice in your veins. Even Crabbe and Goyle paled.

"Hush, boy," said Draco softly.

Morty gave a lower growl. I don't like half-bloods, Draco heard his voice in his mind. Except for you, of course.

What are you- Never mind. Just remember what I told you. Don't eat anyone unless I give you permission to.

Yes, boss.

The strange boy gazed at the big black dog that was curled up by Draco's feet with awe.

"You have a baby hellhound as a pet?"

Draco's scowl got deeper. "Don't talk about Morty like that."

The boy arched an eyebrow. "Still, I don't recall dogs being on the list of acceptable pets. Even ones that don't come straight from hell."

Draco glared at him. "My mother wrote to a Hogwarts professor who's a family friend and he got me permission from the Headmaster."

"Why? Are owls too banal for you?"

"Owls don't like me… As well as most other animals."

The boy chuckled. "I bet they don't."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "What about you? How come you didn't bring a pet?"

"Oh, stealing living things is kind of hard."

Draco couldn't figure out if the boy was joking or not.

Then the boy flashed Draco a friendly smile. "I'm Luke Castellan, by the way."

"Draco Malfoy," he said curtly, without adding a "Nice to meet you".

"And your friends?"

"Crabbe and Goyle," said Draco in the same manner, still scowling at the boy. "Castellan, you said? Are you related to May Castellan?"

Luke's smile faltered only slightly. "Yes, she's my mother. You have heard of her?"

"She is a very well-known Seer."

The boy's smile faltered a little more. "Right."

"And your father?"

"You wouldn't know him," said Luke simply.

"He's not a wizard?"

"Not exactly."

Draco pursed his lips. A half-blood. Could have been worse.

"What happened to your mother, anyway?" he asked Luke, not very discreetly. "Nobody's heard from her since the end of the war."

Luke flinched visibly. "She- Well, she made a bad decision and now she-" He swallowed hard. "She's kind of lost her mind."

Draco's frustration towards the boy dissipated. "Is she in St. Mungo's?"

"No, they… They can't really help her there. She's staying with my grandmother in America. She takes care of her."

"And you're staying with her?"

"I used to, but…" He swallowed again. "Well, my grandma decided it wasn't a suitable environment for a little boy, so five years ago she sent me to a camp. I stay there most of the time."

"What kind of camp?"

Luke seemed a little nervous. "It's like a summer camp, except some of us who can't or don't want to go stay with their families can stay there year-round."

Draco looked at the boy. He might be annoying, but he couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. He tried to imagine what he would do if something like that ever happened to his mother. He shuddered.

As the train started moving, Luke shook his head, as if to clear his head, and forced another friendly smile. "Enough about my sad story. Tell me about your family."

"You haven't heard of my family?" asked Draco, indignant.

"Of course," said Luke with a sly grin. "I've heard all about the Malfoys. I was just hoping you would share something that is not known by the whole wizarding world. You know, the dirty secrets."

"Not likely."

"You're not fun at all, Draco."

Draco rolled his eyes.

Want me to eat him? asked Morty.

He glared at the dog. Not yet.

"You can talk to him? asked Luke casually.

Draco looked at him, stunned. How on earth could he know that?

"Where did you get him, anyway?" said Luke then.

"My mother got him for me before I came here," said Draco, still a little dazed.

But then something else caught his attention. He could hear loud voices outside the compartment. He slid the door open and took a look. There were two red-haired twins – Weasleys, no doubt – surrounded by a number of other students who were bombarding them with questions.

"What's going on?" he asked a second-year girl.

"They're saying Harry Potter is in that compartment!" she said pointing at a compartment a little further away.

Draco blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"That's what they said."

He bit his lip as he thought. His father would definitely want him to approach Harry Potter, if only to make sure he wasn't the next Dark Lord. If he heard that the Boy-Who-Lived was a few compartments away and he didn't grasp at the chance to meet him… Draco shuddered.

Luke, who had also come out at the corridor, took him out of his reverie. "Harry Potter, huh? Want to go see him?"

He nodded.

They didn't bother to take Crabbe and Goyle with them. Draco reckoned those idiots wouldn't make a very good impression on the Boy-Who-Lived. They went straight to the compartment the girl had pointed at.

When they finally opened the door, they saw two boys in there. One was obviously a Weasley. The other…

"You?" said Draco, looking at the black-haired boy he met at Madam Malkin's shop. "You're Harry Potter?"

"Yes," said the boy.

Draco suppressed the weird feeling in his gut that told him to turn around and run.

"Really?" said Luke and his eyes sparked with interest. "You're the one that defeated Voldemort?"

Everyone, except for Harry Potter, looked at Luke with round eyes. The boy sighed dramatically. "Yeah, yeah, I said Voldemort. I refuse to be afraid of a name. Now can everyone's attention go back to the boy who has defeated the guy everyone's so afraid of that they can't even say his name?"

All eyes turned back to Harry Potter, who looked uncomfortable.

Nope, definitely not a Dark Lord, thought Draco.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. A snicker came from the red-haired boy. "What are you laughing at, Weasel?" he snapped at him. Really, how was it his fault that his mother's family had this stupid tradition of naming their children after constellations?

Luke smothered a laugh.

"It's Weasley!" protested the red-head.

"Same thing," sneered Draco. Then he turned to Potter. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter."

"Well, at least I don't have a Death Eater as a father!" said Weasley as his ears and neck turned bright red.

"Oh! Things are heating up," commented Luke, enjoying the show.

Draco's face flashed with anger. "Do you have proof for your claims, Weasel? It's dangerous to accuse people without evidence to back you."

"Are you threatening me?"

He snorted. "I don't need to. With that mouth of yours, you'll manage to get in trouble without my help."

Suddenly, the door slid open again.

"Excuse me, have you seen a-"

Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. She was also a first year with bushy brown hair and big front teeth like a chipmunk's. Hidden behind her was a sniffling chubby boy.

The girl looked at all of them with narrowed eyes. "Have you been fighting?"

"And what if we have?" snapped Draco, who was already riled up by Weasley.

The girl stood her ground. "It's against the rules."

"That's what rules are for, sweetheart," said Luke with a casual smile. "To be broken."

"I doubt that."

"Is there a point to this debate about the importance of rules?" asked Draco impatiently.

"I'm going to tell a professor," announced the girl. The round-faced boy behind her whimpered and took off, obviously afraid to get caught in the crossfire.

"You snitch!" exclaimed Weasley.

"Don't do it!" said Potter.

"You wouldn't," sneered Draco.

The girl lifted her chin defiantly. "Watch me," she said and turned to leave.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Luke and grabbed her wrist to stop her. She tried to yank her arm free and Luke let go of her. He raised his hands apologetically. "I think we got off on the wrong foot here, sweetheart," he said and flashed a friendly smile. The girl looked unimpressed. "I'm Luke Castellan. My friend here is Draco Malfoy."

He paused, probably expecting the girl to introduce herself as well, but she just looked at him with her arms folded at her chest, obviously waiting to see where he was going with this. Luke sighed. "Alright. Here's an idea. Why don't you join us in our compartment and we can have a friendly chat there?"

Draco opened his mouth to protest but Luke shot him a warning look and he closed it again.

The girl continued to eye him suspiciously. Luke's eyes twinkled mischievously. "I mean, if we went to our compartment and talked, we wouldn't be here fighting and breaking the rules, would we?"

The girl pursed her lips. Draco could see the battle inside her brain. On one hand, there was the suspicion that this could be a trap. On the other hand, there was curiosity. Luke had managed to intrigue her.

"Fine," she said and Luke's grin widened.

Draco shook his head in disbelief. How on earth did Luke manage to get her not only to change her decision about ratting them out to a professor, but also to join them for a friendly chat? At that moment, Draco realized Luke would definitely be in Slytherin with him. He was a natural.

The three of them left Potter's and Weasley's compartment and walked towards theirs, while Draco and the girl exchanged hostile looks.

When they opened the door, Crabbe and Goyle looked up with confused looks. It made sense. They went to befriend Harry Potter and they came back with a bossy and quite frustrated girl.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," Draco made the introductions grudgingly as he sat next to them. Luke and the girl sat down opposite them. Morty promptly approached him and started licking his hands, like he had sorely missed him the few minutes he'd left the compartment.

The girl barely acknowledged the two huge boys. She cast a small nervous glance at the dog before she turned her attention to Luke.

"You said your name is Castellan? Like May Castellan, the Seer?"

Luke flinched again, as he always did when his mother was brought up. "Yes, she's my mother."

"Really?" she said with interest. "I read about her in the Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. Wasn't she the one who informed the Aurors of an upcoming Death-Eater attack on Muggles and saved lots of lives?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Have you inherited her sight?"

Luke snorted. "Thank the gods, no."

Draco was a little taken aback by that. "Why? It's a useful skill."

"Not really. Trust me, most of the time, it creates more problems than it solves."

The girl frowned. "I agree," she said, earning a surprised look from Luke. "I think Divination seems very woolly. A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."

Luke grinned broadly. "I like you already."

The girl blushed.

"So, are you going to tell us your name, now?" asked Luke.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

"Granger?" repeated Draco. "It doesn't ring a bell."

"It wouldn't. They're Muggles."

Of course they are, Draco rolled his eyes. He was sitting with a half-blood and a Muggle-born. Father would be so proud.

Want me to eat her? asked Morty, amused.

Stop asking me that! But then he added: Maybe later.

"What do your parents do for a living?" Luke asked the girl.

"They're dentists."

"What?" asked Draco.

"They are like healers who fix teeth," explained Luke.

Draco looked at him like he had just spoken in a foreign language. "Muggles have people who work with teeth? Teeth can be fixed with magic in seconds!" Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

"It's not their fault they don't have magic to do it that quickly!" said the girl, frustrated.

"I agree. It's not their fault they're useless. They were born inferior."

Granger's eyes sparked angrily. "They're not useless! Maybe wizards have it easier, but Muggles get it done eventually, as well! And they don't need magic to do it. They use their brains! And they have even managed to do things with their intelligence that wizards haven't!"

"Like what?"

"Have any wizards been to the moon?"

Draco's eyes widened for a second, but then he shook his head. "You're making this up. There's no way Muggles have been to the moon!"

"Actually, they have," said Luke.

Draco looked at them both dumbstruck, waiting for one of them to burst out laughing. None of them did.

The door opened, saving Draco from answering. It was the food cart.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Luke and started picking candy from the cart. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle followed his example, but Granger didn't move.

"Aren't you going to get anything?" Luke asked her.

"Candy is bad for your teeth."

Draco scoffed. "I told you, in the wizarding world teeth can be fixed with a wave of your wand."

Granger looked conflicted, but in the end she bought a few sweets as well.

The three of them had a little fun with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Even Granger laughed out loud when Luke started retching after tasting a vomit-flavored one.

After the Beans, they moved on to the Chocolate Frogs.

"I didn't see you pay for any Chocolate Frogs," said the girl, looking at Luke with narrowed eyes as he was opening one.

"Are you sure?" said Luke innocently. "I'm quite certain I did."

Draco suddenly realized the boy hadn't been joking when he had talked about stealing before.

A half-blood and a thief. Great.

Luke took the card of one and passed it to Draco. "What does it say?"

He frowned. "You can't read?"

"I'm dyslexic." It was Luke's turn to frown. "You're not?"

"No," said Draco, startled.

"What about ADHD?"

"What on earth is that?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Do you have trouble concentrating? Or do you find it really hard to stand still for more than a few minutes?"

Draco shook his head.

"Huh," said Luke. "That's rare, but it happens."

Draco didn't know how to respond to that, so he proceeded to read the card for him. "It's just Dumbledore," he said with contempt.

"Just Dumbledore?" gasped Granger. "I have read he's one of the greatest wizards of modern times!"

"Well, I suppose he used to be pretty powerful, but now they say he's gone nuts." Crabbe and Goyle laughed at that. Apparently, that was all their limited brain cells could manage.

"Maybe he's just a little eccentric!"

"Well, whatever the case, it's going to be really fun at Hogwarts," Luke stepped in before another fight broke out.

Draco and Granger glared at each other before continuing eating their candy.

By the time their stomachs were full, it was dark outside and the train had started slowing down. Granger stood from her seat.

"I should go get changed, we'll be there soon."

When she was gone, Draco glared at Luke.

"What?" said the blond boy. "Having a law-abiding citizen on your side always works in your favor. People feel less inclined to punish you."

Draco rolled his eyes. Luke was definitely a Slytherin through and through.

The four boys had just changed into their school robes when the train came to a stop.

Draco was suddenly very nervous. He looked at Luke, as if to draw comfort from him, and saw that the blond boy looked very excited.

"Come on," Luke said with a broad smile. "It's time for our adventure to begin."

A/N:

I think I should tell you at this point what's different in this AU.

First of all, Draco and Luke are wizards and half-bloods.

Also, their background is different, which is why their characters may differ from canon. For example, as it was made clear in this chapter, Luke is not the bitter and sulky guy that we met in Percy Jackson. This Luke hasn't stayed with his insane mother until he was fourteen or something, and he didn't lose a friend to an army of monsters sent by Hades. And, also, he was assigned a quest pretty early - and an important one, too. Therefore, he doesn't hate his father and the other gods so much.

However, as you will see in the next chapter, he's not completely different from canon-Luke.

As for Draco, he's also a bit different here. Even though Lucius Malfoy had never been the most loving and affectionate father in canon, he'd never been abusive (at least that's my interpretation) and he actually cared about his son, which is why Draco was so loyal to him and his beliefs. That's not the case here. This change in their relationship will impact on Draco's character.

Concerning the other character's from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, most of them will be pretty much the same.

Unfortunately, Percy, Annabeth and Grover won't be making an appearance here. I just can't fit them in the story the way I have with Harry Potter's Golden Trio. But we will be seeing other characters from the PJO universe.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I will update soon.

Don't forget to review!