Percy was confused. Actually, no. That's an understatement. His thoughts were a chaotic mess, all jumbled, upside down and back to front. It was like a cyclone in his head. Closing his eyes, Percy took a few deep breaths and the storm calmed so that it no longer wanted to rip apart his mind. His eyes opened and he looked at the oddly dressed person in front of him. "So. What you and Mini Me are telling me, is that my mum's grandfather is alive. Evil, and insane to boot. And I'm a wizard! And you are the Headmaster, Principal, whatever, of a school called Hogwarts that teaches MAGIC. By the way I really think you should change the name to something other than a skin disease for pigs." The old wizard in front of him raised an eyebrow, while the younger, who Percy had dubbed 'Mini him', just scowled.
"And, to make it even better, Mini Me has been 'chosen' by a prophecy to 'defeat' said evil, insane, magical grandfather. Oh buddy, have I cracked it now. I've actually gone insane! You know, I always thought I'd become insane with the crap I have to go to, but I thought it would be at least a few months before I actually make the trip to the asylum. Holy gods of mother trucking Olympus I'm so dead-"
Percy was interrupted by the old man, Gandalf was Percy's first thought even though he knew the wizards name was Dumbledore, raising his hand, cutting off what was most likely going to be Percy ranting more about how he'd lost his marbles. "Percy, my boy, it may be difficult but I assure you that my story is not false. Perhaps if I demonstrate?"
Percy looked at the man searchingly, but only saw honesty in Gandalf's eyes. He nodded his head, but shoved his hand in his pocket and grabbed Riptide for if the man tried anything funny.
Gandalf nodded back and waved his stick, wand, at the coffee table separating them. The table slowly lifted off the ground and stayed there, waving back and forward slightly I time with Gandalf's wand. Percy glanced at the magical stick, then back at the coffee table sitting in the air, then back again. He nodded to himself, seeming to make a decision.
"Huh, alright. So what do you want with me?" Percy asked to the wizards' surprise. They had thought he would have taken longer to convince.
"Ok, so I need you to hold this piece of parchment for me, and it will transport us back to Headquarters." Gandalf said, holding out the paper for Percy and Mini Percy. Percy looked at the paper, no parchment, suspiciously. But when Mini Him grabbed on without hesitation, Percy held it too.
"Grimmauld Place." Gandalf intoned, and Percy felt a hook behind his navel and they were off.
When Percy heard Gandalf say the parchment would transport them to Headquarters, he didn't really know what to expect. Maybe a short discomfort then they were there? Or maybe a pop from one place to another. He certainly didn't expect the rollercoaster that was the transportation. He felt a strong pull from behind his belly button, his navel if he remembered correctly, and they were off. It was like being squished in a small tube that was on the most dangerous water slide in all of history. It reminded him of Shadow-Traveling except instead of darkness, Percy was surrounded by bright stripes and sparks that flew past his face. When they slowed to a stop and the spinning and the tube were gone, Percy took a step forward and the colour vanished. He heard groaning behind him and he spun around, hand in his pocket, to see Mini Him lying on a wooden floor. Percy stepped over and stuck his hand out, which was accepted, and hauled the slightly younger boy to his feet. He spotted Gandalf and spun to face him.
"That," Percy took a few seconds to catch his breath, as he was panting a bit. "That was the single most awesome method of travel I have ever used. Screw rollercoasters and theme parks, if I can learn to do that whenever I want then I'm never going to the non-magical world ever again!"
A snort sounded behind him and he jumped, twisting around, hand on Riptide, silently berating himself for being caught up in his excitement to notice potentially hostile beings in the room.
Making up for his mistake, he quickly scanned the faces of the 20 or so people in the room. Each one wore the same style of clothes as Gandalf and Mini Him, but most had wands in their hands.
The women that snorted was sporting bright, bubble-gum-pink hair. When she noticed him looking she held out her hand for him to shake as she was the closest to him. "Wotcha, mate. I'm Tonks, who are you?" Percy shook her hand and grinned sheepishly as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Hey, Tonks. I'm Percy. Nice to meet you." She grinned back, and was about to reply when someone at the door of the room spoke up.
"Perce?"
Percy looked towards the somewhat familiar voice and paled drastically. "Sev? What the Hades! You're dead! We found your body, and I – we – what the holy Hera and Zeus and every other fudging God on the gods dammed Olympian council are you doing here?"
Percy, by this time, had collapsed in a nearby empty chair, running his hands through his messy hair, and staring at the man in front of him who was supposed to be dead. Mini Him and Gandalf had already been sitting when the boy had exploded, but now every person at the table they were seated at was looking between him and the dead man like it was a tennis match.
All of a sudden, Percy stood and his pen was out of his pocket in a flash, still capped, ready to be used. "Alright, that's enough." He snarled, "How the hell do you know what Sev looks like, and if you could brag for a couple of minutes about what monster you are and how to dispose of you, you absolutely rotten, stinking arsehole of a sack of meat, that'd be great."
The monster, because there was no way that it could be him in front of Percy, raised an eyebrow the exact same way that he used too. It was so familiar that Percy almost sobbed, but he held it back.
"Thanks, Perce, I really appreciate you thinking I'm a monster. I am Severus Snape, you are Perseus Achilles Jackson, currently the only person in Cabin 3, expert swordsman and m- Luke Castellan and one other's little brother in everything but blood."
Percy shut his eyes at his older brother's name, pushing the sight of his still body on the floor of the throne room out of his mind. He opened his eyes and growled, half tempted to stab the imposter with his sword to make sure it wasn't a monster, but there was one thing he could ask.
"What was the first thing I said when I saw you in the Big House?"
The dead man raised an eyebrow, black eyes staring directly into sea green. "You said 'You really need to wash your hair more dude, I'm pretty sure one of the #10 girls would be willing to help.' And then you almost wet yourself when I glared at you."
The dark haired boy stared at him, then, slowly, put Riptide back in his pocket. The look on his face was one you would expect to see on a child's. "I thought you were dead. No, you were dead. We found your body buried under one of the broken down cars. A-An- She showed me the body after the battle was over. Do you know how much it hurt, seeing you there, limp, eyes completely blank." Percy shuddered. "Your eyes gave me nightmares you know. My heart was tearing itself apart. I'd lost Luke earlier that day too, my honorary older brother, then you were gone. And my family was gone. Oh, sure I still had An- Ana- her and Grover and Mum, but my brothers, the ones who had been my life since I was 6, were gone. I guess I just never accepted that it was over until I got back to camp the next day and saw the new cabins being built. Harley was being a doofus and mucking around, and I turned to you with a sarcastic comment but you weren't there. I almost called out for you, but then I remembered. I tried to turn to Luke earlier, but he was gone too. I visited the forges to say hi to Beckendorf, but he was gone. So was Michael and Lee and everyone who was part of our little family. And it was gone, I was the last one left of our secret little group, and it hurt." Percy paused, shoulders hunched and eyes cloudy. The dead man walked slowly towards the hurting teen. His reputation was already shot to bits, but he would have done it anyway.
"Perce. Percy, look at me." His tone was soft, one you would expect of an older brother. "Percy, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I had been hit and left lying unconscious behind a bin, and when I woke it was all I could do to get back to Hogwarts. I needed medical supplies and the school nurse was the only one who could treat the poison in my veins. And by the time I was healed, stuff was happening here and I couldn't just run, Perce, you know that better than anyone. And I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you, but the Headmaster forced me to swear an oath that I couldn't leave, and I'm so, so sorry. Because you know I would have been there for you if I could have, but I couldn't and I feel horrible. When you came back from that mission with Beckendorf, I thought I was going to break. I could see how guilty you felt and how hard you were trying to hold it together for Michael and me, but Beckendorf was dead, and I didn't know how to feel. You shouldn't have had to deal with that. Holding yourself together along with that bloody prophecy and the stupid war, and I'm sorry you did." Severus, because the man holding Percy was Severus, sighed and sagged. "Budge over a bit you simpleton, the floor isn't exactly comfortable you know."
Percy choked out a half sob, half laugh and shifted to the side so his honorary brother could sit next to him on the small couch that he'd landed on. It was a familiar position for both of them and Percy sobbed again, before slapping a hand over his mouth as Severus took a seat next to him. Percy felt a hand gently remove his hand before grabbing his chin and forcing the black haired teen to look his older brother in the eyes. They were soft and comforting, giving him reassurance that he could let it out. And let it out he did. He stared at the eyes of a brother he'd thought lost and threw his arms around the older man's torso and ducked his head into Severus' shoulder and let the tears that had been building since he first laid eyes on his brother in the doorway flow down his face.
His body shook and he sobbed, desperately clinging to his older brother in everything but blood as he let out 3 years' worth of pain in to the shoulder of his brother. Suddenly he wasn't 19 year old Percy Jackson, Hero of Olympus, Survivor of Hell, but Perce, the little brother of two men who would have given their lives for him, who he thought had given their lives for him. He was Perce, the youngest brother, who hated his hair being ruffled by anyone, who was the scared child behind the mask of a leader that had become a part of him over the last 8½ years. And suddenly the man who's shoulder he was crying on, didn't look like Professor Snape, as he had to the people watching him even as he apologised to his younger brother, suddenly he wasn't the greasy git of the dungeons, he wasn't the strict Potions Master, but instead was the older brother who'd been forced to hide away from his little bro.
He was the man that had first been a friend, and now a brother to the crying boy when he was six. He didn't look like the stern old man that gave detentions for the sake of it, but rather the 37 year old man with a younger brother who had needed him and been denied. Severus buried his head in Percy's hair, smelling the distinct scent of a sea breeze as he did so. His body relaxed and tears leaked from his eyes for the first time in 3 years.
The people watching them were stunned. The cheerful, happy-go-lucky air that the sea green eyed boy had put on had disintegrated as soon as Snape stepped out of the door. Snape himself had completely abandoned the role of snarky double agent and instead became someone who nobody in the room had ever seen before.
Slowly, slowly, the tears paused. There was still more crying to be done, but not here, not when Percy realised that people were watching. He sniffed once, and slowly pulled away from his brother, leaving an arm wrapped around the man's torso. Severus pulled back too and looked at his brother's face. It was streaked with tears but his sea green eyes were clear.
Percy ran his eyes over his brother, and chuckled quietly. "Aren't we a sorry duo? Pathetic, that's what we are." Severus snorted, a smile twitching at his lips, and turned his attention to the crowd in front of him.
Percy noticed where his gaze landed and groaned as he saw people looking at him in shock. He turned his head and snuggled into his brother's side, muttering under his breath about how easy it was to make a fool of himself. Severus rolled his eyes and ruffled his younger brother's hair, eliciting a cry of complaint. "Leave off the hair, Sev. Gods you're insufferable!" Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Big words, Perce, didn't know you were capable of more than five letters." Perce grumbled and glared at his chuckling brother and reluctantly turned his attention to the people sitting in front of them.
"I suppose it's too much to ask for you lot to leave off on the what and where of Sev dying?" Percy asked and eyebrow raised, even as his lips tilted down at the mention of his brother dying.
The room burst out in yelling, every person trying to ask a question. Percy looked at his brother and shook his head at the raised eyebrow. "Fat lot of good you are." He grumbled then looked at the chaos in the room.
Finally it grew too much. "Alright that's it. YOU LOT, SHUT YOUR GODS DAMMED HOLES AND SIT DOWN!" The room was quiet, stunned as Percy dragged a hand through his hair, still leaning into his brother's side. "Alright, you have questions. We'll go one at a time, from left to right. Also if you could say your names with each question. Got it?" Everyone nodded. Percy shook his head, snapping out of 'General Mode'.
"Ok, Mini Me, you're up." Severus snorted slightly at 'Mini Me' but fell suspiciously quiet as Mini Percy started to speak.
"Oh for the love of – I'm Harry. Harry Potter. And what the bloody hell were you on about Snape being your brother?"
Percy's fist clenched and it was only Severus' tightening arms that kept him from pummelling the kid. "Look Mini Me. I don't know what you have against Sev, but if you say anything derogatory every again, I'll knee you where it hurts, you bigoted little anus. For your information, Sev found me when I was being bullied by some pricks at school, and helped me out. Ever since then he helped me out in every single possible way for a paranoid, troubled little kid that the Fates hate for absolutely no reason!"
Percy took a deep breath, hoping the next few questions would be easy. "Alright, next."
A brunette with super curly hair asked the next question. "What did you mean when you said you saw Professor Snape's body under one of the broken down cars. Does that mean there was more than one car? Why were they broken down cars? Why had so many people died? What-"
"Brownie, shut it. I said one question. And you didn't tell me your name." Percy interrupted.
She took a breath and flushed red. "Fine, I'm Hermione Granger. Answer my first question please." She sniffed indignantly and the boys either side of her shot each other bemused look behind her back.
Percy turned to his brother, who was running a hand through his younger brother's hair.
What should we tell them Sev? His raised an eyebrow seemed to ask.
Severus shrugged. Hades if I know, you're the master General dude.
Percy rolled his eyes and tilted his head. "Professor Snape? Since when do you teach, mate?" He said aloud for the benefit of the people watching.
Oh, very clever. Distract them with a question of our own. Severus' eyes seemed to glimmer. "I've been a teacher since you were 7, Perce, but with the time difference it was kind of hard to stay awake in the classrooms. Of course, the July – September Holidays made it easy for me to hang out with you on your birthday."
I know, why do you think I'm doing it? Percy smirked. "Really, I just thought you had a job in Britain, not that you taught at a magical school named after a skin disease for pigs." Percy was prevented from continuing by Severus bursting out in laughter.
"That was my first thought when I received my letter! Oh gods, kid, you're absolutely awesome!" Severus's laughter died off after a while, but he was still chuckling.
Percy raised an eyebrow. "You done Professor Sev? Or will you continue to die of suffocation from laughing?"
Severus rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at his little brother, letting his mask fall completely, for the first time in 3 years. Percy raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were more mature than a 5 year old, Sev. Honestly if Camp could see you now!" Alright, let's talk. I thought up of an excuse.
As long as it's better than the lie to Katie about helping the Stolls steal her gardening gear, then go for it. Severus' eyes replied.
Percy's face reddened minutely. Oh come on bro, you said you'd never speak of the gardening incident again!
And I didn't speak of it you goose. Severus' face turned smug and his nose pointed ever so slightly in the air, ignoring the warmth in his heart at hearing his brother call him 'bro' for the first time in 3 years. Percy decided to deal with the situation maturely. Which meant he poked his tongue out at his older brother and poked him in the stomach.
Severus turned to face his brother slowly and his eyes sparkled. We'll deal with this after questions, I think a tickling war is in order, maybe a pillow fight.
Percy's eyes widened and he gulped and inched away from his brother. The people in front of them watched confused at the scene.
"Alright." Declared Percy nervously. "So, to answer your question, Brownie." Hermione scowled at the name, "We lived in a bad area, and there was a fight one day, and a lot of the cars broke down for some reason. Me and a few others had to help out so we split up. Sev and I were in different parts of our little battle field." Percy chuckled bitterly, little indeed. "Any way, when the fighting ended, a friend- no not friend the little traitor. So An- she took me to one of the cars and underneath it was Sev's body." Percy's eyes darted to Severus as though making sure he was alive and well. "Except it obviously wasn't Sev. The little bi- female dog probably faked the body to tear me up, the fudging pile of Minotaur Dung. So yeah…"
The next few questions went quickly, and then they got to the last one.
"I'm Ginny Weasley, this prat's sister," She pointed to the boy who'd introduced himself as Ron. "Anyway, when Sna- sorry Professor Snape stepped into the room, he said you were 'Luke Castellan and one other's little brother in everything but blood'. Who's Luke Castellan?"
Percy tensed and he shut his eyes. "Who's Luke Castellan," he mused aloud. He took a deep breath, while Severus shuffled over and put an arm around his younger brother's shoulders.
"Luke Castellan was the bravest person I'd ever met. He was 12 years younger than Sev and 6 older than me, so he was the middle child in our little 'family'. He went to the same camp as me for the first summer that I was there, even though I'd known him since I was 8. He was kind, polite, gentle and so patient, even with his ADHD.
"The camp we went to was a special one for kids with ADHD and Dyslexia, so it was really difficult to teach there, but Luke did it. He was the one to teach me how to hold a sword for the first time and was there the first time I climbed the rock wall. He was also my Chancellor for the first couple of months, before I got moved to Cabin 3, but even then he was still my older brother. At the end of my first summer, he got kidnapped,"
Percy paused and glanced at Severus. "Kidnapped, yeah. Anyway, he got kidnapped by this Gang that the police thought they'd put a stop to but didn't. He was tortured, and forced into a mindset where he'd do anything the leader wanted. Luke had lost a really good friend a few years before I came to camp, and she was in a coma. The leader, K-Kro-Kronos, promised that he'd be able to awaken her. Well it worked and during my second summer she came back, but was pissed as hell with Luke. By then he was so –brainwashed, indoctrinated, I don't know- that he couldn't fight back if he tried.
"Kro- Kronos sent an attack in my fourth summer, and we barely held them off, but Luke wasn't there. I guess all those sword things he taught me kept me alive. A few of my really good friends died though, and one of them sacrificed himself to stop the attack. In my fifth summer, that attack that I though Sev died in, well, he led it and I found him on top of a building, looking down as though he was the king of the world. Kronos had been incapacitated in an earlier fight, so he sent me my brother as revenge." Percy closed his eyes, feeling tears building behind his eyelids.
"He was standing there, nose to the sky and he was gloating. Earlier the female mutt that pretended to be my best friend had been hit with a poison knife, and one of my closest friends besides my brothers had died on a bridge that I accidently pulled down with him on top of it." Percy's eyes screwed shut as he heard the screams of his almost brother sound in his ears. He shook his head, trying to clear the image, only to find tears running down his cheeks.
"Luke wasn't there. That- That bully, that bigoted little arse who stood there gloating about the injuries of my best friend and the death of my almost brother, that wasn't him. My two best friends were in the grips of two of his henchmen, he was just standing there in old Greek armour, and he was not Luke.
"It wasn't Luke that I saw then, it was Kronos. He teased me, ordered on of his henchmen to shoot me, but I had saved him earlier in my fourth summer. Ethan Nakamura, that was his name. It was his poison knife that had hit the female dog earlier. He raised his gun to shoot me then shook his head. I didn't know him very well before he was turned to Kronos' side, but his mum was all about balance, and equality. He tried to grapple Luk- no Kronos, to the ground but Kronos just sidestepped him and Ethan fell off the side of the building. His eyes met mine as he fell and the resignation I them-"
Percy broke off and shook his head. The others looked horrified and Ginny's hand was over her mouth. "The Luke I knew would never have let Ethan die. He would have fought him, blade on blade, not take the cowards approach. When Kronos turned around- his face was still Luke's but not at the same time. His eyes were blank. Like they were dead. And he had this horrible little smirk like he knew I wouldn't be able to hurt him, like he knew that I still thought of him as a brother even though he'd done all of these horrible things.
"He started walking forward, his smirk was growing, and his eyes flickered with something I couldn't understand. He was stalking forward, I was flinching backwards with every step he took. Even his walk was different, he was like a robot. He was walking, I was pleading. I felt like such a coward, but I couldn't stop. 'Please Luke, I'm your brother, remember? Please Luke, please come back. Oh gods, Luke, please, please, I can't – where are you. You're not Luke, give him back!'
"Here I was, 16 years old, backing away and feeling like I was 5 again, before Sev came along and stopped the bullies. Luke's face blurred kinda, and I think I had a weird flash back to all of the enemies I'd had. Smelly Gabe, Kronos, all of the bullies, Gabe again, my mum's cold face staring at me like I was a disappointment, Sev's voice whispering in my ear that he would never love me like a brother, that I was a wimp and a freak and a waste of time.
"Then there was Luke's voice, growing louder and suddenly he was right in front of me. I fell to my knees and curled in on myself, and whimpered as the voices grew louder. Luke paused, his eyes flickered to my eyes and he stopped. His hand twitched, but whatever orders were programed into him, he was fighting. He stepped back, and I saw the tears running down his face as he saw what a wimp I was. How useless I was. Then he spoke. 'Perce. Perce, you need to go. I can't fight him. Please, please grab your friends and run.'
"He threw aside his blade and his fingers stopped twitching. I was crying then, screaming as he picked up the knife he'd given me in that first week at camp, and he said that he would never leave me when he gave me that knife. 'I'll never leave you Perseus, do you understand?' That's what he said on that first week of camp, and that's what he said now. I nodded, he raised the knife. It looked like he was in pain, his mind trying to decipher orders from thoughts. He took a step back. 'I love you Perce, my little bro. Don't you ever forget that. Alright?'
"I couldn't answer him. Half of my world was falling. He looked at me, 'Please, Perce. I need you to understand. I will never leave you little brother, my little boy. Stand up for the people who need it alright, don't let them become me.' My friends were still being held captive and Luke was talking too quietly for the guards to hear. I nodded. Why did I nod! I couldn't do anything as the knife was raised above his head and he plunged it down, straight into the only gap in his armour. It was his Achilles heel, so to speak, and then he collapsed and suddenly I could move again.
"I sprinted over. 'Luke! Luke, no! Please don't go! We need you, Sev and I need you, you intolerable goof ball. What are we going to do when Sev's being grumpy while I train, who's going to help mum in the kitchen when is Thanksgiving? Please Luke, hold on, someone will be here soon.'
"He laughed, blood spitting out of his mouth. 'Intolerable? Sev's taught you well Percy. You'll be fine, Perce, you're just going to have to learn to cook, eh? Just try not to blow up the kitchen this time, alright?' He coughed again. 'Perseus Achilles Jackson. Promise me. Promise me that you'll go on with life, get Sev off his lazy butt and doing some exercise, find a girl and settle down. Move on Perce, please, I need you to promise me.' All I could do was nod. 'Damn, Silena's going to be so pissed when I get to the Underworld.' He was always making references like that, see?
"'You'll go to Elysium, Luke. I promise. Say hi to everyone, alright?'
"He nodded before smiling as much as he could. 'I'm going to try for Isles of the Blessed, reckon I could?'
"I nodded. 'You always pushed yourself too hard, Luke.' He grinned and I smiled through tears.
"'Come give your intolerable goof ball of a brother a hug, Perce.' I collapsed on him and hugged him for all I was worth. 'Tell Sev that, even though he's 8 than me, I love him like a brother, alright.' I nodded. 'I need to go now.' I nodded again, though this time I was sobbing, gripping his shoulders as the light drained out of his eyes. 'I love you and Sev, Perce, you were my first real family.' By now he was gasping for breath. 'I love you.'
"And he was gone. I was screaming and shouting for him to come back. The biatch pulled me away, my friends had defeated their guards. I didn't want to leave, but I had to. Half my world was completely gone."
Percy opened his eyes and looked at Ginny. "You asked me what Luke Castellan was like. He was the most foolish, stupid, insufferable goof of a doofus in the entire 20th century. But he was also my brother, my best friend, my protector, my role model and so much more. He liked to cook, but only on Thanksgiving. He was a lazy ass that made my hair much worse than it already was. He was the most amazing person on the planet. And now – and now he's gone."
Percy closed his eyes and visibly gathered himself. He shot a look at Severus, and saw red rimed eyes and he knew that he had to stay strong enough for both of them, at least until he was in private.
"I sincerely apologise for wasting so much of your time. Is there a room that I am required to sleep in or can I bunk with Sev?" His tone was formal. He knew that if he tried for anything else he would break.
The people in front of him took a second to gather themselves, and Gandalf looked towards the mother of the red-headed bunch. "I'm sure you could room with Severus if that's fine. I think an early dinner is required, don't you Molly dear?" Mrs Weasley shook herself.
"Yes, yes of course. Can you find you way upstairs?"
Percy nodded and tried for a smile. "Thank you, I will more likely than not see you at breakfast tomorrow. Good night."
He wrapped an arm around his older brother's shoulder and hauled the 37 year old to his feet. Severus stood and walked blindly towards his room, lost in his own thoughts. When they reached the room, Percy opened the door and walked over towards the double bed in the corner of the room. Severus shut the door behind him and joined Percy on the bed, putting a silencing charm and a locking charm on the door, out of habit, not even bothering with shoes. Percy was sitting on the bed staring blankly at him as he walked towards the bed. He sat and leaned against the wall with his arms wrapped around his little brother.
"No one can hear us now. Let it out Percy." He whispered. Onyx eyes stared into Sea green. Cry little brother, no one will hurt you while I'm here. You don't need to be strong here.
Sobbing filled the room, as the brothers lay interwoven on the bed, arms wrapped around each other as though they would never see each other again. Bawling followed soon after as both boys found refuge in arms they hadn't seen in almost 3 years, and they cried themselves to sleep, too spent to even talk.
Harry had heard some pretty depressing things in his life, and experienced some first hand, but he'd never seen anything like that. When he'd first seen Voldemort's grandson, he'd almost had a heart attack. The grandson of the man who killed his parents looked almost exactly like him! His reaction to learning that he was a wizard was surprising. Surely Voldemort's Grandkid would have been learning Dark Magic since he got his wand, but nope, apparently not.
Percy woke just as sunlight started streaming into the room. He was wrapped up by a pair of strong arms and he could feel his hair being smoothed over. It was such a familiar position that he started talking before he even thought about it. "Sev, I had the weirdest dream in the entirety of the universe. You were ther- Sev!" His eyes shot open and he tightened his arms around the waist of the man he called his brother.
"Hey there, kiddo. Just a weird dream, eh? I'm kind of offended by that, you know." Percy pulled back to glare at his brother, before snuggling into the warm chest of the only member of his family left.
"I – How – It wasn't a dream?" Severus nodded. "So I really spilled all of that to near strangers last night?" Another nod, this time slower. "I'm such an idiot. Honestly, I'm fine for three years around people I know, but as soon as I'm in front of strangers, I break down." He sighed. "Oh well. I'm screwed up anyway." Severus pulled back this time.
"Perseus Achilles Jackson, how dare you say that you're screwed up? Yes you spilled the beans, and no doubt Potter will try and make fun of you, but you're under my protection again, and nothing will happen to you. Understood?" Percy's eyes filled with tears and he nodded, sniffing them back. "Honesty, midget, you're hopeless sometimes!" Percy smiled slightly and slowly began easing his way out of bed.
"I had some questions that I wanted to ask that lot last night before I broke down, when do you think breakie will be ready?"
Severus shook his head. "They're not going to be up for a couple of hours yet. I usually spend that time brewing, because they are such lazy asses." Percy pouted, then his eyes brightened.
"Hey, Sev?" He said slowly. "I'll spar you. Then you can 'get off your lazy butt' as Luke put it and do some exercise?" Severus sighed.
"Fine, fine. Gods you're way too much of a morning person. Now, where are we going to do this?"
Percy grinned, then shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't even seen most of the house yet."
Severus nodded. "Well, get changed and we'll go find an empty room. Deal?"
Percy nodded. "Deal."
Once the two were changed, Sev grabbed a sword from under his bed and they set off to find an empty room. As they walked, Severus explained about the Order of the Phoenix and Percy retold the story of how he'd found two wizards outside of his apartment building. Severus laughed when Percy told him about his evil Grandpa. "Only you Perce, only you can have two evil grandparents who are both trying take over the world."
Percy grinned sheepishly, before his face became thoughtful. "I wonder. If Kronos had won, then would he have taken down Moldywarts?" Severus put his hand under his chin and stroked an imaginary beard.
"Now my colleague, that is an interesting hypothesis. Let's think about this logically." Percy snorted and grinned at his brother's acting. "The Dark Lord has a stick that does magic, looks like he has a horrible skin condition, and also has no nose." Percy clamped a hand over his mouth to hold in his laughter. "Kronos on the other hand, is a flipping immortal being, King of the Titans, Titan of time, and has the ability to take on his host's combat abilities. No fricking way would the Dark Lord win, in fact he'd probably be the one to start the duel only do die when Kronos manipulated time and forced him to go back to when he was a baby and kill him from there, in the Dark Lord's hideout, surrounded by Death Eaters." Percy bit his hand to stop from bursting out in laughter.
When he could talk without breaking down in hysterical giggles, he moved his hand off his mouth. "His followers are called 'Death Eaters'? Who in their right mind would want to eat Thanatos? Honestly! Idiots the lot of them!" Severus just chuckled and shook his head.
"Here's an empty room we can use." He said, pushing the already ajar door open further.
The duo stepped inside, and Percy shut the door.
Once he turned and settled himself into position, Severus sprang forward and the duel began.
Percy stayed mostly on the defensive until Severus began to slow down, having tired himself out, then Percy attacked. Each swing was deliberate, each jab not only efficient but as fast as a viper striking. This continued until Severus was disarmed and Percy's blade at his throat. Severus was panting, but Percy was barely breathing hard.
"Wow… Perce… When did you… get so good?" Severus asked in between deep breaths.
Percy shrugged. "Oh you know, after fighting my way out of the pit, one on one is easy." Then he grinned. "But you mister have not been practising!" He waggled a finger at his brother, but Severus was frowning.
"What do you mean 'fighting your way out of the pit'? What pit?" Percy dropped his finger and stared at his older brother.
"You didn't know?" Severus raised an eyebrow. "What did you think I'd been doing for three years?" Percy asked his voice rising slightly.
Severus hunched in on himself. "I don't know Perce, I was hoping you might have finally gotten a break." Percy shook his head, obviously not enjoying the upcoming conversation.
"Sit." Was all he said, pointing at one of the chairs in the corner of the room. Severus raised an eyebrow again but sat, watching his little brother pacing.
"Ok. Ok, alright yep. This is fudging perfect. Sev, do whatever you did to our room last night to here because I'm probably going to get mad talking about that biatch." Both eyebrows were raised now, but Severus waved his wand at the door and it slammed shut, before silencing it.
"Alright, I'll start at the beginning." And so it went. Percy explained how, a few months after the Titan War, he was kidnapped by Hera, went on a quest with Roman demigods, became Praetor of said Roman demigods and how he had become part of a second Great Prophecy. How the Greek part of the 7 came and picked him and his two Roman quest mates up, how he had seen An – her again. Percy refused to say her name. How they had escaped from the angry Romans when Leo fired of Rome. How he had battled Jason in Kansas. And finally how he had tried to rescue her from falling into the pit.
"And I couldn't hang on anymore, so we fell." Severus sucked in a breath.
"We were down there for a while, we met Bob after a while, and then we got caught." Percy paused. "You know, now that I think about it, she was probably sending them directions the entire time."
Percy explained how they got captured, how he killed the Arai, how he wound up in Tartarus' castle, how he watched as the door was left open and she wasn't bound, how she helped him stand and how she led him right to Tartarus instead of the exit.
"'Thank you, my dear. You may leave.' And she bowed and left, looking right at home as she walked through the hordes of bowing monsters and out of the room. He must have seen the confusion on my face.
"'Ah, Perseus. I see you know my spy well. Yes, she got close to you on my orders, and now she has fulfilled her purpose.' Sev, when I saw you dead it hurt. But when she left, my fatal flaw was tearing me apart. Loyalty." Percy spat. "Loyalty was going to be the death of me. But I refused to break apart there. I'd kept it in when I thought you were dead, I could hold it together now.
"I straightened, and he snapped his fingers and I was chained again, Riptide was in his hand, and he was smirking. 'So this is the great Percy Jackson. Bound in chains and weapon-less. Now, I'm sure you're part of the plan to stop my wife, and I'm afraid that can't happen. But you have information, and I want it. So, will you or will you not give it to me?'
"And then he smirked, you know, like he knew what I was thinking. How could I have lived with myself if I did give him information? He saw the look on my face, and he laughed. Sev, just pray that you never hear that laugh. 'Ah little demigod. I see. Well, if you will not give me the information that I desire, then I must take it from you.'
"He waved his hand and two of his lackeys brought me too a different cell than the one I escaped from. It had a stone bench and chains hanging from the ceiling. They put my hands in chains and I hung there as they left." Percy took a deep breath and his face went carefully blank.
Severus held up a hand before the younger boy could continue. "Perce, if you don't want to tell me now, then don't. We can do it after breakfast if you need too. Or you can just put your memories in a Pensive and not have to retell them." Percy nodded then stood.
"What's a pensive?" Percy asked. Severus stood to join him, putting an arm around the younger boy's shoulders.
"It's a bowl that you can store memories in, but other people can see them if they put their head in it." Percy looked thoughtful for a second then shook his head.
"Sorry Sev, but I need to do this, otherwise I'll never get over it." Severus nodded, then scowled at Percy's next question.
"Hey Sev, this morning you were talking about Mini Me right?" Severus snorted, but nodded. "Well, why do you hate him so much?" By this time they were walking out of the room and towards the kitchen.
"Why do I hate the brat? C'mon Perce, surely you see the way he sits there, surrounded by his minions, looking as though he's the King of the Gods?"
Percy raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Severus scowled. "He's exactly like his father. Same hair, same attitude, same glasses-"
Severus was interrupted by a raised eyebrow from his little brother. "Sev, he looks almost the same as me! And you don't hate him do you? It's about his dad, isn't it?" Severus scowled.
"No, Potter's the same as his father. It's always 'Severus, how could you take points for Mr Potter talking during class?' Just like it was always, 'Mr Snape, how dare you start this fight with James?' It's not bloody fa-"
He was interrupted again. "Sev, is Mini Me's father this infamous James Potter that I've heard so much about? And if so, you're a bloody idiot!"
Severus looked at him, taken aback. "You bloody doofus. You have a grudge against Potter Sr, but Mini Me's done nothing to you! I saw the way he flinched slightly when his red-head friend reached over to talk to Brownie, and it's not the flinch of someone who's spoiled at their parents' house. It's the sign of someone who's had to grow up the same way I did for the first 11 years of my life until we got rid of Smelly Gabe! What the bloody hell were you thinking! Honestly, Athena hated me because of Dad, but that's not fair is it? So why the bloody, fricking, fudging Tartarus were you doing the same you obnoxious prick!" By this time, the duo had reached the kitchen and Percy had pulled away from his older brother and was glaring at him.
Severus was stunned. He'd never thought of it at that angle before, and now that he thought about it, it made sense with the scenes he seen in Potter Jr's mind in their Occlumency lessons.
"If you don't apologise to Harry bloody Potter for the way you acted, just because he was the son of your tormentor, then you can consider me getting my own room as way of punishment. Got it Severus Snape?" Severus nodded.
Percy opened the door to the kitchen, still ignoring his older brother, and stalked inside, barely noticing the fact that the Order of the Fried Chicken and all of the kids were inside and had probably heard every single word he'd said. He stomped to the end of the table, pulled up a chair and sat heavily before shovelling food onto his plate and glaring at his brother as Severus sat next to him. He turned away and opened his mouth head turned towards the empty seat next to him. When he realised what he done, he closed his eyes and put a hand over his mouth to stop a sob. He still hadn't gotten used to Luke not being there, especially when he'd just had an argument with Sev.
He pulled himself together and ate the food monotonously, every bite tasting like ash in his mouth. When he'd finished his plate, he turned to glare at his brother.
Well? His eyes asked. Are you going to apologise or am I going to have to ask Mrs Weasley for a spare room?
Severus sighed and turned to the Order, which was watching them even as they ate, and straightened. "Potter," he began, but was interrupted by Percy punching his arm. "Fine. Mr Potter, I would like to ap – apologise for my behaviour towards you in the last five years. It has been highly unprofessional and I allowed for my grudge against your father to cloud my judgment. I will endeavour to resist punishing you because of who your father was." Then he turned to his brother who was smirking at him. "There, I apologised. Happy now you intolerable, pigheaded, but-tart?"
Percy's smirk only widened. "Oh yes, very happy. You know, I should really get you to apologise more often, it's extremely satisfying." Then his smirk faded as his mind puzzled over something.
'Hang on, Sev said who his father was not is. So Mini Me's dad is dead, but how? I really should have told Gandalf to explain a bit more rather than the fact that they're wizards, they got to a school called Pigfarts and Harry's part of a massive prophecy that said he'd defeat Mouldywart. So Gramps came after Mini Me on Halloween, tried to kill him but failed, and Potter got left with his Zeus scar. Wait a minute…'
"Hey, Mini Me, did Evil Mr No Nose kill your parents when he went after you on Halloween?" At Harry's small, angry nod, Percy's face darkened and his eyes were like slivers of ice.
He snarled. "Oh, the bastard! And here I thought that pathetic excuse of a human being stopped at killing on the battlefield! But no-o, the only member of my blood family left has to be the fudgetarded, mothertrudging, asshole who goes after families on purpose!" He turned to Severus who was looking at him with a smile in his eyes at how he was reacting. "Sev, where's the nearest weapon shop, I need a grenade, and a super dull knife so I can chop of that son of a dogs balls and feed them to him, then blow up his bloody fan group of Thanatos Munchers!"
The Order stared at him, until the red-headed twins started to clap, but Percy just growled, still looking at his brother. "Well?" He asked, "Directions, coordinates, I don't give a crud. Just let me get revenge on that arsehole for ripping apart more families!"
Severus stood up and stepped behind Percy's chair. "Perce, relax," he said, massaging the demigod's shoulders. "When the time comes, I'll help you in ripping apart the bloody son of Tartarus, but until then, we need to take this slow." He leaned in so he could talk to hid brother without the Order hearing. "And what do you mean, 'last member of your blood family'?"
Percy shook his head, leaning into the massage. "Not now." He looked at the Order who was watching them. He rubbed the back of his neck, and nodded.
"Well, I had some questions for you lot before I had a breakdown.
[{Record from science book}]
Percy stood once again, this time his face carefully blank. "Harry, I'm going to ask some semi personal questions, that you don't have to answer if you feel uncomfortable. Alright?"
Harry nodded, looking confused.
"Good. Now, first question. Have you had a year at Hogwarts where you haven't been targeted by Mouldyshorts?"
The green eyed boy thought for a second. "Yeah, third year."
Percy nodded. "And what happened during that year?"
"I was being targeted by a supposed murderer, except Si-Padfoot wasn't really the murderer, Pettigrew was."
Percy nodded again. "And before Hogwarts, were you ever afraid for your life?"
Harry hesitated, then nodded slowly.
"Alright, and have you ever seen anyone die in front of you, where you were powerless to help?"
Another nod, this time accompanied by a frown as the young boy remembered Sirius and Cedric.
"And did you feel guilty about it?"
Another nod, slower as the boy tried to work out what was going on.
"Do you still feel guilty?"
Another nod.
Percy turned to the Headmaster. "Gandalf, correct me if I'm wrong, which I know I'm not since I've had the exact same thing done to me and I can recognise the damn signs anywhere, but am I right in assuming that Harry's home life isn't the finest?"
Gandalf nodded reluctantly and tried to speak, but Percy cut him off.
"Am I right in assuming that after being targeted by an evil Dark Lord in his First Year of schooling at Hogwarts, he didn't get any form of counselling, or therapy? That, after watching a fellow student die, he didn't get any form of guidance or meditation?
"And you say that he needs to have a childhood! Let me tell you right here, right now Mr Beardy, I was in the same position Harry is in now. There was practically a war going on outside the borders of my summer camp, yet nobody decided to tell me that I had been chosen to fight in said war by a Council of sorts until after the battle that killed most of my friends.
"I hadn't had a child hood since my mom married the walrus that was stuck on two legs, yet they couldn't be bothered to inform me that I, a 16 year old boy, was to lead the remaining 30 of my camp mates into a war against thousands upon thousands of monsters until that war was on our door step!
"It may seem like you doing this will let people have a childhood, but I'm willing to bet my life that Harry hasn't had a childhood since his parents were killed by my bloody grandpa. Are you willing to sacrifice hundreds of lives under those pretences or are you going to suck it up and think about the consequences that your decisions have. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
As the old man nodded, Percy sat back down slowly, eyeing Mini Him.
"So, Sev. Do you have any idea of how every time I sit in front of these guys, the Fates decide to make my life into a reality TV show?"
Severus snorted, "No clue, Perce. No clue."
Percy rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm bored. What do you people do for fun around here when you're not holed up in some super-secret spy meeting?"
Tonks laughed, "Well most of us aren't here when we're not in those meetings, and the rest of us just clean the house."
Percy's expression elicited snorts of laughter from everyone, shaking them from the stunned silence they'd been in after his outburst.
"Cleaning! No way in Zeus' shiny, bright pink underpants! I've made this depressing, but you guys know magic, surely you could teach me a trick or two!"
Severus grinned, "I'm sure we could, but you'd need a wand for that, so it looks like a shopping trip is in order!"
Percy's expression was once again filled with disgust. The Order stood and some made their way out of the house, and some to the rooms upstairs, leaving only Percy and Severus.
"Ready to Floo to Diagon Alley?" Severus asked.
Percy shot him a look that was half confused, half excited. "Diagon Alley is where we'll be going to get your school supplies, the other students have already gotten theirs. And Floo is like the Port key that you took to get here, only through fireplaces."
Percy clapped his hands like a little kid and dragged his older brother to the fireplace. He followed, a grin over his usually scowling face as he watched his 19 year old brother behave like a 10 year old, having the time of his life.
[{Write the rest of the Diagon Alley later}]
Percy looked at the ragged building suspiciously. "Are you sure this is the right place, Sev?" But even as he said it, he could feel a tugging in his gut, not unlike when he used his water powers.
Severus rolled his eyes, "Yes Perce, this is the place. Now, do you want to get your wand or not?"
Percy nodded and slipped through the door, hand once again in his pocket and gripping his sword as he had done with every shop so far.
Once he got into the shop he almost doubled over at the feeling in his gut. It was only his experiences in Tartarus that stopped him from groaning in pain. After all, a tugging in your gut is nothing to getting the organ torn out of your body.
He tensed as Severus entered the shop, but quickly relaxed as he saw nothing was wrong. A whisper of air to his left turned him towards the counter, and the old man standing just within reach of the shadows. No doubt to startle his customers, Percy thought, then rolled his eyes.
"Hey Mr, um, Olivander. Could you stop standing in the shadows like a stalker and help me find a wand?" Percy could feel his brother's eyebrow come up behind him, as the man stepped out of the shadows.
"Well, well. Perseus Jackson. What a pleasure to meet you." Percy was instantly on alert, fighting off memories of a dark cold room, surrounded by screams.
"Who are you, no, what are you? And how the blue fudge cookies do you know my name?"
Olivander just smiled, though he seemed a bit caught off guard with how startled Percy was with the mention of his full name. "Calm, Mr Jackson. I mean you no harm. I would have to be deaf to not have heard of your exploits. Now, let us get to business. Which is your wand hand Mr Jackson?"
Percy raised an eyebrow. "I'm ambidextrous. I usually write with my left hand but I do everything else with my right. Though I can do everything else with my left, and write with my right…" Percy trailed off, feeling Severus roll his eyes.
"Ahh, a tricky customer, eh? Never fear, I will find a wand for you. Or rather, the wand will find me to give to you. The wand does find the wizard after all."
Percy nodded, feeling the pull in his stomach increasing, pulling towards one of the righter most shelves. His eyes darted in that direction, though he pulled them back towards Olivander as the old man approached.
"Rowan and Unicorn tail, 10 inches, nice and supple." The wizard announced. Percy picked up the wand, before setting it down just as quickly. At the raised eyebrows Percy shook his head, massaging his stomach.
"It felt funny, like the way disapproval feels deep in your stomach. Oh and speaking of my stomach, my gut is pulling. It's a very odd feeling."
Oleander's eyes widened and he began muttering to himself as he put the wand back in its spot on the shelf. He grabbed another box and pulled out the wand.
"Birch and Dragon Heartstring, 11 inches, sturdy. Try this one Mr Jackson." Percy once again stretched out a hand and picked up the wand. He held it in his hand, then frowned and tilted his head to the side as though listening to something. Then his eyes widened and he chucked the wand into the box, just as the magical stick exploded. A small shockwave ran through the shop before quickly dissipating.
Olivander slowly stood from where he'd been pushed by the shockwave and he let out a slightly hysterical giggle. "Oh, more than a tricky customer, so much, much more." Percy pulled himself up from his hiding spot behind the counter and Severus shoved himself off of the chair he'd fallen on to. "So, Mr Jackson, I do believe that you know where your wand is?"
Percy nodded, his eyes fixed on the righter most shelf. The tugging in his gut was now accompanied by voices in his mind. Whispering to him and urging his being towards the shelf. A frown flitted across his face, attempting to pull away from the feeling, by the voices came back with a vengeance. His face went blank and he carefully made his way around the counter towards the shelf. Severus looked at his younger brother in concern but the boy didn't notice. His entire body felt as though he was vibrating and his being was tugged towards the shelf. A small corner of his mind that was still unnoticed by the voices, analysed the feelings and sighed a bit in quiet relief. The voices didn't feel malicious, sounding more desperate than anything. When he reached the shelf, the voices abated, as though they knew he was there. He walked next to the shelf, only casting a cursory glance over the boxes, then dismissing them and continuing on. He reached the end of the shelf and stopped as the vibrating ceased. He carefully reached over for the box and lifted it up off where it had sat.
After he made it back to the front of the store, he sat the box on the counter and opened it. Olivander lifted the wand of the satin it had sat on and held it up to the light.
"Ah. I should not been surprised. I have not seen this wand in centuries, but yes. It fits you Mr Jackson. English Oak, collected just as the sun wanes on the day of the Summer Solstice, when it is strongest. And, oh my, a triple core. Yes, I do believe that this wand has been passed down through my family for millennia, waiting for the rightful owner. Triple wand core of Kelpie Hair, Basilisk Horn and Thestral Hair. A wand for the most loyal wizard. A proficiency for both magic and non-magic creatures, witness of Death, a most decidedly deadly warrior who hides his true self behind a mask that he lets no one see through. Yes Perseus Jackson, I believe this is your wand."
Percy, who had been smiling slightly at the beginning, was frowning sadly now, though his eyes were shuttered. He nodded and, eyes still on the wand, stretched out a wand and picked it up out of the Wandmaker's hands. A bright light came from the tip, and Percy gasped. A few minutes later the light died down, and Percy's eyes, previously closed, opened. He grinned at his wand, and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.
"I feel like I'm in a sauna and ate a few of Mum's expresso jellybeans! How much for my wand, Mr Olivander?"
Olivander shook his head wryly, "Free of charge for you, Hero of Olympus. That wand would never go to anyone else. Thank you for taking it off my hands."
Percy frowned, but nodded. "Is there a, I don't know, a sheath or something?"
Olivander nodded and gestured to a small shelf just behind the counter. "A Holster, yes. You want one?" Percy nodded. "Alright then, take your pick. 3 Galleons please."
Percy chose a dark green wand holster and attached it too his wrist. "Thanks Mr Olivander." He called over his shoulder as he and his brother exited the shop after putting the money onto the counter.
"How's it feel to have a wand, Perce?" Severus eyed him.
Percy grinned, he hadn't felt this happy in years. "It's amazing. Did it feel like this for you? My arm's all warm and it feels like that spot next to my gut is alive? It's so weird!"
Severus rolled his eyes at his immature brother. "The spot you were talking about is your magical core. Most wizards never feel it, but I can help you get in touch with it if you need it."
Percy frowned, his mood plummeting. Great, I'll never be normal. Honestly, is it that difficult to be ordinary?
Severus, picking up on his poor mood, knocked his shoulders slightly. "C'mon Perce, let's get back and we can start on some basic spells and potions."
Percy nodded.
Once they were back at Headquarters Percy went up to his room to unpack. Once he was downstairs he pulled his brother towards the training room they had used that morning.