(15th May EDIT: Some might not see this, but my updates will dead slow – emphasis on the dead – this month, for sure. Sorry, but it's a bad writer's block and I'm travelling a lot this month… my bad!)
A: I think we have a winner with Catie Cat. My focus was on Pettigrew, Silena and Luke. But you've branched out! Good job, Child of Dreams.
Eagle Dreamer: I really wish I had a strict schedule for updates. But I'm pretty busy irl. My goal is to put up each chapter on Sundays. Once a week updating is also tough, so I can't always stick to it. As you can see, it's been pretty awful. I'm busy this summer. This month's updates will most definitely be late. But I will definitely finish this series. I swear.
shadow7193: Thank you so much! It means a lot.
Here you go, percyjacksonfan135.
Warning: Some swearing.
Listening to: Hit and Run by Breathe Carolina
Friday, 7th, September.
8:05 p.m. – Hogwarts.
"Harry?" Ron called, peeking into their dorm. "Hermione's already downstairs. Everyone's left for dinner."
"Hold on." Harry mumbled. He threw a few clothes into the air, wildly in search of a tiny bauble.
It should be here somewhere, he reasoned. He'd turned all his stuff inside out to find it. He'd completely forgotten about it while he was in London, but he hadn't taken it out at all, so it should be in his bag or trunk.
"What're you searching fo –"
"My knut!"
Harry started to take out his books and shake them, hoping for the small coin to fall off. Hedwig was perched on the window sill, looking worried. She stayed a safe distance from him. Ron stopped to his right and leaned against a bed post.
"Your nut? Which side?"
Harry gave him a withering glare. "My bronze coin, you git. I can't find it."
Ron nodded. "You're lucky coin?"
"Yes!"
"Now that you can't find it, is that unlucky or….?"
"You're a riot a minute, Ron. Just… get down here and help me."
Ron sighed but kneeled beside Harry to look through his bag. "Hey, you brought your… tele-phone?"
"Mobile phone." Harry corrected, absentminded. "I'm going to make it work in Hogwarts?"
"What for? You have Sirius' two way mirror, don't you?"
Harry shrugged, "It'll be fun."
Ron shook his head. "Harry, trust me. You of all people will find it the toughest to activate it."
Harry stopped searching. "What d'you mean?"
They stared at each other. Ron raised his eyebrows. "It's… don't you know?"
"Know what?"
Harry watched as Ron blinked in confusion. "Wait… you really don't know? You aren't pulling my leg or–"
He sat back and folded his arms. Ron sighed. "Your accidental magic. I mean, you must have noticed it."
"I don't do accidental magic! I'm fifteen!"
Ron grimaced. Harry huffed. Accidental magic generally happened to children usually below the ages of seven or at the most, eleven, before they received their school letters of acceptance. But Ron was staring at him as though it was obvious. Harry had excellent control over his magic and Core. Except when he got angry, but those were –"
"Mate." Ron whispered, as though there was someone else in the room. "Sometimes, when you get really stressed, I can see… I can see the flux. Around you."
"No." Harry muttered. "I'm fifteen. I'm not a bloody kid. I can control –"
"It's only when you're stressed." Ron repeated. "Like the time in Grimmauld Place? When Sirius and Snape nearly burnt the kitchen table? Yeah, I could see it then. It was just for a second, but it was pretty clear."
Harry frowned. "Could everyone see it?"
"I dunno about that. I saw it because I was looking over at the sauce on the stove that was right behind you. I remember that. There was the green and black – like glow, I guess, around your back. It was quick. It made the lights flicker."
Ron sat back on his heels to watch Harry process the information. It felt surreal. Harry knew he had small counts of uncontrolled magic, like the time he'd blown up Monster Marge. He'd made the lights flicker then too.
"Are you telling me that my magic is especially adverse to electricity?"
"Something like that."
Harry raised a hand to run it through his hair. That explained why his previous attempts to try alter the make up of mobiles failed in certain explosive ways. May be that's why people discouraged any kind of interaction between magic and electricity. May be a lot of them had seen their children react badly to muggle machinery and thus, stayed clear of it. Of course there were some whose magic was rather conducive with all kinds of machines. Harry had seen Dumbledore switch on the lights and fans in a room with just a wave of his hand.
It was bothersome.
"Damn." Harry muttered.
Ron looked apologetic as he clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You'll think of another way, I'm sure. Look, it's time. Cedric's gonna call any minute."
Harry shut his belongings, rather quiet. He'd have to tackle that another way, Ron was right. But he thought about the scene in the kitchen. He was definitely stressed. But as a wizard receiving training, he shouldn't have lost control, like that.
Green and black. Harry smiled as they went down the stairs. That was a nice combination. It reminded him of the scales of a garden snake he'd once seen. The green slashes on vivid black coat made the snake look like it would have been a hit at a night rave party.
Hermione was sitting on the rug, legs stretched towards the fire place. Crookshanks was napping on her lap, though his tail twitched every so often. She looked up at them as they sat down beside her.
"He hasn't called yet." She said, unsmiling. "It's fifteen past eight."
"When do aurors get to go home?" Ron asked, leaning against the front of the couch. "It's not exactly an eight to five job."
"Auror trainee." Harry muttered, staring at the unlit hearth. "They'll probably have irregular hours as well."
Hermione exhaled and shifted her legs as Crookshanks moved in his sleep, purring. "What took you so long?"
Ron gave Harry a dramatic head roll. The latter conceded. "I was searching for my knut."
"Pardon?"
Ron coughed. Harry gritted his teeth. "My lucky coin, Hermione. I can't find it."
"Oh! Oh, thank goodness. I mean, that's bad. When did you last see it?"
Harry let his head fall backwards onto the couch. He remembered having it at Camp. He'd hidden it in his bag after his encounter with the Oracle. But he had taken it out after they reached home. He definitely had taken it out afterwards. But had he left the house with it? It wasn't very clear. It felt like he could have…
Harry sat up, hands shaking. No… no, no, no,…
He'd had it the day they went to Diagon Alley. He remembered playing around with it as usual while looking at the guitar collection. He'd later slipped it in his pocket after he met Tonks' friend, Adalberto. After that, he remembered Ajax telling him that he'd body searched him and removed everything, including his wand, wallet, phone and his coin.
Harry swore loudly just as the heart lit up and Cedric's face emerged from the flames. Ron and Hermione jumped and stared at him and even the ex-student stared.
"I'm sorry that I'm late, Harry." Cedric said, startled. Harry buried his face in his hands.
"I'm gonna kill him. Next time I see him, he's dead. I'll rip his head off, bastard stole my knut!"
Cedric gave a surprised sound. Behind him, Ron and Hermione could hear someone choking on laughter.
Harry glared up at Cedric. "You're late!"
"Yeah… sorry. I have company."
The trio leaned forwards. "What? Then what was all the secrecy for?"
Cedric said. "It's more of a precaution. I didn't want to send you a letter by owl because I know they're all screened, especially when it comes to you. I can't risk that because… well, it's a good thing you're sitting down, it's going to take a while."
"Better make it fast, people finish eating by 8:40, at least." Ron said. "What's so important?"
"A lot. First off, let me introduce my friend to you, Zachariah Belstone. He's been helping me with this for a while."
Next to Cedric, another face appeared. Amidst the red flames, Harry could see blond curls and a sharp outline of the jaw. The newcomer grinned. "So this is what the Gryffindor common room looks like, eh?"
"What house were you in?" Hermione asked.
"Slytherin."
Harry, Ron and Hermione froze. Cedric gave a sigh, "Guys, it's fine. I trust him. And house distinctions are the least of our worries now. Like you said, Ron, we don't have enough time, so let's get to it."
Cedric gave them a brief explanation about what he'd been faced with since joining the Aurors.
"It starts with a whole lot of paperwork and practice. The dueling, the fighting. But last week, Zach and I went on our first mission. It was a group raid in Borgin and Burkes. Someone had tipped us off that there were death eaters planning to meet up there."
"Who gave you the tip? Did you catch anyone?" Harry jumped in.
"Wait a minute?" Hermione interrupted. "Why are you telling us about your suspicions? You're working for the Aurors!"
Zach sighed. "See, this is the problem with non-linear narratives. People find it so hard to understand until we reach a certain snippet that pieces everything together."
Cedric tilted his head. "Alright. Fine. As of late, there's been a lot of commotion within the Ministry. Fudge keeps locking himself up in his office with secret meetings and Bones and Umbridge can't meet eye-to-eye on anything. The Prophet isn't giving all the details and the only people who really know everything are the DMLE because they're the worst gossips you'll ever meet."
"Could you get to the point?" Ron asked.
Cedric sat up and the flames went higher. "The Unspeakables went on a strike yesterday."
"… what?"
"The Unspeakables! They work in the Department of Mysteries. It's a secure facility within the main building." He explained. "It started with Lucius Malfoy's involvement in the Wizengamot's decision on upgrade security. He isn't part of the staff but has a lot of leeway and that caused a problem on its own."
"Malfoy's a Death Eater." Harry said immediately.
"Yeah, we figured." Zach nodded. "The first war ended with him being cleared of all charges, but many aurors still had a lot of suspicion on certain people. That's not the point, though!"
"The point is, people are on high alert." Cedric continued. "Everyone knows that You-Know-Who and his supporters are out and about and now people are suspecting Ministry workers as well."
"So, what's the problem?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Isn't that a good thing that people aren't dropping their guards?"
"Well, for one, it's not good for anyone to keep suspecting everyone around them. It lowers the moral. And another, it causes a lot of mistrust between close associates. This morning, two Wizengamot officials resigned. The papers won't print it unless they have some excuse that won't scare everyone."
Cedric shared a look with Zach before inhaling deeply. "And, we know about the Order."
Harry flinched. Hermione stared and Ron groaned. The secret of the Order couldn't have just slipped. Something big must have happened. But Sirius or Remus hadn't said a word and Dumbledore and McGonagall didn't seem to act out of place either.
"We know Dumbledore had a secret group that actively stood up to You-Know-Who." Zach said. "There were all sorts of rumours flying today that the group is back. I heard from the cleaning staff that it was called the Order of the Phoenix, but that's such a pretentious name that I dismissed it. But everyone keeps whispering about it and it's not an easy thing to ignore."
The trio stayed silent. Cedric sighed and Zach made a face like he'd tasted something sour.
"Where did the rumours start from?" Hermione whispered.
"Not sure. It sprung up about midday. But I remember Widdershins spouting nonsense about secret groups nearly two weeks ago. He was arrested for… some pranks, but he had a lot to say." Zach muttered. "Now, we're telling you this because we don't know who the Order comprises, but it's clear that you know."
Harry cursed silently. He thought he knew where this was going.
"We're not in a secret group, if that's what you think." Ron said, narrowing his eyes.
"We're sure you know the people who are in the secret group aforementioned." Zach snapped.
Hermione exhaled. Harry caught her move her head, out of the corner of his eye. He wished she didn't. It made it more obvious that they did know the Order and its members.
"What do you want?" Harry finally asked.
Cedric nodded. "Just… ask them if they'd be willing to recruit people."
Ron leaned, surprised. "You want to join?"
"He wants to fight." Zach corrected. "Hero boy here, wants to give You-Know-Who the ol' one and two."
"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "Cedric, that's dangerous!"
"It's not like that!" Cedric countered, giving Zach a glare. "Being an Auror trainee is great and all, if you exclude the mound of paperwork the actual aurors are giving us because they're too lazy, but I can really help make a difference. I mean, just tell someone from the Order to at least consider me."
"Cedric…" Harry's voice went quiet. "Have you really thought about this?"
"Yes. Harry, don't worry. I know –"
"Does Cho know?"
Cedric winced. "Um, I haven't told her about the rumours…"
Harry tried to put himself in Cedric's place. Being a Triwizard champion and winner, choosing a vocation of auror, having to put up with dealing with the reality of danger and acknowledging it, wanting to do something about it. At least, he was eighteen and could do something. Sirius had specifically forbidden Harry from actively participating in any Order meetings except for the once that he absolutely needed because he was one of Voldemort's top targets.
On the other hand, Zach seemed to be tagging along. If he was smart enough to figure out what the rumours meant and brave enough to join in with Cedric in the floo call, he could be a member, no problem. Harry didn't know him, though. But he trusted Cedric.
"I'll talk to them." He told the trainees. Ron shrugged and Hermione seemed resigned. "It'll be up to them, so don't put your hopes up."
Considering that Tonks was in the Order, Cedric might be able to get in as well. But Tonks was well trained and had exceptional skills despite her age. Not to mention, she was recommended by Mad-Eye, which alone spoke of her abilities. They might turn down Cedric just because he was too nice.
"You know, we thought you had some secret information that you wanted to share with us." Ron said, offhandedly, obviously disappointed with the lack of scandal. Or, maybe that was Harry.
Zach chortled. "Cedric, you haven't told them the best part."
"You were the one who said, 'linear narra – ' oh, fine. Rita Skeeter showed up yesterday."
Now it was interesting. Hermione sat up, having harboured a complete hate relationship with her.
"What did she do?"
"Her usual bull. Skeeter always knows when and where to show up. It's like a gift, I swear. I won't be surprised if there's a new article by her in the Prophet within a few days, completely mummifying all the stuff happening now." Zach vented.
"Yeah, but who did she talk to?" Hermione insisted.
Cedric frowned. "I know she tried to question Malfoy, but he left the moment he saw her. I get the feeling she was there about the Unspeakables, but no one outside the Ministry knew that. It's popular now, but everything was hushed up yesterday."
Suddenly, Zach's face disappeared from the flames. Harry sat up as Cedric turned around. "Damn. We need to go. Let me know about the Order through Cho. But don't tell her the exact thing!"
"Alright. Bye, Ced." They leaned back as Cedric too left the call and the fire died.
Ron coughed again, rubbing the side of his face roughly. He looked done with the conversation.
"How could the secret get out this fast?" Hermione asked, thinking in a furious pace. She was still staring at the hearth.
"Someone must have let it slip. My gold is on Dung." Ron hit the floor with his fist.
Harry stood up, walked towards the portrait hole and then walked to the boys' staircase. He turned and repeated the pattern a few times. "Unspeakables work in the Department of Mysteries, he said?"
Hermione looked up. "Yes. I met them. They're very serious about their work. I was at the Ministry for my Core evaluation. They don't have names on their identifications and all they did was ask questions and test my range. There were healers who did the rest."
"Same thing with me." Ron nodded. "I don't think they even spoke with me. Well, one did. But the others were like the suits of armour in the castle. They just stood there and watched. It was creepy as hell."
"What exactly is the Department of Mysteries?"
"All I know is that they do a lot of experimentation down there. No one knows for sure. Unless you work there, you won't have clearance." Hermione said.
"So… if two Wizengamot officials have quit, shouldn't we have already heard about it on the wireless? What if it's being hushed up?" Harry reasoned.
"Unless Skeeter weeds it out of them." Ron pointed out.
"It's strange." Hermione frowned. "How could she know? She was there the day they'd resigned. Cedric's right. It's like she knows the right things. It's like she knows where from to get her information."
"What? Like she spies on people?" Harry asked, still pacing around.
"Like…" Hermione's eyes widened. "A spy?"
Ron blinked. "Skeeter, a spy? Who for?"
"No, not Skeeter! The person who slipped the secret of the Order!"
Harry stopped in his tracks. "A spy? In the Order?"
"Bloody – " Ron cut himself off. "You don't think…"
Hermione stood up, hair in disarray. "As far as I know, we're still not sure who let Voldemort into the grounds during the third task. We don't even know who put your name in the Goblet of Fire!"
"Crap."
"And remember Sirius and Remus talking about the thing in… in Italy?" Hermione asked Ron. "They were talking about not wanting to trust him. They were talking about someone in the Order!"
"What? I don't know this." Harry said.
Ron turned to him and stood up to plop himself onto the couch. "I'd flooed Hermione over the summer after you were in the hospital. My parents said that they weren't letting anyone outside family visit you and we were thinking of sending you some stuff together when I heard Sirius and Remus apparate into the yard."
Harry was surprised at that. He didn't know Sirius had gone to the Burrow. In fact, he didn't know Remus or him were well acquainted with the Weasleys.
"Why were they there?"
"Something about Italy. They wanted to get a clock made, like the one we have. That and they wanted to complain about Dumbledore. Something about a weapon."
"What weapon?"
Ron shrugged. "That's all they said. Something about 'removing the weapon'. They didn't explain because my parents knew what they were talking about. Sirius was talking about Dumbledore's far reaching plan and how it didn't work for him. They were talking about not wanting to trust him and one other person."
Harry shifted, scuffing his feet on the ground. "That might be Snape. Dumbledore's always trusted him. Sirius hates him."
"Oh." Ron said, looking deflated. "I guess so… But Snape's too obvious a spy. And remember we did accuse him once and we were wrong."
"It's like you want Mundungus to be the spy." Hermione said exasperated. "But, wait. Does this actually mean that there is a … a traitor?"
Harry felt a shiver go down his spine. To think that there may be someone who could dismantle the entire Order…
"Snape wasn't there… he wasn't with Voldemort that night." Harry told them. "There were about ten Death Eaters, I think. They were in masks, but none of them were Snape, I remember that much."
They stared at each other solemnly. Harry knew what the other two were thinking. The likelihood that there was a spy… it was unpleasant to think of it. He wanted them to be wrong. But it couldn't be an accident that the Ministry was aware of the Order now. What if the wrong people knew who exactly were in the Order? Kingsley and Tonks, Amelia Bones and a few others who worked there would be in danger. There was a reason why it was supposed to be a secret.
Voldemort wasn't even in the country and he was already causing havoc.
Friday, 14 September
Two weeks in and Percy thought that school wasn't so bad as before. It probably had something to do with a new imaginary friend whispering helpful tips on how to take notes. Tom was excellent at reading. For the first time, the numbers actually stayed motionless on the pages of his textbook. Even after a lot of prodding, nothing moved and Percy nearly started to giggle. Tom would raise an eyebrow like 'really? Pay attention!'
The first week of the term was filled with the usual out-of-place sensation that he'd always felt. The strangest things to happen were his dreams where Tom was present without fail.
And one morning, he showed up in class.
For some reason, Percy didn't feel too alarmed. Students were walking in dropping into their seats and Tom, taller than anyone, strolls right to the back where Percy (for once) reached pretty early. Tom winked. Percy blinked.
He didn't question it.
It had felt like a dream. Not a demigod one, just a regular nonsensical dream where he'd doubt nothing and went along with whatever ridiculous scenario happened.
Years ago, he remembered sitting on a lawn chair o a large ship, sailing away from England. Flo had appeared pretty much out of nowhere. Percy had missed Harry so much that he was glad for interaction with someone who understood.
Now, Tom's presence was apparently the same. Sudden and natural. He integrated himself into Percy's life by helping him with the assignments, repeating what the teachers asked and helping him look through the dyslexia to understand what was written. The second week was different by a large margin.
Percy felt so buoyant that that Friday, he was bouncing on his feet by the gates, waiting for Nico. Tom had disappeared the moment the last bell had rung. Percy loved his mind. Apparently, it was creative enough to come up with a study buddy who practically did all the work for him.
Rachel stood next to him. She had no clue about Tom's existence. No one did. He was invisible to them.
"So…" Rachel muttered. Percy nodded, not really paying attention. Nico was running late.
"Soccer season's starting pretty soon." Rachel said. "I'm planning to go for try outs."
"Hmm?" Percy said, turning towards her. "Cool. Are you any good?"
"Yeah! I mean, I've never played in a team, but I've always been good with solo shots and stuff." She shrugged. "Can't hurt to try, right?"
"No." He agreed, turning towards the middle school building. The crowd of kids leaving had reduced but he still couldn't see Nico. They always walked home together. Percy's good mood started to filter away. Had something happened?
"Okay! So, I'm going for it next Saturday!" Rachel chirped. "Say, would you like to… you know… come along? Like, just for company –"
"Where is he?" Percy asked, standing on his toes and leaning, trying to catch any sight of his cousin. A stony feeling developed in the pit of his stomach. They'd gone two weeks without any monster incidents. What if something happened?
"I'm sure he's fin – "
Just then, they spotted a small group of kids stumble out of the building. Two of them were holding onto a boy in the middle and Percy swore that he could see blood on Nico's face all the way from where they were standing.
Rachel swore while Percy was already heading towards them. Nico was walking fine, but his face looked bruised enough to set off alarm bells.
"Nico!" he called jogging over to the fifth graders. They kids looked up, surprised to see a high school teen acknowledge them.
"Hey." Nico muttered, turning away quickly, but Percy caught a black eye and nose bleed. He clenched his fists. Monsters usually didn't punch demigods in the face. They had claws. This was a mortal fight.
Oh gods, Nico got into a school yard fight.
"You need ice." Rachel said, catching up to them. Nico grimaced and sat down on one of the outdoor lunch table and seats.
"What happened?"
Nico shrugged, looking at his feet. Percy exhaled, looking around to his friends. Nico had enjoyed school considerably. He hadn't had any complaints since the first day and everyone thought it was going well.
"It's my fault." A boy next to Nico muttered. He had large brown bangs that seemed to cover half his pale face and had prominent Mongolian features. Percy stared until he realized that the kid looked painfully shy. He had a perfect New York accent and could not look Percy in the eye.
"It's not your fault Ashley!" A girl on the other side of Nico argued. She looked like she was ready to fight someone. "It was that stupid dick!"
Rachel chuckled. Percy coughed. "Er… who?"
"Dick! He's a real jerk. And yeah, that's his name!" She said.
"Richard does not know that other people exist." Nico said, finally looking up. Percy tried not to wince. His nose looked out of alignment as well. It looked a little swollen.
"Ok, forget Richard. You need ice." Percy said firmly. "The nurse's station might still be open."
"It's not. We checked. And the cafeteria's closed too." Ashley said, apologetically.
Rachel reached into her bag for a pack of wet tissues. "I could drop you off. I'm going by car."
"It's fine." Nico said accepting the tissue and dodging Percy's outstretched hand that had been about to inspect his face. "I can walk."
"But –"
Nico looked at Percy pointedly.
"Er, it's fine, Rachel. It's only twenty minutes." Percy conceded. Nico got up and Percy took his bag.
"I think your nose is broken." Another kid said, biting his lip. Nico shook his head.
"Nah. It just looks bad. It's not hurting much. Dick can't throw a punch to save his life."
"Maybe. But go to a doctor, please. Plus, next week is gonna be awful." The girl said.
"Why?" Percy asked. Even Nico looked curious.
She leaned her head forwards. "Dick's brother is not going to take it lying down. He's a freakin' Junior! Last year, Ray talked back to Dick and Ward went all Hulk on him and got suspended!"
"Ward Forsythe?" Rachel said, incredulous. "Damn, he's on the Football team. I've seen him knock three guys in one tackle."
Percy sighed. "Okay. That's nice. Nico, let's get you home."
"Bye." Nico told his friends. They waved back.
Percy fit his skateboard half way into his own bag and slung it beside Nico's on his shoulder. They left the campus and reached the main road. Once they were out of sight of the others, Nico said. "Side pouch. One square."
Percy frowned. "Nico, I really want you to heal, but if you go back on Monday without a mark on your face, people will ask questions."
Nico groaned. "Stupid Dick!"
A pedestrian walking in the opposite direction looked down his nose at Nico. Nico huffed and kept walking. "Sorry." Percy said. Then he tilted his head and said. "Actually, we can just put a band aid on you for Monday. Here you go."
He reached for the Ambrosia square in the subtly marked space inside the pouch. It was one of the many well hidden slots in the bag that one couldn't find unless they knew what they were looking for.
Nico held the tissue to his eye as he chewed. Percy watched as the swelling of his nose went down.
"So…. what happened?"
Nico heaved a dramatic sigh. "It was nothing! Ash, me and Denise were talking about our homework because we got grouped for a project and Dick's just there pushing Ash around. He's been doing that for years because his parents are rich and all. He started yelling all those curse words that Harry stopped saying. Except when Dick says it it's a whole lot worse. So I tripped him."
Nico said it in a matter of fact tone. Percy had a feeling that rooming with Harry had its downside after all.
"Well, D – Richard, I mean, was wrong. I'm glad you stopped him. I was wondering –"
"How I let him hit me?" Nico's voice soured.
"Hey, that's not it. I meant, well, you're faster than –"
"Regular mortal, yeah I know. He just caught me off guard. But I socked it to him right in the gut and he started crying!"
Percy tried to smile. "That's good…"
Nico looked a little dismayed. "He started it. Ash really looked scared. I couldn't just let –"
"No, Nico, you're right. Richard's a bully. He has no right to make anyone so upset. I'm glad you stood up to him. Tell me about your friends."
Percy smiled as Nico explained about Ashley Tenzin, Denise Luca and Gil Oren, all of whom sat around Nico in homeroom every day. He seemed to have gotten along with them quite easily.
"And Gil has two moms! It's so awesome. He told us all about his adoption and then I told him I'm adopted too and Gil, Denise and Ash have been friends since first grade. Did you know Denise can do a hand stand? I wanna learn how…"
Percy was listening intently all the way home. Nico had switched from surly defender to hyper super fan. They reached the apartment and took the lift. Nico was still explaining about the month's project when Tom leaned in and whispered. "Ward Forsythe will come after him."
Percy kept nodding and smiling at Nico. I know.
"What will you do?"
Percy stared at the reflective doors of the elevator in which he could see Tom's profile.
"I'm hungry. Didn't Remus say he'd make tea? Let's go to Frost."
What can I do?
"Sure."
"Nico knows the rules. Your 'demigod' status won't help. He can't beat up someone of Forsythe's stature and make it look realistic."
Sally wasn't home yet. Percy and Nico dropped their bags in their room and used the heart to Floo to Frost. They were hit with the usual disorientation. Percy dusted the soot off of him and they headed for the kitchen.
Rosalie and Remus were at the table with tea and 'chips.' Nico happily attacked the plate.
"Just in time for dinner." Rosalie said, amused. She held a blood red lollipop in her hand. Percy stared at it, wondering if that was what he thought it was.
"Nico." Remus said, a little worried. "You'll choke."
" 'M fimf."
"The teachers won't help. If Forsythe's parents really has power –"
"Will you stop that?" Percy whispered. Unfortunately, the werewolf and vampire senses caught him and Remus and Rosalie turned to look at him curiously.
"Stop what?" She asked.
"Um… there's a buzzing in my ear."
Tom was standing right next to Percy. It was amazing how no one else could see him. He was helpful with school stuff, but sometimes, his whispering just got on Percy's nerves. Tom always whispered even though no one could hear him. Percy's chest felt taut as he leaned away.
"That's from the hunger." Nico explained, pushing the plate towards him. Percy smiled.
"What will you do?"
Chiron had drilled it into their heads. The mist could only help so much. Nico's quick healing with Ambrosia was easily masked from the humans, but in a fist fight, there was no way Nico could disguise the fact that he could out-kick and out-punch the meanest of mortal bullies. Percy had been through petty fights, he had to get hit or else people watching…
What was he thinking?!
I'll tell Mr. Blofis. Percy decided firmly. Goode was known for taking in troublesome kids and reducing violence. Of course they'd have a programme to work on even if it was with spoiled rich kids.
Tom stepped back from Percy's shoulder and faded from sight. Sometimes, Percy had to wonder at what age kids stopped having imaginary friends.
The reason why Percy's part is so short is that I don't have time. Next chapter will have more focus on Percy, Tom and Ginny… hopefully. But I got to introduce some proper plot and characters. Stay tuned, everyone!
Q: Was Rita Skeeter ever arrested for her illegal Animagi status?
Cabba.
