Percy entered the Great Hall through a small door near the teacher's table, and took his seat beside Professor Grubbly-Plank, the substitute teacher for Care of Magical Creatures subject. She is set to teach while Rubeus Hagrid, the main Professor for Care of Magical Creatures, is absent due to his duties in the Order. He and Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons have been on a diplomatic mission with the giants in the mainland, which turned into a disaster. The last time they heard from them was when Madame Maxime sent a message, saying that she's going back to her school and that she parted ways with Hagrid in France due to reasons still unknown to everyone except the two of them. Ever since Hagrid took over the Care of Magical Creature teaching position, it sort of became a tradition for the owner of the post of have the game keeping but one look on Professor Grubbly-Plank shows why Professor Dumbledore chose not to continue the tradition this year: Professor Grubbly-Plank, like Professore McGonagall and Dumbledore, looks so old she should be UNESCO World Heritage Site. Percy distractedly wondered if any Muggle-born submitted a petition.

He looked at the Great Hall, and took it all in. It isn't the greatest and most extravagant hall that he's been to, gods love having castles for their homes and visiting the Olympian throne room will change anyone's standard on architecture, but there's something about the place that draws you into it. Maybe it's the fact that, just like the castle that contains it and the land surrounding it, the Great Hall shows one things that is out of your expectations. The ceiling is charmed to reflect the state of the weather directly above it, in the air floats hundreds, perhaps thousands even of lighted candles, and ghosts spot the hall here and there. Of course, any magical castle will almost definitely be out of one's expectations, but Hogwarts really is a league of its own, its thousands of years giving it multiple layers of surprises, good and bad. And also, one must not forget that the Olympian throne room is the meeting venue for more than ten all-powerful beings, it's not really a place with a hospitable aura.

He glanced at the Gryffindor table and saw Ginny talking and laughing with people her age. A few meters away from her, are the twins, Fred and George, who both waved at him. Seeing them made Percy frown. He forgot to build a sort of surveillance system at the Forest edge. He would have to build it tonight, he's sure that the twins' mischief would start almost immediately and it will definitely give a sting to his reputation if someone dies at the first night of the school year. Almost across them, are Harry, Hermione, and Ron, the Hogwarts' resident amateur detective trio, staring at the central part of the teacher's table. He doesn't need to glance to where they were looking at to know who currently holds their interest. It will no doubt be Dolores Umbridge, surely wearing pink clothes, surely looking like a particularly poisonous tree frog. He hopes that those troublesome kids see the obvious warning signs the frog-woman is unconsciously sending to everyone and give her a wide berth.

He put the possible "golden trio versus Umbridge" problem in his mental "Possible Problems to Prepare For" closet for now, and hope that he will really be able to prepare for it since he has a notorious habit of letting some problems sit and idle until it grows big enough to swallow everyone, something that he's never been able to remove from his character. Maybe he'll continue contemplating about it in the morning, when he would have enough time to spare.

Without any warning, thee doors from the entrance hall opened, revealing Professor McGonagall carrying a stool with a wizard's hat on top of it, a wizard's hat so very old, heavily patched and with a wide rip near the frayed brim, that Percy thought that the hat shouldn't be in a school, it should be in a museum. Behind her is a long line of scared-looking kids, apparently Percy's effort to relieve their tension is for naught, not even an adult will be able to relax under Professor McGonagall stern 'no funny business allowed' gaze.

The Great Hall was suddenly covered in a blanket of silence, as everyone stopped what they were doing and watches the new arrival gather in front of the staff table while Professor McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them, then stood back.

Percy looked at the pale, scared faces of the first years and found Euan Abercrombie right in the middle; looking so terrified his whole body seemed to be trembling. Right beside him is Demetri Fitch, looking so calm and collected, he almost looked bored. While he is looking at them, he watched Demetri place his hand on Euan's shoulder and say something at him. Euan nodded on whatever Demetri said tom him, looking a little less terrified about the whole thing, making Percy smile a little. He really hope that the two kids become good friends, and so far, so good.

Suddenly, the wizard's hat on the stool suddenly began to sing, surprising Percy:

In times of old when I new

And Hogwarts barely even started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted. . .

Percy raised his eyebrows at the Sorting Hat. He forgot about this thing about the hat: every year before starting the Sorting, the Sorting Hat sings a song as a welcome for everybody. Percy drowned out the Hat's song; singing has never been his thing. A certain deity of music has killed his would be passion for it before it can even bloom.

Percy wondered if the Hat had things to keep it occupied for the rest of the year. It looks likes it is sentient, the four founders of the school put a portion of their minds into it after all, but wouldn't it be a sorry kind of life if the only thing it does is sing and sort students into the houses once every start of the school year, with nothing to do in between. Oh, of course there's the incident when Harry Potter drew the Sword of Gryffindor from it when he faced the giant basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, but surely there aren't always giant serpents to slay every year. And if a true Gryffindor can draw the sword from it in times of need, what about a true Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin? Can a true Ravenclaw draw Rowena's personal lecture notes from it?

He was taken out of his reminiscing when the hall erupted into applause. The Sorting Hat must have ended its surely awesome song. But the applause looked half-hearted, with the audience muttering, whispering and exchanging remarks with each other. It kind of looks like a kindergarten talent show where the audience only clap to be polite. Maybe the song wasn't so awesome after all.

"Wow, they must have not liked that very much," Percy muttered quietly mostly to himself. He felt sorry for the hat, it wrote the song for a year for this exact moment, and the target audience looks like they don't like it very much. He wondered if a time will comes that people got used so much to the idea that they won't burst into applause to the Sorting Hats song anymore. It will be a very sad time for the hat.

"Not really," Professor Grubbly-Plank said to him. Apparently she heard what he just muttered. Sharp ears, Percy thought. "It's just that the Sorting Hat added something new this year, instead of just describing the Houses and its own role in sorting the new students."

"Really, now," Percy exclaimed. Not he wished he listened to the song. "What's the new thing it added this year?"

"Someone's not listening," Professor Grubbly-Plank remarked, giving Percy a slight smile.

"Music's never been my thing," Percy explained. There's no use in pretending.

"Like I said, the Sorting Hat usually sings about itself and the four Houses," Professor Grubbly-Plank said. "But tonight, it added about the Founders' strife with each other and how it almost destroyed the school they strived so much to build. Also, it gave a warning, about how disunity would be the end of us all."

"Disunity would be the end of us all," Percy repeated. It oddly sounds like it was taken from a part of a prophecy. Percy hated prophecies. "Sounds like a fortune you get from fake Seers on the sidewalks."

Professor Grubbly-Plank looked like she wanted to say something more, but she was interrupted by Professor McGonagall, who called the first student to be Sorted.

"Abercrombie, Euan."

"Oooh," Percy said excitedly, turning his laser focus on the terrified green-eyed blond stumbling towards the stool. "It's starting."

The hat was silent for a moment, and then the rip near the brim opened up and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" shocking Percy. He guessed he would be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat obviously thought otherwise. It probably knew what it was doing, he's been doing it for at least a thousand years.

"That was a surprise," Percy said, voicing his thoughts.

Professor Grubbly-Plank chuckled. "The Sorting does know what it's doing. If it thinks that kid would be best in Gryffindor, then the kid would be best in Gryffindor. It has the minds of the four founders after all."

Slowly, too slow for Percy's tastes, the first years were Sorted one by one. "This is taking too long," he complained. "The Founders should have made a few spare Sorting Hats for when there's an amazing amount of firsties." They're not even half way done and it already feels like his stomach is eating itself. He should've sneaked a few biscuits from the castle kitchen earlier.

But when Professor McGonagall called, "Fitch, Demetri!" that Percy's focus returned full force on the event. The kid's calm as a sleeping sloth but his calculating eyes scanning the place gives him the impression of a tiger watching his prey. Might be Gryffindor or Slytherin.

The kid went into the stool with calm and composure one would not expect of someone not yet in their puberty. In fact, it's not something one would expect to see from a teenager. Percy knows he's not that calm and composed during his first night in Camp Half-Blood. But of course, there's a Minotaur chasing him and he thought his mother is dead and Grover is unconscious so everyone would just have to forgive him for not having a calm and composed demeanour.

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Fitch's head, and then stepped back to wait for the Sorting Hat's verdict. For the previous students, the verdict came almost immediately after it was placed on the students' head, the longest time was on a dark haired girl that was placed into Ravenclaw which took less than five seconds. But the Sorting Hat seems to be taking its time on Fitch's case.

"Seems like the Sorting Hat is having a hard time on this one," Percy said as the students started to murmur amongst themselves. The Hat is already sitting on Fitch's head for more than a minute and it's still as still as a normal hat.

"How much is the chance that the Hat got broken?" he asked Professor Grubbly-Plank. The hat is at least a thousand years old, and he's seen numerous things succumb in fewer years than this one.

"Very low," professor Grubbly-Plank answered. "There have been incidents like these before, though they are rare and occur far in between. This kid," she nodded in Fitch's direction, "is most likely compatible with at least two Houses and that's why the Sorting Hat is taking this long: it is deliberating which House the kid will fit in the most."

"I have to say this though," she added after a moment. "This has to be the longest Sorting I've seen."

"Yeah," Percy agreed with her. "This is also the longest Sorting I've ever seen." Which is technically true; this is just his first Sorting, and this kid is already sitting there with the Sorting Hat in his head for nearly three minutes without any indication of being Sorted. "Which House do you think he's going to be Sorted into?" he asked Professor Grubbly-Plank just for fun.

"Hmmm," Professor Grubbly-Plank thought about his question. "Well, I think he might be in Gryffindor."

"Me too," Percy agreed with her. "Even the mystery of Sorting didn't rattle this kid. If that didn't do the trick on him, only a few things would."

Percy's stomach growled loudly, reminding him of his hunger. He silently wondered if he should sneak out into the kitchen and get some bread.

Finally, the Sorting Hat mercifully opened its mouth and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Oh, thank the heavens," Percy exclaimed as he clapped along with the Hufflepuff table and the staff as Demetri joined his school family. He's one student closer to having his dinner.

With an irritatingly slow but sure pace, the group of first years waiting to be Sorted thinned. Percy was on the verge of sneaking into the kitchen to have some appetizers when Professor mercifully and miraculously called the last first year, "Zeller, Rose!" so Percy decided suck up his hunger for a few more seconds. He clapped louder than everyone in the Hall when the Sorting Hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF" for the last time this year.

Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet as Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and stool and marched them away. He is obviously in his comfort zone: relaxed and comfortable, unlike during Order meetings, where he looked older than he his hundred years because of stress. One doesn't have to be his close friend to know that he's happy to be back to being a teacher responsible for an ancient school not a general responsible with the future of the wizarding world. On look at Dumbledore in front of the whole student body of Hogwarts and Percy knew that for the old guy, teaching is not a job but a profession.

"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips. "Welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Percy had never loved Dumbledore the way he does right now for keeping his welcoming speech short. His stomach gave a rumble of appreciation as the tables magically filled with food. There were dishes of vegetables, bread, sauces, pastas, flagons of pumpkin juice, and many more. He's a little disappointed that there's no pizza or coke, but you can't have anything. At least, there's steak.

Percy didn't waste any time filling his plate with his first (and definitely not the last) serving of steak, boiled vegetables, and mashed potatoes. He immediately dived into his plate, not coming up for air until he'd eat all of it. He grabbed a cup of pumpkin juice and drank it leisurely when he felt eyes on him. Not surprisingly, three people, two boys and a girl, are staring at him at the Gryffindor table.

Percy smiled at them, raising his cup in their direction as a gesture of recognition. As expected, Ronald Weasley is not happy at all at seeing him in Hogwarts. Harry has an unhappy expression on his face too, mixed with no small amount of irritation; the teen had obviously deduced that Percy is here for added protection and probably, stalking. Hermione just looked exasperated.

Percy decided to not worry about them, it's not as if he likes this acting / guarding / stalking / gamkeeping stint he's got going on right now. And if the Order wants to add babysitting teenage moods to the mix, Percy will put his foot down; not even a thousand Galleons a month will be enough as compensation for the trouble. So he will just ignore the issue until he can't.

In the meantime, he is luckily sitting next to a magical zoology / veterinary medicine / animal training specialist, and he will be take this very awesome opportunity to get her opinion regarding on how to solve his current job dilemma: the Hogwarts' messed up ecosystem.

Now, Percy will be the very first to admit that, though he can be many things (soldier, leader, guard, and carpenter to name a few), he is not an ecologist. But, being a famed tour guide in a national park in Alaska for what seemed like a lifetime ago, he would often have to accompany some scientist doing research or surveys on the wildlife and that taught him a thing or two about the field.

One thing he learned is that the introduction of a foreign species into an ecosystem could mess it up to the point of driving one or two species into extinction. It happened in the islands where the dodo bird used to live when the incoming explorers explicitly hunted them and unknowingly introduced mice (who eventually preyed on dodo eggs) in the islands, driving it to extinction. But the worst example Percy know, a scientist taught him, is what happened in New Zealand. The colonizers from Europe who rediscovered the island had this idea of turning it to the "other England" so introduced plants and animals to the place. Percy didn't need to be a scientist to tell him what happened next.

So, maybe after living and making a living around wild life for almost a year or maybe he has an inner satyr somewhere, but he certainly don't want that to happen to the land on his watch. During his first walk in the Forbidden Forest he observed one thing: the absence of prey. The only tracks he saw were those of the thestrals, and occasionally, of unicorns and hipogriffs. Unfortunately, the woods have been infested with acromantulas, cerberuses, and skrewts, plus the not so brief presences of dementors during Sirius' escape and the dragons and a sphinx from the previous Triwizard tournament. All those apex predators in one place will certainly drive away prey (dementors aren't predators of flesh, and aren't very much interested with non-human prey, but hey, no normal creature would want to have dementors as their neighbours). Now, he needs to know about the natural inhabitants of the forest and sure, he can search the school library for literature, but his schedule is already hectic as it is with the game keeping and posing as a foreign student and asking an expert conveniently seated beside him will save him so much time.

Percy wore his most winning smile and turned to his seatmate. "Hey," he said to get Grubbly-Plank's attention, reaching a huge plate of fried chicken. "I don't think we've been introduced yet. I am Percy Jackson," he offered his hand for a handshake. "I'm the temporary gamekeeper."

Professor Grubbly-Plank shook his hand, also offering a little smile. "Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, temporary Care of Magical Creatures professor."

"I must say," Percy leaned into Professor Grubbly – Plank's personal space. "It is nice to meet a fellow temporary employee."

Professor Grubbly – Plank chuckled at what he said, watching him eat a piece of chicken leg. "Likewise. I admit, that I was somewhat hesitant to accept Dumbledore's offer. It's only when he said that I wouldn't have to do any game keeping this year that I accepted the job."

Percy could see why she wouldn't want to take the game keeping job. Honestly, what's going on in Dumbledore's mind that he would want a senior citizen which is almost half his age to do a job as taxing as game keeping? "I was hesitant too," Percy said. "At first I thought that he would offer me a teaching job," he chuckled at the image of him teaching magic to children. "But thankfully it just this game keeping job."

"Not a children person?" Professor Grubbly – Plank asked.

Percy thought hard about that question for a moment. "Not really. Kids love me, and I love them back," he finally said, recalling the kids in Camp Half-blood and the occasional little tourists in Glacier Bay. "I mean, if you want someone to play and have fun with the kids, I'm your guy –" he pointed to himself " – but, I don't think that I have enough patience for something as serious as teaching."

"Not everyone is made for the noble profession of teaching," Professor Grubbly – Plank said in understanding.

"True that," Percy said in agreement. "And, I'm more of a practical person anyway. I kind of like reading, in fact, it's a hobby of mine, but I only read the things that catch my interest. There's no way you can force to me read about something if it is boring. Anyway," he changed the subject, "I am the gamekeeper for only a few days, and I have noticed a very big problem, and I am hoping that you can give some advice about it. You know, as the resident expert on magical creatures."

"What is it?" Professor Grubbly – Plank asked.

"Well," Percy turned to face her, his food now forgotten. "The forest's ecosystem seems to be in a mess. There's definitely an overpopulation of acromantulas, a number of magically developed giant beetle – scorpion crossbreeds, and a cerberus. But there's almost no prey, in fact, the only tracts I've seen are those of unicorns, plus those of thestrals and hippogriffs, both of which are domesticated by the school. Is that how the woods are since before?"

Professor Grubbly –Plank shook her head. "No, it's not," she said sadly. "I have been the substitute professor for Care of Magical Creature for almost two decades now, and the forest before is entirely different from what it is now."

Percy groaned at Professor Grubbly – Plank's answer. So, the forest is indeed collapsing. He and the Care of Magical Creatures professor don't need to exchange words to know what the other is thinking. If this continues, all of the prey in the Forbidden Forest will either die out or flee into other habitats. In the absence of prey, the acromantulas, will also have to find for other hunting grounds. Percy has to control the problem here in Hogwarts before the giant spiders start moving to other land and give England a giant spider infestation.

Looks like Percy will have to kill more giant spiders in the future. Rubeus Hagrid will not like that, if he's anything like the things Percy heard about the big guy.

"Can you give me a list of the creatures that used to live in the forest before this whole fiasco showed itself?" Percy requested, his attention returning to the Professor Grubbly – Plank. "It would really help me save time."

"I can give you a presumptive list," offered Professor Grubbly – Plank. "But if you want to have a complete list at hand, then you have no choice but to look for books on Hogwarts flora and fauna."

"I guess I would have to find time to go to the library," Percy in resignation. Time isn't exactly a luxury he has.

"If there's any book about it at all," Professor Grubbly – Plank informed him. "The Hogwarts land is, as you know, a private property. So it is harder to gain approval for a scientific study here compared to a public property."

"So I might be doing this blind, after all," Percy asked no one in particular, making a face at the prospect. He is liking this job less and less as this conversation goes on. "No matter," he rallied himself. "If there is nothing in the library, I still have your list. And I can always ask the headmaster about it. He's been here in the castle since he's a first year students a few hundred years ago, he's bound to know a thing or two about this."

"That's the spirit!" Grubbly – Plank cheered, clapping him in the back. "Seems like you've got hectic months ahead of you. Good luck. You can do it, Dumbledore wouldn't have hired you if you can't."

Before Percy could thank Professor Grubbly – Plank for the mini pep talk, his attention was diverted into Dumbledore, who got to his feet once more. Talking ceased almost immediately as all turned to face the headmaster.

"Well, now that we are digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start – of – term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now." Percy saw Harry, Ronald, and Hermione exchange smirks at that. A few seats behind them, the Weasley twins are also smirking at each other with another Gryffindor boy.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty – second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor area number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."

Percy couldn't help but snort at what he heard. As if one could stop a young wizard from doing magic in a castle built for magical education filled of people with magic talents. And the 'list of forbidden objects' might as well be renamed the 'list the caretaker is begging everyone to obtain,' especially with students like Fred and George.

"We have three changes in staffing this year," Dumbledore continued. "We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Perseus Jackson, who will be the Gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys.' A polite and bored applause followed, given by both the students and the staff. "Also, Mr. Jackson is planning to take the O.W.L.S this academic year, so the fourth years will be seeing him in a few of their classes." Many heads turned to stare in Percy's direction. He couldn't blame them, even in a normal school, he's never heard of a student being a member of the staff at the same time.

"We are delighted to welcome back Professor Grubbly – Plank, who will be taking are of Magical Creatures classes; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." Another applause followed, but Percy can see that many of the students are now getting bored with the speech.

Dumbledore continued. "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the –"

He broke off, looking inquiringly at Professor Umbridge. Percy was surprised to find out the she is standing, as she was not much taller standing than sitting. In fact, there was an almost funny, silent moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking, but when Professor said, "Hem, hem," it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat back down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. The other members of the staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's (the Herbology teacher) eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair, Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as Percy had ever seen it (and he'd seen a lot, being at receiving end of it several times in the past), and Professor Flitwick was looking shocked and scandalized at his customized seat. Even Professor Grubbly – Plank was staring incredulously at Professor Umbridge, not believing what the new teacher just did. Only Snape was able to control his reaction. He looked like he always did every tie Percy sees him, devoid of emotion. But Percy can see the unease almost perfectly hidden in his eyes. Percy, in his case, put on a mask of mild amusement and curiosity, there is no need for open hostility for now. Now is a time to assess a possible opponent.

Umbridge had most likely graduated from this school, so she must know that new teachers just don't interrupt a senior at their first night on the job, even a normal person knew that. But she still did it. There might be something important from what she's going to say.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high – pitched, breathy, and a little girlish. Percy felt a sudden, powerful rush of irritation and dislike for the toad – looking woman. She gave another throat – clearing cough ("Hem, hem") and continued. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" she smiled, revealing very pointed teeth, quite similar to those of a python. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me."

None of the students look happy, on the contrary the look mildly insulted at being addressed as though they were five years old.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to b of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Umbridge paused and made a little bow to her fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back. Percy wouldn't have bowed either if he's a part of the teaching staff. Her speech, though well-made and well-performed, is boring as hell. Why don't she cut the crap out of what she's about to say and get to her point?

Professor gave another little "Hem, hem" and went on with her speech. "Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts had brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay." Percy forced himself to stay focused on what she is saying. He's got this feeling that the juicy part is close.

"There again, progress for progress' sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation must be found and maintained because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned." She smiled at her audience, most of which stopped listening to her ages ago, and spread her arms wide as if she's going to embrace someone. "Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be protected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

She sat down. Dumbledore clapped. The teaching staff followed his lead, though several of them brought their hands only once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech. Dumbledore stood up again.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said, bowing to her before continuing his own speech.

Oh yes, it was, Percy thought. To other people, the speech would have just a normal speech by an excited teacher. But to the people who had been with the Order of the Phoenix, who knew about the Ministry and Dumbledore's recent relationship, knew better. Cleverly hidden in the harmless words is the intention of the Ministry.

Professor Umbridge, in behalf of the Ministry of Magic of England, just made a declaration of war. And the battle has started the moment she stood up and opened her mouth.