A/N:
Guess who's back, baby?!
I know, I know, it's been a while and I kind of left you all hanging there, but I've been having some personal issues as of late, and well... let's just say my attention has been elsewhere.
But no more, my friends! I promise, I have not given up on you!
Now, onto the stuff you care about: the poll. Unfortunately for those of you who wanted Drarry, you have been outvoted. But never fear, even if you had won, it wouldn't have made all that much of a difference in the plot anyway. It would have just been a sort of side thing, they wouldn't have gotten their own chapters dedicated to them or anything. And the same goes for Hinny. Anything I do do involving them will be very minor. As you can see, the main ship of this story is, of course, Percabeth. Percabeth is life. They are definitely one of my favourite couples, so I'm warning you now, there will probably be lots of fluff.
Ummm... what else? What else? I've already started writing the next chapter, so I should be able to get that out to you soon. Umm... for those of you who read my other stories, never fear, because updates will be coming to them soon, too!
Alright, I think that's it. Can I just say, I really appreciate how supportive you guys have been during my unplanned hiatus. No matter how low I get, it really does make me feel great to see all of your comments and feedback, so keep it coming!
Love you all! Goodbye, my lovelies! :3
After his little altercation with his housemates in the corridor, Percy was worried that he'd be late to his first class. Thankfully, when he and Tracey walked into their History of Magic Classroom, it seemed that the professor hadn't even arrived yet. Not-so-thankfully, that also meant that he and Tracey were left alone in an unsupervised classroom with a bunch of Gryffindors.
Across the room, Percy could see the 'Golden Trio' sitting together and whispering amongst themselves. Briefly, he debated walking over and talking to them again before deciding against it after catching sight of all the stares thrown his way.
"So... History of Magic", he said to Tracey after the two of them had sat down, "I don't remember seeing a History teacher sitting at the head table during breakfast".
"That's because there wasn't", she replied, doing her best to ignore all of the stares and whispers, "Professor Binns is a ghost. Ghosts don't need breakfast".
Percy's eyes, which had before been restlessly roaming around the room, immediately snapped to hers incredulously. "He's a ghost? Like the Bloody Baron? A proper ghost?". She nodded her head. "How many ghosts do you all have in this place?".
His mind immediately travelled to his cousin Nico, the newly named Ghost King. Nico was hard to read on a good day, but Percy was sure that he wouldn't be happy to see how many souls had escaped the Underworld in this castle alone.
He was about to ask more, but just then, they were joined by new arrivals from either end of the classroom.
Through the door filed the rest of their Slytherin classmates that they had left behind in the corridor outside the Great Hall. They were silent and their faces stony, but judging by how long it had taken them to get here, they had obviously discussed what he said. Through the blackboard floated the ghost of a stout old man he assumed was Professor Binns.
"Settle down, settle down", the ghost droned monotonously. The remaining slytherins took their seats at the back of the classroom, and the lesson began.
It only took five minutes for Percy to decide that this was by far the most boring lesson he had ever had to listen to.
His classmates, regardless of house, all seemed to agree, as most of them were staring into space or even completely asleep. The only person who seemed even remotely engaged in what the professor was droning on and on about was Hermione.
Next to her, the red-haired Ron was asleep and drooling on his desk, while Harry was not-so-subtly staring at a pretty Ravenclaw girl across the room.
Percy tried to focus, he really did, but History had never been his thing, it was always Annabeth who provided him with the necessary historical details.
Of course, seeing as how Annabeth wasn't a witch, she wasn't here, so he had to know his own historical information. This brilliant conclusion circled back to his need to focus.
"The Goblin Wars of the..."
Using a quill and a new pot of ink, he took jot notes on a spare piece of parchment- all in Ancient Greek, of course. He didn't write much, just a few dates and some short descriptions of important events, but it was enough to stimulate his brain out of vegetable mode.
It helped that they were talking about goblins. The goblins he met at Gringotts had known about his family. That made them a threat. The more he knew about them, the better.
"Is that code?". A hushed whisper from his left broke his train of thought, and his quill stopped halfway through a word.
"What?". He turned to look at Tracey who was eyeing him with curiosity shining through her hazel eyes.
"Your notes", she clarified, "What do those symbols mean?".
"Oh, um, my first language is Greek, and it's easier for me to read and write. It's just a different alphabet".
I mean, it wasn't exactly a lie.
"That's so cool. The letters are really pretty", she said, running her finger over the dried ink.
He looked down at his notes in surprise. "Yeah, I guess. I've never really noticed before".
The sound of chairs scraping and relieved chatter broke them out of their conversation. It seemed class had ended.
Percy cursed, quickly scribbling out the rest of the sentence he had been in the middle of writing before shoving the parchment in his bag. He was in the middle of putting away his ink pot and quill too when a familiar head of blond hair appeared in his peripheral.
"Draco", he acknowledged, not even turning around.
"Percy". His voice was filled with its usual haughtiness, but there was an underlying stiffness that had never been there before. The air between them suddenly became uncomfortable.
"I'm just gonna...go", Tracey said awkwardly, skirting around Harry and Ron and practically running out the door.
Draco sighed. "Look, what you said in the corridor earlier... you weren't wrong. But you weren't right either. Things have been said and done that can't be undone. Things that stretch back hundreds of years. We can't just forget all of that and move on".
"I'm not asking you to forget", Percy said, slinging his messenger bag across his body, "I'm asking you to forgive. Change has to start somewhere". The two of them began to make their way out of the classroom and towards the dungeons. "Just... trust me on this, okay? If you make the effort, things will work out, you'll see. I've had some experience with this recently".
He was, of course, referring to the joining of the Greek and Roman demigods. That had been a hassle he was not overly keen on going through again.
Draco looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments before nodding tersely.
Percy grinned. "Good", he said, clapping him on the shoulder with his real hand, "Now come on, we don't want to be late".
—
Draco told him that the next lesson on his schedule was Potions, same as him, and that the classroom was by their common room in the dungeons.
"I still don't understand why you can't read your own schedule", he asked as the pair walked across the courtyard, "You didn't grow up with your dad, so what does it matter what language he spoke?".
Percy sighed, running a hand through his hair as he searched for a way to explain without revealing anything. "It's complicated. There's something... different about the way my brain is wired- the muggles call it 'dyslexia'. It basically makes it so that the words get all jumbled up when I try to read them. I don't know why, but for whatever reason, the symbols in Greek are easier for me to read than the letters in English".
Draco frowned then shook his head, as if trying to get rid of any lingering doubts. "That still doesn't make any sense, but whatever. As long as it works, I suppose. You know, I can help you look in the library for a spell that might change the language of written texts if you want. OWLS are coming up and not being able to read the books are a major disadvantage".
Percy turned to face his friend from where he had been looking at a madly blushing Harry talking to the Ravenclaw girl from earlier across the courtyard. "Thanks, dragon", he said sincerely, clapping him on the back.
"No problem. We can go during our free period tomorrow. I'll get someone to guard the aisle while we're looking. I know how to disable all the security charms, of course, but it never hurts to be too careful with Madame Ponce". He trailed off just as the pair were reentering the building, heading for a staircase Percy recognized from his wander around the castle this morning.
"Security charms?", Percy asked skeptically, "What kind of fucked up library needs security charms?".
Draco looked shocked for the briefest of moments before his face transitioned smoothly back into it's usually stony expression. "Well that was rather crass".
'Crass'? Who uses the word crass? What is this, fucking Downton Abbey?
Percy raised an eyebrow. "I'm from New York, and you didn't answer the question".
Draco rolled his eyes but didn't comment any further. "I know a book that will have the spell we're looking for, but it's in the restricted section".
"Restricted section? I'm guessing that means we're not allowed to go there?", he asked as they went down yet another staircase.
"Yep".
"And we're going to go there anyway?".
"Uh huh". The two made their way down the last corridor where he could see a crowd of their classmates gathered outside of a door.
Percy shrugged. "Cool".
"Hey guys!", Tracey said, bounding up to them. She sobered quickly, however, when she realised the condition she had last left the two of them in. "Everything... okay now?".
"Everything's fine, Trace. Now what can you tell me about Potions? It's basically like chemistry, right?".
"Chemistry?", Draco asked, his brows furrowing in confusion, "What's that?".
"Oh, um, it's kind of complicated. I'll explain later, Draco. And yeah, basically Percy. Potions is like chemistry with, like, magic mixed in... sort of. It's actually a bit more complex than that, but... oh just wait and see. Despite his shortcomings, Professor Snape is actually a pretty good teacher", she said.
"Huh". Percy shrugged, but before he could say anymore, the door to their classroom creaked open of its own accord. He looked around for some sort of explanation, but nobody else seemed to find anything odd or out of sorts about the action.
"The doors are charmed not to open until class starts to give the professors a bit of privacy between classes", Tracey explained, seeing his confusion. "I don't know why they bother with Professor Snape, though. He's pretty much never here".
They found their seats on the far side of the classroom, and Percy frowned as he noticed that all of the Slytherins were isolated against all the other houses.
"Percy", Draco called from behind him, drawing his attention away from the problem that just seemed to get bigger every time he looked at how to solve it, "This is Crabbe and Goyle, they'll be helping us tomorrow". Goyle nodded in greeting, but Crabbe just grunted and turned back to messing with his cauldron.
Percy turned to his friend with a raised eyebrow, but he just shrugged as the two found their seats. "They're both dumb as a rock, but they're loyal, and we need someone to watch the aisle just in case".
Percy shrugged, not really caring either way, before his eyes lit up with a hint of amusement. "Are their names really Crabbe and Goyle? Their parents must not have liked them very much".
Draco rolled his eyes. "No, those are their last names, but they won't respond to their first names, so...". Percy burst out laughing, only serving to make his friend's scowl deepen. "Stop it! Everybody's staring!", he hissed. And they were, but Percy didn't care.
"So what?!", he challenged, "Gods, you're all wound up tight enough to burst".
He was still laughing slightly when Professor Snape himself swept into the room, causing a hush to fall over everybody but him.
"And what, pray tell, is so funny Mr. Jackson?", he drawled, coming to stand right in front of them at the front of the room. The rest of the class fell completely silent, waiting to see what would happen.
Percy cocked his head. "Nothing sir. Just a joke". Percy had met Snape back at the Order's headquarters before school had started. He wasn't a huge fan of the man's constant moodiness, but pushing his buttons had become a sort of game to him whenever they were both there. He found watching him simmer to be endlessly entertaining, especially when they both knew he couldn't retaliate.
Now was one of those times, and Percy felt a grin break out on his face as Snape was forced to turn away and begin the class.
"Before we begin today's lesson", he said, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions.
Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are", he said, gaze flittering around the classroom, "I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your OWL or suffer my... displeasure". Across the classroom, every student, regardless of house, seemed to get decidedly more nervous.
Percy raised an eyebrow as he looked around. "Shortcomings, yeah, that's one word for it", he scoffed under his breath.
"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me. I only take the very best into my NEWT Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye". Snape shot Percy a rather annoyed glare at that before his gaze settled decidedly on Harry. Percy was faintly impressed when the boy stared right back with a defiant gleam in his eye.
At least the 'Chosen One' wasn't a push-over.
"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell", he continued after a few moments of silence, "so whether you are intending to attempt NEWT or not, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students".
"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation". Percy snapped to attention at that. A potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation could be really useful back at camp. He wasn't the only one to suffer from PTSD, and as skilled as the Apollo campers were at healing physical injuries, they couldn't really do much to help. But this could.
In the background, Snape continued on speaking about precautions and the proper materials, but Percy zoned him out in favour of looking through his bag for a piece of parchment and his quill.
"What are you doing?", Draco hissed, eyes still facing the front so they wouldn't be called out.
"What does it look like I'm doing?", he replied snarkily.
Where was his ink pot?
"Aha!", he said triumphantly.
"—the ingredients are on the blackboard. Start", Snape finished giving instructions just as Percy was able to organise his writing equipment.
People began moving around the classroom with low chatter, so Draco was able to speak to him at normal volume, "You don't need those things for Potions".
"I know, Dragon", he replied impatiently, "But I want to copy the potion down to study later". It was only a little lie.
"You don't need to do that, though", he insisted, "It's all in the book".
Percy frowned, turning to face his friend for the first time since their conversation started. "What? But he said it was on the blackboard?".
Draco shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess it's there, too. But they're the same".
"Are they?", he asked.
"Well of course they are!", Draco said in exasperation, "Professor Snape can't teach us something that's not in the book. Now come on, we have to get our materials". Percy shrugged and followed after him towards the store cupboard. "Now let's see...". Draco muttered the list of ingredients under his breath, occasionally looking over his shoulder to check the board as he stacked everything they needed in Percy's arms.
"Ewww. What is this thing?", Percy asked, holding up a dirty jar filled with a suspiciously murky liquid.
"Fermented salamander tears", Draco replied distractedly, grabbing one last thing off the shelf.
Percy set the sketchy bean jar down first when they got back to their workstation, taking care to place it as far away from him as he could. "Okay. Whats the first step?". Draco shifted the ingredients around to try and make space on the table, but it just wasn't big enough. "What are you doing?", Percy asked, eyeing the murky jar cautiously.
"There's no room for the book. You're taking up all the space with your parchment!", Draco replied, scowling.
"It's on the board. Just read it from there!'.
"Fine", he huffed, "Combine two counts of salamander tears with three pinches of goofer dust over a low flame. Stir counterclockwise five times".
"Goofer dust?", Percy asked skeptically, "What the—You know what, never mind, I'm not even going to ask". He still wasn't used to writing with a quill and ink, so by the time he copied down even just that first line of instructions (in Greek of course), Draco had already done it.
They continued on like that for the rest of the class; Draco read the instructions out loud for him, and he copied them down while Draco carried them out. The classroom was soon filled with various coloured fumes and smells, and as the class drew ever closer to its end, their classmates grew increasingly flustered in the heat and pressure.
"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion", Snape announced as he paced the room. Percy looked up from his notes and grinned triumphantly. The mist over their cauldron wasn't silver so much as a sort of grey, but that was close enough, right? Besides, looking around at everybody else's work, it seemed that even their less-than-perfect product was one of the best. Behind them, Goyle's potion had thickened to the colour and consistency of tar. Every once and a while, a bubble would pop at the surface, releasing fumes Percy was eighty percent sure were toxic.
Snape made his rounds around the classroom, giving only the occasional derisive snort or scoff as comment. He said nothing at all as he passed their workstation, which was the closest to a compliment they would probably ever get out of him. As he reached Harry's cauldron, however, he stopped completely. "Potter, what is this supposed to be?". Percy looked over and frowned as he saw Harry's potion. He could tell it wasn't right, but it wasn't that bad. Certainly not bad enough to warrant special attention.
Harry scowled. "What'd you think it's supposed to be?", he snapped.
"Five points from Gryffindor", Snape replied automatically. "Tell me, Potter, can you read?". Draco snickered, and Percy frowned and elbowed him in the ribs to get him to show up. This was not what he meant by forgive and move on.
"Yes, I can", Harry replied, fist tightening into a ball under the table.
"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter". Percy shook his head at what almost sounded like enjoyment in Snape's voice. He knew he was an asshole, but really? Bullying kids? That's a new low.
"Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of hellebore". Harry's face dropped in realisation.
"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?", Snape asked smugly.
"No", he replied quietly.
"I beg your pardon?".
"No sir", Harry repeated through gritted teeth, "I forgot the hellebore".
"I know you did Potter", Snape gloated, "Which means that this mess is utterly worthless". He waved his wand, and Harry's potion disappeared from his cauldron.
"Those of you have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing. Homework — twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion making, to be handed in on Thursday."
The tense silence broke as students began moving around the room to do as he asked. Draco left to deliver a flagon (whatever that was) of their potion to Snape while Percy cleared up. The whole time he kept watch out of the corner of his eye to see what the 'Golden Trio's reaction would be.
'Uh oh', he thought as he watched Harry storm from the room. It seemed teenage hormones struck again. Percy tried to think back to when he was 15. He didn't remember ever being that moody, but then again, the only emotion he could really remember from that time was his massive crush on Annabeth.
The thought of Annabeth made him smile to himself sadly. He missed her: her stormy grey eyes and hair that always smelled like strawberries and lemons, the way she would crinkle up her nose when—
"Hey!".
He jumped, blinking at his friends standing in front of him in confusion, "What?".
"You were staring at the wall. We called you three times", Draco said in annoyance.
"You okay, Percy?", Tracey asked.
"Yeah, yeah I'm alright", he replied, shaking the last vestiges of his daydream from his head. He packed up the last of his things before joining them by the door.
'That settles it', he thought to himself as they made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch, 'I'm seeing Annabeth. Tonight'.