Well. It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, things just got so busy that I never had time to do anything. School's been killer, and now I have finals to worry about. But enough about me, you've been waiting patiently for the chapter. (Disclaimer: NO. Just stop. I do not write bestselling books.)

Harry POV:

All he remembered was water. He didn't know what had happened down there, as he told Professor Moody repeatedly when asked.

He didn't know what spell Percy used to breathe underwater, sir. He didn't know what had grabbed him, sir. Yes, he would be more careful next time, sir.

It was very tiring.

He sat up in his hospital bed, assuring Madam Pomfrey that he was okay for the seventh time. Ron and Hermione stood a little away from his bed, talking in hushed tones. Percy leaned against the stone wall by the double doors, deep in thought.

Madam Pomfrey finally let him leave after several minutes of needling. He strode quickly out the door with his friends, hoping she wouldn't change her mind. Percy followed behind them.

"So…" Ron started, breaking the silence. "You don't remember anything?"

"No." Harry said tersely. He didn't want to be questioned anymore. In fact, he kind of wanted to talk to Percy, and ask him what had happened in the lake. Percy had told Professor Moody that he didn't know, but Harry had a feeling that he was lying.

The group was silent as they made their way up to the Gryffindor tower, where Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole. The common room was, miraculously, empty He gave Ron and Hermione a look, which they had perfected over the years. It basically meant, "I'll catch up with you later, I have to do something." They nodded, and each made their excuses to go up to their dormitories.

Harry sat in one of the armchairs by the fire, thoroughly exhausted. He'd never expected that the day would end up like this. Percy sat in the other chair, but he didn't say anything.

They held the silence for a while, until Harry blurted out, "Thank you."

Percy looked at him, startled. "Anyone would've done it. I just happened to be there."

Harry shook his head. It was starting to sink in that if Percy hadn't gone after him, he'd be dead right now.

"No," he said, leaning back in his chair thoughtfully. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling that no one else could have done what you did."

Percy said nothing, just stared at a spot on the floor.

Harry broke the silence again.

"Do you know what happened? In the lake, I mean"

Percy looked up hesitantly, and said, "I thought you would." When Harry shook his head no, he continued. "My best guess would be some kind of current. It probably swept you off your feet, and then you were too disoriented to swim back to the surface."

Harry was doubtful, but he could feel Percy's suggestion taking root in his brain. After a few moments consideration, he was convinced.

Percy looked at him in concern. "Are you okay? It looked like you zoned out for a second."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry said. Percy looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "Knock it off."

"You know," Harry began, "if you hadn't gone after me, I wouldn't be sitting here."

Percy ducked his head modestly. "Don't mention it. You would've done it for me."

At that moment, they were interrupted by none other than the Weasley twins.

Fred ducked through the portrait hole, talking loudly to George, who was following behind him.

"-such a git." Fred was saying. "We should send him an owl- oh, hey Harry."

The twins walked over to where the two were sitting and leaned against the backs of the armchairs. George squinted at Percy and asked, "Hey, aren't you new?"

Percy turned and looked up at him. "Yeah. Transferred from Ilvermony."

George propped himself up on one elbow and turned his head towards Fred.

"Fred, isn't that the American school?"

"Yeah!"

George looked back at Percy. "Why didn't your school come for the tournament?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know, good question."

George beamed at him. "I like asking those. Don't I, Fred?"

Fred nodded vigorously.

"Oh, sorry!" George said, "Fred, we completely forgot to introduce ourselves."

Fred did a dramatic faint, putting a hand to his forehead and falling to the ground behind Harry's chair. He popped back up, grinning.

"Well-" Fred started.

"That's Fred-" said George.

"And that's George." said Fred.

"We're twins." they said in unison. Percy blinked.

"No kidding," he commented dryly. He stood from his chair and held out a hand to George.

"I'm Percy Jackson." George shook his hand vigorously. "So I've heard. You know, our brother has that same name… would you like a sweet?" He pulled a brightly wrapped piece of candy from his pocket, which Harry recognized as one of their pranks. Fred caught his eye, and shook his head with a wink.

As it turned out, he didn't have to warn Percy about it.

Percy looked at the package that George offered him, and a look of amusement flashed across his face. It was gone so quickly, though, that Harry wasn't sure he'd even seen it.

"Sure," Percy said easily, reaching out to take it. Harry was about to tell him about the prank, but Percy had paused upon opening it.

"It really wouldn't be fair to eat this whole thing," he said to the twins innocently. Fred's eyes widened slightly, but he waved his hand and said, "Think of it as a welcome present."

"No, really." Percy insisted. "We should share it."

"We're… not hungry," said Fred. George nodded.

Percy was already unwrapping it, though. It was a delicious looking tart, probably raspberry or strawberry. He broke it into three pieces, handing two of them to a flustered Fred and George, and taking the third for himself. He turned his head toward Harry and winked, almost imperceptibly. Harry stifled a laugh.

"We had some a while ago," said George quickly.

"Okay, it's fine," Percy replied casually. "I don't really want to grow rabbit ears either."

George nodded, looking relieved. Fred's eyes almost popped out of his head, and he elbowed George.

Percy laughed. It was infectious, and soon Harry was laughing too.

"You guys almost got me," Percy snorted out, hands on his knees. "Good thing I know a pair of pranking twins myself!" He paused for a moment, then said, "Well, they aren't really twins, but everyone thinks they are."

Fred and George stood, dumbfounded. "You-wha-huh?" George managed.

Percy calmed himself down a little to explain again. "I know another pair of prank brothers back home. They pulled that exact same trick once, so I knew what to expect."

"But how did you know about the rabbit ears?" Fred asked.

"I saw someone in the hallway with them. I figured it wasn't just a coincidence that she was holding this." He held up the bright purple wrapper.

Fred and George were very flustered, but eventually started to laugh with Percy and Harry. The conversation drifted onto other things.

"So, Percy. Are you entering the tournament?" Fred asked, leaning on an armchair. "You look old enough."

Percy shook his head. "I'm trying to stop doing dangerous things. My girlfriend would probably kill me if I put my name in the cup, plus I already have enough on my plate."

Fred and George straightened eagerly. "Did you say girlfriend?" they asked in unison. Harry was kind of interested himself- he had a vague feeling he'd already known, but thinking about it made his head hurt.

Percy blushed as Fred and George bombarded him with questions, all three of them ending up in laughter again.

"Okay, okay," George exclaimed, trying to stop chuckling. "So what's she like?"

Percy smiled. "She's smart, and strong. And beautiful. Did I mention that she's strong? She could probably break my arm if she wanted to."

George blanched. "Are all girls like that?"

"No," Percy laughed. "She's one of a kind"

Looking relieved, George changed the subject again. "So you aren't putting your name in? Pity."

He looked at Fred, and continued in a low voice. "Fred and I are. We turn seventeen in a month, so we made a little potion to speed up the process." He patted the pocket of his robes confidently.

"Are you sure that'll work?" Harry asked. Dumbledore was a skilled wizard, and some considered him to be the best. If he made an age line, Harry was pretty sure that nothing underage would get past it.

"Positive." Fred said.

Harry shrugged, but he still wasn't convinced.

Percy seemed to be thinking the same thing, but apparently decided against saying anything.

"Well, Percy, it was a pleasure to meet you. If you'll excuse us, we have… business… to take care of." said George as he and Fred made their way up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

Harry glanced at Percy and saw barely concealed laughter in his eyes. "It's not going to work, is it?"

Percy shook his head and erupted in silent giggles. Harry couldn't help but join in, ending up doubled over and gasping for breath. The two made their way back to the armchairs, where they sat with heavy thumps.

"Percy," Harry said suddenly. "How did you stay underwater for so long? I mean, you must have broken some kind of record."

Percy's grin disappeared as quickly as breakfast in the Burrow. His face took a guarded expression, which Harry was kind of used to seeing.

"Well, um… I used to...I was kind of...not…" he trailed off, looking like his mind was going a mile a minute. He brightened, though, and flashed Harry a reassuring grin.

"I did competitive, um, free diving. I can hold my breath for a really long time. Because of, you know… my… endurance training?" The last part came out as more of a question, and Harry raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Yeah, my school had this program for athletes… and stuff. We were also pretty close to the ocean, so it was easy to practice." Percy seemed to be trying to convince himself. Harry shrugged and decided to let it go; everyone had secrets, it was just a matter of who they felt they could trust. For some reason, Harry wanted to have that kind of trust with Percy, like he did with Ron and Hermione.

*** Time skip

After dinner that night, Harry was still reeling from it all. It seemed like everyone he knew had come up to him, demanding to know if he was okay. Even Professor McGonagall patted his shoulder in passing. Throughout the whole meal, Harry kept his head down and tried to make small talk with Ron, Hermione, and Percy, but the staring was very distracting.

The Durmstrang boy that Percy had saved was also getting a lot of attention; because he was practically standing on the Slytherin table, waving his hands animatedly and doing a dramatic retelling of the whole afternoon. More than once, Percy received awed looks from almost the entire table. Harry saw Malfoy talking quietly with Crabbe and Goyle, staring unblinkingly at Percy as he did so. It made him nervous.

Percy didn't seem to care about any of it, though. It was like he was used to it. The whispers, and open staring, all of it. He just shoveled baked potato into his mouth and talked to Ron and Hermione about the Charms homework they'd received on Friday.

The three of them seemed to be getting along really well. Almost, Harry thought, like friends. He guessed that the incident by the lake that afternoon had brought them together. It was a pleasant change from Hermione's suspicious questions and Ron's open dislike.

As if on cue, Hermione and Ron laughed at some joke that Percy had told, Ron almost snorting pumpkin juice through his nose.

Harry smiled, relieved that they were all getting along. Other than that sea monster almost drowning him, the day had been great.

Wait, what? Harry sat up straight and tried to remember what he had just been thinking about, but it slipped away, out of reach. It had been something about the lake…

He banged a fist on the table in frustration, startling several second years who were sitting next to him. His friends looked at him in concern, and Percy's grin transformed into a frown of recognition.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked gently.

"Yes." he said curtly. He was sorry for a moment, but the frustration took over again, driving him to stand and say, "I'm just tired. See you in the morning."

He strode out the doors of the Great Hall, relieved when he found the stairs empty. He made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower and retreated to his dormitory, ignoring the few people in the common room.

He had just changed and was about to go to sleep when he heard someone coming up the stairs. Percy emerged from the darkness, his eyes questioning.

Harry sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry. I just… had trouble remembering something, and it made me really angry."

Percy made his way to his own bed, pulling off his shoes as he did. "I had amnesia once. I couldn't remember anything. Just my name."

He sat on his trunk thoughtfully. "And my girlfriend. I remembered her more clearly than anything else."

Harry was intrigued by the story, and had to restrain himself from asking what had given him amnesia in the first place.

"My memory eventually came back, though." he said. Whatever it is, it's probably temporary."

Harry nodded appreciatively. He was thankful that Percy didn't just tell him it was his imagination, probably just a small lapse of memory.

He crawled beneath his covers and took off his glasses, setting them on his nightstand. Percy did the same, taking what looked like a pen out of his pocket and putting it under his pillow. That confused Harry, but he was learning not to ask.

The two lay there in the dark for what felt like hours, though it was probably more like ten minutes before Harry fell asleep.

It's done. Finally. When Winter Break gets here, I'll hopefully have time to write a few more chapters. BTW, I haven't forgotten about my promise to redo the first couple chapters of my other stories and then write another one, I just haven't had ANY time. I'll get to it. Reviews!

Sycamxre: I appreciate the review, and those random words were so... interesting. And random. Not sure what prompted that, but thanks anyway!

Jinglebells852: I hope I satisfied your request! Unfortunately, this was definitely more of a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Alexandra Goddess of Heroes: Thank you! That made my day when I read it!

unknown: True. So True. Thanks for the review!

PineconeFace1222: Hmm. I thought it meant bandage. Whoops! I hope it didn't ruin the story for you!

Sacera: Wow, this really made my day. I'm sorry I couldn't update earlier, like I said, I was very very busy. But I'm glad you like my story so much!

Welp, that's all for now. New chapters coming soon, to this story and the Gift of Gods, have a happy holiday, whatever you may celebrate!

Peace out,

LadyHW