Chapter XI: Ever been late to a meeting with Annabeth? Word of Advice, DON'T
Percy looked at the now emptied plate with a bit of regret. The pumpkin pastries were delish, and the meat pie he didn't know the name of was superb. He wished he'd eaten more. Seeing his disappointed look, Lily's mouth opened slightly of shock. He didn't mind; he'd been told multiple times that he had an ability to inhale food.
After a long, but not entirely important speech, and a round of singing the school song (James sang loudly next to him, joining the lines of a very rapid beat that almost sounded like a rap to him), the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, declared it was time for bed.
Of course, as soon as that little word was said, his eyes immediately darted to Annabeth. She was staring at him as well, and they communicated with their eyes, careful not to let anybody know. It went like this:
'Catch you later?'
'Definitely. Can you make it till….' He couldn't make out the time. He made a 'what' sign with his eyes. Annabeth held up two pointer fingers, indicating the number eleven.
'Gotcha.'
"See you then. Don't you DARE be late.'
He gulped slightly. As he did, a clear voice rang out, breaking their eye contact. All around the hall, the prefects of each house (It was like the mortal class presidents) gathered each of their house members around them.
"Right, Gryffindors, follow me!" said the guy prefect of his house. Percy believed his name was…. Daniel something. All the boys lined up behind him, and Percy joined the others hurriedly as Lily lined up behind the girl prefect, Rebecca something.
The gathered students followed the two prefects and marched up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. On their way, the prefects explained the students where each staircase led to, which staircases to avoid, and areas they shouldn't be going.
As they proceeded up the stairs, Daniel frowned. "That's funny, why isn't Peeves….?" "Peeves?" Rebecca asked back. "Come to think of it, I don't hear any first-year screams either…." They both seemed confused. Percy was as well.
"Who's Peeves?" He whispered to the person next to him, thinking it was Lily. When no one answered, he turned to see a frail boy with shaggy light brown hair. Hazel eyes were widened in surprise. "Are… Are you talking to me?" The boy asked.
"Oh, sorry man, thought you were my friend." He said sheepishly, before turning bright again. "Well, I've spoken to you, so might as well ask you this question! Maybe you know the answer to my question, unless it's a bit rude to ask….?"
"Oh, no trouble at all." He replied, smiling in return now. "From what I know, Peeves is the poltergeist-basically, just think him as a ghost with much more ill intentions (he said, looking at Percy's clueless look)- that haunts Hogwarts and play nasty tricks on people. I've heard that he was famous for playing pranks on the first years, but he doesn't seem to have appeared today, which is odd."
"Hmm…." At the back of his brain, Percy remembered the ghosts' frantic movements. If the polter-thingy (Yes, he forgot its name) was basically like a ghost…. It made sense that it was being cautious, whatever that was about.
"Well, thanks…. Uh, sorry, your name? I'm Percy."
"Name's Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you!" said the boy, Remus, smiling as he shook Percy's outstretched hand. He really liked this guy. He was nice and seemed to be pretty cool to talk to. The boys talked with each other until they finally came to a stop in front of a portrait of a very fat lady.
"Listen closely," said Daniel, "Because you won't make it inside the common room unless you know the password. Here- Rebecca?" The girl nodded and stepped up to the portrait. And to his amazement, the lady began to move inside the portrait.
"Password?"
"Shrivelfig."
"Precisely." The lady nodded and swung forward, opening the door that was conveniently hidden behind the painting. All the first years followed the prefects inside the portrait hole. Percy joined them and stared in amazement at the cozy room.
Two sets of spiral staircases led up to two dormitories, one for boys and one for girls. A merry fire blazed in the fireplace, with some of the older students that came before them passed out on the comfy couches in front of them. Red and gold rang out from every corner and the lion of Gryffindor stood tall and regal on the walls.
When they entered, older students all turned their heads in their direction and began to speak loudly.
"First years!"
"Oh look at them, they are so tiny!"
"You still are, Jack-"
"I told you not to call me that! I'm JAQUELINE, Fuzz foot! And I am NOT tiny!"
"Speak for yourself, Jackie!" The common room roared into laughter. The first years stared at their elders with interest as the girl, Jaqueline, continued to bicker around with the boy she'd called 'Fuzz foot'.
"Now, first years!" Rebecca clapped, getting their attention in the middle of the mayhem. "You all must be tired from the long journey today, and the stressful sorting. Girls, follow me up to your new dorms and boys, follow Daniel up to yours. Come along, now!" Rebecca and Daniel both ignored the intense arguments, simply sighing like they were used to it. The first years sniggered at the heated sight, while following their respective prefects up the stairs.
'See you later!'
'Good night!'
He and Lily mouthed to each other as her group began to move up first to the staircase to the girl's dorms. Then his group, the boys' group moved up along, up the staircase to their brand-new residence. Remus was right next to him as they did.
"Alright little lions, go and find your names. The names listed on the plaque on the door will be your roommates for the next 7 years unless something happens, so please try to avoid fighting with them!" said Daniel reaching the end of the staircase. "If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask the older students. Well, to cut the bloody speech, you may now freely go find your rooms. Move, move!"
Like a trigger, first years burst from the order they were barely keeping and burst into chatters and sprints. A few people seemed to be extremely satisfied with their arrangements, while others seemed disappointed. Percy too joined them and searched for the door with his name on it until he finally found it.
The roommates didn't seem too bad. It read:
Sirius Black
Perseus Jackson
Remus Lupin
James Potter
It was cool that Remus was with him, but about the other two…. He was interested in them, them seeming like fun people to hang out with, but after seeing them laugh at Severus…. He wasn't so sure anymore.
"Great! We're rooming together!" came an unmistakable cheery voice from behind. It was of course, James Potter, with a pleased looking Sirius Black right beside him. "And you, might you be Remus Lupin?" he asked, spreading his hands dramatically towards Remus, who was right next to him.
"Real lucky, you two are," said Sirius, smiling coyly. "You get to room with us. Hogwarts is going to be so much more interesting now."
"Right you are! School seems like it'll be fun. Right, Remus?"
"Me? I suppose it'll be interesting at the very least…."
'Yeah,' agreed Percy. 'This will be a very interesting year.'
ㅡ
Annabeth sped down the spiral staircase of Ravenclaw tower. An hour before, when everyone had first come up the infamous steps of the tower, all except her had been out of breath. Even the older students were a huff and puff, and some of the better-built people who seemed like they were on a sports team was panting as well.
"How…. How are…. You still…. Huff…. Up?" asked Hailey, her head hung forward. William and Sofija (A girl sorted just before that Potter boy Lily hated so much, a wild girl with light brown hair and Serbian roots) looked curious as well. Out of the two, Sofija seemed to be holding up a bit better.
Annabeth simply shrugged. After 10 years of training, countless battles, two wars, and most of all the constant lava wall climbing, this was as simple as taking a short jog. She figured this staircase would be a good light exercise to keep her fit.
Bruce, a boy with chocolate skin like Hazel's and curly dark brown hair like Leo's, stared at her in disbelief along with the fellow students as well as the superiors. The older kids were whispering amongst themselves about getting her into their Quidditch team, which was funny because from what she knew so far, first years weren't allowed their own brooms.
"Okay…." Said the girl prefect, Emily Dawson, finally having caught hold of her breath. She exhaled before starting the proper introduction. "Alright, pay attention, because this will be the only way to get into our common room. The Ravenclaw common room is the one with the least break-in incidents out of all the four houses we have here. That's because we don't use a password, but we use riddles. Noah, mind demonstrating?"
The male prefect Noah Shane nodded and stepped up to the closed door. When he did, she watched in wonder as the Raven knocker attached to it began to move its beak and speak.
"Why is the Raven like a quill?" It inquired.
Noah stared straight into its frozen eyes. "A quill? Let's see…. Both has feathers as its element."
"Though it may be true that feathers are indeed elements of both, it is not Ravens in particular you are referring to, but the species itself."
"Your words are right, it's true; But if you were to compare something to a raven, you would have no choice but to touch a trait others have as well. If I may ask, can you tell me of one trait that the raven possesses that's different from everything else that exists, yet has in common with a quill?" He finished with a small smile.
"Well reasoned." Said the raven doorknocker, and it swung forward to let the students in.
"As you have seen," spoke Emily, "Noah gave a very basic, one dimensional answer ("I'd like to see you try for a demonstration," Noah muttered), but see how he reasoned with the raven. It won't let you in because of your answer, but because of how well you reason for it. This is the way of the house of Ravenclaw." As she did, she poured fresh glasses of water to the panting first years with her wand. Annabeth took her cup gladly.
Noah continued. "We ravens, unlike the rest of the houses, have a well organized system that is fit for your needs. We take good ideas and have them played at our house for our convenience. For example, that water jug over there is also an idea presented by elder students that came before you, to refresh the students from the long walk up." He lowered his voice. "And now, Cheddar, the curtains please-"
"Can you please stop calling me cheddar? That was one time I messed up the potion like that." Grumbled an older student in the back, and he waved his wand. The doors and the windows closed shut, and the curtains were drawn.
"Now, to the more secretive side of us we must share with you. Unlike those goody good Hufflepuffs, dim witted Gryffindors and stuck-up Slytherins, we are rather…. Lenient, you could say. To give an example, school rules specifically state that students are not allowed out of beds, but as you settle here, you'll soon come to realize that we properly spread our wings at night."
Emily picked it up from there. "For instance, we have our weekly potion ingredient collecting events near the forbidden forest every Friday night, and we have restricted library section hunting parties occasionally. Prefects of this house will turn a blind eye when you are seen out of beds, but do not spill this secret to anyone outside our house. This is a tradition continued on from Ravenclaw students that resided here ages ago."
Annabeth's eyes lit up. She had made an excellent choice coming here to Ravenclaw. At this house, night strolls were common and accepted, which would make it easy for the night strolls. She wouldn't have to go out by the window as she originally planned, but she could just sneak out the front door. This was fantastic.
The prefects gave more examples of traditions in Ravenclaw, such as the black market held every Sunday at midnight, and the weekend research paper writing teams for years 4 and up. There were so many interesting systems in Ravenclaw that she didn't know what to try.
After a few more words, a rule guide, and getting into their dorms (Hailey, she, Sofija, and Amy were sharing a room), all she had to do was just walk out of the door. The prefect, Emily Dawson, simply said to not get caught, deny of approvals if caught, and to be back before sunrise. All easy-peasy. With her invisibility cap, it wasn't hard to pass all the patrolling students, a caretaker, and a cat, though it was a close call with it.
And here she was now, in front of the Forbidden forest.
She glanced at the magical clock she'd bought (It wasn't a watch, because apparently watches were only given once a wizard became of age) at Diagon Alley. It read 10:57.
'Three minutes. Percy Jackson better not be late.'
"Lumos." She whispered, and her wand lit up. She began to read under the shining stars.
ㅡ
Percy bit his lip. He'd nearly stepped on the cat there. Why, oh why did he have to fall asleep? Last he saw a clock, it said 10:51. He seriously doubted the idea that he could find his way around in this place within 9 minutes. Beads of sweat rolled off his head as he, after what seemed like hours of mindless searching, finally found Annabeth waiting for him outside.
"Perseus Jackson."
"Ma'am, I really wasn't trying to…."
"Save the explanation." She took out her drakon-bone sword. Its ivory hilt glowed in the moonlight.
Even though it was dark, Percy could tell her eyes were ablaze. He gulped as he fingered Riptide, and Annabeth charged at him with incredible speed.
ㅡ
"Happy now?" Asked Percy, down on the ground with a knife at his throat, his breath irregular and unstable. "Maybe." She replied, wiping her forehead and sheathing her knife. She stuck out a hand to help him up. He gladly took it.
"Great job, Percy, now we have about what, and hour or so left." She sighed. "What? It's not even close to sunrise!" He asked, dumbfounded. Annabeth slapped her forehead.
"Percy, what day is it tomorrow?"
"Well, I don't know the exact date, but its Thursday-"
"Exactly. Seaweed Brain, we're at a school. Notice anything?"
"Oh." Tomorrow was Thursday, a weekday, where they had to…. Had to….
"You won't be able to wake up at breakfast if you sleep later than this. I know you'll be sleeping through the day if you don't go to sleep soon, and we really need you to so we can use magic at our will. We can't stay up forever." She finished. The glow in her eyes were gone, with only the stars and the halfmoon above making her gray eyes shimmer.
He held up his hands as a gesture of defeat. "Okay…. Sorry. I'll make it on time tomorrow." He said, a bit disheartened, but she knew just how to cheer him up when he was. Annabeth gave him a ghostly smile in the moonlight before walking up to him and giving him a hug.
"All's in the past now. Let's just get started." She said, and she whispered Wingardium Leviosa as the book levitated into her hand. Percy stared at it in amazement.
"Didn't…. Didn't the spells go crazy on the train?" He asked in wonder, all sadness sucked out. She shrugged. "Eh, nothing a 30 minute practice couldn't do. Channeling the power was a bit difficult, yes, but it worked out in the end. Which brings us to today's most important lesson- channeling yours." He felt her poking him.
"You're a big three kid, like it or not. We've got to know how to channel your powers before…. History repeats itself." A wince automatically spread on his face from the memory of the incredibly bad attempt at a spell. "You know it too. We have about…. An hour left. That should be enough for you to learn to do it."
"But…. Why tonight?" Percy wondered out loud. "Because we need to use our wands, starting straight from tomorrow. Lessons, remember?" He cursed a little. Right. He kept forgetting the little fact that this was a magic school and that he'd have to use his wand.
Sighing, he drew his blue wand from the pocket of his robes. "I'm ready now. Where to start?"
ㅡ
Dumbledore sat in his office, fingering a small silver contraption between his fingers absentmindedly.
His plan was a failure. The pair, both of them, were a skilled Occlumens. His strongest attempt at Legilimency had no effects, none, to the boy and girl. The girl even more so. He could feel a barrier inside the boy, Perseus Jackson's mind, but he hadn't even been able to access the girl, Annabeth Chase's mind at all.
He knew the sorting hat, with the wisdom of the four founders encased in it, could give him an answer or at least a clue, yet it refused to open up. A hand subconsciously went up and rubbed his forehead.
The two needed some close looks. From afar, they had just seemed quite normal except for the fact that their name had just appeared on the lists. But up close, he could sense they were something beyond just that. The powerful aura they gave off…. It was difficult not to notice, yet others seemed oblivious to it. The little matter that they were both naturally gifted Occlumens just made them even stranger.
Dumbledore, in all his life, had barely ever faced a question he couldn't find the answer to. There was always a way in the end. But this time, he had a sneaking suspicion that this puzzle would take a very long time to be solved, or it could never be solved at all. It was odd to mark something as impossible.
"Dumbledore!" Rang out one of the portraits, catching his attention. "One of the students you spoke of, Annabeth Chase, just exited Ravenclaw tower! She's heading down…. I've lost her. Wait! The Friar tells me that she's heading towards the Forbidden Forest as we speak!"
"The Forbidden Forest?" He asked, surprised.
Another strange factor. First day of school, and the first action they take is to go to the forest at near midnight.
"Curiouser and Curiouser…." He murmured, stroking his beard. His silver spectacles gleamed in the halfmoon's light.
ㅡ
Circe stared at the pale figure standing in her mirror, stroking a giant snake. "It'll have to do." She said, eyes glinting madly in the moonlight. The era might have been wrong, and the horcrux might be two short, but Voldemort still fit all the requirements.
"Neither truly mortal nor immortal…." She whispered, fingering the glass. With one less horcrux then intended, it might not have been enough. But….
The mirror shifted to show nothing but her reflections again. She cursed as she realized that the brats were still in the Hogwarts grounds, far out of her sights, at least for now.
Her new pawn was delightful. Mortals were so easy to fool. All that was needed was a slight demonstration of her powers, and their greed and hunger for power had them just where she wanted.
She hummed maniacally to herself. When the disgusting Jackson boy had first arrived at this era, she'd thrown everything around thinking her revenge plan had failed. But now, because she was in this era, the coming of the boy had seemed like a gift.
If another silly demigod had come here, she might have had to give…. Her plans up. But because of their foolish, oh so great love, she had found a new way to get herself immortal. Her insane laughter filled the empty space, shaking the walls and the earth below her.
A parchment fluttered to the ground next to the mirror, but Circe took no notice. It rolled open slightly on the ground.
The powers of one neither truly mortal nor immortal.
It said on the first line. Then, another mighty shake opened it further. The next line read:
The heart of one neither a god nor a human.
All lanterns shattered in the wake, and the room turned pitch black.
ㅡ
Some important stuff was put in this chapter! Be on the lookout for clues hidden through this chapter!
Aaaaand so the first year begins! Circe's plan, the one I've mentioned quite a few times yet never bothered to explain, is now coming to a start. What do you think her plan is? What is she planning? It sure sounds dangerous though :/ Can't wait till everything begins to unravel, and seeing your reactions to it! Dumbledore made a short appearance as well. Just to make it clear, I have no intention of bashing characters beyond a certain amount, and it won't be too much. I love all the characters created by the two original, extremely talented authors.
A bunch of OCs this chapter! Let's see what kind of relationships they build with our main characters. For now, the PoVs were focused mostly on our main characters, with a few others in between. But now that they are at school, and there are so much to explore, there will be stories from the views of other characters. To hint, I definitely have a Lily chapter in mind!
Now, to my favorite part of this chapter: Of course, the houses! I'm really happy with how both of them turned out. Gryffindor is like I always imagined it: More explanations about the castle itself for the young lions to explore, less about the rules. You'll notice no one in Gryffindor bothers to set rules: the courageous students pave their own paths! A free and fun house to be in, everyone just friends all around, busy and loud, yet happy.
In contrast, Ravenclaw has systems and rule fit for every need. They may not be as close as the Gryffindors, but they get along really well, and have interesting traditions for young ravens to spread their wings. I figured Ravenclaw students, the smart people they are would have their ways of bending the rules with style. They aren't Hufflepuffs, after all!
And now, to your reviews!
-Guest: I'm guessing you're noobsalive? Seeing as how you said again. Thanks for coming back, and first again, nonetheless! It's really nice to know that you come back to this story, and that you'll continue to. Will I see you first on this chapter as well? I'm curious now. Happy New Year, and hope you have a healthy/happy 2021! Good luck with everything you do!
-BookThings: Hi to you as well! Aww, thank you! I really try my best for each chapter, and it makes me really happy every time I see someone so generously complimenting my work! I'll try to continue doing so, so that you can keep enjoying 'hoax'! A very Happy New Year to you, and hope all goes well for you in 2021. Cheers!
-Callum Runchman: Good to know my explanation cleared stuff up for you! Because other people haven't seen it, here's my view on last chapter:
"I felt a slight need to clarify. Your comment had me thinking a lot! I thought of clearing this up in the next chapter, but I thought of PMing you first so that you could enjoy the story without feeling confused. I guess it does seem like Percy is wary of Lily, but in truth, he's just confused and worried. He liked the marauders cause hey, troublemakers know a fellow troublemaker when they see one, right? He takes a liking to them with them having the same vibes as him, but you'll see his smile wavering at them making fun of Snape. He's friendly towards them, at least for now, but he's also doubting whether or not he should stay friends with them, seeing as how they had a hatred for a certain house. It's the first day, after all! The 'Oh, um, Lily...' line wasn't him being wary at Lily, but sweating realizing the fact that those he thinks pretty well of is on hostile terms with his other friend. But them becoming friends was a bit sudden and it made it look like Percy liked Lily less than the people who he'd just met, and I apologize for that. My best explanation for that is that A)The duo made good first impressions on Percy unlike Lily&Snape, B)They have the troublemaker look that Percy totally agrees with, and C)They reminded him of the Stoll brothers, giving them an instant plus. Sorry, that's the best I have! Hope this cleared it up a bit for you. I always look forward to reading your reviews. Happy upcoming New Year, and hopefully I'll see you next chapter :)!"
And this was what I said! Does this make more sense for you guys now that you've heard it? I certainly hope so. Next chapter will be the one you've been waiting for, the lessons! You'll get the answers starting next chapter.
Also, I wanted to congratulate you for guessing correctly: The marauders, but without Wormtail! Our dear Percy has replaced the old rug rat. Stay tuned to see how the world shifts around now.
I thank you for reviewing, and on every chapter, nonetheless! You really don't have to, but it makes me really happy when you do. Thanks! Hope you have a great 2021! Happy New Year, and see you next chapter!
-The Hidden Library: I was so happy when I saw these. I love reviews!
-Aw, it's just the prologue. The story gets more messed up as it goes on.
-Thank you kindly for the generous comment! I'm going to try my best so that one day, when I look back, I remember this as being an okay piece of writing. And to be remembered as okay for all of you, too!
-The fact that this review was about chapter 3 makes me laugh, and feel sorry at the same time. Sorry buddy, Hogwarts is still... Like, 6 chapters away. But hey, at least it was out when you reviewed, right? But come to think of it, this chapter still hasn't shown what Percy would do at Hogwarts... Ahem.
-That's a relief! I tried my best to stay in character as I wrote them. Lily, a bright ray of sunshine, Severus, a bit rude yet wise with words. Nice to see you liked it!
-Just thought it was really awkward to read, and by far the worst chapter I've written. But maybe I was a little bit too harsh on myself. Thanks for cheering me up, though.
-A relief! The work looks okay! Praise the Olympians- well, no not really. The friend problem handling will be seen through many chapters to come. I took my time with this chapter, and hope you'll enjoy this too! I'll be back soon with another chapter, so be on the lookout for that one as well!
Thanks for reviewing so much. Have a Happy New Year, and may the fates smile upon you!
-Just Me: I try to make the chapter titles sound interesting, like Percy was really saying it. Happy to see it sounds interesting. I've been really worried this fanfic was dragging out too much, but I feel a bit more comfortable now that I know you are okay with it. As for the other fanfics, I will save my words because I don't want to sound offensive to anyone nor go against your opinion. I'll keep my focus on my fanfic, and I do hope you'll understand! True, the Lightning Thief's real episode starts about at the third of the book, so perhaps I'll relax and write better rather than try to move the story along faster, ruining the quality. Aw, thanks, do stay safe to you as well. Thanks for reviewing. Happy New Year, and hope you get a great start of 2021! I'll see you next chapter!
-MmmmmmmToasty: Honored. So glad my plot looks okay from other's eyes! Yes! I've succeeded. As for the characterization, I try to really stay in character, and write them just as I've read them. I can't bare to look at Annabeth and Percy doing something they definitely won't do, so I proofread and correct whenever I can. Thanks for complimenting, and hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Hope you have a Happy New Year with all your loved ones!
Thanks for reviewing everyone! I love reading/responding to all of them, so please, if you can, review, follow, and mark as favorite!
There's a special treat for you guys: A bonus special chapter for the New Years! Well, it's not really much of a new years special except for the little part at the end, but still, a special is a special. Hope you enjoy it, though thinking about the hastily written quality, it'll be hard to.
Happy 2021, everyone, and I'll be back very soon with chapter 12!
Until then, stay safe everyone! See you soon!
-Claire-