Chapter 3.0

Percy


"There's another one over there!" Percy whirled to where Fred had pointed, and saw a gnome under a lawn chair. He was helping out with some household chores, it was the least he could do. De-gnoming was pretty fun, not gonna lie. He scooped up the small potato man, and spun him over his head. Then, he heaved him out into the field, farther than the last one.

"That's a new best, Percy! What kind of monster are you, anyway?" Most of them managed to throw theirs fifteen to twenty five meters. Percy had doubled that.

"American sports are mostly throwing balls around." He shrugged, and picked up another gnome. He'd been told it didn't hurt them, but making them dizzy kept them away for a while.

"Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd! Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back!" He started singing, and the Brits laughed at him.

"What kind of song is that?" Ron asked, and Percy laughed.

"One of the great American patriotic songs! Just wait till you hear this one." He started singing Yankee Doodle, and his friends were beside themselves with laughter.

"Every American child knows this song!" He said, as his friends got over their laughing fit.

"You're all mad, that's what." Harry said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"I'm not gonna take that from someone who lives in a country with a monarchy." They argued for a bit, then decided to settle it with a game of Quidditch. Harry was on Percy's team, good old fashioned visitors versus the home team.

They played until dinner, and went back inside with a few bruises to show how rough that game had been. Fred and George were vicious when they wanted to be. As Harry and Percy were walking to their shared room (which had previously been Other Percy's), they heard a tense conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Fudge won't let me tell Harry, he thinks it'll scare him out of his wits. He won't listen to me, I told him what I thought. Harry has a right to know, and if he knew Black was after him he might be more careful!" Harry was a little pale, and Percy pulled him from the door. It was cracked a little, and the small crack had let the sound of the conversation out. He took Harry to their room, and closed the door quietly.

"You alright, Harry?" Harry nodded, but still looked pale. Percy sat next to him. "

"Hey, it's not like this is the first time someone's tried to kill you. Trust me, a lot of people want me dead, but I'm here aren't I?" Harry nodded, starting to return to his normal level of pale. Percy offered him a blue toffee he'd bought at Diagon Alley, and Harry took it.

"This doesn't change anything. Business as usual, am I right? At least there's no godsdamn mystery to solve this time. We know who's the bad guy, we know how to avoid him. All we gotta do is let the magic cops handle it, okay?" Harry gave a little laugh, and Percy grinned. That camp counselor training sure pays off sometimes.

"So quit moping around and get dressed, you're getting mud all over the place." They changed, in turns. Then they went to dinner, and Percy tried to give Ron a "we-need-to-talk" look. Ron did not get the message.

"Uhm Percy, do you want some more gravy or something?" Percy mentally facepalmed.

"Yeah, thanks. This is the best gravy I've ever had, Mrs. Weasley." She smiled at the compliment, and soon dinner was over. Percy dragged Harry and Ron outside.

"Harry and I heard some bad news earlier, and I think you should hear it. Harry, do you want to explain or should I?" Harry shook his head.

"So we accidentally heard your parents talking about Harry. Turns out that mass murderer everyone's talking about is after Harry. No need to look that worried Ron, it's not exactly like this is new. As I said before, at least there's no godsdamn mystery to solve. All we have to do is be careful, and let the Ministry do its job." Ron was taking worse than Harry had, but Percy had seemed to alleviate some of his nervousness.

"Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much. Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the world, and he isn't going to let one of his students die. He proved that last year, remember?" Ron and Harry both brightened at the thought of Dumbledore protecting them.

"I'm going to do some exercises now, and I'm pretty sure neither of you want to join in. I'll let you off this time, but when we get to Hogwarts every Sunday morning is mine. I'm gonna get you wizards into fighting shape!" He laughed at the looks of abject horror on his friends faces. He took off at a jog, before breaking into a run. He ran around the field a few times, before going into the small forest.

He drew Riptide, and fought against imaginary enemies. He focused on proper form, and speed. He flowed from an overhand strike to a left horizontal cut. He thought about how the knockback from a block would help him to the next attack. He tried to make his footwork as perfect as he could, practicing stances so they would be second nature when he needed them.

His hand and a half sword (being able to be held with one or both hands) was well suited to working with a shield. He didn't often practice this, and set out to fix that. He worked on adjusting his movements to accommodate for its weight, and bracing his arm for impact. All the while, he practiced one handed strikes. He did this for an hour, then returned sweaty and tired to the house.

He took a quick shower, and replaced the bandage. He returned to his room, shirtless but wearing pajama pants. Harry looked at him with something like horror, and he frowned.

"What's up? Did I use cursed shampoo? Is my hair the wrong color?" Percy pulled some of his hair down to his eyes. The normal black shined with water under the lamplight. Harry shook his head.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked, and Percy then realized. He nearly facepalmed. The scars. Gods, he was stupid. There were claw marks, stab wounds, and a few burns all over him.

"A bunch of old scars doesn't change who I am, Harry. It's not near as bad as it looks, and most of these are just unlucky accidents. I told you before, Murphy's law is pretty much a good representation of my life. It looks bad, but you don't want people treating you differently because of the scar you have, right?" Harry nodded, and had stopped staring. Percy slipped on one of his orange shirts, and sat down to pet Aeto. With a small, "Aha!" he realized he could be dry whenever he wanted. He removed the water, and threw the ball of water out the window.

"You're right about that. It's not really any of my business, and I get you don't want us to treat you differently. But whenever you want to tell us, we'll be ready for whatever it is." Harry said, a little hesitantly. Percy smiled at him.

"You guys are my friends. I know you won't treat me any differently. I'm just not ready yet, ya know? Would you mind not telling the others about the scars, I don't want them to worry." Harry nodded, and Percy again thought that he was a pretty good kid. If he had to be stuck as a kid again, he was glad it was with friends like these. They turned out the lights, and mumbled goodnight to each other from their beds. Percy slipped into a dreamless sleep.


I've decided I'm going to put all the Author's notes on the bottom from now on. Just to make it a bit easier for those who just want to read to skip right on ahead. You asked some good questions, and I'll answer them now. Percy can see the thestrals, It was mentioned near the end of book one. It was probably a typo when I uploaded, but "horseless" was in quotes.

Percy has hella PTSD, and dementors are going to be a huge problem for him. Percy is a midget permanently, because it just makes more sense that way. If he was changing age every time he went back and forth, I think that would have some kind of negative effect on him.

Percy speaks Mermish the same way he speaks to horses without neighing. I have no plans to bring a villian from Percy's world, but I feel Voldemort was nerfed in the original series. He's gonna be less Moldy and more evil. I thank all of you who took the time to review with utmost sincerity.

Thank you for your kind words.

Best of luck,

Istalri