Chapter 3, second try
I sat down alone at the Gryffindor table with one goal in mind: befriend Harry Potter.
Well, actually no; without anyone around to question me, my first goal was to turn my pancakes blue. I succeeded with ease. I nibbled away at my newly turned blue pancakes, satisfied.
Pumpkin juice would take some getting used to. I didn't see myself getting used to it anytime soon though. Tea wasn't my cup of tea and there wasn't any coffee so I opted to drink water instead.
I looked around. According to the twins, Harry was in fourth year. That made him two years younger than me. I didn't see him anywhere though.
I didn't see a lot of people, actually. It was really early, after all. Only a couple of Ravenclaw and Slytherin students were present.
Why the Weasley twins were up so early was anybody's guess.
Observing Harry at the feast yesterday, I gathered that he was close to two people. There was the redhead with freckles, likely the brother or relative of the twins and there was the bushy haired bookworm girl.
A couple of plans formulated in my head. Harry Potter is famous. He's famous but he has such a small friend group. This indicates one of two things: he's not a social person or I've got the wrong guy. The lightning scar on his head leads me to believe option one.
From his body language, I can tell he's unconfident.
In all likelihood, I couldn't just straight up walk to him and ask to be his friend. It was the first day of school after all. Not to mention the age gap between us. And there were our statuses to consider. I'm the Prince of Atlantis and he's the boy-who-lived.
Openly trying to befriend him right now would be suspicious to say the least.
Him being unsocial also presents a few problems. Trying to enter his friend group will be challenging. Harry grew up with abusive muggles which likely means he knows nothing about politics. That severs the option of trying to befriend him politically.
It also means he's shy and reclusive, likely not willing to open up to others.
There was the option of getting to know him through his two friends. Through the boy, I had the twins and through the girl I had the library.
Her reading a book throughout the sorting indicated bookworm-ish behavior, if that's a word.
Of course, I could always not befriend Harry and protect him from the shadows. It'd make things simpler, but I'll miss out on a lot of advantages.
Being friends with the kid would help me with my quest in more ways than one. If he ever goes missing, I'll be one of the first to know. Any enemies he has or made, I can directly ask him instead of relying on a second hand source. In addition, I'll be able to make more inquiries about any trouble he's experiencing, any feelings of impending doom or dreams that seem way too realistic to be fake.
I let out a long sigh.
I've had to do a lot of thinking recently. Without Annabeth as the brains of the quest, I'd have to rely on my own intelligence more. I was also likely overthinking the situation.
It may surprise you, but my brain isn't completely made of seaweed.
I was interrupted from my musing by my head of house, professor McGonagall.
"Mr. Jackson," She began, "I trust you've rested well last night?"
She was a tall, severe looking woman with a stern, no nonsense expression on her face.
I nodded in affirmation.
"Good to hear," she said. "Then allow me to welcome you to Hogwarts."
A simple thanks was my response.
The professor nodded in acknowledgement before continuing on.
"Here is your schedule," she said, handing me a piece of parchment. "If you find yourself having any trouble or in need of a timetable change, don't hesitate to ask me."
I said another quick thank you in response before I took the schedule from her hands, taking a quick look over it.
"And Mr. Jackson," she began, her expression turning very serious. "If I find you causing any sort of trouble, your family's status won't help you; I will personally ensure that you are punished accordingly. Do I make myself clear?"
For a mortal, she was scary.
"Yes professor. You certainly won't catch me causing any trouble."
I grinned. Her eyes narrowed.
"Enjoy the rest of your breakfast," was her final response before she walked off.
I went back to my thinking.
It would have been nice if Hecate told me what exactly I would be protecting Harry from. I could infer a few things, however: Death Eaters or the Tournament.
Death Eaters are a no brainer. Harry is the reason their master is no longer around, at least physically. But according to Hecate's information, Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the magical world.
So the tournament then? The sudden reappearance of a deadly tournament is suspicious indeed but I can't see Harry entering himself in it.
A sigh escaped my lips. I needed more information, which is precisely why I needed to befriend him.
I looked around the hall again. It was starting to fill up. Four figures appeared in front of me, sitting down. The twins I knew. The other two girls I didn't.
"Hey Percy, ready for potions first period?" one of the twins asked.
"Because I sure ain't," the other finished.
I checked my schedule. Potions with… Severed Snake in the dungeons. I blinked. Severus Snape was the professor's name. Dyslexia was annoying sometimes.
"As ready as I can be," I responded back, sipping my glass of water. Luckily, I had already finished my amazing blue pancakes before the four of them arrived. No awkward questions would be asked there.
"By the way, care to introduce me to these two," I said, making a gesture at the two girls sitting beside the twins. They were both in good physical shape, a quality, I noticed, many wizards were lacking in. Their body language with the twins suggested that they were together, although who was with who, I didn't know.
I wonder if they'd ever had a foursome together? Or if they had ever just switched partners and names.
"This right here is Angelina Johnson," the twin said, gesturing to the girl. "She's the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
"Would have been," she muttered, "if the Quidditch Cup wasn't cancelled this year."
She was tall, had dark skin, brown eyes and her dark hair was braided.
"And she's Alicia Spinnet," the other twin said. She had black hair, black eyes and was of average height.
"Pleasure to meet you both. I'm Percy Jackson of the most noble and ancient house of Atlantis." I gave a formal greeting because why not. I'd have to get used to doing that once I meet with the noble wizarding families. Something I'm not looking forward to, by the way.
The two girls rolled their eyes at my introduction of myself.
"As if we didn't know," Angelina said. Alicia nodded in agreement.
"Right," I said, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "I guess my family is sorta famous even across the ocean and Dumbledore did mention my name in the sorting."
The four of them scoffed in response.
"Look," Angelina began, "maybe it's because you were homeschooled your entire life, but you being here is sorta equivalent to if the Slytherin and Gryffindor heir went to Ilvermorney as a transfer student."
"If the lines weren't extinct," Alicia added.
My eyes widened. Damn, Hecate just said that I'd be disguised as a wizard from a wealthy family. Who knew my dad had such a strong presence in the wizarding world?
I sent an accusatory glare at the twins. "If my family's so powerful and famous, why act so casually around me?"
"I dunno man, you just don't give off the feeling of being from a most ancient and noble family."
"Besides, we've never been one to be formal around others anyways."
"We prefer to cause mischief."
"And mayhem."
"Yeah," Alicia added, "What George said is correct. You just don't exude the arrogance other people from noble houses do."
I wonder if that would be a problem.
Also, now I know the one on the right is George.
"I was actually skeptical about meeting you," Angelina started. "I kinda assumed you were a spoiled, snotty, bigoted, rich kid."
I held my chest in mock pain. "You don't understand how much that comment wounds me."
She chuckled before continuing on. "I guess wizarding families in America are a lot less prejudiced than those here."
That last statement caught my attention. Hecate did mention the reason I disguised myself as a wizard from a prominent family was because I'd have an easier time in the wizarding world with how discriminatory they were.
I asked for more clarification. This time it was Fred who answered me.
"While it's not talked about a whole lot, it's basically common knowledge. Muggleborns are treated as second class citizens. Half bloods in some cases as well."
"Essentially, muggleborns often get the worst jobs and pay," Fred continued on. "If you're a muggleborn here in Britain, don't even think about getting anywhere in the ministry. Half bloods are a bit better, but not by much. Muggleborns are also the prime target for manipulation because they know so little of the wizarding world. They're often tricked into signing contracts to work for free. And those are the lucky ones.
"Purebloods on the other hand, and those from wealthy and prominent families, have it easy. They have a massive advantage in that if you just come from a powerful family, you're already high up on the ministry hierarchy. Even if you're just a pureblood, you get boundlessly more job opportunities than muggleborns and half bloods. The inequality between muggleborns and purebloods is astounding."
I was shocked. "Wow. That bad, huh?"
They all nodded.
"But you guys aren't like that," I added. "You guys aren't bigoted towards half bloods and muggleborns." It was a mix between a question and a statement. I knew the twins weren't and Alicia and Angelina seemed nice enough.
Fred and George shook their heads.
"Me and Angelina," Alicia began, "are half bloods; we have muggleborns as a parent so if anything, we'd be the ones facing prejudice."
"But," Angelina said, continuing on for Alicia, "we're from fairly well off families so it wouldn't be that bad. Our job prospects won't be that limited from prejudice. We probably won't be working for any noble family though."
"Not to mention the fact that we attend Hogwarts, arguably the best wizarding school in the world."
"Yeah, if we had attended any other magical school," Angelina said, shivering slightly, "it would be a different story. "
"But muggleborns…" Alicia started, before trailing off.
"Muggleborns?"
"Even if they attended Hogwarts," Fred started to explain in her place, "they'd likely never amount to anything."
"Many often end up leaving the wizarding world. Others tricked into signing life binding contracts working for wealthy purebloods."
Wow. That sounds horrible.
Imagine being 11 years old, receiving a letter telling you that magic is real and you'd be attending a real life magical school. It would be a dream come true. But the moment you step into this magical world, you realize how bigoted everyone is. How behind you are in magic. How little you understand of the culture and politics of this new world. Once you graduate, you struggle to pay for rent, struggle to make ends meet.
You become desperate. Returning to the muggle world is an option, but not a plausible one. You're seven years behind in education which means the best you can do is work as a cashier at McDonalds. Your life sucks until some wealthy pureblood comes to you with an offer you can't pass up. You just have to sign this contract.
George slammed his hands against the table causing many people around the table to flinch.
"Oops," he muttered sheepishly, "but enough depressing talk. It's Percy's first day of class! I hope you studied your potions textbook."
"Huh? Why's that?" I asked.
"Well, let's just say Snape has a tendency to ask surprise questions."
That's what I had my pendant for along with the information Hecate gave me.
"Good to know. Is there anything else I should be aware of?" I asked.
"Snape's pretty biased towards the Slytherins," George answered. "And he hates us Gryffindors."
"Yeah, he'll dock house points for even the smallest of reasons," Fred added. "And if he can't find a reason, he'll make up one instead."
"He seems like an asshole," I remarked.
"That's because he is," the four of them said at the same time. They paused and looked at each other before laughter ensued.
We talked a bit more after that. Quidditch was the main topic of discussion. They were all on the Quidditch team after all. Classes were also a topic of discussion, namely the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
"How long do you think professor Moody is going to last?" George asked.
"One year I bet," Angelina answered. "It's always a year"
"Hey, what do you guys mean by how long he's gonna last? And why one year?" I asked, confused.
The four of them looked at me and then back at each other. It seemed like they were non-verbally deciding who would get to answer my question.
"You see Percy," Alicia began, "no Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has ever lasted more than a year. They either quit their job or are forced to by one reason or another."
That sounded suspicious, like the position was cursed. "How long has this been going on for?" I asked.
"For at least 10 years," George answered. "Bill, our brother, said that he too had a different DADA teacher every year."
The topic shifted away, but my mind still stayed on it. Something didn't feel right, I just didn't know what.
Eventually, Lee Jordan also joined us at the table.
We laughed and joked around. It was nice to have made friends this early into the quest. Speaking of which, I still needed to come up with a way to befriend Harry. I looked around the hall. The kid was nowhere in sight.
Ah, whatever. I must've missed him, I thought, as I headed to potions class with my housemates.
Line Break
The first thing Harry did when he woke up was to check for his wand. Once he confirmed that it was not missing, he headed for the showers. Ron was up by the time he finished showering. They muttered a quick morning to each other before Harry headed down to the common room.
Harry headed down to the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron. He checked his pocket for his wand a total of three times before they arrived.
When professor McGonagall handed him his schedule, she also gave him a note telling him to meet the Headmaster as soon as possible. Harry did just that.
Line Break
I shivered slightly as we descended down into the dungeons. It was cold and dark. Why anyone would have a class down here was beyond me.
We entered the classroom. There were about 20 seats in total. A blackboard was at the front of the classroom where the professor presumably wrote down instructions and whatnot for class. The whole classroom in general gave off an eerie vibe even without the various pickled animals floating in glass jars around the classroom.
"So this is the potions classroom?" I asked. "Seems kinda…"
"Cold?"
"Gruesome?"
"Dreary?"
"Dark?"
"Soul consuming?"
"Nightmarish?"
"I was gonna say unpleasant or depressing but yeah, those work too."
The classroom began to fill up. I took out my parchment and quill and waited for class to start. From what the twins told me, this class was undeniably gonna be a pain. Actually, everything's going to be a pain because I'll have to write with a quill on parchment.
I tried experimentally writing my name down.
I stared at my work.
I know I don't have the best handwriting, but at least it was legible.
A sigh escaped my lips along with my will to write and do homework.
Snape entered the classroom and began a roll call. There was a brief pause at my name, but other than that, attendance went smoothly.
"You are all here to continue to pursue the subtle science and art of potion making," he began. Snape barely spoke louder than a whisper yet I could feel myself following his every word intently. The class, too, was silent. "By now, you all should have some modicum of understanding to the subtle arts of potions."
Silence followed as Snape gazed around the classroom. He gave every student a good look, settling down on the Weasley twins for a prolonged period of time before moving on.
"I am to start preparing you for your NEWT exams next year," he continued. "If you decide to continue potions. Now, let's start with a quick review, shall we?"
He began questioning the students in class. Some questions pertaining to information from fourth year, some from fifth year, a lost, surprisingly, from sixth year. I can happily say I answered all the questions he directed at me correctly.
Once Snape was satisfied, he moved to the blackboard. He waved his wand and instructions appeared on the board.
"This right here are the instructions to brew a draught of peace," Snape drawled. "You should have learnt to brew it in your fifth year. Hopefully, summer hasn't made you all a bunch of incompetent dunderheads."
He paused and looked at me.
"You have one hour. Begin."
His stare unnerved me, like he was hoping to catch me making the slightest of errors. I ignored it easily. It was undeniably intimidating for a mortal, but I've faced down Titans and Giants. He didn't scare me.
His hygiene, on the other hand, did. It was slightly concerning, the amount of grease in his hair.
The blackboard was a scramble of letters forming incomprehensible words, so I prepared everything according to the instructions Hecate gave me. Honestly, it felt like a cheat code having all this information in my head.
I stirred the draught clockwise six and a half times before letting it settle.
Potions, I felt, was something I had a knack for. It was to the point where I stopped following the information in my head step by step. Instead, I followed my instincts, adding an extra stir here, an extra ingredient there. I could proudly say nothing blew up in my face.
In all honesty, it felt like my draught of peace turned out great.
It probably had something to do with Poseidon being my father. I could literally feel the potion, the water. I just knew what to do, and when to do it.
I finished brewing way before everyone else. I put a sample of it into a bottle, leaving it at Snape's desk.
He nodded in appreciation. "It seems you aren't completely incompetent after all."
The twins stared at me with wide eyes. I shrugged in response.
Going back to my station, I checked my pendant for the time; I had 17 minutes left before the period was over. I cleaned my cauldron and workstation before sitting down and watching the others work.
I also pondered over the topic of potions. Brewing potions didn't relate to the mist. No, potions worked because of the way magical ingredients, like powdered unicorn horn, reacted with other ingredients, magical or not.
That begs the question: can clear sighted mortals be able to brew potions?
My pendant answered.
Yes.
It didn't elaborate further.
The rest of the class finished and went up to hand in the samples of their draught. Despite brewing a fine draught, all the twins got were a sneer and a "passable effort."
The other Gryffindors experienced similar reactions, yet the Slytherin's all got complimented. Some even got points awarded to them.
It seemed Snape really was biased.
I sighed, and left the classroom with my fellow Gryffindors. Well, I would have, if I didn't get stopped by a few Slytherin's.
Go on ahead, I mouthed to my friends. I'll catch up.
"Percy Jackson, of the most ancient and noble house of Atlantis" a boy said. He was tall, skinny and had curly hair. "Allow me the honor to introduce myself and my two companions here."
I was tempted to say no and leave. I almost did actually, but I settled for a nod.
"My name is Adrian Pucey of the noble house of Pucey," he said, before gesturing to his right. "This here is Christopher Warrington of the ancient house of Warrington."
Warrington was unassuming. He was average in every possible way.
"And finally," he said, before gesturing to his left, "this here is Terrence Higgs of the noble house of Higgs. Former Slytherin seeker, now chaser."
He was athletic with brown hair and eyes.
"Pleasure to meet you three."
"The pleasure's ours," Higgs said before handing me a letter. "Our houses hold some sway in the wizengamot and our families were hoping to be acquainted with yours."
"We also hold significant sway in Slytherin," Warrinton said. "So if you find yourself troubled by anyone, you can come to us. We'll deal with them swiftly."
"Or if you find yourself having any other needs, you can come to us."
I was met with three predatory grins. They didn't mean what I think they did, did they?
I raised an eyebrow in question.
"Let's just say, there are a lot of pretty pureblood girls in Slytherin willing to serve your needs."
"Well most of them anyways."
"And some unwilling mudbloods too, if you're into that."
"Not from Slytherin of course."
The three of them snickered.
They suddenly turned serious. "Just don't tell anyone, especially the professors," Higgs said, threateningly. "Nobody knows. We'd like to keep it that way."
"And," Higgs added, "it would be pretty easy to track down whoever leaked this information. Wouldn't want to make yourself an enemy of the entire Slytherin house, would you now?"
I took a deep, calming breath and mentally counted to 10. Best not to blow up the plumbing system after my first class.
"Your offer has been noted," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "I'll send a letter to your families when I find the time."
The three of them nodded in satisfaction before leaving.
I rubbed my eyes tiredly. Man the wizarding world was fucked up. It wasn't my job to try and fix it, but I couldn't help but want to.
I caught up to my classmates.
"What did they want?" Alicia asked.
"Oh, just some introductions, political shit and favors," I responded.
I couldn't exactly tell them what favors they offered me. There was no evidence and the way they worded it made things tricky. If they had said, "if you want to rape a muggleborn, just ask us and we'll provide," I could've went straight to my head of house or the headmaster and provided a memory for them, issue solved.
I needed to be careful with this situation. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I even want to be involved.
"You sound annoyed," one of the twins said. "Everything alright?"
I let out a heavy sigh. "I just can't deal with all this political bullshit."
I threw the letter the Slytherins gave me into the trash. Probably not the best idea but I was sorta pissed.
The five of them snickered in response.
"Who would have thought," the other twin said dramatically, "that the Prince of Atlantis hates politics! Oh, the unimaginable horrors!"
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
"Percy," the same twin said, "just letting you know, you'll probably have to deal with a lot more of what you call 'political bullshit', especially with the Slytherins."
"Yeah," Angelina agreed. "Some might even grovel at your feet to curry a favor from your family."
"Or even offer their bodies."
"Yeah, no thanks," I quickly said. "I have a girlfriend."
All five of them stopped in their tracks before I was bombarded with questions.
"Who is she?"
"Is she hot?"
"Are you two betrothed?"
"Why isn't she here with you?"
"Have you two fucked?"
"Whoa," I said in response. "I'm not answering those. Especially that last one."
"That means they fucked already," twin 1 said, whispering to the other. Twin 2 nodded in response.
"Besides, it's time for charms," I added, before running into the classroom.
Charms was with the Ravenclaws and was taught by a short guy. He had to stand on a pile of books to see everyone. Flitwick was his name, I believe. He seemed to be half-goblin.
His race made me wonder: if wizards were already highly bigoted towards muggleborns, then what are their views towards part humans like Flitwick?
My pendant already answered a question today so I was left to ponder it while Flitwick was doing roll call.
We didn't do much in class. It was mostly going over safety along with review over past material and what to expect this coming year. I would be paying attention, if not for the fact that I already knew everything.
And I still had to do the homework: an essay about safety in the classroom that had to meet a specific length requirement of all things. Not word count. Length. Seven inches to be exact, just like the length of my -
Ahem. Anyways, that just meant I didn't need a ruler to measure my essay length when I have something else.
Lunch was after, followed by two free periods. In truth, it was History of Magic taught by a ghost that followed after lunch. It was mind numbingly boring. The moment the professor started speaking, my eyes drooped and I fell asleep seconds later.
When I awoke halfway through the period, I saw the rest of my class taking the liberty to also nap or do homework from other classes. Class could not finish faster as Binns droned on about Goblin Rebellions.
I had a free period after which I spent it doing my essay for charms.
Surprised? Yeah, me too. I even got a grand total of one sentence written down before giving up, heading towards the lake instead.
Line Break
Apparently, the lake functioned like a nature reserve with all sorts of creatures inhabiting it - some magical, some not. It made me eager to dive in and explore. I took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching before jumping in.
The water was frigid and cold, or it would have been had I not been a son of Poseidon. I saw a variety of creatures in the lake - Grindylows, Selkies, Water Nymphs even and a giant squid.
His name is Ted by the way.
I let the currents drag me off to wherever. The feeling of being surrounded by water was cathartic and peaceful.
I let my mind wander off. I needed a plan to deal with those Slytherins, but to also make it so they can't connect it back to me.
Something I saw from the corner of my eye caught my attention. Something silvery and partially see through. It was a ghost. She had pigtails and glasses. She was also crying.
An idea struck me.
"Hi there," I said. I swam closer to take a better look at her. She looked to be around 15. "My names Percy. Who are you?"
"Myrtle Warren," she said between sniffs and hiccups. "But everyone just calls me Moaning Myrtle."
Odd nickname. Did she die while masturbating?
"And you!" she all of a sudden exclaimed. "You're the new student! Have you come here to make fun of me too?"
She sounded half hysterical.
It also made me wonder: how did other people make fun of her if she was all the way here down in the lake. I asked her, to which she responded with a glum "I got flushed down the toilet."
How does that even happen to a ghost?
My pendant didn't answer, having already been asked one today.
I nodded in understanding.
"So is that why you're crying?" I asked.
She nodded. "A couple of Slytherin boys barged into my washroom, the girls' washroom, and told me to scram. I refused, so they called me a 'moaning bitch' and flushed me down the toilet."
The ghost then proceeded to sob uncontrollably. Talk about sensitive.
But what she said piqued my interest. "What were a bunch of Slytherin guys doing in your washroom anyways?"
"Since my washroom's almost always flooded, it's also almost always empty. No one would witness them having their… fun."
Bullseye. I knew the Slytherin pricks were too prideful to bring any muggleborns into their common room.
I decided not to ask why her washroom was always flooded.
"Where is your washroom, by the way?" I asked instead.
"Why do you want to know? Are you going to make fun of me like those nasty girls?" she asked, sounding suspicious. "Or join in with the Slytherins?"
"No!" I said immediately. "I'm gonna stop them."
"You are?" she asked. Her tone was hopeful and her tears were gone.
"Yes, I really am."
She squealed with joy.
I ignored what she said afterwards. A plan formed in my head. It was a pretty simple one really: Use my pendant to control the Blood Baron. I'll have him hidden somewhere in the third floor washroom to catch the Slytherins in their act.
I activated my pendant, changing the appearance of it to the Helm of Darkness. I've actually never used my pendant to control the dead before - never had the time. Hopefully this will work.
"-ank you so much! You have no id-"
"Myrtle," I said, interrupting her. I needed to clean some things up. Additionally, this could act as a test run. My pendant glowed, the blessing of Hades in it activating. "You will not speak to anyone about what you saw today."
That should cover everything.
Her eyes widened. "How did yo-"
"Fun talking," I said, interrupting her once again. Judging by her reaction, it seemed the pendant worked. "But I have classes to attend."
I swam off to the surface of the lake before she could get a response out. Free period was almost over. Transfiguration was next with my Head of House and the Hufflepuffs. I did not want to be late.
But first, I had a ghost to see.