Good News everyone! As of this chapter forward, I have a new BETA!

Thank you so much for SandaKagami for your effort and I'm looking forward to working together to keep a tight ship. Welcome aboard to the S.S. Insanity MUAHAHAHAHA.

And now... this!

Chapter 13: A Very Exciting Detention

Words: 3,913

Recap: If anyone asked whether I prefer fighting a carnivore Wookie or dealing with the Muskedorks... well, at least I can stab the problem away with the former.

In the end, the Muskedorks left (albeit begrudgingly) before I sicked Madam Pomfrey on them, bluffing on which one of us had more credibility when it's clear we have none.

It wasn't as easy as shooing them away. Sirius was having none of it in the beginning and was ready to fist-fight if it came down to it rather than leaving his brother alone with me. (Just what kind of wizard do they think I am in their heads?). What happened afterward was a blur, but to summarize; I scoffed at him and told him he couldn't hit me if he tried, he said along the lines of 'Yeah, I can cause you ain't shit,' then I kind of dared him to try me, he lunged, I tripped him.

Then he bit my leg.

So he said 'See? I hit you,' then I said 'You bit me?!' because who does that?!

While James and Peter laughed in the background, it took Remus to point out the Guardian Fairy on Regulus' head and asked her to just guard him with some Fairy Magic because apparently, Fairy Magic can be nasty and no one wants to be on the opposite side of that.

I nestled back into my bed, but sleep didn't come once peace and quiet settled the wing. My eyes kept shifting to the entrance. Expecting the Hidebehind to appear and finish the job. But it never did.

The next… well, more accurately later that morning. After getting the all-clear by Madam Pomfrey, Regulus and I finally got to go back to our everyday lives. The first day out, and I'm already back in class. The Greenhouse was waiting and I spotted Severus first, thinking of greeting when I witnessed he was immersed with his peers, wearing a tight-knit between his brows when he's deep in conversation.

I never felt comfortable when I'm around his groupies, looking like I was some curious pet they tolerate or a disease. Gwen and Doc were waving for my attention, and I slid right between them. Gwen wasted no time hugging me, while Doc gave a gentle pat on my back.

"I'm so glad to see you look okay. How are you feeling? Fairy magic can be nasty after all. Are you sure you can go up and about?"

I chuckled at Doc's concern, "I'm fine, do you think Madam Pomfrey would have left me off if I hadn't had a clean bill of health?"

"Usually, I'd say no. But a little birdie told me she always felt exasperated whenever dealing with you, so that's questionable."

"Seriously, who is this 'birdie' anyway? How do you know all this?"

"Trade~ secret~" she sang-song with a wink.

Professor Sprout came with her usual plump cheer, greeting all her students with her usual sincere smile of hers, it's hard to deny she's only saying that as empty greetings. Not even the stoic Slytherins aren't susceptible to her charm. She then spotted me and gasped in surprise.

"Mister Jackson," she smiled tightly, "It's good to finally see you out of bed. You should honestly keep yourself safe, young man. It's not good for this poor woman's heart to often hear you placed in the infirmary."

"No promises, Professor. Trouble seems to find me attractive."

Professor Sprout often began or ended the class with a few casual talks as they discussed their days with her, and she would listen attentively. She gives a different kind of warmth that wouldn't lose to the greenhouse. She began quizzing and teaching about Puffspods and how to harvest the purple flowers and the orange-dotted, yellow beans. Mishaps were predictably made as some seeds fell and grew on the ground almost spontaneously, some who forgot to wear gloves had the kernel latched to their hands and grew out of it. They either panicked or messed around with their plant-hand until the professor intervened.

I'm always glad the class had no problem working in groups or I doubt I'd pass as is. It's almost too easy for my mind to wander and mess it up. The class ended and we left in a single file with faces full of dirt and the smell of fertilizer sticking to us.

"Mister Jackson, a word."

My back stiffened at the sentence. Uh-ho, this can't be good. I told Doc and Gwen to go on without me. I broke out from the file and neutrally faced Professor.

"What can I do for you, Professor?"

"Oh no, quite the opposite. I was about to ask what I can do for you?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, it's only a day since you've been out of the Hospital Wings. Fairy magic can be nasty."

"So I've heard."

"And this isn't the first time you've been sent to Madam Pomfrey's care. From what I heard, it's becoming a bit concerning."

"I don't—"

"I know healthy young boys like you have a harder standing still, and the fact this is a time when you try new things and struggle trying to decide who you are and who you want to be. It's okay to be reckless from time to time."

"Honestly, I'm trying to be a little less reckless these days—"

"But what I want you to understand is that you don't have to go through alone. As your Head of House, I promised you can visit and talk to whenever you need it. It may sound difficult at first, but I assure you that nothing good comes from keeping things bottled up."

This time, I didn't have anything to say, just gazing straight. Words filled with sincerity sounded more like the ringing siren.

"Trust me, let me be here for you, Percy. You are a fellow Hufflepuff after all." Professor Sprout gently smiled but for some reason or another, the face of my first-grade teacher popped into my head and overlapped with hers.

"No thanks, Professor. You might have stopped avoiding me, but let's both agree you haven't stopped being afraid of me." I glaringly pointed at the tight grip she had of her wand before the shock of my words hit me. I didn't wait to watch her reaction and practically ran out of the greenhouse, almost crashing to another body waiting just outside the door.

"Sev? What are you—"

"Heard you've been called out by the Professor, though you might need some support if you were in trouble."

"Ha! I might have preferred that."

We started walking side by side back to school, "I never heard you be that... blunt before. I'm not surprised you are, but I would think Professor Sprout would be the last person on the brunt of your ire."

"Yeah… she suddenly reminded me of Miss Lucy, and I lost my temper for a bit." It's been happening more and more times than I would have liked. "Urgh, I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what came over me."

"Miss Who?"

"Oh, my teacher during my first grade. Everyone loves her, including me." Sev shifted, growing more confused before I elaborated. "One time, my leg got caught in one of the whiteboard's legs and bruised a kid where it dropped. I've seen her angry before, but it was the first time I saw her furious, she practically exploded as she sent not only me but three other kids who've been testing her patient that week to the 'bad corner'. Had to stand on one leg and everything until the class was done and remembered crying the whole time. Half my class blamed me for 'ruining their day' especially the other three kids. Since then, I got into worse trouble with the class bullies to the point my mom decided for me to quit school. That's probably the only school I deliberately dropped out of.

"It didn't bother me or anything. Heck, I only just remembered it a couple of minutes ago. It never even occurred to me to hold a grudge on Miss Lucy."

Severus knew there was a 'but' in my sentence.

"I realized she was in the wrong. I was a 6-year-old kid, and I might have been on the hyperactive side, but one of the reasons I liked Miss Lucy was because her lesson always got my undivided attention. I was so focused on her. I didn't realize where my foot was while sitting among the crowd of other kids on the carpet. I didn't have bad intentions nor aware of what I was doing. It was a complete accident, and my favorite teacher made me the bad guy that day, but worst of all I believed her."

"...that sucks, mate."

I couldn't hold back the twitch of my lip at Sev's cute attempt to console me, "Gods, you're so bad at this."

"What am I supposed to say? So you suddenly realized you'd been wronged and you got angry?"

"No, I'm not angry. She made a mistake and might have been going through a bad day that day. The memory just hit me, and it left me… disappointed."

"Is that what that is? Professor Sprout said something that disappointed you?"

Huh, never thought it that way. "You know, it never occurred to me why my temper shortened back there. I guess that's why." In the middle of listening to her speech, I didn't know whether she was just giving empty words or, worse, lying. But I do know she wasn't truly sincere with her words.

"Well, mystery solved. Now can we please continue with our next class instead of talking about..." he shuddered, "...feelings."

"You should try it sometimes, Sevvy. It'll be good for you."

"Nonsense, no one can appreciate the darkness of my deprived soul scurrying for the crack of light," Sev said like a line of gothic poetry. I see he finally reached that phase.

"Nah, your soul is more like a hissing cat that likes to sleep in the shade."

I laughed as I ran while Sev tried to catch me in failing attempts to hit me. Professor Kettleburn was already by the courtyard, waiting for his class to start. Lily was among her girlfriends before waving her hand once she spotted us. Her friends, who usually went away by this point to give us space, lingered for a while to whisper and snicker with each other, their eyes seemed to keep glancing at us with secretive smiles on their faces.

The lesson today claimed to be special as we were learning the difference between a Fire and Frost Salamander besides the obvious; like how they gave birth to themselves and the food they eat. Professor Kettleburn had those two beasts displayed while they were curled around his hands. As exciting the lessons were, we had to cut it short when the two Salamanders got into a fight and blew up on the Professor's face.

I remembered the wild laughter as he tried to quell the restless students. "Calm down, it's nothing I've never experienced before," he said with blood all over his face. I'm pretty sure one student fainted then. Practically the entire class had to push Professor Kettleburn to see Madam Pomfrey despite his protest.

The day went on as usual; Professor McG with her strict lecture, Professor Silverback and the ever roundabout and long-winded lesson of his, and Professor Slughorn's easily thrown praises. If you take them at face value, it seems nothing in the castle has changed. But then if you're not a dense idiot, you would notice the dark bags under the once intense gazes of the Lion's Head of House, the Gatekeepers continuous absence from the Great Hall, and more than once I spotted Pringle running around the classes like an overworked intern who fills every employee's coffee.

I may be dense, but I'm certainly no idiot.

After Double Potion ended, Professor Slughorn reminded me that I had an appointment with Professor Ops to carry out that detention she promised. It certainly wasn't something I wanted to hear on my first day at school since the accident, but no one can truly say no to Rhea. I met Lily and Severus midway to her office, the former dragging herself all the way while the latter just wanted to get it over with it quickly.

But arriving at her office, we froze. Not only by the door left ajar, but by the argument happening inside. It wasn't loud or anything, what was shocking though was who was doing the arguing against the Titaness.

"...and you claim that your presence has no relation to the growing disturbance from the Forest."

"Headmaster, you of all people know that I can't directly interfere with the mortal plane. Not with this effect at least."

The three of us huddled together by the edge of the opened door. Our head stacked up like a totem pole. "Wait," said Lily, "Should we even do this? Isn't it rude to eavesdrop?"

"Lily, this isn't even the worst thing we've done. It's too late to act polite by this point," I whispered before focusing back on the scene in front of us.

"That's not what I'm asking," Dumbledore struggled to reign his exasperation, "Rhea, I need to know if your presence here has attracted the 'people' from your side. We cannot let the two worlds mix more than it already has or else disaster will befall on both sides."

The Titaness of Motherhood gave him a gaze full of pity, "Disaster has been afoot since before my arrival. You cannot stop the coming tide, but only be ready for it. I came to make sure it doesn't have to be worse than it has to be."

"Then why can't you just tell me what this 'tide' we're supposed to already be dealing with instead of one of your vague predictions."

"You know better than anyone the Fates is impossible to comprehend in its entirety. I can only warn you of the growing threat but not the effect itself. The Law only allows me to point you the right direction."

"Then perhaps your 'presence' is of no use here in Hogwarts." The Headmaster's biting words were so out of character from his usual composed self. I had to cover Lily's mouth from gasping.

"Albus," hesitantly, Rhea walked closer and put both her hands on his shoulder, "What happened that day, there wasn't anyone or anything that could have changed the outcome. It was inevitable."

"Only because of a prophecy I never asked for."

That almost made my eyes jump out. Did Dumbledore get a prophecy too? From the context, I'm guessing it's from the past and I shouldn't be surprised if a demigod like him would get involved in at least one prophecy in his lifetime. But what kind must it be to shock the wised, old man this much?

Rhea shook her head. "Our choices determine our prophecies as much as the prophecy determines our fates. We cannot choose whether to heed it or not," she tried to reason, but Dumbledore has already backed away, and I knew the conversation was on its end.

"If you have nothing else to say, then I request you to continue your utmost best as a Professor of Hogwarts, including protecting the students from any harm, come what may." He turned away and exited the room. Lily, Severus, and I had quickly backed away and hidden behind a large hanging banner until his steps were lost to our ears.

"What was that about?!" Sev asked, his pitch gone high.

"Why are you asking me? How should I know?"

"She's your grandmother! How do you not know?"

"She's maybe my grandmother but Hogwarts is where I first met her, remember?" Saying it like this makes me sound like a duped victim after getting scammed.

Sev huffed but looked like he had more to say.

"Kids, if you're done talking among yourselves, why don't you come to my office?" Rhea cut in our conversation. There was no use hiding from her.

We tried our best not to act sheepish as we followed her back to her office. Sev stiffened at the sight of the lion, still not used to his presence. Lily had the same gleam in her eyes when she wanted to pet a wild Griffin before the bald-head decided it wanted to trample me. (It felt like getting attacked by my own country).

"So," the Titaness Professor started, "I would like to say it's good to see you up and about, Percy. We all know that Fairy magic can be nasty." Why does everyone keep saying that? Just what kind of reputation fairies have that it becomes a saying?! "But getting back to the point, you three have broken school regulation of having and attempting walking out of school ground."

"Technically, the Forbidden Forest is still part of the school grounds so..."

"Mister Jackson, I usually found your remarks amusing, but please don't make this harder on yourself."

That may be the kindest way anyone has ever told me to shut up.

"Now as I was saying, I know you Percy has his circumstances and you two are just being loyal friends so I'll give you three an easy errand to do." Errand? That doesn't sound too bad. She started writing something before cutting the parchment to two, putting them inside an envelope, "Come with me."

She took us to Hagrid's hut by the edge of the Forest. The half-giant man himself was already out, with a lantern on his left and pink umbrella on his right. He looked no less surprised by the arrival of Professor Ops, but I can't say the same at ours. However, that surprise was quickly replaced by an eager sort of relief.

"Percy! I didn't thin' yeh got out today, those fairy magic-"

"-can be nasty, yeah I've already heard my fair share."

"What did yeh get in trouble for this time?"

"Nothing bad! Just took a stroll out in the Forbidden Forest."

"Again? Percy, yeh know it's called 'Forbidden' for a reason?"

"Must have missed the memo."

Hagrid shook his head, but there's no hiding the fond emotion he wore in his sleeve. "So, wha' can I do for yeh Professah Ops?'

"I want you to take Miss Evans and Mister Snape to see Baron so they can hand-deliver this letter." She showed us one half of the letter before entrusting it to Lily.

"What?! The Centau's? If—if it's importan' then I can delive' it mehself, Professah."

She shook her head, "This is part of their punishment, so please guide them the best you can, Hagrid. I'm sure it'd be educational for them."

"Err, I don't think those people will appreciate havin'em even if they're still young."

"Tell the Centaurs I sent them, they'll understand."

Hagrid scratched his head, "Alrigh' if the Professah says so. Come on, kids. I'll teach yeh how to navigate the fores' while I'm at it."

"Wait!" Lily barely made the first step to the forest before she turned back. "What about Percy?"

"Mister Jackson, on the other hand, will be accompanying me."

"Why can't we do it with the three of us?" Lily asked and looked at me, concern evident between her brows.

I smiled back at her and showed her our friendship bracelet, reminding her that I could ask for help anytime when needed.

"Unfortunately Miss Evans, Percy has a special task that only he can accomplish. Don't worry; I won't ask anything unreasonable of him."

Lily hesitated for a bit until Sev took her hand and pulled her away. It took a few steps ahead before she stopped glancing back.

Rhea clapped her hand, getting my attention, "So, shall we go then?"

"Go where?"

"To the Black Lake of course."

Usually, any reason to take me to a large body of water would soothe any reason for my tight muscle, not be the cause for it. The nightmare last night was still fresh in my mind. Oh great, I thought I've already gone past this after the Second Titan War. The lake was already up ahead, every breath of the familiar scent of water only seemed to put more pressure. I didn't realize I had stopped walking until my eyes blurred out everything but the water. I felt the hard throbbing at the back of my head and nothing else. I vaguely realized the sharp pain at my back and… is it me, or is it getting hard to breathe here? Is my necktie too tight? Maybe I should loosen my collar…

ROOOOOAAAAARRRR!

"MEGÁLES BÁLES TOU DÍA!"

The shock of the roar broke my train of thought, and I gasped in a large amount of air that I didn't realize I was lacking. When did Michael get so near? Rhea took a gentle grip on my shoulder and silently asked me to face her. She discarded her tinted sunglasses so I could look into her bejeweled eyes that are a mix of gold and emerald. Soon enough, my breathing eased, my blood stopped rushing, and a wave of tranquility washed over me.

"Have you calmed down?"

I didn't trust my voice so I just nodded tightly. Great, as if things weren't bad enough, I had to go through a panic attack. "Thank you."

"It's fine, son."

"No, not just for this. I know you also helped me through my nightmare."

"Ah... what gave it away?"

"This is the second time I've been saved by a lion. I thought the coincidence was too much and took a shot in the dark."

Rhea nodded, "While it may not be real, the downside of half-blood's dream is that they can affect you like the real thing."

"What—" I licked my chapped lips, "What was that?"

It took a moment for her to answer me, and I was close enough to notice a flash of regret before she wore her usual smile, "Good news for you, once you finished my errand you'll find the answer you need."

If not for the considerable gratitude, I would have rolled my eyes at her. Is it so hard to just tell the answer herself? Rhea waved her hand. The second letter appeared before giving it to me. "Please send this to the merpeople living in the lake."

I waited for a beat then asked suspiciously, "What's the catch?"

"No catch, just go down there and deliver the message and you'll find the merpeople will gladly explain to you the answer you need."

"Really, that's it?"

"That's it."

Huh, that sounds pretty easy. I walked into the lake and stopped by the time the water reached my hips. I breathed in, breathed out. For the first time since setting foot in the past, I wished Dad could hear my prayer. It'd be wholly reassuring to know he was there to have my back when I needed it most or just there for moral support… but mostly moral support… Actually, I can't remember much else given but moral support. Still, if he could listen to me, he could have made sure no water can harm me even by accident.

Then I remembered the first time I was summoned to do this crazy quest and the blessing he gave me before being sent away. Breathed in. Breathed out. A blessing that makes sure no harm shall come while I'm underwater. Breathed in. I guess having faith is the next best thing. Breathed out. I sunk into the lake before second thoughts could stop me.

AN: For those curious of the Greek sentence, it meant Great ball of Zeus XD

I thought for this chapter Professor Sprout deserves to have more screentime, being Percy's Head of House and all. Figured she'd be a good, supportive adult figure, but then I suddenly an incident from first-grade that I based on for this chapter and thought 'This is more interesting.'

Also, it's been mentioned a few times that the Buffalo Wings League was too American which is an error on my part. It's not likely for a house-elves to feed kids an American fast food recipe, it's not like someone gave the recipe or anything.

Alright, time for the QRA where I thank your loves and answer your questions.

SandaKagami: Quidditch-sexual wkwkwkwkw. You know what? For you, I'll make Damien and Marlene canon. I love them anyway, but right now Damien is too emotionally constipated and Marlene is too dense to actually feel love before it'll bit them in the arse. And since this is in Percy's PoV, you'll look forward to how I plan to drag him into this disaster of a relationship.

123wwww: Thank you for the love. And of course it's a hidebehind. Wookie is a fictional character, Hidebehind is a real monster that will eat anyone lost in the woods.

brade1991: Yeah, they wouldn't be the marauders is they don't know how to get out of trouble.

zoomingaway: and why would anyone sneak into an empty school hmmmmmm -_-

Darling, Percy can sass even in his dreams. The fairies are a lot petty once you realized they could have just magicked them unconscious, but they had to do it by knocking them out with a Bludger too. Professor Sprout isn't quite the MVP in this chapter, unfortunately. And Lily brought FINISHED homework for Percy, she's the real MVP of that chapter. I mean, you can go to a wizarding school, but you'll have to give up the internet during the 9 months you studied there. And Percy should be physically 13 now, he's starting to grow out of that baby fat, of course there's gonna be fans. I'm pretty sure he's the Cedric Diggory in his year. Also, I'm not surprised you sing, the first line of the letter is a reference to Hamilton (Can I have a No to This!) Percy is my sweet, disaster child. He needs friends in the same sense he needs impulse control. Thank you again for the love btw :)))

"A hoard of rapscallion parading..." WKWKWKWKWK XDXDXD That's hilarious. You just made a better line than me! I'm gonna steal that btw. But I need more! As for the Rhea, magical creatures, and werewolves. Spolier~ James is a stag, not a reindeer. They're not even an animagi yet. Jules Albert has no use harassing Percy, he has better use of his time, thank you very much. I think your review was abruptly cut during your meltdown wkwkwkw

pinkdoughnuts: At this point, who doesn't have a crush on Percy Jackson?

snowsTorm18000: YES! Percy will have trouble warding off fans during Valentine, which is why I'm so looking forward to writing that chapter.

Patolemus: Oliver wishes he could be as hardcore as Marlene. I also didn't think people would be so positive toward a Fairy Companion for Reggy. You love it so much, you mention it twice. Confuse and suffer my friend, until everything is all revealed in the end. No, rhea wasn't behind the furry. That's all I'm gonna say. In Percy's defense, he thought the Wookie-lookalike brought back up from behind and got distracted. The Marauders have collectively decided that the sword is the least weird thing about Percy Jackson XD.

You don't need to struggle for too long with Damien, you're gonna love him more every time he appears. As for his fate... ask me again and I might give you a hint... if you want... think very hard if you really want to know.

Anyway, thank you as always for the love.

aarna rastogi: Thank you for the love. It brings me so much joy knowing how eager you are to read this. Hope you always keep looking forward to this.

CalRedEss: THANK YOU! I WILL! :)

scl04: Marauders just brush the sword off, sadly. They think his sword is the least weird thing about Percy Jackson XD. I can't wait for the valentine chapter too. Don't worry, I know bullying is harmful no matter the intention of the culprit. I'm hoping to do them justice as they grow up and realize the Marauders were fucked up. Hope you like this chapter as well! Looking forward to what you think. Thank you for the love.

Stjinbus: Remus mentioned before that he smelled something 'divine' about him but not sure what it meant since he knows little of the Greek World. Being a werewolf doesn't come in manual, you know. And no, Remus isn't a monster so he won't go to Tartarus. It's proved by the fact, you can't hurt werewolves with celestial bronze, or imperial gold, but with silver instead. Pray I have a solid work in the future.

Urgh, you won. I'm currently out of pun juice to respond.

DreamCatcher06: I definitely didn't reference Hamilton on that, that would be on the first line of the letter XD, but I guess that's how catchy Hamilton is that anything can be relate to that.

smallchildwithaMACBOOK: 'oh god a 10-year-old' said the account that said 'small child'. And my secret to writing for 3 years? Poor planning and spite at this point.

DAREDEVIL246: OmG! How come I keep getting crazier fans! Reading one or two days would have been cute if not for the fact my chapter keeps getting longer every time the same review appeared! Thank you so much for the love but go take care of yourself for Merlin's sake!

FolkLuz21: Percy's 13, he should have lose enough baby fat to show that roguishly handsome face of his future self. Of course, he's gonna have fans. It'd be an insult to Percy if he wasn't. And Buffalo Restaurant WKWKWKWKWK XD Oh God, that was new and hilarious. I might reference that. si quieres que te golpee toda la fuerza de la verdad, espera al próximo capítulo.

For a moment, I thought you said this story was freaking long and was about to complain. Because I sure didn't think this story through when I naively thought "I'm gonna write all 7 Acts!" I'm just happy you love it so much and to the time to always share those feelings in words. These types of fo reviews always bring my day. I thought for the Quidditch Match, it's only more appropriate for Toots to explain the happenings on the field. Percy is too busy searching for the Snitch to notice most of what's going on with the other players, which left him to hearing Toots.

Mi familia y yo hicimos una prueba de hisopo ayer. Lloré XD. ¡Sentí el escozor en la nariz durante una hora! Now I can only wait for the result in two weeks, what about you? Dengan karantina, lebih banyak waktu buat ku untuk menulis jadi setidaknya itu kabar gembira hehehe. It's good that you're taking yoga class. Keep you healthy and flexible wkwkwk. Anyway, sampai jumpa!

DramaticClassClown: First rule of writing; knowing you can keep on writing even if you get sick of it. I'm serious. And boy, that was one of the smoothest reviews I've gotten.

XoverFan4Evaaaa: Well, Harry was kind of outside the ward when he flew too high since that kid is such a Gryffindor. Thank for the love and well wishes, I wish you be safe as well. We're close to the end of the tunnel I hope.

miriam far1: Espero seguir escribiendo tambien. Gracias por el amor :)