Perci sat curled up on her mom and Paul's couch, a mug of hot chocolate and a plate of blue cookies resting on the coffee table in front of her. Her little brother, Esteban, was sitting right beside her, his warm body pressing into hers. The two were watching "Finding Nemo", exactly what everyone should be doing on the evening of Halloween. Although it was still October, the weather had chilled significantly and going outside without heavy winter gear was inviting yourself to get hypothermia.
"Pewci, Chokwate" Esteban whined grabbing at the cup of hot chocolate. His sister laughed, and twisted her hand slightly, causing some hot chocolate to rise from the cup and dance around the air in front of them.
Esteban clapped as the sugary liquid formed a fish and started swimming in the air. Then Perci popped it into her mouth.
"Persephone dear" she heard her mother's stern voice call out. "What did we say about your parentage?"
She sighed. "Never to show it, never to speak of it and never to think of it," she repeated in a dull tone. Mom wasn't the same anymore. After she moved back in, her mother had been cold and reserved, occasionally giving her hidden looks of contempt.
She went back to typing, and Perci looked back at Esteban to see that he was now mad, very mad. On the verge of an explosive tantrum. She shushed him, trying to calm him before she got into trouble for him too. He just stared at her angrily and a huge ball of hot chocolate lifted into the air. The viridescent girl looked at her hands, eyes wide in surprise and tried to stop doing whatever I was doing, to drop the ball of piping hot liquid. But She didn't feel the familiar tug in my gut that meant she was using her powers.
She glanced back at Esteban once more, his face now red. She realized in shock that it had to be him. He was the one controlling the liquid. She fumbled around for his pacifier and stuck it in his mouth, calming him slightly. His newfound calm made matters worse as the ball of steaming liquid started falling. Perci snatched Esteban away from harm as the chocolate splashed onto the spot where he had just been sitting, seeping into the fabric of the Blofis family's new light grey couch. She winced knowing she was going to get an earful for this.
"Mrs Blofis" She addressed her mother the same way she had for the last year she'd been living with her.
"What is It Persephone?" the middle-aged woman responded, closing her computer, slightly annoyed.
" You might want to see what happened Maam," Perci responded, her head hung.
Sally rose from her seat and stalked over to the couch. Her eyes flicked to the stain on the couch and back to Perci, anger burning in them. "Did you do this?" she asked, in a tone that would be indifferent if you couldn't see her eyes filled with anger.
" No, ma'am."
"Don't lie to me!" She growled
I lowered my head. " But ma'am-"
"I don't care about your excuses Persephone. Bed. Now."
The daughter of Poseidon stood, placed Esteban back on the couch then slowly made her way down a small hallway to her room. Softly, she locked the door and jumped into bed, not even bothering to change. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a light sleep, ignoring the sounds of happy children making their rounds in dumb costumes.
/
Perci was falling. that's all she could feel. The air whistling by her ears, gravity pulling her down... down... down. She looked down, no light to be seen. Just a never-ending hole of darkness. She could see nothing above her either, just trapped in the darkness by herself, victim to gravity. Perci let herself fall, not that she could control that fact much. She relaxed into the feeling, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. Might as well enjoy it before she was a human pancake at the bottom of the hole
Her eyes closed and she let her hands fly up into the air as she revelled in the exhilarating feeling of being in the air, not noticing the rising temperature of the air.
After what felt like hours of continuous falling, a small light could be seen at the bottom of the hole. It approached rapidly, the sound of water rushing reaching Perci's ears. Soon enough, she was enveloped in the light, now able to see the river she was falling towards at breakneck speed.
Thank the gods for that river was her last thought before she fell in with a splash, expecting to feel rejuvenated and safe in the water. However, all she felt was pain, horrible pain.
An ear curdling scream pierced the silence of Tartarus.
/
Creaaaak
Perci woke quietly after hearing the door open, her hand on riptide. The girl's mind raced. How did anyone get into her room, she locked the door. She peeked through my eyelashes, to see... her mom?
Sally stood over her, A beautifully carved stick extended and pointed towards her daughter's heart. She was muttering under her breath so quietly, that without Perci's enhanced demigod hearing and the otherwise silent room, the silently panicking girl wouldn't have heard it.
"She would never renounce it. I know her. She would never renounce her blood. Her loyalty wouldn't allow it, so this is the only other solution. Rid ourselves of the disgusting scum."
Perci fought to resist her eyes widening. Disgusting Scum? Where was this coming from?
"Avada Kedavra" Sally whispered, a manic smile on her face.
A green light shot out of the stick and Perci's demigod instincts took over. She rolled out of the way of the light, uncapping Riptide and hitting her mom... no, she didn't get to be her mom anymore. Hitting Sally Blofis over the head with the hilt.
Sally crumpled to the ground, dropping her magic stick. For a few moments, Perci sat there in shock. What had she done? she had just hit the woman who brought her into this world, who cared for her and nurtured her, over the head with a sword hilt. Then she thought of Paul. He would kill her! She had to get out.
Though Paul had not been a violent man, in the beginning, He had slowly started hitting Perci within her two years as a resident in the Blofis household. It had started as spanking, something Perci found extremely weird and uncomfortable considering she was nearing her 14th birthday and she barely knew Paul. As things progressed the violence worsened. Soon enough, he was almost as abusive as smelly Gabe. Her body was littered with old scars and open wounds, some from the war, and some from Paul's endless imagination for different kinds of torture. He was only better than Gabe in the sense that he left her mother alone, only ever indulging in violence when that violence was towards Perci.
Perci got out of bed and grabbed a bag, moving swiftly around the room, grabbing all the important things; her camp beads, a picture of Esteban, her warmest clothes, a flashlight, extra knives and a bag for food. She snuck out of the room, stopping in the kitchen to fill the bag with food and snatching the blue cookie recipe off of the fridge. Who knows? She might need it.
She snuck back to the room, making sure to carefully bag the Moonlace on my window sill. With all her stuff slung onto her back, The viridescent teen climbed down the fire escape and set off into the dark streets of Manhattan.
/
She was still walking when the sun had risen. Perci had ended up by a subway station, near my Sally's old work, Sweets on America. A wonderful surprise that inky fuelled her bitterness. she pulled out an apple and bit into it, savouring the taste, then found a comfortable enough looking spot in a corner and sat down, making herself as comfortable as one could be when sitting on the floor of a train station.
She munched on her apple, watching people come and go. Every so often, people would drop a penny or a quarter in front of her. Perci scooped the money up, stashing it in her bag for later use. Soon enough, the scarce daylight coming from the entrances faded and the flow of people slowed down. She curled up on herself, conserving as much body heat as she could and fell asleep.
When Perci awoke, It was to the sound of the first train of the morning zooming into the station. she sat back up, stretching and reached into my bag, pulling out another apple and biting into it. She took inventory of her food and supplies, noting that several things had been snatched during the night, including a big portion of her food.
She sighed and lay back against the cold wall of the train station. There was no use getting worked up about something as petty as snatching a few granola bars and an apple. Perci looked down and picked at the hem of her jacket, scared, cold and somehow bored out of her mind.
/
Two weeks later, Perci had hardly moved from her spot in the train station. It had become her home. She had become accustomed to the musty air, the rotting plywood ceiling of the station, the strange hours the trains run at and the even stranger people who board them. This particular day, It was the 5:30 train that ran in the morning that awoke her. Very few people stood at the platform to board it, and only one person walked off.
The man was one of the stranger characters Perci had seen around her new home. He wore long flowy robes that were probably fashionable at some point in the 17th century but looked odd in the present day. He searched around the train station, eyes sweeping every pillar and every stair until his eyes landed on her.
He started walking towards her corner with purpose and reached into his pocket... pulling out a fancy stick! The same kind Sally Blofis had! Perci scrambled to her feet, pulling out her trusted pen. He slowed when he saw the fear in her eyes, approaching her as if she was a frightened animal rather than a normal person. He dropped his stick and lifted his hands slightly in the air, to ensure that the frightened girl knew he meant no harm.
He inched closer to her, her instincts still telling her to bolt. When he finally got close enough, he held out his hand.
"Come with me Perci, we must get you out of here at once. They're coming."
He stated, staring behind me. Sally, A balding red-haired man, an elderly white-haired man and a younger man with wavy black hair and a slightly insane look in his eye were ascending the elevator, some with confused looks on their faces.
Making a split-second decision, Perci grabbed the man's hand. He smiled and his stick flew back to his other hand.
Then the world started spinning and they left with a crack.
/
When the world reappeared, Perci stumbled away from the man, nearly falling but catching herself on a rather plush sofa.
It felt like Gaea in all of her glory had hit her over the head with a very large, blunt object then run her over with a monster truck.
She slid to the floor, keeping herself from vomiting. After what seemed like hours but was most probably mere minutes, her queasiness subsided and she was able to look around the room.
It was a cosy room, with a crackling fire that reminded her of the recently erected Hestia cabin back at camp. It gave off a homey feel and was decorated in dark earthy tones. A grandfather clock towered over the rest of the furniture, it's hands showing that it was now 5: 50 am.
"Ahem"
Perci jumped, turning to the side, only to see the man who brought her here in the first place, standing on the other side of the couch.
Now that she wasn't in any imminent danger, she got a good look at him. He still donned long flowing robes, but from closer, you could see that they were a deep shade of purple instead of black as she had originally thought.
His skin was like hers, olive, but with a surfer's tan. He also had shoulder-length, dark, wavy hair, but a colour that reminded her a lot of Sally Blofis' hair. His eyes were unique, a sparkling amber and he had only traces of stubble upon his face.
The man was of average height but built lean and subtly muscular. He was probably nearing his fifties, but he wasn't mawkish.
"Excuse me, Miss Jackson." He tried again.
"Can I help you, sir?" Perci asked, opting to remain polite for the moment.
He walked over to the couch across from her and sat, hands folded in his lap.
"It seems that we have a great deal to talk about. I'll first tell you what you need to know, then you can ask questions. Is that alright?"
She nodded in slight shock. Adults didn't usually ask her permission for well... anything. Even some things that they definitely should have.
"Of course sir"
His nose crinkled
"There's no use for such formalities here. Call me Callum...or grandfather if you prefer"
Perci arched an eyebrow.
"Let me explain. You see almost 50 years ago, A young man named Tom Riddle was born to a magical woman, more commonly called a witch and a non-magical man, better known as a muggle.
Now young Tom's mother died giving birth to him and his father wanted nothing to do with him. So he was sent to an orphanage where he lived until he was eleven years of age and was mistreated.
On his eleventh birthday, he received a letter, an invitation to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, the school he frequented for 7 years and became his first true home. Tom believed in power. He refused to believe that any kind of magic was inherently good or evil, even though the magical government declared it to be so.
And so he spoke out and fought for what he believed in, gaining him followers and enemies. By the time he graduated from school, he had gone through all the steps to become a powerful wizarding lord. Because of his views, he was labelled evil and anyone who followed him.
But it was the light side that was truly evil. Albus Dumbledore, the paragon of light, tortured people in his following so that the general public believe that Tom, who had taken the pseudonym Voldemort, was evil. He created a false prophecy, targeting other scions of the light, to not only get them out of the way but to also frame Tom for their murders.
But Tom wasn't doing anything evil. He had married and gotten himself a family. Him and His husband, the Lord of the ancient house of Coldwell, had a daughter, Saline Coldwell. Sensing the danger that lay ahead, Lord Coldwell left his daughter in the hands of close muggle friends, who changed her named to Sally and gave her their last name, Jackson.
While Sally was safe with the Jacksons, Dumbledore manipulated Tom into attacking a child, not even 1 year old. The small boy's mother shielded him from death, resulting in her death and the downfall of Tom, leaving the child with a lightning bolt-shaped cut and heaps of fame.
Meanwhile, the Jacksons had died in a plane crash and Saline was never found."
Perci took a moment to process that story. The part about the Jacksons seemed vaguely familiar, she knew that her mother's parents had perished in a plane crash, but her mother couldn't possibly be Saline Coldwell could she? She did, however, use magic to try and do something to Perci, however, said girl was still uncertain as to what.
In her musings, Perci thought of all she knew of the man in front of her. He greatly resembled her mother and he had even told her that she could call him grandfather! If Sally was truly Saline Coldwell, then this man had to be either Tom Riddle or Lord Coldwell. From what she knew, Tom riddle was either dead or in terrible shape, and so this man could only be his husband, Lord Callum Coldwell.
She cracked a smile. "Until now it seems, Lord Callum Coldwell"
He laughed. "What an observant girl. Yes, I'm Callum Coldwell, your grandfather."
Her expression returned to neutral. "How, Mr Coldwell, do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Well, Ms Jackson, I put a potion that compels you to tell the truth in my drink."He gestured to the mug he had been sipping from throughout his story. "take a sip if you want, I reckon it'll be amusing.
She shrugged and took his cup, taking a small, cautious sip.
"Now Ms Jackson, I dare you to tell a lie."
She sighed and tried to think of the most outrageous lie she could. Perhaps she could tell him that she didn't blow up mount Saint Helens.
"I-" She stopped mid-sentence, not of her own will. She tried again. "I did-" It was no use. No matter how many times she tried.
"Now tell the truth."
"I blew up Mt St Helens." It flowed smoothly out of her mouth.
Callum raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything.
Perci let out a rather undignified snort. "So it's real. I'm a witch, the granddaughter of an immensely powerful wizard and completely unknown in this world. How utterly wonderful"
She sighed. If the Greek gods were real, why couldn't witches be too?.
"Those would all be correct. Now, do you have any questions dear?"
"Was that stick that you had in the train station your wand?"
"Yes"
So that's why the light came out of Sally's wand. It was a spell.
"Why did the magical government label magic evil?"
"Because they were scared."
"Scared of what grandfather?"
"Scared of what they couldn't control."
Finally, she asked the question that had been bugging her since the beginning.
"If grandpa tried to kill a child, isn't he evil?"
Callum sighed. "He made a terrible choice. One that I do not approve of at all. Killing a child is the most evil act one can commit, no matter the cause. So yes, it's possible that Tom may be a tad evil but I beleive that he has it in him to do better."
"One more thing grandfather."
"Yes, Perci?"
"How did you and grandpa have Sally if you're both men?"
He blushed slightly "Magic."
He then stood and offered her a hand.
"Because you're now living with me, we have a few things to do. We must get you a wand, a cauldron, a pet, a broomstick..." He looked me up and down, taking in my crusty, disgusting clothes. "And an entire wardrobe it seems."
"Living with you?" Perci had only just met the man, even if he was her grandfather.
"Of course, I couldn't bear to leave my granddaughter, living on the streets, in dirty clothes and begging for food."
"Alright." Perci conceded, grateful for her grandfather taking her in but also suspicious that he cared so much for a girl he had just met.
Then she remembered with dismay what had happened last time they had magically travelled.
"Are we doing that strange teleporting thing again grandfather?"
He smiled " Nope, we'll be flooring"
Perci smiled relieved. "What are we waiting for then!"
His happy expression turned into a frown. "Perci my dear, I'm sorry but there are still a few things we must address. First and foremost we must disguise you since Sally will most probably be searching for you."
He strode across the room to a drawer, which he made several strange wand movements in front of. The drawer slid open and he fumbled around in it, finally pulling out a slim wedding band type ring.
"This was Tom's ring. He put a myriad of enchantments on it, most of them to change his appearance and mask his magical signature."
Perci frowned, slightly confused when he mentioned a magical signature but shoved her questions to the side.
"I'm familiar enough with the magic he used to change the appearance it's keyed to, as I have my own ring as well. I'll change it so that it will take on an alternate appearance that you can use to go about your everyday life."
Perci continued smiling, unfazed. "Well, go on then. Just don't change me too much."
He pointed his wand at the ring and muttered a few sentences, then said loudly and clearly "Procidat Deception"
He offered it to me.
"Go ahead and test it out."
I slipped the ring onto my finger and gradually, my body started to tingle. The feeling was fleeting, lasting 30 seconds at most then it stopped suddenly.
Perci looked at her Grandfather, who said nothing and gestured towards a hallway off to the right. At the end sat a full-length mirror. Perci walked down towards the mirror then stared into it. A whole other girl stared back. Her reflection had shoulder-length hair, still wavy now a pretty platinum blonde. Her eyes were almond-shaped, irises that were now a golden colour worthy of Apollo, were barely peeking out. She was a little shorter than before, by maybe 3 or 4 inches.
Her hips had widened a little bit, making her seem a bit older than she was, her newfound aristocratic cheekbones and pink-red lips not exactly helping her case. Her ears had taken on a slightly elfish shape, indicating that she might not be entirely human and her feet had also receded a bit, causing her shoes to be uncomfortably loose on her feet. Her skin had become a bit paler, though she kept a bit of her tan, and had tightened across her bones, a novel yet strange feeling that she was sure she would get used to.
'I look amazingly like grandfather' she concluded after her thorough evaluation of her new appearance
"You ready to go Perci?" said man called out.
"Yes, grandfather."
He pulled her back through the hallway and into the living room, right in front of a roaring fire.
He reached into a pouch above it and threw some emerald powder into the fire, causing it to turn green.
He stepped in, gesturing for her to do the same. She cautiously took a step into the fireplace, emerald flames licking at her ratty sweatpants.
"LEAKY CAULDRON," Her grandfather said, then once again, the world disappeared around her once more.
Perci opened her eyes, not to see the homey living room of whatever house they had previously in but a run-down bar, bustling with people. She gripped her grandfather's soft hand as they stepped out of the fire, and headed towards the rear of the pub. They exited through a back door and came face to face with a brick wall.
Callum pulled his wand out of his sleeve with grace and tapped it methodically on different bricks. Once he'd finished, he stepped back and the wall diverged, revealing a semi-busy street full of shops and people.
Callum pulled her through the newly formed doorway and navigated the crowd, stopping in front of a large marble building. The pair stepped inside, but not before Perci read the inscription over the doorway.
"Fortius quo Fidelius" She muttered under her breath, her demigod mind quickly translating Latin. 'Strength through loyalty'... sounds like my kind of place!
They walked up to the teller, A rather stout figure with long pointy ears and teeth as well as long, nimble fingers. Its face was severely wrinkled and it was wearing a suit with a little bit of frill on the collar.
Callum dipped into a slight bow, so his granddaughter followed suit.
"No need to bow to me, Daughter of the sea" the goblin drawled " It is a pleasure to meet you miss Persephone Jackson."
Perci's eyes widened and she looked and Callum in confusion. Had his ring not worked?
" No need to worry miss, us goblins are proficient in seeing through glamours and disguises."
Perci nodded in understanding. " May I ask your name?"
"Goblin Kranroch, at your service. We must take you to your vault now Daughter of the sea"
Perci's eyes widened once again as she was surprised once more.
"I have a vault?"
"You most probably have many, but the one I'm speaking of is the one you inherited from your father as his first magical child. Vault number 2, one of the three first Vaults at Gringotts. Those of your two uncles and your Father's, which is now completely yours."
Callum, who had been listening to the conversation intently chipped in. "His first Magical child? How does he have a Vault, much less one of the oldest vaults if he isn't even a wizard? Hell, Gringotts is has been open since the ancient Egyptians built their Pyramids, how is her father even still alive?"
"All will be answered in due time, Lord Coldwell. Are you also paying a visit to your vault?"
"That I am Goblin Kranroch. If you would please take us to the cart, that would be wonderful."
Kranroch scowled at Callum's lack of manners but didn't comment on it. Instead, he called over a lesser goblin, Hornstyn to take the two to their vaults.
"HORNSTYN. You're needed at till number six."
Hornstyn hobbled over to Kranroch's desk.
"How can I help Goblin Kranroch?"
"Take these two to their vaults, numbers 78 and 2."
Hornstyn nodded dutifully.
"Right this way Lord Coldwell, Princess of the Sea."
"have a good day Goblin Kranroch" Perci called out as Hornstyn led them towards a large door, causing said Goblin's face to become slightly less hostile, most probably his equivalent to a smile.
Perci and Callum climbed into the tiny cart, bracing themselves for what was going to be a long ride.
"So... anything you want to tell me about your sire 'Princess of the sea'?" Callum asked once the cart started moving.
Perci, who was still a bit strange around her grandfather but was slowly growing to be more comfortable teased back lightly " All in due time 'Lord Coldwell'"
Callum let out a childish huff and quieted down for the rest of the ride into Gringotts. Perci used the time to mull over all the information she had just gained in the last few hours.
She was the granddaughter of an immensely powerful Lord of Magic, as well as the daughter of an all-powerful God of the sea. So where did that leave her in terms of power? The godly blood inside her had to have done something to the magical blood, Wether it dulled it or it enhanced it. Perci thought back to her first incident with manipulating water. She hadn't felt the familiar gut pull that she always did that time. She had always brushed it off as her inexperience and panic during the situation but perhaps she had performed magic. She had caused a toilet to explode. But how did she do that without a wand or speaking? From what she knew of magic, it required an incantation and a fancy stick to perform. Callum had summoned his wand back to him at the train station though. He had done it silently and obviously without a wand. Perhaps it was possible to do magic without all the fancy stick waving and chanting. But why then, did other witches and wizards limit themselves by using wands and words? Wouldnt it just be easier to cast a spell without all of the props?
"PERCI"
Perci was pulled out of her thoughts by Callum who was waving his hand in front of her face somewhat violently and calling out her name.
"Is something the matter Grandfather?"
"We're at your vault."
He extended a hand and Perci grabbed it, using him to pull herself out of the cart
The two walked towards the huge vault door that lay behind a few scarce pillars.
This part of Gringotts was so old that the stone ceilings were starting to crumble. It was surprisingly warm, reminding Perci of how close they were to the earth's core. Being down there was not a pleasant experience for Callum or Percy, because of the heat and the pressure, causing them both intense headaches.
After a quick sweep of the door, Perci was confused. It had no lock, no handle, nothing. It was just a huge slate of aquamarine stone.
Perci shot a quizzical look at Hornstyn, who was not paying attention in the slightest. Shrugging, Perci placed a hand on it.
The door didn't budge. She tried most of her body parts, All of which failed.
She then tried touching riptide to it, which yielded absolutely nothing. Finally, with one last sigh, she slipped the ring off and pressed her palm to the door once again. this time, it glowed blue, veins of sea-green energy crawling across the door until they formed a glowing trident. the door then slid to the side and she was granted access to the vault.
Stepping inside, the first thing Perci noticed was the huge piles of gold coins inside of it. Her vault, which was about the length of a football field and a good 40 ft tall was stacked to the ceiling with gold silver and bronze coins which she assumed were the currency of the wizarding world. In an alcove off to the side, Hundreds of books were piled onto a table, beside an impressive collection of weapons armour and jewellery.
"Damn" Perci let out a low whistle. She wandered around in the little extra space there was, blowing the dust off of a few dusty old tomes. One book, in particular, caught her eye, the title 'Godly blood in a Wizard's body' She quickly scanned a few of the pages, intrigued by what she found. It was the answers to the questions she had been asking herself on the cart ride down.
Callum tapped Perci's shoulder, stunning her slightly.
"Figured you might want something to hold all your galleons," He told her, handing her a blue pouch.
"Galleons?"
"The big gold coins."
"Ah, that makes sense"
Percy started scooping coins into her pouch and after nearly 15 minutes of scooping, she hadn't made a dent in the smaller pile that was near the front nor had she even begun to fill the pouch.
"Gods, what is this sorcery?" She muttered, causing Callum to snort.
" We call that particular spell an extension charm."
Perci flushed, realising that it was, in fact, sorcery. She slipped the book she had found in too, as well as one on magical sea creatures and stepped back out of the vault. the door closed by itself with a loud thump, causing Hornstyn to look up and see that the pair were ready to go.
"Did you find what you needed sea princess?" he asked.
"Just about" The girl responded, Climbing back into the cart. Callum slid in beside her just as Hornstyn hopped on and the cart started to climb.
/
It took nearly a half-hour for Hornstyn to drive the cart to the main level of Gringotts wizarding bank, much to Perci's dismay, who was started to get very cramped from the tight space.
The daughter of Poseidon could have kissed the ground if it wasn't so filthy, She was so grateful to be out of the blasted cart and on solid ground. Her Grandfather led her out of the bank, the two of them stopping to give Kranroch a respectful nod as he was with another customer and an interruption, even if it was just to say goodbye, would not be taken well.
Callum and Perci basked in the sun after ensuring Perci's ring was back on her finger. The two had been underground so long the sun was refreshing and warm. After a few breaths of fresh air, Perci's hand was grabbed by her grandfather and she was dragged once again down Diagon Alley.
Soon, they had walked so far that they were at the intersection between three streets: Diagon Alley, the popular and Light destination for students to buy school supplies and wizards to get legal, 'good' wares and potion ingredients, Knockturn Alley, the darker and more frowned upon place to shop and the home of a great many sex shops, dark magical item pawn shops and illegal potions ingredient stores, and Horizont Alley, the least popular of the three. Horizont Alley was more obscure, and fewer people wandered the street. Not because it was unsafe, but because it wasn't known to many witches and wizards that Horizont Alley even existed.
Callum turned onto Horizont Alley without a second thought. The crowds quickly dissipated and Perci was left to stare on wonder at all the stores on the street.
"Alright Perce, You need a wand, Advanced textbooks, A new wardrobe, A cauldron, an Owl and A pet. Which one would you like to get first?"
"How about we go get the books and the cauldron first as the stores are right next to each other, then we can go clothes shopping, get my wand and finally, stop at the pet store for an owl and a pet.
"Sounds like a plan, let's get on it"
The pair entered 'Tomes and Treasures' first, pulling the textbooks for the Hogwarts curriculum years 1 through 7 as well as a few books on mind and dark magic off the shelves. Callum had decided at some point during the cart ride in Gringotts that he would homeschool Perci in every single subject taught over 7 years in 8 months. Perci was unsure how exactly he expected that to happen but didn't question him.
The elderly lady sitting at the till of the small bookstore looked incredibly confused to see two people buying a total of 64 textbooks, all at one time.
Their next stop was to get a few pewter cauldrons at 'Toil & Trouble' which took no time at all, then they were off to 'Tailor Graeme's Finest Robes and Muggle Apparel'
The bell chimed as Perci and Callum walked into the shop, alerting the attendant to their presence.
"Welcome Y'all, to Tailor Graeme's Finest Robes and Apparel", she said as she walked towards them, her accent American, most probably from the south. "I'm Miss Graeme's granddaughter, Amaya and I'll be helping you two darlings today," she told us kindly.
Amaya was incredibly short, even with her 3-inch heels, she was only about 5'3". Her honey-coloured hair reached down to her tailbone, pulled together in an intricate braid that was reminiscent of rapunzel.
"So who are we shopping for today?" Amaya asked the pair, smiling brightly.
"That would be me," Perci said, stepping forward.
"Gosh, what a beauty. What's your name darling?"
Perci looked at her grandfather, unsure of whether or not to tell Amaya her name.
"Phoebe. Phoebe Hearst" Callum told Amaya.
"Now Phoebe dear, just step onto this stool so I can take your measurements
Perci stepped onto the stool, starting to get annoyed with all of Amaya's nicknames. Amaya then flicked her wand and a measuring tape flew around Perci.
"Mk then, you looking for robes or muggle clothes?"
" A bit of both. We'll be needing two sets of formal robes, 6 sets of day robes, at least 7 different muggle outfits not including an extra 3 formal outfits. Of the muggle outfits, 2 need to be for working out. She also needs shoes, which I know you sell here. 5 pairs of heels, 3 pairs of trainers and 4 pairs of sneakers." Callum instructed.
"Of course sir. I can finish that order in about 5 hours. If you could come back then, your order would be ready to pick up."
"Thank you very much, Miss Amaya"
Amaya nodded.
Perci took that as permission to step off the stool. She and her grandfather left the store to go and buy the rest of the things they needed. After a few minutes of walking and a stop for butterbeer flavoured ice cream, the two finally found themselves in the wand shop.
the shop itself looked minuscule from the outside but when Perci and Callum stepped in, they found that it was pretty big.
" Welcome," the shop owner greeted in a raspy voice. "I'm Walter Ollivander, the younger brother of Garrick Olivander, the owner of the wand shop on Diagon alley."
"Hello Mister Ollivander, I'm Phoebe Hearst and I require a new wand"
"Of course miss Hearst", he said with a subtle smirk, emphasizing Perci's alleged last name.
He took out an array of different woods, materials that ranged from stones to feathers to scales to some strings that look like they came from some animal and some gemstones.
"Ok Miss Hearst, first run your hands over these different woods and set aside the ones that speak to you."
Perci gave him an incredulous look but ran her hands over the woods.
'HELLO PERCI'
"Holy mother of the gods! They talk?" Perci exclaimed. She had thought that Ollivander was just using a saying, not that the woods would speak to her.
Ollivander chuckled. "Indeed, they do talk."
'IM YEW WOOD, HOW DO YOU DO?' The wood shouted into her head
"Uh... hello Yew wood, I'm Perci." She said, still weirded out by the telepathic wood.
When the wood didn't say anything else, she grabbed it and set it aside. She turned to the stones, the feathers, the scales and the strings. She ran her hands over them and none of them spoke to her, but some did feel... right.
She picked up a dark stone and greenish coloured hair.
"Ah, an interesting pair. Kelpie hair and Hematite. Kelpies are a British magical creature, a horselike creature living in the sea. And Hematite represents bloodshed, it was used by the greeks to make red pigment you know" Ollivander said. "There's one more step. Not all wizards have these but if a gemstone sings to you, it will work well with your wand and make it all the more powerful."
Perci ran her hand over the gems and until she heard a melodious voice. She picked up the singing gem and set it aside.
"Mm, the Honduran opal. It's a dark opal, signifies balance. What a wand you'll have little miss Hearst, what a wand you'll have. I'll assemble it if you just give me a few minutes."
He picked up the materials and walked into the back room.
Perci chuckled to herself silently. Of course, what was inside of her wand would be sea creature hair and an ancient greek stone. She and her grandfather stood in silence for a bit before Ollivander burst out of the back door with the most beautiful wand Perci had ever seen (Albeit she hadn't seen too many wands).
it was a light colour, with intricate veins of reddish-black running down it the base was slightly thicker than the rest of the wand, the yew wood blended with the Honduran opal.
"It was an honour to make this wand Miss Hearst."
"How much?"
"16 galleons"
Perci handed over the money and Ollivander gave her the wand, as well as a box for it and what seemed like a wrist holster.
"Thank you very much, Mister Ollivander."
"It's my absolute pleasure, dear girl."
Perci and Callum stepped out of the shop and walked over to the pet store to get her an owl. They walked into the sound of frantic hooting. A midnight black owl was flapping its wings erratically, while the annoyed shop attendant yelled at it.
"Excuse me, mister, what seems to be the matter?" Callum asked him.
"This goddamn owl keeps killing the rats. I'm just about ready to put him down."
"YOU"LL DO NO SUCH THING, WE"LL TAKE HIM" Perci exclaimed.
"Oh thank god."The shop attendant said thrusting the string attached to the owl's leg into Perci's hands. "Take him for free, just get him out of here"
"Ok then"
Once out of the stored, The owl flapped down and landed on Perci's shoulder.
"Hello Handsome" She cooed "What's your name hmm?"
He hooted sadly
"Don't have one? Well, I think Godwin suits you" Her voice turned to a whisper. "It means friend of a god you know."
Godwin gave her a small, affectionate peck.
Perci chuckled. "Grandfather, has it been enough time to pick up the clothes yet?"
Callum glanced at his watch "Goodness me, it has! We've been here all day! Let's get those clothes and go home."
Perci and Callum grabbed the clothes from Amaya and apparated home, nearly ready to collapse into bed.
/
Perci found herself laying on a sparkling beach, in such pain she was unable to move. The beach had to be of something similar to broken glass as she could feel it digging into her back.
She put her hands down and put pressure on them, causing the glass to cut through them as if they were butter. She eventually hoisted herself up, glass shards lodged in her back and hands.
She stepped slowly, testing her leg to see how it had taken the fall and the glass. When she felt only minimal pain, she started slowly making her way across the glass beach and towards the solid land she could see just beyond it.
She trudged to the edge of the bach, which was another edge. That of a cliff. From the height she was at, she could see everything, a mansion shrouded by shadows, a tiny hut near the corner of the pit, a majestic palace that must be the home of Tartarus himself and most importantly a huge army of monsters, standing in front of a pair of tiny double doors.
She readied herself from the descent when a pressure on her back sent her tumbling over the edge.
/