Against All Odds
Chapter 6
September 24th, 1993
Stepping out of the lake, well past midnight, Percy let the water roll off him, leaving him dry and content. He turned back towards the castle. Not even a minute into his journey back, a light from a shadowy form blinded him. He blinked away spots to see the hunched form of Argus Filch, hooded lantern in hand. As he blocked the light from his eyes, Percy saw the school caretaker standing alongside three very smug looking cats.
Filch's eyes were bloodshot, and his grin revealed crooked and rotting teeth, reminding Percy of the Stretcher, Procrustes. "Well kittens, you found us a troublemaker of the worst kind..." He reached down to pet each Gryffindor feline and his red-eyed assistant, "Wait til the Deputy Headmistress hears of this... after all, there's more than just a potions lab in the dungeons." His awful smile stretched further, and Percy glanced down at the cats thinking, 'What is my life?'
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September 23rd, 1993
Sixteen Hours Earlier
"Albus, you need to straighten up right now!" - "You can't allow those fiends to be on Hogwarts' hallowed grounds!" - "I would've sooner kissed the minister's shoe!" - "Was a basilisk not dangerous enough for you, you throw a werewolf in the mix?"
"Enough." Albus' voice broke through and a surge of magical energy pushed the papers around his desk, "With the Auror's main force occupied in Diagon Alley preventing any further attacks, the minister decided that the dementors would be the best option to hunt down Mr. Black. Every day I am working on getting them removed." His wand tapped against the wall, silencing all his predecessors at once, "Your bigotry is blinding you, Phineas. Remus Lupin is a good teacher, and a dedicated man. He helped the Order many times in the last war, only a fool would limit a man by a disease." With another wave of his wand, the loose papers reassembled into neat stacks, and Fawkes crooned as he flew up into the rafters. "Now, I have a student who is about to arrive, and I would appreciate it if you all would show better behavior."
Albus called out to his door before the student could knock, "You may enter, Mr. Jackson." The teenager entered the office wide-eyed. To Albus' delight and surprise, the student ignored the silenced portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses; he breezed past the Order of Merlin medal he'd earned in the forties; instead, the Hufflepuff was staring at a small silver trophy on the shelf that read, 1984 Regional Edinburg Ten-Pin Bowling Tournament Runner-Up – The Pin-ball Wizards. Framed above it was a non-magical picture of him, Filius, Elphias Doge, and Dedalus Diggle; each sporting a broad grin, with a bowling ball in their left arm.
"Do you bowl, Mr. Jackson?" Dumbledore asked, peering across the rims of his half-moon glasses.
"Yeah... I've bowled before..." the teen answered, still staring in shock at the trophy.
"I find it to be one of the most exhilarating activities. We lost to an upstart team in wheelchairs from Edinburgh called the Party Ponies..." Dumbledore smiled fondly at the memory before gesturing at the chair across from his, "But I'm sure you are not here before breakfast to discuss my bowling accolades, if I remember correctly, you are registering a non-traditional familiar?"
"Yes, sir. He's a seagull, a gift from my sister... apparently..." Percy hesitated a moment before taking the seat, "Is it a problem to have a non-traditional familiar?"
Dumbledore chuckled as his quill began to fill out the alternative familiar form, "No, no, not at all. There are several who attend right now, if I remember correctly, Mr. Jordan has a tarantula, the Weasley's have passed down a family rat since the eighties, and Ms. Lovegood registered a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in the hopes that she'd acquire one during her tenure here."
The elderly wizard glanced up from his form to see the third year exhale a sigh of relief. As he looked up back towards Dumbledore, the room went bright red in a ball of flame as Fawkes appeared next to Percy's chair. The child fell out of the chair in fright. While the bird let out a squawk of happiness.
"Owww." Percy rubbed his head before looking up into the black beady eyes of the firebird, "Ah!"
"My apologies, Mr. Jackson, usually Fawkes doesn't try to scare people that way." The headmaster frowned slightly towards where his familiar trilled along happily, "How unusual..." Percy began settling back into his chair as Dumbledore pushed the form and quill towards the teen, "As you can see, I too have a non-traditional familiar. If you could please sign here, affirming that you are claiming responsibility for the seagull as your familiar."
Percy scribbled out a terrible signature as he tried to keep one eye on the fiery bird. "What even is he?"
"Fawkes is a phoenix, Mr. Jackson. I'm sure you could ask Professor Hagrid if you want to learn more, though Newt Scamander wrote a rather detailed entry in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, if you are more of a reader." Being kind enough not to comment on the student's grimace, Dumbledore took back the form and with a tap of his wand it folded into a paper airplane and soared into a filing cabinet behind him.
"I'll be sure to ask him then, thank you for your help... sir."
"Of course, of course! Don't hesitate to ask for help, Mr. Jackson, that's what your professors are here for!"
"Right."
Dumbledore hid an elderly groan as he stood up to walk the young student out of the office. He really was getting too old for some of this. He had almost closed the door when Percy whipped around suddenly. Albus nearly drew his wand, but the student was already talking, "Wait! Sorry! Nope, uh, Professor! Um, what should you bring to a party?"
Albus blinked at the sudden question, stroking his beard as he spoke, "An excellent question, all I've ever wanted from my guests is good conversation, though a sweet confection wouldn't ever go remiss." As the student nodded and thanked him, Albus smiled genially and bid him farewell. He wished his day could be spent simply helping students and answering their questions on life, magic, and everything in-between.
As he strode over towards his chair, Fawkes' voice sang out and calmed his nerves, the portraits still seemed properly chastised. He had just gotten himself comfortable before the fireplace roared to life in green flame. The fiery head of Bartimus Crouch spoke out at him, "Albus. We need to speak about this event Cornelius is planning."
Dumbledore sighed as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth and groaned as he kneeled down to the floo to respond.
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Fifteen hours earlier
It was still early in the morning when Percy found himself in the Great Hall staring at a massive seagull who was scarfing down a biscuit. Having wokenn up early to get the headmaster's signature, the Hall itself still empty except for the faculty who were already reading the morning news, and now getting to see an interesting show as the boy and his delivery avian seemed to be in the midst of a staring contest.
Telepathically, Percy explained, "So, you are officially my familiar and allowed to fly in during post-delivery times in the morning and can stay in the owlery—"
"The owlery!?" Steffan choked on his biscuit, letting out a muffled squawk, before his yellow eyes glanced around the Great Hall nervously whispering, "Milord, owls are savages! Not gonna lie to you, they stay up all night and kill other birds! And not just the delectable young ones! They kill adult avians!"
Percy frowned, noticing that more students were trickling in, "…or… you could stay in my quarters but it is underground… Wait, are you saying you eat baby birds?"
Steffan paused mid sausage link, Percy's plate was looking emptier by the minute, before sounding off a squawk of slight offense, "Obviously as an employed Correspondence Gull I won't anymore, but Cardiff's a rough and tumble kinda town for birds my size... and a growing gull must eat... s'that hash'd potato? That's lush, that is." Some terrible sounds of bird chewing and beak on plate scraping occurred before he glanced at Percy's expression and spoke up once more, "Hmm, I'm not sure you're understanding, it's like finding the den of some awful monster and saying 'ah great spot for a nap', it's a bad idea, milord."
"Riiiiggghhht. Okay, anyway, ummm, letters!" Percy began rummaging through his book bag, each letter had a destination scrawled on it, "Do you need me to tell you where each goes... or can you... read?"
Steffan opened his mouth with the expression of a seagull who had learned curse words from sailors but after glancing at the letters, then peering even closer, he said, "I can definitely read, milord, but I only read languages of the Isles, not whatever that is... you're Greek right? Is this Greek? I only read languages of the British Isles, milord. Not the Grecian ones."
"Greek? No, this is English!" He shook the envelopes before the bird.
"Can't be. If it was then I could read it."
Percy ran a hand down his face, some fourth-year girls in Slytherin who had walked in were definitely giggling at his silent argument with the seagull who... had eaten most of his breakfast. Great. "Fine. This one, goes to my mom, Sally Jackson, it's a long flight for you, she lives in New York City."
"Aye, no worries there, my Liege. I got some cousins in the Bronx."
"...Sure. Anyway, this next one is... whoa. Over a thousand miles south of there, it is addressed to C.C. on Ogygia. She is a Greek Goddess of Magic, Circe. Be careful, and please don't eat any guinea pigs."
"Milord, you vastly overestimate the amount of food I could eat, a sausage link is one thing, but a whole pig... impossible." He finished downing Percy's scrambled eggs.
"Just... please don't. This last one is a letter to Hecate, the Goddess of Magic and Crossroads, I don't know where she is usually, but most evenings she is with my sister in London."
"Of course, Milord, I'll find them all, and deliver these letters forthwith. Shall I await their responses before leaving?"
"Unless they say otherwise that'd be great. How long do you think it will take you?"
"Aye, never underestimate a working gull. I should be back in... one or two fortnights." Steffan picked up all three letters with his beak, and Percy watched in amazement as the seagull winked, flapping away towards the Great Hall's exit. "Be safe my liege, I shall ask the Albatrosses themselves to guide my wings."
Percy stared, not sure what a fortnight was, but ten thousand miles was no joke. He offered a final telepathic farewell, "You too, Steffan." His eyes fell away from the owl exit to his plate where he saw only crumbs remaining.
With a sigh, he glanced over at the door where his Hufflepuff year mates were entering, and he waved them over. He went to push his plate away when he realized a new plate full of food had appeared like… magic… right.
"Awfully early start, eh Percy?" Ernie grinned at him, "You get your bird situation sorted, then?"
He nodded in earnest, "Met with the Headmaster this morning."
"Wow, what was he like?" Megan asked.
Percy thought for a second, "He's a weird guy, did you know he bowls?"
Justin blinked as he settled in, "I'm not sure if that is the strangest or most normal thing, I've heard about him…"
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Fourteen and a half hours earlier
Cedric Diggory had been having quite a rigorous first month of school. He'd already stumbled upon the first tragic romance of the semester between Talisha Rollins in Gryffindor and Callum Rosewood in Slytherin after finding them in the fourth-floor broom closet together. Beyond the fallout from that, he'd been wanting to get himself in a broom closet with the lovely Cho Chang.
As he was moving through the hallway another problem greeted him through his friend, Henrietta Torlin, one of the Hufflepuff chasers, who stopped him for a second, "Hey Ced, wanted to let you know. That third year, Smith? Is wanting to try for chaser."
Cedric let out an audible groan, "Doesn't he realize that Jonas and Reggie hate him?"
"No, the prick is quite immune to glares... Think his parents glare at him too?" She shook the thought away, "Is there anyone better than him?"
"I wish, as annoying as he is, Smith can fly almost as good as Morris could last year." The former chaser had graduated leaving this vacancy that was crippling their playbook.
"Chin up, Ced. What about the new kid? Rumor has it he somersaulted around a Hippogriff's claws in midair."
"Percy? I haven't seen him fly, but he is definitely athletic." Cedric thought back to a week prior when the Hufflepuff dorm lost it over the American. He'd apparently fought a Redcap that was wielding anything from a serrated blade to a scythe (depending on who tells the story). "Though, I'm honestly not sure he knows the rules of Quidditch."
Henrietta snorted, "Then he'll have something in common with the Slytherins when we play."
A wry grin etched on Cedric's mouth, "Alright, so we just ask him if he wants to try out?"
"Who said anything about asking?"
The blonde chaser stalked over to where the third years were sitting at the table, interrupting their discussion about Hogsmeade, butting in, she said, "Obviously, the Three Broomsticks is a must see." Henrietta was now talking around a hair tie as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "There're some shops like Honeydukes or Scrivenshafts which are great for getting the necessities to make it through the school year."
Cedric sat next to the girl, grinning, "By necessities, you mean... chocolate and quills?"
"Exactly." She stretched the hair tie around the ponytail, "See? Ced understands." The dark-haired prefect nodded sagely, complete with wisdom plastered on his face. Henrietta smirked, "Besides, like with most things at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade has some… secret spots..." She trailed off sharing a smile with Cedric.
The third years leaned in, Megan had finished her toast and her eyes were darting back and forth between the two, "Well... come on then?"
"Alright, Cedric, why don't you start?"
"Fine. Fine. Hidden gem number one..." He stage-whispered to keep the info at the table, though he knowingly smirked at some Ravenclaws he saw leaning back, "Chlíodhna's Salon and Spa." Murmurs up and down the Hufflepuff table's older students confirmed it. "She's a miracle worker, expensive, but it is an amazing experience."
Henrietta gave a winning smile, "Excellent choice there Cedric. I could fancy a trip myself if I'm being honest." she rolled her shoulders and popped her neck, "My turn then... Hidden gem number two is none other than... Melora's Magical Theatre." This statement got another hum of agreement from all around. "Saw 'Bloodpact 2: the Reckoning' last year. Amazing."
A fifth year named Tessa chimed in, while making eyes at Cedric, "I really want to see, 'The Marriage Contract' I hear it will be playing soon..."
Henrietta rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes, they do romances too, fine." She nudged Cedric seeing the curious look on his face as he wasn't paying attention to the Hufflepuffs at all, "Ced, you going to tell them the last one?"
"Wha-? Oh, yeah." He shook himself out, and glanced over the assembled Hufflepuffs, "We're real lucky both this and last year since Halloween is falling on a weekend again, we'll get to see the Samhain Festival!"
More chatter broke out, and Percy, confused, glanced around, "What's that?"
A couple of kids snorted 'American' before Cedric shushed them, "Ignore them, Percy. It's a festival they celebrate in Hogsmeade, it has tons of games, events, and food."
Henrietta added, "Since it's the only fully magical village in Britain, Hogsmeade throws quite the Samhain party." She leaned a little closer to Percy and flitted her eyelashes, "Why... there's even a dance..."
As multiple sets of eyes locked in on the two, as though this was about to be the next greatest love story in the making, Percy blushed furiously, "Um hm, I'm, um, I don't dance."
"Just means you haven't found the right partner." Justin said, having a laugh at Percy's awkwardness. Henrietta piled on with a defeated looking expression.
"Uhhhh" Percy glanced around, looking for an out, "The last dance I went to I just shot hoops in the corner. I didn't actually dance!"
Snapping back from any lovey-doveyness, and into her winning business demeanor, Henrietta clapped her hands together, "Great! If you like shooting hoops, then you're gonna love Chaser tryouts next week!"
"Sure." His relief was palpable before he suddenly felt a drop of sweat roll down his back as he realized he'd agreed to something. "Wait. What?"
Henrietta stole his apple, took a big bite, and stood with a wink, "See you there, Percy!"
Cedric thumped him on the back and stole the new roll that had appeared on Percy's plate, "Good luck at tryouts, Percy, let me know if you need any tips." And he stood up and followed Henrietta out of the Great Hall. Cedric snickered as he heard a belated, "Wait… What?" from the table he was leaving.
Maybe today was looking up, Cedric thought, he wondered if Cho would want to walk around the grounds… no, wait, Dementors, Cedric sighed, there's always Hogsmeade he supposed.
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Ten hours earlier
Professor Batsheda Babbling had been teaching here at Hogwarts for six years now. She was still quite young compared to her colleagues, Aurora and Severus were the next youngest. Nevertheless, she understood a plethora of scripts that most witches and wizards would only ever scratch their heads at. She'd crossed the Night Bazaar, she'd apprenticed under Madame Saraswati for the past four summers, picking up everything from Sumerian cuneiform to Esperanto.
So, when the third-year transfer student wrote an essay on the verbiage used in Elder Futhark, that routinely slipped from terrible handwritten English into almost perfect Ionic Greek, she noticed.
"Mr. Jackson, a word." Her voice brusque and offering no room for refusal as the class filed out for the day.
The American student approached the front with caution. He seemed to have his hand on a pen...? Batsheda frowned. "Alright Mr. Jackson, you have my attention, what is it you are seeking? Special studies? Extra credit?"
"...What?" The student blinked at her with wide eyes.
"Your essay." She passed him back the parchment, and her frown deepened as he still refused to notice or address the problem. "Care to explain the third sentence?"
She felt some sense of vindication when he also struggled to read his own handwriting, "Ummm, 'The use of Laguz in Elder Futhark, is meaning not water, but drink, like wine.' I mean, I explain it later..." He slowly read what was next and pointed at the page, "See it is about the ritual diagram and how it needs wine... oh no... right, it's mead. Yeah, I had to look up what that was." Glancing back up at the professor and seeing her twitching eye, "Oh, I guess I should've explained that in the essay, mead is like honeyed wine. I hear it's pretty good if you—"
"Jackson, you're rambling." This child was a lot to handle though, "Why did you write 'water' as húdōr and wine as 'oînos'?"
"I did..?" He glanced back down at the paper, his eyes seemed to squint and focus in and out as he read, "Huh. I did."
"Yes! And you did it with other nouns throughout the essay! This was a ridiculous essay to read, do you do this to all of your professors?"
Percy paled, "Oh gods, I hope not... that... oh no."
Batsheda was now rubbing the bridge of her nose to rid herself of the headache, "So you... what... Slip into Ionic Greek when you can't think of the word?" The student's nervous chuckle and shrug of his shoulders caused her headache to intensify along with her growing frustration at this whole conversation. "Jackson, ten points from Hufflepuff, and please only use one language from here on out."
"But what about—" He began, but she cut him off.
"The language you're writing about notwithstanding." She answered and his mouth clicked shut. "...I shouldn't ask, but why do you know Ionic Greek?"
"Ummmm... Doesn't everybody?" The kid was sweating bullets now.
"No. In fact, I didn't learn it until I was out of Hogwarts." She deadpanned, "Do you have any other hidden language talents?"
"Hah, uhhhh, do fish and horses count?"
"Jackson... leave."
"Yes ma'am!"
As the student scurried away, she turned back towards her desk, and, after a moment of silent contemplation, pressed a section inward on a cuneiform tablet. A cloud of milky white mist appeared, and Madame Saraswati was staring back at her from a riverside perch within the Night Bazaar.
"Something troubles you, my pupil?" Saraswati spoke in Hindi while tuning her veena.
"Madame, a student keeps slipping in other scripts in his writing." Batsheda still rubbed at her brow in frustration over the whole conversation.
"Ah, an avid pupil. Language is expression, do not fret when the student chooses to express." Her master's serene expression did calm Batsheda some.
"I need... Ugh... I hate that I'm asking this... Can you confirm that there isn't a language for fish and horses?"
Her voice still steady filled Batsheda with the magic of creativity, "My pupil, everything has a language if you listen hard... Wait." The serene woman paused as the veena let out a discordant twang. "Did you say fish and horses?"
Hearing the edge of her Master's tone, Batsheda only nodded.
"You're teaching the Yavana!?" Her eyes bulged almost comically, "At Hogwarts?"
"Ummm, he's American not Greek, though he was writing in Ionic."
"HAH! Oh, I can't wait til the next council meeting!" Saraswati beamed, "Oh best of luck dear, he'll be a tough one to teach, good with language, but their attention span is awful. I have to go tell Thoth!"
The mist drifted away along with her teacher's musical laughter, Batsheda silently tapped the bottom drawer of her desk with her wand. The drawer opened, and she pulled out a glass and a bottle containing an amber liquid.
Just as she started to pour, she heard a knock at her door, followed by Aurora poking her head in, "Sheda? Can you check something? One of my students' writing is... odd."
Nodding to herself, Batsheda opened the bottom drawer again and pulled out another glass, gesturing for Aurora to come sit. This was going to be a long night.
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Six hours earlier
The sun had set; Percy was now in the nicest clothes he currently owned. A white button-up with navy blue slacks, and if you didn't look at him directly his belt and shoes were almost matching. Which was about as good as he was going to get. The last growth spurt had left the sleeves a little short, but Hylla had told him to just roll them up to hide the problem.
The door to the Hufflepuff dorm swung open, and Percy swept out into the hallway. He moved quickly and quietly, really wishing he had Annabeth's hat. In the lit sconces of the castle, he noticed every flicker and every shadow move. He arrived at the stairway, and... strangely, it was like the stairs were waiting for him.
Honestly, that bit freaked him out more than a flickering shadow ever could.
Climbing to the landing, the stairway moved silently until it connected with the ground floor.
When Steffan had delivered Bri's letter the night prior, Percy had spoken to Ernie who was surprised when he heard it was an Equinox party (Percy obviously didn't mention it was in a lake.)
"Autumnal Equinox? Only the old traditional families still do celebrations like that." Ernie had appraised him in a new light.
Percy laughed, "Yeah, well, it's just my dad's side." He snickered again as he had a thought that he voiced afterwards, "My great grandma is as old as dirt actually."
Justin choked on a sausage nearby while laughing, Ernie meanwhile shook his head, "Well hopefully you're more respectful around them... My family is similar and rather strict when it comes to behavior. You said she's meeting you at Hogsmeade? Your best option would be the East corridor, past the courtyard."
Following Ernie's advice, Percy found himself staring down the stone tiles of the East corridor. He spun as he heard a loud hiss, followed by a clattering of metal as a cat ran into one of the suits of armor.
Barreling towards him down the hall was an orange cat with a smushed face and bright yellow eyes. Just in front of the ferocious feline, scurrying for its life, was a fat rat. In a moment of brilliance, Percy cast Immobulus at the cat, leaving the orange tabby floating towards him with its previous momentum.
For a second, Percy was convinced the rat nodded at him before diving into a crevice further along the wall.
He shook off the interaction with the rat, stopping the frozen orange tabby and setting it on the ground out of the way of foot traffic. He whispered, "It's nothing personal, I hate to see a rodent being hunted."
Turning on his heel he pressed onward through the doors and out into the crisp September air. Two yellow eyes followed his every move with a vicious gleam.
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Five and a half hours earlier
Bri found him quickly as he approached the lake. "Percy!" She beamed as she swept her little brother into a grand hug, "How are you?"
He chuckled as he squeezed her back in return, "Good? I think? Saved a little rat from a cat, so that was nice."
"Gross." Bri took a reproachful step away, "Perseus Jackson, did you touch the rat? Them and those mad descendants of Ba— I mean Mr. D, were half the reason for the Black Death! I didn't like that, Percy. The Black Death was. Not. Fun."
"I didn't touch the rat!" Percy defended himself.
"Good, next time, don't side against the cat! Less rats equals a better world." She shook her head, "Anyway, you cleaned up nice. Not really traditional Olympian garb, but... Oh! Here." She waved her hand, and his collar now had a small bronze trident pinned to it. "Much better. Well?" She looked at him expectantly.
"Ummm thanks, I guess?"
She looked upwards at the grey Scottish skies, and muttered to herself, "Don't throw him in the sea, don't throw him in the sea." After a sigh, she tried again, "How do I look?"
"Oh, you look... nice, too?" Even Percy knew he messed that one up, but she did look nice, her hair was done up in a complicated braided bun and she wore a fine dusty blue chiton dress with a burgundy cloak over the top.
At his response, she sighed, "Should have known better... Anyway, look, there's going to be some things in there you really aren't supposed to be a part of, but you're my escort for the evening, so you are being included."
Percy nodded, and felt a chill come over him. Bri's attention turned upwards where a dementor with long black claws was moving towards the pair of them. Her eyes glowed bright white, and she spoke, "No." at the cloaked monster. A white light pulsed out from her, and the dementor flew off, screeching.
She glanced back at him and his gaping mouth, "Close that. Anyway, like I was saying, before we were interrupted, you're being let in on a secret that the other Campers are not to find out about, okay?"
Percy's voice cracked as he responded, "S-sure, okay."
"There are other pantheons out there." She seemed to be expecting a major response, but Percy just nodded along.
"Oh. That makes sense."
"Did you already know?"
"Well, I mean, I fought a Redcap recently, and a Gargoyle, and a Hag, plus those Dementors are... different. And none of those show up in the Argonautika." The more he thought about it, the more concerned he became about the whole issue, "Wait. Why did all those things want to kill me?"
"You probably still smell appetizing to them, regardless of pantheon. Or it might be that our family angered some individuals with the whole conquering of the known world thing..." Under her breath she muttered, "Not to mention the colonization habits of the 'West'..."
Percy was too busy to notice as he was sniffing under his arm muttering, "I do shower. Not my fault my body is waterproof..."
Thunder rolled slightly in the distance and Bri rolled her eyes, "Now that that's out of the way, there's going to be some foreign dignitaries at the event... Actually, you're one of them. Since I'm representing Olympus and you're my plus one, you're also representing Olympus, get it?"
"...Yes?"
Bri sighed again, "Just... don't start any fights, and if you can... make some friends?" Her hand fixed his hair slightly, and she took another breath. "Alright, onward we go."
The siblings stepped together into the water, Bri kept grabbing Percy's arm, and he kept trying to shrug her off. It wasn't until she explained that this is what a plus one should do, that he finally relented.
The two walked deep into the cold Scottish loch, and Percy could hear tons of voices calling out disjointedly, Hail the Lady of the Isles! - Welcome, M'lord! As schools of fish swam by. He snickered as Bri held up a hand with a porcelain smile and her wrist rotated into a small wave at the denizens of the Black Lake.
Deeper within, Percy noticed actual pieces of ruins at the bottom. Stone pillars, archways, and ruinous foundation stood upon the bed of the lake, and Percy gaped at what had to have been a devastating destruction. He turned and saw Bri shudder slightly at some rubble. Upon a closer glance, it looked like a massive stone table atop a platform that had been split and shattered down the middle. On the edge of the table was more of that Chicken-Scratch-Greek from his dreams, or CSG as he'd started calling it.
"Come on, Percy, the party is within the actual village." Bri whispered when Percy stared distractedly at the table. Another couple minutes of walking, and the stone ruins gave way to beautifully ornate homes and buildings comprised of smooth stones with algae covered roofs. They walked through the streets and were greeted by numerous beings with long scaled tails and fish features. They prostrated themselves at the sight of Bri, and to, Percy's confusion, him as well.
"I pictured mermaids being like Ariel…" He whispered.
Bri held his bicep tightly and pulled him forward towards the large open clearing. She murmured back, "This far north in the cold water, merfolk have various adaptations. You'll see variations in every part of the oceanic world."
Despite any surprises in merfolk appearance, their voices all sounded like a beautiful choir. All throughout the village he could hear the melodies of their speech, almost like a confusing opera, none of them broke out of their song to just speak.
They approached a large open area encircled by stone arches and seating facing down towards the bottom. Almost like a massive auditorium, but at the base, rather than a lectern, was an undersea magma vent heating the whole space.
A merman swam towards the two and bowed his head, his voice called out in melody through the open water, "The Village welcomes the Lady of the Isles and her guest, Perseus Jackson, the Half-Blood son of Poseidon."
Musical murmurs cascaded through the open space, and Bri smiled brilliantly at several individuals. Percy noticed waitstaff circling the area with platters of shrimp and… sushi? Others held large baseball sized bubbles on their platters.
Bri steered him towards a well-decorated merwoman with long flowing green hair that had the texture of a sea anemone. Around her neck was a necklace of teeth from various underwater denizens. Instinctually, Percy recognized one of the smaller ones as a white-tip shark tooth. The merwoman bowed her head and sung softly, with a melody of surprising warmth and care, "Lady of the Isles, we welcome you to our ceremony."
"Merchieftainess Murcus, I happily join the embrace of your Village." Bri said with a smile, "Beside me is my brother, Perseus Jackson."
"Ahhh, the Seaborn Wizard." The Merchieftainess inclined her head slightly, "Welcome, Perseus, the Village greets you."
Percy chanced a glance at Bri who nudged her head towards him, and he bowed in return, "Uh, thanks for having me." He fumbled out of his pocket a small leather satchel. "I brought some blue saltwater taffy…" Bri rolled her eyes.
The mer's smile was full of sharp teeth as she accepted the gift and acknowledged them with a final, "I hope we have a chance to speak more." She turned her head to where the herald called out to welcome someone named, Mida Rowan or something like that. "Excuse me, I must greet other guests."
Soon after, Bri asked, "Taffy? Really?"
"It's good!" Percy responded.
She led Percy through the crowd and he felt like he met so many people who all kept calling him either Lord Perseus, which was awful, or they referred to him as the Seaborn Wizard, which… better, but still not his favorite thing.
Bri turned towards Percy after a bit, "I'm going to go talk to some other people, can you mingle on your own without causing any trouble?"
"What? Yeah, of course. I'm not some walking disaster, Bri." Percy retorted, as Bri gave him an uneasy look. "I'll be fine!"
"Okay, if you say so. Just… come get me if you need anything." She was pulled away towards a group of people with merfolk tails, but whose faces looked far more human-like, and on their human torso they were wearing some kind of wetsuit like material for warmth. They all greeted Bri warmly, though he caught a couple glares sent his way.
Percy found himself alone in the mess of people, mers, and all kinds of fish. One of the waitstaff handed him one of those weird bubbles, and he took it with him, a little confused, as he moved towards the magma vent in the center. The bubble itself felt like a jelly of sorts, amused, he poked it and it jiggled.
When he noticed several other party attendees were nibbling bites into the bubbles in satisfaction. He assumed it was probably like ambrosia, so, excitedly he took a big bite. The air he swallowed burned his throat and windpipe until his eyes watered.
A meaty hand hit him on the back as he coughed, and a deep laugh rumbled him and the rest of the water nearby, causing the heat bubbles from the vent to swirl like a small storm. The voice that was connected to the hand had a rough Irish accent, "Okay there, lad? First time breathing oxygen?" He laughed again.
Percy wheezed, "What? Oxygen?"
"Sure lad, you might want to be more careful with what you try at parties." The man's voice still held good humor at the situation. "That there bubble you're holding is from Moryana's Distillery out East in… what is it, the Volga River?" Seeing Percy's blank look, "Aye lad, your face is making me feel like one of those bookish types, it's eighty-proof, so forty percent oxygen."
"Why would oxygen hurt?"
"Ugh, I didn't come over here to teach a science lesson, lad. Ask one of your professors later." The Irishman wore a deep teal peacoat and a flat cap, and a shiny new pager attached to his belt. He held a sizeable bubble in his right hand. "Speaking of, the name's Manannán, pleasure to meet ya." He tipped the flat cap in greeting.
"Uh hi, I'm Percy, uh Percy Jackson."
"No m'boy, haven't you seen the movies? You gotta introduce yourself, Last name… then… First, Last."
Percy did not get it, but he tried, "Um I'm Jackson… Percy, Jackson." As he said it aloud, the joke suddenly clicked and he cracked up at the reference. Unfortunately, he forgot how hard the oxygen went down last time and he took a 'sip' as a reflex and again was wheezing.
Manannán let out another chuckle watching the thirteen-year-old choke on air, "Aye lad, you get it. Back in my day we had to introduce ourselves as son of so-and-so, which is tiring, y'know?" He smirked at Percy, "Doesn't help when your father pops out whelps like a wee bunny rabbit, I'm sure y'know nothin' of that, right?"
Percy smiled broadly, "Tell me about it! I found out I had a sister this summer, and along the way, apparently, there are at least four more who are much older."
"Aye, I'll be honest, those are the nice ones, brace yourself for your father's other spawn."
"…Uh, what does that mean...?"
"Aye, forget I mentioned it." The Irishman took another long swig of the bubbled oxygen, letting out a satisfied 'ahhh'. "Good stuff though, look lad, I'm not one for beating around the bush. I'm an associate with your sister's friend, Cate." He leveled Percy with a look, so that he'd understand… something.
"…Right. Cate has helped me out several times this summer."
"Aye, she's of a good sort, she and I have worked on the Mist together." He took another sip, maybe it's actually a hit? Of oxygen. "Look, you've been mentioned to a couple of folks in and around, you're catching eyes, y'see?"
No, Percy did not see, and he let Manannán know this. The man sighed slightly, "Hmm, how to put this, us sons of the sea have to keep an eye out for one another, it is… rare to meet another, especially one who is both a warrior and a mage."
Though Manannán had been nice so far, Percy wasn't too happy at strangers knowing this much about him. "Ok…"
"So, I guess what I'm asking, is, I'm looking for a way to take measure of you, lad." Manannán offered this nugget of information, "I know things are… heating up, for the West. My concern has to do with my folk getting wrapped into it, you follow?"
Percy nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so. You don't want your 'folk' to get harmed by the Greek drama."
"Aye, good lad." Manannán stared into the magma vent deeply, "Alright, I think I've decided how to do this… challenge. Perseus," Percy startled at this sudden use of his full name, "lad, you've been blessed, granted unconventionally, but blessed nevertheless by three of your folk's rulers. I've met them before, and they're alright enough. I've also met those who've crossed them… They have less than noble things to say."
Percy remembered several deities mentioning rather extreme punishments for what seemed to be minor slights. Circe and the sailors who are all in a guinea pig cage; Zeus sending the anteater lady and her chihua—Chimera after him; Mr. D. threatening to disintegrate him; Ares seeking full on war regardless of the consequences; Hades, even the dumb rivalry that Athena and Poseidon have is just because some particularly stupid Greeks liked olives.
His thoughts broke as he heard a slight rumble of thunder above, and watched wide-eyed, as Manannán just waved a hand and the thunder dispersed. Who in Hades was this guy?
"Aye, they come in here making a racket, not my fault they've lived fast and loose." Manannán muttered. His attention turned back to Percy, "I'm going to give you something, that will be its own test, I believe."
Percy immediately balked and stepped back, much to Manannán's amusement, "I don't accept gifts from gods anymore!" He hurriedly explained, "Last time, I had to move across the Atlantic."
Manannán's laughter turned into a full-on belly laugh, "Aye understandable precaution, lad. This isn't one of those types of gifts, and even if it were, the Equinox is a good day for such things as things'll be more balanced than on the Solstice."
Cautiously, Percy held out a hand, Manannán placed a conch shell in his palm. "Do keep her in water if you can. I've helped the lass out best I could, but she'll need some source of water to survive unless something's done."
"Her?"
A voice telepathically hit Percy's mind, 'Yes, you Olympic dunce! Me!'
He stared down at the conch, where a small hermit crab had partially emerged, who… seemed to do the crab equivalent of sticking her tongue out at him. Percy kind of hated that he was able to understand that motion from a crab.
"Uh… Hi?"
The crab rolled her eyes and with a final glare at Manannán, she crept back into her shell.
Manannán spoke gently, "Her name is Cleo, I ask that you take good care of her, and I'll, let's see… check in on you two at the next Equinox. Should be plenty of time for her to get a good estimate on you."
"Wait… what?"
"Ah don't worry about it lad, just take care of her." Manannán gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"I don't want to take care of anyone!" Percy exclaimed. He tried to pass the shell back, though curiously after the Irishman took it, it reappeared back in Percy's hands.
"Aye, you know the rules lad, no takebacks." Manannán seemed quite happy with himself at using that turn of phrase. Percy blinked, and, with a rush of current, all that was left where Manannán had been standing was a nice bundle of flowering grass.
The voice in his head said, 'Oooh, give me that.'
Percy sighed as he picked up the bundle of rushes and offered a little bit to the shell. He snorted when the flower disappeared with a quick movement from one of Cleo's claws.
He thought to himself, Great, just have to make sure she doesn't encounter Steffan. Hope Bri is doing okay…
Percy turned to find his sister, only to see a growing crowd of merfolk surrounding what appeared to be a large man with the rear of a hippocampus and a human-ish upper body. The -ish was important to note, since the man had two large lobster claws on his head, snapping viciously. And as if that wasn't enough, he was currently arguing with… Britannia. Percy willed the water to carry him towards the argument, muttering mockingly, "Stay out of trouble, Percy. You're the problem child."
The argument hit his ears as he approached. The fuming mad icthyocentaur was responding to Bri, "You-you-you whelp, you dare question my training ability? There's a reason we don't allow Poseidon's ilk at our institution!"
"Excuse me?" Bri's eyebrows had risen in shock at his attitude.
"There's also a reason that nobody has heard of Poseidon's latest bastard, but Bill will be forever immortalized in song and tale." Percy could hear a storm rumble above, which, apparently, nobody else could disperse like Manannán.
"Percy has already done Olympus a true service, and all three of the Titan King's acknowledged sons have offered him their respect." Percy wasn't sure if the centaur had downed too much oxygen this early into the evening, but he looked ready to burst a blood vessel.
"Bill saved the entire Atlantean army from Scolopendra!"
"They only needed saving because they were trained by you, Bythos." Bri scoffed, "Percy slew Medusa and fought the Chimera."
Murmurs erupted throughout the crowd, "He killed the Medusa?" – "I hadn't heard that…" – "That's amazing."
"Chiron hasn't trained a decent hero in centuries, there's no way!" Bythos retorted.
Bri continued over him, "And since then, Percy has saved Olympus and studied under the Sea Witch, Circe."
More murmurs broke out, "Is Circe teaching?" – "I heard she opened a spa." – "Oh yes, she's competing with Chlíodhna's."
Bri continued over the murmurs, "Whereas, this flotsam of a being," She gestured towards Bythos, "who is only known for being Aphrodite's steed, has decided to claim Bill's laurels for himself."
Percy could hear Bythos' teeth grinding, and his complexion was turning as red as his lobster claws. The icthyocentaur was about to respond, when, from seemingly nowhere, a hand was placed on his shoulder, and an older woman murmured in his ear. Percy watched the woman warily, and Bri seemed to freeze up on herself in shock. She spoke out, "Now, now, young'ns, this is hardly appropriate for a day of celebration… Though my grandson is always a great topic, why, I remember when he wielded a trident for the first time…" She smiled happily, and then turned back to Britannia, "But granddaughter, I do hate to see you favoring your father's bastard, over your mother's... Especially such a dear as Bill."
Bri's teeth clenched, and she managed, "Yes, grandmother. I will… refrain from doing so." She shook off the argument now noticing the crowd, and, went beet red seeing Percy staring at her with an open jaw. "Pardon me." Bri hurriedly grabbed Percy's arm and led him away from this situation.
Once they found a secluded space to the side. She tried to give an explanation, "Look Percy, what you just saw…" But she was cut-off as Percy burst into a fit of laughter.
"Be careful, Percy. Don't start fights, Percy." He managed between cackles.
Bri punched him on the arm, which damn it all, hurt. His laughter sputtered as he rubbed his shoulder, "Ow."
"You'll be fine." Bri huffed. She sighed, "Look, so you're my youngest brother, but you're not the only partially divine one. My mom had an affair with a mer several decades back, and it produced Bill, who has been her shining little prodigy since. Those accolades that Bythos" she said the name with such vitriol, "mentioned, are true. He has saved Atlantis several times over, but he's also become the face of a party that doesn't want to see a landborn god as King." Bri leveled a look at Percy, "Like it or not, our father is still a son of the Crooked One, and that… doesn't translate well to some of the more conservative factions who remember… previous rulers."
"So who was the old lady then?" Percy asked.
From behind Percy the voice of a certain 'old lady' emerged, "I am the mother of rivers, streams, and all freshwater. You may refer to me as Lady Tethys, half-blood." Percy felt a pressure descend upon him, as he struggled to not kneel before this woman.
"Grandmother, what a surprise," Bri winced, "You followed me…"
Tethys smiled thinly, "Yes. Interesting to hear your take on this… situation. Nevertheless, Britannia, you should bring your mother and sisters for a visit, your grandfather and I are so lonely in the trenches."
Britannia again gave a forced smile as the pressure alleviated on Percy's shoulders, and the elderly immortal turned away, "Do have a good Equinox, mortal." He could almost hear an echoed 'it will be your last' as the titaness dissolved into a current.
Percy shivered, turning back to Bri, "Okay… Wow."
Bri sighed, "Yeah, things are… tense, under the sea. Rhode and I stay out of it mostly, but I know Triton and Kim are both tied up in it."
"And Bill? Is he trying to take the throne or something?"
"No, honestly, Bill is an okay guy. He is also… gullible, so I'm more worried he'll be used as a pawn."
Percy wasn't sure what to say to any of this, he hadn't even been to Atlantis, but it seemed like he already had enemies. Reminded him of everywhere else if he was being honest. Weirdly, despite all the craziness, Hogwarts had been a nice reprieve from that since the past summer.
Murcus swam to the magma vent, and Percy could see her stand tall despite the heat. "Thank you for all coming to the Village's Annual Autumnal Equinoctial Gala! I hope you've had fun so far, but we will now begin the ceremonial dance."
All around, he watched as merfolk sang acapella in a language that Percy could somehow comprehend the concepts within. 'Balance,' 'Peace,' 'Strength,' 'Unity,' all cycled through the song and after the first refrain, people began pairing off and dancing to the music.
Bri grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into a group of merfolk, "Okay, just follow my lead, we're going to do one of the traditional dances of the Isles, alright?" Before he could even respond, she started leading him through a basic Ceilidh.
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An hour earlier
As the night progressed, Percy danced with Bri for a few more dances, and found himself actually enjoying the dance. At Bri's prodding he continued dancing with several of the merfolk, who showed him the full underwater dance experience. They could dance sideways, upwards, or in all kinds of fun directions. He learned that even a son of Poseidon could tire within the water, though, it took an amazing amount of effort.
He ended up taking a break while Bri enjoyed a dance with one of the local merfolk of the Village. He'd eventually found a waiter who was holding something closer to forty-proof oxygen, which felt just like a breath of fresh air, and he sipped on that while resting. The merchieftainess, Murcus, swam towards him.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Seawizard?" She asked kindly in her musical tone.
Percy's cheeks were flushed, "Yes! I had a rocky start with some… immortals, but this has been a blast!"
She hummed a small melody of contentment, "That is good… I have wanted to talk to you ever since you arrived at Hogwarts." She gestured for him to follow her, and he finished his oxygen, and willed the water to carry him with her. Once they were away from prying ears, she asked him, "What do you know of merfolk-wizard history?"
"Not much, our History of Magic class mainly covers Goblins, and Bri has only explained bits and pieces."
"Our people have had a varying relationship with Wizarding folk. Our difficulty has always been, communication." She explained, "Moreso, it has only impacted our coastal settlements like the Village. The ICW has little to no control over Atlantis and other deep-sea cities."
Percy nodded along, "That makes sense."
"Yes, there are three villages in and around the British Isles, and each one has dealt with attempted oversight from the Ministry. I am reaching out to you in the hope that you will become our… voice in the air." Murcus asked.
"I'm only thirteen," Percy began.
"Yes, but you are a wizard! You are also a demigod! You have power and positioning that will let your voice be heard." The merchieftainess was emphatic.
"Right, but I don't even know what I would do..?" Percy tried.
"Your headmaster is knowledgeable enough to speak 'Mermish', as the wizards call it, but he lacks the station, merfolk would not accept him to act as a voice for their behalf. It has to be someone of prestige within both worlds!"
"So… basically a translator or ambassador?"
"An emissary, if you can establish yourself with the Ministry, we will be able to have a voice in legislation, maybe they will stop seeing us as 'creatures.'" A dark shadow passed over Murcus' face, "I want this to fix relations before conflict becomes necessary… as it has in the past."
Percy let a breath out, he didn't like the comment about them being called creatures at all. "So, you're asking for me to establish myself as a voice of the mer? I don't think Atlantis will like that."
Murcus nodded, "If you can speak to the other two Village leaders within the Isles, I've explained my plan to them, if we have their backing there won't be problems from the deeper seas."
Percy hesitated, but he eventually responded, "I'd like to talk to both my sister, and some others about this."
She seemed to deflate slightly, "I understand, please, when you see the Ministry's attitude, please consider what I'm asking. Know that if you do this, you will always have friends beneath the waves."
Percy assured her he would investigate it, and the two rejoined the Gala.
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Now
After getting caught out of bounds, Percy was brought to the Deputy Headmistress' office, with Filch behind him chuckling menacingly every once in a while.
Professor McGonagall entered, having put herself together just enough to not look improper, "Mr. Jackson, is there a reason I'm being awoken at one in the morning?"
Filch responded eagerly, "He was found near the lake, Mrs. Norris received a tip."
"Argus, I want to hear it from him." Her tone was of a familiar sort to Percy. He'd had a lot of teachers take that tone before.
His throat felt dry, "I uh, went out, and lost track of time?"
"Mr. Jackson, your punishment will only worsen if you lie."
Percy's eyes boggled, she knew?! "Okay, I went out to go to a party."
McGonagall sighed almost sounding defeated, "Mr. Jackson, there is a mass murderer on the loose, and there are dementors currently roaming the grounds. This is not the time or place for such careless actions." A knock lingered on the door before it opened, revealing the headmaster adorned in what was either his outfit for tomorrow or just night robes, it was hard to tell with him.
"Minerva! I heard there was a student outside is everything…" Seeing Percy in the chair, Albus blinked, "Mr. Jackson?"
"Evening sir." Percy responded glumly.
"It is morning, Mr. Jackson." Professor Dumbledore corrected. "Why were you outside the walls this evening?" He seemed genuinely confused that the kind, if scattered, student he'd met the day prior was putting himself in danger like that.
"I was at a party… I think they liked the taffy though." Percy muttered.
"This is what your question was about!? Mr. Jackson, I wouldn't have even answered if I'd known!" The headmaster shook his head, "One hundred and fifty points from Hufflepuff," Percy's eyes grew wide, that'd drop the house to zero! "And, detentions for the next month."
Percy was shell-shocked, but he knew refuting it was just a path to worse punishment… Not to mention… he had broken the rules.
Dumbledore sighed, "Anything else we need to be made aware of?"
Percy flushed as he held out the conch shell (whose occupant was telepathically cackling at his punishment), "I need another Alternate Familiar form." None of the adults in the room were amused.
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Author's Note:
Hello Readers!
Wow, this has been a long time coming. My apologies to everyone who I had assured that this would come out in February. False expectations are never fun, but this has been written and re-written over and over again. There were a lot of decisions I had to make about other pantheons and the Inter-pantheon Magical Council that exists.
On the bright side (you all might not agree), but my goal was to get this out sooner than it took the last one which was a seven month span, and I'm happy to report it has only been six months. I've received tons of comments and reviews, and each one helps power the writing process. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read what I've written though, so thank you all, dearly.
Let's see, I tried to have some fun with a bit of the classic episodic feel that starts at the end of the timeline and then walks you through the rest. I'm very excited for the next chapter as the Hogsmeade trip will occur along with chaser tryouts, plus for poor Harry, Halloween always strikes.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think, always happy to PM about fandom stuff. Hopefully I can beat my six month stint next!
Sincerely,
Middlejourney
