Dumbledore opened the book just as Umbridge walked in with the Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones,Head of the DMLE, and Kingsley Shacklebot.
"Minister, what are you doing here"he questioned
"I received a note telling me to come here because of something important I needed to know"Fudge said
"We received two series of books, four on Mr. Harry Potter's life and five on a Percy Jackson. We were just about to start reading, would you care to join us?"the headmaster offered
Fudge nodded and sat at the head's table with the others. Dumbledore opened the book again and started reading.
I accidentally vaporize my math teacher
Remus paled,'this is when he meets Alecto'
Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.
"What's wrong with being a half-blood" Seamus Finnigan asked
"Different type of half-blood"Remus said
Seamus nodded.
If your reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: Close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try and live a normal life.
"Being normal..."
"Is so overrated" This came form the twins
Being a half-blood is dangerous.
"Yeah, with all the Death Eaters trying to kill you"Ron stated
It's scary. And most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. If your a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this actually happened.
"He has depressing thoughts,"Hermione said
"He has a reason to," Remus whispered under his breath
But if you recognize yourself in these pages- if you feel something stirring inside- stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.
"Who are they?"a Ravenclaw asked
"I don't think they're talking about death eaters,"Ron said confused
"They're not,"Remus whispered
Don't say I didn't warn you.
My name is Percy Jackson.
I'm twelve years old.
Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in Upstate New York. Am I a troubled kid?
Yeah you could say that.
"He just admitted to be troubled"Draco sneered, not noticing the glares being sent his way
I could start at any pint of my short, miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty eight mental case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus,heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.
This received groans from the lazy people and delighted moans from the Ravenclaws, Hermione, Remus and his siblings.
"That sounds like torture,"Ron groaned
I know, it sounds like torture.
Most Yancy field trips were.
But Mr. Brunner, our latin teacher, was leading the trip, so I had hopes. Mr. Brunner was this middle- aged guy in motorized wheelchair.
People who knew looked sad and wondered what happened.
He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.
"He slept in class! Know wonder i had to teach him so much!"Remus yelled
"You know him Professor"Hermione asked
"Yes I do"
I hoped the trip would be okay, at least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.
Boy, was I wrong.
"Aren't you always"Remus muttered under his breath
See,bad things happen to me on field trips, like at my fifth grade school,when we went to the Saratoga Battlefield, I had an accident with the Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus,but of course I got expelled anyway.
Everyone laughed and the demigods smiled fondly.
And before that, at my fourth grade school, when we took a behind the scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.
"I hope no one got hurt,"Minerva said
And the time before that...well, you get the idea.
This trip, I was determined to be good.
"He jinxed it,"Dean Thomas said with a smile,Percy was always like that.
All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly,Kleptomatic girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter and ketchup sandwich.
Some groaned in disgust while the demigods growled in anger.
Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny, he cried when he got frustrated. He must have been held back several times because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin on top of all that, he was had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him,but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run on enchilada day in the cafeteria.
The demigods smiled fondly.
Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly, brown hair, and she knew that I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on headmaster had threatened me with death by in school suspension if anything bad,embarrassing,or mildly entertaining happened on this trip.
"i'm going to kill her,"I mumbled.
Grover tried to calm me down."It's okay,I like peanut butter"
He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.
"That's it." I started to get up , but Grover pulled me back into my seat.
"You're already on probation,"he reminded me."you know who'll get blamed if anything happens."
"He always gets blamed for something,"Severus mumbled, thinking of his cousin's luck
Looking back on it,I should've decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. Inschool suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.
The wizards looked at each other and shook their heads.
Mr. Brunner led the museum rode up front in his wheelchair,guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand,three thousand gathered us around a thirteen-foot tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top,
Remus flinched at the mention of the creature.
and started telling us how it was a grave marker,a stele,for a girl about our told us about the carvings on the sides.I was trying to listen to what he had to say,because it was kind of interesting but everyone around me was talking and every time I told them to shut up the other teacher chaperone,Mrs. Dodds,would give me the evil . Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore this leather jacket even though she was fifty years looked mean enough to ride a Harley into your came to Yancy halfway thorough the year when our last math teacher had a nervous her first day,Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was the devil spawn.
The demigods smirked' wrong child of the big three,Perce'.
She would point her crooked finger at me and say "Now Honey" real sweet and I knew I was going to get after school detention for a month.
The troublemakers smiled in sympathy, they knew how it felt.
One time,after she'd made me erase answers our of old math workbooks until midnight,I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was looked at me ,real serious,and said "You're absolutely right,"
Remus groaned quietly.
"Way to go Grover, you blew your cover again."
Mr. Brunner kept talking about the Greek funeral ,Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele,and I turned around and said,
"Will you shut up?"
"You tell her Percy!"Luna shouted from the Ravenclaw table,earning strange looks. Luna sat back down with a smile.
It came out louder than I meant it whole grouped . Brunner stopped his story.
"Mr. Jackson,"he said"Did you have a comment?"
My face was totally red.
Remus smiled,he looked adorable like that.
I said,"No,sir"
Mr. Brunner pointed out one of the pictures on the stele.
"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"
I looked at the carving,and felt a rush of relief because I actually recognized it.
"That's Kronos eating his kids right?"
"He did what!"a voice shouted."he ate what?"
Everyone turned at looked at the door to the hall,where the Weasley Clan with Molly at the front,who was the one shouting.
"His children,Mrs. Weasley,"Dumbledore said "why don't you sit"
She nodded and moved to sit with her son and his friends.
"Yes,"Mr. Brunner said, Obviously not satisfied."and he did this because..."
"Well..."I racked my brain to remember."Kronos was the king god and-"
Thunder boomed overhead making the wizards jump in their seats.
'The gods don't like that Perce' the demigods thought.
"God,"Mr. Brunner asked.
"Titan,"I corrected myself."And...he didn't trust his kids who were the gods ,um,Kronos ate them right?But his wife hid baby Zeus and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And when Zeus grew up,he tricked his dad,Kronos,into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"
"Eww!"said some of the girls behind me.
The wizards agreed with them.
"-and so there was this big between the gods and the titans,"I continued"and the gods won."
"He just summed up years of fighting into one sentence"a Ravenclaw sixth year said
"That's Percy for you"Theodore Nott said from the Slytherin table,shocking everyone but Blasie Zabini.
Some snickers from the group.
Behind me,Nancy mumbled to a friend,
"Like we're going to use this in real it's going to say on our job applications,'please explain why Kronos ate his kids."
"And why,Mr. Jackson,"Mr. Brunner said"to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question does this matter in real life?"
"Busted"The twins shouted
"Busted"Grover muttered
Fred and George laughed.
"Shut up,"Nancy hissed ,her face redder than her hair.
The Weasleys blushed at the looks.
At least Nancy got packed . Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything had radar ears.
"More like horse ears"Sybil whispered to Poppy.
I thought about his question and shrugged.
"I don't know,sir."
"I see,"Mr. Brunner looked disappointed."Well, half credit,Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine,which made him disgorge his other five children, who of course being immortal gods, had been living and growing completely undigested in the titan's gods defeated their father,sliced him into pieces with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus-
Remus looked pale at his memories of the place,worrying his family.
-the darkest part of the that happy note,it's time for . Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"
The magic users looked green.
The class drifted off,the girls holding their stomachs,the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.
"When don't they"Tonks said staring at a still pale Remus.
Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said "Mr. Jackson"
I knew that was coming.
I told Grover to keep ,I turned toward Mr. Brunner.
"Sir"
Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.
"Like Dumbledore,"Harry said
"You must learn the answer my question,"Mr. Brunner told me
"About the Titans?"
"About real life,and how your studies apply to it."
"Oh."
"What you learn from me,"He said"is vitally important.I expect you to treat it as such.I will only accept the best from you,Perseus Jackson."
Remus gave a shaky laugh.
"He hates his name"
I wanted to get angry,this guy pushed me so hard.
"He needs to"the demigods whispered.
I mean,sure it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dress up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted,
"What ho!"
and challenged us,sword against chalk to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who ever lived and their mother and what god they worshipped.
Everyone looked shocked.
But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everyone else,despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder
"What's that"Ron asked
"Don't you have that Remus,"Minerva asked her old student
"Yes, dyslexia is when the letters bounce around and or appear as different letters or a different order than they really are and it makes it hard to read or write and attention deficit disorder or ADHD is when you have a hard time sitting still, like now,"he explained and everyone noticed he was constantly shifting around
and I never made above a C- in my , he didn't, he expected me to be as good, he expected me to be better.
And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one last look at the stele, like he had been at this girl's told me to head outside and eat my class gathered on the front of the museum, where we could watch the traffic along Fifth ,a huge storm was brewing with clouds blacker than I've ever seen over the city.I figured maybe it was global warming or something because the weather all across New York state had been weird since 'd had massive snow storms,flooding,wildfires form lightning strikes.I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.
Luna and Hannah smirked,Theo and Balise snorted and Severus groaned quietly.
Nobody else seemed to notice,some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchable crackers,Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from an old lady's purse,and of course Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.
"What a horrible teacher"Molly said
"You have no idea,"Hannah muttered
Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain away from the thought if we did that ,everyone wouldn't know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks that couldn't make it elsewhere.
The demigods glared at Umbridge when she nodded in agreement.
"Detention?"Grover asked
"Nah,"I said"not from Brunner.I just wish he lay off me sometimes.I mean I'm not a genius."
Grover didn't say anything for a when i thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better,he said"Can I have your apple?"
Everyone laughed.
I didn't have much of an appetite,so I let him have it.I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue and thought about my mom's apartment,a little ways uptown from where we sat.I haven't seen her since Christmas.I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home.
The demigods smiled while the women cooed.
She'd hug me and be glad to see me,but she'd be disappointed, 'd send me right back to Yancy,remind me I had to try harder,even if it was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to get kicked out again.I wouldn't be able to stand the sad look she'd give . Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ate celery while he read a paperback novel.A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair,making it look like a motorized cafe table.I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Boboft appeared in front of me with her ugly friends-I guess she'd gotten tired form trying to steal from the tourist-and dumped her half-eaten lunch on Grover's lap.
"Opps,"she grinned at me with he crooked freckles were orange as if someone spray painted her face with liquid Cheetos.
I tried to stay school councelor had told me a million times,"Count to ten,get control of your temper."
"Never works,"the demigods mumbled
But I was so mad,my mind went blank.A wave roared in my ears.
"It's starting,"Remus breathed making the people near him confused.
I don't remember touching her,but the next thing I knew,Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain,screaming Percy pushed me!"
Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.
Some of the kids were whispering:
"Did you see-"
"-the water-"
"-like it grabbed her-"
"Cool"The prankster twins shouted.
The demigods smiled proudly.
I didn't know what they were talking I knew was I was about to get in trouble soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt from the museum gift shop,etc,etc,Mrs. Dodds turned on was a triumphant fire in her eyes,as is I'd done something she'd been waiting on all semester.
"Now Honey-"
"I know,"I grumbled,"a month erasing workbooks."
"Shouldn't have said that,"the troublemakers said
That wasn't the right thing to say.
"It wasn't"Zacharius Smith said
"Come with me,"Mrs. Dodds said
"Wait!"Grover yelled."It was me, I pushed her."
I stared at him stunned.I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for . Dodds scared Grover to glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.
"I don't think so Mr. Underwood,"she said
"But-"
"You-will-stay-here."
Grover looked at me desperately.
"Don't you think Grover is acting strange,something is going on,"Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron,who both nodded.
"It's okay, man,"I told him."Thanks for trying."
"Honey,"Mrs. Dodds barked at me."now."
Nancy Bobofiy smirked at me.
I gave her my Deluxe I'll-kill-you-later I turned back to face Mrs. Dodds,but she wasn't was standing at the steps,gesturing impatiently at me to come on.
How'd she get there so fast?
I have moments like that alot,when my brain falls asleep or something and the next thing I know I've missed something as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank space behind school councelor told me this was part of the ADHD,my brain misinterpreting things.
I wasn't so sure.
I went after Mrs. Dodds.
Halfway up the steps I glanced back at was looking pale,cutting his eyes between me and ,like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on,but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.
The Golden Trio glanced at Remus when he groaned.
I looked back . Dodds had disappeared was inside the building at the end of the entrance hall.
Okay,I 's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift apparantly that wasn't the plan.I followed her deeper into the I finally caught up to her,we were back in the Greek and Roman section. Except for us,the gallery was empty.
The tension grew.
Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek was making this weird noise in the back of her throat like without the noise I would've been 's weird being alone with a teacher expecially Mrs. Dodds,something about the way she looked at the frieze as if she wanted to pulverize it...
"You've been giving us problems,honey,"she said
I did the safe thing.
"He did the safe thing,"Balise said shocked"he never does the safe thing"
He shocked everyone except the demigods who laughed.
I said,"Yes,ma'am."
She tugged at the cuffs of her leather jacket.
"Did you really think you would get away with it?"
"Get away with what?'Hermione asked trying to figure it out with the entire Ravenclaw table.
The look in her eyes was beyond mad.
It was evil.
She's a teacher,I thought nervously,it's not like she's going to hurt me.
I said,"I'll -I'll try harder,ma'am."
Thunder shook the building.
"We are not fools,Percy Jackson,"Mrs. Dodds said."it was only a matter of time before we found you and you will suffer less pain."
"What is she talking about"Molly said worridly.
Everyone was starting to get worried for the twelve year old boy.
I didn't know what she was talking about.
All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.
The Great Hall was in laughter.
"He's amazing."Fred laughed out
Or maybe they realized I'd got my essay Tom Sawyer from the internet.
"Of course"Remus sighed
Without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade or worse make me read the book.
"Well,"she demanded.
"Ma'am,I don't.."
"Your time is up,"she hissed
"That wasn't a lot of time."Lavender said
Then the weirdest thing happened.
Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched,turning into jacket melted into large leathery wasn't was a shrivled hag with bat wings and a mouth full of yellow fangs,and she was about to slice me to ribbons.
Women and girls screamed and the boys looked scared.
Thunder boomed like someone was yelling.
Then things got even stranger.
"How!"Tonks yelled latching onto Remus.
Mr. Brunner,who had been out in the front of the museum a minute before,wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery,holding a pen in his hand.
"What is he going to do with a pen?"Colin Creevy asked sacred
"A lot of things,"Dean whispered
"What,Ho,Percy!"he shouted and tossed the pen through the air.
Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.
The girls screamed again.
With a yelp,I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear.I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air,but when it hit my hand,it wasn't a pen was a sword,Mr. Brunner's bronze sword,which he always used a tournament day.
Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.
My knees were hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.
She snarled,"Die,honey!"
MrAnd she flew straight at me.
Absolute terror ran though my body.
I did the only thing that came naturally:
I swung the sword.
"How is that natural,it's impossible"Hermione shouted
"It is possible,"Luna said
"No it's not,"She argued
"Granger,just lay off Luna"Balise shouted across the hall.
He shocked everyone again.
The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed through her body as if she were made of !
The demigods smirked proudly' that was there Percy'
Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power exploded into yellow powder,vaporized on the spot,leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and chill of evil in the air as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.
"At least we know what the title meant,"Tonks said leaning her head on Remus not noticing the glare she was getting.
I was alone.
There was a ballpoint pen in my hand. Brunner wasn't there,nobody was there but hands were still lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.
Remus shook his head while trying to move away from Tonks.
Had I imagined the whole thing?
I went back outside.
It had started to rain.
"That can't be why it was thundering,"Hermione said to herself
Grover was sitting by the fountain,a museum map tented over his Bobofit was still standing there soaked from her swim in the fountain,grumbling to her ugly friends,when she saw me,she said,"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."
"Who's Mrs. Kerr,"A Hufflepuff asked
I said,"Who?"
"Our teacher,duh!"
I had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr.I asked Nancy what she was talking just rolled her eyes and turned away. I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.
He said,"Who?"
"What's going on?"Molly asked
But he paused first and wouldn't look at me,so I thought he was messing with me.
"Not funny,man,"I told him,"this serious."
Thunder boomed overhead.
I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella,reading his book, as if he never moved.
I went over to him.
He looked up,a little distracted.
"Ah,that would be my bring your own writing utensil in the future,Mr. Jackson."
I handed Mr. Brunner his pen.I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.
"Sir,"I said"where is Mrs. Dodds?"
He stared blankly."Who?"
"The other chaperone . Our pre-algerba teacher."
He frowned as sat forward looking mildly concerned.
"Percy,there is no Mrs. Dodds on this far as I know,there had never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"
"What's going on,are they pulling a prank on her?"Fred asked confused along with the other wizards and witches
Dumbledore passed the book to Minerva.