"One of a wizard's most rudimentary skills is levitation, the ability to make objects fly." Percy knows about this spell and has practised it many times before, he even had a competition with his uncle to see who makes the dishes the most clean with only using the spell. "Uh, do you all have your feathers?"
Percy felt his heart drop, one of the first few lessons to charms with professor Flitwick. He patted his whole body down to find if he had a spare one at him. He even tried ruffling his hair hoping that a leftover owl had left a feather in it.
Besides him, Cedric set his extra feather in front of him. He smiled and nodded at Percy, "Father said to bring extra on your first week."
"Thank you." He whispered.
The man hummed and continued, "Now, uh, don't forget the nice wrist movement we've been practising, hmm? The swish and flick everyone."
Percy held his wand out and did it immediately. Cedric looked at him in awe and quickly followed, levitating his.
Flitwick clapped his hands in front of the class and congratulated them. Giving them five points to Hufflepuff.
Cedric turned to Percy, "Do you know how Hufflepuff hadn't won the house cup, in like. Years? What if we-"
Percy turned back to Cedric, "We can't do that on our own."
"We'll get the others." Cedric argued and they looked over their class. Some weren't doing so well. He looked outside the window into the courtyard where he saw some just laying around in their free time.
"This'll need an evolution." Percy said, "I don't know if we're the best people to help them."
—
"Oh, you've got ambition kid, you sure you're not a Slytherin?" Tonks said as she walked through the hallways, Percy followed right behind her with Cedric on his tail.
"Well, Cedric came with the idea and it just made me think as well." Percy said and jogged a little to walk in front of Tonks. "Don't you want your last years of Hogwarts to be in a house that brought home the first house cup in a while?"
Tonks grinned at him. "I see." She nodded, "I'll ask the others, what did you say again about the buddy system?" She asked.
They continued walking besides one another and Cedric took the lead, "The buddy system is just when an older student is paired up with a younger one. They just help each other out, like a personal study friend." He explained, "We'll hold your flashcards and you guys will help us with our first year study things."
"But you younger kids can't really help us." Tonks argued as she tapped the barrel. "What can you all offer us?"
Percy and Cedric looked at each other and they shrugged, "We don't, really. Younger students earn points easier if they've perfected spells or potions. We can bring in the house points."
Tonks stopped, "I'll talk to them, maybe have a designated group for a subject, instead." She offered and Percy beamed up at her.
"Yes!" He turned to Cedric, "It would be easier."
The older student clapped the two boy's back, "Didn't think I'd adopt two boys this year." She laughed out, "Good thinking, I'll bring you guys good news!" She said and waved at her friends.
"Thanks Tonks!" the two called out as the girl walked away from them. Percy walked over to the closest table and opened his book. Cedric quickly followed and did the same. At the end of their study period, a few others joined them.
Percy immediately helped when one asked if they could help him with the levitating spell. The older girl watched the two help their fellow students out and she nodded slowly. "This could work." She said and nudged her friends.
—
Every two weeks Percy would go down to Firenze in the forest. He liked the giant, he'd be there weekly, just talking about myths and such. Most of the time they're out by the water, Percy would be swimming and going down to talk with Archie.
Some day Cedric would join him down by Hagrid's hut.
On most days, they'd be in the common rooms studying. Percy never thought he'd study as much as he did now, but he really wanted to have that house cup.
Fred and George complained that he was always studying and every few times they'd drag him and Cedric out of the library to play some wizard chess or pull a prank. One time they let themselves be convinced that it was a funny prank.
Re-arranging all of the books in the library.
Cedric and Percy stayed back while the twins celebrated to help the librarian reorganise the books. They felt guilty and would rather like to help put things back. They didn't mind so much after the librarian isn't mad anymore and actually talked with them.
He loved to hear the stories that the man told him. It was rather entertaining.
Quickly, Halloween neared and Percy just had to play a few pranks on some people with the twins. Naturally, someone he could see as an older sister was his target. "And you're sure this would only make her look like a cat?" He asked as he weighed the potion in his hand.
"Positive." Fred said.
Percy hummed and rounded the corner. Walking to her usual hang out spot where she sat with her friends, with an open potions vial. He stuttered in his steps and 'fell' forward, getting the potion over her feet.
Tonks squinted at him and asked, "What do you think you're going?"
"I-" he saw no changes happening and he blinked a few times. "Well, getting back at you for the times you've pranked me." he admitted.
Tonks nodded and grinned, she cocked her head to the side, "Like this?" She asked and her face morphed into one of a cat, "Or like this?" Her face turned back normal and her mouth turned into a duck's beak.
Percy's jaw dropped, "You're a metamorphmagus?" He asked, the girl nodded.
"You know when Sprout sends you out on errands?" She grinned at him, "What kind of teacher would send you all the way to Hagrid's hut and back for some of Fang's drool?" She laughed as she looked at Percy's stunned face.
She let her face morph into Professor Sprout's face and Percy looked at her, "I'm going to have trust issues now." He declared and turned around. "Wait." He turned back to her, "Want to impersonate a teacher?"
"Oh, Perseus. I'd love to." Sprout's face morphed into one of Professor Snape. "Where are the Weasleys?" She said with a monotone voice.
Percy grinned and walked through the hallways, Tonks right on his step disguised as Professor Snape. The two Weasley's eyes widened as he rounded the corner with Snape. There was no point in running anymore as they saw that Snape had their eyes set on them.
"Oh bloody hell." George whispered and rubbed his eyes. 'Snape' walked over and took them roughly by their robes.
"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed and dragged them in direction of Mr. Filch's office.
"No sir!" Fred started, "We didn't mean anything by it sir!" George pleaded.
Percy bursted out laughing from behind them and Tonks started to laugh as well, her facade dropping and she turned back into herself. "Bloody hell Percy, if you didn't laugh I would've given them detention."
Fred and George looked at each other before grinning and staring at the two, "Oh it's on." Fred said and George nodded, "So on."
Tonks let go of them and raised her eyebrow, "We'll see." She hummed and turned around, pulling Percy with. She whispered, "We need a game plan and neutral ground. I will not get pranked by some first years."
—
When he saw the lake he immediately took his shoes off, they were expensive and for that he could get in trouble with messing them up. "Do you know where Archie hangs out?" Hagrid asked Percy. "When I feed him, he normally is just there, you know? But he hasn't been showing up!"
Percy gave him an amused look, "Food motivated." He laughed and he let himself emerge in the water. He acknowledged that it was freezing cold at first, but then it got pleasant and nice. The water looked blurry at first but it cleared up really fast, then he realised that he was breathing underwater.
He knew that it would be funny if the son of Poseidon drowned.
He swam and looked around in wonder. The seaweed was hanging and there were only a few pieces of coral. All blanched though, so they're dead. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something fast swim around, then a small merpeople swam up to him with a mini trident.
He held his hands out, meaning that he did not want to quarrel with the merpeople. "Do you know where Archie is, the giant squid?"
The merperson lowered their trident and leant over, Percy believes that it might be trying to bow. The merperson, however, did not say anything. Instead it swam off. Perseus decided to follow the lake inhabitant as best as he could.
He propelled himself underwater with somewhat of a cannon, the most creative thing he could think of. Eventually they end up at a small cave, he knocks at the entrance and pushes himself in. "Archie, are you okay,"
"Little lord?"
"My friends call me Percy." He said, "Where are you?"
Suddenly from all the way in the back, tentacles shot out and the other arms, revealing the squid. "Why haven't you been eating? You've got Hagrid and I, a bit concerned." He said.
"It's the food."
"You've grown tired of the food?"
"It's always stale bread, why never fish? The fish here are hunted by merpeople and such. I can't eat them! Otherwise they'll eat me."
"No-one is eating you, Archie. How about we get you some fish? If Hagrid or I feed you fish, the merpeople can't get mad at you."
The squid moved, Percy thought that Archie was nodding. "So we cleared that up, do you need something else?"
"Nothing more! Little lord! Thank you!"
Percy smiled and waved, "Until next time, Archie." He said and swam right up, when he looked around, he noticed that he was near the middle of the lake. He took a deep breath before swimming over to the faint figure of Hagrid.
He was a bit out of breath when he got back on land, "He just needs to be fed fish, not bread." He then added, "I do not know how he could know if it was stale or not."
Hagrid laughed, "Sounds like Archie, we'll feed him fishies from now on!"
Perseus laughed and sat down by the tree. He got out squeaky dry and walked with Hagrid to his hut. "Can I have some tea?" He asked.
"Perseus!" Hagrid said as he took a bucket off of the rack, "You've come here enough that you can set your own tea, feel free."
Percy smiled and nodded, walking over to the fire and put the kettle over it. He hadn't had the skills yet to warm the water up from his own powers. He likes spending time with Hagrid, the giant was a fun man to hang out with.