As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Sorry for the long wait. I had to sink a lot of time into my other story.
Chapter 9: Trick and Treat
Percy easily fell into the routine of Hogwarts, and September slipped into October. Once a week, he would sneak out to train in the Forbidden Forest. Honestly, it was so easy to sneak out, Percy almost wondered if they were supposed to. All he had to do was slip out his dorm, double check that the common room was empty, and cross the entrance hall. If there was a teacher patrolling, he just waited a few seconds for them to pass. The hardest part was making sure the large front doors didn't creak as he squeezed through them.
The first time Percy entered the woods, he uncapped Riptide as soon as he was sure that Hagrid couldn't see him from his hut. As he cautiously walked along the path, he was on high alert for any of the magical creatures that Hagrid had told him about. He wasn't deathly afraid of spiders like Annabeth, but he still would rather not have to fight giant ones. This forest felt strange to Percy, different than the woods at Camp, more settled, and there was definitely an alien quality to them as well. He wondered if it was magic like the water in the lake.
After about ten minutes of walking, he found a small clearing. It seemed like as good of a place as any, so he did a few of his strength building and agility exercises before he started practicing with Riptide. It felt good to hold his trusty blade in his hands again. Sure, his wand was super cool, and he was really starting to enjoy magic, but he'd missed his sword.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been practicing when he got a prickling sensation at the back of the neck. Someone or something was watching him. "Who's there?" Percy called out hoping it was just a fox that would run away at the sound of his voice.
Instead, a black centaur emerged with a bow in his hand. At least he didn't have an arrow nocked, yet. "You shouldn't be here alone, human," he said in an accusing tone.
Percy didn't dare lower Riptide. This centaur had none of Chiron's kindness and warmth. Instead, all Percy saw was cold disdain in his dark eyes.
"Peace, Bane," two more centaurs stepped into the clearing. The speaker had a chestnut coat and red hair and looked older while the other was a palomino with fair hair and startling blue eyes. "He is only a foal and means no harm."
"Foals do not wield a weapon so well, Ronan" Bane spat out. "Humans do."
Ronan examined Percy more closely. "You are a godling."
It wasn't a question, but Percy still answered, "Yes, though it's supposed to be a secret."
"We centaurs have long memories, far longer than wizard-kind," Ronan answered. "Are you one of Chiron's pupils?" Percy nodded. "Your coming was foretold in the heavens. I had hoped I would not live to see the arrival of the one of three worlds." The centaur threw his head back and looked at the clear night sky. "Mars is bright, and Saturn rises on the horizon."
"That's nice." Percy had no idea what to make of that.
"Troubling times approach," the third centaur stated. "You have a great destiny, Perseus Jackson."
"So, people keep telling me," Percy muttered only slightly surprised that the centaur knew his name.
The centaur smiled kindly. He seemed the nicest of the trio. "But there are some things even the heavenly bodies cannot tell us, like choices."
"Firenze remember your place," Bane growled. "We cannot interfere, and he should not be here, especially since he is a godling."
"Bane is right," Firenze admitted. "The forest is not safe for you. The farther you are from the school's protection the greater the risk a stray monster may pick up your scent. Even the magical creatures in this forest may be drawn to you."
"But, I have nowhere else to train," Percy interjected. "I need to keep my heritage a secret from the wizards, and I need to keep practicing because Kronos is getting stronger." Suddenly the air got colder.
"You should not speak that name here," Bane hissed. "And our forest is not your playground, godling."
"The boy speaks the truth, Bane. He needs a place to train. You know what is to come. And this clearing is not so far from the school. His scent is still mostly hidden. In honor of our forefather, he should be allowed to train here," Firenze argued.
Ronan sighed as if he found the topic boring. He was still looking at the sky. "I see no problem with the godling training here."
"Umm thanks," Percy said a little miffed that they were talking like he wasn't there.
"It would be wise Perseus to not stray farther into the woods if you can help it," Firenze warned, "unless lives depend on it."
Bane snorted, "Enough Firenze! You know what must happen in these trees. We must go now before you go against the heavens." He turned and galloped off.
"Good luck, Perseus," Firenze bowed his head in acknowledgement and followed. Ronan did the same.
When the forest once again returned to its normal nighttime noises, Percy muttered, "Centaurs are so weird." After that first time though, he was not bothered again, but just in case he headed Firenze's warning and did not wander past the clearing. Occasionally, he felt like someone was watching him, but they never revealed themselves.
In addition to his trips to the forest, he tried to keep his promise of regular communication with his mom and Annabeth. He mailed his mother a letter once a month by owl post for appearances sake. Annabeth had claimed it would look suspicious otherwise if he never sent or received a letter to his mom. He always made sure to bribe the bird with lots of owl treats.
However, continuing his weekly Iris-messaging was much harder. During his second week of term, he tried using his dorm's bathroom to IM at 3:30 am, but Wayde had almost walked in on him. Really, Percy wanted to know what normal person used the bathroom at 4:00 am. He only hoped his dormmate was too sleepy to have noticed Annabeth's voice.
It wasn't until a week later that he found a better spot. Hannah and Susan were complaining about having to go all the way up a floor for a bathroom because the girls' bathroom on the second floor was always out of order. Now a girls' bathroom wasn't ideal, but Percy figure it would be private since it was out of order and had a constant source of water for him to make a rainbow with. On the next Sunday, he told his friends he was visiting Hagrid and slipped up to the out of order bathroom to IM Annabeth.
A quick look around told Percy why Hannah and Susan avoided this bathroom. It had an old, cracked mirror, chipped sinks, damp floor, and a stall door falling off its hinges. The first sink Percy tried didn't even work, but the sink next to it did. With a silent command Percy willed some of the water to arc up and catch the weak light coming from a sad looking candle. Luckily, it still made a rainbow. He finally had a nice long undisturbed chat with his friend and was about to contact his mom, but a voice behind him said, "How'd you do that?"
He jumped a foot in the air and whirled around. His hand instinctively diving in his pocket for either Riptide or his wand. He wasn't sure which he would've pulled out, but he stopped when he realized that the person who had snuck up behind him was actually a ghost.
She was a squat girl with glasses, stringy hair, and a bad case of acne and was looking at Percy curiously. "Umm, you saw that?" Percy hesitantly asked.
"Yes," the girl sniffed. "I saw you talk to that girl using a rainbow. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I'm blind." Her eyes brimmed with silver tears.
Percy winced, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Please don't cry." He stepped toward her and reached out a hand then withdrew it feeling silly because he couldn't touch her since she was a ghost. "It's sort of a secret way of communicating my friend taught me. I didn't want anyone finding out about it." Percy didn't bother trying to deny it. She'd caught him red handed, and he figured a lie would upset her more. He always got uncomfortable when girls cried, apparently even dead ones. "I didn't realize anyone was there. Do you think you could keep it a secret for me, please?" He asked.
She sniffed again but seemed happier even managing a weak smile. "No one's asked me to keep a secret before."
Percy just hoped she'd actually keep it though he had a feeling not many people would believe her even if she did try to tell anyone. Luckily, he and Annabeth hadn't said anything too revealing in that conversation. "Hi, by the way, I'm Percy," he offered trying to be polite.
"I'm Myrtle." It might have been Percy's imagination, but he swore she was blushing. "And I guess you can use my bathroom if you want, even if you are a boy."
"Thanks." It really was the best place he'd found for IMing so far even if it was gloomy and haunted. "Do you want to meet my mom?"
Myrtle tried to really smile, but it looked like her face had forgotten how, "I think I'd like that."
After that, Percy made weekly trips to Myrtle's bathroom usually before actually visiting Hagrid. Most times, Myrtle seemed to at least pretend to give him privacy, but she'd always pop up for a visit before he left. It was a little annoying, but Percy felt bad for the poor girl. He knew what it was like to be lonely, so he tried to be as nice as he could. Plus, she really was helping him a lot.
As for his classes, for the most part Percy was doing surprisingly well. Occasionally, he was even the first one to pick up a new spell though usually that was Ernie or Susan or Justin in Transfiguration, but he wasn't too far behind. He still had a tendency to do too much the first time around for Charms and had to dial down his magic. Because of his friends, he actually practiced his spells and did his assignments for a change, so for the first time in his life, he was keeping up with school.
In potions, Snape had clearly decided to just ignore Percy which was totally fine with him. After his first lesson, he'd sat back with the other Hufflepuffs. Ernie figured it'd probably be best if he didn't sit by Justin since Snape might see that as rubbing in their success and pick on them more. Instead, Percy shared a table with Hannah who was just as bad at potions as Justin. While he made his potion, Percy also quietly helped her, and Ernie, who was actually pretty good at potions himself, helped Justin. If Snape noticed the remarkable improvement of the Hufflepuff's potions overall, he didn't say anything. But he also insulted them less too, so Percy counted it as a win.
However, Lockhart's class was only getting worse. By mid-October, Percy had lost track of all the monsters he'd played in Lockhart's class. The last straw happened when Lockhart ended his class one Thursday with the promise of a reenactment of his famous defeat of the Bandon Banshee saying Percy's accent would once again be perfect for the part.
As they walked to potions, Percy silently fumed. Zacharias started to open his mouth, no doubt to make a snide comment about Percy's upcoming performance, but Percy had had enough. "Not now, Smith," he warned.
Clearly, the guy didn't take the hint, "I think you need to be a little shriller if you're a Banshee, Jackson."
Remembering a move Clarisse had used on him in his wrestling lesson back at Camp, Percy swept his leg out and back forcing Zacharias to tumble to the ground and get tangled in his own robes. "Oops, how did that happen," Percy said and smirked as he turned to look down at Smith. "Though, after hearing the noise you just made, I think you'd make a better Banshee, Smith." There were a few giggles from Susan and Hannah while Justin and Ernie grinned.
Zacharias' face turned red either from embarrassment or anger. Percy tensed in case he tried to retaliate. Instead, Smith muttered, "Finch-Fletchley remind me not to mock Jackson when he's angry. I'll admit he's got moves." That made everyone laugh. "Just promise me, Jackson, you'll let me watch when you take Crabbe and Goyle."
"Deal," Percy replied and cautiously lowered his hand, bracing himself. He half expected Smith to try and pull him down, but the other boy just let Percy help him up and actually patted him on the back. Percy couldn't decide if all Brits were that weird or if it was just Zacharias.
By Sunday, Percy still didn't know what he would do, but he did know he would not be playing a Banshee on Tuesday. "Honestly, I think I might explode," he told Annabeth. "House points and detention can go to Tartarus. I wonder where the nearest toilet is. Maybe, I could make Lockhart scream like a Banshee if I dumped toilet water on him."
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "I don't think that would stop your problem. Plus, you would get in loads of trouble." A familiar glint sparked in her eyes. Percy knew that meant she was planning something. "What about something sneakier?" she suggested.
"I'm listening," Percy perked up.
"I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but clearly, this Lockhart is not a good teacher. He's an affront to wisdom, so I guess even my mom would be okay with this," she reasoned. "You should do a prank that will embarrass him, but one that he can't trace back to you. I assume if he does this to you in your class then he does it to others in their classes as well."
"Yeah, Harry complained about it the other day," Percy admitted.
"Good, then he won't know for sure who to blame. You should also leave him an anonymous note, so make sure he can't recognize the handwriting, that promises more embarrassing pranks unless he stops forcing students to participate in his demonstrations and only takes willing volunteers."
Percy grinned, "Annabeth Chase, are you telling me to blackmail my teacher!"
She huffed, "It's just a suggestion, but if you don't –"
"I never said that," Percy interrupted her rant. "Just surprised is all. I like the idea. It might be kind of hard to pull off."
"You just need a good prank. What does he care most about?" Annabeth asked.
"His hair," Percy immediately answered. "Honestly, I think he uses more hair product and potions than all of Cabin 10." Annabeth raised her eyebrows since the children of Aphrodite were known for their extensive collection of hair care products. "You know I bet there's a potion that would dye his hair. I just need to find a way to slip it in one of his hair products without getting caught."
Annabeth nodded, "That could work since you're apparently a potion prodigy." Percy heard something in the background, and Annabeth grimaced. "Sorry, I've got to go."
"Is living at home going okay?" he quickly asked realizing once again that Annabeth hadn't told him much about her own situation.
"We're trying. Bye Seaweed Brain," she ended the connection.
Myrtle floated from her toilet stall. "Percy, I think I might know someone who can sneak your potion into your professor's chambers. Someone who loves to cause chaos."
To his friends' surprise, Percy spent the rest of Sunday afternoon in the library. "What are you up to, Jackson?" Smith asked suspiciously at dinner.
"A private potions project," Percy replied. Hannah tried to get more information out of him, but Percy just told her, "It's a surprise."
Percy had found many different hair-color changing potions in the library, but he couldn't find one that did everything he wanted. In the end, he just picked his three favorites and figured he could sort of make a super potion. Luckily, all the ingredients seemed like ones he'd seen in the student store-cupboard.
After dinner he brought his supplies to Myrtle's bathroom and started brewing his potion. He concentrated on his intent. He needed a potion to change Lockhart's hair color. It had to have at least an hour delay before it took effect, and it needed to be nonreversible for a week. The rest of the world faded away as the water in Percy's cauldron glowed different colors that only he could see, letting him know what he needed to do to achieve his goal. Fortunately, he finished his potion just in time to make it to his common room before curfew.
The next part of the plan was probably the trickiest. After classes on Monday, Percy sprinted towards a hidden staircase barely stopping to tell his friends he'd meet them in the library in a bit. He'd just heard some of the older students complaining about Peeves throwing ink pellets on the fourth floor. Sure enough, the fourth-floor hallway was in chaos as students tried to desperately dodge the cackling poltergeist.
Percy looked around for some form of protection and grabbed a shield from a suit of armor. It was only a little heavier than the shields Percy had trained with at camp, so he was able to lift it over his head as he approached the poltergeist. He knew he had Peeves attention when he heard the pellets bouncing off his shield. He saw a blur out of the corner of his eye and instinctively tilted the shield to block Peeves' underhanded shot. "Peeves, I have a prank you might be interested in."
Percy risked a look up and saw the poltergeist pause mid-throw, but then he blew a raspberry and threw the pellet forcing Percy to raise the shield up again. "I work alone and not with some Yankee Doodle Dandy."
"Are you sure?" Percy asked. "It will cause lots of trouble. If we can pull it off, I think whole classes might be canceled."
That seemed to get Peeves interest. Across the hall, Filch yelled, "Where is he? I'm going to get him."
Quickly, Percy brought out a vial of his potion and whispered, "Stick this in one of Lockhart's hair products, and I promise you the result will be extremely entertaining."
Peeves took the vial with a wicked glint in his eyes, "Suppose, I can assist a fellow mischief maker just this once."
"Thanks," Percy smiled hoping that the potion would actually go where it was supposed to. Just in case, he'd double check his own shampoo tonight. As Peeves left, he tried to dump the rest of his ink pellets on top of Percy. Percy just managed to get his shield up in time.
The next morning at breakfast, Percy kept glancing at the staff table waiting. Lockhart was there talking to Professor McGonagall who seemed to be doing her best to ignore him. "Why do you keep looking up there, Percy?" Justin asked confused.
Percy shrugged, "It's probably nothing." It should have happened by now. Maybe, Peeves hadn't followed through, or maybe he messed up the potion somehow. Percy glumly returned to his breakfast wondering how he'd avoid Lockhart's class now.
Then Susan shrieked, "Oh no! What happened to Professor Lockhart's hair?" Percy looked back up at the staff table. Sure enough, Lockhart's hair had turned a bright shade of blue. McGonagall gaped and quickly covered her mouth. Snape looked like Christmas had come early and was actually smiling. Lockhart seemed completely oblivious as more and more people turned to stare at him. Gasps of outrage and loud sniggers soon filled the Great Hall.
Finally, Lockhart seemed to realize that something was going on. "What is it?" he asked with a dopey smile, "Do I have porridge on my face?" he quickly wiped a napkin over his mouth and chin. Dumbledore helpfully held up his empty gold plate, so Lockhart could see his reflection. The man shrieked and sprung from his chair trying to cover his shiny blue locks with his hands as he rushed out of the hall. Percy couldn't stop laughing. It was even better than he'd imagine. He was surprised though when Dumbledore caught his eye and winked.
Lockhart's classes were canceled the rest of the day as rumors flew around the castle. Of course, everyone first looked to Fred and George Weasley, but they denied it. "As brilliant as it was, by the sacred code of troublemakers, we cannot take credit for another pranksters work," Percy heard one of the twins say to a large audience. "Though it does look like we have some competition, Fred."
"I was thinking the same thing, George," the other replied. "We're going to have to step up our game if we want to keep our titles of Best Hogwarts Pranksters."
"It was you wasn't it, Jackson?" Zacharias whispered as they headed down to potions after a much-enjoyed hour of freedom.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Smith" Percy replied with a smile. "On a completely unrelated note, do you know of a good spell to disguise handwriting? I have a threatening note to write to a certain professor warning him of more pranks if he doesn't start using willing volunteers to participate in his demonstrations."
"You know Jackson," Zacharias smirked, "I think I might have just the spell."
A week later, Lockhart's hair finally returned to its natural color. Percy was surprised the potion had actually lasted that long. He had intended it to, but he figured someone like Flitwick or McGonagall or Snape would be able to change it back. Then again, the other faculty didn't seem particularly keen to assist Lockhart. Before a Charms class, Percy had heard Professor Flitwick say, "But surely Gilderoy, someone as talented as you could fix this himself. Weren't you saying just the other day that you had invented over fifty charms?"
"But Madam Pomfrey said it was a potion that did this," Lockhart complained.
"Then I suggest you talk to Professor Snape. Excuse me I have a class to teach," Flitwick replied. Lockhart quickly rushed out, a hood covering the top of his head.
"Man, I wish I could be there for that conversation," Percy said wistfully. Zacharias and Ernie chuckled while Justin and the girls just looked worried.
"Professor Snape will never help him," Susan lamented.
"Oh, I know," Percy grinned.
Lockhart's first class back, he hesitantly asked the class, "Who wants to help me reenact my defeat of the Bandon Banshee?" He looked hopefully at Percy, but he shook his head as Justin's and the girls' hands enthusiastically shot up. It turned out that Hannah made quite a convincing Banshee even if she didn't have a New York accent.
The weekend before Halloween, the upcoming Huffleclaw match was all the Hufflepuffs talked about. Apparently, they'd lost so embarrassingly last year that the Quidditch captainship had gone to Eliza Pierce instead of Gabriel Truman. For the past few years, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had a fast turnover rate for captains, too fast according to Zacharias to develop a good team, so a lot of hope was riding on Cedric Diggory. If he proved he could handle it, he would be the team captain for the next three years finally giving them a chance to build a good team. Percy really didn't envy him right now. He was nervous enough for himself as it was.
Percy knew it was a long shot that he'd even be picked to play since he was new and all, but he really wanted to get picked because he liked playing Quidditch. He and Zacharias had been practicing whenever they could squeeze it in around all the House teams' practices. He'd slowly gotten used to flying and started to see it as a way of saying 'Screw you' to his uncle, but even Percy knew to never actually say that out loud if he wanted to keep flying. Each time he didn't get struck down by lightning his confidence on a broom grew though Percy wasn't sure if he'd ever be brave enough to fly in a thunderstorm.
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts as he came down from his monthly trip to the Owlery the morning before the match that he was startled when Nick said, "Hello young Jackson," right next to him.
"Hi Nick," Percy replied berating himself. Everyone at camp knew an unobservant half-blood was a dead half-blood. He needed to do better, but to be fair ghost could sneak up on you without making a sound.
"Been having a good term so far?" the ghost politely asked.
"Yeah, and thanks for showing me all those passageways. They've been a big help."
"I'm glad. Though I must say, I was disappointed when you weren't sorted into my own House. But, if I had to lose you to anyone, I guess I don't mind it being the Fat Friar."
Percy felt a small twinge of guilt. He could've been. Maybe, he should've been, but he'd chosen not to. Sometimes he wondered if he really belonged in Hufflepuff. Most of his Housemates were just so nice, except for Smith. They would never have dyed a teacher's hair blue or made Smith fall on the floor in the middle of the hallway. "Don't tell him I said this, but you're still the coolest ghost in my opinion."
Nick beamed, "Thank you, Percy. I needed to hear that right now. I'm sure you would rather attend the Halloween feast, but I am holding a party for my five hundredth deathday. Would you want to come? Mr. Potter and his friends will be there as well."
Well if Ron, Hermione, and Harry were going to be there at least he wouldn't be the only living person there. "Yeah, Nick of course I'll come."
"I can't believe you're going to a deathday party instead of the Halloween feast!" Hannah exclaimed when he told his friends at breakfast.
"She's right mate," Ernie agreed, "you shouldn't be missing your first Halloween feast. They're incredible."
Percy sighed, "Nick's a friend. I couldn't tell him no. Besides I'll just stop by the kitchens after and get all the leftovers."
"The decorations are the best part though," Justin added.
"There's always next year," Percy replied. If you don't get expelled, he mentally added to himself.
At 10:30, they all headed down to the Quidditch stadium. Percy, Ernie, and Zacharias went to the field with the other hopefuls. Susan, Hannah, and Justin wished them luck and told them they'd get good seats. Percy's stomach filled with nerves. About a third of the House was on the field too, and most of them had much better brooms than the Shooting Star Percy had borrowed from the school's broomshed. The Ravenclaws were on the other side of the pitch. It was a cloudy day, but at least the constant rain had stopped.
A few minutes later Cedric and Eliza exited the locker room in their Quidditch robes to Hufflepuff cheers. If Cedric was nervous, he didn't show it. "All right everyone, welcome to the annual Huffleclaw match. I will be acting as captain only since the rules are that no current House team player can play. I want to thank all of you for coming and your enthusiasm to play, but unfortunately there are only seven spots. Also, just because you are picked does not mean that you're automatically on the team next year, and don't be discouraged if you weren't picked. You may still find a spot on the House team. Everyone line up, so I can see you."
There was a shuffling as everyone got in order. "Alright if I call your name, please come here. Langley, Fleet, Smith," Cedric called out as he looked down the line. Percy's stomach sank. It seemed like Cedric already knew exactly who he wanted. "Summerby, Cadwallader, Macavoy . . ." Cedric reached the end of the line. "Where's Rickett?"
"Puking his guts out in the bathroom," a fourth year answered with a chuckle. "Apparently, he has stage fright."
Cedric frowned and looked up and down the line showing uncertainty for the first time. Zacharias stepped up to the older boy and whispered something in his ear. Cedric glanced up in surprise and looked right at Percy before whispering something back. Zacharias hesitated before nodding. "and Jackson."
Percy couldn't believe it. He'd been picked. "Well," Ernie said with a sigh, "if it couldn't be me, at least it's you. And here, you should use this." Ernie thrusted his broom towards Percy. It was a Cleansweep Seven, and thanks to the constant talk of his classmates, Percy knew it was one of the better brooms on the market even if it wasn't as good as the Nimbus series.
"Ernie, I can't," Percy replied shocked that his friend would even offer, especially after not getting picked.
"Sure, you can because you sure aren't playing on that old thing. You can thank me by making sure we win." Percy couldn't refuse after that, so he traded brooms.
"Thanks, Macmillan," Cedric acknowledged from beside Percy, "That's really going to help a lot."
"Anytime," Ernie beamed at the praise from the older student before rushing off to the stands.
"Now, Jackson," Cedric turned to him. "I know you've been practicing with Smith as a Chaser, but I need you to be a Beater right now. Think you can do that?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at swinging at things."
Cedric grinned, "I figured since you grew up muggle in the States, you must've played that baseball game at some point." Percy was surprised that Cedric already knew that about him. It made him uneasy. Really, Percy had been thinking more about swinging his sword at monsters and Camp practice dummies, but like a lot of boys in the US, he'd tried his hand at baseball once when he was little. Hitting was fun, and he'd been pretty good at it, but he'd hated waiting for something to happen in the outfield. That had been pure torture.
The bat Cedric handed Percy was shorter than Riptide by a foot, but it weighed about the same, so it felt good in his hand. He gave it a few practice swings and figured he'd manage. Cedric introduced Percy to the other Beater, Langley, a stocky fifth year girl, who smiled and shook Percy's hand.
"All right Langley, I want you to focus mainly on the Seekers," Cedric instructed. "Keep ours safe and target theirs. Jackson, you'll do the same thing with the Chasers. Got it?" They both nodded their heads.
Before the match started, the team huddled together. "All right, everyone," Cedric said from his place in the middle. "For many of you, it's your first time ever playing on a full team in a stadium, so don't be too hard on yourself. This isn't the World Cup." That got a few nervous chuckles. "It's going to be crazy up there. This match is supposed to be raw and exciting, so enjoy it and show everyone what Hufflepuffs can do even without having a single practice. Hufflepuff on three." They all shouted Hufflepuff then lined up.
The two current captains would act as referees for the game. They quickly went over the rules. Most of them Zacharias had already explained to Percy. "Lastly, since this is a scrimmage primarily focused on the development of future House Quidditch teams, captains can change players to different positions after a timeout, though they cannot substitute anyone else in," Eliza informed them.
After that, they took to the air, and the match started. Immediately, Percy noticed how much smoother the Cleansweep was. There was no jerking or lagging. He let out a whoop as it responded to his touch and picked up speed. Zacharias grabbed the Quaffle first and made a quick score. The Hufflepuffs in the stand cheered, and to Percy's surprise, Megan Jones' voice announced it on some kind of speaker.
A Bludger flew by him, and Percy chased after it. As he drew close, he pulled back his bat and hit the crazy ball hard in the direction of the Ravenclaw Chaser with the Quaffle. She swerved right into Zacharias, who stole the Quaffle and headed back down the field. He passed it to another Chaser, Macavoy. She took a shot, but the Keeper blocked it. Percy loved it. The fast pace craziness of the game was almost as good as capture the flag.
Over the next few minutes, something became very clear to Percy. Zacharias was good, and Macavoy could hold her own, but the third Chaser, Cadwallader – he was terrible. He kept fumbling the Quaffle and leaving his man open.
After Ravenclaw scored their third goal in a row, Cedric called a timeout. "I know I'm playing lousy," Cadwallader told Cedric. "I know . . . I can do better," he stammered. Percy wasn't sure. The poor guy was so pale, he looked like he might faint."
"I know you can," Cedric agreed. "Just relax Mathew, forget about the crowd and just play."
After the timeout things only got worst. The Ravenclaw Chasers double teamed Smith while their third Chaser stayed on Macavoy. Every time Smith or Macavoy managed to get the Quaffle to Cadwallader, he dropped it.
Ravenclaw quickly scored two more points. Percy tried to do what he could, but one of the Ravenclaw beaters kept blocking him. Finally, Cadwallader did an impressive steal right at the Hufflepuff goal post, but he seemed so surprised that he actually pulled it off he flew right into the goal post and fell off his broom letting Ravenclaw score another point so that it was 10-60.
Cedric immediately called another timeout while he rushed towards his fallen player. Luckily, it hadn't been too high of a fall though Cadwallader did have a broken arm. "I'll take you to the hospital wing," Cedric declared.
"You can't, Diggory. You have a whole team to take care of. The match is still going on." Eliza reminded him. Cedric bit his lip just as a few of Matthew's friends rushed onto the field. Reluctantly, Diggory let them take him to the hospital wing.
"I don't know what happen to Cadwallader," Zacharias admitted. "I've seen him fly. He's way better than that."
Cedric's attention snapped back to the rest of them, "Nerves can get to even the best of us, Smith. You shouldn't judge." He took in their discouraged faces. They were going to have to play a player down. "Jackson, you're going to switch to Chaser. It's going to be hard because you won't have the protection of a beater. Langley needs to keep the pressure on their seeker to buy us time and help Summerby, so you three will be on your own, but I know you guys can do it. Even if we're down a man, we can still win this. We're only down five goals, and Summerby can still catch the snitch."
Percy felt the shift as Cedric's confidence boosted the teams' spirit. Smith caught Percy's eye and nodded. Even if the other boy was annoying at times, Percy had to admit that they worked pretty well together. "I expect Davis will keep with the double team on Smith, so for the first possession, I want you to try this." As Cedric described the plan, Percy felt his stomach go into knots. A lot depended on him.
As Cedric turned to talk to their Keeper, Smith whispered, "Think about it this way Jackson, there's no way you can be worse than Cadwallader." With that comforting thought, Percy left the safety of the ground hoping that the Fates wouldn't decide to prove Smith wrong.
Macavoy started with the Quaffle flying straight down the field. Smith kept his two defenders busy as he pretended to desperately try to get open while really, he was taking them farther from the action. Macavoy's defender attempted to cut her off, but she dodged him and continued to the right goal hoop. At the last second, she passed the ball to Percy who caught it and immediately threw the Quaffle through the left goal post. The Hufflepuffs in the stands cheered, and Percy allowed himself a smile. He could do this.
Their Keeper made a save, and then they ran the same play again. This time though the chaser defending Macavoy tried to guard both Percy and Macavoy, so when Percy caught the ball, he faked the shot, rolled under the defender and passed the ball back to Macavoy who scored. After that, Ravenclaw stopped their double team on Zacharias.
The next few plays were barely controlled chaos, which meant Percy loved every second of it. After weeks of practicing with Zacharias, he knew how to play with him: how Zacharias liked to lead Percy into passes, and his favorite angle to shoot from. When the Ravenclaw chasers focused too much on the back and forth between Percy and Zacharias, they'd pass the Quaffle to Macavoy who did a good job of reminding the Ravenclaws why they shouldn't forget about her. Ravenclaw's Beaters tried to keep up, but mostly they were able to dodge the Bludgers or at least pass it to another Chaser before getting hit. Hufflepuff took the lead and kept scoring, a lot.
Percy's natural battle reflexes were great for Quidditch. Once his adrenalin kicked in, everything seemed like it moved in slow motion, making it super easy for him to roll under a Bludger and execute an upside-down pass to Zacharias while barely managing to hold onto his broom.
"What an incredible pass from the American!" a voice that was not Megan's rang throughout the stadium. "He must be crazy to try a pass like that. Smith with the Quaffle. . . he shoots and scores. I may want to punch him in the face half the time, but man can he fly. Hufflepuff leads 200 to 60."
Percy saw Smith dive bomb the box where an older boy sat in the announcer's seat. While Ravenclaw's Chasers retrieved the Quaffle, Percy flew over to his fellow Chaser and asked, "Who is that guy?"
"Lee Jordan, he does the commentating for the real matches, super biased Gryffindor. Guess we got more of an audience than usual this year. Let's keep giving them a show," he grinned at Percy. Percy wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Zacharias this genuinely happy.
Percy risked a glanced down at the stands and realized two thirds of the school must be there. Gryffindors and even a few Slytherins had come to watch too. He didn't have any time to think about it because the Quaffle was back in play. "Jackson, let's Blitz after the first pass," Zacharias called out. As soon as the Ravenclaw Chaser passed the Quaffle, Zacharias and Percy rushed the one who caught it forcing him to turn it over.
"Another great defensive maneuver by Jackson and Smith. Diggory's found a dynamite duo there." They scored again. "Looks like Chang's spotted the Snitch! Ooh, Langley sends a Bludger her way. Good flying by Chang to avoid it but lost the snitch, again. Ravenclaw's Beaters really need to pick up the game here."
But unfortunately, the Snitch didn't stay lost for long. "There Chang goes again, Summerby right behind her. This could be a tie game. With those Hufflepuff Chasers, I can't blame Chang for wanting that Snitch now."
Distantly, Percy heard Cedric shout, "JACKSON, SMITH GO!"
Smith flew right at the Ravenclaw Chaser while Percy flew up and waited. When the Ravenclaw Chaser tried to pass he swooped down and intercepted the Quaffle. Smith took off towards the goal post. Macavoy blocked the Chaser coming after Percy, and he chucked the Quaffle as hard as he could.
"Chang pulls ahead. She's reaching out – But Smith scores! Chang catches the Snitch, but Hufflepuff wins 220 to 210. That last pass from Jackson must have covered half the field! What a nail biter folks! Wished I'd showed up sooner. Looks like Diggory's going to have a strong team next year."
As Percy landed, Hufflepuffs spilled onto the field. His friends congratulated him with slaps on the back and hugs from Susan and Hannah. They even hugged Zacharias which seemed to surprise the other boy. They gushed for a few moments about some of Percy's and Zacharias' better plays and informed them that the older students were already planning a party back at the common room. But before Percy could head back to the castle with them, Cedric called out, "Jackson could you come help me with the ball chest."
His friends offered to wait for him, but Cedric told them to go ahead, and they'd catch up in a few minutes. Since most of Percy's friends idolized Cedric, they just nodded and walked towards the castle. Zacharias was the only one who gave Percy a questioning look before leaving. Percy tried to relax. It wasn't like Cedric was going to try to kill him. Cedric took one half of the chest, so Percy grabbed the other. It was surprisingly light. Light enough for one person to carry which made Percy even more suspicious.
"Jackson, whatever I did to make you so . . . uncomfortable around me, I am sorry. I would like us to be friends or at least acquittances. You're a good player Jackson. I wouldn't say you're a natural flyer. You kind of fling yourself through the air more than glide, but your recklessness, reflexes, and sheer athletic ability seem to make up for that. Plus, you're good under pressure. If I'm going to be your captain next year, I need you to not flinch every time I talk to you. So how can I fix whatever I did wrong?"
Now, Percy felt like a jerk. It wasn't even Cedric's fault, and here he was trying to make it better like he was the one to blame. Cedric just seemed too good of a guy to be true. and that was the problem. "Look, it's nothing you did, exactly," Percy tried to explain. "It's just you're super cool and popular and a fourth year, so why would you want to hang around the uncool second year who showed up a year late and whose family is so messed up he has to go to school on a different continent? The last time – well I thought he was my friend and looking out for me. I felt lucky and grateful even, but it turned out he was only pretending to be my friend because he needed me to do something. He betrayed me." He rubbed the scar on the palm of his hand from the pit scorpion and met Cedric's eyes. He wasn't sure what to expect, anger, annoyance, exasperation. Instead he found kindness, understanding, and yes, a sliver of anger though Percy knew it wasn't directed at him. More like he was angry for Percy.
Cedric didn't say anything until after they'd dropped the chest off at Madam Hooch's office. "Thanks for opening up and telling me. I know you don't know me well, but you can trust this. Would you ever betray someone who considered you a friend Percy?"
"No, of course not," Percy answered immediately. The idea was just so against who he was. Sure, he might lie a little or purposefully annoy them, but he would never betray them, not intentionally. Not like Luke had done.
"Neither would I or any other Hufflepuff. You may not trust me yet, but I hope you trust our House. Even Smith, as annoying as he is, won't betray you. He might run away in a fight, but he won't stab you in the back either." That made Percy smile. "I actually almost punched him last year," Cedric admitted. "He was nagging on me after we lost to Gryffindor, kept saying I needed to be a man and step up and be Seeker and not a Chaser when it was the captain's call not mine. I just lost it. When you get to the third-year dorms, there's a dent in the front of the door. At the last second, I turned and punched that instead. I was too embarrassed to go to the Hospital wing, so I had to keep my hand bandaged for a few days for my busted knuckles to heal."
Percy smiled maybe Cedric wasn't as perfect as he seemed. He was a real guy just trying to do his best, "Yeah, I don't have the self-control you do. I ended up making him fall on his butt in the middle of the hallway a few weeks ago."
Cedric laughed, "Ah that's why he's been a little less obnoxious, lately. It's good for him to be reminded that there are limits to how much people can take of his particular brand of bullocks. At least you guys play well together. Though you are going to need a decent broomstick of your own before next year. You think you can manage that? I know they can cost a lot."
"Money isn't really an issue," Percy said kicking a loose stone out of the path. Cedric raised his eyes in surprise, and for some reason, maybe because Cedric just seemed so understanding, Percy added, "Rich dad trying to make up for ignoring my existence for twelve years, and I guess all the family stuff that made me have to come over here too."
"That must've been hard. I'd rather have my father than all the gold in the world," Cedric admitted.
"He had his reasons, but . . ." Percy shrugged. "At least, I can get a super cool broom. Wow, that still seems weird to say."
Cedric laughed, "Well, if money really isn't an issue, you should wait to buy a broom until the summer. Rumor among the Quidditch community is that Spudmore's coming out with a new broom then, and it's supposedly the fastest one yet."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."
"And Percy, I think your underestimating your popularity. You're new and exciting, showed up Snape in the first week and stood up for Hufflepuff, and you play Quidditch like a crazy person who isn't aware he's almost 100 feet off the ground. Not to mention, that rumor that your family are magical gangsters."
"Huh, you heard about that?" Percy was surprised that it had spread so fast.
"Never underestimate the Hogwarts' rumor mill," Cedric advised. "You're well on your way to becoming popular, but just be careful. When people put you on a pedestal, it's easy to fall." Percy wondered if that was something Cedric worried about, not being able to live up to his fellow Hufflepuffs' expectations.
Percy arrived at Nick's deathday party fashionably late and almost instantly regretted his choice to come. The place was so cold that Percy was actually glad he was wearing his robes for a change. He quickly spotted his live friends at the buffet table and felt hopeful that at least there was food until he reached it. "Yuck!" The moldy, rotten food smelled worse than Smelly Gabe. Percy hadn't thought that was possible.
"Look, another living person!" Ron exclaimed. "Good to see you mate, have any food on you?"
"Nope," Percy replied. "After seeing that, I'm not sure if I could eat right now even if I did have some."
Just then Peeves cackled and threw a platter of moldy peanuts in the air, "She'll flood the whole floor now!" His eyes landed on Percy, and he grinned. "Ooh, Mr. Jackson, have any more pranks planned?"
"Nope," Percy answered.
"Shame," Peeves shook his head in mock disappointment, "The last one went so well, I just might consider helping out again. A subject canceled for a whole week!" He saluted Percy and sped off to wreak more havoc somewhere.
Percy could almost feel Hermione's glare, "That was you! You made Professor Lockhart's hair that ridiculous shade for a whole week!"
Percy nodded. "Oh, man that was brilliant!" Ron praised.
"No, it wasn't," Hermione corrected. "It was harassment of a teacher and disrupted a whole week of lessons. Besides, I overheard Snape tell McGonagall that even he didn't know what potion the person used. He speculated that whoever did it invented his own. You could have seriously injured a teacher!"
Percy just smirked, "You might as well add blackmail to the list of crimes too."
"What!" Hermione screeched.
"The whole point of it was so he'd stop making people be all those silly monsters in his stupid demonstrations. I didn't want to do it anymore, and I didn't want him to threaten me with taking away House points."
"Thanks for that," Harry admitted. "I was getting tired of that too, and besides, Hermione you get to volunteer now. I think you should be thanking Percy. You made a very good Banshee."
Hermione blushed, but before she could think of something to say, Nick drifted over to them, "Having a good time?"
They all lied through their teeth. Suddenly, the orchestra stopped its awful screeching, and a hunting horn announced the arrival of a dozen headless horsemen. They burst through the wall and stopped in the middle of the dance floor. The translucent horses reared and bucked to the crowd's cheers. Percy vaguely wondered if his ability to communicate with horses extended to ghostly ones. He tore his attention away from the horses just as the lead horseman shouted, "Still upset we won't let him join the Hunt! But I mean to say – look at the fellow –"
Percy's eyes narrowed as he realized this ghost, this Sir Patrick, was just another bully. He shouldn't be teasing Nick just because his head was still attached.
"I think Nick's very – frightening and – er –" Harry stuttered. Well at least Harry was trying to stand up for Nick. Not that it did any good. Percy wished he could do something to help. The poor ghost looked so dejected as his guests ignored him and watched the headless guys play Head Hockey.
Percy focused in on the leader's ghostly horse. That zebra had talked to him in his mind, so maybe he could do the same thing. Please, Mr. Ghost Horse, Percy desperately thought at the horse, Could you throw your rider?
The horse stopped abruptly, and Sir Patrick's head rolled off his neck. Then the horse bucked and Sir Patrick's body flew neck first through a wall. The crowd burst out laughing, "Could someone go and ah, find my body?" Sir Patrick's head asked from the floor in a much more embarrassed tone.
"What's the matter, Sir Patrick, lost a head?" Nick asked with a grin on his face. "Fortunately, I've never had such an embarrassing problem."
Thanks, Percy told the horse.
He bowed to Percy, My pleasure, lord. He is rather annoying.
After bringing his focus back to the rest of the room, Percy looked for his live friends but couldn't find them. They must have snuck out when he trying to talk to the horse. Percy couldn't blame them as he shivered and his stomach growled. When Nick started his speech again since the rest of the Headless Hunt had to go find the body of their leader, Percy snuck out of the dungeon, already thinking about the yummy food he'd get from the kitchens.
"Kill . . . time to kill . . ." The voice was so faint, Percy wanted to believe that he'd imagine it, except he knew his imagination wasn't so bloodthirsty. The voice seemed like it was coming from above him. He had to stop it from killing. He sprinted down the hall and up the steps to the entrance hall. He paused trying to figure out where the voice had gone as students started pouring out of the Great Hall.
"Percy," Justin called. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." He laughed a little at his own joke.
Percy probably would have too if he wasn't so worried, "I thought someone was in danger. I was trying to help them."
The rest of his friends had reached him, "Why'd you think that?" Ernie asked with a frown.
Just then someone screamed from above them. They looked at one another, and then sprinted up the marble staircase. They had to go up one more floor before they reached the crowd of students. Ernie was the tallest, so he craned his neck and reported, "There're words written on the wall in . . . what looks like blood, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware.' And beneath the words there's something dangling from a torch bracket. Potter, Weasley, and Granger are there too, right in the middle of it."
"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" Filch shrieked.
"Well, I guess that answers what's hanging from the torch," Zacharias muttered. He started elbowing his way through the crowd, so Percy and the others followed.
As Filch was shouting death threats, Dumbledore and the other teachers arrived. The headmaster removed Mrs. Norris from the torch. "Come with me Argus. You, too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, and . . ." Dumbledore's gaze landed on Percy, "Mr. Jackson."
"You've got to be kidding me," Percy complained. "I wasn't even near here." It looked like he was getting blamed for something that wasn't his fault, again. He thought Hogwarts would be different. He thought Dumbledore would be different.
The part about Cedric almost punching Smith is from "Finding Himself" by Minisinoo. The next update won't be for at least another month, but I'll do my best to make it sooner than three.