Through the years

After a great summer staying at the Burrow’s, Harry was almost sad to get on the Hogwarts Express and leave it all behind. However, he was definitely excited to see all his friends again, and hopefully sooner than later, as Hermione and Ron had walked off to fulfil their prefect duties.

Luckily he didn’t have to wait long, as the moment he entered the train his name was called out by two very familiar voices.

“Hi, Harry!” said a happy voice from behind him.

“Neville!” said Harry in relief, turning to see a round-faced boy struggling toward him.

“Hello, Harry,” said a girl with long hair and large misty eyes, who was just behind Neville.

“Luna, hi, how are you?”

“Very well, thank you,” said Luna. She was clutching a magazine to her chest; large letters on the front announced that there was a pair of free Spectrespecs inside.

“Quibbler still going strong, then?” asked Harry, who felt a certain fondness for the magazine, having given it an exclusive interview the previous year.

“Oh yes, circulation’s well up,” said Luna happily. “Might double after the latest issue, I managed to get an interview with Gleeson Hedge, a very famous Satyr. I will give you a free copy”

Harry smiled at her, he had no idea who she was talking about but it seemed like a big deal to her.

“Let’s find seats,” said Harry, and the three of them set off along the train through hordes of silently staring students. Finding an empty compartment seemed to get more difficult by the year, every room seemed to be filled to the brim with students.

As they made it to the back of the train they found a somewhat empty compartment. However, one side was occupied by someone sleeping stretched out on the seats. The person was already dressed in their Gryfindor-themed robes, but as their cloak was pulled unceremoniously over their head, Harry had trouble making it out who it was.

The person's legs poked out from under the cloak and dangled awkwardly over the bench blocking the already narrow pathway to the other seats. Harry noticed the stranger was wearing dirty red Converse instead of the traditional dress shoes that belonged to the uniform.

Harry turned around to look at Neville and Luna, who both gave an uncertain shrug. There were probably no other empty compartments left anyway, and atleast this person wouldn’t stare at them the whole ride to Hogwarts.  

Harry sighed and started to climb over the strangers legs while holding his luggage dangerously above his head. After stowing it in the luggage rack he helped with Luna’s and Neville’s as well, and they too made it carefully into the compartment.

The three sat down and immediately turned their attention to the stranger.

“Who do you reckon it is?” Neville asked them.

Harry stared at the stranger, trying to find something to identify them by. It was definitely a male (or a girl with very hairy legs) other than that the only identifiable thing was his red shoes. Now that Harry was looking at them from close by he noticed they weren’t dirty but instead filled with wacky doodles.

Some were plain drawings like a little dog saying hello, a slice of pizza and a very detailed horse head that seemed to be swearing as indicated by the grawlix above its head. Other than that the empty spaces where filled with nonsense words like: “Supersized Mcshizzle”, “Seaweedbrain” and “Dam Snackbar”. Harry definitely didn’t get any wiser by this.

“He might be like my uncle, he was Dukuwaqian shoe maker in Fiji,” Luna said while putting some strange-looking spectacles on her nose and examined the boy closer “A no these are definitely normal shoes not flying ones”

“Why would he be-” Harry stopped his sentence, did he even want to know where that came from. “I have no clue who he is” Harry said instead.

“Should we wake him up?” Neville questioned as soft snores filled the compartment.

Harry gave a small snort and shrugged his shoulders. “It seems like he needs the nap and I think we can do without the attention”

“You’re right, when we walked this way they’re even staring at us!” said Neville, indicating himself and Luna. “Because we’re with you!”

“They’re staring at you because you were at the Ministry too,” said Harry, pointing his finger towards Neville in the same manner“Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must’ve seen it.”

“Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity,” said Neville, “but she was really pleased. Says I’m starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!”

He pulled it out and showed it to Harry. “Cherry and unicorn hair,” he said proudly. “We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day — oi, come back here, Trevor!”

And he dived under the seat to retrieve his toad as it made one of its frequent bids for freedom.

“Are we still doing D.A. meetings this year, Harry?” asked Luna, who was shifting her spectacles up and down her nose, trying to find a good postion for them.

“No point now we’ve got rid of Umbridge, is there?” said Harry. Neville bumped his head against the seat as he emerged from under it. He looked most disappointed.

“I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!”

“I enjoyed the meetings too,” said Luna serenely. “It was like having friends.”

This was one of those uncomfortable things Luna often said and which made Harry feel a squirming mixture of pity and embarrassment. Before he could respond, however, there was a disturbance outside their compartment door; a group of fourth-year girls was whispering and giggling together on the other side of the glass.

They got rid of the girls easily but by that time Harry’s mind had already wandered far from Luna’s last remark. As it did many times it wandered back to his uncertain future, was he really back to being some kind of zoo animal people liked to look at?. After what felt like a long time Neville poked him on the arm.

“You all right, Harry? You look funny,” said Neville.

Harry started. “Sorry — I —”

“Wrackspurt got you?” asked Luna sympathetically, peering at Harry through her enormous colored spectacles.

“I — what?”

“A Wrackspurt . . . They’re invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy,” she said. “There a lot zooming around here, they like that guy”

She pointed at the stranger on the bench and then proceeded to flap her hands at thin air, as though beating off large invisible moths. Harry and Neville caught each other’s eyes and hastily began to talk of Quidditch.

The weather beyond the train windows was as patchy as it had been all summer; they passed through stretches of the chilling mist, then out into weak, clear sunlight. It was during one of the clear spells, when the sun was visible almost directly overhead, that the compartment door spontaneously opened.

“Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I’m starving,” said Ron loudly from the door opening. Hermione stood right behind him shaking her head.  

Luna, Neville and Harry simultaneously put their fingers to their lips and let out a whispered “shush”. They slowly turned their heads to their compartment buddy, but the warning had been too late as the boy started steering.

Suddenly he shot up into the air and ended up with his hand and knees on the bench, cloak still draped over his head. “Bob!” a muffled yelp came from underneath the cloak. “Dark” he yelled as he started to fight with the fabric. As he became more tangled he released a few curses that ended with a loud “Styx!” as he threw himself from the bench.

For a few seconds it was completely still… and then everyone jumped in to action. Harry shot up from his spot and looked down at the boy, only to be met with a very familiar pair of sea green eyes.

“PERCY?!” he exclaimed.

Percy started at him from the floor and proceeded to give an awkward sort of wave. “Hey Harry…eum… long time no see?” he said uncertainly.

“LONG TIME NO-” Harry started but then intercepted it by pinching the bridge of his nose. “How have you been?” he asked instead.

Percy knitted his brows at Harry, probably thinking it was some sort of trap. “Good…” he said slowly. “Well…. actually not too good. Got kidnapped by my aunt, had to live with wolfs for a while, then got absolutely body slammed by my girlfriend, drank fire water for weeks only to get a nose bleed to almost killed my entire family.”

The entire cabin was silent for a minute before Ron shrill voice broke it “YOU’VE GOT A GIRLFRIEND?!”

Percy’s smile turned mischievous as he wiggled his eyebrows and pointed at himself. “Yes consider me out of your bachelor party, Ron”

“Why do you think I’m still single?” He questioned.

Percy, who was now sitting on the ground instead of lying down looked him up and down.

“Lucky guess” He said with a cheeky grin.

Ron started sputtering but Harry interrupted him before he could continue.

“But all that stuff you were talking about is it true?” He asked.

Percy gave a chuckle “Don’t worry about it Harry, I’ll tell you later where I was”.

Harry was not about to let it go but when he turned his eyes to Percy’s he saw him giving a knowing look. Something that said ‘we will talk about this later’.

Percy turned his face towards Neville “In the meantime, Neville how trans class going? Still blowing up things left and right?” and with that the conversation was over.

While the new conservation started in the the background. Harry could help getting lost in thought. Was what Percy said true? and otherwise what kind of explanation was he gonna give?

It wasn’t until the end of dinner that Percy brought it up again. He stood up from his place on the bench and pushed his head between Ron and Harry’s. Hermione facing them from the otherside of the table.

“Guys, meet me at midnight in the Rec room. I’ll explain everything”. Percy whispered loudly.

“Rec room?” Ron questioned.

“I think he means room of requirements” Hermione filled in easily.

“Knew I could count on you, Hermione” Percy said while he winked at her. “Well see you later guys” he said as he pushed himself from the table using their shoulders.

The trio watched him walk away and just as he made it past the doors they turned their heads back to eachother.

“Do you reckon what he said was true?” Harry asked.

“You mean that stuff on the train? About the crazy aunt and fire water?”Ron questiond “I don’t know it sounds rubbish to me”

Harry turned towards Hermione. “What do you think?” he asked her.

Hermione shuffled a bit awkwardly on her chair. “I think we have to wait for what Percy tells us, speculating about it is not going to help with anything.”

Harry looked at her for a second, it seemed she knew more than she was letting on.

“Alright let’s see what he has to say” Harry said.

Hermione nodded “Ron and I have to do midnight rounds however so we have to go a bit later, if we don’t see Percy again before tonight you can go ahead and tell him we will be coming”

“Sure thing” Harry promised.

Hermione swiftly stood up “alright let’s go. I want to visit Hagrid before it’s dark.”

Harry and Ron looked her and saluted mockingly “Sure thing, sir”.

Hermione let out a sigh, but from to corners of her mouth you could see she was suppressing a smile.

Harry stood infront of the wall waiting for the room of Requirement to appear. It had been a while since he’d been in it. Secretly his heartbeat would always increase every time he tried to access the room, afraid one day it would stop showing up, however again he was happily reassured as the outline of the door started to form.

The inside looked different than the last time he visited. Where usually it was more of a dingy dark place, this time it was almost as bright as the sun. The whole room seemed to be covered in white marble, and fashioned with gold and bronze status on all sides and some in the middle of the room.  In a corner, a small water fountain was trickling filling the room with an echoing sound.

It felt bare and exposed.

Harry quickly noticed he was the first one to arrive as he shuffled his way further into the room. He examined the statues as he walked past them, it was a mixture of men and women, young and old, but non of which Harry recognized.

As he turned his gaze to the statues in the middle of the room, he jumped a meter into the air. The statues where moving! As Harry got his heartbeat undercontrol he focused back on the three in the middle, they were old women sitting on rickety old chairs.

Harry now understood why he had mistaken them for statues at first, they moved, yes, but very very slowly. As Harry stood there and observed them for a minute he noticed they seemed to be knitting something. Only the string they were holding was raffled at the end, one hard pull and they could probrably break it appart. Harry was contemplating if he should turn around and leave, this whole scene seemed a little… strange.

As he was about to turn a gravely voice sounded through the room. “Harry Potterrr-”. It was the woman in the middle.

“euh- hi” he responded dumbly.

“Don’t you want to know yourrr fate?” The one the right now drawled creepily.

Harry stood there for a moment. Did he want to know what was going to happen to his future? If he was being honest he was curious as to what the upcoming years were going to look like. But what if it terrible fate? What was he going to do then?

“Don’t do it, it’s a terrible deal” A voice sounded from behind Harry.

For the second time that day Harry jumped into the air with an extreme force. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Harry quickly turned his head.

It was Percy.

Harry knitted his eyebrows. Percy looked different, older. He would almost describe it as darker, like some kind of anger aura was swirling around him.

“Perseusss Jackson, long time no see” The woman on the left said.

“Well you know” Percy responded “I kind of try to stay out of your way, the last socks you made for me weren’t really my taste”

“We simply showed you yourrr future” The middle one spoke again.

“Yeah thanks you made me think I was gonna die, you know, you could up your marketing game, maybe hand out a pamphlet saying ‘We meant that your arch nemesis is dying, not you, so don’t worry’. Would really help with retaining your customers” Percy retorted.

Harry snorted, that sounded like Percy. In return Percy gave him a cheecky smile.

“Anyway we’re not interested in your premonitions, we have a teacher here for that. So maybe take a nice vacation or something. I hear Oygia is very nice this time of year”

The three ladies kept staring at them before the left one spoke again. “Just beware Perseusss Jackson, you are not meant to get involved in thisss battle”.

Percy levelled his stare at them. “Yeah, yeah I know”.

Harry almost thought the old ladies where to do a ‘I’m watching you’ you sign. But instead a blinding light started to shine around them, Harry instinctively closed his eyes and by the time he opened them the old ladies were gone.

“Good riddance” Percy grumbled under his breath.

“Who we’re those ladies?” Harry asked “Did you know them?”

“Oh yeah, met them when I was twelve” Percy said, his face unreadable “Those, Harry, were the fates”

“The fates?” Harry questioned.

“Yup, all knowing old ladies, like to knit and decide when you’re going to die” Percy smiled “Those fates”

“but what? How do you know them? We never learned they were real” Harry’s mind was racing with a thousand questions now.

Percy gave him a soft smile “I will explain everything once Ron and Hermione are here as well. Don’t worry about it too much”.

Harry was silent for a moment “The string they were holding…. It was very very thin and raffled” He said unsurely.

Percy gave him a friendly push and smiled. “What did I just say? don’t worry too much about it Harry, the thing is they don’t always show you your own fate, just the one you're intertwined with.”

“If you say so…” harry responded.

“I do say so” Percy responded surely.

As Harry stood there, slightly stunned by the encounter with the Fates and Percy's casual demeanour towards them, the door to the Room of Requirement opened once again. This time, it was Ron and Hermione entering the room, their expressions a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

Ron's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the elaborate marble room and the golden statues.

"Blimey, what's going on here?" he exclaimed, his voice echoing off the walls.

Hermione glanced over his shoulder. "This is incredible," she remarked, stepping further into the room.

Percy turned to them with a wry grin. "Ah, good of you to join us. I was just about to regale Harry with tales of my adventurous life."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Adventurous life? You mean getting kidnapped by your aunt and living with wolves?"

Percy chuckled. "Oh, that's just the tip of the iceberg, Ron. Sit down, let me start from the beginning.”

The group sat down on the marble floor in a small circle. Surprisingly to Harry the white marble ground was actually quite warm and comfortable to sit on.

Percy took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "First things first, my dad is Poseidon."

There was a collective gasp from the others in the room. Ron's jaw dropped open, while Harry eyes widened in realization. Percy’s dad was Poseidon?

"You mean... the God Poseidon?" Ron asked incredulously.

Percy nodded. "That's the one."

“But you said he was some kind of business man” Ron retorted.

“Well yeah… managing the sea’s is quite some business” Percy grinned

Harry’s head was spinning. While what Percy said sounded ridiculous it also made sort of sense.

"But how is that possible? Gods aren't supposed to... well, exist." He asked.

Percy shrugged. "Tell that to the Fates," he said with a wry smile. “You actually met quite a few of them, Harry”

Then something dawned on Harry  “I met your dad… the man in the tourist outfit was Poseidon!?” He exclaimed.

Percy let out a hard laugh. While Ron mumbled in the background “Dad? Tourist outfit?”

“Yeah I’m glad I didn’t inherit his fashion sense, way too many flower patterns” Percy laughed.

“Proof it” Ron interrupted.

“What?” Percy questioned

Ron eagerly shot up “Well Poseidon is like crazy strong with water and stuff – ‘stuff’ Percy grumbled – can you show us something? Like summon a wave or … a dolphin?”

Percy gave him a deadpan expression. “No, I don’t think Dumbledore would appreciate it if I submerge Hogwarts underwater OR bring in any dolphins”

Percy eyes wandered around the room until they had seemingly locked onto something. Harry followed his gaze and saw him looking at the small fountain in the corner.

Percy’s face split into a mischievous grin. “I could however do this” he said while waving his hand.

Suddenly the water of the fountain shot towards them, or more specifically towards Ron. He crawled back with a small shriek, but the water stopped right before hitting his nose. Hanging in the air like a picture.

“Wowww” Ron sounded “Ok.. I believe you. Man to know you could have used wandless magic this whole time”

“It is not magic..” Percy started “Well actually I have no idea what it is” Then his face turned serious

“But you guys, just know, I wasn’t trying to hide this all from you I just… I didn’t want to get you all involved. Life’s already so hectic around here I didn’t want you all to worry about me”

In response Hermione punched him in the arm. “Of course we worry about you! With or without godly parents. You’re our friend Percy” She said encouraging. “Just… tell us what happened?”

"Long story short, I found out about my heritage when I was twelve. The summer before I started Hogwarts that is. It’s when I went on my first quest."

"First quest?" Harry prompted, leaning in even further.

Percy nodded. "Yeah. It was... intense. But it was also the beginning of a journey that would change my life forever."

Percy took a moment to collect his thoughts before launching into his tale. He recounted his first quest, the journey to retrieve Zeus' stolen master lightning bolt, and the trials and tribulations he faced along the way. He described battling monsters, encountering gods and goddesses, and ultimately facing off against the Titan Lord Kronos himself.

When Percy finished his story, there was a moment of stunned silence in the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged looks, their minds reeling from the magnitude of what they had just heard.

"That's... unbelievable," Ron finally managed to say, breaking the silence.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "It's certainly a lot to take in. But given everything we've experienced in the wizarding world, it's not entirely impossible."

Ron turned towards her. “Are you saying you believe this” he said while gesturing at Percy “You who ALWAYS needs proof”

At the same time Harry glinted at Hermione. Something in the way she said that was triggering Harry. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “Figured it out a while ago. It just wasn’t my place to tell”

Percy gave her a soft smile. “Thank you for that”

Suddenly Harry jumped up

“But you said this happened last summer!… where were you for the past year?” Harry questioned.

Ron shoved forwards at this. “yeah and where is the part about the wolves and the fire water?” He urged on.

Percy scratched the back of his head and gave a small chuckle. “Well, after the war I wanted to stay home for a little bit… and then my aunt kidnapped me”

“Your aunt Kate- I mean Hecate?” Harry questioned.

“I wish” Percy grumbled “no this aunt is ever worse. She kidnapped me and erased my memories”

“She erased your memories?” Harry questioned.

“yeah totally gone, nothing, nada” Percy said shaking his head “Then she dumped me in this forest to train with a wolf. Just telling you that didn’t help with improving my table manners”

He began by recounting his journey to Camp Jupiter where he had found himself embroiled in a new set of challenges.

"I arrived at Camp Jupiter with no memory of who I was or where I came from," Percy explained, his voice tinged with frustration "But with the help of my new friends, Hazel and Frank, I began to piece together the truth about my past and the dangers that lay ahead. It might not have helped that I pissed off some of the wrong people… however"

As he spoke, Percy described the trials he faced at Camp Jupiter. He recounted his quest to free the god Thanatos and his desperate struggle to prevent the awakening of  Gaia, all while grappling with the uncertainty of his own identity and the looming threat of war.

"And then there was the Argo II," Percy continued, sounding somewhat nostalgic as he recalled the events that had unfolded aboard the legendary ship. "We joined forces with some from camp Half-Blood, including Annabeth, and set sail on a journey to Rome in search of the Athena Parten- Partin- Parthenos."

Percy described the harrowing battles they faced against monsters and giants, the treacherous encounters with gods and goddesses. It was strange for Harry to hear Percy tell these tales. While magic was one thing to understand, this was a whole different world. It felt like the time Hagrid told Harry about the wizarding world.

"And then, finally, we reached Greece," Percy said, his voice heavy with something indescribable.

"We found the Athena Parthenos, but it came at a great cost…. Annabeth and I… We took a detour, so to say."

“What do you mean with a detour?” Ron questioned.

Percy sighed “I don’t think I can talk about, atleast not yet. Trauma and all that stuff” He chuckled the last bit awkwardly.

Hermione gave him another punch in the arm, but then very quickly eloped him in a sidewards hug instead.

“You can tell us when you’re ready” She said

Harry and Ron both nodded their head quickl in response aswell. While they weren’t as strong in the emotional talking they absolutely agreed with Hermione’s words.

“Thanks guys” Percy said softly “That means a lot, really. And don’t worry I am not alone! Annabeth is checking in all the time as well… don’t tell anyone but… I might have left some portkey’s behind in some places”

“You what?” Harry asked injudiciously.

Percy just waved his hand in response “Don’t worry about it I made sure they’re all in safe places”

“You sure?” Hermione prodded.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Well… might have some unwanted vists and stuff… but believe me nothing dangerous”

The trio looked at him with squinted eyes. “Okayyy…” Ron drawled “Can you teach me how to make Portkeys?”

Now it was Ron’s turn to get punched. “Ron! We’re not allowed to”

“Then why is Percy?” He shot back

“If you weren’t listening Ronald, Percy is half god and stopped the end of the world multiple times. I think he can handle it” Hermione chided

“Hermioneeee” Percy said sweetly “I didn’t think you’d admire me this much”

“I think you have to reconsider Hermione” Harry chuckled “You’re inflating Percy’s ego too much”

Ron shot straight up “yeah Mione, you think I could not do all-” and the trio fell into an easy bickering. Going from if Ron could’ve been Percy to actually determining if Ron could have ever ended up with Annabeth.

Harry noticed Percy smiling at them as they continued on with the senseless conversation. “What is it?” Harry questioned.

Ron and Hermione fell silent as Harry asked the question, and both now also turned towards Percy

Percy gave a smile, not his mischievous troublemaker one, but a real shining one “Nothing, I’m just happy to have this all of my chest”

Harry returned his smile “we are happy to be here for you Perc”

“Definitely Percy!” Ron encouraged “Now, can you tell me more about how you fought with a Chimera? Is is true they can spit poison” Ron pestered

Percy chuckled “Wel Ron… first of all- Picture this, I on an Arch 600 feet above pure concrete- ”

Harry felt a smile forming on his lips as Percy fell into the story. It wasn’t until 3 a.m. that the group made it back to the Gryffindor common room.