Chapter 8
The next morning saw Annabeth shooing Frank and Hazel to their respective dorms while Percy made breakfast for the four of them. Just some simple loaded omelet, but a welcome distraction from the previous night’s nightmares. After sneaking out their friends, Annabeth returned to her own dorm and Percy returned to his to get ready for the day. Percy had just sat down in the common room when Cassius came stumbling in from their dorm, yawning so wide his jaw cracked.
“How are you so wide awake?” The boy complained, slumping onto the couch across from Percy. Percy smiled wryly.
Nightmares , he thought.
“Jet-lag, I guess,” he said. Cassius hummed, apparently accepting the answer. He eyed the tins in Percy’s hands.
“What are those?”
“Omelets. My friends weren’t huge fans of the food last night, and I figured they’d want something nice to greet them in a new environment.”
“Oh. Well that was really nice of you.” Cassius gave Percy a scrutinizing look. “You sure you shouldn’t be in Hufflepuff?”
Percy chuckled, shaking his head. “The hat said it was a tossup between Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Annabeth came to Slytherin, so I did to.”
Cassius stared at Percy for a long moment, slowly shaking his head.
“You’re really just kicking the bar to the ceiling, huh?” he muttered. Percy frowned, brows furrowing as he cocked his head.
“What?”
“Nothing. Oh hey, there’s my cousin.” He shuffled off to bother Anita, while Annabeth sat next to Percy in her own uniform.
“You look great,” Percy said as she leaned into him. “Green is a good color for you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Brings out your eyes.”
Annabeth scoffed, cheeks burning. She gave him a soft shove as she smiled up at him.
“Sap.”
He smiled back, leaning in slightly. “Only for you, honey-bee.”
Percy liked these moments. The soft silences between them when the world fell away. Both of them safe, nothing going on, just being allowed to enjoy the moment.
“Time for breakfast!”
And Ray had to break it. Percy sighed, but stood with Annabeth and followed their new friends to the door. Outside the Great Hall, there was a small influx of people heading in for breakfast. Some talking to friends, some just waking up, and some taking time out of their morning to glare at anyone in green.
Percy, more than happy to ignore this, walked right up to where Hazel and Frank had met up, Hazel talking with a brunette girl nearby Harry Potter. The red head on the other side of the boy seemed to puff up at Percy’s approach, as if the older boy was going to do something. The brunette also stiffened and Harry himself seemed to almost shuffle into a bit more defensive position.
But Percy bypassed all of that to hold out the two still-hot boxes.
“Breakfast deliver,” he grinned.
Hazel grabbed hers without hesitation, cracking the lid open with a sigh as she smelled the omelets.
“Percy you’re the best,” she said, holding the box to her face with two hands. Frank was in a similar position.
“Yeah, thanks, Percy!” He said with a grin. Percy winked at them both and Annabeth laughed next to him, winding her arm through his.
“Come on, Seaweed Brain, let's go sit down to eat. You two have a great day!” She said, waving. Hazel and Frank returned the pleasantries, and the couple walked back to the Slytherin table.
Harry had not expected that.
When he saw the new transfer student approaching he’d gotten nervous, Hermione and Ron drawing closer. Slytherins weren’t exactly his biggest fans, but most of the older years tended to stay away, just glare from a distance. Either way, Harry wasn’t quite happy to have the older student’s attention. Tall, clearly muscled, an unnerving stare, and scars over his body, was it any wonder Harry felt uncomfortable.
But, as it turned out, the new student was not there to place himself above Harry. In fact, he hardly even acknowledged him aside from a cursory glance. Instead, the student– Jackson, Harry was pretty sure– slid up to the other two transfers that Hermione was talking to. His unnerving expression broke into a shockingly kind smile, sea-green eyes lightening at the sight of the younger students. He held up two boxes, which Levesque and Zhang had eagerly accepted.
When Levesque cracked hers open, Harry suddenly understood why, as whatever was in it smelled amazing.
Jackson’s equally intimidating girlfriend slid up, laughing and tugging her boyfriend away from the group and back over to the Slytherin table. Hermione looked at Levesque as they started to walk into the Great Hall.
“What was that about?” she asked. Levesque waved Zhang goodbye before she sat and answered, swiping some silverware from the table.
“Oh, Percy was just giving Frank and I some omelets for the first day,” Levesque said, already starting to dig in. “Good luck charm, and such.”
Levesque ate happily, and Harry could see Jackson and Chase eating their own omelets at the Slytherin table.
“So…” Ron drawled, eyes darting between Levesque and Jackson. “How do you know him.”
“He’s my cousin,” Levesque answered easily. Ron scrunched his nose in confusion.
“You don’t look all that similar.”
Levesque halted with her fork spearing her next omelet piece, looking at Ron incredulously.
“ Ronald !” Hermione hissed, slapping Ron’s arm.
“What?”
Leveseque looked like she greatly regretted deciding to sit with them. Harry tried to change the subject.
“That’s cool!” He said awkwardly, getting Levesque’s attention. “Er… any… other family around here– at school, that is?”
Leveseque gave him a ‘you’re not subtle’ look, but answered. “No, not at school, though my brother might stop by to check on me. He gets worried. Our other cousins are back in America.”
She paused, seeming to think for a moment. “Actually, I think one of them is in Europe… she travels around a lot, so I don’t always know where she is.”
“Oh, that’s lovely!” Hermione said, jumping back into the conversation with a smile. “Does she go anywhere in particular?”
“Not really,” Levesque shrugs. “Wherever the wind takes her, I guess.”
“And what does your brother do?”
“He’s an ambassador,” Levesque replied casually. Hermione only got more excited.
“Really! Where from?”
Levesque blinked up at Hermione for a moment, finishing off her omelet. “Uh, Greece.”
“That’s so amazing! So, you’re Greek?”
“My brother is Greek,” Levesque corrected. “I’m Roman.”
“You mean Italian,” Hermione tried to correct back. Levesque looked a bit annoyed.
“No, I mean Roman.”
Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry could sense an oncoming argument. He shared a look with Ron. Uh oh.
“The Roman Empire isn’t a thing anymore! If you’re from Rome, you’re Italian.”
Levesque’s gaze hardened. She replied through gritted teeth. “I said , I am Roman .”
“It just doesn’t make any sense-”
“Then stop talking about what you don’t know,” Levesque growled. “I say I am Roman, so I am Roman. Stop acting like your opinions are facts .”
Hermione looked like she’d been slapped in the face. Levesque, meanwhile, stood from the table, snatched up her omelet box, and stormed out of the hall. Hermione huffed in her wake, crossing her arms and glaring at nothing.
“Well, I never ,” she harrumphed.
As soon as she finished puffing, Harry felt holes being drilled into his head. He glanced up.
If he’d though Jackson’s stare was unnerving before, that had nothing on his glare. It made the hairs on the back of his neck rise, his head screaming danger! Danger! And it wasn’t even aimed at him. Jackson was glaring at Hermione.
Chase leaned over to her boyfriend, whispering something to him. He nodded, pausing only to kiss her on the cheek, before he left as well and followed after Levesque. Chase glanced over at Hermione with flinty, cold, calculating eyes.
Yes, he could see how they’d gotten into Slytherin.