Chapter 4
"What did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?" Ron asked as Harry sat down beside him. Herbology was in Greenhouse three; they had it with the Hufflepuffs.
"Told me about the tournament," Harry answered. He looked to the front of the classroom where Professor Sprout was showing the class the ugliest plant he'd ever seen.
"What about the tournament?" Ron asked.
Harry looked back at Ron. "Something about how it was 'suspicious that two department heads suddenly pushed for the revitalisation of the tournament' and that I am to under no circumstances try to enter myself into it," Harry answered, shrugging. "Not like I was gonna in the first place."
"Is that it?" Hermione asked. "The meeting seems kind of pointless if that's all he wanted to talk about, especially considering it's only the first day of class."
Harry shook his head. "No, he also talked to me about trying to make more friends this year and to be more open minded on making them. Dunno what he really means by that, though. I already have you guys as friends."
He neglected to mention the conversation on the dreams he was having with Dumbledore to his friends. Who would believe him if he told them that he dreamt of Voldemort as a fetus in a cauldron being looked over by a snake and a rat.
Hermione looked contemplative. "I think what Dumbledore means to say, Harry, is that you should expand your friend group a bit more to more than just the two of us."
Harry thought over what Hermione said for a bit.
"But why now of all times?" he asked. "And I'm close to both Sean, Dean and Neville."
"I don't know," Hermione responded. "But it also could be because Professor Dumbledore wants you to make friends with people from other houses, potentially to promote inter house unity."
"Huh, I guess that does make sense."
He paused.
"But why me?"
"People want to be your friend Harry," Hermione responded, slightly exasperated. "You're the boy-who-lived after all."
"And if people see you making friends with people from other houses," Ron said, continuing Hermione's point, "others will be sure to follow."
"Okay," Harry said, dragging out the y. "But why now of all times?"
"I think it has something to do with the tournament," Ron responded.
Harry's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "How?"
"Well, with Hogwarts hosting the tournament, we want to look good in front of the other schools. The-boy-who-lived, a celebrity, not having a lot of friends and being well connected would probably look bad. The division between the houses would also present an image issue," Ron started explaining, but before he could finish Professor Sprout had them form pairs.
Hermione and Ron partnered up while Harry went with Neville. They worked on collecting pus from Bubotubers. As always, Neville did remarkably well.
Next up, Harry had Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. He walked towards the forbidden forest with his two friends. Hagrid stood outside his hut with a bunch of crates surrounding him. He waved happily at Harry and his friends.
As he got closer, Harry could hear strange, loud noises coming from those crates. He had a bad feeling about this.
He checked to make sure his wand was still in the pocket of his school robes.
"Mornin!" Hagrid said, grinning at Harry and his Gryffindor classmates. "We just have to wait a few moments for the Slytherins before we start. Wouldn't want them to miss this!"
Hagrid had a unique, thick accent due to him being part giant.
"What wouldn't we want them to miss exactly?" Lavender asked.
"Blast-Ended Skrewts!" the half-giant responded. "They've only just hatched, so you'll be able to raise em yourself! Thought it'd be a fun class project."
He sounded proud, way too proud, because these Blast-Ended Skrewts looked horrifying. They resembled deformed, shell-less lobsters. They were slimy with legs sticking out at random places and no discernible head.
Everyone recoiled a couple of kilometers upon first looking at them.
Harry checked to make sure his wand was still in his pocket.
Once the Slytherin's had arrived, Harry had to feed the… things. It was most certainly not fun, especially with the Slytherin's, mostly Malfoy, whining and complaining. A couple of 'my father will hear about this' were heard throughout class.
"I hope we're not raising those blasted screwts for the entire year," Harry said as they walked back to the castle. His hand stung from a sting the screwt gave him. He'd have to get it checked out with Madam Pomfrey later.
Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.
"At least they're small and manageable," Ron said as the trio entered the Great Hall. Harry begged to differ, rubbing his aching hand. "Though, for how long is anybody's guess."
"Knowing Hagrid," Harry said as the three of them sat down, Ron immediately stuffing his face with a sandwich, "it'll probably grow a couple meters into some dangerous beast."
"Don't jinx it."
Harry shrugged in response.
Once they've had their fill, Hermione headed off to the library, Ron back to the Gryffindor common room and Harry to the infirmary.
Line Break
Harry left the infirmary, his hand feeling much better. He had double divination next, something he was not looking forward to.
He met up with Ron at the base of the North Tower. He frowned. The scent of sweet perfume was so strong that Harry could smell it all the way down, at the bottom of the staircase. It wasn't a pleasant smell.
When he and Ron entered the classroom, they were ambushed by Professor Trelawney. She peered at Ron first, her enormous glasses distorting her face in a rather comedical way.
"I see… yes, interesting, interesting," she began, a hint of excitement in her voice. "My inner eye sees… emotions, strong emotions. Jealousy, anger… I fear you'll have a… perfectly normal school year," she ended off disappointed.
Professor Trelawney was like that last year as well. At the beginning of class she would peer into the future of every student as they entered. She never saw anything clear though. Whatever she predicted of the student's futures were vague at best, unless she was looking at Harry.
The Professor looked at Harry.
"Hmm, you are distracted," she began. Harry checked to make sure his wand was still on him as she spoke. "I see… a she-dog and a polecat looking over you. Neptune seems to be trying to get ever so closer to you my dear and -!"
She gasped suddenly.
Oh boy, Harry thought, this is the point where she predicts my death.
"Death!" Professor Trewlawney exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth in horror. "I… I see death!"
Harry closed his eyes in resignation.
"When the autumn has made way for the winter, when the domain of Neptune has swallowed wisdom's daughter and when the finale was more than one wagered. Death… death will appear in every corner."
Once she was done with Harry's overdramatized death prediction, the Professor moved onto the other students.
Harry didn't bother to remember what Professor Trewlawney said - it was always a pile of bull anyways. Well actually, the part about Neptune did interest Harry. It was the first time she's mentioned planets in anyone's prediction.
It reminded him of Firenze, the centaur. He mentioned something about Mars being bright way back in Harry's first year.
Harry stopped paying attention to class a couple of minutes later except when Ron asked Lavender, "Can I see Uranus too?"
Harry fell off his chair in a fit of laughter.
Line Break
I had one goal in mind as I walked the hallways of Hogwarts: find the Bloody Baron, and fast.
I checked my pendant. 14 minutes until next class - I still had time.
I used the blessing from Artemis in my pendant to track down the location of the ghost. It didn't exactly tell me the location, instead, it gave me the tracks of where it's been for me to follow - like a hunter stalking its prey. Fitting, if you ask me.
Except the hunter was lost in a maze of hallways and corridors, moving staircases and portraits, and secret passageways.
A ghost could pass through walls which made following the trail a bit problematic. I followed it to the best of my ability nonetheless.
Five minutes later, I found myself at the astronomy tower. I heard groaning and clanking as I entered the top of the tower. The baron stopped doing whatever he was doing the moment I entered.
"Mr. Jackson," he said. "What brings you here?"
I shut the door behind me, setting up a thin, water tripline to alert me if someone was coming.
I turned around and looked towards the baron. Even by ghostly standards, he was pale and creepy. His face was gaunt, eyes were black and his robes were coated with silver bloodstains.
His appearance unnerved me a little.
"I need you to do something for me…" I said, trailing off.
How do I address him? Bloody Baron? Mister Baron? Mister Ghost? Professor? Bloody dude?
I settled for silence.
The baron settled for a laugh. "Ha! A bloody Gryffindor, asking me for a favor?"
He flew closer to me, his face inches from mine.
"Ridiculous," he spat. "Ever since that Potter boy was sorted into Gryffindor, they've won every house cup since, breaking our six year streak."
The Baron looked furious.
I sighed in annoyance. I've heard the twins say how biased Dumbledore was to the Gryffindors, especially Potter.
"You've got some nerve, Jackson, coming up here and asking me for a favor, Prince of Atlantis or not."
I rolled my eyes, irritated. I didn't have time to hear the rantings and ravings of an angsty ghost with anger issues.
I snapped my fingers in his face. "Shut the fuck up and listen to me closely," I said, activating the blessing of Hades in my pendant.
The baron opened his mouth to retort but no words came out. His already wide eyes widened further in surprise.
"When I tell you to, head to the girl's washroom on the third floor," I commanded the ghost. "I want you to find a hidden spot where no one can see you but you can see everything."
By now, the Bloody Baron's surprised expression morphed into a furious one.
"You will ambush anyone in the midst of doing anything questionable in the washroom and then report it to their head of house. Afterwards, you will report back to me on what you saw here at… hmm, when do I have a free period again?"
I took out my schedule and checked.
"Tomorrow, after lunch. You will act normal in front of others and you will not mention this conversation or any further conversations we have to anyone else. When asked why you were in the girl's washroom… "
I could have some fun with this.
"You are to say that you found Myrtle looking quite dashing today and wanted to take a closer look at her."
I paused, thinking. Ghosts can't be pedophiles, right?
Well, anyways, that should be enough orders, but knowing me, I probably missed something obvious.
I wish Annabeth was here. This is something right up her domain.
"Am I clear?" I asked the ghost. I was met with silence.
Oh right, I almost forgot.
"You may speak."
The baron gave me a withering stare. "Jackson, you will die a horrible and painful death."
"Not the first time someone has threatened me like that," I said, recalling some bad memories I'd rather not. "Now, I'm asking you once again: Am I clear? Do you understand the instructions I've given you?"
I was met with a defiant glare.
"You fucking petty bastard," I said, displeasure clear in my voice. "Answer my question," I ordered.
"Yes," the Baron finally responded.
"Good. Now go do your job."
I watched as the Bloody Baron floated away, satisfied. With this rather troublesome situation behind me, I could finally focus on my quest.
Line Break
I made it to transfiguration class just in time - arriving with just a moment to spare.
I looked around, saw Fred and George sitting at the back left corner of the classroom. Angelina and Alicia were at the front of the classroom. I decided to join the twins.
"We were a bit worried here, Perce," said the twin to the right. I still couldn't distinguish one from the other. "Wouldn't want you to be late for transfiguration. Despite Professor McGonagall being the head of Gryffindor, she definitely isn’t biased to us."
Left twin nodded in agreement. "Being late is the last thing you want to do in Professor McGonagall's class."
Professor McGonagall entered the class. The class went more or less the same as Flitwick's. Roll call, safety, review and what to expect this year.
Honestly, the amount of ways you could die in a magical school was concerning.
I almost fell asleep, but managed to jolt myself awake with some water from my pendant.
Dinner was after, except Professor McGonagall called me to stay after class, wanting to talk to me.
The twin's gave me concerned looks before leaving.
"Mr. Jackson," she said. I hope I wasn't in trouble already. Did they find out about my control over the Bloody Baron? "I trust you've had a good first day of class?"
I nodded. "It's different from homeschooling, that's for sure, but it's nice."
Bet you thought I was going to say camp, or almost say camp, compromising my disguise. Well I didn't. Annabeth would be proud.
"That's great to hear," Professor McGonagall said, her tone the same. "The headmaster has asked to see you. He wants to know how you're adjusting. I daresay he's developed quite a taste for Acid Pops."
The last part confused me but I didn't think much of it until I stood before a large Gargoyle. It wouldn't let me in.
Damnit, I'd miss the beginning of dinner for this. I'd already miss Harry Potter at breakfast and at lunch, and by the looks of things, I'd be missing him at dinner too.
A lot of things in Hogwarts were password locked. It's safe to assume this entrance was as well.
"Open Sesame," I tried.
Nothing happened.
"School Spirit."
The Gargoyle stared back at me, unmoving.
"Education? Teamwork? Blue Pancakes? I shall very much pass?"
Nothing. I exhaled slowly. This wasn't working. Maybe, if I explain why I'm here, it'll open.
"I'm here to see Professor Dumbledore. My head of house, Professor McGonagall, told me he wanted to see me." I explained to the Gargoyle. I felt stupid and I definitly looked rather ridiculous talking to an inanimate object.
Which reminded me, I still needed a hat to find.
The Gargoyle stared back at me mockingly.
I was running out of ideas, leading me to think about what Professor McGonagall told me. "What does Acid Pops have to do with all this anyways?" I thought outloud.
The entrance opened when I said Acid Pops.
I wanted to smash the Gargoyle.
Line Break
The headmaster's office was a large, circular room with an assortment of random objects, magical in nature, scattered throughout the place. They were silver, odd looking and occasionally let out random sounds.
My ADHD wouldn't let me not pay attention to them.
The walls were adorned with portraits of, most likely, important people, all who were asleep. The headmaster was sitting behind a pretty large desk. A phoenix stood atop the desk.
Now, on any normal day, I would have been amazed by the sight of that mythical creature but not today because behind the headmaster was a shelf. It was wooden. That's not important though. What is important is the shabby hat perched atop the shelf.
I stored that information away in my brain for later use. My pendant will ensure that I would never forget this information from Hera's blessing.
"Take a seat Mr. Jackson," Dumbledore said.
I sat.
"Lemon Drop?" he asked.
"Are they blue?" I asked. They probably weren't. Lemons were yellow after all.
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore responded, amused.
What a depressing start to the meeting.
"What did you want me for anyways?"
Dumbledore leaned forward. "Couple of reasons really," he paused, staring at me with twinkling eyes. "May I inquire as to how your first day of classes went?" Dumbledore asked, changing the subject in a very subtle way.
I paused to ponder the question for a few seconds before answering. "I think everything's going fine so far. Homework on the first day is a bit of a pain, but I think I can manage."
"I'm glad to hear," Dumbledore said and then once again changed the subject. "Regarding your quest, I hope we can make these meetings a weekly occurrence. This way, we can keep each other updated on everything."
I nodded in understanding.
"However, it would be rather suspicious if you were meeting with the headmaster on a weekly basis," Dumbledore continued on, eyes twinkling even more.
"I don't like where this is going," I muttered quietly enough so that the headmaster wouldn't hear me.
"Detention I believe, would be a suitable excuse, wouldn't you say?"
"No," was my immediate reply. I thought back to what my head of house told me earlier this morning.
"I can understand the desire to stay out of detention, real or not, but it is likely the only option we have available." Dumbledore said. "Unless you have any better ideas?"
"My status," I reasoned. "Make up some excuse relating to it."
Dumbledore thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, we cannot use such an excuse. Professors are to be unbiased towards students and treat each one of them equally, no matter the power of their family."
I snorted. Unbiased? Snape? Yeah right.
"What about extra lessons?" I asked. "Maybe I'm behind on a subject or two and require additional help to catch up? I was 'homeschooled' after all."
Dumbledore shook his head. "That is not enough of an excuse for me to be personally tutoring you. Not to mention, you'll most likely end up being taught by your professors instead. I'm sure you would rather not do the extra work assigned by them?"
I shivered. The best work is no work.
"Then how's that different from detention?"
If it was possible, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even more. "Why, I was hoping you asked that. You see, I have been known to oversee the detention of many Hogwarts students - namely the… troublemakers."
My eyes narrowed. "I don't cause trouble."
Dumbledore laughed. "Yes, yes, of course you don't," he said, sounding wholly unconvinced. "And I don't like the taste of Lemon Drops."
"Okay, fine," I relented. "What's the reason then, for my detention?"
"You were bored and decided to take a stroll in the Forbidden Forest."
At least that sounded like something I'd do.
“And then brutally murdered a colony of Acromantulas.”
… Only if they scared Annabeth.
"Now then," Dumbledore began. "I want your opinion on a delicate matter."
"I'm all ears," I said. His tone changed. Whatever he wanted to discuss must be serious.
"It pertains to one Harry James Potter," Dumbledore said. "He's been having dreams lately that have been much too realistic."
That caught my attention. "Dreams? About what?"
"Voldemort."
We sat in silence for a bit as I mulled over the information Dumbledore gave me. Demigods often have dreams about stuff happening in real time. I've had plenty and so have my friends.
But could a legacy have a dream like that?
I sighed. My pendant was out of questions for the day.
"I don't know what to say," I started slowly. "Us demigods have dreams of things happening in the real world, but Harry's a legacy."
I paused. "Does he remember what happened in the dream vividly, like he actually was there?"
"Harry said that in one of his dreams, he was in the perspective of a snake."
Odd. Dumbledore and Harry were on a first name basis.
Also, a snake? "He's not a snake Animagus, is he?"
"As far as I'm aware, no."
I thought about it for a bit longer before checking the time. My eyes widened.
"Oh shit! I gotta go professor, dinner's almost over."
Not waiting for a response, I walked quickly towards the exit.
"Of course Mr. Jackson, wouldn't want you to go hungry. Just remember, 'detention' in my office every Sunday afternoon."
I turned around. "Of course, professor. I'll be sure to never enter the Forbidden Forest again," I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.
Dumbledore chuckled good naturedly. "You'll find I have a preference for Sherbet Lemons on Sundays."
I left his office.
When I finally got down to the great hall to eat, Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen.
Line Break
Breakfast next morning was uneventful up until the moment a flurry of owls descended from the sky. Hundreds of them flew through the open window. I panicked and reached for my pen before I remembered that magic people have owls for pets. They deliver mail, not dive bomb demigod children of Poseidon.
I continued to eat my blue pancakes. I had double Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning with the Ravenclaws.
Walking into the classroom, I took a seat in the back corner. Many Ravenclaw students were already present.
A couple minutes later, Moody arrived.
"Put your textbooks away," he growled, walking over to his desk and sitting down. "You won't be needing them."
Good thing I never got it out in the first place.
He began a roll call. Each time he spoke someone's name, his fake eye would stare right at them for a couple of seconds before moving on. His eye spent quite a bit longer observing me than the other students.
"Right then," he began. "I've got a year to teach you all how to deal with the Dark Arts. You're all in sixth year now, and you should all know by now how dark and dangerous magic can truly be."
A Ravenclaw raised his hand. "Why only teach for one year sir?"
Moody laughed, though it sounded more like a bark. "Doing this as a favor for Dumbledore," he said, taking a swig out of his flask. "One year and I'm back in retirement."
"So, curses. They come in many strengths and forms. In my class, you will learn to protect yourself and your family from these curses. To do so, you must be alert, prepared, and watchful. Constant vigilance I say, constant vigilance."
"Now, standard procedures tell me to go over safety regulations when in class. I won't be doing that." There were a few murmurs of surprise from the Ravenclaw students. The Gryffindors, including me, silently cheered. "If by now you still don't understand how deadly the dark arts are, you never will."
Moody got up and took out a container from a box. A spider, about the size of your hand, was inside. "Now… Can anyone tell me which three curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law - commonly known as the unforgivables?"
The class answered - the Killing, Imperius and Cruciatus Curse.
Each time a student named one of the three curses, Moody would demonstrate on the spider. I felt bad for the spider. Even Annabeth would have felt bad. Maybe.
But that got me thinking. The Imperius and Cruciatus Curse, while terrifying in their own way, was nothing compared to the Killing Curse. Manipulating the mist in such a way, with an overpowering amount of intent to kill, that you basically say the incantation and bang, whomever you want killed is dead. It's overpowered, your body being able to offer no resistance and basically unblockable by magical means.
One moment you're walking down the street, then bang, a green light hits you - the mist around you changes and your soul heads off into the underworld.
Which begs the question: Am I affected?
Yes, came the pendant's reply. But it will not kill you as you not only have the Curse of Achilles protecting you, but you are also a Demigod.
Good to know. But, how much does it affect me? My pendant didn't answer.
Moody continued to explain the three unforgivables - he seemed to have an extensive amount of knowledge about them.
There is a twist, however, to these curses. A twist that wizards don't know about, but I do, because of Hecate.
A killing curse requires a massive amount of killing intent - you'd either have to be crazy, a psychopath or a sociopath to pull it off. That killing intent has to be directed at someone and as such can only kill that someone. The intent to only kill with a killing curse would actually not be able to kill anybody, hence why such a small number of wizards are able to cast the spell.
Not everyone is capable of murder.
As such, a stray Killing Curse with intent to kill someone else will not kill you. It'll still hurt though.
The same can be said for the other two curses. Immense amount of intent to torture or control directed at someone will only affect that someone.
It's why they're also unblockable, at least if you're a wizard. The intent to kill someone specific that produces a Killing Curse will always be stronger than the intent to protect from a protego.
While something like the cutting curse, you're only manipulating the mist with the intent to cut.
Why don't wizards and witches know about this? I dunno, probably because no one goes around throwing Killing Curses everywhere.
After murdering the poor spider in cold blood, Moody stood at the front of the class room and told us all to line up. "The imperius curse, with enough willpower, can be thrown off. Most of you will not have that kind of strength, but with enough practice, you might just be able to."
Moody cast the imperius on every student. No one was able to throw it off.
Scratch that, I was able to ignore the commanding voice in my head. Easily. I still followed what it said, however, to blend in. No need to stand out and reveal my abilities to everyone.
Moody seemed to stare at me suspiciously as I left class while the twins talked excitedly among each other about how cool Moody was. He definitely knew what he was talking about, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way.
I finished lunch quickly with the intent to meet the Bloody Baron as soon as possible.
"Jackson." he greeted, lacking the anger in his voice from before.
I turned around. "Find anyone doing anything suspicious?"
"Indeed I did," the Baron said. "I must thank you for bringing this to my attention. But why, I must ask, did you not go to a professor instead?"
I leaned against the wall. "Simple really, didn't want this to lead back to me."
The ghost nodded in understanding. "And your powers? How are you able to control me?"
"The less you know, the better."
With all that was said and done, I thanked the ghost and prepared to walk to the lake for another swim in the lake when it hit me.
Best to play it safe.
"They're names, what were their names?" I asked.
"I didn't ask for their names," the Baron began. "However, I do know that they were three Ravenclaw girls, around fifth to seventh year."
He shook his head. "Bullying a third year girl, how unbecoming."
Wait a sec, "No Slytherins?"
The Baron crossed his arms. "Just because my house is known for bullying others doesn't mean they're behind every case."
This was bad. Really bad. Stopping a case of bullying was great and all, but I got bigger fish to fry.
When in doubt, bring riptide out. No Percy, I scolded myself, use murder as a last resort only. The disappearances of these students will bring a lot of trouble.
"Okay, fair enough, I understand; it's just, I had a… source telling me a couple of sixth year Slytherins would be there, committing some unsavory acts."
The Baron looked thoughtful for a moment before responding. "Now that you mention it, there were a couple of Slytherin students who stood outside the washroom, waved their wand and left."
Fuck. They weren't stupid. They probably had spells to detect witnesses. They weren’t the house of cunning for no reason.
Now replace the n in cunning and you have a slightly more accurate description of these sick freaks.
That being said, things just got complicated.
Line Break
Harry got up from bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before putting on his glasses. It was a Friday, supposedly a good day - the day before the weekend. But he also had Double potions first thing in the morning with the Slytherins.
A sigh escaped Harry’s lips. Today was not going to be a good day.
The potions classroom was as dark and dreary as ever and one quick glance at Snape told Harry that, once again, potions class would be awful. There were three certainties in life: life, death and potions class being the absolute worst. A look to his right told Harry that Hermione was ready and brimming with confidence to answer whatever question Snape threw her way. A look to his left told Harry that Ron was once again studying last minute for Snape’s oh so famous beginning of the year verbal quiz.
You’d think getting embarrassed in front of the class for three years in a row now would knock some sense into him. Truthfully, Harry himself wasn’t much better, but that’s because Snape hated him with passion.
A quick roll call later and suffering pursued.
For the most part, the questions Snape asked were pretty generic.
“What should you do if your potion abruptly changes to the wrong color?”
“Cast a simple diagnostic spell.”
“Why should you never mix powdered unicorn horn, acromantula venom and dragon blood together?”
“Because of the intrinsic nature of unicorns and dragons. Power and purity don’t mix well together and adding a destabilizing agent known as acromantula venom would worsen the reaction. It would essentially lead to an explosion and that wouldn’t be good.”
“Tell me, what is the last step in brewing a Swelling Solution?”
“Brew counter clockwise eight times and let the solution simmer for two to three minutes.”
They were simple up until it came to Harry’s turn.
“Potter…” Snape said, ominously. His stare always unnerved Harry. “Let’s see if that overinflated head of yours is capable of answering basic questions pertaining to potions.”
A dramatic pause. Harry waited. He studied rather hard for this - didn’t need another reason for Snape to get him into trouble.
“Tell me, where can I find a bezoar?”
Huh, that was way too easy, Harry thought to himself. “In a goat’s stomach sir.”
“Now tell me, why is it that a small stone found in a goat’s stomach is able to counteract the effects of the majority of potions?”
“Because…” Harry started to say before stopping. Why is it that a bezoar can cure most poisons? “I… Uh… am not so sure professor.”
Snape sneered. Harry panicked. Best to try and make some random crap up before points are deducted. Or worse, detention given.
“Wait, I believe it, uh… has something to do with the enzymes in a goat’s stomach or something like that? Like, the rock gets some sort of special… special property I guess from being in the goat’s stomach.”
It sounded lame and unconvincing but Snape was apparently satisfied with his answer, so maybe he didn’t do too bad. That being said, this was double potions. He still had a long way to go before lunch.
It was around 15 minutes before lunch when everything went wrong.
Things were going fine before so far. Well, maybe not for Neville who kept fumbling around with his potion ingredients. The class was to brew a simple shrinking solution, something they learnt in third year. It was simple and relatively straight forward if you followed all the instructions.
All it took, however, was a quick look at how Ron was doing for everything to fall into disarray. All of a sudden, the solution went from a pale blue to a dark purple color. The next thing Harry knew, the cauldron had melted and he was to be serving detention with Snape this Sunday.
“You’re as incompetent as ever, Potter,” Snape said, sneering at Harry. “10 points from Gryffindor and detention this Sunday.”
Harry groaned. Ron tried to console him.
“It’s okay, mate,” Ron said, trying to sound reassuring. “We all make mistakes.”
He patted Harry on the back. Hermione on the other hand…
“I think that was awfully careless of you Harry. You should pay more attention to your potion next time.”
“But I didn’t do anything wrong!” Harry protested. “Everything was going perfectly fine until I turned away.” Harry paused before coming to a simple conclusion.
“It must’ve been Malfoy or his goons who sabotaged me.”
Ron and Hermione looked at each other.
“Listen mate,” Ron began. “I know the Slytherins always cause a lot of trouble for us, especially Malfoy - it’d make sense for you to automatically assume that it’s their fault. This time though, well, it’s safe to say no one went near your cauldron.”
“Wha-?”
“Yeah, dunno what you did there Harry, but whatever it was, that was all your doing.”
Harry thought over what Ron and Hermione said as the trio walked towards the Great Hall. Something didn’t add up, but Harry didn’t bother pondering over it too much - Snape would have found an excuse to get him into trouble anyways.
Line Break
I found myself swimming around the lake more often now, lost in thought. Theoretically speaking, I could always anonymously leak to the prefects about some suspicious activity happening in the third floor girl’s washroom. I doubt that would work, however. The Slytherins have proved themselves to be rather cunning.
Getting a ghost to just straight up tattle on them wouldn’t work either. On a regular student from an average family, maybe that would work, but these are students from wealthy and powerful families. I needed hard proof to shut those fuckers down.
Or I could shut them down in a more physical way, permanently. But I pushed those dark thoughts out of my head.
I sighed and allowed myself to sink to the bottom of the lake. It was Sunday morning, my ‘detention’ with Dumbledore was in a bit.
I’ll be completely honest, I haven’t made much progress on my quest. For one reason or another, I just kept missing Harry during meal times. Or I kept getting sidetracked.
The fact that my homework load is starting to pick up doesn’t help with that matter either. That Charms essay now has a whole sentence written down on it.
I wish Annabeth was here. And not because I’m horny or want her to do my homework.
I would’ve sighed if I wasn’t underwater. My ‘detention’ with Dumbledore is this afternoon. Might as well kill time in the Forbidden Forest for a while. I am getting detention for this later today after all.
Jumping out of the lake, into the forest, I looked left and right before deciding to follow the most dangerous looking path and went on my way.
Line Break
A couple of party ponies, giant spiders, unicorn, and hippogriffs later, I walked out of the Forbidden Forest like I was just having a casual stroll in the park and headed off to the Headmaster’s office.
“Sup,” I said, casually greeting the headmaster as I walked into his office.
“Ah, Mr. Jackson, so good of you to join me. Lemon drop?”
I sat down. “Are they blue now?”
“As a matter of fact, I had some specially commissioned blue lemon drops just for you.”
I let out a dramatic gasp. “Really? How thoughtful of you!”
A couple of sweets later, we began the meeting.
“I actually wanted to ask you a couple of questions first, if you don’t mind,” I began.
“Of course,” Dumbledore said. “Ask away.”
“My quest is to protect Harry, correct?”
Dumbledore nodded.
“And to do so, I came to the conclusion that befriending him would be the best way to protect him. My reasoning is pretty good there, right?”
Once again, Dumbledore nodded in confirmation.
“But I’m having some trouble in that aspect. Approaching him is rather difficult - we’re in different years afterall. I also seem to always miss him during mealtimes and he never seems to hang around much in the common room - not that I do either.”
Dumbledore nodded again for the third time. “I see the problem here. However, there is no need to worry about that any further.”
That threw me off. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Dumbledore smiled good naturedly, eyes twinkling. His smile was one you would often see on a grandparent who knew something that their grandchildren didn’t. “You’ll see, you’ll see.”
He didn’t elaborate any further.
“Now then, on to the topic at hand,” Dumbledore said, changing the subject. “I’d like to discuss a few topics with you. Our conversation on dreams wasn’t finished; I would appreciate more insight regarding it from you.”
“Like I said, Harry’s a legacy.”
I paused. I had given some thought to this over the days, but I didn’t really come up with much.
“He could, however, be a legacy of Morpheus. Unlikely, as Morpheus never really fathered any children.”
Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully, a puzzled and worried expression adorning his face. “Then it is just as I feared.”
“What is?” I asked.
“Nothing you should concern yourself with. It’s just the musings of an old man.”
Raising some flags there but I wasn’t going to push the subject. Of course, that also meant the conversation halted. Dumbledore was stuck in a state of contemplation, stroking his beard, lost in thought. Silence followed.
Maybe I should push the subject?
Sometimes I wish I got some sort of charmspeak from Aphrodite’s blessing to my pendant for situations like these instead of, you know, what I got…
Not that I’m complaining though.
A knock on the door caught the attention of both of us. I looked questioningly at Dumbledore; this was supposed to be a private meeting between the two of us.
“Ah, that must be Harry,” Dumbledore said, casually. “He’ll be joining you today in ‘detention’.”
I nodded my head along in pure instinct before what he said registered into my brain. “Wait, what!?”
“Yes, allegedly, Harry caused quite an accident in potions the other day. He is to serve detention alongside you for the day.”
The cheeky bastard even had the audacity to wink at me.
Line Break
Sunday morning came. Harry woke up filled with trepidation. Big word, a word that Hermione taught him. Harry wasn’t sure if he was using it correctly though.
The morning was spent wasting away at a Divination essay and the afternoon would be wasted away in detention.
Harry sighed. This month alone, he would suffer from severe burns, a broken arm, strangulation, drowning, getting trampled, and choking to death. This month would not be a good month for him according to his divination essay. But at least he wasn't going to lose his wand.
Was it accurate? No. Divination was something Harry was rather skeptical about. Faking his predictions in the most gruesome way possible was what got him high grades though.
He checked the time.
“Gotta go to detention now,” Harry said to Ron, who was in the middle of a chess game with Dean. Ron was absolutely destroying the poor guy.
“Have fun,” Ron responded.
“I won’t.”
Walking down to the dungeons, Harry was filled with a sense of dread and impending doom. Snape’s detentions were the worst.
Harry walked into the dungeon. “Afternoon professor,” He said, greeting Snape who was at his desk, likely grading position essays. Judging by his irritated expression, they were probably not up to his standards. They almost never were.
“Potter, you’ve finally arrived.”
Harry looked around the room. There were no cauldrons to clean or animals to dissect - that threw him slightly off guard.
“Yes sir.”
“Follow me,” Snape said, getting up from his desk and exiting the dungeon. Confused, Harry followed him all the way to the headmaster's office.
“You’ll be serving your ‘detention’,” Snape said, though there was an odd emphasis on the word detention, “with the headmaster.”
“Huh?” was all Harry could say in response before the door opened and he was forcibly pushed into the room. The door shut behind him promptly afterwards.
Harry took a look around the room. Dumbledore was there, his phoenix was nowhere to be seen, all the portraits were surprisingly asleep and a boy with messy black hair was also there. And then it struck him.
“The Prince of Atlantis!” Harry couldn’t help but blurt out. He covered his mouth quickly in embarrassment before muttering a sheepish ‘sorry’.
Dumbledore looked at Harry, amusement clear in his eyes while Jackson was looking mildly uncomfortable. Harry blamed Ron for his outburst since it was him who explained the prestige of the family he came from.
Why he was in detention with Harry was anyone’s guess.
“Harry,” Dumbledore said, “take a seat please. We have much to discuss.”
Harry took a seat beside Jackson. Jackson didn’t bother greeting Harry.
“Lemon drop?” Dumbledore asked.
“Sure thing.” Harry replied. He went to grab one before stopping abruptly. “Why are they blue?”
Jackson coughed beside him.
“They are a unique variant for a rather unique guest,” Dumbledore replied, amusement evident in his eyes.
“I’ll take one then,” Harry said. It tasted no different than the usual lemon drops Dumbledore had.
“Now then,” Dumbledore said, clasping his hands together. “Onto the topic at hand. Harry my boy, please tell Mr. Jackson regarding the dreams you have been experiencing.”
Harry looked questioningly at Dumbledore. “Why should I?”
“Let’s just say that Mr. Jackson’s family has a rather extensive knowledge and background on dreams.”
Jackson didn’t help Dumbledore elaborate further on this. It didn’t matter though, Harry trusted Dumbledore, so he told Jackson about the dreams he was having, in detail. He told him about Bertha Jorkins, Peter Pettigrew, Fetus Voldermort and everything else he saw all being in the body of a snake. Harry neglected to once again speak about the pain in his scar.
“Either you’ve got a wild imagination or what you saw was legitimately real,” Jackson said. He had an American accent.
Kind of obvious, since he’s from America.
That being said, what Jackson said really didn’t help Harry. It didn’t sound like he had any knowledge in dreams. Harry grumbled something along the lines of, “A load of help you were.”
Jackson didn’t look offended in the slightest. Instead, his sea green eyes, not very different from Harry’s own emerald green ones, were staring down at him. They were observing him.
“Not to be rude,” Harry said to Jackson, “but why exactly are you here?”
Jackson smirked. It was a mischievous one that seemed infinitely more troublesome and trouble inducing than the twin’s. “‘Detention’ of course.”
“Actually,” Dumbledore said, interrupting our conversation. “I was also hoping that you two could become acquainted and get to know each other, from one celebrity to the other.”
Jackson let out a laugh before abruptly cutting himself short. He looked conflicted to say the least.
Clearing his throat before offering a hand to Harry, Jackson said, “The name’s Percy Jackson. You can call me Percy. Nice to meet you.”
Harry shook his hand. “Harry Potter. Nice to meet you too.”
Silence ensued with the two teens staring at each other, unsure of what to say. Harry decided to break that silence. “So, how’s it like in America?”
“It’s chaotic to say the least.”
“Hogwarts can get pretty chaotic at times too,” Harry said. “...How do you like it here anyways?”
“The place is amazing!” Percy said, voice brimming with enthusiasm, awe and excitement. Harry knew that feeling; he had it too when he first came to Hogwarts. “I wish they gave out less homework though.”
He knew that feeling too. “The amount of homework we’ve had to do, despite the school year only just starting, is insane.”
“I know right! I’ve already got piles of essays that I haven’t even started yet,” Percy said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Probably should start on them soon.”
“Really?” Harry asked, surprised. “I was under the impression that you’d be a bit more responsible.”
“I like to view deadlines as more of a suggestion,” Percy responded. “At least now that these deadlines don’t bring about the end of the world.”
Harry didn’t quite catch the last part of Percy’s statement, with him mumbling it quietly to himself and all. That didn’t matter because, “If Hermione heard you saying that, she’d probably throw a fit. She’s pretty serious about homework and deadlines.”
“Heh, sounds like a certain someone I know.”
And the two of them talked. They chatted about an assortment of topics relating to friends, homework, professors, and so on. Talking to Percy, Harry came to realize that he was a really fun guy. He laughed and joked a lot, was easy to talk to, and was nothing like Malfoy.
Their conversation was soon interrupted by the headmaster. “While seeing a new friendship form brings joy to my heart, I, unfortunately, need to get going now.
“Ah, that sucks,” Percy said. He was just getting to the good part, explaining a certain prank the Stoll Brothers, who sounded strangely like Fred and George, did.
“We should hang out again. You’re in Gryffindor right? We could sit together during mealtimes. I’ll introduce you to my friends.”
“Sounds good,” Percy responded.
“Excellent,” Dumbledore said. “Then I hereby call this meeti- detention adjourned.”