Chapter 8
Percy stumbled off the train and searched for a familiar face in the crowd.
He had spent the entire ride sandwiched between the Weasley twins and while he became accustomed to the way they spoke, he still wasn't quite sure what their angle was.
They were very interested in his life and Percy was conflicted about that. On the one hand, maybe they were just trying to be his friend but on the other hand, why would anyone care about him other than his brother who needed him?
As he was shoved along by the crowd, a hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him off to the side where he was able to walk with more ease.
He looked up to see that Luke was the one who had gotten him out.
"All the older students are heading to the carriages. Last year there were a few new students that accidentally got swept up in the crowd."
"Thanks." Percy said simply. "If I'm not supposed to go to the carriages where do I go?"
"To the boats." Luke said pointing towards a giant man calling for first years. Percy hadn't been able to hear him due to the chatter around him but now that he focused on the man he could hear his booming voice.
"Firs' years this way!"
Luke pushed Percy lightly in the direction of the man before disappearing into the sea of robes.
Turning around, Percy tried his best to quickly make his way to the man.
Once all the first year students were gathered, they moved to the lake and started to, under the giant man's direction, board the boats. Percy ended up in a boat with a blonde girl and the twins.
She seemed very nervous to be in the boat and kept looking at the water warily. Fred and George exchanged devious glances which automatically set off alarms in Percy's head. Once they were moving, Percy noticed how their boat was swaying slightly from side to side. Looking across the way, he saw Fred and George shifting ever so slightly from side to side in time with the swaying of the boat which increased with each tilt.
The girl grabbed the side of the boat and frowned at the twins, having come to the same conclusion as Percy, the two boys were to blame. Seeing that she'd realized their scheme, they tilted hard to the right.
They had planned to tilt back to the left to knock the girl overboard or at least close to overboard but as it turned out, the first tilt was enough to cause her to run into Percy, knocking him out of the boat and into the water.
Shocked, he gasped as he fell into the water. Percy expected to start panicking as water filled his lungs but surprisingly found that he was still breathing normally. He looked around in confusion. He was in the water, that much was clear. It was murky but he could still see fairly well.
He could hear people panicking above the surface so he shook his head, temporarily putting his own questions to the side and immediately swam to the surface.
Up above, the blonde girl was scolding the twins while searching the water when Percy was suddenly back in the boat, completely dry.
She blinked. It had almost looked like the water lifted him back into the boat. As she studied him with her stormy grey eyes, she tried to figure him out.
She supposed it was possible that it had nothing to do with what she knew was over in America but she had this gut feeling that it had everything to do with it. After another moment of mental debate, she decided to introduce herself.
"I'm really sorry about that, my name's Annabeth Chase." She said, offering her hand to shake.
He took it and smiled slightly.
"Percy Potter."
All three people in the boat gasped.
"You didn't tell us-"
"You were a Potter!!!"
Percy jerked back in surprise, nearly falling out of the boat again.
"Well I don't see what the big deal is."
Annabeth gawked.
"The big deal? The big deal is that your relative, Harry Potter, defeated You-Know-Who eight years ago and survived the killing curse! I thought he was the only living Potter!"
Percy frowned.
"Harry is my little brother. Besides, it's not that big of a deal, I survived the killing curse too. So what?"
Annabeth was speechless. How had she not heard of him before?
"What's your full name?
The black haired boy shifted uncomfortably where he sat.
"Perseus Jackson Potter."
The redheads had just watched this exchange silently, intrigued by this new information. They were especially thankful towards Percy for taking Annabeth's attention off them, that girl was scary.
"You really are the oldest living Potter." She said in a stunned voice.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I like a reminder of that fact." He snapped.
The blonde girl immediately looked guilty which made Percy feel...
He didn't even know.
On the one hand he felt bad for making her feel bad but at the same time, he was a human being and no one would want people talking about them out living most of their family, save one, in awe. It just was not okay.
The rest of the boat ride was endured in awkward silence until the castle came into view.
Annabeth gasped and started muttering under her breath about spires and arches and all that. Percy raised an eyebrow at her apparent fascination but the Weasley twin stared at her as though she was speaking an entirely different language.
When the boats finally let all the first years off on the opposite side of the lake, the little blond girl was the first out of Percy's boat.
The walk up to the castle was chilly. It was completely dark out and there was a cold wind blowing that tore right through the robes.
The closer they got to the school, the more excited Annabeth got. When they reached the entrance hall though, she fell silent. A stern looking woman stood waiting for them and most of the kids automatically felt like they were in trouble, but not Percy.
The quiet boy, who had managed to fall to the back of the group of children, gave her a small smile and waved. He was the only one to notice the slight upturn of Minerva's lips in return.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, before you enter the Great Hall there are a few things you should know. Once you go through these doors you will be sorted into one of the four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. While you're here, your house will be like your family. Good behavior will earn you points, any rule breaking and you will lose points."
She surveyed the young students in front of her locking eyes with those that looked like troublemakers.
"Wait here. You will be called in momentarily so make yourselves presentable."
With those words, she slipped through the door, allowing the gathered first years to hear the chatter from the students already in the hall before the door closed behind her.
Instantly the group burst into excited and nervous whispers. Some of the students, like Fred and George, had friends or family that already attended Hogwarts. Others were new to the magical world and they shuffled anxiously on the spot, their eyes wide as they looked around, trying to take it all in.
Even the children from Wizarding families were awestruck though by the beauty of the castle. Just standing in its halls you could practically feel the magic left over from the generations long past.
"Isn't this place amazing?" Annabeth murmured to Percy as she spun slowly.
As she came to face Percy again, she stumbled forward.
The older Potter boy caught her and looked behind where she'd stood to where a big brute of a boy stood, sneering.
"And she finally shuts up." He jeered earning guffaws from his little buddies.
Percy clenched his jaw as he stepped forward, moving the blond girl behind him, and fixed the troll - like boy with a cold, hard stare.
"What did you say?"
The other boy raised an eyebrow at the skinny boy in front of him.
"And who might you be? Her boyfriend?"
Percy blushed but maintained a glare towards the boy.
"No, I'm just a friend. Who are you?"
"Graham Montague. What are you going to do twig?"
Percy was about to launch forward when Annabeth grabbed his arm.
"Percy! Don't. You don't want to get in trouble on the first day."
It was at that moment that Professor McGonagall reentered from the Great Hall. She took in the situation, noting the people involved in the slight conflict.
"They're ready for you now."
And with that, she spun on her heal and started walking into the next room, not looking back to see if the kids were following.
Upon entering the ginormous room, Percy couldn't help but stare in wonder along with the rest of his new classmates. The entire hall was lit by hundreds of candles, most of which floated as though hung with invisible wires high above the tables. The ceiling reflected the night sky outside, showing glittering constellations high above their heads.
Hundreds of heads were turned in their direction as the group of nervous kids walked down the center of the room, in between the four tables, following Professor McGonagall. Percy made sure to fall back so he was not in the front or center of the group but still hidden by the few stragglers.
McGonagall stopped and spun to face the newest batch of students when the reached the area directly in front of the Headmaster's podium. Beside her was a rickety, three-legged stool and upon that stool, sat a patchy old hat.
Percy could sense that there was something different about the hat though most of his year-mates were looking at the strict teacher as though she'd gone mad. If the young boy had learned anything over the last month or so, it was that while Minerva was a very interesting and complex person, she was no loon. In any sense of the word.
She gave a small smirk to the befuddled first years.
"Let the sorting begin."
And with that, a tear at the brim of the hat opened, on its own, and the old, ragged hat began to sing.