Chaos Rising |BOOK 2| Harry Potter x PJO |Alexandra Marine|

PERCY JACKSON

Will slid open the compartment door. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hullo," Neville responded as we sat down. 

I nodded at Neville. "Luna."

Luna was incidentally flapping her hands in the air, as though she was beating flies or large moths away.

Luna did not respond back. 

Harry and I caught each other's gaze, and we struck a conversation on Quidditch hastily, before Luna could start more of her charming nonsense.

The weather beyond the train windows was as patchy as it had been all summer; we 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 Ron and Hermione entered the compartment at last.

"Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving," said Ron longingly, slumping into the seat beside Harry and rubbing his stomach. "Hi, Neville. Hi, Luna. Guess what?" he added, turning to Harry. "Malfoy's not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we saw him when we passed."

It was not like Malfoy to pass up the chance to demonstrate his power as prefect, which he had happily abused all the previous year.

"What did he do when he saw you?" Harry asked.

"The usual," said Ron indifferently, demonstrating a rude hand gesture. "Not like him, though, is it? Well... that is"--he did the hand gesture again--"but why isn't he out there bullying first years?"

"Dunno," said Harry.

"Maybe he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad," said Hermione. "Maybe being a prefect seems a bit tame after that."

"I don't think so," said Harry. "I think he's--"

But before he could expound on his theory, the compartment door slid open again and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom, Percy Jackson, Nico Di Angelo and Harry P-Potter," she faltered, as her eyes met Harry's and she turned scarlet. She was holding out four scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. 

"What is it?" Ron demanded, as I unrolled mine.

"An invitation," I replied.

Percy Jackson,

I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.

Sincerely, Professor H.E.F. Slughorn

"Who's Professor Slughorn?" asked Neville and looked perplexedly at his own invitation.

"New teacher," said Harry. "Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?"

"But what does he want me for?" asked Neville nervously, as though he was expecting detention.

"No idea," said Harry. "Listen," he added, seized by a sudden brain wave, "let's go under the Invisibility Cloak, then we might get a good look at Malfoy on the way, see what he's up to."

This idea, however, came to nothing: the corridors, which were packed with people on the lookout for the lunch trolley, were impossible to negotiate while wearing the cloak. 

***

When we reached compartment C, I saw at once that we were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the enthusiasm of Slughorn's welcome, Harry was the most warmly anticipated.

"Harry, m'boy!" said Slughorn, jumping up at the sight of him so that his great velvet-covered belly seemed to fill all the remaining space in the compartment. His shiny bald head and great silvery mustache gleamed as brightly in the sunlight as the golden buttons on his waistcoat. "Good to see you, good to see you! And you must be Mr. Longbottom!"