Perseus Potter

Chapter 6

A skinny kid with blond hair was watching while two other kids beat up Harry. Harry's glasses were on the floor, broken in half. When the kid heard the growl, he turned around slowly. He sneered halfheartedly at Percy. "Who are you? Potter 2.0?"

"Let him go," Percy demanded, gesturing to Harry, "before I make you regret it."

"You can't use magic outside of school," the boy stated haughtily.

Percy cocked his head to the side and smiled wolfishly. "Who said I was going to use magic?" When they didn't let Harry go, Percy sent a harsh glare. "I'm going to give you three seconds to get out of here before I beat you unrecognizable," he threatened.

The three were out the door in two.

Harry picked up his broken glasses and frowned. "Not again," he groaned.

Percy waved his hand and repaired the glasses with a silent spell. "Who was that?"

Harry sighed. "Draco Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle."

"How long has this been going on?" Percy demanded, casting another spell to heal his brother.

"Since our first year."

Pruina hissed and Percy's vision went red for a moment before he managed to calm down. "Why do you let him?"

Harry shrugged silently.

Percy sighed and sat next to him. "I just can't stand the thought of you getting hurt," he admitted quietly. "I never have."

"Then why did you leave?" Harry asked.

"I didn't have a choice, Harry. I went to bed at Vernon's, but woke up in a couple's apartment in America," Percy said.

"You didn't come home. You should have come home. You left me al—" The anguish on Percy's face made Harry pause midsentence.

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "I tried. No one would let an eight-year-old purchase a ticket to England, especially one without a passport. When I got older, I searched for you, but someone was interfering. I came as soon as I knew where you were. I didn't want to leave you in that hellhole."

Harry leaned into his brother. "I understand."

"How—" Percy's voice faltered, "how bad was it?"

"They didn't beat me if that's what you're asking. It stayed the same up until I started Hogwarts. Once they found out that I wasn't allowed to perform magic outside of school, they locked me in my room, basically turning it into a prison cell. Bars on the windows and all," Harry said.

He could feel Percy's anger radiating from him, but also a small sense of relief at hearing his brother hadn't gotten punished for Percy's disappearance. "I'm going to kill them," the demigod growled.

Harry wrapped his arm around Percy soothingly, and Percy took deep breaths. After he was calm Harry asked, "Percy, what was your life in America like? You've told me about your camp, but haven't said anything about before you went to that camp."

Harry felt Percy stiffen against him, but go to answer anyways, when the door opened and the girls filed in. Percy's mouth snapped shut and he pulled Harry closer protectively. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

Harry sighed. There were a lot of things that Percy wasn't telling him, but he chose to be patient and wait. "Okay."

"So, Percy," Hermione began, "it seems wrong that we barely know you. Why don't you tell us about yourself?"

Percy shrugged. "Alright. My favorite color is blue. I go to a summer camp every summer and have some amazing friends there. They all know me as Percy Jackson, since that is Sally's last name, and she adopted me, but they don't know I'm adopted. I'm good at wandless magic. And I haven't seen Harry in over seven years."