Siren's Call (PJO/HP crossover)

Chapter Six

HARRY POTTER

Harry was still a bit shaken from the warning Arthur Weasley had given him. It was never fun to know that one was being hunted by a powerful Dark wizard. And Sirius Black looked particularly crazy in his mug shot.

And he was still thinking about that odd boy he had met recently. Percy Jackson. Riddle? The last name that Ollivander used unnerved him after his experience with the ghost of one Tom Marvolo Riddle the year before.

But he didn't have time to think about anything now, because it was time for the scramble for seats on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't find an empty compartment, but they managed to find one with a sleeping man inside.

"Who is that?" whispered Ron.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," responded Hermione.

Ron looked at her, his jaw dropped. "How is it that you know everything?"

"I read, Ronald," Hermione sighed.

Harry was about to interrupt Ron's probably indignant response, but his job was done for him when the door to the compartment slid open and a familiar face peeked in.

Percy Jackson's (Riddle's?) eyes lit up when he saw Harry. "Oh! Harry! I can't believe I found-" But he interrupted himself when he saw Harry's slightly suspicious face. He scanned the rest of the little room and saw the grown man and the two other kids. "Oh," he said again, this time less excitedly. "Sorry, this one's full. I'll find another one."

"No, it's okay," Harry blurted out. "You can sit with us."

Ron and Hermione looked at him, wide eyed. Harry was surprised at himself too.

Percy's entire face brightened. "Really? Gods, thank you so much." He sat himself down across from Harry, squished in next to Hermione. "I hate being the new kid. I always have to find people, but I already know you, so that makes things so much easier." He turns and nods politely at Hermione and Ron. "Hi, I'm Percy. Who are you?"

Harry's friends introduced themselves to the strange American boy.

"So," Harry started awkwardly, "how have you been doing?"

Percy smiled, confused. "Um. Pretty well. I got to stay in this inn instead of going back to-" he cut himself off. "Well, the wizarding world is pretty cool." His smile became more genuine.

"Why did Ollivander keep calling you Mr. Riddle?" Harry blurted out. He stared meaningfully at his friends, who immediately caught his drift, stiffening warily as they recalled the name of Voldemort's younger incarnation from last year.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Gods, I don't know. That's not even my last name, it's Jackson. He said something about my grandfather, but I don't even know who that is."

"How do you not know who your grandfather is?" Ron asked curtly.

Percy smiled brittlely. "My mom was adopted and my dad's lost at sea. Don't know my family tree very well." His eyes suddenly sparkled with hidden mirth. "Well, I guess-" he cut himself off, smirking. "Anyways. How strict is this dress code at school?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject, "Because to be honest, I'm not feeling the robe."

"Most people follow the dress code, so I don't know. I've never seen someone try to break it," Hermione answered.

"Guess I'll be the first," Percy said, smirking. "There's no way I'm wearing this for an entire school year."

That led to Hermione giving him a lecture on the importance of following the rules, and Percy purposefully riling her up a bit every now and then. Ron and Harry fell into their own conversation about Quidditch.

The trolley lady came by with the cart full of snacks, and Harry took it upon himself to introduce Percy to wizarding snacks– he had a lot of fun with Chocolate Frogs. Malfoy and his goons came into the compartment at one point, but they left quickly when they saw the new professor.

When Ron discovered that Percy didn't know even the basics of the game, he stopped talking, absolutely scandalised. He then began immediately explaining the rules of the game, all thoughts of Percy being related to Voldemort forgotten.

Percy had just started justifying why he would be bad at Quidditch– something about not liking to fly– when suddenly the Hogwarts Express stopped moving. All the lights blinked out. The cabin went absolutely silent.

"Umm," Percy's voice rang out. "This... isn't a normal thing, right?"

"No," Harry answered. "This is odd."

The door to the cabin burst open, and Percy's silhouette jumped up, whirling towards the door. "Who's there?" he growled.

"Hi!" a voice squeaked, "Sorry! It's me! Neville!"

"I'm here too," said a voice that Harry recognized as Ginny's. "Do you lot know what's going on?"

"Nah, we're just as confused as you are," Percy replied.

"Who are you?" cried Ginny.

"Quiet!" rasped a hoarse voice from the corner. It seemed that Professor R.J. Lupin had finally woken up.

The cabin was suddenly illuminated by silver flames, cupped in the professor's hand. His face was weary and stubbly, haggard in the way of a man who had given up on looking good.

"Nobody move," he said, standing up and approaching the door.

But the door slid open all by itself. In the doorway was a strange, tall, cloaked figure. The air became abruptly frigid, and frost began forming on the windows.

A rotting, blackened hand emerged from underneath the cloak for a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the image to be seared into Harry's memory. Whatever this- this thing was, it would never leave him.

And then Harry looked into its face.

Well.

It didn't have a face.

Instead of a face, there was just a horrible, swirling vortex of darkness.

A buzzing noise began to build in Harry's ears, and in the blurry dimness, he saw Percy slump over in his seat, his back arching as he screamed, the sound full of rage and fear.

That was the last thing he saw before buzzing and the screams took over, and the world faded to black.

I'd just like to point out that for my Harry chapters, I'm trying to write in British English, and for my Percy ones, I'm trying to write in American English. It's harder than I though it would be.

Thanks,

ATOTALMUSICALNERD