Secrets of Hogwarts and the Prince of Slytherin

CHAPTER ONE

Owls

I didn't really think anything interesting would happen to me the week leading up to my 11th birthday. It wasn't some big milestone, or a major accomplishment. I was turning 11. I was no longer considered a child, and was now a pre-teen. Sure, my birthday was always exciting, and my mum always made it important, but it had never felt all that special.

So, when I saw an owl fly face first into my bedroom window on August 11th, I was a little shook.

As far as I was aware, owls didn't commonly face plant into windows, let alone windows in London. Also, there seemed to be something on the owl's leg? Maybe I was just seeing things, or hoping I was seeing things, because an owl ramming into my window was pretty abrupt.

"Percy!" A cold, angry voice hollered up the stairs of the flat, and I winced. I was reminded, rather rudely, that I was supposed to be packing my bag for swimming classes, not staring out my bedroom window as a great horned owl hopped up onto the sil and pecked at the glass, with one of its wings bent just slightly out of shape... "Perseus, do not make me come up there!"

I actually jumped this time, turning my back on the window and the owl. Much as I hated Gabe, I wasn't ready to be on his bad side today.

"Coming!" I yelled back, through my doorless doorway. Gabe had taken the door off its hinges after he'd caught me trying to fix my bed frame with his tools... That had been over three weeks ago, and I didn't dare bring up the fact that he was supposed to put it back after a week.

"Gabe, will you stop hollering at him?" My mother's voice drifted up, soft and gentle, despite the clear frustration in her tone. She disliked Gabe just as much as I did. I didn't know why she was still married to him... She said he was keeping them safe. The bruises under her sleeves said otherwise.

One thing to know about my mum, if you care; she is the nicest lady in the world. She's kind, gentle, and has never raised her voice to me, no matter how difficult or frustrating I was. No matter how angry or upset, she never made me feel anything but loved... She deserved the world. She deserved to be married to an equally as kind, and handsome Millionaire... Instead, the dollar store ring on her finger was bought by a smelly, fat, hairless, walrus of a man. It was obvious she didn't love him, and yet she put up with him. For whatever reason...

See, Gabe showed his true colors approximately 30 seconds after meeting me. I never liked him, even when he played the nice guy, and he knew that. He instantly saw right through my facade, even when I was a little kid. I never was good at pretending to like guys like him...

"Percy?" I looked up from my bag when my mum came through the doorway, giving me a smile. She had long, dark hair, with the occasional gray strand breaking up the brown. Her eyes were bright, a soft baby blue, and she looked so happy to see me. She'd been at work the night before, wasn't even able to eat dinner with me and Gabe. She opened her mouth to continue, and spotted the owl in the window behind me. "Huh... Looks like you have a friend."

I let out a nervous little laugh, "Yeah, he uh... He hit the glass." I looked over my shoulder, finally processing the angle of the owl's wing. "I think he's hurt..."

My mum hummed and walked over to the window, unlocking it and opening it up. The owl chirped and ruffled its good wing. My mum blocked my view of the owl for a moment and I forced myself to turn back to my bag, stuffing my towel and swimsuit inside, as well as back up clothes. When I zipped it up and turned back around, my mum had a quizzical look on her face, the owl perched elegantly on her forearm. She stroked its injured wing and clicked her tongue, "He'll be alright. Just needs a day or two to rest... I'm sure Gabe won't mind."