When Myths Meet Magic || 2

18|| Percy

Percy vanished under his sea green cap and followed Harry and Ron towards the dungeons.

"Did Piper ever tell you where the common room was?" Harry asked Percy under his breath. Percy shook his head, then realized they couldn't see him. "No," he said. "Maybe we could just ask a prefect or something? I know it's in the dungeons though."

They descended down the stairs and almost crashed into Piper.

"Woah!" she steadied herself. "Oh, Crabbe, Goyle, there you are. Draco's been looking for you."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other before following her down a corridor into a solid stone wall. "We had a new password, didn't we?" Piper asked as they faced the wall. "What was it again?"

"Uh..." Ron stammered.

"Oh yeah, I don't really like this one. Pureblood!" she called and the wall slid open to reveal the Slytherin common room.

They walked into the dark, fancy room filled with a flickering green light from the lime colored fire.

Percy suddenly had a sudden thought. Piper was the daughter of one of the best actors in the world, of course she'll know if someone's faking or not. How many people has she seen act?

"Do your best," Percy whispered to Harry and Ron, before slipping into a corner. Malfoy entered the common room and spotted them.

"Crabbe, Goyle, there you are." he sat down on the couch and they glanced at each other before following suit. Piper narrowed her eyes at them and stopped walking to the girls dormitories. Percy mentally facepalmed again. Daughter of emotions, she'll be able to tell they're nervous.

Draco reached into his robes and pulled out what appeared to be an article clipping.

"That'll give you a laugh," he said, eyes glinting in amusement. Percy slipped over as quietly as he could, craning his neck to read the slip of paper.

Inquiry at the Ministry of Magic
   Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle Car.
   Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley's resignation.
   "Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection act should be scrapped immediately.
   Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them.

"Well?" Malfoy said impatiently as Harry handed the clipping back to him. "Don't you think it's funny?"

"Ha, ha," Harry said bleakly. Piper had moved closer, her eyes calculating. It was a look that only Annabeth usually wore. Malfoy turned to Piper and grinned. "I showed you this already, right? Imagine, the 'Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office'! Bewitching a useless car!"

With a jolt, Percy remembered that Piper herself had actually arrived to Hogwarts on the flying car with Harry and Ron. He watched Piper's reaction.

She shrugged. "It does seem ironic," she said carefully, offering no other opinion. Her eyes still cast around the room, as if expecting someone to pop out of the shadows suddenly.

"Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much, he should snap his wand in half and go join them," Malfoy said scornfully. "You'd never know the Weasleys were purebloods, the way they behave."

Crabbe/Ron's face was contorted with fury.

"What's up with you, Crabbe?" Malfoy snapped.

"Stomachache," Ron grunted unconvincingly.