Percy Potter

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I berated myself as I walked through the doorway to Slughorn's classroom. I should have been more careful in showing my immunity to spells. Upon closing his door, Mr. Slughorn practically twirled around with a large smile on his face. "My, Mr. Jackson! That was superb spell casting that you just did! It was wordless and wandless? If you don't mind me asking, what spell did you do?" I shifted on my feet slightly, a plan forming in my mind as I twirled Riptide between my fingers. "I created it myself, sir, but I'm not sure others can cast it the way I have. The incantation is in Greek, rather than Latin." Professor Slughorn raised his eyebrow while an intrigued expression dominated his face. "Would you mind preforming the spell again for me, Mr. Jackson?" I nodded my head and just stood before him. He took out his wand and I nodded when he looked at me for permission. He cast a quick succession of an ascension charm, a blazing hex, a tickling hex, and a banishing charm. The last one was pretty gutsy, I noticed, but I made no comment as I stood where I had originally, no worse for wear. "I must say, Mr. Jackson, your spell is very well done. Congratulations, my boy!" I smiled winningly, inwardly praying he would end this quickly. "You just absolutely must show me some time, young lad. Once you get the incantation and wand movements completed, just think of all the good that spell could do!" And all the bad, I inwardly rolled my eyes while I nodded. "Yes, truly life-saving." Professor Slughorn smiled kindly at me, though I could tell he was greedy for my 'spell'. "Yes..." He sat down in his chair, most likely contemplating how the shield could work. I waited for a bit in an awkward silence, but he didn't seem to want to come out of his thoughts any time soon, so I interrupted them. "Sir, could I please go to my next class?" As if unaware that I was still standing here, Slughorn jerked, stammering. "W-why of course, Mr. Jackson! Sorry to have kept you, sometimes I get lost in my own mind." I gave him a kind smile and a small chuckle. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Goodbye Professor." I quickly turned and walked out, breathing in a small amount of 'fresh' air in relief. Honestly, I hate how manipulative people think they can be, it just never works out. I sighed and set my path for McGonagall's class, but I was cut off by a certain nearly headless ghost. "Champion! Have you received news of Hades' decision yet?" I turned to Nick, confusion evident, before my brain kicked into gear and I grimaced. "Gods, I'm sorry Nick, it must have slipped my mind. I was going to, but then stuff happened and Harry and I needed to move to a different dorm... Here, I'll try to contact him now." I grabbed a drachma and created some mist, gently throwing in the golden coin. "Oh Iris, beloved goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering and show me Hades, god of the Underworld." A small gasp echoed from Nick as he watched Hades appear in the air. Hades' dark eyes were focused on the papers in front of him, as he sat in his throne doing paperwork. "Lord Hades, I wish to speak with you." Lifting his head with a raised eyebrow, Hades silently acknowledged the immortal champion. "There are several ghosts free in Hogwarts, that have been here for centuries. They help students and enjoy culturing the next generations with stories of their youth. I have only seen one ghost- a poltergeist- that causes trouble. Would you like me to send them down to you or would you rather not have the extra paperwork?" Hades relaxed back into his throne, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know how much I hate paperwork, Percy. As long as they do not cause trouble, I shall leave them be. You may send the poltergeist down though, his trial may prove to be entertaining." I nodded my head, smiling at my uncle. "Thank you Uncle Hades, have fun with the work." Hades only got to see a flicker of my signature troublemaker grin before I cut the connection. "And there you are, Nick. You all may stay, except for Peeves. I will know if any of you do something bad though, so tread carefully." I cast a warning glance at the ghost, but he was smiling widely. "Thank you Champion! Though... if I may have just one more request?" I sighed and nodded, hoping McGonagall was in a forgiving mood. "May you please sever my head? It has always been a dream of mine. To participate in the headless hunt and their activities..." Percy chuckled as Nick drifted off into his own ghostly heart, before he quickly grabbed the ghost's shoulder and hair in separate hands and gave a sharp tug. With a yelp, what was left of Nick's neck snapped in half, letting the ghost finally be completely headless. Nick gasped from where he sat in Percy's arms, looking at his body. "Oh, thank you Champion! This is the best deathday gift you could ever give me! I cannot wait to show the headless hunt. Would you like to come to my party? It is on the night of Samhain." Percy chuckled at the ghost's childlike behavior and gently placed Nick's head back on his shoulders. "I'm sorry Nick, but I will have to decline. I am sure your party will be wonderful. Have a good haunt Nick, I must be on my way." The ghost looked a little downtrodden, but refrained from asking again. "Okay. I will let all of the other ghosts know of Hades' decision. Thank you again for my headlessness!" I smirked, twirling my pen, as I walked away from the content ghost. I took a quick glance at the time on my watch, and groaned aloud. I was twenty-five minutes late for class. "Oh Gods, McGonagall is going to kill me."