The Other Potter

Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Second Year

Percy Jackson was getting ready for his Second year at Hogwarts.

He had spent his summer in his godfather's house, showing Harry the spells he learned in school (without actually performing them, as it wasn't allowed), reading some books Moony had in his big library, trying to learn some new things, and having the werewolf's help to lift his self esteem and check his mental state. Once in a while, he would write to his friends too.

It was good spending his time with the people he loved, but he started missing school.

Yeah, I know. Big shock. The Percy Jackson that hated everything school-related, was missing going there. He must have hit his head or something.

But Hogwarts was different. It was becoming his home.

So, Percy was a bit relieved when he entered the train, having to go through endless obstacles to get on his compartment intact, and having the life squished out of him by his friends' hugs.

From there, things went back to normal prettly quickly. His second year included pranks (and detention for them), more extra lessons, gaining points for his house, etc.

Sadly, during the beginning Percy made a huge mistake. He finally decided to show his friends the Marauders Map.

"How could you" started Fred.

"Hide this type of jewel" continued George.

"From us?" finished Lee, who had decided to join their little way of talking.

The only way to earn their forgiveness was to let them borrow the map once in a while. And, as you can guess, this was the start of their more brutal pranks, the ones that would torment the whole school.

Hogwarts wasn't ready for the boys, and that Second Year proved it.

Though, with this going on, the only things that slightly perturbed Percy weren't all the pranks, but actually his particular dreams, which he continued getting in the summer.

Even after drinking the Sleeping Draugh, he would get some nightmares of That Night when his parents died and Vernon, and sometimes his scar hurt after he woke up. But, when he didn't have them, he would get instead the sight of the georgeous lady in witch robes. The Camp wasn't in sight anymore.

After some time just seeing her, the lady finally talked to him, with a voice as rich as a goddess, and told him that she was going to teach him more advanced magic to prepare him for the war.

Now, this experience was unsettling for multiple reasons. First, hearing the mention of a war without hesitation was worrying for Percy, because that meant the lady was sure it was going to happen. Then, the fact that she offered to teach him was just strange. What would she gain with that? And, who was that lady in the first place?

So, Percy did the rational thing: he accepted. It was just a dream, after all.

He realized he was wrong about that, though, when he woke up to find that everything he learned actually worked, after he used these new spells in real life.

This way, Percy Jackson started becoming a powerful wizard, even if he didn't know it at the time.

***

One particular day of his second year, just before Christmas break, when Percy was in his room changing his robes, something that can just be the Fate's doing happened: the twins suddenly bursted through the door.

This wouldn't have been a big deal, but Percy had his bare chest exposed, meaning they saw some of the more ugly scars Vernon had caused with his belt. And, believe me, they aren't pretty at all.

Some white marks covering his chest, each one of a different length, carrying the memory of nights that can very well pass as nightmares.

"Percy? W-What happened to you?" Asked Gred, concern in his face.

"Who did this?" Said Feorge, worrying for him.

It was the first time Percy saw that expression on their faces. And he hated it.

He knew he had to tell them the truth. They were the Weasley twins, so lies wouldn't go unnoticed. It was the first sign that whatever he did couldn't erase that part of his past.

So, after putting on his shirt, he answered:

"When I was younger, as you know, my parents died. My brother and I... well, we went to live with my aunt and her family. Let's just say that my u-uncle wasn't the nicest, and, if I wanted to protect my brother from him..." Percy stuttered a lot, evading the twin's eyes while he talked. His eyes maybe, just maybe, got a bit blurry from keeping tears from falling.

It was hard for him to tell that to his friends, the people he started considering his family. He didn't want looks of pity, or for them to treat him different. He just wished to leave all of those bad memories behind.

After a moment, he decided to stop staring at the floor, making the courage to look at his friends. Both of them had a frown on their faces, and, upon watching Percy again, they shared a look and finally said:

"I can see why you are a Gryffindor"

Since then, it was like they got a deeper connection. They started helping Percy to get a better self esteem, and the boy got more open about his past, sometimes sharing with the twins the memories that still haunted him. Eventually, he even chose to tell Lee about it, too. Of course, this didn't happen immediately, it took a lot of him to get there.

That's why, when he did, he decided to reveal them his true identity.

It happened during Christmas break. Just the day before leaving Hogwarts, Percy recieved a letter from Moony, in which he stated that they couldn't stay in his house for the time being. Apparently, the Ministry of Magic was reported about Harry living with a werewolf, and so they temporarly prohibited Moony from taking care of him.

So, in that letter, Moony pleaded him to ask a friend to spend Christmas in their place... It was that, or returning to the Dursleys.

Then Percy, being the smart boy he was, decided to ask the twins about it. Of course he had to tell them, too, that his younger brother was the Harry Potter, and the whole reason why he had to look for a place to stay.

Let's just say, it was one bustling Christmas.

Since then, Percy Jackson can't repay his ever-growing debt to Molly Weasley, the woman who, even with her family's financial situation, gladly took care of the two young boys as if she were their mother. That Christmas, he spent the days trying to help her anyway he could, bonding specially with the woman and her husband (who always listened to his stories about muggle artifacts), while Harry also made his first friend: Ronald Weasley.

This way, even if it wasn't as troublesome as what came later in his life, Percy's Second Year at Hogwarts was an important time of his life, for he learned things that would save him and his family from the future threats, and got a better relationship with the read heads.