Percy Jackson and the Hound of Hogwarts [Book 3]

5) The Minister of Magic

"You outta your tree?" Stan yelped. "'Choo say 'is name for?"

"Sorry," Harry said quickly. "Sorry, I — forgot—"

"Forgot!" Stan said feebly. "Blimey, my 'eart's goin' that fast..."

"So — so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah," Stan held his chest. "Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-'Oo, they say. Anyway, when little 'Arry Potter got the better of You-Know-'Oo all You-Know-'Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo ad' taken over.

"Anyway, the cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out 'us wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles that got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" Stan whispered dramatically.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Laughed," Stan said. "Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wiv 'em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"

"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now," Ern said slowly. "I'd blow myself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you... after what he did..."

"They 'ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, Ern? 'Ole street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said 'ad 'appended, Ern?"

"Gas explosion," Ernie grunted.

Stan examined the front of the newspapers again, "An' now 'e's out. Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, 'as there, Ern? Beats me 'ow 'e did it. Frightenin', eh? Mind, I don't fancy 'is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh, Ern?"

Ernie shivered, "Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles."

Stan hesitantly put the paper away, and Harry leaned against the Knight Bus window.

While Harry was being moody, I asked Stan about his time at Hogwarts.

"I was a Hufflepuff," he said, and I grinned. Hufflepuff for the win.

After him spouting about how boring his time there was, he narrowed his eyes at me, "Where 'ave I 'eard the name Percy Jackson before?"

"Ah, well, my years weren't nearly as boring as yours. My first year I was with Harry Potter and two others to stop Quirrell from stealing the Stone. Last year I went into the Chamber of Secrets. Um, my little brother also spouts a bunch of nonsense. Me walking through a blizzard with a flaming sword, or commanding the fairies. There are a lot of rumors," I shrugged.

Before he could say anything, the last passenger got off of the Knight Bus.

"Right then, boys," Stan clapped his hands, "whereabouts in London?"

I looked at Harry, and he said, "Diagon Alley."

"Righto," Stan said. "'Old tight, then."

A few minutes after the BANG, we were there.

We stopped in front of a small and shabby building I knew well. The Leaky Cauldron.

I smiled and hopped off of the bus, watching Stan and Harry grab his things. Then I saw the figure in the doorway.

"Oh, dear," I mumbled in Greek.

"Well," I heard Harry say. "Bye then!"

Stan hadn't responded. When I looked back at him, I saw he was staring at the same person I was.

"There you are, Harry," Cornelius Fudge, the Minster of Magic, had placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"What didja call Neville, Minister?" Stan asked excitedly.

I turned to Stan, "That's Harry Potter. This matter doesn't concern you, so leave."

Stan was about to say something, but Fudge interrupted, "While I'm very glad the Knight Bus has picked Harry up, he and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron now..."

Fudge motioned for me to follow them, so I did. Through a door behind the bar stood Tom, the wise and toothless bartender.

"You've got him, Minister," Tom said. "Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?"

"Perhaps a pot of tea," Fudge still held Harry's shoulder.

Stan and Ernie dragged in Harry's stuff. I stared at Fudge and said, "If this is about the magic, it was me. Large Marge was starting to get on my nerves."

Harry's eyes widened and Fudge shook his head, "Accidental magic is just that. Accidental. This is something else. I'll speak to Harry, alone, in a private parlor, then I'd leak to speak with you, Mr. Jackson."

I blinked, nodding at the Greek. It was a little too much for Harry, who still struggled with the basics.

Fudge and Harry walked up the stairs while I sat at the bar. Stan slid in beside me, and before he could say anything, I said, "That's Harry Potter. He lied about his identity because people freaking out about it is annoying. You can go get back to work now."

Stan huffed and left.

Tom gave me a butter beer for that.

After a few minutes, Fudge appeared at the banister, and motioned me up. I saw Harry walking away.

"Have a seat, Mr. Jackson," Fudge said, motioning towards a green chair by a fireplace.

I sat down, "Percy's fine, sir."

Fudge sat down across from me, "I'm Cornelius Fudge, Minster of Magic." I nodded. "You are Percy Jackson." I nodded again.

Fudge tilted his head slightly, "I expected for you to be a bit... bigger."

I blushed, and Fudge smiled awkwardly, "No matter. You are a son of Poseidon, yes?"

I nodded slowly, cautious. Once people found who my father was, they tended to want to kill me.

Fudge frowned, "You saved the world this summer. For that, the Ministry of Magic thanks you for your service."

I blushed again, "I didn't do it alone."

Fudge nodded, "The others, Draco Malfoy and Grover Underwood, will be thanked on a later date. For now, however, the Ministry has a request."

I paled. I figured it would be another quest.

Fudge frowned slightly, "Nothing too bad, Percy. Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. He was the one to sell out young Harry's parents. We're worried... that Black may go after Harry. We were hoping that you'd be willing to watch over Harry at school. To watch for Black."

I tensed, then nodded. Fudge smiled softly, "Thank you, Percy. You can stay in room 11 for the night. I'm going to have a talk with Mr. Castellan."

I nodded, then stood. I walked to room 11 without looking back.

So the final chapter for today I can't believe we're at the third book already. It's wild. Like, my babies are thirteen now. Teenagers. And of course, I've already started writing them as fourteen. It's so wild, I feel like I was just writing the first book yesterday.

Anyway, I love you all, and I'm glad you've tuned in for the third book. I hope you enjoy it, and I will see you on Friday!