#secretsofhogwarts

Chapter Fourteen - Dark Thoughts

Thankfully, whatever Quirrel’s plans were, they seemed to be reserved for the end of the school year. Either that, or he was having particular difficulty getting past this beast Harry had told Annabeth about. Percy didn’t care which, so long as he didn’t have to deal with Quirrel one on one. Though, he did still have to attend Defence Against the Dark Arts, and through those, he couldn’t help but notice that Quirrel was growing thinner and paler by the day.

Percy secretly hoped he was ill, so ill, in fact, that he’d have to leave school early and never return. Gemma had said that the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was cursed, after all. 

But, that would’ve been far too easy for his luck. 

As it was, Quirrel was not bedridden, and not being shipped off to a hospital off the grounds. Percy did take classes as an advantage to listen in on Quirrel’s thoughts, and learned what Annabeth meant.

Behind the lengthy lectures about vampires and other dark creatures, there was a second voice in Quirrel’s mind. It was high pitched, like nails on a chalkboard, but somehow slimy and slithering like a snake all at once. It made Percy’s skin crawl. The first time he touched his necklace in Quirrel’s class and heard that voice, he nearly screamed and fell out of his chair. He barely held it back, it was a miracle, to be honest.

It was talking about him and Harry, but never at the same time, and only when Quirrel’s back was turned to him. It was like there was something in the back of Quirrel’s turban, watching him through the fabric. Percy wanted to warn Harry, but how could he explain it? On top of trying to figure that out, he had no time. As soon as Potions ended, Harry was running off after Hermione and Ron, and since they shared so few classes, Percy had no idea where Harry was for most of the week. 

Then, when they weren’t busy with classes or making sure Percy was never alone with Professor Quirrel, they had to study.

10 weeks until exams, and Percy felt stupidly unprepared for everything. Even with Annabeth’s help, he was certain he wouldn’t make it into the second year with all the stress of Quirrel and that creepy voice on his mind. He was glad, though, that he didn’t have to do any of it alone. He had Piper and Annabeth at his back, for school stuff, for Quirrel-related stuff, for nightmare stuff.

Yeah, his nightmares were worse. There was a pattern though, the more anxious he was before bed, the worse the nightmare. One night he dreamt that he was dangling from a cliff, hanging over an abyss, desperately trying to pull someone up with him. It ended as his hand slipped, and he fell onto the floor of his room. Annabeth walked him to the Hospital Wing to make sure the lump on his head was nothing more than a swollen bruise. 

They were on their way to potions when Draco ran up to them and started making fun of Annabeth’s braids, which had been freshly done over winter break. 

“Oh, shut it, Draco.” Percy said.

“I don’t have to listen to you, just cus you’re the… Prince of Slytherin or whatever Quirrel wants to call you!” Draco crossed his arms triumphantly. 

“Just leave us alone!” Annabeth said.

“You shouldn’t even be in Slytherin, either of you. You’re both so horribly untalented, I’m shocked you’re not both in lousy old Hufflepuff.” It infuriated Percy so much that he was about to tackle Draco down the stairs and take out all of his frustrations on the twerp. Unfortunately, Draco’s verbal abuse wasn’t the only thing he had planned. 

The moment Percy took a step forward, Draco whipped out his wand and hexed Annabeth. He sprinted off down the stairs with a short cackle as Annabeth began whimpering. Blisters were breaking out across her cheeks and hands, tears welling in her eyes. 

Thankfully, Professor Sprout happened to appear at the top of the stairs.

“What on Earth happened to you, girl?”

“Draco hexed her!” Percy said, “He ran off towards Potions-”

“Head on to class, Mr Jackson.” Professor Sprout said, “I’ll escort her to Madam Pomphrey and have a discussion with Snape once she’s all fixed up. Go on, now.” Percy hesitated. He wanted to go with Annabeth… He also wanted to turn Draco into a pile of tenderized beef. He nodded and turned to go down the stairs, “Now, now, child. Try not to cry, it’ll only hurt worse. Madam Pomphrey will make it all better.”

When he reached the Potions classroom, Draco was snickering in the corner. Percy stormed over to him, ignoring Crabbe and Goyle and grabbed him by the collar.

“MR. JACKSON!” Snape yelled, “LET HIM GO! NOW!”

“He hexed Annabeth!” Percy said, not taking his eyes off of Draco, who was trembling. 

“Release him! Now!” Snape was yanking Percy off of Draco, putting himself between them. “I will deal with it. Get in your seat. NOW.”

Percy nearly snarled as he stormed around the table to sit in his usual spot. Anita was in Annabeth’s spot. One steely glare was enough to make her back off and go back to her seat beside Piper. Piper abandoned her though, switching into the spot beside Percy.

“Is she okay?” She whispered. 

“Professor Sprout took her to the Hospital Wing.” Percy said quietly. “She’ll be fine.”

“I thought you were going to kill him, if I’m honest.” Piper whispered.

Percy didn’t say it, but he’d been about to do just that. As class continued, the desire to strangle someone moved from Draco to Anita. She was busy mouthing off about how Percy was doing everything wrong, or how Annabeth couldn’t handle a simple hex and was a cry baby. It took every ounce of strength, and some of Piper’s will power, to keep Percy from dumping the contents of his cauldron down Anita’s robes. 

When class ended, he ran straight to the Hospital Wing instead of going to lunch. Piper was too hungry for that, and promised to steal him something later if he missed all of lunch. He didn’t plan on that happening, but he was too focused on getting to Annabeth.

She was still midway through Madam Pomphrey’s treatment, and she was very sour about it. Not that Percy blamed her at all. He promised to see her after dinner and went off to lunch. The rest of the day was thankfully uneventful, even if Percy maintained the desire to throttle Anita or Draco. Or both. Both would be nice. 

Percy went back after dinner, as promised, and found Annabeth back to her usual self. Minus the smile, anyway. She looked tired, mostly, but she did crack a small grin for him when he showed up.

“Ready to go to bed?”

“Very.” She yawned, “It really does not feel like I’ve been sitting here since breakfast. It feels like I've run a marathon.”

“I nearly killed Draco.”

“WHAT!?” Annabeth shrieked as they left the Hospital Wing. “You didn’t!”

“Yeah, I did.” He smiled bashfully, “Snape had to pull me off him before I hit him.”

“Oh, gods…” Annabeth sighed, “You’re going to get yourself expelled.”

“I wasn’t thinking. Really. Though, we should definitely be thinking about what he said before he hexed you.”

“Right.” Annabeth winced, before freezing in her tracks. “Is that-”

Percy nodded. He’d heard it too. A voice. They shuffled off towards the corner of a hall, peering around the edge. Quirrel was pacing nervously outside his classroom door. Annabeth shook her head.

“We shouldn’t. He’ll see us.”

“But-”

“No. We can’t.” She whispered. “If he catches us, you’re screwed.”

“I have to.” Percy grabbed his necklace, and felt a shiver down his spine.

‘Get the boy. Now.’

“B-But master, I have no way to get him away. And I still have to fetch the Sorcerer's Stone. You won’t be strong enough without it.”

‘The prince is more important! We cannot lose him!’

“I understand, master. But we must be discreet. If we’re not, our plans will fail. I do not want to fail you again.”

Percy was so focused on Quirrel’s conversation with the voice in his head that he didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind them, or feel Annabeth tugging on his sleeve. Not until Professor McGonagall’s smooth, cold voice broke past Quirrel’s voice. 

“What are you two doing out of bed?” Percy turned slowly around to face her. She looked furious. “And spying on a teacher? What on earth were you two thinking?”

“Professor Quirrel wants to steal the Sorcerer's Stone.” Percy blurted out without thinking. Maybe it would save him… probably not. 

McGonagall blinked at him. “I’m sorry, what? How do you even know about that?”

“He was just talking about it.” Percy said, “He also- He-”

“I think he only applied for the teaching position after learning Percy would be coming to Hogwarts this year, Professor.” Annabeth cut in, “In May, there was an article about his mother, and it said he would be attending Hogwarts this year. Professor Quirrel has been acting very strange and creepy around Percy, and I’m worried he-”

“I do not want to hear it.” Professor McGonagall waved a hand. Percy was almost too bewildered by what Annabeth said to hear McGonagall’s next words: “Detention for both of you. This is completely unacceptable! First, out after curfew, then spying on a teacher, and now accusing that same teacher of wrongdoing? 20 house points each. Off to bed with you. Now!”

Chapter Eight - The Chase Girl

Fanart by frostbite.studios

As they left October and entered November, the world around Hogwarts became very cold. Frosted grass and icy peaks surrounded the castle, the lake chilled by the cooling weather. If it weren’t for the jacket Muriel had bought him, Percy would’ve stayed firmly in the castle for everything. Thankfully, she had gotten him a nice jacket, gloves, and a school scarf. 

So, every time the Slytherin Quidditch team would practice their plays, Percy would be in the shorter Quidditch stands with Piper and Annabeth, studying.

Studying was the excuse, if they were honest to anyone who asked. They really just went there because none of the other Slytherin students could stand leaving the castle in the chill, meaning there were no bullies to pick on them while they minded their business.

“D’you think they’ll have any open spots next year?” Percy asked suddenly, long after they’d given up on studying anything important. Annabeth looked up at him from Minerva, perched in her lap, purring away.

“Uh, yeah. Two. Chaser and Seeker. Why?”

Percy shrugged, “Just curious… I heard Harry’s the Gryffindor Seeker now.”

“He is.” Piper said, “Draco’s furious.”

“Suck to be him, I guess.” Percy sighed, “What’s even the rules? I tried following along with Draco’s ramblings, but his voice just kind of turns into ringing after a few minutes of him speaking. Gives me a headache.”

Annabeth snickered, “Well, there’s 3 Chasers, they’re the ones who try to get a goal. The Keeper guards the goals to prevent the other team from getting points, and the Beaters protect the other players from the Bludgers.”

“And the Seeker catches the Snitch.” Piper added, “In case you didn’t already know that.”

“I did. It’s pretty much the only thing I knew.” Percy said, sitting up to watch the Slytherin’s zip by on their brooms.

“Catching the Snitch ends the game, and adds on 150 points to your team's score.” Annabeth said. “The game only ends when you catch the Snitch.”

“What if they never catch the Snitch?”

“It never ends.”

“What if the Seeker is injured?” Piper questioned. Annabeth shrugged.

“Player injury is the exception. At Hogwarts, at least.”

“You sure know a lot about Quidditch.” Percy said, “Was your dad a player?”

“Oh! No!” Annabeth practically fell over laughing. “He hates it. He’d probably die if I joined the team after everything that’s happened this year already.”

“So?” Percy asked, “I’m pretty sure fighting a mountain troll without permission is the worst damage you can do.”

Annabeth shrugged, playing with the ends of one of her braids. 

“Have you read this morning’s letter yet?” Piper asked. Annabeth paused, glancing up at them before shaking her head.

“No. I can’t. I just… I can’t.”

“Can I read it?” Percy asked. 

“What? No. It’s mine.”

“Well, you can’t avoid him forever.” Percy said, “Especially not if you plan on going home for Christmas.”

She cringed and sighed, before pulling a parchment envelope from her pocket and thrusting it towards him. He smiled and took it, tearing off the wax seal and pulling out the paper.

“Should I read it out loud?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“My dear daughter,” Percy grinned. Annabeth aimed a kick at him, but he slid out of range. Reading the letter was slow, his dyslexia did him no favors when words were written in fancy, looping handwriting. “I don’t know why you have not responded to my previous letters, but I hope you are well and busy with studying. I received word from Professor Snape that you got into a… A fight?” Percy tilted the letter towards Piper, who nodded. “A fight with another student. I’m sure you had your reasons, but please try to avoid it in the future. I was also informed of an incident with a mountain troll, and I commend you for your bravery, but plead that you don’t do it again. Your safety is more important to me than proving your skills. Love, dad.”

Annabeth’s eyes were wide. It was as if she’d never considered that her dad would actually be proud of her, or accept that she wasn’t who he thought she would be when he sent her off to school. 

“It doesn’t say that.” She shook her head and snatched the letters from his hands. She clutched it tight to her face and read it over and over again until it finally registered.

“I told you he wouldn’t care!” Piper cheered, “Why were you so afraid?”

“Because… We’re already so… Distant. I don’t even spend the summer with him, I go to-” She cut off, looking up at them. She looked nervous. “My uncle’s farm. In America.” She looked down at the ground again, “Great uncle, really. My mum’s side.”

“Why are you two distant?” Percy whispered, worried it would set her off and ruin the fragile friendship they’d formed.

“Because… For a while, we were close. But, then he got married. Her name’s Helen. She’s… Not a bad person, but she’s not a fan of mine.” Her lip trembled, “She’s a wizard, my mum… Wasn’t. I look like my mother, and I guess she doesn’t like that. So, I left… Went to live with my uncle. I rarely went back to my dad’s before I got my letter… And I only did so now because he asked me to. My uncle insisted I give him a chance.”

“You didn’t, though.” Piper pointed out.

“Yes, I did.” Annabeth said, “I went home. I lived with him. I tried.”

“But you expected him to reject you because you didn’t become exactly the person you expected him to want you to be.” Piper said. “So, you didn’t give him a chance.”

“Yes, I did!” Annabeth was upset now. “I tried to go home, I tried to give him a chance!”

“I’m not trying to fight!” Piper put her hands up defensively, “But you didn’t even consider reading his letters. That’s not giving him a chance. That’s expecting rejection and refusing to let someone prove you wrong.”

“How are you so emotionally stable?” Percy laughed.

“My dad hired a really good therapist in Miami.” Piper shrugged, “But seriously. You were expecting him to disappoint you, and were not willing to be wrong about it.”

Annabeth glowered at the letter, but she didn’t get up and storm off. She just stayed and stared, running her finger across something at the bottom of the page. After a long moment, she sighed. “Thank you. I’m sorry I yelled, I just… All this time, I thought he was the problem… And it was me.”

“No,” Piper shook her head, “You were hurt before, so you were trying to protect yourself. You weren’t ready to give him a chance, and got talked into doing something you weren’t prepared to do. Neither of you are the problem, you just need… A lot of therapy.”

Annabeth shrugged and smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“You should try out for Chaser next year.” Percy said. Her head raised and she frowned.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea-”

“You fought a troll, and he’s not angry. I highly doubt he’ll be mad at you for wanting to play Quidditch.” Percy said. He was still wondering what Muriel had to say about his participation in that particular fight, but he hadn’t gotten a letter yet, so he didn’t know. 

Annabeth sighed and shrugged, “Okay, I’ll think about it. But don’t get your hopes up.”

“How about this,” Percy leaned forward, “If you try out for Chaser, I’ll try out for Seeker.”

She narrowed her eyes, but there was a smile on her face, and repeated herself. "I will think about it.”

It was late. The noise and commotion in the leadup to the first Quidditch game of the year was deafening, but it had eventually died down, allowing Percy to finally think. Annabeth had long since retired, after writing and sending a lengthy, long overdue letter to her father. 

Piper, on the other hand, was still in the armchair by the fire, across from Percy. She was staring into the flames, her eyes shifting between hues of brown, green, blue and pink as they reflected the fire.

“You alright?” Percy asked. She looked up and nodded.

“Just thinking. About my dad. He hasn’t sent me a single letter since the start of term… I think I’ll stay here for Christmas.”

“Why?” Percy frowned, “Don’t you miss him?”

“Well, yes… But all of my Christmases for the past 6 years have been lonely and cold. At least if I stay here, I won’t be alone. I’ll have the Professors.”

“And me.” Percy smiled, “Can’t go home this year, too many… Step-father problems.”

“Not exciting…” Piper’s nose wrinkled, “I’m gonna head to bed. Don’t stay up too late, or you’ll miss the game. Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Percy waved her off and she headed for the girls’ dormitory. Percy sighed and looked down at Minerva. She had a favorite place in the common room, and it’s wherever his lap was. Or, if Annabeth was in the room, her lap. At least she always swiped or hissed when Anita or Draco got too close to her. They did not like his cat.

Percy pulled out his charms book and read through the chapter they were on. Wingardium Leviosa was a levitation charm, the very one Ron had used to knock out the mountain troll with its own club. It seemed Slytherin class was far enough behind the Gryffindor’s that they’d learned it nearly two weeks before the Slytherin’s even reached that chapter in the textbook. 

Was he jealous? No. Of course not. Was he angry at Anita, Draco, and Draco’s friends for always screwing around in class and not doing what they were supposed to? Very much so. So, he was determined to get ahead… Even if it meant way too much reading for his taste.

His brain was practically melting by the time he put the book down and noticed an odd shape on the wall. There was a door, arched and delicately carved from stone. It looked like any other normal door in Hogwarts, except… It hadn’t been there before. Percy slowly sat up, then stood and walked over to the door. He ran his fingers along the frame, before reaching for the door handle. It was numbingly cold against his skin, but wouldn’t turn when he tried.

He stepped back and sighed, looking the door over. It didn’t look inviting, but his curiosity was too strong. They hadn’t found themselves in the passages since that first time, and deep down, he knew there was so much more to be found. Good things, bad things, dangerous things… 

Percy pushed against the door, putting his full weight into the action. The door disappeared as he pushed, letting him stumble into the dark passageway beyond. He caught himself and stared into the darkness ahead. His book was heavy in his hand. He looked back at the door, now just an empty archway, and left his book on the floor so the door didn’t close behind him. 

He drew his wand from his pocket and used the charm Annabeth had shown them the last time they’d gone inside. The wand lit instantly, letting him get more of a glimpse into the shadows. He could only make out the stone walls, floor, and ceiling. Percy cast another glance back towards the common room, before continuing down the long passage. 

It carried on far longer than Percy expected, and the t-shaped junction they’d found themselves at last time wasn’t the turn he came across. Instead, the right passage was just gone, leaving only the left. He remembered the strange noise he’d heard from that tunnel and pointed his wand down it. 

Nothing.

No movement, not sounds, not even a breeze. Percy steeled his nerves and turned the corner. The passage continued for another long stretch, only the soft thud of Percy’s shoes breaking the deafening silence. He continued until he came to another intersection. This one actually had options. 2 paths broke off on either side, one heading up a flight of stairs, and a 3rd led straight ahead. Percy frowned and considered his options. 

There weren’t many places to explore in the dungeons, so staying on the same level would likely prove uneventful. But, if he ended up having to flee the passages, getting caught on a different floor might end with him getting detention… He didn’t want either of those. 

Annabeth, if she’d actually been curious enough to go in the passages, would’ve chosen to stay on the same floor. Piper, on the other hand, would likely choose the stairs…

So, Percy turned and headed up the stairs. They were carved from stone, with cracks latticed across them, worn down at the edges, making them rounded and slippery. He tripped on the first step before continuing, careful to not lose his balance again. A fall down the stairs here would probably end up with him never being found again, even if Piper and Annabeth came looking for him. 

A little voice in his head told him that the passages were more than just tunnels, and it was supported by the fact that, as he reached the top of the staircase and turned around, the stairs had been replaced by a straight, long tunnel. He was about to regret his decision when he heard a whisper ahead of him. He turned back around and found a ghost before him.

At least, she looked like a ghost. Pearl-white all over, clothes and skin transparent and misty. She wasn’t looking at him, staring down the next corridor to his left. He crept up behind her and followed her gaze.

There was nothing there. The girl turned around to face him, making him jump. He couldn’t make out her hair color or the color of her eyes, but her face felt familiar to him. It felt like he should know who this girl was, but… How could he? A random ghost in Hogwarts?

“Muriel,” she hissed, waving a hand toward herself. 

“My name isn’t-” he started, before another girl appeared on his other side. He nearly jumped out of his skin. She looked the same as the first, pearly and see-through, but he knew why her face was familiar this time. It was Muriel.

For a heartbeat, he panicked. Had something happened to her? Did Gabe hurt her? Why was she a ghost?

Then, he realized, if something had happened to Muriel, she wouldn't have ended up haunting a tunnel in Hogwarts, as a child. She’d be an adult, even if she did manage to end up in Hogwarts.

“I’m coming, Sally. Someone almost saw us!”

“Oh, nobody’s going to care.” Percy felt the blood draining from his face. This was Sally? His mother? She looked nothing like him. “Except maybe Severus. We should get to class before he realizes we came in without him.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Muriel sighed. The two of them pressed on. Percy jogged after them. “You know how he was last time, and then Sirius went and bullied him for it.”

Percy had no idea who this ‘Sirius’ person was, but it made him think of one of the constellations from astrology… Had he done his astrology homework? He couldn’t remember.

“You know I love Severus, Muriel, but he can’t expect us to be beside him every second of the day.” Sally sighed, stopping at a doorway. Percy came to a heavy stop behind them, bending over to catch his breath. They were both taller than him, he realized, and probably only a year older, at most. They would’ve been in their first year during this. They’d known Professor Snape?

“Do you hear that?” Muriel hissed. Percy stepped closer, leaning towards the door. He knew he wouldn’t hear anything, whatever Muriel and Sally had heard was long in the past, but he still got closer to the door.

To his surprise, there was a voice beyond the door, and it was familiar.

“Yes, master. I u-understand.” It was Professor Quirrel. Percy narrowed his eyes and pressed closer to the door, resting his ear on the crack between the stone and the wood. “I will n-not fail again. I swear it. N-Nobody will stop me this time.”

Quirrel was definitely crazy, Percy thought. Talking to yourself wasn’t too strange, but talking to yourself and calling yourself master was pretty high on the cuckoo side of sanity. 

“Yes, master, I hear it. Someone sneaking around-” Percy leapt back from the door and, without thinking, ran down the passage back the way he came. It had changed. What had been a right turn back towards the walled off stairs was now a left turn that led down a staircase that was 3 times as long as the first. He tripped on the last step, crashing to the ground and hitting the wall on the other side of the landing. 

The air was driven from his lungs in the fall and he lay there for a few drawn out seconds, desperately trying to catch his breath before he passed out.

When it returned, he was able to force open his eyes. He was submerged in darkness, his wand dropped from his hand. He felt anxiety bubble up in his chest as he got to his hands and knees and began searching for his wand. He found it, raising it up and preparing to light it.

To his surprise, flame shot from the tip, momentarily lighting the chamber. He yelped and dropped it, falling to the ground. He landed on something smooth, long, and round and fumbled for it. His own wand- actually his wand -was smooth and familiar in his fingers as he lit the tip and took a look around the room.

The wand he’d mistaken for his was long and grey in color, compared to the dark, almost reddish tone of his own. It also had crystals embedded in the wood at the end. Percy hesitantly picked it up again, careful to not shoot flame from the end, and inspected it. He didn’t know whose it was, but it felt… Familiar.

“Sally!” Percy looked up at the sound of a voice, Muriel’s. The ghostly figure was running towards him from a tunnel that hadn’t been there before. She looked older than she did before, maybe 16 or 17. She tripped over something and fell to her hands and knees. Percy watched as her wand tumbled from her pocket and rolled across the floor. “Sally, wait up! I can’t run that fast!”

She continued running, not noticing the dropped wand against the wall. Percy looked back at the wand. He tucked it into his pocket and stood.

“Psst.” He spun in a circle. The other girl, Sally, his mother, was looking at him. Not just in his direction, but at him. His eyes widened as she waved him forward. “C’mon, you can’t be in here now.”

Percy hesitated, but stepped towards the apparition. She turned and began leading the way through the passages. Percy followed dutifully, only the light of his wand and the faint glow from the apparition lighting the tunnel. Soon, they came to another t-junction, except Percy was coming from the left tunnel. He recognized it. It was the tunnel that led back to the common room… Except there was something new along the flat wall that faced the common room door.

It was a mural of some kind. Sally turned down the tunnel towards the common room, but Percy lingered to get a better look.

The mural was made of tiny colored tiles. There was a beach, with 2 figures facing one another. 1 was in all red and black, towering over the 2nd, depicted with blue and green tiles. Behind the blue and green person was a wall of different blue tiles, each one a different shade and hue. At the top of the wall were white tiles, and Percy realized it wasn’t a wall. It was a wave.

He hummed, taking a step back from the mural. Darkness instantly tried to swallow it, even with his wand extended towards it. The air turned cold all of a sudden, and a strong breeze came from both his left and right, pushing him back from the mural and towards the common room doorway. He put up an arm, hoping to block the wind, but it got stronger. The tunnels were telling him to leave.

So, he did. He turned and scurried to the door where he’d left his book. The gaping doorway was gone, replaced by a wooden door that was propped open by Percy’s charms textbook. He picked it up as he exited the passage, turning to shut the door, but it was already gone, replaced by a solid stone wall.

Percy was exhausted come morning. Piper was allowed to come into the boys dormitory to wake him up, and that ended with him throwing his pillow at her face. She crashed to the ground with a shriek and then proceeded to wack him with said pillow about 20 times until he rolled over and got out of bed. 

Now, at breakfast, his head was on his arms. Not even the delicious scent of bacon and sausage was enough to make him do more than try to fall back asleep.

“Percy, you need to eat.” Annabeth was probably rolling her eyes at him, but he didn’t care. He wanted to keep sleeping. “If you’d rather be stubborn, I can spoon feed you like a toddler. That’d really give Draco something to make fun of you for.”

He raised his head and glared at her. She just smiled at him, like she was the most innocent human being in the whole wide world. He rolled his own eyes and sat up straight.

“M’tired.”

“I noticed.” Annabeth said, “Didn’t Piper tell you not to stay up?”

“I did!” Piper said, after swallowing a mouthful of food. “Don’t look at me! I went to bed early and told him to go, too!”

“You said don’t stay up late.” Percy corrected, “Not to go to bed.”

“Still not my fault if you were up till dawn.” Piper scoffed. 

“If I’d been up till dawn, you wouldn’t have found me in bed.” Percy grabbed a cup of orange juice and drank some of it. “I was in the passageways, just for a little bit.”

“I thought I said going back there was a bad idea?” Annabeth sighed, “Then you went alone? Are you insane?”

“No.” Percy shook his head, “The door showed up on its own. Plus, I found something-”

He jumped as Professor Snape spoke behind him. “Don’t linger too long. The game will start in 20 minutes…”

Percy glanced around. Very few Slytherin’s were still at the table. He nodded.

“Yes, professor.”

“Good.” Snape swept away and Percy glanced after him, huffing.

“He almost freaks me out as much as Quirrel.” Percy huffed. 

“You’re more scared of Quirrel than Snape?” Piper snorted.

“Yes.” Percy sighed, “Quirrel talks to himself and calls himself master, all while sounding afraid of himself.”

“What?” Annabeth frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“In the passages,” Percy said, making a note to leave out the fact that he saw apparitions of his mothers, “I came to a door and I heard him talking to himself. He said, erm… ‘Yes, master, I will not fail again’. Or something like that. It was creepy.”

Piper had stopped laughing, pointedly chewing some sausage so she didn’t have to talk.

“That is weird… Fail at what, exactly?” Annabeth asked. Percy shrugged.

“I dunno. He heard me behind the door, so I ran…” Percy sighed, before reaching into his pocket. “Oh. I found this! It was Muriel’s!”

Annabeth’s eyes widened as he pulled out Muriel’s old wand. “How d’you know it was hers?”

“I- Uh-” Percy gulped. “I… Saw an apparition. Where she dropped it.”

“You saw the ghost of Muriel?” Piper asked. “Are you sure it was her? Ghosts don’t show up unless-”

“It wasn’t a ghost.” Percy shook his head, hiding the wand back in his pocket. “She was only, like, 17. But it was her. I know it.”

“I don’t know, Percy,” Annabeth sighed, “How could she be there?”

“I don’t know.” Percy shrugged, “But… Maybe there’s some kind of magic that lets people see events from the past. I’ll ask her about it.”

“Percy, wait-” Annabeth called, but he was already up and jogging towards the Great Hall doors.

Percy missed the game. He was too busy writing out a letter to Muriel, scrapping the letter with each spelling mistake, until he finally had one he was content with. Then, forgetting about the Quidditch game altogether, he raced to the owlery to send his letter, and the wand he’d found. It would be a waiting game from there, and he was more than willing to wait for answers. 

When he got back to the common room, they were already there, along with dozens of annoyed and moping Slytherins. 

They’d lost the game. Badly.

Harry had caught the snitch in his first ever game by nearly swallowing it.

The Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, was still fuming about how it was against the rules and should’ve been counted as a disqualification, or whatever. Percy gave him and the other team members a wide berth, hoping they wouldn’t decide to take off his head in a misplaced bout of anger. 

Percy sat beside Piper as Marcus began yelling, and sighed.

“That bad?”

“Yes.” Piper also looked annoyed. “How are you going to try out with Annabeth next year if you don’t go to the matches?”

“Well, I-” Percy hesitated, shrugging. “I didn’t mean to miss the whole game.”

“But you did.” Piper sighed and shook her head. Percy frowned and looked around. Where was Annabeth?

“Where’s-”

“She went to snoop on Quirrel.” Piper said in a hushed voice. “We have time before curfew, so she snuck off while Marcus and Gemma were arguing about the rules of Quidditch."

“She’s not back yet?”

“No.” Piper shook her head, “Don’t worry, she’ll be careful.”

Percy hummed and looked down at his lap. Minerva had made her way through the angry crowd of Slytherin’s and was perched in his lap, purring happily. He petted her and sighed. He hoped Annabeth would hurry.

Hurry she did. Because only a few minutes after thinking about it, she was sitting down beside him, stuffing something blue into her robes. 

“He was being very suspicious,” Annabeth hissed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone talk to themselves so much.”

“Do you hang around people who talk to themselves a lot?” Piper grinned, but Annabeth remained serious.

“He was talking about some boy named Riddle.” Annabeth shook her head, “But I don’t know anyone with that name.”

“Who’d name their kid Riddle?”

“Maybe it’s a last name.” Percy commented, “The teachers use last names more than first names.”

“Right,” Annabeth nodded, “I’ll look into it some more. I’m sure I can find something.” And she was off again, sprinting towards the girls dormitory. Percy sighed and looked at Piper.

“Goodnight, I guess.”

“Mhmm.” Piper got up and followed Annabeth. Percy felt odd, though. Something was off. Quirrel seemed relatively harmless, if a bit strange, or crazy, even. But none of those were reasons for Snape to threaten him. Surely, Snape had good reason to do so, but… What was it?

Percy shook his head and got up, walking slowly to bed with Minerva in his arms. He weaved around Gemma as she told Marcus to shut up and go to bed, and squeezed past Draco and Anita to get to the boys dormitory. In his room, he set Minerva by the underwater window and walked to his bed.

There was a newspaper on it.

He frowned and picked it up, reading the headline.

A ghost seen in London.

He glanced down at the picture and frowned. It was a woman, around Muriel’s age, with dark hair and fair skin. Percy tilted his head as he set it on his trunk, reading over the first few lines.

Reports say that the long-since believed dead witch Sally Jackson was spotted near Diagon Alley this weekend. When asked, the proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron said he’d seen nothing of her, despite first hand accounts of her entering the pub. 

Percy crumpled up the newspaper and tossed it into the corner. It was fake. It had to be. A sick joke by someone who found out who his mother was. She was dead. If she were alive, she never would have abandoned him. 

Chapter Eight - The Chase Girl

Fanart by @pidalicious on Insta

Percy and Annabeth avoided each other like the plague after that. Piper also gave up on trying to get them to become friends. It was simply too big of a challenge, and as classes continued, and homework increased, it was clear that there was no point with so many more important things to do.

There was only one class where they could not avoid one another, and it was the one where they sat side by side. Snape wasn’t open to them switching seats after their first day, and the time where Piper and Percy tried to sit together, Snape quickly corrected them and put Piper back next to Anita, and Annabeth beside Percy. They endured, but angrily. 

Despite their frustrations, they always ended class with the best potion. Either because they’d followed all the steps perfectly, or because everyone else had failed beyond rational expectations. They always used Percy’s book, which Annabeth seemed to trust infinitely more than her own. Every class, Percy caught Annabeth copying down the little notes from his book.

He didn’t blame her.

He would’ve done the same, even if she didn’t give him permission.

But, there was one day where things changed. When Percy arrived, Piper was already in Percy’s seat, and that left only one empty spot in the room. Beside Anita.

Percy was totally fine with that. He could handle being teamed up with her, even if she did majorly creep him out. 

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Because she did majorly creep him out, he spent the entire class with a foot on her stool so she couldn’t get any closer to him. She sure tried though, and every time Percy had to lean towards the cauldron to do something, she was locking onto his arm like a blood-sucking leech and giggling in his ear. She’d say how he was so much better at potions than everyone else in class, and how it was an hour to team up with the smartest person in the room, and how she hoped to be as good at him one day.

The flattery might’ve worked if her perfume didn’t put him in a fugue state plagued by memories of his Nursery school teacher, who’d locked him in a closet for 6 hours cus he didn’t say ‘please’ when asking to use the bathroom. 

Percy also kept his potions book far out of Anita’s sight. She’d either mock him for having such a worn down copy, or also begin copying the notes… Percy was willing to tolerate a lot of things from Anita, but that particular invasion would be too much. So they used Anita’s book, and that meant their potion was not the right shade of blue. 

“You should stir it the other way,” Percy said as Anita began stirring clockwise.

“The book says to do it this way.” She argued, clearly regretting her choice of flattery as she openly refused to do what he said. 

“I thought you said I was so good at Potions?” Percy asked. She glared daggers at him and continued stirring clockwise. Percy glanced over at Piper and Annabeth, who were doing far worse than they. Their potion was yellow, and smoking. Annabeth was visibly panicking, while Piper tried to steal a peek at Percy’s book. He kept it firmly under his hand, only grinning at her misery. He looked back at Anita as she began slicing a handful of quills. “You should crush them.”

“Oh, shut up.” She snapped, continuing to slice the quills with an angry hand.

“I’m just saying,” Percy shrugged, “If you put them in like that, it’ll explode in your face… Literally.”

Anita growled and turned on him, but her tone was an attempt at sweetness. “Then why don’t you do it?”

“Because you said you wanted to be just as good as me. How will you learn if-” She turned away and dropped the cup up quills into the cauldron. When nothing happened at first, she smiled smugly at him. Percy yawned, and the potion, quite literally, exploded. Anita gasped, her face covered in black soot and eyebrows distinctly missing.

“Professor?” Percy raised his hand. Professor Snape looked over lazily. “Our potion’s gone wrong.”

“I can see that.” He drawled, walking towards them. Annabeth and Piper were staring, visibly panicked. “You crushed the quills, correct?”

“I-” Anita squeaked, “The book said to cut them!”

Snape pointed towards the blackboard, where he always put the instructions for the potion. “Do you simply not know how to read, Miss Price? Perhaps you should reeducate yourself with the practice so this does not happen again.” With a flick of his wand, the potion inside the cauldron disappeared, replaced by a fresh, starter liquid. “5 points from Slytherin, Miss Price, for failing to read directions.”

When Snape walked away, Anita puffed out a breath. Percy took over on the potion, following the directions closely. At one point, Anita stood and put her hand on his back. He jumped, pushing her stool with his foot. The stool toppled, and it and Anita crashed to the ground in a heap.

Snape snarled, “Idiot girl! Get up! Now!” 

Anita scrambled to her feet, face flushed as she sat back down. She glared at Percy. “Do not do that again, or I will hurt you.”

“Don’t touch me, then.” Percy whispered. Anita cocked her head and narrowed her eyes.

“That trick might work on Professor Snape, but it won’t work on me.” She glowered. Percy didn’t know what she meant.

“What?”

Her eyes widened slightly, and she laughed. “You don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

“Oh, that is delicious,” Anita giggled, leaning her head uncomfortably close. “You’re simply clueless, aren’t you-” She yelped as her stool toppled again, catching herself on the table. She breathed hard as Percy returned to the potion, doing his best to pretend that Anita wasn’t entirely delusional.

Percy took over on the potion until the end of class, managing to make up a vaguely accurate potion before the period came to a close, and they were released. Percy was one of the first out of the room, though he hung back until Annabeth came out. She did not look pleased when she saw him waiting.

“I told you,” she hissed, “I don’t want to be friends.”

“This isn’t about being friends,” Percy looked around to ensure Anita wasn’t around a corner waiting to eavesdrop. “You hate Anita, right?” She rolled her eyes. “Right?”

“Yes.” Annabeth snapped, “You already know that.”

“Yeah, well, so do I. She’s creepy, she’s possessive, and her perfume reminds me of a teacher who locked me in a closet to be found by a custodian 6 hours later.” Percy rambled, “So, how about we team up for Potions for the rest of the year, so neither of us ever have to deal with her again?”

She stared at him for a long, long time, before huffing. “Just because I’m not good at Potions like you, doesn’t mean you need to make fun of me.”

“I’m not.” Percy grabbed her arm as she tried to walk away, “I’m being serious. She threatened me, alright? Said if I embarrassed her again, she’d hurt me. Can you blame me for wanting to stay far away from her?”

Annabeth crossed her arms, “What’s in it for me?”

“Never dealing with Anita ever again." Percy said. He felt that was obvious.

“Not enough.” She turned to walk away and he sighed.

“Okay, look!” He turned her back around, “Up until today, we always ended class with the best potion. You may hate me, but we make a good duo. You can’t deny that, can ya?”

She looked him up and down, sizing him up. Did she think he was trying to pull a fast one on her? Why would he do that? Honestly?

“I can do just fine on my own.” Annabeth said.

“Please.” Percy groaned, “This is a mutually beneficial deal. There’s literally no negatives to it.”

“Besides dealing with you, you mean?” Percy glared at her. 

“I disagree, but if you’d prefer to look at it that way, then we both suffer.” She huffed and put her back to him.

“Fine. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.” She walked off and Percy pumped his fist in the air.

“Yes!” Out of the two, Anita was the worst. Percy would much rather partner up with Annabeth, who was clearly smart enough to hold her own in class, and who wasn’t needlessly obsessed with him. He preferred to be with the girl who hated him over the girl who wanted to devour him to sustain her youth. 

At least, that’s what he would like to imagine the obsession was for.

“Careful, Jackson.” Percy jumped half a meter in the air and turned to see Anita glaring at him. “People might think there’s something… Going on between you two.”

“Get away from me.” Percy said. She hummed and tilted her head, “Or you’ll learn just how good I am at Charms, too.”

“Just a friendly warning,” Anita stepped past him, turning so she could maintain eye contact. “You wouldn’t want them to think you two are… Y’know.”

She smirked, before turning and marching away. Percy took in a slow, deep breath before heading towards the Great Hall. The next week dragged on.

It was only on Thursday, Halloween day, that Percy even realized it was already October. The hint that clued him in was the smell of baking pumpkin when he woke up, and the bats hanging in the Great Hall. Unfortunately, such a Holiday did not grant the privilege of no classes. Percy and Piper trudged along to their first class of the day, History of Magic, where Piper proceeded to snooze the whole period and promised Percy some extra pumpkin pie come evening if he let her copy his notes. 

He agreed, albeit begrudgingly. 

Herbology was a lot less boring. They learned about a plant called Devil’s Snare, which sounded a lot more dangerous than it actually was. If you got tangled up in the stuff, you had about two options: Either relax and essentially play dead, or blast it with light to mimic the sun. Professor Sprout made it sound like the vines were carnivorous, because they released you when you stopped moving. Most wizards panicked, though, and had to blast their way out. With a name like “Devil’s Snare” Percy didn’t quite blame them for panicking. 

He made a joke about giving it a less scary name and Professor Sprout actually laughed and gave him 10 House points. To say that boosted his mood for a while was an understatement.

But, it was soured when he saw Hermione run past them on their way to lunch, crying her eyes out. He and Piper were about to chase after her when Annabeth ran past and followed after her.

“Hermione, wait! What’s wrong? Hermione!?”

“You wanna go after them?” Percy asked, gesturing up the stairs. Piper frowned, clearly thinking about it. 

“No… Annabeth’s got it. She’ll be alright.”

“You sure?” Percy paused, staring up the steps. “She seemed really upset.”

“Yeah.” Piper sighed, “I mean, I want to, but they’re probably going to be in there for a while.” 

“In where?” 

“The bathrooms.” Piper shook her head, “They’re headed for the bathroom.”

“Oh.”

Percy turned back to the Great Hall door and walked through it, Piper trailing behind. They sat down at the Slytherin table, keeping their thoughts to themselves as they ate lunch.

Their last two classes of the day, History of Magic and Flying Lessons, went by without Annabeth. Anita grinned through both, occasionally making cruel remarks about how Annabeth was probably crying like a baby, while Draco laughed about Hermione not being present for Flying Lessons. Piper was fuming by the time they returned to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. 

Thousands of what Percy hoped weren’t live bats swooped from wall to ceiling, or formed dark clouds that loomed low over the tables. The usual floating candles were replaced with flickering, grinning jack-o-lanters that hovered overhead and gave the air a strong, mouth-watering aroma of pumpkin. 

“D’you think Annabeth’s okay?” Piper asked worriedly. “I don’t see her. Or Hermione.”

“They probably went to bed already,” Percy shrugged. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

Piper just hummed. Like the start-of-year feast, the platters sat empty at first, until towers of hot, delicious looking food piled onto each, waiting to be feasted upon. Percy greedily reached for some roasted chicken and pork chops, but no sooner had the food touched the surface of his plate did the festive energy die.

The doors at the end of the hall burst open, silencing the chatter. Professor Quirrel ran down the length of the hall, his turban coming undone at the back, trailing behind him as he stumbled. He reached the edge of the teacher’s table, directly in front of Dumbledore, “Troll! In the dungeons- Thought you ought to know.”

And then he fainted.

Percy dropped his chicken as people began screaming. He stared forward. It seemed that Annabeth was right about there being things in the castle capable of killing them. He regretted doubting her.

Purple explosions were the only thing to bring silence, and Percy trembled as he looked up at Dumbledore.

“Prefect,” he roared, “Lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!”

“Follow me!” Gemma was instantly in action, “First years, stay close and stay together- Draco! You too!”

Piper had to pull Percy from the seat he was on, dragging him behind her. He seemed to be one of the only ones to process the ‘in the dungeons’ part of Quirrel’s statement. Even Gemma seemed entirely unbothered by this. Was there a second set of dungeons?

Then, as they neared the stairs to the dungeons, Percy overheard one of the other Slytherin girls whispering to her friend. “D’you think the Professors know Annabeth was in the bathroom? She was still in there with Hermione before dinner.”

Percy stopped, grabbing Piper’s sleeve. She stopped and looked at him. “What are you doing? We have to-”

“Annabeth.” She froze. “She’s still in the bathroom.”

“How do you know?” Piper hissed.

“One of the other girls. She just said Annabeth was in there with Hermione at dinner.” Piper shook her head.

“No, they can’t be.” She said, “Let’s check the common room, and if she’s not there, we’ll tell Gemma.”

“If she’s not in there, she could be in danger.” Percy said, “Both of them could be.”

“We could get expelled!” Piper whimpered, trying to tug Percy along with her. He didn’t budge. 

“They could die.” Percy said, “Look, you can go check the common room, I’m heading to that bathroom.”

“Percy!” Piper called after him, but he’d already turned and was shouldering his way back through the Slytherin’s rushing to the common room. The entryway that led to the rest of the castle was empty, and Percy had no trouble reaching the stairs. A set of footsteps echoed beyond his own, and he ducked behind an armored statue. He held his breath, until Piper appeared at his side. “You’re an idiot… But you’re right. She’s not there.”

“I told you,” Percy whispered, “C’mon. Let’s go get her.”

Piper followed him up the steps, directing him towards the bathrooms she expected Annabeth to be in. As they turned a corner, they saw Harry and Ron running towards them. As they spotted Percy and Piper, they slowed and stopped.

“What did you do?” Piper asked.

“The troll went into that room, so we locked the door!” Ron said, “We trapped it.”

“That’s the girl’s bathroom, you idiots!” Piper began. A shrill scream echoed from the room in question. “Annabeth and Hermione are in there!”

“What?” Harry and Ron both paled as Percy pushed past them and ran for the bathroom door. Piper was hot on her heels, her wand out at her side. Together, the four of them unlocked the door and hauled it open. 

Hermione was shrinking against the wall, looking as if she would faint. Annabeth was in the corner, standing with her wand out. She was shaking, but stood her ground as the troll swung the long, gnarled club in its hand. It was a horrible sight. 6 meter’s tall, skin dull and as grey as the stone statues in the castle entry hall. Its body was lumpy and misshapen, with a small bald head about the size of a pumpkin atop its shoulders. Its short legs were as thick as a tree trunk, and its feet were flat and scabby. The smell was worse than any perfume Anita could ever wear, and it made Percy gag even as he went to step into the room.

“Confuse it!” Harry pushed past Percy, and Ron grabbed a broken chunk of sink, flinging it at the wall. It grunted and turned towards him, growling and swinging the club. Percy ducked as the wooden stalls splintered and shattered, sending shards of broken wood across the room. 

“Annabeth, Hermione, run!” Harry yelled. Annabeth was at Hermione’s side, pulling the other girl to her feet and trying to push her towards the door. 

“Oy, pea-brain!” Ron yelled, throwing a metal pipe at the troll. It didn’t seem to notice, focusing on Annabeth and Hermione again. Annabeth pushed Hermione towards the door and ducked under the last remaining sinks as the troll’s club crashed down on the stone where they’d once stood. Percy ran into the bathroom and grabbed Hermione off the floor as the troll was hit once again by Ron. “Over here, idiot!”

Percy pulled Hermione to the door, pushing her out and into Piper’s reach, who pulled her to the safety of the opposite wall. Percy looked back into the bathroom as the troll swung wildly. Annabeth was crawling on the floor, trying to get to the door. 

The shouting and echoes seemed to drive the troll mad. It roared and took a swing at Ron. In a moment, Harry ran towards the troll and leaped, managing to catch it around the neck from behind. The troll roared again, flailing. Harry’s wand had gone up its nose.

Annabeth got to her feet, trying to make a break for the door, but the troll’s club swung wildly towards her. Percy charged, tackling her by the waist  a moment before the club would’ve pulverized her. Percy jumped back up, planning to run Annabeth to the door, only for the club to swing back around and slam into his chest. He flew backwards into the back wall, his ribs cracking at the impact, and fell still in a heap.

“PERCY!” Someone screamed. The pain was blinding. Breathing hurt. He wanted to just lie there, not move, fall asleep and wake up in his bed, but he knew deep down that he couldn’t. He’d die if he did that, either because the troll would grind him into dust, or because his lung was punctured. He forced himself to sit, finding Annabeth at his side, pulling him up and dragging his arm over her shoulders. “Come one! We have to-”

“WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!”

They watched as the troll’s club flew from the troll’s hand, rising up, up, up, and turned slowly over, and then dropped down on the troll’s skull with a nauseating crack. It tipped forward, and fell hard on the stone. Harry rolled free of its back, trembling as he bent down to free his wand from its nasal cavity.

“Ew…” He groaned.

“Is it dead?” Hermione whispered from the door. 

“I don’t think so,” Harry shook his head, wiping his wand on the troll’s trousers. “Just knocked out.”

Percy’s vision was beginning to blur. He hissed in pain and stumbled forward, nearly taking Annabeth with him.

“We need to get a Professor. He’s hurt.” Annabeth said. Hermione darted over to him as Annabeth let him kneel on the ground. 

But there was no need. In a matter of seconds, their ears were assaulted with slamming doors and thundering footsteps. 

“Professors-” Piper yelped, “Percy’s-”

McGonagall, Snape and Quirrel pushed past Piper in the door and came to a halt as they surveyed the bathroom. Snape bent over the troll, while Quirrel let out a whimper and sunk down on what remained of one of the toilets.

“What on earth were you thinking!?” Professor McGonagall's voice held a cold fury that nearly made Percy ill… Then again the pain in his sides was already doing a good job of that. He whimpered in pain. “You’re lucky you weren’t- Oh, no. Severus!”

Percy felt a warm hand on his back, larger than Annabeth’s, and glanced up to see McGonagall and Snape knelt around him. 

“He saved me.” Annabeth said, her voice trembling, “He pushed me out of the way and the troll hit him and-”

“Calm yourself, Miss Chase.” Snape’s voice was cold, but steady. “He needs to see Madam Pomphrey. Immediately.”

Professor McGonogall nodded. “I understand-”

“Wait,” Hermione ran forward. “It’s my fault! I wanted to try and capture the troll myself! I- I thought-” her voice trembled. Percy didn’t expect her to lie. 

“So did I.” Annabeth said, earning a steely glare from Snape. “Harry and Ron were trying to stop us, and…”

“Percy and I noticed Annabeth was missing from the group heading to the common rooms.” Piper cut in. “We were afraid she’d gotten hurt, and we couldn’t find a Professor to tell.”

McGonagall let out a long, heavy sigh. “I see.” She and Snape shared a long look, “Five points from Slytherin and from Gryffindor each, for your poor decisions. Go. The feast will continue in the common rooms.”

Annabeth looked down at Percy. “But-”

“Now, Miss Chase.” Snape cut her off. She nodded and got to her feet, hurrying off out the bathroom door with Hermione.

“Now, as for the four of you.” McGonagall stood as Piper took Annabeth’s place, helping Percy stand. “You are all lucky none of you were more severely injured… But not many students would be capable of taking on a mountain troll and succeeding. Five points to each of your respective houses. Miss McLean, go with Perseus and Professor Snape to the Hospital Wing.”

Piper nodded. The walk out of the bathroom and along the corridor to the Hospital Wing was agonizing, with only a mild pain relieving spell from Snape to help. By the time he was laid down in one of the beds with Madam Pomphrey fussing over him, he was amazed by how he was still conscious.

He spent the entire weekend in the Hospital wing - Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday- and returned to classes with some mild discomfort on Tuesday morning. The first thing Annabeth did when she saw him in the hall was throw her arms around his neck and hug him. He nearly toppled over when she did, but she held them both up for the brief moment where they hugged. Then, she pulled back and smiled.

“I’m sorry, and… Thank you.”

Percy shrugged, as if he hadn’t broken 6 ribs in the effort to help her. “It was nothing. It’s what you do for friends, isn’t it?” Concern wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the look on her face. 

“Right. Friends…” She was smiling, “Though, I doubt your parents would be too pleased if you fought another mountain troll for a… A friend.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

“T-t-time f-for class, e-e-e-everyone!” Quirrel stuttered from the door.

Chapter Eight - The Chase Girl

Fanart by @yuls.art on Insta

Flying Lessons.

The poster appeared magically on the Common Room notice board during the second week of lessons. Percy had walked past it at first, just trying to get to breakfast and Charms class, but was pulled back to the board by a vibrating Piper. He had to admit, he was curious, even if flying on a broomstick seemed a little too cartoonishly Halloween for his tastes.

Not that he disliked Halloween. In fact, he loved it. Dressing up to be someone else for a night was fun, even if most of the adults in the neighborhood had stopped giving him candy when he turned 9. Muriel encouraged him to go out anyway; better that than picking fights and breaking the law.

He supposed he wouldn’t get to do that anymore, anyway. He’d be too busy with school.

On the way from the common room to breakfast, Piper filled Percy in on news about Annabeth. He wanted to say he didn’t care, that if she didn’t like him, why did it matter if he knew how she felt? But he did care, for some unknown reason. And so he listened to what Piper said.

After Potions the Friday before, she’d been crying about her dad. Anita was a liar, because Annabeth had burned any letter she got from her dad without opening them. She was afraid of something, though she didn’t outright tell Piper what it was.

“Her dad was in Ravenclaw,” Piper whispered as they walked to the Great Hall, “Like Anita said, and so was her gran and grandad, so she’s convinced he’s furious with her. I tried to convince her that it was worth looking at the letters, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She just shuts down and glares at the wall, or her book.”

As they sat down, she gave him a pointed look and he ignored her. Eventually, she huffed and pushed his shoulder. “Try.”

“No.” Percy scoffed, “She already doesn’t like me. D’you really think she’ll enjoy my company more if I budge my way into her family problems?”

“She might.”

“If she won’t open up to you, we’re out of luck.” Percy said. “So have fun with that.”

“Oh, screw you.” Piper huffed and shook her head, “You could at least try and help me.”

“I’m good.” Percy grabbed some toast. Annabeth sat down across from Percy, pulling a goblet of orange juice towards herself and taking a sip as she put her head in her hand.

“Are you okay?” Piper leaned towards her. Annabeth nodded, drank all of her orange juice and snagged a slice of toast, before standing and leaving. Piper frowned and sighed.

“I don’t think she wants to talk about it.”

“No, duh.” Piper scoffed and got up, “C’mon. It’s almost time for class.”

The week passed relatively uneventfully.

At 3:30 on Friday Afternoon, he and the other first year Slytherin’s marched out to the grounds where they were met with the less than enthusiastic faces of the Gryffindor first years. A week ago, they only had two classes together a week, and those classes were often disastrous. Now, they had three, and Percy’s patience for Draco’s nonsense around the Gryffindor’s was wearing thin.

If Draco kept up his crap, he’d end up in the Hospital Wing… And Percy would likely end up with detention. It’d be worth it though, if it meant wiping the smug look of Draco’s face.

Percy fell into line with Piper on his left and Annabeth on his right. Hermione stood across from him, looking about as nervous as one could feel. A few steps from her was Neville. He looked beyond nervous… Terrified was a more accurate descriptor for the way Neville was gripping his sleeves, pale as a sheet, and likely about to hurl down the front of his own robes. Everyone seemed to have made a mental note to keep their distance.

Percy looked down at his feet. He, Piper and Annabeth had stood between some of the brooms in the grass. Gemma had given Percy and Piper a heads up about them: They were rickety, and far from the best broom one could use. If they intended to join Quidditch in second year, they’d need to get their own brooms. As she put it, if you flew too high on a school broom, it began to vibrate like a puppy who’d just seen a child it could tackle. That was a discomforting notion, and Percy kept it in mind as the Professor, Madam Hooch, came to stand at the end of the line.

Madam Hooch had short grey hair and eyes so yellow they reminded Percy of the sunset. She looked strict, like McGonagall, but not unkind. “Well, what are you all waiting for?” She barked, crossing her arms. “Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.”

Once everyone had come to stand beside a broom, some of which looked worse for wear, Madame Hooch raised a hand at her side and said, “Stick out your right hand over your broom and say ‘Up’!”

“UP!” Everyone shouted at different times, making an unpleasant cacophony of voices ring across the lawn.

Harry’s broom launched into his hand like it was made specifically for him, as did Annabeth’s. Everyone else struggled. Hermione’s rolled over like a limp noodle, and Neville’s didn’t budge. It was like they could tell who was afraid and who wasn’t, because on Percy’s third try, the broom was in his hand, and Piper was still struggling when Anita managed to catch hers. Ron’s broom flew up and hit him in the face, making Draco laugh and drop his broom again.

Once everyone, even Neville, managed to get their brooms to rise, Madam Hooch taught them to mount them without sliding off, and walked up and down to correct their grips. Percy needed 3 passes before she was satisfied, but Annabeth and Piper got no criticism and a nod of approval. He was a little jealous… Until Madam Hooch told Malfoy he was doing it all wrong. That made him happy.

It also made Harry and Ron happy, judging by the grins on their faces.

“Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard.” Madam Hooch surveyed the class to ensure everyone heard her, “Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –”

Neville, nervous as he was, jumped the gun. He pushed off before the whistle even touched Madam Hooch’s lips.

“Come back, boy!” She called, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork. 10 feet, 15, 20. Percy watched in mounting horror as Neville tried, and failed, to grip onto the broom for dear life. And then, he slipped and plummeted.

A loud, nasty crack echoed as Neville hit the ground. It nearly made Percy throw up. He dropped his broom and joined Madam Hooch and Piper in the run to Neville’s side.

“Is he okay!?” Piper asked as Madam Hooch bent over Neville, her face as white as poor Neville’s.

“Just a broken wrist,” she said, clearly training to keep her cool. Percy was sweating just at the thought Neville’s wrist had made when he landed. It sounded far more serious than just a broken wrist. “Come on, boy, it’s alright. Up you get.”

Percy and Piper helped Neville to his feet as Madam Hooch turned to the rest of the class, who weren’t far behind her. “None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are, or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ‘Quidditch’. Come on, dear.”

Piper and Percy stepped back as Madam Hooch began leading Neville towards the school. Piper was biting her nails. She looked like she was going to be sick.

“What if that was me?” She hissed to him as everyone else behind them began muttering to each other. “That could’ve been me!”

“It only happened because he was scared,” Percy said, but he understood her fear. He was almost hesitant to continue participating in Flying Lessons after that. What if it had been worse? Could Neville have… died? “But what kind of school willingly puts their students at risk for sports?”

“All of them.” Percy jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around to find Annabeth behind him. She was staring up into the sky, probably looking for Neville’s broom since it had never returned from its journey into the air. She looked at him and Piper. “What? It’s true. Football, American Football, basketball, baseball… Wrestling, running, swimming. You’re lucky if you spend your life playing those games and never get an injury. I thought you went to muggle school.”

“I’m not exactly the sporty type.” Percy said, “I was usually the one getting shoved into walls and pushed down.”

“Look!” They all turned to see Malfoy kneeling in the grass, holding a glass orb. “It’s that stupid thing Longbottom’s gran sent him.”

“Give that here, Malfoy.” Harry hissed. Percy and Piper shared a nervous look and took a full step back from the two of them as they glared at each other.

“I think I’ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find- How about up a tree?”

“Sod off, Draco!” Percy yelled, “Leave it be, you twat.”

Draco sneered at Percy over Harry’s shoulder. “Y’know, Jackson, at least Potter’s done more than just yell at me to stop.”

Percy took a full step forward to give Draco a piece of his fist, but Annabeth grabbed his arm to stop him. Draco laughed and leapt onto his broom, rising into the air quickly. As full of crap as Draco was, he could fly well afterall. “Come and get it, Potter!”

Harry angrily grabbed his broom, but Hermione tried to stop him.

“No!” She yelled, “Madame Hooch told us not to move! You’ll get us all into trouble!”

Harry wasn’t listening. He mounted the broom, kicked off the ground and rose up into the air – higher, higher, and higher until he was half his normal size from Percy’s perspective.

“Oh, boy.” Piper hummed, “This can’t end well.”

“At least it’s not one of us.” Percy said, then turned his head towards Annabeth. “Hey, next time, let me punch him.” Annabeth scoffed and walked off to stand alone. “What? If I’d just punched the brat, they wouldn’t be up in the- Oh, no.”

Malfoy had just chucked the ball he’d found in the grass, and Harry had zoomed after it like a bullet. Draco returned to the ground, highfiving Crabbe and Goyle as Harry tilted his broom down into a nearly vertical dive.

“I can’t watch!” Piper squeaked and pulled Percy’s arm up to hide her face.

“Hey- Let go!” Percy tried to pull away, only to freeze as Harry pulled up from the dive a foot from the ground, the ball in his hand. He rolled off the broom, panting and heaving, and grinning. “He’s down, you can let go-”

“HARRY POTTER!”

“Oh, he’s so screwed.” Percy huffed.

Professor McGonagall was storming down the lawn, raging with the fury of a thousand suns. Percy was glad he was so far away, because he was sure getting too close to her in this state would singe off his arm hair. As she began digging into Harry, Ron and one of the Patil twins tried desperately to defend Harry, only for McGongall to drag Harry back up to the castle.

“He’s done for.” Piper shook her head, “Poor kid. He was just helping poor Neville.”

“Poor Neville?” Draco guffawed. “Have you seen the nitwit try to do magic? He must be a squibb, because I’ve never seen someone so horridly bad at magic while also being so afraid of the magic he can’t use!”

Suddenly, Draco was on the ground. Everybody around them gasped or yelped as Draco stared wide eyed at his attacker.

For a heartbeat, Percy thought his spirit had released from his body and he’d run forward and punched the rat in the face… Until he looked up to see Annabeth standing over Draco with a clenched fist. Her eyes were wide, hands shaking, breath staggered and ragged. She had punched Draco. Not Percy. Not Piper. Not even Ron, who looked to be about 30 seconds from doing the same thing Annabeth had.

There were also tears on her cheeks, Percy noticed, as she turned and stormed past him and up to the castle. He and Piper both turned around to watch her as she disappeared, then stared at each other. It was the last thing Percy expected from Annabeth, especially after she’d stopped him from punching the twerp.

When Madam Hooch returned to the lawn, she noticed the two missing students and turned to Hermione, who quietly told her what happened. Hooch did not favor Draco like Snape did, and sent him on up to the castle to await punishment. Percy was surprised she didn’t also want to punish Annabeth.

At dinner, Annabeth was quiet. Her fist was bandaged and she stared into a goblet for most of the meal. Piper tried to make friendly conversation, but she seemed determined to stay entirely silent. She barely even seemed to breathe.

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, either having his last meal at Hogwarts or celebrating the fact that he got spared by the skin of his teeth. Percy figured he’d know the answer in the morning, when Harry was either eating with Ron or missing.

When Annabeth gave no further response to Piper, she gave up and turned to Percy. “Don’t expect me to try Quidditch next year. Neville’s still in the hospital wing, and I’d like to keep my neck intact.”

“Hurrah to that.” Percy said, “It’d take a damn right miracle to get me to play at this point.”

Piper tilted her head and looked him up and down, “No, I think you’d make a good seeker.”

“Ha-ha.” Percy said cynically, “That’s not happening.”

Piper laughed and got up, stretching. Percy stood as well, spotting Draco at the other end of the table. His cheek was bandaged, and he was glaring across the room at Annabeth. Anita was beside him, laughing and seemingly flirting with Blaise Zabini. Percy was just glad she wasn’t flirting with him.

“Annabeth, maybe you should head to the common room with us,” Piper bent down to talk to her, “Draco looks like he’s gonna come up and rip your head off.”

Annabeth looked up from her goblet, turned to find Draco and shivered. She didn’t speak, but stood and nodded at Piper. She was still looking at the ground as she followed Piper out of the Great Hall. Percy followed after her, sparing a glance back at the table to see Draco following them with his eyes.

The walk back to the common room was quiet, only interrupted once by the screams of Peeves as he zipped by, chased by a furious Bloody Baron. All three of them shivered once the Baron was gone, and Percy jogged to match Annabeth’s pace.

“So…” Percy started, and instantly felt himself flailing. What did he ask about? What did he say? “Why are you so quiet?”

“What?” She turned on him like he’d asked why her skin wasn’t the same color as his. He instantly felt like the bad guy for asking.

“Sorry, I just- I-” Percy looked away, “I wasn’t sure if you’re just… Not a talkative person, or if something’s bothering you, or-”

“Why do you care?” She huffed, “You don’t know me. We aren’t friends.”

“We could be.” Percy shrugged, looking at her. Her eyes were piercing, and he was suddenly afraid to ever meet her parents. If she was this intimidating, how bad were her parents?

“We’re not.” She said and hurried her pace to get ahead of him. Percy nodded and sighed.

It had gone about how he expected it to. Piper had slowed down to listen, and had now been surpassed by Annabeth.

“I told you I shouldn’t have tried.” Percy said as he caught up to her. “She doesn’t like me. There’s no hope.”

“It’s been a week. And you’ve only tried once.”

“Twice. I gave her a cookie our first night here.”

“Oh, wow, one cookie.” Piper rolled her eyes, “How do you manage with such generosity?”

“Shut up.”

“Food may be the way to your heart, but other people need a little more than that. ‘Kay?” She patted his shoulder condescendingly. He glared after her as she skipped to catch up with Annabeth. He felt like a third wheel. He wished, suddenly, that he was in the same house as Hermione. At least she had been open and friendly from the get go. Annabeth was about as welcoming and warm as a cave wall, and she was just as sharp and jagged, too.

Percy had never been good at making friends, and it was really showing now, as he trailed after Annabeth and Piper. The girls may as well have been skipping arm in arm while Percy trudged through a lake of mud, leaving him behind to wallow alone. Piper held the door when they reached the common room and Percy flopped down on one of the couches. Minerva was instantly in his lap, purring and kneading at his stomach. He stroked her back as Piper sat in one of the armchairs, and Annabeth sat on the floor by the fire.

“Try again,” Piper hissed, “Ask about her dad.” Percy glared at her, and she pointed at Annabeth, like he was stupid. She pointed at him menacingly when he did nothing, “Do it, or I’ll tell her you have a crush on her-”

“What is wrong with you?” Percy swatted at her hand and she jerked it back.

“Now.”

Percy rolled his eyes and looked at Annabeth. Was there a gentle way to approach the subject? Surely prodigy about her family life wasn’t going to earn him any favors? Maybe they could bond over Anita’s weird, mean behavior? Or maybe they could bond over charms. She was good at Charms already, and Herbology, and Transfiguration…

“Hey, Annabeth?” She didn’t answer, but he saw her head turn fractionally in his direction. “How’d you get so good at Transfiguration already?”

She was tense, but turned her head fully and shrugged. “My dad. It was his best class when he was at Hogwarts.”

Short and sweet. That seemed to be the only way Annabeth spoke. But, it gave him an opening. Kind of.

“Was he in Slytherin, too?” The way her head whipped around made him concerned that she’d snapped it.

“No.” She growled. “I’m surprised you didn’t already know that. I figured Anita would have told the whole goddamn school by now.”

Note to self: Do not tick off Annabeth. He was pretty sure she could kill someone if she just looked them in the eyes.

“She sounds like a…” Percy hesitated, glanced at Piper, then swallowed. “A bitch.”

Annabeth’s laugh was cold and bitter. She got up and turned around, “That’s an understatement. She’s a cold, soul sucking cu-”

“Ah!” Piper laughed and stood up. She looked nervous. “Professor Snape! Hi!”

Percy turned his head to see the Professor at the door to the common room. Annabeth squeaked and sat back down, facing the fire again. Percy felt mildly nauseous as Snape walked toward the couch. Minerva looked up at him, her purr softening until she was silent. She sat on Percy’s lap and glared up at the Professor, who paid her no mind.

“Miss Chase. Is it true you punched Draco Malfoy?” Annabeth whimpered, and nodded.

“Y- Yes, sir.”

“You do know the punishment for fighting is… Severe, yes?” Snape drawled.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. 10 points from Slytherin.” He sounded like the act pained him, but only because it added to the risk of losing the House Cup. “If it happens again… Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to disappoint your father further, now would you?”

Annabeth nodded stiffly. Snape looked down at Percy and Minerva. “You’ve made a good choice of pet, Mr. Jackson. I expect you to do the same when choosing your… Friends.”

Percy glared at him. He felt pretty confident in his choice of friends, and it did not include the likes of Snape and Draco Malfoy. But, he managed to hold his tongue. Snape turned and left, leaving the three of them alone again. Percy only breathed a sigh of relief when the common room door shut behind the professor.

“Where is everybody?” Annabeth snapped, “Shouldn’t they have finished dinner by now?”

“You want Anita and Draco down here being jerks?” Percy asked. “And what did Snape mean by ‘disappoint your father further’?”

“That’s none of your business.” Annabeth stood up again, glaring at him. He stood from the couch, shifting Minerva off his lap.

“Why are you being so damn stand-offish? I’m just trying to be your friend!”

“I don’t need any friends!” Annabeth threw up her hands and marched towards the girl’s dormitory. Percy laughed.

“Oh, yeah, run away! That’s one way to make sure nobody ever likes you.” She stopped in her tracks and turned slowly to glare at him.

“Guys-” Piper tried, but Percy was walking towards Annabeth.

“Y’know, when a person is nice to you, you’re usually supposed to be nice back!” Percy had to fight himself to keep from yelling at her, “Not an icy wall with no emotion!”

“Fuck you, Jackson!” Annabeth rushed forward and slammed her hands into Percy’s shoulders.

She was stronger than she looked. The push sent him flying backward into the wall. He flailed with his arms as he fell, trying to catch at the stone. That didn’t happen, though. His fingers scraped on the corners of hard stone and he fell down to the ground, right through the spot where the wall should have been.

He stared up at the ceiling for a long, frightening moment. He could still hear Annabeth and Piper’s breaths from a few feet away, as well as his own, but he felt like he was a world away. The ceiling above him was low and arched, made of uneven black rock. If he tilted his head back, he saw upside down torch holders… Sconces? That seemed like the right word.

“Did I hit my head and I'm dreaming right now?” Percy asked.

“Nope.” Piper replied. He lifted his head to see her and Annabeth at his feet, at the edge of the passage entrance. Annabeth looked curious, but also kind of terrified, and Piper was leaning into the entrance.

“Little help.”

“Oh.” Piper shook her head and reached for his hand, pulling Percy to his feet. “Are you okay?”

“Pretty sure. I heard those Weasley twins talking about… Secret passages, but I thought they were either delusional or… Spreading rumors.” Piper nodded. Annabeth shook her head.

“Not delusional.” Piper said.

“Not rumors.”

“Right, well…” Percy turned towards them, “Anyone wanna come check it out with me?”

“Are you insane!?” Annabeth glared at him. “It’s nearly curfew! Not to mention, we have no idea what’s in there! What if we die!?”

“Oh, please, do you really think this place has things that can kill us?”

“YES!” Annabeth waved into the darkness. “There’s all manner of things in this castle that could kill or maim us. Why do you think we aren’t allowed to go in the forest? Why do you think the 3rd floor corridor is out of bounds? It’s not because they’re trying to keep some cool, interesting creatures from us. It’s to keep us ALIVE.”

“Fine. Don’t come.” Percy shrugged. “I’ll go alone.”

“No, you won’t.” Annabeth jumped in front of Percy, putting her arms out. “I can not in good conscience let you go in there alone.”

He leaned forward to get in her face, “So come with me.”

Her lip curled.

“I’m going.” Piper grinned, “Better than History of Magic homework.”

“See? Not alone.” Percy grinned and pushed Annabeth aside. “Bye.”

“I-” Annabeth began as Piper joined Percy in the passage. She groaned and he heard her footsteps stomp after them. Then, without warning, all light from the common room vanished. Piper shrieked. Percy turned, but his eyes struggled to adjust to the dark.

“The wall closed.” Percy said, “It’s fine.”

“Fine?” Piper said, “We can’t see, Percy.”

Annabeth growled and stormed up to them, and “Lumos.” A bright light appeared, illuminating her face. She was holding her wand up, and the light was affixed to the tip.

“We haven’t learned that yet.” Piper tilted her head. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“It’s a second year spell. My dad taught me it.” She looked rigid. She probably wanted to kill Percy right now. “It’s easy. Just flick your wand like this.”

She demonstrated with her off hand. Percy mimicked her and said “Lumos” like she had. Like magic, because that’s what it was, his wand tip glowed brightly. Piper smiled.

“Great! Let’s go!”

“We really shouldn’t.” Annabeth sighed. “We don’t know where we’re going.”

“Yeah, but… D’you really think we can go back through the door we came in from?” Percy shrugged. “I doubt it.”

Annabeth glared at him. “This is your fault, if you’d just left well enough alone-”

“If you weren’t such a jerk for no reason-”

“Oh, will you two shut it!?” Piper yelled. “To think, the only thing I wanted an hour ago was for you two to talk to one another, and now I just want you to shut up!”

“Y’know what,” Percy nodded, “You’re right. Annabeth and I shouldn’t be fighting… Because this is your fault. You kept telling me to poke and prod where I wasn’t wanted.”

Piper’s eyes widened. “What? No.”

“You threatened me to get me to talk to her in the common room.” Percy pointed his wand at Piper and she squeaked, stepping back, further into the passageway.

“You what?” Annabeth groaned, “I told you, I just want to be left alone!”

“I was just trying to help!” Piper argued, “And honestly, you cry yourself to sleep every night. That’s not healthy.”

“How do you know that!?”

“All of the girls in Slytherin do. We can hear you through the walls, Annabeth!” Piper threw up her hands. “You sound absolutely miserable! I was just trying to help!”

“By threatening Percy into talking to me?” Annabeth rolled her eyes, “Great job, Piper. Instead of becoming friends, I pushed him into a wall, and he fell into a secret passageway with no way out!”

Piper’s back hit a wall. Percy hadn’t realized it, but he and Annabeth had been gradually pushing Piper deeper and deeper and deeper into the passageway. They all paused their argument to look around. The passage had ended at a T-junction, splitting off to the left and right. Behind Piper was a mossy mosaic on the wall, covered so thickly it was nearly impossible to tell that it was even there.

“How far have we gone?” Annabeth whispered.

“I don’t know.” Percy turned around and held out his wand. The light only went so far, and beyond the edges was a thick, unrelenting darkness. “Let’s just go back and try the way we came.”

“It’ll be full of students by now, though. How will we get out unnoticed?” Annabeth and Percy looked at each other. She looked… Scared? No, no, that couldn’t be right. Scared did not fit in with Annabeth’s whole… Existence.

“Right.” Percy nodded, “Well… Left or right, then?”

“I…” Annabeth whimpered, turning around in a circle. Piper did the same, but without a lit wand, there was little she could see.

“Well, we were at the right side of the common room, and we went in a straight line, so…” Annabeth looked around again, “If we go right, we should find ourselves near the old dueling room.”

“Right it is then!” Piper said, forcing a smile. “Any arguments, Percy?”

“No.” Percy said. He was beginning to feel uneasy, too. Something about this passage just made him… Uncomfortable. Was it the moss covered walls? Or the thick darkness? Or the unsettling quiet? Or maybe it was the soft skitter he’d just heard in the left tunnel? Either way. He wanted to get out. Now. “Let’s go.”

“Yes, please.” Piper turned Annabeth toward the right tunnel and pushed her forward, using her wand as a guiding light. To Percy’s relief, Annabeth was right. They found a stone door at the end of the tunnel and pushed it open to reveal an old, dusty room covered in scorch marks and old stains. Some looked green, likely a spilled potion, while others were a reddish brown color… Like dried blood.

“Well, we’re out. What now-”

“Shh!” Annabeth hissed. She was at the door, ear pressed to the gap. Percy crept forward and listened as closely as he could. Voices. Just beyond the door. They were hushed, so it was hard to make out, but Percy could just barely understand what was being said.

“You stay away from him. Or else.”

“I-I-I’ve done no h-h-harm.”

The stutter was unmistakable. Professor Quirrel was out there, talking with… Someone. But who?

“Do not make me repeat myself, Quirinus. Steer clear, or you will regret ever coming to teach at this school.”

“I u-u-u-understand, S-S-Severus.”

Severus?

Annabeth held up a finger as Percy opened his mouth to ask. Piper stood behind them awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs. Footsteps trailed away, one set hard and sharp, the other quiet and shuffled. When they were certain the speakers were gone, Annabeth let out a breath.

“That was Professor Snape and-”

“Professor Quirrel.” Percy said. “Who were they talking about?”

“Beats me.” Annabeth sighed, “But why would Snape threaten Quirrel? He’s harmless. He’s scared of his own shadow, for Merlin’s sake.”

“And vampires.” Piper said. “What’s going on, by the way?”

“Snape told Quirrel to stay away from someone. Then… Threatened him if he didn’t do what Snape said.” Piper hummed.

“Great. Lovely. Can we go now? I’m pretty sure I’m standing on dried blood.”

“Then why not move?” Percy asked.

“Can we just go?” Piper said through gritted teeth. “Please.”

Annabeth nodded and pushed open the door, peering out. When they were sure the coast was clear, they snuck to the Slytherin common room door and slipped inside. The common room was full, but thankfully, nobody paid any mind to three first years sneaking in after curfew.