Hermione's POV
"'Mione!" Harry yelled from his new Firebolt, "You sure you don't want to play?"
I looked up from my book. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were playing Quidditch. Well, they were going to play. They don't have an even number.
"No. I'm reading Hogwarts: A History. Can't you get George to play with you?" I ask. Broomstick riding was never my cup of tea. Reading books about broomsticks. Well, that was another thing altogether.
Ron looked down at me, "You've read that book a thousand times!"
Ginny looked exasperatedly at her brother, "George is a little depressed."
I nodded. We were all trying to move on. But Fred was like George's other half. I can't imagine what he's feeling right now.
Dumbledore came into the clearing. Thank goodness. I'd almost gotten onto one of those things.
"Children. I have some news for the Order that you may want to hear." He looked kind of guilty. What? Was he gonna tell us that Voldemort wasn't actually dead? I refuse to believe it.
You know, time skips are amazing. They can bring you to the Black residence in no longer than it takes for you to finish reading the bold.
Everyone gathered around the table. Dumbledore looked at the adults, "I know where Sally Jackson is." Sirius jumped up from his seat.
"Wait. You know where Sally is?" I raised my eyebrow at him. Did He know this random stranger?
"Yes, and I have some news for you. She's-" He faltered. Could it be that bad? Dumbledore took a breath and continued, "She's Voldemort's daughter."
I felt my head getting fuzzy with rage. As I opened my mouth to say something, Harry exploded.
"THAT PIECE OF SCUM DESTROYED MY FAMILY! What gives him the right to have one!?!" His face was red and his green eyes blazed with fire. I agreed with him.
Sirius looked shocked, "But Sally's the nicest, bravest Hufflepuff in the world," he looked at us, "She was our friend growing up." By 'our', I knew he meant the Marauders. Maybe she wasn't so bad.
Dumbledore nodded, "She is currently in New York. Sally has always remained loyal to us. But, she has a son who hasn't discovered what he is yet. We hear that the free death eaters are going to try to turn him. So, we're going to bring him to Hogwarts."
Ron's face was nearly as red as his hair, "Bloody hell! Do you really want to keep him on the same property as Harry? How do you know he's not like his grandpa? I reckon he's an evil piece of sh-"
His mother looked at him, "Ronald Weasley! Language!"
He bit his lip and shrunk down in his seat. If I weren't so mad, I would have laughed. Nothing like a mother's death stare to shut a kid up.
Dumbledore looked at us, "I've been in recent contact with his mother. He has no idea that he is a wizard. Sally has agreed to let us take her son to Hogwarts, where he'll be sorted just like any other student. He will be in your year and I expect that you will not show any prejudice against him for the crimes of his grandfather. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny will come with me now to take him."
We grabbed his arms reluctantly and Apparated to New York.
We appeared on the doorstep to one of New York's many apartments. Dumbledore knocked on the door. I nice-looking brown haired lady opened the door for us.
She smiled at Dumbledore and motioned us inside.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. It was a nice little apartment with flowers blooming on the windowsills and painted a bright and merry shade of blue. The smell of fresh baked cookies filled the air and happy pictures of a boy's childhood lined countertops.
"Sit down," the woman, supposedly Sally Jackson, said, "Would you children like a cookie?"
I trusted her. I really did. The boy was probably an evil piece of scum, but being the polite people we were, we shook our heads solemnly and said, "No, thank you."
Oh, who am I kidding? Harry glared at the woman like she stole his favorite toy. Ginny and I were civilized and declined, and Ron eagerly nodded his head, "Yes!"
She grinned at us again and disappeared into the kitchen. Harry was still fuming at her back as she left the dining room. I put a hand on his arm, "Sirius trusts her, you should, too."
Harry stiffly nodded his head, "But are we agreed the boy's a piece of rubbish?" I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just nodded back at him.
Sally appeared with a plate of cookies. A perfectly normal plate of completely blue cookies. Wait. What? I squinted at them. They were completely blue, the chocolate, the dough, everything.
Ron snatched one up in his hand anyway and shoved it into his mouth. Ginny swatted his arm, "Ronald. Be polite." Ron sighed in content and, thankfully, swallowed before saying, "Thanks. These are the best! Can I have another?"
Sally laughed, "You are just like my son. Just a little more polite. Go ahead. I made plenty."
Ron made a face. I understood. I wouldn't want to be compared to the boy either. But he quickly shrugged it off and devoured another cookie.
"Sally," Dumbledore started, "I think it's time your son came to Hogwarts."
Sally looked like she might cry. Why? Her son was probably a monstrosity. Probably terrorized little kids and slashed through her antiques.
"But Albus..." her voice tremored softly.
Dumbledore cut her off, "It's for his own safety. We received word that Death Eaters would try to turn him."
Sally, again, started to argue, "He can take care of himself. He'd never turn."
Harry scoffed under his breath. I knew what he was thinking. He'd probably already turned behind his mother's back.
Dumbledore continued, "I know this is probably hard for you, but he also needs to learn to control his powers. You can't hide this from him forever."
Sally gave in, "Fine. It's just... he's been through so much lately. I was going to tell him last year, but them some other family issues were sprung on him so suddenly." She trailed off, "He'll be back in a minute or two."
So we waited in silence. Then the door opened and a voice shouted, "Mom! I'm home!"
That was probably Voldemort's Grandson. That boy was probably evil. He probably went around killing families and laughing at his mother, who didn't know anything about what he was doing. He probably lost his nose like his grandfather and had red beady eyes and... Woah.
Finally, the boy in question stepped into the dining room. Let me just say, he was hot. Oh, my god. He had a lean build, not too muscular, but enough to be seen under his tight shirt. His jet black hair was windswept and he had bright, sea green eyes that never stopped moving, like looking into the sea.
He saw us and grinned, "Hey. I'm Percy Jackson. You are?"
I looked over and saw Ginny blushing. I was probably red myself. His smile was amazing. Snap out of it 'Mione! He's the grandson of Voldemort! The one who killed Harry's family!
Harry and Ron turned away from his in a huff. Dumbledore probably realized we weren't going to introduce ourselves, so he did it for us, "I am Albus Dumbledore. These children are Ronald and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."
Percy nodded like he was trying to imitate Dumbledore's polite manner. The only thing he had to say was, "Cool accent." Really? He was just told he was in the presence of the boy who lived and that's it?
Then his eyes lit up, "Are those blue cookies?" His mom nodded, stifling a smile.
He took a bite and it looked like he was in heaven, "Thanks, mom. You're the best. Hazel made some for me at camp, but..." He sighed, "No one can beat yours."
Dumbledore smiled all the way to his twinkling eyes, "So, Percy. I've come to speak to you about your grandfather."
Percy cast a worried glance at his mother. Was it possible he already knew about his heritage? Impossible. From what I'd heard, he doesn't even know he's a wizard. His mom said, "Your other one."
Percy slouched in relief, the tapping of his fingers slowing down, just a little.
Dumbledore continued, "To clear the air, we are wizards-"
He was cut off by Percy. How rude. "Wait. Pointy hat, riding on broomsticks, Abra Kadabra, wizards?"
Dumbledore nodded and kept going, "Yes. The very same. Recently, we came out of a war. Your grandfather, Voldemort-"
Percy burst out laughing. "That's so stupid! Moldyshorts!" He fell over laughing again. How could he laugh? That was the name of the most powerful and evil wizard of all time.
"Yes. His name was Voldemort," Percy chuckled, trying to stifle his laughter, but still motioned for Dumbledore to go on, "Anyway, he and his followers, the Death Eaters-"
At this point, Percy was rolling on the floor, his clear, happy laughter echoing through the house. When he spoke, laughter laced his voice, causing it to tremble, "Voldemort! Death Eaters! Ha! Who in their right mind would want to eat Thanatos?"
What was wrong with him? Dumbledore couldn't even finish a sentence! He was laughing at the two most powerful wizard forces on the planet!
Then again, he was awfully cute. Ugh! Stop thinking like that! He's evil and I don't know anything about him.
Dumbledore tried again, "They were the most malicious wizarding group in Europe. We have received word that they will try to turn you to their side."
For once, Percy's face was solemn and he responded, "You don't have to worry about that."
Dumbledore smiled kindly at him, "Just in case, we will be bringing you to our wizarding school, Hogwarts-"
"Pigfarts!" Percy laughed, sucking in huge breaths, "Why are wizards so funny?"
I looked over. Harry looked thoroughly annoyed. Ginny's eyes were glued on him, and Ron was looking at his sister disapprovingly.
Dumbledore sighed, but still looked like he could handle this atrocious behavior for years, "You will be brought to our school of witchcraft and wizardry to fully develop your powers. You will be staying with these children and their parents until the school year starts. After that, you will stay until the school year ends."
Percy looked around nervously, "Um... How long is your school year?"
Dumbledore replied, "As long as a regular American school year."
Percy cleared his throat awkwardly, "Um, I don't think I can do that. Mr. Brunner and Annabeth are gonna kill me."
Who's Annabeth? Surely not his girlfriend. Scum like him don't get girlfriends. Unless she was evil, too.
Sally put a hand on his arm, "They'll understand, Perce. Please, go." She whispered something in his ear. Percy caved, "Fine. Just let me pack some stuff."
He disappeared into his bedroom and Sally went to work.
Harry finally spoke, "That evil piece of dirt was clearly a death eater. Did you see his tattoo?"
Ginny spoke softly, "It was on the wrong arm, Harry."
Ron scoffed, "You're just saying that because you fancy him. It could just be another way to hide his evilness."
I rolled my eyes, "We don't even know anything about him. He seemed like a good person. He obviously loves his mum."
Harry stared at me, "You're on his side!" He accused, "He has to be evil! It's in his blood."
Suddenly Percy reappeared with a backpack slung across his shoulders, "So, are we going to England by plane or boat? Cause I'd rather a boat than anything else."
Dumbledore smiled, "Well Percy, here's something new. We're Apparating."
Percy looked confused. Then Dumbledore grabbed onto his arm and popped back to the Black Residence. The rest of us soon followed.
When we arrived, Percy wasn't puking like I'd expected. He'd had no time to get ready. Harry looked a little disappointed. We walked into the kitchen and Mrs. Weasley greeted him fondly.
"You must be Sally's son. Are you hungry? We were just about to have dinner." Percy looked surprised. I couldn't blame him. All anyone's done all day was glare at him.
Percy eagerly nodded his head. "Yes, please!"
Time skip to during dinner. Blue pizza for the world! YAY!
Percy shoveled food into his mouth like he would never eat again. Harry looked disgusted. Percy and Ron both ate like pigs.
Percy downed his steaks, hams, and potatoes like his stomach was a bottomless pit. The guy ate more than Ron.
Finally, Percy looked up from his empty plate and asked, "Why does Glasses hate me?"
Everyone looked at him, surprised. That was blunt. "What do you mean?" I asked him, even though I knew the answer.
Percy shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know. He hasn't stopped glaring at me since my house."
Harry didn't look at all abashed by his statement. As a matter of fact, he sent Percy his best death glare. I was glad it wasn't aimed at me. Harry could be quite terrifying when he wanted.
Percy laughed under Harry's withering stare. Harry tried to glare at him harder but ended up looking constipated. In spite of the situation, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. Percy had some guts to not shrink back from Harry.
Harry looked like he couldn't take it anymore, so he exploded, "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT, YOU EVIL PIECE OF RUBBISH? YOUR GRANDFATHER KILLED MY PARENTS AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE A GOOD PERSON? HE'S KILLED SO MANY PEOPLE AND YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST LIKE HIM!"
Harry sat down, his arms crossed and his face red.
Percy sighed, "Dumbledore's filled me in about that. And you want to know what?" He paused, then continued, "I'm not like him. I'm not evil like you wanted me to be. Sure. I have evil ancestors. But that doesn't make me like him. I didn't even know Moldyshorts existed until today!"
Harry muttered, "You've got evil running through your veins. You're a Death Eater."
Percy looked conflicted between bursting out in laughter or arguing his point. Shockingly, he chose to argue, "I was raised by my mom, the greatest person alive. Dumbledore says she was the kindest most loyal Hufflepuff that Hogwarts has ever seen," He snickered at the word Hufflepuff, "You want to know what else? Your Godfather, Sirius, came from a long line of Slytherins and Death Eaters, but I know you still love him. What makes me any different?"
I have to admit, for someone who looks so dumb, he's smarter than he lets on. Those were actually valid points.
Harry didn't respond, just stormed up to his room, Ron hot on his trail.
Percy sighed again. "Let me get the dishes."
Mrs. Weasley immediately shot up, "No, dear, you are the guest. I will take care of it."
Percy smiled kindly at her, "My mom says that I need to be more polite," he says sheepishly, "What better place to start than in a room full of people who hate me?"
That broke the tension. Everyone started laughing. Sirius broke in, "You are your mother's son."
Percy shot him a lopsided grin that Sirius gladly returned. Mrs. Weasley relented and Percy gathered everyone's finished plates and washed them in less than five minutes. At first, I was wary of his ability to clean so many plates that fast, but the plates returned to their cabinets sparkling like crystals. Even Mrs. Weasley looked impressed.
Sirius leaned forward, looking eager, "So, Percy, how's your mom doing? I haven't heard from her since she disappeared."
Percy shrugged, "She's really happy. Although, she was a little down this past year, but I think that's my fault." When Percy didn't elaborate, Sirius pressed him harder, "What's she doing? I know she's always wanted to write."
Percy smiled, "She's started on her dream. My father offered her everything she could've wanted. To publish her book, a mansion. But she said she'd rather make her own way in the world."
Mrs. Weasley looked proud, "Sally's always been determined. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought she was a Gryffindor for sure."
Her eyes drifted to the clock, "Oh, my! Look at the time. You kids should get some sleep. Tomorrow, we head out to Diagon Alley to buy your supplies. Ginny, Hermione, would you show Percy to his room?"
We nodded. Leading Percy out of the room, we made small talk.
Ginny started, "Have you lived in New York you're whole life?"
Percy nodded, and started his own question, "How come you guys don't hate me?"
I nearly facepalmed myself right there. Some small talk.
"Because we're smarter than those boys. You made very good points in the kitchen. We should get to know you first, then decide if we can trust you." I said, watching Percy's sea green eyes light up.
I hadn't noticed before, but now, getting lost in his gaze, he looked kind of broken inside, like he's seen too much. I should know. The average seventeen-year-old hasn't seen war, lost loved ones, worry get chased across the countryside, or done any of the things we've had to go through.
Percy started bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Thanks for this. It's great to know I have a friend." He scratched the back of his head, "At least, for now."
Ginny was blushing redder than her hair, "Um... This is our stop. Good night, Percy." She darted off to her room, clearly embarrassed. Percy just stared after her confused. Maybe he is as dumb as he looks.
I sighed, "Sorry about the boys. Hope you sleep well."
Percy caught my arm as I turned away. He looked nervous. "Hey, if anything happens tonight, there's a note in my backpack. It should clear some things up. Good night, Hermione." He smiled at me and walked into his room.
Jeez. Isn't this kid really something else? My curiosity piqued, I trudged off to my room and fell asleep.
Hola amigos. I'm back! Did you miss me? Don't you know who I am? I am the one and only Spanish speaking time skip and I love eating pasta! And sushi. I come from the land of later that night.
I woke up to screams. They were unfamiliar, so I assumed they were Percy's. They were screaming, "Don't hurt Annabeth! Take me, but if you hurt a hair on her head you will be sorry."
I shot out of my room and knocked open the boys' door, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny peering over my shoulder. I looked just in time to see Percy's flailing arms and Harry putting a silencing spell over him. Percy's mouth was still moving frantically and sweat was flowing down his face like a waterfall.
I rushed over to him, turning on the lights. Harry and Ron groggily got up. Ron asked in a daze, "What's going on?"
I wasn't surprised that Ronald slept through the racket. He was about as deep a sleeper as a rock.
I dug through Percy's backpack until I found the note, and I read it as fast as I could, which I was pleased to say, was extremely fast.
Dear anyone with the bad luck of sharing a room/house/country with me,
If you're reading this note, I either have woken up half of the household or will not get up out of bed. No worries, the solution to your problem is right here in this note.
If I happen to be sleeping like a rock, simply shout, "Blue Cookies!" or any other type of delicious blue food, preferably pizza.
If I am flailing around and screaming, do not get close. I repeat, do not get close. This will only result in bodily harm to you and will leave me feeling guilty. Throw a knife at me from a distance. I promise I will be up in time to catch or deflect it.
Best of luck,
Percy
I turned to face them. "He wants us to throw a knife at him,"" I say meekly.
They gaped at me. Sirius strode forward, snatching the note from my hands, "Are you sure? Isn't that dangerous?"
I look at him, "I wouldn't be saying it if I wasn't sure. It's a risk we have to take. Look at Percy. He's clearly in danger."
Harry already had a knife from the kitchen. He was smiling eagerly, "I want to do it."
I glared at him, leaving him shrinking against the wall, "Do it. But I will deal with you later."
He nodded and hurled the knife at the flailing figure of Percy. His eyes flew open in panic and he caught the blade between two fingers, quickly turning it against Harry, who was pinned to the wall in the blink of an eye.
When he took in his surroundings, he calmed down, releasing a stunned and terrified Harry. He opened his mouth to apologize but no sound came out. With the flick of my wrist, I muttered the counter curse and he apologized to all of us for waking us up. Mrs. Weasley waved all of us back to sleep but I pulled Harry into the hallway.
"Why would you put the Silencio charm on him? He was obviously in trouble," I ranted, "I expected better from you Harry."
His eyes hardened, "That boy's a death eater! Why are you on his side? He was just being a wimp. I bet he hasn't gone through half as much as I have! He's probably got the perfect little life and the perfect, rich parents that I'll never have because why? Because his grandfather killed them! He was probably dreaming about getting demoted as football captain or losing his favorite car or something. He doesn't deserve a life like that." He shook his head in disgust.
I shouted at him, "Did you not hear what he was saying? He was screaming the whole time about not hurting some girl. Saying to kill him and not hurt a hair on her head. You would know that if you weren't so busy putting charms on him and actually thought about what you were doing!"
Harry looked a little embarrassed before anger flashed in his eyes. "I'm sorry to you, 'Mione, for doing nothing but complain about that jerk all day. But I will not be sorry to that Death Eater."
Harry marched into his room, slamming the door behind him.
I sighed. Boys. So dumb and angry all the time.
I went back to my room and slept the rest of the night.