Please comment what you think at the end. I think the explanation for Percy's house makes sense but I might be wrong. Enjoy!
The castle was even more spectacular than Percy had prepared himself for. His jaw must have dropped a thousand miles as he entered the door; it was arguably one of the most magnificent places he had ever set foot in in his life, bar perhaps Olympus. As he gazed around he couldn't help but notice and admire the different Architectural elements that made it so unique and special- the symmetry, the beautiful sweeping arches. She had drilled them all into his mind from her ceaseless chattering of her plans for Olympus. He could just imagine her face as if she was here right beside him; she'd look like a kid on Christmas morning. But that thought brought pain he wanted to forget, everything seemed to be bringing more and more pain. Would he ever recover? Was he fooling himself thinking he would? There was only one thing he knew for sure; he was still head over heels in love, even if she wasn't, and he couldn't stop it. He needed clarity, a sense of finality to stop the ridiculous fantasies of the two of them reuniting as if they had never been broken apart.
"This way Percy," Harry told him, snapping him out of his haunted thoughts just in the nick of time; he didn't want to fall too far down that rabbit hole of nostalgia without a rope or he'd have no hope of making it out sane, if he ever had been in the first place. Percy almost lost his way amongst the flurry of black cloaks and distracting voices, but he made it to the Great Hall in one piece, feeling his jaw drop to the floor as he witnessed the light of hundreds of candles that seemed to be bewitched to hover in the sky. Sky. As he looked up he realised he was staring up at the night's sky.
The stars are beautiful tonight, he thought to himself regretfully, jolted out of yet more memories by a prefect tapping insistantly on his shoulder. Bob says hello, he whispered, his voice barely audible as he turned around.
"Are you Percy?" They asked, obviously after spotting his plain robes. He nodded as they lead him off to the queue of first years he had somehow missed entirely. He slipped into the back of the line discreetly, feeling so out of place as he stated down at the tiny little creatures. Was I ever that small? He thought to himself, his ADHD mind wandering millions of miles away from where it should be, attention span lessening with every moment he stood waiting.
Percy admittedly zoned out during most of Dumbledore's speech, however nice the man seemed, yet even he was annoyed when some sort of strange pink toad began to coughas an act of interruption. Even Percy was in envy of Dumbledore's incredible sass when he continued, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing, but eventually she became far too irritating to simply disregard. She commenced her speech about the ministry wanting safety and control on their education, Percy pinching himself every few seconds to ensure he didn't fall asleep due to mind-numbing boredom. He could see the collective fury mounting in many of the students, and knew at once what this woman was here to do- meddle. Part of him hoped he would managed to avoid her, but the other devious side, which had prehaps been unfortunately enhanced by a combination of the devious Stoll brothers and the Weasley twins, couldn't wait until she was a victim of his uncontrollable sass. He stuck his tounge out as she walked back to the table, praying that she'd see him.
Oh she did, and she wasn't happy; that you could tell by the increase in noise from her loud, clicking heels as her stride became more fuelled by the anger he had sparked inside her cold heart. He couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself; this was going to be an.... interesting year.
"Thank you very much Ms Umbridge, for that incredibly important and beneficial speech." Dumbledore returned to the spotlight once again, much to everyone's relief; not a single person could stand to take a moment longer of that pink goat's droning. Percy smiled a little at Dumbledore's tone, the slight sarcasm barely detectable. "Now, before the sorting ceremony commences, and we can finally indulge in our feast, I would like to discuss a new student of ours. He is originally from America, and for reasons we have not yet uncovered his letter from Ivelmory never arrived on his 11th birthday. Not until this year when he moved to England did we realise the mistake that had been made, and welcomed him to take his Wizarding education here. He is 17 years old, but will be beginning in fifth year, and today will be our first to be sorted into his house" Percy acted oblivious to all the eyes that were drawn over to him by those words. He was always the odd one out, the noticeable one, never hidden in the shadows no matter how much he often longed to be. The spotlight always found him, for both good and bad, no matter how much he didn't want it to....
He was a bit surprised when the hat started to sing: that claimed a spot on the Weirdest Things to Ever Happen Percy Jackson list for sure, but it was fairly near the bottom in all honesty. He was relieved to learn all there was to sorting was trying on a hat; that had certainly not been the picture Ron had been trying to paint on the train. It was clear that he had been trying to scare Percy, going on about having to fight a dragon with a sword, and how it would be a battle to the death. Percy still didn't know much about the Wizarding world, but that certainly wasn't the type of experience parents would be eager to put their children forward for, that was sure. Percy had simply shrugged, looking Ron directly in the eye and replying, "good thing I've done it before then," in a cheery tone. Ron's face had been priceless, and it had taken every ounce of Percy's restraint not to laugh in his face there and then.
Ms McGonagall called him to the front just as the hat's song drew to a close. He walked up casually, keeping his eyes fixed ahead and ignoring the hushed whispering that erupted around him. He sat down on the stool, taking a deep breath as the old, far too large hat was placed on his head.
"Well well, what do we have here?"
It took all of the restraint in Percy's body to ignore his reflexes and not jump up right that second, toss the hat aside and search around for the origin of that intrusive voice. The only words of the song he had really paid attention to were a line about trying it on, and he hadnt exactly overstressed himself trying to figure out what happened after that. He wasn't prepared to find the headware about to delve into the deepest most secret parts of his mind.
"What are you doing to my memories?" Percy telepathically 'yelled', recogonising that feeling all too well. The hat was mildly surprised at his ability to be aware of what was happening, and no matter how hard it tried it was if there was a block in front of Percy's memories, one only he himself would be able to take down.
"I'm sorry, but if you want me to sort you you have to let me into your memories," the hat told him. "I have to judge your traits in your past experiences to see where you would best fit. Don't worry, anything I see will stay between us." Percy paused for a moment, uncertain; Dumbledore controlled everything in this castle, and however nice this Dumbledore seemed, he was a powerful wizard, and Percy couldn't risk him finding out about the Greek world.
"You won't even tell Dumbledore?" Percy asked sternly, wanting to be certain before making any potentially stupid decisions.
"Not even him," the hat replied. Percy exhaled, letting his mental barricade fall, shivering slightly as the hat burrowed through his memories. "Well well, I haven't seen one of your kind in a long time Mr Jackson. Look at you, chivalrous, brave, just the right amount of mischief thrown on there, the perfect hero. So where to put you....
"You're brave, that is certainly not in question. You've had an unfairly hard life, yet you've always faced what's ahead of you like a true warrior. There is a slight sly trace within you, a little bit of divilment and cunning, but not quite enough to be a Slytherin; your other qualities overshadow it. You are intelligent, even if you yourself don't believe it. Not booksmart perhaps, but street and battle smart all the same. However Ravenclaw isn't quite right either. Hmmmm
"The one thing that really shows through is your loyalty. You would do anything for your friends. This is of course closely linked to your bravery, your willingness to put yourself in the line of fire so others can live, but there is something else there. You are someone others can really trust, someone who would never dare to betray another. You put others' needs before those of your own, and you truly value your friends. You work hard and believe in fairness. It seems we have found your place after all... Looks like you belong in.....
"HUFFLEPUFF"
An enormous round of cheering erupted from the Hufflepuff table as McGongall lifted the hat from his head, and Percy smiled. He remembered Ron's taunts from the journey; 'we'll see your true colours when youre labelled an evil Slytherin, just like your Grandfather.' Well fuck you Ron, Percy thought to himself, as he joined his new family under the yellow and black banner.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled from behind his half moon spectacles; so this boy was different to his grandfather after all. The sorting hat had seen the heart of gold within him that the Order had overlooked while looking through the distorted glass of their misinformed assumptions. Being a Slytherin wouldn't make him evil by any means, even if that had been the concept many had foolishly come to believe, but it would certainly lead some judgemental people to such quick assumptions. The polar opposites that were Percy's character and that of his abominstion of a granfather really did show the truth as clear as day; they were completely opposed people. However, some weren't willing to accept that just yet.
Down at the Gryffindor table Ron was seething with unadulterated rage, just a snap away from slamming his fist down on the table and screaming his thoughts at the top of his lungs. Jackson cursed the hat, that was the only explanation. He wasn't a good person and never would be. He was the spawn of evil, and someone had to prove it. No way was that rotten scum was a Hufflepuff.
Percy quickly made new friends within his house. They were like a big family, and they welcomed him in with open arms.
"I'm Jessica," a girl had greeted him as he sat down. She had curly chestnut hair, tanned skin and beautiful hazel eyes. Her voice had an Australian sort of twang, and she seemed kind and bubbly, but determined and strong willed too. Percy had a feeling she was not the type of person you wanted to mess with. "Welcome to the dysfunctional family!" He smiled at her, and she studied him for a moment, something clearly confusing her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, not wanting to disrupt the sorting. A cheer erupted from the Ravenclaw table as another student was sorted. She paused for a second as if confirming her thoughts.
"Usually people are more.... disappointed to be sorted in with us." He cocked an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant. "Oh you know, the usual prejudice. Hufflepuffs are wimps, softies, idiots, easily fooled. Nobody wants to be a Hufflepuff, even if in my opinion we're the best house of them all; we stick up for each other, our main trait is loyalty after all. Don't let any of those Gryffindor or Slytherin idiots get any bad ideas in your head; you deserve to be here as much as them. The Ravenclaws tend to be civil enough to us, but there is a little sense of superiority here and there." She stopped for a second, smiling to herself. "For some reason I have a feeling you don't need any of my advice; I think you'll disillusion all those myths once and for all." He grinned.
"I'll certainly try."
Percy's stomach was growling loudly by the time the sorting ended, so nothing made him happier than when the platters of mouth-watering food began to appear before them. He piled his plate until it was practically fit to spill over at any moment, shovelling it ceaselessly into his mouth as if his life depended on it. His new friends Jessica and Liam, who were definitely made for each other even if they were infuriatingly oblivious to it, laughed as half of his food spilled back onto the plate.
"When it's this good what's the point in wasting time just to look normal?" They couldn't really argue with that, and followed suit. Percy was half tempted to ask if there was a spell that could turn things blue, but he decided against bombarding them with the full extent of his uniqueness so soon. He shook his head as they took turns glancing at each other and turning away quickly out of embarrassment. How could two people be so blind? (Because you and Hermione totally aren't Percy, the author thought exasperatedly.)
He barely paid attention to the appearance of the Hufflepuff common room down in the basement of the castle, his legs buckling under him as he collapsed onto the bed, sleep claiming him as soon as his head hit the pillow.
ϟ ψ
There was Percy's first day at Hogwarts, and hopefully they'll be many more to come! Or maybe there wont. Maybe fate will intervene. Who knows 😏
Hope you enjoyed, sorry if it's a little short I'll just be studying for the next week or so and probably won't be able to update, so I didn't want to leave yous with nothing. Love you all and happy early Christmas! ❤
-𝓕𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓐𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻
MEME TIME! 🎉