The next day was a blur of confusion as Rachel ran into the room with a huge "BANG".
"Percy! Guess what?!" She whispered excitedly.
I sad up groggily, looking around trying to remember where I was. The blinding sunlight that shone through the curtains triggered my memory, reminding me of yesterday's happenings. Scotland. Rachel's relatives. Big prophecy. I took a big yawn as my eyes drifted towards the door, shock to find Annabeth leaning casually against the door frame. How were they all awake?
"Time you got up Seaweed Brain," Annabeth smirked, "Today's a busy day, we just recieved a letter from Professor McGonagall - by owl by the way."
I stared at her blankly, wondering what a McGondall was. Magic version of McDonald's? So then why did they send a letter to us?
Looking at my expression, Rachel and Annabeth glanced at eachother and laughed.
"The Hogwarts Headmistress. She sent us a letter." Rachel clarified.
At the moment, I could feel my ears burning up. RIght. Hogwarts headmistress. Nothing to do with fast food restaurants.
"Gonna wait for you downstairs," Annabeth decided, walking away with Rachel. Leaving me sitting there in a puddle of shame.
The "thump thump thump" of their footsteps fading as it echoed down the stairs, somehow harmonizing with a random crash that came from the roof. I jumped up as quickly as I could from the bed and got ready.
By the time I was done, everyone was at the table already, 7 pairs of eyes stared at me as I approached the kitchen.
"Um, good morning?" I squeaked.
"Good morning, Percy dear, nice to see you finally up," Mrs. Weasley chucked with humor, "This is my husband, Arthur."
She put her hands around a thin red haired man, who was drowned in his newspaper.
"Oh dear, its been such a rough night for the muggles too, those leftovers from the war are so hard to clear up, the amount of "obliviate" spells we had to use. The British Prime Minister should know better than not to cooperate." Mr. Weasley muttered to himself before noticing everyone's eyes were on him.
Mr. Weasley looked towards me, his eyes instantly brightening. "Hello, this must be Percy perhaps? I heard you're half muggle, half god?"
"Hello Mr. Weasley," I replied politely, not knowing how to react to the sudden attention, "I mean, you could say that, my mum is a mortal and my dad is... Poseidon."
"Ooooh, fascinating, so you can control all types of water? You know I was having a conversation with your girlfriend over here and shes a child of Athena! Can you imagine, the goddess of wisdom herself. I can't believe these Greek myths really exist. Do tell me more about that war with Kronus and how you battled Earth herself. Oh and Rachel here, can channel prophecies? How cool is that?" Mr. Weasley turned to Ron, before continuing, "Ron, you know that professor you have, Trelawney? Doesn't she speak pro-"
"Enough Arthur, let the children eat," Mrs. Weasley interrupted, tipping a dozen of sausages into my plate and Annabeth's too, "Eat up, you're gonna need the energy for this day ahead," (she proceeded to add three buttered toasts into my plate) "we're going to need to meet with Professor McGonagall first, and then we'll go shopping for supplies."
"Mum before we leave to meet Professor McGonagall, can we show them some magic tricks." George asked, with a mouthful of beans.
"Don't talk when eating," Mrs. Weasley replied, glaring at George. "But yes you can show them."
Breakfast continued and no one uttered a sound until all the plates were clean.
When all the plates were at the sink, Mrs. Weasley flicked a wooden stick and all the plates started washing themselves. I stared, was this the magic they were talking about?
"Mum, I wrote to Harry and Hermione last night, think they'll also be at Hogwarts when we arrive." Ron said to Mrs. Weasley before taking us up the stairs.
***
George grinned as he ushered us into his room. "You'll bloody love this."
"Alright, watch and learn," George said, dramatically rolling up his sleeves like some magician about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Ron stood next to him, trying to look mysterious but mostly just looked like he was holding in a sneeze. Ginny plopped onto the bed, her stick (wand probably) twirling lazily between her fingers.
"Okay," George continued, pointing at a small stack of cards on his desk. "Ron, if you will."
Ron waved his wand at the cards. They shuffled themselves in mid-air, forming a neat floating circle. One card flipped over—it had my face on it.
"Uh... what," I said intelligently.
"Magic trading cards," Ron explained proudly. "Yours updated itself. That's a new one. We didn't even have to add you to the deck!"
Before I could ask how exactly my face ended up on wizard merch, George flicked his wand and a tiny dragon puffed into existence on the table, about the size of a lizard.
"Fireproof," George said cheerfully. "Mostly."
The dragon promptly sneezed, setting the corner of his notes on fire.
"Oi! Get the water!" George yelped.
I raised an eyebrow. "Water, you say?"
With a casual wave of my hand, a stream of water burst out from the nearby sink and doused the fire in one satisfying whoosh. The room went silent for a second. Ginny's jaw dropped.
"That—was—wicked," she breathed.
Ron looked like he couldn't decide if he was impressed or terrified. "Blimey, you just summoned it—no wand, no spell—nothing!"
I shrugged. "Occupational hazard."
Annabeth smirked from the corner, crossing her arms. "He does that a lot. Once flooded half a cruise ship by accident."
"Hey, that was one time!" I protested.
Rachel giggled. "And it was impressive."
Ginny laughed. "I think Hogwarts might not be ready for you lot."
Before I could argue, Mrs. Weasley's voice bellowed from downstairs:
"Everyone ready? Floo Powder in five minutes!"
Geroge smirked. "Time to get you guys initiated."
He led us to the fireplace, where a small bowl of glittery green powder waited on the mantle.
"Alright," Ron said confidently, rolling up his sleeves like he was about to teach rocket science. "You take a pinch, throw it into the fire, say where you're going, and—"
"—don't forget to enunciate," George cut in. "Otherwise, you'll end up in someone's loo. Happened to Fr-" his voice broke, the twinkle in his eyes vanished for a second.
Mrs. Weasley sighed, hands on her hips. "Honestly, boys, you're going to scare them before they even start. It's perfectly safe, dears. Just be sure to speak clearly, and keep your elbows tucked in."
Ron looked slightly offended. "Mum, I've done this loads of times—"
"Yes, and you've still managed to fall face-first every single one of them," Mrs. Weasley said, giving him the look.
"Alright then," I said, before anyone could start another round of family banter. "Ladies first?"
Annabeth grabbed a pinch of the glittering powder, tossed it into the fire, and said clearly, "Hogwarts!"
In an instant, green flames flared, swallowing her whole.
Rachel went next, half-excited, half-terrified, squealing as she vanished into the blaze.
I took a deep breath. "Okay, that didn't look too bad."
Mrs. Weasley laughed, "Reminds me of when Harry first tried floo powder. Hope you don't end up in Borgin and Burkes like he did."
I tossed the powder, yelled "Hogwarts!" and instantly regretted everything as the world spun faster than a washing machine. Colors blurred, sounds merged, and then—bam—I stumbled out onto cold stone floors, coughing up soot.
I looked up to see two very unfamiliar faces staring at me.
"Percy Jackson," said a voice. A boy with dark hair, green eyes and glasses stood there, arms crossed, looking both wary and curious. A girl with bushy brown hair, brown eyes, stood beside him, a mix of surprise and analysis in her eyes.
"Uh... hi?" I managed. "Nice castle you got here."
Annabeth appeared right beside me, brushing ash off her jacket like she'd done this a million times before.
Rachel emerged after her, sneezing, "I think I inhaled a chimney."
A second later, Ron crashed out of the fireplace behind us, covered head to toe in soot.
He coughed, glared at me, and said hoarsely, "Right. Next time, I'm not going last."
And finally, the fire roared once more. Mrs. Weasley stepped neatly out, patting her robes clean and adjusting her hair like she'd just stepped out of a carriage, not a fireplace.
"Well!" she said cheerfully. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"
Ron gave her a betrayed look. "You didn't tell me you were coming through too!"
"Someone has to make sure you don't end up in the wrong fireplace again," she said sweetly.
The boy with glasses snorted, the girl tired (and failed) to hide her smile.
Before anyone could say another word, a tall woman in green robes swept into the room. Her eyes were sharp behind square glasses.
"Ah. The visitors from New Rome," she said briskly. "I am Professor McGonagall. This is Harry, and Hermione."
Her gaze softened slightly as she nodded to Mrs. Weasley. "Molly, good to see you again."
"And you, Minerva," Mrs. Weasley replied warmly. "I've brought them just as you asked."
Her gaze landed on me, then on Annabeth. "Excellent. Now, I understand you're... a rather unique trio. You are far too old to enroll as students, I'm afraid. However—" she paused, a faint twinkle in her eye "—we could use a few... guest professors this term."
"Professors?" I echoed, nearly choking.
"Indeed," McGonagall said. "If you would like, Miss Dare will be assisting with Divination. Miss Chase... hm... Ancient Runes and Mythology, perhaps? As for you, Mr. Jackson... Defense Against the Dark Arts seems fitting."
Harry grinned. "Now that's going to be fun to watch."
I glanced at Annabeth. "So, uh, Professor Chase?"
She smirked. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it, Professor Jackson?"
Mrs. Weasley coughed into her fist, "Professor, will Ron, Harry, and Hermione have to stay?"
McGonagall gave her a patient smile, the kind that said she'd already had this conversation several times that morning. "Only for a while, Molly. The Ministry believes it's best if we have a few experienced Aurors nearby. You know—just in case."
"Just in case what?" Mrs. Weasley asked sharply, crossing her arms. "Because if this is about that prophecy again, I swear—"
"Mum," Ron cut in quickly, his ears turning pink. "It's fine. We're just here to keep watch, not to fight another war."
"Yeah, we'll do the fighting." I chimed in.
Harry, who was standing beside Ron, tried not to laugh. "Yeah, Mrs. Weasley. We're not getting into any danger. "
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, though the corner of her mouth twitched.
McGonagall cleared her throat, looking as if she were fighting a smile herself. "Yes, well. The three of you will be stationed here temporarily as Visiting Aurors. You'll assist in ensuring security, help train the new Defense Against the Dark Arts students, and—"
"Keep an eye on any strange magical activity," Harry finished for her, his expression sobering. "Got it."
Mrs. Weasley still didn't look convinced. She turned toward her son, fussing with his collar. "Ronald, you better not go chasing after trouble again. You promised me—"
"Mum, I work in trouble," Ron muttered, face redder than his hair.
McGonagall sighed, stepping in before Mrs. Weasley could deliver a full lecture. "I assure you, Mrs. Weasley, this is a precautionary measure. Nothing more." She paused, her gaze flicking toward the castle's tall windows, where storm clouds were gathering over the distant hills. "Still... best we stay prepared. Hogwarts has a way of attracting stories before anyone's ready to tell them."
Harry glanced at the sky too. "Feels like old times already."
I grinned. "So when does the term start?"
McGonagall's eyes softened behind her spectacles before she opened he rmouth again. "The day after tomorrow, Mr. Jackson. The carriages will arrive at dawn to bring the students up from Hogsmeade Station."
I grinned wider, trying to hide the nervous flutter in my stomach. "Cool. Nothing like being thrown into a school full of wizards with zero training and a possible prophecy on your back."
Ron snorted. "You'll fit right in, then."
"Yeah," Harry added, smirking. "Most of us started off with less."
"Less?" I repeated. "You mean—less what? Sanity? Context? Survival skills?"
Hermione crossed her arms but couldn't help smiling. "All of the above."
Mrs. Weasley sighed dramatically. "Oh, Merlin's beard, another one of you lot. Just promise me no one's getting turned into a ferret or starting a secret rebellion this time."
Ron opened his mouth, then thought better of it when Hermione shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass.
McGonagall clapped her hands once, brisk and businesslike. "That's quite enough. Mr. Jackson, you'll go shopping for wands, and stay in the school quarters for tonight. I trust you'll use the time to prepare—mentally, at least."
"Mentally?" I echoed. "Right. Totally ready. Mentally."
Harry chuckled under his breath. "You'll do fine, kid. Just don't duel the staircases."
I blinked. "...The what?"
McGonagall turned to me one last time, her expression unreadable. "Hogwarts has a habit of finding the students it needs, Mr. Jackson. Let's hope it hasn't made a mistake this time."
And with that, she swept out, leaving me standing in the headmistress's office, staring at the moving portraits and wondering just what I'd signed myself up for.
"Well, let's get shopping." Mrs. Weasley decided.