The Exchange Program

Chapter 5

Percy's pov

He nervously sat down on the three-legged stool as the professor planted the singing-talking hat on his head. He didn't know what he was expecting but the sudden voice in his head was still a surprise.

"Ah!" it exclaimed. "Another prodigy of Ilvermorny."

Percy could feel the hat slightly vibrating as the voice spoke. Alright, the singing-talking hat can now use telepathy as well, he thought. It somehow made sense though, to determine their houses it would have a look into their minds and if it can do that daily, why not be able to talk to the students in their mind as well.

"So many paths to take, so many to choose from," it hummed. "Brave and reckless as a Gryffindor, sly and cunning as a Slytherin, loyal and caring like a Hufflepuff and clever as a Ravenclaw."

'What does that mean? You just named all of the houses!' Percy thought in frustration.

"Hmm, such impatience. Maybe you would've done well in Ravenclaw had you chosen the Horned Serpent. Those bright minds could have influenced you to be more studious. Alas, that is not how it happened," the hat said in consideration.

Okay, Percy thought. It's using the process of elimination. Although he could've already told it that Ravenclaw wasn't the answer. It is interesting to know that he might have turned out differently had he chosen the Horned Serpent. It made him wonder just how different he would have been having he chosen a different house in Ilvermorny. What different choices could he have made?

"Perhaps not Slytherin either," it mused, causing Percy to be brought back from his thoughts. "Self-preservation is an important trait for one and you seem to have none of it."

"Only two of the houses left now. You are brave if not foolish at times. Honorable to those you respect, diving headfirst into a dangerous situation without thinking of the consequences." Yep, sounds exactly like him. "Yet," it paused. "You do not seek glory, not caring how others may think of you. It doesn't matter if others think of you as a hero, does it? You just protect your loved ones, no matter the cost. You protect even those you know nothing about."

"Your loyalty is admirable but it can be your greatest downfall. Beware of those you choose to be loyal to, Perseus Jackson," he said ominously.

'What?'

"Hufflepuff!" the hat yelled out loud.

Percy blinked in surprise. That was spontaneous. The yellow and black table cheered loudly. He quickly discarded the hat and joined his new housemates.

He walked to the middle of the table where the older years were sitting. He slid in beside a pretty girl with a straight blonde girl who looked like she was his age. "Hey, I'm Percy Jackson."

She smiled widely. "My name's Hannah Abbott, nice to meet you."

Hannah then proceeded to introduce the two boys sitting across them. "That's Ernie Macmillian," she pointed to the boy with short straw-like hair. "And that is Justin Finch-Fletchley," she gestured to the tallboy beside Ernie who gave him a wave while Ernie only muttered a short hello and before going back to his food.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff, the kindest, most amazing house you will ever have," Hannah exclaimed.

"The most amazing?" Percy raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. I love my house in Ilvermorny," he joked.

"Oh, that's right! I heard Ilvermorny had similar houses to Hogwarts," she looked at Percy questioningly.

A snort sounded from beside her. A tall, skinny boy turned to look at them. His nose upturned as he rolled his eyes condescendingly. "And you are?" Percy asked.

"Zacharias Smith," he stated proudly. Beside him, Hannah rolled her eyes at the haughty introduction. "Everyone knows Ilvermorny's a cheap rip-off of Hogwarts."

Percy narrowed his eyes at him and then smirked. "Oh please," he scoffed. "If anything, Ilvermorny is the better and more modern version of Hogwarts."

Before Zacharias could retort another scathing remark, Justin spoke up, "Now, stop it, Zach. I'm sure Ilvermorny is great too but let the bloke make up his thoughts about Hogwarts first."

Percy huffed, "We'll see." Zacharias also backed down after slightly glaring at him.

The rest of the feast went amicably. Percy chatted easily with his new housemates. He even got Ernie to contribute to the conversations a couple of times which Hannah claimed was a miracle since Ernie wasn't very open around new people. He occasionally glanced at the green and silver table which was the Slytherin table. Rose looked like she was quite happy with her new house as well. Although whenever a student from another house looked at her with those suspicious gazes after the first few times, she returned the look with the dirtiest glare.

He really should figure out what was going on with the Slytherin here. His gaze slid around the great hall taking in the laughing students and the awed first years. Everyone was enjoying the welcoming feast. Yet...

He noted how the older years were sitting in more of a huddle than the rest of their houses. They seemed comfortable in each other's space but looked a bit wary when someone they didn't know approached close. It was wariness he had witnessed many times over. They were battle-weary.

Huh. He had heard of the duel of Harry Potter against Voldemort, and the tiniest tidbits about Hogwarts being infiltrated once but nothing that his entire class had fought against him. He sighed. Of course, the news about Britain's war had not reached America correctly or it might have been overlooked by the reporters. That is a strong possibility since there was an entire page dedicated to the social life of Harry Potter and only half a page for describing events that occurred on the day of the battle. He and his friends had made excellent magic paper airplanes from that.

He wondered what they were doing. They had made so many plans for this last year. Alas, it seems he would have to miss out on those. Hopefully, this school has something for him to do.

He sighed wistfully. "Percy, come on," Hannah said as she stood up. "We'll show you the dorm room."

"Oh." He had gotten so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that his plate was cleared of all the food. When had he eaten all the food?

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming," he muttered, a little lost in where the time had gone. He pushed away from the plate and followed the three Hufflepuffs out of the great hall.    

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A/N: Hello, my wonderful readers! This chapter I wasn't going to actually post at first but I just saw it sitting in my drafts staring right at me and I thought like 'What the heck! Why not?' 

Yeah...so here you go! I don't think I did this chapter much justice comparing to the others but I just don't feel like rewriting it again. Hope that's okay. I'm just way too busy with studying. 

Ugh, studying...Oh well, what can you do? 

*Sigh* See you on my next update(whenever that will be ;) )!