Percy Jackson and the Department of Mysteries

39) Cho Talks Porcupines

"Oh, hey Luna," I said, grabbing my bag off of the floor.

"You jumped in through my window," Luna said helpfully.

"Indeed I did," I nodded, grinning. "Thanks for leaving it open for me."

"I didn't leave it open for you, but you're welcome anyway," Luna said, her voice airy.

I'm not gonna lie, Luna Lovegood scared me (in a good way). Her father had told her about her being a demigod ever since she could walk, and her mother (not Athena), was happy to tell her, as well. Luna, so young when she found out, had this knack for seeing the monsters, that grew into seeing more. She was one of the few clearsighted demigods, and to top it all off, she was a badass in radish earrings. People tended to make fun of her for the way she acted, but she took it all in stride.

Also, radish earrings.

"Well," I said, glancing at my watch. "I'm supposed to go to the prefect's carriage, then meet up with Harry. I'll catch you later, Luna."

"Please do not catch me, Percy," Luna smiled.

I got cheers as I walked down the length of the train, several of the students having witnessed my narrow escape onto the train.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" A little first year asked me, innocent eyes beaming up at me, practically shouting you're my hero, Percy!

"Your mom's bedroom last night," I replied, hardly sparing her a glance.

"That was a pleasant first introduction," a voice drawled from in front of me, and I glanced up to see Draco. He was standing in front of the carriage I was heading to, already dressed in his robes, a gleaming green prefect's badge resting on his chest.

"I've got to make an impression on them," I grinned, but felt a pang in my chest at the sight of him. "Wouldn't want them to think I'm nice or something, I don't want them coming to me for help."

Draco grinned back at me, and didn't acknowledge the elephant in the train.

He had a nasty black eye, one that I figured must have come from just before he'd arrived if it hadn't been healed by his mother. His hair, which had been growing out since the summer before, had been choppily cut, his curls not sticking up through the hair gel like they used to. He also seemed skinnier than usual, like he hadn't been eating enough.

But he was grinning, and he meant it, so I didn't mention it.

We stepped into the compartment together, and were faced with the others. The was Ron and Hermione, of course, but also Pansy Parkinson, Hannah Abbot, and some Ravenclaw boy I didn't know with Padma Patil. Sitting by the window was Selena Beauregard and Roger Davies, a horny Ravenclaw boy.

"Oh, congrats, Selena," I said.

"Thank you, Percy," Selena smiled.

"What, no congratulations for me?" Roger said good-naturedly. He may have made out with Fleur Delacour in the bushes at the Yule Ball last year, but he was a decent guy, and he was definitely one of the people I wouldn't mind having as a Head Boy.

"Oh, congratulations on getting rejected by Cho," I said.

"Ooh, that stings," Roger patted the spot where his heart was, making a face, "right here, man, right in the feels." He promptly burst into a fit of giggles.

"So, when can I leave?" I asked.

"Told you he'd ask that," Hannah said, holding out her hand expectantly. Six people grumbled and handed her several sickles.

"We've got a lot to explain," Roger said, "so it could be a while."

"Just give me the rundown, Hermione's gonna totally take notes or something, I can just read them later," I said. "I want to go sit with Harry, because Moody wants me to, and I like making him happy."

"Fair," Selena said before Roger could argue. "You'll periodically patrol the corridors while we're here, and once we leave the feast at Hogwarts, you'll lead the first years to the common room and show them to their rooms."

"That's easy enough," I said. "Well, bye guys, see you all later."

As I was leaving the compartment, I overheard Hannah say, "I barely knew Cedric, and wearing this badge makes me panic. I don't know how he's doing it."

"Neither do I," I whispered as I walked back down the hall, glancing through compartments to see if Harry was there.

I really shouldn't have been all that surprised to find him sitting with Luna. I also shouldn't have been surprised to see him covered in stinksap, or see that Cho, his crush, had walked in to see it.

"Oh, hello," I said, and Cho turned to look at me. "I see there's been an accident." I scanned the carriage, noting the two other people sitting in there. "Ginny, did you really let Neville stab his plant?"

"I thought it was going to puff up like a pufferfish," Ginny said.

"Why would it do that?" I questioned.

"I don't know, he said it had a cool defensive mechanism, and that's the only defensive mechanism I know of," Ginny shrugged.

"Porcupines?" I proposed.

"Porcupines have quills," Cho said proudly. "I read it in a Muggle book."

"Very nice," I said, and I meant it. "What book?"

"How to Potty Train Your Porcupine by Tom Toro," Cho said (Yes, this is a real book).

I stared blankly at her for a moment, my brain taking a moment to process.

"Well," I clapped my hands together, trying very hard not to laugh, because I just know she took that book seriously, "I prefer Kara LaReau's masterpiece, Mr. Prickles. A Quill-Fated Love Story." (Yes, this is also a real book). I glanced back at a compartment down the hall where Marietta Edgecomb, a girl who was normally glued to Cho's side, was peeking her head out. Once she realized I'd spotted her, she pulled her head back inside and slammed the compartment door shut in some sort of defensive mechanism.

Cho startled at the sound, "Who's slamming doors?"

"Marietta," I said. "I think she's missing you."

"Oh," Cho blinked then looked back at the compartment. "Um.... Well... just thought I'd say hello... bye then."

Next thing I know, she's scampering off while sending a glance towards Harry.

"Huh," I said, looking back the way she'd ran, slinking into the compartment. "That was weird." I looked up at Harry. "She came to say hi to you? I didn't know you guys were friends."

Harry just gave me a small shrug, his face strangely red as he brushed some goop off of him. Luna let out a little snort and hid her face behind her magazine.

Ahhh. A chapter done. I looked up children's porcupine books for this chapter, and I can't believe they're both real books. I just... wow. Credit to the authors for those amazing books. My sister clogged the toilet. She is disgusting. But then she got mad at me for never cleaning the toilet... bruh. Lies. I clean it, sometimes. But when I think about cleaning it it just always ends up cleaned not long later because she gets to it first. We had food today. It was good. I like food. I told myself all day that I would write, and never ended up doing it, so I'm probably going to write now that I'm actually on Wattpad.

Anyway, I hope you guys have had a superb Saturday, and I'll see you on Sunday CT. Love ya!