Strange Ties--Percy Jackson/Harry Potter

Chapter Nineteen

When Percy agreed to go on the Hogsmeade trip, he didn't know what he was signing up for. He knew he would get stares, but the wizards of Hogsmeade did more than just stare. His face was all over the papers last month so he was getting recognized from left and right. Percy felt like a complete freak, one woman even ran away screaming when she saw him. How dramatic is that?

"Just ignore them, they like the drama," Audrey said as they walked towards the group.

"Hard to when they're looking at me like I'm moments away from killing their entire family."
"They are scared, do you actually know the damage that Voldemort caused? He actually killed their families"
Percy nodded, and stopped walking when he noticed the gates to a dark manor surrounded with dead trees and plants. He recognized it right away.

The wizards of Hogsmade still called it The Riddle House, even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied. Half a century ago, something strange and horrible had happened there, something that the older wizards of Hogsmeade still liked to discuss when topics for gossip were scarce. If you looked carefully at the walls surrounding the mansion you could still see faint stains of blood leaking out. Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Riddle had been rich, snobbish, and rude, and their grown-up son, Tom, had been, if anything, worse.

"Um, what are you doing?" Aubrey asked.
"Nothing" he said, Percy looked at The Riddle House with curiosity, he felt himself being pulled towards it, like a magnet. "Do you hear that?"
Audrey shook her head, "Hear what?"
Faint whispers filled his ears, they were so low and fast Percy couldn't decipher what they were saying.
"You seriously don't hear that?" he said in disbelief.
"No! Stop it, you're freaking me out."
Percy felt like he was put in a trance, he didn't know if it was the whispers or the strange feeling that the house caused him to feel, but out of nowhere nothing else existed except that house. And for some reason he felt the urge to enter.
"C'mon Percy just keep walking," Audrey said. But he couldn't hear her, so he wrapped his hands around the locked gate. "Percy I'm serious you can't go in there-"
He was about to rip open the lock when he felt her pull him back.

"Are you crazy?!" Audrey whispered, "Why would you do that?"
"I don't know.. It was weird" he mumbled looking back at the house. And like nothing happened they continued walking, although Aubrey looked shaken up.
When they got to Hog's Head, a small pub in the center of the town, Valerie was already sitting there, next to Elise and Maddison.
"What took you guys so long?"
Audrey and Percy looked at each other, silently agreeing not to say anything.

"We have some news," Elyse said, handing Audrey a copy of the daily prophet. "Read the third page." Audrey opened the newspaper slowly and turned to page three, at first the look on her face was unreadable until she read further and suddenly she turned red.

"What?!" she gasped, her eyes glued to the paper, "How can this happen?!" she sputtered.
Elyse shrugged, "apparently Hogwarts was in need of another quidditch coach, and he offered."
Aubrey laid down the newspaper and stood straight up, "Whatever, i don't care anymore" 

Valerie looked at her wearily "Are you sure? Because last time you saw him-" she stopped her sentence when she noticed Percy was there. He took it as a hint and left the pub. He had no idea what they were talking about but by the look Valerie gave him it was clear they didn't want him to know.

He began to wander through the town and realized how unreal it looked. As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost and snow. Hogsmeade looked like a real life Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.

"Jackson!" Draco Malfoy called, he was standing outside a shop with Blaise, Evan and Marcus. Percy walked over and Malfoy handed him a bottle of what looked like butterbeer.
"No thanks," he said, handing it back to him.
"Suit yourself" he replied coldly as he took a sip out of the bottle.
Suddenly, the door from the shop opened and Harry, Hermione and Ron were leaving when Malfoy stopped them.
"Woah what are you shopping for? A personality?" he laughed at Ron, whose right eye was still black from the punch that Draco gave him the other day.
"Shut up Malfoy"
"Or what? Want a matching black eye?" he said, holding up his fist.
"C'mon Ron let's get out here" Hermione whispered, holding his arm firmly. Hesitantly, Ron walked away with Hermione, Harry following behind him.

When they got back to Hogwrats after what felt like an eternity, Percy and Valerie went to the library in search of new books.
"What about romance?" Valerie asked innocently.
"I would rather poke my eyes out with needles"
"And I suppose that's also a no on poetry?"
"I don't like poetry, it's too cheesy for me"
"You know Edgar Allen Poe once said that if a poem hasn't ripped apart your soul you haven't experienced poetry" she said, handing him a book named 'Leaves of Grass' by Walt Whitman. "Just try it, you won't lose anything."
"Yeah just my time and sanity"
"On that topic, have you begun studying for the OWL's?"
"Why study? I'm going to fail anyways"
Valerie rolled her eyes, "You're not as dumb as you make yourself to be. Give yourself a try, this year they are choosing the four highest grades from every house to do a special duel or something like that"
Percy considered it for a while, he hadn't studied for an actual test since fourth grade. "I don't have a house"
"Maybe you should talk to Dumbledore about it"
"I dont think I'm Dumbledore's favorite person right now" he said, recalling the last time they talked.

Suddenly, the doors from the library burst open, and Blaise rushed in with a petrified look on his face. "You guys! Come see this quickly! They found another body floating on the lake!"

When they ran outside, a crowd of students, professors, and news outlets surrounded the area, the magical law enforcement patrol was already pulling the body out of the water. What was left of it anyway.
"They're saying it was a bear," Blaise said, covered in sweat.

It was later revealed that the body did not belong to a student at Hogwarts, but to a random fisherman that was in the area. But because it appeared inside Hogwarts, the law enforcement decided to still question the students, taking a deep interest in Percy specifically. They took him to Dumbledore's office, unlike the others who were questioned at the scene. 

"Where were you yesterday between 1pm and 3pm?" The officer asked. 

"Why?" 

"Time of death" said the other officer, "Do you have an alibi we could use?" 

"I don't remember" he replied.

"You better try to remember boy. You do realize these accidents started when you arrived" 

"Wait, you think I did this?"The officers shared a questionable look, "At 1-3pm you were supposed to be at class, is that right?" Percy nodded, "But the attendance record showed that you weren't there, so where were you?" he continued. 

Percy tried to remember, "I was with Hagrid I think, in his hut." 

"No. Hagrid said you left his hut exactly at 12:43pm" 

"Yeah I left to find his dragon, Willy" 

"So what you're saying is that you were in the woods?" 

"Yes but-"

"And where were you at the time of Chloe Dixon's death?"

"How would I know?"

"October 29th, about the same time, you had flying lessons, but here in the record says you were absent" He said, flipping through his notebook. Percy didn't answer, because he didn't really remember, every time he has flying lessons he's with Hagrid. 

"Okay what about Simon Yaxley's murder where were you?" 

"I don't remember," Percy repeated coldly. 

The officer sighed, "Were going to need to take you to the station for further questioning." The other officer handcuffed his hands so tightly, he was sure his blood flow stopped. To Percy's luck, when he got out of the office the whole school was outside, including the news and the professors, all witnessing him getting arrested. Great, just what he needed.