The Switch (pjo/hp)

Chapter 18: Percy Finally Understands

The next day, Percy woke up feeling, quite frankly, like shit. He didn't know why, he just felt a little sluggish and tired. He got dressed and then left for the common room. Ron and Hermione were bickering about something stupid, as usual when Percy approached them.

"Hey guys," he said, flopping down next to them. They exchanged a nervous glance, noticing Percy's condition.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, concern written across her face. "You seem tired."

"I kind of am," Percy agreed. "But don't worry, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ron pushed.

"Yes, I am," Percy insisted. "I'm gonna go now. Enjoy your lessons. Bye!"

As he was walking away, he heard Ron say, "That was taunting. No one ever enjoys lessons." Percy chuckled at that and continued on his way to his chosen nap location. He had noticed this place a while ago on the marauders' map. The marauders' map is this map of Hogwarts that was designed by four friends, one of whom was Harry's father, and another was Harry's godfather, Serius. Not only does it show you every room, secret or not, but it also shows you where everyone on its premises is. It's a pretty cool map.

There was this hidden room he saw on the map, and he thought it was perfect for this sort of thing. It was behind this statue of a one-eyed woman. It gave Percy a little bit of a chill, but also a sense of familiarity. One eye... He shook the feeling off. He had more important things to attend to. His idea was to try and catch the time Nico would be sleeping in. The time difference between the UK and New York was around five hours, and it was eight right now, which means it would be around three am for New York. Perfect.

He reached towards the single eye the statue possessed and pressed it. That sounded really disgusting, but it was all stone in the end. A small passageway opened behind her—one you wouldn't notice unless you were specifically searching for it. Percy slipped in, and just as the map had shown, there was a small, empty room. It was a pretty tight space, giving Percy a twinge of claustrophobia, but that was drowned by the sudden excitement he felt. He opened his bag and pulled out a pillow and blanket. Yes, he had actually brought his bedding with him. If he was going to have to sleep in a dinghy place like this, he at least had to be comfortable.

Once the bedding was laid down, Percy sprawled across his makeshift bed. He thought he'd be here for hours, just trying to sleep, but he was pretty tired, so he found himself drifting off in only five minutes. He had thought about how he was supposed to contact Nico, instead of just randomly dreaming. He recalled Nico saying he was 'Iris Messaging' him. That rang a bell. He found himself involuntarily chanting, "Oh, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, I don't have much to offer, but I will make it up to you in the future. Show me Nico di Angelo at... Camp." There was a camp, he remembered that much. Names, though? Not really.

Percy thought this was stupid. It probably wouldn't work. A dream began to form, and Percy was beginning to feel disappointed until he saw what that dream was.

"Nico!" He cried. He couldn't believe it. His pathetic attempt actually worked! There was Nico, standing... in some clouds. "Nico, where are you?"

"I- I'm in bed—asleep, last time I checked," he said, looking at Percy in awe. "How did you–?"

"It's a long story, but I need to talk to you," Percy said, feeling pretty jolly.

"I mean, I always want to talk to you," Nico pointed out, causing Percy to blush a little. "I really missed you. Did you get your memory back yet?"

"Unnecessary bits and pieces, yeah," Percy admitted. "Last time you were gonna tell me something."

"Oh, yes!" Nico said. "I'm guessing you don't remember what you are?"