[1] New Beginnings: Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and the Philosopher's Stone

22: gifts from no one

It was the end of the first term at Hogwarts and students of all ages could be seen packing their bags to go home over the holidays or relaxing, ready for two weeks of absolutely no classes. The four Gryffindors had gotten lazy with their search for Nicolas Flamel, and the three boys had decided to take some time off and have a miniature wizard's chess tournament in the Great Hall amongst themselves.

Ron had won yet another game and was sweeping Harry's broken pieces to the side when Hermione walked in, dragging her trunk behind her. She came up to their table and plopped down. "Well, I see you've packed then," Ron said.

"And I see you haven't," Hermione retorted.

"Yeah, my parents decided they would go see Charlie, so me and everyone else are staying here."

"Well, I'm definitely staying, and so is Harry." Percy shook his head. "I know that I really don't want to go back to the Dursleys'." Harry nodded his assent, setting up another game.

"I'm going to have to go soon." Hermione stood up. "And I do expect all three of you to be in the library, looking for Flamel."

The three of them groaned, Ron especially loudly. "Hermione, we've looked everywhere! Just face it, he isn't in the library!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not where we've been looking, no. I would look in the restricted section if I were you."

Percy looked confused. "But we need a note from a teacher for that, and I really doubt anyone would let a couple of first years into the restricted section, anyways."

Hermione grabbed her trunk and started to walk off, turning to look behind her to say, "Well, that's for you to figure out, isn't it?" The three boys just sighed and went back to their tournament, of which Ron was winning by a landslide.

****

The next day, Christmas Eve, was a lot quieter than normal. Almost the entire school had gone home for the holidays, leaving only the Weasleys, Harry, Percy, and few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and no Slytherins behind. The feast was nice, the students sitting wherever they wanted because there were so few of them. Harry, Percy, and Ron ended up staying up late in the common room just talking. Percy thought it was a great change from spending all day locked up in his shared bedroom at the Dursleys'. After a while, Percy grew tired and, followed by the other two, went up to their dormitory, content.

****

"Harry! Percy! Wake up you two, you've got presents!" Percy was woken up rather rudely by Ron jumping up and down on his bed. The ginger leaped over to Harry's bed and did the same thing, still yelling excitedly. "C'mon, wake up! Or I'll steal all of your fudge!"

At this, Percy bolted out of bed, still half asleep and ready to protect his fudge, before he realized he didn't even have any fudge. "Ron," he said, collapsing back onto his bed, "what are you even talking about?"

Ron bounded back over to Percy's bed and shoved something into the sleepy boy's face. "Yeah? Then what do you call this?"

Percy took the thing and looked closer at it. It was a present! Addressed to him! "I've got - I've got presents?"

Still whooping and hollering, Ron jumped over to his own bed and sat down, starting to rip open the presents that were at the foot of his bed. "Percy, Harry, c'mon, get up! Seriously, you guys are really slow!" Percy had Harry looked at each other for a moment, astonished, then proceeded to jump at their own piles and start ripping everything open. Percy started with the package Ron had handed him, opening it to find, true to his word, a small box of fudge that looked to be homemade. "It's from my mum," Ron said with his mouth full of his own fudge, "Harry, you got some too, and I bet that you both got a Weasley sweater."