Percy Jackson, Sky bearer

Chapter 10

The next few days were spent going to classes and staying clear from the infirmary as much as he could (where a certain blonde prat was currently lamenting his pain). His idiot friend had gotten his arm broken on his first Care of Magical Creatures class because he was dumb enough to approach a Hippogriff with an offhand comment on how ugly it was. Gee, I wonder why he didn't end up in Ravenclaw with that quick wit. Percy couldn't care much about whether or not Hagrid got fired but he did care enough about the fate of the poor Hippogriff. It wasn't the beast's fault that he got angry and attacked Draco. Who doesn't feel like beating Draco up sometimes? An example of his quickly receding patience would be now in evidence, he could only do so much. The animal was also technically part horse and that just increased Percy's sense of responsibility for it since his godly father was the lord of all horses afterall. Honestly, what in Hades was Malfoy thinking? The dam fool probably just wanted to be petty and prove a point. Well, he was now proving a point as well by steering clear of the infirmary wing.

Instead of doing anything rash or imprudent, however, the boy decided to report back to his father and ask permission to interfere. The responding letter did not prove to lift his rather rotten mood (it's the first week of the new school year, not exactly how one expects it to go), because Dark Lord had simply told him to stay put and observe, the man had a feeling that this would all lead to something and wanted his son to report back anything he found of interest.

A few days later after the incident on a late Thursday morning, a healthy looking Draco Malfoy came swaggering in a double potions class with the Gryffindors (naturally) with his injured arm in a sling. Draco was acting as if he just bravely survived a life and death experience and across the room Percy could see Potter's annoyed expression.

"While it is good to have you back, Draco, perhaps you could save your truly.. life altering stories for later, hm? Class has already begun, after all" Perseus said this with a bored drawl that had an undertone of danger, and some Slytherins close by shuffled uncomfortably, not at all envying Draco's sudden attention from their leader. Draco quickly sobered and nodded, not meeting the other boy's piercing eyes.

"Settle down class, settle down" drawled the monotone voice of one professor Severus Snape. "Let's all continue our shrinking solution in silence."

Watching Draco set up his cauldron next to Potter and Weasley in the corner of his eyes, Percy merely sighed and went back on diligently working on his potion, knowing that the blonde was mostly planning something to make the two Gryffindors miserable.

And miserable they were indeed.

Draco made Snape order them to cut and skin his potion ingredients for him as he couldn't do so himself with his injury, soon the other Slytherin was quietly boasting with a malicious grin about how his father was a very influential man in the Ministry and that he was going to get Hagrid fired. Suddenly, but not surprisingly, Snape started shouting at that Longbottom kid who messed up his potion yet again- the guy looked ready to pass out when the professor threaten to feed his pet toad the result of his concoction. Percy quite liked Snape.

Tuning out all the conversations in the classroom, he focused on his task at hand and carefully stirred and put in the ingredients according to the instructions and his own knowledge of potions, scribbling some notes of his own on his textbook. He was the first one to finish, and just as he settled back to watch the rest of the class's progress, one of the Gryffindors began talking about a muggle who sighted Sirius Black. Percy tilted his head slightly and listened discreetly, unlike Draco who was making it pretty obvious that he was listening in to the conversation.

"Thinking of catching Black single-handed, Potter?" The icy eyed Slytherin said with a mean curve of his lips

"Yeah, that's right" Potter replied, rolling his eyes.