[3] Reconciliation: Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and the Prisoner of Azkaban

7: a warning

It seemed that by the time the train had pulled into Hogsmeade Station, everyone knew about Harry's sudden fainting spell. Percy's was lucky enough to escape notice, but Harry was nowhere near as fortunate. As soon as they had step foot outside the train, Malfoy was there and already loudly jeering at Harry.

"Is it true you fainted, Potter?" he sneered. "What, were the dementors too scary for the Chosen One?" He and his friends laughed cruelly.

Fred and George came up behind Ron. "Don't worry," Fred said. "I heard that he-"

"-pissed himself when the dementor went-"

"-'round his compartment." They sniggered and went off to join their own friends, bumping shoulders with Crabbe as Goyle and they passed them.

"Come on," Hermione said, "this year you'll get to ride the carriages to the school - you missed them last year anyway."

They trekked up the path that would lead to the carriages, following behind the rest of the school - the first years, of course, were taking the boats to the castle. It was a short walk, but rather muddy. By the time they had actually reached the carriages, their shoes were caked with the stuff. There was a bit of a crowd, so it took them a few more minutes to be able to board one of the self-pulling carriages if Hermione was to be believed. However, when the crowd had thinned enough, Percy could see that Hermione was dead wrong.

Harnessed to every carriage were some of the strangest looking horses Percy had ever seen, and that was saying something because he had even seen horses with wings. The animals were pitch black and seemed to be only skeletons, the skin pulled tight around the bones. The eyes were solid white with no pupils or irises - it was disconcerting how it was impossible to tell where the animals were looking. These horses were winged, just like the pegasi at Camp Half-Blood, but unlike those horses, these had the wings of great big bats.

"Hey, Hermione," Percy said. "I thought you said the carriages pulled themselves."

"They do, Percy, what are you talking about?" Harry asked, concerned.

"No, there're weird horse things pulling them, look." He pointed to one of the animals, but the others seemed to look right through them.

"Percy, are you okay?" Ron furrowed his eyebrows.

"Percy, there's nothing pulling the carriages," Hermione said. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"But they're right - never mind." He shook his head and hurried to the nearest carriage, climbing inside. The others couldn't see the odd horses for some reason so he wouldn't make a big deal out of it. However, as soon as he and the others had sat down and the carriage had started to move, someone spoke to him inside of his head.

Hello, son of Poseidon, the voice said. Percy did his best not to jump a yard in the air. His friends didn't seem to notice anything off - they were busy talking about the feast that was soon to be held. It was similar to the horses speaking to him at Camp (as the son of Poseidon, he seemed to have a particular affinity for horses), and yet the feeling was entirely alien. He sent a questioning thought towards the voice, as he didn't want to speak aloud and alarm his friends.

I am the thestral that pulls this carriage, the voice said. I would have expected your friend to be able to see me, but I guess his mother's death is not fresh enough in his mind. It was talking about Harry. Percy sent another questioning thought out. Yes, son of Poseidon, you may only see thestrals if you have seen Death, and you have seen quite a bit of it. Thestrals are closely enough related to horses for you to communicate with us, but you do not rule over us like you do those other animals. There was a pause as if the thestral was considering saying something else. By that time, the carriage was only a few minutes away from the castle. Before you go, son of Poseidon, I must warn you. The one you call Voldemort grows stronger every day and his followers are always plotting. I expect in less than three years time his strength will have fully returned to him. Percy was shocked. How did the thestral know this? And why was it telling Percy? As he clambered out of the carriage and walked up to the castle, slightly trailing behind the others, the thestral's fading voice said one last thing: Be wary, son of Poseidon. For you play a greater role in this world than you could ever imagine.

****

Harry and Hermione were pulled aside by Professor McGonagall as they walked through the main doors. Apparently, she was concerned about Harry's fainting because of the dementor (once again Percy escaped notice, much to Harry's chagrin) and wanted to talk to Hermione about her classes. Percy and Ron were told to go on to the Great Hall and they reluctantly did so. The sorting was uneventful; slightly more first years were sorted into Ravenclaw than normal, but that was about it. Harry and Hermione returned just as Dumbledore was standing to make his annual speech.

"If I may have your attention please," the old man said. There were a few groans here and there - people were looking forward to the feast and Dumbledore's speech was delaying that. "As you may have noticed, the train was stopped on its journey here to Hogwarts." The hall had gone silent. "The reason for this: a man named Sirius Black has recently escaped from Azkaban." Whispers broke out everywhere. It was common knowledge that Black had escaped, but no one had thought that it would affect the school. "Cornelius Fudge, our dear Minister of Magic, had seen fit to relocate the dementors that normally guard Azkaban prison to Hogwarts for our protection." The whispers grew louder and Dumbledore's face grew dark. Clearly, he did not approve of the dementors being anywhere near the castle. "But I must warn you," the hall grew quiet again, "that these creatures care not that you are friend. So give them no reason to harm you and stay out of their way." Not a single person made a noise.

Dumbledore's face suddenly brightened. "But on a happier note, I am pleased to announce two changes in staff this year. Professor R.J. Lupin will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Lupin stood up and bashfully inclined his head (Snape looked absolutely livid), "and our very own gamekeeper, Professor Rubeus Hagrid will be taking over the Care of Magical Creatures teaching position." Beaming, Hagrid stood up quickly when he heard his name, knocking the staff table forward a few feet. A few people laughed, but most were clapping - Hagrid was well liked by the majority of the students. Percy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were clapping loudest. "Yes, yes, congratulations," Dumbledore continued, "but I believe we are all hungry and tired of hearing me babble - tuck in." And the tables were full of food and the hall was full of talking and laughter from all four houses, happy to be back at Hogwarts.

****

Super short chapter, yeah, but I wasn't feeling very motivated, so this is the best I could do. In other news, I have once again decided to reread the Harry Potter series, probably for the millionth time, so I've got that going for me.

Grammar and spelling are weird; please help.

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