Big Three at Hogwarts

Part 10

A/N: I lifted part of this piece (I'll put it in bold) from another piece. Death Toll (Percy Jackson x Harry Potter Crossover Fanfiction) by candberri. I also used a quote from it ("Personification of pinkeye" in part 8) but I forgot to cite it and am too lazy to do so now. I figured if any time was good, it'd be now.

They walked to potions, people looking at them strangely as they passed. People whispered and pointed, apparently, news traveled fast at Pigpimples. If anyone looked for too long, Thalia or Percy made a face at them and they looked away awfully quick. 

As they sat down, people seemed to avoid them (no clue why) but none of them really cared. They saw Hermione and Harry sitting a few desks away and casting them discreet glances that were not at all discreet. Nico assumed Ron had gone to the infirmary. 

A man walked in with greasy, black hair, and cruel, unamused eyes. He scanned the classroom and his gaze landed on the only new faces; the demigods. He sneered at them and tried to give them a hard glare. Nico didn't think it was all that scary but the rest of the class looked terrified.

"Today we will be going straight into a new potion. Unless the new students need help." He said with a critical look in their direction.

"Nope." Percy said, popping the 'p'. He frowned but continued on, "We will be making a Draught of Peace. Instructions are on the board. Get to work." He said, turning back, as an afterthought, he said, "Oh, and, Potter, try not to blow anything up." The kids in the green ties — Slithyrins, Nico had learned — started laughing and jeering at him. Even Snape smirked. Nico thought that was unfair, but Percy beat him to it.

"But, Sir, blowing things up keeps class interesting." He said.

"Yeah," Thalia chimed in, "if Harry stops blowing things up, what would we do? Learn?" Thalia snorted. Nico decided to join in, too, "Uh-huh, and what would your house laugh at? You? Wouldn't be that hard, would it?" The Gryffindors started laughing and Snape turned slightly red.

"I'd give you detention but Dumbledore told me to go easy on you because you might be a little, ah, slow." His voice was a lazy drawl and it made Nico go insane. Percy, Thalia, and Nico were used to teachers calling them stupid or slow, so it didn't bother any of them as much as it might if he had said it to someone else. None of them showed any signs of the insult and Snape looked slightly annoyed.

"Too stupid to understand what I said? Do you need me to say it slower?" He said with cruel amusement on his face. The Slytherins laughed even harder.

"No, no, we got it, but your opinion means literally nothing." Percy said calmly. Snape looked even angrier at this.

"Just work on the potion." He growled through clenched teeth. Everybody went to their potions. The three demigods did their best but couldn't read the overly-loopy and intricate swirls of the letters he wrote on the board. Nico and Percy knew the basics of a Draught of Peace and tried their best to remember what was in it and all the steps. Thalia was left to try and copy everybody else because Nico and Percy refused to help her. 

When Snape first sent them off to do their potions, Nico leaned over to Percy.

"I bet you ten drachmas that Snape says something about Thalia's potion." Nico said. Percy smiled.

"I don't know, he looked pretty uneased when we told him he was meaningless." Percy said. Nico grinned.

"Didn't we tell him his opinion was meaningless?" Percy grinned right back at Nico.

"Right." He said, "I misspoke."

"Which time?" Percy snorted but didn't answer.

"That bet? You're on."