Nexus

The Plan

He speaks to McGonagall when she arrives. The conversation is tense and hard. Percy does not sugar coat it for her, and Madame Pomfrey helps explain the details.

"We'll get you in to St. Mungo's today," McGonagall finally says once Percy and Pomfrey have finished.

"I request complete discretion," Percy says quietly.

McGonagall stares him down over her wire spectacles. "Elaborate."

Percy pushes himself up better, his arms shaking and screaming with pain. "There is much uncertainty around my condition. If it isn't too serious, telling the students will serve no purpose but worrying some of them. If it is serious, there is nothing they can do by knowing."

She looks like she wants to argue but respects his decision. "What will you say, then? What do you wish to tell the students? They saw your seizure, Jackson. You cannot explain that away. It's all over the school by now."

He nods. Percy is quite familiar with how fast rumors spread at Hogwarts. He had been victim to many of them.

***
"Professor?" A young Percy asked, raising his hand.

Professor Binns stopped his droning, looking shocked at being interrupted. He always moaned on and on about topics during their class, and it provides a wonderful white noise to fall asleep in. Indeed, half the class was currently snoozing. Two people were taking notes—a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, the two kids that everyone gets the notes from—and the rest of the class was either talking or playing wizard chess.

"Yes, Jankins?" Binns replied, still startled. He looked pale, although Percy didn't know if it was more so than normal, considering he was a ghost. Some people said Binns died in his sleep and just got back up to teach again. He acted completely unfazed by everything. Percy was surprised that the professor even got the first letter of his name correct.

"I have a question," Percy continued, smiling mischievously. Fred and George move into position behind him, standing next to the classroom doors.

Binns frowned. "Yes?"

"Why is Peeves in class?"

The entire class started looking around frantically, very cautious of the poltergeist. Everyone was awake now. Binns opened his mouth to say that the poltergeist wasn't there and was Percy alright when Peeves flew in through the wall, carrying a few small objects in his hands.

Percy jumped out of his seat and sprinted for the door. He was small, but fast. Fred and George ran out of the room at lightning speed, and the three slammed the doors closed as soon as they got out of the classroom.

There was an exploding noise followed by shrieking and splatters. The twins and Percy howled with laughter as they opened the doors again. The class was covered in paint that Peeves had exploded all over. The walls, floors, and students were splattered with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple paint.

"Brilliant!" Fred laughed, high-fiving Percy. "That was a great idea, Percy."

Word got out that it had been his prank plan. It had taken three teachers to get the paint off the walls and students as the twins had hexed the paint with a sticking charm, but even then the students were walking around covered in paint for a few hours.

And so the rumor had begun.

"Jackson chose those colors deliberately," Adrian Pucey had sneered to the Slytherins. "He's a stinking homosexual."

That had been such a ridiculous statement that Percy hadn't even bothered to respond when he first heard it. Of course him exploding rainbow paint wasn't some internal manifestation of homosexuality. What even was that theory? And even if he was gay, so what?

But the rumors had quickly spread across the entire school. And then people began to speculate about the Weasley twins and Jackson trio.

"It's a harem," a Hufflepuff sixth year hissed in the hallway.

Percy was thirteen. He had no idea what that even meant.

"If anything," Percy muttered in the Gryffindor common room with the twins that night, "they should be looking at Diggory." Cedric was a close friend of his from Hufflepuff, and Percy certainly got butterflies around him. The boy was incredibly attractive, popular, and talented at Quidditch and magic—who wouldn't get flustered around him? "Hottest guy I ever saw. Shouldn't I pull only attractive boys, if I am a homosexual? I mean, look at me," he gestured to his skinny arms. "I'm gorgeous. And you two are...well."

He dodged the twins' lunging arms and outraged cried with a laugh. He'd handled that rumor well, especially since people at Hogwarts just didn't care that Percy wasn't quite as straight as Camp Half Blood thought, but not all of the rumors were that easy. There had been many others about him: that he went home to an American orphanage during the summer, that he had sabotaged the O.W.L.'s, which was why he had gotten such high scores. That he was the Heir of Slytherin—although that hadn't lasted long. As he grew though, and gained respect and popularity through pranks with Fred and George, the bullying stopped.

Percy's growth spurts and quick development of muscle mass from Camp Half Blood helped, too. And his skills with magic. He had worked hard for it all, but after a few years, no one wanted to mess with the tall, strong, popular and talented wizard anymore.
***

"We tell them it was a one-time thing, just a seizure from sleep deprivation," Percy suggests. Perhaps it had been caused by his lack of sleep, but the students and faculty did not need to know it was potentially part of a larger problem.

"You think they will believe that?" The Headmistress asks.

Percy nods. "If released properly. Don't make an announcement to the school. Tell Horace."

And that was what she did. McGonagall offhandedly mentioned it to the Potions professor, who spread it to the other staff members. From there, some other students heard it. By the time lunch rolled around, all the students knew the seizure was just a fluke. Professor Jackson was recovering and would be just fine for class tomorrow. There would be no homework.

He wonders how Harry, Ron, and Hermione will react. They are master sleuths and uncovered everything Dumbledore tried to keep hidden. Could they be fooled by this rumor? Or would they uncover the truth despite his wishes?

And Hermione.

What to do about Hermione? She deserved to know if this was a bigger problem, but Percy couldn't bare to tell her. It would terrify her and make it all the harder for Percy to face. And if this was something that would kill him...how could he make Hermione watch him die?

While the students were all eating lunch in the Great Hall, McGonagall escorted Percy to St. Mungo's.

Percy was taken back into a private room to wait for the Healer. Minerva had gone back to Hogwarts at Percy's urging to fill in for his classes. Truthfully, Percy wants to be alone for the Healer's verdict. It will be easier to take the news if he doesn't have to worry about hiding his reaction.