NOW

Chapter Twenty-Four

The whole next week Percy got starred at wherever he went. Whispers were his constant companion and even at the Slytherin table people moved away from him. Alone Daphne and Blaise stayed by his side and they ate in silence. Percy also got bombarded with questions whenever he met someone in the corridors, if they didn't look to the ground and hurried past him. For the first time he didn't feel welcome at Hogwarts. Again he was something special, something wrong.

Only the approaching Quidditch game managed to get the attention off him. Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. It was an awful game and Percy wasn't sure if it had been better, hadn't it been for the events the week before. The Gryffindor's team was awful, missing three important players, some others had taken their spots. Ginny who flew as seeker instead of Harry wasn't bad and actually caught the snitch, but the others were helpless and Ron didn't do any better than the last time.

Even for Percy it was hurtful to look at it, but he was glad for the game. At least that day the whispers were about the players and not him.Gryffindor lost and the mood in the Slytherin common room was accordingly. Some six year had gotten butter beers and everyone cheered the awful song Ron is our king when Percy came in.

Blaise Zabini rushed towards him, two butter beers in hand and pushed one of them into his arms. "To warm up.", he slurred and Percy wondered how he got drunk. "We have something stronger, too." Blaise winked at him.

Percy rose a brow and followed him to the fireplace where some six and seven years were sitting. They must have had some of the 'stronger stuff' already because they didn't even look at Percy twice. One of them pushed a bottle into his hands before quickly leaving, probably on his way to the toilet. The bottle in Percy's hands was black and didn't show the liquid inside. On its simple etiquette stood in bold letters.

"Whiskey?" Percy said clearing his throat and neighing his head to the side. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"That's not ordinary whisky. It's firewhisky.", exclaimed one Slytherin who definitely had had a bit of it already. "And it's a party isn- isn- isn't it!" He shouted having trouble speaking out the word. His eyes wanders to the fire in front of him and he watched the flames with a concentration and determination Percy was sure he never showed in school.

Of course Percy had had alcoholic drinks before but they never really did much. Him being a son of Poseidon, liquors didn't do much to his body. Percy wasn't sure if he should be glad for it because it kept him from becoming a drunk, or damn it for keeping the feeling of momentarily greatness from him. Maybe it was the fact that he never been drunk before and wanted to know how it felt like, maybe after everything that had happened he just needed a pause. Whatever reason, he flicked off the cap of the bottle and took a long sip.

He felt a little tingling on the back of his throat as the drink purred down. The drink didn't taste like much and Percy looked at the bottle trying to make out what was in the drink. Then he set it back to his lips and took another sip.

Percy Jackson would only get drunk twice in his life and that evening was the first. Time seemed to not follow any order. At a time it ran and then it stopped completely. Faces around him came and went, changed over and over again. Or maybe he was moving? The noises of the party faded and soon there were only five people and Percy himself left. Blaise Zabini was talking, if you could still call it talking, agitated with the Slytherin who had stared into the flames. Since then he had fallen asleep half lying on the floor and only grunted now and then what Blaise took as responses.

Two seven years, a couple apparently were fighting. Percy watched them sitting on a couch. The boy, a tall dark haired angry looking comrade, lifted his hand and with his open hand broke the girls nose. Percy jumped up but had to stop for a second to not fall back on the soft couch. Another girl had hurried to her side and they tried to stop the blood flow. The boy turned and went for his dorm. On the way up the stairs he fell twice. Meanwhile the second girl had gotten a towel which was bright red from blood already. Percy walked over to them and stopped shortly in front.