(Edited: 30/06/2020)

Chapter 3

Percy's point of view

The remaining summer flew by, and soon enough it was September 1st and we were off to Hogwarts. Harry had spent hours pouring over our new textbooks, and I literally had to fight him for control to carry on with my usual exercise routine. Still, at last the day was here, and I think I had just about every spell up to fourth year memorised thanks to Harry.

Platform 9 ¾ was as busy as ever, packed full of students and families waving goodbye. Harry, who I had left control to, was weaving through the crowds after a quick goodbye to James and Lily. Steam was billowing out the top of the steam engine, and the sound of owls hooting, cats crying and toads croaking filled the air that wasn't already full of heart-felt goodbyes.

Finally we reached the train, and immediately sought out an empty carriage. A flick of Harry's wand kept our brother and any of his fans out, just to be safe. A quick levitation charm had our trunk safely in the racks above the seats. Finally, we sat down on the red velvet seats, watching the teeming people still outside the train.

A knock at the door brought our attention back to the present a few minutes later. It didn't take us a minute to recognise the bleach blonde hair of the Malfoy heir - Draco – who we had met in Madam Malkin's during our school shopping session at Diagon Alley. Harry motioned him in with a beaming smile.

"Hey Draco!"

'Hey!' I chimed in, in our head. Harry mentally snorted at me for that, but I ignored him.

"Hey Harry, Percy." Draco nodded his head at us, sliding his trunk into the luggage rack and sitting opposite us. "How's your summer been?"

"Good. I got all our books read..."

'And memorised!' I muttered, but Harry ignored me.

"And a few more. You?"

Draco sniffed superiorly in the typical pure-blood fashion. "You did all that willingly? Father all but tied me to my desk to get me to do the same. I escaped enough to go flying though."

"I'd love to fly..." Harry murmured. At Draco's questioning look he explained. "My parent's hadn't looked at us for about five years before we received our letter, so we never got the chance to... plus we don't own a broom."

"Never mind, first years have lessons anyway, so you'll get your chance. If you inherited your father's genes you'll do fine - I'm no fan of Gryffindor, but even us Slytherin's respect talent when we see it." Draco grinned at us when he saw our bewildered expression.

'I like Draco.' I murmured to Harry. He grinned mentally back.

'Me too.'

A thud shook the carriage as two bulky boys shoved the door open. Harry and I looked curiously at the two boys as they came in. Then sat themselves on either side of Draco, much like body guards, and glared threateningly at us.

"Who's this?" Harry commented.

Draco gave the boys a fleeting look. "Crabbe and Goyle. We've been friends since we could walk."

'Friends?' I laughed. 'Body guards more like!'

Harry nodded in absentminded agreement. Our blonde friend raised an eyebrow. "Having a private conversation?"

"What? Oh, no, Percy was just commenting on how Crabbe and Goyle seem to be more like body guards than friends." Harry smiled apologetically. "He's a bit excited today."

I think that might have been the understatement of the year. I was all but bouncing around in our head, trying to expel the energy that my ADHD was providing in great quantities.

"Draco... Who is this?" One of the boys asked. He was shorter than the other, with a rounder more childish face. "He looks like a Potter."

"Ah, yes, sorry Crabbe. This is Harry and Percy Potter. They're a twin soul, and my god brothers." Draco explained.

After all the introductions were through, the train slowly began to pull out of the station, gradually gaining speed until the beautiful green scenery was a blur of colour. Occasionally a glimpse of trees or mountains could be made out, but it was hard to tell really. A kind old lady came around at one point with a trolley of sweets. I'm ashamed to admit that Harry and I brought a lot of them – at least five of each type. But what can I say – we'd never actually eaten sweets before. That's what happens when you never leave the house, I guess.

Halfway through the journey our idiot brother decided we were worth paying a visit to. It was hilarious! He couldn't get passed the barriers we had put up.

"Oi, Slytherin scum!" The whining tones of my brother's voice made us sigh. Was it really too much to ask for some peace and quiet? Of course, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle didn't take too well to being called 'Slytherin Scum' and immediately stood up to confront him.

"I'd rather be a snake over a lion any day. At least we know how to think things through!" Draco retorted, standing almost nose to nose with our brother.

With a sigh, Harry stood up from where we'd been hidden from sight. "Easy guys, I don't know about you but we weren't planning on getting a detention on the first night for fighting. And Charles – what would mummy say, insulting those who've done no wrong?"

'Idiot!' I growled. 'You're supposed to be preventing a fight, not starting one!'

Charles snarled at us, and took a step forward into the carriage. Or, at least, he would have, if not for the charms we'd placed round the door. Millions of tiny sparks of electricity tickled him, causing a mildly painful discomfort. Charles immediately leapt back, watching us warily.

"Just you wait, brother. Consorting with snakes... someone might even think you were one!" He spat at us.

"Like we need your advice. Go back to playing with your fame. It's much better suited to your... talents." Harry retorted smoothly. I laughed.

'He has talents?'

'Exactly, brother mine. Just wait until the rest of the world realises that too.'

A devilish grin lifted our lips, and our eyes sparkled with mischief. Charles saw this and ran off, terrified. It was the kind of look James got when he was planning a particularly humiliating prank, so I guess he had plenty of practise running from the expression we were wearing.

"What was that?" Draco asked after we had all sat back down.

"What, the door?" Harry smirked. "Just a precaution to prevent any boy-who-lived fans from sitting with us and being annoying. Oh, and of course I included my brother in the targets of who it would hit. Merlin that boy's stupid!"

The infamous Malfoy smirk graced the blond's lips as he spoke; "Potter, I think you might just be one of us. For as long as that attitude holds, you will forever be welcome in the Snake Pit."

Our conversation grew lighter after that, discussing various topics such as quidditch, teachers, subjects, books... Time flew by, thank Merlin. I don't think I would have survived being cooped up in that carriage bored. At some point we all changed into our robes. They looked odd; missing the distinctive colours that marked out which house the owner belonged too. They were a bit of a pain to move around in too, and Harry almost tripped over when putting them on. I could see them getting incredibly hot during the summer...

Anyway, it was dark by the time we reached the station at Hogwarts. The castle wasn't yet in sight, as we were in a small village a short way away from Hogwarts. Hagrid – the Gamekeeper and a family friend – stood a full head and shoulders above everybody (due to his half-giant heritage), allowing all the first years to easily locate him as he rounded us up. He took us a different route from the rest of the school, heading down towards a lake rather than towards the carriages lined up outside the station. About fifteen rowing boats lay in the shallows, a tall pole with a lamp fixed on top standing in the middle of each.

"Alright!" Hagrid grinned at us. "No more than four to a boat. Come on, in you go!"

We loaded into the boats. We were with Draco, Crabbe and Goyle again. The waters were pitch black in the night, but I could feel all the life beneath our boat. A giant tentacle reached out of the depth and almost... caressed our face. It took all of Harry and my will not to flinch away. Draco looked terrified, cringing away from the slimy tentacle.

'Welcome Lords,' an ancient voice slipped into our minds. Harry started, flinching away from the voice. This caused a slip in control between us, which happened to be just enough to send us pitching head first into the lake. I took over just in time to scream, then the water closed over our head and everything was dark.

I panicked. I couldn't tell which way was up or down or even see any light from the boats.

'Percy.' Harry's voice was strangely calm. 'Percy calm down and pay attention.'

Instinctively, I took a deep breath to calm down. And I didn't choke on water. Instead clean oxygen flooded our lungs. I let out a shaky laugh.

'Harry, we're breathing! Underwater. Breathing...'

Harry laughed along with me. 'Not only that. Look at our robes.'

Curious, I followed his instruction. 'But... but they're dry. How- how are they dry?'

A strong slimy tentacle slipped round our waist, pulling us what I thought was up. After a minute or so, our head broke the surface of the lake.

'Sorry for startling you, Lords.' the voice apologised. 'Are you alright?'

'Yes. We're fine, thank you.' Harry and I spoke at simultaneously, and grinned. We are so in sync. 'Who are you?'

'I believe the land-walkers call me the Giant Squid.' the voice answered.

'Thank you for saving us.' I thanked it politely. 'We need to get going, but we can come back and talk at a later date?'

The Giant Squid agreed, and hoisted us back into the boat we had fallen out of. Draco gave us an incredulous once-over.

"You just fell into the lake." He stated blankly. I nodded in agreement. "After been stroked by a tentacle thing."

"Yes." I agreed.

"And now not only are you perfectly dry, but you're not at all out of breath." Draco added.

"Yep." I nodded, Harry grinning mentally at our blond friend. "That just about sums everything up. Turns out we can breathe underwater, and our clothes don't get wet."

"How is that even possible?!" Draco exclaimed.

From the boat next to ours, Charles sneered at me. "Haven't you realised by now – Harry's a freak. A delusional freak."

"I'll think you'll that find I'm Percy." I sneered back at him merrily. "Gosh, can't you even tell your own brother's apart? You should be ashamed, Charles, ashamed!"

Charles started turning red again. I frowned at Harry mentally.

'He's mad again, isn't he? Not choking.'

'Not choking.' Harry agreed with a grin. 'Poor Charles, I think he might have some disorder or something. He turns red an awful lot.'

We sniggered, gaining some odd looks from everyone around us, but I just waved them off. We were fine. They might think we were balmy, but hey! We grew up in a library for Merlin's sake, with nobody but each other and house elves for company.

We turned a corner and gasps filled the air. Hogwarts was a beautiful sight; perched on a rocky outcrop it stood tall and proud, complete with turrets, gargoyles couching on the roofs and statues standing in little niches. The windows shone with flickering candlelight as we approached. It was truly stunning.

"Mind your heads!" Hagrid boomed, ducking low as we passed through a wall of ivy into a small cave inside. We docked the boats and followed Hagrid up some slippery steps to where an old oak door was set into the rock. Hagrid knocked twice and, after a few minutes, a middle-aged woman with a stern wrinkled face and her greying brown hair up in a tight bun opened the door.

"First years, Professor." Hagrid announced with a grin.

"Yes, yes. Now, follow me. Keep up and don't get lost. We are running to a schedule here, provided you wish to eat before bed!" Her voice was sharp, demanding she be heard and obeyed, but we knew that under her harsh exterior the Professor was a kind lady. She'd come over to teach Charles a couple of times and we'd watched from one of the ceiling beams in the dining room as she taught him Magical Theory. We hadn't personally talked to her, but she'd smiled at us a couple of times when she was around. I think she might have thought we were Charles, but no matter. She was still nice.

'Percy.' Harry poked me mentally.

"Hmm?" I forgot to reply back silently and received some weird looks as a result.

'Can I take over? You're ADHD is starting to distract even me, and I really want to see what's going on.' Harry begged, sending me an image of his puppy eyes. I pouted, but retreated. Clearly Harry wasn't expecting me to surrender so easily, causing us to trip and almost face-plant the floor.

"Percy!" Harry growled. I sniggered, before realising that our arms actually hurt.

'Sorry Harry.' I apologised; more interested in the pretty paintings than what Harry was actually doing.

We followed the Professor up to what looked like an entrance hall. To one side a set of humongous wooden doors were set into the wall. To their right stood a grand staircase leading up. Smaller wooden doors headed off in various directions, which got me curious.

'Hey Harry?' I asked.

'Yeah Percy?' Harry sighed, and I giggled.

'When do we get to go exploring? I really want to find out what secrets this place has...' I begged.

Harry raised his eyes to the ceiling in exasperation. 'We can't have any sugar can we? Why, just why do you have to get this hyper?'

Draco nudged us, having noticed Harry's exasperation. "What's wrong?"

Harry sighed again. "I ate too much sugar on the train. Couple that with our dip in the lake and we get ourselves an extremely hyper ADHD Percy."

"Oh." Draco frowned. "What's ADHD?"

"It stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder." Harry explained. "In short it means that Percy is rather prone to being inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive. Unfortunately, it also rubs off on me every now and again, so yeah. I'm probably going to be extremely fidgety and take maybe..."

'Three hours.' I offered, having already worked out the math when Harry started on the sweets.

"Percy says three hours to get to sleep. What time are we expected up tomorrow?"

"Class starts at nine." Draco told us. We both groaned.

"Percy!" Harry moaned. "One day I'm going to kill you."

'Aw, I love you too Harry! Though killing me would take killing you...' I grinned. 'Besides, I'll take control this evening if you like. At least then you'll be mentally rested for the morning.'

'Hey, why do I have to do the thinking tomorrow?!' Harry complained.

I laughed. 'If you want us to get a detention on our first day...'

Harry grudgingly agreed that I would be a hazard in the class room before proceeding to ignore me.

I was fine with that however, as we were now entering the Great Hall. Hundreds of candles floated below the ceiling, which was spelled to reflect the clear night sky. Four long rows of tables were set out so they ran horizontally, taking up the majority of the space in the Hall. At the far end of the hall was another row of tables, where the Professors were all sitting. I grinned when I saw the stool and tatty old hat at the end of the hall. We'd been wondering how we were sorted. James had claimed we had to wrestle a troll, but Harry didn't believe him. I kind of wanted it to be real, however, if just to see if my sword-play was good enough to beat one.

"Now, gather round." The Professor that led us here ordered. "When I call your name, you will come up to the front, sit down on the stool. I will place the hat on your head, and thus you shall be sorted."

"She doesn't give much away, does she?" Draco commented with a sneer.

"No." Harry agreed. "She doesn't."

And so the names began with a "Abbott, Hannah."

The hat sat on her head for maybe a minute before booming, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The names went on until finally, "Potter, Charles."

Whispers fled through the hall. "Charles Potter, the Charles Potter!"

"He's the boy who lived!"

"The chosen one."

"The defeater of the dark lord..."

Charles swaggered up to the hat, basking in all the attention. Disgusted, Harry and I acted as one, muttering a small spell under our breath. Charles' foot got caught in the front of his robes and he tripped. Blushing furiously, Charles quickly righted himself and sat on the stool. We smirked, proud of our little spell.

Draco laughed under his breath. "I saw that."

"Saw what?" Harry widened our eyes to a picture of perfect innocence.

Before Draco could reply the hat interrupted with one loud word. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Then it was our turn.

"Potter, Harry."

We growled under our breath, "It's Harry and Percy," not that anybody actually heard us.

Harry sat on the stool and the Professor placed that hat on our head.

'Hmm, interesting, very interesting. Two different personalities...'

We jumped.

'What-?'

'Who-?'

The voice chuckled. 'Oh, I see, a twin-soul. I haven't seen one of you in a fair few hundred years.'

'Indeed.' I commented dryly.

Harry tilted his head. 'So how will this work?'

'That depends, young one, on what house you belong in.'

'Damn.' I cursed.

We had been hoping that if Harry was in control, it would be his more Slytherin nature that would place us away from Charles.

The hat seemed to smile at that theory, and carried on sifting through our memories and thoughts, trying to come to a decision.

'Well, well, well. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor in the same body... how do you two survive?'

We sighed.

'Well-'

'-you see-'

'-we share control-'

'-and trust the other-'

'-not to do anything-'

'-too stupid and reckless-'

'-or too ambitious.'

Harry and I grinned before simultaneously declaring; 'We've always wanted to do that!'

'Very well, I see no other option,' the hat muttered sullenly. 'Sorry boys, but there's no other way.'

"Slytherin for Harry Potter." The hat called out to the rest of the hall. Silence met this. "But Gryffindor for young Percy."

Shouts of outrage and confusion filled the hall. Harry and I melded together to share control. We blinked calmly at the chaos that reigned before us. A slight smile twitched at our lips for a second, and then it was gone as a warm hand clasped over our shoulder.

Our head jerked up to see Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, frowning down at us.

"Mr Potter..."

"Professor?" We acknowledged his presence.

His eyes met ours and a slight pressure tingled at the back of our mind. Immediately our magic responded, flying outwards to fend the attacker off. Dumbledore was flung away, and every window in the hall smashed as the magic hit it. Oops.

We ducked our head, ready for the blow that followed a use of accidental magic around adults. But it didn't come. We glanced up, and only saw hundreds of eyes gazing at us in fear and curiosity.

Unable to stand the pressure all those eyes were putting on us we fled the hall, running down between the tables of silent staring eyes and out through the oak door. Literally, through the door. We didn't pause to open it, but luckily our magic carried us through it before we actually hit the hard wood.

What a start to school. It turned out the answer to whether magic was ready for us was a simple one. Absolutely not.