(Edited: 17/07/2020)

Chapter 5

Percy's Point of View

The first couple of weeks after that first day passed quickly. Charles fought with us almost daily, but Harry and I took to ignoring him. Logic won out over the urge to respond to our brother. That was, of course, until our first flying lesson, which took place during our second week of classes.

We were paired with the Slytherins, thank Merlin. I may have been placed in Gryffindor, but I was more of a rogue Lion than part of the Pride.

I could feel Harry buzzing with energy as we walked beside Draco. They were discussing Quidditch and the best strategies and techniques that professional players used. I tuned in and out but something about the idea of flying terrified me. Water felt safe, it felt like home, but the sky... the sky was something else entirely. If we fell....

'Percy?' Harry sounded concerned. 'What's wrong?'

'The sky...' I shuddered. 'I feel as if we don't belong in the sky.'

'Oh. Are you ok with me flying then? I won't if you don't want to.' There was no hesitation, just a small note of disappointment when Harry offered. I shook myself. I was a Gryffindor. Where was my courage?

'Its fine, Harry. I know you've been looking forward to this for ages now.' I sent him a quick grin. 'You go for it. I'm just being silly.'

"You two ok?" Draco passed a worried glance over us. "You went silent for a minute."

Harry nodded. "We're fine, don't worry about it. We had a bad dream last night, and it was bothering Percy slightly."

Draco looked sceptical, but didn't dwell on it as we had reached the Quidditch pitch already.

Twenty or so broomsticks were lined up on the ground in the centre in two rows, the bristles facing outwards, in the centre of the pitch. Madam Hooch stood in the centre of them, her short spiky white hair looking windswept. She was dressed in the traditional black and white striped Quidditch referee robes, looking completely in her element. A smile slipped onto our lips at the sight.

"Right, line up all of you. Don't dally now, we don't have all day." Madam Hooch ordered happily, just a note of seriousness in her voice. Somehow I got the feeling she wasn't someone to cross.

We obediently lined up, the Slytherins taking one row of brooms, the Gryffindors taking the other. We stood next to Draco, ignoring the Gryffindor's glares for now.

"Now, everyone hold your left hand out over the broom and shout up!"

Harry followed the instruction quickly, the broom shooting into his hand. I noticed Draco's did the same, as did Charles. Charles' best friend Ron, however, was having much more trouble, the broom hardly moving an inch. As for the Granger girl... I snorted. She was glaring at her broom, ordering it in her strictest voice, but it merely rolled over a couple of times. Eventually she gave up, and just picked the broom up.

We shared a grin with Draco, who was smirking openly at the sight.

The next task was to mount our brooms and attempt to fly round the pitch. I burrowed as far back into our mind as I could as Harry kicked off, and did my utmost best not to flinch or whimper every time a gust of air almost knocked us off. Our movement was unsteady at first, while Harry found our balance, then we were off properly, zipping round the pitch to eventually be the first to land. Harry was laughing with an ecstatic kind of joy.

'That was epic!' He shouted at me.

I gave a weak smile. 'Yeah, I guess it was.'

Immediately I felt guilt flooding from Harry's end of the bond. 'Percy... are you really ok with this? Because if you're not –'

'NO! Harry, this is something you like doing. An actual sport you enjoy.' I laughed slightly. 'If it keeps you out the library then I'm all for it. Don't mind me. It's just a stupid feeling. It'll go away. Don't let me stop you having fun.'

Harry smiled at me. 'Oh, Percy...'

"I thought you said you'd never flown before!" Draco exclaimed as he landed beside us.

Harry frowned, confused. "We haven't."

"Then how in the name of all things Magic did you manage to fly like that?! That was amazing, you've got to teach me!" Draco all but begged. Malfoy's don't beg, as he would put it. I giggled, and Harry beamed.

"We can try."

The remainder of the lesson Madam Hooch allowed us free reign to practise flying, after warning us that any reckless stunts such as complex rolls or steep dives would put us in detention till Christmas. Harry was ecstatic at that. He shot straight off.

After a while raised voices shouted at each other from the other side of the pitch, so Harry flew over to investigate.

"Give it back, Potter!"

"Make me, Malfoy!"

We sighed. It would appear our brother had stolen Draco's pocket watch, which was a family heirloom his father had given to him.

"Fine!"

Draco made a while grab for Charles, who let go of the watch is shock. I stared in horror as it fell. Harry, however, moved swiftly into action, entering a semi-steep dive and catching the watch a few meters from the ground. I whimpered quietly in fear, but made sure to hide it from Harry.

'Nice catch!' I grinned half-heartedly as we began to rise again. Madam Hooch luckily hadn't noticed us.

'Thanks.' Harry beamed back before passing Draco his watch. "Here you go Draco, all safe. As for you!"

Harry rounded on Charles. "What has Lily and James told you about stealing? It's rude and wrong. I bet the press would have a field day if they found out you were nothing but a sneaky thief!"

"Why you little –"

Whatever Charles was about to say was cut off by Madam Hooch.

"Easy boys, split it up! Brothers such as yourselves shouldn't be fighting. Off you go now!"

We flew off, Harry climbing higher and higher, moving faster and faster with sharp, controlled movements and turns.

My emotions were still a bit off. I felt uncomfortable in the air. A metallic tinge seemed to follow us, almost like static electricity. Above our heads the clouds began to swirl as I got more and more worried. Something was wrong. Something was going to go wrong. The clouds crept lower until we were flying among them. A sharp whistle cut through the sound of whipping wind.

Harry was jolted out of the trance he was in, and lost control of our balance. Suddenly we were falling, down, down, down...

Harry shut our eyes, tensing for impact. I screamed, and I think Harry was screaming with me. But the impact we were expecting never came. Harry cracked open one eye. The clouds that had been swirling around us had solidified beneath us to form a squishy water cushion. We let out a shaky laugh.

"Mr Potter!" Madam Hooch flew us to meet us. "Are you ok?"

"Fine, Professor." Harry grinned. "Just a little bit shocked. Otherwise perfectly fine."

Madam Hooch offered us her hand, which Harry accepted only moments before our cloud-bed-thing collapsed. Madam Hooch quickly flew us to the ground. Relief was immediate, and I sighed deeply. Harry send me an image of him winking.

'You ok, bro?'

'Yeah.' I took a deep breath. 'I'm fine.'

"Attention seeker." Charles sneered. Harry and I stared at him in shock for a moment, then burst out laughing. Draco, who had also heard the comment, joined in.

Our laughter eventually stopped, and Harry wiped tears from our eyes. "By Merlin," he chuckled, "that has got to be the best thing I've ever heard you say, Charles."

"Huh?" Charles looked slightly confused as he glared at us.

Draco decided to help him out some, "You're calling them attention seekers? Potter, everything you say and do is to bring attention to yourself. It's pitiful."

The Slytherins laughed at Charles' expression. He looked both shocked and insulted. Madam Hooch decided to intervene then.

"Right now, come in closer. It's dangerous for beginners like yourselves to fly in these conditions so I'm going to call off the lesson." She explained, gesturing to the dark grumbling sky. "If the weather has improved tomorrow I could carry on this lesson for anyone who wants to."

Grumbling, the class dispersed. I out a sign of relief, carefully blocking it from Harry, who was chatting animatedly Draco.

"That was awesome! I wish we'd learned to fly when we were younger, it's amazing!"

"Isn't it just? The adrenaline when you dive is incredible! Just wait till we start playing mini-games in class, I'd bet you'll make a great seeker..."

They chatted all the way back to the Common Room. I kept silent, still slightly unsettled by our near death experience from falling off the broom. I shivered.

'Percy?' Harry asked. 'You're awfully quiet.'

'I'll be fine.' I flashed him a weak smile. Harry sat us down in one of the armchairs by the fire and retreated to join me. His warm sub-conscience enveloped mine and I snuggled into him embrace.

Harry chuckled lightly. 'You really don't like heights, do you?'

I shuddered. 'No, it's not that... I just... It felt wrong being in the sky.'

I sent him the remaining ghost of the feeling that remained. Harry shivered. 'I... I get it now. But why would you feel like that when I felt completely at home?'

Harry sent me the feeling of joy and comfort and almost homely emotions that had filled during our flight. I smiled. 'I don't know. But next time we go flying, you'll channel those feelings to me, won't you? That way we can both enjoy it.'

'It's a deal. Is there anything we can do to put your mind at rest for now?'

I sighed. 'Something active like swimming or swordplay would be good...'

Harry grinned. 'Well, I do believe we promised the Squid another visit, didn't we?'

Harry stood up and started to head for the exit. Draco called us to a halt however.

"Where are you going?"

"Percy needs to do something energetic that's water based. We're going to go for a swim in the lake, want to join?"

"In September?!" Draco looked horrified. "You'll freeze to death!"

We laughed. "Draco, what do you think warming charms are for? Besides, we didn't get cold when we fell in on the first night. We'll be fine. See you at dinner?"

Draco looked torn. "But, it could be dangerous to go swimming in the lake..."

"If it was then it would be off bounds like the forbidden forest, wouldn't it?" Harry reasoned. "Look, we'll see you later, ok?"

With that we ran out of the Common Room and out of the castle. Once we reached the lake Harry gave me control. I grinned at him and stripped down to our underwear, storing our clothes under the root of a tree which was located close to the shoreline. I shivered lightly in the cold air, then plunged straight into the dark waters of the black lake. As soon as I hit the water, energy swept through me, like I'd just taken a shot of coffee. The water felt warm and comforting. I ducked our head under the surface and swum deeper. Soon our lungs were bursting for air and I took a deep breath in.

'We can still breathe underwater!' I told Harry with a delighted laugh. Harry grinned back, and we swam even deeper.

After a while a familiar ancient presence pushed at our mind. 'Lords. You have returned.'

'We did promise, didn't we?' Harry smiled. A few seconds later a dark shadow appeared in front of us. A large eye studied us eagerly.

'You've very young.' The Giant Squid mentioned off-hand. 'Barely grown at all... I will look after you, little lords.'

'Thank you.' I said. It would appear our friend the Giant Squid had a protective streak. Harry smiled at me.

'So, any other friendly faces in the lake?' Harry asked.

Before the Giant Squid could reply a streak of green flashed at the edge of our vision.

:.Menfolk!. There is menfolk in the lake!.: A screeching whistle reached our ears. Harry and I grinned.

'Merfolk!' we exclaimed. When we younger we had learned the language of the Merfolk after meeting one in the deep running river that ran alongside the Potter estate.

:.Greetings one-of-the-lake.: I called out in a calm voice.

:.You speak! And you are... you are a child.: The merfolk swam closer. There was two of them, a female and a male. Both of their hair was long and looked a bit like seaweed, and their fingers were webbed. Not to mention the gills adorning each side of the necks. Otherwise they were human from the waist up. Their tails were a beautiful green-blue, made up of hundreds of sparkling scales.

:.Beautiful...: I whispered, Harry humming in agreement. Then I shook our head. :.Forgive us. We are Percy and Harry Potter. We are delighted to make your acquaintance.:

:.A Twin soul! You are The Twin soul!.: The mermaid bared her teeth at us in a smile. :.You are very welcome here, Percy and Harry.:

:.Can you... can you really...: The merman started to ask, struggling to find the words

'Enough of this, Children of the Black Lake. Can't you see my little lords are young yet? Do not bother them so, let them have fun. That can wait a while longer.' The Giant Squid intervened, pushing the merfolk back gently with one massive tentacle.

:.What was it you were going to ask us?.: I almost demanded. Being rude wouldn't get me anywhere here, so I kept my voice polite.

:.Never you mind, young one. The Squid is right. You must grow and enjoy what you have now before the outside world takes it away.: The mermaid gave us an adoring look. :.You will grow to do great things.:

With that the merfolk swam off. I frowned. 'But what do they mean? What were they talking about?'

'I suppose only time will tell.' Harry sighed.

A tentacle suddenly wrapped round our middle and started pulling us up towards the surface. 'Come, young lords. The menfolk are searching for you. You must go now, but please, lords, come back and visit again soon!'

The squid pleaded with us until we agreed to come back, but refused to answer any questions concerning what they had been talking about was, just informing us that 'You will know when the time comes.'

As our head broke the surface we became aware of a large group of teachers standing at the lake shore, sending spells into the lake. From the looks of things they were searching for something.

'Those are tracking spells.' Harry told me. 'They're searching for us.'

Silently I swum round the lake a little way to where our cloths were and climbed out of the lake. Luckily our boxers and hair were perfectly dry, so we might just be able to get way with it-

"MR POTTER!"

Too late. I turned around, flinching as I met our fuming Godfather's eyes. "Sir?"

"Please don't tell me you were actually as stupid as Mr Malfoy informs me to actually go swimming alone in the Black Lake?" He snapped.

"Ok, we weren't as stupid as Mr Malfoy informed you to actually go swimming alone in the Black Lake." I deadpanned. Then I grinned. "We went swimming with the Giant Squid."

"YOU WHAT?!"

An hour later we were still standing in Professor Dumbledore's office being lectured about the dangers of swimming in the Black Lake unsupervised, especially in the winter months. And during this time neither Harry or I had been given the opportunity to speak. Instead we kept switching control to give each other a break from the endless lecturing, if just for ten minutes.

"What were you even thinking?!"

"Well," Harry said, finally getting a word in. "I guess we were thinking the Giant Squid had seem incredibly nice when he spoke to us when we fell into the lake on our first night at Hogwarts and should honour our promise to visit him."

"You... hold on, what?" Professor McGonagall looked lost for words.

"You see, the Giant Squid came to say hello to us when we were crossing the Lake in the boats on the night of the sorting ceremony. He – at least I think it's a he – said hello to us and put us back in our boat. Percy promised we would come back to speak with him, so we did. Besides, Percy was feeling off after our flying lesson and falling off our broom, so I suggested we go swimming because that helps to relax and calm him down. The merfolk we met were awfully nice too." Harry explained.

"You talked to the merfolk?"

Harry nodded with an enthusiastic grin. Professor McGonagall fell backwards in a dead faint. We responded automatically, pushing our hands out and flicked our wands sending out our magic to catch her. Once she was lying comfortably on the floor we turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"Does she not like the merfolk?"

Twinkling blue eyes studied us serious. "Mr Potter, I don't think you quite understand the severity of the situation here. The merfolk – especially those that live in the Black Lake – are not 'awfully nice'. If anything, they're usually extremely vicious and territorial."

"Really? I think they're just misunderstood. How can you describe them as that when you don't ever talk to them. They were perfectly polite once I talked to them." Harry explained.

Dumbledore rubbed his forehead in exasperation. I chuckled.

'You can't beat us at our own game, Dumbledore!' I crowed to Harry.

'This is our show, and I'd love to see someone better at it than us!'

"Look, young man, I have to inform your parents about this."

"Why?" Harry gave Dumbledore a wide-eyed look. "We haven't done anything wrong! You clearly said that the Forbidden Forest was out of bounds– although with a name like that you might as well just be herding the students into it - we love the forbidden! But the Black Lake you never said was off-limits or dangerous or the like. I don't understand why we can't simply go swimming!"

"Don't you understand? I didn't say anything because nobody in their right mind ever goes swimming in autumn, and those that might consider it know of the dangers that dwell within the lake. The Grindylows could have drowned you!"

Harry and I burst out laughing, our body shaking with hysterics.

"But Headmaster, we have the protection of the Giant Squid. He won't let anyone hurt us!"

'And breathing underwater sort of rules out any chance of drowning...' Harry sniggered.

The fireplace suddenly flared green as our parents stepped though. "I'm so sorry, we just got your message. Is Harry ok?"

Lily looked distraught, her normally neat hair a messy bush as if she'd been running her hands through it. James looked the same as always, except maybe a bit flustered.

"We're fine, Lily." Harry grinned up at mum. "We just went swimming. It's not as if we were doing anything dangerous like walking in the forbidden forest."

An audible 'thunk' rang round the room as Dumbledore's head connected with his desk. His blue eyes weren't sparkling at all as they looked pleadingly up at Lily.

"Please talk some sense into them, Harry and Percy refuse to understand that the Black Lake is dangerous."

James burst out laughing. "You went swimming in the Black Lake? How's old Squiddy? Is he still alive and kicking?"

"You bet!" We grinned up at our father. "He's just a bit lonely. Professor Dumbledore here thinks that we shouldn't go talk to him. But The Giant Squid said he'd protect us, so why is everyone kicking up a fuss? All the creatures we met were more than friendly."

The next hour was spent with James and us arguing with Lily and Dumbledore over the dangers in the Lake. It only ended because it was late and we need to go to bed.

"Bye Lily, bye James!" We pressed a light kiss to our parent's cheeks. "Bye Professor! Goodnight!"

We walked slowly out the door. We paused for a moment to shut the door, just in time to hear Lily's unset sigh.

"Do you think he'll ever call me Mum again? Our poor little boy, James. Why won't he accept that we want to help him? I know we wronged him, but..."

Anger bubbled up inside us.

'She abandoned us!'

'How are they trying to help us?'

'They hardly even know us!'

Our angry questions carried on all the way back to the dorms, by which time we were crying over our loss of our parents. No, we didn't always get along, but they were still our blood, our family. And family was everything, wasn't it?

Our tears soaked our pillow as we slowly cried ourselves to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day.

'Night Harry.' I whispered in a small voice. 'Thank you for today.'

'Night Percy.' Harry smiled. 'I should be the one thanking you for still letting me fly. I love you, bro.'

'Love you too Harry.'

A small smile graced our lips as sleep finally claimed us, sweeping us up into its warm embrace.