Woah. An update.

The school was shocked when the resident Gryffindor bookworm came into the Great Hall on November the first. She walked shyly over to the Potter brothers and, to the disbelief of the masses, was offered a space by a reddened Ron Weasley.

It wasn't surprising to the group in question; they had just fought a troll together and they weren't going to be friends?

As the castle got colder and the days got shorter, the quartet became essentially inseparable.

Combined with their classes, Percy and Harry were preparing for the beginning of the Quidditch season. They spent at least five hours a week in the cold stadium preparing for their first match against Slytherin. Ron and Hermione were usually in the stands, cheering them on or reading or doing homework or whatever.

Harry was introduced to the snitch, which he spent the training lessons learning to locate it. On the other hand, Percy was beginning to build up a chemistry with the other Chasers, stringing together intense and complex gameplay and skills.

Despite the warnings of foul play, the boys were incredibly excited for their first game. Hermione had lent Harry her copy of Quidditch Through The Ages which she had taken out from the library. It was more informative than he had originally believed, even though Percy had already read and suggested it to him.

Speaking of Hermione, the brothers and Ron had managed to stamp out the majority of Hermione's rule-loving tendencies. She still obtained an unhealthy adoration of authority figures, but Percy knew that it would take some time to remove that.

It was nearing December now. The quartet was sat around a jar containing a small blue flame, conjured by Percy and Hermione (a rather tricky piece of magic for the first years), in the courtyard of the school. Harry was reading an interesting story in Quidditch Through The Ages about a deft seeker called Josef Wronski, who came up with an effective defensive tactic used to trick the other seeker into a potential injury.

Ron noticed Snape making his way across the yard with a prominent limp in his step. He had a particularly pissed off expression on his face, more so than usual.

The Potions Master noticed the group, who were huddled with their backs against the jar to block it from view.

"What have you got there Potter?" the professor snarled.

Harry flinched, "A book, sir."

"What book, Potter?"

Percy stepped in, "Back the fuck off!". He glared at the greasy-haired teacher.

Snape growled at him with detest, "Insolent child! I will take this book; library books are not to be taken outside the buildings. Five points from Gryffindor!"

He hobbled away.

"He's made up that rule!" Ron exploded, "Just to take points away! Greasy git!"

"Why does he hate us, Percy?" Harry asked, keeping his eyes on the Potioneer's retreating back.

"Tragic backstory, man. There's always a tragic backstory." Percy explained, warming his hands around the jar, "I mean, I - quote on quote - 'died', Harry grew up with shitey relatives and poor Ron was born!"

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed in defence, grabbing Percy's robes before he could scramble away. He laughed maniacally (that very laugh becoming extremely associated with him) before rushing off, vaulting through an arch to one of the outside corridors with Ron hot on his tail.

Harry and Hermione laughed at their antics.

"I hope that he keeps that energy tomorrow," Hermione said, extinguishing the flame in her jar, "If he stays still...well, we both know how Slytherin can be."

"Thanks Hermione, I'll go get run through by a broom," Harry teased, pronouncing each word slowly. Hermione turned a wonderful shade of scarlet and attempted to justify herself as they walked off to the common room.

It was that night when the four had managed to nick some seats by the fire and doing homework (or not in the case of Percy and Hermione, who had already done theirs), that Hermione had asked Harry to get her book back for her; bookworm by heart, bookworm by nature.

Harry had quickly taken a look at the time before he went. Luckily, he had about twenty minutes until school curfew was in order so he popped out of the portrait hole and into the now cold corridors.

In hindsight, Harry realised he probably should have asked one of the prefects in the common room where Snape's office was. It was through pure luck that he accidentally ran into the head girl - Emily Richards, a half-blood in Ravenclaw - who pointed him on his way with an emphasis of haste.

When he got to Snape's room, he had about five minutes before curfew. He was about to knock on the door when he heard muffled voices on the other side. He nudged open the door, until he could see the greasy-haired potions master sitting in his chair. He almost gasped in surprise when he saw Filch in there with him, tending to a gruesome injury on his leg; the same one which he had been limping on earlier.

"Between that three-headed beast and the impertinent Potter child," Snape grimaced and winced as the caretaker wrapped bandages around his wound, which looked suspiciously like a bite, "I am going to lose my mind this year. How in Morgana's name are you supposed to watch all three heads at-"

The door creaked and Harry flinched. He stuck his head into the office and tried not to meet either of the adult's eyes.

"I was wondering if I could get my book back?" he asked weakly. Snape's face flared with anger.

"OUT!" he snarled, "GET OUT!"

Harry, already borderline pissing himself, made scarce of himself and sprinted back to the Gryffindor common room where, after breathing out the password, he collapsed onto a chair.

"You're out of shape still," Percy pointed out, not looking up from Ron's homework which he was attempting to salvage, "And, if I'm correct, you don't have the book."

This caught the attention of the other two around the table.

"Snape went into the third-floor corridor. It's exactly what we thought on Halloween." Harry gasped, "He got bitten by the Cerberus. That's why he was limping."

"He's after the package then," Percy observed, tapping his chin with Riptide, "Why else would he try?"

"He let in the troll at Halloween to make a diversion!" Ron exclaimed, "It didn't work and he's been trying ever since!"

"You all must be overthinking it," Hermione interrupted, "If you say Dumbledore wanted this package of his protected, why would Snape go against him? It just doesn't make sense."

The boys blinked owlishly at Hermione.

"Hermione?" Ron asked slowly, "Have you not been awake in Potions? He hates everyone!"

"Yes, but still…"

They slipped back into silence. Percy got out of his seat and brushed down his trousers.

"I'll be back in a second," he said, before climbing through the portrait hole.

"Be careful Perce," Harry called after him, "It's past curfew now, so don't get caught."

Percy waved him off, "I'll be fine."

A few minutes later, they heard a knock at the portrait door.

"Hey!" Percy's muffled voice came, "The Fat Lady's gone walkies again."

They went over and opened the door to see Percy with two flippable blackboards.

"Give us a hand mate?"

Ron and Harry helped him heave the boards into the common room, the curious eyes of a few fourth years following their actions.

"Nicked 'em from an abandoned classroom. Filch was down in the dungeons, so I didn't have to worry about him."

"Why?" Ron asked, his face furrowed in confusion.

"One: weird stuff is going on and I'm going to put it all down to try and find some answers." Percy explained, "Two: weird stuff is going on with me and I'm going to put it all down to try and find some answers."

Hermione's interest was caught, "What kind of stuff?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair.

"Weird dreams and trigger words," Percy said, waving his arms to show the mystery of it all, "I don't understand them but I feel like everything that happens, happens for a reason."

He started to wheel them towards the stairs to the boys' dormitories before disappearing up the stairs pulling one behind him.

Harry proceeded to head up to bed when he had finished copying the Transfiguration homework from Percy's. He immediately noticed the notes that Percy had put up on his blackboards.

On one was all the stuff they knew about the package. There were little subsections such as what it was, who wants it (Snape was the only name there at that moment) and what was up with the Cerberus.

The other was filled with Greek. Unlike when he had been able to translate Riptide, he couldn't work out for the life of him what anything meant. Maybe it was a reflex?

Like the other board, there were different branches of uninterpretable information, though there was considerably more on this board.

'This must be his personal confusion then.'

The first board had reignited his thoughts of the object and, in particular, Snape. He seemed like a bad guy, definitely someone to have an interest in the object. Hermione sort of had a point: for Snape to go behind the headmaster's back must mean that the object was really valuable and important.

Harry punched his pillow in frustration and checked the time. Half past twelve. He needed to get some sleep.

After all, he had a Quidditch match the next day.

Percy was already brushing his teeth when Harry got up. His brother's arm was like a piston.

When Percy noticed his presence, he dumped his brush and spat before rushing over to Harry.

"Thirty minutes until our first game Harry!" Percy yelled, startling a just awoken Seamus, "Hurry up!"

When Harry had tugged on his Quidditch uniform, Percy was scarfing down his breakfast, bouncing on his seat like crazy. He couldn't keep the grin off his face. This was gonna be good.

Harry sat down next to his hyperactive brother, but couldn't bring himself to eat anything. Yesterday, he was excited about this. Now, he felt like he was going to be sick at any moment, especially when he saw the sick sneers Marcus Flint and the team were aiming at him.

At least three-quarters of the school body were ready to watch the start of the Quidditch season. The sound of chatter was overpowering.

"Harry," Seamus said across the table, helping himself to the hash browns, "You've gotta eat mate. We can't be losing the match because you wouldn't eat your breakfast!"

"Sorry Seamus," Harry replied, looking down at his empty plate, "I'm just not hungry."

"Oi!" Percy yelled, pointing a sausage at him, "Stop being a bitch. It's called nerves. You'll be fine."

Even with his brother's riveting encouragement, he couldn't shake his anxiety for the upcoming fixture.

Wood had them collect their brooms from the shed and gathered them together in the Gryffindor locker room for a pep talk whilst he was putting on his keeper armour.

Harry sneaked a look out onto the pitch. The stands, stretching high above him, were filled to the brim with spectators. He could just make out the tiny binoculars around their necks. They would be watching him

"Alright men," Wood's voice cut through his musing.

"And women," interrupted one of Percy's fellow chasers Angelina Johnson.

"And women," Oliver agreed, rubbing his hands together.

"This is finally it-"

"The big one," Fred Weasley said accompanied by over the top arm movements.

"The one we've all been waiting for!" George added with equal amounts of theatrics.

"This season is ours to take by the handle!" They finished together. Angelina and Katie Bell were suppressing laughter.

"We were in the team last year," George whispered to the first year brothers.

"All joking aside, Weasley," Wood playfully glared, "This is the best team I've ever had, and last year we had Charlie. So go out there and prove Slytherin wrong!"

The team let out a cheer, but immediately got drowned out by the excited crowd. Harry flinched at the sudden noise.

"Cheer up Hazza!", Percy yelled in his ear to overcome the ruckus, "You're gonna kill it!"

He nodded as they made their way towards the stadium. As they passed George and Angelina, the brothers heard a snippet of their conversation.

"Can I get a kiss for luck?" the red-haired prankster asked, "It's kind of tradition, right?"

He puckered his lips and leant forwards. The dark-skinned chaser laughed as she pushed his head away with her hand.

"Come back alive. Then we'll see."

Percy gripped his head as the words swum around his mind. They were horribly familiar, yet not. He would update his board later and see if he could make any links then. If he lingered on it now, Slytherin would be serving his head for lunch.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked his brother, putting a hand on his back.

"Yeah," Percy lied, "Small headache. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine."

They emerged onto the pitch together with Angelina dragging George by his ear behind them. The stands looked so much taller with people in them. Harry felt incredibly small.

His heart soared with newfound confidence when he spotted a large banner waving about in the November wind. It had Potter for President embroidered onto the large bedsheet.

"You like it?" Percy asked smugly, "I suggested the idea. I let Hermione and the others do the rest. She found this spell to make it change colour."

As he said that, the banner turned from scarlet red to bright yellow then deep blue.

"That's amazing!" Harry said, the butterflies in his stomach gone.

Almost on cue, the banner shifted. It now read Percy for Vice.

Percy's smile was instantly wiped off his face.

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed, before laughing heartily.

"Tell Ron to watch his back," he grinned, "I'm gonna prank his ass all the way back to London!"

Harry thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't Ron. He didn't doubt Percy's pranking abilities, especially since he was friendly with Fred and George and Peeves the poltergeist.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the crowd went silent. The players encircled the Quidditch referee.

"I would like a clean game," she said, staring pointedly at the Slytherin captain who was sporting a particularly horrible grin, "No fouls of any kind will be tolerated and the rest is textbook rules. The balls will be released on my whistle."

Each player mounted their broom. A low buzz rumbled through the stadium in anticipation.

"Are you ready?" Harry whispered to his brother.

"I was accidentally conceived at the same time as you ready."

As soon as the whistle touched her lips, Harry followed Percy into the air. He relished in the feeling of the wind whistling past his ears as his hair whipped wildly around his head.

He may have been flying before, but now?

He felt free.

He zipped above the field. Above the other players and well above the stands. He could see the Gryffindor chasers humiliating the Slytherin side. He could hear the amplified voice of the commentator for the match - the Weasley twins' friend Lee Jordan - ring throughout the stadium.

"And straight off the block, Gryffindor rush into an early lead. What a brilliant piece of play by Percy and Angelina. An excellent Chaser that girl is, and not too shabby on the eyes."

"Mr Jordan," McGonagall warned, glaring at the cheeky second year.

"Sorry, professor," Lee said, before smirking, "But to be honest: I would!"

The Gryffindor stands roared with laughter. George was playfully glaring daggers at his best mate.

"LEE JORDAN!" McGonagall screeched, "YOU ARE TWELVE!"

"Actually Professor, I'm thirteen," Jordan stated, grinning madly, "I'm a horny teenager now, I think I'm entitled to it."

The entire stadium burst out in laughter. McGonagall rubbed her face.

"Just commentate the match, Jordan."

Harry smiled at the atmosphere. It felt amazing up there looking down onto the cheering figures of his schoolmates.

He felt pride swell in his chest when his eyes were drawn to the small figure passing and rolling his way through the opposition defence.

It looked like the Gryffindor attack team had been working together for at least a year with the fluidity they showed.

The slick passes and the pristine movements. Harry briefly recognised a set move they called Operation 45, moving in a triangle and never keeping the ball for longer than they needed to. One Slytherin defender nearly fell off his broom trying to stop the attack.

By the time five minutes had passed, Gryffindor was already up 40-0. Percy had scored two of them. Harry was so excited he did a little flip from his perch all the way above the pitch.

He didn't realise that he should have been looking for the snitch until the opposition seeker barged past him chasing the said ball.

Terrence Higgs was an awfully big bloke. When that was combined with a nasty attitude, he was a dangerous player. However, despite his worries, Harry knew that his size would slow him down.

Using his smaller frame and superior broom, Harry sped in front of Higgs. On a whim, he took a page out of Percy's book and flipped Higgs off before racing after the snitch. He heard an enraged roar behind as he barrel-rolled over Wood in his goal.

He lost the snitch amidst the chasers and returned to his place above the others.

"Watch it Harry!"

He turned his head to see Fred (or was it George?) hit a bludger away from him. The redhead flashed him a cheeky grin before speeding off, kicking the bludger into Marcus Flint.

Up in the stands, Harry's friends were going crazy. Hermione was worrying for the wellbeing of her friends, as it looked like Slytherin was still trying to get started. She knew that it was going to get harder for Gryffindor but she still felt a sense of pride in Percy and Harry.

A large shadow crossed her face as Hagrid sat down next to her and Ron.

"I was watchin' from me hut," he explained, patting a ridiculously large pair of binoculars hung around his neck on a rope, "Thought I migh' as well join yeh."

The stand wobbled as he sat down. Percy whizzed past, cutting past the chaser who had been aggressively following him.

He loved this feeling. Not only did he get a huge rush from simply flying, humiliating the Slytherins had a wonderful effect on him. He saw in their eyes the shock of being sliced up by a first year.

He let out a hearty laugh as he threw the ball behind his back between his hands, before gently bouncing it off the head of a confused chaser. A loud cheer erupted from the crowd.

As he drilled the Quaffle through one of the hoops (further extending their score to 100-0), he saw Harry dive past him with the Slytherin seeker in his dust.

Harry had seen the snitch hovering over the hoops and made his move whilst his opponent was distracted by a Bludger. With every passing second, he edged closer and closer to the small ball. He stretched out his hand. He was so close now…

The crowd howled in disgust as Harry was barged off his broom by Marcus Flint. Luckily, he was close to the ground, so he didn't hurt himself apart from a few grazes and maybe a bruise on the back of his shoulder.

Hooch spent a good five minutes yelling at Flint, who just glared at the Potter brothers.

"Five knuts says I can legally injure him by the end of the match," Percy said, nudging Harry in the side.

"What?"

"Without breaking the rules, I bet I can get Flint to hurt himself."

Harry laughed, "I won't take you up on that!"

Percy grinned as the whistle blew and Katie converted the penalty they had received into ten more points for Gryffindor. When Harry took to the skies again, he noticed that the Slytherin team were being much more violent than before.

This heavy change in attitude took the Gryffindors by surprise. In fifteen minutes, the Slytherins had clawed back fifty points using their borderline illegal brute strength.

Harry watched this with a heavy heart. Luckily, no one had been hurt yet, but the chasers were cutting it close. He flinched as Percy nearly got clotheslined off his broom.

A small flash attracted his attention away from his brother. The snitch hovered merely metres away! He grabbed his broom and turned it.

Or at least tried to.

For a second, his broom wouldn't move.

Suddenly, it burst into a mind of its own: twisting and bucking. Harry grabbed on for dear life while being thrown around one hundred metres in the air.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed, pointing a trembling finger up at her friend.

"What do we do?" Ron paled in fear for his friend.

Hermione pulled Hagrid's binoculars from his chest as more of the audience began to notice the wayward broom.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked, tugging her sleeve.

"According to the rules in the Quidditch section of Hogwarts: A History, all brooms are checked for curses before the match," she said, frantically searching the crowds, "Hence, common sense suggests someone must be actively jinxing it right now."

After a few more seconds, she paused before lowering the binoculars, "I can't believe it – it's Snape!" she cried.

"Preposterous!" Hagrid countered, "He's a professor fer magic's sake!"

Hermione passed the binoculars to Ron, "I've read about jinxes. You need to keep a heavy amount of focus on your target; Snape's not even blinking!"

Ron's eye widened in fear, "What can we do?"

Hermione started to panic, "I don't know! We need to distract him and break his focus, but we're all the way across the pitch. It's not like we're ridiculously fast and can get to the other side in a matter of seconds. That kind of stuff can only happen in movies!"

Ron scratched his head.

"What the hell are movies?"

Percy fired the quaffle to Angelina before looking up at his brother. A collective scream came from the entire audience (bar Slytherin – the fuckers were enjoying it) as a rather vicious movement bucked Harry off, leaving him holding on with one hand.

He narrowed his eyes and flew up to his friends.

"What the fuck is going on up there?" Percy demanded.

"Snape's cursing Harry's broom. We need to distract him somehow." Ron spewed out.

Percy's head snapped towards the staff stand, where the teachers and Lee Jordan sat, Lee repeatedly stressing Harry's peril. He sped off like a bullet, but Marcus Flint got in his way, a sick smirk crossing his ugly mug.

"Where do you think you're going Potter?" he snarled.

"I would say to your mum's house, but if she gave birth to you then I don't want to see the source," Percy retaliated, pouring venom into his voice.

"You little git!" Marcus roared before charging the eleven-year-old. Percy sneaked a glance up at his brother before taking off, allowing Marcus to follow closely.

As he drew closer to the Potions Master, Katie threw him the quaffle, which he immediately dropped down to Angelina before pulling his broom up sharply.

Flint, who had been close in pursuit but had also been stupid enough to not believe the talent of Percy (even after seeing it in person), did not expect such a manoeuvre and his momentum carried him forward, sending him crashing into the seats.

He ploughed into Snape, sending them both through the stand and into the stairwell below. His broom went flying into the row above, tumbling roughly into the lap of Quirrell, resulting in a rather pathetic scream of surprise.

"What a move by Percy Potter! Taking out two of the most hated people in the school at once!" Lee Jordan yelled, throwing mentioned Chaser thumbs up to further show his approval. McGonagall must have agreed as she didn't move to scold the teenager.

Harry's broom had stopped its erratic behaviour, but he was losing grip and he didn't have the strength to pull himself back up onto the shaft. He looked down to see the Slytherins all flying towards one of the stands, but a familiar flash caught his eye…

He was going to fall any second now – he was on two fingers…one…

He felt someone grip onto his forearm the second he let go. He didn't see who his saviour was (though he already knew because who else would it be?) but they were spiralling down towards the grass quite quickly.

Harry felt his world slow down as the snitch flew in front of his face. With one hand stopping him from falling, he made a wild lunge with the rest of his body.

Within seconds he was on the ground and fell onto his back. He tried to take a deep breath but found something was blocking his airways.

"Harry?" he vaguely heard, as he attempted to dislodge this obstacle. With one final effort, he coughed it up into his hand.

He realised the stadium had gone silent as he stared at the walnut-sized golden ball that lay in the palm of his hand.

"IN A WILD END TO THE MATCH, HARRY POTTER NEARLY SWALLOWED THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee's excited voice rang in his ears, quickly followed by the deafening roar of jubilation from most of the crowd.

Harry had been smothered by the Gryffindors, who had rushed down to the pitch to celebrate. They raised their hero Seeker onto their shoulders and paraded him all the way back to Gryffindor Tower.

Luckily, he managed to escape the party. Hagrid had told Ron and Hermione that they were welcome for tea after the match, and so, after a quick shower, Harry headed off to Hagrid's hut with Percy who was tossing the Quaffle back and forth between his hands.

"I honestly believe that's a first Harry," Percy said, they descended some stairs, "Catching the snitch in your mouth. I reckon the Slytherins are calling for a veto: 'He has to catch it, not swallow it!'"

Harry chuckled, "That does sound like something they'd say."

Ron and Hermione hadn't gone up with the rest of the Gryffindors instead opting to go straight to Hagrid's. The brothers agreed to meet up with them there.

Just as they were reaching the doors to the castle, someone bumped into Percy's shoulder.

"What was that about?" Harry asked. Percy grinned as he showed the five galleons that now were in his hand.

They turned around and saw Tracey, the girl from Slytherin, casting a playful glare at them as she walked away.

"She thought that Slytherin was going to win," Percy laughed, "Easy money!"

"Don't you think she's being a bit too friendly?" Harry asked.

Percy gave him a strange look and put his hand on his chest in mock shock, "Harry, I'm eleven, same age as you…"

Harry's eyes widened, "Oh god, not like that, you perv. I meant for a Slytherin, considering we're kinda enemies?"

Percy thought about that for a second, "Sure. But nobody comes close to them apparently. Daphne is pretty scary when she wants to be."

Harry pushed open the doors, "Scary enough to ward off the upper year students?"

"What won't a couple of hexes do?" Percy replied, shrugging.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Harry thought about that. What hexes would a first year know to scare older, more violent kids away? As far as he knew, she should only be able to do the steleus hex, and that would just cause a bout of (albeit aggressive) sneezing. He saw that in the back of the DADA textbook.

He didn't realise that they had come to Hagrid's hut until he heard the ferocious, giddy barks of Fang. A sharp wind had picked up by then and the building provided a welcome shelter.

"Catch!" Percy called, lobbing the Quaffle in his hands to Ron, who caught it.

"Hey guys." Ron said, "Hagrid still doesn't think it was Snape."

"What, the broom thing?" Harry asked, having not talked about it before, "Now you mention it, yeah, definitely Snape."

Ron shot a look at Hagrid as if saying "See?"

"Listen 'ere yeh lot. Ah told yehs once on the field, an' ah told yehs again five minutes ago. Snape's a teacher, he isn't goin' teh 'arm a student." Hagrid explained.

"We've got reason to believe it was him. Quite a few actually!" Percy countered sitting down and sipping his premade tea before grimacing, "Sugar?"

Hagrid smacked his forehead, "Ah knew ah forgot somethin'."

As he went to the cupboards, Hermione pleaded their case, "You saw him casting the curse or jinx or whatever it was, and Harry and Ron saw him running off to the forbidden corridor on Halloween."

"And he was limping yesterday from the dog biting him!" Ron added.

Hagrid jumped, and some of his tea sloshed into his beard.

"How'd yeh know abou' Fluffy?" he asked, eyes widened in shock.

The quartet looked at each other, "Fluffy?" Harry asked.

Hagrid looked cornered, "I got him off a Greek bloke down in 'Ogsmeade. Dumbledore asked meh if 'e could protect it."

They leaned forward in their seats, all of them almost identical in posture, "It?" Hermione pressured.

Hagrid shook his head, realising what had happened, "I shouldn't 'ave told yeh tha'. Wha's down there is confidential; between Albus an' Nicolas Flamel only."

"Nicolas Flamel?" Harry echoed.

"I shouldn't 'ave told yeh tha' either. Go," he said, almost crying and pointing at the door, "Forget wha' ah told yehs an' keep yehs heads out of this."

He pushed them out of the building and slammed the door.

"Kay then," Percy deadpanned as he looked around. He sighed before turning and knocking on the door again.

"Quaffle?" he yelled through the door. The entrance was thrust open and the Quaffle thrown out, bouncing off Ron's forehead. Then as quickly as it opened, it shut again.

"Thanks!"

The four started the walk back to the castle. It was beginning to get dark now, so Hermione cast a Lumos charm to fully illuminate the path ahead of them.

"You guys know who Nicolas Flamel is then?" Ron asked.

"It's really familiar to me," Hermione said, tapping her temple in thought, "I must have overlooked it."

"Surprisingly, same here," Harry responded, "I don't think he was in any of the books I've read."

"He wasn't," Percy enforced, "I think I'd remember if he was."

They walked a bit more.

"Ah shit," Percy muttered as they stopped for him.

"Language," Hermione scolded.

"What's up Percy?" Harry asked.

Percy looked genuinely upset, "Us not knowing who this Flamel bloke is? We're gonna be spending way too much time in the library from now on."

Realisation dawned on the boys as Hermione scowled, explaining the usefulness of the library all the way back to the common room. The party from before was still in swing, but only the upper years were still at it.

They parted ways at the stairways to the dorms, Hermione forcing them to meet her in the library after breakfast the next day.

The boys trudged upstairs. As soon as he entered the bedroom, Harry suddenly felt all the fatigue from the day fall down upon him, and he collapsed into his bed swiftly after changing into his pyjamas.

Ron wasn't too quick to follow, only stopping to throw Scabbers off his pillow.

Percy, however, had received another letter from Ginny Weasley that morning, but due to the match, he had not had sufficient time to open it, and it had slipped his mind in the afternoon.

He wiped his face with his palm to fight off the urge to sleep and cracked open the crest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Dear Perseus,

My father had to host that git Draco's father a couple of days ago. He was absolutely unbelievable! Looking down on everything, like 'This house is garbage. This food is garbage'. Honestly, it was ridiculous. I think his wife had to hold him back. She's quite lovely that woman. How she can stand good ol' Luci is beyond me.

Mum asked me to ask you for your torso size. Harry's too. I'm not exactly sure what kind of measurements she wants, but she's said she's making you a patented Weasley jumper for Christmas. I'll help you out and pass on a colour for yours?

Good luck for the game against Slytherin. I hope you win and kick some snake ass for me! Do snakes even have asses? Who cares. Just remember to be careful, they can be quite violent. I saw a game that Charlie played against them once, and they've probably not got much better since.

See ya!

Love Ginny.

P.S. What do you want for Christmas? I was thinking of getting you something but I'm not really sure what you'd want. You know, as thanks for writing to me for the past three months.

P.P.S. Pass my love to Ron would ya? And by love, I mean a good punch in the arm!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Percy smiled as he read it. She seemed much more confident in her letters than she had been at the start. It was kind of endearing, reading her grow, as weird as that sounded.

Actually, that sounded kinda pervy too. Scratch that.

He pulled out Riptide and spun it a few times in his left hand as his other hand searched the drawers in his desk for some parchment. He laid the paper on the desk.

He flicked the lid off the pen. The blade sprung out of the end, nearly decapitating him. He gave a small yelp, before resetting the weapon and getting the pen nib instead of the xiphos.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Dear Ginny,

Like father like son. Gits the lot of 'em! I foresee them being major tossers in the years to come. Hopefully, they bugger off and realise that no one really likes them? I prank Draco all the time. Maybe I'll slip a Christmas present to his dad in his bag. What should it be? A Glitter bomb, maybe?

I don't know my torso size. All I could say is that I'm slightly shorter than Ron but a little bit bulkier (because I work out. Gym lad right here). Harry's smaller and skinnier than me so I'll leave it to that. Can I have it in a dark greeny-blue sort of colour? Cheers. By the way, I think Harry will love that. Never had a Christmas present in his living memory, poor child. I mean, same here, but I knew how to steal stuff, so it wasn't that bad.

We smashed Slytherin to bits! I scored a billion goals or something like that and Harry caught the snitch in his mouth (of all ways to do it!). I even managed to wipe out Snape and the Slytherin captain at the same time. Oh, it was glorious indeed! Our next game is against Hufflepuff in March or something like that. Isn't their Seeker your neighbour? I think his name was Cedric. He's pretty good: Harry's gonna be in for a challenge!

À la prochaine!

Love Percy.

P.S. I don't really need anything in all honesty. Some cool wizard sweets or something. Or muggle sweets! Haven't had them in a while! Oh, and I think I owe Harry a Freddo. Could you send one over?

P.P.S. What do YOU want for Christmas? If you're getting me one, then I might as well add you to my list!

P.P.P.S. I don't think Ron's quite recovered from the last package of 'love' you sent him, but sure if you insist! J

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Percy quickly proof-read the letter for any spelling mistakes before folding it and sealing it away in an envelope. He flipped off the ceiling and tip-toed to the window. He silently opened it, revealing a silent darkness.

He waited for a few minutes. Then a bit longer. Then a bit longer again.

He narrowed his eyes in frustration and stuck his head out of the window. He looked up at the roof opposite and could just make out the reflection of the moon in the eyes of his owl.

"Oi you arsehole, get over here!" he whisper-yelled at his pet. Theseus let out an indignant hoot.

"Is this because I didn't give you any bacon this morning?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Silence.

"Fine. All you can eat tomorrow."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his bird was nuzzling against his cheek.

"Honestly Theo. You're getting fat," he teased his owl, who nipped his ear in protest. He stretched out his leg to let Percy attach his letter. After a few treats, Theseus flew out the window and disappeared into the night.

He shook his head before climbing into bed and waited for Morpheus to take him away.

"It is strange."

"What do you find so intriguing, dear niece?"

"I find it curious to say the least that you agree with me about him. Considering he was the one to defeat you before."

Two hooded beings stood over, watching as a man slowly drowned, thrashing as he ran out of life.

"The reasons of which you feared I would reject your proposal for are the very reasons why I side with you on this," the hooded man said, as his form flickered.

"I am not destined for this world," he rasped, "At least, not again. Twice was too much and now my power must be passed on. He who defeated me then shall earn the spoils in his next life. I believe that my aunt herself wove his future life, and it will be far from easy."

The woman shifted, as the drowning figure's protests began to slow, "He will be one of my blessed people, destined to end the darkness that I had borne so long ago."

"Yes," the man coughed, as he faded along with the drowned, "But if I were to do one good thing for this world before I die, I would prefer it to be for him. It would have been enjoyable if we hadn't had been enemies."

With his final words, he dissolved, his essence swirling around the woman. She stared as the remnants of the immortal condensed into a beautiful gold watch. She fingered the timepiece gently, as a hero slumped, asphyxiated by that which he had wielded many a time, hearing the whisper in her ear:

"Make sure he finds it Hecate."

Snazzy.

I have my proper exams in four weeks. What in the actual Hades am I doing this for? XD

It's more fun than revising is, that's for sure.

I don't really have much to say, except for apologising for not updating in so long and stuff.

My love life is still pretty fucked, so not much has changed since last year. It's kind of like a merry-go-round of my feelings going "Fuck you!"

Ah well.

See you next time (probably in like a year or something. Maybe I'll update in the Summer. Who knows?)

DarwinAGS