The Queen of Spring… and Harry's Headache
Harry suddenly realized he was in a strange garden. In it there were all kinds of interesting flowers; some really looked dangerous. What caught his attention the most were the multiple stone statues that adorned the place. All of them looked disturbingly realistic.
And there were all kinds; from horrendous monsters to completely normal people. But they all shared something in common; they had smiles that didn't match at all with their eyes full of surprise, as if they had been frozen in an instant of confusion.
Harry observed the flowers for a moment. Daffodils, black poppies, white lilies, silver roses, and other flowers that glowed softly in the dark. In the center of the garden there were some fruit trees; dark apple trees, silver fig trees and, right in the middle, an enormous and striking pomegranate tree.
Everything there was completely impossible. Between the thicket, even some spectral animals moved, crossing through the shadows without leaving footprints.
"So we finally meet, little hero," a cold female voice sounded, making Harry turn around quickly.
Not far behind him, sitting on a chair that seemed to have been created from intertwined roots, branches, and flowers, there was a beautiful woman; a mixture between springtime innocence and cold darkness. She was sitting with her legs crossed, watching him intently with an expressionless face. Her dark hair had green highlights and small buds that opened gently as if they were breathing.
Her clothing was a very particular dress; the upper part was light, with pinkish spring-like tones, while the lower part was dark, almost made of living shadows.
When she spoke, the flowers around her moved softly, as if responding to her voice.
Her green eyes looked at Harry with the authority of a queen sitting on her throne. Even so, at her side there was a small table with a cup of tea that still released a delicate steam; it gave her a strange appearance of a "queen on her tea break."
Harry did not know what to say at her words, and even less because of the unsettling environment surrounding her; it felt like that of a judge watching someone about to be judged.
She continued looking at him intently before speaking again.
"You really have her eyes," she said softly.
Then her gaze moved down toward Harry's body. Before, he had been a bit chubby, but after training with Dred so that Percy would stop calling him "Pig Potter," Harry was thinner; well, more fit. Even so, because of his loose clothes and his body slightly smaller than Percy's, despite being the same age, he still looked like a skinny boy.
The woman frowned slightly at the sight.
"Is no one taking proper care of you two in that castle?" she said, her eyes turning slightly purple.
The plants began to move around, as if reacting to her annoyance.
"Uh… ah, yes. I think so," Harry responded, confused and not really sure how to react.
Hearing him, the woman let go of that irritation as she stared directly at the necklace visible around Harry's neck. Her eyes returned to a soft green.
"I suppose it's fine. It seems those trinkets worked for them," she added.
"Huh?" Harry looked toward where she was staring and pulled the necklace out of his shirt. It was glowing softly with a green hue.
"I suppose it's fine. That's all. You may go," she said, as if it were an order, though her tone sounded a bit gentler than usual.
Harry really didn't understand anything that was happening, and he barely had time to think before he felt his body being pulled by something, waking up abruptly.
After Harry disappeared, a soft laugh echoed around the garden.
"Do you really have to act like that? It seems like you just called him here to confuse him," said another feminine voice that appeared along with a small violet orb floating in front of the woman.
"Hmph. I was only checking if the things I gave them were still working, nothing more," the woman replied, though a slight blush on her cheek betrayed her cold demeanor.
"They're really adorable, aren't they? My little one is growing so well," said the tiny violet light with evident tenderness.
"Hmph. Children are noisy and annoying. I have no interest in them," the woman said with feigned annoyance before standing and leaving.
Meanwhile, the small sphere of light glowed for a moment and a playful giggle echoed in the air.
"Then why did you go to the human world just to give them those pendants?" it murmured softly, although it was obvious the woman wouldn't hear it. "You should behave like that with your husband's children, but asking that from someone so jealous is difficult," it added before disappearing.
…
Harry sat up with his hair completely messy, sticking out in all directions. He remained sitting for a few seconds, processing his dream, while his sleepy eyes blinked slowly.
Percy, for some reason, was lying on the floor, as if he had fallen out of bed while sleeping.
"Wow, what happened to you two?" asked Dean Thomas with a smile upon seeing them in such bad shape as soon as they woke up.
Percy got up, sore, rubbing his back.
"I dreamed that a ghostly three-headed dog chased me for hours. And all because I asked its owner whether his butt didn't hurt from sitting all the time on a chair made of bones," Percy said while cracking his spine.
"What?" Dean asked, confused by the strange dream.
Meanwhile, Harry kept thinking about his own dream, completely confused, looking at his necklace, which had already stopped glowing. He also looked at Percy's, which was sticking out from the edge of his pajamas.
That necklace was a gift their mother had bought years ago, saying she found them in a magical shop to protect them. Since then, neither of them had ever taken them off. Sally had wanted to return to that shop later, but it had vanished without leaving any trace. They had never really paid attention to it… but now…
"It was just a dream," Harry murmured, shaking his head as he stood up.
Percy also got up and went to wake up Neville, since he had woken up early and his friend needed to suffer the same fate. And while he was at it, he would wake Ron as well, who was still sleeping so peacefully that it was annoying for Percy, who had been running for his life for hours… obviously in his dream.
…
Malfoy entered the Great Hall and, the moment he looked toward the Gryffindor table, his eyes widened with fury. Harry and Ron were still sitting there, as calmly as if nothing had happened. He had prepared everything so that Filch would find them and have them expelled. But not only were they there; that monstrosity called Percy Jackson was also laughing with them… and the bastard Neville Longbottom.
That enraged him even more.
Harry was explaining that Hagrid, the gamekeeper, had called for him.
"Why does he want you to go?" Percy asked quickly. They didn't really have any connection to that man; except for the time they met him when they got off the Express.
"Remember? He said he was the one who took me after my parents…" Harry cut his words for a moment. "Well… I asked Padfoot and he said it was true. He even gave him his own motorcycle so he could get me to safety. So I thought about thanking him and sent him an owl to ask if I could visit, and he agreed," Harry explained in detail, mostly so Ron could understand it properly.
Another thing that had changed after their little nighttime adventure was that Hermione Granger had stopped talking to them. Which, honestly, wasn't a bad thing for them, since she was a bossy know-it-all. Especially for Percy, who already had enough trouble keeping up in class because of his dyslexia, and didn't need someone drilling into his skull telling him what he was doing wrong on top of that.
He really wanted to use the magic that his Aunt Mor had taught him to give Hermione her well-deserved lesson, but even in that magic he wasn't very good; he could only create basic illusions. Although in water magic he was good. Just… not as good as Harry. But the two of them had made a deal not to use mist magic; they were very serious about learning Hogwarts magic without cheating. Well… sort of.
Challenging her to a sword duel wasn't possible, because Percy's knight's code forbade it. It wasn't that he couldn't fight a girl; Gema, his teacher, was also a knight and very skilled in combat. Percy lost to her constantly in training. The problem was that Hermione wasn't a knight. And she surely didn't know how to use a sword for a proper duel. So… no duels.
Or maybe he could ask her for a duel? Percy shook his head, stopping the nonsense. Why on earth would he challenge Hermione to a duel?
Maybe it was because he had spent so much time surrounded by wizards without being able to fight someone truly strong. It was starting to take a toll on him. He couldn't wait to go home for Christmas break and fight Dred, or some of the knights to get it out of his system. Or maybe he could fight Harry, he thought as he looked at his brother for a moment.
Harry felt his brother staring at him and turned around. From the way Percy was looking at him, he already understood perfectly what he wanted.
"Stop thinking nonsense," Harry said with a frown.
"How can you speak like that to your older brother, Harry? I'm disappointed," Percy replied with feigned indignation, clearly trying to annoy him to get what he wanted.
Harry obviously knew what he was thinking. So he was ready to ignore him instantly.
"Huh? Percy is the older brother?" Grover asked innocently just as he was approaching them.
Harry was going to answer, but Percy spoke first, grinning shamelessly.
"That's right. I raised this little one; he's my pride," he said while looking at Harry with a huge smile. Just seconds ago Harry had been a disappointment, but now he was his pride, only to annoy him even more.
Ron and Neville also looked at Harry while nodding, as if that information suddenly made sense now; unintentionally annoying Harry even more.
"Fine, you asked for it," Harry said to Percy, standing up from his seat. "Next to Hagrid's cabin, right now."
Percy smiled. Sometimes his plans worked. Annoying his brother and, at the same time, getting a chance to fight. Two birds with one stone.
Meanwhile, the other kids around them watched in confusion, not understanding what they were talking about… but very interested in whatever was going to happen.
So they all stood up and left together.