Looks in the Great Hall
The four of them, Harry, Percy, Hermione, and Neville, stood completely frozen in front of Professor McGonagall, who looked as though she was about to start breathing fire, furious, like Norbert.
"I would never have expected this from any of you," she said, beginning her lecture. "It is one in the morning. I want an explanation right now," she added, looking at each of them as if she were trying to see straight through them.
Harry could not help but avoid her gaze, while Neville was trembling, unable to say much, completely mute with fear in front of the professor. Hermione, for the first time ever, could not answer a teacher and was staring fixedly at her shoes, stiff like a statue.
Percy raised his hand slightly, immediately drawing the attention of the other three, something they clearly had not expected from him.
"Speak, Mr. Jackson," McGonagall said.
"No… it is just… you said you would not have expected it from any of us. Even from me?" he asked, as if that doubt was eating at him more than the fear of being punished.
Professor McGonagall stared at him over her glasses, and Percy shut his mouth at once. "Even you, Mr. Jackson. Because although you have gotten into trouble several times already, you have always done so for and because of your friends," she said seriously. Even if she did not approve of Percy's way of acting, she did seem to understand the reason behind it.
Percy felt a slight sense of embarrassment because of that, but it was neither the time nor the place.
"Is that true? Is this revenge against Mr. Malfoy? I have noticed you doing strange things around the castle for weeks now. I am certain you are involved somehow. And now you invented a dragon so that he would get out of bed and get himself into trouble," the professor said, as if she had uncovered some grand master plan.
Thinking about it now, it did not sound so bad. Instead of making him clean the castle or getting him into serious trouble, it was something that had not even crossed their minds, since they did not truly want to bother the professors.
"Five students out of bed in a single night. I have never heard of anything like it. You, Hermione Granger, I thought you had more common sense. And you, Harry Potter, I believed Gryffindor meant more to you. And Jackson…" the professor seemed unwilling to say much to Percy, letting out only a tired, disappointed sigh. "You as well, Longbottom. The four of you will be punished. I do not know how you ended up with them, although I can guess. Even so, nothing gives you the right to wander the castle at night, especially these days, which is extremely dangerous. And thirty five points will be taken from Gryffindor, each," she said in a firm tone.
For a moment, the four of them remained in heavy silence, stunned by the surprise, before Harry spoke.
"That many?" Harry said. After all, with that amount of points, they would lose first place, which they had earned thanks to him in the Quidditch match. "Professor, that is too much. You…"
"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Mr. Potter. I have never felt more ashamed of Gryffindor students," she replied in an even firmer tone.
"But, Professor, it is not fair. Snape surely will not even take points from Malfoy. He is always supporting…" Percy could not help but say, but he did not finish before the professor cut him off.
"Then perhaps I should have asked the Sorting Hat to send you to Slytherin, Mr. Jackson. Maybe you would enjoy having Professor Snape as your Head of House more," she said, looking at him seriously.
Percy shook his head instantly, as if that were nothing short of imagining hell itself, and shut his mouth at once.
"Now return to your beds, all of you," she said, as if the conversation were already over.
With one hundred and forty points lost, Gryffindor fell to last place, with little chance of recovering its previous position, causing Harry and the others to be unable to sleep well that night.
Neville spent the night crying over it, while Percy felt guilty for having taken him along and tried to calm him down. Hermione, surely, could not sleep either in her own dormitory. And Harry kept touching his head, feeling a persistent, dull ache.
"What will happen when the others find out? They will be furious," Neville said. That was his greatest fear, as he sat on his bed with his head covered by the blanket.
"Do not worry, Nev. If anyone tries to do anything to you, I will beat them up, even if they are from our own house," Percy said immediately, getting up from his bed and giving him an encouraging pat.
Harry knew Percy was saying it mostly to reassure him. It truly had been their fault that so many points were lost, and the criticism from Gryffindor was still unavoidable.
The next day, the four of them came down from their dormitories with heavy dark circles under their eyes from not having slept at all and sat there staring at the hourglasses that showed the House points, which now looked far emptier than the day before. Some students passing by also looked at the hourglasses, confused by what they saw.
They thought it was a mistake. Then the rumors began to spread. Harry Potter, the famous boy who had made them win two Quidditch matches, had now made them lose all those points. The same went for Percy Jackson, his brother, who had already lost points before, but never this many. The two of them, and two other stupid first years.
From being one of the most popular people in the school, Harry suddenly became the most hated.
Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students would turn their faces away as they passed by, since they had been hoping for Slytherin to be defeated. Meanwhile, the latter were practically celebrating, treating Draco Malfoy as a hero who had caused Gryffindor to lose a massive amount of points, while they themselves had only lost a few in return.
And whenever Harry or Percy walked past, they would thank them with that sarcastic, mocking tone. Still, with a single serious look from Percy, without making any other move, their laughter would fade away before they hurried off, intimidated.
Others whispered as they passed. Some even said things out loud, deliberately loud enough to be heard, and none of it was particularly friendly.
"I'm sorry, Harry. It was my fault," Percy said. After all, the one being criticized and judged the most was Harry, simply for being who he was. Well, himself.
"It's fine," Harry said, as if it did not bother him at all. Maybe it did a little, but he did not live off other people's opinions, so he chose to change the subject. "So, why were you in such a hurry looking for us yesterday?" he asked.
"Ah, right," Percy said, remembering all the chaos that had unfolded. With the loss of points, Neville depressed, and Hermione practically beside herself, her hair even more disheveled than usual, Percy had almost forgotten. He truly had been in a hurry at the time. Thinking about it now, it probably would have been better to wait for them. "Harry, what do you know about centaurs?" Percy asked seriously.
"Centaurs?" Harry repeated, looking at him in confusion for a moment. But seeing his serious expression, he began to recall more or less what he had read before, along with a few things he had researched on his own. "You mean the ones from the Forbidden Forest, right?"
"Yes," Percy replied.
"Well, as far as I know, even though they have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse, they are not hybrids. They are known for having a natural talent for archery, healing magic, divination, and astronomy."
"Despite possessing what they call 'human intelligence,' they were classified as Beasts by the Ministry at their own request, since they were not pleased with having to share the status of Being with harpies and vampires, well known dark creatures," Harry explained, watching his brother's face, which seemed to be trying to absorb every detail. "In short," Harry said, "they are proud, closed off, hostile, fatalistic… and not very empathetic toward humans."
"But they are warriors, right? I mean, do they feel strong?" Percy asked immediately.
Harry seemed not to understand the question at first.
"Something like Grandpa Vincent," Percy added to clarify. "But mixed with a professor," he continued. "Ah, I know. Like the Headmaster," he added.
Harry still did not fully understand such a strange comparison. "Well… I do not know. But I think they specialize in reading the future through the stars. Maybe that is why they have that scholarly air," he said. "As for whether they are strong… they live in a forest full of dangerous creatures, so I suppose that is why you sense them as warriors," he added.
"No. It was different," Percy said thoughtfully. "Great. Everything keeps getting more confusing the more I find out," he added with a sarcastic, slightly annoyed tone, running a hand through his hair. "I am sure it did not feel like something that lived there," he added, without knowing exactly why he felt that way.
"Percy, do you need help?" Harry asked seriously.
"No. It is fine. I can do it. I said I would, and I will do it myself," Percy replied, shaking his head firmly. "Besides, I am sure you will want to keep a low profile for a while, right?" he said, knowing Harry's personality well.
"If you need help, just come find me, Percy," Harry said calmly, making it clear that he would always be there for him.
"I know," Percy replied with a smile before walking away.
Meanwhile, Harry felt the looks directed at him, mocking from the Slytherins and annoyed from everyone else, and ended up leaving in silence.