Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So this is what you’ve been doing.” 

Hera whirls around, her chiffon white dress flowing out behind her as she meets Hecate’s gaze, unyielding. “I’m the only one of us who is willing to take action. Something has to be done.” 

Hecate stares at her disapprovingly, “And I’m sure your husband has approved this.” 

Hera hears the threat in her voice. Hecate had never been straightforward, everything she spoke contained multitudes, much like the mist she wielded. Yet, this was not something she was backing down from. The plan would work, it had too. 

“Zeus forfeited his right to Jason when he gave Jason to me.” Hera said as she looked at her champion, who looked nothing like the king of the gods as he continued sleeping in blissful oblivion in one of the beds. 

Hestia had been walking around the room during the whole conversation, before she stopped near the only other bed in the room. She brought up a delicate, calculated finger to the sleeping figure’s cheek, tapping it once, before looking at Hera. “And Poseidon? I am sure he gave you permission to take his only demigod son hostage as a reward for being a hero in the Titan War.” 

Hera curled her lip in anger. “If I remember correctly, you’re still on thin ice after the little stunt you pulled with the titans.” 

Hecate laughed, a delicate laugh that contrasted with the swirling black storm her eyes had become. “Thin ice? Please. We all know the truth. None of you could keep me out of Olympus if you tried.” 

Hera looked away. Hecate was a formidable titaness, one that the Olympians needed on their side, especially for the upcoming giant war. 

“What do you want?” 

Hecate smiled and laughed, walking towards Hera. “Why do you assume I always need something?” 

Hera lifted a graceful eyebrow. “You went through all this trouble for a reason.” 

Hera had taken every effort to cover her tracks from the rest of the gods, which meant that Hecate had spent a long time trying to break through her enchantments. 

Hecate tutted disapprovingly. “Always so straightforward.” Then she walked towards the sleeping Perseus Jackson, still in his ratty Goode high school hoodie and jeans. 

“I need to borrow him. I know the plan is to keep him here for 6 months but I can think of a much better use of his time.” 

Hera shook her head disbelievingly. “You’re planning on sending him to them .” She spits out them, not bothering to hide her disgust. 

Hecate smiled. “They call you the queen of the gods for a reason after all.” 

“Why? They don’t even remember you anymore.” 

Hecate looks deep in thought, her expression heavy in a way that could only be brought about from living through thousands of years. 

“They might not remember me, but the magic they wield knows who it belongs to. I can’t let it disappear forever.” 

All the Greek gods had experienced it, losing their followers and loyal worshippers, feeling their powers waning as the number of people who prayed for them became less and less. It was part of the reason why they were all so desperate to have kids - it was to ensure their own survival. 

“Alright you can hide him in your pet world but he can’t have his memory back. He will find a way back.” 

Hecate laughed, a genuine one. “Gave you trouble did he?” 

Hera didn’t bother dignifying that with a response. “We have a deal, make sure you keep your end of it.” With that she flashed out of the room, probably to keep up appearances. 

Now alone in the room, Hecate turned to face Perseus Jackson, the kid who had managed to lead the gods to victory against her expectations. 

She frowned, deep in thought. She would need to give him her blessing, to ensure he would be able to blend in. Well, as much as a demigod ever could. 

She glanced at the sleeping hero, knowing this was the only way. She couldn’t afford to lose so many followers - all at once. She closed her eyes and started chanting in the old language of the gods, before placing her hand on his forehead to place the blessing. 

She opened her eyes, expecting a faint glow that would indicate the blessing had worked. Yet nothing was happening. The only light was from the faint moon far in the sky. She frowned, hard in thought. She didn’t make mistakes which meant - 

Hecate’s eyes widened in surprise. Even after living for centuries, some things still managed to take her off guard. She looked down at the demigod, unpredictable from the moment he had stepped foot into the demigod world. 

A wild card, containing multitudes like the ocean. 

The destroyer indeed. 

Chapter Text

Perseus wakes up and immediately is faced with a scene that's straight out of a horror movie. 

Vaguely, somewhere in the back of his mind, he registers that he is being surprisingly calm about this, all things considered. It was like he had experienced this before - but when he tried to recall it he came up with nothing. 

Nothing. 

The panic was starting to kick in. Perseus couldn't remember anything . He couldn't remember his family, his friends or even anything about himself. He knew the basics like the sky was blue, grass is green yada yada yada but anything about himself or his life? 

Zilch. Nada. Blank slate. 

The tittering of hungry voices brought him back to the very urgent issue at hand. Namely, that he was about to be eaten as dinner by a couple of abnormally huge spiders. 

Even memory less, he knew spiders didn't have 8 eyes or were the size of his house but go figure. 

"After years of having to feast on lowly animals, we finally get to eat human flesh and blood!" Perseus blinked, making sure he wasn't delirious from blood loss. Did the large spider just speak to him in English? 

The happy tittering and clapping of claws forced him to focus. Right. Imminent death on the horizon. He examined his surroundings. His hands and legs were currently bound to a web, leaving his face the only thing that was able to move. He tried to look around for any sharp objects, but came up with nothing. Unless, well the spider's claws were certainly sharp if nothing else. 

He just needed to buy some time. It was a risky plan, but it was the only one he got. "Hey! Black wool!  You look like a warm and fuzzy blanket!" 

The apparent leader stopped, staring at him incredulously. The clearing fell silent as the others held their breath to wait for his response. 

"You dare call Aragog, the fearsome acromantula a warm and fuzzy blanket?" He roared in anger, advancing towards Perseus, his disgusting spit falling on him. 

Persues fought to keep the disgust off his face. It was gross, but it was something he could work with. Water would make the webs less sticky after all.  Trying to keep Aragog distracted while he loosed the web on his arms he continued yelling, "Yeah! You’re like a Teddy bear!" 

Aragog growled again, bringing one of his claws down in a potentially lethal strike. 

But Perseus was faster. Anticipating the movement he moved slightly and jutted his hands outwards, letting the claw pierce through the webs, leaving his hands free. Without waiting for a moment, he took out a pen from his shorts and before he could yell at his instincts for wasting time while Aragon tried swiping at him again, he somehow met the blow with a sword. 

Perseus didn't have the time to question how his pen turned into a sword. He took advantage of it, pressing the claw back before cutting it off. Aragog looked at the missing limb in surprise, baffled. 

Perseus didn't stick around waiting for the response. He swiped his sword through the remaining webs with cutting precision and finally managed to get free. 

Before he could bolt for it though Aragog yelled, furious, "CAPTURE HIM." At his command the rest of the spider's in the grove came to life, menacingly walking towards him. 

Perseus sighed. Just once, would it have killed for the villain of the week to let him leave? 

He turned, prepared to fight his way through, already calculating possible courses of action. He was overpowered, dozens to one but something told him that he'll be fine. With that, he started running straight towards the tree, before leaping backwards and onto Aragog's back. 

"Stand back! Or I'll kill your leader." Peresus growled, golden bronze sword held threateningly under Aragog's throat. With his teeth bared, he was sure that he was a sight to behold as the others stopped advancing towards him. 

"You don't know who you're messing with, child." Aragog said from under him. Persesus smirked. "No, you don't know who you're messing with. You're at my mercy now." He practically hissed the last few words. 

Aragog growled under him and tried to shake him off, but Perseus held on as though it was second nature. They were at a standstill for now. 

Then, one of the other spiders decided to charge him but Perseus wasn't even fazed. He just held out his arm, and suddenly the earth under them shook, making all of the spider's lose their balance. 

Huh. Looks like he had earth powers. He needed to focus on the task at hand before first though. With that, he stabbed his new furry car before making a break for it as Aragog fell to the ground as well. 

~

The good news? He had a great headstart and was a fast runner. 

The bad news? The spiders were huge and could easily make up the distance if the angry crowd of spiders behind him was anything to go by.

Perseus was sprinting through the trees at breakneck speed swerving through branches and trees. He had no idea where he was going, he was just following a vague tug in his gut. 

The trees around the forest were large and blocked light, he didn't even know if there was an end to the never ending trees. 

Suddenly, he heard a sharp twang and before even registering the sound he had already ducked out of sheer instincts. It was good that he had, as an arrow whizzed past where his face had only been ages earlier. 

Perseus scowled. Was this some kind of death forest? He hadn't been here for 10 minutes and had already been tried to be murdered countless times. 

He heard them before they came out. There were two of them. They were a strange mix of horse and man, with their top  being a man while their bottom half was horse. Centaurs . His mind supplied helpfully. 

Despite the weapons they were carrying and their unfriendly faces, something about seeing them brought Persesus a sense of relief. As though they were friends. Friends was the wrong word. Allies . Yeah, that sounded more on track. 

The two centaurs appeared to be arguing with one another. One of them had white blonde hair while the other had black hair and as Perseus approached closer he heard their conversation. 

"We need to help him! He's still a kid, he's in no position to defend himself." The white haired one appeared to be referencing Perseus and while he was not overjoyed at being called a kid, he would take it if it meant extra help. 

The other centaur shook his head. "Barely. He should know better than to come here." 

Perseus scowled. It wasn't like he had voluntarily come to this place of sunshine and rainbows. 

As the hoars of spiders came closer Perseus decided to intervene. "Uh guys, not to break up this very important conversation, but it would be much appreciated if you could kill those angry spiders." 

At the sound of his voice, both of them turned to face him, before their eyes widened in shock. As they continued staring in silence, Perseus was starting to get annoyed. "What? Do we have a history or something? Cause I'm suffering from Amnesia right now." 

"Or you could just tell me who I am. That'd be great too." Perseus tacked on as the hoard of centaurs just started at him. Perseus rolled his eyes. 

Looks like he had to do it himself. 

As he faced the hoard of spiders, he heard whispered conversation behind him, but chose to ignore it to focus on more pressing matters.

He clenched his hand, recalling the feeling of causing the minor earthquake just now. He recalled the feeling, before he tugged hard, creating another rumble that made the spider's fall down. 

The centaurs were also off balance but Perseus ignored them for the time being. Without wasting time, he launched towards the first spider and attacked it, swerving low before striking upwards to hit the spider's soft underbelly. 

He fell into the rhythmic motions of slashing and cutting. It felt as though the wind around him had picked up, making it harder for the spider's to hit him. He could have sworn a couple of them would have landed a hit on him, but none of them touched him. As he let instincts overtake him, he grinned. He felt more like himself now then the past hour in this cursed place. 

As he killed another spider, he vaguely registered it seemed like he was in the middle of his own personal hurricane. Sweet. He had water powers too. 

Before long, the remaining spiders had realised it was a losing fight and made their getaway. Perseus vaguely contemplated chasing them but figured he had other things to focus on. Namely, the centaurs behind him. 

Perseus sighed, trying to catch his breath. Seriously, when he figured out who left him here, he was going to find them and throttle them.

~

"So… Nice of you guys to help." Perseus said sarcastically as the silence continued. 

The older one just looked at him with solemn eyes, the dark brown seemed as though it had seen too much. "Clearly you didn't need it."

Perseus rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't have hurt." 

The other one barked a laugh, turning startling blue eyes on him. "I'm Firenze." 

He then nudged his friend, who scowled."Bane." He said shortly. 

"Perseus Jackson. I believe at least." 

Firenze snorted again while Bane looked disapproving. "He shouldn't be here." 

Finally. Someone was on his side. "Agreed. Now if you could just point me out of this cursed place I'll be going home." 

Firenze turned to him with sad eyes. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

Perseus bit back a scream. "I'll find a way back." 

Bane stared at him approvingly. "I like your spirit. It won't be an easy journey though." 

Perseus barked out a laugh. "I think the horde of elephant sized spiders gave that away." 

Fireze snorted again. "You should go to the castle. You'll find out more there." 

Castle? What castle. Perseus's confusion must have been obvious because Firenze tacked on, "Just follow your instincts. You'll find a castle where you can rest and learn. It's not home but it's a start." 

Perseus scowled. At the mention of home a face flitted into his mind, a woman in her mid thirties with sharp features. Her brown eyes softened them and her expression gave her a motherly look. Perseus swallowed. 

He had a feeling he knew who it was. 

He couldn't lose it. 

"Alright, where is this castle?" 

Firenze smiled and pointed in a direction to his left. "About a kilometre that way." 

Persues grumbled. Great. More exercise. With a half hearted salute, he thanked the centaurs and made his way towards the castle. 

As he left he barely caught Bane's last words. 

"Mars is getting brighter." 

Chapter Text

Perseus Jackson was having a fantastic day. As if the hike to the castle was not enough, the castle had decided to play games with him. 

The centaurs had conveniently left out the fact that it was a magical castle. And that the stairs had a mind of their own for some reason.  

Despite the vast space, it seemed that every hallway he walked into was empty, save for the paintings that closely followed his every move. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly realised that that knight had appeared in every other painting. If he didn’t know any better, Perseus would say that the knight was following him.

It couldn’t hurt to try. Surely, sentient paintings were a step lower than huge spiders. “Uh, sir…” Belatedly Perseus realised he didn’t have a name for the knight in the painting.

“Sir Cadogan you loon! I’m here to stop you mangy cur from stealing from the great wizards of Hogwarts!” To further highlight his point he shook his sword in Perseus’s direction. 

Great. Of all the people he could have asked, he found the mental one. Still, he wasn’t useless. Wizard huh. Was that what he was? It certainly explained his water powers but something felt off. In all the paintings, all of the people had carried sticks, or well wands, he supposed. But he hadn’t used one. He didn’t know what that meant for him but he knew he had to hide it for now. 

Choosing to ignore his comment Perseus soldiered through his question. “Where is everyone else?” The knight remained undeterred. “Duel to the death for an answer! A good knight never reveals unless under threat!” Perseus rolled his eyes. He was too tired for this. Without a second glance he walked away from the knight. 

“Mongrel! Coward! Fight me to the death, ya lousy lad!-” There was a loud cackle and then silence. Blissful silence. 

Perseus turned around to look at his saviour, only to come face to face with a ghost. Perseus tensed, prepared to draw out his sword at a moment's notice, but relaxed as he realised how exactly he shut up the knight. Apparently, a water balloon was a good threat. 

“What do we have here? A student out of bounds?” He cackled evilly. 

Perseus raised an eyebrow. “I don’t even know where I’m supposed to be.” 

The ghost laughed again. “Ooo new student interrupting the speech? Dumbly’s going to be pissed.” He rubbed his hands together before zooming off in a direction, forcing Perseus to run after him. 

Stupid fucking castle. He should have just stayed in the forest. 

~

Harry Potter was brought out of a daydream of finally eating a treacle tart with a loud slam as the great doors opened loudly. 

He looked at the new entry, instantly on high alert. A guy stood there in the middle of the great hall, panting slightly. He was wearing an old orange sweatshirt and jeans and seemed to be covered in mud and blood. Harry stared, horrified. Was this a death eater? Sure, he seemed on the young side, around his age if he had to guess, but he wouldn’t put it past Voldemort. 

He had done worse things after all. Before he could do anything, Umbridge interrupted his thoughts. “Detention young man! What kind of deplorable behaviour is this -” 

“Oh shut up.” Umbridge audibly shut her mouth at his statement, and seemed to turn red in her anger as a tense silence fell across the great hall. 

Dumbledore intervened, before things could escalate. He stood up, frowning at the young boy. “Who are you young man? How did you get here?”

The guy scoffed. “Hell if I know. I woke up to a bunch of spiders the size of a house trying to eat off my face.” 

Harry stared in shock. He turned to Ron, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Hermione looked at them and mouthed, “Acromantula?” 

Harry nodded grimly. It was the only thing that made sense. But it didn’t explain how the young guy had escaped them.”

Dumbledore seemed to frown at the use of the language. “Who are you?” Despite his face remaining the same, anyone could hear the threat at the end of the question. 

The guy looked straight at Dumbledore and smirked, seemingly at ease with being at the other end of the most accomplished wizard in recent years. “Perseus Jackson. That’s all I remember, with amnesia and all. After that your guess is as good as mine.” 

~

After the whole commotion, the feast had come to an abrupt ending as Perseus was whisked away by Dumbledore. 

“I don’t like this.” Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room. 

Hermione chewed her lip with worry. “It shouldn’t be possible. No one can get into Hogwarts without Dumbledore knowing.” 

“He could have come through Hogsmeade?” Ron said, sounding doubtful even as he said it. 

Harry shook his head. “He claimed to be captured by the acromantula.” 

Ron shuddered at the mere mention of them. “He couldn’t have fought them himself. He didn’t even have a wand with him.” 

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t noticed that. As they neared the entrance, he muttered softly, “Stay here, I’ll go and grab my cloak. We need to find out what’s going on.” 

~

“‘I swear I’m solemnly up to no good.”  Harry muttered, willing the map to hurry. 

“Can’t believe we’ve gone 5 years without figuring out where Dumbledore’s office is.” Ron muttered snidely as he helped Harry look.

“There.” Hermione said, pointing to the location on the map, where the dots marking Dumbledore and Perseus could be seen.

“At least we know he’s not lying about his name.” Harry muttered as they swiftly made their way there, huddling as close as they could to the invisibility cloak to avoid being found out. 

As they neared the Gargoyle, they realised that they couldn’t gain entry unless they knew the password. “What do we do? A simple spell is not going to work.” Hermione muttered, as she saw the statue. 

Before they could say anything though, Professor McGonagall came right behind them, tersely saying “Sherbet Lemon.” 

Unable to believe their luck, they followed her, ensuring they remained as quiet as they could. 

The room was surrounded by various gizmos that made various noises and seemed to be trying to draw their attention. But Harry was there for only one reason. 

Perseus Jackson was sitting across from Dumbledore, while Professor Snape was standing near the end, looming over him intimidatingly. 

As the door opened, Perseus Jackson snapped his head, looking in their direction. Harry sucked in a breath as he was suddenly on the receiving end of sea green eyes that seemed to be staring at his soul. 

Even as Professor McGonagall went to stand next to Professor Snape, Perseus continued staring directly at them, as though he could see them , eyes boring into their souls.

Harry’s breath caught. It wasn’t possible. It was just a coincidence. That was all. 

As Preseus finally turned back to Dumbledore, Harry finally let in a breath again, relieved. He was just on edge, that was all. 

Dumbledore leaned forward, peering directly into Perseus’s eyes. Before he could utter a word, Perseus’s face hardened as he glared at Dumbledore. 

“Get out of my head.” He whispered softly, but the threat was unmistakable, the words almost coming out in a hiss. 

Dumbledore leaned back, his raised eyebrows the only indication of his surprise. Professor McGoagall and Snape didn’t fare as well, shock evident on their faces. 

“Sorry my dear boy. I just needed to confirm your story to ensure you don’t pose a threat.” 

Perseus scowled at the mention of dear boy. “That doesn’t give you the right to access other people’s fucking minds without permission.” He hissed out, and despite facing Voldemort, Harry was kind of glad he wasn’t on the opposite end of his glare. 

The tension in the air was broken as a phoenix landed in Perseus’ lap, squawking loudly before settling itself there. Perseus seemed to look at the phoenix in surprise before petting it, something akin to wonder on his face. 

Dumbledore suddenly smiled. “Well Fawkes is always right. Your story appears to be true.” 

Perseus scowled again. “That’s what I have been saying.”

Dumbledore smiled before winking. “Constant vigilance as they say.” 

Perseus scoffed. 

“Now, before we move on to other matters how did you escape the acromantula?” 

Perseus looked up from petting the phoenix and shrugged casually. “A couple of centaurs saved me.”

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. “And did you happen to catch a name?” 

Without missing a beat Perseus replied. “Firenze.”

Dumbledore stared in thought for a second more before breaking out into a large smile. 

“Alright, now let’s get you sorted before letting you settle in.” 

Chapter Text

“Well, well, well. You’re older than most.” 

Perseus practically jumped at the voice. When the headmaster had first mentioned sorting he had expected a quiz. From what he gathered, the housing system was basically one where students were sorted according to their character traits. So yeah, a quiz. 

But then a ratty old hat was pulled out and he had to sit on a rickety old stool that was much much too short for him so that he could wear the hat that was covered in dust. 

And now the hat could talk . 

There was a huff of laughter from the hat. Great, now he was being laughed at by a hat. “Ah, humour as a coping mechanism eh? Serves you well.” 

Perseus rolled his eyes. Great. Getting psychoanalysed by an ancient hat had always been on his bucket list. 

“Impatient eh? Well, let’s get on with it.” There was a silence as the hat presumably rifled through his memories. “Interesting. Interesting. I haven’t encountered magic like this for centuries.” 

“What do you mean?” Perseus asked, already knowing what the hat would say. 

“You know you’re different from the others.” Perseus flinched. He had held onto the hope that he had belonged somewhere here. That the woman with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes would welcome him back. Wait. The woman he had recalled before had seemed older, with blue eyes - 

The memory escaped him. Perseus wanted to hit something. “Sorry kid. I can’t do much against magic of that kind.” The hat said, sounding genuinely sorry. 

Perseus had expected as much. 

“Hm…resourceful. Daring. Quick thinking. And loyal - from what little you remember. You would do anything to get back your memories and your life.” Perseus agreed with the assessment. He would definitely not be opposed to stabbing the delightful person who had stolen his memories. 

The hat laughed again. “Getting a bit ahead eh? Well, you could do well in any house.”

Perseus snorted. “Pretty sure you’re supposed to choose.” 

“Normally, yes. But you’re here for a reason. And truly, I don’t have access to enough to make a decision. So what will it be?” 

Perseus snorted. “I don’t even know their names.” 

“You don’t need to know the names to choose.” The hat said slyly as Perseus rolled his eyes. 

Well, Perseus knew what he didn’t want. “Which house is Dumbledore in charge of?” 

The hat snorted. “Already made an enemy eh? Well, he was from Ravenclaw, but he has been favouring the Gryfindors recently.” 

Well, there went two of the options. Perseus didn’t want to be in his sphere of influence more than absolutely necessary. He wasn’t letting his mind be read again - he had too much to hide. 

“Which house has more connections and resources?” Perseus asked. He needed all the help he could get if he wanted to go home. 

The hat hummed. “Hard to beat Slytherin. Generations of the most influential people have gone there. Plus, it’s the closest to the lake.” Perseus nodded, he would need access to water if things went wrong. Hm. Slytherin. It felt right. 

“Well, if you’re sure. Good luck. You’re going to need it eh?”

With that the hat yelled out, “SLYTHERIN.” 

~

Harry took in a quick breath. Slytherin. 

There was no way he wasn’t a death eater. He exchanged dark looks with Ron and Hermione - knowing he had to watch out for the new powerful kid who had somehow broken into hogwarts . The safest place in the whole of the wizarding world. 

“Slytherin! A noble house indeed my boy.” Dumbledore said jovially as he placed the hat back on the shelf. 

Perseus got up from the chair, not even bothering to acknowledge the statement. “Well? If you give me a wand and a bed I will be on my way.” 

His sentence is met with silence. “You didn’t have a wand on you?” Severus Snape asked, staring at Perseus as though he could find the answers. 

Perseus shook his head. Nope. “I had nothing on me.” 

McGongall shook her head. “Who would have wanted you dead so badly?”  She whispered softly but Perseus still picked up on it. 

He snorted. He didn’t need a wand to defend himself. He couldn’t let them know it though. He was also fairly certain he wasn’t supposed to have heard the statement since no one else had reacted to it so he just stayed silent. 

“Well, my boy Ollivanders’ is the only right answer to that! You’ll need to go to Diagon Alley.” 

Percy just stared at the headmaster, clearly clueless. McGonagall took pity on him. “It’s a wizarding shop where you can get everything you need.” 

Perseus nodded, seeming to accept the explanation as he wandered around the room - straying closer to where they were hiding as he stared at the machines around. 

He never seemed to be able to stand still. Even while walking around, his fingers were tapping on his leg. He seemed to ignore the three adults talking about him as he took in the machines. 

Harry knew it was impossible - but he swore Perseus seemed to be finding something  - or someone. 

As Perseus walked closer, Harry’s heart started beating faster and faster as he shared a scared glance with his friends. Soon, Perseus was standing a metre away, Fawkes still with him as Harry stopped breathing, willing him to go away faster. 

“Perseus -” 

Perseus suddenly whirled around to stare at McGonagall, finally letting Harry take in a breath. 

“You’ll be escorted to Diagon Alley to make your purchases tomorrow with three students. Unfortunately, as it is a teaching day, the teachers will be unavailable but I have full faith that the students will be able to bring you back safe.” 

“They are more than qualified.” Dumbledore added jovially. “One of them has even saved all of us before.” 

Severus Snape rolled his eyes at that as Harry stared dumbly at Headmaster Dumbledore. They were the ones who were going to be taking Perseus? 

Perseus didn’t give any indication that he knew what they were talking about. “Sure. Now can I have my bed?” 

Dumbledore laughed good naturedly. “Well my dear boy almost. We just need to settle your age so we can settle you in with your year.” 

Perseus opened his mouth, ready to answer but nothing came out. His eyes widened as he realised he truly had no idea. Fifteen? Sixteen? Seventeen? He knew it was somewhere there but he had no idea how old he was. 

“I don’t know.” 

Severus Snape looked at him sadly for a moment but it was gone so quick Harry was sure he was imagining things. But he was pretty sure Severeus Snape had just shown an ounce of empathy to Perseus. Miracles never ceased to exist.

“Well year 5 then my boy! It’s a wonderful year, especially if you have not done OWL’s before.” 

Harry saw Perseus roll his eyes and was willing to bet he neither knew what OWLS was nor cared. 

“Alright then! With that settled Severus here will bring you to get settled.” Dumbledore said as Severus Snape scowled. 

Perseus shrugged, clearly indifferent. 

Severus stalked forward, walking past the door quickly with a sharp “follow me” to Perseus. 

Perseus seemed to find this funny because he laughed . Harry stared incredulously. If he wasn’t sure before, he definitely was now. If people found Severus Snape funny, they were definitely evil. 

Before leaving though Perseus hung at the doorway for a second right next to where Harry, Hermione and Ron were huddled under the cloak. He stared and then soft, so soft Harry had to strain his ears to hear-

“I know you’re here.” 

With that Perseus left, leaving the three of them staring at his retreating back in shock and fear. 

Chapter Text

The minute he stepped into the dorm, it fell silent, all eyes turning to him. Perseus ignored the looks, instead choosing to observe the room. It was deep in the dungeons, but surprisingly warm and cosy, surrounded in shades of green.

In the middle of the room, there was a huge circular window that gave a direct view of the lake. Perseus stared, watching sea creatures pass, feeling at ease. He knew the sea was home - it would never harm him.

He followed Severus Snape, who had introduced himself as the head of Slytherin, to his dorm. There were a couple of people in the dorm, all around his age and they kept shooting him curious looks. Perseus didn’t react. He was glad when they got the hint and went back to their own conversations.

“Well, here is where you will be sleeping. Tomorrow morning at 8am, go the headmaster's office and you will be escorted to get your things.” Perseus nodded, not really bothering to listen, instead glancing at his bed. It felt wrong to be sleeping with so many other people but there was also relief, like he was grateful he didn’t have to.

Severus stared at him and Perseus belatedly realised he was expected to answer. “Uh, yes?” Perseus asked, somehow managing to make it sound like a question. Severus stared at him, as though confused by his actions, looking at him as though he was a puzzle.

Finally, Severus nodded and with a “If that’s all,” swept out of the room.

Perseus blinked, choosing to puzzle over that reaction later, to instead focus on the bed calling his name first.

~

“He’s definitely working for Voldemort.” Harry muttered as they stood near the entrance of Dumbledore’s office.

Ron nodded fervently. “He’s in Slytherin. The whole lot of them are rotten.”

Hermione pursed her lips. “We don’t know that for sure -”

“He knew we were there!”

Hermione winced, chewing her lip. “That’s what I don’t get. He would have to be a very powerful wizard.”

Ron scowled.”Or a dark one.”

Before they could carry on though, they’re faced with Perseus, who is standing in front of them with a sheepish grin. “Sorry I got lost.”

Without waiting for a response he carries on, “I’m Perseus.”

“Yeah we got that when you told the whole school yesterday.” Harry mutters but Perseus picks it up. And does the absolute last thing anyone expects. He laughs. Loudly.

“I’m blaming it on amnesia.”

The three of them stare at each other, exchanging looks. Harry can’t believe the death eater is making jokes with them.

“I’m guessing we should go then?” Hermione asks instead. Perseus nodded. “Yes, although you might want to give me your names in case I get lost so I know who to yell for.”

Ron snorts at that and then promptly seems shocked at himself. Harry figures he should take the lead. “Harry Potter.” He waits for a reaction, expecting Perseus to say something. He doesn't. He just nods before turning his attention to the other two. Huh.

“Ron weasley.”

“Hermione granger.”

Perseus nods. “Well then let’s go shop.”

~

It occurs to Harry that Perseus is still sixteen. Despite his intimidating looks and entrance, he’s still barely older than them. It becomes evident when he’s looking around Diagon Alley like a little kid, getting distracted by the next flashy magical thing every second.

He practically bounces on his feet, and his face seems to be more relaxed more carefree. Harry feels a little silly for thinking that Perseus was going to murder them all in their sleep. The added fact that there's no mark also eases him. It doesn't mean much these days but it was still something.

There’s still the very real possibility that he's a death eater but a voice that sounds like Hermione reminds him - he has memory loss. Even if he was a death eater, he probably doesn’t even remember it himself anymore.

“He’s… well, he’s not what you expect right?” Hermione mutters, as Perseus practically stops in the middle of the street as something else catches his eye.

Ron nods. “I can’t see a death eater giving his candy to make a kid happy.” He nods to where Perseus seems to be talking to a child, who’s giggling happily.

“It still doesn’t explain how he knew there was someone there the other day. Even Dumbledore didn’t realise.” Harry points out, remembering the unmistakable threat in Perseus’s eyes.

“Yeah and how did he know Dumbledore was reading his mind?”

Their conversation comes to an abrupt end when Perseus turns back to them, smiling slightly. “Alright where to next?”

They had already bought all of his school supplies so that left only one more thing.

“Your wand.”

~

Perseus didn’t know what he was expecting from a wand shop but it wasn’t a dark shop in a corner with rows and rows of wands in boxes. It reminded him of a bookstore, which made him feel oddly nostalgic.

He didn’t know what to expect from the others. He knew they were apprehensive of him. He didn’t need to hear their conversations to know they were talking about him, they weren’t exactly subtle about it either.

From what little he gathered apparently he was a death eater? He still didn’t get if that was an exaggeration or not but figured he would look it up later if he could. Oh and also that Slytherin was the “evil house”. The audacity of the sorting hat to not inform him of this. The next time he met the hat he would be having words.

As he enters the shop, there’s a small tinkling sound from the bell and he suddenly finds himself face to face with a man with white hair and large eyes. If Perseys’s being a bit honest, he seems a bit mad.

“Well,well,well. What do we have here? You seem a bit old for your first wand.”

Perseus doesn’t bother to reply, sure the man doesn’t even care for one.

“Garrick Ollivander at your service.” He continues before staring at him thoughtfully. “Hm. Interesting. Interesting.”

Perseus stares at him, feeling like he was getting scrutinised. Ollivander turns as though he’s struck and suddenly pushes a wand into his hand. Perseus stares at it, not having actually seen one before. “Am I supposed to do something?”

Before Ollivander can reply though, the wand warms up - and Perseus thinks this is it - this is his new wand when -

It starts vibrating. There’s a blinding flash of light and he has a moment to wonder how he does not feel the pain of having a minor flame in his hand when suddenly the wand crumbles into dust in his hands.

Perseus gapes at his hands, where there was a wand before now there’s just a pile of ashes on the floor. He looks up, seeing Ollivander and the others staring at him in shock.

Ah. Well. There goes his hope of this being normal.