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The first week of actual classes after the holidays went by pretty quickly for Percy. He was really, really tempted, more than once, to try and get another day of holiday, maybe with a few strategically placed Fanged Frisbees released in the corridors or some more well-aimed dungbombs in the Transfiguration classroom.
But after a very stern, no-nonsense talking to from Fleur (who, it turned out, valued her education and a non-smelly castle a lot more than his pranks), Percy was reluctantly forced to dismiss the idea. For now, anyway.
The classes themselves, surprisingly, weren't too boring, thank the gods for that small mercy. Potions, down in the gloomy dungeons, was still Percy's favorite subject by far.
He just seemed to have a knack for it. And while the little incident with Draco Malfoy and the… special pie… seemed to push Professor Snape's already thin patience with him even further, Percy kept doing good, careful work in class.
He followed the instructions, his potions usually turned out right, and he even managed to earn the scowling professor's grudging, almost invisible, respect.
Snape still sneered a lot, but his insults towards Percy were a little less frequent, a little less biting.
Ancient Runes continued to be basically a free period for Percy. Professor Bathsheda Babbling, who taught the class, quickly realized Percy already knew most of the material, and then some.
So instead of making him sit through lessons he already understood, she let him work on his own side projects in the back of the classroom, under her watchful, curious eyes.
He'd tinker with small enchantments, draw new rune sequences, or sometimes just read ahead in the advanced textbooks.
The rest of his classes were… fine. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall was the same as usual difficult, precise, and Percy wasn't great at it, but he tried.
Charms class with Professor Flitwick… well, that wasn't going anywhere fast. He still struggled with a lot of the spells.
It was on the Friday afternoon of that first week back that Percy was leaving his Charms class, feeling a bit frustrated as usual, when Professor Flitwick called out to him. "Mr. Jackson! Could you hold on for a few minutes, please? I wish to speak with you privately."
Percy told his friends, who were waiting by the door, that he would see them at dinner and quickly followed the tiny, half-goblin professor into his private office. The office was connected by a large, polished wooden door at the front of the Charms classroom.
Percy looked around with interest as he stepped inside. The place looked very professional, but also a bit whimsical, much like Professor Flitwick himself.
Bookshelves crammed with old, leather-bound books lined every wall, from floor to ceiling. Several charmed objects were whizzing about the room a self-stirring teacup zipped past his head, a quill floated in mid-air, writing on a piece of parchment by itself, and in one corner, a bright yellow pineapple was actually tap-dancing on a small pedestal, complete with tiny clicking sounds.
Percy watched the pineapple dance as Professor Flitwick removed his formal teaching overcoat and hung it neatly on a hook.
"Please, Mr. Jackson, do sit down," the professor squeaked, motioning with a small hand towards a comfortable-looking sofa in the back of the room.
Percy sat down on the plush sofa. "This is a very nice place, sir," Percy said, looking around at all the magical clutter. "Very… lively."
"Thank you, Mr. Jackson. I find it cozy," the smaller man replied with a smile. "Now, would you care for some tea? Or perhaps a biscuit?"
"No thank you, sir," Percy said politely. "I'm fine with just some water, if that's okay."
"Very well," Professor Flitwick nodded. He went over to a tall, dark wood cabinet and opened it, revealing a beautifully crafted, enchanted tea set.
The teapot, cups, and saucers looked like they were alive. They jumped out of the cabinet with little hops and flew gracefully over to the low coffee table in front of Percy.
They began to prepare a cup of tea for one, pouring and stirring all by themselves. Meanwhile, Professor Flitwick himself poured Percy a tall glass of cool water from a crystal jug.
"Thank you," Percy smiled, taking the glass and sipping the water. It was refreshing. The Charms professor then summoned a comfortable-looking, upholstered armchair that was very low to the ground, presumably perfectly sized for a man of his short stature. He sat down opposite Percy and sipped his own now-prepared cup of tea, smiling contentedly.
"I am sure you are wondering why you are here, Mr. Jackson," the professor said after a moment, placing his tiny teacup carefully on its saucer on the table.
"Well, yeah, sir. Kind of," Percy admitted. He hadn't done anything too bad in Charms lately, he thought.
"Well, you see, Mr. Jackson," Professor Flitwick began, his expression turning a little more serious, "you are here because I am somewhat worried about your studies in my subject."
Percy frowned slightly. "I'm sorry? What do you mean, sir? Sure, I may not be the top student in class, I know that, but I'm sure I'm passing-"
"-You are mistaken, Mr. Jackson," Professor Flitwick interrupted gently. "I did not call you here to criticize you for being a bad student. Not at all. In fact, I asked you here to tell you that I believe you could very well be one of the best students in Charms, perhaps even in Transfiguration as well, if only it were not for your… lack of consistent skill in my subject, and in Professor Minerva McGonagall's."
Percy blinked, surprised. "Ah… well, don't take it personally, sir," he said, a bit awkwardly. "Charms never really was... well, my thing. I guess I'm more of a runes and potions kind of guy. Things with clear steps."
"Yes, I see that from your excellent work in those areas," Professor Flitwick nodded. "But if you don't mind me asking, Mr. Jackson, why is that? Why does Charms vex you so much? What seems to be the problem?" the tiny professor asked, sipping his hot cup of tea thoughtfully.
Percy sipped his own water and thought for a while, really trying to understand why he struggled so much with Charms.
Finally, he replied, "I... I honestly don't know, sir. I say the words, the incantations. I do the wand waving, the movements. But it just doesn't... well, it doesn't always work. At least half the time, the spell just fails, or fizzles out, or does something weird. I really don't know why."
"Really?" Professor Flitwick looked genuinely concerned now. "That's all you do? Just the words and the wand motions?"
"Yes, sir. Why? Is something wrong with that?" Percy asked, starting to feel a bit worried himself.
"Very wrong, Mr. Jackson. Potentially very wrong indeed," the professor said gravely. "If I may ask, who was your primary Charms teacher before you came to Hogwarts? When you were learning magic at home?"
"I was mostly home-schooled in magic before coming here," Percy said carefully, not wanting to get into the whole 'my aunt is a goddess' subject. "He was just… just a guy my aunt found in America to teach me the basics."
"Your aunt? The one who is a Squib, I believe Albus mentioned?" Professor Flitwick asked, his brow furrowed.
"Yes," Percy hissed, his voice suddenly cold at the mention of Hecate being called a Squib. Even if it was part of their cover story, he hated it.
Professor Flitwick seemed to notice Percy's sharp tone and quickly nodded, looking a bit flustered. "I see. My apologies. Well then, in that case, he must not have been a very good teacher of Charms," Professor Flitwick sighed, shaking his head sadly.
"Why is that, sir?" Percy asked, raising an amused eyebrow. 'Really?' he thought. 'The literal Goddess of Magic herself isn't a good teacher of magic? Riiiiight. That makes total sense.'
"Because, Mr. Jackson," Professor Flitwick explained patiently, "Charms is a very intent-based system of magic. It is not like Potions, or Runes, or Arithmancy. You see, in those subjects, your methods of just following instructions would work perfectly true. Potions already have a desired effect built into each ingredient; you just have to add them correctly and in the right order."
"Runes and Arithmancy are similar, based on precise symbols and calculations. So is Herbology, with its plants, and History, with its facts, and so on. But Charms, Mr. Jackson, and by extension, Transfiguration as well, are very different. They are deeply magical branches, and they absolutely require your intent. Your will. You must want the spell to happen, you must picture the result in your mind, you must mean it."
Percy blinked, his mind racing. He began to think back on all the Charms he'd tried, all the Transfiguration spells. And he realized, with a dawning sense of shock, that the little professor was completely right.
He never really thought about what he wanted the spell to do, not deeply. He just said the words and waved his wand, expecting it to work because that's what the book said.
That's how Hecate had taught him the basics, focusing on precision of word and movement… and suddenly, something felt very weird. If what Professor Flitwick was saying was true, then did Hecate, his all-powerful, all-knowing aunt, actually teach him incorrectly?
How was that even possible? She's the actual Goddess of Magic! How could she make such a fundamental mistake?
Percy and Professor Flitwick spoke for a little while longer. Percy, feeling a bit lost and confused, confessed the few charms he could usually make work simple things like the levitation charm, or a basic shield. He asked Flitwick for his reasoning on why those ones worked for him when others didn't.
It seemed, according to Professor Flitwick, that all this time, Percy's sheer, stubborn willpower, his strong underlying expectation of a result from the spell, was the only reason any of his charms or transfiguration spells worked at all.
It was like trying to hammer in a screw with a hammer instead of using a screwdriver. If you hit it with enough brute force, you could eventually hammer almost anything in, but it wasn't the right way, and it often wouldn't work properly or consistently. He was muscling his way through magic that required finesse and focus.
That night, Percy had dinner with his friends at the Hufflepuff table mostly in silence. His unusual quietness and preoccupied frown had Fleur worried, but after he assured her (maybe not very convincingly) that he was fine, just tired, she decided to let it go for now, though she kept glancing at him with concerned eyes.
Percy wished everyone a quick good night and went straight up to 'The Forest,' his secret room, as soon as dinner was over. His mind was filled with swirling ideas and too many confusing questions.
'Did Hecate really make a mistake?' Percy asked himself for what felt like the hundredth time that night, pacing back and forth in his hidden room.
He tried over and over again to think of a justifiable, logical answer for that question, but he couldn't come up with anything. It just didn't make any sense at all.
She was the Goddess of Magic. It was like Poseidon, his own father, one day not being able to tell the difference between saltwater and freshwater. It was unthinkable.
And more than that, Hecate was incredibly intelligent, always in control, always thinking ten steps ahead.
She didn't make mistakes like this, not one in all the time he had known her. Not fundamental ones about how magic itself worked.
Percy pulled out his wand from his pocket and just looked at it. The familiar bronze sheen of the celestial bronze woven into the wooden weapon was like a beacon in the dimly lit room, a silent pull, urging him to try out his magic anew, with this brand new perspective on its capabilities, on what he was supposed to be doing.
Percy walked over to his workbench and took out a clean, blank piece of ordinary parchment. He held it up in one hand, pointing his wand at it with the other. 'Okay,' he thought, taking a deep breath.
'Something simple to start. Origami. Let's try to make this piece of paper into... a horse.' He focused his mind, picturing a small, perfectly folded paper horse in his mind's eye, wanting it to happen.
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If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters you could take a visit on my patreon Or check it out.
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