PJO: A Professor of Hogwarts

***Harry*** 

The first week of classes was off to a brilliantly horrible start.

I had barely recovered from the chaos of arriving at Hogwarts in a flying car, and now, I had to face the reality of being tortured through a string of classes that were going to be either boring, unbearable, or what I feared the most, both.

Take History of Magic, for example. If there was ever a cure for insomnia, it was Professor Binns droning on about goblin rebellions. Even Hermione looked exhausted, and Hermione never looked exhausted in class.

Then there was Potions.

Professor Snape was in a rare form today.

I didn't know if our little incident with the Whomping Willow had put the man in a fouler mood than usual, but the moment Ron and I stepped into the dungeon, Snape's lip curled in the familiar 'I hate you, Potter way.'

"Ah, our celebrity has arrived," Snape sneered as I took my seat.

Ron muttered, "And here we go."

"Five points from Gryffindor for your lateness," Snape continued.

My jaw clenched. I wasn't even late. In fact class was haven't even started yet. But I knew arguing was pointless, so I just dropped my bag and sat down, already dreading the hour that will either kill me or break me.

As expected, Snape made us work with some foul-smelling potion that burned a hole through Ron's cauldron within twenty minutes. By the time class ended, Gryffindor was down fifteen points, Malfoy had successfully hexed Neville's potion to explode, and honestly there was only a thin line before I had come dangerously close to strangling Snape using his own robes.

"Honestly, I'm convinced Snape wakes up and decides, how can I make Potter's life miserable today?" I muttered after we escaped that hell and turned into a corridor.

"Wouldn't put it past him," Ron agreed. "Anyway, at least we're done with classes for the day. Just one more lesson."

I frowned. "Wait, no we're not. What class?" I checked the schedule this summer. That was supposed to be the last class.

Ron blinked. "Care of Magical Creatures?"

I stared at him. and quickly replied "But that's not 'til third year."

Ron gave me look. "Not anymore. Dumbledore said we'd be learning about magical creatures earlier this year. The subject was added in the last minute. He said it was for the new curriculum or something. " 

Before I could process this information, Hermione caught up with us, absolutely buzzing with excitement.

"You won't believe it," she gushed. "Everyone's talking about it! Apparently, this Professor Percy Jackson is teaching today!"

I made a quick a glance at Ron.

"You mean the same professor we should avoid at all costs?" Ron asked dryly.

Hermione huffed. "Oh, don't be ridiculous! He's the youngest professor Hogwarts has ever hired, and he's supposedly from the Olympians. This is practically the most important class of the year! even more that the DADA"

I wasn't sure if "important" was the right word. Concerning? Terrifying? Absolutely cursed? Those were better options.

But either way, there was no avoiding it.

Sigh... Care for magical creatures here we come

***

Ron and I held the syllabus between us like it might explode at any second. It had been passed down the Gryffindor table that morning, and after seeing the other students' reactions—ranging from nervous laughter to outright horror—I wasn't sure I even wanted to look at it. But, of course, curiosity won out.

The parchment was slightly crumpled, as if like multiple people had already tried (and failed) to process what was written in it. We flattened it out on the table, our eyes scanning the first few lines.

And then we froze.

The first lesson wasn't about Hippogriffs or Bowtruckles or anything remotely normal. No, right at the top, in messy, scrawled handwriting, were the words:

"Lesson One: Sea Monsters."

Right beneath that, as if it were a perfectly reasonable thing to include in a school syllabus:

"If you hear ominous music, run."

And just to make things worse, under "Location," it simply said:

"Black Lake."

Ron and I stared at it. Then at each other. Then back at the parchment.

"You're seeing this too, right?" I asked weakly.

Ron swallowed. "Yep."

Hermione, on the other hand, looked entirely too excited. "Isn't this fascinating?" she whispered. "I mean, 'sea monsters'—what does that mean? The Giant Squid? Something else? I didn't even think we'd be covering aquatic creatures this early!"

I barely heard her. My eyes were still locked on the parchment, specifically at the name scrawled at the top.

Professor Percy Jackson.

The same professor we were explicitly warned to stay away from. The same professor rumored to be an Olympian. The same professor who thought "if you hear ominous music, run" was a normal thing to include in a class syllabus.

I slowly set the parchment down.

"Ron," I said. "I think I might die today."

Ron nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

***

The entire class stood by the shore of the Black Lake, staring at their new professor, who looked far too relaxed for someone standing near a body of water that had, historically, eaten people.

Harry narrowed his eyes. That face—it was familiar. It took me a second to place it, but then a sudden memory hit: Flourish and Blotts. While buying our books. This was the man who patted my shoulders before walking away. I could never forget the commanding presence that he had, not even from the Headmaster himself.

Professor Percy Jackson had been in Diagon Alley that day. But why?

"Harry" Ron nudged snapping me back from my reverie . " I don't trust him. He looks excited."

"I think I heard from the third year that Professor Kettleburn used to look excited before throwing them into near-death experiences," I muttered back.

Before anyone could question why they were having class at the lake, Jackson clapped his hands. "Alright, gather up! Today's lesson is about sea monsters."

Hermione raised a hand immediately. "Professor, I thought this class focused on magical creatures."

Jackson tilted his head. "And?"

"Well… sea monsters aren't exactly classified as magical, are they?" she pointed out.

His grin widened. "Depends on who you ask." He turned to the rest of the class. "Alright, pop quiz: what's the scariest thing that lives in this lake?"

"The Giant Squid," Seamus answered immediately.

Jackson made a buzzer sound. "Wrong."

Seamus frowned. "What do you mean, wrong? The Giant Squid's the biggest thing in there!"

Jackson smirked. "See, that's where you'd be dead wrong." He turned to the lake, raising a hand in the air. "Because there's something much bigger—and much, much hungrier."

Before anyone could ask what he meant, the water stirred.

At first, it was subtle. Gentle ripples lapped at the shore, almost like a soft breeze had rolled across the lake's surface. Then, suddenly—the ripples turned into waves.

The ground trembled beneath their feet as something massive shifted beneath the water.

Then, a tentacle broke the surface.

It wasn't like the Giant Squid's lazy, drifting limbs. No—this one was thicker, darker, covered in glistening suckers the size of dinner plates. Water cascaded off it in sheets as it coiled upward, stretching higher than a full-grown tree.

Someone shrieked. It was hard to tell who, because at that moment, the lake came alive.

More tentacles rose, curling through the air like monstrous vines. A deep, guttural rumble echoed from beneath the surface, vibrating through the ground.

Ron grabbed Harry's arm. "I bloody told you he was going to kill us!"

Even Malfoy looked paler than usual, his wand half-raised as if he was about to try (and fail) to hex a sea monster.

Jackson, however, just looked pleased. "Relax, guys. He's friendly—mostly."

"MOSTLY?!" Ron yelped.

Jackson took a few steps closer to the water. The Kraken's glowing yellow eyes surfaced, watching him like a predator sizing up its prey. For a tense second, Harry thought this was about to end very, very badly.

Then, to everyone's shock—Jackson stepped onto the water.

Not into the water. Not onto a rock. Onto. The. Water.

The rippling waves held him up as if the lake had turned into solid ground beneath his feet. He walked forward, completely unfazed by the massive creature looming over him.

The Kraken's tentacles curled inward, shifting toward him like a pet waiting for affection.

Hermione gasp. "He—he's—"

Jackson reached up and patted the Kraken. The monstrous beast—something straight out of a sailor's nightmare—actually leaned into his touch.

Someone swore under their breath. Malfoy looked like his brain had short-circuited.

Jackson turned back to the class, grinning. "Meet the Kraken."

A long, horrified silence followed.

Dean was the first to break it. "You brought a KRAKEN to HOGWARTS?!"

Jackson shrugged. "Technically, he was already here. He's been hanging out in the lake for years. You guys just never noticed."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed several times before she found her voice. "But that—that's impossible! Krakens don't exist in the magical world!"

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Tell him that." He patted the Kraken's tentacle. It rumbled in response.

I couldn't stop staring. The way Jackson commanded the water, the way the Kraken obeyed him… it wasn't normal magic.

It was something else.

Something older.

Ron tugged on Harry's sleeve. "Mate," he whispered urgently, "I don't know what he is, but I'm pretty sure he's not just a wizard."

I couldn't help but agree.

As the lesson continued, students were allowed (from a safe distance) to feed the Kraken, using enchanted poles to drop food into the lake. Even then, many of us were still visibly shaken, but I could already tell many would be bragging about this for weeks, heck I recon that this will be an unforgettable moment in Hogwarts.

But if there is one lesson that I, no we were able to learn this day was that the magical world was a lot bigger what the textbooks are telling us.

At least for now everyone was able to know that magic is not only limited to wands and spells.

That what we knew of was simply a scratch to the surface of the topic named magic.