"blah blah"- Speaking Greek

"blah blah"- Speaking Amestrian

'blah blah'- Thinking

*<*<*>*>* - Begin/end flashback

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Percy Jackson. Good thing too, or they wouldn't be nearly as good as they are now. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Hiromu Arakawa, and Rick Riordan.

Harry

After the unfortunate incident of blowing up his aunt, Harry Potter was having a rather nice summer. The Weasley family was hosting three foreign exchange students from America; all three in his year, and they were very friendly, though a bit odd. Their behavior was strange sometimes, even by Harry's standards. They would occasionally speak in Greek, and they were often disappearing on their own, and then reappearing as if they had never left. But, strangeness aside, they were nice, and quite easy to get along with.

They were quite obviously muggle-born. They reacted with not-well-concealed surprise and awe at almost anything magical; much the way Harry had during his first year at Hogwarts. Harry found this more than a bit odd, considering this was supposedly their third year exposed to the magical world.

Despite all of their oddities, he, Ron, and Hermione warmed up to them quickly. There was quite a bit of confusion caused by one of them, whose name was Percy, seeing as a Weasley went by the same name, until Thalia 'accidentally' let slip that Percy's real name was Perseus. But after a few hours of calling him that, Percy had begged them all to stop. Apparently, he wasn't fond of his full name.

Of course, Fred and George immediately took to teasing him mercilessly about it. Harry was sure that his name wouldn't stay a secret at school for long. The day before their departure for Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys were trying to decide which houses they would be sorted into.

"I think that Thalia is a shoo-in for Gryffindor," Ron decided.

"Is that a good thing?" Thalia asked, raising a eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Ron said enthusiastically. "Gryffindor is the best house!"

"It's the house that all of us are in," Harry said. "Gryffindor values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry. Hufflepuff values hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play. Ravenclaw values intelligence and knowledge. The Slytherin house values ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness."

"I think Percy might end up in Hufflepuff," Hermione said.

"Pfft, hard work? Percy? Are we talking about the same Percy?" Thalia snickered.

"Hey," Percy protested. "I can be hard working!"

"What about me?" Nico asked. "Where do you think I fit best?"

Of course, the demigods knew that Dumbledore had arranged for them to be placed in the Gryffindor house. Even so, they were curious about the other's opinions.

"Hmmm, that's a hard one." Fred (or George) eyed him skeptically, taking in his black clothing and skull ring. "Well, appearance-wise, you look like a Slytherin –" said one twin.

"– But, you've got a better personality than half the Slytherins," interjected the other.

"I'd say you could go to Gryffindor or Slytherin, fifty/fifty chance," finished the first.

"We'll have to wait and see what the hat decides," Hermione said.

Harry grinned. "I hope you get put in Gryffindor. Not that there's anything wrong with the other houses–apart from Slytherin, that is."

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Percy asked, feigning confusion.

"The Slytherin house is known for being evil," Ron explained. "That house has produced the darkest wizards out of all of them. Trust me, the Slytherins are a nasty bunch."

Thalia frowned. "You can't judge the whole house because some of them have turned out evil," she scolded. "Of course a house that values cunning and ambition will end up choosing people who go on to be evil. That doesn't mean that they all are. In fact, it's likely that some of them end up like that because that's what everyone expects from them."

Ron didn't look convinced, but he nodded. "Yeah, I guess so, but if you'd ever met Malfoy, you would know what I meant."

Nico stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired," he announced. "We have to get up early to catch the train tomorrow, so we should head to sleep." The others stood up.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Harry agreed. "I wonder who the Defense against the Dark Arts professor will be this year," he mused.

"I hope he's better than last year's," Fred (or George) said fervently.

"You can say that again," Ron said. "I think anyone would be better than that nutter!"

Calling out goodnights, the wizards headed to their separate rooms to sleep.

~o~O~o~

The next morning was chaotic, as was to be expected. Five minutes before they were to leave, Ron was rushing around grabbing books he had forgotten, Ginny was frantically going through a checklist for the third time, and Fred and George were hastily cramming who-knows-what into their trunks. Somehow, miraculously, they were able to make it platform nine and three quarters with ten minutes to spare.

"Alright Harry, you come first with me." Mr. Weasley grabbed Harry's luggage and rushed through the barrier with him. They waited on the other side as Percy, Nico, and Thalia walked through, expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Huh, it actually worked," Percy commented. "I wonder if it uses the mist."

Harry was about to ask him what 'the mist' was, but before he had a chance the rest of the Weasleys stepped through and Mrs. Weasley was hurrying them onto the train.

"Go on now," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling each of them into a hug as she spoke. "You don't want to miss it! Now, be good, you two," she said to the twins, enveloping them in a hug. "Don't forget to write, look after your sister, and study hard." She gave each of them a hug, including Harry, Hermione, Percy, Nico, and Thalia. The later three looked a bit surprised, but happy.

They waved goodbye to the Weasley parents as they stepped onto the train. Percy Weasley hurried off saying something about 'head boy duties' but no one listened, or cared. Fred and George went to find Lee Jordan, and Ginny headed off with her friends, leaving Harry, Hermione, Ron, Thalia, Nico, and Percy to find a compartment.

"C'mon, let's find a place to sit." Harry wanted to find a compartment as soon as possible so that he could tell the others about Mr. Weasley's warning.

He was a bit hesitant to tell the three Americans, but everything that he had seen from them said that they were trustworthy. After all, this wasn't something that was top secret; though he didn't want the whole school knowing. The six of them walked through the train, looking for an empty compartment. Finally, after checking almost all the compartments, they ended up at the back of the train.

Nico opened the last compartment door and peered inside. "This one's mostly empty," he announced, turning back to them. "There are only two people in it, which is better than the other's we've tried. We'll fit in here."

The six of them crowded into the compartment and put away their luggage before sitting down and turned to the two other occupants. There was a sickly looking man with brown hair dressed in worn and patched robes, and across from him sat a young boy with long blond hair pulled back into a braid, and wearing a long, bright red coat. They were both asleep, leaning against the windows.

"Who are they?" Ron wondered aloud. "I haven't seen either of them before."

Hermione examined the case that belonged to the older man. "Professor R. J. Lupin," she read quietly. "He must be the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor."

"So who's the kid then?" Thalia asked, nodding to the blond boy. "You said you didn't know him either."

"He must be a new first-year," Harry said. "Though he looks a little tall for an eleven-year-old." It may have been Harry's imagination, but he thought that he saw boy's eyebrows twitch. He shrugged it off and turned to the others. "I have to tell you something."

In whispers, he quickly explained what Mr. Weasley had told him about Sirius Black. When he had finished, the others stared at him with wide eyes. Hermione was the first to speak.

"Harry, you better not do anything stupid," she warned.

"What makes you think I'm going to do something stupid?" Harry asked, offended.

"Well, you did blow up your aunt and then run away," offered Nico.

"That was an accident!" Harry protested. "Well, not the running away part I guess. But it's not like I'll have a chance to do anything stupid. I'm not even going to be able to go to Hogsmeade."

"What?! Why can't you?" Ron cried.

Harry sighed. "My uncle wouldn't sign my permission slip," he explained.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we can't go either." Percy chimed in.

"We didn't know about the Hogsmeade trip, so we couldn't get anything signed," Thalia explained.

Harry felt a little better knowing that three of his friends would be staying with him, but he was still disappointed. The train whistle blew, and the train lurched and started moving. The professor wasn't disturbed at all, but the blond boy's eyes blinked open. To his surprise, Harry saw that his eyes were golden – an eye color that Harry had never seen before.

"Hullo there!" Hermione said cheerily. "You must be a first-year. My name is Hermione Granger." She held out her hand with a smile. The boy looked like he was about to explode.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "I am not a first-year, I am fifteen!"

The way he spoke was odd; as if the words were changed after they left his mouth. He also had an odd accent; one that Harry had never heard before. Hermione looked startled but recovered quickly. She opened her mouth to say something else, but just then the door to the compartment slid open, revealing Malfoy, flanked as usual by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Potter, Weasel," he sneered. "And who are they?" he gestured to the three Americans. Harry was about to reply, but before he could even open his mouth the compartment door slammed shut, with Malfoy on the other side. Harry stared at Nico.

"What?" Nico said. "There isn't some rule saying that we have to allow anyone to come barging into our compartment, is there?"

"No, there isn't," Ron said, grinning. "Blimey, I wish I could see Malfoy's face right now!" Suddenly the train jerked to a stop, screeching on the tracks.

"Are we there already?" Thalia asked with a frown. "I thought you said the train ride was longer than this."

"It is," Hermione said warily. The lights in the compartment went out, enveloping them in blackness. After several seconds of silence, there was a thump, signaling someone entering their compartment.

"Ouch! You stepped on me!" came Ron's voice.

"Sorry!" That was Ginny.

"Ginny? What are you doing in here?" Harry asked.

"I came to find Ron."

"What the hell is going on?" The nameless boy demanded.

"Quiet! Stay where you are!" Came a new voice.

A light illuminated the compartment, and Harry saw that the professor was standing up with his wand lit. Everyone froze, eyes trained on the man. The compartment door opened yet again, but slower this time. It revealed a tall figure, dressed completely in black robes, with no skin visible. There was a rattling sound as if the creature was breathing in, and Harry felt goosebumps on his arms. Then, he felt complete terror, and as he collapsed on the floor, he could hear screams of fear.

~o~O~o~

Harry's eyes opened and he sat up slowly. He groaned and put his hands up to his head. "What happened? Who screamed?" He asked, as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings.

"No one screamed," Ron said, eyeing him nervously. "You and that other kid...you fainted...and started shaking..."

'Other kid?' Harry looked around and caught sight of the golden-eyed boy. He was lying crumpled on the seat, unconscious. Occasionally his body would tremble, but other than that he was still. Suddenly there was a loud snap, and they all jumped. Professor Lupin was breaking chocolate into pieces and handing them out.

"Here," he said, holding out the chocolate. "Eat this, it'll make you feel better."

He handed Harry the largest piece. Harry took it, his eyes still on the boy. "Um, professor, will he be alright?"

Professor Lupin turned to the boy with a worried look. "I'll take him to the medical ward when we arrive. I'm sure he'll be fine once he wakes up. We should be at Hogwarts soon."

With a start, Harry realized that the train was moving again. He got up and sat back down in his seat, biting into the chocolate. "So, none of you were affected like that?" He asked, embarrassed. The rest of them shook their heads.

"It was horrible though," Ginny whispered. "It was like all the happiness had been sucked out of me, and I felt so cold." She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Professor Lupin nodded. "Dementors will do that to you. Nasty creatures; they feed on human emotion." The train slowed, then stopped completely. "Ah, here we are." Professor Lupin pulled out his wand and conjured a stretcher to carry the boy, who still hadn't opened his eyes. "Alright, move along then," he ordered, and they all walked off of the train.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked as they walked towards the carriages.

Harry nodded, surprising a shudder. "I'm fine," he assured her. 'I just hope I never have to go near a dementor again.'

EDIT: This Chapter was revised October of 2018