The ride to Hogwarts was fairly uneventful, and besides getting some candy from the woman who pushed a cart down the hall, and talking to the three other boys-Percy didn't do much. 

Percy did learn about the bias between the Houses though, that was something he had seen coming but not to the extent it was. The Houses all had an opinion on the other Houses, not many of which were good. Apparently Hufflepuffs were weak, pushovers, and not particularly good at anything besides plants and animals. Ravenclaws were stuck up know-it-alls that played teacher's pet and would look at you funny if you didn't know the answers to something. Slytherins were rude, lairs, bigoted, and ruthless along with being whiny and big babies that "cry to their daddy about how much better the others are and say it's unfair." 

That last one seemed to be personal, especially for the Twins. 

If Percy was to take a shot in the dark, he'd think the others probably thought Gryffindors were stubborn bastards, spotlight hoggers, and thought they were better than everyone else. 

Gods it was the two camps all over again. But at least the camps could listen to reason and the rift between them wasn't based on how they were raised but ancient history between the cultures. 

These poor kids were raised with a certain level of hate for the other houses. For those they found strange even in magical standers. 

Sighing, Percy resigned himself to the task of healing the festering wound that was the rift between the Houses. They'd never make it out of a war if they didn't work together, if they couldn't figure out that just because someone values something other than what you value it doesn't make them the enemy. 

Their views on the other Houses were disturbing, especially the Slytherins. There was no way that everyone that claimed that House was exactly the same, it just wasn't possible. Now, sure there probably was quite a few that followed old ideals . . . But that's how they were raised, they don't know different! And you can't call their ideals old when yours are just as stagnated. 

You don't get both. 

"We ought to get dressed, don't you think Fred?" George tilted his head, still smirking. 

"Yes! Let's!" Fred chimed in. 

The four boys changed into their robes, three out of the four tying red and gold ties around their collars. The last of the four, Percy himself, just draped the black tie with the Hogwarts Crest over his neck. He wasn't going to tie it, at least not right now. He hated ties with a passion. 

Too constricting. 

Speaking of which . . .

"How the hell do you guys put up with these robes?" Percy grumbled as he tried to sort himself out. They billowed out, which itself wasn't bad, but add on that there was just too much fabric and the fact he had to wear a sweater vest over the white dress shirt already . . . It was a mess. "I swear, I will be wearing this awful thing as little as possible!" 

Fred chuckled as George snickered, Lee just gave him a sympathetic look. "You get used to it." Lee explained, trying and failing to make Percy feel better about the whole situation. 

"Yeah, no." Percy rolled his eyes, growled to himself, and gave up. "I give up!" With a frustrated groan, the Demigod shucked off the robe, draping it over his seat as he went about tying his tie. Of the two evils he would take the tie, at least he can loosen that and not feel like he's drowning in fabric.

Rolling up his dress sleeves to his elbows, Percy kept up his grumbling at the outfit. Finally he tucked the tie into his sweater vest, losing it around his neck, and unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt. Nowhere did it tell him he couldn't. 

He'd checked. 

"Oh, what do we have here? Another rule breaker?" Fred teased, lifting an eyebrow. "Our dear McGonagall is not going to like that." The boy tutted, wagging his pointer finger with his other hand on his hip.  

"She'll most definitely not tolerate this!" George joined in, finger wagging included. 

"I've been a rule breaker all my life, but only when nessacary. Most of the time I'm just bending them. Like now." Percy grinned as he crossed his arms. "Nowhere in the handbook, or anything else, does it say I can't do any of this. They made the mistake of thinking everyone would just dress properly. Their loss, my gain." 

The Twins looked at each other. 

"Maybe you will be in Slytherin after all." There was a bit of wariness to their combined voices. 

"If that was what it took to be in Slytherin, you two would be there." Percy winked, and grinned to himself at the looks of contemplation that took hold on their faces. This might just be easier than he thought. 

Then again the Twins were just smart in general, they adapted to what was around them. Percy was a new opinion they hadn't encountered. They'd take that into play, examine it, then figure out what to do with the new information. 

Oh, how the Stolls would love these two . . . Speaking of Slytherins. 

The four teens kept up their chatting until it was time to leave the train. Percy didn't go with the others, instead following the voice of a female calling for first years and transfers. He brought his robes, holding them over his shoulder with one hand as the other hand found its way into his pocket. 

The trip over the lake was quite informative, with the creatures that came up to greet him. Somehow, even if the humans had forgotten their ancestry, the creatures had not, greeting him as if a returning prince that had been long awaited. Their merpeople were far different from those in the tales he heard, though he guessed it was all the magic of belief and all that. These mers took on the form those in the Wizard Community believed them to take.

They looked more fish than human, unlike the beauties spoken about in their legends.

Percy smiled at them, glad he had gotten a boat to himself-due to him being a lot bigger than the first years that were paired in groups of four. 

They told him of what lived in the lake with them, and Percy was very glad that the Giant Squid had not come to greet him. The merpeople swam off as they neared the castle that was Hogwarts. 

At night the lights from the arching windows added to the wonder. Towers, bridges, pillars, and archways gave off an intimidatingly magical presence. Annabeth would have loved to see it in person. Maybe one day she would, if this went where they thought it would . . . He'd need all the help he could get. 

Maybe . . . Maybe he could bring in some of the others too, ask around for those that would be willing. He'd never force them to, they'd been through so much already. Even just a hand full of the Demigods could probably turn the tide of any battle they'd have. 

Especially if he managed to get those with magic powers, ones he could pass off as just Wizards from America that had a preference for a certain type of spell . . . or something like that. 

He'd have to talk with Annabeth about it once he had a good sense of what exactly they needed to do. 

Percy hung back from the group, Listening to the Witch that had come out to greet them. He had met her briefly before, at the Order of the Phoenix meeting. 

Professor McGonagall, a Witch with black hair pulled back into a tight bun, favored different shades of green robes with her pointy hats, and wore glasses perched on her sharp nose. A woman that was in control at all times, didn't take shit from anyone, and could probably take on anyone in a fight and look damn good doing it too.  

After she addressed the first years, she beckoned Percy forward.  "Now you, young man, will come in with the first years. After we get all of them sorted, Dumbledore will explain that you are a transfer from America and that your previous school worked differently so you will be in fifth year. You will be called forward to get sorted. Then you eat, head back to the dorms with the rest of your House, get assigned a room from your Prefect, and go on with schooling. Am I clear?" 

Percy grinned, a troublemaking thing that had been his curse all his life. A grin that had him written down in his teachers' books before he had even gotten his first homework grade. "Understood, Ma'am. I look forward to you classes." Bowing his head slightly, Percy stepped back as she nodded and turn to leave. 

Now he just had to get passed the Sorting.