Three cheers for my first fanfic! WOOHOO! WOOHOO! WOOHOO!
Okay, so it isn't that good, I'm only thirteen, and I'm trying my best. I apologize for any grammatical and spelling mistakes... I hope I don't have any!
Harry's POV
Darkness.
Then, a wail of sheer terror and fear. A flash of green.
It was my usual nightmare about my parents, but this felt... different, somehow. The scream sounded dissimilar to my mother's, and my usual dream wasn't shrouded in darkness. And Voldemort's shrill evil cackle was gone.
I used to think it was just a stupid dream, but lately I've been getting it every night. That can't be good. I felt like something was trying to call out to me... to reach me...
And then that's when I usually wake up.
I considered telling Ron and Hermione about this, but I never really got the chance. It was a very busy summer... Especially with all the wizards coming up to gaze at my house. I guess it would be odd to muggles. A group of weirdly-dressed people gathering in front of Grimmauld Place, just to stare at the space between Numbers 11 and 13. Muggles couldn't see my house, not even wizards, but everyone in the wizarding world knows what the significance of the place was... It was the great Harry Potter's house, the home of the famous wizard who defeated Voldemort. Even I couldn't believe that Voldemort was gone. Defeating him was my destiny, the only reason I was set into this world. So... when you're through playing your role in life, what do you live for?
I sat up on my bed, staring longingly at the picture on the wall that once belonged to Sirius. It was a happy, carefree snapshot of my father, James Potter, and his friends, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and even the traitor Peter Pettigrew. The Marauders.
"Harry," I heard Hermione call from downstairs. "Dinner is ready!"
I stared at the photo for a few more seconds, then slowly sat up and made my way downstairs. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger sat at the table, looking a little groggy.
"Thank you, Kreacher," I mumbled as the little elf walked past me and bowed deeply. "All right, mate?" Ron asked, piling a huge amount of mashed potatoes on his plate. "You seem a bit... distracted."
"Well," I muttered, "It's just the aftershock, I guess."
"No, Harry," Hermione said with a concerned look on her face. "It's different. It's been a month since the event, and you've been acting strangely only these last few days."
"I've been getting... dreams." I explained. Then I elaborated, describing what I saw in full detail and mentioning the fact that it seemed familiar to me (i.e. my parent's deaths).
"That can't be good," Ron said. "And just when I thought we could finally become Aurors, another mystery pops up."
"Do you think the dream is trying to tell you something?" Hermione asked.
"I guess so," I said. "I felt like someone was trying to contact me."
"Strange," Hermione said. "Strange indeed."
Percy's POV
What does it mean when you keep having a single strange dream that felt like it was contacting you?
That's exactly how I felt this morning.
It wasn't a dream, more like a nightmare... I think. I was surrounded my shadows, and then there was a horrible sound... A bloodcurdling scream. Then an odd flash of green, and a whisper... It sounded like "Harcy."
I told Annabbeth and Grover about it once, but she shrugged it off, so I did too. But they keep coming back.
"Harcy? What's that suppoed to mean?" Annabeth asked. "Sounds like a brand of vodka."
"Maybe it's just your brain's weird reaction to the war stress," Grover said.
But I didn't think so. I've never been in a shroud of shadows like that... I've never heard such a terrified scream before... I've never seen a blinding green flash like the one in the dream, and I definitely have never heard of the word "Harcy".
But still, I considered it. I mean, how often do YOU get into a war between Greek gods and Titans? Yeah, exactly. Maybe it really was the post-war stress. "Post-war."
It feels weird, knowing the war is over. We worked days and nights and days and nights for that war, and it was all over. It was my fate. I was the Child of the Great Prophecy. And now I have accomplished my task. So... what exactly was I supposed to do now?
Maybe the answer lay in that dream.
I walked down the shore at Camp Half-Blood, and met up with Annabeth and Grover. They were talking pleasantly, as if the war never happened.
"Guys," I said, and they turned to look at me. "I got the dream again."
"Like we said, Perce," Grover said, "It's just a dream."
"Wait," Annabeth said. She had that familiar calculating look in her stormy gray eyes. "Maybe it isn't just a dream. Percy, you've been getting these for a while now. And I think 'Harcy' is 'Percy' blended with another word."
"You mean like 'Happy Percy'?" Grover asked.
"...Sort of like that," Annabeth said. "And you said you felt... compelled? Like someone was trying to tell you something?"
"Exactly," Percy said. "Strange," Annabeth said. "Strange indeed."
~All the way in England, a bushy haired girl said the exact same thing Annabeth had said at the same time. Little did they know, this was an act of fate. The girls had just ensured their future, and with a loud "BAM"... It was done.~
Harry's POV
"BAM!"
"What the-?" Ron said as Hermione shrieked and I stood up abruptly. All three of us raced to the window to see a terrifying sight. A humanoid shadow was floating towards us, with red glowing eyes that reminded me of Voldemort. But, no... It can't be. Voldemort was gone.
There was a lot of shrieking and I thought about the muggles, thinking that we've got to save them. But the shrieks weren't coming from the muggles. In fact, the muggles were strolling around casually, oblivious to it all. Then I realized... the shrieks seemed to be spewing out from the shadow making its way to us. "Harry, Ron," Hermione said, "Get your wands out. We'll need Lumos for this."
"Why?" Ron said. He panicked and fumbled with his wand, which fell to the floor.
"What is it?" I asked in a calmer way.
"Umbrae," Hermione said, leading us upstairs, "Shadow Figures. They force themselves into a wizard's mind and inflict pain by feeding off happiness, like Dementors, only much more painful. They have no effect on muggles. The only way to defeat them would be by blinding light, or about sixty Lumos spells."
We reached the highest floor and prepared ourselves as an ear-shattering crack issued from below.
The shrieks came closer and closer...
"On the count of three," Hermione said, "One... Two..."
But she never got to say three, or at least I didn't hear her. I was in darkness once again, with that familiar scream and green flash. Then I heard a whisper... It was calling me... Calling me... Calling me...
Percy's POV
"BAM!"
Annabeth, Grover and I whirled around. There was a black smoky figure coming towards us, with glowing bloodred eyes. It seemed to be... screaming.
"Bla-ha-ha!" Grover yelped. He was breathing shallowly and swiftly, and I knew he was about to do the roaring Pan thing.
"Oh my gods," Annabeth muttered, shaking. I took out Riptide and threw him at the... thing, but nothing happened. It flew right through it. I willed the sea and felt that familiar feeling in my gut, and the waves crashed against the thing like I wanted... but when the mess cleared up, the thing was unharmed.
"P-Percy!" Annabeth yelped. "Th-that's a Shadow Man! He can force his way into our minds and kill us from the inside out! The only way to defeat him is by using unbearable light!"
But that was no use. There was no light anywhere. I was swallowed in darkness... all alone... Grover and Annabeth were gone... Then there was an awful shriek... a flash of green... And the whisper, clearer than the last...
"Percy... Harry... Percy... Harry..."
Harry's POV
I felt like I was floating... higher and higher and higher... As weightless as air... So, I thought, Am I dead? Was it over? Did the Umbrella thing kill me?
Then I broke through the surface of the water. I felt the waves gently push me to shore, as if they really wanted to. I felt peaceful and tired. This couldn't be heaven... Was heaven wet and salty? No, this was the ocean. Why was I in the ocean?
Then I felt my body wash up on sand gently, as if the waves where cradling me there. It was odd. The waves were powerful and fast, but gentle at the same time...?
Then I felt pressure on my chest, and I heard a male voice. "Come on, breathe, dude," he said. "Don't die out on me. Duuuude. Breathe."
Wait, I wasn't breathing? Oh, I wasn't. I slowly forced some air into my lungs. It hurt, like tiny pins from the inside were tearing their way out. Then I released the air, and it was just as painful. I opened my eyes.
The boy in front of me was in his late teens. He had dark brown hair and green eyes like mine, except his were sea foamy while mine were emerald.
He broke into a relieved smile. "Oh thank gods," he said. "Dude, I thought you were, um, dead."
"Wh-Who are you?" I asked him, sitting up. I felt dizzy.
"Percy. Percy Jackson." He said, giving me his hand to shake. "And you are?"
"Harry Potter," I said, shaking his hand. He didn't seem to know me, so I assumed he wasn't a wizard. "Um, what happened? How did I end up here?"
"I don't know, I just landed into the water here, and so did you, only you were passed out," Percy said, looking as confused as me. "There was a Shadow Man, and-"
"The Umbrella thing!" I stated, which was probably weird. "I mean, er, the Umbrae. The Shadow Figure. Wait, you were there? At Grimmauld?"
"Grimmauld?" He was dumbstruck. "I was at Camp Half-Blood."
"So we were both attacked by Shadow Figures, and sent here?" I said. "That doesn't explain the scream and the green flash."
"Wow, I've had those visions too," Percy said. "Well, yeah. We both ended up here, and I willed the waves to bring us to shore."
"You... what?" I asked, certain I didn't hear correctly. My ears must've been full of seawater at the time.
"I-uh-I..." Percy stammered.
"Are you a wizard?" I blurted without thinking.
"I-huh?" Percy said, befuddled by this mess.
Whoops. Okay. So I thought maybe I should tell him. After all, I was a full-grown wizard. The Trace wasn't on me anymore, so they couldn't detect me.
"Alright," I said. "Percy, I'm not a normal person."
Percy's POV
"You're a demigod, too?" I blurted.
"What? No," Harry answered, a little freaked out, maybe. "I'm a wizard."
"You've GOT to be kidding me."
A wizard? No. way. Then again, I WAS the son of Poseidon and THAT was pretty unbelievable too.
"Prove it," I added.
He took out this wood stick thing from his jacket pocket and muttered something I couldn't comprehend, pointing it at a rock.
"Reducto."
The rock was immediately smashed to smithereens. It crumbled under his wand, and nothing even went near it.
"Okaaay," I said. "Wow."
A wizard. I fished some dude from the sea. He looked normal, except for a lightning shaped scar on his forehead, and I was surprised at how startlingly green his eyes were. Now he shows me he's a wizard.
"What about you?" Harry asked me, twirling his wand around in his hand. "You said you were a...
demitoad or something."
"Demigod," I corrected automatically. I figured maybe I should tell him. The secret was pretty much out anyway, and no lightning bolts issued from the sky. "I... Well, you know about the Greek gods and stuff?"
"A little, I guess," Harry answered. Good enough.
"They exist. And well, I'm the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea. That's why I could control the water. I have his powers."
Harry looked incredulous. "Prove it."
I raised my hand and positioned it so that the palm was facing the water. I concentrated and felt the familiar tug in my gut. Then a small column of water rose and twisted its way up my arm.
Harry looked fascinated.
"This also explains why I didn't pass out like you did." I explained. "I think I should have, but when I reached the water, it healed me."
"Brilliant," Harry said with a smile on his face. "But are you supposed to be telling me this?"
"Well, no," I answered, allowing the water to slither back into the sea. "But, hey, Zeus hasn't killed me yet, so for now, I'm safe. Are you supposed to tell me you're a wizard?"
"No," Harry said. "But I'm seventeen, almost eighteen now. The Trace is gone, in other words, the Ministry of Magic can't detect me." "Harry Potter and Percy Jackson," a female voice came from behind us. We turned and saw a beautiful girl with caramel hair in a high side ponytail and big brown eyes. She wore a toga-like white dress.
"Follow me," she said, turned, and leaved.
I glanced at Harry. He shrugged. Then we both followed after her.
Harry's POV
She led us through a tropical forest full of exotic looking plants. She just kept walking, and she occasionally said things like "Watch your step" and "Look out for that Eat Muffin" (I don't know what that's supposed to mean.)
"I'm Ellie, by the way. Elypsa," she said, not even turning to look at us. "I know who you two are. The Two of Destiny."
"Um, Two of Destiny?" Percy asked.
"Percy Jackson. The hero of Greek gods and demigods. You were the child of the great prophecy. Your fate was to set peace and end the war against the Titans.
"Harry Potter. The hero of the wizarding world. You were the child of a different great prophecy. Your fate was to defeat Lord Voldemort and save the entire non-pureblood human race.
"Both of you were the subjects of two great prophecies, though you're from different worlds. Your lives are now entwined with Destiny, weaved into it. And so we have called you here," Elypsa said.
"Where is here, exactly?" I asked.
"We are in Divitio. The center of fates, destinies and prophecies. Also known as the Subdimension Zero where nothing exists."
"What?" Percy and I asked at the same time.
"There are many dimensions. Eight main dimensions, and Subdimension Zero is in all eight," she explained. "It exists as nothing. It is in your world, yet you never see it or see anything within it."
"Bloody hell," I muttered, and Percy and I exchanged a look.
"Why are we here, in Subdimension Zero?" Percy asked.
"The Great Deliantex wants to see you," Elypsa said.
"Who?" I asked.
"And how far are we walking?" Percy added.
"Not far, now," Elypsa said. "Deliantex is the greatest Diviner of them all. He lives in this dimension as the center of Prophecies. Every Great Prophecy comes from him. You see, Diviners are partially connected to Divitio, and if a Great Prophecy is made, such as yours, Deliantex releases it through a Diviner in the needed dimension. Minor prophecies are made by any Diviner."
"And why does he want to see us?" I asked.
She didn't answer. Instead, she lead us into an amazing coliseum, bigger than any I've ever seen r heard of. "He will be here with you shortly. And I apologize about the Umbrae. We needed them to fetch you for us."
And POOF. She was gone.
Percy's POV
So this day was pretty weird. I was prepared for the worst... a hell hound, a minotaur, a herd of untamed centaurs and pegasi... but I was NOT prepared for a boy about my age to come in.
"Hey," he said. "Thanks for coming." He had the same hair color as Elypsa's and the same eyes.
"Are you Delaintex?" Harry asked with a look of disbelief.
"Yeah. And I see you've met my sister, Ellie, or Elypsa. Call me Delian."
"Yeah," I said, "Delian. Anyway, what do you want with us?"
Delian's cheery smile disappeared and was replaced by a grim line. "Divitio is in big trouble," He said. "It's about to be destroyed by a fleet of Ezixirs. And if Divitio is destroyed, there will be no future for your dimensions. Meaning, all dimensions will be destroyed, except that of the Ezixirs. They live in Zalphia, a dimension where the future is not valued at all."
"And you want us to... what? Defend Divitio?" Harry asked.
"Exactly."
"Just the two of us? And why us?" I asked.
"You two were my greatest prophecies yet. That means you are even stronger here than you are in your own dimensions. Percy, try slicing through that ring with water." Delian said.
Delian pointed to a huge, insanely thick ring of metal by the right entrance of the coliseum. I didn't think I could do it, judging by its size and density, but I pointed my fingers at the ground and raised it suddenly, taking with it a huge column of water. I was never able to summon that much water with a single movement before. Then I willed the water to slice through the ring... And it worked. I diced the whole ring and restored the water back into the ground. It felt amazing. It made me feel so alive.
"Brilliant," Harry breathed. "Harry," Delian said, "Fix it. No wands. You can do that here."
I watched as Harry closed his eyes and focused his energy. His right palm was glowing with a green orb around it, and when he abruptly opened his eyes they were glowing, too. He pointed his fingers at diced up metal.
"Reparo!" He said.
The metal pieces started glowing green, too, and began fixing itself. It was a perfect ring once again until Harry twisted his wrists, morphing the metal with it. With a few swift movements the ring became a massive metal lightning bolt, reminding me of Zeus and matching Harry's scar.
"Impressive," I said, giving Harry a thumbs up. He grinned.
"See what you can do here? And I can train you to do even more things here. And if you master them, you will be able to do those things in different dimensions," Delian said.
"But... what about our friends?" Harry asked him.
I thought about Annabeth and Grover back at camp. What had happened to them? Did the Umbrae just leave them alone? Were they okay?
"Your friends are fine," Delian said seriously. "They are probably worried sick, but, nevertheless, fine."
I thought hard. Should I leave them like that? Worried and scared? But this was important. Eight dimensions depended on Harry and me. I looked at Harry. It was hard to imagine him as one of the greatest wizards who defeated some Voldermoy guy, with his tousled black hair, round, taped glasses and thin build. But the moment you saw his scar and looked into his emerald eyes, you knew he had power and courage. You just knew. I wondered if I was anything like that.
Harry looked back at me. He seemed to send a message to me through his eyes. He looked like this decision was killing him... but he had made up his mind. And so had I.
I nodded to him, and he smiled.
"I'm in," he said in a brave, calm voice.
"So am I," I added.
Harry's POV
"So we're really doing this," Percy said, looking out at the sea. We were on a cliff, watching the sunrise. Delian told us to meet him here, but he was running late.
"I guess we really are," I answered, turning to look at him. He looked troubled but determined. "And I'm sure we can do it."
"'Course we can," he said, turning to look at me. He was smiling. "The great Harry Potter, defeater of Voldermoy..."
"And the great Percy Jackson, defeater of Krunis," I finished for him. We both chuckled. "Good morning," Delian said from behind us. We both turned and greeted him. "Today will be your first training session," he stated, "More like a test to see the extent of your powers. Percy, you will be training with me. Harry, with Elypsa."
"Hi," Elypsa smiled from behind him.
"Sure, give HIM the hot girl," I heard Percy whisper from behind me, and I smirked at him. He answered with a very mature tongue-out face.
"Come along, Harry," Elypsa said and turned to the forest path. "We'll be training in the meadows today."
As I followed her down the narrow, steep path, I heard bits of what Delian was telling Percy. "We do not cut ourselves off from power, but we do monitor this power, channelling it into an extension of ourselves..."
"That's just fancy talk," Elypsa said as we entered a beautiful meadow. "I'll explain it the simple way. We have limitless power. But we have to limit ourselves. Think of this power as a part of you, and not as an instrument. It comes from inside you."
"I see," I said. I took a few deep breaths and felt the energy within me. "I can feel the power in me, alright. I feel it pulsing in my veins."
"Good," She replied. "So today is all about knowing where your limits are... for now. After the whole training process, your limit will be much higher. Ready?"
I nodded. "Alright," she said. "First, I have only one rule: Call me Ellie. Call me Elypsa and die. Okay?" "Okay," I said, smiling. "Now, I want you to crush that mountain's peak," she said, pointing at a huge mountain towering above us.
"What?" I asked. Crush a mountain peak? Could I really do that?
"You can do it," she said encouragingly. "You're one talented kid, you know."
I breathed deeply and clenched my fists. The energy within me started flowing faster, and I felt warmth around my hands. I opened my eyes and made my palms face the mountain's highest area. I zeroed in on it and whispered "Reducto."
With a flash of green, the peak exploded into a tiny pieces. The rocks, soil and debris came cascading down the mountain's slopes. "I'm impressed," Ellie smiled approvingly. "That was fast. Now, I want you to lift a clump of lava from inside the mountain. Bring it here."
This time I didn't question it. I raised my arms again and whispered "Wingardium Leviosa." The next thing I know, I was guiding a red hot lump of lava towards us. It was more difficult than I thought. I had to try to keep all the lava in one place, making sure not even a small drop plummets and burns the forest below.
I was sweating. The lava kept threatening to spill over, so I had to work hard. When the lava reached us, I had to continue working. I felt my knees go weak.
"Whoa," Ellie said. "Most people would've passed out already. Do you still have some juice in you, or do you have to recharge?"
"I think I've got one or two bars left," I said with a weak chuckle.
"Alright," she said. "Split the lava and put them into these pots."
Immediately, four pots appeared. One for each of the primary directions, and I was in the middle.
"Split them all at once," Ellie said. She seemed distant. I focused all my energy on splitting the lava, but it felt like I had to split my energy too. My forehead was drenched in sweat and spots popped up in my vision. I realized my hands were shaking. I heard Ellie's voice, but I couldn't figure out what she was trying to say. Then the ball of lava finally split into four and each mini version launched into its vase. Then I blacked out.
Percy's POV
I wasn't entirely sure what Delian was trying to tell me. All I knew was that power was an extension of me, I shouldn't cut it off, but I should monitor it.
Like an IV. It was weird. "Ok, time to show me what you can do, Perce," he said, stretching. "Gather up a huge amount of water and form into a whirlpool, spinning above you."
"Easy," I smirked. I took a few intensely deep breaths and connected myself to the ocean. I could feel the waves flowing beneath me. I could smell the salt. I could sense the power. Then I raised both my hands and moved them towards me, pulling two long, vertical streams of water towards me. I wrapped one around the other and formed them into a whirlpool. I kept moving my hands around, willing the water to spin.
"Good," Delian said. "Very good. Now release ice spikes from the whirlpool, and try hitting these four posts."
Four posts grew around me, and the feeling in my gut grew stronger... and more painful. I released the ice spikes and hit all posts, but the pain was worsening.
"You all right?" Delian asked, concern in his voice.
"Yeah," I answered. I could do more. This was not yet my limit, I kept telling myself. I waited for his next instructions, still swirling the water around me.
"Cover yourself in a water orb." Delian said.
That seemed like a hard task, with all the water in my power. I separated the two streams once again and tried shaping it around me. The water was turbulent and rough. I was doing it too fast. Then the pain in my gut increased by tenfold and I doubled over, forgetting about the water. The water crashed into me with momentum from my turbulent spinning and suddenly, I was very tired. I felt myself drifting off...
Well, it seems I'm good at handling large amounts of water and splitting my energy, but my focused stamina needed an improvement. Or at least that's what Delian says. Ellie said Harry was amazing, but needed to work on splitting his energy. Apparently, he finished all his tasks but passed out from trying to seperate tendrils of energy.
I, on the other hand, managed to do two out of three of my tasks, because I wasn't able to make an orb around me. But Delian said that was insanely good.
"Remarkable, actually," Delian said. "That much water with just a few movements. But it was hard because you had to do a lot of things at once."
"Obviously, we pushed you to your limits today, and realized the current extent of your powere," Ellie said. "Rest up. Tomorrow's a new day, which will be used to fix your weak points. Once you've strengthened your weaknesses, we'll work on tweaking up your strong points."
She led us back into our cabin, which was more like a grand mansion. There were four levels and a rooftop level. The first level was one huge room, a grand entrance. There was a huge plasma screen TV that we never turned on, and a game set. There was also an enormous hammock thing, so it was pretty much a "chill" room. The second floor was also just one room, a huge hall where we ate. It was weird sitting at a table that could host up to forty people, but there were only four. The third floor was all mine, with a huge terrace and lake. That's right a LAKE. My bed rested in an island in the middle of the lake, along with all my belongings. The fourth floor was Harry's, which I've never seen before. The rooftop was what Delian called the "Energy Point". At sunset and sunrise, the sun casts a golden glow on the place, and Ellie advised us to soak it up every now and then because it provided energy. After soaking up the energy as the sun set behind the horizon, I stood up and stretched, feeling a little better, but still tired. "Sleep" was the only word I managed to mumble at Harry, who sat gazing up at the multicolored sky. He answered with a nod.
I climbed back on the elevator and pushed the button for my room. The elevator moved slowly, and when the doors opened I walked to the center of the lake, collapsed on my bed and fell asleep without even taking off my Reeboks.
Harry's POV "Sleep," Percy murmured and trudged off after I nodded.
I guess the poor lad was drained, but I couldn't imagine sleeping at that moment. After all the kerfuffle the past two days, it seemed a miracle to fall asleep.
I rewinded the events from today, starting off from the moment I blacked out. Then all the other events played in my mind. Percy fishing me out of the ocean... The Umbrae... The wail and flash of green...
The wail and flash of green?
Suddenly I realized I still had no idea what that was about. I recalled Percy telling me he'd been getting the same vision. I made a mental note to ask Ellie or Delian about it tomorrow.
Then I stood up lazily and went to my room. My room took up one whole floor, just like all the other rooms (Imagine telling your friend your house had only four rooms, but it was actually a grand mansion). One side of the room, the side facing the ocean, was a giant window with nothing but glass, so that I could see the landscape of Divitio. The opposite side was one giant mirror, reflecting the sight of the window. It looked like the room was endless.
And it probably was, in a way.
There was no floor. It was just an abyss. When I looked down, all I could see was darkness. But there was a platform floating in the middle, where my bed and belongings were. There was also a smaller platform moving around the room, going where I willed it to go. The walls (excluding the mirror and window) were made purely of shelves, filled with ancient and modern spellbooks. I willed the smaller platform to pick me up by the entrance of my room and I stepped onto it. It carried me to the right, where the ancient spellbooks were. I brought it higher until I reached the highest shelf. I picked up one prehistoric looking book, and realized it was a tablet (So, yes, it probably really was prehistoric). I went over to my platform, stepped down and rested on the bed.
"Lumos," I murmured, and a floating flame orb lit up above me. I positioned the tablet under it. It was exactly what I needed.
"Energy Division."
The title was etched at the very top, and those were the only words on the stone. The rest of it was filled with complicated illustrations.
I looked at the first drawing. It was a human figure, with its hands held up in front of it. It seemed to be levitating an orb in front of it. The second illustration showed a close-up of the orb. It was cracked at the top. Then the following image showed the human moving his hands to his sides as the orb split.
I turned the tablet over and realized it was covered in writing.
"Dividing one's energy is a skill all talented wizards and witches wish to possess. It takes a great deal of concentration and calm. One must close his eyes and feel his inner energy melting off his hands and entering the object of choice. Then, he must split it.
"This is where the tricky part comes in. The wizard must move move his hands away from each other, dividing the energy between them. This will take great concentration. The pulsing of energy inside him will speed up, and he must control this by keeping calm."
The rest of the writing was split into different languages. Even Greek and Egyptian Heiroglyphics. But that was okay, because I learned everything I needed to know.
Percy's POV
I had a dream that night. Only it wasn't a dream. It was a conversation. With Poseidon. My father. The god of the sea.
"Perseus," he called distantly. Then it got stronger and stronger until it was in my ear. "PERCY!"
"Huh? What?" I croaked groggily and sat up. I was in the sea. Underwater. With my dad. (Fogive my shortcut sentences, but I was VERY tired.)
"Son," Poseidon said, "I see you have made it to Divitio very good, yes."
"You mean you exist in this dimension, too?" I pondered stupidly.
"Oh no," he said, "Oh no, no, no. I am only here, in your head. Lovely place by the way, the sea looks impeccable."
"Yeah, Dad," I said lazily, "So why are you here again?"
"To deliver a message from Zeus."
"Oh no," I muttered. Not good. If Zeus knows I'm here, he knows that I told Harry what I am. He'll blast me to bits with his lightning. "He does not wish to destroy you," Dad said, reading my expression with a soft chuckle. "He wants to thank you for taking this mission with that Wizard Boy. You must save the world... Wait, no, you must save the WORLDS."
"Do Annabeth and Grover know? Are they alright? What happened with the Umbrae?"
"Relax, son. The Umbrae took you here, leaving your friends behind at camp. They were worried, naturally, and Grover practically exploded telling Chiron what happened and how he couldn't feel the empathy link anymore, but they know now."
"Good," I sighed with relief.
"But that Harold boy-" Dad started.
"Harry," I corrected him.
"Right, Harry," he said, "He's something else, isn't he? A wizard. By Zeus, I never imagined anything like that. Witchcraft and Wizardry. Amazing."
"I know, Dad," I said, "I know."
"Well, son, I best be off."
"Wait, you're leaving?"
"I cannot stay, as you are about to awake. Oh, but before I go, I see you need a bit of help with managing two tasks with a huge amount of water. Here's a tip: Focus and feel the water of the ocean, much greater than that of your command."
And with that, he was gone.
Then I woke up.
I was back in my bed, surrounded by an eternally deep lake. I walked over it to the terrace, where I saw the sun was rising. I soaked up the energy and closed my eyes, feeling great.
BANG!
There was a sound like a gunshot and I hit the floor and shielded my hand, but nothing happened.
"Whoa," Harry said with a shaky laugh from behind me. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Just popping in."
"Dude," i said as I got up shakily. "What the Hades?"
"Apparition," he said. What the Hades was Apparition? I don't know.
He must have read my confused expression, because he said, "It's a wizard thing. Like, er,
teleportation."
"Ah," I nodded. "You scared the wits out of me."
"Sorry," he apologized again. "Nice room by the way. Any idea how deep the lake is?"
I shook my head. "Seems to go on forever to me. Can I see your room?"
"Sure," he said. Then he turned around, and I was about to follow him.
BANG! He was gone. BANG! He was back.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Forgot you couldn't apparate."
By this time, my ears were ringing and my heart pumping so fast that all I could do was nod in response. Harry chuckled.
"So not funny, dude," I muttered.
We went up the elevator to his room, and when he opened the door, my mouth opened and formed an "O".
"Whoa."
"I know," Harry said with a nod.
The room was amazing. It was one big hole. And it was like a library, holding books that read "The Art of Apparition", "History of Magic", "Trunknots and Bezoars" and stuff like that. And one wall was a full window, while the one we stepped out of was a mirror.
"Dude," I said. "Awesome."
Then we heard Ellie's voice echoing off the walls, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Percy, Harry," she said. "Come quickly, same time, same place."
Harry's POV
"Good morning," Delian greeted us as we arived. "Today, we will work on strengthening your weaknesses. Ready?"
"I guess," Percy mumbled.
"Yeah, sure," I said.
"Harry," Ellie said, smiling. "Let's go down to the meadows again. There's a lot of magical energy swelled up in that place."
We trudged down the narrow path again, listening to Delian and Percy's conversation about water flowing and waves.
"Okay," Ellie said, "We've got to work on Energy Splitting. It's an intricate skill of magic that requires undivided concentration... and a whole lot of patience."
Ellie turned to me and closed her eyes. She chanted a few words and held up her hands. A purple glowing orb of energy escaped from the tips of her fingers. Then, she yanked her hands apart, opening her eyes, and there were two orbs. She chanted some more and the orbs disappeared.
"How'd you make the energy orbs?" I asked stupidly.
Ellie smiled. "The spell is 'Junctifitus'. Try it. Focus your energy and push it out of you. Cakewalk."
I closed my eyes and mimicked Ellie. "Junctifitus." I brought up my hands and felt the energy concentrated on that area. Then, I felt the concentrated energy leave me... I opened my eyes.
A glowing green orb floated in front of me.
"Good, very good," Ellie said, "Green. Like your eyes. The color of an emerald. Now split it. Nice and slowly, easy does it."
I remembered the tablet and slowly moved my hands apart. The energy divided between my two hands, and I felt alive, but drained. The energy inside me coursed like electricity. I needed to keep calm.
Instinctively, I thought of Ron and Hermione, back in my dimension. They were probably worried to death about me, but the thought of them relaxed me. Before I knew it, there were eight orbs in front of me.
"Harry," Ellie said. "That's amazing!"
But energy left me an alarming rate. I needed to stop this. Then I realized Ellie hadn't mentioned the countercurse yet.
"Espifitus!" She yelled as the effort brought me to my knees.
"Es... pifi... tus," I breathed, and the balls disappeared. I fell to the ground, but other than feeling drained, I was fine.
"Harry, that was incredible!" Ellie said, helping me up. "How did you do that? Great progress!"
"I had a little help from an 'Energy Division' tablet," I explained. I held up my hands in the form of a cup and murmured "Aguamenti." Water filled my hands and I began drinking.
"Well, even with an ancient tablet," Ellie said, "Awesome. Now we can work on splitting denser objects, and by tomorrow, I'll teach you how to use that energy in combat."
"Sounds good," I murmured as she levitated a giant log towards us.
Percy's POV
Delian showed me how to do it. He was awesome. He yanked up about as much water as my lake held and began spinning it into a whirlpool. Then he lowered his arms and the water encased him, moving rapidly but gracefully. I was foolish enough to touch the orb. The water was so fast that its friction made a gash in my finger, but it immediately healed in the water.
"This water is only a tiny fraction of the ocean," he said as he lowered the water back into the sea below us. "Keep that in mind when you do combinations."
I nodded, then lifted two enormous columns of water like yesterday. I began weaving them into one huge whirlpool above me and brought some of the water down, encasing me. The tug in my gut was worsening again, and the water was getting out of control.
Then I imagined the ocean. I imagined my seemingly endless lake. All that water was an extension of me, and my water orb thing around me was a speck of dust compared to the ocean. I could handle this.
The tug in my gut became bearable, and the water became graceful once again. I marveled at the sight. I was IN water, but not IN it. Weird, eh?
Delian yelled something from outside my orb, but it was hard to make out from the roar of water. It sounded like "Two professed low math!" ...But that didn't really make sense, did it?
I lowered the water back into the sea and sat down in exhaustion. I was beginning to wonder if Delian failed Math or something. "You progressed so much," he said, which was probably also what he yelled earlier. Now THAT made much more sense. "Yeah..." I breathed, huffing and puffing. "I... guess... I did..."
"That was amazing," Delian said. "Now we can move on to more... ah, FUN lessons..." He smiled mischievously.
"What?" I asked.
Then he pushed me over the cliff's edge, straight into the sea. I willed the waves to bring me up and saw Delian come up in front of me.
"What now?" I asked. The water around me helped me regain strength.
"Now," Delian said, still grinning like a little boy about to play a prank, "We duel."
And then three swirling columns of water rose from the sea, making their way to me. I summoned an arch of water to deflect the columns and wrapped the water around Delian. He broke free easily and made a tidal wave rise over me, pummeling me under the water.
I didn't rise above the surface. I couuld breathe underwater, so it was no problem. I blasted a heavy current towards Delian's body and it took him by surprise, but he still managed to stop it. I took that moment as an oppurtunity and made the waves pin him against the cliff wall. I broke surface and blew at the water holding Delian back, freezing it into ice.
"Impressive," he said. But he kicked and the ice shattered, creating ice spikes that zoomed straight at me. I shielded myself with a thick stream and sent the stream towards Delian, but instead of hitting him, I encased him.
He struggled and sent out powerful waves at me, but I managed to bring him underwater. The water was turbulent where Delian was, but then it settled into small ripples then... Calm?
For a moment I was worried I drowned and killed Deliantex. But I told myself "No. He's strong. Don't let your guard down, that's exactly what he wants."
Then a column of water erupted like a geyser from below me, spitting me out high into the sky. I began falling back down when a water orb formed around me and hit against the cliff wall, pinning me there. I escaped and narrowly dodged two very sharp ice discs then launched myself into the water.
Delian was good. I didn't see him when he attacked me, so I still had no idea where the next attack would come from (Also, I had no idea where to aim).
I spun sharply around underwater and willed the water to shoot out a pulse and hit everything 360 degrees around me for at least four miles. Delian shot out of the water and flipped in midair, bounced off the cliff wall and cannon balled into the water. The force was so strong that I was forced to jump, and Delian's water whips grappled me down. I jumped back up and shot another strong current at him, this time hitting him and pushing him back. Another five swirling water columns made their way to me, and I realized Delian was standing on the one in the middle, his caramel hair in a mess.
"Cheesecake," he said, or at least it sounded like that.
The water tornadoes hit me all at the same time, and I was once again pinned against the cliff wall. Delian was standing on an ice platform next to me. "Fun," he said gleefully.
"Yeah," I mumbled, breathless. "Fun."
Delian chuckled and peeled me off the cliff wall. I made my own ice platform to stand on next to his.
"What did you say when you were up on that water tornado pillar thing?" I asked him. "Something like 'Cheesecake'?"
"'Chizk Quake'," He said, willing his ice platform to rise up to the cliff. "It's an ancient language of Divitio. It means 'Water Storm'."
I made my platform rise, too. "So it's like a... Water spell?"
"Water Enchantment," He corrected. "From ancient times."
He stepped off his platform and so did I. We were both totally dry. "It's amazingly strong. I can teach you later on."
Harry's POV
Ellie got me cutting up logs, boulders, and the final test was...
"A mountain?" I exclaimed. "I can't split a mountain!"
"Sure you can," Ellie chirped delightfully. "I've seen what you can do. Wait, let me heal up your energy first."
She touched my forehead and it tingled. The feeling rippled through me, and I instantly felt better. "I believe in you," she whispered, then stepped back and gestured to the giant, peak-less mountain I semi-destroyed yesterday. Guess I had to finish the job today.
I raised my hands and closed my eyes. Then, I felt energy surging through me, creating an invisible bridge between me and the mountain. I thought of Ron and Hermione, and felt the energy split.
I heard a "CRRRRRRRRAAAACK" and a "BOOM!". My eyes flew open and I saw the mountain split in two. I got a huge migraine and crumpled to my knees, but I did the job. I didn't pass out this time, too. Ellie watched in awe and sat down next to me. She touched forehead and healed me again. "That... was awesome."
I chuckled and wiped sweat off my brow. "That was tiring," I told her. "But still awesome," she added. "Tomorrow, we work on combat enchantments. But for now, your dinner is waiting."
Dinner was scrumptious. And surreal.
All my favorite food was placed on the table. It reminded me of the feasts in Hogwarts, with all my favorite kinds of pudding.
Before eating, Percy headed over to a giant fire place and slid some of his steak into the fire, saying "For Poseidon and all the gods." I'm guessing it was an offering of some sort.
We stuffed our faces until we could eat no more, and discussed our progress.
"I'd say we're sailing smoothly," Delian said. "The Ezixirs will never know what hit them."
"Speaking of those... um, Ezikkers," Percy said, "When are they coming? How much time do we have left?"
"The Ezixirs are coming on the first day of Salza," Ellie said. "Salza is a feast in Divitio. You have probably noticed that we seem to be the only people here. That's because all the other Diviners and Oracles pop in and out of here. And the permanent residents live on the other side of Divitio, away from the Great Deliantex (Delian said "Oh, you make me blush, Sis") . During Salza, all the residents come to our island and the next big prophecy is usually made."
"Not this year, though," Delian added, "No great prophecy this year."
"Delian," I said, feeling a little queasy. "There's something that's been bothering me lately. I need to ask you a question."
"Fire away," Delian answered.
"Well, I've been getting this vision," I said, and Percy nodded. "Me too," he said.
"What sort of vision?" Ellie asked.
"Well, it's shrouded in darkness," I explained, "and then there's this bloodcurdling, awful sceam... And a flash of green."
Ellie nearly choked, but Delian just nodded.
"Ah," he said coolly. "That happened in Zalphia, the land of the Ezixirs. The ruler of Zalphia is a serpent spirit dude who wants to rule the worlds."
"Naturally," Percy said sarcastically.
"He has great power, and he wants to use this power to become the Ultima, or the Ruler of All. Ezixirs are his army."
"Serpent spirit who wants to take over and become supreme ruler of all," I muttered. "This all sounds VERY familiar.
Delian nodded. "Yes, he is much like Voldemort. Ruthless, merciless, determined, resourceful and powerful. His name is Fuego."
"You mean... like fire?" Percy asked. "Precisely," Delian said.
"If he's anything like Voldemort," I said, "Then he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Innocent lives would be frivolous to him."
Percy's POV
So, this Fuego dude seems like a nice chap. If he wasn't, you know, ruthless and merciless and all. I mean, determined, resourceful and powerful could come in handy.
I looked at Harry and studied his face. My eyes fell on his scar. I wondered how he got it, and I wondered about his story. The Chosen One, they called him. The Boy Who Lived. I was just... Perseus Jackson. Percy. And while I had been "chosen" too, Harry seemed way more amazing than me. He was... exemplary.
"You're right," Ellie said. "Voldemort and Fuego could be twins."
Harry winced, as if recalling a bad memory. I made a mental note to ask him later, but not to seem too rash. "You two should rest," Delian said. "Sunrise at the cliff tomorrow."
Delian and Ellie stood up and left.
Harry was staring at a crumpet absentmindedly. He was lost in a memory, and it seemed that if I didn't wake him up, he would be drowned in his own past.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked at me. I gave him a small smile, and he sighed. "My parents were killed by Voldemort when I was only a year old," he said, "He wanted to kill me, because a prophecy was made that the one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord would be... Well, me. But my father and mother died to save me. I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle, who hated me and hated wizardry, so I never knew..."
I felt really sorry for him... I couldn't imagine life without my parents, even if one is a god and I rarely got to see him.
"I didn't know I'm a wizard until my eleventh birthday," he continued. "Apparently, I was a famous one because when Voldemort tried to kill me, it backfired on him. I survived with only my lightning scar. Then during my first year at Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry... I learned Voldemort was coming back. Bit by bit, he was returning. He was sort of attached to my Defense gainst the Dark Arts teacher... he tried to kill me again... and failed again.
"Then my second year at Hogwarts started, and Voldemort's sixteen-year-old spirit, which was trapped in a diary, possessed one of my friends and released a basilisk. A serpent who can kill you just by looking straight into your eyes. Another failed attempt at killing me."
Dayum, I thought, This kid is awesome.
"And then I started my third year. I found out Sirius Black, a deadly criminal, was trying to kill me. But he wasn't. He was framed. He was actually my godfather.
"And then... my fourth year. This is when things get even worse. I was entered into a contest. The Triwizard Tournament. It was a plan to get me. When I touched the Triwizard Cup, it transported me into a graveyard, where Voldemort was waiting, in a half-dead form. He took my blood, and used it to bring him back to his true form. Then he tried to kill me. Again. "
"And let me guess," I said. "He failed. Again."
"Yes," Harry said humorlessly. "Then came the fifth year. This time, the Ministry was against me. They thought I was lying about Voldemort coming back to life. They shunned me, and made most of the wizarding world against me. I was even punished... but I managed to escape the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, and prove to the Ministry that I wasn't lying. Unfortunately, my godfather Sirius, my last connection to my parents..."
A lump formed in his throat and I felt even worse for him. His life was much more complicated than mine.
"Then my sixth year. That year, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, was killed by Severus Snape. But he left me a mission. To destroy all of Voldemort's horcruxes... Things that kept a bit of his soul, so that even if his physical body was destroyed, a bit of his soul would come back to life and he would be back."
From his stories, I guessed Voldemort was not very nice.
"Then my seventh year, but I didn't go back to Hogwarts. Hermione, Ron and I were forced to flee. Voldemort was in control of the Ministry. We destroyed most of his horcruxes. Then... I learned the truth."
He took a deep breath. And I realized he had to recall bad memories for this.
"Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore set Dumbledore's death up. Because it was needed for Dumbledore's master plan... to get me killed."
"Whoa, wait, what?" I asked, confused. "He was a bad guy?"
"No," Harry said, which confused me even more. "I had to be killed. Voldemort accidentally made me a horcrux."
"But you were the only one who could take him down!" I yelled, and felt pretty stupid. Duh, something happened, because he was alive, in front of me.
"Well, Voldemort killed me," he said, "but remember my fourth year? He took my blood, making our bond even stronger. So I came back to life... and finished the job."
I was speechless. Harry's life was so unbelievable, but he left out details, I could tell so. He seemed so... powerless and vulnerable right then.
"What about you?" he asked me. "What's up with your life?"
"Well, it's not as impressively awesome as yours," I said. "I found out I'm a demigod, trained, made an army and defeated Kronos, the Titan. The end."
Harry smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a sad smile. I could see sorrow in his emerald eyes.
Harry's POV
It felt strangely calming to talk to someone about my whole wizard life. Percy listened intently, as if I was a celebrity or something.
Then we trudged back up to our rooms and I slept peacefully this time. Nothing disturbed me, until the next morning.
Percy and I went back up the cliff, where Delian and Ellie were waiting. Ellie and I walked back down to the meadow, talking casually, as if we trained for magic everyday (Well, we kind of did, actually).
"Ellie," I said hesitantly, "About last night... Delian told me the vision Percy and I got happened in Zelphia... but he didn't really explain much further, did he?"
"No," she said, sighing. "You're a smart kid, Harry. He left that part out on purpose. For you, actually."
I was taken aback. "Why?" I asked. "For me?"
"Yeah," Ellie replied. "Because... Well, because Fuego used Avada Kedavra to kill the servant who wasn't able to enter Divitio as a spy."
Silence... My mind stopped working.
"He thought... Delian thought that it would remind you too much of Voldemort, and your painful past..."
Suddenly I hated green. It was the color of Avada Kedavra. The color of death. I hated leaves, plants, vegetables... I hated my eyes. I hated the color of my energy. I was linked to death.
"Harry," Ellie said.
Then I cooled down. I didn't hate green. I didn't hate death. It was LIFE. I hated life, not death. More precisely, I hated MY life. The universe always asked too much of me. They needed a hero to step up to the plate and hit the home run. I did it before, and they wanted me to do it again.
And unfortunately, I HAD to.
"Harry..." Ellie's voice trailed off. Then I landed back in Divitio.
"Sorry," I mumbled, "Lost myself there for a second. Now this Fuego bloke... You'll need to teach me some combat enchantments to defeat him."
Ellie smiled and said, "True. And I can feel what you feel, Harry. You don't want to have to go through something like this again. It's painful. But you're strong. And that's why the universe chose YOU. You are exemplary, Harry."
I couldn't help but smile at her words. She pushed a stray lock of caramel hair behind her ear and bent her knees, spread her feet apart, one in front of the other, and locked her wrists together, pushing her open hands out. A purple energy orb spinned out of her palms and destroyed a boulder, crushing it into dust.
"Combat stance," she said, and I mimicked her earlier position. "Now, feel the energy pulsing through you... release it. Go!"
I forced my hands out and a green energy orb shot out of my palms and collided with another boulder, destroying it.
"Good," she said. "That was called 'Sphere Shot'. A basic combat move, but it can take out almost any minor opponent."
"Fun," I said, grinning stupidly.
"Now, stage two," she said. She drew her hands back again, the same as before, but this time, energy collected in her palms. Then she leapt forward and seperated her hands, creating a purple pulse that destroyed five boulders that popped up around her.
She conjured another set of boulders and said, "Your turn. Combat stance."
I went into stance and mimicked her motions. A green pulse emerged from my hands and shattered the boulders.
"Quick learner," she said approvingly. "That was called 'Energy Pulse'. It radiates off you in the form of... well, a pulse."
"I'm surprised by your endless supply of boulders," I joked. "You must be a rock collector. How exciting."
"Ha, ha. Ha," she said, and went back into combat stance. "Let's see if you can pull this one off."
She was in a different stance this time... Like a Tae Kwon Do stance. Her fists glowed purple and she began punching a boulder at amazing speed. Her figure was blurry. The boulder was reshaped into a life size Elypsa statue.
She smirked at me. "Try it out. It's called 'Swift'. Any motion - punch, slap, even dancing the hula - will do."
I emulated her combat stance and realized my Reeboks were glowing green. So I kicked the boulder.
I felt like a black belt samurai ninja bloke. I kicked at amazing speed. I couldn't even see my legs. They were one green blur.
Then I stopped. I tried forming the stone like Ellie did, but it looked like a crumpled version of Ron. I Sphere Shotted it and it turned into dust. I didn't like seeing my friends crumpled, you know.
"Verrry good," Ellie said. I could tell she was impressed. I grinned at her like an eager beaver and said, "What's up next?"
"Time to bring out the big guns," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Percy's POV
Delian and I dueled some more that day, and we became even better and more creative.
He hit me with a huge stream of water and I smashed through an ice wall he made earlier, and the ice shards were heading for me.
I made a water orb around me and ran in it - like a giant aquatic hamster ball. I ran straight for Delian and bowled him over, but he was quick. He froze my aquaball and destroyed it with a flick of his hand. I showered the ice shards on him, but he dodged them nimbly and trapped me in an ice cage, which I took time to unfreeze. He aimed a powerful wave at me and I was blasted into the air. I took this as an oppurtunity.
I made five water pillars rise. I stood on top of the tallest one and said the weird words Delian told me.
"Chizk Quake."
And BAM! The water pillars all hunted Delian down, who plunged deep into the water and summoned strong currents to keep the pillars away. He then made an orb out of the currents around him... an invisible strong shield. They couldn't be seen underwater, but the force of the currents were strong.
I made one around me too, and we collided with each other, creating the biggest water explosion ever. Delian and I emerged from the water laughing. We high fived each other and used the water to guide us up the cliff again. "That was very impressive," he said was we dried ourselves off with our powers. "Remarkable. The Water Storm is hard to perfect."
"Ha, yeah," I said, sitting down. "What next?"
"Next," he said, "We learn some water tactics. Specific ones, not like the ones we did just now and yesterday."
"Like what?" I asked, standing back up.
"Like the 'Ice Surf'," he said. He jumped back down to the sea and so did I. He lifted two tendrils of water and threw them in front of him, creating an icy wave. He kept doing so while skating over the ice. He looked like he was surfing on the ice - just as the name indicates.
He skated back to me and said, "Try it. It's easier than it seems."
I tried mimicking him, and it worked for a while, but I made one off-throw and my ice waves fizzled out. "You've got two keep the rythm going," Delian yelled from behind me. "There's got to be a pattern!"
I tried again, imagining a drumbeat in my head and creating the ice waves in sync with the beat. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2. It worked. I skated my way back to Delian, who nodded appreciatively.
"Good work," he said. "Now try this."
He made a giant dome in the water, freezing it in place. He jumped in and gestured for me to join him. "Keep firing ice discs from the top," he instructed me. "Watch and learn."
I fired disc after disc of ice, and each on was sharper than the last. Delian weaved in and out of the discs' path, dodging them with such agility that I stared in amazement. Then he summoned one big column of water to destroy all the discs, and he skated over to me.
"This exercise is to help your speed and agility when Ice Surfing," he said. "Ready?"
"Oh yeah," I said with anticipation. I skated away from him, and he began shooting discs of ice around the dome. I skated around them, between them, behind them... I felt great. But then this disc had gotten so close that I jumped up, and I wasn't able to regain my footing. I collapsed on the ice and clumsily dodged the discs until Delian demolished them. "You okay?" he called as he skated over to me.
"Yeah," I muttered as he approached. "Harder than I thought."
"Try this," he said, pulling me up on my feet. "Imagine you're minutes away from the deadline... of rescuing Annabeth. She's somewhere on the other side of the dome. You've got to skate across to save her from... uh, Cronox."
"Kronos," I corrected.
"Right," he said. "Go for it."
Then he skated back up the slope and I surfed to the other side, across from him. He shot out five discs of ice, and I went for it.
I surfed and dodged and weaved through the increasing number of ice discs. I could feel it. Kronos was laughing at me, telling me I was too weak to save her. Then I sped up, and before I knew it, I was leaping to the other side.
"Heck yeah!" Delian yelled from the other side, making big gestures with his arms. "THAT was good. Oh, heck, that was AWESOME."
I felt pretty good about it. I never knew Kronos could be such a good motivation.
Harry's POV
Ever seen a giant, semi-transparent, glowing purple wolf before? Yeah, thought so.
Ellie had closed her eyes and chanted three bizzare words: "Endura Senthis Armoure." Then her body glowed purple, and she jumped back, landing like a nimble ninja.
And there was a giant purple wolf behind her.
Then I realized that the wolf seemed to copy her position. She was slightly leaning to her right, and she was crouching, just like the wolf. When she stood up and walked towards me, so did the wolf (Only, the wolf walked on FOUR legs, unlike Ellie who walked on TWO). The wolf was like her shadow. It WAS her.
"Whoa," I muttered dumbly. "That. Is impressive."
"Thank you," she answered with a giggle. "This wolf is my Essence. Sort of like a... spirit. It's perfect for combat, because even though it seems like it isn't solid, it is very much capable of hitting and attacking. The form of the Essence depends on the host's persona."
"Let me guess," I said. "Yours is a wolf because... you have fleas?"
"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically. "For your information, it's a wolf because it shows my bravery, leadership skills and downright awesomeness."
"Sure," I chuckled. "Just do what I did, and focus your power on your heart. This normally takes weeks to perfect, but you're special. And we don't have weeks."
"Wait," I said, "When does Salza start?"
"Three days from now," she said matter-of-factly.
"WHAT?"
"Mhm," she hummed as if it was no big deal. "So you should probably start working on that Essence of yours. You know the chant?"
"Think so," I sighed.
I stepped back and focused all my energy to my heart. I felt power coursing through me faster, as if my heart pumped the energy as well as the blood in me. "Endura Senthis Armoure."
Then I released the energy, jumping back and landing on my feet.
I looked behind me. There was a giant glob of green there, with no form. It was swirling like some clouds, but then it flickered and died. "Wow," Ellie said as if it was the greatest achievement in the world.
"It didn't even take shape," I muttered disappointedly.
"But it was there," she mumbled, as if she was speechless-ish. "I-it took me nine tries to even get my purple glob. Harry, this is great!"
I couldn't help but blush. If Ellie, my mentor and great sorceress of the worlds, took nine tries to start with a glob, then maybe... just maybe... We had a chance at defeating that Fuego bloke.
"Do it again," she instructed me. "This seriously is amazing."
I focused all my energy to its core again, and released it by flipping back and landing on my feet. "Endura Senthis Armoure." I felt the energy leave but tie itself to the core, my heart... And when I turned, there was a giant stag standing behind me, copying my movements.
Just like my patronus... Just like my dad.
But then the stag's glowing body flickered, and then disappeared completely. I wanted to see it again.
"HELLO, DEER THING!" Ellie yelled dramatically.
"Stag," I corrected her softly. "Guess that stands for bravery, strength and loyalty," she said. "I am VERY impressed. My wolf was way too shy to come out until my twelfth try."
I grinned at her. "Let me go at it again."
She nodded in approval and stood back.
I collected my power again, driving it back to its source. This time, I felt empowered. I felt the energy grow and grow, till it was maximized outside me. "Endura Senthis Armoure."
I looked up at the stag again, smiling. It didn't disappear.
I stamped my foot on the ground, and the stag mimicked me, creating a huge crater in the ground. I felt like we were playing the Mirror Game.
"Harry," Ellie breathed in awe, "You've done it. This is your Essence. Your stag. Your partner."
I smiled even bigger at that and looked directly into Ellie's rich brown eyes.
"Let's duel."
For a moment she looked surprised at my challenge. Then her eyes narrowed and the shock in her eyes turned to anticipation. "Bring. It. On."
She released her Essence, and her wolf growled at me, following Ellie's combat stance on four legs. She charged at me, and so did her wolf. I thrust my arms outward and the stag pushed the wolf with his hooves with so much force that it made the earth tremble. Ellie fell backward, but rose again, swiftly dodging my stomp. She aimed a Sphere Shot at me, and the wolf fired one out of its mouth, ten times bigger than Ellie's.
I deflected it with a Sphere Shot of my own (and the stag's), and the four orbs collided in between us, forming hazy green and purple smoke. Ellie and the wolf jumped out of the haze and shot out an Energy Pulse. It took me by surprise and hit me in the stomach, knocking me and my stag and backward.
I ran towards Ellie and we started using Swift on each other, and the wolf and stag were hitting, biting, ramming and clawing each other's heads off. Then Ellie spun and kicked me back, but I grabbed her foot and our forces collided. She continued adding energy to her kick, and I continued supplying power to my block.
I looked up at the Essences. The wolf and the stag were locked in a very strong headbutt, adding more and more energy to their moves.
Suddenly I was drained of energy. I struggled to keep the stag's light from going out. Then Ellie's foot broke free of my hold and the lights went out.
When I woke up, Ellie was smiling so broadly I was afraid her lips would tear.
"Dude," she said, "Pure epic awesomeness. That was so fun! You're really good at this, you know? We can so take Fuego down."
"Yeah?" I asked, rubbing my scar. It was searing with pain, something that didn't really happen to me anymore.
"Heck yeah," she said, helping me to my feet. I realized the sun was setting over the horizon. "The Ezixirs don't stand a chance."
I laughed weakly and noticed Delian and Percy walking towards us, looking elated.
"How's progress?" Delian asked us.
"Great," Ellie chirped. "Harry already has an Essence! And he's mastered Sphere Shot, Energy Pulse and Swift. All he needs now is Storage."
"Storage?" I asked.
"You store something in your energy," Ellie explained. "I'll demonstrate tomorrow. It's fairly easy, but the longer you store something, the more energy it uses up."
"Wow, Harry, I'm impressed," Delian said appreciatively. "An Essence? Amazing. How many tries?"
"Three," Ellie said proudly.
"Percy can do the Chizk Quake and Ice Surf," Delian said. "All he needs now is the Tsunami. I'm sure he can do that."
Percy smiled and blushed.
"Well, three more days to go," Delian said, "Tomorrow, I'll teach Percy Tsunami, and Ellie'll teach Harry Storage. Day after that, we'll test all you've learned. Then on the last day, we relax."
Percy's POV
The night air was breezy and cold, just like how it felt back at camp.
After dinner, Harry went up to his room, exhausted, and I managed to sneak out. I walked out by the beach, away from the cliffs. I've never been to this part of the island before. It was serene and quiet, and I got the chance to relax.
I looked out to the horizon and felt the waves gently soak my toes. There were even more stars here in Divitio then back at home. But... The stars were moving.
I gazed at the moon, shiny and silvery, just like back home. But the moonlight seemed stronger here... not brighter. Just... stronger.
"What are you doing here?" Harry's voice asked from behind me, making me jump.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he added.
I turned around, but Harry wasn't there. It was just... air. "Harry?" I asked. "Um, is that you? Where...?"
Suddenly Harry appeared out of nowhere, holding a shimmery silver cloak. I was so freaked out that I gave a small yelp. Harry chuckled.
"Dude, NOT funny," I said, punching his shoulder. "How'd you do that, anyway?"
"Ow," he said, rubbing his elbow. "What was that for? It's an Invisibility Cloak. Wizard thing. Saw you sneak out and I wanted to know what's up."
"Just wanted a breath of fresh air," I shrugged. "Cool cloak. Lemme see it."
He handed me the cloak, and it felt so delicate in my hands that I thought a touch would rip the seams up. I ran my hand over the fabric and held my other hand under it, and my hand (and the cloak) disappeared.
"Awesome," I breathed.
Harry sat down on a nearby boulder and looked up at the stars.
"Funny," he mumbled in deep thought, "Never knew the stars moved here. But then again, this place is so different from ours, I wouldn't be surprised by anything."
"Too true," I said. "I wonder how I got myself into messes like these."
"Hear, hear," Harry mumbled. "Well, I'm going back to the mansion. Can I have my cloak back, please?"
I handed him the cloak and I watched as he draped it over his head and disappeared into the darkness.
I looked up at the sky again, and followed him. I didn't see him, but I memorized my way back. I entered the mansion and went up to his room, careful not to step into the abyss.
"Um, Harry," I said, stepping onto the moving platform that lead to his bedplace... platform room thing.
But Harry wasn't there. Instead, there was a note.
"Salza is about to start, dear Deliantex. Prepare to go down. Your Two of Destiny will be nothing compared to my Ezixirs and Darkness Warriors. I wish you death, Fuego."
Suddenly there was a "BANG!" like the sound of Harry's Apparition and a flash of green light, like the one in my vision. Then there was another green flash, then another "BANG!" followed by screaming.
I ran out the back door and saw Harry crumpled on the ground, motionless.
Harry's POV
Why do these stuff happen to me?
After leaving Percy, I wound my way back up to my room, where this ninja bloke was placing a note on my bed. When he noticed me, he hurled himself over the abyss and knocked me over, running out the back door.
I ran after him, trying to dodge his beams of darkness. Once, a beam scraped off my shoulder and it felt so cold, like the feeling you get when there's a Dementor around.
"BANG!"
I narrowly dodged a huge, flaming darkness beam that collided with a tree. The tree didn't make it. Poor tree.
I released an Energy Pulse and followed it up with a Sphere Shot. The ninja bloke leapt over the pulse, but the Sphere Shot knocked him down, driving him into the Energy Pulse.
He seemed broken, but he fired another flaming darkness beam that hit me right at the chest. It caused unbearable pain that seemed to erupt from my heart and sear through the rest of my body. And it felt cold, lifeless and hopeless.
I yelled and twitched and flailed, and I couldn't help but feel like I was under the Cruciatus Curse while a Dementor was around. That's pretty much how it felt.
Then the pain abruptly stopped, and the ninja bloke was gone. I couldn't get up, so I just lay there, trying to even out my breathing. "Dude," Percy's voice came from behind me, "Duuuuude. Please don't be dead."
Then he was beside me, trying to find a pulse.
"Hey," was all I managed to say, just to let him know I wasn't dead.
"Oh thank gods," he said, dropping my hand. "I couldn't find your pulse. Damn, what happened?"
"Oh, some powerful foul git attacked me," I said casually, trying (and failing) to sit up. "Nothing out of the usual."
"What? Was it an Ezixir?" Percy asked, helping me lean on a tree to sit up. "I mean, yeah, we don't know what they look like, but you know..."
"Yeah," I said, "I think so. And I couldn't even take one on. And it'll be four of us against a whole army of them."
Ellie and Delian came out of the darkness and sat next to me. Ellie touched my forehead and healed me again.
"So we heard what happened," Delian said. "This is bad. That was no Ezixir. That was a Darkness Warrior."
"No," Ellie mumbled. "No, that can't be. Darkness Warriors were defeated by the Umbrae long ago. Fuego... resurrected them?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Delian said certainly. "And our Umbrae aren't enough to destroy them AND the Ezixirs. What we need is-"
"The Flames," Ellie said, standing up. "We'll go ahead and try to call them. Harry, you just master what I've taught you. Storage isn't that helpful, anyway."
I nodded and stood up with the other boys. Delian gave us a reassuring smile and went off with Ellie.
"You too, Percy," he called.
"This, my friend," Percy said, "is the start of something much bigger than we could ever imagine."
FIRST CHAPPIE OUT! Yay. Well, Sem Break is about to start, so I have plenty of time to get on with the rest of it. I want at least 3 reviews before I release my second chappie. Thanks! ;D