Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, or either of the universes/characters within them. In Roxanne's dream in italics, one line from Percy Jackson is used.
Dedicated to Maddie (watch it burn). Maddie, I really don't know if you know how much love I have for you. You're an amazing person, and I love talking to you. You're such an amazing writer, and you inspired me to write this. I know you didn't want anything for Christmas, but I wrote you this anyway! :)
Credit also goes to macbeth mouse (Ro) and watching stiricide (Alice) for writing PJO/HPNextGen crossovers as well, which in turn also inspired me to write this.
It started with a dream, or rather, dreams. Roxanne would never know how these dreams started, or why these dreams started. She often wondered who the strange boy was that flitted through her dreams, leaving behind pools of confusion and delight. She didn't even know his name. The one eyed boy with the sword, the one that ran through the darkened labyrinth, fighting for a cause that Roxanne knew was evil. She could tell that he was messed up with dark, strange, out of the ordinary things. So why was Roxanne always wishing for him to appear in her dreams every time she slept?
She found herself strangely attracted to the figure in her dreams, even with his missing eye, and his fearsome attitude. She found herself wondering what it would be like to run her hands through his glossy black hair. She just wished she knew his name.
x~x
Just keep running. She urged herself. Run as fast as you can. An old nursery rhyme got stuck in her head, run, run, as fast as you can, you'll never catch me, I'm the gingerbread man. She briefly wondered why she was choosing this time to remember that. Stupid, stupid. She thought. Think of now, think of why you are running, running from the beast behind you. Her breathing sped up, faster and faster as she ran for longer. She couldn't stop now. She could hear the breathing of the unnamed beast behind her.
A scream fled from her open mouth as strong hands grabbed her and pulled her to the side as the beast ran past. She could see now that it was a hellhound, like the ones from Ancient Greek mythology. She struggled in the arms of the dark stranger, kicking him and struggling.
"Let me go!" She screamed.
"Shush." The stranger whispered, "Wait for the hellhound to leave. I'm protecting you."
"If you're protecting me, kindly let go of me! I don't need you to cling onto my arms like they're a lifebelt!" She snapped back.
The stranger sighed, "Sorry. I just didn't want you to get hurt," he released her.
"Well, thanks, but I can look after myself!", Roxanne hissed back at him.
He growled, "Next time I see you getting chased by a gigantic hellhound, I'll remember that!"
Roxanne's eyes began to adjust to the dark, and she turned around to face the boy. Her mouth formed a tiny 'o' as she realised who was behind her. The boy began to shake, evidently recognising her to.
"You're not meant to be real!" He exclaimed.
"Neither are you." She retorted, "Dreams aren't real."
They stood in shocked silence for a while, taking in each others features, and trying in vain to come to terms with the fact that the mystery figure from their dreams was in front of them, living and breathing.
"What's your name?" Roxanne blurted out.
"Ladies first." He sniggered.
"Weasley." She replied, "Roxanne Weasley."
"Nice name." He commented, smirking.
With that, he fled into the dark labyrinth, leaving Roxanne standing there, dazed, wondering how with such a short encounter she had fallen for the man in her dreams. A burst of anger ricocheted through her, and she ran in the direction the boy had run.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" She screamed, "TELL ME YOUR GODDAM NAME!"
She ran until she was faced with a dead end- a stone wall. She sunk against the stone wall and sobbed until she felt like there were no tears left to cry. Why had he run off so suddenly? Why couldn't he have told her his name?
x-x
Roxanne could never recall how she made it out of the labyrinth. She only remembered scarred hands lifting her, a murmur, a whisper in her ear. She could remember the cold stone scraping along her back, a whispered curse, and then the breath of fresh air as she came back into the open.
She never told anyone of her meeting with him, or about her dreams. Even when she awoke from her sleep thrashing and screaming, tangled in her bedsheets, she always dismissed her dreams to whoever was sharing a bed with her that night as 'just a nightmare.'. Deep inside, she knew that they weren't 'just nightmares'.
The dream was always the same scene. Always her in the labyrinth, running for her life, running as fast as she possibly could. Running from the hellhound behind her. Being grabbed by scarred, hard hands. The conversation they had held. The boy running off into the dark, without even telling her his name. One night, the dream changed.
A boy charging, at a blonde, tanned boy. But the boy he charged towards wasn't just a boy. He was something dark, something dangerous. Something Roxanne had never even dreamed of before. The man he charged at was on his knees. He slashed with his blade, but the blade snapped. Time itself seemed to slow down in Roxanne's dream as the blade ricocheted and pierced through his armour, to his stomach.
Music was playing in the background, and grass grew up around the boy. He stared into the distance, seemingly at Roxanne, but Roxanne knew he was staring at someone else that she could not see.
"Deserve better," he gasped, "If they just… had thrones-"
Roxanne heard a bang, and the ground opened as her mystery boy fell through it.
x-x
Many years passed, and still, a day didn't go by where Roxanne didn't think of her mystery stranger. There were so many unanswered questions. Who was he? What was his name? Why did he fight battles with dark forces? The thing that she wondered the most was why he had appeared in her dreams. She wondered if she had even met him, or whether it had just been a figment of her imagination. As the years shot by, Roxanne didn't grow old with anyone. She couldn't, not after meeting a boy that died a year later, died without her present, but still died.
She knew that it really happened though. How else would she be able to see the thestrals?
Thanks for reading, and please, in Christmas spirit, drop by a review! :)
