Hello, hello, hello! Chapter 7 has arrived! Thank you to the reviewers! R&R please, helps me update faster. I present chapter 7!
Disclaimer: PJO... not mine, HP... nope. Oh well, a fan can dream. :P
Chapter 7
Harry's P.O.V.
I watched in amusement as Percy looked at all the food in awe. "Wow, I wish my mom knew all this magic. She could make me blue pancakes for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!" he said excitedly.
Ron frowned. "Blue... pancakes? I've never heard of them," he seemed a little put out about hearing something that sounded delicious.
Percy turned to him in shock. "Really? Dude, you do NOT know what you are missing out on."
"Dude?" The red-haired Weasley repeated. "What's a dude?"
Percy snorted, scooping some steak and kidney pie onto his plate. "Seriously? Damn, what to you British people call guys or your friends?" Percy questioned eagerly. "Do you call them... I don't know, something stupid?" Percy snickered at my face which I bet was priceless.
"Er, we call each other 'mate'," I offered helpfully and that just put Percy into another round of hysterics. Hermione, Ron and I exchanged confused looks while Percy turned red from giggling. "What did I do?" I asked Annabeth, who was rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's immaturity.
"Percy usually uses the word, 'mate', as in animals... um... how do you guys put it? Shag?" she said uncertainly and Ron spit all his pumpkin juice on me. I grimaced, wiping all the spit and juice off me.
"So, let me get this straight... Percy uses 'mate' meaning that animals are shagging?" Ron asked in shock, while Ginny looked over at us like we were disgusting, which I guess we were.
I locked eyes with her. "It's not what it seems like," I stated quickly at her disgusted expression. She gave me a skeptical look before talking to her other fourth year friends. Annabeth was still trying to explain why Percy was giggling over the word.
"No... Percy- just forget about it." Annabeth grumbled to Ron, who was still struggling to grip was she was saying. Percy had stopped laughing and was looking at me with a very intense gaze. I cleared my throat awkwardly and he blinked, snapping out of the state he was in.
"Uh, Harry?" he asked slowly.
"Yeah?" I questioned.
"You know, our... professor never really told us your story. Do you mind... telling us?" he looked so hopeful that I inwardly winced. Oh boy, better get over with it, Harry. You knew that they were bound to get curious.
"Well, when I was just a baby, a very powerful and evil wizard named Voldemort heard about a prophecy about me killing him when I was old and powerful enough," I paused, taking a breath. "So he went to my house and killed my dad without a problem. My mum, she begged for him to spare my life, but it didn't do any good. She... she died protecting me. When he tried to kill me, my mum's protection made the curse bounce off me and hit him. That's why I'm so famous. I'm the only person who has ever survived the Avada Kedavra curse. The Killing Curse." I finished gravely. I looked around me and saw Annabeth, who looked horrified. Percy looked sympathetic while Grover just looked shocked, not blinking.
"Wow... Harry..." Percy trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I- I never knew." he whispered.
I shrugged. "That's not your fault. I'm fine, it's perfectly fine," I said, even though my hands were shaking at the thought of my parents' death. Ginny, who was sitting next to me, glanced at me.
"Harry, you're shaking." she reached out and clasped her hand in mine. I winced, jerking it out of her grip, ignoring the surprised and hurt look on her face. I promised myself that I wouldn't get close to anyone. They will just be tricked by Voldemort and be used as bait. I couldn't let that happen. If I saw any of my friends killed because of me, I wouldn't be able to handle it. Suddenly a erupting pain bursted from my scar. I felt angry, impossibly angry and furious with someone. I felt like I wanted to pound something... kill something. I gripped my head, moaning softly. The pain slowly faded away, but I looked at my friends' frightened faces. I had to stay away from them. To keep everyone safe. I shot up and backed away from the table.
"H-Harry?" Hermione sounded worried.
"I-I have to go, have to protect." I muttered, before turning and sprinting out of the Great Hall.
Ron's P.O.V.
I watched as my best friend ran away from us, muttering to himself. I exchanged a worried glance with Ginny and Hermione. The Americans were looking at us curiously. "Listen, you guys stay here, we have to go after him." I told them and even though they haven't known us for very long, I could see the concern for Harry in their eyes. I was deeply touched by their worry for our friend. "Come on, Hermione, Ginny." I muttered, getting up and hurrying after him.
"Where do you think he could have gone?" Hermione queried, glancing around. I thought hard. Where would Harry go? If I were Harry, where would I go out to hide? Quidditch pitch? Nah, I doubt it. Maybe in a classroom?
I sighed, stumped. "I don't know, let's just wander around." I started walking in a random direction for a little while, but no Harry. I groaned in disappointment. "Maybe we should just split up and- Harry!" I exclaimed as I saw our black-haired friend run past us. He looked back at us fearfully and gained speed. I glanced at my sister and Hermione. "Let's go," I broke into a run, following Harry. I didn't look behind me, but I could tell that they were following me by the sound of multiple footsteps. I could tell that Harry was starting to tire out by the way he started stumbling and his heavy breathing. Knowing that, I sped up in hopes of catching him. I was soon behind him. "Harry! Stop!" I yelled and he did stop, but he stopped so suddenly that I barreled into him, knocking him down. He jumped up, spinning round wildly. "Harry," I said more softly, stepping towards me. He stepped back warily. I kept taking steps towards him and he kept taking steps away from me until Hermione, Ginny and I had him backed into a corner.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Ginny asked gently. The poor bloke had a wild look in his eyes, panting heavily. He kept shaking his head like we were forcing him to tell us. "Please Harry, we want to help." Ginny reached out to him, but he slapped her hand, hard. She drew her hand back, clutching it in pain. Harry looked guilty, but I didn't care. He just- he just slapped... rage grew in my stomach and I had Harry pinned against the wall.
"Why'd you do that!?" I growled to him as he just stared at me blankly. I shook him roughly. "Don't you dare touch my sister again!" I roared. "Do you understand? Do you?!" I shouted and to my fury, Harry didn't even flinch or acknowledge me. "Answer me." I snapped and Harry's eyes finally lost that vacant expression and his expression hardened.
"You want an answer?" he asked, his voice quivering. I nodded sharply and suddenly I felt my cheek throb in pain. Harry had punched me... my best friend for five years had let his fist connect with my cheek painfully. My mind was buzzing with thoughts as my cheek burned like it was on fire. I didn't even react as Harry knocked me down as he made a hasty getaway.
"Ron! Ron?" Hermione's voice brought me back to my senses. She was pale and shaking slightly. "W-what's happening to him?" she asked fearfully.
I shook my head. "I don't know. We've just gone back to Hogwarts and something's wrong with Harry." I stated sadly as we made our way back to the Great Hall.
A week passed and then two weeks and then three weeks. Harry was doing his best to avoid us and we barely talked to him. He always seemed to find an excuse to leave if we're ever in the same room. I was staring out the window, watching the rain pour down from the grey, sad sky. It was wet and muddy out there, but I still could see the Hufflepuff Quidditch team out there, practicing. I sighed, looking at Harry's messy bed and at his open trunk. I frowned, maybe he had something in there that would help me figure out what was wrong with him. I quickly got off of my bed and scrambled to his trunk, looking through his stuff. As I was searching for something, anything, I came across a thick, worn out book. The book was so old that the title was hard to read, but I was able to make out the words, 'evil', 'world', and 'us'. I carefully put the book back and stood up, stretching. Evil, world, and us, I wonder what that could mean. I decided to discuss it with Hermione, Ginny and the Americans. That evening, Harry had already gone to sleep and we were all sitting in the common room. "You guys, I was going through Harry's trunk and I found something strange," I started and everyone turned to look at me.
"What was it?" Annabeth asked quietly.
"It was a book, but it was very old and worn. I couldn't even read the title. All I was able to read was the words, 'evil', 'world', and 'us'." I turned to Hermione. "Have you ever read anything with those words in the title?" I questioned, straightening up with hope, but slumping back in defeat as she shook her head.
"No, I don't remember reading anything like that. Maybe it was from the restricted area of the library." she suggested. That was possible, Harry could have used his cloak to get into there.
"Well, whatever he's reading... it doesn't sound very good. Anything with the word evil in it can't be good." Percy pointed out.
"Why do you think he's doing with the book. Not for evil purposes, right?" Grover chewed on his fingernails nervously as he asked the question.
Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry is a lot of things, but evil is not one of them. He must have a reason for having that book. Maybe he wants to know how he can defeat You-Know-Who with it." she reasoned. I was very doubtful that was the reason Harry had the book, but there was no other explanation besides Harry actually being evil. I shook my head. No, Harry wasn't evil. He wanted to get rid of evil, but he was no evil person. He's not evil, he's not evil, he's not evil, I repeated in my head. Percy Grover and Annabeth could believe what they want to believe, but I KNOW that Harry James Potter is not evil.
Harry's P.O.V.
I lay miserably in my bed, thinking to myself. I'm turning evil, I'm turning evil, this is the end of me. Harry James Potter is evil. I groaned and covered my face with my hands. How could this be happening? I took out an old book titled, The Evil World Around Us, and opened to page 113. 'Mind control,' it stated, 'is a powerful tool that dark wizards and witches are very fond of. To gain control of someone's mind, you have to understand their feelings and have some kind of connection with them. Once you do, dark wizards tend to imagine being that person and soon, that victim will be under that wizard's complete control. The person being mind-controlled will be seeing what they are being forced to do in third person. For example, if the dark wizard wanted the person to kill a friend, the person would see themselves kill their friend like someone else is watching. Dark wizards usually have to be very powerful, like Death Eaters or You-Know-Who. You-Know-Who has mind-controlled a lot of people and no one knows how to stop him. There is a slight chance of the person to break free from the control, but the more dark and powerful the wizard or witch is, the more hard it is to fight off the mind control. Some feelings that happen so you know if someone might be trying to break into your mind is anger, sadness, and pain. Usually, the victim will feel a pain in his or her head, but will fade away to a pounding. The victim will also start to feel weak and vulnerable. Once the wizard or witch starts to take control, you feel utter hopelessness and sadness. You also start to feel the wizard or witches feelings, whether they be good or bad.' I slammed the book shut as another wave of pain erupted from my head and faded into... a pounding. I threw the book into my trunk and thumped back onto my bed. Why me? What was Voldemort doing to me? Would he succeed in taking over my mind? I can't let him. I WON'T let him. I felt sadness overwhelm me, but I ignored it. Voldemort was obviously trying to control my mind, so he could make ME kill everyone in Hogwarts, including my friends and Dumbledore. I couldn't let him win. I shuddered in fear, my stomach twisting and turning. I was feeling all the symptoms the book was talking about. I let out a big and sad sigh. I will not let you take over my mind Tom Riddle. I promise you that. I thought as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
Oh no! Poor Harry! That's why he was distancing himself from everyone! I hope that was okay for you guys. I updated sooner than I thought I would, but... oh well! That's good, I suppose. Reviews are greatly appreciated, so yeah. I'll have the next chapter up on Wednesday, or sooner! ...or later, but hopefully I'll get it written in time! Until then, bye!
-PJOFanatic101
