Late... yeah, thanks for the reviews! I do wish a few more did review but I feel greedy asking that. I know a lot of people are reading this story and every time I see a comment, I feel so motivated. The more you review, the sooner I can get the next chapter done!
An update for you – I started working on Percy's first story! Finished two chapters of it! So get interested!
Disclaimer: I do not own the original works of Harry Potter (JKR) and Percy Jackson ATO (RR).
Words – 3212
It wasn't as though he asked for trouble. It just came when it thought things were too calm or not chaotic enough.
Harry sighed as they entered the Great Hall, the next school day. It was easy enough to ignore people's stares and whispers mainly because his Halloween frostiness had dissipated entirely.
"Innocent until proven guilty." Hermione said in a casual tone as they sat down for breakfast. Harry let out a snort as he watched everyone out of the corners of his eyes. They kept looking at him at times.
"I'd say they're mental, but it's obvious. Are they really that thick if they think a kid could have petrified someone?" Ron asked.
"You guys believe us?" DJ asked surprised. He looked up from his toast and stared at Ron.
"Well, yeah! What did you think?" Ron said confused.
"No, it's just that... well, Ginny wasn't talking to me today. I thought she doubted me."
Ron frowned, "She wouldn't just go and think that, DJ. She's mad but she's not that mad."
Hermione, who had glared at him when Ron had said it, commented, "It's just the gossip. Besides, what I'm most interested is the warning written on the wall. What 'chamber' do you think it means?"
"How many chambers are there in this castle?" Ron asked rolling his eyes.
"What she means is that what kind of chamber must make a big deal if it was opened." Harry explained.
"A haunted chamber? Let's go ask Moaning Myrtle." Ron muttered.
"I'm serious! Mrs. Norris was attacked! Whoever this person is, they're probably going to make it more dangerous."
"Make what –"
There was a gong by the large clock above the four hourglasses in the Great Hall. Hermione gasped.
"Oh dear! First class is Lockhart's! Let's go!"
"Is Lockhart's classroom haunted?"
Before Harry could get into the class, Lockhart stopped him.
"The rest of you can go in. I just need a moment with Mr. Potter here." He flashed a grin at the students and steered Harry to the corridor.
"This is just a suggestion, Harry, but I think you should use this opportunity as another meeting with Ms. Skeeter."
"What opportunity?" Harry asked staring at the man. Lockhart only patted his shoulder and led him to the class.
"What was that about?" Ron whispered. Harry only shrugged.
The day went relatively normal. But it did feel a bit like déjà vu when people whispered in undertones while Harry was about. Last year, his 'celebrity status' as Snape had called it, had worn out only briefly. Now, it was back with full force like a double-edged sword.
When Harry and DJ had seen Mrs. Norris hanging from the torch bracket, they had felt stunned. She was completely still, her eyes glassy and out of focus. Her face was an expression of terror and it was clear that the perpetrator was ruthless if he/she would go about petrifying cats.
Harry had automatically stepped forward to take a closer look at her. She was unnaturally still. He was almost sure she was dead. But the fact was that he could see a light in her eyes which was not from the torch above. She was alive. Just frozen.
He remembered seeing DJ roll his hands as though gathering string and stuffing it into his pocket before they heard a loud rumble that was the sound of hundreds of footsteps coming in their direction...
Harry thought about what Dobby, the house elf, had said. Something was happening at Hogwarts. Well, something was definitely happening and it wasn't good. He had to talk to him. How do you talk to an elf?
"Hey, Ron?"
Ron looked up from Harry's book, Quidditch through the Ages. "Yeah?"
"What do you know about house elves?"
Ron frowned and shrugged, "Well, they work for well off families. We never had an elf. Never mind that you don't have to pay them, but once you do own a house elf, the elf's in your power."
"Like... a slave?" Hermione asked suddenly putting down her parchments. She leaned over the table in the library they currently where, and stared at Ron.
"Slave? Yeah, you can say that. They don't exactly have free will until their owners allow it." Ron said and then jumped when Hermione huffed at that.
"That's barbaric!"
Ron shrugged again, "Yeah, but house elves are used to it. They like working."
"How do you know if you've never met one?"
"I've seen one. I remember going into the Ministry with Dad, a few years ago. One official had this tiny elf follow him all over the place."
"They shouldn't treat elves like that! They have feelings."
Hermione kept retorting Ron about elves and slavery while Harry thought it over. This particular house elf had said that someone had told him to approach Harry and deliver an extremely vague warning.
A well-off family where some don't mind using house elves for delivering warnings.
'Yeah, that narrows down the search.' Bolt muttered. Harry sighed and wrote in his potions text book – stirring helps.
The smell of mangoes wafted through the air. Strange, Harry knew mango trees grew in the tropical places but he could definitely sense a lot of mangoes.
He looked around. He was sitting on a bean bag in a large living room, holding his guitar. He couldn't exactly remember how he got here, but everything felt normal. He got up and walked towards the windows.
The yard outside was huge. Simple green grass grew, curling around themselves to make soft ground for people to walk barefoot. The open skies were so inviting to Harry that he felt like dropping his guitar and grabbing his Nimbus. He blinked and realised that instead of the dark brown guitar, he was holding his Nimbus 2000.
Not thinking of the strangeness, Harry jumped out the window and was about to climb when he heard some giggling.
Turning to his right, he saw many trees and plants around the area. On a large mango tree, there was a woman climbing the branches with ease. Whenever she stretched her hand, a branch would bend for her to grasp and hold. Harry watched in awe. She was moving a grace he had never seen. Her dark red hair was tied in a loose bun and she wore a simple green shirt with blue jeans.
"Mum!" He called. The woman turned around, her bright green eyes almost sparkling in happiness.
"Come on, sweetheart!" She called. Harry dropped his Nimbus and ran towards her. He started climbing the tree too. Like her, the branches helped him up and soon, he was next to her.
"Could you feel the connection?" She asked smiling. Harry nodded helplessly. He stared at her and couldn't look away. Her face was glowing. May be because of her Core or her happiness, he wasn't sure of.
"Do you promise to visit more?" She asked and Harry nodded without thinking.
"Good." She kissed his cheek and vanished in a faint green flash, appearing on the grass which tried to curl around her ankles. He watched as she walked over to her husband and twelve year old daughter. He was holding a broomstick and talking about a Quidditch Keeper's agility.
"Dad! I know. Being a Seeker's great, but Harry's better at that. I wanna be a Keeper!" Rose whined and her father laughed. He ruffled her wild red hair and said, "Fine. This family's a Quidditch team in itself! I'm the Chaser –"
"I'll say." His wife muttered.
" – you're a beautiful Beater, Lils. We've got a Seeker on a mango tree and a Keeper right here!"
"Being a Beater is easy. I just visualize the bludger with your face, James." The woman laughed and her husband shook his head morosely.
"Honestly, Lillian. Why would anyone in this world want to destroy my handsome face? You're mother's a little crazy, kids. Remember that."
She swatted him on the shoulder and Rose rolled her eyes. She looked and smiled at Harry.
"Come on, Hare-Bear, bet I'll catch the Snitch before you!"
"Don't call me that!" Harry yelled and jumped down to get his broomstick. But his feet never touched the ground. He seemed to go right through it and he shut his eyes. The blackness pressed inside his eyelids and he felt as though he was flying.
.
Suddenly, he was in a car. A shiny red brand new car, by the looks of it. He was driving at speeds that muggle cops would consider illegal and he was pretty sure that he'd give both his mothers, Lily Potter and Sally Jackson, heart attacks.
And he was angry. Very angry. But he had a destination in mind. He was precise and his plan was immaculate. If everything went according to plan, he could save his world. The one person he loved above everything and everyone else.
He floored the gas and the car went faster. The road was large and empty. The highway leaned upwards and Harry saw another car riding straight at him from a distance. He felt dangerous. He was dangerous. Nobody messed with him and got away with it.
He reached for his neck and pulled a small circular pendant from inside his shirt. He held it carefully in his right hand. His left hand was on the steering wheel. The speedometer read 170 mph. He took one look at the delicate pendant and concentrated.
If this didn't work, he'd crash into the other car and there was little chance he'd survive that. Playing Chicken wasn't something he'd ever thought he'd do.
The pendant suddenly moved and his surroundings disappeared.
Harry opened his remained quite still, trying to understand what had just happened.
Dreams. They were just dreams. Harry let out a breath and saw that he was in his dorm room and on his bed. Not playing with his family or driving at high speeds on a death wish.
It was strange. The first dream was clearly something related to the other one he had some time ago, but this one didn't seem as shocking to him. He'd accepted the dream and was ready to participate in it.
The second dream opened more questions and answered nothing. He was definitely angry about something. He could remember the feel of the wind on his face. The open topped car had been clearly fast. Why was he driving like that? Something had... threatened him? Who was in the other car? What was the pendant he had been holding? He'd never seen anything like it before. But there was something strange about it. He could feel its magic.
Dreams! They were just dreams!
Harry groaned and got up. He stared at the clock and sighed. Three in the morning. Wonderful. What was he supposed to do now?
Go back to sleep?, his reflection in the mirror on the side shelf suggested. Bolt yawned in his head, 'Yes, please go back to sleep.'
Harry blinked and rubbed his eyes. His sleepiness was disappearing. He propped the pillow and leaned against the headboard, listening to the snores of his dorm mates.
He tried to think about his first dream. That made more sense. It was almost like staring into the Mirror of Erised except he was allowed to participate in it. And it was even more painful.
His mother's smile and families' laughter was burnt into his brain. He'd never forget it. She could climb trees like he did. That was expected since he inherited his nature Core from her, but he'd never expected to see it.
His 'Dad' could joke so easily and earn his families' satisfaction. He had wanted to join them, but somehow felt like a stranger they had adopted.
Rose had called him 'Hare-Bear'; that was truly strange, since he was neither a hare nor a bear, but it sounded annoying. And endearing in a sibling kind of way. He was just glad that Percy had never called him anything like that.
What puzzled him was why he was seeing dreams specifically of them. Family moments that would never happen. It wasn't possible. And yet this was the second time. It couldn't be a coincidence. There were no such things as coincidences.
"Dreams!" He muttered. "They're just dreams."
Harry and the other second years lined up for Herbology. Now that they were starting on the project for mandrakes, they were assigned to re-pot all the growing plants into larger pots.
"Everyone has an earmuff? Good. You remember how I showed you last time. A firm grip on the stem." Professor Sprout announced as she put people in groups of two for every plant.
"This is important, children. The group who can do the most within the hour's time, will receive points for their work. And if you remember the text book article about their most important use, you will get a small prize!"
Whispering broke out excitedly and the students put on their earmuffs.
Since it blocked out all sounds, they couldn't have conversations and the only noises were from the mandrake plants or from some children yelling out as the plant kicked mud at their faces or bit their fingers.
Harry and Ron were teamed together and their work was the fastest since, the plant didn't fuss in Harry's arms. It didn't scream, only letting out small whines. They each got five points at the end for re-potting 17 plants.
When there were five minutes to go, Sprout asked them the question again. Hermione was the first to raise her hand.
"Mandrakes or Mandragora are mainly grown for their buds which when cut and stewed makes up for the main part of the advanced Awakening Potion. It's used to return petrified people to their original states."
"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor and..." Sprout took out a golden turnip and handed it to Hermione.
"It's heavy!" Ron said in surprise as he balanced the little prize in his hands. Hermione grinned and said, "It's made of pure bronze but it's gold-plated. Did you know that in ancient times, gold was more easily available than bronze making it less valuable?"
"No." Ron said tossing the turnip to Harry who gave it a look before giving it back to Hermione.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yes?"
Harry hesitated when Ron looked their way. He hadn't wanted to tell anyone, but his head was experiencing migraines and it was not good.
"Come over here." He pulled the both of them out of the crowd and onto the grounds, walking behind their classmates.
"What?" Ron asked. Harry ran his hand through his hair and then said, "At the moment there are two worlds, right?"
"Worlds?" they questioned.
"Muggles and Wizards."
"Yeah. So?"
"What if there was another?" Harry said watching their faces.
Ron and Hermione stared at him. "You mean, like another huge secret world nobody else knows about? What are the odds of that?"
Harry sighed, "A few years ago, I knew this boy. He was different like me. He could do... stuff. But then he and his family moved to the US."
"I don't think there's any magical activity in America, Harry." Ron said carefully.
"That's just it! What if it isn't magic? What if it's something else?"
Hermione shook her head, "Harry, do you realise the odds of having such a big secret in the same world? There has to be someone to make sure that we never cross! Someone omnipotent, and I'm pretty sure no one is that powerful!"
"Just curious, but this kid. Who's he?" Ron interrupted.
"Just a neighbour of mine."
"Is it 'Percy'?" Ron asked. Harry looked up in surprise not expecting Ron to connect it so quickly.
"Percy?" Hermione asked confused.
"Not Ron's brother. My friend." Harry clarified.
"What kind of stuff could he do?" Ron persisted. Harry wondered how to exactly saw it carefully, because strictly speaking, it wasn't possible for two people to share a type of magic Core. But since Percy and Ron existed without being destroyed, it just solidified the fact that this third world was possible.
"Something like you, Ron." Harry said staring intently at a blade of grass which started to grow almost uncontrollably under his gaze.
"What does that mean?" Hermione asked slowly.
"You know? Water stuff. Breathing underwater. Controlling it. Connecting with it on another level... that stuff." Harry started walking towards the castle.
Ron and Hermione didn't follow him for a few seconds. Then they turned around and ran.
"That's impossible!" Hermione said and pulled Harry to a stop.
"That's why I think Percy's a part of this other world." Harry justified but Hermione shook her head.
"No, Harry. I'm telling you. We would have found out!"
"May be there's something that makes sure no one knows anything!" Harry said raising his voice over her speculations. "May be neither of our worlds have ever crossed each other until the day I met Percy! May be there's something else!"
"Alright, what makes you so special to involve you in something huge like this?!" Ron asked.
Harry and Hermione stared at him. Ron blushed. "Oh yeah. Hey! You think this has something to do with You-Know-Who?"
Harry frowned and shook his head, "I'm not sure. I hope not. Dumbledore says the Ministry doesn't encourage people into going to America. They're wary of the fact that there isn't any magical detection in those countries. I think there's something else."
"And your friend, Percy. Did he seem abnormal or strange?" Hermione asked.
Harry tried not to be angry at the way she asked. He tried to see it from her point of view. Percy did sound mysterious.
"He's... well, he's my friend. We're really close. His mother was everything the Dursleys weren't. She made sure I got through classes and such. She seemed Muggle, but he was different. Like me."
"So you trust him, right?" Hermione confirmed. Harry nodded.
"What's his age?" Ron asked.
"Same as ours. He's twelve now."
"Look, maybe he went into another Wizarding school –"
"Then how do you explain his powers?" Harry shot Ron who sighed.
"Alright, fine. There must be something in America for him then. Did you ask Dumbledore whether you could visit?" Hermione conceded watching Harry's expression.
"Yes. And he said that I have to find a way on my own."
She looked taken aback. "But... you're underage! How does he expect you to travel across an ocean? International Apparation isn't possible there. No flying, no portkeys. You can go the Muggle way, I suppose – "
"I don't think that's what he meant." Harry mumbled but Ron looked interested, "You mean flying in the muggle way. Those planes?"
"Yes. If he meant a magical way... you think he was referring to Bolt?"
Harry frowned and shook his head. "That's too dangerous for her. She's too young. Multiple teleportations, faraway distances, too many people... no."
Bolt gave a sniff and stretched in his pocket. But she didn't contradict him.
"I think it has something to do with my Core." Harry muttered but they heard it.
"Really? I'm not sure how much the plants can help in travelling." Ron said unsure. Harry sighed in exasperation. "Let's just go back to the castle."
Stay tuned for the next!
Cabba.