Author's note: It's been a long time, and I know I promised I'd be quicker. I won't promise to be quick again, seeing as I apparently can't keep my word. The last week's just been.. hard, filled with drama and love. (Not complaining there.) Sorry, I'll stop talking about my private life! Anyway, here's the new chap, entirely from PERCY'S POV. Someone pointed out that hadn't happened in a while, so, yeah. There.

Chapter 14

Dreaming of Wolves and Witches

So, to summarize; my three-week anniversary of being Annabeth's total exclusive boyfriend had kind of escalated into a chaotic mess. Not that I minded having a busy life, not at all! I just don't like getting punched for doing practically nothing wrong.

Well, okay, not nothing...

Fine. I could grudgingly admit that abducting Harry Potter hadn't been the smartest, nor most considerate move I'd made in the past few years, still, it could've gone worse. His friends could've blown up camp. I could've blown up camp. Dionysus could've noticed the rampage – thank god for his sleeping pills and his desire to sleep in on the mornings. I couldn't've had Iron skin. Though that last one was probably just me, knowing Thalia wouldn't have minded me actually getting hurt by the slap of the wizard Sirius Black. (Seriously. Not joking. That's a real name. Yeah, I know.)

"Perce," Thalia called out softly to get my attention. Annabeth was leading the demigods to the Big House, eager to show them the instruction video that even I hadn't seen yet. "You should probably get some rest."

I pulled a face. "No, I shouldn't. Why?"

Nico materialized beside her. He had a habit of doing that, actually, and the only reason Thalia didn't recoil at his sudden appearance was that she was used to it. "Because you look like death?" He offered.

"What Nico over here is trying to say delicately," Thalia continued, but she was smirking now, "is that you look remarkably like himself. And that isn't really healthy."

"Hey!"

She just nudged him.

"I'm not tired. I've only been up for like…. Two hours." I brushed my hair from my face, trying very hard not to yawn in front of them. Because, well, they were right. The curse of Achilles was really taking its toll on me, and not in the way that I certainly felt my whole soul being ripped from my body with on deliberately aimed punch – nah, it was the more safe way, the way in which I felt immensely exhausted from merely swinging a sword around and screaming orders. I had no idea how on earth Achilles had managed to fight whole days, without succumbing into a pile of drooling Orpheus, but all I knew was that I wanted to take a nap. Desperately.

Yet actually admitting that to Thalia and Nico was… worse. I didn't want to appear weak in front of them.

"Yeah, sure," Thalia snorted, obviously not buying my tough act. "If you're not tired, then, why don't you come and spar with me? Throw a couple of punches? Or do you want to go swimming – I bet you haven't done that in ages. Or, or!" Her grin was splitting her face in two, I was sure it was ripping at its edges by now, "Or we can go to the archery, or – "

"You made your point, Pi-Pi-Pinecone Face," I said, a yawn stifling my mocking tone. "Not a word." I added when she started laughing.

"Just go to bed, Perce," Nico said, his eyes almost pleading. I didn't get why people thought him to be scary and cold – all I saw was concern and annoyance. (Which was an odd combination, I've got to admit.) "You've got at least half an hour before Harry and his buffoon-looking friends return."

"I'm not tired!" I insisted.

"You're not fooling anyone," the son of Hades said, now rolling his eyes. "Nobody will think lesser of you if you take a damn nap –"

Thalia started giggling. "Yes, Perce, take your dam nap –"

"Fine." I glared at Thalia, but my mouth wasn't really working with me, trying to quirk its way upward into a smile. "Fine. I'll take your advice then, Nico. I believe it was you who said the words, 'with great power, -'"

"'- comes great need to take a nap', yes." If I didn't know Nico better, I could've sworn he was blushing. "It was the truth, wasn't it? So go on and sleep, Jackson. We'll call you when the wizards are ready to punch you again."

I groaned. "You're never going to let me live that down, will you?"

Thalia laughed out loud this time, "Nope!"

They both stared at me knowingly, as if expecting me to do a back-flip or something. It wasn't until Thalia raised an eyebrow – which, if you are a monster, means that you either have to run away quickly or be blasted with lightning – that I understood that they were waiting for me to actually go to bed. "Right!" I said, waving awkwardly at them, before strutting self-consciously to my cabin. Thalia and Nico were the only people left to watch me, the rest of the 'gang' had all followed Annabeth, eager to watch the wizards' reaction to the stupid video.

My cabin was just as it had always been: lonely, clean to a certain point (I mean, I hadn't had any clothing lying around, and my sheets were changed and everything) and smelling of something distinctly salty and wet. Not that wet had a smell, but… ah, you know what I mean.

I jumped on the bed, my armor still on and Riptide stuffed in my pocket. I stared at the Minotaur horn on the wall, thinking about the first time I had arrived at camp… I certainly hadn't made a lesser entrance than Harry'd done, right…? I mean…. Defeating a monster… at the age of twelve… it wasn't… like… crashing into… trees...

Trees.

I must've drifted off unknowingly, because the next thing I knew was that I was falling down into darkness.

Okay, not technically darkness, more like dark fairytale-like woods, with trees that rose up into the sky with such vastness it would probably make the Empire State Building jealous. The ground was just a big black void of solidness, and I was quickly falling closer and closer into it.

I wasn't scared.

(Okay, fine, I was, but don't tell my girlfriend. She'd find a way to tease me about it twenty years from now, believe me.)

I wasn't terrified, let's leave it at that, because I knew this was one of those prophetic dreams I used to have during the war. Demigods have them all the time. Sometimes useful. Sometimes terrifying. Most of the time, though, it was more confusing than the trouble was worth. Like, well, now.

Just when I thought I was going to crash into the ground – at this point, I was screaming like a wild banshee stuck in a rollercoaster – I stopped, hovering just an inch above the ground, my face millimeters away from a rock-hard stone. "What the –"

The invisible force that had cushioned my fall disappeared, and I fell on the ground with a loud oomph!

The ground felt hard, wet, and warm. It had rained here recently, which meant two things. One; I wasn't in Camp Half-Blood. Two, I could actually feel the wetness, which wasn't a good sign.

" – arrived, My Lord. Everything is going –"

I froze.

Someone was pacing up and down nearby, his voice slithering across the wetted forest ground. The sound had definitely belonged to a man, though a nervous and shaky one, obviously talking to someone like his boss or master…

I quickly pulled myself upright, scanning my dark surroundings before diving into a bush so they wouldn't find out I'd dropped out of the sky and into their conversation. Though maybe I shouldn't have worried, seeing as they hadn't noticed my screams ripping through the evening air.

"Make no more excuses, Wormtail," a second voice interrupted, and this time I couldn't help but shiver violently. That voice hadn't sounded human. It was dripping with venom, and it had a distinctive ring to it, almost hissing, like a snake… My eyes widened. No way… He can't possibly be – "For he is still well protected, is he not? It seems that, however foolishly enthusiastic, your efforts have failed to deliver me the results I so deeply desired… "

"My Lord, oh my honorable and generous Master…" I almost snorted out loud at the guy's scared tone – but thought better of it. "But… he is in America, is he not? Like you wanted? Far away from the Order's reach –"

"And ours!" The 'Lord' boomed back, his voice carrying through the woods. "Has it not crossed your empty-headed brain that we need him without any protection? If we were to kill Harry Potter, I'd rather do it without any chance of failing again due to the stupidity of others like you."

I stopped breathing.

Wait.

This guy knew Harry?

This guy had met Harry; the kind – yet a bit tempered – and intelligent kid, with his too large eyes, broken glasses and too big clothes? The kid that looked like it couldn't even hurt a fly if he wanted to?

This guy knew him… and still wanted to kill him?

I get that a lot of monsters were out there to get me. Sure, it was weird that some of them had tried to do me in when I was twelve – because I hadn't done anything wrong back then, despite being born – but nowadays it was kind of to be expected. I had already sent a whole bunch of them back to Tartarus, and I had defeated their leader, Kronos, last summer. So it was no wonder that monsters had their special little plans of revenge for me.

But I didn't see Harry defeat tons of monsters like I had done. I knew he wasn't a demigod, so people couldn't have a grudge against him because of his heritage. Yet this guy, this scary-sounding snake-like guy, sounded like he wanted nothing more in the world than have the opportunity to kill Harry Potter.

And that made me sick to my stomach.

In my fury I had missed some of their argument, but I tried to focus and channel all my anger into something else – something to be dealt with later. Nobody was going to hurt Harry, not on my watch anyway, and I should probably listen to them in case they dropped any hints in how to destroy them before they could do any harm.

" – get them out, and I have Lucius on the job."

"That's the first relatively smart thing that has come out of your mouth this whole year, Wormtail. You have yet to impress me."

"Thank you, my Lord," the scared guy whispered, obviously oblivious to the fact that he'd just been insulted.

Something suddenly started ruffling – as if they had decided to take a walk, instead of just pace around.

And judging by the fact that the sound of their footsteps grew louder, they were walking right to me.

My eyes widened and I stilled, afraid to even breathe.

Two figures appeared in between the trees, their faces clouded by black hoods. They were obviously part of some cult or something – nobody I knew would ever wear that kind of clothing without having lost a bet or three. The taller of the two was walking confidentially, almost floating across the forest ground without making a sound. The shorter, plumper one was a lot less graceful, stumbling over broken branches and getting tangled up in bushes alike. They were both holding a wooden stick, holding it up in the air with the tip alighted…

If my eyes could've widened more, they would have.

They had wands.

So they were wizards.

Probably the enemies Harry's friends had suspected me and the other demigods to be. What had that serious – no, Sirius – Black said? Something along the lines of Voldetord? No – Voldemort. That was it. So maybe the third line, 'to stop the dark snake's rise to power once more', hadn't meant something similar to what Annabeth had thought. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with my world, the mythical Greek one, but with the magical English one…

Suddenly a loud and disturbing hissing yanked me from my thoughts.

Something beside me in the bushes – and this time, there was no doubt that this sound had belonged to an actual snake – was hissing at someone, as if trying to talk. The sound sent shivers from my spine to my whole body, and I had to fight the urge to either grab my sword or take a run for it. I'd fought Medusa, sure, and her hair had been made up by snakes. But they hadn't tried to talk before, which was the scariest effing stuff I'd ever heard.

"Ah," The taller one said, stiffening. His wand was still raised, but it looked different somehow, as if he was preparing to strike. "Nagini just informed me that we have company."

Na-who now?

"O-oh." The shorter of the two jumped, quickly turning around as if expecting someone to sneak up behind them. "Who? Where?"

The taller one's wand lowered, lowered… right until it stilled, its tip aimed right between my eyes. "Right there."

My heart literally stopped beating, but before I could open my mouth, the world shifted.

Thank the gods.

Not that I'd been scared – ugh, no of course not, what are you talking about? I was shaking with anticipation, not fright, absolutely not – but that particular dream hadn't been all that pleasant.

The world was twisting around me, images twirling and shifting before my eyes. I quickly closed them, holding my breath until I finally felt my feet touch solid ground.

I opened my eyes again.

This time my dream had brought me to a more familiar ground – Camp Half-Blood. I was near the edge of camp now, almost by the shore, and I could hear the slow rumbling of the waves colliding on the bank. I almost didn't see anything amiss, until a figure doomed up from the trees, his wand raised high and his face grim.

This was obviously a friend of Harry's. Firstly, the wand sort of gave it away. Secondly, he wasn't wearing any ridiculous clothes – okay, fine, he actually was, but he at least didn't have a massive black cloak whooshing around his ankles. Thirdly and most importantly, he was talking agitatedly to a teenager.

His face was covered in scars, some recent, some from fights long passed. He couldn't be older then 35, though I suspected the white streaks in his hair made him look older than he actually was.

The man was walking up and down, but the girl he was talking to seemed to be frozen in shock. Her hair was curly like Rachel's, though hers was brown, but she had to be at least a few inches shorter in height. Her mouth was contorted into an expression of worry and confusion, and her eyebrows were knitted together. "- magical, Professor –" she was saying, her voice barely louder than a whisper at this distance.

Slowly I walked closer, making sure I didn't make any sound.

"Of course it's magical, Hermione!" The man was talking with his hands, his face full of emotion. Worry? Anger? Frustration? "That doesn't explain why my un-locking spells don't work!"

"That isn't even a proper word, Professor –"

"It's Remus!" The man interrupted, and the tip of his wand suddenly erupted in flames. The girl jumped, almost stumbling on her feet trying to avoid the sudden fire. "Oh, sorry." The fire disappeared. "What I meant to say," he continued a lot softer and with more patience, "is that there has got to be another reason as to why –"

The man with the wolf name, Remus, heard it at the same time I did, and his voice stilled.

The girl, however, hadn't noticed, and continued as if nothing had happened. "You've got a strong point, Professor Lu– I mean, Remus, but what can it be, if not magical?"

"Hermione…." Remus whispered, slowly edging closer to the girl. Something was rustling behind her, edging closer and closer.

She just went on, apparently eager now that he wasn't shouting at her anymore. "It can't very well be made by muggles, right? And –"

"Hermione!" Remus hissed this time, his wand pointing at something behind her. "Run!"

Her mouth opened, first to question, until it suddenly dawned on her that this was serious.

She turned, aiming her wand before starting to scream.

"Hermione!" The man yelled, leaping forward, and bellowed; "Reducto!"

A loud crack filled the air, and I started sprinting towards them. Smoke was enveloping them now, surrounding the people and blocking them from my sight. I could, however, hear the girl's muffled screams and the man's desperate cries to help her. "Relashio!" another shot of light and a bang, but seeing as Remus cursed loudly, it hadn't worked. "Let her go, you monster, let her go!"

A low chuckle slammed me into a halt, and my eyes widened.

Wait a second.

I knew that chuckle.

You have got to be kidding me.

The smoke around them had finally evaporated, and my heart stilled at the scene before me.

Hermione, the bushy-haired girl, was stomping and biting and kicking, trying to fight her way out of the hands of the empousa holding her close. It clearly wasn't working, for the empousa was smiling wickedly in triumph. The spells of Remus were bouncing of skin as if made of nothing more than sparks of light. "Foolish mortal," she giggled, her sharp teeth clicking together with a sickening sound. "My mother is Hecate, goddess of magic – and you really think your feeble attempts of hexing me will work?"

"Tammi!" I screamed, my legs suddenly jolting into action. "Let the girl go!"

Tammi's eyes widened, and her smile disappeared. "You!" she snarled, baring her yellowed teeth at me, not even trying to charm her looks now, "Percy Jackson! If I didn't have my orders, you'd be on your way to the Underworld right now –"

"Why, isn't that funny," I said, uncapping Anaklusmos while grinning at her. "I, unlike you, don't have such orders. So I, unlike you, can send you to lovely old Tartarus the old-fashioned way…"

She snarled. "You wish, Jackson. You won't have your chance."

"Oh, yeah?" I stilled, standing right in front of her now. Hermione was staring at me with big eyes, obviously horribly confused and scared, but she kept her mouth shut, something for which I was infinitely grateful. "Why don't you drop that girl and fight me to find out, huh?"

Tammi's eyes switched between the witch fidgeting in her arms and the glowing blade in my hand. Probably remembering how it had felt when I had killed her with it, she found my gaze again. Her eyes were almost glowing. "I know what you're trying to do, boy, and it won't work."

"Won't it?" I stepped closer, the front of my feet almost touching the border. One more step and I would be in her reach – and she knew it. "Are you sure about that?"

She opened her mouth, licked her lips…. And closed it again. She obviously wanted her revenge at me desperately, yet something was holding her back from acting rashly. Maybe it was indeed orders from someone – and boy, was that a comforting thought – or she just really wanted to kidnap that girl.

Either way; all I knew was that I had to stop her from doing what she wanted to do.

"C'mon, Tammi," I whispered, my left foot darting forward slowly. Her breath stopped, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "One fight. What's the worst that could happen?"

And before she could open her mouth, before she could even try to run away with Hermione safely tucked between her claws, I leaped forward with a cry and lunged.

xx

Ooh, I actually quite enjoyed writing that chapter for a change! I, at least, LOVE cliffhangers… I'm sorry. It's one of my guilty pleasures.

Anyway: to find out what happens, well… I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the next installment of 'With Wands and Swords'! (Credit for this line; Nyx!) Oh, and before I forget; a special THANK YOU to StellaTheReviewer for being the beta of this chapter 3

To answer those who don't want to have an account (pity) :

KatrinaPlayz: Did you just quote Blackjack?

DoseiEvans: Don't apologize for the length of your review, that simply is unnecessary. I quite happen to like them. And yay, glad you don't hate me for it! And hey, if it indeed gets people to reread my story, maybe I should update less often? ;) But, anyway, I'm honored to be your third author to review. Thank you.

Frida: Hey, it's okay. No harm done in the belated review. And aww, you saying that warms my heart! And I LOVE that you are theorizing my story, it's amazing to imagine someone actually thinking about it whilst… um, well, not reading it at the same time. So, yeah, thank you so much for saying it.

I won't promise anything, but I HAVE to update this week (at least, before Sunday. It's my birthday that day, and I'll be going to London for a week the same day too! So that means, no laptop, no writing, no updating this story! Sorry.)

*waves* Bye! Review! (Pretty please?)