Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

A/N: Sorry I'm late! Real life took over, and I had no time to post yesterday. It's not too late, though.

Anyway, this chapter starts by looking at the consequences of the previous chapter. If anyone has read my other fic, Harry Potter-Malfoy, it's fairly similar to the chapter Consequences - Rewards and Consequences. It then goes onto the start... of the Tri(Quad?)Wizard Tournament.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Chapter 6: Flaming Parchment

Percy POV

I was sitting on a small rock, trying to think. I had gathered quite the crowd, so that was quite difficult. Not so unusual, you might think. Just sitting and thinking. Problem is, I was doing this in the one place I can think well. Underwater.

After stumbling out of the tower, I had allowed myself to sink to the bottom. I needed to be surrounded by my element, I needed to think.

Unfortunately, a boy sitting underwater drew attention, and so I was soon surrounded by several inquisitive sixth and seventh years, heads encased in bubbles. But I didn't care. I needed to think

What had just happened? Draco was simply being Draco, from what I hear, and so I decided to be cocky. It was just fun, after all. A little demonstration of my power, a little shock - it wouldn't do the brat any harm.

And then he had insulted me. Us. And then it happened. Normally, I would have settled with either some stern words or perhaps a sarcastic quip. That's what I should have done.

But I didn't. I lunged at the boy, murderous and enraged. I threatened him, and violated all my morals, all my principles. I was just like the gods. Using my power to bully, to subjugate.

I let out a howl of despair, and I felt a ripple of energy expand from me. The thing is, it was accompanied by a massive physical ripple, and the students around me were sent tumbling, bubbles popping.

I sighed. I couldn't do anything right.

I flipped in the water, summoning up a large volume of water, only to propel it behind me, launching myself into the air. Floating momentarily in the air from the momentum, I kicked against the sea spray, tilting myself to be horizontal with the ground. From here, I could see the students.

Some were milling around the edges of the lake, peaceful and calm. Some were alone, reading or relaxing, others in groups, talking. Bobbing around the centre of the lake were the sixth and seventh years, enjoying themselves despite their predicament. Yet they were all happy, and they were all normal.

OK, sure, they had magic. But it didn't affect them much. Not like being a demigod. A demigod's life was so different. It was a life of strife and struggle, patched up with temporary thrills.

I looked down at them, and was hit by an overwhelming feeling of despair. How could it be that magic seemed normal?

Normality. A concept that I would never truly understand. Since my discovery of the Greek world, I had never known normality. Summer after summer, I would risk my life against mythical creatures, a teenager with whom the fate of the world rested.

In fact, forget Camp. My life had never been normal. All those strange occurrences throughout my school years. I could never just be normal, and go to school like a normal child. I could never just live somewhere, unbothered. Even when I journey to one of the only places outside of camp with wards to defend against monsters, it was for a death tournament.

My momentum resumed, and I arched back towards the earth at an incredible velocity. I summoned the particles of spray, tilting myself to an upright position, before gently gliding back towards the ground.

I sighed, gently leaning against a tree. I guess normal would have to wait.

Nico POV

'Think Nico, think!' Annabeth was practically screaming at me by now.

Following Percy's outburst, Annabeth had pulled out Deadulus' laptop, and we began to debate. The obvious answer was out immediately - Percy hadn't just snapped. He hadn't just felt insulted, for that wasn't how Percy acted. He was sassy, he was sarcastic, but he was never snappy, unless one of his friends were threatened.

There was a hint of familiarity in his madness, but not from Percy. We racked our brains, trying to find the missing piece. But we couldn't. It was like something was blotting out the relevant information.

So instead we compiled the details of the information. Voice like a knife grinding over stone? Check. Disproportional (for Percy) anger? Check. Threat of Violence? Check.

'How are they linked?' Annabeth muttered. 'They are linked, I know they are linked, they must be linked, they are …' I slapped her in the face.

'Shut up!' I yelled. She stopped and stared, mouth frozen mid ramble. 'I don't know, OK? And you don't, either. We know nothing about what is going on, outside of side effects. PTSD? Maybe. Depression? Quite possible. Stress? Not outside the realms of possibility. So just shut up. It's not going to help.'

Annabeth's mouth opened to reply, before it shut promptly. Sighing, she collapsed on a desk. 'Why can't we just be normal?' she whined. 'As in, normal for demigods. Just simple quests, no fits of random anger. Why?'

I sighed, leaning against the chalkboard. 'We just can't. Your friends with children of the Big Three. Get used to it.'

She said nothing, only nodding.

Harry POV

It is not often that I want to go to the library, especially when I have no homework. That's Hermione's thing.

Indeed, the only times I have ever willingly entered a library were whenI thought my life was in danger. Including this time.

Usually, the teacher I am suspicious of is the Defence teacher, and they are definitely not near my age. Yet Jackson ticks all the boxes of someone I should be looking out for.

'Hurry up,' Hermione hissed, frustrated. She was the most curious, possibly due to her being the most confused, and seemed to want us to sprint to the library.

We entered the Library, and headed straight to the area with books on mythology. It made the most sense, after all.

'Ronald, get a book on demigods. Harry, get one on Poseidon. I'll get one on Hades.'

Together, we scanned through our books, looking for something that could explain the problem.

'Uh, I got nothin',' Ron yelled, bored and frustrated. 'This is all just hearsay and myth - no facts. Come on, Hermione, did you really think you would get the answer here?'

Hermione went pink in the face. 'Well, there must be a logical reason for his sudden rage, the random change in his personality.'

I face-palmed. 'Mione, we're dealing with myth. Myth is random. Myth is not logical. You need to get that into your head!'

'Ahem.'

I whipped around, facing a girl from Slytherin whom I had never spoken to. I think she was in the year below us, but I wasn't sure. She had deathly pale skin and piercing icy blue eyes. Her hair was a pitch black, swept to the sides with a low lying ponytail. She was somewhere around 5 foot 6, but that was just a guess.

She tilted her head, as if thinking. 'You're Potter, aren't you.' It wasn't a question. 'You're investigating Jackson.' Neither was that.

Ron frowned. 'Yes. What do you care about that?'

Her head tilted again, before she snorted in amusement. 'You are under the impression that all Slytherins are Malfoys or Parkinsons.' She outstretched her hand. 'Dream. Althea Dream.'

'Harry Potter,' I returned. 'But you already knew that.'

She tilted her head. 'So why waste your words?'

'Uh…' What could I say to that?

She blinked slowly. 'You wish to know the cause of Jackson's mood swings, assuming it comes from mythology, correct?'

'Uh, yeah.'

'Fortunately for you, I am of the Hellenic faith. It is clear that you are not familiar. It is the religion of Greek myth.'

Hermione frowned. 'People still believe that codswallop?'

Althea raised an eyebrow. 'Is it, though? We have proof in the form of young Jackson.'

Hermione opened and shut her mouth, as if mimicking a gaping fish.

'So, do you know the answer?' I asked, cutting off the argument.

Dream smirked. 'You persistently used words such as sudden, or random, correct?'

Hermione nodded.

'We believe that demigods not only take on abilities from their godly parents, but their personalities, too. Do you know what Poseidon, Perseus' father, is the god of?'

Hermione answered immediately. 'The sea.'

Althea rolled her eyes. 'Partly. He is also the god of earthquakes and unpredictability. As such, one can assume Percy has simply picked up his father's nature of mood swings.'

Hermione blinked. 'That … makes sense.'

Althea simply rolled her eyes at us. 'Of course. Just because it is myth does not mean it isn't logical. Of course, this is not necessarily the only answer. After all, how do we know we are seeing the whole picture?'

We did not get an opportunity to respond, for a voice came booming through the halls. Dumbledore's voice.

'ALL STUDENTS TO ARRIVE IN THE GREAT HALL FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE TOURNAMENT!'

It had begun by the time we got there. The Goblet's magic had surged, and the flames had gone from a pale blue to a flickering crimson.

The flames spluttered, darkening to a deep violet, and a piece of dark, heavy parchment flew out. Unfolding the charred slip, Dumbledore recast his Sonorus charm. 'The champion of Durmstrang is VICTOR KRUM! Please make your way into the waiting room through those doors.' There was a thumping round of applause resonating from the fur-lined students of Durmstrang.

The flames spluttered again, taking on a pinkish hue. Out fluttered a delicate blue butterfly made of blue parchment, slightly smoking. 'For Beauxbatons, the champion is FLEUR DELACOUR! Please follow Mr Krum.' Again, there was a round of applause, this time from the ladies of Beauxbatons.

The flames again, turning a vibrant yellow, and a piece of burning parchment flew out. 'The Hogwarts Champion is…' I held my breath. It would be just my luck to be entered, especially since it was Halloween. 'CEDRIC DIGGORY! Please follow the other champions.' I sighed. Thank goodness. There was polite applause from most students, more rigorous from the Hufflepuffs and more half-hearted from the Slytherins.

The flames spluttered once more, turning a calm sea-green, much like Percy's eyes. Reading from the notepaper that flew out, Dumbledore continued. 'And, of course, the Camp Half-Blood champion is PERSEUS JACKSON! Please head to the foyer.' The boy in question stood up beside me, doing several mock bows, before walking lazily towards the door.

'And now,' Dumbledore continued. 'We know our champions, and the you-' he was silenced, for the Goblet surged once again. It's flames grew pitch black, flickering ghostly flames, and a flaming piece of parchment tumbled out. Extinguishing the flames, Dumbledore picked it up. 'Harry Potter,' he mumbled, though the voice rolled through the crowd. Nervous mutterings built up. 'HARRY POTTER! Just… go.'

From the door, which he had only just reached, Percy shot me a concerned look. I quickly left the room, joining the ensemble of champions.

Percy POV

This is bad. I should have known something like this was to happen.

So, Harry was now involved in a Tournament of Death, and I would have to protect him. He is clearly the 'scarred child' - between his experiences and his scar, that much is clear.

Speaking of which, I should probably think about the prophecy a bit.

First and second lines are pretty clear. The scarred child is probably Harry, and the Dark Lord is likely Voldemort, unless it was someone from myth. Hopefully not. I can handle a wizard. It would be harder to deal with a god, or worse… Anyway, fourth line. First part is obvious, the second part is a bunch of numbers. Five probably refers to the five champions. Three and four, though… No idea. Sixth line is Nico and Annabeth, and the seventh must refer to that wolf guy, and the eighth is like the first two.

Okay. A lot simpler than most prophecies. It does also tell us that wolfy has some allies, at least.

I turned myself to the present, watching as Harry crept in, followed by Moody, Snape and Dumbledore.

'HARRY POTTER DIDYAPUTYURNAMEINTHEGOBLETOFFIRE!' the latter roared in the poor boy's face.

'N-n-no s-s-sir, I would never!' Harry stuttered.

Madame Maxine of Beauxbatons stood forward. 'But Dumbly-dore, are you sure he can be trusted.'

Karkaroff of Durmstrang stepped forward, not waiting for an answer. 'I demand that this boy,' he spat 'be removed from the tournament. It will not do for Hogwarts to get two shots at the cup.'

Dumbledore sighed. 'Igor, we cannot. He is magically bound to the tournament.'

'Then let us enter a second champion,' he hissed.

Dumbledore shook his head again. 'The Goblet is extinguished - there is nothing we can do.' He turned to Moody. 'How could this have been done?'

Alastor thought for a moment, before growling a reply. 'Dark Magic, Albus. No student could do this. It was not Harry.'

Karkaroff slammed his fist onto the table, 'IT MUST HAVE BEEN HIM, OR ONE OF YOUR TEACHERS! WHO ELSE WOULD WANT HIM IN THE TOURNAMENT?'

I stood up. 'Shut up,' was all I said, voice calm.

The man whipped round to face me, mouth frothing. 'WHAT DID YA SAY?'

I looked him straight in the eyes. 'I said shut up.' I turned to face the others. 'All of you.' I took a deep breath. 'This was foretold - a prophecy. The lines that are important to you go as follows: 'The scarred child threatened, the Dark Lord returns, The games reborn.' Dumbledore was present when the prophecy was issued.'

Dumbledore nodded. 'Indeed.'

'So,' I continued. 'It is clear to me who put him here. The only Dark Lord you Wizards have had recently. Voldemort.' All those near me flinched, except for Harry and Albus.

Severus scoffed. 'The Dark Lord is not returning. If it was not for Dumbledore's confirmation, I would think you had fabricated the story. Are you sure it came from a true Seer?'

'Yes!' I snapped, irritable. 'It came from the Oracle of Delphi, by Zeus!' There was a crash of thunder. 'Now, if you'll excuse us, we champions will have a private discussion, because we have been so much more civil than the so-called responsible adults.' I turned, leading my peers away to a side room.

Harry POV

No no no no no no! This could not be happening!

I had expected it superficially, but not truly - and now the teachers either hate or distrust me once again! I might as well kiss the company of the school away.

At least Percy seemed to care. He stood up to a former Death Eater for me - two, even!

When we were in the second room, Fleur was the first to speak up. 'So zees leetle boy ees a champion?' she said, sniffing in irritation.

Percy rounded at her, finger outstretched. 'Listen here, you pompous princess, this boy has been through far more than any of you here. He may not want to be here, but he does deserve it. So keep your opinions to yourself, Veela.'

Cedric scoffed. 'I notice you have not included yourself in that statement, demigod.'

Percy whipped around to face him. 'That,' he hissed through gritted teeth, 'is because I have seen things that would break your mind and soul, I have faced things that you couldn't even comprehend. So don't go questioning my experiences.'

Krum spoke in a low grumble. 'Dat ist indeed true, Perseus Jackson. My people haf many storeez about du. Der are many such storeez had Durmstrang, von bof my people and der Vervolfs. My Grantvafer especially hat many storeez. Der great Count Vladmir von Dracul.'

Percy narrowed his eyes. 'I have no doubt he has many stories about me, and I doubt they are very complimentary. I mean, he is Dracula.'

My eyes widened. Krum was the grandson of Dracula! And Percy had met him?

Krum bared his fangs. 'Indeed. Du are korrekt. He haz been very mad sinze your last encounter.' He grinned. 'He hopes du die in this tournament, Titanslayer. Bet you realized dat already, dough.'

Fleur scowled as well. 'My familee also 'as a storee about you, too, Monsieur Jackson.' She pronounced his name with a French J. 'Ever seence your … eentrusion eento our home, you 'ave become eenfamous among Veela. But zat ees a confleect fur anozer time.'

Percy grew red. 'Wait, that was your house?' Fleur nodded. 'Hang on… were you the one who tried to kill me for resisting your Allure?

It was Fleur's turn to blush. 'Zat was not ze only reason!' She quickly changed the topic. 'So what do we do wiz 'arry 'ere?'

Cedric sighed. 'You heard Dumbledore,' he grumbled. 'He must compete.'

Soon after, the adults joined us, followed by another lady, dressed in pink robes, with frizzy blonde hair, gripping a quill and parchment. With them was another, an official looking man who I realised to be Ludo Bagman, who was organising the event.

'I hope you have all talked things over,' Dumbledore said. 'This here is Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet. She is only here to hear the outline of the tournament - interviews will be at a future date.'

She pouted. 'Unfortunately. Anyway, I am just here to write the articles for the first day special - in the Daily Prophet tomorrow!'

Bagman cleared his throat. 'Hello champion, I am Ludo Bagman, organiser of this here tournament. As such, it is only fitting that it is I who explains the tournament!'

'Every time it occurs, the tournament is given a unique theme. This year, it is the four magical elements - Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

'There shall be three phases, each with four rounds, one for each element. Of course, we will not tell you the order, or exactly what they contain.

'The first phase will be the retrieval of something from something or somewhere, the second you will have to beat a monster. The third shall be a five way duel in an arena based upon each element.

'Each round, you will be given points, and the winner of each phase will be given a medal. The champion with the most medals at the end of the tournament will be the winner.

'Of course, a tie is possible, and a tiebreaker shall be organised. Said tiebreaker shall take the form of a race on an obstacle course.

'From now on, you are bound by magic to follow the rules of the tournament. You may not receive help from a teacher or other adult. You may not interrupt with another champion unless both are in an arena. You may not back out. Good luck champions. The Tournament... has begun.'

A/N: Five champions? Whoever would have guessed? Probably all of you! :D

Anyway, who likes the setup of my new Tournament? I thought it would be more exciting.

Please review and send OCs. You all known the reasons.

Anyway, this story is going on hiatus till September, as I am losing stable internet, and will not be able to be updated. Do not fear. though, for I am not abandoning this fic.

See you lovely guys and girls in September! By-ye!