Early update! I guess I was motivated by the prospect of the weekend. I think this is one of my better chapters, but let me know what you think in a review, I may be delusional. (Disclaimer: Yeah, um... I wish I was a famous author... but sadly, no.
Chapter Seven: Dreams & Nightmares
Harry POV:
Harry could feel himself waking up, but it was still dark. He only had a second to register what was happening before the sound hit him.
Nearly jumping out of his skin, Harry leapt up in bed and threw on his glasses. The screaming was horrible, like someone was being tortured. And it was coming from Percy's bed. Harry leaped out his own bed and started shaking Percy awake.
It didn't take long, because Percy shot up as soon as his hands touched his arm.
Percy was glistening with sweat, eyes frantically darting around the room for a moment before settling on Harry's face. Was this what Ron and Hermione felt like whenever he had a nightmare?
"Sorry." Percy muttered, embarrassed. He seemed fairly calm for having just screamed bloody murder. Around the room, the other boys were still asleep. Or, they appeared to be.
"S'okay," Harry replied. He hesitated.
"Were you having a nightmare?"
Percy sighed a little, but not in an exasperated way. "Yeah, you could say that."
Harry didn't push him, just walked back over to his own bed and sat down on the edge. "Do you miss America?" he asked a little suddenly. This seemed like a good time to get to know him, now that they both couldn't sleep.
Percy laughed sadly. "Yeah." He paused and considered something for a second, then continued. "I have a girlfriend back home. I really miss her."
Harry sat up a little straighter. It was starting to hit him for real that Percy was the boy from his dream. Most of the things he'd done weren't possible, like walking on water. So either the dream hadn't actually been real, or Percy had superpowers. Harry was going to go with the first option.
"What's she like?"
Percy seemed to cheer up at the thought of his girlfriend, and his tone changed."She's amazing. Smart, funny, strong, and my best friend." He chuckled lightly. "Did I mention the strong part?"
Harry smiled; he couldn't help it.
"You know she judo flipped me once?"
"Really? Why?"
Percy's smile faded a little as he recalled some memory that Harry couldn't see.
"I went missing. For… a really long time. She was so angry when she found me."
Harry must have reacted a little too obviously, because Percy laughed and continued.
"Don't worry, she kissed me right after that."
"What's her name?" Harry asked.
"Oh, right. Her name is Annabeth." He said it so casually, Harry might have missed it.
Annabeth.
If Annabeth was Percy's girlfriend for real, then how would his dream have known that? Unless...
It was real too. But why would Harry, who usually only had nightmares about the night his parents were murdered and that one recent dream about Peter Pettrigrew, dream about Percy? And more importantly, who was Percy really? Because wizards didn't usually fight with swords.
It was baffling, and Harry must have been quiet for too long because Percy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Maybe we should go back to sleep. It's like 2 o'clock."
Harry nodded mutely, still trying to comprehend what his dream meant, and what Percy had to do with everything. He walked back to his bed and crawled under the covers.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, Harry felt his mind go blank. What had he been thinking about again?
Pandas, said a little voice in his head.
Pandas? Why would he have been thinking about pandas?
His brain felt fuzzy, like the feeling he got when Professor Moody used the Imperius Curse on him, but much, much stronger. I don't want to think about pandas, he thought.
PANDAS.
Okay, pandas are cool.
And as he drifted off to sleep, much faster than usual, he completely forgot the identity of the boy from his dream, waking up, and the conversation that followed.
Harry Potter had received his first mind wipe. Not that he would ever remember it.
Percy POV:
Harry got really quiet after Percy mentioned Annabeth, and he got the feeling he knew it from somewhere. So, he suggested that they went back to sleep, since he hated awkward silences. Plus, it was 2 A.M.
But seriously, where did he know Annabeth's name from? Or was something else bothering him? It was Percy's job to protect him.
He decided to ask tomorrow.
He laid back down and closed his eyes, hoping for a dreamless rest of the night.
But why did he even ask anymore?
The darkness behind his eyelids started swirling, giving him instant vertigo. His vision flashed white, and then he was in a completely different place. For the second time in, like, two days.
Percy could feel that his eyes were still closed, wherever his body was, but he could see his surroundings perfectly fine. It was a clearing in the woods, with a stream running through the middle and birds chirping in the trees. It was straight out of a Disney princess movie.
"Hello?" He yelled, not really caring if he disturbed the birds. "Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"
He really wanted to annoy whichever god (or goddess) put him there. He was guessing Hecate, since, you know, magic. But you never know.
"Which one of you brought me here? And for that matter, who put me in Scotland? Cause I have a few words I'd like to say to you!"
The air to his left shimmered and a woman with long brown hair, a weasel, and a dog materialized out of thin air. She was wearing a cloak like the ones everyone at Hogwarts wore, but it was silver and moved like water around her feet.
"Hecate." He nodded in her direction, not feeling respectful enough to bow.
Her eyelid twitched. "Do not disrespect me, boy." Her weasel tittered loudly, and Percy got the feeling that it wasn't telling him how nice he looked in his pajamas.
He didn't really get what the big deal was, but at that point he just wanted to get it over with. "Fine. Tell me why I'm here, then. And more importantly, when I get to leave."
Hecate snapped her fingers and the little woodland clearing started to fold in on itself, giving him the feeling of being inside a collapsing box. But the illusion passed through him like he wasn't even there. Once it reached the size of a post-it note, it stopped shrinking and started expanding again, growing into something completely different.
"Where are we now?" He asked as he looked around.
"This is where it will end." She said simply.
"What will end? My quest?"
She didn't answer his question, instead pressing forward to other issues.
"I assume Dumbledore has already told you about what he believes to be your quest?"
"Yes, but-"
"He was half correct, in the assumption that your quest was to protect Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament. But you also need to gather information."
She straightened her cloak and continued before Percy could speak.
"In the next year, the dark wizard known as Voldemort will rise again. You need to find out when, and how."
"Can't you just smite him and call it a day?" He asked, finally getting a word in.
"No." She looked pained as she said, "The fates have forbidden it. When I created this world, they became… invested in it. They have gifted some of its people with prophecy-"
"Great, another prophecy." Percy muttered. He really didn't like where this was going.
She glared at him. "and it has been foretold that either Voldemort or Harry have to die for the other to live."
What?
"Does Harry know?"
"No! And you must not tell him. You of all people should know what happens when you try to change your fate."
He tried to digest this new information, but his mind was reeling. He was having some serious déjà vu from the first Great Prophecy.
"And you cannot tell him that you are a demigod. It would disrupt the balance of the world."
Percy stared. "Disrupt the- seriously?"
She nodded, but he wasn't buying it. "It's because you don't want the other gods to find out you lost control of your little project, isn't it?"
Her expression didn't change, but he could tell there was something to his theory.
"Enough." She said, and turned away briskly.
He just couldn't help it anymore.
"You know, for someone that needs my help, you sure are being rude."
She stopped in her tracks and whipped around, causing her silvery cloak to swish around her ankles. "You dare-"
"Oh come, on." He interrupted. "I've heard this all before. An honor to help you, puny demigod, you should be grateful-don't you gods ever solve your own problems?"
Hecate turned away, and said emotionlessly, "I've convinced everyone that's met you that you go to a school called Ilvermorny. Stick to the story and keep Harry alive. Never reveal your secret; I've already had to wipe Harry's mind once. Don't fail."
With that inspiring message, the world started to fade. As Percy woke up, he caught one last look at the place where, supposedly, his quest would end.
A sign, literally.
The Little Hangleton Graveyard.
Dun dun dun... I guess. Did you guys like it? I liked writing it, it was fun.
Well, that's all for today, and guess what? Our team won a volleyball game today! Fun!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!
Peace out,
LadyHW
P.S.
Next chapter will be an Annabeth POV!
Shoutouts:
surya25addanki: I didn't think of it that way. No, Harry is not a demigod. I guess I though it would be cool to have Harry drop in on one of Percy's dreams, since both of them are such potent dreamers. I don't really know, it just came to me. Thanks for the review!
KimiKiwi: Thanks so much! That means a lot! I loved reading your review, it made me feel really good and definitely boosted my self-esteem a lot.
Guest: Thanks, good to know that you've been reading my story!
Nick: Thank you! And thanking your teachers is awesome, thanks for doing that.
PineconeFace1222: I read your story, it's not bad! It's really pretty good, nice detail and I like the character backstory. It just needs some length, that's it. It could be really interesting, keep up the great work! And thanks for the review!
