CHAPTER 9:

A Tale To Be Told

Third Person Point of View:

The Big House:

Harry was bewildered. "Me and you? How do you know?" asked Harry, confusion obvious on his features.

Percy rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Let's just say… a ragged washcloth told me," Percy told him. It was true. The woman he met looked like a ragged washcloth. He wondered silently if she ever went to the salon. The thought almost amused the demigod, but of course, he needed to stay focused.

Harry looked surprised but didn't ask anything about it. He figured Percy wouldn't tell him even if he asked. This was starting to become a theme with these campers. They were so mysterious and secretive, Harry didn't know if they were trustworthy. But it didn't matter if they were trustworthy or not. The point was that they could be of great help, and Harry needed all the help he could get. Chiron had been in deep thought, stroking his beard. It almost reminded Harry of Dumbledore and the remembrance gave the young wizard pause.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry said to Chiron, who stopped stroking his beard and gave his attention to Harry, nodding to the young boy to continue, "but, you have a striking resemblance to our Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore," Harry finished.

Chiron gave a worried glance to Percy, who also had a worried expression on his face. "Is that so?" inquired Chiron. Harry gave a nod. "Yes, sir, but he has a white beard, and…" he glanced at Chiron's lower half, his horse half, with a nervous smile. "He did not have the lower body of a horse," he finished again. Of course, Harry had seen centaurs before, but those were more wild and animalistic, whereas, with Chiron, it was clear the man had great intelligence.

Chiron gave an amused smile, but it quickly disappeared as he spoke. "I see… well, in any case, I am nothing like your Headmaster when it comes to our personality… in that regard, we are very different," said the centaur. Chiron didn't dare to elaborate on how the two were different, because if Chiron voiced his true opinion, he may lose the help of Harry, and he needed Harry for this new great evil, whatever - or whoever - it was. Percy Jackson just wasn't enough this time, which worried Chiron greatly about this new threat. If Percy wasn't enough to stop it, then who was?

Harry could see the worry in Chiron's eyes. It reminded him of how Dumbledore always looked when he was troubled. It was astonishing just how much Chiron and Dumbledore had in common. Harry was truly bewildered.

Percy had his own thoughts about the situation. He had defeated many monsters and went on many quests. But if he couldn't be counted on to stop this new evil, then the same question that went through Chiron's mind went through Percy's. Who was? Who could they count on to defeat this evil? They didn't have a clue what, or who, this new evil was, so how could they stop it? Percy felt truly helpless.

While all this was going on, both Hermonie and Ron were talking to themselves about what Percy, Harry, and Chiron were discussing.

"This is freaky!" whispered Ron, whose eyes were wide. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, quit it, Ron! We have seen much weirder stuff than a centaur," chided Hermione, thinking Ron was talking about Chiron's lower half. Ron glared. "That isn't what I meant, Hermione! I was talking about their conversation. They are obviously worried, which means it's bad!" Ron told her. Hermione sighed. "We don't know that," but she knew it was true.

But suddenly, Jack Roberts came running into the Big House. "Guys, you better come see this!"

Percy immediately sprang to his feet, as well as Chiron and the trio. When they reached their destination, inside the border to camp, the trio, Harry, Hermonie, and Ron, all looked on in shock at what they saw in front of them.

Harry stepped forward, shock in his features.

"Sirius?"

(Heya! Sorry for the wait, but it's been a crazy year for me. Happy 2021! I promise the next chapter won't take another year to finish XD)
(In the next chapter, all will be explained on why the ending is the way it is.)