Leaving For the Quest

*Ducks flying object directed at head*

I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so (five hours later) so so so so sooo sorry! You better not forgive me so easily, because I've been a big dodo head. It has been months – months – since my last update, and you all should be ready to get together and start a riot against me; the 'AnnabethChase5450-Is-A-Naughty-Author-And-She-Doesn't-Deserve-Us-Or-Our-Kind-And-Patient-Reviews' strike. But then that would suck for me and I wouldn't have any readers, so don't do that unless you really hate me. You all are probably like, "This chapter better be good if it took her this long to write it!" To be truthful, I don't speak my opinions about my chapters. It's up to you guys to make your own opinions, not for me to do it for you.

A note about the story itself: Remember how I have already changed the story a little – Slughorn willingly gave up the correct memory? Well, I'm changing something else. Dumbledore took Dobby to the cave by the sea where the locket was. Dumbledore made Dobby force feed him like Regulus did Kreacher, but instead of ordering him to leave without him, he ordered Dobby to take the locket and Apparate directly into Hogwarts, fetch Professor Snape, and have him tend to him. Dumbledore recovered from the awful potion of Voldemort's and is still alive. See what could've happened if he found the cave by the sea sooner?!

Bolded parts in the text are from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. PJO. Or. HP. Get it? Got it? Good!

Percy's POV

"Are you all ready?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes," Ginny answered with a nervous smile, taking Harry's hand. When she noticed him frowning, Ginny frowned too, "Why are you frowning?"

"You're in danger because of me," he answered, still frowning.

Ginny scoffed, "I'm a big girl Harry. I think I can handle my wand well enough to defend myself. I bet a Death Eater would really look good with a Bat-Boogey Hex…interesting thought…I might try that."

"If we're all ready, we should head off. Where should we look first, Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry had informed us about the Horcruxes, and had told us Dumbledore showed him places important to Voldemort.

Harry pulled a tin can from his backpack, "We're taking a Portkey back home. Voldemort's target wasn't America until he met Kronos, and important places to him would be back in England."

"Harry," a voice behind me said, "I almost forgot. Sirius left you everything he owned, and that includes Grimmauld Place." It was Dumbledore.

"You can keep using it as headquarters," said Harry. What's headquarters? "I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it." I noticed a sort of depressed look on Harry's face and wondered what he was thinking.

"That is generous," said Dumbledore. "We have, however, vacated the building temporarily."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Well," said Dumbledore as the rest of us watched, not quite comfortable with talking to the man who sort of radiated power, "Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black'. Sirius was the very last of the line as his younger brother, Regulus, predeceased him and both were childless. While his will makes it perfectly plain that he wants you to have the house, it is nevertheless possible that some spell or enchantment has been set upon the place to ensure that it cannot be owned by anyone other than a pureblood."

I wondered how Regulus and Sirius died, but didn't ask. I also wondered what it meant to be a 'pureblood'. Harry spoke again, "I bet there has."

"Quite," said Dumbledore. "And if such an enchantment exists, then the ownership of the house is most likely to pass to the eldest of Sirius's living relatives, which would mean his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange."

I was (and I could tell Annabeth was too) slightly shocked by the reaction that followed this. Dumbledore's demeanor didn't change, as if he was expecting the reaction. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all shouted in outrage at the same time, "No!" Harry next spoke alone, "I will not allow Sirius's murderer inherit his house!" The other three nodded in agreement. Well, that answers my question of how Sirius died. Now all I need to know is how Regulus died.

"Well, obviously we would prefer that she didn't get it either," said Dumbledore calmly. "The situation is fraught with complications. We do not know whether the enchantments we ourselves have placed upon it, for example, making it Unplottable, will hold now that ownership has passed from Sirius's hands. It might be that Bellatrix will arrive on the doorstep at any moment. Naturally we had to move out until such time as we have clarified the position."

Gods, wizard stuff is complicated. Then again, so is demigod stuff… Now I feel bad for Seamus; he had to deal with both!

"But how are you going to find out if I'm allowed to own it?" asked Harry.

Hermione gasped, and everyone looked at her, "Of course! It's so simple, yet brilliant!"

Dumbledore smiled, "Why don't you explain for us, Miss Granger?"

"Kreacher!" she exclaimed. I personally wondered why she shouted such a random word. Why in the name of Zeus would someone feel the need to shout the word 'creature' out loud?

Harry looked at her strangely, "What's this got to do with that house-elf?"

"You see," Hermione explained while Dumbledore smiled at her, "if you inherited the house, you also inherited Kreacher!"

Harry scrunched up his nose, "I don't want the traitor."

Hermione's face suddenly became a look of disapproval, "You would be so much better off if you were kinder to him! Wizards will pay if they don't be kind! The Malfoys lost Dobby because they weren't kind, and since Sirius was never kind to Kreacher, Kreacher didn't want to be nice back! I'm not saying Sirius deserved to die, but he might have lived if he was kinder to Kreacher!"

Harry didn't reply. Everyone watched this exchange, and Annabeth and I exchanged bewildered glances. She asked, "Excuse me, but what is a house-elf? Who is Kreacher?"

"It would be easier to show you," Dumbledore flicked his wand. There was a loud crack, and an odd creature appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat's ears, and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the grass and covered in grimy rags. Dumbledore looked at Annabeth and said, "This is a house-elf by the name of Kreacher. House-elves are bound for the rest of their lives to one family unless set free by receiving clothes. They must follow the orders of their family and normally don't get paid; to be frank, they become offended if they are offered money. We have one paid house-elf at Hogwarts, Dobby, but he is the only one who loves freedom. I would pay all the Hogwarts house-elves if they would let me."

"It's horrible the way they have to obey," Hermione huffed.

All through the explanation, the house-elf had been croaking loudly in a bullfrog-like voice, "Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't!" stamping his long, gnarled feet and pulling his ears. "Kreacher belongs to Miss Bellatrix, oh yes, Kreacher belongs to the Blacks, Kreacher wants his new mistress, Kreacher won't go to the Potter brat, Kreacher won't, won't, won't –" I personally thought Kreacher was annoying.

"As you can see, Harry," continued Dumbledore loudly, over Kreacher's continued croaks of "won't, won't, won't," "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."

"I don't care," said Harry again, looking with disgust at the writhing, stamping house-elf, which earned him a disapproving glare from Hermione. "I don't want him."

"Won't, won't, won't, won't –"

"You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?" he added for the sake of Annabeth and I, "Bellatrix Lestrange is a Death Eater, a supporter of Voldemort, the very same Death Eater who attempted to attack Harry at our dance. She murdered her cousin Sirius Black at the end of last school year."

"Won't, won't, won't, won't –"

Harry had been staring at Dumbledore as he explained this. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were staring at him, and when he said nothing, Ginny said quietly, "You can't let that happen."

"I know," he sighed.

"Give him an order," said Dumbledore, "If he has passed into your ownership, he will have to obey. If not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress."

"Won't, won't, won't, WON'T!"

Kreacher's voice had risen to a scream. Harry ordered, "Kreacher, shut up!"

It looked for a moment as though Kreacher was going to choke. He grabbed his throat, his mouth still working furiously, his eyes bulging. After a few seconds of frantic gulping, he threw himself face forward onto the ground and beat the floor with his hands and feet, giving himself over to a violent, but entirely silent, tantrum.

"It is sick how they have to obey," Annabeth agreed with Hermione. I looked at the both of them, noting their disgusted faces. They weren't disgusted by Kreacher, I could tell, but they were disgusted by the way he was being treated.

"Well, that simplifies matters," said Dumbledore cheerfully. "It seems that Sirius knew what he was doing. You are the rightful owner of number twelve, Grimmauld Place and of Kreacher." He paused, as if thinking about something, "If I may make a suggestion, maybe you should stay at Grimmauld Place so you won't have any interruptions. There would be the issue of interruptions if you went to the Burrow, and I doubt you would enjoy living in the forest. I have placed an item I collected recently in your bag, Harry, and I think it might be helpful."

We all exchanged glances, and finally Harry and I looked at each other. We were both the leaders of this quest, and we had decided that unless it specifically involved Voldemort or Kronos and his minions, we would make decisions together. I said, "I'm okay with that, although I've never been to this house."

"It's full of dark stuff," Ron interjected, "Most of the Black family members are supporters of the Dark Arts."

"It's our only option," Annabeth said, "What do you say, Harry?"

He hesitated, and Ginny said, "Sirius wanted you to have the house, Harry. Don't think about the bad things the house represents. Think about the good things; you got to spend a part of your summer with Sirius and you saw him a lot more often than you did since you learned he was innocent. Think about those things, not that he hated the place. Of course he would hate it, but he wants you in that house, hating it for him now that he can't." She smiled, "I think we should go."

Harry nodded slowly, "Alright. Since Percy's fine with it, we'll go."

"Then get rid of the portkey; that won't take you to Grimmauld Place. Have Kreacher take you," Dumbledore suggested just as the tin can began to glow bright blue. In his haste to not get whisked away, Harry dropped it as if it was on fire, and it disappeared. Cool.

Looking at Kreacher, Harry said, "Kreacher, stop having a tantrum." The elf stopped pounding his fists and kicking his feet immediately and glared up at him, "Stand up."

Kreacher stood, and Harry continued his orders, "Kreacher, allow Percy and I to take your hands. Percy," he turned to me, "grab onto his hand and don't let go. Annabeth, take his hand. Ginny, take mine, Ron, take Ginny's, and Hermione, take Ron's." He took Kreacher's hand and I followed suit, taking his other hand. Annabeth clutched my free hand, and the others followed their directions. Kreacher looked as if he would like to hit Harry, but Harry ignored this attitude and added, "Kreacher, Apparate us to number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

Yes, I know a lot of it wasn't written by me, but by JKR. But it was four pages long! It feels good to update again, no matter how many people are angry with me.