This chapter is more of an explanation, as to a few unanswered questions. And I realized that while I was sticking with a Percy Jackson styled guest appearance, it was a little too much for this story, so this is an edited chapter of what was posted before. Apologies for the delay, and read and review if you like it!
"What?" Hermione asked warily. Percy just rubbed his forehead, looking up in time to see Madam Rosmerta bringing our food over. She set down a variety of plates and cups.
"Thank you." Annabeth said politely. Rosmerta left, and Percy sighed.
"Now for the fun part." He said, putting a large steak on the ground for Sirius. I think it was American sarcasm.
"What?" Hermione asked again, taking a sip of her butterbeer. The Americans glanced at each other.
"We're not going to go into every detail here." Percy said. "But we'll give you the main points."
"Could you just tell us?!" I snapped, my patience running out.
"Well, for starters, we can't use magic, not in the way you can." Annabeth said, cutting into her shepherd's pie. "There are a few people at our camp who can. But most of us can't use incantations and make things happen."
"Camp Half-Blood, in New York." Percy added. "That's where we're from."
"So... only half-bloods are allowed?" I asked, feeling a bit put off. "That's pretty biased."
"No, actually." Annabeth corrected. "It's a name, not a requirement. We allow a pretty wide range of campers, even wider than what you allow here."
"And only some of you can do magic?" Hermione asked, looking surprised. "Then why do you let other people in who can't?"
"The few that can are pretty powerful." Percy said darkly. "What you call Dark Arts is most of what they can do. But that's a topic for another day. Each cabin has their own unique talents, some magical, some just useful."
"So who started this camp?" I asked.
"Chiron. Long ago." Annabeth cut in. "But we're not here to write a book for you."
"So what sort of magic do you have, at your camp?" I persisted curiously. The Americans sighed, and Percy took out a pen I had seen him play with before. It looked normal, a gold-colored ball point pen, like the sort a businessman would carry.
"This was a gift, Anaklusmos. A good weapon." Percy said, clicking the end. The pen suddenly shifted, extended, and turned into a short bronze sword, like the sort Romans or Greeks carried in history books. Witches and wizards were gaping, but Percy didn't seem to notice.
"Anaklusmos?" Hermione repeated, not recognizing the word.
"Riptide. The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea." Percy said. He hesitated, and I saw a flicker of sadness cross his face.
"Is there a story that goes with that?" Hermione asked, sounding a little more gentle. Percy looked away for a moment, his eyes scanning the crowd around the bar.
"Life's short. One day, it's gone." He said quietly. "Savor every moment you get."
Sirius broke the silence with that sad sort of sigh dogs can do, and sympathetically nuzzled his head against Percy's side. He smiled faintly.
"Okay." I played with my butterbeer. "So you're from an American camp. Why are you here at Hogwarts?"
"We were given a prophecy." Annabeth said carefully, looking around like she expected to see a wizard eavesdropping. "A quest." She handed Hermione a small roll of paper. She turned it so I could read as well.
The victor shall die by the traitor's hand,
A riddle returned to ravage the land,
His soul you must destroy part by part,
Or return to find your home torn apart.
"We were baffled, at first. But Chiron—head of our camp—knew what happened with Voldemort here years ago." Percy explained.
" 'A riddle returned' Riddle was Voldemort's old name." I said, scanning it. "So you think Voldemort is going to return?"
"Not us." Annabeth said seriously. "The Oracle of Delphi"
"Oracle?" Hermione laughed. "Like a seer?"
"Like that old crone in your castle, with the huge glasses?" Annabeth sighed. "No. The Oracle of Delphi is never wrong. It is possible for a prophecy to be prevented, but it's incredibly difficult, and trying to change fate usually gets someone killed, or worse. This prophecy is different from a lot of others, though, because it gives options. If we don't 'destroy part by part' we'll find home torn apart."
"Meaning, if he's not beaten here, he'll come after Camp Half-Blood too." Percy commented helpfully. "So we can hard"
"And it doesn't say if you'll stand or fall, it says that we'll decide. Which might mean that this prophecy is not set in stone. Things can be saved. We can might be able to save 'the victor' too, as soon as we find out who it is. It has to be one of the other three contestants—because you're mentioned separately from the victor."
"The traitor?" I mused. "Peter Pettigrew?"
"Who's that?" Percy asked, sipping his smoothie cautiously.
"He betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort." Hermione explained. Annabeth and Percy exchanged looks.
"Probably." Annebeth mused. "We could send a team to hunt him down."
"He has to be around Hogwarts." Percy remarked. "How else could he kill the victor?" He glanced at us. "You know what the third task is?"
"Something to do with why the Quidditch field has become a forest?" I asked.
"A maze, with the triwizard cup at the finish line." Annabeth said. "Assuming security is tight, how could Pettigrew kill someone once they got the cup?"
"You can't apparate into Hogwarts." Hermione objected. "And there's no way he could get onto the grounds. Dumbledore or Ministry officials would have found him by now. And we would have seen him on the map."
"The map?" Percy asked.
"I have a map, that my father helped make, along with a few friends, when he was a student." I explained quietly. I wasn't sure if they needed to know about Sirius. "It's a detailed map of Hogwarts, and shows every person that's on the grounds, where they are, what they're doing, anytime day or night."
Annabeth flushed a little, suddenly looking embarrassed.
"You can see everyone, in real time, at all times?" She asked. Percy looked down, like he was trying not to laugh.
"When I use it." I confirmed. "I haven't been taking it out much. I used it right before the second task, and a few times here and there."
"Oh. Okay." Annabeth said, looking a little relieved. "Have you seen Pettigrew on it?"
"No. But I'll check as soon as we get back." I shrugged.
"Pettigrew knew that was how we found him out, last year." Hermione objected. "He wouldn't be so stupid as to risk it again."
"Then are there any other ways for them to get here and kill the victor?" Percy asked. "Maybe Pettigrew's not here."
"I think they do have a death eater here." I recalled. "Hermione, remember during the ball? Igor was panicking about the dark mark. So it's not him. But they have to have someone else here."
"Is there any magical booby traps around, that would work even if the maze has high security?" Percy asked. "Could the death eater put a curse on the cup, so whoever touches it first dies?"
"Maybe." Hermione conceded. "Or… oh."
"What?" Annabeth noticed her look.
"I think you can use a portkey to leave Hogwarts, and maybe to get into it. You just touch a portkey, and you'll can be transported a hundred miles away. I read about times it happened." She whispered. "Portus is the charm to make something into a portkey. What if—"
"The cup is a portkey." Percy, Annabeth and I all said in unison.
"That still doesn't solve who Riddle's man here is." Percy sighed. "Could we study the map?"
"It would be a waste of time." Hermione shook her head. "We've got a bunch of Durmstrang students and Beaubaxton students and a bunch of ministry officials. Any of them could be Death Eaters, or under the imperious curse. And the wizards arrested for supporting him before, a lot of them claimed being under the imperious curse and were let go. A lot of them were respectable and could be here. We'll never know who the death eater here is, even with the map."
"We have to focus on the last task then." Annabeth poked at her food. "It's the only way to approach this, and it has to be the plan to kill you. Otherwise, why would they put your name in the cup? It would just draw attention to your death." She looked confident. "They plan to kill you during the third task, and whoever is behind this will want everyone to know you're dead."
"Great. So according to your prophecy, I'm not going to win, and whoever does will get killed." I hated to pout, but I was feeling sick, thinking of the final task. "And if I quit, I'll shame Gryffindor and Hogwarts." Sirius licked my hand consolingly.
"Calm down." Percy said flatly. "Annabeth and I have been through worse. We're going to do our best to stop this."
"Harry, we've got permission to roam freely." Annabeth tried to console me. "We're not going to just let this happen."
"Are you going to be in the maze during the task?" Hermione asked. She sounded a little worried. "Can you save the victor?"
"We'll give it a shot." Percy said. "Is there any spell to reveal other spells that you can use? Like, to see if someone put a trap around the cup, or turned it into a portkey?"
"I'll ask Dumbledore to teach me." I nodded. Silence fell around the table. Everyone looked tired and worn out after that discussion.
"So." Annabeth said brightly. "Um… you two have plans for the summer?" We all laughed, but I still appreciated her attempt to break the seriousness. Hermione took a long draught of her butterbeer. I suddenly felt hungry again and returned to my food. We were all tucking in again, though the food had gotten cold.
"You know, for Yanks, you two are pretty great." I said. Percy accidentally spewed butterbeer towards another table, he was laughing so hard.
" 'For Yanks'?" He asked, grinning. "What, do Brits think, 'Oh, stupid Americans' and all that?" Hermione looked sheepish.
"Well, some English have bad impression of Americans." She said diplomatically. "But you two are brilliant. Not at all like what people say." Annabeth and Percy looked highly amused.
"So we break the stereotype." Annabeth smiled. "Are we officially friends then?"
"Definitely." I returned her smile. I offered a hand to Percy. "Official friend?" He kept laughing, but shook my hand firmly. Hermione followed suit with Annabeth, all of us laughing like idiots.
"Seriously." Percy said warmly, looking at us. "I'm glad to have met you both, no matter how this goes."
"What was that, 'Thank God for that' when she said only a few people at your camp can do magic?" Hermione recalled. Percy looked embarrassed.
"The wizards of our world don't use magic like you guys do." She explained. "None of this, making things float, or summoning things, magic candy, stuff like that. Magic is either for combat or just horrific."
"What, have you two had to fight dark arts before?" Hermione asked.
"Ever heard of Circe, the sorceress?" Percy asked darkly.