Annabeth
A light drizzle splattered against the windows of the hospital wing as Annabeth waited for Percy to wake. Her boyfriend's normally tan face was pale, and she tried to squash her worry as she combed his hair with her fingers. The last time Percy had used so much power… Well, she didn't want to think about it.
Percy's hand twitched under her's and she huffed in relief, "Thank the gods," she kissed his forehead softly, "Madam Pomfrey, he's waking up!"
The nurse bustled over immediately, "Drink this," she ordered, raising a glass of dark green potion to the half-conscious Percy's lips. He swallowed it obediently, wincing.
"Wise Girl?" he murmured, his brow creased with confusion. He stared at her before his face finally broke into a smile, "You're okay."
"I'm okay," she grinned shakily, "It's you I'm worried about. Percy, what happened in the lake?"
"I should very much like to know that too," They both turned to face the newcomer, Percy grimacing in pain as he struggled to sit up. Dumbledore was leaning against the doorway and behind him stood McGonagall and a nervous-looking Harry, "I'm sorry, my dear Poppy," Dumbledore continued, "but we do need to speak to Percy urgently."
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips but didn't say anything as the two professors and Harry seated themselves around Percy's bed. He gripped Annabeth's hand tightly, not quite meeting her eye. He was trembling.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked. Percy didn't respond.
"Percy," the headmaster began gently. His silver hair was grey in the bleak winter light and he looked older than Annabeth had ever imagined him to be, "I need you to tell us exactly what happened in the lake. The merchief has informed me you reached the hostages, but he lost eyes on you after Harry scared the guards away."
"They weren't very nice," Percy muttered.
"Harry says Voldemort was there?"
"I didn't see him, but he spoke to me," Percy cringed at the memory, "he wanted me to kill Gabrielle… or Annabeth."
Percy explained how Voldemort's followers ambushed him and how Voldemort had given him the choice between saving Annabeth or Fleur's sister. He hung his head as he admitted that, for a moment, he'd considered killing the innocent girl.
"but you didn't," Annabeth assured him, soothingly.
"I almost did, though," his voice broke as he stared at her desperately, "I would've done, if it wasn't for Nico."
Dumbledore frowned, "Nico?"
"Nico lost his sister on a quest," Percy explained, "It was my fault."
"It wasn't-"
"It was my fault," he repeated, "I couldn't do the same to Fleur."
"This isn't the first time Voldemort has contacted you, is it?" Dumbledore said, leaning forward intently.
Percy hesitated, "No… I-I had these dreams."
"What happened?"
"I was in a graveyard and Harry was there and Voldemort told me to kill him," he took a deep breath, "and-and I did. Every night, for weeks. And then I lost it in the lesson and I almost killed Harry for real," Harry's eyes widened in realisation, "I'm sorry about that, Harry, I really am."
"It's okay."
"And then it stopped. I stopped it. I don't know how."
"Albus," McGonagall said, "What does this all mean?"
Annabeth looked from Percy to Dumbledore and back and suddenly, she understood, "It means, for whatever reason, Voldemort is trying to use Percy as a weapon. He's trying to corrupt him, first by killing Harry and then an innocent child. He's twisting his mind," her mouth went dry, "Like-like Luke."
Percy squeezed her hand, "No, Annabeth. Not like Luke. That won't happen to me, I promise."
She hadn't seen him so vulnerable since… since Tartarus. Her heart twisted at the memory of Akhlys. For ages after, she'd told herself that wasn't Percy but, deep down, she knew the truth. Everyone had a dark side, even him, and if Voldemort kept pushing…
"Percy, how-?"
"I won't let it," he met her gaze defiantly, "I swear it on the River Styx."
And she really hoped he meant it because, after everything she'd lost, she couldn't handle losing Percy. Not again. Not ever.
Harry
"There they are! There they are!" Pansy Parkinson giggled shrilly as Harry, Ron and Hermione walked to double Potions.
The knot of Slytherins outside the door to the Potions classroom broke apart, sniggering, as they approached. Pansy shoved a copy of a magazine, Witch Weekly, enthusiastically at Hermione's chest, "Get a look at that, Granger!" she sneered. The group behind her snickered delightedly.
"What's going on?" Percy asked, rounding the corner with his arm around Annabeth's shoulders.
The laughter died out instantly. Pansy shrank back into the huddle of her Slytherin girls. Harry exchanged dark looks with his two friends; ever since the Second Task, more and more students seemed unwilling to relax with Percy around. Unfortunately, it was something Harry recognized from his Second Year, when everyone thought he'd opened the Chamber of Secrets… They were afraid of him.
At that moment, the door to the classroom was flung open and Snape ushered them inside. Harry, Ron and Hermione took a table at the back as usual while Percy and Annabeth sat nearby with Connor Stoll, another Gryffindor demigod who hung out with Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins. Hermione riffled hurriedly through the pages of Witch Weekly under the desk until she found what they were looking for…
Harry Potter's Secret Heartache
The article claimed Hermione had broken Harry's heart by attending the Yule Ball with Paolo, the "criminally seductive Brazilian teenager claiming to be a son of the Greek goddess Hebe," (Hermione went bright red at that part, carefully shielding the magazine from Paolo who was sat at the table next to theirs's with Will and Nico) and that she was using love potions to "toy with boys' emotions."
"I told you not to annoy Skeeter!" Ron hissed.
"If that's the best she can do, she really is losing her touch," Hermione brushed it off, pulling out the ingredients they needed for their potion and giving the Slytherins watching her a sarcastic wave.
At the table in front, Percy and Annabeth's cauldron was already spewing black smoke with Percy complaining, "Why do we need a wisdom potion anyway? Your mother's literally the goddess of wisdom!"
"Percy, for the last time, it's a wit-sharpening potion!"
"Same thing!"
"Paolo and I aren't even dating," Hermione was saying in an effort to placate Ron, "We're just friends!"
"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger," said an icy voice from behind them, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."
Snape had glided over to them while Ron and Hermione were arguing and the whole class were now looking round at them, including Percy and Annabeth who were covered in soot.
"Reading magazines under the table as well?" Snape drawled, snatching up the copy of Witch Weekly, "A further ten points from Gryffindor. I think I better separate the three of you so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than Potter's latest press release," he eyed Rita Skeeter's article resentfully, "Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter – that table in front of my desk. Move. Now."
Furious, Harry lugged his cauldron over to the empty table and began pounding scarab beetles. Snape sat at his desk, watching with contempt, like a vulture waiting to devour it's next meal.
"You may be labouring under the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you," Harry ignored him – Snape was trying to provoke him into having a reaction in front of the class, he knew – and continued mashing his beetles, "but to me, you are nothing but a nasty, little boy who considers rules to be beneath him."
Harry started cutting up ginger roots, his hands shaking with anger. From across the dungeon, Percy was glaring at Snape.
"So, I give you fair warning, Potter… If I catch you breaking into my office one more time-"
"I haven't been anywhere near your office!" Harry said angrily, forgetting his feigned-deafness.
"Don't lie to me," Snape hissed, "Boomslang skin. Gillyweed. Both come from my private stores and I know who took them."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry lied. The Gillyweed had been Dobby, of course, but as for the Boomslang skin – Hermione had stolen that for the Polyjuice Potion in their Second Year, but they hadn't broken into Snape's office since.
"You were out of bed on the night my office was broken into!" Snape's eyes flashed dangerously, "I know it, Potter! Now, Mad-Eye Moody might have joined your fan club, but I will not tolerate your behaviour! One more night-time stroll into my office, Potter, and-"
Whoosh!
"Styx!"
Percy's cauldron had exploded. Miraculously, both he and Annabeth had been spared, but the table was covered in sticky, black goop which began eating it's way through the ancient wood and sizzling on the flagstones below.
"Merlin's beard!" Snape swore, storming over to clean up the mess.
It was an unusually vigorous explosion, Harry thought, almost as though someone with power over liquids had orchestrated it and, as he apologised profusely to the professor, he could've sworn he saw Percy wink.
Nico
"Will, where are we going?"
"I heard about this place, the Shrieking Shack. Supposedly, it's haunted and I thought-"
"You want me to see if it's true?"
"No!" Will frowned, "Well… actually, yeah."
Nico rolled his eyes, "Fine."
Beaming, Will grabbed his hand and pulled him further up the trail. It was a warm Saturday and the other demigods were exploring the shops in the village while Will and Nico wandered the wild countryside surrounding Hogsmeade. The sun shone down on them and they hadn't gone far before Nico had removed his aviator jacket and tied it around his waist.
"Hey," Will said, pointing at something in the distance, "Is that Harry?"
Squinting in the bright sunlight, Nico saw Harry and his friends clambering over a stile at the edge of Hogsmeade. A black dog bounded ahead of them as they followed the path into the foothills of the mountain.
"Where are they going?"
"No idea," Will shrugged, "C'mon, it's this- Nico? What are you doing?"
Nico jogged ahead to where their path met the one Harry, Ron and Hermione had taken, staring after the trio. He couldn't ignore the feeling in his gut that something wasn't right…
"Will," he said, realising what the matter was, "that dog has a human soul."
Will bit his lip, "You think it's a trap?"
"Maybe. We should follow them," Nico offered him his arm, "C'mon, I'll-"
"No! You are not shadow-travelling." Will said firmly, crossing his arms.
"Fine, we'll walk!"
So they sprinted up the path until they could see the trio and then crept along, making sure to keep a careful distance between themselves and their wizard friends.
"You suck at trailing people," Nico grumbled as Will stepped on yet another twig. Luckily, the wizards seemed too preoccupied following the dog further into the shadow of the mountain to notice the resounding crack!
"It might be an Animagus," Will said, suddenly.
"A what?"
"An Animagus," he repeated slowly, "You know, like a wizard that can turn into an animal? Professor McGonagall mentioned it once."
Nico stared at him, dumbly, "You actually listen in class?"
"Well… yeah," Will blushed, "I mean, except Divination because we both know that's a load of – wait, where'd they go?"
Nico jerked his concentration back to the surrounding landscape but there was no sign of the three Gryffindors, or their canine guide.
"There!" Nico watched Hermione slip out of sight. They ran over to where she disappeared and found a narrow fissure in the rock. Drawing his sword, Nico squeezed through and found himself in a cool, dimly cave facing Harry, Ron, Hermione and a fourth man in tattered robes, a haunted look in his eye and a wand in his hand, pointed at him.
"Nico?" Hermione gasped.
Will tumbled out of the crack behind him onto the floor. The fourth wizard grabbed him by the cloak and dragged him to his feet, his wand pressed against Will's throat.
"Let him go!" Nico panicked, plunging the cavern into darkness.
"Nico, stop!" Harry yelled, "Please! Sirius, let him go!"
"You're Sirius?" Will gasped, pushing the gaunt wizard off him, "The man from the fire?"
"You heard that?"
"Lumos!" Hermione muttered, lighting up their shocked faces.
"Why did you follow us?" Harry asked, furiously.
"I sensed the dog you were following wasn't a real dog," Nico said, moving to stand beside Will, "We thought you might be in trouble."
"Not from me," the man – Sirius – told them, "Never from me. I'm Sirius, I'm Harry's godfather."
Will and Nico listened as Harry explained how Sirius had been his parents' best friend, but he was framed for their murder and how he was now an outlaw.
"You can't tell anyone," Harry pleaded, "Not even Percy. Please, guys. He's the only family I've got left."
Nico hesitated, but he knew all too well what it was like to lose your last family member, "I promise."
A sound from the end of the cave startled him. Tethered on a leash was a giant, horse-like creature with eagle wings. It nudged Harry affectionately before fixing Nico with a baleful glare.
"Buckbeak!" Hermione cried happily.
"B-Buckbeak?" Nico stuttered. That thing looked like it wanted to kill him and it wasn't hard to see why; it looked like his two least favourite uncles had come together to make a creature especially to hunt down children of Hades.
Will suppressed a smirk, "Animals don't like Nico. Uh, especially horses. And birds. And half-horse, half-birds."
"Okay, okay, they've got the picture!" Nico groaned.
Nico sat at the opposite end of the cave with Will while they discussed Crouch's mysterious disappearance. Apparently, the Ministry of Magic official had a dark past, a convicted Death Eater son… a dead wife… and, according to Sirius, Professor Snape had always been fascinated with the dark arts. Nico was starting to wonder if there was anyone at Hogwarts they could trust.
"And Percy's been having these dreams…" Harry added, avoiding Nico's eyes.
"Those stopped weeks ago," Nico told him, firmly, "I was there."
Hermione stared at him, "You were… there?"
"It's complicated."
"Now, I don't want you lot sneaking out here to see me," Sirius told the three wizards sternly, "I can take care of myself. I still want to know about anything strange that happens, but no leaving Hogwarts without permission, alright?"
"Alright," Harry echoed sulkily.
"I'll walk to the edge of the village with you," Sirius said, "See if I can scrounge another paper."
He transformed into a great black dog and trotted behind them as they walked back across the boulder-strewn ground to Hogsmeade. When they reached the stile, he allowed each of them to pat him on the head, before turning and setting off at a run around the outskirts of the village.
Nico and Will wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade, searching for their demigod friends. Harry, Ron and Hermione trailed behind them, talking softly about Crouch.
"Wonder if Percy knows all that stuff about Crouch?" Ron was saying. Percy was Ron's older brother and Crouch's assistant, "But maybe he doesn't care… it'd probably just make him admire Crouch even more. Yeah, Percy loves rules. He'd just say Crouch was refusing to break them for his son."
"Percy would never throw any of his family to the dementors," Hermione assured him.
"I don't know," he said, doubtfully, "If we got in the way of his career… Percy's really ambitious."
"Families can be complicated," Will said, "Trust us, we know."
Yes, Nico thought with a smirk, we certainly do.
Thanks for reading! I wasn't planning on uploading so quickly but I was pleased with my results today and it's my birthday tomorrow so I was feeling inspired! I can't believe we're on 80 follows, thank you so much! Hope you liked this chapter and remember to favourite/follow and review!
aRTsyisAwesome - thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Percy's powers will become clearer in the future but mainly he's extra-powerful because he's a wizard AND a demigod. Keep reading and letting me know what you think, I always appreciate your feedback!
Geni Blaze - nope, no one's dead! Glad you enjoyed, keep reading :D
vapourtrailreads - glad you're excited! Thanks for your continued feedback and keep reading!
EvilPieceOfSh*t - wow, I'm so pleased you think so! I hope you keep reading and reviewing in the future!
Hope you enjoyed, have a great week!
Lileaf, xoxo