So, Little Whinging was pretty much as little as the name suggested. It was a bit too... quiet for Percy, who was used to the never sleeping streets of New York or the constant noise of Camp. Walking through the streets with Dudley was an exercise in boredom, especially since all Dudley was interested in was, apparently, himself. Since Harry had wandered off on their own, and Dudley had promised to show him what 'real men' did for fun around these parts, Percy would be excused for thinking that all 'real men' did was brag about the supposed conquests they made while off at boarding school. While Smeltings was an all-male school, Dudley assured him it was a 'piece of piss' – whatever that meant - to sneak out to the local village to meet up with girls, all of whom seemed to be incredibly impressed with Dudley's boxing prowess. Percy entertained himself with the thought of Dudley meeting Annabeth or Clarisse. Annabeth would be amusing for the sheer shock value Dudley would get with such a beautiful girl being able to knock him flat, while the idea of Clarisse... well, that was just going to be an all out brawl. Either way, for that one, Percy would find the popcorn and keep himself busy. Maybe he'd start up bets. His money would be on Clarisse. Actually, thinking on it, smart money would be on Clarisse, he wouldn't make any profit. Well, he glanced at Dudley, if his cousin had friends just as convinced of his skills, then he might make a bit.
"Couple of rules about tonight, Yank," Dudley addressing Percy so directly – and why didn't the kid just use his name, it was there for a reason, wasn't like his Mom had forgotten to give him one. Wouldn't have made their life any easier while he was growing up if she did, would have just got the social services on to them. There was this case when he was about 5 or 6, he could vaguely remember, that his teacher called the social. He never really knew what happened after the call was made. No one came to the house or anything. Like it mattered now, anyway. Dudley stood in front of Percy, trying to make himself seem taller. "First, none of this gets back to the grown ups." Percy gave a nod; yeah, that was reasonable enough. He pulled some crap that he wouldn't want his Mom finding out about, he kept as many of the more death defying stunts he pulled on quests as quiet as possible for a damn reason, after all. Dudley looked at him for a minute, before continuing on. "Okay, second, I'm Big D, none of those stupid pet names Mum comes out with."
"Aw, does that mean I can't call you Dudders?" Percy smirked, and quickly dodged a punch from Dudley. "Okay, wow, temper," he mocked, ignoring the glare that was shot at him. Seriously, nothing this kid threw at him was really going to faze him. "Right, fine, I got it. You don't want your guys knowing that Big D's Mom still sees him as her little baby." Another glare from Dudley that was ignored. "Fine, I'll keep the mouth shut," he held out his hand for Dudley to shake. The blond did it after a moment of trying to work out whether or not Percy was insulting him. This was added on to wondering how Percy had such quick reflexes, especially since he didn't really look like much. Between the two of them, Dudley definitely had more muscle mass. "Any more rules or we done here? 'Cause I'd like to get with the moving..."
"We're done," Dudley nodded. "We'll meet up with the guys now, just wanted to make sure you knew the score," he said, before turning and leading Percy off to meet up with his friends. Percy still found the streets too quiet for his liking, so he was more comfortable when they met up with the other boys, feeling more relaxed in the familiar noise of teenagers being teenagers. Dudley introduced them all in quick succession, and Percy found his head spinning a little from all the names that were trying to make sure they got the most attention first. One of the boys – a rat face kid who Percy was pretty sure was called Piers – stepped forward.
"So you're one of the cousins that Mrs D has had her knickers twisted about visiting," he sniggered. He then gave Percy a very deliberate look up and down, as if trying to measure him up for something. "Well, he don't look like much, Big D," Piers said to Dudley. "I mean, he's got the Freak's looks, the poor sod."
"Yeah, standing right here, dude," Percy interjected, a bit of anger in his tone. "Also, not deaf. And even if I was? Bitching about my newly found cousin in front of me? Not a cool move," he said, slipping a hand into the pocket of his jeans, fingers wrapping reassuringly around Riptide. No, he wasn't planning on uncapping the pen to use the sword on these guys – they may have been rude, but that was pretty much just high school evil. It had somehow become a thing when he found himself getting angry. Well, there was that and the back of his neck was tingling in a way he didn't like. That tingling was never a good sign. Maybe he just needed some sort of anger management or maybe he was just on edge 'cause part of him still expected Zeus to strike him down for daring to be in his domain when he'd been on the plane.
"Oh come on, mate, can't you take a bit of teasing?" Piers laughed, smacking him on the arm. "Big D, we'll need to teach your Yank here not to be so bloody sensitive." Dudley laughed and Percy forced a laugh of his own. Seriously, there was a tingling in the back of his neck, and it was putting him on edge, and it made no sense. Come on, the war had finished! Surely they'd managed to buy themselves a little bit of peace and quiet?
"So, what's the plan for tonight then?" Dudley asked the group, as they continued to just loiter around the area they had all met up in. Percy had been cautioned for loitering once. Well, almost cautioned. He was waiting outside of one of Mr. Dare's buildings for Rachel, and the security had called the police who just turned up to 'speak' with him only a few minutes before Rachel and her father came outside. Turns out Mr. Dare didn't like the police questioning one of his daughter's friends – especially not one who had proven to be a decent sort of person. They said that money talked, but Percy figured just the hint of someone with connections being annoyed at you talked louder.
One of the others boys spoke up. "Someone's been talking wrong about you, Big D," they said, a hint of a malicious smile on their face. Percy had a small moment of wondering where he'd learned a word like malicious, then just summed it up to Annabeth. He wasn't dumb, but his vocabulary was probably not as extensive as it ought to have been. "Think you ought to go and put them in their place." Wait. What was that? Put them in thei... Oh. So that was the stuff 'real men' did? Yeah, Percy wasn't game for that. The others didn't see a problem with this, instead clapping the boy on the back.
"That's an idea alright, Malcolm," Dudley said, his face twisted with a horrible sneer that Percy guessed was meant to be some sort of smile. "Can't have people messing with the Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion of the Southeast," he said, in a way that made him puff his chest again with pride. Percy really wished he didn't do that, he couldn't help but get the mental image of popping the guy, and seeing him fly away like a deflating balloon. "We sorted Evans, and we'll sort whoever this brat is an' all."
"And by sort you mean...?" Percy put in, just reminding the group that he was there, and unlike them, he had no personal gain in keeping quiet about the evening's events. Or, well, he hoped that little reminder struck their minds. Not that they seemed to have much of a mind between them. They turned to look at him, expressions clearly suggesting they thought he was an idiot. Good. "Ah, right, the whole punching, kicking, brawling thing. Not really my scene. I'll take a pass," he gave them a nod, and turned to leave. Maybe he could find Harry and talk with him. He found his way blocked by a couple of Dudley's friends – Gordon and Dennis, his mind provided, which he hoped was right. Well, vaguely hoped. He couldn't much be bothered with any of them.
"Can't do that, Yank," Dudley's voice was menacing, or meant to sound it at least. Percy didn't roll his eyes, but it was a close call thing. He'd been working on that. "Meant to be watching out for you, promised your Mum." Percy turned round, and just gave him a look.
"Yeah, because Little Whinging is so dangerous compared to New York," he drawled. Dudley stepped forward threatening, to which Percy visibly did not react. His hands remained in his pockets, a very calm expression on his face. Dudley may have been big – the word 'vast' kept throwing itself around Percy's mind – but he had seen off bigger. Even if the guy wanted to punch him, well, that kept him from hitting someone else, right? It wasn't as if Percy couldn't take it. "You gonna hit me then, Big D?"
"Don't want your Mummy crying over you; sounds like she does it enough," Dudley sneered. That made Percy clench his fist, but he did his best not to show a visible reaction. "Run off then, Yank. If you can't handle playing with the big boys, you should go find the Freak. Maybe you and him can have a good cry or something." There was more sniggering from the group, and yeah, Percy was done with this lot. He let his annoyance with them be shown, rolling his eyes and turning away.
"Whatever, Big D," he called over his shoulder, marching off in a random direction and hoping for the best. Worst came to worst, he'd find a pay phone or something and call his Mom's mobile. If she asked why he wasn't with his cousins... he'd come up with something. He didn't much think his Mom would want to hear that her cousin's son came across as a bullying ass. She wouldn't have liked to hear that he'd kicked the crap out of the guy either, so that was why he hadn't thrown a punch even though he really wanted to. It was kind of funny how kids changed when their parents or teachers were out of the way, and Percy wondered how much Dudley had been bribed to keep up a pleasant face for the evening. He wondered idly if Harry was given the same treatment, but those thoughts were dismissed as quickly as they came. It didn't seem to fit the picture he was getting, not yet anyway, and this was coming from someone who had no real head for tactics beyond 'run at that thing and hope to cut it into pieces... or maybe drown it.'
It wasn't long into his walk that he came across Harry, who was just slouching against a street sign. Percy took a moment to actually look at him. Harry wasn't really short, but Percy got the impression it hadn't been that long since he'd taken a stretch; there was that kind of thinness in his face. There'd been a couple of kids like that at Camp, usually the thinness was gone after a bit, thanks to food and exercise. That wasn't really the point here. Point was Harry. Somehow, despite being kind of average height, maybe a bit taller, Harry seemed small to him. The only likeness Percy could make was... Wart, from The Sword in the Stone. He had loved that movie when he was a kid, and something about Harry reminded Percy of Wart. Looking around, Percy approached his cousin. "Hey, man, mind if I join you?"
Harry looked a little startled, but masked it well. Kind of. It was like when you didn't want your friends to see you were freaked out at some horror movie. "Free world, apparently," he responded. Percy laughed, and leant at the other side of the side. Harry glanced at him. "Let me guess, Dudder's company wasn't exactly to your tastes?" Percy gave a look
"So you know what he actually gets up to, then?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, well," Percy rolled his shoulders slightly, trying to find a vaguely comfortable position for leaning against the sign. "I'm not so much into the whole wailing on people 'cause they don't sing my praises all the time thing. He always been like that?" Again Harry nodded, this time his shoulders dropping a little. Oh, so Harry was the former punch-bag then. "Dude, you have my respect, I would have ditched long ago." He had, actually, a couple of times, back when Gabe was still with them. He never really got far before guilt would make him turn back. If he left, then his Mom would be stuck with Gabe, that's how his younger self had worked it out. Gabe had never even noticed he'd left. A+ parenting there. Ass.
"Yeah, guess I've just got... amazing tolerance," Harry muttered, side-eyeing Percy with probable confusion mixed in with that distrust. He looked away, and Percy was okay with just standing in silence beside the other boy. He had no idea how to broach the subject that he wanted to, anyway. How did you start that kind of conversation? 'Hey, you've got that look in your eye that says you've seen someone die, well me too!' Yeah, most likely the other boy would just curse him out. Percy would do the same in his shoes. He wasn't entirely sure if English people did the whole cursing out thing, but he figured that considered Dudley's bullying true self, it was more than likely. "That's Big D heading for home," Harry said, after... Percy wasn't sure how long they had just stood in silence. He spent most of his time noticing how if anyone approached them nearby, they would cross the street to get away from Harry. St. Brutus' must have some reputation. "We should probably go. Vernon gets... they don't like me coming home later than Dud," Harry said.
"Lead the way," Percy said, before falling into step just behind Harry. He was taller than his cousin, he noticed. Actually, he was a bit taller than Dudley as well. Must be something to do with being a demi-god. Even if that did sound like a cop-out of an answer. Percy could vaguely recall some tale about the offspring of Gods and humans being able to warp perceptions, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just referring to the Mist. He wished Wise Girl was with him, she'd know the answer. It was still pretty warm, apparently they were having a heat-wave or something. Whatever, felt alright to Percy and Harry wasn't complaining so he figured it couldn't be all that bad. They didn't talk as they walked, but as they neared Dudley, and could hear the goodbyes and comments made by Dudley's friends, Percy figured the whole keeping quiet thing wasn't really going to be on the agenda for much longer.
"Hey, Big D!"
Dudley turned round. "Oh. Potter. See the Yank found you then," Percy gave a sarcastic wave. He was not cool with the constantly being called a Yank thing. He had a name! A really good name. A name that didn't sound as stupid as Dudley – no, seriously, who the actual Hades names their kid Dudley and not expect a bit of a psycho when they grow up? Harry smirked over at their cousin.
"How long have you been 'Big D' then?" Dudley didn't openly answer Harry, instead muttering something under his breath that neither Percy or Harry were able to pick up on. He deliberately turned his back on them, shooting them an expression that made it clear he wasn't going to lower himself to talk to the 'peasants'. Percy could actually see Dudley calling him a peasant, now that he thought on it. The whole private boarding school and affected accent in front of his parents made it really possible. "It's a cool name, but you'll always be 'Ickle Diddykins' to me," Harry had by this time, fallen into step beside Dudley, Percy just tagging behind them.
"I told you to shut it, Potter," Dudley growled at him. His hands had curled into fists, and Percy caught himself just looking between the two, wondering if he should step in if it came to a fight. The obvious answer was yes, but it might have been kind of amusing to see Dudders get his ass handed to him. He wasn't sure why he thought Harry could beat the blond in a fight, it was just a gut instinct. They tended to work for him. Except those time they went horribly wrong, but he tried not to think about those ones, thanks.
"Who've you been beating up tonight? Another ten year old? I know you were getting Mark Evans a couple of nights ago..." Harry's voice broke through Percy's train of thought, and made him stop for a second in the street.
"Woah, wait, back up and reverse." Harry and Dudley both turned to look at Percy due to this outburst, questioning looks on their face. "You beat up little kids, man?" Percy sounded shocked, appalled, and a bit disgusted. Harry thought they were very good things to sound considering the matter at hand, and mentally noted that down in the positives column he'd been keeping since the end of the last school term. It was probably a stupid idea, and Harry knew if he told anyone about it they'd probably laugh, but he felt he needed to make the list in his head. Just to remind him that there were some positives around now that Voldemort was back. The saying no news is good news does not apply when a megalomaniac who wanted to kill people for not fitting his ideals had returned. If Hermione had been there, she'd probably would have brought up comparisons to beginnings of the Second World War, and compared the policy of appeasement that was taken with Hitler to the extreme denial stance that the Ministry was taking. Not that Harry would have paid much attention, but she would have tried.
"He was asking for it!" Dudley spat at them, clearly not happy with his new cousin questioning him. He drew himself to his full height, an attempt to seem all important – which was needed now that his friends weren't around to back him up and instead he was dealing with two similar looking boys, both of whom were not impressed with anything he had to say. "He cheeked me." This was said in such a way that Percy could be forgiven for thinking that Mark Evans had tried to torch the house or something. He, personally, thought the kid would be doing Dudders a favour – everything here was way too similar. It was all too Stepford for his liking.
"Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught to talk on its hind legs?" Harry asked. "'Cause that's not cheek, Dud, that's true." Percy snorted. That was what Dudley reminded him of: a pig. Well, that and a shaved gorilla but that was kind of cruel to both of those animals now he was thinking on it. Promising his Mom that he'd try not to cause trouble meant he couldn't say it, but he could think it as much as he liked. Not like anyone here could read minds. Trust his luck, related to the walking pig.
"You haven't got the guts to take me on," Dudley said to Harry. There was a glance around and his voice dropped, and Percy had to strain a little to listen in. "Not without that thing." Percy frowned, what thing was Dudley on about? Harry had a thing? Was... was his thing like Percy's thing? Also constant thinking of something as a 'thing' made everything sound way dirtier than it had any right too. He needed to stop hanging around with the Stoll brothers. He opened his mouth.
"'Cause taking on a little kid is a great way of proving who's the toughest around." That did the trick, Harry and Dudley spun round to face him. Harry was carrying a wooden stick and Percy really couldn't think if he'd been holding that earlier on when it had just been them. Why would Harry need a pointy wooden stick for anyway? Was he planning on slaying some vampires this evening? Percy wasn't really sure that vampires were much in favour of heat-waves, they probably preferred the cold. Made it easier to mask the whole un-dead bloodsucking creature of the night thing. Man, he hadn't watch a Dracula movie in ages. He'd need to see about fixing that.
"Yeah, about that," Harry continued on Percy's thought, still side glancing at the older boy with an air of confusion. "This boxing title you keep banging on about. How old was your opponent for that, then? Seven? Maybe eight?" There was a muscle constantly twitching in Dudley's jaw by now, and Percy figured it was only a matter of time till the guy snapped and tried to hit one of them. He could probably push Harry out of the way and take the hit in time; Harry was a little dude and though he'd place money on the kid in a fight, getting hit off guard could really put a guy off step.
"He was sixteen, for your information!" Oh, that was a snarl. Dudley was really not happy at this point, and that was putting the whole thing lightly. "He was out cold for twenty minutes after I'd finished with him, and he was twice as heavy as either of you. So you just wait till I tell Dad-"
"Running to Daddy? Nice move," Percy commented. Harry looked over at him, and there was the vaguest hint of a smile about his features.
"I know," he said, turning back to Dudley. "Is his ickle boxing champ frightened of his cousin's-"
"Not usually this brave at night, are you?" Dudley sneered at Harry. Percy blinked, looking around them. Okay, so the sun was down, and the street lamps were coming on... Yeah, he wasn't sure, but this was pretty much what they called night over where he lived. Maybe things were different in England, how would he know? Maybe this was just like... mid-evening or whatever posh sounding term would work with one of those accents he always heard on the British shows they showed on television. RP, that's how Annabeth had described them. He… didn't know what RP stood for, but if that's what Annabeth called it then he'd go with that. She was usually right, after all. "When you're in bed."
And that went in a direction Percy didn't expect.
Harry and Dudley had both stopped walking, simply staring at each other as they stood in the middle of the street. "What d'you mean, when I'm in bed?" Harry asked, sounding calm. Sounding being the key word there. There was something about that smug look on Dudley's face that suggested that maybe his other little cousin wasn't as calm as he was making out to be. "What am I supposed to be frightened of, pillows or something?"
"Boogeyman," Percy pipped in helpfully, but they ignored him. He shrugged. Whatever.
"I heard you last night. Talking in your sleep. Moaning." Dudley was just taunting Harry now, Percy saw the smaller boy's shoulders go rigid. "'Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!'" Cedric... whoever Cedric was, that was who Harry had seen die. Okay. Right. Now Percy had a name, at least he was kind of positive about it all. Now he just needed to know how to address the whole 'so I've seen someone die too and I know bottling it up is not good for you' thing. He'd figure out a way. Eventually. "Who's Cedric – your boyfriend?"
"You're lying." Harry's voice was quiet, and there was a tenseness in the air. Percy stepped a little closer, carefully placing a calming hand on Harry's shoulder. He looked up at Dudley and yeah, he was pretty much done with even pretending to try to be nice to this asshole. It was obvious even to him that something big had happened to Harry, and here was this idiot taunting him about it?
"Hey, man, maybe wanna cut it out?" He shot at Dudley. "Seriously, the whole taunting thing is not cool."
"'Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, Dad! Boo hoo!'" Percy wondered if he should use his powers of complete invisibility for good or evil. More importantly, what Dudley said raised a red alert in his mind. Someone wanted to kill Harry. Harry had seen death, and someone wanted to kill him and he had been calling – maybe praying – to his Dad to help him. Percy stared a little. Was... was his cousin a demigod too? Did the Gods still come to Europe and have kids? Yeah, he knew they were mostly based in America now, it being one of the great super powers of the world and all, but England had a history of that too, as Annabeth had lectured him on. Could they still be coming here? So... if Harry was a demigod, who was his Dad? Who wanted him dead? Percy could tell him he wasn't alone, that he could help.
"Big D, you wanna cool it already?" Percy shot, but looked at Harry. "Just ignore him, man, he's an ass. Big ball of gas, that's what he is..."
"'Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to-' Don't you point that thing at me!" Percy trying to keep Harry calm hadn't worked, and Harry – with surprising strength Percy thought – had pushed past him, and pushed Dudley back into the wall of the alley. The pointed wooden stick thing was directed right at the larger boy, and there was fear on Dudley's face. Harry looked like he was barely keeping a lid on his anger, and Percy began to try to pull him back.
"Come on, man, it's not worth it, just drop the stick."
"Don't ever talk about that again. D'you understand me?"
"Listen, you don't wanna do this, he's just an ass."
"Point that thing somewhere else!"
"You're really not helping by making all the demands here, Big D."
"I said, do you understand me?"
"Point it somewhere else!"
"Is anyone even hearing my voice?!"
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM-"
And that's when Percy had the feeling as though he'd just been dropped head first into the iciest water he'd ever encountered. It was a all over body shudder that happened at once, and left you chilled to your bones – a phrase he'd never really understood until getting that feeling – and that felt like no heat could ever make it better. There was no light. Not from the lights, the stars, or the moon. Percy thought nothing could block out the moon once the Goddess had put it there. She was not going to be happy about this. It had to be a monster. Only a monster could cause this sort of feeling. He glanced over at his cousins, but he couldn't see much. The darkness was too thick. Think, Jackson! What monster could do this?
"W-what are you d-doing?" Dudley was terrified. Percy couldn't blame him much. "St-stop it!"
"I'm not doing anything," Harry answered. He... didn't sound scared. He sounded kind of like he was getting ready for something, that he was prepared to be attacked. Right. Well, that was kind of fitting Percy's theory that he was a demigod. After your first few monster attacks, you kind of lost the scared from your voice and got more into be ready to attack or defend more. Oh, you were still scared, but you did your best not to let it control you. Well, Ares kids would probably deny ever being scared in the first place, but Percy figured that fear was a mortal thing so every demigod had it. Ares kids just had a reputation to keep, was all.
"I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I-"
"Dudders, none of us can see, so can you kindly do me a favour and keep the mouth shut!" Percy snapped, still staring into the darkness. He couldn't see what Harry was doing, but he had to figure it was along the same lines. There was just something about this cold. It reminded him of... What did it remind him of? He knew it reminded him of something, because he could sense his mind trying to scream the answer at him, but nothing was coming. That prickling feeling on the back of his neck was back in full force, and he turned in every direction he could, trying to be prepared for anything. His hand slipped into his pocket, and pulled out his pen.
"I'll t-tell Dad!" Oh great. Now Dudley was whimpering, and that just made Percy feel sorry for the guy. Ass he may had been, but he was a mortal. Mortals shouldn't have to deal with monster attacks. What monster could do something like this though? What monster could blot out the stars and moon as if they were just lights that had their own on and off switch. Maybe he should have actually done as Annabeth suggested and done the reading at Camp. That might have actually been helpful for this situation, but he had never figured he'd get into a situation like this. He thought that they had bought some free time with the end of the war. "W-where are you two? What are you d-do-?"
"Will you shut up?" Harry's voice came out in a hiss, but it was still recognisably Harry's voice. "I'm trying to lis-" There was another hiss now. No, not a hiss. It was more like... something rattling. Like a radiator when it needed the excess air bled out of it. It brought another feeling of the icey cold, and that sick feeling of every bad thing that had ever happened ever been brought to mind all at once. Percy's stomach felt like it was falling out of itself, but he stood his ground. Slowly, he started to un-cap his pen.
"YOU MORON, DUDLEY!" Harry yelled. Percy whipped his head around. While it was still dark, it was like it had lessened slightly, and he could make out the bulky outline of Dudley running down the alley, stumbling and hitting into the fence, charging down, right towards...
"DUDLEY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT YOU'RE HEADED RIGHT FOR IT!" Percy yelled, running forward, his sword now fully out.
"DUDLEY! KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" Harry yelled. Okay, so he'd encountered this monster before. Handy to know. Still, kid was still recovering from whatever it was that had him yelling out in the middle of the night when he was sleeping. The least Percy could do was pitch a little relief while he was here. Then there was light, a small light, but light all the same, and Percy could see Harry's horrified looking face.
"Harry, grab Dudley and run," Percy instructed. "I'll hold them off." He ran at the huge, hooded creature – the Underworld! That was what the feeling of cold reminded him of – and lifted his sword, bringing it straight down through one of them as easily as slicing through soft butter. It dissolved in a pile of ashes that blew away. Okay, so that was one down. Then another came nearer him, the scabbed and slimy hand reaching for him. A rush of horrible memories came to the front of his mind and his grip on his sword hilt became loose, as the creature drew in a huge breath. Maybe resisting was just easier, he could relax for once, and just let it be. Sure, his friends would be upset and Annabeth – Annabeth!
As her face came flooding into his mind, seeing her drop off of the school they had found Nico at, Percy came back to his senses, yelling and raising his sword once more, cutting this one's head off. Again, it dissolved into ashes from the touch of the celestial bronze, and Percy dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. He hadn't even realised he'd been lifted up. He didn't give himself much recovery time though, there was still Harry and Dudley to worry about. He lifted his head, and saw that Harry had run down to get to the other monster, which was crouching over Dudley who'd fallen to the ground. Swearing. Percy pushed himself to his feet and ran after them.
Harry raised his wooden stick thing and yelled: "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" From the tip of the stick, came a huge silver stag, which charged at the monster, catching it with its antlers and throwing it far from Dudley, standing over the fallen boy with a protective air. The monster soared up into the sky and gave that rattling sound again, before disappearing into the darkness. The stag moved to the end of the alley before mixing into the mist that was beginning to settle in the night air. Then all the lights came back on.
Percy and Harry stood still, staring at each other for a moment. Harry's wide eyes took in Percy's sword, and Percy looked cautiously at the bit of wood Harry had made the stag appear from. Dudley still lay on the ground, whimpering and shaking from the experience. "So," Percy breathed, capping his sword once more and putting it back into his pocket. "You maybe wanna explain what that was all about?" he asked, gesturing at the stick. Harry looked at the stick, then looked back at Percy.
"I'll tell if you will." Percy gave a nod, that was fair enough. There were loud running footsteps behind them, and the sword and stick were out once more, ready for another attack. They got someone who reminded Percy strongly of an old librarian who was at one of his schools. She was stern, but fair, and always tried to get Percy reading. It never worked, but he did appreciate the fact that she tried. Harry seemed to recognise the woman. "...Mrs Figg?" He stammered, quickly rushing to hide the stick he was carrying. Percy just moved his sword behind his back, capping it and shoving it into his pocket once it was back in pen form.
"Don't put that away, idiot boy!" Mrs Figg screeched at Harry. She glanced momentarily at Percy, and there was a wary look on her face. He didn't think she'd seen the sword, but he had a tendency to make people wary on a good day, anyway. She turned her attention back to Harry, and kept it fixed there. "There might be more of them around! You need to get out of here now! All three of you. I'll write to Dumbledore,"
"Wait, you know Dumbledore?!" Harry interrupted but Mrs Figg was not for listening.
"Oh, why leave a Squib like me on guard duty," she muttered, worrying her hands together. She looked back at the boys, surprised to see that they hadn't moved at all. "Hurry now, Harry! You haven't a moment to waste." Then she was gone, dragging that bag on wheels behind her. Harry just stared at the space where she had been, and Percy shook his shoulder.
"Look, let's get back to your place, and then we can swap stories," he said, reaching down to haul Dudley from the ground. Harry nodded, still staring off at the spot were the woman had walked away from. With a grunt, Percy got Dudley's arm around his shoulder, and he and Harry started back for number 4, Privet Drive, dragging Dudley between them.