For Harry, the last two weeks of his life had been the most up and down rollercoaster of affairs. From Dobby getting him in trouble with his abusive aunt and uncle, Ron and the twins saving him from his jail cell of a room, to him spending the remaining summer with the Weasleys.
As for the past two days, there was much going on in Harry's head. He still thought of Professor Quirrell and Voldemort, who nearly claimed the Philosophers' Stone, and Harry's life. He could still remember the smell of burning flesh as Quirrell tried to touch him. Being alone in that room with his mortal enemy, who was on the back of his professor's head. When Quirrell took off that turban, that moment was the very stuff of Harry's nightmares.
And then there was Percy...well, both of them. The Weasley's third son had up and left in a fit, and Harry doubted they would hear from him for some time. Truth be told, he didn't hate Percy, but he couldn't say he really liked him. As for the other Percy, the very same could be said.
Harry knew that Percy Jackson was different. Call it foresight, or intuition, but this Percy just wasn't normal. That's rich, Harry thought, especially coming from The Boy Who Lived, but it was true. Some of Percy's stories didn't add up, and he was always disappearing, and reappearing with no warning. He was very stealthy, and very quiet when around everyone. He gave conversation to Hermione and the Weasley parents at times, but other than that, he just watched and observed.
Except for in the car. That was perhaps the biggest 180 Harry had ever seen anyone do. Percy Jackson went from a stoic, calm expression, to a scared and demented emotion. He was mortally terrified of flying it seemed, despite wanting to take on Quidditch.
All of this and more ran through Harry's mind as he zipped up his pants and flushed the loo.
"Thanks for staying behind, Ron. I'd hate to get lost."
"I've been here every year since I was born practically. No problem mate." The two boys left the restroom and made their way back to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Their trolleys had disappeared, but that was no matter. Most likely, someone had come to get them, considering Harry and Ron late.
"Might as well hit the train, don't you think?" Ron began to run at the wall, and Harry was about to be right after him, when suddenly Ron's body cracked against the wall. He toppled back into Harry and they spilled onto the train station ground, surprised and disoriented.
"Bloody hell...we're locked out."
"For lack of better wording." Harry got up and examined the wall. He tried to push his hands to the other side, and yet, it didn't give way.
"This isn't good..." Harry said. "The only way to get to Hogwarts is by train. Hermione told me that there's no roads. Only one track."
Ron pondered his hand, and then smacked his fist into his palm. "I've got a brilliant idea." He grabbed Harry's arm, and pulled him along. "Uh oh." Harry said as Ron yanked him back towards the entrance of King's Cross Station.
"What's the plan?"
"Mum and Dad will be plenty peeved, but we can't just not go to Hogwarts. Mum loves to go by a sneaker shop whenever she drops us off for school. When I was younger, she used to make us wait in the front while her and Dad went to the back. They'd come out with black bags and cherry bombs and-"
"Ron, what's the point?"
"The point is, they're usually in there for ages, so they leave the car outside."
Harry connected the pieces. "Blimey, Ron, no way! Molly'll be incensed with us."
Ron turned his lip up. "With me, of course. With you, she'll just assume that I dragged you along."
"But you did."
Ron put his finger to lip, making a hush gesture. "She doesn't have to know, though."
Ron got into the driver's seat, and situated the back and bottom to his height. Harry hopped in the passenger nervously, actually scared of what could happen.
"Do you have your license?"
"What's that? A muggle thing?"
"You need it to operate a car, Ron."
"Not this one, Harry!"
Ron latched his seat belt, and Harry followed suit and he turned the ignition, and put the car into sixth gear.
"Hold on tight!" Ron launched his foot into the gas pedal, and the boys shot up high into the sky.
...
Ron and Harry managed to find the Hogwarts train tracks, and followed them. The trip would take around eight hours, so they would probably miss the sorting ceremony, but that was ok.
Ron had let go of the wheel some time ago, alarming Harry. But Ron assured him that the car would stay its course, once it was told its destination.
"Really, Harry, it's state of the art." Ron said as he leaned his chair back. "This is what magic was invented for." Harry didn't totally agree with that, but then again, Ron had been around magic his whole life. Harry barely had a year under his belt. And that year wasn't exactly filled with the best memories.
Harry let out a yawn, and Ron waved his hand at the backseat. "You can go layout first...I'll keep an eye out." Harry obliged immediately, feeling the grip of sleep twist on his brain. He crawled into the backseat, and curled up under a blanket that belonged to Molly. The smell of her motherly perfume lulled Harry like a baby, and before he knew it, his eyes were closed.
"POTTER!"
Harry felt his head ringing, his hands shaking, and his legs unable to move. It was like he was stuck in quicksand, with no way to move. Hard as he might try, there was no way for Harry to move forward. Harry looked around, searching for the voice that called to him, but there was no one there.
That is, until a familiar face on a not so familiar body spoke to him.
"Potter!" The face was Molly Weasley. It was her red hair and black eyes, but the voice of someone else. Someone...less endearing.
"Potter!" Draco Malfoy said once more. "Why did you steal the car? I expected this from Ron, but you?" Molly Weasley's words did not mix well with Draco's actions and mannerisms.
Before the transfigured form could say more, a ray of sunshine shone down in the dark abyss. It was like a crack had opened up, and was spreading across the sky.
Just then, a gnarly, mangled hand reached in. It was as pale as stone, and made its way towards Malfoy/Molly. Just as it touched them, they dissolved without a single word, not a single breath.
Harry wanted to scream, but couldn't find the voice.
Instead of going after him next, the hand tore at the fabric that was breaking, ripping open the black to expose a brand new sky. It wasn't dark blue and thundering, as if the World's Biggest Storm was soon to take place. Thunder arced across the sky, and the ocean seemed to reach up at the sky. It was almost if they were in a battle, barely unable to fight one another.
Harry sat on a beach, a sword in his hand. Harry had never held a sword before, and the gold felt heavy in his hand. He threw it on the sand, and before he could back up, a shadow whisked in front of Harry. It was a boy. He picked up the sword and jumped over Harry, charging at something.
Harry looked over to see a tall man, around six foot, in a stance with a huge sword. This sword was about as big as him, at least five feet long and three feet wide. Scattered on the hilt were the bones of animals and humans. Femurs, skulls, hips. The long, bronze blade shown in the light.
Just then, the sword in the boy's hand changed. Harry couldn't see it, but the new sword glinted with red. The red sparkle collided with the bronze sword, just as the man and the boy fought.
The boy rolled away, apparently able to deliver a cut to the ankle of the tall man. The man hit one knee, and then recovered. The land seemed to shake with malice as he began his walk towards the boy.
Then...
Then...
Then...
Harry was transported once again, this time to a small, cozy coffee shop. Skyscrapers lined up all around him, and the city was bustling with thousands, no hundreds of thousands of people. It was racket and chaos outside, but the noise seemed to evade the inside of this particular coffee shop.
Inside sat two ladies. One was quite normal, with long brown hair, a slim posture, and slender fingers. Except for the fact that her eyes sparkled blue. The other lady was far from normal. She had dark green eyes, like cursed emeralds. Her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders and to the base of her spine. She was absurdly tall for a woman, dwarfing the other lady. And despite her odd Victorian style clothing, no one stared at them.
The brunette spoke first. "I'm worried sick about him. Doesn't he have enough on his plate already? And now he has to take this on? My poor baby."
The tall lady frowned. "It is not my wish to burden Percy Jackson. But it is the wish of the Fates. If Percy is to fail, then the world as we know it will be turned into chaos. The line between wizards and demigods will cease to exist, and spill over. Percy's job will be to strengthen this line. Whether that be through coexistence...or a more difficult form of persuasion."
"What do you mean, Hecate?"
"I mean that...things are never as simple as they seem."
"Don't feed me that."
"..."
"Spill it."
The tall lady, presumably Hecate, sighed. "If Percy Jackson cannot get the cooperation of the Wizarding World's greatest, then we are doomed. That is all. The evils are coming together, so we must do the same. Percy is the key. I can say no more-"
Just then, Hecate stopped talking completely. She turned in her chair, and then laid her eyes directly on Harry.
"Someone is here...yet I can only sense them."
Hecate stood up. "Who dare hides from me?"
She appeared a staff out of thin air and slammed it on the ground. Suddenly, Harry was flying towards her at an impossible speed. He felt lightyears away, and yet he was here now, about to be in her grasp...
Then...
then...
THEN...
Harry was shaken awake by a tiring Ron. "Harry, you might want to brace yourself!
Ron had one hand on the wheel, and the other hand shaking Harry awake. Harry was slow to alert, but then jumped in the front seat and buckled his belt. "What's happening, Ron!?" Harry shouted over the wind in his ears, as they were plummeting to Hogwarts. Perhaps in a twisted imagery, the two boys were plummeting towards the castle's highest tower, where they did Astrology.
"The wheel is stuck!" Ron was trying to turn the wheel left, so they could land in the grass on the front lawn. It was dark, but there was enough candlelight on the lawn for Harry to see the Whomping Willow. The tree was tall in the light, over 22 meters tall.
"We have to avoid that!" Harry shouted. "Well, help me try!" Harry pulled the well towards him, while Ron did the same. It wouldn't budge. Harry whipped out his wand, but couldn't think of a spell. He was stuck, and the car was dropping fast.
"Oh! Alohomora!" In a stroke of ingenuous, Harry unlocked the wheel, but that only made the car start spinning wildly. Harry grabbed onto the seat, and Ron onto the wheel as the car dropped faster...faster...
faster...
BOOM!
That was the was the last noise that Harry Potter heard as the longest branch of the Whomping Willow sliced into the car, sending them headfirst into the Great Lake of Hogwarts.
