A/N: Thank you to everyone who fav/followed/reviwed.
Chapter II: Just when Malcolm didn't think he could blush any harder, he does.
Malcolm Pace nearly fell over when Annabeth charged into their cabin. Her face red with anger and tears streaming down her eyes. Malcolm assumed it was because her and Butch's mission was a bust in Maine.
Annabeth has been attempting to track her boyfriend Percy Jackson down for the past few weeks. He had simply vanished in the middle of the night and no one has heard from him since. Everyone at camp knew the gods had something to do with his disappearance because it was not a coincidence with both Zeus closing Olympus off from the mortal world, and Percy Jackson, who is every god's pain in the ass problem child, went missing. Every satyr Camp could muster went out looking for him and Annabeth has been leading the charge.
But so far nothing, not even an accidental tidal wave or earthquake Percy could have set off was detected.
Meanwhile, after Zeus had closed Olympus off, he had forbidden any gods from assisting demigods, which included Iris Messages. Hence, another reason why they could not track Percy down. Which leads everyone back to the predicament they are in now.
Annabeth fell onto her bed face first, head buried into her pillow and muffled cries coming from her. Charlie and Malcolm looked at one another and then back to Annabeth.
"I think Andy and I are going to head over to the Dinning Pavilion." Charlie spoke up after giving another glance towards Annabeth.
"We are?" Andy asked, oblivious to the situation.
"Yes, you little twirp." Charlie whispered and pulled him by the arm to lead him out of the cabin with Andy protesting on the way out.
Most of Cabin Six was abandoned for the non-summer season. For the most part it had just been Andy and Malcolm holding down the fort, but Charlie, who was about year younger than Malcolm had been spending the past month in New York visiting family, and he decided to stay at Camp for that time before his family headed back to California. And Annabeth would also be in California if it were not for Percy missing.
Malcolm waited for the two other boys to leave the cabin before sitting next to Annabeth on her bed. "Annie, I know you probably don't want to talk about what happened, but we need to go over anything you might have found." Malcolm gently said, grinning at the grunt of annoyance she gave him for using her nickname.
Annabeth's head shot up and she looked directly at Malcolm. "Don't call me Annie." She said sternly before collapsing back onto her bed.
Malcolm was about to leave her alone, but she started talking into her pillow. "And no, we didn't find any clues linking my theory about Maine to Percy." She grumbled, at least that was Malcolm assumed she said. It was difficult to understand her mumbled voice in the pillow.
She sat up in her bunk, "I could have sworn that dream I had was relevant to Percy. I even saw the sign in my dream perfectly, Vinalhaven Island. Which is in Maine." She said calmly, but her fists clinched as she looked over to her workspace in the cabin with a gigantic map of the U.S. There were already several red dots marking the map from where either Annabeth or anyone else who was searching for Percy. Most of which were centered along the East Coast. Annabeth begrudgingly got up off her bed and walked over to place another red mark on the island off the coast of Maine.
"We've had twenty searches so far in fourteen different states, and nothing has turned up, anywhere!" Annabeth yelled, kicking a bag that sat next to where she was standing across the room.
Malcolm quickly got up to wrap his sister in a hug and she started crying again into the crook of his neck. Though it was a little awkward because he was only an inch or two taller than her.
They stood like that for a few more seconds before Annabeth backed away slightly. "Gods, I hope nothing breakable was in that bag." She laughed wiping the tear stains from her eyes.
"It was just Charlie's. Probably more of his…special cookies." Malcolm laughed making sure to use air quotes around 'special'.
"Gods I swear, if Chiron ever catches him with those things." Annabeth swore shaking her head.
"Typically, he leaves them with the Stoll's, but point taken." Malcolm laughed.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Has anyone heard from Rachel about any other possible locations Percy could be at?"
Malcolm shook his head and reached for a folder on Annabeth's desk marked 'Operation Seaweed Brain'. Inside were all the reports and leads they had on Percy. Mostly filled with the former, not many leads so far. "Maine had been our best lead in the past week. And none of the satyrs are reporting anything of value from their quests. Though Gleeson Hedge sent a message through a nymph that he might have stumbled upon something but nothing concrete. It could just be more unclaimed demigods." Malcolm said reading off the notes Will Solace had filled out from Hedge's report from yesterday.
"Where's Gleeson stationed?" Annabeth asked.
"Some school out west, I think he mentioned going to the Grand Canyon for a field trip or something. But that's about it." Malcolm replied.
"I guess it's possible for Percy to be all the way out there, but gods, I don't think I have the strength to tear apart the entirety of the U.S. looking for him." Annabeth muttered, sounding almost defeated.
"Assuming he's in the U.S." Malcolm said before he could stop himself. 'Dammit'. Malcolm thought to himself. "I'm sure he's-"
Annabeth held up her hand to cut him off. "I know the possibility exists. I'm just…hoping." Annabeth said, laughing at the last part. But it was a pity laugh because of the prospect that Percy could very well be anywhere around the world.
A pecking at the back window caught the two's attention, preventing or perhaps saving Malcolm from trying to respond to Annabeth's statement.
Malcolm slowly approached the window and cautiously opened the curtains. Malcolm nearly fell backwards in surprise by a large brown owl staring at him through the glass. Once he regained his bearings, Malcolm noticed a letter attached to the owl. Glancing at Annabeth, who motioned for him to open the window, Malcolm slowly unlatched the lock and pushed the glass up to allow the owl to hop onto the windowsill.
Malcolm slowly reached for the letter and kept his eye on the large bird as he slowly backed away.
"She's not going to hurt you; she is our mother's sacred animal after all." Annabeth said in her 'matter-of-factly' tone.
Malcolm rolled his eyes, "No really, I had no idea." He sarcastically replied. "I still wasn't going to take the chance." Malcolm muttered before looking at the envelope with his name written in large legible cursive.
Malcolm turned it over to see a red wax seal stamped onto the fold, with a giant 'H' in the middle of the seal. "I guess it's from Cedric." Malcolm thought aloud as he carefully undid the seal and pulled out several slips of parchment, with every inch written on in the same writing style as the front of the letter. He quickly flipped to the last letter to see that it was indeed from Cedric.
He quickly skimmed through it, promising himself to read it in full later, but without Annabeth hovering over his shoulder.
"So far, just catching me up on things that he's been up too after the Iris Messages were shut down. And on the Siris Black fugitive. Oh, looks like he won-"
"Oh my gods!" Annabeth shouted making Malcolm drop some of the parchment in surprise.
"What?" He asked quickly picking up the pages and trying to put them back in order.
"What if Percy is in the magical realm? It's possible!" Annabeth shouted in almost glee. "What do you think?"
Malcolm nervously eyed his sister and then the owl, not sure what to say. "I think anything, especially when it comes to Percy, is possible. But logically, it doesn't make sense."
"Doesn't make sense, like someone kidnapping my boyfriend in the middle of the night… That kind of logical?" Annabeth asked, a judgmental tone escaping her lips.
"Hey, you asked." Malcolm reminded her.
"I know, I know." She muttered. "What else did your boyfriend have to say?' She asked walking back over to her bunk to sit down.
Malcolm rolled his eyes at her, "For the umpteenth time. Not my boyfriend."
Annabeth shrugged her shoulders, "Are you sure, because you two constantly Iris Messaged one another every chance you got. And rumor's coming out of the Aphrodite Cabin claim that he has a thing for you." Annabeth said wiggling her eyebrows. "But alas, I digress. Did mister tall, dark, and pretty have anything that could possibly hint that Percy could be on the other side of the Atlantic?"
"No, nothing…" Malcolm muttered, ignoring her comment about Cedric while looking through the parchment before stopping near the last page. "But he does ask how you and Percy are doing, so I guess that means he hasn't heard about him missing." Malcolm said looking up from the letter.
"When did he send that?" Annabeth asked quickly.
Malcolm looked through the parchment to see if Cedric had dated the letter. "Uh, a few days after Percy disappeared."
"So, it's possible Percy could be over there." Annabeth said hopefully.
"Possible, but improbable. I have a feeling Percy's disappearance has something to do more with the gods then the magical community." Malcolm said trying to reason with his sister.
Annabeth sighed, "I'm just trying to find anything to keep me going."
Malcolm put his arm around her, "Yeah, I know. I'll send Cedric back a letter asking, but we should focus on this side of the world first." He whispered before letting go of her.
Annabeth bent down to pick up a clean orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and started to change into it without giving Malcolm any warning. He quickly covered his eyes with his hands. "Seriously a little warning would be great. Ew, ew-"
"Would you stop being such a girl. Gods you're worse than Percy." Annabeth said shaking her head after she threw the shirt on.
Malcolm uncovered his eyes a second later. "Wait. What do you mean I'm worse than Percy? Are you telling me that you've changed in front of him?" Malcolm asked, his protective brotherly instincts kicking in.
Annabeth only responded by rolling her eyes as she headed out the door. "I'm going to the Dinning Pavilion to get some lunch, are you coming?" She asked.
Malcolm looked down at the letter in his hand and then back up at Annabeth. "I'll catch you later, I'm going to check something out." Malcolm responded.
Annabeth nodded and closed the door behind her.
Malcolm quickly reorganized the slips of parchment and read through his letter from Cedric.
Mostly it was just the happenings of school and how he really liked his new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, some guy named Lupin. But Malcolm started laughing at the end of the letter where Cedric mentioned how he managed to 'Beat Harry Potter to submission' in his match against the other Hogwarts 'House'. But Malcolm flipped the last piece of parchment over to find a 'P.S.' that read, 'We actually won by default, Harry and Gryffindor should have actually won.'
Malcolm smiled at Cedric's witty writing before looking out the window to see Cedric's owl calmly resting on the windowsill. Malcolm walked over to the bird before kneeling to be at eye level with the brown owl.
Malcolm, like all children of Athena had an empathic link with the sacred animal of his mother. Although he could not read their minds or communicate with it telepathically like Percy could with fish and horses, he could still get a general sense of how the creature was feeling, or what it was trying to say. And Malcolm could sense how tired and drained the animal was.
"I bet you are exhausted from traveling across the entirety of the Atlantic. I guess we better not inform PETA that Cedric had you flying across the ocean." Malcolm said laughing at his own joke. The owl simply looked at him, almost in a judging way. But that could also be because he has known most owls to have a natural affinity to be judgmental.
Malcolm was prepared to write back to Cedric, but an idea popped into his head right before he could find paper.
"Owl, uh…stay here. I will be right back. I need to stop over at the Hecate Cabin!" Malcolm shouted to the owl as he sprinted out of the cabin and down the path towards Cabin Twenty.
Malcolm blew past a couple of campers as they were making their way towards the Dinning Pavilion and he quickly found the cabin he was looking for and quickly banged on the door.
A few seconds later Jamaal Ali opened the door, slightly annoyed. "What?" He asked looking down at Malcolm.
"Hey, has Lou Ellen come back from her boarding school or whatever yet?" Malcolm asked the eldest son of Hecate.
Jamaal shook his head, "She's staying at Ilvermonry for Christmas break. We can pass along a message." Jamaal said.
"Damn, I needed her help with something." Malcolm cursed, more so talking to himself.
Jamaal gave him a curious look, "Why, is something wrong?"
"No-well yes, but-" Malcolm ranted before taking a deep breath to calm himself. "It's about Percy. I needed her to get me into Hogwarts that way we can see if he is over on that side of the world. It's a huge longshot, but Annabeth thinks its worth a look." Malcolm explained.
Jamaal stood aside and let Malcolm walk into the cabin which right now looked like a giant dormitory. Jamaal snapped his fingers and all the furniture started to shift and transform until there was only a fireplace sitting at the end of the room.
"If you say that this is about bringing Percy back, then we'll do whatever it takes." Jamaal said to Malcolm and eyed the fireplace. Malcolm gave him a curious look.
"You're not trying to Hansel and Gretel me, are you?" Malcolm asked jokingly trying to defuse the tension.
"That is a seriously offensive stereotype." Jamaal said seriously.
Malcolm face turned extremely pale and he started stuttering trying to defend himself. "I-I, didn't mean-"
Jamaal just looked at him before cracking a smile, "I'm joking, stop being so uptight."
Malcolm shook his head, "What's with the fireplace?" He finally asked.
"It's called the Floo Network. Basically, it will transport you to a destination of your choice, so long as the fireplace you are traveling too is apart of the network." Jamaal explained.
"So…like fast traveling on a videogame?" Malcolm asked.
"Sure."
"Okay, what do I do?" Malcolm asked cautiously looking at the unlit fireplace.
Jamaal reached over and grabbed a pot with a bunch of ash in it. "Take a handful and yell your destination, in this case it would be Head of Thunderbird House, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And it will take you to Lou Ellen's room." Jamaal explained.
"Wait. They have their own rooms, I thought they would have like, I don't know, roommates or something?" Malcolm asked shrugging his shoulders.
"They do, but Lou Ellen is a head of house, so she gets special perks, and plus, even if she wasn't a head of house, she would get special treatment just because of who her dad is." Jamaal added. Malcolm nodded along. He did not exactly know how far up her father was in the American magical community other than the fact he was some bigwig with the MACUSA.
Jamaal held the pot out for Malcolm to take some ash, which he did and walked over to the fireplace.
"Speak loud and clear." Jamaal ordered.
Malcolm nodded, "Head of Thunderbird House, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Malcolm shouted and threw the powder down. An explosion of bright green flames, which looked similar to Greek Fire, surrounded him as he vanished before literally sliding out of another fireplace seconds later.
Malcolm started coughing from all the dust as he tried to stand up, with a very confused Lou Ellen Blackstone staring down at him.
"What the Hades are you doing here? And how did you get here?" She asked helping him off the floor.
Malcolm patted all the dust and ash off his clothes and wiped off his glasses. He quickly realized how cold it was and started to shiver since he was only in his T-shirt and jeans.
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes and pulled a robe out from her closet and gave it to Malcolm. He nodded his thanks to her and threw the warm fabric over his body.
"Again, what are you doing here, you know how much trouble we could get in if you're caught!" She shouted.
Malcolm held up his hands in defense. "Jamaal let me barrow your fireplace back at camp. I need your help to get to Hogwarts."
Lou Ellen let out a huff, "I am not your personal Uber for your booty calls!"
Malcolm's face turned extremely red, "This has to do with Percy!" Malcolm quickly protested.
Lou Ellen shut her mouth trying to figure out what to say. "What makes you think Percy's at Hogwarts?"
"I don't, but Annabeth wants to make sure he didn't end up in magical Britain, and since Cedric is really our only contact at Hogwarts, I figured I would check it out…because why not?" Malcolm weakly said.
Lou Ellen smirked at him, "You just want to go see Pretty Boy, don't you?"
"You know he hates it when you call him that, and no. This is about finding Percy, and at the very least ruling out all the locations he's not at." Malcolm said attempting to defend himself.
"Well, it just so happens that I don't have anymore classes for the semester, and according to this…" Lou Ellen waved her wand and a piece of parchment flew over to her. "Hogwarts has a Hogsmeade weekend today, meaning we won't even have to go into the school to track Pretty Boy down because I'm sure he's enjoying a pint of butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks right about now." She said, with every word going over Malcolm's head.
"Okay, so can you get me there?" Malcolm finally asked.
"Yeah sure, whatever it takes to get Percy back, right?" She asked.
Malcolm nodded his head. Though he would be lying if he did not admit that her suddenly deciding to help him simply because he invoked Percy's name bothered him slightly. But he let that go because Lou Ellen was going to take him to see Cedric and he could finally explain what was going on within the mythical world to him.
"Wait, before we go, can we stop back at camp that way I can get proper clothing, and to grab Cedric's owl?" Malcolm asked.
Lou Ellen rolled her bright green eyes but agreed. "You're not claustrophobic, are you?"
Malcolm shook his head in confusion, "Not really what does tha-Ahhh!" Malcolm shouted as Lou Ellen grabbed his arm and it felt like he was being shoved through a pinhole. A second later he was standing in the middle of his cabin.
"What-?" Malcolm asked looking around in shock, "Was that?"
"Apparation, typically you need to be seventeen before you can even take the test, but my dad pulled some strings, and my mom being who she is… it just comes naturally to me." Lou Ellen said nonchalantly.
"Mhmm, whatever you say." Malcolm muttered and searched his drawers for his winter coat, scarf, gloves, and his orange beanie.
"Will I stand out too much wearing all this?" Malcolm asked the witch as he put everything on and tossed the robe Lou Ellen had given him onto his bed. He was not exactly sure what was wizard appropriate clothing.
"No more than you usually do." She said with her typical snark.
Malcolm rolled his eyes and walked over to the owl attempting to use his empathic link with it to make sure it would not try to claw him to death. "Come on, I'm going to take you to Cedric." Malcolm told the owl.
She fluttered her wings at the mention of Cedric's name and hopped onto Malcolm's waiting arm.
"Ready?" She asked.
Malcolm gulped before nodding yes. "For the record, I like the fire travel more." He said right before he grabbed Lou Ellen's arm.
"Okay, cool." She stated and with a crack the two teleported into a snowbank.
Malcolm struggled to pull himself onto a cleared pathway a foot or two from where they had landed. Yet again he found himself trying to clean off his clothing because of 'magic' travel.
Cedric's owl gave a startled hoot before flying away towards a large castle, which it in on itself looked like a city from where Malcolm was standing. He could not describe how majestic the castle, even from this distance, just how spectacular it looked.
"Yeah it's a castle, overrated if you ask me." Lou Ellen suddenly spoke up from behind Malcolm.
Malcolm scoffed but did not reply to her comment, "Where too?"
"We're in Hogsmeade right now, if Cedric came down from the castle, he'll probably be hanging out in the sweet shop Honeydukes or the Three Broomsticks. It's a pub where most of the Hogwarts kids hang out." Lou Ellen explained as they headed into town.
Malcolm was amazed at the old-timey feeling he got from the village. From the objects that moved by themselves, to the animated snowman throwing snowballs at a couple of kids.
"How do you know so much about this place?" Malcolm asked, while he stared at a street performer juggling fireballs.
"My dad brought me to Hogsmeade a few times over the years. It's also the only wizarding village left in Britain." She said as they were nearly ran over by a giant man pulling a sled with two people in the back. They stopped at the next building, which looked to be an inn of some sort.
"Pardon me!" The giant man yelled back to Lou Ellen and Malcolm.
"It's fine." Lou Ellen replied, but Malcolm could hear the slight hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Oh, Minister, allow me!" The large man yelled and pulled the door clean off the hinge on his carriage as an older man and woman exited the carriage.
"Shit." Lou Ellen cursed.
"What?"
"That's Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." She whispered as she slowly started to back up.
"Is that a bad thing?" Malcolm asked unsure why she was worried about the old man. Malcolm was more surprised that they had managed to come across such an important British politician.
"It will be-" Lou Ellen started. Malcolm looked over and saw that the minister had noticed the two of them.
"Merlin, is that you Ms. Blackstone, come here, it has been far too long?" He called to Lou Ellen.
Lou Ellen quickly put a smile on. "Hello Minister, it has been too long." She greeted shaking his hand.
"Yes, yes. How is your father?" He asked loudly and interrupted Lou Ellen before she could respond. "You know what? I'm going to invite both you and your father to be my personal guests at the Quidditch World Cup next summer. Britain is hosting for the first time in almost thirty-years. I will make sure to send a formal invite to your father's office."
Lou Ellen nodded along. "That sounds…wonderful." She replied.
"Oh, Ms. Blackstone, this is Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall." The Minister added gesturing to the gray-haired woman. "Minerva, this is Thomas Blackstone's daughter, Lou Ellen Blackstone."
Minerva walked over to shake Lou Ellen's hand. "Pleasure to meet you Ms. Blackstone."
Malcolm turned his head back towards the inn when he heard the bell ring from the door opening. "Minister! How on Earth do you expect us to stay in business with all of them damn dementors sulking about. You're scaring all my patrons away!" A tall blonde woman yelled storming out of the Three Broomsticks.
"Ah, Madam Rosmerta you know I take the security precautions around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade extremely seriously." He responded.
"You really don't think that Siris Black would be dumb enough to come here do you?" She asked.
Minerva turned to face Fudge before he spoke up, "He has every reason to come here." He whispered.
"Why?" Rosmerta asked, her voice even louder if possible.
"Because he's in league with, You-Know-Who, and he's after the boy." Fudge whispered again.
"What boy? You don't mean Harry Potter, do you?" She asked with the same tone. Both McGonagall and Fudge tried to hush her.
"Let's take this inside, shall we?" Fudge motioned for the two adults to head inside the Three broomsticks. "Ms. Blackstone, are you joining us?" He asked Lou Ellen.
Lou Ellen bit her lip before nodding along. "I'll be right behind you."
She quickly turned to Malcolm, "Honeydukes is right over there, if he's not there then he's probably in the pub. Goodluck." She said before begrudgingly following the Minster of Magic.
Malcolm waited for her to enter the inn before turning around to head for the sweet shop, but he was nearly pushed over by an invisible force. 'Well that was strange.' Malcolm thought to himself as he regained his balance. He looked back behind himself to see the inn's door open and close, but no one entered or exited. 'Curious.' Malcolm thought to himself.
"Excuse us!" A girl yelled at Malcolm as she and red-haired boy headed for the inn pushing pass him.
"Well everyone's in a rush." Malcolm muttered to himself and walked across the snow-covered path to a quant little shop with a bunch of assorted candies and chocolates decorating the windows.
Malcolm hesitantly pushed the door opened and was met with a small crowd of teens running along the aisles of candies.
Malcolm headed for the back of the store before he saw a group of boys wearing matching black and yellow scarfs near a shelf filled with chocolates. Malcolm knew that Cedric's house colors were black and yellow, which was why he attempted to peer into the group to try and find Cedric's signature messy hair.
Malcolm kept looking around the group unable to find anyone he recognized.
"Whatch-ya looking for?" Someone whispered in his ear making Malcolm jump and let out a slight yelp.
Malcolm turned around to see Cedric laughing at his displeasure. He looked around and saw some of the other teens giving him a curious look before they went back to whatever they had been looking at before. Malcolm grabbed Cedric's arm and pulled him to an empty aisle. "How did you recognize me with my back turned?" Malcolm asked.
Cedric laughed before pointing to Malcolm's beanie.
Malcolm quickly pulled the hat off his hair and turned over the bright orange hat and saw 'CHB' written on the brim with a black pegasus stitched next to it.
"Oh."
Cedric started to laugh again, "What?"
"Your hair." He laughed.
Malcolm quickly put his beanie back on, his face flaring red. "Better?"
Cedric bit his lip trying to contain his laughter.
Malcolm's face and shoulders deflated as he sighed. "What now?"
Cedric gently took Malcolm's hat off and flipped it around before placing it back on his head.
"Now, that's better." He softly said and patted the top of Malcolm's head.
Malcolm could feel his face heat up even more if that was possible. He pushed on the bridge of his glasses to straighten them up trying to distract himself.
"Not that I'm not grateful for you showing up here, but how and why are you here?" Cedric asked while glancing around store. He quickly smiled and waved at someone before turning his attention back to Malcolm.
"Well aren't you a popular guy." Malcolm observed staring at a group of girls vying for Cedric's attention.
Cedric started to laugh softly, "I guess." He looked at the group of girls before turning back to face Malcolm. "You want to go on a walk to talk?" He asked noticing that there were more eyes on them than Malcolm would have wanted.
Malcolm nodded and let Cedric lead the way out of the sweet shop.
"Hi Cedric." The group of girls swooned. Cedric flashed them a smile while Malcolm rolled his eyes.
Cedric opened the door for Malcolm and motioned for him to go ahead of him. "What a gentleman." Malcolm laughed as he walked into the bitter cold.
Cedric walked up alongside him as they started walking down the snowed over paths.
"So, how did you get all the way over here?" Cedric asked after a minute of walking in silence.
"Lou Ellen, she's in the Three Broomsticks. We ran into the Minister of Magic and a Professor McGonagall. Apparently, the Minister and Lou Ellen's dad know one another." Malcolm said shrugging his shoulders.
Cedric squinted his eyes, "Who is her father?" He asked loudly, almost like he was asking the gods themselves.
"I guess some bigwig with the magical government." Malcolm supplied, not sure himself why everyone was obsessed with her dad.
"That still doesn't explain how you got here." Cedric said.
"Lou Ellen did her evaporation trick." Malcolm said.
Cedric tilted his head at Malcolm and looked like he was holding back a laugh. "She tried to what?" He asked.
"I don't know, evaporate. I didn't press the question, one second we were in the Athena Cabin, and the next I'm in a pile of snow halfway across the world." Malcolm cried trying to defend himself.
"I think you mean apparation, and I'm just teasing." Cedric said bumping Malcolm's shoulder.
"Anyways, Lou Ellen was like, 'I guess anything for Pretty Boy' or something to that affect." Malcolm laughed trying his best impersonation of Lou Ellen, but quickly stopped when he saw Cedric looking down at his feet.
"Sorry, I know you hate that nickname, I wasn't trying to make fun of you." Malcolm quickly said.
Cedric shook his head, "No I know, it's not that." He sighed. "I need to get over it honestly. It's stupid." He muttered.
Malcolm stopped in front of him and turned to face him. "I bet it's not. What is it?" He asked.
Cedric looked around and led Malcolm to a snow-covered bench in a small park across the road. He waved his wand and the snow melted off the bench and he sat down on it. Malcolm gently touched the bench to make sure it was not wet before he sat down next to him.
Cedric's foot started to tap quickly as he tried to figure out what to say. "I-Okay, so, I've actually never told anyone this, so-"
Malcolm noticed hands shaking violently. He quickly grabbed them out of instinct. "It's okay. Take your time." Malcolm said.
Cedric nodded before taking a deep breath in. "When I was in my Second Year, I started… 'dating' this older guy. A seventh year. He was seventeen, I was thirteen and naïve." Cedric started. "He was the Keeper on our quidditch team, and our house Prefect and his pet name for me was Pretty Boy." Cedric started; he did not look up as he spoke. "Mostly it was just make-out sessions either behind the stands on the pitch, or in the Prefect bathroom. Hence how I knew where to and how I managed to Iris Message you so much. Which also brings the question on what happened to that?" Cedric asked finally looking up to Malcolm.
"Keep going, we'll get to that." Malcolm said.
Cedric nodded and continued, "So, we did that for a while. Secret meet ups after class or practice and spend a load of time just getting a little handsy and make-out. But that changed towards the end of the year." Cedric sighed as he looked away from Malcolm. "We were the last ones to finish up practice, and we were in the locker room, the only ones in there. And-and he wanted to do a little bit more." Cedric said, his voice shaky and he started to tremble again.
"We can stop if you want." Malcolm uncertainly said, not sure if he should have Cedric stop or if he should keep going. Typically, he could consul campers through bad experiences with war and monsters, but this was a topic on a whole different level.
"No, I-I need to get this out." Cedric muttered before continuing. "He pushed me up against the wall and started to kiss me, violently, while he continued to get undressed. And the next thing I know I'm sitting on my knees, and I was just, I don't know…petrified? And I guess you can picture the rest." Cedric whispered, he untangled his hand from Malcolm's to dab his eyes before looking back up, staring at the building directly across the street. Not daring to meet Malcolm's eyes.
"Cedric, I, I don't know what to say." Malcolm replied weakly, "Just that, I'm sorry-"
But Cedric interrupted him, "And I mean, I never said no, I couldn't, I just froze…"
"Ced. It does not matter if you said no or not. You should have never been put into that position. He should have never put you in that kind of situation. You were taken advantage of." Malcolm said gently.
Cedric slowly turned back to look at Malcolm who flashed him a small gracious smile. "Thanks." He said after a minute. "I'm sure you have other things you want to talk about other than my personal problems." He joked.
"I will listen to your personal problems whenever you need me too. But, you're right. There's a lot going on with the Olympians." Malcolm started.
Cedric nodded his head and motioned if Malcolm wanted to walk while they talked to make sure no one would overhear them.
Malcolm nodded and the two got off the bench and headed back onto the path.
"Firstly, Zeus has closed off Mount Olympus. No one goes in or out. He recalled all the gods and forbid any communication between demigods and the gods. Which includes Iris Messages." Malcolm explained. "And before you ask why, we don't know. Annabeth and Chiron think it has something to do with the new prophecy Rachel gave after the Second Titan War."
"What does Percy think?" Cedric asked.
Malcolm snorted and gave an audible sigh. "Hence the primary reason why I'm here." Malcolm started.
Cedric tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Percy's missing. He's been missing for a few weeks now, and Annabeth has been tearing the eastern seaboard a new one trying to find him. She's under the impression that he could be in the magical world. But I and the Hecate campers doubt it. I just came really to rule it out for her."
Cedric bit his lip, trying to suppress some laughter. "And here I thought you came all this way just to see little ol' me." Cedric laughed.
Malcolm blushed slightly, but he would say it was because of the frigid air. "That was just an added bonus."
"Uh-huh, sure."
Malcolm rolled his eyes, "So, I guess that means you haven't seen Percy around?"
"Nope, but you do realize that magical Europe is…all of Europe right?" Cedric asked gesturing with his hands to make his point.
"Yes, Cedric. I realize that magical Europe includes all of Europe. But I don't think Percy has left North America, much less the Western Hemisphere. I think it has something to do with the gods, and the gods really only operate in the U.S. And on occasion Canada." Malcolm stated defensively.
Cedric held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. Was just making sure."
Malcolm sighed, again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It's just… This whole Percy thing has everyone on edge."
"Hey I get it. That's how it is here too, with Siris Black on the prowl and all." Cedric said.
Malcolm blinked remembering the minister's conversation with Rosmerta. "Yeah, Minister Fudge said something about Siris hunting down that Harry kid for a guy who they literally called, You-Know-Who." Malcolm laughed rolling his eyes at the mysteriousness everyone was giving.
Cedric frowned and stared directly at Malcolm. "Siris Black is hunting Harry for You-Know-Who?" Cedric asked seriously.
"That's what he said, and no. I don't know who You-Know-Who is." He responded and added, "Try saying that five-times fast."
Cedric used his hand to rub his temples and sighed.
"What?" Malcolm asked confused. "Seriously. Who's You-Know-Who?"
Cedric quickly looked around. His eyes moving fast looking around the empty street. Once he was satisfied that no one was around he leaned in to whisper in Malcolm's ear. "Lord Vol-" He gulped, "Lord Voldemort."
Malcolm's face scrunched up inadvertently trying to decipher if Cedric was serious or not. "What kind of name is Voldemort?"
Cedric quickly clapped his hand over Malcolm's mouth. "Sorry, sorry." He quickly apologized and removed his hand from Malcolm's mouth. "It's just that, don't go around saying his name. It's a cursed name. He did a lot of bad things." Cedric explained.
"Don't mention Wizard Hitler's name. Got it." Malcolm replied glancing at Cedric to make sure he had not crossed another line.
Cedric nodded and kept on walking down the path until it wrapped back around to the town square where they had started.
Cedric led Malcolm to the Three Broomsticks and once again held the door for him to enter.
It was a large pub with many tables and booths, almost all filled with patrons of all ages. It was not dominated by the students from Hogwarts like Honeydukes had been. Older witches were gathered at a large table and looked to be gossiping while a group of older wizards sat at the bar conversating with the bartender.
"Hello Cedric." A pair of twins who looked to be about thirteen greeted walking pass the two.
"Mrs. and Mrs. Padtil." Cedric greeted back. They both giggled as they walked out the door.
"There's Lou Ellen." Malcolm said pointing to a booth towards the back where the daughter of Hecate sat sipping on an orangey-yellow beverage in a large glass.
The pair quickly walked over and sat down across from her.
She looked up just as they climbed into the booth.
"Oh good. You two are done being lovey-dovey with each other." She said flatly.
Both boys shook their heads, "What is that even supposed to mean?" Malcolm asked the witch as she went back to sipping on her drink.
She shrugged her shoulders, but then her eyes widened and slammed her glass down making some of the people sitting around them glance towards their direction, but they all looked away a second later.
"What?" Cedric asked.
"You are never going to believe what I just found out." She said excitedly.
"This can't be good." Malcolm muttered as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"So, I got dragged into that meeting with Fudge right. And that transfiguration professor of yours… She said that…" She leaned in across the table, "Siris Black is Harry Potter's godfather." She whispered.
Malcolm had no reaction; he only knew the names from when Cedric had talked about them during their Iris Messages. The news obviously meant something to Cedric because his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
"You're joking. That's absurd, Siris Black was best buddies with… You-Know-Who. Why would he be Harry Potter's godfather?" Cedric asked.
Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders. "That's something you're going to have to ask the Minister and that McGonagall lady."
"Why don't you ask? Since, you know, you're best mates with the Minister of Magic." Cedric replied. "And why is that? Why are you so close with…Everyone?" Cedric asked gesturing with his hands, nearly hitting Malcolm in the face with his left hand. "Sorry." He quickly apologized.
"It's fine." Malcolm whispered back.
"If you must know…" Lou Ellen stated as she cracked her knuckles. "I assume Fudge is trying to suck up to my father because of the trade negotiations going on between the MACUSA and the Ministry. If Fudge screws up the negotiations with my father, then he can kiss the Trans-Atlantic Trade Deal goodbye. And with that, his reelection." Lou Ellen said matter-of-factly. "Which also explains the reason why he invited us to the World Cup…" She thought aloud.
"Wait he-"
Lou Ellen cut him off. "So, I guess no Percy?" She asked looking at Malcolm. He shook his head 'no'.
"Well, glad to know this was a complete waste of our time." She muttered.
Cedric scoffed at the remark. "Glad to know you think so much of me."
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes, "Don't get your panties in a bunch Pretty Boy."
"Lou." Malcolm hissed, trying to give her a look to 'cut it out'.
Cedric placed a reassuring hand on Malcolm's shoulder and shook his head. "It's fine." He whispered.
"Oh, my gods you two are so gross, just one of you kiss the other and make it official or something. Gods I hate dealing with Aphrodite kids." Lou Ellen groaned gently banging her head onto the table.
Both Cedric and Malcolm blushed and looked at one another unsure of what to say.
Lou Ellen slid out of the booth and quickly downed the rest of her drink. "I'm going to be waiting right outside. I'm leaving in five minutes with our without you." Lou Ellen ordered and walked out of the pub, pushing herself through another set of twins. 'What is it with this place and twins?' Malcolm thought to himself as he watched the two tall red headed boys give Lou Ellen a annoyed look.
"Well. That just happened." Cedric said. Malcolm could not tell if he was shocked or just handling Lou Ellen's assertion really well. "I would be lying if I didn't say that I wouldn't mind her leaving you here." He added, laughing a little.
"Yeah, I can see why you love it here so much." Malcolm said as he turned to put his back up against the wall of the booth and pulled his knees up that way, he could face Cedric.
"I guess we'll need a new way to communicate since we no longer have Iris Messages, and I don't think Quin will be too appreciative if I made her fly across the Atlantic over and over again." Cedric laughed.
"Do you have one of those Floo fireplaces, I'm sure I can barter with the Hecate kids to let me commandeer it for an hour or two." Malcolm laughed.
"Not at Hogwarts, but that gives me an idea." Cedric said, Malcolm could almost see the gears turning in Cedric's brain. "Do you have a fireplace of some type? It doesn't have to be connected with the Floo Network?" Cedric asked, almost giddily.
"Um… Kind'a, it's pretty much boarded up and it hasn't been used since before I got to camp. Chiron uses the magic from Thalia's Tree to keep everything inside the barrier climate controlled. We only let it snow when we want to do winter training. No need for a fireplace." Malcolm explained. "But I'm sure I can get access to the one in the Big House if worse comes to worse. Why?"
Cedric flashed him a smile. "I might know a spell or two that can solve our whole communication problem, but I'll need to see if I can get it to work, it's a fairly complex charm." Cedric said, and he turned his head to see Lou Ellen waving through the slightly frosted over window, while pointing at her wrist like she was wearing a watch.
"Looks like my ride is ready to go." Malcolm muttered.
Cedric stepped out of the booth that way Malcolm could get out. Cedric grabbed Malcolm's arm and pulled him, helping him slide out of the tight space.
Malcolm looked up at Cedric, biting his lip not sure what to say.
"Yeah, me too." Was all Cedric said before lightly punching his arm making Malcolm laugh a little.
"Stay safe, and I guess, we'll talk later?" Malcolm asked.
"You too, and yes. Definitely." Cedric said.
Malcolm gave him one last nod before turning around and made his way towards the door.
"Malcolm. Wait." Cedric called after him.
Malcolm quickly stopped and pivoted to face Cedric who quickly walked after him.
"Maybe, once everything calms down with school and the whole Percy thing. Maybe-…there's this really nice pub not too far from house, and maybe-"
"Yes." Was all Malcolm said and gave Cedric a quick hug and quickly exited the pub before Cedric could say anything. A smirking Lou Ellen was waiting for him outside.
"He finally ask you out?" She asked.
"No idea what you are talking about." Malcolm stated reaching for her arm.
"That's not what that smile says." She replied before a loud 'crack' sounded and Malcolm was once again hit with the sensation of being pushed through a pinhole as they reappeared in the Athena Cabin.
"Ahhh!" Charlie yelled as he fell onto the floor.
"Hey Charles." Lou Ellen greeted and left the cabin not answering his stuttering.
"Where have you been?" Charlie asked Malcolm, "And what the Hades was that? You just appeared. Like magic." He said, wiggling his fingers for effect.
Malcolm studied Charlie's eyes and rolled his own. "Charlie?" He looked up at Malcolm at the mention of his name. "Are you seriously high right now?"
Charlie started laughing, "No." Then he looked up again, "Well, yes. A little."
Malcolm sighed and headed for the door.
"Oh, and Annabeth got a new lead on Percy." Charlie called after him. "She and Butch are heading to the Grand Canyon. She said something about Rachel saying to go there or something."
Malcolm stopped at the doorframe. "Charlie. Next time. Lead with that bit of information." Malcolm stated and proceeded out the door to see what Chiron knew about Annabeth's new quest to track down Percy.
'Here we go again.'
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed. Please fav/follow/review.
May the Force be with you and may the odds be ever in your favor.