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Warning: Text within the em dash (—) has gory description.
ultion /uhl-shun/
(n.) revenge; vengeance; retaliation
"Thus to return upon our adversaries is a healing way of revenge,
and to do good for evil a soft and melting Ultion."
T. Browne, 1716.
(Harry's not about that, though.)
The ropes did not cut into his skin. They were tied over his limbs neatly but firmly. Harry's hands were splayed out, unable to even curl inward.
"You will answer without lying," Umbridge warned. "First, did you kill Cornelius Fudge?"
Harry made a face. Like he was going to play along. He pulled on his wrists, unable to dislodge the ropes.
"Failure to answer will result in punishment," Umbridge said, her saccharine voice dragging every last nerve.
His lungs threatened to fill up with the choking dust. The cloud wanted to rear its ugly head again. She sneered down at him. "Are you waiting for me to hurt you?"
Harry paused.
Umbridge's small eyes found curiosity in his. "That's what you do. To be hurt so you can hurt back. When the Dark Lord tried to kill you, you accepted the pain and transformed."
She… knows?
Malfoy stayed in his corner, fidgeting. He watched Harry closely as one would a hungry lion.
Umbridge smiled. "I will not be so foolish, Mr. Potter. Unlike you, it seems. The Aurors found your broomstick beside the corpses in Austria. Sloppy, sloppy."
Harry glared. "I lost my broom over the summer."
She scoffed. "Nobody will believe that tale!"
He shrugged. "Ask my friends. Ask the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. I didn't show up for practice yesterday because I don't have a broom."
Umbridge twirled her wand. She glanced over at Malfoy who nodded stiffly.
"So you've been planning this for a while?" she asked.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Manners, Mr. Potter," she said primly. "Just because I cannot resort to my usual methods, does not mean you get a free pass."
"What?" he snorted. "The quill? You're sure?"
She sighed, putting on airs. "My dear boy. You must understand. You'll be carted off to Azkaban for this!"
Harry exhaled, not even feeling the least bit tortured. Was she really not going to hurt him? He figured he could summon the cloud himself, but it would definitely waste a lot of energy.
"How did you know where to find the Dark Lord?" Umbridge asked.
"Only his sycophantic followers call him that," Harry mused. "Everyone else says You-Know-Who."
"Propriety must be maintained at all times," she chastised him.
"He killed my family," Harry said. "I should respect him?"
Umbridge smiled. "Is that why you killed him?"
"Just last week you were convinced Voldemort wasn't even alive," Harry droned. "You're ready to change this fast?"
Umbridge's wand arm twitched.
Malfoy flinched. "Professor…"
She waved him off. "He's attempting to bait me, Mr. Malfoy. Do not fret. Better men have tried."
Harry craned his neck to get the cricks out. "Are we done here?"
"Why did you spare Peter Pettigrew?" Umbridge asked. Her over-honeyed voice was not smooth on the ears.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"How did you come back from Austria without your broom?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Umbridge closed her mouth firmly and began a staring contest with him. But Harry was only getting annoyed now. He couldn't even clench his fists or hurt himself. The ropes were too secure for that. How else could he strengthen the cloud?
"The papers are calling you a gray dementor," Umbridge mused, strolling toward her desk. "Of all the things Rosemerta could have told the world, it was that? She's forgotten her DADA lessons, a testament to the teaching at this school."
She was one to criticize the curriculum, Harry nearly snorted.
Umbridge picked up an old book and flipped the pages, walking back to him. Malfoy tensed. "Professor! It may not be wise!"
"I am merely educating him, Mr. Malfoy," she said, assuring him. Harry frowned at the book with its peeling cover and dated art.
Umbridge smiled when she reached the right page and flipped the book over for Harry to read it. But it was the picture that caught his eye.
It moved just as how he felt. Dirt and dust, all the pollution from within spilling out to show the world exactly what was inside him all along.
Umbridge smiled. "No easy cure for this, Mr. Potter. I suggest you start talking."
Was there a difficult cure, then? Did he even care at this point?
She snapped the book shut and said, "The world may celebrate the true passing of the Dark Lord. But everyone will know. Whoever killed him also murdered our Minister. You will not be pardoned for that."
He didn't say anything. What was the point? She'd never liked his answers. Harry let her poke at the cloud, already knowing they were all going to lose this fight.
Umbridge straightened up, disappointed. "You wish to condemn yourself then? Very well. Mr. Malfoy, you have borne witness to this unsuccessful interrogation. Do you agree Mr. Potter is guilty of the crimes we spoke of?"
Malfoy gawked. "B—but, Professor! If the others find out—"
"Justice awaits nobody," she tutted. She strode over to her fireplace and ignited a floo fire.
Harry realized then that the toad was going to send him away. To where he had no idea, but he guessed it wasn't tropical. Panic should be bubbling, but Harry was oddly aware and calm. And angry, but that went without saying.
"You think physical pain is the only thing that hurts?" he murmured.
The cloud raged in delight. It knew what he was going to do. Tremors ran down his arms and Umbridge's foolish smile dropped.
"Stupefy!" she cried just as Malfoy roared, "NO!"
The red light exploded in Harry's vision. Déjà vu assaulted his senses as he violently remembered a forgotten memory: Dumbledore had done the same thing. Had stunned him in Grimmauld Place. Harry had been tied to a chair back then as well.
He remembered tumbling backward.
He remembered the Headmaster obliviating him.
The Order had just let him? Sirius and Remus allowed him to do that?
Here was that violent rage that made regular-placed righteous anger a bare trickle of a dry well.
Umbridge's spell knocked out Harry and what woke up was pure, uncontrollable vengeance.
It. Didn't. Want. Control.
Malfoy shrank into the corner, screaming out of his mind. Umbridge shrieked as the gray dementor roared and tore into her happily.
Harry fell into a sightless place, wondering if this was the last time he'd be in the world.
Junie.
"His wand's here!" Hermione cried. "Ron, check the map!"
"Or we can ask Hedwig?" Ginny suggested.
Will sprang to his feet. "The owl! Yes! Hedwig!"
Nico didn't see how yelling out the window would work. The owl belonged to Harry. She wouldn't listen to anyone else, would she?
Snape and Pomfrey were discussing furiously in the corner. Percy was bouncing on his toes, ready for a fight. Nico wanted to punch him.
"Not now," Percy warned.
"How d'you know what I was thinking?!"
"I always know, bro."
"Don't call me bro."
"I know, cuz."
Nico inhaled deeply just as Will backed away from the open window. To his surprise, the snowy owl made a grand entrance, swooping into the room gracefully.
"Hedwig!" Ron cried. "Harry's in trouble, take us to him!"
Hedwig perched on one of the bed rails and surveyed him closely. She made no move.
"Come on, Hedwig," Will begged. "We wanna help him! We know he's in pain. He said he'll let us help him!"
The owl trilled, ruffling her feathers nervously.
Hermione showed her the wand. "He wouldn't leave this behind, would he? What if he's in trouble?"
Hazel began to bounce along with Percy and Nico wrung his hands. They were wasting time with this!
But Hedwig finally obliged. She hooted loudly at Snape, nearly pecking his eye out as she flew over to him. Her claws grabbed his collar and she attempted to pull him out of the Hospital Wing.
"I'll follow her," Snape decided. "The rest of you, stay put."
"Um, hello?!" Nico said, irritably. "There's enough of us to divide evenly. Hazel and I are going with you. Percy stay here with the in case Annabeth and Lou get back."
"I'm coming with you!" Will remarked and Hermione and Ginny nodded furiously.
"No!" Snape barked. "We have no idea what condition he may be in! Granger and Weasley will stay behind! di Angelo—"
"You're not the boss of me," Nico warned.
Snape bared his teeth. He said nothing and swiped his robes along the floor, following Hedwig silently. Nico, Hazel, and Will ran after him.
"If he's hurt, I can help," Will snapped and Nico shut his mouth.
Snape was fast. Hedwig was faster. She flew up the stairs, flattening her wings and gliding across the castle beautifully. Nico grabbed Hazel and Will and shadow-jumped to the top of the stairs, leaving behind a startled Snape.
The shadows dropped them onto the fifth floor and Will groaned, "Nico!"
"Not now!" Hazel urged him.
Nico had barely shaken off the cold and got to his shaking feet when a quake knocked him off course. Hazel gasped and stumbled back as well and the pressure of some unknown force pushed them all back.
They hit the ground and felt the rage.
Tear. Rip. Kill.
Hate. Burn. Die.
Nico's lungs contracted and he was unable to breathe for a moment. Hazel grabbed his hand in pain.
Will didn't react like them. Instead, he was already kicking open the locked door and running across the empty classroom. Someone was screaming from the inner office.
"No!" Nico cried. "It's here! IT'S HERE!"
They all heard the loud crack of bone. Somebody's spine snapped and the screams turned into unhinged shrieks. Will shoved his shoulder into the smaller door and it burst off of the frame.
Nico and Hazel scrambled to their feet just as they saw Will being thrown back into sight like someone had kicked him through the door. Hedwig squawked and flew back into the corridor.
Nico's heart stopped.
A moaning cloud emerged, rising into the air. It was made of gray and brown smokey wisps, collating around the ceiling. It vaguely resembled the dementor depictions from books.
—
It was Nico's nightmare come to life. The gray dementor hovered over a shocked Will, its skeletal arms dragging a limp pile of reddened, dripping flesh.
"No!" Nico gasped, bringing out his sword. The Stygian Iron made the cloud hiss and directed its attention at him.
"Wait!" Hazel cried, shoving the sword down. "Harry! We know it's you! We know you don't wanna hurt anyone—"
It dropped the eviscerated flesh onto a stunned Will and swooped down at Nico and Hazel.
—
Nico raised his sword without thinking.
In another life, the cloud would have hit the blade and sliced itself, killing Harry Potter in seconds. And Thanatos would have brought down his fury on them all.
But here and now, Snape appeared in the doorway and aimed his wand at the cloud. His Latin was stilted but Nico couldn't focus on the words, not when a brilliant burst of light appeared right in front of them.
An animal. A deer.
A doe.
She glided gracefully in the air shielding Nico and Hazel from the demented cloud of raw fury.
The cloud shrieked an unholy sound and retreated. The gray dementor flew right out the window and took to the night.
Sirius and Remus arrived at Hogwarts an hour later. They ran right up to the DADA floor. The demigods wisely left just as Sirius began tearing Snape a new one.
"YOU DROVE HIM AWAY?" Sirius roared.
"He'd just murdered Umbridge!" Snape yelled. "He wasn't safe!"
"THAT'S THE PROBLEM!"
"Sirius!" Remus protested. "This isn't helping! We need to figure out where he could be—"
Sirius grabbed Snape's robes, steaming. "You've always had it out for Harry!"
"Get your hands off me!" Snape hissed.
"This is the last time you ever do anything to my godson, EVER AGAIN!"
"He was moments away from killing mine!" Snape scowled.
Sirius didn't even bother with his wand. He shoved Snape into the wall and Remus had to tug him back before both men could escalate.
Malfoy was sitting on the floor, clutching an old book, eyes wide and unblinking. He hadn't said a word since they found him splattered with blood from Umbridge's office.
McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived. She checked Malfoy over while the Headmaster eyed the old school friends.
"Both of you will desist, now," he spoke quietly.
Snape barely held himself back. Remus held onto Sirius tightly.
Sirius growled, "Harry was right here! We could have gotten him to the hospital in just a few hours!"
"He was about to kill the demigods," Snape hissed, his voice low enough for Malfoy to miss it. But the boy wasn't focused on the conversation anyway.
"So you attacked him!"
"Sirius, please," Dumbledore said, now in a warning tone. "Explain, Severus."
Snape gave the short version. The owl led them up to Umbridge's office. The di Angelo boy disapparated into the shadows with two others. They reached first and were nearly overwhelmed by the gray dementor.
"How did you know the patronus would work?" Remus asked, shrewdly.
"An educated guess."
"Are you hiding things, Snivellus?" Sirius threatened.
Snape scowled. "Much like a boggart, this thing seems to be a manifestation of Potter's worst parts. The shape of a dementor may be more than cosmetic."
Sirius stared daggers. "Meaning?"
Snape nodded at the boy. "Draco. Please give Professor McGonagall your book."
The adults watched a pale, shivering Malfoy relinquish his tight hold on the tome. He'd bent the cover from sheer stress.
"When did you figure it out, Draco?" Dumbledore asked softly.
Malfoy gulped. His eyes flittered over to Sirius and Remus before settling on the Headmaster. "At lunch. When Mother fire-called me in the common room to pack my trunk. She's coming tomorrow to pick me up. Said to keep an eye out for anyone with uncommon rage symptoms. She sent me the book."
McGonagall ran her eyes over the table of contents to find dark ink desperately circled around one of the last chapter titles. She inhaled and flipped through the pages. Everyone grew quiet.
Dumbledore's face was grave. "We must call the Aurors. Amelia is underestimating the situation."
"What?!" Sirius gasped. "We can't tell them about Harry! They'll hunt him down and try to kill him!"
"And they'll fail," Remus said urgently. "Auror-mandated defenses won't work against him. Not in this form!"
"Can patronuses hold him?" McGonagall asked.
Snape grimaced. "I… am not so sure about that."
"Why?" Sirius barked. "You just said you scared him off!"
Snape glanced over at Dumbledore, now tight-lipped. The latter frowned and instead gauged the fifth year. "Draco? Professor Snape will escort you to the Hospital Wing. The others will come with me."
"No," Sirius said.
Dumbledore sighed. "Sirius, we must—"
"You haven't told us everything," the man interjected. "No more misinformation or compartmentalization. Voldemort's done. He's gone. You're going to tell us everything before you send us on errands."
McGonagall exhaled but didn't defend Dumbledore. Neither did Snape. Malfoy watched the interaction, startled.
"Our priority is finding and bringing Harry back safely," Dumbledore insisted. "He is in distress. He will not be thinking straight. Perhaps he is confused enough to hold back from acting again, but I cannot make that promise. We must find him before anyone else is hurt."
Sirius simmered. Remus caught his shoulder and whispered, "Later, Padfoot! We'll figure that out after finding him."
After another moment's deliberation, he relented. He glared at Snape's retreating back while Remus asked, "Can the Aurors track him down?"
Dumbledore was already writing a note with a summoned quill and parchment sheet. "Perhaps. Kingsley has been looking into this since yesterday evening. But it may not be enough. We must a make a list of everyone Harry may have found threatening. Split into groups of three and use patronuses, bright light, and shield charms to deflect his approach. No hexes or curses. He will attack if we open fire."
He tore the sheet into pieces, each with a name and address. Minerva, call the Order. And the teachers. We will need everyone to search the country."
Nico and the other demigods were back in the Hospital Wing. Hermione and Weasleys gawked at the rainbow window.
"What's the news?" he prompted.
"One," Lou spoke. "The Hall of Prophecies is a mother-clucking hall filled with real crystal balls where they store real prophecies."
"Glad I'm not a wizard dealing with a thousand prophecies," Percy mumbled.
"Two," Annabeth chimed in. "We found ours."
She held up a glowing crystal ball with a placard attached to it.
08/2011
R.E.D to N. di A.
Harry (and Junie?) Potter
Nico's jaw dropped. "Did someone write that?"
Annabeth shook her head. "They have these auto-quills enchanted to record prophecies in real time. Check this out."
A witch nearby tapped her wand on the crystal ball. Nico frowned, wondering if the white fog swirling would disappear. Then—
"Head overseas, retrieve what's taken.
Find a half-blood who's half-lost."
Rachel's disembodied words issued from the crystal ball. But they were the distorted power-heavy tone of the Spirit of Delphi, perfectly cataloged in a glass ball thousands of miles away from where she'd originally spoken them from the camp.
Nico stared. Hazel and Will were fascinated. Percy shook his head, disbelieving. Fred reached out to touch the rainbow window and Ginny slapped his knuckles.
Hermione listened the most intently.
The recording ended and Nico rubbed his face. "Okay, so what does it mean to have Junie's name on the card?"
"Probably that she's important," Annabeth answered.
"Wow, I'd never have guessed."
"Wait?" Hermione broached. "Are you… taking this seriously?"
"Yup," Percy said. "Prophecies are the blood and lifeline of de—us. They're our bread and butter. The birds and the bees—"
Nico shoved him off the chair.
"We came to the UK because of this prophecy," Hazel told the wizards. "Yes, it's vague and oddly phrased, but that's how they all work. This one in particular speaks of the gray dementor. And that's what's happening to Harry."
Ron shook his head at Hermione's flabbergasted expression.
"We made some progress," Lou said, propping a scroll of parchment open. "Wizards are divided into factions of purebloods, half-bloods, and Muggleborns depending on where they 'get' their magic from. It's kinda racist if you ask me."
"It is," all the wizards intoned.
"Basically, Harry is a half-blood," Annabeth surmised. "We figure Harry's the half-blood who's half-lost."
"On account of him moonlighting as a cloudy dementor," Fred muttered.
"It's more psychological than that," Annabeth said. "Thanatos meeting him, the dementors attacking him, Voldemort doing that blood ritual thing—"
"Excuse me, what?!" Hermione shrieked.
"We'll explain that after all this," Percy said urgently.
"Sorry, Hermione," Annabeth said. "I was trying to say the first four lines might mean Harry. Confuse not bringers of frost, like Dumbles suggested, might be a warning to us that we must not confuse the gray dementor for a true one. The third line is unclear: Yield Hallows and Master awaken."
"Chiron said Master of Death isn't Thany," Percy pointed out. "So, could it be Harry?"
Everyone stared at him.
"What would that even mean?" Will asked, a laugh bursting out of his chest. "How could a human be a Master of Death?"
"Is Harry human?" Percy asked. "He's turning into a different creature. He could be something else."
Will stopped laughing. The wizards were alarmed. Nico grimaced. "Put a pin in it. What's the next para saying?"
"Um… for nobody remains unshaken should none pay the final cost," Lou recited. "Too many negatives for me, but we think that if someone doesn't pay, everyone will be shaken."
"And stirred," Percy added.
"But people are paying," Ginny said, eyebrows raised. "That's what Harry's doing; he's making everyone pay for what they did to him."
"So, we can be unshaken," Percy said slowly. "Because people are paying? Was this all supposed to happen?"
"We think so," Lou said, sharing a worried look with Annabeth. "The last two lines are: the gray dementor if forsaken, the soul inside remains lost. If we give up on Harry when he's at his worst, we'll lose him."
The room was silent once more.
Nico breathed out carefully. Okay, okay. Prophecies weren't really meant to be decoded like this, but they needed this information. They had to know they were going in the right direction.
"Hazel, can you make a compass to find Harry?" Nico asked.
His sister frowned. "I can try. But… I don't actually know what his dementor form means. I need to understand that. Thanatos called him an ultion seeker, but that's just as confusing. I can track him if he's in human form, but there's no guarantee when he'll turn back."
Nico nodded, cursing silently. Fine, fine! Keep thinking, di Angelo, they'll figure something out, they have to.
"Ultion?" Hermione perked up.
"Er, yes. That's what Thany said. He went true god-mode when he didn't explain himself—"
"I know it!" Hermione interrupted Percy excitedly. "Prof—I mean, Lou was even reading about it!"
"She was?" Nico asked, stunned.
"I was?" Lou blurted.
Hermione tugged out an old book. A familiar one.
"Energyman?" Percy made a face. "Well, sure. Harry's got the energy of a raging man. But what does that—"
"The Energumen of Scotland," Hermione corrected. "Eidolons, Obscuri, and Other Ultion Entities!"
Lou grimaced. "But there's a lot of bogus info in that book, Hermione. Eidolons and banshees are not native to Scotland."
"None of them really are," Hermione agreed. "But check the entry under Obscurus!"
She'd opened the book to the start of the chapter. But Nico didn't focus on the words. He was staring at the moving image of the gray dementor, right there, plastered on the page.
"That's it!" Hazel gasped, elbowing Will. "That's what we saw! That's the thing that Harry turns into!"
"What does it say?" Nico demanded.
Hermione ran a finger over the paragraph. "An Obscurus is the manifestation of the repressed energy of a young wizard or witch (known as an Obscurial). Described as a "dark" and "parasitic" force, an Obscurus was created when the wizard child in question consciously attempted to repress their magical abilities or were forced to do so through physical or psychological abuse."
George was already shaking his head. "We learned about this last year! Obscuri happens only with children aged nine and below. Even ten and eleven are a stretch."
Hermione tapped the page. "This says the oldest recorded case was a 17-year-old boy in the 1920s in America."
Nico watched Annabeth and Lou's faces grow gaunt in the IM window.
"But…" Fred said weakly. "Harry's been using magic for years. We've seen him cast spells and fly and everything! And obscuri don't cause a bloody crime scene! They kill, but they suffocate people and leave scratch marks on the face."
Lou and Annabeth were muttering to each other.
"There were scratch marks on the faces," Percy recalled suddenly. "The Death Eaters. Everyone had those gouges. They were just too deep to be called scratches. Maybe that's what an obscurus does. It grabs by the face and kills. Harry just goes overboard."
The group fell silent.
"How do we fight an obscurus?" Nico asked. "With a patronus?"
Hermione was surprised. "Um, no. It says a powerful shield charm can contain it temporarily. Bright light can disorient it. It's not a dementor, so patronuses won't work that well…"
"Snape's patronus worked," Hazel pointed out. "The Obscurus took one look at it and flew away."
Annabeth hummed. "And that's why everyone's confusing it with a bringer of frost. Harry's Obscurus manifests as his worst nightmare, a dementor. So it follows the same rules. Multiple patronuses would be able to subdue him."
Nico's heart galloped. It meant they'd have to keep working with the wizards, but at least they had a plan.
"We need to track him down," Nico said. "I can't sense him anywhere nearby. He might have left the castle or transformed back into his body."
Ginny grimaced. "We checked the whole map. He isn't in Hogwarts."
Will took Nico's hand and squeezed it. He always knew the right moment when Nico needed reassurance. They exhaled together.
"Alright," Nico said. "Annabeth, you get those notes back to the castle. I'm betting Sirius and Remus will help us even if Dumbles doesn't. Tonks too, hopefully. We'll need them since they can make those patronuses. Lou, Haze, can you conjure one?"
Lou made a face. "It's pretty difficult, Neeks. I can start practicing but it'll take me a couple of days, for sure."
Hazel sighed. "I'll try. If anything, I can have a vapor going. But then it'll take me longer to make a compass if I have to work on both."
Nico cursed.
"We know the theory," George said. "We can also practice."
"We're not bringing you along," Nico groaned.
"What?!"
"We'll have to fight the Order to bring you," Will reminded them. "Right now, we need their help."
"Lame," Ginny huffed.
"Well said," Percy backed her. "But we can fight them later. Right now, we gotta get a jump start on finding Harry. Again. Any ideas, guys?"
Lou shrugged and Annabeth stared at the crystal ball as though it could have more answers. Will and Hazel were also at a loss.
"This thing attacks people who've wronged them?" Ron suddenly asked.
"Yes," Hermione said, checking the pages. "Ultion means vengeance. Obscuri kill their abusers. We should make a list of people."
"And it's obvious who's at the top," Ron said quietly.
Weekends were the only times when Dudley could eat heartily. The food at his boarding school allotted strict portions for everyone, even the boxing team. His mother barely stood for it.
She was shoveling a massive slice of heavenly lemon meringue pie onto his plate when the door bell rang.
His dad grunted. "Visitors? At this hour?!"
"The nerve of some people," Petunia mumbled.
"Tell them to scram, Dudders," Vernon said gruffly. Dudley groaned and dragged his feet from the table.
Who shows up uninvited at seven in the evening? Dudley didn't even check through the spyhole, instead just yanking open the door, filling his lungs with enough energy to shout down whatever poor wanker had though it fit to interrupt a Dursley dinner.
The air deflated from his body.
Harry stood on the doormat, staring wretchedly into Dudley's face. He didn't blink. His face twitched.
Umm… it was September, wasn't it? Dudley hadn't blinked and missed an entire school year, did he?
"Saturday night pie?" Harry whispered. His voice stood out, dry and raspy.
"Yeah," Dudley said automatically, the hairs on his arms standing up.
"Guests?"
"No…"
Harry exhaled. "Good. Don't worry. I won't bother the neighbors with my freakishness."
He shoved Dudley into the house and shut the door behind them.
Nico, Percy, Hazel, and Lou took Mrs. O'Leary to Surrey. Annabeth and Will stayed behind to rally with the wizards and hopefully see what route the Order of the Phoenix was taking. Hermione and the Weasleys were trailing the Order with an actual invisibility cloak and some long fleshy strings that Annabeth swore moved on their own.
When Snape brought a shaking Malfoy into the Hospital Wing, Annabeth retreated into the little office and met up with Will who'd just finished a steaming hot shower.
"Bloodless?" Annabeth asked.
Will shuddered. "That's not even funny, Chase."
She nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I prayed to your dad. He doesn't seem to be receiving anything. Rachel said she'll call back with news."
Will nodded, falling into the chair beside her. They waited until a rainbow shimmered into existence.
The Iris-Message sprung up in front of Annabeth and she nearly dived for it. Rachel peered in from the other side. The camp was bathed in daylight, a contrast to the cloying night sky in Scotland.
"I tried to reach out to Apollo," Rachel said worriedly. "But he's busy with an emergency."
Will groaned. "Now?! I had human skin dropped onto me! It was bloody horrifying! Tell him, we're in an emergency!"
"I did!" she argued. "He texted me: BRB, got cde blink."
Annabeth frowned. Ever since Apollo had reverted from Lester to his godly self, he was more sympathetic and helpful. He wouldn't change back to regular godly assholeness so fast.
"Code Blink? Is that blue or pink?"
"I don't know! He's offline."
"Blue means a medical emergency or cardiac arrest," Will explained. "Sometimes it's a patient coding."
"I watch Grey's Anatomy," Rachel said impatiently. "The point is, he's not receiving my calls. Your cabin's been trying for a while now. Should we call Artemis?"
Annabeth pushed her braids back. She was getting used to the yellow color. Maybe she'd have Hazel keep them like that.
"Yes," she decided. "There's no telling how bad this can get. Artemis will know where he is even if he doesn't respond to her."
"Okay. Also, I wanted to say," Rachel added. "It's bad to try and decode a prophecy."
Annabeth and Will paused.
"Er… what d'you mean?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You heard me. Like literally. You heard me. From a crystal ball, I'm guessing"
Will choked. "How d'you know?!"
"Oracle, duh! I know when the voice is replicated. That's why I tell you to not record me. I always know."
Annabeth shook her head. "Freaky, Dare."
"Yeah, yeah," Rachel complained. "People can interpret it wrong and that's seriously bad!"
Annabeth was afraid of this. "We had to do something! Things aren't the best here, Rachel."
Will was worried now. Annabeth sat up straight and shot him what she hoped was a comforting smile.
"Alright, alright. But be careful. Prophecies pull the rug out from under your feet," Rachel warned.
"Gotcha, Dare," Annabeth saluted her. "I just hope the others are doing alright."
The others were not doing alright.
Nico and the team landed in Privet Drive almost exactly when Sirius, Remus, and Tonks apparated onto the street. They nearly bumped into each other and Mrs. O'Leary howled.
Tonks shrieked and Remus pointed his wand at the hellhound, but Percy shoved his arm down. "Don't you dare!"
"What the bloody hell?!" Sirius blurted, wide-eyed. "Is that a Cerberus? A hellhound?"
"The second one," Nico snapped. His entire body was drawn to one house in particular.
The entire street had rows of near-identical houses, all prettily lit up. Yet, no one wandered outside. Even the mortals sensed the disruption in their routine. No. Four in particular sat still and quiet, unnaturally so. The lights were on but they saw no dementor or cloud.
"He was here," Hazel whispered, drawing out her sword. Lou brought out her knife but she conjured a shield of light in front of her.
Percy was first through the door. He used Riptide to cut through the hinges and barged into the house.
The smell assaulted them all and Nico paused at the entrance to catch his breath. But Percy had frozen right in front of the open kitchen door, his eyes wide in shock.
Then, Riptide dipped, its tip hitting the floorboards. The blade sliced the wood while he held the grip loosely.
Percy Jackson wouldn't do that.
He wouldn't drop his sword.
Never in Nico's life could he recall Percy being terrified to the point of freezing like that. He was a sitting duck for anything that came at him now. Hazel and Lou also came to a stop behind Nico. The wizards raised their wands.
"Percy?" Hazel called, scared.
They watched Percy painfully unstick himself. His shoulders carefully slumped, his neck was veined, and he stepped back, his mouth totally dry.
"Too late," he whispered.
Dumbledore and a bunch of Aurors arrived within minutes. Apparently, Tonks had sent off one of those silvery animals to people with a message to haul ass.
The quiet evening was now filled with somber mutterings of supernatural creatures. Demigods and wizards patrolled Privet Drive, mindful of the reality of the Dursleys' fate.
—
Percy sat on the curb, unusually quiet. Nico understood why. The kitchen was the bloodiest thing they'd ever seen. Harry hadn't just murdered his aunt and uncle; he'd propped up their skins on chairs to make them look like they were eating each other with their bones for utensils. Flesh, guts, and blood filled multiple bowls, plates, and glasses.
The only plate clear of blood had smudged remains of lemon meringue pie instead. He must have eaten after all that work.
Should they be glad that Harry wasn't consuming anybody? It was hard to find the silver lining.
Nico was holding his stomach, leaning against a streetlight. He'd taken one glance at the scene and walked out, trying to convince Hazel and Lou that it wasn't worth it. Lou took his word. Hazel ducked under his arm and ran inside, only to gag and throw up from the smell alone.
—
While Lou sent Mrs. O'Leary to get Will and Annabeth, Nico was listening to the wizards argue.
"We should have come here first!" Sirius Black hissed. "Why did you send Mad-Eye north?!"
"To safeguard Marjorie Dursley," Dumbledore said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Harry had demonstrated proven rage at her before. I was afraid he'd target her sooner."
"You were wrong!"
Tonks interrupted them. Her hair was a dull gray. "Dawlish called. They got Rita Skeeter into the Ministry. Marjorie Dursley's been confounded and sent elswhere. St. Mungo's seem to be fine, Lockhart's in the long-term ward and Bones sent a larger team there."
"I've called Arabella away," Dumbledore added, worriedly. "She should be fine. Fawkes will check on her."
"Any word from Karkaroff?"
"Not since he's gone into hiding," Dumbledore said. "But I've sent word to Durmstrang to be on guard."
Remus exhaled. "Did you think Harry would leave Petunia and Vernon for last?"
Dumbledore didn't answer.
"What about his cousin?" Tonks asked.
"He goes to a London school. Proudfoot will be picking him up now," Dumbledore explained.
Nico gawked. "He has a cousin? Why are we finding out about this just now?!
Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment of patience, but Nico wasn't in the mood to afford him any.
"I did not realize the situation with his family was this dire," the Headmaster said.
Sirius swore creatively. Nico said, "But you knew it was bad enough to send people here anyway?"
"Mr. di Angelo—"
"You know what!" Nico burst. "I'm sick of you. You haven't been telling us anything because it's your shtick. You're the guy who knows everything and everyone and you wear that like a badge of honor. That's not how any of this works. You don't put your team in the dark like this! You're basically telling them you don't trust them to have all the information!"
"This is my last warning," Dumbledore informed, eyes blazing, but Nico pushed ahead.
"You're a shit leader!" he accused. "A real team leader isn't supposed to drag their people around, they're supposed to direct them the right way and trust that everyone knows how to do their jobs! If you really trusted them, you'd have asked them to do their own research to find out what the hell was happening. But nooooo, you had to have all the control and now, the one time you are wrong, nobody can cover for you because your Order has no idea what to do without your orders!"
It happened so fast that Nico couldn't even blink. He saw Dumbledore's hand twitch.
His wand wasn't even out.
He heard Hazel shriek and heard Lou cry, "Stop!"
Nico was surrounded by smoke.
It was a mild poof of cloud but his entire body was covered in it and he couldn't see anyone beyond it. Nico staggered back, his entire body off-balance. For a terrifying moment, he feared it was the gray dementor, back to tear him into pieces.
But it was just smoke.
Nico waved his arm to blow it away and it dissipated quickly. Something was wrong though. Everyone, the Order, the Aurors, Hazel, Lou, and Percy were staring at him. Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling.
Nico backed away, reaching for his sword, because what the hell had just—
He nearly tripped over his overly long denim trousers.
Nico stared down at them, now feeling how loose all the clothes sat on his body. Had he lost twenty pounds?
No. Nico was back in his fifteen-year-old body.
Riiiight.
A hysterical bubble overtook his throat and he let out a burst of high laughter. Dumbledore stared in shock.
"You thought—" Nico tried to say but couldn't because he was now bent over, clutching his stomach and chortling hard.
In the next moment, Percy was on his feet, Riptide back and deadly. He stood between Nico and Dumbledore, sword raised. Power burned through his entire being and the wizards backed away from him.
Hazel and Lou flanked Percy, equally enraged, but Nico was too busy wiping the tears from his eyes.
"What did you do?" Remus whispered.
"I…" Dumbledore could say no more.
"You deaged him?" Mad-Eye spluttered, so taken aback, his electric blue eye was stuck in place.
"Why would you do that?" Tonks asked, thoroughly confused now.
"He didn't deage him," Hazel said evenly. "I put up a glamor spell to make Nico look twenty-five. Your leader simply canceled it."
Her tone summed up the ire blistering through the three demigods. Nico tried to get his breathing under control.
Sirius stared. "Did you put a giggling hex on him?"
"No!" Dumbledore finally burst out. "How is this possible? Your records say 1929!"
Tonks watched them wide-eyed. "He's a god?"
Nico went into hysterics. Hazel thumped Nico's back. "You set him off again."
Mad-Eye frowned. "You let a boy lead you?"
Percy glared. "You let a senile geriatric lead you. At least, Nico's good at his job."
Nico sat on the road, hiccupping now. "Thanks, cuz."
"You're welcome, cuz."
Kingsley exited the house to find the oddest confrontation between stunned wizards, angry demigods, a giant hellhound, and a happy-go-lucky child of Hades.
"We're at a crime scene," Kingsley reminded them. "Please maintain decorum."
Nico hiccuped. "Sorry, sorry! Um, alright. Percy, can you call Will and Annabeth? Update them on the situation. Mrs. O'Leary can pick them up."
Percy capped Riptide and pocketed his pen. His hands shook from the stress but he nodded and walked into the streetlight with a drachma.
Tonks asked in amazement, "Are you seriously giving them orders?"
"Yep," Nico said, getting to his feet. He reached out to the shadows of the houses, summoning them to grow strong.
He grinned. The streetlights went dim. Dumbledore was frozen stiff.
"I am Nico di Angelo, the Ghost King. I control the shadows and your ghosts," he announced to the stunned crowd. "And I am in charge of this quest."
Nobody crossed the demigods. The aurors didn't know they were half-bloods, but they didn't need to. Nico had scared them enough to keep their mouths shut.
When Annabeth and Will got the call, they packed up and left the castle, only to arrive at Privet Drive with a crime scene teeming with uneasy coalition.
Annabeth had seen something in Percy's face when he IMd them. She embraced him tight and sent Mrs. O'Leary away for a secret errand. Then she sat Percy down and glared at Dumbledore.
"I'm fine," Nico told Will and her for the umpteenth time. He'd rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie and his overflowing jeans. It was a little silly to watch his usual scrawny self directing the others, still in their aged disguises.
"Just focus on the house," Nico had insisted. "Tonks said they sent a bunch of people all over Britain to search for people who Harry may be looking for. But if he grew up in here—"
"We'll find clues for June the cat?" Annabeth nodded. "Good thinking."
A full search had just begun when one of the wizards gasped.
"Someone's alive here!" the man named Proudfoot announced.
Annabeth bounded to the house, heart pounding. Percy had told her how the bodies had been staged and she'd seen the terror in his eyes. It reminded her of his worst moments in Tartarus, of them in the Death Mist. Even while standing in the door way, she smelled the blood and gore and it was so reminiscent of the pit that she held her breath, unable to bear it anymore.
But everyone's concentration was on a small door below the stairs. The auror spelled it open and the door revealed a large teenager stuffed into the dusty space, scratched up, but startlingly alive and in one piece.
"Dudley," Sirius murmured to Annabeth. "Harry's cousin."
Annabeth frowned. "First Pettigrew, now him?"
"Harry left Pettigrew alive to get me exonerated," Sirius muttered. "With Dudley… I can't be sure. Maybe he wasn't as bad as his parents."
Annabeth covered her nose and inhaled through her mouth. The aurors carefully extracted the quiet, quaking figure of Dudley Dursley and escorted him into the cool air of the night. His eyes were wide open but he was completely silent when they tried to question him.
"You have the Hogwarts medi-wizard here?" Kingsley asked.
"Will's with Percy and Sally," Annabeth said.
"Okay, good. We may need him… who's Sally?"
"Percy's mom."
Kingsley and Sirius watched her closely before gazing over to the street. There she was, Sally Jackson, sitting beside her son and Mrs. O'Leary, rubbing his back in slow, heavy circles.
"A civilian?" Sirius blurted.
Annabeth shrugged. "Percy needs comfort. So I called her. She won't interfere in the investigation."
Neither man berated her, which was good because Annabeth wasn't in the mood to kick their asses. Instead, Sirius seemed jealous.
"Good call," he finally said.
She nodded. Nico and Hazel were with Mad-Eye in the backyard, trying to set up a new tracking compass. Lou and Remus were checking the borders for any tampering of magic because as it turned out, No. 4 Privet Drive had marked borders to keep deadly magic out.
It didn't stop Harry because he was family. How lovely.
The smell was choking her throat and Annabeth stepped out into the garden, trying to focus on the gardenias and roses. She watched Dudley stumble about and sit beside Percy. Will checked his vitals and kept him under a mild sedation spell.
Why was he alive? Had Dudley been nice to Harry growing up? Yet his parents been so unrelenting and cruel that Harry went the extra mile with them.
Pettigrew was alive because Harry needed him to do something, to prove Sirius's innocence. It meant that Harry hadn't lost all control. Not yet. Malfoy was alive because Harry had been interrupted. Or perhaps he never planned to kill him?
Could it be the same for Dudley? Was the guy meant to do something? He might know something about the cat. Harry could have locked him up in his room. But he'd shut Dudley in the closet.
Annabeth sucked in a deep breath, held it in her protesting lungs, and marched back into the house.
Tonks knelt in front of the closet, scanning the tiny space with her wand.
"Nothing off about it," she told Annabeth. "Harry probably just wanted him out of the way."
Annabeth's anti-spidey senses tingled. She gestured to Tonks to move aside before crawling into the closet. Then she closed the door.
"Um…" Tonks called, worried. "I get you're also investigating, like us. But we're still checking the place."
The light barely reached inside, but her eyes grew used to the dark in seconds. She crouched on the floor, wrapping her arms around her bent legs. She had to bend to avoid hitting her head against the wooden staired-ceiling.
"What's up?" Nico's voice emerged from outside the door. Tonks told him what Annabeth was doing.
Annabeth was trying to get into Harry's headspace. Had he been trying to tell them something through Dudley?
Someone walked up the steps. The heavy thuds of their boots hit Annabeth's chest hard. Dust and wood filings fell from the ceiling. Wisps of cobwebs dangled form the corners. She clenched her jaw.
The door opened and Nico and Tonks peered in, frowning. "Chase. Whatcha thinking?"
She blinked hard. "Harry wanted Dudley to sit here and see this."
"See what?"
She nodded at the ceiling. Nico and Tonks peered in as much as possible. It was unbearably cramped now and Annabeth shuddered. The three of them examined, with grave understanding, the faded crayon drawings under the thick layer of dust.