I'm back! Now before we get started there are two things I would like to inform you about.

* Firstly updates! I promise that I will definitely update at least once a month. I know I know! This isn't enough and it will take some time to get finished but I simply haven't got the time to update every week. The life of a teacher is not a quiet one. I will endeavour to try and update every two weeks but I can't guarantee that this will be possible.

* Secondly! Thank you! I didn't imagine that this would be popular when I wrote it. Truth be told writing this with Percy as the main character was something I agonised over and I nearly wrote it with Ron instead. However I stuck to my guns and I'm glad that I did. Percy has always been my favourite character and I love the idea of him being the hero for once. Thank you again!

Anyway on with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter Twenty Eight

By Rosa241

General POV:

If anyone had passed the office of Mad Eye Moody on a rainy Wednesday morning they would have surely thought the man had lost his mind. After all how often did you come across a grown man firing off curses (both of the magical variety and the worded) whilst storming round the room in blaze of furious anger. If he had thought in advance he would have cast a silencing spell but in his anger and frustration the man had forgotten. Luckily for him the students of Hogwarts were enjoying breakfast and the corridor coming off of his office remained clear. Well clear of students and staff at least.

Finally having gotten rid of the venom and anger throwing through him, well at least the explodable surface layer, Moody collapsed down into the chair. His heavy breathing filled the room for a few minutes as the only sound that could be heard.

How can that kid be so lucky?

Truth be told he had never expected Percy to make it through the first challenge. There were very few who would make it through a challenge like that even with the expertise of a fully trained Auror like Potter. Both Krum and that flowerly little girl had their own experts helping them but Weasley? Who did he have? That Scottish friend of his and that little imp of a charms teacher? Hardly the expertise he needed but somehow he'd made it through. Somehow he'd not only gotten through the dragon but he'd done so with a plan that even he had to admit was impressive.

Should have known…

He should have guessed from the fight in the forest that night. There were very few teenage wizards who could hold their own against someone who was fully trained. Weasley managed to fight off not one but two death eaters. He really should have guessed that he was more talented than he'd given him credit for. That hadn't been factored in when he'd put the boys name in the goblet. The boy was the only one who could potentially identify him which just wouldn't do. He couldn't risk being identified, at least not before his plan came to fruition. If he'd been able to he'd have taken him out then and there but those other kids came rushing forward and he'd been forced to flee.

Never thought they'd figure it out…

The ingredients for the polyjuice potion had been the only reason he'd started stealing from the Potions Masters stores. When the boy had survived that first task he'd begun asking around. It turns out that maybe that was something that he should have done before he put his plan into motion. Not only was the boy a talented wizard but he was intelligent too. Far too intelligent. The boy couldn't know but there was that look. Every now and then the boy gave him this look like he was desperately trying to figure something out. He couldn't risk things coming to light too soon.

He'd used the potion years before. Of course that time it was to kill out right not to weaken like he had planned. With a little poison every day the boy would grow sicker and sicker until he was too weak to fight off the creatures in the lake. People would put it down to bad luck and his problem would be solved.

Didn't bank on Snape…

The second factor he'd underestimated in this nightmare. He'd never thought for a second that the man would be good enough to spot the symptoms. Naturally he was mistaken as Albus had informed him that morning. Apparently the head master thought it appropriate for himself and McGonagall to know the truth. To say that he'd been shocked was an understatement.

Now what?

It was too risky to go after the boy before the next task. No doubt everyone would be keeping an extra eye on him and going after him again so soon would be dangerous. Shaking his head the man stood from his chair and began pacing the office once more.

He needed another plan and he needed one quickly.

Percy POV:

Poisoned?

Someone has been poisoning me?

Why?

How?

Someone was trying to kill me?

Dumbledore doubted whoever was doing this was trying to kill me outright. He suspected they were trying to prevent me from competing, making me too ill to continue. Dad had nodded his head of course but I could tell that he wasn't buying it. Mum had been too busy fussing over me and worrying herself into an early grave to say too much about it but I know that she was thinking it too.

Someone had poisoned me.

There were very few people who could make that kind of a potion, let alone someone who could slip it too me. Professor Snape had explained that a few drops of the poison on my food or in my drink would have been sufficient. Of course the house elves dealt with all of the food and none of them would ever attempt to do this. House elves didn't act like this unless their masters told them to. I highly doubt Dumbledore was telling them to poison me.

How could someone get the poison to me?

How!?

I've been wracking my brains ever since I found out about it but I just can't work it out. I know I can be kind of wrapped up in my brain at times especially lately with the tournament. There's just no way however that I can have missed someone walking up behind me and slipping me poison. Even if I had someone else would have seen it.

Were they invisible?

Were they doing it at night?

The thought of someone sneaking into my room during the night sent shivers down my spine.

"You alright love?" Mum's voice almost made me jump. I'd half-forgotten she was here.

"Yeah, yeah…no. Not really. I just don't understand." Her hand clasped mine and for a moment she said nothing. "Why would someone go so far as to try and poison me?"

"I wish I could answer that and believe you me when I get my hands on them…" She trailed off but the threat was clear in her voice. Part of me almost feels sorry for the person who did this.

"I thought someone putting my name into the Goblet was bad enough. Now it turns out that someone's trying to kill me. Isn't that just great!?" Standing up mum pulls me into a hug which I happily return. I just don't know what to do about this. How the hell do I handle this?

"Feeling better?" Dad asks as he wanders into the room.

"The headaches not nearly as bad but it's still there a little. At least I'm not getting dizzy every time I move these days." Thankfully the dizziness had been the first thing to go. According to what I'd gathered from Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey the poison would take a couple of weeks to completely disappear from my system. The headaches could be managed with a potion until they vanished but it was the nightmares that were the true problem. As it turns out there was nothing that could be done about them until the poison was well and truly gone.

Great.

"Well that's something at least." It's only been two days since I found out about the poison and neither mum nor dad have left since.

"What do we do about the others?" Neither speaks for a moment.

"Professor Dumbledore thinks it's best if we keep this to ourselves. The more people who know the more out of hand it might get." There's more to it than that I can tell but I'm too tired, too worried, to really think on it. "As far as they go you're just ill."

"Good." Ever since my name went into the Goblet Fred and George have been almost unbearable with the protection ring they seemed to have formed along with Oliver. The two of them seem to think that I've heard nothing of the pranks they've been pulling lately. Ordinarily I'd have had a word with them but with everything that's been going on I haven't had the chance to yet. Merlin only knows what they'd do if they found out about this. The thought of it actually makes me shiver.

Give it another day and mum and dad would no doubt be forced to go. Mum had spent nearly three hours last night arguing with Madame Pomfrey that I should be allowed to go home and rest. Her argument was that it was safer, something I couldn't help agreeing with, since someone here wanted me dead. Unfortunately Madame Pomfrey had no intentions of letting me out of her sight until she was sure that the poison was completely out of my system.

"Well at least there's one bonus to being stuck in here." Dad, to his credit, didn't flinch at the angry glare mum gives him. "You won't have to go to the yule ball if you're going to be in here."

Well there is that I suppose.

Okay and I feel like that's enough for now. Poor Percy he really has no idea that Moody's determined to have him dead. Moody's plans are up in smoke and he's going to have to come up with something else, oh dear I almost feel sorry for him. Let's just hope he stays out of Molly's way when she eventually finds out what he did to Percy.

Until next time,

Bye x