godsent | h. potter

eight.

THE BOY BEHIND THE MASK

The golden trio plus Patricia were now back together. Patricia still hangs out with Parvati and Lavender, and she's also invited Hermione to hang out with them so that her smart, bushy haired friend has more girls as friends. It was unhealthy for her to only be around boys who don't understand half as much of what she's going through for so long.

It was now winter, marking three months since Patricia arrived in this whole new world. She'd mostly settled in and made new friends. You could almost say that life was turning out well for Patricia, but you are gravely mistaken.

Nightmares plagued Patricia's nights. It was either that, or absolute silence. The flickering connection between her and her family was causing her control over her powers to go haywire. And although she wasn't the best at controlling her demigod powers (Percy was definitely a lot better at that), the lack of control at this level was too high to be called normal. Just a week ago, she had, yet again, managed to make most bathrooms explode and flood the hallways. Then, the day before, she got soaking wet in the rain and could not dry off as easily as she used to.

It scared Patricia out of her wits. If she didn't find a way out soon, she could end up exposing her secret. Or worse, hurt someone. She doesn't know what would happen, but she feared for the worst.

She'd also lost track of what happens in Camp Half-Blood. All that she has deduced was that time ran differently from where she is now. This made her believe that Kronos was involved, considering the fact that he was called the 'Lord of Time'. She couldn't see how Hera would be able to pull that off (no offense to Annie, Patricia thought).

Patricia was getting agitated. But at the same time, a part of her already wanted to stay. To never leave this safe place which has welcomed her so warmly. If she stayed, she didn't have to fight a war. She didn't have to witness deaths and destruction and yearn for the lives of the lost. Her future would be secured and she no longer had to worry day by day when she would die.

All she had to do was stay.

Conflicted, exhausted and terrified, Patricia resorted to school work as a distraction. She socialized here and there and even picked up some extra activities. Hell, she was even desperate enough to try and learn about Quidditch.

Harry and Parvati had both chastised her for tiring herself out. Hermione, who was previously overjoyed about her newfound enthusiasm for schoolwork, has also voiced her concern. Even Ron, who hated homework, offered to share her workload to help her relax.

On nights when the nightmares were too much, she'd sneak out of the Gryffindor tower and to the Black Lake. Sometimes, she'd catch Harry in the Common Room and they'd just sit together in silence. Other nights, Harry'd ask Dobby to bring them blue cookies and milk, which helped Patricia calm down.

Since winter froze the lake and Harry was nowhere to be seen, she resorted to going to the Astronomy tower instead.

That leads us to where she is now.

The moon shone brightly along with the stars. Patricia was having another sleepless night. Her body ached with exhaustion, but she couldn't find it in her to close her eyes. Sleep had abandoned her the moment she opened her eyes to reality.

It was silent except for the ticking of the clock and the sounds of the strange magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest. Patricia hugged her knees closer to her chest, feeling the calm thump of her heart.