4000 word update this time!
I've found out that Tests + Projects = Procrastination = Lots of updates
I didn't edit this chapter very much, so forgive me if it sucks
Nico's POV
A boy who must have been in first year tugged on Piper's sleeve, "Hello?"
Piper looked down, "Hi, do you need something?"
The Ravenclaw bit his lip and said, "I can't get into my common room."
"Oh, we'll help you," Thalia said, only mildly annoyed.
"But that's not it. I heard screaming," he looked panicked. "Lots of it."
Annabeth straightened, "Thank you for telling us."
When we got there, Annabeth tapped the knocker in the shape of an eagle.
The eagle turned and asked a riddle, "There are three rooms. The first is infested with Devil's Snares. The second contains twenty armed and insane Death Eaters. The third is full of dragons who have not eaten in years. Which room is the safest?"
Annabeth thought for only a few seconds, "The third. The dragons have all died from hunger."
"Correct," the door unlocked and opened slightly. Screams and sobbing of both boys and girls grew louder, and a small amount of black mist poured out.
Annabeth looked at the first year, who was still standing there, "Get back," she said urgently. "Like way back. Don't let me be able to see you."
He asked no questions and obediently went out of sight.
Annabeth gestured for me to come forward, "Nico, your sword."
I pulled my Stygian Iron sword out of its sheath. I swiped it at the mist, and it was sucked into my sword. But it seemed endless, more and more black vapor appeared. "I don't think it's stopping," I said.
"Keep trying," Annabeth responded.
I willed it to go faster, and faster it did. "The shadows are six feet high in the entire tower. This is going to take a while."
"Maybe we should just go in," Percy said anxiously. "It's probably just Instant Darkness Powder. He tentatively reached out to the black stuff, but Annabeth slapped his hand back, shooting him a dirty look.
When Leo lobbed a small fireball at it, the fire died almost instantly. "It's like that dude Clytius," he observed.
Annabeth cursed in Greek, "Would be nice if Hazel were here. Nico, how about this. What if you control it? Like move it so there's a path?"
"I'll try. But once I'm done, we better run fast, I wouldn't be able to hold it for long."
I raised my Stygian Iron sword and put all my strength into it. I imagined all the dark vapor moving to the side. Beads of sweat popped up on my forehead. I felt like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the mountain. I felt something strange in the girl's dormitory. I made the path lead there. The screams lessened a great deal. Once I sensed that I had succeeded, I gasped out, "Go."
We sprinted through the door. I was horrifed by what I was seeing. My eyesight was better than most people's in the dark. Ravenclaws were either stumbling around blindly or on their knees and screaming. Most of the people had fainted.
I went faster, straining to prevent the shadows from touching us. I leapt over an collapsed Luna Lovegood, trying not to look at her face. She looked thorougly terrified.
Once we got to the dormitory, I released my hold, blocking the shadows only in this room. I stepped over an unconscious Padma Patil and crept inside.
"You." Dawn's eyes weren't the only things that were black. Her skin was turning a dark grey. She wasn't addressing me, but Annabeth.
"Me," Annabeth said, her voice cracking like glass.
Jason gave Percy a worried look. Percy was hyperventilating, his grip on Riptide tightening until his knuckles turned white.
"Ignorant tourists," Dawn hissed.
We stepped away as more black mist curled around her.
Annabeth's hands were shaking, but I couldn't tell if it were from anger or fear.
I tried not to listen, because I recognized Dawn's voice from my time in Tartarus.
"What have you done?" Percy's voice shook.
"Only showing these students their worst nightmares." Dawn glanced outside, "Some fainted immediately. But the strong-willed decided to stay conscious and suffer."
Thalia raised her spear, electricty crackling around it, "You'd better stop now. Or else."
Dawn spread her hands, "Attack me, and my host will be the one getting hurt."
Thalia brought her spear down, but Dawn caught it easily. The sparks in the spear disappeared, but other than shaking slightly, Dawn didn't appear to be hurt. She hurled Thalia aside, nearly throwing her into the shadows.
"Oh my gods! Look at that!" Piper yelled at Dawn, pointing frantically.
Dawn eyes moved briefly in one direction as Percy and Jason moved their swords in unison.
Percy hit her in the chest with the flat of Riptide's blade, and Jason slammed the hilt of his blade into Dawn's skull.
Dawn fell to the ground, and the black vapor instantly dispersed, retreating to places like the underside of beds, now harmless.
Now we could see Dawn was in pain. She clutched at her head, no doubt having a splitting headache. Her face had three red lines across it. Her arm was burned from electricity, and a rings of red flesh circled her right arm. She looked exhausted, and though it was moderately warm in the Tower, Dawn was shivering.
"Dawn?" Annabeth knelt down beside her. This was no doubt reminding her of Luke.
Dawn glared at her, "Go away."
Annabeth turned to Piper and Jason, "Get Madam Pomfrey and other teachers. Dawn and the other students need treatment."
They left.
I examined a broken golden bracelet on the floor while Annabeth asked Dawn, "Did you kill Lavender willingly?"
Dawn slumped down, looking depressed, "Yes, and I do not regret it."
Annabeth stopped, "Do you remember what just happened?"
"Yes," she scowled. "Nyx took possession of me."
Annabeth wasn't surprised, "When did you start hearing her talking to you?"
"The second week of term," Dawn said reluctantly, glaring resentfully at her bed. "Tuesday."
Piper was troubled, "That was after what happened to Logan. So even before Nyx, Dawn was already..." she trailed off. But her unspoken word made it to our ears anyway: Psycho.
"Get out of here!" Dawn suddenly threw a book at me, but missed. "All of you. I'm packing."
Before we could reply, Madam Pomfrey arrived. Without a word, she healed Dawn within seconds, then rushed off to help the other students.
Dawn examined her healed hand. Then she snatched up her wand. She leapt unsteadily to her feet and fired a hex over our heads, "Get out! NOW!"
"Dawn," Jason tried to keep his voice level, "calm down-"
"Yeah chillax," Leo grumbled.
"YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!" she screeched. "I WANT TO BE ALONE!"
We looked at each other.
I suddenly realized why she was so shaken and anxious for us to leave, "You saw it too."
Dawn's head shot up, "What?"
"The black stuff, it affected you as well."
"It...it d-did not affect me!" she yelled, her eyes brimming with tears. This was probably the first time I've ever met a villain this sensitive.
Annabeth bent down and picked up a fallen wand. "Made from the bark of a myrrh tree," she murmured. "Is this Drew's?"
Dawn glanced up, scowling scornfully, "Yes."
Annabeth looked around calculatingly, analyzing the room for any evidence of another person's presence. "Where is she?" she asked warily.
"Ran away," Dawn waved her hand idly. "The instant I released her she just bolted." She turned thoughtful, "Though I am uncertain, she may have tripped over someone in her haste to leave."
"Am I interrupting?" a voice asked.
Dumbledore stood by the door, "Ah, silly question. One would always be interrupting something or other."
We told him what happened, and he stroked his beard gravely, "I fear many of the Ravenclaws are very traumatized. I should go help them, meet me in my office in half an hour." Then he glanced at Dawn, "Oh dear, you've damaged your bracelet."
He scooped it up and fastened it around Dawn's wrist again.
***
Grover's POV <---- GASP!
To say the camps were doing well would be telling a lie.
A big. fat. lie.
Only three days after Annabeth's second Iris Message report to Chiron, the centurion of the Third Cohort in Camp Jupiter had been poisoned. Reyna and Frank found the perpetrator, a camper on probatio who claimed to have heard a persuasive voice urging him to do it.
Two days later Clovis had tried to smother one of his half-brothers to death with his pillow while sleepwalking.
He had come awake just in time and ran to the Big House, yelling that his grandmother had made him do it.
No more incidents occurred after that, but the campers were restless, suspicious of each other. The war games and capture the flag got more intense and dangerous. Nobody seemed to care much about losing dessert privileges anymore.
I sighed, playing a half-hearted jig on my reed pipes, making the strawberries ripen.
Some of the campers were still acting like they usually did. Juniper decorated her tree with flowers. Calypso sat around reading magic books and weaving things for the Hephaestus kids, occasionally making clothes for herself and Leo when he gets back. The Stolls were currently pouring maple syrup in people's helmets, carefully putting on just the right amount. Clarisse and her cabinmates, including the Nike kids, threw spears at dummies and fought each other. Will Solace was moping around and asking when Nico was coming back.
"Grover!" a familiar voice yelled.
I turned to find Tyson lumbering towards me, "Agh! Hi Tyson! Um, careful, the strawberries-"
I managed to jump out of the strawberry fields before Tyson picked me up in a huge hug.
"Okay, okay, please put me down now," I said nervously.
Tyson did, "Sorry." He sneezed and stepped back a bit. Then he bounced a little and clapped his hands, "Brother still at magic school, but he send food!"
Ella the Harpy zoomed down from a nearby tree. "Chocolate," she thrust out a few shiny packets. "Much sugar, cocoa, milk, and nuts. Yummy. Many many calories."
"Oh, thank you Ella," I took a piece, only slightly disappointed that they weren't enchiladas.
She hid the rest of the chocolate in her wings, "Ella was thanked. Grover is welcome."
The harpy kneeled down and began to draw a heart in the ground with her talons.
Tyson bent down to watch her, when suddenly the sound of indignant shouting caught our attention.
We rushed over, Ella fluttering beside us.
The Aphrodite and Ares cabin were in a heated argument. Lacy was telling Clarisse off for hurling a spear into their cabin roof, raining dust on the heads of the inhabitants.
And Clarisse, as usual, was using a variety of insults, carelessly waving a dagger around as she did so.
"Don't call me Licey!" Lacy shrieked, stamping her feet. "It's not lice in my hair! It's dust!"
"Oh hon," Drew Tanaka snickered. "I think you do have lice. It explains a lot, actually. I say we all go back inside and you can help me wash my hair."
Lacy spun to glare at her, "Piper left Mitchell and I in charge. Not. you."
Drew snorted, flipping her curled hair, "Sweetie, you know that I'm still the oldest around here. "
Lacy angrily jabbed her finger into her chest, "If Piper were here-"
"Shut up, Aphrodite girl!" a boy from the Nike cabin yelled.
Then everyone began shouting all at once.
Of course the fight attracted Chuck, the baby satyr. "DIE DIE DIE!" he yelled, waving a small club. Thankfully, he didn't have a beard yet, or he'd look pretty terrifying.
Ella preened her wings nervously while sitting on the roof, "Arguments. Noun, an exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one." She gazed at the campers, "Yep, very angry." The harpy tilted her head, "In an attempt to hide both futures were shattered
One shall perish in an eff-
and lose a beloved to a midnight strife
Turning down reason, the other-"
Ella broke off, "Burned. Many parts gone. Fire. To Build a Fire by Jack London."
Most of the campers had stopped fighting. "Say that again!" Clarisse demanded.
Ella shook her head vigorously, "No no no!"
I ignored Chuck, who was hitting at my legs like mosquitoes were there. Gently, I asked, "Ella, is there any other prophecy you can think of that might help us? I know we asked you before, but-"
"The traitor, the archer, the others return
siding with the goddess not able to burn
only by unlocking the chains of day
will you-"
Ella shifted and flapped her wings, grabbing a chocolate before it fell, "That's all. No more."
Nico's POV
We left Dawn alone to her seething anger and misery, and talked strategy in Dumbledore's office.
The Headmaster hadn't arrived yet, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco had joined us.
Since there were so many of us and the chairs were huge, we made a pretty wide circle around his desk, like we were going to play duck duck goose.
Just then, an Iris Message shimmered into being in front of us.
Grover peeked out at us, one hand raised like he was preparing to swipe. When he saw us, he lowered his hand. "Good, you're alone. Hi Perce."
"Hey G-Man, we actually just told the students who we are," Percy told him.
"Oh, good," he said. Then the satyr looked behind him nervously, "Okay, Chiron's gonna be here any moment. He told me not to tell, but-" He told us about Clovis and the poisoned centurion.
Annabeth nodded grimly, "I suspected as much. Two students here, they've already gone psycho and murdered two people, and tried for another three but failed."
Grover fiddled with an acorn, "None of the targets were you, I hope?"
"Actually," Hermione said. "I was one of them. And I don't know if Annabeth told you, but someone gave Thalia a Violence Potion."
"Oh yeah," Grover looked at Thalia, "glad you're okay."
"It was my birthday a few weeks ago by the way," Thalia said, which made Grover looked awkward.
"Sis," Jason said, "don't make him uncomfortable."
Annabeth said, "The only thing that makes me feel better about Dawn and Isabell-the two girls that went psycho-is that they were already planning to do what they did."
"Or maybe Nyx just made them feel really vengeful without talking to them," Leo pointed out. Then he turned thoughtful, "Oh wait a second, maybe not. Drew may have mentioned that Dawn once tried to push one of her classmates out of the Astronomy Tower." He paused, "Oh wait, maybe it was Drew who did that, I don't remember."
Annabeth shot him a look, "Right. So they were both already like, violent and stuff. Nobody else has done anything. Well, I suppose Wilby did some things unwillingly." She paused, "What did he do? We never got to ask him anything."
Leo looked glum, "Too bad he can't talk. I actually like him a lot."
Piper glanced at one of Dumbledore's inkpots, "Yeah, I kind of want to pat his head right now."
"Um," Grover said uncomfortably, "not sure what's going on, but earlier Ella-oh! Chiron's here."
He moved aside.
The pony man appeared from the side, "Any updates?"
Annabeth summarized everything that happened recently in less than a minute.
"Hm," Chiron said, "I suppose we still do not know much about Nyx. Though from Draco's description of what happened at the Shrieking Shack, it seems that she is attempting to capture her daughter, Hemera."
"Dumbledore told us about Susan Bones," Annabeth went on breathlessly. "She was completely burned, and had bruises all over. She couldn't remember much, but she said something about Day coming to help her."
The door opened, and Dumbledore stepped in. Seeing the Iris Message, he spread his hands and beamed, "Ahh, Chiron! I can't say it's a surprise, but it is a great pleasure to see you. Did you trim your beard this morning? You look fantastic."
"Oh, well, it is nice to see you too," Chiron gave the Headmaster a weird look. "Dumbledore, are you......flirting with me?"
Dumbledore laughed and waved his hand idly, "Perhaps."
"Right," Chiron cleared his throat, looking slightly flustered, "on to business. Ella recited two incomplete prophecies." He told us the prophecies, managing to sound grave the entire time.
"Well," Annabeth said, "the first one sounds like it could be about Drew and Dawn."
Chiron nodded, "Yes, you told me about those twin girls. Perhaps they have a bigger part to play than we realize."
"Yeah," Thalia said, "and the second prophecy's about a traitor and an archer."
"Unfortunately, we know lots of traitors," Percy said. "Most of them dead now. We know lots of archers too."
"Siding with the goddess not able to burn," Leo said. "Obviously that's Nyx."
" 'Unlocking the chains of day,' I guess that might be the goddess of day, Hemera. If Nyx took her or something." I shrugged, "It's possible."
"Sounds like the prophecy about Artemis," Thalia complained. "Why can't it be a guy in chains? Why does it have to be a girl?"
"We don't know for sure if it's Hemera," Annabeth pointed out. "It could be Helios for all we know. He used to drive the sun chariot."
"I wish it were Apollo," Thalia mused. "It might shrink his ego."
"About Susan Bones," Dumbledore said, absently straightening a few paintings, "I checked on her in the Hospital Wing. She will be fine and ready to talk in the morning. I also found out that Isabell had regained her memory two days ago, and was merely faking not knowing. She is currently in her dormitory with a bracelet identical to Dawn's."
"I bet she did something to Susan," Leo said. "Geez, do we have to like, keep watch over everyone? I feel like a teacher. Troublemakers everywhere."
"Now you feel the pain they experience from having students like you," Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Why would teachers feel pain teaching me?" Leo asked, puzzled. "They should feel honored. There's only on McShizzle in the whole universe, you know. Chiron, you feel honored teaching me right?"
The centaur considered this. "Occasionally."
Susan's POV (Before the demigods were revealed)
Precisely forty-three minutes before dinner, Hannah Abbott motioned for me to hurry up.
"I'm almost done," I called to her, madly scribbling at my letter.
"What exactly are you writing?" Hannah asked curiously, walking over.
"I'm writing to my dad. He wants to pull me out of Hogwarts."
"And you are refusing, I hope?"
"I don't know," I muttered. "I want to stay, but I don't want him to worry about me."
"So you're staying right?"
I shrugged, "I suppose. I'm a Hufflepuff. Nobody cares about us, so we're in less danger than the rest of the students. Haven't you noticed that nobody has specifically targeted Hufflepuffs?"
"What about in second year?" Hannah demanded. "Justin Finch-Fletchley was Petrified."
"The Basilisk was only trying to get Muggle-borns," I said dismissively.
"Conrad was knocked out."
"You left out the fact that Lavender was murdered, while Conrad survived. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. You're just worried about him because you looooove him."
Hannah gave me an indignant look, but before she could say anything I set down my quill, "I'm done." I tied the letter to my owl and let him fly out the window.
The hallways were quiet, since it was still a while until dinner starts. Hannah and I liked to go to the library before dinner.
While going up the stairs to the ground floor, we spotted Isabell Kabrat coming down. To her confusion, Isabell wasn't allowed to go to classes or leave her dormitory, only to go to Madam Pomfrey to try to get her memory fixed. I tried not to look nervous when I saw her.
Isabell paused, looking us up and down like she was considering us. Then she glanced around, "Hm."
We tried to step around her, but she moved.
"Excuse me," I said politely.
Isabell snorted, raising her wand, "Silencio."
I didn't like the tone she used, or the glint in her eye when she said the spell. Immediately we stepped back, turning to run.
Isabell seized my arm and stuck her wand to my throat. I frozen, and she glared at Hannah, "Hans or whatever your name is, follow me."
I could barely believe it, doing this is broad daylight? Well, maybe it was evening now, but we were bound to be seen.
But we wordlessly followed Isabell to the long corridor.
Moaning Myrtle had flooded the bathrooms, and the water had leaked out under the door.
We avoided the large puddle, and Isabell dragged me to the nearest window. "Jump out," Isabell said.
Hannah whirled to stare at her. I wore an expression identicle to hers.
The Slytherin rolled her eyes like we were idiots, "The roof outside is in a slope. Just slide down."
Footsteps echoed behind us, and I would have screamed with relief if I could.
Isabell pushed Hannah out the window. The Hufflepuff, totally unprepared, tumbled head over heels down the roof onto the dirt. To my absolute horror, she wasn't moving.
For some reason, Isabell seemed relieved when Conrad turned the corner.
He gave us a pleasant smile, "Hello."
I tried to give him an I'm in danger and Hannah's injured look.
Sadly, he mistook if for an I'm perfecly fine and happy look.
"Run along Conrad," Isabell smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. Her voice was a low hiss, "you don't want to miss dinner, do you?"
I tried to mime out what Isabell was doing, but Conrad just smiled at me, "You're so funny, Susan. Good-bye now," he turned and walked away.
I stared after him in utter disbelief. Isabell was staring too, but out of annoyance. I took the opportunity to flee after him.
Isabell forsaw this, and lunged at me, taking hold on the collar of my robes. She yanked me over to the window by my Hufflepuff tie. She looked around once more and shoved me towards the window, "Just slide down. Preferably more gracefully than your friend."
Moments later, I was out near the Whomping Willow. Isabell had magicked a large cage over from Hagrid's Hut.
Hannah was still unconscious, and Isabell had left her on the ground, where she would be unnoticed by anyone inside unless they were to look out the window.
I gulped as she set the cage down. What is she doing?
Isabell caught my look, "What am I doing? I'm going to lock you inside this cage, then tie you to the Whomping Willow."
Horrified, I stumbled backwards, but Isabell waved her wand and I was frozen in place. "If all goes well," Isabell continued, "Hemera will come by and try to save you. You are her daughter after all." She flung open the cage door, "And then, once Hemera stops running, Lady Nyx can snatch her up."