Chapter 4
Moody twisted the bronze doorknob and sneered at the silver serpent knocker as he shoved open the door. Percy held his breath before following on his heels. As soon as all four demigods stepped foot inside the hallway, a cloud of heavy chalk dust whirled around them like a mini tornado. Moody looked on with interest, but the dust seemed content with whatever it must have found, because it slumped slowly back towards the ground.
"Well if that ain't strange..." Moody mumbled before scowling again. "All right you lot, it's way past yer bedtime. Go on upstairs. There are plenty of beds up there." With that, he limped towards the closest door, and disappeared behind it.
The four demigods examined their new safe haven in interest, then headed towards the creaking stairwell. The front door opened into a long, skinny hallway with a large dusty chandelier softly illuminated with twentieth-century gas lamps. Percy noticed the once brilliant wallpaper peeling off in strips, and heavy cobwebs hanging in almost every corner.
As they made their way up the steps, they automatically shied away from the silver serpents that decorated the wooden paneling underneath the wallpaper. When they reached the first landing, a voice shrieked out from behind them.
"FILTHY HALF-BLOODS. I CAN SMELL YOU!"
The demigods whipped out their wands and pointed them towards the shrill voice. Just before they called out their weapons, the voice screamed again.
"FREAKS! HOW DARE YOU STEP FOOT IN-"
"SHUT IT!" The hallway door flew open, and Alastor Moody bellowed towards the voice. The demigods backed up the stairs quickly and watched as the wizard flung a tattered velvet quilt off of a portrait, and cursed loudly at its occupant.
"Is that...is that painting alive?" Annabeth hissed, gripping her wand tightly.
Moody directed a spell towards the painting and the lady stopped moving altogether. He returned the quilt to its rightful place and sneered at the newcomers. "Of course it's alive! Haven't you lot ever seen moving portraits before?"
Percy lowered his wand and motioned for the others to do the same. "Uh..no. I guess we don't have them in New York."
The wizard narrowed his eyes. "Then you'll have an interesting time arriving at Hogwarts. Place is full o' em. Now get to bed!"
They all looked at each other with wide eyes, but shrugged as this wasn't the strangest news they had ever heard. Percy waited for Moody to limp back into the room he had claimed, then nodded towards the others to continue on up the stairs.
Annabeth reached her hand towards the doorknob of the first bedroom on their right, but Nico stopped her. "This one is occupied. I can sense a few people sleeping in there."
"How about the next one?" She asked, pointing towards the room a few feet down the hall.
Nico tilted his head for a second in consideration, then shook it. "Seems to be empty, come on."
He led the group into a dusty room with four matching twin beds, two pushed up against the north wall, and two pushed up against the west wall. The room was dark, with eerie moonlight streaming in through the boarded-up window. They all stumbled in, exhausted as the events of the day finally caught up to them.
Percy and Annabeth dropped their suitcases on the sides of the beds on the west wall while Nico and Will took the remaining two beds.
"I'm sure I don't need to remind you guys, but let's keep our 'wands' with us tonight. I don't like not knowing who else is in the house." Will yawned, and stuffed his own wand into a clasp near his ankle. They all mumbled their goodnights and fell silent.
Percy waited about half an hour until he could hear the soft snores of his friends, then rolled over into an unfamiliar dream.
XX
Percy was floating. Or at least that's what it felt like. His body didn't seem completely corporeal, so his feet weren't exactly touching the ground. He took in his surroundings quickly. Percy seemed to be near the end of a tunnel, or dark chamber. Stone pillars decorated with silver serpents lined the edges of a strip of faded concrete surrounded by murky green water, and he could feel his nerves rising as he realized the ceiling was completely covered in shadows.
He almost yelped as he saw movement from the corner of his eye, but managed to hold his tongue. Percy whipped around and saw a young boy, maybe around the age of eleven or twelve with messy black hair and cracked glasses sprinting towards a small lump on the ground. The scene in front of Percy was hazy, but he thought he could make out the boy trying to stir the lump, maybe it was a person? If so, they had to be young.
The boy jumped, startled, and started speaking to an older boy leaning against one of the pillars. Percy could make out an arrogant smile and hated him immediately. If the lump on the ground really was a person, why wasn't this older boy helping?
The two spoke for a few minutes, but it almost sounded as if they were underwater, so Percy couldn't hear what was said. He noted that this was unlike his usual dreams where he was watching events take place in real time, or revisiting the depths of Tartarus.
No...this was different, he didn't belong here.
He could feel the temperature in the room rise a few degrees as sweat beaded at his temples. The conversation below him had turned into an argument. The younger boy was now up on his feet, seemingly yelling at the older one. A flash of movement, and shimmering letters began appearing in the air. Percy tried to lean in to see what they spelled and had to concentrate because his dyslexia decided now was the best time to act up.
'TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT'
That must be the older boy's name, Tom Riddle. Percy felt like the name was deeply important but wasn't sure why. The younger boy certainly seemed to understand the connection, because he took a slight, hesitant step back as if afraid.
Flames erupted in the corner of the chamber, and a brilliant crimson bird flew straight towards the two boys, dropping some kind of ragged dark bundle on the ground.
Percy struggled to get closer to be able to hear what was said, but missed the next few seconds of the exchange. He froze when he felt the entire chamber shudder around him. Percy glanced up to see a giant, horrifying serpent uncoiling out of the mouth of a massive stone statue, a sickly green color that was the width of a tree trunk.
A tingling sensation began crawling its way up through his fingers, arms, and sinking up towards his neck. Percy struggled to move, and could feel his body rejecting the effort. Fear gripped him, closing off his throat as he tried to cry out for help. The next moment, darkness overtook him.
XX
"Percy, wake up." A familiar voice brought him back into the light, and he had to force his body to listen to him. He groaned and looked over at his friends.
They all seemed to have dark circles under their eyes as they struggled to sit up and get out of bed. "Did you guys have nightmares too?" They all nodded grimly, then looked at him expectantly. He relayed what happened in his dream, and asked Annabeth about hers.
She ran her fingers through her messy curls and huffed with a shake of her head. "I was in this chamber that was surrounded by these heavy black flames. This nervous looking guy with a turban tried to kill this kid, but every time he grabbed the boy, he would blister up and eventually dissolved into dust. It was the strangest thing."
"I wonder if it was the same kid I saw in my dream." Nico guessed, taking a seat on the bed next to Will. "In mine he was running from some kind of monster, it looked like something out of a bad werewolf movie."
Will nodded. "I bet it was. Black hair? Glasses? It was probably the same kid who was in mine. He used his wand to produce some kind of holographic deer to destroy all of these skeleton looking things with dark cloaks."
Nico narrowed his eyes at that. "Skeleton looking things with dark cloaks? My father is the Lord of the Underworld, and I haven't heard of anything like that."
The four demigods mulled over their dreams for a few minutes before Annabeth broke the silence. "I'm assuming that the boy in all of our dreams was Harry Potter, the Chosen One we were sent here to protect."
It makes sense." Percy agreed with a yawn. "I bet that 'Dark Lord' person had something to do with all of the horrible things he went through."
Annabeth took Percy's hand and held on tight. They didn't say anything but made eye contact with Nico. Will put his arm around his boyfriend and tugged him closer. "Look, obviously I didn't go through anything like you three did. But maybe this Harry Potter character might be able to relate to you more than we thought."
Nico gave Will a thin, shy smile, then whipped his head around towards the door. "Someone's coming." They each brought out their wands, ready to call on their weapons if needed, when a small knock sounded at the door.
"Good morning!" A cheery voice floated from the other side of the door, and the knob slowly turned. The four demigods lowered their wands as a plump face appeared in the opening. The woman had frizzy red hair like Rachel's, kind eyes, and a bright outfit that had its fair share of tatters.
"Sorry to scare you dears, but my name is Molly Weasley. Breakfast is ready, so come on downstairs so you can meet everyone." She gave them a quick smile that had a hint of sadness behind it and disappeared through the threshold.
Percy's stomach erupted with a growl, and his ears turned a shade of pink. "Food is waiting, let's go." They all quickly changed, brushed their teeth, and headed down the dusty stairs, still a little on edge. When they reached the doorway to the dining room at the foot of the stairs, Percy let his heart rate calm down when no apparent threat made itself known.
It was the brightest room they had seen since entering Grimmauld Place. At least thirty gas lamps hung on the walls around the room, which flickered softly, keeping the shadows to a minimum. An exceptionally long table with seven people gathered around one end of it stood in the center of the room. Every eye snapped its attention to the four newcomers.
"Ah! You made it down. Come in, come in dears! I'll introduce you to everybody." Mrs. Weasley stood up happily and urged them to come closer. Annabeth shot a small grin at Percy and took the first step towards the crowd.
Mrs. Weasley began pointing out the other guests at the table, "These are my sons, Fred, George, and Ronald." The two older boys looked to be identical; Percy was sure only Annabeth would be able to sort them out. The younger one had the same fire red hair, tattered clothes, and soft smile that the rest of his family had. Mrs. Weasley pointed out the young woman sitting next to Ron, "This is Hermione, the brightest young witch of her age."
Hermione had frizzy light brunette hair that was braided down her back, a pretty heart-shaped face, and curious eyes. Percy immediately thought that she and Annabeth would get along.
"This is Sirius Black, the owner of this house." She motioned towards a tall man with long, flowing black hair. He was unusually skinny, and had a sunken face that hollowed out his cheeks. However, his eyes were bright, and he greeted them with a large smile.
Percy's eyes found those of the man next to Sirius. He was old, like really old. Wrinkles covered his pale face, and an incredible white beard flowed down towards his lap. Despite his apparent age, his blue eyes twinkled with fascination and excitement, and Percy figured he was much more powerful than he looked.
"And this, of course, is-"
"Dumbledore." Annabeth chimed in. "You must be the Dumbledore that Moody mentioned last night."
He gave her a knowing smile. "You would be correct." The old wizard turned to address the rest of the demigods. "You must be Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Nico Di Angelo, and Will Solace." Each demigod raised their hand in acknowledgement when their name was mentioned.
"Well dears, it is so nice to meet you. Come, come. There is plenty of breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley ushered them into their chairs and fussed until each had food in front of them.
"So..uh...why are you lot coming to Hogwarts?" Ron asked after taking a large bite, clearly suspicious of the newcomers. Hermione shot him a 'how rude' look, and mouthed her apologies to the group.
Annabeth, of course, didn't miss a beat. "Our headmaster, Chiron, thought it would be a good idea for a few of his students to study abroad. The four of us were chosen based on merit and skill set."
Ron didn't really seem satisfied with her answer, but let it rest for the time being. The rest of breakfast revolved around the demigods getting to know Ron and Hermione. Apparently, they were Harry Potter's best friends, and they described a few of their experiences at Hogwarts so far, not going into any gory details, of course. Percy knew the whole crowd was trying to make light of the past, and he made a note to dig a little deeper into their stories once he knew them well enough.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, capturing the room's attention. "Mr. Jackson, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Percy swallowed the last bite of his tenth pancake, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and followed Dumbledore to a room that broke off from the dining room. It was small, but homey. The fireplace was lit with simmering flames that helped him relax. Dumbledore took out his wand, and Percy's eyes immediately examined it, tracking over the length of aged wood. It looked to be about fifteen inches long with a unique design to it. He thought about how Grover would be able to identify the wood it was made out of at first glance, then cast his eyes to the side at the thought. He missed his friend.
"It draws you in, doesn't it?" Dumbledore asked softly, admiring the wand in his own hand. Percy nodded, and waited for the wizard to continue. "Its core is made out of Thestral tail-hair. Of course, you would have no idea what that means." He observed lightly.
"I trust that by now you have deduced out that I am the son of Hecate?" He asked.
Percy grinned back at him. "I don't know how I knew. You just seem to give off a different vibe than everyone else."
"Well Mr. Jackson, you will have to get used to that at Hogwarts. You and your friends will give off that same uh...vibe, as you call it. I imagine you and your friend Mr. di Angelo will have more encounters with that than the others."
Percy let out a sigh. "Yeah, it comes with the territory. I don't think we will ever get used to it, but at least Nico and I know to expect it."
Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "Two children of the Big Three under one roof...what a sight to behold. I think you will get along quite well with Mr. Potter. I have a feeling that you two are very much alike." He paused, and seemed to choose his next words carefully. "I must warn you, Mr. Jackson. I will not be available to you once Harry arrives. To keep him safe, I must keep my distance. It will be difficult, because I hold great love for that boy. But, if staying away from him means that I can protect him a little while longer, I will do it."
Percy studied the man in front of him, the son of Hecate. Hermione had told him that Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world, and he believed her, but not only because of his supposed abilities. Percy admired how greatly he loved, and his desire to protect those around him. He was the headmaster of Hogwarts and had dedicated his life to seeing to it that the descendants of Hecate learn how to use magic properly.
"I understand, Professor." He responded confidently. And he did. Percy trusted his friends to help him protect Harry Potter, even without Dumbledore's help.
Dumbledore looked visibly relieved and his shoulder relaxed. "Thank you, my boy. Now, if you excuse me, I must see to it that Harry Potter does not get expelled from Hogwarts." With a wink, Dumbledore apparated into thin air with a loud pop.
Percy blinked, then turned around to head back into the dining room. He relayed the cryptic message that Dumbledore left him with, and took his seat next to Annabeth.
Sirius shoved up onto his feet, leaning away from Mrs. Weasley, obviously in distress. "I should be with him! He's just a boy!"
Mrs. Weasley swatted Sirius back into his chair. "You know that will only put him in more danger. You are a wanted man! Dumbledore knows what he's doing. Arthur will make sure he gets to the hearing safe and sound."
Sirius moved his greasy black hair out of his eyes and mumbled under his breath. "They will eat him alive in there..."
The four demigods watched the exchange curiously. What in the world were they talking about?
Ron and Hermione caught their eyes, and mouthed for them to meet the two upstairs. One by one, each student excused themself from the table and filed into Fred, George, and Ron's bedroom.
Will crossed his arms and spoke up first, "Can you explain what they were talking about down there?"
Hermione sat down on Ron's bed and fiddled with her thumbs. "Sirius told us that Harry was attacked by Dementors yesterday evening."
Obviously, none of the demigods had heard of Dementors before, and gave her a questioning look. "I guess they don't have them in America..." Ron mumbled, catching Hermione's eye.
She continued with a frown pulling at her lips. "Dementors are under the control of the Ministry of Magic, they guard Azkaban, the wizarding prison for the most foul dark witches and wizards."
Ron shuddered and ran his hands over his bare arms. "They're bloody terrifying. Harry knows how to produce a Patronus Charm, so he was fine, but the Ministry would never send Dementors to attack an underage wizard...so..."
"The question is, who sent them?" Nico finished darkly for him. "My guess would be this 'Dark Lord' character that we've been hearing so much about."
Hermione narrowed her gaze. "Yes, that is what we were thinking too. I guess even across the pond His name is still known."
Percy raised his hand warily, "Does anyone actually know this guy's name? It seems like everyone is too scared to use it."
Ron and Hermione exchanged a nervous glance. "It's just..names have power, you know? I'll write it down for you."
Hermione took out a piece of paper from her notebook, scribbled something down, then handed it to the four demigods. Their eyes widened at the name VOLDEMORT, and Percy cleared his throat with a loud cough. It was the same name from his dream, that creep Tom Riddle must have been Voldemort once upon a time. He didn't really understand how that was possible, seeing as though the guy in his dream couldn't have been older than sixteen.
"Anyway, underage wizards aren't allowed to use magic outside of the school grounds, so the Ministry found out that Harry used the Patronus Charm, to defend himself I might add, in front of his cousin, Dudley, who is a muggle. And now they want to expel him." Hermione sniffed, and put her head in her hands.
"But, Dumbledore isn't going to let that happen. Dad took Harry to the Ministry to have his hearing, and Dumbledore is going to defend him. They will bring him back here." Ron finished for her.
"Oh, Ron. Harry is going to be so angry with us!" Hermione cried into her hands. Annabeth took pity on her and sank down next to her on the bed, rubbing little circles over her back.
"Why, what did you do?" Will asked curiously.
Ron shot him a look. "Dumbledore asked us not to write anything of importance to Harry this summer. He thinks our letters could have been intercepted, so he's probably going out of his mind worrying. He watched You Know Who come back last year, and hasn't been given any sort of information since then."
Percy's frustration bubbled at that. Sure, he understood the need to be careful, but this kid had clearly gone through enough. He didn't need his friends bailing on him on top of that.
"You could have at least explained that to him!" He grumbled through his gritted teeth.
Hermione looked up with tear tracks along her cheeks, clearly exasperated. "What were we supposed to do! This was a direct order from Dumbledore! He didn't want Harry to know anything about the Order!" She immediately caught her mistake, and clamped a hand over her mouth.
Annabeth stood up from her spot and moved back towards her friends. "The Order? What's that?" Her stormy grey eyes were locked onto Hermione's, willing the information out of her.
"I..uh..oh whatever!" She threw her hands up in the air, and folded them across her chest. Ignoring warning looks from Ron, she looked at the four demigods. "The Order of the Phoenix. They are a group put together by Dumbledore to fight back against You Know Who. This place is the headquarters."
Ron sighed, and shot them a suspicious look. "Dumbledore must trust you lot quite a bit to let you stay here."
Hermione stared at him, as he had made a really good point. "Yes...why did he let you come here? He must have known you would find out about the Order."
Percy shuffled his feet, but spoke confidently. "Maybe he believes that we have a part to play in this war too."
The room was silent for a few moments as they all processed the new information.
Annabeth clapped her hands together, successfully changing the subject. "All right, well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, do you think you two could catch us up on some spells and information before we get to Hogwarts? All of us are worried that our curriculum in America is...different..than it is here."
Percy threw his arm around Annabeth and kissed her cheek. Leave it to his girlfriend to find homework to do before school even started.
Percy watched understanding flicker across Hermione and Ron's faces as they realized he and Annabeth were a couple. Hermione brightened considerably, and ran out the room quickly. Ron groaned when she came back in carrying a stack of heavy books in her arms. "You bet we can!!" She grinned like a madwoman.
Percy inwardly sighed, but knew this was the best plan of action. They needed to be able to protect themselves with the wands Hecate had given them, not just with their trusty weapons. He motioned for his friends to find a spot in the room and sit down.
Once everyone was comfortable, Hermione jumped up and handed everyone a different leather-bound book. "First things first, Hogwarts, A History..."
Percy forced himself to pay attention, but a nagging feeling creeped into the back of his mind. He would meet Harry Potter soon. The entire reason Percy's life was ripped from its roots and he was sent over to London. The entire reason he and Annabeth weren't enjoying a romantic picnic in Central Park right now. The entire reason for this mysterious quest.
Percy would meet The Boy Who Lived soon enough.
XX