"Harry? Harry..."
Harry blinked a couple of times and looked up, ejected from his thoughts by Ron calling his name. "Sorry, what?"
Ron sighed, plopping down on the common room chair beside him. "Honestly, what is it with you and Hermione? You've both been spacing out since the meeting today."
"Didn't you notice something off at that meeting?" Harry inquired.
Ron snorted, "You mean other than Zacharias, and the whole 'my sister has a boyfriend' thing?"
"You only knew about that after the meeting," Hermione quipped, joining the conversation. "But obviously Harry's talking about that interruption. I wonder who they were."
Scowling, Ron said, "Why was Marcus there anyway? I don't get why Percy hangs out with that guy. He's so cold."
"He can't be that bad," said Hermione. "And it's because he and Zaiden are friends with Percy that I invited them."
"They showed up just fine, but where was Percy?" Harry asked. "He promised to show up."
"Maybe he forgot the time?" Ron offered. He received doubtful stares.
Hermione spoke up with an idea. "Here's something. Let's go talk to Marcus. They're roommates, he should be able to tell us something. Percy might even be there."
Harry's eyebrows knitted together. "We can't get into the Hufflepuff dorms though..."
"I'm sure we can chase down one of his roommates," Ron said. "Who else is there?"
"Valador Smith, Calum Oritz, Marcus Ingram, and Zaiden Dockery," Hermione supplied quickly.
"Blimey, Hermione! You keeping tabs on him or something?"
Hermione flushed. "Of course not, Ron. I'd know where he'd gone otherwise, wouldn't I?"
Harry stood up, brushing off his robes. "Right then. Let's go see who we can find."
"Check the library first. We can probably find Calum there," said Hermione. Both boys turned to look at her with obvious surprise. She raised her hands in defence. "What? I'm always at the library, of course I'd know who frequents."
As the Golden Trio left, Ron muttered to Harry, "She'd be a bloody scary stalker."
He promptly received a smack to the back of his head. "I can hear you."
Upon arriving at the library, they quickly discovered she was right. Obscured by the piles of paper around him was the one and only Calum Oritz, scribbling furiously on a scrap of parchment.
"Hi, Calum!" Hermione greeted him. Calum jumped and was quick to cover his writing with another scrap of parchment. "What're you doing?"
"W-writing..." he stuttered out.
"Nice. I have a brief question. Do you know where Marcus is? Or Percy?"
"Uh... I don't know about Percy. I haven't seen him... since... ah, yesterday? B-but Marcus was going to the s-seventh floor. There were ah, a few people with him."
Hermione smiled brightly at him. "Thanks, Calum. Good luck with your writing!" The boy in question flushed and lowered his head, watching as the three left.
"What's up with that stutter?" Ron asked.
"He's got bad anxiety," said Hermione.
Ron turned to her. "Seriously, what don't you know?"
"I've talked to him a couple of times, okay? His writing is actually really good."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Right, right."
"Hey," Harry interrupted. "What's on the seventh floor that Marcus would go there for?"
Both of his friends shrugged. "I don't know, but we'd better head up there fast if we want to catch him."
As a matter of fact, by the time the three of them made it, Marcus himself was slipping out of an old set of doors unfamiliar to them all.
"Marcus!" Harry exclaimed. The pale boy froze midstep and stared straight at him. Then slowly, as if they wouldn't notice, he crept backwards into the room he was about to leave. "Wait!"
Harry launched forward to catch the heavy door before it shut and caught a glimpse of four people behind him. One was Zaiden, and the others were the strangers from earlier. Hermione and Ron were quick to come and back him up.
"We just want to know where Percy is," Hermione pleaded.
The tall blonde girl at the back told Marcus to let them in, and so hesitantly he released the door.
The Golden Trio stepped into the room and observed their new surroundings. There were three beds pushed against the walls and a mound of cushions in one corner. A small fountain resided in the opposing corner, at its rim a stack of strange gleaming coins. The place was decked out like a giant bedroom, with some peculiar touchups.
"Woah..." Ron admired. "I didn't know there was a place like this."
Hermione frowned. "Me either."
"It technically doesn't," Marcus said. "It's the Room of Requirement."
Harry perked up. "Room of Requirement? I think I've heard Dumbledore mention that before..."
"It only appears to those in need."
"You must be Harry Potter," the same blonde girl spoke.
"Yeah... who're you?"
"I'm Annabeth Chase. Percy's mentioned you before." She held her hand out to Harry who shook it with his own.
"He has? Do you know where he is then?" Harry asked hopefully.
Annabeth looked crestfallen. "No... sadly I don't."
Another blonde coughed discretely. Annabeth blinked. "Oh! This here is Will, a friend of Percy's, and over there is Isa - she's Marcus' sister. I do believe we've all very briefly met."
Hermione looked at Isa. The girl looked almost nothing like her older brother. "You have a sister?"
Marcus immediately put up his defence. "Yeah, I do."
Harry, sensing this particular conversation would get them nowhere, decided to interrupt with introductions of his own. "Well, this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasely. They're my friends."
"You guys don't go to Hogwarts, do you?" Ron said. It sounded like a question but he looked already sure of the answer.
"No, we don't," Annabeth agreed.
"So what brings you here then?" asked Hermione.
Will grabbed a few brightly coloured cushions and settled them down on the floor. "It's a long story. You might want to sit down for it."
And thus once again, Annabeth and Will recounted the events that lead them to here. The demigods had decided to let the three in on their little operation because for one, they could sense the three friends would never stay out of it, but also, they knew Harry had encountered Voldemort before and could give them more information.
However, the news of Percy's relation to the Dark Lord was a pill they found harder to swallow than Marcus and Zaiden.
"Wow..." Ron muttered again. He'd repeated the same thing several times now. Finally, he managed, "No wonder he hangs out with the likes of you," to Marcus.
Marcus' eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Excuse me!?"
"Y'know, dark and gloomy. Just like all You-Know-Who's followers."
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "Not everybody you meet is a Death Eater!"
The pale boy looked away.
Ignoring the banter, Annabeth's eyes were trained on Harry. He was perhaps the biggest liability. He'd yet to say anything and sat there with a dark and betrayed look on his face. She knew of his history with Voldemort, of course, but it was still better he knew now.
"Harry?" she probed quietly.
He looked up at her. "Are you serious?"
Annabeth nodded.
He started muttering and Annabeth began to feel he'd lost the plot. "How can that guy have a family? After everything he's done? Who would even want to be... involved with him? Except maybe Bellatrix. Wait, is she-"
"No, no, no. I don't know who it was, but it wasn't whoever this Bellatrix is. harry, he has a family, and Percy's a part of it. That can't be changed," she said quietly.
"But how? Percy's so-so-"
"Different?"
Harry nodded mutely. He couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
"He's never had any contact with his grandfather before. And his mother is nothing like Voldemort either. They've lived in America, far away from him until now," Annabeth explained.
"But that's- why? Why is he here now? Surely it's because Voldemort lured him here."
"But mate, didn't Dumbledore call him here?" Ron corrected.
That's true, and Dumbledore wouldn't bring Percy to Grimmauld of all places if he didn't think the teen to be trustworthy, or have anything to do with Voldemort. He simply wouldn't take that risk.
Or would he? Harry honestly wasn't so sure anymore.
"Ron's right. Maybe Dumbledore thought Voldemort was searching for his family and brought Percy here for protection," Hermione added, trying to convince Harry. Of course, this whole thing was a shock to her too, but she trusted Dumbledore and Dumbledore seemed to trust Percy.
"But if you think about it, there's a lot of shady things about him," Harry began.
"If you dare say I'm one of those shady things I'll-" Zaiden put a hand on Marcus' arm to calm him, giving him a warning look. Don't make things worse.
Marcus quietened down.
"Back at..." Harry cast an awkward glance at the strangers who weren't supposed to know about the existence of 12 Grimmauld Place, "the place, I overheard some things. Like with the Boggart when we were cleaning. If he's really had such a tame life, then why kick him out when it came to that?"
"Okay first of all," Will interrupted, spreading himself out across a couple of cushions. "What the hell is a Boggart. Second, Annabeth said Percy's never had anything to do with Voldemort, not that he's lived a tame life."
"Yeah, because a muggle life without Voldemort popping out around every corner is-"
"A Boggart is something that shapeshifts into a person's deepest fear," Hermione cut in, sensing Harry's temper quickly rising to the surface.
Annabeth's gaze turned towards the floor. She emitted a small, "Oh."
"Oh? That's all you're going to say?" Ron frowned, protesting.
Will commented offhandedly, "You know, just because he's lived a 'muggle life' - or so you say, doesn't mean it must've been tame. He could've been kidnapped, or attacked, or held hostage or something equally traumatising."
"Or all of the above," Annabeth muttered.
At that, everybody - including Marcus and Zaiden's - faced morphed into surprise. None of them had been told much about Percy's history.
"He's been kidnapped?"
Both demigods recalled the time Percy had been plucked from Camp Half-Blood and shoved memoryless into Camp Jupiter. The two camps may be on friendly terms with one another now, but they certainly weren't then. "Yep."
"He's almost been blown up before too."
"More than once, actually."
Disbelieving eyes stared at the two demigods as they went back and forth, caught up in a discussion of how many times Percy had nearly been blown to pieces.
"Okay, okay, so we agree his life might not have been tame, and maybe his mother wouldn't want him to relive that," Hermione waved her hands as if to shoo away Will and Annabeth's argument. she turned to Harry. "Satisfied?"
But Harry shook his head, no. "I overheard him and his mother talking - just before we left for the station. You guys know how we were both escorted. I heard them arguing about how Percy could protect himself just fine. He mentioned having a weapon and some sort of ability."
Harry never said it out loud, but they could tell what he was insinuating. Especially after all the discussion at 12 Grimmauld Place about Voldemort gaining a dangerous weapon he didn't have before. Maybe Percy had something to do with it? Maybe Voldemort had actually given him a weapon of some sort beforehand? Or a particularly nasty spell?
Annabeth sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. "He has something like a pocket knife that he keeps with him at all times, okay? And given everything he's dealt with in the past, is it really so bad that he knows how to use it? As for the ability, he's probably referring to this sort of sixth sense he's adopted for sensing danger."
Frowning, Hermione instantly opposed Annabeth's explanation. "The weapon bit I can believe. But the sixth sense ability? What's a pocket knife and a sense for danger going to do against wizards who don't even need to get close to take you out? If I had no idea about the existence of magic and then suddenly discovered I had an evil wizard grandfather bent on destroying people I'd be happy for a little extra protection. Especially if I had no magic to defend myself with. I don't believe Percy is that arrogant or naive to believe he could win with just that."
Annabeth could almost feel a headache coming on with all these doubts. Can't you just accept my words and move on?
The blonde demigod turned to look at Will, an obvious question shining in her stormy grey eyes. Should we just tell them the truth?
Will shrugged noncommittally. They were wizards. It's not like revealing they weren't the only magical humans was going to be such a monumental shock.
Resigning herself to her fate, Annabeth said, "You're right. I lied."
Hermione looked a little smug.
"The weapon he carries is actually a pen that transforms magically into a sword and the ability you heard him mentioned is his ability to control water."
Amongst the six doubtful faces in front of her, she heard somebody let out a small laugh. Annabeth turned a glare on the redhead.
Instantly he swallowed his laugh. "Sorry, but a pen-sword?"
"It's called Riptide," Annabeth said. Evidently she felt a little miffed about not being believed, but she also could've phrased it a little better.
Will butted in. "Percy could already use magic before he came here because he's a demigod - like us."
Zaiden frowned, processing. Isa, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time finally sat up straighter. "Like Nico? He wouldn't tell me exactly what he was when I asked him. Is he a demigod too?"
Will nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, like Nico! He's a son of Hades, who's the god of the Underworld. That's how he travelled through the shadows - it's his ability. We call it shadow travelling."
"Then what about Percy?" Ron asked curiously. That Nico kid they'd talked about could travel through shadows?
Annabeth answered him this time. "He's a son of Poseidon. That's who he got his ability to manipulate water from. So Poseidon's his father. It just so happens that Sally also happens to be a witch."
"You talk of Hades and Poseidon... You mean... like the Greek gods?" Hermione asked. She was evidently excited by this prospect. Harry, on the other hand, was sitting there with a frown on his face, deep in thought.
Annabeth clapped her hands. "Exactly like the Greek gods. They live wherever their power is strongest, which currently is America. They come down to mingle with mortals every now and then and have children. These children are born half-mortal and half-god - hence the name demigods. Demigods don't tend to know what they are for a long time. Their godly parent leaves before they're born and demigods grow up with just one parent until something happens to uncover their heritage. I'm a daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Will over there is a son of Apollo who is... well, the god of the sun, to put it shortly."
From there on, Annabeth launched into a brief explanation of what demigods were and shared a little of their history in order to help them understand. However, the more she spoke, the heavier Marcus started to feel, the pool of dread in his stomach growing bigger with every word.
Why did everything she says seem to resonate with him? Why did her tale seem so familiar? Vaguely, he was aware he was shaking and saw Zaiden look at him with concern. Marcus shook it off and gave Zaiden a reassuring smile back.
By the time Annabeth finished speaking, everybody seemed to have accepted her truths and she could finally breathe easy. That is until Harry posed another question.
"But what if he joins Voldemort? After all, he could offer him more power."
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth sighed. How many times was she going to have to go over everything? "I'm pretty sure I went over fatal flaws. Percy's is loyalty. He's not going to join Voldemort. But I get it if you can't trust that. His other grandfather, if you're familiar with the myths, is Kronos, the immortal Titan Lord of Time. Kronos wanted Percy too - he is one of the most powerful demigods in a long time after all - but Percy denied him every time and instead lead the fight against him."
Harry was still sceptical. "Voldemort might torture him."
"Percy won't give in. That's just the way he is," she said firmly. And that was that. She said it like a statement that left no room for argument.
At last, Harry was forced to give up his scepticism and accept that Percy wasn't the bad guy in this situation.
Suddenly a light bulb lit up in Hermione's mind. "You both know how to fight, right?"
"Yes....?" Annabeth said slowly.
"There's this awful teacher at our school-"
"Umbridge, right?" Annabeth interrupted. Hermione nodded her head.
"We're gathering a group for Harry to teach a proper Defence Against the Dark arts class. If you can fight... could you maybe... teach us all a few physical self-defence moves?"
"This..."
But Hermione wasn't finished yet. "And you're good at healing right? You could teach us first aid in case anything happens. Voldemort definitely isn't finished yet, and the more we can look after ourselves, the better."
Annabeth and Will shared a glance. "I don't see why not?" he said. If he and Annabeth were going to be stranded at Hogwarts until they could take action, he didn't see why they shouldn't help out where they could. It would be a chance to keep their skills sharp while they were here too.
And so it was decided. Here, in the Room of Requirement, their meetings would commence until Percy and Nico could be rescued!
~~~~
So there's a thing called Prodigal Son that I'm now obsessed with-
(In my country it's on every Monday night. Ahhhhhh).
I HAVE ONE MORE EXAM AND THEN I'M DONE WITH THEM ALL.
But then I start working full time so yikes. And it's all in the vineyard so I'm going to feel absolutely dead for weeks. This author's gonna put her back out T.T
Peace,
BTSWD
Borntosingwithdrama