LEGIONS IN LEGENDS [PJO X HP]

TWENTY-TWO: THE ROOMMATES

IN A RANDOM CORNER OF A RANDOM CORRIDOR, Travis Stoll lived in peaceful, unaware bliss. With an open journal in his lap, the boy was completely clueless of the possessive spirit living in his brain, and he continued to plan pranks as if there was a day off in school.

I miss Connor, he admitted to himself, staring at the list of ideas that didn't seem as bright without his brother around. Back in Camp Half-Blood, the two of them would pull the most awesome pranks, and it was a shame now that he couldn't do the same. He didn't like playing the role of a 'caring friend' or whatever, but his friends were seriously moody about the disappearing cases, and he wanted to do something to cheer them up.

Speaking of his friends... he wondered what they were up to. He knew Percy and Annabeth were at the library, but he didn't really want to third-wheel today— especially since Katie had been acting strangely around him for the past week or so.

"Travis, right?"

The demigod in question raised his head. His eyes landed on two boys he was unfamiliar with.

"Do I know you...?"

An offended silence hung for a few seconds.

"Okay, rude," said the shorter boy. "We make it a point to remember your name and you don't even know ours? Luka, why do you even want to talk to him?"

His companion, Luka, rolled his eyes. "Because he's friends with Nico, Kez. Shut up."

Travis' head perked up at the mention of his missing friend. "You know Nico?"

"Yeah, we're roommates," Kez said. The balls of his feet bounced up and down impatiently. "He's been gone recently so Luka and I just assumed the worst— he went home because he's deathly ill or something."

"Don't you guys have magic? Can't you, like, cure diseases?" Travis questioned, bemused by the fourth-year's conspiracy theory. "Anyways, we don't know what happened to Nico. He kinda just disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Luka repeated. Hesitance clung to his figure. "Has he been kidnapped, by chance?"

"I don't know." He cast his eyes downwards, helplessness rising in his chest. Even with him putting in his full effort to solve the missing cases, the demigods seemed to lack more information than they'd like to admit. There were no suspects other than Harry, but they'd already been monitoring his behaviour— nothing strange had occured yet.

Also, he didn't like to think about all the blank memories that recently resided in his mind. Perhaps the Hogwarts education was taking a toll on his mental health, but he'd been experiencing weird flashes of time as of late. One moment he would be sitting for the last class of the day, and then he'd wake up in the Ravenclaw dormitory the next.

While a lot of his friends were missing, it seemed like a chunk of his memories were, too.

"Well, we're here to help, if you need it," Luka offered. A sympathetic smile dotted his lips. "Nico's a good guy. I just hope he's safe."

Travis nodded in agreement. Though he didn't get the chance to bond with Nico much, it was known that the young boy was mature at heart, and had gone through too much for someone his age. He may have felt like the camp had shunned him out at one point, but in truth, Nico was always welcome in Camp Half-Blood. He was a hero that could not be discredited, despite his misled journeys in the past.

"There is one way you could help us," the Son of Hermes voiced out, just as Kez and Luka had turned to leave. They whirled around curiously. "Keep an eye on Malfoy. I don't know if he has any tricks up his sleeves, but he's a reasonable suspect for the missing cases."

"Of course," Kez said, cringing slightly. With overwhelming dramatisation, he added, "Malfoy's a jerk."

Luka nudged him, before facing Travis again. "We can watch him. But, for your information, I think Malfoy has changed. Maybe not drastically, but there has been a sway of morals in him."

"How would you know?" Travis raised an eyebrow. Once again, silence enveloped the trio, but this time it was eery, and secretive.

"You'll find that, most times, Travis, families are exposed to sides not revealed within the school compound."