The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 177 - Percy - The Chase

"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy repeated. "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why--"

"Shut up," Nico interrupted.

"--when I say now-- "

"--you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording..."

"Did he?" said Harry. "So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?"

"Why?" Malfoy sounded incredulously delighted. "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"

"About both of you, Potter, about both of you... haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

Harry stared into the slitted eye-holes through which Malfoy's grey eyes were gleaming. "Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" he said quietly, gazing at Lucius Malfoy, his fingers tightening over the warm glass sphere in his hand. "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"

"Get it himself?" shrieked Bellatrix, over a cackle of mad laughter.

"The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"So, he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry. "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it--and Bode?"

'Very good, Potter, very good..." said Malfoy slowly. "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell-"

"NOW!" yelled Harry.

"REDUCTO!" All the curses flew in different directions, and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor--

"RUN!" Harry yelled, as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to fall from above. A Death Eater lunged forwards through the cloud of dust and Harry elbowed him hard in the masked face; they were all yelling, there were cries of pain, and thunderous crashes as the shelves collapsed upon themselves, weirdly echoing fragments of the Seers unleashed from their spheres--

Alex turned backwards, her eyes wide, and almost threw her wand yelling "CONFRINGO!"

I found the way ahead clear and saw Ron, Ginny and Luna sprint past me, their arms over their heads. 

I turned to see Jason almost caught by Malfoy. "Incendio!"

And the man launched backwards in a bright orange flame.

We were at the end of row ninety-seven; Harry turned right and began to sprint in earnest-straight ahead, the door through which we had come was ajar- I pelted through the doorway, my hand wound around Annabeth's and waited for the others to hurtle over the threshold before slamming the door behind them--

"Colloportus!" gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

"Where--where are the others?" gasped Harry.

"They must have gone the wrong way!" whispered Hermione, terror in her face.

"Listen!" whispered Neville.