Percy Jackson: Grandson of Voldemort

Chapter Twenty Seven

Harry's POV

It was time for goodbyes. Her time at Hogwarts was to be put on hold until further notice. She was someone I had once pined after and who was now a close and trusted friend, and she was leaving. Her family needed her. Her friends needed her. But Percy Jackson needed her and he could not have her. Annabeth Chase was leaving Hogwarts.

It was only temporary, but still heartbreaking. She needed to help one of her cousins in Boston. Percy seemed to understand, but that didn't stop him from wrapping her in hugs every five seconds and trying to convince her to let him come with her. She said that it was personal. Percy told her that she needed his personal assistance. She would have slapped him upside the head had she not been leaving.

In the days after she left, Percy wasn't himself. He wasn't cracking jokes, he wasn't trying as hard in his classes, and he plastered fake smiles to his face in an attempt to reassure us that he was okay. He wasn't. And we could all see it.

I've never seen him this sad. He held his head high when I had insulted him, tried to drive him away from my friends. He hadn't batted an eye every time I called him evil or tried to oust him to the entire school as a Death Eater. And all of those times I tried to demean him by calling his life a piece of cake, even though it wasn't, or used petty jibes to describe the worst moments of his life like the loss of football captain, cars, and trophies, he eventually stopped trying to convince me that that wasn't how it was and just let me use up my anger. Looking back, I feel kind of pathetic. But hey, I don't know what muggle boys like. All Dudley ever did was act like a spoiled brat and bully others. The only thing running through my head when I met Percy was how he was supposedly a muggle like Dudley and an evil villain like his grandfather.

After a week without Annabeth, things started to happen around Hogwarts. At first, they were small things. A library book from the restricted section would go missing without even a scream in alarm or Madam Pince noticing until the following day. A teacher would be sent through the corridors when the crash of a lamp was heard on the floor. It slowly started to expand into larger problems. Dean's wand went missing and did not come flying back when someone else summoned it. My invisibility cloak had disappeared from my trunk. Percy's owl wouldn't come when he called it.

The small group that knew about the godly existence had wondered what it could possibly be. "Steven," Sophia suggested, "It must be. He's the one who's been after us all along, he's the one that's going to be trying to enslave us." Hermione spread her hands, "But Steven likes the flair of having us know. He would have made it apparent that it was him. And, well, we don't know who it is." Ron narrowed his eyes, digging through his memory. "What about that bloke, uh, what was his name?" He snapped his fingers, "Septimus! Death Eater's free, wand's missing, cloak's gone, owl's unresponsive. Connect the dots, people!" Ginny sighed, "I don't even want to know your reasoning behind that one, Ron. But guys, what if we're overthinking this? What if this is just a show of the irresponsibility of a boy?"

Percy placed a hand on his chest, mildly offended. "Hey! Not all boys are irresponsible-" Sophia cut him off, "Not all, but most." Percy continued, despite the interruption. "We are honorable and dignified and mature very, very, very-" Sophia cut him off again. "You know Annabeth would agree with us if she were here." That shut him up fast.

I pushed my glasses up on my nose. "Let's just investigate like the old times. Sneak around past curfew and stuff." Hermione sent me a pointed look, "But Harry, we don't have your cloak anymore." Percy pulled out Annabeth's Yankees hat from his back pocket. "She left this with me. Said I'd probably need it more than she would." Hermione's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And why would she think that? This stuff started happening after she left." Percy's eyes darkened. "If you're implying that Annabeth started this, you're wrong. Annabeth just knows how much trouble I get into without her there. I mean, I get kidnapped, I practically kill myself. She... This is just as much a 'don't miss me too much' gift as it is a safety precaution."