Percy Jackson: Grandson of Voldemort

Chapter Twenty Nine

Hermione's POV

All of our searching had turned up with nothing. We had found a mess in the Astronomy Tower and didn't dare go into the dungeons or the library for fear of being discovered.

The silence of the corridor was enough to encourage us to tread carefully. With every step, our footsteps echoed through the hallways. I saw a shadow creeping along the wall that surely wasn't ours and I pulled Ginny flat against the wall. I held my breath, keeping my eyes trained on the corner, only to see Professor Di Angelo making rounds.

His expression didn't change when he saw us, as if he wasn't surprised at all. Come to think of it, he probably wasn't. He approached us quietly, and, strangely enough, there was no noise when he walked, contrary to ours.

"Luna, Severus, and I need to go back to Camp Half Blood for a while," he said, not even bothering to greet us or ask why we were out here, "There will be a substitute in your Ancient Greek and Potions classes and Professor Dumbledore is already aware of why we are going." He paused, his dark eyes scanning our faces.

"Just... look out for Percy for us," he said, "That Kelp Head gets into all kinds of trouble when no one's around watching him. He's been going through some stuff, what with losing his sword and letting Annabeth leave without him. And then her hat. Promise me."

We nodded, resolving to tell Percy about Nico, Snape, and Luna leaving the next day. He didn't need any more stress than he already had. Nico gave us one of his rare smiles and disappeared into shadow, a wave of cold sending shivers down my spine. "Well," I said, rubbing my arms, "I guess we keep searching."

At that moment, Harry came running up to us. "Where's Ron?" he asked frantically, "We need to get back to the Common Rooms." I held onto his shoulders in a feeble attempt to calm him down. "Harry!" I whispered sternly, "What's wrong? Is Filch coming?"

He shook his head, struggling to catch his breath. "Even worse," he gasped.

"Percy."

<*~*~*~*~*~*>

"Wait just a moment," I told him from my place in the Common Room, holding my hands to my temples, "You're telling me that Percy Jackson, the same Percy Jackson that saved you from the Death Eater Facility and has been getting attacked since the beginning of this year is the thief. You're saying that he stole from himself not once, not twice, but three times?"

"Think about it!" Harry exclaimed, "He's had access to all of the things that went missing!" I held out both hands to pointing at Ron. "So has Ron and we don't go around calling him the reason for all of this!" Harry pushed his glasses up and sat down.

"I didn't believe it at first, either, Hermione," he admitted, "But the Marauder's Map doesn't lie and I saw it with my own eyes. Why can't you just trust me on this one? You trusted me when I told you Voldemort was rising again!" I closed my eyes.

"I cannot believe you, Harry Potter," I said as my eyes flashed open, suddenly getting furious and emotional, "I thought you had gotten over this! Percy is not a Death Eater. He's not evil, and he certainly did not steal Dean's wand, your cloak, Annabeth's hat, and his own owl and sword!"

"But Hermione-"

"No!" I yelled. I froze, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. "I can't talk to you right now, Harry." I walked slowly up the stairs to the Girl's Dorm, half hoping that Harry would stop me and apologize. But I knew him too well to expect him to just give up. When he has his mind was made up like that, he would try to convince me this was true rather than abandon the idea.