Percy

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gryffindor Common Room

November 9th

2:00 am

"It's my fault the monster came after us," she said. "It's my responsibility. Here." She picked up the little god statue and pressed it into my hand. "If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him... tell him I'm sorry."

"Bianca, no!"

Percy woke up in a mess of sweat and tears. Neither of those was good. His gaze moved around him, but the curtains that were closed around the bed made him feel trapped, isolated.

He grabbed the curtains and pulled, not caring if they ripped or not. He just needed them off, off, off. The curtains did in fact rip, but Percy couldn't find the strength to care.

Once the red curtains were gone, he was able to breathe a little easier. Nico was in the bed next to him, his chest rising and falling. He had been too tired to close the curtains, and he probably didn't care enough to try in the first place

Something heavy settled in his gut, guilt. The nightmares weren't new. Every demigod he knew had them, either from one or both wars or from something else that was just as traumatic.

Nico had nightmares, but he was quieter than Percy's. His were silent tears, voiceless screams. The shadows would creep forward, trying to claim him.

Percy's were loud. They shook the ground and made the pipes burst. Just like then. Percy could feel the trembles of the earth quiet and the sounds of sewage running through the hallways. It was no doubt that students would be gossiping about it in the morning, but no one would connect it back to him.

The nightmares about Bianca have cooled down over the years, mainly because Nico was never close enough to remind him. Close enough to see the result of her death. But now, when he was snoring a few feet away - they were returning with a vengeance. He didn't want them gone, he knew he deserved them. But he wanted to rest. To take a step back from everything. He knew that was only a daydream.

So, Percy laid down and tried to fall asleep to the lulling sounds of the other boys snoring. No dice.

Harry had entered the dorm room a few minutes before, around 15 minutes after Annabeth had left. He had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and was probably going to be out for the next nine hours. Nico was always a heavy sleeper, and when they were talking earlier, made Neville and Ron ones too. The wizards wouldn't be up until Nico was - which was definitely until 10 am at the earliest.

So Percy was alone. To be honest, he could probably run around hitting pots and pans together, and none of them would even rouse.

The day that they arrived at Hogwarts, Percy was able to pass out that night and the next day. But as the week continued, his insomnia returned. When he did fall asleep, he was given memories, memories of mistakes, and the deaths he has witnessed.

So Percy laid, staring at the curtains that were draped over his bed. The red cloth fluttered gently in the breeze from his open window. Though the water in the lake itself was hostile, Percy was still calmed by the scent. That, with the sounds of the forest, he can almost imagine that he was back in Camp Half-Blood. Almost.

There was still a hostile feel in the air. Despite the softness of the sheets and the fluffiness of the pillow, it felt like the magic that made them up was digging into his skin. Telling him to leave.

And gods, Percy would love to.

Harry

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gryffindor Common Room

November 9th

11:56 am

Harry woke up slowly, his consciousness sleeping between the realm of sleep and reality. He groaned, rolling over and burrowing his face in the pillow.

However, it seemed that his groan alerted someone that he was, in fact, awake. Thus, Ron pulled apart the curtains with a large yank, his freckled face being the first thing Harry saw that morning.

"Agh!" Harry yelled, not liking how close Ron's face was to his own.

"What did Sirius say?" Ron asked, his voice extremely loud for talking about a secret in a dormitory filled with other boys.

"Will you hush?" Harry hissed, getting out of bed so quickly he almost tripped. "Everyone could hear-"

And was met with an empty dormitory, which was surprising because he's seen Percy spend twenty minutes trying to wake up Nico multiple times that week.

"Mate, it's almost noon," Ron's voice sounded behind him.

Harry turned, "Really?" Ron nodded.

"Yeah, everyone seemed to have a late-night because we all woke up at like 10 am," Ron said. "It was creepy, the way we all woke up at the same time. Everyone except Percy, he said he's been up for hours."

Harry frowned, "Huh. Okay." He sat on the edge of his bed. Ron plopped down next to him.

"So, what did Sirius say?"

"Go get Hermione while I get dressed," Harry said. " I don't want to talk about it more than once."

A few minutes later, Hermione entered the dormitory with Ron in tow. She sat down on the floor between Harry's and Ron's beds, crisscrossed applesauce.

Harry sat down across from her, his knees up to his chest, while Ron sat on his right and Hermione's left. He explained the gist of what Sirius said, but it was when Annabeth came downstairs that the others spoke up.

"So she was in the boys' dormitory the entire time?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.

"'Mione," Ron asked. "How did you not know she wasn't in the girls' dormitory?"

"Her curtains were closed, I thought she was asleep." Hermione flushed. "How did you not wake up from them talking?" She snapped back.

Ron frowned, "I don't know. I'm usually a light sleeper, but I actually had a great sleep last night. Felt better than I have in months."

"Anyways," Harry changed the conversation back to Annabeth. "She came downstairs and Sirius got spooked so he left."

"Did she know what was happening?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. I just told her I was thinking about the tournament."

"And?" Ron pressed.

"She said she could give me some advice."

Ron furrowed his brow, "But she's never been in something like this! How could she give any advice?"

Harry shrugged, "I told her that. But she said she's 'done something close enough to give advice.'" He quoted her statement at the end.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other with the same: wtf expression before gesturing to him to continue.

"So I told her it was dragons we were facing and she said that she had a friend who hunted monsters for a living."

"What?" Hermione asked. "I've never heard of a profession like that - what type of monsters does her friend hunt?"

Harry shrugged, "She just said that her friend said that she wished that she hunted dragons because they were easier than what she was hunting."

"Easier?" Ron asked, aghast. "What's harder than dragons?"

"I don't know-"

"Okay, Harry - what advice did she give you?" Hermione interrupted.

Harry nodded, continuing with the story. "She said: to not stay too long in one spot when I strike, I should do it fast and hard, watch out for the tail, and finally she said I should find something I'm good with and weaponize it." He listed them off.

"Weaponize," Hermione thought aloud. "That's a strange word to use."

Harry shrugged. "I just don't know what I can weaponize though."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out mate," Ron helpfully said. Harry sighed.

"I hope so."

Albus Dumbledore

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office

November 9th

8:02 am

Albus paced the floors of his office, trying to ignore the constant comments from the portraits that lined the curved walls.

"Why don't you get some rest, Albus?" one suggested. "You always get so frazzled so easily."

Albus waved the portrait off, his hand going to rest on the tip of his chin.

"To preserve or raze," he muttered under his breath. "To preserve or raze."

There was more, another prophecy that the young man, Jacob Addinall, had told him before rushing off to America. Whether to prevent said prophecy or enact it early, he did not know. It was peculiar, him not remembering an event as strange such as this. It was if there was a wall of fog cutting him off from certain memories.

Peculiar...

A glimmer shined in the corner of his eye. He turned, seeing the Pensieve cover shining brightly to him. How had he not remembered that before? Certainly, he would have documented the event in case the prophecy came to pass.

He walked up, tapping on the shining cover with his wand. It slid away, revealing the shelves full of memories as well as the Pensieve.

His gaze roamed over the memories that were jarred away. Finally, a jar with a peeling label caught his eye. There was little to no liquid inside, meaning he only had one chance to revisit the memory.

He grabbed it, examining the label through his glasses. With the peeling label and missing ink, he could only assume that it said: Adddinall, 1965. The year after he became headmaster at Hogwarts.

He poured what was left of the memory into the pensive, hoping he would find the answers that he was searching for.

Harry

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Triwizard Tournament Stadium

November 11th

12:59 pm

"I know that you were never supposed to compete in this tournament in the first place, so if you wish I am willing-"

"I don't want to cheat, " Harry interrupted Bagman. "It doesn't matter if I'm competing for Ilvermorny, I'm doing it fairly."

Bagman's cheeks heated up from being denied. But before he could say another word, the whistle blew - signaling the start of the match. He rushed off.

"Good choice," a voice sounded behind him. Harry turned to see Nico standing near the exit of the tent, where Bagman and Harry had just walked through moments prior. "There's nothing worse than corruption in a place of power."

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked. He ignored Nico's statement.

"Just wanted to wish you luck, Annabeth told us that she gave you some tips."

Harry nodded.

"You remember them?"

"Yeah, they really helped - actually. I found what I'm good at and I'm going to weaponize it."

"Good," Nico looked pleased. He looked back at the tent, where Cedric had just started the task. Cheers and boos could be heard. "It sucks that you have to do this, it should have been me or Percy or Annabeth."

"You?" Harry asked. The other boy looked worse off than him. Eyebags seemed to hang off his eyes even when Harry would see him sleep from evening to late morning. Though he could not ignore the wariness Harry felt around him.

"Yeah, me." Nico glared at him and Harry understood the wariness. Even that stare struck fear into his heart. He just nodded, agreeing with him.

"I'm here because I thought you should know another piece of advice, especially with the new information given just now."

Harry didn't want to know how Nico knew the information that Harry was just given himself.

"Since you don't actually have to kill the dragon, forget about striking. Focus on speed. That's what's important."

Harry nodded, his Firebolt was fast. His plan could work. Nico seemed to know what he was thinking.

"What's your plan?" he asked. Harry looked around to make sure that no one was listening in before leaning in and whispering it to the other boy. Nico's hand clutched Harry's robes. It seemed to hill him through the thick fabric, even worse than the cold wind did.

Nico nodded while stepping away. "That's a good plan. Make sure you stay moving or up high while waiting." Harry stored that information away from later.

A loud cheer sounded and Cedric entered the tent, holding his golden egg up in the air.

"That's my cue," Harry said. Nico nodded, walking back into the tent himself. Harry followed after a moment, confused about why Nico was walking into the tent. Fleur entered the arena herself, and Krum was sitting with his back to Harry. Cedric had walked over to the medic.

He looked around for Nico, but it seemed that he had just disappeared.

"Krum?" He walked over to the older man. "Have you seen Nico, the Ilvermorny student?"

Krum just scowled at him, looking at the Chinese Fireball that was biting one of his fingers. Harry sighed and grabbed his own Hungarian Horntail from where it was sitting on another bench.

Around twenty minutes later, it was Harry's turn. He took a deep breath and walked into the arena.

It was time to see what he could do.