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."

Hermione nodded. We all knew that she didn't really think that Annabeth was doing this. Even if she was, she was thousands of miles away. She was just putting things out there to be considered. "Did you guys notice," I started slowly, "That everything that's gone missing is an eighth year Gryffindor boy's?" Everyone's eyes widened. "So this person needs to have something against Gryffindors," Sophia concluded. Something clicked in my mind. "Malfoy!" Ron and I burst out at the same time.

"That git has been out to get us since our first year!" Ron exclaimed, "Bloody idiot's always been jealous of Harry." Hermione pursed her lips before saying, "But how would he get access to the Gryffindor Common Rooms?" Percy groaned. "We're just guessing at this point, guys. We need to get some more evidence." Ginny opened her mouth to say something when Raydon walked in through the portrait hole.

He waved silently and tried to take a seat next to Ginny. I glared at his back. Ron slid over just enough to give the broad shouldered boy no room to sit down. I had never been happier that Ron was an overprotective brother. I watched as Ginny narrowed her eyes at her brother so discreetly that if I hadn't been looking, I never would have seen it. She slid over on the couch to give Raydon room and I felt a fire flare behind my eyes. There was a horrible twisting sensation in my gut as Raydon sat and Ginny leaned into his shoulder.

Woah. This could be a problem.

I knew jealousy when I felt it. I felt it when Cho was with Cedric, when Percy had come to Hogwarts, and again when Percy hang out with Annabeth. I had liked Annabeth because she was beautiful and tough. Like a warrior princess who didn't need or want her guards.

Ever since the end of the Wizarding War when I killed Voldemort, I had become more famous than normal. At first, I had been humbled. I shied away from the newspapers and even hid in Sirius's house to escape the paparazzi. Girls who wanted to date me became some kind of norm for me. I didn't want it that way, but that was the way it was.

Annabeth... Annabeth was different. She was someone who barely even wanted to be my friend because of the terrible way I had started acting because I wasn't the Harry Potter. I was just someone you would see with Percy Jackson. And it wasn't even the fact that I resented Percy for being popular. It was because he was just so genuinely good that I felt I couldn't measure up. So why even try?

I had gotten over it. It was like Percy had her so I needed to prove I was better at at least something. I had gotten over it when I finally stopped being an idiot and saw how happy they made each other. How they completed each other like the myth about the original humans. I wanted something like that. But I had never expected to feel it with Ginny.

It kind of made sense, though. I liked Ginny Weasley. I liked the way that she'd been there for Ron, Hermione, and me since practically the beginning. I liked how she was friendly and good with her wand. I liked how it was so easy to be around her like I was with Ron or Hermione. But she was different. And now it might jeopardize my friendship with Ron.

I saw Percy smiling at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking. As if he had known all along. Percy smirked at me. I stood up, motioning for Percy to follow me. He did so, nodding. "Back in a sec, guys," he said jokingly, "Don't say anything interesting while I'm gone." His smile was brighter than it had been, but still sad.

I led him into the Boy's Dorm and made sure that no one was listening in on our conversation before turning to him. "How long have you known?" I demanded, "Why didn't you just tell me?" He folded his arms across his chest, looking away slyly. "Why would I tell you anything if I didn't know anything?" He asked cryptically, feigning ignorance, "Why would I say anything when there's nothing to tell, huh?" I glared at him, "You know exactly what I'm talking about." He put his palms out in a sign of innocence, "Chill with the puppy glare. Haven't we talked about this? And I'm pretty sure I don't."

I sighed exasperatedly, giving up my dignity to ask, "How long have you known I liked Ginny?" Percy rolled his eyes and grinned, "Oh, that! Quite a while, actually. Everyone knows. Well, everyone in our exclusive little circle of friends. Except you, Ron, Ginny, and Raydon." I rubbed at my temples with two fingers, "And why didn't you tell me?" Percy sat down on the foot of his bed. "Because you weren't sure yet. I can't tell you what you're feeling because more likely than not you would have rejected the idea. If I had told you two months ago would you have believed me?" I looked down at my hands, "No."

"Look, Harry," he said, "I'm not as stupid as I seem to be. Sure, I'm pretty obtuse when it comes to myself, but I get my friends. I generally know what I'm doing." I sighed, "What do I do? She's so happy with Raydon. She can't know how I feel. And Ron can't either. This could mess up our friendships, and that's not something I'm going to let happen."

Percy smiled, "She's happy. And that's all that counts. Because at the end of the day, if you really care about her, you should want what she wants." I looked at him sadly. "If Annabeth liked another guy, would you step out of the way?" Percy laughed.

"No way, dude. I'd pummel him."

I looked at him, temporarily dumbfounded. "Huh?" Percy laughed again, louder this time. "Kidding. If Annabeth wasn't happy with me, I would still love her. But I wouldn't stand in the way. I might feel broken and sad inside, but I'd have to move on eventually. Annabeth deserves as much."

I wrung my hands. "Now what?" Percy got up, brushing off his pants. "Now we go back outside and we figure out what the Hades is happening at your little magic school." I followed him out of the Boy's Dorm and back into the Common Room where everyone was talking.

"Hope you boys aren't planning to blow up the school," Sophia said off-handedly, "I'm talking to you, Percy." They seemed to have dropped the earlier subject for the time being. It felt odd, hiding this all from Raydon, who was practically part of our group, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Knowing that he was being surrounded by descendants of the gods would surely put pressure on him that he didn't need.

But we still needed to figure out why everything was disappearing like this. Gryffindor was a huge target now, and we didn't even have a lead. If only...

"Has anyone seen Riptide?"