Demigods at Hogwarts | the rescue mission ✔

49| Love, Not Loyalty

Percy's POV

The combination of the light-spun web fifty yards away and the phoenix's song of hope was enough to wake me up. I was tied on a headstone facing Annabeth's, and I could make out the words "Tom Riddle" engraved behind her—why did that name sound so familiar? Riptide had fallen out from my pocket, and was lying peacefully on the ground a metre away. I lunged towards it, but the bonds tying my hands together tightened and my wrists were soon bloody and bruised from my failed attempts to escape. Annabeth was elbowing Jason in the ribs repeatedly, trying to wake him up, and I had to suppress the resentment rising in my stomach. I'd been through so much to get here, just to die in a cemetery beside Annabeth, Jason and hooded figures wearing masks which resembled those in the Halloween costume aisle at Sainsbury's.

Sainsbury's? Great, now I was going to die with the personality of a Briton.

Harry was duelling with a wizard with a face whiter than a skull, livid scarlet eyes, a non-existent nose who seemed determined to kill the fourteen-year-old boy—Voldemort. Ghostly figures were emerging from Voldemort's wand and vibrations from the mysterious music in the air ran down my spine, seeping through my skin like liquid energy. The two wizards seemed to be connected by a golden thread protruding from Harry's wand, and the ghostly figures were whispering words of encouragement to him as well.

"Don't break the connection," I murmured hoarsely—seconds before the cage of light disappeared and the ghostly figures who hadn't faded yet shielded Harry from Voldemort's gaze. Harry narrowly dodged the curses and spells flying from the wands of the mask-wearing hooded figures as he stumbled towards the Triwizard Cup, dragging Cedric's corpse along with him. With a dramatic flick of his wand, the Cup soared towards Harry and he caught it by the handle, and they both disappeared in a blinding flash of white light.

We had no Portkey, no Harry, and the ghostly figures which had protected Harry didn't seem to give a damn about us as they gradually faded away. Oh, well.

Voildemort's slit-like nostrils were flared up in rage, and angry green sparks flew from his wand and ricocheted off the headstones. Annabeth pulled Jason onto her lap with just her ankles mere moments before The Killing Curse could hit him in the chest. The son of Jupiter's eyes flew open as he regained consciousness, and he let out a loud gasp that reminded Voldemort of our presence.

The look of fury on the wizard's face melted into a spine-chilling sneer. One of the mask-wearing hooded figures slowly approached Voldemort as if the creepy smile was their cue, and slowly removed their robes. Silver-blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, cat-like green eyes burning with intensity, and an unmistakable smirk on her face. This was the teenage girl who'd shamelessly tortured Annabeth in my dreams.

But it was as if a blockage had been magically removed from my mind—this girl now had a name, and she'd also had a role in my life for the last five summers. Callie Blanchet was a daughter of Aphrodite, the deputy head counsellor of Cabin 10, and was currently making everyone uncomfortable by making out with Voldemort.

"You," I croaked as Callie broke away from her phantom boyfriend, who had a pedophillic expression on his face. I desperately tried to channel my water powers to create a mini-hurricane, or harness every nearby water source for an explosion. But I felt utterly mortal, and I couldn't defend myself against The Forbidden Curses with nothing but Riptide. "Why?" I asked in the most feeble voice I could muster—the smartest thing to do was to distract Callie and Voldemort, the smartest thing to do was to buy ourselves time.

"Why? Because I wanted revenge, and the Dark Lord wanted a Potter," Callie simpered, smirking as she took in my confused expression. "I wanted revenge on Annabeth Chase because you love her, Percy, and I loved you. And then I watched Piper McLean become your best friend during The Second Giant War, when I was so much more talented and so much more worthy of your love. I met the Dark Lord and he offered me a deal—we would use Annabeth as bait to lure you here. But when Piper's boyfriend stumbled upon our initial hideout by accident—well, what better way to hurt Piper than to deprive her of her true love?"