Demigods At Hogwarts | ✓

17-Who is He?

Leo's POV

As Nico ran behind me and shadow traveled away, Annabeth yelled at the Slytherins to move. They obeyed and went into their common room.

A boy, around seventeen, was lying in the middle of a small pool of blood. The plastic handle of a kitchen knife was stuck out of his chest. I could see the blade of the knife, reflecting the soft glow of the torches on the wall.

His clothes were badly torn, someone had slashed him everywhere. His head lolled to the side, shock written across it. He was obviously dead. A grey cat was prowling around him, its lamplike eyes focused on me.

The smell of bile wafted up my nostrils, someone had thrown up a meter away.

"Someone mentioned words," Percy remembered.

"There," Jason pointed at his arm. Strangely, this guy wasn't wearing robes. He was wearing Muggle clothes. All Adidas.

" 'Number One Enemy,' " Piper read. Those words had been carved into his right arm.

Jason turned over the other arm. "Beware."

A loud crack sounded from behind, and we turned.

Dumbledore appeared, with Professor Snape and Nico beside him.

"Please return to your dormitories please," Dumbledore said to the ten Slytherins that had crowded by the door to stare at us. Two of them gave Dumbledore a dirty look but they all slunk back inside.

Dumbledore knelt beside the boy and gazed fixedly at the words on his arm.

"Do you know who he is?" Annabeth asked quietly.

Dumbledore looked grim, "No, and I know every student in this school, Annabeth, every one. I know this boy here is not a student. And it's also intriguing, how he died."

"What?"

"His expression, not pain, but shock. The blood is not new. Severus, how old is it?"

Professor Snape touched his finger to the puddle and brought it close to his eyes to examine it. "Hours old at least."

"But people walk by here all the time," I said. "It looked like he was found only minutes ago."

Dumbledore passed his fingers over the boy's chest. "The Killing Curse," he murmured thoughtfully.

"One of the Unforgivables," Piper remembered.

"Who'd go through that much trouble to do that to him if he was already dead?" Percy asked, puzzled.

"To scare us, I presume," Dumbledore said. "This would certainly be much more frightening than him not bleeding at all."

"And he is not a wizard," Snape said. "No magic in his veins."

" 'Beware,' " Piper said. She looked up at us with wide kaleidoscopic eyes, "There's going to be more."

"There is no way for outlaws or monsters to enter Hogwarts. And only the Heads of Houses or anyone with a higher position than that at Hogwarts can let monsters in," Severus said. "Outlaws, especially murderers, will not be allowed in no matter what. Our security measures have improved after Sirius Black." His words were ringed with held-back distaste at the last two words.

"We'll keep a close eye out on any suspicious behaviour from students," Dumbledore said. "You all should hurry back to your common room. I will clean this up."

The news had spread like a wildfire. The weirdest rumors were turning up. One person said that the guy had tripped and accidentally stabbed himself. One person said that it was a girl, and that she was attacked by a cat. One person said that the boy's name was Percy Jackson and that he fell out of the chandelier because he was too handsome.