Secrets of Hogwarts and the Slytherin Prince

LUMOS MAXIMA

Percy found Annabeth's owl.

In the 1st Year boys dorm room of the Slytherin Common Room.

Sitting on top of the curtain rods beside his bed.

Percy almost missed her at first. He sat down after a long day, his eyes flitted over her, before shooting back to the stark contrasting, light grey owl, who chirped at him and fluttered down to land on his arm as he sat up. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you... Medusa?"

The owl chirped again and rubbed her head against Percy's chin. His eyebrows shot up, and he heard an annoyed hoot from a few feet away. Hercules was sitting in his cage, on the swing, glaring with his big blue eyes. Percy's eyes widened and he blinked in surprise.

He still had time to find Annabeth and get back before curfew if he hurried, but he was nervous. The angry looks given to Malfoy when people found out that he lost 5 house points in their first class were scalding. Percy didn't want to feel that too... He hadn't been praised for getting those 5 points back, which made him pretty bitter, but still.

"Go back to Annabeth," Percy said, but the owl chirped again and fluttered over to the wall. She tapped her beak on a tile repetitively. "No, that's the wall..." He looked over to the rest of the beds. No one else was retiring to bed yet. He swallowed and moved towards the wall and the owl. "What are you doing?"

The owl fluttered and hopped backward as he moved to pick her up. She snapped her beak and nicked his finger. "Ow!" He stuck his finger in his mouth. "What the heck!?" She pecked at the tile again, "Stupid bird. C'mon!" He reached out, but she hopped back again, and Percy's hand hit the tile. He just hit the corner, just barely, but at his touch, it swung open. Percy leaped backward in shock, catching himself with his hands. "Whoa... Maybe you're not so stupid after all..."

He stood up. The three tiles along the wall had moved, like a door. He pushed it open, and felt Medusa land on his shoulder. He looked at her, and she blinked at him, with large, orange-amber eyes. "Will this get me to Annabeth?" He asked. The bird ruffled her feathers and chirped again. "I forget that I don't speak owl..." He started to step through, before looking back at Hercules, who looked jealous of the smaller bird. "You comin'?"

Hercules hooted again, before hopping out of his cage, spreading his large wings, and flying up to Percy's other shoulder. Medusa chirped again, before jumping off his shoulder and into the dark passage. Percy, knowing he was probably being an absolute idiot, stepped through the door and into the secret passage, that wasn't much of a secret anymore.

***

The torches along the walls lit up once the door was closed behind him, shutting him in. The walls were covered in mossy marble blocks that dripped onto his head. He didn't really notice. He was more focused on keeping up with the little grey bird. He followed her for a while, turning onto a large set of stairs, jogging up them without question, getting to the top a while after starting. He kept running after her, but eventually, she had stopped. There was a large mosaic ahead of him, that was barely lit by the torches. Percy wished he knew more spells. Surely there was one he could use to light up this section of the passage way, but he didn't know it.

He continued into the passage, following the soft chirps from Medusa, who hopped from torch to torch as he walked, as if anticipating hsi reaction. He reached the mosaic and touched it with his fingers. "I wish I could see it better..."

Hercules suddenly hooted in panic and flew off of Percy's shoulder. A voice called, firm and commanding. "Lumos Maxima!"

A blinding light filled the corridor and Percy covered his eyes, turning to the source of the light and opening his eyes. There was a figure there, a hazy one, but it was there. It was a girl, and she didn't seem to see him. She was beautiful, with baby blue eyes and dark brown hair. She was wearing Slytherin robes and a proud smirk. She walked proudly forwards, but before she reached Percy and the mosaic, her image faded, a hazy mist hitting him in the face, like a ghost, or a memory captured, but forever lost. All that was left behind was the pleasant smell of flowers.

Percy felt a sense of longing in his chest. Who was that girl? Where had she gone? Why did she disappear? Why did he feel like he knew her? The light from her spell began to fade, and Percy turned quickly to look at the mosaic. She had appeared when he asked to see the image better. Surely that wasn't coincidence, right? She must've been sent to help him... Even if she didn't know she was helping him. He took a step back and looked up.

It was larger than he thought. And colorful. Covered in moss, but colorful. Before he could grasp the image, the light faded, leaving him in near pitch black again. Percy frowned, before stepping back from the mosaic. He held out his wand and spoke in a shaky voice. "Lumos Maxima..."

A light flickered on the tip of his wand, but died out quickly. His eyes widened. "Lumos Maxima!" He said it again, his voice a little stronger now. The light lasted a little longer, but he wasn't ready to give up. "Lumos Maxima!" The light glowed as strong as his voice had echoed, lighting up the corridor, and the mosaic. Percy smiled, looking around. Hercules was hanging upside down from one of the torches. Medusa landed on his shoulder and nipped affectionately at his ear, getting another annoyed hoot from Hercules. Percy chuckled and held out his wand, inspecting the mosaic.

It was a picture of a large figure, standing over a large pool of water. There were snakes in the bottom of the pool, and the figure had black hair and green eyes. It made no sense to him. It was holding a trident, with a ball of blue in his hand. It was the same color as the pool of water, so maybe it was water? At least he thought that it was a pool of water.

Medusa chirped again and fluttered off his shoulder to the dark passage on his right. Percy frowned, sending another longing look towards where the apparition had appeared before. He sighed, before following the little owl. There were torches still, and they lit upon his approach to the passage, but the light on the tip of his wand cast better light than the torches.

Medusa was stopped at another split, on the torch at the very end. There wasn't another mosaic, but there was a girl. A blonde girl, with beautiful, honey blonde hair, black Gryffindor robes, and an oddly familiar blue wand. Percy stepped forward, slightly paranoid she was another apparition and she turned, her grey eyes flashing in panic.

"Annabeth?"

"Percy!?"