Strange Ties--Percy Jackson/Harry Potter

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Percy

Percy's breath caught in his throat, and his mind struggled to comprehend the gravity of what he was seeing. Pansy Parkinson's body laid cold on the ground. She was missing half of her. Literally. Her left side of her body was ripped in half. Percy could feel his stomach turning. He looked away from the body as he wondered what to do. A wave of sorrow and dread washed over him, and he stumbled backward.

For a moment, Percy was paralyzed by indecision. He looked down at half of Pansy again. He knew he should do something, anything to help, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess of confusion. He took a deep breath and forced himself to snap out of it. He ran back to Hagrid's hut and knocked urgently on the door. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door creaked open, revealing the familiar figure of Hagrid standing in the threshold, his expression a mixture of concern and confusion.

"Percy, what's the matter?" Hagrid boomed, his voice tinged with alarm as he took in Percy's disheveled appearance and the frantic urgency in his eyes.

Percy's words came out in a rush, "There's a body. It's Pansy Parkinson," he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. "I found her... she's... she's dead."

Hagrid's eyes widened in shock, his massive frame trembling with disbelief. Hagrid's expression darkened, his brow furrowing in deep concern as he processed Percy's words. For a moment, there was only the sound of the wind whistling through the trees, the silence heavy with the weight of the revelation. "Where?" Hagrid asked.

Valerie (hours later)

Percy Jackson didn't need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Diagon Alley, in the taverns and coffeehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the Ministry. The boy they called Satan's Spawn didn't need a reason any more than he needed permission to take away the lives of four people.

Of course they were wrong, Valerie considered as she jumped on the moving staircase to the right wing of the castle. Percy did not murder those people. She would have bet her life on it.
"In half!" Audrey was saying. "Her body was cut down in half! I mean, who does that?"
Valerie continued walking, paying no mind to Audrey's comments.
Elyse gave a low whistle as she followed, "I just wonder where he's keeping the other half"
"Maybe he ate it" replied Maddison. "There was a rumor in the old times that you know who ate people"
Audrey shook her head, "I think Cannibalism is a stretch. Plus, who can eat half a body in one sitting?"
"Maybe he ate her piece by piece. She was missing for two days, who knows" said Elyse.
Audrey chuckled humorlessly, "That would explain why he's never in the dining hall"
Valerie walked fast towards the exit of the castle, she was hoping they would stop following her but nevertheless, the girls walked right behind her.
"Cannibal or not, Percy Jackson needs to stay away from Hogwarts, he's dangerous. He's going to get us all killed!" Maddison said.

Draco Malfoy joined the group and grabbed Audrey's hand. He stretched his long arm overhead and grinned. The type of cocky grin that made Valerie want to punch him.
"Statistically, he'll probably only get some of us killed," Malfoy smirked.
Valerie turned, "It's not something to joke about." The look Malfoy cast her was amused. She knew how she sounded- stern, fussy, like an old woman making dire pronouncements from her porch. She didn't like it, but she also knew she was right. Besides, old women must know something, or they wouldn't live to gather wrinkles and yell from their front steps.
"Draco isn't making a joke, Valerie," said Audrey. "Hes figuring the odds"
Elyse put her perfect blond hair in a high ponytail, "Well, I've got a bright future beyond me, so I can't be the one to die"

Malfoy chuckled, "You mean you look forward to being a mindless housewife?"
Elyse glared, "Audrey please control your boyfriend before I kick him in the balls"