Choices || Harry Potter [HP X PJO]

e l e v e n

I would have gone after him—believe me, I would have. I knew betrayal more than most, from my mother, to my siblings, to Luke, to Ethan. But Hermione and Ron were already rushing out, and I knew that my presence would not be appreciated by the boy, so I sat restless in my seat. 

My leg was shaking as I drummed on my thigh, eyes wide and anxious. How would the boy react? I wasn't a fan of Harry Potter, heck, I hated the boy, but I couldn't help but feel so bad for him, sympathize with him. 

"Scorp?" I heard Draco ask, breaking me out of my thoughts as my head snapped up to meet his gaze. "You good?"

I nodded, calming myself quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

They all eyed me curiously, but said nothing as they fell back into easy conversation.

Meanwhile, next to the Shrieking Shack, the Golden trio sat huddled around a rock as Harry shrugged his invisibility cloak off.

"He was their friend!" Harry yelled, anger pulsing off of him. Hermione watched her friend in a daze, not processing the entirety of what he was saying as he continued ranting. 

"You know," she said, whence he had calmed down the slightest of a fraction. "If anyone knows anything about betrayal, it's Scorpia. You should talk to her."

Harry scowled at her, going on another rant on how evil the girl was, not knowing the half of it, or even knowing the girl at all to be able to make such accusations. 

Whence everyone got back to the castle, I sat in the library, back leaned up against one of the bookshelves, my feet curled up against my chest, yet my toes were almost touching the bookshelf across the isle. Books lay scattered next to me—messy, unorganized piles surrounding the area.

I was in the area of Transfiguration books, searching up an down for a book not on animagi, but on how to become one. Considering that animagi was one of the main forms of transfiguration, it was surprisingly hard to find, but considering that it was illegal to become one without registering, and it was a school library, I wasn't as surprised as I was previously. I had read countless books already on the legalities of it, the punishment for being unregistered (two thousand galleons), statistics, and so much more, but none of the books were what I needed.

At least, none of them were what I was looking for until I found a regular-sized book, bound with a beautiful navy, that looked old and tattered. It had been clearly annotated, notes hastily written on the sides and certain phrases highlighted. 

A smile curved its way onto my face, my plump pink lips showing off my victory. The book was not marked as a library book, so the school obviously didn't know it was there. On the inside of the front cover in an intentional scrawl read, Property of the Brightest Leo.

I furrowed my eyebrows. The Brightest Leo? What did that mean? Who was that? Then, on the inside of the back cover, I read, I have hidden a few ancient books around the library, hidden from the staff. I have annotated every book, some have magic more dangerous than dark magic, more ancient than anything ever heard of. Once one of the books have been found, all the others can only be found by the same person. Treat them well, use them right. -B.L

My eyes scanned the shelves hungrily. I was curious, no doubt about it. Those books... they couldn't all be dangerous, could they? I wanted to see the spells, to engrave them in my memory, to learn them like no one else could. If the spells were evil, I wouldn't use them. But what if there were good spells, forgotten spells that could heal and protect?

If this B.L. knew things that could help heal the world, I was determined to find the books. But I couldn't go searching for them—not right now, not in public. It would be too suspicious, so I shoved all the other books back into their proper spots, shoved B.L's book back into my bag, and hurried out of the library. I would return tonight, under the cover of darkness, and work on finding them.

I sat on the roof of Hogwarts, above the Gryffindor tower where no one could see me. Flipping open the book, I scanned the pages—not so much for information on how to become an animagus, but for clues on where the other books were hidden in the library. I remembered how I had found this one, hidden behind other books, pressed flat against the walls. I had only found it because I had taken all the other books off the shelf, but I couldn't just take out all the books in a library.

Or... maybe I could. Reparo, I remembered. Would it work? It would be a gamble, perfect if it worked but disastrous if it didn't. Would I risk it? Yes, part of me screamed. No, no, no! The other half yelled desperately. 

Another question hung over my head. Who was B.L? Was he just trying to get knowledge to students, or was he trying to reveal even more dangerous magic than dark magic through students who didn't know any body? Could I trust the spells whence I found them, or should I hide the books even deeper, even though I am supposedly the only one that could find them?

The risks, the gambles, it all hung over me, clinging to my shoulders and weighing me down as my mind rolled over thoughts and ideas constantly. 

Then I heard someone behind me. 

"Astrid?" Harry Potter asked incredulously. I scrambled up from where I was laying down, shoving the book in my bag as I glanced at where he was hovering on his broomstick.

"Potter?" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was getting some extra practice before the match against Ravenclaw, what's your excuse?"

"I—uh, I—erm..." I stuttered. What was my excuse, besides wanting to look at the book where no one could see me. "I was just doing some reading," I finally admitted. The boy narrowed his green eyes at me from behind his glasses.

"Reading what?"

I held up the old book, thankful that it was so worn the title had faded, and B.L had only ever written on the inside.

"Why were you hiding it? Moreover, why would someone like you be reading a book so..."

"Old? Tattered? Worn?" I supplied. "None of your business. And what, someone like me? I'm not spoiled, I use whatever I can get my hands on."

He nodded, eyeing me suspiciously. "You didn't say why you were hiding it." It was a statement and a question in one.

"I didn't want to," I brushed off, slinging my bag over my shoulder as I started to climb down. "Goodbye, Potter!" I waved teasingly at him, leaving his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I swung through a window back inside, disappearing into the crowd of students.

I knew one thing, right then and there. If I wanted to find and read those books, I would have to be much more careful. Flopping down on my bed in the empty dormitory, the book fell onto my bed and flipped to a page I hadn't seen before, with a faint map of the library with supposedly random spots dotting around it. 

A wide grin curved onto my lips as I marked the page and slid on the boots from Artemis and the arm cuffs from Athena, ready to go on a scavenger hunt when the night would fall.

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Sorry, a really short chapter, just thought I'd leave it there, kinda break everything up. Anyways, thoughts on the chapter? Who do we think the Brightest Leo is? Put your guesses in the comments, let's see who's smart ;) Also, do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters???

Just kidding, all of you guys are smart, but I am curious to see if anyone figures it out!

From the next chapter on, all chapters come out at noon PDT instead of 9 AM PDT because now I'm back in the Pacific Northwest instead of the Caribbean :(

1300+ words