Sword & Wand (Harry Potter Percy Jackson The Mortal Instruments Crossover)

two

I feel really dizzy when I wake up the next day. My head hurts badly. I look down at my hands. They're shaking. My hands are shaking like they never have had before. Then I remember. I dreamt about the golden sarcophagus again last night. Or what was left of last night. The memory sends shivers down my spine. Just don't think about it, I say to myself. Just... don't.

"F?", Hermione calls out as I'm finishing getting normal... As normal as I could be, of course. "Everyone's... waiting." I frown.

I have a slight déjà-vu.

"For what", I say, although it's not hard to guess. A true Gryffindor values bravery and honour. I just hate myself sometimes.

"For us", she says and we get out of the room together. We enter our cozy and mainly red common room. We pass by many students.

"Great job all of you", someone says.

"Hey, nice work".

"Did you see Mr. Malfoy?"

"How are you guys?"

People are celebrating. We have a breakfast-time party.

Everyone enjoys this kind of spotlight. Harry and Hermione are smiling gently. Ron, on the other hand, is showing the way he cursed one Deatheater to a bunch of his brothers' friends. Neville went completely beetroot, holding Trevor and saying that he also helped him a lot. Everyone likes it, except for me. I don't know why, I just hate being noticed and complimented. If I do something that others like, they're just running around me and trying to get attention. I sound arrogant, I know. But it's not it. It's the fact that I feel uncomfortable with all the attention, and that I don't do things like fighting against the dark side just to get any. I guess that's why I also go to Camp, apart from that I have nowhere else to go during summer and that I train how to slay monsters. There, I also fight, but there everyone does that and it's not strange to anyone. Demigods' compliments - they really mean to me because I know that people understand. Truly understand. They don't say I did a great job because I seem popular or brave or whatever. They say it because they see it and they mean it.

I take a deep breath. I can't wait to see everyone again. Don't get me wrong, I love Hogwarts, but only a few people actually get me. DA members get me. Well, most of them.

And of course, Jared.

"Demigods are so tough", someone says. I turn around to face Fred. "Why aren't you enjoying this? It's wicked, isn't it?"

I smile a little. I was wondering when he would find me. I didn't precisely have much time to think of him yesterday. "It's okay", I lie, but he notices it. "Why do you think I'm tough?"

"You're not. You're emotions are", he says. In his spare time, between bombing the place or selling pranks, Fred can be very mature, actually. Even I was surprised when we started hanging out. I thought that the only purpose of the twins was to make everyone laugh until their stomach hurt. I told him that once, and he said: "Isn't it?" However, he's one of the most mature persons I know.

Just like, again, Jared.

"I guess. Everyone is having fun, and I think there's much more work to do", I look at my feet.

"To do? What else, Fay? Dumbledore is back, and it's the end of the year. You have finished every single thing".

"No, I haven't. I have... Another world to be a part of this year. And my mind and dreams have some bad errors", I try to complain, but there's no point in it. Fred has already turned into psychologist, and by the look on his face, he's analyzing my thoughts right now.

"Just try to look at the funny side in this very moment", he said. "For example, how funny your accent is".

I laugh. He's just done it.

I new English quite well for someone who is actually from eastern Europe, but I've learned it in Camp, so I'm the only American English speaker here.

Fred has always been the confusing one for me. I honestly don't know whether I laugh at his joke just because they are funny, or because everyone is laughing, or maybe because I've always liked him. That's how I've learnt to distinguish him and George -- Fred is the one I like, George isn't.

I like to believe we have a thing going on, even though nothing of some significance happened between the two of us since I was his date to the winter ball. That was one and a half years ago.

We do talk a lot however.

"Today is the day, right?" Fred asks.

"Yes. I almost forgot". We're all going to our homes today. Harry can't think that way, though, but in two and a half months, his life will be better. Even thought You-Know-Who is still somewhere around. You-Know-Who. Master of Time. Every 'bad guy', mortal or immortal, must have a nickname. I think Harry is right. Voldemort and Chronos. If I should be afraid, it should be of them, not of their names. True, the name 'Chronos' can get me in trouble, given he can hear non-humans saying it...

Wait. Summer. Camp. My things, still not packed. Well, of course I left all for the last hour that I have. I say "Gotta run" to Fred and I get lost upstairs.

All that I have is on my bed, including all the books, my broom, clothes, many of it and my orange T-shirt a pair of blue jeans. The rest of my muggle clothes are in Camp, I don't need it here.

What am I going to do? I start throwing things in, as carefully as I can. It sounds crazy. My broom is the first one to get in my chest, as the biggest thing that I have. The last are muggle clothes. Well, the orange T-shirt isn't that mugglly, but it is awesome.

I can't wait to get to the Camp. I check my pocket again. The wand and the pen are laying safely there. And with that final check, I'm ready.

I take my chest and get back to the common room. Yes, now everyone is in a hurry. I follow a bunch of students out, I'll just meet with the others outside.

The weather is really great today. Sun is shining and everything seems just perfect. By the time we reach Hogsmeede station, everybody is running around like a bunch of headless chickens. As if we've never traveled from Hogwarts before. It was all so familiar to me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Fay!" Someone shouts in that mass. I start turning around until I see Hermione. I run to her, still having the unreasonable smile on my face.

"This arrived two minutes after you had left", she says and gives me a letter. A last-minute owl? The address of Camp is stamped on the envelope, in Greek alphabet. Only now I remembered that Percy and Beckendorf had that operation today to do, to set the 'Princess Andromeda' on fire. Percy wrote to me about it two weeks ago. It was the first op he partivipated in and didn't run. He was really excited about it. I believe in the two of them, but I shiver anyway. I open it slowly. First, I look at the signature.

Percy

Thank gods.

Then I read it.

"No", I whisper.

"What happened?", asks Harry, who has just come with Ron and Jared. I hand the letter to Hermione. She'll know how to read alphabet anyway. I run to the train. It must be a mistake. It has to be a mistake.

I won't cry. I have dignity. It can't be true anyway.

As I get on the train, I can hear Hermione reading it, and it makes it real. Hearing it makes it painfully real.

"Charles didn't make it".