Heroes of Hogwarts: Being Brave is Believing in Yourself

Chapter 23

At Camp Jupiter:
"Where did he go? He couldn't have gone far!" Piper said, hands on her hips.

Hermione shrugged helplessly. "Maybe he went to find Reyna?"

Piper stabbed her knife into a monster running towards her and Hermione cast a spell to strangle another monster.

Piper sighed in exasperation. "He better come soon. Frank's praetor, for the gods' sakes!"

Hermione shrugged, and the two girl parted ways. Hermione went with Ron to the front lines, and Piper tried to find Hazel.

Frank had missing for an hour. In that time the monsters had gotten inside the camp and were at the outskirts of New Rome. Nobody had been evacuated yet. Then, just as all seemed hopeless, and the Legion was slowly losing, Camp Half-Blood arrived. Along with a bunch of centaurs. The Amazons were expected soon.

As Piper was running swiftly through the Legion's neat ranks, she ran into someone.

"Ah!" She shrieked as Dakota barreled into her. A dagger sliced through the air where her head had just been.

Piper swallowed hard. "Thanks," she said to the Kool-Aid addict.

Dakota nodded. The two helped each other up, and Piper forgot all about finding Hazel as she noticed Dakota's face.

"Dakota, is everything okay?" Piper asked carefully.

Dakota bit his lip, as if trying to hold himself together. "Leila's missing," he blurted. "She's been missing for an hour and a half. She had been right by me in the beginning, then she disappeared, and I tried to look for her in the fog but I couldn't so I....what if she's hurt? Or...o-or....dead?" Dakota was hyperventilating. Piper gripped his shoulders.

"It's okay. Take deep breaths, it'll help. I'm sure she's fine, but you need to take a small break or something. It'll help-"

Dakota cut her off, shrugging her off and glaring. "I can't! My best friend's missing. I can't just stand around while a battle's raging all around me and I have a Cohort to command! Not to mention Frank's also missing! I can't just take a freaking BREAK!!!! Leila needs my help! She needs help. She wouldn't be MIA for this long. I need to find her, I need to find her. I need to check her and make sure she's okay."

As he blubbered on, Piper realized he was in extreme shock and needed to get a grip. She grabbed Dakota and, despite his best efforts to shrug her off, yanked him into New Rome.

When they were far enough from the battle so he couldn't get hurt, Piper yelled at him. "CALM DOWN! Dakota! Leila may need help, yes, but YOU NEED TO GET A GRIP AND COMMAND YOUR TROOPS! They look up to you! Your Cohort can't be freaking out because you're freaking out! Calm down or stay out of the battle."

Dakota stayed still. He mumbled an apology, and Piper crossed her arms. "Are you good now?"

He slowly nodded.

They reached the battle scene again, and they parted ways. Piper watched him for a bit, then concluded he was okay.

She remembered fighting snake monster after snake monster and ending up alongside Percy, then Luna and Neville, then Nico.

Finally, when it was dusk, the fighting ceased. The monster army disappeared. They ran back out of the Caldecott Tunnel, leaving everyone weary and exhausted.

When Piper met up with everyone in a command tent by the Little Tiber, Frank and Leila still hadn't returned. Dakota was nervous and jumpy.

Piper put a hand on his arm. "Dakota, you need some rest. You're tired. Sleep. We'll send a search party to find Leila." She put charmspeak in her words to soothe him. Dakota nodded sleepily and walked away.

"Wow, Pipes." Jason said.

"What?!" She asked indignantly. "He needed rest. You should've seen him earlier. I had to pull him aside!"

A shadow appeared at the entrance to the tent. Everyone tensed. The flap opened, and Reyna stepped in coolly. Piper noticed bags under slightly puffy red eyes. Reyna looked both tired and depressed.

She glanced around the room, and at all the demigods staring at her with deadly weapons pointed at her. Raising an eyebrow, she stood up straighter.

"Where's my comrade, Frank Zhang?" She asked, and Piper had a flashback of when she last saw Reyna.

She had told her of what Piper's mom had told her about love. Thinking of that sent a pang of pity for Reyna.

Connor Stoll crossed his arms. "We haven't heard from him."

Katie Gardener, lying down in the back of the tent being attended to by Travis, spoke weakly. "I..." She coughed. "I heard someone else is missing too? My..." She threw up in a bag. "My sister?"

Reyna didn't even wrinkle her nose. Instead, her right eye twitched. "Leila? Yes, she is. And Katie, you need some rest. I heard from Chiron that centaur-travel does not work with you?"

Katie nodded weakly. Travis helped her up, and, with Connor, left the tent with a pat from Percy on the head.

Paisley cleared her throat. "You're here for a reason?"

Reyna's even gaze switched to Paisley's sea green eyes. "Sibling with Percy, I presume? I heard your story from him. I did notice you were here. But one of the gods told me not to acknowledge your presence. Without that god's actions, you would be-how do you say it again?-chum." Reyna focused on Piper. "Don't be so haughty, daughter of Poseidon. Piper, I need your help."

Piper shifted. She slowly stood up. "Well then, while we're at it, we can talk about the search party for Leila and Frank."

Reyna winced. With that one look, she betrayed what she was thinking. Everyone could tell, but no one said anything. A shiver ran down Piper's back. She noticed Hazel's eyes brimming with tears. When they left the tent, she asked the question nobody else would in the tent.

"Frank and Leila are already found, aren't they?"

Reyna nodded. "Indeed they are," she said grimly. "Let me show you."

When Piper and Reyna were a ways away from the river, they reached Leila and Frank.

Piper screamed. "OH MY GODS! Frank, Leila!"

A/N: Okay, I am officially addicted to cliff hangers! Thanks so much my unicorn cupcakes! I adore each and every one of you! Share this story for more update, faster. Please tell me which demigod or wizard you would like to hear from! Okay, thanks again!! ;)