Stranger Danger. (A Percy Jackson and Harry Potter crossover)

Chapter #10: Taken away

Travis' POV

Darkness. There was nothing but darkness. Were my eyes closed? Was I in a black room? Have I gone blind? I took short breaths as I tried to make sense of things. What on earth was going on?

I tried to get up, when I my head hit a roof. Feeling around, I concluded that I had to be in a box of sorts. Panic flushed over me, and shut my eyes trying to understand. The last thing I remembered before waking up was walking to the common room after dinner. I looked down and saw that I was still dressed in my uniform, and I fumbled through the pockets, searching for my wand or sword or anything that could potentially help me, really, but I had no such luck.

Nothing happened for what felt like hours, I fumbled around, hitting the walls and screaming at the top of my lungs. Eventually I gave up, I started to wonder if I would end up starving to death here. I let myself fall to the floor and I shut my eyes tightly. How? How could this have happened? I let out a scream in frustration and fear.

"Would you stop sulking around in there?!" A deep British voice called from outside. My eyes shot back up and I shouted a response, "where the hell am I?!" There was no response. "What the hell is going on?!" Still almost complete silence. Almost like I had imagined the voice in the first place.

Suddenly I was blinded by a bright light, and the same voice whispered what must have been a magic spell. Before my eyes had even adjusted to the light, I felt my body move. It was the strangest feeling; my body was moving, and I had no control over it. I felt myself stand, and I observed my surroundings. We seemed to be stood in a forest, surrounded by enormous overgrown trees and bushes. It reminded me of camp somehow.

We walked along a small path, and I kept my head down. Not by choice, I just had no control. The only thing I found that I could control was my face. It was hard to see who was around me, but I saw two people ahead of me, dressed in long black capes. I could also hear the footsteps of someone behind me as well. No one told me a word, and no one reacted to my yelling and screaming, so I stayed silent.

My mind was racing with ideas about what could be going on. Was this some sort of a test from Chiron? Is this some elaborate prank? Or are these evil wizards who have somehow figured out who I am? If so, have the others also been taken away?

"Release him." A dark, honestly kind of terrifying voice said, and suddenly I felt I was gaining control of myself again. If I had had my sword with me, I would've attacked before they'd have known what hit them, but I knew I was unarmed and would be overpowered if I tried anything now. I stood my ground, looking up in an attempt to seem confident.

"Hello Travis. Wonderful to finally see you." The man said, with a creepy grin stretched across his face. Long platinum blond hair fell down his sides, he wore dark robes and he looked to be in his forties or fifties. From his mannerism and outfit, it was quite clear he was a bad guy. "I was the one sent to catch you."

I spit in his face. I mean, how else should I have reacted? "I don't give a shit who you are. Just let me go." The vulgar looking man let out a small, pitiful laugh while he wiped his face. "You really don't understand what you're messing with here young man. The dark lord sent me." He looked at me as though what he had just said would explain everything, but it left me even more confused. I looked around me at the other few people scattered around us, all dressed in the same dark robes, with serious looks on their faces. "Well, what is it this dark lord wants from me?"

Once again, the man let out a small laugh, and he shot a look toward the man standing closest to him. "It is none of my business what he wants with you specifically. If I'm going to be honest you were just the easiest one to catch. But for now, he wants to warn you and that little pack of friends of yours. If you think nobody knows your secrets, think again."

My stomach sunk, and I felt a cold shiver cross me. I tried to look confident once more, but it was difficult; I didn't know much about what was going on, but I would be dumb if I couldn't understand how serious this was. Someone was after us. Someone powerful. Keeping my mouth shut was also difficult, I was resisting the urge to jump this guy, but it didn't seem like the best way to handle this situation. "Warn us against what?"

"Don't go messing around with things that you don't understand. You're children. If you cross the line it won't end well for you or those you love. Don't test us." He looked me straight into my eyes, his face stone cold and his right arm clutching his wand. "So, more of like a general warning then? Nothing in particular?" I laughed, scratching the back of my head, but I regretted it instantly as an angry look grew on the creepy man's face. He whispered something under his breath, holding out his wand towards me, and I felt a deep shot of pain hit me.

The agony was indescribable, it was like I was being burnt alive, like I was stabbed by hot knives all over, like someone was forcing me underwater. Nothing I had ever experienced physically had hurt me this much before. Every thought I had ever had left my head for just a moment and all I could experience, all I could remember, all I could understand was the pain. Without meaning to I let out a scream, as I fell to the ground and twisted around in pain. I wasn't sure how long it lasted, maybe ten seconds, but it felt like hours. When it finally lifted, I had almost forgotten where I was, but I quickly shot to my feet and stood my ground once again. "Is that really all you've got?" I said, albeit not as confidently as I had hoped. The man chuckled again, "Don't you worry son, there's more where that came from. I hope you understand what I'm asking you to do?" I furrowed my brows at him, I didn't want to upset him again but I really had no idea what he wanted. I stood in silence for a while, waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn't say anything else, he just stared. After a few minutes he looked to the other men around us, nodding. "I think we're done here, for now. If you know how to keep a low-profile boy, then maybe we don't have to meet again." He gave me one final, ominous glare, and then with a loud crack they all vanished.

Finally, I let out a gasp of air I hadn't realized I was holding in, and I fell to my feet. I couldn't even begin to process what had just happened, before I realized that I had no idea where I was. Before I could try to make sense of all this, I had to make my way home. It was twilight, and the forest I was sitting in was quite dark already, but they couldn't have taken me too far away, right? So, I began to trudge in the direction that my gut told me was right.