James Potter and the Half Blood Hallway

Nine

Harry and Ron Apparated back into the Malfoy Manor about three days later. They carried the limp body of Teddy Lupin with them. Kretcher Apparated in a moment later.
"Where've you been!?!" demanded Hermione at once, but before they could answer she added. "Never mind! What's wrong with Teddy?"
" He got hit with a reducto spell," said Ron, setting him gently on the sofa. "Should be fine though..."
"Should be?" shouted Ginny.

"Why the delay then?" asked Draco, changing the subject. Ron and Harry looked at Kretcher.
"Well?" said Harry.
"Kretcher cannot say," said Kretcher, a tad bit annoyance in his voice. He had been using that excuse every time Harry asked....he was even starting to believe he was telling the truth.
"Kretcher swore not to tell wizards," said the house elf. There was a clattering on the floor, as if something expensive just broke.

Everyone whipped around to see Elisa the Malfoys' new house elf. She had dropped a platter of expensive China Tea cups, the tea gathering in a large puddle on the floor.
"Kretcher swore too!" she said. Kretcher nodded and sized her up.
"Kretcher also can't believe they trusted....you," said Kretcher. Elisa folded her arms over her chest.
"And why can't Kretcher?" she said indignantly.
"Elisa cannot keep secret," he said simply.
"Elisa can keep secrets! Elisa has done it for a month now!"
"But Kretcher has done it for nineteen years," Kretcher told her grudgingly. "Kretcher has never once slipped. Ever."
"Elisa can keep secret!" insisted Elisa. "Elisa will keep secret!"

"What the bloody hell are you to talking about?" bellowed Ron. Kretcher gestured at Elisa, like proceed. Elisa shot him a cold, hard death stare. Kretcher just grinned, seemingly amused at her. She continued to glare at him.
That's when Teddy began to stir.
"Oi, Where's Hugo and Lily?" he asked weakly.
"We're right here!" said Lily coming into the den.
"Why all the shouting?" asked Hugo sleepily.

~***~             ~***~              ~***~

Percy checked that the corridors were all clear before proceeding toward the man with lightning crackling off his skin. Two gods? In one night? How lucky was he!

"YOU LET THEM FIND OUT!!!!" Zeus bellowed, outraged. Yes. This was none other than the lord of the skies himself! This just kept getting better and better.
"No offense," said Percy. "But you did that yourselves! You're the ones who kept sending them the prophecies!"
"YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO LEAD THEM OFF OF THE FACT!!"
"If I was going to do that then what was the point in telling them the prophecies anyway!"
"HOW DARE YOU DIFE ME!!!"

Thunder boomed over head. It shook the building. Percy figured he should watch what he said from that point on, because if he got any angrier he just might blow the whole school up. And that would be bad.

"Look," he said. "He - I mean - The 'Mother of all things magical' already gave me the big lecture on why I needed to lead them off of the fact that your.... well, you. So, you can calm down, because you're scarring the first years." Zeus lowered his voice, but was still glaring.
"One more time, Jackson," he said in a voice so low that it was almost scary. (Percy'd seen worse though) " Don't mess this up! Only the three can know! Understand!"

Percy nodded. He understood just fine. (He had lived through two Great Prophecies before after all.) They would formulate the details later, when the time was closer, but they still had about five more years before any of that happened. A lot could happen from now to then. He knew from experience, this was not going to be easy. They were all so certain, though, for some reason, that the three in the Great Prophecy was in this oh - so - high - and - mighty - magical - land filled with witches and wizards, and that the three were Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy's sons. They meaning the gods.
Apollo had 'foreseen' it coming for months, but yet he never thought to mention until the day Rachel was in the infirmary back at Camp Half Blood. (The other Olympians, no doubt, gave him a big lecture on this.)
Apollo then, told Hecate, who told Chiron, who gave Percy this 'private' quest. The funny thing? They hadn't even let Percy hear what the Great Prophecy said. He wasn't there to witness it like he was when she predicted the last one. (Which, was also her first prediction.)

As much as he hated being used by the gods, Percy knew that this was vitally important. The gods couldn't exactly go around into random wizarding schools for the fun of it. They needed a hero to do it for them, or the balance of things would be off.
Percy had been contemplating why they didn't just send a child of Hecate to do this job, but Chiron had insisted that he was the one that had to go.
He just couldn't catch a brake.

Zeus glared at him once more. "Good, " he said. The storm had slowed down a little now, as Zeus's anger melted slowly. He turned, ready to leave, and Percy averted his eyes. Before revealing his true form, Percy thought he heard the sky god mutter something,
"Poseidon's spawn...hmph. The last time I -" That's all he heard, as at that moment the shadow of a blindingly bright light overcame the corridor. Any mortal that would've looked directly at the god now would be overwhelmed.

And that's exactly what happened to James Potter.

~***~           ~***~          ~***~

Somewhere deep in the depths of a supposedly endless pit (Ha! Mortals!) a dark figure loomed in the darkness, the only light coming faintly from the river of fire behind it. The 'pimples' occasionally rising and popping, forming a newly reformed monster who immediately wanted to get out and seek revenge on whatever 'hero' had killed it.  
This dark figure was indeed one of those 'monsters.' He had been wanting to get out for eons, seething on the idea of finally obtaining his revenge.

The dark figure smirked to himself. After all this time....he was finally going to get it.

" - Kill that stupid son of Jupi - " grumbled and gripped a newly formed telkhines. The figure reached out a dark shadowy hand with astonishing speed, griping his long seemingly smoky fingers around the poor creatures neck. The figure tightened his grip, squeezing until the telkhines was nothing more than a pile of golden dust at his feet.

This was going to be fun.

~***~             ~***~         ~***~

When Sally Jackson got the call saying that Zeus was allowing her son to fly across the world all the way to England she immediately knew the world was on the verge of ending. Again.  She had paced in the living room well over an hour after that, praying and hoping Zeus didn't change his mind.

Paul, her husband was standing near by, assuring her everything would be fine. She had never been more scared for her sons life before. Well, that was a lie. She feared for his life on every quest, particularly the one(s) where Hera had stolen his memory and forced him into the Roman camp and to Greece. Never mind Tartarus! (That had to be the worst. She might not've ever seen him again!) Now he was off on yet another dangerous quest. It was so dangerous that Zeus not only allowed Percy, son of Poseidon, to fly on a plan, but he insisted.

"Sally," said Paul making her face him. "He will be fine. Percy is one of the strongest heroes I've ever met. If anyone can make it through this it's him." Sally nodded. He had come out alive and mostly sane from Tartarus after all. But that didn't keep her from worrying, he was her only son she simply could not lose him. Ever. He was everything to her.

"He will be okay," Paul tried again. "You will see him again." He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Precisely why she loved this man. He always gave her hope.