Demigods at Hogwarts | the rescue mission ✔

16| Confidential

Percy's POV

"What were you thinking?" Piper snapped as soon as we exited Dumbledore's office. Her tone was razor-sharp, which was unusual for the softly-spoken daughter of Aphrodite. I guess this school was really changing us—and not for the better. "You just ruined any chance of Dumbledore helping us."

    Leo glared at her. "None of your business, Beauty Queen. I'm sick of being a pawn of the gods and these wizards." There was something about the absolute certainty in his voice that made me uncomfortable. Hopefully this was something he would get over.

  "But what about Jason?" Piper, who was on the verge of tears, argued. "What about Annabeth? Is that none of my business? This isn't a game anymore, Leo. These people are hurting our friends, the people we love. I for one, am not going to stand by and watch you lose your temper over something so...trivial." she hissed. "We're demigods, life is never gonna be easy for us. It's time to grow up and except that."

    "He doesn't have to," I said quietly as my friends turned to stare at me. "The Triwizard Tournament is going to happen next week. If winning the Tournament will really lead us to Jason and Annabeth, we need to make sure I come out on top of every task. Which means," I said firmly, eyeing Piper and Leo with a stern expression. "I will not tolerate you two bickering with each other."

   "Percy's right," Nico piped up, his voice solemn. "We need to make sure that he wins. It's our best chance."

   I was about to thank the son of Hades for backing me up when I caught Harry walking towards me. The look in his eyes betrayed the urgency of the situation as I waved him over.

  "Percy, we need to talk. In private," Harry gasped. He was obviously out of breath from running, which made me wonder what could be so important. The young wizard cast an apologetic glance to my friends. "Sorry, guys, but this is confidential."

    Warily, the other demigods backed away. Harry led me outside to the courtyard, where the sun was shining brightly over our heads. "I know what the first task is," he said immediately after making sure that everyone was out of earshot.

    "Did they announce it already?" I asked, surprised. I guess I had expected Piper or Thalia to keep an eye on the announcements for me. "I must've missed it. Thanks for-"

     "No!" Harry interrupted hastily, his eyes darting around the courtyard nervously. "They haven't announced it yet. No one is supposed to know, but every champion has already found out, except for you. And that isn't exactly fair, so I decided to tell you." He said this all in a rush, making it hard for me to process his words. Why did British people have to talk so fast?

    "So... what is it?" I asked, curious.

   "Dragons," Harry breathed. "So there's going to be a golden egg, and there'll be a dragon guarding it. The goal is to get your hands on the golden egg as fast as possible. The quickest to obtain the egg will win the task." he said. "Not to mention that the dragon isn't tame and can kill you any second." He looked worried as he told me all this—who wouldn't be? I had come across dragon-like creatures before, and I definitely wasn't a big fan of them.

    I gulped. "Okay. I'll think about how to beat this fire-breathing dragon. Thanks for the information, Harry."

   "You're welcome," he said and dashed off to join Ron and Hermione, who were waiting for him at the end of the corridor. The three of them really were inseparable, I thought to myself as I walked back to my friends.

     "What was that about?" Thalia asked after Harry was out of earshot.

     "The next task," I told them. "Apparently, Harry figured it all out. It's dragons."

      Nico bit his lip. "Dragons? Like the drakon we encountered when we were battling Kronos?"

     "Yeah. Similar, I think." I said uncertainly. "And judging by what Harry said, it can kill me any time. Forget about winning----I need to find a way to stay alive first."

+++

Harry's POV

  "What were you thinking?" hissed Ron as we headed to the dungeons for Potions. "You already told Cedric about the dragons, and now you're telling Percy." His eyes were wide with shock. "Do you want to lose?"

  Hermione nudged him. "Personally, I think Harry did the right thing," she pointed out. "All the other champions know, so it's only fair. Percy's already at a disadvantage." Her face darkened. "I don't think he studied the same things we did back in America."

  I frowned. "What do you mean? Education is never the same in any school, Muggle or magic." Hermione wasn't making any sense. "Have you seen what Percy can do with water?"

  Hermione bit her lip, her expression uneasy. "I've got to go to the bathroom. I'll meet you in the dungeons." Without another word, she quickly walked away in the opposite direction.

  I turned to Ron, who looked equally confused. "What just happened?" he said in a small voice. "D'you reckon she's mad at us?"

  I shook my head. Having known Hermione for four years, I knew her expressions like the back of my hand. "She's thinking," I responded. "I wonder what." I glanced at the clock. "We better hurry--we'll be late for Potions."