Demigods at Hogwarts | the rescue mission ✔

36| Confessions

Percy's POV

  I opened my eyes, terrified to see what I had done. Somehow I had managed to single-handedly drench the entire castle, and everyone was soaked. The water was up to my waist. And it wasn't even drinking water--it was seawater.

  I looked down and gasped. I was standing in my own mini-hurricane, a faint blue glow around my body. Everyone was staring at me in horror. One kid screamed. Moments later, Harry, Hermione, Ron and the demigods came wading in, their faces pale with shock.

  "None of this ever happened," Piper shouted, her charmspeak so strong that even I began to forget the whole situation. "You're going to go back to your houses. This will be remembered as a freak accident."

  For a moment, the wizards were silent, but they stayed where they were, frowning at Piper as if she was crazy. Great. If Piper's charmspeak didn't work on them, nothing would. I stared at my friends helplessly. Even they seemed out of ideas.

  "Mr Jackson," a voice boomed, I turned around. Professor Dumbledore, as calm as ever, was casually walking towards me. The water didn't seem to bother him in any way, and he not a single hair on him was wet. I met his intelligent blue gaze nervously. Would I get kicked out? I had to find Annabeth first.

  "I'm sorry, sir, I couldn't control it," I stammered. I was on the verge of tears myself--what if someone had been hurt because of me? However, Dumbledore didn't look the least bit angry. He flicked his wand a few times, and all the water disappeared. Then he gazed at me and my friends.

  "It's time they know the truth," he said to the portraits on the wall, then turned back to us. "Come, and follow me to the Great Hall."

  Staying together in a tight group, we trailed behind Dumbledore. Frank and Hazel were holding hands, Thalia and Nico were sticking close together, and Leo had his arm around Piper. I realized that I was the third wheel now. The whole school was staring, but at least my friends didn't seem to be blaming me.

  Well, not yet.

  The gigantic doors to the Hall opened on Dumbledore's command, and we walked in. Practically the whole school was already gathered there, and everyone was staring at us, frightened. Maybe they thought we were freak wizards or something.

  Dumbledore led us to the front of the Hall. "Tell them," he murmured into my ear. Hands shaking, I bit my lip. I wasn't sure I was ready--and Chiron had told us to keep our godly parentage a secret. But he had also told us to trust Dumbledore. And I didn't have much of a choice here. I hesitantly started to address the faces staring up at me.

  "As you probably know already," I said, my voice echoing off the walls of the Hall. "I was the one who caused the flood. In fact, um, all of us have special powers that wizards don't have. Do you guys know anything about the Greek Gods?" The majority of the wizards nodded. "I know this is hard to take in, but we're sort of the children of the gods. Gods and mortals, to be accurate. My mom is just human and my dad..." I swallowed nervously. "My dad is Poseidon, which is why I can control water."

  "Poseidon, as in the god of the sea?" one kid yelled, breaking the awkward silence. I nodded as more kids started shouting out their questions.

  "What about your friends?"

  I glanced at the demigods, who were standing behind me. Nico looked like he wanted to curl up in a hole and die, Piper was blushing furiously, and even Leo didn't seem to be enjoying any of the attention. Thalia was the first to step forward.

"I'm the daughter of Zeus, king of the heavens, god if the weather and the sky," she said confidently--at least she sounded more confident than I did. "I can, um, zap people with lightning and stuff. But I left to join the Hunters of Artemis at the age of sixteen, so I'm stuck as a teenage girl forever."

  Piper was next. "My mom's Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love," she said, wincing. I knew she was uncomfortable with the 'beauty and love' thing--she had always been so ironically down to earth. "I can charmspeak, which is basically convincing people to do what I say. Though it probably doesn't work on everyone here." Excited murmurs spread through the Hall and girls stared at her enviously. I couldn't blame them--who didn't want to be flawlessly pretty all the time?

  Frank and Leo were next, with Frank turning into a puppy and Leo setting himself on fire. Nico went last--I figured everyone was going to be pretty freaked out by him. It had taken me years to get comfortable around the mysterious son of Hades.

  "My dad is the lord of the Underworld, Hades," he told the wizards, who exchanged low whispers while eyeing Nico suspiciously. "I can summon the dead and shadow travel, which is teleporting in the shadows." he finished, quickly stepping back and hiding behind Frank. I felt sorry for him--people like him weren't exactly popular or welcomed everywhere they went.

  "So why are you here?" one kid asked. Thankfully, Piper, putting a hand on my shoulder, answered that for me.

  "One of our friends has been kidnapped," she replied. "Percy's girlfriend. We've been trying to find her." Many students in the Hall shot me sympathetic looks. I didn't like being pitied, but it was way better than being feared.

  Just saying.

  To my relief, Dumbledore started speaking again. "You have been excused from the rest of your lessons," he told everyone. "You will go back to your houses and rest until dinner. You may leave." The students rushed out of the Hall, ecstatic to get the day off. No one said anything--even Leo remained silent.

  "I'm sorry," I blurted out. "I know I messed everything up, and I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry." I half-expected Thalia to zap me, but instead she sighed.

  "It's not your fault," she said softly, sounding as miserable as I did. "Look, we're in this together. It's our fault--all of us." She put her hand on my shoulder. "No more taking the blame, okay?"

  I nodded weakly and followed my friends out of the Hall. Thalia's words had done little to comfort me, and all I could think about was Annabeth.

  Were things ever going to be normal again?