Demigods at Hogwarts | the rescue mission ✔

41| Third-Floor Corridor

Percy's POV

Turns out the journey to the third-floor corridor was much harder--and noisier--with the wizards around. Hermione and Harry were keeping up just fine, but Ron would trip over something every ten seconds or so, causing a racket that would wake up the nearby portraits.

"Sorry," he whispered-shouted for the tenth time as I winced, half-jogging to match Thalia's pace. The daughter of Zeus seemed even more nervous than I was--her expression was guarded, and she was moving so faster than the rest of us. It wasn't long 'till we reached our destination.

Unlike the rest of Hogwarts, the third floor of Hogwarts wasn't lit by any oil lamps. I watched as a ball of fire ignited in Leo's hands, providing just enough light to see everything in front of us. And there wasn't much to see--just a dark, dusty corridor with no windows and a heavily bolted door. My gaze was fixated on the door, my heartbeat quickening. I could feel Harry shaking beside me as we moved forward as a group. Piper tried the handle, which was surprisingly unlocked. She pushed it open and we tiptoed inside.

Much like the corridor, the room was windowless and empty, and a strong scent of perfume lingered in the air. Hermione instinctively looked down, pointing to a trapdoor beneath our feet. I felt a surge of hope in my chest. Maybe this was it. No more Triwizard Tournament, no more Snape, no more Ariadne.

"I should check it out first," murmured Frank, looking skeptical. "I can fly down there as a bird, tell you if Annabeth's there."

I nodded, opening the trapdoor for him. I could see nothing but endless darkness--it must be a long drop. I shuddered, thinking back to when Annabeth had fallen down to Tartarus with me. What had seemed like an endless pit of darkness, until we reached the bottom...

Clearing those thoughts from my head, I turned my attention back to Frank. He had already transformed into a bird, and was squawking indignantly. The three wizards looked completely shocked--I had learnt from Harry that the only way for wizards to turn into animals was to become an Animagus, and it required a lot of training.

Picking up Frank and holding him close to her (which I had to admit looked a bit weird), Hazel opened the trapdoor. Letting out another loud squawk, Frank dived down into the darkness.

For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Then Hermione cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable. She sat down on the floor and the rest of us followed her example.

"So..." she began, clasping her hands together. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your girlfriend like? Annabeth, I mean." She looked flustered, as if she hadn't meant for the words to escape her mouth. Reaching into the pocket of my jeans, I pulled out a small picture of Annabeth--one that the other campers had taken for us right before she had gotten kidnapped. We were sitting beside the campfire, leaning on each other and half-asleep. Annabeth was smiling lightly, the same smile you would have if you were dreaming of something pleasant.

"She was like you," I said, noticing the strain in my own voice. "Smart. Beautiful. Headstrong and stubborn," I added as Hermione cracked a smile. "And she was a fighter. She saved the entire world when we were sixteen." Once I started I couldn't stop, and the words seemed to flow out of my mouth. Before I knew it I was recounting everything that had happened to us since we first met at the age of twelve, even Tartarus. The three wizards were listening intently, their eyes burning with curiosity.

"She reconstructed the whole Mount Olympus after the Battle of the Titans." I finished, a tiny smile on my lips as I imagined the gods up there right now, enjoying their brand new thrones. "She was amazing. She-"

I was interrupted by a sudden loud squawk. Frank flew out of the trapdoor, flapping his wings hard. He slowly morphed back into human form, and I saw that he was bleeding from several deep cuts on his arms and legs. And part of me felt relieved--maybe that meant that somebody had attacked him. I immediately banished the thought from my mind as Frank sat down on the floor, looking exhausted.

"There's no one down there," he gasped, struggling for breath. Hazel rushed to him, examining his wounds as I frowned, confused. I was sure that I had seen Annabeth here in my dream. I could feel it. She had to be down there.

I could do many things. I could go through Hell, or take on a god by myself. But losing my girlfriend? That was a whole different level.

"But there has to be!" I argued. "How did you get hurt then?"

Frank sighed, rubbing his forehead---the only part of his body that didn't seem to be injured. "There were spikes on the ceiling," he groaned. "I was trying not to be seen. And I scratched myself. Many times." he emphasised. Then his face darkened. "But that's not it. I found fresh bloodstains. Someone must've been there not so long ago."

"And you're sure that no one's down there now?" asked Piper, her voice heavy with worry. Frank nodded, muttering 'positive'. And what scared me was that he looked absolutely certain.

What happened next was a blur. I could feel my knees giving away and I collapsed onto the floor, my friends desperately trying to help me up. My heart actually hurt and tears came to my eyes. We were so close, and now Annabeth was gone again. All I wanted was to throw myself down the pit of darkness, to end all of this...

And before I knew it, that was what I was doing. I was crawling towards the trapdoor, my vision blurred. I felt firm, strong hands grabbing my ankles, yanking me backwards. I sat on the cold, stone floor, my eyesight slowly returning. Piper looked horrified, and even Thalia seemed worried for me. Guilt instantly overcome me and there was a stabbing feeling in my stomach. What had I been thinking?

And the last thing I remembered was sitting there, my head resting on Hermione's shoulder, and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

+++

I apologize for the last sentence, which was horrible.

Anyways I found this really cool thing on Quora, where somebody asked the question 'does Annabeth die in the books' (I know, outrageous right?) And somebody said this:

"No, Annabeth Chase does not die in any of the books ranging from the Lightning Thief to presumably The Tower of Nero, which isn't out yet. ... If one or both of them were to die, Rick knows that horrible things would happen. He can put'em through hell, but mark our words, he will NOT kill Percabeth."

And now I've wasted another second of your precious time. #yayme