The Golden Wand [Harry Potter/Percy Jackson]

Chapter 17: That Which You Desire

Harry POV:

"Ah, Potter, there you are," McGonagall smiled up at me. She was sat on the edge of my four poster bed in my new dorm. I jumped away from her in shock, not expecting her to be there. 

"Oh, um, Professor, hi..." I stuttered awkwardly. It was late, nearing midnight, and I desperately longed for sleep. "What are you - um - doing..."

"I came to inform you of your next task," she said matter-of-factly. 

"You couldn't have told me in the common room, or, I don't know, during dinner?"

She looked at me sternly through her glasses. 

"You have been with your friends all night, Potter, and this must be done privately."

"How did you even get in here?" I frowned. I had been in the common room all night with my friends from Goode; to get to my dorm she would have needed to walk passed us at some point. 

"I have my ways, and that is besides the point," she brushed the matter aside. "Follow me, no questions."

I had about a million questions, but when Professor McGonagall tells you not to do something you do not do it, unless of course you wanted to lose a few limbs. I followed her through the empty Competitor's Common Room and out into the cold hallway of the fifth floor. We walked down stairways and zigzagged through corridors until my mind went dizzy; I thought I knew Hogwarts like the back of my hand, but by the time we stopped walking I was well and truly lost. I had no idea what floor we were on or where we were in the castle - I couldn't even tell if we had gone up or down. 

We stopped before a dark wooden door, no taller than myself. Ron would have needed to crouch to walk through it. The rest of the corridor was empty; no ghosts, no statues, no doors or alcoves or windows, not even a torch to light the way. McGonagall had pulled out her wand to illuminate the door. 

"Enter," she ordered. 

"Professor-"

"No questions, Potter," she reminded me. "Goodnight."

With that, she put away her wand and disappeared into the shadows. I was alone. 

I slowly reached out into the darkness, fingers grasping at the door handle. It was cold under my touch and heavy to lift. I heard the click of the door opening as I turned the handle, and slowly but surely I edged into the room. 

"Close the door behind you," A voice appeared from the darkness; warm, familiar, instantly calming me. As soon as I closed the door, the torches on the walls lit up the room. And there was Dumbledore, dressed in pleasant grey and purple, standing next to a tall object that was hidden in a cloth. The scene was familiar. The room was small. "Good evening, Harry."

"Professor," I nodded politely. My eyes traced the object cloaked in dark red. The sheet was dusty and old, as if it had not been touched for many years. I felt my body being drawn towards whatever was underneath this cloth; I could feel the pull of its magic. 

"Does this feel familiar, Harry?" Dumbledore smiled back at me. 

I nodded slowly. A distant memory was being dragged out of my mind, showing me what I had long forgotten. A good memory, a happy memory. 

"It was not too many years ago that we were in a room quite like this, staring at the object that stands before you," Dumbledore nodded. His head tilted slightly as if he were remembering the exact same thing as I. "Back then I told you what a dangerous object this was - and now, it seems, the Golden Tournament has need to test your powers over it."