Falling - Percy Jackson At Hogwarts Two

Diversion

Thalia

"We should go back to Hogwarts," Artemis said to me. We were sitting in her tent; the rest of the Hunters were asleep while we were discussing our next move.

"But we already scanned the area there," I protested, not wanting to go back there after what I saw. Those pour children, they did nothing to deserve such horrid treatment.

"Yes, but that was the first lead we got that actually led to something." I sighed in defeat knowing she was right.

"I'll get the hunters prepared to leave tomorrow. They need sleep," I told the goddess.

She nodded, "Thank you, Thalia. Go, you also need your rest." I bowed my head and left the tent.

My head collapsed upon the sleeping bag that I have rested in for the last few years of my life. At first it was uncomfortable and constricting but now, it's as nice as any store-bought bed. It only took a few moments before I drifted off, falling into a slumber. 

The trees above me swayed in unison, moving to the winds beat as if it were an orchestra controlled by its conductor. I scanned the fallen leaves at my feet, the light that has been sucked away by the canopy above.

I'm in the dark forest, I realised. The forbidden forest just outside Hogwarts grounds, familiar from the hours of training we spent here. Only then did I spot a man wearing a striped suit sitting on a log. Although his face was hidden to me, I could tell who it was.

I reluctantly walked over to him, not knowing what to do or say.

"Sit," he commanded. I did not dare go against his word. Family or not, disobeying him was never a good idea.

"Thalia, I know you seek the Titan Prometheus in the fear he has once again sided with our enemy," he stated, directing this conversation.

"Do you have any idea where he is?" I asked hopeful. Maybe that was the reason he has visited my dreams.

"No, but I feel he may be closer than you think. Artemis is right, you need to go to Hogwarts. Find the daughter of Pluto, she will guide you. Though I must warn you, the situation there is not what you expect."

"What do you mean?" I wondered. Why do the gods only speak in riddles? What does Hazel know?

"Prometheus has been in hiding," he continued, ignoring me, "it is about time his presence is revealed and his essence is sent back to the pits of Tartarus. I believe you can do this, Thalia. My children have always been strong, but like every demigod they have their flaws." With that the dream shifted. Slowly fading away to I faced reality once again.

Artemis

My bones shivered as we reached our destination. The castle could now be seen high on the hill. A dark fog surrounded it's towering walls, warding away any trespassers.

That's when I felt it, like a spider creeping up the back of my neck. Immediately my senses went on high alert and I held a closed fist to instruct my hunters to pause. Whatever it was, it was powerful, it was close. There was an invisible string pulling me towards its clutches.

It had to be a lead, or at least something that has some useful information about our enemy's movements. After Thalia informing me of her dream with my father, I knew we were on the right path. A path my hunters could not follow me down.

"Thalia, lay down camp here. I will be back by sundown. If not, do not search for me, just call for my brother. He will provide safe travel back to camp half-blood," I told my lieutenant.

"Where are you going?" She asked, concern stretching across the features of her face.

"I sense something, maybe a lead, but dangerous none the less." Her involvement would only place her in jeopardy, "Stay on guard," I told her and rushed into the forest.

I grabbed the bow from my back and carried it in my hand, wary of any oncoming threats. The moonlight danced off my shoulders as I stumbled through the forest, the string tugged me along the right path.

Hours past and still till not a soul was in sight, no breaths of the living could be heard. Just the animals of the night scuttering around the forest floor.

Suddenly, my ears became sirens of sound, a light whitened my sight, a gust of horrifying smells filled my nose, my senses were overwhelmed. Immediately I stopped in my tracks, continually blinking to gain clear sight.   

White light faded into darkness, adjusting once more to see the men surrounding me. I slung my bow on my back and unsheathed the twin hunting blades by my side. 

"The goddess Artemis herself. What an excellent catch," one of them boasted. A female with curly black hair stepped out from behind him laughing.

"She-she's a goddess?" She laughed in disbelief.

"Who are you?" I questioned at the unknown faces.

"Well, little one," She said gesturing towards my chosen form of a teenage girl,  "I am Bellatrix Lestrange and you, well you may end up interrupting the dark lords plan and we can't have that, can we?" Her rhetorical question sending streams of questions through my mind.

The man spoke again, "All you need to know is that you have fallen into a trap." Immediately I glare at each of the mortals who think they had bested me. "Not a trap where we capture you in a net, but more of a trap where we draw away the alpha, leaving the pack defenceless and their leader alone."

My hunters. A diversion to get me away from them. "You think you can take down 30 hunters in combat?" I asked, trying to learn more of their plan.

"Oh, easily. First we will send the monsters, then the survivors will be captured. See, the Dark Lord has a special meeting and your arrival was inconvenient to him. Now, it's time to take care of you." 

Three men rushed forward shooting spells out of there wands, each aimed directly at me, each one I dodged effortlessly. In turn they immediately got turned into a few lovely daffodils. No one messes with my hunters. 

I charged at the remaining wizards, each now wary of my capabilities. I managed to cut two of their wands in half before a large force smacked into my side, causing my feet to go off-balance for just a moment. I turned and saw the beast, a Hellhound with blood in it's teeth. Fresh blood. I pray that it was not the blood of my followers. I easily took down the Hellhound, but while I was distracted a spell was shoot towards me. 

Pain flooded into me and I bit back a scream. A goddess does not scream, but it hurt like Tartarus. I turned towards the man who did this to me and stared into his eyes, wishing he would become a fish, unable to breathe in the open air. My wish was not granted, I couldn't change his form. Something was wrong. 

Only then I noticed the celestial bronze shackles around my ankles. I looked up to see Bellatrix grinning like a maniac. How did I not notice this? 

"Mark my words, you will pay for this. I swear it upon the river Styx," I cursed her. 

That was the last thing I remember before getting knocked hard in the back of my head by the club of a cyclopes. If I was mortal I would have perished, but alas. I kept on living.