Chapter 17 - A Rock Dude

There was only one – only one? I'm surprised. – cloud on Harry's bright horizon. Ron was going to pick him up on that day, and he was going to go to the Quidditch World Cup!

Well, he didn't forget about the little cloud that was floating, you know.

Harry still had no clue what to make of the dream. He hadn't told Percy, Annabeth and Nico about the whole thing, but well, he could tell Dumbledore… or, he could tell Ron and Hermione! No, a snide voice in the back of his head said. Ron will get scared for no reason, and you know what Hermione will do – recommend Albus Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and a bazillion books. Harry nodded internally. Well, Mr Snide, you are right. But… he could call… Sirius! He had Dark Magic experience and was the perfect father figure for him (Cough, Zeus, cough).

"Aha!" he said suddenly.

"Aha what?" Percy asked, who was packing all his clothes into a bag.

"I'll tell Sirius about my scar!"

"He just messaged you, Harry," said the voice of reason, Annabeth.

"He'll know what to do. I know that." Harry ran to his desk.

…

As Harry scribbled on the parchment, Annabeth turned back to bag into which she packed all of her clothes. She was glad that Harry's friend and his parents were coming to get them out of Privet Drive, as she was irritated with the house and its inhabitants.

At the same time, she felt lucky that she was able to keep her feelings about Harry at bay. It's a crush, she told herself. A simple, teenage crush. It will go. Having a boyfriend at this age is not the best thing, anyway. Just get a wee bit older, and think about it. For now, chuck it. She stole a glance at Harry, who was looking at the ceiling, deep in thought. She mentally shook her head and went back to packing.

"When did Ron say that he would come?" Percy asked Harry.

"Five eve," said Harry, who had started scribbling again.

"That's late," Nico groaned. "I am enough of eating all this crap like watermelons and grapefruits."

Instead of answering, Harry went and attached the letter to Hedwig's leg. She nipped his finger lovingly and flew off. Harry turned to Nico. "Man, the food that Mrs Weasley cooks is, slurp. It's legit the best food you can never imagine about beforehand."

"It can't be better than my mother's," argued Percy.

"Well, check it out," said Harry with a shrug.

"I definitely will," Percy answered with a smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes.

…

Percy and his friends kept horsing around in the room till 12 o' clock when they all finished packing. Harry looked extremely happy, and the smile on his face was so contagious that even Nico, Percy and Annabeth couldn't help smiling. Annabeth had found a book in Harry's bookshelf called Firestarter by Stephen King. She had gone deep inside the book. Nico too, to Percy's surprise, had chosen a book called The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (Percy had never heard about him).

Harry was lying on his bed, a huge book called A History of Magic open in front of him. He was writing on a long piece of parchment and looked close to falling asleep.

Percy, defying his better judgement, almost walked over to Harry's bookshelf to select a good book for himself before he heard a yell.

"BOY!"

Chaos. The aftermath of that yell was utter chaos. Harry, with a screech, threw his quill (he had recently filled ink in it). It landed on Nico's book, and all the ink smeared across the page. He jerked and held on one of the legs of Annabeth's chair. She screamed, pushing the table, and the chair fell, right on Nico's arm. Percy was the only person to whom nothing had happened.

"Guys! Guys! Control!" Percy said quickly. "Har, Vernon's calling you."

Harry, who was still breathing heavily, turned to Percy. "I should know that, shouldn't I?" He jumped over Nico and ran down the stairs.

"What was Harry writing?" Annabeth asked, her eyes wide. "Why did he… just screech like that?"

Percy peeped into Harry's essay. "About… well… vampires."

"He might not have liked that," Nico shrugged. "I have a reason. I was bloody reading about torturing, for all of the gods' sake!"

"And I was on the word 'spider'," said Annabeth grimly. "Weird, that all of us were on parts that we don't like for the exact second that Vernon called Harry."

"That can be coincidence," Percy replied with a shrug.

…

At a quarter to five, Harry, Percy, Nico and Annabeth walked downstairs, with the mist in action.

"Uncle Vernon, just make note that I might not be there next holiday, the same way like what happened this time."

"All the more is better, boy," said Uncle Vernon, a smile plastered on his beefcake-face.

Uncle Vernon, Dudley and Aunt Petunia looked extremely tensed. Uncle Vernon had been downright alarmed when Harry informed him that many wizards would be arriving at five o' clock. Presently, Uncle Vernon had put on his best suit. Harry knew that he wanted to look impressive and intimidating. Dudley kept walking sideways from room to room so that he wouldn't present the same place to the enemy.

Uncle Vernon was looking at the newspaper, though his eyes weren't moving. Dudley was crammed in an armchair, his hands on his bottom. Harry kept his eyes on his watch, his heart pumping with excitement. Needless to say, he was sure that Nico, Annabeth and Percy felt the same. The three of them stood up quietly, and Percy mouthed, 'ADHD. Can't stay still,' before walked out after them. Harry kept his cool and waited.

Five o' clock.

Ten past five.

Quarter past five.

"They're late!" Uncle Vernon snarled, breaking his quiet talk with Aunt Petunia. Harry, beginning to feel ADHD himself, quickly said, "Maybe the traffic's bad," before running out of the room with nervousness.

Uncle Vernon called after him, "Their kind don't set much store by punctuality, do they? What car do they drive? A tin-pot – AAAAAAARRRRRGH!"

Percy quickly turned to Harry. "Let's go and check?"

…

Before Percy could take a step forward, however, Dudley ran out of the room, hands clamped on his bottom. He looked frightened out of his wits. Sounds could be heard from the living room, of the Dursleys scrambling around and muffled yelling.

Loud bangings and scrapings were coming from behind the Dursleys' boarded-up fireplace, which had a fake coal fire plugged in front of it.

"What is it, Vernon?" Aunt Petunia gasped.

She didn't have to wait. Voices could be heard from inside the blocked fireplace. "Ouch! Fred, no — go back, go back, there's been some kind of mistake — tell George not to — OUCH! George, no, there's no room, go back quickly and tell Ron —"

"Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad — maybe he'll be able to let us out —"

There was a loud hammering of fists on the boards behind the electric fire.

"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?"

Vernon turned to Harry with a scowl. "BOY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

"They — they've tried to get here by Floo powder," said Harry, who looked like he was fighting a desire to laugh. "They can travel by fire — only you've blocked the fireplace — hang on —" He approached the fireplace and called through the boards. "Mr Weasley? Can you hear me? Mr Weasley, it's Harry… the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there."

"Damn!" said a male voice. Mr Weasley's. "What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?"

"They've got an electric fire," Harry explained.

"Really?" said Mr Weasley's voice excitedly. "Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that… Let's think… ouch, Ron!"

Ron Weasley. Harry's best friend."What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?"

"Boys, boys…" said Mr Weasley vaguely. "I'm trying to think what to do… Yes… only way… Stand back, Harry." Harry retreated to the sofa. Vernon did the opposite, though.

"Wait a moment!" he yelled at the fire. "What exactly are you going to —"

BANG.

The electric fire shot across the room as the boarded-up fireplace burst outward, expelling a middle-aged man, with three teenage boys, all with flaming red hair. Mr Weasley, Ron Weasley, and… Petunia shrieked and fell backwards over the coffee table; Vernon caught her before she hit the floor, and gaped, speechless, at the Weasleys.

Harry turned to Percy quickly. "Pass to Nico and Annabeth too – for going, step into the fireplace and clearly say 'the Burrow', okay? I'll cover up. Take your stuff along with you. Go one by one, preferably you first, Annabeth, and then Nico. Best of luck. The mist doesn't need to work there, you'll be fine. Can't speak to you anymore, here."

Percy looked at the fireplace, which had afire in it. He nudged Harry. "How are we supposed to –?"

"My trunk's upstairs," Harry said loudly to Mr Weasley. Out of the corner of his mouth, he said, "Don't be scared, that fire can't hurt you. Keep that in mind."

Percy gave a covert nod. He turned to Annabeth. "Harry passed the message. One by one, all of us should step into the fireplace and say 'the Burrow' loudly and clearly. That fire can't hurt us. Take your stuff along. I'll go first, then you, Annabeth, then Nico. Pass it to him." Saying, Percy grabbed his backpack and went near the fire. He took a deep breath and walked into the fire. He felt a tickling sensation, extremely far from what he had expected. Feeling braver, he looked at Annabeth and Nico. Nodding at them, he said (as clearly as possible) "The Burrow!"

The next moment, Percy had begun to spin very fast, and the Dursleys' living room was whipped out of sight in a rush of emerald-green flames. It felt as though he were being sucked down a tornado. He seemed to be spinning very fast — the roaring in his ears was deafening — he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick — something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning — now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face — he wished it would stop –

Percy instinctively threw his hands out as he fell forward. He could feel the stares of many people on him. As he looked up, the first thing he registered was that four people were pointing their wands at him. Before he could do or say anything, he felt Annabeth collide with him and he fell forward.

"Who in Merlin's name are you?" One red-headed dude asked. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. He looked like he was ready for a rock concert.

Percy threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I am Percy Jackson, this is my friend Annabeth – move, Annabeth!" He suddenly got a spark of knowledge and pushed her away from the fireplace, and like Percy had a sixth sense, Nico di Angelo rolled out of the fireplace, hitting his head on the ground.

"Ow."

"Yeah, that girl is Annabeth Chase, and this guy," he pointed at Nico (who looked like he was kissing the floor), "is Nico di Angelo."

"Why do you have an American accent? And why did you come instead of Harry? You can't all have come to the wrong place," one of the two girls, a one with brown, bushy hair, brown eyes and little large front teeth, said. "But – but – OH!"

All the redheads looked at her. "Harry mentioned that some people were coming with him – oh, it must be you all!"

"You are?" Annabeth asked, looking at the girl who had spoken.

"Hermione, Hermione Granger."

"And can you all introduce yourselves? Cause we don't know you."

"Bill Weasley," the rock dude said, waving.

"Charlie Weasley," the guy next to him waved. He was short and stocky. His face was weather-beaten and freckly, and one of his arms had a burn on it.

"Ginny Weasley," the red-headed girl smiled (or rather, blushed). She was very pretty; with long red hair and freckly complexion.

"Harry will be here soon," Nico said, gesturing to the fireplace.

"Take seats," said Bill, gesturing that Percy sat next to him.

I've decided to stop my starting AN, cause it is irritating for both the writer and the reader. BTW, I know I missed Friday and that I am giving you this chapter really late. But, well, I had a lot of work, and... okay, now I am just making excuses. I had actually planned on uploading this chapter yesterday, but, Christmas, you know. So anyway, REVIEW!

Review answering:

Guest chapter 16 . Dec 14

Hello
Politeness for politeness, I agree. First of all I only review to the stories that I read (and only negatively to those that have a lot of potential but glaring plotholes, like yours, because the wasted potential in those stories make me really mad)
Ok let's say I believe that you answered the constructive reviews, and I meant the reviews from agnar, emeraldguardian7 and atomsplash, with PMs (I do know about that function by the way) even though I have no way to check if you really did. But i l agree with you that if you had ignored them they probably would have commented about that, my bad. Still seeing as I don't have an account, I woul like to read your answer to the points made in those reviews in the more "old fashioned" way.
Good day

Heyo again. Well, I'll just copy-paste my answers here.

Agnar (one of my most detailed answers) - I know that you have a lot of doubts with the story, so let me just clarify them.

1. How didn't they see his face clearly before?
A. Well, I didn't mean that literally. It was just an implication that they didn't have time to look at Harry's face because of the way that he was resisting.
2. How can the Airport Officials not notice that they are carrying a tied up teen with them?
A. The mist. It hides what things are really are from the mortals. Thalia bent the mist so that they are able to get Harry into the plane. And it would be safe to say that all the officials are mortal/muggle, right?
3. How did they have time to do this?
A. Actually, they didn't. Artemis was captured the whole time, but well, Harry is a part of the quest and they needed him for fulfilling the prophecy. That wouldn't happen if he was eaten by the Hydra, would it? They didn't have time, but they needed Harry.
4. How did they notice Harry in Britain?
A. Harry is a son of Zeus, who is incidentally the most powerful god out there. No one knew that he even existed. A monster was behind him, and there is a 'scent', isn't there? How did Grover find out that Bianca and Nico were demigods, and befriend them? Because of that same 'scent'. And well, Harry is also an abnormally powerful demigod at that.

I hope all of them are done, and thanks for reading the story!

EmeraldGuardian7 (well, I was kinda defensive) - Looong review. Thanks for that. Even I think that I'm fast, cause I've finished almost all of Titan's Curse in what, 10k? As for original conversations, I didn't understand. Aren't the conversations original enough (cause I would talk like that)?

Did you understand whose point-of-view this story is written in? The line breaks (...) finish one person's point of view. The first person whose name is written is the person in whose point-of-view the part is written until the next line break.

Thanks for reviewing, anyway, and PM me if you have any more suggestions.

AtomSplash (I am really ashamed of what I wrote, and when other reviewer pointed it out, I felt it myself and changed it) - That's a plot hole... (hehe) There was no Nico to Shadow-Travel them and the only way was by plane. They were practically kidnapping Harry, and if Harry kept on storming and raging, the airport staff might have asked some questions :) Thanks for reviewing!

Davos chapter 16 . Dec 14

Great chapter, I can't wait to read more of this story

ps don't let the haters get to you.

Thanks, I won't!

Guest chapter 16 . Dec 16

Yeah great so far only complaint is the paragraphs of response you give in your ANs...but it's reasonable when the story is the same length as it. Anyhow regardless of how you respond keep writing love your story.

Well, sorry if you got a cardiac arrest when you read this response list!

Somebody chapter 1 . Dec 22

I love your story! I really do, it's so unique. Not to mention, Harry x Annabeth is very hard to find, it's almost non-existent, unless it's lemon, but I hate lemon. I don't mind dirty jokes, but not the real thing. I'd just like to know, how often do you update?

Weekly, every Friday (well, this one's late, sorry). Even I felt the number of Harry/Annabeth fics were really less, so that's why this fic's that. Also, my slash writing ability is also stupid, so yeah.

...

Poll counts - 19 for Katie Bell, 14 for Hermione Granger, and 6 for Parvati Patil.

Anyway, I am stopping this poll, cause I'll need to figure out Katie (she needs development). So, it will be PERCY/KATIE!

...

I'm stopping these questions. They are dumb.

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PassionBeautyFreedom