Hermione's POV

All of our searching had turned up with nothing. We had found a mess in the Astronomy Tower and didn't dare go into the dungeons or the library for fear of being discovered.

The silence of the corridor was enough to encourage us to tread carefully. With every step, our footsteps echoed through the hallways. I saw a shadow creeping along the wall that surely wasn't ours and I pulled Ginny flat against the wall. I held my breath, keeping my eyes trained on the corner, only to see Professor Di Angelo making rounds.

His expression didn't change when he saw us, as if he wasn't surprised at all. Come to think of it, he probably wasn't. He approached us quietly, and, strangely enough, there was no noise when he walked, contrary to ours.

"Luna, Severus, and I need to go back to Camp Half Blood for a while," he said, not even bothering to greet us or ask why we were out here, "There will be a substitute in your Ancient Greek and Potions classes and Professor Dumbledore is already aware of why we are going." He paused, his dark eyes scanning our faces.

"Just... look out for Percy for us," he said, "That Kelp Head gets into all kinds of trouble when no one's around watching him. He's been going through some stuff, what with losing his sword and letting Annabeth leave without him. And then her hat. Promise me."

We nodded, resolving to tell Percy about Nico, Snape, and Luna leaving the next day. He didn't need any more stress than he already had. Nico gave us one of his rare smiles and disappeared into shadow, a wave of cold sending shivers down my spine. "Well," I said, rubbing my arms, "I guess we keep searching."

At that moment, Harry came running up to us. "Where's Ron?" he asked frantically, "We need to get back to the Common Rooms." I held onto his shoulders in a feeble attempt to calm him down. "Harry!" I whispered sternly, "What's wrong? Is Filch coming?"

He shook his head, struggling to catch his breath. "Even worse," he gasped.

"Percy."

<*~*~*~*~*~*>

"Wait just a moment," I told him from my place in the Common Room, holding my hands to my temples, "You're telling me that Percy Jackson, the same Percy Jackson that saved you from the Death Eater Facility and has been getting attacked since the beginning of this year is the thief. You're saying that he stole from himself not once, not twice, but three times?"

"Think about it!" Harry exclaimed, "He's had access to all of the things that went missing!" I held out both hands to pointing at Ron. "So has Ron and we don't go around calling him the reason for all of this!" Harry pushed his glasses up and sat down.

"I didn't believe it at first, either, Hermione," he admitted, "But the Marauder's Map doesn't lie and I saw it with my own eyes. Why can't you just trust me on this one? You trusted me when I told you Voldemort was rising again!" I closed my eyes.

"I cannot believe you, Harry Potter," I said as my eyes flashed open, suddenly getting furious and emotional, "I thought you had gotten over this! Percy is not a Death Eater. He's not evil, and he certainly did not steal Dean's wand, your cloak, Annabeth's hat, and his own owl and sword!"

"But Hermione-"

"No!" I yelled. I froze, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. "I can't talk to you right now, Harry." I walked slowly up the stairs to the Girl's Dorm, half hoping that Harry would stop me and apologize. But I knew him too well to expect him to just give up. When he has his mind was made up like that, he would try to convince me this was true rather than abandon the idea.

It almost made me wonder why he was willing to threaten our friendship yet again to convince me Percy wasn't who he said he was. And if he was going to go to such lengths just to convince me, he was either a very talented liar, or maybe... maybe he was actually telling the truth.

No. I refused to think that way. Percy, while the grandson of Voldemort, was one of the best friends anyone could ever have. Annabeth, Piper, Luna, and even Nico thought that. I was a great judge of character and Percy has done nothing to prove that he was anything but a hero.

I was going to ask him. He wouldn't lie to me. And if that didn't work, I would IM Annabeth with the drachma she gave me for emergencies. She would know what to do.

I closed my eyes as I flopped onto my bed. I had thought that with the defeat of Voldemort, I could have a year at Hogwarts I could devote exclusively to learning. I had thought I would be living a drama-free life in school with my best friends. Instead, I meet the grandson of Voldemort, discover the existence of the Greek Gods, and find out that the Death Eaters are on the rise again, trying to enslave the wizard community to take over Mount Olympus. Brilliant.

I could think about this in the morning. It was practically midnight. Maybe Harry was just out of it. Whatever it was, I would find out tomorrow.

<*~*~*~*~*~*~*>

When Ginny and I arrived at breakfast that morning, there was nothing out of the ordinary. You know, besides Percy, Ron, and Harry huddling around a book that I didn't make them read. Wait... what?

"That can't be a book, can it?" Ginny asked, smiling. "I found it last night," Percy told us proudly. "I honestly don't know how I did it, I had the worst headache last night." Harry didn't say anything to that, which surprised me. Maybe he didn't believe it anymore, which made me relieved.

"So Percy," I started, "Nico wanted us to tell you that he was leaving for Camp Half Blood with Luna and Snape." Percy blanched. "Wait, what?" I let him process the words, putting food onto my plate. "Alright," Percy said, taking the news surprisingly well, "I guess we're just going to have to put the archery unit on hold, then."

Percy got up, brushing crumbs off of his robes. "Well, we should be heading to History of Magic right about now. Anyone coming?" Harry stood up as well. "Actually," Harry said, tilting his head so that light reflected in the lens of his glasses, "I think I'd like to get a headstart, too, if that's alright with you." Percy shot Harry a lopsided grin. "I mean, I did ask if anyone was going to come with me, didn't I?"

Harry allowed himself a tight smile and followed Percy out of the Great Hall. I leaned over to Ginny, whispering, "I don't have a good feeling about this. I'm going to follow them." Ron, still obliviously eating away at the food on the table, waved as I left to trail the boys.

"Percy," Harry started, his voice threateningly low, "We both know what happened yesterday." I could almost feel Percy's troublemaker grin, and you could clearly hear the smile in his voice. "I know!" Percy said excitedly, "Isn't it awesome? Found the book!"

Harry laughed drily, "Oh, no, Percy. You're not getting out of this that easily. We all know you took it." I peeked around the corner and saw Percy furrow his eyebrows. "Dude, if this is because I took one of your quills, it's cool, man. I'll give it back."

Harry was so taken aback I almost laughed. "You took my quill?" That was all Harry managed to stutter out. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I lost Riptide and had nothing to write with. Probably should've asked you first." Harry shook himself.

"You mean how you should've asked before you took my cloak, too?" He asked, regaining his resolve, "Or you should've asked before you took Dean's wand?" Percy spread his hands out in front of him. "Wait. Huh?"

"I know it was you that attacked me, Percy," Harry snarled, "I saw your face under the hood. I saw your name on the Marauder's Map." Harry stared the son of Poseidon in the eye, something he wouldn't have been able to do earlier this year. "Hermione doesn't believe me. She thinks this is just me trying to accuse you of nothing again. But I know it this time. Give it up, Percy. You're working with Steven."

"But isn't that what this is, Potter?" Percy asked, suddenly cold. "I thought we were friends. Were you ever really over all of that stuff from the beginning of the year? I guess not. You can call me a lot of things. But never a traitor. Because that's not what I am. I just hope you don't go hurting Hermione again with all this."

As Percy swept down the hall, his robe billowing behind him dramatically, I heard Harry call out softly, yet furiously. "And I just hope she hasn't grown so attached that you break her when she finds out who you really are." Whether or not Percy heard him couldn't have been told by how he continued marching away.

I didn't dare show myself to Harry in his enraged state. He was really being serious about all of this. I couldn't believe it, though. I refused to.

Instead, I went up to walk with Percy. "Hey," I said softly. If he was even the slightest bit miffed about his conversation with Harry he didn't show it."What's up, Bookworm?" I shook my head, feeling awkward.

"You heard, didn't you?" Percy asked, exasperated running his hand through his hair. I was surprised, but didn't ask what he meant. I already knew. So I nodded without saying a word.

"Look," Percy said, stopping. He looked around as the students began to trickle into the corridors. He dropped his voice to a hoarse whisper. "I don't care what Harry's saying about me this time. I just want you to know that whatever he told you isn't true. I couldn't have attacked him. I had the worst headache last night. I barely remember anything, it's all so fuzzy. Stumbled around the Astronomy Tower for a bit, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground and had that book in my hand. That's what happened. I have to admit, it doesn't sound very likely, but I can assure you that's what happened to me."

He dropped a hand to my shoulder and smiled, "I would never betray you guys. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not." He turned to walk away. "Let's go, Hermione. Can't have Bin throwing a ghostly hissy fit." I grinned at his back as I strode to catch up with him. How could I ever not trust this guy?

But the glares from the other students as he walked told me otherwise.