Percy’s
nightmare started like this...
He
was walking on a train station at London, how he got there, he never knew. All
he knew is that he was at King’s Cross station and someone pushed him towards
the barrier between platform nine and ten. He closed his eyes, ready for the
crash – it didn’t come.. he kept on falling..
when he opened his eyes he saw a guy fighting a basilisk – a gigantic
snake – and the guy was doing mighty fine with a sword in his left hand while the
right one was holding a.. stick? A mere stick? When the guy flicked his stick
before the basilisk while shouting nonsense a light came from the stick and it
defeated the basilisk. Wow. How did a stick do that? Just when he thought it
was over the guy faced him and pointed his stick to him..
He
sat bolt upright, shivering in his bed. There were no gigantic snake and
dangerous guy with a stick. Morning sunlight filtered through his bedroom
window. He closed his fingers reassuringly to the ballpoint pen he always slept
with and studied the Ancient Greek writing engraved on the side: Anaklusmos. Riptide.
Percy
was worried. For the dreams of the demigods were not just simple dreams. But
for once he ignored his dream because it’s much of a bother if he can’t prepare
for this afternoon. He’ll be hanging out with Annabeth. It’s not a date,
they’ll just.. hang out, as friends he said, trying to convince his self that
it’s true.
He
was on the last day of his summer semester at Goode High school, sitting in the
auditorium with all the other freshmen and trying to finish his
I-didn’t-read-about-it-I’m-just-pretending-that-I-did essay on Hamlet, when Mrs
O’Leary burst onto the stage, barking like crazy.
Mrs
O’Leary is his pet hellhound. She’s a shaggy black monster the size of a
Hummer, with a razor fangs, steel-sharp claws and glowing red eyes. She’s
really sweet but usually, she stays at Camp Half-Blood. He was surprised to see
her on stage thrashing around.
Everyone
looked up. He was sure the other kids were going to panic and run to the exits,
but they just started snickering and laughing. A couple of girls said, ‘Aww,
cute!’
Their English teacher, Dr. Dreary, adjusted his glasses and frowned. ‘All right,
whose Chihuahua?’ he asked. Percy sighed in relief. Thank gods for the Mist –
the magical veil that keeps humans from seeing things the way they really are.
‘Um, mine sir,’ Percy spoke up. ‘Sorry! It must’ve followed me.’ Somebody
behind him started whistling ‘Mary had a little lamb.’ More kids cracked up.
‘Enough!’
Dr. Dreary snapped. ‘Percy Jackson, this is a final exam. I cannot have
Chihuahuas –‘
‘WOOF!’
Mrs O’Leary’s bark shook the auditorium.
‘I’ll
get out of here Dr. Dreary. I’m finished anyway.’ He closed his test booklet
and ran towards the stage. Mrs O’Leary bounded for the exit and he followed,
the other kids still laughing and calling out behind him, ‘See ya, Chihuahua
Boy!’
Mrs
O’Leary ran down West 81st Street towards the river. ‘Slow down!’
Percy yelled but Mrs O’Leary kept well ahead of him. She turned to bark every
once in a while as if to say, Move it, slowpoke! She ran two blocks south,
straight into a park. By the time Percy caught up with her, she’d leaped an
iron fence and disappeared into a wall of bushes. On the other side was a
clearing – a half acre of grass ringed with trees. Mrs O’Leary was sniffing
around wagging her tail like crazy. Then, the ground opened up under Mrs
O’Leary and Percy, and they fell into darkness. Percy expected to keep falling
forever, or maybe be squashed into a demigod-hellhound special pie when they
hit the bottom. But the next thing he knew, He together with the dangerous guy
with the stick in his dreams was all hunched up together and that Mrs O’Leary
was gone.
Harry
immediately clasped his wand and pointed it to the stranger. The last thing he
remembered was that he was about to go to his potion class when Moaning Myrtle
gave him a strange looking beaker which turned out to be a portkey and he was
transported here – in nothingness with an innocent looking guy holding a bronze
sword.
‘You’re
the stick guy!’ the boy said to Harry. ‘Stick what? First of all I’m Harry and
can you please lower your sword and let’s both be calm.’ ‘You can see my
sword?’ the boy asked, surprised. ‘Of course I can! I’m not blind if you didn’t
notice.’ Harry was was starting to get irritated with the boy. ‘You’re not
human then.’ The boy replied. ‘Of course I’m not a muggle! – wait. Are you
telling me that you’re also not a muggle – I mean human?’
Percy
knew that this guy was not normal but either way he was still shocked when the
guy said he was not human. He was hesitant whether he’d lower Riptide or not
but did the former anyway. ‘So, I’m Percy Jackson. A demigod, son of Poseidon.
What about you? And seriously dude, what’s with the stick? No offense meant.’
Harry
was taken aback by what this boy – Percy said. ‘Wait. What? You’re a demi –
what? God? Hah.’ He scoffed. ‘You’re funny. And no worries, no offense taken.’
‘I’m not joking. I’m really am a demigod. Half
human, half God. I know it sounds crazy but believe me, gods do really exist.
Don’t worry I was also shell-shocked the first time I knew this.’ Percy said.
‘What about you? I’m pretty sure you’re also not normal.’ He snorted.
‘I’m
Harry. Harry Potter, a wizard, which explains the stick. This is a wand. I use
this to do stuffs.’ Harry said swishing his wand creating small bits of
lightdust.
‘Cool.
Are you by chance a son of Circe or Hecate?’ Percy said ogling at the tiniest
of lights that Harry created.
‘No.
never heard ‘bout them. Look, this is only my theory but what if we came from
different worlds and we were brought here for a reason?’ Fair enough. They heard
growling, hissing and shouting at the far end of the island they were at.
‘What’s
that?’ Percy asked uncapping his Riptide again.
‘We
need to go there.’ Harry said with determination.
Only
one word could define what they saw in the kingdom that was attacked: CHAOS.
There were different kinds of monsters, wizards and witches, and even helpless
humans fighting. Harry saw a kid crying in the street and he placed her in a
safe place and asked her what’s happening. The kid explained that the wizards,
and monsters were trying to invade their kingdom and steal their gold. The heroes
decided to help the humans protect their kingdom. Percy and Harry parted ways
to deal with their enemies.
Percy
went to the first monster he saw killing humans like they were nothing. The Minotaur
– it was seven feet tall, his arms and legs was like something from the cover
of Muscle Man magazine – bulging biceps
and triceps and all the other ‘ceps, all stuffed like baseball under
vein-webbed skin. The top half of its body was chilling. Rough brown hair
started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached its shoulders. His
neck was a bulk of muscle and fur leading up to his massive head, which had a
snout, snotty nostrils, and horns – enormous black-and-white horns with points
you just couldn’t get from an electric sharpener.
The Minotaur
closed in and hovered over him. Percy sprinted to the right, turned and saw the
creature’s eyes glowing with hate. It lowered its head and charged, razor-sharp
horns aimed straight at his chest. Percy tried to break his horn with his sword
but it just started a crazed motion which sent Riptide flying. It charged again
aiming for his head this time but Percy jumped to the side and the Minotaur
stormed past like a freight train. ‘I could outwit this monster.’ He said to
himself. But the Minotaur shook himself around and bucked like a festival bull.
Percy got a hold of his ballpoint pen again and like a show, with a perfect timing
uncapping the pen, it pierced through the Minotaur’s mouth. Then, it began to disintegrate
like a crumbling sand, blown away by the wind. The young demigod then slayed monster
after another with resolve.
On the
other side, the wizard Harry Potter, was having troubles, for he was dealing
with Bellatrix, the witch who killed his only family – his godfather and the
one who led the witches in this war. Bellatrix pointed a curse over her
shoulder. A vessel near her rose into the air and tilted. Harry was swamped in
the foul-smelling potion within. The creatures slipped and slid over him and
began spinning their long, colored tentacles, but he shouted, ‘Wingardium
Leviosa!’ and they flew into the air away from him. When he was free, he saw Bellatrix escaping
but he dashed toward her. As fast like a lightning Bellatrix aimed another
spell at him. He dodged and crouched behind the buildings listening as the spell
zoomed past him. There were no more footsteps. She had stopped running. ‘Come
out, baby Harry!’ she called in her mock-baby voice. ‘What did you come after
me for, then? I thought you were here to protect this gibberish and avenge my
dear cousin!’ She said snarling this time. ‘You loved that good-for-nothing bloke
didn’t you?’
Hatred
rose in Harry such as he had never known before. He flung himself out from behind
the building and bellowed ‘Crucio!’ Bellatrix screamed. The spell had knocked
her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain – she was already
on her feet again, breathless, no longer laughing. She countered with the killing
spell ‘Avada Kedavra!’ Harry ducked again and aimed a stunning spell ‘Protego!’
but it missed her. ‘Crucio!’ she bellowed, that time, it hit him he screamed in
pain, tortured, and Bellatrix was laughing like a maniac. ‘You can’t beat me
Potter. I’m gonna kill you just the way I killed your beloved godfather!’ She
then casted the killing spell ‘AVADA KEDAVRA!’ Harry was anticipating that he’d
die but was shocked to see a bronze sword deflecting the spell, the jet of red
light, bounced back to the caster and Bellatrix died.
With
their leader gone, the wizards and witches pulled out from the war and the heroes
were invited at the palace. The royal family thanked them for they were
fighting a losing war before the heroes saved the day. The king granted their
wish to go back to their own respective worlds…
Percy
was woken up by the sound of his alarm clock indicating that it was only 7:00, February
30. The last day of his summer class.
That
same moment, in the parallel universe, Harry Potter was still asleep. Drawn
into the realms of his dreams.