Annabeth's POV
Annabeth loved knowledge, this was a given as her mother was the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, in her opinion, the best goddess. But, sometimes, Annabeth wished she wouldn't keep receiving earth-shattering information without warning. She was young when she learned of the existence of the Greek gods and goddesses of antiquity and therefore she accepted it rather easily, after learning that 5000 year old ancient deities were still kicking and having kids one would think that it would take a lot to surprise you, but Annabeth could't help but stare at the letter in her hand addressed to her, very specifically to her:
Ms. A. Chase
Top Bunk, First on the Left, Cabin #6
Camp Half-Blood
Long Island,
New York
There was no mistaking that it was for her, really there was no mistaking as it was painstakingly clear as to where it was going, though she did wonder how they knew which bunk she was in. Duh, magic of course. She was still trying to wrap her head around it. She went to the writing desk that everyone accepted as hers, which meant that no-one touched anything or else they would lose a hand to Annabeth's favorite Celestial Bronze dagger. She quickly wrote a response to the Deputy Headmistress that the letter was from. She said she was honored to accept the invitation from such a prestigious school, and after a bit of deliberation, asked if a person that she knew might be extended such an honor as well. A certain imdividual named Percy Jackson. Her ears went warm as she thought about him, and felt her mind begin to wander to thoughts of the (now acquitted) Lightning Thief. This had been happening more and more often since part way through their first quest in the animal truck an the way to Las Vegas. Shaking her head to clear her brain of these thoughts, she knew that if she was going to go to a school in England, She was going to bring Seaweed Brain along with her, because as much as she hated to admit it, he was handy in a fight. I mean, he did beat the god of war in a battle at only 12 years old with hardly any formal training.
She attached her letter to the leg of the great horned owl that was rubbing itself on her leg lovingly and it took off dutifully caring the letter back across the ocean. Annabeth went about her usual activities for the day, Archery with the Apollo campers, Arts and Crafts with the Hephaestus campers, though honestly she left that one early, she did not want to see what they were going to do with that sand blaster and chainsaw, and finally she had some free time when she went to work on some of her designs, right now she was working on a design for a shrine for camp that would show a different gods simple based on the day and how the light was showing. Just then the Owl flew back in with a letter attached to its leg, the logical part of her brain told her that it was impossible for an owl to fly to Europe and back in less than a day, but the problem solving part of her brain figured there must be some kind of enchantment placed on this owl to make its long distance deliveries go much faster. Annabeth freed the owl of its message as it cooed in adoration at her and rolled her eyes before reading it.
Dear Ms. Annabeth Chase,
After your rather unorthodox letter, we took a further look at Mr. Jackson and as it seems he evaded our attention at first, he would be most welcome at Hogwarts. It is admirable that you have shown so much loyalty to a friend, and I hope to see great things from you.
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
P.S. Enclosed is a copy of Mr. Jackson's Hogwarts acceptance letter, please deliver it to him and make sure he replies posthaste, have a great day!
I smiled as I ran to the Big House to find Chiron. He was sitting in wheelchair form reading a book, which appeared to be if I am not mistaken, and I Never am, a Nicholas Sparks book. Who knew that Chiron liked sappy romance books. Chiron heard me approaching and quickly concealed the look of shock on his face and the book underneath the ever-present blanket on his legs. he cleared his throat and asked, "Annabeth, What brings you to the Big House? I was just researching a type of dragon that I think might be worthwhile to train specifically for, seeing as its population is on the rise and heading east." I was surprised that he lied so smoothly, sometimes I forget he is a 3000 year old centaur. I chose to ignore the lie and stored the information for later use, in case it ever came in handy. "Chiron, Are wizards and whites real? Not like Hecate and Circe, I mean like normal witches." Normal witches, the Seeweed Brain is rubbing off on me. Chiron's face quickly became guarded. Not many would be able to notice, basically the only person at camp that could was me because I had known him so long. "This is rather out of the blue, what do you ask my dear?" I noticed that he did not answer my question, which i took to be confirmation.
I smiled as i slid my acceptance letter across the table to him. His eyes widened when he saw the looping letters on the front. He picked it up and said, "I have not seen one of these since the flame was in England, but if any one was going to get one, it would be you Annabeth." Chiron smiled warmly at me, he was more of a father to me than my biological father was and i loved him for it. "I'm not the only one who got a letter." I handed Chiron Percy's letter and then he did something that i did not expect, he started to laugh. I found myself getting angry at him for laughing at my I mean at THE Seaweed Brain. "Chiron, is it so hard to believe that Percy could be a wizard? I mean, yes he can be kind of thick" I said, thinking 'like about how some people feel about him' but obviously i kept that to myself," but he has a lot of potential if he would just work at it." Chiron smiled a knowing smile and said,"What is the expression used now days, Your true colors are showing?" I felt my whole face get hot when I understood what he meant and i tried (and failed) furiously to try to subdue my blush.
"Annabeth, the reason i laughed is not because it is ludicrous that Percy would be a wizard, it is because i am imagining how he will react to the news that wizards and magic are real." I saw what he meant, and as soon as i did i also began to laugh. I am sure any passers by would have been confused by the sight, especially when Chiron laughed so hard he lost control of his wheelchair and popped into centaur form, which only made us laugh louder. Our mirth was finally subsiding Percy walked in and said, "Is there some kind of curse that s making you guys act like hyenas?" The look on his face was priceless and rather cute if i am being honest, and as soon as i thought that, my ears (and quite possibly my face) turned bright red and i stopped laughing immediately. This went unnoticed by Percy (what did i say about him being thick sometimes?) but not by Chiron, who winked at me. "Percy, my dear boy, come and sit down. I have something very important to tell you." Percy facepalmed and said,"please tell me that it is not another quest, because we just got finished with this whole Labyrinth mess and i am not going on another quest so soon."
"No, it is not another quest, it is an invitation." Chiron went on to explain all about the world of witchcraft and wizardry, and just like we expected, Percy's reaction was entertaining. the whole time he had this loo on his face that was a bizarre mix between Really? and HUH? it was very endearing. Finally, Chiron passed Percy his acceptance letter, and looked at us very seriously, "Now, i think that this is a great opportunity for you. Not only to learn magic, but to recruit allies. Kronos has just come back, and as we have defeated his Labyrinth force, he is surly not going to attack any time soon, but if we can enlist the wizarding world in our fight, we will ave that much more of a chance of winning. Because of this, i am giving you full discretion on who to tell of your background as demigods, but i would warn you to be careful. Some influential wizards are power-hungry and bigoted and will not react well tot he news, and if this is not handled carefully, we could end up at war with the wizarding world. With that I have something to give you."
Chiron clopped off the his study for a few minutes, and then came back with four packages, two small, two slightly larger. He handed us both one of each and said," The small boxes are keys to your vaults at Gringotts, the wizarding bank, or more specifically your parents vaults. and the larger one's hold and emblem that posses the blessing of hecate, which will help your magic form reacting poorly with any wizarding objects as well as help you focus and learn much more easily than if you didn't have it. You must wear it at all time, which shouldn't be a problem as it will shape shift into any form that you want to wear it as. Now, go into my study and you will find a large amount of books on the desk, from now until it is time to go you will spend all your time here studying, other than meals. Percy, you will also need to practice your sword fighting to keep from getting rusty. So, without further ado, I suggest you begin studying."
I rushed happily into the study and started reading, then remembering what Chiron said, I had Hecate's charm take the form of a necklace and put it on, then started reading again. I was completely absorbed in the book and when i looked up, i was surprised o see Percy was just as absorbed in the books as i was, even more surprising was that he was perfectly still, not fidgeting, not moving, nothing. I shrugged it off and went back to studying. This was going to be awesome!
Percy's POV
When Chiron was telling me about magic, i kept expecting him to start laughing and to have the Still brothers jump out and say that this was all a prank. But as he continued speaking, i glanced over at Annabeth and saw that she was barely containing her joy and excitement and i knew it was true. When Chiron handed me my Charm, i made it the form of a ring and put it on, and something strange happened, my urge to fidget practically dish eared and i was able to read english extremely easily. I guess that is what Chiron meant by it will help you focus, and then i started to get excited as well. I AM GOING TO LEARN MAGIC! How freaking awesome is that! Annabeth raced off to Chiron's study and to my own surprise i was racing right along side her.
We settled into a routine over the next few weeks, we would get up, quickly eat breakfast, and then i would go off to practice with Riptide, and Annabeth would go study after a quick but grueling practice, i would wash off and go study as well until lunch, we would eat lunch and then study for a few more hour then practice saying spells and quizzing each other on knowledge that it would be important to know. I enjoyed it, because it gave me the opportunity to spend practically every minute of the day with Annabeth, and i enjoyed spending time with her (do NOT read ANYTHING more from that statement than is specifically stated, we are just friends and i do Not like her! Okay, at this point, the one Shakespeare quote i do know is popping into my head, Me thinks the lady doth protest too much. Yes, i like Annabeth, a lot. but, I can't think about that now, i need to focus). "Seaweed Brain? Seaweed Brain? SEAWEED BRAIN!" Annabeth yelled and that snapped me out of my reverie. "Sorry Annabeth, i was just thinking." Annabeth looked skeptical at the idea of me thinking, and asked, "about what?" I was defiantly not going to tell her that i was thinking about her and more specifically how she kissed me in Mt. St. Helens and how that made being blown up totally worth it, so i said the first thing that popped into my head, which this time wasn't something stupid.
"I wonder what getting a wand will be like." I said hoping that she would believe that it was what i was thinking about. At the mention of wands, Annabeth perked up and started talking rapidly about different kinds of wand woods and what they meant. I listened intently, actually interested in hat she was saying until Chiron came in and interrupted her saying, "it is time to go shopping." We knew what he meant, but i had conceal my chuckle because he said it like one would say something like it is time to amputate an arm or it is time to have a major surgery. We walked outside where a strange woman was waiting for us, and when she turned around her piercing green eyes and more importantly her 2 torches i knew that it was Hecate, goddess of magic. She smiled and said, " I will transport you to Diagon alley, where you will do your shopping, i will drop you right in front of Gringotts so you can pick up your money, do you have your keys?" We both nodded as she grabbed our arms and we disappeared. We appeared right in front of what i would assume is Gringotts, minus Hecate. As we walked up to the bank, we read a plaque that held this inscription:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Annabeth leaned over and grinned at me, "They are obviously warning people not to rob them. I read they even have a dragon down there to protect their treasure." as she walked away, another possible interpretation popped into my head and i said, "I don't think thats all it is." I chuckled as she looked at me strangely, "I believe it is also a challenge. Gringotts boasts of being the most secure bank in all of the wizarding world, but how can you do that if no one try to break in? imagine if the Hermes cabin read that plaque, they would drop everything and try to rob the bank, repeatedly. They are issuing a challenge to all those already inclined to rob the bank so they can bolster their own reputation." Annabeth looked at me strangely but seemed to accepts my alternate interpretation, and kept walking forward.
Annabeth's POV
I was seeing a whole new side of Percy, and i liked it. These past few weeks he has been dutiful in his studies, he has been more attentive and logical. I mean, he was just able to glean an alternative meaning to a poem that even i didn't see, and that is saying something. I was proud that he was finally maturing, i just hoped he didn't change too much. We reached the front deskman the bank and I found that the goblin at the desk was already looking at us, or more specifically at Percy. I was nervous about what might happen, and i saw Percy's hand start to drift to his right hand pocket where he kept Anaklusmos. The Goblin simply shook his head and said, "There will be no need to draw your blade boy. I am simply looking at you because you are the first one to understand the hidden meaning in the poem for a long time. I would have expected the from the Daughter of Athena, and not from the Son of Poseidon, but never the less it is impressive that you understood. Do you have the keys to your vaults?"
I stood there in shock, because he had just routed one of our deepest secrets like it was nothing. How did he know of our parentage? Percy poked me in the ribs and motioned to the Goblin. Percy and me showed hi our keys, mine was grey with the figure of an owl on it, Percy's was a blueish sea green, much like his eyes with the figure of a horse. The goblin nodded and led us to a cart. "To answer your question, I knew you were demigods because like all other what you call 'monsters' i could smell you. And no i do not take offense at you calling those creatures monsters, for they are and i am not like them. You smelled like parchment and had intelligence radiating off you, which could only mean a child of Athena, and the boy reeks of the ocean, even you must be able to smell that." I nodded, this was a reasonable explained ion. Th cart was picking up speed and kept twisting and turning and went further into the caves until we reached the end of the line. We stepped out of the cart and the goblin walked up to the stone wall and put his hand in several different places along it and a staircase appeared in the ground. "follow me."
We followed the goblin down the staircase and i gasped. the hidden room had beautiful grecian architecture and contained 15 vaults, 12 of them were absolutely huge at least 50 feet across, 2 of them were slightly smaller at around 30 feet across and 1 was smaller than that but still large at 15 feet across. "These are the vaults of the 12 Olympians, Hades and Hestia, and one collectively for all the minor gods. All of their children have complete access to them. Poseidon's vault is #3 and Athena's is #6. he led each of us to our respective vaults and we inserted our keys. the doors retracted without a sound and bestowed upon me a view like any other. the huge vault was almost completely filled with all types of money. Mortal, magical and divine. The goblin handed me a bag a told me to fill it up with as much as i wanted. I filled the bag with more than enough to get me through the year and went to go find Percy.
He was just closing his vault door with a look of pure glee and excitement. "how much did you take Percy?" he look at me with mock outrage, "Why, Ms. Chase, do you think i would the more what was absolutely necessary?" I laughed and nodded porously. He laughed with me and said, "you are right, of course. i took way more than i will need, but it barely even made a dent, so it will be fine. I also found this note, look." he handed me a note that said 'If you are reading this, you are aware of the wizarding world and are also my child, so i must tell you this. The gods sphere of influence does not reach to the UK since we moved to the US, so feel free to buy a broom or play Quidditch. Zeus cannot blast you out of the sky. Enjoy - Poseidon'.
we the left the bank and headed back out into dragon alley, me and Percy looked at each other and we said at the same time, "WANDS!" we ran down the road till we reached Ollivander's and went in. There was no one in the store, so we just sat down and waited till a elderly man appeared from the back of the store. When he saw us sitting quietly he was quite visibly taken aback. "This is curious, most curious. I do not see many children your age in here to buy wands. even more, whenever anyone comes in and i am not in sight they just call very loudly to get my attention. You are the first people to ever wait quietly until i arrived. This shall be interesting. Who first?" Me and Percy looked at each other and he made a mock bow and said very dramatically, "Ladies first". I was not about to argue, so i stepped forward. Mr. Ollivander had me present my wand hand to him and he started taking measurements. he then proceed to go to the back and bring out 7 boxes of varying lengths. "Let's try this one, redwood and phoenix feather, 10 and 3/4 inches reasonably swishy." I gingerly took the wand and pointed it at a nearby chair. The chair proceeded to burst into multicolored flames and started singing.
Mr. Ollivander extinguished the fire and i put the wand down. He grabbed another box, "Beech and Phoenix feather, 11 inches, slightly rigid." I grabbed the wand and my brain kicked into overdrive. I swung the wand around my head in a ovular fashion and a halo of gray sparks surrounded my head. Mr. Ollivander clapped and said, " Very good! Very Good! You are only the second person in the past 87 years 3 months 2 weeks 4 days and 27 minutes to ever get their wand on their second try! Beech and Pheonix feather is an unorthodox and powerful combination. Beech symbolizes in a young person such as yourself great wisdom, a wisdom beyond your years. I think we can expect great things from you. Now to your young friend."
Percy's POV
When Annabeth found her wand so quickly it gave me hope that i would to. No such luck. i am positive that the fates are laughing at me and making sure that each wand explodes violently in my hands. Though to be fair, the last wand only melted, and did not explode. I was afraid that Mr. Ollivander would get mad at me for destroying so much of his stock, but instead he looked almost giddy. "Well Mr. Jackson" I told him my name earlier after the 7 wand exploded, "I find you intriguing, i have never had such a challenging customer. I find myself rather enjoying the excitement, when you have been doing this as long as i have, you want some excitement and you most certainly aren't boring. Let's try this one, shall we? Silver Lime and unicorn hair, 9 1/2 inches, pliable." He handed me the wand and i immediately dropped it because it burnt my hands. he shook his head and started looking through the boxes. then something seemed to come over him, his back went straight as a ramrod and he looked over at me. he sized me up and then went back into the labyrinth of boxes and reemerged with a ornate looking box that seemed to be even older than he was (which is saying something, because he has been doing this for centuries).
"Let's try this one!" i lifted the wand as if i was disarming a nuclear warhead and gave it a slight shake. All of a sudden, all the ashes from destroyed wand on the floor disappeared. all the boxes flew back to their places and all the shattered furniture reformed. Mr. Ollivander was practically danceng. I guess the 48th time is the charm. he then turned to me very seriously and said, " it is very interesting that this wand should choose you Mr. Jackson. It has two cores, one is sea-dragon heart string, very powerful, very prideful and very loyal. the other is unlike any other wand sold in centuries, it is said to be pure coral hewn from the palace of Atlantis! It is clear through this wand that you have a strong connection to water. Dual cores were very polar back in my fathers day, it is said to symbolize dual personalities in war within one's self. But this is not what is interesting about this wand. This wand is the oldest wand in here, and was made by my grandfather. He had many pet projects when it came to wand making, but the one he worked on the most was wood melding or the use of two woods to make a wand. he created a spell so he could perfectly meld two woods to make one wand, making the wand that much more powerful. this is one such wand. The first Wood in your wand is English Oak. English Oak is fiercely loyal, and demands as much loyalty from its wielder. It also demand strength, courage and fidelity. It is said that Merlin's wand was English Oak, but this has never been confirmed. But what makes your wand so special is the second kind of wood used, Elder. Elder is the rarest of all wand woods and is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but the reason it is so rare is that it is surrounded by heavy superstition, people believe it be unlucky. However, i have seen no evidence to support this. The truth is that only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and when this occurs, you can be sure that the person will, have a special destiny ahead of them. I will be earring about you again Mr. Jackson."
Despite my protests, he would not let me pay for the many wands i destroyed, saying that it was not right. Annabeth literally had to drag me from the store to complete our shopping. the rest of the day i just kept wondering one thing, What kind of Special Destiny waited for me at Hogwarts?