ANNABETH- POV
Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane sat together on the banks of the Thames in London, absorbed in deep conversation. Annabeth sat with her legs under her, listening to Sadie, who was animatedly talking about Carter and his basketball game with Khufu. To avoid embarrassment, Carter stood a few yards away with Percy Jackson, under the shade of a tree. Percy kept summoning the water to drench Carter and Carter kept dodging it, laughing. Even though they were in London, Percy and Annabeth's friend, Hazel Levesque, on being requested, had modified the mist so that the surroundings looked like some quaint countryside.
Suddenly, a bang was heard on the opposite bank with a blast of white light. Holy Hera!
Zeus' thunderbolt, thought Percy. While he debated it, the girls ran up to them, bewildered. Carter and Percy stepped forward by instinct. Annabeth placed her hands on their shoulders and shook her head. No… wait. It was silent and still for a moment, just like it had been when the Earth Mother had risen. The noise had long died away but the light still shone as bright.
All of a sudden, three dark figures stumbled out of the light. "A portal", Sadie murmured. Carter nodded. His fingers tightened around hers. He had started becoming a protective brother. Sadie jerked it away and grasped her staff. Carter followed suit. Riptide was long ready in Percy's hand. His other hand grasped Annabeth's who held her blade tightly. Annabeth turned her eyes towards the light, which had almost died out. Three figures stood up and brushed themselves with their hands. They seemed to be holding a sort of stick….. a wand. On looking closely, there were two boys and a girl. One boy marched forward and pointed his stick at the place where the light had been.
"Stupid fry!" he seemed to cry out. A beam of green light shout out from the tip of his wand and an unfortunate bird on the way stopped flying and dropped to the ground. The girl and the other boy held hands. Percy turned towards Carter and Sadie with a worried look.
"Do you magicians have any spell like stupid fry? "
"Of course we won't, Seaweed Brain", replied Sadie.
"Shut up, Sadie", retorted Annabeth. "Only I call him that."
Percy kissed Annabeth on the cheek and then said, "Okay. Enough of this."
He turned towards the river and closed his eyes, his hands raised. The water responded to the son of Poseidon and withdrew on both sides. Percy seemed to murmur a small no. The bed of the river slowly rose up to form a road leading to where the strangers were standing.
"Fast, I can't hold this for long".
Carter and Sadie went first. Soon, they would reach the other side. Annabeth looked worriedly towards Percy. However, she jogged to the other side. Just as she stepped onto the other bank, the bed sunk in and the water regained its original position. Percy gave them a thumbs up and plunged into the water. Carter and Sadie exchanges worried glances.
"Er… Annabeth…"
Without turning towards them, she replied,
"He'll be fine". Even then, she was worried. If they required a fight, Percy would be too weak. The strangers seemed to know good magic. Just then, Percy emerged from the water. The water seemed to have refreshed him.
"Poseidon", he said.
Annabeth nodded understandingly. Poseidon was a good parent, considering he was a good. He did not directly interfere with what Percy did, like Athena did. Why did she feel that Percy was not up to the mark? Percy broke this stream of thought.
"Look, there", he said pointing at the strangers. They had not seemed to notice the river, but the four had surely been noticed. They could see one of the boys saying something and pointing towards them. Now, they were seen more clearly. The boy pointing was red haired. His face was freckled. Along with him, the girl had blond curls. The other boy's hair was ruffled up and untidy and he wore huge glasses. All of them had those sticks in their hands. They looked dishevelled and tired. The girl had a sling bag on her shoulder which seemed too small to hold anything. The four approached them. Percy asked…
"Who are you?"
The boy with the ruffled hair retorted, "Who are you?"
"I am Percy Jackson, camp Half Blood, Long Island."
The boy seemed to be taken aback by this answer. Annabeth saw a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Maybe he kept his hair that way…. To cover it.
The girl stepped forward and said," Camp what?"
Percy said, "I tell you everything but first you tell me… who are you all… monsters in disguise …no… do you mean harm? And what was that magic you did? Why are you here?"
Annabeth felt sorry for them and sweetly said, "We are not enemies. Tell us who you are."
The freckled boy replied," I am Ronald Weasley. You can call me Ron. I am…"
The scarred boy nudged him and hissed, "RON!" "Harry!" immediately stopped the girl. She looked at Annabeth and said, "I am Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter."
"The Boy Who Lived", added Ron.
"Shut up!", Harry and Hermione said together.
"You said, continued Hermione ,"You were from camp….er… half-blood? What do you mean. Who are you?"
"I'm Percy. This is my girlfriend Annabeth Chase. These are Carter and Sadie Kane. Brother and sister. Egyptian magicians. We are demigods."
Seeing the bewildered look on their faces, he continued
"Demigods- Half god, half hero. Not praising ourselves.. That is what we are called…heroes. Annabeth and I are demigods. Children of Greek gods… Zeus, Poseidon…bla bla… yeah… they exist. New York. I er… am the son of Poseidon and Annabeth is a daughter of Athena".
"Er… wait," said Hermione. "Were not Poseidon and Athena. If I am right…. Enemies?"
"No, that was long ago.", Percy replied and put on a determined look and held Annabeth's hand. Annabeth's heart filled with longing and love. Annabeth would have liked to punch her mother at that time but Percy was just awesome.
"Wait", said Harry." "So, you mean… you are not our type. You are not.."
"Right", snapped Percy. Ever since Nico had made his confession, Percy had become touchy. Annabeth placed a hand on his shoulder and said" The Greek gods shifted from Olympus to America, where the flame is , they had kids with mortals- like...us. There are many more of us. That is a um… small introduction."
