:Percy:
I awoke in the early morning to the usual, swords catering, people shouting, and one of my best friends standing over me with fire hands. "Leo!" I scrambled off of the bed.
"Sorry, Frank couldn't get you up, so he called me, the one and only Bad Boy Supreme." I rolled my eyes and looked around, Annabeth wasn't in there, that worried me. After a long debate, many threats, and even more promises, Chiron allowed Annabeth to stay in the Poseidon cabin with me. The nightmares were just too bad, we were the only other person that could wake each other up if one happened. As if Leo could sense my discomfort, he said, "Annie's fine, she just had to inspect the cabins today."
"Okay, thanks Leo. Oh, and don't call her Annie, she will find out and kill you. Literally." I warned.
"Noted," Leo started to mess with a piece of metal, "Chiron needs the Seven to meet him at the big house in five." He turned and ran out the door. I sighed and got up to get dressed. I really hoped that this wasn't another quest, we had just gotten back from war two months ago, do they expect us to be healed by now? Especially after… that place. Annabeth and I still get weekly nightmares and flashbacks from The Pit.
I walked in the door to find the rest of the Seven already there, everyone looked very tense, Chirons tail was swishing like a horses would if it got nervous. A woman in a red, flowing dress was standing next to the centaur, I recognized her as Lady Hecate. I didn't bow, I don't do that anymore after all the gods have put me through, I just cautiously sat down next to Annabeth.
"Hello, mighty Heroes." she said in a soothing voice, "I am Hecate, goddess of magic and a bunch of other things. You're probably wondering why I called you all here today, well, I have a quest." No one was happy. We yelled our protests toward the goddess "Children!" We all wisely quieted down, getting the goddess of magic on your bad side would definitely not be good. "I assure you, this is not as dangerous as your average quest. Sure, there will be monsters, but I am not putting you in any immediate harm. I am sending you to school." Again, there were shouts of protest, "Though this is not an ordinary school, it is an academy for young witches and wizards. Now do not interrupt me, I will explain everything."
For the next couple of hours, we sat on the edges of our seats listening to what the goddess had to say about this new world. Muggles, wands, school houses, broomsticks, spells, history, it all jumbled together in my brain, but I had a general understanding of what we had to do. Go to Hogwarts, (what kind of name is that?), and see first hand how the wizards were progressing after their war. Hecate could not do this herself, for ancient laws forbid her from human contact. "For the last few months of summer break I will teach you everything you need to know before you go to Hogwarts."
"When do we start?" asked Jason. Hecate snapped her fingers, we were all encased in golden light. We fell from seven feet in the air onto the soft grass of the arena.
"How about now?" she responded happily. The goddess snapped her fingers once more, I was expecting to be teleported somewhere else. Instead, seven large cases appeared in front of each of us. "Go ahead, look inside. These are the things you will need for your time at school, some of you are in different grades, so you have different things. Now, if you would take out the small boxes you will find, do not open them yet." We all looked at our trunks, mine was sea green with a trident on the front, Annabeth's was grey with an owl, Piper's was pink and had a dove on it, Jason's was light blue with an eagle, Frank's was dark red with a spear, Hazel's was dark grey with jewels around the edges, and Leo's was bright red and orange with a hammer on it. Inside was filled to the brim with books cauldrons, potion supplies, the uniform, and a long skinny box.
We each took the box out of our trunks and waited for further instruction. "Each of your parents made your wands special for you." She walked up to Annabeth, "Yours is willow wood, with an owl feather." Annabeth admired her beautiful wand with pride. Hecate went down the line. "Piper, redwood with veela hair. Jason, oak wood and an eagle feather core. Hazel, ash wood and liquid gold core. Frank, dogwood and hair of a boar. Last but not least, Percy, greenwood and pegasus hair from your little friend Blackjack."
"Wait! Blackjack helped make my wand?" I asked, surprised.
Sure did, Boss. You like it? The black pegasus swooped in from the sky.
"It's perfect bud." I responded. My friends are used to me talking to horses by now, but the one-sided conversation still looks weird to them.
Now, you owe me.
"Let me guess, donuts?"
Exactly!
"Okay, but after Lady Hecate leaves."
Fine. See you later, Boss!
"Bye, Blackjack." I sigh, shaking my head, as the black horse leaves
"Well, now that that's done, let's work on some spells" Hecate offers.
:Two Months Later:
"Incredible!" Hecate exclaimed, "You have done three, five, and six years of training in only two months!" Hazel was going into her fifth year; Jason, Frank, Leo, and Piper were going into their sixth year; Percy and Annabeth were going into their seventh year, so they all had to learn different amounts before school started. "Children, you have four days until school starts, there is one more thing that I want to show you. It is very, very advanced magic, and you do not have to do it if you don't what to. If you would like, you could become an Animagus. An Animagus is a person who can turn into an animal. They are not like Frank, who can turn into all different types of animals, they can only turn into one. If you would like to do this, step forward." I looked at Annabeth uneasily and slowly stepped forward, she did the same. Everyone came forward as well, except for Frank of course. In front of each of us a clear glass appeared. Inside was a murky green, barf looking drink. We all picked up the potion and drained the glass, surprisingly, it tasted like nothing. After a few seconds, we all collapsed to the ground.
:Piper:
I woke up in a completely different place. Looking around, I realized I was in a garden. All types of strange animals wandered around me, not acknowledging my presence. I felt a tingle on the back of my neck, I turned around to see what was watching me. Nothing, nothing was there. Suddenly, something landed on my shoulder, I jumped and looked at it. A snow white dove kaleidoscope eyes was staring right at me. I went to pet its head, when my finger touched the soft feathers, I woke up again. Apparently that was all a dream.
Either everyone got way bigger, or I got smaller. Hecate was smiling down at me, I looked down and realized that I was the dove. Instead of hands I had wings, experimentally, I opened them. With a flap I was up in the air, flying high above my sleeping friends. Frank was staring at me, open mouthed. I touched down onto the ground again. With just a thought, I turned into myself again. "Close your mouth Frank, you'll catch a fly." He shut his mouth just as Hazel started to stir.
:Hazel:
I was standing in a grassy field, animals were all around me. None were paying attention to me, they weren't interacting, they were just wandering the field as if waiting for something. I tried to move, but my feet were stuck in place. I knew this wasn't real, it was most likely just a dream. I looked all around me, none of the animals came forward. After about five minutes of waiting, a dog stepped into the circle the others were creating around me. A large black doberman with golden eyes studied me from not to far away. After a minute or so, it came up to me and nuzzled my hand.
As soon as we touched, I woke up again, but I felt different. I stood up and looked down at my feet, only I didn't have feet, only big, golden paws. I looked behind me, Piper was standing next to Frank, they were both smiling at me. I thought about hugging Frank, but I couldn't do that as a dog, (I assumed I was the animal that I had touched in the field.) As soon as I thought about being human again, I transformed. Once I was my real self again, I ran over to Frank and Piper.
:Jason:
I sat up on wet grass, clouds covered the sky, and water dripped from the trees above me, indicating that it had just rained. Animals were all around me, they weren't interacting with each other, and it was like I wasn't there. Birds flew through the air, and land animals walked on the ground, all were circling me. Nothing came close, no sounds were made. A very large bird swooped from the sky, landing on a branch next to me. It looked at me with is large, electric blue eye. I held out my hand, the Eagle climbed on. I woke up just as we made contact.
My friends were standing before me, though they had to look down to see me. I realized how short I was. I tried to speak, it came out as a squawk instead. I looked down to see razor sharp talons instead of feet. I was that eagle from the rain forest! I thought about being human again. Instantly I was my normal height, with normal hands, and normal feet.
"Cool." Is all I said.
:Leo:
I woke up in a jungle. Lush green plants and trees surrounded me, to my left there was a small pond. All types of animals were around me, either wandering across the jungle floor, soaring high in the sky, or swinging from tree to tree. Nothing was looking at me, it's like I didn't exist to these animals. I was glad something came forward, my ADHD was starting to act up.
An animal swung from its branch, high in a tree and landed in front of me. Somehow, I knew it was a spider monkey. It studied me with it's big brown eyes before coming forward. It held out its hand, as soon as we touched, I woke up. I was lying on the floor of the arena, just as I was before I passed out. Everything seemed bigger. I looked down at my hands and screamed, only it came out as more of a screech. I jumped, landing on Percy who was still unconscious. Frank, Piper, Jason, and Hazel were laughing at me. I wanted to punch them. As soon as I thought about being myself again, it happened. I turned back into a human, still on top of my sleeping friend. I rolled my eyes and went to stand next to my other, annoying friends.
:Annabeth:
I was in a dark forest, it was obviously night time. The moon was showing just between two trees. Wolves, deer, and squirrels circled me on the ground, while night birds, circled above. Nothing came close enough to touch, and nothing looked directly at me. It was as if I didn't exist. I heard an owl's cry above, it echoed through the forest louder than any other sound. I looked up and saw a pitch black owl fly over the moon, casting a shadow onto the ground. The beautiful bird landed on a nearby tree branch. We studied each other, the owl seemed to like me. Within a minute, it flew over and landed on my shoulder.
As we touched, I woke up. I was sitting in the grass of the arena, though it looked much taller. I turned my head only to come face to face with a giant shoe. I screamed and fell backwards. I tried to put my arms out in front of me to catch myself, instead black wings spread out beside me. Wind caught them and I flew into the air. After a minute of free flying, I touched the ground again. I thought of becoming myself, the next second, I was standing on my two feet in front of my friends.
"Owl, huh?" I said casually.
"Well, I'm not surprised." responded Piper, we all laughed.
:Percy:
I was swimming through a deep ocean. Schools of fish, dolphins, sharks, whales, and other sea creatures were swimming around me. They didn't strike up a conversation like they usually do, they just kept on swimming. It was like I wasn't there. I didn't dwell on it though, I kept on swimming as well. After a while I came across a small, tropical island. I climbed out of the water and onto the hot sand. The island was littered with animals, mostly horses, unicorns, and pegusi. Nothing came forward, I tried to move, but as soon as I stepped onto the sand, it was like my feet were glued to the spot.
Eventually, something swooped out of the sky. A magnificent, white pegasus, with sea green eyes stood before me. We just looked at each other for a while, after a few minutes, the horse came into touching range. I held out my hand and the pegasus set its muzzle into my palm. We touched and I was transported back. I felt much larger than normal, I looked around, scanning the room for my friends. Everyone was standing next to Hecate, they were all smiling at me. I tried to ask what they were smiling at, but it came out as a whinny. I took a step forward and heard the gentle clopping of hooves. I was that pegasus, I just knew it. I wanted to turn human again, I wanted to hug my Wise Girl. As soon as I thought of her I changed back to my regular self.
"You did great, young heroes! I'll be right back." She flashed away. Well great, now what. I looked over to Annabeth and she just shrugged. I guess we'll have to wait.
Hello! Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked this chapter. Tell me if I made any mistakes, creative criticism is encouraged, I want to make this story as good as it can be. See ya next time! Peace out.
-DM