Hey guys! I've changed chapter 1, so please read this before moving on. I've added more about Annabeth and why she feels the way she feels. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc. etc. etc. You know I don't, or else I'd actually publish my story as a book, so I won't bother with a disclaimer in each chapter.
Annabeth sat there in class, staring at him. Brandon. He was so perfect, so smart, so clever, so funny. However, there was one problem. Brandon hated her. He knew that Annabeth liked her, and hated her for it. Annabeth was still listening to Brandon's conversation with David, wating to see if she could try to talk to him.
"... I was in both band and orchestra at some point. I played trumpet in 5th grade." Annabeth knew that. Brandon had told her that the last time they were in a math group together. She was surprised that he had once been in orchestra though. Here was Annabeth's entry into the conversation, she thought excitedly! She was in orchestra, so she had a reason to be interested in the fact that Brandon was once in orchestra.
"When were you in orchestra?" Annabeth asked.
"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!" Brandon replied sharply.
Annabeth turned away, a hurt look on her face, but not before she caught David's eye. He gave her an "I'm so sorry" look. Annabeth sighed. She should've been used to this. She knew that he hated her, just like most of her crushes did once they realized that she liked them. She didn't know why, though, and that's what bugged her the most. What was it about her that ticked Brandon off? Her parents always told her that she was beautiful and special, but she had yet to see proof from outsiders. She had friends, but a group of friends never lasted for too long, so she didn't really have anyone that she could claim was her "best friend". When she left class, Jennifer and Alice cornered her.
"Why were you flirting with our crushes?" they asked.
"What?" Annabeth was astounded. She had been having normal conversations with Adam and Aaron about math. She knew Adam since 6th grade, and Aaron was simply nice to her. She was in no way trying to flirt with them. If I could flirt, I'd be trying to flirt with Brandon, Annabeth thought bitterly.
"I wasn't flirting. Honestly," Annabeth pleaded.
"Well, you kept talking to them and following them around wherever they went."
"That's because I can have an intelligible conversation with them, and you guys weren't exactly talking to me," replied Annabeth. It was true. Whenever Annabeth tried to talk to Jennifer and Alice, they started talking in Spanish, which Annabeth didn't understand.
"Well, just don't talk to them as much," they said.
"Okay," said Annabeth. Then, Jennifer and Alice left. They didn't stop to say anything to Annabeth. She was practically in tears. Her crush rebuked her and her friends had practically ended their friendship with her. She knew that that must be why the rest of their group was ignoring her. I should've seen it coming, Annabeth thought, trying to fight back tears. There was only one thing that would make her feel better. She took out "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".
Annabeth sat there, reflecting over Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. She had finished the book, and kept thinking about it - to be more specific, she was thinking about Tom Riddle's past.
"Wow, no wonder he became evil. He grew up in an orphanage where pretty much everyone mistreated him and didn't care about him, and they punished him for his magic, which wasn't his fault, and it's cool, not evil. So when he learned how to control his magic, of course he gets revenge, it's what I'd do! While I don't agree with everything he did, I can see his point. I just don't get why he'd want to be immortal, but I guess he believed that he was special enough for that. I also don't understand why he hates muggleborns, because they understand about magic. Everyone needs a friend, though. I wish that I could've been his friend at the orphanage. I would've been supportive." Annabeth knew all too well what it was like to be resented. She wasn't popular, and her friendships never worked out for too long. Even though she had parents and friends to tell her that she was special, she sometimes hated the whole world, and would be happy to make them realize her pain, because everyone who was close to her had hurt her in one way or another. Sometimes, she realized with wonder, she felt that Tom Riddle was right. The people who hurt her should at least feel the intense pain that she felt. They never understood what they did to her, and never cared. She knew that that was evil thinking, but she couldn't help it. And besides, other people couldn't judge her until they understood her. She'd taken the "Which Hogwarts House do you Belong In?" quiz on Facebook, and ended up in Slytherin. "Well, maybe there's a reason why I'm apparently a Slytherin."
Annabeth went to sleep with these thoughts in her mind. The last thing she thought was "I wish that I could be there for Tom Riddle," before she fell asleep.
The next morning, she woke up in a dingy, gray room.