Chapter 6

Andromeda

I'M BACK!

Well, I guess it was pretty obvious, as I am typing to you right now, but, yeah…

I'd just love to thank the three lovely guests who reviewed! You are absolutely the best! This chapter is dedicated to you. : )

So, I guess I should just let you read now.

READ ON!

As I started to wake up, I heard a loud scream.

I was immediately on my feet, as were the other half-bloods. But I didn't see a Fury, a gorgon, a drakon, or even a hellhound. What was standing in front of everyone was much worse.

Mrs. Potter, Piper, and my mother were giving us all hard glares as they looked around the tent. I suddenly realized two things:

1. We'd knocked out our siblings last night, and they'd obviously told on us,

2. Everyone had fallen asleep literally on top of one another.

We were in so much trouble.

So after getting scolded severely by our mothers (my punishment was no ice cream for a week. SERIOUSLY?! You can take away my powers any day, but I NEED ICE CREAM!), we ate a quick breakfast and left.

The Weasley family house was supposedly ten miles away, and since nobody felt like they wanted to Apparate there, we simply walked.

I was used to walking long distances, as were the other demigods. Praetor Hank made sure we marched with the legion whenever we came for a 'visit' in New Rome. Sure, it was pure torture, but at least it helped us in Capture the Flag!

Mrs. Potter carried all of our school supplies in a tiny never-ending purse, which was the best thing since Celestial Bronze.

Lily and I walked together near the back of the group, talking about brothers, school, and, well, brothers. But she decided to take our lovely conversation way off topic.

"Where'd you get those scars?" she asked, pointing innocently to the multiple scars littering my tan skin.

"I, well, um-"

I was saved by Hunter and Orion challenging us to a quick race.

I ended up making it to the finishing line (or an old tree stump) first. It wasn't unusual, as I've had the most practice running from monsters, brothers, an angry Jonathan (Octavian's spawn) who was wielding the spear I broke, etc.

When we finally arrived at the Burrow, I was in a state of shock.

The house was huge, at least seven stories high. It was made up of mismatched walls, doors, windows, etc.

"That is massive!" Orion said, staring at the house in awe. "Your grandparents live in that?"

"Yup," Lily stated, "but it still doesn't fit every single Weasley. Most of the kids sleep in tents in the back, if we get lucky."

She skipped down the hill, followed by everyone else.

Suddenly, two kids ran out of the house, smiling as they approached.

"Rose!" Lily squeaked, running up to the girl. She wrapped her in a hug, while the other kid, a boy around my age, started poking Albus tirelessly.

"Gracie, this is my cousin, Rose," Lily said, tugging the girl forward. "Rose, this is Gracie, her family, and her friends. They're from America."

"Nice to meet you," Rose politely said, holding out her hand. "My brother, Hugo, is the one poking Albus."

"Is anyone else here?" Lily asked, tugging on her cousin's sleeve like a two-year-old.

"You're the first after us, but Teddy got off of work two minutes ago, so he should be here in four, three, two…."

She was cut off by Teddy Apparating right beside her.

Everyone talked for quite some time, allowing other families to arrive. By the time we headed inside thirty minutes later, I'd counted four different families, but Lily said that more should be coming before noon.

First to arrive after us were more Weasleys (no surprise there). There was Bill, Fleur (some French girl), and their three kids, Louis, Dominique, and, surprisingly, Victoire.

Louis was James's age, and Dominique was on her final year, so they didn't really relate to us very well.

Next to arrive were the Weasleys (again). But this time the father was George, the wife Angelina, and their two kids, Fred and Roxanne. Fred was in James's year as well, and his younger sister was just one year older than us.

Next, surprisingly, came more Weasleys! There was, a man named Percy, who didn't seem to like my father all that much (who ever does?). His wife, Audrey, seemed to be suspicious of all of us, but their two children, Molly and Lucy, seemed to be nice enough.

Molly was much older than her sister; she was entering her fifth year. Lucy, however, had yet to begin Hogwarts, as she was still a year younger than us. But she and Alexandrie decided that they liked each other and started chatting about all things girly, slowly moving away from the group.

And, finally, the fourth family arrived, though they luckily weren't Weasley's.

The Scamander's, Rolf, Luna, Lorcan, and Lysander, were all odd people. And I don't mean odd like demigod odd (ha! I rhymed. Sorry, ADHD); more like gorgon odd.

Lorcan and Lysander, the twin boys, looked completely like each other, except for a small mole on one of their cheeks. They quietly talked to one another, the taller one leading his brother around as they chatted. Luna and Rolf seemed out of it as well, almost like those odd children of Iris...

So, finally, we went inside, where we were served lemonade and cookies by Mrs. Weasley. She was an old woman, probably somewhere in her eighties by now, but she still smiled brightly and helped whenever she was needed.

Mom and Dad decided to search for the missing Alexandrie and Lucy. They'd disappeared while everyone was talking, and they hadn't returned. Hugo and Dylan had gone missing as well. Percy (the red-headed one) was very angry at the thought of his daughter gone, and was continually pacing in front of a window, muttering to himself.

Lily gave us a tour of the house, which was much larger on the inside. She said that with every single room filled, and the five tents (magic ones, mind you) would practically be filled, that some kids would have to sleep on the earth outside.

For the rest of that morning we hung out, played, and search for the two missing kids. One more Weasley family arrived, though he seemed to only be a single dad with a very delighted five-year-old girl with a large scar down her cheek, and the Longbottoms arrived.

Neville was going to be our Herbology teacher (whatever that was), and his wife was also living in the castle. She had just found out that she was pregnant, which was exciting, as they hadn't had any kids beforehand.

As evening approached, Lily, Albus, Hunter, Orion and I were all out searching for the missing kids. They still hadn't been found, and everyone was really starting to worry.

But as Orion boosted me up a tree, several girls around my age appeared on top of a small rise to our left.

When they were close enough, I realized that they were the Hunter of Artemis, and they had four very unhappy hogtied children.

"My brother and Kelp Head really need to keep better track of their kids…" the leader, Thalia, muttered, plopping Dylan down on the grass.

"Aunt Thalia!" a voice said behind us, and Hunter raced up to hug his aunt, who just happened to be four years older than him (physically).

Thalia smiled at her nephew and then handed him his sister, who was struggling to get out of her bindings.

"I believe you lost these." She smirked as the Hunters set down the rest of the missing kids. "I suppose your fathers weren't paying enough attention to notice six missing kids. Oh well; they weren't that responsible when we were young, either."

Orion, Hunter and I worked on the knots, which took forever to untie, as the Hunters set up camp.

"So, where's Artemis?" Orion asked, attempting to get poor Lucy, who'd passed out when she saw the glowing girl. "I thought you guys always traveled with her."

Most of the girls sighed in exasperation or simply rolled their eyes. They were completely against boys, which was a reason I considered joining (What? You would want to as well if you had two brothers!)

"She went to Olympus for a few days to see Dad," Thalia told us, glaring at her annoyed crew. "She always gets a week off right before the first of September."

"Oh, well, do you guys want to see our parents?" Hunter asked, working on an especially hard knot in Lucy's bindings, who also happened to have passed out earlier.

"We're only staying here one night," Thalia admitted, smirking slightly. "If you guys can get them over here before long, we'd be happy to speak with them."

Eventually, we did get the knots untied, though it was hard without the Hunters' help.

Since we really didn't want to explain the appearance of thirty tween girls, we decided to take the four missing kids, two of which were knocked out, home by ourselves.

We didn't see Lily or Albus anywhere, but we just guessed that they went home after two hours of searching.

It was hard work, carrying a girl all the way home. Hunter was dragging poor Hugo, getting no help from anyone

Almost all of the adults were waiting outside as we neared the house, attempting to spot us before anyone else did.

Percy W. ran towards his daughter as soon as he saw her unconscious form. Hermione and Ron thanked us for their son's safe return and took him inside to rest.

Lily and Albus were already there, and my new red-headed friend demanded to know what happened when we got separated. I made up the best story I could about finding the missing kids wandering around, pulling along an unconscious Hugo and Lucy. Luckily, she bought it.

Orion, Hunter, and I didn't get a chance to speak to our parents alone for quite some time. Everybody was rushing around, setting up tents, making food, and making beds. It was pure chaos as everyone prepared for the following day.

But, finally, I managed to corner my father and speak with him. He promised to sneak out with us somewhere around two A.M. to see the Hunters.

So, at 10:00 P.M., all of us twelve half-bloods went into our tent (we got a special extra-large one!) and fell asleep, dreaming about sugar, sugar, caffeine, and sugar.

Okay, the next chapter will probably be up in a week or so. Again, sorry for my long absence. R&R!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I'm thinking about a new name for this story. Any ideas would happily be accepted in a review or PM.