A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that I haven't updated in a while- teacher's went homework crazy. Thank you all for your support and reviews! A little change is happening with this story. My twin sister is now co-writing this with me!
Reviewer responses at bottom.
Enjoy! :)
Ava:
I jumped as the door shut loudly behind me, leaving me standing there awkwardly.
"Oh. There you are Miss Crowley. I was looking for you," a voice said. I turned, relaxing, at the sight of the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has and would ever know.
"Hello Professor. I heard you wanted to see me?"
"Yes Miss Crowley, I am aware that you are curious as to why you are needed here this year, but I'm afraid that you will have to find that out in good time. I sent Minerva to get you because I was made aware that Lord Voldemort has his eyes set on turning our American friends over to his side because he feels that it will turn the tide in his favor. I honestly don't know how he knows that they are here, but I have my suspicions. I just wanted to warn you that the demigod's identity needs to be concealed from everyone here at Hogwarts. At the time being, the only people aware that they are not ordinary wizards are Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and myself and I intend to keep it this way," Professor Dumbledore said sternly.
I nodded, "Yes Professor. I'll warn the demigods. Do you happen to know who in particular he is after?"
"Yes. While he would certainly be happy with any of them, he has particularly taken an interest in Mr. Jackson because he is obviously the glue of the group and he is the most powerful."
I nodded. That made perfect sense. WIthout Percy, the rest of the demigods would fail. Taking Percy away would most definitely mean the end of Hogwarts.
"Now, off to your room. You have classes tomorrow morning," Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand. I nodded again, feeling a little like a bobblehead. I turned around and walked out of his office, feeling suddenly exhausted. I walked quickly to the Gryffindor dormitories, found my bed, and fell back asleep the second my head hit the pillow.
I woke up in the morning feeling as if I only went back to sleep for a second. Of course, it doesn't help that every time I've had to wake up, I've been screamed at and shoved. Stupid Hermione.
After quickly getting ready and rushing downstairs and into the Great Hall, I sat down next to Harry, already ready to sleep again.
"You okay Ava?" Percy asked me with concern as he and Annabeth sat down across the table from me.
"Just peachy. Got woken up in the middle of the night by Dumbledore and McGonagall but otherwise good," I replied with a yawn, noticing with disdain that my simple answer was the cause of more concern and curiosity.
"Why did they wake you before the first day of term?" Harry wondered.
"Well, they had to tell me that," I leaned in closer to the group, making sure that no one could overhear. "We have to try and keep the demigods' identities a secret as long as we can. Also, Dumbledore warned me that Voldemort has his slimy eye on Percy and the others, but mostly Percy, because he thinks that he can get them to join his side, which will help him win. So, nothing's really new. Bad guys either want Percy on their side, or out of the picture."
Percy groaned. "Again? Why does everyone hate me? Why can't they go after Jason or Nico? They're powerful too. I mean, not like as powerful as me, but then again, no one is."
"Really Seaweed Brain? What about me? I could kick your tiny ass anyday." Thalia said, smirking while raising a certain finger.
"You wish, Pinecone face," Percy remarked. I sniffed the air, noticing the very thick scent of ozone that was coming from Thalia. Uh, oh.
"Cool it Thalia and Percy," I whispered sharply, causing both of them to turn and glare at me. Meanwhile, some of the other students have started to sniff the air with curiosity and wonder. "You need to try and keep your identities a secret. Fighting in the middle of the Great Hall is counterproductive," I finished, sitting back as I watched the bomb slowly diffuse. The smell of ozone diminished and Percy relaxed. Once satisfied that neither would attack the other, I turned back to the breakfast in front of us. I grabbed some toast to eat but was quickly distracted again by Ron running over to us with a piece of parchment.
"Guys look! Dumbledore is going to allow the exchange students to form their own Quidditch team to compete against the house teams. He also wrote that Ava will be the captain!" Ron exclaimed, bouncing up and down in excitement. I, on the other hand, was astonished and nervous to captain. But, seeing how Dumbledore already wrote that I was, I really had no choice in the matter.
"Yay! I've always wanted to play Quidditch!" I squealed.
"What the Hades is Quidditch?" Leo exclaimed, causing Ron and Harry to turn and stare at him.
"How could you NOT know? It's an international wizarding sport," Ron exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes at Hermione, who giggle behind her hand. "Their demigods, not wizards. Honestly Ron, sometimes I think you're as stupid as Percy."
"HEY!" Percy yelled, drawing the attention of some of the other students. "I'm not stupid. I'm actually very intelligent."
Annabeth rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and punched his arm. "Sure Seaweed Brain. Whatever you say." Percy smiled and gave Annabeth a quick kiss, which Leo quickly interrupted by doing a loud wolf whistle.
Percy laughed while Annabeth looked embarrassed. Piper quickly brought us back to the previous topic, "So Ava, what is Quidditch?"
"Well…" I said, thinking of a quick explanation of the game. "Quidditch is a sport that a lot of wizards play. It's kind of like soccer because the chasers have to get the quaffle inside the goal posts, which the keeper is guarding, to get a point. There are also two other kinds of balls, the bludgers and the golden snitch. The beaters hit the bludgers at the opposing teams to try to knock them off course, and the seeker tries to catch the golden snitch, which is about the size of a golf ball, before the other team's seeker does. The game ends when a seeker catches the snitch."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Nico said.
"Well… The only catch is that the game is played on broomsticks, in the air." I said, bracing myself for their reaction. Immediately, Thalia and Nico slumped in their seats because neither of them was fond of the air. Surprisingly, Percy didn't look too bummed out, if anything he looked even more excited than usual.
"That sounds like fun," Jason, Leo, and Percy said at the same time.
"Aren't you scared of going in the air?" I asked Percy, shocked.
Percy thought for a minute before saying, "Well, I've dealt with WAY worse, so riding a little broomstick is nothing." I glanced over at the other children of the Big Three, curious about their reactions. My gaze first hit Hazel.
"Well," she said, pondering her answer. "It would be fun but I don't want to provoke Jupiter/ Zeus." I nodded, expecting that.
"I'm obviously out," Nico exclaimed. "Sorry Ava, but I don't want to risk my life just for enjoyment. I would prefer to avoid getting shot out of the sky by my uncle." Again, that's exactly what I was expecting. I turned to Thalia, waiting for her response.
"I'm not up to it," she said. "We should be here to protect Potter and his friends and not to participate in a sport." I, knowing the real reason why she wouldn't play, didn't argue and turned to the remaining demigods.
"Okay," I said. "I guess that leaves Jason, Leo, Piper, Annabeth, Frank, Percy, and I for the team. Luckily, we can only have seven so we're all set. Now all we need is brooms and uniforms."
"That's easy," Harry said. "Just ask Dumbledore to get you some. He volunteered you to do this, the least he can do is supply you with equipment." I nodded, that makes perfect sense.
After about ten minutes, we all finished breakfast and left to go to our first class. I let the others go on ahead of me because I needed an answer on whether Dumbledore could get us supplies for Quidditch. Excusing myself, I quickly went over to Dumbledore's office and asked him to supply the exchange team with equipment. He, luckily, agreed willingly and sent me off to my first class, Divination.
I caught up with the others outside of the trapdoor to the most entertaining class in Harry Potter history. "Hey! Did I miss anything interesting on the way up here?"
"Well, if you count Thalia trying to murder Percy again as interesting. Then yes. If not, then nothing," Jason replied with a yawn. I rolled my eyes and followed Harry up the ladder and into the Divination classroom. I looked around the classroom before choosing a seat next to Ron, Percy, and Harry. Everyone started to talk about what to expect when Professor Trelawney entered the room. She gazed around the classroom before her unfocused stare landed on me. Trelawney gasped and pointed a trembling finger between Harry, Percy, and I. Suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and green smoke came out of her mouth.
She took a deep breath before startling words fell from her lips.
"Nine half-bloods shall embark on a quest
To attempt to put the snake to rest.
The fate of the battle rests on one single mortal
Who has the power to destroy the immortal."
On that happy note, Trelawney fainted, leaving the class to stare at me like I was a ghost.
A/N: Like always, I just can't resist a little cliffy. Some of you have reviewed and asked me about having an updating schedule, so I've decided to try and post a new chapter every Sunday night.
Reviewer Responses:
xXMoonylightXx: Thank you so much for all of your support! Love you too! 3
haylee-lopatinskytorres: Can't resist cliffys. Sorry not sorry. I will try and post every Sunday from now on. Thank you for that suggestion
R3B3CC4: Thanks! Sorry to keep you waiting. Hope this one was worth the wait!
Aprille-A-G: Thanks so much! Sorry to keep you waiting!
imp37: Thanks so much for all of your support! You're soooooooo sweet!