MORE FASTNESS! :D (kinda)

So, this chapter is gonna be jumping forwards in time. So, a longer amount of time will be passing in story land! I tried to make it longer, though there is less dialogue.

Grover

Grover was worrying about a lot of things. He was worrying about Nico. He was worrying about Hermione keeping their identities a secret. And he was worrying about not being able to eat.

There was not enough food for a satyr. Sure, the salads were good, but what he really wanted was some aluminum. He had some in his room, but it seemed like there was always someone else in there.

So, that was why when arrived at his room and none of the other boys were there yet, he was so overjoyed. He dug into his bag and took a large bite of one of the cans he had hidden at the bottom. The metal left a pleasant tang in his mouth.

"Finally," he sighed through another mouthful.

Someone pulled open the door. Grover shut his bag quickly and popped the last of the can in his mouth.

"Hey, Grover," Ernie said. Grover looked over his shoulder and smiled with a closed mouth. He hid his face as he chewed the last few savory bites and swallowed.

"Hi," Grover said.

"I think I'm going to hit the hay a bit early tonight," he said.

"Hay?" Grover said, lifting his head up. "Did you say 'Hay'?" Ernie looked at him strangely.

"Uh... yeah," he said. "Hit the hay, like, go to sleep," Grover nodded. He had barely been paying attention.

"Riiiiiight," Grover said, with a nervous laugh. Ernie shook his head and started to get ready for bed. Grover, who had claimed the bed in the corner specifically so he could change beside the wall, and be hidden by his bed, also got ready.

He took off his fake shoes and uncomfortable pants as well and slipped under the covers quickly. Keeping his legs hidden, he threw on a Camp-Half Blood t-shirt to sleep in and pulled on a night cap that Juniper suggest he bring.

He missed her a lot.

The next day, Grover woke up just as Ernie and Justin were leaving the room. Zacharias Smith, a blonde haired boy who was Grover's third roommate, was still getting ready.

Grover wasn't entirely sure what happened between Zacharias and his other two roommates, but their definitely seemed to be some resent. When Grover asked Justin the day before, he said briefly that Zacharias was an "annoying-obnoxious-bogey-eating-coward".

He and Grover had never really had any sort of conversation besides "Hello" "Hello" "I'm Zacharias Smith" "I'm Grover" and that was the end of it.

Zacharias cast Grover a rather unpleasant look and turned away as he straightened his tie. Zacharias left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Good morning to you too," he muttered. Grover swung his goat legs over the edge of the bed against the corner, so anyone who walked in wouldn't be able to see, clear sighted or not. He quickly put on his straight leg pants, socks, and pointy toed shoes, which were even worse than his sneakers.

He finished changing into his uniform and found his large, orange and blue striped beanie hat. He hadn't worn it in ages, but after losing his other one to Malfoy, his only other option was a fedora that barely fit over his curls and his horns, so it had to be the beanie.

Grover took advantage of the fact he was alone in his room and took an empty soda can from his bag and ate every scrap. And then he took another one.

Once he was finished and relatively satisfied, Grover walked out of his room, stuffing his wand in his pocket. There were a few people lingering in the common room, none of whom Grover recognized. For the most part, it seemed like everyone had gone for breakfast.

Grover walked to the Great Halls, and through the large doors. The paint on the ceiling seemed to have changed. Instead of being painted like the night sky, it looked like a bright sunny morning.

"Ah, Mr. Underwood, perfect," a voice said. Grover saw Professor Sprout, the head of the Hufflepuff house, coming up to him. He had met her briefly the day before. "I have your timetable," she said. "I'm looking forwards to seeing you in Herbology." She handed him a piece of parchment paper with a schedule on it.

"Thank you," Grover said. Sprout nodded and walked towards the table at the front of the room where the rest of the teachers sat.

Grover sat down at the Hufflepuff table, looking around for a moment to see if he was able to spot Percy or Annabeth. Although he didn't see either of them, he was glad to see Hermione across the room at the Gryffindor table back on her feet.

Grover sat through breakfast, working his way through a slice of bread, though he didn't particularly enjoy the bland taste or spongy , it was better than staying hungry all day.

While he ate, he examined his time table. He was taking Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Muggle Studies, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. That morning, he had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Snape, and Herbology, followed by a free period. He wondered if Percy and Annabeth had gotten their schedules as well.

When it was time for classes to start, Grover got lost easily. He ended up arriving at the DADA class five minutes late. He opened the door quietly and tried to slip in unnoticed, but it was no use.

"You're late," a droning voice said. A man in dark robes with pale skin and dark hair stood at the front of the room. He must have been Professor Snape. All the students looked at him. Grover immediately spotted Annabeth and Percy sitting in the back row.

"S-sorry. I got lost," Grover said.

"I do not care for excuses, Mr. Underwood," Snape said. "Sit down, and take off that hat." Grover took a seat in the back of the classroom beside Percy and Annabeth and turned his attention to the front.

"Your hat," Snape said forcefully.

"I can't take it off. I need-"

"Five points from Hufflepuff," he said. Grover grimaced and removed his hat slowly. He stooped his head low and pushed his hair up with his hands.

"Hey," Percy whispered. Grover nodded in acknowledgement.

"Resuming with the lesson, Dean Thomas, please continue. What is a Dementor?" Snape said. A few kids in the class let out annoyed sighs, like the answer was obvious.

"A Dementor is a Dark creature that feeds off of people's souls and happiness," a boy said. Grover couldn't see where the voice was coming from, because his head was practically under his desk.

"Correct," Snape said. "I understand that some of you are already familiar with the Patronus Charm," Snape said bitterly. "But you will learn along with the class," he snapped.

"The Patronus Charm is as followed: Ex-pect-o Pat-ro-num," Snape said, separating the syllables. "The key to a successful Patronus is to think of a happy thought while preforming the charm. You will each come to the front and preform the spell. One. By. One." Snape paused between each word. "Beginning with... Mr. Underwood,"

Grover winced. Not only would he have to go up to the front of a class full of strangers and make a presentation of without his hat. It was like a scene from one of his nightmares.

He stood up and made his way to the front of the classroom. He took his wand out of his pocket and took a breath and pointed it away from anyone in the room.

"Um... E... Expect-"

"Don't hesitate. You must speak smoothly," Snape said, making Grover jump. "Think of a happy thought," he said. Kind of hard, Grover thought, With you breathing down my neck. He gave it a shot nonetheless.

"Expecto Patronum," Grover said. Suddenly, a silvery beam shot from the tip of the wand. A small billy goat made of the silvery mist trotted around, leaving a trail of light behind it.

Grover smiled.

"Well, Mr. Underwood, you have done a surprisingly sufficient job," Snape said once the animal disappeared. A few of the students nodded approvingly. Grover quickly returned to his seat and received a thumbs up from Percy.

Snape continued to call up the thirty or so students one by one. Annabeth's Patronus was an owl, and Percy's was a horse. Grover wasn't surprised by either.

After class, he and Percy said goodbye to Annabeth and went to Herbology together, while Annabeth went to Muggle Studies.

Herbology was easy for Grover, but Percy's hand got trapped by a gnarled vine, and he accidentally tipped over a Mandrake pot, causing the plant to start shrieking unbearably. Professor Sprout handled the situation efficiently enough, but Grover's highly sensitive ears were ringing.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all had a free period together. They went down to the boathouse again to practice their spells even more, but Percy quickly became bored and coaxed Annabeth into sparring with him.

Once they had finished, the three of them sat on the floor, their backs to the wall. Percy dozed off on Annabeth's shoulder, Annabeth doodled buildings in the margins of her books, and Grover played a tune on his reed pipes. It was almost as if they were back in camp.

The week passed slowly. Annabeth and Percy (especially Percy) were having trouble keeping up in class because of their dyslexia and ADHD.

But they did have some escape from their school work. Everyday, they would go down to the boathouse when they all had a free period and practice their spells. Percy and Annabeth would often spar as well.

Quite a few times, Hermione came to help them with their spells and homework. Or, if Percy and Annabeth were sparring, she would sit and watch, or do work of her own. The three had grown accustomed to her company, and she had kept their secret to herself.

Day after day past the same way. Dumbledore had still not returned by the fifth day.

Percy was growing more antsy as the day they were to meet Voldemort again approached. When they told Hermione about their meeting, she frowned.

"What is it?" Percy asked seriously.

"Voldemort is merciless. I don't understand why he spared your cousin. He was just a boy spying on him. The only reason I could think of would be that he's scared. Whatever Nico did, it must have been quite something to make Voldemort afraid to kill him," she said. Percy laughed slightly.

"Good old Ghost King, freaking out half-dead dudes," he muttered. He turned and walked to the entrance of the boathouse, leaning on the doorframe. Grover could tell he was nervous. He and Annabeth approached him.

"You okay, man?" Grover asked.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about Nico," he said. "What if... what if something happened to him?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Annabeth said.

"But what if something did happen? I told myself I'd keep him safe after Bianca died. I don't know what I'd do if he..." Percy's voice trailed off. Annabeth gave him a kiss and hugged him.

"He'll be fine, Percy," Grover said, patting his shoulder. Percy smiled slightly and returned the gesture.

"Two more days," Percy said.

Annabeth and Grover repeated in unison. "Two more days,"

Hi lovely people! Please stay to read this AN, even though it is long.

So, I leave for camp on Thursday (later today, cause I just realized it's midnight), so I don't know if I will not be able to finish this story until I return, which won't be for a while. Although I would love to, I just don't have enough time in the day! I can try and get another chapter down, and trust me, I will try, but if I don't, please forgive me. I will resume mid-August (please don't hate me!)

I want to thank you for being such an amazing, supportive group of readers! You encourage me to keep writing and you make me more confident in myself. My year has been... well, it could have been better, let's just say. But whenever I see I've gotten a new review, or follower, or favourite, it really does make me feel amazing. I've never felt like I had much to offer, but knowing that someone somewhere in the world enjoys my story is the best feeling I could ever have hoped for.

Thank you all again, and please forgive the coming lack of writing for the next while.

Also, I'm sorry for leaving off where I did (you know, them just about to meet the Dark Lord again)