Sorry it took longer than expected... the reasons will be in the A/N below!

Thanks for all your reviews! I loved all of them, you guys are too kind :) Responses to questions:

awynn22: Thanks! Not sure about finals yet, so I'm trying not to think about it :P

Anna Andreevna: I'm glad you like the story! All shall be revealed in good time...

I wish I could respond to all reviews, but you know the drill :( But if you reviewed, thank you so much. I'll do the rest of my talking in the A/N below, for now I hope you enjoy the (longer that last) chapter.

Chapter 2- Confused and Changed

Annabeth

In truth, Annabeth was very confused.

She hadn't expected to be transported back to the magical world in the middle of a beach day with Percy and her friends. And she definitely wasn't expecting the fight they had landed in.

Luckily, Annabeth's instincts kicked in. She had no idea where it had come from, but Annabeth used her wand to fire spells against the death eaters, ducking away from their curses. She seemed to remember her magical knowledge. She guessed it was like riding a bike: you just don't forget.

When the smoke cleared, many of the death eaters having disapparated, Annabeth ran over to where Percy and the others were. She spotted Hermione, Ron and Ginny, but there was no time for a reunion.

"Where's Harry?" Ginny demanded.

Annabeth looked around. The street was in chaos, glass shattered everywhere, people lying on the ground (thankfully, they were only unconscious), but she couldn't see Harry. On the other side of the alley, Annabeth could vaguely make out Nico, looking in the opposite direction.

Nico. He had come here too? He had no wand, nor any proper knowledge of the magic world. Quickly, Annabeth ran over to him. She saw Hazel behind her.

As Annabeth approached Nico, she saw what he was looking at. A smaller alley snaked out of the main road, dark and dimly lit. Inside Thalia had knocked someone over, and was pointing an arrow at them. But Annabeth couldn't see the trademark death eater robes or mask. This person wasn't a death eater.

"Thalia," she yelled, running to her. "Stop! What are you doing?"

"This person," Thalia snarled, "he was with those crazy attackers."

Annabeth pulled Thalia off of the person. "He's not a death eater, Thalia." Annabeth peered at the person, whose expression changed.

"Annabeth!" the person said, getting up. He was blonde, and he wore a cap, but on closer inspection Annabeth recognised his features.

"Harry?" she asked in surprise.

"How come you're here?" Harry asked, rubbing his chest, where there was a wound, in discomfort.

"I don't know," Annabeth admitted.

"This is the guy? The reason you're on the quest?" Nico asked, having approached them, Hazel by his side.

"Yes," Hazel responded. "He's our friend."

Suddenly Annabeth heard footsteps. Percy came by her side, and squeezed her hand.

"What's happening?" he asked. Before Annabeth could respond, Hermione moved to Harry. She tapped his wand.

"Restorio," she muttered, and Harry's hair shifted back to raven-black.

Before they could figure out what was going on, Ron spoke up. "Come on," Ron said to the assembled demigods. "We shouldn't be here. Mum's looking for us."

They all left the alley, Annabeth leaving her unanswered questions for now. Annabeth spotted a red-haired lady who she recognised as Mrs. Weasley, and next to him a person she assumed was Mr. Weasley. The pair approached them.

"Ah, there you are," said a worried Mrs. Weasley. "And the Americans! How- how are you here?"

"We don't know," Piper said. "We just got… transported here."

"Well, we're going home now, you'll have to come with us," Mrs. Weasley said firmly.

"Don't worry, Harry," Mr. Weasley added. "We don't think the death eater attack was anything to do with you. Just a scare tactic."

Fred and George grimaced. "Well, it didn't work," George said determinedly. "We're going to stay here."

"We'll have to clean up the shop though," Fred said morosely. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes had a broken door, and inside products were scattered on the floor.

Mrs. Weasley hugged them tight. "We're going to take the children, and the Americans, back to The Burrow. Your father's going to return here with some ministry officials, but you two stay safe."

Fred and George hugged them all goodbye, and Mrs. Weasley turned to them. "Now come on. There's too many for apparition, so we're going to be taking the car."

"So you're absolutely sure you have no idea what brought you here?" Mr. Weasley asked. They were all sitting on a table outside the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley having served dinner. The air was cool, with the setting sun providing a picturesque background over the green fields.

"No," Frank said, shaking his head. "Someone powerful must have been behind it, but we have no idea who, or why."

"Well you arrived just after the attack started," Hermione mused. "Maybe someone brought you to Diagon Alley on purpose? To help?"

Annabeth silently agreed. It did feel as if they were brought here at that specific time for a reason… it felt like too much of a coincidence that the attack had happened at the exact same time as their arrival.

"But then why were Thalia and I brought as well?" Nico asked from the corner of the table. Mrs. Weasley had taken Thalia and Nico to the Burrow as well, but Annabeth didn't know what they were going to do now.

"Maybe you were an accident," Leo suggested, while chewing on roasted chicken.

"Or maybe the person who brought us wanted you to go as well," Piper argued.

"Well, whatever it is, we won't discover the answer talking about it. Perhaps Dumbledore will know something, and you can ask him when you go to Hogwarts. The best we can do is hope it is a benign force behind all of this, and not dark forces. I think for now we should worry about what's going to happen next," Mr. Weasley said reasonably.

"We can take a plane back to our Camp," Jason offered.

"No, no," Mrs. Weasley said, with a wave of her hand, "there's no point. You go back to Hogwarts in a couple of weeks anyway, it would be foolish to return."

"But where will they stay?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Here," Mrs. Weasley responded. "Bill, Charlie, Per-" Mrs. Weasley paused for a second. "Percy, Fred and George… they're not here, so we have some rooms available. With some cramming you should all be able to fit. It won't be the most luxurious staying, but I'm afraid it will have to do…"

"It's fine," Percy smiled. "We don't mind at all."

"Thalia and Nico," Jason said quickly, "they don't go to Hogwarts."

"I need to go home, to the hunt," Thalia said firmly.

"The what?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Ginny, it's your bedtime," Mrs. Weasley said sharply. "Go to your room now." Ginny was the only one who didn't know about the demigods, and since the topic had shifted to Thalia and Nico, Ginny couldn't be here. Apparently Mrs. Weasley didn't want her knowing.

"But- why?" Ginny asked, furious. "No one else has to-"

"Ginny, listen to your mother," Mr. Weasley said gently. "It's for the best."

Ginny glared around the table, before storming upstairs. Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"We can shadow travel," Nico suggested, once Ginny had left. "There's no point in us staying here, and I don't think either of us would want to take the plane."

"What's shadow travelling?" Mr. Weasley asked interestedly.

"You don't want to know," Leo muttered.

"Well, then, as long as you know how you're going to go, that's fine," Mrs. Weasley said, muttering a spell. The remains of the eaten food disappeared. "I'll clear up. You lot are probably tired. Ron, Harry, Hermione, take the Americans to their rooms, would you? You can sort out your matters in the morning, dears, and you two can leave if you want," she said kindly to the demigods.

Annabeth and the others followed Ron into the Burrow. The house gave the impression of being small, since it was filled to the brim with objects, not to mention people, but Annabeth liked it. It felt cosy and homely.

They trooped up the stairs, and Ron directed people into rooms. Harry paused. He looked at Percy and Annabeth.

"Last term," he said quietly, "Voldemort possessed you briefly." Harry hesitated. Annabeth got the feeling he had been waiting to ask this for a long time. "Have you- felt anything? Over the summer?"

Annabeth paused for a moment, taken by surprise. "No," she answered slowly. "Why, have you?"

Harry didn't meet their eyes. "No."

As Percy kissed Annabeth goodnight, and everyone entered their rooms, weary from a long, confusing day, Annabeth pondered on that.

For a brief second, when Annabeth woke up, she wondered where she was. Then she remembered.

She was lying on a low bed. Across the room, Thalia lay in another one. They had taken the twins' room. She wondered where Percy was. By now she could sleep without Percy, but she always found it more comforting and slept better when he was there.

Annabeth stood up and stretched. She shook Thalia: judging from the morning sun outside, it was time to wake up.

"Thalia," she said quietly. "Wake up."

Thalia yawned. "What time is it?"
Before Annabeth could answer, Hazel poked her head into the room through the ajar door. "Oh, good, you're awake," she smiled. "Mrs. Weasley says it's breakfast."

Annabeth followed Hazel downstairs, while Thalia stayed behind to get changed, since she was leaving soon. Most people were already in the kitchen. Annabeth slipped into a seat next to Piper, and Percy grinned at her from across the table. Nearly everyone was already here, except Thalia, Nico and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley plonked some scrambled eggs in front of her, and immediately Annabeth started eating.

"Well, dear, how did you sleep?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Fine, thanks," Annabeth responded pleasantly. "Where's Mr. Weasley?"

"He went to work already," Ron said between large bites of his sausage.

"After the death eater attack in Diagon Alley, the ministry is working over time. They're organising extra security everywhere, it's chaos," Mrs. Weasley explained.

"So everyone believes Voldemort's back now?" Leo asked. Last year, a significant number of the wizarding population had thought Harry was a liar.

Hermione nodded. "Well, considering even the Daily Prophet has admitted it, it'd be hard to still deny it. Fudge was heavily criticised, even after he stepped down."

"There's a new minister for magic?" Harry asked, surprised. Annabeth remembered him saying he had only arrived at the Burrow a couple of days before, so she guessed it made sense he was out of the loop.

"Scrimgeour," Mrs. Weasley said grimly, nodding. "Arthur dislikes him, but he used to be an auror. He's the kind of man who's very tight on security… I suppose that's why he was voted in."

At that moment, Thalia came down the stairs with Nico. Thalia had her bow slung over her shoulder again, and Nico had his sword in a sheath.

"Will you have breakfast before you set out?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think we better be going. I have to get back to the hunt, and Nico wants to get back to Will," Thalia smirked. Nico glared at her.

"Can you even shadow travel that far, Nico?" Jason asked anxiously.

"Please," Nico said dismissively, "I shadow travelled from Greece back to Camp, and that was with a giant statue. I should be able to make it over the Atlantic with ease."

Before anyone could respond, Piper cried. "Look! It's the owls!"

Sure enough, as Annabeth gazed out of the window, she saw a flock of tawny brown owls, all with letters attached.

"Owls?" Thalia asked, confused.

"That's how wizards communicate," Frank explained. The owls soared into the kitchen, and one by one dropped their letters onto the kitchen table.

"It's your Hogwarts letters," Mrs. Weasley said, handing them out. Annabeth quickly ripped hers open.

"OWL results," Hermione gasped.

Sure enough, on the letter in front of her were Annabeth's OWL results. They were a mix of A's and E's, with even one O. Annabeth was fine with her results: all that mattered was that they could continue to study in Hogwarts. Hermione on the other hand was looking disappointed.

Ron snorted. "One E and the rest O's and she's upset," he said, shaking his head. Mrs. Weasley looked at Ron's results and immediately hugged him. From looking around, Annabeth saw that most of the other wizards' results were similar to hers.

That was when she noticed Nico, standing in the corner… with a letter in his hand.

"Nico?" Annabeth asked, as Nico carefully opened the Hogwarts letter. Something fell out of the envelope, something small and metallic, but Annabeth didn't get a good look, because Nico closed his palm. She saw Nico scan the page.

"Why do you have a letter?" Piper asked, frowning.

Before Nico could respond, the letter suddenly crumbled into ashes, having been read.

"It's nothing," Nico said, startled.

"But what-" Leo asked.

"It doesn't matter," Nico said. "It was probably a mistake. I got a coin." He opened his palm, and sure enough there was a circular piece of metal in his hand. "We have to go," he told Thalia.

Thalia approached Annabeth, perplexed. They quickly embraced, as Nico said goodbye to others.

"When will I see you again?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia smiled. "It might be sooner than you think. Artemis wants to take the Hunt to Britain for a while. She said there are forces assembling here…"

Annabeth said goodbye to Nico as Thalia went to hug Jason. Soon, Nico and Thalia joined hands, and they slipped away into the shadows.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said after a moment's silence. "Sorry if you wanted to celebrate your results, but I have some chores for you all to do. Now, Ron, you can…"

The noon sun was pleasantly warm as it tickled Annabeth gently. Ginny was showing her and Hermione how to feed the chickens, who were pecking around in the large coop, like Mrs. Weasley had asked.

Annabeth actually found it quite enjoyable once she got into it. Unfortunately, it was over pretty quickly.

"Should we go back into the house now?" she asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Mum will be busy for the next hour. We can just stay here for a bit." Ginny led them to a hill a short walk away, overlooking a stream. "This is my favourite spot."

Hermione sat down on the green grass. "So, Annabeth, how was your summer?"

"It was nice." Annabeth smiled. She and Percy had spent most of the summer in New York with his parents.

"Mine's been frustrating," Ginny said, annoyance tinging her voice. "The order keep coming and going to and from the Burrow, but I barely know anything. I went to the ministry with you, it's not like I don't deserve to know these things. Even you lot know more than me."

"Wait, the Order comes here? What happened to Grimmauld place?" Annabeth asked. "Isn't that where Order headquarters used to be?"

"Ever since Sirius died," a grave look passed over Hermione's face, "no one really fancied the idea of using it. It was much easier to shift to the Burrow."

"Has Harry… moved on?" Annabeth asked carefully.

Ginny's face softened. "Not really. You'd have to ask Ron, but apparently there are still nights where he wakes up from nightmares, of Sirius in the ministry."

Before Annabeth could respond to this, Mrs. Weasley called out to them from inside. "Ginny, dear, come inside for a minute. I think I've lost my…" Annabeth stopped focusing as Ginny scrambled off.

When she was gone, Hermione posed her question to Annabeth. "What was that hunt, that Thalia mentioned?"

"Oh, that? It's this group of girls blessed by Artemis who travel around the world hunting monsters. They swear off all males and don't age."

Hermione's eyes widened. "She- she doesn't age?" Annabeth shook her head. "Your world… it's so strange."

"Stranger than Hogwarts?" Annabeth asked skeptically. Hermione nodded.

"You have Greek gods, I think you win." Annabeth laughed. "Though, that swearing off males thing does sound nice," Hermione said wistfully.

Annabeth had to admit, she was slightly surprised at that. Throughout last year, she had always thought there was something going on between Ron and Hermione… the way they bickered, but there was an undertone of affection there. She had just thought… "I thought-" Annabeth decided to be blunt. "What about Ron?"

Hermione turned scarlet. "What about Ron?" she responded defensively.

"Oh, nothing… I just thought, maybe you liked him," Annabeth admitted.

"I don't!" Hermione protested. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Hermione's shoulders slumped. "Is it really that obvious?"

"No, no, it's not," Annabeth reassured her. "I wasn't even sure, it's just after seeing you two for a while…"

"I don't know if I like him," Hermione confessed. "I didn't use to. But then, last year… I don't know, but being with him is so easy. I never thought I'd like Ron, but he makes me laugh, and sure we argue all the time, but I sort of enjoy just spending that time with him."

"Sounds to me like you have a crush," Annabeth teased lightly.

"It's not funny!" Hermione said, slightly horrified with her admission. "I need to get over it. It's not like he could ever like me back, and I'm not even sure if I'd want to be in a relationship with him."

Annabeth softened. "Look, for years, I had a crush on Percy, but he didn't ask me out."

"Really?" Hermione asked, taken aback. "But it seems like you guys have been going out for ages."

"You never know what could happen. I think there's a bigger chance of Ron liking you than you might think."

Hermione looked at Annabeth, and paused. "It doesn't matter. Nothing can happen, and I'm okay with that. Here, let's go inside."

The next two weeks passed fairly quickly.

The Burrow was slightly cramped, but Annabeth didn't really mind. Everyday there were new chores to be done, but they still managed to get some time to explore. Annabeth took Percy to a beautiful spot by the stream for one of their dates.

Percy had managed to iris message Sally and Paul and explain their situation. Percy and Annabeth had already left for camp, so they hadn't been planning on seeing them again for the remainder of the holidays, so thankfully this didn't interfere in their plans much. Sure, Annabeth was annoyed she missed out on two weeks at camp, but as long as she was with her friends, with Percy, things were okay.

Annabeth felt bad for Leo though. Calypso hadn't been taken with them: she had been out in the strawberry fields that day. They had spoken to her on an iris message.

"So you just got taken away?" Calypso asked, seated in the big house, the watery image clear.

Leo nodded. "We don't know how, but yeah."

"Well, at least you're safe. Chiron was worried."

Leo hesitated. "Calypso… are you coming here? Are you going to come with Hogwarts?"

Calypso paused. "Leo… I was expelled."

"Thanks to Umbridge," Piper pointed out. "She's not at Hogwarts anymore. Dumbledore would let you back."

Annabeth was less sure. Calypso hadn't even done her OWLs, so how could she continue to study at Hogwarts? She decided not to raise her concerns, though Calypso seemed to do it for her.

"I don't think so," Calypso said, doubt evident in her voice. "The Ministry got involved with my expulsion, Umbridge or not. They wouldn't want to do that. I didn't even do the exams."

"We'd find a way," Leo said firmly.

"Leo…" Calypso looked at him sadly. "You know I love you, more than anything. But even if I was allowed to, which I think would be unlikely… I'm not sure Hogwarts is right for me. I should stay at Camp, it's where I belong now."

"I don't want to be away from you for that long!" Leo protested.

"Neither do I, but I don't see what else we can do. For now, I should stay at camp. Maybe in the future that will change…" Calypso trailed off. "I'll see you in holidays, and we'll iris message a lot. I'm sorry, Leo, I wish there was another way."

Other than that, though, the two weeks passed smoothly. Like Ginny had said, members of the Order frequently visited. Annabeth remembered Lupin, who seemed more tired now, but Tonks and Mad-Eye also came for dinner a few times.

When they were alone together, Annabeth told Piper about her conversation with Hermione, hoping the daughter of Aphrodite might be able to help her. They had been packing, since it was the night before they left for Hogwarts (Mrs. Weasley only had to wave her wand to transport their stuff from Camp Half-Blood to the Burrow).

"I knew it," Piper said triumphantly, as she stuffed some clothes in her trunk.

"But do you think Ron likes her back?" Annabeth asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I thought so, but I can't be certain…" Piper looked at Annabeth, as she clasped her trunk shut. "I don't know, but I'm sure it'll work out in the end. We should go to sleep, it's late and we have to wake up early tomorrow."

Annabeth agreed, but the realisation struck her. "We're going to be returning to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"It will be weird to return, won't it?" Piper mused.

And so, thoughts jumbled in her brain, she drifted off to sleep.

It felt like only seconds later when she was woken up by Mrs. Weasley's shouting. "Everyone, come down for breakfast! We need to be leaving soon!"

Annabeth met Percy downstairs, where she kissed him.

"You excited, then?" Percy smiled at her, squeezing her hand.

"Kind of nervous," Annabeth admitted, "but I'm not sure why."

"Hey, it'll be fine," Percy promised her. They wouldn't have moved, but Leo passed them.

"Come on, lovebirds," he smirked, "we're going to be late."

The station was, as expected, very crowded.

They had just gone through the barrier to get to platform nine and three-quarters. As always, Hazel felt queasy. The Hogwarts express was lined up in the station, but looking on it, Annabeth felt like it had lost its usual gleam, the red paint seeming duller.

Annabeth saw first years eagerly pushing trolleys, suitcases wobbling. Ginny ran over to greet Luna on the other side of the platform, and Annabeth spotted Dean, who grinned at their group, giving them a friendly nod.

"Well, you better get on the train," Mrs. Weasley advised, bustling in front of them. "It will be leaving soon." She kissed Ron, before hugging Harry and Hermione. "Stay safe you three." She turned to the demigods.

"Thank you for everything, Mrs. Weasley," Piper said genuinely.

"Give our thanks to Mr. Weasley too," Percy agreed.

"Oh, it was no trouble. Arthur would have come if he could, but you know how it's been in the ministry." Mrs. Weasley glanced around, making sure no one else was in earshot. "You seven stay safe as well. I know Dumbledore called you on a quest, but Voldemort is dangerous…"

"We'll do our best," Frank said dryly.

Mrs. Weasley still looked anxious, but she left to go say goodbye to Ginny.

"Come on," Hermione said. "Mrs. Weasley's right, we should get on the train."

They filed onto the train, one by one. Annabeth was last. She paused at the door, scanning the station. Returning to Hogwarts… Annabeth couldn't place it, but somehow she felt Mrs. Weasley was right. This world felt different, darker, more dangerous.

She cast her mind over what Thalia had said, how she would be in Britain, how Annabeth might see her again. She remembered Nico's strange coin, the letter that had burnt… had that been from Dumbledore? What did Hogwarts have to do with Nico?

"Are you coming?" Percy asked, concern etched on his face.

"Yeah," Annabeth said softly, "I'm coming." She entered the carriage.

On the platform, Draco Malfoy had been looking at her, anger evident on his face. Draco had a mission to do, and he had to succeed. The Americans and their friends didn't stand a chance, though.

Because he knew what he had to do, and he knew how to find out more about the Americans. And there was nothing that could stop him now.

Predictions? I've dropped some clues :D

Ok, so reasons update was later than expected: one reason was because certain events that I'm sure many of you know of have been affecting me, and honestly it's chaos right now. I'm not going to go into that, but yeah.

The second more positive reason is: I got a tumblr! Feel free to check my tumblr out, my username is "percy-the-sorcerer". The link is: percy-the-sorcerer . tumblr . com , without the spaces!

So if any of you have a tumblr please come and say hi, I'd appreciate some help in getting used to the site (it can be a bit intimidating!) Even if you don't have a tumblr feel free to come and check it out, or send me an ask. I'm happy to answer any questions you have, on my stories or otherwise. I will also be posting sneak peeks on the next chapter of my stories and generally talking about them, because it might be easier to do so than on .

I've actually already posted some one-shots on tumblr! I don't like posting one-shots on so while my multichapter stories are here if you want to read the one shots you can find them on my tumblr (I've written one Percabeth/Jasper one-shot, and two Jily one-shots, and also some headcanons on Sally Jackson).

So if any of that sounds cool, it'd be awesome if you checked it out. I'll be working on some more one-shots, but I still hope to post the next chapter of Colliding Worlds soon, and also All's Fair should be updated. Dumbledore's Tale can hopefully be updated today!

As always, the thing that speeds up my writing process the most is reviews. Reviews make me so happy, so if you review thank you :) So please review and I'll try for an even quicker update (I'm not doing much right now, so I should be able to update in a couple of days: the only thing stopping me is motivation because i have other things to do, but more reviews make me even more determined to update).

Thanks, sorry for the long A/N, and till next time!