Ugggghhhh, help me! I'm still sick for so if this chapter is lazy, sorry. Enjoy either way!
Thalia's POV
Thalia realized how quick everyday was going. It was already November nineteen... Six days before the first trial! Not that she had to worry about it for herself.
In the meantime, all the demigods knew that life was becoming worse and worse for Harry. And even Percy.
That morning at breakfast, the demigods sat the Gryffindor table with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Not that Harry and Ron talked. But Thalia did notice that the three of them were sort of... on edge of something. Like they were cautious. But Thalia didn't think too much of it. Maybe they were worried about the first task for Harry.
Percy seemed to pick that up too, "Hey... Harry?" Harry looked up from twiddling his thumbs.
Percy continued, "If you feel unprepared or something... I can help you. I'm trained at these type of things so maybe I can show you a few things that have to do with fighting".
Harry smiled but it seemed forced, "Thanks but I feel okay... Maybe I can get through it with my magic.. "
Percy nodded, "Whatever you want. Just remember you can always ask one of us".
Harry nodded as well and drank some of his pumpkin juice.
While Thalia was 'listening' to Leo and her's conversation on different types of burns, a large cloud of owls flew into the Great Hall and all of them dropped newspapers.
"Oh, it's that newspaper called the Daily Prophet, right?" Piper exclaimed.
Percy groaned and banged his head on the table, "That woman is nosy as Tartarus.. "
"How bad was it?" asked Thalia's brother, Jason.
"Just see for yourself", said Annabeth.
Thalia opened the copy that Kynigos dropped on her. She gave Kynigos a piece of bacon and started reading the newspaper while the now happy owl was munching on her shoulder.
Rita Skeeter was the writer for the newspaper, according to Percy.
Wow. He was not wrong.
She had published her article about the Quadwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament. It was more like a highly depressing life story of Harry and Rita throwing shade at Percy. Much of the front page had been given over to a picture of Harry while there were some a few photographs of Percy. The article (continuing on pages two, six, and seven) had been all about Harry. Meanwhile, Percy received pages three, four, and five. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all.
Oh.. Poor him. He's still a champion too.. HOGWARTS champion... Yeah.
Thalia didn't want to think too much of Cedric. She felt that it might be a bit suspicious to Hecate if the lieutenant of the Hunters was thinking about a boy more than she should... Not that she would.
Thalia started reading more into it.
"Perseus Jackson (who goes by Percy)," it said, "Age seventeen. Percy's school 'Olympus' (page four for more information) is competing in the Triwizard Tournament, now called Quadwizard Tournament. I'm really excited about how I got chosen, he says. I in fact believe I was the only one worthy of such an opportunity. Ah yes, my family.. I don't like to speak of them. No, they don't know of my accomplishment of being a champion. I wish not to speak to them every since my father left and my mother has been remarrying over and over again.. "
How do they know about Percy's dad? And his mom has only remarried once because the first guy was an a-hole!
Thalia could feel her blood pressure rising as she read more and more.
Percy Jackson is currently dating his schoolmate, Annabeth Chase, who is also at Hogwarts cheering him on. How long they'll last.. Who knows? (See page five for more details).
"How did she know about your dad?" Thalia asked Percy while he was banging his head repeatedly on the table.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked at him.
"I don't know... I never told her. And I never implied that my mom was remarrying a lot. She's only done that once because my first step-trash went missing. Probably out drunk somewhere.. " Percy said lifting his head slightly. Thalia knew he said that since everyone else was around because his step-father was actually a statue in some museum.
"Plus, I only told her that Annabeth and I were dating. Everything else is Rita Skeeter wrote was all from her imagination".
"Can't believe she would write this... " Calypso whispered.
"I can. That's just Percy... Wait 'til you see Harry's", said Frank.
Thalia looked around to see Harry's jaw drop angrily as he was reading the paper and Percy just drinking some apple juice with Annabeth rubbing his back affectionately.
"I suppose I get my strength from my parents", that stupid article said, "I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now. Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me... "What is this trash...?
All of a sudden, Ron spit out his pumpkin juice onto his pancakes. He looked mad and got up and left. Hermione noticed this too and said, "Wait, Ron!"
She got up out of her seat and chased after him.
The demigods looked at Harry.
He said, "Did you see page six yet..? I swear this isn't true. None of it is".
Thalia saw some of her friends look down at the paper.
Will looked at the paper strangely, "Did she even had permission to say something like this without your consent?"
Harry shrugged solemnly.
Hazel nodded, "Ahh... I see why Ron would be mad at you... But why would he care about th- "
"Ohh", said Piper quietly, "Uh, I think I know why... But I don't think I should say".
Thalia felt Kynigos fly off her shoulder and Thalia faced back to the paper.
Rita Skeeter had also interviewed other people about him apparently.
"Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school".Oh gods...
"Okay, that's it", Percy said angrily. He moved his plate to the side and stood up on the table.
"Hey man, what are you- " Jason said.
"EXCUSE ME" Percy said very loudly to the Great Hall. Everyone looked his way.
Percy started again, "This article that you are all reading.. None of it is true. I do not believe I'm the only one worthy of competing. All my schoolmates are strong and I believe that everyone here has the chance of winning the Tournament, not just my school. Rita Skeeter lied about my family. I don't hate them or anything, I swear. And what she said about Harry was also a lie. Rita Skeeter took us to a closet and questioned us, but she never put down the answers we said... Thanks for listening or whatever". Then he sat down.
People around them instantly said that they believed him and that he didn't seem like the type of person to say those types of things.
A Gryffindor female even said, "My father works for another popular newspaper! I'll be sure to tell him that the Daily Prophet had lied!"
"Thanks, I guess...?" Percy said.
As the morning went on, Thalia could see the impact of those words. Everyone let Percy off the hook... But Harry... not so much. On usual days, having twelve people surrounding Harry would be strange. So sometimes would switch up different people on different days they would discretely watch over Harry, Hermione, and Ron. At the moment, Thalia, Piper, Will, and Nico were with Harry while Annabeth, Calypso, Frank, and Jason were in the library with Hermione. And Thalia had no clue where Percy, Leo, Hazel, Reyna, and Ron were.
Harry told Thalia's group about how he wished Rita Skeeter hadn't locked herself with him and Percy in a broom closet because this was the outcome. Thalia could notice that as they were passing through a hall.
"Want a hanky, Potter, in case you start crying in Transfiguration?" said a Slytherin witch.
"Since when have you been one of the top students in the school, Potter? Or is this a school you and Longbottom have set up together?" said another Slytherin.
"I bet Percy just said that your words were also a lie because he's friends with you. Such a kind soul!" A Hufflepuff girl gushed.
Wow, they really have it out for him.
"Hey - Harry!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Harry shouted as they wheeled around in the corridor, having had just about enough, "I've just been crying my eyes out over my dead mum, and I'm just off to do a bit more... "
"No - it was just - you dropped your quill".
It was a petite Chinese girl. Thalia could see the obvious rise of colour on Harry's face.
"Oh - right - sorry," he muttered, taking the quill back.
"Er... good luck on Tuesday," she said. "I really hope you do well. "
Which left Harry looking extremely stupid.
As they walked around some more before Harry had some classes, they met up with Hermione, Annabeth, and Calypso. Apparently, Jason and Frank were looking in their personal library to see if they had a book that Hermione wanted badly.
Hermione had come in for her fair share of unpleasantness too, but she hadn't yet started yelling at innocent bystanders -unlike someone Thalia knew.
"Stunningly pretty? Her?" Slytherin girl had shrieked at Hermione after Rita's article had appeared, "What was she judging against - a chipmunk?"
"Ignore it," Hermione said in a dignified voice, holding her head in the air and stalking past the sniggering Slytherin girls as though she couldn't hear them, "Just ignore it".
Too bad Thalia could never hold her mouth.
Except, this time, it was Piper who had called out the Slytherin girl.
"And what would you compare yourself to to make yourselves sound 'stunning pretty'? A goat?"
Good thing she didn't say cow. Scottish Cows are actually really cute.
Pansy opened her mouth in surprised anger, "I wouldn't talk yourself. You're just as round-faced as Chipmunk here!"
Piper retorted, "Ha. Yeah. You wouldn't say that if you knew backstory. My 'school' one or my parent one. Both. Sides".
"Sure, you're parents are probably some low-life drunks by the looks of you".
Piper just walked away, "Again, I wouldn't say that if I were youuuuuu" she trailed off.
And right she is.
Thalia, Piper, Harry, and Annabeth caught up with the rest and Hermione immediately thanked her but said the she wouldn't have to do it for her.
Piper being Piper said, "Don't worry about it. That girl just needed to be put in her place".
Hermione nodded, "Her name is Pansy Parkinson. Her head is about as thick as a troll, honestly.. "
Thalia started laughing way too much.
"Hey, Harry and Hermione. We're going to head off to meet our headmaster. Maybe see you around?" Percy said suddenly.
Harry turned around, "Yes, sure. We're about to go to class anyway. And... Thank you for saying that Rita Skeeter lied about my side too".
Percy nodded, "Yeah, no problem", and they all went in seperate directions.
Once they were far enough for people not to hear them, Reyna said, "So what passage are we taking?"
"The first one I'm guessing" Annabeth said, "She said the one that we just found at the time. Which was the Black Passage".
"Alright," said Reyna.
They walked near the prefects bathroom and Nico circled around the floor; he stepped in the floor in a specific way. When the floor shifted to reveal a door, Leo reached down and typed in fifteen-eighteen-five-seventeen-fourteen-nine-eleven. They stepped into the oadsgae once the door opened. After some time, they finally wandered into the familiar room to see Hecate in there. She had her classic pale-blonde hair in a side braid and a long black dress with silver jewelry. Her eyes were as black as usual and she smiled warmly at them.
"Hello, demigods" she said, "I'm here for any questions you have... But first I would like to talk to Ms. Thalia for a minute. In the meantime, you could explore the room".
They all nodded and Thalia was pretty grateful that Hecate hadn't said 'Ms. Grace'.
She walked over to Hecate, "Ye- "
Hecate stopped her, "Let's talk over here". Then she pointed to a corner of the large bright room.
The room itself was painted grey but there were a lot of lights so it made the room luminescent from the outside. It had multiple statues of different gods and it was filled with random junk. It also had a very long bookshelf filled of books. Thalia kind of liked that room. It's the sorta place that looks like you can be in when you don't feel like talking to anyone.
"So", said Hecate, "I know about your situation.. "
Uh...
"Could you.. continue?" Thalia asked sheepishly.
Hecate looked at her, "Artemis and I are friends more than enemies. And I'll say this, I've never seen Artemis as happy as she is now. I'm not saying that females need a male to be happy. I'm saying, people need each other through friendship. So I completely support her.. Artemis told me, about what she had told you. So you don't need to worry about some things". Then Hecate smiled a bit.
Thalia didn't really know what to say, "She told you?"
"She realized it would be a bit hard for you to keep her secret out of your head".
"Makes sense", Thalia said.
Hecate nodded, "Yes, now.. "
She walked towards the middle and Thalia followed her. She conjured a whole bunch of chairs very quickly.
"Please sit", she said to the demigods.
They all did as they were told and she started, "All right... So I'll start with this. Yes, I can sorta see into the future, but only those with the magic that I have. And, I can't exactly see what's going to happen, I can only sense it and know what people will be involved. And I never tell anyone what happens just in case my actions start something... "
Frank raised his hand, "So you can sense when something bad will happen".
".. Yes. That's exactly why I asked for all of you specifically. Each and every one of you have an important part in helping the world. Let's say, if a war got out between the wizards again, then this time, it won't be as shushed up as the last one with the evil wizard Grindelwald... And I can sense multiple causalities. And it hurts to see my own people die. Even when I chose the to be on the titans side during the second Titan war... I did it because I felt we would be the side that would win. The sooner it's over, the less deaths. Plus, I was just very upset at the Olympians. I'll tell you this, before you group of kids came along, the Olympians were very different... Crueler. Including me".
"Yeah. I know", said Calypso folding her arms. Leo put his hand on her shoulder softly.
"So you need all of us?" Leo asked.
Hecate nodded.
"Wait, I have a question too", Nico said, "How come you didn't prevent Harry from being entered? Couldn't you have used your magic on the cup to take it out?"
Hecate looked down, "The cup is not the magical one. It's me. The 'goblet of fire' is just a goblet that the earlier generations used to cover up my presence. I choose who gets to compete in every tournament. I chose Percy, Fleur, Cedric, and Krum. But I never chose Harry".
Percy looked surprised, "You chose me?"
Hecate nodded, "It was a very tough decision but yes".
The demigods and Hecate spent a while in that room, talking about the cup, her magic, her senses and directions. It was probably over three hours.
"Now", Hecate wrapped up, "I think you all should start heading off. It is six afterall".
Thalia looked up at the clock on one of the walls. It was six twenty-three.
"Yeah, thanks for seeing us.. " Jason said.
She nodded happily, "Do well, heroes".
They walked down the black tunnel and got out of the passage.
"Well, that was interesting", said Leo.
"Yeah. Totally", said Jason.
As they were walking back to the dorms, someone from around the corner saw them.
"Hey", said Cedric, smiling at them.
"Hey, Cedric" Percy said.
"Uh, I was actually looking for you guys".
"Really", asked Thalia, "Why?"
Cedric put his hand behind his neck, "Well, I don't know if you guys have heard but this Saturday, all the headmasters are going to let their students go to Hogsmeade. And, since you all probably haven't been there before, maybe I can show you around?"
Aw, that's nice of him. Well, I mean, he is a Hufflepuff. It must be scary for him to do the first task next Tuesday... Hopefully he does well.
"Well, thanks for the offer. Uh, sure, we'll take you up on it. We've never been to Hogsmeade after all. Isn't it an all wizarding village?" Thalia said.
Cedric smiled, "Yeah, Hogsmeade is pretty cool. They have a lot of different shops there including libraries, supplies, pranks, sweets- "
"Oooooh", said Leo.
Calypso looked at him menacingly, "I swear Leo, if you get another sugar rush, I'm not calling the fire depart- "
"He has a terrible affect from eating a lot of sugar", said Annabeth quickly. Then she stared at Percy in a way that said 'you too'."Which is exactly why Calypso and I will be watching over him and Percy".
Both Leo and Percy looked down while Nico, Will, and Jason snickered.
"Well, meet me at the courtyard on Saturday then", Cedric said.
They all agreed and parted ways. While they were walking opposite directions, Thalia turned back at Cedric. At the same time, he turned back at her. They both smiled at each other and turned back quickly.
This... This was going to be a problem for Thalia.
...
That's all! Bye! Next update 1/16/20
-E.V