Chapter 8: Percy

The past few days at Grimmauld Place were really fun. Hermione, Ron and Harry had really warmed up to us and the process of cleaning the house was quite fun. We got to spend time with each other and it was good. Harry, Hermione and Ron were good people, and good friends. Today, we got our equipment and we were heading down to Diagon Alley. The Golden Trio were shocked when they said we needed to get wands. My wonderful girlfriend came to the rescue though,

"We used wands in America, but we were told that since the cores are different in America and for a different style, we needed to get new ones once we came to Britain." All of us managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Wise Girl," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth

"What would you do without me Seaweed Brain," she replied. She hit my arm playfully and we were told we were travelling by Floo Powder. Essentially, it's this funny powder that when you step into a fireplace and throw it at your feet, it teleports you to your desired location.

"Now speak very clearly, shout Diagon Alley, and then throw the Floo Powder at your feet. Harry went first, followed by Ron and Hermione. They all shouted Diagon Alley very clearly and they probably went to the perfect location. "Percy, you first." I swallowed and stepped into the fireplace. Even though it went well for everyone else, I was still apprehensive and thought it may not work. I grabbed some Floo Powder and shouted

"D-DIAGON ALLEY!" The next feeling I got was constricting my throat and flipping my stomach. It felt like I was squeezed into a tiny hole and was suffocating. I travelled down this hole and in a few seconds, I popped up in a place that must've been Diagon Alley. I saw Harry, Hermione and Ron looking at me.

"Well done!" Harry exclaimed. "The first time I did that I ended up in a complete other place," he said, grinning. My face must've paled and Hermione replied

"Your friends will probably get through fine." No matter what she said, I was still worried about what would happen if my friends didn't make it. However, I need not have doubted, as all of my friends came through, looking sick but happy. Except Hazel who looked very sick, but moody and angry, not happy.

(Disclaimer: I'm just going to say that one of the members of the Order, probably McGonagall because she's the only one other than Dumbledore to know about them being demigods, got the money from the Gringotts Vault the gods created, so all of them have plenty of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts!)

Let's do some shopping!" Annabeth shouted.

We all nodded and decided to explore the abstract attractions of Diagon Alley. We first decided to go into Flourish and Blotts, the book shop. Mostly because Annabeth wouldn't stop jumping up and down like a little girl when it came to books. She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me inside. I flashed the others a look at said Help Me! To my relief, they followed and I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking them that we wouldn't spend five hours shopping for books. Frank (The only one who didn't have dyslexia) grabbed the booklist and told us what to buy. We grabbed seven copies of each as the Weasleys had already bought the books for their children, Harry and Hermione.

After about an hour, we finally exited Flourish and Blotts and decided to go into Madam Malkins, where we would buy our school robes. We were told that we had to have three sets of plain black robe and a pointed black hat for day wear. We also needed a winter coat because the winter was deliriously cold here. The boys had to wear long black pants while the girls had to wear a black skirt, with the options of wearing pants instead. The boys' uniforms were quite easy, while the girls spent quite a lot longer. They ended up buying two skirts and two pants, even though we were only supposed to buy three.

After that we went to the Apothecary right next door to stock up on Potions ingredients. We went to Potage's Cauldron Shop to get pewter cauldrons for potions and then we went into Eeylops Owl Emporium to get owls for all of us. I was skeptical that they might attack me, but Hecate seemed to have worked that out with Athena and they didn't kill me. I bought a handsome Brown owl, Annabeth bought a beautiful Tawny Owl as did Jason. Piper bought a Screech Owl, while Frank and Hazel bought brown owls. Leo, wanting to stand out, bought a snowy owl, just like Harry's. Harry and Ron stocked up on owl treats for their owls and we mirrored them. Feeding our owls the same treats. We paid and hurried off, going to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Florean greeted Harry,

"Hello Harry, you finally back to try and get some free ice-creams? I'll let you have all of them free, because I like you!" He said winking. We all got the ice-creams we wished for and slurped them down with gusto. We decided to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies next as Harry wanted to get a broom-servicing kit. Jason and Annabeth also wanted to get brooms to play Quidditch. They seemed very interested, so they got themselves Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. According to Harry, they were very good quality brooms. Ron stood there with his mouth wide open, shocked that we just spent so much money. Hermione shut it for him and we strolled into Ollivanders. In my opinion, Ollivanders looked quite shabby. It was very small, except for a very small, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of boxes were piled up, right to the ceiling of the tiny shop. All of them having a thick layer of dust to them. I was just observing them when an old man emerged from the door. He was pale and balding and the little hair he had left was very gray. He cast us all a look and clapped his hands.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you Americans. Dumbledore said that you would be attending Hogwarts." He said with a smile dancing on his face.

"Are you Ollivander?" Hazel asked.

"Why yes, my dear. I presume you came for wands and not to chit-chat with me. Miss. Chase, let's start with you." Annabeth stepped forward nervously. I dragged her back and gave her a quick kiss.

"Good luck Wise Girl." She smiled happily and walked forward. Ollivander returned with a wand.

"Try, this. Poplar, twelve inches, reasonably springy, dragon heartstring." Annabeth gave the wand a wave but Ollivander snatched it out immediately.

"How about this one, Pine, nine and a half inches, sturdy, unicorn hair ." Annabeth gave the wand another wave but again, Ollivander snatched it out of her grasp. He did this for two other wands until he came out with another box.

"Hmmm, perhaps, this one! Olive, eleven inches, quite pliant, nice for transfiguration, phoenix tail feather. Annabeth gave this wand a wave, and red sparks came out.

"Oh Bravo! Yes!" Ollivander said. "Miss Levesque, please come forward." Hazel stepped forward and waited for Ollivander to return.

"Poplar, eight and a half inches, Unicorn Hair, Unyielding." Hazel picked up the wand and waved it and a gust a wind blew from the tip. "Treat this well Miss. Levesque. Miss Mclean?" Piper stepped forward and went to receive her wand.

"Apple, ten inches, unicorn hair, good for charmwork," Piper picked up the wand and waved it. Flowers erupted from the tip of the wand. "Apple wood is very rare is great for people with personal charm. I think you have plenty." Ollivander whispered.

"Now for the boys. Mr. Valdez, please come up." Leo bounded up and posed for Ollivander, who shook his head. He vanished to look for a wand. "Cypress, seven and a half inches, phoenix tail feather." Leo took it and gave it a wave and the temperature in the room rose by about ten degrees. "Be careful Mr. Valdez, this wand bonds well with those who are self-sacrificing.

Mr. Grace, you next." Jason walked up and waited while Ollivander went to get a wand. "Oak, twelve inches, dragon heartstring." Jason took and flourished the wand and electricity crackled from the wand tip. "Mr. Grace, this wand demands a partner of great strength… you must be strong.

Mr. Zhang, you will receive your wand now." Ollivander returned a short while later, with a new box. "Try this one, Mahogany, thirteen inches, phoenix tail feather." Frank waved the wand and purple sparks were emitted from the tip. "Mr. Zhang, This wand needs a strong, safe, protective owner.

Treat it with care. Finally, Mr. Jackson please come up now." I walked up to Ollivander who assessed me. He walked into the back and got a wand. "Hmmm… Ash, eleven and a half inches, dragon heartstring." I took the wand and took a deep breath. I waved the wand and water erupted from the tip. "Very interesting Mr. Jackson. Ash wood is extremely loyal to it's true owner. The owner may be stubborn and courageous and will never sway from his beliefs. This makes it, a very interesting, definitive wood type." Ollivander finished. We all thanked Ollivander and paid for our wands and went to the Leaky Cauldron. From there we went back to Grimmauld Place. At dinner Mrs. Weasley gave a reminder

"Listen children, school starts in two days. You need to pack your trunks by tomorrow so we can get to the platform on time." She said. The seven of us looked bewildered. We were going by train? Wouldn't the muggles see them if we went by a huge magical train. After dinner the four boys went up to our room, while Harry, Hermione and Ron decided to stay downstairs for a while. We rushed upstairs and changed. Leo kept grumbling.

"This feels so weird."

"What feels weird? Frank replied

"This body."

"I know what you mean, I hate being stuck in this body."

"Guys! Shut up, anyone could hear us!" I shouted. They quietened down after that. Little did we know that Ron was outside the door, clinging to our every word.

Oooooh, Cliffhanger. What will happen next? Mostly it will be continued suspicions and getting on the Hogwarts Express. Sorting will probably happen chapter after next. We also hit 600 views! Also thanks again to FieryGirl101 for the continued support by reviewing!

Anyways, I should probably explain the wands…

Annabeth: Olive because it's sacred to Athena, even though it isn't used in wand-making. Phoenix tail feather as she uses her intelligence to come up with a wide range of scenarios. Phoenix feather produces the widest range of magic.

Hazel: Poplar because it's sacred to Hades/Pluto. It is also best with a witch of clear vision. I just felt like this suited her even more because she knows the difference between right and wrong and she can also bend the mist to make others vision cloud

Piper: Apple because it's sacred to Aphrodite. It's a very rare wand-wood and is paired well with an owner of great charm. She is very beautiful and she can charmspeak, so it fits.

Leo: Hephaestus doesn't have a sacred tree so I chose Cypress because a cypress tree was found to be nearly impervious to flame. Much like Leo. Cypress wood in a wand always works best with an owner who is self-sacrificing and willing to die a heroic death. Much like when Leo sacrificed himself at the end of Blood of Olympus.

Jason: Oak because it's sacred to Zeus/Jupiter. English Oak wood requires an owner who it requires a partner of power and someone who is strong and loyal. Jason fits all those categories so it works well with his character.

Frank: Again, Mars/Ares doesn't have a sacred tree. Instead, I chose one that fit his character. Mahogany wood represents strength, safety and protectiveness. All represent Frank as he is extremely strong and will protect his friends with everything he's got.

Percy: I chose Ash because it's sacred to Poseidon. Ash wood bonds are very strong with it's first owner. Witches and Wizards who carry ash wands stick strongly to their beliefs and seen as stubborn and courageous. This fits Percy perfectly as he is stubborn and his beliefs about equality never sway, most notably shown in The Last Olympian.

~RedGods