Disclaimer: All characters, settings, or other story components taken from the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, and Trials of Apollo series belongs to JK Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively. I do not own any of the aforementioned. I do not intend to use this story commercially.

A/N: Hello again! Here is, as promised, the second installment of The Worlds Before Us. This chapter contains spoilers for Order of the Phoenix and characters from the Lost Hero. I will try to publish the next chapter by the 30th of April, but I might not be able to. Please read and review!

"Mail for you, Soph." Parvati hands me a letter from across the table. Rather late in the morning for mail, I think, taking it. Parvati clears her throat "Did you hear? Hermione's getting out of the hospital wing today."

"Is she?" I ask. "That'll be wonderful!" It's been several weeks since our escapade at the Ministry of Magic. Hermione will be the last of us to be released from the infirmary; Ron left yesterday and I left a week before.

I turn my attention to the letter as Parvati gets up and departs, leaving the Great Hall empty save Liliya and me. Amelié's familiar handwriting arches across the parchment in almost flawless copperplate script.

Dear Sophy, I read. Matt and I are quite alright. Unfortunately, there's been several mishaps around the village. Strange things have been happening and people are quite unsettled. The constables are investigating the matter, but folks here are still ready to bar doors and point fingers. We want to see you and I'm sure you'd love to come home, but Matt and I think it would be best if you'd wait until this whole mess blows over. We've contacted the Three Broomsticks about lodging and our friends Tad and Mary (they own Honeydukes, do you remember?) about keeping an eye on you. I'll be in touch, butterfly, and we'll hopefully be at Hogsmeade by Saturday after next. Lots of love as always, Amelié.

I heave a sigh and lean back against the edge of the table. I just want to see the farm! I internally complain. Curse those dratted townsfolk.

"Sophy?" I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

I open my eyes and turn around. "Yeah. Just thinking."

Neville settles down on the bench next to me. "What a phenomenon. May I ask why?"

"The villagers are being arseholes again. Odd mishaps have been going on around the town, apparently, and they're throwing out accusations."

Neville frowns. "I thought you liked my neighbors."

"Well, yes, I do, but those aren't the villagers. We live on the outskirts of town and our closest neighbors are the folks who also own farms or homes away from town. We only really see the villagers when we come into town for groceries or other things."

"Go on," Neville prompts.

"And, since I'm the next candidate in the blame campaign, Amelié and Matt think I should stay in Hogsmeade until the mess blows over." I sigh, resting my chin on my hand. "After all of this, I just want to go home!"

Neville gives me a sympathetic pat on the arm. "I can ask Gran if you can stay with us for a week or two."

I blink, sitting up straighter. "Really?"

"Of course, you ninny! What are friends for?"

A thought comes to me. "Oh, but it's almost the end of term. It'll take too long to get permission and all."

He sighs as well. "You're right. Oh, speaking of which, I need to start packing."

"You haven't started yet?!"

"Sorry!"

I roll my eyes. "Go on, then. I'd better hear from you over the summer."

"Hey! That's my line!"

I laugh. "Go."

He waves, and disappears into the entrance hall. I watch him go, before folding the letter and shoving it back into the envelope.

"Oi, Sophy!" Ron comes running, skidding around a corner and nearly losing his balance. "Who've you been talking to?"

I lift up my chin at his tone. "Neville. Why? Jealous?"

His ears turn pink, and Hermione, close on his heels, bursts out laughing. "Look at that face!" She gives me a hug. "Nice to see you, Sophy."

"Nice to see you, too."

"'Mione just got released from the hospital wing!" Ron announces.

"I figured as much. I missed you lot!"

"Aw, I missed you too." Hermione glances at her watch. "Listen, I need to go. I haven't got a chance to pack at all yet." She waves, and then disappears upstairs.

Ron sits down. "So. Are you coming to the Burrow again this summer?"

I wince. "I don't know, Ron. I have to stay in Hogsmeade for a few weeks. That's as far as I've gotten so far."

Ron hops to his feet. "Too bad! Owl me, then. Mum's determined to see everyone this summer."

I sit down and watch him disappear after Hermione. Before I can process it, a memory tugs at the corner of my mind and I'm sinking into the past.

"C'mon, Liliya." We troop down the lawn. The carriages are loading, and I don't want to have to talk to Madam Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks. Or talk to anyone, for that matter. My trunk is still in my dormitory, hidden under my bed. I'm feeling homesick and annoyed at Amelié and Matt for making me stay here.

I'm around the corner of the lake, a ways away from the busiest side of the castle. A couple minute's walk away is the forest, where I'm headed. It reminds me of the forest back in the Soviet Union, where I used to go to escape.

Funnily enough, I can hear unfamiliar sounds coming from the forest. Clangs and yells float my way along with strangely deep snarls. Liliya's ears pick up, and she looks uneasy.

I pick my way down the hill and come around a corner of the lake. I have a clear line of sight through the woods, and the sight that I see makes me gape with astonishment.

A group of kids are standing in the forest. I can see that they're all teens, and that alone is enough to surprise me. I count five boys and four girls, all my age - fifteen or sixteen. They're wearing Muggle clothing, jeans and tee-shirts. What surprises me the most isn't their various cuts and scrapes or the obvious fact that they've been trampling through the woods - it's their weapons. And their quarry.

A huge beast towers in the clearing. Half-between the size of a rhinoceros and an elephant, it has to squeeze to fit within the trees. And yet, it isn't a pachyderm at all.

It's a dog. It's the biggest dog I've ever seen, a towering mass of shaggy black fur with glowing red eyes and scarily large teeth. The teens, all holding weapons of various sizes and shapes, are fighting it … but I don't see how they can win.

I'm already sprinting toward the clearing, despite the doubts running through my mind. It'll be too late by the time I come back with help, I resolve, even though I know it'll also be too late by the time I get close enough to do anything. As I run, my boot catches on a stone and I trip and fall, sprawling on the hillside.

As I lie on the ground, I can see a hawk turning in the sky. It glides on air currents, flowing, shifting, moving. As if dreaming, I note the ones it'll turn onto next - ones that'll lift him in a circle, higher, or lower. I see the ones that ruffle the trees, or whip my hair about -

I sit up in shock. I can see the air currents. Is this normal? I hope so. Am I dreaming? No, this is too real, unlike any other dream I've had before.

Standing, I focus on a current running near to the ground. I take a deep breath, close my eyes …

Liliya starts to yap. I open my eyes and gasp in shock. I'm hovering two feet above the ground. I switch currents - higher and higher I go, and then back down to the ground. This is surreal, I think, almost laughing hysterically. So surreal. Stumbling as I touch the ground, I look from the castle to the battle and back again.

"Liliya, you stay here. Stay. Sit! Stay. Understand? Stay." I stand, watching her to make sure she stays put. Drawing my wand, I leap for the nearest current.

Flying on the wind is better than broomsticks, I decide as I speed down the hillside, eyes on the battle. Wait for it, I think. Wait … and …

"Impedimenta!" I try, letting a white stream of light jet through the air. The beast in the clearing stumbles back a step, stunned. In an instant, one of the boys is plunging his sword into the beast. As the light leaves the monster's eyes, I blink. It's disintegrating, turning into sand.

As I cautiously land and walk toward the clearing, I'm studying the strangers. They're all in ripped jeans and tee-shirts that read Camp Half-Blood. They're all carrying some sort of weapon - bows and arrows, swords, knives, and one boy even holds a hammer. All nine strangers stare at me: a petite, dark-haired girl in a school blouse and black pants, carrying a nondescript messenger bag. Innocent and normal.

"Hello," I start.

"Hi," some of them awkwardly chorus. Others wave apprehensively. All of them are still staring at me. It's getting a bit creepy.

"Lovely day. What brings you out this way?" A blonde girl asks nonchalantly, like we're meeting in a shopping mall.

"Just out for a stroll," I answer honestly, watching the teens carefully. They're not wizards, I'm almost certain, but Muggles shouldn't have been able to get this far into the grounds. "And you?"

"Same as you," the blonde girl says, shifting slightly. "Just out for a … a …" She's staring, frozen, at something over my shoulder. I turn cautiously. Nothing's there. "Are those ruins?"

"What?" I turn around, and suddenly realize she's referring to Hogwarts. I turn back to the group. "Oh, yes, of course. Why?"

She blinks for a moment, and then slaps herself on the forehead. "Oh, no! Guys," she turns to her friends. "I told you we were going the wrong way!"

I maintain a poker face, struggling to repress my skepticism. Just out for a walk, my arse. No ordinary teens would be out for a walk in a magical forest, especially not escorting a giant killer dog. These teenagers are keeping secrets and, if I'm not mistaken, they're up to something, too.

The blond girl turns back to me with an apologetic smile. "I am so sorry! We've come way off our course. Since these are the ruins, we ought to be heading," she pauses slightly, "that way!" She points behind her, straight into the forest. "Sorry to intrude. Enjoy your walk!" She grasps the elbows of the two boys closest to her and steers them around, marching away into the forest.

I raise an eyebrow. Something is unnaturally off about this group. Besides the giant-monster-dog matter, they're apparently under the impression that I can't tell they're carrying dangerous weapons. What's more, the teenagers aren't from here - they know nothing about the area. Hogwarts is nothing if not completely isolated - there's nowhere for them to have come from. I let them get as far as the edge of the clearing before I speak.

"Erm, excuse me?" I try gently.

The blonde girl turns on her heel, still smiling politely. "Yeah?"

"The nearest town," with the exception of Hogsmeade, I mentally add, "is that way." I point to my left.

"Oh!" The girl blinks and smiles again. "Thanks!" She turns and starts off again.

"And," I add, making her turn, "it's one hundred fifty kilometers away." Populated by a lonely group of cattle-farming Muggles, I continue in my head. "That's, what, ninety miles?"

The group of teens freezes and looks at one another apprehensively. The blonde girl, speechless, crinkles her forehead in nervous thought.

"So," I continue calmly, despite my building sense of foreboding, "what I want to know is, where the heck are you lot from?"

They stare at each other. One girl, who sports spiky black hair, snaps her fingers and smiles falsely at me.

"There's nothing odd about this," she says, her voice oddly soothing. "We're just passing through. We're nothing, not memorable at all."

I stare at her, a growing panic in my gut. "Exactly. Not memorable at all." She nods, but I continue. "A group of unsupervised teens ages away from civilization, all sporting lethal weapons of different forms and using them to slaughter giant rabid dogs. No, I see nothing wrong about this situation at all." I let the sarcasm laced in my voice to tell the exact opposite story.

The teens all react differently to my words. A few simply stare at me in shock. Others turn to look at each other or whisper a few words. The blond girl turns to a dark-haired boy and starts murmuring into his ear.

A series of rapid-fire barking cuts through the awkward silence. I whip around to see Liliya shooting toward us, yapping her stranger! danger! bark.

"Liliya!" I call, a stab of uncertainty running through me. She ignores me, continuing on her beeline path. "Damn it!" I whisper, starting forward. My foot catches on a root and I stumble, but I catch myself and propel myself ahead.

As soon as I step forward, I know that something about that movement was off. Was it the way my stride was longer than normal, or that I landed too lightly? Nevertheless, the thoughts fly from my mind as I reach Liliya's side, reaching for her collar and my wand.

"Confundo!" I whisper as I hook my fingers around Liliya's collar, halting her hostile rush toward the strangers. The spell makes her slow and relax, allowing me to find and hook her leash to her collar. Carefully slipping my wand back into my pocket, I lead Liliya a good distance away from the group of strangers.

Behind me, the teenagers are whispering to each other. In a moment of panic, I think they saw me using magic. But no, I console myself, I had my back turned and I was so careful. What, then, are they talking about? Suddenly, that moment after I tripped flashes back into my mind. With a sickening certainty, I know exactly what the strangers are conversing about so excitedly. I flew. I must have flew, if only for a meter or so! I almost laugh with the eccentricity of the afternoon. Is my life going to get progressively stranger as time goes on? I wonder.

Abruptly, I notice that the clearing is silent. I half-turn around to find the teenagers all staring at each other or at me. I really wish they would stop doing that! I think.

"Sorry about Liliya," I start politely. "She doesn't take kindly to strangers with weapons."

The blond boy nods. "Perfectly understandable. So, um, actually, what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't," I say cautiously. "But it's Sophy."

"Sophy." He nods. "I'm Jason. Pleasure. So, Sophy, we noticed that, um, when you were going to stop your dog, you, er…"

He pauses, confirming my suspicions. "Yes, I tripped," I hedge. "I noticed."

He shakes his head. "No, after that. Right after you tripped. You, erm …"

"Yes?" I prompt.

"Flew," he finishes. "You flew for a few feet."

I nod slowly. "Oh-kay. Great. So, I'm assuming that's more up your alley than mine, so I'll leave that subject of interest to you." I turn, in part to check on Liliya. She's still sitting by my feet, calmer than normal considering the Confundus charm. I feel a stab of guilt for using my magic on my dog, but I push it away. It was necessary at the time.

"You don't seem surprised," another girl points out from behind me. "Isn't a claim that you flew a bit, I dunno, out of the norm?"

I turn around again. "Since you lot showed up," I state, "I've pretty much given into weirdness. So yes, it is out of my norm, but no, I've given up being surprised. It's getting to be a nuisance at this point."

The blond girl steps forward again, hands pressed together. "Sophy, I'm sorry if this is a bit personal, but I must ask you, er, what is your current relationship with your biological parents?"

I bristle slightly, bittersweet memories brimming to the top of my mind. "They've both passed," I state sharply. "Why?"

None of the teens respond. Instead, the blond girl continues. "I'm so sorry, Sophy. Truly. And, apologies for asking, did you know both of your parents well?"

I stare at her coolly, but decide to answer truthfully. "My mother, yes. My father died before I was born."

Some of the teens turn to whisper with one another. The blond girl looks like her thoughts have been confirmed.

"Again, I'm very sorry to hear that, Sophy," she says kindly. She looks like she's going to say more, but the spiky-haired girl clears her throat and raises an eyebrow.

"As we were saying before," she continues, "we should be going."

The blond girl frowns slightly. "How? Like Sophy said, there aren't any towns-"

"Nico says he can take us," the other girl interrupts, pointing to a dark-haired boy half-hidden in the back.

"I can!" he protests at the blond girl's look.

I sit up a bit more. Was I wrong? Are they wizards? Unless the Nico boy can apparate, I can't see how they're planning to get out of here.

"Right, then," the blond girl sighs. The group starts to clump and move together, shifting to form a loose circle. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Sophy," she calls over her shoulder.

"Wait!" I'm up on my feet in an instant. "Not quite yet. You still haven't explained about the giant dog you were fighting or how you got out here. Oh, also, I would love to know why you wanted to know about my parents. And why I can fly, because I'm guessing it has something to do with you lot." On a split-second gut feeling, I mentally flip through the contents of my messenger bag and reach for Liliya's leash. "I want to come with you."

The teens send each other looks. I feel a twinge of doubt when I notice that the blond girl looks almost triumphant, but I don't back down. Some instinct tells me to follow this group, and my instincts are typically accurate.

"Won't you be missed at your home?" The spiky haired girl asks, waving a finger at the forest. She blinks suddenly, as if just realizing that I have to come from somewhere, too.

"Not for a while," I hedge, vowing to send an owl home as soon as possible.

"Oh, alright." The blond girl steps to her left, making a space for me. I hurry to stand next to her, wrapping Liliya's leash securely around my hand. I take the hands of the blond girl and boy. Liliya stays by my side, although she growls shortly when the blond boy steps to close to her paws.

"Just to warn you," the blond girl whispers in my ear, "this thing Nico can do is a bit, okay, really bizarre. Don't worry, though, Nico knows what he's doing."

I blink, a bit concerned. "Um, okay?"

"On three!" Nico calls from across the circle. "One, two," I take a deep breath, "three!"

With a blink of an eye, we're sinking into the shadows of the trees. Darkness descends around me, blotting out my vision.