An: Once again, sorry for the long wait! College apps are kicking me in the you know where!
Not to mention school. UG.
Anyway, thanks to all the newcomers and the old alike!
Feel free to express your opinions.
Rose
Hermione hated stares. She hated it when she first went to primary school and felt the stares of her fellow peers, curious and accusatory. She hated it when she received her owl from Hogwarts and her parents stared at her as if she was some specimen from a laboratory or a new dental infection they discovered in poor candy-lover Sally's dentures. She hated it when she went to Hogwarts and people on the train stared at her for helping a poor boy find his lost toad.
Her hate still applied today.
Hermione had gotten used to ignoring these stares and merely returned to her plate, which automatically was filled with all her favorites. She vaguely wondered if there were house-elves around before dismissing the idea. It was another question for another day. She didn't want to abuse the poor children too much. Heck, she was probably already confusing them with her magic, although she had to admit that it was all very amusing.
"Um...Miss Granger?"
Hermione looked up and smiled," Percy. I think you can call me Hermione, don't you? Besides, it makes me feel like I'm at school again."
"Oh...er... Hermione? You need to thank the gods. Er... throw some of your food into the fire over there. "
Hermione frowned. Well that was a total waste of food! The gods didn't even need food, much less steal it from ravenous campers like herself.
Hermione shrugged, "I'm sure that Hades has had his fill. He wouldn't want any mortal food, anyhow."
The others gaped at her as she reached forward for her drink, pumpkin juice, and began her lunch. Percy stared at her as if she had snakes in her hair. Nico looked awed and impressed, while the girl next to her just laughed in glee.
"Oh, I'm sorry. How terribly rude of me," Hermione said, turning to the girl, "My name is Hermione Granger. Who are you?"
"I'm Rachel," she said, "I'm the oracle."
Hermione flinched. Oracle? It seemed that Divination was following her everywhere. She liked to stay away from prophecies if faith didn't mind.
"You aren't going to give me a prophecy are you?" Hermione said apprehensively.
Rachel laughed, "No. At least I don't think so. It usually just comes to me, you know."
"Oh," Hermione said, intrigued. "Do you practice Divination? Do you have any different methods of 'seeing' as magical folk do? And what exactly do you mean when you say Oracle? What-"
Hermione trailed off, blushing as she realized her rambling questions. Darn, her overzealous mouth.
Rachel laughed, seeing Hermione's expression, "Don't worry about it. People ask me that all the time. Well, you see-"
Before Rachel could answer some questions, a large explosion occurred in the middle of the lunch area. As quick as, well lightning, the demigods took a defensive position, pulling weapons out of invisible places. Hermione on the other hand, merely gripped her wand and muttered an curse.
The fire in the middle of the lunch area settled down, forming a figure of a man. Hermione heard Percy groan at the sight, and she wondered if he had seen this all before. Her question was answered when the fire figure solidified into a man of flesh and bone. He stepped out of the dying embers and glanced at the tense campers with an amused, almost haughty glance. His eyes swept over to the Hades table, frowned, and turned toward the Poseidon table.
Hermione squinted at the man before recognizing the overbearing and condescending aura that seemed to roll out from this person. She merely crossed her arms and yelled, "You!"
"Er... Hermione? That's not such a good ide-"
Hermione ignored Percy's warning and marched toward the man. With her hands on her hips (Molly would have been so proud) she gave the man the most Malfoy-like glare she could muster and said, "Oh, decided to show up, did you?"
"Nice to see you too, daughter."
Rolling her eyes at the collective gasp, Hermione turned to Hades, "I am not your daughter."
"Your blood says otherwise."
"My blood," she coughed, glaring at the god, "I have been tortured, maimed, carved upon, and cursed on because of my blood. I am a mudblood, in case you didn't know."
With this said, she rubbed at her arm, still feeling the cursed scar branding her like an animal.
"That's enough."
Hermione shut her mouth, feeling the authoritative aura wash over her. She took a hesitant step back, feeling, for the first time, slightly wary and afraid of her so-called father.
"I didn't come here to speak to you."
Hermione froze, before taking another step back. She watched as Hades glanced behind her and nodded at an unknown figure.
"I need to speak to my son."
Percy knew exactly what was going to happen when that fire explosion occurred. In his mind, he was screaming dang, dang, dang, dang, dang in Latin, before realizing what he was doing. He thought Hades was coming to punish Hermione personally for not sacrificing the food, or not sitting at the Hades table.
He did not expect this.
Percy held Riptide tightly in his hand as Hades walked up to Nico. Before, Nico had been hiding in the shadows, glancing at the occurrence with a critical eye. Now he was standing straight and tall, kind of like an army soldier, and Percy wondered why that was so.
"Son."
"Father."
Percy wondered if they always addressed each other like this. From what he remembered, Hades was a much more talkative god, at least when he was threatening him and his buddies.
Hades glanced around at the silent campers before raising his voice, "I have a Quest!"
A collective gasp echoed and Percy merely tightened his lip. This did not bode well.
"My son, Nico, I ask you to retrieve a missing item."
Percy glanced worriedly at his buddy. Finding missing items never worked. He should know.
"It is a scepter. I ask you to retrieve my scepter."
Well. That was vague.
"What is its name, father?"
"It is nameless." Hades replied. "Retrieve it for me."
Nico shrugged nonchalantly, although Percy could see the dark circles already forming under the kid's eyes, "Until when?"
"Paskha (1)."
"Am I allowed to bring anyone on this quest?"
Hades turned to Percy, before grinning. Percy felt slightly peeved but held it in, considering that it was no good to mess with a god, even if it was a melodramatic man like Hades.
"You would need four."
With that said, Hades disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a slightly tense water boy, a stressed prince of the dead, an amused oracle and a very angry witch.
(1) Greek for Easter.
