Draco Malfoy stood in front of the Vanishing Cabinet again. He opened it and placed a green apple inside. After he shut the door close, he brought up his wand and murmured a spell. After a moment, he opened the Vanishing Cabinet to find it empty. He closed it once more and murmured the spell twice. He smirked when he opened the Cabinet and saw the green apple that was nearly perfect.
With my chin resting on my palm, I sighed as Professor Slughorn reminded us about the 30-inches essay on something-or-other (which I haven't even started yet) that was due three days from now. While the students were bolting out of the room when class was dismissed, I was still gathering my things. The only ones that stuck around were Percy, Nico, Annabeth and Draco. I wasn't really surprised with Draco since I usually left before him.
"What's up with you?" asked Percy.
"You're so sluggish today," added Annabeth.
"I haven't had my daily caffeine yet," I answered.
"So that's why you look like the walking dead?" asked Nico.
"Mm-Hm," I nodded. "Question, should I get the Cinnamon Dolce Latte today or the Vanilla Spiced Latte?"
They shrugged. "I don't drink Latte, so I don't know what to pick," said Percy.
"That's very helpful Percy."
"Get the cinnamon one," suggested Nico.
I nodded. "Since you're Italian Nico, I trust your judgment. Anyways, you guys go ahead. I need my caffeine before I deal with Hagrid's pets for the day." They nodded and left for their next class.
The hallway to the kitchen was empty, which hadn't surprised me since everyone was in class. Once I reached the Bowl of Fruits painting, I tickled the pear, turning it into a doorknob. I opened the magical door and found an elf standing before me.
"Hello, Ms. Ariana Jackson. I'm Dobby," he greeted cheerily. "Can I get you anything?"
"Er, yeah. Um, would you mind making me a Cinnamon Dolce Latte?" I requested.
"Yes, of course, Miss! Please wait right there."
Once he was gone, I sighed. "You know, you could walk with me instead of behind me like a stalker, Draco."
I turned around and saw Draco coming out from the statue that he was hiding behind. He grinned sheepishly, "How did you know that I was there?"
"Instinct."
"Well, in that case, you have really great instincts."
I laughed. "You have no idea. My instinct saved my butt numerous times in numbers of occasions." For a moment there, I thought I saw concern in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came that I must have imagined it. "So why were you following me?"
Draco shrugged. "I didn't really want to go to that class, so I decided to follow you."
"Really? I actually find that class to be fun, if you ask me."
He raised an eyebrow. "Those things are dangerous. They could kill you."
I laughed. Oh Draco, if only you knew what my life was like. As soon as I stopped laughing, Dobby came back with my latte. "Here you go, Ms. Jackson." He looked behind me, before I could say thanks, his eyes widened with fear. "Mr. Malfoy," he bowed.
"Dobby," sneered Draco.
Sensing that a storm was about to come, I said a quick thanks to Dobby and dragged Draco out of there. Once we were out of earshot, I asked, "You know him?"
He nodded. "He used to be my family's house elf before that saint Potter set him free," Draco spat.
"About that," I said. "Why are you both at each other's throat all the time?"
"He and little group always get the attention. Even if they break the rules every single year, they still manage to stay in Hogwarts."
"In other words, you're jealous that they have all of the attention." He hadn't responded so my guess was that I was correct. I looked straight ahead. "Attention isn't all that good you know."
"What do you mean?"
"I am willing to bet my life that the attention they get is from Voldemort trying to kill them, more specifically Harry."
He shrugged. "I guess I understand what you are trying to say." He took a sip of the latte when I offered him some. The ends of his lips turned up. "That's good."
"Amazing isn't it?" I agreed as I took the cup back. "Are you going to Slughorn's Christmas party this Wednesday?"
"No. I'm not. It's stupid."
"You're not? Shame, I was thinking of asking you to be my date for that." I tried to beat down the disappointment building up in me. Keyword: tried. The silent walk to Hagrid's class was the most awkward experience I've ever had in my life.
I hissed as Piper yanked the brush through my hair. "Stay still!" scolded Katie as she tried to apply the silver eye shadow. "It's not my fault if Piper pulls on my hair." Katie rolled her eyes and continued working on my eyelids. I never knew Piper and Katie were talented in makeup and hairdos. Well, Piper I expected since her mother was Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, but Katie? That threw me off.
After what seemed like hours, they were finally done. When I looked into the mirror, I could barely recognize myself. My hair was up in a half ponytail held by the green metal flower clip with pearl in the middle that Paul gave me for Christmas. I had light makeup on, and surprisingly, I don't look like a clown. I've seen enough girls in Goode that wore a ton makeup that I sometimes wonder if they were clowns promoting a circus show or something.
They smiled as I murmured, "Thanks." I walked down to the Hearth and found all of the demigods minus Piper and Katie waiting. Thalia threw me an amused glance, "You became their prisoner, too?"
I nodded. "Greetings, fellow inmate." She and everyone in the room were victims to Katie and Piper. And when I said everyone, I meant everyone; the guys weren't even spared. We girls had our hair done in a way we normally don't do, and we have a light makeup on. Even Clarisse had one. The guys were in tuxes and suits and had their hair styled with a little bit of gel.
"I thought I would never see the day were you girls would be wearing makeup," commented Nico.
"I thought I would never see the day where you guys would be wearing a tux," I replied.
"Touché."
"Is everyone ready?" asked Katie as she came down with Piper.
"I suppose it's too late to back out now, right?" asked Thalia.
"Yup!" replied Katie, popping the 'P.'
"Well," said Thalia as she got up from the couch. "If you can't beat 'em you might as well join 'em. Let's go. The faster we get this done, the faster I can get out of this constricting dress."
The first thing that came into my mind when I entered the party room was old. Everything was outdated, from the décor to the lights to the men's "dress robes." Even the old Olympus looks newer than this crap, and that is saying something.
"You're mother would have a heart attack if she sees what the men are wearing," I whispered to Piper.
"You're telling me," she agreed. "I'm not into fashion that much but this is ridiculous."
"At least the girls' dresses are good," I added. They nodded their heads. "I'm going to go over to the refreshments and eat what's edible. Later."
"You'd eat anything, even if it's not edible," murmured Percy.
Thalia, Piper, Clarisse and I stood at the balcony with drinks in our hands. Katie and Annabeth went to dance with their boyfriends, Travis and Connor, Lou Ellen mingled with the other wizards, sharing spells and whatnots and the other guys, well, did their own things.
Well, to be more accurate, I stood there while my three friends surrounded me like a wolf.
"Okay. Spill it," demanded Piper.
"Spill what exactly?" I asked.
"You know!" said Clarisse. "What's going on between you and the Slytherin Prince?"
I stiffened. Almost immediately, my guard was up. "Slytherin Prince? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with us, Ariana," interjected Thalia. "We've seen the way you two interact with each other."
I raised my eyebrow. "We interact with each other the way classmates should interact."
Piper raised her eyebrow. "Really? Classmates don't sneak off every Friday night and be gone together for a long period of time."
I scoffed. "Well, maybe I'm part of a club."
"The only club this school has is Quidditch," retorted Clarisse, deadpanned.
"Well?" insisted Thalia.
I sighed, knowing that there's no way out of this one. "It's nothing. We are just friends. There is nothing going on between the two of us." My hand tightened on the glass that I was holding as the liquid in it swirled like a whirlpool. The truth hurts but what could I do? Draco was a wizard on a mission for Voldemort (yes, I knew that he is the boy in my dreams) and I was a demigod on a mission to stop Voldemort. I smiled bitterly. A well planned game, Aphrodite, a well planned game.
"Nothing?" said Piper. Apparently, they hadn't noticed my change in attitude. "I've seen the way he looks at you. And as my mother's daughter, I can feel that he has feelings for you. I know that the feeling is mutual."
Cheesy as it sounds, my heart skipped a beat as my breath got caught. Maybe there can be still hope for us. Before I could open my mouth to reply, Professor Snape showed up. "I have news for you four to tell your cousins."
Straight to the point, isn't he? "Well, hello to you too, Professor. Has your evening been lovely? I must say that mine has been wonderful."
He frowned at my sarcasm. "Dumbledore is gone on a trip. I can't say where. He'll be gone until the end of the term. That is all." He turned and left us staring at him.
"He doesn't beat around the bush, does he?" commented Clarisse.
"Neither do you," said Piper. Clarisse just shrugged.
"I guess we better tell the others," suggested Thalia.
"You guys go. I'll be turning in early. I'm exhausted." Without waiting for a response, I slipped pass them and into the crowd.
Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I was having a bit of a writer's block, you know? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I am currently working on the next chapter. Hopefully I'll get it up sometime this week, tomorrow at the earliest. But please don't hold your breaths; I don't want to be responsible for any of your deaths ;-P Please tell me if you guys see any errors in it since I hadn't proofread it at all. Feel free to give constructive criticisms and please no flamers. I don't own the Harry Potter nor Percy Jackson books. See ya, chickas! . . . chickos if you're a guy. (does that word even exist?) . . . Oh! Before I forget. If you guys have read the chapter that has Umbridge in it, you've read the wrong version. I just uploaded the right one. Sorry about all the confusion. I hope you guys enjoy the right version.