darklilyofthevalley: Yeah, I usually make my prophecies way too long, but this time I managed to keep it short. Thanks for noticing.
ChickWithThePurpleGuitar: Thank you, I tried to make the backstory believable. I'm glad you liked it!
And thank you to my other reviewer for the previous chapter, MeggyMooMoo and Masterofbugs123.
The next day, Annabeth was ready to go. She had said good-bye to everybody, and was fully packed. She waited by the camp's entrance for Chiron. When he showed up, Annabeth said the question that had been bothering her all morning: "How will I get to England?" An eleven-year-old can't exactly just get onto a plane without any questions. Plus, there were plenty of dangerous mortals out there, and while her bronze dagger may have been useful on monsters, it would go right through mortals, as if they weren't there.
"I'm having an old friend of mine meet you," the centaur explained. Then, as if right on cue, a man appeared right in front of them. He appeared to be very old, with a long, white beard. The man wore glasses shaped like semi-circles, and had bright blue eyes that seemed to be full of life, despite his old age. "Ah, Albus. Good to see you again," the man shook his hand. "Annabeth, this is my good friend, Professor Albus Dumbledore. He's the headmaster of Hogwarts."
Annabeth nodded politely. "Nice to meet you, sir," she said.
"He will be taking to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies," he told her.
"But how did he get in?" Annabeth demanded. "I thought mortals can't see the camp!"
"Most cannot," Chiron agreed, "but Dumbledore is not just any mortal. He's not just any wizard, either. He is aware of the gods and half-bloods, but no other wizards is, so . . . um . . . don't be advertising that you're the daughter of Athena. As for your other question, I gave him permission to enter."
Dumbledore nodded. "Are you ready to go, Annabeth?" his voice was deep and wise.
Annabeth nodded confidently. "Sure!"
"Take my hand," the professor said. Annabeth looked a bit nervously at Chiron, but the centaur nodded calmly, and she took it. And in a loud CRACK! the two were gone.
They reappeared in the middle of a street that Annabeth did not recognize. "Wha-what in Hades' name was that?"
"That is called apperating," Dumbledore explained. "You'll learn to do it when you are older."
"Cool!"
Dumbledore nodded, "follow me," he said, leading Annabeth into a bar. Annabeth, having no other choice, followed the strange man into the pub.
A girl, around fifteen, nodded politely to them. Her long dark hair was in a long French braid down her back, it bobbed up and down when she nodded. Annabeth guessed, due to her dark complexion and accent, was Indian. "Good day, Professor. Did you have a nice summer?" the girl asked.
"I did, thank you," Dumbledore said. "And I hear you have been chosen to be Ravenclaw's new prefect?"
The girl blushed slightly. "Yes, sir."
"Excellent. Well, as prefect, I will now give you your first responsibility," he motioned to Annabeth. "This is Annabeth Chase, she is a first from America and needs someone to show her around and help her get set up. Do you think you are up to the challenge?"
Annabeth looked confused. "You mean, you're not taking me?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid now. I have to get to the castle early for some last minute preparations before the school year." and with that, he disappeared with a loud CRACK!
"Why are we in a bar?" asked Annabeth, "I'm too young to drink." She had once tried wine before. It had tasted horrible! Just thinking about it made her want to gag.
Padma laughed. "We're not here to drink," she said, leading her to the back of the pub. She pulled out a wand and tapped the bricks in a specific order. Annabeth tried to memorize it, in case she would need to know it for later. What happened then astonished her. The bricks began to move, they left a large gagging hole that had to be at least seven feet tall! She made a mental note that if she ever was to design a building, she should put something like that in.
They stepped outside, and Annabeth peered around. They appeared to be in some sort of market. There were shops everywhere, and lots of people walking around. Most people wore long, black capes. Some even had pointy hats.
"Alright, let's get started!"
Robes, a cauldron, and her school books, were easy enough to find. As they shopped, Padma explained some basic things about Hogwarts. She explained about the four houses, some of the classes and teachers, and a bit about the famous Gryffindor boy, Harry Potter. Annabeth listened intently to every word, and asked the occasional question.
Padma glanced at the supplies list. "Alright, so the last thing you need is a wand," she said. Padma pointed to a shop across the street. "Go in there, Olivander is the best wand maker in existence. I have some shopping to do of my own. When you're done, meet me here, got it?"
Annabeth nodded, and stepped into Olivander's Wand Shop. A boy around her age was standing at the counter, and an old man stood behind it. There was a large pile of boxes to the boy's left. She cleared her throat. "Um . . . excuse me?" she said. The man looked at her, and the boy turned around. "Are you Mr. Olivander?" she asked.
"Yes," the man said. "How can I help you?"
"I'm Annbeth Chase," she said, "I'm new here and I need a wand."
"Very well, Annabeth," Olivander said, "I will see what I can do. I shall be back in a moment." He turned to the boy. "Just keep waving," he told him.
The boy looked a bit suspicious. "How will I know when I have the right one?"
"You will know." Was all he said, and then disappeared into the back of the shop.
"Hi," the boy said to Annabeth, "I'm Vaisey. Aleron Vaisey." Vaisey had medium-brown hair, and hazel eyes. He wore new, very expensive-looking robes. He waved a wand around, accidently shattering a window in the process. "Oops," he blushed. "Err . . . that never happened." He smiled a bit sheepishly.
Olivander returned shortly with a large stack of boxes. "Try this," he told Annabeth, handing her a wand. It was light brown in color and was heavy in weight. "Ash, eight and a half inches, dragon heartstring, somewhat springy."
Annbeth, mimicked what Vaisey had done, and waved it around. A shelf collapsed. "I think this wand is broken," she said.
"No, it is perfectly normal," Olivander said, "try this." He handed her a dark brown wand that was somewhat heavier than the last one. "Wenge, eleven inches, unicorn hair, reasonably flexible." Annabeth waved it, the same thing happened. "Alright, apparently not."
"Hey!" Vaisey cried excitedly, "I think I found it! Look!" he waved a wand and fireworks shot out.
"Sweet!" Annabeth shouted.
Olivander took the wand and studied it. "Mahogany, eleven point nine centimeters, Chimaera scale, somewhat pliable. This is a powerful wand, use it well," he said.
Vaisey nodded, grabbing the wand greedily. "See you, Annabeth!" he called, and dashed out the door.
Annabeth tried at least a dozen wands before finding her match: Bloodwood, ten inches, Phoenix feather, slightly flexible. When she left the shop, Annabeth found Padma Patil waiting for her.
"Took you long enough," she huffed. "Now," she said, scanning the list. "That's everything you need. But if want, you can get a pet. How do you feel about owls?"
It should be noted that Olivander used inches when speaking to Annabeth because she was American.
It starts getting better in the next chapter. Please review!