WTF Annabeth
Chapter 7

Hermione.

Harry Potter was a nice guy, but his American friends were weird, and Annabeth quite rude at times, and probably dangerous. She seemed convinced that every girl she met was trying to steal her boyfriend. She had the body of a nineteen year old, but the mind of a child, and the emotional maturity of a toddler at times insofar as Percy was concerned. Sure, Percy was cute in a scruffy boy sort of way, but Harry was the prize. Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean were all very nice too, but Harry, well, yes he was it. And so humble and adorable! If I had any interest in boys, it would be Harry, and it only made sense that we should be paired given that we were clearly the best students in our class in Gryffindor. I had decided to take it easy though. Every girl was throwing herself at him and it was clear he didn't want a relationship at this point in his life. I didn't either, I wished to focus on school, so that was one more reason we clicked.

Annabeth was not without certain attributes which made her a good ally though. Her martial skills were amazing and she was an excellent teacher. We got nothing out of Defense against the Dark Arts class. It was becoming more clear every day that Quirrell was only fit to teach us to defend ourselves against the most remote of threats, vampires, golems and the like, and not against dark magicians that we might actually encounter. During the three hours we spent three days a week with Annabeth, Percy, Harry and Professor McGonagall we were learning practical defense skills and developing a great deal of confidence too. Oh by no means were we ready to go fight, but I felt any of us could defend ourselves against anyone else in our class at school, and most of the upper classes as well. Okay, so probably not most of the upper classes, but by the Christmas break we would be if we kept learning at the rate we were.

Annabeth was overly possessive of Percy, but just as protective of Harry. It was clear she cared for him like a brother, or best friend, and wanted to make sure that which ever girl got through to his heart was both worthy of him, and good to and for him. We should all have friends that protected us like that.

Classes were going well. Annabeth and I were at the top of every class, with Percy and Harry there too. No one could touch Neville in Herbology, and although not as talented towards education as us, Ron, Seamus and Pavoriti were all doing well.

At nights we would gather in our now expanded rooms and study together, both our formal class work and our martial training. Often these nights would end with the boys talking about quidditch and the girls talking about the boys. As I had come from the muggle world it was all very new to me and I knew nothing about quidditch, or anything else outside our instruction. I tried to read up on recent magical history to get a better feel of why Harry was so famous, but both our texts and the books available in the library stopped at about 1960, when the famous American wizard Robert McNamara resolved the Cuban missile crisis with a powerful charm developed jointly with British and American wizards. So I pressed my fellow students from magical families about Harry and the last wizarding war.

Ronald was the most forthcoming and knowledgeable and was happy to sit with me for hours telling me about it. He seemed to know what he was talking about and his father worked at the Ministry. He thought his parents were connected to the group of wizards that supported Dumbledore in putting down the dark lord, but everyone knew that Harry was the one that did him in, although no one knew how. It was known from detection spells that Harry had survived a killing curse cast by one of the most powerful wizards in the world, and he was the only person to ever survive one. Whatever Harry did that night had either killed the dark lord so completely his body disintegrated, or vanquished him in a near dead state. No body was found so most thought him destroyed completely, but Ronald and his family were not convinced. And apparently neither was Dumbledore.

Annabeth and Percy both had one magical parent, but if anything they knew less about the magical world than I did, or at least no more. Perhaps magic in America interacted with muggles differently that it did in Europe. I would have to talk to them about this sometime.

With the exceptions of the kerfluffle in potions, our classes went well. Along with Ron, I was introduced to Hagrid and we all became the best of friends with him in short order. We went hunting one weekend, Harry and Hagrid each got rabbits, but the rest of us didn't hit anything. Even Hagrid was amazed by Harry's skill with the bow.

A couple weeks in we finally had the class I was dreading. Brooms. It wasn't a mental skill so much as a magical one, so I didn't feel like my preparation gave me any advantage. In the first class most of us didn't get around to flying much anyway. Which is not to say I didn't read everything about it that I could. I was in the library every free moment for two weeks looking up everything I could on the subject. I had Piltner's "Theorem of Broom Aerodynamics" practically memorized, as well as the Ministry of Magic's publication "The Rules of the Air, What Every Witch Should Know about Safe Flying." None of my research actually told me how to get a broom to fly however.

The day started innocently enough. At breakfast Neville received an owl with a package from his grandmother with a "Remembrall" in it, a curious magic device that glowed red if its possessor had forgotten something. The quirky thing about it is that it doens't tell you what you have forgotten, only that you have forgotten something. Poor Neville wouldn't remember to put his head on each morning if it wasn't attached to his neck already, so the ball glowed red the moment he touched it, throwing him into a fit of worried angst.

We took flying lessons with Madame Hooch on the green, and with Slytherin. Great, so we had to be around that arrogant "albino weasel" as Annabeth called him, Draco Malfoy and his miscreate friends. He had been bragging constantly about what a great flyer he was and though probably not true, he made it a point to say that muggle borns would take forever to learn the basics and hold he and the other pure bloods back by making the classes slow. He also complained that first years were not allowed brooms, nor allowed to play on house teams, but no one really thought he had the talent to anyway.

Madame Hooch was very strict. She gave specific instructions and clearly expected them to be followed to the letter. We stood beside our brooms and she told us to give the command "up" to make them rise. It took most of use a few tries as supposedly the school brooms were a bit jinky that way, but Harry, Annabeth, Percy, Ron, Eloise, and most of Gryffindor in fact were able to get them to jump right up. On my third or forth try mine finally jumped into my hand, just as Madame Hooch told us to mount our brooms and on the count of three to gently kick off, glide a few feet and then land. Well Neville's broom decided to fight him and began trying to buck him off. He ended up in the air falling hard and breaking his wrist. Madame Hooch commanded that we all return to and stay on the ground, and Annabeth and I landed together. Harry offered to heal Neville with a spell, but Hooch didn't allow it, probably assuming that a first year wouldn't know a curative spell and might make it worse. She took Neville to the infirmary with the instructions that we wait on the ground until she returned.

That was when Draco found the remembrall on the ground, and when confronted by Harry took off flying with it. Okay, so Draco was pretty good after all, but Harry took off as we shouted that he shouldn't, and within moments had caught him and even overtaken him. Words were passed and Draco threw the remembrall as hard as he could into the air before flying back to us laughing. The amazing thing was that Harry took off after it, and overtook it as though the speed was nothing. What is more, as it descended to the ground and Harry reached for it, it looked like Harry was but inches from the earth. He snagged it and roared back into the sky before circling back to us with ease. We were all applauding this feat when McGonagall's voice roared "Harry Potter! Come with me now!"

They left and as soon as they were inside the castle Draco and his heathen exploded with laughter, just knowing that as promised by Hooch, Harry would be expelled. Percy and Annabeth were both enraged, as was the rest of Gryffindor house. Unfortunately for Draco, Annabeth got there first. He started to say something, we'll never know what, for as soon as he opened his mouth it was met with her round house kick to the face.

"Thats for getting Harry in trouble!"

Then as he was bent over with his hands to his now bloody nose, she followed up with a front kick to his groin.

"And that's for pissing me off!"

His goons dove to attack her, Crabbe and Goyle, but Ronald and I took out Crabbe, Ronald with a punch to his solar plexis and I with a leg sweep, while Percy, who was now soaking wet for some reason, picked up Goyle and tossed him a good ten feet or so.

"Nice job Ronald, we make a pretty good team" I grinned as Crabbe tried to catch his breath but ended up puking.

"You'll pay for this you bitch!" Malfoy roared with blood dripping from is nose.

"No she won't." Percy calmly replied as he picked up Malfoy by the collar and belt and tossed him on top of Goyle. "And don't call my girlfriend a bitch, fuck face."

"Your girlfriend?" Annabeth practically swooned.

"Yeah, whatev, don't make a big deal out of it." Percy smirked as she hugged him.

Madame Hooch returned to find three Slytherins busted up, bruised and bloody, and everyone else laughing at them and their impotent rage.

"What happened here?" She demanded, and I calmly told her, with Annabeth interjecting points at random, that Draco had flown without permission, and when Annabeth tried to stop him he, Crabbe and Goyle attacked her. We all worked to break it up."

Everyone, including Slytherin, agreed with this. I think Slytherin house was too afraid to anger us any further at the moment. Madame Hooch sent the wounded to the infirmary and had us return to our brooms. As Draco walked by he hissed at Percy, "Wizards duel, tonight at midnight in the trophy room."

"Why not now?" Percy said as he started to draw his wand, along with Annabeth drawing hers.

"Enough! We are here to fly brooms! Put those wands away and pay attention."

The rest of the class was quite a bit of fun. She had us fly around the green one at a time, Percy went slow, low and cautiously for some reason, but everyone did well and we got to spend the rest of the class gliding around following and even racing each other. None of us could fly like Harry had, although Ronald was quite good, and Annabeth wasn't bad. She confided it was practically her first time on a broom when it was my turn, and that gave me the courage and incentive to at least try. So I had that to thank Annabeth for as well.

After this class we had free time and without even being told we all reported to the room of requirement, both for training and a glee filled after action report. Annabeth and Percy praised Ronald and myself, and pointed out that all had dropped into ready stances to keep the rest of Slytherin at bay when we took out the three aggressors.

Of course the big story was Harry and whether or not he would be expelled, but shortly after we arrived, both he and Professor McGonagall showed up with the announcement that Harry was Gryffindor's newest quidditch player as the team seeker, and this set off a new round of celebration.

She also announced that after training Annabeth, Percy, Ronald and myself were to meet with the Headmaster regarding a fight with Slytherin students during broom class. I was stressed and distracted all through training, as was Ronald, but Percy and Annabeth didn't seem to be worried at all. Americans are so weird.

Professor McGonagall helped us plan a strategy to argue our case with the Headmaster, and assured me that in all likelihood I would not be expelled, but as we entered his office I was nearly in tears.

In the end we only got 5 points deducted, each, and were given detention to serve with Hagrid. Malfoy got the same, but Crabbe and Goyle received no punishment as their only act was to come to the defense of Malfoy. Detention would be served at night the following week, once Malfoy's black eyes had healed completely. Madame Pomfrey assured the Headmaster that she would have him healed by then.

I expected to be in trouble with the Prefects when we returned, but instead it was a night of celebration that Gryffindor had so completely wiped the floor with the arrogant Slytherins. We told the story over and over to upper classmen, and all were gleeful and happy to give up the 20 points we lost, so long as Harry promised to make up for them on the quidditch pitch. When we retired to the first year girls room, it was our turn to host the boys that night, studying was set aside, or at least not adamantly pursued, and Ronald and I kept complimenting each other's fighting style and reliving the fight over and over again, each time happier at its outcome and perfectly okay with serving detention.

Of course the next morning an owl delivered a screamer to Ronald from his mother about fighting, making a point to state that none of his brothers had ever been punished for fighting while at Hogwarts.

I decided the events of the day warranted an early bed time, so a few minutes before nine I creep up the stairs to my chambers. The tents had given each of us our own room with bath and walk in closet, as well as a sitting room. It was a significant upgrade and I had to admit the Americans knew how to live. I heard voices through the door of Annabeth's room which was cracked open, and since at least two of those voices were Harry and Percy I felt I should remind them that it was almost nine.

I opened the door and said "Excuse me, but its almost nin... Why is it foggy and why is there a centaur in the fog?"