Chapter-4
Leo, Annabeth
Even on a mission to a magical school named Pig Warts, Leo could not catch a break.
He was honestly flabbergasted at how quickly he and the others got a monster attack. Like, as soon as they cross into Celtic territory, there's a monster attack.
At least the Hellhounds in Scotland weren't as big as Greek Hellhounds. Although Leo got a bit tad too excited and…
No. Leo was not going to think of that disaster. He could not even imagine what would have happened if Nico or Annabeth actually knew what happened.
Thankfully, Percy was on the same page that they should not be thinking about what happened on their end.
Moving on, there weren't any attacks on the rest of the journey, which was a relief.
The train soon stopped at the station at night as the students began pouring out.
"Oh…" Leo spoke wildly waving his arms. "Those 7 hours were torture…" He spoke with a groan.
"Yeah, ADHD demigods and sitting in one place do not mix well." Annabeth spoke, massaging her neck.
"So, we follow them?" Nico asked pointing at Harry and other people of his age walking off in one direction.
"Well, we're technically coming in our first time, so…Hold on, let me ask someone." Annabeth spoke.
"Now, where do we…?" She questioned before noticing a rather aged woman holding a lamp.
"First years! First years! This way!" The woman spoke.
Annabeth walked up to the woman. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
The woman looked at her. "Yes?"
"We're actually transfers from America…"
"Oh right! You're the ones Dumbledore mentioned! Come with me!" The woman spoke as Leo looked at the 11-year olds coming towards the woman.
"We're going to be going with the kids…?" Percy spoke with a little embarrassment.
"I guess so." Leo spoke before the three walked behind the woman and the group of first years.
"So, what's your name?" Percy asked as the woman looked back.
"I am Wilhemina Grubby-Plank, Professor of Care for Magical creatures!" She spoke.
"Usually, Hagrid is the one guiding the first years, but right now he is on temporary leave, hence the responsibility falls on me."
Leo walked beside the first year bunch. The walk was a little long and he wanted to distract himself.
He could use his tool belt, and Leo was about to do that when he stopped, as a better idea formed in his head.
"Psst." He spoke as some of the first year kids looked at him with a little nervousness.
"Um…?" A girl with blonde hair spoke hesitantly. "Hi?"
"Hey there, kids! I'm Uncle Leo!" Leo spoke in a soft voice as a boy snorted beside her. "You're not an uncle. You're too young."
Leo smiled. "Maybe I am. Hey, what do you think of that dude over there?" Leo spoke pointing at Nico.
Another girl shuddered. "He's scary."
Leo dramatically shook his head. "Yeah, he tries way too hard in upping the fear factor."
"He almost looks like a death eater."
Leo turned his face away to hide the grin forming on his face.
Death Eater? I'm pretty sure Hades would disown Nico if he ever had a name like that. He thought before turning back.
"Yeah, he looks like that. But you know what I think? You better not touch me, I'm the Ghost king! Wooooo~" Leo spoke in a really exaggerated serious tone as the first year students giggled.
Nico looked back as Leo jerked away from the first years, whistling innocently.
Nico narrowed his eyes. "Leo, what are you doing?" He asked suspiciously.
Leo shook his head. "It's fine."
"You said 'it's fine'. You're up to something."
"Nothing, death boy. I am just bored with all this walking."
Nico looked back.
And Leo had begun distracting himself by making the first years giggle with ridiculous impersonations of Percy and Nico, whistling innocently when one of them looked back suspiciously.
"Alright, kids. What can uncle Leo do for you now?" Leo spoke as a girl pointed at annabeth.
"Do the scary blonde!"
"The scary blonde?" Leo spoke before looking at Annabeth, who was talking to Professor Grubby-Plank.
Yeah, I'm not getting out of this one. He thought.
"Alright. Did you know she's afraid of spiders?" Leo spoke.
"Everyone's afraid of spiders." A boy mumbled.
"No, no! It's even more for her. If she even sees a tiny little harmless spider, she'll go…" Leo opened his mouth wide in a silent scream, clutching his eyes shut and flapping his arms wildly.
The kids began laughing really hard at Leo's impersonation. Suddenly, they went quiet.
"What? Wha…" Leo spoke before he noticed Grubby-Plank, Percy, Nico staring at him, with Annabeth's grey eyes staring into his soul.
"...Oh." Leo spoke with a nervous laugh as Annabeth smiled at Grubby-Plank. "We'll talk later." She spoke before backtracking to walk beside Leo.
"So, what's going on here?" She asked smiling at the first years who shrunk in fear.
"Hey, don't scare them, Owl Head. I was just making them laugh…"
"With a demonstration of my arachnophobia? I wish I could do the same to you, but you'll laugh it off."
"Of course! I'm just shameless that way!" Leo exclaimed.
Grubby-Plank took them to a really large lake with boats on the bank. The first years sat in groups, with the four demigods taken to a separate boat.
Moving across the lake, Leo began fiddling with some tools while Annabeth gawked at Hogwarts, which was at the other end.
"It's like a mixture of Gothic and Romanesque…" Annabeth gushed as Percy smiled, listening to her excited lecture about Hogwarts' architecture.
Leo, meanwhile, looked down at the lake waters.
"Hm, doesn't seem too…" Leo blinked and squinted at the water.
"Uh, guys?" He asked. "Is it me or is there something glaring at me from the water?" Leo asked, as some sort of mermaid glared at him beneath the surface, baring its fangs.
"Ah, Selkies! Those are the residents of the Lake! They won't harm us here. But don't go down to their territory!" Grubby-Plank spoke from another boat.
"Oh…Hi!" Percy spoke as the Selkie growled and snarled. Percy blinked owlishly before the Selkie swung its trident and sent a spout of water into Percy's face.
"Hey!" Percy spoke as the Selkie snarled before swimming away.
"What happened?"
"That was one rude Selkie." Percy grumbled. "I just say 'Hi', and she goes 'Enter our waters and we'll rip you apart, Greek filth!'"
Annabeth frowned. "Well, I guess creatures are very territorial about different pantheons being near them. Especially ours."
"Don't blame them. Olympus had to have made a lot of enemies through Rome and Greece's expansion. I wouldn't be surprised if they hate us because of the Roman conquest of Britain." Nico spoke.
They landed at the docks of the lake, getting off their boats as Hagrid took them up a flight of stairs.
Going up the flight of stairs, they noticed someone waiting for them at the top.
"...No way." Leo spoke with a grin as what is basically the image of a witch standing in front of large doors. She had the black robes, the pointy hat, she was just missing the green skin.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" She announced. "Shortly, you shall be heading through these doors and joining your classmates. But before that, you shall have the sorting ceremony."
"Sorting ceremony?" Percy asked.
"To sort you into the houses." The witch replied. "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."
"Even magic schools have the house system?" Leo whispered to Nico who shrugged, while the witch explained the house rules.
"Now, I believe you all are seeing some older students with you."
"Yeah, Uncle Leo!" A boy yelled as Leo cringed.
The witch raised an eyebrow at him as Leo scratched his head.
"Hm, the older students are transfers from America. They shall be standing separate from you. Now come in." The witch spoke before they entered the hall.
Inside were long tables on which other students sat, with different coloured ties on them. Leo spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting at the right most table and waved at them. There were candles floating up in the ceiling.
"Woah, is that the sky?" Percy spoke as Leo looked up to indeed notice the stars.
"It's probably not real." Annabeth muttered.
Moving from the tables, Leo noticed a stage with a podium having a golden owl on it. Behind it, were several adult wizards sitting on chairs. Leo blinked as he noticed a woman wearing a pink cardigan over a pink sweater and a pink cap, with a fake smile.
I'm getting flashbacks of the Aphrodite cabin. That pink's burning holes into my eyes. Leo thought with a grimace as he looked away from the pink woman.
One wizard in particular, an old man with glasses, looked at the demigods with a twinkle in his eyes.
I'm guessing that's the headmaster? Leo thought as the witch led them to the front of the stage and asked them to wait, with the first years to the left, and the demigods to the right. Many of the students muttered in confusion at their presence and obvious older appearance.
In front of them was a hat on a chair.
"Uh…What's that hat for?" Percy whispered to Annabeth. "Well, from what I learnt, that hat is going to sort you."
"...Huh? How's a hat going to…" Percy was interrupted by a voice coming from the hat, as it burst into a really, really long song about the houses.
The demigods stared at the hat as it kept singing, while the Hogwarts students sat as if there was nothing wrong.
By the time the hat was done, the demigods were silent in shock.
"...Oh." Percy spoke, his voice filled with disbelief.
With that, the sorting ceremony began. The witch, Minerva Mcgonagall, began calling the names of first year students who sat on the hat. After some time, the hat would call out the name of the house they have been sorted to.
Soon, the first year students were all done and now it was the demigods' turn.
"Valdez, Leo!" Mcgonagall spoke as Leo shrugged. "Alright, let's see what house I'm in!" He spoke before sitting on the chair with the hat on his head.
Oh, hello again, demigod! A jovial voice exclaimed, which probably would have scared Leo if Odin hadn't already given him two heart attacks with his voice randomly appearing in his mind.
Hi? Leo thought. So how do you know us now?
Ah, my maker is a demigod, a child of Trivia, to be precise.
Uh, aren't your makers the founders?
Well, they did play a role, but the main contributor was that demigod, Julia, I believe was her name. Anyways, let's see…My goodness, that is one destructive explosion!
…Are you looking at my death?
Well, I can't really know what kind of person you are without seeing what you have experienced, can I?
Leo went a little tense. Wasn't that a bit too intrusive?
Oh no, no! I wouldn't want to uncover your secrets. I'm just doing a basic skim. Rest assured, if there is something you want hidden, I am fine keeping it.
Now anyways, your bravery is commendable, sacrificing yourself to stop the Earth Mother. You would make a good fit for Gryffindor in this case.
You are definitely a hard-working person, as evident from the amount of work you put into the Argo II.
You have outsmarted your opponents many times before as well as tricked your friends into thinking they had the physician's cure when in truth you have taken it. You certainly have that Slytherin cunning.
Leo frowned at that. Sure, he could admit that his death took courage, but Leo never really considered himself as a person who would always face things head on. He was hard-working, but that was because it was something he was genuinely passionate about, otherwise he's pretty lazy. As for cunning, Leo never did any of those things out of malice against his friends.
Ah, your doubts already show me what I suspect. You have a beautiful mind, one brimming with endless possibilities and always excited to explore new things in the mechanical sphere. You worked hard on the Argo II because you had that knowledge to create and innovate from a simple crayon drawing. You outsmarted your enemies with your technical knowledge. Not to mention my amazement that you manage to do the impossible and find the island that is never found twice with nothing but that same intelligence and creativity.
I can see now, Leo, that you would be a fit for…
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted out the name as Leo took off the hat and got up, with the table of people with blue and silver ties clapping as he made their way towards them.
"Hey, the hat knows us." Leo spoke to the others before he walked off to join his new house.
"Di Angelo, Nico!"
Nico stepped up as his name was called.
Leo had mentioned the hat knew of him, so he wasn't that surprised when the hat spoke.
A child of Hades. I am surprised Hades, the god who sticks to the rules the most, broke his oath…
I was born before WW2. Nico thought in anger. Over the years, Nico had noticed he'd grown a lot more defensive about his father. Maybe its the fact that the whole mess with losing his mother and his memories had been cleared and that he and his father were making efforts to improve relations with each other.
Oh, I see. No offense. Now let's get to it.
Again, you are brave, having been able to survive the horrors of Tartarus…
Huh, that's the first time he'd heard someone not get spooked because of that name.
I am still a hat, Mr. Di Angelo. I lack emotions like human beings. So even if I saw the most horrific sight in my existence, I wouldn't be too scared.
Ah, right. That did make sense.
Moving on, Gryffindor can be open to you. Ravenclaw, however, isn't. It's clear you do not have that passion for knowledge, and that whatever pursuits of knowledge you do are only for functional purposes.
Hufflepuff…also no. You are loyal to your family and close friends, but not outside it. It is difficult for people to get connected to you that easily, unless they were a sibling of yours.
So, Slytherin? Nico hadn't really heard good stuff about that house.
Slytherin…is good. You may not have that ambition or cunning, but one thing that you have is the determination to persevere through difficulty. Looking at your memories, I can see you have suffered greatly. Losing your mother, losing your sister, watching the person you looked up to fail to keep their promise to you, walking through the worst place in Greek mythology, push away all others to spend years in loneliness.
Nico's lips quivered.
"Nico, Bianca's dead. She sacrificed herself to save our lives."
"You promised!"
That dreadful day came back to him, when he'd rushed to the Big House, only to find Percy downcast before he took him to the dining pavilion and broke the news.
He couldn't forget it. The day that started his path to anger and sorrow. A path that is still going, 4 years later.
Yet, you have persevered. You bore it, and that determination still burns to save your friend in Tartarus.
But Slytherin…
You of all people should know not to judge something from their outside appearance. Most of the Slytherins are ambitious youngsters who wish to take their family lineage to greater heights than their parents. Often, that ambition breeds arrogance and the Slytherin house is seen as the worst. The tragic part is that those ambitions lack individuality. They are false ambitions, drilled into their heads by their parents. Yet, there are a few who truly want to be more than what others want them to be. They lie quietly within the sea of green.
Nico looked at the Slytherin table and did notice that among the cocky smirks, there were a few sad frowns of people who looked at nothing but their part of the table.
The Slytherin house could use someone like you. You are not ambitious, but you have that strong moral compass and sense of determination. Real determination. Therefore shall be in…
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled as Nico noticed Harry in the Gryffindor table stare in surprise.
As Nico walked towards the Slytherin table, he frowned. Don't judge a book by its cover, huh?
I need some thinking. In the meantime, let's know my housemates.
"Jackson, Perseus!"
Did they have to say the full version? Percy thought as he went up. Now, Nico had a contemplative look on his face. It didn't look worrying, just that Nico is considering something.
Perseus Jackson. Now, yours is something I am interested in seeing. The hat spoke.
Before that…could you call me Percy? I'm a lot more comfortable with it. Percy thought as the hat was silent.
Percy then. After seeing your interaction with Mr. Valdez and Mr. Di Angelo…
Percy tensed.
You're not going to…look through my mind, are you?
I will not go into deep personal secrets. Just a little skim.
Percy almost got up from his chair. He really did not want to relive his memories of Tartarus. He strangely found himself stuck to his seat.
Mr. Jackson, please calm down. The hat spoke. I will not show you any memories.
O-Ok…
Perfect! Now, I see the only house not fit for you being Ravenclaw, seeing as how you, like Nico, do not have that drive for knowledge.
You have a slight affinity for Slytherin. You are cunning, and have overcome obstacles much greater than you with that. But you do not desire power for yourself, but for others. You took the Curse of Achilles because it was the only way for your side to stand victory against the King of the Titans.
You certainly do not think twice when it comes to challenging powerful enemies. You did not hesitate in provoking the God of War into a duel, you did not hesitate charging the Titan of Endurance. The only one who truly broke through that confidence was Tartarus. But, I suppose that is fair. I highly doubt any mortal could actually stand before the Primordial of the Abyss with not a hint of fear.
But, Hufflepuff is what looks like the best fit. You have that sense of justice, and few are more loyal to their friends as you are. If you were given the choice for a sacrifice to save a friend, you would take it.
Percy slightly shook his head. He was not getting into Hufflepuff because of his fatal flaw. No, he refused to let it dictate him. He had nothing against hufflepuff, but he wanted to separate himself from his flaw.
Hm, I see. That is a valid concern too. Most heroes met with tragic endings because of their fatal flaws. Achilles' rage made him reckless and blind to his mortality, resulting in his death at the hands of Paris. Heracles' ambition made him arrogant and self-centred, often resulting in him ruining or ending others' lives for his own interests.
I see now. You wish to break away from that cycle of tragedy by distancing yourself from your fatal flaw. Your namesake did the same, curbing his ambitions even after he became the High King of Mycenae and accepted whatever the fates gifted him after he fulfilled his destiny. That was the reason Perseus the Gorgon-Slayer got a happy ending.
Percy smiled. He wanted to live a normal life in peace, like Perseus did. And he knew as long as he did not control his flaw, that could never happen.
He thought of Estelle, his mom, Annabeth. All those who he wanted to spend his life with.
Your loyalty is immense, but your desire to live prevents it from crossing its limits. Therefore, you shall be in…
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled as Harry's table erupted in cheers. Percy smiled in relief and got up, walking over to the Gryffindor table.
"Welcome to the best house, Percy." Ron spoke grinning as Percy smiled back before shaking hands with Harry.
"I hope I can be a good housemate." Percy spoke as Harry nodded. "You'll be fine."
Percy gave a wistful sigh. He imagined himself with Annabeth and their kids in the future, all happy with a normal life mostly away from all the demigod stuff. Then he thought of the time he blew up St. Helens, seemingly sacrificing himself to save Annabeth and destroying the Telkhines.
I'm not who I was back then. I want that dream to be reality. He thought with a smile.
"Chase, Annabeth!"
Finally, it was her turn.
Annabeth wondered what the hat was going to tell her. Leo came back cheerful as ever, Nico came back thinking about something serious and Percy skipped towards Gryffindor with a carefree smile.
It did warm her heart a little to see Percy like this. Even with all the witty banter, they were anxious, especially when they were on the verge of taking the next step in their lives. In these times, a little joy was definitely lightening.
And the final demigod comes. The hat spoke.
What happened with the others?
Nothing much with mr. Valdez. I gave Mr. Di Angelo some things to reconsider, and Mr. Jackson simply expressed some of his hopes while trying to get me to put him in Gryffindor. Nothing serious.
Now, your bravery is admirable. You journeyed through Tartarus as well, you faced your greatest fear and defeated it. You certainly qualify for Gryffindor.
Annabeth smiled. Percy was the one who really kept her going through Tartarus as well as Arachne.
Admittedly, you also match well for Slytherin, seeing as how you have used your cunning to outsmart your enemies. Not to mention your ambitions to use your wisdom to make a mark on history greater than that of the gods.
Annabeth winced at the subtle hint towards her fatal flaw.
Not to mention Hufflepuff. You have worked very hard to prove to other demigods that you do not require amazing powers to be a wonderful asset to any team you are a part of.
But, you again are not as open as Mr. Di Angelo. You do not fully trust those outside your friend circle, no matter how much you smile. Not to mention that your fatal flaw stems from your ambition. So that leaves out Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
On the other hand, even if it might seem obvious, Ravenclaw is the best. You are naturally wise, being a child of Athena, but you have something that gave you an edge over your siblings who have gone after the Mark of Athena - You think in a unique manner. You are not restricted in your thinking, and have a broad insight on things. I was going to put Ms. Granger into Ravenclaw, but chose Gryffindor precisely because she lacks that liberal mind.
Annabeth cast a glance at Hermione.
But, Ms. Chase, I would suggest being careful. You are smart, but still a young girl. Do not let your flaw blind you to the fact that there are people in this world who can outsmart you with wisdom gained from a lifetime's worth of experience. One day, you will meet your match. And should you hold onto your pride, you will fall victim to the same affliction your enemies fell to.
Annabeth frowned at the strange warning. Could the hat be talking about any immortal?
You shall see. But besides that, you may go to…
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat yelled as Annabeth got up and politely walked over to Ravenclaw. However, she couldn't really focus, thinking of the hat's warning.
My match…But I know I'm not the smartest creature out there. There's always someone smarter.
"Come over, Annabeth!" Leo spoke as Annabeth sat down beside him. He was at the table with Luna, a boy with long black hair, a brown-haired boy, a Chinese girl and two indian girls who looked like twins.
"So, I made some buddies already!" Leo spoke. "There's of course Luna. But I got these two! Michael Corner and Terry Boot. Guys, this is Annabeth." Leo introduced as Annabeth smiled.
"Hello!" Terry spoke. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Same here." Michael spoke as Annabeth nodded.
"Hello, Luna." She spoke as Luna smiled. "Oh, hello, Annabeth. Good that you joined Ravenclaw." She spoke softly.
"Hi!" One of the Indian girls spoke. "I'm Parvati Patil and this is my sister Padma!"
Annabeth nodded politely.
"I'm Cho Chang. Are you both from America?"
"Born in Houston, Texas, living in Indianapolis, Indiana." Leo spoke pointing to himself. "Born in Richmond, Virginia, living in San Francisco, California." Leo spoken pointing at Annabeth,
"Interesting." A voice spoke as Annabeth and Leo noticed a boy with wild red hair engrossed in a book about Shakespeare.
Cho frowned. "Really, Rob? Reading a book instead of welcoming our new housemates." She spoke as Rob looked up.
"Sorry. I was reading a particular section that caught my attention. I am Rob Goodwin Fell." He spoke calmly. "Say, why do Americans football 'Soccer', when their definition of 'Football' is most based on grabbing the ball?"
"Hm, first of all, Soccer is actually a British term invented in Oxford to distinguish it from Rugby. And football's earliest definitions meant sports played running on foot instead of horseback." Annabeth replied as Rob nodded with an appreciative smile.
"Excellent. Are you all also suffering because of the blasted fog?" Rob spoke as Annabeth snorted.
"Yeah."
"Well, I heard the Ministry is trying to figure out its source of origin." Parvati spoke as Annabeth shrugged. "Which means they're probably stumped and stuck in a stalemate."
"True that." Rob spoke with a sigh.
"Don't mind Rob. He's a little bit snooty about his extra knowledge." Terry whispered.
"I heard that, Terry." Rob spoke with a grin as Terry shook his head.
"Welcome back, old hands and welcome to Hogwarts, new students! First of all, I would like to bring forward two staff members - Ms. Grubby Plank for care of Magical creatures since Mr. Hagrid is on temporary leave, and our newest professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - Dolores Umbridge!"
"Oh, I don't like her." Michael spoke slumping.
"Same here, dude." Leo spoke. "Who even wears stuff like that. It's like I'm staring right at the sun when I see her."
"Don't be so rude to our teacher already." Cho chastised him although Annabeth had to sort of agree with Leo. She did not like the look of Umbridge, because she had that exact same look of teachers who wanted to keep a polite appearance for the sake of decorum but were in truth cursing the students to hell.
Umbridge let out a high-pitched cough that made Annabeth's skin crawl as Dumbledore looked back in surprise.
Umbridge then got up and began giving her own speech to the student body. Annabeth looked around to see the students staring at her in shock, with some in anger at her blatant disrespect for the headmaster.
Yeah, someone like that can't be good. She thought.
"Oh goodness, I wonder if she's worse than Lockhart…" Rob muttered before looking at Annabeth and Leo. "Since you don't know, the DADA position is regarded as jinxed, because no professor lasts longer than a year."
"Really?" Leo spoke as Rob put up four fingers.
"First year, Quirinus Quirrell. Burnt to death." He spoke, putting one finger down.
"Second year, Gilderoy Lockhart. Wiped his own mind clean with a spell that backfired on him." Ron spoke, putting another finger down.
"Third year, Remus Lupin. Turned out to be a Werewolf and had to leave." Ron spoke putting down a third finger.
"Fourth year, Alastor Moody. Turned out to be a death eater impersonating him while the real Moody was imprisoned."
"Now, Dolores Umbridge." Rob spoke. "She is one nasty person. Quirrell and Lockhart were idiots, Lupin was actually extremely good and the fake moody did make a good point about vigilance…"
"But from what I hear, Umbridge is a bigoted lapdog for the ministry." Terry muttered.
"Cool, so we are basically going to have the worst teacher in history this year, am I right?" Leo asked.
The discussion took place while Umbridge was giving her speech, and Annabeth could spot both Nico and Percy shooting death glares at her.
Once she was done, it was clear nobody liked her now.
"Thank you…for those words, Professor Umbridge." The headmaster spoke. "Now, all of you may have noticed a mysterious fog, but do not worry, Hogwarts has placed charms to keep it out, although you will see a little mist in the school grounds. However, this means it is even more important for you to keep out of restricted areas such as the forbidden forest, because it has been observed this fog distorts minds and could make you lose your senses if you are exposed to it for too long. So, I hope you keep yourself within the protection of the school."
"Besides that, as you have seen, we have new visitors from America. They haven't been taught in a magical institution so please be patient and help them get settled into Hogwarts. As for the transfers, please meet me in my office after this."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. She guessed the headmaster wanted to talk to them about quest stuff.
"Now, without further ado, tuck in!"
With that, food appeared on the tables and the feast began. Annabeth looked at Percy chatting with other gryffindors, including Harry, Ron and Hermione, while Nico sat quietly among a bunch of Slytherins, who were laughing obnoxiously.
Poor Nico. Annabeth thought.
After the feast was over, they got up to leave, before noticing what is basically an Adult Nico at the doorway.
"You must be one of the transfers?" He asked with a drawl as Annabeth nodded. "Gather your friends. I shall take you to Dumbledore's office." He spoke as Annabeth waved to the others.
The man took them through the corridors to Dumbledore's office, where the man sat.
"Thank you, Severus. You may leave." Dumbledore spoke as Severus quickly left, his robe billowing behind him.
"I am sorry for not welcoming you personally, I had to ensure not to draw too much attention to you. I also wish to make this quick, since you four need to get settled into your houses." He spoke before smiling. "Lemon drop?"
"No, thank you." Annabeth replied.
"So, uh, you know who we are?" Leo asked as Dumbledore nodded calmly.
"I do. Demigods were very active in the wizarding world in the period between the two great wars of the muggles."
"Mu…?"
"Mortals."
The demigods nodded in understanding.
"In the backdrop of the Second Global Muggle war, we wizards had our own war."
"Like a Wizard World War?" Leo asked.
"Yes. And in that, I had the misfortune of being against an extremely deadly assassin who was a child of Hades."
Nico perked up.
"We wizards are reliant on our magic, and hardly engage in combat. Once he learnt how to counter our magic, then he became practically unstoppable. He was sent to kill me, and almost succeeded. After that, a child of Zeus, who knew that child of Hades, sought the help of me and my allies, and we hunted him down to Switzerland, where the child of Zeus and the child of Hades both slew each other. So, I am familiar with how powerful and dangerous your kind are."
"..."
"But I must admit that I didn't have the pleasure of meeting a child of Poseidon." Dumbledore spoke, smiling at Percy.
"Percy Jackson, headmaster." Percy replied. "This is Leo, Nico and Annabeth."
"Yes, yes. Anyways, I shall not intervene much. This is your area of expertise, I shall handle my area of expertise. I just want you to make sure you keep Harry safe. I do not believe I have the strength to face the enemy alone."
"Of course. We'll do our best." Nico spoke.
"Thank you. Now, you should first get used to how the schedule works in Hogwarts. Once you have established yourselves in a comfortable position, we shall have a proper discussion about the fog. Now, good night."
Annabeth nodded before jolting. "Headmaster?"
Dumbledore looked back. "Yes?"
"We were told we would find the location of the prophecy to our quest here. Do you…?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid I do not have an idea regarding this location, Ms. Chase. Most of the prophecies are kept in the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic, but I should caution against that until you have a good grasp of how the wizarding world works. Not to mention the infestation of hostile monsters in the forbidden forest. I don't think it would be safe right now."
Annabeth nodded in disappointment. "Alright, then. Good night, headmaster." She spoke before she and the others walked out.
"So that's why Barghest failed." A young voice spoke, standing at the surface of the great lake with a Selkie bowing before her.
Greek demigods. I must admit, I didn't think the Greek and Norse Pantheons would really agree on something like this ever since Lindisfarne happened. The girl it belonged to thought.
But still, Greek demigods were a big problem. At least the Einherjar mostly consisted of enhanced humans. Not only were these demigods as fast and strong as the Einherjar, but they also had supernatural powers of their own. To most monsters, they were practically forces of nature.
"Please, Milady. Cast those monstrous greeks out of our waters." The Selkie pleaded as the girl nodded.
"Go back to your waters, and wait for my colleague to lure them here. Once they enter to attack you," The girl stretched out her hand as a spear shot out of the ground with its tip giving off a dark purple aura, "Use this against them."
The selkie stretched out its hands as the spear rested on them.
"Thank you, milady. We shall turn this lake red with their blood should they dare attack." the Selkie spoke before diving back.
The girl turned back to Hogwarts, slightly shuddering at the familiar power of sea coming from the Son of Poseidon emanating within it before taking a deep breath to calm herself.
She remembered 43 CE. She remembered the terror she and her sisters felt when Neptune's shadow loomed over Britain's waters during the Roman invasion. She could remember the screams of terror of the Selkies and her very being freezing up in fear when they felt Neptune unleash his divine form from the Atlantic and send shockwaves through all water bodies in the British isles.
Even armed with the weapon she gave them, She feared for the safety of these Selkies should the Son of Poseidon descend upon them. After all, she had seen his father's destructive power.
No, I must not be afraid. This is my chance to atone for my catastrophic failure. She thought. Her queen had suffered because of her failure, and she will rectify this mistake.
"...Even if it means going against the same power that haunts me to this day." She muttered before dissolving into mist.
A/N: I always love things like this when I get to really analyse a PJO character's personality. And yes, the choice of houses might be cliché, but I personally think these houses do make sense for them. Leo's actually seriously creative with his inventions, Nico's determination is pretty much what kept him going through his hellhole of a life, Annabeth for the same reasons as Leo and I think the current Percy would try to distance himself from his fatal flaw, which to him won't be nice if he's put in the house for loyalty. But I will admit I would have put Pre-Tartarus Percy in Hufflepuff, no question on that.
Moving on, comes my next trope buster: Percy and the Selkies. It makes sense why the Selkies in some fanfics respect Percy because those fanfics tend to consider the wizarding world as an extension of Olympus and hence the Selkies being Poseidon's subjects, but considering these are part of Orcadian folklore, making them Celtic creatures, why should they give respect to a child of an Olympian god, considering the bad history between Rome and Greece and the Celtic lands?
And during the Dumbledore scene, I'm just imagining how sick it would be to do a 1920s PJO story, covering the lives of demigods during the two world wars. Well, we do have two demigods who were ailve during WW2, but still. Two demigods duking it out in trench coats is a really cool idea!
Also, little jingle on one of the antagonists at the end. Gosh, I almost dropped too many hints to who she is in my excitement to write her fear of Poseidon/Neptune. And I can't help but think of God of War's Poseidon whenever I write about Poseidon, because God Of War has honestly the sickest design for Poseidon I have ever seen. Scratch that, I think GOW Poseidon has the best design for ANY depiction of the greek gods I have ever seen.
Like, could you imagine PJO Poseidon with the GOW design just appearing near the coast of Britain beside Roman ships, intimidating Britain's water spirits with his sheer power?
Alright, I'll stop my GOW fanboying, I just love that and PJO way too much!
Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!
Response to Reviews (Yes! Finally!) :
Sakra95: Thank you. Also, no. That would get boring really fast if monsters fought demigods while the wizards were sleeping.
Shadowhunter2077: Thank you.
Now, I never really said this is the fault of the Celtic gods. I just said the whole problem is coming from their territory. It could be their fault, or it could be not. You'll have to see when I reveal everything.
And even if it was, them being weaker than the Olympians and Aesir depends on which Celtic gods you refer to. The Celtic pantheon is not singular, but a collection of different groups of gods. You have the Tuatha Dé Danann in Ireland, you have gods like Taranis and Belenos in Britain, France and Spain, the Welsh gods in Wales and Celtic-Roman gods throughout the Celtic lands. Only the Tuatha Dé Danann could be classified as weaker for certain, but the Gallic-Brythonic gods of Britain and France are debatable because they are more like forces of nature than the Tuatha, who are basically supernatural beings that were deified by the people of Ireland.
And yes, I was dead set on steering away from 'Hecate creates the wizarding world' because that puts Olympus as the whole centre of the mythological world, which I don't like because of the clear statement in ToA that all the pantheons exist in demarcated territories.
Guest (1): Thank you.
Guest (2): I don't know if you're the same person as Guest (1), but yes. The bad quality of the jokes was intentional, just to show Malfoy's fragile ego.
Ayrton Haye: Mérci Beaucoup. Je désolé si mon français est un peu mal. J'ai été quatre ans depuis J'ai étudié français.