Disclaimer!

These characters do not belong to me nor do I make any money off this story. I am merely writing Fan Fiction. The characters belong to their respective author. I hope you enjoy Joining Forces.

Unfortunately, school has been more busy than I expected. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again. Hopefully, sometime before Christmas.

Annabeth POV:

Before I could respond, in the distance came the sound of running. "Hi, Annabeth! Hazel!" A girl greeted us. Dressed in colours of yellow and black, her straw-berry blonde hair was braided and flung over her shoulder. She gave a few pants before smiling. "Glad I caught up, both of you walk really quickly."

I tilted my head to the side slightly. Did we? If so, was it that noticeable? Susan Bones was a student from the same year as Harry Potter, someone who was doing alright in our lessons so far, but has been having more and more trouble as of late. Hazel replied soon after, starting some small talk between the three of us before we finally came to ask what Susan wanted to ask. "Oh that! Yeah, I was wondering if you knew any body with the Bones surname at America. It seems both of you have an extremely wide range of contacts as counselors at a big magic school,"

"Well, it isn't the first time I met someone surnamed Bones," I answered. "But you do realize that there are hundreds if not thousands of people with the same surname who might not be necessarily be related to one another."

"Oh, yeah, but like any people in specific? Someone who mentioned British relatives or Hogwarts and stuff,"

"Uh, no, not really."

Her face falls for a moment and the excitement she had from earlier visibly pales. "Oh, okay then,"

"Any particular reason?" Hazel asks. "Maybe we can help with something,"

"Well, I was hoping to reconnect with more of my family. Ever since, the second wizarding war, a lot of people I care about perished. I'm sure you can relate,"

"Yeah," I put my hand on Hazel's shoulder, each of us giving a knowing glance at each other. "We can,"

"I'm not at all ashamed of my family though. They died supporting the Order of the Phoenix, keeping hold of their ideals until the end. It's always good to do that. Not just that though, being honest with oneself and those around you. They never feared about what they were doing, daring to say it to the faces of death eaters until their very last breath. I almost wish that everyone could be as virtuous as that, working for a better cause, being someone better in life." It seemed like goosebumps were suddenly emerging on my skin with every word.

"Honesty is a good policy," Hazel responded, seeming to find this conversation taking a weird turn like I did.

"It is. Besides that, I feel as though nothing is enough. After all, you-know-who just resurrected the first time around. Think about everyone who died in the first war and then the enemy comes back. It's somewhat ironic, isn't it? You risk your life to kill someone even though they'll just come back." She gave a laugh as if the topic brought up was some sort of funny joke she was cracking. Seeing as neither of us didn't laugh, Susan gave a few more awkward ones before continuing to talk. "I know it's weird to talk about, but it's true, isn't it? If the enemies everyone fights will keep rising up over and over again then would the number of people dead be any different than when they were in charge?"

"Are you suggesting you rather Voldemort be in charge?" Hazel asked.

"Oh no! Not at all!" Susan waved her hands back and forth. "It's just that now, random students and teachers are reviving, makes you wonder if anyone's really dead," She patted Hazel on her shoulder. "But allies who are alive are better than enemies. Just like how former enemies can become friends to work towards a common purpose. Instead of raising spears and insults towards each other, how one side did this or the other side did that. It's much better to sit down for a nice cup of Butterbeer and find a middle ground."

"Did any of Voldemort's followers every find a middle ground with you? Even if they tried, would you be satisfied with the result?"

"Of course, results don't always match up with watch you wish. It's the same with people, there were a bunch of people that went over to the other side. A bunch that I know a lot of us wished didn't. You probably have someone close to you who went over to the enemy. Then again when the enemy's formidable to the point of being like a deity, it's irresistible in some ways. You-know-who gave off that allure, all-powerful and eternal-"

"He was neither," I snapped, my hand subconsciously gripping onto the equipment harder. I narrowed my eyes.

"And how would you know?" Susan raised her brows. "You weren't there,"

"I know well enough,"

"But you don't. There's a lot you don't know. Despite being quite knowledgeable in almost all aspects, you're still missing some parts. In some ways while you think we're ignorant, it's likely more you than us,"

"You-"

"My apologies," Susan gave a smile, her hands slipping into the pockets of her pants. "I might have slipped into a bit of a strange topic there,"

Strange indeed. The frown on my face was vivid, but Susan didn't seem mind too much as she moved past Hazel and I in skips. It was not long after she left, her shadow gone from the corners of the walls where Hazel dropped the equipment in her hands. "...This...Annabeth, she..."

"We should tell the others," I suggested. "then figure something out. Are some of the students spies?"

"What reason would they have for sending someone to just talk to us? A warning?"

"If so then it won't do too much use for them," I gave a slight smirk, Hazel picking up the fallen items before we began walking again. "We all have a habit of ignoring threats in a way,"

Nira - Thank you!