Annabeth kept tapping her foot as she sat waiting in the police station while her stepmom talked things over with the police officers. Part of her had hoped it would be her dad this time but he was busy, as usual, so instead her stepmom showed up. Thalia had left twenty minutes ago with her father, wishing Annabeth luck, and Luke was still at the Ministry dealing with his punishment.

The Magical Law Enforcement had wiped the memory of the store-owner and everyone who had seen Luke's attack, but not the robbery. Which left Thalia and Annabeth to take the fall for that. But Luke still got the worse end of the deal. She hoped he was ok, that it wouldn't be too bad. But he had attacked a Muggle with a wand, flaunting his magic for people to see. That wasn't something that could just be brushed under the rug.

"I'm so sorry, officers," her stepmom said. "I promise, this won't happen again."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. She'd been promising that for years. So far, it hadn't worked. Annabeth did have a knack for getting into trouble.

Her stepmom walked over to her, a storm cloud for a face. "Get up," she said, sharply. "We're leaving."

A few minutes later, they were sitting in the car, a stony silence permeating through the car.

"What were you thinking?" her stepmom finally asked, her voice rigid. "How could you do something so monumentally stupid?"

Annabeth did her best to ignore her, looking out the window instead.

"I shouldn't be surprised, honestly. You do stupid things all the time. But this? This is something else."

"You're making a big deal out of it," Annabeth mumbled.

"Oh am I now?" her stepmom turned to her. "Tell me, did you or did you not rob a convenience store?"

Annabeth didn't answer.

"That's what I thought. You've done a lot of stupid things Annabeth. Running away time and again, spending time with those…delinquents." Annabeth opened her mouth to protest then. Thalia and Luke were not delinquents. Did they make trouble every now and then? Sure. But they were the closest thing she had to a family these days.

"But robbery? Unbelievable!" her stepmom continued, shaking her head. "You should think about what kind of example you're setting for your brothers."

"They're not my brothers," Annabeth mumbled under her breath but her stepmom still heard her, her expression darkening.

"Just wait until your father hears about this," she said. "You should think about how your actions will affect him, you know. Do you have any idea how it will look for a University Professor to have a daughter shoplifting? Do you even care about his career?"

Annabeth just sighed, tuning her out now. Her father hadn't shown any interest in her in years so why should she show any to him?

This was why she preferred hanging out with Thalia and Luke. They were her real family, ever since they had bonded as runaways. None of their families wanted them, so they formed their own. And now, years later, it was as strong as ever. Even when both Thalia and Luke were away at Hogwarts, they still sent letters to Annabeth every day, reminding her that no matter what, they would always be there for her, something she really needed when with her own family.

They arrived at the house, her stepmom walking into the house stiffly. "Go to your room," she said, pointing dramatically up the stairs as if Annabeth didn't already know where her room was. "You can be sure I'll tell your father about this when he comes home. And you can be sure you'll be punished appropriately."

"Whatever," Annabeth muttered. She walked up the stairs to her room, hearing the sounds of her stepbrothers Bobby and Matthew screaming over some stupid videogame as she passed their room. She closed the door behind her and plopped down on the bed, sighing deeply.

"Seven weeks," she muttered to herself. "Just seven more weeks." Then she would be at Hogwarts with her friends and away from her family, finally free from it all. A place where she would really belong.

She hoped Luke and Thalia were ok. She did admit that robbing the convenience store had not been the best idea. It had been Luke's, saying it would be fun. It should have gone off without a hitch, but of course they had bumped into someone as they ran out, tripping on the sidewalk. Then the owner had appeared, grabbing her by the hair and the next thing she knew there was a loud BANG and the owner had been flung back, Luke's wand in his hand.

The rest was a blur with both the magical and muggle authorities getting involved, detaining them. Luke seemed to have gotten the worst of it. He was seventeen so they couldn't relieve him of his wand for use outside of school anymore, but he had attacked a muggle. It had been to protect her, so hopefully they would let him off with a warning and maybe a small fine, but Annabeth didn't know for sure. She hoped he'd send a message soon.

Thalia would be fine though. It was just her parents she was dealing with and the girl was the toughest person Annabeth had ever met. She should be fine. At least, Annabeth hoped she would.

As the hours went by, she pulled some books off the shelves about London architecture until she heard the front door open and close. Her dad was home. She tried to keep reading but couldn't focus anymore, trying to hear what was happening downstairs. She heard her stepmom start talking, her raised voice easy to pick up. She couldn't hear it next but could easily imagine her father's tired sigh. Then came the soft sound of his feet coming up the stairs. She stared deeply into her book, as if trying to burn a hole into it, doing her best not to focus on the sound of her father's approach but it was no good as she heard him walk up to her door and softly knock. Then, without waiting for a reply, he entered.

She could tell from the instant she saw him that he'd had a long day and was in no mood for this. But if he was expecting her to feel sympathy from her, he could forget it. The last time he'd shown any real interest in her besides when she got into trouble was probably when she was a toddler.

He folded his arms over his chest as he looked down at her. "What were you thinking?" he asked, disappointment etched so firmly in his words that it took Annabeth everything she had not to wince.

"Technically, I didn't think of it," she said defensively.

"No, but you went along with it. Like a sheep following the herd."

She didn't really have a defense for that so she kept quiet.

He shook his head, rubbing his hair. "Why do you insist on doing these things Annabeth? I thought I raised you better than that."

"You've hardly raised me at all," she mumbled but, unlike her stepmom, he didn't hear her.

"I've tried my best you know. I wasn't ready to be a full-time father after your mother's death but I did my best. And despite all my efforts, it seems like you're determined to go down the wrong path. Consorting with those…people," he waved his hand, as if shooing away something distasteful. "And look where that's gotten you. Shoplifting." He shook his head. "Do you have any idea how bad that looks for me? For your family?"

Is that all you care about? she wanted to ask. Your image?

"I've tried to respect your freedom, your privacy, given the…special circumstances."

By that he meant her magic. Him and her stepmom did their best to ignore it when it flared up, like when the bully Sally at school had made fun of her and then wound up tripping and falling down the stairs. Or when Roger Kentworth had pulled her hair and then inexplicably found his falling out. Or when her stepmom had been scolding her when the mashed potatoes she'd been mixing exploded everywhere. All incidents they couldn't really prove was her but deep down knew it was.

"Even after you…left home, I've done my best to give you the space you needed. But now it's clear I gave you far too much. You're grounded for the next month."

Annabeth gaped but he wasn't done.

"And you are forbidden from seeing those friends of yours again during that time."

"But dad!" she protested.

He shook his head. "No, I've made up my mind. It's high time you learned some discipline. You can spend your time helping around the house, mowing the lawn, washing dishes, cleaning up the house, that sort of stuff. Your stepmother will give you a list of chores later for you to do."

"But-" she started but he held up his hand, stopping her.

"And, if you step out of line again, then I might reconsider letting you attend that…magic school."

Annabeth shot to her feet. "You can't do that!" Hogwarts was her dream. Her escape from all this. He couldn't just take it away from her.

"I'm your father. And it's becoming more and more clear that this…magic is having a bad influence on you. But if you follow all my rules and do as you're told, you can go."

"But what about my school supplies?" she asked desperately.

"What?"

"At Diagon Alley! I need to get my school supplies before school starts. And I need my friends to go with me. Unless you want to take me there."

He scratched his chin, thinking about it. She knew he didn't like the idea of going with her to pick up magical items and she knew her stepmother would never go in a million years. "Alright," he nodded. "If you follow the terms of your punishment until you need to get your supplies, I will allow you to go with your friends. But you have to be back at a certain time, understood?"

"Yes," she nodded. It was completely unfair, but she went with it anyway.

"Good." He bobbed his head for a few seconds and then nodded curtly. "Alright then." He stood up and left, closing the door behind him.

Annabeth stayed put for a second before she turned and punched her pillow as hard as she could. Since it was a pillow, nothing much happened. She grabbed the pillow and screamed into it. How could this be happening? The summer had been going so well. Hanging out with friends all day for as long as she could, avoiding her stepmother. They had even planned on multiple excursions to Diagon Alley. Now all that was out the window. She was stuck in this stupid house with her stupid family for the rest of the holidays. All based on one stupid decision. She should never have gone along with the shoplifting. It was just that Luke made it sound more fun than it actually was. He always made things sound fun, and often times he was right. But she should have known better this time.

She did hope he was ok though. That storeowner had been rough with her. She could still feel where his fingernails had dug into her skin.

After thirty more minutes of lying there, contemplating how disastrous the rest of her summer was now looking, she eventually got out of bed. Over dinner, she didn't say a word, just eating her food in silence. Not that it mattered as her stepbrothers more than made up for her lack of words, filling the air with screams and shouts as if they were trying to see who could be louder. After dinner, she cleaned up, washing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, her stepmother eyeing her carefully the entire time.

When she was done, she slumped over in her bed. She looked at the London architecture book and was tempted to read it but wasn't in the mood anymore. Instead, she just closed her eyes and tried to think of things that could make the next month marginally better.

Tap, tap.

Annabeth's eyes flew open and she turned to see Luke standing outside her window, his quirky smile on his face. Annabeth gaped for a second before running over to the window and throwing it open.

"Hey Beth, how's it going?" he asked.

"Luke?" she gasped. "What are you doing here? How are you?"

"I wanted to make sure you were ok," he said as if it were obvious.

She flushed. "Thanks, but I'm fine. What about you? Did they let you go?"

"Yeah. I stated that since the store-owner seemed to be attacking you, I acted in defense and they agreed."

Annabeth frowned. "They did?" she questioned.

Luke paused. "And…my dad may have shown up," he added, grimacing at his words.

Annabeth winced. She knew how much he hated his dad. She didn't know the full history there, but she knew enough to know it was bad. Still, if he helped him… "That's good, right?"

Luke scoffed. "Only to protect himself, not me. Whatever."

Annabeth wanted to talk more but she kept glancing back at her door, worried her parents would come in at any second. "Look, you have to go. If my parents realize you're here, I'll be in even more trouble than before."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Annabeth quickly explained her punishment and his expression darkened. "Those bastards," he muttered. "They can't do that." He started reaching for his wand and Annabeth hissed.

"No, stop," she said. "That'll only make things worse. Look, I'll just…make it through and then we can go to Diagon Alley like we planned and get all my stuff."

"Annabeth, you don't deserve this," he argued. "Living with these…people." He practically spat the last word, as if wanting to say something else instead. "You should be with your own kind. Just come with me. I can take care of you for the rest of the summer."

Annabeth flushed again at those words but she knew he couldn't help now. "Luke, as much as want to do that, I…I just can't."

"Why not? Annabeth, these people will never understand you. They're just muggles. Come with me. I have a place in Diagon Alley that you can stay in for now. Or even move in with Thalia. I'm sure she won't mind. And their house is so big, I don't think the all-powerful Zeus Grace will even notice you there." He chuckled at that.

Annabeth joined him for a second but she soon quieted. "Luke, all that sounds great but…do you remember what happened last time I ran away?"

Luke sobered. "This'll be different. I'm an adult in the wizarding world now."

"Yeah, but I'm not. My dad will come looking for me again and I'll just end up right back here only in more trouble than before. Probably forbidding me from going to Hogwarts. I know," she held up her hand as he opened his mouth, "he can't do that. But he does have some friends or at least people he knows in the wizarding world. So he can make some sort of argument that could delay me going at the least. I can't risk that. I really appreciate you wanting to help, but I can handle this."

Luke sighed. "Fine."

"Besides, it is sort of your fault I'm here."

He jerked up at that. "My fault?"

"It was your idea to rob the store."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, how was I supposed to know it would end up like that. It was just supposed to be a stupid prank. That muggle storeowner took things way too far."

Annabeth looked down at the scratch marks on her wrist and couldn't help agreeing. Still, they had started it. "It was a dumb idea Luke and we shouldn't have done it."

"Yeah, I guess," he nodded reluctantly. "Whatever."

"Look, I'm really sorry but if my parents catch you here, I'm going to be in so much more trouble," Annabeth told him.

"Yeah, alright." He patted her on the shoulder. "Hang in there kid. If you need anything, send me a message. I'll have Maia drop by every now and then just in case." Maia was his owl, a beautiful tawny.

"I will," Annabeth told him. "Now go. And please explain everything to Thalia."

He nodded. "Bye Beth. I'll see you soon, promise." Then he dropped down to the street and vanished from sight.

Annabeth sighed. Probably her last interaction with the wizarding world for a while. Back to boring old muggle life for her. She slumped down on her bed and closed her eyes.

"Just seven weeks," she muttered to herself. "Just seven weeks." And then, at last, Hogwarts.

It was about a week into Annabeth's punishment that her letter arrived, a few days after her birthday. Not that her parents remembered. Thalia and Luke did, both sending her gifts and cake that made her feel better. They had wanted to stop by but Annabeth had told them not to. They'd celebrate when she was free, at Diagon Alley. Otherwise, they might not get the chance at all.

She was up in her room, reading through Luke's gift to her which was a book on medieval castle architecture, his way of preparing her for Hogwarts, when there came a knock at her door. She closed the book and walked over, opening it. Her stepmom stood there, looking uncomfortable.

"This came for you," she said stiffly, handing over a small envelope. It was thick and heavy, looking like it was made of yellowish parchment, with her name and the address written in emerald green ink.

Annabeth slowly took it and turned it over, her eyes landing on the purple wax seal bearing an eagle, badger, lion, and snake with an H between them. The Hogwarts coat of arms.

It was here. It was actually here. Her letter to Hogwarts had arrived.

"Thanks," she muttered softly and closed the door. Walking back to her bed. She carefully opened the enveloped and pulled out the parchment inside.

Dear Ms. Chase,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Actual confirmation she was going. Luke and Thalia had said it would come but now it was more real. She was going to Hogwarts. No matter what her father or stepmother did, she was going to Hogwarts. She breathed out a sigh of relief and then grinned wildly, throwing her arms in the air. She wanted to scream out as well, but decided that might not be the best idea. Instead, she just did it silently, dancing a little.

She was going to Hogwarts.

After that, the weeks passed by in a blur. She did as she was told, hoovering the house at least once a week, washing all the dishes, cleaning up after her stepbrothers, doing the laundry, and any other task her stepmother saw fit to ask her to do. She stayed quiet throughout, not wanting to make anything worse. She couldn't jeopardize her future.

Between various chores, she stayed in her room, reading. Thalia and Luke still sent her letters every day and she responded to each one. They talked about all the things they would do when she was let out, all the things they would buy at Diagon Alley when she was finally free. She didn't know how she would have lasted through her punishment without them.

In the final week of her punishment, it was clear her stepmother was running out of chores to give her so kept coming up with new ones, the most recent of which was to organize the attic. So that was how Annabeth found herself in the dusty, attic, looking through old boxes and trying to find a way to organize it the way her stepmother wanted. She decided to organize it to the most basic categories first and go from there, pulling one box to her and opening it up. As she did, she shrieked as she spotted a spider crawling up the side. She grabbed the first thing she could, an old college textbook of her father's and whacked at the creature, smashing it. She shuddered and breathed out. She absolutely hated spiders. Even seeing a small one could make her blood freeze and have her start to hyperventilate. It had all started years ago when she'd had nightmares for days straight about spiders coming into her bedroom and covering her in webs. She'd screamed for her dad to come but he never had. That was the week that had led to her running away.

She shook herself off and looked around for any other spiders but couldn't spot anymore. Still, she kept an eye out as she opened the box up again. Inside, she found stacks of old photographs. Curious, she pulled a few out. One was of a fountain that she thought she recognized while another was of broken pillars. It was only when she saw the third, a photo of the Coliseum, that she realized they were photos of her father's year studying in Rome. She ruffled through a few more before picking up another stack, pulling out another photo.

She froze, feeling her fingers go numb.

In the photo, smiling at the camera, was her father. And, with an arm draped over his shoulder, smiling right beside him, was a young woman with blonde hair. At the bottom were the words: First date with Athena.

Athena White. Her mother.

Annabeth blinked. She had forgotten that her parents had first met in Rome. Both studying abroad, but for different schools. Her father doing a special course in military history while her mother was studying with a famed Auror in the city. They had found each other and started dating. She had even helped him with his doctorate, using a little magic to get him a step ahead of others. Then, learning they were both returning to England, decided to start a real relationship. It hadn't lasted, not long, but long enough for Annabeth to be born.

She quickly ruffled through the other photos and saw more photos of them, eating at restaurants, exploring Rome, just sitting on a bench. Annabeth stopped at one of her mom standing in front of the Vatican, hands on her hips with a proud and pleased look on her face, as if she had designed it. Annabeth knew that look. It was the same one on her face whenever she finished designing one of her models, or when she managed to build something.

She hadn't realized her dad had kept these photos. She figured he had tossed them all away years ago when her stepmother had moved in. But instead, he had shoved them up here in the attic. Where they had been sitting, collecting dust, until she came. Almost as if they had been waiting for her.

She quickly grabbed as many as she could, stuffing them into her pockets. She didn't know what her stepmother would do if she ever found them. Probably throw them in the bin. Or burn them. And Annabeth couldn't allow that.

By the time she was done, her pockets were bulging. She'd taken every picture of her mother she could find. She hoped there were more but right now didn't think she'd be able to stuff even a needle in her pockets. She just hoped she'd find any others before her stepmother did.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth inwardly cursed, hearing her dad's voice call up to her. "Yeah?" she called back, a little hesitantly.

A few seconds later, his wild, frizzy hair poked up through the latch. "Ah, so this is where your stepmother sent you," he said, coughing a little from the dust.

"Sorry, I haven't organized much of it yet," she said, waving her hand around at all the boxes and hoping he didn't notice her bulging pants.

"That's fine. Doesn't really matter. I wanted to talk to you."

"Ok. What about?"

"I think, and your stepmother…agrees, that it might be time for your punishment to end."

Annabeth blinked, not expecting that. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. These past few weeks, you've taken your punishment with grace and done everything asked of you without complaint. Even your stepmother…agrees that it might be time to let you off the hook."

Annabeth couldn't help but notice that that was the second time he had paused before saying her stepmother agreed. But it didn't matter. She was free. She was finally free.

"Just, please don't do anything like that again."

"I won't," Annabeth promised, and meant it. Shoplifting had been a stupid idea and she shouldn't have gone along with it, even if it had been kind of fun for a little while.

"Good. Then, you can go to this…Digan Alley place."

"Diagon Alley, dad," she corrected him.

"Yes, there, and get everything you need for your school."

"I will. Thanks dad." Annabeth couldn't help but grin. She had to let her friends know. Their owls hadn't come today yet but they always came eventually. They might even be waiting by her windowsill right now. She had to go check and write them to know they could go to Diagon Alley tomorrow.

But as she moved towards the latch, she shoved the box of photos a little, causing her father to glance at them. And she watched as his expression softened. He moved all the way into the attic and opened the box, looking at the photos inside.

"I forgot these were up here," he muttered, almost to himself.

Annabeth eyed the latch, wondering if she could make it there before he noticed the missing photos, but judging from the way he was now leafing through them, a suspicious look on his face, it was already too late. This was confirmed seconds later when he turned to her, eyebrow raised, and looked down at her bulging pockets.

Annabeth stared wide-eyed back at him. "I can explain," she began, desperately trying to think of something that would get her out of trouble. She had just gotten her freedom returned to her. She couldn't lose it again now.

But instead of getting angry, her dad just chuckled. Annabeth felt her body relax as he did, though she still kept her guard up. "Should have known," he said, shaking his head a little.

"I'm sorry," she told him, taking the photos out. "I just wanted to…"

"You don't have to explain," he stopped her, holding his hand up. "Honestly, I should have given you those photos years ago. You deserve something of hers, to remember her by."

He looked at the top photo, the one of their first date, arms around each other as they stared at the camera, and a soft smile appeared on his face.

"You miss her," Annabeth said.

"Of course," he replied. "For a while there, I thought she was the love of my life. And we had some good times together. But…" he threw his hands up helplessly, "then life happened and we just drifted apart. In the end, we weren't right for each other. That, plus the war in your…world took a strain on the relationship."

Annabeth hadn't heard much about the war. She'd researched as much as she could about it, wanting to know what her mother had involved herself with, and asked around but the only people she could talk to either didn't know much (like Thalia or Luke) or didn't want to talk about it (almost everyone else).

"You were supposed to grow up with her, you know," her dad told her. "She was supposed to be the one to raise you, train you to be the, uh, witch that you are. But, like I said, life often has other plans." A tear dripped down his eye. "I can still remember the night it happened. That witch arriving on my doorstep to deliver the worst news in my life and handing you over." He chuckled again. "I was terrified of raising you. I didn't know the first thing about raising kids."

Annabeth opened and closed her mouth. She'd never heard her father talk like this. She didn't think he'd ever talked this long to her in years. Especially about her mother. And she didn't want it to end.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," he said. "I shouldn't have been the parent to raise you. I kind of…mucked it up a bit. It's just, you remind me of her a lot. Stubborn to fault, determined to be right. Smart beyond your years."

Annabeth felt tears appear in her eyes now but she made no move to brush them away.

"I should have done a better job."

"You did alright," Annabeth told him. She was stunned for a second. Not once had she ever defended her father and yet here she was, consoling him on his parenting. "I know I haven't been the easiest kid but, you did your best."

"Really? What kind of father forgets his own daughter's birthday?"

Annabeth blinked, gaping a little.

"Yeah. When I was looking for you, I spotted a few of the letters from your friends. I shouldn't have read them but the one with the large letters saying 'Happy Birthday' stuck out to me." He rubbed his hands over his face. "I was just so busy with work and the boys and so angry at you for what you did that I completely forgot. And that's not fair. So, I do have a small surprise for you. And it's actually fortunate we're up here." He shuffled over to the back wall where an old drawer was. Annabeth watched him move, a little confused, but she still followed him.

"After your mother's death, you weren't the only thing they gave. It took a little while, as I didn't really know the proper procedure, but eventually they gave it to me and I've held onto it ever since. I put it back here as I didn't really want your stepmother to find it and she doesn't come up here." He rummaged through the drawer before pulling out a slender box, like the ones that held glasses. He held it out to her and she took it, even more confused now. But then she opened it and gasped, not believing what she was seeing.

It was a wand. A long, slim wand with a smooth handle that looked like it was carved from white wood.

"It was your mother's wand," her dad told her. "And I think it rightfully belongs to you."

As if to confirm his words, Annabeth felt the wand light up in her hands, a warm feeling spreading throughout her body. It wasn't just her mother's now. She could feel it was hers too.

She looked up at her father and, before she knew what she was doing, threw her arms around him. He stiffened for a second before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back. They just stayed that way for a few moments. Annabeth honestly couldn't remember the last time they had hugged. She even wondered if they had ever hugged.

After another minute, she finally pulled back. "Thank you," she said.

"No problem. Consider it a belated birthday present. One of…to be determined. I may need to go shopping myself."

"No, this…this is just fine dad. Thanks."

"Alright," he nodded. "Well, I'd better get going. I'll, uh, see you later then." He shuffled over to the latch and walked down the ladder, disappearing from sight.

Annabeth stared at the wand in her hands. Her mother's wand. And now hers. Her own wand. She couldn't wait to tell her friends.