Louise Jackson

Louise Jackson was always normal (well, as normal as you can

with ADHD and dyslexia). Then she suddenly gets a letter from
out of nowhere and a man in purple robes shows up in her home.
Then he calls her a witch. It wasn't meant to be rude? Oh. Now
she's off to Hogwarts, and she can't help but note that beautiful,
handsome, strange man.
 Chapter 1: You’re a Witch

“I… uh… I mean… Well, actually, yeah. That’s rude.”

I frowned as I looked at the pages of my summer homework. The words just

floated off the page, and I couldn’t concentrate at all.

It was then at that moment, something came flying through my window.

My ADHD kicked in and I jumped out of my seat, landing on my floor with
a thud before rolling into a defensive position.

I heard hurried footsteps rush to my room, and my door was thrown open
by my older brother, Percy. “Louise!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?!”

“Oh, dear,” my mom said, rushing over to me. She helped me stand up and
brushed the non-existent dirt off of my clothes. “What happened?”

“I… I was just trying to do homework,” I worked out in my head, mind

reeling a thousand miles per minute. “Then something went flying towards
me through the window so I ducked.”

Percy walked over to my desk and looked at whatever landed on there.

“Hey… there’s a letter for her,” he commented, picking up a small,
rectangular envelope.

He handed it to my mom, who looked at it for a second before handing it

over to me. I blinked and looked at what was addressed to me, and for some
odd reason, I could understand it.

Miss L. Jackson
Third Bedroom on the Left
20798 52nd Street
Manhattan, New York, USA

I looked at the envelope wearily, then at my mother and brother. “... It’s not
gonna explode, is it?” I asked cautiously.
Mom opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a knocking
on the door. She got up, kissed both of us on the forehead, before walking
out the room to answer whoever was on the other side.

“You probably have a stalker,” Percy said, glancing out the window. He
walked over to it quickly and closed it, shutting the curtains in the process.

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound pleasing.”

“Percy! Louise! Could you both come out here, please?” my mom called
from the living room. Her voice was a bit shaky, so Percy and I quickly got
up to go check her out.

As we got to the living room, I spotted a tall, thin man with long silver hair
and an equally long beard, with spectacles that rested on a slightly crooked
nose and framed sparkling, blue eyes. He was wearing a set of purple robes,
which was really weird, considering it was summer in Manhattan.

“Hello, Perseus, Louisiana,” the man greeted us kindly. He spotted the

letter in my hand and said, “Ah, I see you’ve gotten your letter. Would you
be so kind and read it?”

“It might explode, though,” I said bluntly, looking at the man. “Who are
you?”

“Professor Albus Dumbledore,” the man greeted us.

Percy hid a laugh behind his fist and I elbowed him. “Ow,” my brother
groaned.

“Professor of what, exactly?” I interrogated. “What are you doing here?”

“Many of your questions will be answered in the letter,” Dumbledore said,

gesturing to the letter. “If you would be so kind, Miss Jackson.”

I looked at the old man and said, “I can’t read. I’m dyslexic."

“I believe you’ll find this letter simple to read,” Dumbledore replied, and
gestured to the letter again. I turned to my mother, who nodded at me
encouragingly. I nodded back before exhaling deeply and opening the
envelope.
When the words didn’t float off the page, I realized I could understand it
just perfectly:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwurmp, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Jackson,

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 all await you by no later than July

31.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress

“Hogwarts?” Percy echoed first. “What in the Hades is Hogwarts?”

“It is a school that teaches young wizards and witches of witchcraft and
wizardry. In other words, Miss Lousiana Jackson,” he said, turning to me
with twinkling eyes, “you’re a witch.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said the first thing that popped into my head,
“That’s not a really nice thing to call someone. I… uh… I mean… Well,
actually, yeah. That’s rude.”

Dumbledore chuckled before saying, “My apologies, but in my world,

witches and wizards are very common. It is not a derogatory term of any
means.”

“But, I’m not a witch,” I said cautiously, looking at Dumbledore. “I’m just
Louise.”

“Well, Louise, have strange things ever happened to you, besides in water?”
Dumbledore inquired. “When you feel intense emotions?”
“The kitchen exploded all on its own!” I countered back. “I didn’t do
anything!”

“Yes,” Dumbledore nodded. “Exactly! That was magic.”

I blinked. “So I’m a witch?” Dumbledore nodded. “Cool,” I accepted. Hey, if

you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. “So… what do I do now?”

Dumbledore smiled patiently. He gave Mom a bag and my mother opened

it. “Ash?” she inquired.

“That is Floo Powder,” Dumbledore informed. “Before September the first,

please go to Diagon Alley. You simply take a handful of that powder, and
state very clearly where you want to go. In your case, it would be Diagon
Alley. I believe there is a shopping list as well as instructions written in
there.”

“Can I come too?” Percy asked eagerly. “Well, to Diagon Alley at least, since
I’m obviously not a wizard.” He turned to me, “Man, you’re lucky.”

“Of course,” Dumbledore nodded his head. “But this is a secret. You must
not let anyone outside your family know your sister is a witch. It could
compromise the magical world and throw the world in an upset of balance.
We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?”

Percy shook his head. “No, we wouldn’t.”

Dumbledore smiled again. Man, does he ever stop? “Well, Louisiana, I look
forward to seeing you on your first day of Hogwarts. Have a good day.” And
right before our very eyes, he vanished.

Silence filled the room, and it made me very jittery, like it always did.

“That really happened, right?” Percy inquired.

“Yes, Percy,” Mom said slowly. “It did.”

“That’s so cool!” Percy exclaimed, hugging me. “My sister’s a witch!” He

turned to Mom, “Mom! Louise’s a witch! She’ll probably learn to fly on a
broom and everything!” That made my mother crack a smile and she
hugged us both.
“We’ll go to Diagon Alley in August,” my mother informed us. “Gabe will be
working that whole day and I’ll take a day off.”

POSEIDON

“Looks like your daughter’s a witch,” Hermes commented from beside me.

“So she is,” I agreed, nodding my head. As a demigod and a witch, I’m
afraid Louise would be in much more danger, even more so because she is
my daughter.

“You don’t know how much,” Apollo commented, walking over and joining
us. He let out a low whistle at the image before us.

“She’s twelve, Apollo,” I turned to my nephew, who just shrugged. I shook

my head. Gods. Can’t just keep it in. Well, that was rather hypocritical of
me, but regardless.

“No harm in looking,” Apollo countered.

He chuckled again before it abruptly stopped. His eyes glazed over and he
stared into nothingness, his eyes glowing a faint white. It was no more than
a few seconds before he shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

“Another prophecy?” Hermes inquired. “Which being is it this time?”

Apollo slowly turned his head, to glance at Louise. “Her.”

Dread filled through me. “My daughter?” I double-checked.

Apollo nodded. “And me.”

“What was it?” I demanded.

“Daughter of the Sea, born as one in two’s world,

Lord of the Truth, to her he will be hurled,
She will stop a darkness that will arise,
And discover what she will find in the skies.”

“Skies?” Hermes cocked his head. “I think Zeus will shoot her down before
she even gets a chance.” I glared at him. “Sorry.
 Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

“Great. I’m dyslexic, I have ADHD, and I have a speech disorder

now too.”

"Oof!"

Before I could get up, I heard a whoosh. My face hit the floor again and I
groaned in pain as my nose twitched irritably. My back was straining from
being crushed. "Percy…" I groaned out. My brother gave a short grunt.

I wiggled under my brother as his immense weight crushed me. "Get… off
me."

There was another whoosh and then a gasp. "Percy, get off your sister!"

Percy pushed himself off of me and my mother helped me up, brushing off
the dirt that has gotten on me. "Oh, dear. You're not even away yet," she
said mostly to herself than me. "I wonder if you'll be okay."

"Mom, I'll be fine," I sighed as she continued to fuss over me. "You okay
there, Percy?" I asked, peering to my brother, rubbing my throbbing nose.

"A-okay," Percy replied, brushing his pants. "Sorry about that."

"No prob," I brushed it off and my mom looked at the piece of paper in
front of her. "So, where to first?"

"First, we're getting your robes," Mom informed me. "Dumbledore stopped
by while you two were out a couple days ago to give us money." She showed
us a small bag of various coins that were gold, silver, and bronze. "Come
on."

We walked out of the alleyway, and wow. I think I spun around five times
to take everything in. It was all just so amazing.
I saw a few owls flying around, some cauldrons outside stores, and people
with robes walking everywhere. It was packed; it was like Times Square
during the holidays, minus the drunk people.

I was jittery with excitement… and maybe my ADHD, but wow. I couldn't
really understand what most signs said, but it didn't matter to me. I
thought it was amazing, and that's all that really matters.

"I'm so jealous," Percy sighed in awe. "Make sure you don't forget us regular
humans, alright, sis?"

"Never," I assured, looking at my brother. We both shared a meaningful

smile that we had towards each other.

"Percy, Louise, come on!" our mother called, and we jogged after her. She
led us into a store; I tried to read what store we entered, but all I saw was
mdaaM 'slMaik bRsoe orf lAl cinosOac.

"Hogwarts for two?" a short, kind-looking woman smiled at us both.

"No, just my daughter," Mom said, pushing me forward slightly. I stumbled

a bit over my feet, but I managed to keep myself up-right. I steadied myself
and stood awkwardly in front of the woman.

The woman smiled, "Muggles, are you?"

"E-excuse me?" Mom inquired, confused. She was right to be confused. My

mother did not smoke marijuana.

"Oh!" the woman laughed. "I forgot. Muggles are what we call non-magic
folk. I'm Madam Malkin, and I own this wonderful little place."

"Yes, we're… Muggles," Mom struggled to use the word. It was a weird
word, understandable.

"Wonderful!" Madam Malkin chirped happily. "Come to the back with me,
dear. She'll be out soon," she addressed the last part to my mother and
brother.

I walked to the back where I spotted a boy who looked a few years older
than me, with bright red hair and freckles. Pins and needles were flying
around him as he just stood still for the fitting. Aw man, do we have to
stand still?

"We have to stand still?" I choked out, turning to Madam Malkin.

"Why, yes," Madam Malkin nodded her head. "It won't take very long if you
do." I sighed mentally in my head. Please, let me stay still for at least five
minutes. I climbed onto the stool and immediately, a black cloth
surrounded me and began its work.

…I didn't even last a minute.

"Dear, stand still," Madam Malkin scolded me, lightly tapping my shoulder
with her wand.

"I can't help it," I replied. "I have ADHD."

"What in Godric's name is that?" the redhead boy next to me inquired,

turning to me. "Is that some sort of curse?"

"It's a disorder," I sighed, fidgeting yet again, earning another light slap
from Madam Malkin. "I can't be still and I have a short attention span. …
Which is part of the reason I've been expelled from every school I've been
to, so far," I admitted.

The redhead's nose wrinkled in distaste before nodding his head and
looking away from me. Madam Malkin declared he was done and he walked
away with a short thank you.

"What's your name, dear?"

"Louise Jackson," I replied. "It's actually a nickname, but so's my brother's

name. Perseus and Louisiana are too long, so we just go by Percy and
Louise. No one ever calls us by our full name though. Well, except my mom
when she's mad at us, but she normally doesn't get mad at us. She's the
best. It's pretty hard for her to raise my brother and me. We always get
expelled from the schools we attend because we're always blamed for stuff
we never really do."

"No father?"
"Mom said he had to leave," I told her, frowning. "I think he left us, though,
so Percy and I have never pushed her to tell us."

"I'm sorry, dear," Madam Malkin looked at me sympathetically. "Your robes

are done, dear."

I looked down, and indeed, they were. I blinked and Madam Malkin helped
me take off the robes before leading me out of the back room.

I spotted my mother talking with a couple with red hair, but Percy was
nowhere to be found.

"Mom!" I said, walking over to her. "Look!" I showed her my black robes. "I
got robes!"

My mother smiled and gestured to me, "This is my daughter, Louise. She'll

be starting her first year at Hogwarts. Dear, this is Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," I greeted. I continued to look around for my
brother, "Where's Percy?"

"He couldn't stand waiting so he went out to take a walk," my mother

explained. She turned to the Weasleys and said, "Percy is my son and
Louise’s brother."

"How interesting," Mr. Weasley mused. "We have a son named Percy, as
well. He's starting his fifth year though."

"We do have a son that's starting his first year though," Mrs. Weasley said,
looking at me. "His name is Ron."

I didn't know what to say, so I just blurted out, "Cool."

"I'm back, what'd I miss?" Percy's voice came, walking over to us.

"Percy!" I whirled around to my brother. "Look!"

"Cool," Percy said, touching the black fabric. "So how'd it go?" He looked at
me curiously with his sea green eyes that were the same exact shade of
mine.
"It was really weird," I told him honestly. "I was on this footstool and then
this black cloth surrounded me and pins and needles started floating
towards me. I had to stand still."

"Oh, I forgot to tell Madam Malkin you had ADHD," Mom looked down at
me. "Did you give her a hard time?"

"What is this ADHD?" Mr. Weasley asked with a fascinated look in his eyes.
Well, that was a new one.

My mother rested her hands on our shoulders before explaining, "It's an

attention disorder. They can't sit still for long. That's why Percy had to leave
and take a walk."

"Fascinating," Mr. Weasley stated truthfully. "Isn't it, Molly?" He turned to

his wife. "ADHD."

"I saw this owl place during my walk," Percy informed me. "The list said
you could have an owl, right?" I nodded. "We should get you an owl."

"One at a time, Percy," Mom said lightly. "You'd think you were the one
going to school, not Louise." She smiled at the Weasleys and said, "It was a
pleasure to meet you both, but we have to get going."

"Oh, yes," Mr. Weasley nodded his head. "We have to find our children.
Have a nice day," he tilted his hat towards the three of us before leaving
with Mrs. Weasley.

We went to pay for my robes and Mom apologized to Madam Malkin, who
just waved it off with a smile.

Mom led us to a bookstore and began to buy our textbooks, which I found
was rather lame. My mother smiled at me and walked over to the counter to
pay, asking the witch there something.

The witch nodded, pulled out her wand, and tapped my set of books. My
mother paid for them and then walked back to us. "Can you read this?" she
inquired, showing me the book.

I blinked in surprise when I could clearly read the title of the book, A
History of Magic, without a single problem. I flipped through the pages,
and for once, the words didn't float off the page. Talk about cool.
"Whoa…" I gaped. Magic was awesome. Mom smiled before taking the
book, placing it back in the bag she was holding.

"Now, let's go get that owl of yours," Mom declared. Percy jumped up and
led us to a store that was called pEylseo Olw muEimrop.

On the way, I bumped into a wall and bounced back slightly. It wasn't until
I looked up did I realize I bumped into a taller, older boy.

I blushed at the way the light hit his sunglow hair and his sky blue eyes
sparkled back at me in amusement.

He looked around to be eighteen or nineteen, dressed casually in a tight

white t-shirt that hugged his chest nicely, loose light jeans, and a pair of old
black Converse. "Whoa, there," he said steadying me before I could fall
back.

"I- uh, I'm, uh, dah, er…" I stammered stupidly. Great. I'm dyslexic, have
ADHD, and have a speech disorder now too. I took a shaky breath and
exhaled deeply, "I'm sorry."

His lips curled up to reveal his pearly white teeth. He laughed and my heart
fluttered at the musical sound he produced. "It's alright," he told me, his
voice silky smooth. "It was my fault. As an apology, take this." He reached
into his pocket, and pulled out a… pen? "Only open it when you most need
it."

"Um… thank you?" I didn't know what to say. I took the pen, seeing his long
fingers release the utensil as I grabbed it, looking at it curiously. It was just
like any old ballpoint pen, except it had an engraving on the
side, Thyella. 'Tempest,' my mind somehow read.

"You're welcome. Good luck, Louisiana Jackson," the guy said from above
me.

My head snapped up at my full name, but the boy was gone. "Where'd he
go?" I asked myself, spinning around in a circle to find any trace of the
blond. I shook my head when I found nothing and walked into the store,
where Percy was eagerly looking around at all the different kinds of owls
inside.
"My lady! My lady, over here!" I blinked at the sound and turned my head,
searching for the voice. "Over here!"

I looked around before they landed on black orbs staring right back at me.
My eyes darted around the being to see reddish-brown feathers with a
large, round head.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked her. Well, judging by the sound of the
voice, it was female.

"Are you talking to me?" she countered back.

I snorted. "Touché." I walked over to her and stuck my finger through the
cage. The owl reached forward and began to lightly peck at my finger
affectionately.

I looked down to see what type of owl it was, but could only read s'Ple
Fngihsi wOl. "Mom?" I called, still playing with the owl. "What kind of owl
is this?"

"It's a Pel's Fishing Owl," Mom informed me. "Do you like it?"

Percy appeared at my side, asking, "You gonna get this owl?"

The owl looked back at me, almost like she tried to give me the puppy-dog
look. What? I looked at Mom, and gave her the best pleading look I could.

Mom smiled and said, "Of course." She bent down to kiss my forehead and I
took the cage. The owl hooted in happiness, fluttering her wings in the cage
before settling back down on her faux perch. We walked over to the owner
and Mom paid for her.

"What're you gonna name it?" Percy asked as we exited the store. "Wait, is
it a boy or a girl?"

"I'm thinking it's a girl," I told him. "I keep hearing this female voice in my
head, like the owl's talking to me."

"That's me!" the owl said in my head. "What are you going to name me, my
lady?"
"Hm…"I mused. "How about… Sofia? It means wisdom in Greek," I asked,
looking at the owl. Whoa. How'd I know that meant wisdom?

"When did you learn Greek?" Percy asked me. "And how come I knew that,
too?" Percy and I exchanged looks before shrugging our shoulders. It
must've been something we picked up on TV without really knowing. Who
said TV didn't teach you anything?

“Hm, we'll want to go to Ollivanders for your wand, Louise," Mom told me,
ushering us off the streets, away from the huge crowd of people we were
surrounded by. "Let's go."

We quickly found the store, but when I entered, it looked only like a ruddy
old store. A noise made me jump and I whirled around, to see an old man
with razzled white hair looking patiently at me. "Ah, Miss Jackson," he
greeted me casually, like he's known me for a long time instead of just two
seconds. "Dumbledore said you'd be arriving. I've already picked out a
couple of wands for you to try."

I blinked and walked to the counter, where about four wands were placed in
four separate boxes. I looked at who I assumed was Ollivander, and he
nodded at the wands, telling me to try one out.

I picked the one up on the far left and Ollivander explained, "12 inches, oak,
with unicorn hair as its core. Very flexible. Give it a wave."

I waved the stick, and my eyes widened in shock when an invisible force
shoved off three books on a nearby table, making them crash onto the floor.
I quickly put it back.

Ollivander had a bemused look on his face and inquired, "No? Try the next
one."

This time, I picked up the one on the far right. I gave it a flick and my jaw
dropped when the curtains set on fire. It disappeared as quickly as it
appeared, though, and I saw that Ollivander has his own wand out.

I heard Percy coughing behind me, concealing laughter. I turned back to

glare at my brother. He tossed me a wide grin, his eyes sparkling in
amusement. Ugh. He's lucky I love him so much.
I looked back at the other two wands. Aw, man. What would happen if I
destroyed this place? Then I'd never get a wand and my invitation to
Hogwarts would be revoked. Man, expelled before even attending. Who'd
have thought that was possible?

I cautiously reached for the one on the left and frowned. I waved it, and a
bolt of electricity shot out, short-circuiting the place. "I'm sorry," I
apologized. Percy laughed as the lights turned back on.

"No worries, my dear. It happens. Try the last one," Ollivander encouraged
me.

I frowned, and picked up the last one. I flicked it, and a gush of wind made
a few shelves in the back knock to the floor. I put back the wand quickly. I
could hear Percy gawfulling in the background. Mom tried to hush him, but
it was futile.

"Um… does that mean I don't get my own wand?" I asked carefully. Maybe
I'd just end up with no wand and as a result, not be able to attend
Hogwarts.

"No, no, my dear. There are still plenty of wands to choose from,"
Ollivander told me cheerfully. "I have had this much of a challenge since…
well, ever!"

He went to the back and pulled out two boxes. His hand then hesitated
before he put back the two and just grabbed that last one. He walked back
and pointed this wand out to me.

"12 inches, laurel, with a pegasus hair for its core. Exceptionally rare. Very
flexible and fluid," he informed me. "Give it a shot."

"I don't know," I said wearily. "I might just burn this store down and get
kicked out before I even attended school. It wouldn't be the first time I got
kicked out for a fire."

"I assure you that won't happen," Ollivander told me. "I have a good feeling
about this wand."

I nodded before taking the wand in my hand. The second I grabbed it, I felt
this power surge through me.
It felt almost like a high (not that I'd really know what it felt like), with all of
this energy.

"This is it," Ollivander declared, crossing his arms, fully satisfied and proud
of himself.

"How do you know?" I asked curiously, cocking my head to the side.

"You see, Miss Jackson, the witch does not choose the wand, but rather,
the wand chooses the witch. And when you picked up this wand, it chose
you," Ollivander explained, pointing at my Stick of Doom.

I blinked, still slightly confused, but accepted it, nonetheless. No use in

arguing.

"That'll be fifteen galleons," Ollivander said to my mother.

"Wow," I exhaled. "That's... That's quite a bit of money."

"Your wand is incredibly unique, Miss Jackson. No one else in this world
has this kind of wand," Ollivander assured me. "No one."

"That's fine, Penny," Mom told me. "There's more than enough in here."
She walked up to Ollivander and paid him before we walked out, with me
with a new wand.

I then realized something.

"Hey, Mom," I called for her attention.

"What is it, honey?" Mom looked down at me, confusion in her eyes.
"Something wrong?"

"Well, y'know how I have to be on a train to actually get to school?" I

inquired. Mom nodded. "How are we gonna get there if we live in
Brooklyn? Do they have Floo chimney-thingies?" I mean, why would a
chimney be at a train station?

"Th-that's a good question," Mom realized. "Perhaps we should contact

Professor Dumbledore about that…"
"Ah, it's the Jacksons!" I heard a cheerful voice exclaim. I whirled around
and spotted a large group of redheads, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley leading
the way. Mr. Weasley was the one who spoke. "Did you find everything
alright?"

"Oh, yes," Mom said, nodding her head. "Thank you for the shop
recommendations."

"You're most welcome," Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Oh, these are our children.
Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. Kids, this is Miss Jackson and her two
children, Percy and Louise."

"Hello," the five echoed.

"Blimey, a name just like Prissy? How much could that be lame?" one of the
twins asked. I recognized Percy (Weasley) was the boy that was with me
when I was having my robes fitted.

"George, stop teasing your brother," Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"Blimey, she got my name right," George said, looking at his twin. He then
turned to me and flashed a grin, "George Weasley at your service. I'm in
Gryffindor and I serve as one of the Beaters on the Quidditch team."

I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. "What's a Gryffindor and what's a

Beater for a Quidditch team?"

There was a collective gasp from the children before Mr. Weasley said,
"Now, children, Louise comes from a Muggle family." That seemed to
explain everything to them.

"Do you know if there's a chimney to Floo in at King's Cross Station?" Mom
asked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "See, we live in Brooklyn, and that's all the
way in the United States. We can't really just drive to the station."

"Oh my," Mrs. Weasley commented. "I'm afraid there isn't."

"Does that mean we get to stay in London?" Percy asked, looking at Mom.

"But, Percy, I have work and then there's Gabe…" she pointed out. "We
could just contact Professor Dumbledore and maybe he'll find a way to get
you here," she directed the last sentence to me.
"Dumbledore's a busy man!" Mrs. Weasley told Mom. "Why don't we pick
up Louise from your house and we'll Apparate back?"

"I don't want to trouble you," Mom said, shaking her head. "We'll find a
way."

"Oh, nonsense!" Mrs. Weasley waved off. "It'll only take a few seconds!"

Mom looked down at me and asked, "Well, Louise? What do you think?"

I was fidgeting by now, but I had managed to keep up with the

conversation. Score. "Um… if that's alright with you guys."

Mr. Weasley smiled. "Perfect! We'll just Floo to your place and Apparate
back then!"
 Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express

"Who knows? Aeolus might be feeling a bit mischievous."

"What the heck's Apparating, anyway?" Percy asked as Mom fussed over
me.

I frowned. "It's a sort of teleportation. I read that you could lose a couple
limbs too. I hope I don't. I'm quite attached to them. No pun intended."

Percy let out a chuckle. "Good one."

"Thanks," I grinned. "Didn't mean to come up with it." Then I frowned

again. "I'll miss you, Percy."

"Aw, me too," Percy frowned, pulling me into a hug. "I dunno how I'm
gonna last this year without you in school."

Just then, a rush of fire appeared in our chimney and Mr. Weasley stepped
out. He looked around our house in wonder. "Ah, this is amazing!"

"Hello, Arthur," my mom greeted the man.

"Sally, Percy," Mr. Weasley smiled. Then he looked at me, "Have you gotten
everything, Louise?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded, patting my trunk and lifting up my cage that held Sofia.

"Remember to write as often as you can, okay?" Mom asked me.

"Mom, you tell us that every year," I sighed. Every year, Percy and I were
shipped off to a boarding school, which were the only schools that accepted
us because of our ADHD and dyslexia. "I know."

"Make sure to get into as less trouble as you can, alright?"

"Yes, Mom."
"Don't blow up a bathroom," Percy joked, but held some truth in his words.

I know why. A couple years ago, Percy was being bullied in the boys'
restroom, and I had rushed in to help him. I was pushed back and had hit
my head rather roughly, though, and then Percy got really mad. Then all of
a sudden, water just exploded everywhere and left everyone but Percy and
me drenched. Needless to say, we were expelled.

I mock-saluted my brother and gave my mom and him a hug. I turned to

Mr. Weasley, who was looking on in amazement at our television remote.
He noticed I was ready, grabbed my trunk, and smiled. "Just hold onto my
arm." He held out his arm and I took it while holding onto Sofia's cage.

Everything suddenly went back, and I felt like I was on an extreme roller
coaster ride: unable to breathe, stomach lurching, body being pulled
everywhere.

I ended up right in front of a bunch of redheads and would have fallen if it

weren't for the fact that Mr. Weasley kept me upright.

"I don't feel so good," Sofia groaned to me mentally.

"Really? I feel like sunshines and daisies," I dryly responded.

"First ride's always a bit woozy," Mrs. Weasley told me. "How are you,
dear?"

"I'm fine, thank you," I responded.

"Well, I better be getting off to work," Mr. Weasley said. He bent down to
peck his wife on the cheek before wishing us good luck and disappearing
with a pop.

Mrs. Weasley took Ginny's hand before we entered the train station.
"Alright, let's get moving."

I followed her into the station and wondered what was so magical about it.
George handed me a cart and I took it with a thanks, placing my trunk and
Sofia's cage on top.
As I walked through the station, I spotted a small flash that caught my eye.
I turned my head and saw the boy I had bumped into at Diagon Alley on the
other side of the station.

He grinned at me and a crowd passed by him. When the crowd had finished
passing him, he was gone.

"-not Fred, I'm George," I heard Fred sigh. "Honestly, woman, you call
yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear," Mrs. Weasley sighed.

Fred walked forward and looked at his mother. "Only joking, I am Fred," he
said before running right through a wall.

I gripped George's sleeve before he could walk away. "He just ran right
through a wall."

"Observant eyes, you got there, Louise," George said, almost sarcastically.
"How else was he going to get onto the platform?"

"George, you next!" Mrs. Weasley called.

"Hold on, Mum, I think Louise's a bit nervous," George informed, looking
down at me. What if I ran straight for the wall and then totally crashed? Oh,
Gods, that would hurt so much. "Louise?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my trance, glancing up at one of the twins.

"Would you like to go first, Louise?" Mrs. Weasley asked me.

"I'll catch you if you bounce off the barrier," George joked. "Ow!" he cried
out when Mrs. Weasley hit him in the arm. "I'm only joking, Mum!"

Mrs. Weasley turned to me and smiled patiently. "You'll be fine, dear. If

you're nervous, just go for a running start."

I nodded, exhaling shakily. My body was jittery again, but I welcomed it.
This was going to push me to go through the wall. Well, I never thought I'd
say that.
I took a deep breath, exhaled, and my legs took off. I braced myself to hit
the wall, but I only stopped when arms wrapped around my shoulders.

"Whoa, there, Louise. You'll run right into the tracks," I heard Fred's voice
say. I opened one eye and spotted myself in another location. I was quite
pleased to see that I wasn't a splatter on the wall.

I stood up straighter and cleared my throat. "I'm good. I'm good." It was
then I noticed the giant scarlet trained that read Hogwarts Express.

George entered through the wall, and helped me get my stuff on

board. Whoa, it's a lot heavier lifting it than actually pushing it around.

Sofia looked at me with a disinterested look. "Of course it'd be a lot heavier
lifting it."

"Don't be rude to me," I countered back. "I'm not the best thinker around."

"Forgive me, My Lady, but that is true," she then cooed softly. She was so
cute that I had to forgive her. Ugh. Owls.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley!" I called, where she was fussing over Ron. She
gave me a smile and wave. I turned around, walking into the train, trying to
find a compartment.

I quickly found one where a boy with messy black hair and brilliant green
eyes hidden behind dirty glasses was sitting all by himself. "Hi!" I greeted,
smiling at him.

"Um, hi," he greeted me, unsure.

"I'm Louise Jackson," I introduced myself. "You mind if I sit here?"

"No, not at all," the boy shook his head. "I'm Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you, Harry," I said politely, walking into the compartment. I
took a seat across from him.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Your accent is strange."

"I'm American," I informed him. "Brooklyn, New York, actually."

The door to the compartment slid open, and I angled my head to see who it
was. Ron was standing there, looking sheepish. "Anyone sitting there?" he
pointed at the seat next to me. "Everywhere else is full."

"Hi, Ron," I greeted. Ron smiled at me and sat down, slightly hesitant.

The door slid open again and the twins poked their heads in. "Hey, Ron."
Then they noticed me, "Hey, Louise." I nodded at them. They then looked
back at Ron, "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee
Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," Ron mumbled.

"Harry," Fred said, grinning mischievously. "Did we introduce ourselves?

Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. Louise's an
honorary Weasley. See you later, then."

"Bye," all three of us echoed before the door was shut close again.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. I was wondering what the
big deal was. Does the magical world have Google? I have to look him up.
When I was able to focus again, I saw Harry pull up his bangs to reveal a
lightning-shaped scar.

"So that's where You-Know-Who?" No. I don't know who You-Know-Who

is, thank you very much. Who was he?

"Who's You-Know-Who?" I cocked my head to the side. "And why are you
famous?" I looked at Harry. Well, that didn't sound rude at all. Nope.

Ron looked at me, shocked beyond belief.

Harry explained that it was this dude name Voldemort - Ron flinched at the
name - and he was this evil wizard that basically ruled the world in
darkness but he was finally defeated by Harry - for reasons unknown.

"Oh. Okay," I didn't know what to say, again. Jeez. I was well-deserving of
those Fs I got.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked us curiously.

"Er - yes, I think so," Ron answered. "I think Mum's got a second cousin
who's an accountant, but we never talk about it."

I shook my head. "The bomb was just dropped on me about a month ago."

"Why would they drop a bomb on you?" Ron asked, eyes wide in shock.
"Did something happen?"

"It's a figure of speech," I explained. "It just means I was told I was a witch
out of nowhere."

"Oh," Ron nodded his head.

"So you're the only one that must know loads of magic already," Harry
concluded, looking at the redhead.

Ron shrugged before saying, "I heard you went to live with Muggles. What
are they like?"

"Horrible," Harry replied, his face scrunching up in distaste. "Well, not all
of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Your family?"

"My mom and brother are great," I replied. Man, I wouldn't know what to
do if I didn't have any family supporting me. At that, I frowned a bit. "But
man, you have three wizard brothers," I looked at Ron.

"Five," he corrected, his face falling a bit. "I'm the sixth in our family to go
to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have
already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now
Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really
good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me
to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it
first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's
old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

He pulled out a rat from his robes and introduced him as Scabbers. He
stopped himself from saying that the family couldn't afford an owl, but it
didn't really matter.

Yeah, my family wasn't poorest around, but we weren't exactly rolling in the
dough either. When Harry informed Ron that he had hand-me-downs from
his cousin that seemed to cheer him up a bit.
Speaking of which, I pulled out my little bag of money. How did we
even get all this money?

I was pulled out of my thoughts when a woman rolled a trolley up to our

door after sliding it open. "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Oh good. I'm starving. I got to my feet and looked at the wide variety of
treats that were there. Harry stood up next to me and we looked at what
was available to us:

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate
Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron cakes, Licorice Wands, and a lot of other
weird things I've never heard about.

I didn't know what to get, so I just got one of each.

Harry and I shared with Ron, who didn't take very long to convince, and we
snacked through everything easily. The frog jumped out before I could eat it
though. Damn.

When I tried the jelly beans, I got a seaweed flavor, which wasn't all that
bad, but the next one I got resembled tires. Ew. I made a mental note to
ship a box to Percy, just 'cause.

We were interrupted by a little round-faced boy, who looked incredibly shy

and about to pee his pants. "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" When
we shook our heads negatively, he cried out, "I've lost him! He keeps getting
away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harry reassured.

The boy nodded reluctantly before walking away.

"I dunno why he's so bothered," Ron shrugged. "If I brought a toad, I'd try
to lose it as quick as I could. But then again, I did bring Scabbers. He
might've died and you wouldn't have known."

"Oh, you'd know," I interjected. Harry and Ron looked at me strangely. I

shrugged. "I live in Brooklyn." They didn't understand what I meant and I
just sighed. "It's not the cleanest place in the world." That seemed to satisfy
them, and Ron told us of a spell he was trying out.
Impressed, I urged him to show us. He pulled out a wand from his trunk
and he mumbled something about unicorn hair poking out.

He was about to raise his wand when the door slid open, this time, the
toadless boy was with a girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the girl asked in a bossy tone.
Even in the Wizarding World, there were those kinds of girls. I mentally
sighed and tried my best to blend in with the seat.

"We already told him we haven't seen it," Ron countered, but it looked like
it went in one ear and out the other to the girl.

"Oh? You're doing magic? Let's see it, then." She took a seat next to Harry,
and Ron looked shocked.

"Er… alright, then." He cleared his throat and then said, "Sunshine daisies,
butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand
towards the sleeping rat, but nothing happen.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl asked haughtily. She didn't wait
for a response. "Well, it's not a very good one, is it? I've tried a few simple
spells just for practice and they've all worked for me. Nobody in my
family's-"

And here was where I tuned her out.

I looked up at the ceiling, tapping my foot on the floor while my fingers

were dancing on my knees. I should probably get up and walk around. I felt
someone nudge me and shook my head, refocusing and glanced back down.

Four pairs of eyes were looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You name?" the girl asked. "I'm Hermione Granger, if you were paying
attention."

"Louise Jackson," I replied. I then stood up as a surge of uneasiness filled

through me. "Excuse me. I need to go take a small walk."
On my way to get some fresh air, I almost ran into a boy with platinum
blond hair and grey eyes with sharp features.

"Sorry," I apologized.

He looked at me, observing me for a few seconds before saying, "It's alright.
This is Crabbe and this is Goyle. And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

The way he introduced himself reminded me of James Bond. Ha. "Louise

Jackson," I said before walking around him and opening the back door. The
wind immediately hit me, blowing my hair everywhere.

I took a deep breath and relished in the air. We were near water; I could
smell it. Water was something I always liked. It was the one place where I
felt at ease.

"You sure it's wise to be out here with all this wind with a speeding train
going?" a silky voice interrupted my peace.

I whirled around, recognizing the voice, and just as I expected, the boy that
I had run into at Diagon Alley and seen again at the station was leaning
casually against the train, looking at me with patient sky blue eyes.

"It's not like some force is going to push me off," I rolled my eyes.

He grinned and shrugged. "Who knows? Aeolus might be feeling a bit

mischievous." Unlike my brother, I was actually decent with Greek names,
and it was actually my best subject. I got a A+ in Greek. My only A, but
whatever. I recognized the name as the God of the Winds.

"They're just myths," I shrugged. I faintly heard thunder boom in the

distance and looked up, but saw clear skies. What?

The boy in front of me grinned in amusement. "You'd better be careful what

you call myths."

I narrowed my eyes, looking at him strangely. "Who are you?"

"I'm known as a lot of things," he told me cryptically. "You really should get
out of the open, though." He looked off in the distance, and I followed his
gaze. "You could go change. You're almost at Hogwarts." The sun was
almost fully set.
When I turned my gaze back at him, he was gone. Just like that.

I blinked, shook my head, and walked back inside the train. Whoever he
was, he was right. I walked back to the compartment, to hear Hermione
scolding Ron and Harry. She saw that I wasn't changed either, and scolded
me as well. Jeez.

I waited for the boys to finish changing before they left so I could change. It
didn't even take that long to change. The second I opened the door, there
was an announcement.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your
luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

My stomach lurched in anticipation and soon, the train came to a complete

stop. I gave Sofia a goodbye before leaving with Ron and Harry.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" I heard a huge man say. And when I
say huge, I mean like over ten feet tall huge. Harry greeted him easily as
Hagrid.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid told us all. "It's jus'
round this bend here."

We walked through a small path, and I suddenly spotted a huge great, black
lake. It was beautiful. There was a large castle with a bunch of towers on a
high mountain, but I was mainly interested in the huge body of water that
surrounded it. Amazing.

"No more'n five to a boat!" Hagrid called, gesturing to a small fleet of boats.
I went with Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione to a boat, and climbed in
eagerly.

As the boats moved off, I reached down and my fingers danced over the
gentle water and I closed my eyes in content. I spotted something jump out
of the water in the distance, and saw it was a mermaid. It looked liked she
was smiling at me. I gave a small smile and that satisfied her as she dived
underwater and didn't reappear again.

I could feel the movement under the water, since my fingers were
underneath the water.
"You do know there's a giant squid under there, right?" Hermione asked
me. "What if it whisked you away?"

"I somehow doubt it'll do that to me," I said, feeling something brush
beneath my fingers. It slipped easily between my fingers and I gripped it in
greeting before it disappeared again. I smiled softly. "Water and I get along
very well."

We climbed out of the boats, and I was sad to leave the water, even though I
wasn't in it. I looked up, just in time to see Hagrid knock loudly on the
castle door.
 Chapter 4: Welcome to Hogwarts

“I was not all smart or witty…”

When the doors swung open, I saw a tall, black-haired woman dressed in
emerald robes standing there. She had a very stern face and made a mental
note to not make her mad (too much, because it was impossible for me
to not tick off teachers with my ADHD and dyslexia).

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said to the woman.

"Thank you, Hagrid," she said, nodding. "I will take them from here."

I followed the woman, along with everyone else, into the castle and
its entrance hall was amazing. Whoa. She led us down the hallway before
whirling around and talking to us.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she greeted us. She said something about a

banquet, various Houses, and Sorting Ceremony, and I did my best to keep
up with her, but I was getting jittery again. She seemed to notice and looked
at me before I did my best to stand still. I was able to for three seconds
before I began to fidget again. McGonagall walked away, and I continued to
fidget.

"Could you please stand still?" Hermione scolded me.

"I can't," I said.

"Can't or won't?"

"I really can't," I told her. "If I stand or sit somewhere too long without
doing anything, my body just starts to move."

"Do you have ADHD or something?" Hermione asked me.

"Actually, I do," I refuted. I heard screams all of a sudden and whirled

around, only to see white, transparent beings flying around. Ghosts?
A ghost in ruff and tights flew right into my face. He looked at me for a few
seconds before blowing a raspberry right in my face and flying away. Great,
even ghosts didn't like me.

"Don't mind Peeves," a fat little monk ghost smiled at me. "He does that to
everyone." Really? I don't see him going up in faces of the others and
blowing his transparent spit at them.

Professor McGonagall came back and ordered us to get into a line. I stood
behind Ron and in front of Hermione. She led us through a large pair of
double doors and I glanced up at the ceiling, which had thousands of
candles floating in the air, with the night sky above.

There were four long tables where the other students were sitting, and then
another table at the top of the hall with the teachers. She led us up to where
the teachers were sitting and Hermione leaned over to whisper to me.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A
History."

"I did, too," I replied. It was part of the little bit of reading I actually got
done.

I watched in silence as Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in

front of us. There was a hat on top of it, and it looked really dirty. I blinked
in surprise when I saw the hat twitch, then move, and then… sing:

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
 Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

The hat finished its song and I clapped, along with everyone else in the
room. Well, there was no chance I'd be in Ravenclaw, or even Slytherin. I
was not at all smart or witty.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long piece of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be
sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I tuned everyone out, focusing on my feet since I didn't recognize anyone's

name.

"Granger, Hermione!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Jackson, Louise!"

I heaved a heavy sigh and walked up to the stool, glad to move, if not for
just a little bit.
"Hm…" a small voice said into my head. "Very interesting. The Daughter of
the Sea… Yes… I know just where to place you…"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was pulled off of my hat as a table erupted into cheers. I walked
towards it, but something bothered me. What did the hat mean when I was
"The Daughter of the Sea"? I sat down next to Hermione after shaking
Percy's hand.

My head was hurting from thinking so hard.

Something told me to look up, so I did. When I glanced up, I spotted

something in the shadows. The figure moved just so I could see it was a
young girl, no older than twelve, with auburn hair and eyes that reminded
me of the moon.

I blinked, and she was gone. I rubbed my eyes. This was really weird. The
table cheered again, but this time it was deafeningly loud. I noticed the
Weasley twins were jumping around, crying, "We got Potter! We got
Potter!"

Ron was placed in Gryffindor as well, and Dumbledore stood up. He smiled
at us and declared, "Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before
we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are:
Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

… What?

I was utterly confused as people started applauding him.

I then noticed that the plates in front of us were now piled with food. My
stomach growled at the sight of everything. Yes.

I piled some food onto my plate and happily dug in. I conversed with some
of my Housemates about everything and nothing in particular. It wasn't
until Seamus Finnigan told us, "I'm half-and-half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mum
didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty
shock for him."

The entire table laughed and then Neville said he was a pure-blood but they
thought he was a Squib until he showed his magical abilities.
"What about you, Louise?" Neville asked.

"I think I'm the first in a family of Muggles," I replied. "My mom and twin
brother are Muggles, and I don't know about my dad. He left when I was
young. All I remember is a warm light from when he touched me…"

The table looked at me sympathetically, but I just shrugged. I've learned to

accept it. Yeah, it hurt that my dad didn't want us, but what's the past is the
past.

After singing our school song, which was pretty funny, it was time to go.

Percy led us out of the Great Hall and up some stairs and doorways.
How long was it going to take before we reached our room?

I felt something flying my way and ducked quickly, causing Percy to yell
out, "Peeves!" He turned to us and informed, "A poltergeist. Peeves, show
yourself!"

There was nothing but a sound that sounded like air being squeezed out of a
balloon.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" Percy threatened.

The same ghost that was in my face earlier popped out of nowhere and
cackled at me. "Ickle Firsties! I'm just greeting my cousin!" He swooped
down at us and we all ducked.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this," Percy warned. "I mean
it!"

Peeves blew a raspberry at Percy and disappeared, but not before dropping
the walking sticks. I jumped out of the way on pure instinct as they landed
where I was a second ago.

"Sorry about that," Percy apologized. "You want to watch out for Peeves.
The Blood Baron's the only one who can control him. He won't even listen
to us prefects. Here we are."

He led us down a corridor, and there was a portrait of a fat lady in a pink
dress. "Password?" she asked.
"Caput Draconis," Percy gave, and the portrait swung forward, revealing a
round hole. He led us inside an Percy informed us where our dormitory
was.

Exhausted, I climbed up the stairs where my dorms were and found Sofia in
her cage. She hooted happily when she saw me, "My Lady!"

I gave her a smile and stroked her head before taking a look around my
room. There were five four-poster beds that had deep red, velvet curtains
and five separate desks. The room was decorated in a lovely shade of scarlet
and gold, showing the pride of the House.

I spotted my stuff at the foot of a bed, and since I was lazy, I just decided to
leave them there and claim that bed. It was the one closest to the bathroom
and window, and the farthest from the entrance of the room.

I walked over to the desk that was beside there, pulled out a parchment,
and began to write to my mother and brother about my day.

The next day came too quickly, and I woke up to the sound of my
roommates, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Fay Dunbar, arguing who
got the restroom first. Hermione was simply reading on her bed.

I heaved out a sigh and since they were arguing, decided to take it. I entered
the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I heard three muffled, "Hey!"s,
but was too lazy to care.

I quickly got ready for the day, and was out in fifteen minutes. My
roommates glared at me, but I just shrugged. I skipped down the spiral
staircase, and headed to the Great Hall.

"Ah, Miss Jackson," Professor McGonagall greeted me. "Here is your

schedule." She handed me a parchment. "I trust you can read it?"

"I hope so," I responded, and looked down. When I looked down, I was
pleased to see that I could read my timetable just fine. "I can," I nodded in
affirmation.

Professor McGonagall nodded her head and then walked away, handing out
schedules to other Gryffindors who had just entered the Great Hall.
I was looking at my schedule, when I noticed a tuff of blond hair from the
corner of my eye. I glanced up, and saw the back of a tall, blond male that
reminded me of someone I've been seeing lately.

I jogged over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. When he whirled
around, though, I saw that even though he looked almost like the guy I've
been seeing, he wasn't. His eyes were a light sky blue, not as deep, and his
nose was slightly crooked. He was also a bit younger than the guy, with
some baby fat still in tact. His voice wasn't as deep either, though it was still
musical.

"Um… Do I know you?" he asked me, confused.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I just… I just thought you were someone I've been
seeing lately."

He nodded his head, but then stopped mid-nod when he noticed my

schedule. "Are you dyslexic?" he asked.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Do you have ADHD, too?" he inquired.

I blinked. "Yeah," I told him. "How'd you know?"

He looked at me a few seconds longer, probing my eyes for something.

"Lucky guess," he finally answered. "I'm Aristo Solander." He stuck out his
hand.

"Louise Jackson," I introduced myself, shaking his hand. "I'm sorry, again."

"It's no problem," he smiled at me, and his eyes started twinkling. He

brushed some of his sun-kissed locks out of his eyes. "So you're a first year
Gryffindor." I nodded. He smiled. "Third year Hufflepuff."

"Aristo, are you harassing girls already?" a musical feminine voice

questioned, almost sighing. I turned my head and spotted a girl who looked
almost exactly like Aristo walking towards us with a boy with messy brown
hair and grey eyes. They were both also in Hufflepuff, judging by their
robes.
Aristo huffed and replied, "For your information, she came up to me." He
rolled his eyes and said, "Louise, meet Rhea, my annoying twin sister.
That's Cedric Diggory. They're both third years. Guys, this is Penny, a first
year."

Cedric gave me a kind smile while Rhea gave me one as well. It reminded
me of the sun and I blurted out, "Has anyone ever told you that you smile
like the sun?"

Cedric chuckled. "You don't know how often," he replied for her.

"We got it from our dad," Rhea informed me. I nodded. His dad must be
pretty much the physical manifestation of the sun, then.

"Ah, Mr. Diggory, Mr. Solander, Miss Solander, here are your schedules," a
plump woman with grey hair said, walking towards the Hufflepuffs. She
handed the three their schedules before walking off.

"Cool," Cedric said, looking at his schedule. "Care of Magical Creatures

first." He took a glance at Rhea's schedule, but then he shook his head. "I
don't understand how you two can read Ancient Greek but not English.
What electives are you taking?"

"Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Art, Muggle Art, Music, and Muggle
Music," the twins answered in unison.

"That's a lot of classes," I blurted. "How do you fit it all?" Aristo handed me
his schedule, and I saw they had five classes a day, except for Friday, where
they had four.

"You can read Ancient Greek?" Cedric asked me.

I blinked. "That's what language I've been reading in?" I asked, looking at
my own schedule. Cedric peered at it and he nodded. "Oh. Cool." I've been
sounding quite repetitive these past few days.

My stomach then chose that moment to growl. The three third years
chuckled at the sound and I blushed. "Sorry about that," I apologized. "I
should get some food before classes start. It was nice meeting you three."
"It's was our pleasure," Aristo grinned, and threw in a wink for emphasis. I
blushed and nodded before turning around and going back to the
Gryffindor table.

I took a seat next to Harry, who was sitting right next to Ron. Fred looked
at me and nodded. "I see you've met the Solander twins."

"Uh, yeah," I nodded, grabbing a biscuit. I slathered it with butter before

eating it. "They're really nice."

"Gorgeous twins," Angelina Johnson, a third year, said from beside Fred.
"Cedric's a cute one, too. But Aristo is amazing." She feigned swooning,
landing on Alicia Spinnet, another third year. Alicia giggled.

I peered behind me, and saw the Solander twins talking quietly to each
other, while Cedric spoke with a boy with shaggy brown hair. When they
made eye contact with me, they gave me almost-blinding smiles and I
returned their greeting with a wave.

"Huh, it looks like the twins have taken an interest in you, Jackson," George
commented. "Mind introducing me with Rhea?"

"Wouldn't you two already know each other?" I inquired. "You two are in
the same year."

"He meant hook up," Fred laughed. "I don't blame him, though. Rhea's a
looker."

I rolled my eyes, scoffing mentally in my head, Boys. I got up, and prepared
myself for the day.

Wow. Even magical schools were boring. Especially A History of Magic.

Talk about being bored to death. The only thing that was remotely
interesting was Potions.

We had Potions in the dungeon, and our professor was the head of the
Slytherin House, Snape. He was a man with very greasy black hair and a
large, hooked nose, and crooked teeth. Despite his intimidating presence, I
found it… respectful.
He totally bagged on Harry, though, who was a "celebrity". That wasn't very
pleasing, but other than that, the man clearly knew what he was teaching
us.

I was paired up with Hermione when we had to create a potion, though,

and she didn't even let me do anything, mixing and throwing together
everything.

Well, that's the last time I ever worked with her.

Poor, Neville. He got angry red boils all over his face though, and
Gryffindor was punished with that with a point deduction.

Something told me Professor Snape wasn't going to be an easy man to

please.
 Chapter 4: I Need a Psychiatrist

“Forgive me, Lord Apollo, don’t blast me

into the oblivion.”

On Thursday afternoons, we had flying lessons.

Joy.

I wasn't as thrilled about the class as many people were. Harry shared the
same thoughts. I got a heavy pit feeling in my stomach, and I wasn't afraid
to address it.

"I don't wanna fly," I declared to my new friends, the Solander twins. "I
don't have a good feeling about this."

We had been spending a lot of time together outside of classes. As of now,

we were in the library, since it was lunch break, and I was dreading my
impending doom.

"It's not hard," Aristo assured me. "Once you've got your balance, you're
alright."

"You'll visit me if I end up in the Hospital Wing, right?" I asked them.

"Of course," Rhea assured me, patting my shoulder. "But you won't…" Her
face then went blank for a few seconds before she shook her head. "Be
careful," she told me seriously.

I furrowed my eyebrows, but nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's what I was going
for." I took a glance at the clock, and sighed. I stood up and frowned. "I'll
see you guys after class."

Aristo and Rhea nodded, and when I was almost out of earshot, I heard
Rhea tell Aristo, "I have a bad feeling…" Yeah. I was gonna die. I probably
should've written my will.
I arrived outside in the courtyard, where the Slytherins were already
waiting. I took my place next to Harry, and my stomach did backflips.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Madam Hooch, our teacher, barked.
"Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." I sighed and walked
over to a broomstick. "Stick out your right hand over your broom and say
'Up!'"

I hesitated.

Madam Hooch noticed and asked, "What are you waiting for, Jackson?"

"I really don't have a good feeling about this," I told her.

"Nothing will happen," she refuted. "Go on."

I sighed and stuck out my hand. "UP!" I shouted. The broom flew into my
hand right back so quickly and powerfully that I almost lost my balance.

"Now, when I blow my whistle you kick off from the ground, hard," Madam
Hooch said. "Mount your brooms."

I did as she said that, but then Neville kicked off too hard and ended
up flying… and then fell. He groaned in pain and Madam Hooch ran over to
him. "Broken wrist," she muttered. She helped him up and said, "None of
you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those
brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say
'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Malfoy laughed as soon as Madam
Hooch and Neville were out of sight. The Slytherins laughed.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati snapped at the platinum blond.

"Ooh~" Pansy Parkinson, a pug-faced Slytherin teased, "sticking up for

Longbottom? Never thought you'd like fat little crying babies, Parvati."

"Look!" Malfoy exclaimed, running over to the grass. He picked something

up and I recognized it as the Rememberall Neville had. "It's that stupid
thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

"Give that here, Malfoy," Harry spoke up.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find… how about up a
tree?" Malfoy teased.

"Give it here!" Harry cried, but Malfoy just simply climbed onto his
broomstick and flew away. "You want it back? Come and get it then,
Potter!"

"No!" Hermione protested, appearing in front of Harry. "Madam Hooch

told us not to move. You'll get us all into trouble."

"Kick his butt," I encouraged.

"Louise!" Hermione complained.

Harry nodded and mounted his broom. He kicked off and I watched them
battle it up in the air. I couldn't hear what they said, though, but Malfoy
then through the Rememberall.

Harry leaned forward on his broomstick, and I watched as he soared

gracefully in the air, catching the Rememberall easily.

"HARRY POTTER!" I heard a shrill voice call. Harry winced and then he
dismounted his broom just as Professor McGonagall walked over. "Never -
in all my time at Hogwarts… you could've broken your neck!"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor -" Ron attempted to assuage the woman, but
she wouldn't have it.

"That enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

Professor McGonagall walked away with a contrite Harry, and I felt sorry
for him. Malfoy and his goons were happily snickering, though, and I
scoffed mentally.

Madam Hooch came back and declared the class was dismissed, and I
began to walk away, but then heard something. I turned around, and felt
the ground shaking.

This was not good.

The bushes began to shake, and then a huge bull burst out from behind the
bushes. My eyes widened and I ran, but it mooed and ran after me.
"Crap, crap, crap, crap," I cursed, running away. I couldn't bring this into
the school. I ran into the forest, and did my best to shake it off, but instead,
it just knocked over the trees.

I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I chanted in my head.

The pen, I heard a voice in my head say.

Pen? What pen?

The pen given to you by Apollo. Open it.

I don't have it with me though. But something told me I did. I reached into
the pocket of my robes and felt the ballpoint pen. I uncapped it, and my
eyes widened in shock when it transformed into a long, elegant sword right
before my eyes.

The blade glowed a soft bronze color, and it reminded me a lot of a xiphos,
a Greek sword from ancient times.

The bull mooed and I ran, the sword in hand. What do I do? I cried in my
head.

Trust your instincts, the voice told me.

My instincts. What do my instincts say? I almost tripped as I stumbled over

a tree root, but quickly caught myself. I jumped out of the way of the bull's
path and brought up my sword just in time as it head-butted me.

I flew back into a tree, and groaned in pain. I felt something trickle down
the back of my head and my vision started to get blurry. I rolled out of the
way as it charged at me, and I heard the tree break and fall to the ground.

On reflex, my hand that was holding the sword shot up, and the bull let out
a cry of pain as I stabbed it. I ignored the pain I felt and slid out from under
it and swung up, landing on its back.

The bull began to shake wildly, but I held on as tightly as I could. My left
hand gripped tightly onto its horns, and my right arm raised. I stabbed
down on the bull, and it let out a cry of pain.
I suddenly fell to the ground as the bull vanished. The dust fluttered around
me, and I didn't move as my eyesight began to fade in and out.

A shadow fell over me, and I saw the boy that I've been seeing. He smiled at
me and said, "Good job."

"Dad!" I heard two voices gasp in the distance.

"Y-you're…" I groaned drowsily, before I slumped to the ground,

unconscious.

"Louise," I heard a male voice call.

"Louise, wake up," I heard a female voice say.

"Louise?" the male voice called again.

I groaned, and slowly opened my eyes. Two sets of concerned blue eyes
looked down at me. "What're you two doing here?" I asked, but it sounded
like "Whadaooeemeer".

"English, please?" Rhea asked me.

"If not, then Ancient Greek's good, too," Aristo piped in. He was holding me
up a bit.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked, my voice raspy. Then I realized
something. "Oh my Gods." I jumped to my feet, and would've fallen if it
weren't for Rhea catching me. "There was this bull. And then this voice in
my head. And then my pen became a sword. And then I killed the bull! And
then the bull became dust!"

"First off, it was a Cretan Bull, and yeah, they do that when you hit them
with Celestial Bronze," Aristo told me.

"Celesta whuh?" I cocked my head to the side. "Wait… why am I not hurt?"
Once my thoughts cleared up, I realized I wasn't bleeding. "Was everything
a dream?"

"Our dad found you," Rhea told me. "He healed you, too. It wasn't a dream,
Penny."
"Wait," I interjected. "It was real?" When the twins nodded, I couldn't
handle it. I got out of Rhea's grip and began to pace. "Aw, man. I need to a
psychiatrist. Like, badly. First I have ADHD. Then I have dyslexia. Then I
was left breathless by this guy. Then I get speech impairment. And now I'm
hallucinating. Oh my God. I need to be put into an asylum."

I dug my hands into my hair and pulled.

"You're not crazy," Aristo told me. "Wait, you met our father before this?"

"No, no, no," I shook my head, looking at the twins. "There's no way this
guy could be your guys' dad. He… he looks a lot like you," I gestured to
Aristo, "but he wasn't any older than eighteen, nineteen. Twenty's pushing
it. He's hands down the best-looking guy I've ever met. Hair that resembled
the sun, eyes a light blue like the sky… No way is he your dad."

The twins exchanged looks and said, "No. That's our dad."

I felt like fainting again. "What?"

"Our dad's immortal," Rhea told me as softly as she could. "He's a god.
Apollo."

"As in the Sun god?" At that, the sun seemed to shine brighter. "No. They're
just myths to explain things!"

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Aristo and Rhea's faces dropped.

"I'd be careful about calling them myths," Aristo told me. "Because they're
very much real. And they get touchy about that." Thunder boomed in the
distance again. "Sorry!"

Then I realized something. "You said your dad was Apollo." Aristo and
Rhea nodded. "So the stories about them coming down and having kids…?
That's - that's all real?" More nods. "... You guys are demigods then."

"Yep," the two told me like they were telling me the sky was blue.

"I've been seeing your dad."

"Uh-huh."
"This is unbelivable."

"You're in a school that teaches magic," Rhea informed me. Good point.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you're one, too," they told me.

"Who's my dad, then?" I asked them.

"Uh… that, we don't know," Aristo said, looking at his twin. "We were
hoping you'd tell us that."

"He left when I was a baby," I said bluntly. "I don't know who he is."

"Well, we do now," Rhea pointed out, gesturing above me. I looked up, and
even though it was fading, I saw a sea green shape of a trident appear above
my head. When I refocused, I saw the two were bowed in front of me.

"Um… why are you kneeling?" I asked cautiously.

"Your dad, Louise," Aristo said, "is Poseidon, God of the Seas, Earthquakes,
Storms, and Horses."

"No," I said.

Aristo and Rhea looked up at me with annoyed looks.

"We might not know everything, but our father is the God of Knowledge.
We know some stuff," Aristo told me. "Your father is Poseidon."

"Right," I said, contrite. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Rhea told me. "It's hard to grasp at first. But... Wow. The
Daughter of Poseidon."

"What's so amazing about it? Other than it's a God's kid, of course.
Shouldn't Poseidon have hundreds more?"

"The Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, swore on the River Styx after
World War II to not have children. That's why. As of now, you're the only
child of Poseidon," Aristo informed.
"But... I have a brother," I told them.

"You can't tell him who he is, then," Rhea told me. "Poseidon didn't claim
you until just now, but there's a reason why he hasn't claimed your brother
yet, so don't tell him."

I found it hard to grasp, anyway, so I just nodded dumbly. "So how'd you
guys know…?"

"Your dyslexia and ADHD," they both said.

"You're dyslexic because your brain's hard-wired to read Ancient Greek,

hence why our schedules, and I'm sure your books, are in Ancient Greek,"
Rhea said.

"And your ADHD is your battle instincts," Aristo added. "You can't sit still
because you're meant to fight, to be a hero."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, placing my hand into a T. "I'm no hero. I'm not
a fighter, either."

"It's in your blood," Aristo countered. "Whether you like it or not, you're a
born fighter."

I nodded, slowly letting this digest. "Okay," I concluded.

"We should be heading back to the castle. It's almost time for dinner," Rhea
said, and we left the forest. "You were right to fear the skies, though. Zeus
isn't quite happy with Poseidon."

"Who do I spy~ my cousins~!" Peeves exclaimed, suddenly appearing and

flying around us as we walked through the castle.

"Leave us alone, Peeves!" Aristo grumbled.

Peeves huffed, but did as Aristo said. I looked at the two curiously.
"Cousin?"

"Peeves is the son of Hermes," Rhea informed me. "He's technically our
uncle. He's your first cousin once removed. We are you’re niece and
nephew. It gets complicated when you just try, 'cause technically, our dad is
your dad’s nephew."
"My brain hurts," I grumble, reaching up and massaging my head. "This is a
lot to process."

We entered the Great Hall, where various people were already seated.
Aristo messed up my hair before Rhea slapped him on the shoulder and
they walked off to the Hufflepuff table.

I walked over the Gryffindor table and exhaled heavily, taking my spot on
the other side of Harry.

"Where'd you go after class?" Ron asked me. "We went around looking for
you."

"I went for a walk," I told him, not really wanting to explain myself. That
seemed acceptable, and he nodded.

"Can you two keep a secret?" Harry asked us, looking at us both. When we
nodded, he told us how McGonagall took him away to Oliver Wood to
become the Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Ron was heavily impressed and I offered my congratulations before asking,

"What's Quidditch?"

"What's Quidditch?" two voices echoed me. "It's only the best sport in the
entire world! Good Godric, Jackson! Where the bloody hell have
you been?!"

And that was when the three Weasley brothers informed me all about
Quidditch and their techniques and teams and whatnot.

"Too much information," I groaned, face-planting onto the table. All this
Greek God stuff and Quidditch rules were giving me a major migraine. Fred
and George bade us goodbye before leaving, and an annoying snooty voice
popped up.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the
Muggles?" Malfoy goaded.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your
little friends with you," Harry replied calmly. Ugh. Boys.
I heard the sounds of knuckles cracking, and I just wanted to reach behind
them and just beat them up myself. Hey, I was geared to fight, right?

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," Malfoy scoffed. "Tonight, if you want.
Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of
a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," Ron jumped in. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

"Crabbe," Malfoy said after a second. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in
the trophy room; that's always unlocked. You coming to watch tonight,
Jackson?"

"Pass," I scoffed. "I'm gonna skip dinner. I've had an exhausting day. Good
luck, you two." I patted Harry and Ron on the shoulders and walked off. I
didn't even want to know what a Wizard's duel was right now.

I walked up a few staircases, and then spotted something in the corner of

my eye. I darted off in that direction, before it could escape me. I ran down
a hallway, and heard a door click shut.

I slowed down, heading to the door that just closed. I gripped the handle
and pushed open, but it was just an empty classroom. I entered it,
regardless, because I felt a presence in here.

I turned around, and almost stumbled over myself as I came face to chest
with someone. The owner of the chest reached out and grabbed me just
before I fell.

"Apollo…" the name fell out of my mouth before I even had a chance to stop
it.

The being before me chuckled and I straightened myself. He let go of my

wrist and smirked at me. "So you know who I am, now."

I nodded my head. "Why are you following me around?"

"Dunno," the god told me, shrugging his shoulders. Was he really a god?
"Ooh, this calls for a special haiku." He cleared his throat:
"Daughter of the Sea
Meets the great Lord of the Sun.
She is now in awe."

I blinked. "Are you sure you're the God of Poetry?" When I realized what I
said, I quickly slapped my hands over my mouth, my eyes wide in shock.
"Forgive me, Lord Apollo, don't blast me into oblivion."

Instead of that, Apollo just let out a musical laugh, and my heart fluttered.
"You're pretty funny," he chuckled. "I'm not gonna blast you into oblivion.
Don't worry about it."

A silence filled the room, and I could hear the crickets chirping just outside.

"You're also really cute, too," he commented, placing a hand under my chin.
My face flushed and he looked down at me intensely. "I wouldn't mind
being hurled at you."

What? "What?" I echoed my thoughts. "What do you mean by that?"

Apollo gave me a smirk before reciting:

"Daughter of the Sea, born as one in two's world,

Lord of the Light, to her he will be hurled,

She will stop a darkness that will arise,

And discover what she will find in the skies."

"I don't get it," I furrowed my brows. "Is that supposed to be a poem?"

Apollo chuckled lowly before saying, "I'm the God of many things, Louise.
There's the Truth, Light, Sun, Music, Healing, Archery, Poetry, and
Prophecy. What I just told you was a prophecy meant for you and I."

"I-I don't understand," I said. "Why's there a prophecy about me?"

"Who knows?" Apollo shrugged. "I said I'm the God of it, not the Creator of
it. I just deliver them. They will come true though. So you ask why I've been
following you? I don't know. I just end up seeking you out. It's a bonus that
you're cute, too." He winked at me, and I felt heat rise up my cheeks. "Good
job today, too."

"You saw it?" I asked him. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"There are laws that hold us back," Apollo explained. "I can't jump in, but
hey, you did quite well by yourself, didn't you?"

"I almost died," I deadpanned.

"No, you didn't," Apollo waved it off. "Your bloodstain was a hard one to
clean up though."

I vaguely remembered bleeding. Ah. "Thank you," I told him. "Aristo and
Rhea said you healed me."

"I did," Apollo nodded. "Do I get a kiss as a thank you?"

My eyes widened and if I was drinking something, I would've spat it all over
him. "Wha - I - ah - I - but you're a -" I was quickly losing oxygen in my
brain.

"I'm just kidding," Apollo chuckled. "Well, maybe. How about we wait when
you're a bit older, yeah?" He winked at me and I flushed again. I needed to
stop that. "I'll stop teasin' you now. Well, you should be off to bed. I'll see
you later. Better close your eyes."

I did as he told, and I felt a warm light surround me before it disappeared.

When I opened my eyes again, Apollo was gone.

I sighed and reached for the door, opening it. It was only then did I realize
how dark it was. WTF. I began to wander down the hallways, hoping to
reach the common room soon.

I was walking up a set of stairs when I heard, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED!

STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

I was almost barreled over by Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville a few
seconds later.

"What the - Louise? Run!" Harry exclaimed and I was all but dragged away
by the group of four.
"It's locked!" Ron cried, almost weeping.

"Oh, step aside!" Hermione ordered. "Alohamora!" The door unlocked

itself and I was dragged inside.

My eyes widened in shock while the other four had their ears pressed
against the door. I faintly heard Harry scold Neville, when all four suddenly
took a sharp breath.

The black dog growled at us, but that was not the terrifying thing.

It had three heads.

That's right.

Three.

I heard Harry fumble for the doorknob and the dog began to growl. "Hurry
up, Harry," I hissed.

The door flung open and we all ran out of the room before the dog could
attack. We didn't stop running until we were safely inside the common
room.

I panted heavily, and began to walk off my exhaustion. Oh Gods. Oh Gods.

"What in the name of Styx was that?" I panted. Somewhere off in the
distance, thunder rumbled.

"What were you even doing?" Ron asked. "I thought you went to bed a long
time ago! You said you were tired!"

"I don't even have words," I threw my hands in the air, ignoring Ron's
question. "I need a psychiatrist. Badly." Without another word to the
others, I began to walk away, going up to the stairs.

I need to sleep this off.

 Chapter 6: Keeping Dry

“Pfft. You should see his dad.”

A Cerberus.

That's what that thing was.

A fierce hellhound that guards the Underworld under the command of

Hades, the King of the Underworld and the God of the Dead and Riches.

So we could literally say we ran into Hell.

I closed the book I had and gave it back to Madam Pince, who tapped it
with her wand and it went back to English. I left the library and almost ran
into Ron, who gripped me excitedly.

"Louise!" he exclaimed. "Harry got a Nimbus Two-Thousand!"

"Cool!" I replied back, matching his enthusiasm, beaming at Harry. Then I

asked, "What's a Nimbus Two-Thousand?"

"It's only the fastest broomstick yet!" Ron cried, shocked that I didn't know
it. "You really don't appreciate the wonders of Quidditch, Penny."

The three of us walked back to the Common Room, and Ron was all giddy
with excitement. It was only when I brought up the three-headed dog did he
stop. "So it's called a Cerberus."

"Really?" Harry asked, and I nodded in confirmation. "Well, whatever it's

hiding, it's probably hiding something important and dangerous."

"Yeah," I echoed, agreeing with him. "But I wonder what. Pig snout," I gave
the password to the Fat Lady and her portrait swung wide open.

"You wanna go see it?" Ron asked me eagerly.

"I'll pass," I replied. "I need to write a couple letters." Harry and Ron
nodded and they both rushed up the staircase, while I took my leisure time
up to my dormitory.

Halloween Day had me in Professor Flitwick's class, learning a simple

levitation spell. Cool.

"Wingardium Leviosa," I said, swishing and flicking. I moved my hand and

to my surprise, the feather moved with it. "Oh, this is cool!" I exclaimed.

"Yes!" Professor Flitwick cried. "Miss Jackson's done it!"

I adored Professor Flitwick. He was a tiny man - not even four feet - and
dressed in green robes. He was very enthusiastic about teaching, and when
he called attendance for the very first time, he fell off his stack of books
when he got to Harry's name.

"You're saying it wrong," I heard Hermione snap at Ron. "It's Wing-gar-

dium Levi-o-sa."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," I peered over Harry to see Ron gesture
towards Hermione's feather.

Hermione smiled, rolled up her sleeves, and swished and flicked her wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron scowled and slumped in his seat while
Professor Flitwick gave her praise.

After class, I was walking slowly to see if I could catch a glimpse of the third
year Hufflepuffs, who had Herbology. The Solander twins and Cedric were
telling me about how they were raising Puffapods during class, so they
could harvest them next month.

As I walked by, I quickly spotted the three. Aristo was the first to notice me
and waved from inside the classroom, followed by Rhea and Cedric. I waved
back and was about to smile, when I felt someone roughly push past me.

I frowned and looked away just in time to see Hermione running down the
hallway, to the girls' restroom. Someone had to go.

"I think she heard you," Harry's voice came.

"So?" Ron inquired. I had turn to see what was going on, only to see Ron
forcing his face to be indifferent, even though it was disturbed. "She
must've noticed she's got no friends."

I sighed heavily, catching the attention of the two. "What'd you two do this
time? Or more specifically, Ron, what did yo do?"

"What makes you think I did it?" Ron demanded, glaring down at me.

I rolled my eyes, retorting, "Because you're you."

"He might've said Hermione was a nightmare," Harry provided for me. Ah.

Ron glared at his best friend. "Way to back me up."

"She would've gotten it out, regardless," Harry replied. "Could you check up
on her?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Sure." I didn't really know Hermione that well, though, so
I'd probably get a "Go away!" and then out of obligation, I'd have to stick
around. Oh Gods, I really hope I don't miss the Halloween Feast.

I spun around, making my way to the girls' bathroom. I was greeted with
the sound of trickling water and sniffles. "Hermione?" I called out
cautiously.

"Go away!" she snapped, just like I expected.

I sighed and went into the bathroom stall next to her. Parvati and Lavender
came walking in, and when they heard the sounds, they looked at me, since
I left the stall door open.

I shook my head and they nodded, leaving the bathroom. Hermione

continue to sniffle in the stall next door and I really didn't know what to do.
I started to get jittery, and since I didn't know what to do, I just began
talking.

"I never had any friends growing up," I told her. "My best and only friend is
my twin brother, Percy. No one ever wanted to be our friend, and we just
learned to accept that we'd never be able to be friends with other kids. We
never had a dad growing up, and we were teased mercilessly for it. Kids
could be so cruel. It didn't help that Percy and I are dyslexic and have
ADHD, too.

"Hogwarts is the sixth school I've been to. I've been expelled in five
different schools in the past five years because strange things always
happened. My brother and I were blamed for it, and no one bothered to
defend us.

"Then I got my letter to Hogwarts, and one of the first things I realized
while coming here was that it wasn't really different from regular schools.
You have your popular kids, you have the geeks, you have the nerds, you
have the class clown… You just add in magic.

"But that's another thing I saw. As cheesy as it is, this school is magical.
I've actually been accepted, and it feels amazing. I've always wondered
what it was like to be accepted somewhere and I finally got it. If someone
like me, who got expelled five times, had no friends except her brother, and
no father, I'm pretty sure there are people out there who accept who you
are… even if they can get to you sometimes."

Hermione sniffled quietly before calling my name out wearily, "Louise?"

"Hm?" I asked, looking at the ceiling now.

"Thank you," she said so faintly, it sounded like a whisper.

"You're welcome," I said, getting to my feet. I left the restroom, and that
was when I felt something that made a tingle go up my spine. It wasn't a
good tingle, either.

Hermione was staring up at something behind me. She then let out an ear-
piercing scream and I whirled around, pulling out my pen and uncapping it.

I whirled around just in time for a club to swing down at me. My sword
absorbed most of the hit, but I ended up flying back, crashing through a
stall and hitting the wall. Hermione let out another scream.

I groaned as my head throbbed mercilessly. "Hermione!" I heard two voices

yelled out. I had to get up.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione weeped. "Louuse!"

"Confuse it!" I heard Harry order and when I pushed myself off all the
rubble, I spotted Harry swinging as he held onto the troll's neck. He stuck
his wand up the nose and I heard a sickening squish.

The troll swung its club and water splashed everywhere. I stood up shakily,
keeping a tight grip on my sword. "Ron!" I called. "Get Harry off of it!"

The water splashed at me, but instead of distracting me, it was rejuvenating
me. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron cried and Harry floated off of the troll.

"Hey, Ugly!" I called over the water. To my amazement, the water swirled
around me, and I felt my fingers tingling. I raised my right arm, and the
water followed my movement. I pushed forward. The water moved with my
arm, splashing the troll's face.

As it sputtered the water everywhere, I shot from where I was. I ran

forward, thrusting the sword into the troll's gut. It exploded into particles of
dust, floating around me. The club clattered to the ground as multiple
footsteps came rushing in.

Professor Quirrell shakily walked over to a broken stall and sat down on a
toilet, whimpering and clenching his heart.

"Louise!" Aristo called, running over to me. He was getting soaked due to
the water flying everywhere, and I realized I was still completely dry. I
slumped against him, grateful for a clutch.

"What on earth were you thinking of?!" Professor McGonagall shrieked, her
voice full of fury. "You're lucky you weren't killed! Why aren't you in your
dormitory?"

"Please, Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me," Hermione said
weakly.

"Miss Granger!"

"I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my
own - you know, because I've read all about them. If they hadn't found me,
I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose, Ron got Harry off of the
troll, and Louise… Louise killed it…"
I felt eyes on me and Rhea shielded me from them. She wasn't facing me,
but I heard her voice, low and dark light the night, as opposed to the
sunshine. "You are to tell no one what happened here."

"Miss Solander's correct," Professor McGonagall agreed. "You three are to

not tell anyone under any circumstances, what occurred in this room. Miss
Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. Mr. Potter, Mr.
Weasley, and Miss Jackson will be awarded five points each. Professor
Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

I heard Harry, Ron, and Hermione shuffle out of the room. Aristo pulled
me away from him and looked down at me. "How you feeling?"

"Okay, now," I replied. I lifted up Tempest in my hand. "This helped a lot.

The water did, too."

"Miss Jackson," Professor Snape said, picking up the large club. "I believe
this belongs to you."

Rhea took it from his hands and looked at her brother. "I'll send this to
Chiron."

"Who's Chiron?" I asked the two, capping the pen. I slipped it back into the
pocket of my robes, standing up straighter.

Aristo reached for my dry hair and rubbed it. "We need to get started on
teaching you. C'mon, I'll walk you to your dorm. Professors." He nodded at
the three before leaving the bathroom with Rhea and me.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Aristo asked as we walked through the

hallway. Our footsteps echoed off the walls, giving us a sense that we were
alone. "It happened after you talked to Harry and Ron, right?"

"How'd you know?" I cocked my head to the side, angling myself to look up
at him.

Aristo looked down at me, his blond bangs falling over his eyes. "You guys
were right outside my Herbology class."

Oh. … Right.
"Hermione might've been crying in the girls' restroom, so I went to comfort
her," I told him, shrugging my shoulders. "It was bad luck the troll showed
up." I cocked my head to the side and saw that Aristo was still wet, but he
had stopped dripping a long time ago. "Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"I've been through worse," he told me, and I believed him. I felt like I could
do something about it, so I reached out and grabbed his wet robes. To my
shock, it began to dry, and it spread through him. Within a few seconds, he
was completely dry. "... Whoa. That's cool."

I nodded in agreement. "What did you mean by teaching me, earlier?" I

asked, getting off a set of stairs.

"Come to the left corridor on the seventh floor tomorrow after dinner,"
Aristo told me as we stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. "See
you tomorrow." He ruffled my hair. He walked a few steps away before
turning around, telling me, "Oh, don't tell them everything, alright?" He
then winked and walked away.

"That boy is handsome, darling," the Fat Lady giggled. Pft. You should see
his dad.

I rolled my eyes and supplied her with the password. She swung open,
allowing me to make it through the portrait hole. I was exhausted, once
again, and just wanted to get some shut eye for the night.

Unfortunately for me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting on the
couch for me, and when they saw me, they sprung up. Where the heck was
everyone?

They all began talking at once, and all I heard was "troll" "fight" "how"
"died" and "bogies".

My eye began to twitch as they just got louder and louder. I raised up my
two hands, slapping them over Hermione and Ron's mouths, who were on
both ends. Harry, seeing me do that, shut his mouth.

"You guys shouldn't question what happened," I told them. "We're all alive.
That's all that matters. Maybe someday I'll tell you guys, but for now, it's
my secret to keep, alright?"
"Buff-" Ron protested muffledly. I silenced him with a glare. He nodded.
Harry and Hermione did not look pleased, but nodded nonetheless.

I walked up to the dormitory, and pulled out a piece of parchment:

Percy -

How are you and how's New York? It's great over here. Today we had a
Halloween Feast, but I missed it because Ron was being a git and then
hurt Hermione's feelings, so we (as in Hermione and I) ended up spending
the entire time in the girls' restroom. I told her about us when I was trying
to comfort her. I dunno. You know how I get when it's silent.

So yeah.

Then a troll appeared. Oh Gods, it was HUGE. Like, twelve feet tall huge.
I'm glad I had ADHD, because I couldn't sit still and it didn't hit me.

Harry and Ron came in, too, and then we beat the troll. How awesome is
that?! I know, I know. Before you say it, I know I could've died, but if we
didn't fight it, we would've died, and we didn't, so hey, no complaints. Just
thought you'd hear it from me before Mom calls you about it.

Professor McGonagall took five points off from us because Hermione told
her that she went looking for it, but it's alright. Professor McGonagall
awarded Harry, Ron, and me for "sheer dumb luck" for beating that
mountain troll.

Crisis averted, I guess.

Cedric, Aristo, and Rhea are doing well, too. I saw Cedric and Ree
walking off somewhere together a couple days ago. They didn't see me
though. SHHH. I was going up to meet up with Aristo in the library, and
saw them by chance.

Oh! Remember that three-headed dog I was almost killed by because

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville decided to drag me along?

It's called a Cerberus, and it's supposed to guard the Underworld. If it

guards the Underworld, what is it doing here? Maybe the Underworld is
just a myth?
I looked up from my writing as I heard thunder boom. Whoops. I guess it's
real then.

Maybe there's more than one Cerberus. Gyuh. That's scary. As if one
wasn't bad enough.

Oh! You also remember how you said don't destroy a bathroom…?

… Whoops. The girls' bathroom got TOTALLY destroyed in our fight

against the troll, but hey! I was AWARDED for it. I'm not being expelled! I
live another day at Hogwarts! Haha.

Much love,

Louise

I finished up the letter before pulling out another paper to write to my

mom.

I just told her about the troll incident, though. She didn't know that I ran
into a three-headed dog a few weeks ago. It was better for her to hear
about this escapade from me rather than my teachers. I wrapped up the
letter, and left both of them on my desk, and made a mental note to go to
the Owlery tomorrow.
 Chapter 7: November

“Leave it to Hagrid to name a Cerberus,

A guardian of Hell, Fluffy.”

While November for most Hogwarts students brought Quidditch season, to

the Solander twins and I, it brought lessons on Olympus, their gods, and
children.

And sparring lessons.

Which was how I found myself on the floor, head throbbing because it had
pounded against the hardwood floor of the Room of Requirement.

"Surprising how you've defeated two monsters when you can't even beat a
Child of Apollo," Rhea commented from where she sat a few feet away.
"You'd be dead if you were fighting a monster that could think."

Aristo stuck his hand out in front of me and he easily lifted me from the
ground. "The only form of combat we're known for is archery, so you know
you're bad when you're losing to us in a sword fight."

"I just need a bit more practice," I grumbled.

"Or a lot more," Rhea supplied helpfully.

I gracefully plopped myself down on the seat across from her at the table
she sat at. Aristo slid me a bottle of water before sitting down next to me.
He threw his arm over the back of my chair and leaned back casually so his
chair was balanced on the two back legs.

"Do I really have to learn all these things, too?" I asked, looking at the
books that were scattered on the table. "I thought Camp Half-Blood is just
a camp."

"Well, it is, but you are taught how to fight. This stuff we're teaching you is
just an FYI. You're supposed to know these things," Rhea replied. "So
unless you can tell us the special abilities of all the gods and Ancient Greek
history, you're learning."

"Damn," I cursed, and Aristo chuckled as Rhea opened the first book.

By the time it was time for dinner, my mind was spiraling with information.
While sparring Aristo, Rhea would ask random questions. If I got them
wrong, I would have an arrow shot at me and I'd have to dodge it while
keeping Aristo at bay.

She asked me a whopping total of forty-eight questions. There were twenty-

nine arrows stuck in various places of the room when we left. I
was starving by the time we reached the Great Hall.

I said goodbye to the twins before jogging over to where Harry, Ron, and
Hermione were. I plopped down next to Hermione and began to stack my
plate with food.

"Where were you the entire afternoon?" Hermione asked me after I

shoveled a spoonful of mashed potatoes into my mouth.

I swallowed before answering, "With Aristo and Rhea. Why?"

"You weren't there, but Snape totally made up a rule about not being able
to read outside of school, and he took five points away from Harry for
reading Quidditch Through the Ages outside," Ron scoffed. He then bit into
his chicken leg and huffed angrily. "He's got it in for us."

"I think he's alright," I shrugged.

"Says you," Harry grumbled. "He's never taken points from you. I want that
book back."

"So go to the staffroom later," I suggested. "I don't know why you're so
antsy about it. It's just a Quidditch game."

"Just a Quidditch game?" two almost-identical voices echoed in disbelief.

"Sweet Merlin, Louise," George gasped. "How could you?"

"We might have to retract that 'honorary Weasley' title you have because of
that," Fred completed.
"Your Mum and Dad love me, though, so as long as they do, I'm an
honorary Weasley," I snarkily answered. When did I start
saying Mum instead of Mom? I mentally checked through my letters I sent
to my mother and wondered if I started writing in a British accent.

"Bill and Charlie will see to it that it will be gone," Ron told me. "So you
better start liking Quidditch."

"No, thanks," I frowned. "We're human. We're not meant to fly. I'd rather
stay firmly planted on the ground."

"You just don't like Quidditch because you're a ruddy flyer," Ron countered.
"You were all shaking during flying lessons."

"Oh, really now?" The twins were all up in my business and I shoved
George's face out of the way.

"Leave her alone," Hermione sighed. "Not everyone likes sports."

"I knew there was a reason I loved you, Hermione," I sighed dramatically,
reaching over to hug the bushy haired girl.

Her face scrunched up. "Yes, well, you can let go. Your hands have chicken
grease on them." I took it back. I pulled back and simply went back to my
eating.

"You are coming to the Quidditch match though, right?" Harry asked,
looking at me from across the table.

"Of course," I nodded. "It's your first game, after all. The only reason I'd
miss it is because I'm in a life-or-death situation." And I just jinxed myself.
Thank Gods there was wood everywhere, so I just knocked on the table.
Problem solved. "No promises that I'll go to all your games, though."

Harry shrugged, accepting what he could.

My three friends waited for me as I finished eating. It wasn't for another

fifteen minutes when I was finishing up the last of my slice of pumpkin pie
did I declare I was finished.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "For a tiny person, you sure
eat a lot."
"You're one to talk," I snorted. Ron ate like a pig. His appetite reminded me
of Percy's, actually. My brother Percy, not his.

"I really want my book back," Harry said as we walked to the common
room. "Like, badly."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other before saying in unison, "Better
you than me."

Harry looked at me, widening his forest green eyes as much as possible.
"Louise? Please?"

"Too lazy," I drawled. Without waiting for the three, I began walking up the
set of stairs that would eventually connect to another set.

Harry sighed and I heard him walk away while Ron and Hermione quickly
followed after me before the staircase could move.

It didn't take us long to reach the Gryffindor common room, and I happily
plopped on one of the couches while Ron and Hermione sat on either side
of me. I folded up my legs so I could sit comfortably and look at the two at
the same time.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with the Solander twins," Ron
commented. "Actually, you're almost always with the Hufflepuffs during
breakfast."

"You guys take too long to get ready," I shrugged. "It's not like it's bad or
anything."

"What'll happen when Gryffindor plays Hufflepuff in Quidditch?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ced's big on the sport, but Aristo and Rhea could care less
as well."

"Traitor," Ron grumbled.

"Oh, stop being a baby," Hermione sighed. "I heard those three are top of
their year, is it true?"

"If they're so smart, why aren't they in Ravenclaw, then?" Ron huffed.
"Yellow and black look better on them than blue and bronze," I repeated. I
had asked them the same question and the three just answered together. I
think blue and bronze would look great on them anyway, but I assumed it
was just because their loyalty was a lot stronger than their wit (not to say
that they weren't witty, just less).

"Guys!" Harry exclaimed, running up to us. He was panting heavily, and

looked like he just went through hell.

"You want water?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Harry wheezed a
bit and I took that as a yes. I pulled out my wand and flicked it,
"Accio water bottle." A few seconds went by and then a water bottle flew
right into my hands.

I handed it to Harry, who took it gratefully and began to down the contents.

"Where'd you learn that?" Hermione asked, intrigued. "I've read the
Charms textbook and I haven't seen that spell."

I grinned at her and replied, "Something I picked up from Aristo. The guy's
lazy as hell and prefers to use this to summon everything into his hands."

Before Hermione could say anything else, Harry heaved a grateful sigh.

"Did you get it? What's the matter?" Ron asked his best friend.

"So I went to get my book in the staffroom and knocked," Harry told us
quietly. "Snape and Filch were in there together, alone. And then I clearly
heard Snape say, 'Blasted thing. How are you supposed to keep your eyes
on all three heads at once?' Then Snape spotted me and I ran.”

"Do you know what this means?! He tried to get past that three-headed dog
at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him - he's after
whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to
make a diversion!"

"No," Hermione shook her head. "He wouldn't. I know he's not very nice,
but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe." I
nodded my head in agreement.
"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," Ron
snapped at her. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But
what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"

I didn't want to believe it, but these days, I didn't know what to believe. I
sighed, declaring myself exhausted for the night. Hermione agreed with me
and the two of us walked up the spiral staircase into our dormitory.

The next morning, I found myself sitting at the Hufflepuff table. The
Gryffindors I usually talked and spent time with (AKA the Weasley twins,
Harry, Ron, and Hermione) were nowhere in sight, which meant they were
still asleep.

"What are you guys gonna do while the Quidditch game's going on?" I
asked Aristo, who was sitting next to me on my right.

"Normally, Rhea and I would just hit the library, but since it's the first game
of the year, might as well go to it. It's Gryffindor versus Slytherin, too.
Those games aren't half-bad."

"'Half-bad'?" Cedric asked from across the table next to Rhea. "It's brilliant.
Maybe with Potter as a Seeker, Gryffindor will finally kick Slytherin's arse."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Ced," Rhea started gently, patting the back
of Cedric's hand, "but we'd rather not stand next to you in the stands during
a Quidditch game. You get a bit crazy."

Cedric shrugged, not at all disturbed. He scooped a spoonful of eggs into his
mouth before turning to Maxine O'Flaherty, a Beater on the Hufflepuff
team. Cedric was on the team as a Chaser and from what I'd heard, he'd
probably be Captain once the current one graduated.

By the time it was eleven o'clock, I was up in one of the stands that was
cheering for Gryffindor between Aristo and Rhea. Cedric was a few ways
down with members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and to say they were
enthusiastic was putting it lightly.

Lee Jordan, a third year Gryffindor who was a friend of the Weasley twins,
was commentator and I thoroughly enjoyed his extra comments, "And the
Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an
excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too"
"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall bellowed.

"Sorry, Professor."

"What are your plans this weekend?" Aristo asked, his eyes still on the
game before us.

"Hm? I dunno," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"We could just not got to Hogsmeade," Rhea offered. Since she, Aristo, and
Cedric were in their third years, they were allowed to go for a weekend trip
to Hogsmeade, which was a nearby village.

"Don't you have a date with Flora Pražak from your House?" I cocked an
eyebrow at Aristo.

She had approached us in the library a couple days ago when Aristo was
helping me with my Potions essay on Shrivelfig and what kinds of medicine
it was used for. She had greeted me with a curt, "Jackson," before
proceeding to ask Aristo out during the next Hogsmeade weekend. Aristo
flashed her his charming smile before agreeing.

"Yup," Aristo nodded, popping the p. "But just say the word and I can
cancel."

"No," I shook my head, watching Angelina score another goal. I clapped

politely while everyone around us cheered wildly. "You guys go have fun.
I'm gonna hang out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

"Wait, was that the Snitch?" I heard Jordan announce.

I saw Harry speeding down towards it, with the Slytherin Seeker, Terrence
Higgs, right on his heels. I watched as Harry extended his arm out, and
then WHAM!

"FOUL!" I heard Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws cried together

as Harry flew off-course.

"Ouch," Aristo commented.

"I sure hope he's okay," I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows. "I'd love to give
Flint a piece of my mind." Gryffindor then got a free goal, but I knew the
Snitch was lost through all that confusion and chaos.

Every time Slytherin scored a goal, the people around me groaned loudly.
Every time Gryffindor made a goal, the people would joyously cheer.

I got tired of standing, so I leaned against Aristo, who was casually leaning
against the front of the stands. Rhea was standing too straight for my liking.

I spotted something from the corner of my eye. I pushed myself off the
third year and squinted, unsure of what was going on. Something didn't
look right.

"Hey, Ced!" I called through the midst of the cheers. "Ced!"

"What is it?!" Cedric called back, looking past a few people.

"Could I borrow your binoculars?!" I asked loudly.

"What?!"

"Binoculars!"

Cedric took off his binoculars and it was passed down various Hufflepuffs
before coming to a stop at me. I took it, thanking Justin Finch-Fletchley
before placing them over my eyes.

"What's going on?" Rhea asked me as I tried to focus.

"Harry's moving weirdly," I responded, watching as he rode his broomstick

like the way I rode the Cretan Bull over a month ago.

The broom then rolled over, and Harry barely held on. The broom jerked,
causing Harry to fall, dangling with only one hand. What the Hades was
going on?

"You reckon something happened when Flint knocked him?" I asked, still
not keeping my eyes off Harry. The broom was swinging madly, with Harry
holding on desperately.
"That's impossible," Rhea interjected. "There could only be Dark Magic
involved. No way could someone was stupid as Flint do that."

I began searching the stands. A curse required eye contact. Who was it? I
searched and searched before stopping in the teachers' box. Bingo.

Now here was the problem.

"Both Quirrell and Snape aren't blinking," I said. Now who was it? I spotted
a spark of fire appear at the end of Snape's robes. He stood up quickly and
it was chaos in the section.

I glanced back up to where Harry was. He was securely back on his broom.
But now, he was flying at an incredible speed towards something. He was
flying towards the ground, with no indication of stopping. He then fell onto
the ground on all floors, and was heaving heavily.

"Oh, Gods," I groaned, seeing him gagging. "He looks like he's gonna throw
up."

All of a sudden, something golden fell out of his mouth.

"... It was the Snitch," Rhea said in a disbelieving tone. "Does that count?"

Aristo shrugged. "Beats me, but the game stopped, so I guess so. Gryffindor
won one-seventy to sixty, Jordan says, so yeah."

"I'm gonna go check up on Harry," I told the twins.

"We'll catch up with you later, then," Rhea nodded. I gave them both a
smile before walking off, heading out of the stands before I could get
trampled on by everyone else. On the way, I gave Cedric his binoculars
back.

We had agreed to meet up back in Hagrid's hut, and it didn't take long for
Ron and Hermione to meet up with me.

"I can't believe he swallowed the Snitch!" Ron exclaimed. "Who'd have
thought you could do that?"

"I'd rather not do that again," Harry's voice came, groaning softly.
"Especially that broom part, too."
"It was Snape," Ron explained. "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing
your broomstick, muttering. He wouldn't take his eyes off of you, either."

"Rubbish," Hagrid waved off. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

The four of us exchanged looks. Harry opened his mouth and confessed, "I
found out something about him. He tried to get past that three-headed dog
on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's
guarding."

Before I could interject that Professor Quirrell looked like he was cursing,
too, Hagrid dropped his teapot loudly. "How'd you know about Fluffy?"

"Fluffy?" all four of us echoed, astonished. Leave it to Hagrid to name

a Cerberus, a guardian of Hell, Fluffy.

"That thing has a name?" Ron cried.

"Yeah," Hagrid nodded, like it was obvious. I guess I wouldn't have it past
him to have a three-headed dog named Fluffy. "He's mine. Bought 'im off a
Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent 'im to Dumbledore to guard
the-" He abruptly cut himself off.

"Yes?" Harry urged.

"Now, don't as' me 'nymore," Hagrid grunted. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it!" Harry exclaimed.

"Rubbish," Hagrid scoffed. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of

the sort."

"So why did he just try to kill Harry?!" Hermione demanded. "I know a jinx
when I see one, Hagrid. I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye
contact and Snape wasn't blinking. I saw him!"

"Um… if it's relevant, Professor Quirrell looked like it, too," I interjected.
Four pairs of eyes snapped towards me. "... What?"

"Why in Godric's name would you suspect Quirrell?" Harry asked me. "The
man's afraid of his own shadow!"
"No need to snap at me, Harry," I glared at him.

The spectacled boy huffed before saying, "If I had to place a bet on Quirrell
or Snape, I'd say it's Snape."

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid denied. "I don' know why Harry's
broom acted like dat, but Snape wouln' try an' kll a student! Quirrell, too!
Now, lis'en to me, all four of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern
yeh. It's dangerous. You forge' that dog, an' you forge' what it's guardin',
that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

I quirked an eyebrow just as Harry yelled, "Aha!"

Hagrid huffed angrily. Since we technically got what we needed, the four of
us stood up, said goodbye to Hagrid, and left the hut.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to head into the castle, but I just lingered
behind. I suddenly realized it has been three months since I've done
something I used to love doing.

My eyes turned to the direction in the distance and I closed my eyes. I

inhaled deeply, and I could feel the ripples and small splashes.

"Louise? You coming?" I heard Harry ask.

"Go back without me," I told them. "I'm going to the lake."

Harry frowned. "If this was able in the hut earlier-"

"It isn't," I shook my head, cutting him off. "I just want to be around water
right now." The three exchanged looks but then nodded before turning
around and walking away.

I headed off into the direction I was staring off at just a few seconds ago. It
didn't take long for me to reach the lake, and I stood at the edge of it, my
feet just a few centimeters from the water.

I felt an eagerness that spread through my body, but it was too cold to take
off my clothes. Instead, I wanted to try something.
I began to walk forward, clothes on and all, into the lake. Immediately, a
refreshing feeling filled through my body, and I felt like I was home.
Without wasting any time, I let the water consume me, and dived in.

The water felt amazing. It slipped through my fingers, my hair, my clothes.

Wait. My clothes?

I looked down at my clothing, and saw it was still completely dry. I reached
forward, expecting to feel heavy, cold material, but it was as soft and warm
as I was on land.

I swam deeper and deeper, making sure my breath was being held.

Something swam up to me, and I involuntarily let out a gasp. My eyes

widened in shock, until I realized water wasn't rushing down my throat,
choking me. I shakily took in a breath, and my eyes grew a bit more as I
noticed that I was breathing under water.

"Are you alright, my lady?" the stranger that swam past me earlier asked. I
looked at it and I took in the sickly green body that was as big as me. Its
yellow eyes stared back at me patiently, its horns almost frightening.

"Y-yeah…" I stuttered out. "Not to be rude, but… what are you?"

The creature frowned at me before answering, "I'm a Grindylow, my lady. I

lurk in these waters with my siblings and masters."

"Masters?" I echoed, confused.

"The merpeople," the Grindylow replied. "I am named Codex."

"It's nice to meet you, Codex. I'm Louise," I said.

"I am aware, my lady," Codex replied. "I can feel it."

I was confused. "Feel what?"

"Your blood," Codex responded. "The blood that pumps in your veins
resonates the presence of Our Lord. The second you touched the waters on
your first night at Hogwarts, we felt it."
"... I thought only vampires sucked blood," I said warily, backing up
cautiously.

Codex let out a laugh and circled me. "No, no, my lady. We are nothing like
those foul land creatures. What I meant was the blood of Our Lord is within
you."

"Is that why you keep calling me that?"

"Calling you what, my lady?"

"That. You keep referring to me as 'my lady', why?"

"Because you are the daughter of Our Lord Poseidon." He looked at me,
blinking, confused. "Why else, my lady?"

Of course. I nodded my head and looked up. The sky was almost black,
from what I could tell. I looked at Codex and said, "It was nice meeting you,
Codex. I should get going before some sends a search party."

Codex nodded eagerly and replied, "Yes, it was a pleasure to meet you, my
lady." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but held himself
back.

"What is it?" I urged.

"Would it be possible that my lady visits my family and friends next time?"
Codex asked hesitantly. "I understand if you can't, though."

"Oh, sure, that's fine," I replied easily. I'd love to meet a merperson. I gave
Codex one last wave before swimming up to the surface.

My head popped out first and my bangs fell easily. I reached up, and as I
expected, they were dry. I rolled a couple of strands with my hair before
swimming to the edge of the lake.

I climbed out of it and began my trek back into the castle.

 Chapter 8: Christmas Desires

“There will be serious consequences against us,

And I don’t want to curse you, glakia mou.”

"If you're not going home during the holidays, are you going to help Harry
and Ron research?" Hermione asked the night before the winter holidays
started while we were eating dinner.

"Hm?" I looked up, mouth full of chicken. Hermione's nose wrinkled in

distaste and I mumbled out an apology before swallowing my food. "Yeah."
I shrugged.

Because getting tickets from New York to London were too expensive, I had
decided not to go home during the winter holidays, even though my mom
tried to convince me that it was fine. Don't get me wrong, I missed my
mother and twin brother, but I didn't want them to spend so much
unnecessary money on me when it was just for another two weeks.
American economy for getting so expensive lately.

Aristo and Rhea were going back to Camp Half-Blood and had invited me,
but I declined the invitation. It was located just a bit outside of New York,
and I didn't feel comfortable being so close to Mom and Percy without
telling them. The first time I'd go to Camp Half-Blood was when I'd first be
there with Percy. No one else.

While I trained with Aristo and Rhea, Harry, Ron, and Hermione locked
themselves up in the library, trying to figure out all they could about
Nicolas Flamel. If only internet was accessible in Hogwarts. Research on
Nicolas Flamel would've been a cinch.

The next day, the holidays started, and I found out that the only Gryffindors
that were staying behind were just Harry, Ron, and me. Wow.

"Aw man!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his whole body on the large couch in
our common room. "This is the life!"
I rolled my eyes, cuddling on one of the couches with a blanket. I had to
agree with Ron. Having the entire girls' dormitory to myself was amazing.
We didn't have to take turns taking showers, and I could spend as much
time in it as possible.

"I'm going for a walk," I announced, kicking off the blankets.

"Alright," Harry and Ron muttered, now engaging in a game of Wizard's

Chess.

I got up from my seat, heading to the portrait hole. The Fat Lady swung
open, and I headed down the moving staircases, heading for the entrance of
the castle.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Princess of the Seas," a taunting voice rang behind
me. I angled my head, recognizing the semi-annoying voice.

"Hey, Peeves," I sighed, seeing the ghost of my cousin float by me. "Can you
not call me that?"

"Does the little Princess not like that name?" Peeves insisted, flying above
and around me. "Dearest cousin of mine, accept your origins."

"I'm not denying anything," I denied. I really wasn't. "Would you like me to
call you the Junior Messenger?"

Peeves began to sputter above me in disbelief, trying to come up with an

excuse. I smiled to myself, walking out of the castle and heading to the
Black Lake.

I had found the area was the best place to be on the school grounds, though
only by myself. I walked straight into the water, finding the water not even
close to cold, like it should be for regular people. I had learned, when a
Grindylow invited me in, that the temperature of the water did not affect
me.

Before I stepped into the water, though, a squawk caught my attention. I

turned around just in time to see a bird purchasing itself on a branch.

It was a pure white bird, with dark black eyes that looked straight at me. I
furrowed my brows, unable to identify what the bird was. It wasn't a dove,
nor a cockatoo.
"You know, staring is pretty rude," a feminine, slightly teasing voice said.

I stumbled back in shock, though, at this point, I still don't know why I was
even surprised. I mean, my owl talked to me on a daily basis.

"Uh- um…" I stumbled, not really sure what to say. "... Hi?"

"Hi," the bird chirped. "My name's Katharos."

"I'm Louise," I introduced myself. "Louise Jackson."

The bird let out a guttural sound, which probably would've sounded chilling
to most people, but to me, oddly comforting. Since ensued, and it was kind
of awkward.

"So, Katharos," I said, looking at the bird. "What kind of bird are you?"

Katharos looked at me strangely. "You can't tell? I'm obviously a raven!"

"But… ravens are black," I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows.

"I thought you Half-Bloods did your research," Katharos looked pointedly
at me. Suddenly, this made sense. A raven, a white one at that, was talking
to me.

"Is this the story about Apollo?" I inquired.

"So you do know your homework," Katharos spread her wings and
adjusted her stance. "You, Louise Jackson, aren't so half-bad."

"Uh… thank you?" I cocked my head to the side, unsure of what to say. I
think it was meant to be a compliment.

A lighter, more familiar hoot began to approach, and I angled my head to

see Sofia landing on the branch next to Katharos with a fish in her mouth.

She swallowed the rest of the fish before opening her wings and settling
herself more comfortably on the branch.

"Good afternoon, my lady!" Sofia chirped happily. She cocked her head to
the side at a ninety degree angle, seeing Katharos. "I'm Sofia."
"Katharos," the white raven responded, looking at Sofia.

Sofia was bigger, but only narrowly so. However, Katharos was more
leaner-looking, with a skinny frame. In turns of fighting, Katharos would be
more like the spear while Sofia the sword.

I pushed my thoughts aside, before diving into the lake. At once, I felt the
water mold with my muscles and relax me as I continued to swim, deeper
and deeper into the Black Lake.

Making sure my hair was out of my way, I took in a deep breath, taking in
the oxygen that I could retrieve from the little water bubbles. It was actually
a neat trick – breathing underwater.

Before I could get too deep, a screech from above caught my attention. I
resurfaced, and just in case someone was nearby, I kept myself wet. I wiped
the water from my face, seeing Sofia circle above me.

"What is it, Sofia?"

"Harry and Ron are on their way here," Sofia reported, floating near my
head.

"Oh!" I forgot about the two. I quickly walked to the shore, drying myself off
easily. I quickly walked to the castle, just as Ron and Harry came stepping
out.

"There you are!" Ron exclaimed. "I'm starving, but Harry here keeps
insisting we find you before we go eat!" He looked pointedly at his best
friend, who gave me a small smile.

"Well," I rolled my eyes, "at least someone's polite. Thank you, Harry," I
said pointedly.

The bespectacled boy smiled and replied, "You're welcome." Now that the
redhead was finally able to go grab some food, he all but dragged us to the
Great Hall, which was wonderfully decorated and spirited.

"Tomorrow's Christmas," Ron said, digging into a nice, juicy chicken leg.
"Wonder what I'm gonna get this year. Probably another sweater from
Mum."
"We don't get presents much in my household," I admitted, shrugging my
shoulders. "Gabe, my stepfather, isn't very… spirited."

Harry's face soured in understanding and added, "My uncle and aunt spend
all their money on gifts for my cousin Dudley."

"That fat turd?" Ron frowned, recalling the stories Harry shared with us.

The poor boy was practically abused by his family. Not physically, but it's
gotta be quite mentally damaging. I mean, at least I had my mum – I mean,
mom – and Percy.

"That's not really nice," I chuckled, before taking a sip of my pumpkin juice.
It was more out of obligation than anything. Calling Dudley a "fat turd" was
probably one of the nicer insults Ron had.

Ron shrugged casually, not really caring. He looked at me and said, "Don't
tell me you're going to start nagging like Hermione."

Uh, hello? My brother was Perseus "Percy" Jackson. My brother

was known for his quirky nicknames and snark. I chose to shake my head
instead, before I sighed quietly. I missed my brother. I wonder when my
mom and brother would get my Christmas present for them.

Speaking of Christmas, three short days later, it was Christmas morning.

I sprung up from my bed, quickly rushing down the steps to see Ron and
Harry already downstairs, dressed in their pajamas.

"Merry Christmas," Ron yawned sleepily, but with a happy grin on his face.

"Happy Christmas," Harry grinned at me, looking at me with his large,

almond-shaped, his jet-black hair even untidier than usual from sleep.

"Merry Christmas," I echoed, smiling brightly. I looked down at the small

pile of wrapped presents. I blinked, seeing two others in front of Harry and
Ron. I pointed at the lone pile of three presents. "Are these mine?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "C'mon, let's open them!" And he proceeded to tear at
the wrapping paper like a child on… wait, he is a child on Christmas
morning.
I grinned and plopped myself down before happily reaching for the first
present. It was written in ancient Greek, I recognized, as I could read it, and
from the Solander twins.

When I pulled off the wrapping paper, I blinked, seeing the thin, wooden
box. A number 7 was carved in the center and I vaguely remembered that
Apollo's Cabin at Camp Half-Blood was seven.

I opened the box and read the note that was given to me:

Louise –

Merry Christmas. Sorry we aren't there, but something we crafted to

bring some music and light into your life.

Your nephew and niece,

Aristo and Rhea

"How do you read that?" Ron asked, looking at the note I held in my hand.
I looked down at it. It looked perfectly normal to me, but Ron said, "It just
looks like a bunch of weird letters and symbols."

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "I dunno," I admitted. "It's just the only
thing I can read."

At Harry and Ron's reluctant faces, I felt slightly bad for the fact that I
couldn't tell them just what I really was. I couldn't even tell Percy. Not until
the time was right, at least.

I placed the note aside before pushing back the white tissue paper. My
mouth dropped slightly on its own accord. It was a simple wooden flute,
carved gently by hands that I knew belonged to Aristo and Rhea.

Taking it out of its box, I observed it quietly.

"Can you play it?" Harry asked curiously, and I turned my head to look at
him. I saw him holding a fifty pence and blinked.

I gave a small smile before admitting, "No. It's just, the twins are really
talented in the arts, so… I guess they'll teach me?" I heard a small flickering
sound before looking up, the lights flickering softly. I grinned, realizing who
it was. "Or someone I know."

Harry and Ron seemed to accept my answers, and I moved on to the next
package, which was from Mom and Percy.

I squinted at the words that were on the page, before handing it to Harry,
asking him to read it out loud. He took the paper from me before reading,
"Dear Louise." He glanced up at me before continuing, "Merry Christmas.
It's not much, but here's something from us to keep you warm in the winter.
Remember to write back when you can and Percy says to share what you've
learned when you come back. Love, Mom and Percy."

Reaching inside the box, I felt a light fabric, before pulling it out. I couldn't
help but let a smile grow on my face as I pulled out the warm, fluffy blanket
that my mother undoubtedly knitted. Judging from the words on the
blanket, though, I was pretty sure it was Percy who wrote it, because my
name was knitted in Ancient Greek.

I brought the fabric to my chest, and inhaled sharply, taking in the warm,
homey feeling that my mother always gave off, along with the light smells of
candy. I spotted something at the bottom of the box, and pulled out a large
bag of candy.

I grinned, spotting the Reese's and Hershey's, some of my favorite

chocolates, along with some licorice, Starbursts, and Skittles.

"What are those?" Ron asked curiously, looking at the candies.

"It's candy," Harry explained as I handed Ron a stick of candy.

"Why do stars burst?" Ron looked at the stick of Starbursts I had given him.
"That's really weird."

"And chocolate frogs aren't?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side.

Ron looked at me confused. "Why wouldn't you have chocolate frogs?"

Harry and I exchanged looks quietly as Ron opened the Starbursts. We

shook our heads, just agreeing to keep quiet and go with the redhead.

"Wow!" Ron exclaimed. "It tastes like… like… some weird strawberry."
"That's because pink Starbursts are artificial strawberry-flavored," Harry
pointed to the pink wrapper that Ron was holding.

"Artificial?" Ron questioned, looking at the wrapper. "Explains why it's so

weird. Why don't they just use the real fruit instead of the fake one?
What are fake strawberries, anyway?"

I shrugged, not too sure myself. "Dunno. But it tastes good."

Harry went to open his next present, one from his aunt and uncle. He
pulled out a coin that I recognized was a fifty-pence piece. The young boy
rolled his eyes before he muttered sarcastically, "That's friendly."

Ron looked at the money with fascination, which Harry handed over
wordlessly. The redhead took the coin and held it up. "Weird! This
is money?!"

"You can keep it," Harry laughed at how amused our friend was. He looked
down at his presents and listed, "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle – so who
sent these?" He gestured to the two other parcels.

"I think I know who that one's from," Ron commented, his face turning
slightly pink as he gestured to the lumpy package Harry and I held. "My
mom, I told her you didn't expect any presents and –" He abruptly stop, his
face turning almost as red as his hair. "Oh, no. She's made you two a
Weasley sweater."

Harry tore open the package and pulled out a thick, emerald sweater and a
box of fudge. I did the same, and it revealed a lovely sea-green sweater with
a box of fudge, as well.

"Every year, she makes us a sweater," Ron informed us. He pulled out an
equally-thick sweater, but in a different color. His face scrunched up and he
said, "And mine's always maroon."

"That's really nice of her," Harry said, tasting the fudge. "This is pretty
good." He handed me a package, and I looked at it curiously.

Glancing down, I saw it was from Hermione. I felt bad that I didn't get her
anything for Christmas. The only things I sent off were my mother, Percy,
and the twins. I was debated whether I should give something to Apollo,
but what do you get a god? He could have anything he could ever want.

I unwrapped the package to see a large box of assorted Sugar Quills and
Straws, and shrugged, taking a Sugar Straw and biting it happily, enjoying
the way the sugar and chocolate fell into my mouth.

I chewed on it as Harry unwrapped it. I watched as something flowed out,

glittering a soft grey before sinking onto the floor at Harry's feet.

Ron let out a sharp gasp, a… fifth(?) Starburst falling out of his mouth,
leaving a trail of saliva. … Ew.

"I've heard of those," Ron whispered in fascination. "If that's what I think it
is… They're really rare, and really valuable?"

"What is it?" Harry asked, bending down and picking up the cloth. It flowed
like water in his hands, but I knew it was completely unrelated, because I'd
feel something if it was water.

"It's an invisibility cloak," Ron's face was of pure awe. "I'm sure it is. Try it
on."

Harry shrugged and threw the cloak over him, and I gaped, eyes growing
wide as Ron yelped in surprise. "It is!" Ron cried. "look down!"

Harry was all but a floating head, and if I didn't know he had the cloak on, I
would have probably passed out. Ghosts, wizards, witches, Gods? I can
handle. A floating head? Just… just no.

The bespectacled boy darted to a mirror and I followed his body while Ron
searched through the parcel the cloak was in. I watched as Harry threw the
cloak over his head, and he disappeared completely.

… Magic was cool.

"There's a note!" Ron cried, making the other boy suddenly take off the
cloak. He ran over to Ron and took the note, dropping the cloak into my
hands.

Whoa. It was really smooth. I threw it over my arm, and was amazed at
how my arm was completely gone.
I glanced up from my admiring to see Harry with a sour, semi-confused
look on his face. I handed the cloak to Ron, who was practically vibrating
from where he was standing.

I placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and the boy turned to me, looking at
me with semi-sad green eyes. "Something wrong?" I asked, not wanting to
push too much.

"Nothing," Harry shook his head.

I opened my mouth to comment on his fib, but rapid footsteps interrupted

me. I glanced up to see Fred and George storming down the stairs eagerly.

Harry took the cloak from Ron quickly, and stuffed it behind the couch
quickly.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look, Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"

I blinked to see Fred and George wearing similar blue ones, but one had a
yellow F while the other a G.

"Harry's is better than ours, though," Fred complained, looking at Harry's

sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

George turned to his younger brother and asked, "Why aren't you wearing
yours, Ron? Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," Ron complained, but put it on, nonetheless.

"I'm going to put my presents away," Harry announced, gathering the

wrapping paper and subtly taking the cloak in his arms.

I bit my lip before gathering my own presents. "Same," I announced, before

bounding upstairs with my arms (and mouth because of my second Sugar
Straw) full.

I pushed open the door to my dormitory open and walked over to my bed. I
placed my presents down on my bed before reaching up to take the straw
out of my mouth, as I was drooling. Whirling around, a strange, strangled
cry escaped my lips as my heart pounded furiously in my chest as
adrenaline filled my veins.

"Oh gods!" I cried, my free hand falling to my chest, over my heart. "What
are you even doing here? This is the Girls' Dormitory! Wait, how'd you
even get in?!"

Apollo, who was sitting at my desk casually, with one leg crossed over the
other, arms crossed, smirked, amusement filling his too-handsome face.
"Really, Louise, I'm sure you know the answer to that."

I frowned deeply. Stupid god.

Apollo made a tsking sound before he scolded teasingly, "Ah, ah, little one.
I'd watch what you even think around a god." He stood up, towering over
me by easily almost two feet, as I was only four-eleven while he was
probably six-five or so.

He bent down so he stood just slightly above me, and I blushed at the
proximity. "You're lucky I'm so forgiving, though."

"Really?" I blurted out without even thinking. "The stories of your curses
say different."

This caused the god to stiffen slightly, before quickly relaxing. "Oh, yeah?
Like which ones?"

"Uh… I'd rather not offend you," I muttered. "I don't want you getting mad
at me."

Apollo threw his head back and laughed, the musical sound echoing off the
walls melodically, and I closed my eyes, taking in the beautiful sound.
When it stopped, I slowly opened my eyes, and the blond man looked down
at me with his beautiful, sky-colored eyes.

He placed a finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Louise,"

he said, "trust me and believe me when I say that you won't ever make me
mad enough to curse you for eternity."

I nodded quietly, taking in the god's words. "Well, there's Midas… and…
you've even cursed your own son before."
"Midas was because he was absurd for even thinking Pan was better
than me, the God of Music, at music," Apollo rolled his sky blue eyes. He sat
down on the top of my desk and continued, "Halcyon… well, it's because he
went against Fate." He looked down at me sternly and stated, "And
you never go against Fate, Louise. Here's a word of advice: If a god tells you
something, do not disobey them. Do you understand? There will be severe
consequences going against us, and I don't want to curse you, glakia mou."

I blushed at the term of endearment but nodded, heeding his words. Don't
piss off the gods. That should be easy enough, right?

"Actually, we're quite petty beings," Apollo said casually, crossing his
ankles, holding up a single digit. "My father, Zeus, is one of the most
prominent ones." Thunder boomed in the distance and Apollo called out,
"Sorry! But Dionysus chased this off-limits wood nymph twice, so Zeus
punished him so he has to watch over Camp Half-Blood for a hundred
years and can't drink any wine or grow grapevines."

"But… he's the God of Wine," I pointed out, furrowing my brows in

confusion.

Apollo smiled and walked over to me, tapping the tip of my nose teasingly.
"Exactly, glakia mou. Anyway, enough of your Greek lesson, that's my
children's job. Why don't you open your window?"

I looked at the Sun God curiously, but did as he said. I unlatched the
window, and immediately, my instincts told me to duck.

So I did.

I dropped to the ground just as something soared into the room. I

instinctively pulled out my wand, only to see it circle the room once before
landing on Apollo's outstretched arm.

"… Katharos," I recognized the white raven.

"Don't blast me," Katharos said teasingly, looking at me with her dark
eyes. "We're not fond of being blasted at."

"That one damned right deserved it," Apollo muttered darkly, before
quickly throwing me a bright smile. "Hold out your arm, Louise."
I blinked, but stretched out my wand-wielding arm. Immediately, Katharos
spread open her foot-long wingspan and flew over to my arm. She leaned
down, pecking at my hand affectionately, and my free hand reached up to
stroke her small head.

"Merry Christmas, Louise," Apollo said, the corner of his lips rising as he
watched me interact with the animal.

"Wh – What?" I paused in stroking Katharos's head.

"Merry Christmas," Apollo repeated patiently. "She's your gift."

"Y – You're giving me a white raven?"

"Unless Katharos is something else," Apollo smiled gently. He walked over

to me and placed a large hand on my head. "She'll watch over you when I
can't."

"Why me? Why not Rhea or Aristo?"

Apollo gave me an unreadable smile before telling me, "You'll find out in
time. But for now, why don't you enjoy the rest of Christmas. Close your
eyes, glakia mou."

I did as he ordered and felt a warm light wash over me as the room around
me brightened. When the warmth disappeared, and opened my eyelids. The
room was completely empty, void of any life except for Katharos and me…
and the window was still open and snow was getting inside.

The rest of Christmas passed by uneventfully. The great thing, was what
Harry informed Ron and I of.

"You could have woken me up," Ron pouted, crossing his arms as we sat at
the breakfast table.

"You can come tonight," Harry suggested. "I'm going back. I want to show
you the mirror." He looked at me and edited, "Both of you. I want you guys
to meet my mom and dad."

"I'd like that," I smiled softly. Maybe I'd be able to meet my father, too.
"And I want to see all your family," Harry said eagerly. "All the Weasleys,"
he turned to Ron. "You'll be able to show me your other brothers and
everyone." He turned to me and added, "I'd love to meet your brother, too."

"You can see them any old time," Ron waved off. "Just come to my house
this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not
finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you
eating anything?"

Harry developed this constipated look over his skinny face and I waved a
hand over his face while Ron spoke.

"Are you all right? You look odd."

Harry then shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He turned to me and
asked, "So what's the bird about?" He pointed at Katharos, who was
standing in the middle of the table between Ron and I, munching on some
bird seeds.

"She's a Christmas present," I smiled softly.

"What kind of bird is she?" Ron bent down to take a good look at Katharos.
She maturely ignored him and continued to eat. "I've never seen anything
like her."

"A raven," I explained. "A white one."

"An albino?" Harry suggested.

I gave him a soft smile and responded, "You could say that."

I shivered at how cold the empty hallway was. Even squeezed in-between
Harry and Ron underneath this small cloak, I was freezing.

"I'm freezing," Ron voiced. "Let's forget it and go back."

"No!" Harry whispered harshly. "I know it's here somewhere."

"We've been walking around for about an hour, Harry," I groaned quietly. "I
swear to the Heavens if we don't find it in the next half hour, I'm walking
back, cloak or no cloak."
"There it is!" Harry pointed out, before pushing open a door near a suit of
armor. Harry quickly threw the cloak back once we were inside the empty
room and ran towards a large mirror.

I glanced at the mirror he stood before, trying to read the message that was
engraved in the mirror above, but the words just floated around, making
me see: I show not your face but your heart’s desire. I blinked. Did I just
read that correctly?

"What the heck is Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?" Ron asked
me choppily, eyes squinting as he read the message.

I pursed my lips, debating if I should tell him what I saw. If what I read was
correct, then this was a mirror that reflected your heart's greatest desire.
And Harry's? Harry's was seeing his parents.

Harry turned to us and grinned brightly at us, and my heart clenched in

sympathy. "See?!"

Ron squinted and said, "I can't see anything."

"Look in it properly," Harry advised, stepping aside. "Go on, stand where I
am."

Ron walked over to the mirror, standing before it. He then straightened up
and exclaimed, "Look at me!"

"Can you see all your family standing around you?" Harry bounced on the
balls of his feet, giddy with excitement.

"No," Ron shook his head. "I'm alone, but I'm different. I look older! And
I'm Head Boy! … And, bloody hell, I'm holding the House Cup and the
Quidditch cup. Blimey, I'm Quidditch captain, too!" He tore his eyes away
from the mirror and looked at Harry and I. "Do you think this mirror shows
the future?"

"How can it?" Harry inquired. "My family… All are dead. Louise," he said,
turning to look at me. "You have a look."

Ron stepped aside for me, and I cautiously walked forward. I stepped over
to the mirror slowly. I stopped when I was right before it, and glanced up.
My own sea-green eyes stared back at me, but the face was more mature,
with less baby fat and a more heart-shaped face. My hair flowed over my
shoulders in dark waves, falling over my decently-sized chest and thin, but
a toned frame.

Arms suddenly circled around my mirrored, older image, and a gentle smile
appeared on her face. I followed her gaze up to see Apollo, looking exactly
like he did right now. The Apollo in the reflection smiled at me before
movement caught my eyes.

Another movement caught my eyes and I saw a female step out from the
side. She looked no older than twelve or thirteen, but her eyes held
centuries of knowledge. With her flowing auburn hair and her eyes as
silvery like the moon, with a bow around her, I recognized who she was:
Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt and the Wilderness, Chastity and
Maidenhood, and the Moon.

More movement caught my eye and three figures stepped out.

Identical sea-green eyes just like mine sparkled back at me as a handsome,

young man beamed at me, his dark locks falling over his eyes. Percy.

My mother, looking as patient and beautiful as ever, smiled back at me

proudly.

I then looked at the large, tall figure behind her, and my eyes met similar
sea-green eyes as me. He beamed at me, his eyes crinkling while his white
teeth shown behind his neatly trimmed dark beard. Seeing the trident in his
right hand, I recognized him immediately as well: Poseidon, God of the Sea,
Storms, Earthquakes, and Horses, King of Atlantis, The Earthshaker, The
Stormbringer, and my biological father.

It was interesting to see how my image in the mirror was so calm amongst
three of the twelve Gods that sat upon thrones in Olympus. And one of
them was a member of the Big Three.

But I looked so… at peace. Apollo's mirrored hand rubbed over my

reflection's cheek, and I saw him look at my reflection before bending
down, resting his forehead against my own.
"-ise! Louise!" I heard a voice call before a hand snapped in front of me. I
snapped out of my daze and turned quickly, seeing Harry and Ron looking
at me slightly worried. "We've been calling you for five minutes, Louise,"
the redhead spoke. "What'd you see?"

I glanced back at the mirror, to see the older me walking away, hand-in-
hand with Apollo while the others surrounded them. The older me turned
around, her flowing hair falling over her back, before smiling at me.

"I… I don't even know myself," I sighed, not able to comprehend what was
going on. I reached up, rubbing my temple. Was my heart's desire to be
with Apollo? No, it can't be. I don't even know what I want for my birthday
next year. There must've been some mistake. My demigod powers probably
did something to the mirror.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but then there was a sudden
noise.

"Quick!" Ron exclaimed, throwing the cloak over us just as Mrs. Norris
crept in.

I held my breath, along with Ron and Harry, for Zeus-knows-how-long

until Mrs. Norris turned around, and left.

"This isn't safe. She might have gone for Filch. I bet she heard us. Come
on," Ron whispered, before we made our way back to the dormitories.

When I got back to my room, I noticed that Katharos was back. She had left
some time after dinner, and I let her do whatever she pleased. Her dark
eyes looked at me as I entered the dorm, closing the door behind me.

"Did you see the Mirror of Erised?" she asked me.

"The Mirror of Erised?" I repeated.

Katharos nodded, spreading her wings as she adjusted herself on the perch
Apollo had left behind for her. "It is a mirror both Eros and Psyche had
blessed."

"Why did they do that?"

"Because Psyche liked the idea of it and if you ever want to convince Eros to
do something, then you get Psyche on your side. He's a bit on the rough
side, but he could never say no to Psyche."

"So, even with me being a half-blood, it'll still work?"

"Of course."
 Chapter 9: Training

“I was just telling him the truth…”

I planted Tempest on the ground as I gasped for breath, my heart thumping

heavily and my head pulsing as I attempted to gather as much oxygen into
my body as I could.

Aristo stood a few feet away, smirking at me as a drop of sweat dribbled

down the side of his face. He wiped it away with the back of his hand before
he placed his bow down on a table that materialized.

"Not bad," Aristo breathed out. He closed his eyes, and a few seconds later,
his fatigue disappeared. The only note that he was even tired before was his
sweat-stained uniform.

I took in a deep breath, and concentrated. I summoned the moisture that

had gathered around me and willed it to disappear easily. I was still trying
to steady my breathing, which was almost there, but my arms were sore like
no tomorrow.

"My Gods, you smell," Rhea wrinkled her beautiful, straight nose as she
looked at her twin.

"What are you? A daughter of Aphrodite?" Aristo retorted, before walking

over to me. He held out a hand and I took it.

I felt a warmth spread through my body as my fatigues started to fade away,

while at the same time, Aristo's sweat started to disappear from sight, his
shirt resuming the normal white cotton color it originally was.

I stood up straight and brushed off some dust that had got onto my clothes
and pulled Tempest from the ground. The floor immediately repaired itself
from the crack I had left. I reverted it back to its regular form and capped it,
placing the weapon back into my pocket.
"You're getting a lot better," Rhea praised, walking over to us. She looked
down at the broken arrows that rested on the ground cut into pieces. "You
should work on your close, hand-to-hand combat more, though."

"Aristo has half a feet over me," I pointed out. "Should you fight me, since
you're closer to my height?"

At 5'0, she was closer to my height than Aristo's 5'2. She was only one inche
taller than me as opposed to Aristo's two.

Rhea shook her head firmly. "You should be adept at fighting those taller
than you. In the chance that you do fight a real fight, it'll most likely be with
a monster, just like that Cretan Bull."

"Minotaurs, centaurs, dragons, chimeras, giants, harpies, sphinxes… they'll

be bigger than you, Louise. And they will take you down if they see the
chance. Heroes on quests have died because of monsters. As the daughter
of one of the Big Three, there will undoubtedly be quests you'll have to go
on, Louise. We need to prepare you for that, because, I happen to like you
in one piece." Aristo reached out and affectionately messed up my hair.

I gave a small smile and reached around to hug Aristo. The older boy
returned the gesture easily, and when he released me, I went to hug Rhea as
well.

We exited the Room of Requirement together, before we parted so I could

head up to Gryffindor Tower. I waved goodbye to them, before heading up
the staircase before they could change.

I gave the Fat Lady the password before the portrait swung open, allowing
me entrance to the common room.

"Really break your leg," I heard Ron say as I walked towards him,
Hermione, and Harry.

"… Do I want to know what's going on?" I asked, taking a seat next to Harry
on the couch. The bespectacled boy looked a nauseous shade of green.
"What's going on?"

"Snape's refereeing the next Quidditch game against Slytherin," Ron

informed us. "And you know how much he hates Harry."
I frowned, recalling the game with Harry's cursed broomstick. While the
three were sure that Snape was the one cursing Harry, Quirrell was pretty
suspicious, too. Yeah, the man was meek as a mouse, but sometimes, it was
the unexpected ones.

Expect the unexpected, Aristo and Rhea informed me. It's a cheesy line, but
always be ready.

Even if Snape was refereeing, I voiced my opinion. "Even so, it'd be wrong
for Harry to back out, anyway. Slipping out is the coward's way out. If a task
is given to him, he should take it and do his best to complete it."

"And thinking like that will get yourself killed, Louise," Hermione pointed
out. "It's safer to assess everything than to just jump in."

"But sometimes, you can't get any information until you jump in," I replied
simply, merely stating a fact. It was why our bodies were wired with ADHD
– so we can react fast.

Hermione huffed, crossing her arms, and I felt slightly bad, but it was the
truth.

Harry looked back and forth from between Hermione and I before saying,
"I can't back out, anyway. There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out,
Gryffindor can't play at all."

At that very moment, Neville suddenly ran into the common room.
Well, ran was the incorrect term. He was hopping… I recognized it as the
Leg-Locker Curse. Others in the room burst out laughing while I furrowed
my eyebrows, disturbed.

My eyes widened when I saw Neville stumble, and without even thinking, I
shot forward, grabbing the blond by his arms and steadied him easily.

"I'll do the counter-curse," Seamus volunteered, pulling out his wand.

"No!" Neville exclaimed. "That's all I need, you’ll just set my bloody
kneecaps on fire."

"I don't appreciate your insinuation, Longbottom!" Seamus huffed.

"Besides, if anyone cares to notice, my eyebrows have grown back!"
Hermione ignored the conversation and hopped up, performing a perfect
counter-curse on the boy on the floor. At once, Neville's legs detached from
each other and he pushed himself away me shakily.

"What happened?" Hermione demanded, as I helped Neville sit down with

us.

"M – Malfoy," Neville stuttered out. "I met him outside the library. He said
he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione exclaimed. "Report him!"

Neville merely shook his head. "I don't want more trouble," he mumbled
out, meek.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" Ron urged. "He's used to walking
all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it
easier."

Neville shook his head, close to crying. "There's no need to tell me I'm not
brave enough to be in Gryffindor," he said. "Malfoy's already done that."

Harry shifted next to me, and I saw him pull out a Chocolate Frog. He
handed it to the plump boy, who took it gently. "You're worth twelve of
Malfoy," Harry told him. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't
it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."

I smiled gently when I saw Neville smile softly, unwrapping the chocolate
frog.

"Thanks, Harry," he said, looking at the bespectacled boy gratefully. "I

think I'll go to bed. D'you want the card? You collect them, don't you?"

"Yeah," Harry said, taking it. "Thanks."

Neville got up, thanking all of us, and I gave him a reassuring pat on the
back. He walked away, and I turned to Harry. "That was great of you to say
that."

The dark-haired boy's cheeks got slightly pink, strangely enough, and he
looked away so he didn't make eye contact with me. "It was nothing. I was
just telling him the truth."
"Well, nonetheless, it was still great." I smiled at Harry, who looked down
his Famous Wizard card.

He sighed and said, "Dumbledore again… He was the first one I ever–" He
cut himself off with a sharp gasp before exclaiming in a whisper, "I've found
him!" to us.

He showed us the card and said, "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the
name somewhere before! I read it on the train coming here – listen to this:
'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard
Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's
blood, and is work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel'!"

Suddenly, Hermione hopped to her feet. It was so sudden that I jumped

back. "Stay here!" she ordered before sprinting away up to our room.

I glanced at Ron and Harry, sharing equally confused looks. I glanced back
up at the sound of rapid footsteps and saw Hermione come barreling down
the stairs with a giant book that was practically the size of her small body.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered to us happily. "I got this
out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" Ron echoed incredulously, looking at the book she dropped in the
center of all of us. The bushy haired girl ignored him, flipping through the
ginormous book.

I leaned back. I wasn't going to be able to read it, anyway.

"I knew it! I knew it!" she cried excitedly.

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" Ron grumbled, but was ignored again.

"'Nicolas Flamel'," she read, "'is the only known maker of the Philosopher's
Stone'!"

"… The what?" Harry, Ron, and I asked at once.

"Oh, honestly, don't you three read?" Hermione sighed. Actually, I wasn't
able to read regular books, thank you very much. "Look," she pushed the
book towards us. "Read that, there." She pointed at a section.
I tried, I really did, but the words started blurring together and started
moving around, along with having a strange arrangement. I blinked,
rubbing my sea-green eyes. "Could someone read that, please? I can't
understand it."

My three companions looked up from the book and Hermione asked,

"Really?"

I nodded. "I'm dyslexic. I can't read anything. My textbooks are charmed so

I can read them."

"What about in class?" Ron asked. "You seem to read the board just fine."

"That's charmed for my eyes as well," I admitted. I had expressed my

concerns about reading in class with Professor McGonagall, but she had
assured me that all the professors have charmed their writing utensils so I
could read what they wrote. "No one knows but you guys and the twins."

"How do the twins know, too?" Ron questioned curiously, cocking his head
to the side.

"All three of us are dyslexic," I informed them. "We can't read proper
English. They also have ADHD like me." I had already explained to them
what ADHD was the first week here, because I was jittery all the time when
we would sit together for a couple hours, making me move around. "So…
uh, can one of you guys read for me?"

Harry read the short passage for me, which was about the creation of the
Philosopher's Stone, which made the Elixir of Life, allowing the drinker to
be immortal. I thanked Harry, the topic from before now restored.

"See?" Hermione questioned. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's

Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him,
because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he
wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" Harry exclaimed.
"No wonder Snape's after it. Anyone would want it."

I bit the inside of my lips to stop me from blurting out that I could think of
a few beings that wouldn't want it.
"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent
Developments in Wizardry. He's not exactly recent if he's six-hundred and
sixty-five, is he?"

"That's not really funny, Ron."

"Ah, shut up."

I won't fill you in with the boring details (not that I was even paying
attention), but Harry did decide to participate in the Quidditch match
against Hufflepuff.

I leaned against the railing, bored, watching the players fly around.
Everyone was screaming around us, but Aristo, Rhea, and I just looked on
with equal blank stares.

"Capture the Flag is a lot more interesting than this," Aristo voiced his
opinion. Rhea nodded in agreement, and I just shrugged, having not
participated in the game before.

All of a sudden, I heard a thud and whirled around.

There were bodies rolling on the ground, but no one was paying any
attention, focused on the Quidditch game. I tapped Aristo's arm, who in
turn caught Rhea's attention.

At once, I went over to the flurry of white-blond and red. I easily broke the
two scuffling boys away and pushed them away from each other.

Aristo easily handled Crabbe and Goyle while Rhea helped Neville up.

"Calm down, Ron," I advised while I held a dazed Malfoy away. Blood was
dripping onto my hands from their equally bloody noses, though Malfoy
looked worse for wear.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you?!" Hermione's voice rang from the cheering
crowd. The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the
lead!"

Ron broke from my grip and I released Malfoy, who huffed and stormed
away with Crabbe and Goyle at his heels. I looked down at my bloodied
hands and frowned. Making sure no one was paying attention, I gathered
moisture from the air around me and washed my hands clean of the red
liquid, before drying them.

I walked over to join Aristo and Rhea, who were making sure Neville was
okay. Seeing a spot of red on Aristo's uniform, I subtly ran my hand over it,
washing and drying it quickly.

"We'll meet up with Cedric," Rhea informed. "And take Neville to the
Madam Pomfrey." Aristo hoisted Neville onto his back easily, and I nodded.

I walked off, joining Hermione and Ron, who were looking for Harry. We
searched for a while, and when we stepped into a clearing inside the castle,
Harry came striding out towards us.

"Harry, where have you been?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"We won!" Ron cried. "You won! We won!" Ron patted Harry on the back.
"And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and
Goyle single-handed! The twins took him to Madam Pomfrey – talk about
showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're
having a party, and Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the
kitchens!"

"Never mind that now," Harry waved off. Let's find an empty room, you'll
wait 'til you hear this…"

We entered an empty room, and Harry quickly filled us in on what he

overheard. Snape and Quirrell were talking about the Philosopher's Stone,
how Quirrell knew how to get past Fluffy, and basically knew everything
else.

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?"
Hermione inquired.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron groaned, running a hand through his
messed up red hair.

The four of us continued to talk, coming up with a plan to take a detour to

the room everyday just to hear and check to see if Fluffy was still there.
After making sure we had a basic plan, the three decided it was time to
celebrate Gryffindor's fastest win.
I thought about something and said, "You guys go on ahead. I just
remembered I have something to do."

All three of them exchanged curious looks, but nodded. They walked off,
talking amongst themselves, while I headed outside to the Black Lake.

I took off my black robe, draping it over a low branch, before walking
towards the water. I stepped inside the water, feeling it flow between my
legs, but not wetting me at all. I walked until I was waist-deep into the
water, before I scooped up some water.

I let the liquid flow between my fingers, back into the lake, before placing
my palm just above the water. I closed my eyes, concentrating. I imagined a
long, flowing stream and raised my arm up.

My eyes snapped open and I looked just to see a long, flowing strand over
water. I flicked my wrist and it danced above and around me, before it fell
down back into the water with a splash.

Using both hands, I imagined a large wall of water appearing for me, and
felt the water between my fingers. I breathed in before exhaling deeply, and
willed the water to rise. I could feel the weight of it, even though I wasn't
even touching it, as a wall of clear water formed above me.

Feeling slightly tired, I let the wall collapse, and felt the rush when the
water fell over me, coating me in a soft, gentle hug, but otherwise, not
disturbing me. I traced my fingers over the water, creating small ripples,
before an idea formed in my head.

You could make snowballs, right?

How about water-balls?

I scooped up some water, and was surprised to see it was in the form of a
solid sphere. I whirled around, launching the ball towards the land. It hit a
tree trunk with a splash, and a giddy excitement filled through me.
How cool!

A small giggle escaped my lips and I clapped my hands joyfully.

"You know, you can do so much more than that, right?" a teasing voice
pointed out.
I screamed in shock, not expecting the voice at all. I fell back in surprise,
landing in the water. I held my breath on instinct, but realized it was dumb
to. I sat underwater for a while, watching a couple of toads swim by.

Realizing I was under the water for a while, I resurfaced to glare at the
being at interrupted me.

Aristo smirked at me in amusement, and I huffed, crossing my arms over

my chest. He sat above a huge boulder near the edge of the lake, leaned
back on his palms with the sleeves of his pants rolled up to his knees,
soaking his calves and feet in the nice water. His shoes and socks were
discarded a few feet away, I noticed, before I turned my attention back to
him.

He pushed himself up and he looked at me, "Hey, check this out." He held
out a hand, his palm facing upward. I looked at it for a few seconds, and
right before my eyes, a white ball of energy formed in the palm of his hand.
He wiggled his long fingers, and the ball danced around in the air.

"Cool!" I exclaimed, swimming over to where he was. I got closer and then
was near him in the water, looking at the ball of light.

"Rhea can do it, too," Aristo informed me. "It's really rare, but sometimes,
Apollo blesses his kids every hundred years or so to have photokinesis.
Kinda like Hephaestus with pyrokinesis. Only a few of his kids can control
fire. I'm sure that since you're a child of the Big Three, you can do a lot
more than just water balls and shields, though."

"Do you really think so?" I asked, cocking my head to the side to look up at
the thirteen-year-old.

"Pretty positive," Aristo nodded his head, his blond bangs falling over his
eyes. "You can possible create storms and earthquakes, too, but… uh… I
don't think we should practice those. Our powers are limited compared to
yours, but we can help you project them quickly without too much
concentration. Soon, it'll be second-nature for you to summon water."

I nodded and the older Solander twin ordered me to step back. "All right,"
Aristo said. He pointed at a distance and asked, "See that tree over there,
with the branch dangling? Across the lake?"
It was pretty far away, and took a while to see, but I nodded once I saw it.

"I want you to form something that will break it. A water strand, a water
ball, it's up to you, but I want you to break it. It should be fairly easy, since
we're surrounded by water. It'll be more difficult when we
practice away from water."

I nodded and pulled my hand out of the water, a steady flow of water
following my hand movements. I flicked my wrist, willing it to go towards
the broken branch. I watched as the strand propelled above the water
powerfully, creating small ripples in the lake as it flew by at an amazing
speed.

From a distance, I heard a small crack as the strand of water snapped

against the branch, breaking it. The twig fell to the ground, broken, and the
water spilled onto the dirt at the tree's trunk.

"That's pretty cool," I said, turning to look at Aristo.

"It is," he agreed, nodding his head. "Check this out," he told me. He
summoned a ball of light in his hand and launched it. I watched as it
propelled itself through the air, across the lake, to the other side.

I heard cracks as it propelled through the small branches of the forest,

before it shot up into the air. I followed it with my eyes and in my
peripheral vision, noticed Aristo was moving hand, controlling it. The ball
of light crashed into the water, creating a splash, before it disappeared in
the darkness of the lake.

"Hey, Aristo," I called, turning to the older boy.

"What's up?"

"Why do you think living forever is such a temptation?"

Aristo's handsome face scrunched up in confusion. "Um… I guess it's

because you don't have to be scared of dying, why?"

I opened my mouth to tell him, but then shrugged it off. It wasn't

really my secret to tell, per say. It was Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I's secret
to share, and if I was going to tell them we'd all have to agree. It was just
like telling how Aristo, Rhea, and I were demigods. We had to decide
together.

"Just a thought," I answered.

The boy looked at me quietly, contemplating. He decided to not say

anything, and proceeded to teach me how to control my hydrokinesis
better.
 Chapter 10: Norbert

“The man had a Cerberus he called Fluffy.

Of course, he always wanted a dragon.”

I didn't miss the obvious sighs of relief that came from Ron and Harry when
I went to join them and Hermione at a table in the library.

"Hey," I greeted, placing my books on the table.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, looking up from her furious
writing. "Exams are just around the corner and you're always disappearing
for hours on end!"

"I was with the twins," I shrugged, sliding into the seat next to her, across
from Ron. "They were helping me with some Herbology," I lied easily. But…
then again, they were teaching me about plants and poisons, so I guess it
was a type of Herbology.

"What's Ditanny, then?" Harry sighed, looking at his textbook. "It's taking
forever for me to find the bloody thing."

Oh. I actually knew this one. "It's a healing herb that can heal wounds, and
after placing it on, the wound will look several days old. Applying it raw can
heal shallow wounds immediately."

"Oh," Harry said, turning back to the page he was originally on in the
textbook. "Thanks."

"No problem," I responded.

"Hagrid!" Ron exclaimed suddenly. "What are you doing in the library?"

I saw the large man shuffle, and my immediately fell onto a book that
quickly disappeared behind his large back.
"Jus' lookin'," he responded. "An' what're you lot up ter?" His eyes
narrowed and he questioned, "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are
yeh?"

Ron waved a hand. "Oh, we found out who he is ages ago. And we know
what that dog's guarding. It's a Philosopher's St–"

"Shhh!" Hagrid hushed, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was
eavesdropping. "Don' go shoutin' about it. What's the matter with yeh?!"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you," Harry pointed out, looking
up at the large man. "About what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy–"

"SHHHHHH!" Hagrid hissed, holding a large, sausage-sized finger to his

bearded face. "Listen – come an' see me later. I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh
anythin', mind, but don' go rabbittin' about it in here. Students aren'
s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh."

We all exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. "See you later, then,"
Harry bade the man, before Hagrid walked off.

I turned to the three and we leaned over the table, looking at each other.
"Did you see that he was holding something behind his back?" I asked
them.

All three nodded and Hermione asked, "What was he hiding behind his
back?"

"Do you think it had something to do with the Stone?" Harry suggested, his
green eyes wide.

"I'm going to see what section he was in," Ron volunteered. I think he just
didn't want to work on anymore schoolwork, to be honest. He darted off,
and came back a couple minutes later with a pile of books, throwing them
haphazardly on the table. "Dragons!" he reported in a loud whisper.
"Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species
of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's
Guide."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon," Harry informed us. "He told me so the
first time I ever met him."
I wasn't surprised, to be honest. The man had a Cerberus that he
called Fluffy. Of course he always wanted a dragon. I wouldn't be surprised
if he had giants as companions or siblings. I mean, technically, some
Cyclopes are my siblings, since their father is Poseidon, too.

"But it's against our laws," Ron pointed out. "Dragon breed was outlawed
by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop
Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden.
Anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns
Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?"

"Of course there are," Ron pointed out. "Common Welsh Green and
Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can
tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted
them, to make them forget.

"What's this got anything to do with Hagrid?" I asked, cocking my head to

the side. It made me wonder if there were dragons in America, too. There
probably were, to be honest, but they'd probably hidden by the Mist that
the twins had informed me about. The Mist is a force controlled by Hecate,
the Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft, Crossroads, and the Mist, that made
regular humans see anything mythological as just regular things. Us
demigods were able to see past it, but sometimes, it could be strong enough
to fool us.

"That's a really good question," Harry said. He closed his book. "Let's find
out."

Much to Hermione's displeasure, the boys packed up their books. Outvoted,

she packed up, as well, and we set off to Hagrid's hut after putting our stuff
away in the dormitory.

As Harry knocked, I observed the hut. It was, for some odd reason,
completely closed off. Usually Hagrid had at least a window open, or even
the drapes pulled back. This time, the curtains were completely
closed. "Who is it?" Hagrid's muffled voice came from behind the door.

"It's us," Harry responded.

The door quickly opened, and we were ushered in. The door was closed
faster than I could comprehend, and if it weren't for the fact that this
was Hagrid, I would've had my hand on Tempest or my wand. Probably
Tempest. I was better at combat than magic. Heat washed over me and I
frowned. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took off their cloaks, but since I had a
high heat resistance, I wasn't hot yet. It was definitely stifling, though.

"So, yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Hagrid inquired turning to us.

"Yes," Harry nodded affirmatively, not wasting any time. "We were
wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone
apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at Harry. "O' course I can't," he told us. "Number one, I
don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn't
tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen
outta Gringotts – I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how
yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid," Hermione attempted to coax the man. "You might
not want to tell us, but you do know. You know everything that goes on
around here." I noticed the large man's beard twitched, and couldn't help
but smirk. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really. We
wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from
you."

Damn. Flattery will get you anywhere, it seems.

"Well," Hagrid began, and I knew he had cracked. "I don' s'pose it could
hurt ter tell yeh that. Let's see… he borrowed Fluffy from me, then some o'
the teachers did enchantments… Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick,
Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, an' Dumbledore himself did
somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone…" Hagrid waggled a
finger, trying to remember who it was. "Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

"Yeah. Yer still not on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the
Stone. He's not about ter steal it."
I sighed heavily, seeing the thoughts running through the trio's faces. They
needed to work on their poker faces more. Yeah, Snape was a suspicious
guy, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I didn't sense any
sort of evil from him. Yeah, he was unpleasant to be around, but I had
worse vibes around Quirrell than Snape.

I leaned back in my seat, listening quietly to Harry conversing with Hagrid.

It wasn't until Harry asked to open a window did I refocus towards them
completely. Hagrid looked at Harry sympathetically and replied, "Sorry,
Harry, can't." He glanced over at the fire, and I followed his gaze to see a
huge, black egg underneath the kettle in the center of the fire.

A Dragon egg, I quickly realized.

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron asked, walking over to the fire and
crouching over it. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," Hagrid replied. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few
drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was pretty glad
ter get rid of it, to be honest."

Hermione looked at Hagrid. "But what are you going to do with it when it's
hatched?"

Hagrid pulled out a large book from his bed. "Well, I've bin doin' some
readin'," he admitted. "Got this outta the library: Dragon Breeding for
Pleasure and Profit. It's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep
the eggs in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it
hatches, feet it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half
hour. An' see here, how ter recognize diff'rent eggs. This says I got 'ere a
Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

I recognized that as one of the few dragons that ate water mammals. I
cocked my head to the side. Well, this was an unfortunate turn of events.
The dragon and I would not get along, it seemed.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," Hermione said pointedly, but was
ignored. The man continued to happily hum a cheerful tune, stoking the
fire.
I sighed heavily, and the four of us got up to leave the hut. Ron turned to
me and asked, "How did you not boil in there? It was probably forty degrees
in there!" I quickly did the conversion in my head, seeing as I used
Fahrenheit.

"I don't think it was that hot, Ron," I rolled my eyes. "But I just have a high
heat tolerance, I suppose."

"You never seem to get cold, either," Hermione pointed out. "You just wore
your uniform and a sweater in January, when it was snowing."

"I have a high cold resistance, too," I shrugged. I couldn't tell them that it
was because I was the daughter of Poseidon that I was weather-resistant.
Hermione looked at me suspiciously, but nodded, reluctantly accepting my
vague explanation.

The next few days passed by uneventfully, with me studying with the trio or
training with the twins. I was quickly getting better in terms of fighting
skills, and was able to beat Rhea in sword-to-sword combat. Aristo still had
a little bit over me, but I did knock his sword out of his hand once the day
before.

I was eating breakfast with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, when Hedwig came
flying towards us. I peeked at the message, and saw that it was from Hagrid,
reading: s'I cihact. I shook my head, asking Harry what it said.

Harry looked at me before whispering, "It's hatching." I looked at Ron and

Harry before we quickly got up, intent on going to Hagrid's hut, but was
stopped by Hermione before we could fully exit the Great Hall.

"No!" she exclaimed. "We can't skip class!"

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon
hatching?" Ron retorted, looking at the brunette exasperatedly.

"We've got lessons. We'll get in trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's
going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing–"

"Shut up!" Harry hissed. I felt eyes on us and turned just to see Malfoy
standing a few feet away, eavesdropping. The look on his face made me sick
to my stomach. I wonder how much he actually heard.
I looked at my friends and suggested, "Let's go to class." I didn't know if
Malfoy would follow us, so we headed to Herbology, with Ron and
Hermione arguing quietly the entire way. In the end, we settled to going to
Hagrid's during morning break in-between classes so we didn't miss any.

We all darted out of Herbology after the class was over. I was behind Harry,
Ron, and Hermione, when I felt arms circle around me. Immediately, I
acted on impulse and gripped the wrists of my assailant. I swung the body,
ignoring how heavy it was as adrenaline rushed through me.

My assailant twisted out of my grip while he was in the air, twisting my

body. I broke free, releasing his wrist and my hand instinctively went into
my pocket, pulling out Tempest. Just before I could withdraw it, I glanced
at my attacker, only for my eyes to widen in shock.

"OhmyGodsI'msosorry!" I apologized in a rushed manner, bowing at my

waist.

A musical chuckle echoed through the nearly empty hallway and the tone
said, "It's no problem, glakia mou. I'm more impressed than anything else.
Raise your head."

I slowly stood up straighter, and saw Apollo was leaning against a doorway
of an open classroom. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his white
t-shirt hugging him easily. "I see your training's paying off. Not many
people can flip a God easily, Penny."

"I think you let me," I frowned. There was no way I could've done that to
Apollo. He had won the first Olympic Games, defeating Ares in a boxing
match and beating Hermes in a race. There was no way I could take him
down (or even make a dent in him).

Apollo simply smiled at me, reaching out and ruffling my hair. "Be careful,
all right, glakia mou?" Without another word, he entered the empty room,
closing the door behind him, and I knew he had left.

"Penny!" a voice called down the hall. I turned to see Harry, Ron, and
Hermione waiting impatiently for me. "What're you standing around there
for?!" Ron cried out. "Let's go!"
My feet kicked into gear and I ran over to the trio, and we jogged the rest of
the way to Hagrid's. As we moved, I couldn't help but wonder what Apollo
meant by that. Be careful?

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts as we arrived at Hagrid's hut, where

he was standing, greeting us all flushed and beaming. "It's nearly out," he
managed to say before ushering us inside, closing the door behind us."

I stepped inside, seeing the large black egg on the table in the center of
Hagrid's hut. There were cracks form all sides and it was moving around,
with a weird clicking sound coming from it. We all gathered around the
table, and just then, it broke open.

A fluid spilled out of it before a small little dragon flopped out, resembling
some weird, wrinkled umbrella. It had large spiny wings that were probably
double the size of its tiny body, with a long snout and wide nostrils, horns,
and large, round orange eyes.

It sneezed and a couple sparks flew out of its snout.

I wrinkled my nose. Birth was supposed to be a beautiful thing, but this…

was kind of… egh. I guess it was cute.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid cooed, sounding every bit of like a proud

mother. He reached out, stroking the dragon's head. It snapped at him,
sharp, pointed fangs clashing together. "Oh, bless him, look! He knows his
mommy!"

… Sure.

"Hagrid," Hermione began nervously. "How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks

grow, exactly?"

I felt a chill run up my spine and whirled around, hand flying to my pocket
to grab my wand. I caught a flash of green and platinum blond. Malfoy.

I vaguely heard Hagrid say there was someone, and Harry ran to the door.
"It was Malfoy," I said, even though Harry already knew who it was.

"What do we do now?" Ron looked at all of us.

"What can we do?" I questioned back.

For the next week, Malfoy gave us dark smiles every time one of us passed
by him. I was sitting with Cedric, Aristo, and Rhea in the library, when
Malfoy walked by. "Read anything great about mythological creatures
lately, Jackson?" he asked in a haughty tone, seeing me look at
Cedric's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "Got any
recommendations?"

I grit my teeth together and grounded out, "No, Malfoy. Now leave me
alone."

Malfoy simply smirked and pushed, "What about Granger? That dirty
little–"

"Hey, she said leave," Aristo interrupted, his normally light blue eyes a hard
steel. His tone held no-nonsense, and if I didn't know him, I'd actually be
scared of him. There was a glower that filled his handsome face, and I
turned to look at the other Hufflepuffs at the table.

Cedric sat next to Rhea with his lips in a tight line, his thick brows almost
knitted together. The girl beside him gave Malfoy a stern look, her
diamond-shaped face slightly dark.

Malfoy observed the three third years before scoffing. "This is what you
resort to, Jackson?" he turned to me. "Hiding behind these airy-fairy
Hufflepuffs?"

Adrenaline rushed through me and there was a small slam as I stood up

quickly, withdrawing my wand. I pointed my weapon at Malfoy and said,
"You know what they can do, Malfoy? They can have their hands and feet
tied and out-hex you any day blindfolded. Before you could even blink,
you'll be on the ground. I know. It's happened to me. You insult my friends
again, Malfoy, and I'll show you just what they've taught me."

My blood pulsed powerfully, and I felt the lights flicker. I don't know if so
much blood was pulsing through me, but the ground seemed to be shaking
softly. A soft hand clasped around my free arm that wasn't extended and I
saw Rhea was standing up as well, keeping me at bay.

"I think it's best you leave before Penny curses you into oblivion," Rhea
advised calmly, her musical voice hard.
Malfoy huffed and pivoted his heel, walking off.

A warmth appeared next to me and I saw Aristo standing next to me. He

looked down at me and advised, "Deep breaths, Penny."

I inhaled sharply and exhaled deeply. I felt the shaking pause, and turned to
look at my friends. Cedric had a look of astonishment on his face and he
asked, "… What was that?"

Rhea looked at him and said, "Probably an earthquake that was perfectly-
timed?"

Cedric looked thoughtful for a minute before shrugging. "I suppose, so.
Ugh, what a prat he was. Who was he?"

"Draco Malfoy," I supplied for the brunet.

"A Malfoy," Cedric recognized. "I should've known." He shook his head
before gathering his books, standing up in the process. "I have to get to
Quidditch practice. I'll see you guys later?" He looked at the twins, who
nodded. He smiled at me and said, "I'll see you around, Penny."

"Bye, Ced," I waved, before the tall Hufflepuff walked away.

Rhea shot me a reprimanding look as I sat back down in my seat next to

Aristo. "You should keep your temper in check better, Penny," she advised.
"Your emotions play a large role in managing your powers, and because of
who you're related to, the consequences are even direr."

I nodded quietly. "I've realized," I admitted. Whenever my temper would

spike, there would be a sudden shake in the ground beneath me, or if I was
near water, a flood would happen.

"Call it a day," Aristo advised. "I think we've got enough done for today,
don't you agree?" He gathered his books, placing them in a neat pile.

Rhea and I followed his example, before we left the library together. I was
walking with them, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione came barreling from
around the corner.

"There you are!" Ron exhaled deeply, blue eyes landing on me. "We've been
looking for you for ages!"
"… I just saw you guys a while ago at dinner," I pointed out.

Ron rolled his eyes and he walked over to me. "C'mon, we have to get
that thing done, remember?" He glanced at the twins briefly before turning
back to me.

Aristo and Rhea looked at me pointedly, but I simply gave them a small
smile. They accepted the excuse, before nodding. They bade the three other
Gryffindors a goodbye before wishing me a nice evening.

"Did you feel that earthquake earlier?" Harry asked me as we walked to

Hagrid's hut.

"It was very unusual," Hermione informed. "Scotland hardly ever gets any
earthquakes. How strange."

"Hardly still means that there's a chance," I pointed out, taking a glance at
the brunette. I couldn't really tell them that it was my fault for the
earthquake.

We arrived at Hagrid's hut, and the owner of the place ushered us in

quickly. Harry took a glance at the small dragon, who was walking around
on the table, three times the size it was born a week ago. "Just let him go,"
he advised. "Set him free."

"I can't," Hagrid shook his head, causing his bushy beard and hair to fly.
"He's too little. "He'd die."

I look pointedly at the other three, who shared the same look as I did.
Hagrid was neglecting his duties as the gamekeeper of Hogwarts because he
was so busy taking care of his dragon these days. Someone was going to
notice at this rate.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," Hagrid announced. "He really knows me
now, watch. Norbert! Norbert, where's Mummy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron leaned over, whispering into my and Harry's
ears.

"Hagrid!" Harry called out in a huff. "Two more weeks and Norbert's going
to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any
moment!"
Hagrid looked disheartened at the realization, and he bit his thick bottom
lip. "I – I know," he admitted. "I know I can't keep 'im forever, but I jus'
can't dump him. I can't."

Then, Harry's eyes brightened and he pivoted, turning to Ron. "Charlie."

"… You're losing it, too," Ron turned to his best male friend. "I'm Ron,
remember?"

"No," Harry shook his head, his black locks flying with his enthusiasm.
"Charlie, your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could
send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in
the wild!"

The redhead's eyes widened and his face glowed with realization "Brilliant!"
he sighed deeply. "How 'bout it, Hagrid?"

It took a while, but with a bit of coaxing, Hagrid finally agreed, and Harry
and Ron jumped to send a letter to Charlie. I won't bore you with the boring
details, but Charlie agreed to take in Norbert about a week later. We were
going to meet Charlie up at the tallest tower at midnight next Saturday.

"We've got the invisibility cloak," Harry pointed out. "It shouldn't be too
difficult. I think the cloak's big enough to cover us and Norbert."

"By the way," I said, turning to look at Ron. "What happened to your
hand?" I glanced down, seeing the bloody handkerchief.

"I was helping Hagrid feed Norbert," Ron informed. "And then it bit me!
I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's
the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it,
you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me, he told me off
for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."

"That sucks," I frowned, looking down at the wound. "But you're alright,
right?"

"I should be," Ron said, looking down at his injured hand.

… Ron wasn't okay. The next day, Ron's hand was so swollen that by the
afternoon, he had to go to Madam Pomfrey and risk exposing Hagrid's little
pet.
Harry, Hermione, and I were visiting Ron, who was in the hospital wing,
looking pretty pale.

"It's not just my hand," he groaned, as green as his cut. "But it does feel like
it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one
of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept
threatening to tell her what really bit me. I told her it was a dog, but I don't
think she believes me. I probably shouldn't have hit him at that Quidditch
match – that's why he's doing this."

"It'll be all over at midnight on Saturday," Hermione said, attempting to

soothe Ron. That, however, caused the opposite effect and Ron shot up in
his bed, eyes wide in alarm.

"Midnight on Saturday!" he repeated with a sudden realization. His voice

cracked at how high his voice had gone. "Oh, I've just remembered!
Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took – he's going to know we're
getting rid of Norbert!"

I bit the inside of my mouth, my sea green eyes darting to my friends. They
looked equally nervous. Madam Pomfrey suddenly came in, interrupting
whatever Harry was going to say.

Reluctantly, the three of us left Ron to get his rest.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry sighed, looking at us as we
walked to Hagrid's. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and
this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And
we do have the invisibility cloak. Malfoy doesn't know about that."

Saturday night, just before curfew, I found myself thinking over the
situation:

Charlie was coming tonight to secretly take Norbert away.

Malfoy knows about it.

Hagrid is in depression because Norbert was leaving.

To be completely honest, I was kind of glad Norbert was leaving, even with
the stress of Malfoy knowing. I'm sure Norbert is a sweet dragon and all,
but a school was just not a place for someone to raise a dragon. One that
had no experience, especially.

I sort of understood Hagrid's attachment to Norbert, but keeping this secret

was getting pretty hard.

After curfew, Harry, Hermione, and I snuck to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid sniffled
loudly, handing us a large crate. I held it wearily as it shook heavily, but
because I was pretty fit, I was able to hold it easily.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," Hagrid informed us,
his eyes misty. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely. I heard
a sharp ripping sound and figured it was the teddy bear getting some love
from Norbert. I glanced at Harry and Hermione, who simply looked down
at me before back up at Hagrid. Hagrid then bawled loudly, "Bye-bye,
Norbert! Mommy will never forget you!" He pulled out a large handkerchief
and blew into it noisily.

Norbert continued to shake the crate as we moved under the invisibility

cloak up to the highest tower of the school. At this point, it was getting so
restless that Hermione had to charm a silencing spell over it and Harry had
to help me hold it.

I wasn't even sure how we got up there unscathed, to be honest. By the time
we were close to the tower, Harry was panting. "Nearly there!" he cried, and
I saw a bead of sweat dribble down his face. It was hot under the cloak,
especially with Norbert releasing a small stream of fire every now and then.

Suddenly, I heard some movement and paused, causing Hermione to run

into me. She moved to open her mouth but I shushed her quickly.

A lamp flared and got closer, when I noticed two figures.

Professor McGonagall was in a bathrobe and hair net, holding Malfoy by his
ear. "Detention!" she exclaimed. "And twenty points from Slytherin!
Wandering around in the middle of the night. How dare you–"

"You don't understand, Professor!" Malfoy interrupted, his cheeks pink

from exasperation and embarrassment. "Harry Potter's coming! He's got a
dragon!"
"What utter rubbish!" Professor McGonagall replied. "How dare you tell
such lies! Come on – I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

Once the two disappeared around the corner, we continued our trek up the
staircase, with Hermione practically dancing under the cloak. "Malfoy's got
detention~!" she cheered quietly. "I could sing!"

"Don't," Harry advised as we reached the top, the cool air hitting us, but we
did have a good chuckle at Malfoy's misfortune as we waited for Charlie and
his friends.

About ten minutes later, Charlie came with three friends of his, all on
broomsticks. I immediately recognized Charlie as the stocky, muscular
redhead of the bunch. He threw us a smile and they all quickly loaded up
Norbert in a harness they had.

Once Norbert was safe and secure, Charlie shook hands with us. His large
hands were calloused and rough, most likely due to his time with working
with dragons. We thanked all of them for taking the dragon off our hands
and they all gave us cheery waves before leaving.

And then I realized: Norbert was gone.

I let out a sigh of relief I wasn't even aware I was holding, before the three
of us began our descent down the stairs. Something nagged at me that I was
forgetting something, but I just brushed it aside, figuring it wasn't
important.

We turned a corner, and all of a sudden, I found myself staring wide-eyed

up at the worn face of Filch, who grinned darkly when he saw us.

"Well, well, well," he said. "We are in trouble."

And then I remembered what my brain was trying to tell me: we had left the
invisibility cloak up at the tower.

Aw, snap.
 Chapter 11: Detention

“I thought as someone like you,

You’d be more careful.”

Idiot! I scolded myself mentally as I sat in Professor McGonagall's study,

waiting for the Gryffindor Head to step through the doors. I was supposed
to be careful.

My knee bounced up and down and I had to spring up from my seat. I

ignored Filch's order to sit back down and chose to pace instead. I pivoted
my heel to prevent myself from crashing into the wall, gnawing on the
corner of my bottom lip.

Was this what Apollo meant? No. I mean, at worse, Professor McGonagall
was going to deduct points from us and give us detentions. So why was I
feeling so antsy?

The door opened, causing me to glance up from my thoughts. Professor

McGonagall strode inside, leading Neville. "Harry!" the plump boy
exclaimed. "I was trying to find you to warn you: I heard Malfoy saying he
was going to catch you, he said you had a drag–"

The boy was cut off by Harry shaking his head violently, but it was too late.
Her nose flared, and I wondered if she was a child of Hephaestus, because I
could practically see steam come from her.

"I would never have believed it of any of you," she began her lecture in a
stern voice. "Mr. Filch says you were up in the Astronomy Tower. It's one
o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

Hermione stared down at her slippers guiltily.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," the woman
continued. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy
some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and
into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that
Longbottom here heard the story and believe it, too?

"I'm disgusted," the elder witch said when there was no reply. "Five
students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!
You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I
thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. And you, Miss Jackson, I
thought as someone like you, you'd be more careful. All four of you will
receive detentions. Yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom. Nothing gives you the
right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very
dangerous — and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Harry repeated, eyes wide in shock.

"Fifty points each," Professor McGonagall explained. While Harry and

Hermione protested at the deduction in points, I had something to wonder
about anymore.

"I thought as someone like you, you'd be more careful," she had said.
Aristo and Rhea had informed me that no one – except Dumbledore, most
likely – knew who we were.

I knew there was an elective for Greek Mythology – one that I was hoping
to take come my third year, so I knew they were aware of the Gods' and
Goddesses' existences, but generally, children of the Gods stayed quiet,
especially those of the Dodekatheon, or Twelve Olympians, outside of their
kind.

I looked up in time to see Professor McGonagall dismissing us. My eyes met

her green before I looked away. Compared to Harry and Hermione, I didn't
look as reprimanded, but a nagging feeling told me that I'd be feeling it
soon.

It was completely silent on the way back to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry, Neville, and Hermione stalked up to the room, and I was about to, as
well, when I felt a large hand wrap around my arm.

My eyes widened as I was yanked and pushed against the wall semi-
roughly. It wasn't enough to hurt, but completely strong enough to shock
the life out of me.
Seeing a broad chest, I trailed up to see angry, sky blue eyes that fit on an
angular, handsome face.

"I told you to be careful," he said in a low tone. A shadow fell over me as he
loomed over me, looking down sternly at me. "And you go and get caught."

"But it was just a detention and fifty points deduction…" I blurted, not
seeing what was so wrong. So I got in trouble, big deal. I always got in
trouble even in Muggle school.

"That's not what I meant, Louise," he said sternly, looking down at me. It
was so strange to hear him call me Louise. I knew it was my name – well,
technically, Louisiana is my name, Louise's my nickname – but lately, he's
been only calling me by little pet names.

I cocked my head to the side, unsure of what he was saying. "I don't
understand."

Apollo sighed, his face contorting to a slightly troubled look. "I've said too
much already. Anymore can result in punishment for me. Stay safe,
Louisiana. Trust your instincts."

With that, he placed his hand over my eyes, shielding me from the light that
emitted from him before he disappeared. I opened my eyes, staring at the
empty common room.

A couple days have passed, and as of late, I felt myself on the end stick of
most Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. Slytherins didn't count
because they always hated Gryffindors – but because Harry, Hermione,
Neville, and I had lost a grand total of two-hundred House points, Slytherin
was currently in the lead for winning the House Cup.

The only people that stuck by me were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Aristo, Rhea,
and Cedric. Neville, too, I suppose, but he took to distancing himself from
us these days – probably to avoid getting into more trouble.

I was sitting with Ron and Hermione, helping the boy with his Astronomy
homework, when Harry walked in, slightly flushed and a bit antsy. He
informed us of what he had overhead – Quirrell being threatened. He
hadn't heard who the second person was, but he would be it all on Snape.
"Snape's done it, then!" Ron exclaimed once Harry finished his tale. "If
Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell–"

"There's still Fluffy, though," Hermione interrupted.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," Ron
replied, looking at the many books in the library. "I bet there's a book
somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So
what do we do, Harry?"

I could see the excitement burning in Ron's blue orbs. His reply was
interrupted by Hermione. "Go to Dumbledore," she advised. "That's what
we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves, we'll be thrown
out for sure."

"But we've got no proof!" Harry exclaimed exasperatedly. "Quirrell's too

scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll
got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor – who do
you think they'll believe: him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him.
Dumbledore will think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help
us if his life depended on it. He's too friendly with Snape, and the more
students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not
supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

"I can't afford to get expelled again," I groaned softly, burying my face in
my arms.

"Again?" Hermione echoed in disbelief. "You've been expelled before?"

I glanced up and looked up at her. "Six times," I admitted sheepishly. She

looked at me with an unreadable look before shaking her head, resuming
her reading.

"Maybe we should just do a little bit more p–"

"No," Harry interrupted Ron. "We've done enough poking around."

Sensing that the topic was dropped, the four of us proceeded to continue to
do our Astronomy homework.

The next morning, I received a note while eating breakfast. Thankfully, I

was able to read it this time, but it didn't hold any good news:
Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.

Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

Professor McGonagall

"Bummer," Aristo said, reading the note from beside me. "What'd you do?"

I bit my lip, glancing at Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the table next to us.
The Hufflepuff table was in-between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables,
and the Slytherin table was next to the Ravenclaw one.

I figured that since it was over and done with, I shared with Cedric, Aristo,
and Rhea had occurred with Norbert – minus the invisibility cloak.

"You're just a little body of trouble, aren't you?" Cedric grinned after I
finished telling the story.

Aristo threw his arm over my shoulder and he commented, "You'll have us
worried to death at this rate, y'know that?" His tone was teasing, but I knew
there was a serious undertone. Rhea, who was sitting across from me, gave
me a warning look with her eyes subtly.

I curtly nodded and the topic was changed to something lighter.

At eleven o'clock at night, I left the common room with my fellow

Gryffindors to head to the entrance hall. Filch and Malfoy were already
there, waiting.

The caretaker sneered at us before lighting a lamp. "Follow me," he ordered

gruffly, leading us outside of the castle. "I'll bet you'll think twice about
breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" He looked at us with bulgy
eyes. "Oh yes… hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me. It's
just a pity they let the old punishments die out: hang you by your wrists
from the ceiling for a few days – I've got the chains still in my office, keep
'em well-oiled in case there every needed."

I frowned at the imagery, tuning out the rest of his mumbling. He was
leading us further and further away from the castle, towards the Forbidden
Forest. A shiver travelled up my spine as I heard some rustling as we got
closer and closer, but it might have just been my paranoia.
"Is that you, Filch?" a familiar, gruff voice asked. "Hurry up, I want ter get
started."

Well, if Hagrid was going to be helping us serve our detention, then I guess
it couldn't be too bad, right? But then again, it really depends on what we
were doing, like –

"– come out in one piece," I heard Filch say, snapping me out of my
thoughts.

"Wait, what happened?" I ask Neville, who was visibly shaking and holding
onto Harry's robe.

"W–" Neville started, but then his voice croaked. "We're going into the
forest."

"The forest?" Malfoy echoed. "We can't go in there at night – there's all sort
of things in there – werewolves, I head."

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Filch smiled at us sadistically. "Should've

thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid then stepped out of the shadows, with Fang, his pet dog, at his heel.
He was holding a large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows. Well… that didn't
seem appealing. It made me wonder if Aristo and Rhea could use crossbows
– they probably could…

A sharp pain emitted through me and I glared down at the source.

Hermione's bony elbow just jammed itself in my side. I glared up at her and
she hissed, "Pay attention!"

"Listen carefully," Hagrid said, looking at all of us seriously. "'Cause it's

dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks.
Follow me over here a moment."

He led us over to the edge of the forest. We were so close to it that I had to
bat away a tree branch that was much too close to me. Of course, it just
came flying back at me and I stepped aside, moving so I was in-between
Harry and Malfoy instead. Stupid tree branch.

Hagrid held his lamp up high, and he pointed down a path that was soon
obscured by the darkness of the forest. "Look there," he advised. I followed
his pudgy finger to see a puddle of something weird. "See that stuff shinin'
on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in
there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found
one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We
might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy asked in a
shaky tone.

Hagrid turned to look at the lone Slytherin. "There's nothin' that lives in the
forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. An' keep ter the path. Right,
now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent
directions. There's blood all over the palce, it must've bin staggerin' around
since last night at least."

"I want Fang," Malfoy called quickly.

"All right," Hagrid agreed. "But I warn yeh, he's a coward. So me, Harry, an'
Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, Penny, an' Fang'll go the other.
Now if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get
yer wands out an' practice now."

I rolled my eyes, seeing as I was paired up with Malfoy. Hagrid gave me a

small apologetic look and I shrugged, practicing launching my
sparks. "Verdimillious," I said, and the sparks launched from the tip of my
wand to the ground.

"An' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find
yeh – so, be careful – let's go."

I took off with Fang, Malfoy, and Neville at my heels, and I began to search
for the unicorn. Neville was jumping every time I stepped on a particularly
crunchy leaf, and Malfoy's eyes wouldn't stop darting around.

I suppose the forest was scary, but to be completely honest, with all the
training Aristo and Rhea have put me through, I felt ready for
anything… Hopefully.

All of a sudden, I heard a roar and then a cry of terror. By the time I whirled
around, ready to curse our attacker, red sparks were launched into the air,
engulfing us in a bright red light.
I glared at Malfoy, who was cackling like crazy while Neville looked ready to
piss his pants. "Malfoy!" I roared.

"Wha' happened?" I heard rapid crunching noises as Hagrid came into

view.

I scowled, blowing a lock out of my face as I jutted my wand in Malfoy's

direction. "Malfoy here, thought it'd be funny to scare Neville. Neville,
scared out of his mind, launched some sparks."

Hagrid looked furious and ordered for us to follow him back. We quickly
met up with Harry and Hermione, and Hagrid lectured, "We'll be lucky ter
catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're
changin' groups – Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione. Harry, you go
with Fang, Louise, an' this idiot."

And so, Harry, Malfoy, Fang, and I stalked off into the forest. I didn't know
how much time had passed as we followed the silvery-trail of blood, but it
seemed to be getting thicker and thicker.

It was everywhere: on the trees, the ground, the leaves…

My body tensed on its own, ready to fight. My right hand clenched my wand
tightly while my left itched to grab Tempest.

"Look," Harry muttered all of a sudden. I looked forward more closely, and
saw something bright and shining.

"Slowly," I advised as we inched closer and closer to the bright figure.

… We had found the unicorn. And it was dead. Its long, powerful legs were
stuck in strange angles and its mane was a bright white, dirtied by the mud
and dark leaves.

A sound caught my attention and I tensed, gripping my wand tightly. A low

growl emitted from the bushes and I stiffened, back straightening. The
growls got louder and louder and the bushes shook harder.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
I would've laughed at how high and screechy Malfoy's voice got – almost
like a Banshee's – as he dropped his lamp and took off running. Fang, on
instinct, followed him.

All of a sudden, there was a blast and I found myself flying.

"LOUISE!" I heard Harry's distant voice called as I slammed into a tree.

I let out a grunt of pain and grabbed my wand quickly. "Aguamenti!" I cried
out quickly, trying to get as much water out as possible. If I could get water,
I would be set.

I heard growls and then barking, as something black launched out of the
bushes. I rolled out of the way just in time to dodge, pushing myself onto
my feet.

The two-headed dog that had attacked me growled, drool dripping from its
sharp, dirty teeth. Its tail swished and hissed, making me see that it had a
serpent as its tail. I felt like I should know what it was, but I couldn't place
my hands on it…

"Think, Louise," I hissed quietly, holding my wand out towards it. What's a
good spell used to defend? "Orbis!" I cried, launching my spell at the dog. It
growled and jumped out of the way just as the ground where it once stood
sunk.

Its tail hissed and shot out towards me and I lunged for the ground. One of
its heads made a move towards me and I hissed in shock, quickly pulling
my arm away just before it could take it.

"Aqua Eructo!" I called, a blast of water flying from my wand. It shot

towards the dog and it hit one of its faces, but the other glared at me before
charging right towards me.

I tried to move out of the way, but it was too strong and the damned trees
were in my way.

I found myself pinned to the ground, landing on the muddy ground, and I
winced as I felt the cracking of my right wrist, causing my wand to fall out
of my hands. I felt its drool dribble all over my face and my robes as it
growled low at me, its tail snaking around my ankles.
It moved down, ready to bite my face off, but I was faster. Taking advantage
of the water around me, I quickly summoned it, making it come to life. It
shot up, pushing the dog off of me and I got up, cradling my most-likely-
broken wrist.

Using my left hand, I controlled the water to ensnare the dog, before using
my left hand to pull out Tempest. Its tail shot out, snapping at me, startling
me. I forgot about it.

It had broken my concentration and once again, the dog was free. I jumped
out of the way just in time, but its tail snaked around my ankles, pulling me
to the ground, my sword slipping from my grip.

My face hit a rather rough tree root, and I felt a metal tang in my mouth. I
rolled over just in time to see the dog growling, launching itself on top of
me

My eyes shut tightly, hoping my water would make it in time. I felt a

familiar handle in my hand and thrust it upward just as a searing pain
caught on my right shoulder.

I felt the blade of Tempest pierce through the dog as it landed right on top
of me, a whine of pain escaping from its lips. A sprinkle of dust covered
over my skin, and I peeled my eyes open just in time to see the last of it
disappearing into dust.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips, and I felt some blood trickle out the side of
my mouth. I lied there on the muddy ground, trying to catch my breath.
Oh Gods.

"Louise!" I heard multiple voices call, but it sounded so distant. My right

arm hurt so much it felt like it was going to fall off.

Put Tempest away, the voice inside my head advised. Not even bothering to
argue with it, I capped it shut, slipping it back into my robes, still not
moving. I threw my good arm over my eyes, shielding out the bright
moonlight.

Can I just sleep out here?

I heard heavy rustling, and then streaks of yellow. Identical sky blue eyes
looked down at me in concern, and Rhea placed a gentle hand on me.
"Louise, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "B– B–"

"That's all we need to know," Aristo said swiftly, cutting me off. "We're
going to heal you now, Louise. You'll be fine, okay? It's not too serious."

"My arm feelz like iz about teh fall doe," I slurred, my eyelids getting heavy.

Rhea turned to her brother, pulling out her wand. "She's losing
consciousness, we better get started." She tapped her wand against my
shoulder wound and mumbled, "Aguamenti."

Instantly, I felt a tightening sensation over my shoulder, and hissed gently.

I could feel the muscle and tissue repairing itself and my throbbing wrist
was being moved.

Vaguely, I could hear Aristo singing softly in his countertenor voice:

Praise the God of Sun,

Praise the God of Truth,
Praise the God of Song,
To my Father, I sing to Thee.

Heal this wound and all its burns

To what it once before these churns,
For what I sing to you,
My Father, this is what you do,
Heal this hurt and pain,
For my love you gain.

For you, we follow,

O Father, hear our plea,
I offer myself to Thee.

A warmth spread throughout my arm and as I was slowly getting less and
less tired, I turned my head to see Aristo completely focused on my broken
wrist, a soft glow emitting from his hands.
The pain in my arm dulled before it completely disappeared, and I felt my
bones and tissue rearrange itself beneath Aristo and Rhea's treatments.

A couple minutes later, I found myself standing up with the assistance of

Rhea. "You're filthy," she told me, looking at me up and down. "Think you
can do something about it?"

"I probably can,' I admitted. I closed my eyes in concentration and felt a

warmth wash over me as water I had conjured up surround me. It then
disappeared, and I looked down at my clothes. Not a speck of dirt or blood
was on them, and if it weren't for my ripped shoulder, it would have looked
like I wasn't attacked at all.

"We can fix that," Aristo said, pulling out his wand. He pointed it to my
ripped robes and muttered out, "Pallae reparo." At once, my robe stitched
itself back up, looking fine as it originally was.

"Thanks," I said, looking up at Aristo.

He looked down at me with his sky blue orbs and smiled. "Any time."

"Louise!" I heard in the distance.

Rhea looked at Aristo before turning back to me. "That's our cue to leave.
We'll see you tomorrow, Louise. Don't get into any more trouble tonight,
yeah?" She gave me a small wink before she and her twin disappeared into
the darkness of the forest.

A few moments later, Hagrid, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Malfoy, and Fang
burst through the bushes.

"Louise!" Hermione cried, throwing her arms around me. "Oh, thank
Heavens you're all right! Harry said you were blown all the way over here!"

"Yeah," I nodded grimly, hoping my acting was decent. "Some force shoved
me all the way over here."

"Are yeh hurt anywhere?" Hagrid asked, looking at me while shining his
lamp.

I looked at him before shaking my head. "No. I'm fine." I gave a smile to
show I was perfectly okay.
Hermione looked at me with narrowed eyes as she stepped back, observing
me. "There isn't a scratch on you… or dirt, for that matter." She looked
down at the dirty ground, which I had cleaned away of its muddy existence.
It was just plain old dirt, now.

I sighed heavily, looking at the bushy-haired girl. "Hermione, there's this

thing called magic. It can kinda help you clean yourself up." I held up my
wand to show her.

"Oh," she realized. "Right. Of course."

"We shou' head back," Hagrid said, looking around. "It's gettin' late."

All of us walked back to the castle, and every few seconds, my eyes couldn't
help but dart towards Harry, who was jittery, just like the way Percy, the
twins, or I were when we didn't do anything for a long time. He gave me a
small look around the fiftieth timed I looked at him and he gave me a grim
nod.

I recognized the look and nodded curtly, understanding he'll tell me what
had happened to him while I was away.

When Hermione, Neville, Harry, and I got back to the common rooms,
Neville scurried upstairs while we walked to the couches, where Ron was
slumped over on one of them. He had fallen asleep waiting for us.

"FOUL!" he roared when Harry shook him roughly.

"Shhh!" the three of us hissed at the redhead.

Harry sat down, and with the fire crackling ominously, he began to tell us of
his encounter with a black, cloaked figure… Voldemort.

He shook heavily before he jumped to his feet, pacing. "Snape wants the
stone for Voldemort, and Voldemort's waiting in the forest, and all this
time, we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…"

"Stop saying the name!" Ron's voice quaked as he hissed at his best friend.

From what I had been informed, Voldemort was a dark wizard who had
done unspeakable and unmentionable things a decade ago – he had formed
a reign of terror in the Wizarding World and had killed many – including
Harry's parents. And Harry was known as the Boy Who Lived, because he
was the only one that was able to survive against Voldemort – and defeat
him – as an infant.

Harry ignored him and continued, "Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have
done so. Bane was furious. He was talking about interfering with what the
planets say is going to happen. They must show that Voldemort's coming
back. Bane things Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me. I suppose
that's written in the stars, as well."

Harry ignored Ron's sharp whimper.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone. Then Voldemort
will be able to come and finish me off. Well, I suppose Bane will be happy."

"Will you please stop saying the name?!" Ron whimpered out.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," I echoed, as a voice
rang inside my head. I agreed with the voice, though. What you were
supposed to do when you faced an enemy was face it confidently – no
matter how scared you were, just think of what you wanted to protect, and
you'll find bravery. Maybe it was stupid to think like that, but I felt it was
the right thing to do. You'll never find me running away when my friends
and family are in danger.

Hermione's words snapped me out of my own thoughts, as she said, "Harry,

everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid
of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway,
who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and
Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

"While I don't know much about Centaurs, Hermione, if the Fates are
involved, you should proceed with caution," I said, turning my face to look
at the fire. "Prophecies, especially."

"First off, that's rubbish," Hermione scolded, looking at me. "There's no

evidence that any Fate or Prophecy can come true. And second, it was
a Centaur, not the Fates."

I turned to Hermione and narrowed my eyes, defensive of how she frowned

upon what the Gods believed in. Since knowing what I was, I knew very well
prophecies and the Fates themselves were real. "The true Prophecies given
by Oracles are true, Hermione, make no mistake. Don't look down on the
gods, I'm warning you."

"They're myths, Louise. Perhaps you're a bit too eager to take Mythology in
third year."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and I knew they had heard. "I'd be
careful what you'd call myths, Hermione, because after all, wasn't magic
just a myth?"

Without waiting for a reply, I stood up, walking up the stairs and heading
for my dormitory, leaving the three behind me.

As much as I wanted to share to them who and what I was, I knew I

shouldn't. There was no law against it, but it was frowned upon for
demigods to go about, bragging about their godly – literally – powers.

As I closed the door behind me, Katharos flew over, greeting me with a
peck. “Lord Apollo wishes you well,” she said softly, nipping at my finger
that I held in front of her beak. “As does Lord Poseidon.”

I smiled softly, before stroking the raven’s head. “Thank you, Katharos.
Wish them well for me the next time you see them. And tell Apollo to stop
fretting, did he see how I took down that Orthros?” I had finally
remembered what the monster was called.

“Yes, but not without a great risk,” Katharos looked at me with a scolding
look in her eyes. “You should’ve been faster and moved out of the way.”

“I know,” I sighed softly. “But I’m still getting used to it. Next time, I’ll be
fine.”

“Let’s hope there isn’t a next time.”

 Chapter 12: The Chamber Through the Trapdoor

“Are you a WITCH or NOT!?”

At times like these, I was glad I had friends that were older than me.

Aristo, Rhea, and Cedric were top of their years, and thus, were able to
easily help me with my homework in preparation for my exams.

When I finished my last exam, History of Magic, I was relieved, because the
second I stepped out of the stuffy classroom, a heavy weight was lifted off
my shoulders.

I followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the Black Lake, sitting under a
tree. I noticed movement in my peripheral vision, and glanced at Harry,
who was rubbing his forehead furiously.

"I wish I knew what this means!" Harry exclaimed. "My scar keeps hurting.
It's happened before, but never as often as this."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested, looking up from a book.

How she could read right after an exam, I'd never know. But then again, all
I can read are textbooks, since those are the only ones that were enchanted
for my eyes.

"I'm not ill," Harry sighed. "I think it's a warming; like danger's coming."

I frowned, not liking how this was playing out. It had been a little over a
week since our punishment in the Forbidden Forest, and since then, Apollo
hasn't visited me. I was much too busy studying for exams with my friends,
and instead, he passed messages to me through Katharos.

Since that day, he hasn't warned me of anything. But then again, I guess he
was right in doing so. I can't have him watching over me for the rest of my
life – I had to live it the way it was written for me to live.

"Harry, relax," Ron tried to coax the bespectacled boy. "Hermione's right.
The Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had
any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg
ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will
play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

I felt slight pity for Neville, who was insulted even though it was just a
harmless comparison Ron made up.

"But I felt like I forgot to do something – something important," Harry

frowned.

"That's just the exams," Hermione waved off. "I woke up last night and was
halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done
that one."

I saw the dark-haired boy relax slightly, going to sit, before tensing,
jumping to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked wearily.

Harry's face visibly paled. "I've just thought of something. We've got to go
and see Hagrid. Now." Without another word, he took off. My instincts had
been pushed into high gear seeing him so high-strung that I followed him
without missing a beat.

"Why?" Hermione breathed out as she ran up a slope to Hagrid's hut.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything
in the world is a dragon, and a stranger turns up – and he just happens to
have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon
eggs in their pockets if it's against wizard law? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron inquired as we ran to Hagrid's.

The man looked thoroughly surprised when he saw us running towards

him, but quickly covered it with a joyful smile. "Hullo," he greeted.
"Finished yet exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," Ron panted out, gasping for breath.

"No," Harry shook his head, denying Ron and Hermione their much-
needed water. "We're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something: You
know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing
cards with look like?"

"Dunno," Hagrid shook his head. "He wouldn' take his cloak off." I arched
my eyebrows at that revelation, and he explained, "It's not that unusual.
Yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head. Mighta bin a dragon dealer,
mightn' he? I never saw his face, though – kept his hood up."

"Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

Hagrid admitted that he might have, and that the stranger was really
curious about the creatures Hagrid took care of. If that didn't set any
alarms ringing in my head, it sure did now. Sure, it was fantastic – what
Hagrid did in terms of taking care of animals – but this was just way too
suspicious. He also slipped about Fluffy.

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" I found myself blurting out.

"Well, yeah," Hagrid nodded. "How many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet,
even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know
how to calm him down. Jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off
ter sleep–" He abruptly cut himself off, realizing what he had just said.

But it was too late.

All four of us walked off in silence, despite Hagrid's protests.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Harry said as we made our way to the

castle. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either
Snape or Voldemort under that cloak. It must've been easy, once he'd got
Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us
up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

We all paused from our trek inside the castle. We've never been to
Dumbledore's office, so obviously we never knew where it was. I scratched
my head, opening my mouth to say I'd ask one of my third-year Hufflepuff
friends, when a familiar voice rang out.

"What are you four doing inside?" Professor McGonagall asked,

approaching us.
Hermione stepped forward. "We want to see Professor Dumbledore," she
said bravely.

"Professor Dumbledore?" the woman echoed, curious to know why we were

searching for the headmaster. "Why?"

"It's sort of a secret," Harry replied nervously, looking at our Head of

House.

Professor McGonagall's face hardened and her nostrils flared with

annoyance. "Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she informed us
steely. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off
for London at once."

"What?!" Harry exclaimed, green eyes wide with panic. "He's gone?! Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Mr. Potter. He has many

demands on his time–"

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic,
Mr. Potter?"

"Professor," Harry sighed. "It's about the Philosopher's Stone–"

I jumped at the loud crash that occurred from Professor McGonagall

dropping her books. If I didn't know what was going on, I would've pulled
out a wand or Tempest. "B – H – How do you all know?" Her eyes darted to
each of us.

"Professor, I know that Sn – that someone's going to try and steal the
Stone. We have to take to Professor Dumbledore."

Professor McGonagall proceeded to shoot down each and every reasoning

we had. I inwardly sighed and shifted my stance, my muscles tensing as
time continued to pass. When she left, Harry whirled back to us.

"It's tonight," he said lowly, looking at us with his almond-shaped eyes.

"Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he
needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note – I
bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."
"I don't know," I moved to protest. "I mean we don't have enough evi– "

I was cut off by Hermione gasping. Without even turning around, I realized
who was standing there. I slowly turned my head over my shoulder to see
the familiar, greasy-haired, hooked-nose Potions Professor.

"Good afternoon," he greeted calmly. He gave a wiry grin before

commenting, "You shouldn't be inside on a day like this." Cutting Harry off,
who had opened his mouth, Snape continued, "You'd want to be more
careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something,
and Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"

The Potions Professor opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off by a
familiar voice calling, "Oh, Louise, there you are!" I turned around to see
the bright, kind smile of Cedric as he walked over to us with confident
strides. Seeing we had company, the Hufflepuff gave a polite nod,
"Professor Snape."

"Mr. Diggory," Snape acknowledged. "I've just finished grading your final
exam. Very good on identifying the ingredients and usage of the Invisibility
Potion."

"Thank you, sir," Cedric nodded politely.

Snape turned to us Gryffindors and looked at us sternly. "Be warned, Potter

– any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are
expelled. Good day to you all." Snape spun on his heel, causing his cloak to
dramatically flare behind him, and he strode away.

Cedric looked down at me with his grey-eyes and asked, "How'd you do?"

"Brilliant!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands in excitement. "What you guys

told me to focus on were what exactly appeared on the exams!"

Cedric gave me a kind smile and messed up my hair affectionately –

something my third year friends liked to do. I pursed my lips and he
congratulated me. "Well done, Louise," he praised. "Be sure to tell me when
you get your results. We'll celebrate with the twins."

"That's if I pass," I said, looking up at the older boy. "I've barely passed my
studies when I went to Muggle school back in America."
"You're brilliant, Louise," the taller boy comforted. "Trust me when I say
that. I'm hardly ever wrong." He gave me a playful wink and ruffled my hair
again. "I'll see you around." He gave nods of acknowledgement to Harry,
Ron, and Hermione before taking his leave.

"Bye, Ced!" I called, and the boy turned to wave at me before disappearing
around the corner.

Once Cedric was out of sight, Harry whirled to us as we headed to the

Gryffindor common room. "I've got to go tonight and get to the Stone
before Snape."

"You're mad!" Ron exclaimed as Hermione gave the Fat Lady the password.

"You can't!" Hermione protested. "You'll be expelled!"

"So what?!" Harry cried out, and I was glad we were the only ones inside
the large, circular room. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets a hold of the
Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when
he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled
from! Losing points doesn't matter anymore! Will he leave you guys and
your families alone if Gryffindor wins the House Cup? No! If I get caught
before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and
wait for Voldemort to find me there. It's only dying a bit later than I would
have, because I'm never going to work for him! I'm going through that
trapdoor tonight and nothing you three say is going to stop me!"

Ron and Hermione were thoroughly admonished and I opened my mouth.

Harry whirled to look at me, his eyes wide as he waited for me to add my
two cents. "I was just going to say you weren't going to go alone. Not
without me."

Harry gave me a thankful nod, smiling softly at me. I returned it with one of
my own before turning to our two other friends.

"You're right, Harry," Hermione said in a soft voice.

Harry turned to me and said, "We'll use the invisibility cloak. It's lucky that
I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" Ron cocked a brow.

"All – all four of us?"

"You don't think we'd let you two go off by yourselves, do you?"

"Of course not!" Hermione pitched in. "How do you think you'd get to the
Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books – there might be
something useful."

"But if we get caught, all of us – including you three – will be expelled."

"Wouldn't be the first time," I sighed, scratching my head.

"Not if I can help it," Hermione refuted. "Flitwick told me in secret that I
got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out
after that."

Was there even extra credit on the exam? I don't think so, but given the way
Hermione explained everything, I wouldn't be surprised if she passed all
her classes with over a hundred percent from her final exams. Sometimes, I
wished I could be that smart, but then again, I'd be more stressed out. Plus,
I like my free time to swim or spar.

We all went to dinner and I decided to sit with the Hufflepuffs. I sat next to
Cedric with the twins across from us.

Rhea looked at me and asked, "What's wrong, Louise? I'm sure it's not your
exams, is it? Ced said that you were quite confident in your results."

"I can't really say," I grimaced, looking at the twins. "It's kind of a secret."
Aristo and Rhea exchanged looks, but let it drop. They knew the importance
of keeping secrets, and Cedric wasn't one to pry. Bless these understanding
Hufflepuffs.

We ate dinner together, with me trying to relax as much as possible before

we headed to stop Voldemort from getting the Stone. I believed that we
shouldn't jump to conclusions about Snape, but I chose to not voice it to the
gang anymore, because they firmly believed it was him.

After dinner, the three walked me to Gryffindor Tower, where they gave me
hugs good night, before leaving me. I joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione in a
corner of the common room, and we just sat there, waiting for everyone to
disperse.
It only took a couple hours, before the last person, Lee Jordan, left. With
that, Harry ran upstairs to grab the cloak before rushing back downstairs.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all of us. If Filch
spots one of our feet wandering along on its own–"

"What are you doing?" a voice interrupted Harry. Neville popped out from
behind an armchair, holding his pet toad, Trevor, like it was his lifeline.

Harry's eyes widened before he hid his cloak behind his back. "Nothing,
Neville. Nothing."

He looked at us before he declared, "You're going out again."

"No, no, no," Hermione denied. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed,
Neville?"

The boy looked at us and said, "You can't go out. You'll be caught again and
Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," Harry said, an almost begging tone in his voice.
"This is important."

Neville, however, wasn't having it. "I won't let you do it." He ran over to the
portrait hole, standing in our way. "I'll – I'll fight you!" he declared.

"Neville!" Ron cried, impatient, with his face as red as his hair with
annoyance. "Get away from there and don't be such an idiot–"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" Neville yelled. "I don't think you should be
breaking any more rules. And you were the one who told me to stand up to
people!"

"Yeah, but not to us!" Ron sighed out. "Neville, you don't know what you're
doing." He moved forward to confront the blond boy, and the latter
dropped Trevor, who hopped away.

Neville balled his hands into fists and held them up in front of him. I
couldn't help but notice that his posture was all wrong and with just a
simple move, I could take him out. I kept that information to myself,
though, as Neville cried out, "Go on, then! Try and hit me! I'm ready!"
Hermione then stepped forward, her apology written all over her face.
"Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this. She held up her wand and cried
out, "Petrificus Totalus!"

All of a suddenly, Neville's arms slapped to his sides, with his legs locking
together. He stood stiff for a second before losing his balance. I darted
forward, catching him before he could land on his face. He couldn't move at
all, except for his eyes, which darted in horror as he looked at us silently.

"What did you do to him?" Harry whispered to Hermione.

"It's the Full Body-Bind Curse," Hermione replied. "Oh, Neville, I'm so
sorry." I hoisted the boy over my shoulder easily, and walked him to one of
the couches, where I laid him down.

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," Harry said quickly, looking down
at the boy apologetically.

"You'll understand later, Neville," Ron said before we rushed out of the
portrait hole while throwing on the invisibility cloak.

We snuck to the third-floor corridor without too much trouble. We did run
into Mrs. Norris and Peeves, but they were quickly taken care of by some
quick-thinking. But when we got there, the door was already open slightly,
and a coldness ran down my spine.

"Snape's already got past Fluffy," Harry whispered to us. He turned to us

and said, "If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak
– I won't need it now."

"That's a load of rubbish," Ron scoffed.

"We're coming, too," Hermione said affirmatively. I nodded in agreement.

Harry then whirled around and pushed the door opened.

It creaked lowly, and I could hear the low growls. Suddenly, their noses
were just a few feet from us, but they still couldn't see us. It was rather
stiffening, to be honest, as they sniffed around, trying to find us.

I spotted a harp at its feet, and figured it was charmed to play as the person
tried to climb down the trapdoor at its feet. I heard a low note and turned to
see Harry playing Hagrid's flute. Slowly, Fluffy fell asleep, and we edged to
the trapdoor.

"Wanna go first, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at the brunette.

The girl turned to look at Ron with a glare. "No, I don't!" she hissed.

Ron pursed his lips in annoyance before sighing out, "All right." He slowly
walked around Fluffy's large paws, before heading towards the trapdoor.
He tugged on it, and it swung open easily.

"What do you see?" Hermione inquired tensely. I was hoping that she'd
calm down, soon, because her being nervous was making me be nervous.

"Nothing," Ron reported. "Just black. There's no way of climbing down.

We'll just have to drop." Harry moved from beside me and waved while still
playing Hagrid's flute. "Really?" Ron understood his best friend
immediately. "You wanna go first? Are you sure? I don't know how deep
this thing goes, so give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep."

It was interesting to note that immediately after the music stopped, Fluffy
began to growl and twitch, but when Hermione continue to play the flute, it
fell back asleep, snoring quite deeply.

I waited semi-patiently as Harry gave Ron orders to go to the owlery if

anything happens and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, before Harry jumped
down the trapdoor.

There was a few seconds of silence – save for the flute music – and I looked
at Hermione and Ron anxiously. It was then, I heard Harry's voice call back
from below, "It's okay! It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Without a moment's hesitation, my body flew right down the trapdoor. I

soared for Zeus-knows-how-long and I just prayed I somehow wouldn't die
so soon. I grunted softly at something muffled caught me, and it was like…
some weird, plant-thing. What was it called again?

Ron landed gracelessly in-between Harry and I and he looked around

strangely. "What the bloody hell is this stuff?"

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing," Harry replied. "I suppose it's here to
break the fall. Come on, Hermione!"
The music from above stopped, and there was a sharp bark. A second later,
Hermione landed on Harry's other side. "We must be miles under the
school," she looked around.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron replied, touching the plant.

"Lucky!" Hermione cried out. "Look at the three of you!"

Being distracted by Fluffy and the strangeness of the area around us, I
hadn't even noticed that my legs were being restrained by this plant. I was
seconds away from pulling out Tempest, but I willed myself to not. I
couldn't risk telling them here of all places just who I was.

"Wait, stop moving!" Hermione yelled, and I tensed, pausing my struggle.

"I know what this is: it's Devil's Snare!"

With its name being called, it tugged on me tighter, and I remembered what
I have been informed of it: Devil's Snare is a fleshy, rubbery plant with
long shoots and creepers that prefers dark, dank environments. It kills its
victims by wrapping itself around anything or anyone that treads or falls
upon it.

"I'm so glad we know what it's called," Ron gasped out, leaning so the plant
would stop curling around his neck. "Now I'll know the name of my killer!"

"Shut up!" Hermione snapped. "I'm trying to remember how to kill it!"

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry and I gasped out, as I struggled
against the plant. I swear, if Hermione didn't find a way to save us, I was
going to grab Tempest and slice these things to pieces.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare… what did Professor Sprout say? It likes the
dark and the damp."

"Even I could've told you that!" I cried out. I was nowhere near Hermione's
level when it came to schooling, but jeez.

"So light a fire!" Harry choked out before coughing, trying to get air into his
lungs. I was being pulled tightly and my eyes watered as my lungs tried to
seize anything it could. My head was pulsing – the blood rushing.

"Yes, of course, but there's no wood!" Hermione winced.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD!?" Ron yelled. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR
NOT!?"

"Oh, right!" the Muggle-born exclaimed before pulling out her wand. She
muttered an incantation, and flames sparked out of it. I winced when one
hit my hand, but thankfully, my high resistance to heat saved me. At once, I
could feel the plant loosening around me and I flailed free from its tight
grip.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," Harry complimented as

he walked over to her. He wiped the bead of sweat that rolled down the side
of his face before being joined by Ron and me.

"Yeah," Ron nodded in agreement. "And lucky Harry doesn't lose his head
in a crisis: 'there's no wood,'" he scoffed. "Honestly."

The brunette blushed in embarrassment before we followed Harry, who had

spotted a stone passageway. It was the only trail we could find, so we had
no choice but to follow it.

I was incredibly tense, but the echoing of the water dripping kept me at bay,
for the most part. It was soothing to know that there was a nice amount of
water to use should I ever need it.

"Wait!" Ron called out, breaking the silence. "Can you hear something?"

We stopped, trying our best to hear what it was. It sounded like a cloak in
the air or better yet… fluttering. "It sounds like something's fluttering," I
voiced my thoughts out loud.

All four of us cautiously moved in on the source, and then I brought up my

hand to shield the bright light of the chamber we stumbled upon. It was a
large, high-arced room with small, bright birds that fluttered throughout
the room.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron inquired.

"Probably," Harry replied bluntly. "They don't look very vicious, but I
suppose if they all swooped down at once… well, there's no other choice. I'll
run."
I watched as Harry cautiously took step after step across the room. My
eyebrows furrowed when I realized the birds weren't attacking. This was
really weird. He got to the other side easily, and gave us the signal. We
followed Harry's steps, and once again, the birds didn't attack us.

When we tried pulling at the door, it wouldn't budge at all. I frowned,

glancing at the birds that were flying around aimlessly. It was then I noticed
something that made me squint. "Wait," I said, catching the attention of the
other three.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Don't those birds look a bit weird to you, even if they are magical birds?" I
asked Hermione and Harry, who knew what I was talking about.

"They're not birds!" Harry exclaimed in realization. "They're keys! Winged

keys! Look!" I squinted even harder. Maybe I needed glasses. Oh, there they
are! "And there are broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!" Ron protested.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver, like the
handle," Harry said, looking at the door before us. Well, from what I could
see, most of the keys were gold.

"I'm not flying," I protested. Even if we were hundreds of feet below the
ground, I didn't want to risk it. Zeus didn't get along with my father, and
while he might not outright kill me, I was damn lucky to even survive my
flying lessons… which all ended up with me crashing into something or
another. I had the visits to the hospital wing to prove it.

The other three agreed I would be more of a hazard than of help, so I stood
on the ground as I watched them move. It didn't take them long to spot it,
with Harry's quick, insightful eyes. Ron almost crashed into the ceiling
getting the key, and Harry and Hermione looped around to trap it.

Harry slammed it against the stone and I whooped loudly, catching the key
that Harry threw in my direction. The three got off their brooms and I
shoved the wiggling key inside the key hole, twisting it. There was a loud
click and the key flew off, stumbling slightly.
"Ready?" Harry asked, looking at all of us. I nodded quietly, along with Ron
and Hermione, and Harry pulled the door open.

I felt a powerful warmth surge through me as the next chamber was just as
equally large, but less filled. My eyes darted around, looking for something.
I couldn't stand still and it was making me nervous.

"Stop bouncing," Hermione scolded me.

"I can't help it," I protested. "Something doesn't feel right." My eyes landed
on the door opposite of us, and my eyes moved up to the ceiling.

There were large nests perched on the sides where the walls protruded, but
other than that, there was nothing else. Harry took a step forward and I
shifted my feet. It was then I paused.

A small rustle. My eyes shot up to one of the nests.

"Look out!" I shouted, before darting forward. I tackled Harry to the ground
just as a feathers, each as sharp as an arrow, pierced the ground Harry once
walked on. I pulled out my wand, shooting it towards the nest.
"Aguamenti!"

There was a loud squawk, followed by multiple others as a barrage of birds,

each the size of pigeons, came flying out of the nests.

I recognized them immediately.

"Get out of here, now!" I ordered, pushing Ron and Hermione.

"What are they?!" Ron asked, just as I deflected another barrage of feathers
with a quick water spell. I had to get them out of here so I could kill the
birds… before they killed us.

"They're Stymphalian birds," I informed the three, urging them to move.

"Go on without me. I'll take care of them."

"How do we stop them?" Harry asked, struggling against my shoving. "We

can help!"
"You have to kill them," I answered, dodging a set of poop. The ground
melted under the poisonous dung and I grimaced. "I swear, I can handle
them. Go. Stop him before he gets to the Stone."

That seemed to snap Harry out of his confusion and he looked at me. "Be
careful," he advised.

I gave a small smile and threw open the door, shoving them
unceremoniously through it. As soon as I slammed the door shut, I whirled
around, pulling out Tempest in the process. I sliced through the multiple
feathers that were launched towards me and inwardly thanked Aristo and
Rhea for training me so well.

I launched Tempest with a powerful force, and it pierced through two birds,
who screeched out in pain before falling to the ground. Darting around, I
took advantage of the water I had left on the ground and flicked my wrist,
protecting myself from the feathers as I moved underneath the birds.

One bold one suddenly swept in, taking me by surprise. I stumbled slightly
and dropped to the ground as it flew over my body, and I winced, feeling it
leave a dropping on me. It burned my flesh and I cried out in pain, cradling
my left arm as it ate away at my flesh.

I summoned some water and pushed it out of my system, trying to get it to

stop corroding my skin. When the pain stopped, the wound was still
bleeding, and I had a feeling I had lost a chunk of my flesh. That was going
to be a hard one to heal later.

I grabbed Tempest from the ground and wished I had a bow and arrow at
my convenience. It was then I realized something… something that Aristo
and Rhea had taught me. There was very little water to work around, so I
was going to have to create more.

Pain shot through my arm as I gathered the moisture around me. I winced
slightly at how heavy it was, and it most likely had to do with the fact that I
was moving to avoid the birds' feathers and poop-bombs and that part of
my arm was gone. I exhaled deeply and felt the weight of the water around
me start to form.
I molded it before me, letting it take the shape of a decently-sized bow.
Working a bit harder, I summoned three arrows with the water, making
them form between my fingers. I took aim, and launched.

The arrows soared through the air, heading right towards the flocking
birds. Multiple squawks flew out sharply, and I watched as seven birds fell
to the ground, dead. I let out a heavy sigh and dropped my arms, the water
falling to the ground, wetting the floor and mixing with the red blood of the
nine dead birds.

From my count, there were still at least twenty more, and summoning all
this water to protect me was getting quite exhausting. There was absolutely
no water source except the one I created and it was quite taxing on my
body. I would have to learn to summon them a lot easier in stone chambers.

I grabbed Tempest from the ground, the weapon easily drying as I did so. I
swiped up, cutting a bird cleanly in half. The blood splashed on my cheek
and I wiped it away before maneuvering out of a bird's path. I was more
prepared this time, but then winced.

Reaching behind me, I let out a wince as I pulled out a sharp feather from
my shoulder. These birds were good with teamwork, too, it seemed. I took
down four more in a swift move. They were getting bolder and bolder, thus
getting closer and closer to me.

I switched hands to hold Tempest in my left, summoning a ball of water

with my dominant hand. My right hand rose in the air as the pinkish liquid
rose into the air. I threw launched it, letting it keep its shape and I
controlled my wrist as I maneuverer it through the air, letting it chase the
birds.

I could feel the sweat pouring down my head and my muscles crying out in
pain as I pushed through, forcing the large ball of water to engulf first
three… then five… and then eight birds. All of them struggled, trying to find
air, but found none, and they soon drowned.

I didn't know how many were left, but I moved through, taking Tempest
with me. There were only a few left now, and once I could take them all, I
could catch up to the others.
I winced when two feathers slipped through my defense, cutting at my
robes and parts of my skin. The exposed flesh burned angrily as I moved
through, taking down three more. I spun around once, catching another
one just as the last one dug its beak into my shoulder.

A cry of pain escaped my lips as I dropped Tempest, feeling the bird start to
gnaw through my flesh with its Celestial bronze beak. I grabbed it and
pulled it out, dropping to my knees in the process. A gaping hole was left
where it was. I slammed it to the ground, crushing its head roughly and
sighed out as it let out a series of weak squawks.

I pushed down on it harder, feeling its fragile bone give way. Its warm body
fell limp and I sighed heavily. I could feel my socks and knees get damp
before I collapsed. The dirty water mixed with my clothes as I looked at the
door the trio had escaped through.

Feeling light-headed, I realized that I wouldn't be able to go any further. My

eyes rolled back to my head as I felt the blood leave my body, and I fell to
the ground.

When my head hit the stone floor roughly, all went black.