Intertwined || Percabeth Hogwarts AU

Chapter 2

"Do you wanna be friends?"

"What?"

An hour earlier

Professor Chiron, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, had asked them to meet in the Great Hall. Slowly, the students began to pour in and looked around confusedly. The long dining tables had vanished and the floor was bare. The room was lit by the thousand candles that floated overhead.

Chiron stood in the middle of the room and smiled at each student as they entered.

When everyone had gathered, he smiled and began. "Good evening, students. We will be meeting here at this time every Wednesday and Friday until we can allocate a bigger classroom for what we're going to do.

"You see, in the real world, there are dangers. Dangers that are unimaginable. Witches and wizards are not always... civil, for the lack of a better word. And I have been granted permission to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves."

One student spoke up. "Defend ourselves how?"

"I'm glad you asked, Katie. I will be teaching you all how to duel using the spells we've covered each year. I believe the best way to learn is by doing so I will need two volunteers. Annabeth? Will?"

"Ah, I think I'll sit this one out, Professor," Will said, nervously glancing toward the Slytherin girl.

Chiron laughed mirthfully, his eyes crinkling. "Very well. Anyone else?"

"I'll go," Percy spoke up, surprising himself.

"Excellent! Come on up, my boy."

Percy made his way to the middle where Annabeth was already standing and faced her. She stared at him with a pensive look on her face before nodding in greeting. He returned her nod, mirroring her expression but on the inside, he was feeling nervous.

To say that Annabeth was good at magic would be an understatement.

"We will follow the tradition. First, you must bow to your opponent," the two second years followed Chiron's instruction and dipped downward. "Next, raise your wands in front of you, pointing it up... yes, that's it. This is the accepted combat position. Now, walk until you reach a fair distance between yourselves and face each other once more.

"On the count of three, you will cast your first spells. Not aiming to kill, of course—we can save that for another day."

The students spectating chuckled at the morbid joke, only feeling slightly nervous. Annabeth on the other hand felt anticipation. She'd seen her parents duel multiple times to keep their skills sharp. Now, she'd get a chance to do it herself.

Chiron began the count. "One — two — three! Begin!"

Annabeth swung her wand high and fired a spell at Percy in an expert fashion. He didn't get a chance to process the name of the spell having been flung across the room. A pained groan escaped his lips as he struggled to get up. His eyes found her face and noticed the smirk on her face.

It bothered him.

Percy raised his wand and quickly cast a spell of his own. "Locomotor Mortis!"

She seemed to expect that though and blocked with a Protego. The smirk on her face widened making Percy grit his teeth in frustration. He swallowed his bile and shot two spells in succession, both of which she blocked with relative ease. Annabeth stood there with her wand ready but now there was a look of seriousness in her eyes, the smirk gone.

If she wasn't going to attack, then Percy would. "Petrificus Totalus!"

His spell came at her at an alarming speed but this time she decided to dodge instead of casting a shield. Percy moved to shoot off another spell when his eyes widened in horror at the next spell she cast.

"Stupefy!"

The stunning spell hit him in the chest causing him to fly back once again, rendering him inert. Percy laid there gasping for air. Dark spots danced around his vision and the number of candles seemed to double.

But then the pain in his chest faded all at once and his vision righted itself. Percy sat up and saw the smiling face of Chiron with his wand pointed at him.

"Excellent work, you two! That was fantastic," Chiron praised. "And Annabeth, a stunning spell? Color me impressed. That's fourth year material."

"I've seen my mother use it before," she explained. Her eyes, however, were on Percy's crumpled form.

"I see," Chiron smiled knowingly and turned to the rest of the students. "Well, what are you all staring at? Who wants to go next?"

Many students instantly clamored to volunteer, amazed at their first taste of the art. The duels continued for the next hour until Chiron announced that their time was up.

Chiron waved goodbye as the students began to pick up their belongings. "I'm sure you're all hungry. Dinner will start soon so hurry back!"

Percy packed up to leave and walked slowly toward the exit, the weight of his loss fresh on his mind. He had dueled another student and won but his victory didn't mean much compared to his duel with Annabeth. He almost made it out of the entrance when he heard a shout behind him.

"Hey, wait!"