The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 127 - Alex - Dinner and Discussion

"The fact that she just made us read stuff," I said as we ate, sitting next to Harry, Hermione and Ron, discussing the day, "is disgusting and ridiculous at the same time."

Hermione nodded. Ever since the whole 'Umbridge' incident, the two of us were getting along rather well. "I didn't think you'd have a problem with reading though. All of you seem rather- studious."

"No way," Percy laughed. "Before I went to Ilvermorny, I was expelled from around seven Muggle schools. All random events of magic. I remember setting a water hose on a teacher by mistake."

I smiled. "I wasn't even in Muggle school. Straight to Ilvermorny. That's how bad I was with studies."

"Plus," Jason added, "we're all dyslexic. I can't even spell Ilvermorny."

"Reading's not really our forte, you see," Percy said, nodding.

Crowd began gathering in the Great Hall now. Harry was awfully quiet the whole time. Ron was shoving food into his mouth with Percy and I for company. Jason and Hermione were sharing their views about Umbridge's classes. 

Things were fine, until loud whispers echoed through the Great Hall. 

"He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered..."

"He reckons he duelled with You-Know-Who..."

"Come off it..."

"Who does he think he's kidding?"

"What I don't get," said Harry through clenched teeth, laying down his knife and fork, "is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them..."

"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," said Hermione grimly. "Oh, let's get out of here. I'll see you at the dorm, Alex."

She slammed down her own knife and fork; Ron looked longingly at his half-finished apple pie but followed suit. People stared at them all the way out of the Hall.

 It took me a while, but I turned back to my dinner. "If I see another boiled potato again, I swear.."

"Hey!" Annabeth almost body slammed into me as she sat down at our tables. She pecked Percy's cheek. "How was today?"

"First two tests were fun," I answered.

"Rest was boring," Percy groaned. "Like this Pumpkin Juice."

"Mine was pretty good except for Defense," Annabeth said. "So boring. I couldn't read at one point. Slinkhard has himself written that the book is for ten year olds."

I laughed. "No wonder Umbridge wants it in here."

Nico and Will left their tables and joined shortly. Nico was looking as tired as a bear just about to go into hibernation. 

"What happened to you, Nico?" Jason snorted.

Nico scowled. "Too much energy used in socialization. Do not expect me to be normal until Tuesday."

"Defense was that bad, huh?"

"Yup," Will replied. "All us Hufflepuffs put up a brave protest, but Umbridge shut us down in the end."

"Hufflepuffs, really?" Jason asked. "Didn't know those guys had it in them."

"Stereotypes are made to be broken," Nico said. "Along with pinatas. And glowsticks."

"Thank gods we're not having any practice today," Annabeth said. "I'll go to the dorm and sleep. That's all I have time for."

"How's the quest going, then?" Will asked. "Any closer to getting any information yet?"

"Well, Alex's pretty close to Hermione now," Jason said, eyeing me.

"Umbridge is our glue for now," I replied. 

"Build on it, then," Annabeth said. "You need to become her best friend."

"How can I when I've got you?" I said, smiling. 

Annabeth blushed. "It's okay. Besides, I've got a stronger bond with you. I'm your sis now, aren't I?"

Percy grinned. "As much as I love this sisterhood, I'm going to have to cut in here. I've got a doubt. What exactly can Hermione help us with?"

"You know what everything's like, Perce," Jason said. "No one's actually trustworthy. We want news and gossip, we're going to need friends we actually trust. Annabeth's just saying Hermione could be one of them. We're going to need lots of information if we're going to defeat Tartar-"

"Hold that thought for a moment," I said, just realizing that I hadn't told anyone about my dream. "I've got something more important to say."

I leaned closer to Jason and Annabeth, and we all put our heads together. 

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"Had a dream yesterday," I whispered. "I saw Luke Castellan."

Annabeth's eyes went wide. She stared at me, waiting for an explanation.

"He's living at Elysium, but...." I sighed, "there's a problem back in the Underworld. He told me he was trying to reach Ariana-"

"You mean Ariana Adler?"

"Yeah. But he bumped into me instead. Apparently, it's not going to be Kronos this time. He's far too weak to battle anyone."

Percy took a deep breath of relief. "Thank God."

"But-" I started. 

Jason flinched. "I hate that word so much."

"Every other monster, Titan, giant is banging on the doors at the Heart of Tartarus."

Nico swallowed. "I have to go back-"

"No, Nico," I said. "Their ultimate destination is here. Besides, we don't know where they are. The Heart of Tartarus has many doors, each at different locations. The House of Hades was one of those places. In fact, I believe there's one in England." 

Will paled. "You mean- Tartarus wants to bring down the Wizarding World instead?"

"No," Percy said. "Tartarus is smart."

"He is," Annabeth said. "So he won't take down the Wizarding World. He'll do what he did with us."

"He'll offer a choice," Jason stated. "Kill the half-bloods, or die."

Nico was fuming. "I will personally arrange that pea brain's bones in alphabetical order."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow, okay. Anyway, we need to get prepared. I'm assuming that Tartarus will probably try to form an alliance."

"Three guess who?" Will laughed.

"Voldemort," Percy smiled.

"And of course, he'll keep himself hidden in the shadows," Jason said. "He won't go about boasting that he's the lord of monsters and all."

"And he'll kill Voldemort himself by the end," Nico predicted. "Take over as the new 'Dark Lord'."

"The most important thing until such a time as Tartarus arrives to Hogwarts is that we keep them armed and ready to fight," Will said severely. "We don't have Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold, but I've noticed that wands are pretty powerful too."

"But with Umbridge teaching defense-" I started.

"There's no hope," Percy finished. 

"Hey, cheer up," Jason said. "I've heard this job is jinxed, apparently. Defense teachers leave like, every year. Not long until Umbridge faces the same fate."

"But how long will we have until Tartarus gets here and we face our fate?" Nico asked. 

"I'm expecting at least a year," I replied. "Your father and Thanatos are very strong, Nico. They can hold off monsters well enough for at least a year and six months. In the meanwhile, best we can do is start our plans."

"And the first thing on the list is find Eris and get her to become normal, for the sake of the gods."

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