Daughter of Two Worlds

Lessons in Disguise

Andromeda awoke in the morning with a pounding headache and chaotic thoughts. She remembered her strange dream quite vividly and felt uneasy about how it ended. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she climbed out of bed to prepare for the day. It was Saturday, and Percy had promised to teach Andromeda how to use her powers.

Making her way into the Great Hall for breakfast, she spotted Rose and Albus gesturing animatedly about something and became curious about what they were discussing. Andromeda squeezed past a group of third-years chattering amongst themselves between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables and sat down next to Albus. She narrowly missed being smacked in the shoulder by his hand flailing about as she leaned over for a plate of eggs.

"But Rose!" Albus exclaimed excitedly, "Think about how cool it would be to play Quidditch as a first year! My dad did it, so why can't I?"

Rose paused from putting her goblet to her lips as she carefully contemplated how to respond to Albus' statement. She placed her goblet down and turned towards Albus before replying. "First of all, your dad was a special case because Professor McGonagall specifically selected him to play seeker after watching him fly just once. Secondly, the rule still bars first years from playing Quidditch BECAUSE of your father."

Albus looked down at his plate dejectedly and immediately perked up when he noticed Andromeda beside him. "Oh! Good morning, Andromeda. I didn't see you there," Albus greeted Andromeda with a warm grin. "Did you sleep well?"

Andromeda nodded, not wanting to reveal her strange dream about the centaur and the blonde lady. She got the feeling that Rose and Albus wouldn't quite understand her nervousness, so she didn't elaborate further. Taking a handful of grapes from the platter in front of her, she spoke. "What are you two up to today since there are no classes?" She popped some of the grapes into her mouth and chewed while she waited for an answer.

Rose replied, "Well, I plan on going to the library and getting a head start on my History of Magic essay. What about you, Albus?"

Albus pondered the question before answering, "I'll probably explore the castle some, maybe learn a few secret passageways to get to class quicker." Albus nodded satisfactorily at his answer before shoving a large piece of ham into his mouth.

Andromeda smiled at her friends and dug into her breakfast, chatting with them about the previous week's classes and their professors. She couldn't quite get her dream from the night before out of her head but wasn't sure who she would talk to about it.

*Time skip brought to you by Droobles Best Blowing Gum™*

As Andromeda made her way outside onto the school grounds, she paused momentarily to enjoy the bright sunshine and cool breeze on her face. Scotland was slightly colder than America in autumn, so she wanted to enjoy the nice weather before it was too late. Andromeda took a deep breath and continued walking towards the lake where Percy had promised to meet her after breakfast.

Stopping at the edge of the lake, Andromeda looked around but did not see Percy anywhere on the shore, nor did she see him descending from the castle. Andromeda shrugged and sat down on the pier, took her copy of Hogwarts: A History out of her bag and began reading.

Suddenly, a great splashing was heard, and Andromeda looked up from her book to see Percy approaching her from the middle of the lake. Her eyes widened as she saw Percy walking atop the water's surface, his hands in his pockets. Andromeda quickly returned her book to her bag and stood as Percy stepped onto the pier nonchalantly.

Percy smiled at the expression on the young witch's face, holding in a hearty chuckle. Andromeda noticed that Percy was completely dry, even though he had just emerged from the depths of the Black Lake. She decided to squirrel away that information for a later conversation and turned to face the lake. Percy stood to her left and placed his right hand on her shoulder. With his left hand, he pointed towards the lake's centre, where small ripples began forming like someone had dropped a stone from a great height.

"See those ripples? I want you to focus your attention on them and try to make them bigger," Percy instructed Andromeda before stepping back to observe the witch's attempt. Andromeda stared at the lake's centre and tried to do as Percy instructed. In her mind, she saw the small ripples growing larger and larger, almost large enough to rock the pier she stood upon. Slowly, achingly, the ripples in the lake turned into small waves that broke upon the shore. Before Percy could say anything, the small waves became large and threatened to empty the lake of all water and creatures swimming in its depths. Andromeda's concentration broke when Percy again laid his hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, Andromeda felt exhausted from the strain her power placed on her mind and stumbled towards the shoreline to sit against a large boulder. Percy had a seat next to her, and from his pocket, he pulled what looked to be a piece of fudge that he handed to Andromeda. "Here, eat this. It will help with the headache you're about to have," Percy gently nudged Andromeda to take a bite of the fudge, waiting to see her reaction to the flavour. She took a small bite and chewed before swallowing, only to realise that what she had just eaten tasted nothing like fudge. Instead, it tasted like the pierogis she and her mother would buy at a small deli in The Bronx back home. The warm feeling travelling down her throat comforted her and relieved the headache that had formed as soon as Percy mentioned it. Andromeda was surprised to feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes at the thought of her mother smiling at her with a box of pierogis in her hands.

"What was that?" Andromeda asked Percy, her voice thick with emotion. He gave her a small smile before responding, "That's called ambrosia. It's the food of the gods, but we demigods can only consume the stuff in small portions. Too much will make us combust. What did it taste like to you?" Percy asked gently. Andromeda sniffed and ran her sleeve over her eyes before answering, "It tasted like these pierogis my mom and I would get at this little deli in The Bronx. They're my favourite food, and I wish I had some right now." Percy reached his arms around Andromeda to give her a tight hug. He remembered the first time he had eaten ambrosia and the feelings of nostalgia it brought. Pulling away, Percy stood up and held his hand out to help Andromeda up. Gathering their belongings, they trudged their way back up to the castle for lunch. Andromeda smiled to herself at the memory of what she had accomplished at the lake and resolved herself to master her powers as soon as possible.