AMARANTHINE-ɪ, pjo/hp

AURORA MEETS PROFESSOR MINOVA MCGOGGLE

A lot happened since the betrayal. Aurora told Percy, Annabeth and Kayla about her wizarding background. They were shocked, of course but they were children of Gods who fought monsters every other day. The existence of a magical community, begun by Hecate and cleverly hidden for centuries did not surprise them much. However, the fact that Aurora too was a child of a broken oath like Percy, surprised them more. 

Annabeth left soon after. Her family had come to pick her up. She hugged her and made her promise to IM her every alternate day. 

She met Chiron soon after he returned from Olympus to tell him of her decision. She knew that he was expecting her answer. While Ilvermorny was the logical choice, Hogwarts was what she chose. Yes, it was scary and frightening and a dangerous choice. But she wanted to fulfil her mother's wish. And she promised herself if she really didn't like it, she would not go back. 

Chiron promised to make the necessary arrangements. She had read the letter (which like she thought was on her bed in her Cabin) and term began on September 1st. Before that she needed to buy a bunch of weird, magic stuff. She had asked Chiron about that as well as she was certain that buying stuff would cost money and she was certain that she was broke. But the old centaur just smiled mysteriously and promised her that all would be handled. All he told her was that she would need to find a place to live for the days between August 17th and September 1st. Camp ended on August 16th and Campers were not allowed to leave in the middle. If they stayed past August 16th, they couldn't leave until the year ended. It was a pretty stupid rule but she had no choice. So she needed to find lodgings for the period of 15 days. He also told her to be ready on August 21st at 10:30 a.m. sharp. He didn't say why but he warned her to be on time. 

Finding a place to live wasn't that hard. The moment Percy heard about it, he immediately offered. She was reluctant at the start. She didn't want to impose herself on sweet Sally Jackson. Especially without any notice. But Percy promised her that it would be fine and that his mom would be glad to take her in. She couldn't say no, because she desperately needed to find a place somewhere relatively close to Camp. 

She made her way to Percy's Cabin. She had already finished packing. Most of her clothes were neatly packed in a pretty pink case which Drew Tanaka had let her borrow. She even visited Kayla in the Apollo Cabin. She was the only other person other than Percy and Annabeth who knew about Hogwarts. She was upset, of course she was. She would be alone at Camp this year. But she hugged Rory and warned her to IM her every day and not be careless. Aurora had a feeling that Kayla was holding back tears. For once, the daughter of Eros had no idea as to how to comfort her best friend. 

Percy was sitting on his bunk, staring outside the window. His bag seemed to be packed but he seemed to have been lost in thought.

"Perce," she called out. At once his sea green eyes turned in her direction. He smiled slightly.

"You packed?" he asked, as he stood up, grabbing his bag.

She nodded. "Yeah, all done. And thank you,"

A tinge of red appeared on Percy's cheeks. "You don't have to thank me, Rory. I told you. My mom will be elated to have you over."

She smiled at him, and he stood up. He looked better now as compared to a while back. His face was no longer pale and had regained its complexion. Riptide was stuffed in his pocket, the cap of the pen peeking out slightly. He had found time to change from his orange Camp Half Blood shirt into a blue hoodie and an old, worn-out pair of jeans. His hair was wet, and Aurora assumed that he had just taken a shower. 

Grabbing his bag, he made his way to the door, smiling at her. 

"Race?" 

A smile broke out onto her face immediately and she smirked tauntingly. Without a warning, she sped off, and they raced up to the top of the hill, neither of them looking back.