When Myths Meet Magic || 5

32|| Annabeth

Annabeth ran her tongue along the edge of her teeth habitually as she stared at the potion bubbling in front of her. The dungeons still had a chill to them although as it was only the examiner watching them, not Snape, it seemed the average temperature to be raised about fourteen degrees. She stirred her glowing tangerine potion slowly as she poured in a few drops of hymolephian milk, turning it a smoky red. In her peripheral vision, she could see Nico and Thalia flickering their eyes to Percy's movements very frequently. But she didn't dare tell them off for fear of being accused of cheating as well.

"Well thank Vulcan that's over," Jason said as he cleared his glasses (which had acquired a particularly thick screen of multicolored fog from his steaming potion). "We've only got Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and History of Magic left, right?"

"Don't forget Astronomy," Nico reminded.

Thalia and Jason both simultaneously waved it away. "I'm an expert," Thalia said loftily at the same time as Jason's claim of "we did a lot of this in Camp Jupiter."

"Well that's jolly good for you, isn't it?" Hermione said sourly. "I've got Arithmancy still and it's probably the hardest subject yet!"

She increased her pace dramatically, her robes flying behind her as she left.

"Bet she wishes she'd taken Divination now," Percy muttered.

But after Divination, all of them were wishing they had chosen Arithmancy instead.

"If I did Arithmancy I could honestly guess for all of them and get a better score than I just did," Annabeth moaned, rubbing her eyes. It appeared she was just as bad at reading palms and smoke than she was at reading English.

"We've got Care of Magical Creatures tomorrow," Ron said with a yawn even though it was only five in the afternoon. "Why don't we focus on that so that Hagrid doesn't get sacked?"
"He won't," said Nico sagely, wiggling his fingers. "I predicted it in my crystal ball."

"Oh dear, Hagrid's screwed," Thalia said, earning a glare from Nico.

Annabeth shook her head. "I couldn't remember if Himalia or Elara was closer to Jupiter," she said, rerouting the conversation.

"Himalia," Percy replied. "She and Zeus had three children. Elara and Zeus had the giant Tityos, who was born in the earth to hide from Hera."

"And that relates to the location of the moons how?" Jason questioned with a laugh.

"Because," Percy said like it was obvious. "The earth is farther from Olympus than Himalia's three sons."

Harry rubbed his eyes from under his glasses as he observed the Wizard Chess set between him and Ron. "You have the strangest tactics for studying."

"It works." Percy shrugged. "I remember it, don't I?"

Hermione looked troubled as she gazed at Hagrid's hut in the distance where they could see the Ravenclaws returning to the hut in pairs, their hands cupped around something. The examiners were nodding slowly.

There was a definite lack of Leo, Annabeth thought sullenly, but Hermione, who had hardly known Leo for a full year, had her concern captured elsewhere.

"Oh, I really hope Hagrid makes it past the reign of Umbridge," she said miserably.

"I don't think you can handle being called Hermy by Grawp," Thalia added.

Hermione shook her head. "I'd rather be called Hermy by everyone than have Hagrid leave," she said.

"Wow," Percy mused. "That's sacrificing a lot, Hermy."

"Umbridge is really trying her hardest to get him fired," Hermione said seriously, not even noticing Percy's remark. "Someone's been putting nifflers in her office. I saw her running out earlier with one gnawing at her calf."
"Good," they all said at once.

"No, not good," Hermione snapped. "She thinks Hagrid is doing it!"

"We've just got to make sure that we do well during our exam," Jason said soothingly. "She can't fire him if he's doing good at his job."
"Doing well," Annabeth corrected distractedly.

>>>•Leo•<<<

Festus blew fire around himself as he clomped around in circles. He settled down and rested his chin on the gravel. The Weasley twins had enchanted him to shrink and grow to fit in a fish tank, but one of those massive ones at Asian restaurants where you can see the live crabs and fish being scooped out. It was much more comfortable than constantly being folded into a tiny orb or a suitcase.

"Watch it!" George yelped as Leo maneuvered around the tables filled with their inventions, his tool belt adding an extra girth that nearly knocked over an empty pygmy puff habitat. He shifted the skiving snackboxes he was holding to one arm and pointed his wand at the windows, which had rain splattering down on them. "Impervius," he muttered, and the rain glided off the glass like oil to ice.

Fred barged into the small shop, his wet hair dark red and plastered to his face as he lowered his wand. The levitating unassembled pieces of mahogany display cabinet unfolded themselves into another stand. "It's noon," he announced as he unwound his scarf from his neck and inched close to Leo who was on fire. "What do you say we grab a butterbeer at Three Broomsticks?" His robes began to steam as Leo turned up the heat.

"I'm down," said George, but he stared reluctantly at the wet pavement which looked even more miserable in comparison to the now well-heated room.

"When're we scheduled to open?" Leo asked as he shrugged on a Ravenclaw sweater.

"Two days," Fred said easily.

Leo gaped at him, his eyes flitting around the room at the mess of tables, merch, and Festus.

"It's not as long as the Muggles when you have magic," George explained with a grin.

"Right," Leo muttered. The almost-full year of magic he had experienced couldn't cancel out his entire lifetime of having to do things manually.

Fred held out his forearm and Leo grasped it as they apparated out of Diagon Alley and to Hogsmeade.

They were regular customers in the bar, and the hag bartender whose name Leo had learned was Grrphy-Mgknolk the fourth-and-a-half, didn't even bat a slitted eye at the sight of three evidently underage wizards walk in.

"Grrphy!" He greeted with a grin and smacked a silver drachma on the table. "Three butterbeers, please."

Grrphy eyed the silver before taking it. Another thing Leo had learned, after a mishap with a few drachmas and a hot chocolate, was that Grrphy didn't care what he was paid with as long as it was silver or gold and equated to the weight of the price in Galleons and Sickles. And drachmas were much heftier than Sickles, with one drachma being about eight sickles.

Grrphy slid the butterbeers over with a grunt and immediately forced a smile as Madam Rosmerta fluttered from the back room to eye her three-month bartender suspiciously. Why on earth she hired Grrphy if she didn't trust him, Leo had no idea, but he didn't let it bother him as he, Fred, and George took their butterbeers.

SO SORRY for the wait o~0