Half-Blood 「 PJO & HP 」

CHAPTER 14

"WATCH OUT!" MALLORY SHOUTED AS A SPEAR ALMOST IMPALED ERIN'S HEAD. It was that time of the summer when the traditional Capture The Flag took place. The Demeter cabin this year had sided along the red team, with the Ares cabin (convenient for Erin, as Mallory was not one she could stand against) leading, as always.

"What the fuck, Richard?", she screamed at the guy from the Apollo cabin. "I know you're new and all, but how many times must we tell you that killing is against the rules?! But good shot, by the way, for a newbie."

"Really, Mal, now is not the time for a lesson, thanks! Knock him out!", Erin reminded her. The boy then realized what he was up against and ran for his life, with Mallory trailing behind him.

Summer back at camp was interesting as it could be. Thankfully, the whole wizard thing made sense to her half-siblings which served
as an explanation and an advantage as they had stopped taunting her and asked about how it was like, considering that Erin did get to spend time in two magical cultures.

This was the first Capture The Flag game ever that she has been involved in, as she spent the previous years avoiding it due to fear of injuries and things going wrong in her presence. Her wand was kept safely in her breast plate, not for use, of course, since she was underaged, but only for moral support. It seemed as a reminder that there were better things to look forward to.

What she was doing, she had no idea. She was too distracted that she hadn't been able to listen to the planned strategies summarized to them before the game had started.

She was in the middle of the forest, wandering around on her own with no conflict whatsoever (not counting her near death experience with Richard), and can only do nothing but listen to the clangs of metal, the battle cries and shouts in the distance.

"So you're the witch.", said a voice not far from her.

A girl about Erin's age stood before her, wearing armor but held no weapon.

"Uh, yes, apparently...?", she furrowed her eyebrows, confused by the lack of weapons. "And you're from the Hecate cabin, right? Which means—" Blue team. Run.

Releasing a lot of curses (they're PG, don't worry), Erin ran, with the girl, Ember, trailing behind her. She heard something break—glass, most likely—and felt chills, making her feet freeze in place, kind of like being shot with Petrificus Totalus.

"Did they ever teach you about potions there?" Ember asked, smug as she collects pieces of her broken potion bottle.

"Well, uh, yeah, but not this kind—I don't know, man, I suck at that class! Can you let me go?"

"Haha, no. Where's your flag?"

"I don't know. I didn't listen to any of their strategies.", she explained. "So, um, please? I've got somewhere to be, places to go, maybe even boundaries to guard."

"This is Capture The Flag, I'm supposed to knock you out. Or injure you. It's an unspoken rule. Plus, you sound annoying."

"What did I ever do to you? I don't even know you."

She shrugged. "Nothing, just a vibe that you're going to be such a bitch someday."

"Unbelievable. So are you going to knock me out or what?"

"I already did. Like, two minutes ago before this conversation even started."

Erin woke up immediately after with cold sweat on the ground, dead leaves and dirt sticking to her sweaty skin. She sticks her hand inside her armor to check for her wand. Thankfully, it was still there. Taking off her helmet, she wipes her face with the collar of her shirt, trying to ignore the throbbing pain at the back of her head.

The blue team celebrated their victory while the red team pretended that the game never existed. Of course, no one knew the story as to how they really lost. Apparently, Erin had been waking absent-minded towards their flag, accidentally leading Ember to find it unguarded. If the others knew, well, there would be much to face.

Settled on her bed, she shook away those thoughts and proceeded to read one of the recently-arrived letters from three of her friends.

Without hesitation, she opened Rose's letter first.

Dear Erin,

       Yes, I am aware that this is the first letter I have sent to you ever since the end of term and I really am sorry. But Belated Happy Birthday! I've read somewhere that being born on the seventh day of the seventh month can really draw different types of "energy", as the author of the book calls it, and here's to hoping that it will be all positive! I'm a month late, I know, but I have been busy with so many things that I had forgotten to write to everyone! Please do write back, I have a dilemma with something that I really do need to sort out.
       I've sent a package of some muggle novels my mum suggests you should read, and I am positive that you will enjoy them. She made sure to only include one batch of classics by one author, as she had reserved the rest for future birthdays. I also had you subscribed to the Daily Prophet seeing as I doubt you'll ever get updated in that demigod camp in America, of all places. And I've heard about how you missed the magic and the moving pictures. Well, here you go.
       Have a nice summer and once again, I'm sorry I missed your birthday!

-Rose W.

Erin looked at the box bundle of Jane Austen. Thank the Fates she was into reading. She opened Zac's next.

Dear Erin,

       HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BIRTHDAY, YOU GIT! WE HAD TO FIND OUT THROUGH ROSE (which was fine—omg a letter from a Granger-Weasley!)!!! HERE! I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BEANS BUT THERE'S THE LOVE AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS. SHOVE IT UP YOUR ARSE (pardon my language, I don't really mean it, but it's just for comedic effect) AND SEE YOU SOON, YOU BEAN.
       P.S. Notify us by the time you're in London, we'll buy our supplies together.

And last was Damian, who only wrote a simple "Happy Birthday!" and a few kind words and sent an expensive-looking quil.

Birthdays, apparently in her life, well, technically, her own birthdays never really held any importance to her as she had viewed it as a normal day when she was brought into the world, basically providing one more target the monsters could happily hunt for. She even forgot when her birthday was, like how one would forget that their belly button existed. With the gifts and the affection she had received, she couldn't help the swelling of her heard and the stronger longing for school to start.