Percy Jackson and the Wizards of England

Distasteful Demigods

Annabeth's POV:

      I woke up with a start, wary of my dreamless night. I knew Chiron thought that Percy and I were the best suited for this job, but I begged to differ. We just got back from Tartarus, for one thing, and the Giant War left all of us demigods exhausted. The new campers at both sides of the country were always asking for war stories during the campfires. It seems as if the stories, even for children of actual gods, were too fantastical to believe. Honestly, I don't blame them! Hearing how two armies of children defeated the personification of the earth itself, outnumbered at least three to one by her own monstrous army. Sometimes even I don't believe it myself.
      I walked through the strange house, avoiding the strange gnome/imp thing that wandered around. Something about it unsettled me. It looked like a different kind of monster. I had never seen one before, though. I'd ask Hermione about it as soon as I could.
      'Hermione...' I thought. That girl was smarter than even a lot of my siblings. How someone who isn't a child of Athena could be that smart... I struggled to fathom the amount of pure genius she was gifted with. She was destined for greatness, that's for sure.
      Feeling hungry, I decided to head downstairs to the kitchen, seeing if I could whip up a quick breakfast. Opening the door, I walk in to see a plump, cheery-looking woman waving a magic wand, making food fly around the kitchen.
      "Woah!" I dodged a potato flying past my head, acting as if it was magnetized to the pan sizzling with oil, a spoon stirring some onions and a melting stick of butter. The potato cut itself just above the pan, shredded as if it was cut by a cheese grater. The woman hummed along with an unfamiliar tune playing on the radio. This demonstration of magic was amazing.
      "Sue Ellen would be jealous," I thought, murmuring a greeting to the woman.
      "Hello, dear! Don't mind me. It's just very rare I see my children all in one place anymore; they're so busy with their jobs!"
      I shook my head, blushing softly. The woman's kindly demeanour and preoccupation was disarming, and I felt strangely relaxed. Slowly, I wondered if that was another spell she was casting.
     "Excuse me if this sounds rude, but I must ask this of you. Who are you and how did you get in?"
From what I knew, security was extremely tight, and even with Harry and Hermione's assurances, I was distrustful of the stranger.
     Chortling, she flicked her wand, cracking a dozen eggs into a bowl. "My name's Molly Weasely, a founding member of the Order of the Phoenix. The children should be down any moment now."
      She gestured to a dark corner, adding, "Also, your friend there already interrogated me. Still not too sure how I feel about him..." Her last comment sounded aimless as if she was talking to herself.
      Walking towards the corner, I sighed, "Nico, what did you do to her?" My sarcastic tone caused the son of Hades to chuckle. He seemingly melted out of the shadows, darkness solidifying into a teenage boy with ruffled hair, a black skull-print t-shirt, black skinny jeans. The silver skull ring on his right hand flashed, causing an illusion of blinking. His usual Stygian iron sword was missing, though brand new watch adorned his left wrist. The leather strap looked recently polished, the stainless steel almost as shiny as the ring.
      Nico smiled crookedly. "I didn't do anything to her. Apparently, my brand of demigod magic is similar to this Voldemort fellow. Death magic is connotated to be dark, I suppose... I've never met any truly good necromancers."
      I sighed, impatient. "I guess this is what it feels like to talk to me, isn't it?" I admitted.
Nico's crooked smile grew wider. It was kind of unsettling...
      "How so?"
"Well, I guess to you guys, I babble around, everything I say going straight over your heads. I understand what you're saying, but it's irrelevant to the topic."

    Nico's face was straining, the crooked smile quickly turning into a forced expression, as if he didn't like working his muscles in such a way. Shaking his head, Nico allowed his face to go slack. A much more natural and slightly less creepy expressionless face replaced the grin. The Son of Hades sighed. 
    "You're just now noticing this, Annabeth?"
We shared a laugh this time.
    "On a more serious note, I've been having dreams..."
I put on my own game face.
    "Tell me everything."
Nico lowered his voice, acutely aware of our audience. The pleasant-looking witch bustled about in the kitchen, pointedly ignoring our conversation.
    "Tartarus is stirring. Monsters are reforming more rapidly, and I can feel... Him..." Nico shuddered. "He's growing in strength again, and if he makes it up to the mortal world, there is no stopping him. And I can see he's got a new ally, helping him gain strength."
    The son of Hades took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. I felt sweat forming on my own palms. If anything can scare Nico, it is a force to be reckoned with.
    "He was mortal, I know that much. But this Lord Voldemort is something completely different than anything I've ever sensed. His soul is... Broken. It's only a fraction of what it should be. He's less than mortal, but so much more powerful than anything I could think of from either Greek or Roman mythology."
    I was impressed. Nico was doing research... 'And getting Percy to study for his finals was a nightmare in high school!'
   "What do you propose we do, then?" I asked.
    "Foooooooooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddddddddddd..." I heard zombie-like groaning from the kitchen door. Nico and I whipped our heads to the noise, watching the door slam open and the hoarde of hungry, lethargic teenagers shuffled into the kitchen. Harry's glasses were crooked on his head, one side higher up than the other. Ron's hair was in knots, and Percy still had his pajama shirt on with it buttoned weirdly; the bottom button was one hole up. I blushed as his hair glinted in the morning light.
    "To be continued, then?" Nico asked, obviously not in the mood for a social breakfast. I nodded, and headed to the front of the room, ready to greet my Seaweed Brain.

Author's Note:
It's been a while! I am deeply sorry for the extremely extended hiatus, but life is never kind. If you want to know details, I am more than happy to share, but to make a very long story short, I had to figure out both how to live on my own, and even who I am. I hope to be writing much more frequently, but I don't know if I can make any promises. Life seems to be a bit better now, and I'm getting the hang of adulting (YAY!), but it's a long road ahead, and it won't be easy navigating it without any sort of guide other than my gut. Enjoy my finally completed next installment of this fanfic that I love and hold near and dear to my heart; I promise I have not abandoned it.

As always, my dear readers, Stay Sassy, you Demigods and Wizards! I love you all, and I wish the Fates give you a better story than they gave me these past couple of years. And Happy Late New Years!!!