the weight of the world [a pjo fanfic]

chapter twenty.

woah... i uploaded this a day ago but chapter twenty was pushed up to before chapter 18? idk how that happened. anyways, here's the last chapter from yesterday. 

Annabeth watched as Hermione's calculated gaze raked her stance. She analyzed her opponent as well: Hermione Granger. No real experience in combat, but a very good wizard. Knows many spells. As long as I stay light on my feet, I'll be able to dodge most hits. She nodded to herself, brandishing her daggers. I'm far more agile. Hermione, meanwhile, was also contemplating her next moves. It's no use to strike at her; I have to get somewhere where she can't reach. And I need to stay there.

Percy watched Annabeth intently. "They're both very smart. But Annabeth has the upper hand. Athena is the goddess of war strategy." He mused. The blonde-haired girl's eyes seemed to turn gears and she flickered around on her feet, faking blows and waiting for Hermione's reactions. "Testing her. She's testing her." A wry smile spread across his face. "Of course. Should've seen that coming." Once Annabeth was sure that Hermione was not going to fire a spell back, she moved in closer. Hermione muttered something and put her wand out, creating a shield. Annabeth slammed against it and darted back, wincing. A shield? She tried going in again, from the other side. The muggle just shielded it again. But this time, Annabeth used her knee to reach out under it and hook the shield up. What the bloody hell is she doing? Hermione grit her teeth as her opponent jumped back again. This time, when Annabeth rushed towards her, Hermione cast her shield spell again and Annabeth simply rolled under it, grabbing her wrist as she tumbled and stood up. Hermione was flipped and let out a yelp as she was dragged across the floor. Before Annabeth could land a hit, Hermione fired a spell at the hand grabbing her wrist, stunning the blondie. She froze for a second, forcing herself to move back. The other girl took this chance to get up and fire another spell, which missed. They circled around the arena again.

"Hurry up, Hermione!" Harry called from above. She flipped him off and pointed her wand at the ground. A gust of wind blasted at Annabeth and she flew across the stadium, skidding back on her feet. the dust cleared and everyone saw that she was holding up two arms in a protective stance. Ugh. That spell was aimed at the ground. Now there's dirt in my eyes. Hermione pointed her wand at the ground again, and there was a small roar. Shoot. This one's bigger. Annabeth ran towards the left, diving for the ground, the gust missing her. Hermione cast spell after spell, growing increasingly frustrated. But this is the only spell I can use from far range. The others will be too easy to dodge. But her delight when she saw that the blondie was coming closer pushed her to continue. When she pointed her wand at the ground again, she fired a different spell. It looked like a lightning bolt, zooming across the floor and bouncing upwards. Annabeth rolled to the side, barreling at her and grabbing Hermione's sleeve, pulling herself up with it. She clutched Hermione's shoulder and gave her a hard knee to the stomach. "Ugh!" Hooking an arm around her neck, moving faster than Hermione could see, she judo flipped her. The brunette crashed onto the ground. Annabeth held her dagger at her throat, but Hermione had other ideas. She grabbed the daughter of Athena's ankles and pulled, hard. Annabeth crashed into the floor and Hermione flipped on top of her, pinning her down. They wrestled intently, trying to wrench the other's weapon out of their hand. Annabeth flipped her around again, knee on her stomach. Hermione managed to tilt her want in Annabeth's direction and yelled out something she couldn't understand. The daughter of Athena was blown back again. Again? No! I can't let her fire spells. Hermione didn't hold back this time. She fired spell after spell, the razors of light just barely grazing the girl opposite to her. Annabeth ducked and dodged, finding it harder and harder to keep up, so she started backing up.

"Oh, Annabeth, you made a grave mistake." Percy stood at the bleachers, staring in horror. No! He knew exactly what was about to happen. He ran down the stairs at lightning speed, hoping to catch the spell in time- but Annabeth still had no idea what was happening. How could she forget?! Just as Hermione raised her wand in triumph, and pointed it dramatically, she uttered the last words:

"Avada Kedavra!" An enormous ray of green light shot at the terror-stricken girl. Shoot! There's nowhere to go! She just stood there, stunned and unable to move. Percy shouted, "Stop!" As he dived. He and Annabeth crashed to the ground, Percy using his body to shield her. The impact of the spell struck him, hard, and he flew backwards, crashing against the wall. There was a loud thud! and silence as he flopped onto the floor, a trickle of blood streaming down his mouth.