Harry

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Great Hall

November 8th

9:23 am

Hedwig had to just drop the paper right in Harry's porridge.

"Ugh!" He groaned as he wiped his robes clean of all things sticky. Annabeth, who was sitting across from him, leaned over and grabbed the paper.

"Why do they deliver during breakfast? It causes such a mess," She said aloud as her eyes roamed the paper. After a moment, she frowned and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione flipped through the pages. After a minute she gasped, accidentally elbowing Ron in the ribcage. That caused Ron to fall into Harry, who once more spilled his porridge all over himself. Percy snorted from where he sat across the table. In a fit of vengeance, Harry grabbed his spoon and gathered a rather hearty serving of porridge on it. He waited for Percy to look his way then - bam! Porridge was now sliding down his forehead and getting into his eye.

"Hey!" Percy exclaimed, wiping off the porridge with his bare hand. "You're worse than Estelle!"

Before Harry could ask who Estelle was, Hermione started talking. "Harry! Rita Skeeter wrote four pages about you in the Daily Prophet!"

"Well, how many pages did the other competitors get?" Annabeth asked. She handed Percy a napkin without looking at him, and he gave her a peck on the cheek.

Ugh, too much PDA. Not that Harry had any room to talk, he's never had a girlfriend (or boyfriend) before, if you don't count second year with the song that Ginny made for him. Though Cho Chang sure was pretty...

"Harry!" Hermione reached over and snapped her fingers in his face. "Are you listening?"

"Right, um. Sorry," Harry rubbed the back of his neck, turning his attention back to what Hermione was saying.

"As I was saying," Hermione gave him a pointed stare. "The other competitors got maybe one paragraph, total."

Harry was going to have to change robes after breakfast because at that his elbow slipped and fell into his bowl of porridge. "What?" He squawked, not caring about his elbow that was sitting in the sticky soup-like mixture.

Hermione nodded, skimming over the rest of the article. "She spoke about how you were crying and talking about your parents. About it was a gift from the heavens that you were picked for Ilvermonry."

"That's bullshit," Percy said. "Ow!" Annabeth had slapped him on the arm. "What was that for?"

"I hate when you swear," she said. Percy stared at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"You swear all the time!"

"It's different."

"How?!"

"I don't accidentally slip up and swear in front of Estelle."

Percy had no comeback, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Harry's gaze wandered to the couple's hands, checking for a ring.

Ron knocked his shoulder against Harry's and whispered. "They act like an old married couple." Harry nodded in agreement.

Nico caught his eye and smirked. He seemed to know exactly what they were talking about.

"Okay!" Hermione closed the paper and slammed it down on the table. "It's Hogsmeade weekend, how about we distract ourselves today and head down for the day?"

"Hogs-meade?" Nico asked. Hermione nodded.

"Hogs-warts and Hogs-meade. What is with it with you guys and pigs," Percy stood up and said. "Soon you all are going to start saying: 'What's for dinner? Hogsteak? Sounds wonderful!'" Nico stood up and rolled his eyes.

"We do need robes and stuff though. We basically have been wearing the same outfits for a week." Harry agreed with Nico. All of their shirts were dirtied and ripped for some reason. It only seemed to get worse as the week went on. Harry swore that there was a whole stick in Percy's hair one day.

"We don't have any money though," Annabeth grabbed a book that she was reading at breakfast. Harry couldn't make out the title - but Annabeth seemed interested enough.

"I can talk to Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. "He could give you all money for robes and stuff."

"Sounds good," Percy stretched as he spoke. "Now I don't know about anyone else, but I need a shower." Nico and Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, we can meet in the common room in an hour," Harry suggested. The three teenagers nodded and left the Great Hall.

"Hey, Potter!" Malfoy called from down the hall. "Read the article! Did you ask for all the pages or did Skeeter write it because you're the Chosen One?" For some reason, Malfoy and his goons thought that the statement was hilarious because they started laughing their ways out the doors. Harry turned back to the table, silently fuming.

"I can't go to Hogsmeade as a champion."

"Why don't you use the invisibility cloak?" Ron suggested. Harry nodded and gave his friend a smile.

"Great idea."

Hermione

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Transfiguration Classroom

November 8th

9:31 am

Hermione burst into Professor McGonagall's classroom, the golden coin clutched tight in her fist.

"Professor," she cried, rushing up to the desk where the professor was sitting. Hermione had sat on that coin, mulling over possible identities for it, for almost a week. She couldn't take it anymore - she needed help. And who better to ask than the headmaster himself?

"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall scolded. "What is the meaning of this!"

"I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore, please." Hermione panted, having run from the Great Hall. This was the one time she actually had to talk to the headmaster, due to the constant researching for the tournament as well as making sure the Americans weren't suspicious.

"What on earth for?"

Hermione set the coin on the wooden desk. Its peculiar tree stamp facing the ceiling. Professor McGonagall furrowed her brow and picked up the coin.

"I've never seen anything like this," she mused quietly. Her wrinkled finger traced over the tree's branches.

"Can I please talk to him, it could mean something really terrible," Hermione said. Professor McGonagall set down the coin and looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure that this is not just the overthinking of a paranoid girl?" The professor asked. Hermione flushed slightly, but her anxiety about the coin and what it meant did not lessen.

"Please, Professor," she pleaded. Professor McGonagall sighed but stood up anyway.

"Fine, Miss Granger. We will see if Dumbeldore sees this as something to be worried about."

Hermione followed the Professor out of the classroom and down the corridors, where the headmaster's office laid.

"How did the coin fall into your possession anyway?" Professor McGonagall asked while they walked. Hermione thought for a moment before she spoke. She couldn't just admit that she went through Annabeth's things.

"It was out on Annabeth's bedside. There were a few other strange things, but nothing grabbed my attention like this."

Professor hummed in agreement. "It does have a certain..aura to it, I must agree." She looked over to Hermione. "But in the future, no more taking others' possessions, especially if they're our guests."

Hermione blushed, the tips of her ears feeling like they were burning. The professor had seen right through her fib. Though she did not have to suffer in her embarrassment long thankfully, as they had just arrived at the gargoyle that opened up to the headmaster's office.

Annabeth had told her about it one late night when they were both too tired to try to lie or see past said lies. It was nice just being two kids. Though they had to stop after a few minutes because Lavender had gotten annoyed and told them to stop.

Too absorbed in her thoughts, Hermione missed Professor McGonagall saying the password, snapping back to the present when the gargoyle screeched out of sight - revealing a spiral staircase. Professor McGonagall went first, Hermione following closely behind.

The staircase was dark, only a single torch to light the narrow yet long space. Firelight licked along the walls, creating strange shadows on the stone. Hermione thought that there was a dark shadow watching her from one of the nooks that the light didn't reach, but it was gone when she turned her full attention on it.

Perhaps the Americans were making her too paranoid after all.

When they finally reached the landing, Hermione was glad for the two torches that sat on both sides of the wooden door. Professor McGonagall knocked the metal griffin against the door.

After a moment, a "Yes, come in." could be heard. Professor McGonagall opened the door and entered, Hermione following closely behind.

"Ah, good morning Minvera," Professor Dumbledore greeted. "And hello Miss. Granger, a pleasure to see you."

Hermione stepped around Professor McGonagall, wondering how the old man had known that she was there.

"Miss. Granger wanted to speak to you," said Professor McGonagall, "She claims it's urgent." Hermione never actually said that she believed it to be urgent, but she did think it. Apparently her anxiety and tone were enough to inform the professor of that, though.

"Uh, yes." Hermione stepped forward, placing the coin on Professor Dumbledore's desk. He grabbed it with nimble fingers, turning and observing it in the light.

"Hm," he hummed to himself. "Thank you Minvera, that will be all."

Professor McGonagall looked over to Hermione and then back to Professor Dumbeldore. She nodded, being graceful about her dismissal. The door shut behind her.

Hermione turned back to the desk. "Professor?" she asked, confused as to why he dismissed Professor McGonagall.

"Where did you find this?" Professor Dumbledore asked. He sat with his elbows on his desk, shoving aside various books and papers.

"Um, it was in Annabeth's things. The American."

Dumbledore nodded, his finger running along the stamp. "It's a Yew tree," he observed aloud.

"Yew," Hermione furrowed her brow. "We use it in potions that can either kill a victim or revive them."

"To save, or raze," Dumbledore whispered to himself. Then, to Hermione: "It stands for death, but also resurrection." Hermione was silent, still puzzled over his first statement.

"To save or raze?" Hermione asked. "What does that mean?"

Professor Dumbledore looked up, "Oh, nothing my dear. Just something I heard through word of mouth at the Ministry of Magic. Some poor man got lost in the Department of Mysteries and when he emerged, he was muttering it under breath. Strangely enough, a week later, he moved to America."

"America?" Hermione breathed. Professor Dumbledore seemed to have not had heard her, but he looked up - his glasses sitting on the edge of his crooked nose.

"I would like to keep it, to do more research."

Hermione nodded, "Of course sir-"

"But let me ask you, Miss. Granger," Professor Dumbledore interrupted. "What else was in Miss. Chase's things?"

"Oh," Hermione thought back to that Monday. "There was a parchment filled with lots of different languages-"

"What languages, Miss. Granger?" The man interrupted again. "Every little detail is important."

Hermione nodded furiously, "Of course, sir. It was, I think, Greek, Latin, and some hieroglyphics. There was also a flask that was filled with acid, or something. When I sniffed it to see what it could be, it burned my nose. I was itching it for two days. There were also some lemon bars? In a plastic bag, like a muggle bag. But when I went to grab it, it was like it burned me. But there's no mark." Hermione shook her head, feeling foolish. "I know it sounds crazy but I swear that's what happened."

"No," Professor Dumbledore said. He seemed to be scribbling down everything she was saying. "This is all extremely helpful." He looked up at her again, "Were there any other coins like this one?"

Hermione shook her head, "No. There were coins, but nothing like that one. They had Greek lining the sides and there was a building stamped on, not a tree."

Dumbeldore placed down a piece of scrap parchment as well as a quill and ink bottle. "Could you draw it for me?"

Hermione walked forward and dipped the quill in the ink. She sketched out the building, her strokes soft against the parchment. In a minute, she was finished. The sketch was simple and brash, but it showed what she had seen.

"The Empire State Building," Dumbledore said, gazing upon the sketch. Hermione couldn't believe her ears. The Empire State Building, in New York?

"Could it be the coins from the government in America?" Hermione asked. Professor Dumbledore sighed.

"Perhaps, but I fear that it is not. I will have to do more research." Professor Dumbledore pressed the pads of his fingers against his forehead. "Thank you, Miss Granger. This was all very helpful." Hermione smiled.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" he asked. Hermione suddenly remembered the reason she was able to slip away in the first place.

"Actually, the Americans were wondering if they could borrow some money for robes, they seem to have none that they could use."

Professor Dumbledore nodded, "Of course." He leaned over and opened a bottom drawer. He withdrew a bag that clinked when it moved. "Here, you are." He placed it on the desk for her to take. "It is from my own private stash, but I am sure that the Americans will have more use for it than I."

Hermione nodded and grabbed the bag. "Thank you, sir." Professor Dumbledore simply gave a small smile and nodded.

She closed the door to the office behind her. Her back hit the wood she fell until her ass hit the floor. Unanswered questions swarmed around in her head. Questions about the Americans and what they were doing there. What they were really doing there. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have looked so shocked as he did if they told him everything. There is something else going on under the table, she was going to find out what.

Harry

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogsmeade

November 8th

10:32 am

The Americans, Hermione, Ron, and Harry walked into Hogsmeade together. The air was cold, a drastic difference from how it was earlier that week. If Harry wasn't under his cloak, he bet that his breath would be visible in front of him.

Ron and Hermione had told the Americans that Harry wanted to do more research and opted out of the visit, none of them trusting the three enough to disclose the knowledge of his cloak. But Nico's eyes constantly roamed over to where Harry was walking before flickering away a moment later. Nico probably was following a bird that was flying between the trees that were behind Harry. But when Harry turned to check, the trees were silent.

Harry desperately wished to just roam Hogsmeade freely, yet he knew that as a champion it would be difficult. It was even worse now that others thought that Harry stole the chance from the Americans, even though Harry knew that they weren't that bothered. Malfoy even came to class sporting badges, saying how Harry was some American trash. Honestly, not his best work - but it still hurt. Especially when seeing half the school having them pinned to their robes.

Harry's spent most of his time hiding away in the library. He's written to Sirius and has gotten a letter in return. They were planning on speaking that night, which was something that Harry was extremely excited about. Even with Ron apologizing and supporting him, not to even mention the support he's received from the Americans themselves - Sirius always had the best advice for him. The rest of the time, he was researching the Tournament or doing homework. Ron and Hermione remained glued to his side, even with the gaggle of schoolgirls that came around every day to talk to Victor Krum. Ron wasn't much better, always craning his neck to see through the bookshelves for even a glimpse of the older man, but at least he wasn't giggling.

When they finally reached the circle of shops, the Americans waved a farewell and went over to Gladrag's Wizardwear, which Hermione had pointed out a moment prior. Harry, Hermione, and Ron headed over to The Three Broomsticks.

Harry spotted Rita Skeeter exiting the Three Broomsticks, her dark beetle eyes glittering behind her glasses. Something heavy settled in his gut, she must be covering the first task.

But Rita didn't see Harry and didn't care about Hermione and Ron, so they passed her quickly, entering the warm tavern.

"Three butterbeer please," Hermione ordered. The barkeep looked at Ron and Hermione strangely but didn't ask any questions.

Hermione placed the coins on the counter, her and Ron then grabbed the three glass mugs and walked over to a booth in the back of the bar. Hermione slipped him a butterbeer, which he drank under his cloak.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, gently knocking her elbow against his side. "Look." She nodded towards a table in the middle of the bar. Through the milling patrons, Harry saw Hagrid and Moody talking. Ron gasped.

"What are they doing here? I didn't even know they knew each other!" He whisper-yelled. As if they had heard them, both of the adults got up and walked to the door. For some reason, they decided to take a detour around their table.

"Potter," Moody whispered when they passed. "You aren't as sneaky as you think, I can see you."

"'Arry," Hagrid leaned down and whispered. "Come by my hut, midnight. Wear the cloak"

They then both hurried off.

"What do you think Hagrid wants?" Ron asked. He took another sip from his butterbeer.

Harry shrugged before realizing that they couldn't see them. "I don't know. But it sounds urgent."

"Do you think you should go? You don't want to be late with meeting with Sirius tonight," said Hermione.

"But what if it's about the first task? You have to go, Harry, you just have to."

Harry agreed with Ron, it shouldn't take an hour to show him whatever Hagrid had to show him - right?

"Yeah, I'll go."

Annabeth

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gryffindor Common Room

November 9th

1:12 am

Annabeth sat with her back against Percy's bed. Her sides were aching for constant laughter and her cheeks hurt from the large smile that she was wearing. Percy had just made a joke, and with Nico's witty comeback that seems to be generated from out of nowhere sometimes, Annabeth had laughed for the first time since they'd arrived. Said was Seaweed Brain laying with his head on her lap. She was braiding a piece of his hair.

Nico was able to put Neville and Ron into a deep sleep. Harry was still downstairs, talking to the person in the fireplace that the wizards thought they didn't know about.

She and the boys had arrived at the Three Broomsticks right after Moody and the big guy had left and had heard their entire conversation. They knew that if they approached then, the wizards would change topics and that they did. Because as soon as Hermione saw Annabeth approaching, they went from talking about whether to go that night, to ask what they had bought.

They were actually wearing the clothes that they bought because the clothes they had on, to be frank, were disgusting. So instead they packed them away, hoping to be able to wear them again when they were going home.

"Ah," Percy cooed. "So Will calls you Neeks? That's so cute."

Nico blushed a dark red. "Shut up, Annabeth calls you Seaweed Brain. You have no room to talk."

"So what? It's cute."

Nico snorted. Percy shot up, almost hitting Annabeth in the nose.

"He could call you Death Breath!" Percy exclaimed. His half-done braid flopped around excitedly.

"What? Why?" Nico asked. Annabeth's heard Nico death boy before, but she wasn't going to tell her boyfriend that. That was something between Nico and Will.

Percy laid back down, turning his head to look more directly at Nico, as well as giving Annabeth more access to his shaggy hair.

She finished braiding the piece of hair, tying it off with a neon- blue elastic that she always carried for Estelle's hair. She kept them in her backpack and had forgotten them until she was searching for the unicorn draught earlier that week. Now she had a bundle of them in her pocket at all times.

"I don't know," Percy shrugged, his shoulder digging into Annabeth's thigh. She slapped him on the said shoulder to get him to stop moving so much.

"If you want to fidget," she scolded. "Use one of the toys we got today at Hogsmeade."She looked over to the little paper bag that sat by Nico, filled with little magical toys perfect for demigods for ADHD.

Nico sighed and grabbed a random toy from the bag, something colored a bright blue. He tossed it over to Percy, who couldn't move his right arm and thus, got hit in the face. Annabeth chuckled and Percy went a little red in the face.

"Rude," he huffed as he grabbed it and began fidgeting. The toy held more subtle magic, made it seem like it was from the mortal world, their world. Percy picked out that one. He rolled it around between his fingers, humming a song underneath his breath.

Annabeth's breath caught in her throat.

She turned her gaze to Nico, who was staring at Percy with a strange expression - one of nostalgia. He looked up at her and his olive cheeks went scarlet. Annabeth just gave him a soft smile. Nico gave a sad smile back.

The mood had grown tired and somber, each of the demigods in their own head. This was finally the time to bring up her plan.

"Hey," she started. Unsure of how to continue - how to bring up something that was the worst experience of all of their lives. "I think I have an idea on how to help Harry in the Triwizard Tournament."

Nico groaned, "Why do we have to help him in the first place? That's not why we're here."

"Didn't Dumbledore say that the problem is following Harry?" Percy asked.

"So, he thinks what we're searching for is a person," Annabeth thought aloud. "So perhaps this person is in Hogwarts."

"Do you think they're watching us? Do they know who we are?"

Annabeth sighed, she didn't have an answer for Percy's question. "I don't know. All we can do is pray to the gods they don't."

Nico nodded, after a moment of silence he spoke again. "What was your plan, Annabeth?"

Annabeth sighed, she began braiding another piece of Percy's hair. "Well, what Hecate told us at the beginning made me think of something." She started. She didn't want them to know that what gave her the idea was Harry reminding her of Percy, flashing her back to Misery. "I think we should find something like... Like the Death Mist."

The effect was immediate. Percy dropped his toy and Nico, who was leaning on his left arm, fell on his side.

"The Death Mist?" Percy asked. "Annabeth, you know what that did to us - all of us."

Annabeth blinked away the memories, "Yeah I know." Her voice was quiet. She hated talking about it as much as they did. "But it's our only chance. You see how the whole castle is against us, it feels like we're about to be attacked the entire time we've been here."

"I can't control the ghosts here, I can sense them, but they're not under my control." Nico frowned. "It's unnerving."

Percy nodded, him now sitting up, shoulder to shoulder with Annabeth. "The water, when we got here I sensed it - it's hostile. It feels like how it did when Frank and I were fighting Phorcys. But the ground, it's the opposite." He looked up at him, his free hand went up to run through his hair. "Every emotion I feel, it's like it's amplified. I can't control it as well as I could back - back home." His voice cracked on the word 'back.'

Annabeth was reminded of how young they were. She sometimes forgot, their lives making her feel so much older than they actually were. But she and Percy were 17 and Nico was 15.

"We'll figure this out," Annabeth looked at both Nico and Percy. "We just need to find a way to use Greek magic here."

"So, the Death Mist was the start of a good idea. We need to have ourselves being completely invisible to the world around us, but be able to interact with it if we need to." Nico said.

"There's nothing Norse or Eypgtain we can use?" Percy asked. Nico wrinkled his nose.

"Norse?" he asked. "Nevermind, I don't want to know."

"No," Annabeth admitted. "I already thought about it. If we use Greek magic, it's controlled - we're Greek. But if we use magic from another gods' area, we don't know what can happen." Percy and Nico nodded.

"What if I ask the spirits?" Nico asked. Annabeth frowned.

"I thought you couldn't control them."

"Not the big ones, the ones that everyone knows about," said Nico. "But there are thousands of ghosts here - there has to be one weak enough to tell us what we need."

Percy nodded, "That sounds good. Focus on that."

"I can continue researching in the library. I need to figure out everything they know about us as well as seeing what overlapped already. Maybe then we can see what we can do safely," Annabeth said. She needed to know all she could about the wizarding world they were in. She spent most of her life researching monsters and deities in the gods' realm, but wizards didn't know about the gods. That info would be useless.

"I heard students talking about three tasks," Percy said. "It seems like the third task is the most important one. Whoever's following Harry and is the root of my problem, they might try to pull something then."

"Then we have until the end of the year," Nico said.

"I'm going to try to get closer to Harry, I know what's he going through, maybe he'll open up and mention anyone he thinks is suspicious," Percy offered.

"So it's a plan," Annabeth said. Nico and Percy nodded.

Harry

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gryffindor Common Room

November 9th

1:37 am

"Harry, the most important thing when facing a dragon is-" Sirius' face suddenly popped away from view. Harry groaned in frustration, he was so close!

He looked over to see who had entered the common room and saw Annabeth exiting the boys' dormitory. She paused, looking at Harry strangely.

Harry realized how he looked, perched in front of the fire, and glaring at her. He blushed a furious red and leaped back, his back hitting the sofa. He desperately wanted to get mad at her for interrupting, but there was no way that she could have known.

"Hey," Annabeth walked down the steps, sitting down on an armchair to the right of Harry. "What are you doing up so late?"

Harry bit down an insult, "What are you doing up so late? And in the boys' dormitory no less?"

Annabeth stared at him for a moment before speaking. "I was talking to Percy. We like to talk before bed. We just thought you fell asleep downstairs studying."

"No," he sighed. "I was thinking about the tournament." He stood up and sat on the sofa, the back of his head hitting the top.

"Well maybe I can help," Annabeth suggested. He looked up.

"No offense, but how can you help? You've never done something like this - no one has."

"I have actually," Annabeth said, "Nothing exactly like this, but close enough to give advice."

Harry debated telling her about the dragons for a moment. But then realized that she wouldn't be able to do anything with the information anyway.

"It's dragons," he confessed. "In the first task, I have to face a dragon." He looked up, expecting Annabeth to be shocked and then admit, no she hasn't faced anything like that before.

"I have a friend," she instead said. "Who hunts monsters for a living. " Her gaze passed him as if she wasn't in the room at all. Her fingers were twisting a ring around a leather cord. The ring sat next to six beads and a coral, strangely. "She faced something like a dragon once, and after she messaged me and said how she wished it had been a dragon because those were easier."

Her gaze finally focused on him once more and she took in his confused and shocked expression. She gave a small chuckle.

"I have some tips of advice for you if you still want them."

Harry nodded excitedly. Bloody hell, someone who hunts monsters for a living? He didn't know there was such a thing.

"Okay, so first things first. Don't stay too long in one spot. Move around." Annabeth explained. "Too slow and it can catch you.

"The second rule, when you strike, do it fast and hard. Don't linger. There should be a chink in its armor somewhere, usually on the underbelly - find it and use it."

Harry wished he had something to write with, it would be easier than just remembering it.

"Third, watch out for the tail. It moves fast and can sweep you off your feet - literally." Annabeth took a deep breath, "And lastly, find something that you're good at - and use it."

Harry frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. "But I'm not good at anything."

"That's where you're wrong. Everyone is good at something, you find it, and you weaponize it." She yawned and stood up.

"Time for bed." Annabeth gave him a smile. "Don't worry Harry, you'll do fine." She patted him on the shoulder before heading up to the girls' dormitory. Harry was feeling a lot better than he did a few minutes prior.

Uh oh. Hermione! Why would you go to Dumbledore behind Annabeth's back like that!

But that coin that she gave him, where did we see that before? I swear its familiar for some reason.. ;)