Percy's POV

I sit up groggily in bed to the very very very very insistent shaking on my shoulder. It was getting really annoying. I slapped the hand away, unable to open my eyes. 

"Five more minutes, mom," I groaned as I fell back to sleep, "Goodnight." 

Instantly, the hand was back on my shoulder. "But Percy," the voice said. I wasn't awake enough to tell you who it was. "Annabeth is coming today." At that, I shot up to the instant giggling of Hermione and Ginny. 

Ginny wiggled her eyebrows, "Someone is excited for the new student. I wonder why that is." 

I shrugged, hoping that the slight tinge in my cheeks wasn't visible. Not just because it would be super embarrassing, but because I can't have them suspecting anything between me and Annabeth. Let me tell you the story of when the people at my high school found out I was dating Annabeth, you know, before I disappeared. The guys were like, 'She's way out of your league!' and random stuff like that. It didn't bother me that much, since, I mean, I already knew that.

 But then the girls were like, 'She's so ugly!' and 'You can do much better than her, Percy!' And guess what happened to them. Two words. Toilet and explosion. Oh, wait. That's three words. Whatever. Yeah. So as much as I'd like to beat the pulp out of Harry and Ron for talking smack about Annabeth, I don't want them to talk smack about Annabeth.

I stood up and stretched, trying to wipe the sleep out of my eyes. The girls left, and I put on my robes and head out the door. As I walked, I twirled Riptide around in my fingers, in pen form of course. It's the best way to let go of all my nervous energy without accidentally breaking something or spasming all the way down the hall, both of which are actually kind of appealing. When I sat down next to Ginny at the breakfast table, my leg wouldn't stop bouncing up and down, and I shoved a continuous stream of bacon down my throat to hide my excitement.

Finally, Harry spoke up. "You eat like a pig, Jackson." 

I grinned at him, the bacon bits in my teeth apparently disgusting him. I swallowed my food and said, "That's ironic, since I'm eating pig." 

Harry couldn't do anything but roll his eyes. Ron, on the other hand, scoffed back, "Only an idiot would say that." 

I took a bunch of fake bows, "Then it's a good thing I'm an idiot." I like to embrace my stupidity. 

Just then, Dumbledore clinked his spoon on his cup and cleared his throat. "Students," he said, "We will be having a student come from America today. She will be sorted into a house and all schedules will proceed as normal. She is a friend of Percy Jackson. Please welcome her in the same way you welcomed him. ANNABETH CHASE!" Then, Wise Girl burst through the door. It took everything I had to not run up to her and kiss her, maybe get judo flipped. You know, like old times. An intake of breath was heard from the entire Great Room.

Nevertheless, Annabeth strode forward confidently, just like always. The hat calmly waited for her to get to the seat, unlike when it threw a tantrum after seeing me. I was very offended that the crummy hat didn't like me. I mean, it's a hat. I've seen evil cereal and a giant face in potty sludge, so honestly, it shouldn't have been surprising. Especially since none of them liked me either. Apparently, I'm not their type. Apparently I'm not Nico's either. Ugh.

As the hat was being lowered to her head, though, it started muttering just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Ooh. Wise, very wise. A perfect choice for Ravenclaw. Hmm, brave and courageous." There was a pause as it dug deeper into her memories. Suddenly, Annabeth's tanned face turned unnaturally pale and her hands clutched the edge of her seat. Then the hat screamed, "Just like Percy Jackson! Are you Americans insane? GRYFFINDOR!" 

Annabeth let a small smile slip onto her face, weak, but real. She sat down next to me just as some seventh year Gryffindor I didn't know tried to slide over, effectively pushing Annabeth into me. I caught her and the random girl huffed and moved back over, glaring at Annabeth. Harry and Ron were both staring at her, drooling. I glared at them, warning them to back off. But they just kept on staring at her like, 'Dang.' Of course, I did that the first time I saw her, too, but she's mine.

Harry smiled arrogantly at her, holding out his hand, "Hey. I'm Harry Potter, the Chosen One. Do you want to go out with me?" 

Annabeth shook his hand but smirked at him, "No. I'm dating someone." 

Harry's smile flickered a little, but stayed strong. "I'm sure I'm better than him. I saved the world, you know." 

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really? My boyfriend saved the world twice. He was the Chosen One twice. But you don't see him walking around with a big head." 

Hermione grinned, satisfied, at Annabeth. She leaned forward. "Hermione Granger. Percy's told me a lot about you, Annabeth. Don't mind these two buttheads." Annabeth smiled at me, and I swear Harry and Ron's brains melted. The idiots.

"Huh. What'd Seaweed Brain tell you about me?" Annabeth asked. 

Hermione shrugged, "All good things, don't worry." 

Annabeth interrupted her. "It's not me who should be worrying. Percy should be worrying if he said any bad things about me. Right, Kelp Head?"

I nodded carefully, "Of course. I mean, you already broke my back all of those other times I crossed you." Hermione looked back and forth between us, unsure of what she should say. 

Annabeth waved her on, "Alright, what did he say, Hermione?" 

Hermione shook herself, "Yeah. He said that you were brave and strong and smart." Annabeth beamed at me until Hermione continued, "And also very stubborn." 

Annabeth glared at me for a second, and I could already see the dagger in my future. Surprisingly, she laughed, slinging her arm around my shoulders and ruffling my hair. "This Seaweed Brain is just as stubborn as me, so watch out." 

Ginny nodded from the other side of Hermione, "We've noticed." When Annabeth looked between her and Ron strangely, Ginny elaborated. "He's my brother. If anyone knows how terrible he can be sometimes, it's me. I'm Ginny Weasley." 

Luna walked over to us, smiling. "Annabeth!" she said, hugging her, "How are you here?" 

Annabeth made a gesture with her hand. "Never mind me. I promised Percy that you'd really get it for not telling us you were a witch," Annabeth said seriously, "You're gonna be a Skittles Pancake." 

Luna laughed under the strength of Annabeth's glare, which, let me tell you right now, should not be humanly possible. My girlfriend is scary. She makes the kids from Ares pee their pants. 

I bounced in my seat excitedly, "Yeah! Let's go to the lake so I can watch Annie beat you to a pulp." 

Annabeth put her face close to mine and narrowed her eyes. "You call me Annie one more time and you'll be next." 

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "It's hard to tell that you're best friends." 

Luna grinned, "They're like this all the time. It's even harder to believe that they're a c-" 

Annabeth clamped her hand over Luna's mouth. "Let's go, Rainbow Face. Time to get sent to the infirmary the hard way." 

As Annabeth dragged Luna out of the Great Room with Harry and Ron close behind, Hermione looked at me quizzically. "What was she going to say?" 

Even though I knew she was going to tell the whole world that me and Annabeth were together, I played dumb, "How am I supposed to know? Probably something like, 'They're as close as pegasi are to Selena Beauregard, which, in case you're wondering, is really close' or 'They're as close as Percy to his blue cookies.'" Hermione and Ginny laughed. 

Ginny nodded, "When she's here, she says things like There are nargles over your head. That's bad luck." 

I shrugged. "That sounds just like Luna. Anyway," I said, standing up, "I'm going to go see how Annabeth's gonna kill Luna. Dagger or judo-flip. You guys wanna come?" Frightfully, they stood up and we walked out of breakfast together.

As expected, Annabeth was totally crushing Luna next to the lake. Luna was on her back with Annabeth's hand in an iron grip on her wrist and Luna's clothes looked like Mrs. O'Leary got to them. But Luna was just laughing it off with insults like, "You can do better than that, Owl Face!" and "Harley hits harder than you do!" The whole time, the wizards were staring at the pair in shock. Hermione motioned to me like she wanted me to stop them, but I just shook my head and shrugged. Luna had it coming to her. Plus, if I got in the way, I'd be next. I did not want to be next. 

Finally, I got tired of watching Luna let herself be beat up by my girlfriend. "C'mon, Annie," I called, "You don't want to be late for the first class." 

Annabeth ignored me and kept on pummeling Luna. "Yo, Wise Girl!" I yelled, louder this time, "Don't make me drench you!" 

Annabeth turned to me, "You wouldn't dare, Seaweed Brain." 

I wiggled my eyebrows, smirking mischievously. "What did you tell Piper, again? That your best friend was a stupid risk taker?" I pulled out my wand gave it a flick, saying, "Well I agree with you," while sending a huge wave over Annabeth's head. Luna rolled out of the way as it crashed down over Annabeth. I shouted, "Let's go, Hermione! I don't know where the class is!" 

I sprinted as fast as I could into the castle and through the halls, knowing full well that Annabeth would be right on my heels with murder in her heart. I risked a glance over my shoulder, where Annabeth was expertly weaving through the wizard crowd, chasing me without knocking over the students. I turned a corner and stopped so suddenly, that Annabeth slammed into my back, and thus I fell on my face. She flipped me over and looked around to make sure that no one was watching us. She leaned down and pecked me on the lips. I grinned goofily up at her. 

She shook her head warily. "Next time you pull a stunt like that, no kissing for a month." I nodded as she pulled me off the floor. Hermione appeared in the hallway, panting. 

"What class is next?" I asked as I strolled past her, "I mean, I didn't run into a school on purpose just so I could be told I didn't have to be here." 

Hermione sucked in a few more breaths before saying, "McGonagall. Transfiguration. How in the name of Merlin do you run so fast?" 

I beamed at her, "I'm glad someone appreciates my running skills. This lady over here thinks I run as fast as a tree." 

Annabeth nodded, "It's true. Tree nymphs are faster than him." 

Hermione shrugged, "I'll have to take your word for it. This way to McGonagall's." 

She led us through the hallways, having to slow down occasionally because Annabeth was too busy admiring the architecture and moving staircases. When Hermione objected to her sightseeing, telling her she'd be late to class, Annabeth shook herself. 

"Sorry," she said, "I just love this architecture. Do you even see these awesome columns and arches? And how do those staircases move like that?" 

As she continued to ramble, I waved Hermione onward, saying, "She's an architect. She gets like this sometimes. Just keep walking." I took Annabeth by the hand and pulled her through the crowd, because obviously, the castle was more important than the class. 

It was not easy to get Annabeth to Transfiguration. Every time we passed an impressive hallway or whatever, Annabeth would drag. It was like pulling Mrs. O'leary to Camp when we pass a pizza place. We got into the classroom just as the period began. McGonagall gave us a disapproving look. 

Annabeth smiled her 'I'm a perfect student' smile and apologized, "I'm sorry, professor. The castle is just so amazing. I'm an aspiring architect and it's just impossible for me not to admire it." McGonagall nodded knowingly and motioned for us to take a seat. Harry and Ron both pulled out a chair for Annabeth to sit next to them, but she ignored them and sat allll the way on the other side of the classroom next to me. I smirked at their disappointed faces and turned to the front. 

McGonagall clapped her hands for the attention and took out her wand. "Alright, children," she started, "We have started out the school year with turning ourselves into animals, and objects into creatures. Today, we will be learning the proper way to turn another individual into such an organism. Now, pair up and get to work." 

I raised my eyebrow at Annabeth, "You and me, Wise Girl?" Annabeth shrugged, "Sure, why not? But no cheating, Seaweed Brain." She said the last part in Greek, and Hermione gave us a strange look. 

She pointed between the two of us, "The both of you, Luna, Nico, and Snape speak Greek? Is your camp just full of Greek kids?" 

I shook my head, "No." Hermione looked relieved until I said, "There are some Roman ones, too." I turned my back on her and focused on Annabeth, which, let me just tell you, wasn't that hard. 

"C'mon, Wise Girl, hit me with your best shot," I taunted. Now, back at camp, I would never have said such a thing, because, well, you know, Annabeth is Annabeth. And Annabeth particularly likes to hit me with her dagger. After the war, the gods replaced her old dagger that she lost in Tartarus with a new magic dagger. Which makes it twice as scary as a normal one. And then the fact that its owner is Annabeth makes it ten times as scary. She hasn't told me exactly what it does yet, but I have a feeling if I step out of line, I'll find out the hard way. As she pulled out her wand, I resisted the urge to cower behind my handy dandy watch-shield and stared her down. 

Then she smiled at me. I felt my brain turn to mush and my limbs go weak, but I managed to ask, "Why are you smiling at me so pretty?" 

She pointed her wand at me, "Because if I mess up I want the last thing you see to be nice." 

I shook my head, "I've never seen you mess up." 

She chuckled, "That's sweet. Now prepare to be turned into an animal."

When the ball of green light hit my chest, I felt like I was disintegrating. My bones were shrinking and I felt my hair growing longer and shaggier. I had to look up at Annabeth because I was so short. I stood only as tall as her knees and was on four legs. I also had the strange urge to chase the spells as they flew across the room. I knew what I was. I didn't like that I was practically the same species as Mrs. O'Leary, but I knew what I was. I barked at her. By now, you all know what I am, too. 

Annabeth picked me up and pet the hair on my head, "You make a cute dog, Percy." I head butted her chin, but she just giggled. I barked at her again. She rolled her eyes, "Even as a canine you're as loud as ever." 

I wanted to lick her face indignantly, but everyone was watching and they knew I wasn't actually a dog. So I settled for batting her with a paw. 

McGonagall looked at Annabeth approvingly, "This is your first spell, Ms. Chase?" 

Annabeth shook her head. "No, Professor McGonagall. I practiced on the train ride up here. But it is the first time I've done anything with transfiguration. I didn't want to waste any objects without a proper lesson first." 

Professor McGonagall nodded, "It would be a shame to turn a quill into a rock without being able to turn it back." Annabeth smiled like a teacher's pet again and sat down, still petting me. 

At this point, I was kinda tired of being a dog. Although, Annabeth petting me wasn't such a bad thing. She set me down on the table and I looked around. The girls were cooing at me like the Aphrodite and Athena girls were at Coach Hedge's son, Chuck. I think he was named after Chuck Norris or something. But back on topic, Harry and Ron were shooting jealous looks at me from across the room and all of the other boys were just ignoring me. 

Annabeth raised her hand, "Professor McGonagall? Do I have to turn Percy back into a human?" As the Professor nodded, Annabeth muttered, "I think he makes a much less annoying dog." Hermione chuckled knowingly. 

She looked me in the eye, "Alright, Seaweed Brain, back to being human." The spell hit me again and I grew back to my normal size. I s

ighed, "Phew! It feels so much better now that I'm taller than you again. But a dog, Annabeth? Why a dog?" 

Annabeth shrugged, "It reminded me of Mrs. O'Leary. Did you know that she's running rampant around the camp now that you're gone?" I raised my eyebrows, but said nothing. I knew it. Mrs. O'Leary tends to be very destructive for a tame hellhound.

I grinned at her, "Well, Owl Face, I guess it's your turn." Her eyes widened in shock for a split second before she transformed.

I turned my smile to Hermione, "In a burst of feathers, I bring you," I announced in a dramatic voice, "The great and powerful, all-knowing and terrifying, Annabeth Chase!" 

She was an owl. I think that you could all guess that she was an owl. I mean, she's the daughter of Athena who's sacred animal was an owl. I mean, I did consider turning her into a spider, but I thought that would just be cruel. Not to mention that Annabeth and Athena would gang up on me and beat me to a pulp. 

I shot her a lopsided smile, "I think you're a lot prettier as an owl, Annie." She pecked my finger and perched on my shoulder. "Ow!" I yelped, "You don't have to be so harsh." 

I poked at her talons, which were, at the moment, digging painfully into my shoulder. It didn't hurt that much, but when she landed, it felt like a paper cut. Millions of papercuts. Excruciatingly painful papercuts. Annabeth flapped her wings in my face. I looked at her seriously, "Cut it out, Annabeth. I will poke you again." 

Annabeth's stormy gray eyes sent me a look that said, 'You try it, and I'll bite your finger off.'

Suddenly, a felt a jab on my shoulder. Now who could that be? I turned around and, surprise, it was Harry Potter! 

I looked up at him, "Would you like something?" 

His red face bobbed up and down, "Yes, I would like something, Pretty Boy. I would like for you to stop threatening my soulmate. I would like for you to get out of Hogwarts and back to the garbage can you came from. Now hand her over, and nobody gets hurt." 

I sighed, "And what makes you think that I'd ever give you my best friend?" 

He smirked at me, "Because she'd love to ditch you for the savior of the wizarding world? Because she needs protection? Because only a hero can get that for her? Take your pick, Jackson." Annabeth, as expected, was ruffling her feathers indignantly, and of course, in my face. I took all of my grip strength to keep her from pecking Bigshot Potter's eyes out. 

"I think that's she's perfectly happy where she is," I responded calmly. 

Harry raised his eyebrow, "Really? She's looking kind of aggravated." 

I stared at him, "Well maybe that has something to do with the cocky idiot standing in front of her." 

Harry smiled smugly, "Well let's ask her what she wants to do. Annabeth?" 

I sighed, "You don't want me to turn her back into a human. It could be bad for your health." 

Harry nodded resolutely, "Yes, I do. If anything, she'll pummel you for not letting her come with me." 

I shrugged, "Your funeral." 

Then I turned her back into a human. A very irritated, furious human. 

She grabbed Harry by the collar of his shirt, lifting him a centimeter or two off the ground, and growled, "Listen here, Potty. I'm not your soulmate. I don't even like you. In fact, I loathe you. I don't need your protection. I could beat you up with my pinky finger. I don't need you to save me. And if you ever suggest I do again, you'll be the one needing saving. Understand?" 

Harry's terrified face almost made me laugh. It looked like he was going to faint, he was so scared. He managed to squeak out, "Yeah." 

As he scampered back to his seat next to Ron, I laughed, "You sure showed him, Owl Face." Annabeth allowed herself a smile and sat back down. 

"Of course," she snorted, "Did you expect anything less?" 

Hermione let out a low whistle, "But really, that was amazing. I mean, not even Malfoy would do that. And he's all like, 'My father will hear about this!' and 'Halfbloods aren't nearly as good as purebloods!" I swallowed hard. Halfbloods were way better than Malfoy. 

I put a hand on my chest, "Well that's offending. Considering me, Nico, and Annabeth are all half-bloods." Hermione nodded, unsurprised. I nudged Annabeth with my elbow, "You really are an owl face? Aren't you?" 

Annabeth gave me a light shove. "Idiot," she said.

"Smartie pants," I retorted.

"Kelp Head."

"Nerd."

"Seaweed Brain."

It went on like that for a couple of minutes, although my choices of names for her mostly all meant the same thing considering there's not a lot of bad things about Annabeth for me to point out. But still, the only reason we stopped was because Hermione waved her hand between the two of us. 

"Quit it, guys," she whispered, "It's so hard to believe you're best friends." 

I raised my eyebrow, "What do you mean?" 

Her eyes sent me a look that said, 'Why in the Hades are you so dense?' In reality, she responded with, "You know, you're always fighting. Sure, you get along great when you pause your petty little arguments and name-calling, but you sound like first graders when all of the boys thought girls had cooties." 

I nodded, "It's kind of natural. I mean, we used to hate each other." 

Annabeth shot me a grin, "Yeah. And it's not my fault if Percy is both immature and obnoxious." I stuck my tongue out at her. 

Hermione waved her hand, "And that's what I mean. Anyway, the next class is Percy's." 

Annabeth looked surprised, "Wait, they're making you teach a class?" 

I nodded. "And none of the students are dead yet?" Annabeth continued. I shrugged, "Well, Harry nearly cut 'Mione's arm off, but other than that, nah." Hermione looked down at her lap, apparently unfond of the memory. Annabeth continued to rattle of questions.

"Even though you've only been training in magic for like, three days?" I nodded.

"Even though there are probably plenty of much more eligible teachers out there?" Another nod.

"What are they even making you teach?" 

I grinned at her, "Sword fighting and physical combat." 

Understanding flooded her face and she rolled her eyes, "Why didn't you just say so, Seaweed Brain? That makes so much more sense." 

As the bell rang, I got up and brushed off my pants, "Alrighty then. Let's go."

At Percy's disastrous Physical Combat class. Pray for the students that no one gets their limbs severed from their bodies. That no one gets sent Hades. And especially, most certainly... That none of them have to face Annabeth in the arena.

Percy's POV

I paced the front of the classroom. 

"Soooooooooo," I said, dragging the word out, "As you all know, some of you aren't doing too well with the sword. Some of you are decent, and some of you are a little below proficient." As the not-so-talented students looked down, ashamed, I continued, "But that's okay. The sword isn't for everyone. The best fighter I know uses a dagger. The scariest person I know uses a bow and arrow." 

They all looked relieved. But soon, they wouldn't be. Soon, they'd be terrified for their lives. "We've been having some practice tournaments with wooden swords, which are nearly as dangerous as steel ones, but today, I have something special. And I'm going to need a volunteer. Someone who really knows their stuff about dueling." I looked pointedly at Annabeth, who was muttering things to Hermione, probably about my past failures and how stupid I looked teaching this class.

Harry's hand shot into the air, his eyes searching hopefully for Annabeth's gaze. Of course he wanted to do this. He wanted to fight me and prove that he was worthy of protecting her and that he was better than me. Not gonna happen, sorry Harry. 

I coughed, "Well, Annabeth, if you're done talking trash about me to Hermione, why don't we have a real duel? With real weapons?" 

The class shrieked in protest. I heard things like, "But she's new here!" and "What if you kill her?!?" 

So I waved them off and replied, "Don't you think I know what I'm doing?" 

Annabeth muttered, "Not really, no." And the class laughed good-naturedly. 

I rolled my eyes, "Alright, Ms. Chase. Let's show the class what the people at camp already know." 

Annabeth grinned, "That I'm a girl with mad skills who should be widely renowned as someone you shouldn't mess with?" 

I shrugged, "Nah, that you're a girl with a magic knife to be widely renowned as someone with powerful parents." 

Annabeth grinned, "Let's show these kids what a real duel looks like. It was nice knowing you, Percy."

In the blink of an eye, Annabeth had her knife unsheathed and headed for my throat. I sidestepped her stab as it came back around for my torso. I parried and swung at her exposed arm, hearing the screams and cheers of my students. She dropped into a roll and kicked out her leg. Inevitably, I jumped and the hilt of her knife slammed into my chest. I rolled on the floor a couple of times before looking up and seeing the blade arcing down toward me. This was practically a fight to the death. 

I brought Riptide up in defense, the flat of the blade deflecting her knife onto the floor, leaving me with enough time to regain my footing. It was impossible for me to know how long we had been dueling, a frenzied dance of sparks and blurs, but it was even. Neither one of us could gain the upper hand. We knew each other's techniques so well it was almost our own. 

Finally, we both stepped back, panting. Annabeth stuck out her hand, "Truce?" I was winded and my head wasn't working too well, so I grabbed onto the proffered hand. Only to feel it yank me closer to Annabeth. The pommel of her knife slammed into my wrist, forcing me to drop Riptide and giving her the opportunity to hold the blade to my neck. 

I could feel her smiling. "Surrender?" 

I grinned back at her, "Never." Using one hand to move the terrifyingly keen blade away from me, I latched the other one onto Annabeth's wrist and judo-flipped her. What? It's not like you can blame me. She's done it to me a million times. I've done it once. 

My left arm braced Annabeth to the ground while the other fumbled around for Riptide. The tip of my sword was barely a millimeter away from her neck, the perfect win for me. 

I grinned, "Point, Percy." 

Annabeth's smile dazzled me as I heard, "Not quite, Seaweed Brain." I felt her knife to my back. The old Achilles spot. Of course, I had forgotten to disarm her. 

I got off of her and helped her up, "Nice one, Chase. Another draw, huh?" Annabeth nodded and took her seat. I leaned casually against the wall, "Any questions about what just happened?" 

Hermione, unsurprisingly, was the first one to raise her hand. I nodded to her. 

"What did you mean by another? Do you do this kind of thing a lot?" I nodded again. 

"Will any of us be going up against Annabeth?" Harry asked. I thought about it for a moment. On one hand, I wanted to see everyone's surprise when Annabeth crushed them in about two seconds. On the other hand, it would be seriously bad for my street cred if she killed my students on her second day. 

So I nodded. "Sure. I'm not sure that you'd really want to, seeing as most of you want to live. But sure. Have at it." Harry shrunk back into his seat, grinning to himself. 

"Yeah, Ron?" 

He narrowed his eyes, "Do any of us get to battle you?" Again, I took a second to think about it. I really don't like all of these questions. I mean, Hermione's was easy. True or false. But these ones I really have to be careful about what I say. 

I shrugged, "I guess. If I were you guys, though, I would take my chances on me before I ever dueled Annabeth. She's a monster with a touch of insanity." 

Annabeth grinned maniacally at the class. Maybe she's right. Maybe she has been spending too much time with Leo. I think he'd be really proud of that psycho look. Just then, the bell rang and I recapped Riptide. 

I slung my arm around Annabeth's shoulders, shooting her a lopsided grin, "So, the Great Annabeth Chase. You haven't been able to beat me since my first couple of years." 

She pushed me away, "Well you, sir, haven't been able to beat me ever. So, ha." Hermione bombarded us with questions all the way to Ancient Greek class. I think. Actually, I don't really know where we're going. It's probably not that important considering I've got Hermione as my guide.

"How are you both so good with weapons?" Hermione asked. I looked at Annabeth, not knowing what to say. 

She just shrugged, so I said, "Camp." 

Hermione fingered her chin, "Does that mean that Snape and Professor Di Angelo can do that, too?" 

I grinned, "Well, neither of them are as good as Annabeth, but yeah. They can handle themselves." 

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "Why can you all do that?" 

Annabeth stared at her, finally saying, with a straight face, "To defend ourselves against a monster army raised by the Greek Titans and Primordials, Gaia and Kronos, who are out for our blood." Hermione nodded before processing what Annabeth had said. 

"What?!?" she spluttered. I laughed at her expression and she regained her composure. 

She shook her head, murmuring, "Wow. You and Percy have the same sense of humor." 

Annabeth tilted her head, "What do you mean?" 

Hermione continued, "I mean, I can never tell if you're joking or not. Plus, you both joke about monsters out for your blood. What's up with that?" Annabeth just kept staring at her, so Hermione elaborated, "So Percy introduced the Stoll brothers to the most infamous pranksters in the wizarding world and I was all like, 'What?' and-" 

As Hermione told Annabeth the story, I walked ahead of them to the classroom, where I could see Nico's head popping out of the doorway. I grinned, "Wassup, Neeks?" He gave a small smile, which was actually more than I've ever seen. Ever.

Nico shook his head, "I've got a surprise for you and Annabeth." Hermione and Annabeth finally caught up with me. A line formed between her eyebrows. 

"And no surprises for the other students?" Hermione asked sadly. 

Nico shrugged, "I mean, I guess it's a surprise for everyone, but it'll be extra special for Annabeth and Kelp Head." I could only guess what he meant. Will Chiron be coming in to replace him? Would people from camp be coming? Would there be a blue cookie buffet? No offense to the others, but I really hoped it was the last one. Even if Will Solace came so I could tease Nico.

I took a seat in the front with Annabeth, even though I always sit in the back. I watched through narrow eyes as Harry took the seat next to Annabeth. I shot him a glare and sent a message that for his sake, I really hoped he understood, "I'm watching you, mister." Harry just looked away, apparently tired of withering in fear. 

Nico smiled really creepily at the assembled class, which literally made them shiver. He's like, fifteen and already scaring the wits out of seventeen-year-olds. I'm so proud of him. Anyway, he stopped smiling like a lunatic and told the class about his lessons. 

"Today, we'll actually be learning about the Greek gods," he started, "Some of them are actually not boring. Like Hades." That earned him a subtle glare from Annabeth and me. Poseidon was the farthest thing from boring. Well, don't tell her I said this, but Athena represents studying and tests, which are both boring. Seriously, don't tell her I said that. "I'm bringing in someone to help me today. She has a special connection to the goddess Aphrodite, which you'll learn about later, and will help teach the lesson." I was bouncing in my seat. I knew exactly who it was. I mean, I usually can't figure out puzzles and riddles and stuff on the spot, but when it came to my friends, I always knew.

"Please note, she has a boyfriend. She will skewer anyone who hits on her. And then her boyfriend will skewer you. And then her mother will make doves fly in your face. And then... Well, you get the point. Please welcome, Miss Piper McLean."

A flash of pure white light blinded the whole room.