The youngest red headed boy peered anxiously through the door. "Mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full."

"No problem," Harry said immediately, nodding to all the empty seats around him. The boy sat down, a little nervously.

"Hey, Ron." The twins were back.

"We're going down to the middle of the train— Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula." The twin who spoke let his face break out in an evil grin. "Want to come with?"

Ron turned a brilliant shade of red. "No."

"Ah, Harry!" The other one said brightly. "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this pumpkin is Ron, our brother. See you around, then."

They vanished back into the hallway.

Ron pursed his lips, then seemed unable to hold it in any longer. "Are you really Harry Potter?" He blurted out.

Harry nodded uncomfortably.

"Oh— well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," Ron explained. "And you really have got— you know..."

Harry, sensing what Ron was asking about, pulled back his bangs and revealed his lightning-shaped scar. Ron stared.

"So that's where You-Know-Who—?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "But I can't remember it. Well, just a load of green light, but nothing else."

Ron stared. "Wow."

"Are all your family wizards, then?" Harry asked Ron, finding him as interesting as Ron found him.

Ron shrugged. "Yes— I think so," he said. "Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never really talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already, then."

Ron shrugged again, about to speak up, when the compartment door slid open. They hadn't even noticed that Fred and George closed it.

"So you're Harry Potter?" The pale boy from Diagon Alley was back, along with two very big friends.

"Yes," Harry said shortly, eyeing the boys on either side of the pale one. They were both enormous.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle," the boy said dismissively, like it was normal to have two hulking figures following him everywhere. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Wow," a bored voice came from behind them. "You must be really important to have to say your name twice."

Malfoy turned around and backed into the compartment.

Harry recognized them immediately as the four kids from the station that he had first seen. Upon closer inspection, they all had hardened, worn expressions and a mysterious glint to their eyes. The boy who spoke didn't move to go into the compartment— something Harry was grateful for. It was crowded enough as Crabbe and Goyle took up about a third of the space.

Malfoy stood face to face with the kid. "And who do you think you are?" he spat at him.

The first boy smiled mockingly. "I'm Jackson. Percy Jackson."

"Well, Jackson, you'd better watch out. That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble someday." Malfoy stood to his full height and glared down at him. His two bodyguards cracked their knuckles threateningly.

At first it was silent, and Harry thought that the students decided to not mess with Malfoy and his bodyguards. But his guess was proven wrong as all four of them suddenly burst out into such laughter, you'd think that Malfoy had a llama for a head. Malfoy (llama head free) flinched in surprise, then scowled and pushed himself out of the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle followed with some difficulty.

"Oh my gods that was priceless," the second boy choked.

One of the girls tried to calm her laughter. "Mouth will get you in trouble... if only he knew—" she burst out into laughter again.

Harry and Ron exchanged bewildered glances. "Hi..." Harry tapped the second girl's shoulder.

Immediately, her laughter cut off, and she had grabbed his wrist and judo flipped him. Harry's head hit the floor, his body sprawled out awkwardly, and he winced. Her hand disappeared from his wrist, and she kneeled eye level with him.

"Oh my gods, I'm sorry!" She helped him up. There was that word again. Gods. "Natural instinct," she continued to apologize. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Harry began as he stood up, but was cut off by a new voice.

"Are you fighting? You'll get in trouble before we even get to Hogwarts!" A girl stood in the doorway, all dressed in her robes already. She had bushy brown hair and rather large teeth. Ron stared at her.

"Are you kidding me? This is awesome! Do that again, Blondie."

"Um, no. Don't do that again," Harry muttered.

Bushy haired girl frowned disapprovingly and sat in a seat. The compartment was quite crowded by now.

Blondie's expression grew cold. "I do have a name. It's Annabeth. And I could actually hurt Harry here, so no, I won't do it again."

Harry wondered how she knew his name, but he assumed it was because of his scar. It was like a name tag: Hello, my name is: Scarface aka Harry Potter!

Bushy haired girl gasped. "Harry Potter? I can't believe it! You're in—" she started to rattle off a list of books she had apparently read. Finally she stopped. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you all?" She nodded her head at everyone.

"Ron Weasley."

"Percy Jackson." That was the boy that had first spoke up to Malfoy. He had windswept black hair, sea green eyes, and tanned skin. A faded orange shirt hung loosely on him, torn and dirty.

"Annabeth Chase." The girl that had flipped him on his back. She had long, blonde hair and tanned skin, like someone you would find on the beach. But her startling gray eyes made her seem like someone who would be measuring the height and angle of the waves if you found her on the beach. She too had on an orange shirt, but it looked newer and cleaner.

"Nico di Angelo." Nico was as pale as Malfoy, possibly even more so because his jet black hair contrasted with his skin. He had dark eyes, so black you couldn't tell the pupil from the iris. Thin, hollow cheekbones hinted at a majorly underfed and poorly treated childhood, even though it was clear he was much better taken care of in recent days. A black jacket was tied around his waist, scrunching up a black skull shirt and black jeans.

The remaining girl had shoulder length, choppy black hair, with an odd sort of silver headband wrapping gracefully around her forehead and disappearing into her hair. Her eyes were a startling electric blue, possibly the only thing with color on her person. She wore all black, a leather jacket showing hints of a black and white muggle band logo. "I'm Thalia," she introduced.

"What's your surname?" asked Hermione. Thalia's expression turned guarded.

"Just Thalia," she said cooly.

Hermione didn't press the subject.

"Are you guys from America?" Ron asked. "You've got the accent."

"You're the one with the accent," Percy corrected. "And yes, we are."

"Why didn't you go to Illvermorny?" Hermione asked. Harry caught a flash of panic between Percy, Nico, and Thalia, but Annabeth spoke up.

"We thought Hogwarts would be better suited for us," she responded smoothly.

"It's the best wizarding school around," Hermione agreed. A sound of something being wheeled towards them made their attention turn to the door, where a middle-aged witch was pushing a cart filled with food.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" She asked kindly. Percy stared at the huge mass of candy, all waiting for him.

"Oh, no, Seaweed Brain. Sugar is not a good idea for you." Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm before he could lunge for the candy.

"Why not?" Harry asked, his arms full of treats.

"ADHD. A hyperactive Percy is the last thing you want." Thalia warned.

"Hey, at least I'm better than Leo," Percy protested.

"Eh, a little candy can't hurt. Try some," Ron said, his mouth full of chocolate. Percy wiggled out of Annabeth's grasp and took a box of jelly beans. He popped one in his mouth and choked immediately, spitting it out of the window.

"Eulgh! What is this?" He held out the box for Harry to read.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," Ron explained, laughing. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor. You have to be careful with what you chose."

"What'd you get, Percy?" Harry asked curiously.

Percy made a face. "I think I got cockroach."

"How do you know what a cockroach tastes like?" Thalia asked, unwrapping a brilliantly colored piece of gum.

"Trust me, I know."

They spent most of the rest of the train ride trying out the candy.

"Oh, gross! I got tomato!" Nico spit out the tomato red bean.

"You don't like tomatoes?" Percy asked, studying a pinkish one. Nico shook his head, trying to scrape his tongue.

"They're disgusting. What's that one, Percy?" Percy nibbled it cautiously, then immediately spit out the little he had in his mouth.

"Salmon," he gagged.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You have to make the logical choice. See, Nico, yours was the color of a tomato. Percy, yours was salmon pink. This one's dark blueish-purplish, so it must be—" she popped it in her mouth. "Blueberry!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

Harry stared at a gray one. "I don't know any food that's gray."

"It might not be a food, but I guess you'll never know until you try it, will you?" Thalia said. Harry chewed it before swallowing and making a face.

"Yuck. Pepper."