Nina's Destiny

A boy with one shoe

The next day, Harry kept trying to corner me. I growled at him when he got to close. In Potions, Sev looked at me sympathetically. Vati had explained to him what had happened with Percy. Defense Against the Dark Arts was the worse.

Umbridge kept glaring at me. She had an evil smirk like she knew something she shouldn't have. "How's your brother been doing, Miss Jackson?" she asked, a sneer hidden in her sugary voice. I froze right then and there. I could feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes. I knew she had read my mail from Chiron. Skittles had told me that she did, but this was just crossing the line.

I looked over to Lavender. Tears were starting to fall from her eyes. "I was having trouble keeping my own back. "How dare you," hissed Parvati. "You foul, evil, cruel toad!" Vati stood up from her set before I could pull her back down. "You've been reading our mail, haven't you?"

"Detention, Miss Patil," Umbridge simpered. "Please sit down."

Before Parvati could say anything I pulled her back down. Sniffling, I wiped my eyes on the back of my shirt. Lavender raised her hand.

"May I please use the restroom, Professor Umbridge?" choked Lav.

"There is no using the facilities while in my class, Miss Brown," Professor Umbridge sneered. I saw something in Lav's eyes. I hadn't seen it since over the summer, and it was something I never wanted to see again. Lav's eyes had hanged from their normal brown to a dark green.

Umbridge flinched back in fear. "Shut up and go to Hades," snarled Lavender, pulling her wand from the pocket of her robes. She held it threateningly in front of her. Her arm was being exposed.

"What do you think you are doing, Miss Brown?" shrieked Umbridge. "Detention!"

"I don't care," growled Lav.

"Lav, sit down," Vati whispered, trying to pull Lav back into her seat. Lavender grudgingly sat back down.

"What was that on your arm?" Seamus asked.

Lavender winced and rubbed her arm. The burn had scarred. Lavender hated it. She may be my best friend, but she was still a daughter of Aphrodite. She hated anything that marred her skin. Personally, I thought scars showed your character.

Relax, I whispered to my friend in Greek. This is the last day of school. Tomorrow, we'll be back home. We will all help search for P-Percy. I choked up at the thought of my brother being in danger. Lavender glared at me for a second before ighing and plopping back into her seat. Poor Lavender has to suffer through detention with Umbridge when we get back.

The train ride to King's Cross seemed to drag on forever. When we got to the station, I grabbed Vati and Lav's hands and we disappeared into the mist. I didn't have of be careful anymore because people knew mages existed.

We were swarmed by people when we arrived at camp. "Hades!" I cursed. Lav and Vati looked at me funny. "I promised Freya I would come visit her over Christmas break."

"Mommy!" called a tiny voice. I flipped around. My yelp was muffled by blond hair as my little girl jumped on me, knocking me to the ground.

"Hi, Freya," I choked. "Would you mind letting me up?"

"Sorry, Mommy," giggled Freya. "I made new friends here!" Freya rolled off of me and pulled me to my feet. I laughed as she dragged me to the rest of the Apollo cabin. Freya led me to Will. Will held out his arms to her. Freya let go of my hand and jumped into her half brothers arms.

"Hey, Will," I smiled. "How goes it?"

"Hey, Nina," Will smiled sadly. "It's been kinda dreary since, well, you know." I nodded, trying not to think about how my brother could be dead or worse. "Dad brought Freya to camp yesterday. She was exactly what we needed to cheer ourselves up. She makes everyone laugh." Freya nodded eagerly. I smiled and took her from Will.

"Wanna meet, Lav and Vati?" I asked her. She nodded eagerly. Grinning, I carried her over to my friends.

"Aw, she is so cute!" squealed Vati. Freya waved shyly from my arms. Lav just smiled at her. My friend's eyes gazed longingly at the beach.

"Go," I whispered. "We'll come get you if anything important happens." Lav smiled and started walking to the beach.

Lav's POV

I sighed as I sat down in the soft sand. Tears started welling up in my eyes. I tried to blink them back, but I was too slow. Glassy-eyed, I stared at the sand as my teardrops mixed with it.

When I had read the letter, I could almost feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. I understood now what heartbreak was. I felt as though someone had ripped my heart out and started burning it in front of my own eyes. There was nothing I could do to stop them either.

Sighing, I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. A light snow had begun to fall over the beach. I wasn't cold though. For some reason, there can be tons of snow in Camp Half-Blood, but you're never cold. I was about to get up, when I heard footsteps coming towards me.

Startled, I jumped to my feet and pulled Elpida and Pisti, my twin daggers. I flipped around to find myself an inch away from skewering the Oracle. "Sorry, Rachel," I muttered as I sat back down on the snow covered sand.

"I'm sorry about Percy, Lavender," Rachel sighed.

"S'not your fault," I muttered.

"I know," Rachel sighed. "I wish I could use my gift to see what happened to him though. Or who took him."

"That would be nice," I chuckled softly. "Hey, Rachel, what does it feel like giving a prophecy?" I got no answer. "Rachel?" I asked, turning my head.

Rachel wasn't Rachel anymore. She was Delphi. Her eyes were glowing a poison green. Smoke spewed from my friends mouth. I started to back up a little, when Rachel turned her head to face me. A voice rose from the smoke. "To find the one you are seeking, you must search for the boy with one shoe." Rachel fell sideways as the green mist vanished. I caught her and laid her down gently. What did she mean I have to find the boy with one shoe to find Percy?