The Ghosts of Millennia

Alabaster Tries to Out-Slytherin Slytherin

Percy groaned. "Why am I always on border patrol? I know, I know, sea god, water, but I can do more than make waves in a river."

He complained every Friday, conveniently forgetting all the times he single-handedly stopped the other team from crossing the boundary line. He saw plenty of action.

"Right. Nico--"

Nico shook his head. "I'm watching with Al, I'm not playing anymore."

Annabeth glared at him. "What do you mean, you're not playing anymore?!" she hissed. A few people shushed her, but she ignored them.

"It's for the best, Annabeth," Nico said. "My head's not going to be in the game. Rachel's sick, and it's my fault. I was just talking with her about something important (his eyes read: the war), and I'll be completely useless until we figure out what's wrong with her. I'm sorry."

"You traitor!" Lou Ellen shouted a little louder than she had to be. Greek fire burned in the palm of her hands. She looked murderous.

Suddenly, three Nicos stood in front of Lou. Hazel drew her sword. "You stay away from my brother!" she shouted.

Lou Ellen's fire shot a foot from her hand, so close to Hazel that her clothes started to smolder. A heavy bar of gold rose from the ground. It shot into the air and hit Lou square in the stomach.

Annabeth was frozen to the spot. Daughters of Hecate and Pluto, fighting already. She could tell that all her friends who knew about the war were worried.

Despite her expectations, they weren't the ones who stepped in.

The sky turned black, and the entire world went dark. Thunder boomed. When the darkness cleared, Thalia was between Lou Ellen and Hazel, electricity crackling a full inch from each palm.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Save it for the battlefield!"

Three Nicos became one, greek fire disappeared, and the gold bar sunk back into the ground.

It's nice to know Thalia still kicks ass.

"You okay, death boy?" Thalia asked Nico. He nodded, paler than usual. "Come with me, I'll hand you off to Torrington." She turned back and looked over the entire blue team. "No one TOUCHES him, you understand?!"

No one argued.

"Red team, to me!" Sherman shouted, holding up his team's flag. The blue team heckled the red team as they marched south, but no one missed the electricity that still hung in the air.

____________________HERMIONE____________________

For the second time in two years, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley spent their Christmas holiday at number twelve Grimmauld Place. This time, though, they were the ones who asked the Order of the Phoenix to convene there.

Her parents, Aunt Sadie, Uncle Tyler, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred and George, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin, Tonks, Sirius, Snape, and Dumbledore sat around the dining room table, listening to Hermione, Ron, and Percy explain everything that had happened since the day they ran into three Americans at King's Cross Station. They even included the parts about the Greek gods, hoping that the table of wizard-borne wizards would react the way Ron did when Annabeth spoke to them a lifetime ago.

Hermione feared it was too much for her muggle aunt and uncle to take, but, at that point, they were so unnerved that they'd believe anything anyone told them. All four Granger adults insisted on staying in the know, and no one argued with that. Ginny and her cousins were safe upstairs, fast asleep in their third strange bed in the past forty-eight hours.