"Do you think they will like it?"
Pandora glanced up to Luna's head, where a large lion hat sat. She smiled.
"I think they'll love it, Luna. All I've got is George Weasley's old Quidditch jumper that he insisted on me wearing to show my support for Gryffindor."
"George Weasley thinks you're pretty." Luna said as if Pandora should have known.
"Well, that's nice news I guess," Pandora shrugged. She thought back to what Eros had said a few weeks ago - that a majority of the boys at Hogwarts thought she was pretty.
Sure, it boosted her self confidence (not that she needed it), but it was all from Aphrodite and her father. Her natural glow came from the fact that she was the daughter of the god of the sun. Her beauty was another gift from Aphrodite.
She had never been around kids her age all that much, but when she was she knew better than to fall for any of them. Most liked her for her looks and that was it. If they knew she was a demigod, they liked her for that and her beauty. No one had ever liked her for who she really was: a girl with good aim, a cool dagger, and adhd.
"Should we go now?" Luna asked, breaking Pandora from her thoughts. She blinked a few times before coming to.
"Oh, yes. Let's go."
It had been about two weeks since the Cyclops incident. Pandora had to stand in front of all the Hogwarts professors, Albus Dumbledore, the Head boy and girl, and the prefects to explain what had happened.
Pandora found it obvious that some of the professors did not want her to stay at Hogwarts any longer - not when she attracted monsters that no one else could see but her. She had tried to explain that they only wanted to kill her, and no one else was in any real danger, but they weren't convinced.
It was finally Umbridge that spoke up and insisted on Pandora staying. Dumbledore had agreed. Pandora didn't like the fact that Umbridge had stuck up for her, but she was happy that she got to stay at Hogwarts.
Because of the hearing - if you could call it that - Pandora had to miss out on the D.A. meeting that happened the day after the Cyclops. After that, Harry had put the D.A. to a halt until after the first Quidditch match of the season - Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.
That was where Pandora and Luna were off to at that moment. First to breakfast - then to the match. Pandora wore George's jumper and a pair of dark, baggy jeans. She had on a knitted hat with a sun stitched into the front of it and a matching pair of gloves.
The two sat down at the Ravenclaw table and ignored the stares and laughs from other students. Pandora was going to tell Luna to ignore the others, but then she noticed Luna was already doing that. Nothing could shake her confidence. Pandora admired that about her.
"Oh, your best friend and his friends are coming over." Luna said.
Pandora looked over her shoulder to see Eros, Blaise and Theodore approaching. Eros had on a bright smile.
"Glad to see you're supporting our rivals." Eros joked, nudging Pandora with his knee. Pandora noticed Theodore roll his eyes as Eros continued to poke and prod her.
"Sorry boys, but George Weasley has me convinced that Gryffindor's gonna win today." Pandora joked.
"Eh, we don't actually care," Blaise said kindly. He then looked toward Luna and at her hat. Pandora was ready to punch him if he said anything rude. "I really like your hat, Luna. I'm sure that took a lot of time."
Luna nearly burst out of her seat with appreciation.
"Oh, it did! But I think it was worth it. Sorry that I am rooting for Gryffindor, but most Slytherin are unkind to me."
Blaise shrugged. "I don't blame you."
Pandora then noticed Theodore wearing a crown shaped badge on his uniform. On it was written Weasley Is Our King.
"What's that, Nott?" Pandora asked.
Theodore smirked, "You'll find out later."
Eros and Blaise frowned, both not meeting Pandora's eyes.
"C'mon Blaise, we've got to go." Theodore said in a grumpy tone. He shot Pandora and Eros another glare before he and Blaise joined the rest of the Slytherin team and marched out of the Great Hall.
Eros joined the two girls as they walked over toward the Gryffindor table to wish them good luck. Luna showed off her hat, which roared so loudly it echoed throughout the Great Hall and shut up everyone who had previously been laughing at her.
"Nice jumper, Pandora." George said with a wink. Pandora rolled her eyes. She noticed Harry and Ron frowning at George and her.
"Thanks Weasley. You lot better win today, this jumper makes me itchy."
"You could just take it off. I think that'd give me more motivation to win today." George shrugged with a smile. Pandora narrowed her eyes and summoned a small storm cloud over George's head, which rain began to pour out of.
The others laughed and eventually George began to as well. Pandora whisked away the cloud with a wave of her hands.
"Geez, Pandora, I was joking! If anything you should add more layers, it's cold outside." George said.
"Thanks for the advice Weasley, but I think I'll be good. Anyways, good luck today guys. Luna and I will be cheering you on. Eros will too."
Eros rolled his eyes, "Theo's gonna kill me just for sitting with you." He groaned.
The three left the Gryffindor's and made their way to the Quidditch pitch. It was chilly outside, but there was no wind and the skies were pretty clear. It was, as far as Pandora was concerned, a nice day for Quidditch.
Pandora, Eros and Luna sat right in the middle of the Gryffindor and Slytherin sections. A few Slytherins hissed and taunted Eros. He returned a few choice words and a middle finger in response, which shut them up fairly quickly.
"Bunch of assholes." Pandora said.
"Yeah, you're telling me," Eros laughed. "Imagine dealing with that since you were 11. It wasn't too bad when my brother was around cause everyone was scared of him. But now, eh, could be worse I guess."
Pandora tilted her head. There goes Eros giving vague information about his brother - Jason - again. Pandora still had no information on his brother or what he was doing now that he had graduated Hogwarts. She didn't even know what he looked like.
She had told Eros a decent amount about her family, more than anyone else knew at Hogwarts at least. He knew about her close bond with her father, Aphrodite, Dionysus and Ariadne. He knew her half brothers Wylan and Wilbur, and even her newest half brother Evander. Part of her was somewhat offended that Eros didn't share what his family was like with her.
She shook the thought and figured right now was no time to be thinking of that. Down below on the grass, the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams began to walk out onto the pitch. Pandora and the others cheered loudly as the players prepared for the start of the game. Hermione, Ginny and a few other Gryffindors took some seats beside them.
"We really need to pulverize Slytherin today - oh, hello, Eros." Ginny said. Eros rolled his eyes with a laugh, which had clearly caught Ginny off guard.
"The pulverization of the Slytherin team will definitely knock Theo's arrogance down a few pegs which is very much needed. Either way, he'll be impossible." Eros shrugged.
A moment later, the Gryffindor and Slytherin players were up in the air. Pandora was in fits of laughter listening to Lee Jordan commentate the game.
Her laughter died though when she noticed the Slytherin's singing a tune in sync -
Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherin all sing:
Weasley is our King.
Weasley was born in a bin,
He always lets the Quaffle in,
Weasley will make sure we win,
Weasley is our King.
Pandora turned to look at Eros. If looks could kill, she was sure that Eros would have been dead at her feet.
"What's that bullshit?" She questioned. Beside her, Luna frowned and Hermione's face had gone as pale as a ghosts as the Slytherin continued to sing.
Eros looked guilty.
"Malfoy came up with it - I stayed out of it though. Theo mentioned the song but I told him I didn't wanna be involved... I didn't know it was that.. I dunno, bad."
Pandora let out a loud groan of frustration.
"Poor Ron," Pandora frowned. He had already let in two goals - she didn't know him that well, but Hermione had mentioned that he suffered with confidence. If only she was close enough to tell him he was doing great... then he'd believe it. Her new, old gift of charmspeak would only improve his game.
That wasn't possible though. The Slytherin continued to shout and taunt him. Luna's lion hat roared over the crowd. Pandora and the others cheered the Gryffindor team on as best as they could.
Then, Harry Potter saved the day and caught the snitch.
The crowd cheered on the Gryffindor team and Pandora was excited about joining Hermione and the others for a party in their common room.
"What's going on down there?" Hermione asked, just as Crabbe hit a spare bludger right at Harry, knocking him off his broom.
"Rubbish!" Ginny shouted. Beside her, Dean and Seamus offered a few choice words as they scolded the Slytherin team for pulling such an awful stunt after the game had ended.
Pandora watched as the events unfolded down on the grass field. There seemed to be arguing, and then all the sudden the three girls on the Quidditch team held back Fred and Harry held back George. Then, Harry and George sprinted toward Malfoy and Harry punched him in the stomach.
"Oh gods," Pandora sighed.
"They are gonna get themselves expelled!" Hermione shouted, her hands flying in the air.
Pandora frowned as the small group left the stadium, knowing that there would be no celebration party to attend tonight.
-
"Banned for life?" Pandora questioned the next day at breakfast.
"For life." George sneered. He stabbed at his breakfast sausage.
It was Sunday. The Great Hall wasn't nearly as full as it usually was at 7:30 in the morning on weekdays, so Pandora didn't feel the need to conjure the mist to hide from the professors.
"That's ridiculous. Maybe if I take one for the team and join the Inquisitorial Squad, Umbridge will let you guys back on the team."
George and Fred laughed, which made Pandora smile.
Harry arrived to the table a few minutes later alone, which Pandora found interesting. Hermione and Ron were no where to be found.
"Morning Pandora."
"Hiya Harry. Sorry about yesterday, that sucks."
Harry shrugged, which surprised Pandora.
"It's fine. If I let it bother me it means Umbridge wins."
Pandora smiled a wicked smile, "Ah, spiteful. I love it."
Harry laughed and went to nudge Pandora, but drew back.
"Oh Pandora. I, er," he looked toward Fred and George, who were so immersed in their own scheming they hadn't even realized Harry sat down. "I'm free today if you wanted to practice some magic. I mean, I've got loads of work, but I don't wanna do it."
Pandora tilted her head as she smiled, "Sure, that'd be great. I could use all the help I can get."
After the two had finished breakfast, they lugged their bags full of books and homework to the room of requirement. When they entered, it looked different than normal. Instead of the large room it typically was, today the room was smaller and had one table with two seats. There were a few windows that overlooked the Great Lake.
"Huh." Pandora said. She tossed her bag down and took a seat as Harry did the same opposite her.
Harry looked uncomfortable, which confused Pandora. He was the one that suggested doing this - Pandora didn't need help. She had gotten a lot better at magic. It was now November, and her skills had improved a lot with a wand. She was no where near amazing, but she could scrape a few O.W.L's when she needed to.
"So, um, what do you need the most help with?" Harry asked.
Pandora thought for a moment. What did she need the most help with?
Charms went from one of her worst classes to one of her best. History of Magic was really all memorization. She was an average Transfiguration student now thanks to McGonagall. Herbology, Divination and Potions she excelled in. Harry couldn't help her with Arithmancy since he didn't take it.
All that was really left was...
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, I guess," she said with a shrug. "I know we already meet with the D.A. for that, but it's the only practice I get. I can barely disarm someone..."
"Oh, yeah. Of course I can help you with that. And you were doing really well with it all before we had to stop for a few days."
Pandora smiled appreciatively.
"Thanks Harry, but you don't have to lie. I know I'm not all that great at magic - I don't expect to be. When it comes to the real world, I've got my own magic that can save me. But since I'm here, I may as well learn magic with a wand too."
Harry furrowed his eyes together. He placed his head in his hand and stared at Pandora with what looked to be fascination.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here, Pandora? Sorry, er - I know you probably have gotten that a lot, but we don't really talk. Not until recently."
Pandora waved a hand dismissively toward Harry.
"It's fine, Potter. It's a long story and I don't really like sharing a lot of it. Not even Eros knows the whole thing and he's my best friend. To put it simply, it was my fate to end up here at Hogwarts. Demigods don't live happy lives, or normal lives for that matter," Pandora paused to see if Harry was still interested. He was.
"As for me, well, I lived a happy and normal life. I lived on Mount Olympus with my father and lived like a god. I wasn't a normal demigod. Then it all caught up to me... now I'm here."
Harry frowned.
"So you don't like Hogwarts?" He questioned.
Pandora thought about that question for a moment before she answered. She did like Hogwarts... but if Zeus offered her immortality and a one way ticket back to Mount Olympus the next day, she wouldn't hesitate.
"I do like Hogwarts. I never got to mingle with people my age before this, it's nice. It's just... not where I pictured myself. Everyone, including myself, had a different life planned for me. But I am a demigod at the end of the day, I shouldn't have expected a happy ending."
"Happy ending?"
"It's confusing. Just, could we practice now? I've got that stupid Charms essay to write by tomorrow."
Harry didn't oppose the idea of starting. For the next hour, the two worked on the disarming spell and a few other basic defensive spells that Harry felt were necessary.
Pandora liked Harry. She had only began speaking to him recently, as in after the first D.A. meeting. He was no Eros or Luna, but he was nice. He was a good person. Pandora felt like she didn't know much about him, even after Eros had told her his entire life story.
One thing about Harry that Pandora noticed was that he was like a ticking time bomb. Some days he couldn't stop smiling, and then by the end of the week one wrong look would send him into a downward spiral. He also had trouble paying attention in class - sometimes Pandora wondered if he was the other demigod at Hogwarts.
It was impossible though - he had seen warped images of the monsters that showed up at Hogwarts. Pandora hadn't made much of a dent in the whole finding the other demigod at Hogwarts quest...
The sun began to set when Harry and Pandora finally called it a day. Pandora felt much more capable in her defensive magic, but still would rely on her own abilities without a wand if she ever needed to get out of a sticky situation.
Together, the two left the room of requirement and chatted quietly.
"Do you ever miss home? And your family?" Harry asked as they rounded a corner.
"Of course, I miss it everyday. It's a lot different there... and I miss my dad a lot. He's my best friend - sounds lame, but it's true. All I really had on Mount Olympus was him, my insane aunt who I think has some sort of plan for me here, the god of wine, and his lovely wife."
"Don't forget about your grandfather who wants to kill you." Harry said, his eyebrows raised and finger pointed toward Pandora. She let out a laugh.
"Yes, and my lovely grandfather who wants to kill me."
Harry had walked her to the Ravenclaw tower and bid her a goodnight before he left toward his dormitory.
For some reason, Pandora could not stop smiling. She was in such a good mood that even the thought of her grandfather couldn't ruin it.