Annabeth waited in the medical tent while the other three champions faced their dragons. All she could hear was the commentary, which wasn't exactly helpful. After Fleur and Viktor had gone and Harry was facing his dragon, Bagman announced something about Harry flying. Maybe he had summoned a broom.
She continued to listen closely, and she deduced that Harry had summoned a broom, and he had used it to divebomb the nest and grab the golden egg. Annabeth had to admit, it was smart.
When it was all over, Annabeth and the rest of the champions were called back to the tent where they had found out what the first task was.
Everyone else was already there. Fleur's skirt was badly burned, Viktor looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, and Harry's shoulder was bandaged.
"Nice job," Annabeth muttered to Harry.
"And you," Harry replied.
"Well done, all of you!" Bagman yelled, entering the tent and basically bouncing on his feet. "Now, just a few quick words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth— but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open... see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg— because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"
***
The Slytherins partied hard that night. Annabeth was pushed into a silver chair and hoisted up in the common room. So many people patted her back that it started to go numb. Vera and Freddie stuck to her side through it all, warding off the younger Slytherins who tried to crowd Annabeth and scream her praises.
Apparently Annabeth had scored first place in the first task, with Harry and Viktor tied for second and Fleur third. Annabeth was still riding that high, when she had got out of the tent to find almost the entire school cheering for her.
This was actual, solid proof that Annabeth wasn't just a Slytherin. The school had cheered for her, no matter what house she was in. And here was actual, solid proof that Annabeth was good, that she was more than what the students made her out to be.
"Open the egg!" someone yelled.
The room filled with more cheers as the golden egg was passed over everyone's heads and made its way to Annabeth. She grabbed it out of the air and brought it down. Annabeth had been hoping to open it in a more private place where she could mull over her thoughts, but the crowd couldn't be appeased.
Annabeth worked her fingers between the seam and opened the egg.
For a second, she thought someone was dying. The room filled with a huge, ear splitting scream, echoing off the walls and so loud that Annabeth almost dropped the egg in surprise. The Slytherins cried out, which was when Annabeth realized that the sound was coming from inside the egg.
Hurriedly, she shut it. Immediately the sound stopped, leaving a ringing echo in Annabeth's ears.
Vera voiced what they were all thinking. "What the fuck was that?"
"Was that the dragon's roar?" someone asked.
"No, that was way too high pitched," Simone Williams said. "Maybe it's a scream of pain."
Simone didn't seem at all concerned with their statement. A few of the Slytherins backed away from them slowly, but they didn't seem to notice.
"Nah, that wasn't human," Ty said.
"Never said it was."
"Ok!" Gregory said, clapping his hands together, "ignoring Simone and their... violent state of mind, maybe it was a mandrake. They have loud screams."
"Then we'd all be dead," Carrie Foreman said, crossing her arms in thought. "And what kind of task would it be against mandrakes? They spend all their time buried."
"Maybe they'll be uprooted," Annabeth thought out loud. She had run into the topic of mandrakes during one of her many study sessions, and she was beyond intrigued. "And I'll have to find a way to tune them out. But I don't think that's likely. It seems too small."
"Too small?" Freddie exclaimed. "Their cries can kill you!"
"But there's an easy way to block out those cries," Annabeth pointed out.
There was a murmur around the Slytherins, discussing mandrakes and their danger levels.
Then someone shrieked and yelled, "stupify!" a red jet of light shot towards the window and bounced, startling a curious mermaid who had been watching, who swam away in a flash. Everyone ducked as the spell ricocheted around the room, finally hitting Malfoy full in the face and causing him to drop onto the sofa he was standing in front of, unconscious.
"Oops," said a small voice from the back. "My bad."
"What if something really important is taken from you and tortured?" Simone said after a bit of silence. "Like a dog or your best friend, and that's their screams."
The common room went silent as everyone stared again and slowly backed away from Simone. They shrugged and said, "what? I wouldn't put it past the ministry of magic. You know how many people they sent to Azkaban without trials?"
"But the cruciatus curse is illegal," Freddie said, "so other methods of torture must be, too. And would they really do that to students?"
"It does seem excessively cruel, even for them," Annabeth said.
"Holy shit, it's one in the morning!" Genevieve Queen, the female Slytherin prefect, yelled. "We have classes tomorrow! Everyone get to bed!"
"Come on, Vieve," Gregory said, pouting. "A few more minutes? It's not that late."
"Do you want to tell that to McGonagall when you fall asleep in her class again?"
"Alright, everyone to bed!" Gregory yelled. "Come on, we don't have all night!"
It took a lot of complaints and a bit of herding by the prefects, but eventually all the Slytherins returned to their dorms.
Annabeth was exhausted. What with all the activity from the task and the hours of celebration in the common room, she had no energy left. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
***
Annabeth dreamed. Of course she did. She was standing in a well furnished but dusty room, dark except for the lit fireplace. A sofa faced away from her and towards the fire, and a man stood hunched next to it. The world outside the window was black, like a void pushing against the glass. A snake was curled around the sofa.
The fire suddenly surged green, flames reaching up. Annabeth couldn't see most of the fireplace— it was blocked by the sofa— but there was a small grunt of acknowledgement coming from the seat. Annabeth hadn't thought anyone was in that chair, but she saw the fabric of the cushion shift, like someone was adjusting themselves. It couldn't be an adult, if it was then their head would show over the edge. But that grunt didn't sound like a child.
"My lord."
The voice came from the fireplace. Annabeth tried to move to see how that was, but her feet were stuck to the ground. Annabeth would have let out a sigh in frustration if she could. If she was going to have a demigod dream, couldn't it be useful?
"How goes the plan?" this voice came from the chair, deep and raspy and unhuman-like.
"Harry Potter has completed the first task, my Lord. he holds second place." it was a deep voice, one that Annabeth was familiar with. She just couldn't place it. Why did the fates have to be so teasing?
"Second?" the raspy voice repeated.
"Annabeth Chase holds first place, my Lord," said the deep voice. "She is a transfer student, from Hecate's Academy in America."
"I've never heard of such a school," the raspy voice said.
"Nor have I, my Lord. Apparently it is very exclusive, so exclusive that not many know about it. Apparently it is very advanced, my Lord."
"Slow her progress. Make sure Harry Potter gets first place in the second task. Whatever means necessary while keeping your cover."
"Yes, my Lord. I will find another way to get the right idea to Potter. She also seems to be friendly with Potter. Perhaps she could be tricked into helping him in another way."
"My Lord," said the hunched over man. "Maybe the Chase girl can be even more useful. If her school was indeed prestigious, she must have a strong magical prowess."
"You are correct, Wormtail," the raspy voice said. "But that raises another question. Why transfer from such an exclusive school to one that lets anyone in?"
"Perhaps it was the Triwizard Tournament, my Lord," said the hunched over man.
"The Tournament was kept a close secret by the Ministry of Magic," said the raspy voice. "She would not have known of it."
"I will continue to investigate it, my Lord," said the voice from the fireplace. "Potter has the resources to pass the second task. He just needs to ask one of his peers. I will find a way to get the idea to him."
"Indeed. Yes, do that. Inform me on how it goes."
The snake, which had been laying idly on the floor this whole time, started moving. It slithered in Annabeth's direction, hissing. Annabeth tensed.
"What is it, Nagini?" the raspy voice said. "What do you sense?"
The snake continued to slither, tongue tasting the air every few seconds.
All of Annabeth's instincts told her to run. She tried to, but her body wouldn't move. Her muscles stayed firmly in place like they had turned to cement.
The snake lunged.
***
Annabeth woke with a start. She sat straight up, wiping sweat off her brow. She caught her breath, setting her head in her hands. What the hell was that?
"Hey."
Annabeth jumped. The dorm was dark, but in the dim light, she could just see a form sitting up in Vera's bed.
"What time is it?" Annabeth whispered.
"About three in the morning," Vera's voice said in the dark.
"What are you doing up?"
"Same as you, I guess. Bad dreams. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Talk about it?"
Vera sighed. "Look," she said quietly, standing up. Her footsteps echoed as she made her way to Annabeth's bed and sat down at the foot. "I know how to spot trauma— don't say anything, just let me finish. You don't have to tell me about it, but I see the way you always reach for a weapon at sudden noises. I know how you map out everything you see, like you might need to make an escape. I do the same sometimes, before I remember that I'm safe. And I know you have nightmares most nights."
Annabeth stayed quiet. Vera's talk of trauma brought back memories of the last few summers, during the wars. Her dream hadn't been about that, but the pain was still there. And Vera's admission that she had the same patterns... Annabeth wondered what Vera had been through. She took a shaky breath.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Vera said softly.
"I'm not ashamed," Annabeth whispered, drawing up her legs to give Vera more room. "It's just still painful to remember. It's only been a few months."
Vera was silent for a second. "Is that the reason you switched? Something happened in the States?"
"I guess you could say that. It's..." Annabeth took a deep breath. "One of my friends went missing. We don't even know if he's alive. And there was this... this earthquake, a few months ago. We lost a lot of good people."
"I'm so sorry," Vera whispered, scooting closer to put her arm around Annabeth. Annabeth leaned her head on Vera's shoulder. It was almost a reflex. "I can't say I've been through the same, but... My parents left me when I was young. I was passed through the muggle foster system. Spent a lot of time on the streets. Not very kid friendly. That's why I was so upset a few days ago when Malfoy said the M word. I don't know my blood status. For all I know, I'm a muggleborn."
"There's nothing wrong with that. How did you get here?" Annabeth asked quietly.
"A wizarding family found me when I was ten," Vera whispered. "They took me in. they're nice, but... it took a long time to feel comfortable around them. They were really relieved when I got my Hogwarts letter."
"I have a friend who passed through the system," Annabeth whispered. "Leo. He ran away six times before he started staying full time at Hecate's Academy. He's the one who's missing. And I lived on the streets for a while."
"Yeah? We're streets buddies, then. How did you get there?"
Annabeth chuckled sadly. "My stepmother hated me. My father never had time for me. There wasn't anything worth staying for, so one day... I just left. It was rough, but I found help after a week or two. Luke and Thalia. They were both like me. Shunned by their families, so they ran away. We spent a few months just... running around, trying to stay alive."
"What happened?" Vera asked quietly.
"Help found us. A messenger from Hecate's Academy, sent to escort us to the school. Apparently a lot of students at Hecate's have similar situations. They have a program, for kids who don't have anything to go back to. The school doubles as a summer camp. I lived there for five years before I tried again with my father."
"How did it go?"
"Badly. We fought. I ended up going back to Hecate's. I stayed there for another year, and then something happened and I gave it another shot. It's been going ok so far, but I'm glad I'm not there during the school year."
"It's good to take it slow," Vera whispered. "You can't just shove a kid into a home they don't feel safe in."
"It's not right," Annabeth agreed, her eyelids drooping.
"Do you want to go back to sleep?" Vera whispered.
"No," Annabeth said quietly, even as her eyes fought to close.
"It's ok. I can stay here if you want. I think the company would help both of us."
"That would be nice," Annabeth muttered, her vision fading.
Vera's head leaned against Annabeth's. "Ok."
Annabeth couldn't explain it, but she felt so... Safe, with Vera next to her. She usually wasn't a fan of physical contact, excluding Percy, Grover, Piper, and Hazel. It just felt right. Annabeth hadn't slept next to anyone since her days on the Argo II, that first week when she and Piper would share a bed when they had nightmares, and later with Percy.
She sank into the comfort of being with friends, of being safe. She let her eyes drift closed.