"Goway Nico. Lemme sleep," groaned Percy, muffled by his drool-speckled pillow. Nico just rolled his eyes and threw his jacket at Percy.
"Get up. Mrs. Weasley's making pancakes."
Motivated suddenly with the desperation of a hamster to a pouch of dried carrot nibbles, Percy jumped up out of the sleeping bag, his bedhead matching the wild stare in his eyes.
"Mrs. Weasley's pancakes? And Ron's already there? Dude, why didn't you wake me up earlier!" Percy scrambled to put on a shirt and charged out of the tent in his sea green flannel bottoms. Nico sighed in exasperation and properly dressed before following.
The sunlight was cold and the dew on the dried grass made an interesting combination as Nico trudged down the hill. "Where's Percy?" Annabeth asked, emerging from the other huntress tent she shared with Thalia.
"Ahead."
"Pancakes?"
"Yep."
Annabeth laughed. "Well, Mrs. Weasley's pancakes are delicious."
They trudged to the crooked, welcoming house at the bottom of the hill in a comfortable silence.
"Pretty weird, huh?" Annabeth said suddenly. "I mean, just last year, which technically wasn't any time at all, we were clueless and getting stuck in staircases. Now we have a purpose in this world. We know what we're facing. We've fought and we've won. But we're still taking the time to make friends and eat pancakes. And we know magic without being a child of Hecate."
Nico tilted his head. "The pancakes make sense. And as for the 'fight and won' thing, well, it's just your average demigod day, right?"
"I guess," Annabeth sighed. "Still. It's weird to think of how much we've learned in literally no time at all."
"Don't dwell on this stuff too much," Nico advised. "It'll ruin your imagination."
When they got to the Burrow, Percy and Ron were already seated, chowing down some pancakes (Percy's were blue— Mrs. Weasley knew about his odd choice of appetite). Thalia was nowhere to be seen, though it had become fairly routine for her to take early walks to the nearby forest.
"Morning everyone," a voice yawned. Fred and George stumbled down, half asleep.
George rubbed his eyes and blinked, staring at Percy and Aron. "Wow. At that rate, they're going to clean out all the food in our house by next week." He shook his head.
Suddenly, Thalia came in, waving a piece of paper. "Guess what?" She said, a huge smile on her face. "Some new students are transferring from back home!"
"Phreally?" Ron asked, his mouth full. "Datsh shtrange. I donf phink Hogwarsh ushully accshepts exchange shtudens."
"Well, maybe they changed it. Who's coming?" Percy asked.
"Oh, you know, Frank and Hazel. Oh, I think Piper and Jason too? No biggie."
"No way!" Annabeth yelled. If the rest of the house wasn't awake yet, they certainly were now.
"What happened?" Ginny asked from the stairs. The little red haired girl was constantly curious and shy. Very shy. But she opened up once you get to know her, and she idolized Annabeth. A definite friendship had grown.
"Some of our friends are transferring to Hogwarts this year. They'll be in our grade," Annabeth explained, still grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, that's just fantastic. By the way, have you checked up on Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, carrying another pan of pancakes.
"We'll send an owl later today," Ron promised.
>>>•O•<<<
They gathered in front of the shade of the girls tent.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show us Harry Potter at Privet Drive." Nico tossed a drachma at the mist Percy made. The mist flickered, then showed a very depressed looking boy sitting on a bed.
"Harry!" Ron shouted. Harry looked up and his face split into a grin.
"Guys! Thank god! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"
"Well, I'm guessing you're pretty happy. But why?" Percy asked.
"The Dursleys," Harry spat the name with distaste. "locked me in my room. I hardly get any food, and I have to go to the bathroom right now, but I can only go when they let me."
"What? They locked you in?" Percy controlled the mist so it floated around the room, showing them everything. Sure enough, there were several heavy padlocks on the door, a small cat- flap in the bottom of it, and iron bars outside his window.
"I'm pretty sure that's illegal," Annabeth added.
"Don't worry, mate. We'll come as soon as possible," Ron promised.
"And I have to tell you something. There was this house elf—" Harry froze for a moment before swiping the connection and hastily looking at the door.
The image disappeared. "I can't believe it!" Annabeth exclaimed. "His family is horrible! They're starving him!"
"Which is why we should go rescue him tonight" a new voice said. The five whipped around and saw Fred standing behind them. "I suppose you don't mind explaining?"
"Uh..." Ron stammered. "Hey, Fred."
"Urgh. We weren't even supposed to tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione about us! I don't think we should tell him," Thalia complained.
"I don't know. They seem trustworthy. Besides, they remind me of the Stolls," Percy said defensively.
"I'm with Percy. As long as we don't introduce them to the Stolls, I think we're okay." Nico added.
"Hey, it's not nice to whisper," Ron said. "I hate it when they do that," he added under his breath.
"So?" Fred asked.
"Get your brother because I don't want to explain this again." Thalia grumbled.
>>>•O•<<<
"Cool," George said, twirling his wand when they finished.
"Cool? That's awesome!" Fred grinned. "Can we borrow that hat, Annie?"
"Don't call me that," she warned them. "And no. You are not touching that."
The twins winced. "Sorry." Nico could understand. When Annabeth glared at you like that, it felt like you were going to disintegrate on the spot. And Nico knew what it was like to disintegrate. He felt like it every time he shadowtraveled.
"So, can you teleport us all to Harry's room then?" Ron asked Nico.
"No. It's too big a crowd, and then we'd have to take all the luggage with us." Nico shook his head. "Will doesn't trust me with Underworldy stuff yet."
"But you shadowtravelled us here," Percy pointed out.
Nico shook his head again. "That was different. Hecate was helping, since we needed to go back in time too. She was the one who gave me most of the strength."
"Well, we can take the car," George said, eyes glinting with mischief. Fred broke into an evil grin.
On he contrary, Ron's face paled. "Are you kidding me? Mum'll skin us alive!"
"We'll be careful," Fred assured him.
"Wait, you're going to drive all the way to Harry's house?" Thalia asked.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If you listen to their tone of voice about how they talk about the car, it's obviously not a normal car. And the fact that Mrs. Weasley will skin them alive makes it obvious that it's risky taking it. So no, I'm assuming it's not a normal car."
The twins eyes widened. "Holy, she's smarter than Percy!"
"Everyone's smarter than Percy," Thalia said like it was obvious.
"Hey!" Percy complained.
"Perfect Percy Weasley," George rolled his eyes. "Prefect extraordinaire."
"So, when are we going?" Annabeth asked.
"We'll fly it when Mum's gone to bed." Fred promised. The twins left, muttering between themselves.
"We're gonna die if Mum finds out," Ron moaned, his head in his hands.
"Hey, it wouldn't be summer without a life and death situation, right?" Percy asked smirking.
>>>•Annabeth•<<<
"I think we're good," Thalia whispered to Annabeth. They were waiting for the lights to turn off in the house. Finally, the last window in Percy Weasley's room flickered off. Annabeth and Thalia crept silently to the garage where they were supposed to meet Ron, Fred, and George.
"It feels like a spy mission," Annabeth muttered to Thalia.
"All clear," Fred muttered. The three Weasleys not-so-subtly tip toed to the car.
"Don't push me—"
"It's cramped!"
"Just get in before you wake up Mum."
"Alright!"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. They needed to work on their stealth. Maybe they weren't so much like the Stolls.
After some trouble, they all got in the magically expanded car and flew off.
"This is fun," Annabeth said cheerfully, looking at the moon ahead of them.
"Speak for yourself," Thalia groaned, looking pale. "Percy and Nico are lucky they're not allowed to fly."
"Why not?"
"Zeus will kill them," Thalia said like it was obvious.
"Fair enough."
When they got to Privet Drive, it wasn't hard to find the right house.
"That one!" Ron pointed to the fourth house. "The one with the bars over the window!"
They descended to level with the window. Ron climbed over and leaned outside to rap on the glass, almost falling out in the process.
"Pst! Harry!"
"Ron?" A bleary-eyed Harry squinted at them before jamming his glasses on his face. "What're you doing here?"
"Rescuing you, obviously. Don't ask about the car, it was their idea." Ron pointed to the grinning twins.
"Why can't Nico shadowtravel?"
"Something about his energy level being low," Fred said. "Now get your trunks ready. We're busting through."
Thalia just reached over and pulled off the bars with a clang. "There you go. Climb in!"
"The Dursleys locked my stuff up in the closet downstairs."
"These muggles are worse than I thought," George grumbled. "Make way for the masters."
Annabeth watched as they slipped inside as silent as cats and began to pick the lock with a normal bobby pin.
"You're sure your dad's a mortal? Because you definitely seem like a child of Hermes."
"Very mortal," Ron assured them.
Harry grinned and climbed into the car, inhaling deeply like he'd been kept a prisoner. Oh wait.
The twins had just snuck out of the room when there was a crashing sound. Hedwig had flapped around in her cage and accidentally knocked it over from the edge of the dresser, where she perched.
"THAT BLOODY OWL!" an angry voice came from the room next door.
"Hedwig!" Harry gasped, turning back to the window. Annabeth turned and grabbed the cage just as the Weasley twins burst through the door with a very angry Uncle Vernon behind them.
"Go! Go!"
They jumped in the car and sped away before Vernon could grab Harry.
"He's getting away, Petunia!" Vernon roared, shaking his fist at them.
"See you next summer!" Harry laughed at them. He leaned back and stared at the moon ahead, a smile on his face. He must really hate the Dursleys.
"Great to see you out of your cage," Thalia said grinning.
"Thanks for rescuing me. If you didn't come, I wouldn't be able to come to Hogwarts."
"No problemo. So what were you going to say earlier about a house elf?" Ron asked.
Harry's smile fell into a serious line. "Yeah. His name was Dobby." And he told them about the house elf that came to warn him about something at Hogwarts.
"That's fishy," Fred said finally. "He didn't tell you what this threat was?"
"Nah. He kept beating himself up whenever he came close to letting something slip."
George frowned. "Do you think someone sent him to stop you from coming to Hogwarts? Is there anyone who hates you?"
"Yes," Harry, Ron, Thalia, and Annabeth said at the same time.
"Draco Malfoy. He hates us. Mostly Harry though," Annabeth said.
"Draco? Isn't that Lucius Malfoy's son?"
"Yeah. He was really tight with You-Know-Who."
"Gee, why doesn't that surprise me?" Thalia asked, rolling her eyes.
"Anyways, say the house elf was telling the truth. Any idea what it might be?"
"Not something with Voldemort," Harry said. The Weasleys flinched at the name. "That's for certain."
"We'll figure it out. Besides, it wouldn't be a school year without a life-and-death situation, right?" Annabeth asked.
"Okay, now you're just quoting Percy," Thalia said.
>>>•Percy•<<<
Percy watched the light blue car set down in the grass with his arms folded.
"Took you long enough," he said grumpily. "Nico and I had to convince Mrs. Weasley that Fred, George, and Ron suddenly all had to use the restroom for hours. Even Ron doesn't take that long to go. We finally told her the truth. She's pretty mad."
"Sorry Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "but it isn't easy flying a car across the country."
"You didn't even fly it," Fred said, looking miffed.
"Neither did you, I flew it," George complained. "And I'm exhausted."
"Well it was your idea."
"You backed me up on it!"
"We had to get Harry!"
"Guys!" Harry interrupted. "I'm very grateful and all that, but I think you have company."
They turned and paled at the sight of a very angry Mrs. Weasley storming up the hill.
"What were you thinking?" She exploded when she reached them. "Car gone, beds empty! You have no idea how worried I've been! You could've died, you could've been seen!"
"So being seen is more important than dying?" Nico muttered to Percy.
Mrs. Weasley ranted a bit more, then turned to Harry. "Nice to see you, dear. Come in and have some breakfast."
Then she turned and walked back to the house.
"Uh, is it safe?" Percy asked Ron nervously, looking at the house.
"Very. Once she cools down."
They shuffled sleepily down to the house. Mrs. Weasley was cooking breakfast with the food from the huntress's tent, occasionally shooting the twins and Ron dirty looks every now and then.
"I don't blame you of course, Harry," She said, a completely different person when talking to him. "You can go sleep in Ron's room if you're tired."
Harry, who was bright eyed and smiling, shook his head. "I'm wide awake," He assured her. "Thanks for breakfast."
"No problem, dear. Now, you three," she turned back to her sons. "Will have to de-gnome the garden today."
"But Mum!" George complained. "We're exhausted!"
"Well that's your own fault," she said, scrambling the eggs with extra gusto. "You should've thought of that before you went on a midnight adventure." She turned awkwardly to Thalia and Annabeth, torn between making them de-gnome the garden, or treating them as guests who didn't live with them and letting them sleep.
"We'll help. It's mostly our fault the boys snuck out." Annabeth said quickly, noticing Mrs. Weasley's expression.
Thalia shot Annabeth a glare, but nodded.
"That's kind of you, dears. Now, Harry, I insist you sleep."
"It's okay. I think I'll help with the garden. I've never seen a dignorming before."
"Degnoming," Nico corrected him.
"Now let's see what Lockhart has to say about the situation," Mrs. Weasley said, turning to a bookshelf. The Weasleys groaned.