They both immediately turned to Annabeth.
Throwing her hands up in the air with exasperation, Annabeth replied, "Chiron said it was RIGHT here! Platform 9 and 3/4! It doesn't make sense!"
The three of them began pacing the floor. Or more specifically, Annabeth paced the floor and the other two followed hoping to look like they were contributing to a solution.
Scratch that, Thalia actually had an idea. Percy didn't even quite clearly process how he ended up in London in the first place.
Thalia hovered her hand of the "Platform 10 pillar," then her eyes widened in realization.
"It's mist! Or at least some form of mist... it's covering this pillar!"
Percy raised his hand timidly, "So the train is inside that brick column?"
"No, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth playfully punched him in the arm, "that's just our way inside."
And with that, Percy Jackson, the Hero of Olympus, one of the 7, a mighty demigod of the Big Three,... was shoved face first into the brick wall.
Funny thing was? He fell straight through it.
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"Blimey, Harry!" Ron tapped urgently for his attention, "It's that girl who almost ran into our trolleys! And... that boy looks like you!"
Ron was right. When he peered out of the window of their cart, he noticed three strange people.
The first was a guy around 17 or 18 years old. Harry gasped. He had the same messy black hair as him. The only other thing he noticed was his athletic build and orange t-shirt before a second person fell onto the platform.
The same girl who almost rammed into their trolleys tripped over the first person and face-planted onto the floor. Ron started to cackle menacingly before Hermione whacked him on the head with a newspaper, shutting him up for good. The girl just then stood up, said something inaudibly, because of the shut windows on the train, brushed some sparkly dust off her jeans. Before heading towards the train, she gave the first boy a good kick in the gut and ran off.
Now Harry got a proper look at her face. She had spiky black hair, which was now ruffled from falling onto the concrete. She suddenly froze to a stop, waiting for her friend. He noticed her electric blue eyes, which were especially striking because of her dark eyeliner. Unlike the first "student," who still sat there lying on the floor, she wore a silver parka, and torn black jeans. Because the jacket was unzipped, he could just barely read the text on her "Death to Barbie" t-shirt. All in all, she sent a chill up Harry's spine. He didn't want to see what would happen if he got on her bad side.
Finally, a third person ran through the wall. Unlike the others, she maintained her dignity and did not fall on the floor. Instead, she stood over the first boy who was still lying on the ground, and offered her hand to pull him up.
Her wavy blonde hair dangled loosely over her shoulders. Harry gulped, she actually was quite beautiful. Even her eyes. No wait... especially her eyes. They were a fierce grey. They absorbed everything, analyzing every movement. All the strangers seemed athletically fit, but she seemed especially smart too. He could just tell. Not just book-smart, but in a perceptive, genius sort of way.
Finally, the first stranger got back up again. Now he could get a look at his face too. Unlike when he could only see his hair, Harry did not see quite a resemblance. His eyes were sea-green, not emerald, like his. And he shared the same tan complexion as the first too, as if he'd basked in the sun for numerous hours. But before he could notice anything more then the blonde and him holding hands, Hermione let out a loud gasp and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Harry! Did you see-" the train's whistle let out a shrill 'chooooooooo choooooo' before it began to leave the station, resuming the subtle rotation of the train's wheels.
"See what, 'mione?" Ron leaned forward, resting his hand on her shoulder.
She bit her lip, "That boy had a tattoo on his arm, I'm not sure but uh...." she paused,
"I think it's the dark mark"
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Thalia just attempted to grab onto the train's shut doors, before it went into motion and drove out of reach.
She inhaled sharply, before stomping her foot hard on the ground, rapidly yelling, "Styx! Mother of Zeus, we missed it! We missed the train!"
"What do we do now?" Percy frowned, completely giving up with standing and began to sit back down on the empty train station.
They heard the subtly, yet familiar 'crack,' and quickly turned around.
"Ah, you must be Perseus, Annabeth, and Thalia," a new, yet wheezy sounded person replied. From the sound of his voice, the stranger didn't seem sick, just quite old. Annabeth was starting to get frustrated with people randomly talking and appearing behind her.
Just roll with it, she began to turn around, but not before tightly gritting her teeth.
Annabeth Chase has faced monsters, gods, and most importantly of all, jet-lag all in one day. She was starting to get ticked off.
So bring it on, she thought to whoever the stranger might be.
But she did not expect to see an 80 year old man, just smiling at them in a light, heart-felted mood. His half-moon glasses drooping dangerously too low on his nose, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead he seemed quite preoccupied searching for something in the interior of his cloak. From head to toe, his entire attire was crimson red. Even the insides of his robe matched. His buckled-boots 'squeaked' slightly as he shifted his footing, to search his other pockets, until he fished out a strange looking wand. It was, without a doubt, a couple inches taller than any of theirs, with a knobby, dark wood coating it's exterior.
Quite satisfied after finding his wand, he looked back up at the three, "I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts."
"That's what the school is called?" Percy asked wide eyed, before beginning to smirk. Thalia bashed him hard on the hand with her luggage, then swung it back against her shoulders. Annabeth just stared at her boyfriend, as if mentally saying, 'Don't be rude.'
He merely nodded, "You aren't the first to think the name is quite silly, Perseus," Percy grumbled quietly 'just Percy...' before he continued, "But I do hope that you find Hogwarts is a respected and outstanding school worth your while."
Thalia shifted her weight back and forth, as she swung side to side merely looking at her shoes, "Sir, how did you know were late?"
He chuckled, "What made you think you were late?"
Percy looked very confused, still sitting criss-cross-applesauce on the concrete, "We missed the train? Isn't that what we did wrong?" He looked up at Annabeth to see if he got it right. She nodded, only causing him to be more flabbergasted.
"What made you think you were suppose to do that?" At this question, the demigods froze. Even Annabeth didn't quite get what he was asking.
"Chiron said to get to 9 and 3/4 by 11:00, but the train already left," Thalia said slowly, as if trying to see if it processed through the old man's brain.
"Ah, but he never told you to get on the train, did he?"
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"Are you sure Hermione? This is serious,... If death eaters are actually getting bold enough to attempt boarding the train, then we'll have to tell Dumbledore-" Harry rubbed his head, talking in a fast and stressed tone.
"I think... I am not sure! Harry, I only saw the tattoo. But it was in the right spot, about the right size... I just don't know for sure!" she rubbed her head, trying to think.
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"So what are you saying? We're heading Pigwarts-"
"Hogwarts," Dumbledore responded calmly.
"-Hogwarts," Percy continued, "differently than on the train?"
"Yes," he nodded, "You see, you're cover story includes your 'school' joining the Triwizard Tournament. The teachers are planning to welcome all the other international students near the lake this evening. If you were to ride with the ongoing Hogwarts students than it would be... difficult. And besides, as much as they are friendly, Harry and his friends aren't the most trusting of people when it comes to first reputations. It is best to be welcomed with everyone else first arriving at the school. In some way, you'll blend in."
Annabeth nodded. It was inconvieniant, yes. But it somewhat made sense.
"So how are we going to get there?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.
Dumbledore's mouth broke into a wide grin, "I am quite glad you asked. Because I have been trying to think of a grand entrance... and have come up with a marvelous idea."
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Word Count: 1,487