By the time they finished dinner, Harry decided he could trust them.
They were so nice, always bantering and making jokes. How could you not love them?
He did notice, however, the things that made him uneasy about them at first.
The were intimidating, he would give them that. One glare from any of them could refrain him from falling asleep during History of Magic. They were all well built, as if all of them were trained to fight.
He made a mental note to never mess with them.
He also noticed the sadness in their eyes, and even Nico, who looked barely 15, had seemed so mature. He wondered if any of them went through anything like him. It would explain their eyes and build a lot.
Harry shook his head, oblivious to the whole other world he didn't know existed. America was a safe place, far from the reach of Voldemort's cruel actions. He doubted that anything big had happened. If there was a war happening in America, he would've known about it. Someone would've told him.
Things are normal in America, he thought to himself.
Snuggled in bed, Harry closed his eyes and let his body shut down, falling into a deep sleep, only to be awoken a few hours later by Percy's agonising screams.
Soon after that, everyone stirred from their slumber.
"Mate, what's going on?" Ron questioned tiredly, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. "Sounds like someone's been bloody murdered."
Harry shrugged and exited the room, pulling Ron with him. "Let's go see what's wrong."
They were in the garden when they saw it.
Percy was trembling, sweat glistening from his forehead, his mouth twitching.
Harry noticed that everybody else was there too. Hermione was with Annabeth, and Molly and Arthur sat next to Percy, the worry lines on their foreheads becoming obvious.
"What's happening?"
Annabeth seemed scared too. "Nightmares. I had some too, but they were the usual. Percy has a nightmare right now. We have PTSD."
"How do we wake him up?" Ron asked, astounded at the new information.
"Waking up a dem- I mean, waking up Percy during a nightmare can be dangerous. Everyone stay back. Annabeth can wake him up," Nico said.
Annabeth inched forward to Percy, calling out his name. She placed her hands on his arms and shook him with as much force as she could.
Percy pushed her hands away, shaking his head. He muttered to himself, his hands occasionally balling up into fists and then opening once again.
"Percy!" Annabeth yelled, shoving him.
He still didn't wake up, but seemed to look more agitated.
She continued to nudge, poke and prod him for several minutes before she finally shook him with even more might than the first one, sending him wide awake.
Percy gasped, sitting still, his hands shaking.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled as he caught his breath, knowing what he had done. "I didn't mean to."
Annabeth smiled at him tiredly. He pulled her into a hug, and for awhile, they just sat there.
"Does this happen often?" Molly asked softly, breaking the silence.
Annabeth pulled away from the hug and nodded. "Almost everyday."
The atmosphere was dark and quiet, and Percy looked uncomfortable that he had brought everyone out of their beds.
Molly seemed to notice this, so she broke into a bright smile. "Since everyone is awake, we might as well get ready for Hogwarts. We have to board the train in three hours."
Those who were going for a new year in Hogwarts groaned. Travis even looked at Percy pointedly, accusing him of making them get up earlier.
"Alright! I said I was sorry! It's not like I meant for it to happen!" Percy exclaimed, putting his arms up in defence.
"So... we just run into the wall?" Travis said, repeating Harry's words.
"Yeah. Should take you to the platform."
Percy tried to ignore the fact that Ron said "should", like something else could happen. It made him question yet another thing about wizards.
"Here goes, then."
One by one, Percy, Annabeth, Travis, Katie, Nico and the wizards passed through the barrier, the sight of the Hogwarts Express greeting them.
"Woah, how did it do that?" Annabeth said in awe.
Hermione straightened. "I read about it a few years back. It's quite fascinating, really. I'll show you in school."
"So how are we going to sit in the train?"
"Hermione, Ron, Ginny and I, as usual, and you guys can sit at the compartment next to us. Sounds good?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and set off to find empty compartments.
Once they were settled, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were left alone to talk about their new friends.
"It's weird how they're all dyslexic and ADHD, don't you think?" Ginny said.
"And they all speak Ancient Greek," Hermione added.
"They're all awfully strong, too."
"And the nightmares. They get those often. Why? What are they dreaming of?" Harry questioned, his brows furrowed.
"Look, they are pretty suspicious, but we can find that stuff out later. We can all agree to remain friends, right?" Hermione said.
"Yeah. What house do you think they'll be in?"
"Gryffindor, hopefully."
Everyone else agreed with Harry, their conversation drifting off elsewhere after that.
It had been almost an hour when Neville and Luna showed up.
"Where were you guys?"
"We tried to find you, but trouble got in the way," Luna said dreamily.
"What sort of trouble?"
"It doesn't matter. Who were the new students you were talking about in your letter, Ginny?" Neville inquired, changing to topic.
"Oh, they're in the compartment next to us. I'll introduce you guys," Ginny grinned as she got up from her seat, leading Luna and Neville to the compartment to their right.
She slid open the door and revealed four gagging teenagers, an open box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans next to them. Nico sat next to Katie, smirking as he was smart enough not to eat any of the beans.
"The only time I listen to you, Seaweed Brain, and I get a cheese jellybean," Annabeth sighed, shaking her head as she emptied her bottle of water.
Ginny cleared her throat. "Hey guys, I wanted you to meet my friends."
With everyone's attention on her, Ginny stepped aside. "This is Luna and Neville. Luna and Neville, meet-"
"Percy, Annabeth, Travis, Katie and Nico," Luna finished. "I know them."
"How?" Ginny spluttered in disbelief.
"She's from our camp," Percy grinned. "She went for three summers, but vanished last year. You missed out on a lot, Luna. We were starting to lose hope," he added the last part darkly.
"I'm aware. I got kidnaped last year, and things went crazy from there. Sorry I couldn't be there for you guys. I heard a lot from my friends back in camp. I IM'ed them."
"What's IM?" Neville asked confusedly.
"Instant message," Katie jumped in, thinking quickly.
"Okay?" Ginny said, raising a brow. "I'll leave you guys to catch up, then. Neville and I are heading back to the others."
As Ginny and Neville left, Luna took a seat next to Percy.
"How is Cabin Six doing?"
"I'm not sure. Without me, I don't know if they can handle things," Annabeth joked. "I'm kidding, things are good. We all miss you a lot, though. Maybe you can come back to camp after this!"
"That sounds great," Luna smiled. "Why are you guys here again?"
"Let's just say we're on another quest to save the world," Travis said. "The usual."