Wow. It's been a long time. Well, technically sixteen days, but it feels like a really long time. I honestly don't know why it took that long. It's not even that good of a chapter.


Percy's POV

I walked out of the Great Hall with Raydon and Sophia at my side. Both of them were smiling nervously and I grinned. "So, we're going to compete with each other, huh?" Sophia smiled, "Yeah. So, did you patch things up with your girlfriend or not?" I nodded happily, "Of course." Raydon nudged me with his shoulder, "Annabeth? Don't ever let her go, man." I laughed, "If I did, she'd kill me." At the same time, my competitors said, "Then we'd kill you." I slung my arms around both of them, "This is gonna be a great tournament."

The teachers led us into Dumbledore's office, where the Headmasters and McGonagall were gathered. "Hello, champions," Dumbledore said, "The Goblet of Fire has graciously chosen you for our tournament. Please be aware that there is no backing out, and that this should be conducted with good sportsmanship." McGonagall swept her gaze over us, "Your first challenge will take place in little under a month. Please be prepared for anything that might come your way. Judges will be the headmasters and two others. Mr. Ludo Bagman has opted out of coming this year, so they will be-" She was cut off as two figures burst through the door. "Chiron!" I exclaimed, "And... Fred?" It was Apollo, but I shouldn't call him that in front of the wizards. "Percy," Apollo said, "I see you're doing well." Chiron's eyes turned stern, "Just because we know you, doesn't mean we'll go easy on you, m'boy. I need you at your best."

I grinned, "I wouldn't expect any less." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he whispered ominously, "Beware, champions. You may find this quite... beastly." As we were released by the Headmasters, I ran to Annabeth, who was still enjoying her dinner. She smiled, "Is it crazy that I knew you were going to get picked?" I shook my head, panting, "Not at all. Guess who's here." Annabeth shrugged, "Piper? Jason? Malcolm?" I was beyond excited, "Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Mr. Brunner." She almost fell off the bench. "If you're tricking me, Percy, I swear you will find my magical knife down your throat." Hermione rested her head on her hands, "Who's Mr. Brunner?" Annabeth said, "Practically my second father," at the same time as I said, "My mentor." Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "He must be really important." I sat down next to Annabeth and lowered my voice, "He trains heroes, guys. It's Chiron, the one from Greek Mythology." Ginny smiled, "That's cool. So when's the challenge gonna be?" I looked up at the ceiling, "Sometime mid-November. But I'm ready for anything they throw at me. Although, Dumbledore said something like, 'You'll find it quite... beastly.' Almost like it was a clue or something." Harry smiled, "What if it is a clue? Last year it was dragons. Maybe this time, it's something to do with beasts!" Hermione beamed, "That does sound like something Dumbledore would do. A hint. I'll head to the library and research some beasts for you. Coming?" I shook my head, stretching. "I'll just wing it. But you can shove your nose into some books if you want." Annabeth sighed, "You might as well leave him be, Hermione. Percy usually sees what the problem is and gets any background information he needs from me." I nodded, "Yup. How can I not? Annabeth always says to use my best resources. What better resource than the brain of a child of Athena?" She shoved me into Ron.

"Whaddya want, mate?" he asked with his mouth full, "Can't you see I'm trying to eat my pumpkin pasties?" His eyes flicked over my shoulder, narrowing in rage. He swallowed, "Viktor. How goes Quidditch?" I turned around. Raydon and his Headmaster were standing there with smiles on their faces. "It is going well, Ronald. Thank you for asking. This is my protege, Raydon. The best Seeker in the school, almost surpassing myself." Ron motioned to Harry, "This is our best seeker. Maybe they can go head to head sometime." Harry looked down at his food, embarrassed and guilty. He looked at me with hooded eyes. I knew that he knew I had purposely let him win. Which means he wasn't the best seeker in the school. I was. Harry might not even be second because Annabeth probably was. This could lead to some problems later. Harry smiled tightly, "Well, our first game against Hufflepuff is going to be in a week. Maybe you could drop by." Viktor wasn't even looking at him because he was too busy staring at a red-faced Hermione. He grinned distantly, "Of course, of course. Will I have the pleasure of cheering beside you, Hermione?" Hermione was stunned, "Y-You said my name right." Viktor nodded, "I have been striving to get it right ever since I met you. I've been practicing, hoping this moment would come." Raydon leaned toward me, "It's really very creepy and mildly stalkerish. A grown man repeating the same word into a mirror over and over again?" He shuddered playfully. I laughed, quickly stifling it as Viktor turned his gaze to me. "You seem like a very competent rival for Raydon. I hope you do well." I tilted my head. Was that supposed to be a compliment? Nevertheless, I smiled, thanking him. As he walked away, Hermione sighed. I wiggled my eyebrows, "Headmaster seems to like you a lot, Hermione." Ron huffed angrily, "Well, too bad for him." Hermione looked taken aback, "Excuse me, Ronald?" He quickly stuffed his face with a Pumpkin Pasty. "Nothing," he muttered, "Nothing at all." Hermione stood, "It wasn't nothing. What do you want, Ron?" Ron stood as well, "I don't want to talk about it!" Hermione's eyes narrowed, "Then why did you bring it up?" Ron's face turned as red as his hair, and he backed down from Hermione's accusatory gaze, "No reason."

Hermione's anger slowly subsided and she stared at him, "You're talking to me about this later. Do you hear me, Ronald Weasley? Later." He nodded meekly, as if he was being scolded by his mother. I, not as dense as people think I am, knew exactly what was happening here. Hermione, who was supposed to be the smartest person ever besides Annabeth, was in the dark. This must be how my girlfriend felt all of the time. Knowing a secret no one else did was kind of exhilarating. I peeked over at Annabeth, whose eyes were sparkling. Well, knowing a secret no one else did besides Annabeth was exhilarating. I didn't want to prance around shouting Ron's secret to the world, but Piper was probably going to find out through Annabeth.

Anyways, I was really pumped by the time dinner was over, and didn't even know if I would be able to sleep. I never expected that the second my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

<*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*>

I woke up in the middle of the night. The moon was covered in clouds and the dim light that penetrated the room showed me the emptiness of Ron's bed. Panicked, I ran out of the dormitory and stopped at the top of the stairs. Sitting across each other on the couches, were Ron and Hermione. 

"What was that scene at lunch about, Ronald?" Hermione was demanding. Ron sighed, "Viktor." Hermione sat back, "What about Viktor?" Ron looked away, "He's very clingy." Hermione rolled her eyes, "I think it's sweet. And what's that got to do with you?" Ron met Hermione's furious eyes with his own and muttered, "You're one of my best friends. I'm allowed to be protective." She didn't know what to say to that. However, she got up and sat next to Ron, who suddenly became a rather vibrant shade of red. When the silence started to eat away at my ears, I jumped back into my bed. 

I can't deal with their lovey-doveyness right now. I've got a tournament to think about. I really hope it's got nothing to do with drakons, because that would be really bad. Especially the Lydian Drakon, which can only be killed by an Ares child. That wasn't even the only problem because they could also do things like spit poison and breath fire. Not to mention their hide was as tough as five sheets of celestial bronze stacked on top of each other.

Time skip time to the Quidditch match in November. Flying brooms and wizards and quaffles and snitches and Time Skips. The works.

Annabeth and I held our Pegasus Five Million brooms in our hands, ready for our Quidditch game. Admittedly, we were a little wary of what was to come. Harry says he has no idea who would be on the Hufflepuff team this year, but he was confident of our victory, less so of his own Seeker skills.

I glanced at the sky, the clear, blue, cloudless sky. I knew that with one misstep, I could be fried by lightning and no one would ever know what actually happened except the demigods. But he promised. It's not like godly promises from Zeus mean much, but he promised.

Harry cleared his throat, getting our attention. He smiled, a confident smile that I had never seen on him before. "Look," he said, "It's our first game of the season and the team from last year has been almost completely replaced. But we've got people who work great together. And a team like this will go straight to the top. Kenneth, David, just do your thing. Don't freak out, alright?" David's eyes shone with determination, ready to do whatever it took. Kenneth, on the other hand, was this close to completely freaking out. I pat his shoulder, "Dude, chill. It's just a game. Besides, sometimes we all need a bludger to the head." He let out a chuckle. A pained chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless.

Harry thrust his broom into the air, "Let's go!" The Gryffindor Quidditch team streamed onto the field as the Hufflepuffs did the same from the other side. Harry and the Captain of the Hufflepuff team shook hands and we took to the sky. Luna was at the microphone, the roaring lion on her head clearly representing a nonbiased announcer. 

She smiled dreamily as the Quaffle, snitch, and Bludgers were launched in the air. Both bludgers raced on my tail like a pair of hellhounds trying to rip out my guts. I saw the quaffle get snatched away by Ginny and the Snitch dart out of my line of sight. Under the sound of the wind blowing at my face and the lion hat, I heard Luna relay the events for the crowd. I took a sharp turn and watched as the iron cannonballs got smacked in opposite directions by Kenneth and David. My eyes snapped forward and I caught the quaffle seconds before it hit my face. Annabeth pulled up beside me, "Pay attention, Seaweed Brain!" I nodded and raced toward the left hoop, pulling one of those tricks I had done during tryouts. As my arm swung toward the left hoop, drawing the Keeper in, my wrist snapped to the right, hurtling towards Annabeth, who caught it and chucked it through the right hoop. The crowd cheered loudly, and Luna whispered, "And the first point to the Gryffindors." I high fived Annabeth and scanned my surroundings once again.

Harry was frantically looking for the Snitch, and couldn't seem to find it. My eyes wandered towards the bleachers, where Viktor Krum was more focused on Hermione than the game. I shook my head. World renowned seeker can't even tell there's a snitch floating right over his shoulder. It flitted away to the podium, where it was lost behind the huge lion hat. Honestly, Skittle's fashion choice could have been better. 

The Hufflepuff team was actually pretty good. The score was seventy to fifty, with us in the lead. I shook off the last shreds of fear I still had for the sky and completely focused on the game. The seekers were still flying around the posts, unable to locate the tiny golden snitch. I felt a tingling on the back of my neck and the broom worked for me. It swung me upside down, only hanging on by my hands and knees and I felt the air as a bludger shot right past, only inches from my nose. I looked at the crushed expression of the Hufflepuff beater, whose face had obviously gone from pride to disappointment in one quick second. As I swung right side up and caught a quaffle, Harry and the other Seeker shot past on either side of me, clearly in pursuit of the Snitch. I knew I had my own end of the game to hold up, and Annabeth and Ginny were in position for a clean shot.

I threw the Quaffle to Ginny, who was behind a chaser, and raced forward, Kenny and David weaving around the players to beat away Bludgers. As the shot went through the hoop, I turned around to see Harry in a nosedive on his broom. I wondered what he could possibly be doing racing towards the ground when the snitch was far above our heads, and watched him pull off a maneuver that the Hufflepuff player couldn't duplicate. I listened for Luna's commentary, hearing, "And Harry pulls off the Wronski Feint! A great play by the Gryffindor seeker!" Well, the Wonky-Faint was pretty spectacular, I guess. Within moments, the snitch was in Harry's clenched fist and the game had been won. 

We flew to the ground and were bombarded by Hermione, who hugged the whole team. I laughed at Ron's face, which was as red as his Gryffindor robes. Viktor watched from the side, a frown on his face before he covered it with a grin. "What a great move, Harry. You could be a professional seeker one day." Of course, he went on to ruin it by saying, "Raydon could have pulled that off in his sleep. Maybe one day you will be as good as him." Self-doubt flickered on his face, but he was diplomatic and said, "One can only hope." Viktor clapped him on the back and walked away as Raydon shook his head. He smiled exasperatedly at me and followed his headmaster away from us.

Ron slung his arm around Harry, "Don't listen to him, mate. That was downright amazing." Our group walked to the Gryffindor Common Rooms, where Hermione said, "I've done some research on some beasts for you, Percy." I raised my eyebrows, "Why? There are tons of them. I told you. I'll figure something out as I go along." She shook her head, planting a thick book in front of me. My eyes widened, "I hate to break it to you, 'Mione, but I'm still dyslexic and this is still English." I lowered my voice, "Besides, I've got tons of experience with monsters." Her eyes turned pleading, "Come on, Percy! It can't hurt to be prepared." I glanced at Annabeth, who was watching us with an amused expression. She smiled teasingly, "Well, Percy, you and that book have a nice life together. We'll leave you alone now." I caught her hand, "Don't leave me with that thing, Wise Girl!" She smiled, "Okay. But we're going to have to think about the challenge sometime." I beamed, "Of course! When the challenge starts, duh." 

She slapped me upside the head and held my hand as we walked around Hogwarts. "You know, I said, "I think we did pretty great in that Quidditch match." Annabeth smiled cheekily, "Yeah. Well, after you stopped being afraid of the sky, that is." I glared at her, "Hey! You would be scared out of your mind if there were flying spiders during that match, too." She glared back, only to shake her head. "And that's why spiders can't fly, Seaweed Brain." I wiggled my eyebrows, "But what if they could?" She swatted my arm, "Then you'd just have to kill them for me." 

I took another step and suddenly I was skidding. I was jerked out of Annabeth's grip as I slid along the floor on one foot. I crashed to the ground, groaning. I lifted my hand and saw some kind of melted material all over my sleeves and palm. "Dude, that's gross," I complained, "What is this stuff, anyway?" Annabeth was still behind me, her eyes locked on the far wall of the hallway. Or at least, that's what it looked like she was staring at. I glanced back at her, "Wise Girl? Helloooo? Anybody in there?" Her hand was on the hilt of her dagger, not a good sign. Suddenly there was a rancid puff of air on my face. I slowly looked up and saw the head of a monster, it's mouth open and it's dagger sharp teeth bared. 

Or should I say heads?