When the train had finally stopped, the wizards gasped of relief, including Pansy. "I wouldn't have been able to bear just another second with you." Blaise breathed freely. "I just say, this urge to move is nearly scary."

I sticked out my tongue at him, Clarise gave a knock with her fist on his head. But then nothing held me back anymore and I stormed, Clarisse and Hazel behind me, out of this dam train. The train station was tiny and full of students, who were chatting excitedly.

One figure was bunching out of the crowd in particular: a huge man with a lantern and such a bushy beard that you were only able to surmise about his face. Or if he even had one. Who could know that nowadays? I felt, how Hazel and Clarise next to me were stiffening and it would have been lied, if I had said, that I hadn't reacted the exact same way when spotting this obviously integrated half-giant. That I hadn't took a hold on my pen to kill him even though he was friendlily and happily yelling "First years to me!"

The only thing, that prevented us from continuing standing there with our hands on our weapons (Hazel had storaged her Spatha in a cumbersome backpack, in which she was grasping its hilt tightly) or to even lash out at the half-giant and to slaughter him in front of innocent children's eyes, was Pansy. She flicked her fingers and broke the tension and murmured: "Hagrid is okay."

"Isn't this-?", Clarisse started, still ready to attack, while Hazel was already drawing her hand out of her rucksack again, her eyes lowered in shame.

"A half-giant? Yes", Blaise confirmed.

"But you see, he is integrated well, so don't be this racist." Draco was faltering weirdly at the "racist", so his negging ended sounding like an Ember Chantal Jaqueline tried to scold us.

Gregory turned his head askingly, the rest of us looked askant at him. "As if you'd be such a goody two-shoes, Draco, darling", Pansy scoffed protectively. After all she was able to reconstruct our reaction, even though it had been exaggareted. We would have to pull ourselves together in future and maintain our composure or we would get busted at the end of the week at the latest.

 Awkardly, Draco rubbed his neck. "Indeed, I am not, no. But I wanted to improve." Okay, sounded like somebody had a tragic past, shaped of wrong decisions. But the wizards had gone through a war, this wasn't anything surprising.

War was one bad decision, mostly at least. And a decision, you had made in times of war could be the right for the moment, but the wrong long-sighted.

Grumbling pupils pushed and shoved around us, clearly not delectated about us partly blocking the way. But because of their pissed carping, it was loud enough to prevent Draco's muttered confession. Probably he had told us because of this; Draco didn't seem like a person, who wore his heart on his sleeve.

"But if you have decided to change your behaviour or at least to change or overthink your mindset, this already is a huge step into the right direction", tried Hazl to cheer up Blondie. "After all, you have to question your believings in the first place and if you are so critical, you even notice, when you are acting wrong, this is something very good." She smiled at him.

"Also you don't have to feign, such a change comes in little steps", Blaise added. I nodded affirmingly.

"Okay. If I, when I have seen Hagrid for the first time, had immediately noticed what he is and been already capable of a few jinxes, I would have hexed him into oblivion." Draco shrugged. "But he hasn't ever done something condemnable, except for the one time, when he has sicked that malicious hippogriff on me. Or that homicide dragon, he has kept in his hut. Or-"

"Don't you dare to speak fowl of Hagrid, Malfoy!", somebody suddenly growled. It was a skinny boy with messy, black hair, pretty, green eyes, round glasses and scar on his forhead. It flashed out between his untamed streaks and shaped like a lightning.

"Boah! Do you have a Pokémon? Ash has such lightnings on his cheeks and Pikachu! Cool, a real Pokétrainer!" Judging by the boys look, I had once more been too heady but it wouldn't have surprised me, if in the next moment a still unknown Pokémon had appeared, which was reserved for wizards. Like a Won-Won or something.

But it was only a tall, wiry boy with long nose, flaming red hair and freckles, who was coming out from behind the non-Pokétrainer. However, he had been really good in hiding himself, because I hadn't noticed him despite his striking height and beacon on his head. "What's a Pocket-mon?"

Pansy hid a chuckle, while Hazel, Blondie, Blaise and Gregory were totally confused. Even though they weren't parading it, I was able to read it in their eyes. I looked like this quite often myself after all.

Clarisse gobbed to the ground. "Let's go." She grabbed Hazel and me by the stacking swivel and dragged us behind her. Our train mates were following us, ignoring the hostile glares, which were thrown at us, and the furious whispering. Either nobody of them were really liked here or nearly everybody had something against poor Gregory.

Finally we stood in front of some carriages, which were drawn by skeletal horses with bat wings. If Nico was a horse, he would be one like these; he was just much too lean, quite like these steeds, which only seemed to consist of rips. But Will was taking care of Nico, so he wouldn't loose even more weight.

All horses stared at us rididly. Blaise shuddered at this sight. The steed, which was the closest to me, turned its dragon-like head so it was able to pin me down with its milky white eyes. They reminded me of recent bones but as soon as the head started to move, they were capturing the little amount of light and were shimmering quite like nacre.

They were gorgeous. And they had to do something with death.

Perseus Jackson, it susurrated airily in my mind. You have seen too much deaths. Too much. The voice was manly and smelled like decaying autumn leaves - I hadn't known, that an odour was clinging to voices.

How do you mean that?, I asked the reptile-like animal.

You are in the age of a child, the creature breathed. We don't send our children on battle fields to die. Stay with us, young Perseus. Don't become like your ancestors.

I drew back. Wherefrom did creature know from my fate? And what did it want to do, if I went with them?

"You are also seeing the Thestrals?", Draco asked, his voice tired. Pansy lowered her gaze heavy-heartedly - she had experienced the War of Time too, seen true friends die. Over every face flitted an expression of sorrow, Gregory's mixed with deep haggardness, veiling his eyes to an anguished fawn.

Of course, the Thestral in the front chose this very moment to bow his head and leg. You are free to come visit our herd always, little Perseus. You are welcomed and accepted.

Okay..., I answered after a breif glance to the uninitiated wizards next to me. The were first and foremost confused but I also sensed the suspicious humming of the wizards behind us. Fortunately they weren't too numerous, maybe six.

And deliver this message to the daughter of death: The dark master isn't lying about the changeling's location.

So Frank wasn't dead?

"Will you enter in some time or do you still want to teach the Thestrals how to bake?", somebody behind us hollered.

The foremost Thestral rose and spreaded its bat wings. The picture this formed was so majestic and at the same time so grotesque and eery that my breath was taken away. If Thanatos would ever be tired of flying, he could use this carriage without any fear for his image. It was emitting the same frightening beauty like Pansy just in a much bigger measure.

At the same time an until now totally unknown feeling of certainty was flooding me. I suddenly felt that these creatures would obey me unconditionally, that Ihad a special connection with them. With a pleasant, nearly ecstatic shiver I sensed the bond between the herd and I, felt their outrage and alienation about rude interjection, their deverence and pride, the boredom of those, which were aleady drawing the pupils to Hogwarts, which was towering as an impressive silhouette with well-lit windows above us.

"Let's go", I decided with an unusual dark but still flamboyant voice.

Slowly, the idea formed, that I might be drugged. Or my godly abilties had once more been uplevelt, as if I was the Pokémon. Tones dividing after colour and smell? Why not?

All of my companions started moving. Was it because of my lucent voice? Was I in the siren mode again?

Nearly like controlled remotely, they filled the first, then the second carriage. Until only Draco and I were left of our group. I asked myself, how amateurish I had pseudo-hypnotized my friends so they would use the space inside the carriages this wastefully. They had occupied two carriages as four people. Now, after Draco and I had entered the carriage, there was still more then enough space. Exspectantly I looked at the few, who were still waiting so they could sit in a carriage but it didn't seem like anybody was interested in a funny ride with us.

Whispering surged, I heard words like "traitor", "scary", "poor Ernie", "unworthy" and "deatheater". The last one Blondy had mentioned instead of a greeting in the train, or at least he had started to do so. It sounded, like this term was afflicted very negatively. Maybe the members of a cult called themselves like this? Maybe they were worshipping Thanatos and eating really much?

The other possibility, which came into my mind, was far more gross: It could be about a cult of death, in which cannibalism and the consumption of dead were playing an important role.

I looked at Draco, who was staring forward unseeingly with glassy eyes. But his eyes became clearer every second so I didn't have to worry about him.

"May I please sit with you?", cheeped a little voice. It belonged to a girl, who was built like a nightstand: small, with a quite quadratic torso, compact. Her hair was even coloured in a woody shade, just as her eyes.

I nodded and forced a smile on my lips, one of those, which seemed more genuine than some real. And at the same time I hated myself because I had become such a dishonest, emotional cripple.

Why hadn't I just shut the door of the carriage instead of luring an innocent girl to my amateurish hypnotized victim and I, a devious nearly-god? Since when was I having the face of a mendacious manipulator, who was able to paste every emotion into his face, no matter how miserable he was feeling right now? Why had Zeus done this to me?

No, that was wrong, right was: Why did I let him do this to me?

In presence of these thoughts and the fact, that I probably wouldn't see Annabeth ever again, maybe I should just overthrow Zeus. Hack him into pieces and feed them to Mrs O'Leary. Perhaps I would even do something good then...

The carriage sauntered in a silence, even I in my not so friendly form found a bit uncomfortable. Especially because the girl was breathing so restleesly and heavily. Probably it had just noticed that it was trapped with a murderer and a blond in little space.

"Are you okay? What's your name?" I took as much as possible of my voice's dark blaze of colours and tried to sound as happy as possible so she would feel comfortable and wouldn't throw herself out of the carriage while screaming.

"E-Eaven Demetra O'Malley", she stuttered, while blushing heavily.

"Demetra in the meaning of: Devotee of Demeter?" She nodded shyly. "Cool. I even know a Demeter. She would certainly feel honoured when meeting you." A little smile lit her face.

"And I am fine." She had a little gap between her front teeth and freckles.

"She is nervous, if you haven't noticed it yet", Blondie rebuked me. "She will be sorted just before dinner, of course this has an impact on her mood and her breathing."

"Aha."

Then it was quiet once again. I wasn't sure yet, if I should like Draco or not. But he had a pretty neck.

Why had I just thought this? This sounded really weird, even for me. Help... Probably it had just happend because I was so hungry. Yeah. Well, I was really hungry. Like it wanted to confirm this, my stomach growled like I had an angry Nemean lion in there.

"Hopefully we will be in the castle, before your stomack attacks. Then it can at least eat Potter." Draco was examining my belly, Eaven was giggling. 

With curious eyes, she asked Blondie: "Don't you like Harry Potter? I mean, he has killed You Know Whom."

Draco rose a brow tauntingly. "I am Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Well, and?", Eaven peeped tentatively. "You don't have to hate each other because of this. Nothing is standing between you anymore. Only the walls you have built yourselves."

Draco relaxed, his face softened, nearly showed vulnerability. "Maybe you are right. Just look after your pure heart so nobody will poison it."

With red cheeks, she nodded. "Okay."

Again silence set in, in which Draco was examining the girl and I him. But it still didn't give me any clue, if I should like him or not.

Okay, I'll be honest: In the moment, he had said to Eaven, she should take care of herself, I had decided to like him. I was just totally weird right now.

"Has anybody ever said to you, that you look like a ferret, Draco? 'Cause you totally do." Why did I just say this? Even though it was right, he didn't need to know, I guess. Well, at least I hadn't wanted to be the one to explain this to him.

Draco huffed snittily and turned away with his nose high in the air. "Do you know, that you are resembling a guinea pig, Percy?"

Now I was the one, sniffing huffily and crossing my arms, even though I knew it was quite childish.

"Men", I heard Eaven whisper nearly annoyedly and had to smile reluctantly.