~Hazel~

This train ride was probably the most uncomfortable train ride I have ever been on. Getting on the train was fine, but for the sake of making friends with Hermione and Alexandra, we had to sit with girls in one compartment and boys in the other. I look out of the little windows on the door and stare into the boys compartment. They looked like they were having a great time. Inside our compartment, the tension was so thick that you could cut it with a spartha. Hermione seemed to be getting on well with Alexandra but Piper was still glaring daggers at Lily.

"So, Alexandra, how have you come to Hogwarts?"

Alexandra looks uncomfortable with Pipers question.

"My letter came in the mail. My mort- I mean, muggle father was surprised when I got the letter but he knew my mother was a witch. I never went to Lady Hecate's though."

Piper looks unsatisfied with Alexandra's answer.

"So Alexandra," I cut in to stop Piper from interrogating her. "can I call you Alex?"

Alexandra smiles at me gratefully.

"Sure."

Piper didn't interrogate Alex after that and we all got caught up in our conversations again until Hermione stumbled onto a dangerous topic.

"So Lily,"

Lily looked up from the gossip magazine she was reading.

"Why haven't you talked to us?"

Uh oh

Lily starts looking between Piper and I. I glance over at Piper with a look that says should we tell her? Piper nods discretely and we turn to look into Hermione's chocolate brown eyes. Piper takes a deep breath and starts

"At lady Hecate's, there was this girl called Annabeth. She had been there since she was seven so she was basically the heart of the school."

Hermione looks interested, that's a good sign, I think.

"All of us that came to Hogwarts, we all met Annabeth last year except for Percy, Nico and Lily. Lily met Annabeth about four months ago and Nico met Annabeth when he was ten but Percy's known her since she was twelve. Long story short, they started dating about two years ago."

Piper starts sniffing so I pick up the story.

"Two months ago, Lily pretended to be Annabeth to get Percy to kiss her. It worked and Annabeth saw them. Half an hour later, she was gone. No one knew where she went."

By know tears were pouring down my face and Hermione's face. Alexandra looks up with sympathy.

"I met Annabeth."

Those three words stopped all us girls in our tracks. Alexandra took a deep breath.

"I didn't actually go to Lady Hecate's, I learnt magic on my own. I ran into Annabeth once, she was being chased by a sphinx. I tried to help her but the sphinx got to her, and, well........."

She looked down at the floor, tears welling in her eyes. The silence consumed all the sound in the compartment. Annabeth was really gone. Piper suddenly stands up and rushes out of the compartment and straight into the boys compartment. As soon as she gets to Jason, she completely breaks down and collapses on top of him, clinging to him as if he was the only thing keeping her sane. Listening to Piper crying is like listening to Octavian trying to sing, it breaks your heart and makes you want to tear your ears off but you can't look away or forget the noise. We all just sit there in silence, no one moving a muscle. Even Leo stayed completely still.

We stay like that until a whistle sounds. Hermione wordlessly stands up and gets her trunk down. She pulls out her uniform and we do the same, Alexandra closing the compartment door quietly. We get dressed in silence and wait for Piper to come back. When she does, I hold out my arms and she starts sobbing again. She falls onto me and I stroke her hair, soothing her, calming her down the exact same way I did when Annabeth had first left. I shoo the other girls out of the compartment and help Piper get her robes on. When she's dressed, I let the girls back in and we just sit there in silence until the train comes to a shuddering stop. We all get off the train and are immediately caught up in the thick crowd, separated from each other in the ocean of students.

~Piper~

We got off at a charming village filled with bright lights and bursting with greenery. It was all beautiful, but the architectural designs made me think of Annabeth and thinking of Annabeth was painful. She was my best friend and now Alexandra tells us that she's dead. It's too much. I wipe away my tears on my black sleeve and look straight ahead. A large bearded man is waving his hand above his head yelling out

"Firs' years and exchange students here! Firs' years and exchange students here!"

The rest of the seven, Lily and Alexandra walk over to the bearded man with the first years so I think why the hades not? I blend in with the crowd as best as I could but trying to blend into a sea of kids who are five years younger than you is a little bit challenging.

(A/N - The seven now refer to the original seven [Minus Annabeth] and Nico)

We all board onto boats in groups of four. I hop in with a group of first years and I just stare at the water. One of the first years tap me on the shoulder and I turn around and meet a pair of big brown doe eyes.

"Hi! I'm Belinda! But you can call me Bee."

A small smile dances onto my lips.

"Hi Bee, my names Piper."

She giggles and tugs her friends forward. A little boy and another girl. The boy was like an elf, tall and willowy, while the girl was like a naiad. The boy waves at me and give him a small smile.

"I'm Logan."

The girl looks at me shyly.

"I'm Harmony."

She offers me a flower and tears well up in my eyes. They are so cute! Belinda climbs behind my back and starts braiding my hair. Harmony cuddles up next to me and Logan lays his head on my lap. I don't get why these kids trust me already, but for some reason I feel protective of them. I start stroking Logan's black hair and I wrap my arm around Harmony's slight shoulders. Belinda suddenly got bored of braiding my hair and snuggled up next to me as well, looking up at me with adoration in her big brown eyes. A chilly gust of wind blows through and the three kids shiver. I take off. my cloak and drape it over the kids, glaring at the Aurora Borealis twinkling cheerfully in the night sky. The boat sails on until we reach a curtain of ivy. I was so preoccupied with the kids that I missed the castle. Oh well, I'll see it later. As soon as we hit the dock, Belinda, Logan and Harmony drag me out of the boat towards the entrance. Behind me, I can hear the others laughing at me. Me, Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite and hero of Olympus is being dragged around like a rag doll by three eleven year olds. It's so ridiculous that after all I've been through, I've been 'defeated' by eleven year olds. When we get to the entrance, I give the kids a hug and head over to my friends. We chat for a few minutes before being led into the massive entrance hall. A stern looking woman leads the first years into a separate room, leaving the demigods in the hall. We wait in uncomfortable silence until the stern woman comes back.

"I am headmistress McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts."

She studies us all with her steely grey eyes. They land on Alexandra and a flash of recognition flutters onto her face.

"The start of term banquet will begin in a moment but you must all be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because........"

My ADHD got the better of me, all I heard was

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, Gryiffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, blah, blah, blah, blah, rule breaking will cost you points, blah, blah, blah, blah.

After she left, we all just waited. Then the doors slowly opened revealing my worst nightmare. Everyone looking at me.