I'd just like to say thanks for all the jokes! I loved 'em!
:D
Now, a short epilogue to satisfy those of you hungry for more (or at least to try).
Hermione
Hermione, Harry, and Ron were up late, Hermione trying to help them study for a DADA test, and Harry and Ron spacing out and enchanting their quills to fight. They were already two months into the school year, and Hermione was deep in overdrive to get ready for their exams.
"Would you two please take this seriously? You're going to fail if you don't pay attention," Hermione scolded. Ron sighed and leaned back on the couch.
"Fine, fine," he relented, his quill dropping from the air.
"Snape gives us a test every other week, it's ridiculous," Harry complained. Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but a familiar voice interrupted her.
"Hello? Can you guys hear me?" Annabeth said through the shimmering Iris message. All three of them looked at her with jaw dropped expressions.
"Annabeth? What-why..." Hermione stammered.
"Hey, good. I need to ask you something important," she said, frustration in her voice. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail and she looked exhausted.
"What is it?" Harry wondered.
"Have you seen Percy? Or heard from him at all?"
"Uh, not since you guys left," Ron said slowly. Hermione frowned.
"Why? What's the matter?"
Annabeth pressed her index finger and thumb into the corner of her eyes. "Percy's missing. I've looked everywhere for him, I thought maybe... I don't even know," she muttered.
"He's missing?" Harry asked.
"For a week now," she nodded. "No one's seen him or heard from him. I can't get a hold of him over Iris messaging, he just up and disappeared." Her voice sounded frustrated, but behind the veil of anger Hermione could see how worried she really was.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione said softly. Annabeth cleared her throat.
"Don't be sorry. It's not like it's your fault," she said, shrugging her shoulder. "I have to go. I'll... I'll call you if I find out anything more," she said.
The image faded away. All three of them were silent.
"Do you think he's okay?" Ron finally wondered.
"I'm sure he is," Hermione said, though her voice wavered slightly. A week and no one had seen him. Hermione shook away the horrible thoughts that were entering her mind. Percy was strong. He'd be okay.
"Let's close the books for the night," Hermione said, her voice heavy. They put their books away and made their way up to the rooms in silence.
The time after Annabeth's first call felt like an eternity. She kept thinking about what had become of her American friends. It wasn't until another month had passed until they got word about what had happened.
"I had the craziest dream last night," Ron said at breakfast. Hermione looked up at him. There was no possibility of his being stranger than hers. "I saw Annabeth, and she was telling me they found Percy."
"I had that dream" Harry and Hermione exclaimed in unison. The three of them stared at each other in disbelief.
"You don't think that actually was..."
"Maybe..."
"Stranger things have happened."
"Much stranger."
Tying it up with the storyline of Heroes of Olympus.
Before I delve into thank you's and a final sign off, two things.
The sub-plot of Annabeth worrying about the Fates can be interpreted 2 different ways. One of them is relating to the prophecy in Harry Potter between Harry and Voldemort, almost as if it truly is up to Harry who wins and who dies. (I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't finished the HoO books and are planning to, so PM me for the second.)
2) I beg you, if you enjoyed this story, please check out my others.
It's all pretty surreal to me that this is over. I mean, I never thought I could achieve something of this magnitude that has been seen by so many people. This has given me such amazing confidence.
Over the past year, a lot of stuff has happened in my life, stuff that may not seem big to some people, but has changed my entire reality. Sometimes it's hard to say everything is okay, that nothing is wrong, and to keep smiling, but when I get an email saying someone added my story to their alert, or added ME to their alert, I get this amazing feeling inside. When someone takes the time to write a review to say they love my story, I feel like what I love to do actually matters to someone. I actually feel like I may know what I want to do with the rest of my life (which is a pretty big statement). When I read a positive review, a part of me says 'If this is what I can get at the end of a day, then one more frustrating day won't be that bad'). I actually keep all those alert emails in a folder on my email where they are currently taking up a lot of computer space, but I'll never delete them.
I want to thank Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling (though I know neither of them will be reading this any time soon). You two are my biggest inspirations for writing. You have made me see the magic in reading. I aspire to have so many people read my work as they have and to have the dedication to their fans and their writing. Your characters are amazing and a huge thanks for "lending" them to me.
I want to say a huge thank you to every single one of you. From the ones who were with this story from the very beginning, to the ones that powered through to be caught up for the next update, to the ones who are stumbling across this story a year from now. Each view, each review, each favourite or follow makes the frustrating writers block all worth while. I know I'm probably being repetitive, but it's because I don't know how well words can express the gratitude I feel. I feel like I'm a part of something bigger than I could ever imagine.
So, thank you. It's been amazing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~I find these pretty~~~~~~~~~~~~
~flabbergastedbaboom