Chapter 5

Annabeth

Upon their entrance into what Piper earlier told Annabeth was "number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London", old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy, hallway, where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. Annabeth noticed that both the chandelier and the candelabras were shaped like serpents. Some showed two intertwined serpents that Annabeth thought greatly resembled those on Hermes' staff.

Right in front of her, she saw Frank staring at one of the old portraits. It was one of a sleeping pale-looking lady with thick black hair and a gaunt face. Suddenly, the lady's eyes shot open and cold, black pupils glared at Frank's. He gave a silent scream and jumped away from the portrait, shocking Annabeth along the process.

"Be quiet, boy!" growled Moody, who was ahead of them.

"S-sorry, th-that lady…" Frank whispered.

Hazel placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him in the dim light. "That's alright, now let's move on," she said.

The lady was creepy, even Annabeth was still trying to calm herself down as she tightened her grip of Percy's hand, his thumb caressing her hand to provide comfort. Anyone would've been scared, especially if that person didn't expect the portrait to move. Annabeth looked at another portrait, and in this one, she saw two men whispering to one another. The next portrait was empty. Fascinating, she thought.

At the far end of the hallway, a short and rather plump red-haired woman emerged from a door and welcomed them. She introduced herself as Molly Weasley, and due to Annabeth's intelligence and strong memory, she immediately knew that the lady must be Ronald Weasley's – Harry Potter's best friend – mother. Although Mrs. Weasley's greetings were short and hurried, they were warm and motherly. She even gave each of the seven demigods a rib-cracking hug after giving one to Harry, like as if she automatically decided she would take care and be responsible for them the moment they walked in.

Mrs. Weasley then turned to the adults and whispered urgently, "He's here, the meeting's started…"

The witches and wizards suddenly became excited and quickly walked past the teenagers to the room from which Mrs. Weasley came out.

The eight teenagers looked at each other and made to follow the man called Lupin, but Mrs. Weasley held them back.

"No, children, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Now, go on, up the stairs, first door on the right. Ron and Hermione are upstairs. And for the seven of you, first two doors on the left, one for the boys and one for the girls. Do make yourselves at home, you can all settle down and wait until the meeting's over and then we'll all have dinner," she said in an urgent whisper before gently pushing them towards the staircase.

With Harry in the lead, then Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy, they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall.

"What in Tartarus are these?!" shrieked Leo in disgust.

Harry took a closer look and said with a scrunched-up nose, "House-elves, I reckon." They continued walking.

"House-elves? What—" Leo started, but stopped abruptly when he saw Hazel giving him a we-are-supposed-to-know-what-they-are look.

"Oh, uh, right, house-elves. Ew," Leo said nervously with a sheepish smile.

Annabeth rolled her eyes before looking around again. What on earth were they doing in a house that look as though it had been placed in Tartarus and back? Well, although it smelled bad inside, it didn't have the same pungent, poisonous air of Tartarus. But still, everything inside the house looked dead. And they called this the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix?

They eventually reached the second landing and the seven demigods approached the first door on the left while Harry waited for them to enter their rooms.

Jason opened the old, rickety door and took a look inside.

"Three single beds, must be the girls' room," said Jason, stepping aside to make way for Piper, Hazel and Annabeth.

"We'll see you guys later," said Hazel to the boys before closing the door.

Annabeth took in the sight of the room. The room was quite large and oval in shape. On the right side, three old four-poster beds were placed against the wall. As Annabeth looked around, she noticed that the room's theme colour seemed to be silver and green. The beds were all covered in light grey and forest green bedcovers and comforters. All the posts were silver in colour, with metallic serpents coiled around them. The large rug in the centre of the room was green too, but its shape looked like some sort of crest. She was barely able to make out some intricate designs at the side of the crest, and in the centre of it, Annabeth noticed the faded outline of a silver snake. The letters S, L, T, R, and N were hardly visible. An old, broken-down set of chair and table was placed at the far corner of the room, just before a wide window that was covered with worn-out curtains. A fireplace was installed on the left wall and the fire was lit. In fact, it was the only source of light for the room – the gas lamps weren't functioning. Annabeth was thankful for the fire, as it gave the room a warm glow, making it cozier and far less creepy.

'What a really nice room,' Piper said sarcastically.

Suddenly, the room felt snug and comfortable, and Annabeth was starting to believe what Piper said.

Hazel took a pillow from the nearest bed and jokingly threw it at Piper. "I can't believe you just charmspoke us!" said Hazel with a mock gasp before laughing.

"Yeah, I was actually starting to believe the room was very welcoming and safe! Even a part of me was thinking of moving in," Annabeth groaned in disgust.

Piper burst out laughing. "Loosen up a bit, girls. I feel so tired and depressed, and this house is not helping at all," Piper sighed.

Hazel agreed, "You're right. It's been a really long day."

They fell into a momentary silence, Annabeth thinking of how much have happened within the span of one day. Just that morning, she was sparring with some of the Campers, enjoying the peace that finally settled amongst them. The Stoll brothers were as mischievous as ever, but they were thankful for the happiness they carried with them every time. Then before Annabeth knew it, she was off on another quest with her friends, fighting soul-consumers, flying on a broomstick to a secret house that could appear and disappear upon will. She made a mental note to ask someone or look it up should she find a library in this creepy house. It was amazing, really, how they were able to, in a way, warp a house into literal invisibility and nothingness to the outside world. It seemed impossible, but at the same time, she was dealing with magic, so she wasn't all that surprised. She was excited to learn about this… kind of architecture.

Piper suddenly gasped. "I have first dibs on the bed furthest from the door!" shrieked Piper, running to the innermost bed.

"Middle one's for me!" Annabeth quickly added.

Both girls suppressed their laughter as they saw Hazel glared at them. "Seriously?"

They both laughed. "Oh, come on, this room's not that bad, and I mean it this time. This room just requires some fixing and cleaning. Plus, the combination of the silver and green is surprisingly comforting," commented Piper.

Suddenly, they heard a muffled scream from the other side of the hall. They immediately recognized Harry's voice. From what they could hear, his tone indicated he was in the middle of what seemed like an argument.

"Wonder what happened," muttered Hazel.

The other girls shrugged, just as clueless. "Let's just settle down for now," suggested Piper.

Annabeth brought in her backpack a few sets of her most comfortable clothing, and just like the other demigods, an adequate amount of ambrosia and two bottles of nectar. The girls didn't have anything much to unpack, so they just placed their backpacks by their beds.

They simply lied down on their respective beds afterwards, finally able to take a breath after their long journey from Camp Half-Blood.

Just then, a knock came on the door but before any of the girls had the chance to get up, Leo and the other boys barged into the room. Typical boys, thought Annabeth.

"Ugh, your room is much better than ours! Same layout and colour and all, but I found a dead rat under my pillow. Disgusting!" Leo made a face.

Everyone laughed, but eventually it died down, as if reminded that they were on a quest. Annabeth wasn't excited to return to a world where war and terror still lingered, especially after escaping a major one herself, and she knew the others felt just the same way. But at the same time, she knew they couldn't just turn a blind eye when they were aware help was needed. It may have been stupid to put oneself in danger's way, but sometimes, it was simply the right thing to do.

"So, what now?" asked Hazel, proving Annabeth's guess to be true – they were all thinking about the quest. "We're here, and I'm tired," she continued.

"So am I. Can we just go to sleep straight away? It's been a long day," agreed Frank.

Jason sighed. "I know. We all are. I want to do nothing but sleep. But from what we saw downstairs just now, Harry was curious. And he would most probably receive his answers during dinner later. I just don't think it would be a good idea for us to miss such information."

"Jason's right," Percy groaned. "We'll have to wait for a bit."

All of a sudden, there came a loud pop and before they were able to find the source of the voice, redheaded teenage twins appeared before the seven demigods.

"Why the long faces, mates?" said the one on the right.

"Hmm, I don't know Gred, perhaps it was the dead rat we placed under one of the pillows in the other room," suggested the other twin.

Leo gasped and was about to say something when the first twin cut in.

"Just kidding! It wasn't really a dead rat –"

"It was an artificial dead rat!"

"The house was too gloomy, so to cheer everyone up –"

" – we thought we could use a small prank," shrugged the second one.

"And judging from the girly scream we heard from –"

" – the room, it seemed to turn out well. So thanks –"

" – and you're welcome. Messrs.' Gred –"

" – and Forge –"

" – at your service!" they said in unison with a mock bow.

The seven demigods stared at the pair with shocked looks on their faces. It was amazing how they were able to complete each other's sentences, knowing exactly what their twin was thinking or about to say. Annabeth couldn't imagine how they would survive in this world should something happen to the other.

But Annabeth knew who the twins reminded everyone of – the Stoll brothers. They were true pranksters at heart, always managing to lift everyone's moods at the most depressing of times. Annabeth was able to sense that same quality in the twins before her, and she was glad to have them around.

Percy soon broke the silence, suddenly all awake and fresh. "Dude, how did you do that appearing thing? You have got to teach me how to teleport!" he said in awe.

"Apparate, you mean?" the one called 'Forge' spoke up, before putting an arm across Percy's shoulders.

"Well first of all, Mister Harry-look-alike," Percy rolled his eyes at that as Gred went to Percy's right side and slung an arm, "You will have to be seventeen years of age!" Gred smirked.

"B-b-but I am sev–" Percy started, only to be cut off by Annabeth.

"Fifteen years old," Annabeth pressed on the word 'fifteen', reminding Percy of Chiron's instructions.

"R-right. Fifteen. Yeap, too young for it." Percy returned to Annabeth's side, trying to laugh it off. "Damn," he whispered only for the demigods to hear, "and Nico still gets to go from one place to another like that!"

The demigods chuckled, knowing that what he said was true. Annabeth did feel quite sorry for Percy, as he was seventeen but had to act like he was fifteen.

"So, what brings you kids here?" asked the one called Forge.

"As much as we are aware of, only we Weasleys, Hermione and Harry know of this place," supported Gred.

"And you guys are American Exchange Students, no less!"

"One does not simply find the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, you know, let alone know of the Order."

Frank spoke up. "We were just told to go to Mrs. Figg's house earlier today by our Principal," he shrugged. "He's pretty good friends with your Headmaster, Dumbledore. Whatever happened after that, we had no idea of what or why."

Piper immediately changed the subject. "Anyway, what happened to Harry? We couldn't help but hear him screaming in the other room just know," she asked.

Gred and Forge turned their gazes to the speaker, their faces lighting up upon seeing the beautiful girl before them. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Why, my lady, we know exactly why!" Gred excitedly said, followed with another mock bow.

"Follow us, you lot!" exclaimed Forge.

The nine teenagers left the room, the twins vigorously knocking on the door across the one they just exited.

The door was opened by a girl around Harry's age, perhaps fifteen or older. She had tamed curly hair that flowed down to just below her shoulders, her bangs neatly clipped to the side and her brown hair perfectly framing her heart-shaped face. She had a calculating look in her hazel-coloured eyes as she observed the seven strangers before her. When her eyes landed on Annabeth's stormy-grey ones, the latter was able to tell that the witch before her was a smart one. After all, she was a daughter of Athena. She knows an intelligent one when she sees one.

Since she didn't have what seemed like the trademark fiery red hair of the Weasleys, she must be Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's other best friend. To be honest, Annabeth expected Hermione to be more of an… exuberant one. She didn't expect the witch to be that sharp-witted and composed. Not that she underestimated Hermione, of course. She met Harry and some of the Weasleys already. From what she was able to make out, although silent at some times, Harry was probably like Percy – the type of people that would always find trouble, but would put themselves between danger and the people they care about without any second thoughts. Also, he was the Boy-Who-Lived, and just like Percy, he had people depending on him as a leader.

The Weasleys she met so far were all of a bubbly and cheerful nature, which lead her to assume that Ronald was quite a mischievous one, but nonetheless loyal. Those were the reasons why Annabeth expected a different girl out of Hermione.

But when she thought about it, it made sense. Hermione must be "the main brain" of the trio, just like Annabeth was to Percy and Grover.

"Hey, 'Mione!" exclaimed Forge and Gred.

"Fred, George," Hermione nodded at the twins. Ah, so it was Fred and George. Of course. "Um, who are they?"

Annabeth immediately stepped out of their little circle. "I'm Annabeth. Annabeth Chase," she introduced herself, extending her hand towards Hermione.

"Hermione Granger," said the witch, taking the offered hand. It seemed like both girls immediately found great intellect in the other. Annabeth was already looking forward to a nice, long chat with Hermione.

She introduced the rest of the demigods to Hermione, who gave each of them a – although strained – sweet smile. Annabeth knew she was trying to decide whether or not to trust the seven strangers before her, and it didn't surprise Annabeth at all. She would've done the same.

"Come on in," Hermione motioned for them to enter the room. It was around the same size as the demigods', but it was of a different shape and structure. And instead of three or four four-poster beds, they only saw two in this room. They immediately saw Harry just by the door, and the exchanged looks between the wizard and Hermione didn't go unnoticed by Annabeth.

But before they had the chance to say hi to Harry, a boy with fiery red hair approached the seven teenagers. Introductions were made again, and although the demigods were starting to get tired of introducing themselves, they knew there were still much more to come, whether they liked it or not.

"Hey, Harry. What happened? We heard you screaming from the other room just now," Percy greeted Harry.

The whole room fell silent, the trio staring at the ground. So it was an argument, indeed.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Leo decided to break the silence. "Sooo… what are they talking about downstairs?"

The twins sniggered and grinned at them with mischievous glints in their eyes. "Wanna find out?"

A few minutes later, the twelve teenagers found themselves leaning against the railing of the staircase. The twins were holding a long string; slowly lowering and controlling an invention of theirs that they called an "Extendable Ear". Annabeth couldn't help but think about how pleased the Hermes Cabin would've been should they receive such invention. The ear was positioned right in front of the room where the meeting was held and gradually, they were able to hear some small whispers from the room. Annabeth strained her ears to what was being said.

Unfortunately, because thirteen was a crowd – another Weasley called Ginny approached them a while ago – Annabeth wasn't able to pick up anything. All she heard were some mentions of Harry's name. Eventually, a ginger cat, which Hermione called Crookshanks, pounced on the ear and took it away.

"Bad Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered loudly.

But before they were able to head back, the meeting ended and they were called downstairs for dinner.

"Well! We'll be eating down in the kitchen," Mrs. Weasley smiled at the teenagers as they descended the staircase.

Two loud pops were then heard, shocking Mrs. Weasley. "Oh! Just because you are allowed to use magic now does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!" she shrieked.

The twins cheekily ran away towards the kitchen, followed by Ginny and Ron. Mrs. Weasley looked back at the rest of the teenagers and smiled apologetically. "Now, are you all hungry?"

Although they weren't hungry at all, the demigods followed Mrs. Weasley, Harry, and Hermione to the kitchen, hoping to find as much information as possible to aid them with their quest.

Updated: January 29, 2015

Last edited: January 29, 2018