A/N: okay, well, this update was never meant to take this long, and for that, I'm sorry. Truth is, I had this half written on my computer for months and I had completely forgotten about it. Anyway, this chapter is for: Romana Italia with cookies here for

Fokker333

Velocity Drew Warren

Kat Callen

Hades243657 (sorry that you disagree, but this was the way that worked best for the story)

Wolfman613

Mossystar102

AGreyMood

Firegirl173

Vchhoeuy

Silver Huntress Raleen

Riptide18

Wayward Kid

Guest61

SaberMarine

Thalia's PoV:

As the meal started and the people around me began stuffing their faces heartily I couldn't help but be reminded of the Hermes kids back at camp. Honest to Zeus, all of the kids that were at this table seemed to be just as loud and boisterous as the prankster spawn, but they also seemed to be good natured about it so it was easy to relax and fit in.

The main life at the table seemed to be the wizard equivalent of the Stoll brothers from back home and, unfortunately, they seemed to have formed and irritating interest in me as they soon dropped down onto the bench on either side so that I was surrounded, sending little first years hurrying out of the way as they went.

"So, sweet heart…"

"…Mind telling us about this school of yours?"

Oh fates, they were finishing each other's sentences. From this close I could see the bright light in their eyes that shone with mischief. If I squinted at tem, I probably would have been able to imagine them with blond hair and slightly darker skin and they would have looked right at home in cabin 11. Still, they looked like they could be interesting friends to have at this place, if one was a fan of staying in trouble for as long as possible, so I shot them a quick grin as I ducked out from under their arms.

"Oooh, I don't know, why should I tell you such things when I don't even know your names? It all seems rather rude to me."

Even though it was a move designed to knock them down a peg or two, the challenge only seemed to make them smile all the brighter as they bent to kiss my hands in time with each other before standing and giving me a mock bow.

"Oh forgive us fair maiden…."

"…For offending your sensibilities…"

"… We are the roguishly good looking…"

"…And tremendously well loved…"

"Gred…"

"And Forge"

"Weasley!"

They said the last word together in such harmony that it was hard to keep the grin from my face as I looked them over coldy, taking note of the barely hidden smirks on all those within hearing range. Obviously these were the school pranksters and they were already trying to catch me out. It was the same trick that Connor and Travis used when trying to confuse Mr D. I don't know which was worse, the fact that it seemed to have been passed down in the wizarding world too, or the fact that our summer camp director fell for it every time.

"Fred and George you say? Well then, what exactly do you want to know?"

From there their reclaimed their seats and began bombarding me with questions, helped by all those seated around us who all seemed to have been paying attention to the exchange. It even got to the stage where I was silently thanking Annie for all her paranoid planning before travelling to the school, and it was as though thinking about her brought her to the forefront of the twins' minds as their questions soon went on to my friends.

"I guess your school must have some bad kids too then, to think that two of your lot ended up in Slytherin of all places!"

Noticing the faint sneer in the Irish kid's voice, I turned round quickly to send the obnoxious 12 year old my best death glare (tried and tested by the furies of Hades) that soon had him quaking where he sat. It was oddly satisfying.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

All at once, the talk at the table around us seemed to cease as everyone turned, sensing an argument about to take place. Noticing that so many eyes were on him, the boy (whose name I can't remember though it is something like Sean or Seamus) straightened his back and regained some of his arrogant swagger that he had had before, though, admittedly, his face was still a lot paler.

"It's just that, you know, Slytherin is well known for producing dark wizards more than anything else, and the rest of them are all snobs and blood purists if not. All the darkest wizards in history come from that house!"

That was rich, this guy calling someone else a snob, and it would have been funny had he not been lumping Nico and Annie into the same category as these people. Irritated now, I pulled out my wand (which still didn't feel right in my hands) and started twirling it around my fingers, glaring at him pointedly.

"You know, there are many insults I just ignore, especially when they're aimed at me, but when you start picking on my friends, and my family, well, that's something I can't ignore."

On either side of me, the twins seemed to be backing away, even if their grins were still fixed in place, but the boy off to my right still wasn't getting the hint and let his mouth run on once again.

"And? It's just common knowledge, Slytherins can't be tru-"

The kid broke off with an unpleasant gagging noise as I casually slipped the wand back into my sleeve where it was kept.

"Right, how about we set some ground rules okay? Annabeth is my best friend, and I would, and do, trust her with my life on a regular basis. She is the smartest person I have ever met, and is one of the best tacticians our… school has ever seen. Second, Nico is my cousin, and although I get that he can be a bit of a creep and has anger management issues, he is a good man and would be more than willing to defend his friends in a fight. So, if I hear any of you talking shit about them again, I will hex you into next week okay? Brilliant!"

Leaving the rest of them completely gobsmacked, I turned back to my plate of food, growling slightly under my breath as I butchered the steak. For a moment, I thought that I had just managed to segregate myself from the rest of my house for the entire year, but then the twins were back and hitting me on the back… hard.

"Nicely said Thals, that's some true Gryffindor spirit…"

"And a real lions roar. I think you're going to fit right in here…"

"Especially if you keep hexing Seamus like that, we're all pretty sick of him by now."

After that, everything seemed to be a bit of a blur and I think those twins must have been kinder than I had first thought, or I had discovered way more luck than I had previously believed myself to possess because, when I woke up in a four poster bed in the morning, in a room with 3 other girls, I can honest to Zeus say I had no memory of getting there. Still, the morning scramble was familiar at least, and easy once you've been on the run for a few years, so despite being the last one up, I was actually the first one to head down into the common room that morning… or so I thought.

On my way down the dizzying spiral stair case (honestly, which idiot but the dorms at the very top of a castle tower?) I managed to run straight into the bushy haired brunette that we had met on the train here… Hermione, that was her name.

Noticing that it was me after squealing out a quick apology, Granger stepped back and all but pulled me into the warm, comfortable looking room that was just beginning to fill up with sleepy older students and bright eyed first years, nattering none stop all the while.

"Oh Thalia, I was just going up to look at for you. I remember what it was like last year on the first morning and how confusing it could get and I thought that you might appreciate seeing a familiar face especially as all your friends are in different houses. Anyway, this is Harry, and you've already met Ron… apparently they decided that they were going to fly a car to Hogwarts and are currently very lucky to even still be at the school at all!"

She directed this last bit at the two boys she had dragged me over to while she was talking at me, both of whom dipped their heads in the very picture of repentance, though I'm sure that I could just make out the hint on the red head's face. Actually, looking at him, he did look remarkably like…

"What a good morning it is today, am I right guys?"

"People to see, firsties to terrify, cars to crash…"

The twins descended on us like a hyperactive hurricane that had no right to have so much energy this early in the morning, but the majority of their jokes seemed to be at the expense of Ron, which confirmed my earlier idea that he was their younger brother while also allowing me time to think. Slipping away from their little group, I headed out of the portrait hole and followed some early risers down to breakfast, nerves growing into raging butterflies in my chest as I sank into my seat.

It had been nearly 8 years (not counting the ones where I was a tree) since I had last gone to any type of school and here I was, in a school for magic of all things. As though being a demigod was hard enough. Just what exactly was I doing here?

For a while, I just sat there glaring at the bacon that rested on my plate, not really seeing it as my panic attack began to grow, but, all of a sudden, a warm hand fell onto my shoulder without warning, and, acting on instinct, I pulled out the first weapon I could lay my hands on (in this case my wand) and had it aimed at… Percy's neck. Dammit.

"What're you playing at kelp head? Trying to give me a heart attack or do you just want to die that badly?"

When I looked back at him, I'm pretty sure that I saw a young girl with silvery blond hair stop and stare at us with wide eyes for a moment before hurrying off towards the Ravenclaw table, curiously bare footed, before my idiotic cousin started laughing, drawing my attention back to him.

"Your guard is slipping huntress, and it's not like you know how to use that thing anyway!"

For a second I was worried that the people around us would notice what he had said about the huntress thing and start questioning what he meant before, the very next second, I realised that Percy had spoken in Greek and the only questioning looks we got from the rapidly filling table were only mildly curious instead of prying, but when I looked back to him after figuring this out, he was already on his way over to his own table. Once he was halfway there, he stopped and turned back to call out

"You better eat that before it grows legs and you have to hunt it down again. Or are you hoping it will tell you your future?"

Before taking a seat amongst the other yellow and black clad students, effectively vanishing from sight. Damn him. But at least he had managed to take my mind off of my nerves… though I would have to get him back for it later.

A/N: there we go, a (massively) overdue update. I want to promise that the updates will be faster from now on, but I really cant. My A-levels are starting in just over 2 weeks, and if I want to get onto the creative writing course at the university I want to go to, then I need to lay the foundation for an overall grade of A*AA so I will have to do a lot of studying in the very near future. Anyway, that's not your problem, but here's your question:

Who was the girl that was walking behind Percy in the great hall that Thalia saw?