Chapter 28

Lily's POV

Sup! Please don't kill me! School's over now, so expect updates way more often. I've already gotten good starts on the next two chapters. Trust me; they're awesome!

This chapter is dedicated to a wonderful reviewer who goes by the name jazz72873. Thanks for the inspiration, sweetheart.

Life wasn't going too well.

Gracie and Hunter had started ignoring me a little while ago, spending more time with Orion and sneaking away onto the school grounds during their free time. Even when I should've been able to talk to them, they were holed up in the library, reading through dusty old books.

A couple girls had noticed me sitting alone in the Gryffindor Common Room one afternoon and started a conversation. They were sweet, and with the way Gracie had been treating me, it was easy to ignore her and spend all of my time with these girls.

Then she had to get mixed up with dark magic.

When Gracie wasn't in her bed one morning, I assumed she'd be in the common room or at breakfast, so I shrugged it off. What I hadn't been expecting to see was Orion and Hunter rushing towards the infirmary.

I followed behind, but when I saw Gracie, bloody and pale, through the doors, I screamed and ran in.

According to Albus, they'd been sneaking around the castle the previous night and were attacked by someone hidden in the darkness. Professor Potter had come to see Albus firing spells at nothing and Gracie lying unconscious on the floor, blood freely flowing from wounds on her neck and back.

Thankfully, Madame Hall had gotten to her quickly and started healing her.

When Orion, Hunter, and I arrived, the healer only let us stay for a few seconds before sending us away, saying she needed to focus completely on her patient. As soon as we left, the two boys bent their heads together and whispered as they walked down the halls, but I stayed in front of the door and paced.

The second I heard Madame Hall say "that's all I can do for her," I rushed back in and sat down by Gracie.

The teachers weren't fond of me skipping classes, but after a while they accepted the fact that I wasn't moving. Orion and Hunter brought food when they came, and I slept in the cot next to hers.

I was forced out twice for advanced doctors to come look at Gracie, and though they didn't tell me anything, I could tell by their grave faces that she wasn't doing well.

One night, I overheard Madame Hall telling Headmistress Birdwhistle that Gracie probably wasn't going to make it. The last thing I remembered that night was laying my head on her legs, crying my eyes out.

I was shocked awake when my pillow moved out from under me, and I looked up to see Gracie, awake and sitting up.

We stared at each other for a little bit, neither of us knowing what to say. I could see a small tear slither its way out of Gracie's eyes before she started crying, and she reached forward to hug me.

"I'm sorry I ignored you for so long," Gracie said, sniffling. "I never should've done that, and I promise I won't ever again."

"I forgive you," I answered, unable to think of anything else to say.

A scream came from behind me, and I saw Madame Hall sprint towards us. She demanded that Gracie lay back down and asked me nicely to go back to my own dorm. I was too happy to say no, and I raced back to the common room.

"Behold! The god's chosen beverage. Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!"

Andromeda's POV

"What happened?" I asked as soon as Lily left.

Madame Hall sighed as she examined an aching spot on my neck. "What do you remember?"

"I was out in the castle at night, and then I was running, and Albus was there too."

"You were attacked," she said, her voice emotionless. "There was a dark witch or wizard in the castle. You were pretty badly injured, and Professor Potter got there just after they disappeared."

She turned towards several bottles of medicine on the counter next to my bed, and I quickly touched the spot on my neck she'd been looking at earlier. There was a ridge of rough, sticky skin, and when I pulled my hand away, my fingers were covered in blood.

"Why isn't this healed?" I asked, showing Madame Hall my red fingers. "Shouldn't the cut already be closed?"

"The dark wizard, they used a spell on you that I don't know how to heal." She pulled a small mirror out of a drawer. "It is still healing, but it'll take a while to fully close. Congratulations, Gracie, you have a new scar."

I looked in the mirror and nearly screamed as I saw the bright red gash running down the length of my neck and onto my shoulder. Dried blood created a crust around it, but the cut itself was still bleeding profusely.

Madame Hall pulled the mirror away and touched a towel to the spot, making it burn. "Don't worry, sweetie, you'll be okay. Let me patch you up again and then you can leave in the morning."

"Grover murmured, "Well, Percy, what have we learned today?" "That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?" "No," Grover told me. "We've learned that your plans really, really bite!"

After the whole Dark Wizard craziness, my strength came back fairly quickly. I could already tote around my heavy book bag the very next day, and, against Madame Hall's warnings, I played in the Quidditch game at the end of the week.

My neck and back had been causing me considerable pain, and the wound still hadn't closed, despite the healer and a team of Ministry workers' best efforts. Though they may seem sweet to the casual observer, the Hufflepuff team noticed my pain quickly and used it to their advantage, bumping into me on purpose and basically making the match a living Hades (well, Hades is already living, at least I think so. Is a super-powerful celestial being really alive? Now there's a question I'll be discussing with Grandma Athena at Christmas.)

Despite my best efforts (and Roxanne shooting Bludgers at any player who came within a yard of me), the Hufflepuff Seeker, Esta Dixon, snatched the Snitch about an hour into the game.

Lily helped me change back into my Muggle clothes and get to our room after the game. Our three roommates weren't there, which was a blessing; their constant chatter gave me a headache.

"Do you need any helping packing your things?" Lily asked as she folded her robes and put them in her trunk.

"Nope! I couldn't sleep last night, so I finished packing then. I can't believe it's already Christmas Break!"

"I can," the red-head huffed. "With all of the creepiness happening this year, I think everyone needs some downtime with their families."

"I'll be sure to exercise Sanguis often with letters," I promised, petting the owl in question with a finger. "It will be nice to be home, though. I miss New York."

"And I miss Teddy! He always tries his hardest to find me the biggest stuffed animal he can every year. I've got eleven taking up most of my cot back home."

"Gracie!" I heard Hunter's voice yell from down the hall, and I ran out, only to find a large brick wall blocking my way.

"Hunter! What did you do this time?" I yelled.

"Forgot that boys aren't allowed in the girl's dorms. Orion tried to prank a seventh-year and got his head caught in a pile of troll's eyes. Can you help?"

I pulled out my wand and tapped the wall twice, trying to control my laughter. Once the bricks melted back into the floor, I followed Hunter to the scene of the crime, wondering how a child of Annabeth could be that stupid.

"I'm calm," Rachel insisted. "Every time I'm around you, some monsters attack us. What's to be nervous about?"

Orion and my usual disdain for cold weather was evident as the stepped off of the Hogwarts Express in around five layers of sweaters and coats. Lily had to pull my trunk along beside her because I couldn't move my arms from their position.

My mom and dad ran over to greet us, squeezing me so tightly that I could actually feel it through all of my layers. Dylan was behind them, and so was my kind-of-cousin-sister-friend-person Bianca di Angelo in her camp t-shirt and jeans, smirking at my many coats.

She gave me a quick hug and grabbed my trunk from Lily, to whom I waved goodbye and followed my parents out.

"Where are my parents?" Hunter asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"They had Lyra's ballet recital to attend, and you know what it's like when someone lets down that little princess," my dad said, wincing and rubbing the spot where the tiny ballerina had nicked him with a Celestial Bronze arrow after he hadn't let her eat ice cream for dinner.

"But," my mom started, "We have a special ride that's going to get us across the ocean without involving airplanes."

I wasn't sure what she meant until I saw the large chariot sitting at the edge of the parking lot, Blackjack and my Pegasus Sea Foam leading it.

Sup Boss, tiny bosses. Haven't had my extra filling of apples in a while.

And I've only been getting rides from the Princess of Darkness over there. Trust me, it isn't fun.

"Sea Foam, you know it's not nice to talk about my friends that way," I scolded.

Fine. Sea Foam whinnied her apology to Bianca, nuzzling her a little to make up for it.

"I don't even want to know what she said," Bianca commented, helping my nine-months-pregnant mother into the chariot.

"The main reason we aren't taking a plane is because I don't want to give birth on one," she said, patting her stomach. "You charming father thinks Zeus would curse the kid, but I know he just doesn't like the turbulence."

Dad tried to ignore her as he tightened the harnesses on the horses and I sat down by my mom, showing her the still-open wound on my back.

"I assume you've already used a generous amount Nectar on it, so we'll see what the children of Apollo can do at camp," she decided, sitting down and preparing for the Pegasi to speed up.

The Pegasi sped up as soon as we got into the air, and after a couple seconds of horrible vertigo, we were back in the USA, slowly descending over camp.

My father landed the chariot next to the stables, and Bianca, Hunter, and I helped my mom towards the Big House as Dylan, Orion and my dad handled the Pegasi.

"How's my baby sibling doing?" I asked as my mom placed her hand on her stomach.

"Energetic. She loves kicking, punching; she probably would have karate-chopped her umbilical cord in half if she didn't need it for food. I can't wait until she's out."

"There are reasons why I don't want kids," Bianca commented, her face scrunched up in disgust.

My mom laughed. "Your mother probably went through the same thing. Besides, you'll change your mind about that when you notice boys."

"Noticed them; don't care. I'll just stick with Dad and Orion. Maybe even join up with Aunt Thalia in a couple years."

I noticed Leo and Calypso on the deck of the Big House and called out a greeting.

"Nice to see you back, squirt!" Leo said, giving me a noogie. Calypso smacked his hand away before hugging me, commenting on my height and haircut.

"Where are Espy and Dawn?" Bianca asked, sending Leo a death glare when he tried to give her a noogie.

"They went to Lyra's recital," Calypso said. "We would have gone too, but we decided to wait for you guys to get back."

"Everyone should be back before dinner," Leo said. Then he turned to Hunter, "Now, WHO WANTS SOME BONDING TIME WITH THEIR FAVORITE UNCLE?"

"I thought Percy was with the Pegasi," Hunter joked, causing Leo to pout like a baby. After a couple seconds, Hunter sighed and agreed and Leo fist-pumped the air and slung the eleven-year-old over his shoulder, heading towards the woods.

A short silence fell over the group, and I remembered that there was a small bit of anger left between Calypso and my mother, mostly because of the whole boyfriend-stealing-cursing moments when they were teenagers.

Calypso quickly remedied the situation and struck up a conversation about the baby. It wasn't too long before the women had retired to the comfy couches inside, and Bianca and I were left to our own devices.

"How about we take you to get your neck looked at?" Bianca said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards Apollo's Cabin. Sure; the healers who were on call in the infirmary were good, but if anyone wanted the best care available, they had to brave the cabin of archery, the sun, the arts, and (worst of all) bachelors.

"House gods," Percy said. "Like… smaller than real gods, but bigger than apartment gods?"

"Oh gods, that's disgusting!"

"Geez, thanks for putting on a brave face, Clint."

"Sorry, sorry, let me try again," the seventeen-year-old counselor of the Apollo cabin said, shaking his head as if to clear it. He took another look at the cut on my neck and starting gagging. "I think it's worse this time around."

Bianca, who was having none of it, smacked the goofy teen upside the head and he sighed, glaring at her.

"Ow."

"Just suck it up and handle it, Mr. Sunshine."

Still not very happy, Clint pulled my head closer from where we sat on his bunk and sniffed it before putting one hand over top and muttering for a few second. A warm, comfortable feeling flowed over the area of my wound, but it quickly turned to a burning pain.

"What the heck are you doing?" I screamed, jumping away from his touch. The pain slowly subsided, but when I felt around the wound I could feel blisters forming.

"I must ask what you were doing, Gracie," Clint asked, a dark look overtaking his usually cheerful smile. "There's something dark, something evil in that cut that the worst of gods couldn't procure. Have you been getting into fights with the worst beasts of Tartarus, by chance?"

I thought back to the dream I'm had while I was unconscious; the one where the mysterious cloaked lady was speaking with that dark, evil woman over an abyss.

Putting on a poker face, I looked straight into Clint's eyes and said, "No, not that I can think of."

"Well, I hope you have a good life then, or at least what's left of it. Unless Apollo himself comes and heals this cut, you'll be dead within the week."

Yeah, I just did that. I love cliffhangers, don't you? Please leave a fav/follow/review, or all three if you'd like! Later!