Chapter 9
Percy found Hazel leaning against the wall by the Staircases of Doom, as Percy so lovingly called the moving stairs. He sat next to her silently. Hazel cracked a golden eye open, but closed it as soon as she saw who it was. The two were quiet for a bit.
“I didn’t mean to blow up at her,” Hazel said. Percy hummed, prompting her to continue. “It’s just… the way she was talking kinda set me off. So… so condescending , like she knew everything and anyone who said anything otherwise or had a different opinion was an idiot!”
Hazel’s voice rose as she spoke, until it crashed back down into silence. She let her head thump against the wall, a sigh blowing a curl of hair out of her face. She let her eyes open and stare at the pitched roof of the castle.
“I’ve been called an idiot enough in my life,” she said quietly. “Maybe not here, not now– not with you guys. But… yeah.”
Percy threw an arm around Hazel’s shoulders, tucking his cousin into his side and laying his head atop her own.
“You didn’t deserve any of that kind of treatment, Hazel.”
“I know.”
“Even if she thought she was being helpful or nice, it doesn’t justify her talking to you like that.”
“I know.”
“You’re amazing, Hazel. You and your ability to tame that cuss-wild horse.”
“I know,” Hazel giggles. “Thanks, Percy.”
Percy squeezed her shoulder. “Anytime, hon.”
Later in the day saw Percy wandering the halls of the castle with Mrs. O'Leary. Honestly, Percy didn’t care that he was missing class. Wizards were confusing. Besides, Annabeth was take enough notes for both of them– in exchange for cookies, of course– so it wasn’t like he was really missing anything. Instead, he was spending his time trying to get their quest done as swiftly as possible– at least the part within the actual castle. And after the talk with Hazel once she’d stormed out of the Great Hall during breakfast, he couldn’t sit still.
This, of course, included wandering the halls with Mrs. O’Leary, his loyal hellhound and the best girl ever. She snuffled and sniffed her way through the halls, large tail wagging slowly, happy to just walk around with him. Eventually, she paused on the seventh floor, in front of an odd painting of trolls doing ballet. It was unnervingly well painted.
Mrs. O’Leary sneezed, getting Percy’s attention. She’d sat in front of the wall across the painting, head cocked and ears raised with confusion as she stared at it. Percy scratched her head as he shuffled past her. Percy didn’t know what she smelled that he didn’t see, but it was a magic school, so Percy supposed it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities for a door to be invisible. He walked over to the wall. He knocked on it. Odd, it sounded solid. He felt along the wall for any grooves. None. Weird.
Percy stepped back, frowning at the wall with his arms crossed. He tapped his foot as he thought. After a while of inspecting the wall and wracking his brain for what it could be, Percy sighed and mentally admitted temporary defeat. Okay, no luck today. But, hey, they had a location now.
Hermione was feeling a bit bad. She still didn’t know why Levesque had acted the way she had at breakfast, but Hermione supposed she herself could have been a bit nice with correcting her. She gnawed on her lip a bit as she sat at her usual library table, working on her transfiguration homework. A chair scraped as it was pulled out across from her.
Hermione’s head whipped up and her eyes went wide as Levesque sat across from her, the other girl folding her hands together professionally. Levesque made eye contact.
“Okay, look,” she began. “I’m not sorry for correcting you earlier, but I am sorry for blowing up at you. That was uncalled for, I should have been more calm.”
Hermione hurriedly set aside her quill. “No, no, I'm sorry! I shouldn’t have been so pushy and- and condescending. It wasn’t my intention and I’m trying to be better about it.”
The two girls stared at each other for a long moment, before Levesque stuck out her hand.
“Trying to be friends?”
Hermione stared at the hand in shock, before she beamed at Levesque. She shook the offered hand firmly.
“Trying to be friends.”
Levesque’s professional face faded to a soft, shy smile. “Cool.”
Hermione giggled back.
“Call me Hazel.”
“A pleasure. I insist you call me Hermione.”
Annabeth smiled from her position a few bookshelves down. She had no doubts Hazel could handle herself, but a little moral support wouldn’t hurt. The blonde pushed away from the bookshelf, instead darting from the library, silent as a ghost.
Speaking of ghosts, the wall Mrs O’Leary had indicated was truly a mystery!
…don’t ask Annabeth what the wall has to do with ghosts, she doesn't know.
Either way, it was one that she was certain would be fun to solve! A world of magic opens up a new world of possible solutions!
Or, they could try to shadow travel into it with Mrs O'Leary. Whichever worked best.
Speaking of shadow travel, when would be the best time to call in Nico? Hmm… decisions decisions.
Annabeth narrowly avoided a silver-blonde haired girl as she went past.
“Excuse me,” a breath of a whisper said as the small girl with radish earrings skipped past. Annabeth turned to look at the odd girl for a moment, before she quirked a smile and moved on down the hall. What a peculiar spirit haunting the halls. Annabeth liked her.
Frank decided he hated chess as his side of the board was demolished. He sighed heavily as the shy boy before him giggled, and the chess board repaired itself.
“Better at checkers?” the boy– Neville, he was pretty sure– offered. Frank shook his head.
“Better at cards,” the Canadian replied as he glared down at the board. Frank was good at battle tactics, so why was chess so dang hard! He’d fought in a war! He’d won a war! He could defeat game pieces!
Aaaand he’d lost his queen again.
Frank groaned, thunking his head down on the table as Neville giggled some more. Well, at least one of them was happy.
“Here, let me teach you.”
“Yes,please!”