Elemental

Winter Break

Beth and I spend winter breaks and summer breaks at Camp Half-Blood, so we take the train to King's Cross. Beth quickly finds a seat with Tiana, and I find Juliana, David, and Sadie. "Where's Caroline?" I ask.

"She's staying at Hogwarts," Sadie explains. "Her parents were killed by Death Eaters."

"Oh. I had no idea."

There's a moment of awkward silence. "What are you doing for winter break?" David asks suddenly, breaking the tension. "We're not doing much."

"Neither are we," adds Sadie.

"We'll be in New Zealand, visiting my brother," Juliana says. I wonder how old he is; Xander must be in college if he's in a different country. I can tell by her accent that Juli is British.

"Um, I'm not doing much," I say. I don't know who might be listening, so I'm careful not to reveal anything.

Juliana glances at me. "Does this have to do with, um, what you told me?"

I nod.

From the train station, we drive to the airport, since I'm underage, so I can't Apparate. From there we fly to Long Island, New York and rent a car to drive to Camp Half-Blood. We see a few less We burst inside the cabin. "Hi, guys!" exclaims Bella, our counselor. Annabeth used to be our counselor, but she's currently out trying to find other demigods to bring them to Camp Half-Blood, along with Percy Jackson, her boyfriend. Sometimes they come back and share stories of the second Giant War, which was only a few months ago. Beth was at Hogwarts and I was at home, since we don't stay here year-round, since our father...well, he did take care of us.

"Hi, Bella," says Beth.

"How are things at Hogwarts?" Bella asks. All the kids in our cabin know about Hogwarts, and so do any other cabins with witches or wizards. It's a relatively uncommon thing.

"Not so great," I admit. "The Death Eaters have taken over everything. And since none of our close relatives are witches or wizards, we're kind of public enemies."

Bella lets that sink in. "But...I thought he was dead!"

"Not anymore," I sigh. "But we're safe here."

Just then, a satyr bursts in. "Chiron needs to see all of you."

"All of us?" Bella asks.

"All of you," he repeats.

He leads us there, looking very uncertain, like he's new and doesn't really know what to do.

"Good. Thanks, Dylan," says Chiron upon our arrival. Dylan smiles. Definitely new.

"Beth and Mia," he begins as Dylan walks out, "I've been keeping up on the wizarding world news, and things aren't looking so good right now." We nod. "It seems this Vol—"

"Don't!" Beth cries. Chiron looks surprised, as am I—I know Beth is comfortable saying the name. "There's a curse on the name," she explains. "He'll find us here and destroy the entire camp."

Chiron nods in understanding. "All right then. Anyway, if you so desire, given your current position, you could stay here for the rest of the year."

Beth looks uncertain, and I can tell what she's thinking without even trying to read her mind. On one hand, we would be so much safer here. On the other, what about our friends? Our education?

"No," I say finally. "I know we're safer here, but, in a way, we're not. They know when someone is using magic and they'll notice if one of us panics or someone is in danger and one of us uses magic."

"I see," says Chiron, though he clearly doesn't. "And you, Beth?"

"If Mia is staying, then so am I," says my sister.

"All right then. Bella?"

"Yes?" our counselor says.

"I need triple protection on the Athena cabin. I'll let all the counselors know. Actually, we should probably triple security on the whole camp." His face clouds. "I foresee a tragic battle."

He's starting to sound like Firenze, Beth's old Divination teacher. I don't have Divination yet. Beth hates it, claiming that it's too creepy.

There's no big Christmas celebration, obviously, so the next week is, thank gods, fairly quiet. A couple of people say that they saw strange men around the camp, but there's a barrier to keep them out. And a bunch of traps. And a bunch of Ares kids ready to kill anyone suspicious.

So when we get back on the train to Hogwarts, I've let my guard down a little. I'm sitting with Sadie, David, and Juliana—no one will attack me unless I'm alone, right?

We spend the train ride talking, just about the little things, like normal, not-in-mortal-peril friends do. Sadie is telling us about her 9-year-old cousin who got ahold of his mother's wand, when there's a quick flash of black.

I make out the shape of a man, but in less than a second he's gone.

And so is Juliana.

So...cliffhanger! Comment your opinion--if you liked it, if you're feeling the suspense, if you thought it needed something, if it seemed to random--I am always looking for reviews!

Random question of the day: what is your favorite ahh moment in any musical, ever? Something that just made you think, yes!

There is a song in Rent called Another Day, in which a character named Roger sings the line, "Control your temper." And I don't know what it is, but every time I hear that line, it just...makes me really happy! The last note on -per is just...amazing. Perfect. (Go listen to it!)

Hopefully that makes sense to someone.

So, yeah, that's my daily randomness! Happy Hump Day, everyone!

~Sasha