Order of the Olympians

Order of the Olympians Chapter 14

Chapter 14

During breakfast the next morning Ron and Harry continued their constant questioning of Percy and Annabeth's lives. While the Son of Poseidon was amused, Annabeth rolled her eyes and moved over next to Hermione, who had just received the wizard newspaper, the Daily Prophet, from an passing owl.

"Wow, I still can't believe that you fought Ares! The actual god of war! And you survived!" Ron gushed once again, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Please, from what he said, Ares is weak compared to the Titan Kronos! And Percy beat him too!" Harry interjected.

Percy held up his hands so that his new friends would stop talking. "First of all, let's not go around calling the god of war weak....And Kronos was only defeated because Luke sacrificed himself."

"This is rubbish!" Hermione practically yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. She flung down the newspaper and began reading out loud. "Ministry seeks education reform. Dolores Umbridge appointed first-ever 'High Inquisitor'. In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." (OotP)

When she was met with a wall of confused looks, she sighed and summarized. "Basically, that foul woman now has the authority to 'inspect' Hogwarts professors. If the Ministry has given her this kind of power, who knows what they will give her next!"

Annabeth grimaced. "That means that she'll probably be in a few of our classes." She turned to Harry and Percy with narrowed eyes. "You two need to be careful. I'm sure she's going to try and get under your skin, so don't take the bait."

The two boys exchange a small frown but nodded.

Thankfully, Professor Umbridge was absent from Potions. At the end of the lesson concerning the Properties of Moonstone, Professor Snape handed back their graded papers.

"The grades represented on this assignment reflect what you would have received had you turned this work in for your O.W.L" Snape said with a cruel, yet bored expression. "Most of you would have failed, and I expect to see a great deal more effort for the following weeks' essays."

Percy looked down at his paper and was thrilled to see an "A" written in the corner. He had no idea if grades were any different in the wizarding world, but it was the top grade in his book.

Annabeth looked thoroughly confused at the "E" written on hers, until Hermione grinned widely and showed her matching grade.

Ron groaned. "I got a P? I don't want to have to retake this course..."

"Okay, you guys have to explain this grading system to me." Nico groaned, holding up his 'P' as well

Hermione wrote out a few letters onto a piece of paper and slid it over to the demigods.

"Passing grades are O for 'Outstanding', E for 'Exceeds Expectations', and A for 'Acceptable.'" Annabeth and Percy smiled at each other. "Failing grades are P for 'Poor,' D for 'Dreadful', and T for 'Troll'..."

Nico's head fell onto his open textbook with a thump. "Essays have never been my strong suit." Percy clapped a hand onto his shoulder and gave a short nod. "I'm with you, bro."

Ron shrugged, "At least a Poor is better than Dreadful."

Harry started having a small coughing fit, and Hermione looked at him in concern before he waved her off. "Er, I'm fine. Let's just get out of here." He stuffed his paper into his bag before anyone could ask to see it and stood up abruptly to make his way out the door without waiting for his friends.