Order of the Olympians

Order of the Olympians Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Wait, so you're telling me that Snape thinks you are good enough to practice Occlumency on your own?" Hermione asked skeptically at breakfast the next morning.

Harry groaned, not wanting to repeat himself. "Yes, 'Mione. He thinks I can control the dreams now, so I don't need to go to him anymore."

As she opened her mouth to argue with him, Annabeth interrupted with a cough. "Guys, can we go back to focusing on our study schedules? We only have six weeks until O.W.L.S." Despite the depressing subject, Harry was thankful for the distraction. He wasn't quite ready to tell Ron and Hermione that Snape had basically thrown him out the night before. And he definitely wasn't ready to tell them about his father.

While he agreed with Percy and Annabeth about the change that must have happened after James started dating Lily, his heart still dropped when he thought about how much he had been compared to his father over the years. In the memory he saw in the Pensieve, Sirius encouraged the attack on Snape, and Remus just stood by and watched it happen. His family's closest friends did nothing to stop a cruel prank from crossing the line. When they compared Harry to James, he wondered what time in his father's life did they see that he resembled?

"Hermione, you haven't given me one day off!" Ron complained loudly, shaking Harry from his thoughts.

Percy chuckled beside him, "Good luck with that and getting in time for Quidditch practice..."

Annabeth shot him a look. "Don't think you're getting off easy, Seaweed Brain. We are taking these too!"

His eyes widened. "Why the hell would we do that?

Harry perked up, he wondered the same thing. They weren't actual transfer students from a Wizarding School in America like their cover stories explained, so they didn't take any classes on the material until this year.

The Daughter of Athena's eyes blazed excitedly, "Because, it's a series of examinations designed to determine your knowledge and expertise on a magical subject. Do I really need to explain why that would appeal to me?"

Ron and Harry laughed at Percy's slumped form. "But that doesn't mean I have to be subjected to this cruel and unusual punishment..." He mumbled under his breath.

Annabeth didn't bat an eye, "You, Will and Nico will be sitting in that testing room with the rest of us. It will be so much fun!" She clapped her hands together and tried to hide her smile as Percy dropped his head onto the table with a dramatic groan.

Harry burst out laughing. Good riddance, he thought. If he and Ron had to suffer through these bloody O.W.L.S., it's only fair that their best mate had to as well.

XX

As the long weekend rolled around, Nico took advantage of the cloud cover and brought Bianca out to visit the Black Lake. He tightened his robes as the chilly wind whipped through his messy black hair. Will and Blaise joined him, and the three boys let their competitive sides show whilst skipping rocks.

"Bloody hell, di Angelo! At least try to shoot straight, will ya?"

Nico rolled his eyes while Will snickered at the bad joke. As Blaise released a smooth rock towards the water's surface, Nico quickly threw out his own and smirked when it collided with his friend's and spun the target off course. "I think you underestimate my impeccable aim, Zabini."

The two boys looked at him, then each other in complete surprise before bursting out laughing, clutching their stomachs. "Are my ears filled with gillyweed, or did di Angelo just make a joke?"