Demigods at Hogwarts 2 (Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince)

Chapter 13

Annabeth POV

After McGonagall interviewed us about what happened to Katie, we were allowed to return to our dorm room. We arrived back before everyone else who went to Hogsmeade, and most of the rest of the students were outside enjoying the fresh air of the weekend, so we had the common room to ourselves.

Hermione needed to go to the library to write a homework essay, so Ron decided to go with her to keep her company. Thalia and Nico excused themselves to go examine the labyrinth, with the agreement that we would bring food down for them later. I got the feeling that they were getting tired of living in Hogwarts and not having the freedom to wander up and down the country as they wished.

"Did you find the labyrinth entrance in Hogsmeade, Hazel," I asked.

"We found an entrance and heard someone nearby. I think they could be using it to get in, but I couldn't tell who it was. If you, Harry, or another Hogwarts student had been there they might have been able to identify the voice, but we have not been here for long enough to be able to identify people by voice alone. They were trying to see if they could get through the tunnels but I suspect they are discovering that it is not easy. The labyrinth changes too often to be of any real use for getting into the castle without some extra help of some sort, so I think we should make sure there are no other ways in."

"You don't have any idea who it was?" Harry said, "could you discern any features at all?"

"They were probably a boy, and they travelled as a group of three, with a clear leader. I couldn't hear anyone else in the forest nearby."

"It could have been Malfoy then. Next time we go to Hogsmeade, I'll see if I can follow him."

"Do you have any more evidence to back up that it could be Malfoy, or is it still just a feeling?" Percy asked.

"Just a feeling."

We sat down close to the fire and pulled out our books to get a bit of work done. I find the magic theory work endlessly fascinating, so writing the essays is generally no problem for me. Percy gets distracted but he tends to get the work done. The less trouble he gets in the better.

People slowly flooded into the room as the sky darkened, and the chairs filled up. Once it was dinnertime, we all trouped down to the Great Hall to eat our fill, before grabbing some extra to take down Thalia and Nico. We met back up with Hermione and Ron, who had finished their work, and filled them in on what we had discussed.

Percy and Hazel went down to the forest with the food and a stern warning not to eat it on the way. I didn't need to try and deal with two hungry demigods having a fight in the forest in the dead of night.

I returned to the common room with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who settled back into the chairs in front of the fire.

"Hermione, do you know much about cursed things like the necklace? If we can work out what enchantment it has on it, perhaps we can find out the identity or intentions of the attacker."

"I'll look into it," she said, before turning back to her book.