Heroes at Hogwarts

twenty-one | games and cover-ups

jason

Jason didn't like Severus Snape.

And it wasn't because he was a Slytherin. No, that would go against Jason's best bro, Percy. The professor always glared at Jason and his friends, even when they were doing absolutely nothing at all. If Jason hadn't heard stories from Harry and Ron about him, he'd think Snape had it out for the demigods. Or he didn't trust them, which was more likely than him having it out for them. He was also the only Professor that still made them do the work in his class. That was enough for many of the boys to dislike him.

Jason also didn't like Draco Malfoy, and still not because he was a Slytherin, but these feelings did go against Percy, who trusted the boy a little much for the small amount of time they've spent at the school. Frank said he looked like Octavian. Jason couldn't disagree, but Hazel argued that Draco seemed to have a little more "pep in his step" than Octavian- word for word (sometimes Hazel's past life showed itself in her speech patterns). One thing was for sure; Draco did creep Jason out about as much as Octavian had.

It had been a hectic couple of months. Along with meeting many wizards, which still weirded Jason out, he'd met people who he'd only heard of in stories. He didn't think he'd ever meet Piper's older sister Silena, or Leo's older brother Beckendorf. They'd been dead long before Jason came to Camp Half-Blood. And Nico's older sister, Bianca? He'd heard plenty of heroic stories about her. He never expected to be flying next to her in a quidditch game. Michael Yew, the boy who died on the bridge? He flew right alongside Jason. And Ethan Nakamura, the son of revenge? He was more fun than Percy had let on in the stories.

But right now Jason needed to focus on getting his quidditch gear on.

After a week and a half of practice, it was time for the Gryffindor/ Ravenclaw match. Harry had trained them hard in the short time. Jason had received compliments from everyone that came to watch practice. "How does someone who's never flown before get that good?" He'd heard Hermione asking Ginny one afternoon. Harry had nudged the bushy haired girl. "Don't doubt him. I was the same way!"

Jason latched all of his clips and grabbed his broom. Ginny and Harry were already ready, standing in the corner smiling at the team. Bianca was next to Jason, pulling on her cloak. Michael was messing with the bristles on his broom. Ritchie and Jimmy, who were great guys, were both messing with the clips on their gear. Ginny went over and helped them.

"Ok, guys," Harry spoke up, "first game of the season. Shake out the jitters right now."

Surprisingly, Jason wasn't nervous. After fighting twin giants in the coliseum, taking down a Titan and the earth goddess, going out and playing quidditch in front of the whole school seemed like nothing. Being a demigod was great practice for awkward situations.

"Jason? How you feeling?" Ginny asked. He was the only newcomer to the team.

"Good, actually," Jason said. "Ready."

Harry smiled at that. "Great. That's what we need. The rest of you?"

Michael and Ritchie hefted their brooms and yelled. Bianca laughed and smacked Michael in the chest. Jimmy just nodded with a smile. "Let's go."

They walked out into the hallway and mounted their brooms.

"Just remember practice, guys." Harry glided out of the tunnel, Ginny right on his tail. The rest of them shot after them.

Bianca went straight for the hoops. She flew in and out of them and the crowd went wild. Jason, Michael, and Ginny flew circles around each other and laughed as Jimmy and Ritchie yelled and bumped into each other mid-flight. Harry landed with Madam Hooch and Beckendorf on the ground. Everyone took their positions.