#Annabeth being a black woman pushes that point even further

[twisted-tales-told]

Every time someone comments “isn’t Annabeth supposed to have blonde hair” the media literacy goddess claws out of the ground under your feet unhinges her jaw and chomps you right in half

[imwastingmylifeinhere]

Magnus Chase and the Obligatory Hogwarts AU Ch16

Yes, we're here! I've been waiting forward to this part since I started this story. So, with no further ado, I present to you the Triwizard Tournament!

The rest of their sixth year had gone by relatively well. Halfborn managed to get the N.E.W.T.S he needed to get into the Wizarding University he needed, as did Percy and Annabeth. They threw a big party to celebrate it before the two Americans had to fly back and let’s just say Halfborn took full advantage of the fact he could legally drink.

Sam had been doing research on how she could get permission to bring Amir to the Triwizard Tournament for the best part of the second semester. She hadn’t yet told Amir since she didn’t want to get his hopes up for nothing but Alex promised her that they could just sneak him in if they didn’t get permission. Apparently the plan included fake mustaches and a bad accent.

And speaking of Alex, her relationship with Magnus had been… weird. They were still friends, sure, and you wouldn’t notice something was wrong even if you knew both of them well. They hang out and joked together and spent entire nights awake binge-watching something from Netflix, but there were always those moments when they remembered of the crush they had – still had - on the other and had to remind themselves nothing would come of it and they should just move on already.

At times, they would get their hopes up for a moment. Holding eye-contact for a moment too long, hands brushing a bit too much, a joking ‘I love you’ and then squashing that hope down again. Friends do those things too, it doesn’t mean anything, they thought to themselves.

Summer went by in a flash, or maybe it just seemed like that to them. They met in front of King’s Cross and sat together in a compartment, telling each other what they did during summer. Being back on the Hogwarts Express felt different this time. Maybe it was because the last time they were in one of its compartments they were squeezed tightly next to each other in order to fit eight people inside whereas now they were only five. Or maybe it was because they knew this was going to be the last time they got to ride the Hogwarts Express at the start of the school year.  They were seventh years now- by next autumn they will have graduated.

“It feels weird to think this is the last time, huh?” T.J said at one point. “By next year we’ll be officially adults.”

“Now you made me feel old,” Alex said sheepishly, but no one missed the melancholy tone in her voice. None of them other than Magnus knew all the details, but it didn’t take much to understand Alex’s time at Hogwarts were the happiest years of her life so far. Hogwarts had been her home for four years and the first place where she ever felt like she was accepted. It honestly scared her to think she would never come back after this year. I suppose this is what normal kids feel like when they have to move out of their parents’ house for the first time.

“I don’t feel like an adult,” Magnus said. “I can hardly grow a beard or drive and I have no clue what I’m supposed to do with my life.”

Everybody but Sam – who knew for years she wanted to be a pilot- nodded in an ‘I feel you’ kind of way.  

“You tell me,” Mallory sighed. “Halfborn had been talking to me about different universities and courses and whatnot he was interested in for years and I was just like ‘I guess I want to finish school?’”

“Yeah, for all our jokes about how he’s an actual Viking, Halfborn has his life together better than any of us, save for Sam,” T.J said.

“I don’t have my life together that well,” Sam said, more because of embarrassment for being left out of the conversation than anything else. And it was true! Like, yesterday she had stayed up later than she was supposed to and she didn’t know a thing about cooking (ironic considering Amir’s family owned a restaurant).

Sam was met with ‘are you shitting me’ looks by every one of their friends. “Sam,” Alex said slowly, “you are already engaged with a boy you’ve been in love with for years and you’ve already applied for a bunch of piloting schools. You’ll probably be accepted by all of them, to be honest.”

Sam said nothing because Alex was right (although she doubted they would all accept her. At least one would turn her down due to her religion despite her great qualifications.)

“Okay, enough with worrying about our future, guys!” Mallory said, standing up from her seat. “This is our last year! Let’s make sure we enjoy it! We’ll go out with a bang!”

The redhead threw her arms in the air and her friends were quick to follow. Alex run out of the compartment quickly and came back with arms filled with chocolate frogs and a bunch of other sweets. The group hollered and hooted and soon candy wrappers littered the floor as they sang horrible Top 40s songs (and musicals because Percy and Alex had bonded over their shared love for Hamilton and other musicals, which meant that Alex was singing ‘Big Fun’ from ‘Heathers’ at the top of her lungs).

They arrived at Hogwarts after T.J and Alex (with some helps from the others) had managed to sing though the entire first act of “In the Heights” (and wow, Magnus never knew he found Alex speaking Spanish hot, but damn).

The opening feast went on like always for the most part. And ‘for the most part’ because Headmaster Odin announced that the Triwizard tournament would take place in their school this year. The student went crazy over the announcement, obviously, especially those over 17 who could try out their luck and see if they would be chosen as Champion.

And so that was the standart topic of conversation for the first weeks of school. ‘Which house will the Champion be from?’, ‘Who do you think will be Champion?’ and ‘Who will you take to the Yule Ball?’ were the most common questions between students and eve some teachers asked them (read: Professor Jack).

And so the time passed by and October finally arrived. The 30th came and the students were unable to think of anything but the arrival of the two schools that evening. It became almost unbearable for the teachers, the constant murmur in the back of their classes. Some completely gave up on teaching and just talked with their students (again, Professor Jack, who told them about the beautiful French woman he dated once and the handsome Bulgarian man he charmed with his talents).

The moment the afternoon classes were over the students sprinted down to the Big Lake to watch the two other schools arrive. The students’ excited talking created a cacophony that sounded like constant buzzing. The younger students were the ones more excited, or more obviously excited. The seventh years might not be bouncing up and down and squealing, but they wanted to.

“Hey, look!” a tiny first year yelled, pointing up at the sky. Everybody turned to look where she was pointing to see a pastel blue carriage being dragged across the sky. As the carriage got closer and closer it got bigger and bigger and what at first looked like a typical carriage ended up being as a two-deck bus on steroids. The students quickly moved aside to make room for the vehicle to land.

As the carriage landed and the winged horses that pulled it along came to a halt, Alex turned to Magnus. “It must be really hard to find parking space for that thing.” The joke was so random it made Magnus crack up, despite effectively ruing the otherwise magical moment.

As the doors of the blue carriage opened, a tall, elegant man walked out with robes as blue as sapphires and gray streaks of hair at his temples. He was followed by a rather big group of students, all dressed in blue. The boys looked like they could all easily get the role of the pretty boy in a bad high school chick flick, wearing a sky blue blazer with details in darker blue and perfectly ironed blue pants. The girls could have easily passed as Veelas, moving gracefully in a way that made you wonder whether they actually had Veela blood. They wore the same blazers as the boys with a blue skirt that reached their knees and fluttered with their every step.

The students were arranged by year, the first years at the back and the seventh years at the front. A boy walked near the front, shoulders pushed back and head held high proudly. The light color of his uniform made his dark skin stand out and black curls peaked out from under his hat.

“There’s so much blue I think I’ll throw up,” Magnus whispered at Alex. He honestly felt a bit nauseous at seeing so much of the color, no matter how attractive the students were.

“I’m more concerned about those ridiculous hats,” Alex whispered back. “Who thought those things were a good idea?”

“The same guy who thought we should have big black pointy hats,” T.J piped in.

The tall man, the headmaster of the school apparently, walked up to Odin and the two men shook hands.

“Gilbert, it’s good to see you,” the Hogwarts headmaster said with a smile, pronouncing Gilbert like Jill-bare.

“Likewise, mon ami.” The man- Gilbert- spoke in a soft, mellow tone that made Alex think he’d be great at telling kids bedtime stories. “Has Durmstrang arrived yet?” Gilbert’s accent was almost unnoticeable, except for when a word had an ‘r’ in it.

“They should show up any minute-“ The Headmaster was cut off by an explosion of water from the Big Lake. A large ship burst out of the water, spraying the watching students with water. The ship looked like what you would imagine a pirate ship like, made entirely of wood, with large masts and billowing sails that looked completely dry despite being just underwater. The figurehead at the prow of the large vessel was a sculptured dragon, its large wings plastered over the sides of the ship’s hull and its eyes two gleaming red rubies.

The ship pulled closer to the shore and a wooden bridge was lowered. The first to exit was a tall woman with broad shoulders and almost white blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her eyes were gray and sharp like a blade and there were deep lines around them. The students of Hogwarts were instantly met with the realization that she was one of those teachers that you don’t want to piss off or you’ll be damned to hell.

Alex stared at the woman with large, shocked eyes. Of course she would be here! He scolded himself for not figuring this out sooner and his blood run cold in his veins as he realized something else. Oh, please don’t let her be here, please don’t let her be here.

“Alex?” Magnus asked, concern lacing his voice. His hand hovered in the air next to him, hesitant if he should touch Alex’s shoulder or not. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m-“

The ‘I’m fine’ Alex would have said got cut in his throat as his eyes fell on a tall girl with auburn hair. She held her chin up high and as the students of Durmstrang got off the boat she looked at everyone with an expression as if she was above all of them. Her blood red robes made her white skin seem almost translucent. Her legs, strong from Quidditch, where clad the isothermal leggings that were part of the Durmstrang girl uniform. The fur coat hanging off her shoulder looked like the skin of a bear and Alex had no doubt in his mind she could easily kill a bear.

“Alex?” Magnus followed Alex’s eyes to the Durmstrang girl. He didn’t understand why confident Alex was left looking at the girl with frightened eyes until he remembered what Alex hat told him back in the Room of Requirement last year. “Is she…?”

Alex clearly understood what Magnus was asking because he nodded. “Y-Yeah.”

Anger flared up in the Hufflepuff and he got some very un-Hufflepuff like thoughts regarding that girl.

“Alex, are you alright?” Mallory asked concerned, laying a hand on her roommate’s shoulder.

“Who’s that girl?” Sam asked, having noticed the way with which Alex was staring at the girl.

“She’s a cow that hurt Alex,” Magnus said simply, voice as cold as the weather back at Durmstrang.

The rest of their group didn’t seem to need any more information because they were instantly glaring daggers at the back of the Durmstrang girl.

The Durmstrang students walked behind their Headmistress as she came to meet Odin.

“Odin, Gilbert, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” she said as they shook hands, her accent heavy when she spoke.

“Same here, dear Sonia,” Gilbert said as he kissed her cheeks in greeting.

The auburn haired girl was scanning the crowds of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students with eyes like a hawk. She gave off the impression she was sure she would get picked for Champion and was searching the crowd of students for her competition. As her eyes flew over the students she suddenly froze when she saw a certain green haired Slytherin. For a moment, she looked just as surprised Alex, then her astonishment was wiped away by a wicked smile that spread across her face.

“Hello,” she mouthed at Alex and waved at him, her fingers wiggling.

A soft gasp was heard from Alex and Sam was quick to step in front of her brother and glare at the girl along with T.J. Mallory flicked a peace sign at the girl, which didn’t mean something as innocent as that for the Irish. Magnus flashed her a similar rude expression with absolutely no regret.

“Let’s kill her,” T.J said. The others nodded and kept glaring at the girl’s back.

“I know where we can hide the body,” Mallory said.

A nice, warm ball of feelings rose in Alex’s chest when he saw his friends try and defend him like that. Maybe he should be more concerned his friends were prepared to commit murder and kill a girl then didn’t even know the name of, but after seeing Helga again so suddenly it made him feel safe.

The three schools were lead inside the Hall of the Slain for dinner. The small tables that littered the room where students from all different houses could sit were now removed. In their place were the long House tables from the entrance feast along with two extra tables, one for each of the visiting schools. The group of friends had to split up despite how much they didn’t want to.

“If she tries anything, give me a signal and I’ll shower her in gravy and chicken bones,” T.J told Alex right before he went to sit at the Ravenclaw table. The unusual response managed to put a small smile on Alex’s face.

Magnus felt bad leaving Alex alone after that girl that had hurt him so much arrived and obviously recognized Alex, even though a part of him knew Alex could easily give her hell. Still, he couldn’t help but worry, though Sam and Mallory standing by Alex’s sides like his own personal body guards helped him calm down.

Once everyone was seated in their tables and the chatter in the Hall had calmed down, Headmaster Odin stood up.

“I believe I’m talking for all students in Hogwarts when I say we are all very happy to have the students and Headmasters of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute here with us tonight.”

We could do with one less student, Magnus couldn’t help at thinking, eyeing the Durmstrang girl with undisguised dislike.

“As you all know very well, our fellow magical schools that are grassing us with their presence today,” Magnus huffed and rolled his eyes, glaring at the girl again, “are here because of the Triwizard Tournament, which our school will host this year.”

“Now, I’m sure you’re all very curious as to who will be the Champions that will represent each school,” Headmaster Odin continued. “Those wishing to bring honor to their school and represent it as a Champion must be seventeen or older. Anyone younger will not be permited to enter their name.”

Headmaster Gilbert stood up and continued from where Headmaster Odin had left off. “Those of age wishing to enter as Champion must write their name and their school clearly on a piece of parchment.”

Headmistress Sonia stood up and picked up from where her fellow wizard left off. “The potential Champions will have from the end of tonight’s dinner until the start of tomorrow’s feast to enter their name in the Goblet of Fire.”

As if on cue, a large chest that had been placed in front of the teacher’s table burst open. Blue flames erupted from inside, making every students in the Hall gasp in surprise. Once the flames calmed down, a beautifully sculptured goblet was seen hovering of the chest. Covered in gold, only the students sitting the closest to the teacher’s table were able to make out the scenes depicted on it. The valuable stones set about an inch under it lid gleamed in the lights of the Hall. Flames burned inside it, the bright fire dancing dazzlingly.

The entire Hall applauded loudly, amazed by the sight they just witnessed. Dinner was served once the students finally calmed down. Food from each different country served. Throughout the entire dinner students were asking each other if they would enter their names in the Goblet of Fire or who they thought would be picked.

///////////////

Magnus, Alex, T.J, Mallory and Sam were huddled together near the entrance of the Hall of the Slain. They had arranged to meet there before breakfast to enter their names.

“So who will go first?” Mallory asked, holding her own piece of parchment between her fingers.

“Can I?” T.J asked enthusiastically. Given his love for Quidditch, he had been hyped about the Triwizard tournament since the get go. He was a hundred percent ready to support whoever the Hogwarts Champion was, even if it wasn’t him.

“Go ahead.”

T.J walked to the Goblet of Fire confidently and let his parchment fall in the fire. The fire spiked up, turning momentarily blue before changing back to its warm orange.

One by one, they all put their names in the Goblet. Magnus felt self-conscious as he put in his. He knew very well there was no chance he’d be chosen and being seen entering his name by all these people made him feel awkward, even though he knew everyone over seventeen would be entering as well and only three of them would be chosen from all schools.

All of his friends seemed like better options than him, though if he had to bet on whom, his money would either go to Sam or Alex. Those siblings could kick some serious ass.

The flames were blue again as Alex was entering her name when that girl showed up. She was no longer wearing her fur coat but her heavy boots clicked against the stone hallway.

“Well, if it isn’t Alexander. How nice seeing you here, how are you?” The girl’s accent wasn’t nearly as thick as the one of her Headmistress but it was still very obviously there. Despite her words being kind, there was a very obvious tone in her voice that let anyone within earshot understand she meant them in the least kind way possible. She might as well have said “How are you? I hope you’re dying”.

Alex went pale when she saw the girl standing behind her, hips cocked to the side and a smug expression of her face. “Go away, Helga,” Alex said sharply and tried to leave. She had absolutely no interest in talking to Helga again – she’d left her behind when she left Durmstrang and her parents’ house and had made a happier life for herself at Hogwarts. Helga had no right coming back in her life and messing things up.

“My, is that how you speak to your old best friend?” Helga spoke in a mock hurt voice, pouting at Alex like she hadn’t made her last months in Durmstrang hell on earth. She dropped the innocent tone when she went on talking. “Now I can see why you never had any friends at school. It surprises me you have any here. Well,” she laughed, a sound that should have sounded nice but instead sounded like nails scratching a chalkboard, “it surprises me that you are even here. I was expecting to see you in some freakshow, not Hogwarts of all places.”

Alex felt herself get angrier and angrier. Her fingers and her joints were tingling with energy and she wanted nothing else but to punch Helga in the face and break her pretty little nose. She took a deep breath through her nose and willed herself to calm down. Helga wanted her to react and she wouldn’t give her the joy of knowing she got under her skin. “I told you to go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. I just wanted to enter as Champion and see the competition.” Alex clenched her fists, trying not to do something she would regret. That stupid cow has the nerve to act like she’s the victim here. “But,” Helga kept going, “if all Hogwarts has to offer is people like you and terrorists, I’m pretty sure it’ll be an easy win for me.”

Gasps were heard and Sam went pale. If Alex was mad before she was furious now. How dare she talk like that about Sam? Sam, who had treated her like family and made her realize the word could mean something other than pain, Sam who was brave and selfless and ambitious and an absolute queen. Helga wasn’t good enough to clean the mud off Sam’s shoes. Your problem’s with me bitch, leave Sam out of it.

“What makes you think you’ll even be Champion?” Alex snapped at Helga, her voice as sharp as a knife.

Helga laughed. “You and I both know I’m one of the best students in Durmstrang and the Quidditch team’s best player. Who do you think would be Champion?”

“Hopefully not Bitch MacBitchson,” Magnus snarled under his breath. Or it was supposed to be under his breath but he said it loudly and everybody heard him. Including the bitch in question, who stared at him with the most offended expression Magnus had ever seen.

She quickly composed herself before speaking, her attention now a hundred percent on Magnus. “And who are you?”

“I’m Magnus Chase,” he said confidently. He was so angry at this girl for what she had done to Alex and how she was talking to her and his friends right now that he didn’t pay any attention to the fact there were students gathered around them watching what was happening. “I’m Alex’s friend and if you’re really that confident you’ll be Champion then just put your bloody name in the Goblet and leave because I think seeing a Troll in person is scaring some of the younger students.”

As per teenage fashion, the crowd of students broke out into a loud chorus of “Ohhhhh!” Helga was red in the face, obviously furious. Magnus felt so proud of himself as he watched her walk up to the Goblet with her nose held high, ignoring the cacophony the students were creating. She dropped her name in the fire and turned around, walking straight into Alex and knocking her off her feet as she made her way to the Hall of the Slain.

“I’ll see you and your little friends later, Alexander,” she said to Alex over her shoulder, a smirk on her lips.

A hand was offered to Alex. “Are you okay?” the person asked in a distinctively French accent and Alex recognized him as the tall boy from Beauxbatons with the crazy curls (he wasn’t wearing the stupid hat any more, thank goodness).

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” But even as she said that, Alex was glaring daggers, knives, swords and every other sharp object at Helga’s back. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t see everything, but that was really rude of her. If she wants to be a Champion she shouldn’t act like that.” The boy seemed to realize how angry he sounded and he quickly apologized. “Sorry for that.”

“Raphael!” A boy with dirty blonde hair stood by the entrance to the Hall of the Slain and waved at Raphael. “Come on!”

“J’arrive, Louis!” Raphael called out to the other boy. “I hope I’ll see you around,” he told Alex before putting his name in the Goblet and running to the other boy. They intertwined their fingers and walked into the Hall of the Slain.

“You know what I said about killing her?” T.J said. “I take it back. Let’s torture her, it’ll make the suffering last longer.”

The groups of friends chose to ignore T.J’s violent suggestion and simply nodded. They were already making lists of potential punishments.

////////////////

The day went by as slow as a snail for every student at Hogwarts, but finally the time had arrived when they would learn who would be Champions. The students poured into the great Hall, for once immediately sitting at their tables. The food of the Halloween feast was served and students eat in between talking among themselves lively. The air was filled with chattering as the last friendly dares were made about who would represent each school.

As dinner was finishing, Headmaster Odin stood up from his seat. He hit his Goblet with his spoon and a loud, crisp sound was made, amplified by magic. Everybody stopped talking at once and turned to look at him.

“My dear students,” he began, “I am sure you are all excited to learn who will be the three brave fellows to represent each of our schools in the Triwizard Tournament.” The Hall burst into applause as everybody showed the Headmaster their agreement. Odin smiled before continuing. “I assume you would prefer get to the point, as you youngsters say, so let’s see who have been chosen by the Goblet of Fire. I’m curious to find out myself.”

Applause filled the Hall once more, accompanied by howls and even cat-whistles. The chest with the Goblet of Fire was levitated on top of the small stage set in front of the teacher’s table. Headmaster Gilbert stepped forward. He took the Goblet in his hands and held it steadily.

“Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!” He bellowed in a clear voice. The Goblet’s small orange flames burst to the ceiling, turning into a vibrant, almost blinding blue. A single piece of parchment floated inside the fire, not one corner of it scorched by the heat.  

As the fire quelled, the paper floated gently onto Headmaster Gilbert’s hand. The entire Hall was watching him with bated breath as he unfolded the paper and read the name it had written on it plain and clear.

“Raphael Beaumont!”

The clapping inside the Hall of the Slain sounded like a thunderstorm as Raphael, the tall boy with the dark eyes that helped up Alex yesterday stood up. The applause only increased the closer he got to the stage, his school being by far the loudest. He made his way to the stage with his shoulders pushed back and eyes looking straight ahead, but he was obviously overthinking it – he walked like a person who put too much thought into every step and he clearly felt the eyes of everyone in the room on his back.

Raphael stood next to his Headmaster as Headmistress Sonia stepped forward. She took the Goblet in her strong hands and with the boldness and certainty of a commander howled, “Durmstrang Institute!”

Flames exploded out of the Goblet once more, tall and mesmerizing. The only thing that was heard in the dining hall as the piece of parchment floated down to her hands were quiet whispers. Unfolding the parchment with steady hands, she read in a booming voice.

“Helga Leifsson!”

Applause filled the Hall once more, but Alex and his friends refused to take any part in it. Helga stood up and walked to the stage with the air of certainty and elegance of a model, not once faltering in her step or looking scared, nose held high.

“Whoever is chosen from Hogwarts better kick her ass,” Alex grumbled, stabbing his meat with his spoon and imagining he was digging the piece of cutlery into Helga’s flesh.

Last but not least, Headmaster Odin stepped forward and cupped the Goblet in his hands, old and wrinkled head steady with years’ worth of experience. In a voice so loud you would have never thought he was capable of making, he shouted, “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy!”

The flames raged high and powerful, showering the students in their dazzling light. The piece of parchment floated inside the flames like one of the paper boats Magnus and his mum would make and put in a lake. The parchment drifted down to Odin’s hands and he unfolded it carefully. He read loud and clear, leaving no one in the room a doubt about the name he uttered.

“Magnus Chase!”

Magnus suddenly felt like he was underwater. He knew there was sound, he knew the other students were clapping for him to get up and go join the Champions on the stage, but it all felt like it was happening too far away. It wasn’t really him, the Goblet couldn’t have picked out his name out of all these talented people. Yet even as he thought all that, as much as he couldn’t believe, people from his table were already pushing him to get up.

He somehow found himself on his feet, moving in a daze towards the stage. He wished he was walking as confidently as Raphael or at least as elegantly as that cow Helga, but he knew he must have looked pathetic next to them.

As the metaphorical water from his ear cleaned, the sound of applause didn’t seem to come from miles away. He realized it was his four friends who were cheering and clapping the loudest, edging him on by chanting his name like Mallory (“Magnus! Magnus! Magnus!”) or saying kind of inappropriate things like T.J (Kick their asses, Magnus! @#$% them!).

His eyes drifted to Alex, who might have been the single loudest person in the entire room. He had one leg up on the table, trying to climb on it but being held back by Sam, who was shouting for him just as loudly. One of Alex’s hands was cupped around his mouth as a megaphone and his other fist was pumping in the air as he yelled combinations of Mallory’s and T.J’s encouragements.

“Go get ‘em, Magnus! Woo hoo!” He yelled passionately, scaring a few of the other Slytherins.

Magnus smiled to himself as he made the last few steps to the stage, now walking with his head held high in pride.

Each Headmaster took their Champion by the hand and raised their joined hands in the air as Odin made the final announcement of the night.

“My dear students, I present to you the Triwizard Tournament Champions!”

�Y��K

Have I told you I love writing shit-talking? Because I do. Get ready, because I have quite a few things prepared  for you >:3