Chapter Text
IT'S HARD TO BE SAD WHEN the Stoll Brothers were around, so Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase couldn't help but crack a smile as they yelled the lyrics of Wrecking Ball at the top of their lungs.
"I CAN'T LIVE A LIE!" Travis shouted, clutching his water bottle like it was a microphone. Connor continued, "RUNNING FOR MY LIFE!"
"I WILL ALWAYS WANT YOU!" they sang in unison. The campers laughed merrily at the two boys, whistling and clapping along to the beat of the song.
Momentarily, their minds were at rest. They had saved the world yet again, and though they had already celebrated with the Romans earlier, a party without them wouldn't hurt anyone.
The losses they had suffered were pushed aside as they enjoyed the moment, savouring the smiles on everyone's faces.
In the background, the Stolls were still singing, "I NEVER HIT SO HARD IN LOVE! ALL I WANTED WAS—"
Gasps sounded as Rachel, who was cheering in the crowd, suddenly fell over, her eyes turning blank. The air became colder, and an ominous light seemed to hover over them.
"A prophecy," Katie Gardner said softly. Her hands clasped over her mouth; they all knew what was about to come, and they all dreaded it.
"FOUR DEMIGODS SHALL FACE THE UNKNOWN;
AMONGST THEM, AN OWL ALONE.
THE MEETING OF MYTH AND MAGIC
SHALL BRING AN END MOST TRAGIC.
THE SON OF HERMES RISES AGAIN
CONTROL THE ILLUSION UNDER THE RAIN.
TO SEE THE FUTURE, TO KNOW YOUR PAST
BATTLE IT OUT AND BITE THE DUST."
There was a stunned silence as Rachel collapsed, and the flames of the campfire rapidly dwindled. Percy blinked. Thoughts swirled in his mind and, no matter how much he tried to get over his initial surprise, his mind kept blocking out the words, as if trying to protect him from harm.
However, the situation was inevitable, and Percy finally came to his senses. When he opened his mouth to speak, Annabeth beat him to it.
"So there'll be four demigods for this quest."
Annabeth's voice pulled the campers back into the present. Some shook their heads, getting rid of the remaining shock tingling at their skin. Others— the newer ones, actually— just laughed nervously, hoping Annabeth, in all her might and glory, would reassure them that this whole thing was all a figment of their imaginations.
Surely, the Fates wouldn't be so cruel as to force them into another prophecy after all the things they'd just been through, right?
Eh. They were wrong.
"We know Annabeth's going. She's probably the owl," Piper added. The hopeful campers' faces immediately turned sour. Alas, their wishes for the prophecy to be a hallucination were crushed.
"If Wise Girl is going, I'm going too," Percy insisted. Though he did want to go to accompany his girlfriend, everyone else knew it was also because he didn't want anyone else to get hurt. "There's no changing my mind."
"Yeah. But what is this 'magic'?" Annabeth pondered, the gears in her head turning much faster than the others. A whole lot of them were stuffing marshmallows in their mouths, almost like they thought the roasted treats would be the last luxury they would experience in a long, long time.
"I suppose I know."
The campers turned around to face their activities director, who had remained silent until that moment. His eyes were clouded with regret and pain, and his hair was streaked with grey.
"One boy in particular is associated with magic." Chiron took a shaky breath. "His name is Harry Potter. He's quite popular."
"Why?" Annabeth questioned, her eyebrows furrowed as she didn't recognise the name, despite him being 'popular', as Chiron had called him.
"He... He was the one who killed Voldemort."
"He killed who?" Percy repeated, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of the new name. It sounded like a garbage name to him, really, but he still noted the way Chiron said it, like Voldemort was an all-evil super villain.
"Where is Harry Potter from?" Piper asked, Chiron ignoring Percy's question.
"He goes to a school in Scotland."
"And is his school any different from regular ones? Is he a demigod?" Annabeth ventured further, trying to grasp as much information as she could.
"I never thought I'd have to share this information with you all. Hecate promised her domain would stay out of trouble." Chiron sighed heavily. "You see, Hecate has her own species, called the wizards. She blessed mortals to be able to perform magic, and those mortals passed down the ability to cast spells to generations after them. These wizards attend schools to learn more about magic. The school Harry Potter goes to is Hogwarts, one of the best."
"How about Voldemort?"
"He's a wizard that went dark, killing many others, including innocent mortals."
"I don't like him," Percy said with distaste, not very pleased that his 'Voldemort was an all-evil super villain' theory was proven correct.
The demigods exploded with chatter, sharing their opinions on the new information. Clarisse la Rue spewed threats and promises to bash the already dead Voldemort. Others glanced at each other in disgust, appearing to look down upon Voldemort's methods.
"And what does this have to do with us?" Percy inquired, raising his voice slightly so that he was louder than the others. "If Harry Potter has already defeated Voldemort, what more do we have to do?"
"That, Percy, I do not know. I think it's safe to assume that a new threat is arising, and the wizards will need your help."
"I hate to be the one to say this, but we just finished a war, can't we catch a break?" Katie said. Although she was mainly a kind and understanding girl, her expression displayed anger towards the gods. They'd lost friends and family, yet they still wanted more?
Even with the sword rested by her feet, Katie looked incredibly fragile and in pain. A few campers bit their lip as they remembered that one of her maternal siblings had died during the Giant War.
Silence fell over the group of children. They remembered the faces of their friends and family, fighting bravely for the greater good.
The last of the flames from the campfire extinguished, finally worn out after everyone had mourned silently for those they had lost.
"I'm sorry, I do not wish to lose anymore of my demigods, but a quest is a quest. The four children of the gods must go," Chiron said quietly.
"We still don't know who the other two are," Percy pointed out, his eyes misty as he remembered so many of his friends. At first, he tried to conceal the tears, but decided against it because he knew that there was nothing wrong with being sad, whether it was because his friends had died or not.
"Well, we have plenty of Hermes kids," Nyssa's voice rang out. "Just pick one of the dumb males."
The children of Hermes huddled around, although it was difficult, and started discussing. Within the span of a minute, they pushed their head-counsellor to the front, deciding that Travis Stoll was the biggest dumb male they could offer (Connor was a close second).
"Guess I'll go," Travis grinned, sitting next to Percy and Annabeth. He sounded brave, but inside, Travis felt a spark of fear ignite within him. He had never gone on a quest like this before; never so major. He wondered if he would be the one to screw everything up, but then pushed the thought away. It was seriously not good to overthink, he decided. "Now, who's the last one?"
"I'll go," came a gentle voice. Heads turned to face Katie Gardner, who had volunteered without hesitation. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt. You heard me earlier, and I meant it. I'll go."
Katie's half-siblings erupted into cheer. Her eyes were fiery with determination. She seemed mentally prepared for all the trauma she knew was to come. It was her job as a demigod, she supposed. Sacrificing themselves for the greater good was quite literally their motto.
Percy caught Travis staring at her, a smile of his own on his face. He nudged the child of Hermes, his eyebrows raised. Travis shook his head, though his lips were still curved upwards.
"Settle down, children. You four should get ready. You'll leave first thing—"
"Now, Chiron, how do you plan to get to Hogwarts without actually having magic?"
Gasps could be heard as Hecate stepped out from behind Chiron.
"I believe you four know enough about Hogwarts and that the children attending are all blessed by me, one way or another. Fortunately for you, your ancestors were able to perform magic, therefore you have magic in your blood. Tomorrow, you'll leave for Diagon Alley, a place to get school supplies. You will find that Mr di Angelo's shadow travelling will be most helpful for the trip to London. I will ensure he has enough energy to stay on his feet. I hate to say it, but my domain is in trouble, and I am grateful that you four are willing to help. I wish you demigods the best. Be careful."
With those words and a few other explanations, Hecate observed the crowd silently. No one dared to speak, for fear that Hecate would blast them into smithereens. Even Percy, who was not normally the kind to keep still, was as quiet as a mouse. He seemed to understand that Hecate needed her own time (yes, Annabeth was surprised by his sudden empathy for gods as well).
Finally, she looked directly at Percy, Annabeth, Travis and Katie. The goddess wasn't one to smile, but she allowed her features to lighten.
"I know you won't disappoint me," she said, and then she vanished.
Percy Jackson didn't want much. He only wanted a happy future with his family and friends. He wanted to go to college with his girlfriend in New Rome.
But Percy knew what came with expectations; disappointment.
He knew that as a child of the Big Three, a happy future was almost impossible.
He had saved the world twice, killed more monsters than Hercules, survived Tartarus and so much more.
He was hopeful that with all the things he went through, the Fates would allow him a happy future in New Rome. But noooo.
As Rachel spoke the prophecy and Chiron revealed a different world, Percy Jackson was disappointed. He sat at Long Island Beach, the waves crashing beneath his feet.
Scooping the sand up and pouring it back down slowly, he watched the grains of sand fall gracefully to the floor.
"What're you thinking about?"
Percy shrugged helplessly. "I want to help the wizards, I really do. But what about what we had in New Rome?"
"New Rome will have to wait," Annabeth said gently, resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I'm always right, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed. Percy smiled to himself as he watched the waves churn.
He may be disappointed, but he had her.
And that was all that mattered.