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Chapter Text

“Is that everything you needed?” asked Percy Jackson warily looking at the glowing soccer ball that was supposed to be his memories.
“Yes, Perseus” answered Mnemosyne (what a mouthful), goddess of memories. “You’ll have to stay here a bit longer to make sure Hecate’s device works and then you are free to go.”
“Don’t worry Seaweed Brain, we’ll be back at Camp soon” said Annabeth lovingly holding his hand. Right now the gods only needed Percy for this plan of theirs, but Tartarus would freeze before either of them would allow a goddess to mess around with his memories without supervision again, so Annabeth had come with him.
“And don’t worry Percy” chimed in Apollo, who had showed up at some point during the memory copy and paste.” I’ll make sure the wizards get the best impression of you. This is going to be a masterpiece. Oh, I know what camera angles to use! And I’ll add flashbacks! And a soundtrack! Wait here, I’ll get the Muses!” he added running out of the room before anyone could stop him.
Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance. They didn’t say anything but both of them would make sure Artemis got the best offering that night. Only she could save them from her brother artistic excesses.

Harry hadn’t had much time to be mad at his friends for keeping him in the dark all summer. Not only he understood how hard was to get the adults to actually tell them anything, Dumbledore had ordered an emergency meeting and the children were allowed to be there for once, despite Mrs Weasley’s protests.
An enlarging charm had been put in the biggest room in Grimauld Place and still there was barely space for all the people there. More and more members keep coming, aside of the ones Harry already knew.
“Bill! Charlie!” cried out Ginny, tackling her brothers into a hug bear.
“Hi there” greeted Charlie escaping from his mother’s embrace and ruffling his brothers’ hair.
“You didn’t say you were coming!” said Ron smiling from ear to ear.
“We didn’t have time” replied Bill with a smile. “Dumbledore said this meeting was mandatory for everyone in the Order. We have just arrived”.
More greetings were exchanged; several members of the Order were catching up with old friends and the Weasleys (with Harry and Hermione) were celebrating the sudden family reunion. Sirius and Snape were not so amicably glaring at each other from opposite sides of the room with Remus and McGonagall keeping an eye on them. The house hadn’t been this lively in a long time.
“My dear friends “called out Dumbledore drawing everyone attention” Thanks to all of you for being here today. I’m glad to announce I bring good news”.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation.
“I have been talking to a good friend of mine from America, who has assured us his people’s help in this upcoming war against Voldemort.”
For once, no one shuddered to the name. Instead everyone exploded into questions
“Who are they?”
“How come we’ve never heard of them?”
“Is the American government sending help?”
Once they had calmed, Dumbledore started to explain.
“This society has a long, complicated history and its members have kept to themselves for centuries. Even the bigger magical community isn’t aware of their existence. What’s more, they have gone through some conflicts of their own in recent times”.
“Then why are they offering help to us right now? This is suspicious, Dumbledore. CONSTANT VIGILANCE, you should that better than anyone.”
“Calm down Alastor. I know it’s too much information which is why they have gifted us with the memories of their greatest hero, which includes all the information needed to understand their situation.”
As he spoke, he moved aside showing the Order the pensieve behind him. It was completely different to the one Harry had seen in the Headmaster’s office. This one was made of pure bronze with images resembling old greek art Harry remembered from history class in his old muggle school. A golden circle surrounded the rim with a small arrow tip pointing down. Even from a distance, the energy emanating from it was the most powerful thing Harry had ever felt. From the older wizards’ reactions, he could say they had never seen anything like this before.
Dumbledore lightly tapped the Pensieve with his wand and the arrow tip suddenly moved to one of the drawings, a lightning bolt, which started glowing. Instead of liquid light inside the basin, lots of tiny spheres of different colours now hovered over it and… were those roman numbers in them or did Harry need new glasses?
One of the spheres, the “I” one dropped into the basin.
“Albus, what is-” ,started to ask McGonagall. Before she could finish the question, a thick mist poured from the Pensieve, slowly covering the entire room.
“What?!”, barked Moody, who started to shoot every counter curse he knew to the Penseive. The other adults imitated him but nothing could break it nor stop the overflowing mist, now as thick as cotton.
“Everyone!” called out Dumbledore, “Please, calm down. I assure you this is how it’s supposed to work”
“Are we sure this is a Pensieve?” whispered Ron to his friends, as the adults very reluctantly returned to their seats
Sirius overheard him. “It’s not like any other magic I’ve seen and there’s a lot of cursed crap in this house” he growled.
Hermione had pulled out parchment and a quill and was lost in her thoughts.
“A magical society in America… It’s not the government according to Dumbledore…It could be some tribe of ancient Native American wizards, I’ve read about them, but the design is clearly greek…”
“We’ll have to watch” shrugged Harry. Dumbledore could be keeping secrets left and right but Harry at least trusted he wouldn’t fall for a trap.
Trying to put aside their doubts, the members of the Order watched as the mist moved around forming the first memory.

Chapter Text

A yellow bus drives through a city.

“Where is this?” asked Sirius.

“Somewhere in America, obviously.” answered Snape with a sneer.

“Very helpful” shot back Sirius.

Before they could continue their argument, the view changed to the inside of the bus.

“Children?” asked Kingsley looking around.

“They aren’t our allies, are they? They can’t be older than first years!” said Molly.

“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood”

 “And what’s wrong with being a half-blood?” asked Tonks defensively.

“Does Who-You-Know have allies in America?” asked Hermione.

“He does not, miss Granger. These half-bloods have their own painful struggles to deal with” answered Dumbledore solemnly.

McGonagall and Snape raised their eyebrows. Just who were these people?

Being a half-blood is dangerous. It’s scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it’s only a matter of time before they sense it too and they’ll come for you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

“Ok, we won’t” joked the twins trying to light the mood.

“Is… is it that bad?” asked Ron.

“But why half-bloods? Wouldn’t muggleborns have it worse?” added Ginny.

No one knew what to answer.

The memory focused on a boy with black hair and sea green eyes.

My name is Percy Jackson. I’m twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.

“Well, nice to meet you” said Sirius with a doubtful smile.

“Aww Harrykins you didn’t tell us you have a secret twin” cooed Fred.

“You should have told us. You could have joined the cool twins club with us!” added George

Harry wanted to answer, but he was very surprised by the boy. They indeed looked a lot alike aside from the glasses.

Snape felt the urge to facepalm. Looked like a Potter and attended to an american private school (so, rich) for troubled children (no explanation needed) He hoped against all odds that this brat wasn’t important to the story.

Am I a troubled kid? Yeah, you could say that. I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it,

Molly felt her heart break. What could have happened to such young child to talk that way about himself? She’d make sure to send him some sweets and a sweater as soon as she could.

but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.

“It seems he isn’t old enough to go to magical school yet” mused McGonagall.

“But then why are we following his perspective?” asked Charlie.

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE, you never know when something will go wrong!” yelled Mad-Eye.

“Alastor has a point. Mr Jackson himself says things went bad in this trip” added Remus.

I know-it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.

“It sounds interesting, though” protested Hermione now paying more attention to the memory.

“Ungrateful brat” thought Snape bitterly. This kid had access to more opportunities than many others and didn’t appreciate them.

The focus shifted to a middle-aged man in a wheelchair. He had a scruffy beard and wore a tweed jacket.

But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes. You wouldn’t think he’d be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn’t put me to sleep.

Dumbledore’s eyes widened in recognition. He knew Percy Jackson was important, but to the point of being scouted by Chiron himself?

I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn’t get in trouble. Boy, was I wrong.

“I know the feeling, man” said Harry. Ron and Hermione nodded beside him. Trouble just loved them, the feeling wasn’t mutual. They pointedly ignored the adults’ worried looks.

See, bad things happen to me on field trips.

The scene changes to show a younger Percy accidentally blowing up a school bus with a cannon and getting expelled from school. Then it changes to him pushing a lever, dropping the entire class into a shark tank.

You get the idea.

Most of the room exploded into laughter. Even McGonagall was fighting a smile.

“This child is the best!” Sirius cackled, almost crying of laughter.

“Mom, can we adopt him?” asked Fred. George was slapping his knee completely out of breath.

“Who let children near cannons and sharks?” shrieked Molly.

“Ooh, is it one of those muggle aquariums? Do schools take children there? ” Arthur was delighted at this unexpected chance to learn about the muggle world.

“Yes, Mr. Weasley” answered Hermione “Schools take children on cultural trips often, it’s part of the curriculum. Still very irresponsible of them not making sure the cannon didn’t work”

This trip, I was determined to be good.

All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and ketchup sandwich.

The memory now focused on the scrawny boy with curly hair sat next to Percy

“The teachers should be putting a stop to her behavior” frowned McGonagall.

Grover was an easy target. He cried when he got frustrated. He must’ve been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don’t let that fool you. You should’ve seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.

“He and Ron would be good friends” said Ginny with a smile.

“I don’t run to the cafeteria” Ron tried to defend himself.

“No, you’d just appear in the Great Hall if you could” joked Harry. Ron answered with a playful elbow to his arm while Hermione tried not to laugh.

“What’s PE?” asked Arthur.

“Physical Education. Running, playing muggle sports, that kind of thing” answered Harry.

“Poor kid. At least he has a good friend in his corner” said Tonks looking at Percy, who looked ready to fight Nancy Bobbit and the entire bus if he had to.

Nancy kept throwing pieces of sandwich at Grover. She knew I couldn’t do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.

“That school sounds like torture” groaned Charlie.

“At least they visit museums” answered Bill

“Of course Percy has to watch out for suspension while the bully can do whatever she wants” complained Harry gritting his teeth. This was remembering him of muggle school too much for his taste. At least in Hogwarts he and Malfoy were in more or less equal ground.

“I’m going to kill her,” I mumbled.

Grover tried to calm me down. “It’s okay. I like peanut butter.”

“Definitively Ron” said Hermione fondly.

Looking back on it, I wish I’d decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would’ve been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.

A wave of tension ran through the room. Were they going to finally find out why half-bloods’ lives were so terrible in that world?

“Finally something happens” mumbled Snape.

Sirius was going to say something but Remus stopped him. The sooner they found out what was going on the better.

The memory changed to Mr Brunner leading the museum tour.

He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.

“That is the beauty of history” said Dumbledore with a glint on his eyes “Maybe we should organize outings like this in Hogwarts.”

Everyone, even the less interested students agreed. This was far better than listening to professor Binns drone on and on about gobling revolutions for hours. And, for the twins, it offered more chances for pranks and mischief.

Mr Bunner showed them a stele for a young girl, explaning the carves on the sides and other details.

“Ok, this is interesting, but can’t the other kids just shut up?” Said Ginny, annoyed.

“No manners” agreed McGonagall” I hope they all got an earful when they went back to the school”

Dumbledore felt sorely tempted to ask Chiron to teach History at Hogwarts, but he knew his friend has chosen his own path as mentor of heroes in Camp Half-Blood. “Who knows” he thought” if the gods’ plan works we could organize school exchanges programs.”

I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.

The memory focused on a small, mean looking woman in her fifties wearing biker attire, including a leather jacket.

“Oh Merlin, is Snape’s cousin” said Fred in a exaggerated scared voice, mock fainting in his twin’s arms.

“I won’t be caught dead wearing that, Weasley” retorted the potion master.

Everyone was trying to hold back their laughter

She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.

“Suspicious” growled Moody focusing his eye on the woman. Kingsley nodded in agreement.

One time, after she’d made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn’t think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, “You’re absolutely right.”

“Hold on, something’s wrong here” said Charlie. This wasn’t a normal remark about mean teachers, Grover looked terrified.

 “Not even Neville after a class with Snape looks this scared” whispered Ron to his friends.

“So, why does Grover know she isn’t human? And why isn’t he warning Percy? He clearly thinks she is dangerous” asked Harry.

Finally Percy lost his patience with Nancy and told her to shut up. Mr Brunner asked him to explain one of the pictures on the stele.

I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it.

Percy explained the whole story of how Kronos ate his children and how Zeus rescued his siblings.

“What kind of story is that?” asked Molly feeling  nauseus.

“It’s the greek myth of creation” explained McGonagall “Greek and Roman culture had a lot of influence in early wizard societies, especially our patron goddess, Hecate, who we still worship to this day.

Hermione was taking quick note of all this when she suddenly had a thought. These memories had been selected to explain their new allies’ situation, so this visit to this especific museum was clearly important. She glanced to the clearly greek inspired pensieve in the center of the room. Were their allies some cult based around the greek gods?

Snape was thinking along the same lines.

Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, “Like we’re going to use this in real life. Like it’s going to say on our job applications, ‘Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.’”

“And why, Mr. Jackson,” Brunner said, “to paraphrase Miss Bobofit’s excellent question, does this matter in real life?”

“Busted,” Grover muttered.

“Shut up,” Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.

“Serves her well” said Ginny

“She reminds me of Malfoy” Harry looked disgusted.

“I don’t want to agree with her, but she has a point. What is this lecture going to serve them for?” said Ron.

I thought about his question, and shrugged. “I don’t know, sir.”

“Seems like Percy agrees” said Sirius with a smile

Mr Brunner gave a more detailed version of the story and asked Mrs Dodd to lead the class outside for lunch.

“Alive and undigested?” gagged Arthur looking quite green.

“How is that a happy note?” asked a baffled Molly

“Well, the gods won and Kronos is dead? Kind of?” Harry found the story pretty optimistic, which probably said a lot about his own current circumstances.

“Still not a story I’d like to hear before lunch” said Dedalus Diggle.

Mr Brunner asked Percy to stay behind.

Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn’t let you go- intense brown eyes that could’ve been a thousand years old and had seen everything.

“You must learn the answer to my question,” Mr. Brunner told me.

“About the Titans?”

“About real life. And how your studies apply to it.”

“Oh.”

“What you learn from me,” he said, “is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.”

“Does this feel like when Grover said Mrs Dodds was a monster or am I imagining things?” asked Ron

“What do you mean?” Hermione was puzzled.

Ron shrugged as he tried to find the words “I don’t know, it’s like, they are telling Percy these normal things but being really intense about it. Mr Brunner sounds like Percy’s life depends on knowing this stuff.”

“He even looks like Dumbledore when he is being secretive” added Harry.

Dumbledore’s eyes tingled in amusement. Well, he couldn’t deny it. That said, he had the life experience of an infant compared to the centaur.

I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.

“Isn’t that a good thing, though?” asked Bill. When his siblings all looked at him like he had grown a second head, he explained. “It means Brunner thinks Percy can do it. I would feel worse if a teacher didn’t push me because they thought I wasn’t worth the effort”

Hermione completely agreed with him. Everyone else thought he had a point. Even the twins thought school wouldn’t be so fun without the strict McGonagall keeping them in line.

I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days,

The scene changed to Mr Brunner in class wearing old roman armor, shouting “what ho!” and challenging the students, sword in hand, to run to the chalkboard and list every historical figure they knew and the gods they worshipped.

“Oh Merlin! Where was him when we were in school?” asked Charlie.

“Teaching people luckier than us, obviously.” answered Tonks shaking her head, thinking of all the boredom Mr Brunner could have saved them from back in the day.

But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No-he didn’t expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn’t learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.

“I assume a C- isn’t a good grade, but what are dyslexia and attention deficit disorder?” asked McGonagall with a frown. She had never heard of it.

Hermione immediately answered “Dyslexia is a learning disorder that causes difficulty to read and spell words among others. ADHD, as the name implies, causes inattention, hyperactivity, lack of focus, etc. It makes sense for Percy to get bad grades if he has to deal with both of them.”

McGonagall nodded. “Thank you, miss Granger. Albus, would it be possible to introduce a protocol to look out for those in our students.”

“The Ministry of Education sends guidelines to all the schools in the country, we could request for some-” Snape interrupted himself when he noticed the entire room staring at him. “What? I don’t want the dungeon to explode because some kid misread the instructions.”

The students and the Marauders rolled their eyes.

Everyone was now outside having lunch on the front steps of the museum. The weather was dreadful, a storm already brewing and wind roaring around them.

The weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We’d had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.

“Since Christmas specifically?” frowned Remus.

“Anything in mind, Moony?”

“Not yet, but these are memories selected for us. Percy wouldn’t have added it if it wasn’t important.”

Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn’t know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn’t make it elsewhere.

“Detention?” Grover asked.

“Nah,” I said. “Not from Brunner. I just wish he’d lay off me sometimes. I mean-I’m not a genius.”

Grover didn’t say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, “Can I have your apple?”

I didn’t have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.

Laughter was hear again around the room.

“They are truly you two” giggled Hermione looking at her friends fondly.

I thought about my mom’s apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She’d hug me and be glad to see me, but she’d be disappointed, too. She’d send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn’t be able to stand that sad look she’d give me.

“Sixth school in six years” spat Snape. He had to go back in his previous assessment, this kid was worse than the Potters.

“He has learning disabilities!” defended Molly. “I’m sure his mum knows that and is proud of him none the less”.

The Weasley kids agreed with their mum  and felt really bad for Percy. They still missed home at Hogwarts despite being the best school ever, in their opinion. They couldn’t imagine being away from home in such a horrible place like Yancy seemed to be.

Percy and Grover were eating their lunch when Nancy approached them and dropped her lunch on Grover’s lap.

I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, “Count to ten, get control of your temper.”

“Nah, punch that b-“

“Ginebra Weasley!”

“Sorry mom, but she deserves it”

Suddenly the water of the fountain dragged Nancy until she fell on her butt inside it.

“Did you see that?!”

“Accidental magic?”

Molly and Arthur shared an incredulous look. They hadn’t seen something like that in over two decades of wizard child-rearing. McGonagall and Snape were sharing similar thoughts. Everyone else was just trying to make sense of what they had just seen.

Harry finally decided to speak out “Is it normal to hear waves roaring when you do accidental magic?”

No one had to answer, their faces all said they hadn’t ever seen or experienced such a phenomena.

Mrs Dodds showed out of nowhere. After making sure Nancy was all right, she gave Percy a triumphant, sinister look.

“Now, honey-“

“I know,” I grumbled. “A month erasing workbooks.”

That wasn’t the right thing to say.

“Come with me,” Mrs. Dodds said.

“Merlin’s pants, she is terrifying” shuddered Ron looking away from the screen.

“Now I understand Grover better” agreed Harry “I wouldn’t want to be in the same room with that woman either.”

“Also, why does everyone look surprised except for her?” added Tonks “You’d think she has been waiting her entire life for this moment.”

“Maybe she is indeed a monster and American monsters eat wizards?” joked Fred.

“Wait!” Grover yelped. “It was me. I pushed her.”

I stared at him, stunned. I couldn’t believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.

“He is a good friend” smiled Remus.

Unfortunately, Grover’s lie didn’t work and Percy had to go with Mrs Dodds

Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.

The tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. They didn’t have any clue how all the pieces they had seen fit together, but it was clear something was going to happen. It didn’t help an eerie music was sounding in the background for some reason.

“Come on, man” muttered Charlie biting his nails.

I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.

“Is Percy imagining things or is she really teleporting all over the place?” thought Harry. This was the second time Mrs Dodds had changed places in second like a horror movie villain.

Okay, I thought. She’s going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop. But apparently that wasn’t the plan.

“It would have been the best possible outcome, but it was clearly not going to happen” said Kingsley.

“She wouldn’t try anything in a public place full of people though, would she?” fretted Molly holding onto the smallest hope that Percy would be safe.

When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section. Except for us, the gallery was empty.

“Oh fu-“

“Sirius!”

Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.

“That’s not a sound I’ve heard a human being making” McGonagall was on the edge of her seat, gripping the armrest until her knuckles were white. The boy was alone with Merlin-knew-what and the only adult who probably could help him was outside reading a novel. She prayed to everything that Mr Underwood warned Mr Brunner as soon as they went into the museum.

Even without the noise, I would’ve been nervous. It’s weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...

“Does she have something against the gods?” Hermione’s blood ran cold. If her theory was true and Percy had anything to do with a group of greek gods worshippers, he was absolutely in danger.

Mrs Dodds accused Percy of something and tried to make him confess despite him not knowing what she was talking about. Thunder shook the building, Mrs Dodds looked more and more like a wild demon by the moment.

She’s a teacher, I thought nervously. It’s not like she’s going to hurt me.

“Mate, she is absolutely going to hurt you!” shouted Harry. He had been almost killed by his own share of teachers and none of them came close to how monstrous Mrs Dodds was looking at the moment. She seemed ready to drag Percy to hell.

After another attempt to get Percy to admit his supposed crime, Mrs Dodds decided she has had enough

“Your time is up,” she hissed.

“Holy-!”

Mrs Dodds transformed in front of their very eyes. Her jacket turned into leathery bat wings. Her fingers became talons and claws, huge yellow fangs grew from her mouth and her eyes became burning coals.

Everyone got up from their seats, wands at the ready. Spells could be heard from all directions among all the screaming. The older Weasleys and the Marauders had immediately put themselves in front of the children.

With some effort, Dumbledore managed to calm them enough to remind them they were watching a pensieve and nothing in it could hurt them. It was quite a remarkable feat to get everyone to go back to their seats, especially because the image in the mist had frozen on a close up of Mrs Dodds’s face.

“Albus, what have you gotten us into?” asked Snape managing to loosen the grip on his wand and school a restrained expression on his face. His heart was still in his throat but nobody had to know that.

“Severus, as I’ve said, it’s a very complicated society that has existed for as long as humanity itself.” answered  the headmaster patiently” Seeing things through the eyes of someone who had to learnt everything from scratch is the easiest way”

Harry was going to say it surely wasn’t the easiest way for Percy Jackson, but he didn’t want the adults to freak out even more. Mr and Mrs Weasley had moved their seats right next to theirs and were watching over them like hawks. There wasn’t that much space left, so Bill, Charlie and the Marauders had sat in the floor near them. It said something that neither the troublemaking twins nor the trouble encountering trio had any objections to this coddling.

She was about to slice me to ribbons.

“What is she though?”asked Bill running his hand through his hair “I’ve never seen, heard of or read about anything resembling this”

“She doesn’t seem to be a dragon either” added Charlie

“What kind of dragon can talk, transform into a human and wait months to attack” asked Tonks looking at him like he had grown wings.

“You never know!” Charlie answered enthusiastically, causing his older brother and best friend to facepalm.

Then things got even stranger.

“How in the world is that possible?”

Mr Brunner wheeled his chair into the gallery carrying a pen

“Finally!” exclaimed Arthur

“Percy should get out of there and let Mr Brunner to handle the situation!” added Molly

McGonagall ,Snape and the aurors sat straighter, decided to not miss a second of their new ally’s power display.

Mr Brunner threw the pencil at Percy as Mrs Dodds lounged at him.

With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn’t a pen anymore. It was a sword-Mr. Brunner’s bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.

“Like Griffindor’s sword” whispered Harry to his friends marveled.

“Does he expect the child to fight?” growled Mood

Mrs Dodds targeted Percy again. The kid was shaking head to toe, almost dropping the sword. She lunged at him yelling “die honey!”

I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.

Unable to say a word, the Order watched Percy swinging the sword, surprisingly killing Mrs Dodds, who became  yellow podder scattered in the wind. Percy was left alone in the museum

“I can’t believe he actually did it”

Again, the experts in magical creatures were completely out of depth in regards to Mrs Dodds. She already was an unknown, but becoming yellow powded at dying. Their heads were exploding

“Had I imagined the complete thing?”

“There’s no way he imagined all that”

“Grover and Mr Brunner should explain all of this to him right now”

Percy reunited with his class but something weird was going on. No one remembered Mrs Dodds, their math teacher had been Ms Keer. Even Grover and Mr Brunner adamantly insisted it was like that and looked worried for Percy’s mental health. Thunder kept roaring in the distance.

“Did they modify everyone’s memory so quickly?” asked Kingsley “It’s over 20 students and two teacher s , it shouldn’t be possible to do it so fast.

Brunner and Grover know something though, especially Grover. Added Tonks watching the shy boy badly trying to pretend Mrs Dodds have never existed

“But why” demanded Harry feeling his fury raising “He already know there’s  a monster out there, the less they can’t do isn’t trying to convince him that he is mad.” Feeling completely exhausted , he sunk into his seat, head in his hands and said aloud what everyone was thinking.

“What, in the name of Merlin, is all of this?”

Chapter Text

Albus knew that he needed to give the Order a couple of minutes to recover. The images had faded from the mist and the room was a chaos. Some were coming up with theories, others were trying to get their shell-shocked friends to snap out of it and others were just tempted to go to sleep until the entire world made sense again.

Harry had mostly calmed down from his outburst, but seeing him in that state had made Albus doubt for the first time of how he was handling the situation. Harry was fated to experience so much more pain than he knew and Albus wished, but couldn’t some of it be avoided? Especially now that the gods were willing to intervene in the war and Chiron had offer his advice and support? Albus dared to hope.

Clearing his throat, the headmaster drew everyone attention. “If everyone feels ready, we’ll continue the viewing”.

There were no objections, but the tension was palpable. Several had parchment and quills at the ready afraid of missing anything, the little group around the children tightened and most looked at the pensieve as if it was going to explode at any minute.

Albus tapped it again and the sphere marked II dropped in the basin starting the new memory.

I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr-a perky blond woman whom I’d never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip-had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.

“The ones in charge of memory modification truly outdid themselves” muttered Kingsley. Several scenes of Percy trying to catch his classmates out of guard bringing up Mrs Dodds were shown. In every single one, none of the students showed the usual confusion or other symptoms of a memory charm.

“Also, did they have this Mrs Kerr at the ready the entire time? If so, they are more cautious than Mad-Eye” mused Tonks.

“That’s not the question” The old auror was staring into the mist as if he had picked a trail.

“What do you mean?”

“For this to work they had, not only to erase, but to replace months of memories of every single individual in the school without destroying their minds. And they did it perfectly. If the Jackson boy hadn’t been attacked, he would be none the wiser.”

Realization dawned into everyone. Just how powerful were these people?

“Thanks Merlin that they are on our side” sighed Arthur. This was being nerve-wracking.

“You shouldn’t take it for granted! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“Ok, ok, we get it!”

But Grover couldn’t fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn’t exist. But I knew he was lying.

“Disgraceful. Who assigned him to this mission?” growled Alastor.

“He is a child! He shouldn’t be part of any mission! Yelled Molly.

“Also, maybe he isn’t part of the mission” interceded Bill trying to calm his mom down “Maybe he only knows what’s going on because he is from a magical family and is keeping the secret”

It wasn’t that different of what the children in the room were doing after all, though nobody wanted to remind Molly how close to their operations they were. At least she looked calmer.

“Yes, you’re probably right dear. But Mad-Eye, you need to be nicer about the child.”

The freak weather continued, which didn’t help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.

“Something it’s up with this weather. This doesn’t sound natural” said Remus taking notes in the parchment he had borrowed from Hermione.

The situation was taking a toll on Percy’s mental health. He was suffering from nightmares every night. His grades slipped. He was angry to the point of getting into fights, being kicked out of class and even insulting a teacher.

“Why are Brunner and Grover continuing with this farce?” demanded Harry “He knows, it’s too late to keep hiding this from him. He thinks he is going insane and is probably going to lose it for real if they keep acting like this!”

“Probably they don’t want him to get into anything dangerous” Molly tried to soothe him.

“And wouldn’t telling him help with that?!” he snapped” He would know what to look for, how to spot suspicious people and who to go for help. It’s not like he is trying to get himself killed!”

At this point he had risen from his seat and was giving Dumbledore such a desperate, pleading look that the Headmaster felt his heart break in pieces. He had truly underestimated how the events of the previous year and his isolation that summer had affected the poor child.

“He is right” intervened Sirius putting a hand on his godson’s shoulder “Ignorance isn’t going to protect him.”

“Exactly! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“I-I…” tried to say Molly but she couldn’t find any words.

Harry felt a rush of shame. He knew how much Mrs Weasley cared for him, even if she was showing it the wrong way “I’m sorry, Mrs Weasley”

“It’s alright,dear” she answered with a reassuring smile “I understand how hard this is for everyone”

Sirius guided Harry back to his seat promising him everything would be ok. Ron and Hermione hugged him tighly, silently promising they’d be there for him. Harry felt his eyes sting. he had the best friends and godfather in the world.

McGonagall immediately sent Snape a warning glare. He hadn’t said anything but she could imagine it perfectly. “Can you stop making everything about yourself, Potter?” would be the nicest thing he would say

The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.

“Oh no” gasped Hermione.

“She needs to put her priorities in order” whispered Ron to Harry knowingly. It managed to get his friend to crack a smile at least.

I was homesick. I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.

Snape looked like he had swallowed a rotten lemon. “Even if I had to go to public school” said the goddamn spoiled brat. He was sure that “small apartment” was in luxury urbanization. He ignored his instincts telling him that the way Jackson talked about his stepfather was really familiar…

And yet... there were things I’d miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.

“The view is really pretty, yes” said Tonks looking around “I feel like I can smell the pine trees.”

“Hold on, I actually smell the trees” Remus inhaled some air, unable to believe his own nose.

“But that’s impossible” argued Bill in complete disbelief.

“I have been told this pensieve was made by the best masters of their craft” explained Dumbledore with his usual mystery. He smiled a little when he felt the warm of the sun around him despite sunlight never hitting Grimmauld Place even by accident.

I’d miss Grover, who’d been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he’d survive next year without me.

“Just send him some enchiladas once in a while” joked Fred.

“The best enchiladas, he deserves no less” added George.

“I hope they reunite at magic school” wished Ginny. She didn’t know exactly how the American education system worked, but if Percy and Grover lived close to each other there was a chance they’d go to the same school later on.

I’d miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner’s crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well. As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.

“A good teacher can make all the difference” Sirius said sending a look to Remus. The werewolf blushed when all his past students nodded.

“If Percy gets even luckier Mr Brunner will be his teacher at American Hogwarts too” said the twins.

“That reminds me” said McGonagall “why is he teaching at a muggle school, if he is, as I assume, one of our allies?”

“Maybe he is like Mrs Figg?” suggested Harry. His eccentric old neighbor working for Dumbledore had thrown him for a loop. Looking back, he couldn’t imagine why the Dursley would leave him with an eccentric old woman with a lot of cats. She had “witch” written all over her face even if she was actually a squib.

Percy was studying mythology in his dorm. The words started to swim off the page and letters moved around and doing 180s until the text was unreadable. The more he focused the worse it got. Finally, he got so fed up he threw the book away and started pacing the room.

“My eyes!”  yelled Ron looking away.

“Is this how dyslexia looks like?” asked McGonagall rubbing her temples.

“It’s very similar to what the books describe, Professor” answered Hermione. She was horrified. Books and studying meant the world to her, but she hardly blamed Percy for hating school if he had to go through this visual torture to learn a single paragraph.

“We are going to take care of this as soon as we are back at Hogwarts” decided Dumbledore looking at his fellow teachers. He didn’t even know if wizards could be dyslexic, but he wasn’t going to risk his students’ education. He was glad to see Severus was as appalled as they were.

Meanwhile, the twins were having a silent conversation, matching grins on their faces. Books where the words moved around when you tried to read them? They had to find a way to create a charm for that.

Percy remembered the conversation he had with Mr Brunner at the museum. With a deep breath, he picked up the book and left the room.

I’d never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn’t want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn’t tried.

“Poor dear, he is really doing his best” sighed Molly.

“At least Mr Brunner will understand” said Arthur. He felt really bad for the boy and something told him things weren’t going to get better anytime soon.

Percy was about to enter Mr Brunner’s office when a voice from inside stopped him in his tracks “-worried about Percy, sir.”

“Grover?!”

“Is Percy going to finally find out what’s going on?”

I’m not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.

  I inched closer.

“Yes, yes, get all the info” encouraged Sirius.

“If he does, Brunner should be fired” grumbled Snape.

“As if we didn’t get the drop on him in first year” Harry whispered rolling his eyes. They had been wrong, but it was still incredible how much they had managed to notice at such young age.

“Yes, that was fire” said Ron looking at a blushing Hermione. The trio broke into giggles.

“... alone this summer,” Grover was saying. “I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too-“

“They? Are there more people after Percy?” asked Molly

“A Kindly One? He can’t be talking about Mr Dodds, right?” Forget the fact that Bill knew for sure he had never heard about it, anyone who called that thing “Kindly” had worse naming ideas than Hagrid.

“And Grover seems to be actually part of the mission” said Remus in a whisper. He didn’t want to remind Molly there was another child’s safety in the line.

“We would only make matters worse by rushing him,” Mr. Brunner said. “We need the boy to mature more.”

Harry took a sharp breath. He didn’t want to snap again, but he couldn’t understand that reasoning at all. Brunner must have seen how affected Percy was by the attack; Grover must have told him that the memory eraser charm or whatever hadn’t completely worked. Percy had already been rushed; the cat was out of the bag.

Sirius noticed his discomfort and gave him a reassuring look. He was going to talk to Dumbledore and Molly as many times as it took until they understood telling Harry was necessary for both his peace of mind and safety.

“But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline- “

“Will have to be resolved without him, Grover.

McGonagall’s eyes narrowed “Deadline?”

Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can.”

“Enjoy it? He is losing his mind!”

“Sir, he saw her... .”

“His imagination,” Mr. Brunner insisted. “The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that.”

“The Mist?” asked Hermione “Is it some kind of spell or potion? I don’t recall that name from anywhere, not even from Most Potent Potion.”

“We don’t know either” admitted Kingsley.”These people seem to be really good at keeping their secrets to themselves”

“Much like someone else we know” said Alastor, his magic eye turning towards Dumbledore, who just kept his usual secretive smile.

“And how, miss Granger, did you get access to a book of the Restricted Section? Asked Snape, eyes full of suspicion.

“P-Professor Lockhart gave me permission” the girl rushed to explain.

Snape narrowed his eyes but left it there.

“We really need to be careful” whispered Hermione.

“Yes, if mum finds out half the trouble we’ve gotten into these years, she’ll have a heart attack” agreed Ron.

Harry nodded, even if he had to gut feeling it wouldn’t be so easy.

“Sir, I ... I can’t fail in my duties again.” Grover’s voice was choked with emotion. “You know what that would mean.”

“It’s not his responsibility!” protested Molly. Had the world gone insane? This was a boy younger than her children, why would he be expected to be involved in something so dangerous?

Arthur put an arm around his wife’s shoulder, both to comfort her and calm his own nerves. Against all hopes, Grover wasn’t only part of this dangerous task, it sounded like he had been done this before, with tragic results.

Tonks made sure to cover Mad-Eye’s mouth before he made some insentive remark.

“You haven’t failed, Grover,” Mr. Brunner said kindly. “I should have seen her for what she was. Now let’s just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-“

“Can we send them a gallon of Felix Felicis?” asked Fred trying to lighten the mood.

“Or at least a couple of sweaters from mum” added George.

“Oh, I was actually thinking of it” responded Molly with a smile “I’m just waiting to know what their favorite color is”.

The group around them snickered at the twins, who were gaping like fishes. It wasn’t often someone left them without words. Especially because their mum wasn’t joking, she’d get to the job as soon as she got the perfect wool.

Percy accidentally dropped his book, alerting Mr Brunner of his presence. Percy went down the hall as fast as he could.

Sirius and the twins started to talk over each other giving Percy advice

“Walk quietly!”

“Don’t leave evidence behind!”

“Check out the map!”

“Wait, what map?” asked Molly eyeing the twins suspiciously.

“The school map mum. You know, so he won’t get lost going back to his room.” Answered them looking like the perfect angels that they weren’t.

“After an entire year living there?” smirked Ron. This was too good to let it pass.

The twins didn’t know if they should feel proud of their baby brother or start planning revenge. Probably both.

A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner’s office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer’s bow.

“A muggle weapon? Don’t they use magic? Asked Bill confused.

“He gave Percy a sword too” said Tonks.

“But it was disguised as a pen, so maybe those are magical weapons” said Harry. It was the coolest thing he had ever seen. He almost wanted one.

Percy hid in the first room he found. With the door closed he could only hear what was going on in the hallway. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.

Arthur squeezed Molly’s hand and took a calming breath. It was ok. They knew it was Mr Brunner and that he wouldn’t hurt Percy. Still, watching it from the kid’s perspective was nerve-wrecking..

“It appears that Mr Brunner is some kind of magical creature” said Kingsley trying to get clues from the shadow and the noises.

“The cloc-cloc-cloc sounds like a horse” noticed Ron.

Suddenly Hermione sat up “That’s it! A centaur! They use bows after all”

Harry’s eyes widened “Yeah, it sounds the same as the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest!”

Realizing he had put his foot in his mouth all the way down to his stomach, he rushed to clarify “We were in detention and Hagrid was with us”.

Molly turned to the teachers “Why weren’t we told about it?”

“Mr Weasley wasn’t in that detention, Molly” answered Dumbledore. It was pretty sweet how close the children were, to the point that rarely they left each other behind in these situations.

“I still don’t know why they would be telling stories about dragons in the middle of the night” said McGonagall. After two different incidents where the children had tried to go to adults just to be let down, she had become a little more understanding. This though, it still baffled her.

Charlie’s eyebrows rose. He remembered how the trio had asked him to smuggle Norberta out of the country in their first year. He never heard they had gotten caught. He tried to look neutral even though he wasn’t very good at it, and oh sure, the twins were giving him mischievous looks that promised a third degree interrogation as soon as they got a break.

To the trio relief, the pensieve seemed to take pity on them and the memory started again.

Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. “Nothing,” he murmured. “My nerves haven’t been right since the winter solstice.”

  “Mine neither,” Grover said. “But I could have sworn ...”

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” roared Mad-Eye. He was going to track those two down as soon as the viewing was over and drill every auror lesson into them. Being overheard by a brat and not even catching him? Shameful, just shameful.

“Merlin pants, Mad-Eye, get some calming tea or something” groaned Tonks covering her ears.

Kingsley immediately put the conversation back on track. “It appears that the problem started the previous winter and they have until the current fall to fix it. At least we now have a timeline”.

“But what does Percy have to do with this?” asked Ginny, confused.

The auror thought for a second “Mrs Dodds’ laid in wait for months before her attack, and from what we’ve just heard someone must have sent her. The question is why.”

Snape was completely engrossed in this mystery, his usual demeanor gone. “Because they suspect of him. The creature tried to make him confess to something, Jackson just didn’t know what she was talking about.”

Sirius was going to retort but… that was a solid theory, actually. Not like he would ever said it aloud.

“Then his “crime” must have happened during the winter solstice. And Mr Brunner probably has until fall to prove him innocent. I still don’t know what’s going on with the weather.” mused Remus.

McGonagall had an answer to that “Mr Jackson said the weather changed “around Christmas”. The winter solstice is in 21^st December. That’s the connection, though I can’t imagine a group of angry wizards would be capable of something like this”. The horrid weather could still seen from the windows in the memory.

Hermione was having the sneaky suspicion that there were more than wizards involved.

“Go back to the dorm,” Mr. Brunner told him. “You’ve got a long day of exams tomorrow.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“He still has to take the exams” Ron was appalled in Grover’s behalf.

“Oh no” moaned George pretending to faint.

“Don’t worry Grover, we’ll save you” promised a teary-eyed Fred.

After a while, Percy left his hideout and walked in the dark to his dorm. After a brief conversation with Grover, he went to sleep thinking of what he had overhead.

Dumbledore regarded Grover with curiosity. Chiron hadn’t told him that much about the camp, obviously, but he knew about the satyrs who infiltrated muggle schools to find demigods and take them to safety. Grover was clearly older than he looked like, but Dumbledore could tell he was still very young. Young and haunted by that previous failure he had mentioned before. He sighted with sorrow, no child should look like that.

The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I’d misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.

“Three hours!”

“That should be illegal”

“Percy,” he said. “Don’t be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It’s ... it’s for the best.”

  His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

“Why is he telling him in front of everyone? Is this a muggle thing?" Asked Arthur.

“Goodness, no!” assured Hermione “It’s really tactless.”

Mr Brunner tried to comfort Percy, but he only managed to make it worse.

“Dude, shut up“begged Sirius”Just close your mouth, take a deep breath and talk to him later”

“I get he is trying to comfort Percy without spilling out the secret, but he is making it sound so demeaning” agreed Remus. Without context, getting that speech from a teacher he looked up to would have destroyed him as a child. Percy himself looked like he was trying not to cry.

“No, no,” Mr. Brunner said. “Oh, confound it all. What I’m trying to say ... you’re not normal, Percy. That’s nothing to be-“

  “Thanks,” I blurted. “Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” muttered Harry in utter disbelief.

“Unbelievable, just unbelievable” McGonagall was so horrified she hadn’t even heard Harry.

Hermione had sunk her face in her hands. “And Percy is already insecure because of his grades and disabilities… Merlin, this is a disaster”.

On the last day of class, Percy was packing his bags. The other kids talked about their luxurious holiday plans while Percy just planned to stay in the city and get a job. They were delinquents from rich families; he was a nobody from a family of nobodies.

Snape was completely bewildered. This was nothing like the image he had formed of Percy Jackson watching these memories.  He was tempted to dismiss him as just not as rich as the others, but no rich kid would ever spend a summer selling magazine subscriptions. He was sure that not even the Weasley kids worked summer jobs.

McGonagall and Dumbledore exchanged a worried look remembering that Percy had mentioned his stepfather’s “stupid poker parties”. Was there a gambling problem in his family?

Molly was even more determinated to send him a package of sweets as soon as she could. This poor child had gone through enough already.

The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn’t have to. He’d booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.

“I’m sure that’s totally a coincidence” remarked George.

“Indeed Georgie, Grover seems to be having the time of his life” Fred agreed.

“I assume Mr Brunner has taken some precautions” said Kingsley with a frown. It didn’t make sense to send Grover with Percy unless he had the means to call for help if there was another attack. Grover himself was clearly on edge, looking around the bus as if he expected a threat.

It occurred to me that he’d always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I’d always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.

Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I said, “Looking for Kindly Ones?”

Percy told Grover what he had overheard. Grover tried to deny everything and convince Percy that he was hallucinating, but Percy wasn’t having it. Finally, Grover pulled a business card out of his pocket, in case Percy needed him during the summer.

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800) 009-0009

“I’ve had dyslexia for less than a minute and I already want to gauge my eyes out” groaned Ginny rubbing her temples.

“Look Harry, you and Grover have something in common” joked the twins when they finally managed to read the “keeper” in the card.

“As nice as that would be, it has to be something else” said Bill. Since Grover had been sent to the school with Mr Brunner, he assumed it would be something like a bodyguard, but Grover was a child. His government surely couldn’t expect him to fight something like Mrs Dodds.

“These people are obsessed with half-bloods” remarked Ron. “Don’t they have muggleborns and purebloods too?

It was truly puzzling, but since they couldn’t offer an explanation, everyone drop the topic. Except Hermione, McGonagall and Remus, whose suspicions grew if so slightly.

“What’s Half-“

“Don’t say it aloud!” he yelped. “That’s my, um ... summer address.”

My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I’d never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.

“Okay,” I said glumly. “So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion.”

He nodded. “Or ... or if you need me.”

“Why would I need you?”

“Wow, that was harsh” cringed Tonks

“He has a lot of pent up emotions and doesn’t know what to do with them” said Bill

Harry shrank in his seat. It was similar to how he had reacted after arriving at Grimmauld Place, just with less yelling, and looking into this sort of mirror made him feel ashamed, but also helped to put things on perspective. Bill was right, Percy (and him) was dealing with a lot of shit, from a lot of places and didn’t even know where to start to actually put them into words.

If he had to be honest to himself, he could have accepted his friends’ apologies and moved on if everything wasn’t a complete shitshow. Cedric was dead because of him, Voldemort was back, the ministry was doing nothing and at some point it would be too late and now the dementors, and the Daily Prophet, and the nightmares,  and this trial and, and, and…

Merlin, he could understand Percy all too well.

Grover blushed right down to his Adam’s apple. “Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you.”

I stared at him.

All year long, I’d gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I’d lost sleep worrying that he’d get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.

“Grover,” I said, “what exactly are you protecting me from?”

“Even though he is angry, he is a good friend” smiled Charlie.

When it seemed that Grover finally was going to explain something, a grinding noise stopped him. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and a smell like rotten eggs filled the bus.

“Right when we were getting some answers, damn it!” cursed Sirius punching his armrest.

“Sirius!”

“Ok, the smell thing isn’t as cool anymore” complained Tonks covering her nose.

The adult wizards enchanted hankerchiefs to smell like perfume, but it barely did anything to disguise the smell.

The passengers soon left the bus, to the wizards’ relief. They were in a desolated country road  with only maple trees and an old fashioned  fruit stand four lanes away.

“Something is wrong here” mused Hermione biting her quill “That road doesn’t seem to have a lot of regular traffic. It makes no sense to open a business there.”

“Exactly, lass! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

Everyone held their breath, praying that the boys wouldn’t encounter a second Mrs Dodds.

Near the stand, three ancient looking ladies in cotton dresses sat in the shade of a tree. Two of them knit huge socks, while the one in the middle held a basket full of yarn. They seemed to be looking right at Percy.

Dumbledore looked at them, eyes wide and tense like a wire. They sure couldn’t be…

“Are those socks for giants or…? The twins tried to joke but their hearts weren’t at it. Something about those women was unnerving.

Grover was pale as a ghost and tried to convince Percy to go back to the bus to no avail. And then…

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for-Sasquatch or Godzilla.

No one moved. No one said a word. They didn’t understand what they had just seen, but they knew, deep in their souls, that they were at the mercy of those women. It had always been that way and would forever be that way.

Finally the bus came to life. Percy and Grover collapsed in their seats feeling ill.

“Grover?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you not telling me?”

He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. “Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?”

“You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They’re not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?”

His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds.

“Oh, my boy, they are beyond anything else” whispered Dumbledore. He was slumped in his chair and looked like he had aged a century.

“Albus, what are they?” asked Mad-Eye almost reverently.

“The ones who rule over our destinies” answered the Headmaster solemnly “The Fates.”

Hermione looked like she was going to throw up “They… they cut the yarn…”She broke down into sobs, barely unable to breathe.

“Hermione, what’s going on?” Harry and Ron hugged her tighly, their faces full of worry.

McGonagall managed to explain “The yarn they knit represents a person’s life. When they cut the yarn… it means that person is going to die.”

“No…”

“This is not happening,” Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. “I don’t want this to be like the last time.”

“What last time?”

“Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth.”

“Grover,” I said, because he was really starting to scare me. “What are you talking about?”

“What does that mean?” Molly was numb. That couldn’t be. She couldn’t have heard children of Percy’s age dying were normal. She and Arthur had unconsciously held onto their children, afraid they would drop dead at any moment.

Sirius and Remus had managed to pull Harry and Hermione with them. They were holding on each other for dear life.

“Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me.”

This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.

“Is this like a superstition or something?” I asked.

No answer.

“Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?”

He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I’d like best on my coffin.

Chapter Text

No one said a word, but from the looks he was getting, Albus understood they wanted to continue. The next memory started

Grover asked Percy to wait for him while he used the bathroom but Percy slipped away and  got into a taxi.

Everyone groaned.

“I understand he is freaking out, but this isn’t a good idea.”

“Grover really should have explained himself. Or at least not leave Percy alone”

“Both” decided Harry. He wouldn’t have left, but only because he would want to get the truth out of the strange boy as soon as possible.

Kingsley was lost in thought. Just who was Grover and why would he be entrusted with this job? Kingsley didn’t judge him. A grown-up making this mistake would have lost any respect, but Grover was clearly a child and way out of his depth. Yet he had been asked to do this at least twice.

A word about my mother, before you meet her. Her name is Sally Jackson and she’s the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.

Molly’s stomach sank. It was good that Percy had a good mother who he clearly loved, but what tragedies had that poor woman gone through?

“Didn’t Percy say he had a stepdad last memory?” asked Harry with a bad feeling.

“Yeah, something about poker parties, why?” said Ron.

Snape’s eyes narrowed. This couldn’t be going where he thought it was going.

Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn’t care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

“She didn’t deserve this” protested Tonks “Don’t they have something like the NHS, any help?”

“Wait, what’s that?” asked Arthur.

“NHS is the National Healthcare System, muggles pay for it in taxes so when they need to go to the doctor, they don’t have to pay for it “she explained” I know wizards don’t have it, but wouldn’t American muggles have something like that? It doesn’t make sense she would be left with no money.”

“They don’t” sighed Hermione “My cousin moved to America. They pay insurance and sometimes it doesn’t cover treatment. She probably spent all her money in her uncle’s treatment.”

“Percy is right, the best people get the rottenest luck” nodded Ron.

The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.

“Please, let him be still around” prayed Ginny.

“He may be not” said Remus sadly “Percy doesn’t know he is a wizard, and his mom doesn’t seem to be a witch. He is a half blood, so it has to be his dad and he’d have told him.”

I don’t have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn’t like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures. See, they weren’t married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back. Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.

Sirius gritted his teeth. Of course, it had to be that. One of those pureblood patriarchs who would have affairs with muggle women, and then abandon them as soon as they got pregnant or the guy got tired of her. He would bet a limb the bastard was married and all.

She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn’t an easy kid.

“Don’t say that” whispered Molly. She didn’t know Sally Jackson, yet from how Percy described her, she could feel her son meant the world to her. She would write her as soon as possible, offer any help she could.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk.

“And what does that mean?” growled McGonagall. That poor woman and child had gone through enough already. If they had to add a gambling addicted, potentially abusive husband and stepfather to the mix, she was going to straight up show up in NY and deal with the situation herself.

“Ugliano? Seriously?” asked Ron in disgust.

“I can see why she didn’t change her name.” agreed Ginny.

Percy opened the door to his apartment and the audience was greeted with a scene straight out of a dumpster. A putrid smell hit their nostrils causing some of them to almost throw up in their mouths. Three disgusting looking men played poker surrounded by cigar smoke. The tv blasted in the background and the floor was littered with empty beer cans and junk food.

“How can someone live like this?” groaned Bill covering his nose in disgust.

“And what do you bet those pigs aren’t going to clean after themselves afterwards?” asked Tonks sending the men a murderous glare.

“Where’s my mom?”

“Working,” he said. “You got any cash?”

Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our “guy secret.” Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.

All hell broke loose. Harry didn’t know if it was the collective anger, but for a second what it felt like an earthquake rattled Grimmauld Place from ground to ceiling.

“WHAT?” bellowed Arthur.

“That despicable…” Sirius grabbed his wand.

“He can’t still be there, right Albus?” Molly turned to the Headmaster. So did everyone else.

Dumbledore sighed. He knew he wasn’t supposed to tell much, but he couldn’t leave them hanging by a thread. “From what I heard, Mrs Jackson remarried a while ago.”

“Thanks freaking Merlin, something is going right for once!” exclaimed Harry. He chose to shut down the negative voice in his head telling him the new husband could be worse. Right now, trapped in a recreation of what Percy and his mom were forced to suffer, he only wanted them to grab the first taxi they found and move to the other side of the country.

Percy went to his room, which Gabe had claimed for himself, and that was as stinky and inhabitable as the rest of the house.

“He can’t escape that piece of shit even in his own room”, sighed Harry in defeat. As different as it was from Privet Drive (aunt Petunia would burn that flat down), he was invaded by that familiar feeling of being stuck in a place that couldn’t be called home.  He exchanged a look with Sirius. Recognizing the look of hopelessness in his godson’s face, the animagus was ready to hunt Wormtail down so he could prove his innocence and adopt Harry at once.

Snape was frozen in his seat. He forced himself to use Oclumency to keep at bay the memories that threatened to come back. Memories of yelling and beatings, of his father in rage and his mother nursing bruises.

“Severus?” whispered Dumbledore looking at him with worry.

“I’m fine” responded the potion master managing to go back to normal. He just couldn’t believe his image of this boy had been shattered in less than an hour. He didn’t change his mind easily and Jackson still reminded him of the Potters a bit too much for his liking but he was starting to see him in a very different light.

I remembered Grover’s look of panic-how he’d made me promise I wouldn’t go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone-something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.

Then I heard my mom’s voice. “Percy?”

She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.

“Percy, dude, don’t scared us like that” groaned Fred all but melting on his chair. Several people took a breath or put their wands away. Everyone had expected a second attack.

Sally Jackson entered the room like the sun shining after a storm; all smiles and tender looks and free sweets. She doted on her son while he ate the sweets and told her about his year. He tried to hide the worst of it, and his mom didn’t pressure him into telling her. Instead, she told him they were going to the beach.

“This woman is a saint” said Sirius with admiration. He could tell she had noticed Percy was hiding something big, yet she was doing her best not to overwhelm him. He knew how hard that was. Even months after the Triwizard Tournament, he still had to hold himself back and not interrogate Harry about what had happened.

“I wonder why she married that piece of shit” mused Tonks “Even a troll would be a better husband.”

“At least she’ll leave him somewhere in the future” reasoned Charlie “Five seconds with him and I can only say “good riddance”.”

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, “Bean dip, Sally? Didn’t you hear me?”

Percy was getting angrier, but his mom got him to calm down and managed to convince Gabe of letting them go to Montauk.

“You have hands and something resembling a brain, cook your own food” growled Snape.

Arthur balled his hand into a fist “And maybe he should stop wasting the household money and stealing from his stepson?”

“They deserve much better than this sorry excuse of a human being” his wife agreed with gritted teeth.

“I hope she put some laxatives in that bean dip” spat Tonks.

“Thank you, Percy,” my mom said. “Once we get to Montauk, we’ll talk more about... whatever you’ve forgotten to tell me, okay?”

“She knows” sentenced Ginny.

“Mum powers” shuddered the twins.

“She is giving him a Grover look. Just how much does she know?” wondered Ron.

Hermione leaned forward interested “It seems Percy’s father may have told her something after all. It may be something connected to their society or maybe just to his family.”

“If it’s some family’s skeletons in the closet, he may end up getting into a real mess” agreed Sirius.

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom’s bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking-and more important, his ‘78 Camaro-for the whole weekend.

“That’s all he cares about? Her cooking?” Molly was seething. She loved feeding her family and had always wanted to be a housewife, but she couldn’t imagine living like this. Arthur would never treat her this way, and it was unfair such a kind woman like Sally Jackson had to be stuck with someone like Gabe Ugliano.

Percy imitated the warding off evil gesture he had seen Grover making before. The door slammed shut so hard it hit Gabe and sent him almost flying up the staircase.

The Order of the Phoenix would have enjoyed the bastard getting his comeuppance if they hadn’t been busy picking their jaws off the carpet.

“That wasn’t an accident. That was wandless magic” muttered Bill as his brain caught up with his eyes.

“And he learned it from Grover,” said Kingsley “so it must be normal in their culture.”

“Am I missing something?” asked Harry uncomfortably.

Remus explained “Wandless magic requires a lot more power output and control than using any magical artifact. Even individuals who can use wandless magic to some extent still rely mainly on their wands or other means. No wizard community can rely on wandless magic.”

That made Hermione pause. Dumbledore hadn’t said their allies were wizards, they had just assumed it. She thought of the frequents mentions of the greek gods, the overwhelming power coming from the pensieve, of the unnatural weather. It couldn’t be…right?

The scenary changed to a  little cabin rental in the middle of the dunes. Percy and Sally got off the car, cleaned out the cabin and enjoyed their supply of blue food.

“This is heaven” sighed Ginny when the hideous apartment and the stench of Smelly Gabe were replaced by the beautiful sights of the beach and the fresh smell of the sea breeze.

“No questions to why they wanted to come” agreed Tonks “Mrs Jackson looks like ten years younger just being here.”

“What’s with all the blue food?” asked Charlie.

I guess I should explain the blue food.

People chuckled at the timing

See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. This-along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano-was proof that she wasn’t totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.

Snape was lost in thought. That was something that confused him about Sally Jackson. He had seen it with his own mother, how people like his father and Gabe Ugliano could destroy their partner mentally to the point of helplessness. His mother could have used magic to leave his father or even gotten rid of him, but he had convinced her she couldn’t live without him.

In that situation, this “rebellious streak” was unthinkable. Yet Mrs Jackson had kept it for years, actively defying him in any way she could. She clearly loved her son and knew her worth, so why was she staying with that man?

After getting dark, they made a fire, enjoyed their dinner and Sally told Percy stories of her childhood. Percy finally gathered the courage to ask about his dad.

“He was kind, Percy,” she said. “Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes.”

Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. “I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud.”

“He better be dead” grumbled Molly.

When she noticed everyone was looking at her like she was going to pull out a sword out of her pocket, she clarified “Even if he didn’t want to marry, the least he could do was to be in his son’s life and make sure he and his mom didn’t have to deal with someone like this Ugliano. So he better has a good reason to not be around.”

“I agree Molly, but if we are realistic, he is either dead or a pureblood deadbeat.” Said Sirius.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a downpour from outside, as if the weather itself was offended by the remark.

Dumbledore pretended not to notice, but made a mental note to write to miss Annabeth Chase to express his gratitude. According to Chiron, she had been a lifesaver, more literally than he expected.

I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.

“He is your father; you shouldn’t be perfect for him to love you.” Said Arthur sadly, and he meant it. As angry as he was at Percy for siding with the Ministry, he could never consider not loving his son.

A somber mood fell around his family. Some more forgiving, other less, all of them wanted their family back together. And it could never be back together without Percy.

“How old was I?” I asked. “I mean ... when he left?”

She watched the flames. “He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin.”

“But... he knew me as a baby.”

“No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born.”

I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father.  A warm glow.  A smile.

“Hold on, what?” asked Ron. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe Percy is remembering wrong” suggested Harry.

“Pensieves show memories, not fantasies, Potter” sneered Snape.

“As if that would be the weirdest thing this pensieve has done, professor” the teen snapped back.

“Everyone, calm down” said McGonagall sending a glare to Snape, Harry and Sirius (who looked ready to join the argument).

“Back to the topic” said Kingsley trying to prevent WW3 “, Mr Jackson seems to remember his father’s visit, if faintly, but his mother doesn’t know about it, so I guess he didn’t tell her.”

“But why?” Arthur was completely confused “If he didn’t care, why visit? And if he does…why staying away?”

I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He’d left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.

For a moment, Harry noticed the downpour outside recede a little, almost mournfully. All right, he was officially losing his marbles if he was assigning emotions to the freaking weather.

Percy asked his mom if she was going to send him to another boarding school because she didn’t want him around. She assured she only wanted to protect him, and she thought he was finally safe at Yancy.

“Safe from what?”

“So she is in it too?” Harry didn’t have energy to be angry. He was just tired and begging for an explanation for what was going on, in Percy’s life and in his own. His friends and the Marauders pulled him into a group hug.

Memories from Percy’s childhood were shown. In one, a creepy looking man was chased away by his teachers. Percy swore that the man only had one eye in the middle of his head but they didn’t believe him.

“A cyclops?!” yelled Bill in horror. Those were considered amongst the rarest and most powerful monsters! What was it doing at a school in the middle of NY?!

“I can’t believe how lucky they were it just went away!” Molly almost fainted.

“Another Mrs Dodds?” asked Tonks biting her nails.

“Probably. And since the boy’s mother already knew about the danger before, it must be connected to his father’s family.” agreed Mad-Eye. He then furrow his eyebrows “The enemy must be really powerful to command a Cyclops and whatever that Mrs Dodds was.”

Hermione’s suspicions were in crescendo and she wasn’t the only one.

Another showed a snake slithering into Percy’s cot while he was in kindergarden. His mother was horrified when he found him playing with the snake he had just strangulated.

Hermione dropped her partchment and quill. She went totally still, eyes and mouth wide. Her friends were looking at her not knowing what to do.

“Hermione?” asked Ron hesistantly.

“I’m fine, just… my brain is about to explode” she stated matter- of- factly. She tried her best not to think too much because she knew once she went down that train of thought she’d irreparably lose her mind.

“Don’t worry, you are not the only one” reassured Remus, also looking like he was questioning the meaning of the universe. Everyone around them were looking from him to Hermione not understanding what was going on.

Meanwhile McGonagall was handling her own reality crisis with more aplomb “Albus Dumbledore, I am going to quote Severus here and ask what you have gotten us into.”

Snape himself looked as if the Headmaster had surpassed all his expectations, though he wasn’t sure if that was for good or for bad.

“Uh, can you share with the classroom?” requested Fred.

“Yes, the rest of us also want to lose our minds, looks really fun” added George.

“I’d like for everyone who has figured out the truth to let everyone else to learn it on their own or when the memories explain it. It can be a lot to take” said the Headmaster.

“Understatement of the millennia” grumbled Hermione burying her face in a cushion. Noticing the worried looks in her friends’ face she whispered “I’ll tell you as soon as we get a break.”

They reluctantly nodded and turned their attention back to the mist.

“I’ve tried to keep you as close to me as I could,” my mom said. “They told me that was a mistake. But there’s only one other option, Percy-the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can’t stand to do it.”

“My father wanted me to go to a special school?”

“Not a school,” she said softly. “A summer camp.”

“They go to school only in summer?” asked Ginny.

“I never thought I’d say this, but shouldn’t it be year round?” said George.

Hermione was back to her normal self, more or less. “Mrs Jackson wouldn’t be so reticent to sent Percy there if it was only for the summers, so it’s probably more like a boarding school, but why calling it summer camp?”

She tried her best to think of equivalents in greek myths, but she couldn’t think of one. And oh Merlin, they weren’t “myths”. How much was it real? How much had the gods shaped science and history? Could she ever go to a library without putting the Iliad in the history section?

The memories confirmed her suspicions that Percy may not come back if he ever went to camp. He wanted to ask more but he didn’t want to make his mom sad. They went to sleep and the memory changed abruptly. Now, it had a green filter over it.

“That’s…new” Remus said, hesitant to question the pensieve for the sake of his sanity. Gods may have created that thing and sent it to them. He vaguely noticed Sirius looking at him like he had grown horns and gave him a reassuring smile. He would have to disobey Dumbledore, he couldn’t keep secrets from Sirius for long. Especially this one.

Percy stood in the middle of the stormy beach. A white horse and a golden eagle were fiercely fighting each other, attacking without quarter while the ground rumbled around them and a voice from the bottom of the earth goaded them. Percy tried to stop them but he was moving in slow motion. As the eagle moved to deliver a killing move, Percy woke up with a “no!” The memory went back to normal colors.

“These kind of nightmares are the worst” Harry noticed his hands were trembling.

“What do you mean “these kind of nightmares”?” asked Sirius very worried.

“It’s hard to describe but they feel too real, I guess.” He really had no way to put it in words.

“It may not have been a simple dream” said Dumbledore “It wouldn’t have been included in the memories if it wasn’t important. The green tincture also suggests that it is some kind of prophetic dream.”

McGonagall was going to state her opinions on divination when she remembered that Percy Jackson was nothing more and nothing less than the son of a god. She then remembered the greek god of prophecies who was apparently real. It was going to take her a while to process all of this. The rest of her life, most likely.

The weather was the worst they had ever seen. The wind was tearing down trees, so much lightning that it looked like daylight and tall, powerful waves crashing against the dunes.

In the room, several people were hiding themselves behind cushions and covering their ears. They wondered if Percy and his mom could get away from there.

“This is bad, this is really bad” Remus felt close to tear his own hair. He tried to remember all he knew about greek myths. He could say the eagle represented Zeus, the king of the gods. He didn’t remember what horses represented at the moment. Whoever it was, two gods were violently fighting near two mortals. Percy’s pursuers had to be gods, it was the only explanation to the monsters after him. And the Fates had cut someone’s life that same day…

An angry bellow could be heard over the hurricane noises. Another noise, like mallets hitting the sand was heard and soon enough someone was yelling and pounding on the cabin door. Sally immediately opened the door.

“Woman, what are you doing?! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!”

“Just what they needed, more monsters” groaned Ron.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn’t... he wasn’t exactly Grover.

“Searching all night,” he gasped. “What were you thinking?”

My mother looked at me in terror-not scared of Grover, but of why he’d come.

“What do you mean, it isn’t Grover? He looks the same”

“And why should his mom be scared of a child?”

“O Zeu kai alloi theoi!” he yelled. “It’s right behind me! Didn’t you tell her?”

I was too shocked to register that he’d just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I’d understood him perfectly.

“For Zeus and all the gods above? I never heard that one” said Charlie.

“Hold on, if Percy didn’t know ancient greek, how did he understand that? Asked Sirius.

“And the most important, WHAT’S BEHIND HIM?” Mad-Eye wasn’t amused by their priorities.

I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn’t have his pants on-and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...

“What… what is wrong with his legs?” asked Ginny. The memory was only showing Grover from the waist up.

“That’s the weird part. We should see everything Percy sees. Why isn’t it showing it?” wondered Kingsley.

The twins had an answer. “He lost his pants, the pensieve is protecting the innocent babies in the room”.

The babies in question just glared at them.

My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she’d never used before: “Percy. Tell me now!”

I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.

She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, “Get to the car. Both of you. Go!”

“That’s more like this!” exclaimed Mad-Eye.

“Mrs Jackson understanding the situation will make everything easier. Still not ideal since she isn’t a witch, but better that than nothing.” Said Kingsley.

The ones in the known cringed. How would they make it until everything was explained without spilling the beans? This was so far beyond witches and wizards it was ridiculous.

As they ran towards the car, they could finally see Grover’s legs. Or to be more precise, his cloven hooves.

“A satyr, of course” said Remus, his hand on his face.

“A what?” asked Sirius.

“Half man, half goat. They were a big part of greek myths.”

“What’s with all the greek myths in this story?” asked Tonks “Are the gods also real or what?”

Realization dawned all over the room. More and more people put the pieces together.

And then all hell broke loose.

Chapter Text

Grimmauld Place had descended into absolute chaos. Dumbledore was being bombarded with questions, people were randomly screaming and storming out of the room and the portrait of Mrs Black was cursing all of them. McGonagall was trying to stop the ruckus while Snape and Remus dealt with both the portrait and the people running away.

Tonks’ hair was changing colors so quickly that it was impossible to look at her. “You knew?”  she asked Hermione completely bewildered.

Hermione gave her a sheepish smile “I suspected it for a while. Thanks for saying it aloud, I don’t know I could have kept quiet much longer”.

“How?!” demanded Ron. How had she gone from… whatever they had been watching to fucking gods?!

“It was Percy strangling the snake as a baby. You know Heracles’ story, right?”

“Hold up” intervened Harry, having finally remembered the old stories he read back in primary school “Percy is a demigod?!”

Suddenly, silence filled the room. Apparently, not everyone had made that connection. Sirius and the Weasley looked at Harry with their eyes almost out of their sockets.

Dumbledore took the chance to point his wand to his throat and amplify his voice. “Everyone, please, calm down and return to the room. I will try to explain as much as I can.”

Slowly, people went back to their seats. After Remus managed to convince the last runaways that going back to the room was a better option than roaming the streets yelling about gods, Dumbledore started his explanation.

“I understand that this is an impactful revelation that will take a while to process. That’s why I asked you to stay here and watch Percy Jackson’s memories where everything will be explained in a manageable way. That includes Mr Jackson’s parentage and the way the gods operate in this world.”

Moody was the first to speak up “Alright, but you have to at least explain what the gods want from us.”

“And how you even have contact with the gods in the first place” added Snape. He knew Dumbledore was capable of many things, but having the gods on speed dial was so beyond his imagination that he didn’t know if he’d be able to keep his mind shut the next time the Dark Lord called for him.

The Headmaster smiled. “I don’t have contact with the gods myself, of course. I have a good friend in Camp Half-Blood, who offered to ask for the gods’ help in our behalf when he heard about Voldemort’s return. The gods themselves wish to slowly reintroduce themselves to human society and consider the wizarding world a good starting point, and that’s why they accepted. Do you have any other questions?”

“Yes, but if we go down that rabbit hole we’d probably be here all day. Maybe we should keep watching the memories before we go insane.” answered Sirius

After some discussion, they agreed to start the next memory. There were too many questions left in the air, especially regarding the gods’ plans for humanity, but deep down they knew they wouldn’t be able to deal with the information overload. Seeing everyone turning their attention to the pensieve, Dumbledore started the next memory.

Chapter Text

Sally drove as fast as possible despite the weather and the darkness.

I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I’d gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants. But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo- lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.

It was a testament to the gravity of the situation that Arthur didn’t ask every detail about petting zoos. No one was talking, just looking back and forth between the now-revealed-to-be a demigod and the half boy-half goat next to him.

“A goat, a bloody goat” kept repeating Ron.

“That’s what surprises you?”

“Hermione, you have to admit it’s really weird” said Ginny.

“Not more than a centaur” argued Harry “After that, even a half man- half chicken would be normal.”

“I guess being raised in the muggle world gives you a different perspective” said Sirius. Not that he was less surprised by Percy being a demigod (or the gods existing holyfuckingmerlin…), but nothing about him had changed externally. Grover though, that was going to take a while to get used to.

“So, you and my mom... know each other?”

“Not exactly,”he said. “I mean, we’ve never met in person. But she knew I was watching you.”

“Watching me?”

“Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn’t faking being your friend,” he added hastily. “I am your friend.”

“Thanks Merlin” whispered Harry. Maybe he was projecting himself too much onto Percy, but if Grover had only been doing his job he would be furious.

“But why would they send him? Even if he isn’t human, he seems to be really young” frettered Molly.

“A classmate and friend could spend more time with Percy than Mr Brunner, though I agree an older person would have been a better option” answered Kingsley.

Percy and Grover continued arguing back and forth. Percy finally got his friend to admit Mrs Dodds had been real and asked why he kept her a secret.

“The less you knew, the fewer monsters you’d attract,” Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. “We put Mist over the humans’ eyes. We hoped you’d think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are.”

“Alright, there’s a lot to unpack here” said Tonks, her hair now a foggish shade of grey.

“We can start with why they insist in keeping it a secret?” Harry’s temper was rising again “Whatever is going on would be easier to handle if Percy understood.”

“Also, he didn’t realize who he is. He doesn’t even know yet that he is a demigod!” added Sirius.

“And why the “Kindly One”? asked Bill. Yes, priorities, but how could someone look that thing in the face and think of kindness?

The twins looked at him in disappointment “Why, dear brother, can’t you see how nice she was? She became dust so Percy didn’t have to clean up the mess. So considerate of her!”

“…That’s morbid even for you two.” He got two matching grins in answer.

Before Percy could ask further questions, the bellowing noise in the distance got closer.

Everyone took a deep breath or grabbed a cushion in preparation for the horrible creature they didn’t doubt was about to appear.

“Percy,” my mom said, “there’s too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety.”

“Safety from what? Who’s after me?”

“Oh, nobody much,” Grover said. “Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“Please, tell me there’s an American Voldemort. This can’t be who I think it is”

“It has to be a god “retorted Snape, his voice slightly shaking “Only a god could control those monsters.”

“But why?!” shouted Molly “He is a child and doesn’t know anything about this!”

“This Lord of the Dead doesn’t think the same. Mrs Dodds accused the boy, so either there is proof or he was framed” grumbled Mad-Eye.

“I think we should go back to the beginning” said Kingsley pulling out his notes “Something happened during the winter solstice which has caused the gods to fight. By Mrs Dodds’ words, they think Percy is guilty and Mr Brunner and Grover have a deadline to prove his innocence, that isn’t being respected. Percy also probably saw gods fighting in his dream”.

“Maybe Percy’s father is trying to defend him and that’s what the fight in the dream was about” suggested Ron.

Hermione’s eyes widened “You are right! And I think I know who those animals represented…”

Albus intervened.”I apologize for not bringing this up sooner, but you must know that speculating about a demigod’s parentage is considered a faux pas in their culture. We should avoid those behaviors.”

Everyone nodded, some of them sending glances to the ceiling. Albus could tell that some of them had caught the underlying message of “they can and will vaporize us for that”. Not that they would under the current circumstances, but he would only explain when he found a diplomatic way to bring up the idea of their allies being able to kill them on a whim.

Percy was trying to wrap his head around everything as the car raced through the countryside. Sally explained they were going to the camp and that Percy was in danger.

“Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means-the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you’re about to ... when someone’s about to die.”

“Whoa. You said ‘you.’”

“No I didn’t. I said ’someone.’”

“You meant ‘you.’ As in me.”

“I meant you, like ’someone.’ Not you, you.”

“It’s not time to be pedantic!” yelled Mad-Eye.

An idea came to Remus, one that made his blood run cold. “Grover was there too.”

Hermione’s eyes widened “You don’t mean… it could be Grover’s thread?”

There were horrified gasps all over the place. They hadn’t thought of it, but it made sense. Percy was alive obviously, he had provided the memories. Dumbledore had said Mrs Jackson had remarried, she had to be alive.  But nothing had been said about Grover.

Noticing the glances, the Headmaster shook his head. Everyone’s worst fears were almost confirmed. No one could be sure of Grover’s survival.

They were about to reach camp when a burst of lightning and explosion made the room shake.

“NO!!”

“Are they okay?! I can’t see anything!

As the smoke cleared, they saw the car had fallen into a ditch. The driver side was buried in the mud and the roof had cracked open. Percy and Sally were fine but Grover was unconscious and bleeding.

No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you’re my best friend and I don’t want you to die!

 “He isn’t… he can’t be…” stuttered Ron. Molly was sobbing in Arthur’s arms and Remus was paler than paper. He wished he had been wrong, that the yarn had belonged to anyone else.

Then he groaned “Food,” and I knew there was hope.

“DUDE!”

The Order was divided between sighs of relief and hysterical laughter.

“Holy shit, that almost gave me a heart attack” said Harry putting a hand on his chest.

Hermione wished she could be as relieved as everyone else, but she had realized things could only get worse. There was no doubt in her mind that lightning bolt had come from Zeus, and the monster (sent by Hades according to Grover) was still on their tail.

Through the rear-windshield, Percy barely could see the huge figure lumbering towards them.

“A giant?” asked Bill trying to get a better look. The dark and the mud on the wind-shield made it almost impossible.

“Or maybe a nice guy who wants to offer them a blanket? He seems to be carrying something” suggested Fred without much hope. Hermione squinted her eyes. Were those really the monster’s raised arms or…?

“Whatever it is, run!” shouted Tonks grabbing her now green hair.

They tried to get out of the car, but it was an almost unescapable trap. Sally told Percy to leave through the passenger seat.

“Percy-you have to run. Do you see that big tree?”

“What?”

Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.

“That’s the property line,” my mom said. “Get over that hill and you’ll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don’t look back. Yell for help. Don’t stop until you reach the door.”

“Mom, you’re coming too.”

Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.

“She wants him to leave her behind? Harry asked, baffled. He couldn’t even imagine just run and not looking back while his mom and best friend were at the mercy of a monster.

“The monster is after him, Potter” sneered Snape “They will be safer if he leaves.”

“Snevillus” growled Sirius in warning.

“No!” I shouted. “You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover.”

“Food!” Grover moaned, a little louder.

“How is the muggle more competent than the goat thing? I’ll give him and that Brunner a piece of my mind! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“Alastor, he is a child!” Molly screamed.

“That’s right” said Kingsley “Let’s at least wait for more information before judging”. And he wouldn’t say it aloud, but Grover wasn’t out of danger yet, how terrible would it be for Alastor to disrespect a dead child’s memory.

The monster kept closer and closer. Percy realized that the things on his head couldn’t be his arms.

Hermione gasped in horror. Right now, she could only think of one monster in particular.

“Wait, those are horns?” gasped Tonks.

“He doesn’t want us,” my mother told me. “He wants you. Besides, I can’t cross the property line.”

“I see her point, but it’s not that easy” Charlie shook his head.

Why can’t she cross the property line?” asked Harry.

“Hogwarts has enchantments to keep the muggles away, this could be the same.”

Finally both of them got out of the car and climbed up the hill holding the unconscious Grover. When Percy turned back, he was able to fully see the monster for the first time: a seven feet tall, muscular half bull-half man with huge horns.

Wands were pointed at the mist immediately. Fortunately, there wasn’t a barrage of spells like with Mrs Dodds.

“This can’t be real” muttered Bill dragging his hands down his face.

“Dude, put some trousers on!” chocked out Fred.

I blinked the rain out of my eyes. “That’s-“

“Pasiphae’s son,” my mother said. “I wish I’d known how badly they want to kill you.”

“But he’s the Min-“

“Don’t say his name,” she warned. “Names have power.”

“Like with Voldemort?” asked Harry, causing several people to flinch.

“No, Harry” answered Dumbledore “Gods and mythical creatures feel when their names are said aloud. Demigods tend to avoid using the actual names, even when talking about them.”

“So if we talk about them, they’ll know?” asked Ginny, eyes wide open.

Kingsley then realized something “Since the gods organized this watching, they may be keeping an eye on us. In fact, the weather has been pretty chaotic since we began the viewing.”

You could hear a pin drop on the carpet. Everyone was still like a statue, some of them glancing at the windows or the ceiling and praying to… someone that the gods weren’t listening in. Sirius remembered he had called Percy’s dad a deadbeat not so long ago and gulped hard.

The monster was nuzzling the car despite the group being pretty close to him.

“Shhh,” I told him. “Mom, what’s he doing? Doesn’t he see us?”

“His sight and hearing are terrible,” she said. “He goes by smell. But he’ll figure out where we are soon enough.”

“Would he? Between the rain, the wind and the smell of the grass it should take him a while” pondered Bill. They weren’t feeling the rain, obviously, but the smell of wet grass was everywhere.

“If he can’t see or hear, then his sense of smell has to be really good to make up for it. They should leave as fast as possible” argued Charlie

The Minotaur bellowed in rage and threw the Camaro away, destroying it.

Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.

Oops.

That brought some levity to the situation, but they were all too stressed to laugh

“He would have made amazing bait” sneered Snape.

“Percy,” my mom said. “When he sees us, he’ll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way- directly sideways. He can’t change directions very well once he’s charging. Do you understand?”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’ve been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me.”

“It must have been so hard” said Molly sadly “She has clearly been preparing for this for a long time.”

Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.

He’d smelled us.

“Fu-!”

“Sirius!”

The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn’t getting any lighter.

McGonagall, Molly and Tonks were glaring all over the room before anyone could make a single comment about Grover.

The Minotaur closed in on them. Percy and Sally went on separate directions and the monster went after Percy. He lowered his head and charged straight at him.

The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn’t work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.

Everyone was now cheering Percy on.

“Atta boy!”

“Mrs J’s bullfighting lessons paid off!” yelled the twins high-fiving each other.

The Minotaur stormed past Percy and changed directions, this time aiming at Sally and Grover. They were on the crest of the Hill, but the farm was too far away to run there or cry out for help. The monster was now focused on Sally.

The good mood plummeted.

“Someone, do something!” yelled Molly.

“But what?” Tonks’ hair was now a sickly green “She can’t fight, Grover is unconscious and they are too far for the people in the Camp to see them.”

“Percy could have another burst of accidental magic” suggested Harry sounding more hopeful than he felt.

Snape was too caught up in the moment to retort something unpleasant.

“Run, Percy!” she told me. “I can’t go any farther. Run!”

The Minotaur charged at her. She tried the same tactic as Percy but the monster managed to grab her by the neck. She desperately yelled for Percy to go, and suddenly banished in a golden light.

Those who weren’t in shock had burst into tears. A woman who had fought to the end to protect her child had just been killed in front of her own son. How could the gods have, not only allowed, but caused this?

“You said she was alive!” Harry yelled at Dumbledore, betrayal and disappointment plain to see in his face.

“She disappeared…she disappeared!” shouted Hermione almost sobbing in relief.

Harry turned to her baffled. She grabbed him and Ron by the shoulders and shook them excitedly. “People don’t banish into light when they die! She must have been teleported somewhere!”

“Do you think Percy’s dad saved her?” asked Ron hopefully.

“Thanks him if he did!” cried out Ginny in joy.

Harry was trying to get his breathing back to normal. He focused on Hermione’s words and banished the images of his parents dying for him from his mind. She had to be fine, she had to be fine.

“Or she may have been taken hostage” pondered Mad-Eye, earning a collective murderous glare.

“Alastor, we are trying to not get a heart attack here” growled Arthur soothingly rubbing his wife’s back and keeping an eye on the children.

“The point is, she is alive and she’ll dump the Ugliano. Let’s remind ourselves that” said Sirius putting his arm around Harry’s shoulder. His godson leaned into him and went back to sit with his friends.

“No!”

Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs-the same rush of energy I’d gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.

“He isn’t going to try to fight it, is he?” whispered Charlie.

“Forget fighting it, he is going to mount its head on a wall” shuddered Tonks. This was the scariest, most pissed off twelve years old she had seen in her life, and she had spent seven years at a wizarding school.

The Minotaur was now completely focused on Grover

Everyone was petrified in horror. This had to be when the Fates’ warning would become true. There was no way Grover would be lucky enough…

I couldn’t allow that.

I stripped off my red rain jacket.

“Hey!” I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. “Hey, stupid! Ground

beef!”

“Raaaarrrrr!” The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.

“What is he doing?!” yelled Molly.

The trio all had solemn, understanding expressions “Saving his friend, that’s what’s he is doing.”

The adults gave them troubled looks. All of them had heard at least one story of what they had gotten up to in Hogwarts; Sirius had literally seen them trying to protect each other when they thought he was a serial killer. Just how used to danger were they?

Ginny felt a knot on her stomach. No matter how much everyone had tried to reassure her, she still blamed herself for Harry and Ron having gone to the Chamber of Secrets after her.

I had an idea-a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all.

“Words to live by” said Sirius.

“But you should start with the smart ideas” chuckled Remus.

“You should start with CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I’d jump out of the way at the last moment.

But it didn’t happen like that.

The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.

“The same trick wasn’t going to work twice. His mother already tried and failed.” Snape shook his head.

Harry and Sirius were about to give a retort, but Snape’s tone stopped them. He sounded genuinely sad. Well, at least he wasn’t being an asshole about this.

On slow motion, Percy jumped straight up using the Minotaur’s head as a springboard, turned in midair and landed on the monster’s neck.

Silence. More silence. Dropped jaws. Brains catching up.

“That wasn’t magic” managed to say Kingsley.

“In the old myths, demigods rarely used any magic. Heracles was best known by his strength and skill with the sword” explained Dumbledore, half amused by the Order’s reaction, half surprised by how talented the young demigod was.

“Percy killed Mrs Dodds with a sword and didn’t know what he was doing” realized Remus “Still, this is…insane.”

The Minotaur slammed his head against the pine tree and tried to shake Percy off of him. Percy was holding on the horns for his life, the storm and the Minotaur’s stench overpowering his senses.

“Now it would be a good moment for another cool water trick, just saying.” Fred said.

“And the Minotaur could get a shower. Win win.”George tried to summon an air freshener, the smell was putrid.

Hermione perked up. She was sure the animals in Percy’s dream had represented Zeus (eagle) and Poseidon (horse). If Ron was right and Percy’s dad was protecting him, then his dad had to be Poseidon, since a bolt of lightning had almost killed them before. She prayed she was right and the rain gave Percy some advantage.

He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.

“Who thinks like that?”

“Aside of their strength, demigods have natural battle reflexes” said Dumbledore.

Harry nodded. It made sense, his only thoughts when he fought the basilisk had been “keep it away from Ginny” and “don’t look into its eyes”. Then he had almost getting himself killed while stabbing it. He would have needed those battle reflexes back then.

Grover groaned in his sleep, attracting the monster towards him.

I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel.

Percy grabbed one horn and pulled back with all his strength until it snapped. He fell into the grass hitting his head against a rock. The horn on his hand was the side of a knife.

“That horn is almost as long as his forearm, are you kidding me?!” yelled Sirius.

“We’ll have to get used to it” said Bill, but his eyes were the size of a dinner plate.

When the monster charged again, Percy rolled to the side. As it barreled past him, Percy took the chance to stab the Minotaur in the chest, causing it to disintegrate the same way as Mrs Dodds.

"Yeah, that's right. I just did that. Believe me, you're not half as surprised as I was when it happened."+

“Holy shit, dude!”

The room exploded into celebrations. The twins and Sirius were shooting fireworks out of their wands, people were hugging and crying in relief. Some of them slumped into their seats, exhausted from the tension they finally could let go.

I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I’d just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover-I wasn’t going to let him go.

Molly stepped towards the mist, towards the poor injured child carrying his unconscious friend and crying for his mother, but knew it was useless. She couldn’t help, only trust Percy could get the help he needed in the farmhouse that was slowly coming into view.

The entire room had sobered down. No matter how strong Percy was or that he’d get his mother at some point in the future. He thought she had died protecting him and there was no way that wouldn’t scar him for life.

Percy’s vision got blurrier as he collapsed on a wooden porch. A familiar, stern looking man and a girl with blonde curls hovered over him.

“He’s the one. He must be.”

“Silence, Annabeth,” the man said. “He’s still conscious. Bring him inside.”

“Finally” McGonagall collapsed on her chair in relief.

“What does that girl meant by “the one”?” Ron asked.

“You see, Ronniekins, sometimes when a girl meets a boy…” Fred started.

“Whatever you are about to say, don’t you dare” cut Molly sharp like a whip, The twins gave her innocent smiles.

Dumbledore chuckled and went on to start the next memory.

Chapter Text

I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.

“At least these dreams are clearer than the one on the beach” shrugged Ron.

“It has the shimmery effect of the previous one, but without the green” noticed Remus. “At least we’ll be able to tell the difference between prophetic dreams and normal ones”

“Define normal” snorted Sirius.

I must’ve woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again.

“Good. He needs to rest” said McGonagall, her lips pursed in a thin line. This boy was as close to give her a heart attack as certain three students of hers, and she had only known of him for a couple of hours.

“It’s crazy when you think he went through most of this in the same day.” Arthur said with a grimace.

I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.

Several people cooed.

“A hit with the ladies and he hasn’t even opened his mouth” chuckled Fred.

“We have been fools Freddie, the trick was to pass out on the girl’s porch” agreed George.

“So are you going to crash on Angelina’s porch?” smirked Ginny.

“I’d pay to see her sweeping them away” said Ron causing the group to laugh.

The girl immediately interrogated Percy about what was stolen during the winter solstice; they only had a few weeks left. Someone knocked on the door and she quickly fed him more pudding.

Sirius raised his hands in surrender “Hoy shit girl, hold your horses!”

“Something was stolen? Is that what Percy is being accused of?” Kingsley asked with interest.

Harry couldn’t believe it “That’s why they have tried to kill him twice? Because they think he has stolen something?!”

Snape, for the first and only time in his life, agreed with him. There hadn’t been even a trial! Then again, they were gods; Jackson wouldn’t be the first demigod to be dealt disproportionate retribution.

“What they have a few weeks for?” asked Arthur, not sure if he wanted to know.

“Mr. Brunner said they had to keep Mr. Jackson alive until fall.”McGonagall said “Probably meaning the summer solstice. Maybe that’s the deadline for the missing object to be returned.”

“Well, they sure aren’t waiting” grumbled Ron with a shiver.

Hermione fretted in her seat. She had a theory, but she didn’t feel confident to mention the gods out loud. Grover had said “the Lord of the Dead”, likely meaning Hades, sent the monsters, but the dream and the lightning attack pointed to Zeus. She hoped more than ever Percy was a son of Poseidon. A child of a lesser god wouldn’t stand a chance.

Next time he woke up, the girl was gone and a man with eyes all over his body was watching over him.

“And now, WHAT’S THAT?!” bellowed Mad-Eye.

Bill shook his head “He has to be hallucinating”. He was a curse breaker, yet he didn’t know a single creature shown so far.

“That’s Arg-!”Hermione exclaimed before covering her mouth with her hands. The name situation was going to be frustrating.

“It seems so, Ms. Granger.” McGonagall agreed. Then she turned to the Headmaster with a wary look “Albus, exactly how many mythological creatures are going to be real?”

The Headmaster chuckled “I think quite a few, Minerva.” Honestly, he was surprised to see Argus in the Camp. Hera wasn’t known for her love of demigods, he couldn’t imagine her lending her giant to the Camp housing those children…including her husband’s.

“Does that include dragons?” Charlie asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Probably, Mr. Weasley” Dumbledore answered, with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

The Weasley siblings all laughed while Molly and Arthur looked at their son fondly. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

Percy was fully awake, sitting on a deck chair on the porch with a blanket over his legs and a pillow behind his neck. From his position he had a view of the meadow and the hills in the distance.

Sirius closed his eyes and for a second he imagined himself there. He yearned to transform into Padfoot and run until he got tired and to stuff himself with the strawberries he could smell through the projection. And the sky, Buckbeak would love to fly all over the place.

Remus looked at him sadly. He knew the claustrophobia and the feeling of uselessness were eating his friend away. Maybe he could ask Dumbledore if there was some kind of mission for the Order that Sirius could do in Camp Half-Blood.

All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.

Everyone winced in sympathy.

“At least he has a drink” said Remus noticing the tall glass in the table next to Percy.

“Careful”

“Grover?!”

“Thanks Merlin!” Molly cried out.

“Hey, now that we know, are we supposed to say “thanks the gods” or something like that?” asked someone in the crowd. A thunder could be heard for a second. They decided that should mean “yes”.

Harry was so baffled he couldn’t even be angry. Did those assholes seriously expected to be thanked when this was their fault in the first place?

Sirius had to bit a cushion to avoid yelling them to go fuck themselves. He had seen the worst the Ministry had to offer in terms of justice, yet they were downright reasonable compared to these child murdering pieces of shit. Fuck, and they were going to work with them.

Grover kept Percy from dropping the drink. He was wearing an orange t-shirt that said “Camp Half-Blood, was carrying a shoe-box and looked like he hasn’t sleep in days.

“Poor kid” said Tonks with pity.

So maybe I’d had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we’d stopped here at this big house for some reason. And ...

“Oh, sweetie” whispered Molly.

“Denial is always the first step” sighed Remus. He had spent a week after that cursed night hoping he would wake up at any moment and everything would have been a nightmare. Sirius put a hand on his shoulder.

People bowed their heads. They all had gone through the process during the war at some point or another.

Grover thanked Percy for saving his life and offered him the box with the Minotaur horn inside.

“You’ve been out for two days. How much do you remember?”

“My mom. Is she really ...”

He looked down.

Ron winced. Grover had spent two whole days blaming himself and not knowing if his best friend would survive. He clenched his fist trying not to think of the many times Harry had been in the infirmary or Hermione petrified for weeks.

“But she disappeared.” Hermione said “Grover would have known when he went back to the hill and didn’t find…” She cut herself off; there wasn’t a delicate way of explaining that.

“I guess in such a traumatic situation it would be easy to overlook details” said Kingsley. “Alastor, we have agreed on that he is a child.” He added before Mad-Eye could go on another tirade.

Percy stared to the beautiful landscape in front of him, from the strawberry fields to the hills to the huge pine tree bathing in the sunlight.

 My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.

“It always feels that way” Sirius nodded.

“Really?” Harry asked. He had been thinking that since Cedric died. Hogwarts had been in mourning to the last day, but once back in the muggle world… Every sunny day with happy families and children enjoying their holidays had felt like an insult to his memory.

His godfather patted him in the arm. “If you need to talk, I’m always here.”

Harry’s eyes felt a bit moist “Thank you.”

Grover was apologizing between sniffles. His fake foot came off showing his hoof.

“Will we ever get used?” Ron asked.

“I already am.” Harry answered, happy to change the topic “Seriously, it’s the same as the centaurs.”

No pureblood could think of a retort. Was this how muggleborns feel when they discovered the magic world? They had always found amusing how they got surprised by the most mundane stuff, but they were realizing that having the rug of reality pulled from under you like that wasn’t a fun feeling.

“Oh, Styx!” he mumbled.

Thunder rolled across the clear sky.

“Stick?”

Dumbledore realized he needed to issue another warning. “No. The Styx River is the one all the important oaths are sworn upon. Any promise made on that river is more sacred than an Unbreakable Vow and the consequences of breaking it would be fatal. Never use it lightly or at all.”

A shiver crossed the room. No one had ever been such a strict expression on the Headmaster’s face. They wouldn’t need to be told twice.

“Then Grover shouldn’t be using it as a swear word” realized Hermione. That thunder clearly hadn’t been a coincidence.

“Everyone slips every once in a while. It’s not like he swore an oath” shrugged Tonks.

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

Percy was too miserable to care about Grover being a satyr. His mother was gone and he wondered if he had to go back to Gabe. He’d live in the streets or join the army to avoid it.

“No, you won’t” declared McGonagall, no room for arguments. “Albus, are there any arrangements for orphaned demigods?”

“Yes, Minerva. Many demigods live year round in camp, either for lack of family, personal preference or other circumstances. Mr. Jackson would be allowed to stay there until he was of age.”

“Thanks Mer- the gods, I guess.” Fred said. “Percy would need that Mist thing to make them believe he is 17. I mean, look at him, he’s tiny.”

“A tiny killing machine, but tiny.” George nodded sagely.

Grover was still sniffling and Percy tried to convince him it wasn’t his fault

“But that’s my job. I’m a keeper. At least... I was.”

Everyone was confused.

“I hope they explain quickly what is going on with this…satyr or my head is going to explode.” Snape groaned. Since he wasn’t human and had this important job, it would make sense he was an adult. But he seemed to be mentally a child. So why was he doing that job?

Kingsley agreed. He felt really bad for Grover and didn’t doubt he gave his best, but couldn’t imagine why the people in charge expected such feats from him.

Percy’s vision got blurry for a second. Grover helped him to go back to his chair and offered him the drink. Percy recoiled to the taste.

I was expecting apple juice. It wasn’t that at all. It was my mom’s homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn’t go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.

Snape straightened in his chair. Potions probably created by the gods themselves? That he wanted to be there for.

“If only Madam Pomfrey’s potions tasted like that.” Ron said with jealousy. Was it that hard to at least taste them like pumpkin juice?

“Yeah, the Skelegro was the wor-“Harry realized too late he had said that in front of his godfather and the Weasleys.

“Do I want to know?” Sirius asked trying to keep his composure.

“It was nothing, I swear it was all fixed the next morning” Harry rushed to explain while sending his friends and teachers pleading looks.

Hermione took pity of him and redirected the conversation “I’d understand good tasting potions, but his mom’s cookies? Isn’t that way too specific?”

“Maybe the potion tastes like your favorite food?” suggested Ginny.

“Even better” answered Ron dreamily.

Snape scoffed. This is why they didn’t have good tasting potions. The brats would be raiding the infirmary every day.

Percy looked the now empty glass in confusion; despite the drink being hot the ice hadn’t melted. Grover asked what it tasted like.

“Sorry,” I said. “I should’ve let you taste.”

His eyes got wide. “No! That’s not what I meant. I just... wondered.”

“Chocolate-chip cookies,” I said. “My mom’s. Homemade.”

He sighed. “And how do you feel?”

“Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards.”

“Do it” encouraged Ginny grinning from ear to ear.

“Grover, it’s just a potion, it’s not going to explode” chuckled Sirius.

“Maybe it’s not safe for satyrs” suggested Bill.

Grover took the glass away like it was dangerous and told Percy that Chiron and Mr. D were waiting. Percy was still weak but refused Grover’s offer of carrying the horn. They went around to the opposite end of the house.

“Chiron?” It couldn’t be. If this was who McGonagall thought, she’d eat her own hat.

Hermione gasped as she remembered their suspicions that Mr. Brunner was a centaur. It couldn’t be…right?

They valley extended all the way to a shore. The view was both breathtaking and overwhelming. The place was covered with ancient Greece inspired architecture. Kids in orange t-shirts like Grover’s were playing volleyball with satyrs, chasing each other through the cabins near the forest and riding horses, some of them with wings.

“…Wow.”

Harry felt back at his first visit to Diagon Alley. He didn’t know where to look, every time he focused on something, another interesting thing demanded his attention. It was  never ending surprise and wonder. It was the best feeling ever.

Hermione had never exactly enjoyed the summer camps her parents had sent her when she was a child, but she would beg to attend this one. She would even play basketball and ride canoes.

“Aren’t those the ball sports muggle play? Do they do that at their summer camps?” asked Arthur enthusiastically.

“They do, and they also do archery. This is like a muggle camp, but super fancy” explained Tonks. She had gone to a couple summer camps and it was fun, but it was nowhere close to white marble buildings.

“I still don’t understand why it’s summer only. If monsters are after them, they should be training around the clock. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“Mad-Eye, they are children! And I sure hope there aren’t more of them in Percy’s situation” said Molly glaring to the ceiling with the passion of ten thousand suns.

At the end of the porch, two men sat across each other at a card table with Annabeth leaning on the rail next to them. The man facing Percy could have fit in with Gabe and friends, a porky man with watery eyes and red nose wearing a tiger print Hawaiian shirt.

He looked like a cherub who’d turned middle-aged in a trailer park.

At a certain Camp in Long Island, Percy Jackson wondered how far the wizards had gotten watching his memories. He got his answer in the form of a royally pissed-off wine god glaring him to death. He exchanged a long-suffering look with his girlfriend. It wasn’t going to get better.

Back in Grinmauld Place, the judgments weren’t being much kinder.

“I don’t know what a trailer park cherub is, but he kind of fits” said Ron.

“Percy should be careful, the girl looks ready for another interrogation” chuckled Charlie.

“Oh yeah, how doesn’t she know what’s going on? Why does she need to ask Percy?” asked Tonks.

“It’s probably kept confidential, but she overheard something and is trying to dig deeper” guessed Kingsley.

The Trio looked at each other. They were starting to like this girl; she could well be them in the middle of any school year.

Snape and McGonagall’s eyes twitched, this reminded them of certain problem children they knew. Well, McGonagall realized she had contributed to their mistrust of adults, but Snape was hoping this year they’d either mind their own business or get expelled.

“That’s Mr. D,” Grover murmured to me. “He’s the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that’s Annabeth Chase. She’s just a camper, but she’s been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron... .”

He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.

“Mr. Brunner!” I cried.

“He is Chiron?!” shouted Hermione.

“Yes, Percy keeps him as a teacher!” Harry and Ron high-fived the twins.

“Just to be clear, Albus, are we talking about Chiron, Trainer of Heracles and of some of the most important heroes in history? That Chiron?” Minerva’s stare could have melted walls.

“And let me guess, he is your contact at the Camp” Snape had decided to stop fighting the madness, it was easier that way.

Albus had to admit he was having more fun than he should “Indeed, Severus. I met Chiron in the aftermath of WW2.”

Everyone was just looking at him. No one knew what to say. Hermione and Remus looked at each other. It could have been crazier, they guessed. Dumbledore could have met Zeus at a Miss Universe contest.

Chiron greeted Percy with a smile and invited him to join the Pinochle game. The camp director wasn’t so nice though.

I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.

Snape held back a snarl. Chiron wouldn’t leave the brat around a drunkard after the shitshow his stepfather was, right? Or any brat, he didn’t tolerate nonsense in his classes, but he drew the line at that.

Everyone else were glaring at the mention of Gabe and scowling at the Camp Director in disgust.

Chiron introduced Percy to Annabeth, explaining that she had nursed him back to health. He then asked her to check Percy’s bunk in Cabin 11. Percy thought that her eyes looked like storm clouds; pretty and intimidating.

“Someone has a crush” singsonged Fred.

“Her or Percy?”

“He thought she has pretty eyes. She went for an interrogation Mad-Eye style” Tonks reminded them.

“Would Mad-Eye nurse him back to health, though?” asked Bill with a smile.

“Whatever it would take for him to be awake enough to talk” answered the auror. A shiver ran down their spines.

“Honestly, I think she could kick our butts if we didn’t have wands” said Ron. First Percy and now Annabeth, those twelve years were scary.

Annabeth looked from Percy to the horn. He thought he would get a compliment, but instead she told him he drooled in his sleep and sprinted off down the lawn.

It was so sudden it sent the entire room into snickers

“Sorry Percy, you still have a long way to go” George shook his head between chuckles.

“But really, killing that bull thing didn’t impress her even a little?” Harry was surprised. He would have praised even Malfoy if he had managed something like that.

“She is a demigod too, who knows what kind of feats she has heard of” replied Hermione.

It sounded dumb, but with all the information they had been crammed with, some people had forgotten that it wasn’t only Percy, every single child in that Camp was a demigod.

“…Okay, she could kick our butts even with wands probably.” Ron gulped.

Dumbledore smiled. Well, she was a child of tactical warfare after all.

Chiron explained Percy that Brunner was only a pseudonym. Percy then asked if Mr.D’s name stood for anything. The unpleasant director reminded him that names were important.

“It stands for Di-“

“Fred, don’t” warned his mother.

“Doesn’t that rule apply only to mythical creatures?” asked Charlie.

“Look at him, he could be Mrs. Dodds’ brother” said Sirius nonchalantly. Then he looked behind him. Why did it feel like someone was glaring him to death?

Remus frowned. They surely wouldn’t put a muggle in charge of the Camp. Chiron was a legendary centaur; Mr.D had to be someone equally important.

Dumbledore had just realized. Chiron hadn’t told him much about the Camp Director, but the drinking habit, the initial and the tiger connection… could this be the wine god?

“I must say, Percy,” Chiron-Brunner broke in, “I’m glad to see you alive. It’s been a long time since I’ve made a house call to a potential camper. I’d hate to think I’ve wasted my time.”

“Does he have to put it like that?” Molly scowled. The child had lost his mother and almost died, why weren’t the adults showing him any sympathy?

“We already saw he isn’t very good with words” Arthur winced remembering the speech Chiron had given after Percy was expelled from school. He couldn’t imagine him handling the current, very delicate circumstances better.

Chiron explained that they kept satyrs in schools as lookouts, but that Grover told him Percy was incredibly powerful, so he went there in person and told his mom they were watching over him. He wasn’t still ready for Camp, but he was alive and that was the first test.

“The first test?!” Molly yelled.

“I don’t think he means it literally, mum” Bill tried to calm her down.

“Still, it shouldn’t be normal to the point of calling it a test!”

No one could disagree with her.

“We finally know what the satyrs’ role is, but Grover still seems to be too young for it” said Kingsley.

“He needs to be whipped into shape! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“No, he doesn’t!” Molly argued back.

While they played Pinochle, Percy tried to ask Chiron why he was there. His mom hadn’t been able to explain, she had wanted him to stay with her.

“Typical,” Mr. D said. “That’s how they usually get killed.”

It was like a bomb had been dropped in the room.

“Shut the fuck up!”

“She was trying to protect him!”

“At least she did something, unlike your lazy ass!”

Suddenly a feral scream followed by the smell of grapes stopped them dead in their tracks. It didn’t seem to come from the pensieve but it coiled around them like strangling vines. They were too stunned to even pull out their wands.

Dumbledore gripped his robe and took a calming breath. Well, that proved it. He definitely was going to write to Ms. Chase and send her some lemon drops.

Chiron said there was too much to explain and the orientation film wouldn’t be enough. He then told Percy that the greek gods were still alive.

They already knew, but hearing it out of the mouth of someone involved in the story made it more real. Also, what had just happened? The smell of grapes still permeated the room. No one dared to speak.

McGonagall realized it had been the insults against Mr.D what had caused the strange phenomena. She looked at Dumbledore who quietly nodded. Her stomach churned. What did that mean?

Mr.D ruined the moment by announcing he had gotten a royal marriage. Grover asked if he could eat his Diet Coke can.

“…Why would he want to eat a can?” asked Ron finally finding his voice again.

“He is part goat” Hermione reminded him.

They were all still too numb to really care.

“Wait,” I told Chiron. “You’re telling me there’s such a thing as God.”

“Well, now,” Chiron said. “God-capital G, God. That’s a different matter altogether. We shan’t deal with the metaphysical.”

“What does that even mean?” Hermione’s eyes widened. They weren’t about to bring religion into the mix were they?

“Chiron means that not even they can be sure if the god of the Abrahamic religions exists, Ms. Granger.” Dumbledore rushed to explain before someone had a religious crisis. “Many demigods are part of those faiths, even after being claimed by their godly parents.”

Even the non religious among the Order sighed in relief. They didn’t know what they would have done if their beliefs had been confirmed while allying themselves with the greek gods. But if even demigods were allowed to continue on their faith, then it was all well.

Hermione slumped into her seat. Who could imagine that the equivalent of watching a movie would be so overwhelming?

Chiron explained that he was talking about the gods he had taught Percy in latin class. Percy listed off a couple of them. Thundering was heard in the distance and Mr. D reminded him not to use the names.

“Ok, maybe, maybe I’m going to agree with him on this” said Harry. He still didn’t know what had caused the grapes incident, but he could tell they had pissed off someone important.

Percy tried to argue that gods weren’t real. Mr. D went on a tirade against science and mortals.

“Science helps mortals to understand what the gods have created!” Hermione argued “It’s not possible that the King of the Sky causes every single storm in the world, for example.”

She knew she was risking something, but she couldn’t shut up. There was no way the gods had made every single discovery and progress while the mortals looked on like sheep. She had her pride as both mortal and muggleborn.

I wasn’t liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn’t.

That put everyone on edge. What immortal being had they been shit talking; no matter how much he deserved?

“M-Maybe he is like Chiron?” suggested Charlie.

It was what everyone wanted to believe, but they all had a hunch that he was way more powerful than Chiron.

Chiron asked Percy to imagine being an inmortal god and people thinking he was a myth.

What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” yelled Harry.

“Albus, next time you see him, please give him some lessons in tact” McGonagall’s tone implied that wasn’t up to discussion.

Percy insisted he didn’t believe in gods. As Mr. D was getting angrier, Grover tried to defend his friend.

“Grover is the best friend ever.”

“See how you’ve judging him unfairly, Mad-Eye?” Tonks asked her mentor pointedly. The old auror didn’t bother to answer.

“If he doesn’t like working at the camp, then why is he there?” Charlie asked. He couldn’t imagine the demigods being too happy with him either.

Harry grimaced. This guy was worse than Snape.

Mr. D waved his hand and summoned a goblet of wine out of thin air. Chiron reminded him of his restrictions and he changed it to a can of Diet Coke. Chiron explained that Mr.D had taken a fancy to a nymph declared off-limits and his father had sent him to the camp as a punishment. Mr. D went on a rant about the injustice of all it.

“We all have seen this, right?” Remus wanted to make sure he hadn’t gone insane.

“If you mean Mr. D destroying every law of magic out there in a second, yes, we have.” Bill answered dragging a hand down his face. Just what in the name of Merlin was that man? And more important, who the hell was his father?

The twins badly wanted to snark about how Mr. D was too old for daddy to put him on a time-out, but they kept their mouth closed. They didn’t even know they had such self-restrain in them.

Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.

Sirius mentally thanked Percy for saying it out loud; he had been thinking exactly the same thing.

After Mr. D told him that his father was Zeus, Percy finally put all the pieces together.

“You’re Dionysus,” I said. “The god of wine.”

Dionysus didn’t need to intervene for all the madness to unfold.  People were having panics attacks all over the place, several were on their knees praying for forgiveness and a few had passed out on their seats. A group was almost trampling each other trying to leave.

Dumbledore got the few healers among the Order to calm down enough to help him pass along the bottles of calming draught he had brought with him. As more people were recovering (or at least not hurting themselves or each other), the Headmaster realized it was the moment to explain the deal further.

“Before sending the pensieve, the gods swore on the Styx not to punish anyone for their opinions on the memories nor going back on their offer of help. That said, I recommend to be as respectful as possible for the sake of civility.”

Translation: don’t piss them off too much. Sirius left the room to cover his mother’s portrait. Right now, the only good thing from this mess was the knowledge that she’d have hated all of this.

“Uh…Father?” Pollux asked hesitantly. The entire camp was staring at their table.  Dionysus had gone from mad to scarily happy in the blink of an eye. He was now sipping on his Diet Coke, smug energy radiating from him and in the middle of a staring contest with Percy.

“It’s okay, son. Just giving those fools a reality check.” He turned to Poseidon’s table. “Don’t worry, Pierre, I’m still following the thesaurus Annie Bell made us swear.”

While Chiron tried to calm things down, Percy resisted the urge to bang his head against the table. He wasn’t even watching the memories and he already wanted everything to end.

Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?”

“You’re a god.”

“Yes, child.”

“A god. You.”

“Percy, please, don’t sound so surprised” begged Hermione. She had never imagined a god as a whiny manchild in a tacky shirt, but it was better not to say it aloud.

Mr. D showed Percy his power. Visions of unspeakable horrors passed before his eyes. He knew Dionysus could make him insane if he so wanted.

“Please, don’t” whispered Molly. Percy was just a child; he didn’t deserve to be punished like that.

“Isn’t he the god of wine? How can he do that?” asked Ron covering his eyes.

“Gods have more than one domain, Mr. Weasley” answered McGonagall solemnly “He is, among others, the god of madness.”

Harry buried his head in his hands. Demigods were really unlucky. They couldn’t have gotten the god of puppies and rainbows, no, it had to be this one.

Chiron ended up winning the game. Mr. D left with Grover to talk about his assignment.

“Grover will be fine, right?” asked Ginny with apprehension. Leaving the poor satyr alone with Mr. D was a cruelty.

“According to the myths, satyrs are his companions. He wouldn’t hurt him.” Hermione said more confidently than she felt.

Percy was worried for Grover, but Chiron reassured him that Mr. D wasn’t really mad, just upset he wouldn’t be allowed to return to Mt. Olympus for a century.

“A century?!”

“I guess that for a god that isn’t long” said Bill.

“Still, imagine mum kicking us out of home for, I don’t know, a week for flirting with a girl!” retorted Fred.

McGonagall grimaced; she knew well how bad gods were in that department. Either Dionysus had been really inappropriate with the nymph or Zeus wanted her for himself. Or both.

Chiron explained Percy that the gods had been moving all over the western civilization since ancient Greece and now they were in America, pointing to all the influence they had had in the culture.

Hermione and Remus were writing so fast they threatened to break the speed of sound. Snape was pretending not to care but was committing every word to memory and thinking of any books in his house library that could shed any light on this.

“I’m not even going to try to understand all of this.” Sirius decided to turn off his brain for the sake of his sanity. Several people agreed.

Dumbledore smiled fondly. They would probably change their minds when they had had some time to process everything. For him, it had been one of the most enlightening lessons of his life.

Chiron came out of his wheelchair and told Percy he was going to show him the Camp.

It said something that a centaur sprouting out of a wheelchair caused no impression whatsoever.

Now that Percy was safe at camp, Dumbledore decided to call for a lunch break. He could see no one had completely recovered for the previous scare. Everyone agreed, but took a while to leave the room. They were completely drained.

Chapter Text

Barely ten minutes later, most of the Order had left Grimmauld Place. There had been an open invitation for everyone to get lunch there given how sudden their summit was, but they had politely declined. They either had some obligations to attend or just wanted to be with their families in these batshit insane times, so after swearing not to talk about the current mission they went on their way.

“Molly, are you sure you don’t want help?” asked Remus. Despite the mass exodus, there were still too many people for Molly to feed without help.

“No, thank you, Remus” the Weasley matriarch declined. “There’s so much going on… I need to put my mind elsewhere.”

“Ok mum, but if you need help, tell us,” said Bill sitting down at the table. Pretty much everyone was in the kitchen or lurking nearby. Now that it had finally sunk in that gods were real and everywhere and could curse you from another continent no one felt comfortable being alone, especially in the already creepy Grinmauld Place.

“Do you think we could contact Camp Half-Blood for questions?” asked Hermione who was methodically putting her notes in order and throwing away the obsolete ones. Even the summarized ones were still a lot.

“Maybe, but between your questions and ours the list would be so long we’d need Buckbeak to carry it” answered Ron.

“Or maybe you could ask Norberta?” whispered Fred from behind, causing them to jump.

“How did you…?” asked Harry in a panic. Then he saw Charlie giving them a sheepish look and he knew the twins had given him the third degree.

“You seriously remembered that after all the shit we have watched?” demanded Ron.

“Of course Ronnikins, we can multitask.”

“You can use the library if you want.” intervened Sirius “Just tell me so I can take care of the cursed books first.”

“That may not be very helpful” McGonagall joined the conversation. “I know old pureblood families are very biased about myths and demigods.”

“What do you mean, Professor?” Harry asked.

“As you know, Mr Potter, most heroes in the greek myths were born to muggle mothers and were known for their skill in muggle warfare. Except for Hecate’s children, most of them only used magic when it was an artifact or blessing given by the gods. Pureblood supremacists… always found that unacceptable.”She ended the speech with a scoff, showing what she thought about such ideas.

To their surprise Sirius let out a laugh. “My mother hated most of those stories with a passion. She once went on an hours long tirade over the Oddisey and how Circe being defeated by some muggle with the help of the gods was a vile lie and those stories would cause the downfall of magical society. Her words, not mine.” He hastily added when he heard some thundering in the distance.

Harry frowned in displeasure. “I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but Merlin, what a stupid reason to hate a story.” He wondered if Voldemort and the Death Eaters all thought the same. Would it be too much to ask for them to accidentally offend the gods and be blasted by lightning?

“Right? You know, maybe we should take the pensieve to the portraits corridor and keep watching the memories there. I’m sure my lovely ancestors would love to hear all about Percy and his adventures.” By the end, he was grinning like a maniac.

Remus let out a startled laugh.“Sirius, no”. McGonagall looked ready to give him detention just imagining the chaos.

While everyone was discussing the memories and what would happen next, Dumbledore and Snape slipped out of the room.

“How are you taking everything, Severus?” The Headmaster asked.

“Well, now that I know it may work, I pray to the gods the Dark Lord won’t call me until I have my Occlumency shields back on.” Snape answered looking out of the window with a frown. As the double agent, he was under scrutiny on both sides and if the Dark Lord caught even a glimpse of this new development, he was dead meat. “Unless you want me to tell him something about this, of course.”

Dumbledore smiled. “Not yet. I’m still thinking of a cover story about our new allies to tell him, but I want to discuss things with Chiron first. I’m going to send him an Iris Message right now; I would like you to come along to learn how it works.”

Now intrigued, Snape followed the Headmaster into the nearest empty room. Albus casted a spell, creating a rainbow at the same time that he pulled a huge gold coin out of his pocket.

“O goddess, accept my offering” he prayed, throwing the coin into the rainbow. “Chiron”. Before Snape’s astonished eyes, the lights moved around, creating a screen showing the centaur in what must have been his room.

After a long wait, lunch was finally ready. Molly had taken out all her nervous energy in the kitchen, there was enough food to feed an entire army, with as much variety of dishes as a Hogwarts feast. They had already started to dig into it when Snape and Dumbledore came back from wherever they had gone to.

Moody didn’t waste a second “Talking to the centaur, I assume?” That drove all the attention to Dumbledore.

“Indeed, Alastor. He wanted to know how the viewing was going and if we had any problem.”

In other words, if they had freaked out too much or if the gods had smited someone already. Very considerate of him. Dumbledore pretended not to notice his skeptical expression and kept talking. “ While it is not definitive yet, the gods are also considering to invite more people to join us. They may not being part of the Order, but I hope we all remained open-minded.”

The lunch continued as normal. Some were talking about Percy and his circunstances, others speculating about the possible new guests, others hoping they had already seen the worst and the rest of the viewing would be more peaceful.

After lunch was finished and the dishes were done, they all headed back to the now named Pensieve Room. After a while, the absent members returned and Dumbledore started the new memory. This time everyone was ready when the mist engulfed the room.

Chapter Text

Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I’d done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I’m sorry, I did not trust Chiron’s back end the way I trusted his front.

After all they had been through in the previous memories, it felt great to start this one roaring of laughter. Some were gasping for air and the teenagers were almost on the floor.

“Man, I love this child!” Sirius was cackling like a maniac.

The ones not laughing were busy examining Chiron’s now empty wheelchair.

“Filius would love this” McGonagall said appreciatively. Dumbledore nodded, according to Chiron it had been a project the Hephaestus cabin had improved over the years and they were rightfully proud of it.

“Percy is so tiny next to Chiron” Ginny giggled. The poor kid barely reached the centaur’s waist.

Percy and Chiron passed the volleyball court, where campers and satyrs interrupted their game to stare at Percy. “That’s him”

“He is already the talk of the camp? Rumors there spread as fast as in Hogwarts” Tonks remarked.

“He is now the american Child Who Lived, congratulations!” George chuckled.

“Son, that’s not a laughing matter” Arthur said. He hadn’t raised his voice but his expression made his disapproval clear.

Both twins flinched “Sorry, dad.”

Since Arthur had already taken care of that, Molly took her attention back to the memory. “Those satyrs all look older than Grover. I hope there was a good reason for not sending them.”

“Who knows? It’s nice that they hang out with the children, though. The centaurs are a bunch of sticks in the mud” Sirius said.

“Do you want them to play Quidditch or what?” Bill asked. The image of a centaur trying to balance on a flying broom sent the fans of the sport into another fit of laughing.

Percy had finally gotten a good look at the farmhouse when he saw a curtain moving and felt observed. Chiron told him it was only the attic and not a living thing was there.

“Good instincts” Mad-Eye approved.

“I think Chiron is telling half the truth” Remus said as the centaur changed the topic and continued the tour.

“Maybe they have a ghost in the attic.”

They arrived to the strawberry fields, which, Chiron explained, supplied the camp and grew thanks to Mr. D (he would prefer grapes, but he was forbidden due to his punishment). Campers were picking the fruits while a satyr played a tune to drive bugs away.

“Do they sell overseas?” Sirius asked, his mouth watering at the sight of the strawberries.

“They do” Dumbledore confirmed. “Hogwarts has been purchasing strawberries from Camp Half -Blood for the banquets ever since I became Headmaster.”

His former and current students looked ready to build him a temple. Those were the best strawberries they had eaten in their lives.

Hermione looked at the satyr with interest “Do all satyrs use music for their magic?”

“Indeed Ms. Granger. They specialize in nature magic using pan pipes” the Headmaster explained. Hermione and Remus were taking notes on everything, this new society was fascinating.

Percy asked if Grover would get in trouble and tried to defend his friend. Chiron explained it was Mr. D and the Council’s decision. Percy felt guilty for leaving Grover at the bus station and asked if he would get another chance.

“He did his best!” Molly rushed to defend the satyr.

“The situation was a complete mess; Chiron shouldn’t have left Grover to deal with it alone.” Tonks agreed.

“I’m afraid that was Grover’s second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He’s still so small for his age... .”

That caught the adults’ attention. How old was Grover?

Chiron explained that Grover was 28 years old but satyrs grew half as fast as humans, so Grover had been a middle schooler for the last six years, and a late bloomer even by satyr’s standards. Percy tried to ask what happened the first time but Chiron changed the matter.

“Does that make it better or worse?” Charlie asked hesitantly.

“Worse, definitely worse” his mom answered “He is mentally the same age of Percy and a late bloomer at that! What was Chiron thinking?”

“And this isn’t the first time either. Chiron should let him grow and wait until he is ready” Arthur agreed.

But I wasn’t quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother’s fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea-a tiny, hopeful fire-started forming in my mind.

“Chiron,” I said. “If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ...”

“Yes, child?”

“Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?”

Snape groaned. The boy was quick on the uptake, he liked that, but he could see what his idea probably was and it was the most Gryffindor thing imaginable.

Hermione frowned “He isn’t planning to go there to save his mom, right? That’s too dangerous!”

“That would be the Lord of the Dead’s turf, right?” Ron asked

Mad Eye had suggested Mrs. Jackson may have been taken hostage and it would make sense for the culprit to be the same god who had sent the monsters after Percy. However it was strange no demands had been made so far, unless of course he was bidding his time for some reason.

Chiron confirmed the Underworld was real but dismissed it until they “knew more” and continued the tour.

“If he is going to keep hiding things from Percy, he should do a better job.” Bill facepalmed. Was that “until we know more” necessary?

“He has been teaching for millennia, how comes he doesn’t know better?” McGonagall inquired pinching the bridge of her nose.

Albus didn’t know what to answer. While Chiron had started teaching adult demigods who came to him, the camp as a concept had existed for at least a couple of centuries. Maybe he usually wasn’t in charge of showing new demigods around; Percy Jackson was a special case judging for what little he had been told before receiving the pensieve.

As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.

Chiron explained that the monsters were stacked with monsters and that they should go to the armory to get Percy a sword and shield, but didn’t elaborate despite Percy’s protests.

“Seriously?! You’re the one bringing it up, explain it properly!” Harry snapped. Forget Dumbledore, this guy was worse. Would he give Percy a riddle to solve when he asked for the bathrooms too?

“What would he need those for?” Molly demanded.”There has to be some protection put in there!”

“They are training to defend themselves from the monsters, of course he needs them! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

They continued the tour, showing more of the different places in camp including the arena where, according to Chiron, cabin challenges with weapons (usually not lethal) took place.

“Usually?!” Molly shrieked.

Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

“What do you do when it rains?” I asked.

Chiron looked at me as if I’d gone a little weird. “We still have to eat, don’t we?” I decided to drop the subject.

“Percy, dude, drop it and ask someone else” Harry groaned, half in frustration, half in resignation.

Ron nodded. “He’ll ask for the bathroom and Chiron will make him interpret one of Trelawney’s predictions.”

“I was thinking the same” Harry snorted.

They finally made it to the cabins are. In the middle of the U shape there was a sign with twelve arrows pointing to the cabins, each with a name and a symbol.

“They really wanted to make a statement” Remus said looking at the cabins. Even without the directions one could tell which cabin belonged to which god at a glance.

Arthur happily pointed to a cabin nearby “That one looks like a muggle factory!”

“How can you see it with the freaking sun next to it? Tonks asked as she transfigurated a button of her jacket into a pair of sunglasses.

“Apollo’s cabin for sure. You really can’t miss it.” Bill agreed.

“What about Hecate’s?” Ginny asked after reading all the names. “Circe’s is missing too and Asteria’s.”

“It seems the Camp only has cabins for the Olympian council” McGonagall answered, though she was confused herself. Where did they put the children of the other gods?

“Maybe they have cabins for them elsewhere.” Kingsley guessed but he didn’t sound too convinced.

They were now in front of the two cabins at the end, which Percy correctly identified as Zeus and Hera’s.

Sirius frowned in distaste. While all the other cabins were as different from each other as they could be, they still felt like someone’s home, a safe haven for those who belonged there. These two, on the other hand, weren’t welcoming anyone; they were demanding you to bow down to them. They gave him the same feeling as Grimmauld Place.

“They look like mausoleums” Harry said with a shiver. He was sure aunt Petunia would love Hera’s.

A thunder was heard like asking if he had any problem with it. Yes, he was becoming fluent in weather, this was his life now.

“Their cabins look empty.”

“Several of the cabins are. That’s true. No one ever stays in one or two.”

Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot. Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians.

But why would some be empty?

“Chiron better sets the record straight soon before the boy steps on someone’s toes” Snape said.

“What? Percy seems to have understood it perfectly” Tonks retorted defensively.

“No, he hasn’t. He thinks the gods are to the cabins what the animals are to the Houses of Hogwarts, not that they are real and those cabins are temples as well as houses” the teacher snapped back.

Percy’s attention was drawn to the sea themed Cabin 3. Chiron warned him not to go in there but before Percy noticed how empty and lonely it was.

Snape was satisfied to see his point proven. “See? He doesn’t realize he could anger the gods by walking into the wrong place.”

Tonks just huffed and ignored him, her hair becoming a light shade of red.

“Percy seems to be drawn to that cabin, though” Hermione thought. She already suspected Percy was a son of Poseidon, this seemed to be too much of a coincidence.

“Chiron said Percy was to go to Cabin 11, so at least that has been taken care of” Arthur said.

They passed by Cabin 5, where a bunch of kids pulled from Lord of the Flies arm wrestled and argued with loud rock music blaring in the background. One of the girls had noticed Percy.

“Dudley would love this cabin” Harry said with a disgusted grimace.

“Your cousin? Probably” Sirius asked. From what he had seen when he stayed around Privet Drive, that brat was a bully of the highest order. He closed his fists. He would get Harry away from that house or die trying.

“Yes, they look his type: loud and dumb” Harry answered knowing what Sirius was thinking and trying to not make a big deal of his life with the Dursley. He didn’t like people being worried about him and didn’t want his godfather doing something rash.

“We haven’t seen any other centaurs,” I observed.

“No,” said Chiron sadly. “My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I’m afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won’t see any here.”

“The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest aren’t like that” Harry said. If anything they were a bunch of stuck up jerks except for Firenze, and Harry couldn’t imagine him at a sporting event.

“Maybe American centaurs are different” suggested Ron “Or Chiron is like my great-aunt Muriel and always complaining about “young people these days.””

He had finished in a perfect imitation of aunt Muriel’s voice, sending his siblings into hysterics.

“He is thousands of years old” Sirius agreed with a smile.

Chiron confirmed that he was the centaur of the legends.

“But, shouldn’t you be dead?”

Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. “I honestly don’t know about should be. The truth is, I can’t be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I’m still here, so I can only assume I’m still needed.”

“Teachers will never stop being needed.” Dumbledore said solemnly.

“Thousands of years, though?” Snape couldn’t imagine it, it was a nightmare. He just didn’t think of changing careers because he was sure he wasn’t going to survive the war. And maybe, a tiny part of him he would never acknowledge, didn’t want to leave the place he’d always called a home.

“I would love it” Remus retorted. A part of him still resented Snape for outing him as a werewolf. He had loved that year in Hogwarts and nothing would make him happier than being able to go back.

Knowing what his friend was thinking Sirius sent the potion master the mother of all death glares. The memories starting again was the only thing to prevent an argument.

“Doesn’t it ever get boring?”

“No, no,” he said. “Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring.”

“Why depressing?”

Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.

Dumbledore and McGonagall felt a pang of sadness in their chests. They had lost so many former students in a few decades alone; some dead in the prime of their lives and others turned into twisted versions of those wide eyed children who first crossed the doors of Hogwarts. They didn’t regret the time and effort they put in educating the new generations, but it could be heartbreaking sometimes.

Arthur and Molly looked at each other. With how long Chiron had lived and how young his pupils were, it wasn’t hard to imagine that he saw them as his children. And he would outlive all of them even if they lived their longest, happiest lives. Yes, they could understand why it was depressing.

They arrived to Cabin 11, where Annabeth waited for them reading a book. She wasn’t very happy to see Percy but agreed to continue the tour when Chiron had to leave for archery class.

The twins looked at the book in Annabeth’s hands, then to Hermione. “An architecture book in greek? Hermione, we have found your new bestie.”

She ignored them and kept taking notes. Something she had wanted to know since Annabeth’s introduction was the identity of her godly parent. It wasn’t easy, they didn’t know a lot about her yet, but this was a good way to start. She was fluent in greek and read architecture books. Either she was interested in knowledge in general, meaning she could be a daughter of Apollo, or she was into construction specifically. A daughter of Hephaestus, perhaps? Once more she felt frustrated they couldn’t discuss this openly. Someone else could have a different take.

“She would love Hogwarts.” Remus said with a smile. Everyone nodded.

Cabin 11 was, compared to the other cabins, very worn down and packed to the brim with children. The bunk beds were full and the floor was littered with sleeping bags.

“What’s going on in here?” Tonks asked in shock

“And I thought we had a big family” Ron let out a nervous laughter. Even when all the Weasley siblings organized sleepovers together it hadn’t felt this crowded. Hell, it had been less cramped last year with the entire family plus Harry and Hermione!

“Yeah, aren’t all these kids siblings?” Harry remembered.

Everyone took a look at the near two dozens of kids scattered around the cabin and really had to bite their tongues. Could that god at least try to keep it in their pants?

Percy walked in trying to cause a good impression, unfortunately he fell flat on his face.

“Not the best first impression.” Sirius remarked with a laugh.

“I hope they aren’t mean to him. He has gone through a lot” Molly fretted.

Annabeth introduced Percy to the cabin. Everyone groaned when he was announced to be undeterminated.

“Regular? Undeterminated? Didn’t Chiron bring Percy here because this is his father’s cabin?” Molly was thoroughly confused. Percy’s dad surely would have informed Chiron which cabin he should go, right? Percy had been at camp for two days at this point.

“Now, now, campers. That’s what we’re here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there.”

“What happened to his face?” Mad-Eye stared as if he expected the boy in the mist to answer.

Charlie almost squealed at the sight of the scar. “It looks like some kind of dragon claw; I would love to see it!”

“Not the moment, Charlie, not the moment” his older brother reminded him, subtly pointing to their mum, who looked about to faint. The dragon tamer apologized sheepishly.

Everyone flinched at the tiny space on the floor Percy was getting en lieu of a bed, but they knew they couldn’t blame Luke. There truly wasn’t any more space unless they started to hang beds from the ceiling.

Luke explained to Percy that the undeterminated campers stayed at Cabin 11 because Hermes was the god of travelers.

“I don’t understand… His father should have told Chiron…” Molly was at a loss for words.

“Also, while Luke seems old enough to be a prefect, this matter should be handled by the Head of the House” McGonagall said. “I know this isn’t Hogwarts, but there should be at least one adult in charge of each cabin.”

Kingsley then realized something “Have we seen any adult other than Chiron and Mr. D?”

After a few minutes of recalling everything they had seen so far they realized that Luke was, in fact, the oldest demigod they had seen.

“Maybe the older satyrs are in charge?” Arthur asked hesitantly. They were the only ones big in numbers enough to be in every cabin. Every demigod had been a child or a teenager.

It was the only possible explanation, but something told them it wasn’t going to be so easy. Exactly how neglected were these children?

I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.

“Really?” Ron asked raising an eyebrow.

“Hermes is the god of everyone who travels the roads and that includes thieves” Hermione explained.

“A lot of people travel the roads” Harry said.

“He can multitask.”

I looked around at the campers’ faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.

“Merlin, they have their own Fred and George.” Ron shuddered pointing at two identical dark haired boys having a silent conversation on one of the beds. Their faces screamed that mischief was afoot.

Snape looked around critically and grimaced like he had drunk bleach. This cabin would have been the Marauders’ dream, simply disgusting. He hoped Jackson got claimed soon before he lost whatever potential he still had.

The twins were, of course, delighted. “We offer to become pen pals with these amazing fellows.” Fred said.

“Anything for the mission” George added with mock solemnity.

“Thanks for your sacrifice Mr. Weasley” McGonagall said drily.

Percy asked how long it would take to be claimed and the campers laughed.

“It can’t be that bad…right?”

“Either Hermes has a lot of children or there are a lot of unclaimed. They are still all stuck in a tiny cabin.”

Annabeth led Percy outside of the cabin for a private conversation.

“Jackson, you have to do better than that.”

“What?”

She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, “I can’t believe I thought you were the one.”

Harry gritted his teeth. He could tell Chiron had taught Annabeth everything there was to know about being as confusing as humanly possible. “Maybe slow down a little and, I don’t know, explain?”

The twins meanwhile were roaring in laughter “He is the one, Annabeth, just follow your heart!”

“Don’t let Luke lead you astray!”

“Am I missing something? What does Luke have to do with this?” Charlie asked, confused.

“She was blushing at him!”

“So what?”

“Romance stuff Charlie, romance stuff.” Tonks explained. There were people who were very dense when it came to romance, but she had come to learn her friend was just completely uninterested.

“Oh.”

“You have to admit he is quite handsome. Isn’t he, Ginny?” Fred turned his attention to his sister.

“I guess.” Ginny answered narrowing her eyes in warning.

“Nah, Fred. He doesn’t have eyes as green as a fresh prickled to-ouch!”

Quick as lightning, Ginny had stood up and pinched his armpit as hard as she could. Then she gave her other brothers the mother of all the death glares, daring them to keep bringing up her romantic embarrassment. None of them was dumb enough to try.

“What’s your problem?” I was getting angry now. “All I know is, I kill some bull guy-“

“Don’t talk like that!” Annabeth told me. “You know how many kids at this camp wish they’d had your chance?”

“To get killed?”

“To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?”

“They send them out there to fight monsters?!

Dumbledore decided to clarify “They are trained to defend themselves from the monsters who will attack them. And older demigods occasionally go on quests. But looking for fights against legendary monsters isn’t encouraged.”

“We need to remember that Ms. Chase is twelve.” McGonagall agreed” I don’t know anything about her personal circumstances, but she may be … eager to prove herself.”

“Let’s hope it’s that” Kingsley put an end to the discussion. The gods weren’t exactly winning parent of the year award from everything they had seen.

Annabeth explained that the Minotaur was indeed the one from the legends and how monsters could only be temporally killed.

“They come back?!” Ron panicked.

“Annabeth said they could be gone for a whole lifetime.” Hermione tried to comfort him

“If he is lucky! Which we know he isn’t.”

No one could argue with that. They were now afraid that Mrs. Dodds could go after him the following year.

Percy asked about Mrs. Dodds. Annabeth confirmed that she was a Fury, one of Hades’ s torturers.

It had to be said, the Order appreciated Percy’s ability to connect dots and ask the right questions even if, like in this case, they hated the answers.

One knew it was a bad thing when Minerva McGonagall lost her cool. “He sent one of the monsters he uses to torture the worst humanity has to offer, to kill a child?! What is he thinking, what is he accusing Mr. Jackson of and with what proof?!”

Sirius was horrified “That’s what she was?! Lord or not, what in the name of Merlin is wrong with him?!”

They were too angry to notice the slight rumble under the floor.

Percy asked why he had to stay in Cabin 11 when there were so many empty cabins. Annabeth explained that he had to be claimed by his dad, who was actually alive. Then she told him everything she knew about him.

“Why does she have to be so vague? “One of us”, just explain you are demigods first!” Harry was starting to lose his temper again.

“Maybe she thinks Chiron showed him the orientation film?” Hermione suggested a bit defensively. Maybe she was projecting, but Annabeth didn’t seem to be a bad person, just not very good dealing with people.

“I…forgot about the film.” Harry admitted. “But this is so frustrating, and it’s not like Percy isn’t asking the right questions.”

“Taken together, it’s almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That’s because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD-you’re impulsive, can’t sit still in the classroom. That’s your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they’d keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that’s because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal’s. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don’t want you seeing them for what they are.”

Hermione was too stunned to speak and Harry had been thrown for a loop. “So dyslexia and ADHD don’t exist? Or only demigods have them?”

The evil teachers weren’t new, but he hadn’t expected the last part. He remembered his one dyslexic classmate back in primary school. He couldn’t imagine her as a demigod, even though she had always stood up to even Dudley and his gang when they called her stupid for struggling with reading.

“Ms. Chase could be talking about her personal experience” Dumbledore reassured. “I will ask Chiron next time I talk to him.”

Harry nodded but Hermione wasn’t satisfied “How can anyone “be wired” for ancient greek? People can’t learn any language unless they are taught for years!”

“Gods are real and that’s where you draw the line?” Ron asked.

“I draw the line at how brains work, Ronald!”

Annabeth told him that the nectar and ambrosia they had given him would have killed a normal human. There wasn’t any doubt. He was a half-blood.

“Remember when we thought this was about American wizards? Those were the times.” Sirius said wistfully. Their worldviews had been turned upside down and inside out in less than twenty-four hours and who knew how much they still had to learn.

“I just hope they have a way to make sure someone is a half-blood before they give them that stuff” Remus shook his head.

Snape, on the other hand, was disappointed. He had expected some new potions to learn, instead it was just the gods’ food from the myths and mortals couldn’t consume it anyway.

They were interrupted by the girl from Cabin 5 who got in an argument with Annabeth. The girls challenged each other for capture the flag.

“Aaaandd, the bullies are here” Harry glared at the mist. Girl-Dudley had barely talked and he already hated her.

“Annabeth can hold her own, at least” Ginny said. Or at least she thought she could, the gray eyed girl certainly didn’t seem to back down.

“They aren’t going to kill each other for real, right?” Bill asked, looking from Annabeth to Clarisse like a tennis match.

“Just some pre-game trash talk. The usual” Fred said dismissively.

“I sure hope you haven’t been doing this at Hogwarts!” his mother scolded.

“Of course no, mum!”

“Percy Jackson,” Annabeth said, “meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares.”

I blinked. “Like ... the war god?”

“…Are you kidding me?”

Every time they thought they had already assimilated everything, something happened that revealed yet another shield their minds had put up, just to promptly smash it. It was dumb, they had already known for a while, but being able to connect a specific god to one of the kids they knew made everything much more real.

“Just his luck, to be picked on by the children of the god of war” Ginny scowled.

“Well, if someone in the camp would start fights, it would be them” Ron said.

“Ok, fair.”

Clarisse sneered. “You got a problem with that?”

“No,” I said, recovering my wits. “It explains the bad smell.”

“Percy!” Molly called out mortified.

“I never thought I’d hear her say that name in that tone” Fred whispered to George. His twin gave a bitter chuckle; he liked this Percy more than theirs. Even then, he wanted that jerk to come back.

“Not a good idea, but he isn’t the kind to let others walk over him.” Harry defended. They had already seen Percy dealing with the bullies at Yancy, it didn’t make sense to expect to act different now.

“Potter, in case you haven’t noticed, there are four of them, all twice his size” Snape said slowly like he was talking to the dumbest person in the planet. He was pretty disappointed in Jackson, he could do better than this.

“Shut up Snevillus, as if you didn’t start fights at Hogwarts!” Sirius yelled.

“Enough!”

Clarisse decided to give Percy a little “initiation and dragged him to the bathroom. Percy couldn’t escape, she was too strong.

“Like he’s ‘Big Three’ material,” Clarisse said. “Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking.”

“What is she going to do to him?” Ron asked in confusion.

“Shove his head in the toilet.” Harry answered clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

“You are kidding.” Ron looked at his friend expecting him to laugh, he didn’t. “That’s bloody disgusting!”

Kingsley forced himself to ignore the revolting behavior of Ares’s children and asked “What does she mean by “Big Three Material”?

“The Big Three are Kronos’s three sons, who divided the world after their father’s defeat: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.”

“Wasn’t speculating about parentage forbidden?” Ginny asked.

“Maybe no one said a specific name” Harry assumed.

Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse’s grip on my hair loosened.

“Oh boy…” Fred smiled in anticipation.

“Accidental magic time, baby!” George cheered.

Water exploded out of the toilets and showers flooding the entire bathroom, soaking everyone except for Percy and washing Clarisse and her friends away.  Percy was standing in the only dry spot in the entire bathroom. Annabeth asked him how he had done that, he didn’t know.

On instinct, people casted protections and lifted their feet off the ground as the water came from all directions, covering every inch of the bathroom except for the small circle at Percy’s feet.

“How powerful is this kid? Albus, how long ago was this?” Mad-Eye’s interest on the boy was growing by the second. Strong enough to kill a monster with its own horn and magical power no wizard could dream of and all that before getting trained? He would be a beast as an adult.

Dumbledore knew what his friend was thinking “This would have been six years ago. I have never met Mr. Jackson personally, but I assure there’s a reason he is considered one of the greatest heroes of his generation.”

“At eighteen?” Remus asked bewildered. What had been Percy up to? It seemed to have been more than mere training.

“No Big Three material, she said…” Tonk was grinning from ear to ear.

They left the bathroom and saw that a crowd had gathered outside. Clarisse was glaring Percy to death.

“You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead.”

I probably should have let it go, but I said, “You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth.”

“All hail His Sassiness Percy Jackson, Supreme Lord of the Bathroom!” The twins announced with all fanfare.

“He is going to have problems with her in the future.” Arthur said with a worried look.

“Eh, that ship sailed a long time ago.”

“Sirius, that pun is a crime.”

Clarisse’s siblings dragged her back to their cabin despite her protests. Annabeth told Percy she wanted him for capture the flag.

“Does she want another round with the toilets?”

“At least she isn’t a coward.” Ron said. They had to give her that, not a single “my father will hear about this” or any other Malfoy crap.

“What’s capture the flag?” Charlie asked.

“A game where two teams try to steal each other flag.” Hermione answered. “I assume they use it as training.”

“We’ll have to do without quidditch I guess.” Fred sighed dramatically.

Dumbledore took this as his cue to start the next memory.

Chapter Text

Percy and Annabeth walked around the camp, the latter still soaked.

Annabeth walking around with the stern dignity of a twelve years old McGonagall while dripping wet got a laugh out of several people.

“She should get changed.” Molly sighed.

“Or Percy could use his powers to dry her.” Ron suggested.

“NO! He must learn to control them before he uses them on people. CONSTANT  VIGILANCE!”

Hermione suddenly remembered that most of the human body was made of water. She swallowed fearfully when she realized the damage Percy could cause by accident.

They visited the metal shop, the arts and crafts room and the lava wall.

“They make their own weapons?” Arthur looked around the metal shop. He would be the most excited about this clearly muggle workshop, but the teenagers handling blades, dangerous tools and hot metals made his parent alarms scream.

“Hephaestus is the god of forges and metalwork, his children are probably in charge of the metal shop. Their powers most likely include fire immunity and talent for blacksmithing.” Hermione reassured him, though she really didn’t know what Hephaestus’s children really could do. She didn’t remember any from the myths.

“They have a cabin full of Ollivanders?” Tonks asked amazed.

“Maybe. A good thing considering they don’t have proper adults to teach them.” McGonagall was more exasperated with how this camp was handled every second. At least, from what they had heard, Chiron was in charge of actual fighting lessons.

They had, somehow, come to terms with how the camp approached metalwork…then they encountered the lava wall.

“Tell me that isn’t real lava.” Remus groaned dragging a hand down his face.

“I’ll tell you if you want, but I’m pretty sure that’s real lava.” Sirius said warily eyeing the wall.

Percy tried to apology for the toilet incident.

I realized it was my fault. I’d made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn’t understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.

“A poet in the making!” Sirius chortled.

“Never change Percy, never change.” The twins said between bursts of laugh.

“You need to talk to the Oracle,” Annabeth said.

“Who?”

“Not who. What. The Oracle. I’ll ask Chiron.”

“Excuse me?” McGonagall asked in shock. “Albus…”

“I don’t know, Minerva. I cannot imagine someone talking about the Oracle in such a way, but miss Chase doesn’t seem to mean any disrespect.” The Headmaster had, for the first time in the viewing, hit a wall his knowledge couldn’t pass.

“Eh… what’s the problem?” Sirius asked.

“The Oracle, who contained the spirit of Delphis, was one of the most important followers of Apollo. Calling her a “what” would be a huge insult.” Hermione glanced nervously to the ceiling like she expected Apollo to send a meteorite for such insolence.

“Maybe something changed, Annabeth wouldn’t be so careless.” Bill said.

Percy stared into the lake and was shocked when he saw two girls weaving baskets at the bottom. They waved at him like old friends, he waved back.

“Well, hello…” The twins waved while giving flirty looks to the screen.

“Are they demigods?” Ginny asked confused.

“I don’t think so, miss Weasley.” McGonagall was going to elaborate, but the memory continued.

“Don’t encourage them,” Annabeth warned. “Naiads are terrible flirts.”

McGonagall nodded, her guessing confirmed. “Spirits of the rivers. “

“Someone is jealous” The twins sing-sang.

“You are obsessed.” Ron remarked. They looked at him in mock offense.

Percy was overwhelmed, he just wanted to go home. Annabeth explained Camp was the only safe place for children like them. Half human and what else? Despite his denial, Percy knew the answer.

“God,” I said. “Half-god.”

“It must be hard” Harry felt bad for Percy. Learning that he was a wizard and the Dursleys had lied to him his entire life had shocked him to the core. He couldn’t imagine finding out that his dad not only was out there, but a literal god?

Mad-Eye wasn’t feeling so sensitive “Finally we can move on.”

“Mad-Eye, please read the room.” Tonks sighed. Her mentor was getting glares all over the place.

After it finally sank for him that the myths weren’t myths, Percy asked who Annabeth’s father was. She said her dad was human and Percy shouldn’t assume it was always male god and female human.

That helped to narrow down, Hermione guessed. Out of the five goddesses in the council the only ones with children would be Demeter and Aphrodite. Not exactly what she had expected, but then again, they hadn’t known Annabeth long enough…

Annabeth finally confirmed that her mother was Athena, Goddess of wisdom and battle.

“WHAT?!”

“Hermione?” Ron asked hesitantly. Harry was equally confused; Hermione looked like Annabeth had kicked a tome of Hogwarts: A History.

“She is a maiden goddess! How would she…are all books this wrong?” The girl asked, baffled. She’d have to write to the camp to send her books.

“There could be an explanation miss Granger” McGonagall said, though she was surprised too. “Remember how Athena herself was born.”

“Oh, you are right Professor.” Hermione realized. “Although Annabeth has a father…”

“Are we missing something? How was she born?” Ron asked.

“She was born from Zeus’s head. Maybe that’s how she has children despite being a maiden goddess.” Hermione explained.

Several people stared at her, not daring to ask what “from Zeus’s head” meant.

Percy asked who his father was, Annabeth told him he had to be claimed.

“Maybe he’ll send a sign. That’s the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.”

“You mean sometimes it doesn’t?”

 “The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don’t always ... Well, sometimes they don’t care about us, Percy. They ignore us.”

Molly was about to explode. “They are busy? They are gods, if someone has time and a resource to take proper care of their children it’s them!”

Arthur was equally furious “Annabeth says it like she is so used to it. No child should feel like that.”

“And we are talking about sending a signal.” Sirius gritted his teeth. Those deadbeats really couldn’t be bothered to even pop up at camp for a second to make sure their children didn’t have to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded cabin.

I thought about some of the kids I’d seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I’d known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn’t have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better.

“A literal twelve years old understands parenthood better” Molly snarled.

This time, the thunder was answered with glares to the ceiling. They were allies and the gods shouldn’t be trifled with, but there was a limit to how much they could look the other way to this bullshit.

Annabeth went in more detail about demigods’ lives and how it was normal for them to be targeted by monsters at young ages.

“Grover said they never made it past sixth year…” Molly was now feeling faint. This wasn’t fair, they were just children.

“Is there really nothing that can be done?” Bill asked in despair.

Snape was lost in thought. They had mentioned something about essences; maybe he could brew a potion to hide it. Then again, the demigods had most likely tried every possibility under the sun, at least the ones who made it to adult age.

Annabeth confirmed monsters could only enter camp if they were deliberately brought there. Otherwise, the borders kept monsters and mortals outside.

“So it’s similar to the wards at Hogwarts.”

“They bring monsters inside for pranks?!” Molly didn’t know if she should faint or give an earful to whoever had such an idea.

Percy asked if Annabeth was a year rounder. She showed him her necklace and explained the yearly tradition, but refused to explain why she went to camp so young.

“Seven years old? But…but her father is alive. Why would she go so young?” Ginny asked.

“Maybe her dad decided she would be safer in camp” Arthur answered in a comforting tone. It wouldn’t have been easy, but if stories like Percy’s were the norm he understood why Mr Chase would send Annabeth to Camp so soon.

“How old do you have to be for college?” Molly asked fearing the answer.

Hermione knew what she was thinking “It starts at 18 and lasts around four years.”

“Meaning that Luke is at most 22, and the rest of counselors could be even younger.” Kingsley sighed in resignation. How long had this been going on and wasn’t there anything they could do to at least lessen the burden?

Percy asked if he could leave, Annabeth said he would need Chiron and Mr. D’s permission or be sent on a quest, something it hadn’t happened in a while.

“It didn’t go well last time, it seems” Tonks bit her lip. She didn’t feel ready to hear how a child had probably died on a dangerous quest the adults had approved of.

Percy brought up Annabeth’s questions when he was in the infirmary. She asked if he knew something after all but Percy could only relay what he heard back at Yancy.

“Yes! Proper communication, answers! Give us all!” Sirius encouraged.

“Thanks Merlin the lad is proactive or we wouldn’t get answers ever” Mad-Eye grunted, though Dumbledore could tell there was some genuine approval of Percy in his voice.

Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won’t tell me.

Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal.”

Snape was sure he had misheard her “Come again?”

Even Dumbledore was shocked. She couldn’t be casually implying to have visited Mt. Olympus!

Annabeth explained that she, Clarisse, Luke and a few others had visited Olympus on a field trip during the winter solstice. After that the weather had changed and she had heard the satyrs talking about something stolen and how it must be returned by summer solstice.

“A field trip to Mount Olympus.” Remus knew what those words meant individually but his mind refused to process the whole sentence. Holy shit.

Mad-Eye meanwhile had immediately taken the new lead in the investigation “She doesn’t know much else, but he should try with the others. Any of them could have seen or heard something.”

“Mad-Eye, he isn’t in charge of the case” Tonks reminded him.

“The gods think he is the thief, he could try to clean his name.” Harry said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Sirius definitely was going to have a talk with him and the teachers.

“I can’t believe we have Olympus address” Fred whistled.

“Don’t you dare to do anything with it!” His mum retorted and, as if on cue, a thunder was heard right above Grimmauld Place.

“We get it, we are not dumb!” Fred said defensively both to his mum and the gods.

When you came, I was hoping ... I mean- Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she’s got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something.”

“Good thing he isn’t a son of Ares.” Ron said

“How seriously do the kids take those rivalries?” McGonagall asked wearily. The conflicts between Houses and especially the grudges between magical families could get really intense sometimes. She couldn’t imagine conflicts with gods in the middle to be any better.

“Percy won’t change his opinion on Annabeth and Clarisse just because their godly parents are friends or enemies.” Harry said confidently.

“But Annabeth could.” Hermione muttered to herself. To her it was already a fact that Percy was a son of Poseidon. Unless he and Annabeth became really close friends before he was claimed (if he was claimed) there was the chance she would break ties with him out of loyalty to her mother.

“I’ve got to get a quest,” Annabeth muttered to herself. “I’m not too young. If they would just tell me the problem ...”

Ron couldn’t believe it “She is twelve!”

“Don’t make me talk about what you three were doing at her age, Weasley” Snape looked ready to list every offense the trio had committed in the last four years, no one would stop him.

“Don’t make me talk about how going to adults ended up for us, sir” Harry all but spat. He also had all the receipts ready to argue the potions teacher for days. Ron and Hermione were ready to back him up.

Realizing this, Dumbledore firmly intervened. “We are in the middle of the viewing. It’s not time for personal grudges.”

They wanted to argue, but the Headmaster’s tone left no place to discussion. Giving each a glare full of hatred, they went back to watch.

Percy’s stomach growled when he smelt barbecue in the distance. Annabeth told him to go on and stayed tracing a battle plan on the pier.

The barbecue smell did wonders to lessen the tension.

“Great, I’m hungry now” Charlie growled, partially to distract everyone from the argument.  He exchanged a look with Bill; they really needed to speak to their family. They hadn’t been told much about what had happened in Ron’s school years and only a bit about Ginny being affected in her first year from whatever had been going on, but they could tell it was hard to talk about and they hadn’t asked much further.

Back at Cabin 11, people were hanging around waiting for dinner. Percy noticed for the first time how many of them looked alike and the “troublemaker” vibe they had.

“Our people” The twins chorused.

Kingsley looked around, now paying attention to the family resemblance “Not as many as I thought.”

“The cabin is still overcrowded. Couldn’t at least be a cabin for the undeterminated?” Molly asked.

“Wouldn’t that make them feel even more excluded? Then again, sharing cabin may create tension with the Hermes kids. The whole thing is a mess.” Bill said. As a former prefect with he could imagine how much Luke had to balance to take care of both the regulars and the undeterminated. And the former were his own siblings.

Luke came over and gave Percy a sleeping bag and a bag of stolen toiletries.

“Stealing aside, he seems to be a very nice young man, it’s sad he has all this responsibility on his shoulders.” Arthur sighed.

“Even worse that he had to steal or buy them. Those should be provided for free.” Molly said firmly. They were gods; they had no excuse to not give the camp all the money it needed to properly take care of their children.

“Tough first day?”

“I don’t belong here,” I said. “I don’t even believe in gods.”

“Yeah,” he said. “That’s how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn’t get any easier.”

They were surprised at the bitterness in his voice. Or maybe not, being a demigod sucked and the gods were disasters as parents.

Percy asked Luke if Hermes was his dad.

“The wing-footed messenger guy.”

“That’s him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads.

That’s why you’re here, enjoying cabin eleven’s hospitality. Hermes isn’t picky about who he sponsors.”

“You can feel the hate radiating off him” Ron shuddered. He couldn’t imagine talking like that about his own father.

“Can you blame him?” Harry asked sadly. His own parents weren’t in his life but they didn’t have any choice in it. Hermes could at least send their children letters once in a while, couldn’t he?

“Imagine having to explain this situation to every new child. Again and again and again…” Ginny sighed.

“You ever meet your dad?” I asked.

“Once.”

“And that time may have been last Christmas” Remus had given up, this was depressing. Had Hermes tried to speak to Luke at least?

Luke didn’t want to share the story and Percy wondered if his dad had caused his scar.

“If he bloody did…” Molly growled. Everyone looked at her terrified. They had never heard her swear.

“Don’t worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they’re mostly good people. After all, we’re extended family, right? We take care of each other.”

“He is so sweet…”

“Good that Percy has finally found a home”

“Are they really all extended family? Is this some 28 families kind of deal?” Sirius asked.

“In the Olympian Council alone, Zeus, Hera, Demeter and Poseidon are all siblings and most of the other gods are children of Zeus. Most cabins would be first or second cousins.” McGonagall answered.

Harry realized the implications and looked at her horrified “Hold on, wasn’t Hera Zeus’s wife?”

She gave him a resigned look “Yes, Mr. Potter. I am afraid that was fairly common in the myths.”

Tonks’s hair had adopted a vomit green shade that matched the mood really well. Sirius let out a bitter laugh “Seems like the pureblood supremacists took some notes.”

He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him-even if he was a counselor-should’ve steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me.

“No, he should not? Luke has been very nice, but taking care of the new kids is the prefect’s duty.” McGonagall said, puzzled with Percy’s line of thought.

“Percy doesn’t have the best experiences with authority figures.” Remus replied.

Finally, Percy told Luke about Clarisse’s remark and his conversation with Annabeth. Luke explained that he had gone on the last quest and Annabeth had gotten a prophecy stating that she’d go on one when someone special arrived to Camp.

“He went on the last quest?” Tonks was really torn on that. On one hand she was relieved beyond words that he made it back in one piece. On the other hand, she didn’t want to imagine how he had gotten the scar.

“And Annabeth wants to go on the next one after what happened to him?” Ginny asked confused.

“Luke said it himself, she wants to leave” Sirius answered. He let out a sigh “It has to be suffocating to be there for so long.”

A conch shell was heard in the distance and Luke gathered Cabin 11 for dinner. Along the way they passed other campers, nymphs and satyrs going on the same direction.

The pavilion was filled, several tables were empty but Hermes’ was so overcrowded Percy could barely sit in it.

“Same as the cabins.” Kingsley sighed.

“Why do they have that huge fire lit in the middle of summer?” Ron asked.

“The hearth fire was considered the heart of the household in ancient Greece. It’s the domain of Hestia, goddess of family. And I have been told it’s an excellent place to prepare s’mores.” Dumbledore answered with a tingle in his eye.

Ginny looked at table 12 in surprise “Mr D has children?”

Hermione hadn’t completely gotten over the Athena motherhood debacle and was now staring at Annabeth and her siblings, all with different features but sharing the same blond hair and grey eyes, puzzling over how those kids had come into existence.

The campers gave a toast to the gods, after which the wood nymphs brought over the dinner. Percy got himself blue cherry coke and toasted to his mom.

She’s not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She’s in the Underworld. And if that’s a real place, then someday...

Stomachs growled all over the place, that barbecue smelled heavenly.

As soon as Percy started to think about the Underworld, the teachers all knew where this was going. McGonagall and Snape looked at Dumbledore, who seemed to be in the same position as them, not sure if the boy had put this crazy idea into practice, but feeling in his gut that he had probably tried.

Before Percy could start eating, Luke took him to the hearth where the campers were throwing some of the food into the fire.

Several people were horrified “Why are they burning the food?!”

Dumbledore was going to explain, but realized Luke was going to tell Percy anyway.

Luke explained they were giving offerings to the gods. Percy followed his example and prayed for his father to claim him.

The mood dampened even more. Molly didn’t have any energy left at this point. Not only the gods neglected their children in every way, they expected said children to give up their food to them! Would poor Percy ever get claimed?

He finally threw part of his dinner into the fire and was surprised with how amazing the smell was.

“Holy shit, we could live off this!” Tonks exclaimed taking a deep breath.

“No thanks, I prefer to eat the food” Charlie replied.

After dinner Mr D announced Capture the Flag would take place in Friday and Cabin 5 was winning so far.

The Quidditch fans had decided to make Capture the Flag their new favorite sport and gave Cabin 5 a hearty boo.

“I wonder how they make the teams” Harry said. Paring one cabin against another wouldn’t work, there was a big difference in numbers. He guessed they made two big teams, but how did they split the cabins? And why would only Cabin 5 be considered the winner?

Meanwhile, Snape let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He had been watching Cabin 12 table in fear of finding a recreation of his childhood dinners at home, but to his relief the two boys seemed to be fine. They had been happily chatting throughout the dinner and even included their father a couple of times. Mr. D also seemed to be fond of his sons, even if he didn’t show it much. Snape felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Mr D introduced Percy and told the kids to go to the campfire.

“What a grand speech.” Fred fake-sniffled, putting a hand to his heart.

“Riveting, you can feel how passionate he is about his job.” George agreed, dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

The children enjoyed themselves with the sing-along and s’mores and Percy finally felt at home. He went to sleep remembering his mom

That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.

“This has been nicer than the previous memories. Seems like things will improve.” Ron said, starting to feel more hopeful.

I wish I’d known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.

“I jinxed it, didn’t I?”

“I think so” Harry said with a grimace. He guessed they should have seen it coming. They wouldn’t be watching these memories if it was all Percy enjoying his new life at camp, would them? He held his breath as the new memory began.

Chapter Text

The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don’t count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.

“Hey, we get history lesson from a ghost” Ron shrugged.

“A really boring ghost” Harry added with a sigh.

Dumbledore regretted not addressing Professor Binks’s… situation in all those decades. There was always something more important that demanded his attention and now he was too busy with both the Order and with Cornelius wanting to put Dolores Unbridge as DADA teacher.

Percy was taking ancient greek lessons from Annabeth.

After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.

“After a couple of mornings…” Hermione glared at the text Percy was translating from Greek  to English like it had insulted her personally.

Percy and Chiron realized quickly archery wasn’t the boy’s strong point. Percy asked if he should try again but the other campers refused

Everyone did a double take.

“Chiron was behind him, how did the arrow end up in his tail?!” Sirius wished they could replay the memories; no one could be such a bad shot!

The sky outside darkened as if the sun itself was mortified by the performance.

“The other campers look like they fear for their lives” Charlie noticed the rest of the class slowly moving away without taking their eyes away from Percy’s bow.

“As they should! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

He was then beaten at wrestling by Clarisse.

“How is that fair? She is a mountain compared to him!” Harry complained.

“Still smaller than the monsters.” Hermione replied.

Canoeing was a different matter altogether.

“Holy shit, he is gliding!”

Ron gave his friends a questioning look while holding three fingers up. They nodded. Most of the viewers had already, if not figured out Percy was a son of Poseidon, that he belonged to the sea themed cabin. Now, how long would they have to wait for him to get claimed?

Luke suggested that he could be a child of Hermes, a jack of all trades.

“That would be wild, could you imagine being unclaimed in your own cabin?” Tonks asked.

“It would be the humiliation to end all humiliations.” Bill grimaced.

“And there isn’t space left. Better for Percy to go to a less crowded cabin.” Charlie added.

Arthur and Molly frowned. That would be a solution… until the next unclaimed child arrived. And the next, and even if that was solved, the claimed children didn’t have a relationship with their godly parent. They thought of their own Percy and how they’d do anything to repair the rift in their family. The gods meanwhile, despite having all the power one could dream of, didn’t even bother doing the barest minimum to make their children feel loved.

“Still, it would be a shock for him to find he has who knows how many siblings.” Tonks sighed. Whatever it happened, Percy’s life wasn’t going to get easier in at least a while.

The trio looked at each other. That, they knew, wasn’t going to be a problem. Hermione was confused, though. Poseidon was well known for having lots of children, yet his cabin was empty, same as Zeus’s. Was this a reverse of the situation with Athena?

Percy was happy at camp, but he was feeling more and more disappointed that his father wasn’t listening to his prayers. He understood Luke’s resentment.

McGonagall finally understood why they had been following Percy’s perspective. Having the situation explained to them wouldn’t be enough for them to understand the layers of complexity behind the Camp’s relationship with the gods. However, seeing this poor child slowly lose his hope of even finding out who his father was, and the neglect that even the claimed kids suffered truly drove the point home.

Percy finally had his first sword-fighting lesson. Luke was the instructor.

“Chiron isn’t teaching the class?”

“It seems to be a beginner class; I think an older camper can handle it.” Kingsley said. He didn’t know much about sword-fighting but they weren’t doing anything dangerous, just stabbing and slashing straw dummies. He would be more worried if Luke had them sparring.

Then they were put into pairings to duel. Percy was paired with Luke, who was said to be the best swordman in centuries.

Kingsley was taken aback “… Nevermind.”

“They need the practice; those dummies aren’t going to fight back! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“At least Luke is taking care of Percy.” Tonks sighed.

“You call that taking care of him?” Charlie asked, baffled. Luke was giving Percy no quarter; he was hitting him with the flat part of his sword again and again while firing off instructions. Percy looked more tired by the second.

“Compared to Mad-Eye…” She argued, giving her mentor a weary look. Kingsley nodded; everyone in the Auror Office had at some point gotten training from Moody. Truly, what didn’t kill you made you stronger.

Finally they got a break and grabbed some drinks. Luke poured a bottle of water over his head, Percy decided to do the same, immediately feeling better.

Dumbledore looked with interest. While it wasn’t obvious unless you were looking for it, Percy not only felt better, some visible bruises he had gained during practice had completely banished upon contact with the water.

Luke showed them a disarming move. Next, he and Percy would duel until one of them pulled it off.

“Is this a good idea?” Molly asked nervously.

“So far, Luke seems to know what he is doing…” Arthur replied, even though he didn’t sound very convinced.

With his newfound energy, Percy put a good fight but Luke was slowly pushing him against the ropes. Percy tried the disarming move and in a flash Luke had lost his weapon and Percy’s sword was pointed to his chest.

The Order looked on stunned as the memory showed the finishing move again, this time in slow motion. They couldn’t believe what Percy had just done.

“Didn’t he say his sword was unbalanced?” A stunned Ron asked.

“Chiron should give him the magic pen again, he will be unstoppable.” Harry was amazed.

Percy apologized. However, Luke was thrilled by his skill and asked for another round.

“At least he is taking it well.” Sirius sighed in relief. Even the nicest person would have a wounded pride after being defeated by a preteen.

“He is bringing out the boy’s true potential.” Moody smiled in approval. This child was a diamond ready to be polished and his teachers weren’t wasting that talent. Jackson would be ready for all the threats waiting for him in the outside world.

They sparred again but Percy was drained and soundly lost. Someone suggested it had been beginner luck and Luke imagined Percy’s potential with a balanced sword.

“I don’t think that rush of energy after the water was a coincidence.” Ginny tapped her chin.

“Could that be why he won against the Minotaur, because it was raining?” McGonagall mused.

“And it was six years ago?” Sirius asked amazed. “Would he even need help to get rid of the Death Eaters now?”

That was something everyone had thought, but nobody had felt comfortable bringing up. The gods obviously weren’t going to bother to show up in person, so the promised help had to be the demigods. They didn’t want to even consider the idea of child soldiers, but if they sent adult, fully trained demigods, maybe they could end the war quickly and without needless bloodshed.

 Percy and Grover were resting after climbing the lava wall.

“Damn, Grover is rocking it!” The twins cheered on.

“Why would they use real lava?!” Molly asked in horror.

They talked about Grover’s situation. He’d be given another chance if Percy got a quest, but he didn’t think Percy would get one or want him along.

“Why wouldn’t Percy want him along?” Harry asked outraged.

“Severus.” Dumbledore warned in a whisper. He didn’t need Legilimence to know the potion master would give an entire list of reasons just out of spite. And Dumbledore agreed with several of them, but there was no point rubbing it in the children’s faces.

Snape seemed like he was to ignore him for a second, but ended up relenting.

They talked about the gods and Percy finally asked about the empty cabins. Grover explained that Artemis and Hera’s cabins were symbolic.

Hera’s the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn’t go around having affairs with mortals. That’s her husband’s job.

“Please, be more tactful!” Hermione pleaded, waiting for the inevitable thunder strike, but it didn’t come. The inhabitants of Camp Half-Blood however, saw and heard it loud and clear. Zeus’s reaction would be talked about in every weather report for a week at least.

“That’s no one’s job!” Arthur and Molly were scandalized. How could be infidelity be so normal to Grover?

“You’ll have to get used to it.” Snape growled. The topic wasn’t easy for him either, but he had read his fair share of mythology. “If half of the myths are true, cheating is all over the place.”

“Let’s not going into details or we may end up offending someone.” Remus suggested as diplomatically as possible.  

For the first time in their lives, the twins wanted to read a book. Those myths sounded like a blast.

He continued explaining that the Big 3 were Kronos’s sons, and that Hades didn’t have a cabin at Camp nor a throne in Olympus.

“Better not to ask” McGonagall waved the topic away. Since the incident with Dyonisus, she had a feeling that they should wisely pick up their battles with the gods. She knew that when they went into detail about Hades’s attacks on Percy, someone was bound to snap. Better not angering the gods before that happened.

“I agree, Minerva” Dumbledore said “Family matters are always a delicate topic.”

The Weasleys  avoided to look at each other. Had Hades left the family as Percy had, or had he been kicked out? Would it even matter after so long?

Percy asked why Zeus and Poseidon didn’t have children at Camp despite their reputation. Grover explained the Big 3 had sworn on the Styx to stop having half-blood children after things got out of control in WW2

Dumbledore frowned. Chiron had told him demigods had been involved in the war, but not to this extent. The oath changed everything; Percy Jackson would be in even more danger if he was claimed.

“Do you think Chiron knows?” Sirius asked in a whisper. Remus nodded, Chiron had worked with half-bloods for millennia, and he probably could guess their parentage at a glance. They had been able to figure out who Percy’s dad was in hours, Chiron had known Percy for longer. Maybe he was so secretive because Percy’s claiming could get him killed.

Grover explained that Zeus had broken the oath 17 years ago and the consequences that had for his daughter.

As Grover narrated the story and demise of Thalia, the Order started to stir up. Murmurs and frowns grew into horrified gasps. The unfairness was almost physically painful. The story continued to its bitter end, and the pine tree at the top of the hill was shown. That was the final nail in the coffin.

“Why?! Just why?!”

“He deserved the punishment, not that poor child!”

Molly finally hit her limit. She stood up and addressed the King of the Gods directly “You are a god! You have powers none of us could dream of! And yet you couldn’t bother to give your daughter the smallest help before she got torn apart by monsters?! “

“SILENCE!”

The mist turned into electricity, sparks spreading all over the room in a chaotic dance. Finally it coiled around the pensieve taking form, a face made of lighting framing blue, piercing eyes. Zeus’s booming voice boomed thorough Grimmauld Place, rattling everyone to their core.

“YOU ARROGANT MORTALS DARE TO LAY JUDGEMENT WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST CLUE OF HOW THE WORLD WORKS!  KNOW YOUR PLACE!”

Albus managed to shake off his fear, or at least ignore it enough to address the almighty presence in front of them. “Our apologies, my Lord” he said bowing slightly.

The others may not share the feeling, but right now they were too petrified to talk. Even then, some of them weren’t completely cowed. Molly and Arthur were giving  Zeus agonized glares, silently demanding him to explain why he hadn’t any of his vast resources to protect his daughter while they despaired for not being able to keep his children safe, to bring their Percy back home.

However, as suddenly as he had showed up the god vanished. The Order remained paralyzed, their bodies too scared to move for a long while.

“Brother, please calm down.” Hestia pleaded putting a hand on Zeus’s shoulder. The Lord of the Sky tensed for a second, but finally relented.

“We give them the privilege of our help in this petty war of theirs, and this is how they repay us.” He said, voice full of power and godly pride, but with a sliver of pain no one would notice unless they were looking for it.

Hestia looked at her brother, her eyes glowing with the soothing warmth of her hearth. “This is their first contact with our world. They are scared and desperate to protect what they love, and also full of compassion for our own children. Please, ease off on them.”

Zeus’s shoulders shagged, his ire evaporated. It was impossible to stay mad in his sister’s presence. “It’s not like I don’t love my children. But I must uphold the Ancient Laws and there was also the prophecy to consider.”

“I know, brother. You don’t have to approve of everything they say, but give them time and keep an open mind. We gods have grown alongside humanity; this is what our relationship with them has always been.” She said soothingly rubbing his back.

“I… will do my best. Thank you, sister.” He wasn’t too convinced, but how could he refuse a favour to the pillar of their family?

Hestia smiled. Her brother’s paranoia and pride had led him to ignore his more reasonable and merciful impulses. She knew, however, that he loved his family and didn’t want to be like their father. She hoped that seeing the last few years through the eyes of Perseus could help him to understand those children, to remember those times when he worked his hardest to be a good king for everyone.

The only thing she could say for sure was that she was going to be there for him and for their entire family.

Chapter Text

“Albus, the room is ready” Sirius announced tiredly. During the past hour or so, the Order had been busy clearing out an unused room in Grimmauld Place and filling it with seats, even transfigurating other pieces of furniture.

“Thank you, Sirius.” The Headmaster answered, and then he brought the pensieve inside.

They couldn’t use the previous one anymore. Literally, because there was static electricity everywhere, but also coming face to face with an angry Zeus of all the gods… it had been terrifying. They wouldn’t be able to sit in that room without seeing his face in every shadow on the walls for a long time.

At least the time they had spent preparing the new room had served to calm their nerves a little. The twins were back to their jokes and conversations had recovered some levity. Seeing this, the Headmaster spoke up.

“We should at least finish this memory before taking another break.”

“Alright, but let us organize the supply of calming draughts first” Emmeline Vance, one of the healers asked.

 “Where’s Madam Pompfrey when you need her?” Ron whispered to his friends.

“Away from this madness and good for her” Harry answered with a hesitant smile. After what just had happened, Voldemort suddenly felt as threatening as a fly on a windshield. That was the one good thing to come out of this experience for him.

A few more preparations later, everyone was ready to start. They had the potions, cushions to relieve stress and Molly had even prepared some quick snacks and refreshments. Dumbledore taped the mist and the memory continued.

Percy thought about Thalia’s story and how his own victory against the Minotaur was nothing compared to that.

“That’s not the lesson he should take from the story.” McGonagall frowned. No child should ever be in the position both Percy and Thalia had been. The gods should be ashamed, though she knew they hadn’t given it a second thought.

Percy asked if there had been quests to the Underworld to bring someone back from the dead.

“Chiron should have a talk with him. This is a bad idea” Remus said.

“I’m sure he already knows it, but it’s not so easy to give up” Sirius answered sadly. The gods knew that if there was a way he could bring James and Lily back, he would be already on his way to the Underworld.

Percy changed topics and Grover explained how satyrs worked.

“You can’t fool him Percy” Ron shook his head.

“Children with the making of heroes? Every demigod deserves protection” Tonks protested.

Kingsley pondered the situation. “Annabeth said the weaker ones can live without being noticed by the monsters, maybe they are just prioritizing the higher-risk ones.”

“It makes sense. The ones who could be heroes would be the ones powerful enough for the monsters to notice from a mile away.” Sirius agreed.

“Heracles probably had to fight monsters every day” Harry shuddered.

Thunder boomed again and everyone cowed on instinct. They then did a double take because it had sounded… proud? Was Zeus just bragging about his son?

It was nighttime and Capture the Flag was about to start. Annabeth and her siblings came carrying their banner, grey with an owl perched on an olive tree.

An uproar of cheering came from the quidditch fans.

“No idea about the game, but Team Percy forever!”

Clarisse and her siblings then brought out their own banner, red with a spear and a boar head.

The cheers changed to boos.

“Kick their asses!”

“Drag them back to the toilets!”

Luke explained that Ares and Athena led the teams most of the time. That night, Hermes had allied with Athena

“Why does he look so evil all of sudden?” Harry blinked in surprise. It had come out of nowhere.

“He is just pumped out; I would be too if I had the chance to get at Clarisse.” Fred said.

By trading privileges and chores, Athena had teamed with Hermes and Apollo. Ares had teamed with everybody else.

“They get teammates through bribery?” Bill asked amused.

“Negotiation is an important skill in life” Remus answered.

“Why is Apollo’s cabin so big?” Ron asked. They were easy to tell apart from the Hermes cabin and there were a lot of them.

“I think we all know the answer” Hermione grimaced. Hermes had the excuse of taking the undeterminated, Apollo had almost the same number of campers without help.

“How good do you think they would be at Quidditch?” Charlie inquired with curiosity.

Harry gave it some thought “Hermes is the god of thieves; his children would be good seekers. Apollo’s children are archers and I think they were the ones leading the sing along.”

“Apollo is the god of many things including archery, knowledge, arts and medicine” Hermione explained.

“So they would be the chasers, the batters, the medics and the cheering squad? Wood would have killed for them!” Fred smiled remembering the former Gryffindor captain.

The sun got blinding for a second.

“Athena’s children would make amazing captains and strategists” Even McGonagall had joined in.

Percy made a mental note of the other cabins, starting with Dionysus’s. They were putting their armors on and discussing strategy.

“I think they could do well at Quidditch” Ginny said with a critical eye. They both were clearly in shape and most likely worked well together.

“You two have competition” Harry smirked at the twins.

“We’ll fight to the end!”

Demeter’s children were practicing with their powers.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this” grumbled McGonagall pinching her nose. Most grown wizards couldn’t even levitate a feather without their wands, yet right in front of her eyes a bunch of children, not even old enough for the O.W.L, were growing plants and moving vines with a wave of their hands.

“Great for capture the flag, but I don’t think they could use it for Quidditch” Charlie sounded disappointed.

“Forget Quidditch, find the Death Eaters hideout, give these lads some Mandrake and Devil Snare seeds and let them go wild.” Mad- Eye was grinning like a child on Christmas.

Everyone felt a chill down their spines. The idea was terrifying, but at the same time kind of tempting.

Aphrodite’s children, with a few exceptions, weren’t interested in the game at all.

“Not much to worry here” Sirius dismissed.

Remus pointed to the teenage group, now weirdly silent and Sirius let out a bark of laughter. They were fixated on the screen, mouths agape and blushing up a storm.

“Ah, young sweet love” Tonks cooed, sending the other adults into giggles.

The teenagers finally came back to reality and blushed even harder.

Hephaestus’s children were big and muscular.

Everyone had to pick their jaws off the floor.

“They would be the best batters, no question” Harry decided. They didn’t look as aggressive as Ares’s kids, but they were jacked.

“They wouldn’t need bats, they could throw the bludgers with their hands” Ron agreed.

That, of course, left Ares’s cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.

“They would make good players but their temper would hold them back” McGonagall sentenced. They were the kind of players who would get more suspensions than points they could score.

“You can tell how much Percy likes them” Ron grimaced.

Molly had to grip her cushion and bit her tongue looking at the groups, especially Apollo and Ares’s.  They should spend half the time they wasted making children actually taking care of the ones already there. She couldn’t imagine how neglected they felt.

Chiron went over the rules and summoned the equipment.

“Does he really have to remind them not to kill each other?” Molly fretted.

“They are using real weapons, they may get carried away” Mad-Eye explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“That’s the problem!” She argued back.

Luke gave Percy his equipment and told him he was in border patrol  

“Poor kid, that shield is half his size.” Tonks said as she changed her hair color to match the feathers on the helmet.

“Aw, it would be better if Percy’s team color was red.” George complained.

“At least it’s not green.”

Snape’s eye twitched. If something relevant didn’t happen soon and they wasted an entire memory in this stupid game he would lose his mind.

Percy caught up with Annabeth and asked for the plan. She told him to watch out for Clarisse’s spear and keep the reds away.

“Oh, yeah, Clarisse will probably go after him” Ron said.

“And what’s up with Clarisse’s spear?” Harry asked.

“It looked different from the others, but I have no idea how it works” Ginny answered.

Percy was standing alone near the creek. Fighting noises could be heard in the distance.

“That can’t be her plan” Hermione breathed.

“Yeah, leaving him alone is dumb” Harry agreed.

She shook her head “Not only he is alone, he is near the creek. Annabeth must be counting on Clarisse going after him and Percy having another accidental magic episode.”

“If she hasn’t taken any precaution Chiron should have a talk with her” Arthur frowned.

A monstrous growl came from the forest nearby. Percy got in a defensive position but the growl went away.

“What was that?” Mad-Eye immediately got up and scanned the mist with his eye.

“It can’t be a monster, right? Annabeth said they had to be summoned” Kingsley was trying to keep his cool, but the situation had become really stressful

Clarisse and four of her siblings showed up and ganged up on Percy

“Those motherfucking-!”

“Ronald Weasley!”

“Five? Clarisse didn’t have the balls to get him alone?” Harry snarled.

Percy tried to fight them but he was outnumbered and Clarisse’s spear was electric.

“Fuck!”

“Annabeth could have been more specific” Ginny punched her cushion in anger.

“She must have sent reinforcements, right?” Bill asked. They could care about morals when Percy was safe from Clarisse and her spear.

Percy told them where the flag was but they only wanted revenge on him.

“He just told them?” Harry was confused, that wasn’t like Percy at all.

“He is doing the smart thing for once Potter, don’t you dare to complain” Snape was running out of patience with this memory.

The would-be-argument was interrupted when one of the Ares campers cut Percy in the arm.

“That boy should be punished for an entire year” Molly growled.

He ended up pushed into the creek. He felt a sudden rush of energy and defeated all of them in seconds, even destroyed Clarisse’s spear.

They knew Percy had everything under control the second he hit the water. They still were caught by surprise when Percy decimated the entire group without breaking a sweat.

“This kid is starting to scare me” Charlie said backing away a little.

“Clarisse is going to kill him as soon as she wakes up” Harry grimaced. Clarisse was as pissed off as one would imagine, but for a second he had seen something different in her expression. Pain? Sadness? Maybe the spear had been important to her.

Suddenly, Luke and his teammates arrived carrying the flag which changed from Ares to Hermes’ symbol. Team blue had won.

Cheers erupted thorough the room as if England had won the Quidditch World Cup.

“Great. Now take Mr Jackson to the infirmary” McGonagall said resolute, but she was also happy for the blue team.

“Not bad, hero.”

A moment later, Annabeth appeared out of thin air holding a cap

“Athena’s children can become invisible?” Ron asked in confusion.

“Maybe the cap works as an invisibility cloack. We have never seen her wearing it before” Harry guessed.

Percy confronted Annabeth about her plan.

“That was dangerous” Arthur agreed.

“She should have told him the plan. Or at least left people hidden nearby” Kingsley said.

Annabeth made him notice that his cut had magically healed and asked him to step out of the water. Percy was suddenly so tired he almost collapsed.

“Healing too?!”

“This is insane” Emmeline almost collapsed in her chair. It wasn’t a spell, he hadn’t even thought about it. The boy used this power as easily as he breathed.

The victory celebration was suddenly interrupted by a monstrous howl. A massive hellhound was staring at them.

“Bill, what’s that?!” Ginny asked in horror.

“I don’t know” The curse breaker answered.

“Whatever it is, they must run!”

Annabeth tried to shield Percy but the hound was too fast. By the time Chiron killed it, Percy was gravely injured.

On instinct, the healers grabbed their bags. The claws had crushed the armor and cut Percy from the collarbone to the hip, they couldn’t tell if a vital organ had been damaged.

“No, no, no…” Molly grabbed the calming draught before she spiraled completely.

Chiron stated that the hellhound had been summoned by an insider.

“A traitor.” Mad-Eye growled.

Dumbledore frowned. The situation was critical. Mr Jackson was still in danger and now paranoia would bleed all over the camp.

Annabeth made Percy go back into the water despite his protests.

“What do you mean “I’m fine”?” Molly cried out “Go back to the water right now!”

“Harry, he is too much like you” Ron said, his face slightly green. Hermione couldn’t talk, she just nodded. Harry himself couldn’t really argue.

His injury completely banished.

The healers looked at each other as if checking they hadn’t gone mad and they all had seen it. They had expected the water to stabilize him while Chiron did the actual healing, not this!

Everyone gasped in surprise, not due to Percy powers but to the holographic trident hanging over his head.

“Poseidon’s symbol” McGonagall nodded.

“He is already claimed then?”

The entire camp knelt.

“Poseidon,” said Chiron. “Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.”

No one felt happy. This memory had only served to emphasize that Percy wasn’t an outline. That being neglected by parents and chased by monsters was normal. This is what it meant to be a demigod.

Chapter Text

Percy moved to cabin 3, becoming the cabin counselor by default.

There was no commentary; they were all admiring the inside of the cabin. It was fancier than the bedrooms in Hogwarts and they wouldn’t be surprised if it was built entirely of materials from the depths of the oceans

“Cabins in muggle camps aren’t this fancy” Tonks said in awe. The only thing that looked like a camp cabin was the beds.

“He is now his own prefect, that’s so cool!” The twins’ heads were bustling with ideas of what Percy could do with his newfound freedom.

The other campers started to avoid him due to the attack except for Luke.

Harry felt the bile rise in his throat. He knew that feeling way too well, people turning on you on a dime for the stupidest of reasons. He also had the feeling it would be the same this year because of the Prophet and the Ministry and fuck; he hated the entire world right now.

“The attack must have been a shock on all of them if the camp defenses haven’t failed before” Hermione said sadly

“But it’s not his fault! He didn’t summon the monster! Fuck, this is the Heir of Slytherin crap all over again-!” Harry clamped a hand over his mouth when he realized what he had said but it was too late.

“What’s this about the Heir of Slytherin?” Sirius asked with a bad feeling in his gut. He knew the legends, of course he did, his mother had drilled them into him since he was in diapers. But why would Harry be so upset?

“It’s nothing! Forget it …” Harry started, but Hermione brought him closer.

“Harry, it was in the Prophet” She whispered. Harry’s eyes went wide in shock.

Remus went pale. He (everyone most likely) had read about it, but Sirius wouldn’t have been able to catch up with the news while in Azkaban.

“It was two years ago” he explained to Sirius “Several students were petrified in Hogwarts, there were rumors about the Heir of Slytherin going after muggleborns…”

Harry decided to do some damage control “They thought I was the Heir of Slytherin for some stupid reason. Please, I don’t want to talk about it”

“It’s ok Harry, it doesn’t have to be now if you don’t want to” His godfather reassured him even if he knew there was a lot missing from this story. He didn’t want to force Harry to relive it though.

“We’ll have to tell them” Molly whispered mournfully. Arthur nodded, it was obvious Bill and Charlie had put the pieces together. They needed to know.

The group of friends was stressed out of their minds, especially Harry and Ginny. Even if they didn’t press them for information, they knew the adults would talk about the Chamber of Secrets’s incident sooner or later.

“You’re going to need all the training you can get,” he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. “Now let’s try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions.”

“His arms are going to fall off” Tonks grimaced rubbing her own arms.

“Nah, the lad understands how the world works. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

Annabeth had grown distant too.

“She saved his life and now she ignores him?” Harry was as confused as he was indignant.

“Remember that his dad is her mum’s rival” Remus reminded him. Then he noticed Sirius was about to argue the point “Her mother is a goddess, Sirius. Annabeth can’t send her a howler and run away from home.”

“Ok, that’s a fair point” Sirius conceded. He imagined his mother with as much power as Zeus had wielded before and for a second felt like hiding on the other side of the planet.

Percy found an article on his cabin where he was blamed for his mom’s disappearance.

“Does anyone need headache potion?” Emmeline asked rubbing her eyes. Almost all the hands rose. Reading with dyslexia was more painful than banging your head against a wall.

“How do they expect people to graduate school like this?” Harry groaned.

The headache was replaced with murderous rage when they finally read the whole thing.

“The audacity of that man” Molly gripped her wand.

“I hope she got everything in the divorce” Snape spat out ignoring the surprised looks he was getting. They had never seen that side of him.

Percy went to bed in an awful mood.

“Poor child” Emmeline sighed. It wasn’t fair, this situation was destroying him emotionally and there didn’t seem to be any solution in sight.

The mist took the green simmer of a dream. Percy was on a different beach this time. Two men were fighting in the middle of a hurricane.

Everyone flinched when they recognized Zeus. The King of the Gods was fighting with all his might and demanding his opponent to give something back. Percy was helplessly stuck too far away to intervene.

“W-What’s going on?” Tonks asked in a whisper, as if afraid she’d catch their attention. Her hair had turned white and her skin resembled the ghosts’ in Hogwarts.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes “It’s the continuation from Mr Jackson’s previous dream. The eagle and horse represented Zeus and Poseidon respectively. “

Kingsley quickly reread his notes, finally realizing something “They said something had been stolen from Olympus during the winter solstice. Is it that what Zeus is demanding Poseidon to return?”

“That’s right!” Hermione had almost jumped from her seat “That’s what Mrs Dodds accused Percy of stealing!”

“So Zeus thinks Poseidon told Percy to steal the thing?” Ron asked in shock.

“Apparently” Harry bit his tongue. It didn’t make sense but Zeus wasn’t exactly rational.

“But why would Hades send the Fury?” Snape muttered almost to himself. From the myths, Hades wasn’t the kind to get involved in a fight between his brothers.

“I agree” Dumbledore nodded “There is something more going on”

Percy tried to stop them to no avail. The ground split underneath him as the scariest voice crooned him to come underground.

By the time Percy woke up most of the Order had climbed on top of their seats and were pointing their wands to the ground despite not daring to even breath. Dumbledore started to think these viewings may give him a heart attack.

Kingsley finally dared to ask “Was that…?”

“I don’t think so” McGonagall cut him. She wasn’t going to say it aloud, but that voice was scarier than Zeus. It couldn’t possibly be Hades.

Percy was panting on his bed, though they could barely hear him over the storm outside.

“Percy is a better seer than Trelawney” Fred tried to sound casual, which was not easy to do while climbing down a chair without touching the floor.

Grover entered the cabin. Mr D wanted to see him

“He wants to kill... I mean, I’d better let him tell you.”

“WHAT?!”

“There has to be a misunderstanding” McGonagall pursed her lips in a thin line. Mr. Underwood wouldn’t lead Mr. Jackson to his death just like that.

Percy had already expected this, that the gods would want him dead for being a product of a broken oath.

Molly was about to pick a literal fight with Dyonisus. That drunk bastard better didn’t think of touching a hair on that child’s head. Chiron better had stopped him or they were going to have words.

As they walked, Grover explained how the weather worked in CHB. Despite Grover’s reassurances it was obvious something was wrong. Campers were doing their routines but the fear could be felt in the air.

“Everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to drop” Remus sighed. Maybe this was why they had distanced themselves from Percy. They couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire if worst came to happen.

They arrived to the Big House, where Chiron and Mr D were waiting for them.

“Well, well,” Mr. D said without looking up. “Our little celebrity.”

“This brings me back” Harry said with sarcastic nostalgia.

“What do you mean?” Sirius asked.

“That was my first potion class; all what Snape was missing was the Hawaiian shirt.”

“Typical” Sirius gritted his teeth. Would Snevillus ever stop dragging Harry into their feud?

“Don’t expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father.”

They all cowered as the storm got more violent in the projection… and even in real life.

“Oh great, family drama.” Sirius said with fake cheer. He was from a dysfunctional enough family to know where things were going. Dyonisus probably hated Poseidon for some shit from millennia ago who nobody even remembered anymore.

“Percy really isn’t Mr. D’s favorite cousin,” Hermione said with a grimace.

“Holy Merlin, he is his cousin” Harry face palmed “And I thought Dudley was bad.”

Mr D and Chiron had a back and forth on if they should kill Percy or not

Horrified mutterings rose all over the place.

“They are talking about this in front of him…”

“They are considering killing him at all…”

“His father wouldn’t allow it, would he?” Arthur asked with a heavy tone. He didn’t want a reprise of Zeus leaving his daughter in the dust until it was too late. Nothing could be done for that poor child anymore, but Percy was still there, there was still possible for Poseidon or Chiron to do the right thing and stop this.

“Hey, turning him into a dolphin and sending him to his father is the least awful option.” Ginny said with a glimpse of hope in her voice. Poseidon could at least protect Percy in the ocean.

Little she knew that the Lord of the Sea wholeheartedly agreed with her. He would have hidden Percy in his palace, consequences be damned.

Mr. D left for Olympus, warning Percy that being turned into a dolphin was the lesser evil.

“Well, that wasn’t ominous at all” Charlie remarked warily.

“At least they aren’t going to kill him” Molly couldn’t believe she would ever say such a thing, this were desperate times.

Chiron asked Percy what he thought of the hellhound attack. Percy admitted he had been terrified.

“You’ll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you’re done.”

“Mrs. Dodds was worse, though” Bill said. The worst kinds of monsters were those that could strategize. That was why Cyclopes were dangerous; they were capable of manipulating and luring victims in. Mrs. Dodds had been undercover for half a year and even Chiron hadn’t noticed it.

Chiron asked Percy if he would accept his quest

“That came out of nowhere” Remus blinked, trying to remember if he had missed something

“Poor Percy is us, he has no clue what the hell is going on” Sirius gave Dumbledore a pointed. This was why he thought they should tell Harry. If they were going insane over the secrets in a stranger’s life, how could the poor kid feel about being kept out of his own problems?

Dumbledore bowed his head and sighed. He had now seen the toll the situation had on Harry. The poor child had already gone through enough traumas that Dumbledore hadn’t been able to spare him from.

His thoughts wandered to the talk he had with Chiron a few hours ago. He had told his friend about his suspicions about Voldemort’s  Horrocrux and his friend reassured him they could help with that. However, with Severus there, he hadn’t dared to voice his suspicions that Harry could be one. He didn’t want to believe it himself, but he hadn’t been able to find any other explanation for Harry’s scar pain.

He decided to consider to at least telling Harry about the connection. It could give him some peace of mind and an incentive to learn Oclumency.

The storm got worse as they talked.

“Are they trying to kill each other?” Bill winced.

“Right?” Sirius started to freak out. Fights in his family had never been this bad. Relatives had sometimes killed each other, mostly due to conflicts about blood supremacy (he and Bellatrix were ready to carry on the tradition), but it never caused an apocalypses. He was surprised the US was still in one piece.

Percy told Chiron everything he knew about the conflict.

“Thank the gods he isn’t hiding it from Chiron” Remus sighed in relief

“Chiron could now follow his example” Harry grumbled. Dumbledore felt a pang of guilt. Maybe telling him would be the right answer.

Chiron confirmed the brothers were fighting over something stolen: Zeus lightning bolt.

“The master bolt” Dumbledore muttered incredulously. Gods, this was much worse than he thought.

Everyone was glancing at him, fear obvious in their faces. Anything that could make the Headmaster this nervous was a very bad thing.

The trio exchanged worried looks. All of them knew enough myths to know this was Real Bad.

Chiron explained how dangerous the bolt was.

“Ok, we get it!”

The sheer smugness of the thunder that followed it almost made them forget they were supposed to be afraid. What a showoff, holy Merlin.

Chiron finally dropped the bomb: Percy was the main suspect.

“Why?! He wasn’t there! He didn’t even know!” Tonks was enraged.

“Because he is Poseidon’s son, most likely. They don’t have a good relationship” Hermione explained, even though she was angry herself.

He explained that during the winter solstice Zeus and Poseidon had gotten into an argument. When Zeus realized the bolt was missing, he blamed Poseidon. Since gods can’t directly steal from other gods, Zeus believed his brother had used a human, though he didn’t know who.

“So gods can’t steal from each other” Hermione jotted that down. It could be important to solve this mystery.

“But why Percy?” Ron asked trying to make sense of it all “There were several demigods in Olympus that day. Did no one check their bags or anything?”

Outside, everything got deadly quiet. Everyone waited holding a breath but nothing happened. They gave each other incredulous looks. Had the gods seriously not done that or even thought of it? The silent was deafening and the Order resisted the urge of groaning. So much power in the hands of such a bunch of hotheaded dumbasses.

“But I’ve never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!”

“Thanks Percy for saying what we are all thinking” Sirius muttered in relief. Surprisingly the storm hadn’t started again. He wondered if Zeus had taken his stormy complains to Percy himself.

Percy could tell the wizards were watching some memory of him disrespecting Zeus, but he didn’t care to think of which one. He just went back to try to sleep.

“Er, Percy ...?” Grover said. “We don’t use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky.”

The twins had collapsed on the floor laughing hysterically. They wanted to make a joke about another c-word, but their mother was looking at them like she had read their minds. They pouted, here came the fun auror.

“Poor Grover is going to age ten years before this is over” Arthur gave the satyr an encouraging smile.

“Pity they can’t say anything, it’s therapeutic” Harry remembered when Snape had made fun of Hermione’s teeth and he and Ron called him every name in the book. The punishment had been worth it.

They talked about the time Poseidon tried to unseat Zeus and the mistrust that had caused.

“Alright, that would create some bad blood” Ron conceded. The Weaslys as a whole felt really uncomfortable with all these mentions of family conflict. It hit too close to home, literally.

“And now, you’ve come along-the proverbial last straw.”

“But I’m just a kid!”

“Finally someone tells it!” Molly felt vindicated and depressed at the same time.

“This is how some families are” Sirius said sadly. He knew not all families were like that, the Potter were more family to him that the cesspool he had been born into, but among purebloods finding sane families wasn’t easy.

Grover tried to explain Zeus’s reasoning.

They were biting their tongues so hard they were close to cut them off. They couldn’t believe such level of hypocrisy were possible. As far as they knew, Poseidon hadn’t tried to kill his daughter.

Chiron said that Zeus and Poseidon were too angry and proud to solve things peacefully and if the bolt wasn’t back in ten days there would be war.

“Alright, but what could Mr. Jackson do about it?” Kingsley asked. He was a twelve years old child; he had no hopes of finding the bolt and fighting the thief for it. This was a suicidal mission. He bitterly wondered if that was the point.

Chiron explained in detail how bad a war between the gods would be. Percy summarized it.

“Bad”

“The boy gets it. Less talk, more work” Moody said fidgeting with his wand. He hated being still when there was a problem, quick action was the answer to everything.

Percy asked where the bolt was. Chiron told him he’d need to speak to the Oracle first.

“Annabeth said something about an oracle” Ron remembered.

The teachers shared a subtle look. With everything going on they had forgotten that something seemed to have happened to the Oracle. Whatever this was important to Percy’s quest or not, they couldn’t tell.

Chiron admitted that he wasn’t going to tell him where the bolt was because he may not accept the quest. Percy wasn’t sure but Grover gave him an encouraging smile.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Harry was baffled. Chiron had gone from cryptic advice to blunt honesty so fast he had almost strained his neck.

“Surely Percy can refuse” Arthur couldn’t believe a child was being forced to do this.

“I am afraid that if the prophecy is about Mr. Jackson he will have to go on the quest. You can’t escape the Fates.” Dumbledore sentenced.

The reminder of the ancient trio snuffed out their righteous anger like a blast of icy wind.

Chiron told Percy to go to the attic.

“Didn’t Chiron say there wasn’t anything alive in the attic? Is the Oracle a ghost?” Ron guessed

“Even if she was, why would they call her a “what”?”Ginny was bewildered. They would never disrespect a ghost in Hogwarts like that. Not even Peeves deserved that.

Percy entered the attic

Everyone coughed and covered their noses and mouths even though it wouldn’t help

“I really hope the Oracle is a ghost, because how else could someone stay here for more than five minutes?” Bill gagged, it was clear no one had cleaned that place since it had been built.

“They could at least do something about the cobwebs” Ron complained, recoiling when he saw a spider pass by in the mist.

“Why does it smell of snakes?” Harry scrounged his nose and tried very hard not to think of the basilisk.

 Percy took a look at the stuff displayed in the attic

“Circe’s Isle?!” Ginny’s eyes were shining.

“Do Hydras exist?!” Charlie beamed at the Hydra’s head as if it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in his life. No one seemed to share his enthusiasm for some reason.

Percy suddenly came face to face with a woman’s mummified body sitting on a stool.

The jumpscare made them scream their lungs out. Everyone fought to be the one to leave the room with the excuse of covering the portrait of Mrs. Black.

“Why do they have a corpse just sitting there?!” Kingsley refrained himself to go to the chimney to report a crime scene. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, that woman had clearly been dead for decades.

To Percy’s horror, the corpse started to breathe a green mist.

I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

If they hadn’t been paralyzed in terror, there would have been fights to run away from the room. The green and the snake motifs didn’t help at all; they all expected the dark mark to form from the Oracle’s mouth.

The teachers looked at each other utterly bewildered. Just what had happened to her? Albus made a note of asking Chiron the next time they talked. He couldn’t just move on and forget.

The twins couldn’t find a joke for this, they had reached their limit. “Nice to meet you, but can you please tone it down?!”

Percy thought the Oracle reminded him of the Fates.

“At least they aren’t evil” Or at least that was what Harry hoped. The gods so far were like humans, but with infinity powers and no one to answer for their actions. The Fates at least seemed to be impartial.

He finally asked for his destiny.

Everyone remained silent, as if in a trance, while the Oracle delivered her prophecy. Some of them wrote it down barely aware of what they were doing.

As suddenly as she had spoken, the oracle went still again. Percy left the attic.

Everyone took a second to finally breathe clean air again, safe from creepy attics and reanimated corpses.

“I see I’m not the only one who wrote the prophecy down” McGonagall said looking at the parchment she vaguely remembered having written on. “We should go over it slowly.”

Everyone agreed, so Dumbledore paused the memory. McGonagall read the first sentence

“You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.”

“Unless Chiron accompanies him on the quest, I don’t know what they expect Mr. Jackson to do” McGonagall said with a stern frown.

“Right? What do they want him to do, kick that god’s ass?” Tonks’s hair had gone white again.

“You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.”

Loud cheers and celebration could be heard for the first time in a while.

“Finally, some good news!” Harry was close to cry, this memory had been hell so far.

“You shall he betrayed by one who calls you a friend.”

The good mood immediately evaporated.

“No” Sirius tried to fight the panic attack but the memories overwhelmed him. James and Lily dead in their house, Wormtail accusing him and killing those people, how close he had been to freedom just to have the chance snatched from hi-

“Sirius! Sirius, breath with me” Remus held his hands and guided him to get his breathing back to normal. Harry looked on the verge of a panic attack himself, his friends whispering comforting words in his ears.

Finally, Sirius was able to get back to normal. Harry immediately tackled him in a hug.

“Sorry kiddo” Sirius whispered returning the hug. Harry shook his head, it wasn’t Sirius’s fault.

They stayed like that for a while. Finally, Sirius gave McGonagall a nod and she read the final line.

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

A single line that felt like being stabbed in the heart.

“But it said he would get the bolt back!” Ginny protested.

“Maybe it’s what matters the most to Percy…his mom..!” Harry realized with a start. He started to hyperventilate.

“Harry, I don’t know what happened, but I promise you Chiron told me that she had remarried recently” Dumbledore was quick to reassure him. He couldn’t bear to see the poor boy in this state.

Harry gave him a grateful look. He knew that as much as Dumbledore hid secrets for him, he would never lie so blatantly to him. He exchanged smiles with his friends, however this mess ended, Percy at least would get his mother back

Percy only told Grover and Chiron the first half of the prophecy. He didn’t want to think of the other half.

“Chiron knows he is hiding something” Harry knew that look; he had seen it in Dumbledore’s eyes whenever he lied about something. It was like being old gave them a lie detector

“He should be careful with the goat.” Moody was fully on auror mode now.

“You suspect Grover?!” Tonks asked horrified. This was paranoid even for him.

“The prophecy said it clearly! A friend will betray him, and his only friends are the goat and that Luke kid!”

They really wanted to argue with him, but they couldn’t. Gods, this was fucked up.

“Could it be a friend he’ll make during the quest?” Charlie tried to make the situation suck less but it was impossible.

“Even then, it won’t hurt less” Ginny said, eyes fixated on the floor. Everyone who knew her situation winced in pain; of course she would be affected. She had been stabbed in the back the worst way possible and barely made it out alive.

Bill and Charlie had the sinking feeling that they weren’t going to enjoy that conversation later.

Chiron blamed Hades and explained his reasoning.

Dumbledore frowned as he stroke his beard. He could see where Chiron was coming from, but there were clues that didn’t fit. The fury had not only tried to kill Mr Jackson, she had accused him of something. Assuming she has been talking about the theft, it didn’t make sense if Hades was the thief. If the idea was to frame Poseidon, then why kill his son, the perfect scapegoat?

Finally, there was the voice. He could have assumed it was indeed Hades’s voice an hour ago, but after having met Zeus, he noticed how different the experience had been. This new voice had been ancient, malicious… but in a completely different way he couldn’t describe yet he felt in his bones. They were all missing something.

“Great. “That’s two major gods who want to kill me.”

Everyone winced. Percy had gotten used to the unfair nightmare his life had turned into way too quickly.

Grover didn’t like where this was going.

Mad-Eye stared Grover like his magical eye could reveal any treacherous thoughts. Everyone was really uncomfortable with the idea that the sweet, brave goat boy could end up betraying Percy. They weren’t happier with Luke being the possible traitor either.

Percy wanted to take on Hades, but managed to keep his anger under control.

“If he seriously thought he could fight a god…” Snape grumbled.

“He has to get the bolt back from him. What is he supposed to do, ask him politely?” Sirius retorted.

“Maybe he should use puppy eyes” Bill suggested. As the oldest of seven, he had seen those often, they were a powerful weapon.

“Groveling would be less dangerous than fighting, but I doubt it would work” McGonagall sentenced.

Percy asked why a god couldn’t go to the quest. Chiron explained the ancient rules.

“I guess that makes sense” McGonagall sighed.

Percy felt used and Chiron telling him that his dad needed him didn’t make him feel better at all.

They flinched. That was how it looked, like Poseidon had only cared about his existence when he could be useful. They weren’t going to judge yet; they didn’t know what the god was thinking, but it wasn’t a good look.

It had started to rain, and they could almost feel the sadness coming from it. At least Poseidon seemed to be as ashamed as he should.

Percy sarcastically summarized the situation.

“Ten days should be enough, I guess” Charlie tried to put a positive spin, but the situation was truly unsolvable.

Grover was stress eating poker cards, satyrs hated the underground. He still wanted to repay Percy for saving his life.

Tonks couldn’t help a smile. She wouldn’t say it aloud when Mad-Eye was on a roll, but she knew deep in her soul Grover wouldn’t betray Percy.

I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn’t think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I’d ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn’t sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he’d be with me.

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!” Mad-Eye was on the edge of his seat. The boy was making a mistake; it was his friends he should be the most suspicious of right now!

“Could he avoid it if he chosed Clarisse instead?” Harry asked. She was Percy’s worst enemy not counting the gods, she couldn’t betray him.

“That’s not how prophecies work. A friend is going to betray him, maybe not during the quest, but at some point. In fact, trying to avoid it could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy” Dumbledore explained. He would know, Voldemort had created his own nemesis after all.

Chiron told Percy that the entrance to the Underworld was in LA

On a corner, the pensieve mist shifted into a map of the US. The Camp Half-Blood crest was over New York. Across the country, on California, there was a dot with “Underworld” written over it. The map was signed by Apollo.

“That’s so cool!”

“Thank you, Lord Apollo” Dumbledore bowed his head.

Everyone echoed the gratitude. The map would be helpful to follow the quest, and after all the gods they had pissed off, flattering one couldn’t hurt.

In Olympus, Apollo was literally beaming in satisfaction. He wanted to grace the wizards with his presence and some free therapy, but he could feel his father’s glare from the other side of the palace and he was already angry enough. Maybe next time.

Percy wanted to go by plane but was informed Zeus would kill him.

“But… he is on a quest to retrieve the bolt…”

The thunder made it clear, it didn’t matter.

Annabeth showed up, she was the third member of the quest.

“Why the invisibility hat?” Bill asked.

“She wanted to make a dramatic entrance” The twins answered nonchalantly. They knew that was what they’d with that hat other than sneaking around and playing pranks.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain,” she said. “Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you’re going to save the world, I’m the best person to keep you from messing up.”

“If you do say so yourself,” I said. “I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?”

Her cheeks colored. “Do you want my help or not?”

The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.

“Love is in the air” The twins singsonged. It had started as a joke but they were now getting invested. Maybe they should make a betting poll.

“Does she count as a friend?” Harry asked. Their relationship was kind of complicated right now.

“She doesn’t like him because he is Poseidon’s son but she put herself between Percy and that thing, so maybe not his friend but still wouldn’t throw him under the bus” Ron answered “Annabeth at least wouldn’t call him a friend so the prophecy wouldn’t work on her I think.”

“Good point, maybe that’ll work” Harry nodded.

The storm got worse and Chiron told them to pack.

Chapter Text

“Professor Dumbledore, please wait a minute” Hermione requested raising her hand like they were in class.

“Yes Ms. Granger?” The Headmaster asked pleasantly.

“I just wanted to check how many memories we have left.”

The pensieve was once again blank with the memory spheres floating around. To everyone’s surprise, there were a lot more than they had expected.

“Thirteen…Merlin, how long will this go?” Sirius internally cringed just imagining how much danger Percy could get into before they were done.

“We certainly won’t be able to finish all of them today” McGonagall agreed.

Hermione looked at the pensieve thoughtfully. She remembered that the arrow point on the rim had moved to the lightning bolt image before it showed these memories. Now that she knew what the bolt meant, she wondered if the memories they had been watching were part of a set covering Percy’s first quest, structured like the chapters on a story. Her stomach turned into knots, did that meant the other drawings on the pensieve included more quests? She made a decision, she’d tell Harry and Ron and they would look at it next time the room was empty.

The trio was ready to depart. The camp had given them all they needed.

Snape recognized the big gold coins. Were they so the trio could call Chiron for help as Dumbledore had showed him or were there other reasons?

“Thanks Merlin they have everything they need for the trip. I still think they need adult supervision.” Molly sighed in defeat, only slightly satisfied when she saw the money and the nectar and ambrosia.

Chiron explained that too much nectar and ambrosia would kill them.

“Can’t they have nice things for once?”Ginny groaned in frustration, they weren’t safe even from medicine.

“At least they know to stop if they get a fever.” Emmeline said in a reassuring voice, but she was screaming internally at the idea of the demigods self medicating with something so dangerous.

Annabeth had her cap and a long knife.

Everyone eyed the knife warily; they had zero doubts that she knew how to use it.

“Perfect to sneak around stabbing monsters” Ginny grinned in delight.

Grover wore his full human disguise and his reed pipes.

“What is he playing?” Arthur asked with interest.

“I think it’s Mozart. Not the best choice for reed pipes.” Hermione answered.

They went up the hill where Chiron and Argus were waiting for them.

“This is Argus,” Chiron told me. “He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things.”

“Boo” The twins gave thumbs down to the obvious pun.

“If there’s a whole race of giants we don’t know about, I’m going to explode” Bill sighed looking at Argus. All those eyes and he also could change his size? This could be worse than the Cyclopes.

“But think of all the possibilities!” Charlie argued. That Hydra head wouldn’t leave his brain, he couldn’t wait to see a living specimen and other species of dragons.

“I have thought of them, that’s the problem. “ His brother answered calmly.

Luke caught up with them and offered Percy a pair of sneakers.

“You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend” resonated in their memories, an omen that wouldn’t go away no matter how much they tried to ignore it.

“He should be careful with those shoes” If looks could kill, Moody would have already destroyed the pensieve.

“Even if he was the traitor, he wouldn’t give Jackson a cursed item in front of everyone” Snape said giving Luke a suspicious glare. “He would either make sure they were alone or sneak it in Jackson’s bag.”

“Possibly, but the boy isn’t taking the threat seriously as he should. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“We’ll be going in circles with this traitor talk. It has already happened, we can only watch” Remus argued. He didn’t want Sirius to have another panic’s attack. He felt ready to puke himself.

Dumbledore’s gaze turned sad. He has definite suspicions on who the traitor was. Ms. Chase was definitely innocent and Mr. Underwood both was a poor liar and had taken unnecessary risks for Mr. Jackson before. That only left one person…

Luke showed how the shoes worked and explained they had helped him on his quest.

Harry and Ron were ready to jump into the pensieve to get the shoes “Imagine playing quidditch with those!”

 The twins meanwhile were mentally reviewing their inventory to see what they could offer Hermes’s cabin in exchange for a pair.

“What’s a Maia?” Sirius asked looking for a distraction to forget about the traitor.

“At least according to the myths, Maia is Hermes’s mother” McGonagall answered.

Surprised looks were exchanged by several people. It was hard to imagine a god doing something as human as using his mother’s name as a password.

Percy felt relieved that Luke wasn’t mad at him for getting attention.

“He and Annabeth look like matching tomatoes” Ginny snickered.

Snape frowned. He didn’t know if the son of Hermes was mad at the attention or not, but there were only two people who were friends with Jackson and had the chance of summon the hellhound into the camp and he was one of them.

Luke bid farewell to all of them and left. Percy noticed Annabeth was very fond of Luke.

“I think Percy has a bit of a crush on Luke too” Fred said

“This love triangle just got really complicated” George sighed dramatically.

People cringed internally. If Jackson had a crush and Luke was the traitor, it would be world shattering for the poor child.

Annabeth and Argus left for the van. Percy realized he wouldn’t be able to use the shoes.

“Wait, does that mean… he can’t play Quidditch?!” Ron let out a horrified shout. The other Quidditch fans were equally horrified with this crime against human rights. They were answered by a thunder with Malfoy levels of smugness.

Percy offered Grover the shoes. The first attempt to fly with them didn’t go well to say the least.

Laughter filled the room like a Patronus chasing the gloom away. Grover zoomed all over the place while Chiron encouraged him to practice and it was the most hilarious thing they had watched in this entire wretched day.

Chiron gave Percy the magic pen. It was the first sword that felt balanced in Percy’s hand.

“It’s amazing” Harry smiled. Not that he knew anything about swords, but a weapon you could carry around as a pen? It was the coolest thing ever; he wished he could do the same to his wand.

Chiron told him the sword was named Riptide and had a tragic story behind it.

“Ten sickles that the tragic story will bite him in the ass.” George said.

“Nah, we could as well throw that money down the toilet” Ron answered.

Chiron explained how celestial bronze worked.

“I don’t know if I should feel relieved or offended” Tonks remarked when Chiron said mortals weren’t important enough for the blade to kill.

“Relieved, of course!” Mad-Eye said firmly. However, he suspected there was more to this “Albus, does it work the same for wizards?”

“Good point. Mr. Jackson could use his powers, but other demigods would be at a disadvantage against Death Eaters” Kingsley frowned.

Dumbledore straightened in his seat; he had had this lecture ready for a while now. “Wizards are mortals with a strong blessing from Hecate, the goddess of magic. As such, we are in between regular mortals and demigods. Celestial bronze cannot kill us or cause physical injuries, but it will render us unable to use our magic for a period of time and it can be very painful.”

Snape nodded, satisfied. “Then we should be alright as long as the demigods take care of not losing any weapon.”

To Percy’s relief, Riptide was enchanted to go back to his pocket.

“That would be a useful charm, is there any chance we can learn it?” Snape asked. It could save their lives.

“I will ask Chiron, but it is more likely some form of ancient magic.” Dumbledore answered. He was already considering potential spells that could at least replicate part of the effect.

Percy’s final concern was what would happen if mortals saw anything. Chiron explained how the mist worked and recommended him to read the Iliad.

Several necks almost broke when they turned to look at Sirius. The animagus got the hint “Yes, I have the book in the library.”

“Didn’t your parents hate those stories?” Harry asked.

His godfather smiled in victory “That’s why I put copies all over the house.”

For the first time, the quest felt real.

“It’s always that moment when you realize there’s no turning back” Harry, Ron and Hermione all gave Percy understanding looks. Meanwhile, the adults were glancing at them in worry. Sirius and Remus had an idea of what they were talking about, but they suspected that what they had seen was the tip of the iceberg.

Percy asked how things were before the gods and Chiron told him about Kronos era and how humanity had evolved.

It felt like they were back in Hogwarts, in a lecture of History of Magic. The big difference was that the silence was because everyone was listening in rapt attention instead of bored out of their minds.

“Honestly, Albus, we should invite Chiron at least for a lecture.” McGonagall said. The Headmaster nodded.

Percy thought that if the gods were immortal it wouldn’t matter if he failed the quest. Chiron said that they couldn’t be sure of how things would end. The gods could fall or the titans could even return. They could only follow their fate.

Albus thought back to the voice in the dream and felt an ice grip in his chest. An idea started to form in his mind, something that, if true, would be a catastrophe.

“Relax,” Chiron told me. “Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history.”

The collective facepalm probably was heard in the neighbors’ houses.

“Stop making it worse!” Harry groaned. He had to take everything he had said back, he preferred Chiron when he was being all secretive and shit.

“Percy looks very relaxed, sure.” Ron deadpanned.

“He clearly is used to send off adults on these quests, no children” Kingsley shook his head.

In the van, Percy felt weird being in the mortal world for the first time in two weeks.

“It’s like leaving Hogwarts every year.” Hermione agreed. Even her neighborhood felt like a different world whenever she came back, even if nothing had really changed in the last five years.

Arthur enthusiastically took notes of everything muggle on hopes of getting an explanation later. What was a McDonalds? Why did they put shooting targets on the billboards? He needed to know everything.

“So far so good,” I told Annabeth. “Ten miles and not a single monster.”

She gave me an irritated look. “It’s bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain.”

“She is right, please don’t jinx it!” Tonks begged.

Percy asked her why she disliked him. Annabeth explained their parents’ rivalry and they ended up bickering.

Sirius let out a whistle “I’ll give her the temple thing. That’s a “fuck you” if I ever saw one.”

The twins exchanged mischievous looks. They really need to read those myths.

The ones who knew the myths grimaced. No one had come out of that incident looking good, one of them literally.

They finally arrived to the Greyhound Station. Argus drove away after checking out everything was in order.

“Look at that mailbox” Hermione pointed to the mailbox with a wanted poster for Percy on it.

“How could we forget he is a wanted criminal on top of everything else?” Ron bemoaned as Percy ripped the poster.

“I hope that smelly bastard chokes on the bean dip” Harry snarled.

Grover asked if Percy wanted to know why his mom married Gabe

“Were you reading my mind or something?”

“Just your emotions.” He shrugged. “Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that.

“Interesting” Remus wrote that down “It makes even more sense that satyrs are the ones in charge of bringing demigods to the camp, they can help them to deal with the trauma.”

Grover explained that Sally married Smelly Gabe to protect him.

“She deserves heaven” Molly whispered sadly on Arthur’s shoulder. Sally truly had done anything to protect her boy and Hades had ripped them apart.

Percy felt guilty for not telling Grover and Annabeth his real reason to go on the quest.

They shuffled uncomfortably as the weather outside got more chaotic. The Big Three clearly didn’t like Percy’s train of thoughts, although for very different reasons.

“After all he has gone through, who can blame him for not caring about the bolt?” Remus said. It was a rethorical question, they all know who’d blame him.

The trio played Hacky Sack while waiting for the bus, it ended up with Grover swallowing the apple whole.

They let out a surprised laugh when Grover swallowed the apple.

“This is how it should be” Molly sighed. Their only concern should be to have a good time at Camp, not fighting for their lives and paying for the gods’ mistakes.

When they boarded the bus, Grover smelled something but didn’t think it was important.

Mad-Eye had gone full on drill sergeant “CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Don’t put the bags away! Anything important must be always at arms’ reach! Put pockets everywhere including your underwear! Keep an eye on the e-!”

“We get it, Mad-Eye, we get it!” Tonks interrupted him; she knew that speech by heart.

Harry turned to his friends “We should do that… ok, not the underwear, but more pockets.”

“I’ll put an expanding charm on all of our pockets when we are back at Hogwarts” Hermione promised

An old lady whom Percy knew very well got into the bus along her sisters.

Pandemonium broke, to the point it felt like the building itself was shaking

“What the fuck is she doing there?!”

“It was obvious she would be back, but so soon?!”

“Annabeth said she’d be dead for a lifetime if Percy was lucky, she jinxed it before even getting the prophecy!”

The situation got even worse when Mrs. Dodds’ sisters walked in right behind her

“All of them…just what’s going on?” McGonagall held onto her armrest.

“Is… he so mad about the broken oath?” Bill asked thinking of Thalia.

“They could maybe handle one, but three?” Tonks took a deep breath, everything was going to shit and they had barely started the quest.

The bus drove away. They tried to escape but the only exit was blocked by the furies.

“They are trapped  in there with them” Molly let go of her wand only to drink some calming draught and look over all of her children. She needed to know they were there and well. Arthur wasn’t doing much better

“Now what?  Annabeth’s hat only can hide one person” Ginny asked.

“Maybe Annabeth and Grover can convince them that Percy got away while he hides with the hat” Charlie tried to see a way this couldn’t end in disaster

“No, they have intel on Jackson, they’ll take at least the goat as a hostage”

“Mad-Eye!”

Everything went dark as they crossed Lincoln Tunnel. The Furies got up with the excuse of using the bathroom.

“Merlin’s pants, they are already moving” Ron held onto a cushion for life. He wasn’t the only one .

Annabeth gave Percy her hat and told him to get away. Percy didn’t want to leave them behind.

“It could work to hide Mr. Jackson, but I doubt the Furies will just ignore the other two” Kingsley said, trying to come up with a possible strategy.

“And if his smell is so overpowering, won’t they be able to catch him right away?” Tonks asked

“On the contrary, a strong smell in such small space can make it difficult to pinpoint the source. If the next stop is close by he could possibly slip away.” Snape replied, working with potions he had an idea of how they could distract the Furies for Jackson to escape. The real question is how the other two would be able to survive.

Percy put on the hat. An outline of his body was visible for the audience’s benefit.

“That’s helpful” Bill said. He didn’t what they would do if they could only see an empty space until Percy took off the hat.

Percy was able to hide several rows forward. After a tense moment the Furies passed him.

The Order had forgotten how to breathe by this point. Calming draughts were going down like water and every wand was out, waiting for the worst. They barely relaxed when the Furies passed by Percy’s seat.

Right when Percy was going to press the STOP button, screams were heard from behind the bus.

“Shit, they caught them!”

“Are those fiery whips?!” Kingsley was horrified. The Furies clearly weren’t going to let them leave alive.

The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: “Where is it? Where?”

“He’s not here!” Annabeth yelled. “He’s gone!”

Snape immediately caught onto something “It? Not him?”

Sirius put the pieces together “Maybe Chiron got it all wrong. Hades doesn’t have the bolt, but wants it!”

“I don’t think we have enough information to be sure. There is a lot we don’t know” Dumbledore replied, politely ignoring the rumbling of the ground.

The Furies prepared to attack, Annabeth and Grover armed themselves.

“Do they need those whips to deal with children?” Arthur couldn’t wrap around his head around how callous those people were. Surely Hades or Zeus or whoever suspected Percy had more humane ways to deal even with criminals, let alone children!

“Their job is to torture the worst of the worst, they won’t show restrain” McGonagall bit her lip. The gods truly lived up to their reputation. Wild, unpredictable, merciless, the more they saw the more it was hammered on them.

What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should’ve been named ADHD poster child of the year.

He wrestled the speeding wheel from the driver causing the bus to slam against the side of the tunnel.

“What are you doing?!” Molly rose from her chair in shock

The screeching sound of metal forced them to cover their ears, several of them also closing their eyes, the mad zigzagging of the bus making them dizzy and nauseous.

They left the tunnel madly speeding through traffic miles and missing other vehicles by inches until they were about to dive into the Hudson.

“Someone is going to die” Ron muttered, his eyes peeking from behind his hands, as he watched several cars crashing into each other after barely dodging the stampeding bus.

“If only it was the Furies” Harry moaned, was it too much to ask for the monsters to get ejected from the bus somehow?

Percy hit the emergency break causing the bus to crash into the trees. The mortals immediately fled.

“Alright, the muggles are safe and now the kids have a chance to leave the bus” Kingsley quickly assessed the situation.

“This brat is insane” Mad-Eye said, grinning with pride.

Annabeth, Grover and the Furies kept fighting in the back seats. Percy had the perfect chance to flee, but revealed himself instead.

Snape threw his hands up in frustration “He’s a Gryffindor if I ever saw one. It’s a lost cause, he can’t be fixed”

That got Sirius riled up “He doesn’t need any fixing! Gryffindor forever!” He got cheers from several fellow Gryffindors.

“Excuse you! All this time he has done everything to protect his loved ones. He is a Hufflepuff from head to toe!” Tonks stood up puffing her chest in pride. The other Hufflepuffs in the Order completely agreed with her; Helga herself would rise from her grave to sort Percy into her House.

The Ravenclaws and Slytherins could only think thatPercy Jackson was a great boy and all, but he definitely wouldn’t fit in their houses.

The Furies now focused all their attention on him.

If they could make their seats walk backwards they would, the Furies’ killing intent could be felt through the mist.

“Great, he has all of their attention, now what?” Snape groaned, resisting the urgency to facepalm.

“They are close to the river. Mr. Jackson could try to fight them there.” McGonagall pointed, even though she knew the Furies would never allow him to get that close.

“You have offended the gods. You shall die.”

“I liked you better as a math teacher.”

“Holy shit, the sass” Sirius let out a startled noise. He’d usually be down for any kind of disrespect to authority, but those were the torturers of Hell!

“Please get out of there” Arthur begged. Everything was getting worse by the second and he couldn’t do anything to help.

Percy uncapped Riptide

“Submit now,” she hissed. “And you will not suffer eternal torment.”

“Nice try,” I told her.

“This bloke has balls of steel” Fred shivered.

“If I was in his place, I’d be tempted to take it” George agreed.

“You should be the one getting eternal torment” Molly snarled at the Fury, her wand tight in her hand.

Mrs Dodds wrapped her whip around Percy hand and the other two jumped on him from the sides. Percy didn’t drop Riptide despite the pain. He managed to kill two of the Furies

“He gets better every time, holy shit!” Tonks slapped her knee in surprise. Sure, he had already killed a Fury, but two almost at the same time?

“Luke was right, he is a natural” Charlie couldn’t help a smile. Finally there was hope.

Annabeth wrestled Mrs. Dodds to the ground and Grover took the whip away. Together they left her stuck in the aisle.

“Now I understand what you meant by battle instincts, Albus” Snape said, eyes open as saucers. He could think of many reactions to encountering a monster like that, wrestling it into submission wasn’t one of them. The Headmaster looked as taken aback as he was.

“Grover can’t heal himself with water nor take ambrosia” Emmeline was biting her nails at this point. Percy and Grover’s burns didn’t look too bad, but they’d still need treatment. Annabeth thankfully only had a few cut and bruises.

“Zeus will destroy you!” she promised. “Hades will have your soul!”

“Braccas meas vescimini!” I yelled. I wasn’t sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant “Eat my pants!”

“Mr. Jackson!”  McGonagall couldn’t believe what she had just heard. All those powerful enemies and he had energy to disrespect them?

“He is going to the Underworld. I swear if this is how he plans to speak to Hades…” Snape couldn’t imagine it in his wildest dreams, but this brat was a menace.

In the Underworld, Hades could only shake his head. If only that mortal knew how bad things were going to get. He repressed the urge to provoke an earthquake when he remembered everyone was going to see the boy holding him at sword point. The others wouldn’t let him live it down ever. Poseidon was going to be insufferable.

Thunder shook and Annabeth yelled them to get out. The bus exploded with their bags inside.

“I give up, I have no clue what’s going on” Harry threw his head back fighting the urgency to break something. Just what the fuck was wrong with those jerks?

“Maybe he was attacking the Fury?” Hermione suggested hesitantly. Zeus wouldn’t do something so mindblowingly stupid as trying to kill the party fated to find his bolt…right?

The memory ended with the trio running into the woods.

“They have lost everything, how are they going to continue the trip?” Molly looked at the map, the dot symbolizing the party so far from LA that it felt like a lifetime away.

Chapter Text

In a way, it’s nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.

Thunder boomed, the ground shook and unspecified animal noises could be heard in the distance. The Order didn’t say anything but they were fuming. Percy was completely right; the gods didn’t get to complain when this was their entire fault.

The trio walked through the forests of NJ as night started to fall.

“The river stinks” Ginny gagged as the smell of dirty water and rotten garbage hit her nose.

“The local government must have neglected it a lot” Hermione agreed.

Percy and Grover were shell shocked but Annabeth insisted to keep going

“The lass is right. The more distance they put between them and the monsters the better. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

They ended up getting into an argument.

“Annabeth is being too stubborn” Harry complained. It was obvious she and Grover would be dead if Percy had just run away, what was the problem accepting that?

The rain had stopped and everything was dark.

“Damn it, I can barely see them” Sirius squinted, trying to make out the trio in the dark.

“They’re too far from LA, but also too far from Camp” Molly bit her nails. The map showed how many kilometers away they were from their two possible destinations. It was impossible for them to walk either way in less than ten days, but they also didn’t have the means to contact Chiron. And right now they were in a forest in the middle of the night, anything could attack them.

No one else said anything but everyone was thinking the same thing. Way to go, Zeus.

Annabeth approached Percy

“Look, I...” Her voice faltered. “I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave.”

“The poor girl is between a rock and a hard place” McGonagall acknowledge sadly. This wasn’t just the influence of her elders, her mother was a goddess and befriending the son of her enemy could be seen as blasphemy.

“We’re a team, right?”

She was silent for a few more steps. “It’s just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world.”

“Wow” The twins had to give it to her, she didn’t pussyfoot around.

“She could have worded it more tactfully” Hermione was uncomfortably reminded of how blunt and accidentally rude she could be sometimes.

“We could be dead or worse, expelled” Ron recited solemnly.

“Not my best moment” She admitted, blushing a little.

“What are they talking about?” Sirius whispered to the teachers.

“I am ashamed to say, Sirius, they could be referring to several incidents” Dumbledore said feeling the guilt creeping in. There were so many times where those children had needed to save themselves that he had lost count.

Sirius took deep breaths while Remus patted his shoulder trying to calm both his friend and himself.

Annabeth explained she had lived at Camp since she was seven because things didn’t work out at home.

Arthur’s eyes widened. He had assumed her father had sent her to Camp for protection, but could there be something else?

Percy tried to smooth things over.

“There he goes” The twins smiled, their boy was growing so fast.

“And he isn’t lying, what she did was cool as hell” Ginny said firmly.

Annabeth was going to tell Percy something but was interrupted by a hellish screech.

Everyone was immediately on guard.

“Hey, my reed pipes still work!” Grover cried. “If I could just remember a ‘find path’ song, we could get out of these woods!”

“Holy shit, Grover”

“Less talking and more remembering that song, lad!” Moody demanded impatiently.

The trio kept walking in the dark.

“That must have hurt” Harry grimaced when Percy hit his head on a branch.

Finally they spotted neon lights and the smell of food.

People devoured their snacks, and even then it wasn’t enough. The smell was just delicious, almost better than the feasts at Camp. For a moment they couldn’t think of anything else, their moods lifted and their minds empty.

They finally arrived to the road. The smell came from a statues shop next to a closed down gas station.

The view of the gas station got Hermione out her funk. “Something’s wrong. Why would there be a shop in a place so isolated?”

“Isn’t that a muggle custom?” Arthur was sure he had seen shops like that in London.

Harry shook his head “No, Hermione’s right. They’re in the middle of nowhere; even the gas station went out of business. Who would sell statues there?”

“They need to leave now! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” Moody was on the verge of panic. He had completely lowered his guard; he had felt relaxed for the first time in decades. This wasn’t just good food, there was powerful magic working on that place.

The neon sign was unreadable.

“Fucking dyslexia” Ginny grunted.

“How does Annabeth read all those books when everything looks like that?” Ron rubbed his eyes.

Grover read it aloud for them.

“Aunty “Em”? Statues? McGonagall listed with a growing, horrified realization.

Remus  looked at her in shock “You can’t be thinking of….”

“Medusa?!” Hermione complete the thought with a shriek.

Harry punched the armrest of his couch “Oh, fu-, wait what are they doing?!”

Percy and Annabeth approached the store without a care in the world. Grover was the only one worried.

“Goat boy, put yourself together and GET THEM OUT OF THERE!” Moody had his wand out ready to jump into action at any moment.

“Whatever magic is at play, it’s powerful. They aren’t hesitating at all” Kingsley noticed the kids’ dazed eyes and realized they wouldn’t be able to go back to their senses on their own.

They walked past the statues. Grover noticed something

“Bla-ha-ha!” he bleated. “Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!”

“A gorgon?” Bill didn’t know much about greek myths and Medusa’s name didn’t ring any bells, but he knew how dangerous gorgons could be without the proper measures.

Dumbledore shook his head “Not just a gorgon, Mr. Weasley, she is the Gorgon.”

The pureblood wizards didn’t know what the deal with this gorgon was, but they were starting to panic.

Grover pleaded with the others to leave, but they completely ignored.

“What magic is she using?” Snape asked in astonishment. Jackson and Chase were incapable of rational thinking by this point and they hadn’t even eaten anything from Medusa’s.

A woman completely covered except for her hands welcomed them.

“That’s the gorgon?” Bill asked hesitantly. Regular gorgons were dangerous, but they weren’t sapient. They couldn’t talk or plan traps, let’s alone brainwash people.

Charlie agreed with him “She seems to have feet; normal gorgons have a snake tail.”

He realized he had messed up when the twins cracked up “Looking up a lady’s skirt, Charlie? How naughty of you” George covered his mouth looking scandalized. Fred pretended to fan himself.

“Boys!” Their mom reprimanded them, on the edge of her seat. She needed to know the trio would be alright, the others had made Medusa sound terrifying.

Percy gave her a bad excuse and she invited them inside.

“Circus caravan, seriously?” Sirius snorted.

“Not that matters when all she wants is to turn them into garden decorations.” Tonks grimaced.

Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady’s shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes.

“Understatement of the decade” Snape scoffed crossing his arms.

“They are under her influence, Severus” Kingsley reminded him.

“He wasn’t under her influence in the bus” The potion master stuck to his guns, Jackson would never escape the allegations.

“Bloody hell guys, he saw that” Ron pointed at Percy looking at Medusa lock the door behind her with a vacant look in his eyes.

Annabeth thanked her and Medusa looked angry for a second.

“Quite all right, Annabeth,” she said. “You have such beautiful gray eyes, child.”

“How could have I forgotten that she hates Athena?” Remus buried his head in his hands. Annabeth would be lucky if the worst Medusa wanted to do to her was to petrify her.

“Why?” Sirius asked startled. That had come out of nowhere.

“Remember what they said about Poseidon bringing his girlfriend into Athena’s temple? Medusa was that woman; Athena punished her by turning her into…this.”

“…Fuck.”

Medusa brought them all the food they could ask for.

For a moment they understood how Percy and Annabeth ended up in that state. The food looked amazing and they could almost taste it. There’s no way two starving children could resist, even without magic.

Grover asked about the hissing noise. Medusa said it was the deep-fryer oil.

“Oh, fuck!” Harry recoiled like he had been punched.

“Harry, are you okay?” Sirus asked, quickly coming next to his stepson. Hermione and the Weasleys were looking at him in concern

“You didn’t hear that?” Harry asked with a wild look.

“I heard the hissing but… oh!” Hermione suddenly figured out what was going on “You probably heard the snakes on Medusa’s hair!”

“Oh, the Parseltongue.” Remus realized. Sirius scanned the room, daring anyone to judge Harry for being a Parselmouth. There were a few people uncomfortable, but most of them seemed to understand.

“What did they say?” Ron asked hesitantly.

“I prefer not to repeat it” Harry said with a shudder. Merlin, those things were more bloodthirsty than the basilisk.

Percy did small talk with Medusa about her business.

“Guys, for the love of all gods, get out of there right now!” Tonks begged almost tearing her hair out.

As Medusa gave more details about how she worked, people shrunk into themselves, wishing their seats would swallow them whole. They, and especially the trio, were trapped in a nightmare that not even a boggart would be able to replicate.

“She sells the statues?” Molly asked feeling like she was going to throw up at the idea of someone unknowingly having what basically was a comatose body as a decoration.

Percy noticed a statue of a young girl with a scared face.

“Ah,” Aunty Em said sadly. “You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face.”

Molly wasn’t the only one who lost her lunch. The little girl stared at them, the horror in her eyes telling her entire story without a single word.

“Are you okay, dear?” Arthur offered his wife some water and cleaned up the vomit.

“I’m fine Arthur…” she panted, her hands gripping her seat, her eyes red and furious “That evil…wretched…bitch!”

Her own family took a step back in shock and she immediately regained her composure “Sorry dears. I’m fine, I promise. Are you all holding up alright?”

“Y-Yes mum” Any other time the twins would never let the chance for a joke pass, but the Weasley matriarch looked ready to kill someone.

Medusa mentioned her sisters. She told her story and Annabeth seemed to shake off the trance a bit.

“Yes, Annabeth is waking up!” Ginny’s knuckles were white by this point.

Annabeth and Grover tried to leave but Medusa asked if she could take a photo of the group for a new statue.

“Hell no!”

Everyone was getting into frenzy.  How in the world would they be able to escape?

Percy insisted in taking the photo and they went back to the front door and asked to sit on a bench.

“I don’t know why Percy is so much more affected, but the others should grab him and bolt out of there.” Charlie stared at the front door in the distance as if he could apparate the trio there out of sheer willpower.

“Annabeth probably woke up because she could feel Medusa’s intentions” Hermione grimaced, the poor girl’s survival instincts must have gone into overdrive.

When they were seated Medusa started to remove her veil.

Everyone held their breaths torn into avoiding Medusa’s gaze and not missing a single detail.

Annabeth put on her invisibility cap and pushed the boys out of the bench.

“Thanks the gods!”

Annabeth and Grover scampered but Percy still couldn’t move. Annabeth warned him not to look at Medusa’s face.

“So close” Remus tried to get his breathing back on track.

“Mr. Jackson is still affected” Dumbledore noticed in a worried tone. The boy seemed to be rooted to the ground.

Grover took flight, Percy still couldn’t move.

“Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face,” she told me soothingly. “Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up.”

“Someone rip off her eyes, please” Harry thought thinking of Fawkes.

Percy looked to the side and saw Medusa’s profile. He finally figured out who she was and tried to think how she had died in the myths.

“She must be focusing the magic on him, it’s not normal he is still in trance.” McGonagall said. It was abnormal he had regained enough consciousness to think of a plan but still couldn’t move.

Medusa kept trying to persuade Percy while he tried to resist.

They didn’t know if it was the crooning voice, but a part of them felt bad for her. To some degree they suspected Athena had gone after her because she didn’t dare to attack another god directly. And Poseidon, the one Athena was actually mad at, had gotten away scot free.

““Do not be a pawn of the Olympians” sound very well and all but it’s obvious she is full of shit” Fred said.

“Yeah, don’t trust evil ladies trying to turn you into statues, children.” George added.

Percy saw Grover flying blind with a big branch in his hands. He told Percy to duck and managed to hit Medusa.

“That was for Uncle Ferdinand!” Grover yelled.

“Go Grover!” Everyone cheered him on, especially those who had lost friends and family in the past war. What they wouldn’t give to beat the crap out of the Death Eaters.

Grover kept fighting Medusa and Percy managed to get away.

“And he got her again!” Ginny was clapping at this point.

“I hope he hit her square in the face” Sirius snarled.

“It sounds like it hurt” Harry remarked. The snakes were pissed off; he heard swear words he didn’t know existed.

Annabeth came up next to Percy.

“Don’t scare us like that!” Ron thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Annabeth told Percy they needed to cut Medusa’s head off. He thought they should leave. Annabeth replied that Medusa would keep hurting innocent people if she wasn’t stopped.

Snape couldn’t believe Chase was acting like a heroic wannabe Gryffindor right when Jackson wanted to do the smart thing for once. They had a ten days deadline, for Merlin’s sake!

“I see her point, but this is above their pay grade. They shouldn’t put themselves in danger like that.” Arthur said.

“Can’t she put on the hat and attack Medusa from behind?” Tonks asked. Not very honorable, but this was a life or death situation.

Moody shook his head “She can smell them, remember?”

“Shit.”

Annabeth grabbed a gazing ball and started to make calculations.

“English, please? Sirius asked

“The original Perseus used a polished shield to not look at Medusa directly, but Percy will have to make it work with that crystal ball.” Remus explained.

Grover thought he had knocked Medusa out, but she quickly recovered.

“It’s hard to bash her skull in with your eyes closed” Moody grumbled, she was truly a challenge. He had to give credit to the goat for nailing her twice.

Percy uncapped Riptide and walked towards Medusa keeping his eyes on the ball.

“Fighting like that won’t be easy” Charlie bit his lip. If only one of them could shoot some spell at her.

Medusa grabbed Grover’s branch and knocked him onto a statue. Percy called out to her.

“Oh no Grover!”

Emmeline assessed the damage “It doesn’t seem like she threw him with enough force to break anything, but he is out of commission.”

She let him come closer. Finally, he saw her face.

They were rooted on their spots. Medusa’s face was as mesmerizing as it was terrifying and it took a lot of concentration to look away.

Medusa tried to persuade him again. Percy hesitated for a moment and she attacked.

“Strike her, lad! Strike her!” Moody yelled. It didn’t matter where he stabbed her as long as she ended weakened enough for the final blow.

Blindy, Percy swung his sword and decapitated her.

“Yes!” Molly all but collapsed in relief. They were finally safe.

Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.

“Argh!” Harry covered his ears. The snakes went down with a vengeance, wishing Percy things that Harry didn’t completely understand but that surely weren’t pleasant.

“Albus, is there a chance to get the American Wizard Government to heal Medusa’s victims?” Kingsley asked.

“We could ask them to retrieve the statues, but I am afraid Medusa is different from other gorgons. Her gaze kills her victims as she petrifies their bodies, they can’t be helped anymore” Dumbledore replied sadly.

Carefully, Annabeth wrapped Medusa’s head in her veil. She told Percy about spoils of war.

“So every time someone kills Medusa, it creates a new head? How many of those are around?” Arthur asked, horrified at the mere idea of those things existing

“The only other person to kill Medusa was the original Perseus and he gave the head to Athena as an offering at the end of his quest.” Remus remembered.

“Thanks Merlin” Molly muttered.

Percy congratulated Grover and nicknamed him The Red Baron.

“That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part,  that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun.”

“That’s the spirit” The twins nodded sagely.

“He needs to put some ice on that” Emmeline noticed the bump on Grover’s head. Hopefully they could find some in the house.

They regrouped and sit down inside the house to rest.

Moody nodded in approval when he saw they had put extra coverings over Medusa’s head. Better safe than sorry.

“They look so tired” Molly was happy they were safe but they really weren’t doing alright at all.

Percy and Annabeth argued about whose parent was to blame for Medusa and who of them had caused their current situation.

“It’s a mess, pointing fingers won’t solve anything.” Bill automatically went into big brother mode.

“Please, tell me that woman didn’t project her ex on his twelve years old son” Arthur almost threw up when Annabeth speculated that Percy could have reminded Medusa of his father.

“…And I thought things couldn’t get even more fucked up” Sirius gagged.

Percy was angry at everything. He remembered Medusa’s words

Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue.

They all had the uncomfortable feeling that while Medusa had no good intentions, she had a point. Not the statue, but that the Olympians were treating Percy as a pawn and he needed to be released. The gods didn’t deserve the smallest help from him, especially not with something like the bolt theft.

Percy searched the warehouse. He found the Underworld address in Medusa’s account book.

“They buy those horrible statues?” Tonks couldn’t believe it.

If Hades wasn’t the lightning thief, he was still a scumbag in their books.  The aurors were itching to arrest someone.

“I didn’t expect the Underworld to be at a Hollywood studio. At least they have an address.” Hermione said, this idea of the gods settling in the US still felt surreal.

“Right, they would have needed to search all over LA to find the entrance to the Underworld” Ron realized. This was the only one good thing to come out of that night.

In the cash register, he found money, drachmas and slips for Hermes Overnight Express.

“Why is Mr. Jackson rummaging through the boxes? He doesn’t plan to take the head with them, does he?” Kingsley asked. Even if it would be a great help against monsters, the risk of petrifying muggles or themselves by accident surpassed the benefits.

Percy packed up the head and wrote something on the delivery slip. Olympus’s address and a message.

The collective gasp felt like something out of a sitcom.

“He is not going to do this” Bill said firmly. Sure, Percy was angry but there was no way he would actually go through with giving the gods the metaphorical finger like that.

“They’re not going to like that,” Grover warned. “They’ll think you’re impertinent.”

“He is impertinent, but the gods don’t need to know that” McGonagall looked pretty troubled. She hoped Mr. Underwood helped his friend to see sense before it was too late.

Percy sent the package.

“I am impertinent.”

“Jackson!” Several people got startled when Snape yelled and rose from his seat, his face almost purple.

“Severus, it was an imprudent decision, but Mr. Jackson is alive and well” Dumbledore tried to reassure him.

“Well, he shouldn’t! What was he thinking?!” He just couldn’t understand. He pretended to be loyal to the man he hated the most, censored even his thoughts in his presence. And this brat couldn’t abstain from mailing a head to the Olympians?

Sirius and Harry looked at each other, too surprised by the outburst to say anything. Not even they had managed to piss him off to that point (well, in Sirius’s case, in their adult age).

“He is insane” Ron mumbled. He didn’t know if he meant Percy, Snape or both.

Annabeth seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods. “Come on,” she muttered. “We need a new plan.”

“I can’t believe this” McGonagall was exhausted.  Percy Jackson was the most chaotic person she had ever met and she had taught the Marauders and the Weasley twins.

“Annabeth and Grover just rolled with it” Tonks didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.

“They’re going to be best friends” Charlie chuckled.

Snape groaned.  The one thing the world didn’t need was those two joining in Jackson’s shenanigans. He looked at the new memory start wondering what new displays of idiocy Poseidon’s son would show them.

Chapter Text

We were pretty miserable that night.

The trio had found a place to camp and had brought some supplies from Medusa’s place.

“I can’t blame you” Ron wrinkled his nose.  It was too dark to get a good view of their camping place, but it reeked of garbage.

Percy took first watch. Annabeth went to sleep and Grover flew onto a tree branch.

Moody nodded in approval “He needs to practice with the shoes as much as he can.”

“I really want a pair of those” George whined. Several people agreed, it looked more comfortable than a broom and you could take them everywhere.

Snape was torn. On one hand, if the son of Hermes was the prophesized traitor those shoes were most likely cursed in some way. On the other hand, it was known than Jackson couldn’t use them, and if anything bad happened to the person wearing them he would be the main suspect. Was he innocent or was his plan just poorly thought out?

Grover had a heart to heart with Percy over his love of nature and how humans were ruining the wild.

All of them, from pureblood to muggleborn felt a rush of shame. Pollution caused by muggles was well known, but wizards weren’t far behind. Poaching of magical beasts, over harvesting of potion ingredients and waste caused by factories had been problems for a long time and the Ministry of Magic didn’t do as much about it as they should.

“We should do something about it. It’s the least we can do if they are going to help us” Arthur said  with a tint of sadness, Grover couldn’t be the only satyr who felt like that, and even if the gods had promised help, there was no doubt in his mind that the demigods and satyrs would do the actual job.

“You are right, Arthur” Albus replied with a glint on his eyes “I know of several environmentalist groups, even though the Minister has been… less than receptive to my ideas in the last few months. Volunteers and donations would help”

Everyone made a mental note of looking into groups in their area and at the very least reduce their consumption of certain products.

At the rate things are going, I’ll never find Pan.”

“Pam? Like the cooking spray?”

“Pan!” he cried indignantly. “P-A-N. The great god Pan! What do you think I want a searcher’s license for?”

Questions were suddenly interrupted by the smell of nature overpowering the stench of the clear. For a second it felt like they had been taken to a completely different place, one full of life and wilderness. They almost could see the trees, the flowers, and the wildlife. Even the air felt clearer.

Percy had felt it too.

Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I’d never known.

“It was so beautiful for a second… Is there any way to bring it back?” Tonks wondered.

“A lot of volunteer work” Sirius decided. He had been in many places after he had fled; some of them isolated enough that they still retained their vibrancy, what the entire world must have been so long ago.  If he managed to prove his innocence and survive the war, he would spend the rest of his life restoring the wilderness

Grover explained how Pan had gone missing and the satyrs had tried to find him for thousands of years, including his dad and his uncle Ferdinand.

“That is a noble cause and I wish Mr. Underwood the best of lucks” Dumbledore said solemnly.

“You can do it, Grover” Charlie cheered for him, others joined in.

Grover said no other searcher had ever returned, but that he would be the first.

“Hang on, what?!” Harry asked in a panicked voice.

“Two thousand years and not a single searcher came back?” Hermione couldn’t process how many satyrs had died, it was too much.

“And he still wants to do it. You know, that’s very Gryffindor of him” Sirius smiled before sending a dark look at Snape.

Percy asked if they had a plan to go to the Underworld. Grover said that Annabeth had told him something back at Medusa’s.

“Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out.”

“Don’t be so hard on her, Percy. She’s had a tough life, but she’s a good person. After all, she forgave me....”

“Forgave him for what? Bill asked carefully, Grover looked devastated.

Percy realized Annabeth had been Grover’s first assignement

“What went wrong? Just what happened to them?” Molly asked in anguish. The satyr’s trauma and pain were clear as day and she feared what Annabeth could add to the conversation had she been awake.

Grover said that the Furies had hold back and Annabeth thought they were looking for an object.

“We don’t have the same definition of what “holding back” means” Ron decided.

“Looking for the bolt maybe? But they wouldn’t be so transparent about it on Zeus’s watch” McGonagall felt there were many missing pieces in this puzzle.

Grover was afraid they had misunderstood something about the quest.

“It’s a valid concern. They have assumed it was Hades and the bolt is in the Underworld, but if it’s something else entirely they may not have time to rectify it.” Kingsley pondered.

“The prophecy said they’ll face a god who has turned, in the west. No matter what they’ll have to deal with a god who stole the lightning bolt and isn’t going to hand it back because some children ask for it” If the prophecy didn’t say they would get the bolt back, Snape would have deemed the quest a lost cause.

McGonagall realized something “Chiron said a god can’t steal from other gods. Someone else must have stolen for them… most likely the traitor at Camp.”

Dumbledore’s eyes became cold and sharp. A picture started to form in his mind. Luke must have stolen the bolt at the request of a god. Not for his father, that he was sure of. In fact he seemed to hate the gods too much to do their bidding. The voice in the dream could have been the real mastermind, maybe they had Luke and the god working together. Dumbledore didn’t want to think of who could be so powerful to force that alliance, but he had his suspicions.

Percy apologized for not being forward with his reasons to join the quest, but Grover already knew. He knew that deep down Percy mailed Medusa’s head to impress his dad, even if Percy wouldn’t admit it.

“I know he can read emotions, but wow” Harry wanted to meet the satyr, to have someone who could untangle all those painful feelings that he wasn’t able to express. Every time he tried to deal with them he didn’t know how to make others understand and he would end up getting angry and hating himself afterwards

Snape looked away as if Grover could read his thoughts through time and space. He wanted to believe he just knew Jackson so well because of their friendship; the idea of someone being able to bypass his mental barriers and read his sheer emotions terrified him.

Arthur and Molly exchanged a look, worried with another kind of thoughts. The way Grover had described how a part of Percy wanted to make his father proud struck a chord with them.

“Do you think that’s how he felt?” Arthur whispered to his wife. He had been so frustrated at how shortsighted Percy had been about his promotion, insisting it was wonderful news and not wanting to consider the suspicious timing. However, had he been so insistent because he wanted to be acknowledged, to make them proud?

Grover offered to take the guard and put Percy to sleep with some music.

“Is that some special magical tune?” Ginny asked interested.

“No, it’s Mozart” Hermione recognized it. Her parents played a lot of classic music in their clinic to relax the patients.

Percy woke up standing over a pit in a dark cavern surrounded by spirits.

“Fuck, that came out of nowhere.”Tonks raised her wand on instinct.

“It’s either monsters trying to kill him or creepy dreams” Charlie sighed, Percy couldn’t get a  break even when literally asleep.

“Is he in hell?” Harry asked. The only thing missing was the fire and brimstone, and something at his very core screamed at him to leave.

Everyone who knew of Tartarus swallowed hard. It could possibly be hell, and Percy was standing right next to it.

The little hero, an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do.

Fear paralyzed them for a second; that was the voice they had heard in the second dream. It was like nothing they had heard before; deep, ancient and, there was no other way to describe it, evil.

“No, he won’t” McGonagall managed to say through gritted teeth “He won’t do anything.”

The voice tried to tempt Percy using his mom and pull him into the chasm. He resisted.

“That son of a bitch” Harry snarled. That was the lowest blow someone could use against Percy.

“Please, don’t go there. There can’t be anything good there.” Ginny all but prayed, pushing away certain memories she didn’t want to think about.

Help me rise, boy. The voice became hungrier. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!

“Not a god?” Hermione asked faintly.

“This is getting worse and worse” Ron groaned.

Dumbledore went pale. He had no doubts now, someone was conspiring against the gods and they were in Tartarus. A name came to him, one that had been brought up at the very beginning of the story…

The spirits tried to wake Percy up.

“Even they’re scared! Listen to them please” Tonks pleaded.

Percy realized the voice wanted to use him to put itself out. The voice was satisfied by his reasoning.

“He can read his mind?” Harry braced himself as if the voice would come after him next.

Albus looked at him worriedly. He had already decided that Harry needed Oclumency lessons, but he hadn’t planned to tell him more than the minimum. Maybe giving him some more context would help, even if he didn’t want to tell him about the Horrocrux at the moment.

Percy woke up.

“What in the name of Merlin was that?” Arthur was grateful he was seating down, his legs felt like jelly

“That was the pit of hell. Whatever the voice was, they wanted Percy to get them out” Hermione explained almost in a whisper.

“He isn’t even safe in his dreams” Bill ran a hand through his hair.

Annabeth gave him breakfast and told him Grover had found a friend.

Everyone took deep breaths, the garbage filled landscape suddenly felt like paradise after what they had just seen.

Grover was talking to a pink poddle.

“Are there pink dogs in the muggle world?” Ron asked confused.

“There aren’t. Its owners dyed its fur” Hermione answered eyeing the animal in distaste. It surely hadn’t enjoyed sitting down for however long to dye all that hair.

“It’s a nice color” Tonks turned her hair that shade of pink. Much better than the whiter-than-a-ghost shade she had during the dream.

Grover said the dog was their ticked west and demanded Percy to greet him. Percy initially refused but Annabeth made him say hello.

The twins let out a chuckle.

“So satyrs can talk to animals and we find out now?” Sirius couldn’t believe it.

“Welcome to the muggleborn experience.”Harry shrugged. Sometimes he suddenly learnt things about the magical world that make him feel stupid, just to find out Hermione was so shocked as he was. They should hand out a Magical World for Dummies guide at Hogwarts.

Grover explained that Gladiola would allow them to return him and get the reward from his owners

“What a good dog” Harry finally managed a smile

“A dog, a normal dog can read” Hermione was on the edge of another existential crisis. Seeing that Sirius was going to say something she added “Padfoot doesn’t count!”

“Ok, ok” He said with a laugh.

Percy decided not to tell them about his dream. Annabeth told him they would take the train west.

“He should tell them,” Molly said. Maybe they knew something, or at least what to do to avoid that creep.

“Finally something goes well” Ginny managed a smile.

Harry was nervous. Nothing bad had happened in this memory other than the nightmare, and they had even gotten a ride to the west. Either they had hit lucky stride or next memory was going to be the apocalypses.

Chapter Text

We spent two days on the Amtrak train. We weren’t attacked once, but I didn’t relax.

“Finally they get a break” Tonks sighed in relief.

“But they haven’t relaxed or slept well” Arthur looked at them sadly. The trio had bags under their eyes and Percy was tense, ready to fight at any given moment.

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

Percy kept a low profile after a photo of him fighting in the bus had made to the news and Gabe was offering a reward.

“Now all of them are fugitives, great” Ron groaned.

“You know what, they should have mailed Gabe the head” Sirius snarled.

“Let’s not endorse murder, Sirius” Kingsley said. If Sirius ever got the chance to prove his innocence to the Ministry, that attitude wasn’t going to help.

Throughout the trip Percy saw strange things out of the window.

“We never saw a child centaur that time in the forest” Harry remarked to Hermione. The baby centaur was adorable.

“Are there lions this big in America?” Ron asked warily when a way too big feline passed by.

Dumbledore leaned forward. Could that be the famed Nemean lion? McGonagall and Snape were just as curious.

They had been able to purchase tickets to Denver.

They looked at the map.

“It’s an improvement, but that’s not Los Angeles” Ginny frowned. She didn’t know about the costs of muggle travel, but if they had spent the entire reward for Gladiola to go to Denver they couldn’t go any further.

“If only they could talk to Chiron…If he knows someone in the area then they could borrow money for the rest of the trip.” Molly sighed. They had said before there were satyrs all over the country, right? One of them could help them to at least arrive to LA in time.

Snape remembered that Jackson had picked several drachmas from Medusa’s house. If he had any left after his idiotic stunt with the head, they could contact Chiron through IM.

Annabeth asked Percy about his dream. She wasn’t completely sure it was Hades

“But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?”

“That’s a good point” Kingsley remarked.

“If it was the traitor who stole it, perhaps they are keeping it for themselves” Bill suggested.

“In that case Hades could force them to give him the bolt. Why spend months watching Percy?” Tonks asked. As painful as it was, the only two candidates to traitor so far were Grover and Luke. They wouldn’t stand a chance against Hades

Mad-Eye knew his theories weren’t exactly appreciated so he refrained to add any suggestion, but he had his own suspicions. The satyr was one of the suspects, was with Jackson both at Yancy and on the quest, and couldn’t be ruled out yet.

Annabeth acknowledged the Furies hadn’t been as bad this time but still Hades couldn’t be trusted. Percy caught on that.

“She has encountered the furies before?!” Hermione covered her mouth in horror.

McGonagall remembered something “She said she had been at camp for five years…oh no…”

“She probably arrived to the Camp with young Thalia” Dumbledore caught on, lowering his head in sadness. That poor, poor child.

“Didn’t her dad take her to camp?” Arthur asked, hoping that Annabeth didn’t have to go through something so terrible.

Molly took his hand on hers, her eyes misty “Dear… she never said how she got to camp.”

Everyone was frozen in horror. Did Annabeth watch another child, her friend, be torn apart by monsters at such young age?

Annabeth told Percy he couldn’t bargain with Hades for his mom. He asked what she’d do in his place.

“That’s easy,” she said. “I’d leave him to rot.”

That caught everyone by surprise.

“She can’t be serious” Ron spluttered.

Snape sighed. Obviously not every mortal parent was Sally Jackson. He wondered what that man had done.

Annabeth how her dad never wanted her and asked Athena to raise Annabeth in Olympus.

“It may have been unexpected, but once it was clear he had to raise his daughter he should have changed his attitude immediately.” McGonagall said firmly.

“How would it be unexpected? Did no one give this guy the talk?” Sirius asked in confusion, and almost jumped out of his skin when every owl in the house went nuts for some reason.

“Padfoot, I think you have offended her” Remus glanced out of the window to a tree nearby, which currently resembled the owlery of Hogwarts with how many birds were standing on its branches staring into the house. Menacingly.

“I’m sorry?!” The animagus apologized even though he had no idea of why she was mad to begin with.

Dumbledore couldn’t help to chuckle “You see Sirius, lady Athena is a maiden goodness. Mr. Chase might have been caught out of guard because her children aren’t conceived the usual way.”

“So how…?” Sirius knew he should keep his mouth shut, but couldn’t help to be curious.

Hermione raised her hand like she was in class “Athena was born from Zeus’s head, fully grown and clad in armor. Maybe Annabeth was born like that, from her thoughts or her feelings towards Mr. Chase.”

“From his head… do you mean he thought really hard about having a child or…?” Ron asked refusing to believe it was meant literally.

“No, he had a headache, asked someone to crack his head open and Athena came out” Harry tried to hold on his laughter at his friend’s face.

“That… must have been painful” Molly was looking a bit green, but she felt vindicated. Remembering her six childbirths, she hoped Zeus had been in a similar pain for at least a couple of weeks.

The owls retired, seemingly satisfied with the clarification.

Annabeth explained how she was delivered to his dad and his poor behavior. Things didn’t improve when he got married and had children.

“Damn, that’s a way to make an entrance” Fred whistled in surprise. If what Annabeth said was true, it had only missed the celestial chorus.

“If she knows how he felt when she arrived, there’s no way he didn’t tell her anything at some point” McGonagall said, her displeasure obvious in her face.

“What a despicable man” Arthur could barely contain his anger.

Percy suggested her dad had married to protect her like his mom did.

“Unless the wife stinks, it’s probably not that” Bill shook his head in sadness. No child deserved to go through something like that.

“I still don’t understand how someone like Gabe exists. What do you have to do to reek like that?” George asked thinking of the stinking bombs he and Fred had been working on. If they got something half as disgusting as Gabe, it would be a success. That, or the Ministry would arrest them for possession of chemical weapons.

“Whatever it is, let’s not do that” Bill suggested with a disgusted grimace.

Annabeth kept pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father’s. I wondered why she wore it if she hated him so much.

“That’s so sad” Harry remembered what Grover had said to Percy in the previous memory, that deep down Percy wanted to prove himself, wanted his father to notice him. Despite how shitty Annabeth’s dad sounded she may love him deep down.

Annabeth continued her story. She got tired of being unloved and ran away at the age of seven. With Athena’s help and some friends she arrived to the camp.

Molly buried her head into a cushion and let out what must have been a feral scream. Athena’s “help” was unacceptable and the less she said about Mr. Chase the better. Someone so horrible they made a seven years old run away from home didn’t deserve to be a parent.

“And one of those friends must have been Thalia” Harry felt a knot in his stomach. Next to him Ron and Hermione were white like sheets.

Annabeth didn’t say anything else and the journey continued. Two days later they arrived to St. Louis. Annabeth admired the Arch and said she wanted to be an architect

I laughed. “You? An architect?”

“Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention.”

“Are they going to bicker the entire trip?” Ron complained.

“Where have I seen that before?” Harry rolled his eyes.

Ron and Hermione looked at him without understanding “What do you mean?”

“…Nothing.”

Annabeth apologized and Percy said they could work together like how Athena created the chariot and Poseidon the horses.

“Now creationism is real?!” Hermione shrieked in horror. This couldn’t be happening; Darwin had to be rolling in his grave.

Ron, however had other concerns “Why did Poseidon create a land animal?”

“Maybe he started with seahorses and went from there.” Harry suggested. Maybe someday they could ask Percy about it.

The Artram intercom announced the train would depart towards Denver in three hours. Annabeth wanted to see the Arch.

“There’s no time for sightseeing! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

“They have to wait three hours all the same. If they stayed at the station, they’d end up attracting a monster for sure.” Tonks defended them.

Moody begrudgingly conceded she had a point. He was displeased with the trio however. “They should have been on the move, but making plans and gathering supplies.”

“Alastor, they don’t have enough money left” Kingsley argued.

“This is an international emergency and they have already stolen before. They even have the invisibility hat, they may as well use it.” The old auror replied.

“An auror approving of crime, now I’ve seen everything” Charlie whispered with a chuckle.

They visited the underground museum. Annabeth explained all sort of trivia about the Arch.

“This would be an interesting place to visit in better circumstances” Hermione said, mentally adding the Arch to the list of places she wanted to visit with her parents when the war ended.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to relax in the middle of a quest” Ginny agreed. If quests were always this stressful she pitied the poor demigods who had to go on them.

Percy asked if Grover smelled anything. The satyr answered it was hard to smell monsters underground.

“Then get out of there! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

For once everyone agreed with him.

Percy asked for Hades’s symbol of power. Annabeth told him she had seen it during the winter solstice, the only day he was allowed in Olympus.

“I still can’t believe she spent Christmas in Olympus” Snape wouldn’t even try to imagine it. His brain just couldn’t.

“Hades is only allowed there once per year?” Tonks asked in surprise. Granted, the guy was a piece of work but so it was Zeus.

The Weasley cringed. Had Hades been rejected by his family or had he left in the first place?

Grover explained the Helm’s powers.

“If Hades uses it against them, they’ll be well and truly fucked” Sirius’s gaze darted around the place half expecting Hades to sneak upon them. Moody was obsessively scouting the room with his magic eye.

“He has had every chance to do it and so far he has only sent monsters. I guess gods aren’t usually that straightforward” Remus said.

“But then ... how do we know he’s not here right now, watching us?” I asked.

 “We don’t,” Grover said.

“Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better,” I said. “Got any blue jelly beans left?”

“Panicking would be useless, I guess” Charlie conceded.

“Yes, but I still couldn’t be calm knowing that the guy could go after me at any moment” Tonks said “Ok, he could do it without the helm, but you get the point.”

They finally got into the elevator. The lady with them asked for their parents. They told her they were afraid of heights

“A much better excuse than the ringmaster” Sirius chuckled.

“Our babies are growing so fast” The twins fake sniffled.

They visited the observation deck

“Percy doesn’t seem too happy with the heights” Charlie remarked. Percy kept himself away from the windows and made a point of not looking below him.

“Can you blame him? He may be too high for Zeus’s taste” Tonks said, somehow managing to keep her sarcasm at a minimum. This was good, because the god sent an affirmative thunder. Man, if he was to be so blatant, he could cut the middle man and speak to them directly.

It was finally time to go. The car was full, so Percy was left waiting with the fat lady, a family and the park ranger. Percy smiled at the fat lady, who returned the smile with a forked tongue

“Did you all see that?!”

In a second the Order had gone from mildly paranoid because of Hades to fully alert and ready to fight. They gripped their wands, some overcame that gut reaction and held onto their cushions and calming draughts for dear life.

“He has been alone for five seconds, how bad can his luck get?!” Harry was close to tear his hair out.

“Worse than yours, mate, worse than yours” Ron answered. He had never thought it was physically possible to run into so much danger as his best friend, but Percy went above and beyond.

The dog yapped at Percy, the lady told him it wasn’t the best moment.

“Wait, is the dog also a monster?!” Hermione asked looking at the Chihuahua in dismay.

“Not all dogs can be Gladiola” Fred did his best to joke, but a look to his twin and he realized it was a lost battle. No one would relax until Percy was away from those two.

“Well, son,” the fat lady sighed. “If you insist.”

 “Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?”

“Chimera, dear,” the fat lady corrected. “Not a Chihuahua. It’s an easy mistake to make.”

“It can’t be” Charlie whispered. In any other circumstance he’d have been delighted, but Percy would need all his skill and luck to get out of this.

Both the woman and the dog finally revealed their true forms.

“That- that looks nothing like Professor Kettleburn’s chimera!” Tonks yelled, her hair and face now as pale as chalk. The chimera her former teacher had brought to that Magical Creature lesson was a cute little puppy compared to the monstrosity in front of Percy.

“How is he going to fight it?” Charlie tried to remember that lesson, but nothing helpful came to his mind. Percy himself was frozen in place.

“Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood.”

As soon as those words clicked, most of the Order rose from their seats screaming a tirade of curses at Zeus, their faces twisted in rage. They were so furious it took them a bit to notice no sound had left their mouths.

“I apologize” Dumbledore’s voice came from the silence. Everyone turned to look at him” As much as I understand and even share your feelings… it wasn’t a good idea.”

They thought back to the rants they had gone into when the Headmaster silenced them, and paled. As much as they wanted to punch Zeus in the face and stab him with his own bolt, they realized how bad it could have ended.

Seeing as everyone had cooled down and returned to their seats Dumbledore started the memory again.

Percy pointed that her name was a type of anteater, she got really angry.

“Jackson, for the love of all gods, shut up!” Snape shouted; this child had less survival instincts than Potter. He hoped his reward for this quest was a brain to mouth filter.

Sirius and Remus were in complete agreement with their old nemesis for once.

Percy dodged a bite from the Chimera and ended up near the mortals.

“Oh no, the muggles!” Molly yelled in concern. Arthur was deathly pale.

“He can’t fight both of them and protect the muggles at the same time, it’s just impossible” McGonagall gripped both her wand and the armrest.

Percy made sure to draw Chimera’s attention to himself. The beast’s fire attack made a hole through the wall.

Great.  We just blowtorched a national monument.

“Forget the monument, you almost became charcoal!” Harry’s heart was about to leap out of his mouth, for a second he understood how the adults in his life felt about him in a daily basis.

Molly and Arthur made sure the children had their calming draughts at hand before drinking one. Meanwhile the healers were checking everyone else; someone was bound to have a panic attack at some point, including themselves.

Percy attacked the Chimera’s neck but it didn’t work. He was busy defending himself from the lion’s head that he forgot about the snake’s half until it was too late.

“NO!”

Emmeline almost felt her soul leave her body. Chimera’s poison was one of the deadliest among magical creatures; even a small one could land someone in St Mungo for months. Percy was as good as dead.

In his next attempt, the snake tripped him and Riptide fell out of the hole in the wall.

“It will go back to his pocket, right?” Charlie asked holding onto anything that could make the situation better. Unfortunately, the seconds passed and Riptide didn’t come back.

“He is poisoned and the Chimera is still there, he has no chance” Kingsley shook his head in defeat. Only a miracle could save the poor boy.

Percy realized he had lost the fight and was going to die.

“How is he still alive?” Moody asked in disbelief.

“Thanks for reminding us, I was about to have a heart attack” Tonks thanked him without a hint of irony. Her hair was changing between white and grey, a wild look in her eyes. Most weren’t much better

Percy backed into the hole in the wall, the streets below now visible. Echidna took her time to taunt him.

“Shut up! Just shut up!” Sirius roared almost throwing his bottle of calming draught at the pensieve.

“It’s so high…” Ginny breathed out holding onto Bill. Percy was backed between the monsters looming behind him and the vast height of the Arch.

I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And I was scared.

By now everyone was on tears. How could the gods be so cruel, how could Zeus do this without remorse? They prayed, some for the first time in their lives, for any god to take pity on the child and get him out of there.

Percy looked out of the hole. The Missisipi river glittered in the distance.

“If only the river was closer…” Dumbledore muttered to himself trying to keep his nerves under control. It would be a gamble, but there was a chance. Sadly luck wasn’t on Percy’s side and only asphalt could be seen for miles.

“You have no faith,” Echidna told me. “You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart.”

“She is right” Emmeline whispered. The poison was fast acting; Percy only had a few minutes left.

“I’m going to kill her” Molly growled between tears.

Percy had flashes of his dad visiting him as a baby and claiming him at camp. The Chimera shot another blast of fire and Percy jumped out of the Arch.

“Father, help me.”

Chapter Text

Everyone remained rooted in place, shell shocked, as Percy plunged down at full speed. Their brains just refused to process he was falling to his unavoidable death. Shaking from head to toe Dumbledore started the next memory.

I’d love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera. The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!

“How… just how is he able to joke in a situation like this?” Bill was shaken out of his trance by how sudden that had been.

“Now that you say it, he has narrated things in the past tense before. Did he rewatch his memories to add commentary?” Remus asked.

The conversation was interrupted by the memory continuing to play. Buildings flashed by at nauseating speed, the concrete ground closer and closer. They braced themselves for the worst, praying for Percy’s safety.

A torrent of water sprouted from the Misissipi. It enveloped Percy and safely put him in the river.

“What was that?!” Arthur demanded.

“It could have been his powers” Remus speculated, even though this seemed an impossible feat even for Percy’s standards.

“Thanks Merlin, he is safe now!” Molly let out a sob when Percy gently landed in the river.

Percy, now at the bottom of the river, looked at his surroundings.

“Ew, ew ,ew” Tonks gagged and her hair turned an ugly brown. The disgust was echoed by most, it smelled like a mix between the worst public restrooms and a garbage landfile.

“Can any government, wizard or muggle, clean up that river please?” Harry asked covering his nose and mouth.

“Remember what Grover said about cleaning nature? This would be the perfect place to start” Ginny concluded after looking at all the trash swimming around.

Percy realized that he was alive and completely healed.

“Thanks Merlin” Emmeline would have fallen to her knees if she wasn’t sitting down.

“So fast, though?” Another healer checked out Percy’s completely healed body unable to believe what he was seeing.

T he anguish and terror evaporated upon seeing Percy out of danger.

Then he realized he was dry. He even was able to lit a fire underwater.

“How is that possible?!” Snape exclaimed while Hermione recoiled in horror at such violation of the laws of the physics, logic and probably more she couldn’t think of at the moment.

“Thanks Merlin he is dry, or he would have to marinate a week in bleach to remove the smell” Ron said, his voice muffled by the handkerchief he was covering his nose with.

Finally he realized he was breathing normally.

“Is there anything this guy can’t do underwater?” Fred demanded with a chuckle of disbelief. This was getting ridiculous.

“I don’t know, maybe talking” His twin suggested.

Percy couldn’t believe he was alive.

“Neither we do, pal, neither we do” Harry slowly pried his hands out of the cushion he had been grabbing this entire time.

“It’s a miracle, indeed” McGonagall shook her head. Could the universe take pity on the boy for once?

I imagined a woman’s voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother: Percy, what do you say?

“Um ... thanks. “Thank you ... Father.”

The Order finally realized. It hadn’t been Percy’s powers; if his father hadn’t intervened, he would have died in the fall.

“Thank you” Several thanked the sea god from the bottom of their hearts. Poseidon could feel the prayers, but right now he was unable to tear his eyes away from his son. If he had died, Zeus would have seen a war not even Ares and Athena could match.

He got no answer. He wondered why his father saved him and went on a spiral of negativity concluding he should have died.

Poseidon recoiled in horror. How long had Percy felt like that and how much worse had it gotten over the years? He prepared to talk to Chiron and Dionysus, his son needed urgent therapy.

Back in Grimmauld Place, it was sinking in for the Order that Percy suffered from suicidal thoughts. Several had started crying again.

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked weakly, but a part of him, one that he wanted to bury deep down, understood.

“I will tell Chiron. This can’t be left unadressed” Dumbledore stated, his heart full of compassion for the young demigod.

He found his sword. The woman from before spoke to him again.

“Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you.”

“Did Poseidon send someone?” Sirius asked increduously. So far, nothing he had seen had improved his opinion of the gods as parents. They reminded him too much of his own family, but he hoped that somehow Poseidon loved Percy and, more importantly, showed it to him.

“Thanks him, Percy really needs confort right now. And a hug.” Ginny said firmly.

“And a mind healer” Bill asked. He hoped Percy had gotten the help he needed at some point.

“Grover can read emotions” Ron recalled. “Maybe he helped Percy after everything was over.”

“Gods, I hope you are right” Hermione wished biting her nails.

Percy realized he wasn’t imagining the voice. The woman showed herself.

Everyone had to do a double take “Mrs Jackson?!”

“No. She is probably a naiad or nereid. Maybe Poseidon thought sending someone who looks like his mother would help.” Remus said

The woman told him to go to the beach in Santa Monica. She couldn’t stay longer due to the pollution, but told him to be careful of gifts.

A tag with “Santa Monica beach” showed up in the map near to Los Angeles. They thanked Apollo again; they would be completely lost without him.

“Do you think Poseidon will talk to him?” Harry asked hopefully.

Moody, however, didn’t have time for sentimentality “ Let’s go to the important, what gifts? The shoes? Is the Luke kid the traitor?”

“We don’t have that many suspects” Sirius gritted his teeth, if the boy who had become a mentor and a big brother to Percy dared to betray him…

“Mad-Eye, some sensitivy won’t kill you” Tonks admonished her mentor, not wanting to think about the person, Luke or not, who was going to backstab Percy.

“Damn well it may! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!”

Percy got Riptide back and swam to the surface.

“Why didn’t it come back during the fight?” Bill asked, curious about the properties of the blade. No one had a satisfying answer.

Dumbledore didn’t say anything, but he had his suspicions.

He made it to the surface, the place was crowded with emergency services and onlookers.

They cringed at the full sight of the damages. The top of the Arch was in ruins, the debris in the ground could have crushed someone to death and everyone around was panicking

The news was reported.

“The news lady could be more specific. Did someone die?” Hermione had a knot in her stomach, what had happened to the muggles?

“Hopefully Percy won’t be blamed for this.” Ron mused, he had the feeling that Percy’s reputation was goint to take another hit.

The newcaster confirmed there weren’t fatalities but Percy had been caught on camera.

They sighed in relief, just to curse aloud when they realized Percy’s criminal record had increased again.

“He is twelve. Who in their right mind think he is the culprit without looking for an explanation?” Bill sighed in frustration.

Ginny cringed in her seat. She had been eleven when she had trusted a cursed diary and almost gotten several schoolmates killed. Even if Tom was behind it, she couldn’t shake the blame. She should have given her parents the diary, she should have gone to Professor McGonagall, she should have…

“Ginny?” Ron noticed his sister going rigid next to him and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine, just fine” She answered abruptly.

The trio looked at each other. They all guessed what she was thinking about. Before they could say anything, Molly spoke softly “It wasn’t and it will never be your fault, darling.”

Ginny nodded with teary eyes and went to sit with her parents. They hugged her and exchanged a look with Bill and Charlie. That conversation was going to tear everyone apart, they could see it.

Percy reunited with his friends.

“Poor things, they must have been so worried” Molly felt terrible for Annabeth and Grover, who were close to a panic attack.

“He has omitted some important details” Kingsley observed after Percy told his friends his tale. According to him, the Chimera had attacked him and he had jumped through the hole to escape. Nothing about the poisoning, his near death, his guilt.

“He has to tell them. He can’t carry that alone” Remus whispered.

The news identified Percy in the report. The trio ran away and boarded the Armtrak.

They all deflated in relief when the memory ended with the trio safe in the train and on their way to Denver.

McGonagall rose from her seat “I think this is a good point to stop for the day, Albus.”

“I agree, Minerva. We’ll continue with the viewing tomorrow at the same hour” The Headmaster resolved.

Everyone agreed. The trio was finally relatively safe and they didn’t want to risk to watch more. It had been enough insanity for one day.

Chapter Text

Dinner was a mostly silent affair , everyone was exhausted. However, their minds were filled with everything they had learned, what was going to be their new reality for bad or for good. Many of them dreaded the conversations they needed to have before going to bed.

“So, who are we supposed to make the offerings to?” Harry asked looking at the fireplace where everyone had gathered with apprehension. He had never gone to church or prayed, but what made him so uncomfortable was that most of the gods they had learned about were… well, complete assholes.

Dumbledore regarded all of them with an understanding look. “For wizards it’s expected that we’ll make offerings to Hecate, our patron. However, if there’s any other god you want to pray to for any reason you are free to do so.”

As his turn came closer, Harry went through all the gods he knew, none of them felt right. Maybe later, but not now. He finally made a decision and put his food into the fire “To the god of dreams, whoever you are, please keep the nightmares away tonight.”

Any other, day when the entire world wasn’t upside down, Molly would have suspected when the children went to bed without any protest. This wasn’t that day, so they said their good-nights, the twins took a book from Sirius and they all quietly left the kitchen. Only, they didn’t go to their rooms.

“Let’s do this quickly before they check on us” Ron said keeping an eye on the kitchen’s door.

“Don’t worry Ronnykins, how many time have we been busted?” George asked tapping his brother in the head with the book.

“There’s a whole list in McGonagall’s office” Ron retorted swatting the book away.

“Hey, I remember that book from my old school library” Harry noticed.

“You, Harry, in a library?” Fred pretended to gasp in shock “I guess everyone has dark secrets...”

“You are the ones asking Sirius for books” The Boy Who Lived rolled his eyes.

“They are only interested in the sordid stuff” Ginny scoffed as she followed Hermione into the now name viewing room. With a shameless grin they walked in after her followed by Harry and Ron.

The Pensieve stood right there in the middle of the room, completely normal looking, but they didn’t dare to come closer in case Dumbledore (or worse, the gods) had put any protections on it. Instead, they surrounded it from a distance.

“What are we looking for?” Harry asked. Hermione had told him and Ron to go back after dinner, with her but didn’t have time to go into more details. The twins and Ginny had overheard them and offered to join.

“Do you remember how that arrow moved from the center of the Pensieve to that lightning drawing?” She asked. When everyone nodded she continued her explanation “I think the lightning represent Percy’s quest for the bolt, then the others...”

Ginny immediately caught up “Do you think the other drawings represent future quests?”

“This one is being a clusterfuck and there are going to be more?” Harry asked flabbergasted. Percy, Annabeth and Grover were barely alive in the middle of their first quest, they’d have to sell their souls to the god of luck to survive more.

George let out a nervous laughter “Then Percykins is going to have a very busy schedule. I counted four other drawings.”

“Is there a chance the next four quests are for getting the gods groceries?” Ron asked already resignated to Percy’s future (well past) misfortune. Everyone else just shook their heads, the demigod was doomed.

“Back to the drawings” Ginny said “The one next to the bolt is a ship. Do you guys have any idea of where he is going?”

“There is a lot of sailing in the myths, I really can’t tell” Hermione answered biting her fingernail.

“Maybe he’ll go to Greece, that’s where all those places are, right?” Ron suggested.

“Wherever he goes, he’ll be in the ocean; he has it in the bag” Fred chose to look at it in a positive light or else they’d go crazy. Especially Hermione.

“Next one is… some guy holding a big ball” George tilted his head in confusion.

“Maybe it’s Sisyphus, you know, that guy who kidnapped Death and has to move a rock for eternity” Ron said, remembering that old story.

H ermione moved next to him to see the drawing and almost fainted “Atlas...”

“The guy who holds the world on his shoulders?” Harry asked not knowing why Hermione looked so scared.

“Hermione, what’s going on?” Ron asked in concern.

Hermione took a deep breath and explained in a shaky voice “ Back in the Titan War, Atlas was one of K-Kronos’s generals. The gods punished him by having him hold the world on his shoulders forever.”

“The guy who ate his children?” Ginny asked remembering the story.

“Percy is going to fight that dude? Ron paled.

“Maybe it’s not fighting, perhaps he’ll have to do something… I don’t know, in the area.” George suggested

“And that guy is holding the world, what can he do?” Fred dismissed.

“But it’s not just Atlas. The voice that Percy heard in his dream came from Tartarus and wanted him to “raise against the treacherous gods”? What if that was him?” Hermione asked, her voice nearly a whisper.

It slowly sunk into the others what she was talking about and they were left speechless. The temperature of the room seemed to have plummeted and the oxygen to have left entirely. Desperate to know more, Hermione moved to the next illustration, which made thing just less slightly worse. “The labyrinth?!”

“The Minotaur again, are you kidding me?!” Harry punched the nearest seat trying not to hyperventilate.

“Does it live there in the myths?” Ron asked while he tried to calm Harry down. Ginny was helping Hermione.

“Not only that, but it’s a very dangerous place. Theseus needed Ariadne’s magic string or he wouldn’t have been able to get out” Hermione managed to say barely with any pause

Fred decided this was getting out of hand and looked at the last image “It’s a jar and a knife ” He said carefully looking at Harry and Hermione in case they snapped. Hermione took a very, very deep breath and looked at it. “Right now, I have no idea what this one could mean… I will ask Sirius for books tomorrow”

“Yes, let’s leave it for tomorrow or we’ll go insane” Ron agreed gently pushing Harry out of the room. Everyone followed them, the tiredness had finally caught up to them. They went to bed unaware of the conversations having place in Grimmauld Place and even beyond.

There wasn’t a soul in Olympus who hadn’t tuned in Hephaestus TV to watch the new show “Wizards of Grim m auld Place”. Some wanted to see humans fear and worship them like in the old times, others wanted to get all the tea on Perseus Jackson, most of them wanted both. Godstagram was on fire and the streets were filled with discussions on when Zeus would finally snap, which wizard would be the first to lose their mind and which pairing s would end up together.

Only Aphrodite knew the answer to that last one, and she wasn’t going to spill the beans anytime soon . The goddess of love sat in her car cheerfully going over her shipping charts, Ares next to her smiling . “ You already have all of them pinned, don’t you?”

She beamed at him “Of course. Some of them are ready to bloom and others have been brewing for years ! Oh, Dumbledore and Grindelwald, those two are my top tragic pairing of the 20 ^th century. “

“WW2 was fucking amazing” Ares let out a hearty laugh. Those had been the good times. His father and uncles had been close to kill each other and so many new weapons had been developed… man, he couldn’t wait for the third one.

“And what do you think of them?” His lover asked putting the sheets away.

“They are scared shitless, but I admit they got some spunk. They are fun to watch” Ares answered with a smirk.

“The boys must be enjoying themselves” Aphrodite smiled at her boyfriend fondly.

“You bet!” Ares answered with a chuckle. Phobos and Deimos had spent the day glued to the screen cackling like hyenas. He would have enjoyed it as much as his sons if a nagging voice didn’t remind him every so often that he had lost to the sea brat. He would need to beat the shit out of half the pantheon when they got to that part.

“Come on, love” Aphrodite purred in his ear, causing him to shiver. The car started and Ares’s focus was only on his girlfriend. He would leave his concerns for later, he had a date to enjoy.

“How did you know I’d be here?” Hermes asked. He was in one of the most well hidden corners of Olympus, a place some of the younger gods probably didn’t even know about.

“You always come here when you are down” Apollo patted his younger brother on the shoulder.

Hermes’s shoulders shagged. He was more than down. Being stabbed by a thousand knifes would hurt less than seeing Luke in the flesh again, his sheer hatred for his father in full display. Hate that he deserved, for he had failed not only Luke but all his other children. He had found out at the end of the war that Chris had been in the Hermes’s cabin for months before he joined Luke and was almost lost forever in the labyrinth. Hermes didn’t think he could ever forgive himself.

Trying to deflect the attention from his suffering, he asked Apollo “You must love those wizards, you are their favourite right now”. Not a difficult thing with how much their father alone had pissed them off.

“They have the most amazing taste, for sure!” The sun god beamed for a second before getting serious again “But we are talking about you. I know it hurts, I’ve seen some of my own children and there is more to come. It won’t do us any good to brood alone. Dionysus has invited us for pinochle. Want to come?” He asked giving Hermes a conspiratorial look.

The messenger god managed a weak smile. He knew what Apollo was hinting at. Dio always helped to lift the spirit and they could sneak to talk to their children later. He finally gave a nod and the two gods left for the Big House.

Back in Grimmauld Place, the mood had gotten really sober. Bill and Charlie sat across their parents at the kitchen table, the four exchanging apprehensive glances not knowing what to say.

Charlie finally decided to break the silence.

“Mum, dad, what happened? We know about the tournament, but clearly there’s a lot we’re missing.”

“Especially from Ginny’s first year. She looks haunted sometimes, if there’s anything we can do to help, please tell us.”

Molly and Arthur looked at each other in pain. They had thought that not telling Bill and Charlie about their siblings’ terrible experiences at Hogwarts would be the best for all of them, that it would help Ron and Ginny to get a sense of normalcy, but now they saw they should have told them from the beginning. As awful as it was, they owed it to their children, all of them. Molly steadied herself and started talking.

“We are still not sure of several things, especially when it comes to Ron, Harry and Hermione. They didn’t want to talk about them and we didn’t want to pressure them. But Ginny’s first year… it was a nightmare. Remember what Remus said about students getting petrified at Hogwarts?”

They both nodded, afraid of what any of that had to do with their siblings. Molly continued.

“It was a basilisk-”

“What?!” Charlie interrupted her horrified. “Were Ron or Ginny…?”

“No, son” Arthur intervined to calm him down “The basilisk was tasked by You-Know-Who to go after muggleborns. No one died, but several children ended up petrified including Hermione.”

Bill and Charlie exchanged looks of pure horror. How had they gone without knowing that for two years?!

“I can’t believe it” Bill shook his head “No wonder they are traumatized...”

They clearly thought that was the end of it and Molly’s gut twisted in guilt. Swallowing hard she continued “There’s more… I’m so sorry… “

She and Arthur recounted the story the best they could, their sons getting paler with every new detail. By the end of it they looked like they were going to throw up.

“I’m going to kill them” Charlie growled. Malfoy, Voldemort, they were all going to regret the day they chose to use his sister for their revolting plans.

By his side Bill restrained himself from punching the table. Anger wasn’t going to help them now. He decided to focus on his family for the time being. “Mum, dad, if there’s anything we can do to help, tell us. All these years and we haven’t-”

“No, dear” Molly interrupted with tears in her eyes. “It was us who should have told you first. Ginny and Ron didn’t want to talk about it and we thought, especially after the trip to Egypt, that going back to normalcy would help them to forget. Ginny especially didn’t want to talk to a Mind Healer. I think she is still afraid of opening up to adults after… the Chamber.”

It was hard for Bill not to scream in rage just imagining what that bastard had done to leave Ginny in that state. “We understand. I don’t think they’ll want to talk about it even now. But we should at least let them know we are there for them if they want to.”

Arthur sighed “We have told them that, but things have gotten worse over the years. There was the Tournament and You-Know-Who’s return this past year of course, but also we only found out what happened the previous year because Sirius and Remus came to apologize...”

“To apologize why?” Charlie asked in confusion. He knew the Ministry had sent dementors to Hogwarts because of Sirius, but that was hardly the man’s fault. And all of his siblings had only glowing praise for their former DADA teacher.

Bill perked up “I heard Sirius broke into Hogwarts and sent everyone into a frenzy, but what would Remus have to apologize about? Was it because of Scabbers?”

That name made everyone shiver in disgust. Peter Pettigrew was in the entire family’s black list. Twelve years had that miserable traitor and murderer hidden in their house, constantly around the children. The idea of him sharing a bedroom with Percy, then Ron and Harry, made them want to throw him into Azkaban themselves.

Arthur took a breath and made his best to calm down “Yes and no. Sirius broke into Gryffindor’s dorm in the middle of the night to kill Pettigrew and Ron woke up to him standing over his bed with a knife.”

“Oh, gods” Charlie gasped. Even with context, Ron probably still suffered of nightmares.

“...I see” Bill mumbled. What else could he say to that? He sure hoped Sirius had apologized to Ron. “But what did Remus do?”

Their parents made their best to explain what Sirius and Remus had told them that first evening in Grimmauld Place without souring their sons’ opinion of them. Well, Molly hadn’t forgiven Sirius for breaking Ron’s leg, but the man was apologetic beyond words, it would be unfair not to acknowledge that.

By the end of it Bill and Charlie were staring at their parents, not knowing what to say and their minds a mess of horror, worry, anger and more they couldn’t identify.

Abruptly, Charlie rose from the table “I’m going to my room...sorry, I need to know they are fine.” He was going to stay in Ron and Harry’s room while Bill would stay with the twins. He knew he couldn’t just leave his parents there, but he needed to see Ron and Harry in the flesh.

Molly went to him and gave him a bone crushing hug. “I understand sweetie. In fact, you should both go to sleep, you haven’t rested after your trip.”

“Mum, we are too old to be sent to bed” Bill chuckled but he and Charlie hugged their parents and left the kitchen. Molly and Arthur saw them leave with a proud look in their eyes, they knew the younger children were in good hands.

Charlie entered his room as silently as he could and saw them there soundly asleep, safe, and felt like he could breath again. He didn’t know what would happen the next day or what he could do to help but he sure was going to try. Bill shared the same thoughts as he saw the twins passed out in one bed with the book and notes spread around, the only time in their lives they had stayed out late studying.

Tomorrow would come with more challenges to face, but for now they got a respite.

Chapter Text

Sirius walked into the kitchen, everyone still asleep and the sun barely out. After thirteen years in hell surrounded by monsters who thrived in darkness, sunlight felt like a privilege and a safe haven which he wanted to enjoy as much as possible. He was helping himself to some tea when Dumbledore walked in.

“Good morning, Sirius”

“Debatable” The animagus sighed. To their already existing problems they now had to add gods, monsters and children sent on deadly quests. Even though he was locked in the house with nothing else to do, he doubted he would come to terms with all of this soon.

For a few seconds neither of them said anything. Finally, Dumbledore decided to break the silence.

“I am going to talk to Harry. After the events of yesterday, I have realized that keeping him in the dark is hurting more than helping. I would like for you to be there.”

Sirius almost choked on his tea. He had been arguing with Dumbledore and Molly the entire summer to let Harry in the loop to not avail. After a couple of coughs he managed to talk.

“O-Of course I’ll be there! When, after breakfast?”

“No, I would prefer it when we are done watching today’s memories. I am afraid it is going to be a long chat.”

The conversation was interrupted by Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys entering the kitchen.

Ginny already suspected that Bill and Charlie would find out about...everything the previous night, and it was confirmed when her brothers held her in a bone-crushing hug as soon as she left her room. A look to Ron, Harry and the twins told her they had received similar treatment.

“I’m fine, guys...” she insisted half blushing half relief she could talk about it with Bill and Charlie now.

“Yeah, don’t forget about these three” Fred and George jockingly pushed Harry, Ron and Hermione to the front.

“You traitors” Ron looked at them in mock offense and sat down at the breakfast table.

Over the course of the next hour the rest of the Order arrived to Grimauld Place. Soon enough everyone had gathered around the Pensieve and Dumbledore started the next memory.

They arrived to Denver seven days before the solstice.

“They still have time” Charlie sighed in relief.

“Only if they have money for the rest of the trip.” Tonks reminded him.

“Poor dears, they need a proper place to eat and rest.” Molly said taking a good look to them. They were pale, dirty and with huge bags under their eyes.

They went to a car wash to contact Chiron.

“What’s that?!” Arthur asked, his eyes sparkling when he saw the car wash.

“It’s a place to wash cars.” Hermione explained “You put money and you can use the hoses and everything else to wash the car.”

“This is amazing! Do muggles have those here in England?” Arthur shook in his seat, he just wanted to leave right now.

“Dear, we don’t have a car anymore” his wife reminded him, much to his disappointment.

Taking pity of him, Tonks offered “My dad’s going to wash his car this weekend, you can come with us if you want to.” She let out a chuckle when Arthur looked at her glowing of happiness.

“How are they going to contact Chiron from there?” McGonagall brought the conversation back to track.

They got the money to start the spray gun and explained Percy how IMs worked.

Seeing the trio fishing for money Bill bit his lips “That can’t be enough for even a meal. I hope Chiron can guide them to a friend or else they have no way to continue.”

They were shocked when they learn about IMs.

“That’s amazing!” Hermione squealed taking notes. “We could do it with Arcus Caelestis, right?”

“Exactly, miss Granger” Albus smiled proudly.

“Anyone who doesn’t know that spell, start practicing as soon as you can” Mad-Eye ordered.

Once everyone had the instructions they focused again on the memory. Arthur squealed in delight seeing the water hose in action.

“Percy could try to make the rainbow, not that it would save them a lot of cash.” Sirius pondered.

The IM showed them Luke, who explained that Chiron was busy. They were interrupted by loud music.

“This is much better than the Floo network” Kingsley said astonished at the quality of the mirage. It was so clear that it felt like Percy could just walk and reunite with Luke on the other side.

“Damn it!” Moody punched his armrest. Luke was one of the main suspects of being the traitor. The trio shouldn’t trust him with any information at the moment.

Dumbledore understood his friend’s frustration. Unless Chiron came before the call was over he’d never heard about it.

Annabeth and Grover went to take care of the music. Luke explained to Percy that the Camp had found out about the incoming war and were taking sides.

“Oh, this can’t be good...” Ginny muttered biting her nails.

“The same scumbag that summoned the hellhound”, he says...” Sirius growled.

“Are the children choosing sides or are their parents telling them what to do?” Kingsley asked. This was a nasty conflict for children to get involved and it distressed him they couldn’t rule out the idea that they didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

“I didn’t expect Ares’s cabin to side with Percy” Harry was surprised to say the least. Maybe Clarisse wanted to spite Athena’s cabin by choosing Poseidon, but she hated Percy with her whole heart. He wondered what was going on behind the stage.

“The children hate Percy, but we don’t know what their fathers’ relationship is like. Hermione?” Ginny asked.

After thinking it for a second she answered “They were on opposite sides on the Trojan war for one. I know there was more, but my parents didn’t let me read the other books.”

The teachers exchanged looks of relief. Those tales would have been too much for a child to process. They hoped it wouldn’t be brought on this story.

“Percy doesn’t look very happy with the support” Fred pointed at Percy who looked like he had swallowed a lemon.

“So what’s your status?” Luke asked me. “Chiron will be sorry he missed you.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all” George deadpanned.

Mad-Eye was sure he was going to lose his mind by that point. The prophecy had spelled it out, clear as day, yet the boy continued trusting his friends blindly. Things were bound to end up in a disaster.

Percy told him everything until he realized he was running out of time.