Heroes - CabbaK - Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2024)

Chapter 1: Interlude

Chapter Text

Summer was supposed to be warm, not sweltering. Percy blamed global warming.

The Weasleys had the right idea of spending the afternoon in the lake, half a click from their house. The Burrow was one of the houses in which Harry was allowed to stay. If Percy needed to meet him, he had to inform the Order of his arrival. He had to go through security checks.

The caution hadn't abated after months, since the hospital had burned down. Percy remembered the utter chaos that had settled over the Wizarding community, barely soothed by the International Confederation of Wizards' claims to assign greater powers to the Auror department in the UK.

Public panic had risen for weeks, till the New Year, after which new rules were implemented, safety was a priority, and access to the smaller clinics was encouraged through all avenues. So far, the country was in a quivering state of balance. Everyone was afraid things would tip over soon.

Everyone was afraid Voldemort would come back.

Percy remembered the evening Hagrid had come back. The urgent Order meeting that had taken place in the Burrow. The meeting had finally allowed Fred and George to sit in. The meeting where Ron had stolen the Extendable Ears from the twins' room.

Ginny had been silent, as usual. While Harry, Ron, and Neville listened with rapt attention, Percy multitasked. He listened in, learning what Hagrid told the Order, and watched Ginny's ticks.

If he hadn't seen it himself, Percy wouldn't have believed that little Ginny Weasley had been able to create hellfire. Her magic had devastated St. Mungo's. The hospital had stood there for more than 400 years. The fire had ravaged the rooms and the floors had crumbled into charred ruin. Three survivors out of the four that had been left right before the fire had struck.

If there had been any real casualty, Percy guessed that Ginny might have been kept in confinement. As it were, there had been public outcry about her abilities. People were afraid of her.

Ginny was terrified.

Her security detail was about as extensive as Harry's. It helped that her older brothers, Bill and Charlie, had come back to the country. Bill was good with fire, having a version of that Core magic. Charlie, having handled dragons on a daily basis, knew exactly how to help with dangerous magic. Ginny trusted them too, which was a hopeful deal because it was obvious (at least to Percy) that she didn't trust herself.

Hagrid was talking about the Giants. Percy wondered if they were the same Giants from Ancient Greek mythology. These sounded like the immortal kind; older than the Titans. He was just glad that they weren't those Giants. The wixens could handle them.

Percy's eyes slid back to Ginny. Her lips were pressed together and her hands curved over the railing. Ron was levitating one end of the Extendable Ear up to make sure the voices came out clearly. Ginny wasn't staring at the ear, but rather into the middle distance, head bowed, eyebrows furrowed.

He wondered how she'd dealt with the memories of Tom recurring through her nightmares. Had they faded away over time? Could he hope for the same?

"That's it, then? The Giants are on their side?" Neville whispered. Percy realised that Hagrid had finished explaining his adventures.

"Moony is yet to come,” Harry answered. Even Ron winced at the decrepit hope in his voice.

Harry had changed. He was quieter. Quick to frustration and anger. Percy remembered him nearly breaking down after they'd come back from DJ's wake. He'd never seen Harry cry in public like that.

And the physical difference that’d cropped up? He almost always wore gloves. Percy remembered the first few days when he'd refused to take them off. Harry had been adamant to cover every inch of skin that he could. Barring the face, he was protected by cloth. During the harsh winter, no one objected to it.

But the heat was hitting them, and even with whatever temperature-controlling charm was cast in the Burrow, summer was apparent, and everyone wore regular clothes, mostly t-shirts and shorts if they didn't venture out.

Harry wore a jacket and full-length trousers, complete with socks and gloves. Percy felt sweaty, just staring at him.

The teens heard Dumbledore explain about a Death Eater sighting in Italy. Percy gripped the bannister, eyes shooting towards Harry and then Ginny.

She was staring back at him.

Percy immediately averted her gaze, focused on the thin fleshy string of the Extendable Ear. He could tell that her scrutiny was short-lived, when the heat of her sight moved away within seconds. He was going to pay for that.

"They're done!" Ron hissed, suddenly yanking up the string. The other end flew up, the entire thing nearly flying out of his hands. Harry caught it and wrapped it over his wrist as they rushed back up the stairs to gather in Ron's room.

It was nearly three in the afternoon when Sally came back with her entourage.

Percy was only at the house because Sally had to be in the UK for a check-up. Nearly eight months pregnant, a doctor at a mortal hospital in Queens had advised bed rest since she had suffered quite a lot of stress, especially during her first trimester.

Sally had denied needing any kind of rest, still working from home. Rosalie had to come and convince her to at least get a second opinion before ignoring the doctor's orders.

Armed to the hilt, Tonks, and a few Aurors accompanied Sally to a local clinic, recommended by Harry's healer, Sierra Calles. Percy had decided against going with her since that would only up the frustration levels. Especially since rumours spread all through the country that Percy Jackson was not human. A status that was usually met with derision.

That was complemented by a second, more flashy rumour that Harry and Percy were dating. In the past six months, Harry had only ever been out in public once. He'd been to Gringotts to withdraw some gold. Percy had gone with him (as though they hadn't needed any more antagonism from the Goblins). The two had been escorted by the Aurors in and out, very swiftly since several eyes watched their every move.

Percy had never thought he'd be the subject of celebrity nitty-gritty. The headlines the next day alluded to a steamy relationship. That had been the first time Ginny had laughed since December. So, something good had come out of that outing.

Sally and Molly sat in the kitchen, hashing out small details of the living situation. Percy knew that the Order wanted her to stay in New York since that would keep her safe from the Death Eaters. Sirius was still in his coma, though Sierra was confident that he would wake up in a few months.

But Percy wanted her to move away from NYC since they were so close to August. He alternated between staying at camp and at home. Seeing as how tensions were rising on the East Coast, he didn't want his mother anywhere near potential full-out battles.

When Rosalie suggested that she move into the Cullens' smaller estate near the Scotland border (quite close to their abandoned house, Frost) Sally had seemed amiable.

Harry was not happy.

"It's still not safe," he insisted.

Sally shook her head, reaching for his hand, but Harry pulled away, leaving the room to exit the house.

Everyone was on high alert, the moment the door swung close, but Arthur held up a hand, checking Harry's progress. Percy stood up and found him in the Weasleys' kitchen garden, grabbing one of the sulking gnomes to toss it into the air, several feet away from the house.

"Let him vent," Arthur told Sally, who only sat down, more weary.

Percy kneeled down to kiss Sally's temple, shooting her a quick smile. He exited the back door and slowed his steps, yanking a gnome by the feet.

Harry frowned. "There are other countries in the world. If she can't stay in the States or here—"

"Mom shouldn't be alone," Percy said, swinging the gnome like how Ron had shown him once. He let go of its feet and watched it fly, farther than Harry's first throw.

"Portkeys, floo networks, apparation," Harry said. "The world is open."

"She'll be safe with Rosalie—"

"The Cullens have houses in other places!"

"She wants to see you!" Percy said and then sighed. "You have limits, Harry."

"I know," Harry sounded bitter. "I know I can't go anywhere except for the Burrow, Rosalie's place, and Dumbledore's house. It's mind-numbing. I can't do this anymore. I need to get out!"

Percy caught another gnome, trying to dismantle his disorganised thoughts. Harry was right on that. No one liked house arrest, which was what Harry was basically facing. Even though he hadn't been attacked or targeted during that Gringotts trip, Dumbledore had been reluctant to send him anywhere. Harry had barely seen another face in person. If it hadn't been for the two-way mirror and the floo, Percy knew that Harry would have rebelled.

"Nothing's happened for months," Percy said. "Maybe you can convince him to let you out for a bit."

Harry grimaced. "Yeah, that's gonna be difficult. See, I broke out a couple of weeks ago."

Percy groaned. "You what!? Harry!"

"I just had a thought—"

"Yeah! I know how you get when you 'have a thought'!" Percy argued. "What was so important this time?"

Both boys stilled for a bit. The gnomes were squealing. The sun was beating down on them. Percy couldn't wait to go back in and check if he had tan lines more distinct than Annabeth's. Harry must have put a cooling charm on his jacket because nothing else would explain his non-melted state.

"I was looking through elemental magic, mostly about the previous witches and wizards who had that power. I came across something that made me guess as to Voldemort's location."

Location?

"As in," Percy began. "Voldemort's horcruxes, or the man himself?"

Ever since the Order discovered the ruined shells of his horcruxes in the debris of St. Mungo's, there had been the softest of hope, spreading through the ranks. Voldemort had lost four pieces of his soul in one fell swoop, thanks to Ginny. The next goal had been to find the rest of them.

That didn't detract from their other goal of actually locating the army.

"Voldemort," Harry said, keeping a steady pace in his words as he swung another gnome to launch it into the air.

"Where?"

"Azkaban."

Percy was so surprised, he let go of his squalling gnome in the wrong direction. The creature flew up behind them, crashing right through the attic window of the crooked house.

They stared up at the house in stunned silence, till Harry whispered, "You need to improve your aim, Percy. Honestly."

"The ghoul up there won't be so alone now."

Harry almost smiled. Percy swore it. The corner of his lips had tilted up for a fraction of a second.

If they could make Ginny laugh, he should be able to get a smile out of Harry.

Harry ducked his head, frowning immediately like he'd been caught in a wrongdoing. "How's camp?"

"Good. We're… training every day, searching for recruits—wait. No, we were talking about Voldemort being in Azkaban!"

"It's a guess," Harry hedged. "It's perfect because we've been hearing a lot about the dementors being restless and patrolling in longer arcs around the island, covering more area than they should. Many of Voldemort's oldest and most loyal supporters are in there. Snape keeps saying that he spends a lot of time in Occlumency sessions."

Sessions? Percy mouthed the word. All he could picture now was Voldemort sitting quietly on a yoga mat, cross-legged, meditating.

"I spoke to Cedric and Zack. They let me look over the prison system's blueprints," Harry explained.

"Did it confirm anything?"

Harry glanced back at the house. "Not really. Only my original theory about the security around the building failing. I told Dumbledore. I'll have to wait to see what he does, though. Because apparently, Sirius's command about locking me out of the Order until I'm seventeen was very real."

Percy pressed the base of his palms to his eyelids. "Gods."

"I know," Harry muttered. "You're going off to fight a war, I'm not allowed to fight a war. And I'm older than you, so how does that work?"

They'd had this conversation, so Percy didn't want to get angry again. "Do you want to just complain, or do you want an actual answer?"

"Complain."

"Whiner."

Harry gripped his gnome and it squealed so high that both boys jumped. The gnome scratched at his hand, nearly tearing at the glove. With a fierce yank, it pulled the glove entirely from Harry's palm, leaving two gouges right by his wrist. The gnome dropped to the ground, quickly scattering towards one of the holes.

Harry swore, clutching his wrist to examine the damage. "Sodding claws!"

Percy picked up the glove that had fallen, reaching forwards to catch Harry's hand. The moment they made skin contact, Harry stiffened, shutting his eyes, face going pale. Percy made a face. "What? Is it deep? How bad—"

"Annabeth or Clarisse?"

Percy blinked. "Eh?"

Harry said, "Did Annabeth beat your arse at sparring or did Clarisse wipe the floor with you on the wrestling mats?"

Percy gaped at him. "Annabeth. Yeah, she judo-flipped me. How—"

"You sprained your ankle and pulled a muscle just below your left shoulder."

Harry opened his eyes, but all Percy could think of was how in the world the wizard could tell exactly what injuries he had suffered in the morning. He had sparred with Annabeth, and she had beat him after a stringent three-minute fight.

"Did you talk to someone at camp?" Percy's question was almost rhetorical because it was obvious that something else was at play here.

Harry frowned at him, pulling his hand away from Percy's grip. Percy could see the skin of his knuckles turn red, not because of the gnome's scratch or the sun's heat.

"I can tell!" Harry snatched his glove from Percy, putting it on with a flustered grace.

"But I'd had nectar. I'd healed—"

"I can still tell if it was recent or really bad."

Percy stared as Harry turned away, unable to meet his gaze. "Potter, how long have you been able to tell?"

He didn't answer. Percy didn't turn away, trying to think back to a time when Harry hadn't flinched so much against another's touch. He had always been somewhat touch-sensitive.

But Harry had first worn the gloves at the funeral, six months ago.

"It's been a while." Harry's whisper was painful to hear. "I don't have full control of it. I'm trying. It's just easier to cover up."

And despite the anger that rushed up (because why didn't Harry tell anyone? Why didn't he ask people for help? They could help him, Percy could find a way to help him. Why didn't he just ask?), Percy said, "What helps you?"

"Luna suggested Occlumency. I didn't exactly tell her about this, just about not being able to control magic subsets. And I already do have Occlumency trials every night. It only does so much."

"Pain-numbing potions?" Percy asked. "You said those exist."

"Those potions are meant for mortal injuries. Sierra used a bit for Sirius, and only in the beginning. I can't take that every day."

"Have you told Mantis about this?"

Healer Mantis, Harry's therapist, came over to the house every Saturday. Percy had to believe it helped since Harry had stopped punching mirrors. A habit he'd developed at the worst times of his life.

Harry shook his head. Percy had to take a step back to stop yelling. "Dude. If you don't tell people, we can't help you."

"I'm not asking for help."

"Then how d'you think this is gonna get fixed?"

"I'll figure it out."

Percy stared. "On your own?"

"I'm good at that."

Percy grumbled under his breath. Harry walked past him to grab the last gnome, the one that had scratched him. It had poked its potato-shaped head out, obviously filled with morbid curiosity.

"I have all the time in the world to figure it out," Harry said, swinging the gnome. "If I'm going to live forever—"

"Wouldn't it be better to figure it out now, by telling all your friends who are ready to help you? So that you won't have to live in pain for another second?"

The fury was palpable. Harry launched the gnome far beyond the tree stump in the distance. It hit the ground with an audible thump. Percy wondered if it was dead, but breathed a sigh of relief when it moved, trying to stand on shaky legs.

"You want me to dump another problem on our heads? As if our lives aren't problematic enough?"

"You want to live in pain forever?"

"I can fix it."

"Have you?"

Harry glared at him. "I figured it out. Dying makes me stronger. I wake up with an enhanced reach of my magic. Which isn't as fun as it sounds."

"So, what's your way out?" Percy folded his arms.

Harry shrugged, "If you want to hold my hand, you're gonna have to be in no pain. You need to calm down and be as relaxed as possible. If you have a splinter, I'll know. If you have a paper cut, I'll know. If your appendix is about to burst, I'll know."

"I'm not hurt now," Percy pointed out. "You still felt the damage from hours ago."

"Which means it'll be better this time." Harry took off the glove again, holding his hand out for Percy to take. His palm was facing up and Percy could see a soft glow of green dancing over his skin.

Percy dropped his arms, shaking them to cool himself. He breathed slow and steady, trying to settle down. The day's heat was the only thing bothering him.

He lifted a hand and took Harry's palm. He heard no grimace or grunt from the wizard.

If Percy thought it would feel awkward holding Harry's hand, he was wrong. They simply stood there, waiting for the pain to overwhelm them. Nothing happened.

"Good," Harry said, relieved.

The green magic drifted down Percy's knuckles and wrist. It was soothing, taking away the heat of the sun.

"Harry," he said, hesitantly. "You know that I'll help. If you just ask."

The question stayed in the air till Harry answered, "I know. But you're busy. We don't have time for this, not when there are people who could actually die. And unlike us, none of them can come back."

Percy frowned, wanting to refute, but Harry continued, "I'm not saying—I mean. I don't want to argue."

He closed his eyes, shoulders slumped. "We can't stay dead. What does that make us?"

Percy watched the scowl on his face and heard the sorrow in his voice. This was something that had obviously been bothering him for a while. He wished Harry had spoken to him about this before. He had no idea what to say.

"We're going to watch everyone die," Harry said when Percy didn't answer. "Everyone in that house, everyone in camp, all our friends…"

"Except Rachel," Percy muttered. His heart thumped. He could feel the fear sinking in. He wondered if Harry could feel that through the contact.

Harry gave a deprecating laugh. "Just so you know, Percy. If that does happen, if we live up to a thousand years, if everyone else dies, I'm going to go insane first. Fair warning. Tell Rachel that."

Don't think about it, don't think about it.

If Percy thought about it, he didn't want to imagine them dead. Annabeth and Grover, Clarisse, Will, Adam, Chiron. Everyone from camp. All the friends from Hogwarts. Mom. The baby.

Other than Cassandra, Iphigenia, and Ajax, they would know no one else after the centuries pass and even the Cullens wear out.

"How long have you been thinking about this?" Percy asked.

Harry swallowed. "Ever since my reflection began to laugh at me."

The problem with the mirrors was something Percy had never understood. Mostly because Harry refused to talk about it. Listening to him say that his own reflection was mocking his pain—

"I'll go mad like Ajax," Harry murmured.

"Not on my watch."

The words spilled out, unplanned but confident. They were loud and Harry gawked at him.

"Look," Percy said, thinking fast. Trying to come up with something that could get Harry out of his slump. "Ajax was mad when he was alive. His own army turned against him. All those stories? Even in his book, The Modern Demigod, you can tell that he just doesn't care about people! But you do! You honestly care! That's not going to drive you insane. It's gonna be painful, but not crazy. And unlike Ajax, you're not alone."

Percy lifted their hands, showing him a visible marker of the difference. "See this? Tell me the truth, do you think anyone ever held Ajax's hand like this? This odd, platonic, but may-be-confusing-not-platonic fashion?"

Harry waited in earnest, hearing Percy's words. The hope on his face made Percy smile. "And another thing. Tell me a difference between the three of us and the three of them."

"Wh—what?" Harry said, thoroughly confused.

"You said that we're going to live forever, just like Cassandra, Iphigenia, and Ajax. Yeah, Thalia told me about them. No one else knows… but yeah, what's the difference between them and you, me, and Rachel?"

The fear dissipated. The green magic swirled around as Harry shook his head again, incredibly curious. The answer was right there.

Percy said, "They stopped ageing."

The silence was soft like spring in the English summer. Harry's eyes went impossibly wide. He held Percy's hand tighter, turning his body to face him completely. "Oh, my gods!"

Percy shrugged. "You said we died when we were five. Alright. We came back. Okay. And we grew. We're still doing that. We're still living. And… Rachel didn't die, yet she still got the armlet. It's different for us. The others, they're stuck in that age, twenties, thirties, whatever. Does that mean we're going to age like normal? I mean, you cut your hair on New Year's, it's still growing like a weed, all over the place. Jeez!"

Harry exhaled, smiling for real this time. It was exhilarating to see it. His short-cropped hair had been practically a buzz cut in the first week of the new year, but it had grown, the locks straightening out as they lengthened

"You know how Annabeth described monsters?" Percy said, waiting for Harry to meet his eyes again. "She told me, on my first day at camp, she told me that monsters can't die. But they can be killed. So if we base the armlet's logic on that, we can't be killed…"

"But, we can die," Harry finished. "You're losing your reputation of being a dumb demigod, Percy."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take when I need to set my bro straight." He yanked Harry in and dropped his other arm over his neck, pulling him for a noogie.

Dinner was early in the Burrow.

Hagrid joined then, but not before an enthusiastic hug that had him lifting Harry, Neville, and Ginny off the floor. It reminded Percy of Tyson. Ron had been smart enough to show Hagrid to his chair and sit by him, so no rib-crushing hug.

During the dinner, Percy whispered to Sally all he could about a plan to give Harry some space.

She said she'd think about it.

The next day, Sally told Harry that he could go with Rachel on her Caribbean vacation, without bodyguards. Percy didn't know how his mom could convince the Order to do that, but then again, she was an unstoppable force. Not even Snape would snap at her while she was eight months along.

Chapter 2: Into the Deep End

Chapter Text

It had been a last-minute decision to join Rachel Elizabeth Dare on her Caribbean vacation.

Percy’d had a disturbing choke full schedule for months, what with camp's new war updates, the training and preparation, stressing about his mom's pregnancy, every day worn to the bone with just news about the upcoming battle.

Because no way was there not going to be a fight. It was August 14th already. The Jackson household was stretched to the max with nerves and hormones. Percy was too jittery to show up to camp without a confident stride in his footsteps, and Sally was four days overdue. That baby probably knew what was happening in the real world and did not want to come out.

It was hard to tell who had cried more over the weekend. Percy tended to cry when he saw his mother tear up, and Sally cried at the drop of the hat these days.

It was Rosalie's idea to separate the two. She would be taking Sally to Scotland, where her house lay right outside a small township. Sally would find it peaceful hopefully.

And Percy got to go to Punta Cana at the insistence of everyone who had been keeping an eye on him.

Awesome.

He was in the passenger seat of Rachel's red Maserati. She cruised along the highway with one hand on the steering wheel, the exact way her father had told her not to.

Percy wore a white t-shirt over blue denim shorts. He had his shades on, head tilted upwards to feel the slanted sun rays of the morning along with the winds. The top was down. Percy closed his eyes and daydreamed about being on a powerful, well-balanced rollercoaster.

Rachel drove in a reckless fashion that resembled Harry on his broom. The sleek, shiny red paint of the car did nothing to diminish the apparent speed they were at.

Percy said, "We're not racing anyone, Rach. Wanna slow down?"

She raised an eyebrow. Like him, she too wore shades. She had a white, unbuttoned shirt over her swimsuit, and her hair tied up into a messy ponytail. Percy had no idea why she was dressed to go swimming in the ocean. He knew that she had plans to lay on the beach all day, maybe try one of the fun tourist activities.

Her parents had brought Rachel, Percy, and Harry to the islands for a small getaway. Percy knew Rachel had hoped that the five of them would spend a few days at the beach. But her parents had gotten calls all morning and her mother had to actually take a conference call. Her dad had let her drive the car to alleviate her annoyance.

"I just got my learner's permit here, Perce. Let me fly."

There was a snort from the back seat. Percy didn't even have to check to know that Harry had rolled his eyes.

Rachel was driving them from her family's ostentatious beach house to the town and back. They'd had brunch at a small café and were heading back to the beach for some quality time with the sun, sand, and sea.

After manoeuvring around an elongated turn, Rachel slowed down to a stop at the signal.

"The view is gorg," she sighed, scanning past the road to glance at the sea in the distance. Percy’s shoulders slumped, relaxing at the sight. Past the East coast of the Dominican Republic was the vast stretch of the Atlantic Ocean. Percy sensed the blooming life underneath the surface where thousands of little fishes resided. They were brave to stay so close to the coast where humans lived.

Another car drove up to them, stopping on their right. Percy barely glimpsed over before holding in a groan.

In a black Corvette were four guys, loud and college-aged: an unwanted combination. They looked like tourists too, simply out for a good time.

One of them glanced over at their car and hollered, "Nice legs, babe!"

Percy glared at them. Harry, who was in the backseat, had been lying down for the drive, his legs propped up on the car door. It was the first time in a long time that he'd worn less than full clothing.

Before Percy yelled some choice words, Harry sat up in his white plaid shirt, narrowing his eyes at the four men. All of them fell silent when they realised that they had, in fact, not hooted at a girl.

"Thanks," Harry said, his voice like steel. "I worked my arse off to get these legs just so you’d ogle at them."

The driver huffed, bursting into a short-lived laugh. The others grumbled. Rachel cackled like a witch and slammed on the horn to startle the men. Then she accelerated, leaving the Corvette behind.

"Sorry about that, Harry," she called out.

"Urgh," he said, bringing his legs down to recline against the headrest. "They could have at least complimented my lipstick. It's the first time I'm trying red."

"No," Percy said, shaking his head, wide-eyed. "You don't need compliments from strangers."

"I dunno. The driver was cute."

"Harry."

"What?" he complained, kicking Percy's seat to jolt him.

"Hey!" Rachel barked. "No kicking my car! And Percy, if you tell him what not to do, he’s gonna go ahead and do it."

Percy shook his head, his heart slowing to a calmer pace. They pulled into the garage of Rachel's beach house. The two-story house was painted white and brown with swirling green designs over the walls facing the ocean.

They stepped onto the porch, relishing in the cool of the shadows before walking in.

"Mom?" Rachel called out, swinging her shades around. "We're going to the beach. Coming?"

Instead of Beatrice Dare, it was Patrick who answered, "Sorry, Rachel. She just stepped out twenty minutes ago."

Rachel's dad was a tall and lean man, with slightly greying blonde hair and a face with wrinkles that were prominent only when he frowned or smiled. Percy noticed that he had worn a pressed shirt and a tie over his corduroy trousers.

"When will she be back?" Rachel asked.

"Probably tonight. She's in the city for a call with the Board." Patrick muttered, apologetically, but Rachel frowned. "She promised that she'll be back in time for tomorrow's paragliding session."

"Great." Rachel's enthusiasm dimmed as she trudged towards the balcony.

Percy and Harry shared a glance just as Patrick whispered, "Look, I'm on call here too. Could the three of you just spend the day by yourselves? I'll order in for lunch and dinner. And something for the evening. There are some things going on right now."

"Sure," Harry replied. They watched as Patrick grabbed a laptop that had been propped open on the table in the dining room, and run up the stairs.

Percy sighed. "Any ideas?"

"She wanted to tan on the beach, I think," Harry suggested.

With a snort, Percy said, "Neither of you can tan. Your freckles come out and she goes from white to sunburnt in minutes!"

"We can pretend." Harry pushed Percy's shoulder, walking towards the balcony. "You tan, we stay under the umbrella, how's that?"

Rachel mumbled but agreed about sitting on the sand for a while. Harry went into the kitchen to bring the ice box of cola cans and water. Percy helped her get the mats and her grand, super large umbrella, which Percy expected had a small three-blade fan in it.

They walked a bit away from the house and found a good spot away from the small crowd of snobby elites who Percy wanted nothing to do with. Rachel spread the large sheet over the ground, thirty feet away from the water line, while he fiddled with the umbrella.

"Hey, after your fake sunbathing, you wanna do something?" Percy asked, hoping to distract her.

"Um, what's there to do?"

"There's ice cream," Percy pointed out to a small, colourful stall in the distance. "See there? That's a vendor. I bet they have Blackcurrant. Over there's the banana boat ride, a horse multi-carriage, or you wanna go yacht sailing—"

"Nothing with other people." She rolled out the mats over the sheet and sat down with a defeated sigh. Her Familiar, Bolt, leaped out of her neck, materialising into a solid form that resembled a co*cker Spaniel puppy.

"Theeeen, let's just go out into the water. I'll make it calm, no big waves."

"I can't get this one piece wet."

Percy planted the umbrella into the sand above the mat and raised an eyebrow at Rachel. "What's the point of the swimsuit if you can't go swimming in it?"

Rachel placed a hand on her hips. "The colours, duh. Have you ever seen the perfect red and yellow combination without it searing your eyes?"

"I prefer grey," Percy muttered, but Bolt heard it, which meant Rachel heard it as well.

"If you're talking about that dull, old bikini of Annabeth's—"

"It's not dull! It's perfect! I mean, I've never seen her in it. I mean, she's never worn it around me… I've just seen it like once—in her bed. When it was on her bed, I've never been on her bed!" Percy shouted.

"Dude!" Rachel laughed. "I'm not judging."

"There's nothing to judge," Percy sniffed.

Rachel tilted her head towards him with a knowing smile. "You know I talk to Annabeth, right?"

"Wh—what?" Percy squeaked. "You talk to her about swimsuits?"

"Just about stuff. I don't know if you know this, but that girl is in dire need of a wardrobe change. I get that you guys have an endless supply of those orange t-shirts, but I'm pretty sure you're allowed to wear other clothes too."

"The t-shirts help us differentiate between campers and rogues," Percy said, sitting on his mat.

"What if a rogue infiltrates the camp and wears that? You'd just believe them?"

The conversation went sour immediately. Percy tried not to glare at her. "Let’s not go there."

"Sorry," Rachel said, abashed. She leaned back to sit under the umbrella. "How's things at camp?"

Percy was surprised it took her two days to cave. Rachel usually went straight to the point within minutes, seconds if necessary. But she'd staved off from the topic of the looming threat of the Titans for a good while.

Rachel was clearly hesitant. She knew the talk wouldn't be sunny.

"We're training every day," he answered. There was a bitter taste in his mouth as he thought of Luke, wondering what the rogue demigods were doing with all the monsters that were preparing for battle.

"What about the gods?"

"That's complicated. Many of the minor ones switched over to the Titans. The Olympians never gave them their due credit, especially over the past few centuries."

Rachel nodded. Percy surveyed the ocean, wishing Harry would hurry up with the drinks.

"Have you heard from Nico?"

Her question shattered the peace he'd been floating on. The strain was back. Percy felt his heart thump heavily, almost painfully against his ribs, as though he were in motion.

He whipped his head around, looking over the surroundings. It was almost like someone had been watching them.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, sitting up. Bolt raised her head, sniffing.

"N—nothing. Just nerves. I haven't heard from Nico."

Percy pulled out his phone. It was only for emergencies, so he'd not used it since the night he'd spoken to Annabeth that he'd be staying with Rachel's for a while. She had been all for it, even though he knew it had taken her a lot to be positive.

Percy ought to have stayed at camp. He shouldn't be here, not when it was so close to his birthday, so close to the war. The ocean was right in front of him, beckoning him home.

"… dreaming?"

"Huh?" Percy jerked his head back. Rachel had been saying something but it had gone over his head, "What?"

"You zoned out," she said. "Is it the heat?"

"Um, yeah, I'll get ice cream. You like Blackcurrant, right? I'll get Harry a treacle tart cone if they have it. Be right back."

"Percy!" Rachel pulled on his hand, but he yanked it away. His fingers shook. His throat went dry and he swallowed uselessly.

"I'm fine! It's—do something for me, Rach."

"What?"

Percy glanced over to the house. Harry wasn't out yet.

"Whatever you do, don't let Harry come to New York," Percy whispered. Rachel pressed her lips together.

"It's too dangerous. I don't want him anywhere near the fight. You too, okay?"

"Okay," Rachel said, her tone tensed but filled with pity.

Percy stood up and turned away but she raised her voice to catch his attention. "You know, that might not work that way? That bracelet of yours. If you're in danger, Harry's going to appear there, no matter what anyone does."

Rachel stopped talking when Percy glared, but he wasn't angry at her. She was right. If Percy did get beaten in a fight, his armlet would bring Harry there to save him. It was the same the other way around. They hadn't tested that theory with Rachel, but it might work that way for her as well.

"That's not exactly it," Percy explained. "The armlet would bring him to me only if I'm a second away from death. Which means I shouldn't reach that point. Whatever I do, I need to have the upper hand in every fight."

Rachel grimaced at whatever alarming expression formed on his face, "You're scary when you look like that."

Percy forced a smile for her. "No worries. You'll be safe here. I'm not bringing you or Harry into a battle. Blackcurrant?"

He flicked a fringe of hair away from her forehead. Usually, that act would have her batting his hand away with a snap, but Rachel didn't do anything other than simply sigh, upset. Percy walked towards the ice cream stall, his thoughts swimming around in the whirlpool of his mind.

When Harry made the decision to wear beach clothes at the beach, he hadn't done it out of blunt masoch*stic tendencies.

Ever since December, he'd been quite sensitive to people around him. He'd been talking to his therapist, Mantis, about it. Albus Dumbledore had been instrumental in that. Now, he had a potion necessary every day before breakfast, to reduce the touch sensitivity and pain he'd get from any form of skin contact.

Harry had been the happiest with that decision. It was no sleeping potion, but this at least helped him get through the day without dressing up in several layers of clothing. It wouldn't be a proper vacation without casual clothing.

This was the first time in months that he was able to sit down and not feel useless. Because every other time he'd sat down, Harry knew he’d rather spend time helping the Order and Aurors with their work.

He wasn't allowed to join the Order. But since Sirius was in a bloody coma, all his tasks, the plethora of jobs he'd had behind the curtains were things Harry could sit in one spot and do. Searching through old books, flipping through documents, and helping with runic observations because he knew the basics of Ancient Runes. As Sirius's primary beneficiary, concerning his will and all assets, many things that required the man's permission had to now get Harry's attestation. At sixteen, Harry had already applied for emancipation. The Ministry had agreed; Sally, Rosalie, and Remus had been hesitant, and the Weasleys had disagreed.

But his guardian had signed off on it, so, Harry was mere weeks away from being officially recognised as an adult citizen.

Awesome.

A while back, Sally had been able to convince the Order to give him some space. She'd worked some kind of debating magic on them. That was how Harry was in the Caribbean right now, on the Coconut Coast, in the kitchen of a large beach house, searching for water bottles because all he found in the portable ice box were co*ke cans.

Was co*ke even supposed to be cold? Where was the water?

He rifled through the fridge again, checking both doors before turning his attention to the shelves that decorated an entire side of the kitchen.

The first shelf didn't have water, but before he shut its little door, Harry spotted two small bottles made of white plastic. They were the kind muggles stored small pills in.

Harry pulled the small bottles closer to read their labels. The first one had a scientific name that was seven syllables long. Harry turned the second bottle around and caught the sharp print of two letters E-V engrained on the cover. “Equi-Voque,” he read.

"Yes?" Patrick said from behind Harry, and the wizard nearly leapt into the air.

He dropped the bottles back on the shelf to turn around and face the man.

"Er, I was searching for the water bottles. There's none left in the refrigerator." Harry said, wishing his voice didn't sound like a mumble. He cleared his throat.

Patrick's arms were folded, body stiff, face in a frown. His gaze was trained on Harry, blue eyes flashing. Harry had the sudden urge to throw a shield against him.

"I used the last chilled water," Patrick said. "But there are some bottles in that cabinet by the window. Store them in the cooler for a bit."

Harry blinked. "Right."

Patrick smiled. It was so disarming that Harry had to grapple with himself to calm down.

"I'm a little private about my meds, Harry. If you don't mind." He nodded towards the medicines that Harry had been checking.

He immediately shut the shelf door to conceal the bottles and hoped he wasn't flushing. But the thing was that Harry had expected the drugs to belong to Rachel. He knew she had some pills prescribed to her by a muggle doctor who had no knowledge of magical abilities.

"Sorry," he said. Harry turned and walked towards the cabinet to take out some packaged drinking water. The uncomfortable silence stretched underneath the sharp stare.

"I have a question to ask, Harry," Patrick spoke up, just as he placed the bottles in the ice box. Harry watched as he walked forwards at a slow pace. The air felt stuffy, the heat from outside, somehow filtering into the unclear situation.

Harry said, "Sure."

Patrick nodded, sparing a smile. "Do you drink?"

"What? Uh, of course not. That's crazy!" Harry blurted, immediately thinking of the previous night when he and Rachel had broken into the Dares' alcohol stash and had polished off a Talisker.

Harry couldn't keep up eye contact and immediately turned away to fiddle with the cooler on the kitchen platform.

"Good," Patrick sounded like he didn't believe him. "Because I would hate to think that a minor would have gotten close to that stuff. We have some, you know. There's a liquor cabinet right above the TV."

Harry nodded against the lump in his throat. Patrick took another step and placed a hand on the counter, beside the cooler. He sighed. "Harry, there are other ways to process grief. Healthier ways."

So, the man didn't know that his daughter had ever had a drink. Did he think Harry alone had emptied an entire bottle?

"Yes, it's just," Harry cleared his throat. "Talisker's pretty delicious."

Patrick raised an eyebrow. "True. But, I'm serious now, Harry. Please, no more. I don't want you to spend this vacation drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

"You're not now. And that's good. I won't inform your guardian of this if you promise to not go anywhere near that cabinet. Do you understand me?"

Patrick's voice was clear and practically authoritative, but it didn't feel condescending in any way. Harry was rightfully berated, but agreed, "Yes."

Feeling the jitters under his skin again, Harry picked up the heavy icebox off the counter.

"Medication isn't bad, Harry," Patrick said, more concerned than annoyed. "Are you on anything?"

"I have some stuff, yes. My therapist suggested it."

Any reservation that had cropped up about Patrick Dare disappeared when the man grew sympathetic for him. "That's good. Does it help?"

"Yes."

Harry wanted to escape the conversation, though. He understood that Patrick, a thirty-something bloke, was trying to relate to him. As far as he knew, Rachel's dad hadn't suffered any traumatic moments, but he couldn't make an assumption like that. Maybe he was just…

"People are here to help. I'm glad you have a good support system to confide in." Patrick stood straight, his smile widening. Harry thought it was fake.

"What do you take the meds for?"

The question spilled out without thought. Harry was mortified and scrambled to retract the incredibly personal query—

"Clinical depression," Patrick said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Harry gaped at him. Patrick did not look depressed. He was smartly dressed in a sunny yellow shirt, tucked into deep blue trousers. His tie had been loosened not out of weariness, but to simply breathe easier. He seemed fine.

Patrick simply blinked at him. "I think Rachel and Percy will be complaining about your tardiness. Go on."

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, moving past him.

"It's alright."

Harry hurried out of the house, still feeling Patrick's eyes on the back of his head. He felt affronted to ask the question, but a part of him had been curious. During his sessions with Mantis, the topic of depression had come up. It was an unpleasant thing to think about. Harry didn't think he had that, but Mantis had suggested that he might be diagnosed with other problems.

Buy one, get three free, Harry thought.

He stepped down from the balcony, his bare feet grazing the hot sand. The beach wasn't crowded like a regular public beach, mainly because it wasn't one. The beach house was part of a vast interconnected resort of sorts. It was a place reserved for the 1% population.

Harry, Percy, and Rachel had spent yesterday morning snickering at the snobby people who came from old money, and spectacularly fail at golf because Harry kept banishing the ball away from the holes. Rachel had assured him that it hadn't been mean-spirited in any way. Percy had fun pointing out how superstitious people were no matter where they were in life.

Harry spotted the dark green sheet spread out below Rachel, as she sat alone on one of the mats. She looked sombre and Harry searched the vicinity for Percy.

"Is he out for a swim?" Harry asked, setting the cooler beside Rachel.

"Hmm? No, he's gone for ice cream."

"But I just brought the co*ke."

"I think he needed some alone time," she said, sitting cross-legged in the shade of the twice-large umbrella they'd brought. Harry sat on a mat to her left and looked out at the ocean.

"Your dad knows I've been drinking."

Rachel whipped her head around to blanch at him.

"He doesn't know about you. Don't worry."

"sh*t! What did he say? Was he angry?"

"He was annoyed. But he's giving me a chance. No more night-time drinks."

Rachel dropped her head back with a groan. "Damn. I could really use one now."

Harry frowned. "What happened?"

"Percy. He's nervous about the fight." She twiddled her thumbs, "He had this look that just made me want to stay out of his way."

Harry scratched the back of Bolt's neck. "That's not out of the realm."

"Yeah. I was enjoying these few days. It was fun not thinking of the real world," Rachel sighed and scanned the length of the beach. Harry didn’t see where Percy had gone, but it was her pensive expression that kept throwing him off.

"You're still coming over for training?"

She huffed. "Yes! Gods, why does everyone think I won't?"

Harry shrugged, "Because, you're not a big fan of exercising. That and people are scared of the bracelet."

Rachel raised her hand to touch the bracelet on her upper left arm. She grimaced as her fingers ran over where the metal touched the skin. Harry saw her nails scratching at it.

"Stop that. It's not going to help."

"I know. I know that. It's frustrating."

Harry tilted his head, "Wanna talk about it?"

"It's… the visions are getting kinda overboard—" Rachel was cut off when Percy ran up to them. Harry blinked, surprised that he hadn't even seen where the demigod had jumped in from.

"What's wrong—"

"I need to go!" Percy panted, tossing a tub of chocolate ice cream to Rachel. "Malcolm just called me!"

"What happened?" Harry said, kneeling up, ready to drop everything and go with him.

"You're staying here!" Percy snapped. "A mission went bad. I mean, it worked, but it went badly. Phoebe died."

Rachel inhaled and Harry's mind blanked out. Someone died?

"The Hunter?" Rachel whispered, stunned.

"Yeah. Thalia’d run into Luke. Well, not Luke, the Titan. It ended in a fight. They managed to blow up Princess Andromeda, but…"

Percy muttered something in Ancient Greek that the other two didn't understand. "I need to go see my dad."

Chapter 3: Learn to Swim

Chapter Text

Percy walked into the ocean barefoot and disappeared just as the next wave went above his head.

He appeared near the depths of the sea bed, just a few miles from Long Island beach. The soft sand swirled slowly as he dug his toes into it. He took a deep breath, inhaling water into his body, feeling soothed by the homely aura.

He swam a bit before the dry coral, tiny fishes and flatbed gave way to a rockier surface. The ground was harder and sharper, raising high above his head in some directions. Percy came to a stop at the entrance of a gritty cave with no illumination. The deep blue and green of the sea turned inky black and he waited as patiently as he could, drumming his fingers on a jagged piece of rock.

"Tyson? I'm here, buddy," Percy called, hoping his brother would be the only one who would be able to hear him.

He had to only wait a minute before a large humanoid shape came barrelling out of the cave. Percy was prepared as Tyson's arms came around him and squeezed.

"Percy! Good to see you!" Tyson squealed, swinging around. He was in his regular ironsmith clothes, probably having rushed out of the forge he worked in when Percy had IM'd him that he'd be visiting.

As they spun, the water didn't slow them down, instead seemed to make them go faster. Percy shook his head to clear it.

"Whoa! Yeah, good to see you too! How's it going?"

Tyson’s energy saddened, eye widening at the prospect of having to talk about what was happening.

"The bad ship went boom!" he exclaimed, dropping Percy. The water was still swirling around them, sand being kicked up in the flow. "All debris fell on the ocean floor. Weapons gone."

"And the monsters and the demigods?"

"No one alive. Hunter is gone too," Tyson said, sombre. Percy knew that Tyson had probably never met any of the Hunters of Artemis, but the sorrow was real.

Percy's only close interaction with Phoebe had been when the group had stayed at the Jacksons' for a night, and Phoebe had done some mind trick to detect the state of Percy and Grover's mind link. And even then, he'd been distressed with having to share a head-space with Tom Riddle too much to actually think of her. Phoebe had been one of the longest-living Hunters. He wondered how the others were holding up.

"Daddy is waiting," Tyson said, tugging on Percy's arm.

He followed the Cyclops into the cave, emerging in one of the underground corners of the kingdom of Atlantis.

Three hours later, Percy was climbing onto the beach, right outside Camp Half-Blood. Tyson was with him. The two walked into Cabin 3, and changed into comfier clothes before stepping outside what might have been a New York terminal at the busiest time of the day.

The usual resonating calm and greenery of the camp had diminished under the crowds of demigods who ran about, half of them with helmets and swords. They were all in a rush, probably getting things ready for a quick check-up and inventory of all the weapons in their store.

Tyson towered over most of the campers, so he gave a running commentary for Percy.

"Cabin 6 is taking blueprints into the bathrooms. Cabin 11 has lots an' lots of strawberries! Cabin 5 is throwing grenades into a box. Cabin 7 is distributing cotton. Cabin 9 is carrying a really, really big catapult. Cabin 8 is sitting in the mess hall, crying. Cabin 4 is planting flytraps, but the big kind—"

"And Cabin 3 is standing here, just staring!" Clarisse snapped. She’d appeared out of nowhere and Percy had nearly gone for Riptide when her voice had emerged right beside him.

Clarisse was already dressed in her combat armour, hair in a bandana, and sword by her side. Her brown eyes flashed at them.

"Missed you!" Tyson cried and practically fell on her with a hug. Clarisse squawked but accepted it, grumbling.

"Funeral's in a bit," Clarisse mumbled. She cast her eyes at the Hunters who sat at the tables in the dining pavilion. Percy spotted Thalia and Bianca sitting on either side of a tiny girl, the entire group glowing in a silvery halo.

"Are they holding up?" Percy whispered.

"They got no choice. Don't bring it up. Thalia might just bring down a lightning bolt to fry the entire camp. She is not in the mood for casual talk."

At a second look, Percy thought he saw the ends of Clarisse's short-cropped hair smoking. She wriggled out of Tyson's hug and said, "Good to see ya, big guy. You too, Prissy."

Percy nudged Tyson's arm and they walked towards the grieving Hunters.

One of the last things Percy had done at camp, before leaving for the Caribbean islands, had been to talk to Thalia as she explained their plan in ten seconds. The ship named Princess Andromeda had been where the Titans had kept many of their mortal fighters, their newest monsters, and their weapons stash. That had been the Hunters' mission. To infiltrate and take out the ship.

Then Malcom, Annabeth's half-brother, had called him to inform him what had happened. Percy imagined that devastation.

Bianca saw Percy and Tyson approach. She glanced quickly to her sisters and got to her feet. Her eyes were slightly red and swollen and Percy raised his arms a little. She smiled before stepping into his embrace.

Percy and Bianca hadn't been so close, until after Nico had vanished off the face of the planet. When camp had realised that the boy was missing, they'd called her in. Bianca, Percy, and Annabeth had spent weeks roaming the plains where they guessed he might have gone. Bianca had even ventured into the Underworld to search for her brother, but there had been no sign of him.

Eventually, she'd received a dream that showed her that Nico seemed fine, just quite far away. It didn't lead them anywhere, but she and Percy had spent enough time to know each other's favourite kind of breakfast.

"Hug?" Tyson asked, his voice shy and hopeful. Bianca's smile grew wider and she stood on tiptoes to squeeze his middle. Tyson patted her back.

Thalia’s electric blue eyes pierced through them. She whispered something to the youngest Hunter and stood up from the bench to greet Percy. "Hey."

"Hey." Percy eyed her, warily. He didn't want to be shocked.

Tyson looked up from Bianca's hug and said, "Phoebe was good. She is okay now."

Percy figured Tyson was probably the only one who’d get away with saying that. Thalia's eyes narrowed infinitesimally, but she didn't lash out. "Thank you, Ty. Did you speak to Poseidon?"

"Yeah," Percy sighed and then squared his shoulders. "We need to call a meeting."

"After the funeral." Thalia's voice was tight, with no room for negotiation.

They had no body to cremate. At 12 noon, the campers gathered around one of the cooler spots of camp, right by a small stream in the forest. The gaps in between the trees were large enough to hold the latest count of 56 demigods.

On top of a decent stack of firewood, three Hunters stepped forward to lay a soft red and silver, shimmering cloth. The shroud had the symbol of Artemis stitched in the middle with black thread.

Grover came to stand beside Percy. His best friend had stayed at camp for the past 8 months, partially terrified of falling asleep again and losing track of time.

He sent a calming vibe through their mind link and Percy tried to settle his stiff shoulders.

How's Sally? Grover asked.

Doing better.

And you?

Percy didn't answer. He didn't have to.

Thalia murmured a passage in Ancient Greek. Percy recognised it as the Hunter's Oath that every girl took when they joined Artemis's legion. The branches beneath the shroud gave a sharp silvery glow before bursting into flames.

The smell of the burning shroud and wood was seared into their minds.

When the counsellors took their spots around the ping pong table, Percy noticed that Chiron had excused himself. It was odd that the centaur would willingly not join a vital discussion.

Annabeth sat beside Percy. He turned away from watching Thalia stride up to the head of the table and looked at his girlfriend. She’d woven more gold braids in her hair which made the silver strands stand out all the more. Percy’d rather stare at her than have this meeting. She met his gaze, having to tilt her head up. Her eyes were a shade of melting silver. It caught his breath and Percy leaned into her, their arms touching.

"Facts only," Thalia called out and the others fell silent. Percy found Beckendorf and Silena on Thalia's left, hands interlocked over the table. Clarisse and Travis sat opposite them. Will, Katie, Bianca, Castor, and Lou-Ellen filled the rest of the seats.

"The Crooked One had diverted a good number of his resources to another location. The ship didn't have enough material to arm all his soldiers," Thalia rambled, keeping eye contact with the wall at the end of the room.

Everyone groaned.

"He knew that you were going to attack the Princess Andromeda!" Clarisse snarled.

"They were definitely expecting us," Bianca whispered. "We'd placed explosives in several rooms, which was the only reason why we could blow it up."

"But it was nearly the perfect ambush." Thalia kicked her chair away, preferring to stand. "They had traps around the engine room, had patrols everywhere. They were on high alert."

Will dropped his head into his hands. "Someone informed them that you'd be there."

Thalia nodded. Percy felt a bitter taste in his mouth. A spy. It went without saying. There was a spy at camp. They'd come up with the plan for destroying the ship at camp. The Hunters had volunteered to take them down. The original plan was that three of the girls would go in and place the bombs, sneaking out without raising any alarm. But this morning, Percy had realised that the Hunters had changed their plans. A team of ten girls had infiltrated the ship.

"He knew that we'd be there, but didn't know how many of us would do it," Thalia said. "We changed the plan for a number of reasons, mostly, to make sure nobody would be aware of the exact way we would do it. We have a traitor."

Somehow, the word 'traitor' was sharper than spy. The room chilled as everyone glanced around uncomfortably.

Travis tapped the table. He'd been quiet since the funeral, his usual air of mischief dimmed to accommodate the mood of camp. "It’s possible that one of the rogue demigods had dreams about us planning this. Saying we have a traitor in camp—"

"I'm not mincing words, Stoll." A vein in Thalia's forehead was pulsing. "The Titan King showed us a silver pendant. It was in the shape of a scythe. It's enchanted to send messages. The traitor'll probably have it on them."

"Then we do body checks," Clarisse said. "We'll find out exactly who's on which side—"

"There are 56 campers now," Lou-Ellen piped up. "That's not including the Hunters, Satyrs, and nature spirits. Full cabin and body checks can take days. We don't have that kind of time. Percy's birthday is on the 18th."

"We can't just let this go," Clarisse groaned.

"It's five days left—" Will argued.

"You can shut it!" Clarisse snapped at him. "Don't think I'm letting the chariot go!"

"You two need to forget about the chariot," Annabeth said, frowning.

Clarisse smacked her palms on the table. "Why are you taking his side if you said you were neutral?!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side!"

"Clarisse, Michael was the one who found the chariot first."

"WHO FIXED IT?"

"You both fixed it—"

"NO!" Clarisse thundered. Her hands were shaking as she jumped to her feet. "It's my loot! I fixed it, I got the new wheels, I was the first to ride it! That short stack just went and got a pegasus to harness it to. The chariot belongs to Ares!"

Percy had hoped they had been over this. The Ares and Apollo cabins had been at odds with each other. It was the reason why Michael Yew had refused to come to the meeting, sending his second—in-command, Will Solace instead. Will was barely thirteen, but usually had a level head when it came to the important stuff.

"We don't have time for this, Clarisse!" Silena cried. "We're about to go to war! Somebody died!"

Clarisse sent a slightly bashful look towards a tight-lipped Thalia. "I'm sorry about Phoebe. But I know that the Ares cabin is rarely given our credit until there's a fight in place."

"Well…" Travis muttered, "Ares is the God of War."

"Which means that we don't matter if it's not war-related? Well, you know what? I'm not fighting." Clarisse chucked her knife onto the table. It fell with a painful clatter that echoed in Percy's head. "None of my siblings are fighting until we get what we need. Good luck without us."

She marched away, slamming the door behind her. The silence in the room was thick, practically choking. Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand.

"This is bad."

"She's not serious?" Castor asked, stunned.

"She is," Beckendorf muttered. "She's been arguing about this for weeks. We've just put it off for training and recruiting."

"And tell me again, why can't you guys just share it?" Katie asked, heatedly. "We can't go into war without the Ares cabin!"

Will groaned. "I can't not side with Michael! He found the chariot, it's his!"

"But why can't you share it?"

"Share it as the camp chariot? Or just between Apollo and Ares? Sure, nothing bad can come out of that."

"Enough!" Thalia all but shrieked. "You're acting like babies!"

Will pouted. Percy leaned back against his chair and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"There is a new base for Titans' operations! That should be our main focus. Not some stupid chariot!"

Travis sighed, "Look, I'm not saying that a fight between you and Clarisse won't be phenomenal. We just don't have the energy for that, so maybe don't call the chariot stupid within Clarisse's hearing range."

Electricity arched from Thalia's body. Sharp, jagged lines of light curved from her skin and hair, and her eyes flashed with real light. Everyone leaned away from her, freezing at once.

"We took out a horde of their Greek Fire grenades and missiles," she warned, deadly calm. "Many of their defense monsters were also on board, but none of the recognisable ones. Most of the demigods there were untrained, just bait. The fact that the Crooked One was on board meant that he wanted to mock us. He had contingency plans because he escaped just as Phoebe gave the signal to blow it up. He had his weapon, a Scythe blade, that can make your soul bleed from your body. He has a traitor planted at camp. He has plans to stop Poseidon from joining the fight. He is going to invade Mount Olympus. He's ten steps ahead of us. We need a better battle plan."

She hadn't mentioned a blade before. Something that made the soul leak from the body? That sounded like the cursed blade mentioned in the prophecy.

A half-blood of the eldest gods,
Shall reach sixteen against all odds,
And see the world in endless sleep.
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.
A single choice shall end his days.
Olympus to preserve or raze.

Percy tried to swallow down a lump in his throat.

"Speaking of which," Thalia raised her voice. It cracked for a moment, but the electricity in her eyes made no one want to bring it up. "Percy needs to know about the prophecy."

All eyes were on him. Percy swallowed. He was definitely getting shocked. "Actually, funny story…"

"Don't," Bianca gasped.

"I might have heard it."

"Where?!"

"From the Oracle!" he winced. "I went up to the attic, months ago. I heard the entire prophecy."

Everyone gaped at him. Annabeth winced. "Seaweed Brain! Chiron was supposed to give you permission!"

"Permission to what? Find out how I was going to screw it all up?" Percy demanded. "None of you were willing to tell me about my own fate, so I went and found out by myself!"

There was no way in Hades that Percy was going to explain that it was Tom who had convinced him to find out about the prophecy.

He dug his hands into his pockets and felt the worn sand dollar in it. Poseidon had given it to him on his fifteenth birthday.

Remember the rivers.

Sure, whatever that meant, dad.

Percy suddenly remembered another thing his dad had told him.

"Poseidon said something about a bigger threat," Percy spoke up, catching everyone's attention again. "Something that could keep the gods distracted, long enough for Lu—the Titan King to break into Olympus and steal the Ophiotaurus."

"sh*t, that dammed cow!"

"Hey! It's not Bessie's fault!" Percy griped. "The pool in Olympus is enchanted to keep her safe, but we can't let him get to her."

"Can we take her someplace else?" Lou-Ellen asked, wringing her hands. She was casting a nervous blue-purple glow on the table.

"The Ophiotaurus will follow very few people," Bianca sat up, eyes wide. "Percy might the only one she trusts. He found her."

"You'd have to go to the Empire State Building to get up there. My mother told me that all access routes except for the elevator have been blocked," Annabeth sighed.

"Which means that's also the only route the Titans can take," Thalia said. "Percy, take a team. Go to New York. Get that cow somewhere else."

"Where?" Percy protested, spreading his arms. "The ocean's under attack, the Atlantic's not safe, we can't go to the west coast—"

"What about the wizards?" Travis piped up.

"No." Percy glared at him till Travis slunk down in his chair. Even Beckendorf was surprised by the hostility. "We're not involving any of them in this. They have their own problems."

"Right, that evil lord that wants to take over the world."

"Yeah, that one."

Thalia stood tall. "They can still hide Bessie."

"I'm not bringing this war over them. They had an Ancient Greek monster attack last year, remember. That was because Nico and I spent too much time there!"

The mention of Nico made Bianca clench her palms. Percy gave her an apologetic nod.

"The London Attack is old news—"

"Hogwarts is still closed," Percy interrupted Silena. "It's not old news for them."

She acquiesced and nodded.

"Okay. We're not calling them for back up, then," Thalia said. "We still need to do something about Bessie."

Annabeth spoke up slowly, "I have an idea. But I'll need to talk to a few people. Plus, we're going to need more than one team to go to city."

Percy blinked as she said, loudly this time, "The last time the Titans had tried to rise, the gods were distracted by an incredibly old monster, one of the worst straight from Tartarus. It took all of them to subdue it. Without Poseidon, it can go badly."

Castor blanched. "But… if all the gods are busy fighting these threats, who's gonna guard Olympus?"

The answer hit all of them at once.

Two days after Percy had left, Rachel challenged Harry to an arm wrestling fight.

The twins had been arguing on what activities to try at the beach, to stave of boredom. Her parents barely spent a few hours enjoying the summer before another call from work had them rushing out of the room. Her father was in his room, in a video call, and her mother had gone to the city again.

Harry had wanted to try horse riding, but Rachel planned to go to a first aid class that was being held inside one of the club's large halls.

So, they decided to arm wrestle for it.

Rachel won.

Harry grumbled all the way, claiming she’d cheated, but she dragged him to the club. They signed the forms and joined the spare ten or so others in a comically enormous hall. There were two instructors in matching white sports outfits. They demonstrated CPR on a life-sized doll and then brought out several more for the participants to practice.

They could almost forget about what the demigods would be doing right now, as they blew air into the doll's mouth.

"So, Ginny's birthday was last week," Rachel said, wishing she had any way to bring it up casually. There really wasn't.

"Yeah," Harry said kneeling down to place his hands on top of the doll's chest. He began to give compressions. She kneeled on the mat, with the doll laying between them.

"… I sent her a letter."

"I know."

"Did she read it?"

"I think so."

Did she say," Rachel pressed her lips together for a moment, "—anything about it?"

"Not to me." Harry kneeled back to eye her. "Were you expecting a reply?"

"Sort of."

"Ginny had to go to the Ministry for another evaluation of her Core magic. Her abilities will get stronger as she grows. She needs to know exactly what level she's at. You'll get your reply sometime next week, may be."

"Oh! That's… cool."

"If she wants to reply, that is."

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry shrugged, "Seeing as how you're kinda obsessed about her—"

"I am not obsessed!" Rachel shrieked. She clapped a hand over her mouth, mortified as the others looked up at her.

Harry blinked. "Rach, you did ask her out at the worst time possible."

Rachel stared, absolutely confused. "What do you mean? I didn't ask her out. I just wished her a happy birthday, and sent her a pocket painting."

"A what?"

"It's a tiny painting."

"Of?"

She huffed. "Nothing weird. Just… a field of purple tulips and wildflowers. It's one of her favourites."

Harry clicked his tongue. "That's sweet. But I wasn't talking about the letter."

Rachel frowned, not moving until he said, "The wake."

"The…"

"DJ's funeral."

Her neck stiffened at the memory, but she tried to push past it. "What about it?"

Harry exhaled, aggressively. "You asked Ginny out during the funeral."

Another shriek built up in her throat. But her voice died right as her tongue folded, a croaking sound exiting from her mouth. She sounded like the Grudge.

Her expression must have been very startling because Harry was surprised. "Rachel?"

"Why… You… Ginny didn't… I didn't ask her out during the funeral!" She hissed, eyes darting to check if anyone was eavesdropping. She couldn't believe he believed that!

"You didn't?"

"No! Who would ever do that?!"

Harry coughed. "Um, okay, don't freak out."

"Gods!"

"But there may be a few people who think that's what you did."

Rachel was probably going to faint. Yes, she did feel a little light headed. She sat on the floor, stunned.

"Does Ginny think that?"

"She hasn't told me anything. But Ron thinks that."

"Oh, gods."

"And Fred and George."

"What?!"

"And Hermione, Percy, Neville—"

"Stop! Stop!" Rachel cringed. That was a horrifying thought. Did people seriously think she asked Ginny on a date at… during…

"I feel sick," she whispered.

Harry looked terrified. "Oh shi… Ginny likes you!"

The sick feeling bubbled away. Rachel clasped at her stomach, rubbing at the red paint-splattered blouse over her caprice. "Huh?"

"She… that's why no one said anything about it." Harry winced. "Sorry for scaring you. I really thought you and she knew that you like each other. Ron was a little pissed, but Ginny told him to knock it off. Said there’s nothing wrong with you asking her that. She'll reply soon, that'll clear it up. Don't worry."

Rachel gaped at him, his words floating away from her ears. Something expanded in her chest, like a balloon. Her stomach was fluttering, but unlike the nausea that had built up before, this was gentle and quick. She whispered, "Ginny likes me?"

Harry sighed, "You didn't hear a word I'd said, did you?"

"Wowie. Oh no. I sent her a stupid pocket painting!"

Harry spent the next ten minutes trying to calm her down. Nobody hated tulips. Not even hardcore Ginny Weasley.

Later, when the instructors began explaining how to resuscitate near-drowned victims, both Rachel and Harry tuned out. Drowning was, as Rachel had found out, another thing they had in common. Apparently, they'd both almost drowned when they'd been five. Rachel when she'd fallen through the ice while on a ski trip with her parents, in a winterland country, Harry when he'd been brutally murdered for the first time in the No. 3 Privet Drive, in Surrey.

Well, Rachel hadn't died then. Her mother had saved her, by yanking her out of the freezing water by her hair. Rachel made the anomaly by being a mortal with the immortality bracelet, but one who hadn't died yet. She had no desire to meet an end, even if it was one she’d come back from.

"… of insufflations," one of the instructors was saying. "Victims of sudden cardiac arrest require quick and proper chest compressions and not mouth-to-mouth."

"Hey, Harry?" Rachel asked quietly, intent on asking about his first death. But when he frowned up at her from the doll, a pensive expression in his eyes, she switched her question, "When are you going to Godric's Hollow?"

He frowned, "Pardon?"

"Godric's Hollow… the cemetery."

"Why would I go there?"

He asked the query like it was Rachel who wasn't making sense. She frowned right back at him. "To see DJ."

Harry removed his hands from the doll's face. "You mean his grave?"

She swallowed, feeling cold. "Yes. When are you going?"

"I'm not."

"You didn't plan it yet, or you're busy?"

"I'm not going there," he said, focusing on the doll.

Rachel stared at him, not moving. She just sat back as Harry pretended to memorise all the doll’s features.

"When was the last time you went to see him?"

"Him or the grave?"

"The grave." Her voice shook.

Harry's arms tightened visibly, the veins on his neck standing out. "The funeral."

Rachel inhaled. He hadn't gone to the cemetery since? Not even to lay flowers, or just… be there?

She slowed her breathing, trying to deepen it. When she felt decently calm, Rachel said, "I'm thinking of going this month. How about the weekend after the trip?"

"It's a little stifling to pay respects with a protection detail more complex than the Queen's."

Harry's retort did not make her back down. "It's not like we're going to stay there for the entire afternoon. The Order can understand. You haven't broken the rules recently, have you?"

"Once. Went to the Ministry."

For the love of… Rachel gritted her teeth. "We can go and come back in minutes. You have your portkey, right? You'll be safe."

"As safe as living in a house with the Fidelius charm? Because that's not safe," Harry said, pushing the doll towards her. "Your turn."

He was rubbing the right side of his forehead. Rachel frowned, observing his tilted-down face. She knew that his scar was gone. Healed from the last time he'd come back to life, right before the hospital had gone up in flames. It was a little odd, having to see Harry without his scar. She'd always been able to peek at it through his fringe cut. Now, his style had shifted to embrace short, spiky hair, devoid of fringes, and the absentee lightning bolt scar.

“He doesn't like going to the graveyard,” Bolt whispered. “ He's never been there by himself.”

Rachel wondered if Bolt was siding with him or her.

“I'm not siding with anyone. He doesn't like going there, and you want to go there. You'll have to think of another way to see DJ.”

"Why don't you want to go there?" Rachel asked aloud, not letting the conversation die.

"Because there's nothing productive out of waiting for the dead to rise," he said, not in a mumble, but directing all his attention at her, piercing green eyes unblinking. His voice held steady, almost like he was stating a boring historical fact.

It did nothing to lessen the blow that cut Rachel right across the middle. All the butterflies in her stomach, borne out of her recent thoughts of Ginny liking her painting, crumpled like paper, disintegrating in her belly. She felt sick, for real this time. Her eyes burned.

"I…" She cleared her throat twice to speak. "… am not asking you to wait till the dead rise. I just asked you because I thought you'd like it."

"Like what?" Harry's nostrils flared. "Staring at his headstone? It's marble, Rachel, not a meteorite."

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She had nothing to say strong enough to combat his words.

By the time she strung together a sentence, he was already turning away. "Company. Thought you'd like my company."

His veins were sticking out again. Tears bubbled up. She wanted to hit something. Harry didn't replay. Rachel held in a sob and got to her feet, clumsily skidding across the floor as she ran out of the hall.

She ran across the long hallway, rubbing her eyes violently till they hurt. The bathrooms sat to the left of a large balcony that looked out over an unoccupied part of the beach. Rachel pushed open the door, thankful to find it empty.

She heard the squeak of tennis shoes across the polished floors. Guessing it was Harry, she turned and locked the door to the bathroom.

Rachel stomped towards the paper towel dispenser to take a few tissues and wipe her face. The tears were falling, blurring her vision now. Bolt leaped out and settled on the counter by one of the basins, giving a deep purr even through her puppy form. It calmed Rachel, but only barely.

"Rachel?" Harry called. He sounded hesitant.

She didn't answer.

"I didn't mean that. I just…" he trailed off before speaking up, "I can ask the Order to take you there. Rosalie would like that. I think she goes there a lot. She'll be better company than me."

Rachel hiccupped, trying to smother another sob. Her body shook under the wrenching pain and sorrow. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t make it stop hurting. Some days were bad when she'd rather lay in bed for hours without moving.

DJ was gone. Bianca had promised he was in Elysium, but… Rachel wouldn't see him again. Not if she couldn't die.

Was it her selfishness that made it worse? She should have been happy that he was in a better place.

Harry was right. Staring at his headstone wouldn't bring DJ back. But it was the closest Rachel would ever be to him.

Harry knocked on the door again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that. I don't like thinking about it."

Rachel turned on the tap to wash her face. Her eyes were burning again. She grabbed more paper towels to dry her eyes when Harry said slowly, "You can ask Percy. He'd like to be there, I think. You two can go—"

His voice suddenly cut off, followed by a sharp scratching sound. Like metal against tile. Rachel stood up and turned to face the door.

Bolt jumped from the counter and landed on the floor, growing in size to her full tiger form.

“Do you smell that?” she asked.

Rachel sniffed at the air, not catching anything. What?

Bolt growled, her hackled raised. “ Sulphur.”

The sudden silence only made her heart pound. Harry wasn't at the door anymore. Rachel dug her fingers into Bolt's pelt right behind her neck, trying to ground herself. Sulphur meant monster.

"Harry?" she whispered. There was no answer.

Something happened. Harry wouldn't leave her if he had no choice. Did something get him? Was he in trouble? Was he hurt?

Bolt sniffed the air before saying, “Open the door.”

Rachel unlocked it and Bolt pounced right through it, ready for an attack. The hallway was empty. A string of swears went through Rachel's mind when she saw scratch marks on the immaculate tiles.

The marks were shallow, as though the absolute tips of large talons had momentarily grazed the floor.

Bolt faced the balcony and Rachel sniffed out the suffocation of sulphur, mixed with the ocean breeze. She thought of the claw marks, of the dagger in the bracelet she now wore, of Harry, missing yet again. Blood was roaring in her ears and Rachel stepped out into the balcony along with her Familiar, praying that he was alright.

Bolt's head snapped upwards and she let out a loud growl, legs poised to leap. Rachel looked up and froze.

She'd seen this monster before. The cheerleader from Goode's orientation. Kelli.

The empousa grinned down from her perch from a high ledge. She wore plain blouse tucked into tough leather trousers which hid her bronze and fur legs. Rachel would never forget those legs.

Kelli blinked once, tossing something that sparkled down to Rachel, as though she expected her to catch it.

Rachel and Bolt stepped back and watched as the metallic thing hit the floor and slid to a stop almost quickly. Rachel's heart sunk, thudding as it went down.

The scythe charm bracelet glittered in the bright light of day and Rachel had to snatch her eyes away to peer up at the empousa again.

"Where is he?" Her voice shook, but Rachel was proud that she could speak at all. Last time, Kelli had actively tried to kill her.

"Baby bro's fine," Kelli said, eagerly. "Bad school spirit, though. No sense of cooperation."

Bolt growled, louder this time. Rachel held her tighter and said, "If you hurt him—"

"You'll do what?" she taunted, clearly aware that Rachel couldn’t hold her own against a fight. Even with Bolt, the monster had the upper hand.

"Lord Kronos," Kelli purred, "is waiting for an answer. And he'd like a different one than what you said to him last time. Or you might just be short of another family member."

Chapter 4: Face the Waves

Chapter Text

Harry had probably died about five times now. There was the time when he was five years old, and those men had broken into their house—the Jacksons’ house on Halloween. They'd drowned him. Don't worry, he'd killed them all.

The next time was during the Third Task in the Triwizard Tournament, nearly ten years later. A killing curse straight to the chest. Then there was the thing in Rome, with the snitch-sized Greek Fire grenade. After that, Tom, with Harry's own broom. Then…

That's it right?

The thing about dying? It might have hurt, yes. But coming back was what messed him up. Harry couldn't remember a lot of what happened just prior to kicking the buckets. Something to do with the Lethe.

If he closed his eyes right now and thought back to the last thing he remembered right before Tom had killed him, it was a memory of DJ. Harry's last memory of DJ.

That was the clearest thing he could recall. A dimly lit room—the Common Room; the fire almost dying in the hearth. Ron and Hermione were asleep on the long couch. DJ sat in one of the cosy armchairs. Harry sitting across from him. They'd been browsing through the photographs of the party.

The worst part of this memory? Harry couldn't remember a goddamn thing of their conversation.

It was a bad thing to ruminate about when he was being pressed to the floor by what he assumed was a three-hundred-pound bird of prey.

Harry had run his mouth during that CPR class. Rachel was obviously upset. She'd run straight to the bathroom. Crying girls always went to hide in bathrooms. Mostly because of idiotic boys.

Harry had been standing there trying to apologise when the large bird monster slammed into his side.

He didn't even have time to yell. Pain burst from the side of his torso and his arm, spreading to the rest of his body as two sharp claws dug into his body, dragging him up and out of the building, through the large, open balcony.

There was a second person there. She was beautiful, sitting on a ledge above the balcony, almost perched like a bird herself. She smiled at him and he felt his head reel from the perfection of her eyes. He'd never seen anyone so gorgeous—

Oh, wait. The cheerleader from Goode's orientation.

Snapping out of the haze she'd cast on him, Harry lurched in the bird's grip. He yanked free an arm to grab the feathers of one of the wings. Yanking them down did no good as the monster snarled and heaved him higher above the building. He saw exactly what it was that had lifted him thirty feet into the open air.

She resembled a harpy. But the harpies from camp were smaller, more humanoid, at least in size. This one could bench-press Tyson. She had a head full of brown curls, sharpened red eyes, and almost slits. Her wings extended to at least seven feet on both sides. Her legs were devastatingly strong, talons able to lock Harry's entire body in a piercing hold. Her claws dug deep into his sides and down his spine, slicing through ligaments and immobilising him through sheer terror and agony.

She dropped him onto the terrace of the club and dragged his body to the edge, planting herself on his back. Harry groaned, feeling the weight press him painfully over the parapet. He could still see the Empousa from this vantage point.

The harpy's claws were digging into his back. His arms were pinned underneath him. She crouched over his upper body, wings enclosing them in a cocoon.

"Quiet," she whispered, the ends of her beak touching his ear lobe. "Or I'll rip your spine out before you can say hocus pocus."

Under the shivers, Harry had no doubt that she was swift. He tried to steady his laboured breaths, searching for Rachel and Bolt as they inch out onto the balcony. His body was trying to heal itself, but the talons threatened to slice him to ribbons.

There was something glittering on the floor, right in front of Rachel. Something tiny. Harry couldn't see it clearly from the terrace, but he did see Rachel back away from it.

The Empousa was talking to Rachel about Lord Kronos. Another shudder went down his back and the harpy closed in. He could smell her breath. It was of blood and dirt.

"Tell me where he is," Rachel's voice sounded far away. Harry wasn't sure if it was the blood rushing to his head, or the adrenaline that gave him constant feedback about the sodding monster that had settled herself on his back.

"Harry's fine," the Empousa said, blasé. "You need to make that choice today, sweetie. Are you going to help the king? Or are you one of the heroes?"

What? Why would Rachel side with the Titans? Harry racked his brains. He couldn't see her face, only the top of her head. Her arm was wrapped around a tuft of Bolt's pelt behind her neck. They were on high alert.

Harry grunted, trying to break free from the harpy's hold, but she snapped her beak at him, nearly taking his ear out.

Bolt heard the sound. She glanced up and so did Rachel. Harry watched as Rachel's expression turned from frightened to pained.

"He's still in one piece," the Empousa continued. "He seems confused, though. Didn't you tell him, Rachel?"

Rachel grimaced. Her entire body went tense from the frustration.

Harry's gaze zeroed in on the glittering object on the floor. The small silver bracelet had an oddly shaped pendant.

Jewellery was some of the easiest objects in the world to charm, especially for long-term usage. What could this bracelet do?

"You're looking at the wrong person," Rachel's voice had gone hoarse. She was starting to panic. "I'm not any good at this. I can't see the future the way he wants me to."

The Empousa rolled her eyes. "The time for bargaining is past. It's either yes or no?"

The claws were digging in again. Harry winced as he felt his bones press down against the immense pressure. The harpy felt heavier now. He was struggling to draw in air.

"Please," Rachel was begging. "Don't hurt him. He doesn't know!"

"Is that a yes?"

“I can't! Please—"

"Aella!" Kelli snapped her fingers. Her eyes blazed just as the harpy—Aella's—talons dug into Harry's back.

He shouted as she spread his wings and yanked him into the air, using only her claws to pull him up. His skin sliced under the sharp blades as they flew higher. The pain was searing. He couldn't brace himself, couldn't use his strength to break away. It felt like she had carved her feet into his bones to carry him up.

Kelli body-slammed into Bolt before the tiger could reach him. Rachel was screaming something, running to the edge of the bannister to gape at him.

Harry whipped out his dagger from his bracelet. His sight was awry, heat consuming his muscles. Blindly, he struck at Aella, feeling the dagger sink in somewhere. The harpy screeched, but she sounded more annoyed than hurt. Her sharp, bony hand grabbed his wrist and he lost hold of the dagger.

Then the talons tightened again, one set near his hip, and the other just below his armpit.

She was going to tear him in half.

"RELASHIO!" Purple light burst from his body, striking the harpy. Aella snarled as Harry slipped, but she grabbed him again. He caught her feet, trying to pull away from the blade-like claws.

The world swirled below them. Blood splattered over her feathers. Harry couldn't focus. They had to be hundreds of kilometres in the air. Vertigo hit him again and he leaned his head down. He could only see the deep blue of the ocean.

Aside from the blood roaring in his ears, it was quiet. Not peaceful though. Aella was trying to rip him again. His skin tore open again, the claws digging deeper this time.

He wouldn't remember this fear. The memories right before he died—those would be lost.

But this moment was going to hurt like a bleeding motherf—

Just as Aella tensed her legs again, Harry's bronze bracelet went hot, bright light emerging from it. It changed from his aura of black and green, melting into gold and green.

Suddenly, the blue of the ocean and the blue of the sky were replaced with a fuzzy red that obscured his vision, fell on his face, and even in his mouth.

Was that his blood, spurting out as Aella tore him? No, it didn't taste like it and felt more solid…

And the claws disintegrated. Turned to dust. Harry blinked. The monster vanished into powder, right as Rachel had sliced her dagger into Aella's neck.

Oh yeah. Rachel had the bracelet too. She had a dagger as well!

What was she doing up here?

They were in the air. Harry’s brain missed frames of the image as he stared at Rachel's stunned face. Like she hadn't realised she'd slain the creature.

They were falling now.

Rachel slapped her hands to her thighs and aimed for Harry, colliding with him as they pitched towards the roaring waves.

The wind slammed into them from all sides. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the cuts on his chest burn like someone was slicing at them over and over again. Rachel's hands closed over his arms. They were heading straight into the water.

That would be a nicer way to go. Sure, falling at this speed would be like crashing into concrete, but it was better than a gory, painful death of being basically drawn and quartered.

Rachel was saying something. It was hard to hear her over the sound of the air whipping past them. Or were they whipping through the air? No, they were falling. Right?

There were a lot of colours. Blue and red, green, even gold. The blue was growing bigger. Harry could smell the ocean now. He could smell the deo Rachel had put on this morning. He could also smell something like a wet dog.

The ocean was mere feet away, with Rachel squeezing the life out of Harry, when Bolt flashed right by them, grabbed the two, and teleported towards the beach at a very steep angle.

All three hit the sand dunes, rolling towards the shore. Harry tried to move his arms, but wasn't fast enough to shield his head as he crashed into something very solid, probably like a building or…

He closed his eyes.

Rachel coughed up sand. Even when she'd finished spitting out, her stomach rolled, threatening to hurl.

They'd fallen from at least seventy feet up. Bolt had reached them just in time. Rachel clutched her head, trying to calm herself enough to find her bearings and stand.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.

She'd nearly… and Harry…

She'd killed her. A monster. Another being.

How?

Rachel swallowed, feeling her throat grainy. She felt dirty, like she'd fallen into a cesspool and her limbs were struggling in the sludge.

"Harry?" she croaked. He was just feet from her, on his back, head turned to the side to suck in as much air as he could.

His shirt was covered in long tears and splotches of blood. She could see the skin practically moulted in spots. He was covered in wet lumps of sand and Rachel pushed herself towards him, falling to her knees to brush the dirt away.

Harry's eyes were closed but he was spasming. He needed a hospital.

"Bolt," Rachel whispered. Her familiar stood up, shaking the sand and ichor from her body. The tiger wasn’t too bashed up, considering she practically went toe to toe against a bloodthirsty cheerleader. Kelli was no slouch in a fight, so it was a miracle that Bolt had gotten the upper hand.

"We need to get out. I scratched her up, but she did that flame-bursting trick again," Bolt whispered, eyes darting to observe their surroundings. They were in the quieter part of the beach, but Rachel could see people far away. She wondered if they'd even known what had happened.

Maybe the Mist had extended to them. She turned back and caught the sight of ichor over Bolt's claws. She must have gotten Kelli good.

Harry let out a groan. He turned to his side and pushed his hands to the ground to raise his head. Rachel helped him sit up, but he swayed again, dropping his head on her shoulder.

"Wha happened?" he muttered.

She winced. "Monster attack. Do you have your kit with you?"

"Hmm? No…" He winced, lifting his head again, blinking up at Bolt. "Room."

Harry's personalised first aid kit was supposed to be in a moleskin pouch that he wore everywhere. Rachel examined the small brown pouch that hung around his neck and sighed.

"Alright. Bolt, can you?"

She could feel Bolt's fatigue. The fight had been over so quickly, the adrenaline kept up energy. The tiger might collapse in minutes, so they had to act fast.

They appeared on the first floor of the beach house, in Harry's room. Rachel helped Harry sit on the bed before hurrying to the door to check as to her father's whereabouts.

She could hear Patrick saying, "—all day, because of the index. You have the points for the Dow Jones."

He was still on that call. Rachel closed the door carefully before spinning around and searching the room for his first aid. Harry's room was one of the guest rooms converted to make it more homely than a hotel. Percy's was the same, now unoccupied for a couple of days.

After Rachel had located the kit, Bolt helped her find the right stuff in it to address the wounds. Ten minutes later, she was bandaging Harry's chest.

Harry had closed his eyes, his frown still in place. His hands kept twitching and more than once, Rachel worried that he was going to lash out at her. Bolt turned back into a puppy and muttered, "You might have to take him to a hospital. His eyes shouldn't look like that."

Rachel snapped her head up to see Harry staring at the ceiling. His expression hadn't changed, but Rachel could see the problem. His left eye was so dilated it was completely black. He didn't have a shiner or any blooming bruises on his face.

"Harry? Did you hit your head?" She sat up closer, trying to run her fingers through his hair.

He winced, nudging her hand away to say, "Blue sky."

"Huh?"

"Blue turned red."

It didn't make any sense to her, so Rachel shared a worried look with Bolt, "Okay. Bolt and I will get you to London. Or the Burrow. Which one's better?"

Harry closed his eyes, almost scowling.

She heard a knock on the door. Rachel hopped to her feet, heart hammering as the door swung open. Her dad popped his head through. He frowned. "Rachel?"

"Um—"

"I didn't hear you come in. Why's there so much sand?" Patrick blinked at her, at the dirt in the room, and at Harry, who was struggling to sit up on the bed. Rachel had only just managed to cover his bruised and bandaged chest with a new shirt.

"We just got back. Harry took a fall." The lie was pathetic, but Patrick now walked over to Harry, concerned.

"Did you hit your head?" he asked Harry.

Rachel winced when Harry mumbled, "Fell from space. Blue turned red."

Patrick stared. "Jesus, he looks concussed."

"Oh. Gods. I didn't think of that. He isn't bleeding, though." Rachel tried to check Harry's head again. His hair was wet with sand, but she couldn't see any kind of clotted blood over the scalp. That should be good, right?

"It could just be a lump." Patrick stepped closer. He leaned down to scrutinise Harry’s state. "We'll have to drive him into town."

Rachel shot a terrified glance at Bolt. "Actually, dad—"

"Green or blue?" Harry asked, rather serious.

"What's he saying?"

"Dad, I need to get him to London," Rachel babbled to him.

Her father blinked. "What? Now? Rachel, he needs medical assistance. Get the keys! I'll bring him down—"

"Not green."

"No, dad. You don't understand." Rachel tried not to yell. She needed to get Harry back to the Order. It was probably the last time they'd ever let him out of sight.

"You want me to book a flight to London?" Patrick asked, incredulous.

Her parents didn't know that Harry was a wizard, who also happened to be under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix because he was being targeted by a magical terrorist organisation. Just like they didn't know that Percy had to leave to fight because he was a demigod who happened to be on the side of Camp Half-Blood and the gods, with the Titans waging war on them.

Just like they didn't know that Rachel happened to be connected to both worlds through family and the stupid bracelet on her arm. And the Titan Lord's offer.

She hated keeping secrets from them.

"Choose," Harry said, poking her arm. Rachel jumped. Had he read her mind? He was blinking at her like she wasn't really there like she was just a figment of his imagination.

Then, he pitched forwards and nearly fell off the bed.

Rachel choked, trying to catch his shoulders. Her father helped her place Harry back on the bed. Harry's head flopped back. Damn it, she needed to get him to London now! He looked like he'd taken a bludger to the head.

"Actually, I'll call an ambulance. That might be better," Patrick said, bringing out his cell to make a call. Rachel panicked and blurted, "Bolt!"

Her puppy winced but hopped up on the bed. Rachel pulled Harry to bring his head and shoulders on her lap. Bolt settled on their hands and began to glow.

Right before they teleported, Rachel caught a glimpse of horror on her dad's face.

Rachel, Harry, and Bolt landed in the reception of Vejovis, the new hospital.

After St. Mungo's had gone up in flames, clinics had run overtime trying to house all the patients who needed treatment, not to mention the regular hospital use. With the increase in public pressure, the Ministry went forwards with constructing a new building on the outskirts of London. The premises was fortified with a hundred or so kinds of security, none of which Rachel understood, save for the bubble-like shield that all magical institutions seemed to have.

Within weeks, the new place was up and running at full capacity. All long-term patients took up residence, and the only way to quickly reach the building was through apparation, the floo, or by a portkey.

Or, in Bolt's case, teleportation.

The reception was bustling as usual, with several witches and wizards moving around, engrossed in their own business. When Rachel, Harry, and Bolt appeared near the row of hearths, not many actually paid them much attention.

That was good. Rachel dragged Harry to one of the empty seats, settling him down next to a heavily pregnant woman.

Harry had shut his eyes for the ride, so Rachel knelt down and whispered, "Harry, I'm going to find a Healer. Do you think Sierra is in today?"

Harry grimaced but shook his head muttering, "Too gold."

With a sigh, she told Bolt to stay with him while she went off to search for Harry's Healer. Sierra was the most experienced in dealing with him. She'd sort him out. Rachel would need to go back to the beach house and hopefully find her dad before he called a SWAT team to search for people who disappeared in a flash of light.

Rachel went up to the receptionist, who was busy arguing with a beautiful woman who had golden hair, a perfect ensemble of clothes that just suited her complexion…

"Rosalie?!" Rachel gasped, staring at Rosalie Hale, one of Sally's personally assigned bodyguards.

The vampire stopped talking and turned to gawk at Rachel. Her bright amber eyes widened in surprise.

"Rachel? What are you…" Her head snapped towards the waiting area, immediately focusing on Harry, sitting crouched down. Rachel scrutinised him as well.

Harry was gawking at the pregnant woman beside him. The woman, in turn, had placed a palm on his forehead, leaning forward in dire panic.

Rachel was sure that she'd never seen her before. But something about her… She was wearing a brown pendant. It was similar to the disguise chain Harry and DJ had given her before the party.

That was Sally. Sitting in the hospital. One hand on Harry's head, the other over her swollen belly. Her breathing was laboured.

Long story short—Sally's blood pressure had skyrocketed after Percy had left for camp. That had been two days ago. Since she hadn't gone into labour, her Healer had advised home remedies, seeing as magical nitpicks did nothing but stress her out. But this morning, she had found it hard to breathe and Rosalie's dad figure, Carlisle, had recommended hospitalisation immediately.

Vampires weren't allowed in hospitals. Period. Rosalie would have to leave the moment Sally was taken to her room. So she'd called the Order to send someone to stand guard for her.

In the meantime, Sierra hadn't been found yet. The receptionist called another Healer to give Harry a check-up and prescribe whatever he needed to address the apparent crack in his skull. No wonder he'd been hung up on colours.

Even after downing a vial of obscenely neon green shade of liquid, he seemed out of it. Rachel was waiting in his room, hopping on jittery feet and thinking about her dad, who was probably in shock or freaking out about what had happened.

Should she come forward to him? Should she tell the truth?

Bolt yawned. Her familiar had been given some potion as well to help heal from the fight with Kelli, but that had nearly put her to sleep. Rachel was loathe to wake her up just to travel back to the Caribbean, but she couldn't bear to leave her dad with no information.

"Harry?" Rachel leaned down to his eye-level. Harry was blinking slowly, ready to nod off. His eyes were better now. He was sitting up on the hospital bed, legs stretched out and arms awkwardly lying on the sides. His room was dimly lit and silent since the noise aggravated his headache.

"I need to go back," Rachel whispered. "My dad saw us disappear. I have to tell him."

Harry closed his eyes, turning away. Maybe he needed to sleep because he didn't understand how much trouble Rachel was in.

She sighed and stood up. "Okay. Sally is in room 312B. Rosalie just left, but I think she'd be sending Tonks. An Auror stood outside the room now. So, you stay put, okay? I have to go."

He didn't answer her, not even acknowledging that she was leaving the room.

"I'm sorry," Rachel felt like tearing up. "This is all my fault. They came for me and hurt you. I should have told you and Percy, but I was so scared…"

He still didn't focus on her, and Rachel felt a sob building in her throat. She knew he'd heard the short conversation she'd had with Kelli. He would know that she had contact with Kronos before.

"I'll tell Percy," she promised, sniffling. "I have to go find my dad first, explain things to him. Then I'll call Percy and tell him everything. Stay here. I'll call you later. Sally needs you here."

Rachel exited the room, feeling her shoulders weigh more with each step. It hurt that Harry had no response, but that could be the concussion recovery. Maybe later, he'd be sympathetic.

She had to fix this now.

Bolt woke up, swearing that she would pass out after the next trip. Rachel didn't cross her, and the two left the hospital, travelling back to the beach house on the Punta Cana coastline.

The hot morning bled into a burning noon. The beach was scorching, and Rachel thought how just half an hour ago, she, Bolt, and Harry had practically crash-landed on the white sand.

She scanned the row of multi-million dollar residences before climbing up to the porch of her house. Bolt sat at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, trying to fall asleep.

"Dad?" Rachel called out. She waited right inside the foyer, surveying the ominously silent house.

Her nerves were pricking up again. What if…

What if Kelli had come back? Her dad had been alone—

Sounds of feet shuffling across the waxed floor came from her left. Rachel swivelled and caught sight of her dad, leaning by the wall, palms digging into his eyes.

Rachel exhaled, her heart rate falling from 200 to a normal 72. She coughed out, "Oh, thank gods!"

Patrick jumped and stared, stunned when she rushed forwards to throw her arms around him.

"Rachel?" he murmured, one hand brushing her hair back. He was blinking at her like he couldn't believe she was real.

"I got so scared!" she gasped. "For a second—"

"I had the weirdest dream," her dad said, talking over her like he didn't hear her words. Rachel watched him closely. His eyes were glassy.

"Dad?"

"You were gone. You were in front of me and you were gone." His heart seemed to break and Rachel had to stifle the inflow of burning tears again.

"No, daddy. I'm right here," she pleaded. "See?"

Patrick's face crumpled and Rachel was so startled that she didn't move when he hugged her back. He was distraught.

"Don't leave me, sweetie," he was whispering into her hair. She could feel the shudder in his chest like he was holding his own tears back. "Not you too."

"What?" Rachel tried to pull back but Patrick only hugged her tighter.

Rachel searched Bolt for answers, but the puppy was just as confused as her. Why was her dad talking like that? Had the Mist still lingered after the monsters had disappeared? Had they cast a spell on him?

"Daddy? It's okay. See, I'm here."

Patrick nodded, eyes closed in a scowl.

"Dad, did you take something?" Rachel couldn't help the suspicion. He just wasn't being himself. She wondered if he was actually drunk. But she'd never seen him drink too much of anything, he wasn't the kind of person to do that. His breath didn't smell at all.

"Just needed one."

"One what?"

He didn't answer or open his eyes. Rachel pulled herself from his arms and helped him to the dining room. She pulled out a chair for him to sit on and watched him closely.

"What did you drink?" she asked as softly as she could.

"It's not—it's nothing. Don't worry. I just need to lie down."

"Does mom know about this?"

Patrick let out a breath. "I'm fine, cherie—"

"You were freaking out," Rachel said, eyes wide. "And you just said you'd had something."

"It's prescribed. It's fine." He raised an eyebrow like he was judging her. "Where's Harry?"

"Um…"

"Did he leave too? Where are they going? And how are they getting flights?"

"Dad, it's a long story. You need to sit down—"

"I am sitting down."

"Yeah." Rachel's face felt hot. "Harry's rich and Percy's mom is dating a millionaire, so… they have flights…"

She couldn't tell him the truth. Not after he'd reacted by taking strong medication, no matter how prescribed it was, Rachel was freaked out. She didn't even know her dad took pills.

Patrick snorted before laying his head on the table. Rachel swallowed. He must be seriously zonked.

"Perks of being rich, huh?" he mumbled, closing his eyes. "Just get your Cessna and fly to the city in under a couple o' hours."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Under a couple of… what?"

"Hours."

She blinked down at him in confusion. "Cessna? Who took the jet?"

"Your mom," Patrick sighed, and coming from anyone else, Rachel would have assumed that was a 'yo mom' joke, but—

"Mom took the jet to… the city? But that's only 120 miles," Rachel said before her brain bluescreened.

No…

"Dad, when you said mom went to the city for a meeting, did you mean Santo Domingo? Or New York?"

Patrick didn't even open his eyes. In the back of her head, Rachel wondered if he'd really taken only one pill, but the most pressing point barrelled ahead and she yelled, "Is mom in New York?!"

Not New York. Percy had told her, expressly forbid her from being in the city during August. He'd said that the demigods would be based at camp, but Mount Olympus was on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, which meant New York could turn into an ugly battleground. That was why he'd sent Sally to stay with the Cullens, and why Rachel had spent weeks convincing her parents to stay with her in the Caribbean for some family fun.

But her mother was in the city right now.

Percy's birthday was tomorrow.

Rachel had to get her out.

"Bolt!" Rachel grabbed the puppy off her shoulder, just as she woke up.

"New York!"

"Whu—"

"Now!"

The Healer had advised Bolt to get a day’s worth of rest, but they had no time for that now. Bolt shook her pelt and began to glow. Rachel hugged her familiar, staring back at her dad who seemed to have dozed off.

"I'll come back," she said right before they vanished from the beach house again.

New York was silent.

Rachel and Bolt landed on the 14th floor of her mom's work place. The office building was a tech park in the middle of the city, with some plush green lawns surrounding them. Rachel felt a little dizzy and clutched the wall to check the empty office. They were in her mom's cabin.

Bolt dropped to the floor, slumped on the ground. She didn't move when Rachel went to pick her up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the sleeping puppy.

She had to find Beatrice. Conference halls were on the same floor, so Rachel set off down the hallway.

The blue and white walls of the dead silent building sent shivers down her spine. Rachel stopped in the middle of the corridor, trying to strain her ears for any kind of noise. There was nothing. No one was talking or making regular human sounds. She hurried to the floor-to-ceiling windows and checked the streets.

It seemed like something from a post-apocalyptic world. There was no life down there because several cars and buses seemed stranded on the roads, unused. She could even see people lying all over the sidewalks as though everyone had simply dropped dead at the same time.

Rachel backed away from the windows. Her heart was hammering again. Had the war already begun? Was it over? Did they lose?

She wasted a precious few seconds going ‘round in her head. It felt like she'd had dreams, maybe visions of this. The world dead with a lonely figure rising above everyone. The world on fire with one voice laughing over the flames. The world caught in a storm, drowning all the screams.

Find mom. Find mom. Find mom.

Rachel ran down the hallway, searching through as many rooms as she could. The AC was working up to speed and the chill in the air took over with all conversation dead. People lay on the carpeted floor in casuals and formals. Employees were slumped over their desks, some having fallen over the potted plants that lined the corridor.

They were alive. All of them. Rachel could see their chests rising with every heavenly breath. She even checked a few pulses and found them all slow and steady.

The city was asleep.

Huh, almost like what had happened to Grover…

Rachel found the halls. She opened the door and began to search through the faces, searching for the most familiar—

"Mom!" Rachel almost cried when she found her mother, sitting on the floor, body tilted towards the window. She'd fallen asleep as well. Rachel dropped to her knees to check her face and breathing.

Beatrice seemed fine. Rachel tried to wake her up, shaking her shoulders and raising her voice, but her mother's head simply lolled from one side to the other, eyes closed.

With nothing else to do, Rachel hugged before standing up.

"Bolt?"

The puppy was as dead as the rest of them. Rachel winced and looked around. The chairs had wheels. Maybe she could push her mother out, get them somewhere safe.

But without Bolt, Rachel was in trouble.

There was a creak from outside the room. Rachel turned on her heel to stare at the door in trepidation. Someone was awake.

She couldn't be sure if one of the people had woken up. It could also be somebody unfriendly.

Better to be safe than sorry. Rachel ducked underneath the large table, hiding behind one of the centre supports that was big enough to conceal her.

The door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang. Rachel jumped, biting her lip to stop shouting.

"Shhh!" somebody said, aggravated. "Are you trying to wake them up?!"

Rachel didn't know this voice, but it made her blood go cold. The tenor had poison to it.

"They're not gonna wake up!" a second voice snapped. "Trust me."

"Oh yeah? Then why are we here?"

It was a monster. She was sure of it. She peeked out of the table support to glance at the legs of the two beings that had walked in. One pair of legs looked like they belonged to a large lion. They were immense and muscled, each paw encased in the biggest shoes Rachel had ever seen. The second pair of legs was comically small, belonging to a more human-sized monster. This one was wearing jeans so she couldn't tell what it looked like. Maybe it wasn't a monster. Maybe it was one of the rogue demigods.

It didn't make them any less dangerous.

"I told you, I heard someone."

"Which means one of the mortals' awake!"

"Or not," the one with the lion legs said slowly, walking around the table. Rachel went around the table support, keeping their legs in sight.

The lion who was walking on its hind legs went around the room sniffing. Rachel turned around the support, trying to make herself smaller. Her heart was pounding so loud she was surprised when nobody woke up from the noise.

The lion stopped at the window and said, "How far are we from the mountain?"

"Three hundred yards," the second voice said. This one came from right behind Rachel and she turned around and saw a face peering at her under the table.

They'd found her.

Rachel clenched a hand over her mouth, not even risking a breath. He stared back wide-eyed. He was a demigod. She'd seen him before. In the labyrinth…

Ethan Nakamura.

He had the same eye patch and his hair was longer, bangs falling over his forehead. He wore Celestial Bronze armour over a faded black t-shirt, and a short sword rested in the sheath at his side.

As her nausea and terror rose, she waited for him to call her out, but he didn't raise alarm. The lion monster was probably still surveying out the window, just a few feet from her mom. Rachel felt faint.

"Ethan," she mouthed.

Ethan grimaced. He'd recognised her.

Then he stood up. "You gonna admire the skyline or can we search the rest of the building?"

The lion growled, "Yeah, yeah. I'm telling you I heard someone."

"I believe you. So, let's find them."

Ethan and the lion walked out of the room and Rachel finally sucked in a breath.

Bolt shifted in her sleep and whined.

Rachel froze at the same time the lion did. She watched as the legs turned around and bounded back. The lion's front paw grabbed the table and flipped it onto the side to reveal the full monster—one with a human face, a lion's body, and a scorpion's tail.

When Rachel screamed, it split the air and shocked the dead city of New York.

Chapter 5: Drowning in Two Feet of Choices

Chapter Text

Percy hadn't slept well enough the night before.

But really, ever since moving seventy percent of the campers to New York, setting up residence in a hotel, barely a stone's throw away from the Empire State Building, and realising that the entire city was dead asleep, not many of the demigods could relax much.

Right after a hazy lunch, Silena had pushed him towards one of the long couches, near the corner of the grand lobby. Despite hemming and huffing protests, he followed her instructions and tried to settle his nerves by at last trying to doze. The Hunters had left that morning with a stealth team of ten demigods. They were due to set a perimeter around the hotel and the base of Mount Olympus. Percy needed all the rest he could get by the time they were back.

He resigned to a broken sleep, stretching out on the plush couch. He barely closed his eyes when he fell into a dream.

*

Statues in a garden. A very familiar setting.

The breeze sent a faint scent of roses in the air, brushing past the vines and creepers around the dirty statue garden. Percy stood in front of the frozen form of Grover's Uncle Ferdinand.

The scene shifted and Percy blinked to find himself standing in a dark corner, peering into the light where two figures stood around, talking.

Kronos was leaning right by a massive window. His eyes (Luke's eyes) shone with deadly gold as he swung his new scythe weapon in slow turns of figure eight. Thalia had said how wickedly sharp the blade was, able to slice through armour, flesh, and soul. Phoebe had been wounded by the scythe first, incapacitating her too much to run away. If she would ever have chosen the option of running away.

Kronos was talking to Kelli. Percy recognised the Empousa who'd disguised herself as a cheerleader when he and Harry had gone to Goode's orientation.

"… not entirely mortal," Kelli was saying. Her eyes were an angry red and she clenched her fists. Something had made her furious. "Killed Aella with one stab. Not even trained!"

"She has powers," Kronos hummed.

"More than that. She vanished from the ground and reappeared in the air within seconds. Are we sure she isn't a witch?"

The word made Percy grit his teeth. Who were they talking about? Why were they involved with witches and wizards?

Luke's face twisted into a smirk. "She isn't. That's the best part, Kelli."

"Well, she's something," Kelli grumbled. "Aella would have killed the brother, if not for her."

"Nothing to be said. We have her now. And they don't know that," Kronos said, swinging the scythe again. Percy heard the metallic swish like the blade was cutting invisible things in the air. His hair stood on its end and he swallowed, uncomfortable with Luke's expression. They had taken someone.

"And the brother?" Kelli asked, sour at her defeat.

"Leave him. I thought he'd be a good bargaining chip. But we can manage."

Kelli huffed, "Fine! When are we starting stage three?"

"Soon," Kronos smiled. "Oversee Typhon's progress. And check with Prometheus, he's quite close to bursting into song."

The Empousa shuddered, "Oh, Titans! What about Hyperion? How long till he gets here?"

"I'll deal with him later. I need to see to our guest now," Kronos pushed off from the wall and Kelli tilted her head in the smallest of bows.

Percy watched as she left the room and Kronos walked towards another door at another corner. He would have followed the Titan, if Kronos hadn't stiffened and swivelled to glare at Percy, hiding in the shadows.

"You just have to poke your nose into everyone's business, Jackson," Kronos snarled.

Percy panicked. Kronos turned in one swift move and threw the scythe at him.

*

Right before the blade could reach him, Percy woke up, gasping and coughing.

He turned, trying to get up and move away from the couch at the same moment, and ended up falling on the carpeted floor in a heap. His face was pressed into the rug, his butt sticking up, and one of his feet was still on the couch.

"Gods!" Annabeth’s voice drew closer. "What happened?"

Percy groaned, pulling his limbs free and sitting up carefully. He watched as Annabeth kneeled in front of him, narrowing her eyes.

"Had a dream… They got someone."

"They—who?"

He told her his short dream and she held his hand to stop the shivers. Percy hadn't even realised he'd been shaking.

"They got a witch?" Annabeth's eyes widened.

"He didn't think she was one." Percy could see why that was the detail Annabeth had attached to. Someone who could be a witch, who had a brother. Sounded a lot like Rachel.

But nobody knew that Percy had gone to the Caribbean. Or could they?

"Call Harry," Annabeth said. She grimaced at the implication. "He has the mirror, right?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

A commotion echoed from the hotel's antechamber. Percy and Annabeth glanced up in alarm and immediately rushed out of the lobby, weapons in hand, just in case…

It was the Hunters.

Percy rushed forwards, heart in his throat. Had something happened? Was security compromised? Were the mortals waking up?

A small crowd of demigods gathered near the entrance of the hotel they'd set up base in. Annabeth and Percy arrived at the reception, standing beside Silena and Grover to gauge the problem.

"Is it a breach?" Percy asked, even though it was obvious that it wasn't. A security breach would have killed them all. But he couldn't stand the suspense, because Thalia was definitely in the crowd, her spiky hair bobbing near the middle.

"No. But we have a guest," Silena whispered, stunned. Percy scowled at the unintentional call back to Kronos's words.

The crowd parted and Percy inhaled sharply feeling everything in him go numb and cold.

Standing caught in a tight hug from Bianca, was her brother, Nico.

He'd grown. He was exactly her height now, their similarities very pronounced even through the hollowed cheeks and slightly gaunt eyes. Like Bianca's dark-clothed Hunter gear, Nico wore black jeans, and an old black t-shirt with a caricature of a skull on it. The biker's jacket that covered him gave him a volume, a measure of power that hadn't been there before. It took a moment for Percy to realise that the jacket belonged to Sirius, shrunken down to fit Nico. It had the logo of an old wizards' band on it.

Nico peeked at Percy over Bianca's arms, his face going red under the mess of black hair, reminiscent of Harry, actually. Percy tried not to glare at him.

He didn't try that hard though.

"Idiot," Thalia muttered, punching Nico in the arm, though not as hard as she would have for Percy.

"Sorry," Nico mumbled as Bianca let him go finally.

"Sorry?" Percy asked, voice raising. Everyone around them went silent, waiting for his reaction.

"Ooh, boy," Travis whispered.

"Radio silence for eight months,” Percy said quietly. “And you come back with a sorry?"

Nico didn't seem scared. He looked stubborn, lips pressed tight, shoulders back like he knew exactly how Percy was going to burst.

Gods, Percy wanted to yell at him. He wanted to shake him by the shoulders and scream at the boy for running away and scaring everyone. Not even Bianca had known where he'd been. She and Percy had pretended to not cry when thinking about him. Nico had no right to waltz back just in time for the world ending.

But he came back. He came back.

"I have news," Nico said. His eyes flit from Percy to Annabeth, Silena, Grover, and then Bianca.

"We have news too," Travis volunteered, folding his arms. "The city's asleep and the gods are all out of contact, too busy fighting Typhon."

Nico grimaced, "I have less known news."

"Out with it," Percy said, trying to not show any kind of relief.

"Um, maybe we could talk inside the hotel… just with you—"

"Whatever you have to say, you can tell all of camp," Percy said, an unfamiliar bite coating his own words.

Nico gaped. "But, I really need to talk to you alone, Percy."

"Not gonna happen."

"You don't get it, it's about Luke!" Nico's eyes had gone wide like he was trying to convey something crucial silently.

Percy frowned. "We know about his tricks. He's got plans regarding other Titans up his sleeve."

As soon as Percy said it, everyone turned to gawk at him. Annabeth closed her eyes with a groan. Right, his dream. He hadn't shared it with anyone other than Annabeth, yet.

"What other Titans?" Beckendorf asked carefully.

"Yeah, I was going to tell you guys,” Percy cringed. “He's calling forth other Titans to help with the fight."

"How d'you know that?!" Silena exclaimed.

"Dreams ya know."

"Urgh! Jackson, you literally slept for like twenty minutes!"

"I'm not talking about the Titans!" Nico yelled, bringing everyone's attention. "I'm talking about Luke. Percy, I really need to talk to you alone!"

"Luke?" Thalia whispered, so shocked that she couldn't do anything else but stare at Nico. He winced.

"Sorry, but I just found out something, and it's pretty important—"

"Counsellor meeting!" Annabeth barked, making Percy jump at the volume of her voice. "Now!"

Nico wasn’t pleased with the idea but it was better than talking in front of everyone. The cabin counsellors retreated to a room behind the reception which was like a closet that was stocked with rows of uniforms for the hotel staff. A large square table was stocked near the end. The teens crowded around the table, squeezing each other. Percy felt like he was stuck in a spacious telephone booth with twelve other demigods.

"Where's Clarisse?" Nico asked, wedged between Travis and Bianca.

"Back at camp," Silena sighed, trying to find a comfortable space between Beckendorf and Katie.

"Is she guarding camp?"

"You could say that," Michael muttered, half-hidden behind Beckendorf.

"Nico, talk," Annabeth said, her fists so tight that Percy could see her knuckles straining. Thalia was the same, except her hair let off an electric discharge. If she got any more upset, everyone in the room would be getting shocked.

Nico glanced at Percy for a moment before staring at the table. Then he launched into an explanation that involved, of all the people in the world, Luke's mother.

May Castellan, still alive and a little mad, was able to give her son her blessing to receive the curse of Achilles.

Bianca and Percy, who were standing on either side of Thalia, had to inch away because they smelled ozone in the air. Luke had the curse of Achilles. That was how he'd been able to play host to Kronos. When Percy and the others had seen him in the Labyrinth, he'd already taken his mother's blessing to do it.

This was not good.

"But that's good then!" Connor said, a little hesitant but hopeful. "Having the curse means there would be one point on his body that's susceptible. We find that spot, we can end him!"

The ozone smell was rampant now. Thalia was not being subtle. Katie intervened, "The Achilles spot is Luke's most vulnerable point. We have no proof that it would hurt the Titan."

"What about his scythe?" Percy asked, the prophecy coming to mind. "That's the most powerful thing we have. We stab him with his scythe—"

"We don't have it," Annabeth said, already running out of patience.

"No, but the prophecy talks about a cursed blade. I can't think of any blade more cursed than one that was built to take down the Gods." Like Thalia, Percy wasn't being subtle either. It was an entirely different way, though.

"Would the scythe be strong enough to kill a Titan?" Castor asked in a hushed voice.

"How d'you think we can get the blade away from him, Percy?" Thalia asked. "Do you have a plan for that?"

Percy held back a groan. "I'm literally making this up as we go."

"It's not a good plan," Annabeth said, backing Thalia, because of course, neither of them would want to harm Luke. "Luke's the best swordfighter there is and that was without the Achilles curse or the Titan's control. There is no way we can beat him in combat."

Percy distinctly recalled winning against Luke in a sword fight. It may have been only once, but it was when he'd just been learning. If anyone could beat him, it was Percy.

And Percy knew that Annabeth knew that.

"We can't save him," Percy muttered, eyes flickering from Annabeth to Thalia. "He's too far gone."

Annabeth glared down at the floor, not willing to fight him about this, because she knew that he was right. But Thalia faced him head-on, eyes burning into Percy's skull.

"And you're the hero who's willing to kill him," she spat.

Percy stood his ground, not daring to move away. It was hard because witnessing Thalia's glare was nearly as bad as facing her shield Aegis.

When she saw that she wouldn't be able to change his mind, Thalia snapped, "Fine! Let's just go and murder them all. Call me when we regroup, I need a room."

She vaulted over the table to reach the exit. Not waiting to see if anyone else had a word, she opened and slammed the closet door.

The silence was uncomfortable since Annabeth refused to say anything.

"Bianca?" Travis whispered. "Could you just move a bit there, I'm actually standing on one foot."

"Percy," Nico called. He had a frown that seemed to tell a story there. Percy didn't understand it but Annabeth did. She snapped her eyes up towards Nico before giving a resounding, "No."

"But—"

"That's not happening. There's no telling—"

"Like it or not, Percy is the best one to go up against the Titan!" Nico argued. "If he could get an even footing it would make all the difference."

"It'll give him a mortal spot too! It's too risky!"

"Are you talking about me taking on the curse?" Percy asked.

"Yes!" Nico exclaimed. "All you need to do is ask Sally—"

"But I can't die!"

Everyone groaned. Michael sighed, "Dude. You haven't tested that out yet."

"It's the same as Harry's," Percy explained, arm going up to touch the bracelet. "I'll come back after a fatality. Game, reset, match."

"But what if it's not the same?" Nico asked, his voice cracking at a higher pitch.

"It is the same." Surprisingly, it was Bianca who'd answered that. She looked at Nico with a raised eyebrow. "The list."

Nico's shoulders slumped. Percy blinked. "What list?"

Bianca turned to him, resigned. "You're not mortal, Percy. Not entirely. You, Harry, and Rachel have that same extra power that sets you apart from the rest of us. So, yeah. I think you'll come back if you die. Just like Harry."

"Yeah, but what list?"

"The Underworld has lists of people who're alive or dead. Who needs to be judged, and what the ruling is. The three of you are not on it."

"... uhuh."

When the meeting was over and they could finally leave the cramped closet, Percy stepped out, stretching his arms to pop the joints. Then he caught Nico's elbow and dragged him away from the others.

Bianca glared at Percy, folding her arms as if to say, Don't you hurt him.

Annabeth hardly noticed. She marched off, presumably to find Thalia.

Nico walked along with him, quietly like he was heading off to the gallows. Percy took the stairs and they went up to the first floor. Beside the bannisters, a large alcove was carved into the wall, quiet enough for a long overdue conversation.

He stood in front of Nico, letting him go and folding his arms.

Nico turned away, staring at the bright chandelier that lit up the first and ground floors.

He seemed to have some grey hair. Percy did a double take, squinting at the faint lighter shine of some of the hairs on the top of his head. Like the pale streaks that Percy and Annabeth sported, these were individual grey strands from weariness and stress.

What had Nico been doing?

"How are you?" Percy asked, feeling his anger ebb away.

Nico stared, surprised. He'd clearly been expecting yelling.

"F—fine. I mean. Yeah, it's been a while."

He was blinking a lot. Like he was tired without a proper night's sleep, like he hadn't been drinking enough water. Maybe not even eating properly.

Nico could shadow travel. He could have gone anywhere in the world. Could have even gotten out of risky situations.

Nico was twelve and could do things most adults couldn't even dream of. He was a twelve-year-old child and had gone through what most people couldn't imagine.

Percy placed a hand on his shoulder and felt how bony it was under the bulk of the jacket.

He whispered, "I'm so mad at you."

Nico winced, "Sorry."

Unable to think of anything else to say, Percy brought him into a hug, squeezing him gently. Nico stiffened for a moment before reciprocating.

With a lighter heart, Percy sent him off to one of the hotel rooms for a shower and possibly a proper meal.

It was almost 3 in the afternoon. Annabeth was still gone, obviously talking Thalia out of causing a friendly fire. Percy made his way to the lobby to retrieve the two-way mirror from his bag.

He sat on the carpet, leaning his back against the couch before saying, "Harry Potter."

The mirror changed from showing his reflection to displaying the inside of Harry's moleskin pouch.

"Harry!" Percy called, tapping his fingers over his knee. Come on, come on—

A burst of light flitted over the mirror and Harry's face flickered into view. He blinked, disoriented like he'd just woken up from a long unplanned nap.

"Perce. Hi."

Percy frowned. "Hi, you okay?"

"In a manner of speaking. I'm fine now."

Harry ran a hand through his hair, trying to settle it. Percy looked around him to catch sight of Harry's background, but it was just a white wall.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Where to begin? Percy breathed in real quick before blurting, "Nico's back."

Harry didn't react for a moment, frozen. "He—he is?"

"Yeah."

"Bloody hell."

"Yeah."

"Where's he been? Why didn't he come back? Was he in trouble?"

"I didn't ask him all that. He's exhausted, Harry. You didn't see him. He's so thin like he hadn't been eating. Mom would cry if she saw him now."

"Oh, gods."

The mirror shifted like Harry was sitting down to process the information.

"And everyone else?" he asked, trying to focus on Percy. "You guys are fine? The fights—"

"Not talking about that, Harry," Percy said firmly. "But you’re alright? And Rachel?"

"Hmm?"

"Harry, you listening?"

"Yeah! Sorry, I just woke up now. I've never slept this deep before."

Percy relaxed. Harry didn't seem too traumatised. "So you're both fine?"

"I'll call her and check. Don't worry."

"Where's she? Is her mom back?"

Harry frowned, a bit more aware now. "I don't know. I'll call her after this one."

Percy stared. "This one what?"

"This call," Harry said, exasperated. "After this call with you, I'll call her. Or you can do it yourself if you'd like."

"Did she drive into town?"

"No, I don't know, Percy! I don't keep a schedule!"

"Harry!" Percy sat up, heart thudding. "You're supposed to be with Rachel!"

"Yeah, well. We were attacked. Fine? But we're okay. She dropped me off at the new hospital and went back," Harry huffed.

We were attacked.

"YOU LET HER GO ALONE!" Percy roared.

"Okay, I might have been a little less than okay!” Harry yelled back. “I couldn't keep tabs!"

"I'm calling her!" He shook the mirror and let the call end before saying, "Rachel Dare!"

Come on, come on.

The new scene in the mirror was that of another pale wall. Or it could have been the ceiling of her room in the beach house. It had the same white trim by the corners as his room did.

"Rachel! Are you there, pick up!"

He waited for a panicky five seconds, ten seconds, even longer…

Percy cut the call and went back to Harry.

"Is she—"

"No!" Percy complained. "She's not picking up. Her mirror's in the room, but I couldn't see her."

"sh*t!" Harry checked something to the side. "There are Aurors outside my room. I can't leave the hospital until tomorrow."

Percy spotted Bianca cross the lobby with some of the younger Hunters. Many were having a late lunch. After that, he'd have to go for another planning session to reiterate some of the ideas that Annabeth found while scouring through Daedalus's laptop, a gift from him after the battle of the Labyrinth.

This was the only time he could sneak away and go back to Punta Cana to check for Rachel.

Rachel waited in the room the lion monster had thrown her into.

It was a small storeroom with concrete, unpainted walls, and a few old chairs in the corner. The room smelt musty, a little wet for some reason, even though dirt and dust were visible all around her. The single window was not even big enough for her to squeeze through. Also, it was eight feet off the ground and barred.

Bolt was still knocked out. Something was clearly wrong. No matter how much Rachel tried to wake her up, the puppy stayed silent and still. She was still alive because the tiny body was warm, but she wouldn't wake up.

Rachel wondered if it was some kind of sleeping spell that had gripped the city. Probably. It hadn't affected her though.

After an hour of waiting, the lock clicked. Rachel stood up, toes curling, hands gripping her puppy, breaths suddenly heavy. After a small rattling, the door swung open and Luke stepped in.

His eyes were gold, just like she'd seen before, when he'd appeared in her room in Manhattan, and had knocked out DJ just to talk to her.

It was Kronos who smiled down at her, patronisingly. "Why aren't you asleep?"

Rachel stared. She didn't understand the question at first. "Adrenaline. You kidnapped me."

He didn't drop his smile. Walking up to the chairs, he pulled two of them out to the centre of the room. He sat down on one and gestured her to the other.

She didn't want to just sit there like they were about to have a tea party. "No, thank you."

Kronos shrugged and settled on one of the chairs, quite at ease. She could see the handle of his sword placed in a sheath at his waist.

"You're not asleep because unlike any mortal, you are clear-sighted. And unlike any clear-sighted mortal, you are a Squib. And unlike a clear-sighted Squib, you are exceptional."

His emphasis on the last word made Rachel press her back against the wall.

"You have the bracelet," Kronos noted, staring intently at her arm. "Do you know what that means?"

She didn't answer, preferring to keep quiet.

His smile was waning, "It means that I could slit your throat and you'd wake up completely whole in a few hours if not days."

Rachel flinched because that was something that haunted her dreams.

"It also means," Kronos continued. "That if I try to kill you, one of your bracelet buddies will appear right here, to stop that from happening. Something about magical social support and whatnot."

She waited because he was getting to a point. Tightening her grip on Bolt, Rachel stayed quiet, determined not to make a sound.

"I can tell you a lot more about it," Kronos leaned forwards, placing his elbows on his knees. He grinned up at her, earnestly. "No god will let you in on the secrets I hold. You will know the truth of everything. You will be stronger than the Oracle. A veritable queen, Rachel. All your visions and your abilities—"

"No."

Interrupting the monologue of a Titan Lord apparently had its consequences. Not to mention, refusing him.

Kronos was so surprised he was quiet for a full second before standing up. His eyes burned a molten gold and Rachel backed away as quickly as possible.

"Would you rather die?" he hissed. "I have no problem running a sword through you, mortal!"

Her throat went dry. His power was building up in the room, making everything hotter. She could almost see heat waves in the air.

Then he tilted his head and closed his eyes. "Ugh. Uncool of me. I apologise. I have a temper issue."

No kidding, Rachel thought, still feeling like her stomach had dropped right through the floor. She clutched Bolt tighter.

"Rachel, you know the spiel," he sighed. "I can give you everything you've ever dreamed of. You won't be written off in my world."

"I can't do that," she pleaded. "No, really. It won't work. I can't control any vision or dream. I just have them. And many times they don't even help the situation. I'll be useless to you."

Kronos blinked. He truly seemed innocent. "You believe that? You actually believe that you're useless. What has this world done to you, Rachel?"

"That's not—"

She stopped herself when he pulled out the silver bracelet with the scythe charm. It dangled teasingly in his grip. He placed it on the chair he'd just vacated.

"You're not leaving until you make the choice. You won't be in danger either. The army won't harm you." He sounded so confident that he'd be able to wear her down. Rachel felt pricks of annoyance and anger scattered in her system.

"I did make the choice!"

"Not the right one. I'll have someone bring you food soon," Kronos said, walking out of the room. The door shut on its own and she heard the lock click in its place.

Rachel was stunned enough that she didn't move for several minutes. She was stuck here. Trapped.

Oh gods, no.

Something was building in her chest. It made her eyes burn and her nose tingle. The scythe charm hum and Rachel backed into the wall, right below the small window.

She didn't want to give prophecies that made Kronos decide who to kill first. What if she said something that led to Camp Half-Blood burning to the ground? That was plausible, given that she did have a vision of the cabins on fire.

What was the point of having visions if she couldn't protect them, keep her visions and herself out of the hands of evil Titans?

What was the point of having a bracelet that granted immortality but no other powers?

Rachel observed the scythe charm again.

Harry and Percy could do things with their bracelets. Things like opening any locked door or defending from any attack. Rachel should be able to do something. But she'd never practiced anything like that. She’d had one adrenaline rush in her life that ended with her fighting a giant scorpion monster, but that was a literal last resort kind of situation.

Right now, the only substantial thing set up was the weekly training sessions that she'll get to do with Harry, starting this month. Even that was more physical combat style, hand-to-hand defence. Nothing on using magic.

She wondered if Kronos would help her with that.

No, stop. Don't think like that.

She shut her eyes. The scythe charm hummed louder.

Get me out, she told her bracelet. Just get me out. I don't want to be here.

She slid down the wall and sat on the dirty floor. Placing Bolt on her lap, Rachel reached around to touch her bracelet.

How do I get out? Tell me how to out of here.

She wondered if anyone was listening to her. Like, through the cosmos. Gods could listen to her, right, across time and space. Like they were omnipotent.

Rachel blinked. She could pray to them.

Okay, she didn't have anything to sacrifice, so she'd have to do that after she got out.

“Hello,” she called out. “Olympian Gods, or any god really. Please get me out of here. I'm trapped. The Titan army is keeping me here. I don't want to help them. I want to get out. I'll sacrifice an entire banquet for anyone who helps me. Any kind of food you want, I can get it—”

"I have a craving for Japanese."

Rachel shrieked. She jumped and fell back into the corner, gazing wide-eyed at where the voice had come from.

He was definitely a god. With a symmetrical face, high cheekbones, a straight-slanted nose, and a very well-defined jaw, he crouched on his toes to grin at her, with a childish kind of giddiness. He wore royal armour, but over ripped jeans, like a trendsetter.

She briefly wondered if he was Adonis. Was Adonis a god?

"Hi," the deity chirped. "I'm Apollo. I was passing by when I heard the distressed cry of a damsel."

"Huh?"

"You were calling for help. I'm in the mood for Japanese. If you can spring for it, get the whole course for a lunch meal. Start with wheat tea. Demeter's been pestering me to try for ages. I'll humour her, 'cause I'm a nice guy."

Apollo smiled and surveyed the room. Then he spotted the scythe charm sitting on the chair.

"Oooh," he tittered. "That’s not good for business, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Is that why you called? Negotiations went wrong?"

"I don't want to join him," Rachel said forcefully.

"Awesome!” Apollo clapped. “Now I have no qualms about helping you! Aw jeez, you're the clear-sighted witch darling Dee harps about!"

"Squib," she muttered. "Could you get me out of here?"

"Hmm," he said, putting on a frown. "That would be difficult. See, there's a nice large barrier around the building. You'll have a time of it trying to sneak out. You could build a tunnel and crawl your way out, but then you'd need to find a shovel…"

"But, how'd you get in?"

Apollo waved his hands, "I'm not actually here. I'm setting wire traps to catch Typhon's feet so that Artemis can shoot arrows behind his knees. He's sensitive there."

Rachel sat up. "You're not here here?"

"Nope!"

"Then you can't help me?"

"Hey now, I didn't say that," Apollo sounded insulted. "We'll have to think of another way. Say, you're good with visions and stuff."

"… and stuff."

Apollo gave her a very alarming grin. It made the hairs on the back of her neck raise. She was going to regret this.

"I have a vacancy—for a very powerful position—someone with your abilities will fit right in."

Rachel didn't move. She didn't even breathe.

Apollo reached into the pocket of his trousers to bring out a beaded necklace. It was handmade. Rachel might have actually bought something like that had she seen it on a website. It had tiny markings around the clay-based rainbow beads, with splashes of colour on the worn thread. In the middle dangled a small coin-sized copper medallion with the image of the sun embossed.

"Take the necklace and you'll have the honour of hosting—"

"The Oscars?"

"The Spirit of the Oracle of Delphi."

Rachel frowned up at him. "A what?"

"The Oracle," Apollo said, crestfallen that she didn't understand the intensity of the situation. "Apollo's gift of the Vision. The Spirit of Seers?"

Rachel stared blankly.

He sighed, dropping his shoulders. "The camp mummy."

"You want me to be a mummy?!"

"No! The mummy hosts the spirit. But you're alive and basically, one who can't stay dead. That's perfect! You know what? Ditch the Japanese cuisine, just say yes and I'll get you out of here!"

Why did it have to keep coming back to her visions?

"Why don't you just get me out and I'll throw in an entire Continental breakfast buffet for you?" Rachel suggested.

"Sweetheart," Apollo said, patiently. "This is a very weak form. I know it may seem corporeal, and that's because I'm awesome. But really if you become the Oracle's host, I can zap you out in an instant, and send you straight to camp."

Rachel groaned. A scythe charm bracelet on one hand and a beaded hippie necklace on the other. And that was already on top of a bronze bracelet that she hadn't chosen in the first place.

"Shall I help you decide? I've just come up with the shortest of poems to spur you on," Apollo said cheerfully as he cleared his throat and sang,

“The hardest of choices you face
require the greatest of minds and wills.
And with every choice you make
you leave behind a trail of…”

Apollo frowned. "Wills? Like will and testament? Would that work? How about sills? Or quills?"

Rachel thought she heard footsteps echo from outside the door. Someone was coming here. Maybe to bring her food.

No way. There was no way Rachel was sticking around here for a second longer. Not to face the monsters of the Titan army, not to agonise over the scythe charm, not to listen to Apollo try and make a good poem.

She didn't want to be in the war. But apparently, it was gonna happen one way or the other.

Chapter 6: A Gulp of Air

Chapter Text

Sally’d been wheeled into the operating theatre.

Harry had to calm down or he'd pass out before the baby was born. Sitting outside her room was no comfort either. The hallway in the maternity ward always had some sort of activity. It was now coupled with three Aurors standing around Harry like he was from the Royal family or something.

He hoped Rachel was fine. When Percy called him, it made Harry's heart rate spike again. He should call her. Should make sure she was a hundred percent okay. His hands had started to shake like he was in the tundra with no thermal spells.

He needed to get up, and walk around but went cold at the thought of leaving Sally. She was alone with strangers in the room. He'd promised her that he was right outside.

"Harry?" Tonks called. She sounded soft but urgent. "Harry, close your eyes and focus. I think you're having a panic attack."

It didn't feel like a panic attack. He'd had one before. This was silent, almost unimpressive. Someone began to rub his back and that shook him out. Harry shuddered and stood up.

"I need some air," he said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," Tonks nodded, serious. "We can step out."

"No. No, just me."

"That's not a good idea, Harry."

"No, I just need space. Stop crowding me!" He stepped away from her hand and started to walk fast to the end of the hallway.

The noises were loud. Harry reached the elevator and just stood there, chest heaving. It made no sense. He hadn't even run, how was he out of breath?

"Harry?"

This voice wasn't Tonks, or any of the Aurors or Order members. Healer Sierra Calles stepped out of the elevator, right in front of Harry.

She blinked, surprised. "Are you alri—"

"I need to see Sirius."

His request made her face fall. "Harry, you know the security measures—"

"Just for five minutes," he pleaded. "I just want to see him. Sally's progress wasn't good. They took her into Labour and Delivery. I'm going out of my mind here. I just need to see him for a bit!"

"Healer Cross is very good," Sierra said. She seemed to have endless patience, but it just made Harry angrier. "If her report says that Sally and the baby will be okay, they will be. And Harry, I need your guardian's signature to let anyone into Sirius's ward. That includes you."

He shook his head, "Cross said that the baby's going to be out in five minutes. I need less than that to actually go up to Sirius and tell him that his kid is coming. There's no better motivation than that to wake up from a bloody coma!"

It had been months since Sirius had been practically unresponsive. Harry didn't want to think about the chances of him never recovering.

Sierra held back a grimace. That wasn't helpful. "I—I can request permission to admit you in for a bit. But not now, Harry. You'll have to wait."

"Didn't you hear me?! The baby's coming now!"

"Which means you should be there waiting for them!" Sierra argued. "I recall very clearly when you and Percy promised to be there with Sally so she wouldn't have to be alone."

Harry winced. Vejovis was as strict as it was phobic against non-humans. Neither Rosalie nor Remus had been given any allowance to stay on the maternity floor. Since no one knew Percy was half-human, he and Harry had been the only ones on the list as part of the immediate family allowed to wait for Sally during the birth. Remus would be waiting in Sally's old room on the second floor and Rosalie would be at home, across country lines.

But Percy wasn't here. And Harry was going out of his mind.

"If you need another check-up, I can do that right now. If you need to go home, I can arrange a portkey. If you need to lie down, Tonks can escort you back to your room…"

And any of those things would make Harry break his promise. He knew that Sally hated the thought of being lonely. He was the same that way. And being in a room of strangers while having to be knocked out to have a baby cut out of you was the pinnacle of terror and loneliness.

If Percy or Sirius wasn’t with Sally, then Harry had to be.

Suck it up.

"I'll stay," the declaration was a weak whisper, but Harry meant it.

Sierra gave him a sad smile. He was sure she hadn't meant to look pitying, but it did seem that way. She said, "I'll write for that signature."

Tonks gave Sierra a quick thanks and walked with Harry back to the chairs outside the theatre. They sat there and Harry closed his eyes.

He thought of DJ. He thought of the last time he'd seen his cousin. Harry always had trouble piecing together things that happened right before he died. At first, he didn’t know what he and DJ had talked about for the last time.

But Harry had exchanged enough letters with Luna. He'd gone through hundreds of Occlumency lessons with Dumbledore. With their help, he'd been able to recover bits of his last memory with DJ.

The Gryffindor Common room was dim and flickered. The colours were wrong. Harry knew what the room was like, which was the only reason the memory recollection even worked. It took months before the conversation made sense.

.

Ron and Hermione were sound asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace. Ron's head was partly on his bag and partly on Hermione's lap. She was stretched over the arm of the couch, neck leaning on what Harry hoped was a comfortable angle.

He couldn't help but smile.

"You softy," DJ spoke. Harry turned and spotted him on one of the armchairs by the window. He was the only other person in the common room.

"You waited for me?" Harry asked, walking over and sitting opposite, propping his feet right on the armrest of DJ's chair.

"Who'd wait for you? No. Colin's sneaking around in the Potion's classroom. He wanted to get all the photos done today."

Harry gaped. "He willingly broke into the dungeons? And you let him?!"

This part was tricky. Harry would watch DJ talk with his past self, but the surroundings flickered as though they would crumble at any time.

"Relax, Luna's with him! I mean, if they do get caught, Luna will confuse Snape so much he'd just let them go," DJ leaned back, trying to act suave, but his face had gone pink at the mention of her name.

Harry smiled, "You really trust them, don't you?"

"Well, duh! They're my friends. Nothing better than friends."

"What about family?"

DJ frowned. "Agree to disagree. I mean, we're friends, aren't we Harry?"

He nodded, "Sure...how does Luna deal with Snape during Potions?"

"Ooh. It's a treat, Harry. You should have been there in first year. He called on her to answer some stuff and the entire conversation turned over so that she was asking him questions. He's learned his lesson, though. Snape never talks to her now."

"Amazing." Harry shook his head, grinning. "So, how many photos are there."

"Hmm, a little over 200."

"Oh."

"Yeah. And he's making copies so we can send them over to camp."

"Right."

Harry leaned sideways on his chair to look over at the sleeping pair.

"Hey, guess what?!" DJ's voice managed to demonstrate exactly how bright his eyes were shining, with the sudden excitement. "I ordered your Christmas present! You're gonna love it!"

"Really? What is it?"

"It… whoa, wait, I'm not telling you."

.

DJ's Christmas present had been an all-season jacket that changed comfort based on the temperature outside. It was dark purple with bright pink words on the front that read THE BI WHO LIVED . It had a hood as well, in blue and purple shades.

Harry had never worn it. It hung on the wall of his room, like an antique treasure.

.

Harry knocked on DJ's arm with his toe. DJ pushed his feet away. "Not telling."

"Then why did you say it?"

"I just… I mean, I couldn't think of anything to get you…" DJ pressed his lips together in worry. "But then… the other day I went with Colin and Luna to the Queer Club for a session. And I learnt a lot about labels, and I figured you didn't get the chance to come out, so I thought I would do something about that."

Harry stared. "Queer Club? Wait, did you erase the memory of that article from the minds of everyone in the continent?"

"Not really… yeah, there's a Queer Club. Didn't you know?"

"Just because I'm bi, doesn't mean I have power to detect other gay people."

DJ stared, confused. "But Colin says he can detect other gay people."

"Colin can, doesn't mean I can."

"No, Colin said that every gay person can figure out the others."

"Yeah…" Harry said, trying to think back to what Rachel might have said anything about detecting people.

The portrait swung open and a panting Colin Creevey stumbled inside—

.

And that was it.

From within the operating theatre, Harry heard the cry of a newborn. In seconds, it felt like the world shifted. His heart skipped a beat. He forgot to breathe.

But it wasn't from fear or hesitance. It was awe.

A thousand miles away, Percy was NOT having the time of his life.

He hadn't been able to get some shut-eye. The sleeplessness was starting to catch up to him.

Nico was back. They had to revise some ground strategies. Annabeth and her cabin had managed to awaken all the statues in New York to actually fight for them. Thanks to Daedalus's laptop, they had been able to activate a lot of the new plans that Annabeth had spent studying for nearly a year.

And Prometheus was coming.

Silena had said that the Titan had requested an audience with him, Thalia, and Bianca.

They had Rachel. Percy felt like he was moments away from imploding.

Tyson had lingered around with Annabeth, nervous as they watched from the penthouse balcony of the hotel.

Along with the Titan, was a singularly large thirty-foot-tall icy giant. He was carrying a white flag, large enough to act as a mask for the giant if he wanted.

A Hyperborean, as Thalia explained. Probably acting as a peacekeeping escort for Prometheus. Along with the duo, was an Empousa and another fighter dressed in armour. Percy recalled the monster. The bright red tresses accented by a red gown (what?) were a dead giveaway.

"Kelli," Percy muttered. He tightened his grip on the brass railing. Even from a distance, Percy saw her smile, confident and alluring. He didn't recognise the fighter, though.

"Percy. I want you and Thalia to keep your head during the meeting," Annabeth said. Percy sighed. She worried that he'd snap at the Titan's head and threaten him. Or that Thalia would electrocute them.

Honestly, either one was a possibility. Thalia had been on edge since Phoebe's death. And Percy hadn't been sleeping well since he'd come back from Punta Cana with Nico and the news that Rachel was missing.

"You guys need to go down," Grover said, holding in a nervous bleat. Percy nodded when Bianca nudged his elbow. He followed her and Thalia down the elevator and out of the hotel, waiting for the entourage to make their way across the open garden in front of the hotel. Both teams stopped at a distance with a park bench between them. Prometheus stepped forwards to sit on the bench, facing Thalia.

Percy could see the face of the fourth member. It was Ethan Nakamura. He wore Celestial Bronze armour, similar to the campers and Hunters. He narrowed his eyes at Percy for an instant before turning away.

The blue giant propped his white flag against a tree and began absently playing on the playground. He stepped on the monkey bars and crushed them, but he didn't seem angry. He just frowned and said, "Uh-oh."

Then he stepped into the fountain and broke the concrete bowl in half. "Uh-oh."

The water froze where his foot touched it. A bunch of stuffed animals hung from his belt—the huge kind you get for grand prizes at an arcade. He reminded Percy of Tyson, and the idea of fighting the giant made him sad.

Prometheus sat forwards and laced his fingers. He smiled, earnest, kind, and wise, like greeting a long-lost relative. "Percy, your position is weak. You know you can't stop a large-scale assault."

"We'll see."

Prometheus winced like he really cared what happened to him. "Percy, I'm the Titan of Forethought. I know what's going to happen.”

"Also the Titan of crafty counsel," Bianca said. "Emphasis on crafty."

Prometheus shrugged. "True enough, Huntress. But I supported the gods in the last war. I told Kronos: You don't have the strength. You'll lose. And I was right. So you see, I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."

"Because Zeus chained you to a rock," Thalia guessed.

"Partly, yes. I won't deny I want revenge. But that's not the only reason. It's the wisest choice. I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason."

He drew a map on the table with his finger. Wherever he touched, golden lines appeared, glowing on the concrete. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

"Your spy has been keeping you posted," Percy said.

Prometheus smiled apologetically. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have seen this. It will happen."

Percy thought about one of the pictures he'd seen Rachel draw—an army at the base of the Empire State Building. This was a few weeks ago, but it had lingered around in his head. Prometheus spoke with such certainty it was hard not to believe him.

"We won't let it happen," Thalia said.

Prometheus brushed a speck off his tux lapel. "Understand, Percy. You are refighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history. They reappear just as monsters do. A great siege. Two armies. The only difference is, this time you are defending. You are Troy. And you know what happened to the Trojans, don't you?"

"So you're going to cram a wooden horse into the elevator at the Empire State Building?" Percy asked. "Good luck."

Prometheus smiled. "Troy was completely destroyed, heroes. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down, and New York will be spared. Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. Let Kronos take Olympus. Who cares? Typhon will destroy the gods."

"Right," Percy said. "And I'm supposed to believe Kronos would spare the city."

"All he wants is Olympus," Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their seats of power. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked."

Percy winced, remembering how old and decrepit his father had been when he'd gone down there.

"Yes," Prometheus said sadly. "I know that was hard for you. When Kronos destroys Olympus, the gods will fade. They will become so weak they will be easily defeated. Kronos would rather do this while Typhon has the Olympians distracted in the west. Much easier. Fewer lives lost. But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The gods and Mount Olympus will still be destroyed, but it will be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the Titans will rule."

Thalia pounded her fist on the table. "I serve Artemis. The Hunters will fight to our last breath. Percy, you're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"

Percy figured Prometheus was going to blast her, but he just smiled. "Your courage does you credit, Thalia Grace."

Thalia stiffened. "That's my mother's surname. I don't use it."

"As you wish," Prometheus said casually, but Percy knew he'd gotten under her skin. He'd never even heard Thalia's last name before. Somehow it made her seem almost normal. Less mysterious and powerful.

"At any rate," the Titan said, "you need not be my enemy. I have always been a helper of mankind."

"That's a load of Minotaur dung," Thalia snapped. "When mankind first sacrificed to the gods, you tricked them into giving you the best portion. You gave us fire to annoy the gods, not because you cared about us."

Prometheus shook his head. "You don't understand. I helped shape your nature."

A wiggling lump of clay appeared in his hands. He fashioned it into a little doll with legs and arms. The lump man didn't have any eyes, but it groped around the table, stumbling over Prometheus's fingers.

"I have been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of your existence. I represent your curiosity, your sense of exploration, your inventiveness. Help me save you. Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift—a new revelation that will move you as far forwards as fire did. You can't make that kind of advance under the gods. They would never allow it. But this will be a new golden age for you. Or…" He made a fist and smashed the clay man into a pancake.

The blue giant rumbled, "Uh-oh."

Beside the Titan, Kelli bared her fangs in a smile. Ethan turned away, uncomfortable again.

"Percy, you know the Titans and their offspring are not all bad," Prometheus said. "You've met Calypso."

Percy's face felt hot. "That's different."

"How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas's daughter. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen," he pleaded. "We offer you peace."

Percy gritted his teeth. Then he turned to Ethan. "You must hate this."

"I don't know what you mean."

"If we took this deal, you wouldn't get revenge. You wouldn't get to kill us all. Isn't that what you want?"

His good eye flared. "All I want is respect, Jackson. The gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes cabin because I'm not important? Not even recognised?"

He sounded just like Luke when he'd tried to kill Percy in the woods at camp four years ago. The memory made his hand ache where the pit scorpion had stung him.

"Your mom's the goddess of revenge," Percy told Ethan. "We should respect that?"

"Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them down."

"Which is why she took your eye?"

"It was payment," he growled. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day I would tip the balance of power. I would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a mall price to pay."

"Great mom."

"At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts—good or evil."

"Yeah," Percy said. "So I saved your life, and you repaid me by raising Kronos. That's fair."

Ethan grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Prometheus stopped him.

"Now, now," the Titan said. "We're on a diplomatic mission."

Prometheus studied Percy as if trying to understand his anger. Then he nodded like he'd just picked a thought from his brain.

"It bothers you what happened to Luke," he decided. "Perhaps if you understood... "

The Titan reached out.

Thalia and Bianca cried a warning, but before Percy reacted, Prometheus's index finger touched his forehead.

May Castellan encompassed several tragic chapters in Luke's life. Percy noticed that at once. Prometheus had shown the result of May trying to take on the Oracle's oath. How the curse had taken over, how she suffered and lost a good portion of her clear thought processes, and lost Luke.

And as much as the gods were to be blamed for this, Percy caught on to the fact that Prometheus was laying it on thick. She wasn't just some sad excuse for Luke to do what he'd done. Percy wondered what sort of person May had been. A vibrant soul who was incredibly curious about the Oracle's power, but what about her everyday life? He wondered if Hermes was the only one who knew the answer to that.

Right now, May, her electrified Einstein hair, and goggling blue eyes (even more vacant and terrifying than Luna's) made Percy feel burnt raw.

The image of May Castellan faded. Prometheus pulled his hand away from Percy's forehead.

"Percy?" Bianca asked. "What—what was that?"

He was clammy with sweat. Prometheus nodded sympathetically. "Appalling, isn't it? The gods know what is to come, and yet they do nothing, even for their children. How long did it take for them to tell you your prophecy, Percy Jackson? Don't you think your father knows what will happen to you?"

Percy was too stunned to answer.

"Percy," Thalia warned, "he's playing with your mind. Trying to make you angry."

"Do you really blame your friend Luke?" the Titan asked Percy. "And what about you, Percy? Will you be controlled by your fate? Kronos offers you a much better deal."

Percy clenched his fists. As much as he hated what Prometheus had shown him, he hated Kronos a lot more.

"I'll give you a deal. Tell Kronos to call off his attack, leave Luke Castellan's body, and return to the pits of Tartarus. Then maybe I won't have to destroy him."

Kelli snarled. Her hair erupted in fresh flames, but Prometheus just sighed.

"If you change your mind," he said, "I have a gift for you."

A Greek vase appeared on the table. It was about three feet high and a foot wide, glazed with black-and-white geometric designs. The ceramic lid was fastened with a dark leather harness.

Bianca stepped back when she saw it.

Thalia gasped. "That's not—"

"Yes," Prometheus said. "You recognise it."

Looking at the jar, Percy felt a strange sense of fear, but he had no idea why.

"This belonged to my sister-in-law," Prometheus explained. "Pandora."

A lump formed in Percy’s throat. The wind hummed. "As in Pandora's box?"

Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how this box business got started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos doesn't have the same ring to it, but never mind that. Yes, she did open this jar, which contained most of the demons that now haunt mankind—fear, death, hunger, sickness."

"Don't forget me," Kellie purred.

"Indeed," Prometheus conceded. "The first empousa was also trapped in this jar, released by Pandora. But what I find curious about the story—Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious. The gods would have you believe that this is the lesson: mankind should not explore. They should not ask questions. They should do what they are told. In truth, Percy, this jar was a trap designed by Zeus and the other gods. It was revenge on me and my entire family—my poor simple brother Epimetheus and his wife Pandora. The gods knew she would open the jar. They were willing to punish the entire race of humanity along with us."

Percy gritted his teeth. Every single word resonated in just the right way. There was sense to it, but he had to actively ignore that.

"And I should believe that the Titans wouldn't do that?"

Ethan shifted, eyes shooting down to stare at the Titan. Prometheus leaned forwards. He tapped on the jar, letting the hollow, ceramic container echo back with a tuned hum. Something from inside answered the Titan's knock, rapping smartly against the side. It sent a shudder down Percy's spine.

"I gave you fire," Prometheus whispered to Percy, as though he had quite literally given him a lighter. "I know what you are capable of. Mortal or not, it's clear you're not inferior. Look at how far you've come from the Stone Age."

Percy felt a tick in his jaw. "Your king may not see it the same way."

"Lord Kronos is aware of what this army can do. Why d'you think he's trying to convince you to understand what's really happening here? Do you really think the Gods care? They use you as pawns. They take what they want, when they want, and give you quests as though it is a blessing—"

"Where's Rachel?" Thalia interrupted.

Percy jerked back in his seat. Prometheus's eyes flickered towards her. He sat straight. Kellie bared her fangs.

"You're little friend? Powerful, yes. Fiery soul, but quiet."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "That's not Rachel."

"Oh, you don't think she's powerful? Well, no wonder—"

"I meant she's not quiet," Percy snapped. "You don't know her."

"And you do?" Prometheus questioned. He had the barest hint of a smile.

Percy gritted his teeth. "Did you take her?"

The Titan sighed, folding his arms neatly on the table. "We do not have her. Even despite the months she had been given to decide, she finally chose the gods."

Percy frowned. Thalia stepped forwards. "What d'you mean by that?"

Kellie snorted. When Thalia, Percy, and Bianca didn't respond, she started laughing.

"Oh! She didn't tell them! This is beautiful!" Kellie cried, wiping crocodile tears. Ethan stared, surprised as well. The Hyperborean pushed at the swings, not interested at all.

Prometheus gave them a sad smile. "Dear me. I thought you were friends, Percy Jackson?"

"What're you saying?"

"Rachel Dare was offered to join us as Lord Kronos' official Seer, last year. That was why we picked her up today, to check on her decision. Are you sure you knew her at all?"

Prometheus left the jar with them. Percy couldn't take his eyes away from it. The pithos drew him closer, inviting him to see the last spirit left inside.

He stood up from the table, wiping his sweaty hands over his trousers. The talk about Rachel had unnerved all of them. Percy muttered, "We need to get that away from the hotel. It'll keep drawing everyone to it."

Thalia growled, "The Titans know this can tip the scales in their favour! If anyone opens the pithos, hope is lost!"

"I know! But we can hide it," Percy insisted. "Make sure no one gets to it."

"What about the traitor?" Thalia asked and that made Percy wince. He scrutinised the pithos and heard odd humming from within the jar.

It reminded him painfully of the locket.

The giant waved the white flag happily from a distance, bouncing down the empty roads. The Titan's tactics had been effective. Percy felt anger, paranoia, and doubt boiling him from the inside.

"We have to safeguard the pithos," Thalia said. "And then, we need to figure out about Rachel, because that's—"

"Ethan gave me something," Bianca whispered, focused down at her hands. Percy and Thalia turned towards her. He saw her gazing at a small scrap of paper in her hold.

"You just took it?" Thalia asked, eyes lighting up in irritation. "It might’ve been cursed, Bianca—"

"I think it's about Rachel," Bianca said, annoyed as well. "I saw his face when we were talking about her. He looked guilty!"

Percy shook his head. "Ethan didn't seem that way to me. He was ready to stab me, remember?"

"That's because he hates you," Bianca pointed out. "But not Rachel. See what he's written?"

She held out the scrap for them to read. The words were in Ancient Greek, a quick scrawl, written under urgency. How Ethan had been able to write it, standing beside an empousa and a Titan, was anyone's guess.

"She disappeared in green light?" Thalia read. "Wait, they really don't have her?"

"Prometheus did say that." Percy clenched his jaw. The Titan had implied that Kronos had taken Rachel to give her greater Seer powers. But he'd also lamented how she wasn't in their custody.

Had she escaped?

Was it a trick to lower their guard?

Percy brought his palms up to cover his eyes. This was bad. They needed to know exactly where Rachel was.

"Any luck with the Iris Messaging?" he asked hopefully, but Bianca shook her head.

"We're relying on the mirrors and phones now. Any chance Rachel has her phone with her?"

"No clue," Percy said. He reached out and picked up the pithos. He felt the unceasing vibrations of the last spirit inside it. "I don't want to risk calling her. But if she did escape, maybe she got away from the States. Bolt may have taken her back to Punta Cana or to Harry."

He didn't want to think about it, but he wasn’t able to. Rachel had been talking to Kronos for months? She hadn't said a word of it to anyone. The anger was threatening to pollute his thoughts again, so Percy pushed it all aside as the trio walked back into the hotel.

Within hours the first barricades around the city had been breached. The battle had begun.

Sally examined her baby.

The newborn was wrapped in a soft sunny yellow blanket, a little polka-dotted cap placed on its head. She held the child carefully, drinking in the red scrunched-up face, the slightly folded ears, the wrinkled skin on its fisted knuckles. The baby was just a bit larger than a bread loaf.

Sally blinked away the tears that were threatening to burn her eyes and spill over. The baby had just stopped hiccupping. She had cried tremendously when the birth was over. Well, it wasn't really a laborious birth. Magical C-sections were joyously pain-free and Sally had been awake when she saw her infant take in her first breath of air right before screaming her tiny lungs out.

"You thought you’d stay in there forever, huh?" Sally whispered, leaning down to kiss its temple. The baby's eyes were shut, face turned towards her chest, almost asleep. The warmth of the tiny body made the mother feel delirious.

"You might want to think about that next time, sweetie. Trying to pull one over your mama? Not gonna work. Just ask your brothers. Yeah, multiple. They aren't here yet. Well, one of them is downstairs, probably trying to figure out what you'd like. What is it, baby? You want a teddy bear? A stuffed monkey? You wanna sleep? You want your mama to stop talking? You're a smart aleck, kid. I love you, so so much! I wish your daddy were here to see you. We're gonna kick his butt for missing this, that's for sure."

The baby cooed, letting out the softest of noises that shook Sally to her core. She'd forgotten how incredible it was to hold the entire world in her arms. It was far past the day when she could carry Percy or Harry.

Someone knocked on the door to her hospital suite. Sally was alone, sitting in her bed with her kid. Most of the bodyguards were outside. The healers or nurses hadn't knocked when they entered and left the room.

"Come in," she called, tightening her hold on the baby.

The door opened and…

Sally blanched. It was a face she hadn't seen in too many months.

"Remus!"

Remus was… not as tired as he'd been before, but more like he'd overslept and had taken a quick shower before rushing all the way to the hospital. He was healthier. It was a far cry from how Sirius had been, the last time Sally had gone to visit him.

"Holy Merlin! I missed it," Remus whispered, eyes wide as he stared at the bundle in her arms.

"You—get over here!"

Sally adjusted the baby in one arm and lifted the other to give Remus a hug when he stepped towards her.

"I missed so much."

"Are you okay? You seem fine, but—"

Sally gestured towards a chair by the wall and Remus pulled it over, sitting as close as possible. Sally tilted the baby towards him to let him see her face.

"Meet Kimberly Orion Jackson," Sally said, her voice dipping to a whisper. Remus fell silent, exhaling in awe. The baby shifted in her arms, her face turning just the right angle for Remus to gaze at her features. Kimberly didn't open her eyes, but fussed a little, one dimpled knuckle coming to rest near Sally's neck. Sally bounced her gently to calm her down.

"Where's Rosalie and Harry?" Sally asked, still in a whisper. She'd asked to be moved from the maternity ward to a different floor so Rosalie could visit her.

Remus cleared his throat. It sounded like he was getting choked up. "She's in the gift shop with Harry. Tonks said Harry panicked a bit when you were wheeled in. He needed a distraction."

Sally nodded, searching his face for any other indicators. "And how are you?"

Remus wasn’t thrilled by the question but smiled. "Could be better. I've been trying to make my way home for weeks now. But the priority's been seen through. Broke up the pack."

She stared. Remus's main mission parameters had been about infiltrating a new werewolf pack that had come about under Voldemort's control. He had gone undercover to get more info on the Death Eaters' plans concerning magical creatures. It had nothing to do with working in the pack's ranks.

"Was there a fight?"

Remus scowled. "Sorry, Sally. I'd rather not talk about that. Not right now."

"Sorry," she said immediately. He wasn't usually so short-tempered. She must have crossed a line there.

Remus sighed. "Didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's okay. Do you want to hold her?"

He was stricken by her request. But Sally gave him a genuine look of hope.

"If it's okay with you."

"It's very okay with me. My arms are numb."

Rosalie had given Harry a brown paper bag as a gag gift. The joke was on her. He'd thrown up in it.

The nausea had been creeping along his extremities for hours even before Percy had called him. Rachel was missing.

And now, when, the baby's first cries had reached his ears, the world had begun to spin. It was unfathomable how there had been so many emotions—fear, paranoia, nausea, awe, worry, anger—swirling in his stomach. Tonks had gotten him to take a walk down the corridor to help. Rosalie had come in, just moments later and had taken him to the gift shop to get the new baby something.

Harry had selected at least four hundred different items from the shelves before the shop's owner told him that he couldn't just empty everything from the store. Harry retaliated by threatening to floo call the parent company to order every single last stock of their balloons. And he'd finished the argument by vomiting in the bag.

After calming everyone down, Rosalie told him that she'd carry him up to Sally's new room, bridal style if he wasn't up to walking. That got him to settle down immediately.

And then, things got more awkward.

"Hi, Harry," a quiet voice issued from behind a stuffed purple elephant, about his height. Harry turned away from the counter where the cashier was ringing up all the items he'd purchased.

A nine-year-old girl hid behind the elephant. Harry leaned to the side, fairly certain he knew her.

She hid behind the elephant, giggling when she saw him searching for her.

"Evey-with-a-Y," he said. Evey (Not Evie) was Kang Eve, one of Healer Mantis's patients. Of course, Harry had met her three years ago when he'd gone to her house to murder her father, Ford McCallister.

Aren't memories fun?

Evey had started on her medication to delay male puberty. She'd been very excited to convey that to Harry a while back. They'd written to each other about once a month. Evey was incredibly perceptive and Clear-Sighted, able to receive visions at the most random moments of her life. And yet, every vision of hers was very specific.

More to the point, what was she doing playing hide-and-seek in the hospital gift shop?

"Bye, Harry," she said, popping her head out from behind the elephant.

"Where are you going?" he asked, trying to calm himself by watching her antics. She hopped out from her hiding spot and said, "I saw the baby!"

His heart jumped up to clog his throat. "Oh, um, which baby?"

"Ms. Jackson's baby. She's very itty bitty!"

She.

His heart leaped out of his chest. He felt a little sick again.

Deep breaths, Potter. It's all good. It's a baby, a baby girl. Do not freak out.

Bells chimed, signalling that the gift shop’s door opened. Harry turned his head and found Evey skipping out of the shop, and back into the hospital.

"Wait!" he called, jogging after her. She stopped but kept hopping on the spot. Evey peered up at him with big brown eyes, blinking almost mischievously.

"Do you know where Rachel is?"

The question had popped into his head. Harry knew that if Evey knew where Rachel was, half his anxiety would disapparate from the moment.

"I guess…" she stopped hoping, long enough to at least look serious. Then she popped a spit bubble.

Harry blinked. "Very mature, Evey."

"I'm nine," Evey said, turning her nose up. "I don't have to be mature. That's for old people. Like you, Harry."

That almost made him chuckle. Harry forced a frown. "Evey, please. This is serious. I'm worried about Rachel."

Evey was somber immediately. She stood on her tiptoes and cupped her hands around her mouth. Harry knelt on one knee and leaned in to make it easier for her.

"It's okay. She's making new friends."

"Friends with whom?"

Evey shrugged, raising her entire arms to show the movements. "I dunno. But my I-mo said we have to come here amorrow. I will see her then."

Harry coughed. "Your aunt? You're coming here tomorrow?

"To-morrow," Evey relented dutifully. "I will see Rachel tomorrow."

"Rachel will be here tomorrow?!"

"I saw her tomorrow in my head," Evey said like it was no big deal. Harry knew that Evey had taken only four months to learn clear, conversational English. She said it was way too easy, compared to the dialects she already knew. So her sentence made absolute sense here, even though it mixed the tenses.

"You had a vision that you would see Rachel in this hospital, tomorrow."

Evey peered, confused. "I have vision. See?"

She pointed to her eyes as though Harry was slow on the uptake.

"No, Evey. Having a vision means seeing something in your head. Like a dream." Harry waved his hands, trying to explain.

"But I was awake."

"Yes! Visions usually happen when you're awake."

Evey gave Harry a suspicious look. She folded her arms, way too adorable to intimidate him. She reminded him of the triplets who lived in Privet Drive. He tried for a smile and that got her giggling.

Chapter 7: A Gulp of Water

Chapter Text

Percy's hands were glowing blue.

The skin from right below his wrist, all the way down to the tips of his fingers was shrouded in the lightest of blue waves. The light seemed to be seeping out from under his skin. His hands felt warm.

Percy swallowed down the uneasiness along with the quiet.

When the fight had begun, it was the Hunters who'd met the first battalion that had barged through Central Park from the South. Percy and Annabeth had decided to take over since Clarisse was back at camp. While Annabeth oversaw resistance over aerial attacks, Percy lead two troops into the park to back up the Hunters.

The spirits in the trees were asleep deep enough to not wake up even during the fight. It reminded Percy of the battle of the Labyrinth.

Something shrieked. Percy turned, jerking back to avoid a small dracaena's claws. He slammed the butt of Riptide into her gut before stabbing her throat. Swinging around, he took off the head of another vampire-like creature who'd just tried to bite into his neck. Percy continued to form a path of dust till he took down an entire team of dracaena.

Once done, he sent Apollo and Hermes campers to circle around and cut off the inflow of another monster battalion to enter the park.

Tyson slammed the heads of two large bear monsters together like a toy monkey with drumsticks. He clapped before skipping towards Percy and plucking a sea demon from right behind him and bodily throwing him a hundred yards away.

"Bag doggy," Tyson chastised.

Percy took out a spider the size of a popcorn stand before consoling him, "You're doing great, Ty!"

Tyson smiled, blinking one large doe eye before lumbering off to slam a ham-sized fist down on another monster's head.

The clouds gathered over the park. Percy heard the yell of Thalia screaming, "MAKE LIKE A DUCK!"

The monsters were clearly confused, but the campers understood the signal. They dropped to the ground in a crouch. With hands above his head, Percy peeked up and saw several bolts of lightning arc from the skies and strike in different parts of the park where the monsters had gathered in clumps. The lightning eliminated most of the creatures in a flash.

That was when his hands began to glow. Almost in response to the lightning, to the odour of ichor and ozone in the air.

Percy's grip tightened on his sword and dagger as he stood up, holding his breath to peer through the trees. Most of the monsters had disintegrated. The odd thing was that there had only been multiple groups of monsters not even bigger than ten feet in height or width. Percy swallowed.

He caught Nico's gaze who seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"Thalia!" Percy called through the haze of sulphur. "We need to regroup back at the mountain's base!"

Some swearing broke out between the demigods. Percy sucked in a breath and blasted a sharp whistle. The demigods turned towards him.

"Empire State Building, now!" Percy yelled. "Uninjured campers on the sides, Thalia leads with the Hunters, injured in the middle, Nico and I will take the Ar—the Demeter campers to form the rear. MOVE!"

The worst of them had some broken limbs. Percy kept an eye out for everyone to march out of the park, not leaving anyone behind. That was another thing. From the short fight, none of the rogue demigods had shown up.

"Katie, how's your powers?"

Katie Gardener frowned. "Good, not exceptional. But I can tell there's no other sign of life except for us and the forest."

Nico raised his Stygian iron sword in response.

Thalia had given her mirror to Natalie, a younger Hunter. Natalie was relaying to the satyrs the situation.

Grover was by the side, holding a hollow goat's horn like a weapon. He'd used it by blowing the horn and creating a terrible howl that sounded nothing like a goat or a satyr. But it did scare away many of the Cyclopes that had ganged up on Tyson. It left Tyson alive and quite upset that his brothers had been trying to kill him.

Percy watched Tyson carrying Beckendorf. No one else could lift him off the ground, seeing as he'd had a busted kneecap and a shattered ankle. The forest had gone unnervingly silent after the fight. Everyone was on red alert. Percy tried to keep the blue glowing thing at bay. He had no clue why his body was creating light like that.

"Your hands are glowing," Nico whispered.

Percy grimaced. "I can't help it. I don't know why it's happening."

Nico hesitated, still armed with a raised bow. "It's sorta like Harry, don't you think? With the green healing magic?"

Percy was nothing like Harry. Percy didn't heal people. So why were his hands glowing?

He was unable to think of a clear response, but that worry vanished when Travis turned around and said, "Message from up front, no aerial attack. The report from the mountain is that they can feel tremours."

"Like an earthquake?" Percy asked, scanning the east and sensing the expanse of the Atlantic past several blocks of buildings.

"Something's about to happen. This fight just felt like a diversion," Nico said. "Trav, tell Thalia to check with the Gods—"

The bunch of twenty or so demigods had barely made it to the park's exit when the ground shook.

A few people shrieked, but Percy caught Nico's shoulder, pushing him to the ground.

The shaking lasted for three seconds, but it managed to cause cracks in the ground, all around the trees, and even on the roads. A hydrant had burst somewhere, the water pressure fluctuating. Many cars sounded the alarms from being disturbed. The wind picked up and Percy found Nico, mirroring his dread.

"Please tell me that was Bianca."

Bianca had gone down to the Underworld to try and convince her father to bring his army up to the city to make a stand. Nico had agreed that it was more likely for Hades to listen to her than him.

"It's not Bianca," Nico whispered. He placed one palm on the ground, his fingers stiff and white knuckled. "The quake didn't come from the Underworld."

The setting sun cast the sky with violet clouds. It was like the brightness dimmed suddenly, letting danger hiss into the silent city.

Percy thought it was a literal hiss.

Thalia held up a fist to signal everyone to stay down. They waited, searching their surroundings for any sign of movement.

The ground shook again, but this time, the epicenter was scarily visible. Percy saw the tarred road that ran parallel to the park crack open. The two edges shifted, widening the fissure. Nico was the first to realise it.

"Run, get away!" he screamed.

Percy's jaw dropped when the creature rose from the fifty-foot-long opening. It was an enormous serpent, its body thicker than a school bus, its eyes flashing yellow spots. The monster snake was like a basilisk but more than twice the size. It slithered onto the road, trying to edge onto the pavement, hovering above the demigods like a demented, fatalistic umbrella.

One person screamed. Several followed. Percy choked, backing away as someone caught the sleeve of his t-shirt and yanked him in the opposite direction. They couldn't fight a monster like this. Not without complete focus and team effort.

"LEE LEE!" one of the Hunters shrieked, dropping her bow. She had to jump out of the way to avoid a spray of literal acid. The giant snake was spitting its venom.

Everywhere the venom fell, it destroyed. The tops of the trees went up in flames, part of the iron fence melted, and the grass turned into a gooey yellow sludge on the ground, eating away at the mud and pavement tiles.

"This is bad! We need to get back to the base!" Katie cried as a bunch of them retreated back into the trees. Percy watched from below a canopy. The Drakon was pushing them to stay inside the park.

"Thalia, we could use another blast, right about now!" Percy shouted.

Thalia grunted. But before she even tried, the Drakon snapped its head to stare at her.

She froze. Her entire body seized up and she didn't—couldn't—move an inch. She was truly petrified. As in, not-turned-into-stone petrified, but like gods-this-monster-is-gonna-eat-me-I-can't-move petrified!

The Drakon let out a snarl, ready to rear back and strike at her when everyone heard a thunderous bark. The shadow of the closest building turned darker, morphing into a black mass before spitting out a shaggy, black-pelted, hellhound.

"Good doggy!" Tyson clapped his hands. His enthusiasm lifted Percy's spirits and helped clear his mind from the snake's poisonous aura.

Mrs. O'Leary was bigger than Percy remembered her. She'd grown into her paws and her ears didn't flap around her head as much as they used to. Her red eyes were practically piercing as she caught sight of the enemy and growled, leaping onto the Drakon.

But she was barely thirty feet tall. Lee Lee was tiny compared to the monster that could chomp on her like a chew toy. Still, she didn't hesitate to sink her claws into the tough scales below the Drakon's neck, her jaw biting on top of its head, probably trying to reach its eyes. The Drakon bellowed and shook wildly trying to dislodge Lee Lee, but the hound held on, like a particularly stubborn wig.

Percy ran towards Thalia who stumbled back. She was shaken from her stunned state. She swore, "What was that?! It was worse than Aegis!"

Her shield lay on the ground, face down. Percy knew how deadly the embossed face of Medusa on it was. He remembered Harry telling him about the powers of the basilisk. The Drakon was more powerful than either.

"We need to get back to the hotel," Percy told her.

"We can't kill that thing, Percy!"

"That thing is blocking us here! Typhon is distracting the Gods! Hades is still in the Underworld and my dad is still fighting with the old gods in the sea!" Percy argued. "It's all part of his plan, he's going to just waltz into Olympus!"

"Annabeth will stop him," Thalia gasped. "She's been running a dozen plans in action. She's leading sixteen demigods—"

"That's not gonna be enough!"

"Percy! That's the Lydian Drakon!" Thalia finally yelled. "That can be killed by only one kind of demigod!"

"Let me guess, Hercules?!"

"A child of Ares!"

If there was ever a time to start swearing, it was now, Percy decided. Kronos knew then that the Ares cabin had stayed back. The traitor must have told him that.

With a vicious hurl, the Drakon snapped its tail towards Lee Lee, swiping her off of its back. She yelped hitting the road several yards away. She didn't move. The Drakon reared the entire front of its body back and lunged at her.

Several people screamed. Percy was one of them. But right before it reached her, Lee Lee vanished into the shadows. The Drakon hit two parked cars, face slamming into the metal and glass, crushing them entirely. It snarled, furious, retracting itself from the vehicles. Both of them had melted from the venom.

Black shadows materialised behind Percy when Lee and Nico reappeared. At least three Hunters rushed to check on her. Nico stumbled away, placing his hands on his knees.

The Drakon let out an enraged snarl and rose to an impressive height again. Its tail hit the side of a building and a hydrant, busting out water at tremendous pressure.

Percy had a sudden idea.

"Head to Olympus!" he shouted, retracting Riptide and leaping over a hedge to run outside the park. He heard fading voices telling Nico to get some of the Hunters back to the hotel, telling the injured campers to take a detour and steal a car, but the loudest voice was Will.

"Percy, you can't take it alone!" Will shouted, but Percy had already summoned the water from all the hydrants in the block. The water pressure rose, tugging on his gut. Percy held out both his hands, directing the water to slam into the Drakon front. The snake's hissing was drowned under a thousand gallons of water.

Maybe Percy could drown it. He led the water to form a cage around the massive form of the snake. It was an enormous length, probably 200 feet. The snake writhed, trying to move out of the bubble of water.

His hands began to shake. The venom of the Drakon was seeping into the water, changing its structure. It burned, sending tendrils of sharp and fiery pain up Percy's nerves and down his spine. The pulling on his gut was taut and the back of his neck began to cramp.

"Percy, hold it!" Thalia was calling, but her voice sounded far away like they were in a tunnel. He closed his eyes, groaning. The strain was building as the water pressure fell, but held onto the cage. The snake was thrashing within its confines, the water now polluted with venom. Percy could still manipulate it, but not without pain.

Percy heard the thunder before lightning struck. A bolt of pure energy and light blew right through the water and the snake inside.

The entire thing exploded outwards. He felt part of the water evaporate in the flash of heat. The snake let out a deafening snarl before the smoke from the debris clouded up the entire area.

The sudden lack of actual water threw him off. Percy stood there, opening his eyes to see the rest of the water, the diluted venom, heading straight for him.

For a moment, he wondered if his bracelet was about to heat up, maybe glow. He'd never died before, right? He hoped the theory was true and that the coming-back-from-the-dead thing wasn't exclusive to Harry.

Before the acid hit him, a large silhouette shielded his body. Arms surrounded him, tucking his head underneath a quivering chin. The acid blast threw both Percy and his hugger back by ten yards. The latter took the blow of smashing into the ground.

Percy already knew who saved his life. It wasn't Harry. No, Tyson always had the distinctive scent of the sea along with melted iron, the smell that always signalled how long he'd worked in Poseidon's forges.

The smell of the venom was mixed with ozone and sulphur. Except for this time, the last odour was coming from Tyson.

"No!" Percy tried to grab Tyson's face, but his body was already disintegrating. Tyson screwed up his eyes, clearly in pain. He let out a gasp as his body slowly turned to dust, eaten away by the acid.

"TYSON!"

"It's okay…"

"IT'S NOT OKAY!" Percy was screaming, trying to fist his hands into the clothes to anchor him to earth, but it wasn't working. Something was shattering in his chest as Tyson simply closed his eyes and turned away, falling onto the road, right as his entire being turned to dust.

Percy was clutching at the yellow, pungent dirt. It didn't smell like Tyson anymore.

His hands were shaking again. This time, Percy felt everything in his ribcage just collapse. The sulphur was overwhelming and his brain froze, unable to keep taking input from his surroundings. The world stopped as Percy stared at the dust slowly disappearing from the road.

Like Tyson had never even been there.

Loud footsteps slammed into Percy's hearing as someone practically fell on him. A pair of hands gripped his upper arms painfully, yanking him up to sit on the road. A sharp sting on his cheek made his head snap to the side.

Thalia's face swam into view. Her eyes were a volatile blue like she could shoot lasers or lightning bolts from them.

"GET UP!" she was shrieking, shaking him.

She was sweating, he noted without excitement or life. Blood trickled down her face. He wondered if anyone else had gotten hit by the venom, but his voice didn't work.

Behind her, through the smoke of glass and water, the Drakon rose again. Part of its green scales was singed black. It seemed to be injured, but that didn't stop it from targeting Percy and Thalia, who still had her back turned.

Percy's face must have made an alarming expression (honestly, he didn’t feel it, he ddn't feel anything, just the crack in his soul) because Thalia turned around, hands still gripping his armour. She gasped.

Percy couldn't move either. Through the haze, the Drakon's eyes were like blinding flashlights. It stayed unblinking hissing down at the petrified demigods.

Then it opened its mouth to spray another round of acid.

Percy wondered if he was going to die now (again?) but the booming of a horn blasted out of nowhere. A large white van drove onto the road, doing a 120 at least. It didn't even hesitate. The vehicle slammed into the neck of the Drakon, smashing it against the wall of a stone building. The Drakon squealed, tail whipping about, trying to get rid of the van.

A girl jumped out of the driver's seat, bringing out a red, electric lance.

Maimer, Percy thought.

Without hesitation, she launched Maimer 2.0 and the lance flew up to pierce the Drakon in one eye.

Its pained roar rocked the city, shaking Thalia out of her petrification. She shuddered for a moment before dragging Percy onto the pavement to make him sit against a section of the fence.

Just as Lee Lee shadow-travelled back for round two, Percy saw a group of people exit the white van. Among them was a very obvious non-demigod. She didn't wear armour like the rest and stood nervously, fiddling her hands as she backed away from the Drakon.

She turned and her brilliant green eyes met Percy's.

Prometheus was right. The Titan army didn't have Rachel anymore.

His ears were ringing.

Percy saw Tyson's silhouette from the corner of his eye. He blinked at the shape that seemed to flicker. But no one was there.

Hands pulled him up to his feet. Percy was surprised to find that his legs obeyed. He stood there, not really registering the voices trying to talk to him.

The Ares campers were here. They'd driven to the city in the Delphi Strawberry Delivery van, all the way from camp. They were attacking the Drakon. The Hephaestus cabin was helping them out with Beckendorf trying to come up with a plan. Thalia was gathering the storm clouds again. Travis and Connor were standing on either side of Percy, arms forward as though ready to catch him if he fell.

The skies lit up as another bolt of lightning struck the monster, sizzling the air. They crouched flinching away from the spectacle. The Hunters had joined the campers in trying to take down the Drakon. It roared when a barrage of poison-tipped arrows struck its tail, breaking through the iron scales.

At least twenty people had taken on the Drakon, trying to tear it down. The noise was horrendous. It snarled and shrieked when one of Clarisse's siblings managed to completely cut off its tail, sword cracking through the tough hide.

Percy clapped his hands over his ears, flinching away from the scream.

The Drakon screeched just as Clarisse flipped over right behind its neck to stab Maimer 2.0 right through its throat. Desperate, the Drakon bucked so hard, Clarisse flew upwards, leaving her lance still embedded below its neck.

"Thalia!" Nico cried.

"I can't!" Thalia shouted, limping beside a fallen Clarisse. "I already hit it twice! It's not going down!"

"Third time’s the charm!"

Thalia grunted, hands over her knees. Percy blinked, shaking his head. His mind was foggy and he couldn't shake it off. He should do something to help them, but, he felt stuck.

Lee Lee jumped up, trying to claw out Drakon's other eye. She barely missed the fangs that tried to chomp her up.

Rachel was there. Where'd she come from? Percy blinked, finding an odd and familiar beaded necklace hugging Rachel's neck. The colourful and worn shapes were just not her style.

She moved to stand beside Percy, mouth open and staring at the gigantic snake.

"Percy, I think we need to move!" Rachel grabbed his elbow and pulled him away. Her grip was tight and he let her bring him back into the park where a few campers huddled, unable to stand or fight.

"Hey!" Kayla hissed. "Snap him out of it! Percy can help them kill it."

Percy barely heard the conversation. He honestly didn't feel like doing anything. Maybe he should just sit down. Touch grass.

Rachel's face suddenly came into view. "Perce? C'mon, can you focus? Are you hurt? Are you having a panic attack? You're breathing okay, I think. Are you breathing?"

"Grover!" Kayla's voice rose again. She didn't seem to be able to get up, her legs outstretched and unmoving.

From within the muddled noises of his brain, Percy thought he heard piano keys. Für Elise—slightly faster than usual. He hummed along with it. The last time he'd played the piano, it had been a week ago, for his mom because she said the baby would kick most whenever it heard music. So far, they'd figured that the baby liked Green Day, Percy playing the piano, mom's singing, and (on the rare occasion) Harry playing the guitar.

The music in his head soothed him. It felt like he was playing for the baby.

"How're you doing that? He's smiling," Rachel said, her voice echoing from a far offshore.

"Trying to bring some good memories to the front," Grover mumbled.

Some of the fog in his head cleared and Percy could now see Grover staring right at him, worried. His goatee quivered. Percy swallowed, peering past him, past Rachel, and towards the spectacle that was the Drakon.

Nico had joined Thalia. Clarisse had rallied her siblings and Beckendorf shouted something. Percy saw some of the Hephaestus kids running away from the monster. They and the Ares cabin had attached some kind of a lethal bronze harness behind the Drakon's neck.

Thalia widened her stance, squared and shoulders, and screamed, scorching everything around her, even before the lightning hit.

The third and final bolt came down from the dark clouds and slammed against the convulsing Drakon, this time, illuminating the Celestial Bronze contraption. The metal absorbed the electricity, running it right into its body, burning the monster from the inside out. It sent a horrific sizzling smell of flesh and everyone started backing away from it. The monster finally collapsed, twitching in agony. After a final jerk, it disintegrated into sulphur.

Thalia coughed, "I'm done," and fell.

Percy leaned back against a tree. He stared at the empty spot where the monster had been. It had disappeared just like Tyson had. Turned to dust. He noticed Rachel walking up to him, wringing her hands. She was nervous and concerned.

"I—" his voice cracked. He tried again, mumbling, "I need to go."

Percy dragged his feet away from the chaos. "Percy, you need to sit. You're in shock," one of the Stolls said. He sounded strangely comforting, like he was talking to a child who missed its mother.

Percy musn’t tell Sally. He needed to get Tyson back.

When killed, monsters reformed in the Underworld. Tartarus, specifically.

No problem.

"I have to go. Have to go," his voice was shaking. The road was broken and he ducked his head to ensure to not trip. Percy tried to clear his throat, walking away from the camp, but Rachel stood in front of him, blocking his path.

"Percy, I think you need to sit—"

"Go home."

He tried to push past her, but she caught his arm. "I'm not kidding, you're not okay! Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I have to get Tyson."

"Where is he?"

"Down."

Rachel frowned, but Percy turned away, trying to think of a way to get to the Underworld.

Nico.

Rachel's grip on his upper arm tightened. Percy tried to pull away but couldn't even budge or slip his arm out.

He blinked, really focusing on her now. Rachel was here. Not with the Titans. Not safe at the beach or with Harry. She was in the middle of a battle zone.

What. The. Heck.

"What are you doing here?" Percy asked, his voice a hoarse whisper. He blinked once and found the noises surrounding them grow louder, like he'd stepped out of his safe space.

Rachel winced too. She took her arm away from him and Percy bolted.

He ran towards Nico who was with the kids hiding out in the park. Percy reached him and caught his shoulder.

"We're going to the Underworld," Percy said, yanking him up.

Nico stuttered, "Wh—what?"

"Underworld. Shadow travel. Now!"

"Why? Wait, are you going to the Styx?"

"I need to get Tyson out of Tartarus," Percy said, almost snapping at him. His adrenaline was spiking again, hands twitching to hit something.

Nico blanched. He planted his feet on the ground to pull Percy to a stop. "Tyson, what? We're not going to Tartarus!"

"You've been down there enough times, Nico!"

"The Underworld!" Nico yelled. "I've never been to hell, Percy!"

"Neither has Tyson!" Percy screamed. "We have to get him out of there! He won't make it!"

Nico stared, "Oh gods. Did Tyson—"

"Look," Percy began, impatient. "Just drop me off at the entrance, and I'll go down there and bring him back—"

"You can't just bring anyone back—"

"I'll figure it out!"

"Percy!" Rachel was running towards them. Percy almost panicked before getting angry. He spun around and faced Rachel, glowering at her. She froze, terrified.

"Why'd you come here!?"

"My mom's here! I came to get my mom out, but some lion monster found me and took me to Kr—the Titans! Then I freaked out and took Apollo's help in getting out and he brought me to camp because Bolt's asleep and isn't waking up and Chiron was there and he said that some of the campers were still there so I brought them here because I had a feeling you guys need to be together to fight or something, I dunno, I was just going with my gut!"

Rachel stopped to take a long breath. Percy and Nico gaped at her, as did the other demigods, the ones who were seated on the grass and the others who'd taken down the Drakon.

"How? How?" Kayla stammered. "How did you get Clarisse to come? And what d'you mean my dad took you to camp?"

Rachel was doubly nervous, eyes flitting from Kayla to Nico, back to Percy. "Um, I have—like—pretty good, actually—I have excellent oratorship skills, you know?"

Clarisse hobbled towards them, scowling. Part of her hair was singed. She smelled like Drakon venom, except she was wholly fine. Chris headed for her, planting a tight kiss right on her lips which made half the kids go, "Ewww!"

They parted and Clarisse immediately said, "She's the Oracle."

Rachel choked. "Dude! Does sister solidarity mean nothing to you?!"

Percy blinked. Then he whipped around to gawk at Rachel; regular mortal, squib Rachel Elizabeth Dare (who happened to have an immortality bracelet). The new host of the spirit of Delphi?

"What?" Percy whispered. "That's not… how… Rachel, what?!"

"That's why dad took you to camp," Kayla muttered, just as stunned.

"And that's how you got Clarisse to listen," Thalia figured. "I guess not even she can refuse the Oracle."

Percy felt his hands shake from the pure stress of seeing Rachel here. She shouldn't be here. She could get hurt. Like Tyson. She could die.

(Even if she came back, Rachel could still go a horrible way.)

The one-track mind about Tyson began to drift. He shut his eyes for a moment before stepping back from her and facing Nico.

"Let's go."

Nico swallowed, "I can't do that, Percy."

"Tyson can't stay down there," Percy said slowly. He didn’t understand why Nico didn't realise that. He knew what Tyson was like. Barely a ten-year-old. Ten-year-olds shouldn't be in hell.

Nico stared back at him, speechless. Like the thought of even going anywhere near Tartarus was enough to scare him to death.

Maybe twelve-year-olds shouldn't go to hell, either.

Percy clenched his jaw and then sucked in a breath, forcing out a loud and sharp whistle. Mrs. O'Leary hopped up to them, a little dizzy from her stint against the Drakon, but fairly active.

"No," Nico began, but Percy was already marching towards the hellhound.

"We're going to Tartarus's entrance, okay Lee Lee?"

Percy had hoped that she would be a little more forthcoming, but Lee Lee only cowered. She sat on the ground with a thump that shook the earth. Belly down, she placed her paws over her head, trying to hide from Percy.

"Fine!" he threw his hands up making everyone recoil. "I'll figure a way out—"

"Percy, you go down there, I'm calling Harry here," Rachel snapped.

White noise seemed to erupt again. This time, Percy didn't stay still. He turned towards Rachel, feeling fury fuel every muscle in his body.

"You just have the best ideas, don't you Rachel? Coming to New York after I specifically said not to!"

"Excuse you asshole, my mom's here!" Rachel shrieked. "It's almost the same thing that you want to do now!"

"Then you should understand!" Percy retorted. "I swear to the gods, Rachel, if you call Harry here, you will regret it. Now go back!"

"Travis Stoll!"

Everyone turned around to see Travis struggling to extract a small two-way mirror from his pocket. Annabeth's voice had issued from it and Travis gulped, eyes still wide.

"What's going on?" Annabeth asked, extremely ticked.

"Um, the Ares cabin is here. They took down the Drakon. Percy wants to go to hell. Rachel is the new Oracle."

A few groaned out loud. Rachel mumbled something in French and Percy gritted his teeth. Travis flinched when Annabeth began yelling through the mirror, "They're coming in from the west!"

Two things happened at once.

The ground shook again and a horn was blown a couple of miles away, on the other side of the Hudson River. It sounded like a siren, announcing imminent danger. Percy groaned, bringing out his pen.

"Percy!" Nico called suddenly. "The river!"

Percy was already rattling out directions to get the other demigods to pile into the strawberry delivery van and take a roundabout to reach the Empire State Building.

Nico yanked Percy's arm to get his attention. "I have an idea! You need to get to the Hudson."

"What? I can't leave—"

"The sand dollar!"

Percy nearly smacked himself. Over a year ago, Poseidon had gifted him a sand dollar on his fifteenth birthday along with a message— Remember the rivers.

He'd completely forgotten about it. But Nico was right. He’d give their army more time by rallying the river gods over to their side.

But before he forgot—

Percy spun around and took Rachel by the arm. "Go with Beckendorf and the others. They're heading to the base. You need to stay safe and out of sight, you got that?"

"Safe and out of sight," Rachel repeated, nodding so fast her bangs bounced off her forehead. She lunged forwards to give him a quick hug.

Percy winced. She was practically squeezing the air out of his lungs. He hugged her back and then let her go climb back into the van.

Annabeth was less than pleased when she saw Rachel. Travis had handed her the mirror and Rachel explained to Annabeth how she got to the States and what happened after.

It had been surreal appearing in the attic of the Big House, right by the mummy. The green glow surrounded the both of them, illuminating the entire room. When the light died, the mummy had winked out of existence, tiny trails of her bandages turning into dust. Something heavy had settled onto Rachel's throat and she reached up to touch an odd kind of necklace that she hadn't recalled wearing. It didn't seem to have a clasp and was simply knotted so close to her skin, she didn't like it.

If Rachel wanted to take off the necklace, she'd have to break it. Maybe that was the meaning behind it.

The door to the attic opened and Chiron's head popped up, hesitant and incredulous.

She'd explained everything to him. Luckily, Chiron was very understanding and had even introduced her to a small group of demigods who were still in camp. She didn't really recognise any of them, except for the head of the Ares cabin, the muscled girl, Clarisse.

It had taken barely a few minutes of talking to convince them to get her back to the city. Not too shabby. Apparently, the Oracle had a lot of sway over people.

Cool.

It had been a swift double-hour, bumpy ride with twelve of them squeezed into the van. The white strawberry delivery van was clearly not environmentally friendly. Rachel wondered when it had gotten an emission test.

The moment they'd driven up to the silent city of New York, Rachel had seen the slow, molasses state of the Mist, hovering over the buildings. The sleeping spell was still active. If she fell asleep, it wouldn't take too long for her to wake up due to Delphi's spirit. Perks of being possessed by a nice spirit.

Cons were that she shouldn't date.

That was something that had hit her on the drive. Rachel wouldn't be able to date anyone as long as she were the Oracle.

Rachel blinked up. The group had reached a hotel across the road from the Empire. A fluttering bubble of light draped over the hotel's building. It was like a protective curtain.

The van stopped and everyone trudged out to meet Annabeth who stood right by the steps on the gravel driveway. Her melting steel eyes swiftly zeroed in on the necklace. Rachel's hand twitched, wishing she could rip it off.

A small flash of sympathy flickered across Annabeth’s face. Rachel tried for a smile, but it only made her face feel tight. Still, she was glad when Annabeth offered her a hug.

"You okay?" she whispered, tucking her chin above her shoulder.

Rachel closed her eyes. "Not really."

Annabeth leaned back to eye her. "We'll talk later. For now, stay in the hotel. I need to regroup with the others. If we can take the fight away from the Empire, it would help."

Thalia was half-carried in by two Huntresses, but she asked them to stop by Annabeth and Rachel.

"The Titan King must have planned for this," she muttered, wincing as she stood up. "The way Rachel explained, Apollo showed up right after everyone left. It's too much of a coincidence."

Rachel remembered the frustrated feeling of helplessness when Apollo had offered her the position when she heard noises from outside her small prison room when she'd had no other choice but to escape.

"He said," Rachel winced, licking her lips nervously when several pairs of eyes turned towards her. "The Titan King said he’d make me powerful. He said my visions were important or something."

Annabeth winced. "I'm sorry, Rachel. You should have been left out of it."

"We can't let him get to you. Stay in the hotel. It's got enough back doors to sneak out if necessary. In fact," Thalia's eyes lit up for a moment. "You can actually help us!"

Rachel found out exactly what she'd meant by that.

"No way!" she argued. "Nuh-uh! I'm not guarding that thing-a-majig!"

The three girls were standing in one of the penthouse suites of the hotel. The room was cool and well furnished with deep red curtains and bed comforters to match. They stood in the hall, staring at the dangerously beautiful vase on the coffee table.

"Pandora's pithos—"

"It's cursed! You know that, why do you want me to guard it?!"

"Because it is you," Thalia said, almost earnest. It was an odd look for her. "As the Oracle, you now have powers to keep secrets and prophecies. Not even the gods would cross you—"

"Correct me if I'm wrong!" Rachel interrupted, already freaking out at the sight of the antique vase. "Wasn't the last Oracle cursed by a god?"

"Well—"

"And the Titans aren't exactly gods."

"Yeah—"

"Why d'you think this thing'll be safe with me?!"

Annabeth picked up the vase and brought it close to Rachel. "What can you hear?"

Rachel frowned. Was she supposed to hear something? Annabeth offered her the vase, the pithos, and she took it, slowly holding it away from her. It was cold to touch and fragile like a marble doll. It was heavy in the way important things are heavy. It smelled old.

She heard whispers from within the ceramic. Rachel bowed her head, bringing the vase right below her ear.

Wind whistled within the vase. It was trying to talk .

A spark of curiosity fluttered through her. Rachel wondered what would happen if she opened the vase. Then she shuddered and pushed it away.

"This thing is weird," she complained. "Do I have to hold it?"

Annabeth was impressed. Thalia grinned.

"What?"

"I'd noticed you during the fight," Thalia said, leaning against the arm of a couch. "I saw the Drakon looking right at you. You just stared back at it and began to move away."

"That's because I'm a rational human being. I tend to move away from monsters who want to eat me."

"You really moved?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, yeah!"

Rachel didn't understand why Thalia and Annabeth were sharing impressed glances.

"The Drakon's eyes petrify anyone who sees its eyes," Annabeth answered, folding her arms. "Once petrified, no one can move until it looks away."

"That's why Percy froze," Thalia muttered, sobering instantly.

Rachel flinched. She'd seen him stare right up at the towering monster. As he lay there on the road unmoving, in absolute shock, he hadn't even tried to get up to escape.

"So, he literally couldn't move?"

"Yeah. But you did. You took some steps back, even running away. It's like the eyes didn't bother you at all."

Rachel shuddered. The Drakon’d had a piercing gaze. But she hadn't frozen. Instead, energy bled into her body, her instincts screaming at her to run.

"Maybe it's the Oracle’s magic?"

"Or, it's the bracelet," Annabeth mumbled.

Rachel blinked, "Hey! I thought you called it armlet."

"When you can't beat the tide." Annabeth shrugged.

Thalia frowned, "Speaking of jewellery—"

Rachel groaned, reaching up to touch the necklace that was now the symbol of her Oracle-hood. "Don't bring it up. I already hate this—"

"I meant the Scythe charm."

She swallowed. Great, when it comes to a Drakon, her body chooses flight, but when it's Annabeth and Thalia, she freezes?

"Um—"

"When did he first approach you, Rachel?" Suddenly, both of them were very serious, all humour gone.

Rachel placed the vase on the table. She didn’t even realised she'd been holding it for so long. It hadn't been a bother. "Um—"

"Rach?"

"Months ago. In October. It—it was the Titan. He said he would make me powerful and that Percy didn't understand, blah blah, basically was trying to turn me against him."

Thalia stood up, still worn. "He gave you the charm?"

"He gave me a choice. Said he'd let me make the 'right' decision." Rachel rolled her eyes. "He thought I'd say yes."

"How long did you have the charm?"

Rachel pressed her lips together, her heart thudding. "Two months, almost."

She closed her eyes to avoid their expressions. She sensed the tension in the room, though.

"You had it during the party," Annabeth whispered. It wasn't a question.

Rachel held in a flinch. "Yes."

Thalia's voice sounded angry. "What did he exactly offer you?"

"I told you. He said he'd make me powerful, with the Clear-Sightedness and stuff—"

"You took two months to make your decision," Thalia cut across her. "What did he say that caught your interest?"

Rachel was stunned by the bold accusation. "I was angry at Percy. We'd fought a lot and I'd argued with Harry too. I was just upset in general. He caught me at the wrong moment. That's all."

Kronos had offered to make her as powerful as a queen. To make her as vital and visible, to never let her be brushed aside as Percy had done, under Tom's influence. Rachel's one moment of weakness made the Titan think he’d use her against Percy.

He'd bluffed. She'd never be a queen. Kronos would always see her as a pawn.

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "There's a traitor at camp. The Crooked One showed a Scythe charm. He's managed to turn one of us to his side."

They frowned. "What’re the chances you can find who it is?"

Rachel blanched. "You want me to find a traitor?"

"We don't know if he's talked to anyone else as recently as you," Annabeth explained. "If he's been in touch with one of the campers, maybe you can weed out some of them and figure out who it is."

"But I don't know most of you guys! Like, only the counsellors, I think."

"That's fine. We have a few people still in the hotel. Talk to them while we go as backup. Percy should have gotten the River gods on our side, which means we have some time. Typhon's stopped the gods progress completely. Bianca isn't back yet. But I'm hopeful," Thalia said, searching for a clock.

"We need Percy to talk to his dad," Annabeth reminded her. "Poseidon's help can tip the scales to our favour."

She finally told Rachel, "Just try and talk to some of them, okay?"

"Okay," Rachel sighed. Annabeth squeezed her shoulder as she and Thalia turned to walk out.

Rachel remembered something, just then. She wasn't sure if it was important on a grand war scale, but tried anyway.

"I spoke to Luke!"

The girls froze, halfway to the door. Annabeth spun around to stare at Rachel, her expression painfully hopeful. Thalia didn't move but glared daggers at the shiny floor.

Rachel swallowed, “This was one of the times he came to check on me, about my decision. Last year, I mean. Luke, not the Titan."

Annabeth took a step forward, eyes wide. She almost grinned, "Are you sure? What did he say?"

"Just the same thing? About the charm and making me powerful."

Annabeth was moments away from squealing, "Thalia, you heard that?!"

"Yeah."

"He's still alive!"

"That was months ago."

"He's strong, he's still there!"

"Annabeth!" Thalia snapped, forceful. Rachel jumped and Annabeth's smile fell.

"It doesn't matter if he's there or not," Thalia continued. Her blue eyes burned like she was holding back tears or electricity. "We're going to kill him. That won't change."

Rachel heard Annabeth's heart crack as Thalia marched out of the suite.

Chapter 8: St. Elmo's Fire

Chapter Text

By the time Percy made it back to the hotel, the demigods had been rounded up by Annabeth and Clarisse. Thalia and some of the hunters were up on Mount Olympus. Rachel was nowhere in sight.

Annabeth was relieved at the sight of him. Percy tried to think of nothing else but her; tried to focus on the butterflies in his stomach, at the sweatiness of his palms, the way she always, always made his heart skip a beat when she smiled at him, eyes shining. But it was a bad time for all that.

Annabeth's shiny eyes were from unshed tears. The fluttering inside him turned to nails when he remembered Tyson, the battle, and what they'd have to do to survive, not to mention, win.

He closed the distance between them and she threw her arms around his neck, bringing him into a kiss.

Unlike the previous ones, this kiss felt heavy and wet. Percy pulled back, hugging her tight and letting her hide her fear from the other demigods. He breathed in her warm lemon scent mixed with peppermint. It lifted some of the weight.

"Wise Girl?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't leave me."

Annabeth's sob was a muffled one but she nodded. Her worry had switched to gritty determination and Percy was seconds away from admitting he loved her, when Clarisse called out, "If you lovebirds are done, can you get on with the plan?"

Chris elbowed her but she brushed him off, avoiding Percy and Annabeth's glares.

Annabeth sniffed, blinking fast before muttering, "Thalia's waiting for you in the throne room. Go."

"It'll take a few minutes," Percy said, kissing her cheek. "Where's Rachel?"

"Penthouse 3. She's with the pithos. I asked her to talk to some of the demigods, to try and figure out who the traitor could be."

Percy closed his eyes, leaning his forehead over hers. He hadn't wanted to think about the spy.

"Will she be safe?"

"I've asked Clovis to wake up Bolt. He might know how his father worked the spell on the city. Bolt can get her out."

"Good. I'll be back in ten."

Annabeth pecked his lips and he tried for a smile, but it didn't go very well. Nodding towards Clarisse and the others, Percy left for the entrance of the Empire State Building, swiping the key card from the empty receptionist's desk, and headed for the elevator.

Percy never hated elevator music before this day. Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive grated on his ears the whole way. He was glad to jump out on the divine floor and run to the throne room.

Thalia was speaking to three other Hunters. When they spotted him, they broke into separate groups while Thalia approached him.

"Can you do this?"

"I can ask him. He might not like it, but he'll listen—"

"I meant, are you in the right frame of mind?" Thalia interrupted.

Percy didn't mean to flinch, but he couldn't help it. A part of him wanted to curl up on the floor and cry for days.

Thalia raised an arm, pulling him into a squeeze. "We'll build Tyson a shroud. With fish ponies, stars, and sparkles, just the way he likes."

"He'll come back."

"Until then, we'll remember him."

Percy frowned, screwing up his face until he was sure that the tears wouldn't fall again. He'd cried enough while negotiating with the River gods. They had probably accepted the sand dollar out of pity.

When he climbed up to sit on Poseidon's throne, Percy already knew what to say.

Adam Cho was the first Rachel had chosen to talk to.

He was in one of the hotel rooms, rifling through a first aid kit. She found another guy in the room, who was easily 6 feet tall, completely bulked up. His ankle was a little swollen as he sat on the couch, one leg propped over the cushion.

Rachel stood in front of them, feeling nervous. She'd lugged out Pandora's vase-box pithos thing, not daring to leave it behind. Thinking over what Thalia and Annabeth had asked her—to search the demigods and find Kronos's traitor—Rachel felt very out of place as she hugged the vase to her chest and said to Adam, "Um, hi."

"Hey, you're the new oracle, right? I got some fresh clothes for you. Silena thought you'd need them."

He pointed at an armchair sat a neatly folded pair of denim caprice and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. It was bright orange, ready to clash with her hair.

It was still better than the musty-smelling shirt she was wearing now. She shot Adam a smile and picked up the clothes to try them on in the bathroom. She took the vase with her.

The fresh clothes felt nice. When Rachel stepped out, she saw Adam stand up from taping Beckendorf's ankle. Rachel wasn't sure how to proceed. Was she supposed to use some Oracle magic to scan him for the Scythe charm?

"I'm Adam, son of Aphrodite. This is Beckendorf. But you can call him Beckendorf."

Beckendorf was lying down, splayed out on a large couch. He rolled his eyes and nodded towards Rachel. "I'm the cabin head for Hephaestus. I remember you from the party, double round winner."

"Hi," Rachel said, feeling even more awkward. "Are you okay? That looks bad."

Beckendorf's ankle was swollen, but he'd barely flinched when Adam had wrapped a bandage around it. "It was worse. I've had ambrosia, so it'll just take a bit to heal. Is that really Pandora's Pithos?”

The boys eyed the vase she held. Both of them seemed intrigued. Rachel wanted to argue with them, to explain how dangerous it was, the thing inside…

… well, that's a good idea.

"Adam," Rachel called, sitting close to him. He blinked at her, stunned.

"Could you hold this for me?"

Adam examined the vase that she now extended towards him. He didn't seem suspicious or worried. He shot her a small smile. "Sure? Wow, it's pretty heavy…"

He trailed off, eyes drawn to the cursed vase. Rachel felt the cold, heavy magic oozing from the edges of the lid. Adam's eyes widened. Beckendorf slowly sat up, silent and surprised. He could feel it too.

Rachel watched as the two demigods fell silent, listening to the whispers from the vase. The moment Beckendorf's hand came to touch the lid, Rachel snatched the vase from Adam's hands.

They snapped out of the haze and backed away immediately.

"W-T-F?!" Adam cried. Beckendorf looked up to Rachel, his brown eyes wide, almost betrayed.

"You guys are safe!" Rachel squeaked. She curled her fingers around the cold vase and rushed out of the room as fast as her legs could work.

The moment she went back into the grand hallway, Rachel breathed a heavy sigh. That was close.

Clearly, the spirit inside could influence people in trying to open the vase. Would the spy know not to hold the vase?

Worth a shot.

Rachel walked around the hotel, meeting the demigods and introducing them to the vase of death. They didn't know how potent it would be. More than once she had to run out of a room after the demigods began to yell in fright.

The pithos was irritated. The spirit wanted out. Rachel held the vase tight, not daring to let it win. All the campers had been stunned by the magic of the pithos and everyone one of them had been curious enough to reach for the lid to open it - trying to scratch the itch caused by the last spirit.

Rachel reached one of the lower floors and walked into room 212. This was where Bolt was, with one of the campers, Clovis, trying to wake her up.

Bolt was still asleep on a couch and on the complementary sofa, Clovis was snoring.

Rachel placed the vase on the coffee table and pulled away the throw cushion that was acting as a pillow for him.

Clovis snapped up in a swift move, blinking blearily at the concept of being awake. He finally focused on Rachel staring down at him expectantly.

"Um, your dog's still sleeping."

"I can see that," she sighed and sat down close to Bolt's legs. She ran a hand through Bolt's pelt, scratching the puppy's neck, soothing. Bolt's pulse was strong and steady and Rachel tried to calm herself.

"Can I ask you something, Lady Oracle?"

Clovis's question threw her off guard. Rachel's shoulders slumped.

"Don't ever call me that. My name's Rachel Elizabeth Dare. You guys can call me Rachel."

"Yes, of course, Rachel!" Clovis sounded nervous. "I wanted to ask why aren't you asleep?"

"I guess it's because the Crooked One didn't want me sleeping when I could be predicting natural disasters for him."

Clovis nodded and stifled a yawn.

"Oh. Kay. I thought it was the bracelet."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You think? Or are you sure about that?" she asked, reaching up to touch the bronze band on her upper left arm. It was placed right above her bicep, just at the right height to be covered by the sleeve of the camp t-shirt she wore.

Clovis squinted at her sleeve, trying to take a peek at the bracelet. Rachel made sure the sleeve was covering it and waited till he said, "That feels right, I guess. I mean, you don't really know what the bracelet can do right? It just makes you stronger."

She held her breath, "Stronger?"

"Yeah," Clovis sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Like, whatever powers you had before, all that's sorta amplified now."

"I didn't have magic. I mean, I don't."

He blinked at Rachel. "What about your visions?"

"That's not… never mind," she muttered, turning away. She was not ready to have this conversation again.

She offered him the vase and he stared at it, long enough to fall back to sleep sans cushion. Watching him sleep gave Rachel doubts. What if she fell asleep? Would she wake up? Was Kronos toying with her? Was it the Oracle spirit or the bracelet that was keeping her wide awake, ridden with anxiety?

Rachel glanced down at her palms, imagining magic to dance on her skin. She recalled a vision she'd had during the infamous demigod/wizard party. Auras were a visible indication of power. She'd seen her own body light up in soft swirls of gold and green.

She closed her eyes and tried to bring it out again. Maybe by being the oracle, she could see her aura again? Would she be different now? More powerful?

Someone knocked. Clovis didn't even have the decency to stir and wake up, so Rachel turned around. Silena was standing at the entrance, peeking in. Her eyes were on the slumbering tiger form of Bolt. The hope in her eyes diminished when she noticed that Clovis was asleep as well.

"Hey, Silena," Rachel waved, remembering that she hadn't tried the cursed vase trick with the demigod.

"Hi, I guess Clovis couldn't wake her up. Sorry, Rachel."

"It's fine. I just gotta stay here till the fight's over," Rachel said, reaching down to pick up the vase.

Silena's demeanour changed from tired to shocked and cautious in less than half a second. She swallowed, stepping away as Rachel brought the vase up into sight.

Rachel was immediately on high alert. Did she know how potent the vase's magic was?

"Why—why do you have that?" Silena breathed out, her deep blue eyes widening. Her fists clenched unconsciously, but Rachel caught it.

"It doesn't work on me. What d'you hear?"

"Nothing! Just the wind." Silena was constipated now, unable to ignore the vase.

The humming from inside the pithos grew stronger. She knew that Silena could hear it. The vibrations went up her arms, trying to convince her to hand it over to the other girl. Rachel gripped it tight.

"I," Silena began, "The others said what you did to them. You managed to freak everyone out—"

"What did Luke tell you?"

That, if nothing else, confirmed it. Silena froze, like the air in her lungs had turned to ice and she was turning to stone. Rachel swallowed. She knew that look. That guilt, that ‘merde’ moment.

"You need to give me some time," Silena whispered. She was sweating, breathing hard now, face twisted into a fearful expression.

"You're a spy!" Rachel hissed, glaring at her now. "I don't have to do anything other than tell Annabeth and Thalia—"

"I'm trying! I'm not a spy!"

"I'm sorry, do you prefer double agent?" she spat.

Silena took a step back. "I'm trying to get out."

Rachel blanched. "The final war is barely hours away! Actually, it’s already begun!"

"I haven't given them any usable info for weeks now," Silena insisted, her eyes flitting towards Clovis before going back to her. Rachel glared wishing she could hurl the vase at her.

"I can't just shut my mouth—"

"If you tell the others now, they'll lock me up."

"Good!"

"No! You don't understand. I have to go back—"

Rachel quickly set the vase by Bolt's head on the couch, digging through her pocket for the small two-way mirror she had. She needed to call Annabeth now!

A sharp smack sent the mirror flying from her hands. Rachel twisted, trying to block an incoming jab, but Silena also lashed out with her foot, kicking Rachel in the back of her knee. Rachel went down, nearly smacking her head against the back of the couch.

Silena then slammed her elbow right below the nape of her neck. Rachel shrieked and practically blacked out from the pain that erupted from the top of her spine and seared down her back. Her entire body seemed to jerk from the blow and she fell heavily on the carpet.

"I'm sorry!" Silena cried. She was running away, heading for the door. "I need to get him out!"

'Get whom out?' would have been a good question but Rachel could only think of the blinding aftershock of the smackdown. It had been pathetic. She hadn't been able to even see where the hits were coming from, let alone fight back. Rachel had gone down like a lightweight after one vodka shot.

Where was the girl who fought Skorpios in London?

Why the hell did she even imagine she could be powerful?

Silena practically flew up the stairs, pumping her legs as fast as they would go. She needed to do one last thing before escaping.

She could not get caught. They'd been planning this for months.

Charlie's room was right by the elevators and she marched in without bothering to knock.

Her half-brother, Adam, jumped to his feet, alarm crossing his face. He relaxed by a degree when he saw her face.

She knew she barely had time before Rachel could raise the alarm. With the shortest of glances towards Adam, she made her way to Charlie who was standing by the couch he'd just vacated, clearly testing his bad ankle.

Charlie was stunned by her appearance. Silena knew she was sweaty and that her hair was all over the place, frizzing away from the intricate French braid. She rarely ever let her appearance get so ramshackled.

"Hey," he said softly, raising a hand to cup her cheek. Silena felt a hiccup in her chest. She blinked away the tears and stood on her toes to kiss him. She needed to feel him close and sure for one last time before he knew the truth.

She heard footsteps of Adam leaving the room to give them privacy. Silena broke away quickly and took Charlie's face and stared, trying to form the right words.

"I have a friend," she said. Charlie frowned, confused, so she continued, "I need to make sure he's safe. I'm sorry I didn't say this before, I should have. That's on me. I'm the spy, Charlie."

"What does this mean?" Percy asked.

His clothes felt hot and his hair was plastered to his face from the heat emanating from Poseidon's throne. But he didn't care for that. He was staring down at his hands, waiting intently.

A small flash of pale blue curled over his palm again.

"There!" Percy exclaimed, letting his father peer through his eyes. "You saw that? What is it?"

"It's blue," Poseidon said, frowning. "It reminds me of the St. Elmo's Fire."

"... is that a different segment from Elmo's World?"

"Saint Erasmus of Formia is the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain," Poseidon said, sounding amused.

"Doesn't sound Greek," Percy muttered.

"No, it doesn't. But the light is named after him. During thunderstorms, there's enough electrical discharge in the air to set off a reaction. When you're on the sea, the ship's mast is the tallest point. With the discharge, sailors sometimes see bright blue or violet lights that glow in a flash on all posts."

Percy squinted down at his hands, waiting for the blue light to reappear. It didn't.

"Why would St. Elmo's Fire happen to my hands? I'm not on a ship in a thunderstorm on the high seas."

"This merely looks like it. What you have isn't fire or electricity. It's something different. I didn’t think young heroes could access this power," Poseidon murmured and the hesitance left Percy nervous.

"Be careful with it, Percy. You're growing stronger every day, but this is a step beyond that. Don't let power like this take over, you hear me?"

Poseidon sounded deadly serious now. Percy gave a stiff nod, curling his hands into fists.

"Dad, you need to make that decision—"

"I know, I will have to think of it. Leaving Atlantis open to the old gods? It's too risky a move."

Percy made a face, imagining a fifty-foot-tall version of his dad examining him.

"Be careful, Percy."

With the parting words echoing in his head, Percy blinked back to reality, focusing on the empty throne room. He slid off his dad's seat, feeling like he'd fallen asleep under a summer sun with no sunblock. His skin ached to the touch, especially to the scratch of his clothes.

Percy turned around and headed towards the pool where Bessie the Ophiotaurus swam gleefully upon noticing him.

"Hey, there," he muttered, petting down her back. "Budge up, will ya?"

Percy dropped into the water, letting it wash over his pores to soothe the burn.

Electrical discharge was more Thalia's turf. Sure, Poseidon was the god of storms, but not specifically thunder. Why were his hands randomly lighting up in blue?

Not that blue was critical. It was his favourite as anyone would confirm. It just bothered him since he'd never had any part of him glow oddly before.

Harry's hands glowed green when he healed people. Percy was reminded of that just a while back, an almost insignificant portion in a violent memory.

But this was nothing like that. Percy couldn't heal anyone. He didn't have that kind of power. So why were his hands glowing blue?

Green healed. Blue…?

In the distance, from the frozen streets of New York, the call of a war horn could be heard. Percy kicked off from the bottom of the pool, emerging up into the air and landing on the marble floors almost gracefully. He shook the excess water off, letting them drain back into the pool.

Bessie mooed sadly.

"Stay here, Bessie. It's safer," he whispered before bringing out Riptide and marching out the double doors of the Olympian Throne Room.

When Percy stepped out of the Empire State Building, he nearly ran right into Clarisse's electric spear.

"Watch it!" Percy screeched, dodging to the side.

"War dogs!" Clarisse hollered, spinning around and aiming Maimer 2.0 at a massive mob of Telkhines that had gathered around the building.

Percy let out a breath, feeling his ire rise again. He thought he'd blown them all up when he had made Mount St. Helens erupt.

Clarisse yeeted her spear and it caught one of the Telkhines through its flank. Electricity burst out and hit three others disintegrating all four. The other monsters roared in anger and charged at Clarisse. Percy brought out Riptide and Oneroi, swinging them in an arc to take out the closest dogs.

Ichor flew into the air, settling on the fierce fight like dust. Clarisse's teams took out a troop of dogs on the west side, trying to cut them off. Percy rolled behind a car to catch a breath before leaping out and thrusting Riptide into a Telekhine's back. He slammed his dagger into the neck of another creature, twisting both blades to kill them at once.

His arms ached, bringing them around to keep holding his own against the sea of demons.

This had to be a distraction, Percy thought furiously, decapitating more demons. He'd made a wide space around him, glowering at everything, making the Telekhines hesitate to try and get near him. Good.

Or maybe it was the blue light spilling from his palms that made them stop in their tracks.

Percy frowned, surprised at the sudden heat that was gathering over his hands. The light was making his palms sweat. He tightened his grip on his blades and scowled up, just in time to see an old face.

Behind the Telekhines, a tall and bulky shape stood out. It had a massive body of a bull and stood on two humanoid legs. Percy's nerves were high-strung when he recognised the sharp and curved horns.

"Hello, Minotaur, my old friend," Percy mumbled.

The Minotaur let out a bellow that sent a rumble through the earth. The Telekhines parted as it lowered its head and began to charge at Percy.

Percy lowered his sword, heaved a sigh, and stepped aside, just in time to avoid the Minotaur from crashing into him.

"Your eyesight's gotten worse!" Percy called out. The Minotaur was enraged now, skidding to a stop and scratching the tar off the road. It stood up and punched an enormous fist into the window of a car. The glass cracked, falling inside as it grabbed the frame of the door and began to yank it out.

"Dude, that's a BMW—" Percy complained before ducking with a gasp as the ripped-out door was sent hurtling in his direction.

Percy crouched low and squinted when the entire car came flying into him.

He had a moment of 'oh crap', before jumping to his side, barely escaping the heavy metal and glass that crashed into the road with a scream.

His shoulder burned after it had basically broken his fall. Percy tried to scramble to his feet again but felt a huge hand grab him by the armour and lift him into the air.

The edge of the armour dug into his neck and Percy kicked out, slamming his feet into the Minotaur's armpit. The monster roared but didn't drop him. Instead, Percy saw its muscles tense.

He brought Riptide up to slice the arm off. It wouldn't work with one blow, he knew that, but his spine was screaming. Riptide sunk into the meaty forearm and the Minotaur grabbed Percy's arm, yanking the sword away with a painful jerk.

Percy felt Riptide slip from his grasp. Panicking, he used his dagger to swipe at the leather ties of his torso armour. The cuirass fell loose and Percy dropped to the ground, his head falling right through the neck hole of the metal plates.

"Percy!" Annabeth's shriek was from far away, but he couldn't risk turning his head to find her.

The Minotaur threw the armour away, along the same direction as his sword. Percy backed away, scuttling like a crab. The only thing he had now was his dagger, which would need a lot of concentration to puncture a hole into the monster.

"Think! Use your head!" Percy hissed to himself.

Well, there were also the glowing hands…

The Minotaur brought a clenched fist down, right at his head. Percy rolled away in time to hear the road crack under the blow. Before it could try again, a barrage of arrows hit its side, some of them embedding into its right leg and hand.

The Minotaur roared at the demigods who had killed most of the Telekhines. Other monsters were spilling into the streets, but campers and hunters were confronting them all before they could go anywhere near Olympus.

Percy sucked in a tight breath of air, feeling his body exposed without armour. Everything felt open to the stale air with the Minotaur advancing on him. He should have gone for Nico's idea and taken that bath in the Styx.

He felt his bracelet burn.

No, no, no! Percy gritted his teeth. He needed to get to his feet. No way was he letting Harry or Rachel appear on the battlefield! He needed to get the upper hand.

Percy closed his fist, feeling it heat up. He could see the blue light erupt again. It made the Minotaur slow its approach. Percy didn't know what the light could do, but right now, it was a good distraction.

He flipped the dagger, catching it below the tip of the blade. In a swift move, Percy threw the dagger right at the Minotaur's face. It was too slow to dodge and Oneroi pierced right through its eye, sinking in up to the hilt.

The Minotaur roared in pain, trying to yank out the blade. Percy got to his feet, reaching out to the surroundings for water. The pressure in the city's water table had gone down after the Drakon's attack. Percy stretched out his senses and found a full water tank on a nearby roof.

Right as Riptide appeared in his pocket, Percy summoned all the water from the office building. Hundreds of gallons of water burst out through the concrete walls and soared into the air. Percy brought it down, aiming for the Minotaur. He could do the same trick as with the Drakon.

The thought of Tyson flashed into his mind. Percy shook his head, willing it out. He had to concentrate—

The Minotaur picked up a motorbike and hurled it at him. Percy yelled, jumping away, but not before the mirror clipped his hand.

The force of the throw bent his fingers. They cracked and fiery pain burst through his palm. Percy shouted and grabbed his left hand, staring at the middle, ring, and little fingers all of which had been pushed backwards, far enough to break.

He lost his focus, the water crashing onto the road, not a drop of it touching the monster. Percy tried to push past the pain, but to his horror, the blue glow came about again, extending in tiny long tendrils of light from his palm. It spread up halfway to his elbow, surrounding his wrist. The glow was brightest around his broken fingers.

This time, the Minotaur didn't hesitate.

It grabbed Percy with both hands, lifting him again. Percy tried to twist out of its grip, but its giant palm came up to clasp around his neck and began to squeeze.

Percy gasped scratching at the hand, kicking at its torso. He couldn't breathe. The Minotaur was crushing his neck, the bracelet was burning his arm, and Percy screamed, closing his eyes to struggle one last time. Underneath the pain, heat bloomed before exploding outwards from his hands.

Blue light seared the through his eyelids and suddenly, it was the Minotaur that was screaming.

The hands dropped him and Percy crumpled on the road, feeling his feet and knees hit the ground painfully. He snapped his eyes open to see what had happened.

The Minotaur was backing away from him, its hands trembling. They seemed dirty grey, the actual brownish fur peeling away as a fire had burnt it. Percy gaped. The Minotaur was in agony. As it lowered its arms, Percy could see cracks running along the long limbs, like dried mud lines in the Sahara, when the sun parched the earth and no water remained.

The glow was still in his arms. Percy panted, glowering at the Minotaur who stared back. Startled.

He didn't hesitate. Percy charged, and grabbed one of the arms, pulling it behind the Minotaur. It yelled out in anger and pain, and Percy let the blue light cover the cracked skin of the monster's arm. He watched as the arm began to crumble.

Percy was taking its water. He could feel it, feel the water being absorbed into his skin, healing himself while killing the monster. He held to one arm, dodging the other as the Minotaur roared and struggled.

Suddenly, the Minotaur yanked at it, but the arm was already breaking. With a powerful yank, it pulled away completely and Percy was left holding a rapidly crumbling arm.

He dropped it in disgust, watching as the once meaty arm, about the size of his torso, turned to dust, even finer than sulphur.

The Minotaur roared, missing an arm, and very enraged. But it didn't attack.

Percy went on the offensive.

He flipped out Riptide, flipping the lid off. Taking a running leap at the Minotaur, he slashed at its feet and brought the blade up to stab its side. The monster screeched again just as Percy pressed his foot over the hilt of Riptide and climbed up to grab one of its horns.

The creature bucked, trying to throw it off. Percy held on, not daring to shut his eyes. He brought Oneroi out and drove the blade into the monster's neck.

The dagger wasn't enough to kill the Minotaur, but Percy was ready this time. He watched as the light emerged from his hands again, flowing through his veins to light up his palms. He pressed his fingers into the Minotaur's neck and dug in, feeling the light eat away at the skin and muscle.

The monster spun around, trying to get rid of him, but Percy didn't budge. The lone arm came down to strike him. Percy bore the blow, feeling his ribs ache from the tight monkey grip he had on the monster's back. The light was filling all around its neck, taking away the body's water.

Percy grew stronger. He could feel the water flow down his hands into his blood. He didn't feel dizzy, instead could keep his eyes open even as the Minotaur tried to bash him against the side of the building.

"Next time you see me," Percy whispered, before letting the glow take over its body. "Run."

He reached down to pull out Riptide from its side before slashing at its disintegrating throat. All at once, sulphur spurted out from the front as the Minotaur crumbled to ash. Percy fell but bent his knees to land easily on the road. He caught Oneroi as it dropped and stepped back, shaking a bit, but unhurt.

His ears rang, but everything else was silent. Percy checked his softly glowing hand. The three broken fingers had healed.

Rachel ran out of the hotel, clutching the stupid vase. Her neck ached from whatever Silena had done to her.

When Silena had run out, Rachel had struggled to get up and find someone. She came across Adam who didn't believe her at first. Silena was his sister and cabin head. Rachel was afraid for a moment that Adam might be in on the thing, but he found the others and told them what Rachel had said. When everyone went through the hotel, looking for her, they came across a stunned and silent Beckendorf who told them that Silena had jumped out the window.

And then the first troops from the Titan Army marched into the block. Rachel watched the fighting from a lobby window until she caught sight of Silena, running into the entrance of the Empire State Building.

So now, Rachel was taking the elevator to the 600th floor. With Pandora's vase/box/ pithos.

Good thinking, Dare.

She'd seen Olympus before. In her visions or dreams, she recalled the towering thrones, the enormous hall, the golden plants, and the intricate carvings on the walls and pillars that signified royalty beyond compare.

But gazing at Olympus in person was a whole new deal.

She stepped out of the elevator and peered up the golden brick path that wound its way through to a higher level. The path was flanked by tall colourful statues of imposing gods. Rachel walked up the way, engrossed by the distant houses on either side of the path, all shaped like gorgeous villas.

On any other day, Rachel might have just stood there to be immersed in the beauty of the place. It was the closest thing to a physical parade.

But now, she needed to find Silena.

The throne room was on the highest floor level at the end of the golden brick road. Rachel peeked into the empty room. Twelve grand twenty-foot tall metal chairs were placed in an arc facing Rachel. They looked extremely uncomfortable to sit on. She was glad she didn't have one of those.

"Are you kidding me?"

Rachel spun around and came face to face with the tip of a gleaming celestial bronze sword.

"Eep!" She nearly dropped the vase.

Silena, holding the sword steady and unflinchingly, frowned at her. "What d'you think you're doing?!"

Rachel caught her breath, hugging the vase to her chest. "Um, I'm here… to bring you to the campers. Spy!"

Silena clenched her jaw. "I'm not! I'm not a spy anymore."

"Oh yeah? So you didn't sell out secrets of camp to the Titans?"

Rachel was expecting a reaction which was why she caught Silena making the tiniest of flinches.

"I don't do that anymore!"

"But you used to do it. What changed?"

She hesitated, conflicted. Rachel waited, wondering if Silena was telling the truth. She seemed regretful.

"It's not easy to get out once you're in… I thought he was right! Everything he said back then, it all made sense to me," Silena muttered, lowering her sword.

"Luke," Rachel said. She knew exactly how that felt.

“I was in a bad place,” Silena winced. “He caught me at the worst time possible—”

From afar, the elevator's ding seemed to echo through Olympus. Rachel turned, about to look out the door to see who it was, but Silena grabbed her elbow and pulled her away from sight.

"It's him!" she blurted.

"What? No!" Rachel gasped. "The demigods were supposed to keep him out—"

"He must have gotten past them! Vlacas! He can't find you!"

"Or you! If you're not lying about the spy thing, that is."

Silena scowled, ready to argue. But she turned around, whipping her head towards the thrones. Rachel followed her gaze and saw that right behind Poseidon and Hera's thrones was a small antechamber, well-lit with a swimming pool.

Had that been there before?

"We need to get the Ophiotaurus out of here!" Silena hissed, dragging Rachel along.

"Is that why you're here?"

"Maybe. Just get her out and find the back door to this place. It could lead you to another room. We can let the Titans get her."

The girls reached the edge of the pool and Rachel saw a creature swim up to the surface. It looked like a cow. With a snake’s tail.

She was sure she'd seen this in a dream. It felt very familiar. Silena crouched down and whispered, "Hi there, girl! Bessie, come on."

She was holding out a cracker. Rachel grabbed her hand and pulled Silena to face her. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"I'm not!"

"Prove it!"

Silena almost growled. "He's walking up that path, right now!"

"Then prove it, quickly."

Rachel glared till Silena's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry for hitting you. But I needed a full-proof way to get Ethan out. The Crooked One wasn't letting him out of sight. Ethan helped me fake news about camp to throw them off the scent. But they must’ve figured out there was a mole because Ethan's under inspection. He'll be with Luke now. I need you to get the Ophiotaurus out of here. Then I can sneak Ethan out and we'll be safe."

Rachel blinked. "Ethan Nakamura?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

Rachel thought of Ethan, who'd given her a chance in the Labyrinth and also in her mom's office. If people were trying to defect from the Titan Army, that was good, right?"

She didn't have enough time to think about that, though. Making the decision, Rachel leaned down and spoke to the half-cow, "Hi, Bessie. We're friends of Percy."

His name caught her attention. She turned her hopeful, big, brown eyes towards Rachel and gave a soft moo.

"Yeah, come on. Percy's waiting for us," Rachel said as Bessie scampered onto the tiles, water sloshing around messily.

Silena was stunned that Rachel’d believed her. The latter poked her arm. "Don't make me regret this."

She nodded and Rachel sneaked Bessie down the hallway, searching for an exit.

"He just—" Annabeth muttered. "He just left!"

"With a nice little parting gift!" Percy huffed, nudging her in the back, not too gently. Kronos had unleashed his army upon them and then delivered a villain's monologue before cutting himself off and running into the Empire State Building.

Annabeth let out a snarl, absolutely frustrated, and stabbed a small chimera lion creature that had tried to sneak up on them. Percy chopped its head off and they ran towards the entrance only to be blocked by the Hyperborean. The ice giant sucked in a gulp of air and blew ice winds right at Percy and Annabeth, who leaped in opposite directions to avoid being frozen.

Adam Cho bounced in, staring up at the giant along with Percy.

"What are its weak points?"

"How about (slice) the bigger they are (grunt) the harder they fall?" Percy suggested, skirting around its back to slash at its calf.

He didn't want to hurt it. But it wasn't gentle. Looking at the ice formations around the blocks surrounding Mount Olympus, the Hyperborean had already frozen at least a dozen campers.

Thalia came charging in, jumping onto the sharp icicles and leaping up to screech at the skies. Clouds formed under her demand and Percy and Adam backed away in time, as lightning crashed down and pierced through the giant.

It gave a loud and painful cry, falling to the side. Without hesitating, Thalia landed in a neat crouch and ran into the lobby.

Annabeth was able to follow her, narrowly avoiding a swiping hand the size of a parachute. The Hyperborean's hand fell to the ground and caused a small quake. Percy and Adam fell down again.

"Oof! Yeah, the bigger they're, the harder they hit, that should be the saying," Adam mumbled.

"Get up!" Percy coughed. "We need to get up there, where are the others -?"

Percy watched as the Titan, Hyperion, was taken down by the satyrs, led by Grover. But the incoming monsters still had a good chance of running them over, especially with Helios still in the fray.

The ground shook, but this time, it wasn't the Hyperborean.

Percy squinted into the distance, feeling awe and glee at the sight of Bianca's silhouette against the backdrop of the low sun. Helios stopped to watch the scene and began to laugh.

His laughter was cut short when the ground split open and Hades, Persephone, and Demeter marched out with a horde of undead skeletons and hellhounds.

Nico led the charge and Percy wanted to bake the boy a dozen pancakes.

"I'm never badmouthing the Underworld, ever again," Adam whispered in gratitude.

Percy backed away and made his way into the lobby, Adam close at his heels.

He could feel the water in him churn at a disturbance. Percy closed his eyes, leaning against the elevator walls as they made their way up to Olympus.

"What's wrong?"

"Poseidon left the ocean! He's heading for the other Olympians."

"Oh, my gods! Is the plan actually working?!"

Percy gave a weak laugh. "Don't jinx it!"

The doors opened and the two demigods ran up the golden brick path. One of the largest statues by the path, Hera of course, had crashed down, most of its weight lying on somebody who was groaning in pain.

"Ethan?!" Percy called in disbelief. He had Riptide out in a second, before realising that Annabeth and Silena were crouched on the other side, trying to lift the statue off of Ethan Nakamura.

"What happened?" Adam yelped, skidding onto his knees to help. Percy joined them and the four were able to lift the heavy statue off of Ethan's very broken legs.

"Hera's out for me!" Annabeth griped. "Even during the war! The whole place shook, but hers was the only one that fell. Ethan pushed me out of the way."

Percy watched, stunned, Adam and Silena helped Ethan sit up. Ethan gingerly moved his legs but kept wincing, biting his lip to keep from yelling out loud.

"Thalia's gone for the Titan," Ethan gasped.

"No," Silena said, solemn. "She's gone for Luke."

Annabeth sucked in a breath and shot Percy a wide-eyed teary look.

"Go!" Adam shoved him. Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and they ran up the path, terrified that they were too late. If Thalia tried attacking Kronos, they were all done for.

Chapter 9: Life Guards

Chapter Text

Kronos and Thalia were arguing. The walls trembled as the Titan's power threatened to shatter the foundations of Olympus.

"I need your dagger!" Annabeth panted.

"Wha—where's your knife?"

"Thalia took it, she was out of arrows."

Percy flipped Oneroi into her hands, glad that she didn't ask for Riptide. Holding on to the sword made him feel a bit more grounded.

Annabeth rushed up to the immense doors but stopped behind them, crouching down anxiously. Percy mimicked her and they listened to the dialogue.

"… so what's your plan now?" Kronos asked, scathing and abrasive. "Will you revoke the Hunter's Oath? Will you try to kill me yourself?"

Annabeth grabbed Percy's wrist, stunned. Percy swallowed, straining his ears to listen to Thalia's reply.

"I need to talk to Luke."

"Luke's dead."

"I don't believe you. Just let me talk to him."

Thalia's voice shook. Even under the snappy tone, the tiny warble was detectable. Percy held his breath. It sounded like she was crying.

Kronos laughed. It was a terrible sound. It grated on Percy's soul like nails being dragged down a chalkboard. Annabeth flinched, ducking her head. Percy turned his palm and caught her fingers, lacing them together.

The laughter dimmed until his voice lashed out, turning into a vicious hiss. "What makes you so confident?!"

This time, Thalia sounded a little braver. "Your failed recruitment told me."

The heat from the throne room rose. Kronos was mad.

"She's a little weakling—"

"Prove it."

Percy heard the sudden determination in her voice. Both he and Annabeth shared a quick look, clearly thinking the same thing. Would barging in now escalate things?

"He's gone, Thalia," Kronos said, sounding serious and supremely pissed. The way he said her name made Percy frown. There was a familiarity there, that shouldn't have existed. Not if Kronos didn't care.

For a moment, nobody made a noise. Annabeth nearly surged forwards but Thalia spoke again, flooring everyone.

"I thought you loved me."

Annabeth's breath hitched. Percy stared right ahead, trying to imagine Kronos' face.

"You said you loved me, Luke," Thalia whispered. "Were you lying?"

Percy found his expression mirrored in a stunned Annabeth. He'd never really thought there had been anything between Thalia and Luke. But Annabeth blinked hopefully, waiting with bated breath at the response.

"When I woke up…" Thalia said after sucking in a quick breath, "everyone told me what you did… I didn't believe it. I couldn't because that's not you. You'd never hurt Annabeth, you'd never do such things."

"Stop—"

"You promised me we'd find a home."

"I said stop!"

"Family. That's what you told me. That night in Scranton, you told Annabeth and me that the three of us mattered even when nobody else cared. Why did you lie?"

"I wasn't lying!" Luke's voice came out like a shriek, panicked and more frightened of Thalia's tears than Kronos's wrath.

Annabeth immediately stood up. Before Percy could stop her, she was running to pull open the door to witness the scene. It swung open and Percy caught sight of Thalia and Luke (Luke!) standing in front of the thrones, weapons pointing loosely towards the ground, crying silently while having eyes for no one but each other.

Somehow, the gold aura had been suppressed. The blue of his eyes was wet and Luke was defeated at the sight of Thalia so forlorn.

"I missed you," Thalia gasped, dropping her blades and throwing her arms around Luke's neck. Percy nearly shouted in alarm but Luke let go of Kronos's scythe and hugged her back, lifting her off the ground.

Luke coughed out, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was an ass!"

"You still are!" Thalia retorted, clutching him close. They were weeping into each other's embrace. Annabeth placed a hand over her mouth, trying to hold back her own sob. Her shoulders shook from the effort.

"I missed you so much!" Luke cried, clutching at her armour. "I hated myself so much when the Cyclops… It just… it should've been me! You'd never have done this. I should have died a long time ago. I love you so much!"

That must have done it for her because Thalia pulled back, grabbed the top of Luke's chest plate, and brought him into a kiss.

"Thalia, don't!" Annabeth screamed, but it didn’t matter. The throne room shook again. This time, it wasn't caused by Titan magic.

The throne of Lady Artemis grew bright silvery white, glowing hot. It sensed the Hunter's Oath being broken, right in front of it, right in the sacred council room of the Olympians.

The throne emitted a blast, a beam of pure hot energy in Thalia's direction.

Annabeth tried to jump in, probably ready to push the couple out of the way, but Percy caught her arm yanking her back. Thalia swore just as Luke turned them, letting the blast slam into his back. The energy threw propelled them sideways. They flew straight ahead, narrowly missing Hephaestus's throne, hitting the marble pillar and toppling onto the hard floor.

Smoke rose from Luke's body. He groaned, eyes closed and letting his head fall onto the floor. Thalia rolled off of him and yanked the silver circlet out of her hair, the symbol of her being the first lieutenant of Artemis.

"I guess I resign," Thalia muttered.

Luke gasped out a laugh, "You could have resigned before you kissed me."

"Right, because now's the perfect time to make jokes," Percy muttered. He and Annabeth ran towards them.

Annabeth fell to her knees and hugged Luke just as he sat up. He winced from the force but grinned, hugging her back. Thalia smiled at him, and went ahead, bring both of them into her arms.

It was more than bittersweet, it was painful, tragic, and traumatic. Everyone in the room knew what was going to happen.

Percy didn't want to be the jerk who had to break them up, but they were running out of time.

Luke opened his eyes like he'd just realised that Percy was there, watching them. They met eyes and things grew tenser when Percy kicked something on the ground which slid towards Luke, stopping right by Thalia's knee.

Annabeth's knife was a daunting thing.

"How long can you keep him out?" Annabeth whispered into his shoulder, not willing to let go.

"Not long… he's struggling…" Luke was sweating, now. His skin was dusty from Artemis's curse, red and raw from the blast.

"We need to figure out—" Thalia began, but Luke shook his head.

"I came to say goodbye," Luke said, switching between the girls. "You know that."

"No, we need a plan—"

"I'm running out of time, he's seriously pissed now."

"No, no! Look, the same thing… it's happened to someone I know, and the thing left his body. We just need to—"

Annabeth’s voice broke. Percy held in the harsh shudder that threatened to wrack his body. He was glad she didn't say his name outright, but Luke probably already knew.

"This isn't the same ‘thing’, Annabeth," Luke panted, screwing his eyes shut. Thalia squeezed his hand. "This is a Titan, who's growing stronger with every second. I need to finish it."

"Please! Thalia, tell him!"

Thalia's face told Percy what she was thinking. She knew that Luke was right. They were on borrowed time. Annabeth probably knew it as well, but she kept shaking her head like a little kid who didn’t understand why bad things happened.

"You don't let this happen to anyone else," Luke whispered, eyes darting from Thalia to Annabeth, and then Percy. His voice turned to steel. "No other demigod should feel abandoned. Promise me."

Thalia wasn't even breathing. Percy wasn't sure if she was about to start yelling or had shut down.

"I—I promise."

"Annabeth…" Thalia blinked quickly.

"Wait, wait! We can—"

The smoke rising from Luke's body had stopped and was replaced by a gold vapour that broke through the skin. He shuddered, wincing and jerking his head to the side.

"He's coming back, I can't… the knife."

Annabeth stiffened, "No, please Luke."

"I love you, Annabeth. You're the strongest kid I've ever known."

She sniffed as Thalia, shoulders hunched, pulled her away. Luke shared a look with Percy, but they had no words for each other.

Or so Percy thought because Luke said, "Don't leave them."

Thalia clutched her tightly. Annabeth let out a heart-wrenching sob as Luke grabbed for her knife.

The undead army was able to subdue the monsters.

Demeter and Persephone had the absolute pleasure of kicking Helios back into Tartarus. Bianca and Nico fought side by side along with their father whose presence alone sent the rogue hellhounds scampering.

They'd won.

Percy felt like a rock had crushed something in his chest. He didn't feel like a winner, let alone a hero.

The Olympians took down Typhon far before he'd even reached Pennsylvania. Poseidon's intervention saved them.

Annabeth was still crouched by Luke's body, now covered by a sheet offered by Hestia. She buried her face into her palms, having stopped crying a while ago, but still not moving from the spot.

They'd won.

Thalia took off her armour, the plate engraved with the symbol of Artemis. As she undid her ties, Percy noticed that the edges of the metal had burned her skin. The goddess was not happy.

Annabeth's knife was stained with Luke's blood. He'd been the only one who'd known where his mortal spot had been.

Don't leave them.

Percy didn’t feel like a hero. But Luke was right. This shouldn't happen again. They had to make sure of that.

They'd won, so when the gods appeared in the throne room one by one, it was a surprise that nobody was pleased.

That was, as Percy noticed, because Artemis teleported in, glowing silver, a vision of fury. She glowered at Thalia, who stood up and faced her, head bowed low.

Most of the Olympians stepped back towards their thrones. Hermes and Athena flew over to Annabeth. Aphrodite was whispering to Hades and Hestia. Hera glared at Annabeth, and Artemis stalked over to Thalia with murder in her eyes.

Her body grew twenty feet tall, towering over the other gods. Her skin emitted a silvery glow and a bow and arrow appeared in her hands.

The council fell silent and Percy made to run after her, but Poseidon held him back.

For a moment, it seemed as though Artemis was truly going to kill Thalia. But the goddess hadn't accounted for their father.

Zeus appeared right in front of Thalia, blocking Artemis with a glare of his own. He grew taller than her and was equally enraged.

"Step back, Artemis."

His growl silenced the room. Electricity crackled around them and thunder was heard from the clouds surrounding the Empire State Building. Poseidon's hand clamped tight on Percy's shoulder.

"She is in direct violation of my Oath, Lord Zeus."

"She took on the prophecy and won,” Zeus insisted. “My father has returned to Tartarus where he will remain for a few millennia more. You have her to thank."

Zeus's words left no room for negotiation, but Artemis would not back down.

"She could have achieved that without spitting on my name. She was not coerced or manipulated, she chose to engage in a dalliance—"

"Dalliance?! It was just a kiss!" Zeus snorted.

Artemis stood straight. "Are you disregarding all that I stand for? My Hunters and I have served Olympus for most of your reign. If you choose to reject my loyalty, state it in the proper words."

"Artemis," Athena called out. "An escalation will not help—"

"You play more the devil than devil's advocate, did you know, Athena?"

Percy's jaw dropped. Aphrodite clapped a hand over her mouth. Ares went, "Oooooh!"

Zeus shot a sharp look towards him and turned back to Artemis. "Thalia is my daughter and since she has successfully saved us—"

"She did nothing!" Hermes snapped. He was crouched by Luke's body, fingers digging into the sheet. "Luke was the hero!"

Hades raised an eyebrow. "The boy who helped raised Father, who stole the lightning bolt and my helm of darkness, who stormed camp last summer with an army… he's the hero?"

Hermes stood up so fast the skies lit up in a flash. The throne room grew hot as all the angry gods glared at each other.

"Either you cool off right now, or I bring half the Arctic waters to flush you down," Poseidon threatened. He pushed Percy to the side, away from the confrontation. Athena stood in front of a still kneeling and stunned Annabeth. Thalia didn't dare to raise her head.

Artemis co*cked her head. "Did you forget, I'm your daughter as well?"

"I did not," Zeus said in a tone that implied he totally did. "And I love the both of you equally, so no killing each other, okay?"

Hera snorted. She drifted towards her throne and sat down like she'd tuned into her favourite sitcom.

"A flouting of my Oath requires consequence. She will not go without punishment," Artemis snapped.

"She's been punished enough," Aphrodite pointed out.

Artemis blanched. She rounded onto her and snarled, "This is your doing!"

Aphrodite tittered. She placed a hand over her heart and batted her eyelashes innocently. "Sweetheart! Of course, it is! How did it take you so long to figure it out?"

"How dare you?! We had an agreement! You would not make any more of my Hunters fall in love with a boy!"

"I didn't make them fall in love! They never stopped. I guessed it would lead to this. It’s such a good story, though," Aphrodite sighed even as Artemis wished her dead.

Then her expression soured and she eyed Hera, "Not to mention, if a falling statue had stopped her, I would have been quite displeased."

Hera rolled her eyes. "I don't control statues."

"Of course not."

"I haven't missed the bickering, not one bit," Hades muttered under his breath.

Artemis made her weapons disappear. She commanded, "Eyes at me, Thalia."

Zeus frowned, but Thalia raised her head. Artemis gave her a hard look.

"You've thrown away a great gift that I had offered in a time when your faith required healing. You will never have my sympathy. You will not find solace in my household. You will never find aim with a bow and arrow. I will not hear your prayers. Go on with your mortal life and die with a broken heart."

Thalia swallowed, "I take your leave, my lady."

"I'm not your lady."

Artemis turned and disappeared in a flash of light.

The pressure in the room dissipated. Percy leaned against his father, trying to feel relieved.

"So…" Apollo said, stepping forwards to get everyone's attention, "who'd like some good news?"

Nobody said anything. Ares raised his hand.

"Awesome!" Apollo clapped once before pointing towards the doors. "You're about to get good news in T-3 seconds!"

"What?" Demeter said. Percy checked the entrance. He heard the sounds of somebody running.

Rachel burst through the doors, holding Pandora's Pithos in her hands. Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, the one and only cow-serpent Percy had rescued, was strung on her back, piggybacking her. Rachel wasn’t burdened by Bessie's weight which must have been at least 200 pounds.

"Oh!" she squeaked when she found everyone looking her way. She was frazzled having run all around Olympus before making the trip back.

Hestia blinked. "Is that Pandora's Pithos ?"

Poseidon gaped. "Is that the Ophiotaurus?"

Aphrodite chimed, "Is that Rachel Elizabeth Dare?"

Apollo spread out his hands, nearly clipping Hephaestus. "That's my new Oracle! Behold her! She's alive, brand new! Totally walking and everything!"

It was past midnight when the residents of New York had awoken. The gods had cleared up the city. The heroes piled up in the van to drive back to camp, while Mrs. O'Leary and Nico helped shadow travel some of the more dire cases.

It was rather quiet. Percy was in good enough health that he helped bring the worst wounded to the Infirmary. The Hunters set up their stuff in Artemis's cabin, occasionally glancing back at Thalia who was seated in the mess hall. Bianca and another girl had been the only ones brave enough to talk to their ex-lieutenant.

Bianca was sporting a new silver circlet in her hair, having been recently promoted to Thalia's old position. It was jarring for Percy to see the twelve-year-old giving orders to the other Hunters. She wasn’t all that thrilled about it either.

Of course, Bianca was now fourteen…

Nico was sitting opposite Thalia, pigging out from a plate of hot dogs. He'd burned enough calories to leave him starving for the better part of the day.

The funerals were due in the evening, once everyone was settled and no longer in vivid shock of everything that had gone down. It was 2 in the morning on August 18 and they were bleary-eyed and working on automatic.

Percy sat at the Poseidon table in the mess hall and surveyed the place. His body felt cold but he was sweating. A feverish shudder went through him and he exhaled, trying to calm down.

Annabeth approached him. He knew she'd spent a good twenty minutes in the Athena cabin, bawling her eyes out. Her face was swollen and her voice croaked as she spoke, "Are you hungry?"

She held out a chocolate bar to him.

"I dunno," he whispered, pressing a fist into his gut. Was his stomach growling? Was he just feeling empty all over?

"Let's share," she suggested and sat beside him. She split the bar into two and they munched on it for a silent minute.

She smelt of warm salty tears.

"When are you leaving?"

"Hmm?"

Annabeth turned. "Your mom's still in the hospital, right?"

Percy froze, mid-chew. The baby.

"Oh, my gods." He nearly dropped the bar. "I forgot!"

"Go now, if you need to get away—"

"I can't! I can't just go!"

She frowned, turning to face him fully. The grey streak in her hair was nearly hidden underneath the glow from the fireplace.

"I… the funerals are at 6."

"We can do that. You need to go. Sally would need to see you."

Percy closed his eyes and remembered the bright blue light of his hands, the light that destroyed the Minotaur, the light that hurt anybody. What if he lost control and hurt his mom? The baby?

Percy swallowed, "I can't! I can’t go meet her like this. … she'd be scared."

Annabeth frowned. "Then go shower. Don't you want to see your sibling?"

Percy dropped his head onto the table. "Please don't say that."

Her unblinking stare warmed him up. "Percy, it's okay—"

"Don't say that. You know it isn't."

A sob built up in his chest. It was heavy and bubbling, threatening to come out and overwhelm him. Oh gods, he couldn't cry in public. That would be bad. He needed to leave—

Annabeth hand wrapped around his wrist. Her whisper was low but clear. "I'm here. Come on, let's go to your cabin."

Somehow, she managed to bring him to his bunk. Percy collapsed on the familiar mattress and did his best to not glance over at Tyson's bed, or any of the decorations hanging from the ceiling that Tyson had put up many, many months ago, or the sea plants Tyson had planted on the window sills or the fountain Tyson had rebuilt more than a year ago.

Percy pressed his face into a pillow and cried.

An hour later, Rachel brought a yawning Nico in, and the two of them, along with Annabeth were able to get Percy decent enough to use the floo in the Big House.

Sirius wasn't as gaunt as he did when Harry had first laid his eyes on him as a thirteen-year-old. Just-escaped-from-Azkaban had a practically hopeless aura than the one here. But seeing the man lying on the bed so still and quiet was a blow to Harry.

This was the first time he'd been allowed into the very secure and private room. Sirius's case had been very troubling. The curse he'd been hit by, months ago had drained a good percentage of life from his body. The Order and the hospital were afraid that if Harry got into the room, he'd try to heal Sirius.

Like that was a bad thing.

Tonks stood by the door, her eyes insistent on his back. Harry stared at Sirius's face. It felt like he'd wake up any moment now. Harry had just given him the news of a lifetime.

Sirius was a father now. He should wake up for that. If he could break out of Azkaban for Harry and DJ, he should wake up from a coma for his newborn daughter. The rule still applied, no matter what state he was in.

But he didn't move and didn’t indicate that he ever would. Harry focused on his chest which rose and fell. That should have been comforting.

"Time's up," Tonks whispered.

Harry held his tongue. He wanted to snap at her, though.

Fine. If Sirius didn't want to see his kid…

It was not a rational way of thinking, but Harry wanted to be mad at somebody. And as mad as he always was at Voldemort, it was refreshing to direct it at someone new. He didn't want to yell at Tonks. She was just looking out for him.

"Fine," he said shortly and stood up, nearly toppling his chair. He memorised the path they'd take to reach the private room. Maybe he could sneak back in next week.

Tonks and Harry made their way back to the second floor where Sally was staying. A welcome sight met their eyes and Harry finally smiled in relief.

Remus and Rosalie were cooing at the baby.

Sally sat up slowly, still feeling sleepy. She'd just fed the baby and was now watching as Rosalie rocked the tiny thing back to slumberland. Remus was holding up one of the many stuffed toys Harry had gotten from the gift shop.

The baby, Kimmy, hadn't really opened her eyes yet but had blinked a bit when Rosalie took her. She swore to Sally that her eyes were dark brown.

Sally's heart had skipped at the thought. Her sister's eyes had been dark brown as well. They'd been practically black. If the soft peach fuzz on the baby's head would grow out blonde, it might feel like her sister was back.

That wasn't possible, of course. Both, Sally and Sirius had black hair.

Rosalie and Remus were suddenly smiling up at Sally.

"What?" she whispered, almost ready to go back to sleep.

"You're about to have some good news," Rosalie said, her voice soft and melodious. They smiled at the closed door and Sally frowned, wondering what…

The door opened and Harry poked his head in. He had a suppressed grin, the one that made his dimples half pop out. Sally knew that he hadn't slept through the night, yet something had given him enough energy to glow with happiness.

"Hi M—Sally. I have a surprise."

"Uhuh?" Sally raised an eyebrow at Remus before asking, "What is it?"

Harry opened the door fully and stepped inside, letting the newcomer walk in. Sally froze as Percy came into sight, standing there, a little hesitant, very exhausted, but incredibly hopeful as well. His eyes were big and round as he took in the tiny blanket in Rosalie's arms. Then he grinned at Sally.

"Hi, Mom! I have a surprise too."

Sally could barely speak when Percy stepped aside and revealed Rachel, who shuffled in, nervous and smiley. She was roughened, her red, frizzy hair in tangles, but tied into a tight and hurried ponytail. She now wore a bright orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, the same one that Percy, Nico, and even Harry sometimes used to wear around the house.

"Um, hi Ms. Jackson," Rachel mumbled before clearing her throat and waving shyly. "And yeah, I have a surprise too."

Sally wouldn't be able to take another one. She leaned heavily back against her propped-up pillow and practically gasped when the last figure stepped in the room, just a few inches shy of Rachel in height.

Nico had grown. His hair was long and curly, even messier than Harry's. He wore one of Sirius's biker jackets over a faded black t-shirt. He stood there, awkward and gangly, like he was not yet used to the growth spurt.

To look at Nico was to get a wave of air and fresh blood all through her body. All the anxiety that had boiled in her through the months was dissipating and dying. The sight of the four kids was everything that Sally hoped for.

"You took your time!" she choked. "Get over here!"

Her bones popped as she stood up to hug them all. But her exhaustion and ache was nothing compared to what they'd all gone through since December.

Chapter 10: Sins of the Mother

Chapter Text

1994 – November

Lily Evans had had enough of the visions of a beautiful necklace with a large green diamond embedded in the centre of its pendant. She had to investigate.

Her search had brought her to Cairo first. James Potter had come along with her and so did an eight-year-old Bill Weasley. The pair had been babysitting him for the week. Lily didn't think the trip would be anything dangerous, so of course they brought the kid along, happy to introduce him to a vastly different culture. Bill loved reading up on Ancient Egyptian civilisation since it was connected to his second favourite topic—Ancient Runes.

(His favourite thing ever was onion soup made by Molly, but that's beside the point.)

Lily and James had planned to portkey to Cairo and greet the director of a museum there with the knowledge she had about the necklace. The director had been quite forthcoming about everything she knew. So with the new data, the three of them went into the desert to find a small abandoned site.

It shouldn't have been difficult. It was just a vision. Just a necklace.

Something pricked at her sixth sense when they found the box and saw the necklace. The green gem lay in the centre with intricate carvings on the metal all around it. She wondered if it was an emerald. James pointed out that she'd first seen it as blue, but her later dreams and visions were green-tinted.

They took it anyway. That's where all the trouble started.

Lily had seen many visions in her life, but she'd regretted this one with a passion. It made her want to bite her nails, to yank on her hair and shriek into an unfortunate pillow.

They took the necklace, encased safely with its gold and wooden box, and triggered a mechanism that launched an entire river over them. It had practically ruined the whole building, bringing down most of the tomb, save for the antechamber. Thankfully, Bill had been safe.

When Lily and James went back to the museum, the director had been… surprised to see them. Like she hadn't expected them to come back alive, let alone with the box. It struck them as odd. So, Lily did what any sane tomb raider would do. She over a fake necklace with the box to the authorities.

Easy peasy. James had the extraordinary skill of near-perfect duplication. It rivalled even Dumbledore's. He made a copy of the necklace and the box, both of which passed the tests conducted by the museum. Everyone was happy.

Now, how would they be rid of the real thing?

The three stayed over at a hotel. Bill fell asleep quickly, and James nodded off soon enough. Lily stayed awake, her eyes drifting towards her bag on the dresser. The bag contained the mysterious necklace.

Something was wrong. They shouldn't have taken it away from the tomb. The necklace had been there for a reason. For safe keeping… for security.

Lily closed her eyes and saw the necklace in her head. This vision was strong. It was in somebody's grip. The unknown person crushed it in their hand. Fake. The necklace appeared again, behind a glass case. There was a photo of James and her behind the case.

There were days when she fell into a stupor for an hour, maybe more. She'd see odd things in her head. Sometimes she'd wake up shaking, tremours in her hands, tears on her cheeks. One sob building up in fear, happiness, and numbness.

Today's visions were flashes of the future. There were children searching for the necklace. Lily saw them from a distance, aboard a flying ship. Teenagers. What were they doing there, without their parents?

She blinked and saw a graveyard.

Blinked again, and saw an infant with dark hair and dark eyes. Blinked once more and saw two babies now—one with red hair and the other with black.

Lily yanked herself away from the vision, heart thudding. That last one… she knew what that meant.

The necklace was glowing from within the box. Lily decided, the next morning, to get rid of it. It wasn't meant to be taken by mortals.

At about 3 A.M., the window of their second-floor hotel room shook. Lily roused, thinking past the haze of tiredness to see a silhouette nearly shrouded in the darkness.

Oh. The fake hadn't passed the tests.

Unfortunately for the trespasser, James woke up in time, before Lily could even grab her wand. He stood up and slammed his fist, super strength and all, into the poor man's face.

He could have broken his skull. James assured her he didn't. But they didn't lose any time. Lily woke up Bill, got his things and the three apparated to the Embassy.

A friend from the building looked over Bill while the pair left the building and made their way to Alexandria, a coastal city of Egypt, hopefully, far away enough from Cairo.

Alexandria faced the sea north of the city, seemingly only water for several kilometres in any direction. The waves were high with the moon full and bright in the sky. The smell of the sea mixed with berries from the market just a while inland. This spot on the small stretch of sand that wasn't really beach sand, (not a touristy place) was void of most life since plants found it difficult to grow there, and human habitation was further to the side of the coast.

It was such a wonderful place to visit to escape the noise of the city. Too bad Lily wasn't there on a sightseeing trip.

"You sure about this?" James whispered.

"No," Lily said, looking out into the ocean, searching for something. There was no other land mass visible to the naked eye, but she knew there was something there—

"Do you see it?"

"See what?"

"The island."

James squinted. He pushed his glasses up his nose and shrugged. "Is this one of those things that you can see but no one else can?"

"Probably."

"I can't see anything."

Pic 5

Lily brought him further down the beach, the waves barely feet away from them. She pointed into the distance. "There's a small island over there. Throw the box."

"Throw the… I can't even see—"

"It's right there, probably fifty or so kilometres to the north."

James should be able to manage that distance. She'd seen him through an entire bookshelf at a Death-Eater, halfway across Diagon Alley.

"Let's just banish it there," James said, his voice close to a whine. He never did well without enough sleep.

"Magic won't work there. The island is… different. It's dangerous."

He gave her a close look. "And this plan? It'll work?"

She tipped her head up at him. He trusted her. She knew that. No matter what happened, James would always be by her side, annoying the hell out of her, but never letting her down.

Lily closed her eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken the necklace from the tomb. This is the best I can do."

James watched her, silent and curious, before nodding. He dug through her bag and cast a spell on the box and the necklace. Lily held her breath, praying she hadn't screwed up the future.

James made the distance with no hesitation. He wasn't a Chaser for six years for a joke. She watched as the box tumbled onto the invisible island, in the middle of the sea.

Now she needed to open an account with the Hermes Express.

2012 – December

Sally walked away from the small group of mourners. St. Jerome's graveyard was a cold and grey place, not because of snow but the headstones.

DJ's funeral was short, but they had another half hour before everything was packed up. Sally pressed a palm over her belly, trying to feel if it was her fat or the womb jutting out.

She made her way through the stones, trying to find that name. It was fairly easy, just two rows ahead of the freshly covered one.

Lily and James shared the same headstone. It was weathered white marble, their names, and dates carved in soft cursive.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The words were etched below and Sally read them with slow breaths. She wondered who'd chosen them.

"Did you ever wish you could have met them?"

Sally jerked a little to the side, looking to her left and finding Beatrice Dare, standing beside her.

"Huh?"

"Lily and James," Beatrice emphasised. She'd pulled a soft black-laced cardigan over her shoulders, wrapping it around herself. Sally dropped her hand and wrung her fingers. She wouldn't like this confrontation.

"Yes, of course," Sally said, a beat too late. "It would have been an honour."

The women looked over the headstone. Sally wondered when the real conversation would begin.

"Do you know where they hid it?"

Beatrice was clearly not one to beat around the bush, especially if there wasn't time for it.

"I don't know much about them," Sally whispered.

Beatrice closed her eyes. "I know we haven't spoken in a long time. But she's here."

"Who's here?" Sally asked, not thinking. Then she blinked. "She? You mean—"

"Yes, Gaia," Beatrice said, impatient. "She's been irritated for a long while now. I can't do much to calm her. How's yours?"

Sally froze as she heard the name of the goddess. Beatrice spoke in a casual tone, like there was nothing to it, being possessed by a primordial deity.

"She's… been distant," Sally finally answered. Her heart hammered, feeling the slow weight of the Patron settle on her shoulders. She was listening.

"Not for long," Beatrice opened her eyes and Sally saw the glow of gold, molten and visceral shooting out of her irises.

"Come forth," Gaia murmured, looking directly at her. Sally closed her eyes and drifted.

*

Her eyes were black with pupils dilated to the max.

The sight that greeted her was a graveyard. Noises of people fluttered around her. The wind blew through her hair and she inhaled the smell of it, its biting cold nature. Wondrous. She loved visiting the mortal world. The paradoxes amused her to no end.

"Sister," Gaia greeted her, her voice questionably amused.

"How much have you told Beatrice?" the Patron asked.

"She knows enough."

"And Patrick?"

"Like I said, enough."

The Patron sighed. The goddesses stood there, in vulnerable flesh bodies, unbeknownst to the mortals around them. It had been a long while since they'd come across one another.

"So, how goes your plan for world domination?"

Gaia smiled, "It would be even better if you would stay out of it."

This was a repeated conversation. The Patron had always done her best to foil all of Gaia's plans to rise to power. But they both knew this time, would be the final attempt. One of them was bound to lose.

"You'd endanger so many—"

"Only the Olympians," Gaia nodded. "Their time on the throne is done. It was their own folly that the Titans are even rising."

"What about the demigods? The mortals?"

"I won't harm a hair on their heads if they do not bother. That's a promise."

The Patron felt the urge to grit her teeth. A very Sally thing to do. Normal, since she'd been in touch with the woman for years.

"The heroes will always be at the forefront. You can't stop that. Do you know why?"

"The prophecies are such a pain—"

"It's because they're the ones who most understand the concept of life!" the Patron hissed. "They feel so deeply to live and fight, it's something neither of us will ever come to know."

An ugly sneer crossed Beatrice's face as Gaia snapped, "Is that why you granted Rachel immortality?

The Patron faced her, raising an eyebrow. "You do care. Is Beatrice rubbing off on you?"

"Clearly you've taken Sally's advice without salt," Gaia stepped away from the gravestone. Her anger was ripping out. It wouldn't affect the earth, but the Patron looked around to see if anyone could feel it anyway. Nobody looked their way.

"They love their kids. They'll have better knowledge of that kind of attachment."

"I've had enough children," Gaia huffed.

The Patron laughed, "And yet, you'd toss them all out for your new reign."

"Perhaps… worse still are the Olympians. I'm not as bad as them."

The Patron looked back at the quote on the gravestone. She wondered if Lily ever had a vision of this very conversation. She wouldn't put it past the Fates.

"No one's found the necklace. Don’t be so… ἀρχαῖος " the Patron whispered.

"Hmph! If I have it my way, no one will find it," Gaia said, breathing out and letting the cardigan flutter in the wind. "It's one last chance for everyone. The Titans will fail, no matter how much Kronos fights. The Olympians will grow arrogant, and I will pick them all off."

"One last chance," the Patron muttered. "That involves you too."

"Do you think so?"

"Oh, yes. Tell me, if you're so insistent that the Olympians’ rule has come to an end, why would you rise again?"

Gaia fell silent as Beatrice's face crumpled.

"We've had our chance. Your rule was over. The Titans took over. Then the Olympians. And after them—"

"The heroes?" Gaia spat. "Is that why you gave those three the bracelets? You think those infants could rule the world?!"

"There are entities who could take over. Do you think I would assign three children to be the next gods?"

"To spite me, absolutely."

The Patron smiled. Sally bristled inside her, at the thought of Percy and Harry being given so much power. It would ruin them.

"I didn't make them gods," she said. "They're just strong enough to take you down. That's all we need. Which means, sister, it's you who has one last chance to give up gracefully."

"You think that will stop me?" Gaia asked, the bold-faced threat volatile in the air. The warmth of the day dimmed.

The Patron's response was equally cold, "You can stop me. But not the kids."

The earth didn't shake, but it was a near thing. Beatrice's voice shook under Gaia's anger.

"I'll send Ajax after them."

There it was. The ultimate warning. If there was one mortal who could and would go face-to-face with Percy, Harry, and Rachel, it was Ajax Furor. Nobody else was that vicious or insane.

Sally's fists curled. "Last I heard, you were planning on retiring him."

"A spectacular failure. He's learned much. I've decided to keep him around—"

"A horrible decision."

"I'll get rid of him later," Gaia waved a hand. "But for now, he's the best. And you know it."

"He's only one. I have several—"

"Your spies," she sneered.

"My spies. You won't win. Especially since even, Rachel will go against you."

The Patron played the card well, she hoped. Gaia had grown to care about Rachel since Beatrice loved her immensely. Not to mention, the girl's incredible ability to See and Divine rivalled the late Lily Potter's.

"You'll pay for that," Gaia's eyes burned into hers. "Keep close to your unborn, sister. Sally would never forgive you if it went missing."

The Patron gave everything she had in restraining herself from lashing out. Too many people, too delicate a place. The last thing the world needed was for two Primordial Goddesses to lose their tempers.

The goddesses retreated and Sally and Beatrice were left standing in front of the graves, blinking.

Everything was as it was before. Nothing was vapourised or decimated.

"I think that went well," Beatrice whispered, staring straight ahead. Sally placed a hand back on her stomach, her heart sinking even though the immortal weight was gone.

Chapter 11: The Prophecy of Heroes

Chapter Text

Percy was getting good at putting Kimmy to sleep.

Granted it had been nearly four hours since her last nap, but it was still a major accomplishment for him. They'd all figured out that the best way to get the two-month-old infant to snooze was to swaddle her comfortably, hold her close to the chest and lie down on your back. She loved falling asleep while lying on her mother’s chest, or her aunt’s, or any of her brothers’.

Percy watched the slow-moving fan on the ceiling of his mom's room. The baby didn't have a room of her own, since they lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan.

Laying on his mom's bed felt weird at first, but it was the best room in the house for the baby. The heavy and deep blue curtains shielded bright light from the summer sun and cast soft darkness around them. It felt cool and sweet, especially with the constant scent of baby powder, the brand Percy loved on Kimmy.

Kimmy nuzzled into his collarbone, drooling in her sleep. Percy held her little body carefully in both arms, exhaling in relief when he felt her slow breathing.

He waited for a few more minutes before rolling very carefully onto his left. He shifted off the bed gently, not daring to risk waking her up with any sudden moves. She didn't show any signs of awareness as he laid her in her soft cradle.

Percy slipped his hands from beneath her, watching as her slumber remained undisturbed. He stood there for a while, having no trouble staring at her little face, relaxed in sweet sleep. Her nose twitched occasionally. She might be dreaming already.

The softness in his chest remained until he left the room.

Sally was at the table in the kitchen, typing up her letter for the office. She was due to return to work on Friday but had planned to keep it part-time for at least a couple of months.

Percy flopped on the chair beside her to peek at her work. He butted his head at her upper arm.

"Hmm?" Sally questioned, not looking away from the screen.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Mom."

"Yeah?"

"Mooooooom."

"Yeah?!"

"Mama."

Sally flicked his ear and chastised, “¡Dime ya! ¿Qué quieres?”

“Estoy aburrido,” he whined.

"Bored? Then do me a favour, and tell Harry and Rachel that they're late."

Percy dropped his head right in front of her laptop, cutting off her access to the keyboard. Sally sighed.

"Molly sounded worried. Apparently, Harry was supposed to go to the Burrow for lunch but didn't show up. Rosalie said he's still with Rachel—"

"They never keep track of time!" Percy complained.

"Yes," Sally said, impatiently smacking Percy's shoulder to move him away from the table. "So, floo to his house and get them both out. If Molly starts panicking, I'll start panicking too."

Percy absentmindedly wiped at the small stain of drool Kimmy had left on his shirt collar. "Fine! When Nico gets back, tell him he's on diaper duty."

"Oh, he'll love that," Sally muttered, focusing on her letter again.

Percy stretched his arms over his head as he made his way to the hearth. Summer was close to its end, which usually meant that school would be starting soon. But Percy had no plans of going back to Goode High School.

Sally had been stunned to hear his decision of staying back in camp to help with the renovations. Constructing five whole cabins, designed to last centuries was more work than it sounded.

And while Annabeth spearheaded the project of rebuilding Olympus, she did drop by to help Malcolm and the others with the work in camp. He didn't want to miss out on spending time with her. They'd already met too few times since the war. Other than that one date which ended with them having to navigate through the sewers, courtesy of Hermes…

Percy flooed straight to Frost. The large estate was practically abandoned, with no one living there anymore. Remus moved in with Tonks, of all people, and Harry was living with his guardian. Sirius was still in the hospital, condition stable, but not improving.

The house echoed as Percy walked around the hall, peering out the French windows. On the grounds, Harry had added an immense glasshouse, which held several plants for his new kitchen garden. The sign above the glasshouse read, "Dangerous. Do not enter, unless you wish to be eaten."

The sign was written in Ancient Greek as well since Camp's floo connected directly to the house as well. In case a stray demigod wandered into Frost on accident, Harry had decided it wasn't worth having them being eaten by his carnivorous plants.

Percy walked back to the floo and zipped on down to Dumbledore's house.

Harry had been the least impressed when Dumbledore had taken up his guardianship since Sirius was out of commission. Everyone else was just surprised by the turn of events. Half of them had expected Harry to be sent back to the Dursleys. That would have resulted in a riot and a half.

Dumbledore's home was a one-storey building, extending over 700 sq ft in Oakwood, Leeds. The first time Percy had been there, he'd thought the house was a combination of a condo, a bachelor's pad, and an office setting. The neat garden all around the house was a nice touch and gave the entire setting a more homely feeling.

Percy stepped onto the floo rug and brushed the soot off himself. He spotted Dumbledore sitting on a recliner in the front yard. It was such a strange sight, but no stranger than the man himself, who was in an airy t-shirt and shorts. Percy blinked, gaping at him through the glass door. He'd never seen the wizened wizard in anything other than flamboyant robes.

Dumbledore turned around and found Percy's dumb-stricken face. He smiled and waved.

"They're down in the basem*nt," he called out, before falling back against the chair in peace. Percy shook his head and made for the stairs.

The basem*nt was where Dumbledore remodelled to turn it into a training spot for Harry. Order members would drop by a few times a week to coach Harry wizard's duelling and any other magic stuff. Percy wasn't completely sure. But he'd been down there only a handful of times to try out the gym where they'd spot for each other.

Unlike many basem*nts, this one was easily lit by sunlight. The ceiling had glass junctures that acted as locked windows, letting in the proper light to illuminate the place. The floor was padded with rugs from end to end. The door to the right led into the duelling room, and the one to the left led to the showers. Percy stepped into the main room, the gym, and saw the end of a sparring session between Harry and Rachel.

Rachel had begun training only a week after the Second Titan War. Harry had been adamant to get her self-defense tricks up, now that she was the host of the Oracle. Rachel hadn't liked the idea at all at first, but when Annabeth convinced her that she might be able to drop and pin Harry if she practiced, she'd agreed to it.

She was nowhere close to that, though. Percy stood by the entrance, hands in his pockets, as he watched the fight take place in a boxing ring in the corner of the room.

The twins were dressed in training apparel, sweat dripping down and hair sticking up. Rachel was breathing heavily, looking like she'd already met the floor a few times. To her credit, Harry was also jittery, moving on his toes, opening and clenching his fists. She feinted to the left before reaching up to strike his ear.

Harry caught Rachel's hand, swivelled under her now bent arm, and yanked her bodily above his shoulder, slamming her into the mat.

One thing about Rachel… she was durable now.

Just last week, she'd fallen off the boxing ring platform and cracked the concrete beneath the rug. Nobody had solid clues on what kind of magic the bracelet was working on her, but it was surreal. Their best guess was that she’d somehow managed to tap into James’s advanced strength just like Harry. Except it was far stronger.

Harry held onto her arm, locking her in place as she grunted.

"Okay, fine!" Rachel groused. "Let go."

"Fight's not over."

"How? D'you want me to dislocate my arm? Is that one of your secret battle strategies?"

"Smack his elbow," Percy suggested with a smile. Bolt, perched on one of the weight stands, snorted. She was in her puppy form and, like Percy, was having fun watching them fight.

Rachel tried to turn to use her the side of her right palm to chop the inside of Harry's elbow. It might have worked had Percy not pointed it out blatantly. Harry moved his arm higher, missing her strike. He let go of her arm and she face-planted.

She immediately turned on her side, "You did that on purpose!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Well, duh!"

Percy whistled to get his attention, "Lunchtime, bro."

Harry squinted confused. Then, his eyes widened. "Oh shoot! Mrs. Weasley's gonna kill me!"

He grabbed the top of a corner pole and vaulted over the ring ropes with ease. Rachel called out as he dashed towards the showers, "You are the last person that woman will ever kill!"

"Yeah…" Percy snickered, "You should hear Fred and George complain about that. Yesterday, they spent twenty minutes talking about the jumper she made for Harry which was apparently better than the ones they got."

Rachel climbed down the ring. "But that happens every year."

"They thought to switch it up this time, to complain in the summer than the winter."

"Uhuh," Rachel went quiet suddenly and Percy screwed up his face.

Don't talk about winter. Don't talk about winter.

Bolt whined and huddled on the stand. Rachel picked her up, before heading to a table pushed near the wall, her back towards Percy.

He tried to come up with something to say, to break the sudden and painful ice, when Rachel snatched a newspaper from the table and held it up to him, her face wildly animated like she was searching for a new topic too.

"Yesterday, you say? So, I guess that means you and Harry went to check out Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"

The cold tension broke and Percy groaned. He'd been to Diagon Alley the previous day, alright. And he and Harry had been photographed.

If the Wizarding World had social media, instead of WWW trending, it would have been Harry and Percy's 'salacious relationship'. Percy hated that word.

The top article of today's paper showcased a large photo of Harry and Percy walking into the brand-new store. The headline was in bold black print and it took Percy only two tries to read it clearly.

HAS THE CHOSEN ONE FALLEN IN LOVE?

Rachel tapped the paper. "Surprisingly, it wasn't written by Rita Skeeter. The headline’s basically clickbait. It's actually not that juicy."

"Oh look, a decent reporter,” Percy scoffed. “Well, not that decent. The only reason why it's not 'juicy' is because we're still minors. Harry's emancipation papers are still being processed."

"Urgh," Bolt grimaced, "I like the censored stuff, these are at least funny."

Percy took the paper from Rachel and check for a review on the WWW.

"It's weird, though," Percy murmured. "Skeeter hasn't written in months."

"I'm not complaining!" she scoffed, "I read what she used to write. It's no loss. Say, did Annabeth confirm my place?"

"Hmm?"

"Annabeth said she's building a place for me at camp, remember?" Rachel said grabbing her soccer bag, probably filled with fresh clothes. "Is it ready?"

Percy lifted his head, thinking back to the morning's Iris Message from Annabeth.

"Right! She did! It's ready."

Rachel's jaw dropped. She punched Percy in the shoulder which caused a fair bit of pain. He flinched away, more surprised than hurt.

"Dude! That's the first thing you should have said! Oh, my gods! Harry!" she began to scream now. "I get my own place at camp!"

"Crikey!" Harry yelled back. "But I can only check it out tomorrow! Need to meet up with Snape in the evening!"

Percy stuck his fingers in his ears, because seriously, when Rachel and Harry yelled, their voices carried a long way.

"Damn!" Rachel said, frowning. Then she raised her voice again, "Ditch him!"

"I would love to!" Harry screeched back. "But I need to finish my Occlumency lessons! This is the last one!"

"You said you could already throw him out!"

"I can! This is a test!"

"That's stupid!"

"He is!"

"We can check it out tomorrow!" Percy interrupted before Rachel could scream again. She pursed her lips and then sighed.

"Fine. Harry! We're going tomorrow! No buts!"

"But—"

"What did I just say?!"

Harry didn't respond, but they heard a very dramatic sigh from the showers.

Rachel turned to face Percy, triumphant. "Tomorrow morning, then. You coming?"

"I don't know. I couldn't hear you," Percy snapped. He smacked her shoulder with the paper.

She giggled, "I'll see you later. I smell."

"I'm heading upstairs. Something smells nice in the kitchen," Bolt said before vanishing in a short flash of light.

Rachel headed to the showers too and Percy sat down by the table to read the article.

Two paragraphs in, Percy's head reeled from the nonsense. Tonks had helped shoo away people gawking at Harry and him. The store was crowded enough without the added excitement. Harry had also succeeded in sending people scampering away. If looks could kill, he might have murdered a few idiots in the shop. In the end, they gave Fred and George a quick greeting before leaving for the Leaky Cauldron to pick up their usual plate of dumplings.

The more Percy forced himself to read, the more infuriated he was. He knew that Lawrence Kettler, Harry's attorney, had advised against reading stuff like that. Kettler would check the articles himself and decide if anything crossed the line. He had already gotten two publishing companies to print retractions based on what they said about Percy's personal life. Sally had not allowed anyone to read the article and had proceeded to burn it in the hearth.

The fact that this paper was sitting unharmed in the house meant that Harry hadn't told Mom about it yet. Maybe he thought this was a more benign story spun about them.

Percy's blood boiled. He hated the lack of privacy they had. After Harry's emancipation confirmation, there would be more stories floating around with worse details.

Percy crushed the paper in his fists, his hands glowing in blue fire and destroying the entire newspaper.

When bits of crusted ash dropped to the floor, he kicked it under the table, hoping it could be cleaned up without anyone finding out. Then he turned around and froze.

Rachel stood there, already having finished her shower. Her hair dripped from its twirled hold in the towel over her head. She wore new clothes and carried her sweat-smelling bag.

She stared at his hands like she'd never seen them before.

"Were you on fire?" Rachel whispered, mouth moving slowly.

Percy swallowed, "That was a very fast shower. Like, did you even use soap?"

"You burned the paper!"

"I did not!"

"Yeah, you did! I saw it! Your hands were on fire!" Rachel said, almost panicky. She pointed at his hands, "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Setting hands on fire is Ginny's department!" Percy defended himself. "I'm the son of Poseidon. God of the seas. Sea, Rachel. Not fire."

"I did see! Your hands were all blue! Ooh, like Harry, you know? How his hands glow green?"

"I am nothing like Harry!" Percy complained. "I can't do that! Harry's magic is all nice and healing. This is the complete opposite!"

"Okay. Green is healing, blue is… what?"

Percy winced. "I'm not sure. But it's strong."

The frown on Rachel's place cleared to show caution, "Percy. Tell me you have it under control."

He stared at her, not wanting to lie. She understood immediately, green eyes going wide.

"You're telling me you can bring powerful blue fire over your hands and you can't control it?!" she hissed, throwing her hands around.

"It's not fire!"

"Fine! Blue plasma!"

"I'm coming up with a plan!"

"Who else knows?"

Percy groaned, "I haven't technically told anyone—"

"I swear to the gods, Jackson—"

"—other than my dad!" he finished loudly.

Rachel exhaled. "Okay. That's good, right? What did he say about it?"

Percy pressed his lips together. This wasn't how he wanted to tell the others. "He said that it's just me absorbing water from anything I touch. That's why the paper turned to dust; I took all its water."

Rachel blanched. "Dust?"

"Yeah."

A strange look came over her face. She turned away to stare at the wall with a slight frown.

Harry finally stepped out after his 35-minute shower. His hair was half wet, weighed down by the water. He’d just been about to bid goodbye and run up the stairs but saw the tense scene in time.

"Everything okay?" Harry said under his breath, immediately on his guard. "Blink twice, if we're under attack."

"The house is fine. We were just—"

All the excuses Percy was running through to stop Harry from poking his nose, disappeared when Rachel's hair towel dropped through the floor. She convulsed for a terrifying moment.

Percy rushed forwards when he thought she was going to fall. Harry brought out his wand, equally stunned, but both boys froze when viscous green smoke billowed from Rachel's skin, light streaking from her hair. Her eyes rolled back up her head and Percy could see only the whites. Her arms splayed to the sides and the heavy green smoke curled around her warned them.

"Is that… ?" Harry whispered, stopping when Percy grabbed his wand arm to angle the point down. The oracle wasn't supposed to be threatened.

Rachel's head tilted towards them and the voice that came out of her slack jaw was a deep and double timbre that rattled their bones.

Heroes shall sail to answer the call,
To Pandora’s oath the King must fall,
For cursed ice to thaw from her love’s depth,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy's jaw dropped. No way. Not another one. They'd barely survived the war, they couldn't have another—

The smoke dissipated and Rachel's eyes closed. She fell back, boneless and Harry shot a quick levitating spell to stop her from hitting the ground.

Sally had sent her mail and decided to use the pump when Nico arrived in the living room.

"Hello! There's some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry, Nico," Sally greeted him.

But Nico rushed in, panic brewing in his eyes as he blurted, "Rachel's given her first prophecy!"

Sally nearly dropped the pump. "What?! Now?!"

"Just a few minutes ago! Harry IM'ed Chiron. Stan and I heard the whole thing! We're gonna have a Counselors' meeting about it when Percy gets there—"

"And it was about the Earth Goddess?"

"I…" Nico hesitated. "It was vague."

He recited the words, exactly how he’d heard them from Harry. Sally swallowed, feeling that slow sense of suffocation overtake her body. It was about Pandora!

"How was the prophecy triggered?"

"Not sure. But Harry and Percy were the only ones who heard it."

"Of course, they were," Sally slapped a hand on her forehead. "They're not ready."

"Damn right, they're not!" Nico exclaimed. Sally didn't even try to reprimand him for the curse. "You need to tell them about the bracelets."

"I haven't figured out how…"

"Sally," Nico called. He sounded incredibly serious, in a way a twelve-year-old really shouldn't be. "If they figure it out on their own, they won't trust you. Percy won't trust you. And that'll just make everything a hundred times worse!"

She inhaled and shut her eyes, quickly running through her options. "I thought we had more time."

Nico winced. "Sorry."

Sally opened her eyes and stared at her feet. The bracelets were supposed to give them time. However long they needed. If they needed centuries to learn to control all that power, the bracelet would grant them that.

But if Gaia was already running through the plan at this pace…

"The last prophecy took seventy years to come true," Sally said.

"Yeah, it did," Nico agreed. "But Harry's prophecy is still running. Camp only just recovering from the Titanomachy. This is the perfect time to strike. The prophecy doesn't talk about only demigods or wizards, it said heroes. We're all involved."

Sally exhaled. "I won't be. I'll talk to them."

"Today."

"No. Harry's to get his sessions for Occlumency certified. I can't have anyone getting into his head if I'm telling them about this."

Nico sighed, "Tomorrow, then. I don't want to keep lying to them."

Sally nodded, "You're right. We need to move fast." She faced him head-on. "Nico, you're on diaper duty now. After that, I need you to go to New Rome."

Chapter 12: Another House Bites the Dust

Chapter Text

Harry walked out of the examination hall in the Ministry, with Tonks and a smile on his face.

After months of training, he'd finally made it. He'd mastered Occlumency. He'd learned to Apparate. He'd written his OWLs and gotten excellent scores in all his homebound preparatory courses to apply for NEWTs.

Harry and Tonks made their way to the Atrium, but his head spun with images of him signing the final certificate—his emancipatory clause.

Dumbledore had patted him on the shoulder and peered at him like he was eleven again, but that didn't deter him from offering to shake his now ex-guardian. If he wanted to, he could move out and live on his own.

Which was what he planned to do, once Frost was restored to its original glory. It was more like an un-haunted now.

Harry was a fresh sixteen-year-old who had the world at his feet and more gold than he knew what to do with. Luckily, he had a lot of people ready to smack him upside the head if he ditched them, so that wasn't an option.

"So," Tonks said, letting a smile grace her face. "Now that you're officially an adult, what's your first grown-up action?"

Harry hummed, "Florean's treacle tart float."

"Ah."

"Laced with a bit of Firewhiskey."

Tonks laughed. "Wow. Don't tell Sally, she won't be happy."

"Not planning to. But don't tell Rachel either, she'll hate me forever if she doesn't get to enjoy it too."

"Roger that," Tonks muttered.

They'd crossed a long corridor and were about to step into the Atrium when Auror Dawlish skidded into view. He waved his hands frantically, gesturing them to back away from the Atrium's entrance. Harry immediately reached for his wand, anxiety multiplying, joy vanishing. Tonks threw an arm to push Harry to the wall as she too withdrew her wand, ready for an attack.

Dawlish reached them within a three-second sprint. He panted, waving around a scroll of parchment.

"Don't (wheeze) go in there. Twenty reporters from five different papers are waiting for you."

"What?" Harry hissed while Tonks groaned.

"How did they get in?" she demanded, her hair turning from mellow blue to angry red in an instant.

Dawlish grimaced. He stood close to them, the smell of a sickeningly sweet perfume smacking Harry in the face. He wrinkled his nose and turned to look at the entrance like he could peek at the reporters.

"The head of the Security department just announced the final preparations for Hogwarts' warding. There was a conference for that, didn't you know?"

Tonks swore, "That should have been done at least an hour ago."

"The questions ran on for a while. I should have known that they were trying to stick around to talk to you. How'd the testing go?"

"I'm good," Harry said.

"Congrats," Dawlish praised, with an unexpected smirk. "Here you go."

He held out the parchment scroll to Harry who frowned down at it. The old paper was faint pink with a glossy mauve shade of wax locking the roll. He blinked before asking, "What's that?"

"Think of it… as an introduction to the adult world."

"That doesn't answer the question," Tonks said, narrowing her eyes.

She'd been overly protective of Harry ever since she'd taken up the role of his bodyguard. She'd been the only one who could do the job since Harry would accept no one else, and the Ministry would issue only their Aurors to take the post. She was good at her job too, despite many a bigot judging her small stature.

"It's a signed statement from Minister Scrimgeour," Dawlish sighed. He turned the scroll to show them the seal on the wax. It was the symbol of the Ministry of Magic. Harry reached up and took the parchment gingerly, almost expecting it to bite him.

Tonks kept a hand on Harry's elbow. "We need to move. Head for the department, we can use King's floo."

Dawlish smiled at them, "Have a great day, Potter!"

The farewell settled in Harry's stomach like a stone. He didn't like the tone one bit. Dawlish had never been fond of him but had always maintained distance and a level tone while talking to him (unless Harry pushed his buttons). Unlike Snape, Dawlish actually was good at ignoring Harry's pestering. It was odd to see an adult not get so involved with Harry's life.

"We can wait till we get home for you to read it, Harry," Tonks said, trying to hurry them up. They half-jogged through the Ministry halls, keeping an eye out for stray cameras. Harry wanted to agree with her, but his attention kept drifting to the scroll.

What did the new Minister want of him? Rufus Scrimgeour had been a tough replacement for Fudge, especially with a lot of public support from his end. Harry had a grudging respect for him after reading up on his career of fighting against Death Eaters and sympathisers of the like. But there'd never been a chance for them to meet.

Maybe Scrimgeour wanted an audience with him. That made sense.

Tonks ushered Harry into one of the speed track elevators after shooing away a few other employees. When the metal box moved, Harry immediately rolled the scroll open and read the short letter.

Addressed to
Harry J. Potter,
(within his lodgings guarded in secret),
Order of the Phoenix Headquarters

Subject: Court hearing for requisition on the 24th of October, 2013

Yeah, this wasn’t good by any measurement.

Harry swallowed once, twice, unable to push down the lump in his throat. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Tonks stepped out, impatient to leave, but Harry had frozen in his spot.

"What's wrong? We need to leave—"

"It's a requisition," Harry whispered, meeting her widening eyes. "They—they know about Percy."

Rachel reached the Jacksons' apartment just after lunch. She dropped her jacket on the couch beside a slumbering Nico and walked towards the kitchen.

Percy was warming up milk in a bottle for Kimmy. He had the baby slumped up on his shoulder. She was gumming on his t-shirt, salivating luxuriously over him. Rachel giggled at his expression.

"She's bigger than I last saw her!"

"Yeah," Percy groaned, trying to adjust his sister in his arms. Kimmy whined curling her little hand, as he switched shoulders. "She's two months and two days old, so…"

"Can I hold her?" Rachel asked, stepping forwards arms stretched. "I mean, she’s wearing a diaper, right?"

Percy passed Kimmy into Rachel's hold and then smirked, "Cloth."

"Aw, come on!" Rachel sighed but knew that the baby was hungry. Kimmy whined shrilly, moving to tuck her head under Rachel's chin. She wriggled her body around to find a comfortable position. She smelled warm and soft, her baby fat resting easily in Rachel's arms.

"Mom doesn't like using too many diaper pull-ups for her. As long as she's home, she doesn't need plastic stuff," Percy pointed out, observing the bottle in the microwave oven.

Rachel watched as Kimmy shifted her head around. The baby was trying to focus on who was holding her now. Her eyes were large and glossy, black irises spinning around till she looked directly at Rachel. She placed half her fist in her mouth and began to drool.

"Yikes," Rachel said, using the bib to wipe away the excess.

"Kim Kim's hungry. Aren't you, baby?" Percy poked a finger at the baby's side. Kimmy turned at the sound of his voice, laid her eyes on him, and immediately grinned.

"Whoa! When did she start smiling?" Rachel cooed, bouncing her happily.

"Just a few days ago," Percy replied, just as enthusiastic. "We were practicing push-ups. Tummy time's her favourite now. I think she was trying to roll over, but gave up and settled for smiling. Harry cried."

"Excellent."

The timer let out a ding and Percy took out the bottle. Rachel wanted to feed her, so he handed her the bottle and they moved to the living room, where Nico was still out.

Percy kicked at Nico's feet, but the boy barely budged. Rachel made herself comfortable on the armchair and shifted Kimmy down. The baby made a soft crying sound that might have escalated to a wail if Rachel hadn't bumped the tip of the bottle to Kimmy's lips.

She latched on and began to suck like no tomorrow. Percy leaned over and adjusted the bottle to tilt less. The speed slowed to a more acceptable pace.

"Was he doing Math?" Rachel asked, lowering her voice for the baby and Nico's sake.

There was a workbook with long division problems open on the coffee table. A pencil and eraser lay on the page where numbers had been scrawled on and erased several times. The rough space was filled.

Percy reached down and closed the book. "Yeah, he wants to go back. Mom called the office and they enrolled him in summer school."

"That's cool."

Percy didn't say anything. Rachel frowned when she saw his hands shake a bit.

"So, did he say why he wanted to talk to us?" Rachel asked, looking down at Kimmy in intervals to adjust the bottle.

"No clue," Percy said shortly. Harry'll be here in a bit. But mom might take longer. You'll have to wait a while."

"No problem," Rachel said, remembering to not shrug. "Nobody's home anyway?"

Percy cleared the table and put Nico's book on the shelf by the wall. "Yeah? Where's your parents?"

"Travelling for work. I thought they were in Juneau, but Kari called yesterday and said they were on their way to Paris."

Rachel was sombre enough that Percy finally met her stare. "Sorry. But you get to stay at camp for most of the summer."

"Yeah, that's cool. You and Harry need to see my cave, you know."

"We'll check it out, promise. Today, if we have the time."

Rachel leaned back to grin at Kimmy. The baby gazed back, her eyes wide open, blinking less than most people Rachel knew. Maybe all babies blinked less. Maybe Kimmy was special. Since Sirius, her father, was a wizard, there was a good chance she would be a witch. Rachel wondered what powers she would have.

As the milk in the bottle went down, Percy excused himself and left the room. Rachel waited patiently, her arms falling asleep as the baby's eyes fluttered close. Almost immediately she stopped sucking. There was only a bit of milk left, but Kimmy must have decided she was done because she didn't protest when Rachel moved the bottle away.

She grabbed for a burp cloth that Percy had left on the table and lifted the half-asleep baby onto her shoulder, rubbing her back as she'd seen Sally do many times.

The baby hiccupped, burping more heavily than expected. Rachel wondered if she'd been rough with her. This was her first time feeding a two-month-old, but Kimmy's head flopped onto her shoulder, her little body relaxing completely.

"Okay," Rachel whispered, covering Kimmy's head with a palm and standing up slowly.

The hearth began to heat up, suddenly, spitting out green sparks. Flames grew and Harry stepped out. He was in what Rachel supposed were formal robes. Harry avoided smashing his head at the roof of the fireplace but knocked his toe against the grate.

"sh*t!" He hobbled on the carpet before catching sight of Kimmy. "I mean… shoot."

"She's asleep," Rachel grinned.

"Well, then, shi—no, Percy'll tell on me. Shoot it is."

He dusted away the soot, all dirt disappearing with a swipe of his hand. Rachel's eyes zeroed in on a roll of pink paper in his hand. It smelled an awful kind of sweet.

Harry stuffed the roll into his pocket and stepped forward. "I'll tuck her in. Haven't seen her in two days."

"A tragedy."

"It is." He levelled her with a look and she relented. Harry took the baby with incredibly gentle hands, and with more grace than she had. He had a frown on his face though.

"You okay?" Rachel said, taking off the burp cloth.

"Hmm? Yeah, it's… nothing."

He turned and headed to Sally's room. Rachel dropped the cloth into a small cloth hamper kept beside the bookshelf and turned back just as Nico's entire body tensed for no apparent reason.

He shifted suddenly in his sleep, face scrunching up. Rachel stepped forwards and saw that he was sweating.

"Nico?"

A nightmare, possibly. She wondered if it was okay to wake him up. But what if he lashed out?

Suddenly, Nico's grip on the cushion beneath his head tightened. Rachel inhaled, searching for strange shadows. Nothing jumped out at her. In the back of her mind, Bolt cautioned her to step back.

Nico might be young, but he was no less dangerous.

"Nico!" Rachel whisper-yelled, hoping he would stir. "It's just a bad dream. You're okay. You're home, it's good."

Nico let out a ragged breath, droplets of sweat slipping down his face. She ought to call Percy or Harry.

He pressed his face into the cushion and whimpered in pain. Rachel touched his tense shoulder, about to wake him up.

It happened instantaneously. Nico reacted violently, eyes flying open with a gasp. His solid black Stygian Iron sword materialised from the purple shadows and into his hand.

Everything moved within Rachel’s full awareness. Time was sluggish and she watched the blade fly towards her face.

Then, the bracelet on her upper left arm came alive, sending a streak of heat down to her fingers. She ducked her head back, reaching up to grab the sharp blade without thinking.

They froze. Bolt jumped out, in her tiger form, eyes wide and ears flat. Nico was sitting up now, face drenched, eyes bloodshot, pure shock etched into his features. Rachel gawked in utter horror at her hand that was still holding the blade.

She'd stopped the sword from cutting into her face.

She'd touched the sword.

She was fine.

The blade was dented from the force of her fingers.

Rachel let go and stepped back, panic growing in her blood. Her fingers tingled. Her palm was absolutely fine.

Percy's hands shook when he excused himself to the bathroom. He didn't want Rachel to see him break.

This wasn't the first time he reacted like that to the idea of going back to school. Just last week, when his mom had tried another attempt to get him to reconsider, Percy had nearly yelled at her. He remembered a strange sense of dread filling him at the thought of school. He'd never liked school before, but he couldn't explain why he loathed the idea now.

Percy made sure the door to the bathroom was locked before watching his trembling hands.

Something had changed in him. Things inside him were growing harder to control.

Anger at this amount was startling. Percy used to be able to not lash out without prompt. He has never been so quick to yell.

Percy turned on the faucet, letting the cool water run over his hot skin. It felt good. Percy closed his eyes and dropped his head.

Things were different now. There was anger within him. Anger for no reason. Rachel hadn't even said anything, just asked about Nico's homework. That was no reason to get angry over it.

But the fact that Nico had been going to summer school had irked Percy. Again, he wasn't entirely sure why.

Nico wanted to go back to school. That was good for him. He deserved that chance. He liked Math more than he hated the letters and numbers dancing around on the page.

Percy raised his head to face his reflection. He was tired. The bags under his tired eyes rivalled his mom’s. Percy swallowed and stared back at his hands.

And kept staring at his hands.

He was absorbing the water.

Percy stood up, mouth falling open. The water from the tap hit his hands but instead of falling to the sink and down the drain, it enveloped the skin of his palms and knuckles before disappearing into his body.

He sensed the water inside. It strengthened him.

The problem was that he wasn't doing it on command. Percy wasn't willing the water to help him, but it was doing it on its own.

Something was definitely wrong with him. Rachel was right, he needed to get the new magic under control. It was making his emotions go haywire and his power to leak out without his will.

"Stop," Percy whispered.

The water didn't listen. The more it flowed out of the tap, the more he absorbed it. Percy's hands shook again as he turned off the faucet and stepped back. The lack of water stirred something ugly within him. He shut his eyes and tried to take deep and slow breaths.

Heat grew from his hands, up to his throat. Percy was thirsty.

No! Percy panicked. Not now! There wasn't any danger, there was no reason why he needed to react like he was being attacked. Percy was safe. He was home, he was safe.

He wasn't safe. His hands were glowing blue, the soft bright colours turning darker when he tried to push against them.

Stop, stop, stop!

Percy could only watch in horror as the dark blue flames (not fire!) climbed up his hands. His arms were enveloped in uncontrolled power.

The pipes in the walls groaned. The tiles bent outwards and started to crack.

The burst of heat in his bracelet startled him. The blue of his irises was glowing in the mirror. Water drenched into his skin, overpowering his senses and everything within him.

Percy shut his eyes and let go. Bursting out with a scream was his cursed blue light that had been aching to explode for years.

*

Harry had been about to lower Kimmy into her crib. It was one last moment of tranquillity before he heard Percy's shriek tear through the walls.

Heat and light exploded through the plaster. The noise had barely hit him as Harry acted on instinct. He clutched the tiny baby closer to his chest and turned, ducking down to shield her from the blast. He couldn't Disapparate without his wand in hand, but he tried anyway.

Destination. Determination. Deliberation.

He didn't vanish, but all of a sudden the noise cut out and the heat stopped.

*

Nico, Rachel, and Bolt had been stunned by her grabbing his sword. And maybe that was the reason why none of them moved fast enough to really understand why the apartment was exploding.

Coarse heat seared from the walls, charring them to dust. A strong beam of dark blue light struck out, swinging in an arc, almost the way Nico had swung his sword at her.

On the couch, Nico was low enough for the beam to miss.

It didn't miss Rachel though. The blue light caught her right above the chest, burning her through and pushing her backwards. She screeched, now propelled against the wall, crashing through it.

She was airborne for only a few seconds.

Rachel shut her eyes when her body was flung like a rag doll. Nothing made sense. She slammed into the ground, her body punching a crater in the road.

Merde.

Dust filled her lungs and the pain was brief. Pain meant she didn't die, right? Rachel wasn't all that hurt to begin with. When the light had hit her—that had hurt—but not like fire. Just… heat. Yeah.

She was fine. Rachel opened her eyes and saw ashes falling. She heard screaming. The smell of burnt plaster and paint was rampant in the air.

Broken bricks lay around her. Her clothes were threadbare, ripped at the place where the blue beam had hit her. The road had cracked under the force of her body. Cars crashed around Rachel to avoid hitting her. Horns and sirens blared around her. The apartment was half-torn to shreds.

But Rachel was fine.

Sally was glad to be out of the traffic.

She manoeuvred the car around the turn, listening to the weather updates. Sudden storm prediction along the East Coast. Odd.

She was in sight of her apartment building when she caught sight of the Lang family standing on the pavement, talking to Kingsley Shacklebolt of all people.

The man was dressed in business casuals, distinguished in blue and black. His authority was so apparent that Sally knew he didn't even need to hex the New Yorkers into believing his every word. A feat, truly.

Sally nearly slammed the brakes when she saw policemen loitering around her building. Yellow tape blocked off the road and cut her access to the building. One of the cops walked towards her and she clutched the steering wheel in a death grip.

"Ma'am, you'll have to take the next street—"

"But that's my house! What's happened?"

"You live here? What's your apartment number?"

Sally was about to respond when another figure stepped in front of her car. Alice Longbottom didn't look out of place in muggle clothing, but her sight was definitely unexpected in Manhattan.

Sally managed to remember the security question when Alice peered into the window, "Hey, girl! How's the cactus?"

Alice smiled, reassuring. "Blooming now. Although it loves stinking up the house. Keep the car here and come with me."

After a quick instance of the worst parallel parking she'd ever done, Sally stumbled out and nearly flew across the road, ducking under the tape and finally catching sight of what had happened to the apartment building.

The Jacksons lived on the fifth floor which was right below the terrace. But now, as Sally froze and gaped at the building, she saw that half the house and terrace were missing.

She blinked a couple of times. The wall had blown out and Sally could actually see into her living room. Her couch had overturned but remained intact. The coffee table was broken into two pieces, the glass top having shattered. The rest of the houses seemed fine, but Sally was speechless until Alice explained.

"Percy let out an energy beam. It was some kind of blue power that just vaporised the entire section," she said before pointing up to where the wall had been ripped away in a curve.

"See that break?” Alice explained. “I don't know what kind of magic can do that. I didn't know the god of the seas could cause explosions. By the look on his face, Percy didn't even seem to know he could do that!"

Sally's head snapped back to her, "Where's he? And the kids, Kimmy—"

"They're all fine now," Alice pulled her along across the street where a regular ambulance sat. She followed, her feet growing numb.

The person she saw was Nico sitting on the top seat in the ambulance, with an orange towel across his shoulder for shock. He had a tight grip on Sally’s beloved lava lamp, staring dully at the ground.

Beside him was Rachel, twisting the ends of her towel. Harry sat on the pavement, crosslegged and taking slow measured breaths like he was practicing his Occlumency to keep calm. Percy was right next to him, head covered under the towel like he was trying to hide from everyone.

None of the four spoke. Sally felt her lungs twist up when she looked around for the fifth kid, "Where's Kimmy?"

"Albus has her," Alice said, softly. "He managed to put her to sleep."

Alice headed off to presumably pick her up and Sally turned to find the startling sight of Albus Dumbledore, talking to (who she guessed was) the head cop. Unlike Kingsley, Albus was in his regular wizard robes, looking outrageously out of place in the Manhattan evening.

Kimmy was snuffling quietly in her sleep, resting easily over the warlock's shoulder, the only one unbothered by the blown-apart building.

That Percy blew up the house.

Nico looked up just as Sally’s heart sank. He blinked and murmured, "I sorta told them."

Sally stared. At his words, Percy, Harry, and Rachel looked up. None of them looked at her kindly.

"That you're, you know…"

"The Patron," Harry whispered. He was staring at her like she was a complete stranger.

Sally's voice was dry. “I'm not… she… it wasn't supposed to go this way—"

"Is she possessing you?" Percy cut her off.

"No, gods. No."

"You're just letting her sit in your head?"

"She's not always there," Sally argued weakly. "Percy, baby, I'm so sorry."

Percy shook his head and went back to examining the cracked tar of the road. Rachel swallowed and Nico looked uncomfortable. Harry sighed, blowing a tuft of hair away from his forehead. "So, who wants more bad news?"

Rachel shoved him and he merely grunted.

"What?" Sally asked, leaning forwards to brush his hair away from his face.

Harry cringed and she receded, heart thudding painfully.

"Um, I've been called to court,” he relented. “The Ministry thinks I've been harbouring unregistered non-humans around my living estates. Somebody outside of the Order knows about the demigods."

Chapter 13: Sally's Secrets

Chapter Text

It'd been a while since they were all back in Frost.

Percy gauged around the large, empty mansion. The white ambience was loud and cool, detached from the homely feel lost months ago. Nobody lived here anymore.

Most of the furniture had been sent away and the curtains removed. The large windows let in cloudy light. The balcony was open to let in fresh air and ventilate out the stale. Just a few feet away from the back porch was the new structure that Harry had built, a greenhouse that housed dangerous plants. Harry was especially attracted to the poisonous varieties.

The house had been abandoned for many small reasons, not including the fact that Percy had basically murdered Harry right here, right in the hall. He might not remember it, but the thought itself was enough to make his stomach turn.

Right now, Percy was seated in the kitchen. He leaned against the island, in between Rachel and Harry. Nico was perched on the counter, swinging his feet silently. He turned his back to the hall.

Mom placed Kimmy in her carry-basket. The baby twitched in her sleep. She'd be awake soon.

Tonks and Remus had conjured chairs for everyone but some remained standing. The pair took their seats and waited. Soon, the hearth grew bright green, sending sparks visible from the kitchen. Percy watched as Alice Longbottom, Rosalie Hale, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Albus Dumbledore, Chiron, and Annabeth stepped through the flames.

"Yay, gang's all here," Harry muttered.

Sally sighed, glancing at the newcomers. "Is this really necessary—"

"You're being possessed by a goddess, mom!" Percy said, trying to keep his voice level. "Yes, it's necessary to have back-ups."

Rosalie stepped into the kitchen, wide-eyed. She stared at Percy. "Okay, what's going on?"

Harry folded his arms, just as displeased as Percy, "Sally's been holding a lot of secrets. She's gonna tell us all of them."

Alice gaped. "A goddess? A real goddess? What's he talking about?"

Sally massaged her temples. Percy felt bad for taking this out on her, but she needed to own up. This wasn't just a complete victim case, his mom had chosen to not tell them the truth.

Sally met their gaze. Her soft blue eyes seemed to go sharp and pale, reflecting the black and white tiles of the kitchen's modern designs.

"You might want to sit down for this," she suggested, hopping up to the counter to face them all. Remus adjusted his chair as the others joined. Annabeth crossed the room to stand next to Percy.

He figured he'd need her support so Percy took her hand, but turned away. Chiron wheeled in to place himself right beside Nico. Rosalie and Alice sat beside Kingsley while Albus conjured up a very elaborate and intricately designed armchair.

Chiron was amused. "Quaint."

"Thank you. My back's been giving me some trouble these days. Would you like a cushion?"

"I'm good."

Harry cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at them.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Jackson," Chiron said, placing his hands on his lap. "Please begin."

For once, Sally didn't correct the title. She accepted it in resignation, nodding at Percy before saying, "Do all of you know about the bracelets they have?"

In answer, most nodded. Kingsley turned around and Rachel obliged by raising the sleeve of her t-shirt to show them the silent metal bracelet branded around her left upper arm.

"Yeah, we know," Tonks said, sounding slightly impatient. "It makes them immortal."

"They're not immortal," Sally quickly said. "Okay, this is going to take some explaining—"

"We have the time," Percy said.

"Well, actually we don't," Harry pointed. "But we're going to make time for this. Mum, please stop stalling."

Sally pressed her lips together. "Gotcha. The bracelet has three major functions. The main one is that it leashes your soul to your body."

Chiron nodded, "So when they die, their soul merely leaves, and enters the Underworld for a short amount of time before being pulled back into their bodies."

"Exactly. While the soul is ejected, the body heals from any injury that would have occurred prior to death."

Remus placed his face in his hands, "So, they can die?"

"Yes, but they can't stay dead."

"It's really fun, you oughta try it," Harry said before Rachel smacked his arm.

"Why does the soul have to leave?" Annabeth asked with a frown. "Why can't the bracelet heal the body? Immortal magic must have a greater control over that."

Sally winced, "If the soul is too tightly bonded to the body, it could change your physical makeup. The essence of your mortality can break down. The three of you would be more like gods than mortals. And that would come with greater rules and restrictions. This was the best-case scenario."

Harry reached up to touch his bracelet. "Which charm indicates that? Leashing the soul to the body. We have twelve."

"Twelve?" Alice asked, shocked. Harry showed her his bracelet, with twelve charms hanging from the band. In all their lives, Percy had never heard the charms jingle.

"Er, most of them are decoys. Like I said, the bracelet actually has only three functions. Only three of the charms are real and active."

Bolt poked her head from beneath Rachel's hair and then climbed out to sit on her shoulder. She sniffed at the air and settled down to ask, "Decoys?"

"Yes, in case you were knocked out and someone tried to remove the bracelet—"

"It can't be removed, we tried."

Sally shut her mouth and aimed a stare at Harry. "I know you're not happy with me. You have that right, but I need to finish my explanation before you fight back."

Harry's nostrils flared, but he didn't say another word.

"Sally," Rosalie murmured.

"Right, sorry. The bracelets are designed to withstand use through the millennia.”

“What?” Rachel choked.

“Whatever happens to you three,” Sally continued. “You should be safe enough to escape any situation. But immortality is seen as a blessing by many factions. If they ever catch you, to try and take the bracelet, all attempts would fail. The magic on the bracelet would send them in circles. You won't find any proper information on the charms from any other source than me."

"Millennia?" Rachel asked, stunned. "Are you seri— like a thousand years?!"

"Minimum. Ideally."

Percy's jaw dropped. "We're supposed to live for a thousand years?"

"Can't we get those bracelets off?" Alice interjected. "They're just kids, Sally!"

"I know they're kids! This wasn't my idea!"

"Who's the Patron?" Harry demanded. "I am NOT staying on this planet for a thousand years. It's not minimum or ideal!"

"You can't ask that question—"

"Bullsh*t! Who the bloody fu—"

The baby woke up from the yells and let out a distressed wail. Harry immediately shut up, mortified.

Sally's face crumpled as she dived to pick up Kimmy and tried to shush her. Rosalie stepped closer.

"I'll take her. I'll be able to hear you from the hall. Go ahead with the meeting, kids."

A meeting. That's what this was. The answer to everything about the bracelets that gave them immortality and power beyond limits.

Kingsley spoke softly. "What can you tell us about the goddess who gave the bracelets to them, Sally? What are you allowed to say?"

That—that made Percy pause. He didn't think about it. He hadn't realised that Sally might not have been allowed to say so much before. Yeah, having a goddess hover behind you was daunting without added threats, but he'd thought maybe she'd been in on it, maybe…

For someone who'd been possessed before, Percy really didn't use the experience to the benefit of believing his own mother. He was an awful son.

He took her hand again and squeezed it.

Sally exhaled. "Not much before. If I'd told anyone, there was a chance the wrong people found out. But since Harry's mastered Occlumency, they may not get the truth so easily."

Percy frowned. Everyone turned towards a flabbergasted Harry.

"Why?" he asked. "Why me? You’re talking about me, right? Not another Harry, 'cause it's a common name—"

"It's one of your abilities, to offer protection on a large scale. You're our first line of defence," Sally sighed.

"Like a shield," Nico explained. "You're our shield. That's nice."

"That's—" Harry stared at Nico. "Nice? I don't even know what it means! What kind of protection can I give?"

"You're the Healer, Harry. Your designation is to protect and heal your army."

Harry turned red, ready to blow a vein. Rachel clamped a hand on his arm and Nico edged away from him.

"What's mine?" Rachel asked before he started yelling.

"You're the Seer. You divine the outcomes, choose the best and decisions to make. You help with strategy and planning."

"But that's not all. I have super strength. Is the bracelet just picking ideas out of a hat?" she pressed.

“James had this strength,” Remus pointed out. “It may not have manifested before, but the bracelet correctly enhanced it now.”

"I'd like to have that hat," Tonks muttered, still gawking at Rachel. "You made a crater in the road, falling off the fifth floor. You’re completely fine, by the way."

"Yeah, and she actually got hit by the energy beam," Percy said, blinking at them. That part he was vividly aware of.

"So did Harry," Nico chirped. "Except he made a shield."

Harry's face was red now, but at Nico's words, he froze. "Oh sh*t."

Percy blanched. "You said it didn't hit you!"

"It didn't! I swear!"

"Because of your shield! You did the same thing in the hospital!"

Dumbledore finally spoke up, "St. Mungo’s?"

"Yeah!" Percy squeezed Annabeth's hand. "Ginny made that hell fire to kill Tom. The fire didn't hurt because Harry shielded us."

Percy had never seen Dumbledore or Kingsley silenced. Chiron frowned. "I'm sorry, hell fire?"

“Fiend Fyre,” Percy corrected.

Alice coughed. "I thought—Harry, you said the fire raged only above the halls. That all you had to do was drop to the floor to avoid the flames?"

Harry pressed the base of his palms over his eyes, trying to suppress a squeal. "We were talking about the bracelets—"

"The fire actually hit you?!" Annabeth cried.

"No, it didn't!" Harry groaned. "I didn't technically lie, Percy and I did drop to the floor. Ginny kept the fire above two feet, so we were technically safe."

"No, I remember you made a shield—"

"I panicked when the heat hit!" Harry dropped his hands. "That might have killed us, so I made a last-ditch effort and put up a shield. I didn't think anything of it. No shield can stop Fiend Fyre, so it isn't like I saved us."

Percy would have rolled his eyes if the situation hadn't been so serious. As it were, everyone was staring at Harry, dumbfounded. Even Rosalie leaned back to peer into the room, a visibly calm baby in her arms.

"Harry," Kingsley said, his deep voice about ready to soothe the bad news he was about to say. "It took us two hours to fix the apartment. Percy's energy beam didn't just blast through the walls, it disintegrated them. We constructed everything from scratch. The energy output was quite high and the only thing that rivals its power is Fiend Fyre. Your shield saved the baby and you from the beam. I'm sure it also stopped Ginny's fire from getting anywhere near you and Percy."

Harry exhaled, his voice coming out in a croak, "But, I didn't even mean to conjure a shield both times. It just happened."

No one said anything for a while. The only sounds in the house were from the breeze through the balcony and Kimmy’s soft babbling.

Percy recalled the incredible destruction of Tom Riddle. The four horcuxes—Slytherin’s locket, Hufflepuff’s cup, Ravenclaw’s diadem, and Marvolo Gaunt’s ring—perished in the process. Ginny's hell fire had been an explosion that tore through the entire building rendering it useless.

Percy knew for a fact that all the activity had been relocated to Vejovis, the new hospital on the outskirts of London. The building that was once St. Mungo’s, was now a husk of charred walls, hidden from public view, both muggle and magical.

And Harry had put up a shield to stop that fire from hurting the two of them.

Percy thought back to when he killed the Minotaur for the second time, during the battle of New York. The blue light had basically turned the monster to ash. He had no trouble believing that Harry could stop the blue energy beam.

Harry's power saved people. He could protect and heal them. Percy's abilities only destroyed things.

If Rachel was called the Seer and Harry was the Healer, Percy was definitely the Destroyer. Quite fitting.

Green heals. Blue destroys.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Let's get back to the main topic. We can talk about this later."

Sally nodded, folding her arms. "Where were we?"

The baby let out a short squeal of delight, distracting them momentarily. Percy was glad someone was happy.

"Three functions," Nico reminded them. "You were saying the bracelet has three functions and the rest of the charms are decoys."

"That's right. The first ability is immortality. The second removes restrictions on your abilities. Any powers you already had before the bracelet was granted, those abilities became enhanced."

"Like?" Alice frowned again.

"Oh," Annabeth whispered. "That's what the blue light is. Percy, your energy beam. It's just an extension of what you already do."

"Manipulation of water," Dumbledore agreed.

Percy swallowed, ironically feeling thirsty. "I guess…"

"What does water have to do with disintegration?" Rachel asked, incredulous.

"Percy can absorb water out of anything. The bracelet allows him to do it on a large scale," Chiron explained, sounding very impressed and not at all afraid like a sane person.

"Is that what happened to the apartment?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Now, it makes sense," Tonks nodded. "The water tank was absolutely empty when we checked it. The pipes in the bathroom had burst. There wasn't a drop left."

Sally looked at him in disbelief. "There had to have been more than a few hundred gallons of water in it!"

"Yeah, well. He absorbed all of it. And then took out half your apartment because it wasn't enough," Bolt snorted. Rachel’s puppy stretched in her arms, head co*cked towards Percy’s uncomfortable frame.

He swallowed, directing his eyes to the floor. Everyone's stares burned into his skin.

"That's awesome," Nico breathed.

No, it's not. He could kill someone with the blue light if it touched anyone. It was pure luck that the beam actually hit the one person who was absolutely fine with incredible power lashing out against her. Rachel's super strength was ridiculous.

"It reminds me of the energy lock that happened last year," Kingsley sounded reminiscent. "A lower variety, but it came from Hogwarts, remember?"

"Oh yes," Tonks remembered. "That was white, though."

Harry sat up suddenly. "From Hogwarts? You mean, in May? Last year, May? Did it put the castle in lockdown?"

Dumbledore turned, eyes switching targets from Harry to Percy. "Yes, it originated from Gryffindor Tower."

Percy gawked. He'd been in Gryffindor tower, after the Third Triwizard task. He'd gone there, searching for Harry who hadn't eaten. The white light…

"The beam came from Percy!" Harry claimed, pointing at him.

Percy spluttered. "But it was your wand!"

"You picked it up!"

"It didn't like me!"

"I know! I told you not to pick it up!"

"What’re you talking about?!" Annabeth snapped, glaring molten silver at them.

Harry huffed. "I'd dropped my wand, Percy went to pick it up, my wand didn't like that, it burnt him and he let out this bright white light from his hand in self-defense. The light broke through the tower's wall and just… went on."

"Went on?"

"White light?"

"Wait, why was it white?"

"What, no that's not what happened!” Percy complained. “The light came from your wand!"

Harry stared. "No, it came from you."

"Why would it come from me?"

"You can shoot light from your hands, Percy!"

"Yeah, not white!"

"Does the colour matter!?"

"Actually, Percy," Dumbledore interjected. "I believe it may have come from you. The light didn't just break through the wall, we found many stones missing from debris."

Percy leaned and slumped against Annabeth, groaning.

Rachel sighed. "Okay, I have a question. My super strength, why do I have that? It's cool and all, but I didn't have any magic before the bracelet."

It took Sally a few seconds to register the query and respond.

"I'm not too clear on that. You might have had some ability before—"

"I didn't."

"It could be any perceptive—"

"Unless having visions gave me the ability to bench press Harry—"

"She can't bench press me," Harry added.

"I haven't tried yet," Rachel smirked at him.

Nico giggled. Sally's frown lessened but she pressed on with, "There must be an explanation, Rachel. I can't think of any right now."

Percy looked over to spot a morose expression filling Rachel's face. She wiped it away with a shrug of her shoulders when Annabeth leaned in to whisper, "We'll figure it out, don't worry."

"What's the last function, Sally?" Rosalie asked. She stood at the kitchen entrance, expertly bouncing the very excited baby in her arms. Kimmy let out a coo and dropped her head onto her shoulder, happily drooling over the cloth.

Sally breathed out, partially in relief. "The bracelet brings in reinforcements when you're in danger. The thing is, I don't know how effective it can be. It needs to judge the situation."

"Reinforcements?" Percy repeated, mind whirling. "You mean, that thing when one of us is about to die, one of the others just magically appears there to help out? That's a very specific bracelet thing?"

"Very. The Patron gave you the devices to make sure you'd survive the war. And since she's blessing you, she's given extra abilities so that you can fight for her. It's simple."

Rachel's hand shot up. A few others looked like they were about to retort, but looked surprised by her action. "Why does she want us to survive?"

Percy would have asked about the war. That's what the Oracle's latest prophecy had talked about. But when Rachel asked the question, Sally's face had gone slack. This was another secret she'd held close to her chest.

"That's very sensitive."

"You said you'd tell us everything you knew," Percy said, softly.

"Yes," Sally blinked. "I'd rather tell that to the three of you. Later."

"What did you do, Sally?" Alice asked, concerned.

"Next question, please," she said, pointedly. Chiron gestured to catch her attention.

"Does the Patron decide when to talk to you? Can you summon her here?"

Sally dropped her hands to rest on the counter behind her. "No. That's her will. I've reached out to her, and she knows that I'm telling you this. But since she hasn't objected, I guess she's fine with it."

"Let me get this straight," Tonks finally burst out. She stood up, placed her arms on her hips, and stared Sally down. "You have a goddess in your head. You've had her since…"

"2001."

"She's been in your head since 2001. You don't know who she is. Nobody can ask who she is. We can only call her the Patron! She's given immortality bracelets to three babies! And there's a whole bloody war on the way to screw us up. Anything else?"

Sally opened her mouth, hesitated, but pushed on, "We can't ask who she is, because she's sensitive about her name being spoken on earth. Similar situation to the Earth Goddess, really.”

"Wait," Remus frowned in confusion. "The Earth Goddess is the Patron?"

"What? No!” Sally groaned. “The Earth Goddess is the enemy of the Patron."

Annabeth swallowed. “So, the Patron is a primogenitor?”

“Prime janitor?” Percy asked, bewildered.

“She means a primordial entity,” Nico whispered. “A deity probably as powerful as Ga—the Earth Goddess.”

The curtains wafted thanks to the cooling breeze of autumn. Kimmy cooed, and the audience breathed slowly.

"Oh, my gods," Percy whispered. "Is that why the Patron gave us the bracelets. She wants us to get her out."

Nico looked up. "She wants to fight the Earth Goddess?"

Sally threw her hands up. "I don't think so! The Patron specifically told me she's not planning to confront the Earth Goddess."

"Why not?" Remus asked. "If the two goddesses can settle things between them, there wouldn't be a need for a war."

"I love that idea," Rachel gasped. "I vote for a peaceful Geneva convention. Maybe the goddesses just need a proper tea party?"

"That sounds a little too hopeful," Annabeth winced. "If one of them gets angry, the other will explode and that fight might cause a lot of damage."

"It would cause catastrophic damage,” Sally pointed out. “We won’t survive.”

The house went silent again. And again, the baby was the only one not perturbed by the discussion. Percy felt like his voice croaked and died.

"You might have wanted to open with that," Nico mumbled.

"Primogenitor is bad, right?" Alice asked the demigods. "That means, she's way older than the Olympians.

"And the Titans," Annabeth said. "You're right, we can't expect the Patron to fight. That’d be devastating."

"But if she wants us to do that, she can just force us. Would it even be our choice?" Rachel asked nervously.

"She doesn't want to fight the Earth Goddess. She's not going to force you to do anything." Sally rubbed her temples.

"Ms, Jackson, the bracelets are supposed to be the all-encompassing, most coveted kind of blessing there is," Chiron said, looking rightfully worried. "There must be something she expects in return."

"She hasn't told me!"

"So, I guess she's keeping secrets from you too." Harry's retort was sharp and cut through the room. Sally blinked fast and Percy saw her valiantly holding back tears.

"Mom," he whispered. "What does the Patron expect us to do?"

Sally inhaled and held her breath for a bit. She seemed to build up strength from the air in her lungs because when she exhaled, her voice came out stronger. "The Patron expects you to fight."

"I don't like that answer," Rachel added, with Bolt nodding her little head vigorously.

"Nobody does. But the problem is that the Earth Goddess has three champions of her own. You’re there to balance them out."

Nico grimaced like he knew this part of the meeting. Dumbledore leaned back, ready to accept even more bad news. Rosalie held Kimmy closer to her chest, eyes wide. Kingsley raised his eyebrows, showing no indication of discomfort. Tonks looked frustrated, while Alice and Remus braced themselves.

"Are you talking about Ajax?" Harry asked and the entire room pivoted in utter shock.

Harry never talked about Ajax. Nobody was willing to ever bring him up in conversation. It was taboo to talk about the man/monster who'd managed to successfully terrify Harry Potter.

Harry's knuckles were tight over clenched fists. He looked right at Sally, waiting for an answer.

"Yes. Him and Cassandra and Iphigenia. They have similar bracelets given to them by the Earth Goddess. Their directive is to ensure her rise to power will continue as planned."

Percy didn't know much about the mentioned three. Cassandra used to be a Diviner at Troy with violent visions who was believed by no one. Iphigenia, he had no clue about. And Ajax? Well, he was the insane, violent murderer who didn't seem to have a conscience.

"Cassandra and Iphigenia?"

Rachel's voice rang out in astonishment. She spoke the names like they were incredibly familiar to her. Percy watched her face go from disbelief to shock to denial.

"That's… are you… you’re kidding, right?"

"About what?" Annabeth asked. "Do you See them, Rach?"

"My aunts have those names. Cassandra and Iphigenia Alvida."

Nico's jaw dropped. Sally blinked, clearly speechless. Chiron turned around in his wheelchair, also surprised.

One of Harry's eyes twitched. "You mean to say, your Aunt Sandy is actually Cassandra? From Ancient Troy?"

Rachel snapped her head towards him. "Of course not! I'm just saying those are their names. It's a coi—"

"There's no such thing as a coincidence," Percy and Harry responded as one.

Sally stood straight, pushing off from the counter. "Rachel, how long have you known them?"

"Like forever,” she blurted. “They're family friends, Sandy works in my mom's company. They're not immortal champions of the Primordial Earth Goddess!"

"Harry," Rosalie stepped into the kitchen. "Do you remember if you'd seen them in Rome?"

Harry shut his eyes and Percy was afraid that he was having a flashback but Harry screwed up his face and said, "I'm searching."

"Searching your head? Wizards can do that?"

Kingsley chuckled, "Some people use pensieves, Harry."

"Time-wasters."

Kimmy sneezed. It was a tiny sound that caught them by surprise. No one was more shocked than the baby, though. Rosalie smiled and wiped the tiny nose with a soft bib.

"I can't remember meeting them," Harry sighed, opening his eyes again. "I remember Ajax and two other faces that I fought in Diagon Alley. But everything from Rome is muddled. The only thing I recall is the Gay Village Festival that was happening at the time."

"You'd remember that," Tonks chuckled.

"I'm just glad I remember the one good thing that happened when I was kidnapped, Dora!"

"Rachel, do you have a photo of your aunts?"

Chiron's question was a good one. Percy felt a jolt of adrenaline in his gut. If they had faces to work off of, that’d be a start. Because Percy remembered Ajax. Along with Sally, Rachel, and Harry's memories, they could construct a solid image of what he looked like, seeing how Ajax had written a book and had boasted his name, but not his face in it.)

"They're camera shy. I don't have any photos of them. But the last time we face-timed, I screenshotted the image to catch Genie's new haircut."

Rachel pulled out her phone as she spoke, scrolling down the various images in her albums before clicking on one. She turned it around for them to see. It was slightly grainy. But the faces were visible.

Two women were featured on the screen. The one with long curly hair was sitting down, leaning closer to the screen. She was grinning at the camera. The second woman with a short bob cut was standing just a few feet away, beside an open door of what Percy assumed was their bedroom. The curtains of their windows were drawn creating a gentle lighting effect. The pair were quite smiley and relaxed in their stance, frozen in time.

They looked nothing like evil minions serving their Primordial overlord.

"Do they live in a house with a white picket fence and two dogs?"

"They live in South France, actually. But this house is in Juneau. That's Alaska. They travel for their work," Rachel sighed, handing the phone to Chiron.

"It's them," he confirmed.

Sally didn't look all that shocked.

Percy grimaced when Rachel snapped at them, "It can't be! They're regular people! They're muggle and mortal, they don't know a thing about magic! And besides shouldn't I know if they were hiding secrets from me? I'm the Oracle!"

"You're going up against the oldest deities we've known. If there's something they don't want us to know, we won't know it," Chiron said, softly.

Kingsley seemed to know to switch the topic. "What can we expect from these three champions?"

Sally caught on, "That's the problem. All three of Ga—the Earth Goddess's champions were muggle and mortal in their first lives. They had no magic and the only one who had any supernatural ability was Cassandra with her uncontrollable visions. They got their bracelet after they died. They'd all had hard lives and would have taken the bracelets as a blessing to escape mortal suffering. The only thing I can say for sure is that Cassandra may well be one of the most powerful Seers in the world."

Remus dropped the phone back into Rachel's arm. "Well, she's had 3000 years to hone her skills."

"Not to mention, her burden faded after her first death," Sally continued. "Apollo had cursed her that no one would believe her warnings and visions. But when she woke up, her powers grew. Whatever strengths Iphigenia and Ajax had would also increase every time they were brought back."

Harry shook his head, "You're saying that we get stronger after each death?"

"There's a definite correlation. With every death, you're less mortal and more unique. Mortal souls shouldn't interact with death so much. Immunity from death sets you apart. Enhanced abilities place you above. And your back-ups ensure a balance between living and dying."

For the third time, Kimmy's babbling filled the silence in the room. The baby raised her head and tried to push herself out of Rosalie's arms, twisting herself towards Sally. The latter blinked tiredly before moving to take her daughter back.

"When can we remove the bracelets?" Percy asked, finally, when no one else had anything to say.

Sally kissed Kimmy's soft head where fuzzy strands were just growing. She kept her face pressed into the hair, sniffing at the soft baby smell.

"You'll need a lot of practice before you can remove the bracelets," Sally said, speaking softly as if she were telling the baby. "I can’t be sure if it’s the same with Gaia’s champions, but when your bracelets are off, the assumption is that you're ready to face the oncoming army. Your powers will take a maximum burst. In that time, the three of you would be the strongest versions of yourself."

The meeting ended on that happy note.

Annabeth kissed Percy goodbye, hugged Rachel, and punched Harry on the arm before leaving. Chiron followed after nodding in solidarity.

The Order members saw them back to the now-repaired Jacksons’ apartment before leaving for the UK.

Percy sat down on the fixed couch, looking around the strangely neat room of the house that was in pieces only hours ago. His thoughts were in a muddle.

The Patron was a Primordial.

Who was the Patron's nemesis, the Primordial Goddess of the Earth? Gaia.

Who were Gaia's enemies?

A hundred thousand names came to mind. Everyone from her husband to a speck of dust could have been an enemy to her. She managed to turn her son, Kronos, against his own father. (Granted, Ouranus was worse at the 'kindly god act' than even the Crooked One, who was more terrible at it than Zeus, which was saying something.)

One of Gaia's enemies was the Patron. Just as old as her…

Rachel and Harry joined him on the couch. Nico sat on the arm chair beside them. Sally marched around in circles in front of them, obviously trying to explain what her role was in leading to them getting the bracelets.

What had she done?

Chapter 14: Mom, What Did You Do? (Part 1)

Chapter Text

Harry and Percy waited on the couch as Rachel carefully dialed her aunt's number.

Sally stood by the armchair where Nico had kicked his legs up. He held Kimmy on his lap as she gummed on a pacifier, content, unlike the others.

Rachel paced around the room as the phone rang. She had put it on speaker while maintaining eye contact with Sally. She was determined to prove to the woman that her aunts were in fact NOT three millennia-old villains.

The ringing went on and Rachel clenched a fist, praying Sandy was free enough to pick up the phone and dismantle the ridiculous theory.

Finally, she picked up.

"Rachel," Sandy said.

Rachel tried not to freeze. Something was wrong. Her voice sounded off. Guarded and strangely formal. Sandy never spoke to her like that.

"Sandy, hi. You're on speaker phone," she managed to say.

There was a bit of shuffling on the phone. "Who's with you?"

Sally held out a hand for the phone and Rachel hesitated before handing it over to her.

"Hi, Cassandra. This is Sally Jackson."

Rachel could hear the noises on the other end stop altogether. She held her breath.

"Hello, Sally. Nice to meet you."

Rachel swallowed. Sandy was on high alert. She reminded Rachel of when her mother would prepare to face a board room with a new report.

"Who d'you work for?"

Sally was jumping right into it. Rachel breathed out slowly and then froze when Sandy said, "Gaia."

Harry began to swear. Percy gawked.

"That's not true!" Rachel yelled, her body completely unwilling to move. "Aunt Sandy, tell her—"

"I'm sorry, Rachel. Don't come home. I'm trying to fix this."

She cut the call and Rachel stumbled back, tears burning her eyes, her brain still working to catch up to what had happened.

Percy kept wincing every time Rachel ducked her head to bury her face into a cushion to scream her heart out.

Sally had it to the girl when Rachel had been about to explode. Bolt had turned into a tiger and was taking up all the space on the couch. She was sitting on Rachel's lap, holding her back from breaking something.

They'd tried calling Rachel's parents too, but no one picked up the phone. Considering that Cassandra and Iphigenia worked for Gaia, and Sandy and Genie worked for Beatrice Dare… it wasn't a difficult leap to make. They knew that Beatrice hosted Gaia, the same way that Sally hosted the Patron.

Not to mention, Sally and Beatrice had apparently spoken about it during the funeral.

DJ's funeral.

Harry gave a long sigh like he too was working on not yelling at her.

"You knew that Beatrice was in contact with the Earth Goddess? Were you not allowed to tell us?"

Sally massaged the side of her temples. "I'm sorry if it sounds so damning, but there were so many things I just couldn't say!"

Harry stood up, stony-faced. "Do you know why I don't like Dumbledore?"

Percy hadn't joined the conversation since Cassandra cut the call. His head was trained on the floor like he was in mourning. Nico probably knew he'd be safer if he paid more attention to the baby than to the conversation. Rachel was still using the cushion to divert her anger.

Harry waited for Sally’s eye contact.

"I don't like him," he continued, voice shaking, "because he knows far more than us and decides that he needs to stagger his information drop. The Order works under his command. And he's not a leader, he's someone with all the cards. That's what you're doing, Sally. You know the most about all this and you've chosen not to tell us the bare minimum!"

"It's not that simple!"

"You're the one who's making it complicated!"

"Harry, you think I don't want you to be prepared for this?!" She asked, incredulous. She stood up in distress.

"I wish I could tell you everything!" she cried. "I wish you wouldn't go into this was half the information! But telling you everything means opening your mind to her !"

Harry grimaced. "The Patron or Ga—"

"The Earth Goddess! She's been watching you even before you got your bracelets! She knows what's coming because she has Cassandra on her side. That woman knows more about the future than any mortal on the planet! The only one who has any hope of rivalling her is the Oracle!"

They turned to stare at Rachel. She looked up, eyes red.

"Well," Rachel said, bitterly. "You heard what the second most powerful Seer on the planet said to me. Don't come home . Yeah, excellent advice. Clearly, my mom is on the Earth Goddess's side, the one who's gonna take over the world and wants to kill all of us."

Bolt nudged her head against Rachel's chin. "She said she's trying to fix it."

Harry scoffed. "She's been working for the enemy for over three thousand years. The time for mutiny's come and gone."

"What did they do for all that time?" Percy's voice was quiet and level. But his shoulders were tensed, muscles taut and stiff.

"Yeah, that's a good question," Nico asked slowly. "The Earth Goddess had so much time to rise and take over. Why did she wait?"

Sally closed her eyes for a moment, pressing against her head. Harry stood straight, ready to wait for however long she would try to throw them off the question or

"There's a ritual," Sally said, surprising him. "She needs to have a ritual done in her name to bring her out of Tar—hell. She doesn't know the details of it. That's one of her champions' quests."

"To figure out how to raise her from hell?" Rachel demanded, voice scratchy. "They've been searching for all that time and they still haven't found it?"

Percy sat up, unblinking. "Something changed, didn't it?"

Sally winced. Harry exhaled, discerning the emotions that flitted across her face. Nico. Rachel and Bolt waited.

"Some decades ago. The exact year was 1982. Three demigods found, a well, I guess you’d call it a map. They found a map that claimed to lead them to a temple that's said to have held the exact details of the ritual."

Sally paused for a moment. Harry rocked back and forth on her heels.

"That's a lot of supposition."

"You'll need to talk to Chiron for the full story," she sighed. "All I know is that these three went on a quest. Found a box, and brought it back to camp. They'd taken a plane overseas to reach New Jersey. Turbulence hit the plane. It crash-landed right as it entered the airport. There were only six survivors. That's not important! No, what you need to know is that the box they'd found, held something more than the ritual."

"What was in the box?" Nico whispered.

Sally met his eyes and then turned to Percy. "It had the Patron's name. Remember when I said the Earth Goddess banished the Patron? The Patron's power was locked in her necklace. The box contains the necklace. Ironically, the secret of the ritual that the Earth Goddess needs is also locked in the box."

She gave a tired laugh. "When the demigods realised what they'd had, they ran back, put the box right where they'd found it… they never told a soul where the place was. I think they died with the secret."

Harry frowned. "Did they open the box?"

"No. It's locked. You'd need some kind of key, a different kind of magic to open it. The Patron is absolutely fine with the box being locked away forever because that's the only thing keeping the Earth Goddess at bay. But in 1992, things changed."

Rachel leaned back, burying a hand into Bolt's fur. "Exactly ten years after the three demigods?"

"Nearly, a witch had a vision of the box. She and her boyfriend went on a quest to find it."

Harry stopped breathing.

Sally blinked up at him, lips turned down. "They found the box too."

That's not… oh, gods. Harry stepped back, his knees going weak. She didn't mean—

Rachel dropped her cushion. "Wait, are you talking about who I think you're talking about?"

Nico's jaw dropped. "Did you say a witch had a vision—"

Percy was absolutely silent, eyes wide.

Sally looked like she was holding back tears. "I think the Earth Goddess gave Lily that vision so she'd go and find where it was."

Harry thought back to the story that Bill had told them during the Quidditch World Cup. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"She found it," Harry whispered.

Sally nodded. "They did. They… Lily and James took the box from a temple in Egypt. Within a few days they'd realised that it was wrong and… the Egyptian government intervened. The official report says that they gave the box to be displayed in a Cairo museum."

"It's a fake," Percy, Rachel, Nico, and Bolt chimed at the same time, startling each other.

"Right, it is a fake," Sally groaned quietly. "The temple was sacred. I don't know how the box ended up in it, but it had all the right enchantments to stop any immortal from finding it. The problem is that Lily and James didn't return the box to the temple. They placed a fake in the museum, but no one knows where the real one is. The museum curator tried to ransack the hotel they were staying in, but they escaped the authorities and got out of Egypt. Somehow, Cassandra, Iphigenia, and Ajax haven't found it, which means there isn't a soul alive who knows where it's hidden."

Harry pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "Who told you this story?"

Sally raised an eyebrow, surprised at the question. "The Patron. She gave me the bits and pieces—"

"Then she didn't tell you everything," Percy breathed, a spark of hope flickered in his eyes.

Nico sat up, placing his legs down. He knew what they were thinking. Bolt and Rachel were also of the same mind.

Sally frowned confused. "What d'you know?"

"Lily and James weren't the only ones who went to Egypt," Harry explained. "Someone was with them."

Bill Weasley had gone with them on the assumption that it was a nice trip. Young Bill had been eight at the time.

But how did no one know this?

"Who's keeping secrets now?" Sally asked, smiling softly.

Something about her expression finally made Harry get over his frustration. He'd been holding a tense coil in his stomach ever since the meeting. It unwound slowly as he walked to sit on the armrest of Nico's chair.

"Tell me one thing," Percy said, wringing his hands. "Why did you do it? Why did you let the Patron take control of you?"

One of Sally's eyes twitched in surprise. She stared down at Percy's unhesitant face.

"You were dead." Her whisper was like a lance, striking Harry through the chest, skewering him all the way through. "You were dead and she promised to bring you back if I helped her. It wasn't a difficult choice."

Percy's face scrunched up for a moment like he’d cry. "Did you think about what you would owe her?"

The quiet in the room was like an icy breath. Even Kimmy stopped waving her arms, settling into an uncertain pose.

Sally tried for a smile. It was painful. "Not for a moment."

Chapter 15: Choice, Consequence, & Discoveries

Chapter Text

They split into two groups to find out more about what Sally had told them.

Percy and Nico went to camp to enquire Chiron about the three kids who had gone on a quest in 1982, armed with a map to find the Patron's necklace. Rachel, Bolt, and Harry went to the Burrow.

Harry had no idea what was going through Rachel's head. She hadn't said a word since arriving at the Burrow. Molly Weasley had seen the partially hidden desolation on Rachel's face and had immediately offered mild ginger tea. Arthur Weasley had gone to floo Bill from his office, and Ron had sat down with Harry and Rachel, trying to lower the tension by talking about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup.

"I mean," Ron mumbled, eyes darting towards a solemn Rachel and a half-interested Harry. "It's not like I'll be going for it. Not with this political climate. But it's gonna be in France and Hermione thinks she can get tickets if we're interested… and if we have the time."

"Time's a serious issue, Ron," Harry replied, staring into his tea cup. "My schedule's pretty much booked for the next five years."

"Yikes! Um, Rachel? You interested in—"

Rachel shook her head even before Ron finished his question. Bolt gave a soft whine and placed her head on Rachel's lap where she was seated.

There was a short thud from the stairs like somebody had jumped over the last few steps and landed on the ground floor noisily. The four of them turned around and caught sight of Ginny, walking into the kitchen with Percy Weasley's owl, Hermes, perched on her shoulder. She was looking down at a letter in her hand and didn't notice it at first.

"Percy's using the pink ink again," she said in a loud, careless voice. Harry saw Rachel flinch out of the corner of his eyes. "Either Penelope's pranked him again, or Umbridge—"

Ginny looked up, stopped, and froze. She gaped at Rachel who stared back just as stunned.

Harry felt the delirious awkwardness fill up the room. He knew Ron could sense it too.

The witch swallowed, her face going red. Ginny tilted back and let the loose locks of her hair sway right above her shoulder. Rachel made a violent movement by turning back to the table and bending over her tea cup.

Ginny ran back up the stairs, stomping with every step.

Harry caught Ron's eye. Neither said a word till Arthur and Bill walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, there!" Bill greeted. He looked slightly haggard. His long hair was the exact length as Ginny's now, though it was short on her. He wore his regular faux-dragon skin outfit with a shiny brown vest coat. Harry idly wondered what DJ might have said about the contrast.

"Hey, Bill," Harry began, seeing as how Rachel was pretending to have never spoken in her life. "Rach and I need to speak with you. It's incredibly important. Just the three of us, though."

Arthur didn't look all that surprised, but his face was still wrinkled in worry.

"Are you okay, Harry? Is it about Sally's announcement? Is Rachel—"

"We just need privacy for this topic," Harry said, trying not to make it sound too urgent.

Molly walked in from the living room. She gave Bill a quick peck on the cheek and said, "Whatever it is, you can also confide in us, Harry."

"I know that. It's just… safer for now for not too many people to know about it."

Molly and Arthur didn't argue further. Bill shrugged.

"Okay then. Ron, we're using your room."

Ron was still staring at Rachel. He gave a quick nod, looking doubly concerned that she hadn't responded.

Ron's room was still lit up in its usual garish orange colours. Harry spared a glance at the latest poster of the Chudley Cannons, pinned up on the wall, right beside the wardrobe. As Rachel walked right ahead to sit on the lone chair by a desk, Bill pushed aside Ron's Cleansweep and made space on the bed for himself.

Harry was still filled with jitters, so he remained standing.

"First things, first," He said, catching Bill's attention. "We need a list of all the people you told the story about your first visit to Egypt."

Bill frowned. "Um, what?"

"Two years ago, we were all in the tent during the Quidditch World Cup finals—Ireland versus Bulgaria. You told us a story about when Lily and James took you to Cairo."

Bill seemed stunned for a moment.

"Why are we talking about that? I thought you had something important—"

"It is important," Harry stressed. "It's literally 'life-or-death' important. It's 'world-ending' important. How many people did you tell about that trip, Bill?"

Bill sat up, "Why is the trip important, Harry? What do you think happened?"

"Bill?" Rachel asked, soft, almost fragile. Bill and Harry turned to her, waiting.

"What did Lily and James tell you about the trip?" She asked.

Bolt began to purr to calm her down. Harry watched as Bill's shoulders went stiff from the tension, as though he was slowly realizing that this really was vital.

"I don't recall the details…" he said slowly. "But it was something to do with the museum. The curator, I think. I know that they had to talk to somebody at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities."

"But what about the temple?" Harry asked, pacing the room. "You said the three of you went into a temple, you nearly flooded it trying to get something out—"

"I didn't flood it! Y… your parents did. They found a box. James lost his glasses. Lily swallowed a gallon of water from the Nile, I was absolutely innocent."

Rachel finally looked up with more energy in her face. She gave him a wry look. "Aside from the very clear truth… Bill, we're here to talk about the box."

"What d'you know about it?" Harry added.

Bill placed his hands on the bed behind him and leaned back. "I didn't see it all that well. It was old but it shone like Goblin metal. It didn't have rust and any dirt on it was washed away by the water… It probably had a symbol on the top…"

"Can you give us a memory of the moment?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I could. But it happened twenty years ago, Harry. I don't remember a lot about it," Bill answered, apologetic. "You can actually see the box at the museum, you know. That's where Lily and James kept it. But can you tell me what's so crucial about the box?"

"It's not the museum," Harry sighed.

"It's a fake." Rachel's explanation made Bill stare.

"Why would they leave a—" Bill cut himself off, eyes growing wide. "Well, that makes sense."

"What?"

He co*cked his head. "Your parents left me in the hotel room and went to the museum to give me the box. But when they came back they looked worried. I don't think they explained anything to me, but that night, they changed their mind about something. We left for the embassy at about two in the morning and after the sun rose, we took a portkey back to London."

Bill looked at the wall opposite him. An old pin-up of a Chudley Canon Keeper stared back at him.

"They were definitely tensed about something. I never figured what was wrong. I had no idea that the box in the museum's a fake."

Rachel stretched her legs out to place her feet on the bed. "Weren't you ever curious? You worked in Egypt, right? Did you go back to see the box?"

"I tried. In my first year of Rune training abroad, I tried to get an audience with a professor at the museum. They wrote back, explaining that I needed an incredibly high profile to be admitted into the secure wing where they store the box along with some other priceless artifacts. I'd need to be a world-renowned scholar or a billionaire to even look at a photo of the box."

Bill looked up at Harry, smiling now. "The two of you would have a better chance at seeing it."

Then he frowned again. "Are you sure it's a fake?"

"Yup."

"The curator should know that. Why would they place it for exhibition?"

Harry raised his hands in defeat. "Why did Lily even want to go after that thing? Why did James make a fake to fool the museum authorities? No one knows anything about that trip, Bill. Except for you."

Rachel scratched at Bolt's fur. "That's why we need to know everyone you've told the story to."

Bill made a face at this. "Surprisingly enough, I haven't really said any of this to people. I've never mentioned it at all if I could help it. The most I ever said was to a friend of Charlie's, back when I was in the Seventh year. I told him that I was interested in Runes and that was mostly because I'd encountered a lot of them along with Egyptian characters on my trip to Cairo. Never said a word about Lily and James."

Harry looked worried. "Did they bind you to your word? Did they—"

"Nothing like that, Harry! It's okay," Bill replied, just as startled. "They asked me to not mention to my parents that I was in an abandoned temple which flooded. Pretty sure my mum would never have let them babysit me ever again. I never really thought about the box until later. It looked like a regular enchanted… jewelry case."

Harry swallowed. A jewelry case—for the necklace of the Patron herself, a primordial goddess. It was amazing how the thought of having so much power locked away in a solitary box where nobody could even sense the extent of its magic, was a daunting thing.

If Bill really hadn't told about this anyone… except for them during the Quidditch World Cup… and maybe Charlie's friend… could they actually be in the clear? What were the chances that Cassandra, Iphigenia, and Ajax could find out anyway?

High, he realized. Quite high, seeing as how Cassandra was known as an all-powerful Seer now.

"You told them the story," Rachel said, bringing Harry back. She was address Bill. "You told them about the Egypt trip, Lily and James, and the box… during the world cup."

Bill was nodding slowly. He turned to look at Harry, eyebrows drawing together in concern.

"That was mostly for Harry's sake. We were telling each other stories, just bonfire tales, nothing too serious… I remember Harry looking off. Like he was sad about something."

Harry stared, unable to recall the moment Bill was describing.

"I thought I could cheer him up if I told a story about Lily and James. Something silly and fun. But for some reason, this was the memory that came to mind first. And I didn't worry about saying it out loud. Everyone in the tent was friends."

Bill was still looking at him. Harry didn't blink. He thought back to that cool, adrenaline-filled night. The match had ended with a jaw-dropping finale, the crowds had been wild, and they had huddled up in the tent till after hours, giggling about crazy Quidditch-related anecdotes and other funny tales, when Bill added the Egypt trip story to the pile.

At the time, it had been pretty amazing to here Lily and James doing things like an impulsive pair who had the world at their feet, who believed they could do nothing wrong. And how they were hilariously proven wrong.

It didn't feel funny now.

Gaia had sent a vision to Lily that riled her up so much that she and James set off to another country to steal an artifact from an ancient temple that had managed to keep primordial powers away for centuries.

But soon, they realized that it was wrong to take it away. Why didn't they put it back? Did the temple get destroyed in the flood? Did they have to run away from Cairo with the museum board at their heels?

Did they bring the box to London?

Was the Patron's necklace, her name, hidden somewhere in England?

Was that why she had chosen Harry as one of her champions?

Nico hopped up to sit on the ping-pong table. Percy shut the doors and turned around to face Chiron who was reclining in his wheelchair.

The three were alone in the counselors' room. It hadn't taken too much to convince Chiron to speak in private. One mention about a strange quest in 1982 had made Chiron freeze in his tracks of untangling the tether ball, instead letting it go to smack Clarisse in the face.

"That was a busy month," Chiron recalled. "May and Mark Rohan, children of Hephaestus, and Janet Kassidy, daughter of Aphrodite. They consulted with the Oracle and she gave them a quest to go overseas to Egypt."

"Egypt," Percy said, wide-eyed. "They went to Egypt…"

Nico leaned forward eagerly. "Did they bring back the Patron's box? Did you see it?"

Chiron sat back, surprised. "Box? I'm sure they didn't bring anything."

"What exactly happened? Don't leave anything out!"

Chiron gauged Percy's expression, taken aback by the stress under his order.

"Please," Percy added, a little regretful.

With a sigh, he said, "From what I recall, Janet began to have strange dreams. Something about a temple, hidden from the gods. She and May started to draw a map based on her dreams. Mark and May had a distant relative in Cairo, so the three of them left to find the temple. They came back empty-handed, though."

"You're sure they didn't bring the box back?" Percy asked, wide-eyed. "You're sure that they didn't come back, think it over and then leave again to keep it back in the temple?"

Chiron sighed, "They didn;t bring anything back. If they did, then they lied to camp. But with your reaction, I suppose they did lie, seeing as how just a week later, the three of them left camp to go back to Cairo."

Percy caught his breath. Finally, they were getting somewhere! Nico shared his excitement and asked, "So nobody saw a jewellery box? Then they might have hidden it. They realised that it shouldn't have left the temple and went back to keep it there again… we need that map."

"Right!" Percy thought back to Sally's retelling of the box and its contents. If opened, it could release the Patron's power back into the world and can give Gaia all her strength back. They needed the box to find and destroy the ritual the Earth Goddess needed. The map should make things simpler.

"Where's the map, Chiron?"

Chiron didn't answer at first. He just fixed Percy with a sad countenance.

"The map was destroyed when Janet fell into the Styx and drowned."

Thunder rolled through the sky. Percy's blood went cold at the thought of the river Styx.

Things couldn't be simple. It had to be done the hard way all the time. Percy tried to imagine why Janet would need to go down to the Underworld. Was she trying to cross the river without Charon? Did she have another dream?

Or did she want to talk to the Patron?

Nico immediately pulled out his phone and began typing into it. His thumbs moved in swift strokes and Percy wrenched his eyes to meet Chiron's.

"Why was she in the Underworld?"

"I have no clue. May and Mark didn't know anything about it either. All we knew was that Janet left camp with a bag and the map. We found out what happened only when Lord Hades started to accuse Lady Aphrodite for sending her daughter to sneak past Charon, the ferryman."

Percy reeled back. That sounded horrifying. To discover that your friend was missing, probably having left a safe place, travelled to hell, and lost her life trying to do something nobody knew about. Had Aphrodite given her blessing to take a dip in the Styx? Could a godly parent give that blessing or did it have to be a mortal mother?

"Was H… my father mad that Janet was able to get past Charon and into the Underworld? Nico asked, hesitant. He looked up from the phone. "Or was he mad that she died in the river?"

Chiron shook his head. "From what Mr. D said, Lord Hades was more incensed about the fact that Lady Aphrodite knew about Janet's journey into the Underworld."

"Did he mention the river? Like, was he upset about her drowning?"

"He said it in passing. It seemed as though Janet had commandeered Charon's ferry and tried to row across the river herself. But the water became turbulent and the boat capsized. Everything except for the boat burned away."

Chiron closed his eyes for a moment. Percy could see the pain flicker through his face.

"What is important about the box, Percy?" He asked, looking up at the demigod. "What did your mother tell you?"

Percy could feel Nico's gaze on him. He made a small gesture of the head before settling down to explain everything Sally had told them. About Gaia and Beatrice Dare, about Cassandra, Iphigenia, ad Ajax, about the Patron and Sally, about Lily's visions, about the box and the temple in Egypt that was hidden away from the gods.

Chiron seemed to age as Percy finished his tale. He looks stunned, thoughts racing through all the memories stored through the millennia.

"You might want to speak to May and Mark," Chiron whispered.

Percy did a double take. "They're alive?"

"As far as I know… Yes. But it won't be easy."

"Okay!"

"The Olympians would definitely forbid it."

"No problem."

"You'll need to get permission from the Oracle."

Nico set his phone down, confused. "You mean Rachel?"

"I mean, the Oracle," Chiron specified. "If you can have the Oracle assign you a quest to look for the Rohans, the gods would not be able to interfere. The Oracle's word is bound, not even Lord Apollo can simply turn a blind eye to her."

Percy was already shaking his head. "What if they get mad and take it out on Rachel? That's what happened to the last host, remember?"

He cut himself off and gave a quick glance towards Nico.

"Yeah," Nico mumbled. "The last host knew Zeus was gonna kill my mom. And she did nothing to stop it. And my dad cursed her. You said the gods don't want us searching for May and Mark, why is that?"

Chiron patted Nico's arm, giving him a soft smile. "They weren't happy that the quest took them to a land away from their control. There are different gods in Egypt. It was luck that the temple was in a space locked away from ALL the gods."

"Different gods?" Percy asked, throat tight.

Chiron chuckled. "Don't worry about that. It shouldn't bother us. What you need to focus on is finding May and Mark. Hephaestus shifted them to a safe zone. Last I heard, they were still there."

"Where are they?"

"I can't say anything until the Oracle gives the okay."

"And if she doesn't?" Nico enquired.

Chiron leaned against the backrest of his wheelchair. "I'm fairly confident that won't be an issue. I've heard that the Oracle is interested in seeking out the Patron as well."

By the time Harry and Rachel travelled to the Frost mansion in Gretna Green, Percy, and Nico had already arrived. They'd made the decision to floo here, rather than go back to the Jacksons' apartment and face Sally again.

Nico looked around the house and shuddered.

"You okay?" Harry asked, opening the tall French windows that led out to the porch. The vast expanse of the lawn spread out in front of them.

"I'm good, yeah," Nico muttered, staring back into the house. Percy and Rachel sat down on the steps and stared at the grass.

Percy pointed at the budding greenhouse a short distance away from the house. "What d'you have in there, dude? Carnivorous plants?"

Harry smirked as he sat on the bottom step, stretching his legs out on the grass. "Right in one."

Nico finally looked away from the house and walked to sit by Rachel.

It was odd, Nico thought. Well, more than odd, it was haunting to be back in Frost. The wall right opposite the French windows was where Tom had murdered Harry, using Percy's body to do so.

Not that anyone else knew. Nico had only figured it out because that spot was cursed with a bloody death. He could sense the brutal fight and end, the pain and power of it.

Nico was just glad Harry and Percy had no memory of the killing.

Bolt leaped out of Rachel's neck and turned into a wolf, golden fur sleek and shining in the brightness of the day. She settled on Rachel's lap with barely a leap like she'd done a thousand times.

Nico stayed silent as Percy told the others about their conversation with Chiron. Then Harry explained everything they'd found out from Bill regarding Lily and James' Egypt trip.

Rachel was equally quiet, slowly running a hand through Bolt's pelt. She stared at the horizon of trees, outside the territory. Nico wondered if she knew things that she'd never say to any of them. That's what her face seemed to convey, in his opinion.

"There's something I have to tell you," Nico started, once Harry had finished talking.

Four faces turned to look at him.

"Yeah?" Percy asked, beautiful and unassuming.

Nico blinked. Had he ever called Percy beautiful before?

It suited him though.

"Chiron said that Janet drowned in the Styx. She didn't."

They frowned in confusion as he took out his phone.

"The Underworld has two registries that keep track of all mortals. It's a secret, please don't tell anyone. I'm not supposed to even show it," he said, opening the page he'd saved.

The black and red page in the Accorded Judgement Registry buffered till the details were displayed. Janet's photo was placed near the top right corner, a smiling face with short clipped hair.

"She died in the Lethe," Nico said to a stunned audience.

Rachel swallowed. "Did Chiron lie or does he not know?"

Percy grimaced at the thought. "I don't think so. He got the information secondhand. Mr. D might have lied. Or it could have been Hades himself. He probably didn't want the others to know that Janet got that far."

Harry dropped his head into his hands. "Fine. How much does this change? The Lethe is about memories, right? Did she want to cross it to get somewhere else, or was that her destination all along?"

Nico shrugged. "I have no idea. I could ask Charon, but I don’t think he'd be happy to talk about someone who slipped past his watch."

"Could you ask Janet?"

Anyone else might have stared at Rachel in a dumbfounded haze. Her question sounded ridiculous and unthinkable…

Nico swallowed. "I guess I could sneak into the Asphodel fields…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Percy sat up, glaring at them. "That could be dangerous. We're talking about one of the eternal destinations. Souls go there to stay forever."

"I'm not just a soul, I have a body. I'm alive," Nico pointed out. "That gives me a lot of power for something like this."

Then he stopped, remembering the last time he'd gone to the Underworld to talk to a soul. "Oh, that might not work."

"Why not?" Bolt asked, raising her head now.

Nico looked at her and then at the other three. His heart was thumping fast against the ribcage. He shouldn't tell them about this. They wouldn't take it well.

"Um, souls that leave the body after death start to forget things. Pretty quickly actually. There are very few souls who can even remember how they died," he mumbled, hoping he didn't sound too off or suspicious.

"Right," Harry groaned. "Like us. We never remember anything after we die."

Rachel looked surprised. "Huh. I've never died."

"Apparently, I died once, but I don't remember," Percy said, frowning at Harry.

"That's cause you forgot," Harry quipped.

"That's what I said, stupid head."

"Wow, I'm hurt. You have cut me to the bone—"

"If Janet fell into the Lethe," Rachel said loudly, "The river would have erased all her memories, right?"

"Yeah," Nico smiled as Percy and Harry shot dirty looks at each other. "The water would have affected her as soon as she was close enough. If she stood at the edge for a full minute, she could actually lose all her short-term memories. If she kept breathing in the fumes for five full minutes, she would have passed out. She would have woken up with absolutely no memory. She would have had the mentality of a newborn baby, actually."

Percy blinked. "Could someone have pushed her in? I can't think of a reason why anyone would want to be that close."

"No, it says in the registry that it was an accident. She must have slipped."

"Could someone have accidentally pushed her?" Bolt wondered.

"Then the page would include the name of whoever 'accidentally' killed her," Nico sighed. "Or at least, there would be a mention of it."

"Can anyone edit the pages? Who's in charge of adding all this information to the registry?" Harry demanded.

"It's enchanted."

"Anyone could get past the spell if they know how."

Nico's shoulders slumped. "Then we'll never know! The most I can do is go to the Asphodel fields, find her, and… hope she remembers."

Percy hesitated. "The Lethe is no joke. Janet drowned, Nico. That would have affected her body too. The five rivers of the Underworld are too toxic to not warrant change on a mortal body. Yeah, her mind's probably messed up and there would be absolutely no way for her brain to even attempt to get her memories back. But if what I know about the rivers is right, she would have aged backwards too."

Harry dropped the hand that had been supporting his head. "Say that again? The Lethe is also the fountain of youth?"

"It's a nightmare version of the Benjamin Button syndrome," Percy narrowed his eyes. "I think this is a myth, which probably makes some version of it true. If you drink from the Lethe, your body starts ageing backwards. Some minor gods and goddesses have Lethe trees in their houses to keep them young when their magic starts to fail. Yeah, it also takes away memories, but the immortals could probably protect themselves from that.

"If Janet drowned in the Lethe, she might have swallowed a lot of its water. She would have lost her memories, her experiences, emotions, all her years. She would have turned into a kid, then a toddler, a newborn, a foetus, then a single cell before vanishing. I don't think there may be a body for her at all."

Nico gawked. He hadn't known that at all. It sounded like a familiar tale, like a bedtime story told to him long ago, but the reality of somebody's body just disappearing—

"If that's true," Harry whispered, slightly in shock, "Then what would be the state of her soul?"

"Most likely thing is that she's mentally a single-cell organism," Nico muttered. His brain couldn't even comprehend what that must be like.

"Statistically, how many people died after drinking from the Lethe?" Rachel asked. Her voice had a higher pitch like she had an idea.

Nico scrunched up his nose. "It's not very common. Why?"

"Can you sense the Lethe's effect from a soul? Percy said the rivers are toxic. Like… remember Luke? He went into the Styx, right? He was different after that, his aura was less like a mortal, more burnt at the edges…"

Nico coughed. He had never seen anyone's aura, but that sounded terrible.

She had a point though.

"There might be some lingering effect on the soul," Percy nodded, eyes lighting up. "Nico, I think you'd be able to sense that, what with being the Ghost King and all!"

Nico blushed as Percy nudged his arm. "I can try."

"If all else fails," Harry said with a heavy dollop of self-deprecation, "Search for someone who thinks they're a single-celled organism… with no concept of anything."

Rachel shoved him off the steps.

Percy sat up, back straightening so fast he looked like someone had electrocuted him.

"By the way, Rach. We need to find May and Mark Rohan, children of Hephaestus."

Nico turned to face her too, suddenly remembering Chiron's suggestion of asking the Oracle to announce a quest for them. If Janet didn't remember anything, they relied completely on May and Mark.

Harry turned to look at her as well, eyes wide in anticipation.

Rachel stared back at Percy, absolutely baffled.

"Okay… I guess we can start by searching on social media platforms? Search engines… if they don't have an online presence, we can try telephone directories, if they exist—"

"What?! No! I was asking the Oracle!"

"Then ask her! What're you doing talkin' to me?!"

Harry snorted. "You did say her name, Perce."

Percy went red and Nico had to muffle his laugh on his arm.

He liked these moments. These small things made him feel happy and safe. He liked it when Percy and Harry bantered about the silliest things, when Sally watched their favourite shows on TV with Nico, when Rachel would complained about Harry drop-kicking her for the hundredth time when Remus would help cook new recipes with Harry when Percy would try to bake muffins that wouldn't burn in the oven when Nico and Percy snuck pieces of baked beans from Harry's dish…

When Sirius used to drop the newspaper on the table and rant about all the meetings he'd had to suffer in, when DJ would point out the difference in mittens and gloves and which were better for what season…

When Percy and DJ used to go at it because they'd had to share a room in Grimmauld Place, when Remus, Sally, and Sirius had to drag the two boys away from tearing each other a new one, when Harry and Nico would sit on the stairs with the Weasleys and Neville and laugh at the boys who would inevitably have to go clean out the doxies in the curtains together…

When DJ’d died, Nico had gone into shock. The nurse had said that while placing a soft towel over his shoulders. (A blanket, he had later realised.) Nico had stayed in the hospital room with the others, staring quietly at the locked window in front of him. He thought back to how the curse had just broken through DJ's hurriedly constructed shield, how it had slammed into him, quiet and focused.

Nico thought back to that moment when he felt all the air in his lungs evaporate. His rib cage seemed to shrink from the force of the curse. DJ was dead before he hit the ground. Nico didn't even feel him scream. DJ had been the most shocked out of anyone.

Maybe it was Percy who had screamed. At least, that's how it looked when his eyes seemed fractured.

Nico had stayed in the hospital, under the shock blanket, for about twenty minutes, listening to the tight breaths from Ginny, trying to ignore Ron and Hermione's argument, trying to ignore Percy who was pretending to be asleep so he could escape.

It took him twenty minutes to realise that if anyone could talk to DJ again, probably for the last time, it was Nico.

He used the shadow of the blanket to leave the hospital and appear in Charon's lobby. The souls had been chained to the wall and they parted way for him to walk through.

He had found DJ, sitting on the floor, looking down at his shoes in confusion. The translucent vapour around his body made Nico's heart ache.

"Oracle," Percy's voice was commanding. It broke through the haze of Nico's spiralling thoughts.

"We need to find May and Mark Rohan, demigod children of Hephaestus. Will you offer us guidance?"

Nico swallowed down the doom and gloom in his head and readied himself when Rachel's body jerked, head lolling forwards. Bolt jumped out of her hands and crouched beside Nico.

Glowing green smoke appeared, growing around them, billowing from Rachel's skin, a curtain for the Oracle's spirit. The warmth of the day dimmed with the presence of the spirit.

Rachel raised her head, eyes shining with bright green light.

"May and Mark Rohan," the voice that spilled from her mouth was deep, almost thunderous. It shook the tiles of the porch, rattling Nico's bones. Bolt lowered her head and Nico placed his arm around her body to help the both of them.

"Demigod children of Vulcan," she continued.

Oh.

Oh, fu—

"What?" Percy whispered, surprised. He and Harry leaned away from the green smoke, even as it enveloped them. Her voice came out, damning them even more.

“Hidden from you, safe in New Rome.
Together as a family, but far from home.
You seek them to gain the Patron's name.
Go and find allies in search for the same.”

Rachel's face did that grotesque thing of smiling while controlled by the Oracle. Nico swallowed. She continued her message.

“Take your guide, the son of Hades.
Ask the warriors to remain at ease.
It's time you met, it's been too long.
If the gods ask, give them this song.”

The smoke dissipated rather quickly and Rachel's body fell backwards as the spirit left her. Bolt and Harry jumped forwards to catch her head. Percy leaned up to grab her hands. He looked shaken.

"Why did she… she said New Rome. That's in Italy, right? We have to go to Italy?"

Nico closed his eyes. He dug the base of his palms over them, groaning out loud.

"Nico, what d'you know about this?!"

"I didn't think about it, honest…" Nico whispered, looking at them. "New Rome's in Berkeley Hills."

Harry's face twisted. "You mean Hollywood? Are the Rohans actors?"

"That's Beverly Hills, Harry. Berkeley is also in the west though," Percy sighed. "But why did she say Vulcan? Their father is Hephaestus."

Just say it. Nothing to lose now.

Except Percy might hate him.

"There's a city in Berkeley Hills called New Rome," Nico said as Rachel came to. "It's a really huge place. Lots of demigods and legacies there."

Percy's mouth gaped open like a fish. "Lots of… what's legacies?"

"Children of demigods."

"How… Nico, how d'you know this?"

"Because I've been there?" Nico said it as a question when Percy and Harry stared at him. Rachel groaned and pushed at Harry's shoulder to sit up straight.

"You've been—you've been to a place that has lots of demigods… and their kids… and you never thought to mention it?!" Percy asked, incredulous.

"It's a secret, Percy. I didn't say anything because my dad asked me not to. And besides they don't know about us!"

"This sounds like another camp full of demigods," Harry commented. "Except it's an entire hidden city now."

Nico felt his throat go dry. Rachel looked up at him as Bolt leaped back onto her lap.

"What's going on?"

"Nico's known about a city full of demigods who live in Berkeley Hills!" Percy complained.

Rachel's jaw dropped. "Excusez-moi!"

He had to say it. Before it got out of hand.

"They're a little different from us. I mean, they're still demigods, just more… um, trained? I dunno, it's like we're the first draft and they're the refined version. They've got legions and training camps, boot camps. The city is a space for older demigods who live with families and most stay there their entire lives!"

The silence that followed was… bad. Really bad. Percy's eyes were actually flickering blue.

"Nico," Percy hissed. "When did you meet them?"

"It was an accident!" Nico shuffled back, nervous. "I was searching for something else! I found the camp by mistake!"

"It is a camp!" Percy accused.

"Alright fine! Yeah, it is a camp! It's called Camp Jupiter!" Nico shouted, jumping to his feet.

Rachel leaned away from the confrontation. "Jupiter? Why is there a planet near the West Coast?"

Nico tried to steady his breathing. Percy was staring up at him, stunned and anticipatory. Bolt waited with short pants and Harry was on the edge of his seat as well.

"Because it's… Jupiter is the Roman name for Zeus," Nico said, the fight leaving him. "That's who the camp is named after. New Rome is the safe haven for Roman demigods."

Nico was standing in front of all the cabin heads and Chiron. They were gathered in the counselors' room. Percy only wished this was easy.

Clarisse folded her arms, glaring at Nico. "Do you have any other secrets you haven't told us about?"

"No. Look, I haven't told them about us," Nico defended himself. "There's a reason it was a secret, okay? Greeks and Romans never really liked each other in the past."

Annabeth sighed, "Chiron, did you know about this?"

The centaur leaned back in his wheelchair, hand propping up his chin. His eyes were trained on Nico so Percy couldn't figure out the exact emotion behind them.

"A relatively young secret, barely nine decades or so… the Olympians suffer from migraines when their children are in close quarters. It was safer to keep the two factions apart. Memories were removed, camps were displaced. There's a reason why you're on opposite sides of the country." Chiron shrugged. "But, if the Oracle believes that it's time you two meet, it may be a less violent future."

Katie groaned, "Oh, gods. We just finished a war. We can't get into some cult fight now."

"I'll contact Lupa. She can help mediate. The Romans will listen to her."

Chiron left without explaining who Lupa was. Connor gawked for a moment before asking Nico, "How did you stumble on Camp Jupiter? Like, do they know who you are?"

"No, I told them I'm a son of Pluto?"

"Great…" Travis complained. "What if they think we're planning something against them?"

"Lupa's the mother wolf who raised Romulus and Remus," Will recalled from an obscure history lesson. "She's been around nearly as long as Chiron, like an advisor. If she's on our side, we can make this work."

Clarisse narrowed her eyes, "And if she's not?"

"Then we use our trump card," Annabeth said, turning around to look at Rachel who was leaning against the wall, trying to stay out of the meeting.

Rachel made a face. But Percy figured Annabeth had a point. The Oracle commanded a lot of power and authority. The Romans might agree to come to a consensus with her around.

Nyssa faced Percy, sharing a worried look. He sighed.

It was still too close to the aftermath of the Titan War. They'd suffered losses and had barely finished camp renovations. Annabeth was still busy with the restoration of Olympus.

And the fact that Beckendorf had stepped down as Head of Hephaestus Cabin in favor of Nyssa… they were all in very slow recovery mode.

If they needed to find the map to the temple that evaded all gods, if they had to destroy the ritual Gaia was sorting after… they needed to be at peak strength.

Alice Cullen walked from the fireplace to the window and back again, silently running through Rachel's proposed plan.

The mansion of Frost hadn't seen so many people in it since Sally's interrogation. And before that, months ago, the party. Harry thought of the meeting with the Hogwarts students and the Half-Blood campers. That had been incredible.

Also, meeting a cute stranger who may have been a spy... whatever. One problem at a time.

Right now, he and Rachel were seated at the dining table, facing Alice who was pacing about. Rosalie stood by the side next to Sally, both of them cross-armed. Percy was holding up a babbling Kimmy who saw fit to fill a silent room with her little chatter. Dumbledore sat on an easy chair he'd conjured up. Remus and Tonks were by the stairs, and Harry's attorney, Lawrence Kettler, was at the head of the table, scribbling something down on a long parchment sheet.

"I would like to preface this by saying I hate this plan," Harry intoned.

Rosalie massaged her temples. "You've made your sentiments clear, Harry."

Rachel scowled. "Very. And you only hate it because I came up with it before you did it."

Harry stared at her. "It’s a terrible plan!"

"It's not! The Ministry is onto Percy, and if they figure out anything about the demigods, it's game over." She folded her arms. "Revealing a secret that's got nothing to do with anything will help us. It'll give us more time."

Percy winced. "It'll put you in the spotlight."

Rachel shrugged. Harry glared at her.

"Yeah," she agreed. "What overshadows a scandal? A bigger, more delicious scandal, something that involves a household name. Telling people that I'm alive would bring the focus on me, on Harry, and take it away from you."

Alice finally stopped pacing. "It'll work."

Harry looked at the others, beseeching them. "That would put a target on her back! What d'you think Voldemort's gonna do when he realised he failed to kill two people that night?!"

Rachel sat up. "Does that make me the Girl-Who-Lived?"

"S'not funny."

"He's gonna be mad," Percy muttered, bouncing the baby in his arms.

Lawrence dropped the quill. "We can sort through the legalities easily enough. If we go through with this, Rachel's name and face will be plastered everywhere. But since she's living with Harry, security won't be an issue. Privacy might take a hit—"

"Might?" Harry muttered.

"It's doable."

"Great!

"No! Not—Rachel, don't you get what this means?" Harry burst out, standing up. "There'll be a target on your back, just as big as mine!"

Rachel leaned back. "I'm already in hiding. My mom’s cohabiting with a super-evil goddess. My dad is missing. My aunts apparently work for the same super-evil goddess. I can't go anywhere on my own, I have to stick to camp or Frost or Dumbledore's house. I dropped out of school just to be safe. I'd rather step out on my own terms rather than get outted at the most inconvenient time. At least, this way, by focusing on me, it'll take the heat off of Percy. Would you prefer the Ministry find out about demigods?"

Harry bounced on the spot. "That's not it! We'd be offering you as bait."

She shrugged. "Not really. Not if we do this right. Since it's my choice to reveal myself, we can control what information gets out and how it gets spread."

Lawrence set his quill down and raised his stack of papers. "She has a point, Harry. If we introduce her to the world, we get to paint the entire story in a good light. We explain her trials and hardships in a way that favors her unequivocally. People will support her. Everyone wants a happy story, a hopeful ending. Finding out that both Potter twins are alive will bolster their spirits."

Rachel's winning grin was perfectly balanced by Harry's distressed scowl.

"What d'you think Voldemort would do when he sees the papers?" He snapped. "He'll switch tactics, try to strike where it would hurt the most. The news would put doubt on his reputation. He'll want to fix it immediately before the rumors can hurt him."

"But he'd already know she's alive," Tonks said. Everyone turned towards her. She looked at Remus and then the others.

"What?" Percy asked, wide-eyed. "How could he know that? No one knew for ages—"

"How could he not know?" Rosalie asked, head whipping around to face them. "He was the one who failed to kill her! He'd know that, surely!"

"Unless he'd forgotten that she escaped," Dumbledore chimed.

Harry gave a loud groan. Sally raised an eyebrow. "Is that the Horcrux thing you were talking about?"

"We know he's split his soul," Dumbledore explained, leaning back into his armchair. "We know five of them have been destroyed including the diary. There may be another or two left, though I'm inclined to think it's only one more."

"Only," Alice grumbled.

"One more?" Remus whispered.

Percy's shoulders went rigid. "So he actually got hit by the killing curse? I thought that was just a rumour."

Rachel knew he was talking about the day Voldemort had murdered Lily and James… and failed to kill Harry and her. Her thoughts drifted to the night St. Mungo's burned. When Ginny set the entire building on fire, inadvertently destroying most of Voldemort's Horcruxes - the locket, the ring, the diadem, the cup… all gone just like the diary.

And now one more was left if not two.

"He didn't die, though," Alice added. "We don't know how much he remembers of that day."

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter if he remembers or not. He won't allow for any weakness on his part. He'll be furious."

Rachel thought of something else. Something inkling at the back of her head. She turned and met Percy's gaze.

He'll remember you, she thought.

Percy swallowed, giving a silent response. Germany. Nurmengard.

When Tom had still been possessing Percy, they'd gone to meet Voldemort (Prime) in a forest outside the prison of Nurmengard. There was no way Voldemort would forget that.

Harry, almost sensing the shift in tone saw Percy and Rachel staring at each other.

They couldn't risk outing Percy, not while Voldemort was still alive and in power.

Rachel saw the vein in Harry's temple throb. Gods, his blood pressure needed to be checked.

“I'm doing this,” she told Harry. “We're not leaving any room for suspicion on Percy.”

Harry didn't argue after that.

The next day, Lawrence wrote a letter on Harry's behalf. It was a reply to the claim form issued by Umbridge about unrecorded non-human powers and Harry's indirect involvement with unnamed persons .

Addressed to
Minister Rufus Scrimgeour,
Minister for Magic

Madame Amelia Bones,
Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Kingsley Shacklebolt,
Head of Department of Aurors

Dolores Umbridge
Junior Under Secretary to the Minister for Magic,
Ministry of Magic.

If that wasn't a wake-up call, Rachel didn't know what was.

Nico had reached the Fields of Asphodel hours ago. He'd made a mess of the meeting. Everyone knew about Camp Jupiter. Most weren't happy.

Percy, especially Percy. Nice had felt distressed by the look on Percy's face. He had been disappointed with Nico.

Things had to be fixed. Nico figured the best way to help them would be to do something right.

If he could find Janet Kassidy in the Fields of Asphodel… if she could somehow remember her map, then they wouldn't have to go to Camp Jupiter and cause a potential new war.

His plan was to try and sense the effects of the Lethe in one of the billions of souls that roamed the fields… yeah, it wasn't working.

He should have called Bianca to help him.

The tall, dry trees with lifeless foliage drifting were tinted brown. The grass was sharp and harsh hay that stuck up in tufts all over the ground.

Nico stopped by a tall dead tree. It was a dreary place. He wanted to get out.

Nothing else for it.

"Janet Kassidy!" he called out, his voice tapering out immediately. Sounds didn't carry well here.

"Can anyone hear me?" Nico yelled. The air was dry, scratching his throat now.

"... hear you…"

Nico stopped, spinning in place. That wasn't an echo. Someone else had said that. But he couldn't see anyone looking at him. The dead souls roamed aimlessly, walking right by him.

"Hello? Did somebody talk to me?"

"... talking…"

Nico heard it from his left. He began walking towards the voice. It was a distant cry but solid enough for him to hear.

"Can you see me? Walk towards my voice," Nico cried out, pacing faster through the trees and souls.

"I see you."

Nico jumped, hand going for his sword. The voice was right behind him.

He turned around, drawing out the stygian iron blade to aim it at… a girl.

It was a girl too young to be Janet Kassidy. This person was just shorter than Nico, her hair falling in live curls, unlike everything in the Asphodel Fields. She was a shade translucent like the dead souls but her eyes were bright with energy.

"You heard me," she said, in absolute amazement.

"You're dead," Nico responded, stunned. She wasn't acting dead like the others.

"You're… not?" she asked hesitantly.

Nico shook his head, lowering the sword. The girl followed the blade's descent and looked back up, curiosity lighting up her eyes.

"Your sword has a dent," she said, excited to have a conversation.

Nico nodded, looking down at the blade where Rachel's fingers had left a hand-sized dent in it. He really needed to find a good whetstone.

"My name is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," he said, remembering to introduce himself.

She stared, "Son of… who?"

"Hades. I'm a demigod. Um, I get a feeling, you might be too. Since you can see me and talk to me…"

She just stayed silent.

"What's your name?" Nico asked, wondering if this odd soul could help him find Janet Kassidy.

"Hazel Levesque," she answered, swinging her arms nervously. "Daughter of Marie Levesque."

Nico grinned, sheathing his sword. "Wow. My mom's name was Maria."

"That's nice," Hazel said with a sweet smile.

Nico felt calmer. "Yeah. And you're right about before. I'm alive. I'm searching for a girl named Janet Kassidy. She's somewhere in these fields. Can you help me?"

Hazel beamed, overjoyed to just spend more time with a person who could talk to her. "I can try! What does she look like?"

Nico found his phone and pulled up the image of Janet from the Accorded Judgement Registry.

Hazel gaped at the device. Nico had to spend ten full minutes trying to explain what a cell phone was before Hazel could finally understand.

They went on their way, walking past the other listless souls in the vast field.

"She fell in the Lethe?" Hazel asked, horrified. She placed a hand on her chest which was apparently a 1940s sentiment to register shock. Nico could relate.

"Yeah. Not very nice, but I was hoping to talk to her here," Nico mumbled, looking everywhere he could.

"But the Lethe will make her forget everything," Hazel said.

"Yup. I'm still hoping for something."

Hazel didn't respond. She kept walking ahead and Nico followed her till they reached one of the edges of the field. The soul population dwindled in this area.

Nico slowed, wondering where Hazel had taken him.

"Can you climb?" She asked, holding onto a branch of one of the last trees.

"Uhh…" Nico started, as she began to scale the dead, crooked tree. It was bent over, ready to snap at the lightest pressure. But Hazel climbed with no fear.

"Sure," Nico sighed and followed her. Every branch creaked and groaned.

She reached a high enough spot of the tree and relaxed against the trunk.

"You do this often?" Nico asked, reaching beside her with some strain.

"Not many things to do in the Asphodel Fields," she smiled.

Hazel looked over the edge, where the earth simply dropped off to reveal a deep cavern that no soul could hope to cross. She pointed at something far across the valley.

"That's the Lethe," she said.

Nico squinted. In the distance, there was a waterfall, steam raging down a tall cliff. The water did not look pleasant. Even Poseidon might avoid it. Nico could imagine Janet inching closer towards the river, overwhelmingly curious about its power.

"Okay, I didn't know that," he hedged. "Hazel, I was looking for Janet, not the Lethe."

She nodded. "You won't find her. She fell into one of the most dangerous places in the world, Nico. The river would have destroyed her body and soul. She's gone."

Nico gawked. "No, no. Janet is supposed to be here. Maybe she'll remember nothing, but her soul should be in Asphodel!"

Hazel frowned. "I don't know who told you that you'll be able to talk to her, but that's not true. The Lethe erodes everything out of anything that touches it. It starts with memories, then it pollutes your sense of being, the reason you are you, and finally your shell."

She lowered her voice, "There are forces in the Underworld that can destroy things and beings, make sure that there is no afterlife. Lethe is one of them."

Nico felt his stomach drop low. "But, it's on the Registry."

"That river can burn a god's skin," Hazel whispered. "A mortal will disappear into oblivion if they fall in. I'm so sorry about your friend, Nico. But you won't find her."

Nico leaned back. "Are you sure?"

"Very much."

It didn't make sense to him. The Registry had a page on Janet. That meant her soul had been judged and allotted lifetime access to Asphodel.

What if Harry was right, though? What if someone enchanted the page to have the wrong information?

Nico side-eyed Hazel who was looking at the horizon of the Underworld. Or what if Hazel was lying?

Nico quickly typed her name into the Registry. There was probably a reason why she was in Asphodel after all. The page loaded and Nico read.

And blanched.

He was beginning to hate his father.

He looked back at Hazel who turned to give him a sad smile, her eyes full of that strange energy. Nico wondered if that energy could give her a full life if all it took was someone to take her hand and guide her back to the surface.

Rosalie Potter Alive?

The-Girl-Who-Lived

The following days had an influx of newspapers, tabloids, radio channels, and rumour mills carrying the shocking news.

Potter Twins, Hale and Hearty

Halloween Court Session, Featuring Rosalie and Harry Potter

It was all anyone could say apparently.

Rachel read the papers with a resolute eye. Basically, without naming names, the Ministry had tried to catch Percy under due cause for suspicion.

And to counteract that, the Order would be sending Rachel in as the ultimate distraction. She wondered when her life took such a turn, before realising that she'd always been destined for a rough way. The years she'd spent in France had just been a break.

Rachel was born during a war, to a family smack dab in the center of it. She'd been adopted by a couple both of whom were now apparently working towards the destruction of humanity. And now, she would set out to be revealed as one of the Potter twins to save Percy and the demigods from the ire of the Ministry.

At least the last one was her choice.

Chapter 16: Sibling Support

Chapter Text

Nico and Hazel emerged out of the shadows to Central Park.

The moonlight filtered through the trees, the cool breeze touching their skin and removing the grim of the Underworld.

Hazel dropped to her knees and grabbed hands full of the earth, crushing them in her fists. She gasped when they turned into wet clumps, mud clinging to her palm, dirt collecting below her nails.

"Welcome to New York City," Nico murmured, letting Hazel soak up her new reality.

She peered up at the sky, watching faint stars barely twinkle under the haze of lights from skyscrapers. A jet flew across the horizon, catching her attention. Noises of cars and trucks were heard from the roads outside the park, despite the early hours. The city was still bustling with its everpresent lively air, brightly coloured in the blues of skyscrapers and greens of the trees at five in the morning.

Hazel sat on the ground, still stunned. "I've never been to New York."

It took Nico a moment for the joke to settle in. "Oh! Ha! Yeah!"

He turned around and closed the mighty chasm that had opened when they exited the Underworld. The hole in the earth shifted, growing smaller as the two sides merged, leaving behind a long scar on the ground that once led to Charon's lobby. The hot air from below cut off leaving behind a crisp cool breeze.

Hazel watched him with wide eyes. "You can open pathways to the Underworld?"

Nico sat back and wiped away the cold sweat that had gathered beneath his hairline. "Not the entire place. Just to the lobby. It takes a lot of energy."

He tried to relax before explaining everything.

"I need to catch you up to speed," Nico told Hazel. "It's the year 2013. We're in the 21st century. Things are pretty good for us now. Since you're Pluto's kid, your safe haven is in San Francisco, a place called New Rome. There's also a camp there to train Roman demigods to fight monsters. I know all this feels like a lot but you'll catch on."

Hazel's eyes grew wet. "Why are you doing this, Nico? This is against the rules. I shouldn't be here."

He swallowed and wrung his hands, "I checked your file, Hazel. You deserve a chance at a full life."

She sniffled. "There are a lot of people who deserve to come back to life. You chose me because we're siblings, right?"

Nico stared. "I guess I was being selfish."

"Yeah," Hazel gave him a weak smile. "I was being selfish too."

Nico stared at the ground trying to accept the full reality of what he'd done. He'd brought a dead girl back to life. He had gone and done that.

It was far easier than it should have been. Nico knew that if Charon had been in the lobby, he would have stopped him. But Nico and Hazel managed to move through the waiting souls and just… leave the Underworld.

"Okay, Hazel?" he called, trying to get her attention away from a line of ducks walking on the grass. She blinked at him. "We need to go to New Rome."

Hazel nodded slowly. "Is it far from here?"

Nico winced. "It's across the country. We're actually way closer to my camp. It's in Long Island on the East Coast of the US. New Rome is on the West Coast."

She inhaled carefully. "But the US is a big country, yes?"

"Yeah. Don't worry," Nico rolled his head to massage his neck. "I can call Lee Lee. She can get us to New Rome. You'll fit right in."

Hazel gave a weak smile, already exhausted. Nico wondered how badly being alive so abruptly would affect her body. He had to get her somewhere safe right away.

Despite it being too early, Nico knew Lee Lee would respond. He took a deep breath and whistled sharply. The sound blasted through the trees and cut through the static of the morning. Hazel flinched at the suddenness of it.

"Sorry," he said. "I think that'll work. Give it a minute. Lee Lee is a hellhound, but she's very friendly. She'll like you. Now, we gotta make up your backstory for the Romans to hear. Nobody can know that you were dead."

"Right," Hazel said, crossing her legs. She and Nico set about spinning a story about Hazel staying too long at the Lotus Hotel and Casino, a place where time bent and stood still while the world moved on for centuries. Hazel was born in 1928, a December baby. They kept those dates the same and changed other small details to make it more believable.

By the time Hazel could recite her new origins without faltering, Mrs. O'Leary, everyone's sweet little hellhound, appeared in the clearing, melting out of the shadows. She landed on her paws which were not so overgrown as before. Lee Lee was larger, having grown in the past few months under the Hunters of Artemis.

Nico grinned and stood up, overjoyed to see her, but his heart jumped when he saw that there was somebody sitting on the back of Lee Lee's neck, having ridden through the shadows as well.

Bianca slid down to the ground, landing gracefully and making her way towards Nico. Her armour was glowing in soft silver under the quickly fading moon in the sky. Her circlet was placed smoothly in her hair to signify her Huntress status. She raised her eyebrows at Hazel and said, "Hi, Nico. What's up? Who's this?"

He couldn't talk at the moment. He'd hoped to get Hazel to Camp Jupiter without anyone knowing what he'd done. Bianca was not going to be happy about this. There was no way Nico could lie to her.

"Hello," Hazel chirped, waving at her. "I'm Hazel."

"Hello, I'm Bianca," she smiled back. "Lieutenant of Lady Artemis and Daughter of Hades. And this is Lee Lee."

Lee Lee barked happily and began to scratch behind her ears. Hazel peered up at the hellhound not scared in the least. Nico sighed.

Bianca gauged Hazel, curiously. "You are a demigod, aren't you? I can tell."

"But you can't tell who her godly parent is?" Nico muttered.

She frowned at him. "What's going on?"

A worried Hazel glimpsed at Nico clearly wondering if they should tell her the truth or try the backstory on her first. He shook his head and said, "Bi, you're not gonna like this."

Nico explained what he did. Bianca went through all five stages of grief and nearly invented a sixth stage. Hazel gave Lee Lee good scritches.

Alice Cullen was a connoisseur of aesthetic beauty and she had made it her personal mission to give Rachel a glow-up.

Three hours of being primped and pampered ended with Rachel having straight long red locks that curled near the tips. Her freckles were on display, splattered across her face, her lips a soft pink. Her cheeks had nude tones and her eyelashes were brushed to make her green eyes pop.

She wore a mild vermillion-salmon tailored suit with a casual fancy stance that was preferable in an office party setting to an actual office meeting.

Thankfully, Rachel was in flats, so she didn't have to worry about tripping onto her face in front of the entire court. Even so, she was now practising walking as smoothly as possible on the shiny floor of the dining room in Frost mansion.

The most frustrating part of the exercise was that Harry didn't have to go through it. He'd put on his own make-up and Alice had just tossed a set of pressed pants with a mild salmon shirt and dark blazer to go along with it. He didn't even get a tie.

"Now," Alice said with a glorious finality. "You both look like twins!"

Rachel glared at Harry's outfit. "How long did it take you to get into that?"

He smirked, pink lipstick contrasting with the devilish attitude. "Ten minutes."

"Liar."

"I like the blush."

"Shut up. I can't believe I had to try on summer dresses for this! And it was even in the wrong size!"

Alice winced. "Sorry. I don't know why I packed one too small."

"Alice," Sally sighed. "Don't you think this is going a little overboard?"

"It isn't! The official story is that Rachel is a muggle heiress from France, far away from the UK Ministry. She's never been to the States and she's never lived in Britain, only visits London occasionally. That's where she and Harry met and set off his danger sense. Harry then does a background check on her, bordering on illegal actions which the Ministry will absolutely believe," Alice said with a bell-like laugh. "All Rachel has to do is confirm the story and make sure there is no trace of an American accent in her words!"

Harry frowned. "I have several problems with your story."

"The non-registered aspect of magic detected, that the Ministry will want to focus on—" Alice continued, "... will be that Rachel has incredibly odd visions which she inherited from Lily. But she doesn't have any magic, so that makes her a squib who occasionally opens her third eye."

Rachel buffed her nails over her lapel. "Are there squibs who do have visions?"

"They're rare, but muggles can be very open-minded," Alice answered, bouncing over to the table to close her makeup kits. "I mean, look at me!"

"You're a vampire!"

"Thank you for noticing. But I had visions before I was bitten. You don't need magic to be special."

Rachel let out a deep breath and nodded.

"Now let's practice your accent," Alice invited her back to the table. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as Tonks brings Cedric over," Harry said, checking the clock. "It's nearly 9."

"Session starts at 10. We have time," Sally nodded, brushing Harry's cowlick back. "You'll do great. Both of you. There'll be nothing to worry about. Albus will be with you the entire time. As long as you know what to say, the judgment will go in your favour."

Harry nodded and listened to Rachel practice speaking in English with a soft French lilt. She seemed confident enough at Frost, but Harry knew that standing in front of a dozen strangers could be nerve-wracking.

He had faith in Rachel, though. She was made of tougher stuff than she herself knew.

"I'm alive," Hazel whispered for the tenth time. Nico guided her along by the arm. They shadow-travelled right into DJ's old room in Frost mansion because it was the one place no one ever visited.

Sorry, DJ.

Bianca kept Lee Lee quiet and contained, but the sweet canine was excited to sniff around the room. The was a bright morning in Gretna Green and the sunlight baffled them for a moment.

"Yeah, you are," Bianca replied to Hazel. Nico couldn't stop peeking around the space. DJ's room was immaculate without a speck of dust. It was probably a charm that kept it like that, but Nico felt his chest ache at the thought of DJ diligently cleaning his room to achieve superior levels of sparkles.

"This is a boy's room," Hazel said in surprise. She examined the place, taking in the photos placed on the bedside stand.

"Boys exist, Hazel," Bianca sighed. "We just have to accept that someday."

Nico made a face. "It's not mine. It's a friend's."

"Will he be back soon?" Hazel asked. She was smiling at one of the photos. It was a moving picture of Percy, Harry, DJ, and Nico, asleep on Percy's bed in Sally's apartment. Somehow, all four of them had managed to squeeze into it and slumbered through till dinner.

That had been the most amazing nap.

In the photo, DJ threw a hand around Percy's waist, not even blinking awake. Nico's legs were splayed out over Harry's back.

"No," Nico said, hoping his voice was steady.

He stared at the photo long enough to realise that the room behind him was quiet and the noises were coming from downstairs than from Lee Lee.

Bianca stepped towards the door, her stance battle-ready. "Who's in the house, Nico?"

He carefully turned the knob, opening the door by a few inches. The voices were clearer now.

"I can hear Sally," Nico whispered. "And Tonks. I think Harry's here too. Wait, they have the court session this morning! He and Rachel have to leave for the Ministry now."

Hazel stood by Bianca, curious and quiet. Lee Lee kept nudging at her. Bianca hushed her gently. "It's okay, girl. Nico, when's the session?"

"Umm, they planned to wrap it up before lunch. Maybe 11?"

Bianca nodded at Hazel. "Percy's called for a counsellors' catch-up at camp. I need to be there for that. Nico, you have to get Hazel to New Rome, before Chiron meets up with Lupa."

Nico stared. "Chiron's meeting who?"

"The mother wolf who advises the Roman demigods. She's nearly as old as Chiron. He says she's willing to listen to his case," Bianca added.

Hazel blinked between the two of them. "The… the wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus?"

"Yes! Someone knows her history."

Nico flushed. "I'm better at Ancient Greek history."

Bianca placed her hands on her hips. "How you convinced the Romans you were one of them, I'll never know."

He turned back to the door, muttering under his breath as Hazel giggled. Nico was already starting to see the cons of introducing Hazel to Bianca.

He strained his ears to listen to what was happening downstairs. The voices had stopped and Nico couldn't hear anything else. He frowned, opening the door wider before jerking back from the sight of Sally and Alice standing right in front of DJ's door.

Lee Lee whined and Bianca coughed awkwardly.

Sally folded her arms, supremely disappointed. "Nico, you're supposed to be at camp. Hello, Bianca."

"Hello, Ms. Jackson."

While Sally just seemed wry, Alice was horrified.

"Oh my gods," she whispered, staring at Hazel. "What happened to your clothes?!"

Hazel was equally horrified, clearly recognising a vampire in front of her. She stepped back. "Um, they've always been like this."

Sally leaned into the room. "Oh honey, are you hurt?"

Nico should have found better clothes for Hazel. She was still wearing the dress she'd died in. A dull nose would be able to smell the tar, oil, and dried blood on her. The once soft floral print was completely faded and stained brown from the dirt of the Fields of Asphodel.

"No, no. I'm fine," Hazel said in a small voice. She was trying to hide in Lee Lee's pelt.

Alice held out a hand. "Wait! Now I know why I brought that outfit two sizes too small for Rachel! Hold right there!"

She disappeared in a blur which made Hazel and Lee Lee yelp. Bianca only blinked and Nico barely had time to sigh when Alice was back, holding a neat packet. She threw it to Hazel who was too stunned to catch it. Bianca snatched it out of the air and peered inside.

"Cute," Bianca told Hazel who only exhaled at the bright summer dress in interest.

Percy checked the time.

It was way too early for this, but Chiron had just left for New Rome. Lupa had suggested the obscure time to not alert the Romans and cause panic about the upcoming news.

"di Angelos are running late," Travis said, quickly interrupted by a yawn. Everyone around the ping-pong tables was in various stages of sleep. Castor and Katie were actually slumbering. Percy rubbed his face and turned towards the only one who was wide awake.

Annabeth was busy tapping away at her laptop, probably engrossed with construction on Olympus. He had barely seen her without the laptop these days. She'd even bring it on the small dates they'd have, trying to find downtime between rebuilding Olympus, designing new cabins at camp, and debriefing everyone about the Roman demigods.

Will had his head slumped over his arms on the table, but he blinked blearily and droned, "Natalie said that Bianca and Mrs. O'Leary left like an hour ago. They ought to be back by now."

"An hour?" Clarisse grunted, arm folded and leaning back to find a more comfortable spot on her chair. "She knows we have a meeting and she decides to frolic around the coast?"

Thalia heaved a sigh, eyes closed, but still annoyed. "Bianca wouldn't have left unless it was important. And if she's not back, she's probably busy."

Clovis, the head of the Morpheus cabin snored loudly. A wave of tiredness hit Percy’s senses and his head reeled with drowsiness. The ping-pong table was a wonderful haven to just lie down and close his eyes—

"Clovis!" Annabeth barked waking everyone up. "You made me lose my train of thought! I need to submit this doc to Ganymede before breakfast!"

Clovis blinked. "Sor… sorry, Annabe… zzzzz."

He nodded off so fast that Percy had to hold himself up to not follow suit. Annabeth rubbed her eyes furiously and went back to work.

Drew was one other person who'd managed to sit up. She was curling her eyelashes, employing the magical power of Aphrodite to stay awake, whatever that power was. Percy turned his neck this way and that and shook his head to wake himself up.

"Okay, you know what? This was a mistake. Sorry, everyone. Let's just go back and sleep. We can reconvene after the cabin checks in the morn—"

Loud footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the meeting room. Clarisse sat up with a groan, "Finally!"

The door opened and Bianca and Nico walked in, about as awake as Annabeth. Percy narrowed his eyes and saw tiny black wisps leaving Nico's skin. It was only for a moment.

"Did you both shadow-travel right into the Big House?" Percy sighed. "Last time you did that, you nearly crashed right into Mr. D, Nico!"

Nico winced. "Yeah, won't do that again."

Will kicked a chair for Nico to sit down. Bianca glanced over at Thalia and sat quickly at her place without a word.

"Where were you?" Thalia asked, unflinchingly.

Bianca cleared her throat. "That's none of your business, I'm afraid. Had to do some checks, decided to pick up Nico."

Will didn't seem to catch the barely friendly tone. "I thought Nico was at camp?"

Percy sighed. "We're going to talk about your random comings and goings later, Nico. I wanted to say a few things. Let's get this over with and go back to sleep."

"Sleep," Clovis whispered.

It took another ten minutes for everyone to stop yelling at the poor boy and slapping themselves awake.

"The Ministry session is today!" Percy stood up and raised his voice before Clarisse could take her knife out. "Harry and Rachel are going to reveal her in an official capacity and all those big words used in newspapers. They'll call us after breakfast to let us know how it went."

"But the wizards don't know about us, right?" Katie wondered, nervously. "The letter they sent Harry, it was like some vague guess about a different kind of magic."

"Unrecorded magic," Thalia clarified. "Harry travelled between Hogwarts and camp too often, it must have left a trail even if he didn't use his wand. But he was sure enough that it'd go well. Rachel's an important figure in their community. Once they shift the tide, the rumours will die down."

Nyssa raised a hand. "Uhuh. Sorry if this sounds pessimistic, but what about the kids from the party?"

Percy tried not to grimace. "The party was a success. Everyone got along. Harry and Ron are in contact with them, they're all close friends so it shouldn't be a problem."

"I heard that Hermione had to leave the country," Travis whispered, suddenly solemn.

Percy shook his head. "She did. But only because she's attending school in France. Hogwarts is still closed and it'll be at least a few more months till they reopen. Dumbledore'll let us know about that situation, so if we get things here sorted, we might be able to give them good alibies or excuses, anything they need to keep the secret going."

Clarisse's shoulders dropped. "Isn't that a little too hopeful?"

Percy pressed his lips together. His thoughts went towards his mom, housing a Primordial deity in her soul, towards Sirius, still stuck in a coma because of him, towards Harry who refused to even entertain the idea of visiting DJ's grave due to misplaced guilt, towards Pandora's pPithos secure in Rachel's cave. The jar contained the spirit of hope, pulsing like a heart still beating from the inside.

Hope was too dangerous in the wrong situations. But they needed to have the right amount of it to keep pushing forwards.

"I think it's just the right amount of hope we need," Percy murmured. "We need hope and luck for Chiron's meeting with Lupa to go well. We need to stay strong when the Romans find out about us. We can't let it get bad now, not after everything we went through in the summer. We survived a freakin' war. We deserve to have a good epilogue."

Drew finally focused away from her curler. "Aww, Percy. That's so sweet!"

Bianca smiled. "We can all benefit from a little bit of optimism. We can't go about thinking that the Romans would just hate us right off the bat."

Clarisse huffed. "I dunno. If I were a Roman, I'd be hella suspicious. Remember the last time the Greeks went up to meet the Romans? And don't tell me it's just Ancient Mythology, it's a real past."

Will raised his shoulders. "How about another party?"

"Oh, my gods."

"Really, Will?"

"We can't just have parties to solve any problem!"

"It'd be cool if we could, though," Travis sighed. "Can you imagine the gods throwing parties instead of wars to settle arguments?"

Annabeth mumbled without taking her eyes away from the laptop and the constant tapping, "A never-ending party."

Percy chuckled. "That sounds cool and all. But let's stick to proper introductions first. We can throw a full-on carnival if everything turns out well."

"We have to invite the witches and wizards for that!" Drew cheered. "Lee's been badgering me for a date for ages. The poor boy's wretched."

Everyone stared at her in confusion. Even Annabeth turned away from her laptop, her keyboard taps ceasing. Travis swallowed, weirded out. "Lee Fletcher?"

"No. Lee Jordan, you dumbass."

"Jordan?" Percy said in disbelief. "Fred and George's friend?"

"My boyfriend," Drew said, her glare unflinching.

Katie's jaw dropped. "You've been steady with him all this time?! Holy sh*t, girl!"

Drew shrugged, smug with the reactions. Percy had only seen them meet once at the party. How had they hit it off so well?

"Ooh," Travis whispered. "Connor's not gonna be happy."

"He can get his own man!"

"Not that, jeez! He's been trying to talk to Colin all summer, but dude's been evasive," Travis said sadly. "Connor's heartbroken."

Thalia dropped the hand that had been supporting her chin. "Connor threw a stink bomb in my yard last week. Are you telling me that's his way of dealing with a broken heart?"

"Yup. So you can't mess with him okay?"

Thalia glared at him and Percy rubbed his temples. "Um, can we get back on topic, everyone?"

"Yes, please," Annabeth said before typing something on her laptop again. "I have the minutes of the meeting, shall I repeat it?"

"No. I thought you were busy with some doc?" Percy asked slowly.

"I multi-task. We're waiting on Chiron's reports on his conversation with Lupa, Harry's reports on the court sessions, Rachel's reports on the gods' movements in regards to the new prophecy—"

"We hadn't discussed that."

"We should have. By the way, Camp Jupiter might also have a Seer. Rachel will need to be on the front lines with them for that. Once that unit is cohesive enough, the integration will be smoother."

Most others were blinking at the information. Nyssa leaned to the side. "Integration?"

Annabeth blew a curl of hair out of her face. "I'm not saying we move into each others' camps. But there was a reason we were separated. We need to work to make sure we fit better together now. Clarisse is right, it'll be tough. They may not believe us even if Lupa agrees. We might not like something about them even if the Oracle wants us to meet. Either of us could distrust the other, so what's the saving grace we need to make sure that nothing bad comes out of this?"

The mood in the room dipped. Percy knew Annabeth was running on caffeine and no sleep, but her analysis was brutal and on point.

"I liked it better when Percy was talking," Travis muttered, slouching in his chair. Katie elbowed him.

"You want a saving grace, Annabeth?" Bianca suddenly spoke up. "Nico has some more information about the Romans that he'd like to share."

Percy blinked and everyone was now waiting for Nico to explain. It didn't help that the thirteen-year-old was now slinking in the shadows. "Umm, I found a Roman demigod… in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. That's why we were late. We'd gone to Camp Jupiter to get Hazel in safely."

Drew dropped her curler. Nyssa recoiled in shock and Thalia choked, "I'm sorry, you what?!"

Percy had to sit down to hear this. Parenting this boy was a full-time job.

Rachel was starting to sweat. Harry tried to think of ways to settle her nerves. Just ten minutes to go until the session began, they couldn't afford to lose their confidence.

Tonks and Cedric sat beside the pair on the wooden benches outside the large doors. The Ministry hall was vacant, with a few office tables placed around, and empty trays with old memos still lying about.

To alleviate her fears, Tonks began to turn her arm into odd sock-puppet forms. Rachel was intrigued and stayed fully immersed in the wizard shapes that ballooned out of Tonks's hand.

The door leading from the Atrium swung open and Dumbledore and Kingsley walked in at a brisk pace. Tonks gave them a salute with her arm transfigured into a partial duck.

"Morning everyone," Kingsley said, shooting Rachel a soothing smile. "Our schedule is on track. Order members are stationed at all entrances and in the courtroom as well. Where’s Kettler?"

"He's in," Cedric answered, nodding towards the courtroom doors. "He's debriefing the Aurors on Rachel's security. We're not using Veritaserum and Umbridge isn't happy about that."

"You should've seen her face," Harry muttered, scowling. "She's under the impression that this is a criminal case."

Rachel gave a high-pitched laugh that sounded painful and forced. Dumbledore peered at her over his half-moon spectacles.

"Rachel, may I talk to you aside?"

She swallowed. "Sure. Do you have a paper bag?"

She went off to stand with Dumbledore while Cedric stood up to walk around the hall, making sure to have Rachel's six. Tonks nudged Harry's side.

"How're you feeling?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, breathing out loud. "A little nervous. But we'll be fine. I know it. Kettler has a solid plan, as long as we follow that to a T, we'll be out of here by lunchtime."

Tonks and Kingsley smiled encouragingly. Harry's shoulders went less stiff at the thought of not having to be alone for this. At least he'd have people at his back.

The doors opened and Kettler poked his head out, searching the empty hall before catching them.

"Kingsley! A word if you will?"

The Head Auror nodded and gave Harry a soft pat on the shoulder before walking into the courtroom. Harry exhaled listening to Tonks hum to herself, feeling unnerved. The silence built up to a careful white noise in the background.

A plate crashed onto the floor, shattering to pieces.

Harry and Tonks jumped up, spinning around with wands out pointing at the dark figure standing by one of the tables. The newcomer shrieked and jumped back in alarm.

"Who are you?" Tonks barked, stepping in front of Harry. He immediately checked the hall, searching for anyone else, but there was nobody.

"No one! I mean, my mum works on this floor but I couldn't find her!" the young girl cried, clutching a box to her chest and fumbling through her coat for a blue visitor's badge.

"Outsiders are not allowed here," Tonks said, firmly. "All employees on this floor are on a break until after lunch. We're busy here, please leave, miss."

The girl ducked, brown hair falling in front of her face. She was awfully familiar to Harry who took another moment to realise who it was.

"Vane?!" he snapped, lowering his wand. "What the hell, get out!"

Romilda Vane blinked up at him. She was annoyed now. "Hey, come on. I told you, my mum works here—"

"And I told you all employees are off the clock for now," Tonks replied, frowning.

Romilda glanced over to the large double doors of the courtroom and then back at Harry. "Nice outfit, Potter. Love the blush."

"Nice attitude," Harry remarked, "Did you get it from the orcs?"

Romilda wasn’t peeved or even shocked at the sight of him. Harry's stomach churned. He hated her presence. It was almost like she knew he'd be here.

Well, everyone knew the court session was today. The timings hadn't been officially released to the public, but that didn't stop anyone from prying. A small chunk of the Order had spent hours keeping traffic clear from the Ministry, preceding the session. So, how did Romilda get in?

Harry glared at the visitor's badge pinned to her scarf. It looked innocuous enough, but he also distrusted the box in her hands.

"Love potion is banned in the Ministry as well, Romilda," Harry said. "Didn't you get the memo?"

She sneered. "Ha, ha. This is my mum's lunch. She forgot to take it."

"And you obviously couldn't use the parcel. Tragic."

"Actually, I couldn't. Because a lot of the floo network in and out of the Ministry is closed today," she snapped back.

Tonks sighed impatiently. "Ms. Vane, you need to leave now before I have to escort you out."

"Fine!" Romilda huffed and turned on her heel. "It's not like this is a big building."

"Oh, go cry at a mirror!" Harry yelled.

She flipped him off and headed for the elevators. Tonks narrowed her eyes at Harry.

"What? You know what she did," he defended himself. Tonks didn't oppose him.

Harry's blood boiled whenever he was reminded of Vane. She'd outed him to everyone in the world when she blabbed to Rita Skeeter about his bisexuality. All because he'd made her the laughing stock after catching the love potion she'd tried to feed him.

And people went after him for breaking the law.

He tried to simmer down by the time Rachel and Dumbledore were back. They gave him a curious look and he shrugged it off.

"You’re nervous too," Rachel said. She brought her hand up and pulled Bolt out of her neck, the tiny wriggling puppy stretching and leaning towards him. Harry took her in his arms and let the small puffs calm him down.

"I'd turn into a tiger if you liked," Bolt murmured. "But that might scare a few people."

Rachel grinned. "You okay?"

Harry buried his fingers into Bolt's pelt. The puppy licked his face.

"Should I tell you the same thing I told Rachel?" Bolt asked, placing her paws on his shoulders. "No matter what happens in there, you'll be safe. I can get you both out if anything goes wrong."

Harry exhaled, long and slow. "I know. Yeah, that's–that's good. I know we'll be fine now. But what about later?"

He looked at them. "What if later, both of you become targets again?"

And Rachel, who'd always tried and failed at being brave when it came to Voldemort, leaned in and whispered in her regular accent, "It's a good thing I can't stay dead then. I'll come back and we can kick his ass together."

She said that just for him. She knew how much Harry would like to kick snake-face's arse. Harry couldn't stop the smile that filled his face.

The doors finally opened and Kingsley ushered them inside.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record," Mr. Lance Kerit asked. He was a thin and stern man in flowing black robes, representing the Ministry's reservations.

Rachel sat at the table on either side of Harry and Dumbledore, facing the tall desk of the judge. The courtroom was a remarkably large room with tall walls, the ceiling high above what she thought was necessary. The raised seats around the dim room were crowded with silent spectators, many of them clad in maroon robes, but she could hear whispers breeze through them. Their eyes were on her, ears perked up ready to catch the slightest sign of weakness.

Regrets abound.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," she said into the mic. "I do not have a job."

The man placed his hands behind his back, eyeing her with soft suspicion. "How old are you, Ms. Dare?"

"I turned sixteen this August."

"August?" he asked. Rachel felt Harry sit rigidly beside her. He was probably not even breathing. But they'd rehearsed this enough times.

"I celebrate my birthday on the first of August, Mr. Kerit."

"Why is that?"

She turned towards their attorney, Kettler, who gave her an encouraging nod. "I was found by a foster agency in Paris when I was fifteen months old. I had no papers and obviously could not tell anyone about my origins. The agency sent me to an orphanage where I stayed for five months before my parents adopted me. The doctor who examined me suggested that was born perhaps sometime at the end of July or the beginning of August, so we went with the latter."

The whispers grew louder. Rachel sat with her back straight, praying that she wasn't shaking. On one side, Harry was motionless, and on the other, Dumbledore sat, quite calm and collected. She tried to absorb the older man's energy.

"Your honour," Mr. Kerit addressed the judge, a pale woman named Amelia Bones. "Based on Mr. Kettler's introduction of Ms. Dare, previously named Rosalie Potter, and her own words, I would like to summarise the session with these facts. Almost exactly fifteen years ago, on the fateful night of the 31st of October, 1997, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named broke into the house of the Potters and, sadly, took the lives of Lily and James Potter. The official statement was that the only survivor was the youngest child, Harry Potter, who came to be known as the Bow-Who-Lived. We were told that firstborn, Rosalie Potter, did not survive the explosion of the house. We were told that three innocents perished that night.

"And yet, sitting here before us, is the alleged Ms. Rosalie Potter, herself. Mr. Kettler has elucidated on her discovery which was a mere coincidence it would seem. Apparently," Mr. Kerit's voice turned a little sour. "Mr. Potter ran into her in London, the previous year. Now, correct me if I am mistaken, Ms. Dare, but London is quite a big city, is it not?"

Rachel unclenched her jaw to answer. "Yes, Mr. Kerit."

"And you crossed paths with Mr. Potter. What made the two of you realise that there was more here than meets the eye?"

Harry sat forwards, ready to answer, but Rachel tapped her foot over his.

"Members of a family need not look like each other to be called a family," Rachel said easily. "But in our case, the Potters have very similar features. Harry and I met outside a bakery. I saw this boy with eyes like mine. As you can guess, I have always been told my green eyes are a little too green. Unique in fact. I was just curious about another soul having the same striking tone. Of course, his horrid hair ensured I didn't talk to him until we were actually leaving the bakery."

A few people grinned. Harry shot her a playful look and she shrugged, nerves relaxing. "The real reason I introduced myself to him is because he was wearing his flag bracelet."

Harry pulled back on the sleeve of his coat to flash around the simple, colourful yarn bracelet wrapped around his wrist. It was soft pink with stripes of blue and purple overlapping at equal intervals. Rachel raised her hand as well to show everyone the yellow yarn bracelet with pink and blue beads.

"Here was a boy with eyes as unique as mine and wearing out and proud bi colours," Rachel said, smiling a Mr. Kerit's pinched face. "As a fellow queer, I had to introduce myself."

He seemed to dawdle for a moment. "I see. And you came to the conclusion that were related after one conversation?"

"Oh, it was hardly an easy talk," Rachel lowered her arm. "Harry was closed off and obviously didn't like talking to strangers. A good attitude in a big city, but I like making friends, so I told him about a better bakery line down the street. We only spoke for a couple of minutes before he really began to stare at me with an odd expression. It didn't really bother me at first. The British can be peculiar. But he then asked me my full name and grew tense. I didn't feel any red flags around the situation. And my driver was just a few feet away, so I was good. We spoke for a bit more before he went pale. I thought he was sick so we said our goodbyes and left. I didn't really think much of it till a month later when he actually came to my house with his godfather, Sirius Black, and our cousin, DJ."

The people sitting around them were muttering again. Madam Bones was listening intently, her enchanted quill taking notes of the case.

Rachel paused for a bit to take a breath. "It was a slightly stilted conversation. My parents were obviously worried that Sirius would try to fight for custody, but we had it settled in a pinch. I am a squib. I have no magic and it is far safer for me to stay away from the UK in this climate."

A man in royal blue robes sitting on the right side of the judge frowned and tilted his head. Rachel recognised him for the papers. That was Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister for Magic. He was a more dynamic figure than the previous Minister, definitely someone to keep an eye on.

"Mr. Potter? When you first met this girl outside the bakery, how long did it take you to recognise her?"

Harry was suddenly as collected as she felt. "A few minutes. As Rachel just explained, I am not in the habit of making small talk with strangers. Her bracelet was interesting and it was nice to meet someone like me but I was in a hurry to get to Diagon Alley so aside from the very obvious red hair, nothing stood out. I think it's clear that my sister looks similar to our biological mother, Lily Potter.”

A couple of listeners chucked, sycophantically.

“But I don't connect the looks of any red-headed girl I meet to my mother,” Harry smiled, playing it up. “Rachel had a sunny disposition and at the end of the encounter, I was thoroughly distressed about the coincidence of running into someone who seemed quite like me, a little like DJ, and very much like Lily. As did everyone, I believed that my sister had passed away that unfortunate night. I was under no obligation to start imagining that she was incredibly back."

Mr. Kerit frowned. "But you showed up at her house with no invitation?"

Harry's head leaned down, now fixing the man with a stony stare. Dumbledore took over.

"If I may, Mr. Kerit," he said and everyone in the room immediately fell quiet. The silence nearly stunned Rachel. The Headmaster stood up patted the table and walked about to the centre of the room. He began to address the witches and wizards dressed in maroon robes.

"I have spoken to Mr. Black about this," Dumbledore said, not at all seeming phased. "He researched the Dare family on a hunch. If there was nothing to connect, we would have dropped the case and never thought of it again. But we found muggle headlines, and public news that clearly stated Rachel's adoption by the Dares. A few things stood out for us, such as the lost papers and how the floo system had been mismanaged so monumentally that instead of connecting to another safehouse, it led Rachel all the way to another country.”

Some of the jury eyed Rachel closely.

"We solved that problem quickly,” Dumbledore continued. “As the property was under the Fidilius charm, Lily and James could connect their hearth to only three other houses at the most. For maximum security, they chose only two connections: one to Sirius Black's house, and one to Jacob and Melody Potter's home. The second Potter residence was also attacked that night. The late Melody had sent her young son through the floo as well, right to Sirius's floo.”

Dumbledore paused for dramatic effort. Rachel heard Harry huff under his breath.

“Emergency floo travel laws were established in the 90s and this automatic transportation shut down Sirius's connection to safeguard his house from any attack. The hearth in both homes was now out of reach, but James had clearly brute-forced a new connection, trying to open a way to another house, far away enough to keep his daughter safe till someone knew to find her.

"Several things went wrong that horrifying night," the Headmaster said, his voice going low and sombre. "But of this I am certain. All four parents managed to save their infant children in dangerous ways. Rachel's blood has been tested against her brother. St. Mungo's had saved their records when it was transferred to the new hospital. The DNA results are inconclusive proof of their blood relation. When we realised that Rachel was alive and in a good place, Sirius Black made the decision to leave her be. But he would never keep his two charges separate from his family. I allowed Harry and DJ timely visits to Paris to simply reconnect with a friend who ought to have always been family.”

Murmurs echoed around the courtroom.

“Rachel's parents do not have knowledge of the magical world,” Dumbledore said, rounding things up. “And we plan to keep it that way until our situation turns better. But until then, we planned to cast specific untraceable charms over her person to keep Rachel out of harm's way when she did come to London. That is the source of the unrecorded magic you have detected."

Rachel blinked like she was the one who needed to take a breath after all that Dumbledore said. Harry cleared his face, lips quirking upwards for a sec.

Mr. Kerit was speechless for some reason. He turned to frown, not at the judge, but at the woman in bright pink robes sitting beside Madam Bones. She had an heavy, pinched expression. Rachel was trying not to gawk at the awkwardly placed feather in her hat that was the obvious opposite of any fashion statement necessary.

Kettler finally stood up and nodded to Dumbledore. "Thank you, Headmaster. Your Honour, this is not a criminal proceeding. The question asked to my client was the use of unrecorded magic in the presence of Mr. Potter. There have been speculations of non-human magic which, as I have added in my reply, is an outdated accusation that bears no discernable threat other than a bigoted hatred. Aside from the baseless allegations, there is no crime here. Mr. Potter did what he had to secure the safety of his sister. I ask you to now review the case and consult the jury."

Madam Bones sat back, her face remaining clear of animosity. Scrimgeour was also silent.

"I believe the jury may break for—" Madam Bones's statement was interrupted with a cough. Everyone faced the pinched face of the lady in pink robes who was smiling tightly at Rachel now.

"Here we go," Harry whispered.

"Madam Bones," The woman said, her voice ear achingly high. Her saccharine tone made Rachel want to gag.

"I have one query to ask of Ms. Dare," she said, smiling delicately. Rachel swallowed, trying not to clench her fists.

The judge narrowed her eyes. "Yes, of course, Madam Undersecretary."

The pink-robed lady stood up, patting down her outfit. She wore an awful mink coat around her shoulders like a shawl. Rachel couldn't stop staring at the tiny details she detested.

“Calm down!” Bolt yelled in her head. “That's Umbridge. She's a nightmare, but you'll do great, don't worry.”

Thanks for that! Rachel retorted, steeling herself.

The pink lady looked down her nose at Rachel, her beady eyes crinkling. "Ms. Dare. The knowledge of your life seems fascinating. We do love a wonderful, happy ending for the tragic tale that is the Potter family."

She spoke like Rachel was a child unable to understand the layers in her words.

"And I am ecstatic to hear that the meeting between Sirius Black and Mr. and Mrs. Dare was cordial. But tell me this, Ms. Dare. Where are your parents?"

Rachel felt her blood go cold. Sweat immediately gathered around her hairline and her skin felt clammy. She tried to give a thoughtful expression but couldn't say anything.

Harry stepped in, "Mr. and Mrs. Dare—"

"I posed the question to Ms. Dare, not you, sir," Umbridge chastised like she was slapping his wrist with a barbed wire.

She couldn't speak. Bolt tried to calm her, but thoughts and memories flooded her brain.

They're missing.

Mom's being possessed by Gaia. Dad's missing. Sandy and Genie are completely off-grid. No one knows where they are.

I'm alone. They left me.

Don't come back, Aunt Sandy had said.

Rachel pressed her nails on the polished surface of the table, feeling the soft wood give way beneath her invincible fingers. Physical objects couldn't hurt her. But the right words paralysed every cubic inch of her being.

"I haven't seen them in a while," Rachel said, her voice cracking a little. "Since they don't know that the wizarding world exists, the Order of the Phoenix decided that these summer months are the perfect time for all protective enchantments to be cast over our house, my school, their offices, and everything we come into regular contact with. It is possible when I return 'ome, it will be an even longer time before I can meet Harry here along with all the friends I have made.

“I have been made aware of the dangers in Britain and know how important it is to stay away so necessary measures can be taken to safeguard the people who cannot simply pick up their lives and leave. I make the choice to keep away from my parents for now so they stay safe."

Rachel now faced Umbridge and said, "Unlike a few others, I cannot make an unfeeling decision of staying away from a brother who is not like me. I made the decision to stay away from him for his safety and security. I love him and someday, hope to live together again. I hate having to choose between my family because I love them all but I must decide more for their sakes than my own."

Umbridge went sallow. Her smug smile dropped and for a moment she stared in stunned silence. A few people were puzzled at her sudden energy. But Rachel shot Umbridge a glowing smile daring a rebuttal. The pink lady hastily sat down and stayed quiet, occasionally directing glowering eyes towards Rachel who always made a point of meeting them head-on.

Everyone has secrets, pink lady, Rachel thought. And I think I've figured yours out.

Mr. Kerit cleared his throat, watching for non-verbal commands from Umbridge and Madam Bones before saying, "No further questions, Your Honour."

The jury members left through a side door for their private discussion and Harry lowered his head on the table and closed his eyes with a silent groan.

"I can almost feel your headache," Rachel whispered. "What's wrong?"

"She was trying Legilimency on you," Harry hissed under his breath.

Rachel froze. "She what?! Umbridge?"

"Shh!" Harry peered up and saw Dumbledore standing to the side, talking to one of the wizards in a tall blue hat behind them. Kettler was discussing something with Tonks and Cedric leaned forwards to ask Harry, "What's wrong?"

"My head's splitting," Harry swallowed. "Umbridge is trying to get into Rachel's head and I don't think Percy's slept well."

Cedric was confused, "What?"

Rachel took slow breaths. Did Umbridge really try to sneak into her head and read her thoughts? Oh gods, she hadn't even felt that.

"I need some air," Harry said, eyes screwed shut in discomfort.

Cedric followed Harry to the bathrooms and Rachel sat there, twiddling her thumbs. Bolt whispered, “Don't maintain eye contact. That's how Legilimency works.”

Damn her, Rachel thought, quickly focusing on the table and closing her eyes for good measure.

Harry washed his face thoroughly, letting the cool water soothe his throbbing temples.

Whatever Rachel had said at the end had clearly irked Umbridge enough for her to shut up and sit down, but it also made the woman incredibly bold enough to try and get into her head, with scores of witches and wizards sitting in the room, including Dumbledore.

The mirror in front of him showed that his make-up stayed on point. Thank goodness for that. Harry dabbed his face dry while Cedric checked the stalls.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think she got through—"

Cedric quickly waved a hand, pointing to the last stall which apparently wasn't empty. Harry cursed himself.

"We're nearly done," Cedric assured him, whispering fast enough for no eavesdropping to take place. "I'll let Albus know, he can add a shield to stop her."

There was a knock on the main door and Tonks called from outside, "The jury's nearly done. I think we're wrapping this up now. Is everything alright?"

Cedric went to talk to her and Harry dried his collar that had been soaked from his hasty splash of water, when the stall behind him silently opened.

Harry gawked at the reflection. Romilda Vane was waving at him through the mirror.

He spun around in disbelief. She immediately placed a finger on her lips and pointed to a paper file in his hand. It was an official notice and Harry hissed, "Did you steal that?"

"No! I duplicated it," she whispered back, eyes darting to the side to check for Cedric. "I need to talk to you for a moment!"

"Duplicating Ministry files is also a crime! By the way, this is the men's room!"

"Prove it!" Romilda snapped.

Harry threw his arms out, gesturing to himself.

She rolled her eyes. "Please, the sign outside is a silhouette of a person in trousers. And I'm wearing trousers!"

This was not helping the growing headache. Harry nearly growled. "Stay away from me, Vane."

"No!" she whispered, now urgently. "I need your help!"

"My help?! Fat chance."

"Keep your voice down," Romilda pleaded. "I don't want to get caught!"

Poor you. Harry gave her a close-lipped smile before calling out loudly, "Cedric!"

"It's about Rita Skeeter!" Romilda hissed, before closing the stall door, just as Cedric and Tonks ran back in, wands about, and dragging Harry behind them.

"What?" Tonks yelled, checking the ‘empty’ bathroom.

Harry, meanwhile, was completely stunned. Rita Skeeter? Why on earth was Vane asking him about Skeeter?

Skeeter had been missing for months. Harry had heard snippets from the Order about a case on her, but there had been no leads. Did Romilda know something more than them?

"Err," Harry said, thinking fast. "I'm hungry."

Tonks and Cedric stared at him.

"Yeah, so. I'll just be a moment, and we'll go back to the courtroom, wrap everything up, and head home, huh?" Harry blabbered, slipping through Cedric's arms and walking into the stall next to Romilda's. He shut the door and heard Tonks mutter something about waiting outside.

"I'm right by the door," Cedric said, moving towards the entrance of the bathroom. Harry carefully closed the lid of the commode and kneeled down to glare at Romilda through the gap below the stall walls. Cedric was too close for them to talk, but she was prepared with a piece of paper and a pencil. She scratched something on it and slid the paper to Harry.

Harry scowled. He grabbed the pencil and wrote back.

Romilda responded by pushing the file towards him. Harry moved back, carefully avoiding it. It could be a portkey. He didn't think she would know how to enchant one, but that didn't matter. He wasn't taking chances. Harry was already in a stall talking to someone he thought he'd never speak to.

Using his wand, he flipped through the pages. His eyes met the gruesome sight of a colour-frozen photo of a dark shape hanging on a rope, suspended from a tree.

Harry stared. The photo wasn't an original. The picture was blurred like someone had done a haphazard duplication spell on the real photograph. But Harry's mind made the jump when he could catch the shiny green skirt of the figure in the picture.

Rita Skeeter was hanging from a noose.

No, that couldn't be right. This had to be a fake.

Skeeter was dead?

Aside from the terrible photograph, he found papers with illegible writing. The first page had a scrawl on the top which Harry could decipher as Rita Louise Skeeter.

Was that her middle name? What was a lovely name like 'Louise' doing with a horrid title like 'Rita Skeeter'? Harry shoved the file back, glaring at Romilda. She was already scratching something on her paper to show it to him.

Harry wrote back.

He showed her the paper and she read the whole thing before glaring at him. Harry shrugged and added.

Romilda didn't reply. Harry burned the paper and the pencil to remove evidence, before pulling on the flush and leaving the stall.

.

Rachel eyed him curiously as he sat down. Harry's hair was less cool-messy and more rolled-out-of-bed-messy.

"Tell you later," he whispered before she could ask.

The courtroom was busy again. The jury filed in one by one, taking their seats. Umbridge was still glaring, trying to catch Rachel's eye.

"Do you think she could actually read my mind?" Rachel asked, worried. Harry shook his head. "Probably not. You're far too strong for the likes of her. But she tried hard enough I felt it, that's what I'm worried about."

One of the witches sitting on the jury bench handed Madam Bones a scroll. Mutters died down in the room and Rachel placed a hand at her side below the table which Harry grasped.

Scrimgeour sat back, a curious look on his face. But he hadn't uttered a word through the entire thing.

Madam Bones rolled the parchment sheet close and clasped her hands together. "In light of the information heard out today for civil case RLP-3010-2013/16, I declare the reason for secrecy on the Potter case as a valid cause for concern with overwhelming evidence for the motion. The jury has come to the unanimous conclusion to drop all charges against the clan in question. We welcome Ms. Rachel Elizabeth Dare to our community and hope that the precautions taken to safeguard her well-being are of high standards. Court adjourned."

The gavel came down with a bang and Rachel felt all the pressure vapourise from her body. She hadn't even realised how tense she'd been.

She'd done it! She was out. Rachel was not a secret to the witches and wizards anymore, everyone would know her now.

Rachel wrapped her arms around Harry and whispered, "Thanks."

She didn't have to say why exactly she was tanking him. For once, Harry didn't struggle against the embrace. He patted her arm and relaxed.

Chapter 17: A Jarring Episode

Chapter Text

November 3rd, 2013

A few days after the court session, Rachel was at camp while Harry was supposed to be reading up Bathilda Bagshot's NEWT grade Charms for a short test that Remus was set to give him in the evening. Best part about this homeschooling business was that they would switch around dates and times for lessons and activities based on other work.

Obviously, Harry was not preparing for the test.

The Order's new base was at the Longbottoms garden conservatory home, a seemingly innocent but well-protected place. Neville's grandmum had made a huge fuss about it but agreed grudgingly when her son and daughter-in-law assured her that nobody would touch her darling flutter-by bushes.

Neville let Harry in through the floo, both boys sneaking through the brightly lit hall. Augusta Longbottom had pride in her interior decor. The outlandish house was amazingly furnished with turn-of-the-century wall cuts, balcony designs, and curtains to match the furniture.

"You live here?" Harry asked, checking out the impressive house. Neville went shy. "Er, you know, only in the summers. Well, before Hogwarts closed down, this was where I always lived. But since Mum and Dad are back, I've been shuffling from their house to here. It's neat."

Harry smiled, thinking back to the shocking delivery of the news that Frank and Alice Longbottom had woken up from their torture-induced catatonia. Dionysus had really done it. Neville was much taller now, having shot up, not just in height but with underlying confidence. Harry liked this change. It was good to see him again.

The day was melting into a hot afternoon as Neville led Harry to the landing outside the large section of greenhouses.

Neville pointed to the second greenhouse. "That's the meeting room. From the outside, it just looks like an ordinary glass house with tall plants."

"Nice," Harry said. He pulled out a pair of Extendable Ears. "Care to join me, Nev?"

They wedged one end of the ear against the door hinge of the shielded greenhouse and moved away as far as they could.

"... movement of the giants, now that the werewolf factions are dissolved," Snape was saying, his low reedy voice already grating on Harry's nerves.

"Olympe is keeping an eye on 'em. She sends us reports on two of the groups," Hagrid's voice pitched in. Harry relaxed at the sound of his voice. It was good that the Cullens weren't at this meeting, since they were busy with something in Wales, but in case Harry and Neville did get caught, Hagrid might be able to barter them out.

"Madame Maxime's last report was four weeks ago," Dumbledore added. "And while it seemed promising, we cannot rely on the friction between the two groups to stop them from getting involved. Voldemort will clearly have other reasons for coming back."

Neville sucked in a breath. He turned to Harry and whispered, "He's back?! In the UK?"

"I didn't know," Harry swallowed. That wasn't good. None of Voldemort's movements were released to the public, but the latest news out there said he was still closer to Greece than Britain.

"The Cullens have sent missives across the continent," Arthur Weasley said. "The other covens are staying away from the Death Eater groups."

Several voices in the meeting sprung up.

"Good news, finally!"

"Oh, that's great!"

"Once people hear that none of the vampires, werewolves, or giants are involved, the registration act can be fought against!"

"Alice also said the centaurs in the forbidden forest have been rather quiet," Frank Longbottom said, referring to Alice Cullen. "Something had spooked them months ago, and now they've expanded their territory in the forest, covering more ground and placing them under strict lockdown. They won't let anyone through the area."

"So Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest are safe zones?" Tonks asked, surprised. The sleep in her voice seemed to vanish momentarily.

"The new shields will be put up in the next few days. Until then, we have a Mixun Barrier and alarm set around the entire grounds. Hagrid, you'll let us know if anything changes?"

"You can count on me!"

"Meeting adjourned."

Harry and Neville scrambled to yank the Extendable Ear away from the door before. The fake greenhouse shimmered slightly as the door opened but the boys were already out of sight. They ran back into the rooms, nearly flying into the hall before stopping there for a short respite.

"Phew!" Neville gasped. "You know? I only get into trouble or close calls when you're involved, Harry."

"Now, come on, Nev!" Harry panted, straightening up. "It's up to you to make your life more interesting! You can't always rely on others."

Neville threw the extendable ear at him, chuckling. "Better get going."

The Order rarely ever invited Harry to their top-secret get-togethers. Dumbledore would never allow Harry to get too close to all the information. It irked Harry to no limit. He had the right to know what was happening.

And while he got no details about Rita Skeeter, he now knew that Voldemort was back in Britain, biding his time for something.

"Let me know when the next meeting's happening," Harry said as a quick parting reply before flooing back to Frost.

Percy woke up in his cabin to someone banging on his door.

"Get your ass outta bed, Jackson!" Clarisse hollered. "Chiron's back!"

Percy threw off his covers, banged his knee against the lower bedpost, and crumpled onto the floor.

One of the few good things about living in a cabin alone was that no one got to see one of the Saviours of Olympus defeated by his own clumsiness.

He hopped around the cabin, washing his face and making himself presentable enough to march out into the yard, head high. His knee twinged a bit but the throbbing was forgotten when the early morning air hit him, as did the sight of nearly twenty campers huddled around Chiron's tall form near the dining section.

"Chiron!" Harley from the Hephaestus cabin asked, clinging onto his arm. "Did you see the wolf? Did she really talk to you?"

"Yes," Chiron grinned. "And it was a good talk. I haven't seen Lupa so surprised in all my life."

"What did she say?!" another little kid asked, shaking with excitement. "Did she agree? Can we see the Romans? Can we have a party? Will said we’d have a carnival!"

Percy shot Will a look. The boy turned red.

"I—I didn't say that! I just—"

"Chiron, what if you made her mad?" the youngest Huntress asked. The tiny girl was even smaller than little Natalie and had eyes that filled up her face. "Did she eat you, Chiron? Did you die?!"

Bianca placed a hand on the child's head while the others began to snicker. Chiron gave her a soft smile. "Lupa did not eat me, little one. We spent a few days on this, in fact. Deciding on the meeting of the camps is far more difficult than we would like. But she has agreed to talk to the Praetors of Camp Jupiter and the representatives of New Rome. We will receive her reply within a week's time. Malcolm, is Annabeth here?"

Percy turned, searching the crowd only to realise that his girlfriend was not even in the vicinity. Malcolm scratched his arm, nervous from all the attention.

"No… I spoke to her yesterday, she was supervising Lord Zeus's statues along Olympus's atrium. She didn't come back last night, so she's still there. With the statues."

Thalia groaned. "Oh, jeez."

"She slept over in Olympus?" Percy asked, stunned.

Malcolm shrugged. "She's been doing that a lot now."

Chiron sighed. "We need her to clear her schedule for a while when Lupa gets back to us. Olympus reconstruction can wait. This is more important."

"Try telling that to the gods," Drew Tanaka said. Everyone muttered, mostly in agreement. Percy rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance. Annabeth was working herself to the ground and the gods didn't seem to care that she was still mortal enough to require breaks and proper sleep times.

"Thalia," Chiron murmured, turning to her. "I have to tell you something."

"Sure?"

"In the Big House."

Thalia frowned but followed Chiron away from the mess hall. Percy watched them leave before turning to Malcolm. "What did Annabeth say last night?"

Malcolm raised his shoulders and dropped them. "Lady Aphrodite kept going back and forth on the colour schemes in balconies the entire day. She wants them all to 'match, yet be unique'. I mean, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought Annabeth would have finished everything with Zeus's side Olympus first?" Percy asked.

"She did. Then she started on Lady Hera's and we all remember what a nightmare that was."

Percy buried his face in his hands. "Please don't remind me."

Malcolm shuddered. "Sorry. After that, she took on Lady Athena's designs, which went fast because Mom had already drawn out what she wanted. Your dad was also quick with the pool and Ophiotaurus's quarters. Lord Hades took a bit longer because Annabeth had to start from scratch for him. And during all this, Zeus kept coming back asking her to make changes. And everything just went downhill when Lady Aphrodite gave absolutely no instructions to her and just said, do it how I like, dear."

Oh, Percy had been there for that conversation. He'd been able to stop Annabeth from committing homicide, thank goodness for that.

"We need Annabeth to take a break before the meeting. She has to be calm for it not—not fried at the ends," Percy said.

"Yeah," Malcolm stretched his hands above his head to yawn. "Say, aren't you doing the cabin checks today?"

"Oh, dam."

"Can you start after breakfast because I gotta clear up my—" Malcolm stopped abruptly and then said, "Gotta clear up Annabeth's extra blueprints. They're lying all over the cabin. Madness."

"Sure," Percy sighed, eyes following Thalia’s exit.

They always had a lot to do. But Percy had a strangling feeling that once the Romans got involved, it would get worse. Fun times.

Rachel's days had been split between attending classes at camp and training at Dumbledore's place. Sometimes, she'd drop into the Jacksons' apartment to wind down, or floo to Frost to rest on the lawn.

She wasn't allowed out for these four locations. The court session had been an exception and Rachel longed to get the chance to leave her confinement again.

Right now, she was throwing fists at a punching bag bigger than her. She, Bolt, Percy, and Harry were in Dumbledore's basem*nt which had been refurbished into a training hall. Rachel had spent some months building her endurance and stamina.

The bag was heavy but not to her. Every punch threw it off balance. Harry had to hold the thing in place if she had to administer repeated blows to it.

"So, Umbridge has a brother?" Harry muttered as she slammed her knuckles into the tough leather. Rachel tried not to smile, punching it at the level of her gut. She didn't like any of her fight training, but with small distractions like cool gossip, she didn't mind punching bags. It let her know that a lean thing like her didn't have to worry about anything big and tough like it.

"It was more of a guess, really," Rachel grunted. "But it played out."

"She wasn't expecting it," he replied. "I'll try to follow up. Tonks didn't know she had a brother. Apparently, other than Umbridge's father, she doesn't really talk about anyone else in her family."

"No chatter," Percy warned. He was on the climbing wall, practicing his grip. While there was no danger of real lava here, as in camp, this wall was nearly thirty feet tall, extending all the way to the ceiling of the training room.

Percy took Rachel's training as seriously as Harry did, but Rachel also tended to keep talking with the hope of the conversation gaining more traction than her exercise. The boys were quick to catch on when she wanted to distract them.

"I'm letting go," Harry warned her. Rachel stopped and the bag was slowly oscillating now. Harry stepped back and folded his arms.

"But I need you to hold it," she said, baffled.

He shook his head. "You know your strength. You have to punch it with the right energy now. Not too much, not too less."

Rachel craned her neck to get rid of the cricks. She rubbed the beads of sweat rolling off her forehead now, the worn fabric of the tape around her palms scratching her skin gratefully.

"Okay," she hummed and raised her fists, facing the poor bag. She threw her left fist at it and the structure holding up the bag creaked ominously.

She needed less power behind the punch.

Aiming at its center with another left hook also proved fruitless. The bag barely moved from her slow attempt.

Rachel frowned. "This isn't easy. There's a fine line between too much pressure and too little. You can't find a balance just like that!"

Harry raised his eyebrows and stepped forwards. He threw a short series of properly placed blows. The bag jerked around with each punch, moving exactly as the structure allowed it to.

Rachel rolled her shoulders. "That's still not fair. I'm way stronger than you. See?"

She held up her pinkie finger, blunt nail pointing up. Then she pressed the tip of the digit to the top of the punching bag, ripping a hole in the material. She dragged her finger down and the bag burst out with sand spilling from the long narrow tear she left behind. Now that was easy.

Harry scowled. "I know you can do that. You know it too! We all know you're strong! What you need to learn…"

Harry waved a hand, it summoned the minuscule grains on the floor to fly back into the punching bag, filling it up the way it was before the torn edges resealed itself. The bag was unhurt, the same as it was before.

"You need to learn how to use all that strength," Harry finished.

Rachel scowled. She folded her arms just as Percy said, "Self-control doesn't come easily, Rach. You gotta work on it."

"It's easy for Harry," she complained.

The mentioned wizard shook his head. He stepped back and kicked the punching bag twice before saying, "It wasn't at first. I had the bracelet for a long time, and so has Percy. We had years to understand what was happening, and we had a lot of help from people to practice and understand what we can do now. You got it recently, it's not even been a year."

"The bracelet doesn't settle you," Percy added, near the top of the wall now.

Harry agreed. "It's not meant to be smooth sailing. Rachel, you're pretty much the strongest person I know. In terms of literal strength, that is. You need to know exactly how to wield all that power, or it could get out of hand. We have to know what we're capable of and what we can improve."

Rachel wanted to be sympathetic to his words, but she'd heard it enough times that it was starting to irk her.

"If I'm the strongest person ever, why should I even learn to fight?"

Percy was surprised. "I know you don't like fighting. It's not a nice idea to be violent, I hate it too. But you promised to learn this stuff, Rach."

"I know! I promised because the two of you were freaking out!" she pushed back her bangs. "Look, blades can't cut me, fire won't burn me, I haven't gotten so much as a paper cut since… since the bracelet got attached to me. So, if nobody can hurt me, if nobody can really defeat me in a fight, what's the point of all this?"

Bolt raised her head from the padded floor. Her puppy was relaxing in a sunlit patch on the ground. She was curious too.

Harry was speechless, probably trying to come up with a way to refute her argument, but Percy was ready with an answer.

"Okay, then," he said, sitting on the top of the wall. "Let's put your theory to the test."

Harry and Rachel snapped their heads to him, "What?"

Percy shrugged. "She's got a point. She's stronger than both of us. She can probably handle Thalia's lightning bolts, maybe even Clarisse's wrestling—"

Harry gave a disbelieving laugh.

"Might even be able to hold her own against Annabeth," Percy finished, eyeing Rachel calmly.

Uh oh. Percy was the last person who would ever make light of Annabeth's skills. Rachel felt like she'd walked into a trap.

Percy beckoned them to the rock-climbing wall. She and Harry climbed up to the halfway point where a ten by ten foot flat platform rested, fifteen feet above the floor. It was padded like the rest of the training hall. But that didn't make her any less concerned.

She stared at the set-up in trepidation. Percy landed beside them, all three standing on the raised platform and facing a large gap ahead. On the other side was another platform at their height. While the gap was daunting, the thing that proved most worrisome was a thin, silver bar that ran from the edge of their platform all the way to the other side.

"Not saying that your self-control isn't good," Percy said, interrupting her examination. "Harry and I just think you’d benefit from proper training. But since you're more confident than us that your strength can get you out of any problem, let's check it out."

Rachel flicked her head to hide her worry. "What's the task?"

Harry peered down the gap while Percy answered, "All you have to do is reach the other platform."

Rachel squinted at the landing, twenty feet away from them. "The other… you want me to what? Walk on the bar?"

"That'd be a sight," Harry muttered. Percy grinned. "No rules, Rachel. Just reach the other side."

The bar was flat enough on the top that she could maybe place her bare feet to walk on it. But the height was daunting. What if she lost balance? What if the bar broke? What if she somehow got stuck in the middle and panicked?

"Time's a-wasting," Harry said, poking her arm. She swatted his hand away and complained to her Familiar, "Bolt! Look what they're making me do!"

Bolt's eyes were half-lidded, stretched out relaxed, not seeming bothered by Rachel's growing worry. "You'll do fine, Rach," Bolt answered, her tail flicking. "Ignore the giggling."

"What if I fall?"

"Then we'll have the biggest dent yet," Percy chirped. "You'll be fine. If you do fall, Harry will catch you."

"I will?" Harry asked.

Rachel glared at him and he backtracked. "Okay! I'll catch you, don't worry. Besides, you said it yourself, nothing's going to hurt you. So, get going already!"

She clenched her taped fists. Removing her shoes and socks to get a feel of the ground, Rachel stepped forwards to the bar.

It'll be okay, she thought, scouting the suddenly dizzying height. I can walk on a narrow bar. Just don't think about how high up we are. If I fall, Bolt will catch me or Harry will put a cushioning charm thing. I won't hit the ground. I won't get hurt.

She cursed herself for running her mouth. The bar began to wobble with her weight as she stepped onto it. Rachel sucked in a breath and held her arms out to balance herself. She placed her other foot ahead of the first one. Her ears rang.

Don't look down, don't look down.

Unfortunately, she had to look down to see where to place her next step.

The ground seemed so far away. If she fell, she'd surely break something—

"You're fine, Rach. Keep going," one of them said. Rachel wasn't even sure who said it. The noise in her ears was loud. Her legs trembled, the underside of her feet hot and sweaty. She had the urge to tuck her arms into her chest, curl into a foetal position, and brace for anything.

She tilted.

"Rachel!"

She slipped, nearly banged her head on the bar, and fell. She tried to catch the bar but missed completely, falling to the floor.

In an instant, Bolt was there, like she always was, catching her in mid-air. Of course, the cushioning charm also appeared. Rachel and Bolt landed safely on the ground and she wrapped her limbs around her tiger, never planning to let go.

"Are you hurt?!" Harry yelled from the platform.

Rachel had to pant to get her bearings back. Bolt purred, letting her relax against the soothing vibrations.

"She's fine," Bolt replied.

"Good!" Percy called, throwing up a thumbs-up. "What was it you were saying about superior strength?"

Harry guffawed. Rachel sighed, "Well, I didn't get hurt. That's the point."

"The point was to get to the other platform," Harry helpfully reminded her. "Your strength kept you safe, but you didn't achieve what you set out to do."

"Then," Rachel struggled briefly. "I'll have to try again."

Percy nodded. "Good idea. Get up here."

She wanted to throw something at his head. "Why don't you cross the bar?!"

Both boys shared a glance before shrugging. Harry went first. Rachel watched gobsmacked when he stepped out on the bar, without a hint of fear. He was barefoot as well, crossing the gap like he wasn't so high up in the air. He was a gymnast, walking how he did normally, making sure to place every step at a level distance, never missing a beat or tilting too much.

He reached the other side in seconds.

Rachel huffed and turned her nose up at him. "Show off."

Harry stretched his arms above his head, not bothered in the least. "I can stand on my broom and fly circles around you. This is nothing."

"And you're not afraid of heights, either! That's not fair!"

Percy blinked. "Are you scared of heights?"

Rachel stammered. "Um, no! Like, not really scared of heights. More like scared of falling."

Harry pointed a lazy finger at the bar. "But you seemed afraid before you even stepped out onto the bar."

"Well, duh! I don't do gymnastics," Rachel pouted. "Percy's afraid of heights!"

"True," he muttered. "But it shouldn't stop me from getting where I need to go."

Rachel waved a hand at the gap, silently encouraging him to take his turn. Percy raised his shoulders and rotated them, giving himself a short warm-up. He didn't even remove his shoes.

Instead, he knelt and swiftly caught the bar with both hands, swinging his entire body down. Rachel jerked back, as though expecting him to fall, but Percy instead began to cross the gap like one would use the monkey bars, except this was just one long bar.

That's cheating!" Rachel complained. Harry raised his eyebrows at her just as Percy reached his platform. With an easy swing, he was sitting up on the other side, pushing off the bar.

"The goal is to reach the other side," Percy reminded her. "Now, use your brain along with muscles and try it again."

Bolt licked her face to calm her down. Rachel exhaled, nodding. She stood up and climbed up the rock-climbing wall to reach the platform. From there, she eyed the bar again.

No rules. Just reach the other side.

It would be easier to use her hands than her feet. Percy had gone the practical route and Rachel was inclined to follow him, but why bother with the bar at all? Why couldn't she just… reach the other side?

Rachel had magical powers now. She was strong. She withstood an all-out knuckle sandwich from Harry and braced her feet when Percy tried to knock her off balance just this morning. And she'd learned to do that with only a few months of training, whereas they'd been practicing for years.

She was stronger than them. She should be able to cross the gap without even needing the bar.

Huh.

Rachel turned her neck to loosen her joints. She shook her arms and feet, trying to get her muscles pumping. Harry and Percy waited on the other side and she would be joining them to enjoy the stunned looks on their faces.

Backing up all the way to the wall behind, Rachel made a running start.

Several thoughts invaded her mind, but she tried to push them all away. Bolt was saying that she was building up too much potential energy in her knees.

Harry and Percy's eyes widened as they scrambled to move away from the center of the platform.

Rachel reached the edge and leaped.

Bolt was right. Too much energy.

The world fell back and she catapulted high enough for her shriek to echo all through the gym. Rachel barely missed the ceiling. She flew fast, descending not onto the other side, but hitting the padded wall above their heads. Harry's last-minute cushioning charm sent her ricocheting backwards.

Long story short, Rachel ended up pinging across the platform gaps like a basketball, before slamming into the ground. The mat caved right in, breaking the tiles below and forming a nice little depression between the raised platforms.

On the bright side, she did manage to finish the task they had set, with no injuries to herself.

The downside was that Dumbledore had to reinforce the training hall again with a better layer of crash mats. She had to threaten Harry and Percy to not tell anyone about her abysmal landing. Rachel would end up the laughing stock of camp.

To wind down, they showered and went back to Percy's apartment. The little house was brightly lit with the morning sun, but the ambiance of the place was shattered by the heart-wrenching cries of little Kimmy.

Rachel had barely blinked before Percy and Harry disappeared to the kitchen from where the three-month-old's cries came. What she saw was bright pink hair peeking out from the couch.

Tonks snored lightly, dead to the world. Not even the loud cries of a baby seemed to jar her awake.

Rachel’s stomach rumbled and headed to the kitchen only when the baby seemed to quieten down.

Harry was bouncing a red-faced Kimmy in his arms. One of his palms cupped her jaw, letting out a light green glow to distract the baby. Percy was checking the temperature of her milk bottle on the inside of his arm, while Nico had placed his head on the table, thoroughly tuckered.

"Shelf behind you," Harry quickly asked Rachel, who opened the small door and found a translucent box of oddly named supplies.

"Get the tooth-numbing agent," he said. "It should be a little yellow bottle."

"Baby's first tooth," Percy muttered with a smile, trying to cool the milk in the bottle. Nico let out a grunt, not even bothering to raise his head off the table.

"Squeeze out a dollop of it on her gums and massage it," Harry explained.

Rachel squinted, nervous. "You want me to touch the inside of her mouth?"

Percy laughed. "It's medicine, Rachel. She's not gonna bite you."

"She doesn't know it's medicine!" Rachel complained, trying not to imagine the baby drooling over her. Kimmy was cute and all, but slobber was a no-no in Rachel's book.

Harry just blinked. "You're afraid of Kimmy? What was it you were saying about super strength just an hour ago?"

Percy plucked the little bottle from Rachel's outstretched hand and opened the cap.

"Hi, baby!" he chirped to Kimmy to gain her attention. The baby's eyes perked up comically, shifting from the light magic that had entranced her to the smiling face of her brother. She grinned, wide and open-mouthed. Rachel immediately spied the white shape of a tiny tooth beneath swollen red gum.

Percy squeezed out a large drop of the thick gel, coating her painful gum liberally. Kimmy's face changed expressions, now remarkably confused by the new taste that was very clearly not the milk she was used to. Both boys cooed when she relaxed enough for Harry to stop drawing her pain away.

"Thank the gods," Nico said miserably while Kimmy giggled. "She's been screaming for twenty minutes, I swear. I thought she was just hungry."

Harry frowned. "Where's Sally?"

"At work. She'll be back by lunch."

"She left you alone?"

Nico glared, offended. "I can take care of her! I just didn't know she was teething! She was all fine this morning, but then she woke up from her nap and began to screech like my father was in the room."

Percy snorted, taking Kimmy into her arms. Harry still wasn't happy with the explanation. Then again, Rachel had noticed that he'd been a little distant from Sally ever since her big reveal that she hosted the Patron's spirit, being a little more snarky with her when they did speak.

Harry wasn't really one to hold a grudge, but he'd taken her revelation harder than Percy had.

"She was a little fussy in the morning," Percy added, blowing a raspberry into her belly. Kimmy shrieked in joy, kicking happily.

"And Sally didn't leave him alone with the baby," Rachel added for Harry's benefit. "Tonks is here too."

Nico sighed. "She's been out cold since she collapsed on the sofa. Kimmy couldn't even wake her up with the screams."

Harry did a double take. "Tonks is here?"

"Yeah, like I said, she's on the sofa—"

Harry rushed out of the kitchen while Percy still made weird noises, tickling Kimmy's belly. "Is someone hungry? Is it lunchtime? Oh my gosh, it is?! Where's your bottle, Kimmy girl? Help me find it."

Rachel smiled at the sweet scene. Everything seemed normal and it should have been a normal day but one second, she was in the Jacksons' kitchen, in the next...

… she was on Olympus.

What the—

Rachel stumbled back, her feet still on solid ground, but everything had changed from the mortal kitchen to the immortal throne room on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. She spun around, out of touch with reality.

"Bolt?" she called, because something was happening, probably a vision, and the only one who grounded her was her little Familiar.

"I'm here," Bolt called from afar. Rachel didn’t find her puppy so she held onto the voice.

"You're okay," Bolt said, still soothing. "This is normal. You're fine."

Normal? Of course, it was normal. Rachel had to get used to the visions or it would never be easy for her.

She stood facing the twelve gigantic thrones. Each was built to withstand their deity's strength. Each was the literal seat of that god's power.

Rachel didn't know why it took her several moments to realize that the giant hall was empty except for her, that the throne in the middle, Zeus's seat, was crackling, lightning sparks firing away in different directions, that something sat on his throne, something that mostly definitely was not Zeus.

She stepped forward, blanching.

Pandora's pithos was placed on Zeus's throne like it belonged there. Obviously, the god wasn't happy about it, but he couldn't risk damaging the jar. Instead, the lightning strikes that emerged from the throne hit the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Do you see that?" Rachel whispered. Bolt didn't say anything, probably stunned by the sight of the jar.

The hall began to shake. Rachel froze, peering up at the tall thrones, realizing that the tremours reverberated from the central throne. But she wasn’t sure if it was the seat itself or the jar.

The lightning bolts began to increase in power. Rachel was wide-eyed, staring at several of the bolts slammed into an immense throne made of dark metal, radiating red energy. This throne was responding badly, making the room shudder.

She counted, trying to figure out to whom the black throne belonged. Ares? Hades?

Then, she saw Zeus's throne let out a blinding lightning bolt which hit the black throne and bounced off the red shield. It ricocheted back, grazing the ancient jar sitting on the blue and gold seat. The side of the jar, right below one of its side handles developed a crack coated with black ash. Rachel's heart stopped as she watched Pandora's pithos teeter to the edge from the shock of it. She surged forwards, arms outstretched to catch the cursed jar, but missed. The jar fell to the floor and shattered.

She nearly fell forwards but Percy and Nico caught her.