When Two Combine

8/13/2019 When Two Combine

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The stars in the sky above Little Hangleton were bright that night as he walkedup to the old house and slipped in the door that had been left unlocked for hispurpose. The Dark Lord awaited him, so he stepped quickly up the stairs, turned,and walked into the room to face the back of an obviously old-fashionedarmchair. “You‟re late,” a high, cold voice said.

He smirked, covering quickly the shivers running down his spine. “I wasdetained. There was… difficulty, with the locals. It was taken care of.” He hearda door open on the other side of the room. “My lord, Nagini has been…” Thespeaker paused when he saw the man. “Who are- and who might you be?” Henoticed the man had a rat-like face, small watery eyes, and a subservient,cowardly attitude. “Oh, that‟s right, I don‟t think you two have had the pleasureof meeting. Wormtail, meet Mr. Jacobs, he‟ll be our contact with the CrookedOne until he‟s able to meet with us himself. Mr. Jacobs, this is Wormtail, one of

my less,” There was a slight, uncomfortable pause. “Devoted servants, but a veryhelpful one at the moment.”

Riley Jacobs, son of Apollo, nodded his head, and got a fearful shake of the headin return from Wormtail. “How are our friends in America doing, Mr. Jacobs?”Riley turned his glance back to Voldemort. “Well, the Crooked One isregenerating, bit by bit, after that last war. It‟s taken him a while, but at last he„sfound a way to make a body of his own, but that will mean he can never assumehis true Titan form. He„s decided to risk it.”

Voldemort cocked his head thoughtfully, then spoke. “It‟s a pity that, to returnto a true life, he must sacrifice a part of himself. How long will this processtake?” Riley smiled. “He believes by two years from now, and it‟s starting to looklike about then.”

Voldemort nodded. “And your purpose at this meeting today?” Riley jumped,glaring at Wormtail, who had dropped something with a loud crash. “The Camphas a new quest leaving tomorrow, August the 30th. They‟re going toHogwarts. We just got the news this morning from our spy in their midst.That‟s the second one,” he said with amusement, “They really need better

security. We know the prophecy, who‟s going, all the details. What Kronos wasthinking was that you might want to plan together, after all, with this new news,your interests are, in fact, aligned.”

Voldemort looked thoughtfully at the night sky out of the window. “I mustspeak with your master directly soon. I trust this will be possible?” Rileyconfirmed, “Yes. I assume you would like to hear these details?” Voldemort said,



“Yes, yes I would. Harry Potter has become a wondrous annoyance. I cannot tellyou how pleasurable it will be to finally kill him.” Riley watched and listened tothe Dark Lord‟s plans as he and Wormtail talked. Then he heard Voldemortstart to talk in what he recognized as a language e, but couldn‟t understand.“Nagini has interesting news, my friends.”

Riley looked up with interest. He can talk to snakes… Useful. “Yes?” Voldemortlaughed a small, cruel laugh. “Indeed, yes. According to Nagini, there is an oldmuggle standing outside this room, listening to every word we say.” Riley raisedhis eyebrows. Wormtail went to the door and flung it open. “Move aside,Wormtail, so I can give our guest a proper greeting!”

Riley saw an old man standing in the doorway before he heard, “AvadaKedavra!” from the cold voice and saw a green flash of light strike the mortal

dead. “It‟s very effective, Mr. Jacobs. Leaves no trace to be found by the Muggle,or as you would say, “mortal,” doctors.” Riley nodded in approval and movedback to his chair to listen, while two hundred miles away, a boy called HarryPotter woke with a start.

On the other side of the Atlantic, two years earlier… Camp Half-Blood

(Day before the Labyrinth)

“Percy! PERCY! Percy Jackson, wake up!” It certainly wasn‟t the nicest way towake someone up in the morning, but hey, she had no other choice. And Percy



respected that, it‟s just that it was two o‟clock in the morning. Annabeth wastrying to wake him up, and as a fourteen year old boy he really didn‟t appreciatethat. “Perseus Jackson, I swear to the gods if you don‟t get up right now, myknife is going to end up impaled in your arm!”

Not the most appealing place to have a knife… Wait, who am I kidding? Is ther e any place that it would be good to be stabbed? “I‟m coming, coming. You‟re loud,” hemurmured, getting up and stretching. “Seriously, Percy, there‟s a half -bloodthat‟s going to DIE if we don‟t go right now!” That got him moving. Percy wasdressed, armed, and out the door looking ready for battle with the Minotaur intwenty seconds f lat. “Finally. Now, come on!”

Percy chased Annabeth‟s golden blond braid to the Camp‟s border. “Okay, fill mein, Annabeth, who‟s gonna die?” Annabeth had to talk while sprinting, which, if

you don‟t know, isn‟t very easy. “Her name‟s Ellie, and she‟s a daughter ofKhione!” Percy gave her a confused look. “Who?” Annabeth sighed inexasperation.

“The goddess of winter, Seaweed Brain! Ellie came here when she was six withher twin sister; she‟s a few months older than me. She decided to go back to livewith her dad, who lived in Washington, when she was ten. Two years ago, whenshe and her sister were twelve, and her younger brother was ten, a hydraattacked and killed her sister and her dad. She‟s been on the run with her brotherever since trying to get here, and just found a satyr a week ago, who brought her

here! She told the satyr to come get me.” Percy looked confused.

“Wait, if she knew where the camp was, why did it take two years?” Annabethgave him a “duh” look as they arrived at Thalia‟s Pine. “Because she was comingfrom Seattle, Seaweed Brain, and she was twelve! She may be powerful, but thattakes a while when your only weapon is a sword, you have to protect your ten-year-old brother, and you just lost your dad and twin sister! They did stay withher aunt for a while, though, in Nebraska. Her aunt tried to take care of her.” Shegestured.

“There she is! Come on!” Percy turned to look, and jumped a foot in the airbefore running after her. What he saw that was somewhat normal was a girl hisage, dressed in jeans and a jacket, fighting three gigantic hellhounds. Whatwasn‟t normal was that she was fighting them by conjuring ice over themonsters‟ heads and pummeling them until Annabeth got there, throwing her abow and magical quiver. “Thanks, Annabeth,” he heard the girl say. And then,the fight began.



He and Annabeth charged one together, with Ellie behind, firing arrows, and allthe while the giant monsters were pelted with hail the size of Percy. It didn‟tseem to bother the semi-sized hellhounds. Annabeth killed one by using herinvisibility cap and Percy and Ellie had killed one by working together, whichleft the biggest one that too large for one of them to kill by themselves.

Annabeth yelled, “Percy charges from the left, I charge from the right, we turn itaround and Ellie, you get an arrow in this thing‟s mouth!” He heard a shout ofconfirmation from Ellie and he charged. Annabeth ran at the hellhound at thesame time, and they turned it around by cutting its feet, mouth, and faceanywhere their sword/knife could reach. When it reached Ellie, she pulled thebow back and a Celestial Bronze arrow flew into the mouth of the beast, whichexploded into thick gray dust.

Breathing hard, Annabeth said, “Let‟s get you inside the borders bef ore anythingelse comes along to attack at two in the morning, shall we?” Ellie noddedvigorously, and for the first time Percy noticed that her eyes had white flecks inthem. Not pale blue, but white. He also noticed streaks of white in the front sidesof her long, curly black hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, coming outafter the battle. As he watched, he saw the white in her eyes fade, leaving them apenetrating navy blue: a far cry from Thalia‟s sky eyes.

“Cool trick with the eyes. Ellie, right?” She nodded, blinking. “Are they still

white? Usually they go away by now.” He looked at her questioningly, and shelaughed. “Annabeth, didn‟t you tell him who I am? And by the way, I‟m stillexpecting an introduction.” Annabeth turned around and made sure Ellie wasinside the border before she began. “Yes, sorry about the introductions, I‟mtired. Eleanor-” Ellie interrupted. “Ellie, Annabeth, just Ellie.”

Annabeth smirked, then continued. “-Rose Black, who prefers to be known asEllie. She‟s a daughter of Khione, and the reason her eyes did that is because sheused a lot of power. Ellie, meet Perseus-” Percy glared. “Percy!” Annabeth smiledagain. “Jackson, who prefers to be known as Percy. I‟ll tell you who his dad is in

a bit. He‟s a hero, albeit an annoying one.” She smiled fondly at her friend, whocame over to stand beside her. “And her friend, funnily enough. I don‟t knowhow I put up with her sometimes. Annabeth said you had a brother?” Ellielooked back over her shoulder. “Yeah! I told him to hide on this side of theborder. Theo! Theo, where are you?” “Theo” walked out from behind a boulder,where he wouldn‟t have been able to see the fight. He was a pretty regular-



I own nothing, warning for bad language.

Chapter One: The Prophecy of EightPresent Day

(Two years later)

“Holy Poseidon! Watch it, Ellie!” Percy yelled. “You almost impaled me!” Ellielaughed and kept running after Percy, who was about to win his side the game.“You‟re invulnerable, Fish Face! It would have just bounced off!” He chuckled,ducking to avoid taking his head off on a tree branch. “Not if you‟d hit the wrongplace. Then I would die, and it would be your fault.” Ellie smirked. “And then myside would win!” Instantly, she was drenched in cool creek water.



When she looked up, Percy was across the creek, and a huge cheer was going upfrom the blue team. Percy smirked, “I win, Ice Queen.” Annabeth was suddenlyupon him, hugging him. “Your plan worked perfectly, Wise Girl. Nice job…Again.” Annabeth smiled. “Why thank you, my Seaweed Brain. Now, come on,both of you.” She sent a glance up at Ellie while getting to her feet. Ellie wastaking off her armor, and gently set her beloved bow down beside the stream.

She was still soaked, so she froze the water on the surface of her skin and in herclothes. When it was ice, she broke it off of her, dropping it into the creek.Today, Ellie was wearing, as usual, her dark blue skinny jeans, black converseboots, and gray dyed Camp shirt, with her black hair braided down her back.The white streaks were braided in on either side. Annabeth was wearing thesame except for the boots, replaced with regular sneakers, her ball cap in herhand, and her hair in a ponytail. Her shirt was the regular orange. Percy, whoshe was just helping up, had on jeans, sneakers, and a blue Camp shirt. “Whereare we going?” asked Percy as they walked side by side.

“Yeah, Annabeth, you just won and we‟re gonna leave?” said Ellie from the otherside. Annabeth sighed. “Chiron wants us at the Big House immediately.Something about Rachel saying that a prophecy was going to come? We‟resupposed to bring the head counselors with us as well. I saw Connor and Travis,so where the hell- there they are! Connor! Travis!” Momentarily the twins werestanding, to attention no less, in front of the daughter of Athena. “Yes, you-” saidConnor. “-wanted us?” finished Travis. “Yeah, we‟re supposed to gather the head

counselors and bring them to the Big House. The head counselor of every cabin,mind you. We‟ll grab female, you grab male?”

They nodded. “We got it!” said Travis. “Yeah, Annabeth, you can count on us!”And then they were gone. “Yeah, I know I can‟t. Knowing those two, they‟ll allshow up ready for either a party or a war. Come on, you two. We‟ve gotta getthe girls.” As they started walking, Ellie said, “You know, I understand that I‟mthe oldest one in my cabin, and that technically I‟ve been here the longest, but Ireally don‟t understand how I got made head counselor. I mean, I was here forfour years when I was six, then went home to my dad for two more. Then, I

spend two years after that running, then I‟ve been here for another two years.That gives me a total of six. How long have you been here, Annabeth? Like,nine?”

Annabeth nodded. “It‟s not always about how old you are or how long you‟vebeen here, though those are important too. It‟s how much experience you have.When you came here before, and even now, you‟re a year-rounder. That gives



you six full years, plus two that you were on your own, with another half-bloodto protect no less. That gives you more experience with monsters and fightingthan a lot of the half-bloods here. That‟s why you‟re head counselor. Becauseyou‟re a fighter.”

Ellie nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks for the input, Annabeth. I see now. Hey,there‟s Miranda! Miranda !” Miranda Gardener, head counselor for Demeter,turned. “Hey, Annabeth, Ellie, Percy. What‟s up?” Annabeth stepped forward.“Chiron‟s called a meeting for head counselors, minor and major. He wants us atthe Big House ASAP.” Miranda‟s eyes widened. “That‟s a lot of people,Annabeth. Fun.” Ellie rolled her eyes, and Miranda smiled. “I‟ll head up therenow. See you at the meeting!”

She started heading up the hill. The three kept walking. In the next ten minutes,

they found Drew from the Aphrodite cabin, Nyssa from Hephaestus, Jessica fromNemesis, Lou Ellen from Hecate, and everyone else they needed rather quickly.

After the gods had decided to claim all their children and give the minor gods aplace at camp, the Big House basement had become too small to be used for themeetings. There had turned out to be many unclaimed minor and major gods‟children, from a fair few gods.

There were ten of Hecate‟s children, and Ellie had four half -siblings, along withher brother Theo. There were six of the late Ethan Nakamura‟s siblings, thirteen

of Hebe‟s children, and twelve from Hypnos. Nyx, the ancient primordialgoddess, had eight, and Morpheus had seven. Even Hestia had a pair of twingirls, Khala and Khara, and a son named Jack. And of course Hades got a spot, soNico Di Angelo got his own place even though he wasn‟t there often. Therewere enough counselors from all the cabins that they had to use the sitting roomof the Big House for meetings.

When Annabeth, Ellie, and Percy finally made it up to the Big House, themeeting was just getting ready to start. They took their seats, Annabeth andEllie at the head on the girls‟ side, Percy at the very head of the boys‟ side, being

the camp leader.

“Wonderful, everyone is here! We can start,” they heard Chiron‟s voice from theother side of the room as the centaur came in, bringing Rachel, who looked a bitunsteady on her feet, with him. “Rachel, the prophecy.” Rachel let out a sigh shelooked like she‟d been holding for a while. “Okay, here goes.” She closed her eyesand took a deep breath. Green smoke poured from her eyes, ears, and mouth and



she spoke in the strange triple-voice of the Oracle. “Listen well, heroes. The nextGreat Prophecy has come .” Everyone looked around uneasily, and even Chironshifted on his feet, but looked ready to listen. Percy looked at Annabeth with aface that obviously said, “Here we go again.” Everyone looked back at Rachel,who opened her mouth to speak once more.

The prophecy came from her almost reluctantly, as if even the Oracle of Delphihad some reservations about the information it contained. The Oracle spokethrough Rachel, bringing the Great Prophecy.

Eight shall go to Hecate‟s Land, Time for revealing is now at hand.The Chosen One shall they protect,Their secret shall three friends detect.

Eldest demigods take a deadly test,Selfless child of winter‟s guilt to rest. A single choice in a desperate race,If life or death the world shall face.

And then everything was silent. Rachel fainted and was carried off by somenymphs who served as her attendants. Annabeth and Ellie looked at each otherin confusion. Nico, who had been sitting quietly in his seat in the back, looked atPercy with apprehension. “Eldest gods again ? Really?” Percy‟s statement wasmet with a breaking of the tension; everyone laughed at his comical statement.

“Yes, apparently so,” murmured Chiron. “Though this time, as it says,“demigods,” it seems it will be all three of you.” Three heads looked down, deepin thought. “Do we have a theory as to its meaning from Athena yet, Annabeth?If not, I have a few theories myself,” said Ellie, nervously swallowing.

Annabeth, who had been in a sort of trance until then, started and nodded.“Yeah, I think I might know a few. I know who should go, anyway.” Chironlooked at her curiously. “What do you think, Annabeth?” Annabeth noddedagain, looking down. “Yes, yes. From „children of the eldest gods,‟ we know thatNico and Percy at least should go, and I got a message from Thalia last night

saying that Artemis got a message from Apollo that they needed to come hereagain, as we needed her. Also, Ellie. „Child of winter,‟ most likely refers to her.So, those four at least, and I volunteer myself .”

There was a silence for a few moments, and Annabeth said, “Also, the first linemeans that eight people have to go somewhere… I think it‟s a land blessed byHecate.” Ellie noticed Chiron swallow nervously. “And the second… We have to



know something secret before we go. I‟m guessing there‟s some sort of „Chosen‟hero there that we have to guard or the world will fall, and then „their secretsshall three friends detect…‟” She looked fearfully at Chiron. “I think that meansthree of them will discover our secret, as in being demigods.” Chiron nodded, afrown on his face. “Indeed. I believe I know what „Hecate‟s Land‟ refers to, but…our worlds have been enemies for a very long time.”

Everyone looked at Chiron again. “What do you mean, Chiron?” Percy‟s face wasquite confused. Chiron looked as if he had aged a thousand years in a second. Hisvoice was very hesitant when he began his tale. “Three thousand years ago,when humans had been created, when Nyx had her vampires, Hecate, thegoddess of magic, wanted to have her own race.

She wanted to have a people that she could call hers. So, she created what areknown today as witches and wizards from select humans. Hard to believe, Iknow, but they exist… They survive even today, all over the world. But we‟regetting ahead of ourselves. Long, long ago, the demigods and wizardkind livedin harmony. That all changed in a terrible war, with each claiming that their sidewas the better.

“That resulted in a separation and Hecate was, reluctantly, able to wipe thewizard‟s memories about their origin. One thing that is important to know at thebeginning is that there are some wizards who worry about blood. In thewizarding world, there are different “kinds” of people. People who have pure

wizard blood, descended from the original of Hecate‟s blessed, are the higherclass, and on the other end of the spectrum there are muggle-borns. Rememberthat this is only in the minds of some. Muggle-borns are witches and wizardsborn in all-mortal families.

“Their word “muggle” is what they call non-magical people. This is caused by aresidual blessing left by Hecate. In the middle are half-bloods. Half-bloods intheir world are wizards who are less than pure wizard, but more than muggle-born. This can happen several ways. A wizard or witch can have two muggle-born parents, a wizard parent and a muggle parent, a muggle or muggle-born

parent and a half-blood parent, or a muggle-born parent and a pureblood parent.There are also squibs, wizards born from magical families with no power.

“The place we‟re talking about is in Scotland, actually. The headmaster there is afriend. In about 100 A.D., the four greatest witches and wizards of the agecreated a school, called Hogwarts.” There were several snickers at that, and evenChiron lightened up a bit. “Their names were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena



Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and,” he paused for a moment, a dark look flashingover his usually smiling face. “Salazar Slytherin.” Chiron‟s face was so dark thatno one even cracked a smile at the most unusual names. Percy, Ellie, Annabeth,and Nico, along with a few others, looked to be listening quite intently to thestory.

“Each of these founders valued different things in people. Gryffindor admiredcourage and strength of the heart, Ravenclaw admired wisdom and intelligence,Hufflepuff valued loyalty and kindness, and Slytherin valued ambition andcunning. Thus became the four houses of Hogwarts, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw,Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Now, these founders realized that they wouldn‟t liveforever, and so they searched for a way for the Sorting to live on.

“One thing I must tell you of Slytherin house. There are few wizards that wentdark that weren‟t in Slytherin. The students are often very ambitious, cunning,muggle-hating and therefore muggle-born hating, and pure-or half-blood. Donot discriminate, however, because ambition does not dictate a maliciousdisposition.”

There was another pause. Percy and Nico locked eyes. Nico raised an eyebrow,and Percy nodded thoughtfully. Chiron resumed. “Back to the Sorting. One day,Gryffindor figured it out. He took his hat off of his head, and the four enchantedit so that it could sort the students for them. Every year, the first-year studentsare sorted into their house, which becomes like a family. In Hogwarts, there is

sort of a division. Back when the founders were alive, three of the founderswanted to accept all students, regardless of the blood type. One, however, didnot.” Ellie whispered to Annabeth, “Hm… I wonder who,” with a smirk.Annabeth rolled her eyes. Chiron, seeming to have heard Ellie, nodded with asmile.

“Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about exactly which studentswere allowed into Hogwarts. He thought that magical learning should be keptwithin all-magic families, in other words, purebloods. The other founders, ofcourse, didn‟t agree, and there was an argument. Slytherin left the school, and no

one knows where he went. Any questions so far?” Everyone had been soabsorbed in the story that, surprisingly, there were no questions from even themost hyperactive demigods. Chiron looked surprised.

“Alright, then I‟ll get to the point. Now, as important background informationfor everyone, knowing that the prophecy says we must unite again, I‟m going toelaborate on what has happened in the last twenty years in the wizarding world.



Voldemort didn‟t have. Voldemort, sensing a threat to his power, went after theboy.

“On Halloween night, thirteen years ago, Voldemort showed up on the doorstepof the cottage Harry Potter lived in. He murdered the boy‟s father with thekilling curse, but when he tried to kill Harry, his mother jumped in the way andbegged him not to kill her son. I knew Lily Potter. She was a good witch, and avery kind woman. Lily gave her life for her son, and when Voldemort turned hiswand on Harry, the curse rebounded and Voldemort‟s body was destroyed.”There were gasps all over the room.

“How could a baby kill one of the most powerful wizards the world had everknown?” Annabeth was perplexed. Chiron smiled. “It was Lily. She saved him bysacrificing herself for him. He was protected by love, which is the most powerfulmagic of all.” Drew, daughter of Aphrodite, smirked. “It sure is.” Chiron noddedand continued. Annabeth‟s eyes widened. Wait a second , she thought. Chiron saidthat Voldemort‟s body was destroyed, but what about his soul? She looked at Ellie, andcould instantly tell she was thinking the same.

“Harry was sent by my friend Dumbledore to live with his mother‟s sister, whois a muggle, and her family. Three years ago, when he turned eleven, he got theletter confirming that he was going to Hogwarts. He hadn‟t known about theWizarding world. What he didn‟t know, but he does now, is that he wasincredibly famous for being the one to stop Voldemort.

“He got a scar from the Dark curse cast upon him, and it looks like a lightningbolt. That is how the quest group shall know who he is. Voldemort, heroes,never died. He is getting stronger again, and my old friend believes that he willcontinue to get stronger. Harry Potter has since faced him twice, and he isdestined to be the one to put an end to Voldemort once and for all. I believe thisis what the prophecy intends you do: go to Hogwarts, let them discover forthemselves who you are, take part in the activities happening there this year,and, when the time comes, help Harry Potter destroy Voldemort once and forall.

“I don‟t think that he will ever have a body again, but that does not mean hecannot act through others. And two more things. Harry is in the fourth year andfourteen, so you will need to say that you were put there because of your inferiorknowledge of magic to those of your age, as you are all fifteen or sixteen. And alldemigods have the ability to use weak magic. Your wands will be speciallytailored to you, however, to increase your power to their level.”



There was another pause as everyone tried to take all of it in. It was an amazingstory, but did they dare take this quest? This was certainly on the minds ofPercy, Nico, and the three girls who were already deciding to go. “ThisVoldemort guy sounds like a nasty dude,” came Thalia Grace‟s voice from theback of the room. They all turned to see her leaning against the wall with herarms crossed. “When did you get here?” asked Percy. Thalia rolled her eyes. “I‟vebeen here the whole time, Kelp Head. Hey Ellie, Annabeth.” The two girlswaved.

“So, Chiron, we gonna get to the quest-goers or not?” Chiron frowned. “I wasgetting to it. Who volunteers for this quest?” Five people raised their handsalmost instantly, having debated internally the entire time if they should go ornot. Hesitantly, two more went up, nearly in perfect unison. Another, straight up

in the air with an almost arrogant confidence, and the quest group was complete.Chiron smiled thoughtfully. “Percy, would you be quest leader?” Percy lookedreserved, but he nodded anyway. “Sure. So, the group‟s me, Annabeth, Thalia,Ellie, Nico, Connor, Travis, and Clarisse?” All said people nodded. Chironclapped his hands together. “Alright. Off to your cabins, everyone, and questers,meet at the pine tree at eight tomorrow morning.” They all stood, and, sayingtheir goodnights, went off to their separate cabins.

“You look troubled.” Nico had never had trouble telling her emotions, and she‟dnever had trouble with his. She could see in his dark brown eyes that he was

worried right now. “So do you,” Ellie replied. She shook her head, grimacing.“It‟s this quest! It‟s just… I don‟t know what to think. What‟s this „deadly test?‟Why do all three of you have to do it? I just feel like there are too manyquestions left unanswered to be comfortable with it.” Nico smirked. “It‟s hard tohave enough of the answers on a regular quest, with a normal prophecy. Youwere here for the fulfillment of the last Great Prophecy. It didn‟t turn out howany of us expected it to. Who knows whether this one will or not?”

Ellie shrugged as they walked up to the Khione cabin, which was nearly directlyacross from the Hades cabin. She turned to him. “Everyone else is probably up

and waiting for me, wanting to know what‟s happening on the quest. I don‟tknow what I should tell them.” Nico looked into her blue eyes, wondering whatthoughts hid behind her relaxed, but worried, exterior. “I wouldn‟t tell them theprophecy, because then they‟ll speculate needlessly. Just tell them who‟s goingand leave it at that, I‟d say. Don‟t worry. It‟ll all work out in the end. Goodnight,Ellie.” She smiled at her friend, glaring icily at a few Aphrodite girls out on a



When they reached the Big House, Percy stopped suddenly. “Annabeth, wait.How in the Hades do you know where Chiron sleeps?” Annabeth blushed. “Let‟s just say that demigod dreams suck and leave it at that, okay?” Percy nodded, andthey ran up the stairs, through the door. “Chiron! Chiron!” They heard a sleepy,“Yes, Annabeth?” from the other side of the room, where Chiron stood, his horsehalf covered in a horse blanket.

“Percy, tell him about your dream.” Percy‟s face was pale, covered in sweat fromsprinting. “Kronos, it was about Kronos. He‟s not gone, Chiron.” Chiron paled,turning away from them. “Tell me everything you remember.” Percy nodded.“Um. Yeah. It was something like, „I can see you, Percy Jackson. I am hiding inplain sight. I am the Lord of the Titans, and you shall not defeat me again.‟”Chiron nodded. “The quest group leaves the day after tomorrow, Thursday thethirtieth. I think that I can recover some information on this before then. Thismay mean that we have a spy. I think that it is best that you two go back to sleepand get what rest you can. I shall meditate on this troubling new informationuntil morning. Don‟t forget that you need to be up at Thalia‟s Pine by 10:00 onThursday. Goodnight, Annabeth and Percy.”

They walked back to the Athena cabin together. “This worries me, Percy.Kronos was supposed to be gone, and with how dark this new prophecy seems,I‟m not sure what to think.” She turned to him, with an anxious expression onher face. “Don‟t worry, Wise Girl. It‟ll all turn out okay. Love you.” She smiledat him. “Love you, too, Seaweed Brain. Goodnight.” She went inside, leaving him

to ponder his future.



Chapter Two: Meeting Fate

A/N Only the beginning of this one will be in POV’s (still third person, butnarrative), and there will only be a few of these in the whole story, as I’mnot particularly fond of them. I do think they’re useful once in a while, anduse them myself. Happy reading!

If I owned PJATO, then Drew would’ve been the spy.

------------------------------------this is a line break------------------------------------(Thursday the 30th of August)

Percy

Huge trunk: Check.Clothes for a year: Check.Riptide: Check.

Shield: Check.Nectar and Ambrosia: Coming out my ears. Check.Fold-up armor (Tyson rocks!): Check.Wand (How weird does that sound) box: Check.Hecate‟s Crash Course on Wizardry: First through Th ird Years: Check. In Greek? Check.Toiletries: Why do I do this to myself? Check.Drachmae? Loads, and loads. Millions. Check.Weird, huge wizard money? Check… I think.Sarcasm? HELL YEAH. Check.

Frog? (Water animal!) Check. Go Jake!

Zip. Percy was taking his backpack, even if it didn‟t make sense. He‟d carried iton every quest of his life, and he simply didn‟t feel comfortable without thebackpack. He pulled it up onto his shoulder and grabbed Jake‟s cage and thetrunk. Taking one last look at his cabin for a year, he left the door closed andunlocked behind him. (No one dared go in a Big Three cabin without permission



from its inhabitant, unless they wanted to be vaporized, melted, or struck deadon the spot.)

He‟d found out that they needed a pet to take with them the day before fromChiron, and had found Jake by the creek in the woods. He found he was able totalk to Jake, and they became quick friends. “C‟mon, Jake, it‟ll be fun.” Sure it will,Percy. Going to England to mix with a bunch of wizards will be fun. I‟m so sure. Percyrolled his eyes. “Don‟t be so negative. I‟m sure everything will turn out just fine.Oh. Look, there‟s Annabeth. I told you about Annabeth, right?”

Annabeth

Annabeth had a terrible morning. First, she had to go out and find an owl in the

woods. That wasn‟t the bad part. She found a beautiful barn owl named Pennyeasy. Her problems started when a random monster in the woods decided toattack her, taking ten whole minutes to defeat when she was already late.

Annabeth stomped out of the woods, her hair and clothes a mess. She had tochange when she got back to her cabin, but thankfully she had already packed.She walked out the door, and straight into her half-brother Malcolm, knockingthem both over and breaking Malcolm‟s toe with the heavy trunk. “Sorry, Mal!Take some ambrosia. I gotta go!” Malcolm nodded at her and smiled painfully,clutching his foot, and said, “It‟s okay. Bye, Annabeth! Have a great time!” She

smiled, but under her breath, she muttered, “If the rest of the year goes how thisday is starting, I won‟t.”

She kept walking and looked over towards the Poseidon cabin, and she wassurprised to see Percy already walking towards her, conversing rapidly with asmall, green frog that was in a cage. “Hey, Annabeth! This is Jake, my animal.”Annabeth looked at Jake. “He‟s a cute one. Penny!” She whistled, and the owlflew out of a nearby tree onto her forearm. “This is Penny, a barn owl I pickedup in the woods.” Percy gazed at the owl, who glared back at him. Percy gulped.“Um… She‟s beautiful. Have you seen any of the others?” Annabeth nodded. “I

can see Ellie right now. She‟s on the lake. Hey! ELLIE!”

Ellie

Ellie had had a good morning so far. She got up early and packed, being carefulto not wake anyone else. She‟d said all of her goodbyes the previous night, andhad no desire to repeat them. She left a goodbye note for Theo on her pillow, and



walked out the door again. She loved the Khione cabin, and her siblings alladored it as well. It had only been finished for a week or so, but they loved italmost immediately. It was made completely out of ice, which was carved intodifferent shapes and kept cold by magic. There was a snowflake and arepresentation of wind carved into the top, and it was number 15.

She smelled the brisk morning air. Ah, I love being up alone. She was very fond ofbeing the only one out in the morning. There was just something about being inthe cool air just after the sun comes up; something about experiencing themorning completely alone.

She took her things to the edge of the canoe lake and dropped them there. Sheknew they had to find an animal to take with them, but she wasn‟t worried. She had an animal, she just wasn‟t sure that Emily would want to go. Emily was an

adorable, clever Himalayan cat who lived on the grounds of Camp. Himalayanswere originally from an icy, cold climate, so Ellie could talk to Emily.

Ellie, having set her stuff down at a safe distance from the lake‟s edge,concentrated and made a little one-person canoe of ice at the water‟s edge. One ofthe cool advantages about your mom being the goddess of ice and snow is that you‟reimpervious to frostbite and cold, Ellie mused. Cold didn‟t bother her at all, evenextreme cold; in places where she didn‟t have to hide her powers, she woreshorts and t-shirts in the dead of winter and in the snow, took ice-cold showers,and she couldn‟t sleep without a cool, if not cold room. It really was a good thing

she had her own cabin now with her siblings, as when she‟d lived in the Hermescabin, if it wasn‟t freezing she was uncomfortable.

Thoughts stormed through her mind as she stepped into the canoe, willing hernow-bare feet to have traction on the slippery ice. She froze some more waterinto the form of twin paddles, and paddled herself out. When she stepped out,she willed the water under her feet to freeze, and she walked a little ways away,letting the canoe and its paddles melt behind her.

When she reached the middle of the lake, she made the top of the water very

cold so as to warn the naiads and animal life that she was going to freeze the top.When she couldn‟t see any of the abundant species, she froze the top two feet ofthe lake solid with clear, somewhat dry ice. She then froze herself a pair of iceskates, molding them to her black converse boots. “Ah, I love skating on a nice,warm morning.”



She skated around the lake for a while, musing about the things she had on hermind. She tried to avoid thinking about what she seemed to never be able toescape: her father and sister‟s deaths. They‟d plagued her for years, making herdwell on the belief that the whole thing was her fault. She‟d had grief counselingwhen she‟d stayed with her aunt, but she‟d never liked doctors, especiallypsychologists, so bratty 12-year-old Ellie made problems.

After the grief counselor, Aunt Jessy had taken her to just a regular shrink,who‟d been no help at all with her personal problems. All Dr. Jaybern did wastell her that she had a dangerous temper, that she was very impulsive, and thatshe was slightly depressed. All of which she already knew.

I know my fatal flaw. That was always her mantra. If you know what it is, you cantry to control it, and prevent it from becoming a bigger problem. Ellie Black‟s

fatal flaw was that she had a fatally cold temper. She knew people with somepretty impressive tempers, and could even classify them. Annabeth‟s came to aboil slowly, but burned out quickly, Percy was very hard to make angry butdeadly if you managed it. Thalia regularly blew up and had a very short temper,and Nico got angry but held grudges instead of letting it out. Clarisse wasterminally angry, always holding a knife to your throat. (Literally andfiguratively.)

Ellie, however, ruined people with her temper. She was nearly impossible toannoy, having a little brother. Her anger was a very slow burn, but gods forbid if

you pissed her off. She had almost no control over what she said, and saidterrible things. She had to work very hard on keeping her temper in check,because she knew how to break people with words. That was why herstepmother had left her after her father died, leaving Theo and Ellie to Jessy.Ellie had blamed herself, and when her stepmother, who really was trying tohelp, tried to get her to get counseling, she blew up.

She said unforgiveable things to Becca, and she was never forgiven. She and herbrother were shipped to Aunt Jessy‟s, and her stepmother cut ties with her oldlife, even got a new boyfriend and house and everything. Ellie learned that she

could never let her temper get that far again, and never let herself get angryunless she was in battle or an empty room.

She was thinking about all this when she suddenly heard Annabeth shouting hername. She glanced up and saw Percy and Annabeth standing on the shore.



Ellie knew it was time, so she called Emily, who‟d been sitting on the shorewatching a fish, and told her to go to her luggage. She skated to shore, meltingher skates as she stepped onto the grass. The lake melted behind her. “A frog,Perce, really?” Percy nodded, looking slightly offended. “Yes. And Jake wants toknow what‟s wrong with frogs.” Ellie rolled her eyes. “Hey, Annabeth. ¡Sulechuza es bonita!” Annabeth smiled. “Si, ella es. Gracias.” Percy looked confused.“Translation, for those of us who don‟t speak Spanish? And Ellie, you never willtell me how you know that language.” Annabeth laughed. “She said my owl wasbeautiful, and I said „yes, she is, thanks.‟” Ellie continued, “And I‟ll tell you in aminute. Where‟s Nico?” She looked around. “Lazy isn‟t up yet, is he?” Annabethshook her head. “I‟ll get him. See you guys at the tree!” They nodded and left.

Nico

Nico slept in, and panicked when he realized he had thirty minutes to do all ofhis packing, and find an animal. (He‟d put it off the day before.) He managed tobe completely packed in twenty minutes, and was just heading out the door foran animal when he walked into Ellie. “Hey, Nico! You still need an animal?” Niconodded. “Yeah. I have no idea what I‟m going to do for that… what?” Ellielooked sheepish. “I guess I should have been earlier. Emily and I found this littleguy a month ago, and thought he‟d be perfect for you. We were taking care ofhim for you for a while until he was old enough to be on his own. He‟s notnamed yet, I‟ve just been calling him Petit Chat ((Pronounced Peh-TIt Sh-AHt)),which is French for „little cat.‟ He‟s a midnight panther, so he can shadow-travel

and speak to you. He‟s an animal of the Underworld, as you know.”

She stopped babbling and took a little kitten with giant green eyes out frombehind her back. He had sleek black fur and huge ears. “Ellie, thank you. I‟veheard they‟re very useful, and I have to admit he‟s kind of cute.” He mewed, andEllie smiled. “This is Nico, Petit Chat, he‟s your owner. Now you have to namehim.” Nico nodded. “I like Alex. He looks like an Alex. You should still call himby Petit Chat. It‟s how he knows you.” Ellie nodded. “Alex it is, then, and thankyou. At night, he‟s the cutest little panther cub. As a panther, he won‟t evengrowl at anyone unless you tell him it‟s okay, so he‟s safe with people.” Nico

nodded, “Thanks, Ellie, really. Now, we‟ve gotta go!” Ellie nodded. “Yeah! Ialready took my stuff up, and Emily‟s waiting outside. Let‟s go! Vamanos! ” Theyheaded off for the tree.

3rd Person Narrative



When all but Thalia had gathered at the tree, they set their stuff down andrelaxed into various comfortable waiting positions. Annabeth pulled out a bookon French, Percy put in his ear buds and listened to music, Ellie played aroundwith Emily, and Nico took out his own small book. On the front was:

Necromantic Rituals and Their Use by the Children of Hades. Connorand Travis were off by themselves, obviously planning a prank, and Clarisse was

using an impressive-looking knife to carve something. About ten minutes later,Thalia showed up with a peregrine falcon in a cage, and her luggage draggingbehind her. Her lieutenant‟s tiara was askew, and her silver tank-top had a fewspots of dirt on the hem. “Sorry I‟m late, hectic morning. Chiron‟s right behindme. This is Storm.” They all looked at the falcon and gave their approval at herbeauty.

Chiron indeed showed up a few minutes later, and they all stood, putting their

various instruments of entertainment away. Ellie showed Emily into hercomfortable, food-water-and-cat-toy-stocked kennel, which she‟d put togetherherself. “Heroes, are you prepared for your mission? After this, there is noturning back.”

They all murmured their assent. “Good. You will be taking separate routes toEngland, due to the size of your questing group. I need you to tell me your waysof transportation, in pairs. You may talk now.” The pairs split off, and they werelike this: Percy and Annabeth, Connor and Clarisse, Travis and Nico, and Thaliaand Ellie. It was strange to see Connor and Travis split, but that was how it

went. When they had all talked, (and Connor had sent an Iris-message) theyturned back to Chiron.

“Percy and Annabeth?” Percy grinned. “We‟re sailing.” Chiron nodded once, andsaid, “Remember, everyone, you are meeting tomorrow at three o‟clock at theLeaky Cauldron in London. Percy and Annabeth waved, and they headedtowards the sea, where everyone could see a sea-worthy sailboat for two waiting.“See you guys there!” Chiron turned to the group again. “Connor and Clarisse?”Connor grinned. “My mom has a plane that fits three. She‟s flying us.” Travisrolled his eyes. “Good. You may go. Where does your mother live, Connor?”

Connor grinned again. “Jersey. We‟re taking the Chariot. Seeya, guys!”

They all waved as Connor and Clarisse left. “Travis and Nico?” Nico smirked.“We‟ll be there first. We‟re shadow-traveling. We‟ll go to Greenland, then makethe sea-jump.” Chiron nodded, and the shadows engulfed them and theirluggage. “And you two?” Ellie grinned, almost a perfect copy of Connor‟s cheekygrin. She whistled, and they saw a small boat show up at the shore, pulled by



two leopard seals. “Arctic animal. Mom‟s territory.” Chiron nodded. “Good luck,girls.” Thalia levitated her luggage, and Ellie created an ice sled and a track andhers sledded to the sea. Thalia rolled her eyes, and Ellie shrugged. “Hey,whatever works.” They made it to the beach, and Thalia said, “Poseidon‟sprobably going to send us a monster or two…” Ellie shook her head. “I don‟tthink so. No disrespect intended, but he‟s a bit more tolerant than your dad. Ithink he‟ll leave you alone, as long as he‟s in a good mood.” Thalia looked only alittle reassured.

“Okay, let‟s go.” They carried their things to the small boat, which turned out tonot be so small. It was a three person sailboat with room for their luggage andfor both of them to sleep. When they had put all their stuff in the compartment,they went back up to the top.

“Okay, we can sit here.” She showed Thalia over to a somewhat comfortable areaand got out two blankets, one to sit on and one to sit under. “Got yourbackpack?” It turned out they had all packed backpacks, for the trip at least.Ellie‟s had some food, ambrosia and nectar, water, extra clothes for the day-and-a-half journey, her iPod Touch, her current book, (Sherlock Holmes) and a DVDplayer for a few movies (Iron Man 2, the Avengers and Star Trek: IntoDarkness) she brought. Of course, she also brought the cords for Thalia tocharge them.

Demigods couldn‟t have cell phones because they sent up signals to monsters,

but pretty much anything else was okay. Normally, regular electronics wenthaywire around demigods, but with Ellie and a few others she knew, like Thalia,that didn‟t happen.

They settled into the front seat, and Ellie wrapped the reins around her arm.“They‟re to make sure that the leopard seals know where they‟re going, which isLONDON, ENGLAND, by the way.” She said their destination loud enoughthat the seals were sure of it, and then they were off.

“Okay, let‟s go already.” The seals sprang into action, and they cut through the

waves. Thalia asked, “Wait. Are the seals going to have to rest at some point?”Ellie nodded. “Yeah, but the sea will just keep us going. They sleep for about fivehours, so I‟ll let them rest at about five, and then we can sail until ten, and they‟llkeep us going at night.” Thalia smiled. “Okay.”

“I‟m going to watch Star Trek. You wanna watch with me?” Thalia nodded.“Chris Pine is one hot guy.”



Ellie gasped. “Oh my gods! The immortal maiden thinks a guy is hot! Someonecall the media!” Thalia rolled her eyes and laughed. “I‟m allowed to think guysare hot, just not to pursue them. And I wouldn‟t. And not all Hunters arecomplete man-haters, you know.” Ellie laughed. “I know, it‟s just funny.”

They watched the movie under blankets, and ahead of them the ice kept growingin a seemingly never-ending line to London. Watch out, Hogwarts. Here comes thelegacy of the gods.

Chapter Three: Starting School

Harry looked up at the Hogwarts Express. “You know, Harry, rumor has it thatthere are exchange students from America coming this year.” Harry nodded. “I

heard that. Why would there be wizards from America coming? Maybe it hassomething to do with whatever Percy was talking about, huh Ron?” Ron nodded.“I wonder… So, which compartment, guys?” They had arrived early and walkedpast several compartments.

When they had settled on one, not five minutes went by before Malfoy, Crabbe,and Goyle showed up. “What do you want, Malfoy?” Harry looked irritated. For



ten minutes, Malfoy annoyed them to no end. When he finally left, they were allput in a foul mood. Hermione pulled out a book, and the boys both groanedwhen they saw the title: The Crash Course on Greek Mythology and Ancient Entities .“Well? Are you two going to get your copies out? You know that we have toread this to pass, and it‟s actually rather interesting.”

They both got out their books, and started to read. Harry was surprised to findthat he was interested in the book, and that while some of the stories weregruesome, they were all very fascinating. Hermione finished reading first, thenHarry a half-hour later, and then finally Ron, a full hour and a half afterHermione. “That was really a rather fascinating book, I thought. What aboutyou two?” Harry nodded, surprised, as did Ron. “It was actually prettyinteresting.” Ron agreed. “Yeah. My favorite story was of baby Hermes stealingApollo‟s cattle.” Harry chuckled. “Perseus and Medusa.” Hermione shook her

head. “The tale of Theseus. It shows that not all heroes were completelyhonorable. He left her on an island!” The boys nodded.

“Yeah, that wasn‟t very nice of him. Anyway, the train‟ll be at Hogwarts in a halfhour, so we should probably change.” Hermione already had, so she left for a fewminutes while Harry and Ron put on their Hogwarts robes. “I can‟t wait to be inHogwarts again.” Ron grinned. “Well, I see it now, so you don‟t have to waitlong!” A few minutes later, they pulled into Hogsmeade station. “Firs‟ years!Firs‟ years! „ello Harry, Ron, Hermione!” They all nodded at Hagrid. “HelloHagrid! See you at the feast!” They walked off in the direction of the castle with

the other fourth years.

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“I‟m so glad we don‟t have to wear those robes,” said Nico as they looked out thewindows of the classroom they were sent to wait in. The others nodded inagreement. “They all look like pussies.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Language,Clarisse. Remember, this is a polite society.” Clarisse glared. “Yeah, yeah, fairyprincess. Just remember that when they call you a „bloody know-it-all.‟ Try to

dumb it down a little, or you‟ll expose all of us.”

Annabeth, glaring furiously, stalked off to join Percy at a different window.“Wow. And they say I can be a cold-hearted bitch,” said Ellie. “I admire yourguts, Clarisse. Just make sure and tell me how brave they look when Annabethdisembowels you with that dagger later.” Ellie smirked and walked over to Nico



and Thalia, who had gone back to their interesting conversation about modernmusic, leaving Clarisse to fume in anger alone.

“I completely agree with you, Nico. I‟m comfy in my clothes.” She was wearingblack leggings, black boots, and a black ¾ sleeve leather jacket with a dark blueshort-sleeved tunic under it. Her hair was down for once, and the white streakswere braided around and put in a ponytail together in the back, giving her a very„princessy‟ look.

The girls had all dressed up somewhat, wanting to make a good impression.Thalia had braided some of her short hair and was wearing a silver tunic overleggings with her silver hunting boots, Annabeth‟s hair was done the same wayas Ellie‟s, and she was wearing an owl necklace (gift from Percy) and a purpleblouse with black jeans and brown boots. Even Clarisse had made an effort to

look nice.

Ellie looked at her friends. Thalia looked back at her and said, “Yeah, I‟d gocrazy in those robes. They suck, huh, Nico?” Nico started. “What? Oh, yeah.They‟re black, though, Thalia.” Thalia groaned. “I told you, just because I wearblack does not mean that I wear it all the time, or that I‟m goth!” She startedsparking, and Nico stammered an apology. “Um… I-I‟m s-s-sorry, Thalia.”

“Good choice, Nico. Don‟t want to end electrocuted” Percy said, smirking, loudenough for Ellie, Nico, and Thalia to hear. Annabeth grinned in their direction

and replied just as loudly, “Yeah, but that‟d be a really interesting fight, betweenthe three of them.” Ellie smiled thoughtfully, thinking about it. “The deadagainst a torrent of ice and hail against lightning and air? Fascinating…” Nicostared at her. “You are so strange sometimes. You remind me of Percy.” Percyflipped him the finger lazily as he and Annabeth talked, and Ellie raised hereyebrows. “Excuse me? I‟m nothing like that idiotic cousin of yours.” Thaliagasped. “Not you, Thals. Percy.” Nico laughed. “Other than the fact that you‟reboth children of Greek gods, really brave, really smart, and really loyal.” Ellieblushed. “Thanks, Nico.” Clarisse made gagging sounds, and coughed whatsounded suspiciously like “you like her.” Nico death-glared at her, and she raised

her hands.

“Prove I said a thing .” Nico waved his hand, dismissing her, and turned back toEllie and Thalia. Clarisse walked back to the window. “Oh, guys, the feast‟sstarted. Speaking of food, let‟s eat some of the food that McGonagall chickbrought us.” Thankfully no one commented on her rudeness this time, partiallybecause they were all so hungry. “Oh my gods this is good! What the hell is



this?” Percy wasn‟t the only one enjoying their drink selection. He got quitediverse answers, “Orange,” “I don‟t fucking care ,” and “I don‟t know, but it‟sawesome!” being just a few of them. They were all sipping away at it, laughing,and eating sandwiches when Professor McGonagall (some people rememberedher title) walked in.

“We‟re ready for you now.”

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When Dumbledore had finished talking about the normal start-of-term things,he smiled down at them all. “Hogwarts is honored by two groups of specialguests this year. The first is here at the moment, and the second shall beexplained later. I suppose some of you have heard the rumors of new American

exchange students?” There were lots of nods and yes‟s all around the Great Hall.

“Well, they are visitors from a very different sort of place, but I will leave it toyou to discover that for yourselves. They are here on terms of a prophecy andmust therefore abide by the rules of that prophecy.” There was some interestedwhispering when he said that, and Harry raised his eyebrows at Hermione, wholooked thoughtful. “Professor McGonagall shall bring them in, and they shallintroduce themselves, one by one, by name and year.”

Just then the Great Hall doors opened, and there were gasps all around as the

students walked in. Even Hermione‟s jaw dropped. Harry couldn‟t help but stareat the girls walking by. These people looked almost… godly. There really wasn‟ta better word. He simply couldn‟t think of anything else to describe it. “Bloodyhell,” was Ron‟s only exclamation. Harry watched as the group walked single fileto the front of the Hall, and spread themselves out in a line. Dumbledore said,“Americans, if you would please say your name, age, and year. Just so all of youknow, these students‟ magical learning has been very different than yours, sothey are behind in several areas.” He nodded to a girl on the end, who turned andglared at the entire Hall.

She had brown hair, brown eyes, and a muscular figure, but she was stillsomewhat pleasing to the wizards‟ eyes. “My name‟s Clarisse La Rue, I‟msixteen, and I‟m in fourth year. Cross me and you‟ll regret it, punks.” The rest ofthe group rolled their eyes, but the boy next to her just grinned. Harry saw himas a blond-haired, blue-eyed Weasley twin, especially when he saw an identicalgrin somewhere down the line. “Connor Stoll, 16, fourth. I look forward to pran-meeting you.”



He‟d quickly changed his word when the girl that was next in line elbowed him.She was a beautiful blonde with stormy gray eyes that were very calculating. Shespoke next, glaring at Connor. “My name‟s Annabeth Chase, I‟m sixteen, and afourth year. Watch out for this idiot and his equally idiotic brother.” Both Stollslooked at her comically, and two girls further down the line laughed.

The boy who had been standing next to Annabeth, a tan guy with black hair andsea green eyes, introduced himself next. “I‟m Percy Jackson, sixteen, and infourth year.” He then nudged the boy next to him, who‟d been glaring at theBloody Baron. The Baron looked almost scared of the black-haired, brown-eyedboy. Ron raised his eyebrows. “My name is Nico di Angelo, I‟m fifteen almostsixteen, and I‟m in fourth year.” The girl next to him, a black-haired girl withdeep, navy blue eyes, went next.

“My name‟s Ellie Black, I‟m sixteen, and I‟m in fourth year.” Harry raised hiseyes to Hermione, who looked like she was thinking hard. “That‟s not a verycommon last name,” Harry whispered, and she nodded, gesturing for him to payattention. The other Stoll boy who was next to Ellie went next, and he said, “Myname‟s Travis Stoll, I‟m fifteen, and I‟m in fourth year. Before you ask, I‟m a yearyounger than Connor.” Hermione, Harry, and Ron exchanged looks. “Did not seethat one coming.”

The last one, an impressive-looking girl with stormy, electric blue eyes and

black hair, had a silver tiara on her head. The girl with navy eyes, Ellie, seemedto notice the stares and had a quick but furious argument with the other girlabout it, ending with Ellie backing off with a huff and a small smile. “Fine,” shesaid. The other girl glared. “My name‟s Thalia, I‟m sixteen, and I‟m in fourthyear.” Someone, a brave someone, called out, “You got a last name?”

Thalia glared in their general direction. “It‟s Grace, snoopy, but I don‟t use it,and you don‟t use it either.” Dumbledore seemed to notice that her last name gother off balance, and said, “Now, the students shall be sorted. Professor?”McGonagall walked forward with the stool and hat, along with her scroll.

Unrolling it, she said, “Black, Ellie.” The raven-haired girl who had identifiedherself as such walked over and McGonagall put the hat on her head. A fewseconds later, the hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!”

The girl gave a sort of cold look at the hat, and walked stiffly back over to herspot in line, whispering to the scary girl, Thalia. “Chase, Annabeth!” The blond



girl, Annabeth, walked over to the stool, and the same thing happened. A fewseconds after she‟d donned the hat, it shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!”

The same thing happened for the rest of them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione alllooked at each other, and they could see that the same thing was happening allover the Hall. It was highly unusual that everyone from one group went to thesame house.

“We shall talk of the other event at a later time. For now, off to bed. Exchangestudents, I need to speak with you, if you‟d stay.” They did, and Harry, Ron, andHermione all left the Hall.

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“You‟re a demigod.”

Percy jumped. “Gods, Annabeth!”

Annabeth continued scrutinizing the headmaster, who didn‟t seem to mind. He‟dshown them to his office, and only McGonagall and a creepy-looking otherteacher stayed. “Son of…. Let‟s see… Hecate?” He nodded. “Also the other two. Idon‟t know theirs.” McGonagall and the other teacher looked at her strangely.“I‟m afraid that Chiron did not tell us who he was sending, so if my colleagues

tell you their godly parents, would you mind sharing? We‟d also like to hear ofwhat you have done, if you do not mind.”

They all talked for a moment, and Percy said, “No, we don‟t.” Dumbledore gestured to McGonagall. “Minerva, please.” She stepped closer to the demigods.“Athena, of course.” Ellie snorted. “With a name like Minerva, who else‟s couldyou be?” Minerva nodded and smiled. Dumbledore said, “This is ProfessorSnape, the Potions Master, as you weren‟t introduced. Severus?” The otherteacher, a very bat-like man, stayed where he was. “I am a child of Athena aswell. Not necessarily well received, thank you Minerva.” They gave a curt nod to

each other, and the younger demigods talked among themselves. Percy steppedforward, and they stood in an uncertain circle behind him.

“I‟m Percy Jackson, and my father is Poseidon.” He paused, and looked pointedlyat the two older children of Athena. “I trust we won‟t have any problems.” Theyboth shook their heads, and McGonagall said, “We‟ve had time to learn that notall children of Poseidon are… well, disagreeable. You may have to prove



yourself, however, Mr. Jackson.” Percy nodded in understanding. “I‟m campleader, and the first demigod in a long time to bear Achilles‟ curse.” Snape‟seyebrows rose. “I defeated the gods Hades, Ares, Phobos, and Deimos.

“I also defeated the titans Kronos, Hyperion, and Iapetus, the last two with help,and the first by sacrifice of a friend. I defeated Medusa once and the Minotaurtwice, along with many others. I caught the lightning thief, I sailed the Sea ofMonsters, I bore the Titan‟s Curse, I survived the Labyrinth, I discovered theLast Olympian, and I fought in the Battle of Manhattan.” The older demigods,all three, looked at him with respect and nodded their heads. Thalia was next. “Iam Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. I was turned into a pine tree by my father tosave my life when I was twelve, then turned back by the power of the GoldenFleece. I am the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis,” McGonagall gasped andlooked at Thalia. “It‟s an honor to meet one of Artemis‟ immortal maidens.Thank you, Ms. Grace.” Thalia grimaced.

“I don‟t use my last name, Professor. My mother and I… had a falling out.” Shetouched her tiara, looking at Dumbledore. “It‟s alright if I wear this, right? It‟san important symbol of Artemis‟ lieutenant.” He nodded. “You‟ll just have to finda reasonable excuse for the rest of the students. Please, continue.” Thalia nodded.“I defeated Echidna and the Chimera,” When Percy looked at her weird, Thaliasnickered. “You have terrible luck, Percy. They reformed fast.” Percy rolled hiseyes with a “whatever, Pinecone Face,” and Thalia continued. “Two of threeFuries, and many other monsters. I witnessed the Titan‟s Curse, I met the Last

Olympian, and I fought in the Battle of Manhattan.”

Again, the older demigods looked impressed. Nico went next. “Nico di Angelo,son of Hades, and the Ghost King. I defeated the spirit of Minos, I survived theLabyrinth, I met the Last Olympian, and I fought in the Battle of Manhattan.”Snape‟s brow furrowed. “You have children of all of the Big Three here?” Percy,Thalia, and Nico nodded. “It was in our prophecy. The rest, except Ellie, are allOlympians‟ children as well.” Annabeth continued. “I‟m Annabeth Chase,daughter of Athena. Nice to meet some living older ones.” She gestured to hertwo older half-siblings. “I‟m the architect of Olympus, co-head counselor for

camp, and head knife-fighting instructor at Camp Half-Blood. I caught thelightning thief, I sailed the Sea of Monsters, I bore the Titan‟s Curse, I survivedthe Labyrinth, I discovered the Last Olympian, and I fought in the Battle ofManhattan. I‟ve witnessed Thalia summoning lightning and flying, Nicosummoning an army of the dead and controlling ghosts, and Percy‟s powerblowing up Mount St. Helen‟s. I can personally give you five reasons, from theseevents, why the Big Three took their oath.”



Nico jumped. “Which reminds me, I‟m also the only living Big Three demigodthat isn‟t in violation of the oath.” When Dumbledore opened his mouth to ask aquestion, Nico held up a hand. “My sister… my sister Bianca di Angelo, also achild of Hades, and I were sent to the Lotus Hotel, the lair of the Lotus Eaters.We were sent there in the forties, and only escaped two years ago. My sister joined the Hunters and was killed on a quest.” Percy looked down. “I‟m sorryabout that, Nico.” Nico looked exasperated.

“How many people have to tell you it wasn‟t your fault for you to finally believeit? I told you, Annabeth told you, Zoe, Thalia, and Grover, who were all there ,told you, even Bianca herself told you! I know I blamed you for a long time, butseriously, dude: it wasn‟t your fault.” Percy rolled his eyes, and Ellie cleared herthroat. “Moving on. Connor? Travis?” Connor and Travis grinned. “We‟re sons

of Hermes, and co-counselors of the Hermes cabin. We also instruct stealth-”Travis cut in, Connor just grinning. “-and prank everyone! We met the LastOlympian, and we fought in the Battle of Manhattan.” Minerva leaned over andsaid to the other two, “These two remind me of Fred and George Weasley.”Snape nodded. “They‟re going to be fast friends.”

Clarisse pushed Ellie over, and Ellie, glaring at the daughter of Ares, said, “I‟mEllie Black, daughter of Khione, the goddess of winter, ice, and snow. I defeatedtwo of three Furies, the Minotaur, a hy-hydra,” her voice broke for a moment,and McGonagall‟s eyebrow rose, “and helped defeat the Titan Hyperion. I

fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth, I met the Last Olympian, and fought in theBattle of Manhattan.” Dumbledore leaned forward. “I‟ve never met a child ofKhione. What can you do?” Ellie just smiled. A moment later, a light snowfallfell in Dumbledore‟s office. Snape half -sneered. “Is that all?” Her smile grew intoa smirk, and her eyes raged with white specks. “Wanna take a field trip outside,Professor?” Snape looked out the window, where a raging hailstorm battered atthe window. Annabeth pulled Ellie back, calming her down.

“I‟m fine, Annabeth,” she whispered. “I just don‟t like people disrespecting mebecause my mom‟s not an Olympian.” The hailstorm quickly puttered out, dying

down to light snow and then going away completely. Clarisse stepped forward.“Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares. I‟m the only demigod in recent history toreceive the blessing of Ares. I‟ve defeated numerous monsters, not limited to adrakon in the Battle of Manhattan. I survived the Labyrinth and fought in thebattle, I met the Last Olympian, and I fought in the Battle of Manhattan.”Annabeth said, “Is that all? We‟ve had a long journey.” Dumbledore said, “If youwouldn‟t mind, we would like to hear your prophecy.”



Annabeth obliged quickly, taking a glance at the others for permission. “Okay.Eight shall go to Hecate‟s Land, time for revealing is now at hand. The Chosen One shall they protect, their secret shall three friends detect. Eldest demigods, take a deadlytest, selfless child of winter‟s guilt to rest. A single choice in a desperate race, if life ordeath the world shall face.”

When Annabeth was done, the three older demigods looked at each other.“Potter and his friends,” Snape said. Dumbledore gave Snape a look that clearlywas exasperated, but nodded. “It has to be. They are incredibly curious. And thetournament. I fear that this bodes well for my theory about Voldemort.” Snapeand McGonagall looked fearfully at him. “That isn‟t good, is it?” Annabeth broketheir conversation, and McGonagall shook her head. Dumbledore concentratedfor a moment, and said, “I think that much will come clear to you in the next few

days. Who knows, you might even figure out the meaning of most of theprophecy. You may go, demigods.” As they all left, they heard Dumbledore say,“Whatever this means, I fear that it is a bad omen, this last line. Life or death,indeed.”

Okay, so I realize it’s a huge cliché to put them all in Gryffindor, but I feellike all heroes have that brave, pure-of-heart quality. And I know thatSnape’s a Slytherin, but the way they portrayed his home life, that’s who hewould’ve been as a kid, especially since demigod wizards are lesssusceptible to monster attacks. (In my world.) We all see that the man

grows up to be a true Gryffindor, after all. He turned out to be really bravein the end, so who can fault him for being the way he is?



Chapter Four: The Golden Trio

“HEY GUYS, YOU‟RE GONNA MISS BREAKFAST!” Ellie was standing atthe door of the boys‟ cabin, quickly erected next to the girls‟ on the edge of theForbidden Forest and near the lake. The older demigods had trusted themenough to let them be on their own, saying, “If Chiron trusts you to be on aquest by yourselves, we trust you to be able to sleep on your own.” The girls hadthought to bring an alarm clock. “I‟m so glad we asked Hecate to bless our stuffso the magic doesn‟t interfere with it,” Thalia had said.

The boys, however, had completely forgotten to set iPods, MP3 players,anything to wake them up. The girls, who had thankfully gotten up earlyenough that they would all get breakfast, had to go over to the guys‟ cabin to

wake them all up. Annabeth and Clarisse had already tried, and Ellie had saidshe had an idea.

“Okay, Thalia, you wanna try your thing first, or should we do it at the sametime?” Thalia rubbed her hands together, and said, “I think the most effectiveoption would be at the same time, wouldn‟t you think, Annabeth?” Annabeth,seeing their idea, nodded. “Oh, yes.” Ellie looked at Thalia, and they both wentup to the door, putting their hands on it. “On three?” Ellie nodded at Thalia‟squestion. “One, two, three!”

The cabin temperature was lowered to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, (0 degreesCelsius) even as the walls, floor, and therefore beds were imbibed with anonlethal (but still slightly painful) amount of electricity. The girls all broke intolaughter as they heard yells from the four boys. “WHY THE HADES ISTHERE ICE ON MY BED,” along with, “OH MY GODS, THAT HURT!”were their favorites. When the two standing at the door heard shouts of“ELLIE!” and “THALIA!” along with severe threats, they looked at each other,



and simultaneously said, “Oh, shit.” They both sprinted towards the castle, bothrunning as fast as their converse boots and silver Hunter boots respectivelywould take them.

A few seconds later, Annabeth and Clarisse turned white and started runningafter them when the angry boys came out, wielding water balloons (thanks toPercy) and Silly String (thanks to the Stolls), along with a few poltergeists(courtesy of Nico) spraying anything in sight. The poltergeist in front pointed atthe girls, and the mischievous ghosts swarmed them, pulling their hair andtrying to trip them up. The boys sprinted after the four girls, the latter two ofwhich had somehow caught up with Thalia and Ellie. The four demigods all ranas fast as they could. Ellie froze Percy‟s water balloons, and was threatenedseverely when she also froze the silly string. Nico caused an earthquake underthe sprinting demigods, tripping them up a little, but they kept running into theentrance hall, and all the way into three wizards.---------------------------------------this is a line break-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry‟s morning started off fairly well. As usual, he had to wake Ron so theywouldn‟t miss breakfast, but that was Ron. They got into their robes andgrabbed their bags, running downstairs to meet Hermione. When she saw them,she rolled her eyes. “My friends, late as always. Let‟s go get something to eat,I‟m hungry!”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed the new exchange students the whole waydown to the entrance hall, where they were suddenly on the floor, having beenplowed down by the four girls of the group.

“What the bloody-buggering hell!” Ron, as eloquent as ever, had been run intoby the girl with navy eyes, the one Harry remembered as Ellie. “Gerroff!” Ellieobliged, quickly standing and brushing herself off. She looked back over hershoulder, where the boys of her group were standing, looking very angry.“Ummm. Guys, is there a chance we can talk about this?” The boys very slowlyshook their heads. The blonde girl said something Harry couldn‟t understand in

some other language. The boys looked sheepishly at one another, and, stillglaring at the girls, walked into the entrance hall.

“Impressive. What did you do to get them so angry?” Hermione was talking to the blonde, Annabeth. She turned around and looked curiously at Hermione.“Um, it was a prank. Thalia and Ellie being idiots, as usual.” The mean-lookinggirl glared at the two with black hair. “Yeah, and they dragged our asses into it.



Thanks, guys.” She also said something in that same other language that madeEllie smile a falsely sweet smile, and Thalia roll her eyes and sneer at herretreating back as she stomped into the Hall. “Bitch. I hate her so muchsometimes… If only her father didn‟t like her,” Thalia said, glaring. Thunderboomed overhead, which Harry couldn‟t understand, because the sky was clearof even clouds. Thalia paled and mumbled, “Okay, okay. I‟m sorry.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks. Hermione seemed to be thinking ofsomething. “Anyways, do you need somewhere to sit during breakfast? You‟reGryffindors, so you could come sit with us.” Ellie nodded, and she and herfriends followed Harry, Hermione, and Ron into the Great Hall.“So, how are you adjusting after your first night?” Ron got strange looks fromeveryone around him. Ellie answered him anyway, her face neutral. “We‟repretty good. This happens all the time at home, so we‟re used to new places.”

Hermione looked curiously at her. “What happens all the time, exactly?” Elliepaled a little, and Annabeth quickly said, “We travel a lot. It‟s a requirement ofour school, you know, so we can experience a lot of places. Sorry, Ellie‟s kind ofnervous about questions close to home.” Ellie glared at her, but nodded.

Hermione nodded. “I see. So, what‟s your home like, exactly?” Thalia answeredthat question. “It‟s more of a camp than a school. We train more physically,which is why we‟re behind you guys.” Ron looked interested. “What kind oftraining?” Ellie rolled her eyes. “Old stuf f. We do curses and protective magic,too, and most of us have a specialty of magic. The main stuff that we do is

archery, basic magic, sword fighting, peg-horse riding, things like that. Moreof… survival.” The three wizards looked perplexed.

Harry asked a question he‟d been holding back. “How much do you know abouttheoretical magic, like ours?” Annabeth took the lead when the others tripped alittle. “We know quite a bit. We had to work a bit to catch up, but we‟re there.Anyways, what kinds of things do you do at this school?”

Hermione‟s eyes brightened. “Well, we do a lot of things, too. Potions,Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, Herbology, and Defense Against the

Dark Arts are the main classes, but there are more like Astronomy andDivination.” Annabeth looked interested. “Divination, like prophecies?”Hermione nodded, but then she said something that dashed Annabeth‟scuriosity. “But the teacher‟s a total fraud. You‟d be wasting your time,Annabeth.”

When Two Combine

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