Disclaimer: Yeah, this should be obvious, but these characters do not belong to me; I can only dream...
A quick A/N: This story takes place between BotL and TLO, between The Time Paradox and The Atlantis Complex, and during year five of Harry Potter. This is my first fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy the story!
It was a pleasant day, June first. The sun was out and the sound of campers at Camp Halfblood were a loud murmur in the background. Chiron was walking by the fire where the meal offerings were made, burning even though it was mid-afternoon, when he heard a voice coming from it. "Chiron," it said, "It's been a while."
Chiron jumped slightly before turning to see a familiar face floating in the flames: the twinkling blue eyes, a pair of half moon glasses, a long silver beard. "Dumbledore," he greeted the old wizard, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Indeed, it has been too long, but surely there was a better way to meet me than show up in my fire where any of my students could see you."
"I'm afraid this isn't just a courtesy call," Dumbledore said, grimly shaking his head, "Voldemort has risen again, and we need all the help we can get. The Ministry won't help; they are foolish enough to believe that I am lying, that Harry, a child, is lying. The accuse me of wanting to take over the Ministry for myself." Indeed, Dumbledore looked even more aged that usual, worry lines creasing his face.
Chiron shook his head sadly. "I am afraid I don't know what I could do to help. We are in the midst of our own war, and I cannot make the young demigods sacrifice their lives to protect a people they don't even know exist when they should be helping their fellow demigods win this war against Kronos. You are basically in the same predicament as we are; some of your own are turning against you in rebellion, but going about it the wrong way, causing death and destruction. I would do almost anything to help you, old friend, but there are far too few of us as it is."
Chiron was surprised to see Dumbledore actually begging. "I only need four. Send your best, most skillful warriors. Send them to my school, undercover as wizards. I'll make sure they're safe and able to leave at a moment's notice if you need them to."
"But how?" pressed Chiron, "I have no way to give them magic. The only one who could is Hecate, and I highly doubt she will be willing to give out her blessing to four demigods who are not her own."
"Don't worry about that part," said Dumbledore, "Hecate still owes me a favor from a long, long time ago, and I'm sure she'll remember me. Just tell her that I need her to help me out."
Chiron still looked unconvinced. "But isn't there anything else I could do for you? Why do you want only four? What do you want them to do?"
"I only need them to look out after Harry and his friends. There are three of them, but they attract trouble like nothing I've ever seen. Trouble is something we don't need any more of right now."
The old man looked at the centaur with such hopelessness, Chiron felt pity move within him. "Okay," he relented, "I will let them know. Where should I send them? They will need training; they don't even know that wizards exist."
Dumbledore scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Chiron through the fire. "Here. This is the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. They will be expecting them on June 4th. We will be in your debt, so long as we survive to pay it off." With that, he disappeared with a pop.
Chiron looked down at the paper: 12 Grimmauld Place.
Percy and Nico were sparring when Chiron came into the the training arena. Percy was ducking a swipe from Nico's Stygian iron sword, which was radiating cold and death.
"Come on," taunted Nico, sweat glistening in his dark hair, "You're better than this."
Percy just grunted, narrowing his sea green eyes in concentration, and jabbed at him. "Not my fault you've got the freakishly powerful weapon."
Nico blocked and stepped forward to take another swipe, which Percy ducked. "Are you saying I'm better?" asked Nico in astonishment, his Tartarus black eyes widening and his sword pausing mid-swing for a fraction of a second.
Percy swiftly took advantage of the opportunity and flicked the younger boy's sword out of reach. "Nope," he grinned as he held the point of Riptide under Nico chin.
Nico protested, but before he could say anything, Chiron stepped forward. "Good fight, boys. I must admit, Nico, I've never seen anyone come so close to beating Percy. Well done." Nico warmed visibly at the compliment. He had trouble feeling welcome here, and honest praise made him feel loved where others like him just felt excluded.
His happiness was short-lived, however. "I have something important to tell you two," Chiron said seriously.
Percy stopped smiling. "It's not another prophecy is it?" he asked anxiously. He had enough pressure on him as it was.
"Yes and no, not exactly," said Chiron, but the look on his face did nothing to comfort them. "I'll tell you more as soon as we have everyone. Where are Annabeth and Thalia? They will be playing an important part of this as well."
"Um, I think they are by the lake," answered Nico, pointing.
"Okay." Chiron started off down in the direction Nico was pointing. "This is something I need to tell you as soon as possible."
Nico and Percy glanced at each other, worried. Shrugging, Nico went after Chiron, Percy close behind.
"Hey, Annabeth, Thalia!" called Percy, "Chiron has something important to tell us."
The daughter of Athena and the Huntress of Artemis were sitting on the beach, smiling and laughing. They looked genuinely relaxed, and Percy felt sorry to interrupt the moment.
"You four will be going on a kind of quest," said Chiron once he got all of their attention.
Annabeth and Thalia reacted much as the boys did, with twins expressions of worry and apprehension, but Chiron didn't elaborate.
"Okay?" ventured Annabeth, shooting a confused look at Percy, who just shrugged and shook his head.
Chiron motioned for them to follow him. The walked past their camp mates, sparring, laughing, and playing. When is the next time it will be like this? Percy wondered, A war is coming, but now we are happy. He had a feeling his life would be anything but normal for a while, and he had low standards for what was normal. Chiron led them up to the Big House. Inside, they sat in a circle, waiting for Chiron to talk.
"Well?" prompted Thalia.
"Have you guys heard of wizards and witches?" asked Chiron.
They all exchanged puzzled looks. "Yeah," Percy said slowly, "Magical beings. But they're fake, right?"
Annabeth shook her head. "It's never been proven, but there are rumors about Hecate blessing some mortals, who mated and passed down the skill through their genes."
"You're not serious," said Percy incredulously, "Like 'Abracadabra?'"
Chiron nodded. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yes there are real wizards and witches. They aren't the 'Abracadabra' kind, but they can cast spells."
"So what does this have to do with us?" asked Nico, a little confused.
"Well, a friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore, is a very powerful wizard, and he is the headmaster of a very famous wizarding school. He contacted me today, begging that I send help to defeat the rogue wizard that had been terrorizing their world for a long time. He kills for fun and is trying to 'purify' the bloodlines. Basically, they want him dead. For some reason, however, he never seems to stay dead.
"That is where you come in. I am sending you to go under cover as exchange students from America. Hecate owes Dumbledore a favor, so she has agreed to give you her blessing. You will go to a top secret address to take a crash course on wizards. There you will receive a list of people who know your true identities. You leave this evening."
The four young demigods sat in stunned silence. "Wow," said Percy at last, breaking the awkward pause.
"That is a lot of information to swallow," Annabeth gave out a shaky laugh.
Chiron nodded. "I know. But I think we could gain something from this as well. We could ask him to support us as we are supporting him now. We need every bit we can get."
Nico nodded. "Yes. That's a good idea."
Chiron dismissed them then, sending then to pack. "You don't need too many changes of clothes; they have a different kind of wardrobe than we do." He chuckled softly to himself.
The demigods went off, nervous and excited at the same time, so much so, they didn't notice the child-sized waver of light in the corner of the room.