Luke stabbed himself at his Achilles' point, a golden flash of light, and I blacked out.
I regained consciousness in what looked like Camp Half-blood except that it was a replica made from clouds, oh and there were these three old ladies with yarn standing in front of me. Yep, its official I'm screwed.
"Where am I? "I said, voicing my thoughts.
"You are in Time, the realm of Chronos." Came the echoing voice of the beings I recognized as the Three Fates.
"Okay, new question. Why am I here?"
"You are here, to prevent the destruction of Western Civilization."
"W-wh-what?" I replied, oh so eloquently.
"When you were 12, you faced and defeated the God of War, Ares. In the aftermath of the battle, Ares cursed you, so your weapon would fail when you needed it most. By doing this Ares broke the Ancient Laws, and in return faced the consequences." They stated together.
"What consequences! It's always us demi-gods that suffer when the gods break the rules!" I shouted, anger momentarily overcoming my senses.
"Just because mortals like you cannot comprehend it, doesn't mean that the gods don't suffer. Regardless, when Ares cursed you, he broke the Ancient Laws, and altered your destiny, where you should have been victorious, you will now fail. This failure in turn will lead to the downfall of humanity, which is … unacceptable at that given time."
"So, just break the curse and we'll each be on our way."
"That, is not possible. Gods cannot usurp the authority of other gods. That is the one rule that no god will ever break, for the consequences are dire indeed. No, you must break this curse yourself, but you cannot as you are now. To remedy this, we are sending you to a different point in time, to a different land. There some one will contact you, you will accept, and learn everything you can as fast as you can. For your failure, may doom humanity itself. You must return to Olympus in the year 2014, on your birthday, at the exact moment Kronos was defeated."
"Are you sure you just can't convince Ares to take this curse o…" In a flash of golden light, I was gone. "Off."
"Happy eleventh birthday Perseus!" Cheered a sweet looking woman, somewhere in her fifties.
"Huh?" I replied.
"My, its August 18, 1967, your eleventh birthday. Always so absentminded aren't you Perseus." She said, shaking you head softly. "Here." She said, handing me a small box wrapped in a news paper. "I know it isn't much, with the Orphanages budget being what it is, but at least its something right."
"Oh, yeah. Thankyou Miss, I really appreciate it." I said. Carefully unwrapping the present, I discovered it was leather bound notebook with the name Perseus engraved in gold. Curiously flipping though the note book, I was surprized to discover writing in it.
Perseus,
You are no doubt confused. If you don't know already, you are in Britain in the year 1967. We have taken the liberty to de-age you so that you will fit in better. You have no doubt noticed that your Dyslexia is gone, since you will be doing a lot of reading we thought it would be prudent to remove the handicap.
To avoid suspicion, you will take the guise of an orphan named Perseus, birthparents unknown, and no last name as to avoid possible paradox's. Apart from us, the only one who is aware of your identity is your father, do not be surprised if he avoids meeting with you in person, as he will be understandably confused for some time.
Your sword is in the possession of Chiron, and he will give it to the twelve-year-old you in the future. In the mean time, you must get by without it, which shouldn't be too difficult because no monsters shall hunt you while you are in Britain. Finally, you will cease to age at 16, hence you should invest some time to discover a way to artificially age yourself before then as to avoid suspicion. Note that this will be the only communication you will receive from us for the remainder of your quest.
Best of luck,
The Fates.
Hmm, I don't know why I thought life would get easier after the war. O-well, no use crying over spilt milk.
"Perseus dear, there is a woman in here to see you. She says you won a scholarship to her school. Honestly, you should have told me you applied to one, it's not like we would have stopped you from going sweetie." She said, before leaving just as quickly as she came.
"You must be Perseus." Said a stern looking women. "I am Minerva McGonagall the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and we cordially invite you to join us."
"Hogwarts? As in pigs with pimples? Your inviting me to a school, named after pigs with a skin condition? Yeah, I'm going to need a moment to think about this. I mean, it isn't very, you know, cool. I mean, if somebody asks me where I went to school, I can't say Hogwarts, I'll get laughed at."
Her lips twitched for the briefest of moments before her expression became stern. "I assure you Mr. Perseus that Hogwarts is the premier magic school in Britain."
"Magic." I stated skeptically.
"I see that you need a demonstration. I believe this will do." She said, before turning into a cat.
"I see." I said rubbing my non-existential facial hair. "Yeah, alright I'm in."
"Perfect. All that is left is to purchase your school supplies. Follow me." She said. Stepping out into the alley, she extended her arm. "Now, take a deep breath, and don't let go." With what felt like being squeezed into a tube, we appeared with a pop into another alley.
"This is the muggle entrance to Diagon Alley, now remember this sequence." She said, before tapping a brick wall with stick, obviously leading to a hidden entrance. Just to be safe, I quickly scanned the area looking for a Delta sign. I didn't want to end up lost in the Labyrinth.
Once the passage way opened, I was introduced to a bizarre sight, wonky buildings arranged in no order, most crooked, some slanted. It was a neat sight, but it didn't even hold a candle to Olympus or even Camp Half-blood, but then I imagined, not much did. In the corner of my eye, I saw McGonagall looking at my expression, probably expecting me to be awed, but when you're a demigod who's been to the Underworld, Atlantis, and Olympus, not much awes you. "Hmm, eh I've seen better." I finally said.
She seemed quite stunned for a moment there. "Where perhaps did you see a sight more breathtaking then this?" She asked.
"You know, here and there. Doesn't really matter right now." I replied.
"Indeed. Now, as a muggle-born orphan, you are provided with enough galleons to cover five years of tuition and supplies, plus a little extra for spending money. This money you do not have to pay back. For your sixth and seventh year if you choose to continue your education you must either pay for yourself or request a loan, to be paid within 7 years of your graduation. Note that most students that choose to do this can pay their loan 6 months after graduation, a lot find summer jobs which are in fact sufficient to pay for a Hogwarts tuition, and it isn't unusual for a student in your position not to take a loan at all.
Now, our first stop is to Gringotts Bank, where money from the Hogwarts treasury will be transferred to your own personal vault. Every year, the money left over from your Hogwarts tuition is automatically moved here, which is approximately 100 galleons.
The Bank is run by Goblins, take care not to insult them, and don't show them your teeth." She said, all without giving me a chance to talk.
Together we walked down the alley, and into a white marble building, got in line to meet a teller, where McGonagall requested a Hogwarts trust vault in my name. After an exhilarating cart-ride, we stopped in front of a vault numbered 718, which had a modest supply of bronze, silver, and gold coins. Then she proceeded to explain the currency, and grabbed a couple handfuls of coins and we left.
What followed was a rather dry shopping trip given that we were purchasing items for a magical school, but eh, what can you do. The most thrilling part of the shopping trip however was the purchasing of my wand.
"Ah, my name is Garrick Ollivandar, welcome to my shop." Called out a middle-aged man.
"Hi, I'm Perseus, I'm looking for a wand." I said.
"Wonderful. Now, no two Ollivandar wands are alike, here we use an assortment of woods and cores in the form of phoenix feathers, dragon heartstrings, and unicorn hairs. No two Ollivandar wands are alike, as the creature the core comes from, and the tree the wood comes from are not alike. Now, which is your wand arm?"
"Err, I'm not sure exactly." I said scratching the back of my head.
"No worries." Replied Olivander, and with a wave of his hand a measuring tape started measuring every body-part, and I mean everything. "Try this, 13 inches Holly and dragon heartstring, see if you like it." Then he immediately snatched it back from me.
"That wand does not like you, for you see it is the wand that chooses the wizard, not the other way around."
This continued for half an hour, after which he retreated in to the back of the store and returned with a thin black box. "Try this, 11 inches ash and a hair from a rather handsome unicorn." He said excitedly.
The second I did, water burst forth bringing with it the smell of the ocean. Immediately I knew that this was mine and mine alone, a part of me that I never knew I had. I felt strangely complete.
"Normally my wands are seven galleons, but since I did not make this I shall not charge you. Would you perhaps be interested in a holster?"
Later that day, I sat alone in my room with my wand in hand, when I felt a presence behind me. Looking up I saw that it was my father, Poseidon.
"Hello." He said.
"Hey dad." I replied.
"So you are my son. When I felt your connection to the sea, I had feared for a moment that Oceanus had conceived a child, but your presence felt too much like mine. However, you cannot be my child for I have sired none since Winston." He stated, clearly looking for answers.
"Yeah, I'm from the future. I was fighting grandpa, and just as I defeated him the fates sent me here so I could remove the curse my war loving cousin placed on me when I defeated him. Apparently if I don't, humanity itself will end or something." I said, being careful not to mention any names, lest I draw their attention.
"Tell me everything." Said the King of the Ocean
Tell him, I did, from the golden glow I remembered from my early childhood to the moment I came to this time.
"The Curse of Achilles, do you still have it?" He asked.
I nodded my head in affirmation. "Yeah, I haven't had the chance to test it, but I can still sense that it's there." I replied.
"Fascinating. You said my nephew cursed you as well, and you came to learn from the wand wavers to remove it?"
"Pretty much."
"I see." He said, his face unreadable. "What you are trying to do is possible, but there may be another method to remove the curse. One that is more useful, and infinitely more dangerous. When the time comes to remove the curse, come visit me in Atlantis. We will discuss your options then."
"Alright, when the time comes, I'll make my way to Atlantis."
"One more thing Percy, you will be here for the next 47 years. This may be a quest, but it will be different than the others you've been on. You're going to go to a school, you will make friends, you may fall in love, and you might even marry. What I mean to say is that this will be your life, and this will be as normal as a life can be in the society your entering. One where you don't have to be a hero. Now I don't know you well at this point, but I do know that all heroes desire what you are going to have for the next 47 years, so don't forget to enjoy it."
With those words of wisdom, he departed. The lingering smell of the sea the only evidence that he was ever here. A few moments later, I smiled. I would miss Annabeth, Grover, Rachel, Chiron, my mother, and all those I made friends with in the future. I would be lying though, if I said I wasn't looking forward to 47 god-free years. Just maybe, fate wasn't a complete bitch after all. Then my eyes drifted to my trunk full of books, yeah never mind they were.
I took a deep breath, and opened my trunk grabbed a book called the Standard Book of Spells Grade One, and started reading. Yep, this is going to be a long two weeks.