Percy's POV

The instructions were simple; infiltrate Hogwarts, blend in, keep an eye on Harry Potter and his friends, and, above all, do not reveal our true identities.

Percy was tired, tired of the fighting and the wars and the deaths. First the battle with the Titans, and then The Second Giant War, he thought he was free to live out his years in peace, only fearing for his life half the time, or, hell, three quarters of the time.

Unfortunately it didn't work that way, not when the fates had a sick sense of humor and, for some reason, Percy had to be at the center of every damn quest that was issued.

Admittedly the whole 'wizards being real' had taken some time to get adjusted to, though, with his life the way it was, nothing was much of a surprise anymore.

Two races joined as one

To force the battle failed or won

Past unveiled for all to see

Knowledge takes the final fee

Heroes from either race

To see the legacy preserved or disgraced

Darkness shall consume the child of magic and the sea

Death shall set the oceans free

(BTW guys, if you have any suggestions for improvement for this prophecy please leave a comment or message me, I'm seriously struggling!)

With a sigh, I shifted once again in the train seat. Prophecies were never good, but this one seemed annoyingly set on death. Thankfully I didn't have to be worried about being consumed by darkness; I was just a child of the sea, none of that magic stuff. All though, the part about death setting the ocean free didn't sound so great in my favor... maybe a giant monster would keep me hostage and when we killed it I would be set free. Ya, that sounded right.

Shifting again, I contemplated the whole thing. And by the whole thing I meant the fact that these stupid robes the wizards wore chaffed in very unfortunate places.

I gave up, the robes were hot and the small train car did nothing to help the feeling of being hedged in. Annabeth was asleep to the right of me; her head leaned against my shoulder and Nico sat across from us.

I couldn't help but wish that Frank and Hazel were here with us. I hadn't gotten to see them much this summer, what with them, and Jason, being needed back at Camp Jupiter to help with repairs. Piper had chosen to stay behind, partly to help with repairs and partly because she wanted to be with Jason.

In the pocket of the robes I could feel my wand digging into my thigh; six inches of mermaid scale and horse hair. Fitting to say the least, though all the wands had been equally as ironic. Alexander? Oliver? Olivander? Ya, that was it. Olivander had seemed to share our humor as he told us the core of each one; Thestral bone for Nico, owl feather for Annabeth.

In the distance I could see the lights of a town, probably Hogsmead. If I hadn't been so tired I would have laughed all over again, the names these wizards came up with were out of the ordinary, even for Percy.

With a rattle and jerk the train chugged into the stations, the compartment coming alive with commotion as the passenger's struggled to disembark. Nico's eyes watched the stream of people from under heavily lidded eyes, regarding them with annoyance.

"Were here?" yawned Annabeth.

"Were here." I confirmed gently, helping her from the padded seats and grabbing our luggage from racks above our heads.

We stepped into the hall way as the stragglers found their way through the train doors, most of them looking to be first years, confused and overwhelmed.

On the platform we joined the group as a man nearly three times as tall as us boomed out "First years, first years! Come with me! All of the rest of yer lot head on off to the carriages!" He wore an extremely worn, brown duster, the whole thing was covered in pockets, most of which looked to be sewn on by the man himself.

Following Chiron's instructions I stepped to the side with the rest of the first years, even though we would be entering into our seventh year at Hogwarts we had yet to be sorted, therefore we were to wait in the great hall with the rest of the undetermined students.

Hagrid, as he had gruffly introduced himself as, ushered us to a lake. Instructing us to climb aboard the many boats that peppered the shore. Nico grimaced as he stared at the black water but gingerly climbed aboard, shooting me a thankful glance as he realized I was holding the boat steady in the water, a perk to being the son of Poseidon.

There were several other first years who weren't as lucky and found themselves shivering in their robes as we were whisked across the lake, the boats drawn along by some invisible magic.

Out of the fog loomed a gigantic castle, it's towers stretching so high they were drowned out in the darkness. Beside me I could almost feel Annabeth mentally logging the way the arches swept gracefully to the ground or how each turret was placed, it made me grin.

The boat dipped slightly as it bumped against the shore. "Alright! Everybody out!" boomed Hagrid. He pointed us through the castle, finally leaving us at a set of giant double doors, in the hands of a very stern looking which.

She pulled open the doors and led us into a very large hall way, in which you could have fit the entire dining pavilion. The whole passage was stone, lit with flickering torches, the ceiling was too high to make out and a magnificent marble staircase led to the upper floors. The whole thing reminded me of a cheesy, old-fashioned vampire movie.

I could hear the buzz of hundreds of voices from the doorway to my left but the lady led as all into a small, empty chamber. The students crowded closely together, opposed to the three of us, who stayed slightly detached from the group.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, my name is Professor McGonagall." she said "The start of the term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will resemble your family while you are at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house mates, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." She paused, as if gauging the amount this information had sunken in. Seemingly satisfied, she continued.

"There are four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own Nobel history and each produce exemplary witches and wizards." Once again she scanned us "While you are here at Hogwarts your accomplishments will gain you house points, while any misdemeanors will lose you house points. At the end of the year the scores will be added and the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup. It is my hope that you will show credit to whichever house you are separated into."

Professor McGonagall turned to us "As for the three of you; stay at the rear of the group. Dumbledore will announce you."

Turning back to the first years she said "The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily. You will be called to the front by name and be sorted. I suggest you take this time to smarten yourselves up while you can." Her hawk like eyes landed on the few unlucky first years who had the misfortune to fall in the lake and now stood chattering amongst the rest. With a flick of her wand the soaking garments were now dry, though rather stiff, leaving a three very stunned student's as she turned and exited the small room.

As the tale of her cloak rounded the door way the whispering broke out, quiet enough so that only snippets could be heard.

It wasn't long before Professor McGonagall was back, leading us through a small door located in the room we had been standing in only moments before.

The chattering in the great hall came to a pause as all eyes turned to the gathered students waiting to be sorted.

"Hogwarts students," a commanding voice said from the front of the room "tonight we have the honor of inviting, not only our fellow first years into our midst, but three exchange student from America." the whispering broke out in a feverish tumble, all eyes on us. "They will all be entering into their seventh year here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I expect you all to welcome them with open arms. Let the sorting begin!"

With a flourish McGonagall brought forth a roll of parchment from thin air.

The sorting had begun.