Flashback
Several years ago
"Mommy, I want to play in the ocean!" 7 year-old Percy Jackson gripped his mother's hand with an air of excitement. "Please? Please? Please?"
Sally Jackson laughed, her dazzling white teeth catching the sun's rays as she smiled. "Sure, Percy. But you know the rules, right?"
"Yes!" The little boy said, smiling crookedly, accidentally showing off several missing teeth. "Don't go underwater for longer then five minutes, and don't attract attention to myself, and…" He said, trailing off, after a silence.
"Don't talk to strange creatures." Sally smiled encouragingly. "Have fun, Percy."
Percy waved at his mother, running full speed at the ocean. As the waves reached his height, he disappeared, but Sally wasn't worried. She knew that Percy's father would be protecting him in his domain, and that the little boy could breathe under water.
A flash of movement caught Sally's eye, and she turned to see three kids of varying age. The youngest seemed to be around 7 or 8 - Percy's age - with curly, golden hair and dark eyes. The other two were a tad older, perhaps around twelve and fourteen. The boy had short blonde hair and was very tall for his young age. The other girl had short raven-colored black hair, and as she turned to look at Sally, she noticed that she had electric blue eyes.
The black-haired girl nudged the boy, and they both turned to look at Sally. Giving them an embarrassed smile, Sally turned away from the trio, pulling out a book. She settled down in the sand, watching the ocean as she read.
As the minutes ticked by, she began to grow worried. Her son had not yet reemerged from the sea. Fighting down her worry, she picked up a small wooden stick. Hiding the stick from view, she cast her magic into the ocean—something that would show a dazzling array of light from the water to signal Percy to come back out from the depths of the sea.
Unbeknownst to her, her slight movement had caught the trio's eyes. More specifically, the eyes of the youngest girl. The young girl's attention divided caught the attention of the two older kids.
"Annabeth?" The boy had asked the little girl. "What is it?"
"I dunno." She said, pouting. "The lady had a stick; but it was sort of familiar."
The older kids shared a glance, but shrugged it off. Kids. The two seemed to agree.
Not a moment later, Percy's form came out from the ocean. But the little boy was not being as evasive as he should have been; for he was holding a giant shell and screaming, "Mommy!"
Sally Jackson rose to her feet. "Percy what is that in your hand?"
"It's a shell!" The little boy held it up for his mother to see. "Daddy gave it to me."
"That's very pretty, dear." Sally's eyes scanned the shoreline. The only people that were near the duo were the three kids, and they were all staring at her.
Sally smiled dismissively. "Kids find the dandiest things, don't they?" She said playfully to the other group, but her voice was shaky. She would have to talk to Percy about announcing things out loud like the sea was his father.
"Excuse me." The fourteen-year-old boy rose to his feet. "Did he just say-?"
"No, he didn't." Sally said, her voice rising so the teenager could hear her.
"Yes he did." The preteen girl agreed, giving the teenager a knowing look.
Sally stopped dead. "Are you three…?"
"Demigods?" The older boy said inquisitively, and after a moment of silence, he said; "Yes."
The young girl locked her eyes onto Percy. "Is that a conch shell?"
"Yes." Percy strode over to the girl before Sally could even blink. "My daddy gave it to me."
"Your daddy?" The little girl's eyes clouded with pain and misery. Such a haunting look for someone so young—it broke Sally's heart. "My daddy didn't want me."
"That's okay." Percy said, handing her the conch shell. "You can have this. My daddy would want you to have it."
The little girl gasped, taking the shell as if it were made of glass. "Really?"
Percy nodded, his vibrant green eyes dancing with excitement. "I found it beside the coral reef. It's so huge! Daddy says I shouldn't go there." He lowered his voice, but children were terrible at whispering. "But I go anyway."
"I'm Annabeth." The girl said.
"I'm Percy." He extended out his hand, and the little girl shook it with a laugh.
Sally Jackson locked eyes with the other two kids. "It seems as we have some things to talk about."
"Yes, it seems so." The boy said, getting to his feet. His tall form was scrawny—undernourished. Sally absentmindedly wondered if the boy was eating enough, but then she saw that the other two bore the same tiny frames.
Sally smiled. "How about we catch something to eat on the way home?"
The boy smiled. "I think we'd like that."
Four years later
11-year-old Percy Jackson was already having a bad day when he got home that night. He and Annabeth had gotten into a fight—for their first time ever—over something so small, so stupid. How could she say that dolphins creped her out? Dolphins were one of the most majestic creatures of the ocean. Someday he'd teach her what it meant to be the son of the sea—if she could bore him for hours about architecture, he would just have to do the same thing about marine life.
"Mom?" He called out, jingling his keys as he opened the door to their house. "Mom, I'm home!"
Percy kicked off his shoes by the door, and upon hearing the TV going in the living room, made his way there. He was more surprised then confused to see not his mother on the couch—but an old man. The man turned to see him in his arrival, and started to get up from the cozy chair.
"Hello, Percy." The man said.
Percy's eyes widened. This man knows my name!
Percy's hand lowered to his pocket where he kept his sword, Anaklusmos, and immediately had uncapped it and shoved it in the direction of the old man. "S-stay back!" He warned, his voice showing his surprise and fear.
The old man laughed, and for the first time Percy noticed he had an English accent. "Dear me, there is no need for that, Percy. Come and have a seat. Let's talk."
Indecision flowed through him. After a tense moment of silence, he sat in the chair across from the man. "Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Albus Dumbledore." Albus smiled kindly.
"I've heard that name before." Percy said, silent for a minute. "Okay, tell me where I've supposed to hear it."
Albus laughed quietly. "I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts."
Percy's mouth extended into a wide O shape. "But… that's in Europe! Why are you here, in New York City?"
"Ah, that's the pickle, isn't it?" Albus said, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a scroll. From seemingly nowhere, he put on a pair of small glasses and read from the paper:
"Perseus Jackson of New York City, USA, is cordially invited to learn at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the condition that he accepts the offer of a part of the Ministry of Magic, details enclosed below."
"What?" Percy said. "Why would they want an eleven year-old in the Ministry of Magic?"
"You see, Percy, just like when each new witch or wizard is born, sometimes greater things are on the horizon for this new generation. This is a secret, but the Minister for Magic-the president for lack of a better word—is also born into the position. When the current minister reaches a certain age, the next suitable candidate for replacement is born. Could you imagine the uproar it caused when they found out the next Minister was American? Dear me, I thought they were going to have an aneurism."
"I don't understand." Percy frowned. "The new Minister of Magic is born into it?"
"Yes." Albus said with a small smile.
"But… shouldn't they just be voted in like normal?" He scratched his chin.
"But that leaves a greater expectation on the elected, doesn't it?" Albus asked. "No, it's far much simpler if the next person to acquire the position has been trained for it for years."
"But you're not the Minster, are you?" Percy asked him. "You said you were headmaster of Hogwarts."
"Correct," Albus said. "As to the answer of your question, I was the minister. When the government collapsed many years ago, the people felt I wasn't taking my position correctly and replaced me. We all assumed that the old system that had been working for generations was over with."
"So how did you find out it was me?" Percy hesitated. "How did you find me? My mom's a witch, you know. She has protective spells around this entire house!"
"Oh, your mother let me in." Albus said, his light blue eyes twinkling with amusement. "She just recently left for work; she had an emergency, you see."
Percy was silent. "Ah."
"So what do you say, Percy?" Albus asked, getting back onto his feet. "Will you learn at my school?"
He looked at the ground in sadness. "You want me to leave my country… my friends."
Albus Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid that's true."
"What if I could ask a favor of you?"
Percy's words shocked the man. He wasn't expecting the boy to ask a favor.
"Absolutely." Albus said.
"In exchange for me going to your school and joining the Ministry… I want my friends to be invited into the school also."
Albus was silent. "Your friends are demigods, Percy Jackson, what you are asking of me is impossible."
"Not all of them!" Percy said. "Annabeth is a witch, too. She got her letter from Ilvermorny! That's the American wizarding school. So did Silena. I'll come to your school and do everything you ask me to if you let them come too."
Albus was silent for another moment before extending his hand to the child. "You have a deal."
Percy shook his hand, grinning from ear to ear.
