Encounter Two
Nearly a year after Harry, Ron and Hermione explored the Argo II, Chiron asked Percy and Annabeth to come to the gates of Half-Blood Hill. Standing at the other side was Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ron kept trying to stick his hands through the gate, but couldn't get past. "Ow! Bloody he-" Ron started. "Ron, if you touch it once and it shocks you, why would you try again?" Hermione cut him off. He groaned and then replied, "Mate, can you please just lay off me?" Hermione rolled her eyes, then noticed Annabeth. She then said, "Hey, it's you two again!" Hermione and Annabeth smiled at each other. Then Annabeth walked through the gate, and they hugged. Ron was taken aback. "Wait, how can she get through?" He tried to walk through, and nearly jumped out of his skin. Annabeth explained that the gate only lets demigods travel through it, and that any mortal gets shocked by it." "Hey, is mortal supposed to be some kind of insult? Because it's not. I am completely proud of my mortality." Hermione then explained to Ron that it only means that he had no Godly blood in him, which he nearly replied with another comment, and Hermione cast a spell that made him unable to speak unless she approved what he was saying. Then he tried to swear at Hermione, not knowing what the spell did, and ended up very confused. Harry, sick of Hermione and Ron's bickering, asked Percy if there was any way they could get through the gate. Chiron walked over to a tree. He then took a knife, and chipped off three pieces of bark. He handed them to Percy, who gave one to each Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Chiron told them to try walking through. Ron wouldn't dare, but Harry did. He walked through the gate with no complications. Hermione and Ron figured that it must be safe, so, holding their bark, they walked right through the gate. "Now don't lose the bark. It's the only way you can leave the camp." Annabeth warned them.
After getting through the gate and into camp, Percy and Annabeth introduced them to other demigods. They saw Leo and Piper, and ran over to them. "How did you get in?" Leo exclaimed. "Chiron must have used the bark! But why did he use it on you three?" Piper wondered aloud. Then suddenly realized that what she said was a little rude, and muttered in charmspeak, "Sorry. No offence." The trio quickly accepted her apology, and Chiron strode over to answer her question. "Because one of the three is special. I can feel it." He then asked Harry to come with him, while Ron and Hermione stayed behind. After about ten minutes, Harry came back, looking astonished. "Chiron thinks we're all demigods. He says that I'm a child of Poseidon, Ron's a child of Hermes, and Hermione is a daughter of Athena. But we're also wizards and witches, so the monsters that demigods are supposed to be able to track us can't." Annabeth ran into the Athena cabin, and a few minutes later, came back. "Chiron's right. I talked with mom, and she said that it's very likely. And, she also asked Hermes and Poseidon to claim Ron and Harry if they're actually their parents. But I think that Hermione and I being half-sisters is legit." She pointed to Hermione's head. An owl was floating above her. It flew down, carrying a coin that had the Mark of Athena on it. The owl dropped it into Hermione's hands, and flew off. "That's how I was claimed, too. Every child of Athena gets one of those. It's called the Mark of Athena. But don't worry. You won't have to do the well-known quest for Athena. I've already done it too recently. Athena waits about a millennia to assign it again." Hermione nodded, then realized that Ron was wearing a pair of winged shoes, and Harry just had a mini trident dropped into his hands. "Okay." Annabeth said. "Looks like Chiron was completely right." Percy then told them that they were welcome in the cabins whenever they needed a place to stay. Hermione thanked him for telling them, and, as they were there because they were looking for a place to set up camp, they figured they would stay a while.
