In her third year at Hogwarts Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was sorted into Gryffindor. Danae clapped along with the others as she watched him head down to the table. She wasn't all that impressed as that he looked too scrawny to be a hero. Then again her opinion of heroes might be a bit warped from her time at camp. Besides, she was more interested in where Ron was going to be placed. When it was finally his turn and he sat on the stool Danae watched with anticipation. The hat barely brushed Ron's head before bellowing out Gryffindor. She stood up and shouted with glee like Fred and George as she clapped with no abandon. Danae had no doubt that he would get put in her House. Ron blushed deep red at his family's enthusiasm as he approached the table, sitting beside the Potter kid. Danae was happy to see Ron had already made a new friend.
Her third year electives were the Study of Magical Creatures and Divination. The first class was more boring than she expected because they never really got to take care of or see any of the creatures. No, they only read about them and wrote papers on their habitats. Boring. Charlie said that the Professor used to take the class outside and actually see the creatures in person. Only he stopped doing that after his leg nearly got bit off.
Divination was a joke. She took it as a joke, hearing that it was an easy class. The Professor was bonkers and Danae nearly choked by the amount of incense that was in the room. The Professor predicted her death, saying she would die by the time the year was over. She didn't believe the old woman then and she didn't believe her when the Professor said that Danae had a gift for the 'mystic arts'. The woman was nutters!
Nothing exciting happened until Halloween. Danae had skipped the feast, choosing instead of staying her dorm so that she could IM Nessie back at Camp. The red haired girl didn't have good news for the witch.
"We have guard shifts on the Camp's boundaries now. Things aren't looking good over here Danae." Nessie must have been in the middle of tinkering with something when Danae called. Her red hair was pulled back by the pair of goggles on her head, showing off the plethora of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
"But who would poison the tree?" Danae asked. Nessie just gave Danae a dry look, answering the question for her. "Luke." Danae surmised. Nessie nodded her head, picking up a screwdriver and taking it to some kind of contraption. Danae grumbled with frustration, wanting to scream at the top of her lungs instead. Just what was going through that idiot's brain? He could have gotten someone killed! One of his own brothers even!
Nessie then went on to tell Danae that Chiron was booted out of camp and they were given a new director. From the way that Nessie described him, 'a goddamned asshole!', Danae assumed that he was not the best of characters. She was currently working on making designs for a chariot for a race the new director wanted to set up. Why on earth the man thought it wise to bring back such a dangerous sport was beyond Danae.
Danae sighed, knowing it was no use trying to figure it out. Though, she had to secretly admit that whole thing sounded like a fun time. She could only imagine Will Solace's expression when trying to come up with contingency plans for when someone eventually lost a limb. Danae got ready to ask Nessie what she was putting into the design when there was sound of shouting from downstairs. Nessie's head shot up at the commotion.
"What's going on over there? Are you okay?" She demanded, her project forgotten. Danae mentally cursed and said that she'd call Nessie later before ending the message. Danae grabbed her wand and ran downstairs to the common room where it looked like her entire House was gathered. Just what was going on here? She weaved her way through the crowd until she found her family. She asked them what had happened and Percy informed her of the troll that had infiltrated the school.
How did a troll get through the wards? If a simple troll could sneak in then a hungry monster might get in as well. As she idly thought about the chances of it happening she realized something.
"Where's Ron?" She demanded, looking around. The other boys didn't notice that Ron wasn't with them and the youngest Weasley boy wasn't in the common room. Panic and anger filled Danae. Anger at the boys for not noticing their younger brother wasn't with them and panic at the idea of Ron getting hurt.
She crossed her arms and fingered at the dual charm bracelets on both wrists. It was a gift from Chiron a couple summers back. Each one had a charm that when pulled turned into a full sword. Never had she thought that she'd need to actually use her swords while at Hogwarts. The place was warded so tightly that monsters never came hunting for her, though it seemed that tonight was an exception. Danae debated her chances at finding Ron without getting stopped by a professor when the Fat Lady opened once more.
Danae ended up worrying for nothing as Ron strolled in behind McGonagall's strict figure, Harry and another first year girl with the bushiest mane of hair Danae had seen. The professor primly calmed the shouting exclamations and questions and gave a quick summary of the night's events.
Harry and Ron had left the group to grab Hermione who was in the loo, and were surprised to find the Troll had moved from the Dungeons to there. With quick thinking and teamwork they knocked the beast unconscious and managed to not get themselves killed.
The rumor mill was brimming for the next week as multiple renditions of what happened spread the halls. Danae was just happy her younger cousin and his friends were fine. Though she was curious as to how the troll got into the school in the first place.
The rest of the year was marked with odd events surrounding the first year trio. Next was the first Quidditch game where Harry was the new seeker on the team. He almost got thrown from his broom before catching the snitch. Professor Quirell got weirder and weirder as the year progressed and Danae contemplated skipping his class altogether.
At the end of the year it was revealed that Ron, Harry, and Hermione all had snuck into the Forbidden corridor to stop Quirell from stealing something important from Hogwarts. No one knew what it was, but it must have been priceless with as many house points Dumbledore awarded them at the feast. That year Gryffindor won the House Cup and stopped Slytherin's reign of victory.
When returning to the Burrow there was a month filled with peace and family fun. And then came time for Danae to start packing for camp, only her Aunt would have nothing of it.
"But Aunt Molly all of my friends will be waiting for me over there! I have to go!" Danae argued, glaring defiantly at her Aunt. Molly stared back with a fire in her eyes that Danae feared would not be squashed. Aunt Molly would not budge on the subject.
"I said no Danae! I only see you three months in the year! That is unacceptable! You can Owl your friends like all the other witches your age. You will not be going back to that camp and that is final!" Aunt Molly intoned before unpacking all of Danae's stuff and forcing her to do her chores. Danae felt so mad at her Aunt she couldn't talk. No one came close to Danae or Aunt Molly that day, the two clearly on short fuses.
Later that night Danae had packed her things and left a note. It stated that she was going to the camp whether or not her Aunt liked it. She refused to let that part of her life be taken from her. Danae knew that Aunt Molly didn't fully understand why Danae had felt so strongly about the camp. Aunt Molly didn't know about Danae being a Demigod or anything of that side of Danae. But that didn't stop the red hot anger Danae felt at her Aunt for trying to keep her from going back to the camp.
After packing her things she snuck downstairs and turned the fireplace on. She grabbed a handful of floo powder and flooed herself to America. She sent herself to a different Floo Station than the one she would normally take so that it would make it harder for them to find her. She landed in Nevada and had to travel all the way to New York. Danae sent a quick prayer to the Gods, Zeus in particular, as to not strike her down on the way there. Hopping on her broom Danae set off for camp. It was going to be a long flight.
Somehow, someway, Danae made it to Camp without dying. She had to stop flying halfway there because her broom began to act up. It was actually pretty lucky considering that later on in the day she found out about a storm that was brewing up ahead. Danae traveled by taking greyhounds across the country and just plain walking. She ran into her fair share of monsters and almost died once or twice but in the end she made it to Camp just in time to see the Golden Fleece being put onto Thalia's tree. She, like all the others, was completely surprised when Thalia Grace was revived.
After returning to the camp she was happy to find that Chiron was reinstated as the activities director. Tantalus was fired right before his punishment from the Gods had lifted. Nessie gleefully regaled his expression when he was given a new longer sentence before being kicked out.
The rest of the summer passed as a blur of training, facing the wrath of Will Solace when she accidentally injured herself, and avoiding the child of Zeus. Normally Danae would try to give newcomers a warm welcome and make them feel at home as possible. Thalia though, seemed a little too intense even for Danae. Besides, the dark haired girl stuck to Annabeth's side like glue so she didn't need any help from Danae.
As the summer came to a close and September was fastly approaching Danae was faced with a problem. She wasn't sure if she should go back to the Burrow. If she did, Aunt Molly would give her the whopping of a lifetime and never let her leave again. And that was if Aunt Molly even took her back.
Also, something was happening with the camp. It was obvious to everyone that something big was going to happen soon. Rumors spread of a Prophecy that involved a child of the Big Three. Danae didn't hold much in rumors, finding them to be too flaky. Rumors aside, Danae could tell that something was going to happen soon. Chiron looked more and more pensive as the days went on and ever so subtly he upped the training at camp. Danae didn't know what was going on, but she decided that she would be needed more at the camp than she would be in England.
At least, that was what she told herself whenever she had thoughts of the Burrow.
That winter Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia went on a mission to find a couple of Demigods. They came back with the new Demigods but missing Annabeth. Then the Hunters of Artemis arrived sans Goddess. Artemis had disappeared and a new quest was given to find her and Annabeth. One of the two new Demigods had joined the Hunters and was chosen to be on the quest. Her brother was sad to see her go and was in a depressed mood after the group had left. Danae decided to take him under wing and roped the boy into helping her around the Camp. She found him to be quite adorable with his obsession with his card game and his hero worship of Percy. The boy wouldn't stop asking questions about the son of Poseidon. It was like Ron when he talked about Viktor Krum, a rising star in Quidditch.
Soon Nico's somber mood changed and he was more cheerful. Of course, Danae used the term loosely as that he always had some sort of dour sort of aura about his person. Despite this he was a real help with DMS and often played the part of mailman for the camp. He wasn't allowed near Nessie's workshop though, she claimed that he killed all her devices. Danae just suspected she found him annoying and didn't him to be around. After all, she once said the same thing to Danae when she wanted to be alone to work on a project.
Nico stuck by Danae's side while waiting for news of his sister and the rest of the group. When they all returned with both Artemis and Annabeth in tow Nico's face lit up with joy and he jittered at her side. Danae laughed at his excitement and told him to go find his sister and tell her all about what had happened while they were gone. Nico was off in a flash and Danae left to find Nessie so that she could drag her out of her cabin and bring her to the bonfire that was getting started.
Later in the night when everyone was leaving she noticed that he was missing. Frowning, she looked all around the camp and checked her cabin twice to make sure he didn't just return when she was looking. When she couldn't find him she went to Chiron to inform him of Nico's disappearance.
When she got there Percy was already talking with Chiron. She then was told about how Bianca, Nico's sister, had died during the quest. Percy had told Nico the news and the younger boy did not take it well. He ran off in anger. Danae felt her heart clench and demanded Chiron to let her go search for Nico.
"No, it's too dangerous. I will have the satyrs and Dryads searching for him. You will stay and train if you decide to remain in the Camp. I fear this will not be the end to Luke's schemes." Chiron said with a grave voice. Danae could not sway him at all and she felt like she was back at the Burrow all over again only this time she was arguing against an overgrown mule instead of her Aunt. Danae had trouble sleeping that night and the others after, too worried about Nico.
The rest of the year was a pure haze of training and worrying about Nico. She was still angry that Chiron wouldn't let her go look for the boy. She had tried to IM him at least once a day only for none of the messages to go through. He was refusing to accept any of her calls. Percy had managed to defeat the labyrinth at the end of the summer and just before he was leaving the camp he took Danae to the side to speak with her.
He had a message from Nico, saying that he wanted Danae to know that he was alright and to stop trying to call him. This helped soothed her worry for the younger boy but it also ignited her anger as well. He should have come back and told her this himself! When she ranted this to Nessie the other girl didn't look up from the device in her hands. It was a round mechanical thing that glowed an eerie blue shade.
"You do realize that what you're feeling right now is probably how your Aunt and Uncle feel back in England right?" She drawled in her thick Tennessee accent. Danae paused in her pacing and looked at Nessie in surprise. It hadn't really occurred to her that way. But now she couldn't help but think about it that way. It made her heart grow heavy with guilt, but there was no way she could return now. The camp was preparing for the war that was coming next year. She needed to be there to fight alongside her friends and family. There was no other choice.
The battle in Manhattan was vicious and absolutely horrible. Luke had not only monsters in his army but other Demigods. Other kids who could possibly be Danae's brother or sister. She refused to think about it when she wasn't able to knock them out and had to go for the kill. She was going to have nightmares about this, she knew. Nessie was at her side swinging a giant hammer as tall as a spear that would shoot out flames when she slammed it on the ground. When she wasn't setting monsters on fire she was using it like a bo staff and swatting away her enemies with a swing of her arm. Danae never really noticed just how buff Nessie was in the arms before then, but there was no mistaking the muscle the short girl had when she was fighting with that monstrous weapon she had invented.
The two girls and a handful of other Demigods were trying to clear out the advancing forces in Hell's Kitchen. They were with two sons of Ares when an enemy Demigod and three Empousai approached. Danae glanced at her allies uneasily and grit her teeth. The enemy Demigod was a tall male with a dark complexion and a pair of glittering dark blue eyes that glared at them nastily. They rushed forward and the battle was on.
It wasn't like it was on TV or how it's told in stories. There was no honor, no rules, and it made no sense whatsoever. They didn't pair off and fight one-on-one, but instead they traded off enemies as needed. At one point Danae found herself facing off against the Demigod. He had a large sword staff in his hands and Danae was unsure on how to proceed. She had never faced off against such a weapon before. Swallowing nervously she steeled her nerves and rushed forward to fight. The two traded blows for some time, giving each other minor cuts and bruises to match all the other ones already there. Snarling the boy darted towards Danae and she got ready to meet his attack when behind her Nessie slammed her hammer onto the ground right behind Danae. Flames shot out and licked at Danae's feet causing her to falter. It was all the boy needed to strike. Pain erupted and Danae screamed in pure agony. Blood pooled between the fingertips of the hand that was covering her left eye as she fell to the ground.
A pained grunt sounded from above her and she found her world tilting as she was hauled up to her feet. Danae was being all but dragged from the battle, her consciousness weaving in and out. She found herself blacking out from the pain. When she next woke Danae was on a cot surrounded by other injured Demigods. Will Solace was kneeling above her, adjusting bandages that covered the entire left side of her face. He was dressed in the armor used for Capture the Flag and a quiver full of arrows on his back. Seeing it made Danae know that his bow was somewhere near, probably on the ground where she couldn't see it. He was also wearing an over the shoulder bag that was filled with what seemed to be over the counter drugs.
"Why is it always you?" Danae croaked, surprising Will. He must not have realized she woke up. He smiled down at her, but she could see the tension in his blue eyes.
"You know, I find myself asking the same thing when I find you as my patient." He joked. Will told Danae how they had to drag her all the way back to headquarters so she could get the proper medical attention. They weren't equipped for an injury like hers where she was stationed. Not that headquarters were all that equipped either. The ambrosia and nectar was running low so only the worse cases were getting it. It would seem her injury did not count. All he could offer was some extra strength aspirin and some Z-Quil
Danae ended up spending the rest of the battle in the infirmary. She wasn't in the battle for long, only two hours at tops. Despite this she liked to think that she helped. That she did a good job. As she fell into a drug aided sleep she idly wondered if her father was proud.
They won the war, thank the Gods. Not only that, but now all the Gods had to claim their children by the time they were thirteen and the minor Gods were getting cabins at camp too. Danae herself was claimed right as they were loading all the kids into vans to head back to camp. There was plenty to celebrate after all was said and done. There was also a lot to mourn for as well. Nessie made it out okay, though she was oddly silent when Danae asked her about the boy that had struck her down. Instead the mechanic had focused on making sure that Danae was alright and apologizing for the friendly fire. Danae found nothing to apologize for because it was an accident.
Later on she found herself unable to sleep as nightmares plagued her. She snuck out to the roof of her cabin and lied down in the night breeze. It was peaceful out and Danae was finally able to calm herself. She looked up at the stars and tried to find all of the constellations. It was hard with half of her face being bandaged up and leaving her with only one eye working.
"So what's on your mind squirt?" Danae jumped and looked to the side. A man in his mid thirties dressed in a casual suit sat beside her. His curly brown hair was hanging slightly in his pale blue eyes. On the side of his shoes were little symbols of wings. Danae stared in open mouthed shock as she realized just who it was.
That man was her father Hermes.
When the sign of Hermes burned above her head, Danae didn't know what to think. She never would have suspected to be one of his children. For one, each cabin had at least one common thing among each other from their Godly parent. For those born from Hermes was their blue eyes and tendency to elvish or fairy-like faces that could look impish with twitch of the lips. Danae looked nothing like that. Not only that, aren't children of Hermes supposed to be good thieves? She's never stole a thing in her life! Nor would she want to either.
"You're doing a lot of thinking but not a lot of talking." Hermes said, pulling Danae from her thoughts. She blushed in embarrassment at the fact she ignored her father. She cleared her throat nervously before speaking.
"I don't know what it is you want me to say. Thanks for the claiming? I mean..." Danae pursed her lips and didn't finish her sentence. Hermes stared at her for a moment before shrugging.
"You think it's a fluke right? That I made a mistake?" Danae didn't answer, though it was exactly what she thought. Hermes continued on anyway. "Well, any other time I might have been insulted at your doubt. But after the last few days I think we could all use a break." He looked up to the stars and Danae couldn't see the expression on his face, but his voice sounded tired.
"I met your mother dressed like this. It was in Greece and I was on some business. The first thing I noticed about her was her crimson hair. The same hair that you have." Danae sat up and pulled her knees to her chest as he talked about her mother. Her Aunt and Uncle rarely ever talked about the elder Prewett sister.
"Cassandra was a true wandering spirit. The woman could never stay in one place for too long. She was the one who got away. First woman to leave me behind instead of the other way around." Hermes chuckled, seeming to be lost in his thoughts. "You look just like her you know. The very spitting image." He looked to Danae at this, his eyes soft as he gave her a small smile.
Danae tried to picture her. She only ever saw pictures of her mother as a small child. Aunt Molly said it was because her mother had left after finishing her fifth year. It made Danae guess that she did have a lot in common with her mother after all. They both left.
"How could I be your daughter? I'm nothing like Conner or Travis. I'm not sneaky and I wouldn't make a good thief at all." Danae said, looking up at the God. Instead of smiting her for still not quite believing him Hermes only shrugged.
"Luke wasn't like those two either." He pointed out. Danae's mouth went dry at Luke's name and her heart panged. She might not have been the closest of friends with him, but she did look up to the elder boy. Everyone in her cabin did.
"Besides, I'm sure you've noticed your gifts." She gave Hermes a dubious look that made him chuckle. "Your impeccable sense of direction? Or how about your abilities in making potions at that school of yours? You've even nearly mastered a sword style that would take a regular mortal an entire lifetime to do. I'm not just the God of thieves Danae." He reached out and pulled Danae close into a one armed hug. It surprised Danae, as far as she knew the Gods weren't this tactile with their children.
Then again, she thought as he continued to hold her close, he did just lose a child. Luke might have been Hermes' favorite son, and he had to let the boy die because of his choices. Danae returned the hug, deciding to just not think too much on it and enjoy the moment.
"Luke may have been my favored child," Hermes started, confirming Danae's suspicion. "But you are my first daughter. You have a special place in my heart as well. Never forget that." Hermes left shortly after that, needing to get back to Olympus. Danae stayed on the rooftop for the rest of the night, thinking on what her father had said.
Her mind wandered, and she remembered Chiron's odd behavior when Luke had left the camp. Knowing that she was Hermes' kid now made his actions make more sense. But, how did he know who her father was, and why didn't he ever tell her?
Things calmed down after that. Danae had spent the next few weeks resting and visiting with Will in the Apollo cabin as he changed her bandages. They had been putting a salve on the wound that wouldn't fix the scar but would give her back her sight in the left eye. When her treatments were finally over Will had told her that he never wanted to see her on one of his cots again. Danae agreed with a laugh. Nico had come back and actually stayed at camp for some time. Danae gave him the biggest hug possible, ignoring how uncomfortable he looked.
Everyone thought that it was all over. That everything would be fine now. They were wrong though.
Percy went missing, Nico rarely visited and it wasn't long until he stopped coming by as well. Three new Demigods arrived at the camp just as everyone was at the end of their ropes. Then it turns out that Roman Gods were real as well and that one of the new Demigods was a son of Jupiter; the Roman version of Zeus.
Just when things were looking up and they thought that they were close to getting Percy back something went wrong and news arrived of the Romans preparing for war. And so Danae found herself once again getting ready to fight fellow Demigods in another war. At least this time she knew the enemy forces weren't being led by one of her brothers.
While the two camps were fighting Gaea the Earth Mother woke up and Danae thought that they were all dead for sure. But then Leo Valdez, one of Nessie's brothers, had exploded the mechanical dragon Festus into the Goddess. She became severely injured and allowed for the final blow to take her down. Valdez was on Festus at the time of the explosion and everyone thought him to be dead. That was until a scroll found its way to the Camp.
Valdez was fine, just lost somewhere with a person called Calypso. He was trying to find his way back home and he had sent the scroll to let everyone know that he was not dead after all.
The summer was coming to a close and Danae was eighteen. She was trying to figure out just what she wanted to do with her life. Maybe she could go check out New Rome and see if all the rumors about it were true. Or she could go back to England and face her family's wrath. It had been so long since she left the Burrow that Danae wondered if she would even be welcomed back. She left at the end of her third year when she was fourteen. That was nearly four years ago. Besides, she liked living at camp and helping new campers while running her messaging business. She didn't really want to leave.
Though she wouldn't mind seeing the Weaselys again.