A/N: Okay, I'm back again with a new chapter for you. This one is dedicated to Velocity Drew Warren With cookies here for:

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Kat Callen

Enigmatic Person

Wolfman613

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A guest

Now, on with the story…


Annabeth's PoV:

I sighed and glanced around the crowded terminal, eyes flickering over each person in search of a familiar face while, behind me, the three cousins refused to shut up… or go anywhere with their conversation.

"Just go contact Chiron."

"But Anna said to wait here!"

"We can't stay here all night!"

"But we obviously have to stay here for a reason!"

Once again I felt the urge to sigh but I was able to stop myself just in time. This was the exact same thing they had been saying since we collected our bags from the luggage carousel 20 minutes prior to where we were now and, to be honest, it wasn't any less annoying now than it was before. Although I loved all of them dearly, I couldn't help but wish they would shut up for one moment in time. It was bad enough that I had to abandon the camp after the battle, but why did I have to have babysitting duty in a foreign country on top of that? Wasn't my life bad enough having to keep Percy in line on all of those life threatening quests?

I am ashamed to say that my internal rant may have continued for quite some time after this if it had not been for the sudden appearance of a young woman over by the window, carrying a cardboard sign with our names written on it. It was strange though, I could have sworn that she was not in that place a second ago when I had covered it in an earlier sweep yet I hadn't seen her walk in either. Had it not been for Chiron's advice that I should just accept strange things about our chaperone, I would have instantly thought that something wasn't right and walked off quickly in the opposite direction, Instead, I just turned round to snap at the bickering twosome, grinning slightly at the melodramatic face Nico flashed at me when he caught my eyes.

"If the married couple is finished…"

At this, they fell silent, blushing furiously.

"Our ride is here!"

Sometimes, it amazes me just how quickly those two can change their moods. One minute they were stood their moodily, glaring at me and each other, and the next, they were bouncing up and down like hyperactive puppies who had just been shown a bone. Nico, on the other hand, merely cast a bored look through the crowd until his eyes landed on the woman with the board and his eyes widened. I would have questioned his reaction had one of the little children not clamped on tom my arm and started dragging me towards our guide.

On closer inspection, the woman seemed to be in her early 20's but it was a bit hard to tell as she had one of those ageless faces. Up close, I could make out the strange purple sheen that came from her raven hair and a slight lilac ring separating her marigold irises from her pupils. Altogether, the woman looked beautiful, but some part of me was saying that she was far more than she appeared.

When she saw us heading her way, the woman motioned slightly with her index finger towards the door and soon we were following her into an abandoned ally way next to Heathrow airport where she stopped, sign lowered and her back to us. The alarm bells were ringing loud and clear in my head by this point, and my hand started drifting towards my right boot where I had stored my dagger, but, all of a sudden, I sensed movement behind me. When I looked round, it was just in time to see Nico sink to the ground and… bow? Still, no matter how confused I was that the prideful Nico DiAngelo had bowed to someone, it was nothing like the shock I felt when the woman turned and grinned down at him, the movement twisting her features into something sly and dangerous, maybe even holy… oh styyyx.

"Lady Hecate, we did not know that you were the one coming to collect us."

The others seemed to finally twig on to the fact that we were with someone immensely powerful and that they should be showing some respect. To my complete and utter surprise, even seaweed brain fell into a low bow that I had even known he was capable of. Huh, seems like even he can have manners when he wants to.

Still smiling, the goddess of magic looked over all of us as we knelt on the cold pavement before letting out a laugh like a skylark.

"Ah, there is no need for you to bow to me godlings, you especially little cousin as I work for your father, but amongst the mortals and my beloved witches, it would be more prudent for you to refer to me as Professor Hex, as that will be my disguise from her on out."

We all just stared at her bemused at this line, having risen stiffly from the ground. I know that Chiron said he that a friend of his was going to come and be our (for lack of a better term) supervisor, but he didn't tell me that it was going to be a goddess, especially not this one in particular. Seeing our blank faces, Hecate laughed again, seeming to thoroughly be enjoying this situation, but then, she was the goddess of deception, and we were on her turf, so I guess this was like Christmas morning for her.

"Ah so I see that you have not been told of your cover yet?"

We all shook our heads numbly at this, still trying to process the entire situation.

"Well, you all are to be transfer students from a particular branch of the Salem Institute of the Arcane arts, and I am the teacher that came with you on this exchange programme, Professor Trivia Hex."

She smiled in a rather self satisfied way at that and it was clear to us that she was the one who thought of this cover story, still there were some things we were going to need to know if we were going to make the lie convincing when we were asked about it later.

"You say we are from a particular branch of the Institute, what is its name my la- I mean professor."

I hastily tagged that last bit on the end when I saw the glare coming my way; still, the question seemed to make her eyes sparkle with glee. I have to admit that it was rather strange seeing a servant of Hades acting so happy, but I was beginning to think that this was her natural personality. Gods help us if it was though, I have little doubt that having to survive a whole year of life with a much more powerful version of the Stolls was going to be sheer torture.

"Ah yes, details, details. You attend the special branch headed by Professor Brunner that develops the natural affinities of young children who seem to lean towards a certain art form and you are all arranged into different units. The four of you are the best in your areas which is why you were brought here on the exchange, and the programme you are in is called 'The Olympus protocol' which is specifically for the gifted and talented young wizards of the country."

She stopped for a moment allowing all of the new information to sink in before she continued in a voice that sounded rather giddy and excitable, it was a wonder she wasn't bouncing on the spot.

"You, Annabeth, are the top of the 'Intelligence' section which basically deals with stealth, strategy and, of course, wisdom."

I nodded at this, content with my cover and appreciating the slight twist of the word intelligence that would act as my cover. Most people would hear it and think of a section dealing with covert affairs, but we all knew that it was really named for the abilities I gained from my mother.

"Thalia, you and Percy are the joint leaders of the elementals section with Thalia being an Electromancer and Percy being a Hydromancer."

The grinned at each other in the break that followed this.

"And finally, little cousin, you are the most gifted of the Necromancer and other death magic students, and, I know that you cannot actually resurrect the dead as your father would never allow it, but bear with it and, if anyone asks, you have been forbidden from doing so by arcane laws set in motion in ancient times. Agreed?"

Nico gave a terse nod in acknowledgement and the goddess turned back to us as a group rather than just talking to individuals.

"And, you are all members of the same team as children of this branch are teamed up in cross sectional ways so that we can assess your progress. You are the Alpha team as you are the strongest, and all of you deal in intelligence."

"That may be impossible seeing as though Percy doesn't have any!"

I couldn't help but grin at the wounded look on seaweed brain's face when he heard Thalia's mumbled slight but the lest of us were laughing too hard to really care about is bruised feelings. After we all calmed down again, Hecate gave us all a wink before offering us her hands.

"I don't know about you kids, but I think it's time for us to go do some shopping in wizard society… what do you say?"

Without a word, we all latched on to her proffered finger and, with a loud crack, the world around us vanished.


A/N: There you have it, the new chapter. Did you like it? Hate it? Don't be afraid to tell me what you think. This chapters question is:

What was Aragog's disability?