It's late but It's here! I would've had this posted earlier but we've had a really bad storm and a blackout. I know excuses, excuses. But I'll do my best to post the next chapter early!

Please don't hurt me (or kill me cause you'd never get the end of the story if you do)

It has come to my attention (after re-reading my own story) that I may need to consider going over my chapters for typos and other mistakes.

After Nico dropped me off at the camp (the archery range to be specific) it was just me, Susie, and the other Hermes cabin members. Some of them anyway. A few of them were off doing war preparations.

"You're new," someone said from behind me.

I turn around to see a girl the same age as me. She had curly brown hair that was nearly blonde and blue eyes.

"Not really, I've just been out and about."

"Fair enough, I'm Mandy; Mandy Brocklehurst."

"This is Susie."

"Hello," Susie says.

"Susie says hello, am I'm Harley; Harley Potter."

"Harley Potter, now that's a name I know."

"Really?"

"Yeah, gossip around is that you're the girl-who-lived. But weren't you shipped off to your muggle relatives?"

"Girl-who-lived? Muggle relatives? You are going to have to explain better than that."

"Well, I'm going to take it that you don't know about the Wizarding world. Since all the Hecate campers are gone I suppose I'll have to fill you in," Mandy said before coming to a stop. "Are you are Demigod? Cause that would be some serious gossip amongst the Demi-witches and wizards."

"No, just mortal."

"Damn, there's nothing like good gossip and all the gossip at the moment is old. Anyway. What do you know about magic?"

"Not much, Susie's mother told me I was a magic user but past that not much."

"Susie's mother? As in a snake? You speak snake?"

"Yes."

"Now that's the sort of gossip I like. Fresh and juicy. You are a Parseltongue, my young student. It's an ability known by the wizarding world. Salazar Slytherin is infamous for it. What most of the wizarding world don't know is that the ability is actually a rather rare demigod trait. When Hecate blesses a demigod child with magic it can bring out certain recessive traits, such as the famed serpent tongue. Slytherin you see was actually a son of Hermes.

"Now a really really really long time ago Slytherin joined up with three others, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. The others, unlike Slytherin were only descendants of the gods. Gryffindor's father was a son of Ares, Ravenclaw's grandmother was the daughter of Athena and Hufflepuff's great, great grandmother was a daughter of Hephaestus.

"These four created a school for witches and wizards to attend. It was the first witchcraft and wizardry school ever built. It's known as Hogwarts."

"Why did they call it Hogwarts? That's a rather odd name."

"I know right, but it's stuck around for this long, I doubt it's ever going to change. When a young witch or wizard turns eleven they receive a letter from a magical school inviting them to attend. You will probably go to Hogwarts with me while most of the Hecate campers attend Salem here in America."

"Where is Hogwarts?"

"It's in Scotland apparently which is why most go to Salem here in America. My father however thinks I should go to Hogwarts like he did."

"And you mother is?"

"Pheme, goddess of gossip and rumours. She's only one of the minor goddess."

"Didn't most of the non-olympian parented children chose to go with Kronos?"

"Well yes, but I don't care much for my own cabin. We gossip spreaders work best in the shadows. That where you hear all the juicy details."

"Sssssneaky demi-godesssssss," Susie notes.

"Yesssss very sssssneaky. I like her," I reply.

"Wow, you really can speak parseltongue. That is so cool! I'd watch out though. Rumour are your enemy, they say all that can speak parseltongue are bad wizards. Just rumours though… and a lot of idiots who believe whatever they're told."

"That doesn't really sound promising."

"No it doesn't, does it… none of the demi-wizards or witches believe it though. We know better. Hogwarts doesn't have a wide selection of my kind though. Usually about 10 a year over all the grades. Only a few of us come to camp though."

"Do you know any other from this camp that go to Hogwarts?"

"Only one and she's graduated."

"Shame it would be nice to know some people before having to go over. That is if I end up at Hogwarts anyway."

"It's at least three years away so you'll probably meet at least one other by that time. I mean assuming you are turning eight this summer."

"I do," I say.

"Brilliant. We'll be in the same year at Hogwarts! Oh look, time to go to the next activity, Good, I really don't like archery. I happen to like my sword much better."

"You talk a lot," I mention.

Mandy smiles at me as we leave the archery range. "I'm just making up for the fact that you're quiet."

"Well that's something I suppose."

We spent the rest of the morning at the arena training with various weapons. Mandy taught me some of the beginner lessons of the sword. Something about being able to use multiple weapons.

"You're the Girl-who-lived, famous in the wizarding world," Mandy said to me. "You're going to have to know how to deal with that. You are the celebrity. People are going to be looking at you and your lightning bolt scar with gaping mouths."

"That's crazy."

"Crazy but true. I won't give you tips on how to deal with that until later though. It's a bit early at this point."

"You sound like your trying to prep me for a battle; a battle against fans."

"That sounds about right. Gossip and rumours can be very hazardous to celebrities. It can make and break. Open a can of worms and you can have a whole group fighting against each other. It's beautiful and deadly and not many people can appreciate that."

"I wonder why that is," Susie comments sarcastically. I smile.

"You'll have to show it to me one day," I say before knocking the sword out of the preoccupied girl's hand.

"I'm counting on that, until then I should probably get my head in the game," Mandy replies picking her sword of the ground.

At lunch time I had to join the staff table again because I wasn't a demigod. Mr. D wasn't there, but apparently that wasn't anything new, and Chiron was off somewhere in the Big House. I walked myself up to the brazier and offered a portion to Hestia, who I'd been offering to since I'd started.

I was nearly done when Mandy bounced up to me.

"Come on, hurry up, I want to show you where the Hecate campers usually practice their magic. We only have half an hour break before we have to head over to the race track."

"Okay okay," I say doing my best to eat the last part of my meal quickly. As soon as I put the last mouthful into my mouth Mandy was pulling me along.

"There are so many rumours about Hecate campers and what kind of magic they wield, most of the time they only show certain aspects; it's all really secretive. As you have magic you get to be in the loop. Many campers have tried to find this place but none have actually been able to get past the wards that are there."

"Wards? What sort of wards?

"Like the ones that you couldn't see as we just ran though them. The other campers get to the edge before running off having remembered they have something to do."

"That's actually pretty neat."

"It's really advanced stuff, the older Hecate kids are usually the ones that know how to do it and they renew it every now and then."

We came to a stop in a clearing that was ridiculously close to the strawberry fields.

"Today my young friend," Mandy says, "we shall introduce you to the wonders of the Wizarding world. Are you ready?"

I looked at her with an 'are you kidding me look'.

"I think sssssshe wasssss born ready," Susie says from my shoulder.

Yay! This chapter reveals so much about the far future doesn't it. I am totally going to do Hogwarts years. It's just we have a lot to get through before then.

So yeah. I decided not to reveal the mystery god/goddess this chapter because it just didn't fit. It will have to wait.

And who knows the name Mandy Brocklehurst? I didn't actually make her up, she is a legit character... I just gave her a godly parent.

Reviews are appreciated and adored!

~Jessica