HELLO! I HAVE ARISEN FROM THE LAND OF THE DEAD (camp)!

I have had an amazing summer, and I hope you all have as well. I'm sure you guys will be happy to hear most of the time I have before school starts up again will be spent writing. YAY!

Then entire time I've been away, I've been brainstorming new ideas of stories for the year, and how to tie up the ones I'm currently writing.

The first day I was home, I saw I had 271 emails. Given there were at least 20-30 spam/Facebook, but a majority were from you guys! It touched me so deeply to see your understanding of my absence, and to hear how you are enjoying the story so far. I can't thank you enough for the support.

Normally, I would reply to all the reviews and etc. but I am just so focused on catching up with writing that any reviews sent during my absence will not be answered individually. I'll just say thanks here, to everyone reading.

Now, who's ready for a story?

Hermione

Hermione thought things were working out. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were blending in with the rest of the school, and their presence no longer made some of their friends uneasy. Ron and Harry's suspicions that had spread throughout the Gryffindor house had faded into rumor, and even Ron and Harry had begun to enjoy being with the three new students.

While her friends seemed blissfully ignorant to their true identities, Hermione's knowledge of Percy, Grover, and Annabeth's roots grew everyday. Her mind constantly swirled with thoughts of mighty greek heroes. Hercules, Orpheus, Achilles, and now, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover.

Whenever she didn't have school work to attend to, she would sit with them and listen to their stories, watch them sparring, or helping them with their magic skills.

One day, while she was with them at the boathouse, they told her of their encounter with Voldemort. How he had captured Percy's cousin, Nico, who had been spying on him, and told them to meet him in a week with answers. It seemed strange to Hermione that Voldemort hadn't killed Nico immediately.

"Voldemort is merciless," Hermione told them. "I don't understand why he spared your cousin. He was just a boy spying on him. The only reason I could think of would be that he's scared. Whatever Nico did, it must have been quite something to make Voldemort afraid to kill him."

Now, there were only two days until Voldemort would return, and Hermione found it increasingly difficult not to tell Ron and Harry. They were her best friends. If Voldemort was coming, and they had a chance to defeat him, take him by surprise... No, she thought. I promised Annabeth and Percy and Grover. So she kept her mouth shut. Or she tried to, at least.

"You've been spending a lot of time with the Americans," Harry said on their way to Transfiguration.

"Just trying to be friendly," she said quickly.

"No other reason?" Ron asked. Hermione shook her head, biting her tongue to keep from telling them everything she knew. She hated keeping secrets from them.

"I thought you dropped these suspicions! They're fine, normal people! Alright? The boat house is just-"

"Whoa, Hermione, calm down. We were only asking," Harry said, holding up his hands.

"Wait, what were you going to say about the boat house?" Ron asked.

"What?"

"You said, 'The boat house is-' but you didn't finish," Ron said. Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know. I said it by accident," he said.

"What were you trying to say?"

"I... we're late for class, we have to go," she said quickly, feigning a sudden urgency. Ron and Harry shared a confused look, but Hermione rushed away before they could say anything else about her slip up.

Once all her classes for the day were finished, she ran down to the boat house to find Percy and Grover already there.

"Hey," Percy said, waving lazily. Grover sat on the ground, munching on a tin can. Hermione waved feebly and sat by the door, her books wrapped in her arms. She sat there, not saying a word.

After another few minutes, Percy stood up and started battling an imaginary opponent with his sword, Riptide.

"Hey, Hermione, you're being pretty quiet. Everything okay?" Grover asked.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted out immediately. They both gave confused looks. "I was talking to Ron and Harry and I said something about the boat house. I don't know why it just came out," she said.

"Don't worry, it's fine. It's not like you said 'Hey, Percy and Annabeth are demigods and Grover's a satyr' or anything like that, did you?" Percy asked jokingly, swinging the sword almost rhythmically from side to side. Hermione shook her head. "Then I think we'll be okay," Percy said, shrugging.

Moments later, Annabeth walked in, a puzzled expression on her face. She glanced outside again, taking a double take.

"Uh, were Harry and Ron just here?" she asked.

Percy shook his head. "Nope. Why?" he asked.

"Because they were just running back towards the school. I thought they were coming from here," she said. "Guess I was wrong."

Hermione pursed her lips. Harry and Ron couldn't have been there. What if they had seen Grover eating a can, or Percy using Riptide-though Hermione was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to see through the mist-or perhaps they heard them talking.

She shook her head, pushing the thought away. She was wrong. She had to be.

Later, at dinner, Hermione was still worrying about whether Harry and Ron had seen or heard anything. When they had walked in, they made a beeline for the other end of the table, far away from Hermione. Throughout all of dinner, she couldn't focus on anything. She barely ate, for her nerves made her feel nauseous.

She walked out in a daze, barely aware of anything that was happening around her until two hands grabbed her arms.

"What? Who is-Ron!" she exclaimed, catching a glimpse of red hair from behind her. Harry walked beside them. "What are you doing?"

"We have to talk," Ron said, leading her down the hall, away from everyone else.

"Is this so important right now?" she asked, once they finally stopped in a deserted corridor. Hermione had not even been paying attention to where they were going.

"We saw you in the boat house with Percy and Grover. You have to answer some questions," Harry said.

"What did Percy mean by 'demigods' and... uh... 'tasters'?" Ron asked. They had heard. Or, she thought they did. She knew 'tasters' hadn't been mentioned.

"Why were you spying?" she asked, trying to divert the question.

"We just wanted to know what was going on," Ron said defensively, crossing his arms.

"You two have no right to go eavesdropping on other peoples' conversations."

"You have no right keeping secrets from us, Hermione. We're your friends! Why can't you tell us?" Ron pressed.

"I... I can't..." Hermione stammered. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry. I promise everything is fine, though," she said.

"Hermione, tell us!" Harry demanded. "Does it have something to do with that Greek mythology book we found?"

The information bubbled inside of her. She wanted to tell them everything. It gathered up and burned in her throat, ready to burst out of her mouth. But she couldn't. She promised Percy, Grover, and Annabeth she wouldn't say a word. What is it endangered her friends to know the truth. If Voldemort was involved, it would.

"Come on, Hermione!"

"Tell us. We're your friends,"

"Please, just tell us,"

"FINE!"

IT'S A SAD EXCUSE FOR A CHAPTER ENDING, I'M SORRY! I NEED THIS TO HAPPEN, BUT I'M SO OUT OF IT RIGHT NOW!

Anyways, thank you again for all the support and understanding!

Also, someone asked me for advice on how to start a story, and I'm glad to share what ever advice I can on writing. So, if you want any writing advice, PM me.

LOVE YOU ALL!