Clara POV

Ruby spent the whole evening attached to me. But when the campfire finished, she told me there was something vitally important for me to see, back at the Apollo cabin. "Get Renee."

I nodded, wondering what could be so important. We went over to the Aphrodite table, and Renee was beaming.

"Silena, do you mind if we borrow Renee for a sec? Ruby's got something to show us."

"Sure, that's fine. But be sure to bring our head counselor back, okay?"

We walked back to the Apollo cabin. "Silena made you head counselor?" I asked. "Congrats."

"I mean, I guess. I'll still be away most of the year, though, so technically only sort of."

"I know. But still. That's so cool. I'm really proud, Wren."

"Thanks."

"Lee's been hinting he might give me the position. But he's still a little mad about my sneaking off."

"Oh well. He'll come around."

"Probably."

"Stop talking so much. You might disturb them!" Ruby shushed us loudly.

"Disturb who, exactly?"

She pulled open the door to the Apollo cabin, and Dusk flew at me. "Hey there, girl."

I stood in awe as three more owls came zooming out into the night sky. Then my jaw dropped at the huge pile of letters all over the floor.

"The white one and the gray, disheveled one had tried to go to the Aphrodite cabin, but I think Drew scared them. She told Lee she didn't want them anywhere near her manicure."

"Why haven't they gone back?"

"These three arrived again yesterday. They don't like the long journey. We've needed to nurse them back to health before they can fly again. The gray one has given us a particular bit of trouble."

"That's Ron's owl, Errol. He's ancient. You did a good job, Ruby."

The younger girl beamed with pride. "But why such an odd way of mail? Who are these people?"

That's when I realized Ruby didn't know anything about my other life yet.

"Extra-thick letters from McGonagall this year. I wonder if we have a longer supply list," Renee called. "A couple letters from Ginny, Kat, Rebecca, and Hermione for you. And there's another thick one, addressed to both of us. Doesn't say who it's from."

We peered over at her. She was in the process of ripping open one of her own.

"Who's Kat, Rebecca, Ginny, and Herm-i-o-ne?" Renee had a little trouble with Hermione's name.

"Ruby, sit down," I said, patting a spot next to me on my bed. "I need to tell you something."

The younger girl sat next to me. "You remember how I told you that story about the girl who lived in a castle?"

"That was a good story."

"And remember how I said it was true?"

"Yeah? And?"

"Ruby," Renee said, coming over to sit next to us. "We aren't just demigods. We can do magic, too."

"I don't believe you."

I took out my wand and pointed it at Renee. "Expelliarmus." Her letter came flying from her hand.

"Hey!"

"Sorry." I handed it back to her. "Had to show her something."

"That's so cool! What else can you do?"

"I can transfigure this pen into a rock and back again," Renee told her. "Want to see?"

"Duh."

She swooshed her wand in a way I hadn't seen before. It must have been something she learned when I was in the hospital wing. Ruby clapped as the pen transformed. "Can you show Di?"

I'd forgotten about Ruby's twin sister, Diamond. She must've still been at the campfire with everyone else.

"Probably. Is she still having trouble adjusting?" I asked.

"A little. I think she's in denial."

"We'll work with her."

"Okay." Ruby brightened. "What else? Like, can it be used on people?"

"Oh yeah," I said. "Totally. But I can't think of any spells for it now." I didn't want to mention whatever Ariana had tried to do this morning. Ruby didn't need to know about dark spells.

"I know one. One time last year, my friend Tomasz Ruddernot turned his cousin Franklin into a badger."

"Oh yeah," I remembered. "That was hilarious!" I put on my best McGonagall impression. "Mister Ruddernot, where did you get to be so good at transfiguration? That is not first year level!"

"How would you like it if someone turned you into a snake?" Renee asked, and we fell over each other, laughing. Ruby just looked confused.

"I'd forgotten you were so good at impersonations, Renee!" I said through giggles.

"I've only done it once or twice in front of you, though."

"True." We couldn't stop laughing. "Want to read some of these?"

"Yeah. Totally."

"What should I do?" Asked Ruby.

"Want to hear some wizard correspondence?"

"Totally!"

Renee opened one from Gill first.

"Hey Renee,

How's your summer going? I've written to you about twelve times already, are you okay? Are you at Coney Island with Clara and your other friend? I hope you'll write back soon, I'm getting really worried.

Love,

Gill Bellis."

"Crap," Renee whispered to me. "Twelve times?"

"Here's another one from him. I think it's from later." I handed it to her.

"Renee,

I'm really getting angry. If you don't want to be friends, just tell me! I don't know why I deserve this silent treatment, but please tell me if I did anything wrong! Stop leaving me hanging!

-Gill."

"Crap crap crap crap. Someone's been blocking our letters!" She screamed in frustration.

"Three guesses who."

Renee thought for a minute. "You don't mean…Kaylee?"

"Of course I do! Who else could get to us?"

"She somehow made the Bludger target me, too, don't you think?"

"Must have, although I was too busy screaming for your life to really notice anything."

"What kind of freak school do you go to?" Ruby demanded.

"Um…." I was spared from having to answer as the rest of the Apollo cabin burst in.

"Ruby!" Diamond complained. "You left me alone!"

Renee came over to her. "Diamond, Ruby had to show us something."

"Is he…yours?" She motioned to Dusk.

"Clara's, actually. And it's a she."

"Can I pet her?"

Renee glanced at me. I nodded. "Of course."

Diamond stroked Dusk's head. "She's beautiful. Much less annoying now that she's not cooing at me constantly."

The girl looked up with her big, glassy eyes, at Renee. "Thank you."

"Of course." She smiled at the little girl. "You know, you're a lot like I was when I first got here. If you ever need help…."

"Thanks, Renee. I'm glad not all the Aphrodite kids are like Drew."

"Ugh. Her."

"Ugh," Diamond agreed.

"I'm head counselor for that cabin now, too. I'll keep her in line."

"Silena made you head counselor?" Lee asked, shocked. "You should feel honored, Renee. Drew's been pushing her for it for years."

Renee laughed. "Drew could never be head counselor. She's too mean."

"True that," Will agreed. "You missed announcements, by the way. It's not a big deal, the only important one was that we're going to be continuing the chariot races. But, two cabins will have to team up, instead of cabin against cabin."

I looked at Renee. "Let's make the Andromeda Jeanne chariot!"

"I thought you two might want to do it together." Lee grinned.

Renee POV

The morning of the chariot races was nothing like the first time. The sun shone brightly around us, but people still kept glancing up at the trees. Everyone was nervous that the birds would be there again, but none were.

I had asked Chiron if my wand was allowed as a weapon, and he said yes, which made me really happy. I could use a sword, of course, but I preferred my wand. Clara had agreed to be the driver, since she thought I was better at fighting. I had no idea whether it was true or not.

We looked around, trying to figure out which cabins had partnered up. We weren't supposed to know beforehand, but everyone knew that the Athena and Poseidon cabins were together, because of Annabeth and Percy. A lot of people had suspected that my cabin would partner with Apollo as well, because they knew how close I was to Clara.

I was surprised to see Clarisse with Connor Stoll. I guess it made sense that she would choose the cabin that always had tricks up their sleeves, but I was just a little surprised because of Luke. Obviously, Clarisse would be their fighter. That left the Demeter cabin to partner up with Hephaestus. Charles Beckendorf, fighter, and Katie Gardner, driver. The Dionysus cabin was sitting out this one.

Tyson had done a lot of work on it to fix up the Athena/Poseidon chariot. He had offered to help with ours as well, but we declined. Silena, Lacy, Mitchell, and I were the only ones who had worked on it from the Aphrodite side of things, but all of the Apollo cabin had come through. We painted it pink and gold, with doves, Aphrodite's animal, on the outside to make it seem harmless. In reality, though, our defense was a lot like cattle, Apollo's sacred animal. We had swords and spears made of bullhorns, as well as dove-feathered arrows. I had brushed up on a few spells from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and I had learned and practiced a few new spells.

My favorite was a shield charm, Protego. It could shield the carriage from all sorts of attacks, and it was probably something I'd need to use later on as well. It wasn't one that we were taught, probably because Lockhart couldn't teach to save his life (almost literally, considering what Ron's wand had done to him), but it was apparently a third year level spell. There was also Petrificus Totalus, a spell we had learned this year, which made a body freeze up. I was a little hesitant to use it because of what had happened to Clara, but she urged me to forget about it and just use the spell.

We climbed into the chariot, which was made for neither comfort, nor safety. Speed was the only thing that mattered in a Greek chariot race. And we were all set on that, too. We used Silena's two favorite stallions, as the pegasi had been a disaster last time, and Clara had a few sunbeam tricks up her sleeve as well.

The track was a loop, but it went into the forest as well. On the outsides were raised platforms for everyone else to watch. Silena and Lee had conducted the making of t-shirts for our team, which Drew was not very happy about. They weren't ugly, they just were definitely not her normal crop tops and mini skirts. I laughed at her discomfort.

The design was the sun in the center of a heart. It was decorated with our summer adventures, as well as quests and events that had happened to the rest of our cabinmates. They really were nice.

As for Clara and I, we would be wearing them under our armor. Even though I was the fighter, we both knew that there might be a reason to switch roles at some point. And it would be dangerous. But I was prepared with my Protego charm, which I cast on us before the start.

We lined up at the track. Chiron blew the conch shell, and we were off.

"Sunbeams now or later?" Clara asked. The stallions were very fast already.

"Later. Beginning of the second lap, unless we need them sooner."

Clara nodded and swerved the horses just in time to avoid a collision with one of Clarisse's javelins.

A moment later, we heard a pop, and I realized something had exploded under us. I looked down and realized the javelin had turned into a balloon, filled with….tar. Leave it to the Hermes cabin to do something like that. Of course.

"Sunbeam. Now!" I yelled, but Clara had already started. She threw one under the chariot, but still held one in her hand.

"Switch places!"

"What? Now? We're about to be attacked!"

"Just do it!" She scrambled over me, and I was forced to take the wheel. Clara threw the sunbeam as hard as she could, and the Hermes side of the chariot blasted into pieces. But Connor and Clarisse weren't affected. Connor threw something that shielded him and grew into a roof for the chariot, but the teams behind us were gaining on us.

"Disqualified, Stoll!" Charles Beckendorf yelled from the Hephaestus/Demeter chariot. "You're not the fighter!"

"Who cares?" Clarisse taunted, and Connor sped up. She passed us, Percy right on her heels. We were now in third instead of first.

Beckendorf threw a bag at our chariot, and Clara shot an arrow at it. The arrow deflected it and made it crash onto Percy's chariot.

Annabeth screamed. "Greek fire!"

"Switch with me!" Percy called.

"But-"

"Trust me!" Percy dove for the fighting seat, and Annabeth was forced behind the wheel. Percy pressed a button on a watch that I had never seen him wear before, and a shield popped out of the watch.

"Protego!" I yelled, forgetting I was driving. Luckily, Clara threw more sunbeams at the Ares/Hermes chariot, and my mess-up was missed. I had no idea where she had learned to do that. She'd only used them for rides in the past.

Clara decked the wheels with another sunbeam right as Percy flipped the Greek fire onto the Hephaestus/Demeter chariot. Within a minute, their chariot blew up, and we raced toward the finish line.

Clarisse and Connor had to swerve to avoid the wreckage from the fire. They barely made it, but their time had cost them. We had the lead.

"She's using sunbeams!" Percy yelled, catching up to us.

He looked toward the lake, commanding it to bend to his will. It formed a mudslide for us, but we swerved to avoid it. By that time, though, Percy and Annabeth had passed us. Clarisse and Connor were so far behind us. Clara threw another sunbeam under the front wheel, and we caught up to Percy right at the finish line.

Chiron blew his conch shell. "We have, odd as it may seem, two winners!"

Our friends and cabinmates mobbed us. Annabeth was saying they couldn't have done it without Tyson, who Percy was finally willing to call his brother.

"We also couldn't have done it without our best friends, on an opposing team, Clara Bradley and Renee Sanderson!" I knew then that she wasn't just talking about the race.

"And we couldn't have done it without you guys!" I called back, definitely not talking about the races.

Clara ran into my arms and collapsed. Everyone was shocked. "Clara!" Lee Fletcher ran to us. "Are you okay?"

"What's going on with her," others murmured to themselves and each other. "Why is she like this?"

"Clara!" I gasped. "You've over exerted yourself!"

"No, really," she whispered. "I'm okay." She tried to stand up, but fell down immediately. I rushed to pick her back up, but a larger girl got there first.

"Clarisse?" She mumbled.

"Yep. Come on. Infirmary." She hauled Clara up on her shoulders. I would never cease to admire the strength of Clarisse La Rue. Even right after sustaining injuries, she could carry another human like she was a pillow.

I stayed with her all night long. She kept sobbing. "Wren, what was I thinking? Wren, it's all my fault." Then she would go into a fit of tears. I didn't understand what she was talking about.

Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Juniper, and Tyson came to visit us a little while after the chariot races. They brought us sandwiches from lunch. I was surprised at how good they were, because camp sandwiches are almost never good. I much prefer pizza.

Clara was able to sit up for a few minutes and listen to Tyson and Grover tell us their plans.

Tyson had gotten a dream from Poseidon, and he was going to work in his father's underwater forges. Percy was really upset about that.

Grover had been granted permission to continue the search for Pan, and would stay at camp through July. He had begun to look at Juniper in a new light as well, because she appealed to the Council for him and reminded him that he had paved the way for satyrs to continue this quest. They weren't a couple yet, but they knew each other better now. I could see the ties forming. He also said he'd dissolve the empathy links, which Clara was happy about, but Percy insisted on keeping his.

They left, and then it was just me and Clara. "Wren, could you go to the cabin and bring back some of our letters? I want to see that extra thick one from McGonagall."

"Good idea. You okay if I go there for a few minutes?"

"I think. I can always ask Will to help."

"Great. I'll be right back." I ran down to the Apollo cabin, and then remembered that I'd actually have to knock, considering Clara wasn't with me.

Luckily, it was Ruby who answered. "Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"How is she?"

"She's okay."

The younger girl stared into my eyes. "I'm guessing you want the letters? I have them all prepared for you, I put them in a bag."

"Thanks so much, Ruby!"

She handed me a bulging sack. "Got em."

I levitated them all the way to the infirmary, because that bundle was heavy!

Will raised his eyebrows as I came in. "Hey Renee, do you know anything about what Clara keeps screaming is her fault?"

"No idea. Did she do that a lot when I was out?"

"Yeah. Chiron came in to see her, as well."

"Great, I'll go and join them."

Will nodded, and I went back to Clara's room.

Chiron looked at me. Renee, will you step out with me for a moment?"

I nodded, worried. "What's up?"

"Well, a couple of things. First, and probably most important, as soon as she heals up, I'm asking you both to go home. To the Bradleys. Clara won't talk to them on the phone, because she says it's all her fault. I don't know what it is, but it has to do with whatever happened last year, I got that much out of her."

"At Hogwarts, you mean? When she was petrified?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping to have her here for as short a time as possible. She's obviously not comfortable with hospital areas. Will you take care of her?"

"Yeah, totally. She's got nothing to worry about. I'm here."

"Renee, don't try to charmspeak me into leaving."

"I….I wasn't."

"That's good. She's involved in the prophecy that's supposedly about Percy, because of her extraordinary talent with sunbeams. And you….there are things going on in your other world, things that involve you. I haven't figured it out yet. But you'll both have to stick to true friends in the coming years. Things are going to get ugly."

"True friends?"

"There will be other incidents like Luke's. I know you can trust Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Juniper. Also, I've had a talk with Pomona. She is, of course, staying away from the camp, and for good reason. She knows something that she can't say, something that she's only ever told Willowmist, her best friend here. She's too scared, and I respect her for that. But I know you can trust her."

At that moment, Grover burst through the door, Percy hot on his heels. I hadn't realized how late it had gotten, but the moonlight reflected on the grass. I hoped Clara was sound asleep, but figured it was pretty unlikely to be the case.

My suspicions were confirmed as she stumbled out of her room. "She's just lying there," Grover panted. "Annabeth…and she…the Fleece…."

I looked at Percy in alarm, but he just shrugged.

Clara POV

It had been a horrible night. My inner demons were attacking me, and I couldn't say why. I was pushing my friends away, and even Chiron. All I knew was that something to do with the Fleece was my fault. And yes, that I had over exerted myself with sunbeams.

Grover came, and we frantically followed him. Chiron carried me on his back because he and Renee both believed I was too fragile at that moment. They were probably right.

I gasped when we got to the tree. At first, it was hard to process what was going on. Annabeth was lying on the ground, and Clarisse was helping her. But a crowd had gathered around, and I knew that wasn't the case because Clarisse was right behind me.

"Curse the Titan Lord!" Chiron said under his breath. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance at the prophecy!"

"Huh?" I asked

But in that moment, something clicked. "The Fleece worked its magic too well," Chiron whispered.

Percy ran to the girl. "Guys, we need to help her! Get nectar and ambrosia! And get this girl to the infirmary!"

Nobody moved. Percy squinted at the girl, as if he had seen her before. Someone who was destined to either be the best friend or worst enemy of Renee and Percy.

"What's your name?" Percy asked slowly. He had figured it out as well.

"Thalia," the girl said. "Thalia Grace. Daughter of Zeus."

Chiron helped me back into the bed, and then he helped Thalia into the bed next to mine. Thalia was dazed and confused. "Where are the monsters? Did we make it?"

Annabeth burst in. "Thalia!"

"Annabeth? You survived? How am I still alive?" The older girl blinked. "Where's Grover? And Luke?"

Annabeth looked at me and Renee. "Not now," I mouthed. Thalia would have to know sometime, but it definitely wasn't now.

Annabeth told her the story of how she had become a pine tree when she died, because of her father. She explained what life had been like before Percy, Renee, and I had shown up. But then she froze. She couldn't explain the rest without talking about Luke.

"You need rest," Renee said, her voice full of charmspeak. My eyelids felt heavy, and I knew she was right. "Thalia, we'll talk in the morning."

"Who are you?" Thalia mumbled sleepily.

"I'm a friend. Please, Thalia, rest. You'll get to know me tomorrow."

By that time, I was already close to sleep. I opened my eyes once more, and Renee smiled. I really needed to learn at least some resistance to her charmspeak. But at that moment, sleep consumed me, and resistance to charmspeak no longer mattered.

Renee POV

Over the next three days, I stayed in the infirmary with Clara and Thalia, only going back to the Aphrodite cabin to change clothes. Over that time, two things happened.

The first was that Clara and I grew really close with Thalia. We told her everything, sometimes with help from Percy, Grover, Annabeth, or Chiron, and occasionally even Clarisse. We even told her about our lives outside of camp, about Hogwarts. We exchanged stories and jokes, and to make both girls feel a little better, I sometimes gave them manicures or did their hair. Clara joked that I was becoming more like an Aphrodite.

"I know how to do this stuff, I just never do."

The second, and possibly even more significant thing that happened was that I became one of Will's assistants. As an Aphrodite, I was the first non-Apollo camper to do it. He trained me to bandage wounds and explained the right amounts of nectar and ambrosia for any situation. "You can never give too much, Renee, or you could harm your patient even more."

"Sounds easy enough."

"I don't doubt there will be a time when you need to learn more, after a battle or a quest, but for now, those are the basics.

On the third day, both Clara and Thalia were feeling well enough to leave. Thalia had easily become one of my best friends. There was to be a campfire that night to celebrate the year, and we would be getting our beads early. After that, Clara and I would Floo home to the Bradleys until late August, when we would join friends at Diagon Alley, and then leave for another year at Hogwarts.

The campfire was much more spirited than the first one of the year. I sat with all my friends, new and old. Thalia was a little upset by the news about Luke, and by our leaving so soon after we'd met. She was one of the few campers who would be staying year-round, along with Clarisse and the twins.

At the end, we joined hands and embraced. Chiron gave out the beads, which detailed our quest from this summer. I was always surprised at how ornate and detailed the designs on the beads were. I They showed Clarisse taking the Fleece, me charmspeaking the sirens, Clara with Tyson and Rainbow on their sunbeam boat, Annabeth's idea with the sheep, and Percy learning to control the waters and ships. Most important, however, were the carefully carved chariots from the second race.

It was over all too soon, and then Chiron was whisking us away to the fire with the mysterious green powder in his saddlebag. We jumped into the fire, knowing we'd see everyone again at winter break. Chiron said there might be need of a rescue mission at a school, and Annabeth, Thalia, Percy, and we would probably end up being the right ones to do that. I was sad to leave everyone, but also excited to see everyone at Hogwarts.

Well, maybe not everyone. There were three girls I would be very happy to avoid. I'd likely be spending as much time away from the common room as possible this year. Oh well, there was always the Hufflepuff other room. And I had charmspeak. They didn't have anything but their wands and their ugly, ugly faces.