Chapter 52
Percy
The Hunters arrived just in time. Folks had been to Disney now for a couple of weeks and although they hadn't run out of things to do, most were over it and had already done a couple of times all they things they really enjoyed. Hermione had all the Princesses autographs, and we had given autographs to Belle, who was a interning student from MIT and a first generation child of Hecate. She had heard about us being there from Stephen and the others and was apparently something of a fan girl for Jason and myself. Piper and Annabeth were not pleased but Danielle, which was Belle's real name, was happy to add them to her autograph book as well once she found out that they too had been in Rome and Greece with us.
We had visited New Rome University and both of us were pretty much sold on it. I liked that it was close to the ocean and Annabeth liked that we would have nearby friends, it was well defended against monsters and of course that it had a Department of Architecture. Annabeth and I had spent most of our time just hanging out, both with friends and just each other. We were safe from any attack until the last week when Chiron suggested that DA1 and 2 could use some real world combat experience and invited them to hunt the forest with us as their guides. Usually the forest doesn't throw anything too difficult at beginners but that is because they usually don't go too far into the woods. We started out at Bunker Nine so the monsters were pretty intense from the beginning an represented a real challenge to our English friends.
After a particularly difficult day with Luna getting the highest kill number oddly enough, we were sitting at dinner when Artemis arrived with the hunters, with the usual lack of fanfare. By now the quest members were seated at our own table without regard to our parent's house, and often both Hogwarts students and professors were with us.
"Who is that?" Professor McGonagall asked.
I turned to look just as Annabeth and most of the half bloods took a knee. As I knelt down I replied. "Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."
Soon the Professors and students were kneeling as well and once protocol was satisfied the goddess announced "Rise heros of Olympus, and students of England. Lord Chiron, my troop and I will winter at my cabin here."
"Welcome Lady Artemis, and the Ladies of the Hunt. You're arrival brings us great joy as always. Our facilities are yours to use. I regret we did not know when you would arrive or we would have your table prepared. With the English students joining us we have, well, become flexible in our seating. Feel free to join my table and your ladies sit where they wish." He replied as he had so many times before, only this time with reference to the Hogwarts crew.
"The ladies will retire to the cabin for sustenance tonight Lord Chiron, with the exception of myself and Lady Thalia, if that meets with your approval."
"Of course my lady." Chiron replied.
With that the two columns of hunters turned a 180 and marched straight to the cabin. Once gone, Artemis nodded to Thalia with a smile passed between them and Thalia approached our table while Artemis seated herself beside Chiron.
"This is so exciting! I hope I can meet her." McGonagall said to me.
"I'll see what I can do to arrange that, but you might want to talk to Jason, I think he would have the in road there."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because this is Thalia, his sister." I said just as Thalia arrived and both Jason and Annabeth rose to hug her.
"Annabeth, Percy, I was so happy to hear of your engagement. It is the talk of Olympus. And Jason, I am so, so very proud of you. We will talk shortly but I bring a message first."
"What's that?" Jason asked.
"The one called Neville Longbottom, is he here?"
"Yes, uh, yes I am." Neville answered with confusion in his voice.
"You are requested by the goddess at her table for an audience."
Neville looked around, mostly at Thalia and Reyna, until Thalia smiled and said "You should go now. Take your wand. Bow and announce yourself when you get there."
Neville hopped up and half ran to the table where Chiron, Dumbledore and Artemis were seated. We all watched to see what would happen, and on arrival he did as Thalia instructed. Artemis must have asked for his wand, said something and Neville replied. They both looked at me, then talked for a half hour or so, well mostly Artemis talked and Neville listened.
I thought, and it was later confirmed by Neville, that he was getting the full history of Zoe, and the glance towards me was for coming up with the name for his wand.
Thalia was, well, more formal than she had been in the past. Oh, she was still one of the gang, but being in the hunt had caused her to conform to the expectations of Artemis. Still it was a warm homecoming for all.
"So you are Jason's sister?" McGonagall asked after we were all seated again.
"Well, half... actually I guess 3/4 sister." She smiled. "You see, we share the same mother, and father, however I am the daughter of Zeus while Jason is the child of Jupiter, his Roman facet. We only were together a couple of years. When our mother turned him over to Lupa I cut out and ran. We didn't see each other again until a year or so ago. Unfortunately our work keeps us apart mostly, but I have been looking forward to seeing him for weeks now." Thalia explained.
Piper sat silently and clearly felt left out.
"Thalia, do you remember Piper?" Jason asked.
"Ha! Yes! Your Aphrodite friend? How is she? Artemis is considering her for recruitment."
"Uh, she's my girlfriend, we're, well we might as well be engaged." Jason said as he put his arm around a now grinning Piper.
"I know, I've heard that too. It is practically all Aphrodite speaks of. I was only teasing you Piper, it is such a great pleasure to meet you again! I don't think I've seen you since the Rockies. So the rumors are true, you are taking on my little brother as a male improvement project? I can only imagine the work ahead of you!" She smiled.
"Hey!" Jason exclaimed.
"No, he's perfect as is." Piper grinned.
"Well certainly the path you've chosen is no more difficult than that picked by Annabeth. How are you Percy?"
"I'm well, great in fact. When we wrap this quest up we're setting the date. You must be there!" I said.
"Well she is going to be in the wedding." Annabeth announced. "I can't leave the girl out that took care of me for all those years."
"Wait, but you're the same age aren't you? How..." McGonagall asked before Thalia interrupted.
"See the tall pine there on the ridge at the border of camp?"
"Yes"
"I was it for several years."
"The pine tree?" The professor exclaimed.
"Yes, after Luke and I found Annabeth hiding in a warehouse in Richmond, Oh! She was the cutest thing, nine years old and swinging that little bronze knife, and mean as a snake! She would fight anything, I don't think she knew how to run away! Eventually though Grover was sent to find us and bring us to camp. We were chased by monsters the whole way and I died right up there. Zeus turned me into that pine" Thalia said "and I stayed that way until Percy laid the golden fleece on me four years ago and it healed me back. It was shortly after that I joined the hunt."
"The golden fleece? Wasn't that what you were looking for at Circe's island?" Reyna asked.
"Yep, and once Percy wasn't a hamster anymore we found it, rescued Grover and saved Thalia." Annabeth said. "Reyna was one of the ones that turned Percy into a hamster."
"Guinea Pig" Percy corrected.
"Hamster is funnier." Reyna said with a grin.
"You're going to have to teach me that spell, might come in handy." Annabeth said.
"Oh no doubt! Hamsters are so soft and cuddly! It's good to see you again Reyna, I didn't think either of us would get out of San Juan. So the half bloods are learning Hecate's magic now?" Thalia asked.
"Yes, and it looks like when the quest is over we will expand the training to more of us. Right now it is just the seven, plus Reyna, Nico, Will from Apollo and Jennifer. Of course the Hecate cabin kids will keep doing what they have been. It will be interesting to see how well they take to wands. I believe Hermione, she's from the British school, will be training them some in the coming weeks as a sort of experiment."
"The seven?" McGonagall asked.
"Yes, the seven... oh, you wouldn't know about that. Okay, well you have heard us talk about the first and second wars? Well the first was against the Titans, and the second against Gaea and her giants. In that second there was one big battle at the end, right here at Camp Half Blood, where the Romans fought the Greeks and the Greeks fought the giants and Gaea. The Romans had brought along a ton of monsters that turned on them too. Reyna wasn't in control of the Romans then, a twit named Octavious was. Anyway, leading up to all that was a prophecy that called for seven half bloods to go to Rome and Greece, close the doors of death, find that statue of Athena over there and kill a bunch of giants and monsters. That seven are, well, us. Reyna was involved as well, as the Roman that returned the statute after I found it and Leo lifted it, and Nico was sort of our scout through the lands of death and hauled the statue here from Greece. Jennifer we met along the way. Anyway, that is the seven, Leo, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Percy and myself, although we are 11 now with Rachel, Nico, Will and Jennifer. But it started with a prophecy that said seven would answer the call." Annabeth replied.
"You mentioned the Hecate cabin, does the goddess have many children here?" The professor asked.
"Not as many as the the other goddesses that have children, and that has always been a conundrum. Of course now we know that many were diverted to schools of magic." Annabeth answered.
"I see. Thalia may I ask you something?" McGonagall asked.
"Of course. Whether I know the answer..."
"Its just, well you seem to know the going ons in Olympus. I was curious, well, in English and European magic Hecate is regarded highly, not as strong as Zeus, Poseidon or Hades, but still, very much a major goddess. Would you say that view is held throughout the half bloods and Olympus? By our history she would almost have to be."
"No, no, not at all. In fact were it not for Percy claiming amnesty for her after she sided with the Titans in the first war, she would probably be sweeping streets in Tartarus right now. She is one of the more important lesser gods, by that I mean no chair in the throne room of Olympus, and older than most of them and in the first Titan war, the one thousands of years ago, was instrumental in freeing Persephone, the wife of Hades. In the second war, the one just two years ago now, Hecate sided with the Titans, although she wasn't really active in the war. She did help put the mortals of New York asleep so Kronos and Typhoon could attack. When Percy defeated the Titan army and Kronos"
"I had a lot of help" I said.
"Well, you led us. Anyway, don't interrupt honey, its rude. Let Thalia finish, she is just about to the good part." Annabeth said.
"Oh yes! That's when the gods offered him deification and immortality."
"He turned that down for Annabeth." McGonagall replied.
"Really? I never knew that was why." Thalia said. "What... that's so romantic. I approve of your fiance Annabeth."
"Awww thanks! I was worried you might kill him before the wedding. He told us a few weeks ago he turned it down because they weren't going to make me immortal too. I just love hearing that story! And you tell it so well! Anyway, instead deification professor, Percy asked that all the minor deities forgiven, like Hecate, and he wanted all half bloods claimed by their parent by their thirteenth birthday since that was the cause of a lot of the problems."
"And that is how Percy saved Hecate." Thalia concluded.
"Yes, but Hecate was instrumental in the second war. Without her training me in the use of the mist and magic, and her guiding us through the Alps, we would have never made it to Greece to close the Doors of Death from the earthly side, much less defeat Pasiphae and Clytius, and she fought bravely with the other gods in the final battle against the giants at Athens, so I would guess she has redeemed herself nicely. You have to understand Professor, she predates most of the pantheon and has always been a bit of an outsider, but truthfully, she was very nice to me and assisted the quest at a time we really needed the help. Our leaders you see were in hell at that moment." Hazel added to much nodding by the rest of the seven in agreement.
McGonagall just kind of stared at myself and Hazel the rest of the night.
"And all semester you've been in a school that owes its existence to Hecate, that follows her teachings, and practices her craft and you didn't mention that she owes her continued place on Olympus to you? Or that she taught you magic personally?" McGonagall finally asked.
"It didn't seem important. I was raised to not brag or put on airs." Hazel replied.
"Yeah, I guess. At the time it was the right thing to do. Honestly if I had to do it all over I would do the same. The gods can't keep fighting each other. Certainly they couldn't then with Gaea rising. And now we know the children of the gods can't either. Reyna in particular has worked hard to make this peace last. We all have to keep at it to make sure it does." I said.
"Well spoken Mr Jackson. Well spoken indeed. Your modesty is genuine, I suspect even you do not realize what your wish has done to the pantheon. Even today it continues to reverberate. But we will speak of that no further now. I came to thank you for keeping the memory of my lieutenant Zoe." Artemis said from behind me. I was startled she was there, but of course moving silently and sneaking up on prey is what she is best at.
"You're welcome goddess. Zoe was a good friend to us and a great warrior. I was glad to suggest her as a namesake for Neville's wand, especially given the source of its wood. Lady Artemis, if I may, this is Professor McGonagall from the Hogwarts School. She has been anxious to meet you.
"Suggesting Zoe's name was a kindness never the less. Professor McGonagall, it is a pleasure to meet you as well. Should the plans being made come to fruition I would enjoy visiting with you from time to time to gather your opinion on the English ladies and their I shall retire. I was going to speak to several ladies about joining the hunt, but of the five I was most interested in I understand two are engaged to wed, or at least engaged to be engaged in Miss Mclean's case, and Reyna RamÃrez-Arellano is no longer eligible. Hazel Levesque, perhaps we could speak tomorrow. I would like to speak with Luna Lovegood then as well if you could advise her as such."
"Of course, but you know I'm in a committed relationship with Frank." Hazel said.
"Yes, but you are chaste and not engaged. I am recruiting and as as a child of Hades, well I am always looking for daughters of the three brothers, such as Thalia, to join us."
"Of course, of course!" Hazel finally replied. "I am always at your service."
McGonagall just looked stunned having met a goddess at last.
With that Artemis left, and all eyes turned to Reyna, who just grinned and tried to look innocent. It wasn't a look she was having any success with. Finally Piper said "Lets go to my chambers in the Leodis and you can... I mean YOU WILL tell us all about it! Annabeth, Hazel, are you with us?"
"On your six" Annabeth replied.
Jason and myself started to rise only to have Piper say "Not you two. Perhaps you guys should talk to Neville." She grinned.
"He'll never talk!" Reyna giggled.
"I have no idea what any of you are talking about." Neville said with a blank stare and mischievous grin.
"Wait." Hazel said, and we all stopped. "What did she mean? Artemis, about 'the plans coming to fruition'?"
We all stared around at each other until Jason said "It means we have another vague thing said by an Olympian to figure out."
"And we know that Hogwarts plays a role in whatever comes next." McGonagall added.
