'He's late.'

Harry, Ron and Hermione crouched near the door to the dining room in number 12, Grimmauld Place, listening in through the crack under the door.

'I'm sure he knows hat he's doing,' sighed Mrs. Weasley. 'Dumbledore is a very busy man, he can't always be early.'

Just then, the door opened and Mrs. Black's portrait started screaming.

'Mudbloods! Filth! Scum!' She screeched. 'Besmirching the house of my fathers! And who dares bring THESE people into-'

'SHUT. UP!'

Harry, Ron and Hermione sprang back quickly from the door just before it banged open.

Sirius ran to his mother's portrait, and Remus helped him yank the curtains shut.

Breathlessly, they turned around to face the entryway.

The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione quickly joined them.

Dumbledore, smiling serenely over his half-moon spectacles, glided in.

'I apologize for the inconvenience. Although you will find this worth the wait.' He turned. 'You may come in!'

In single file, staring unabashedly, three teenagers, two boys and a girl, walked in, followed by a fatherly looking man in a metal wheelchair.

'Let us meet in the dining room?' Said Dumbledore, still smiling.

In the dining room, Dumbledore and Remus set about enlarging the table, while the trio approached the newcomers.

'Hi,' said Harry, unsure where to begin.

'Hi!' Replied one boy.

He looked around Harry's age, and the similarities were rather striking.

They both were thin, rather short in stature, with green eyes and tousled black hair.

The other boy was rather tan, and he looked like the basketball type. He also, strangely, had a stripe of grey in his hair, and even more strangely...

'You're American?' Asked Ron.

'Tactful, Ron, real tactful.' Hermione tutted.

'Yeah,' smiled the girl, 'We're from New York.'

She had the same grey streak in her curly blonde hair as the black-haired boy, and her dark grey eyes glittered with intelligence. Rather like Dumbledore, Harry noticed.

'I'm Percy,' said the dark-haired boy. 'Percy Jackson. And these are my friends-'

'I'm Annabeth.' Said the blonde.

'And I'm Grover.' Said the third boy. He looked older than the two, with a small goatee, curly ginger-ish hair partially covered with a cap, and a strange sort of limp.

'I'm Harry.' Said Harry.

'I'm Hermione.'

'And I'm Ron.'

'Harry, Ron, Hermione, guests, come sit down.' Said Mrs. Weasley.

General scuffling ensued.

Once things quieted down a bit, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

'As you all know, the war with Voldemort is approaching. And our numbers are small.'

Dumbledore glance around the table.

'These are our backup forces.'

Fred and George cheered. Harry would have cheered as well, but judging from the murderous look Mrs. Weasley was giving, it would not have been a good idea.

'Dumbledore,' Sirius said, 'who on earth are these people?'

Dumbledore's eyes glinted. 'I'll let Chiron introduce himself.'

'Hello.' Said Chiron. 'As Dumbledore said, my name is Chiron, and we come with a proposal.'

Hermione and Harry traded a glance.

'As you all know, there is evil lurking. Voldemort is rising. And so is our enemy- the titan Kronos.'

At the word titan, Hermione and Harry traded another glance.

'We come from a sanctuary for demigods- modern children of the Greek gods. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, has been chosen by the Fates to lead the war against Kronos. We take it Harry Potter is your chosen one.' Chiron inclined his curly head in Harry's direction.

'In two years, on Percy's sixteenth birthday, Kronos will gather his forces and attack, and he will succeed in destroying the gods. At least- without your help.

Your prediction is probably les dark. But your losses will be high. At least- without our help.

That's where the proposition comes in. You help us fight our war, we help you fight yours. Our enemies will never see it coming. We can use our powers in cohesion.'

'We'll kick their but!' Said Percy.

Everyone looked at him.

'Sorry, go on...' he mumbled.

Remus spoke up.

'What do you have to offer? And army? Weapons? Voldemort has thousands of followers. They all have magic. What do you have?'

'Back at Camp Half-Blood, we have hundreds of campers. We have fighters, we have strategists, we have forgers, we have supernatural powers. Time and time again, we have fought away the monsters that have attacked us. But we are not strong enough to stop Kronos on our own, just as you are not strong enough to stop Voldemort.'

'I think we've made a deal, haven't you?' Asked Dumbledore.

'I think we need to think.' Said Remus. 'Harry, Ron, Hermione, would you take our guests upstairs? I suppose you can levitate Chiron, if he agrees.'

'No need.' Said Chiron.

He started to rise out of his wheelchair.

'The stairs are just wide enough for a centaur.'