Hiiiii. My excuses this time are real life, writer's block, and... eh. I sort of hit a lull with this story, so I skipped what I was supposed to write and wrote an easier part of the plot. The next two chapters will contain some action which will motivate me!

I hope you're all doing okay! It's a tough time, drink lots of water. Eat something healthy and something tasty.

Starhunter18 and SilverLightning26, this chapter is for you! Lots of love!

Q: What is one of the major reasons for the rift between the Greeks and the Romans in HoO canon?
A: The Ancient Romans were responsible for stealing the Athena Parthenos and losing it over the previous centuries. The decline in their faith resulted in an imbalance between the two pantheons.

Warning: Discussions of sex between teenagers (it's at the end of the chapter).

Listening to: Horizon by Jacob (Jacob's Piano)

10th November, 2013.

It's not that he was keeping it so hush-hush for the sake of it. Harry just thought it would be cooler if he could surprise everyone with his Animagus form.

Remus had been helping him for the better part of the month. Though the man himself was unable to manifest a form, Harry had no problems following his instructions on the potions and spells needed. It helped that he'd aced his Occlumency tests which made even Snape give him a grudging nod.

So far, Harry figured out what his form was. Actually changing his body (clothes, jewellery, and all) into the form and back, without major injuries was the final leg of the challenge, so to speak.

He scratched the skin around his bracelet, walking around the vast lawn outside Frost mansion. An open space was the perfect place to test this.

"Ready?" Remus called from the porch.

"Yeah!" Harry threw up a thumbs up, honing everything he'd learned. He could do this. Come on, come on.

"Timer starting in 3," Remus said, "2, 1. Go!"

Affinis transformatio, he chanted. He wasn't allowed a wand for this, so he had to concentrate on his body and most of all, his brain.

Affinis transformatio!

His skin went cold. Then hard. Harry fell to the ground, but his knees didn't impact the grass. Instead, it was his belly that caught him, a smooth and strong thump landing him to foot level of where he previously was.

It worked! Harry's euphoria was boundless right until a second later when all his clothes fell on top of him, cutting off his access to the world.

Okay, maybe he wasn't as big as he'd hoped to be, but this was still great! He had all his mental faculties, could think about the success of the spell, and rejoice in the fact that there was no pain in his body.

The panic came a little later when he realised that he was still under the cover of his clothes. He couldn't see, trying to squint and move around in his shirt. His now sensitive nose kept bumping into the fabric and Harry recoiled from the onslaught of senses he could absorb from his olfactory system alone.

It didn't help that his hearing had been dimmed down to basically nothing.

Harry was trying to figure out how to change back, without appearing completely naked in front of Remus when the earth shook, great tremors climbing into his body and rattling his mind.

An earthquake?

His shirt disappeared, lifted into the air, and Harry hissed against the sudden bright sunlight that hit him. He quickly hid under the rest of his clothes.

"Good job," Remus said, though his voice was very muffled. "Next time, we practice changing with the clothes, okay?"

"Go away!" Harry yelled, unable to form words. His mouth instead made the appropriate animal sounds. Remus seemed to understand though, smirking as he stood back up.

"I'll be in the kitchen. Don't take too long."

He did take a bit of time. It was nice, exploring the grass and plants in this simpler state of mind. Though when he noticed Hedwig's keen eyes staring at him, Harry decided to change back.

In a few minutes, he was hopping across the lawn, trying to put on his pants. Hedwig followed him closely, swooping down to perch on his shoulder as he zipped up.

"Not food," he explained as she softly pecked at his hair. "So please don't even think of trying to eat me."

Remus had the advanced copy of Bagshot's Animagi Transfiguration Guide open on the table. He was dictating a letter for the enchanted quill to write.

"Pain index," he asked as Harry came into view.

"Zero!"

His teacher smiled. "An almost perfect score. A couple more weeks and we can submit this to the Ministry."

Harry collapsed on the chair beside him, now feeling exhausted. "Do they need to know though?"

"It's mandatory," Remus reminded him. "It was bad enough that Sirius, James, and Peter were unregistered Animagi. It wouldn't reflect well on you if you kept that under the wraps as well."

Harry knew the answer but still listened listlessly. He flexed his fingers, feeling the rush of endorphins flow through him. "I really did it."

Remus gave him a soft smile. "You did. I'm very proud of you."

With a flap of her wings, Hedwig carefully reminded Harry of something that had been pending for a while.

"Yeah!" Harry swallowed, feeling a dull sense of gloom wrap him. "Remus, Ron had floo-called this morning. Said that Garth needed to be checked over. He's been refusing to fly all week."

The quill stopped scratching as Remus paused his dictation. "More than a week, or just stopped a few days ago?"

"About a week exactly," Harry rested his head on the table. "We need to get him to Hagrid. Or at least, the apothecary in Diagon Alley."

Strangely, Remus caught the hovering quill and laid it down. He then turned in his seat to face Harry.

"Arthur informed me this some time back," Remus said carefully. He looked like he was on stepping stones, wondering which one would sink. Harry didn't like where the discussion was heading.

"What did Mr. Weasley say?"

"He mentioned that Garth has been picky to hunt and eat for some time now. And now, he's stopped flying altogether," Remus said, trying to convey some hidden meaning.

Harry swallowed. "So he just needs help… we can do that."

"Harry," he said patiently. "Can you tell me why Garth's refused to stay at Frost? It took him weeks to even adjust to being around the Weasleys and that was the only place we could let him go."

"Garth's an owl," Harry grumbled. "He's not gonna understand why we'd stopped him from going to Hogwarts."

"Yes, but he's finally realised that DJ isn't coming back," Remus said, throwing all caution to the wind. "If we can't change his mind, I'm afraid we'll need to prepare for the inevitable."

Harry felt his breaths come out in short puffs. "That's not gonna happen."

"It's been nearly a year, Harry," Remus whispered. "I'm impressed he's held on for so long, but we need to face facts—"

"So what, we're just going to let him die?!" Harry snapped. "We're just going to give up?"

"Garth was very attached to DJ. It's a common thing to happen. Pets can take anywhere between a few weeks or several years to grieve their owners, but some can't recover as well as they'd like. Sometimes they choose to not move on."

Harry couldn't imagine it. DJ's little regal barn owl had been around since he'd begun his first year at Hogwarts. It had been devastating to watch Garth perch by the window, waiting for DJ to come back. Harry hadn't been able to look after him and with the Order constantly changing shifts, along with the Jacksons opting to stay in Manhattan, it was just better for little Garth to live with a more stable unit like the Weasleys.

The open country air of Devon had been good to the owl. Ron gave Harry weekly updates on Garth's slow, but sad curiosity about the new space. But his explorations had dimmed over the months and now, it was November now, cold winds picking up, snow threatening to fall soon.

If Garth didn't make it through the winter, the apothecary and even Hagrid may suggest to simply let the bird go.

Let Garth go and die a natural death on his terms, just like DJ chose to try and put up a shield against the killing curse.

"I'm going to New York," Harry mumbled.

Hedwig gave a little squawk as he stood up abruptly. She flew up and out of the kitchen, annoyed. Remus didn't stop him.

The Jacksons' apartment was currently occupied by Percy and Kimberly. Sally was working and Nico was probably at camp.

Percy was in the living room, talking business with Annabeth and Will through an IM window. Harry crashed on the couch, nearly shoving Percy out of the way. He looked over to the baby in Percy's arms and grinned. "Hi, baby."

Kimberly's entire body jolted from the sound. She searched for the source of the voice, located Harry and gave a delighted squeal.

"Move!" Percy pushed Harry's shoulder. "I'm busy!"

"Then I'll take Kimmy."

"No, I got her!" he pouted, moving the fussing baby to his other shoulder. Kimberly settled, content with her pacifier, so Percy propped her up. She didn't complain about the view of the couch and both boys were able to face the Iris Message window with no issues.

"Oooh!" Will said cheerfully. He was at the Big House, standing beside the ping-pong table that had a couple of different road maps of the Grand Canyon. "How old is she now?"

"Nearly three months," Percy said, kissing her soft head. Her entire body shook with glee, tiny fists clenched.

"Her cheeks are super chubby," Will said wistfully, as though he'd rather be playing with a baby than discussing his new quest with a frustrated, sleep-deprived Annabeth. Percy understood his situation all too well.

"Yes, yes!" Annabeth said, butting into the sweet moment. "Kimmy's cute. We're aware. Percy, did Reyna send over the denarii and drachma conversion rates?"

"No," he answered patiently. "That's because Jason and I will sort it out while you're on your quest. You need to focus on travel arrangements. Clarisse is loaning you the chariot, it's a done deal."

"Will will handle that. I have to finish Hera's little umbrella stand in her temple."

"Umbrella stand?" Harry mouthed. "What does a goddess need an umbrella for."

"Beats me," Annabeth muttered.

"I still think we shouldn't use the chariot," Will said, picking out a splinter from his arm. "Hazel's a daughter of H… Pluto. Zeus won't like her flying."

"But this is the first camp collaboration. He'll want to give a little allowance," Percy insisted. "He lets me fly on Black-Jack all the time."

"Pegasi are Poseidon's domain, how much ever Zeus doesn't like it," Annabeth said, throwing out a scrap of paper and scribbling something in her book. "The chariot can be back-up. I'd rather we use land transport."

"Then use the chariot on land!"

"It'll take us weeks to reach Phoenix!"

Percy massaged the side of his head. "Look, the two of you can fly directly to Grand Canyon National Park. Reyna and Hazel can meet you there. It's way closer to them than to us, so we need to split the travel."

Annabeth tossed her pencil. "That was the original plan. But Reyna pointed out that this quest calls for us to work together. Reaching there in separate paths does not make for a good impression."

"The aim is to get the demigods back to camp safely," Harry pointed out. "Not to make sure everything looks good on paper."

"That isn't all, Harry," she said, now showing how tired she really was. "We need something to go really well and according to plan. The Hunters and the Amazons had a flash bang meeting, our conference in Olympus could have ended in a disaster if Clovis hadn't been there. This quest should be done properly. We have to pull out all the stops, no messing it up. And I have three separate temples to start work on tomorrow. Malcolm can handle our mom's rooms and Demeter's but Aphrodite hasn't budged on the shared window she wants with Ares. But I can't build a shared anything between those two, because Hephaestus is right there!"

Harry winced. Percy leaned to the left to smell Kimmy's soft baby powder. It was the only thing that managed to calm people these days.

The floo burst into green flames, this time spitting out Rachel. She hopped over the safety grate and landed neatly on both feet. She was vibrating with energy.

"Harry!" she shouted. "Come with me— hey, Annabeth, Will! Give us a minute, yeah?"

Rachel grabbed onto Harry's arm and yanked him off the couch. He practically flew into the air with a grunt as they rushed off into the kitchen.

"Did you hear a popping sound?" Harry groaned. "That might have been my arm."

Bolt leaped out of Rachel's side, landing primly on the table, much the same way Rachel flooed to the house. The familiar said, "She's been thinking about it for the past few days.

"Yeah!" Rachel said, excited. "I have an idea! But it'll work better if you're involved."

"An idea for…?"

"Octavian and I sort of messed up the camper meeting," she started in her rapidfire style. "Now we're on a time crunch to get the two demigods to camp while everyone's gonna be surveilled by all the gods. It's gonna put a lot of pressure on Annabeth and Will, especially since they already have really important jobs."

"Sure, we know that," Harry said, exasperated. He massaged his arm, rotating it slowly.

"Soooo," Rachel dragged, eyes gleaming. "I was thinking, what if we lighten the load?"

"We?"

"Yeah! I'll take over for Annabeth, help out with the construction on Olympus. And you take over for Will, look out for the infirmary at camp!"

Harry stared. "How did I get roped into this?"

"We're a package deal, remember?" Rachel poked him. "Come on, Harry! You'd be doing me a solid. I'll owe you!"

"I dunno."

"You're a healer too! You can do Will's job."

"I'm not a healer like Will. He's a combat medic. He's actually certified to run the camp infirmary. I'm not even a demigod."

"Will's a kid," Rachel said flatly. "He's thirteen. Yeah, he's really good. But so are you."

"Rach," he protested. "Will and his siblings have real healing capabilities from their dad. My magic is more obscure. I focus on chlorokinesis, the healing is literally a by-product. I can't conduct physical examinations or check-ups. I just don't have any experience with all that."

"But you can heal injuries?" Bolt added.

"Yeah, it's basically brute-forcing the healing magic to fix things," he shook his head. "Besides, I can't heal myself when I'm hurt. I shouldn't be called a healer based on the text-book definition."

"Harry," Rachel said, waving an arm. "You're the text-book definition of absolutely nothing."

"Wow."

"I mean!" she continued. "You don't have to fall into specific rules to help out. Okay, maybe a little difference is good for camp?"

"Rach," he whispered, in case Percy had been eavesdropping. "What's this really about?"

"Go ahead," the familiar said, soothing the twins considerably. The kitchen went quiet as Rachel took a second to grasp her thoughts.

"Alright," she whispered. "Alright, I screwed up."

Harry waited and she continued. "I blabbed about the demigods in the Grand Canyon and literally chose two of the busiest campers to go out there. They have all the right to be pissed at me for it. I mean, Will's been training Kayla for a few months and he's running the archery classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And Annabeth, oh jeez. She transformed a storage unit on Olympus into her temporary room. It's where she sleeps whenever she works late and she's working late a lot now. The only thing I could have done worse was pick Clarisse and Thalia! Percy would have cried himself to death so there's no way I'd be choosing him."

He sighed. "You think it's your fault?"

"The meeting shouldn't have ended like that," Rachel said. "I shouldn't have just assigned people to go out and risk their lives when there's a very real war looming over us, the second one this year!"

Harry gave her a sympathetic look. "Rachel… you're the Oracle. It's your job to assign quests to people."

"You know that's not why I became the Oracle," she hissed. "I was scared and panicking and just needed a way out! But it looks like everyone else got the short end of the stick with what I chose. I can't just sit back and expect them to fix this. I gotta do something! I can't volunteer for the quest so this is the best option."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "So… you want to take Annabeth's place as the replacement architect of Olympus?"

"Temporary!" Rachel insisted. "I'm not taking her title."

"And I'm supposed to work at the infirmary as a camp healer?"

She nodded. "Please?"

He wasn't a fan of the idea, but it would ease Annabeth and Will's worries. Not to mention, it would give him an excuse to avoid Remus for at least a week.

"If we have to do this," Harry said slowly. "We need to approach Chiron with a very real reason, more than just replacing two capable members of camp. This can easily come off as vain and overconfident."

Rachel was miserable now. "I'm just trying to help. I just want to fix things."

"I know. It's really nice of you, but what if they don't see it that way?" he asked. "Annabeth and Will might be okay with it. But what if Mr. D thinks we're crossing the line? I'm not a camper, I can't just replace Will."

She stayed quiet, unwilling to engage in the conversation now. Harry didn't want to puncture her plans which had all the right intentions, but the idea could easily be misconstrued.

"Alternate plan," Bolt offered slowly."Annabeth's already handing over her notes to Malcolm so he can oversee the construction. And since Kayla's been learning from Will, it's better if she's in charge. What you can do is offer your help when and if they need it."

Rachel frowned. "But that would still mean slacking off?"

"No. Look, Kayla'd know how to run the infirmary better than Harry," Bolt said, before shaking her pelt. "But if she needs help or if she needs another person to assist, then Harry can drop in and work with her. She'd still call the shots. Same with Malcom, you can help out, but it's on his terms."

Rachel didn't look too happy with that, but Harry was curious. "How is that better?"

"It's better because this way, we take into account what Annabeth and Will have planned and make sure to take the load off their shoulders," she explained. "So they can focus on the quest while the work at camp and in Olympus is done properly. Besides, two people are better than one."

Rachel bounced on her feet, shooting a quick look to Harry. The puppy added, "Malcolm can do a better job of reading Annabeth's handwriting anyway."

Harry nodded. "True."

"Let's pitch it," Rachel said, grabbing his arm and walking out of the kitchen.

Percy looked up from the couch. "How was your discrete discussion?"

"Top-secret," Harry said, yanking his arm out from her grip. Rachel leaned down to peer into the rainbow window. "Hey guys. Still there?"

"Yessss!" Will said, folding his arms.

"Good. Bolt has an idea."

Mr. D and Chiron looked up from the table. The porch of the Big House had never been so hot in November as it did right then.

"You will volunteer," Mr. D said so scathingly that Harry wanted to turn around and leave.

"Yes," Rachel said, her arm looped around Harry's, leashing him to her side.

"To assist Mason Paltry up in Olympus and Katy Know-all in the Infirmary, for however long the campers take to retrieve the new demigods?"

Harry frowned and Percy sighed. Rachel said, "Malcolm Pace and Kayla Knowles, yes."

"In return for what?"

"Nothing in return," Rachel assured the god. "We just wanna help."

Mr. D snorted. "The Oracle does not help in mundane matters. You can go back to your cave and sunbathe. Doesn't make a difference."

Rachel inhaled, trying to keep calm. "Yes, maybe that's what the previous Oracle did. But this is what I'd like to do."

"The previous Oracle was a dead body in the attic. Whatever you do know surpasses that by a long shot."

"Mr. D," Chiron said mildly. "Let's not speak ill of the dead."

Dionysus tilted his head, but didn't argue. He squinted at Harry and said. "What about you? What do you want?"

"We don't want anything," Harry said. "We're just trying to help."

"That's exactly what Raven said, what's your agenda?"

"They don't have an agenda!" Percy answered, exasperated. "It's going to be difficult for Annabeth and Will to just drop all their duties and go on the quest. Rachel and Harry are offering their assistance."

Mr. D set his cards down. It was serious now. "The last time the both of you assisted camp, you did ask a favour of me."

"Yes," Harry said, quickly eyeing Rachel. "We did. But I didn't… we didn't help camp just to ask the favour. It was something we thought of later."

Percy shot him a curious look. Mr. D glared. "And what if you sort another favour when you happen to think of one?"

Chiron sighed. "Mr. D, I believe they're merely trying to help their friends."

"Yes, in exchange for godly favours," Mr. D argued. "My father will not be pleased if he were to know that I've interfered with mortal affairs."

"Of course," Percy said, narrowing his eyes. "It's not like the gods know anything about mortal affairs."

The god didn't like that. "Watch it, Johnson. You may be protected by your father, but your friends are not!"

"Rachel's protected by Lord Apollo and Harry has my dad's blessing to be in camp," Percy pointed out. "Also, we have a patron who gave us some nifty bracelets. So, no. You can't mess with any of us."

Mr. D's eyes went from purple to pure fire. Rachel's hair stood on their ends and she grabbed Percy's arm to give a nervous laugh. "Silly Percy, don't be rude! What he meant to say, Mr. D, is that the demigods of this camp are our good friends. Friends don't have to owe each other for helping out. Annabeth and Will are brave heroes, risking their lives to help potential campers. We just want to make their time away from camp easier for everyone."

Percy held his tongue this time. Harry and Chiron exchanged quick looks. Mr. D wrinkled his nose. "Have you been taking lessons from the sun?"

She wasn't sure how to respond to that. Luckily, Chiron spoke up. "Harry, you're not an official camper. So it requires some bending of the rules to accommodate you to be involved in healing duties generally reserved for children of Apollo. But, if Mr. D is amiable, you can assist in emergencies should we need a different form of healing magic in an unforeseen situation."

Rachel began bouncing again, grinning wide. Harry accepted it. "I can be involved in emergencies. I'm good under pressure."

"A defining trait of healers everywhere!" Rachel chirped.

Mr. D, still glaring at Percy, finally said, "Fine! Harvey hides out here enough to be a camper anyway."

"I'm Harry."

"You're leaving. Now."

"Thank you, Mr. D and Chiron," Percy sighed. "For your unfailing kindness."

The three of them stepped down the porch, walking to the cabins. Rachel couldn't quit the happy jump in her step. She might have made things worse for the demigods, but by helping Annabeth and Malcolm, she was determined to sort it all out. No one would ever say that Rachel was not supportive.

"Let's give Will and Annabeth the good news," She said, grinning wide now. "I bet they'll be pleased."

"They were playing poker," Percy said, unexpectedly. She and Harry looked to him for clarification.

"Mr. D and Chiron," he mentioned. "They were playing poker."

"So?"

"They never play casino card games at camp. It's the first time I've seen them at it."

Harry shrugged. "D'you think they're betting?"

"Mr. D isn't allowed to bet, I thought?" Rachel wondered. "Isn't that part of his punishment?"

"Not really," Percy said, as they approached cabin 8. "He isn't allowed to drink. Gambling is just frowned upon."

Thalia and Nyssa were outside the Apollo cabin. They were having a quiet argument with angry gestures. Rachel, Percy, and Harry gave them some space and went to knock on the cabin door.

Annabeth burst out of the cabin and went straight into Rachel's surprised arms, giving a loud sob. She smelled of coffee and stale breath.

Inside the cabin, Clarisse and Will were arguing about the mechanics of the chariot that belonged to both cabins 5 and 8. It was a long-time debate since before the end of the war when Michael Yew and Clarisse had fought for ownership of the chariot.

"Guys!" Percy said frustrated, marching in to break up the argument. Harry ran a hand through his hair, debating on getting involved, and Rachel comforted Annabeth, murmuring that Mr. D had agreed and Annabeth's work on Olympus wouldn't have to suffer.

"I just want a break," Annabeth begged, clutching Rachel. "No quests, no projects, nothing. I want to lie down and breathe!"

"How about I go get Clovis?" Harry suggested. "You can get proper sleep before the quest tomorrow."

"Yeah," Rachel said gently. "That's a good idea. Annabeth, let's get you to your cabin."

"Mal… Malcolm needs Hestia's blueprints."

"I'll get them. Malcolm and I will look into your schedule today and plan things out. You get some shut-eye before dinner."

The girls walked away and Harry rolled his shoulders, looking over to the Apollo cabin. To the side, Thalia and Nyssa's argument had boiled over with them glaring at each other. Nyssa then stormed off leaving Thalia red-faced, sending sparks over the ground.

"What?!" she spat when she saw him watching.

"Nothing."

She left in a huff and Harry waited for Will to acknowledge him. The oldest living demigod child of Apollo, Will, was only a kid. But he was quite tall, nearly Harry's height.

Will called out Kayla, a twelve-year-old girl with green dyed hair. She was much shorter than the both of them. Kayla looked surprised at the sight of Harry.

"Mr. D agreed?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Astonishingly. So, till Will gets back, I can help out with any emergencies at camp. You'll be in charge though."

Kayla was ecstatic. "So I can give you orders?"

"Yes…"

"And you gotta listen to everything I say?"

Will laughed. "Kay, you can share the manifesto with him, but I don't think there'd be anything too much for you to handle. Harry's just going to be back-up in case things go sideways."

"Yeah… but I get to be his boss?" Kayla pressed. Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. It reminded him of Nico.

"Depends, are you a good boss?"

"Oh yeah! I treat my employees to local outreach programmes."

Will looked confused. "What?"

"The supply run," Kayla said. "Harry can do the disappear-reappear thingy, right? We can pop into Queens, take Hermes's care-packages and be right back!"

"As long as Lord Hermes knows he's coming," Will warned her.

Clarisse and Percy exited the cabin, guiding the chariot into the open space. "Alrighty, Will. We can attach two rows of pegasi to the chariot and you have access to the new functions."

Will perked up. "Even the ones Cabin 5 added without Chiron's permission?"

"Yes, but please avoid the Greek Fire rockets," Percy said, leaning over the controls to stare down Clarisse. "We're trying to make a good impression on the Romans."

She snorted. "It's not our fault that they don't have Roman fire weapons."

"They probably do," Percy said, raising an eyebrow. "So, let's not agitate them. You know what? I'm disabling it right now. You can have it back after the quest."

Clarisse looked sour, but didn't complain. She looked around, trying to find a way to change the subject. "Where's Nyssa?"

Harry looked over his shoulder. "Probably in her cabin."

"She said she'd wait for us here."

He shrugged, deciding not to bring up her confrontation with Thalia. It had looked private.

Percy held up a metal cylinder presumably, the Greek fire rocket capsules. He handed it off to Clarisse and beckoned Will. "Let's get to the stables and find the Pegasi. How many do you need, Will?"

"Um… two people on the way and four back… Four?"

Percy and Will led the chariot away, with the former explaining that one Pegasus is much stronger than what Will had assumed.

"I'll show you our rota!" Kayla said, dragging Harry over to the infirmary.

Camp Half-Blood's infirmary station had had an upgrade after the Titan war. The slanting roofs were tinted brown, unlike the sleek gold of the Apollo cabin. The building was half as large as the Big House, housing thirty beds in total. There was a waiting room, an office, and patient rooms inside. There were even single rooms for patients with more dire injuries.

Except for Connor Stoll, the infirmary had no other patients. A rare sight.

"Hey, Connor," Harry greeted them. "How's the leg?"

Connor shook his head, looking away from his phone to stare sadly at his bunged up knee. "Well, It should have healed. But Will said the kneecap—"

"Ahah!" Kayla exclaimed. She pointed at Connor and told Harry. "Here is your first patient! Examine him!"

Connor made a face. "What?"

Harry figured this was her way to test him. So, he stood beside Connor, folded his arms and placed a hand under his chin. Connor rolled his eyes.

The displaced knee was red and swollen. Harry could feel the heat under the skin and the recently healed burns.

"Patient's left knee was dislocated followed by second degree burns," Harry said.

"Yes, go on," Kayla encouraged.

"The ambrosia fixed the burns and his knee has been set. So why is he still here…?" Harry tapped his chin.

"Why indeed?" she said, giggling. Connor sighed.

Harry snapped his fingers. "Patient attempted the climbing wall after having skipped his lunch. Ambrosia works better with food in the stomach. Less food can overheat the patient which is what happened now."

"Aw," Kayla looked disappointed. "How'd you know?"

"Sunday lunches are vegetarian," Harry recalled. "A lot of campers tend to skip it, which I don't understand. How can you say no to broccoli delicacy?"

"Hey, look," Connor held up both hands. "It's not because it's broccoli. It's because Mr. D is assigning Sunday lunches as punishment."

"Also," Kayla added. "It is because it's broccoli."

"Such a waste," he muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. Say, can you do something for me?" Connor asked.

"I'm not asking Mr. D to ban vegetarian lunches."

"Not that! No, I want you to send Colin a message. Tell him to pick up the phone."

Harry was perplexed. "Colin?"

"Yeah. Colin Creevey. You're his friend, right?"

"Yes, I am," Harry frowned. "And why should I get in touch with him for you?"

"That's between him and me," Connor sniffed.

"I'm pretty sure you both broke up."

"No! We didn't break up," Connor protested. "It was a misunderstanding! Colin needed some space, so I said sure. That was more than five months ago. I need a way to contact him again, because he isn't taking my calls."

Kayla hummed. "He's probably avoiding you, dumbass."

"Hey, show some respect to your elders."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "So… to get him to talk to you again, you want me to get him to pick up the phone."

"You don't have to make him do anything!" Connor complained. "Just ask him to pick up the phone."

"Why?"

"That's for me to know, for you to deliver, and for him to find out," Connor said, firmly. He looked very serious and not worth annoying right now.

Eh, Harry hadn't spoken to Colin in a while. He might as well do it.

After a while, he remembered that he had to rush home to meet with Dumbledore and couldn't stay for dinner at camp. He bid the others good bye and headed on to the outskirts of camp. Harry was sure that he'd splinch trying to disapparate from within camp borders, so didn't dare try that.

Peleus, the great dragon, was growing greater every day. He towered over Harry, his entire body bigger and longer than some of the trees outside camp.

Someone was sitting at the base of the tree, her back against the trunk. She was looking down, facing camp in all it's twilight glory.

"Why are you brooding?" Harry asked.

Thalia glared up at him. "None of your business."

Peleus growled, not threatening, but more concerned. His large snout nudged Thalia's shoulder and she sighed, running her hand over his face, scratching his shiny scales.

"Are you worried about the quest?" he pressed.

Thalia heaved a sigh. "Let it go, Harry."

"Annabeth's getting some rest now. She'll be prepared tomorrow. And Will looks more confident. Also, Rachel and I are going to help out—"

"Yeah, I heard that," she interrupted. "That's nice."

Harry and Thalia had usually tried to avoid each other. He'd never been happy with her decision to become a Hunter, but now that she wasn't, it was clear she was very disturbed. So he'd made the choice to stay out of her way. It was just easier on the both of them.

It didn't help that they had enough mutual friends.

"Fine," he muttered. "See you tomorrow."

He heard her exhale and mumble something in Ancient Greek. Harry couldn't be sure but it may have been a curse directed at him.

"I want to ask you something," Thalia called out, just as he crossed the border.

The ward around the camp rippled lightly. Harry looked up at the bright hemisphere before watching Thalia get to her feet.

"About what?"

She took a deep breath. "I'm gonna ask you something. And you don't have to overreact, okay? No yelling or jumping."

Harry scoffed. "I think I'm mature enough to have a civil discussion."

"Right," she said. "Will you have sex with me?"

The weather outside camp was not controlled so Harry felt a cold wind blow across the forest. His body did not feel chilled though.

"Huh?" he asked weakly.

"Will you," Thalia said slowly. "Have sex with me?"

"With you?" he said.

"Yeah."

"Sex?"

"Yeah."

"Me and you?"

"Yes, Harry."

He was still having difficulty contemplating the idea. "You mean sleeping with each other?"

Thalia now glared at him. "Is it a yes or a no?"

Harry threw his hands up. "Is this your idea of flirting?!"

"Flirting? Who said anything about flirting?"

"Why am I surprised? You've never flirted with me."

Thalia groaned. "I'm not asking you out on a date, Harry. I'm asking if you'd like to have sex with me."

His nostrils flared. "Why? Why're you asking? And why me?"

She grumbled under her breath before saying, "Get back in the barrier."

He eyes her carefully, stepping through the ward again. The cold wind stopped abruptly, a warm sensation moving over his body. It didn't help ease the topic.

"I'm frustrated," she told him plainly. "Next weekend, we're due to have another meeting with the Romans and I can't show any kind of anger or irritation. That's Clarisse's department. I need to remain calm and collected."

Anyone who knew Thalia would not associate her with those words.

"So, you think sex is one way to… to relieve the stress?" Harry said, his face burning. He'd never said the word "sex" so many times in his life.

"I know it's an excellent way," Thalia said, raising her eyebrows. Her blue eyes glittered in the light of the setting sun.

Harry frowned at the tone of her voice. She sounded very sure. He gasped, pointing at her. "You had sex! Before the first meeting!"

She looked at him with disdain. "Of course I did. Why do you think I didn't combust?"

"With whom?"

"That's none of your business."

"But you're asking me now."

"Yes," she rolled her eyes. "Why are you so confused?"

"I'm not confused, I'm trying to understand. Are you already dating someone? Did you break up with him? Did you…"

Harry trailed off. That argument between her and Nyssa… He blinked. "Nyssa?!"

Thalia's glare blistered. He was surprised that she hadn't threatened to decapitate him.

"Nyssa and I had a falling out," she said as diplomatically as she could. "So I figured I'd ask you. We already made out a few times before."

Harry remembered being fourteen and pleased that he was receiving attention from Thalia, an older, cooler girl whose kisses tasted like lemon because of the light sparks that she sent through his skin. They'd kissed in the dark of Percy's room several times.

There was only a distance of a couple of feet between them now. Harry could just swoop in and kiss her, feel the very real electricity running in her veins, maybe have more.

"We wouldn't be dating," she warned him. "It's just a thing that'll let me feel collected enough to face everyone."

The bubble of hope that had been growing in his chest popped.

"Of course," he said, unable to hold back the bitterness. "Because dating is too complicated with feelings and shit."

She glowered. "Just say no, then."

"You wouldn't even ask me out?"

"Would you say yes if I did?"

"No."

"Then what's the point?" she asked.

"I dunno! You're the one who wants to sleep with me!"

"Harry!" she fumed. "Lower your voice! What is it that you want?"

He paced away from her, stopping beside Peleus and then turning around to face her. "What do you want, Thalia?"

She stepped away. "You're doing the same thing again."

"Thalia."

"I told you, last time," she said, looking away. "Just fooling around a little. It's just a little fun. And then you went and asked me to some ball!"

"The Yule Ball," Harry said, recalling his slow, stuttering question.

"Can you see me in a dress?"

"You could have worn dress robes. Or a suit. Or distressed jeans. I wouldn't have cared."

"I know," she snapped. "That's the worst part. You wanted more. I didn't. And I made it clear but you didn't listen."

"Don't push this on me."

"Did I send you mixed signals?" Thalia demanded. "Did I make it seem like I wanted to go out with you?"

"No," he gritted.

"Then why did you expect more?"

Harry swallowed. "Because I wanted more. I like hanging out with someone who didn't need to know about tragic backstories. I like spending time with someone who just wanted to be with me and didn't expect me to be someone specific or some hero, or a fighter. I wanted to relax and just… have fun. I wanted to kiss someone and not worry about them running off to giggle about it or spread rumours. I just wanted a nice time…"

He trailed off. He wasn't talking about Thalia now… it was someone else.

She seemed to realise it too. Thalia cocked her head, looking gentle. "You're not going to get that while kissing a friend or a fan. You want someone new."

The thing is, Harry had kissed someone new. At the party, a year ago. Merlin, had it been an entire year?

That was a feeling that would never be replicated. He felt a little despondent at the thought. Thalia gave him a smile.

"I guess it's a no."

"Yeah," he said. "It's a no."

She shrugged. "See you around."

I know exactly what's supposed to happen next. Now all that needs to be done is for me to write it. Wish me luck!

Q: Take a guess as to Harry's Animagus form!

Stay tuned, folks!
Cabba.