Disclaimer: I do not own any Percy Jackson storylines, nor any Harry Potter storylines and characters. The only thing I own is this story plot. Everything else belongs to Rick Riordan and J. K. Rowling.

A/N: Oh my gosh guys. This was the toughest chapter I've had to write so far, and I think the longest too. But seeing all the reviews coming in and the notifications about you guys following and favoriting this story kept me going. I'm sorry it took so long, but be assured, I will not abandon this story.

George read the chapter title. "We Capture A Flag."

"Hang on," Neville interrupted. "What exactly is capture the flag?"

Ginny frowned. "Oh yeah, I forgot that Annabeth mentioned it."

"It's a game that Muggles play," Hermione hurried to explain. "It normally consists of two teams that each has something that can be a 'flag'. The goal of the game is to capture your opposing team's 'flag' and bring it back to your 'base' before the other team gets yours. Whichever team brings their opponent's flag back to their base first wins."

Ron blinked. "Wow," he said. "That actually sounds like fun."

Harry nodded in agreement. There were a few times in Primary School when the other kids would gather up everyone else to play, but since nobody wanted to get on the bad side of Dudley and his gang, nobody ever invited him to participate.

George nodded along with Harry before he turned his attention back to the book.

The next few days I settled into a routine...was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.

Fred snorted. "Yes, normal. Mind you, we are taught magic, and one of the teachers is a ghost so we can't really talk."

Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth...the present tense, which was kind of weird.

I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek...through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.

The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something...even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail.

Ginny giggled. "Poor Chiron."

Foot racing? I was no good either...running away from lovesick gods.

Molly let out a harrumph! while the teens tried to hide their snickers.

But still, it was...slower than a tree.

"I bet," Neville commented dryly.

And wrestling? Forget it...Clarisse would pulverize me.

Remus frowned. "What is wrestling?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Harry answered him.

"There's more where...mumble in my ear.

The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing...see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.

'Well of course he excels at canoeing,' Hermione thought to herself. 'He's the son of Poseidon, he'd have an advantage whenever he's near water.'

"You know, I felt like that my first year," Harry admitted. "Everyone kept staring at me and expecting me to do things."

I knew the senior campers and counselors were...they weren't having an easy time of it.

I wasn't as strong...as the Apollo kids.

I didn't have Hephaestus's skill in metalwork

"Wait," Ron interrupted George. "Who is Hefay...uh, Hept-"

"Hephaestus?" Harry finished for his best friend. When Ron nodded with a slight blush on his face, Harry spoke again. "I think he's the god of fire and metalworking." He looked towards Hermione. "Right?"

The bushy-haired girl nodded. "He's also an Olympian."

"Ginny-"

"Adding his name to the list," Ginny finished the unasked question.

Remus stared at the book contemplatively. "Metalworking, huh?"

"Sounds cool," Neville nodded. "Hey, since he's the god of metalworking, do you think he made all the gods' weapons for them?"

"I believe he did," Hermione answered. "Er, well, does, since he's, you know, still technically alive."

Ginny sat up. "Guys, I have all twelve of the Olympians down on this list, and what they're the god or goddess of. Well, except for Poseidon." She looked over at Hermione and Harry. "Are you sure you guys can't remember?"

Harry shook his head while Hermione smiled sheepishly. "Sorry guys."

"That's okay," Ron said instantly. "The book will tell us soon enough."

or - gods forbid - Dionysus's way with vine plants.

"As awful as his attitude is, I think Dionysius would have claimed Percy immediately," Luna said thoughtfully.

Neville tilted his head thoughtfully. "Maybe. He does only have two kids, so he shouldn't have any problem claiming Percy if he was his son."

Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes...He really didn't know what to make of me either.

Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach...meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came.

Molly frowned. "Why isn't his father claiming him?"

Just that warm feeling I'd always had...to save her, to bring her back…

Remus sighed. "As much as I understand the need to have loved ones returned to us, I am certain that the price would be too high."

The others nodded in agreement.

Severus thought about what he would do if there was a chance to bring back Lily. If the price he had to pay was his own life he would go through with it in a heartbeat. But if someone else had to pay the price, he knew Lily would never forgive him for taking their choice away for her sake.

I started to understand...resent his father, Hermes.

So okay, maybe gods...make a phone appear?

George stopped for a moment to say, "There's a page break here."

Ginny wrung her hands nervously. "Oh, I hope Percy's dad hurries up and claims him. It's hurting him more to be ignored."

Harry nodded. He remembered how much it hurt for Dumbledore to ignore him last year, but he imagined it would be worse for Percy since it was his birth father ignoring him.

Thursday after, three days...first sword-fighting lesson.

"Ooh, he's finally gonna learn how to fight with a sword!" Fred exclaimed happily.

George grinned over at him. "Make sure to take notes, brother mine."

"Oh, absolutely!."

Everybody from cabin eleven...Luke would be our instructor.

We started with basic stabbing and slashing...to do and my reflexes were good.

The problem was I couldn't find...blades seemed to work for me.

"I wonder why that is," Neville said with a frown.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's like our wands? It took forever for Mr. Olivander to find the correct wand for me. So, maybe only specific weapons work for specific people?"

"Or maybe it means someone's body characteristics," Luna added thoughtfully. "A long blade would give more reach, so perhaps a shorter person would suit a blade like that better. And a heavy blade would match someone with more muscle to swing it."

"Good point," Harry crossed his arms. "So I'm guessing the reason Percy is having trouble is that the kind of blade he needs is really specific."

Luna let out a thoughtful hum. "I suppose so."

A cough interrupted whatever Harry was going to say next. He and Luna looked away from each other to see everyone at the table staring at them with expressions ranging from amusement to exasperation.

"You two done?" Ron asked them, causing blushes to grace their faces.

"Astute observations, Harry and Luna," Remus praised.

We moved on to...this was my first time.

"Good luck," one of the campers...last three hundred years."

"Wow, really?" Hermione stated in surprise.

Molly looked over with a frown. "What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing really," Hermione waved away, "I'm just surprised at Luke's accomplishment. I would've expected that from a child of Ares."

"That's the war god right?" Ginny asked.

"Yes."

"Maybe he'll...I said.

The camper snorted.

"Ah," Fred said sagely, "I believe we are about to see a beatdown in progress."

"I concur, brother mine."

Luke showed me thrusts...more battered and bruised.

"Keep your guard up, Percy… "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!

"Nice sound effects," Ron commented with a grin.

By the time he called a break...a good idea, I did the same.

Instantly, I felt better...didn't feel so awkward.

Harry and Hermione traded glances as everyone let out exclaims of shock or confusion. They were the only ones who knew why Percy reacted like that to water.

'So not only does he control water, but it energizes him too', Hermione thought to herself.

Severus noticed the glance that Harry and Hermione exchanged and narrowed his eyes as he ignored everyone else's speculations.

'There was an odd exchange between them while the last chapter was being read,' The head of Slytherin thought to himself. 'It was when thoughts on which Olympian god Poseidon could be- oh.'

Severus inhaled sharply as several things came to light in his mind. Potter went quiet when the water was described lashing out against Mister Jackson's tormentors. Then Granger went quiet as well when she was about to tell what god Poseidon is.

Poseidon, who she said was the brother of Zeus, the King of the gods.

'So, it's a possibility that Poseidon is the god of water, and Mister Jackson's father,' Severus thought. 'And since Poseidon is the brother of Zeus, wouldn't that make Jackson royalty of some kind?'

"-verus? Severus?"

The aforementioned man blinked as he heard the call of his name and glanced up. Everyone was staring at him. He scowled. "What?"

"We were asking around to see if anyone had an idea as to why the water reacted like that," Remus explained as his eyes watched him carefully. "Do you have any input?"

"No," he replied immediately. After he said that, he noticed Potter and Granger let out twin discreet breaths of relief. He almost scoffed.

'As if I'd make it easy for everyone else.'

"Okay, everybody circle up!...you a little demo."

Great, I thought...Percy get pounded.

Neville let out a snort. "Ah yes, the classic 'let's embarrass some unlucky sod in front of all his friends' bit. I know it well."

The Hermes guys gathered around...me for a punching bag.

He told everybody he was going to demonstrate technique...he had no choice but to drop his weapon.

"That sounds wicked," Ron said enviously.

"This is difficult," he stressed...years to master this technique."

He demonstrated the move on me...sword clattered out of my hand.

"Now in real time," he said...us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"

I nodded, and Luke came after me...he started to press me with more force.

"Wait a minute," George stopped reading. "So now Percy can fight back just fine? What changed?"

'The water,' Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Severus thought.

'So the water not only energized him, but it made him more focused?' Harry thought to himself. 'Wow, when water is around, Percy is really powerful.'

The sword grew heavy in my hand...down, so I figured, What the heck?

I tried the disarming maneuver.

"Wait, really?" Ginny inquired. "The move he just learned?"

Harry shrugged. "In a real fight, you have to use all you have, even if it's a long shot."

Remus nodded in agreement. Severus also agreed, but there was no way in hell he was saying it aloud.

My blade hit the base...weight into a downward thrust.

Clang.

Luke's sword rattled...from his undefended chest.

It was quiet for a moment.

And then-

"Merlin's beard," Molly said in awe. "Did Percy just use a sword maneuver he just learned to beat a camper that was said to have been the best swordsman in the last three hundred years?"

Luna nodded. "He did."

". . . wow," Remus said.

Hermione leaned over to Harry. "The resemblance between the two of you is becoming more clear."

"You see it too, huh?"

The other campers were silent.

Ron snorted. "They're just as surprised as we are."

"Well, duh," Ginny rolled her eyes. "They know him more than Percy, so they know what he is capable of."

I lowered…"Um, sorry."

For a moment...stunned to speak.

"Sorry?" His scarred face...Show me that again!"

I didn't want to...me. But Luke insisted.

This time, there was no contest...my weapon skidding across the floor.

After a long pause…"Beginner's luck?"

Remus let out a thoughtful hum. "I doubt it."

"But didn't that happen to me when I used the Levitation Charm against the troll in our third year," Ron stated in confusion.

Molly's lips tightened in anger but Remus spoke before she could. "That's not the same. Your life and the lives of your friends were in trouble, so the need to protect yourselves unconsciously fueled your attempt. Percy was in a mock fight with someone he sort of trust, it's not the same."

Ron blinked at the overflow of information. "O-Oh, okay."

Luke wiped the sweat off his brow...Percy could do with a balanced sword…"

Neville grinned. "Probably the same as what Harry can do with his wand."

The aforementioned Potter blushed as all his friends nodded in agreement.

"Here's another page break," George said before continuing.

Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake...in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms.

Ginny winced in sympathy. "That climbing wall doesn't mess around."

"No kidding," Hermione muttered.

We sat on the pier, watching the naiads...Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.

His face...shade of yellow.

"Oh no," Molly fretted.

"Fine," he said. "Just great."

"So your career's still on track?"

He glanced at me...want a searcher's license?"

George paused. "A what?"

His twin shrugged. "Keep reading, mate."

"Well...no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was...for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"

Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment...came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job done."

"So," Remus began saying, "Mr. D pretty much said that Grover has to tag along with Percy on some dangerous adventure and come back with him alive for him to get a . . . uh, a searcher's license."

Neville frowned. "But it could take a while before Percy is skilled enough to be allowed on a quest, years even. That's a long time to wait."

"Well, at least he still has a chance," Harry said.

"True."

My spirits…so bad, right?"

"Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me…you did, why would you want me along?

"Of course I'd want you along!"

Grover stared glumly into…have a useful skill."

Ginny frowned. "He needs to have more self-confidence."

"Yeah, he should believe Percy more," Luna agreed.

I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents…Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.

"Now this is something I want to hear about," Ron leaned forward eagerly.

Everyone else copied his actions, both consciously and unconsciously.

Number eight, the silver one…So, you know, no kids.

"Wait," Hermione interjected. "I just realized something; it didn't hit me till now. I knew that Artemis was - er, I guess is - a maiden goddess, but it never occurred to me until now. If she doesn't have kids, then why have a cabin?"

Fred shrugged. "I dunno. An honor thing maybe? She's still a goddess."

The cabin is…she'd be mad."

"Hey, I was right!"

"Really brother mine?"

"I guess so Mister Good-looking number two!"

"George. Read. Now."

"Yes ma'am."

"Yeah okay…the Big Three?"

'The Big Three?' everyone thought.

Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject…she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job.

Molly scowled. "So while she remains faithful, her husband goes around having flings with other people. How revolting."

"Molly," Remus cautioned. "I understand how you're feeling, but be careful on how you speak about Zeus. You wouldn't want to be on his bad side."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone heard a loud clap of thunder ring out.

As if it was agreeing.

The Weasley Matriarch paled slightly, even as her eyes remained stormy. "I understand."

When we say Big Three…powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."

"We already know that Hades is the God of the Underworld," Hermione said, "and we know that Zeus is the king god and ruler of the sky."

"I didn't know Hades was related to Zeus and Poseidon," Ron stated thoughtfully. "Wouldn't that make him royalty too?"

"Well, he's already King of the Underworld," Harry said dryly. "I doubt he cares about becoming a prince by association."

"I guess so."

Right. You know. After the great battle…drew lots to decide who got what."

"Zeus got the sky…Hades the Underworld."

"Wait, that's how they decided who got what?" Neville asked in confusion. "They drew lots?"

Remus frowned. "I suppose so."

"Uh-huh."

"But Hades...cabin here."

"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus...wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."

"That sounds lonely." Everyone looked at Luna, who was staring sadly at the book in George's hands. "To be excluded by your family like that must be pretty lonely, even if he does rule the Underworld."

Harry, who was always excluded by the Dursleys, agreed wholeheartedly. Snape, whose father hated him for having magic and mother who was disappointed that he did have it, grimaced slightly.

Ginny shifted in her seat. "Is it just because he rules over the dead? I mean, it's a little creepy, but I wouldn't ignore my brother because of that."

"Agreed," came the response from all the teens.

"But Zeus and Poseidon...Why are their cabins empty?"

"Here it comes," Hermione muttered to herself as she unconsciously leaned forward, eager to figure out this part of the mystery.

Everyone else shifted forward a little too, both consciously and otherwise. Even George's grip on the book tightened and his reading sped up.

Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes...The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all sore on the River Styx."

Everyone remained quiet after George finished reading.

"World War II?" Molly finally broke the quiet.

"But that was when Grindelwald was waging his war," Hermione said, her voice quiet.

Ron turned to her. "What?"

"Grindelwald's Wizarding War was happening at the same time as the muggle's second World War," Hermione explained. "I read all about it in 'Dark Wizards Throughout The Ages'."

"Miss Granger is right," Dumbledore spoke up, causing some of them to jump. They forgot he was there. "Grindelwald used the destruction that the muggle war was causing as justification for waging war and try to control Muggles."

"And now we know that war was being fought by demigod children of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades," Remus added grimly. "Grover was right, their children are really powerful."

"Scary to think about," Harry muttered to Hermione, who nodded in vigorous agreement.

Thunder boomed.

I said...serious oath you can make."

Grover nodded.

And the brothers...no kids?"

Grover's face darkened...Zeus fell off the wagon.

"Oh, of course he did," Molly scoffed. "Did he actually love the woman or was he just fulfilling a pleasure his wife could have done for him?"

"Molly," Remus said warningly, glancing at the ceiling as he did.

"There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo - he just couldn't help himself...Zeus got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

Molly's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So he cheats, gets a woman pregnant with his daughter, and although he was the one who broke his oath, he barely got a slap on the wrist but his daughter suffered instead."

After she finished speaking, she was taking deep breaths to keep her temper in check. Harry was reminded of the time he officially met Mrs. Weasley, and she was mad at the twins and Ron for sneaking out. Like a sabertooth tiger about to strike.

Luna broke the silence. "Earlier in the book, didn't it say that cabin one was empty?"

The mood plummeted further.

"Oh no," Ginny covered her mouth.

Seeing as no one else chose to spoke up, George chose to keep reading.

"But that isn't...girl's fault."

Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than the other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters...He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."

He pointed to across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur...She was wounded and tired, and didn't want to live like a hunted animal.

The satyr didn't want to leave her but he couldn't change her mind and he had to protect the others...protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."

George's voice was shaking by the time he finished reading.

Molly, Ginny, and Hermione had tears in their eyes, and Luna, Neville, and Harry looked incredibly sad. Remus was staring at the book in George's hands with a forlorn look while Snape gazed at the tabletop, lost in thought.

The Weasley Twins were obviously shaken, their expressions far from the jovial ones always on their faces.

"How awful," Molly's tearful voice finally spoke up. "She was just a child. Why would Hades do that to a child?"

Neville shook his head. "I'm not condoning what Hades did, but Zeus was the one who broke the oath. An oath that both he and Poseidon forced him into. I hate that he sent those monsters after Thalia, but honestly, I'd be bloody pissed at him too."

Molly opened her mouth furiously, but Remus grabbed her ar and shook his head, and she relented, her mouth pulled into a scowl.

"You know," Ron spoke up, "I think that Thalia would have gotten along with you, Harry."

Hermione nodded with a smile. "Yes. You, Thalia, and Percy, all with the burning need to protect your loved ones. I know Thalia would've liked you."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, I hope so. She was really brave, protecting her friends like that."

"You would have done the same," Ginny spoke up.

"He can and he has," Luna added with a smile.

"Before we keep reading…"

"Let's have a moment of silence for Thalia."

No one disagreed with the twins, and they all bowed their heads, including Snape. However, the Potions Master's thoughts were raging. 'If Mister Jackson really is the son of Poseidon, then that means he also broke the oath. Which, as Longbottom stated, was forced on by Hades by the other two. How ironic.'

After they took their moment, George began reading again.

I stared at the pine in the distance.

The story made me feel hollow...could I have saved my mother?

Harry gave a pained smile. "You did the best you could mate."

"Grover," I said...to the Underworld?"

Everyone sans Snape and Dumbledore groaned. "I understand the urge, I really do, but you must fight it," Rems implored.

"Sometimes...Hercules. Houdini."

"And have they...from the dead?"

"No. Never. Orpheus...not seriously thinking-"

"No," I lied...guard a demigod?"

Grover studied me warily...the Underworld idea.

Fred snorted. "Well, seeing as he's his best friend I doubt he was able to hide much."

"Not always. We go undercover...they could cause really huge problems."

"And you found me...might be something special."

Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap...minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"

"Whoa," Ron exclaimed. "A minor god of revenge? That sounds cool."

Luna made a humming sound. "As long as you don't let it consumed you."

I got the idea...more than me.

"There's a page break here," George announced before he continued reading.

That night after dinner...excitement than usual.

At last...capture the flag.

Campers yelled and cheered...bloody spear and boar's head.

Neville grimaced. "Annabeth's banner sounds cool, but the other one?"

"Creepy," Ron nodded.

I turned to Luke...Those are the Flags?"

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena...the teams?"

"Not always...often."

"So if another...repaint the flag?"

He grinned...get one."

"Whose side are we on?"

He gave me a sly look...And you are going to help."

Harry frowned. "No offense to Percy, but how can he help? He hasn't learned enough about wielding a sword yet."

Ron shrugged. "You got me, mate."

The teams were announced...in order to win support.

Ares had allied with everybody else...or anywhere on the planet.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced...arm yourselves!"

Fred leaned forwards. "This is starting to sound fun."

Ginny nodded eagerly. "Maybe we can do something similar here at Hogwarts."

"Something to consider," Remus agreed.

He spread his hands...shields coated in metal.

"Whoa," Harry gasped. "That sounds awesome."

Hermione wrung her hands. "Is it safe though?"

Neville shrugged. "I'm guessing being a demigod is already dangerous. Their 'capture the flag' must be like a mock battle or something for real life."

"Makes sense," Luna nodded.

"Whoa," I said...to use these?"

"See?" Hermione gestured to the book. "Percy gets it."

Luke looked at me as if I were crazy...thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."

My shield was the size of an NBA backboard...horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.

"So if the book describes someone with a blue plume we know that they're on Percy's side," George paused in reading to comment.

"And seeing red plumes means enemy," Fred finished.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue Team, forward!"

We cheered and shook our swords...they headed off toward the north.

I managed to...my equipment. "Hey."

She kept marching.

"That's rude," Luna frowned.

Snape scowled at the book.

"So what's the...can loan me?"

Her hand drifted...I'd stolen something.

"Now, really," Molly huffed. "There's no need to act like that."

"Well, Percy is staying in the Hermes cabin, and he's the god of thieves, so maybe she thinks he's his son?" reasoned Remus, although he didn't sound convinced by his own argument.

"Even if that were the case she's being unnecessarily rude," Molly countered.

"Just watch Clarisse's spear...Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means."

"It's easy...Athena always has a plan."

"Okay," I mumbled...on your team."

"Yeah, that's right," Ginny said. "Didn't one of the previous chapters say that Annabeth wanted Percy on her team?"

"And she treated him like that?" Hermione asked with a frown. "Why would she even want him on her team then?"

"Let's let the book tell us why," Dumbledore spoke up.

No one disagreed with him.

It was a warm, sticky night...the team scattered into the trees.

Standing there alone...a bowling ball.

There was no way...have liability issues, right?

"I doubt that," Hermione said dryly.

Far away, the conch horn blew...and disappeared into enemy territory.

Great, I thought...as usual.

"He wants to be a part of the 'fun'," Harry said with a laugh. "How much do you want to bet that the fun will turn dangerous?"

"No bet," Ron responded dryly. "With how much this Percy bloke is like you his luck might be like yours too."

Then I heard...somewhere close by.

"See," Ron gestured towards the book with a grin aimed at his best friend.

Harry rolled his eyes good-naturally.

I raised my shield...was stalking me.

Tension filled the room as thought about what it could be.

Then the growling...presence retreating.

"What was that?" Neville asked the question on everyone's mind.

No one had an answer.

On the other side...out of the dark.

"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.

"Seriously?" Harry griped. "Five experienced fighters against one newbie camper? That's a bit overkill."

"I think it's personal," Hermione whispered to him. "You know, from Percy dousing Clarisse with toilet water."

"Ah."

Her ugly pig eyes...me feel any better.

Remus sighed. "This is going to get ugly."

"Reminiscing about four against one, wolf?" Snapped sneered at him.

Remus gave a small flinch.

They charged across...the Ares cabin.

"So he ran?" Ron guessed.

Fred shook his head. "Nah, I bet he stayed and fought."

I managed to sidestep...and the air burned.

Electricity. Her stupid...I fell back.

"Ouch," Luna winced.

Another Ares guy...hit the dirt.

They could've kicked...too busy laughing.

Snape rolled his eyes. "In a real fight, they would be the first to die," he said, his tone disdainful.

Remus and Harry both nodded, despite the fact that it was Snape that said it.

"Give him...Grabe his hair."

"Seriously?" Ginny sighed in exasperation.

I managed to...my arms felt numb.

"Oh, wow...Really scared."

"The flag is that way...didn't come out that way.

"Yeah," one of her siblings...made our cabin look stupid."

"Knew it," Hermione muttered.

"You do that without...smartest thing to say."

"You don't say," Ron stated, sarcasm thick in his tone.

Two of them came at me...my arm, leaving a good-sized cut.

"Ouch," Neville winced in sympathy.

Seeing my own blood...at the same time.

"No maiming...to say.

"Oops," the guy...my dessert privilege."

"That's it?" Molly asked, incensed. "He harms another kid and that's his punishment?"

Snape rolled his eyes.

He pushed me into the creek...of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.

Harry and Hermione grinned at each other, Luna gave a whimsical smile, and even Snape gave a small smirk.

"Did the water splash him in the face or something?" Ron asked, confused.

Ginny shrugged.

Clarisse and her cabinmates...crumpled into the water.

"Bloody hell," George paused to comment. "That's awesome."

"Keep reading Forge, let the epicness continue!"

Ugly Number Two...snapped it like a twig.

"Yes!" Ginny thrust her fist in the air.

Harry grinned. "I guess she should've been more scared."

"That was wicked!" Ron exclaimed. "You think Percy can teach me how to do that?"

"Us too!" the Weasley Twins chimed in.

"Ah!" she screamed...corpse-breath worm!"

She probably would've...out of the creek.

Then I heard yelling...muttered a dazed curse.

"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick!"

"So that's why Annabeth wanted Percy on her team," Hermione spoke up thoughtfully.

Luna gave a hum as she nodded, though she also wore a frown on her face. Snape also seemed to come to a realization.

"What?" Ron asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sure the book will explain," Hermione answered as she gestured toward the book.

Ron opened his mouth to say more but George read over him.

They staggered after Luke...blew the conch horn.

The game was over. We'd won.

The teens all cheered at that, to the amusement of Molly and Remus, and the irritation of Snape.

I was about to join…"Not bad, hero."

The smiles disappeared from everyone's faces. "Wait, what?" Ginny asked.

I looked, but...taken off her head.

"She was there the whole time?" Neville asked, his tone confused.

"And she didn't try to help?" Harry demanded.

I felt myself getting angry...You had it all figured out."

Remus looked over at Hermione. "This is what you meant earlier, correct?"

The brunette nodded, though she didn't seem happy about it. "She was there though, she could have backed him up."

Snape sneered. "Why are you surprised Granger, the girl clearly believes she is always in the right."

Hermione pursed her lips in frustration but didn't refute him. Even Harry had a look of reluctant agreement on his face.

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you...You didn't need help."

'So the fact that he got slashed on his arm is considered fine?' Snape mocked in his thoughts.

Then she noticed my wounded arm...turned into a small scar, and disappeared.

"Whoa," Ron gaped. "What was that?"

Molly frowned. "Did he just . . . heal himself?"

"I guess?" Ginny sounded confused.

"I - I don't get it," I said.

"Neither do we, Perce."

Annabeth was thinking hard…"Step out of the water, Percy."

'Right, he was in the creek,' Harry and Hermione thought in unison.

The others (besides Luna and Snape and Dumbledore) were confused.

Fred shook his head. "What is she talking about this time?"

"Beats me brother mine."

"Wha-"

"Just do it."

I came out of the creek...I assumed it would be Zeus . . ."

A metaphorical lightbulb went on over Remus's head.

Before I could ask...ripped through the forest.

Neville paled. "The thing from before?"

"Oh, no," Luna breathed, her eyes wide.

"What is that?" Harry thought aloud.

The campers cheering...lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.

"That's . . ." Hermione trailed off as her thoughts whirled through her mind.

Ginny glanced over at her. "You know what that . . . thing is?" she asked, alarmed.

"It sounds familiar," she admitted, "but I can't think of the name." She turned to Harry. "You?"

He shrugged. "Sorry, I'm drawing a blank."

"What I want to know is how that thing got there," Molly huffed. "I thought that camp was supposed to be safe. Isn't that the whole point?"

Remus sighed. "Let's find out," he said with a nod at George.

It was looking straight at me.

"For Merlin's sake!" Molly, Hermione, and Ginny all exclaimed.

Neville sighed. "Can't he ever catch a break?"

Nobody moved except Annabeth...into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.

Remus sighed. "At least he's alright."

"I wouldn't go that far," Molly rebuffed. "Percy described feeling badly cut."

"I meant that he's still alive able to stand on his own two feet."

Chiron trotted up...not supposed to . . ."

"So it's called a hellhound," Luna said thoughtfully.

"Someone summoned...inside the camp."

Fred snapped his fingers. "So that's how it got there."

"Wait," Ron interjected. "But doesn't that mean one of the campers is the bad guy?"

"Grover said that Hades is after Percy," Harry mused thoughtfully. "So does that mean he has an accomplice inside the camp?"

"It's possible," Remus admitted. "But this is all speculation. Let us keep reading to find the truth."

Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten...I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.

"However he's doing it, that is a useful skill to have," Ginny confessed.

Her siblings, Harry, and Hermione all nodded.

"Look, I - I don't know why…"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um . . ."

By the time I looked...A three-tipped spear: a trident.

Harry and Hermione grinned while Luna let out another whimsical smile.

Ron noticed. "What's up with you two?"

They only gestured towards the book in his brother's hands as an answer, which only made him scowl.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured...look happy about it.

"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron...Son of the Sea God."

As soon as George said those final words, everyone's gaze went to the still grinning Gryffindors. Snape had a small smirk on his face and even Luna was giggling quietly at the gobsmacked look on everyone's faces.

Finally, Ron voiced what they were all thinking. "Poseidon, the brother of Zeus and Hades, is the Sea God?!"