In the highlands of Scotland, Professor McGonagall finds finds a note left by Albus Dumbledore before he died. 'If we won, call them'. The seven get called back for one last mission in Hogwarts to help the students recover from the war and the number one priority is keeping them safe. However, things seem too simple-too easy. When a long lost friend returns from the dead things start getting complicated, pain grows stronger and the seven each have to confront their demons before defeating the darkness that threatens to take the castle-and everyone in it.

Percy

It's been awhile since the giant war-about 2 months I think. The war is over, the camps are untied and I still have my friends-most of them anyway.

Leo showed no sign of being alive since the explosion and it's clear that most of us have lost hope of him returning, but I haven't, not yet anyway. Neither has Hazel.

We tried to comfort each other through the pain of "losing our friend" but something didn't feel right. It was definitely very Leo-like to go out with a bam, but there was still a part of him left behind, and it lingered in the air around us in every joke made or every out of place comment. But something about the situation itself felt off, like water particles arranged too closely to each other, or thinking that blue cookies aren't better than normal cookies.

I was walking down the beach, thinking of everything that happened in the past few months and how we've moved on from the war. It was almost peaceful- almost.

That's when the pain came back.

It struck my left calf with a shocking amount of pain, like a thousand lightning bolts striking each muscle and tearing it apart. I fell on the floor and tried to hold in the pain but it just kept getting worse and worse as it convulsed in the rough sand. I tried to reach out to summon water but nothing happened so I just lay there like a corpse. Eventually, the pain was too much to handle that I let out a guttural scream that burnt my throat like drinking lava and I heard it echo across the camp.

Then I blacked out.

Jason

"Did you hear that?" Nico stopped in his tracks and turned to Annabeth and I.

My muscles tensed, "I thought I imagined that."

Annabeth scowled, "It's never really imagination with us."

Her face went slack for a second, "Wait, where's Percy?"

"At the beach. That's where he said he'd be" Nico paused and his eyes widened.

"What is it Nico?" I asked urgently.

He turned around and ran away from us faster than lightning. We didn't hesitate and followed him before we lost his shadow.

I was panting by the time we reached the beach where Nico stood over Percy's body trying to drag him towards us. I sprinted towards him and carried his upper half whilst Nico carried his feet and Annabeth ran to the big house.

Although conscious, he let out a gruesome yell as we carried him back to the big house. He thrashed wildly as we held him and getting him up the hill and through the door was no picnic, but he eventually calmed down when we placed him on the bed.

Chiron, Annabeth, Nico and I stood around the bed staring at the dark haired boy who now seemed at ease, besides the beads of sweat running down his head.

Chiron stroked his chin with narrowed eyes. "Tell me what happened."

"We were doing our regular petrols, like you asked us to, then we heard a scream. We thought it was Percy and ran to the beach where he said he would be. By the time we got there, he had already passed out." I explained as much as I could without going into the details of the screaming and whatnot.

I was used to seeing Chiron with lines on his forehead, but they almost seemed to clear up in these last few months. Apparently I wasn't that good with the whole comforting thing because I could swear more creases slithered back onto his face.

We were already making progress with the two camps and Frank, Reyna and I worked together with Chiron and the others to make sure we didn't fall apart. Our number one rule was simple: Keep morale high. Considering we had just won a war, you wouldn't think that would be a problem. Well you thought wrong; after the first three weeks everyone was coming to terms with the fact that we actually had to work to rebuild the camp. I kind of missed looking at a face that smiled in my direction.

I tried my best to reassure the centaur, "Chiron, there's no need to worry that much. It's PTSD, the guy went through Tartarus, it's expected."

Nico shook his head, "Annabeth and I also went through Tartarus and the most we get is nightmares."

Annabeth nodded her head. "Yes, but Percy fought the Arai. They literally inflicted physical pain on him in the form of curses of all the ways he killed monsters. It isn't as simple as flashbacks."

Nico narrowed his eyes, "So what are you saying?"

Annabeth sighed and shook her head. When she looked back her eyes glistened with an icy heat as she surveyed her boyfriend on the bed. "I'm not- I don't know what's going on. Okay guys?" She exhaled and turned her back on the corpse-like figure. As she left the room she spoke hurriedly and quietly, "I ha-ave to go to sleep guys. Goodnight." Her voice cracked with a barely concealed thickness that melted into the air around us when the door shut behind her.

Chiron sighed and rubbed his forehead, "It's not fair isn't it?"

I turned to my mentor and asked, "What do you mean?"

His time-worn gaze turned to me and I couldn't help but feel my blood freeze for a second. I guess it had just hit me how ancient everything was in this camp, including the people. Chiron has seen the world change since Ancient Greek times, experiencing every war, battle and injury the earth was scarred with and never really being able to heal. He watched children he raised leave for quests only to never come back, he armed them and taught them how to survive but some things are inevitable. Death is inevitable. I know that. We all know that. Chiron lived by that.

"I want them to be happy. All of you." He paused and shook his head, "life means nothing if disguised as survival." He turned to Nico and I and held our gazes with the intensity of a predator, "if my life will mean anything, I need you to live yours. I see suffering in all of your eyes. For once, I would like to see hope."

We let that sink in for a while until Nico spoke, "You will."

He looked at me and nodded reassuringly then looked back at Chiron who smiled solemnly at him, "If our lives will mean anything, we have to survive. Our hope lies at the end of the journey."

"I guess that means we survive." I patted Chiron's arm and he nodded with the same determination we all shared.

A groan came from behind us as Percy woke up rubbing his eyes, "That has got to stop happening."