Chapter 12

Annabeth

The first knock came softly, the second louder. In truth, I heard the first. It is not easy to sleep when a diety, no matter how minor, has threatened your boyfriend. I threw a robe on over my pj's and went to the door, arriving for the fourth set of knocks. It is a large bedroom.

"Hey sweetie" I said as I opened to door to Percy. "Can't sleep?"

Of course Percy and I had talked after our meeting about Jennifer's relation to Bob, or Calypso's relation to Iapetus if you will. He was clearly worried, though not afraid. He was convinced she wouldn't do anything in anger to him, but didn't want to disappoint his friend. I wasn't so sure she would not act on her rage. I like Jennifer, but it would be a lie think she thought like us, and foolish to project our values onto her. We're mortal. She was a diety. We all loved her, and I think she felt the same, but what love meant to her versus us, especially in terms of friends, I didn't know and wouldn't guess. Well, I would guess. I would have thought that having friends for the first time in thousands of years would have made those friendships more valuable, but her anger at Percy earlier was making me doubt that assumption.

"What? Yeah, I was sleeping just fine, but then I had a dream, well, was given a dream, that made me come up with an idea, and I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Hmmm, were you dreaming about me?" I giggled.

"Of course!" He said as he slid his arms under my house coat and around me in my pj's, before kissing me tenderly. That was one thing I truly loved about him, for all the raw power he exhibited in combat, his touch was always so soft and gentle.

"Uh huh. Well if you got an idea while you were dreaming about me, then the answer is no! I'm not ready." I smiled.

"Uh, right. I knew that. No, while I was having a dream about you, it was interrupted, if that makes sense, and then Zeus"

"Of course it makes sense, we're demi gods. Our dreams are never our own! Tell me, when Zeus interrupted, was I decent?"

"What? Of course! You were wearing... I don't remember what you were wearing."

"Okay, that is alright, as long as I was wearing something. Tell me what Zeus said. Your hand is on my butt."

"Right, Zeus didn't say anything, he just, well we were in in the study room, and he unrolled your map and blue prints and"

"Percy."

"Yes?"

"Your hand. My butt."

"Oh, sorry, I, well"

"No, its okay. You can put your hand on my butt when you hug me and kiss me and we're alone"

"Oh, okay" He said and put his had awkwardly back where it had been.

"No seaweed brain! You can't just leave it there. Soft touch, then move it. I'm not giving you permission to feel up my ass."

"Uh, but its a remarkable ass."

"No, its a spectacular ass."

"Right, spectacular. And I like it" He said as he gave me a squeeze back there.

"Stop!"

"Oh, okay." He said as his hand returned to my waist.

"That's better." I grinned. I was always so happy when I was in his arms.

"Right, so... where was I?"

"Zeus, map, blueprints."

"Right. So he unrolled your map of Hogwarts, the one with forest and Hogsmeade on it? And then he points to a spot in the forest and there is a little drawing of a greek temple there, and its like it is built as he touches that spot, like he's saying build this here. Its got a label, and it says 'Guardian of the West Winds, and The Land beyond the Gods, and as I read it 'West' changed to 'North.'"

"Land beyond the Gods? Wasn't that what the Roman's called Alaska?" I asked

"Yeah, but if I recall its any land above certain latitude. So I looked at a globe, and based on where I'm guessing Hog Warts is, well, we are probably in the Land beyond the Gods. That may explain why they don't do much here."

"Okay, but who is the Guardian of the Nort... wait a second" I said, now fully awake.

Earlier I had looked up Iapetus in a mythology guide after Jennifer and Percy's confrontation, just to brush up on him. I grabbed the book and read again.

"Got it! Before the first Titan war, Iapetus was guardian of the west wind!" I said.

"So, Zeus wants us to"

"Percy, we need to wake up Nico and Leo." I said.

I went to Nico's and Percy to Leo's to save time. Will answered the door at Nico's and I asked if Nico could join us in the study hall. Will smiled and assured me that he would be right there. I got there and waited. Nico arrived, wondering what was up and I asked him to wait for Percy and Leo. Then we both waited.

Finally I said I would go find Percy and Nico of course got up to go with me. We went to Leo's and knocked, and in a moment Leo answered.

"Come on in, you might as well join the cry fest too." He said.

We found Percy and Jennifer in the sitting room. She was in tears and Percy wasn't far from it. Leo was, well, really hard to read.

"Its okay, we'll all get through it together, you have a lot of changes going on and its going to take time to adjust, I was never mad, or hurt. Okay, a little scared, but never mad. We'll get it right." Percy said.

"I'm... I'm just so sorry, I should not have threatened you. Its not your fault he's there, you, well you must have been a good friend in the end, and I know he's better off. I just wish I could see him. I want to plead to Zeus to release him too, but I know that won't work. Nico! Can you take me to see Iapetus?"

"Uh I..." Nico started to answer, but I interrupted.

"Calypso, we, well Percy and I have a plan. Will you trust us?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. I, I'm so sorry I was mean earlier, I just don't know how to act around friends anymore, I was alone so long." She wept.

"No worries, It may take us a week or so, but we're going to make sure you see your grandfather, and he gets to deliver his own message." Percy said.

"What, what are you going to do?" She asked through her tears.

"Well, what I think is..."

"Is it should be a surprise. Just trust us. Trust me." I said, interrupting Percy. If this went wrong I would rather Calypso think I let her down rather than Percy. He had before, and since I hadn't I had a better chance at survival.

"What can I do to help?" She asked.

"Let us borrow your boyfriend for a few days?" Percy asked.

"Just bring him back." She grinned.

"Oh, he may not have to leave, or at least not go far." I smiled. For some reason I was drawn to hug Calypso. She was clearly hurting, both from learning the fate of her Grandfather, and from guilt of taking it out on Percy. For an immortal soul, she wasn't well developed emotionally.

She returned my embrace "Annabeth, please forgive me, I would never really hurt Percy, you both mean so much.."

"Shhhh, hush up about that god girl. If we can't scare our men from time to time what's the point in being a woman?" I grinned before hugging her again. I felt a warmth from her unlike any I had known and somehow knew it was sisterly love coming to me through her embrace. Everything was suddenly right in the world as though I was healed of all worry, doubt and stress.

"Come on guys, we've got work to do. There is a goddess I've promised a surprise to, and you're not going to disappoint me are you?" I said. "Leo, come along when you're ready."

Leo was able to break free and only keep us waiting a minute or two. By the time we got to the study hall the rest of the demi gods, and the magicians, all having sensed something was afoot, were waiting for us. Hazel called us to order.

"So Percy, it seems, despite Apollo's temporary retirement, that you have found a quest. Care to share it with us?"

"Well, its not so much a quest, as a project. I think Leo, Nico and myself can handle it," and then he explained what he was thinking. We swore all to secrecy, especially from Jennifer and explained it was a surprise for her birthday.

Hazel and I found some problems with Percy's plan, which is why we shouldn't leave him in charge of planning. His idea of planning, which Hermione quickly pointed out was Ron and Harry's as well, was "show up, chaos ensues, wing it."

First, who would guard Leo's back in the wilderness for the day or two he expected to be there, and how would we know where to build that wouldn't impose unnecessarily on the magical creatures already living there, but still provide the platform what what we wanted.

Frank and Jason agreed to be the ground firepower for Leo, and Leo readily accepted.

The magicians felt we should inform Hagrid and get his idea on where to build and agreed to see him before breakfast so that Leo could get started. He was confident that a day was enough, but only if he had some idea of what to have the wind servants build.

I went to my room and retrieved some architectural renderings I had done for proposed shrines we had not built, suggested adding a comfortable watch tower to one and, with my newly recovered laptop printed out blue prints while the others spoke.

"I thought you couldn't use electronics." Hermione said.

"This one, well, its special."

Nico felt it best that he travel alone, although Percy convinced him that they would apparate to London together then he could apparate back. We were not sure if there was a trace on us, but the magicians felt there wasn't as it was a sort of feeling they had. It was expected that within days we would have it, and we would sense it, but since we didn't exist in the magical world before earlier today, and someone at the ministry had to actually cast the trace spell on us we would probably be safe at least until the ministry opened, and probably for a day or so after. They were more fascinated that we already knew how to apparate as they wouldn't be taught until next year. We told them that our school had given us instruction, and didn't mention that it was programmed into our wands.

Finally the problem of Nico's travel arose and here Will was a bigger challenge that the actual travel. Nico had shadow traveled to his father's house innumerable times but anytime shadow travel came up Will threw a hissy fit. Nico assured him that he was well rested and the travel would be by himself, just one way.

We looked over the plans and the only detail added was a misting fountain at Percy's insistence.

The last basic problem would be Leo, Frank, Jason and Nico's absence from class for a couple days but Hazel was convinced she could trick the mist into no one noticing they were not there. If anyone did, Piper would charm speak the person away.

Having solved all the problems we could identify, I thanked everyone and said "We should all get some sleep now."

"What for?" Neville asked, "Its already 5:30, the sun's been up a couple hours. Hagrid surely is awake, lets go see him now."

"Really? The sun rises at 3:30 here?"

"Yeah, we're really far north." He replied. "Besides, I want to run by the greenhouses while we're out and pick up a few things."

"Uh, okay. Piper, Leo, and, uh, Percy, you want to go with them?"

All agreed. After they left Reyna, Will, Rachel and I approached Hazel.

"Good plan Reyna said, but you left out jobs for us."

"No I didn't" she replied. "We're the cavalry that is going to come save the day when Percy's plan goes all to hell."