Renee POV

Percy seemed really happy at his newfound power over water. But every so often, we'd look at each other and our eyes would sparkle with tears, and then we'd rush over to each other and hug and cry, and then separate, because we were too embarrassed to talk about our feelings about Clara and Tyson. Annabeth tried to keep watch with us, but sailing didn't agree with her, so she went below deck to lie down. If I could have slept, I would have followed her in a heartbeat.

I was angry. Something Circe had said made me so upset that I never wanted to go back to Hogwarts. Now that Clara was gone, I probably wouldn't anyway, but it was the fact that Circe was right that really bugged me. Where would I be without magic? Were there really female heroes besides the small few that we named? And did my friends from the wizarding world really not care about me? I hadn't thought about the lack of letters when Clara was by my side, but now I sunk lower into the pit of depression.

Annabeth came up in the middle of the night, during one of our crying/hugging points and looked at us. "Percy, Renee, you need rest. We'll be approaching the sirens soon. Sleep a bit. I'll keep watch."

Percy and I nodded somberly. He told her what to do and said a few commands to the boat, and then we went down.

"Will you tell me if you have any dreams?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Thanks." We fell into an uneasy sleep, close enough to each other to be slightly worried about privacy.

I woke up two hours later. Percy was still sound asleep, but I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to be with someone who was conscious, to talk to someone. I scribbled a quick note for Percy so that he wouldn't worry if he woke up and found me gone.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked when she saw me.

"Will you be my Clara? Now that I'll never have her back again?" I didn't even know what I was saying, really.

Annabeth frowned. "I'm really sorry, Renee."

"You and Percy are the only friends I have now."

"Don't you have people at Hogwarts?"

"Not according to Circe. They haven't written to me all summer."

"Don't listen to what she said, Renee! I'd imagine they've just been busy, or maybe it's been hard to write, or something."

"I don't know. Clara gave them Drachmas, though, in case of emergency. Annabeth, I'm scared. Percy says not to feel like the gods are against me, but if not them, then who?"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "You told some people? About us? Renee, how could you? Without consulting me or Chiron?"

"Some of the teachers were already told. And we could trust Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But I promise, they're the only ones who know. And I know they won't tell."

Annabeth glared at me, but suddenly there was a gust of wind that made her freeze. "We're approaching the Sirens," she whispered. "Stay here, maybe try to control the boat with charmspeak or something. I'll be right back."

I nodded. A minute later, she showed up, a groggy Percy in tow. "We're approaching the Sirens," she said again.

"Well, no problem. We'll just go below deck, stop up our ears, and-"

"I want to hear them."

Percy looked shocked, but I realized I had been expecting Annabeth to say that.

"Why?"

I understood her logic. "They say the sirens sing the truth about what you desire. They tell you things about yourself, things you didn't even realize. That's what's so enchanting. I want to hear them too, Percy. If you survive, you'll become wiser. We'll never have this chance again."

Percy looked at us fearfully. "Okay," he said slowly, "I get Annabeth, being the daughter of Athena. But for you, Renee, it just sounds wrong. I mean, you know what your heart's desire is right now, right? Isn't it Clara?"

"Percy, please," I asked, throwing just the right amount of charmspeak in. "I understand that it scares you, but I really want to hear them."

"Okay, fine." He went down to stop up his ears with the candle wax we had below deck, and came back with that and some rope.

"Good thinking," Annabeth said. "So we won't be tempted."

Percy tied us to the masts. "Tight?"

"Perfect," Annabeth told him.

"Renee?"

"It's cutting off my circulation, but it'll do."

Percy raised his eyebrows, but I smiled a bright Aphrodite smile, and he let me be.


It wasn't exactly a song, more of a melodic whispering. "Clara," I heard, along with "Harry," "Gill," and "love." But the strongest word of the song was "Clara." I looked at Annabeth to find that she had tears streaming down her face. I charmspeaked myself not to do anything rash, but I couldn't help crying and pleading with Percy as well.

"You're supposed to be my friend!" Annabeth yelled. "Percy, untie me! I must get to them!" He turned away from us.

Then, the images came. Clara's thick, wavy, golden hair. Harry, Ron, and Hermione making a place for me at the Gryffindor table. Kissing Gill. Ginny and Clara and me, sharing the Bertie Botts Beans on the train. My mother, welcoming me in. Killing the basilisk. Killing Zacharias Smith, the one who had made Clara feel so bad that night. Killing Voldemort and Luke and anyone who ever tried to hurt Clara ever again. David Bradley, willing to adopt me, beckoning me into his arms. Keeping Clara safe. Never having an anxiety attack ever again. Never feeling alone, always knowing I had Clara by my side.

I forced myself to look away, and look at Annabeth. But she wasn't there.

"Help!" I screamed, knowing he couldn't hear me anyway. "Help! Percy! Annabeth's gone to the Sirens!"

Somehow, he looked in my direction, and then saw that Annabeth was gone. "Stay here!" he yelled. "I'll get her!" I nodded to show that I understood, and indicated my still tightly bound hands. He looked satisfied enough, and he dove off the side of the boat. I gasped.

"Percy, NO!"

Of course, he didn't hear me. He swam toward Annabeth, but she was a strong swimmer as well. I tried to close my eyes and block everything out, but I realized I had to watch. These were two of my best friends, and if I had to save them, so be it. I watched intently, but the images came again. I tried to shut them out, but it was no use. Percy had somehow felt the temptation to take one gob of wax from his left ear, and he heard the Sirens too. He grabbed for Annabeth, but it was too late. The Sirens had captured his attention too.

I slit the ropes with my wand, using it as a sword. I don't even know how I did that, but somehow my wand knew what I needed to do. I willed myself to do everything I could to save them, stuck my wand in my back pocket, and dove in after them.

I had never been a good swimmer, but somehow I was able to make it. I reached out for Percy, and the images came again. This time, though, they were a mixture of mine, Percy's, and Annabeth's.

Tyson and Clara and the Bradleys. Resting in the Gryffindor common room with Harry and Ginny. Kissing Gill. Protecting Clara. Gossipping with Sandra for no particular reason. Percy and his mother and Poseidon and Tyson.

And then I saw what Annabeth was seeing. It was a man I could only assume was her father, sitting next to a woman who must have been Athena, and next to them was….Luke. They were having a picnic in Central Park, welcoming Annabeth in. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that the New York skyline was just different enough….Annabeth had built it.

I looked at "Luke" again and remembered everything. I had to get them out of there. I wished I knew of any useful spells, but the only one that came to mind was "expelliarmus."

And that just might work. I thought for a minute, and then concentrated on the back of Percy's head. Annabeth was in too deep, but if I could pull Percy out of the trance, I knew he could take it from there. The expelliarmus charm was meant, I realized, to release the hold on something. And if I could release the hold that Percy's brain had on the Sirens, then he would be free.

"Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus!" I couldn't do it too hard, of course. That might make his brains spill out of his head. But Percy seemed to be coming out of it.

"Percy, get Annabeth!"

"I told you to stay on the ship!"

"You were too entranced. You'll thank me later, Percy, now come on!" I tugged on his arm, and he grabbed Annabeth. She screamed and kicked and pushed him away.

"Go underwater with her, Percy! It will deflect the sound!"

"But she won't be able to breathe!"

"Trust me! I'll meet you down there in a sec. Try to manipulate the bubbles! I'm trying to remember the spell!"

I thought for a second. Magic was too much to rely on as a demigod, but I did anyway. But I couldn't think of an incantation to make air under water.

Luckily, Percy seemed to be holding his own with the ocean's bubbles. I dove under, and he had Annabeth floating in a giant bubble. He lifted his head up for one second and said, "charmspeak," and then ducked back down.

I floated up and tried to think. What to charmspeak….I had no idea. And then I looked over at the rock and decided to try with the Sirens. They were living beings, after all.

"Stop your song! Let us pass! And if, by chance, a girl with golden, wavy hair does come-" I felt tears building up again, and I swallowed hard, "Let her and whatever companions she may have pass as well. You hear me?"

I repeated myself until my throat ran dry, but the Sirens seemed to understand, and the song slowly ceased. Percy had hauled Annabeth back onto the ship, and was making course towards me. I swam towards him as well. He lowered the ladder, and I clambered on.

"Did it work?"

I realized his ears were still stopped up, which was even more impressive. I shot him the thumbs up. I noticed Annabeth, shivering and sopping wet.

Mom, this would be a great time for some new clothes.

Below deck, a voice in my head responded. Percy won't need them, but there are enough for you and Annabeth.

Thanks, Mom.

No problem.

Is this real, Mom? Or is this just in my head?

No response.


Clara POV:

"We're approaching the Sirens, Tyson. I'm not sure what to do."

I wasn't sure how long we had been at sea. A day? Two? We were rationing the provisions from Tyson's sack, but we didn't know how much longer this could go on.

"Can you sunbeam in the sky? To see how close we are?"

"Not a bad idea. Throw me a water and an apple."

"It is our last one. I was kind of hoping to save it for Rainbow." He held up one tiny apple.

"Fine, then. A chocolate bar will do."

He dug one out of the bag, and I was happy that it was one of the minis. I only needed minimal strength for this, and I was glad he hadn't given me one of the big Hershey bars that we were saving for the biggest emergencies only.

"Okay, here goes. Tyson, stay here with Rainbow. Right here."

"Okay. I will stay here with Rainbow."

I downed the chocolate bar and the water in one big bite/gulp. Then I focused hard on the sun, and a beam showed up at my feet. I jumped a little and rocketed into the air. It would have been kind of fun if I wasn't terrified and without my best friend.

I saw a giant rock that jutted into the air, and what just might have been the mast of a ship going past, but I heard nothing. The Sirens were, for whatever reason, silent.

I jumped again, and the sunbeam lowered me back down.

"They're eerily silent. Do you think I can control Rainbow on a sunbeam?"

"I would say you could try. Is that alright with you, Rainbow?" The hippocampus whinnied softly, as if to say, "if you must."

The plan was for me to create a sunbeam large enough for both me and Rainbow, and then at the last second, Tyson would pull me back on to the hippocampus. I concentrated all my energy on the sun, and even prayed slightly to my father, and somehow it worked. I felt Tyson's strong hands on my back, pulling me up, and then we were off.

The sunbeam didn't really go too high, with our weight, but it swiftly skimmed the water. As we got closer in range, the Sirens remained silent, which was really strange. That is, unless….Renee! She had to be doing this, she was the only person I knew whose charmspeak was this strong. I couldn't think of any other reason. She hadn't lost hope that I was alive, then. I smiled for the first time in days.

"What is making you happy?"

"I think Renee used her charmspeak to stop the Sirens for us, somehow. She's powerful, you know. I'd hate to be her enemy."

"Did you see anything else when you scouted?"

"Call me crazy, but I think I saw….a ship."


Renee POV

For once, Mom had given us better clothes than tank tops. They were, of course, stylish, but they were tie-dye crop tops and blue denim shorts. I threw one on and brought one up to Annabeth.

"Thanks, Renee. Your mom is amazing."

"I had to ask her for this one."

Percy came over to us, and I saw what Aphrodite meant about him not needing a new outfit. He didn't even look like he had been in the water.

"Well," he asked. "Do you feel wiser?"

"I didn't realize how powerful the temptation could be," Annabeth whispered. "I thought it would be fine. How did you manage, Renee?"

"Charmspeak, I think."

"It's that powerful?"

"It stopped the Sirens."

She stared at me, gaping.

Percy spoke up. "I saw the way you rebuilt Manhattan, Annabeth. With Luke and your parents. And Renee, I saw what you saw with Clara."

We both gasped. "You saw that?" I asked.

"Sorry. It's a beautiful Manhattan, Annabeth. And Renee, if Clara and Tyson are alive, they'll find us too. I know it in my heart."

Annabeth winced. "They showed me my fatal flaw. Hubris."

"That beige paste you put on pita?" Percy scrunched up his face.

"That's hummus, Seaweed Brain. Hubris is way worse," Annabeth explained.

"What could be worse than hummus?"

"Hubris means deadly pride. Thinking you can do anything better than anyone else….even the gods."

I blinked. "You feel that way?"

She looked at the ground. "Don't you ever feel," she said softly, "what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch. No more war. No more summer reading homework?"

Percy and I looked at each other. "We're listening," I told her.

"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did-that's why the fire's still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And then you start thinking like Luke, and you begin to wonder, what would it be like if you could redo it? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"

Percy and I looked at each other. "No," He said. "Me running the world would be a complete and total disaster."

"Same here," I echoed.

"Well, you're lucky, then. Your fatal flaw isn't hubris."

"Well, then what is it?" Percy and I asked at the same time.

"I don't know. Every hero has one."

I had a sudden thought. "Can your fatal flaw be….a person?"

Annabeth looked at me in wonder. "It's very rare. I don't know of any heroes who have that, but I have heard of it."

"Then I don't think I have one anymore," I said, and then burst into tears. I started running, and I didn't even know where I was going. I just wanted to get away from my feelings.

I happened to glance up at the setting sun, and what I saw….well, if you could feel amazed, puzzled, and shocked at the same time, that would have been me then. I could have sworn I saw a girl with wavy, golden hair, riding over the sunset. I fell asleep knowing that there was even the slightest possibility that she was out there still, and with that knowledge, I could live another day.


A/N: Oh, the irony! The irony! I'm so evil, keeping them so separated and just a stone's throw away….oh well, such is the life of a writer. And they'll be reunited within the next chapter or so, so….

I haven't figured out where to put the explanation that Annabeth gives about Thalia and the cyclopes, but I'll find time to fit that in somewhere. I'm so sorry if you were looking forward to that. I'm still figuring it out.

Thanks for the reviews even though I've been away for so long. I'm excited to resume this journey with Clara and Renee. And I PROMISE I'll do some Love Letters to my Roommate soon, although it might not be called that after I'm done. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.