*Checks around corner nervously* Hey guys! *Ducks behind corner as things are thrown* Hey! Keep throwing crap and you won't get another chapter! *Thrown objects cease* I am sorry it's taken so long to update this but remember I do have things outside in real life. And while it's a bit of a flimsy excuse considering I've updated other fics I've written over the last few months in the time I could have written an update for this one. But yeah, stories get stuck in my head and wouldn't leave until I got them written.
But anyway, welcome back to another riveting chapter in this little alternate universe of a PJO/HP crossover. I would like to say welcome to all new people who joined last chapter onwards on this journey. I'm really glad that you guys liked the last chapter that covered all the way up until summer. So far for the most part I've seen nothing but positive feedback over the temporary love interest for Harry, Gaige. Now for those who don't know who Gaige is, she's the Mechromancer from Borderlands 2 that has a robot arm after she cut her own arm off after it was pretty much off. Anyway though, on this fic she'll be more or less an OC as this is not a Borderlands crossover, plus as you've seen I've had a cameo appearance from Edward Kenway and the crew of the Jackdaw from the game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. So it is safe to say that there may be other cameo appearances in the future.
And as always before we begin, replies to your reviews!
knightblazer85: I more than likely will as that sounds well... badass.
HeirOftheHowlingWolves: I'm still making considerations for the "squad." A note on that at the end of the chapter.
GryffindorPosidens Divergents: While my parents love that show I just never got into it. I mean the earlier seasons I hear were much better than the more recent ones.
LadyTygerEyez: I'm glad that made you laugh.
Guest(unnamed): Well that's why it's an Omake, it has no real impact on the real story.
sailormewmewinuluver: I suppose now it's a bit of an oversight. And for the latter that's the plan.
Guest(unnamed): I became aware of this shortly after the chapter went up by Shadowz.
Djberneman: I sort of done goofed at the time, but after some thought at your review it has created a possible opportunity for a quest in the future. And to your second review, yes.
AlexieB(guest): Yes it was, but in a later season Fredricks herself did a personal tour for the person that replaced Leena, I can't remember her name off the top of my head, sorry.
ej-83: He won't be joining Percy on his quest. The main events concerning Percy's quest will go unaltered, mostly, by Harry's presence. This, however, has yet to be seen by my planning for the rest of the series.
And to everyone else that gave words of encouragement, thanking for another chapter, or anything similar I thank you for your words. While it may seem a bit dismissive, I promised in my new review policy that I wouldn't go overkill on these replies.
Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my laptop and my copy of MS Word. See the second chapter for the full disclaimer.
XxXxXxX
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"Speaking over phones."
XxXxXxX
Camp Half-Blood, the day after the "newbie's" arrival. Morning.
Harry woke up the next day later than he usually did, primarily because no one woke him up. Typically summer camp activities didn't start until after nine-thirty and it was close to nine already. Harry stretched out as his right shoulder was still a bit sore from the recoil of the rifle he was handling the previous night. He handled it right, however it still kicked like a mule. He got up and gathered whatever he was going to change into after his shower before heading to the built in showers that his cabin had. As far as he was aware, as he had never seen the other cabins' interior except for Hephaestus cabin, his cabin was the only one to have its own private showers for both the boys and girls who resided within it (1). While they were technically co-ed showers, either the minority of boys would wait until their sisters had all finished or they woke up earlier and beat their sisters to the showers. The only person that had yet to wake up was Aphrodite cabin's resident manipulative 'bitch', Drew Tanaka, their respective mother had asked him to break her of said habit. She always slept in and was lazy when it came to training. If she was ever sent on a quest on the request of their mother or another deity she would most likely die.
Harry sighed as he walked into the showers. He spent his slightly longer than normal shower thinking of the previous night and the new arrival as well as how he was going to get through his stubborn sister's skull. Shutting off the water he dried himself off before wrapping a towel around his waist, he then stepped into the large 'common' area where his cabin mates would dress and undress. It was then he stopped in his tracks as he met the eyes of his sister. Unlike Harry, who had a towel covering himself, Drew wasn't wearing a thing, not even a towel to cover herself as she thought she was alone. While Harry was looking at her in the eyes, out of the corner of his eye he could see her naked breasts. Being a hormonal boy it was borderline torture to not attempt to ogle his sister's assets.
"Drew," Harry said calmly and evenly. "About time you woke up."
She shrieked similar to a banshee before screaming, "Pervert!" She reached back to slap him with one hand while she covered herself as best as she could with her other hand as well as crossing her legs, to which he caught her wrist that tried to slap him.
"I'm not a pervert, Drew. If anything you forgot to knock," Harry replied before releasing her arm.
Drew ran behind one of the shower's curtains, using the vinyl curtain to cover herself while staring daggers at Harry. "Well how was I supposed to know?! Aren't you up earlier than this?"
Harry walked to the door that lead back to the sleeping area of the cabin, "In the order asked? Because it's common courtesy and I had guard duty late last night well past midnight and I had to wait for my adrenaline rush to end. Hence me getting up later."
"Well that makes sense at least," she replied with a sense of semi-defeat. "Don't expect me to forget this!"
"Indeed, it is a good lesson on why you should knock first instead of just barging into the bathroom like you own the place."
She growled in frustration, seeing that once more her step-brother had once again angered her. "You'll pay for that!"
Harry hummed, tapping his finger against his chin. "I have an idea. We'll spar, no holds barred, all powers and abilities allowed. If you win I'll apologize to you at dinner for being a creepy perv of a brother who gets off by watching his step-sister in the shower." Harry saw the cogs turning in her mind, thinking how delicious it would be to see the most well respected member of their cabin humiliated in public. "However, should I win you will train under me until I deem you decent in a fight. If need be in order to make it official I will approach both Chiron and/or mother to make it official as they would more than likely approve of the results. So, what will it be?" He already knew her answer from intentionally goading her. "See you in an hour," he said as he left the showers. A wry grin appeared on his face, oh he was going to enjoy testing out a new technique he had been wanting to use.
XxXxXxX
One hour later...
Harry sat on the ground, his sheathed blade he had forged was sitting in his lap, with his eyes closed as he controlled his breathing in order to pass the time. Finally, he felt the presence of his step-sister approaching. He was able to sense her thanks to the ability he gained from his great-great-great-and then some grandfather. The ability was similar to aura readings that false psychics and true seers did, but instead of feeling emotions others were giving off, they could feel the spirits of those around them when trained. Harry, thinking of the practical uses, compared it to the Byakugan from Naruto which allowed the wielder to see all around them, creating an almost perfect defense against opponents surrounding them. Albeit this was more of a sixth sense rather than actually seeing.
"Drew," Harry said, standing up and turned towards her. She was wearing mostly the same style of Camp armor but with a cutaway at the midriff to expose her stomach, a lower cut breastplate that attempted to show off her cleavage, and a short battle-skirt. All in all, a poor choice in armor for a fight. Sure, Harry wasn't wearing any armor, but at least he knew that without the armor slowing him down he'd be able to dodge any strike thrown his way. She finished her ensemble with a short sword and a round shield. "I was thinking you weren't going to arrive," he said as he attached the hilt to his belt.
Chiron walked into the arena before Drew could retort, giving Harry a questioning look. "Are you sure you do not want any armor?" he asked. After all, all Harry was wearing was the standard orange camp t-shirt, a pair of acid-washed blue jeans, and a pair of running shoes.
"I'm sure." Chiron gave him a raised eyebrow. "I know what I'm doing."
"I hope for your sake you're right," he muttered. He then turned his attention to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are here this early afternoon to observe the duel between Harry Potter and Drew Tanaka of Cabin 10. The rules are as such and have been agreed upon by both combatants: all powers and abilities are allowed, all weapons are allowed, and any godly gifts or monster spoils are allowed; the last one standing, either by surrender or technical knockout, is the winner. Lethal blows are not allowed, everything else is fair game. Are both fighters ready?"
"Yes," Drew growled, hand gripping her blade's hilt.
"I am ready," Harry replied calmly, hand resting gently on his blade's hilt.
"Then may this duel be blessed by both Ares and Athena, and may the best fighter win," Chiron announced in his announcer voice. He then turned to the two combatants who were standing staring down the other in what would be an emulation of a standoff once seen in Old West films. There was absolute silence as the crowd patiently awaited the fight's start. Time seemed to stretch on for the two duelists as they waited for the signal to begin from Chiron. "Begin!" Chiron shouted.
Drew aggressively charged at Harry as the crowd cheered, or jeered in Drew's case. Being a stuck-up premadonna who believes everything is hers for the taking and to manipulate men into doing her bidding with Charm Speak tends to not gain one many friends or long-term allies. She tried to slash at Harry with her blade, but Harry spun around her using his still sheathed blade to smack the backside of her knee, causing her to fall to the ground face first with an *oof*.
"If you had been attending fight classes, like you should be, you'd know that charging an opponent is the worst thing to do, especially when you know nothing about what skills or abilities they have," Harry calmly chided Drew.
"I knew that!" she retorted as she got up and pointed her sword towards Harry once more.
"You did? Then why'd you charge me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"SHUT UP!" she yelled as she charged him once more, her shield in front of her. Harry waited until the last second to dodge effortlessly and used his sheathed sword to trip her up, she once more fell to the ground.
"Too brash," Harry chided one more. "If you want to survive in a real fight you need to assess the situation before you strike, this either leads to victory or defeat. Life or death outside the camp."
"WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME?!" Drew angrily yelled as she got up once more.
"As you wish," Harry calmly replied. He started to channel some of his lightning into the blade as he unsheathed the blade, causing arcing bolts of pure energy to jump and spark across the blade's length. He then tossed the sheath aside as he took a Ko Gasumi stance (2) and waited.
As almost expected Drew charged at Harry once more, not even stopping to consider tactics that she could use against him, primarily out of frustration and a desire to humiliate her step-brother. He let her approach into the kill-zone and effortlessly batted her sword aside before spinning around her to lightly slash the back of her exposed leg. She unsurprisingly yelped in pain and grabbed at it. "Had this been a fight to the death your leg would have been severed or at the bare minimum your tendon of plantaris and solerus (3) would have been severed," Harry said to his step-sister who was now grabbing said leg, "but today you get off with a light scratch."
She growled in anger as she charged him once more with another sword slash. Harry blocked it once more keeping their blades in a blade-lock singlehandedly, which surprised his sister as she had to sacrifice her shield just to push back. "It seems you've also neglected your strength training as well. How will you keep yourself alive outside of camp? We both know that at some point we will have to journey outside and live in the real world where a barrier erected by the gods themselves won't be there to protect us, but our own skills. Charm Speak will only help so much. You might be able to turn away smaller monsters and maybe hire a few bodyguards and mercenaries with it, but anything larger or anything involving the Mist will make your hired, or charmed, help useless. You'll be nothing more than a slab of meat for whatever monster decides you're its next meal, or worse for you," Harry lectured as the blades were slowly pushed towards Drew's neck. "This analysis of your skills has gone on long enough, time to end this."
He quickly withdrew and moved behind Drew before she could recover and pressed his free hand between her shoulder blades and summoned a shock equivalent of the current and voltage used in the X-26 Taser (4). Drew seized up in a microsecond while still standing before falling to the ground unconscious. There was a moment of unsure silence until Chiron called out, "And the winner is Harry Potter of Cabin 10!" Immediately the on looking crowd cheered as medics came and took Drew away to the infirmary where the newbie just happened to be recovering as well. It was a good thing that he took the five-minute trip to drop off something for the kid before heading to the arena as said kid was probably going to regain consciousness by tomorrow anyway. But in the meantime Harry was in need of a shower, after all it was abnormally humid today.
XxXxXxX
The Big House, one shower later.
Harry stood in front of both Chiron and Mr. D as they both played yet another hand of their never ending game series of pinochle. "So you want to train Panaka? I see no issues," Mr. D said dismissively.
"Tanaka," Chiron corrected. He then turned to Harry, "And you wish to train her?"
"Not to underestimate your training methods and skills, but she is too far behind the competency of the rest of us in her age group. It would require remedial lessons and time dedicated solely to her instead of a group who can be trained all at once," Harry explained politely, "with me and a few others dedicating our own time to train her it would increase her survival rating from under ten percent to maybe eighty percent in most monster, demigod, or mortal encounters; godly interventions excluded, of course. All I ask is for your oversight and guidance in her training."
"This one has quite the silver tongue," Mr. D commented. "If you were anything like your sister I might have thought you were trying to Charm Speak the Great Trainer."
"Your opinion?" he asked Mr. D.
"Personally I don't care. However, I say we let him do it. It might bring me a bit of entertainment for the next few months." Considering the potential headache their newest camper might pose, especially since the stink that his father Zeus had put up in trying to kill the preteen, a little entertainment would go a long way in keeping him from smiting a camper who accidentally did wrong by him.
Chiron sighed, after all Harry was right. In order to catch Drew up he'd have to spend more time with her just to catch her up to her age group's average competency level which would take his availability for individual training sessions away for anyone else, and with the arrival of young Percy Jackson late last night he'd have to plan a training regimen for the boy so he'd be prepared for his inevitable quest if his suspicions were anything to go by on who the boy's father was. "You have both of our permission to train your sister as you see fit, but any training plans must be run past me first before implementing them."
"That was always the plan, sir," Harry respectfully replied. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get an air horn or if any of Apollo's children know how to play the bugle by any chance?"
XxXxXxX
Evening. After dinner.
Harry walked away from the Hearth in tow with Gaige. Like a perfect gentleman he had his right arm offered and she hooked her left through it as she cuddled up next to him, after all the evening air was much cooler than the day was. As they enjoyed each other's company Gaige spoke up, "So today was exciting."
"It was," Harry agreed.
"Plus it was fun watching Drew get her ass handed to her. Did you see her at dinner and at the sing along? She was totes giving you the evil eye the whole time."
"It was hard to miss. Tomorrow though she's in for the roughest day of her life. I'm glad mother's metamorph abilities passed onto me, because Camp is about to hear the best damn R. Lee Ermey impression they've ever heard outside of hearing the man himself (5)." The couple both laughed at the thought of Harry yelling at Drew like Ermey's character did to the other characters in Full Metal Jacket.
Harry asked Gaige back to her cabin and gave her a slightly heated kiss goodnight. She went inside the cabin and Harry waited outside for a few moments before turning around to see a certain god of Death. "So... how long have you been standing there?" Harry asked.
"Long enough," Thanatos replied in his bored sounding tone just now looking up from his phone-scythe.
"So did you stop by to say hi or...?" he asked as if he was talking to an old friend, but was inwardly worried.
"I need you to do a job. There is a stone you came in contact with when you were eleven. You were told that this stone was destroyed, it was not as it was an imperfect stone. The ones that hold it keep it from the grasp of the one who wronged you, obtain it on Lord Hades' behalf and bring it to the Underworld."
"Is this some kind of joint quest?" Harry asked.
"Of sorts. I abhor those who go against nature, and the Underworld's Manager dislikes those who have lived past their due date; the only reason we tolerate the Flamels is because they keep the Stone out of the hands of those who would use it for evil purposes."
"And why choose me for this quest, why not another or one of the Kindly Ones?"
"Lord Hades has his reasons and you are a wanted criminal wanted by multiple European Magical agencies and yet the one who wronged you has yet to attempt to clear your name since your escape. The Flamels know you came into contact with the imperfect stone and didn't succumb to its temptation of eternal life and limitless riches. You are currently the only mortal that can be trusted in bringing the true stone without being seduced by it."
Harry considered the alternatives. This was two gods, two gods that control death and the afterlife itself. Denying them would be catastrophic for his health if he intended to continue living on for many years. Though if he went he might be exposing himself to potential enemies that still sought his capture and continued imprisonment. "What of the Flamels?" Harry asked in curiosity.
"They will die naturally in due time like all mortals do; however, for handing over the stone they will not die on the spot but will continue to age normally until they do die at their appropriate time." Harry raised an eyebrow. "You'll see what I mean when you retrieve the stone."
"Very well," Harry said, "I will take the job."
"You will be fairly compensated for your time," Thanatos said before melting into the shadows, leaving Camp and its boundaries.
Harry sighed as he had no real clue where to really go to find the Flamels, the creators of the Philosopher's Stone. Harry remembered that Nicholas Flamel card he had gotten during his first year made a small note that he attended Beauxbatons. It's a good thing that Harry knew a Beauxbatons graduate in his employ. Harry pulled out his cell and pressed #1 on his speed dial and waited as it rang.
XxXxXxX
P.H.I., LLC Headquarters, New York City.
A platinum-blonde haired young woman stared out at the city's nightscape as the lights from the streets, cars, signs, and buildings all painted a tapestry of a modern city. It was beautiful in its own way, but it wasn't like the Alps or even the gentle grasslands of France where she grew up. She was currently dressed in an appealing business suit that allowed her to show off her feminine form without compromising the image company she represented. Said company? Potter Holdings Incorporated, LLC; or more commonly known as PHI. After all, both trademarks were filed as Potter Holdings and PHI with the US Government while only PHI was registered with the Magical US's Department of Magic. This was a deliberate move on her part as Dumbledore, Voldemort, and their respective followers would search for the name Potter, even though it was ranked 413th in surname commonality in the United States (6), she nor her employer could take any unnecessary risks.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her personal phone's ringing. Only four people knew this number: her mother, her father, her sister, and her employer. She set her glass of wine down on her desk and answered, "Hello?"
"Fleur, I need your help in finding someone," the other side replied.
"Harry, it is uncommon for you to be calling at this time of night," she replied in turn.
"It is, but I seriously need your help in finding someone."
"Who?"
"Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel."
Fleur's eyes widened in shock. It was thought that the Alchemic couple died a few years back when the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed, therefore cutting off the supply of a substance known as the Elixir of Life that kept them alive and well. It was thought that they only had enough for the two of them to get their affairs in order. Since roughly three years ago they hadn't been seen by the public since, nor had their estate reappear out of its supposed hiding place. "Why would you need to look for them?"
"I received a retrieval quest on the behalves of Death's Shepherd and the Underworld's Manager. And before you ask it's not for the Flamels, but for the Stone."
"But wasn't the Stone destroyed?" It was then Fleur remembered that it was Dumbledore that told the world of the Stone's destruction and since he had been manipulating the world since day one of his political career. "He lied," she stated simply.
"As the Goat has been known to do quite often. The Stone that I got out of the Mirror of Erised was you could consider a 'beta' version, it was able to transmute most metals into gold but the Elixir of Life was flawed; this was the Stone that Dumbledore assisted with in his youth, a perfected one was created years later that they still have on their persons."
"So they are still alive," she said in shock. "That would explain why neither of their wills were executed and why they haven't been seen in the years since the Stone was destroyed."
"The wills?"
"Obituaries of high profile witches and wizards and posted in their respective country's newspapers before such news spreads to the rest of the world. They were known to be philanthropists and donated much needed money to many magical institutions around the world in the name of promoting alchemy along with money to the French Ministry of Magic to assist with training of the police forces and I can safely assume that there would have been an announcement by the government about money donated in the memory of the Flamels."
"While this is interesting information, can you help me find them? From a Chocolate Frog card I got during my first year it mentioned that they both went to Beauxbatons for their magical schooling, do you think that the French Ministry would have any records of their last known residence?" Harry asked.
Fleur sighed as she took a seat in her executive backed chair. "I don't know. Up until three years ago the Flamels were only involved in the French magical parliament and the ICW as advisors and sponsors to different bills, their estate was rumored to be in the Pyrenees mountain range but very few have even been to the estate, my father one of them once, but everyone who has forgets immediately after leaving where the estate is. It's my and many others' belief that their estate and grounds are under the Fidelius charm." She paused for a moment in thought before continuing, "I might be able to call my father and ask if he can pull some strings and maybe get you a meeting with the Flamels, but I can guarantee no promises."
Harry sighed, "Well do what you can and get back to me." Harry then changed the subject, "Is everything proceeding as planned?"
"Phase One has been completed with the purchase of a derelict oil platform inside the US's territory only one nautical mile away from international waters. Contractors hired from the Magical US were able to repair it and set up rune and ward schemes on the structure to minimize damages outside of godly intervention. Military contractors have been hired to train those on board in hand to hand combat as well as firearms proficiency," Fleur replied.
"And Phase Two?"
"We are trying to acquire hardware but it has become harder than expected."
Harry sighed again, "Well do what you can. Call me if you manage to get a location on the Flamels."
"I will," Fleur answered and Harry hung up. Fleur then opened her contact list and selected it to start the dialing sequence. Finally, the other side answered and she said in French, "Father, I need your help with something."
XxXxXxX
The next day, Camp Halfblood. (7)
To say that Percy Jackson has one hell of a fever dream after he passed out would be an understatement, after all he dreamed of barnyard animals who mostly wanted to kill him, a girl with curly blonde hair that fed him a substance that tasted like buttered popcorn and asked him questions about an unknown to him event that would happen during the summer solstice, and a man with a thousand eyes all over him who could have passed as a surfer in SoCal keeping an eye on him. Yes, a pun or two came to mind over that little thought. When he finally did wake up he was not being chased by murderous animals from the set of Animal Farm nor was there a thousand-eyed man watching over him, but there was a meadow that he looked out at and he was sitting on a deck chair on a patio with a blanket over his legs and a pillow behind his head. On the table next to him was a tall apple juice tinted drink and what looked like a pamphlet that sort of looked like it came out of the 1950's in its design that said on the cover, 'Mortals, gods, and demigods: Welcome to Camp life!' Amazingly enough he had no issues in reading it unlike most textbooks and other printed media.
His mouth was parched, as if he had run a marathon in the middle of a desert, and that apple juice looking drink did look tantalizing. It even had a green straw with a paper parasol you usually saw on tropical adult drinks that was speared through a maraschino cherry. Grabbing the glass with one hand was a mistake as he almost dropped it in his still sleep fogged mindset but managed to recover fast enough to not drop it.
"Careful," a familiar voice said.
Percy turned to see his friend Grover leaning against the porch railing, if Percy were to be honest it looked like Grover hadn't slept in a week. Under his arm he cradled a shoebox, which was sort of weird with no context what so ever. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops, and a bright orange T-shirt that said 'Camp Half-Blood.' And it wasn't Goat-Grover but regular Grover that he knew like the back of his hand. If Grover wasn't a goat, then everything he had experienced was a dream and his mom wasn't dead and they just took a small break on their vacation at this large house.
"You saved my life," Grover said. "I… well, the least I could do… I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this." He reverently placed the box in his lap. Percy opened it and inside was a black and white bull horn, the base was jagged from being broken off, the tip covered in dried blood. It was then he realized something.
It hadn't been a nightmare or hallucination. "The minotaur," Percy said in realization.
"Um, Percy, it isn't such a good idea-."
"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" he demanded. "The minotaur. Half man, half bull."
Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"
"My mom, is she really-?"
Grover looked down in memoriam, as if disappointed in himself. Percy looked out across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries and a few other plants. They were in a valley surrounded by hills, the tallest of which directly in front of them had an absolutely massive pine tree that looked magnificently beautiful in the sunlight.
It was then the shock of the entire situation hit him. His mother was gone. His entire world should be shades of black and white, cold even. But everything was warm, welcoming, and beautiful. In his current mindset nothing should be this beautiful.
"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I-I'm the worst satyr in the world." He moaned, stomping the ground so hard that his foot came off. Wait, what? For some reason the next 'scene' passed by in slow motion as the Converse hi-top flipped in front of him at just the right angle where Percy was able to see inside of it to see that the inside was filled out with Styrofoam except for a hole that could be filled with a hoof-shaped object, like a leg. "Oh Styx!" he mumbled, to which thunder rumbled across the cloudless sky.
Grover struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, Percy finally connected the dots: Grover is a satyr. He was also willing to bet his meager allowance, which was taken usually by Gabe before he could even use it, that if he shaved Grover's head he'd find horns as well. But he was miserable so therefore he didn't really care that satyrs or minotaurs existed. All that meant was that his mother had been impaled on a branch and exploded away in a yellow light. Now he was alone, an orphan. 'Will I have to live with, ugh, Smelly Gabe now?' he asked himself with disgust. Some options popped into his mind like living on the streets until he was seventeen then joining the army.
Grover was still sniffling, having a mental breakdown, it looked like he expected Percy to hit him for some reason. Grover was a good kid, goat, satyr, thing. Finally, Percy said, "It wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was, I was supposed to protect you."
"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"
"No. But that's my job, I'm a Keeper. Or at least… I was."
"But why-?" Suddenly Percy's vision started to swim and blur.
"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped Percy raise the glass from him to drink from the straw. After the first sip he was shocked to taste not apple juice or tea, as the drink could have also easily passed as tea, but like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Specifically, his mother's blue chocolate-chip cookies straight out of the oven. Drinking it felt like him being Popeye in those old cartoons when he ate spinach: warm, good, and full of energy despite that it didn't remove the grief he felt inside. He then thought about how his mother would always brush her hand against his cheek when he was younger after giving him a cookie, telling him that everything was going to be fine. He was so sucked into his memory that he didn't notice he had reached the bottom of the glass.
"Was it good?" Grover asked. Percy nodded. "What did it taste like?" He sounded so regretful, Percy felt guilty.
"Sorry, I shouldn't let you have a taste," Percy said.
His eyes widened, almost fearfully. Almost. "No! That's not what I meant, I just… wondered."
"Chocolate-chip cookies," Percy replied. "My mom's. Homemade."
He sighed, probably feeling guilty again. "And how do you feel?"
"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."
"That's good," Grover said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."
"What do you mean?"
Grover took the empty glass carefully and set it on the table, handling it as if it were made of sensitive explosives. He then took the pamphlet and handed it to Percy before saying, "Come on, Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."
As they walked Percy looked through the pamphlet and briefly read the short introduction. It short, sweet, and to the point. However, after feeling weak once more he stuffed it in his pocket to read later (8).
XxXxXxX
Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore was not the happiest man in the world. First of all, his army, his Order of the Phoenix, had lost several members including Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black and had disappeared completely. Young Miss Tonks had said she needed time away for 'personal reasons' and Remus had left to work at an American company called PHI, LLC. Sirius though vanished well before the two others as he had gone into hiding to places unknown the moment Harry was arrested. If he were a betting man he would put his money on him and Harry being together on the lam. To make matters worse in his eyes several students from this year's graduating class had also vanished or had last been seen at international airports before he could attempt to recruit them into the Order to fight this farce of a fight between the Light and Dark. However, those planes departed westward, which was the official territory of the Magical Confederation of America. Said confederation consisted of Greenland, Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Mexico. This confederation was not dissimilar from the ICW where each country would send a representative to a location somewhere in the middle of all the countries, last he heard it was somewhere in Tennessee.
Unlike the nations that were part of the ICW the members of the American Confederation didn't welcome his meddling into their affairs. The last time he actively tried to was in the seventies when he might have influenced the mind of a disgruntled squib who had been fired for stealing and caused him to go on a shooting spree that claimed the life of the then head of the MCA who wasn't as friendly as Albus wanted him to be with him, when the squib was killed by police his brain had been scanned it was found out that a wand consistent with properties found in England around sixty years prior based on some ritual he didn't understand nor cared to had cast the mind manipulation charm and all hands pointed to Albus based on his age and less than welcome meddling, but since there was no concrete evidence the case was considered a Cold Case and the top suspect was someone who was a Soviet sympathizer. 'Merlin bless the Red Scare,' Dumbledore mused to himself. It made both muggle and wizardkind point fingers at the then communist superpower. It was a close call though that almost exposed him as a Dark Lord well before he was ready.
It was safe to say that tensions between the magical governments in the Americas and Britain were strained, to say the least and hadn't been repaired since. During the rise of Voldemort many other countries accepted refugees from Britain and let them apply for citizenship, though this was primarily Purebloods that were against Voldemort's agenda, half-bloods and half-breeds, muggleborns, and others considered 'undesirable' to Voldemort.
He planned to send subliminally programmed Hogwarts graduates into these countries to try and find Harry, or at least infiltrate their magic governments to find any sign of Harry. After all he was still needed to accomplish his plans. Many of the European governments were looking for him in the realms of search warrants and BOLO postings, to which Albus had the sneaking suspicion that they weren't even looking but just going through the motions instead of sending task forces out like the DMLE was for Harry and Sirius alike. There still wasn't any information on the people that broke him out, but one thing was for certain, it wasn't Harry's friends and no one knew what they looked like. The prisoners on Harry's cell block were useless as they were all mentally gone thanks to the Dementors' presence.
He would have to redouble his efforts. But the question remained: how to find Harry? He popped a lemon drop as he considered his options.
To be continued…
XxXxXxX
And there's another chapter down, but before some final words, notes!
1. I have looked into it and in the books and none of the other cabins have their own showers/restrooms, however I figure that Aphrodite would want her children to look their best and have showers/baths installed into the cabin. As I have yet to read in any of the books anything to say differently, we'll chalk this one up to a liberty I'm taking.
2. Ko Gatusmi is a Japanese stance. I originally got the idea for using it when watching a fan film called "The Old Republic: Rescue Mission" when Revan uses a stance very similar to the aforementioned stance. If you're interested in watching said fan film, or see exactly what I mean, here's the end part of the link: watch?v=MLEMLevAMfQ?t=13m26s.
3. I looked it up. That's pretty much the entire musculature of the calf below the back of the knee.
4. I looked up what the average charge needed to incapacitate a human and I got mixed results ranging from 10k to 100k volts, however the milliamps need to be between 100-500, or at least that's what I discovered for a patent for the stun gun.
5. R. Lee Ermey is a retired US Marine Staff Sergeant who served between 1961-1972 and is an honorary Gunnery Sergeant and was a drill instructor. He is also a well-known actor as well who was in films such as Full Metal Jacket, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Seven, Toy Story; he has also been on TV shows like Spongebob Squarepants, House, Rocket Power, Mail Call, and Lock N' Load. If you want to know everything he's been in just imdb him. He's usually casted as an authority figure as he has a commanding voice.
6. I actually looked it up. According to names . mongabay data / 1000 . html "Potter" as a last name was ranked 413 while, unsurprisingly, "Smith" was ranked #1.
7. This is primarily taken from the book, but non-dialogue has been slightly rewritten to fit my writing style and overall theme. All dialogue, or at least most, is directly taken from the book.
8. This pamphlet will appear several times more as I construct the contents inside. Some of them will appear next chapter when Harry has an interaction with Percy.
Well there's that. Now I do apologize for the slightly lackluster ending, but I couldn't think of another way to really end it this time around. As for the next chapter I am still planning it so I don't know entirely how long it is going to be. All I can really ask is for your patience.
Now for those of you who submitted OC's a while back via PMs I'll be going through my message backlog to check the personality profiles over before I make a final decision on how to proceed with Harry's quest squad-wise. I know mostly how I do want the quest to go so I have a general outline of what needs to happen and the general pacing of it. I don't know if it'll be a series of chapters or just two. Again I don't know at this point but you'll know when it gets posted.
Before I take off and let you guys yell at me again for taking forever to get this out, again I apologize, I created a new repository for oneshots, pilots, and concepts that if you're interested in something different I recommend checking out. Pretty much anything goes there so I might have a crossover you like or just an offshoot that catches your attention. I don't be updating it as often as my other stories, but it's there.
So I'll see you guys next time, hopefully it won't take as long to get this updated again.
