Disclaimer: chapter one

Reviews:

luciferx666x: Don't worry, I try my best not to bash anyone despite having taken such a route in the past.

Whiteabyss89: Not a problem given that both franchises have plenty of characters who can be 'promoted' to main antagonist. As to who is this lucky character is, well, that is a spoiler.

To the guest who asked if I have an account on AO3, yes I do. Same username, same stories.

Chapter Eleven

"Are we ever going to meet in person?" Harry asked.

He was in a classroom, but he was the only student. The rest of the desks and chairs were empty, and Merlin was standing in front of the blackboard. He had taken the form of a young, twenty-something man wearing a dark shirt and jeans. Only the green eyes were a dead giveaway to his identity.

"Ah, but what is the fun in that?" Merlin asked. "Besides, this is much better than the regular demigod dreams is it not? Some random nightmarish vision that will leave you tired when you get up, or a prophetic vision that would force you to act in a way that ends your life or the life of someone you care about."

"I am guessing that you are here to teach me something, directly, this time," Harry guessed.

"The classroom gave it away?" Merlin asked, before he chuckled. "C'mon, that cannot be the only thing you observed."

"These desks and chairs are brand new, unused. The blackboard has... a lot of outdated magical theory on it. No, erroneous theory on it," Harry answered. "For example, this states that a potion can be conjured. And that over there, a detailed, but incorrect method of summoning a spirit."

"Incorrect, because all the books you read said so? Incorrect because Rowena said so? Or incorrect because you tried it yourself and could not perform it?" Merlin asked.

"All of the above," Harry said. "Potion conjuration is something that has been tried for centuries but all attempts have failed. The method of summoning a spirit is wrong in that it says no catalyst or anything to bind the spirit to this plane is required."

"And yet, I can easily do both."

"Yeah. You're a god. Rules do not apply to you," Harry said.

"Wrong. If gods could conjure whatever, fix and repair whatever, there would be no reason for a blacksmith," Merlin said. "But, all Celestial Bronze weapons have to be forged, not conjured. All of them have to be enchanted in a way that benefits their to-be-users. Humans may not be capable of enchanting them in the same vein as a god, but impossible is just another hurdle, isn't it?"

"Human magic works different from that of the gods' powers. That is a fact, and a tried and tested one," Harry answered. "Us humans cannot use magic that can affect the gods directly. It is why Tezcatlipoca tried to use human magic to affect humans, which indirectly would have an effect on the gods."

Merlin smiled. "Yes, but if you were human, then that stasis field in Salem would have affected you as well."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "But demigods use human magic."

"Yes. But you exist as a bridge between gods and humans. The only reason you use human magic is because that is all you have been taught. You said it yourself. As far as magic is concerned, a human is any living being born to two other humans. Therefore, you should not be counted as human either when learning magic," Merlin lectured. "It is perfectly possible for a magical demigod to develop spells that can bypass a monster's innate magical resistance, or even do something that can have an effect on a god. Maybe it won't work on the Olympians, or even extremely powerful monsters, but that possibility still exists, and that is all that matters."

Harry leaned back in his chair as he took in all that Merlin had said. "Are you suggesting that I'm capable of performing spells that can destroy monsters?"

"Was I not abundantly clear?" Merlin asked. "The truth is, while your sister may be a capable teacher in her own right, she still did one crucial thing incorrectly. Magic isn't something that is supposed to be taught using books! Magic is something that must be felt, not understood. The very nature of it means that the more mysterious and mystical it is, the more effective it becomes."

Harry thought it over. "But that contradicts everything that I have been taught! I can perform a spell because I know each and every aspect of how it functions. I can develop a new spell because I fundamentally know how to manipulate magic into doing what I want it to."

"And if you were to ask say, Silena, how her Charmspeak works? Do you think it was something that she knew from the moment of her birth? Or do you think that is something that was instinctual, something that she won't be able to explain to anyone?" Merlin asked. "Charmspeak, being a godly ability, is used by demigods. Inherently, it also a magical ability. Magic isn't something that can be held down by notions of human possibility. You aren't human. Don't hold yourself to the same standards. And thus, this lesson begins."

"But how do I–"

Merlin grinned. "Because that is what you will be learning. How about a simple history lesson. What do you know about Medea?"

"You mean the witch who was abandoned by Jason, then she poisoned his new wife and her own children?" Harry asked.

"Indeed. She was the daughter of Helios, and a niece to Circe. But her story and myth is irrelevant to this discussion. What we're interested in, is her feat of creating bone warriors. These conjured constructs are capable of killing monsters," Merlin said.

"Except they required a highly specific catalyst – a tooth of a dragon," Harry said.

"True," Merlin said. "How about something much more recent? Adrianne of Syracuse?"

"Another witch who lived in the 14th Century. She was a daughter of Hecate," Harry answered. "Accredited with the creation of a one-of-a-kind spell that was able to slay a drakon. However, the spell is impossible to reproduce because of the sheer magical energy required to cast it. Even Adrianne lost her life because of magical exhaustion the moment she cast it."

"Correct. She used a spell that was meant for lesser magical beings that have lower to no magical resistance, such as an imp or goblin, and then overpowered it to the point where it overcame the resistance of a drakon," Merlin elaborated. "The amount of magical energy required is equivalent to the energy generated by three thousand TNT sticks going off. Her method was just that flawed."

"Flawed? She did the impossible, and you call it flawed?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Like I said, there is no need for a demigod to limit themselves to human magic. Even more so for a child of Hecate," Merlin said. "Now, final history lesson. My own legend. What is the feat that your sister claims made me a god?"

Harry was silent for a while. Of course, he knew the story, no matter how impossible that feat was. "You trapped the Titan Krios in a loop that constantly converted his essence into magical energy and back. He was essentially stuck like that for almost three centuries, before being freed because the loop could not sustain itself any further."

"Did you never wonder how that was managed?" Merlin asked. "After all, that is something completely impossible."

"Rowena just said that 'there is no impossible when it comes to Merlin.' and that was that."

Merlin shook his head in disappointment. "And you did no further research. Mostly because you found nothing that supports what I did."

Harry nodded.

"You think I had any textbooks when I was learning magic? Any teachers who taught me theory? An immortal older sister with knowledge that can put an encyclopedia to shame?" Merlin questioned. "No, we did not even have schools that taught magic. That is what I mean by the more mysterious and mystical magic is, the more effective it becomes. No one told me what is and isn't possible. I simply did."

"It still seems a bit far fetched..." Harry muttered.

"Of course it is," Merlin said. "I don't blame you for not believing. After all, if I were to tell a scientist that magic is real and not provide any proof, I would get laughed at. And that legend of me trapping Krios? Well, just a legend. It may be true. It may not be. But the possibility exists that I did something like that. Which in turn, means that there is a possibility that a demigod can create magic that is tailored to combat monsters and gods."

"So how do I create something like that?" Harry asked.

"I just told you how," Merlin said.

"Magic... based on possibilities? So just cast a spell without wondering about how it works?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Merlin answered. "At its core, magic is simply something that turns possibilities into certainties. Hence, the more you limit your own thinking, wondering what is and is not possible, that in turn, can limit what magic can do. Just something to think about now that you are waking up."

A somber silence had fallen over the Camp when Chiron announced the 'official' version of what happened to Luke.

Harry was pointedly ignoring all the looks that were directed at him. Some of the Campers were openly glaring at him, if nothing else for killing Luke. Some were happy that a traitor had been snuffed out, while a minority were indifferent to it.

Harry for his part had no idea what to tell to Annabeth, who was amongst those who were glaring at him. He did not blame her for that, given how close they were. He could always tell her the truth, but then she might try and seek him out, which might defeat the whole purpose of him being 'dead'. Then the more people that would know, the more dangerous it would become for Luke.

"Why are you so hostile?" Malcolm asked as they ate their lunch. "He did what was necessary. Not like he wanted to kill him on purpose."

Annabeth glared at Harry. Her eyes were puffy, having spent a good fifteen-twenty minutes after Harry had told her what happened, the moment she, Percy, and Grover had arrived at Camp. The three of them had learned about it before Chiron had announced it. She turned to Harry. "You could have taken him alive! Maybe he was being controlled. Maybe he–"

"You think I did not consider any of that?" Harry cut in. "Of course I did. But by the time I realized what I had done, it was already too late. He was attacking me with the intent to kill me. In the end, it boiled down to my own life versus his. If that is all, I need to do something by myself."

Annabeth looked down in shame and anger, this time directed at herself, as Harry stood up and walked away, leaving his lunch unfinished. In a sense, having lived together for a year, Annabeth was closer to Harry than she was with Luke. The fact that one had killed the other had not sat well with her at all, and she did not who to blame. The obvious answer was Luke, even to her. Given his less than flattering view of the gods, it was not that big a surprise to her that Luke would betray the gods.

The fact that Harry had to kill Luke was.

"He is hurting as much as you. And he was the one who was forced to kill him," Malcolm said, making Annabeth tear up. Not that Malcolm saw that.

Across the Pavilion, Percy was eating his lunch silently.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend

Those words from his prophecy echoed inside his head. Percy was not sure who was the true betrayer here. Luke, for betraying everyone? Harry for killing Luke?

He had heard that little argument between the Athena siblings, as had the rest of the Camp, which made him think it must have referred to Luke. Luke was the one who sold himself to the gods' enemies, and therefore had betrayed everyone, not just him.

Chiron did say that prophecies came true in ways that were often unexpected. While the rest of the prophecy had come true in a more straight forward way, in a sense, this must be the one that had come true in a more unexpected manner.

They had gone West, to confront Hades, but it was Ares who was the god who had turned.

They had found the Master Bolt, given that Ares had given it directly to them, and Hermes had returned it safely.

Percy had failed to save his mother, which had mattered most to him, on the quest. However, Hades had returned his mother to her home safe and sound after he had received his own Helm.

And now, he had returned to find out that Luke had betrayed them all, not just Percy.

That must have been the prophecy coming true on all accounts, Percy decided.

With a heavy sigh, Harry put down the Celestial bronze dagger. "This also did not work! I think Merlin may not be on to anything..."

Silena patted his back. "Uhh, I won't pretend that I understand any of the magical stuff, but...how about you take a break?"

"Just a moment," Harry said, as he pulled out his notebook and noted down the failed attempt. "Ugh, nearly thirty attempts and they all failed. Even a simple enchantment such as making the dagger lighter..."

"How does such a thing work anyways?" Silena asked.

"Hmm? Well, for a permanent enchantment, the spell must be woven into the material. For this, we use the same magical substances that go in wand cores. They are capable of generating magic, hence why they are used as cores in the first place. Of course, in wands, this generated magical energy is too low to affect anything, hence the mage sends their own magic through the wand to.. activate the wand so to speak," Harry answered.

"And in enchantments these substances get activated because of the spell?" Silena asked.

"Kind of. It is not well understood why. But, we do know that any enchantment is susceptible to decay. As in, the spell wears off," Harry explained. "However this all how human understanding of magic works. Demigod magic... that is different. At least according to Merlin. But, even monster trophies did not help in the enchantment of Celestial Bronze. My magic simply cannot affect the metal."

"Well..." Silena muttered, wondering if she could even help Harry. She knew that anything she would suggest, Harry would most likely have thought of it. "...wanna take a walk along the lake? Clear your mind?"

Harry nodded. While Occulumency was exceptional in clearing the mind, it had the major drawback that he would not be spending time with Silena.

Silena smiled as Harry accepted her offer, taking his hand in her own.

"Not what I had in mind for a first date," She said teasingly as they began to walk towards the lake.

Harry stumbled. "Wait.. wait-wait-wait. You thought... This-this was supposed to be... gods I am an idiot!"

Silena giggled. "Right..forgot your denseness in relationships..."

Harry looked at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Of course I know that you would actually plan out a date down to the last minute, and you certainly would not ask me to watch as you perform experiments," Silena said. "That being said, you have planned something, right?"

Harry scratched his cheek. "I am guessing some Italian or French would be cliche?"

Silena gave him a deadpan look. "Oh right. I am a daughter of Aphrodite. I must love French and Italian food."

"Yeah, I thought that was the case," Harry said. "Thankfully there is this new diner that opened near my home. Hopefully it will have some good food."

"That works," Silena said. "Though I thought you would book tickets for a movie or something."

"We could always do that," Harry said. "Before or after, your choice."

Silena shook her head. "This whole planning thing aside, don't base a date off of rom-coms or stuff like that. The company matters more than the movie or the restaurant. Of course, that does not mean that you can just take me to a McDonald's and call it a day!"

"Even I am not that dumb," Harry muttered.

"So," Silena said, her voice shifting to more quiet tone. "Are you going to tell Annabeth the truth?"

"There are pros and cons to either choice," Harry replied.

"I think she deserves to know," Silena said. "Especially because they were quite close. The two of them were... well you know."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I do. Which is why it makes it so hard. Of course, she might hate me more for not telling her. But, I also don't want her to go searching for Luke either, and put both of them in danger. Of the two, I would rather have her hate me and survive."

Silena squeezed Harry's hand. "Have some faith in your sister. For once, you are thinking too short term."

"Am I?"

"Yes," Silena replied with a soft smile. "Yeah, she might not like the fact that you hid this from her. Yeah, she might go searching for him. But, she is also your sister. She will no doubt understand why you did what you had to do."

"I suppose..." Harry muttered. To be fair, looking back on his own thoughts, he realized that he was only thinking of the worst case scenario. "Ugh, I really need to clear my head fully before making any decision..."

"Does that happen often? Overthinking everything?"

Harry nodded. "All the time. I can't help it. My mind automatically thinks of every single outcome from a single action. I guess it is my own faults that make me concentrate on the worst case scenarios rather than the most probable ones."

"I would not call it a flaw," Silena said. "Preparing for the worst case scenarios prepare you even for the best outcomes."

Harry smiled at her. "How do you always know the right thing to say?"

Silena gave him a smug look. "Because I may not be as smart as you when it comes to strategy or even understanding the way everything works, but I do know you."

"Thank you for that," Harry said softly.

"Well, lets talk about more positive things, such as..."

The two of them continued to talk about anything and everything that came to their minds, not at all noticing Clarisse and Beckendorf nearby, spying on them for different reasons. They could not hear anything Harry and Silena were talking about, only watch as the two of them walked along the lake, hand in hand.

"I created the silent crossbow you wanted, why do you want me here?!" Beckendorf whisper-yelled as Clarisse had forced him to stay.

"Well someone needs to carry that pretty boy to the infirmary after I shoot him when he takes advantage of Silena!" Clarisse furiously whispered back. "Oh, I just know he's planning it in that devious, hormonal head of his!"

"You really take the whole 'protective best friend' to a whole new level, you know that?" Beckendorf muttered in response. "Besides... man I am glad you weren't on that quest when I forced them to share the only double bed...." Then Beckendorf put his hands on his mouth, his eyes wide as he realized that he had spoken that out loud.

"WHAT?!"

Luke rested against a tree, panting. It had been three weeks since his departure from the Camp. As Harry had said, there was no one following or tracking him down, but that did not mean that he was safe from the odd monster or two that caught scent of him.

He wondered what he was supposed to do now. Keep moving till he ran out of energy? Or just enter a city and settle down, do whatever mortals did? Well, he did not exactly have any formal education or anything to even enter a college to get a degree. Neither did he have anything by which anyone would hire him.

Perhaps some mundane thing like manual labour or something. No, he would die than do anything of that sorts.

Either way, Luke needed to get out of this current predicament. There were three Lystragonians on his tail, and he had stumbled into their camp purely by accident, not paying attention to his surroundings. It had been his own skills and a bit of luck that had allowed him to survive even as they had tried to capture and eat him.

Well, there were four Giants, but the one who had tried to catch Luke had found Luke's sword in his throat, reducing that number to three.

The loud thuds as they ran around looking for him were enough for Luke to tell where each of them were, but all three were still grouped together. He would need to wait till each one would be separated from each other to strike.

In the meanwhile, he would have to hide and wait. Luke chuckled as he wondered if he should thank the gods, ironic as that may be, given that Lystragonians were quite dull in the intelligence department, or else they would have found Luke by now.

Luke looked around, feeling all three of them stop moving. It was easy to tell, given that he could not feel any rumbling through the ground. He poked his head out from the tree, his eyes widening as he saw what was happening.

All the three giants had their back towards Luke, but that was not the most surprising thing.

No, the most surprising thing was the black haired young man who stood before the three giants. He wore a simple gray t-shirt and blue jeans, and carried no weapon. In fact, Luke was certain that the man was a mere mortal. Luke cursed, wondering where he had come from. As if there wasn't enough complications. Now he would need to take on all three of them at once to possibly save the stupid mortal who had stumbled here.

"Say, good men," said the man, causing Luke to stop. Did he not see that he was talking to giants?

'Oh right, Mist,' Luke reminded himself. He did wonder what the man saw, but this was not the time to wonder about this. He had a mortal to save.

"Have you seen a demigod come through here? Tall, blonde hair, has a scar on his face, about here?" the man said, pointing to his face where Luke had his scar.

Luke's blood turned cold. Who was this man? He did not feel the same as a god or anything. And why was he searching for him?

"Puny man," said one of the giants. "We eat puny man."

The man shook his head as one of the giants raised his fists, intending to slam said fists on the man. "Shame," he said, shaking his head even as the fist came down towards his head.

Luke was now certain that the man was a god. No way a demigod would ever talk to giants that way. Neither would a demigod simply stand and watch as the giants would smash their fists on their heads.

The young man, or rather god, snapped his fingers, and the giants simply vanished into flower petals, scattering into the air. The fists never even reached his head.

Luke watched this happen with wide eyes. He was quite surprised at that display of metamorphosis. It made him wonder what all this god was capable of.

"Oh, I am capable of a lot more," The man said. "You are broadcasting your thoughts quite loudly. I simply intend to talk."

Luke gulped. He walked out from behind the tree, his sword at the ready. While he was not sure if it would even work against a god who just turned three giants into petals, he was not going to just sit and die.

"Ugh, did I not say that I have no intention of killing you?" The god said with an annoyed look. "What have you been up to for the past three weeks anyways? Moving about without a care in the world, wondering what to do? Well, let me hire you."

Luke did not drop his guard, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you? How did you know I am alive?"

"Me? I am Merlin. There is nothing that can be hidden from my eyes," Merlin said. "I even helped Chiron hide this from that guy in the sky."

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Call it... well, personal curiosity, I suppose. Your fate has already been deviated quite beyond of what was supposed to be," Merlin said. "But, first, how about we get more comfortable?"

Luke blinked as he was suddenly sitting down in a Cafe. Merlin was seated across him, a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Perhaps you want some muffin? The chocolate chip one they have here is exceptional," Merlin said.

Luke looked around, trying to find out where he was. He saw a signboard across the street from the window, but did not recognize the names. "Where are we?"

Merlin sipped his coffee. "A small town in Arizona. But that is not important. Like I said, I want to hire you."

Luke shook his head, not even blinking as a chocolate chip muffin appeared in front of him. "I want answers first!"

Merlin sighed. "No, I am not a Greek god. No, I hold no allegiance to Zeus, neither am I obligated to tell him anything. I will not tell you what was to become of your fate, neither will I tell you the name or contact details of that waitress who is serving the table behind us, no matter how hot you think she is."

Luke spluttered, his face red. "I wasn't...well..."

"I don't blame you, that skirt does wonders for her posterior," Merlin said teasingly. "But onto more important matters, the job I want to hire you for. Its rather simple. You will escort any demigod I tell you to back to Camp Half Blood."

That got Luke's attention. "That... I can do. But where does the hire part come in?"

Merlin slid a gold drachma across the table. "Three of these per demigod you save. Of course, should you do so and they are relatively unharmed when they reach Camp, an additional one as bonus. But, should they die under your watch, or get permanently crippled, well, I will not pay you for three demigods rescues after a failure such as that."

"Basically the work of a satyr," Luke muttered.

Merlin did not deny it. "Yes, but you know full well what happens when a satyr is well out of their depths when escorting an exceptionally powerful demigod."

Luke glared at Merlin. "That was NOT Grover's fault!"

"In a way, it was, in a way, it was not," Merlin said. "I am not interested in what already happened, I care about what will happen. Either way, do you accept?"

Luke calmed himself. He did wonder how no one had noticed the fact he had raised his voice but chalked it up to Merlin doing something. "Yes, I do," Luke said with a sigh.

Merlin smiled. "Good. Let me just give you an upgrade, however."

A warm gust of air hit Luke. He instantly felt revitalized, as if his stamina had been restored fully. He felt immensely refreshed, but that was not the only thing. Gone was the tattered Camp shirt and jeans. In their place was a lightly armored shirt and equally sturdy jeans, and shoes.

The sword he carried was also changed. It felt much more balanced, and natural in his hands, and now had a scabbard that he could strap to his waist.

"Of course, the Mist will hide the armor and sword from mortals," Merlin said. "And even if you lose them, they will come back to you with but a thought. Of course, when you reach Camp, your identity will be hidden from the minds of the demigods you rescue, so don't worry about that."

Luke sat back. "Th-Thank you..."

Merlin smiled. "Oh, don't thank me. You will need that. After all, your first assignment is four blocks in that direction." Merlin pointed out of the window. "Be quick, Mr. Castellan. Your sister is being chased by a group of hellhounds."

Luke sprang to his feet and ran West, where Merlin was pointing. He filed away that he was rescuing his own sister for later.

Merlin chuckled as saw someone else walk in the cafe. Said being sat down in front of him.

"See? No need to worry. If he does well, I will have him rescue your children from the Lotus Hotel," Merlin said.

Hades looked at him with a grim face. "That is not enough reason as to why I should not inform my brother that you lied."

Merlin's smile did not drop. "Sure. Threaten the one guy who knows where your children are hidden. But perhaps that is what you want. After all, in death, they'll spend all of eternity in your domain. Pity they'll die without doing anything noteworthy, making them illegible for Elysium."

Hades growled. "You overstep your boundaries, mage. Your special circumstances may make you immune from most things, but I can still harm your soul."

"I am well aware. But destroying me entirely is something you cannot do," Merlin commented. "My own existence and legend is too deeply entrenched within a lot of mortals. How are you going to make all of them forget? But... we can threaten each other all day. Surely you have realized what's stirring down in Tartarus? And no, it is not that vegetable soup you dumped down there because your wife hated your cooking."

Hades nodded, not rising to the insult for once, taking a sip from the tea that materialized in front of him. "My brother may be too busy, but yes."

"Yeah, too busy sticking his dick into any hole not on Hera, perhaps," Merlin muttered under his breath, making Hades spit out his tea. "But, then you are well aware of the threat that cannot be ignored."

"Indeed," Hades said, closing his eyes. He may have looked very stoic, but he was silently trying to stop his laughter from what Merlin had said. He wouldn't have spat out his tea either, but that comment had taken him completely by surprise. Hades had an image to maintain, after all.

"Which is why I need these pieces to survive till the endgame," Merlin said. "But, for your consideration, I will send a very trusted party to Britain to snuff out that one guy who broke the natural order by splitting his soul."

Hades nodded. "See to it that you do. I was going to send my Furies, but if you believe that you can nip that one in the bud, I can concentrate elsewhere."

"Then we have an accord," Merlin said, vanishing into a thin mist.

A/N: I don't know if you all are disappointed that I did not write the actual date between Harry and Silena. But the truth is, I honestly find reading about dates in fanfics to be quite boring, and just skim through when I am reading them. So, yeah, even if the date itself can set up the 'first kiss' and all of that, I personally find them boring. But, if enough readers want the date, I may write it. That, and the date itself would have taken up the Merlin/Luke/Hades scene in the end, and would be akin to a filler.

About demigod magic and how it can affect gods and monsters, let me say one thing before I am accused of pulling it out of nowhere. I did say that monsters have an innate resistance to magic, and human magic cannot harm them in and out of itself without overcoming this resistance. But I also said that Harry is not human as far as magic is concerned all the way in chapter 6. So what I am saying is, yes, it was planned from the moment I decided to rewrite this. I'm sorry if the set-up was not enough to hint at this. Honestly, I was surprised that no one pointed this out, which is making me think that I should have added more hints to the set-up and reveal. But, too late for that.

The upcoming chapters (for both of my stories) may take a lot of time, depending on my own schedule. As I said in the A/N of chapter 12 of Dragon Emperor, I am moving soon, so there is that whole thing to deal with.

Well hope you all enjoyed!