Chapter 3:
Harry took a deep breath and walked past the large pine tree. He swore he felt something pass over him as he stepped beyond the tree. Harry felt like he was being wrapped in a blanket. There was a sense of safety.
The sun had risen just enough to provide Harry with a little light to see a few details of the valley sprawled out below him. He could make out a large house, a pavilion, volleyball and basketball courts, a lake, and a group cabins arranged in a U-shape with a large campfire in the middle. There was a forest and several other features that Harry couldn't quite make out.
As he started off down the hill into the valley his eyes were constantly darting about. Harry was on high alert for anyone or anything. But the camp was quiet and still in the early hours of the morning. Harry walked past the large house, the pavilion, and volleyball court until he reached the group of cabins.
Harry walked past some oddly decorated cabins. One was completely red with barbed wire and a boar's head. Another was covered with plants. One was solid gold while another was silver. There was one that had smokestacks and was made of bricks like a factory.
Eventually Harry came to the cabin he was looking for. It was the most ramshackle of the bunch. The paint was peeling, and it looked worn down. It had a staff like the one Hermes had been holding, a Caduceus he'd called it, hanging above the doorway. To Harry it felt like coming home. A feeling he had only felt before in returning to Hogwarts.
Cabin 11 was written on a sign that looked like it was about to fall off as soon as someone slammed the door too hard. Without hesitation Harry slipped through the front door on silent feet. The large cabin was packed with kids. Bunk beds lined the walls with rope bridges connecting the top bunks crisscrossed the ceiling like a giant spider web. There were even a few more kids in sleeping bags strewn across the floor.
Harry found an empty bit of space in one of the corners and settled down. He laid his head on his bag, and wrapped himself in his invisibility cloak. Within a moment he was asleep. The exhaustion from the long day catching up to him, and knocking him out the moment he settled down.
The sounds of shuffling feet and joking voices jolted Harry awake. He blinked the crust from his eyes. From beneath his invisibility cloak he watched the morning ritual of Cabin 11.
The majority of the residents of the cabin were already awake. It reminded him of when an anthill was disturbed. The cabin was organized chaos. Everyone was running, yelling, and laughing but they knew exactly what they needed to do and who was where. They went quickly about their morning routine despite the cramped space.
Harry watched and waited.
His moment came when two tall, lean boys, a few years older than himself called out to the cabin. They were nearly as identical as the Weasley twins except one was slightly taller than the other. They had curly brown hair, familiar mischievous blue eyes, and familiar freckled, elfish features.
In fact half of the kids in the cabin had at least one familiar trait. Whether it was elfish features, curly hair, sly blue eyes, or some combination.
"Cabin 11 fall in!" the slightly taller boy shouted.
"It's chow time!" the other yelled.
Harry waited for the other kids to file out. Only once he was the last one remaining in the cabin did he tuck away his invisibility cloak, and join the end of the line. No one said a thing to him as he followed Cabin 11 to the dining pavilion.
A long line was stretched out in front of the members of Cabin 11 as the other cabins emptied themselves to make their way to breakfast. There were at least a hundred other kids. It was more than Harry imagined.
In the dining hall green skinned women were flitting about with trays of breakfast foods. There were men with the lower halves of goats running about chatting happily with the campers. A centaur with a white stallion body was settled at the head table. He had kind blue eyes, a long gray beard, and long gray hair. Next to him was a portly man with red cheeks and nose, and thick black hair. He wore a leopard print shirt, and was drinking a can of soda. He looked absolutely miserable.
Besides the head table there were twelve other tables just like there were twelve cabins. But some of the tables weren't occupied. Harry didn't understand why. There was barely enough space for everyone at the Hermes table yet there were four other tables that were completely empty. Still Harry followed everyone else's example, and didn't sit at the empty tables either.
There was no longer a doubt in Harry's mind that Hermes had been telling him the truth. The Greek Gods existed and Harry was the child of one, well, two actually. He was now at a camp where everyone here was also the child of a god or goddess. It was rather mind boggling but exciting too. The gods and myths were all real! It was like finding out about the magical world all over again.
Even better, Harry would never have to go back to the Dursleys. He would have Hogwarts during the school year, and now Camp Half-Blood in the summer.
Harry carefully mimicked what the other campers were doing. He grabbed some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Harry learned he could ask for anything to drink by simply saying the name. From listening and observing his fellow table members he was able to figure out he was supposed to sacrifice some of his food to a god in large brazier. Harry gave some of his bacon to Hermes, and hoped his godly dad liked it.
Breakfast continued and no one seemed to realize he was new. Harry got a few curious looks but he figured his familiar features put them at ease. He watched the other members of Cabin 11 as they talked and joked, and pranked one another. Harry found himself grinning at their antics. He felt instantly at home amongst them, and found himself eager to join in.
One of the near identical boys, one of the Stoll brothers Harry had learned, stole the last cinnamon roll right off of the plate of the boy sitting next to him without him noticing. Harry couldn't help but covertly offer Stoll a high-five at the successful cinnamon roll heist.
Connor or Travis, whichever Stoll he was, was quick to return the high-five. They grinned identical mischievous grins at one another, and Harry knew beyond any doubt this boy was his brother.
What a strange thought that was? Harry had always wanted a big family like Ron did. He'd dreamed about it during his lonely moments in his cupboard and wandering the streets of Privet Drive all alone. Harry had thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Burrow last summer, and all of the chaos that came with the large family of red heads.
Glancing at all of the kids at the table it looked like he had gotten his wish. Hermes's cabin was definitely one of the largest. Only the table with a lot of golden haired kids could hope to compete.
"Wait, who are you?" the other Stoll asked, leaning across the table to peer more closely at Harry.
"Harry," Harry replied as if it was obvious.
"Harry?" the first Stoll tilted his head, looking Harry up and down.
"Yup," Harry nodded, completely amused at the looks of surprise he was getting from up and down the table.
The two Stolls shared a look. "You're new."
"Yes, I arrived really early this morning, and was told to go to Cabin 11," Harry explained.
"You're British," a girl a little younger than himself pointed out in surprise.
"I am."
"How?" a different boy asked, wide-eyed.
"Um, the normal way I suppose?" Harry shrugged with a grin.
That caused a few chuckles.
"Oh, you're going to fit in just fine here," one of the Stolls smirked.
"I didn't know the gods had children in other countries," someone else commented.
"They do but I guess it doesn't happen very often anymore," Harry told them.
"Huh, well, welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Harry," the taller Stoll greeted.
"Thanks," Harry smiled.
"Are you undetermined?" the shorter Stoll asked him.
"Undetermined?" Harry didn't know what that meant.
He was beginning to realize that Hermes really hadn't explained a whole lot to Harry. He wished he'd thought to ask more questions when he had the chance. But at the time had been more than a little overwhelmed. He'd barely been able to keep up with the conversation let alone think beyond the immediate information being presented.
Suddenly there was a flash of light. Harry looked up, and above his head was a floating, glowing Caduceus. Everyone in the dining hall stopped what they were doing, and turned to stare at the glowing symbol above Harry's head.
"Well, that answers that," the taller Stoll murmured.
"As if there was ever really a question," the shorter Stoll shot back, looking pointedly at Harry.
The centaur stood up, and everyone else did the same.
Harry scrambled to his feet as well.
"All hail…" the centaur paused and looked at Harry in confusion.
"Tell him your name," the taller Stoll prompted.
"Harry Potter," Harry spoke up.
The centaur nodded his acknowledgement. "All hail Harry Potter, Son of Hermes, God of Messengers, Travelers, Thieves, Roads, and Athletes."
The other campers knelt on the ground. Harry went to kneel too, but the shorter Stoll stopped him.
"Hail!" the campers chorused.
Harry felt himself flush at the attention. It was like getting sorted all over again.
But thankfully it didn't last long. The moment the glowing Caduceus disappeared from above his head the other campers returned to their breakfast. There were a couple of lingering stares but it was like nothing Harry endured at Hogwarts. In fact to the campers at Camp Half-Blood it just seemed to be business as usual. Harry was just an average camper not the Boy-Who-Lived. No one knew who Harry Potter was.
The other members of Cabin 11 began congratulating him, and welcoming him. Well, most of them. A few regarded him with sour expressions, envy in their eyes. Harry didn't understand why. Maybe they were upset about having a new sibling? The cabin was awfully crowded.
"I knew you were our brother," one boy around his age came over to clap him on the back.
Harry stopped the other boy before his new brother could slip his hand in his knapsack. "Right, brother, what's your name?"
His new brother sent him an impish, unapologetic grin at getting caught. "Cecil Markowitz."
The others at the table quickly introduced themselves. Harry was finally able to clear up which Stoll was which. The taller one was Travis while the shorter one was Connor. They were in fact not twins as Harry had first believed. Travis was older than Connor.
The two were the current counselors of Cabin 11, which meant they were in charge of the campers within Hermes's Cabin. Harry quickly learned that not all of the campers in Cabin 11 were the children of Hermes, which was why only about half resembled the Messenger of the Gods. Harry's godly dad still had a decent number of children but not the sheer amount sitting at the crowded table.
Children whose godly parents hadn't claimed them yet lived in Hermes's Cabin because he was the God of Travelers. This was the reason for the jealous looks. Harry could understand. He hadn't been in camp an entire day yet, and his godly parent claimed him. Apparently some of the others had been waiting years to be claimed. Some of the kids had been claimed but their parent didn't have a cabin at Camp Half-Blood so they stayed in Cabin 11.
Apparently only the twelve Olympian Gods had cabins.
"We'll set you up with the orientation video after breakfast, and then we'll give you a tour of camp," Travis assured.
"Yeah, and we'll answer any of your questions. I'm sure you have a ton," Connor continued.
"That would be great," Harry enthused.
The rest of breakfast was spent fielding questions about his life. He gave an abridged version of his life. Harry didn't mention magic or being Twice-Blessed or meeting Hermes.
/
In the two weeks that followed Harry learned quite a lot about the world he found himself in.
His new siblings kept him on his toes. The other children of Hermes were just as adept at stealing and pranks as he was.
But they also educated him about the life of a demigod. The Stolls taught him all about the various gods, goddess, and monsters out there. They explained how he should act if he encountered a god, and the weaknesses of various monsters. Cecil told him about the Mist, which hid the immortal world from the eyes of mortals. All of his siblings finally shed light on Harry's learning difficulties.
All demigods had dyslexia and ADHD, which was a comfort to know. They were hardwired to learn Ancient Greek, and the hyper awareness helped sharpen their reflexes and reaction times when fighting against monsters. All demigods were physically stronger, faster, and more durable than the average mortal even witches and wizards.
Demigods also possessed powers and abilities unique to their godly parents. A lot of Harry's quirks came from being a Son of Hermes. Hermes was the God of Thieves so all of his children tended to have a penchant for it. Hermes was the fastest of the gods so his children tended to be swifter than other demigods. Hermes could control the stock market, which was why Harry innately knew how to manipulate finance. There were other abilities and skills that Harry could now attribute to his godly dad.
In addition to learning knew things the members of Cabin 11 also did all sorts of different activities together. They went to weapons training, to races, to arts and crafts, and all sorts of other games. There was a rock-climbing wall where actual rocks fell from the top, and lava poured down the sides. There were dryads, satyrs, naiads, a stable full of Pegasi, and a forest filled with monsters to hone their fighting skills.
Harry was quick to join his siblings in various pranks on the other cabins. It was a Hermes's Cabin pastime or at least it was for the campers who were actually the children of Hermes.
He was fairly certain the barrier around the camp would stop the Ministry of Magic from being alerted to him using magic. Actual gods crafted it but he still didn't use any in his pranks just in case. Hermes hadn't told him if he should mention the wizarding world at Camp Half-Blood or not. Hermes had known about it but then he was a god.
Hogwarts, witches, and wizards never came up in any of the things his siblings taught him about.
Camp Half-Blood was the most fun Harry had ever had. Dare he say it was more fun than Hogwarts. He had siblings to run around with, and there was always something to do. There were no classes or professors. In fact there were only two adults in the entire camp, and one of them didn't even care what they did as long as they didn't bother him. The camp director didn't want to be here. Camp Half-Blood was a punishment to him.
Dionysus, the God of Wine and Madness, or Mr. D as everyone called him wasn't as impressive as Hermes had been. Not that Harry would ever say it aloud. He'd been learning about all the stories about people who angered the gods, and he really didn't want to end up an animal or a shrub.
Even though it had only been two weeks it was easily the best summer Harry had ever experienced.
Harry loved having siblings.
In addition to all the activities they did together they pulled pranks on one another and trying to nick each other's stuff but it was all in good fun. None of it was meant to be malicious or cruel. His brothers and sisters had welcomed him with open arms. He knew they had his back, and he had theirs.
The other, non-Hermes children members of Cabin 11 weren't too bad either once they got to know one another. Harry didn't begrudge them their brief moment of jealousy. It had to be hard waiting for a parent to claim them. As someone who grew up an unwanted orphan he understood.
Harry also had another godly parent who hadn't claimed him yet. Hermes had said it was safer this way. But he would freely admit he was curious especially the more he learned about the other gods and goddesses.
He was meeting new siblings, and cabin members every day. Schools across America were still being let out, and more campers arrived every day. The Hermes Cabin was even more full than it had been before. Harry was lucky he'd snagged an empty bunk bed so he didn't have to sleep on the floor all summer. He did feel bad for the ones who got stuck with the floor. Hermes's Cabin should have been bigger than the others. But Harry had learned that the gods were easily prone to jealousy, and Hermes having a larger cabin were sure to start a fight even if it made sense.
"Potter!" Clarisse LaRue roared.
The daughter of Ares burst out of the bright red cabin. Harry wheezed silently from his spot lying flat on the roof of Ares's Cabin at the sight in front of him. Clarisse's hair was a bright, putrid green.
"Turned out better than I thought it would. I wish Fred and George were here," Harry murmured to himself between biting back his laughter.
The older girl and some of her brothers had immediately tried to bully Harry upon his arrival. He'd managed to slip away from their clutches thanks to years of practice with Harry Hunting. But they had tried a couple of other times before Harry decided to strike back.
Harry's brothers and sisters immediately offered to retaliate against the Ares's Cabin for their attempt at bullying Harry. Harry had been warmed to have their full support but said he wanted to do it himself. Thus began Harry's campaign against them.
Cecil, Travis, and Connor had helped him with a few of his pranks against them so far but Harry had done this one on his own.
"Why Clarisse that shade of puce looks lovely on you," Travis commented.
Harry's brothers were loitering nearby. They knew what Harry had been planning, and were eager to see the results.
"Stolls!" the muscular girl seethed.
"Hey, don't look at us," Connor held up his hands in supplication.
"I know it wasn't you idiots! Where's that runt brother of yours? I'm going to make him wish he was never born."
"Which brother?" Travis frowned in feigned confusion.
"You know exactly which one! The new brat has been sneaking around our cabin for a week now."
"Oh, Harry, right. I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Always causing trouble that rascal. I don't know where he gets it from," Connor smirked, making eye contact with Harry where he was army crawling along the roof of Cabin 5.
"Yeah, that little rapscallion. Since he's been here he always seems to be up to something," Travis agreed.
"A brother after my own heart," Connor sighed dramatically, placing a hand across his chest.
Clarisse's nostrils flared, and she looked moments away from throttling Harry's brothers.
"There's the punk," one of the son's of Ares cried. The large, muscular boy, Harry thought his name might be Sherman, pointed out Harry's location on the roof.
Stealth abandoned, Harry leapt up, gave a jaunty wave, and sprinted towards the other end of the cabin. He was half down before the Ares's campers collected themselves enough to give chase.
"Get him!" Clarisse screamed.
Harry sprinted through the camp to the angry shouts of Ares's campers, and the laughter and shouts of encouragement of his own siblings.
Years of Harry Hunting taught him he just needed to outrun his pursuers long enough for them to get tired and leave him alone. The members of Cabin 5 were a bit more in shape than Harry's cousin and his gang. It took longer to shake them off his tail.
He ran by the archery field where the children of Apollo were practicing. Lee Fletcher, the Apollo Cabin counselor, rolled his eyes as Harry and his pursuers sprinted past. The other Apollo campers cheered him on.
The children of Aphrodite giggled and shouted as Harry zoomed past them. He narrowly avoided running directly into Charles Beckendorf, the Hephaestus Cabin counselor, as he carried a bucket of gears towards his cabin. It was a good thing because running into the large and muscular boy would have knocked Harry on his rear.
Harry slipped behind a few trees to catch his breath and let Clarisse and her brothers race by.
"This isn't the best hiding place."
Harry looked behind him to see a girl about his age with long, straight black hair and green eyes. She sat against another tree reading a book. Lou Ellen Blackstone was a member of Hermes Cabin. She wasn't a Daughter of Hermes but a Daughter of Hecate, the goddess of magic. Despite being claimed she still lived in Cabin 11. The magic Harry had seen her perform was incredible, and he kept fighting the urge to ask her if she knew about the magical world.
"It's only a resting stop," Harry answered.
"Uh huh," she nodded and went back to the book she had in her hands.
"What are you reading?" Harry peered at the title.
The book was in Ancient Greek, which meant that Harry didn't have trouble reading it. He caught the word spells on one of the pages.
"It's a book of spells. My mother sent it to me," she stated proudly.
Demigods cherished the gifts their godly parents sent them. It hadn't taken Harry long to learn that meeting Hermes as he had was very out of the ordinary. In fact it went directly against the rules of no contact between gods and their demigod children. He felt quite lucky about getting to spend so much time with the god.
"Wow," Harry wished he could ask to learn some of the spells.
"Potter!"
Harry whirled to see Clarisse and her brothers, Sherman and Mark.
"That's my cue. See you at dinner, Lou Ellen."
"See you at dinner, Harry, as long as Ares's Cabin doesn't kill you first," Lou waved blithely.
Harry took off back through the camp.