II – Explanations

"Wake up mate." A voice whispered.

Harry rubbed the crust out of his eyes as he opened them. Though his vision was poor without his glasses, he managed to make out the person in front of him.

"I'm up," Harry stretched in bed, making some kind of sheet angel, "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." Isaac smiled, "Chiron wanted to see you the moment you opened your eyes. I figured I'd speed up that process."

Harry rolled his neck as he sat up, "How long have I been out?"

"About six hours."

"Six hours?!" Harry kicked off the covers, swinging out of bed. He grabbed his glasses from the table and yanked open the curtains; it was pitch black outside.

Isaac raised his hands up, "Settle down; there's no need to worry; anyone as injured as you would've slept this late. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised you slept for only 6 hours. Most near-death injuries cause people to sleep for the whole day."

"It's not me that I'm worried about!" Harry lept up, grabbing Isaac's shoulders, "Have you been waiting for six hours?"

"Not the whole time," Isaac blushed, embarrassed at Harry's statement, "Besides, it's not that big of a deal. You were fatally wounded and..."

"And?" Harry didn't take his eyes off him.

"And there aren't that many British Half-Bloods here." Isaac pushed Harry's hand off, "They tend to stay in the UK and fend for themselves so I thought it'd be a shame to have one of my own die so quickly."

"Oh." Harry let go of Isaac, "Just to be clear, by half-blood, you mean half-human, half-magic right?"

"Magic?" Isaac thought for a second, "Yeah. One could say we're half-magic, so yes."

'If they are half-bloods, why don't any of them know about magic?' Harry asked himself, "Chiron, he's the centaur, right? I want to meet him. Maybe he'll be able to explain everything to me."

He was about to rush out the door when Isaac caught him by the chest. Harry turned back to look at him, "What?"

Isaac looked down, "Is there...is there anyone else that came with you?"

"No," Harry cocked his head to the side, the momentum leaving him as he stood up straight, no longer in a rush, "Why?"

"I just thought that..." Isaac tightened his hold on the Harry's shirt before letting go, "Never mind. I've kept you far too long, head to Chiron."

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?" Harry's thoughts drifted to the conversation he had overheard hours ago.

"I'm sure." Isaac nodded.

"But~"

"Go!" Isaac started him off with a half-hazard kick, "Stick around any longer and the next one won't be so lazy."

Harry threw up his hands in defeat and descended down the stairs before Isaac could attack him.

"Are you kidding me?" Harry looked up at Chiron, his mouth agape.

"Contrary to what you are thinking, I am not joking." Chiron clopped around the room slowly.

"There's no way any of this is real." Harry shook his head in unchanged disbelief, "It just doesn't make sense!"

"And you think your story does?" Percy was leaning against the door frame, eavesdropping on the conversation. He had on an orange shirt that read "Camp Half-Blood," paired with some faded navy blue jeans. Around his neck was a necklace with two beads with designs Harry couldn't make out.

"A magical academy where kids as young as eleven attend for seven years to master sorcery?" Percy asked skeptically, "It doesn't even sound like it exists."

"It does, because I have PROOF!" Harry argued, defending his magical school, "I can perform a spell for you right now! But you can't produce a god!"

"So it's proof you want?" Chiron clopped up behind him, "Percy here is living proof. He's the son of Poseidon; one of the Big Three mentioned in the informative video."

Harry turned to Percy, who nodded his head, "It's true. I used to hate my Dad because I thought he was some jerk that had abandoned his family, but once I learned the full story and met him, I learned he's not such a bad guy. That's the story of most campers here."

"I still can't believe this," Harry turned back to Chiron, "I'm not trying to go against you in an irrational way, but I just can't see how any of this would come to exist. Why haven't we heard of it? Where are the gods in London?"

"Alright Harry," Chiron came to a halt, crossing his arms, "I'll try connecting some of your life experiences to the gods. Start fresh."

"I want to hear this too," Percy entered the room completely and sank into a bean bag, "Take it away."

"Well...[Insert Harry Potter Books One to Three(1-3)]," Harry told them the long and harrowing story of everything that had happened, "And that's how my life's been so far."

"Whoa," Percy exhaled, "Almost half of the kids at Camp Half-Blood are orphans, although there are a lot who have good relationships with their human parents. But for you to meet your Uncle or Godfather or whoever and lose him because of some stupid misunderstanding...that sucks!"

"Indeed," Chiron nodded, stroking his beard, "It is better to never have felt love, then to feel love, just to have it slip out of your grasp."

Harry shifted in his seat. While he loved conversing with others, he never liked it when he felt someone was pitying him. In fact, he hated the thought. It wasn't like pity would bring back his parents, or somehow clear his Uncle's name.

"The only things I can think to connect would be that those founders of the Hogwarts Houses are most definitely descendants of Hecate." Chiron told Harry.

"Hecate?" Harry asked with a confused look.

"She's the goddess of magic, sorcery, witchcraft, crossroads, trivial knowledge, and necromancy." Percy listed the aspects reserved for her.

"Genius now, ey?" Harry perked up an eyebrow, surprised at Percy's knowledge of the goddess.

Percy shrugged his shoulders, "Being around Annabeth will do that to you. I thought stupidity was contagious, not knowledge."

"This Sybill Trelawney sounds very much like the Oracle, giving prophecies at random. Except the Oracle hasn't been around for hundreds of years now. Not in a mortal host at least." Chiron informed him.

"Then I guess Professor Trelawney is special." Harry commented, starting to mess around with the miniature bean bags laying around.

Chiron shook his head, "That's not possible. The Oracle's spirit is still trapped in its last host's body. There's no way it could've been reborn without us knowing."

"Maybe it got tired of the old corpse smell and decided to move into someone much fresher?" Harry joked, "Being trapped in a corpse might make you want to review all your options.

Percy laughed heartily, "Right? It's like, 'Uh, do I wanna stay as an undead zombie or move into this chick?'"

Chiron gave him the evil eye and Percy's laugh stopped immediately, "Sorry."

"Besides," Harry intervened, not wanting Percy to get in trouble, "If there are actual gods in the world that go around having children left and right, then who says the Oracle can't be in two places at once?"

"No, no," Chiron sighed, possibly frustrated at the questions Harry was asking, "There was something bothering me that I wanted to point out...it had to do with you mentioning a prophecy."

"My prophecy?" Percy pointed at himself, unsure of who Chiron was talking to, "I don't even know it."

"You have a prophecy?" Harry looked at him in shock, "High-five mate, what lucky guys we are."

"It's about being one of the Big Three," Percy slammed his hand, "And don't you mean unlucky? The fate of the world kind of rests on our shoulders."

"No Percy, not your prophecy," Chiron clamped his hands together, "Harry, do you know your prophecy?"

Harry shook his head, "They won't let me hear it. Apparently I'm not the only one it can be applied to. Someone else's parents have been affected by Voldemort."

"I guess you and I are in the same boat." Percy inserted himself into the discussion, "Kinda."

"How?" Harry looked at him, "Your..." Harry remembered Percy's Father was a god, "Your Mum's dead?"

"No, but she almost died. I meant the whole, fated-since-birth prophecy thing," Percy leaned back in his chair, "Thalia fits it too though."

"Thalia? Who's that?" Harry looked at Chiron, expecting the hero trainer to be on the verge of launching into an explanation.

"It's a long story and I'm sure Percy can relay most of the details." Chiron nodded towards him.

Harry brought his chair closer to Percy, "Tell me mate; I've shared my story, now it's your turn to share yours."

"Sure thing. But I might make a sarcastic comment or two." Percy hinted at the humorous tale Harry was about to hear.

"I don't mind that." Harry smirked as he sat up, "A few jokes never hurt anybody."

"So it all started when...[Insert The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters]," Percy took a deep breath, "And...yeah. My life's been a little hectic."

"A little?" Harry cleared his throat, "If I had to compare our lives, we're both up to our waists in deep, excuse my french, shit." Chiron shook his head disapprovingly at Harry's swearing.

"I just wonder, was I sent to this world for a reason or did I take the wrong turn in the universe?"

"Wrong turn." Percy joked, "You should've taken a left at the Andromeda Galaxy, instead you took a right and ended up in an alternate Milky Way."

"The jokes are very clever is boys but we must bring this impromptu hangout to an end." Chiron clapped his hands, "Harry, you are asking the same questions we are and although I would love to learn more about you and your powers, it's getting late. There is the matter of where you will stay."

"Why don't we put him in the Hermes cabin?" Percy suggested, "That's where all the other undetermined kids go when they first get here."

"No," Chiron shook his head, flat-out disagreeing, "Harry would have gone there if he was a regular case. But with him having a prophecy, I can't take the chance of something happening to him. Not that the Hermes children are particularly violent, mind you. But for all we know, his prophecy is linked to yours Percy. And I don't want it to spell the end of Olympus simply because one of them decided to prank him."

"So, what are you saying?" Harry asked, wanting to get to the point, "Where will I be?"

"For now, you'll be staying at the Big House," Chiron placed a hand on his shoulder, "If what you say is true and you aren't demigod, then we must consult the Oracle and ask why you landed in this Camp."

"Alrighty then," Percy stood up, "C'mon Harry, I'll show you the best room in the house. You get to stay there now that Mr. D's not here."

Harry followed after him, "Mr. D sounds like Professor Snape, except he has a beer belly. And kids." Harry added after some thought.

"Percy, I'm counting on you to hook him up with some new clothes," Chiron addressed him with a task, "He's been wearing his school uniform for the whole day now, not to mention he's bled into it. The outfit's probably raging with infection."

"Got it." With that, Percy and Harry left the room.

"Hook me up?" Harry questioned, once they were a good distance away from the room, "What's that supposed to be?"

Percy waved his hands, "That's just Chiron trying to be hip. You know, stay with the times. Annabeth and I both told him that if he's gonna do that, he needs to lose the 600 A.D. look."

Harry laughed in amusement, "I'm trying to picture Umbridge doing that and it's not working. Maybe Professor McGonagall, perhaps Dumbledore. But Umbridge? Not a chance."

"Umbridge, more like Umbitch," Percy ran a pun by him, "I've only had two people to look out for: my old teacher Mrs. Dodds, who turned out to be one Hades' henchmen and my trash stepdad Gabe Ugliano. You on the other hand..."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Don't even get me started."

The two boys entered the room and Percy felt around for a light switch.

"You're lucky you came here when Mr. D was absent." Percy told Harry as he switched on the light, "He'd never agree to you sleeping in here, no matter how special you are."

"Okay, what's the deal with Mr. D?" Harry questioned, "Snape hates me because of a problem he had with my Dad but Mr. D has kids, correct? Why doesn't he like demigods?"

Percy shook his head, "You're asking the wrong guy. Mr. D's always had it out for demigods for some reason, even though he was one of us before he got turned into a god. I honestly don't know. I wouldn't recommend you question him though, he might turn you into a~"

"Dolphin?" Harry interrupted, smiling.

"Yeah." Percy nodded, smiling back as he tossed him a pillow.

Catching it, Harry looked around for a comforter, but Percy had already brought out one and spread it on the bed.

"Thanks mate." Harry nodded his head as he took a seat, "So uh, that girl, the one that brought me here~"

"You mean Juniper?" Percy interrupted, assuming who he had been talking about, "She's a wood nymph so she doesn't really come to the Big House that much."

"No, no," Harry waved his hand, "The other one; the blond with grey eyes."

"Oh, that's Annabeth," Percy told him, "Annabeth Chase; she's a daughter of Athena and Athena's children usually look like that."

"The goddess of Wisdom. Is she smart?"

Percy rolled his eyes, "What do you think?"

Hermione came to mind and Harry smiled to himself, "I was just wondering. In my world, I have a really smart female friend, she's so smart it blows my mind. She doesn't have blonde hair and grey eyes though."

"Just because she's smart doesn't mean she's a daughter of Athena," Percy went on to further explain, "Think of it like this, you can be smart and not a child of Athena, but if you're a child of Athena, you're definitely smart."

"Makes sense," Harry nodded, "So if I asked her to explain some words that didn't make sense to me, she'd be able to?"

"Yep, but you can't right now. The cabin's probably getting ready for bed and stuff."

Harry looked at the clock, "At 9PM?"

Percy shrugged, "What can I say? They're very prolific."

"I see." Harry rubbed his chin, "Here's a scenario: A masked ninja wants to visit Annabeth and ask her the question in my place. What would he need to know if he wanted to go see her?"

Percy's face broke out into the grin, "I catch your drift. Well, this 'masked ninja' would need to climb onto the second floor of the Athena cabin and knock on the third window. That's hers."

"Alright." Harry nodded his head, "Are there any dangers I need to worry about? Hidden traps or anything of the sort?"

"No traps," Percy shook his head, "But the cleaning harpies might eat you if they catch you."

"Eat me?" Harry grabbed at his collar, "Well, that certainly raises the stakes, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't get eaten if I were you." Percy winked, "Doesn't do anything good to your body."

Harry snorted, "I'll keep that in mind. Now, do you have a hoodie I could borrow?"

"A hoodie?" Percy repeated his words, "Are you kidding? Come to my cabin and take a look at my closet."

Harry ended up arriving at the Athena Cabin at 9:30. After trying on multiple dark colored hoodies, they had finally managed to settle on a royal blue, along with a black mouth mask, just in case. Harry worried Percy would get blamed, seeing as he was the one who owned the hoodie, but Percy just shrugged it off.

"I'm a son of the Big Three, what's the worst they can do? Take away my desert?"

Shaking his head, Harry focused on his task at hand. Lightly, he knocked on the third window of second floor and waited, perching on the roof like some kind of burglar.

'This is the epitome of suspicious.' Harry shook his head at himself, 'Honestly, I'm not worried about harpies eating me. I'm afraid one of the campers will spot some creep on the roof and take their own action!'

The shades were lifted and Annabeth looked out. Quickly, he removed his mask to show her it was a friendly face and she raised the window.

"What are you doing out here?" She whispered.

"I wanted to talk to you," He indicated, "Do you mind if I come in?"

She rubbed her forehead, "I don't know, sure." She stepped aside, allowing him to enter.

"Thank you," He nodded to her as he climbed inside, "Nice room you got here." He looked around.

"Don't mind the mess," Annabeth waved her hand at the mound of books on the floor, "I've just been doing some light reading."

"Light." He chuckled, "You and Hermione would be best friends, for sure."

"Hermione, she's a female friend of yours?" She asked, picking up a piece of paper on the floor and scribbling something on it with a blue pen.

"Best friend actually." He helped her to collect the papers scattered about, "The smartest person I've ever met."

Harry noticed her ears twitch, but she did not turn to him, "Oh? Is she that good?"

"I'd be willing to bet my allowance that she'd give you a run for your money." He taunted her.

She looked at him, eyes gleaming, "I see. Well, other than you issuing a claim to the smartest on your friend's behalf, why are you here?"

"I need some help deciphering, understanding something." He told her truthfully, "And since you have a reputation as being very intelligent from your friends..."

"What's the message?" She crossed her arms.

He looked around for a piece of paper and a pencil, "It's~"

"Don't write it, just say it," She interrupted him, "I...have a hard time reading words. Dyslexia."

"Right," Harry set down the pencil, "The video talked about that. Anyway, she said, 'I am the Bringer of Chaos, Pain and Strife. I look into the hearts of man and use as I see fit.' Does that ring a bell in anyway?"

Annabeth cupped her hand under chin, staring intently at the ground, "I am the Bringer of Chaos, Pain and Strife...I've heard that somewhere before." She pushed him out of the way, sifting through a pile of books by her window.

She cracked open a dark red book with some Greek letters on its cover and used her finger as a guideline for skimming, "That message, it's part of a variation of the prayer of Ares."

"Prayer of Ares?" He questioned.

"Yes but in the original version it says, 'You understand the terror of struggle and strife, you confront it in every way.' Where did you read this?" Annabeth turned to him, a twinkle of curiosity in her eyes.

"Well, I didn't read it," He went on to explain, "It was spoken to me. In my head." He tapped his side for an added effect.

Annabeth's eyes slowly widened, "A god spoke to you?"

"Goddess." Harry corrected, "I'm more than positive the voice was female."

"Female?" She tilted her head, "But there is no female war deity. Ares only has his twin sons Phobos and Deimos."

"If that's true...then who spoke to me?"