AN: When I started this, I wasn't sure where it was going, and I'm still not sure, so I apologize if it seems a little jumpy and disconnected. This takes place two years after James and Lily Potter were killed and eight years before the events of The Lightning Thief, so Remus is twenty-three.

Remus swept his broom along the floor dispiritedly. With James and Lily dead and Sirius in Azkaban, he had had no one to go to. He had tried to get custody of Harry, but with his "furry little problem" the courts hadn't let him. Despite the court's prejudice, he had still tried to be part of his cub's life. This had resulted in Dumbledore updating the wards around Harry's home to stop dark creatures from getting within fifty meters of the house. With no other recourse left to him, he had left the country. Now he lived in a medium-sized suburb in the United States, working as a janitor in a school.

He sighed, dumping the dust pan in the trash can and moving to put his broom up for the day when he heard a noise behind him. He turned, barely managing to dodge the arrow that was shot at him. "What are you doing?" He gasped. "This is a school, no weapons allowed!" He crouched slightly, moving his broom in front of him as if to protect himself. He started to reach for his wand and cursed, realizing he had grown complacent and had left it in his desk. He eyed the girl apprehensively. She wore a white t-shirt and silvery cargo pants with black combat boots. He could see a knife at her belt and a quiver over her shoulders, matching the bow in her hands.

"You can't fool me, monster. I know what you are." The girl moved menacingly towards him, another arrow already on her bow string.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked nervously, eyeing the arrow in front of him. "I'm a nobody. Just the janitor."

"Spare me your lies, there's no way-" She was interrupted by shouts behind her. "Zoe!" The girl shouted behind her. "I've cornered him!" While her attention was off him, Remus took the opportunity and ducked into a supply closet, barring the door shut behind him. He glanced hurriedly around the room before grabbing a broom and cracking it over his knee to break the end with the bristles off. He hefted the remaining wooden pole in his hands, testing its strength. As the sound of shouts and yells grew louder from the hallway, Remus grabbed a stepladder and climbed up it, reaching above him to lift a ceiling tile. He moved the tile to the side and set the broom shaft next to the hole and pulled himself up into the crawl space above, carefully replacing the tile behind him.

Below him, he could hear the girl trying to open the door. "It's blocked. Should I break it down now or wait for our Lady?"

"Break it down now. We don't have time to wait. Those children are in danger now."

There were a couple of loud thuds as the girl hit the door, before finally a few cracking sounds were heard as the wooden beams keeping the door shut began to crack.

"Zoe, it's almost down, get ready. Just a few more kicks should do it."

When the door was knocked down, the two girls burst through, scanning the closet for Remus. "Danae, check for hidden doors." The first girl moved around the closet, checking behind the shelves and the floor. She shrugged. "I've got nothing, Lieutenant. I've no idea where he went."

"Art thou sure he came in here?"

"I saw it myself."

Zoe glanced coldly around the closet. "Move on. We'll have to search somewhere else."

As they turned to leave the closet, Remus breathed a sigh of relief. As he did so, Zoe's steps faltered, as if she had heard something, but she continued on anyway. Remus listened to them walk away until he could no longer hear them and softly shifted the ceiling tile away so he could climb down. He clambered over the mess they had made of the closet and peered out the door down the hall to where he could see the girls turning the corner.

Back in his office, Remus ripped open the drawer in his desk and grabbed his wand. "Where were you when I needed you a few minutes ago," He muttered under his breath. He turned towards the door to leave and saw one of the girls, the one who had been called Zoe. He ducked the arrow she sent at him and brandished his wand at her. "Expelliarmus!" She gasped and clutched at her bow as it tried to fly out of her hands.

"What? How did thou do that?" She reached around her neck and pulled out an amulet, glancing down at it. "Oh." She frowned, glancing up at him in sudden realization. She started backing towards the door. "I believe there is some sort of misunderstanding somewhere. Our fight is not with thee. If thou would just stay in here until we are done here, we will let thee be."

Remus stared at her in shock. "You must be joking. There is no way I am going to let a group of blood-thirsty armed teenage girls go rampaging around a school filled with children."

The girl shifted, glancing behind her at the empty hallway. "We do not have time for this. I promise not to hurt any of the children at thy school, but they are in danger from. . .something else. If thou truly desires to protect them, then come with me." Remus stared at her for a moment. Despite his previous experience with her, his inner wolf trusted her. It was almost as if it considered her a member of his pack. He bit his lip in thought, finally coming to a decision. "Fine. Let's go."

They stalked down the hallway together, Zoe with her bow in her hand and Remus with his wand in his. They turned the corner and almost ran into Danae. "Lieutenant, they've been sighted over at- What are you doing with him?"

"Thy information was faulty, he's not the one we're after. He's agreed to work with us."

Danae frowned. "But if he's not the one we're after, then what is he? Because he's not human, I can tell that."

"He's a werewolf. But that doesn't matter now. Thou said that there hast been a sighting?"

Danae sputtered in surprise. "What? A werewolf? What do you think-"

Zoe glared at her. "Not now. Tell me about the sighting."

Danae swallowed and nodded. "Yes. Well, one of the girls saw an empousa over by the cafeteria. And we've managed to locate the demigods."

"What!" Remus choked. "Demigods?"

"We've got them isolated and we're protecting them, but they're confused and scared."

"Wait, slow done here," Remus said. "Demigods? Empousa? Does this have anything to do with you talking so old-fashioned?"

Danae stared at him before turning to Zoe. "I thought you said he was a werewolf."

She nodded. "He is."

"Then why is he acting all confused about what's going on?"

"He is a different werewolf from the type thou art familiar with. From a different world. I'll explain things to the both of thee later, after we clean up this mess. Now, who do thou have watching the children?"

"Celyn and Natasha."

Zoe bit her lip. "All right. Send a squad after the empousa that was sighted, add Naomi and Kris to the guard protecting the children, and have everyone else search the school for other monsters. Thou," she turned to Remus, "Go with Danae, protect the children, and I'll explain things to thee later."

He nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

Remus glanced around the clearing he was in. After the situation at the school had been cleared up, the weird donkey/vampire hybrids destroyed, and the traumatized young demigods given hot chocolate, the Hunters, as Danae had told him they were called, had set up camp in a park not far from the school.

He glanced over at Zoe. "So you really are a couple of thousand years old."

She nodded. "Yes."

"And you are the handmaidens of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt."

"That is correct."

"Merlin," he sighed, reaching up to run his hand through his hair in shock. "But how have we never noticed you lot before? A bunch of teenagers with weapons running around aren't that hard to miss."

"We have something similar to thine obliviate spells; it is called the mist, except it does not depend on anyone casting a spell. Instead it accompanies any Greeks or Romans to cover up anything that is beyond the normal and replaces it with things that can easily be explained away. And there are a few wizards and witches who are aware of our existence, those who have stumbled upon us that we trust for some reason or another. Like thee."

"Me?" He frowned. "Why me? Why are you allowing me to keep this knowledge? I'm- I'm a werewolf, a dark creature."

Zoe looked at him calmly. "Be that as it may, thou art still an honorable man. When I threatened thee earlier, thine only thought was for the children in the school, not for thine own life, as it would be for most. But that is not all." Her eyes narrowed at him. "Thou hast been blessed by Lady Artemis."

"What? What do you mean?"

"The goddess has met thou and blessed thee as her child. Thou cannot bite anyone during the full moon and transform them, and thine own transformations are easier than they would have been had she retained her blessing."

Remus stared at her in shock. "You're telling me that I've met a goddess."

"Lady Artemis, yes, that is correct."

"And she blessed me. How can you even tell?"

"There is a silver aura about thee that can only be seen by a few. I can sense the presence of Lady Artemis' power in it."

Remus leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. "But when would I have met her? I think I would remember meeting a goddess."

"Her favorite form is that of a small child, perhaps twelve or thirteen years of age, although she frequently changes her appearance depending on the circumstances. Because of her apparent age, many people do not realize who she is." She watched him closely. "Do you perhaps recall a small child, many years ago, who acted. . .unusual?"

Remus started to shake his head. "No, I don't think so. I think I'd . . ." He trailed off. "Well, maybe." He paused, staring off into the distance. "I'd almost forgotten that," he muttered under his breath. He looked up at Zoe again. "When I was eleven," he began rather hesitantly, "and I was having my first transformation away from home, I remember there being a girl. When I woke up, I just thought it was a strange dream, but now. . ."

Zoe raised a brow at him. "Did thine transformation feel different?"

Remus looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure, it's hard to remember. Maybe?"

Zoe nodded. "It is most likely that the child you recall meeting was Lady Artemis."

"So what does that mean?" Remus frowned.

"Well, thou should be recognized by most Hunters. Danae is relatively new among us and has never met another who wears Artemis' blessing the way thou dost, and so she did not know that thou were blessed by the goddess. Other than that, it can mean whatever thou choose it to mean. If thou ever notice demigods who art in danger, it would be appreciated if thou wouldst help them and contact either us or the Camp-"

"The camp?"

"Camp Half-Blood, in New York, where the majority of demigods in the United States go to train."

"But how do I contact you?"

"Iris, the goddess of rainbows, can carry messages. If thou create a rainbow and entreat the goddess to accept thine offering and show thou whomever thou wishest to speak with, and then send a coin through the rainbow, we will be able to speak with thee."

Remus blinked in surprise. "Right, then. A rainbow payphone. That makes sense."

Zoe stood. "We shall return thee to thy school. Do not worry about thy absence, the mist will clear the way for thee." She reached out to shake his hand. "I understand this is a tradition that mortals persist in."

Remus laughed, shaking her hand. "Yes, it is."

"If thou art ever in need of our assistance, do not hesitate to contact us. Though we normally do not tolerate the presence of males, we make exceptions for those who art blessed by our Lady."

AN: Zoe, Naomi, and Celyn are all canon Hunters. Zoe is Zoe Nightshade from The Titan's Curse. Naomi and Celyn are mentioned in The Blood of Olympus, and are both killed by Orion in Puerto Rico.