Disclaimer: All characters, settings, and other story components taken from the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo series belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively. I do not own any of the aforementioned. I do not intend to use this story commercially.

A/N: Hello! I'm getting this out earlier than the past few chapters (yay!)! This chapter doesn't contain huge Harry Potter spoilers (Luna is from the Order of the Phoenix), but it does contain plot spoilers for the Last Olympian and has story components and characters from the Trials of Apollo. As of now, I'm planning on continuing to post on the weekends. Please read and please review!

My friends follow me down one hall, then another. Finally, we stop at an open door. Inside, about a dozen campers are scattered through a spacious assembly room, quietly chatting. I see Will and Thalia talking near one of the tall windows.

"Sophy!" Across the room, Percy jumps off of a window seat, hurrying over to us. "Where were you? Are you okay?"

"I had to find my friends," I start.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Annabeth has joined us. "We could've helped you."

"Sorry." I push my ponytail back over my shoulder. "I wasn't really thinking."

"At least you found them," Annabeth says with a slight sigh. "Thank the gods for that."

"I did! That reminds me: these are Hermione, Harry, Ron, Luna, and Neville. Guys, meet Percy and Annabeth."

"Pleasure," Hermione says calmly, holding out a hand. Annabeth reaches out to shake it.

"Sophy!"

I turn to see Will beckoning to me from one of the window seats. He's placed a black medical bag on the seat next to him.

"I need to bandage your leg again."

"One moment!" I call back. I gesture to my friends. "Let me-"

"Sophy!" He stands up, making his way around a group of Athena campers. Stepping around the last girl, he points at my leg. "You're bleeding. You really shouldn't be putting any weight on that.."

I look down; a trickle of blood is oozing from my unbound wound.

"Give me a moment, Will."

I turn back to my friends, but Will grabs my shoulder. I turn to face him and yelp as he reaches down and picks me up like a little kid. As he straightens, I grab the back of his shirt to keep my balance.

"Will! Put me down!"

"Nope." Will turns toward the window seats. "You're coming with me. That cut needs to be treated. Now."

I heave a sigh as I'm carried across the room. Luna gives me a little wave, which I return over Will's shoulder.

Will sets me down on the window seat, tilting my leg to see the gash. As he rummages around in his bag for something, I turn to face the rest of the room.

I'm sitting opposite the door where we came in. Percy and Annabeth are standing against the doorframe, talking. On the wall to my left is a huge blackboard, spanning the width of the room. More clumps of campers are clustered against it. I turn to my right. Chairs are stacked against the back wall on rolling chair racks. My friends are sitting with their backs against one of the dollies and the adjoining wall.

"There," Will says, tapping me on the shoulder. I look up; he's finished bandaging my cut.

"Thanks, Will." I shift to face him.

"A few things." He holds up a finger. "You may be able to walk, but you're still really hurt. I want you stay at the Big House during the day."

"What?"

"You can eat in the mess hall and go to campfire, but nothing beyond that. Promise?"

"Wiiiiill!"

"Sophy. Do you promise?"

"I promise," I echo with a sigh.

"Thank you. And please stay here." He turns to put away his supplies.

I glare at his back as he bends over his bag. Carefully, so as to not draw attention, I stand up and back away, scanning the room for my friends.

They've moved; they're now sitting on the window seat closest to the chalkboard. I weave my way around a cluster of Demeter girls as I make my way toward them.

"Shh!" The group falls silent as I approach. Harry turns to me and raises an eyebrow. "So," he says, voice serious. "What was the first Chocolate Frog card that I ever received?"

"Dumbledore." I lean up against the wall. "On the train? You didn't recognize him, and then you asked why the picture disappeared."

He gives a sigh of relief, scooting over to make room for me. "Good. You're you."

"Always the tone of surprise," I tease, sitting down beside him.

The door opens and a faint chatter fills the room. Campers pour through in twos and threes and fours: Chiron must've called the meeting. I recognize Piper and Jason as they come in; they weave through the crowd to join Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia.

I bite my lip, looking from them to my schoolmates. "I'm sorry, guys. I should probably…"

"If you need to go, then go," Hermione says from behind Ron. "We'll be fine."

"I'll be right back," I promise, carefully standing up.

I weave my way through the crowd. More campers are still coming and the room is quickly getting crowded. I stand on my tiptoes, trying to find my friends, but I still can't see over the campers.

I take a step back and smack into something. I turn around: I've backed into the chalkboard. I try one more time to find Percy or Annabeth in the crowd, to no avail.

With a sigh, I carefully sit down against the wall under the chalkboard. It's partly to give my leg a rest, but partly for the noise. Ever since I was little, loud noises have given me headaches. The ceaseless chatter of the campers is making my head pound.

I grit my teeth together in frustration. My head hurts. My leg hurts. I want to sit down properly. I want to sleep. I want everyone to sit down and shut up! I slap the floor in frustration - and jump when sparks fly.

I sit up, mind racing. How? I check for my wand … it's in my opposite pocket. I cautiously poke the floor - nothing happens.

Sparks … how could I cause sparks like that? … how could I cause sparks …

I stare at my hands, utterly bewildered. Sparks … sparks …

Memories flit across my vision. I remember Jason calling down lightning on the acromantula. I remember the lightning bolts that shimmered across the doors of Cabin 1. I remember … I remember the sing-along in the amphitheater. Thalia pushed Jason, and from where she touched him, sparks flew.

Jason can call down lightning. He's a son of Zeus. Cabin 1 had lightning bolts on the doors. Cabin 1 is the cabin for Zeus. Thalia caused sparks to fly by touching Jason. They're both children of Zeus. I somehow caused sparks just now. I'm a daughter of Zeus. Can I control sparks and lightning, too?

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. Feeling utterly ridiculous, I imagine unscrewing a mental tap that releases sparks instead of water. I open my eyes.

Sparks are fizzling from my palms.

I giggle, shocked. I can control electricity. I screw my mental tap closed, and the sparks disappear.

I let a huge breath whoosh out. I can control electricity! Electricity. The word probes up a swirl of memories: many different lessons in Muggle Studies … Mr. Weasley and his enthusiasm for anything Muggle… and one other …

I clutch at Matt's steadying fingers, a bit intimidated by the crowd around us. Muggle children my age and older swarm around me, trying to find good seats around the makeshift stage. Matt had dragged me to another Muggle school to look at, and today, the children are having a … a science fair. I tighten my grip on Matt's head, like a little nine-year bird perched on his shoulders.

A man gets up on the stage and tries to say something into the … the microphone. It squeaks; I let go of Matt to cover my ears. After another try, the man simply puts down the odd Muggle thing and shouts at the top of his voice.

Half listening, I daydream about the farm and finally getting back to Amelié and the book I'm hoping to finish. It's full of Russian fairy tales, so I can finally fill in the gaps of the stories I remember from Mama.

I blink, focusing on the stage. The Muggle man now has a girl standing next to him. Her hair is long, rich, and straight, falling past her waist. She beams at the crowd, and a group of schoolkids chant her name. "Em-ma! Em-ma!"

I watch, curious now, as Emma climbs onto a footstool. The man says something to her, and she places her hands on a huge sphere of silvery metal that's sitting on a cart. She beams nervously at her friends, one of whom is filming the scene on a … a camera.

The Muggle man calls something to the crowd and flips a switch on the cart. Slowly, all of the girl's hair - on her head and on her arms - begins to rise into the air. I watch, transfixed, until finally, the silky strands are hanging in the air, straight up from her head in all directions.

The schoolkids begin to clap, and Emma grins wildly. The man flips the switch, and her hair falls. No longer straight, it flops messily around her head.

Matt swings me down as the crowds begin to disperse. Clutching his hand, a shy little thing, I ask if the spectacle was magic. I'd want to try at home, where Liliya and I could do it together. He laughs, and explains to me about electricity, how Muggles use it, and how it occurs naturally in lightning. I listen, fascinated, as he explains about static electricity and the machine - the Van de Graaff generator.

I lean back slightly as the memory fades. The entire camp must be inside the room now; campers are packed in shoulder-to-shoulder. As I blink to clear my vision, an idea springs, unbidden, into my mind. I stifle a giggle. Stars, of all things to think of! I smile to myself. Of all the things I'd ever imagine that I'd gain from being a daughter of a Greek god, I think, shaking my head, becoming a human Van de Graaff Generator simply did not make my list.

I close my eyes, unscrewing my mental tap. I have no idea if this will work, if this is even possible, but it's worth a shot. I imagine the girl, Emma, placing her hands on the Van de Graaff generator, and turn my palms to face the rest of the room.

The results are superb, magnificent, unimaginably hilarious. Shrieks arise as everyone's hair rises up, defying gravity. I even see a boy's buzz cut poof up a bit. Someone pulls out a Muggle contraption - a camera - and begins to snap pictures of the room. His friends block their faces with their hands, leaning away. Others are laughing and I'm laughing too, leaning back against the wall. For whatever reason, my hair hasn't puffed up - not that I mind.

"Jason! What in the world?" someone shrieks from across the room, apparently clinging to the fact that Jason can control electricity.

Jason is flabbergasted. "What? I … I wouldn't … Thalia?!"

Thalia is just as defensive. "I'm too mature to pull this off, little brother!" Giggles spread across the room as Thalia strides over to Jason, their argument brewing. Her spiky hair reminds me of an ink-black hedgehog. "But it wasn't me, and since you're the only one who can …" He trails off. Both he and Thalia seem to come to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Sophy!" Thalia barks. "Where are you? Get over here, now!"

"Here you are!" Someone grabs my arm, and, before I can make heads or tails of what is going on, Will has picked me up again and is carrying me across the room. Some campers applaud, probably the pranksters. I see Annabeth clamping Percy's hands together, silencing his applause, although her expression is greatly amused. In the corner, one poor Aphrodite camper is trying frantically to tug her curly strands back down.

"Why is it," Will complains, "that you constantly seem to be trying to get away from me?"

The camp simply explodes into laughter. I see Percy doubling over with laughter and Annabeth shaking her head, grinning. Even the poor little Aphrodite camper is snickering along with her friends.

I twist around to the other side of the room. The laughter is infectious; I'm holding back giggles. My friends from Hogwarts are cracking up as well, although Hermione is simply shaking her head in mock shame and genuine amusement. I look down to see Nico shaking in a futile attempt to staunch his laughter.

Will has reached Thalia and Jason by now. He sets me down, although he puts out a hand to steady me.

"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" Thalia scolds, her grin rendering her attempt completely useless.

I study my fingernails, feigning disinterest. "Depends on who's asking," I deadpan. This sends a ripple of fresh laughter through the meeting room.

"Honestly, Jason!" Thalia bursts out suddenly, turning to her brother. "I'm horribly disappointed in you."

Jason sputters. "What? Why? Tha-"

Thalia cuts him off. "You're going to be a legal adult in a year or two, Jason, I expect more from you! Honestly! You're seventeen years old, for Olympus's sake! Why - why on earth didn't you think of this earlier?"

Jason, obviously preparing to argue something along the lines of I am a perfectly responsible person, is rendered speechless. "Ex-cuse me?"

Thalia waves her hand across the room. "This trick is amazing, a stroke of genius! You've been at Camp Jupiter for how long, now? Surely you could've come up with this. I'm disappointed, Jason, disappointed." Barely containing a smile, she turns to me. "Very well done, Sophy. I'm proud." I return her high-five.

"Yeah, nice, nice, but how about turning gravity right-side-up?" one girl - Clarisse - complains from the corner. Her bandana has fallen off, and her dirty-blonde hair, obviously uncombed, is looking even more tangled than it was before. "I'm starting to feel like a porcupine."

I send her a wicked grin at her latter remark, but the rest of the campers attribute it to the former.

"So," Will prompts. "We'll give you the best shower slots - and activity slots - for … a week after your leg heals. If you let our hair down, that is." Although this seems to be a huge privilege, no one protests. The Aphrodite camper is clasping her hands pleadingly.

I tilt my head, considering this. Even though I really only did this to get everyone to quiet down, the other campers seem to expect me to get something more out of it. A slight motion in the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I shift slightly to see Nico waving his hand to get my attention. Once our eyes meet, he reaches down and slowly taps his leg. With a wink, he disappears back into the crowd.

A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. "Actually," I say, letting my grin unfold, "I'm thinking of something else."

Will shifts nervously. "Well…" He drawls out the word. "We can't promise too much more-"

"Oh, I wasn't thinking much," I say lightly. "See, Will, I'm really not looking forward to spending the next week or two in the Big House."

Will's face hardens. "You are injured, and you will be staying put until you heal, understa-"

"Of course I understand," I continue. "I won't run. I won't partake in any … ah … strenuous activities. I'll try to sit down as much as possible. Although, if you're certain, that's fine, too. The only people who'll be seeing you will be the satyrs and dryads, and I'm sure that they won't mind. Oh, and you'll be seeing your friends. So it isn't really that big of a deal."

He crosses his arms. "You'll be staying in the Big House."

I shrug. "Then these next couple of weeks will be so hilarious."

I hear a snort from the back of the room. I glance over my shoulder to see Harry, Ron, and Neville all stifling laughter. Neville waves his hand at me. Nothing. It's nothing, it's fine. I roll my eyes and turn back to the demigods.

Will is becoming as flabbergasted as Jason. "You - you wouldn't seriously… "

I raise an eyebrow. "Embarrassed, Solace?"

His face flushes red. "N-no. I'm not embarrassed. Seriously." Percy whispers something in his ear, and Will's blush deepens. "Shut it, you two!" Percy and Jason dissolve into laughter, and Thalia makes tsking noises.

"So just to clarify," Nico puts in, appearing from behind me, "the only way that you'll reverse the static hair is if Will lets you out of staying in the Big House under those conditions you just listed."

"Spot on correct, Nico." I turn back to Will, who, at the appearance of Nico, has blushed the color of Ron's Gryffindor sweater.

Nico pulls me over and whispers in my ear, "The few times he gets embarrassed, it's incredibly fun to push him a bit, 'cause he'll get all flustered like this."

It takes me a great bit of self-control not to burst into laughter at this remark. I whisper back, "If you ever need a partner in crime, you know, I'll be pleased to help."

"Sure." He winks at Will, who flushes even further, to the delight of the camp.

"You two are evil," he mumbles, covering his face with his hands.

"So, Will," I say, leaning up to him casually. If I was tall enough, I would've put my arm on his shoulder. Nico grins and mirrors me, making the tips of Will's ears flare up. "I'd be more likely to get into trouble in the Big House. You know, out of rebellion and whatnot." Leo stands on tiptoes to give me a thumbs-up over Jason's shoulder.

Now, the tips of Will's ears are flaring red, too, and Nico is barely containing his laughter

"I hate you guys," Will complains, daring to sneak a peek from under his hands. Unfortunately, his eyes meet with Nico's, who seizes the moment to wiggle his eyebrows at Will, giving him a dangerously crooked half-smile. Will flushes even deeper, turning away.

"Stoooop!" he moans, covering his face with his hands again.

"Say it," I coax. "Just say it…"

"Fine!" he bursts out, interrupting me. "Fine! Just … just … argh!" He turns away from Nico's cheeky grin and buries his face in the shoulder of a girl standing behind us. "Kaylaaa, make them stop," he whines.

Kayla pats his head, barely stifling her laughter. Her shock of green hair poofs up like a Muggle cheerleader's pompom. "Poor baby," she coos, rubbing his back. Will has to bend over to lean on her, but neither of them seem to care. "Is mean mean Nico making you sad again?" Nico and Kayla both crack up at this. One of the Stoll brothers is filming the scene on his camera.

"Not you too!" Will protests, moaning. "Why is everyone I know so corruptible?"

Kayla rolls her eyes and grabs Will by the wrist, dragging him away behind her. "Come on, poor baby," I hear her say. Will protests, but they disappear through the quickly parting crowd.

I high-five Nico and turn off my imaginary tap of sparks. For one scary moment, everyone's hair stays floating, but when I let out my breath, it drifts back down, once again a servant of gravity.

"Nico, you're going to corrupt her beyond belief at this rate," Thalia says, tugging her hair back into place around her silver circlet.

"Hypocrite," Percy puts in, resting his elbow on Jason's shoulder. "You're just jealous that he got here first."

They dissolve into bickering as Annabeth pushes her way up to the front of the room, accompanied by Piper and Hazel. They spread out and the front group of campers begin to sit down in rows, joking and chatting with their friends.

"Fred and George got to you more than I realized," a voice says in my ear.

"Hey, Ron. Guys." I lead my friends toward an empty area near the front of the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit down together, and Harry scoots over to make room for Neville. Luna plops down next to me, apparently lost in thought. I lean over and wave my hand in front of her head.

"Wrackspurt got you?" I ask sympathetically, making her grin.

"Don't encourage her, Soph," Hermione scolds, but she quickly mouths an apology as I give her a look.

"So, everyone here is a … a whatsit? A demigod?" Ron asks, leaning around Hermione to look at me.

"Everyone," I confirm. "I mean, some of the people coming in now are tree nymphs and satyrs, but everyone else is."

"Tree nymphs and satyrs," Hermione breathes. I grin, leaning back to see the others. Luna is still lost in thought. Harry and Ron both look astounded. Neville … Neville is staring at something above my head with a look of horror on his face.

Without really thinking, I swing a fist back behind me. I connect with something solid and turn to see Connor Stoll stumble and drop a plastic water bottle. The uncapped bottle is mostly full of colored water, which splashed a bit on the floor as I catch it. Connor falls a moment later, banging his elbows on the floor. I look from him to the water bottle in my hand.

"Do it," Luna says from beside me in a dreamy voice.

With a shrug, I pour the water on his head.

Travis, standing a few meters away, bursts into raucous laughter as his twin stands up, sputtering. I throw the empty bottle at Travis; it smacks his shoulder. This only makes him laugh harder.

"You have very weird friends," Ron says, watching as a very disgruntled Connor join his twin.

Hermione swats him on the shoulder. "Hypocrite."

"Would he really have dumped that on your head?" Harry asks, staring at the puddle of brilliant pink water on the floor.

"Would Fred and George do something like that?" I return.

"Definitely," he answers in a heartbeat.

"There you go."

"Oi!" Neville interrupts, waving a hand at us. "Those kids are trying to start the meeting."

We turn to the front of the room. The nine are standing in front with Clarisse, who appears to be lightly scolding (read: joking with) Connor, whose hair is dripping pink water onto his shirt.

Nico beckons to me from the front of the room. He's setting down two folding chairs, one presumably for me.

"I think they want me up there with them," I tell my friends. "Sorry."

Neville nods, and, out of habit, reaches over for the ring I wear on my right hand. It's a tad bit too big; he spins it right-side up again. "Good luck."

Ron, who apparently has never noticed my ring before now, nearly chokes on his surprise, pointing at the ring. "You two - can't - you aren't - aren't married?"

"Ronald!" Hermione sputters. "Of all of the things to say to your best friend!"

"What? It was an honest question?"

I smack him lightly on the shoulder. "I. Am. Fifteen. Years. Old!"

"Fine, fine! But are you?"

"Merlin, Ron! No!"

"Not married, but engaged? Betrothed?"

"Ron! My goodness! We're only dating!"

Ron's mouth drops open. "Dating! Since when?"

I turn to look at Neville; he's looking just as incredulous as I am.

"Since the Yule Ball!"

"Seriously, mate," Neville adds. "How could you have not noticed?"

"I - I - still! You - you two! Dating!"

"Drop it, Ron," Harry says, looking amused. Ron shuts his mouth, looking dumbfounded.

"Coming, Sophy?" Nico calls.

"Yeah." I turn back to my friends as I get up. "Behave, okay?"

"The trust is astounding!" Neville teases. "I can feel the love."

"Yeah, yeah. Love you, too."

I settle down in the chair next to Nico, who whistles under his breath teasingly. I sigh and give him a little shove.

"Aw, you two are cute together," he complains.

"Aren't you supposed to be paying attention to the meeting?" I prompt.

"It hasn't started yet. Anyway-"

At the front of the room, Annabeth clears her throat.

"Okay, the meeting is officially starting! Camp Half-Blood, come to order."

Everyone quiets, with the occasional fidget from the rows of cross-legged campers. "Cabins, count off."

Farther down the blackboard, Jason and Thalia call out, "Cabin 1!"

"Cabin Three! Whoop, whoop!" Percy punches the air.

"Four!" Campers raise their hands from all over the room.

The Cabin 5 doesn't even call out their number; they simply explode into raucous cheering.

Annabeth's cabin, Cabin 6, is the most reserved cabin by far. One camper doesn't even look up; she's so engrossed with her book.

Someone in Cabin 7 throws a stress ball at Nico, making him duck as it thwacks the chalkboard. Will is back, along with Kayla. The former is glaring in Nico's direction, intent on revenge, while the latter seems greatly amused.

There's a very pregnant pause for Cabin 8. Jason pokes Thalia, who blinks. "Oh, Eight. Just me. The others are … hunting." This spreads a few giggles around the room. I hear Hermione gasp and plunge into a lengthy explanation to Harry and Neville (Ron refuses to listen) about Artemis and her Hunters.

The rest of the cabins count off without much fuss, with the exception of Leo bursting fully into flames when Cabin 9 is called.

"Okay, okay," Annabeth says, as the Iris and Hecate cabins begin to plunge into a full-on Mist vs. Rainbows battle. "Calm down. We actually are here to do important things. Guys. Guys!"

"I got this," Will pipes up, pushing himself up from where he's been leaning against the chalkboard. Nico whips around to face me, clapping his hands over his ears as fast as he can. In turn, there's only time for me to do the same before Will lets out the worst whistle I have ever heard.

Public Service Announcement! If you ever have a child of Apollo in your presence, do NOT, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, allow your said child of Apollo to EVER perform a supersonic whistle, certainly NEVER EVER EVER INDOORS. NEVER. EVER. (I speak from first-hand experience.)

Even with my hands clamped tight over my ears, Will's whistle is head-splittingly loud and painful. I reel back in shock, banging my head on the chalkboard for good measure. Across the room, shrieks of pain and surprise arise as campers shriek and scramble back and into one another. One Aphrodite camper fakes a faint, nearly knocking her friend over.

Nico turns to face me, his face still screwed up in pain. "I really hate it when he does that. The first time I was there, he did it to kill a bunch of dog-headed monsters."

I wince, ears ringing. "Honestly? I think he just about killed everyone in here, too."

"New rule!" A Hermes camper, sitting near the Stoll brothers, turns to Will with a look of growing indignation. "No whistling indoors, Solace."

"Calm down, Cecil." Will leans back casually, using the chalkboard as a support.

Kayla promptly smacks Will. He recoils, and she slaps him again. "Calm down? Calm down? I was standing right next to you, idiot! You owe me a new set of eardrums!"

Will is backing away, hands up in surrender. "Sorry! Ow! Kayla - ow - I'm sorry! Ow!"

"Sorry! Is! Not! Good! Enough!" she shrieks, smacking Will one for every word. Another Apollo camper - tall, with cornrows - wraps his arms around Kayla, pinning her arms to her sides, and picks her up clear off of the ground. "Austin! You traitor to the cause!"

"If you punch our head counselor to death, Kay, there isn't going to be any cause." Austin sounds as though he's about to burst into laughter.

"Now that our meeting has started," Annabeth says, poker-faced, "we should probably begin." She turns around and beckons to me. I start to get up, but Will clears his throat from his side of the room. I sit back down and scoot my chair forward until I'm at Annabeth's side.

"You should start," I say, gesturing to Annabeth.

"Okay. So we - um, us nine along here - we were fighting a hellhound that had come up the road by Half-Blood Hill. We were going through the woods, trying to kill it. We did manage to kill the monster. After it died, we noticed that our surroundings looked completely unfamiliar. We didn't have much time to think about it, though, because Sophy showed up."

I take up the story. "My friends and I go to a boarding school in Scotland. There's a huge forest on the grounds. Anyway, I was walking along the lake, and I saw this lot fighting that monster. We've seen some pretty weird stuff in the Forbidden Forest, but this was a first. I, um, came up and asked them who they were and what they were doing. I convinced them to let me come back here with them. Let's see … you all know what happened in the amphitheater. When we went in to hunt the acromantulas -"

Ron makes a choking noise. "Acromantulas?"

I wince. "Yeah. We did manage to kill them."

"They don't disintegrate," Jason adds. "If anyone wants to see some lovely giant spider carcasses, I can hold a tour."

"Ick," moans a Nike girl. "No, thanks."

"And then another monster came, a, um,"

"A myrmeke."

"A myrmeke. Thank you, Leo. So we were chased, and we had to take refuge in Leo's megafort."

"Bunker Nine," Leo corrects.

"Same thing," I say. "After we got back, we held a quick meeting with Chiron and Reyna. At the meeting, Miranda … well, that's your bit."

Miranda takes over briefly. "We've been tracking two pixie dragons in the woods for a while. They disappeared earlier this evening. Before, we'd thought that there was a sort of exchange between that lot and the spiders. But since the two dragons disappeared and two spiders showed up, that meant that there had to have been another exchange."

"And so Sophy bolted," Percy comments. "Out like a flash. We didn't have any idea of what was going on. Just sprinting out of there."

"On an injured leg," Will glares at me.

"My friends are famous for getting trouble while being lost in the woods," I defend. "I'm used to being the one going in to rescue them."

"No fair!" Ron says, voice full of outrage. "What about the time when we were in our first year, and you were doing detention with Hermione and Neville, and you were spooked by that niffler, and Neville says you went absolutely batty?"

I cross my arms. "Being confronted by a strange creature gives me a perfectly reasonable alibi. You, however, have gotten into trouble simply by walking around."

Ron opens his mouth, keen on arguing, but Hermione nudges him. "She's going to utterly destroy you if you keep this up. Quit while you aren't reasonably that far behind."

This gets a ripple of laughter out of my friends. "Anyway," I continue, "I found them, and five thestrals. Thestrals are … ah … sort of like pegasi, I guess? Anyway, we got back here, and then, well, that gets us up to now."

"Thank you, Sophy," Annabeth says, taking over. "Basically, we've got a problem with the woods and, well, I guess, teleportation from here to Scotland. I suppose the only safe fix to that is steering clear of the woods altogether."

"But monsters in our woods could still go back and forth between here and Scotland as long as there are living things in their woods," Nico points out.

"And it doesn't even have to be in the woods," Luna pipes up. "I was standing in the middle of a train station. There aren't any trees inside of a train station."

"Speak for yourself." Ron turns to her. "I was inside the train!"

I frown. You were in the woods for a full day?

Annabeth's eyes are wide. "So we can just disappear, out of anywhere, and just appear in Scotland?"

"Um, I gue-"

"Hedwig!" Harry pushes himself to his feet, picking his way toward the windows."

"What?" Annabeth stares at him.

Harry opens the window wide open in response, and then ducks as a very familiar snowy owl soars through the window, followed by a whole stream more. The last owl is followed by a solid thunk, and Harry leans out of the window to produce an unconscious Errol.

"Um, is this normal?" Nico's finger trails from owl to owl, who have clustered around my friends. Tiger, Matt's striped owl, lands on my lap. Hermione gets up on her knees and begins collecting our letters. One of Neville's owls has begun pecking at his wrist, and Neville gives it a light smack.

"Ooh, dear." Hermione is now perusing one of her own letters. "There's a Ministry search going out for us. Mmm. We've been officially reported missing."

Ron, however, has gone pale. One of his letters has begun to smoke, and he holds it at the corner. "Mum," he gets out. "She'll be ballistic." He barely has time to turn away before the envelope goes up in smoke.

RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A VERY GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS, YOUNG MAN! DISAPPEARING WITHOUT NOTICE, WITHOUT A TRACE! THERE'D BETTER NOT BE A HAIR HARMED ON YOUR HEAD, NOT ONE! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE WORRIED SICK! IF WE DON'T GET WORD BACK FROM YOU, THEN SO HELP YOUR FATHER AND I…

The letter disintegrates into ashes, revealing a very shocked Ron sitting behind it. The entire camp stares at him, speechless. The silence is broken only by the hooting of the owls and Luna, who is quietly commentating on the contents of her letter.

"Daddy says to watch out for Wrackspurts, and if it was a Crimson Kook that got me, I'm to tell him what it looks like. Hmm, the Gulping Plimpy population has been falling lately. Not good. I'm to watch out for Heliopaths, of course-"

"What. Was. That." Travis is pointing a finger at Ron.

"Oh, a Howler," Hermione says, not even looking up from her parchment. "A very violent letter."

"And the owls?" Travis appears to be hyperventilating. "And the whatsits? Wracking Spurts? Gulping - pimples?"

"Owls deliver mail," Hermione cut in, not missing a beat. "Wrackspurts and Gulping Plimpies do not exist."

"And this is normal?" Travis burst out, waving his hands in the air and accidentally whacking Connor in the face.

"For wizards, yes, it is."

The room quieted so quickly; any professor present would've had a heart attack from shock.

"Wizards." Travis said, deadly quiet.

I see Jason and Thalia exchange a glance. "Um, let's back up a tad," I cut in.

All attention shifts to me. Expressions range from shocked to amazed to simply not believing Hermione one bit.

"Ooh!" Leo jumps up and down, waving his hands. "Can I do the thing? Can I? Can I? Pleeeease?"

I give him a bewildered look. "Okay? Do the thing?"

Leo clears his throat, and folds his hands primly. "Okay," he begins, in an almost exact impression of my voice. "There is, undercover and blah, a Wizarding World. There are witches and wizards. They can do magic and stuff. When they get to be eleven, for no apparent reason, the Wizarding World decides to pay attention to them and send them to school. The other woods is at Hogworld Magic Academy, which is in Scotland, because why not?" He winks at me. "Nailed it."

I gape at him. "Oh my stars. Merlin help us all."
"I was close enough!"

"No," Hermione says, shaking her head, "you really weren't."

Leo looks crestfallen. "I wasn't?"

"Okay," Annabeth interrupts. "On to the important stuff." She points a finger at our little cluster. "You all are witches and wizards."

We nod. Correct.

"You're telling the truth on this?" someone calls from the back of the room.

"Of course we are!" Neville snaps. "Why would we lie about this, I mean-"

"Wingardium Leviosa," Hermione interrupts calmly, directing the spell at a folding chair resting in a corner. The whole camp watches in awe as the chair floats over their heads, bobbing gently, until-

BANG!
The whole room erupts into screams, campers ducking for cover in a wave. What remains of the chair - a dusting of ash - floats to the ground.

"Did I do it right?" Luna asks, turning from me to Hermione.

"Luna!" Hermione cries, turning to her.

"I did it?!"

"You can't just go - go blowing up chairs!"

"Oh, stop it," I interrupt. "Luna, that was perfect. Just don't ever do that again. Reparo."

The ashes float up in a swirl, piecing themselves back together. I magic the chair over to the back of the room again.

"Um, okay," Annabeth says, looking amazed. "So that's magic. Is that how you got everyone back from Scotland? Magic?"

"Apparating," I clarify. "So, yes. Magic."

"Wow."

"So. We've got that all sorted out. What about the whole teleporting business?" Percy asks, tapping a piece of chalk against his fingernails.

"Um," Hermione says, hand in the air, "wasn't Kronos the, um, god, Titan, of time?"

Percy opens his mouth and closes it again. "Er, he's dead. Really dead. So no. I mean, he's the Titan of time, but he didn't do it."

"Oh," Hermione says, only pausing for a moment before a new idea takes over. "Then Hermes is the god of travel-"

An explosion of shouting from Cabin 11 drowns out the end of her sentence. Hermione cringes away from the furious Hermes campers.

"Never mind," she whispers.

"But we don't know all of the deities in the first place, so there's a good chance that a minor immortal is causing the problems." Surprised, I turn to see Neville finishing his train of thought.

Annabeth whirls, latching onto his words. "Good point! Who…"

Neville's hand shoots up. "Me. Sorry."

She laughs, delighted. "Don't apologize! That's … that's smart! I don't know why didn't think of that earlier."
"But who would it be?" Jason points out. "I've been studying the minor gods since August. There really isn't anyone it could be."

Annabeth chews on her lip. "But there has to be someone."

"Remember Chrysaor?" Percy suggests. "No one really knew about him for millennia because of Pegasus. Maybe there is someone, but no one knows about him."

"Or her!" a girl calls from the back of the room.

"Or her," Percy agrees.

"But who would the other person be?" Annabeth argues. "Do you suggest that we should go up to Chiron. 'Hey, Chiron, do you have an evil sibling that you've kept secret for a couple eons? Thanks!'"

Percy scowls. "No, but-"

"Then what?"

Percy huffs. "Never mind."

The room is silent for a moment. Everyone is either thinking or waiting for someone else to speak.

"What about the сторож времени?" I blurt out, shocking even myself. This is not a moment for Russian fairy tales, numbskull! A little voice in my head scolds.

"The - the what, exactly?" Annabeth asks.

My face burns bright red. "Um, сторож времени. Storozh vremeni. It's just an old Russian story Мама used to tell me."

Annabeth nods. "Let's hear it."

"Um, right. Сторож времени. The Watchman of Time.

"Long ago, there lived, in the mountains, Father Time. He had his home on the highest peak of the Unreachable Mountain. Since Father Time must stay whole and safe for time to go on, he would send his best and greatest servant, the Watchman of Time, out into the world to do his bidding. This was in an age when Father Time could stop clocks, still the moon, or even halt the rise of the sun.

"But then came the Mongols, and Father Time was flushed deep underground by the flood of the blood of his people to slumber until the end of the world. All of his court upon the Unreachable Mountain followed him, except for the Watchman, who was stranded in the mortal world. The Watchman, driven bitter by his abandonment, turned his back on the courts of Time and disappeared into the mortal world.

"To this day, the Watchman works under the aid of darkness - and of time. Whenever a criminal disappears into the dark of night, it is said that the Watchman has opened the gates of time and space in his aid. And when an innocent vanishes without warning … the Watchman has opened his gates yet again." I finish, looking up at my audience.

Most of the campers are staring at me, speechless. One boy, with blonde hair like Annabeth's, is studiously taking notes.

"In the flood of the blood of his people?" someone blurts out. "And this is a fairy tale? A bedtime story?"

I shrug. "If you think that one's bad, just wait until I tell you-"

"They don't," Neville interrupts, "want to hear that story."

"Pity."

"D'you think that this Watchman fellow is the villain behind the switches?" Harry asks me.

I bite my lip. "I don't know."

"But it's Russian, like you said." Jason leans forward. "What would a villain from Russia be doing in Ancient Greece?"

"It's not really Russian." Everyone turns to Luna. "I know that story, too. My mum used to tell it to me, except, the way she told it, the Unreachable Mountain was in England, not Russia."

"Your mum?" Annabeth frowns. "But that makes no sense. Your mother was British, correct?"

Luna nods. "She was British, yes. Pandora Fawley Lovegood. She was a demigod, too."

"Pandora?" Miranda stares at Luna. "Pandora's a legend in Cabin 4. She's your mum?"

"Yes."

"Neat," breathes another Demeter girl, Billie.

Thalia leans back against the chalkboard. "Both your mother and Pandora told the same story, with no proof they ever met other than the fact they were both witches. What was your mother's name?"

In a moment of panic, I can't remember. She's my mother! My mother! Why don't I remember her name? In a flood, it comes to me. "Anichka. Anichka Andreyevna Alkaev."

Annabeth pales. "Ani. Ani and Pandora."

I sit up straight. "Ani. How do you know that they called her Ani?"

"Pandora spent summers at camp." Miranda speaks fast, as if she has to get everything out in a stream of words. "One of the Hermes campers had this idea: she would get her dad to send letters to completely random places in the world and the campers would wait to see who responded. Out of about a dozen campers who sent letters, only Pandora got a response. It was Ani. Apparently, they wrote back and forth almost non-stop after that."

I sit in shock. How did I never know about this? How? With a pang, I realize that I was so little when I lost her, she wouldn't have had reason to talk about that part of her past.

"They must have known something," Luna says, her voice echoing in the silent room. "Something. The Watchman isn't just a children's tale. He has to be something more. Something they communicated about." She looks up at me. "They knew something," she repeats.

Percy suddenly slaps the board, a light in his eyes. "Father Time," he says forcefully. "You had Father Time in your story, didn't you?" Luna and I both nod. "In Ancient Greece," he continues, face pale, "Father Time would be…"

The temperature in the room drops about ten degrees, simply out of fear. Fear, stitched in the faces of every camper. Fear, emanating from all corners of the room. Fear.

The words on everyone's tongue almost echo, unsaid, through the looks in everyone's eyes. The Watchman. The greatest servant to Father Time. And Father Time…

Kronos.