Disclaimer: All characters, settings, or 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: Happy Father's Day! These next few chapters are going to take the longest. I'll try to get each one out as soon as I can. Judging by the edits I'm planning on making, each could take from a few days to a week or two. I can't make any definite promises right now. I really don't think this chapter contains any notable spoilers. Please, please, please review! (Thanks to AACM25 for reviewing).

My dreams are a muddled sea of memories.

I'm sitting on my stool as Mama ladles stew into a bowl. She turns around and holds it out to me; I take it. What do we say, Sophya? Thank you, Mama. Remember, baby girl, words and kindness are your two sharpest weapons. Use them wisely.

My breath comes in sharp heaves as I hurry through the forest, Liliya hot on my heels. I scramble over a fallen tree and drop down into the hidden space underneath. Liliya wiggles under the tree to join me. Shh, pup. You have to be quiet. After a moment, my ears catch on a stray sound; light footsteps are quickly approaching. Liliya whimpers. Shh! The fallen tree creaks as someone climbs over. A lithe figure drops down next to me. You must be Ani's daughter. I stare back at the girl. She's several years older than am. Her hair has been cut short, like a boy's. Even though her face is smudged and her expression is hard, her eyes are gentle. It's okay. She extends her hand. Come with me.

I sit uncomfortably on the chair. The strange blonde lady beams at me. I scrunch my fingers up in Liliya's fur. Can I bring my dog? She exchanges a glance with the green-eyed man. I won't come without my dog.

I wake with a start. I sit up, blinking blearily. Most of the room is still asleep. A faint light is coming in through the windows. Early morning.

"Good morning," Neville whispers to me. He's wide awake, book in hand. Judging by the crick in my neck, I probably had my head on his shoulder.

"Morning," I echo, rubbing my neck. "Sorry abou-"

"No problem," he interrupts, turning to smile at me. "Sleep well?"

"Mmm-hmm." I stretch and yawn. "What time is it?"

"Time to go back to sleep," Harry grumbles from beside Hermione. "G'night."

Hermione looks up. She's got several books propped open and is taking in an old journal. "It's a quarter 'til eight."

"Exactly!" Harry moans. "Time to sleep."

"Time for breakfast!" We all look up. A Hermes camper - Julia? Alice? - is bouncing in the doorway. She has too much energy for this early in the morning. "Pancakes! On the porch! The line starts on the left! Let's go!"

She disappears out the door. A few early risers hop up and follow her, although the majority of the room is much slower in getting up. A few campers just roll over and go back to sleep.

Carefully marking his place in his book, Neville turns to shake Luna awake. On my other side, Hermione reaches around Harry to wake Ron.

"Wake up, Ron! Up! Ugh. Come on! Time for breakfast. Ronald! Wake! Up! Oh, Merlin. Pancakes, Ron! Pancakes!"

This last comment is the only one that elicits a response from Ron, who's lying facedown on his pillow.

"Pancakes?"

"Yes, Ron! Pancakes!" Hermione rolls her eyes and turns back to her notebook. "You guys can go ahead. I want to keep working on this."

Ron simply rolls back over. Harry turns to me.

"So, Sophy," he starts. "Would you mind bringing us back a few plates?"

"I will." I push myself up with a sigh.

"We'll come with," Luna volunteers, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Alright." I stand up, gently stretching my sore leg. "Let's go. Here, Liliya."

We join the line of campers waiting for breakfast. Liliya wanders up the line; a few campers toss her sausages.

"Here." I grab a few plates and pass them back to my friends. "Did you both sleep well?"

"Fairly." Neville reaches for a few forks. "You did, too. Right, Luna?"

"Mmm-hmm." Luna nods and reaches for the sausage tongs. "Do you think Ron wants sausages?"

"Ron will eat anything," I say seriously. "Go ahead."

She laughs and drops a few sausages onto her second plate.

"This maple syrup is good," Neville says, licking a few drops off of his fingers.

"It's probably homemade." I pour some of the syrup over my pancakes. "C'mon. Let's eat outside."

We set out plates down on the porch around the corner from the tables. After a minute, Luna reappears with Harry and Ron. Hermione comes wandering outside a moment later, reading materials stacked in her arms.

"Nice day out," Harry comments, taking a plate. "Is that the ocean?" He points at the beach with his fork.

"I think that's Long Island Sound," I swallow a mouthful of sausage.

Hermione, sitting with her back to the railing, gives a strangled gasp through her pancakes. "Oh! Hmm."

We all look up. Hermione's got that excited look on her face, the one she gets when she's really close to figuring something out.

"Did you find something?" I ask, stabbing a pancake.

She frowns, flipping back through the pages. "I don't know. It's like trying to play Connect the Dots, except you don't know which dots are the right ones."

Harry and I share a mildly horrified look. The others just look mildly bewildered.

"Well, what is it?" Luna asks, reaching for her cup of juice.

"Okay." Hermione reaches for one of her books. "So. This is a book about Egyptian Mythology. I was just skimming through, but I found this section." She flips it open to a marked page. "It's about Ra, the sun god. According to this," she taps the book, "Ra had different, um, manifestations in the morning and the evening. Khepri and Khnum, respectively. Khepri and Khnum were different gods, but they were both different manifestations of Ra."

Harry looks mildly impressed. "Blimey."

"D'you think this Watchman might be a manifestation of Kronos?" Neville suggests, waving his fork.

"But Kronos isn't a god," I point out. "And, as I've heard, the Greek gods don't have different manifestations."

Hermione sighs. "I know."

"It was a good idea," Ron says, almost defensively.

"It was." I sigh. "You're right. We just don't know which dots to follow." I reach for my empty cup and plate. "I'm going to take my stuff to to the kitchen."

"You've already finished?" Neville asks, setting down his fork.

"I eat fast," I apologize. "I'll be right back."

The kitchen is fairly empty. A cleaning harpy flaps past me as I duck through the door, adding my things to a stack of dirty dishes. I decide not to ask what's coming out of the taps.

"Hey, Sophy."

I jump and turn. Stepping around a refrigerator, I find a group of demigods clustered around a sink filled with what looks much more like water.

"C'mere." Annabeth beckons me over. "We're trying to get in touch with Jason and Thalia."

"Through the plumbing?" I stare at the sink.

"Through an Iris-message." Piper reaches for the pullout sprayer. "Frank, you still have a drachma?"

"Of course." The Asian boy next to the paper towels holds up a gold coin.

"Okay. Here it goes." Piper turns on the faucet and squeezes the sprayer, soaking the wall. She aims it higher, until, with the light from the window, she makes a faint rainbow.

"Here." Frank passes her the coin, which Piper throws into the rainbow. I expect it to pass through and hit the wall, but it just disappears.

"O, goddess, accept our offering," Piper says. "Show us Jason and Thalia Grace."

I turn to Annabeth to ask her what's going on, but she holds up a finger, watching the rainbow. I turn to it, too.

At first, it just shimmers faintly, but then it starts to fade. After a few moments, the rainbow has been replaced by an image of a forest: tall trees, dark undergrowth. At first, it looks like no one's there, but then I notice a figure disappearing between a few trees.

"Thalia!" Annabeth calls, leaning toward the rainbow. "Thalia!"

The figure stops and turns, obviously searching for the source of the noise.

"Thalia!" Annabeth waves her arms.

The figure breaks into a jog, winding through the undergrowth to reach us.

"Annabeth!" Thalia pushes her hair out of her face, looking immensely relieved. "Oh, thank the gods." She turns, cupping her hands around her mouth. "JASON!"

After a moment, a second figure appears from behind a tree, sword drawn.

"Thalia? What is it?"

She waves him over. "C'mere." She turns back to us. "Thank the gods! What's going on? We woke up and -"

"It's the Watchman." Annabeth scoots over so I can see the rainbow properly. "He took you in the middle of the night."

"You wear Superman boxers?" Frank interrupts from behind Piper.

"What?"

Frank points at Jason with a grin. "You're wearing Superman boxers."

It takes me a moment before I realize why that's so funny. I guess he is sort of like a blond Superman. Luckily for Thalia, her pajamas are just a simple tank top and pair of shorts.

"That's not important right now," Annabeth cuts him off, turning back to the rainbow. "Do you two have any idea where you could be? Have you seen any animals or-"

"Actually, yeah." Jason points over Thalia's head. "We're in the same place as last time. Those ruins are right over there."

"You're at Hogwarts?! That's - that's great!"

"Great? We're in Scotland, Sophy."

I sigh. "Yes, I know that. But still. Hogwarts for me is like camp for you. So." I purse my lips, trying to think. "Which way is the castle?"

"That way." Jason points back to his left.

"Right." I nod. "Okay. If you walk back that way for a few minutes, you should come to a small … ah … cottage. That's where Hagrid lives. He's the gamekeeper. He'll help you. Just tell him that … erm … it's an emergency. A huge emergency, and you're my friends and need his help."

"And he'll just let us in?" Thalia looks a bit skeptical.

I stare at the sink, biting my lip. After a minute, I turn back to her. "You'll have to tell him everything."

"Everything?"
"Everything. The Greek gods exist. Zeus is our dad. We're fighting an Ancient-Greek-evil-time-lord. We would be eternally grateful if he'd help you out."

Annabeth and Piper exchange a look. Thalia stares at me.

"You want us to walk into a stranger's house and tell him that the Greek gods exist. Just like that?! Sophy, that's crazy! That's-"

"Actually a decent idea," Frank interrupts. "Sophy knows her friend. I trust her judgement." He offers me a quick smile.

I stare at him, surprised. You barely know me, but you still trust me?

"Alright," Jason says slowly. "So we walk …"

"Back that way for a few minutes," I repeat, gesturing behind him. "There'll be a small clearing by the time the castle is directly to your right. That's where Hagrid's cottage is. If you reach the stables, you've gone too far."

"And you're sure?" Thalia looks a bit apprehensive.

"I'm certain," I say firmly.

"We'll Iris-message you in … how long would you say?"

"In two hours?" Thalia suggests. "It's not too long, in case something happens, but we still have time to explain what's going on."

"Okay." Annabeth takes a deep breath. "Good luck. Stay safe."

"You, too." Thalia gives us one last wave, and then slashes her hand through the rainbow. Her image disappears. We're left staring at the soaked wall.

"Your camp is beautiful."

Annabeth and I are walking back around the porch. I gaze out over the strawberry fields.

"Thanks. It's your camp, too, remember."

"I know." We step back against the railing as Chiron passes, a few satyrs in tow.

"Is Mr. D here?" I ask as Chiron disappears around the corner.

"Maybe." Annabeth beckons to me; we continue walking. "He might've gone to Olympus, in the light of current things. Part of his consciousness is probably there regardless. Part of his consciousness is probably at a party or two somewhere. But for the most part, he's probably here."

I stop. "What do you mean?"

"By what?"

"Part of his … what, exactly?"

"Oh. Right. Let's see." She beckons to me; we keep walking. "Simply put, gods aren't confined to being completely in one place at once. Mr. D's general consciousness - the majority of his being, I guess - is probably here. He's also the god of festivities, so a tiny bit of his consciousness is probably at a party. Or in Vegas."

I hurry to catch up. "But … let's say Mr. D causes a few people to go insane. Could he just completely be on Olympus, or-"

"A tiny bit of his consciousness will be there, even if it's just a smidge."

I follow her, mind racing.

"Why?"
"It - it just seems important, you know?" We round another corner and I spot my group of friends. "Like it should fit in somewhere. I just …" I sigh, frowning at the hills above us. "It's like there's some huge puzzle piece missing, and without it, we can't solve anything."

"What can't you solve?" Neville calls, waving me over.

I wave my hands in the air. "Everything."

"That's relatable." Neville and Luna scoot over to make room for me.

"What did I miss?" I stretch my injured leg out in front of me.

"Nothing much." Ron leans back against the railing. "What took you so long?"

"We used a rainbow to talk to Thalia and Jason."

"You did what?"

I sigh, leaning back against the wall. "Apparently if you pay a rainbow, you can use it as a live messaging thingy. Jason and Thalia are in the Forbidden Forest. I told them to tell Hagrid what's going on."

Hermione and Ron exchange a worried look.

"The forest again?" Harry says, dragging his fingers through his hair. "This can't be just a coincidence."

I open my mouth to respond, but before I do, my vision dissolves.

"This can't be just a coincidence." Inna tucks one leg under her. "Why would they come here?"

"And why would they be here only for you?" Feliks points out. "There are children at the Matron's. Why have they been asking for only you?"

I hunch up my shoulders. The words of the blond woman ring in my ears: I'm a witch, so was my mother, I cannot tell anyone. And yes, I may bring my dog.

"I don't know. I think they knew my mama."

Feliks and Esfir exchange a glance. Inna clears her throat.

"Are you going with them?"

A lump builds up in my throat. One one hand, I want to see Britain. I want to go to school. I want to learn more about this magic. But this has been my home since … since forever. My friends are everything I have: they took me in when I ran away from the Matron, they fed me and taught me how to survive. I don't want to leave them.

"I - I don't know."

"You should go."

We all turn to Alik. He leans forward on his elbows. "You are being granted a chance at something more, Sophya. Please. Don't give it up for us."

"Did you tell them no?" Esfir asks, eyes wide.

"I told them I have to think about it."

"Alik's right." Inna whispers. "You should go."

I take a deep breath. "O-okay."

Esfir takes a deep breath; I can see tears in her eyes. "We'll miss you, Sophya."

I lean forward, wrapping her in a hug. "I'll miss you, too."

"Sophy," Feliks says in my ear.

"I'll remember you forever," I say, turning to him. His eyes are wide with concern.

"Sophy!"

It takes me a moment before I realize what's wrong.

Feliks doesn't call me Sophy. None of my friends do.

"Sophy!"

My vision clears in an instant. Instead of Feliks's warm brown eyes, I'm staring at Neville's blue ones.

"Are you okay?"
I push myself up. "I'm - I'm fine. I just had a flashback."

"A flashback?" Hermione's eyes are full of concern. "You haven't had one in ages."

I shake my head slowly. "I - I had two last night."

"Two?!" Harry's eyes are wide. "That's - that's -"

"Not good," Ron finishes.

"Yeah." I sigh. "But Harry, as you were saying, it isn't a coincidence that this all is happening."

"We just don't know why," Hermione finishes.

"In a nutshell." I push my hair out of my face. "What were you talking about while I was gone?"

"Oh, just about the box of things my mum left," Luna says conversationally. "There was a tiny little wooden box. It's beautiful. I think it's hand-carved. See?"

She tugs a box out of her pocket and passes it to me. She was right. It's no bigger than my fist. I turn down to look at it; recognition strikes me with an iron fist. In a daze, I trace a finger over the delicate designs. Hand shaking, I flip it over.

The initials are there.

Heart pounding, I drop to the floor. Hide. On my elbows, I crawl under Mama's bed, squeezing back toward the wall. I tuck my knees to my chest, staring up at the wooden slats of the bed frame. With one shaking finger, I trace the bottom of Mama's treasure box. It's hidden under here, too. The box is big - not as big as Mama's pillow, about the size of mine. The top of the box is carved like vines and flowers. The bottom is plain, apart from where Mama carved her initials in the corner. I trace the gentle letters. This is where Mama keeps all the … all the little pieces of her heart.

The door creaks. I close my eyes.

The box clatters to the floor. My eyes fly open.

"Sophy?" Luna touches my arm. "Are you okay?"

I take a deep breath, reaching for the box. "They're getting worse."

"Another one?" Neville adjusts my ring, eyes full of concern.

"That - that's just like my mum's box." I hand it back to Luna. "She kept her …"

"Sophy?" Hermione leans forward. "What's wrong."

"The box," I whisper, staring at the water in the distance.

"What about it?"

Ron and Harry exchange a look.

"She - that's where - the letters." I fiddle with the hair-tie around my wrist. "She kept her most prized possessions in that box. Photographs. Jewelry. And letters. She had a stack of them, tied with a ribbon. What if - what if those are your mum's letters, Luna?"

"But weren't there any letters in the box you got, Luna?" Hermione points out.

"None." Luna shakes her head. "If there are any letters left," she smiles at me, "that's where they'd be."

"We need to find them!" I jump to my feet.

"Find them - we - we can't just go to Russia!" Hermione cries.

"Why not?" I turn back to her. "She hid the box. I know where to find it. This -" I wave my hands - "it feels right. I can tell. We need to find the box!"

"What box?"

We turn around. Rachel is standing behind us with bedhead and a cup of coffee.

"What's going on?"

"My mum kept a stack of letters in a box she hid in Russia. If - if those letters are the ones Luna's mum sent, the ones about the Watchman - we need to find them. We need to go to Russia."

She stares at me, deep in thought. After a count of three, she nods. "Come with me."