A/N: I guess I probably should have clarified, but this has all been in Percy's POV. It won't always be and I will let you know. Chapter 3 is longer than the other 2 and the story is really starting to kick off. The next chapter will be with some of our favorite wizard's POV and will be up by the end of next week.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything sadly.
Chapter 3: Chiron Kicks Me Out of Camp
The shower helped a lot, but I was still a bit shaken. I've never had normal dreams, but that one took the cake. It had nothing to do with monsters, of the Greek kind anyway, but I think it was still real. I mean, I didn't "have the brains to make this up." (Fantastic Beasts)
I got dressed into some loose shorts and CHB t-shirt and headed down to breakfast. I haven't been eating much lately, but today I was hungry. I sat at my table and got some pancakes. Blue ones of course. I smiled at the memory of when Annabeth told me I was drowning my pancakes and I said, "I'm the son of Poseidon. I can't drown and neither can my pancakes." It made me a little sad too because I missed her. I decided to IM her after breakfast.
I was finished eating and was making my way past the big house and toward the lake when I heard my name called. I turned and it was Chiron. He beckoned me over to the deck. He was in wheelchair form next to some deckchairs. He said, "Ah Percy, I was just about to send for you, " he motioned for me to sit down, "we have a lot we need to talk about." "Talk away." I said as I made myself comfortable. He asked me questions about camp and how sword lessons are going. I told them they were going well and that accidental maimings have dropped down to almost zero. I also told him that we were running out of training dummies as Mrs. O'leary found where we kept them. I had to find a new hiding place for them, and it was not the best experience. Chiron then asked me about how the campers we're recovering from the war. I told him that they were doing better. A flashback and a nightmare here or there, but not as bad as it was before.
He nodded and then asked how I was doing. I gave him a small smile and said, "I'm a little tired, but I doing just fine." Chiron's response was an eyebrow raise and I knew he had seen through my lie.
He looked concerned and said, "Percy have you seen yourself lately? The bags under your eyes show that you have not been sleeping well if at all since the war ended. Your invulnerability requires sleep and it really has taken a toll on you. You've been having nightmares and you keep yourself awake so you don't have to deal with them. I'm guessing they are about the deaths of those you blame yourself for. You've been beating yourself up because you think that you failed to protect them. Breakfast today is the first full meal you've had in a while. You have flashbacks all the time and don't tell anyone. I know because I can tell. I can tell you're having one right now."
He was right. I was having a flashback, but I could still here him. It was over and my vision changed from the faces of my dead friends and to my very much alive teacher. His face was full of worry. I looked away, but he caught my chin and turned it towards him.
"Percy, as much as you don't want to, you need to learn to accept that yes, they died, and yes, maybe if you had done something different they would still be alive. However, you also need to know that you did what you could and you saved so many others. Luke may have been the hero in ending the war, but you are the hero who won it. You have a good heart Percy, but you are as stubborn as your father." I smiled a little.
"I think it would be good for you to get away from camp for a little while." I snapped back from my thoughts, "Wait, what? No!" "It's for your own good. You have been issued a quest from Hecate." "Chiron I just got done with a war. I just want some piece and quiet!" Chiron sighed and said, "I know Percy, I know. However, I don't think it's just piece and quiet that you want. You have grown accustomed to fighting monsters and saving your friends. Now there is nothing to save, nothing to beat. Yes, there are monsters still around, but attacks aren't going to be all the time anymore. For the past few years your purpose has been to go on all these quests and to beat Kronos. You have done that and now you don't know what to do with yourself. You may have hated the war, but you miss it too." I scoffed and tried to deny it, but I did realize that I did feel like I was missing a purpose. I nodded, albeit warily, and asked, "Okay. What's the quest?"
Chiron looked relieved and asked what I knew about Hecate. I told him I knew she was the goddesses of the mist and of magic. He nodded and said, "Good, good. Did you know that Hecate also blessed mortals with magic?" I shook my head. He went on, "A very long time ago, before my time, the mist wasn't very strong. It was getting really hard to protect mortals from our world so she blessed a few select mortals with magic. In time, the magic these mortals were able to produce strengthened the Mist without them even knowing it. These mortals are called witches and wizards." He stopped and I was momentarily shocked but then I thought about my dream. I nodded and then asked, "They are still here today aren't they." He smiled and said "Yes, very much so. They do not know about our world, and any trace of their roots going back to Hecate have all almost been erased. There are magical communities all over the world. Hecate wants to send you to Britain, to a magic school named Hogwarts." I laughed. It was the first laugh in a long time and my abs started to hurt. "That is the most ridiculous name I've ever heard. It sounds like a skin disease for pigs!" I cried. Chiron looked amused and continued, "It is pretty silly isn't it Perseus. (He knew I didn't like being called that.) Young witches and wizards from the age of 11-17 learn how to do magic there. It is different from Greek magic. They have to use wands for spells and the mist doesn't protect that kind of magic from being exposed." I looked confused and asked, "But wouldn't the magic be Greek magic if it came from Hecate?" "Well, in a way. The thing is, Hecate created a different kind of magic to protect Greek magic and the Greek world. This magic has has changed through out time as different generations have practiced it." he answered. "Oh okay, that makes sense." I said, "Now what does this have to do with me?"
Chiron pursed his lips, "There is a dark force stirring again. Many years ago there was a man named Tom Riddle. He was a very gifted wizard, but he turned to the dark arts. He set out to eradicate those who he deemed unworthy to practice magic. Namely muggles borns and half-bloods. Not demigod kind of half-blood. There are 3 blood statuses in the wizarding world: pureblood, which means the family line only has witches and wizards and no relation to non-magical people at all, half-blood which means the family line is mixed with magical and non-magical people, and then muggle borns who are witches and wizards who have magic despite not having magic parents. Tom Riddle believed only purebloods had the right to magic, and he became Lord Voldemort when he started his mission to purify the wizarding race." I chuckled again because instead of "Voldemort" I heard "moldy short". Chiron looked at me serious and I said, "Sorry, carry on."
"There was a prophesy about a boy born at the end of July who would stop Voldemort. He set out to find this boy and kill him. He went to a family with a boy meeting the descriptions of the prophecy and tried to kill them. The mother and father died, but the killing curse backfired on the one year old boy. The boy lived and Voldemort disappeared. However, there have been certain events that have come to pass that show he is coming back." I interrupted him thinking now would be a good time to tell him about the dream I had had.
"Yes. That event is actually the reason for this quest. The boy who lived is named Harry Potter, and he is destined to beat Voldemort. Voldemort has been planning something, and it involves Harry. Harry must be protected because if he is killed, there will be nothing to stop Voldemort. The wizarding race will weaken greatly, and that will weaken the Mist greatly. Normally, the wizarding world and our world were meant to stay separate, but since this concerns the Greek world Hecate wants you to go over there to protect Harry. She didn't say why, but she specifically asked for you. Do you accept?" I nodded, "I accept the quest Chiron."
"Great! You will be going to Hogwarts as a student. You will be placed with the 4th years. 4th years are 14 and you are 16 and that might raise suspicion. It is not time for the wizarding world to know about our world yet, so it is important to keep your heratige a secret. Here is your story: You are an American exchange student for the magic school Ilvormorney. You are with the 4th years instead of the 6th years because I America you receive a mortal education first so you learn how to blend in, and then at 13 you start to learn magic. That places you in the 4th year. Do you understand?" I nodded and recounted back what he had told me. "When do I leave?" I asked. "After you take a nap. Hecate has provided us with a type of magic transportation called a port-key and it will take you to the Weasly wizard family household. They will be housing you until school started September 1st. They will also take you and get all the things you need for Hogwarts, and get you up to speed on what is going on. They know you are coming but they do not know who you are." I nodded and said, "Okay. But I don't think I can fall asleep." Chiron put a hand on my shoulder and said, "You are sleepy now Percy. You will be all packed and ready to go when you wake. Just close your eyes." I'm pretty sure he was working some centaur magic because my eyes closed on their accord, and I fell into a blissful and dreamless sleep.
I hope you understand what I just explained. I was originally going to have Hecate issue the quest in a dream, but the gods aren't really allowed to be directly involved and I felt that fell under the "involved" category. Also, normally a quest involves a prophesy right? I'll explain later why there wasn't one issued here.