A/N - Many thanks to my editor, Percy-Jackson-is-the-best-ever and even more to (insert your name here) for reading this! Hope you enjoy!
Tyson picked up the piece of parchment and read aloud,
"'People say it's what keeps the Earth spinning! Too cheesy for me and you, though... We just call it a perk of being the son/daughter of a particular goddess!'"
Piper interjected immediately. "Love!"
Annabeth spoke then, "No. Intelligence, or science, or something like that..."
Tyson said, "That's not all, though. In small font, below, it's written, 'P.S. - It's a 'wanderous' happening!'"
"Don't you mean 'wonderous', Tyson?" asked Malcolm, Annabeth's brother.
"No, it's written 'wanderous', or maybe I'm reading wrong..." Tyson said, hesitantly.
"No, I don't think so, Tyson. I'm sure it's meant to be 'wanderous'. Another play on the words!" exclaimed Annabeth.
The group feel silent then, as everyone tried to decipher the clue.
"Let's list all female goddesses who have children. Athena, Aphrodite, Nemesis... Okay, the list would be very long. Forget it!" said Clara, Piper's cabin-mate.
Then a satyr jumped up, "Maybe it's Hecate. The perk of being Hecate's child would be-"
He was cut short as everyone chanted together, "Magic!"
"I'm sure that's right! Magic does keep the Earth spinning. I know, I know, Annabeth, you're going to say it's gravity or something... But you have to agree that the quote is cheesy!"
"Wholeheartedly!" Annabeth replied.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go to the Hecate cabin. I can't think of anything else in Camp related to magic... except maybe enchiladas and coffee," Grover declared.
The entire team made its way to the Hecate cabin, Percy leading them inside. They looked around. In a few minutes, every nook and cranny was explored. The cabin was pretty big, but a few dozen people were searching at once, and soon, the team was trooping out, disappointed that they hadn't found anything. Piper, Annabeth, and Percy were having a silent conversation near the entrance of the Hecate cabin, when a horde of children marched up. Leo ran up to Percy, with Jason, Frank and Hazel at his heels. Ever after the Giant war, the seven quest members were inseparable. They preferred to hang out together, since no one else could really understand what they had been through. And as Leo said, the inside jokes weren't funny if you had to explain them all the time.
So the seven gathered together and spoke in hushed voices. Leo was speaking, "So the treasure hunt was supposed to end at Aphrodite cabin, but everyone's clues apparently led them here!"
"And don't forget the symbol of the gods flashing on our clue!" Jason put in.
"Oh, you too? We had the symbol flashing on one of our clues, too!" Piper exclaimed.
"So a mysterious-someone has changed all the clues to lead to the Hecate cabin. Maybe we should go inside and check once more for a hint to what is going on here," suggested Percy.
They all trooped back into the Hecate cabin, one behind the other. As soon as they were gathered in there, the seven shut the door searched around; though it was in vain, they didn't find anything this time, either.
"What I can't figure out is, is this a prank or a real message from the gods?" Jason asked.
"I don't think this could be a prank. Who else would have had access to-"
At this point, Chiron opened the door to the cabin and walked in - or rather, trotted in. "Good, so you are all here! Any time now, the portal to take us to Olympus will open, so be ready."
"But what about my treasure hunt?" Leo asked, rather hurt that all his efforts had been for nothing.
Chiron merely smiled at him kindly and said, "That has been taken care of. Your Hephaestus cabin mates have sorted out the confusion, and even now, the teams are racing to their final destination."
Leo grinned happily and opened his mouth to say something, but right then, a portal shimmered into existence. "You are rather late! Come on in!" a grave voice announced. It was Hecate.
Chiron entered the portal along with the seven demigods. They stood in a row, marveling at the throne room. Each time they went to Olympus, their breath would be taken away by its beauty. They would never get used to it, certainly. In a moment, they had regained their senses, though. They bowed before the gods and greeted them together.
"Now, we do not have time for detailed explanations. So I would like Hecate to explain why we have brought you here today," Zeus declared.
Hecate stepped up to a small altar-like structure that had been built on one side of the throne room. She consulted her hand-clock and then spoke, "Welcome. The time has come for me to reveal something to you demigods. We have been contemplating on this issue for quite a while-" she swept her arm, indicating herself and the rest of the Olympians, "-and we have decided to introduce you to another world. Just like the world of half-bloods has been in hiding from mortals all these years, another world - the magical world, exists hidden away by spells and concealments. They are the wizarding world, all descendants of me and my blood."
A proud look appeared on Hecate's face, which was immediately replaced by concern. "Though they are descended from me, they have grown over the centuries to be separate of the Greek culture. Their magic is now self-created and self-replenishing and they are completely separate from me. But that also means that the knowledge of their ancestor - the Olympians, has faded away from their memories. So, for many long years, our existence was unknown to them just as theirs was unknown to you."
This 'trivial' bit of information Hecate had just spurted out caught the demigods by surprise. They were still processing the news when Leo managed to sputter a- "Wow! So are they gonna teach us to pull bunnies out of hats? I've always wanted to do that!"
Hecate glared at Leo and said, pointedly, "No. Their magic is vast and complicated. It is not to do with pulling bunnies out of hats, but channeling their energy through wands to modify their surroundings according to their wish."
Leo was confused by the explanation. Piper laughed at his expression, and immediately, Leo wished he hadn't joked about it. Annabeth was still staring into space, musing about what Hecate had said. Jason and Percy were confused too, but tried not to show it.
"Well? Can we get to the point?" Zeus asked.
Hecate hastily said, "Forgive me for the momentary lapse," and continued, like a lecturer giving her discourse. "Now, we will all speak to Kingsley Shacklebolt, a wizard, and the Minister for Magic. And by the way, I forgot to tell you that the wizarding world has just fought a long war against a dark wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort. They are still recovering from this war, and I would advise you not to ask too many uncomfortable questions when you go to be tutored at Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts? Is that seriously the name of a place?" said Leo, cracking up.
At the same time, Piper spoke up, "We're actually going to meet the wizards?"
"Of course, girl! Why would we bother to tell you all this otherwise? You and the rest of your company will be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the period of one academic year. They will teach you their magic. It has been confirmed that all demigods are capable of using this magic, so there should be no problem. And this summer, some selected students from Hogwarts will come to Camp Half-blood to learn your way of fighting," said Zeus.
"I suppose this is to equip us to face further challenges better? If we knew magic before, defeating Kronos and Gaea would have been many times easier," Annabeth said.
"Precisely. Now gear up to meet Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a few pupils from Hogwarts who will be your classmates there," Hecate said. "Iris, would you?"
The rainbow goddess Iris rose and with a snap of her fingers, created a rainbow in the air. The seven demigods held their breaths (yes, they expected to see cackling witches on brooms and tall wizards with pointed hats) as Hecate IM'd the Minister for Magic...
A/N - Sorry for the late update, but my board examinations are going on, and I have to study a lot.
I had Maths today, and it went really well, so you could assume this a celebratory chapter! Who knows, if my Science paper is as good, I might do two chapters at once!
As usual, reviews are very much appreciated! Do take the time to review if you like where this story is going… criticisms and suggestions are welcome too. I'll take them to heart and try to improve. I really want to be a good writer, and your advice will help me on the way to that! Thanks again for reading this, and do review!