POTTER FILES : THE LIGHTNING THIEF
Chapter 5 : Capture A Flag
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Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.
Note : The timeline of the HP universe has been changed to fit PJO universe. Some slight changes have been made to HP canon to fit girl Harry. So, Iris (fem!Harry) Potter was born on 31 July 1993 and COS happened in 2005-2006.
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I have received reviews that my last chapter was not satisfactory. I apologise. It was more like a filler before the claiming chapter and I tried to hurry it along. It affected the quality of the work. So, I took my time with this chapter. Hopefully, it is better.
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Iris' Pov
The next few days, I settled into a routine. Even if I slept and ate at a different location, as a newbie, I was considered a part of the Hermes cabin and shared their schedule. I got the chance to meet many interesting people. There was Percy who amazingly did not hold a grudge against me for leaving him to the mercy of Ares kids. What can I say, I am a likeable girl. Then there was Connor and Travis Stoll, demigod versions of Fred and George, boys after my own heart. They were quite skilled in planning and execution but did not have much in terms of creativity. Don't worry Stoll boys, Iris Potter to the rescue. There were the children of Hecate, Lou Ellen, a girl my age and Alabaster, a boy two years younger than me. Then there was our counsellor Luke. He was a cool guy with a scar or perhaps I should say the guy with the cool scar. At first glance, he reminded me of Cedric Diggory; tall, handsome in a boyish way, friendly to everyone and eager to help. Nice but boring and beneath my notice. But, the cursed scar on his face marked him as someone made from stronger material. It showed that he had experienced the cruelties of life and survived. He was amused that I believed it was his scar that made him cool. I wondered what that said about me that I identified myself with a veteran hero rather than someone my age.
Each morning I took Ancient Greek with Percy from Professor Bethy...well...Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia or the lack of it: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. My brain was hardwired for Ancient Greek like all other demigods. Magic merely cured the side effects. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much mispronounciation.
The rest of the day, we'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something we were good at. Our first stop was archery class with the Apollo cabin.
It was there we discovered that with a bow and arrow, Percy was very dangerous...to his allies. Chiron naturally showed the patience of a saint not complaining even when he had to desnag an errant arrow from his tail. It seemed that Apollo had cursed his line to prevent another Orion incident. It had to be. Unlike his half brother Theseus, the poor boy had gotten the short end of the stick in terms of intelligence, a very short end. Surely, Fates would not be cruel enough to leave him with no skills at all.
It was my turn. It took a few tries before I felt comfortable with the bow. After that, everyone of my shots hit dead center. It soon devolved into a competition. The targets kept being placed further away until only I and Apollo cabin counsellor Will Solace was left. It was weird. It seemed I was getting better the further the target went. I was showing skill and speed I never knew I had. It was as if archery had always been a part of me and I just had to realise it. The target soon reached its limit of distance. Will shot next and hit the centre again. It was then I got an idea. I somehow knew it would work. I took three arrows and fired them simultaneously. All of them hit the centre with the succeeding ones splitting the preceding ones.
I gave him a smirk indicating to him to match that. Will was looking between me and the target with a look of shock on his face. It was as if he had never seen anything like that before. Then a smile came on to his face, a smile as bright as the Sun.
"With a skill like that, you can only be a daughter of Apollo.", Will said.
"Have you taken archery classes before? Or practiced on your own?", Chiron asked his millenia year old eyes showing its seriousness.
"No. In fact, it is the first time I am holding a bow.", I replied.
"Oh I see. Well, if you can repeat the performance tomorrow, you will be promoted to the Master's archery class under me.", he said.
"Thanks. Is it possible that my father is Apollo? I don't exactly have the sunny look.", I asked using my free hand to flatten my hair.
"Iris, there is a reason we wait for the godly parent to claim before stating either way. There are many gods major and minor that we can only make guesses. There have been many times I had gotten my guess wrong. We can eliminate many possibilities by checking the skills and thus can help them better. If Apollo claims you, you will be his third red haired child in Greek history. Those children were less skilled in archery. The first one was a boy who had physical strength and combat skills similar to those of Big Three as long as he was under the Sun. The second was a girl who, under the Sun, was fast enough to give the appearance of disappearing and reappearing in another place and could travel through the sunlight similar to the shadow travel of Hades children. For you, magic is involved which makes things more complicated. You do know that Godric Gryffindor was a redhead despite being the son of the King of Gods.", Chiron explained patiently.
"I really hope dad claims you. It will be cool to have another sister.", Will said making me smile.
"It is just your first day and you have already showed proficiency heard of only among the Hunters of Artemis. With enough training, you will easily surpass them. I like to hear them make fun of us campers after that."
I am not going to lie. I felt flattered. It was quite a complement to say that I have the potential to be better than the girls who were blessed and personally trained by the goddess. It was then that I noted something.
"You don't like the Hunters of Artemis?", I asked.
"No one does. They are a menace. They always act all high and mighty, the uppity-"
"Will", Chiron chastisised looking warily up at the sky, "Iris, Percy, let us move on."
I noticed that Chiron chastisised him for being careless enough to risk earning the goddess' wrath rather than his words itself. I wondered what had happened between them to cause such animosity. I didn't feel so good anymore. I had always considered the goddess as a role model. She was the embodiment of everything Dursleys hated. Ever since I learned the truth about my heritage, I have hoped to meet her, hopes which only increased on discovering my amazing archery skills. I now know that it was simply a pipe dream.
The next was foot racing. My assumption that Percy was built for strength rather than speed was right. He was easily beaten by our wood nymph instructors. As for me, I left them in the dust.
"If you don't mind us asking, who is your godly parent?", Maggie asked.
"I am unclaimed. I am good at archery. So, I could be Apollo's child.", I replied.
"Good? You made Apollo's best archer look bad.", Percy said.
"Apollo? No way. Apollo was never fast. It could be Hermes. He is the fastest god being the messenger god and only a few children inherit that.", she said.
"Surely, I could have been fast on my own. After all, I had to run a lot to keep myself safe from my cousin's gang.", I replied.
She spoke with a look of amusement on her face, "We have had centuries of practice running away from lustful gods, little one. Speed has always been an advantage we had over them and was something we could count on. If a god is fast enough that his demigod child can outrun us, it is something we would like to know so that we can be prepared."
I could understand their sentiment but there was nothing she could do for them. She did not even know whether the godly parent was her father or mother. I noticed Percy look glum and defeated and felt bad for him. But I had hope that he would find something he was good at, especially if he was the child of the Big Three.
The next was unfortunately wrestling. I did try to get out of it by pleading with Chiron that I was sure I was not an Ares kid but he did not relent. I even played some of my dirty tricks. My widened doe eyes and cute pout which melted the heart of even the stern and brusque Professor McGonnagal did not seem to have any effect on Chiron. Well, I was beaten up. No need to explain. Atleast I was lucky enough not to get Clarisse. She gave a new meaning to the word 'ripped'. *shudder*
I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or Dionysus's way with vine plants though it was interesting to see that Percy was the best at canoeing. The senior campers and counsellors were watching us trying to determine who our parents were but they
weren't having an easy time of it. Percy showed almost no skill in anything other than canoeing but I had the opposite problem of showing the skill set of many different gods. Many satyrs even started claiming that I was the child of their lost god Pan when they saw me scale the climbing wall with ease. I did not have any horns or goat legs and did not remember having any specific goat-like characteristics but seeing their hopeful faces, I did not have the heart to reject the claim outright. My reluctant admission that I have been climbing trees my whole childhood only made them happier. It would be a good thing if I did turn out to be Pan's daughter. After all, a life spent saving the wild is a life spent well. But, sadly, life did not work that way.
Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night, well, especially that.
Whenever I could not sleep at night, I would sneak out into the armoury and take a bow and a bunch of arrows and go to the woods to hunt. True, Chiron gave me the permission to hunt the monsters, though I don't think he meant after the curfew. Well, what he doesn't know wouldn't hurt him. Dursleys' habit of locking me in the cupboard under the stairs for days without food or water had forced me to learn to pick locks and steal food without raising any suspicious. I just had to ensure that I was sloppy enough to leave food everywhere and show a trail to Dudley's room. By that point in my life, Dudley feared me too much to squeal on me. I learned something else on my night time endeavours. It seemed that Chiron wasn't exactly joking when he said there would be harpies roaming around after curfew looking for half-bloods to eat. I guess sneaking around is not as much fun if there were no consequences to getting caught.
Ha! As if a few fat overgrown bird women could find me if I didn't want to be found.
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Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.
We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good. But, none of the swords felt comfortable for me. I felt as if I was being restricted, tied down.
Luke, the cool guy that he was, tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.
We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.
"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."
"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.
The camper snorted.
Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised.
"Keep your guard up, Iris," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his
blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!
It wasn't long before I was sitting in a corner sulking while Percy was the one getting beaten up. Maybe, sword and I were meant to be lifelong enemies.
By the time Luke called a break, they were soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head and Percy followed his lead.
It was then that I knew the next match would be different. I don't think anyone else noticed but the bruises on his visible parts seemed to have disappeared as if they were never there in the first place. He stood up straighter, more confident, more powerful.
I poured some water on my head myself but all I achieved was turning my hair into a bigger mess. It was simple ice water with no magic involved.
"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."
The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in our shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used him for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.
"This is difficult", he stressed, "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."
Luke then demonstrated the move on Percy in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.
"Now in real time," he said, after he'd retrieved his weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off.
Ready, Percy?"
He nodded, and Luke went after him. Percy kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of his sword. His attacks were more fluid and precise than before and his counters had no flaw that Luke could take advantage of. Percy stepped forward and tried a thrust of his own.
Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press him with more force. It was then that I came to a bitter realization. Luke was actually taking it easy on me. Now that he was serious, I could see why Luke was called the best swordsman in 300 years. He used his sword as if it had always been a part of him since his birth. The more interesting thing was that I could feel that Percy had the potential to be greater.
I could see that whatever superpower he got from the water was temporary. He was slowing going back to his previous awkward state. Any time now, Luke would defeat him. Percy suddenly thrust his sword at Luke. His blade hit the base of Luke's and he twisted, putting his whole weight into a downward thrust.
Clang.
Luke's sword rattled against the stones .
"How did he do that?"
The tip of his blade was an inch from his undefended chest.
We were silent in shock.
Percy lowered his sword. "Um, sorry."
Everyone stared strangely at Percy for this.
For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.
"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"
He didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned him. But Luke insisted.
This time, there was no contest. The moment their swords connected, Luke hit his hilt and sent his weapon skidding across the floor.
After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"
Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at him with an entirely new interest and I knew that Percy would soon get an apprenticeship offer.
"Maybe," he said.
"But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."
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Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Percy and Grover at the lake, resting from an exciting hike on the climbing wall.
We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until Percy asked Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D, something I had wanted to know myself.
His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.
"Fine," he said. "Just great."
"So your career's still on track?", Percy asked.
He glanced at us nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"
"Well... no."
"He just said you had big plans, you know ... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"
Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you both yet, so our fates were still tied together. If either of you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."
What Grover did not tell them was that the real decision would only be made after Iris was claimed. If the rumours among satyrs of her ancestry turned out to be true, then his second assignment would be marked as success and he would get the license immediately. Considering his luck, she might turn out to be a child of Hermes or Apollo. There is no point in hoping only to be disappointed later.
"Well, that's not so bad, right?", Percy, the ever optimist, asked.
"Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of either of you getting a quest... and even if you did, why would you want me along?"
"Of course I'd want you along!"
"Same here. It is never a proper quest without you in it, Grover.", I spoke.
Grover stared glumly into the water.
"Basket-weaving ... Must be nice to have a useful skill."
Percy tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. I decided that enough was enough.
I placed a hand around his shoulder and said, "Grover, I might not have known you for as long as Percy did but both of us are your friends. You should trust us. Have some faith in our abilities and our friendship. More importantly, have some faith in yourself. How many satyrs can claim to have taken down the mighty Python?"
I noticed that my speech had made him feel better. I wondered what made him have such a low opinion about himself that even surviving the legendary monster didn't cure it. Perhaps, the satyr society also had bullies who picked on its smaller and weaker members. I mused that Grover had a quiet courage in him which made him work harder to prove his critics wrong rather than crumble under pressure. Though if she happened to be Pan's daughter and inherited some influence in the council, they would be very sorry.
We then talked about our different skills for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods.
Percy then asked him about the four empty cabins.
"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."
"You should see it at night. It glows like a full moon in the darkness of the night. It is one of the most beautiful sights you will ever see in your life. You know what they say. If you haven't seen it, you haven't lived it.", I spoke.
The boys looked weirdly at her causing her to raise an eyebrow mockingly.
"You don't believe me. If you can manage to sneak out at night without getting caught, I will show you."
They shook their head in unison and continued their talk.
"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"
Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject.
"No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."
"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."
"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."
"Zeus got the sky," Percy replied. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."
"Uh-huh."
"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."
"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here ..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."
I frowned. If Hades had simply decided not to get involved here, he would have had an honorary cabin just to show that he was respected. No, inspite of whatever Grover might imply, Hades 'doing his own thing' was choice forced upon him by his family. While he was not innocent, he didn't do anything to deserve the outright insult. I decided not to mention my thoughts at the time. I felt it was not my place.
" But Zeus and Poseidon-they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?", Percy asked.
Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably .
"About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."
Thunder boomed.
Percy said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."
Grover nodded.
"And the brothers kept their word-no kids?"
Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia .. . well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."
"But that isn't fair. It wasn't the little girl's fault.", Percy replied.
"You do know that the 'little girl' was your age when it happened, right?", I asked.
"Oh"
Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."
He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where Percy'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."
I wondered why Grover did not tell Percy that he was the satyr. It was a bit too obvious anyway. Even if I could not see the guilt, shame and self loathing on his face, the fact that he knew the kind of details only the assigned satyr was supposed to know was a big clue.
Percy stared at the pine in the distance. I could guess what he was thinking by the guilty expression on his face.
To distract Grover from his depression, I asked a question I have been wanting to for some time.
"Grover, can satyrs turn into goats, full goats that is?", I asked.
"No. Its a lost art. I have heard tales of satyrs of old having a goat form. In those days, when roaming cattle was a common sight, it was a good cover, much better than a crippled child at least. As long as we are discrete, no one will suspect anything and we could even attack the monsters head on. When humans started 'modernising' their cities, it was not that useful anymore and no one bothered to learn.", Grover replied.
"Grover," Percy asked, "Have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"
"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."
"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"
"No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking—"
"No," Percy lied.
Poor Percy. It seemed that Grover had not told him about the empathy link between them. After all, there was no point in lying to someone who could feel your emotions change, especially if you were a poor liar.
"I was just wondering. So ... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"
Grover studied him warily. It seemed that I was right.
"Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."
"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."
Grover looked as if Percy'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were-you know-you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"
I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than us. I then held my arm out instinctively for Hedwig to alight on it. She was as much an enigma for the campers as I was. Despite being an owl, Athena children could not form any rapport with her let alone communicate with her. It was commonly believed that her bonding to me had made her answerable only to me. From what I could understand, Hedwig felt insulted that, despite their so called intelligence and wisdom, Athena children could not understand that she was superior to any owls they might have been familiar with and deserved appropriate respect. I could understand that. Hedwig had always been frighteningly intelligent for an owl.
As I was stroking her, Percy asked, "So, how does your magic fit into all this?"
"No one knows much about the true origins of magic. The oldest known magical settlement was Atlantis. They were revered as they were believed to have technology and magic that made today's obsolete. Many tried to find it but lets say that Lord Poseidon is very protective of the secrets of his Kingdom. As for our society itself...think of every clichéd thing you have heard of us, wearing robes and pointed hats, using owls to sent letters, using wooden sticks called wands to channel magic, travelling by fire. Most of them are true."
"You don't have green skin or warts."
I shook my head and said, " You are talking about hags:ugly green skin, warts, eating children. We are just mortals with magical abilities, mostly. We are the responsibility of Hecate. So, she has many of her children in the society who takes up prominent roles and ensure that the society moves in the direction she wants it to. Your Minister for Special Affairs has always been a magical demigod atleast.", I continued on seeing his shocked face, "Yes, according to Chiron, our existence and that of the magical society are known to the upper echelon of US government and is classified under the US Special Secrets Act. Then there are those like my Headmaster and Nicholas Flamel whose one of the many contributions is the improved nectar that we enjoyed at our arrival. Hecate also blesses a few mortal children to introduce new blood into the society."
Chiron did tell me more than that. He told me about various pantheons and their strongholds, various places Gods avoid and their reasoning. In the end, I had to take an oath to not speak of it to those not in the know without a God's permission, the same oath every Hecate child and the immortals had to take.
"So, how many are here from your magical society?", Percy asked.
"I am the only one as far as I know. When the centre of West moved to US along with the gods, the magical centre remained in England. So, Hecate still considers London as her home and stays in Underworld as Hades' guest when she has a business here. The major gods has never left US much after that as they lose their connection to Olympus and consequently a good amount of their power. So, any magical demigods are usually children of Hecate or minor gods most of whom could get lost into the magical society. There are exceptions of course. Apollo sometimes vacations in Japan as its the Land of Rising Sun. Aphrodite has her second capital at Paris, City of Love, and would have had it as her home if she was not an Olympian goddess. There is also a possibility that Poseidon has some control over the western coastal line of England."
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Luke's Pov
That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.
At last, it was time for capture the flag.
When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.
Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.
From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
Percy turned to me and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"
"Yeah."
"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"
"Not always," I said, "But often."
" So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"
I grinned seeing Iris roll her eyes, "You'll see. First we have to get one."
I still remember asking Alex, then Athena cabin counsellor and my team leader, the same question on my first game. He gave me the same answer that I gave Percy. He was right. Hearing about it was not as exciting as seeing the magic do its work. I guess Iris would not be as excited being a magical herself.
"Whose side are we on?", Iris asked.
I wondered whether they would be as excited if they knew what Annabeth had planned for them.
"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you both are going to help."
While I gave them a brief overview of the team composition, I considered the situation myself.
Privileges had been traded of course-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support.
Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Yes, there were that many Hermes campers. Three guesses on who were responsible for it.
Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them.
Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive.
Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.
Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They could built a horde of automatons in moments to swarm us and could built undetectable traps that even I had trouble with despite my inherited thievery skills. They were the reason we lost the last four games after Alex left.
That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.
I hoped Annie's new plan would give us the edge we need to win the game. I was not joking when I told them that they had an important role in helping us win the game.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.
"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"
He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.
"Whoa," Percy said. "We're really supposed to use these?"
I looked at him in shock wondering whether he hit his head somewhere on the way.
"Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."
Trust me, Percy. You will need it.
I gave him shield that was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. His helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top.
Ares and their allies had red plumes.
It was then that Iris who had been silent until now approached me having picked a set of daggers.
"Can I come with you? Border patrol seems so boring.", she asked with a cute pout.
I gave her an amused smile. She is good but she still had a lot to learn about manipulating people. I understood where she was coming from. It was crime for someone as fast as her to be told to stand still in a corner. But, Annie wanted the new kids as border patrol or to be more specific bait for Ares campers. The strategies were more her area of expertise and I preferred to trust her with it.
"It is OK. I know that, for some reason, boys don't like to be seen as being defeated by girls even when they know that it is the natural order of things. I understand.", Iris spoke.
I looked at her in shock. She did not just say that.
"Excuse me."
"You heard me."
No male who has pride in his gender could refuse a challenge like that. If I did, it would seem like I was admitting that she was right, something I am sure she would hold over me for the rest of my life. She knew it too judging by the sly grin on her face. It was the grin of someone who had smelled victory. It seemed she was much more craftier than she had let on. I knew I should reject but I was feeling excited, similar to what I felt when Percy managed to beat me. It had been some time since I had been truly challenged, since I had to work to win.
"You are coming with me. I want to see the look on your face when I defeat you.", I replied.
She smirked and said, "You are on."
"Aren't you taking anything else? There are shields and even bows and arrows."
She shook her head with a smile and said, "They are too bulky. They will only slow me down."
Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"
We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.
X-X-X-X-X
We did not win. We demolished the opposition or perhaps I should say that Hurricane Iris demolished the opposition. It seemed that she was not joking when she challenged me. Any hint of the sweet, friendly girl vanished the moment the game began. She was very competitive and ruthless. I thought being at the camp, I would have had the advantage of knowing the territory but she was the one with the advantage. I suddenly found himself in the unfamiliar territory of being the slow one of the duo. She ran as quiet as she was fast. Despite the efforts of Hephaestus kids to conceal their traps, she always seemed to know about them, many traps he himself had not noticed. Any attempts by Demeter kids to bind her using plant growth failed as they always veered off when they came near her. It was as if they were refusing to attack her. Demeter kids surrendered knowing there was no way they could win.
Soon, we reached the flag. I was holding my sides panting while she did not seem the least bit winded.
"Let's rest here for a moment, okay?", I stated knowing that I was basically admitting my defeat.
She nodded with a victorious smirk on her face. After giving me a few moments to rest, she plucked the flag from its resting place. I heard a snap of wire and knew that we had just activated a trap.
"That was a good idea. Boobytrapping the flag. We would have no choice but to activate it.", she said.
She tilted her head waiting for it. Soon enough, mechanical spiders started popping up and began spinning webs that would trap us.
"It seems that the trap was not for us after all. I now know why Annabeth was so keen on staying behind."
At that time, something changed. Suddenly, the spiders started shortcircuiting. It was as if the very atmosphere turned poisonous to them. She gave me a look waving the flag and I understood. We quickly ran towards the border passing the flag back and forth to confuse the opponents. She passed the flag for the last time and jumped on to the friendly territory. I came up to the border to find the Ares kids lying on the ground beaten up.
The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.
"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."
They staggered after me, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as I ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked us up and started carrying us around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.
The game was over. We'd won.
I then heard a canine growl and then a howl ripped through the forest. The campers' cheering died instantly. I slowly moved closer wanting to see how well my plan would work.
Chiron shouted, "Stand ready! My bow!"
Annabeth drew her sword.
There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was looking straight at Percy.
Everyone was too shocked to move except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"
She tried to step in front of him, but the hound was too fast. It leapt over her and slammed into Percy making him fall backwards on to the ground. The next moment, every camper with a bow and arrow shot the beast killing it. I could see many cuts on his chest snd knew that they were almost too late.
Chiron trotted up next to them, a bow in his hand, his face grim.
"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."
"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."
I went over there wanting to be close enough to witness the next part of the plan.
Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"
"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.
We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.
"Silly boy! One moment I lose sight of you and you are already in danger.", someone muttered.
I looked over to the side to see Iris looking at Percy in worry. That's interesting.
"You're wounded," Annabeth told him. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."
Percy stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around him.
Instantly, he looked better. I could see the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.
"Look, I-I don't know why," Percy said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."
We didn't notice his apology as we were staring at the above his head : the green trident.
"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um ..."
By the time he looked up, the sign was already fading, but I knew he could still make out something. I tried my best to keep my smile in. The plan was success even if it was not in the way I intended. Thank you, Annabeth.
"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."
"It is determined," Chiron announced.
We all started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.
"My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered.
"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God"
It was when we got back up that something stranger occured. Iris suddenly started glowing silver. I looked up at the symbol above her head and stared in shock. Suddenly, all the anomalies and weirdness I had associated with Iris started making a horrifying sense. Because the symbol was a crescent moon shaped bow with an arrow in a ready to shoot position in the hands of a girl. The huntress. I could not believe it. I turned to look at Chiron for reassurance and his pale face was enough proof that my deduction was correct.
I then saw her owl flying towards her in breathtaking speed. She soon changed shape into a ball of silver light and collided with Iris. It made her glow brighter until we had to close their eyes due to the intensity of the light. For a few moments, the night seemed like the day. For a few moments, it seemed like the moon itself was right infront of them, it seemed like Iris was the moon. The glow soon faded away and we saw a faded rainbow above her head.
We all knelt before her.
"Hail Iris Potter, the daughter of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Forests and Hills, the Moon, Archery", Chiron spoke as if he could not believe he was saying those words.
"Hail Iris Potter, the Heiress of the Moon and the Legacy of Iris, the Rainbow goddess."
I didn't exactly understand everything that had happened but I knew one thing. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.
X-X-X-X-X
I did briefly consider making her a special child of Apollo but the story was made with a daughter of Artemis in mind and it will remain that way. I also considered the suggestion of daughter of Leto but the story required the herione to have some powers. Leto, despite being Titaness, had no official domains, I have searched. Titaness of Family is a fan fiction thing I might adopt.
It was suggested that I make Iris Potter legacy of Hecate. I accepted the legacy part but felt Hecate was too common and ends up as a justification for overpowering her. I chose Iris. While she doesn't get any super powers from that side, it turns out to be an important part of the story.