Harry Potter had had strange dreams before.

Ones about flying motorbikes, ones where his Professor's turban came alive and tried to kill him, ones where Hermione was tap-dancing in a giant teacup-styled goblet of fire…

And he'd also had more than his fair share of nightmares…

His mother's death, the dementors kissing Sirius, Cedric's death, Voldemort's return…

But none of those dreams resembled anything like this. The closest Harry could match to his current dream, was the ones he'd been having about that mysterious hallway with the door he could never open at the end.

But this dream… this dream was perhaps the strangest one he'd had in his entire life.

He was standing on top of an enormous muggle skyscraper, black clouds dominating the skies above him while a thick greyish fog covered the floor he stood frozen upon. He could, from where he was standing, see a huge sprawling city spreading out for miles before a wall of the same mist cut it off suddenly. Harry also wasn't cold, even though he could feel the wind tearing at his hair and bedclothes, but he felt nothing but a comforting warmth that reminded him of the hugs Sirius was fond of ambushing him with.

He wasn't alone, either. Standing at the edge of the rooftop, fingers curled around a link in the chain fence surrounding them all, stood a tall man with messy dark hair and a long coat that seemed unaffected by the howling winds. He was familiar too, like someone Harry had known a long time ago, even only a side-view of his face sparking some lost long memory of childish giggles and plush toys.

After testing his legs again only to feel them frozen in place, Harry turned his attention on the man at the fence just in time to hear him beginning to speak.

"He knows how important it is, not just to me, but to Olympus".

Blinking in confusion and preparing himself for what seemed likely to be a long dream, Harry watched as the man shook his head.

Okay, so what is so important then? And what was Olympus? Aside from the mythical home of the Greek gods of course, even Harry could remember that from muggle primary school.

"He knows that it holds the key to the safety of us all," the man continued muttering darkly under his breath. "So why would he steal it?"

The man stiffened slightly, turning his head for a moment before letting out a growl as he turned back to face the city, Harry fearing that the man knew he was there for a split second before a door behind him opened.

They were brothers, that much was clear to Harry as a second man stepped out of the door and kicked it shut behind him, their faces were similar and their hair almost identical – and the sheer power that both men radiated was enough to make Harry wish he could move so he could go hide in a corner. That was where the similarities ended however, where the first man stood tall and broad in his suit, the second was wearing a jacket and hoodie and was slouching down the ramp to the viewing area.

It was when the second man joined the first, and they exchanged greetings, that Harry realised he was in over his head.

"Zeus".

"Poseidon".

Of course Harry would find himself in the middle of a confrontation between Olympian gods, who apparently did actually exist. It didn't matter that he didn't know how he was dreaming of this, but something told him that it was real, that the two gods staring each other down just feet in front of him was really happening.

"What do you see?" the man identified as 'Zeus' asked, breaking Harry from his internal panic over their very existence.

'Poseidon' glanced around for a moment before voicing the very thought that Harry had at the god's question. "Thunderclouds".

Made sense, if this man was really the God of Thunder.

"But no lightning," Zeus countered, "Stolen".

Well at least Harry now knew what 'He' had stolen that was of such importance.

Zeus stared Poseidon down before turning and striding away from the building's edge, Poseidon's voice following him. "You think I took it?" the Sea God asked as he crossed the rooftop after his brother, "Omnipotence has blinded you, brother. We are forbidden from stealing each other's powers".

The two gods came to a halt as Zeus whirled on his brother. "But our children aren't," the God of the Sky growled out.

"You're accusing my son?" Poseidon rasped out, sounding both hurt, defensive, and furious at the same time. "I haven't seen him since he was a baby. He doesn't know me, or even know who he is because of you!"

"Oh be silent, brother," Zeus spat in disgust, "You're not the only one kept from their son, remember?"

"That doesn't seem to have kept you," Poseidon snarled, stepping to the side and turning to stare at where Harry was standing, his feet still binding him in place. "God of Hypocrisy!"

"My son is here to bear witness," Zeus defended, stormy grey-blue eyes flicking past Poseidon to meet Harry's emerald green ones, causing his stomach to clench painfully. "If your son if the thief, then I will send him to the depths of Tartarus myself".

"If you touch my son," Poseidon began angrily.

"I won't have to if yours were to return my Bolt," Zeus interrupted, pushing away the approaching God of the Sea and holding him back with a raised hand. "He must return the bolt to me. In fourteen days, by midnight on the summer solstice," he declared bluntly, "Or there will be war".

"You leave Perseus out of this," Poseidon growled, his eyes beginning to glow a violent sea-green. "He has done nothing!"

"Perhaps not," Zeus agreed calmly, "But how am I to trust you?"

Poseidon seemed to falter for a moment, hand reaching out to gently fist in Zeus' coat. "Because you can," he explained finally, "You know, just as well I as, what will happen if the Bolt is not returned. You cannot truly believe that I would be willing to do that?"

"Why not?" Zeus countered, raising a bushy eyebrow at Poseidon as he raised a hand and brushed aside his brother's. "You've a son to sacrifice in your steed".

"Would you truly believe that I would be willing to do that either?" Poseidon countered, "No more, I imagine, than you would be willing to do to him?" he justified as he hiked his thumb in Harry's direction – who was currently trying to stop himself from having a panic attack.

Zeus and Poseidon stood there staring at each other for a moment, completely unaware to how Harry's mind had jammed back when Poseidon called him Zeus' son. After what felt like hours of Harry thinking 'What? What? What? What?' and the two gods staring at each other, Zeus let out an indescribable noise as he pushed away from Poseidon and strode towards the fence again.

"I am willing to… compromise," Zeus forced out, not sounding happy about the idea. "Perseus has fourteen days to return the Bolt to me," he announced, raising a hand as Poseidon stepped forward angrily, "And he shall have Hadrian, to guide and aid him in this Quest. My son will be able to sense my power within the Bolt, and lead Perseus towards it".

"And should Perseus – who does not have your Bolt – fail to return it to you?" Poseidon growled.

"Then Hadrian shall cast him into the depths of Tartarus," Zeus said calmly, "And there will be war".

"I hardly think that's fair, for the God of Honour," Poseidon said stiffly.

"I hardly think sending your son to steal my Bolt, is honourable," Zeus argued.

"Perseus did not steal it!" Poseidon roared angrily, Zeus looked completely uncaring as he glanced down at his fingernails and rubbed them on his shirt.

"Then, I'm sure Perseus can prove it," Zeus declared simply, smirking at his brother before turning on his heel and stalking across the rooftop to a door which exploded to let him through, reforming behind him without hesitation.

As silence fell on the rooftop, Harry suddenly became very aware of the fact that he was alone up here with Poseidon – the god who had every reason to hate him right now.

"Should you harm," Poseidon began the moment that thought passed through Harry's head, "A single hair on my son's head," the god threatened, still looking after Zeus and not even glancing at Harry. "Then I remove yours".

As Poseidon slowly turned his head to glare at Harry, the black-haired boy could only swallow nervously as the god raised his hand, snapping his fingers with a spat "Now leave!"

Harry choked automatically, his throat closing up as his eyes snapped open in his dormitory, his shocked flailing causing him to roll off his bed and hit a surprisingly warm floor. Gasping for air as he curled into a ball, feeling like every breath he'd ever breathed had been stolen from him, Harry kept his eyes clamped shut as his entire body trembled from the shock of whatever Poseidon had done to him. As he lay there, two hands wormed their way under him and gently lifted him from the floor, carrying him back to his bed and setting him back on it before their owner crawled over Harry to hold him through his stuttering breathing.

"Relax," a more than familiar voice whispered in his ear, Harry wanting to move but lacking the strength to pull himself away from Zeus. "Relax, my son," the God of the Sky continued, "I'll not harm you".

"Not… not my father," Harry rasped out, Zeus' arms tightening around his chest at his words.

"I am," came Zeus' calming reply, the god not seeming angry at his refusal. "I needed a child to stand against Poseidon's son, so I sought out the woman who would deliver me my own. Your mother, who had no idea of her own beauty, did a marvellous job in delivering you with my wife's blessing. You would remain ignorant until such a time that you were needed".

Trying to fight the sleep creeping up on him, something he was certain Zeus was behind, Harry just shook his head slowly, mumbling out refusals that the god didn't seem to even hear.

"Ensure that Perseus returns my Bolt, little spark, and I will return you to your world," Zeus promised as Harry's eyes drifted shut, "Until then. You belong here".

When Harry woke the next morning, he had only a split second of hope that he'd just dreamed the whole thing up, the unfamiliar sight of a dome-shaped ceiling with an odd lightning bolt mobile hanging from the centre of it greeting him and pulling him back down to reality.

Staring up at the bronze ornament hanging from a wooden ceiling, Harry slowly sat up, pushing back his blankets of what felt like silk and swung his legs over the side of the unfamiliar bed.

Where was he? And why wasn't he freaking out about this more?

Pushing himself to his feet, Harry flinched at the feeling of cold stone beneath one of his feet, looking down and quickly stepping across onto the rug of what looked like fur. A flicker of panic filling him, he looked around the small hut he appeared to be in, a faint smell of ozone and freshly cut wood reaching his nose as he took in the crackling fireplace and the furniture scattered around the room.

Hesitantly stepping forward, Harry cautiously approached the chest of drawers at the end of the Greek-looking divan-bed-thing, peering into the top drawer to find a lot of fancy clothes just shoved in without being folded. Shutting the drawer, he kept looking around the hut, part of him hating the way he felt so at home here.

Spotting something glistening on the bedside table, Harry moved over to pick up the golden snitch laying there, watching as it's wings unfurled automatically and it fluttered happily. As it took off, buzzing around his head slowly, Harry's hand snapped out to catch it just as a loud banging sounded on the metal door. Flinching away as the person outside continued knocking, Harry cursed quietly as a sudden added weight in his hand pulled at him, a long golden spear clattering across the stone floor as he quickly let go of what used to be a snitch.

"Hello? HELLO?"

Jumping again as a deep voice called from outside of the hut, Harry looked around wildly for a place to hide the spear before snatching it up from the floor and darting towards the door. Grabbing the door-handle which warmed upon his touch, Harry tugged it open and promptly froze at the sight of the centaur standing before him wearing leather armour.

"Ah. You're awake at last," the centaur greeted as Harry stood there stiffly, holding the spear up behind the door. "They're about to serve breakfast, if you'd like to join your fellow campers in the dining pavilion".

"Fellow campers?" Harry blurted dumbly.

"Indeed," the centaur agreed simply, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood".

DEADLINE

The Undercover Operative cannot claim to own either Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.