Minutes passed and neither side made a move. Then, Agrius appeared on the deck, leading a bucking jet black pegasus. Luke glanced at the uncooperative steed, and Percy winced a little. The stallion definitely had a mouth on him, as he was swearing up a storm and calling Luke all sorts of unsavoury names. Luke said, "Sorry guys, I'd love to stick around and chat, but I have a certain Daughter of Ares to intercept."

However, Percy levelled his sword and snarled, "Fight me! One on one! What are you so afraid of?"

Luke looked back at him, "I told you last summer, Percy. You can't bait me into a fight."

However, Percy responded, "Why are you so keen to avoid a duel? Afraid that your warriors will see you get whipped?"

The older boy paused and then seemingly came to a decision. He drew his own sword, called Backbiter, "Fine. You wanted a duel, you've got one. Don't worry, I'll make your death swift."

He let out a sharp whistle and one of his men threw him a round leather and bronze shield. In response, Harry activated his own shield and tossed it to Percy. As he did so, he joked once again, "Oi Jackson! This is the last time, mate. Get your own shield next time."

The two boys circled each other, just waiting for the other to strike first. While all that was happening, Percy tested the shield's weight. It was a little heavier that he would have liked, but then again, Harry was taller and bigger built than him. Soon, Luke got tired of waiting and lunged with a savage slash. Luckily, he blocked with the shield and counter-attacked with Riptide.

Luke shot him an appraising look, "You're gotten better, Percy. I'm impressed."

He attacked again, this time going for the head, but Percy parried and returned fire with a thrust. Luke dodged it easily and jabbed again. This time, Percy jumped back and landed in the pool. With a new surge in strength, he created a funnel cloud and blasted out of the deep end, right at Luke's face. The older teen spluttered and cough and the force of the water knocked him down.

Luke recovered quickly, dropped to a crouch and stabbed him in the thigh where the shield did not cover him. Percy doubled over in pain and collapsed. Luke hacked downwards for the killing blow, but Percy rolled behind a deckchair and avoided the blade. Luke swung again, cleaving the chair in half, but missed his target again. However, Percy was struggling to a crawl, and his opponent was nonchalantly following him, prolonging his misery.

Luke smiled nastily, "One thing I want you to watch before you die, Percy. You can eat your dinner now, Oreius. Bon appétit."

Oreius grabbed Harry by his hair and lifted the struggling wizard, before the unexpected happened. There was a whistling sound, followed by a loud THWACK! The next thing anybody knew, a red-feathered arrow embedded itself in a startled Oreius' maw. Needless to say, he went down like a sack of potatoes.

Agrius bellowed in grief, "Brother!"

He let go of the pegasus stallion's reins, only to be bucked violently and for the pegasus to fly off neighing "Freedom!". The rest of the army stared at the twins' corpses in slack-jawed disbelief. Then, the silence was broken by a whooping war cry and the thundering of hooves. A moment later, multiple centaurs stormed the boat, and among them were some familiar figures.

Percy yelled joyfully, "Chiron!"

Harry also yelled, "Firenze! Torvus! Wait… Mistmane! How did you…? Never mind, I'm not looking at gift centaurs in the mouth!"

Aside from Chiron, the Hogwarts centaurs and the unicorn, there were several centaur factions. Some wore brightly coloured T-shirts with Day-Glo letters that read PARTY PONIES: SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER. Some were armed with bows, some with baseball bats, some with paintball guns. One had his face painted like a Comanche warrior and waved a large orange Styrofoam hand making a big Number #1. Another was bare-chested and painted entirely green. A third had googly-eye glasses with the eyeballs bouncing around on Slinky coils, and one of those baseball caps with soda-can-and-straw attachments on either side.

Luke shook off his surprise first and raised his sword to rally his troops. However, a leather boxing glove arrow made love to his scarred face and knocked him into the swimming pool. Harry cried indignantly from atop Mistmane, "Hey! No fair! I trademarked that!"

Several enemy warriors were downed in the initial surprise attack. Meanwhile, Chiron had rescued Annabeth, Tyson and Grover from the chaos. A fuming Luke crawled out and ordered, "Attack, you fools!"

Not a moment later, alarms blared out from below deck. The enemy warriors shook off their surprise and charged, but the heroes were ready. Tyson smacked several opponents off the ship, Harry and the other centaurs were firing arrows frantically, while Annabeth was stabbing opponents with her dagger.

Chiron called out, "Withdraw brethren!"

Luke's warrior's regrouped, but by then the centaurs and lone unicorn had vacated the premises. As they disembarked though, Harry discreetly placed a Tracking Charm on the Princess Andromeda with his sword. The motley group thundered down the streets of Miami, and Percy couldn't help wondering what the heck the locals were actually witnessing.

Very soon, they sped out of the city, racing through marshy fields of tall grass, ponds and stunted trees. When the herd finally slowed down, they were in a trailer park at the edge of a lake.

One beefy centaur bragged, "Dude! Did you see that bear guy? He was all like, 'Whoa! I have an arrow in my mouth!'"

Another centaur, this one with googly-eyed glasses, cheered, "Totally! That was awesome! Head slam!"

They charged at each other full force and bonked their heads together. After the impact, they staggered away with crazy grins on their faces.

Chiron groaned as he set up a picnic blanket, "This… is why I prefer my British cousins. I wish this lot wouldn't slam their heads together. They don't have the brain cells to spare."

Firenze was also facepalming, "Indeed… Our American counterparts are more… hooligan-like."

Percy said, "Chiron, thanks for saving us."

He smiled wryly, "Well now, I couldn't very well let you die. Especially since you all have cleared my name. I was able to eavesdrop on Percy's Iris-message and trace the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us is not the same as distance for humans."

As they talked, Tyson was hanging out with the other centaurs. Apparently, they were teaching him how to operate with a paintball gun.

Harry swallowed a bite of a hotdog, "So, what so we do now?"

Percy nodded, "Yeah. I mean, do we just let Luke get away scot free? Kronos is aboard that ship, or at least parts of him."

Chiron knelt, "I'm afraid that today might be considered a draw. I'm afraid that we did not have overwhelming numbers. On a similar vein, Luke was clearly not expecting us, so nobody won."

Annabeth was puzzled, "But we got the Fleece, didn't we? Clarisse should be in camp by now."

He nodded, "Yes indeed, and I commend you all for that. You are all true heroes. Rest for some time and they we shall return to Half-Blood Hill. Percy, that looks like a nasty wound, let's get you patched up immediately."

Percy looked hopeful, "You're coming with us?"

He smiled, "Oh yes, Percy. I'll be relieved to get home. My brethren here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin's music. Besides, I must have some words with Mr D. There's the rest of the summer to plan, as well. Additionally, I wish to see the Fleece."

Just then, Tyson fired a blue projectile, knocking a centaur into the lake. He crawled out, covered in muck and blue paint, before whooping hysterically. Chiron rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "Annabeth, my dear? Could you, Harry and Grover help Firenze supervise the other centaurs? I'd rather they not teach each other too many bad habits."

The two demigods understood the message and dragged a protesting Grover away. As they confiscated the paintball guns, Harry raised his eyebrows at Annabeth, "What do you think they're talking about?"

She sheepishly replied, "I may have let slip that we spoke to Percy about the Prophecy. I don't think we should get into too much trouble since we gave him the bare minimum, though."

Eventually, after some rest and healing for Percy, they were off once again. Admittedly, even with the speed of the centaurs, it still took two days to reach Long Island. Apparently, the camp had somehow managed to stay standing in the two weeks that they were absent. Dumbledore had tried his best, and even brought Madam Pomfrey to help.

They arrived just in time to see the camp being rebuilt after being besieged by a Draco Aionius. The Arts and Crafts cabin was already reduced to ashes, but the rest of the camp was relatively intact. Eventually, the campers, with the help of Clarisse, all managed to kill it. After the beast was felled, Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece on the lowest bough.

Not even a moment later, the moonlight appeared to brighten, turning from grey to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus – the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

As for the tree itself, the brown needles slowly began to turn green. With that, a loud cheer echoed through the camp. Of course, the tree had not fully healed, and nobody could guarantee that one of Luke's agents would not just simply pinch it and run off. Chiron and Dumbledore ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty until they found a permanent guardian.

Clarisse was pretty much treated like royalty when she returned. At dinner, she stopped briefly in front of Percy's table. She whispered, "Just because you were cool one time, Prissy, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right time to pulverize you."

The next morning, Dumbledore announced that he was leaving and heading back to Hogwarts. So Chiron elected to stage a special chariot race for him. Tyson wasn't particularly thrilled, but was willing to let Percy team up with Annabeth. Meanwhile, he and Harry would act as the pit crew.

Preparations were soon underway and everyone worked hard. The day of the race, Harry knocked on the door of the Poseidon cabin, "Oi Jackson! Get your arse up! It's race day! Come- You alright mate?"

He heaved himself up, "I don't know, dude. I got another visit from Hermes, last night. Letter from my dad."

Harry crossed his arms and looked on expectantly, "And?"

"Nothing! He just said two damn words! 'Brace Yourself'. I mean, why go through all that trouble to write a letter and just write two words?"

Harry flopped on the bed next to him, "I don't know, mate. Maybe he's being cagey for a reason. Remember, Lord Zeus is still a bit paranoid, so your dad is just trying not to tick him off. Maybe it's his way of saying that shite is about to hit the fan. Now come on, no point brooding about this. Let's go and get that chariot win! Oh by the way, Tyson wanted me to give you this."

He handed Percy a wristwatch. There wasn't anything special about it – just a white-and-silver clock face, a black leather strap. Harry gave him a wry look, "Eh… It's a nice watch, though I have a preference for digital watches."

At that moment, Tyson lumbered in, "Hey brother! Sorry, I didn't finish in time for the trip. Sorry, sorry. If you need protection in race, hit the button."

Percy was speechless, "Ah, okay. I'll treasure the watch. And, hey, um, Tyson… I wanted to say, well…"

Tyson stared at his feet, "I know what you will tell me. Poseidon did care for me after all. He sent you to help me. Just what I asked for. For a friend. Young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learn to make things out of scraps. Learn to survive."

Harry whistled, "Bloody hell, mate! That's pretty harsh."

Tyson shrugged, "Makes us appreciate blessings, not be greedy and mean and fat like Polyphemus. But I got scared. Monsters chased me so much, clawed me sometimes–"

Percy breathed, "The scars on your back?"

A tear welled in his eye, "Sphinx on Seventy-second Street. Big bully. I prayed to Daddy for help. Soon the people at Meriwether found me. Met you. Biggest blessing ever. Sorry I said Poseidon was mean. He sent me a brother."

Harry pat his back, "Well… You've got us, now. Okay Jackson, get dressed, Beth is waiting."

In 10 minutes, Percy and Annabeth were in a tricked out chariot. Tyson handed them two javelins, each with three buttons on the shaft. The first button primed the javelin to explode on impact, releasing razor wire that would tangle and shred an opponent's wheels. The second button produced a blunt bronze spearhead designed to knock a driver out of his carriage. The third button brought up a grappling hook that could be used to lock on to an enemy's chariot or push it away.

Harry also pointed out various buttons on the inside of the chariot. He said, "Right, so I got in touch with Fred and George the other day. You two remember them, right? They sent me a shipment of these items from Zonko's Joke Shop. This button deploys Dung bombs, it is exactly as it sounds. Then this one deploys Nose-Biting Teacups, and this last one throws Fanged Frisbees. Don't worry, they're pretty harmless."

Then, Chiron signalled for everyone to head to the start line. Once he was sure that everyone was ready, he blew the starting signal. The horses that they used, instantly knew what to do. He and Annabeth shot down the track, fast enough to give anyone whiplash.

The wheels glided as if it was running on a smooth surface. They had such a head start that they reached the first turn a full chariot-length ahead of Clarisse. Annabeth yelled out a warning, just as she threw a grappling hook javelin to knock away a lead-weighted net. The distraction allowed the Apollo charioteers to close in. The camper threw a javelin at their right wheel snapping a few spokes.

Somehow the chariot kept going and they were neck and neck with the Apollo chariot. Hephaestus was coming up close behind. Ares and Hermes were falling behind, riding side by side as Clarisse went sword-on-javelin with Connor Stoll.

As the camper yelled confidently, Annabeth grabbed her second javelin and threw it. It grew a heavy spear point while in mid-air and her aim was true. It caught the driver in the chest, knocking him against his teammate and sending them both toppling out of their chariot in a backwards somersault. The horses felt the reins go slack and went crazy, riding straight for the crowd.

Campers scrambled for cover as the horses leaped the corner of the stands and the golden chariot flipped over. The horses galloped back towards their stable, dragging the upside-down chariot behind them.

Percy and Annabeth's chariot was on tenterhooks, but somehow still running. Eventually, it was the final lap and the Hephaestus chariot was bearing down on them. Beckendorf grinned as he pressed a button on his command console. Steel cables shot out of the front of his mechanical horses, wrapping around the back rail of Percy's own chariot. With much resistance, Beckendorf's winch system began reeling in its victims as he pulled himself forward.

Annabeth desperately tried to hack at the cables, but they were too thick. Then, Percy made a split second decision, "Switch with me! Take the reins! Trust me."

They performed the swap, and Percy drew Riptide and slashed down, severing the cable. Their chariot surged ahead, but the Hephaestus chariot drew alongside them. Beckendorf swiped at Annabeth with his sword, but Percy deflected the blade away.

Then he grabbed a leather pouch from his chariot. He yelled, "See you, Percy! Here's a little parting gift!"

He threw the pouch into the chariot, and it stuck to the floor immediately and began billowing green smoke. Annabeth yelled in alarm, "Greek fire!"

Percy kept parrying Beckendorf's attacks, while trying to kick the pouch away. Then he remembered the watch and punched the stopwatch button. Instantly, the watch changed. It expanded, with the metal rim spiralling outwards like an old-fashioned camera shutter, a leather strap wrapping around his forearm. This lasted until he was holding a round war shield a metre wide, the inside soft leather, the outside polished bronze engraved with intricate designs.

In the pit area, Harry whistled appreciatively, "Ooo! Fancy! And it was about time he got a bloody shield! I was tired of letting him borrow mine".

Meanwhile, Percy blocked another attack and clobbered Beckendorf in the chest. The impact sent the son of Hephaestus flying off, and Percy turned back to the Greek fire pouch. With the tip of his sword, he flipped the pouch straight into the Hephaestus chariot. Needless to say, the driver yelped and abandoned the chariot, which exploded a couple of seconds later.

Clarisse and the Stolls swerve to avoid the wreck, allowing Annabeth to navigate the final turn and go across the finish line. As the crowd roared in approval, Annabeth yelled over the din, "Hold up! Listen! It wasn't just us!"

The crowd were uncooperative, but Harry took out his wand and fired a cannon blast in the air, silencing everyone. She nodded at him appreciatively, "We couldn't have done it without somebody else! We couldn't have won this race or got the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to Tyson, Percy's…"

Percy loudly finished for her, "Brother! Tyson, my baby brother."

Tyson blushed as the crowd cheered louder. Annabeth pecked Percy on the cheek, and Harry shot her a teasing grin. She rolled her eyes and mouthed, "Shut up".

Before long, the entire Athena cabin lifted Percy, Annabeth, Harry and Tyson onto their shoulders and carried them towards the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.

The good news didn't stop there, as Grover got some time off before resuming his quest for Pan. As it turned out, the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that they granted him a two-month break and a new set of reed pipes. Grover immediately put them to use, much to everyone else's horror.

One day, Chiron trotted over to Harry and Percy. He smiled, "I don't know what you did, but you're not in any trouble with Meriwether Prep, Percy."

Harry sheepishly said, "Actually Chiron, that may have been my doing. I spun a story saying that a bunch of delinquents sneaked into the school and were wreaking havoc. Percy over here, stepped in to save his fellow students. I told them that I happened to be passing by with Annabeth, and they bought it."

He nodded, "Excellent work! One day, when both of you are ready, I will show you how to manipulate the Mist. Unfortunately, Percy is still expelled. Your headmaster, Mr Bonsai, said you had – how did he put it? – un-groovy karma that disrupted the school's educational aura. But you're not in any legal trouble, which was a relief to your mother."

Chiron led them to a fountain as he talked. Then he handed Percy a coin, "Oh, and speaking of your mother, I think it is high time you called her."

Percy initiated the Iris Message and braced himself. Thank goodness that he did so, because Sally Jackson really let loose. Finally, she took a deep breath, "Oh, I'm just glad that you're safe. I'll get started on looking up schools for you."

Then, Harry spotted movement in the background and recognised the figure. He blurted in surprise, "Uncle Remus? W-What are you doing there? Wait… Are… Are you two? Wh-When?"

Remus Lupin looked like a deer in headlights, "First off, yes, it is exactly what it looks like. We're just taking it slowly and seeing where we're going from here. Sirius was the one who convinced me to go out there. Also, just listening to that little tirade, I'm kind of glad that Sally doesn't know about Howlers"

Harry asked, "Have you told her about the you-know-what?"

"I-I-I'm getting around to it!"

"Don't take too long! Oh and another thing, can you get in touch with Tonks? I need her and Sirius' help with something urgent."

"Will do that Harry. I'll see you in school. You did get our letter, right?"

Harry nodded, "Yes I did, bye Uncle Remus!"

With that, Percy cut the connection and Harry breathed out, "Well… That was unexpected."

Honestly, life was pretty good. Harry and his friends continued training hard. One morning, Tyson came bounding over to Percy and Harry, "Dream came from Daddy last night. He wants me to visit. Wants me to go underwater for the rest of the summer. Learn to work at Cyclopes' forges. He called it an inter – an intern –"

Harry asked, "An internship?"

"Yes"

After an uncomfortable silence, Percy asked, "When would you leave?"

"Now."

Percy was a little aghast, "Now. Like … NOW now?"

Tyson nodded, "Now."

Percy let that piece of information sink in before choking out, "I'm happy for you, big guy. Seriously."

The Cyclops' lower lip quivered, "Hard to leave my new brother. But I want to make things. Weapons for the camp. You will need them."

Percy pat his back, "You'll make the best weapons ever. I bet they'll tell good time, too."

Tyson sniffled. "Brothers help each other."

Percy assured, "You're my brother. No doubt about it."

Tyson began making his way to the beach and waded into the water. He whistled and Rainbow the Hippocampus burst out of the waves. He turned back and called out, "Use the shield well! Save your life one day!"

Harry hollered out, "I'll see you around mini-Hagrid!"

On those parting words, Tyson and Rainbow rode off and submerged underwater. Once they were gone, Percy pressed the button on the watch and it transformed into a shield. For the first time, he had a good look at it, and Harry whistled appreciatively, "Damn… Looked better than mine!"

He was right, as there were Ancient Greek style pictures hammered into the bronze. The scenes in questions were from their recently concluded quest. There was Annabeth slaying a Laistrygonian dodgeball player, Percy fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, Tyson riding Rainbow towards the Princess Andromeda, the CSS Birmingham blasting its cannons at Charybdis. Harry firing his Flame spell at the Hydra, and many more.

A day later, Sirius and Tonks Flooed into the Big House's fireplace and met with Harry. With Chiron present, Harry outlined his plan. He said, "So during our confrontation with Luke, he mentioned that he had some spies in our camp. I was actually in two minds about this. Plan A was to try and root out the spy. However, Plan B is we place our own spy in Luke's camp. That's where Tonks comes in, I'm hoping. Hey Tonks, didn't you mention that you were a Meta-Meta-something."

The pink-haired girl, who looked like she was in her early 20s, giggle-snorted, "I'm a Metamorphmagus. Basically, I can alter my physical body any way I want!"

With that, she morphed into an exact copy of him. When she spoke, it was in his own voice, "As you can see, I can even change my gender. This ability is actually something you're born with. It can't be taught."

He grinned, "Brilliant! Sirius? Would it be too much to ask for Tonks to infiltrate Luke's ship and feed us information on their whereabouts?"

Sirius Black thought about it, before he too, had a grin on his face, "Well… Bones did say that your final test would be a long-term assignment, and she asked me to 'leave it to my imagination'."

Chiron clapped his hands, "Excellent! Now Mr. Potter, Ms Tonks will be your responsibility. I trust that you can teach her some basic fighting skills? If I remember correctly, you removed Luke's memories of magic before he returned to his own camp. As per your line of thinking, you didn't want him taking that kind of intel to the enemy. So Ms Tonks, I would advise you to avoid using your wand. Mr. Potter and his friends will train you in sword-fighting, archery, knife-fighting and other skills. So you won't be defenceless."

She nodded, "Yes sir! I am looking forward to it."

From there, Harry, Percy and Annabeth began training Tonks. That night, there was a storm raging in the area, but Camp Half-Blood remained untouched. The magic of the Fleece was clearly working and strengthening the borders.

The very same night, Harry was shaken awake by Silena Beauregard. He sat up, "What is it?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, but something's come up. Word is that it's to do with the tree."

That jolted him out of bed, because Annabeth and Mackenzie were guarding the tree. Hastily getting ready, he seized his wand, as well as his bow and arrows and rushed outside with his weapons primed. As he hurried forward, he saw Percy scrambling out from the Poseidon cabin with Grover hot on his heels.

When they finally reached the top of the hill, the Fleece was still dangling from its perch. However, the base of the tree beheld an unexpected sight. A girl was lying unconscious, with two other girls attempting to revive her.

Harry recognised Annabeth and Mackenzie as the conscious girls. Chiron galloped up and then exclaimed, "Curse the Titan Lord! He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

Up above, the storm had broken, but the dawn sky was blood-red. Percy glanced at the centaur, "What do you mean?"

He uttered, "The Fleece… The Fleece did its work too well. It healed the tree. And poison was not the only thing it purged."

Annabeth spotted them and ran towards Chiron. She babbled, "It … she … just suddenly there…"

Harry and Percy sprang into action and rushed over to help Mackenzie. They inspected the unfamiliar girl. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and goth – a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with badges from a bunch of bands.

Percy placed a hand to her forehead and then spoke up, "She needs nectar and ambrosia."

Harry turned to Mackenzie, "Can you go get some nectar and ambrosia? Jackson and I can take it from here. We'll get her to the Big House."

She nodded and rushed off, as Percy lifted the girl into a sitting position. He cradled her head gently on his shoulder and turned to the campers who were watching the scene. He snapped, "Come on! What's wrong with all of you? Let's get her to the Big House."

Finally, the girl groaned, took a shaky breath and coughed. Her eyes opened, revealing that they were electric blue. She glanced at the two in bewilderment, "What- who-"

Harry spoke to her gently, "It's alright mate. You're okay now. Come on, can you stand? We'll get you to the Big House so that you can get healed up."

They hoisted the girl, draped each of her arms around their shoulders and began the slow trek. Ten minutes later, they finally managed to ease her onto a bed in the Big House. By then, Mackenzie had joined them and was busy treating her. Apparently, she had been getting lessons from Lee Fletcher.

Percy caught Harry's eye and they both reached an understanding. They both recognised who the girl was, and Harry couldn't help thinking that things were about to get very interesting. Mackenzie spoon-fed a bite of ambrosia and asked, "Hi, I'm Mackenzie Dursley! What's your name?"

The girl shakily said, "I'm Thalia. Daughter of Zeus."

Harry glanced at Percy again, "Do you want to do it or shall I?"

He motioned to Harry, "You do it. I suck at this kind of stuff."

Harry let out a long-suffering sigh, "Fine, fine! So I guess it falls on me, mate. Oi Jackson, are they all still outside, staring like blinking idiots?"

Percy peeped out of the window, "Uhh… Yeah. Everyone's still so shocked."

Harry sighed again, "Alright, you're at Camp Half-Blood now. Most of us are demigods here. Everyone outside is pretty shocked, because let's be honest, you were technically dead. Also, now there are two players for the prophecy. That's Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon."

She turned to Percy and gave a weak wave, "Sup… Cousin…"

"I'm Harry Potter, first and only son of Artemis. And you have no idea how bloody good it feels to be able to introduce myself."

Her eyes snapped to him, "Son of Artemis? Impossible! I thought she was a virgin Goddess!"

He grinned sheepishly, "Well… There was a loophole involved. Apparently, my mum was unable to conceive so they prayed for divine intervention. Lady Artemis answered and she performed a ritual that got mum pregnant. The only caveat was that Lady Artemis was also counted as my mother as well."

Thalia nodded, "Hmm yeah that actually makes sense. I'm just surprised that the Hunters were able to tolerate you."

He shrugged, "Well it was a heck of an adjustment period, but they're not sort of used to me. Heck, some of them are pretty darn overprotective!"

She chuckled, then she nearly jumped off the bed in shock, "Wait! I was with three others! What-"

Harry instantly reacted and went to calm her down, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa mate! Relax! Everyone's fine-ish… Grover's outside, so's Annabeth. Luke... It's complicated. You've been out of commission for… Is it five years, Jackson?"

He did some quick mental math, "I think six years. Annabeth's a year older than you, so she's 13."

Harry turned back to her, "Yeah, a lot has happened. In a way, it's good that you're lying down. We've got a lot to tell you, mate."

She tilted her head curiously, "You talk funny? I'm not your mate."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Bloody hell, not you too! I'm a Brit. We can argue about the English language later on."

Percy sniggered behind him, only to yelp when Harry shot a Stinging Hex at him. Thalia goggled at him, "Whoa! How did you do that?"

"Yeah, that's another thing. When the gods migrated from Ancient Greece and moved westwards, they made a brief pit stop in Great Britain for a couple of centuries. Hecate, Goddess of Magic, got a little busy and created a little community of magic users of her own. Thus, witches and wizards were created. We've got our own communities in different parts of the world. Aside from being a son of Artemis, I'm also a wizard. Mackenzie over there, is a witch, and she's my cousin. I used my wand to hit Jackson with a Stinging Hex because he was being a prat."

"Oh, cool, cool."

"You going to be okay? Just rest here for a while, we'll move you to the Zeus cabin when you're able. Good night."