That night, it was the first time the camp burial shrouds had bodies in them. One of the biggest casualties was camp counsellor Lee Fletcher. The son of Apollo was felled by a giant's club. A few other campers had also perished, as did a couple of Hunters. Castor, son of Dionysus, almost joined the fatality list, if Perri had not saved him.

Around noon, the Council of Cloven Elders convened. The three older satyrs, Leneus, Maron and Silenus headed the council, with Chiron also joining them as an honorary member. The centaur was still on the mend, so he was confined to his wheelchair.

This time, the sacred grove was filled with multiple satyrs, dryads and even naiads. Juniper, Annabeth and Percy stood by Grover's side, while Harry told them that he would be swinging by in a few minutes.

Silenus demanded that Grover be exiled, but Chiron persuaded him to at least hear evidence first. With a signal, the quest returnees told everyone what had happened in the crystal cavern, and what Pan had said. Several eyewitnesses from the battle described the weird sound Grover had made, which drove the Titans' army back underground. They also spoke about the army of animals and birds that Harry summoned

Juniper insisted, "It was panic! Grover summoned the power of the wild god. Even Harry managed to tap into Pan's domain over wildlife!"

Seeing Percy's perplexed expression, Chiron explained, "During the first war of the gods and the Titans, Lord Pan let forth a horrible cry that scared away the enemy armies. It is – it was his greatest power – a massive wave of fear that helped the gods win the day. The word panic is named after Pan, you see. And Grover used that power, calling it forth from within himself. I also suspect that due to Harry's affinity for animals, Lord Pan gave his blessing to command the wild."

Silenus bellowed, "Preposterous! Why would the wild god favour a disgraceful satyr like him! Grover just got lucky that his music was so awful that it scared the enemy away."

Just then, Harry arrived with his wand out, floating a large stone basin. He called out, "Believe what you will, this is proof!"

He set down the Pensieve and approached Grover. Harry told him, "Hey mate, concentrate on that memory for me, please?"

Grover obliged and Harry placed the tip of his wand to the satyr's temple. Slowly pulling it away, he extracted a bright white wisp, which he carefully deposited in the bowl. Then he tapped the rim of the basin and made a movement. As he did so, a magical projection popped up and showed off the memory, clear as day.

Grover addressed the stunned crowd, "He let his spirit pass into all of us. We must act. Each of us must work to renew the wild, to protect what's left of it. We must spread the word. Pan is dead. There is no one but us."

Silenus snapped, "After two thousand years of searching, this is what you would have us believe? For all we know, this so-called memory is fake!"

Then another voice sounded, "I, for one, believe him!"

Everyone turned to see none other than Dionysus strolling into the grove. He wore a formal black suit, a deep purple tie and violet dress shirt, his curly dark hair was also carefully combed.

The satyrs all stood respectfully and bowed as he approached. Dionysus waved his hand, and a new chair grew out of the ground next to Silenus's – a throne made of grapevines. The satyrs all stood respectfully and bowed as he approached. The god waved his hand, and a new chair grew out of the ground next to Silenus's – a throne made of grapevines.

He glanced around and drawled, "Did you miss me?"

The satyrs began to grovel before his feet, "Oh yes! Very much, sire."

Then Dionysus snapped, "Well, I did not miss this place! I bear bad news, my friends. Evil news. Many of the minor gods are changing sides. Morpheus has gone over to the enemy. Janus and Nemesis, as well. As far as I'm aware, Hecate is staying out of it. Zeus knows how many more have joined. Now, I want to hear Grover's story, from the beginning, if you please."

Maron stammered, "My lord! It's just nonsense!"

Dionysus glared fiercely, eyes flaring with purple fire. He bit out, "This camp has just barely survived an attack. I almost lost my two sons in the battle. Safe to say, I am not in a good mood. You would do well to humour me."

The three satyrs gulped and Dionysus gestured. Once again, Harry replayed the memory and the God of Wine watched it intently. When it ended, the god mused, "It sounds like just the sort of thing Pan would do. Grover is right. The search is tiresome. You must start thinking for yourselves."

Leneus declared, "We must exile the traitor!"

Dionysus countered, "I say no. That is my vote."

Chiron chipped in, "I vote no as well.'

Silenus clenched his jaw, "All in favour of the exile?'

He and the other two old satyrs raised their hands. Maron smugly said, "Three to two.'

Dionysus drawled, "Ah, yes. But, unfortunately for you, a god's vote counts twice. And as I voted against, we are tied."

Silenus fumed, "This is an outrage! The council cannot stand at an impasse."

Dionysus waved a dismissive hand, "Then let it be dissolved! I don't care."

The trio stood up stiffly and walked away, followed by a dozen other satyrs. The rest just stood around, looking uncertain. Grover addressed them, "Don't worry. We don't need a council to tell us what to do. We can figure it out ourselves."

From there, he began to divide the satyrs, and the demigods left him to do his thing. Later on, Briares left for the forges beneath the sea, after a heart-to-heart with Tyson. That night, dinner seemed almost normal. A week later, it was time to leave camp once again. Harry, Mackenzie and Bianca packed their bags and prepared to leave.

Before they left, Annabeth called him and Percy over. For a while, they sat in a circle, awkwardly before she took a deep breath. She said, "Listen, I… I wanted to share the full prophecy with you two. Figured I would do this now and get it off my chest or it would drive me crazy."

Percy was about to speak but Harry interrupted, "Take your time, mate. No rush."

She breathed in and out again before speaking, "We entered the maze, raised the dead, the traitor was Ethan, and the Lost One was Pan. That much is obvious. 'Rise or fall by the Ghost King and the Master of Death's hand'. At first, I thought it was Minos, but it was actually Nico. The 'Master of Death' line confused me for a bit, until Bianca showed up. The Child of Athena's final stand… That was Daedalus. The next line was Destroy with a hero's final breath. Again, that was Daedalus, and his death destroyed the Labyrinth. And the last line was- "

She stopped and took a few deep breaths, "And lose a love, worse than death. I… I thought it was talking about Percy, at first. Then after some thinking, I wondered whether it was about Luke…"

Percy slowly said, "You loved Luke, didn't you?"

She looked to be on the verge of tears, "Luke and I – for years, he was the only one who really cared about me. But now that he's acting as a host for Kronos… I lost him…"

Harry rubbed her back gently, and then glanced at his watch, "Hey Beth, I'd love to stick around, but I've got to go, mate. I'm spending whatever's left of the summer with the Weasleys."

She shot him a watery smile, "Go… I won't delay you any longer. Remember to write often!"

Harry stood up, suppressing a wince, as he was still injured. Then, Percy had a sudden thought and reached into his breast pocket. He brought out a small wrapped piece of cloth and called out, "Hey dude! Can you do me a favour?"

"Yeah, Jackson?"

Percy handed over the cloth and said, "Can you keep it safe and plant it somewhere for me? A favour for a friend."

Harry smiled and took the cloth before joining Mackenzie and Bianca. From there, the trio took the International Portkey to The Burrow.

After a wild ride, the trio were finally deposited outside the ramshackle house. Ginny was in the garden when she spotted them. Her eyes widened briefly before turning and shouting, "GUYS! THEY'RE HERE!"

Walking up the driveway, Bianca said, "By the way, Nico and I were present for Daedalus' sentencing. Minos wanted to boil him in cheese fondue for eternity. Dad had other ideas. Daedalus will be building overpasses and exit ramps in Asphodel for all time. It'll help ease the traffic congestion. Honestly, I think the old guy is pretty happy with that. He's still building. Still creating. And he gets to see his son and Perdix on the weekends."

Harry smiled, "I'm glad. Hope they made amends."

Mackenzie asked, "You holding up, okay? That spear to the side was pretty nasty."

"I'm getting better. Hopefully Madam Pomfrey will help heal it faster."

Suddenly, just as they stepped inside the house and closed the door, a voice screamed, "HARRY!"

A brunette bushy-haired missile glomped him and his side exploded in pain. He yelled, "HERMIONE! Take it easy!"

Bianca was at his side immediately, while Mackenzie pried Hermione off. The Daughter of Hades helped him to a couch and pulled up his T-shirt to reveal his bandaged side. Hermione paled, "OH MY GOSH! Harry! I am so sorry!"

Ron trooped down the stairs, "I warned her that her hugs are bloody lethal weapons! You alright mate?"

Harry winced as Bianca dabbed away some blood, "There was a major attack at Camp. Many of Luke's forces managed to bypass the camp's magical barrier and laid siege last week. Got a spear to the side. By the way, why are you grinning like an idiot?"

Ron had a delirious dopey-looking smile on his face as he brandished a letter, "Mate! I just became a freaking Prefect! Just got the letter today!"

Harry grinned, "Congratulations mate! I'm happy for you! You deserve it! I'm assuming that Hermione is the girls' Prefect"

The redhead nodded affirmatively and spoke, "I'm confused by one thing though… I would have thought that you would have been a shoe-in."

Harry sheepishly smiled as Bianca replaced his bandage, "Actually… Dumbledore offered it to me first. I turned it down."

That prompted an outraged, "YOU. DID. WHAT!", from Hermione. She ranted, "Harry James Potter! Do you have any idea what an honour it is to be a prefect! There is a lot of responsibility with the role-"

He cut her off, "Hermione, in case you haven't noticed, Camp Half-Blood barely survived an all-out assault! There's a war just on the bloody horizon! I think that's far more important than being a prefect! Besides, Mackenzie, Bianca and I will be busy training for it, in addition to our studies."

She was properly cowed now. Ron interrupted, "So, what happened? I heard that there was an attack at Bones Manor. Was all over the Prophet. There was also a massive earthquake last week."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, it was a random Hellhound attack. Turns out, Madam Bones temporarily lowered her wards because some of Susan's friends were visiting. Damn thing snuck in and attacked the manor. Fortunately, Sirius gave me a call and I got rid of it."

Ginny also piped up, "The Prophet had no idea what it was. They thought it was a Grim, or something."

Hermione spoke, "So… Susan and her friends know?"

"Kind of… Hecate suddenly showed up and explained everything to them. Also, I think it's time we start preparing. When the Titans do attack, there is a small chance that the Wizarding World could get dragged into the fight. According to Dionysus, many of the minor gods are siding with the Titans. Hecate is the only one who is staying out of it. That's just because they can't find her, since the Titans don't know about the Wizarding World."

Ron grunted, "It's better that way… Or we're bollocked. By the way, you mentioned something about a maze in your letter?"

Harry nodded grimly and motioned for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to gather around him. He said, "There is a legend about the Labyrinth of Daedalus. Originally, he bult it in Crete to house the Minotaur. However, it had continued to grow with each passing year. Somehow, Daedalus was alive for all of these centuries, and the Labyrinth was tied to his life-force. One of the entrances opened up right in the middle of the camp. Naturally, Luke was desperate to find it."

Harry lowered his head, "In the end, Daedalus gave up his own life to destroy the Labyrinth. So that earthquake you all felt, was the Labyrinth collapsing on itself."

Ginny's eyes were wide, "So the Labyrinth was so big that it reached as far as England?"

He nodded, "Yep… One of the paths went straight through the Chamber of Secrets."

Mackenzie nudged him, "Harry! Tell them about the power you inherited?"

Ron was curious, "Power?"

Harry's face grew grim, "Also during the journey to find Daedalus, we were tasked with finding the lost God of the Wild, Pan. Eventually we found him, but… his domain is rapidly disappearing. Because of deforestation and encroachment into the wilderness, Pan's power was depleting. He… faded away."

Hermione was horrified, "Gods can die!"

Harry replied, "Not die… They can fade away when everything they stood for, is gone. When they cease to have power and their sacred places disappear. As he faded, he blessed most of us. Grover inherited one of his greatest powers, a horrible cry that scares away enemy armies. It was his greatest power – a massive wave of fear that struck every enemy. That's where the word 'panic' comes from. As for me… I received domain over animals."

Mackenzie gushed, "You should have seen Harry in battle! He gave a loud deafening whistle, and moments later, a huge flock of birds swooped from the sky and began attacking the monsters and giants. There was also a whole army of animals that joined the attack. I saw wolves, coyotes, raccoons, dogs, foxes, squirrels. Even spotted a few bears joining the fight. It was glorious!"

Ron's eyes bugged out and he blurted, "Bloody hell! My best mate is a bad arse!"

Then Harry remembered something, "Blimey! I almost forgot! Did you know, Daedalus actually built Hogwarts himself? Rowena Ravenclaw was his half-sister and she asked him to help them build the castle. The Founders had the magic, but Daedalus did the heavy lifting. He also built the Hogwarts Express."

He spotted Hermione rifle through her bag and dig out Hogwarts: A History. Harry stopped her, "You won't find his name there. Daedalus wanted to keep both worlds separate, so they swore an oath. By the way, what about our books? And who's our new DADA professor? I'm hoping its Remus again. He's the most competent one we've had, and Crouch Jr-Moody does not count."

Ron shrugged, "Don't know about the professor, but I suppose we'll find out. As for your books, Sirius bought them for you, Mackenzie and Bianca."

Day soon turned into night and Harry trooped up to Ron's room to crash. When morning broke, most of the occupants were up and about. Ron woke up and saw Harry still asleep. Then he noticed movement at the bedroom door and it swung open, revealing the twins. Both of them had wicked smirks on their faces and both had their wands pointed towards Harry.

Ron's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to warn them, but it was too late. A loud klaxon-like sound echoed for two seconds, and then the sound was quickly cut off by an audible *THUNK* sound. Fred and George screamed like little girls as a hunting knife pinned both boys to the wooden door by their T-shirts.

Harry was on his feet and had his arms outstretched, ready to attack. Finally, he relaxed slightly, and then the rage set in, "Fucking hell! FRED! GEORGE! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU TWO THINKING! I ALMOST KILLED BOTH OF YOU!"

He stomped over to the bathroom and quickly freshened up, leaving the twins to try and tug themselves free. Just then, footsteps pounded towards the room and Ginny burst in, followed by Hermione and Bianca. The redhead exclaimed, "What happened?! We heard some loud sounds. Scared mum and dad half to death. Wait… Is that a knife? Why are Fred and George pinned to the door? Not that I'm complaining."

Finally, Mackenzie showed up at a more sedate pace and grinned at the sight of the helpless twins. She snickered, "It's okay Ginny. These two just found out, the hard way, to never jump-scare a sleeping demigod. Especially one with an itchy trigger finger."

The bathroom door finally opened and Harry exited, fully dressed. He was still really mad, and he marched up and ordered, "Hold still…"

With effortless ease, he pulled out the knife, turned it into an earring and placed it back in his ear. At the breakfast table, George suddenly blurted, "Oi Harry! Why do you sleep with a knife under your pillow."

Harry shrugged, "Force of habit. When I'm with the Hunters, we sleep outside a lot. Naturally, a bunch of demigods clustered together is an open invitation to monsters to attack. So all of us Hunters are very light sleepers, just in case we're attacked at night. Sure, mum usually has two wolves patrolling the borders, but they can only do so much. 'Kenzie also sleeps with a knife under her pillow."

After that bit of drama, everyone was finally on their way to King's Cross Station. Eventually, they were on the train, and Harry sat with Mackenzie, Bianca, Neville, Ginny and Luna. He was still bandaged up, but Mackenzie and Bianca kept the bleeding under control. Ron and Hermione left to attend a Prefect's meeting, so it was just the six of them. When Neville was showing off his new plant, Harry remembered his promise to Jackson. He withdrew the cloth and unwrapped it, "Hey Nev, my friend Percy Jackson came across this plant. Do you think you could find a spot to plant it?"

His eyes widened, "Bloody Nora! Is that a moon lace flower?! They're supposed to be extremely rare!"

Harry carefully handed the flower to Neville, who cradled it like it was a new-born baby. With his wand, he carefully conjured a pot and placed the flower gently inside. Neville looked up, his face full of awe and he breathed, "Harry… I will treasure this flower."

Sometime into the journey, the compartment door opened, revealing Susan Bones and her friends. The group was invited in and they sat around before Penny Haywood finally spoke, "Harry? We… er… might have forgotten to thank you for saving us."

He had a sheepish smile on his face, "Not your fault. I was also in a bit of a rush. Was in the middle of a quest."

Susan, Penny, Wayne, Ernie and Justin all piled in. Hannah was conspicuously absent because she was one of the Hufflepuff prefects, along with Diego Caplan. Justin pleaded, "Can you share some of your adventures? Please!"

Harry let out a fond sigh, "Alright… So this adventure, is what I call, the Quest for the Lightning Bolt…"

As Harry narrated, his audience was pretty captivated. He had just finished talking about the Sea of Monsters, when Ron and Hermione turned up. From there, they spoke about rescuing Harry, until he took over the conversation and spoke about the Labyrinth.

By then, the Express was just pulling into Hogsmeade Station. Once again, they took the Thestral-pulled carriages to the castle. When they disembarked, one Thestral couldn't help nuzzling Bianca, who pat its snout fondly.

As they walked to the castle, Harry asked, "So who are the other prefects? Susan told me about Hannah and Diego, not the others though."

Ron replied, "Theodore Nott and Pansy for Slytherin. Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw. Heard a rumour that Malfoy was in the running, but Snape chose Nott instead."

A few feet away them, Daphne Greengrass overheard and scoffed, "Oh please… Considering the stunt he pulled last year with Rowan Khanna, it would have been suicide to pick him as a Prefect. Padma would have resigned on the spot if Malfoy got the role."

Eventually, they all entered the castle and inside the Great Hall. As he gingerly sat down, Harry heard someone calling him and internally groaned when he recognised Malfoy's voice. The smarmy git jeered, "Oi Potty! Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley."

Hermione snapped, "Zip it, Malfoy! That's Prefect Granger now. Believe me, it will be a Genuine Pleasure to dock points every time you throw around disgusting slurs like Halloween candy."

Then the doors opened and Hagrid ambled in, leading all the First-Years. Harry couldn't quite put a finger on it, but the half-giant looked a little upset about something. The Sorting began in earnest and everything went about as normal. Then Dumbledore stood up and introduced a woman with fair skin, wavy red hair, green eyes and had a sort of square face. Her name was Patricia Rakepick and she was the new DADA professor.

Gryffindor got a good haul of students this year, with a generous number of students going to other Houses. When the Feast ended, Harry got up from his seat and whispered to Ron, "I'm just going to meet Madam Pomfrey and get my side fixed. Can you wait for me by the Fat Lady?"

He nodded, "Got it, mate."

Harry headed straight to the Hospital Wing, and Pomfrey simply clucked disapprovingly. She groused, "Good heavens! The term has not even begun!"

Harry just gave a sheepish laugh as she unwrapped the bandage and inspected the wound. He said, "Well, to put it simply, Camp was under attack after a secret entrance was discovered. That entrance bypassed the magical borders and opened up right in the middle of the camp. We barely fended it off and destroyed the entrance. Got a spear to the side, in the process."

She tutted and then waved her wand, "Well, young man… Fortunately for you, it is just a glancing blow, so it is merely a flesh wound. I can heal this easily, but do take it easy for a few days because it will be tender."

Sure enough, the bruised skin healed and the angry gash closed up, leaving pink skin behind. Harry thanked her and left, reuniting with Ron after about 10 minutes. The redhead gave him the password and they entered the Common Room.

Now that there was no Voldemort to worry about, Harry could finally enjoy a peaceful year. Or as peaceful it could get for a demigod. A week later, Harry was wandering around the castle. He muttered, "Okay… So Beth told me that she found the schematics of Hogwarts Castle on Daedalus' laptop. Said that there was a secret room on the Seventh Floor."

Eventually, he found a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, trying to teach trolls ballet. Harry stopped in front of a blank wall and began pacing back and forth. All the while he thought hard, "I need a training room for demigods. I need a training room for demigods."

Harry repeated the process three times and then there was a reaction. A highly polished door had appeared in the wall. Harry reached out, seized the brass handle, pulled open the door, and entered a spacious room lit with flickering torches. There were different sections for archery, javelin-throwing, sword fighting, knife-fighting and spear-fighting. With a big grin on his face, Harry began his training and made up his mind to bring Mackenzie, Bianca and Katie, next time.

One fine day at lunch, Harry saw John Silvertongue slide into the seat in front of him. Ron and Hermione were elsewhere with prefect duties. John murmured, "Hey Harry, can we talk? Something's been bugging me for a while."

Harry smiled at the Ravenclaw, "Sure thing mate."

John looked around him, and no one was really paying attention to them. He whispered, "I've been getting some weird visions for the past few days. Sorry, you're the only one I could think of talking to. Penny would think I'm going nutty, and I wasn't particularly close to my other friends other than Rowan."

Harry asked, "Visions? Or dreams?"

John screwed up his face in thought, "Well… It kind of happens even when I'm awake, and they are occasional glimpses. Also, when I was in Diagon Alley the other day, I happened to overhear Professor Snape and caretaker Filch talk about a corridor of ice."

Now intrigued, Harry leaned forward, mentally crossing John Silvertongue off the potential demigod list. He said, "Corridor of ice? Go on…"

"Basically, Filch said something about discovering a door in the castle that leads to a corridor that is covered in ice. I think this could be related to the Cursed Vaults."

Harry nodded, "Yeah I heard rumours about those. Something about great riches and knowledge."

John scoffed, "Bruv… I could care less about treasures. I just want to find my brother Jacob. Merula's been insufferable, constantly taunting me that Jacob went mad looking for the Vaults and got himself expelled."

Harry's face softened, "You just want closure, right? Don't worry, I'll help. Now, take me to this corridor after our classes."

Sometime later, John and Harry trooped over to a seemingly empty section of the castle. The duo began investigating, but found nothing out of the ordinary, other than the door. Harry pointed his wand at the door, "Alohomora!"

Unfortunately, the door didn't budge, but before they could do anything else, there heard a noise nearby. With looks of alarm on their faces, they bolted away immediately.

The next day when they tried to sneak there, they found Mrs. Norris patrolling, so decided to abandon the premises until they could think of a better plan.

A few days later, Harry decided to pay Hagrid a visit. When the half-giant opened the door, he still looked morose, but his face brightened slightly upon seeing Harry. Harry smiled and decided to address the elephant in the hut. Sipping a cup of tea, he asked, "Hey Hagrid! You doing alright? I couldn't help noticing that you've been looking a bit glum lately."

Then the demigod looked around the hut, "Come to think if it, where's Fang? He out doing his business?"

Hagrid's face fell even further and then there was a brief flash of anger before he burst into tears, "It's terrible, Harry! Fang's gone!"

Harry's mind went blank, "Gone? How? Ran off somewhere?"

Hagrid shook his head, "Nah… Aragog betrayed my trust. About two weeks before school started, Fang had just run off to relieve himself, like normal, but he didn't return for a while. I got worried and went to track him down. Turns out, he must've wandered a mite too close to Aragog's nest. Aragog and his kids made a meal of him."

Harry comforted him as he bawled, "Where did I go wrong with him! I raised him since he was a wee little egg, then he goes and eats my pet. Sure, Fang may have been cowardly, but I still loved him! Aragog never even apologised! Just said that any animal that wandered in his territory was a meal, and his family was getting bigger."

Then he blinked his tears away, "Harry, I need you to do me a favour. Could you ask your mum and your sisters to exterminate the Acromantula colony?"

Harry nodded, "I will… I'm sorry about Fang. He was a good dog."

Then an idea struck him and he hurriedly rifled through his backpack, "Hagrid! I have a gift for you. Could you step out of the hut with me?"

Harry stepped out, with Hagrid following, while wiping his teary eyes. The boy fished out a familiar silver whistle and blew. Once again, there was no sound, but a few minutes later, there was a loud "ROOOOF!"

The next thing Harry knew, he was flat on his back with a rhino-sized black shape standing over him. A large pink tongue was slobbering all over his face. He managed to wrestle the excitable giant dog off of him and exclaimed, "No! Mrs. O'Leary! Heel! Down girl! Down! Get off me!"

She backed off and stood in front of him with her tongue out and her tail wagging happily. Hagrid looked like Christmas, his Birthday and Easter, has come early. He exclaimed, "Cor! She's a beauty! What kind of critter is she?"

Harry approached and scratched her behind the ear, "She's a Hellhound. The only tame hellhound I've ever encountered. Her old master Daedalus has recently passed away, so I decided to take care of her for a while. But then again, Hedwig and Buzz are enough for me. I was hoping that you would be her master."

An awed Hagrid approached Mrs O'Leary, "She's gorgeous! I'd love to take care of her! Harry… Bless you, lad! How can I ever repay you!?"

Harry waved him off, "It was the least I could do, Hagrid. Just, try and keep her out of sight of most of the school. I'll spread the news to my friends to avoid scaring the crap out of them when they see her."