.

Bold is the reactions to the film
Italic is Percy/Narrator
Normal text is the film

Part I, Chapter 1

Includes :
I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher
Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death

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The screen was black. And then a voice started speaking.

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

Dawn barely held back a snort. That was definitely a solid start and it was most definitely Percy Jackson.

"Half blood ?" She heard Ron murmur. "It is like us then ?"

"Looks like we're going to find out," Harry shrugged.

"Hush, both of you," Hermione hissed.

Dawn pulled her legs to her chest under the blanket she had snagged in front of her. She would be needing all comfort she could get it they were able to watch what was more than likely to be a recounting of both wars from the point of views of people who actually fought in them. People like Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Leo.....her. Maybe even Nico.

Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

My name is Percy Jackson.

I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.

Am I a troubled kid ? Yeah. You could say that.

Dawn let out a soft chuckle amidst all the others. "Dear Gods," she breathed, shaking her head in amusement.

I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff. I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.

The screen faded into the image of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, people going up and down the majestic steps. The camera panned onto different angles of the building as Percy's voice kept speaking.

But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.

"They have latin in the muggle world ?" Ginny furrowed her eyebrows.

Ron looked at the screen incredulously, "Why would you do that to yourself ?"

"Hush, Ronald," Hermione chided.

The scene shifted to that of a man in a wheelchair, with a class of students doing all sorts of different activities. Pointing at the board and speaking, though one couldn't really hear his words because Percy was speaking.

Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.

"That actually sounds really fun," Ron stared up at the screen in awe. "I take back what I said."

Dawn let out a soft chuckle again. She knew the truth about Mr. Brunner and if Ron found out what else he taught.....she had a feeling his reaction would be amusing.

I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.
Boy, was I wrong.

See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.

"Poor thing," Hermione cooed, as they listened and saw images of both places be shown on the screen. Percy was one of the kids who had it bad. He'd probably been expelled the most. Others had too of course, but none as much as him.

Dawn always considered herself lucky. While she might not have liked being at Hogwarts, at least there was less risk of getting expelled for things like accidentally blowing something up or adventuring in forbidden hallways.

This trip, I was determined to be good.
All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.

"What in Merlin does kleptomaniac mean ?" Draco Malfoy asked out loud from across the room.

He was sitting alone in the corner.
Since the War, since his parents had essentially forced him to join them when anyone with eyes could see he didn't want to, he'd become quieter. Almost shy. Most people payed him no mind in this extra year and he didn't seem to mind that. He had changed. Maybe not completely, but enough.

"Someone who can't help but steal things," Dawn called over. "It's a compulsion for them."

Everyone turned to face her. They weren't used her speaking up much. And they especially weren't expecting her to answer Draco Malfoy. Which was strange since the pair were friends. Everyone had known that since the War.

"So like you then ?" He teased.

Dawn narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

The screen showed a burly little redheaded girl throwing small balls of a sandwich at a young boy with dark, curly hair as they sat in a bus. She laughed with her friends amidst the chattering and giggling voice on the crammed New York boarding school bus. The boy just sat there and took it. He looked tired but did nothing.

Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.

"Sixth grade ?" Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "But they're twelve !"

"Muggles start school much younger," Dawn explained. "Usually around four."

Ginny and her brother nodded in understanding.

Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.

"That's horrible," Hermione cried. Everyone in the hall muttered in agreement.

Next to the girl, nobody noticed Dawn's fingers tighten around her legs over the blanket and the glare she was throwing the screen. Grover and Percy never told her about this. They probably knew she would try and kill the girl for putting her boys through that.

"I'm going to kill her." The camera shifted to the boy next to Grover who was clearly seething. He was a handsome young man, his friend. Dark hair that was cut smartly and startlingly pretty sea green eyes. The lines of his face were set in a hard angry look.

There were a couple giggles across the room. A few swoons too. Even Ginny and Hermione looked slightly in awe of Percy Jackson. Dawn smiled softly with affection. He was really handsome. Back then and as he grew older. She had a really handsome best friend.

Grover was obviously trying to calm his friend down as he shrugged, "It's okay. I like peanut butter." He seemed like a person who just wanted to get through the day peacefully. He must have suspected or had a feeling that Nancy Bobofit was about to throw another peanut butter and ketchup projectile at him because he moved his head to dodge it.

Percy wasn't having it though. "That's it," he declared. He started getting up, but Grover wasted not time in pulling him back to his seat.

"You're already on probation," he reminded. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."

Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.

Ron shifted nervously. "What's going to happen to him ? It can't be that bad. Right ?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Ron," Harry assured. "After all, it can't be worse than us."

Dawn almost scoffed again. This boy had no idea. Yes, what he, Ron and Hermione went through was tough and traumatic. But they had nothing on Percy and the chain of terrible traumatic events in his life. Not to mention, there was no one there to try to protect Percy from his fate other than Dawn and Annabeth. Adults and Gods (mostly Gods) were happy to practically push Percy to meet his potentially horrible and deadly destiny.

The image shifted to a man in a wheelchair, leading students through forests of statues and black and orange amphorae made of clay that rested behind protective glass. The wheels of the man's wheelchair and students' steps echoed through the gallery.

The class stopped near a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, gathering around like a small herd of sheep. The man, their teacher, started telling us how the structure was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about the same age as the students. He told them about the carvings on the sides and many more fascinating things.

"That's so lovely," Hermione sighed dreamily. "I miss muggle museums."

Ron smiled at her with affection. "Let's go one day."

"Really ?" Hermione lit up. He nodded.

Percy stood towards the front, his eyes fixed onto Mr. Brunner and narrowed with concentration. Unfortunately for him though, everyone around him was talking amongst themselves in not-so-quiet whispers. The amount kids speaking only amplified the sound of their muddled conversations creating a cacophony of white noise.

"It's so annoying when people do that," Hermione scowled. Dawn was inclined to agree.

Percy tried telling them to shut up every now and again. Mostly in vein. All he really accomplished was getting ignored or eyed badly by the other teacher with them. A woman in the back with a strict face and leather jacket.

Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown. From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.

Everyone shuddered. Dawn glared. She knew what Mrs. Dodds was and she did not like it.

One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."

"That's horrible !" Ron exclaimed. He knew all about detentions, having heard so many stories from his older brothers Fred and George back when they were in school. Even they had never had to do anything so bad.

"Though," Harry piped up, "not as bad as that time we were sent in the Forbidden Forest to look for that unicorn."

There, even Dawn, who liked to believe that Harry would not survive any of the things Percy had been through, had to agree. That evening was ridiculously dangerous and one of the first steps in her losing faith in authority. Especially in the figures from the Wizarding World.

The camera was fitted onto Nancy Bobofit's face as she made a comment and snickered like a little pig at something on the stele not too far from Percy. That seemed to be all the annoying background noise the boy could take as he turned around and glared, demanding, "Will you shut up ?"

It unfortunately came out louder than he had planned. Percy's face reddened as the whole group erupted into laughter and Mr. Brunner's words came to a pause. "Mr. Jackson, did you have a comment ?"

"No, sir."

Mr. Brunner assessed him before pointing at one of the depictions on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents ?"

Percy looked at it, his face softening with obvious relief. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right ?"

The Hall erupted with cried of disgust and shock. From gags to screams like "excuse me" and "what" and "urgh", everyone had displayed just how terrible they found this. Only Dawn sat impassively. She had heard the story enough times that it no longer affected her. Instead, she was busy checking her nails and deciding she should probably paint them soon. She'd have to Iris Message Piper and get her friend's advice. Also get information about the Leo situation.

"Yes," Mr. Brunner allowed, though he didn't look satisfied. "And he did this because..."

"Well..." Percy took a beat to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"

"God ?" Mr. Brunner cut in with an arched eyebrow.

"Titan," the boy corrected himself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right ? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"

"Eeew !" a girl behind Percy squealed.

Percy didn't let that phase him though and kept going, "—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans, and the gods won."

People snickered as if he had said something wrong. He hadn't but apparently, knowing things was not cool. Nancy Bobofit was still standing behind him, mumbling to a friend. "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

Mr. Brunner kept his focus on Percy. "And why, Mr. Jackson, to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life ?"

"Busted," Grover muttered.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.

"She is really annoying," Harry commented. Everyone let out murmurs of agreement.  They all throughly enjoyed seeing her get put in her place.

Percy's head was tilted downward as he thought about Mr. Brunner's question. He then let out a soft exhale and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach—

Everyone let out more sounds of disgust.

—The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside ?"

"They're supposed to eat lunch after hearing all of that ?" Ron demanded, still looking very much disgusted. Everyone did. Dawn was the only one who seemed unfazed.

The class seemed happy to oblige, following after the woman. The girls held their stomachs as if they were starving. The boys pushed each other around and acted like children and idiots. Percy and Grover shared a look, moving to follow when Mr. Brunner called, "Mr. Jackson."

From the look on his face, Percy was expecting it. He told his friend to keep going and turned to his teacher. "Sir ?"

"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner said.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "About the Titans ?"

"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."

"Oh."

"What you learn from me," the teacher continued, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."

Percy seemly bit back a look of annoyance before muttering something that was probably along the lines of, "I'll try harder," before Mr. Brunner told him to go have lunch. The teacher stayed there, looking at the stele as if he'd known the girl personally and actually attended her funeral.

I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.
I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C– in my life.

"C— ?" Hermione looked horrified.

"Dyslexia ?" Ron furrowed his eyebrows.

"Attention Deficit Disorder ?" Ginny looked so confused.

Dawn exhaled deeply. "Hermione, there are worse grade. Ron, it's a reading disorder, the letters get jumbled up and it's really hard to read. Ginny, it's a condition where you struggle to keep still and have a hard time concentrating on things."

They all furrowed their eyebrows at Dawn. "Don't you have that last one ?" Harry asked.

Dawn only said, "I do," while thinking 'I also have dyslexia'.

No—he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.

You did need it though.

"Dawn, did you say something ?"

The girl blinked. "Did I ?"

Harry nodded, his eyes narrowed in concentration and thought. "Yeah. Something like, 'you did need it though'."

"Just watch," the girl ordered, looking away.

.

The screen showed the sight of traffic and a street sign that read 'Fifth Avenue'. Then it shifted to the steps of the museum where multiple kids were gathered. It wasn't hard to recognise them as Percy Jackson's classmates. A huge storm brewed overhead with unusually black clouds. Nobody seemed to notice and if they did, they didn't seem to car much. Some boys were throwing crackers at pigeons. Girls sat on the side, whispering and giggling amongst themselves. Nancy Bobofit looked as though she were trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse. No teachers were there to say anything.

It then showed Percy and Grover sat by the edge of the fountain, farther from their classmates. They talked quietly, lunches in their laps.

"Detention?" Grover asked.

"Nah," Percy shook his head. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."

Grover was quiet. He looked very thoughtful and then, he wondered, "Can I have your apple ?"

Everyone laughed.

"Come on !" Neville Longbottom said, shaking his head. "I thought he was going to say something deep. "

Dawn rolled her eyes lovingly. Grover was Grover and she loved him for it.

Percy handed him the fruit before turning to look at traffic.

I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home.

"Aw," everyone softened.

"Looks like he's a mama's boy," someone sighed dreamily.

Dawn smiled. Percy was definitely a mama's boy. And for good reason too, his mother was amazing. As a mama's girl herself, she couldn't help but agree with how much Percy cherished Sally Jackson. That woman was a queen who deserved the entire universe and not the bad deck of cards that had been dealt to her.

She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.

"Six schools !" Hermione exclaimed. "What is this boy doing that he got expelled from six schools ?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Just keep watching," she urged. Probably not the right thing to say as they all turned to her with furrowed eyebrows. Did she care though ? Not really. They were going to find out about her sooner or later anyways.

The camera turned to Mr. Brunner who had parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.

Percy looked away from the man before sighing. He picked up his sandwich, hand on the wrapper when Nancy Bobofit appeared. She stood over the boys, tossing her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.

"Go away !" Some of the younger students yelled at the screen.

Dawn smiled at them fondly.

"Oops." She grinned uglily with her crooked teeth.

The screen turned blood red around the edges and all over before shifting to black. A ringing echoed, faint and piercing. It was the same kind of ringing you heard in your ears after being next to a very loud noise.

Everyone muttered in confusion, looking at their friends as if to check that they were saying the same thing.

I tried to stay cool.

The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.

The image started coming back, first in a blurred spotting of colors. Then it sharpened little by little, the ringing persistant and voice distorted in the background. When the was completely focused again, one could see Nancy sprawled in the fountain, soaked from head to toe and pointing viciously towards the camera.

I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"

Percy was shown, blinking and staring in shock. Mrs. Dodds showed up next to them. She seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Some kids jumped. Older students yelped or exclaimed, "Where the bloody hell did she come from ?"

Mrs. Dodds was busy checking Nancy. She reassured the girl and gently cooed. Percy was there, frozen, whispers swirling around him.

"Did you see—"

"—the water—"

"—like it grabbed her—"

I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.

Once Mrs. Dodds seemed sure that Nancy was okay, she turned to Percy with a look in her eyes. It was vicious and triumphant, as if he had done something she had been waiting for all semester. She approached him, murmuring, "Now, honey—"

"I know," Percy cut her off grumbling. "A month erasing workbooks."

Dawn rolled her eyes with the shake of her head. "Don't give her punishment ideas, dummy !"

That wasn't the right thing to say.

"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds ordered, her eyes narrowed into a cold glare.

Grover jumped to his feet, yelping, "Wait ! It was me. I pushed her."

"Aww," everyone said.

"That's friendship !" Ron called, pointing at the screen. He then turned to Harry amidst the agreement with a wink. Harry grinned back.

Percy stared at his friend, silently stunned.

I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.

She glared at him so hard his chin trembled. "I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she seethed.

"But—"

"You—will—stay—here."

Grover looked at Percy desperately. The boy only shrugged, patting him on the shoulder. "It's okay, man. Thanks for trying."

"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked. "Now."

The camera showed Nancy Bobofit smirking at Percy in triumph. Percy gave her a look that seemed to read, I'll-kill-you-later. He then turned to face Mrs. Dodds only to see that she wasn't there anymore. She was standing at the museum entrance, at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently.

"How did she get there ?" A lot of students yelled, getting nervous.

Hermione leaned forward, shaking her head. "That's not possible."

"Oh, it's possible," Dawn mumbled.

How'd she get there so fast?

I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.

"Is it really like that ?" Hermione turned to Dawn, her eyebrows curiously furrowed.

Dawn thought it over before sighing. "It's different depending on the person. ADHD will affect me in a different way that it will Percy. I don't have that, for example. Not much anyways."

Percy marched after Mrs. Dodds. He glanced back when he was halfway up the large steps to Grover. His friend was pale, eyes frantically glancing between Mr. Brunner who was none the wiser and Percy.

"Why is he looking at Mr. Brunner ?" Ginny asked. "What will he do ?"

Dawn almost commented, 'you'll see' but was cut of by a loud clap of thunder outside. The girl rolled her eyes and huffed. "Alright," she muttered. "I won't say anything."

Bloody Gods.

Mrs. Dodds was inside the building by the time Percy got there. Her frame was distinguishable at the end of the long entrance hall.

Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop. But apparently that wasn't the plan.

Percy followed after Mrs. Dodds, going in deeper and deeper past the frames and statues and artefacts. Then finally, they were in the Greek and Roman section again. The camera panned over the statues and amphorae and tapestries again. It was empty.

"I'm scared," a girl's small voice came through the hall. It was a little Gryffindor girl sat a little in front of Dawn and the Golden Trio. She must have been a first or second year.

Dawn smiled sadly, whispering over. "Come here."

The girl turned back to her and wasted not time in getting up and scuttling over to Dawn and snuggling up onto the older girl's arms. The Lupin girl only held her comfortingly, rubbing her arms up and down her shoulders. "It'll be okay," she promised.

She struggled with proximity since Gaia. But there was something about kids....Dawn remembered being a kid herself and often being terrified and just hoping that someone could hold her. She was determined to do it for this girl who had been brave enough to admit that she was scared.

The gallery was empty. Except for them of course. And that gave the place a sinister and scary vibe. As though it were the set of the newest horror movie, something just about to happen.

Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She sounded as though she were growling.

Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said in a sickly voice.

I did the safe thing.

"Looks like there's a first time for everything," Dawn quietly scoffed in amusement. The thunder clapped again to which the girl in her arms jumped and snuggled closer. Dawn gently rubbed her arm in reassurance before scowling at the window. "Oh shut up, you know I'm right," she mumbled under her breath. Percy's stupidity was legendary back at Camp and on Olympus.

"Yes, ma'am."

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?" Her eyes looked evil.

"Get away with what ?" Draco Malfoy furrowed his eyebrows. For a change, everyone agreed with him.

She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.

"I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am," Percy stuttered, looking more and more freaked out.

Thunder shook the building.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds hissed as she slowly started approaching him. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

I didn't know what she was talking about. All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.

"How is that worse ?" Hermione demanded. "He could get expelled and he's worried about having to read a book ?"

"He has dyslexia," Dawn reminded, hoping to keep the bitter and snappy tone she normally would have used on anyone saying something bad about Percy out of her voice. "Reading the book would be really hard."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"My boyfriend has dyslexia," the girl deflected. It was a lie. She was the one with dyslexia, not Leo. He had only had ADHD. Really really severe ADHD.

"You have a boyfriend ?" Harry blinked, looking as though he had been slapped despite, you know, having a girlfriend himself. One who sat right next to him.

Dawn nodded and left it at that. She had no plans to delve into her love life with Harry James Potter. She hadn't even wanted to reveal this truth about herself but it was that or mentioning her own dyslexia and potentially getting another clap of thunder sent her way because of Zeus. They might find it suspicious, though Dawn hardly thought they would put two and two together. Even once she would show up in the movies, she had a feeling they would still be in denial.

"Well ?" Mrs. Dodds demanded, not too far.

"Ma'am, I don't..."

"Your time is up," she growled.

Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice anything in itself way to ribbons.

Kids shrieked while the older students stared in shock. The little girl in Dawn's arms sank further into the older girl's arms with a soft whimper. Dawn murmured sweet words of assurance to her, promising it would all be alright and that Percy would be fine.

Then things got even stranger.

After Percy's brief interjection that sounded somewhere between exhaustion and a sigh, the camera showed Mr. Brunner. He wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand that he tossed through the air, shouting, "What ho, Percy !"

Mrs. Dodds lunged at Percy.

More shrieks and gasps filled the Great Hall. The girl pressed herself even more into Dawn's side, her eyes still focused on the screen out of some kind of morbid curiosity maybe. Dawn said nothing, still rubbing up and down the girl's back and watching the scene with a ticking jaw.

Percy lunged away from the talons with a yelp. His hand shot out to grab the flying ballpoint pen but as soon as it was in his hand, the pen wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword, lovely and shining bronze.

"What ?" The students exclaimed having clearly been expecting the pen to...stay a pen.

Dawn was still slightly tense despite knowing what would happen. A small smile graced her lips at the sight of the familiar sword though.

Hello Riptide, she whispered in her mind.

Mrs. Dodds turned to Percy, looking positively murderous. "Die, honey !" She screeched at a trembling Percy before flying straight at him.

Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.

Percy took a swing, as though it was something he had done tons of times before. The metal blade hit her shoulder and cut through her cleanly, no resistance whatsoever. She was instantly vaporised, dissolving into yellow sandlike powder with a dying cry.

Percy was alone. Alone with a ballpoint pen in his hand.

"What just happened ?" Ginny demanded, leaning forward was if being closer to the screen would give her the answer.

Dawn pursed her lips, glancing to the window. They had been covered by black curtains to maximise the cinematic experience. Professor McGonagall had definitely gone all out for this. But the sunshine was still peeking through the corners, as if her dear godly uncle Apollo were trying to force his way in.

She exhaled through her nose. "Let's just watch."

My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something. Had I imagined the whole thing ?

Percy went back outside, rain drizzling. Grover sat near the fountain with a large paper map on his head like a makeshift umbrella. Nancy stood there too, still wet with her friends. Her eyes glared at Percy when she saw him. "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

"Who ?" Every student but Dawn exclaimed.

"Who ?" Percy demanded

"Our teacher. Duh !"

Percy stared at her dumbly, blinking. "What are you talking about ?"

We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr.

The redhead rolled her eyes and turned away. Percy just shook his head, looking yo Grover. "Where's Mrs. Dodds ?"

Grover paused then asked, "Who ?" his eyes turned away.

"What is he doing ?" Ron demanded. "That's not friendship ! Why are you lying ?"

"Calm down, Ron," Hermione soothed.

"Not funny, man," Percy told him. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed above them. Mr. Brunner sat under his red umbrella, reading his book, seemly having never left that spot. Percy went over, determined. The teacher glanced up, a distracted look on his face. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

Percy blinked at the pen in his hand and held it out to the man. It was as though he had forgotten he had it. He then got to the point, inquiring, "Sir, where's Mrs. Dodds ?"

"Who ?" Mr. Brunner stared at him blankly.

"The creepy lady !" A group of first years yelled at the screen.

Older students chuckled fondly but muttered in agreement and validation. They seemed to agree with the title they had given Mrs. Dodds.

"The other chaperone," Percy explained. "Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."

Mr. Brunner frowned at Percy, leaning forward with concern painted onto his face. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right ?"

"What ?" Everyone demanded again. Others proceed to grumble and demand "why ?" and "what's happening ?" in lamenting tones as though they were the ones who had lived through that. Ron was one of them, muttering angrily about how this was wrong as his girlfriend and sister tried to calm him down.

Dawn stared at Percy Jackson's lost and confused twelve year old face. She still remembered when they met back when they were twelve year old children. Six years had passed since and each had felt so much longer than it actually was. She felt so much older than 18 and she was certain that Percy did too. Those few weeks in school before he reached camp must have been so hard for him, not understanding what had happened and Chrion and Grover not telling him shit. Dawn felt sorry that he had gone through all of that, thinking he had lost his mind for a time before his entire life was turned upside down.

And the worst part ? This was just the beginning.

.

I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.

Everyone sighed sadly, some even saying that it was sad and it wasn't fair. Dawn just made a mental not to give Percy a really long and awesome hug the next time she saw him.

It was easy to forget that despite everything they had been through as kids, they had been kids. They shouldn't have had to fight in a war or go through gaslighting and monstrous battles and losses that broke a certain part of them and changed who they were forever.

Percy walked through the halls, his hoodie drawn up over his hair. His head was angled downwards, hands shoved in his pockets as he walked in slow motion amidst blurred students on the edges of the hall.

For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas. Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.

It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.

The little girl (who's name, Dawn had discovered was Camille) looked at her, still wrapped around the older girl's arm. "Why are they doing this to him ?"

Dawn smiled sadly, stroking Camille's soft blonde hair. "It's complicated, love."

Almost. But Grover couldn't fool me.
When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying. Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.

The image shifted to dark and the sound of nails against a chalkboard echoed as Percy continued his monologue.

I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.

There was suddenly Mrs. Dodds' face, shrieking and lunging.

Everyone yelled out in surprise. Some students even tumbled back, as they tried to scramble away from the screen.

"Not cool !" Neville yelled, sprawled onto blankets and cushions. Luna Lovegood helped him up.

Camille shrank into Dawn's side again.

It was cut off by Percy sitting up in a bad with a blue comforter and fluffy pillows. He was breathing heavily, sweat on his brow and matting his hair to his forehead. He tried to slow his breathing, rubbing his face with his hands. The boy turned his face to the window once he had calmed down, staring at his reflection as rain hit the glass.

The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.

"Oh, I remember that !" Hermione exclaimed. "I read about it in the muggle papers."

I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.
Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him 'an old sot'. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.

"He did what ?" Hermione looked scandalised.

Dawn smirked. That was her best friend. There was a reason she considered him like her brother. She was very very proud of him.

The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.

"After that ? Not surprising," Hermione judged despite not really understanding shit about what the boy was going through.

Percy was sitting in the hall, the only static figure as the world moved around him. He was slumped forward, his head bent, hoodie still over his head.

Fine, I told myself. Just fine. I was homesick. I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.

And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.

"Aww," everyone sighed. They all seemed to have grown really attached to Percy and this was just the beginning.

Dawn couldn't exactly blame them though. Percy was a loveable guy. Especially baby Percy. Older Percy was awesome too of course, but there was something about when he was still innocent and untarnished by the world.......or as untarnished and innocent one could be with the kind of stepfather he had had.

I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well. As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.

"What ?" Hermione scoffed slightly. "Why would Greek Mythology and Latin be a life or death thing ? I still don't understand."

Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

The scene shifted to show Percy sitting cross legged on his bed. His face was furrowed in concentration as he looked down at the book in his hands. A frustrated sound came from the back of his throat. Finally, it all seemed to be too much for him and the boy picked up the book and threw it across the room.

"Why would you do that ?" Hermione shrieked, eyes wide with horror. Some of the Ravenclaw kids looked the same.

Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.

"Wow," Ron sounded sad. He reached over and nudged Dawn's shoulder. "Is it really like that ? For your boyfriend, I mean ?"

Dawn hoped she hadn't bristled too much at the touch but nodded. "Yeah. He has a tough time. Good thing he isn't really into reading because otherwise it would suck."

That wasn't a lie. Leo hadn't been into reading unless it had to do with mechanics. But even then, he would have much rather gotten his hands dirty and failed while doing it than reading about it. He could have read quite easily if he wanted to though since he didn't actually have dyslexia. Unlike Dawn. And she did love reading, so it definitely sucked.

She grew up on the myths her mother told her and stories and books that her uncle read to her. Luckily, Camp offered a wide range of books in Ancient Greek. And she had prayed to Hecate all the way back in her first year for a spell to be able to change the language of her school books so she wouldn't, well, fail.

There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs ? Forget it.

Percy got up and stared pacing. He sighed, hands on his hips as he crossed the length of the room. They then crossed over his chest. After that, he racked then through his hair in annoyance. Even through a screen, he radiated nervous energy.

I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes.

The scene shot back to the museum as Percy paused in his steps and remembered. Mr. Brunner was there, face grim, voice serious and steady as he pronounced the words, "I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."

He inhaled deeply, letting it all out as if to calm himself, when the teacher's face faded away. Percy turned around and picked the book back up, staring at the cover and squinted at it. It was a deep blue book that showed what seemed to be a painting of people back in Ancient Greece. There was text above and below it in small rectangles, black at the top and off-white below. Percy couldn't read them though, no one could as the letters swirled around and rearranged themselves before deciding to move all over again.

The boy huffed at it.

I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.

Percy walked down a set of stairs decisively, his footsteps quiet. It was dark and empty and eerily creepy. Doors lined the hallway, small metal placards on them on which you could read different names like Mrs. Kerr or Mr. Nicoll. One door stood ajar though, towards the end of the hall. Light glistened on the metal placard as the camera zoomed on it. It read Mr. Brunner.

Percy reached was about to reach for the handle when the incoherent murmure of Mr. Brunner's sounded. It sounded like a question. And then, another familiar voice sounded.

"...worried about Percy, sir."

"Grover ?" Everyone exclaimed, leaning closer again. They truly seemed to think that leaned closer would help them make sense of the strange situation.

Percy froze, sea green eyes wide.

I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.

"That's fair," Harry approved.

He inched closer, his face tilted closer to the door.

"...alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school ! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner cut in gently. "We need the boy to mature more."

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline— "

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."

"What's that supposed to mean ?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows.

Dawn chanced something, sounding as though she were theorising. "Well, the letter mentioned a different world. Percy clearly doesn't know about it yet so maybe he means that ignorance is bliss."

Ignorance was bliss in some cases.

Camille leaned forward, sitting cross legged with a blanket over her lap. She seemed very invested now that it was no longer scary. "I hope he'll be okay."

"Sir, he saw her... ."

"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."

"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice creaked.  "You know what that would mean."

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner assured kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"

Percy dropped the book in his hands in shock. He then looked down, snapping out of his stupor and cringing at the loud sound that echoed when the book thudded onto the ground.

"No !"

"Percy !"

"What ?"

Could be heard among different reactions to the book falling. Tension and disappointment rose in the air, as though everyone were actually living what was shown on screen instead of just watching it.

Mr. Brunner stopped talked.

Percy leaned down to pick up the book, slowly backing away from the door and down the hall. He kept a steady eye on it though.

Through the frosted window on the door, a vague form was identifiable, casting a long shadow onto the ground. One that was much too tall to be Mr. Brunner in his wheelchair. And one that seemed to be holding something that looked like a bow. The kind archers have, not the ribbons girls place in their hair or tie on the back of their dresses.

Percy's eyes widened as he scuttled back. His back quietly hit a door and he wasted no time opening it and slipping inside as silently as he could. He ducked down under the frosted window, listening.

A slow clop-clop-clop echoed, like muffled wood blocks. Then the sound of an animal snuffling outside the door. A dark shaped passed in front of the glass before advancing.

"What ?" Harry breathed.

"This is so confusing," Ron agreed. "What's going on ?"

Percy was crouched down, sweat on the side of his face as he hugged the book tightly to his chest.

"Nothing," Mr. Brunner's voice came. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover agreed. "But I could have sworn..." he trailed off.

"What happened at the Winter Solstice ?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows.

Hermione might have her flaws but Dawn had to admit that this girl knew how to ask the right questions. She said nothing, but thought with sadness, the beginning of the end.

Mr. Brunner seemed to understand from the tone in his voice but he only instructed Grover to "Go back to the dorm. You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me," Grover grumbled.

The light went out. Then silence. Only Percy remained, crouched in an empty room, in the dark. He stayed there a little longer, breathing heavily before deciding that the coast seemed clear. He quickly trudged back to his room, opening the door to find Grover there, laying on the second bed in the room.

"What ?" Everyone murmured around the hall.

"What's he up to ?"

"How is he so calm and nonchalant ?"

"What is going on ?"

Notes were spread out in front of the other boy, notes with scribbled writing and block letters and illustrations and diagrams. It looked as though he had been there all night.

"Hey," he greeted, sounding and looking tired. "You going to be ready for this test ?"

Percy said nothing, blinking. He went to his bed slowly as Grover furrowed his eyebrows. "You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay ?"

"Just... tired," Percy deflected as he turned his back to his friend and started getting ready for bed.

I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing. But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.

.

The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.

Percy was at the door of a classroom door, a tired and done look on his face as he started shouldering his bag.

"Percy," Mr. Brunner's voice called. Percy paused, mid action. He turned around to find the man sat behind his desk, one arm outstretched and beckoning him over. "Come here, my boy."

"Why ?" Someone called. "Why is he calling him over ?"

Someone else called, "You don't think he knows about the previous night......right ?"

Those words made everyone turn to the screen and anxiously stare at it. No one wanted Percy to get in trouble.

For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.

"Percy," the teacher said softly. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."

His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

Percy's head was low as he muttered, "Okay, sir."

"I mean..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth in a similar manner to pacing. He seemed almost nervous, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."

Percy looked up slightly, blinking with tears shining in his eyes. Tears he didn't want anyone to know about.

Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.

Cries and shouts of outrage and anger echoed around the hall. Some students got so agitated, they stood up and started pacing the mattress like floor Professor McGonagall had transfigured.

"Why is he doing this to him ?" Camille cried.

Glancing back over at the woman in question, Dawn noticed the disapproving and pinched expression on the woman's face. She clearly did not like how Mr. Brunner was behaving.

"Right," Percy said in a hushed manner, though anyone could hear the shake in his voice and see the shaking of his frame.

"No, no," Mr. Brunner shook his head. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"

That earned in an angry outburst. "Thanks. Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."

"Percy—"

He was gone before the teacher could finish.

Dawn had a pained and angry look on her face. She knew what the man was trying to say but Percy was twelve. Twelve and confused and sad and angry. Saying something like what Mr. Brunner said to him was just wrong.

And she wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Unbelievable," Professor McGonagall's voice sounded. Everyone looked over this time, seeing her shaking her head.

She caught all the students staring but said nothing. The headmistress raised her chin high, as she had every right to. Minerva McGonagall was a wonderful professor and she owned it. She knew it. And so did every student she ever taught.

The scene shifted. It was Percy, in his dorm, the door open as he packed his suitcase. The voices of other boys were heard in the halls all talking about their plans for the break that was coming up.

"I'm going to Switzerland," one said, shoving his friend with a smirk. "We're going to hike around the alps."

His friend laughed, patting his chest in approval before deciding to one up him. "My parents booked us a cruise."

"Where to ?" Another boy asked.

"The Caribbean islands," he smirked.

The kids were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.

"Percy," a lot of students softened. They looked at him with care and fondness, their lower lips jutting out into small pouts.

Dawn smiled sadly. She did kind of get how he felt. Back before Hogwarts, sure she went to Camp, but during the school year, she was in a muggle school. It wasn't the most prestigious or expensive. It was whatever her uncle could afford to send her to. But when breaks approached, all the other kids would excitedly talk about their plans. When it was Dawn's turn though, she would merely shrug and say that she didn't know or mention a summer camp to which these children turned up their nose.

"These blokes are kind of making me think of Malfoy," Ron commented with distaste, glancing at the blond boy on the other side of the room. "All rich and entitled."

Dawn followed his gaze with a small frown. Draco sat with his shoulder and head against the wall, grey eyes on the screen. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was a son of Athena. He was far from perfect, especially when they were younger but he had changed, grown.

"He's not that bad, Ron," the girl mumbled. "He's trying."

"So I'm just supposed to forgive and forget ?"

"I can't tell you what you're supposed to do," the girl shrugged. "Only you can decide that."

Ron cast the boy another look before shaking his head.

Percy kept packing his things. A soft knock rang through the room. The group of boys all crowded there, looking at the boy. "Hey Jackson."

"Hi," Percy muttered, still packing.

"What are you planning on doing this summer ?"

Percy paused, visibly gulping. He then looked at them and shrugged. "I'm going back to the city."

What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.

The sadness was palpable. Everyone in the room felt a twinge of sympathy for Percy.

"Oh," one of the guys blinked before he seemed to realize that wasn't very nice. He attempted to save face by nodding along and shrugging. "That's cool."

And the boys were gone. Their conversation still going as they moved away as though Percy never existed. Percy stood alone in his dorm, head bent low and defeated, the camera backing away slowly till his frame was outlined by the doorway.

The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to.

The scene shifted to show Percy on a bus, leaning back in his seat. He glanced over next to him, a small forced smile sent to the familiar face of Grover.

He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.

Landscape flew by them outside the dusty windows. Percy seemed to be looking outside, drumming his fingers on his knees. He looked next to him at Grover but the other boy wasn't paying attention. Instead, he seemed focused on the aisle next to his seat, constantly glancing down and looking in front again as though he hadn't been.

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.

He did it a few more times, with a few minutes of interval each time. Percy's face slowly twisted into a scowl every time Grover glanced back. Finally, he didn't seem to be able to take it anymore and wondered, "Looking for Kindly Ones ?"

"Ooooo," followed by some laughs of pride and a whoop filled with Great Hall.

"You tell him, Percy !" A fifth year Slytherin called, raising an arm and pointing at the large screen that showed Percy's I-am-an-innocent-little-shit look.

Dawn smirked pridefully.

A third year Ravenclaw questioned, "How does Grover plan on responding to that ?"

Grover jumped, whipping to look at his friend and stuttering out, "Wha—what do you mean ?"

Percy pursed his lips before exhaling through his nose. "I may have been listening in," he confessed. "To you and Mr. Brunner the night before the latin exam."

"Why would he tell him ?" Ron wondered.

Dawn scoffed slightly, shaking her head. "Dummy."

Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear ?"

"Oh...not much," Percy shrugged before asking, "What's the summer solstice dead-line ?"

Grover actually looked pained before slowly and gently starting. "Look, Percy...I was just worried for you, see ? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers..."

"STOP LYING !"

Everyone turned to Camille with wide eyes. They had not been excepting such a tiny girl who was so scared of the monster to have such a pair of lungs in her.

The little girl shrunk under the attention. "Sorry," she mumbled, burrowing into Dawn again, self-conscious. Dawn only held her while a soft chuckle of affection echoed around the room.

"Grover—"

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and..."

"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar," Percy interjected.

Grover flushed. He shook his head muttering, before reaching into his shirt pocket. Out came a small, crumpled piece of paper. A business card, it became clear. "Just take this, okay ?" He thrust it into Percy's hands. "In case you need me this summer."

A card was shown in Percy's hands. He squinted at the small and loopy script.

"Bloody hell, Grover," Dawn squinted at the screen. "Couldn't you make cards in a more half-blood friendly script ?" She knew what was written and she was having a hard time reading it. She couldn't even image the murder Percy's eyes must have faced at the time.

Unfortunately, she didn't say that as quietly as she had intended to. "What do you mean ?" Harry eyed her suspiciously.

Dawn did her best not to look like a deer caught in headlight. She knew there was probably no use though, her brothers always mentioned that her face was much too expressive for her own good. Even when she tried to hide what she was thinking, Dawn usually failed astronomically. "Don't worry about it," she waved off, straightening up and make it perfectly clear she was not going to elaborate more.

Grover Underwood
Keeper
Half-Blood Hill
Long Island, New York
(800) 009-0009

That's what was written on the card once it was shown that Percy finally deciphered.

"What's Half—"

"Don't say it aloud !" Grover exclaimed, looking around warily before turning back and shrugging. "That's my, um...summer address."

"Why not ?" Ginny wondered.

Dawn pursed her lips before mentioning, "Names have power. I mean, Voldemort was never named for the longest time."

"That's because everyone feared him," Harry puffed his chest since he never called the dead wizard anything other than his name. "Fear of the name increases the fear of the thing."

Dawn didn't respond. It was better if she wanted to avoid letting something slip out and angering the Olympians who were obviously watching. There was no thunder this time and the girl intended to keep it that way.

My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.

"Okay," Percy slumped sadly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."

He nodded. "Or...or if you need me."

"Why would I need you ?" Percy said harshly, though the way he blinked after told everyone he hadn't actually meant to.

Grover blushed so hard, his cheeks must have been burning. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."

Percy only stared at him.

"Excuse me ?" Ron demanded.

"What does he mean 'protect him' ?" Harry agreed.

This was perfectly normal to Dawn though who nodded slightly, pursing her lips, fingers restlessly fiddling with the clay bead on her camp necklace.

All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.

"Grover," Percy started calmly but in a way that clearly show he was trying to restrain himself, "what exactly are you protecting me from ?"

A loud creaking and groaning stopped Grover from answering. Both boys looked downwards, since that where the sound came from. Black smoke also entered into the bus from the dashboard. The driver was heard cursing ad he pulled the Greyhound over to the side.

Everyone sat there as the man rattled around in the engine. He apparently decided it wasn't enough and turned to the passengers. "I'm really sorry about this folks," he announced in a loud, clear voice his hand on his hips. "But if you all could get down as I try to fix this, it would be much appreciated."

"I have a bad feeling," Ginny bit her lip. "Something's going to happen." The whole hall gave murmurs of anxious agreement.

It was amusing to Dawn how people who were almost always arguing all seemed to come together and agree thanks to her best friend and his story.

Everyone listened in no time. The scene of Percy and Grover in line to get out of the bus shifted to that of the road. It was the highway seen from the other side, tiny people milling about and rushing towards the nearest spot of shade under the maple trees that lined the side. The Greyhound was seen smoking, a few cars zipping by next to it without a care. The perspective zoomed on Percy who's hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, his head down with Grover next to him. The boy paused glancing up at the other side.

The only thing that stood across the four large lanes of shiny warm asphalt was an old-fashioned fruit stand. Boxes of sweet looking cherries and blood red apples that Disney's Evil Queen would have killed for sat on one side. With it laid apricots, walnuts and jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. It was deserted though, apart from three old ladies in rocking chairs that were knitting something that looked like socks under the shade of a maple tree.

"Holy Hades," Dawn swore quietly, immediately recognising the women. A hand came to her mouth, eyes wide as she watched. Percy and Grover never told her about this encounter.

"What ?" Her friends looked at her.

Harry put a hand on her arm. One that immediately tensed under his touch. He either didn't feel that or didn't care, unlike Ron who had immediately removed his hand from her shoulder when he'd touched her earlier. Harry didn't seem to have a any problems keeping his hand there though as he asked, "Dawn, what's wrong ?"

"And.....'Hades' ?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Like.....the Greek God ?"

Dawn didn't answer, much too focused on what was happening in front of her. That left everyone puzzled as to why she seemed terrified of a trio of old women.

It zoomed in on the withered old ladies. They were ancient with sagging wrinkles on their pale faces, hair that looked like silver filigree, tied back with pearl white bandanas. Their arms nothing short of pale twigs that poked out from bleached cotton dresses to each accomplish their own task. The lady on the right knitted one sock like thing. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

And they were looking straight ahead. At Percy.

"This is getting disturbing," Draco said, his face pulled into an uncomfortable expression. "Why are they looking at him like that ?"

Percy turned to look at Grover, looking as though he were about to say something. He paused though, upon seeing the pale and horror struck look on his friend's face, node twitching almost violently.

"Grover ?" Percy questioned. No response. "Hey, man—"

"Tell me they're not looking at you," the other boy abruptly ordered. "They are, aren't they ?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh ?" Percy chuckled softly, glancing over and turning back to Grover. "You think those socks would fit me ?"

"Shut up, Perseus," Dawn chided the screen in a quiet voice. The trio had magic ears though since they apparently heard everything she muttered to herself.

"Dawn, what is going on ?" Hermione demanded. "Why do you seem so nervous ?"

"They're just old ladies," Ron agreed.

"They aren't just old ladies," Dawn said before she could stop herself. She then cringed at her own actions, accepting the loudest thunderclap yet from outside. Everyone jumped in surprise while she kept her face screwed into a tight wince. "Yeah, I deserved that one," she acknowledged, probably the first and last time she would.

"Not funny, Percy," Grover shook his head. "Not funny at all."

Percy looked at him confused but only followed Grover's gaze back to the old women. The one in the middle was taking out a huge pair of scissors. They were actually beautiful with long golden and silver blades, almost like shears.

Grover's breath hitched, his eyes wide. He immediately turned to Percy and informed, "We're getting on the bus. Come on."

"What ?"

"Why ?"

"Grover's being really shady."

Murmures of confusion and curiosity buzzed around the hall.

"What ? It's a thousand degrees in there," Percy countered with obvious confusion.

Grover wasn't having it though, shaking his head as he marched back to the Greyhound. "Come on !'" He pried open the door and climbed inside without a second thought.

Percy didn't move though. He looked after his friend before turning back to face the old women. They were still watching him. The lady in the middle cut the yarn. The snip was audible, loud and decisive.

The screen went black.

"Holy Hermes," Dawn breathed, a hand over her mouth. Her face was pale. Percy went through that before even understanding what he was getting into.

The image slowly faded into show Percy and Grover sat side by side. Both look ill and feverish.

"Grover ?"

"Yeah ?"

Percy turned towards his friend, voice lowered. "What are you not telling me ?" He demanded.

Grover dabbed at his forehead with his shirt sleeve. He seemed to make a decision before asking, "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand ?"

"You mean the old ladies ?" Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "What is it about them, man ? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they ?"

Grover was quiet with an unreadable face.

I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds.

"Please no," little Camille begged. "Not worse than the scary bat lady."

Dawn absentmindedly rubbed the girl's back in comfort. She didn't want to mention just yet that Mrs. Dodds was actually one of the okay monsters out there.

"Just tell me what you saw," Grover requested.

"Why ?" Ginny questioned. "Why is this important ?"

Her brother nodded in agreement. "It's just a few old ladies making extremely large socks."

"Dawn doesn't seem to agree," Harry noted with a glance to the girl who looked pale and anxious, fiddling restlessly with the necklace he had never noticed before.

From his face, it was easy to tell that Percy didn't exactly understand the purpose of this. But the uneasiness made him answer honestly instead of questioning his friend. "The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."

Grover closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers.

"What is going on ?" Hermione demanded. "What's he doing ?"

"You saw her snip the cord." It was a statement. Not a question to make sure he heard correctly. Though his tone conveyed that Grover hoped he'd heard wrong.

"Yeah. So ?"

Even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled, chewing at his thumb nervously. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

"Last time ?" Harry demanded. "What last time ? What happened last time ?"

"He's be so weird and shady," Ron complained. "I was liking him too. He'll probably end up being some strange, obsessive person or something."

"What last time ?"

"Always sixth grade," Grover kept mumbling, shaking his head. "They never get past sixth."

"Grover, what are you talking about ?"

He was really starting to scare me.

"Us too," Ginny mentioned. "What's going on ? Why is he being like this ? Dawn, who are those old ladies ?"

Dawn only shook her head, her open hair falling over her shoulders as her head bent forward. "I can't tell you," she sighed.

"Why not ?" Hermione inquired, albeit slightly harshly.

"Consider it like an unbreakable vow," the Lupin girl shrugged. That was the best she could offer (though she never technically swore on the river Styx. This was just easier than being questioned about things she couldn't answer every ten minutes.)

Grover turned to Percy, eyes wide and imploring. "Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."

"No !" Ron yelled. "You're being odd and creepy ! Don't agree Percy !"

"Ron, shut up," Dawn ordered.

This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.

"Is this like a superstition or something ?" Percy asked, wary. His friend didn't reply so the boy insisted slightly, "Grover, that snipping of the yarn ; Does that mean somebody is going to die ?"

Grover only looked sadly at Percy.

It was like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.

"This is getting so weird and creepy," Ron shuddered.

His sister shoved him. It seemed to be meant as a teasing gesture but since she was probably feeling the same way as him, it came off as a halfhearted nudge. She pursed her lips, "Let's just see what happens."

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Hello ! Here is the first official chapter of Mad Woman ! I hope you all liked it.

If it wasn't clear as of now, there is quite certainly going to be a lot of criticising Harry Potter the series and the character. And Hermione. Don't get me wrong, I love this series, I grew up with it but a lot of things in it annoyed me. Namely, Harry so yes, there is quite some incoming Harry slander (kind of, I'm trying to be nice).

Also, there will be mentions of Heroes of Olympus and its characters before the Heroes of Olympus segment of this book, mentions of the war, some of the major and minor events. The whole shebang.

Next, small question for you guys, I am planning on having the Demigod Squad show up sooner or later. When would you like them to start slowly showing up ? I don't want to rush their arrival but at the same time, I can't wait to bring them in.

Finally, all chapters will probably include two chapters from the books. I don't know how consistent I'll be with updating so two chapters gives you all more material while you wait for the next one. Don't try to understand my logic, I don't get it either to be honest. Just go with it, I would say.

Anyways, questions and comments are always welcome ! I hope you all liked this !

I hope to see you all soon ! Bye !

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