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Part I, Chapter 2

Includes :
Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants
Interlude
My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

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The screen went dark on Grover's concerned look. And the familiar voice came back.

Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.

"You fucking dumb-arse," Dawn swore at her best friend's younger self on the screen.

"Language !" Camille yelped.

The Lupin girl winced slightly, looking at the younger girl. "Sorry," she offered sheepishly. "I'll be careful." She smiled fondly, suddenly thinking of one of her dear friends. Jason always had a problem with her swearing. He's had it since they met.

Her other friends only looked at her strangely. "Why ?" Harry asked. "Grover was being strange and kind of creepy."

"I would have probably done the same," Hermione confessed. "It seems like the smart thing to do."

Dawn said nothing, shaking her head and mumbling to herself in Welsh. Her mother and uncle had taught her the language since she was a child, having grown up with it themselves.

The scene shifted to Percy on the bus looking mildly freaked out. Grover sat next to him, shaking his head and blankly staring ahead. His lips were moving ever so slightly but no sound came due to Percy's voice over. Though, the boy would glance over at his friend every now and again before going back to the disturbing routine of shaking his head and mumbling

I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen ?" and "Why does it always have to he sixth grade ?"

"He's a bloody idiot too," Dawn huffed silently. Though, she did also understand that this was Grover's first big assignment since Thalia and seeing those three old ladies would definitely shake you up.

In her exasperation and mild distress, she didn't notice Hermione's careful glance her way.

The pair of them got off the bus before Grover turned to him with a scolding look while bouncing on his legs slightly. "You'll wait for me right ?"

"Sure, man."

"Percy, promise me."

Percy sighed as if trying not to roll his sea green eyes and nodded. "I promise."

Grover nodded before speed walking (though, it looked more like waddling) towards the sign that read 'Restrooms' with the typical male and female icons.

Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.

As soon as Grover disappeared, Percy immediately went to grab his blue suitcase and rolled it outside. He raised his hand to a taxi. When the driver stopped, he nodded to Percy and helped him with the suitcase before asking, "Where to, little man ?"

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," the boy replied, slipping into the backseat.

And the driver was off. New York City slid past the taxi windows. Percy simply looked outside, a wistful look on his face. 

A word about my mother, before you meet her.
Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

"That's terrible," Hermione frowned, a hand on her heart. Ron rubbed up and down her arm lovingly.

"He's right though," Ron agreed, glancing at his best friend. "The best people really do have rotten luck."

Dawn nodded along too, but because she actually knew many people like that. Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Jason, Leo and so many others. Including Sally Jackson.

Sally was probably one of the most wonderful and amazing women that she knew and loved. She was rivalled only by her own mother. Sally always treated her like her own, smothering her in motherly love and baking the most delicious blue cookies anyone had ever made.

The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad. I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.

See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back. Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.

She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.

"Oh that's horrid," Harry gagged.

Murmurs of disgust and very distinct "urghs" and "ews" were audible across the hall. Looking back at the professors who sat in the back on comfortable leatherback sofas, they all looked just as disgusted with cringes printed onto their faces upon hearing that description. Dawn was excited to see their reactions when they actually saw Gabe.

Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.

The scene faded to black before fading into colour again. Percy was opening the door of an apartment, his face filled with hope and happiness. As soon as he entered however, that smile immediately faded into a scowl. The camera showed what Percy saw, men in the living room, playing poker with ESPN blaring on the television. The carpet at their feet was littered with beer cans and potato chips.

"That is foul !" Hermione cried.

Agreement spread around the hall again like bees all humming together. From the atmosphere in the room, nobody liked Gabe and nobody would as the movie advanced.

One of the men spoke muffled around a cigar as plump as his own frame. "So, you're home."

"Where's my mom ?" Percy demanded.

"Working," the man said shortly. This was obviously Gabe. He looked a like a walrus, minus the tusks in cheap and shabby clothes. Three hairs were combed onto his head looking just as terrible as the rest of him. Gabe then asked, "You got any cash ?"

That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months ?

The camera panned on Percy's scowl and narrowed eyes for a minute. It then shifted to Gabe again, who was still playing, waiting his turn.

He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our 'guy secret'. Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.

"What ?" Dawn let out, horrified and angry. So so angry. The last time she had been that angry, it had been when Fenrir Greyback dared taunt her with his ugly face while Remus Lupin's body hadn't even cooled.

Percy never told her that Gabe hit him. Not all that surprising of course given everything he had been through. And of course, there was the factor of how people around him might react. Percy's the last person who would want sympathy or to be treated any differently than usual.

But that just made Dawn hate Gabe more than she already did. She wanted to kill him very very badly. Shame he was already dead.

"That's not cool," Harry mumbled, shaking his head. "Merlin, it's like the Dursleys."

"I don't have any cash," Percy told him.

Gabe looked up at him and raised a greasy eyebrow.

Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.

"You took a taxi from the bus station," he ventured a guess. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie ?"

One of the men, Eddie, looked at Percy with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he tried. "The kid just got here."

"Am I right ?" Gabe repeated with a glare.

Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two men passed gas in harmony.

"That's so sad," Hermione put a hand on her heart again, looking heartbroken. Ginny nodded, a sad look on her own face.
Camille leaned into Dawn, maybe not understanding everything yet but definitely not liking it.

"Despicable," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "The poor boy."

"Fine," Percy growled, shoving his hands into his pocket. He pulled the money out and threw it at the table. "I hope you lose," he glared before grabbing his suitcase and heading further into the flat and away from Gabe.

Gabe only yelled after him. "Your report card came, brain boy ! I wouldn't act so snooty !"

The camera switched to Percy entering a room and slamming it behind him. This was his room presumably, though the scattered beer cans and ash trays filled with cigars and muddy boots on the windowsill did make one wonder.

My room wasn't really my room. During school months, it was Gabe's 'study'. He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.

He dropped the suitcase heavily onto the bed with an angry huff. "Home sweet home," he mumbled to himself, almost bitterly.

"Perce..."

Dawn felt herself getting emotional. She felt like she was watching something she shouldn't have been. This was her best friend's life. His thoughts. It felt like a violation of his privacy on so many levels but still, she couldn't look away.

Some things about Percy made so much more sense now. Why he had had scars before even arriving at camp. Why he categorically refused to drink anything alcoholic. Why he hated her slight addiction to cigarettes so much.

Dawn guiltily pulled her packet from the pocket of her robes and looked down at it. She usually didn't smoke in front of him, ever. She knew he didn't like it. But he still knew whenever she'd had one due to the mint chewing gum she would pop into her mouth and the freshener she would spritz herself with.

Dawn was determined to stop now. Even more than before. She had already been trying to stop but then her use had skyrocketed again after Leo.....the same thing had happened after Luke years ago when he left. Dawn made a decision in that moment.

She got up and quietly headed to where Draco was sitting again the wall on the side. He said nothing when she took a seat next to him, only raising his pale eyebrows. Dawn simply handed him the packet, the thing that had started their unconventional and secret friendship in the first place.

"Cassandra ?" He questioned, calling her by her first name as he always did. He looked confused as he took the packet from her.

"I don't need it anymore," she told him, looking back at Percy's face on the screen.

Draco understood. He offered her a soft smile, looking as though he wanted to give her hand a squeeze and then thinking it was probably best not to. He'd noticed how touched seemed to be harder for her since the War which was probably the saddest thing in the world to his eyes. Her love language was physical touch. So he decided that she would be the one to make the first move. He would only touch her if she initiated it, not wanting to make his friend feel uncomfortable.

The golden trio blinked at the sight. In fact, the whole school did. This friendship was still confusing to them.

Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.

Percy seemed to get imbalanced, wobbling as he closed his eyes fiercely.

I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.

The sadness in the room was a tactile and tangible thing. Everyone in the hall felt for the boy. Nobody wanted anything else to happen to him.

Unfortunately, their wish would not be fulfilled. Percy still had many many tasks ahead of him.

"Percy ?" A voice came. A woman's slightly muffled.

Percy turned around as the door opened and the happiness and relief on his face were so genuine.

My fears melted away. My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.

The woman's eyes sparkled slightly and seemed to change colours. Her hair was brown and long, streaked with a few strands of white here and there but Sally Jackson looked anything but old. Her smile was filled with such warmth and love that just seeing it one feel shrouded in love and protected against the world.

"She's so pretty," Camille awed, staring at the screen.

She had moved over to Dawn again, once she realised that the girl was staying towards Draco. The little girl had shot him a confused and wary look but figured that if Dawn trusted him, she could trust him too.

Dawn smiled at her. "Yeah, she is."

"Oh, Percy." Sally shot forward and hugged her son tightly. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas !"

Percy burrowed into her embrace, hugging her back tightly.

Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of 'free samples', the way she always did when I came home.

"Awww."

"He is such a mama's boy," someone announced loudly. People chuckled and murmured in agreement. They all seemed happy to see Percy happy and being loved for a change.

Dawn smiled.

The two of them sat on the edge of the bed, Percy leaning into her slightly as Sally stroked his dark hair.

"Tell me everything," Sally instructed as Percy dug into the bag of candy she gave him and pulled out blue sour strings. "I want to know everything you might have forgotten to mention in your letters."

Percy smiled at her.

"She's so sweet," Ginny smiled from where she sat with the Golden Trio. Sally Jackson was reminding her of her own mother. "Isn't she lovely, Harry ?"

The red head turned to her boyfriend only to find that the boy wasn't paying attention. To her or the film. He seemed to be more preoccupied looking at Dawn across the Hall, who sat close to Draco Malfoy. They were whispering to each other, faces relaxed and comfortable.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. Harry Potter wondered what exactly they could be talking about.

She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay ? Was her little boy doing all right ?

Percy laughed and half-heartedly tried to push her off.

I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.

His happiness evaporated though, turning into a glare as soon as Gabe's voice came through the door though. "Hey, Sally, how about some bean dip, huh ?"

My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.

"Yes !" Dawn pointed to the screen.

Draco chuckled. "Is she really that amazing ?"

Dawn beamed so sweetly, almost like she used to before. "Oh, Draco, you should see her. Being around her makes you feel so good. She's such a wonderful person."

The boys smiled. That description made him want to meet the woman who seemed so important to his friend. "She'll be alright, won't she ?"

Dawn pursed her lips, looking back at the screen. "Just watch."

The mother and son duo just ignored the man. Instead, Sally insisted that Percy tell her everything. And so he did.

For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad. Until that trip to the museum...

"What ?" Sally questioned when Percy seemed to paused. "Did something scare you ?" She asked with the tenderness and love only a mother could have.

"No, Mom."

"Why are you lying to her ?" Camille demanded.

Dawn agreed. "Come on, dummy ! Your mum's the best."

I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.

"I mean....from his point of view it probably seems unbelievable and crazy," Hermione reasoned. That responded to Dawn and Camille's exclamations well enough. The former still believed he should have told his mother (since Sally was awesome) but it was understandable why he didn't.

Sally pursed her lips. She seemed to know something was up. Honestly, she probably did (mother's intuition) but she didn't push. Instead she smiled, her voice filled with sweet joy. "I have a surprise for you," she announced. "We're going to the beach."

Percy's eyes widened with excitement. "Montauk ?"

"Three nights. Same cabin," Sally confirmed.

"When ?" Percy beamed so brightly.

Sally smiled right back at his happiness. "As soon as I get changed."

Everyone awwed again. They all seemed so happy to see Percy catch a good break.

The professors were all nodding approvingly at that plan. Professor McGonagall went as far as to say, "Good thing they will get away from that dreadful man for some time."

I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.

The bedroom door burst open and there stood Gabe, growling like a pitbull. The pitbull would have been more threatening. "Bean dip, Sally ? Didn't you hear me ?"

Ron laughed. "It looks like you summoned him, Professor."

Headmistress McGonagall hid a smile, shaking her head at her student almost fondly.

Percy glared at Gabe's enormous frame.

I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.

"I was on my way, honey," Sally told Gabe, as if he were a decent human who deserved kindness and respect. She got up from the bed and explained, "We were just talking about the trip."

Gabe's narrowed. "The trip ? You mean you were serious about that ?"

"I knew it," Percy muttered, rolling his eyes and mentioning slightly louder, "He won't let us go."

"Of course he will," his mother said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."

Dawn was impressed. If she didn't know better, with those negotiation skills and easy charm, Dawn would have thought Sally Jackson was a daughter of Hermes.

Gabe was being more and more swayed by the words leaving Sally's mouth. "So this money for your trip... it comes out of your clothes budget, right ?"

"Yes, honey," Sally said easily.

"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."

"We'll be very careful."

Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."

Percy's face was murderous.

Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.

Laughs were stifled across the hall. There was even a whoop of approval from someone.

The golden trio stared in slight disbelief though. "He's rather violent," Harry noted with raised eyebrows. He wasn't sure he approved of that.

Draco nodded before looking at Dawn who was smirking with pride. "I definitely understand why he's your best friend," he spoke in a quiet voice so that only she might hear his words.

Dawn shoved him playfully (though she was quick to pull her hand back), laughing sweetly. Draco laughed too as he stumbled back and sat fully with his back to the wall instead of his shoulder.

Harry Potter's head immediately snapped over. He narrowed his eyes at them, evidently not liking the fact that the pair were so close. And the fact that Draco Malfoy could make Dawn laugh whereas he couldn't.

He even looked ready to follow through with his thoughts when a hand was gently placed onto his shoulder. He glanced up at his mother. Sally sent him a stern, warning look.

Why did she put up with this guy ? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought ?

"Why does she ?" Draco asked Dawn. "I mean, she can obviously do so much better."

"She does find someone better after," Dawn assured. "He's really great too. As to why.....you'll see."

Percy didn't go through with his thoughts again, only huffing and muttering, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."

Gabe's eyes narrowed.

His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.

All the students (or you know, the ones who understood) burst out laughing at that statement. Even Hermione 'we-should't-make-fun-of-people-like-that' Granger. They all loved Percy and his thoughts.

Gabe only let out, "Yeah, whatever," before going back to his game.

Sally watched him go before turning to her son. "Thank you, Percy. Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay ?"

She had a look in her eyes.

For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air. But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken.

Sally lovingly ruffled his dark hair before leaving, probably to make Gabe his seven-layer dip. Percy just stood there, shaking his head put of his thoughts.

"Does his mother know something ?" Neville Longbottom questioned. No one replied. The lightness and laughter of the room had become an uncomfortable shifting across the hall.

The scene shifted to show Percy outside, lugging bags into the boot of a car. Gabe stood in the doorway of the building, leaning on the doorjab that miraculously held his weight without creaking.

An hour later we were ready to leave. Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.

Percy was putting the last bag in when Gabe warned, "Not a scratch on this car, brain boy. Not one little scratch."

Percy rolled his eyes discreetly as he closed the boot of the car.

Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.

The boy turned his head to see Gabe starting to push off the doorway with way more effort than it should have required.

I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe turned in the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe.

Percy did the described motion they had seen done by Grover earlier. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked Gabe right in his posterior and shot him up the stairs as if he'd been shot from a cannon.

Everyone blinked.

They all seemed as though they wanted to laugh at Gabe getting what he deserved but also very confused as to how it happened.

Percy blinked his sea green eyes. He looked just as confused and bewildered.

Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.

Percy quickly shuffled to the passenger side seat of the car, Sally already strapping in. Percy buckled up and looked his mother straight in the eyes. "Step on it."

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The screen faded in from black to show a small little cabin that sat between dunes on the seaside, the sunset reflecting on it. The sound of the ocean hitting the shore was peaceful as the camera slowly panned closer. A car, a '78 Camaro specifically, pulled over next to it and a mother and son slowly started getting out of it.

Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in. I loved the place.

Percy raced in with his bag, immediately rushing to what was probably his room. Sally's loving laughter echoed behind him.

We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad. As we had
gotten closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.

Everyone felt so happy for the mother and son they could see on the screen. Having gotten a glimpse of their lives, students and professors felt relieved that they caught a break. They didn't know what was coming.

Percy and Sally were shuffling around the house. They opened windows. They cleaned. The shot faded and meddled to one of them walking along the beach with the packet of free samples from earlier and a packet of chips.

We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.

"Why is it all blue ?" Harry wondered.

I guess I should explain the blue food.

People 'woahed'. It was funny. A funny little coincidence.

See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.

"I like this woman," Professor McGonagall decided. She nodded in approval. The students cheered at their headmistress' statement. They all liked this woman.

The camera shot up to the sky that was the golden colour of the sunset fading into blue. It darkened until the twinkling stars were visible, the moon watching over the world. The camera came downwards slowly to show Percy and Sally sitting on logs, roasting something over a fire and laughing together.

When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.

"She writes books ?" Hermione gasped in excitement.

The Ravenclaws also all seemed to perk up and excitedly whisper together about checking out muggle bookstores when they got the chance of books written by Sally Jackson.

Percy smiled and laughed in a way that hadn't been seen since the movie started. Their conversation seemed to laps into silence when he got a thoughtful look on his face.

Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.

A teary-eyed Sally smiled sadly. "He was kind, Percy. Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes." She reached into her bag of sweets and pulled out a blue jelly bean. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."

Percy didn't seem to believe that as he raised his eyebrows.

I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me ? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.

"Oof," Ron winced. "Low self-esteem. That's the worst."

"I still can't believe he got expelled from six schools," Hermione shook her head disapprovingly, arms crossed over her chest like a scolding mother.

Dawn barely managed to hold off from glaring. A little longer, she told herself. A little longer and they would all know who she is. That meant, no more hiding and no more biting back the urge to defend her best friend from whatever judgement he might be getting.

"How old was I ?" Percy asked, looking at his mother. "I mean ... when he left ?"

Sally wouldn't look at him. Her eyes were focused on the dancing flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."

"But...he knew me as a baby."

His mother gently shook her head. "No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."

Percy tilted his head in slight confusion, looking at the fire. The flames cast a warm glow on his face, sea green eyes shining.

I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember...something about my father. A warm glow. A smile. I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.

"Poor boy," Professor Sprout sighed, a hand on her heart.

Everyone murmured in agreement. They all felt for him.

Dawn fiddled with the dark blue beads of the bracelet around her wrist. It wasn't actually hers but rather Percy's. She'd nicked it from his cabin back when he was missing and she had to go on a quest with the three new kids. She wanted a part of her best friend with her. To this day, Dawn wasn't sure why. Luck ? Comfort ? Superstition ? She never got around to giving it back. There was always some quest or some mission or some war.

She was broken from her thoughts by Draco nudging her ever so slightly and pulling away. He was watching the screen with a look of confusion. "I thought you said that the Gods couldn't visit their children," he whispered under his breath so that only she could hear him.

"They couldn't," Dawn confirmed in the same quiet voice. The rest was unspoken.

Percy decided to drop that, exhaling through his nose and looking at his mother. "Are you going to send me away again ? To another boarding school ?"

Sally pulled the marshmallow she had been roasting from the fire. She seemed to grow older and sadder just talking about it.  "I don't know, honey. I think...I think we'll have to do something."

"Because you don't want me around ?"

I regretted the words as soon as they were out.

Sally's head snapped up with teary eyes. She immediately reached for her son's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."

Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.

"Because I'm not normal," Percy said with bitterness a twelve year old should not be capable of.

Sally Jackson looked at her son sadly. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."

"Safe ?" Some of the students echoed.

"Wouldn't he be safest with his mother ?" Harry asked. He would have loved to have his parents with him and keep him safe. He wasn't sure how he felt about this woman sending her son away to 'keep him safe'.

"Safe from what ?" Percy asked, looking at her.

She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget. During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.

Shouts and yelps of fear resonated in the hall. Some even went as far as to jump or fall back when the figure on the screen had raised its head and, as Percy had said, there was a single eye on his head, hidden under the his hat.

Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.

People whimpered and whispered with worry and fear at the sight of a baby Percy. He looked happy enough, giggling and grinning in a blue t-shirt, sea green eyes shining. In his hands was a dead snake.

Some of the Slytherins looked freaked out too. They never would have imagined that a toddler might have killed one of their house's animals.

In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.

The screen faded and meddled together. The scene of baby Percy shifted to present Percy, looking thoughtfully at the fire. He seemed to be contemplating.

I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.

"Stupid," Dawn mumbled.

Though, again, she did understand his reasons. He didn't get many nice things at that time. This trip was something that meant a lot to him. That didn't mean that the worry in Dawn's heart stopped when seeing her best friend's younger self. It didn't matter that she knew he was alive and well across the Atlantic. She still worried.

"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," Sally told him, unaware of what he was thinking. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."

At that he straightened slightly. "My father wanted me to go to a special school ?"

"Not a school," his mother told him gently. "A summer camp."

"What ?" A student said.

"A summer camp ?" Another deadpanned, unimpressed.

No one understood why this was such a big deal. After all, it was just a summer camp.

My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp ? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before ?

"I'm sorry, Percy," the woman apologised, probably noticing the way his eyes had narrowed slightly. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."

"For good ?" The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "But if it's only a summer camp..." he trailed off when his mother looked away.

I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.

"What the fuck is happening ?" Seamus exclaimed.

"Language, Mr. Finnigan !" Professor Sprout scolded.

The boy winced. "Sorry, professor."

But crudely said or not, Seamus had asked the question on everyone's minds.

Well, almost everyone.

.

That night I had a vivid dream.

Percy stood on a storming beach, soaked through as he watched what happened in front of him. There were two animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, beautiful and strong. And they were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.

"What ?"

"Excuse me ?"

"Huh ?"

And other sounds of confusion could be heard as friends mumbled to each other. Professors seemed deep in thought too, confused over what was happening. They shared wary glances of their own amongst themselves.

A Gryffindor girl however watched the scene with a scowl on her face. She shook her head as she mumbled, "Bloody drama queens."

The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. The ground rumbled as they fought. One might have thought it was because of their fighting. The monstrous chuckle that came from beneath the earth said otherwise.

The entire hall froze. There was silence so loud it was unbearable. It was only broken by the sound of a shaky exhale. Everyone glanced over, not understanding why Cassandra Dawn Lupin looked as though she had just seen a ghost from her past and seemed both on the verge of tears and passing out. The fear on her face wasn't one that anyone might expect on a Gryffindor. Especially one who hadn't seemed the least bit scared during the Second Wizarding War or in front of Voldemort. A creepy laugh was scaring her ?

They didn't know that that voice was one of the things that plagued her at night. That voice including so many more things. People. Places. That voice had changed everything. More specifically, it changed her.

Percy took off towards them. But he didn't seem to be moving much.

I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late.

The eagle dove. The horse's eyes were wide. They were the prime and perfect target for the bird's beak. Percy's mouth opened in a silent scream.

And then he was shooting up in his bed, panting. Sweat trickled down the side of his face.

The entire student body seemed to let out a sigh of relief in unison. Their shoulders slumped, relaxed. They had known it was just a dream (Percy told them it was) but it was still reassuring for them to see it. They just didn't seem to realise that real life was about to get worse for Percy. Worse than it ever could be.

Percy turned his head to the window to find that outside, it really was storming. Violently.

It was the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

A loud clap of thunder woke up Sally in the bed next to Percy's. She quickly sat up, wide eyed in her nightgown. "Hurricane," she breathed.

I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.

The mother and son jumped when the dull yet loud sound of someone pounding on their cabin door sounded. The vicious and continuous knocking was completed with yelling.

Tension rose as the students all shifted nervously.

"What's happening ?" Camille asked in a shy and worried voice. Dawn said nothing, only patting the back of the girl's head.

Sally jumped out of bed and went to the door. She made quick work of the lock and pulled open the door. A familiar frame stood there.

"Grover ?" Many witches and wizards exclaimed. They had not been expecting him at all.

Grover stood framed in the doorway, rain violently pouring in the background. Percy stared dumbfounded.

It was Grover.....but he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.

"What does that even mean ?" Ron demanded loudly.

People muttered in agreement, wanting to understand what was going on. The Ravenclaws and Hermione Granger particularly were not appreciating not knowing what was happening.

"Is he some sort of stalker ?" Harry shivered.

People murmured in agreement to those words. "He must be," someone in Gryffindor said.

"How else would he know where to go ?" A Hufflepuff added.

No one saw the venomous glare that a girl was shooting them from across the hall.

"Searching all night," Grover gasped, cold and wet as he looked at Sally. "What were you thinking ?"

Sally looked horrified as she turned to her son who stood gobsmacked at the sudden appearance of his friend.

She was not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.

"Percy," she shouted over the rain. "What happened at school ? What didn't you tell me ?"

Percy just stared at Grover. He was obviously still processing the situation.

I couldn't understand what I was seeing.

Grover yelled, his arms slapping at his sides in frustration. "O Zeu kai alloi theoi ! It's right behind me ! Didn't you tell her ?"

"What did he just say ?" People mumbled to their friends.

"He's being so weird," others muttered.

"Creepy," more sang.

Dawn was trying her hardest not say anything or react more than she already was. Zeus would probably have her head if she blew her cover too soon. He would have absolutely no qualms frying her eighteen year old person to a crisp, rest of his brethren's opinion be dam(n)ed.

Percy blinked.

I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—and where his legs should be...where his legs should be...

"What ?"

"He's not wearing pants !"

"Trousers," Dawn told them. Though, as soon as she said it, she realised it wasn't much better.

"Is he some sort of sexual predator ?" Harry cringed.

Dawn glared. Hermione turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. "He's twelve."

"Why is he walking around with no trousers ?"

"I don't know !" The girl threw her hands up, obviously frustrated by this small detail.

"I'm more curious what's there where his legs should be," Draco mused.

Another uproar of agreement sounded in the hall. All students seemed to be talking over each other. Dawn had had enough, rolling her eyes and standing up. She pointed her wand to her throat and nonverbally cast her spell to amplify her voice. "SHUT UP !" Everyone listened, even the professors, blinking at her much like how Percy was blinking at Grover. Dawn was always a quiet one. Feisty sure. But quiet. She didn't speak unless spoken to. She didn't yell. She kept to herself.

Today was the most a lot of students had ever heard her talk. So this was definitely a shock. The girl sighed. "Let's keep watching," she offered, sitting down again.

No one objected.

Sally turned to her son and ordered, "Percy. Tell me now !"

That seemed to snap Percy out of his daze. He stuttered out the story that Percy's voice over explained.

I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds.

Sally Jackson seemed to pale as he spoke, staring at him with worry. Flashes of lightning threw light onto her face. And then she was moving. She immediately grabbed her purse and a raincoat that she threw to Percy. The boy barely caught it as she commanded, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go !"

The boys listened, Grover in front as he made for the Camaro. But he wasn't running. Not really.

"Why is he walking funny ?" Camille wondered. People hummed in agreement to her question.

Percy stared as Grover walked, the camera starting to pan on the other boy's legs.

He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked. Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.

There was a flash of lightning that showed that Percy's word rang true.

Choas took over the Great Hall.

.

As a cacophony of outraged and confused sounds broke out throughout the Great Hall at Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry, Gods watched from high above. Zeus sat on his throne, stroking his beard. He felt like he had missed something. Something vital.

It was a good plan. Athena had come up with it when she saw the devastation her daughter Minerva's world had lived through. It was much like their own. War. Death. Destruction.

This was a plan to unite both worlds. A plan so that they might not have to face threats such as they had alone anymore. There were already members of their world in the wizarding world after all, though they were rare. This was a kind of gamble. Like the one Hera had taken a couple winters ago, except here, all the Gods had agreed to it.

But Zeus felt like they were missing something.

He wasn't alone in that matter. His brother tilted his head, sat on his throne with narrowed eyes. "Brother," Poseidon began, "Athena. While this is a sound plan.....shouldn't there be more official adults present ?"

Athena blinked at her Uncle's words. "I— I cannot believe I am saying this but Fishface is right."

Poseidon scowled at her. She smiled back wryly with no warmth. They would always hate each other, despite the fact that two of their children were so deeply in love. There would always be a rivalry. Though, it had subdued. Only slightly.

He went to reply but Zeus cut in. "Hermes," he boomed. The Messenger looked up at his father, straightening up and awaiting his orders. "Go and get some adults who you think should be there other than the professors."

"Yes, Father."

And he was off. A minute later, a large turquoise/white ball just like the one that had made the DVDs appear in the Great Hall was back. This time, it hovered around overhead and disappeared.

People tumbled to the ground with yelps of surprise and pain. Students moved out of the way just in time to not be crushed by the few people who had been dropped off. The Weasley family (or what was left of it), Fleur Delacour and the Malfoys, Lucius and Narcissa. Everyone stared.

Lucius was the first to blink out of the daze, getting to his feet. He had changed since the war, his long hair shorter, his frame less proud and more sunk into itself. He was lucky not to be in Azkaban (Harry had gotten him and his family pardoned). "What is going on ? What are we doing here ?"

"I would like to know that too," Mr. Weasley said, getting to his feet as well before helping his wife.

The rest of the Weasleys followed. Narcissa also stood up, scanning the hall for her son. She let out a relieved breath when she saw him, staring in shock.

The movements had broken the hall from its silence and stillness though. Ron and Ginny immediately shot toward their family, Harry and Hermione on their heels. Draco didn't move. Dawn rolled her shoulders before reaching for his hand. She was slightly tense but her friend needed her. She could get over her new aversion to touch for that.

He glanced over with a small thankful smile.

After hugs and greeting were exchanged, everyone turned to the Headmistress. McGonagall made quick work of explaining. She then theorised that maybe whoever sent the movies brought them there too. It was the same light after all. They were probably meant to watch with them.

The grown ups shrugged. There was nothing they could do about it anyways. They might as well stay and watch.

George narrowed his eyes over the usual group, noticing that it was a member short. "Where's Dawn ?"

The girl in question looked up. George was the Weasley she most liked. Him and Fred always reminded her of Connor and Travis back home. Draco nudged her, nodding for her to go. She shook her head at him, quietly mumbling, "I'm not leaving you to deal with your father alone." She then raised her hand and waved. "Hi George."

He looked over and smiled. She smiled back. They would talk later. He may or may not have been the only person in this world who was still alive that had known about her friendship with Draco Malfoy for the past few years. He knew why she might be there.

Molly Weasley wasn't having it though. "Cassandra Dawn !" She gasped. "What are you doing there ? Come and sit with us."

"No thank you," the brunette politely denied. She stayed firmly rooted in place as Lucius and Narcissa made their way over. Upon seeing his son's hand in the girl's, Lucius opened his mouth. His wife stopped him with a small slap to the arm before offering the girl a smile and taking a seat behind her. Molly looked outraged. She looked as though she wanted to say something but didn't get a chance to, her son and husband were already leading her away.

Professor McGonagall exhaled. "Let us continue then."

.

The Camaro sped down a wet road in the dead of night. The roads were deserted, surrounded only by the countryside. Wind roared. Rain splashed.

I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.

Lightening flashed every now and then. Percy looked over at Grover a lot. He was absolutely befuddled. He kept glancing between the boy's face and legs.

I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants. But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.

"Eww," some people squealed. Others just held a hand to their heart, feeling bad for Percy. Some were very suspicious of Grover and they weren't trying to hide it.

All I could think to say was :

"So, you and my mom... know each other ?"

Grover looked over before checking the rearview.

He had been doing it a lot, though there were no cars behind us.

"Why ?" Harry suspiciously narrowed his eyebrows.

Dawn rolled her eyes. It funny to her that he was suspicious of people he shouldn't be but people who deserved it.....they got off scot free. At least from Harry's end.

Next thing you know, he won't find Ares suspicious and odd later on in the movie. Now, that would be predictable.

"Not exactly," he explained. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."

"Watching me ?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," Grover added hastily. "I am your friend."

"Sure," Harry narrowed his eyes. "Not some weird stalker."

"Will you please shut the fuck up ?" Dawn demanded.

"What—"

"You don't know anything about him. Stop judging him like that."

Everyone stared at her in disbelief. Nobody ever expected Dawn to say such a thing, especially to Harry Potter. Thing is, no one knew Dawn except for Draco and George. Thunder rumbled to which Dawn glared upwards. She said nothing though.

Molly Weasley looked at the girl absolutely mortified. "Cassandra Dawn Lupin," she gasped, a hand on her heart. "Apologise ! Now !"

"Nope."

A few laughs were stifled around the Hall. Some people were really liking this new version of Dawn. Especially the Slytherins.

Percy nodded, as if trying to process all the information that was being given to him. He then shook his head as if to shake himself back to the present. "Um...what are you, exactly ?"

"That doesn't matter right now."

"It doesn't matter ?" The boy repeated with wide eyes. "From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"

Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha !"

"What the hell ?" Some people exclaimed. No one had been expecting bleating.

Percy stared.

I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.

"Goat !" Grover exclaimed.

"What ?"

"I'm a goat from the waist down."

"What ?" The students all exclaimed.

"You just said it didn't matter !"

"Blaa-ha-ha !" Grover bleated again, miffed. "There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult !"

Percy held up his arms slightly, waving them and shaking his head. "Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths ?"

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy ?" The boy demanded. "Was Mrs. Dodds a myth ?"

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds !" Percy exclaimed.

"Ha !" Some students pointed at the screen.

"Knew he was lying," a Ravenclaw puffed up their chest proudly.

"Why though ?" Ginny furrowed her eyebrows.

Grover conceded. "Of course."

"Then why—"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said as if it were obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."

"Monsters ?" Neville exclaimed.

"Kindly One ?" Hermione questioned.

"'Realize who you are' ?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What does that mean ? He's just some guy."

"Who I—" Percy cut himself off, shaking his head. This was clearly a lot to take in. "Wait a minute, what do you mean ?"

A loud bellowing noise was heard in the distance. Though, closer than before. The boys looked behind them to find nothing. But whatever was chasing them was still on their trail.

"Percy," Sally spoke up, glancing in the rearview, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."

The boy seemed at a loss. "Safety from what ? Who's after me ?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover started in a miffed and sarcastic tone. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."

"What ?" The hall demanded.

"What does he mean 'the Lord of the Dead' ?" Someone asked.

"Why is this person after Percy ?"

People were talking over each other, all confused as Hades.

"Grover !" Sally scolded.

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson," he said sheepishly before gulping and glancing behind them. "Could you drive faster, please ?"

I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.

Despite the tension, people chuckled at Percy's inner thoughts. It made the moment slightly more lighthearted, if only for a second.

Sally made a hard left, swerving onto a smaller road. The car raced past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills. The camera panned for a minute on a sign on the picker white fences that read : PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES.

"Where are we going ?" Percy asked as the camera focused on them again.

"The summer camp I told you about. The place your father wanted to send you."

My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared.

"A summer camp ?" A student said dubiously.

"What is so important about it ?"

Another agreed, wondering, "How could a camp keep him safe ?"

Dawn's leg started moving restlessly as she tried not to roll her eyes. She did it so much that she wouldn't be surprised if one day they just fell out. As if a school is so much safer, she thought bitterly. There might be issues at Camp but the school was by no means any better. If anything, during Dumbledore's time, it was much much worse. At least at Camp, the kids could all trust their supervisors (though, there were times when they wondered if Mr. D would make good on his threats of turning them into dolphins).

"The place you didn't want me to go," Percy recalled.

"Please, dear," his mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

"Because some old ladies cut yarn," the boy said in a disbelieving manner.

"Those weren't old ladies," Grover jumped in. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you ? They only do that when you're about to...when someone's about to die."

"Hang on, what ?" Ginny cried. "He's about to die ?"

"No," Dawn vehemently denied before she could stop herself, immediately wincing. She hoped no one saw it before she managed to school her face into a neutral expression. More thunder, this time well deserved. She knew she deserved it.

She had to catch herself (though it seemed pointless since she would show up soon anyways). The girl cleared her throat as people stared at her. "It wouldn't be much of an introduction to a new world if he died so soon," she began. "Not to mention, there was a stack of ten films. He can't just die in the first one."

That was reasonable enough that people dismissed her protest and tensely turned back to the screen. The demi-witch let out a quiet relieved exhale.

Percy looked at Grover with wide sea green eyes. "Whoa. You said 'you.'"

"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

"You meant 'you.' As in me."

"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."

"Boys !" Sally interrupted their bickering, violently pulling the wheel to the right.

As she pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.

A figure was vaguely visible behind them.

"Merlin," some people swore anxiously.

"Please be okay, please be okay," others prayed.

Even Fleur, who had just arrived and hadn't had the time to form any emotional attachment to Percy yet, burrowed into her husband's arms and nervously bit her lip.

"What was that ?" Percy demanded.

Sally didn't reply. She only informed, "We're almost there." She then nervously muttered under her breath, fingers drumming anxiously on the steering wheel. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."

Percy leaned forward in the car, against the rainy and dark background visible through the car windows.

I didn't know where there was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive. Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.

Percy blinked, gulping as the memory seemed to hit him.

Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. But before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck.

Bright light hit the car and sent it spinning.

Kids and adults yelped and yelled in surprise. Many people placed hands to their mouths in shock. Students looked horrified. Teachers and parents nervously breathed, worried for this boy.

The scene played in slow motion. The car spun. Percy, Grover and Sally were all still in it, held in place only by their seatbelts.

I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.

Then everything went back in real time. The car crashed. Percy hit his head on the back of the driver's seat. "Ow," he croaked.

"Percy !" Sally yelled, worried.

"I'm okay..."

He seemed to shake himself out of his daze.

I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.

The camera panned up at the sky. Spiderweb cracks fissured the darkness like silver light.

Lightning. That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road.

"Excuse me !" Dawn exclaimed.

Thunder cracked in warning but after seeing this, there was no way she was keeping quiet, her cover be damned. She honestly didn't care enough to bother even trying to hold back. The old king was about to hear her wrath as he never had before. And she cared very little about the consequences.

Not to mention, Percy was almost at Camp. She would be there soon enough and her secret would be out anyways. So she had absolutely no reservations about tilting her head upwards towards the sky and yelling, "You don't get to tell me to shut up, you MOTHERFUCKING WANKER ! You blasted him off the fucking ROAD ? Just when I thought my hate for you was at its highest level, I find out you went and pulled shit like this ! The only one worse than YOU is your BLOODY WIFE !"

"Miss Lupin !" Professor McGonagall reprimanded, utterly shocked and scandalised by the mouth one of her favourite students had on her.

Dawn breathed heavily. "Sorry, ma'am. Sorry, kiddies," she winced at the younger kids before levelling a glare upwards again.

Slytherins burst into laughter and whoops of encouragement. They liked her more and more by the minute. The ones who had gone to school with her all seemed to be questioning why they let such a thing as blood and house prejudice keep them from getting to know her.

The Gryffindors all looked at her in shock. The Weasleys especially blinked though George and Ginny looked as though they were on the verge of joining the Snakes in their laughter any minute now. Their mother didn't seem as amused though. "Dawn ! What would your uncle think ?" Molly demanded.

Dawn primly held up her chin. "He would agree," she smirked.

Her Uncle Remus hated Zeus about as much as she did. Not only because of the myths his sister had told him when they were younger but also because of everything he had heard about the God from his niece. That and of course the man's obsession with the reinforcement of the ancient laws. The ones that caused the stupid mess of the Titan War in the first place. The one that wouldn't let Dawn's father visit her and Rosemary as much as he might have wanted to.

"So, we're just not going to ask why she was yelling at the sky ?" Harry demanded.

Percy glanced next to him to see a motionless frame. "Grover !"

He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. Percy shook him by his furry hip,

I was thinking, 'No ! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die !'

"Aww," some people softened. They really liked Percy. Dawn smiled sadly.

Grover let out a groan, "Food."

I knew there was hope.

"Percy," Sally stared, "we have to..." she cut herself off.

Percy glanced back.

The rear windshield was spattered with mud but the tall, lumbering frame at the shoulder of the road was visible nonetheless. Especially when there was more lightening.

The sight of it made my skin crawl.

It was a dark silhouette of a huge person, probably male, like a football player. He seemed to be holding something over his head...a blanket maybe ? His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.

"Horns ?"

"What is that over his head ?"

"What ?"

"No..."

Amidst the murmurs of panic and confusion, Camille got closer to Dawn again. To Dawn and Draco both. The pair quickly shared a look before the boy tentatively opened his arms and offered her a hug.

It wasn't clear whether it was the fear, the fact that she seemed to trust Dawn or that she was warming up to him, but Camille wasted no time entering his embrace and peeking at the screen before turning her head to his chest.

Some eyes watched the interaction with surprise and confusion. No one understood what was up with Draco Malfoy.

"Who is—"

Sally Jackson cut her son off, dead serious. "Percy, get out of the car."

She started throwing herself at the driver's side door but it wouldn't move. Closed because of the mud. Percy tried his finding the same result. He looked up, at the hole.

It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.

"Climb out the passenger's side !" Sally instructed. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree ?"

"What ?"

Lightning flashed again, this time highlighting a tree. A tall, proud pine tree. The kind that should proudly have been displayed at Christmas. It stood at the crest of a nearby hill.

Dawn spared the sky another glare before looking back at the screen and smiling sadly. She suddenly wished Thalia were with her. They might not have had the easiest start due to stupid jealousies but now, Dawn considered the girl a wonderful friend. One she loved with her whole heart.

"That's the property line," the woman explained. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."

"Mom, you're coming too," Percy said immediately.

Sally looked pale and sad.

Her eyes were as sad as when she looked at the ocean.

"No !" Percy shouted. "You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover."

"Food !" Grover moaned, a little louder.

The figure was still approaching them, grunting and snorting. The closer he got, the more it became clear that there was nothing over his head. The bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head...was his head. And the points that looked like horns...were horns.

"Isn't it like that thing....?" Harry asked. "The one in greek mythology ?"

"The minotaur ?" Hermione asked. "I mean, it seems like it but that's impossible."

Dawn almost laughed out loud. They were in for a treat.

Sally shook her head, eyes imploring. "He doesn't want us. He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."

"But..."

"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please," she begged.

"Why is she being so cagey ?" Ginny frowned.

Her mother humphed next to her. "Rather irresponsible. Telling your child to go to an unknown place alone in the dark."

Dawn did roll her eyes this time. She wasn't the only one. George met her eyes across the room to which she smirked. Molly Weasley might have been a good person but her vision and understanding of the world was very black and white. She didn't quite understand the nuances of grey that made it. Her son did though, understanding that there was much more to the situation.

Percy stared for a minute.

I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat, at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.

He put on a determined face before climbing over Grover's slumped form. He pushed open the door and declared, "We're going together. Come on, Mom."

"I told you—"

"Mom ! I am not leaving you," Percy insisted. "Help me with Grover."

"What a good boy," Professor Slughorn sighed sadly.

He obviously didn't wait for her to respond as he got out of the car, almost falling face first onto the ground. He caught himself though and turned to drag Grover out as well.

He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.

Sally had managed to get out too. She immediately went t to help her son, draping Grover's arm over her shoulder. They stumbled uphill together, Grover balanced between them. That didn't stop Percy from glancing back one more time.

I got my first clear look at the monster.

It was insanely tall, maybe seven feet. Muscle basically made its enormous frame, legs, biceps, triceps, everything. It only wore a bright white Fruit of the Looms right under its hairy belly button. Its body only got hairier as eyes trailed upwards toward its shoulders. —which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders. Its neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to its huge head, which had a snout as long as an arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns, big black-and-white horns with deadly sharp points.

Havoc and panic rose in the hall. Students spoke over each other, shrieking and screeching in worry and disgust and horror. Camille cuddled closer to Draco. Dawn shivered though not from the cold. A bit further away, Hermione Granger shook her head in disbelief.

Percy's eyes widened.

I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.

"That's—"

"Pasiphae's son," Sally cut in. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."

"Why do they want to kill him ?" Harry demanded. He didn't like the fact that this boy seemed special and important. What was his deal ?

"But he's the Min—"

"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."

Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Scared of a name ?"

Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Names do have power, Potter."

People blinked upon hearing the venom and distaste in her voice. It was an angry and ancient thing. Something that seemed to have festered within for a long time and was finally coming out. Dawn knew it might not be the best idea but she couldn't bring herself to care anymore.

The camera focused on the pine tree uphill before zooming outwards. It was about a hundred yards to far from Percy and his mother.

Percy glanced behind him again. That's when he saw the man hunched over the car, looking in the windows or something. It was strange. More like snuffling, nuzzling.

I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.

"Food ?" Grover moaned.

"Shhh," Percy ordered before looking at Sally. "Mom, what's he doing ? Doesn't he see us ?"

"His sight and hearing are terrible," she replied. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."

"What..." Ron started.

People agreed but they all seemed to anxiously glued to the screen that all they could manage were nods.

The monster bellowed in rage as soon as Sally stopped talking. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. The. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying. Oops.

A soft unsure laughter sounded though the mood was still somber and wary.

"Percy, when he sees us, he'll charge," Sally explained. "Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand ?"

"How do you know all this ?"

"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this." The woman shook her head in defeat and regret. "I was selfish, keeping you near me."

"Keeping me near you ? But—"

He was cut off by an angry bellow. The mother and son turned to look behind them. The monster was facing them, tromping uphill in way that only had one explanation.

He'd smelled us.

They struggled upwards, slipping on the steep slope. Grover was still lolling between them. The bull-man was closing in faster and faster. It must have been a few seconds away from them.

Sally shouldered Grover and pulled to the side, yelling. "Go, Percy ! Separate ! Remember what I said."

I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance.

"Oh honey," Dawn exhaled, a hand over her heart. She knew where this was headed. And she hated that there was nothing she could do.

Percy sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on him. His black eyes glowed with hate right before he lowered his head and charged, razor-sharp horns aimed straight at Percy's chest.

Percy stood there, breathing deeply.

"What are you doing ?"

"Move !"

"What— Don't just stand there !"

The hall yelled in panic and worry as they saw that Percy wasn't making any move to run away. Even Dawn, who knew he would be fine, was confused.

The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.

The bull-man stormed past him like a freight train as he rolled to the side. It did not appreciate the trick. Its bellow of frustration told them that. It turned but not towards Percy. No, it faced Sally, who was setting Grover down in the grass.

"No..." Draco breathed, looking at Dawn. "Cassandra...please. Tell me it's not what I think it is."

Dawn licked her lips and lightly shook her head. That told him everything he needed to know. He let out a soft breath, holding Camille closer.

They had reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side one could see a valley, just as Sally had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. They would never make it.

The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing Sally, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.

"Run, Percy !" she called. "I can't go any farther. Run !"

Percy just stood there, staring in fear. The monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, the way Percy had earlier, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air. "Mom !" Percy yelled.

She looked at him, choking out one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around Sally's neck, and she dissolved, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.

"What the actual hell ?"

"No ! I was liking Mama Jackson !"

"She was killed in front of him ?" That last one came from Draco who watched the screen with so much sadness and horror. Dawn reached over and squeezed his hand in hers. She knew how close he was with his mother, especially since the war. Narcissa must have noticed his distress too, her hand reaching for his shoulder and her voice whispering that she was there.

"No !" Percy yelled.

Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.

The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling the boy, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.

I couldn't allow that.

Percy stripped off my red rain jacket and stared waving it, rushing to one side of the monster "Hey !" He screamed. "Hey, stupid ! Ground beef !"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Dawn found herself sigh. "'Ground beef' ? Really, Percy ?"

"Raaaarrrrr !" The monster whirled onto him, shaking its meaty fists.

I had an idea—a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all.

Percy put my back to the big pine tree and waved his red jacket in front of the bull-man. He was probably thinking he'd jump out of the way at the last moment. But, of course, it didn't happen like that.

The bull-man charged too fast, its arms out to grab the boy whichever way he tried to dodge. The scene slowed down. Percy jumped up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.

"Woah !"

"Awesome !"

"Go Percy !"

And all types of cheering and clapping echoed around the hall. Harry Potter only sulked, not liking this. He didn't like this boy who was somehow probaly going to end up being more important than he seemed. And he definitely didn't like how intently Dawn Lupin was studying the screen. He could see her fingers twitching as she held them in front of her mouth, grey eyes narrowed thoughtfully and carefully. She had never looked at him with so much worry or concern.

How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.

The monster was struggling, moving and staggering around, trying to shake the little boy clinging to its huge horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong.

The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.

The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. It should have just backed up into the tree and smashed Percy flat, but it seemed to only have one gear: forward. Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass.

I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.

"Food !" Grover moaned.

"Shut up !" A lot of the Great Hall yelled.

The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge.

I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel.

With a murderous expression, Percy got both hands around one horn and he pulled backward with all his might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—snap !

"What the fuck ?" The older students exclaimed while the kids yelled.

Even the adults were all too stunned to call them out for swearing. They just gapped.

"So that's how he did it," Dawn mumbled, finally understanding after all those years. The battle he had had with the Minotaur was one Percy didn't talk about. He talked about the fights and battles he had endured when his memory was gone but not his first real fight against a monster (Alecto didn't count). It was probably one of the few that remained shrouded in mystery.

The bull-man screamed and flung Percy through the air. He landed flat on his back in the grass, his head smacking against a rock.

"Ouch," the students winced.

When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife. I wasn't really thinking during the next part, acting on instinct.

The monster charged. Percy rolled out of the way, rising into a kneeling position. And as the monster barreled past, he drove the broken horn straight into its side, right up under its furry rib cage. The bull-man roared in agony. It flailed, clawing at its chest, then began to disintegrate—not like Sally Jackson had, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.

The monster was gone.

"Oh DAMN !"

"Woah !

"GO PERCY !"

Everyone was in awe and in shock and relieved that Percy seemed to have won.

The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. Percy just stood there for a minute, regaining his breath.

I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help.

"Oh Percy," Dawn breathed, smiling sadly. She was definitely giving him the biggest hug in the world when she saw him. And not letting go for a very very long time.

Percy grabbed Grover and slowly but surely made his way down the valley towards the lights of the farmhouse. He was crying, calling for his mother, but he held on to Grover.

I wasn't going to let him go.

Everything stared blurring as Percy seemed to reach a porch where he collapsed. The muffled echo of footsteps running could be heard.

The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and two pretty girls, one had blond hair curled like a princess's, the other had long brown hair and a fringe.

Through blurriness, one could make out the people Percy was talking about. But no one was clear or recognisable as they looked down at the boy. The blonde girl then said, "He's the one. He must be."

"Can you not ?" The other girl asked, her voice lilting with a welsh accent. "How about we heal him up first ?"

"But—"

"Silence, Annabeth," the man cut her off. "Your friend is right, not to mention, he's still conscious. Bring him inside."

And the scene faded.

Professor McGonagall paused the film. Everyone looked towards a single person in the Hall. They had all recognised the voice of the little welsh girl. Sure, it had been a few years, but there was something distinctive about it.

"Care to explain, Miss Lupin ?"

.

I am so sorry it took me so long. I was trying, I was but then I hit the Minotaur scene and struggled so much. I am bad at writing fight scenes, even when they're already practically all there.

I also felt the need to add the Weasleys and the Malfoys, you'll understand why. And the first batch of demigods will be here soon. I hope you all enjoyed.
I cannot promise anything but I will try not to take too long for the next one.

Bye my loves !

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