Heroes at Hogwarts

two | hellhounds and long explanations

percy

When Percy Jackson stumbled out of Cabin 3, Mrs. O'Leary was on him in a heartbeat. The over-sized dog pounced and licked Percy's face until Percy finally managed to wiggle out from underneath her. He hadn't seen his dog in a week, as Reyna had borrowed her to visit her sister and the Hunters, and Mrs. O'Leary had obviously missed him.

Annabeth's laugh rang out from above him and he sat up from the ground to see her walking over with a book tucked under her arm and a pen in her bun. The rest of Cabin 6 carried on to the dining pavilion without her, Malcom, Annabeth's brother, in the lead.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain, breakfast." She pulled him up. "And after, you may want to think about changing out of these hellhound-slobber drenched clothes."

Percy playfully scowled at her and gripped her hand as she pulled him towards the dining pavilion. He smiled to himself at her grin as she sniffed the air. They had the same thing every day for breakfast, he didn't understand why she always got excited.

"Alright, now that we're all here," Chiron was standing in full horse-man mode at the twelfth table, the seven-year-old Dionysus boy, Calypso, and a few satyrs were the only ones surrounding him. Mr. D's chair was empty. "We can get started on today's activities."

"It's Saturday!" Conner Stoll called out from the overcrowded Hermes table. "It's our off day!"

Other cries of protest rose up from the crowd of demigods, and Chiron raised his hand for silence with a small smile playing with his lips.

"Everyone else does have an off day. I do, however, need Percy, Annabeth, Calypso, Leo, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Will, and Nico to meet me at the Big House when they are done eating breakfast," Chiron announced. "There will also be a movie played in the amphitheater tonight, courtesy of Cabin 9. Good day."

The usual muttering resumed as soon as Chiron stopped talking, but it wasn't about the usual archery lessons or hair braiding by the lake; what was going on?

Percy caught Annabeth's eye. It had been a year since the war, and they were heading off to college in New Rome in January. Percy had gotten used to the harsh sense of tranquility and freedom. He'd never gone so long without looking over his shoulder or sleeping on the ground.

The look Annabeth gave him hit him like a brick. She was worried. Percy nodded to her reassuringly and scanned his eyes over the crowd for the others. Nico and Will were arguing across the span of the Hades and Apollo tables, where Will sat with his siblings and Nico sat when Hazel was visiting. Jason was fiddling with his food, alone at the Zeus table, and Piper was shooting Leo looks, trying to get him to stop cracking jokes across the pavilion. Frank had gotten up and was talking to Chiron with Reyna, both praetors were frowning. Percy looked back at Annabeth, but she was already listening to her siblings all fret over her wellbeing, and he looked back down at his empty table and sighed.

Tyson hadn't visited this summer. They'd called each other frequently, but they were rebuilding multiple undersea communities and Tyson had been busy. Poseidon had called once, too, with Tyson, and the three had had a long chat about, well, just about everything. It made Percy think Poseidon was trying to make up for the lack of help in the war against the Giants. He'd even been sneaking off to his mom and Paul's apartment more often, with Nico helping teach the swordsmanship class, he'd had lots of free time on his hands.

Jason walked over and clapped Percy on the shoulder. "Ready?" He asked.

Percy hadn't eaten much, but he nodded and stood to follow Jason up the hill. As much as Percy was lost in his thoughts at his table, all alone, he knew Jason didn't have anyone to sit with either. Thalia had conveniently avoided camp all summer, missing the trips the other Hunters came on, saying she had other things to do. Percy didn't buy it for a minute, he knew why she really didn't want to be visiting; the Romans hadn't left. They'd gone back to Camp Jupiter for a month before returning to Camp Half-Blood for a year-long stay. They'd set up camp right next to the strawberry fields and hadn't moved since. Reyna claimed it was because the weather and aura were better here in New York, but Percy knew the Romans didn't want to leave their newfound family so soon.