Author's Notes: I'm trying to stick to it, but this story might end up being rewritten shortly. I like the premise, I like the story, but I know I can and should do better. I'm just sort of floundering through at the moment and typing what comes to mind. So, consider this the first draft to a possible much better draft in the future, but I'm not going to stop writing it until I'm at least through Lightning Thief, then I might start this challenge over.

Harry squinted against the harsh light of the sun as he left the airport in New York alongside Meadow. "Wow, the sun is bright today," he remarked as he lifted his arm to block the rays. The raven haired wizard had been having some problems since the Chamber incident, one of which was the sunlight seemed to grow more intense the longer he was in it. Already his pale skin was beginning to turn darken from the sun's rays.

"The Lord of the Sun must not be happy," Meadow whispered as she looked about the parking lot. "There is our ride," she suddenly burst out happily pointing toward a van parked nearby. Her own green eyes lit up as she bounced up and down on the balls of her toes, drawing many eyes to her exposed cleavage that jiggled with each movement. "I can see Argus!"

The demigod turned his head to see where she was looking, and nearly dropped his raised arm at the sight of a man whose entire body was covered in eyeballs leaning against the driver side door of a van. "Huh," the wizard stated in awe for a moment before shrugging. "Well, can't be any worse then Filch. The caretaker at my school is named Argus as well."

"My, that is a... coincidence," the wood nymph hesitated to say. Something wasn't right and she could feel it resonating deep inside. Someone or something had been setting up her young charge's life to almost resemble the lives of known demigods. First was his 'family' which turned out to be the Nemean Lion in disguise, he had already met a Cerberus and a troll in his first year, and battle a massive serpent in his second year of schooling. It was almost as though someone was training him.

Already though the boy was moving toward the van and she was forced to hurry to follow him. She hoped the rest of the journey to camp would be uneventful, but when it came to demigods and monsters she wasn't really sure what to expect.

As the two approached the van, Argus looked at the boy with wide eyes for a moment before his attention flashed to Meadow for a moment. Without missing a beat though he walked around the side of the van to the rear doors and opened them. With ease the eye covered man took Harry's trunk and put it in the back of the van, before motioning to a heap of wrapping covered packages, each with a note declaring "To Harry, Love Mom."

"Argus says they just appeared in the back of his van on his way here," Meadow explained as she watched the two men. "He said they almost caused him to swerve off the road," she explained with a giggle.

"I've... I've never had a present from my mum before," the wizard boy said as he continued to stare at the mound of presents in awe, trying to subtly wipe away tears with his still raised arm. "Do... do you think it would be okay if I rode in the back opened them on the way to camp?"

Meadow smiled as she watched Argus' belly shake to show his laughter. "That will be fine Harry. Just remember to pick up the mess," she said with a smile. The red headed woman watched the boy climb into the back of the van before Argus shut the rear doors and moved to take the passenger seat on the way to camp.

After climbing into the back of the van, Harry's eyes latched on to a letter sitting on top of the pile and hastily snatched it up. On the envelope was written his name, not in English but in Greek, causing him to blink as he realized he understood what it said. With shaking fingers, he pulled the top of the envelope open and pulled out a sheet of notebook paper.

To Our Beloved Son,

We are so happy that you can now enter our world like we have often dreamed you could. Both Artemis and I have had long whispered arguments about who gets to be Mom and who will be Mother, but we decided that we will let you decide in the end what you wish to call us. It seems though that you have been busy since last we spoke, Harry. We were in council with the other Olympians when what should appear but the pelt and bones of the Nemean Lion. Along with what we managed to get from the basilisk only a few weeks ago, we put our brother, Hephaestus and his cyclops helpers to work getting your gifts ready for when you landed.

The first present is a set of armor, forged from Celestial Bronze, Stygian Iron and the skins of the Nemean Lion and the Basilisk. It is set to turn into whatever clothing you desire when you are not fighting, and its machine washable. That was my idea, of course. Someone has to be the smart one in the family.

Surprised, Harry pulled down the first present and opened it. Inside was just what his mother had described in her letter, a full set of armor combining Greek and European styles. A heavy suit of chain-mail that extended from his neck to his ankles glistened the same color gold as the Nemean Lion's pelt. Beneath that was a black, red and bronze chest plate that depicted a bronze lion and a serpent on either side of the black center. The shoulder guards were shaped like lion and basilisk heads that were opened and ready to bite.

Tearing his eyes away from the shiny new armor, he went back to the letter.

The next three presents are weapons, so you must be very careful with them Harry, do you understand? Good. Now, the long present is from Artemis, a blade forged from the teeth of the Basilisk itself. This weapon is very dangerous, my son, and I'll explain why. Normally demigods wield weapons of Celestial Bronze, which can't hurt a mortal but can hurt monsters and demigods. This blade however can hurt both much like Stygian Iron. However, monsters killed using the Basilisk Blade can reform in Tartarus while those killed with Stygian Iron cannot.

Next is a thick rather lumpy package if I do say so myself. Inside it are a pair of hand held weapons called the Nemean Cestus, forged using the bones of the lion. They will raise your strength to that of Heracles when you use them. While more used for powerful blows they do have a place on the battlefield in case you come across another foe that can't be cut. Those are from Artemis by the way.

Last is my own person gift. A set of short bladed swords I had created ages ago but never found someone to give them to. They come with chains that wrap around your forearms but can be wielded at a distance if you train to use them as such. They are dangerous in their own rights so don't go flailing about with them and make sure you are a good distance from the other demigods when using them.

My claiming you has caused quite the stir here on Mount Olympus, sweetie. Apollo is furious that Artemis and Orion finally had their child and that I helped, so expect some trouble with his children at camp. The fact that you are one of Hecate's magic users is also causing some problems, luckily none from Father, he has his own concerns at the moment with our uncle. Poseidon seems to be torn on your existence but I don't think Thanatos, who showed up as a surprise, has ever looked more smug. I'll have to do some digging to find out why that is.

Alright baby, well I love you and need to get back to the meeting. I'm sure you'll hear all about the threatening war when you arrive at camp. We love you and hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Mom and Mother

P.S. If you send Hedwig with a letter, she can reach me or Artemis wherever we are.

A sniffle escaped the preteen, causing him to turn and stare at the back of the van while he tried to get his emotions under control. He finally had a letter from his mother, well, one of them anyway. He would write back as soon as Hedwig arrived at camp, they had been forced to let her fly to America since a surprise owl in a cage hadn't gone over well with customs.

While he was in the middle of his thoughts though, the van came to a halt at the bottom of a tall hill. "You'll have to get their from here," Meadow's voice rang out. "It is a right of passage, we can't just drive you into camp," she explained. "Just head up the hill toward that pine tree and you'll find yourself at camp." Outside Harry could see that the son had long since set, the last of its light spread out over the darkening sky that was Artemis' time. However, what seemed out of place was the rapidly approaching storm clouds that seemed to be moving toward the camp.

"Oh, okay," Harry said with a grin as he looked across the seats to the front. "Do you mind if I get changed before I head up? I thought it would look kind of cool to arrive at camp in full armor."

"Not a problem, kid," Meadow said with a smile. "I'll just face forward while you get changed."

After a few moments to see how everything went on, Harry hopped out of the back of the truck in his full armor. The blades from Athena were strapped to his back over each shoulder, while the poisoned blade he had gotten from Artemis was sheathed at his side. The Nemean Cestus fit on his arms, but contracted look like a watch and bracelet when he wasn't fighting. "So how do I look," he yelled out over the rain that had caught up to them, thunder rolled after lightning danced across the heavens.

"Like a real hero," Meadow yelled back giving the boy a smile before her eyes looked up to the sky. "We'll meet you at the Big House, okay Harry? Don't worry you can't miss it," the red head called out.

Giving her a thumbs up, Harry watched as the van started up again and began to turn down a dirt road between the strawberry fields that lined the road. As he began to walk across the street to the hill he was supposed to climb though, a shrill screeching sound caught his ear and made him look up the road. A car was sliding across the pavement on its roof, its engine gunning and its tires spinning as it slid into a ditch.

Lightning flashed once again and Harry could see something beyond the car. It was massive and lumbering up the road, the sound of its hooves tearing into the pavement resounded down through the ditch to the young demigod. "The bloody hell is that thing," the Boy-Who-Lived wondered as he watched the horned bipedal monster grow closer to the car. Another lightning bolt revealed the horns and bull-like face of the minotaur to the armored demigod who could only gulp as he saw the sheer size of the creature as it towered over the downed vehicle.

The wizard took a step forward, the Nemean Cestus growing to encompass his hands inside a pair of stone lion heads, when thunder rolled dangerously up above. Lightning slammed into the ground just a few feet away from the Boy-Who-Lived, making him throw his arms up to protect himself from the light and heat. Harry peeked over between his arms at the blackened stretch of ground just ahead of him and took a step back. Had that been a warning shot?

After another step forward, another bolt of lightning just barely missed him, coming so close that it made the hair on his arms stand on end. "Okay, okay, backing off," Harry said loudly as he looked up at the storming sky. Unable to help, Harry was forced to stand in the road and watch as four figures, the Minotaur and what appeared to be two humans and a satyr rushed up the hill toward the pine tree Meadow had mentioned. He was forced to turn his head away as the woman, obviously the demigod's mother, burst into golden sand right before his eyes.

He watched, his Cestus returning to their watch and bracelet forms, as the other demigod killed the minotaur before falling to the ground. With the fight over, he sighed and made his way up the hill. The satyr, obviously jumpy from the recent fight, looked up from his position next to the fallen demigod when he heard the jingle of approaching armor. "Relax," Harry said as he crested the hill and saw the satyr looking desperate to get away. "My name is Harry."

"Grover," the satyr spoke after a long moment. Harry couldn't help but smile at the resemblance between Grover and Ron. Both were red heads and seemed to be truly loyal to their friends, Grover though had a soul patch of flaming red hair and a pair of goat legs. "Why didn't you help us," the satyr demanded.

"I wanted to," Harry admitted. "But lightning kept striking when I tried to get near. Someone didn't want me interfering," he finished raising his face to look at the sky. "Now then, lets get this guy in," Harry said before stopping. Now that he was close enough to see the boy laying on the ground he felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. The resemblance between him and this other kid was down right terrifying. "Grover, do all demigods look the same?"

"No," the satyr remarked looking from Harry to the downed boy with large round eyes. "Come on, lets get him to the Big House so he can get healed up. His name is Percy by the way. Percy Jackson."

"Yeah well," Harry muttered as he scooped down and found himself easily lifting his fellow demigod with as much ease as lifting his backpack at school. He stopped for a second, noting just how strong the Nemean Cestus was augmenting his strength before shaking his head to brush away the thought. "Listen Grover, if Percy ever makes friends with a know-it-all girl who is set on having the answers to everything in life, I'm going to sue," the wizard said with a chuckle as he crested the hill and looked down into Camp Half-Blood for the first time. "Bloody Hell!"