Disclaimer: chapter one

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Kid Coheed: The current plan is to keep Harry's magic wandless.

Roostertheking: Sorry, but that's a spoiler. Although I did say what I would be doing regarding that in the original, so I guess it's not that much of a spoiler. (its a quest and that's all you're getting)

AlphaFlash: Nope. No update schedule. I update as soon as the chapter is ready, which entirely depends on whether I can find the time to actually sit down and write.

WhiteElfElder: That's a spoiler question.

Chapter Four

(6th June 2006)

The past six months had a very erratic weather. Thunderstorms and rains everywhere. The sea was also acting bizarre, with random high and low tides, unpredictable turbulent waters and the like.

To the outside world, this was probably a storm brewing. To demigods, they disregarded it for the most part, chalking it up to the two Olympian brothers fighting for some or the other reason.

"Clever," Chiron said as he moved his bishop to block a future check. "But you are sure that the same old man appeared in your dream?"

Harry nodded, capturing Chiron's bishop with his queen. "Yes. He simply said that my trial awaits me at the land that rejects my kind. What did he mean by that?"

Chiron thought about his next move while he answered. "Why don't you tell me what you derived from that?"

"Well, 'my kind' can refer to me being a human, male, demigod, mage or alive. I… can't seem to think of anything that outright rejects humans or mages or demigods," Harry answered. "Only the Underworld would reject the living, but then again, there are multiple stories and ways for a living being to enter and exit the Underworld."

"And I'm assuming that you left the male part out because that can, technically, refer to the Hunters' Camp of Artemis or the land of the Amazons. Though the later does not exactly reject males," Chiron said. He moved his rook forward, placing it for a future check, but it would depend on what Harry did next. The rook could also capture Harry's knight.

Harry nodded. He made his play. "Exactly."

"Difficult, yes," Chiron stated, referring to the chess game and Harry's problem. "But I suppose that it can wait for now. Especially if you have no set deadline. Olympus isn't exactly peaceful right now."

"No, I think there is no set deadline, but it would be rude to make him wait. And yes, the weather and the sea have been disturbed ever since our field trip." Harry said. Chiron nodded, and captured Harry's queen. To his credit, Harry did not seem to be bothered by it.

"I am not surprised that it didn't miss your notice. The King and his brother have been fighting ever since. I'm not supposed to reveal why, however." Chiron said. If word got out that the Master Bolt was stolen, then there would be panic, and it would only prompt the Olympus' enemies to act.

Perhaps the Great Prophecy was coming to pass. Although Chiron won't even say that out loud.

Harry smirked. "Hmmm. Let's see. The two of them have been fighting for six months. That tells me that whatever happened was more serious than a simple 'mother likes me more' debate and one of them did something that well and truly offended the other. No outright confrontations yet, and none of us have been even contacted by our parents to call for a war, which tells me that an ultimatum has been issued. This further implies that the conflict did not arise out of the King not being able to keep it in his toga. But what did happen?"

Chiron sighed. "All of it is true. And I just told you that I can't reveal what happened."

Harry's smirk didn't let up. In fact, it widened. He moved his pawn further towards Chiron's end. "Ah, but then here's something that is important but I don't see how it fits. Your house-call to the kid in the infirmary. He's not a run-of-the-mill demigod if you had to go yourself to scope him out. Either his godly side is dominating his non-godly side, or he's one of the Big Three. His presence here, along with the Minotaur attack is no coincidence, especially if it is the later than the former."

Chiron chuckled. "I did not expect a rookie mistake like yours, Harry," he said as his only bishop captured Harry's pawn that was one move away from a Promotion.

"No, that was a rookie move," Harry said as he moved his rook upwards. "And this is a checkmate."

Chiron's eyes widened. "Ahh, I see. You purposely let me capture your queen and all the while you moved your pawn forward and forward, but had already moved your knights and rook into position. Then you made it look like you were going for a Promotion. And I fell for it. Good game, well played."

Harry smiled. "Thank you. In all fairness I didn't think that it would work. Sis saw through a queen sacrifice back home."

"Rowena will deny this, but I'm quite certain that your mother cloned herself when she was born." Chiron said jokingly.

"I guess," Harry replied. "But what do I do about my dream? Go to the Oracle?"

Chiron's expression turned a bit grim. "You could, always. But there's a reason why it lays in the Attic. You may not be the same person when you return."

Harry was silent for a time. "I suppose I will have to take that risk."

"If you do, then please, do not dwell much should the Oracle issue a prophecy."

Harry nodded as he headed to the Attic.

Chiron sighed as he packed up the chess board and the pieces. Playing with Harry was always a delight, especially as they always kept each other on their toes. He doubted that the Oracle would give Harry a prophecy. Most assumed that Oracles solely existed to predict the future and give prophecies, but one of their duties was also to simply point the way or even to provide counsel.

It was quite chilly in the Attic, despite the fact that it was a hot summer day outside. There were multiple artifacts, weapons and even the odd trophy lying around, but none of that interested Harry.

He walked towards the back, where a mummified body lay, seemingly lifeless. It was slumped over, propped up on an old, dusty stool.

If he remembered his lessons correctly, and of course Harry did, all he had to do was ask. Then await a response, should the Oracle choose to do so.

"Where is the land that rejects my kind?" Harry asked.

For a couple of seconds, there was no response.

Then a bluish green mist flew out of the mummy. It took the shape of a small girl who lacked any facial features. She spoke directly into his mind, in a raspy voice, which sent shivers of terror down Harry's back. He began to breathe rapidly as the feeling of fear increased even further. Sweat broke on his forehead, rolling down his white-from-fear face.

The voice wasn't that of a little girl, but it sounded a lot more… older. As if it belonged to an old woman who was about to die. As in, she sounded just like she was going to die any moment and knew that she would be dead.

"You seek not the land of dead. You seek not the land of the daughters of War. You only seek that which is in the North, but take heed, young demigod. For not even We, the Spirit of Delphi, can tell you of your destiny."

Harry's eyes widened. His heart was thumping in his chest. His orange Camp shirt was soaked. "North? What lies in the North? And why can't you tell me of my destiny?"

This time Harry received no reply as the visage of the young girl dissipated into nothingness. He closed his eyes as he looked at the back of his hand. The Symbol, that was engraved on it so long ago, was starting to burn a little.

Harry heaved a sigh as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart before he turned around and walked out of the Attic. When he came down in the hall of the Big House, where he had played chess with Chiron just a few minutes ago, he found the teacher waiting for him.

Chiron was sitting in his wheelchair. "Well? Did she issue a Prophecy?"

Harry shook his head. "No. All I learned was that I was to go North."

"Yet you look disturbed," Chiron noted. "The Oracle told you something that you did not expect?"

Harry breathed deeply. "Does… does the Oracle hide information?"

Chiron raised a brow. "Not in the way most would think. Oracle cannot even lie. She will state the truth in a vague manner, but never withhold anything that the Fates deem relevant."

"And the Oracle's powers? How do they work?"

"I can't say for certain. The only person who would know for sure is the God of Prophecies himself, apart from the Fates. The most prevailing theory is that the Oracle can see into the Loom, but just how much and to what extent is unknown." Chiron answered.

"Okay." Harry took a deep breath in, mostly to calm himself down. "Because I was told that the Oracle cannot see my future."

Chiron's surprise and fear was extremely evident in his expression.

"T-The Oracle can't see your f-future..." he whispered a bit fearfully. Such a thing was completely unheard of. Had it been anything else, he would have chalked it up to Merlin and the Seal of Avalon on Harry's hand. But not even Apollo or even Zeus himself were powerful enough to blind the Oracle like this, much less a minor god like Merlin.

The only entity that can do so would be the very beings that gave the Oracle her powers. The Fates.

That confused Chiron just as much as it scared him. For all rights and purposes, Harry was a normal demigod. Well, as normal as demigods go. Apart from the intelligence that he inherited from his mother, and his magic, there was nothing that was extraordinary.

"I—I need to consult with the gods about this, should they listen. Until I say so, do not embark on your quest to the North. Perhaps take some time, decide on who you want to take along with you." Chiron all but ordered.

Harry nodded. "If you say so."

"Do not worry about the future and what it holds, Harry," Chiron said softly after a while. "In a sense a prophecy simply helps to prepare for it, but never will it prevent it. You may not know or have any idea as to what lies ahead, but that might be for the better. Ignorance is bliss, as they say."

"Thank you, Chiron," Harry whispered as well. "I will get going now."

Chiron nodded in acknowledgment.

"Who cares?"

"Huh?" Harry said dumbfounded as he looked at Silena. They were both sitting in the Pavilion, which was quite empty. The weather had seemingly calmed down, and the setting sun was breaking through the clouds. There was still quite some time left before dinner.

"So the Oracle can't see your future. Why does that matter, exactly?" Silena asked with narrowed eyes.

"It's not about my future, but rather what's hiding it from the Oracle. And why me specifically?" Harry questioned.

Silena thought about it. "Can you do anything about it?"

"No, not really." Harry muttered. Before she could reply, he added, "And I know that you are going to say 'then don't worry about it' or something."

"You know me so well," Silena said dryly. "In all seriousness, don't worry about it." She then sighed. "You are not worried about the future holds as much as you are worried about why it's clouded, right?"

Harry gave her a look. "That's exactly what I said."

Silena smiled. "Well then. Let's address the other issue. What's in the North that rejects you? An ex? The one girl who said no? Please tell me that you have an ex in the North."

Harry raised a brow. "First off, for someone to reject me, I'd have to ask her out. Secondly, it's the land that rejects me, or rather my kind, not a person."

"The land could just be her house, you know. And seriously? Not a single girl? Gods, you are boring." Silena teased. Inwardly, however, she was more than pleased. Being the daughter of the Love goddess, she could easily sense the attraction between two people. Or even when they were falling for each other. Or even when they were falling out of love.

And as such, she could easily sense Harry and his ever growing crush on her. She was interested in him, of course she was, but Silena was something of a traditionalist. She wanted him to make the first move.

Harry huffed. "Why do you care anyways?"

Silena didn't meet his eyes at first. "Uhh let's say, purely hypothetically, of course, that there was a bet that which out of you and Luke had the most number of girlfriends."

"Really? Just Luke and me? Not Lee? Or even Pollux?" Harry asked. "And who even started this bet?"

Lee Fletcher of the Apollo Cabin. He took after his father and was infamous because he was caught two-timing a daughter of Aphrodite and a daughter of Demeter. Let it be known that he wasn't too bright when it came to anything that didn't involve a bow and arrow. In unrelated news, it was considered that he was lucky to have both of his family jewels after what the two girls did to him. Allegedly, of course. Nothing was ever proved.

Pollux was a son of Dionysius, and unlike his grumpy father, he was a lot more fun to hang out with. No history of two timing with anyone, but a long string of exes, both demigods and mortals.

"Well, again, this hypothetical," Silena began.

"Sure. Hypothetical."

"Yup. But this bet was started by Lee and Rita."

"Really? Lee and Rita? The girl he cheated on, still talks to him?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you poor soul, don't you understand the subtleties of my Cabin?" Silena asked. "It's not exactly your boyfriend's fault if he was set up by the girlfriend, who paid the other girl to seduce him, so that she could have a very good reason to break up and complete the Rite of Passage. Even more so if the boyfriend was in on it. No one in that story is innocent, just the side that is left with as little guilt as possible."

Harry put his head down. "You Aphrodite girls have way too much time..."

Silena laughed. "That I won't deny."

She left out the whole part of the discussion between her siblings where she still fought tooth and nail about the whole Rite of Passage thing. At least she was going to be Counsellor next year as her older brother was going to be leaving for college. Then she could abolish this stupid practice for good.

The downside was that there would less gossip like this. Probably.

Harry then put his head up, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "What's your deal in this hypothetical bet? Your cut?"

Silena's expression turned sly. "Why would you assume that I have any stakes in the bet?"

"You mean apart from bringing it up?" Harry asked.

"Let me rephrase that. What makes you think that I wasn't simply making you aware of a hypothetical bet? Or that I actually decided to bet in it?"

Harry smiled. "I see. One of your siblings told you to find out."

Silena nodded. "Bingo!"

"Which means that you have a cut."

Silena didn't answer the question. "We've veered off topic. About the North?"

Harry sighed, and nodded. He didn't particularly want to push the issue of a 'hypothetical' bet. "Right. The Oracle all but confirmed that it wasn't the Underworld or the Amazons, and I willing to bet that the Hunters are also out. That leaves two possibilities. One is me being a demigod, one is me being a wizard. I suppose there's a third one that involves both of above."

Silena seemed to think it over. "Alaska? Us demigods lose most of our godly protections and powers there right?"

Harry shook his head. "We wouldn't lose our powes in Alaska, merely our connection to our godly parent. Even that is temporary as it immediately reestablished when we leave the state. But that is one possibility. Other would be Quebec, which lies at the very edge of the gods' influence. But it does not weaken our connections to our parents like Alaska."

Silena hummed. "What about you being a wizard? Any magical place that's forbidden for you?"

"Mostly Wizarding prisons, but that's a legal perspective, not a 'land that rejects you' kind of a thing. But the prison for mages in the USA is in Idaho, so that's out." Harry was personally relieved at that. Unlike the mundane world which had a proper prison system with varying levels of prisons, the Wizarding World lumped all criminals in the same location.

A petty thief who was caught for stealing his next meal could be placed in the same space as a serial killer. The only difference was the time served.

"Let's go to the Big House's library for further research," Harry suggested after a while. To be fair, the Athena Cabin had more than enough research materials but Silena wouldn't be allowed inside and he wasn't allowed to take the material outside, as per his mother's decree. He would have to do so later by himself.

Percy Jackson did not have a good weekend.

It started out quite amazing when his mother, Sally Jackson, took him to Montauk. Then it all went downhill. Sally was killed by an actual monster, a Minotaur. His best friend, Grover, was actually a satyr. And to top it all off, his father was not only alive but also a god.

It was as if his world was shattered in a matter of moments. Percy was honestly trying and failing to comprehend it all, and for once, he couldn't blame it on his dyslexia/ADHD.

Percy could only nod numbly as he took in whatever Mr. Brunner, no wait, that was Chiron, was telling him. He couldn't believe that he was standing in front of the legendary trainer of all heroes. Or the fact that the overweight, balding man who sat next to Chiron was actually the god Dionysus and not a deadbeat loser like Gabe as he assumed.

"You are in shock and I know that this is a lot to take in," Chiron said as Percy was sitting across the table, watching the game of pinochle. "And unfortunately we can't exactly show you the Orientation Movie because of certain… circumstances."

Percy idly wondered what circumstances Chiron was talking about, but the Centaur didn't reveal anything.

Chiron didn't want to reveal that the CD that contained the Orientation film was replaced by a poorly shot video of Ares and Aphrodite. It was a lot more tamer than it sounded.

"However, I have my own duties to attend to. Annabeth here will answer all of your questions." Chiron said as he dismissed Percy and the blonde girl who seemed to be judging every single move Percy made.

It annoyed Percy quite a bit. He was more than used to judgmental stares, given the amount of times he got in trouble, but all those times the people who were giving him such looks were usually the ones who had heard of his exploits. This girl seemed to hate him on principle.

She was a bit rude and condescending but at the very least she answered his questions as she showed him the Pavillion and the Canoe Lake.

For her part, Annabeth wanted to tear her own hair out. This guy, who had slain a Minotaur as his first monster kill, had done so by a stroke of luck. He was largely unaware of the whole Greek gods and monsters, and did not even know anything about the situation on Olympus. He didn't even know where Olympus was to begin with.

Annabeth was expecting Percy to be at least a bit more skilled than that. But boy was she disappointed. The fact that he was largely unaware of the situation in Olympus just made her disappointment grow even more.

The two of them came by the Cabins where she was going to show him Cabin 11, where he'd be staying for now. Before she could, however, they ran into Harry. He was carrying a pile of books and scrolls, and Annabeth recognized some of them from the Big House's library.

"You must be the new kid," Harry said as he looked at Percy. "I'm Harry Potter, Son of Athena," Harry held out his hand, balancing the books on his other.

Percy shook his hand. "Percy Jackson."

Harry looked at Annabeth, noticing her expression. "Why do you look so sour?"

Annabeth didn't meet her brother's eyes. "He's just… not what I expected."

Before Percy could respond, Harry cut in. "Why don't you take these and place them by my desk? Use Malcolm's help and sort these out by date of publication? I'll take it from here."

Annabeth shrugged, before taking the books from Harry and heading on to the Cabin Six.

Malcolm Pace was the latest addition to the Cabin, having joined last winter. He was a year younger than Annabeth, and surprisingly had a stable family given that he was a demigod. He lived with his father, an archeologist, and was discovered by one of the satyrs. He had informed Harry that he would not be staying year-round, which he was perfectly fine with.

Especially as Annabeth had now moved in with him and Rowena in Manhattan after Ashley had officially left Camp. She was fully aware of who her eldest sibling was, as Rowena had come clean even before Salazar could spill the beans.

Harry turned to Percy. "Please don't mind my sister. Annie means well, but like a few of my siblings she is not highly tolerant of ignorance."

Percy wasn't sure what to respond with. At least Harry didn't seem to put him on edge as Annabeth had, with her judgemental stares and snide responses, though the latter were a lot rarer in reality than in his mind.

"So, are we really demigods?" Percy felt as though he was asking that for the tenth time, but it still felt surreal to him.

"Yes,"Harry said simply. "You're not the first person to express disbelief in that, and I highly doubt that you'll be the last. But the fact remains the same."

"Then why doesn't anyone know who my father is?" Percy asked.

"Well that is a lot harder to answer. Unless your father, whoever he is, decides to acknowledge you, no one will know," Harry answered.

Percy looked down, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was thinking.

"My guess is that he'll claim you when he thinks you deserve it. In other words, you need to impress him," Harry said. "You killed the Minotaur, yes, and very few are lucky to survive an attack from such a fearsome monster, but apparently that wasn't enough. Perhaps he is looking for merit over luck."

Percy would not deny that it was luck that allowed him to defeat Minotaur. That, and help from his mother.

"Annabeth was certainly acting like I was lucky to have encountered the Minotaur," Percy muttered.

Harry shook his head. Despite her intelligence, she was still twelve. She, like a lot of twelve year olds, wanted her own story where she took down the monster and saved the day. Also like most twelve year olds, she had yet to fully understand that not everyone shared the same opinion as she did.

"In any case, here's where you will be staying," Harry said as they approached Cabin 11. "Cabin 11. It belongs to the god of thieves, messages, roads, travellers, merchants and trade. He also accepts all the Undetermined demigods such as yourself along with his own children."

"That's… Hermes?" Percy said as he tried to remember Mr. Brunner, no, Chiron's classes.

"Yes. And you'll be staying here until you get claimed. That can happen within the next five minutes or never," Harry said. "I personally hope that you do get claimed though. The Cabin Counsellor is an utter fool!"

Percy wondered why Harry had spoken the last sentence a lot louder, but his question was answered when a blonde man opened the Cabin door to greet them. He had blue eyes and a nasty scar on his face. He glared at Harry, but even Percy could tell that there was no heat behind it.

"You are the one to talk, nerd." Luke said. "And really? Utter fool? That's the best you got?"

"I save the best I got for the best. No need to waste them on you," Harry countered. "Well, this is Percy Jackson. Percy, meet Luke. And should your wallet go missing, immediately search Luke's stuff."

"Don't listen to him, Percy. I never steal anything from my own Cabin members." Luke said as he gave Percy a charming smile.

It did nothing to instil confidence in Percy. It was rather refreshing to see the banter between the two of them, who were no doubt good friends.

"By that he means that you're fair game the second you get claimed," Harry clarified.

"He's joking," Luke said to Percy, but once again it did not exactly put Percy at ease.

"So I stay here until my father acknowledges me?" Percy asked.

"Yup," Luke said. "You are a part of my cabin, and unless you are my brother you will be staying here till you get claimed."

"You can at least try to be welcoming," Harry said.

"Ignore this owl-head, Percy," Luke replied.

"Well, I'm going to take my leave now. See you soon for Ancient Greek class," Harry said as he waved them goodbye.

"Uhh Ancient Greek class?" Perry asked Luke.

"Huh, right. Harry teaches the new kids Ancient Greek as per Chiron's request. Well, he does a lot of stuff here on Chiron's request," Luke replied. "Well come on in! I think we have a spot for you here somewhere."

The next few days were very interesting for Percy.

Harry had taught him Ancient Greek by making him do fun exercises and set a perfect pace for him. The older demigod had factored in Percy's ADHD when he taught him, and Percy quickly learned his stuff.

Then came the sword practicing with Luke. Well, it was with the entire Hermes Cabin, but Luke also had one-on-one session with Percy. In which he had managed to disarm Luke, but only after he had poured some water on himself. He had chalked it up to luck, but Luke seemed to think differently.

The only downside came from this one girl, Clarisse. Percy had met her types before, the type who would bully those who were younger or weaker than her. She had tried to dunk his head in toilet, but he had done… something… and the water had instead made her and her siblings completely wet while Percy himself was dry.

Annabeth was unfortunately caught up in the crossfire, but she had said something about needing him in the upcoming Capture the Flag. He had also learned to not call her Annie. Apparently only her brother could get away with calling her that without a glare thrown their way.

Which had then brought him to this very night, the night of the Capture the Flag. Where he was on guard duty. By himself. Something didn't exactly feel right to Percy. But he couldn't exactly point out what.

As he contemplated his situation, he failed to notice the five Ares campers who came his way.

In another part of the forest was an elevated ground that allowed Chiron to witness the entire Capture the Flag field. As the referee, it was his job to ensure that the game was fair and adhered to the rules. He was keenly observing Percy as he was ganged up on by the Ares Campers, frowning. While what they were doing wasn't exactly against the rules, it was a horrible tactical decision. The Ares-Hephaestus-Demeter-Aphrodite (well, the ones who weren't wasting time gossiping, that is) side didn't have any other hard hitters than the Ares campers, and they were all ganging up on Percy rather than focusing on how to rout the Athena-Hermes-Apollo-Dionysus' offense.

On the opposing side, Luke had already made off with their flag, flanked by Harry while the Apollo campers provided cover fire. The setup was a tad bit one sided, Chiron would agree to that, but the alliances were drawn out at random on the very day of the Capture the Flag. That and it was twenty members per team. If any side had less members, then the Undetermined children would fill the gaps. The ones who sat out would be included in the next game, compulsorily. This ensured that all the Campers would be able to play.

Selecting the correct demigod for the correct position was as much part of the strategy as the actual game itself.

Chiron could easily see through the simple, yet very effective strategy that Athena side had gone for. It wasn't Harry's plan, Chiron could figure out that much. Harry wouldn't count on the Ares cabin going for Percy like they did. At most two or three, but not all. And definitely not Clarisse.

However, his attention was once again diverted to Percy as he was now standing in water, with the Ares campers defeated around him.

His eyes widened in realization. He had his doubts, but that pretty much confirmed it. Percy was a son of Poseidon.

Minor gods were immediately out of the picture in Chiron's mind. No child of a minor god would have that powerful or potent of a demigod scent.

Chiron closed his eyes as he left for Percy's location. He would need all the help he can get, especially if the King actually believed that Percy had stolen the Master Bolt.

A/N: This was going to come out a lot earlier but my dad had to undergo a major surgery, so I had no time to write. He's completely fine now, all thanks to the surgeon and the hospital team.

For Harry and Chiron's chess game, I apologize if it is unrealistic. I only know the basics of chess and that's it. I don't even know if such a play is possible. But that doesn't exactly matter to the plot, so no harm done?

I skimmed over the whole Percy's first week at Camp mostly because everyone has read about that a thousand times and I wasn't going to change anything else.

…I really should start doing show-not-tell from now on.

That being said, and this hopefully is a good thing, but Harry won't be tagging along in the Lightning Thief quest with Percy. It was pointed out to me in the original that I foolishly ignored but now I completely agree with: that was Percy's adventure. Harry needs to form his own adventures, not tag along someone else's. That's where Merlin's quest comes in. Kudos if you can figure out the land in the North.

This fic has already deviated from the original to the point of no return, and I personally like it better.

Hope you all enjoyed!