HARRY POTTER AND THE OLYMPIANS

Chapter One:

I Receive a Letter from No One

Percy

I was having a nightmare. Flashes of the events of the day before—Typhon almost reaching the city, the carnage within the city, and the horrible scene from atop mount Olympus, especially Luke's final sacrifice—kept repeating over and over inside my head. I had reached the age of sixteen, "against all odds", and though ultimately we had succeeded, our victory had not come without a great price. My subconscious mind was screaming for the images to stop. And then suddenly, the dream shifted.

I was in a dimly lit room. The only light emanated from a fireplace opposite of where I was looking. In front of the fire there was a large armchair. A small, balding man knelt next to it. "Tell me, Wormtail," said a high, cold voice, coming from whoever was seated in the chair. "Do we have a plan for infiltration?"

"N-no, my Lord."I could hear the fear in the small man's voice. "Our friends have informed me that it will be quite difficult to achieve. Particularly with the increased level of security at the moment. We m-must carefully plan every move."

"Do you think me an idiot, Wormtail?" There was a hiss. Did the man in the armchair do that? The man who was apparently called Wormtail flinched. "Of course I know that. No matter, we shall simply wait and see. I have a few of my best followers stationed there, scouting for information. I expect we'll know what to do soon enough. You may leave, Wormtail, I have no more need of you tonight.

"Y-yes, my Lord. Summon me if you need anything else."

Wormtail rose and backed out of the room, past my viewpoint.

From the chair, then, came very strange sounds. They were hissing, spitting sounds. Some sort of language? It sounded like Scythian dracaenae, perhaps what their native language might sound like. Whatever it was, I couldn't understand a word of it. Then the high, cold voice rang out again.

"Yes, Nagini, I know that there is someone eavesdropping on us. I suppose now would be a good time to give our guest a proper greeting." The man rose from the chair, and something slithered off of his lap. I realized what had hissed earlier, and what this guy had been speaking to in that strange language. It was a snake. The man began to turn around.

I woke up with a start, then realized I was safe in my bed, in my room, in my mom and stepdad's apartment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan Sunlight was streaming in the window. I sighed and put my palms over my eyes. What in Hades had that dream been about? Even by demigod standards, that dream had been weird. According to my clock, it was a little after 7 am. Way too early for me, but I knew there was no way I would be able to get back to sleep. I swung my feet out of bed and stood up facing my dresser. There was an envelope on it. I picked it up. It was made of thick, heavy paper, and it was addressed to me.

Mr. P. Jackson

His Room

Apartment of Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis

Lower East Side

Manhattan

Even with my dyslexia, I could easily understand that this envelope was meant for me. For the second time that morning, I thought, What in Hades? Had the gods sent this or something? I turned it over. It was sealed the old-fashioned way—you know, with a wax seal and everything. Printed on the flap was a crest. "Gwohrats", I thought it said, on a ribbon at the top. No, of course it doesn't, I thought to myself I forced myself to concentrate and read it properly. I figured out that it actually said, "Hogwarts", which frankly didn't make any more sense. What in the name of Poseidon was going on? The rest of the crest was a big shield, divided into four sections. A red lion, a green snake, a yellow badger, and a blue eagle posed majestically within them. Printed below that were some words: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. Latin, I knew. I thought it said something about a sleeping dragon. Some sort of motto, it looked like. I was getting more and more confused by the second.

Finally, I slipped my finger under the edge of the flap and opened the letter, my fingers trembling uncontrollably. I pulled out a folded piece of paper, the same thick stuff the envelope was made of. As I pulled open the flaps of the letter, another piece of paper fell out and tumbled to the ground. I picked it up. It was a note from Chiron:

Dear Percy,

I am sorry, but I'm afraid we have yet another problem on our hands. I will ask you to read the rest of the contents of this letter, and then return to Camp Half-Blood as soon as you are able to. I will explain more once you arrive.

Sincerely,

Chiron

Oh gods, I thought. Why now? This whole business was giving me a headache.

I turned my attention to the other piece of paper. It, too, was a letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Jackson,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the duration of this school year. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1 We await your owl by no later than August 19.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and forget about it. I mean, I had defeated the freaking Titan lord yesterday, and now some stuffy old school for—WIZARDS?—wanted me as an exchange student. I mean, I knew I seriously needed a break (also, I thought, August 19th? That's TODAY!) But then, the back of my mind, the hero part, began nagging at me. I knew, without a doubt, that this had something to do with the dream I'd had.

I sighed. My only option, I figured, was to heed Chiron's letter and get my butt to Camp Half-Blood ASAP. I dressed quickly, in an orange camp t-shirt and jeans, and trudged out into the living area, bringing the letter with me. My mom and Paul were sitting at the breakfast table. Mom was clutching a mug of coffee, while Paul read The New York Times intently. On the front page were reports about the strange events of the past week. The mortals may have had a skewed vision of what really happened, but seeing those images still made me remember more than I'd have liked.

"You're up early, Percy. You okay?" my mom asked, looking worried. I felt sick in my gut, knowing how much more I was about to worry her.

"Yeah," I lied. "Bad dreams, I guess."

"I'd expect as much, considering what you've had to go through," said Paul, finally looking up from the newspaper. "Want to talk about it, sport?"

I decided I might as well. I told them about my dream, especially the last part. When I finished, my mom and stepdad didn't say anything. I decided to break the news of the letter.

"Another thing. When I woke up, I found this on my dresser." I gave the letter from Hogwarts and the note from Chiron to my mom to read. Paul looked over her shoulder, reading along. When they finished my mom looked up.

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry. This just isn't fair! You know, you don't have to go. You of all people deserve a break."

"I know." I replied. "I do deserve a break. But... I can't just ignore this. I know this letter is connected to my dream somehow. Besides, I'm a demigod. My life just isn't meant to be peaceful. I'm going to go to Camp Half-Blood, see what Chiron needs. Who knows, maybe it's a minor thing."

Paul cut in. "I hate to say this, but I think he's right, Sally. It's okay. Your son is strong."

"I know. Percy, do what you think is right. But don't do anything major without giving me a call first, okay?" My mom seemed resigned.

"Of course, mom. You know I will," I assured her. "Anyways, Chiron is waiting for me. I'd better be off. Love you!"

"You too, sweetie."

I walked out of our apartment, down onto the street. Then I whistled, loudly. Soon I heard the sound of big wings beating.

Yo, boss! Whatcha need?

"Hey, Blackjack. Um, I kinda need a lift to camp."

Sure, boss. But, uh, why? Isn't the big war thingy over?

"I thought it was, yeah. But now... well, I'm not so sure." I sighed.

Whatever. Hop on!

I did, and we flew out, over the still-ruined city, to Half-Blood Hill, where, hopefully, I would find out what this hoopla was all about.

A/N: Hey, so this is my first ever fanfic. I realized after I wrote it, though, that I had set it in the wrong timeline. Originally I was going to set it in the timeline of the fifth HP book, OOTP, but then I decided it would work better in the timeline of the sixth book, HBP. Except I forgot to change this chapter before I published it. Sorry about that!

Besides that, I hope you enjoy my story, and please, please, REVIEW!