Chapter 4

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."
-Maya Angelou

"So mind telling me when exactly you got yourself a drivers license? And how you managed to get past your mother? And how on earth did anyone think to pass you? I mean; you're a terrible driver!" The eldest Weasley son rolled his eyes at the boy he'd come to see as another brother. Having known Percy for most of his life; Bill knew to recognize when the kid was avoiding a topic- so he'd been trying to keep the conversation light and humorous. Naturally- Percy took the opportunity to take the mickey out of him.

"I'll have you know that I passed the first time!" He paused for a moment. "Though I will admit that I tried bribing the tester... And that didn't work; so I may have confunded him..."
"You're kidding, right?" Percy laughed, and Bill shook his head, shaking with mirth. They were already driving a now mostly empty high way to Long Island, long stretches of empty fields all around, the city lights blaring up behind them.

"Not at all! Mum was furious, but the rest of us couldn't stop laughing." The eldest Weasley said. "What about you, kid? Anything out-of-the-ordinary happen up in paradise?"

Percy's laughter faded. "They're all treating me like I'm helpless. I'm not an infant. I don't need to be babied, and I don't like being kept in the dark."
"You haven't even started school yet, Perce." Bill sighed. "You can't expect that they'll just let you endanger yourself."
Percy snorted. "I'm a demigod, the son of Zeus, a prince on Olympus, the heir of Gryffindor, and Albus Dumbledore's grandson. I'm an endangered species."

"Don't getting a big head, kid. The sorting hat won't fit." Despite the humor, Bill could hear the bitterness in Percy's tone; something he had to admit he'd never heard before. Not in this sort of context, at the very least.

They fell into a short silence.
"How's Gemma?" Percy asked. Bill's first ever long term girlfriend was definitely not his, or anyone's, favorite person. Gemma Farley was a Slytherin, 2 years younger than Bill himself. As far as Percy could tell, Gemma was a pure-blooded bitch, who was extremely full of herself, and thought that the world ought to be kneeling before her. But despite his dislike of her; the whole clan of Weasleys (himself included) would have to learn to deal with her.
"She was cheating on me. I ended it a week ago." The eldest Weasley said with feigned nonchalance, but Percy knew it hurt him.
"I'm sorry."
"No you're not." Bill said, a bit bitterly. "The whole lot of you hated her. Even Percy thought she was full of herself, and if that wasn't a sign I don't know what was. You spent months trying to convince me it wouldn't work, and I was blind. Maybe I need glasses..."
Percy let out a short bark of laughter. "More like a telescope."
Bill grinned. "Oh, shut up."
"Tough luck, mate. But I did tell you that you'd have to be mad to date a snake. The have a tendency to sneak around." The son of Zeus paused for a moment, lost in thought, and it was several minutes before he spoke again. "What about the job hunt? Anyone hooked by your dazzling looks? I mean, clearly they're no match for my own; but they'll do.."

The red-head let out a short bark of laughter; the sound itself causing Percy to snort with laughter. "You seriously need to be separated from Apollo. As long as his head is deflating- yours will just grow bigger."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Percy whined. "I don't have a big head!"
"Nope. It's just filled with air."
"Hey, at least my head has something in it."
"Touche, little man. Touche."

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"How do you fare?" Hecate approached the headmaster's desk, abandoning the silver trinket she'd been examining.

"Quite well, thank you. The same as I have for a millennium." She turned to face her one time lover. "I've come on behalf of our grandson." Dumbledore fixed his glasses, and peered at her over them. "Perseus... He grows colder by the day. I fear that no one else sees it. He has spoken of... He wishes to kill Poseidon." She blurted out the last part, her worry shining bright in her green eyes.

"Ah, well for that I can't seem to blame him, my lady." Dumbledore said, a small frown tugging at his lips.

"Oh for Zeus's sake, Albus!" Hecate snapped angrily. "I hate that awful man as well, don't ever consider the alternative! But Perseus is an 11 year old boy! You can't honestly think that it's normal for him to feel such a fierce hatred, can you? You of all people should know better! Have you not learned from your past experience? From Aberforth? Hades, even from Grindewald? Or perhaps young Sirius Black?"

Dumbledore's frown emerged into the surface. "I am well aware how bitter childhood affects adulthood, Lady Hecate. However I'm afraid I've been aware of this for some time. Did you think I was trying to prevent his meetings with hunters and battle training for no reason?" Hecate allowed herself to frown as well. "I saw this since his return to Hogwarts."

"And you said nothing?" The goddess hissed, an anger suddenly bubbling in her eyes. "I saw no need." Dumbledore soothed. "At the time. Besides, I knew you'd catch on eventually. "
"Eventually?! " Hecate spat out. "And what if eventually wasn't soon enough?"
"Things tend to unveil themselves when they're meant to. Percy has spoken with me a few times about the matter. I know what I am doing. You have no reason to be concerned."

"So that's your solution?" The goddess spat. "Therapy?"
"It's been working for the past 4 months, better than anything the Olympians have to offer, and you must agree with me- or it would be Zeus you'd be confronting right now."

Hecate scowled. "If anything, I'd take it to Apollo- I'm afraid Percy is staging a bit of rebellion against his parents... He hasn't truly spoken to either of them in quite a while, save for the moments before his recent departure for Camp Half Blood. In fact; Hera has confided in me that the normalcy in which Perseus treated the situation was almost disturbing."
"Why? Did something happen?"
The goddess sighed. "The same thing that always happens. Percy had an episode, they reacted accordingly, and now he's angry with them."
The headmaster let out a deep sigh. "I wish this wasn't a normal occurrence."
"Trust me on this, Albus, none of do."

Camp Half Blood

"And this, is Annabeth Chase." Percy grimaced. Chiron had taken to giving him a personal tour of the camp, which unfortunately prevented him from doing as he wished- which included leaving, setting things on fire, eating pizza, burning things, finding Luke Castellan, pranking, and did he mention setting things on fire? "She's been at camp for the past 5 years, probably one of the longest yet at her age. Annabeth, this is Perseus Jackson son of Zeus and Hera; a local resident on Olympus."
The son of Zeus glared at the horse. "Do yourself a favor, Chiron, and don't call me Perseus. Percy is fine."
The centaur pretended not to have heard the boy's thinly veiled threat. "She'll take you from here, seeing as I have an archery class to teach."

The second Chiron was out of earshot, Percy knew he was in trouble. The gleam in Annabeth's eyes was exactly like Athena's- whom Percy was sure was Annabeth's mother. It was the look he saw when his sister found something illogical. The look Athena got when she set herself a challenge. "Are you really Hera's son? Do you really live on Olympus? Is it true that Zeus isn't really your father? Do you really have magic? A..."

"Look, Chase." Percy cut across gently. She was annoying- no doubt. But he really did not want to make any enemies on his first day. Annoying as she may be; Percy was almost certain that Annabeth was a good friend to have, and that he'd regret being on her bad side. "I'll make you a deal. I have to give something important to a guy named Luke Castellan." She opened her mouth, but he didn't even let the inquiry fall off her lips. "Take him to me, and don't ask about it; I'll answer anything you like."
The daughter of Athena contemplated the terms. One secret about Luke- or plenty of information about the strange boy in front of her. The answer should have been obvious, except... it was Luke... "Percy Jackson; you've got yourself a deal."
The adopted son of Zeus smiled widely. "Excellent. Shall we, milady?" He extended his hand to the daughter of Athena, who shook it with no smile- but with a definite spark in her eyes.

"You know my mother." It was a moment or two before Annabeth blurted out what was clearly not a question. She could feel his hesitation as he attempted to form words into a coherent sentence.
"I do." Was all he said. For the first time Annabeth took notice to his peculiar accent. It was definitely something along the lines of a Scottish accent; that much she could have pointed out as soon as he started talking. But there was something underlying it. An American accent was no where to be found, which frankly Annabeth found odd as the gods lived in America. How could you grow up floating over New York City of all places, and not have some form of American accent? There was definitely something mildly Greek about his pronunciation, but there was something more that she couldn't seem to place.
"Is she... Does she ever... mention us?"
Percy turned to look at her with those incredible blue eyes she could practically feel penetrating her soul. "She has, in the past. I know you didn't necessarily feel it- all the time, but she does care about you."
Annabeth frowned. "You said 'in the past'." He snorted at her ridiculous imitation of his accent. "Has she... Doesn't she, anymore?" Annabeth hated how insecure and unclear her voice was. All her life she had spoken fluently, rarely stumbling over her words. She had trailed off in the past 5 minutes more than she had in the last month.
"Athena and I had a bit of a falling out, recently." The son of Zeus said, rather stiffly she noticed. Unfortunately for Percy, Annabeth did not take the hint.

"What happened?"
"I ran from them for say... 3 years, I think." His brow was furrowed with concentration, almost like it was hard for him to remember.
Annabeth gazed at him with wonder. He was a runaway as well. Just like her. "How did the gods not find you?"
"I was with a goddess half the time." This time his response was unbound by doubt. "It's all a bit of a blur..." He admitted. "I did a bunch of things for her, and in return she kept me hidden."
She decided to leave that answer as it was.

"What about the other gods?"
"What about them?"
"Were they angry with you as well?"
Percy shook his head. "No, Athena wasn't angry with me Annabeth. I was pissed at her and... well let's just say I was a bit out of line."
"What did you do?" She asked, suddenly feeling slightly angry herself.
"Nothing that couldn't be undone."
"And the other gods?" Annabeth decided to abandon the question of her mother, because frankly; she didn't want to care about her well-being.
"Let's just say... I'm on speaking terms with Apollo... and Hermes and Artemis, I guess."
The daughter of Athena raised a brow. "That bad?"
Percy didn't respond, and this time she knew she was walking a fine line. They walked the rest of the way to Cabin 11 in silence.

"Determined or not?"
The door hadn't even been opened, but the voice did not emit from the cabin. Percy did a quick scan of the surrounding area with his eyes, before he found the tall blonde sitting on the roof of the cabin.
"Son of Zeus." Percy responded shortly, taking in the long scar marring the handsome face before him. "I take it you're Luke Castellan?" Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Annabeth's blush.
"What's your name, son of Zeus?" Luke asked sarcastically, and Percy did not miss the bitterness in his tone.
"Percy Jackson."
"Percy Jackson." Luke echoed with a smirk. Before he could register what had happened, the son of Hermes was standing in front of him. "Good name. You said it yourself, I'm Luke. Hey Annie." Percy almost laughed at Annabeth, her face only growing a darker shade of red as Luke threw her a lopsided grin. "So what's the story, morning glory? What's your message?"
Percy raised a brow, but shrugged it off. He turned to Annabeth expectantly.
"Right!" She exclaimed. "Sorry, I'll go now." The daughter of Athena left, throwing glances at Luke every once in a while.

"Shall we take this somewhere a bit more private?" Percy said, gesturing towards Cabin 1. He couldn't help the rising anger in his chest on the way, as they passed Cabin 3. It was a jolting reminder of the man he hated so desperately.
"Dude, whatever shit you got with Poseidon, I'm the one who'll end up fried, not him. Chill." Looking up at Luke, Percy realized the cracking electricity emitting from his hands.
"Sorry."
"It's cool."The older of the two said, closing the door to the cabin behind him. "Now bout this message."
"Right." Percy said, leaning up against the wall. "It's from your father."

2 Weeks Later

"Come on, Chiron, this is absolutely ridiculous! Father is gonna have the Poseidon kid leave sooner than later- why can't I just go now?!"

"I'm afraid that I can't have you running off on your own, Percy. Your mother wouldn't quite forgive me. And as for Johnathan... I'm not sending an inexperienced boy out on his own if avoidable- and it is. I've spoken with Annabeth- she'll be joining the both of you once Johnathan accepts the quest. Zeus has demanded that the bolt come from Poseidon's child, but lady Hera has ordered that you take the quest. Defying both king and queen of the the gods is unacceptable. I fear you boys will have to learn to work together over the next few days."

Percy groaned in response, and the old mentor sighed. The dislike Perseus felt for his (though he was unaware of it) half-brother was only natural. Chiron had lived long enough that very little took him by surprise- but he had to admit that the entire godly world had shifted very unnaturally since Poseidon's fall from grace. Straying from Hera's new-found compassion, to the newly restored sense of family amongst the council; which he'd been thoroughly shocked to witness on the winter solstice."So just to be clear..." Percy said. "Fourteen days from now is the summer solstice, June 21st. Say we leave in the next three days- fine, we make it in time. I'm expected to stay here till past August. That part is a joke, right? Because I am beginning school this year- finally- and I don't plan on being robbed of the excitement just because some arse of a deity decided to rob my father. I'll be leaving on the 22nd."

Chiron winced. He'd had plenty of wizards come to camp in the past. He'd taught Percy's mother back in the day, as well as countless others; straying from Nicholas "Nicky" Flamel son of Hebe- to young Sirius Black, son of Hermes, one of the centaurs greatest disappointments in his long life. All of his great potential, and good- wasted on the evil bidding of yet another half-blood-wizard; Tom Riddle. Yet despite their many differences; in all those half bloods, each wizard Chiron had ever taught, he saw the same excitement at the mention of Hogwarts. All of them got the same spark of joy in their eyes (though Percy's was well hidden); the same expression of longing for home. Though, for Percy it would be expected; seeing as he lived there more often than not. But even so, whatever it was Albus Dumbledore was doing; he was doing it well.

Chiron turned his wandering thoughts back to the young wizard before him. "I'm sorry, dear boy, but your mother was quite clear; you're to remain here until the 27th of August. After that you will be escorted by Lord Apollo to your friends... the Weasleys; possibly?"
Percy narrowed his eyes dangerously at the centaur. "Well you'll have to forgive me Chiron; I'm not staying in America longer than necessary, let alone here." He spat out the last word, eyeing his surroundings with distaste, and the centaur was taken aback by the venom in the young boy's voice. Percy Jackson was quite a phenomenon. His mood swings were as disturbing as they were swift, and when the boy sneered at him; Chiron was almost frightened by the stunning similarity between Percy and his birth father.
He still remembered the days before his half-brother had replaced his charming smile with a haughty sneer. Once upon a time Chiron remembered looking up to the god of the seas. Hades, even a short 20 years before he had still held Poseidon on some sort of pedestal; in comparison to the other gods, that is. It had been hard for him to hear that the kindest of the Olympians had fallen back onto a darker path he had abandoned centuries beforehand, and even all these years later; the son of Kronos couldn't help but wonder what had caused this sudden change.

"That is not up to me; rather your parents. You'll forgive me for my passivity; but I'd rather to remain neutral in all the family drama." Looking around the house, and outside the window for extra reassurance; Chiron sighed. "However, might I suggest the rest of your family? Lady Hera drives a hard bargain, but I am certain that you are well acquainted with another goddess who drives one just as fiercely."
In spite of himself, it would seem, Percy smiled.

Not 2 hours later, Chiron entered the Big House to find Percy on his knees beside the fireplace, his face gone within the flames. For a moment Chiron nearly panicked. It had been many years since any of the Witches and Wizards at the camp had made a fire-call, and he'd apparently forgotten how startling it looked.
"...yes I tried! Trust me, I do not want to stay in the fuc... sorry, Grandpa. I meant that I simply wished to return home before the end of the holiday." Chiron assumed Dumbledore must have given some sort of answer justifying Hera's stand on the matter, because Percy grumbled "fine, whatever", and withdrew his head from the fireplace, not bothering to recognize the presence of the centaur in the room as he stormed away, slamming the door as he went.

"I'm afraid that temper does not originate on my side of the family."
The old horse turned his attention away from the door, towards the fireplace again, and there, in all his glory; stood Albus Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore." He nodded politely, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Chiron." The headmaster of Hogwarts replied, a twinkle in his spectacular blue eyes. "Or is it Mr. Brunner, now? Percy tells me that you've taken up teaching muggles." The centaur almost snorted with laughter. Over a thousand year, and he'd still never gotten over the oddity that was wizarding terminology. "I must say I am slightly offended that you did not bother to decline my offer first, rather... what's the term?... left me hanging."
"I am sorry, Professor, but I'm sure you can understand not wanting to relive the- how should I phrase this- messes that are magical wars. They're quite tedious enough the first time. Don't you agree?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly, but for once Chiron could see it did not reach his eyes. They were far older than he was used to see in the headmaster of Hogwarts. They were full of worry and pain, and other things the centaur could not name.
"I've come to make a request." Dumbledore admitted. "On the behalf of my grandson."

Chiron sighed. "I'm listening."
"He's so full of anger and hatred, my old friend. You've only known him for a short while. I've known him all his life. Before he ran away... he was so full of light. He radiated a great joy, such kindness. He's changed remarkably. Godly influence, no doubt." It surprised Chiron how angry the old man seemed, but he supposed it was understandable after all the pain he'd experienced because of the deities.
"What are you asking of me, Albus?"
"Don't let him on the quest. Keep him safe."

"Lady Hera has already commanded that he take it."
A flash of cold anger crossed the headmaster's gaze.
"Immortality has made her numb to horrors that no child should ever experience. Children should not be sent out to stop wars caused by the immaturity of gods."

"These children are not normal, Albus, you know this. You always have. They have to fight to survive. It is their curse."
"A curse indeed." Dumbledore sighed. "At the very least help me convince her to allow him to come home before his birthday. He needs his family, Chiron. His mortal family."
The son of Kronos sighed. "Not exactly one to talk, are you old friend?" Dumbledore gave him an irritated look over his half-mooned spectacles.

"Very well. I will do my best."

*Apologizing for the long time between updates, my grandma passed away in May, so I've been otherwise occupied. Unfortunately, might be a while till I update again because I have decided to edit all of my stories.
Thank you for reading, and happy Independence Day!

R&R