"All I knew

This morning when I woke

Is I know something now

Know something now I didn't before"

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Song: Everything Has Changed, Taylor Swift

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I - Beach and Highlands

Early Summer

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Where blue waves meet gold sands, the home of the gods can be found.

They're not gods exactly, however. Rather their children, their foot soldiers, and their guard. Half-mortal, half-god, oddities in both worlds they were a part of. Too eldritch for the world of mortals and far below even the most minor gods. A great centaur oversaw them, oversaw the teaching of ancient warfare.

Thousands of miles away, in the highlands of Scotland, a grey brick castle watched over the green lands. Here, the young wizards and witches of The British Isles were taught spells and potions, oversaw by a man with a large beard, and half-moon spectacles.

The great centaur was Chiron, child of Kronos and Philyra, The Titan King and an Oceanid. He had never met the great wizard, but they had spoken in the past. So when an owl, dappled with light brown spots and sporting intelligent eyes, flew through his window with a letter tied to her, late into the night, he knew who had called.

Dionysus, the god of revelry, wine, and of course, madness, watched from where he sat in front of a small fire, the main light source in the room. "Wizards?" He asked, eliciting a nod from Chiron. "How'd you get in contact with them?"

"A wizard helped me, many years ago, helped demigods. I owe him a great debt." The trainer of heroes eyes darkened, "One, I believe, I'm being asked to repay." He broke the blood-red seal of the envelope, before taking out the letter.

The handwriting was spindly and loopy, the handwriting of an older man. Chiron wondered how old the wizard must be for him to still be alive. As Chiron read the letter, his brow furrowed and his face darkened. This did not go unnoticed by the god.

Chiron felt Dionysus's curious stare on his back so once he was done reading, Chiron handed the young god the parchment. Dionysus's purple eyes read over the letter, flashing with anger as he finished.

"The man wants us to send demigods to help him? And not only demigods but some of the most powerful demigods to ever exist?" He balled up the letter and threw it into the fire behind him, but it strangely didn't burn. "Fool." He hissed, not noticing the paper's strange state.

A fiery hand-formed, picking up the yellowing parchment. Soon enough the rest of the body formed, forming the body of Hestia, goddess of the hearth. She stepped out of the fire, and the young woman started to read the paper, the embers and ashes of the hearth sticking to her brown robes. The two gods in the room gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

"I have to," Chiron said, rubbing a hand over his face, "the—"

"Debt," Dionysus spat, "I know."

"Perhaps," Hestia said, speaking now that she had read over the letter, "This could be used to our advantage." The other two immortals gave her a curious glance. "Think, we have been out of touch with them for centuries, and this could be our opportunity to gain vital information."

"Have our people inform us of size, their government," her warm eyes flashed, "Their power."

"Are you saying," Dionysus drawled, "That they pose a threat to us?"

Hestia gave him a long look. "They do not pose a threat to us, not a true one at least." Her hand brushed over the ink on the parchment, "But this man's words do concern me. Cheating death, a dark wizard returned, a prophecy? Give them time and..." she paused, collecting her thoughts, "This could become a threat."

The other immortals hummed in agreement as the conversation lulled. The only sound was the rustling of leaves and the crackle of the fire. Yet over these sounds more suddenly came: footsteps and the sound of fabric moving as someone walked. They turned to see the goddess of Magic, Hecate standing in the doorway, a cloak of black fur on her shoulders, her two torches hanging off her belt—a cord of braided leather.

"Lady Hecate," Chiron said, dipping his head in acknowledgement of the goddess who was, like he, the child of a titan and a nymph. She bowed to Hestia and Dionysus, before taking the letter and reading it herself.

"Do you know anything about this Lady Hecate?" Chiron asked, wringing his hands as he watched her read.

"Not much. The wizard and witches have long since left my worship, and I can seldom watch them any more. This is the closest I have been to my own creation since Dumbledore helped you Chiron."

"And this," Chiron paused, remembering the name, "Lord Voldemort, what do you know of him?"

The goddesses lip curled, her eyes turning dark. "A fool obsessed with a power he is not entitled to." Her eyes glinted, "If the king has his way, Tom Riddle will burn in the fields of punishment for as long as he rules. He is destined to fail, no matter if that faux seer says there may be a chance of his victory."

"If we know how the victory will fall, why must we help what is already going to happen?" Dionysus asked.

"But remember," Chiron said, folding his hands, "They don't know that. To them, this victory is unsure."

"So they're asking us to provide them with aid?" Hestia scoffed. Her face suddenly turned soft, "And we're not even thinking about what the demigods think of it."

Her words hung in the room, suffocating and harsh, a reminder of the children that were being asked of. Asked to help a man they didn't know, a world they held no connection to, a war they had no stake in.

The centaur sighed, thinking about two demigods in particular, neither of which he could imagine to be very happy at the news. "I'll," he sighed again, "I'll have to tell them I can't refuse, assure them this wasn't my idea. That way," his lip quirked, "I won't have my head cleaved off."

Chiron walked over to the table where the letter sat and read it one more time, committing it to memory. He then placed it in a drawer, locking it away, so it was, for at least a time, out of sight and out of mind.

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II - Bidding

The Next Morning

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At twenty-year-old Percy Jackson awoke with a groan, his eyes blearily fluttering open.

Yawning, he turned over to see Annabeth Chase, his lovely girlfriend, still asleep next to him. He threw a lazy arm over her, before pulling her closer. She, in her sleep, snuggled closer, and Percy was drifting back into sleep when there was a loud knock at the door.

Groaning, he called, "Who is it?"

"Jason." Came the reply from outside the door.

"What do you want?" Annabeth said, having woken up by the knocking.

"Uhhh, can I come in?" Jason pressed.

"Fine," Percy said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Jason opened the door and handed Percy a note. Rubbing his eyes again, Percy started to read, Annabeth leaning over his shoulder so she could read as well.

Please come to the Big House by 11. I have some news.

-Chiron

Percy looked at Jason. "What does he need?" Jason shrugged.

"Wouldn't tell me. Just told me to tell you, but," Jason stuffed his hands into his pockets, rocking back as he continued, "He seemed hella concerned. I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is," Jason's eyes darkened, "It can't be good."

Jason turned, then left, closing the door behind him, the trouble of it all never once leaving his face.

Annabeth stretched, getting out of bed. She fished some clothes out of the dresser as Percy flopped back unto the bed, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair. "What do you think is going on?" He said softly, anxiety taking over him.

He couldn't see Annabeth's face but he could almost picture the way her face pinched up. "I don't know," she said, straightening up. She glanced at him, "But it doesn't sound good."

Percy hummed in agreement, closing his eyes. He felt Annabeth kiss his forehead, and tell him she was going to shower, before hearing the sound of a door shutting and then seconds later, the sound of the shower being turned on.

Ten Fifty-Five found them, hand in hand jogging to the big house, both having showered and eaten breakfast. They climbed the big house steps, and Percy opened the door letting Annabeth go in first.

They entered the rec-room, which was tense and silent, the only sound being Leo Valdez tinkering with something on the table. Silently they sat down taking in the other people in the room.

There was Jason Grace and his girlfriend Piper McLean, sitting next to Leo and the ex-Titaness Calypso. Next to them, Nico di Angelo was sitting with his boyfriend Will Solace, and surprisingly, the two huntresses Reyna Ramírez Arellano and Thalia Grace, still clad in their silver getup.

The final two people in the room besides Percy and Annabeth were Frank Zhang, and Nico's sister Hazel Levesque.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for the person who had called them here to arrive. From the hall, they heard the sound of hooves on wood and straightened up, focused on the news.

Chiron stepped into the room and dropped a pile of papers on the table. The thud seemed to echo in the room—a transition to something new.

Chiron spoke for the first time, his voice strained, "I received a letter late last night." The room perked up. "From someone who helped me many, many years ago. This letter, which I have copied for each of you," he gestured to the pile of papers, "Details the troubles of his world, and asks for my help."

Chiron's eyes darkened. "In other words, he needs your help."

Annabeth's eyes were glimmering with a wave of dark anger, "Who is this man?" She crossed her arms, and Chiron gestured to the papers, insinuating that her answer laid there. Percy grabbed two copies of the letter, handing one to her. She read the letter, and her anger turned to confusion.

The rest of the group was reading, and quiet gasps of shock and surprise-filled the room. After a few minutes, the room turned to their teacher for answers. Chiron sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

He looked up to his students, his brown eyes showing a deep sympathy, and launched into his story.

He didn't tell them the story of the debt, but he told them the stories of the birth of the wizarding race, men and women blessed by Hecate to wield magic. He told them of the dark ages, where wizards and witches were hunted and killed, and eventually the forming of a government and the establishment of the school. He told them of Voldemort's rise to power, and the prophecy and what he knew of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter.

He told them what he knew of the school, which was, to say the least, very little. Then with dark eyes, he told them the details of their quest.

"Dumbledore wants you to provide aid in the war effort. I am not expecting you to use all your time and energy for this, just to do enough that he thinks you're helping. Above all though, I would like you to research."

"Figure out their magic, their numbers, how their government works. Lady Hecate will try and obtain some school books for you, so you can pass as American Transfer students. She will make you wands and above all, change your ages."

Protests rose immediately, silenced when Chiron raised his hand and spoke "She will be making most of you look around the age of fifteen. You may become a bit shorter, tattoos may be removed," Glancing at the tattoos that covered both of Percy's arms. He made a face. "Softening features, making you look generally younger."

"Mr Jackson, Miss Chase, you will be seventeen."

"Why?" Annabeth said, crossing her arms again.

"There are people in the seventh year, which consists mainly of seventeen-year-olds, who are of interest to us. Plus it may be helpful to have people who are legal adults in the wizarding world on hand." Chiron said.

Leo furrowed his brow, "Wait he asked for, your most powerful demigods, right? So he knows us, so wouldn't be suspicious if we were multiple years younger than were supposed to be?"

Chiron smiled, "Despite how Albus," when Chiron spoke the name, it dripped with poison and anger, "may make it seem, he knows very little of us. He has likely heard rumours of a group of super-powerful demigods, but none of those I can see counting in age. For all he knows, those people have long since retired and you all are the new generation."

"How much are we supposed to tell him about us?" Hazel asked, "Or anyone we meet for that matter?"

"As little as possible, Miss Levesque." A new voice spoke from the doorway. They all turned to see Hecate, in the same clothes as the night before.

"Lady Hecate!" Hazel said, smiling at her mentor, who returned the gesture with a warm, genuine smile.

"I bring wands and books." She snapped her fingers and in front of everyone appeared three books, and a long, thin box.

She pointed to each book, "This one," she said pointing to the thick book on the bottom, with a red cover, "Covers the basic things you will need to know. This one," a thinner blue book, ''covers some of the things about the wizarding world, including blood statuses, sports, animals, the government. And this one," she picked up a thin brown book, "Is a history of the school. I managed to get these, but I will not be able to help any more than this and what Chiron has already mentioned."

"Why?" Hazel asked.

Her face turned sad, "The world that stems from the mortals I blessed has forgotten me, forgotten where they came from. I hold little power over this world, and I struggle to blend in there." She picked up a box and offered it to Percy silently.

Percy took the box, taking off the lid to see the wand. It was rather long, made of light wood, with a handle carved in a way that made it perfect to hold easily. The wood was cool against his fingers. Hecate handed out the rest of the wands.

They thanked the goddess, who waved off the praise, not needing it, before departing. They talked about the quest and what they had to do, but unsaid things still hung like an uncomfortable weight in the room.

Finally, Annabeth blurted out the main question that had been nagging everyone, "For how long will we be on this quest?"

Chiron took a deep breath, preparing himself for the reactions, "The length of one school year."

The room was silent enough that a pin drop could be heard. Faces were pale, jaws were dropped, and people looked more stunned than angry.

Finally, the silence broke when Percy groaned, leaning back in his chair as he muttered curses. The rest of the group grumbled, but the reaction was better than Chiron had thought it would be.

"Any breaks?" Hazel asked, her gold eyes narrowed.

"There's Winter break," Chiron supplied. "You will come home, I promise."

Details were cleared up, timelines were set, plans were made. They had the summer to learn about the wizarding world, make a backstory, and memorize that backstory.

No pressure.