"blah blah"- Speaking Greek

"blah blah"- Speaking Amestrian

'blah blah'- Thinking

*<*<*>*>* - Begin/end flashback

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Percy Jackson. Good thing too, or they wouldn't be nearly as good as they are now. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Hiromu Arakawa, and Rick Riordan. Just to be safe, I also don't own the song 'This is War' by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Percy

"Nico, I forgot to ask yesterday; what did Professor Elric want to talk to you about?" Ron asked as they walked to the library.

"He wanted to know how I got into his room without using the door." Nico replied.

"What did you tell him?" Thalia asked, instantly on the alert.

"I used the mist." Nico replied. "Easy."

"You used the what?" Harry asked.

"The mist," Percy said. "It's like a veil that mortals can't see through, and it hides mythological things, like monsters. Once you learn to manipulate it, you can use it to convince mortals of all sorts of things."

"I'd like to look at the prophecy again, now that we have time," Hermione said as they entered the library.

     Thalia drew out the parchment that they had written the prophecy on. Hermione snatched it up eagerly and spread it onto the table.

"Alright, the first line; 'a warning to the people'. That seems pretty straightforward. Obviously, it means that this is a warning, right?"

"That makes sense," Harry said with a shrug.

"Prophecies often have double meanings," Thalia said. "But you're right, that does seem pretty straightforward."

"Alright, next line; 'the good and the evil'. I guess that means that the warning is to not only the good; but also the evil, which could mean that whatever is coming is a danger to us all."

"Great," Percy said sarcastically. "So whatever we're going to be facing is a danger to the evil people too. That sounds wonderful."

Hermione ignored him. "Next; 'this is becoming war'."

"War..." Ron said in a hushed voice. "Does it really mean that there's going to be a war?"

"Well, technically this line says 'becoming war'," Nico said. "Which means that it hasn't started yet."

"Becoming war," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Which could mean that there are events happening right now that will directly cause war." She tapped the parchment. "You see how the wording is different three times? First is 'this is becoming war', then comes 'this is already war', and then last; 'this is war'."

"Aren't those last two the same?" Percy asked.

Thalia's brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't know. They seem like it, but they must not be. Prophecies are cryptic like that."

"We'll get to that," Hermione said. "The next line; 'to the soldier, the civilian'. Who is that referring to?"

"The soldier could be Professor Elric," Harry suggested. "He is in the military, right?"

"That could be," Nico said. "But it seems too obvious. There could be another meaning to it. But then again, sometimes prophecies are literal. You never know."

"What about the civilian?" Thalia put in. "That could be anyone!"

"You're right," Hermione said. "It could be referring to one specific civilian; or all civilians in general."

"We don't have any way of knowing right now." Thalia pointed out. "Read the next line, Hermione."

"Right. It's; 'the martyr, the victim'." Hermione shuddered. "That doesn't sound good."

"No kidding," Nico said. "That means that at least one person is going to die."

"Not just that they're going to die," Hermione said. "A martyr is someone who is killed specifically because of their beliefs."

There was an uncomfortable silence as they considered this.

"What's the next line, Hermione?" Thalia asked, breaking the silence.

"It's the next variation; 'this is already war'."

"What do you think it means by 'already' war?" Ron asked. "Why is the 'already' necessary?"

"Maybe..." Hermione began hesitantly, fiddling with her quill, "Maybe it means that no one expected war, or at least not so soon. So when it says 'already' war it means that even though it was thought to be a long ways off, it's come already."

"That makes sense, I guess." Harry said.

"Go on to the next line, Hermione." Nico said. "We don't have a lot of time."

"Let's see...'a warning to the prophets'. Could that be about the Oracle?"

"Maybe. But it could also be about Trelawney," Ron pointed out.

"Yeah," Percy said. "That would make sense with the next line, 'the liar, the honest'. Trelawney could be 'the liar' and the Oracle could be 'the honest'."

Nico nodded. "That's a pretty strong possibility. But, 'the liar, the honest' could not be in reference to the prophets at all."

"Let's move on for now," Hermione said. "Next is; 'it's the moment of truth'. You three said that you thought that was about you revealing yourselves to us, right?"

"Right," Thalia confirmed. "But it could also mean that we're about to discover a great truth. Or both."

Nico's eyes widened and his grip on the table tightened. For a split second, a look of realization came over his face; and then it was gone.

"Nico? Did you figure something out?" Percy asked, noticing.

"No. Nothing." He replied.

Percy frowned, but didn't push him. If Nico didn't want to speak, he wouldn't be able to make him.

"Right after that comes 'the moment to lie'." Ron pointed out. "That must mean that someone has to make the decision to lie about something." He gave the demigods a pointed look.

Percy raised his hands. "What are you looking at us for? We already spilled our secrets to you!"

"Possibly against our better judgment..." Nico muttered.

"SO, moving on," Hermione said quickly before an argument could break out. "The next section is; 'the moment to live; the moment to die; the moment to fight'."

"That's the second time that this prophecy says that someone is going to die," Percy said. "This is not a very cheery prophecy."

"Prophecies are never cheery." Nico specified.

"Well, this one is especially depressing." Thalia admitted. "But at least it also says 'the moment to live' which must mean that at least some of us are going to live. And then 'the moment to fight'; we already knew that."

"You mean you came here knowing that you would fight?" Ron asked. "How did you know that? Hogwarts is one of the safest places you could go!"

"It doesn't matter. We end up fighting no matter where we go." Thalia said, easily covering her slip up.

Hermione turned back to the prophecy again. "These last lines are the most confusing. 'to the edge of the earth; from the last to the first'. What do you suppose that means?"

Thalia tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... 'to the edge of the earth' could mean that the war will spread all over the world." She shuddered. "That's not a pleasant thought. And 'from the last to the first–' that could be saying that everyone will have to fight." She shook her head. "Like we said, prophecies are never simple. The truth of a prophecy is never fully clear until the events have come to pass."

"Then what's the point of a prophecy!?" Ron cried in frustration.

"They can provide useful information," Percy said. "Sometimes. If they feel like it."

"The last two lines aren't that complicated either. 'you will fight to the death; this is war'." Hermione read the last lines of the prophecy.

"Three death warnings in the same prophecy," Percy said. "It's always three, isn't it."

"Usually," Thalia agreed.

     Silence spread across the table as the six students considered the prophecy. The quiet sounds of the library continued in the background. Percy had never really enjoyed libraries. Being in a library meant sitting still and studying books; two things that he did not excel at.

     The library was quiet and calm, the peace settling over everything like a blanket. A blanket that Percy wanted to throw off a cliff. He tapped his fingers on the table, trying to dispel his urge to move. He observed the rest of the library. There weren't that many people occupying it. Percy briefly noted that Professor Elric was sitting at his normal table before his gaze wandered to the rest of the occupants.

     Two older boys studying in the corner. A younger girl and boy, possibly siblings, searching for books among the shelves. Three girls sitting at the table next to Professor Elric's, but they didn't seem to be studying. Suddenly, the blanket of silence was ripped off.

"THAT'S IT! I'M DONE!"

Percy's head snapped up, and he unconsciously reached into his pocket where his sword was stored in pen form.

"I'm done. Finished. I don't care if I'm a teacher, I am SO TIRED OF THIS!"

     Percy looked over at the source of the noise, his hand moving away from his pocket. Unsurprisingly, the source of the noise was Professor Elric, who seemed to have finally snapped. Percy idly wondered if someone had called him short again.

"STOP asking me for help with your homework! Once was fine, but this is ridiculous! If you can't figure it out, then QUIT! I'm not going to help you with every little thing. Do it for yourself for once, you–"

     Percy didn't know what he said after that, because the translation spell seemed unable to translate it. Either it couldn't, or it chose not to. Percy was inclined to believe the latter. Professor Elric had finished his rant and stormed out of the library; startling a group of second-years who were entering, who wisely jumped to the side.

     There was silence throughout the library, but not the blanket kind; the stunned, unsure kind. Madame Pince had jumped up from her desk, but hadn't gotten any farther than that. She was standing there frozen, staring at the door where the hurricane had exited. She regained her composure and sat back down at her desk. The rest of the library took this as a signal to return to their work.

"Well," Harry said, breaking the silence at their table. "That was...interesting."

Ron shook his head. "It was bound to happen eventually."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "C'mon. We have another class soon."

~o~O~o~

     That night, the demigods huddled around the fire while their friends slept. They knew that they would have to be even more careful now. If Harry, Ron, and Hermione found them sneaking around again, it would be even harder to regain their trust.

"Alright, what now?" Thalia began. "We used the prophecy. Now what do we do?"

"I think we should look into why Professor Dumbledore decided to add alchemy as a class," Nico suggested. "We're almost one hundred percent sure that the Time-Jumper caused that. If we can find out what caused Professor Dumbledore to make that decision, then we may get a lead."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Percy agreed. "But how are we going to find that out without asking Dumbledore?"

"We have to ask him," Thalia said. "He won't question us because of the letter from Chiron. And we need a lead."

Nico and Percy nodded. "Yeah." Percy said. "If we don't find the Time-Jumper soon, it'll be really bad. He could cause the end of the world for all we know!"

Nico nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, you're right. Let's talk to Dumbledore."

~o~O~o~

"Now, what may I help you with?" Professor Dumbledore smiled at them from across his desk.

"Well, sir," Thalia began. They had agreed for her to speak. "We wanted to know why you decided to add alchemy as a class this year."

"Oh, well that's quite simple," Dumbledore replied. "Someone at the ministry suggested it, and I thought it was a wonderful idea."

"Who was it that suggested it?" Thalia asked, leaning forward.

"It was–well, that's odd. Now that you mention it, I don't remember. That is very strange."

The demigods exchanged glances. "Was there any particular reason that you chose Professor Elric?" Thalia asked hopefully.

"Actually, I asked that a different alchemist be sent, but he was unavailable. Mr. Elric is his son, so he was sent instead. I'm afraid I don't have any more information than that."

"Thank you, sir." Thalia said as they stood to leave.

"Not at all. Tell Chiron I said hello next time you see him, would you?"

"We will, sir," Thalia said with a smile.

The demigods hurried back to their rooms before their absence could be noticed.

"That wasn't very helpful," Percy said.

"We did get some information though," Nico said. "We know that the Time-Jumper definitely wanted an alchemist here, and even infiltrated the ministry to make it happen. The question is, why?"

"And," Thalia added, "did the Time-Jumper want just any alchemist, or a specific one?"

"And," Percy jumped in, "if the Time-Jumper did want a certain alchemist, does that mean he infiltrated the Amestrian government too?"

"Agh!" Thalia exclaimed. "We just keep running into more questions instead of getting answers!"

"What are we supposed to do now?" Nico asked. "We've hit another dead end."

Percy ran his hand through his hair. "It's past midnight. Let's talk more in the morning after we've had some sleep."

     The three demigods slipped into their beds with dejected thoughts and downcast spirits. They shared the same prevailing thought. 'We need something to go off of; anything, just give us anything!'

~o~O~o~

"First Hogsmeade visit is tomorrow," Percy commented idly.

     It was a rainy afternoon, and the six friends were relaxing in front of the common room fire. Except for Hermione, who was scribbling madly on some homework assignment. She had been doing that quite a lot lately.

"Yeah," Harry said glumly. "And we're stuck here."

"Ah, do I hear the sound of a friend in need?"

     Percy turned to see that Dean Thomas had approached them, unnoticed. He seemed to have a talent for showing up whenever Thalia was around.

"You know Harry, I'm pretty handy with a quill. I could forge a signature for you if you like." He turned and winked at Thalia. "That's only one of my many talents."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I'm supposed to be impressed that you're a forger? You know that's illegal, right?"

"It doesn't matter, anyway." Harry said. "I already told McGonagall that my uncle didn't sign it."

"That's too bad. Well, if you ever need anything forged, I'll be happy to help!" Dean sauntered off, throwing one more flirtatious smirk towards Thalia.

~o~O~o~

"Don't be so depressed, Harry," Percy said. "After all, we're stuck here too!"

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said. "But wouldn't you rather be at Hogsmeade with everyone else?"

"I'm sure it's overrated," Thalia replied easily.

     Percy held back a snort of disbelief. He and Nico both knew that Thalia was aching to get outside of the school boundaries. They all knew that they had to wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend; when they could sneak out with Harry, but it was killing her to stay confined. Percy figured that she might even start going out into the Forbidden Forest to practice with her bow.

"I think I'm going to head to the library," Harry said, not looking cheered up in the slightest. He walked towards the library, looking for all the world as if he had a rain cloud over his head.

"So...what are we going to do all day?" Nico asked.

Thalia shrugged. "Not really much we can do. All we're supposed to do is sit back and make sure everything happens like it's supposed to."

"Don't you think it's odd that the only thing that's changed is alchemy class being added?" Percy pointed out.

"The Time-Jumper is probably being very careful," Thalia said. "He probably studied these years way more than we did, and who knows how long he's been planning this."

"Don't you think we should give him a name?" Percy said.

"Why would we do that?" Nico asked.

Percy shrugged. "It's just kinda weird to call him 'The Time-Jumper' all the time. Besides, we're in a crowded common room most of the time; including right now, and speaking Greek all the time is pretty conspicuous. What if someone overhears us?"

"That's true," Thalia said. "How about...Bob?"

"Thalia!!" Percy cried. "How DARE you defile Bob's wonderful name by associating it with this EVIL fiend?!"

Thalia's eyebrows shot up and she raised her hands. "Okay, okay, we'll pick something different!"

"Besides, you can't pick a boy's name," Nico said. "What if the Time-Jumper is a girl?"

"Well what do you propose, oh wise one?" Thalia asked dryly.

"We need a gender-neutral name, obviously. Like...Jesse. Or maybe Raleigh?"

Percy snorted. "Raleigh? Seriously?"

Nico huffed. "Well, I haven't seen you suggesting anything, Mr. Critical!"

Percy scrunched up his face in concentration, tapping his fingers on the table. "Aha! Alex!" He grinned.

"What's wrong with Jesse?" Nico asked, offended.

Thalia rolled her eyes at them. "Jeez you guys, just pick a name already."

The two boys turned to her. "You're the tiebreaker, Thalia." Percy announced. "Which name do you like better; Alex or Jesse?"

"I'm not getting involved in this. Do rock-paper-scissors for all I care."

     After an intense match of rock-paper-scissors, followed by several rematches, the gender-neutral and non-offending name of 'Alex' was chosen for the Time-Jumper. Nico was still grumbling about losing when the portrait-door swung open and Harry entered, in a much better mood than before.

"Harry, you look cheery!" Percy said. "Or at least less miserable."

"I had tea with Professor Lupin," Harry explained. "But now I'm worried about him."

"Why's that?" Thalia asked, knowing perfectly well why.

"Snape gave him some sort of potion. I don't know what it was, but it was smoking and Lupin acted like it tasted awful, but he drank the whole thing."

"I'm sure Snape wouldn't actually poison Lupin," Percy said, placing a look of mock-concern on his face.

     Of course, they knew that it was nothing but a wolfsbane potion and would not harm Professor Lupin in the slightest, but they couldn't very well tell Harry that. When Hermione and Ron returned from Hogsmeade, they had a quite different reaction.

"Lupin drank it?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?!"

"I don't think that Snape would try to poison Lupin in front of Harry, right?" Hermione said anxiously as they hurried towards the great hall.

"Maybe," Harry said as they entered the Great Hall.

     The Great Hall had been spectacularly decorated for Halloween. Hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins lit the room, swarms of bats flew overhead, and flaming orange streamers snaked around above everyone's heads.

     It seemed to Percy that the food was even better than usual. He knew that the happy atmosphere would be ruined when the Gryffindors discovered that the Fat Lady had been slashed to pieces, but he didn't let that put a damper on his mood. He laughed and celebrated with his friends, not worrying about what was to come. 'After all,' he thought, 'I know that we aren't really in danger at all.'

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Joy. Real, heartwarming, uplifting, joy. What a feeling.

As your mouth curves into a grin, you never know if it will be the last time. As you throw back your head and laughter rings from your throat, you never know if it will be the last time. So as you delight in the feelings of family and friendship; cherish them. For you never know if it will be the last time.