Previously:
"I will see you at our annual meeting before school. Make sure that McGonagall will be there as well since you have decided to let her in on this," she said. "At least she will keep you in line." She then turned to me. "You go on back home, you need to get to bed soon if you don't want to be sleeping in and the twins to wake you up. They have been waiting for that for a long time. I will take care of Snape's memories."

I nodded, ignoring the sudden feeling of fear that rose up at her words about the twins. Deciding that leaving Hogwarts to vapor travel would take too much time, I decided to do it right then. Even as I climbed into bed with the whole house asleep, I knew that I would be facing a violent awakening in the morning.

The day came to go pick up Hermione, Harry, and Penny. The Burrow was a flurry of chaos as three Weasleys (well, two Weasleys but I'm helping Ron and Ginny) were packing for the next few weeks of summer at Camp Half-Blood. The plan was to spend the remaining weeks of summer at Camp until the week before school started so we could be back in time to go school shopping.

Not gonna lie; I was a little nervous.

Chiron knew of our coming and so did Grover but everyone else was in the dark. I didn't want a crowd to be there to welcome us when we got there. According to my old teacher, Thalia was back with the Hunters so she wouldn't be there. Apparently Annabeth and whatever that other kid's name was were no longer welcome at Camp anymore so they weren't there. A lot of the other demigods were old enough to have moved out by now anyway so they are also not there.

All those I knew left at camp were Nico, Will, Connor, Jason, and Piper. Everyone else had gotten into college or were living their best life in New Rome.

But once we get there, there is no telling if anyone will come to visit just because they found out I was 'home.'

Hopefully by then, I was out on a quest, figuring some things out for Medusa and Hecate.

I'd be going alone, obviously but I'm sure that Hermione, Penny, Harry, Ron, and Ginny can handle themselves. I talked to Hecate some more and she was going to double check that whatever magic they use will be untraceable while they are at camp. They'll be fine.

Right?

"Percy, do I need my cauldron?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh as I glanced at my watch. It was now almost an hour past the time I told Harry that I'd pick him up and almost time to get Hermione. My siblings are no where near being ready to go and obviously had no idea what to pack. At this point I was convinced I should just grab him to bring him here while my siblings finished packing.

"If you have not finished whatever homework Professor Snape has assigned and you need your cauldron for it, Ronald, then yes, you need it." I replied.

"Percy, why don't you go get Harry and bring him here?" Molly suggested. "I'll have them packed and ready for you to get going by the time you get back."

"Thanks Mum," I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and shrugged my bottomless backpack from Hermes over my shoulder. I made sure to Vapor travel a little ways down the street from number four to avoid arousing suspicion.

I didn't need to knock on the door to get Harry as he was working on the flowers in the front lawn.

"Hiya Harry," I said brightly. "Sorry I'm late, I was waiting for Ron and Ginny to be ready, which was a mistake. Are you ready?"

Harry jumped a little and glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Oh I didn't even realize what time it was." He said. "Yeah, I'm ready, let me just go up to grab my trunk. I packed everything since I won't be back until next year. Didn't really bother unpacking really."

"Excellent," I said with a smile. "Is anyone home?"

"Uncle Vernon is at work, Aunt Petunia is at a social for the neighborhood and Dudley is in his room playing on his computor." Harry rattled off. "If we're quiet, we can leave without him knowing."

"Now where would the fun be in that?" l asked, rubbing my hands together in anticipation.

"No, Percy," Harry said, halfway pleading, half way scolding.

I pouted. "Fine. I'll just wait here until you get your stuff then we can go."

Plopping my bag on the kitchen table, I folded my arms and got comfortable in the uncomfortable chairs to wait for Harry to grab his things. While I was waiting, I heard the door swing open.

"Dudders, I've just got home, were you alright?" The high voice carried throughout the house. "Did you see the sandwiches I left for you in the—AHHH!"

I heard Harry's light feet pound down the stairs, obviously trying to intercept his aunt before she saw me in the kitchen but he was too late.

Finally getting the fun I had wanted, I smiled brightly at Petunia Dursley as she stood in the doorway of the room. "How are you today, Petunia?"

She looked as if she had swallowed a lemon.

"Aunt Petunia, this is Percy Weasley, do you remember him from the train station last week?" Harry said nervously, panting in the hallway behind his aunt. He had one arm in a sweater and his other hand holding a roll of socks.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded furiously.

"I am here to pick up Harry for the rest of the summer," I said pleasantly. "It is also likely that you will not see him at the end of this next school year as he will be going to live with his godfather."

"Percy, you don't know that," Harry said, exasperated.

"Oh, yes I do." My tone left no room for argument. "Hecate and I will see that you do not return here next summer even if we need to take you to camp again."

Harry sent me a relived smile my way and a nervous look in his aunt's direction.

I slowly stood up and stalked towards her. To her credit, she stood her ground and defiantly looked down her nose at me. "The grudge you have towards your sister for being 'special' is no excuse for how you, your husband, and your son treat your nephew," I said quietly. She and I stood nose to nose so I was able to see the small twitch in her eye when I said that.

A movement caught my eye in the direction of the stairs and I glanced up in time to see the larger cousin of Harry's duck his head around the corner to avoid being seen. "You are no better than Professor Severus Snape, who is just as bitter and vengeful as you."

That looked like it made her want to throw up.

I smirked. "Bet that changes things, doesn't it?" I muttered.

"Ooookay, I'm just going to grab a few more things and we can go, Percy." Harry said slowly while sending me a look that says I'll need to explain myself later.

"Take your time, Harry," I said cheerfully.

We left together a few minutes later, his trunk nicely tucked in his pocket because of a shrinking spell I knew. We walked until we reached the nearby park.

"What was that inside, Percy?" Harry spoke up just as we reached the park. "What you told Aunt Petunia?"

"Hecate told me all about the drama that happened between your mother, her sister and Severus when they were younger." I told him. "Your mother and Severus used to be friends until he got with the wrong crowd and let his jealousy of James Potter get the better of him. They lived near each other. That's how she found out about the magical world. When Voldemort ended up killing your mother, Snape lost his loyalty to him and turned to Dumbledore for help. The man has been working at Hogwarts ever since and spying on Voldemort."

"Woah," Harry said, stunned.

"Of course he hasn't been doing too good a job of teaching, has he?" I asked bitterly. I shook my head to clear it. That wasn't important right now. "Ready? I am going to side-apparate with you because Vapor travel hasn't been perfected yet, I'm still practicing on taking passengers. Take my arm."

Not two seconds later, we were at the door of Penny's parent's house.

"Where are we?" Harry asked curiously.

"We are getting Penny," I said, adjusting my shirt nervously. "How does my hair look?"

"Same as always," Harry replied. "Why?"

"Styx," I muttered, reaching up to pat it down from it's mess.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"I'm meeting her parents for the first time." Was all I said before reaching up to knock on the door.

Enough time passed between the knock and the door opening for me to question every life decision I have made and take in everything about the outside of their small home.

It was a small cottage, could hardly be big enough for more than three people—Penny didn't have any siblings—in the middle of the country side. The door was a deep red and the dark grey walls of the house were large and placed strategically so that they creating a swirling pattern all around the house.

There was a garden off to the side that had a small creek running along the side.

When the door opened, I was startled enough to jump.

It was just Penny.

"Percy!" She shrieked and pulled me into a hug. Then she saw Harry. "Harry!" She let go of me and hugged the daylights out of him. "You're here just in time!"

"For what?" Harry asked.

"Lunch!" She said happily. "We can eat before we go get everyone else."

"Wh-Really?" I squeaked.

Harry was smiling in amusement. Penny just laughed and pulled me inside.

Philip and Marianne Clearwater were both very lighthearted people. The only nerve wracking part of meeting them was the terrifying conversation that Philip had with me after lunch when Penny and Marianne went into her room to grab her things to put by the door. The both of them had hardly paid any attention that was out of the ordinary to Harry once they knew who he was. Neither of them mentioned that he was famous during our entire visit. Something I think he appreciated.

"So, you work for the Ministry?" Philip started the conversation alright. It was very unassuming and did not prepare me for the rest of the discussion .

"Yeah," I replied. "I work with the Minister as his secretary and I will be teaching at Hogwarts when school starts."

Philip nodded. But that is when everything about him changed.

"I've never been good at beating about the bush so I'll get straight to it: You've been going out with my daughter for a few years now," he said. "What are your intentions with her? Where do you see yourself in this relationship in the next year or so?"

I gulped. Looking over at Harry, who was snacking on some sandwiches at the table. He sent me an encouraging thumbs up that was hardly encouraging. The truth was, I hadn't dared to think that far ahead about Penny's and my relationship. Last time I did that with someone, I got cast away and forgotten.

Needless to say, I was very stumped on how to answer this question. I know that Penny hasn't told her parents anything about my real parentage, or my past. They assume that the story I have told the Order is true and nothing more. However in order to properly answer this question, they need to know my situation.

But Penny doesn't want them to know anything about my parentage until Voldemort is no longer a threat.

Stumped did not begin to describe my feelings at this time.

"Sir, I—" I stopped to clear my throat "—I am not sure what Penny has said about our relationship, but on my part—I, erm, I am still figuring things out." Stopping to clear my throat again, I glanced up at Philip to gauge his reaction. So far he was a blank slate. "Penny is amazing in all the ways possible and I would not be where I am today without her. At this time, I think that we are just waiting."

"Waiting?" Philip said. "For what?"

"You know, sir, neither of us know, really," I said. "We'll know it when we see it, I suppose."

There was a heavy silence between us. The both of us sitting on the sofa, staring at each other. Harry still at the table eating.

Then:

"I understand, Percy."

"You do?"

"Oh, sure! The both of you seemed really focused on a couple different things that seem very important. I'm just glad that your relationship is not getting put on the back burner. You are both still putting time and effort into it and that is what is important if you want it to stay healthy." He smiled at me and clapped me hard on the back. "Relationships take different amounts of time for everyone. I knew Marianne for two months before we decided to get married. We're all different and we all are put in situations that affect how we grow around each other. Take your time, son."

"Thank you." I said softly, stunned.

As if on cue, Penny and her mother came down the stairs with her trunk.

________________________________________

Knock Knock Knock

"You have an intimidating knock, Percy."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"I bet that Hermione heard that from the farthest point in the house." Penny continued.

Harry sniggered. "She's right, Percy."

"I feel so attacked today."

The door swung open to reveal Hermione and her father right behind her. "Harry!" The shriek was similar to Penny's when she saw him earlier. The young witch lunged forward to embrace her younger friend. Her father just smiled and opened the door wider to let us in.

Then she saw Penny.

"Penny!" Cue the hugging.

"What about me?" I demanded, throwing my hands up.

"Hi, Percy," she laughed as she threw her arms around me as well.

"You ready to go, Hermione? We need to pick up Ron and Ginny before it gets too late here. Remember, New York is five hours behind us." I smiled at her mother who had shown up next to her father while we'd been exchanging pleasantries.

"I'm ready, Percy." She disappeared around the corner of the hall and reappeared with her trunk. "Good bye, Mum, Dad, I'll see you when we get back!"

She reached up to hug her father and leave a kiss on his cheek. Her mother's embrace was a little longer. I thought I saw a tear leave her mother's eye but Hermione dragged us away before I could be sure.

"I'll take Hermione, Percy. You take Harry." Penny said as we found a secluded ally. "The Burrow, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Hopefully Ron and Ginny will be packed by now."

From the apparition point outside the Burrow, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It seemed quiet. Clear skies and tall grass swaying in the wind only added to the peaceful atmosphere outside. I assumed that my brother and sister were ready for the trip over.

I couldn't be more wrong.

"...half a mind to keep you here for the rest of the summer!" Molly was saying. "If you are not downstairs in two minutes, all packed, and ready to go then neither of you will be going!"

"Holy Hera, Mum, is everything alright?"

Molly Weasley spun around from her position yelling up the stairs at my words. "Percy, dear, you're back!"

"Yeah, I have everyone." I said, smiling. "I was going to ask if Ron and Ginny were ready but I think I heard my answer."

Molly huffed in frustration. "I swear your ADHD must be contagious. They keep getting distracted, doing other tasks that I had asked them to do last week rather than packing. Which is what they need to do now."

Penny laughed. "I'll go help Ginny."

Harry followed Penny up the stairs saying something about seeing how Ron was doing.

I dropped my bag on the floor next to the sofa in the living room with a sigh. At this rate, we'll leave around dinner time and get there during lunch time and I'll be exhausted by the end of the day.

"How are you doing, Hermione, dear?" Molly started up a conversation with the younger girl and I decided a short nap was a good idea considering the stressful day I'd had already. So I laid back on the sofa and placed a pillow over my eyes.

I was jerked awake by a stinging hex in my side.

"Percy, wake up!"

"I'm up!" I was suddenly on my feet, massaging my side, glaring at Penny. "Are we ready?" Seeing a general nod around the room, I grumbled, "Finally."

We used the portkey given to me by Hecate just outside the Burrow. It was a rusty silver fork that was bent all out of shape. It brought us to the base of Half-Blood Hill with the only problem being Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione falling flat on their face when we landed.

"Before we go on, I need you all to listen to me," I said seriously, looking everyone in the eye. "There will be people that are overly curious about you and your magic. Mainly the children of Hecate. I don't care that you will be able to use magic here because Hecate made that possible. Only use the magic in training and to defend yourself. The children of Ares will test your limits. Especially during any Capture the Flag game we play. There will be manipulative demigods. The main problem with that is in the Aphrodite cabin and Hermes cabin. For different reasons obviously. Stay out of the forest. It is nothing like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, trust me. Only do the lava wall if you know a heat resistant spell and don't offend the nymphs."

"Anything else?" Ginny asked in an amused tone.

"Yeah," I said, smiling back at her. "Be careful but have fun."

"Alright, Percy, you've said your piece, let's go!" Penny wrapped her arm around mine and pulled us up the hill.

I was one of the last to crest the hill despite Penny pulling me but I could tell before I even got there that what they saw was not what they were expecting.

"Woah," Harry said.

When Penny and I finally got there, the others were speechless, looking down the hill at what limited view we had of Camp Half-Blood from here.