Before the Camp
In Vicent’s office, the old man rubbed his forehead lightly, his expression somewhat worn. Meanwhile, his grandsons, Dorien and Adrien, sat with expressions that were both slightly serious and confused, staring at the door through which Sally had just left, after giving them so much information that they still seemed to be processing it.
“Well… it seems our suspicions were correct, right?” Dorien said before letting out a sigh.
“Yes, but it’s much bigger than what we had theorized,” Adrien added as he slowly nodded. “An entire world, even more dangerous than the magical world. We were prepared for something like this, but…”
He did not finish the sentence. As he grasped the magnitude of what it implied, it was clear that this was something no ordinary human could truly face.
After all, they were talking about mythological gods, mythological monsters, and existences capable of destroying the world.
“It doesn’t matter,” Vicent said suddenly, his expression serious. “Our job remains the same: protect civilians, those who have nothing to do with either the magical or the mythological. And that won’t change. If anything, now we are aware that there are other threats we did not know about before, but we will be ready,” he stated with a firm air, without a trace of fear.
For a moment, his gaze seemed to shine with a memory from the past, as if certain connections were forming and completing missing pieces of information. As if something that had always been there, but that he had never fully noticed, was finally falling into place in his mind.
He, as the oldest active member of the Order, who had lived through internal battles and lost just as much as he had gained, seemed to understand many more things now. Things he had already understood before, but that from a different point of view carried a new meaning.
Then, the memory of a battle surfaced in his mind. One in which only three people survived. The very same battle that, even now, left only three active veterans in the entire Order.
“But demigods, huh,” Vicent said before forming a smile that was both excited and amused. “If those brats are special, of course they are. After all, there’s a reason I chose them,” the old man added as he struck the table cheerfully.
Adrien and Dorien exchanged a glance for a moment before looking back at their grandfather, both of them standing up to leave.
“You two,” Vicent said, still in good spirits. “Remember to properly protect our future knights. They might create legends even more epic than all those of the Round Table combined.”
They both rolled their eyes before leaving through the door.
…
Meanwhile, at the Jackson house, Harry and Percy stepped out of the fireplace after a flash of green fire and walked into the living room.
“I think Cousin Dred made a rather strange face after hearing about your dream,” Harry said with a worried expression. “Are you sure nothing else happened?”
“That’s all, at least what I remember. That arrogant guy, ghosts wandering around, the golden sword stuck in the ground, and the voice telling me to go for it. Nothing else,” Percy replied as he shook his head. “At first, I thought the guy was Dred, but he just looked similar. After all, he had blond hair and a pretty annoying face. Cousin Dred is way cooler,” he added.
“Oh, you’re back,” Mor said as she entered the room, looking slightly tired. “How is Dred?” she asked before sitting down.
“Oh, he’s fine. He almost made us train again, but we managed to escape,” Percy replied as if it were something to be proud of.
“We gave him the desserts you made, and he seemed happy,” Harry added.
“Oh, really? That’s good,” Mor said with a faintly sweet smile.
“Oh, right,” Percy said, suddenly remembering something as he moved closer to Mor. “Dred said he’s also the son of a demigod, something called…”
Percy turned his head and looked at Harry.
“Legacy,” Harry completed naturally.
“That,” Percy said, turning his gaze back to Mor, who for a brief moment showed an annoyed, almost disgusted expression. “So, who was it?” he asked with interest.
Mor looked at him for a moment. “Hmm… I don’t remember,” she said as if thinking it over, before shaking her head.
“Ah… is that because you’re old…?”
Before Percy could finish the word, Mor grabbed his cheeks and began pulling on them with a slightly irritated expression.
Harry watched his brother and shook his head. Percy never learned, even though he had received plenty of lessons on how to treat women like a proper knight, both from Luther and Arthur.
“Ouch, ouch,” Percy complained, trying to free himself without any success.
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Meanwhile, Harry simply turned around and went to the kitchen to get a glass of orange juice. Lia served it to him immediately, without him needing to ask, and handed it to him the moment he stepped inside.
Just as Percy was being tortured by his godmother, the front door opened, Sally entering alongside a few other people.
Sirius, Mark, Elara, and Gema.
As soon as they stepped inside and saw Percy in that situation, they froze for a moment. Not so much because of the scene itself, but because of Mor’s presence. It was something that happened often. After all, the mere presence of the woman seemed to instill fear in anyone who saw her.
Elara even widened her eyes and moved her hand to the sword at her waist, though she stopped herself before doing anything. Still, her battle instinct manifested as a heavy air that filled the room. Mor seemed to notice and turned her head to look at her for a moment with interest, before briefly lowering her gaze to Elara’s sword.
“Miss Mor, I’ve told you many times that’s no way to punish Percy,” Gema said as she approached naturally. As the teacher of both boys, she was the one who spent the most time in the house, so she was a bit more accustomed to the lethal aura that often emanated from Mor. She could even speak to her more easily.
“Hmph. He deserves it,” Mor replied as she let go of Percy’s cheeks, who immediately took the chance to hide behind his teacher.
“Percy, were you saying bad things to your godmother again?” Sally asked with a somewhat serious expression.
“It slipped out,” Percy replied in a slightly guilty tone, rubbing his cheeks.
Sally gently shook her head. She already knew that her son could make enemies with his words without even trying. It was something difficult to change, almost impossible.
“Oh, Sirius,” Harry said as he came out of the kitchen with his juice upon seeing his godfather. However, he quickly seemed to lose interest and walked toward where Gema was talking to Mor about not mistreating children. While Sally spoke to Percy about treating people properly, Harry drank his juice with an amused air, looking at his brother with mockery.
“Ah… yeah. I never get used to this,” Sirius muttered as he noticed his godson’s lack of enthusiasm upon seeing him.
Meanwhile, Mark, for some reason, remained completely silent. Sirius noticed that he was even hiding slightly behind him, glancing at Mor with a hint of fear. Then there was the woman who had arrived alongside Sally and the others, who kept an oddly violent smile, as if she were itching to fight someone.
“Ah… yeah, they’re all very strange,” Sirius added as he walked into the house as if nothing were wrong. Though, honestly, he was the least qualified person to say something like that.
After being scolded, Percy and Harry approached Sirius, while the other adults seemed to have something important to discuss among themselves.
“Oh, Sirius, I thought you’d been locked up again,” Percy said upon seeing him sitting there, waiting calmly.
Harry immediately rolled his eyes, considering that his mother had just scolded Percy for something similar only moments ago.
Sirius, however, did not seem to care.
“This time it would be much harder for them to even catch me if they wanted to,” Sirius said calmly, smiling at Harry. “I was just a bit busy looking for Remus,” he added. From his expression, it was clear he hadn’t had much luck.
“You still haven’t found him?” Harry asked with a worried look. He didn’t really know him, but he knew Remus had been one of his father’s closest friends and, according to the stories, the most intelligent and level-headed of the group. He had always wanted to meet him.
“I have no idea where he might have gone,” Sirius replied, shaking his head with mild concern before quickly perking up. “But he’s pretty smart and pretty strong. He’ll be fine. I can put the search on hold for a while while we travel to the United States.”
“Huh?” both boys said at the same time, staring at him.
“You’re coming with us? Why?” Percy asked.
“Hm? Didn’t your mother tell you?” Sirius asked, slightly confused. “Since she can’t go, and neither can your godmother, I’ll go and drop you off at the entrance of that weird magical camp,” he explained with a proud smile, clearly pleased that Sally trusted him.
“A magical camp?” Harry asked, realizing that Sirius didn’t even really know where he was taking them.
But as Percy suddenly widened his eyes, both of them reacted at the same time.
“Mom isn’t going?” they asked in unison, the realization hitting them all at once.
Without listening to what Sirius was about to say, they both turned around and ran toward their mother, who was talking with the others.
…
Harry and Percy wore completely annoyed expressions, their arms crossed, while their mother spoke to them softly.
“All right, change those faces,” Sally said calmly. “I asked Sirius to keep an eye on you until you reach Camp Half-Blood, so you don’t get bored. Gema and Adrien will go with you as well, and Mrs. Elara,” she explained, a hint of sadness in her voice at having to part with them just a week after Hogwarts classes had ended.
“But you said you’d go with us,” Percy protested, sounding offended.
“I know, but…” Sally hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I have many things to prepare here. You know we’ll be able to talk all the time through the two-way mirror, or you can even send Hedwig. And I’m not happy about having to separate from you either,” she said softly, though the sadness was evident.
Harry and Percy noticed it, yet they still felt disheartened. They had spent almost an entire year at Hogwarts Castle and had barely had time with their mother, only to now have to leave for Camp Half-Blood.
“You know, next year, maybe if you don’t like it, you won’t even have to go to the camp,” Sally continued, trying to encourage them. “But at least this year you’ll have to endure it. You’ll be safe there, while Mor prepares everything here,” she added, trying to convince them, and at the same time convincing herself. “Just one month. That’s all. You can come back earlier.”
Percy opened his mouth as if he were about to say something else, but ended up closing it and nodding in silence.
“Are you sure?” Harry asked.
“Yes. That’s the time needed to create a safe place,” Mor said from behind Sally.
“All right… just one month in that place,” Percy said, nodding, though the gesture was a bit stiffer than usual.
“All right,” Sally replied with a gentle smile, running her hands through both of their black hair.
Harry did not look away, but his hand tightened slightly around the cup until the plastic let out a soft creak. Meanwhile, Percy continued to show all of his displeasure on his face.
“Sirius will take you to the Ministry of Magic to travel by an international Portkey. The others will meet you there by plane,” Sally explained as both boys nodded slowly. “Don’t separate from them until you reach the camp, and don’t leave the camp without permission until they come pick you up. Oh, right. Grover contacted me, and someone named Chiron as well. Grover will be waiting for you to guide you to the exact location.”
“All right,” both of them said, nodding once again.
“Just one month,” Sally repeated with a faint smile. “You’ll only be at the camp for one month. Maybe you’ll have a bit of fun and like the place. You might even want to come back next year.”
Neither of them could nod yet. They still didn’t know the place.
…
Next Chapter: The Road to Camp Half-Blood
