Back Home – Part 1
After discovering that the fireplace inside Poseidon's cabin could connect directly to their own home like a Floo Network, Harry and Percy returned.
Luckily, Sally had taken a little pity on them and allowed them to spend a few more days there so they could enjoy some time with their friends before saying goodbye and returning home.
Which, of course, made both of them happy, since they knew perfectly well that once they got home, the only thing waiting for them was a super punishment.
The moment Harry and Percy stepped out of the fireplace, both of them instantly froze, because someone seemed to be waiting for them inside the cabin.
Standing there with a look of complete annoyance, which at this point Percy and Harry believed was simply the face he had been born with.
A Hawaiian shirt and shorts.
A puffy reddish face that Percy used to compare to a retired cherub.
It was none other than Mr. D.
Who was still holding the Diet Coke can that had appeared earlier that day before the victory party for the group.
He gently swirled the can in his hand as if he were cradling the finest liquor in existence.
Then brought it to his lips and took a very small sip.
The sweet, intoxicating scent immediately reached Harry and Percy, who, being so close, couldn't help feeling slightly drunk.
Recognizing perfectly that it was the same liquor Hades had in the Underworld.
Only disguised inside a Diet Coke can.
Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"Sir, this…"
Before Harry could continue, Dionysus raised a hand to stop him.
"I have no interest in your foolish excuses. Normally, things like this should be destroyed since they are forbidden. Regardless of their purpose. Only gods are allowed to be everywhere at once," Dionysus said with a serious expression before taking another tiny sip.
So tiny it looked like he was drinking it one drop at a time to make it last longer.
Though judging by how often he brought the can to his lips, it probably wouldn't last very long even with that method.
"Even so, since I accepted this bribe, I suppose I'll have to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to its existence," Dionysus said without caring at all about openly admitting he accepted bribes.
Perhaps so the boys would keep that in mind.
"Still, it'll become a problem if you keep coming and going through that thing. So you'd better not abuse that privilege or I'll destroy it completely. Use it only to return to your stupid homes and come back to this stupid place. Understood?" Dionysus asked with a threatening look.
Percy and Harry immediately nodded as fast as they could.
After all, this fireplace made returning home vastly easier without risking an international Portkey and the possibility of losing a limb, ending up in a coma, or trying to board a plane to England and risking Zeus throwing a lightning bolt at them.
They were becoming increasingly convinced that traveling between countries was an extremely efficient way to die.
Dionysus gave them one final threatening look while taking another tiny sip from the can and walked away without saying anything else.
Both Percy and Harry let out sighs of relief.
As all the exhaustion from the day finally caught up to them.
It was already nearly five in the morning.
Neither of them had realized it, because when they had been in England, dawn had already been breaking when they appeared through the fireplace at home.
And by the time they went to Avalon, it was already close to ten in the morning.
But on this side of the pond, it was five in the morning.
They didn't even bother changing clothes.
The moment they touched their beds, they fell deeply asleep.
…
During the days Harry and Percy stayed at camp, although they hadn't actually spent much time there since they had literally arrived and immediately been sent on two dangerous missions, they still hadn't spent much time with everyone else.
Many campers already considered them friends and respected them quite a bit.
Obviously not counting the Ares cabin kids, who always gave them annoyed looks.
But neither of them cared much as they spent their time with Annabeth, Grover, and sometimes the Hecate kids.
Who were always dragging Harry around.
Having accepted him as one of their own from the very first day.
The Hecate kids practically dragged Harry around everywhere.
As if completing two quests in a single summer had been enough to make him the official mascot of the unofficial cabin.
Second only to Lily.
On one of those days, Grover arrived to say goodbye to the brothers.
His permission to become a Searcher had been approved, and he was beyond excited to finally set out in search of the god Pan.
Something that made saying goodbye difficult for Percy and Harry.
Even though they had only known him for a year, Grover had truly become a good friend and the best satyr guardian they could have asked for.
Annabeth hugged him and reminded him several times not to take off his fake feet.
Meanwhile Harry kept reminding him to take good care of his seed bag and use it the moment he found himself in danger.
Especially the deadly mandrake.
Which Harry reminded him several times to be careful with if it ever matured.
And if it did, to sell it and make a little money for his journey.
Something Grover immediately rejected, since he seemed attached to every single one of his plants no matter how deadly their screams were.
"I wish you guys could come with me. Our group is the coolest one of all," Grover said with a slightly sad smile because of the farewell.
"That's debatable," Percy interrupted.
Grover ignored him and continued.
"But you know... the god Pan and humans…"
"We understand," Annabeth said calmly.
Percy walked up to Grover and pulled something from his necklace, which served as an inventory for the swords he treasured most.
From it emerged a small dagger with a red jewel set in the center.
It was the first magical weapon Percy had ever received as a child.
A dagger whose blade became extremely hot whenever it struck, enough to cause considerable pain to his enemies.
Back then, he hadn't known it had been a gift from Hecate.
Even so, he had always carried it with him, since it was one of the gifts he had received during his first missions alongside his brother and Aunt Mor.
Percy stared at it for a few more seconds before handing it over.
It had been with him for years.
Grover looked at the dagger and accepted it with a smile.
"Thanks, Percy. Thanks, Harry. And thank you both for trusting me to be your guardian," Grover said while looking at both of them with a smile. He truly owed them a lot, because bringing him along on their quests when they could have chosen someone much stronger would have probably helped far more. But they had done it for him. And he would always be grateful for that.
"Just remember, if you find some suspicious guy at Hogwarts, try to think things through before capturing him and trying to interrogate him without starting a fire, at least," Grover said while looking specifically at Percy.
"I'm not promising anything," Percy answered immediately.
Grover couldn't help smiling.
"Remember to say hi to the Hufflepuff kids for me," he added.
Grover gave Annabeth a hug, patted Harry on the shoulder, and bumped fists with Percy before turning around and walking away.
None of the three said anything else.
They simply kept watching him as he left.
Until he finally disappeared among the trees.
As the days passed and Percy and Harry's permission to stay at camp was about to run out, the campers decided to speed up the end of the summer session just for them so they could receive their end of summer beads, the first beads Harry and Percy had ever earned.
This year's bead was completely black, with a sea green trident shining in the center, which according to the campers represented the arrival of Poseidon's son and his quest into the Underworld to prevent a war.
Naturally, the Hecate kids were annoyed.
But after all, Hecate was still considered a minor goddess without even having a cabin at camp, while Poseidon was one of the Big Three, and of course his son would attract more attention.
But Harry wasn't bothered by that at all.
If anything, he was happy for his brother.
The funny thing was that Harry was famous in the magical world, while Percy seemed to be famous in the mythological one.
So in the end, things balanced out pretty well.
The following morning was the day Percy and Harry would return home, so they spent most of it saying goodbye to the people they had become closest to.
The two split up, since Harry planned to say goodbye to the Hecate kids: Alabaster, Lily, Jean, and Daniel.
Meanwhile Percy intended to say goodbye to Annabeth, some of the Hermes cabin kids, and Luke.
Percy searched all over for Annabeth but couldn't find her anywhere.
These last few days she seemed distracted, as if she had been thinking deeply about something.
So he had no choice but to find Luke first.
After asking around, some campers pointed him toward the sword training area.
Where Luke spent most of his time.
And when Percy arrived, Luke was there, fighting training dummies and cutting them apart with precise, violent strikes.
As a swordsman himself, Percy stopped for a moment to admire it.
For a moment, he couldn't help wondering why Luke still managed to look cool even after training for hours.
He also found himself curious whether he looked that good too.
Among all the campers who focused on swordsmanship, perhaps Luke was the only one who could truly challenge him, even after all his years training under Masters Einjard and Mordred.
Luke seemed to notice Percy watching him, so he stopped. Sweat dripped from his face and his camp shirt was soaked through.
"Percy," he said while lowering his sword and letting out a breath, relaxing after the intense training.
"Sorry. I just came to say goodbye," Percy said, apologizing for interrupting.
"It's alright. So you're heading home already?" Luke asked calmly.
"Yeah. Time to accept my punishment," Percy said with a forced smile.
But Percy's gaze shifted toward the sword in Luke's hands.
As someone who loved swords and owned a collection of them, he immediately noticed that it had been forged from two different metals.
Bronze and steel.
"Oh, this? It's a new toy. It's called Backbiter. I heard you've got a few interesting swords yourself," Luke said casually. "It's made from Celestial Bronze and tempered steel. Works on both mortals and immortals," he explained while lifting the blade so it gleamed under the sunlight.
Percy didn't pay it much attention, since at least one of his own swords had the same ability, and it seemed fairly normal to him.
Even so, something about the sword felt strange.
More specifically, why Luke would need something like that.
"Hey, since it's your last day here, how about it? Want to come into the woods with me? Let's find something to fight," Luke said with a friendly smile.
For a moment, that smile made Percy hesitate.
"Well, I still need to find Annabeth and Harry…"
"Come on, don't worry about it. Drinks are on me," Luke said while casually pulling out a pack of cola cans, still wearing that same smile.
Percy stared at him for a moment.
Then, under Luke's persistent gaze, he nodded.
"Sure. Why not?"