Last Resort

JENNIFER

“Okay, I think that's enough for today” Jennifer said. She was covered in sweat, her sword arm was starting to get sore, and she was just dying to remove her heavy armour and take a nap. 

“Oh, c'mon” Percy groaned, removing his helmet and glancing at the big clock hanging in one of the walls of the arena. He was also covered in sweat, but unlike his sister, he appeared to be feeling extremely energetic. “We've only been here an hour!”

“Yeah, but I was the one who had patrol duty last night while you drooled all over your pillow, and I'd barely slept for an hour when your hideous alarm woke me up. So thanks, but no thanks!”

Jennifer had already removed her helmet and the top of her armour, and her sword was back inside her pocket. She turned from Percy as he kept whining about not having the arena all to themselves until they came back to camp in summer, and put the armour back in its chest. 

“Complain all you want, but I need to sleep. I'm training with Nico later today” she finally spoke after she got tired of Percy's grumbles. “And if you wake me up before lunch, I swear I'll-” 

“I'm afraid you won't be able to get any sleep at all” spoke a familiar voice behind them, right next to Jennifer's ear, startling the two siblings. 

“Nico!” Jennifer exclaimed, just slightly pissed. The son of Hades was smiling wickedly at her. 

“Nico this, Nico that” Percy mumbled behind them. Jennifer couldn't see him, but she knew he was rolling his eyes. “I taught her how to pick a up sword and this is what I get.”

“I've told you not to sneak up on me like that!” Jennifer continued, completely ignoring Percy and staring at Nico.

“Not sorry, Goldie. The look on your face, as usual, was priceless” the boy laughed. Jennifer pushed him away from her, but smiled at him. 

“Whatever” she spoke. “What do you want, Skully?” 

“Not me. Chiron sent me to fetch the two of you. He's waiting for you at the Big House.”

“What does he need?” Percy asked. He had removed his armour as well, and finally turned to look at his cousin. 

“He didn't say, but it sounded kinda serious” Nico scratched the back of his head. Jennifer and Percy glanced at each other shortly. “Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing deadly. Maybe he found out about Nemo.”

“What? No way!” Jennifer exclaimed. “We've all been extremely careful!”

“Well, Annabeth did threaten to tell him after she found out it was us who spilled hot chocolate over her blueprints and didn't clean it up” Percy pointed out to his sister. 

“She wouldn't dare! Where would she get her Red Bulls?” 

“Chiron's still waiting, y'know?” Nico reminded them, even if he was having fun with the pointless conversation. 

“Right. Well, so much for getting some sleep” Jennifer sighed.

“Are we still training later?” Nico asked. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I look forward to destroying you, then.”

“Keep dreaming. Let's go, Perce.”

On their way to the Big House, they kept talking about having to relocate Nemo — their secret candy stash. Nemo was a bright orange metal trunk they'd found in Bunker 9, that had been relocated to the insides of a hollow tree in the middle of the forest. Only a few people knew about it, and they'd all sworn to secrecy. Inside, it had everything to fulfill anyone's wildest sugary dreams: sodas and energy drinks that they couldn't get from the glasses during lunch and dinner, all kinds of gummies and chewing gums, chocolate bars, Reese's peanut butter cups, M&M's, Skittles, Oreos, and even some Nutella jars. It had taken them weeks of planning just to sneak the old trunk out of Bunker 9 without being caught, and the idea of losing it was just dreadful.

«If we find out someone snitched, I'll kill them» Jennifer hissed in Percy's head as they approached the Big House's entrance. 

«We'll tie them to a rock in the bottom of the ocean and call a few sharks» Percy agreed back into Jennifer's head. 

Their telepathic connection was their most recent discovery about their powers. They had been using it for ages without realizing, sometimes through dreams, or when they'd been in great danger. But one day at the aquarium, they were talking mentally to some of the penguins about their living conditions, and they realized they could hear each other as well. From that day, they started practicing until they could talk to each other mentally as easily as they could do it out loud. It was most useful during quests and Capture the Flag, as they could hide their plans from any enemies nearby, and they also enjoyed bothering their friends, who could tell whenever they were doing it and found not be included in their conversations slightly exasperating. It especially annoyed Annabeth, who could always tell when they were up to something, but now it was much more difficult to find out what they were planning.

“Peter. Jessica” Dionysus was sitting on the porch sipping on a can of Diet Coke, but looked up at them when they approached.

“Mr. D” they greeted him, not bothering to correct their names. 

“Are you two in trouble?” 

“We don't think so, but who knows?” Jennifer answered.

“He's waiting for you in his office” he finished, going back to staring into space while sipping his diet coke.

“Thanks” they spoke together and entered the house, but Mr. D didn't bother to answer back. They walked to Chiron's office and knocked on the door. 

“Come in” he spoke from inside. They entered and stood in the doorway, staring at him. “Ah, Percy, Jennifer! Come, take a seat.”

They did as they were told and sat across the centaur. He smiled warmly at them, but it was useless. Jennifer could tell something worried him. 

“How was last night's watch, Jenn?” he asked. 

“It was okay. We had a false alarm, but it was just a stray dog” she smiled a bit. 

“Oh, yes. I heard Emily saying he was cute earlier at breakfast.”

“He was. We gave him some food and he went away.”

Chiron smiled again, more genuinely this time. 

“I don't think you called us in to ask about last night's watch, though. I wasn't even there” Percy cut him. Jennifer would have taken a softer approach, but respected her brother's need to cut to the chase. 

“I'm afraid not.” Finally, the smile disappeared and the concern was more than evident. He pushed a black envelope across his desk. Percy grabbed it and placed so Jennifer could read it as well. 

On one side, it said in fancy silver lettering:

    « Mr. Perseus Jackson & Miss Jennifer Collins

    Cabin 3

    Camp Half-Blood

    Northeastern Long Island 

    New York

    United States of America »

On the other side, it had a red wax seal, with a detailed coat of arms. It had an eagle, a lion, a serpent and a badger, with a large letter «H» in the middle. Below it, in Latin, it read «Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus».

“What is this? And why can I read it?” Jennifer asked, snatching the envelope from his brother's hands. The paper felt soft and expensive, more elegant than any other envelope Jennifer had ever seen. The penmanship was immaculate, and the silvery ink that had been used shined so brightly against the light of the room that she thought it may have been made from actual silver.

“Lady Hecate gave it to me just a few moments ago” Chiron admitted. 

The impending truth sank into Jennifer slowly but firmly, as she stared at the envelope in her hands. She felt a knot forming in her throat. Hecate bringing them anything at all could only mean one thing. 

“No” Percy mumbled. Jennifer stared at him. 

“What?” Chiron asked. 

“I said no” he spoke more firmly, looking up at him. “After all we've been through? We should be the last demigods they consider for anything.” And with that, he stood up and left. Jennifer casted an apologetic look at Chiron and went after him. 

“Percy!” she called after him, but he didn't stop, so she followed him down to the beach. 

“She's insane if she thinks that I...” his voice was agitated and he stopped for a second, looking back at his sister. “That we'll do anything for her just because she's asking nicely. She can't just choose us” he continued. The sea roared angrily in front of them, respoding to Percy's feelings, but as Jennifer held out her hand, it calmed down a bit. She wanted to point out that Mars had once simply chosen him, Frank and Hazel for quest, but kept it to herself.

“Well, the least we can do is read the letter. I can't deny I'm curious” she said as she sat down. She patted the sand next to her, inviting Percy to do the same. 

“I'll admit I'd never heard of gods sending letters with their requests before” he said in a calmer tone, taking the envelope from Jennifer's hands. 

“It looks fancy” Jennifer noted. “I had never been able to read cursive before.” 

“Hecate must have altered it somehow, so we could read it. But what about this?” Percy turned the envelope around and pointed to the red wax seal. They just stared at it for a while. 

“I guess the H is for Hecate, and the serpent is once of her sacred animals, right? But I don't know what to make of the rest of it” Jennifer reasoned. “The motto is kinda funny, isn't it? Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus?”

“Never tickle a sleeping dragon” Percy translated out loud. “Well, I wouldn't tickle a dragon whether it was sleeping or not.” 

“Dork” Jennifer mumbled and Percy smiled slightly. “You're spending way too much time with Paul.”

“You love him and you know it” Percy passed her the envelope. “Wanna do the honors?”

“Sure” she took it and stared at it, half expecting for it to explode. Nothing happened, so she opened it trying not to rip the elegant paper. 

To their surprise, the parchment paper inside smelled funny and looked yellowish, like it had been sitting there for a years. It was folded in three, and it had a stamp of the same coat of arms the envelope had. “It's super old” Percy confirmed. On the top corner, the date written was 31st October 1994. It was a sixteen year old parchment paper. 

“Well, let's get this over with” Jennifer mumbled before unfolding it, putting it next to Percy so they could read it at the same time.

It was written in a fancy cursive letter, different from the one on the envelope, and instead of silver, it was a shiny emerald color.

    «Dearest demigods, 

I am writing in the hopes that this letter never reaches your hands, but I need to be cautious and write it anyways. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the United Kingdom. I know the news that such a thing like a wizarding school being real might come as a shock right now, but I trust that Lady Hecate will explain everything you ought to know before coming here. 

If you are indeed reading this, Tom Riddle, or as he prefers to call himself, Lord Voldemort, has successfully conquered the wizarding society here in the UK. This means that said wizarding society has lost all hopes, and I need your help to bring back peace. 

It is a selfish request, I am well aware of that, but I am a desperate man and this is my last resort. I am afraid that soon enough, the United Kingdom will not be enough for Lord Voldemort, and America is one of the biggest and most powerful wizard societies today, which makes it an obvious next target for him. As far as I know, he's not aware of your existence yet, but that may change soon and it will pose a threat to your home.

By accepting my offer, I will gladly take you as students at Hogwarts. You will learn all there is to know about magic, get your own wands, and the rest of the professors and I will give you all the necessary tools to defend your home, should you ever need to. In return, I want you to protect and hopefully train the only person who can actually defeat Lord Voldemort - Mr. Harry Potter. Lady Hecate will provide further details about him and what your time at Hogwarts would be like. 

    Hoping you never read this letter, but all the same respectfully,

    Albus Dumbledore»

Percy and Jennifer stared wordlessly at the letter. 

“So, that just happened” Percy mumbled after a while. 

“Does this mean that wizards are a thing? I thought only egiptians called themselves wizards” Jennifer asked.

“Egyptians call themselves magicians, not wizards” Percy corrected her, taking the parchment paper from her sister going through the letter again. “Dumbledore wants us to go to the UK to babysit this Harry Potter guy.”

“He wants us to train him too, but what could we possibly teach a wizard?” 

“And apparently, he wants to train us” Percy noted, pointing at the part that mentioned they could be students at Hogwarts. 

“Well, if some crazy wizard decides to attack us here, I believe it could be useful to know some of his tricks.”

“We don't need that” Percy sighed. “It would take us like, twenty seconds to drown him.”

“But wouldn't it be kinda cool to do magic with a wand?”

“I'm happy you're trying to look at the positive side, Miss Collins” a mysterious, calm voice spoke from behind them. A tall woman with black eyes and blonde hair, wearing shiny purple robes and golden jewelry was staring at them from a distance. Jennifer could feel Percy tensing right next to her, the letter in his hand now a crumpled piece of paper. She quickly took it away from him. 

“Lady Hecate!” Jennifer exclaimed, standing up and forcing Percy to do the same. “How long have you been here?”

Hecate ignored the lack of respect in their looks and in Jennifer's greeting, and simply kept talking. 

“As you know” she continued, “I'm in need of your help, and I'm glad to see you are considering the positive aspects of the situation.”

“We haven't said yes” Percy cut her, his voice harsher than Jennifer would've liked. “And we have questions.”

“Obviously. I found Dumbledore's letter rather vague myself” she nodded. “But before you ask anything, I think it might be useful to take a walk through history. And then, you can ask all the questions you want.”

Percy and Jennifer stared at each other, the old parchment still in Jennifer's hands. 

«What if she wants something more?» Percy protested. 

«Be realistic, Percy» and now, Jennifer was starting to get pissed. Percy had been around in this world much longer than her, and she liked the gods no better than him, but neither of them were idiots. They knew there were certain things they couldn't say no to without putting at risk everything they loved. Jennifer had already started to accept that whether she liked it or not, they were going to that Hogwarts place. «We can't turn down a quest given to us directly by a god. We have to listen to her.» 

Percy didn't answer, because he knew she was right.

“What do we do?” Jennifer finally asked Hecate.

“Just close your eyes” she smiled at them. 

They did as they were told. Through their closed eyelids, they could almost see the light changing, and when they opened their eyes again, they were no longer at the beach in Long Island. 

“Welcome to Ancient Greece” Hecate spoke to them. She was now standing in between them. “Where it all began for me.”