Solis

Chapter XXIV

Ron had to seriously ponder his actions from the last two weeks. Did he do something wrong? Is it wrong to doodle on the wall of Nico's cabin while he's busy on building another part of it? Or did Chiron finally decided to kick him out of the camp for not being good enough? 

As Ron and Annabeth made their way to the Big House, his hands became sweaty while holding onto Annabeth's hand.

Annabeth made sure to reassure him that everything would be okay. He asked the older girl if she knew what was going to happen, but she just shook her head. That didn't stop him from feeling anxious, though.

When they got to the Big House, they spotted Mr. D on the deck, sipping a coke and engrossed in a newspaper while relaxing in a lawn chair. Chiron was busy talking to two older girls. The taller girl had long dark hair in a ponytail and green eyes. She had an owl was perched on her arm. The shorter girl—Ron's eyes widened when he realized who she was. She was the girl he had partnered with before in one of Quintus or Daedalus's games.

The taller girl noticed them and waved as Ron and Annabeth approached the deck.

"Ah, Ron—you've made it," Chiron smiled, guiding the redhead to take a seat in one of the lawn chairs directly across from Mr. D, who deliberately avoided looking their way. "Allow me to introduce you to these two young women—Lou Ellen Blackstone and her sister Gracey McKallen, both daughters of Hecate."

"Um, hi," Ron said nervously. "I actually know Gracey."

"Of course you do!" Gracey responded with a chuckle. "We've met before. I had a feeling you do hated me before."

"I'm just trying to make sure monsters won't have us for dinner," Ron replied, only to bite his lip nervously when he noticed Annabeth raising an eyebrow at him.

Lou burst into laughter. "Oh, I see! Chiron," she said, turning to the old centaur who cleared his throat.

"This is a great news. The goddess Hecate has sent a message addressing your situation out of the camp," Chiron began, reaching for something attached to the owl's beak—a white sealed envelope with a golden seal on it. The owl immediately let go of it, and Lou patted its head, chuckling.

"The poor owl! It was just waiting around at the camp. Mom must've forgotten to tell the owl to give it to Ron," Gracey commented.

"Come on, don't be like that, you know what happened to Mom." Lou added.

Ron took the letter, feeling confused. He couldn't figure out the emblem above the golden seal either. "I don't get it," he said, placing the letter back on the table.

"Chiron?" Annabeth turned her attention to the old centaur.

“Ah, my dear. You see—”

Finally, Mr. D set his newspaper aside and shot them an irritated glance. “Oh just tell the boy he's one of those disgusting magical mortals.“ He said. 

“What?“ Annabeth asked.

Chiron gave him a warned look, “Mr. D.“

"No, no, sooner or later, they're gonna die—and congrats, you kid—probably in line too. If Hecate decides to tell Zeus about where they're hiding out and their little magic mortals production line, well, let's just say your countdown's begun." 

Gracey flinched in response but remained silent. Ron gave Mr. D a confused expression. "What?“

"Well, am I right? Those magical mortals act like they're all high and mighty, as if they're on par with us gods—ha, strutting around with their fancy sticks and all that nonsense."

"Hey, that's not true!" Gracey exclaimed. "Mom granted them a blessing, and they granted us a blessing too," she said, her voice quivering.

"Mr. D, that's enough," Chiron intervened. "We mustn't foster animosity among these magical mortals within our camp. We had to accept them for who they are," he stated, though there was a hint of hesitation in the old centaur's manner. Mr. D grumbled in response, snapped his fingers, and vanished, leaving behind a lingering scent of grapes. Chiron let out a sigh and offered them an apologetic look.

Gracey had tears streaming down her face now, and Lou was comforting her with a gentle pat on the back. "That letter," Lou sighed, "comes from one of the schools that educates... well, we don't just call them magical mortals outside. We refer to them as witches and wizards."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "Similar to Circe?"

"Um, you could put it that way—you know with, pointing hats and brooms?" Lou chuckled.

"Got it," Annabeth replied, as if it were an everyday topic. "Give us more details."

Ron shifted uncomfortably in his sits, as Annabeth held his shoulder, trying to calm him down. 

Ron looked uncomfortable in his seat, and Annabeth placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"You might find it hard to believe, but Ron—well, according to what my mom told me, he's one of them. He carries the blood of a witch, likely from his witch mother or a father. She can sense every child who bears a piece of her magical blessing," Lou elaborated, her gaze fixed on Ron. "Do you know why it's dangerous for you to go outside?"

Ron stared at her, his head shaking slightly, his confusion apparent.

"Witches and wizards have been hated by the gods since before their existence. They were Hecate's creation. At first, they served as a part of her army during the war for Olympus. However, she wasn't aware that these mortals were giving birth to more children who carried a piece of her magic behind her back. Of course, she allowed it—"

"Because more magical mortals meant more recruits for the war?" Annabeth interjected.

"Exactly," Lou confirmed. "But my mom didn't know that they were actually learning magic themselves—something dangerous. They got really good at controlling magic, and they passed their knowledge to their offsprings and generation. The gods got really angry. They were, well..."

"They were angry because regular people suddenly gained magic out of nowhere and could control it. Who wouldn't be?" Annabeth shook her head, clearly displeased by the revelation.

"No! They were just being selfish," Gracey protested with a sniffle.

Lou let out a sigh. "No, Gracey. It's just that... well... our mom was pretty upset about it, yeah—but she forgave them. She allowed them to learn magic, and she was happy that these mortals acknowledged her blessing. But the gods didn't like it. They tried to kill them and, well, they even made an oath not to marry a witch or wizard."

"But Mr. D mentioned that some are still out there in hiding...?" Ron questioned.

"Mom keeps them hidden from the gods' view," Lou explained. "She wants to prevent more of her people from dying at the hands of the gods."

"But how..." Annabeth mused, "Then what about Ron—"

"You could say they're hidden from the gods' sight, but that doesn't mean gods can't interact with them directly. It's rare, though, unless a certain god manages to enter or get close to their location when they're in their mortal forms," Lou clarified.

“So, you're saying Apollo accidentally stumbled to their location?" Annabeth questioned.

Lou grinned and nodded, "Yeah! Honestly, that's pretty dangerous—well, Chiron—"

"It's alright. Your mother—Hecate—is ensuring that this conversation remains hidden from the ears of the gods," he reassured them.

"Thanks. So, the reason why you can't leave this camp without my mom's assistance is because, Ron, you're in danger. It's kind of unfortunate—your dad ended up in the wrong place, met your mom, and then you happened. So, my mom had to hide you and talk to your dad about this, and now your dad's probably trying his best to avoid getting too close to you because you know—"

"Because I'm going to die," Ron stated.

"And Zeus still watches out for children with both godly and magical mortal blood," Lou added. "Once he finds out about you...oh boy."

"Do not fret," Chiron reassured. "Apollo must have been working to protect you."

"Yep. Zeus can sense when one of his children gets involved with them, so, uh—"

Ron face went white. "But—but, Gracey is one of them too?“ he said.

Grace sobbed. "Hecate is my mother. She's a minor goddess. Zeus doesn't care about her having a child with witches and wizards."

Annabeth gripped Ron's arm once more as he just stared at the letter on the table, lost and uncertain. "So, all this time, Hecate has been keeping Ron safe here in the camp?" Annabeth asked.

Gracey nodded and offered him a kind smile. "Yeah. She's been doing her best too."

"And she will continue to do so even outside the camp. So, you don't need to worry about going to school—"

Ron's head jerked towards her. "School?" He then turned to Chiron, who nodded.

"Yes, you are finally safe under Hecate's protection. You can go out to attend school," Chiron was about to say more, but Annabeth stood up cutting the old centaur off.

"I'll look after him," she declared. "He'll stay with me in New York."

Lou and Gracey exchanged glances. "Oh, no," Lou sighed, scratching her head. "That letter is from a school for magical mortals."

"What?" Annabeth looked at her in disbelief. "So you're saying—"

"He needs to learn and control his magic," Gracey interjected. "Or else, what will happen again, Lou?"

"Um, okay. So you see—the blood of a god is more powerful than that of a magical mortal, but Ron's magical blood was weak, and that blood also wants to have a part on the body. So, whenever something triggers Ron's magical side, he'll become sick—and if this continues without proper control, he'll die."

Ron only stared at the letter again, and Annabeth clicked her tongue in annoyance. "There needs to be a balance," Lou added and she was met with silence for a seconds and suddenly they heard Chiron sighed. 

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. But if the boy wants to survive, he must take this opportunity," he stated.

Annabeth hesitated, looking at the others before turning her gaze to the old centaur. "Fine." she finally said, receiving smiles from Gracey and Lou.

Ron took the letter and opened it, but if anything could make reading more challenging, it was when the text used cursive letters instead of the usual bold and clear font. Who even writes letters in such fancy cursive? Ron squirmed uncomfortably and handed the letter over to Annabeth, who immediately passed it to Chiron for him to read.

"Ahem," Chiron began as he started to read it aloud.

Ron panicked when they heard about the start of term, but Gracey reassured him. "Don't worry, you can borrow them from our siblings. They're already in their second and third years."

"So, where exactly is this Ilvermorny?" Annabeth questioned.

"It's at Mount Greylock, Massachusetts. Gracey goes there along with a couple of our siblings. Oh, and it's kind of hidden, you know, for secrecy and all. But that's a whole other long discussion," Lou chuckled.

"That's good to know," Annabeth nodded.

"Ron can come with us, don't worry!" Gracey reassured. "We'll look out for him."

"Thanks, and Ron?" Annabeth called to him.

The redhead shifted his focus towards them and nodded. "That's okay with me. I—I mean, can I ask something?"

Lou nodded. "Anything!"

Ron scratched his arm nervously and glanced around. "You mentioned earlier about my other parent...is there a chance they also attended this school?"

If Ron's other parent is also a magical mortal, then there's a possibility that they might have attended the same school. Ron wanted to learn more about them—and where he truly came from. If Ilvermorny was the first step toward uncovering them, then he was determined to give it his all.

Lou glanced at Chiron and Annabeth, seeking some guidance, and the old centaur placed a reassuring hand on Ron's shoulder, which immediately conveyed understanding to the redhead.

"Oh, okay..." Ron responded with a tinge of disappointment.

"Hey, maybe they attended the same school too?What's your last name?" Gracey questioned.

"Um...Pewit?"

"It's Prewett," Annabeth corrected.

"We can always ask the headmaster there. He keeps track of every student who attends," Gracey suggested. "Oh, and we should get Ron ready for his first term there. Don't worry, it's going to be an adventure!"

"Well then," Chiron interjected. "But if it's alright, I'd like to have a private conversation with Annabeth."

"Sure thing, and thanks as always, Chiron! We'll look out for Ron," Lou exclaimed.

"But—"

"Come on, want to see the inside of our cabin? We've added some new decorations, but be careful; most of them explode when you touch them."

This only made Ron even more hesitant about going there. However, the older girl had already grabbed his arm and was in the process of dragging him out to the deck when suddenly, a huge owl swooped toward them. It collided with the table, causing it to tip over and knocking newspapers to the ground.

Lou rushed toward the owl, kneeling down to reach it. She gently touched the creature, which slowly gathered itself up. The owl's tiref appearance tell them that it has a long flight, and it seemed hungry and weary—but another sealed envelope was clutched in its beak.

"The owl is injured!" Ron exclaimed, pointing to the blood on it. He hurried over, trying to lift the owl, which hurriedly flew away from him. Clearly upset, the owl perched itself on the deck's railing, hooting urgently.

"It's okay" Annabeth reassured, and as a daughter of Athena, she approached the owl cautiously. The owl took notice of her and when she extended her hand, the owl placed the envelope there.

Gathering around Annabeth, they watched as she examined the envelope. "It's another one," she declared.

"What?" They asked, confused. Annabeth handed the envelope to Chiron to read, and the old centaur began to read it aloud.

Gracey gasped, "Hogwarts? Is that somewhere around London?" The owl hooted in response.

"Why would they send a letter here? Letters are supposed to be sent only within their vicinity," Lou pondered, her confusion evident. Chiron handed her the letter. "Unless you were born there... and oh—oh." A realization seemed to strike her, and she looked at Ron.

Annabeth's eyes widened, and she turned to Chiron. "No, we can't—Chiron, that's too far away!"

"Ron must decide for himself, Annabeth," Chiron stated, finally comprehending the situation. "This is quite unexpected, but let the boy make the choice."

Ron looked between them, his anxiety palpable. "But...But—"

He was sweating profusely now, caught between two options. One was a school near New York, allowing him to quickly return to camp if needed or for visits. The other was a school far away, requiring a plane journey, but it might offer him more information about his other parent.

Ron turned to Annabeth, a remorseful expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Annie." He said.

🔆

In the end, Annabeth respected Ron's decision, even though she felt a twinge of disappointment since they wouldn't be able to explore places in North America as she had hoped. There were many places she wanted Ron to see. However, Ron made a promise—he swore on the River Styx that if anything happened to the camp, he would return as quickly as possible. He assured her that no one would be able to prevent him because the camp was still his home.

Annabeth finally let him go, as Chiron needed to speak with her. Ron then headed into Hecate's cabin with Lou and Gracey. But Lou warned him not to touch any of the sparkling objects inside, cautioning that he will die. Ron wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

As Lou swung the door open, they were greeted by a lively scene. Several kids were inside, tossing things around and playing with magic. There were four main rooms: two on the sides, one at the back, and the one they were currently entering.

"DUCK!" One of the kids shouted suddenly. Startled, two girls who were having a conversation in the corner quickly crouched down. A small ball hit the wall just above them, bursting into a burst of colorful paint and confetti. The two girls grumbled in irritation at the sudden mess.

“Apologize for the chaos!“ Lou chuckled, but Ron couldn't hear her well. They maneuevered their ways towards the other room and Gracey was talking to two girls there before the three made their way to Ron and Lou.

"Sorry about the mess!" Lou laughed, but with all the noise, Ron could barely hear her. They navigated through the room and Gracey chatted with two girls there before they approached Ron and Lou.

"Say hello to Macey and Tamara. They went to Ilvermorny too," Gracey introduced, adjusting her glasses.

"Hey there!" Macey greeted Ron. He noticed her messy brown hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in days."I'm Macey. Everyone calls me Mac, though I don't know why."

Tamara shrugged, her straight black hair cascading over her shoulders, as she held onto a book. "Well, it suits you. Anyway, I'm Tamara. I've heard about your situation. I'd probably just stay hidden in this camp if I were you."

"Ignore her,” Macey grumbled. "She's always super serious, thinks she looks cool that way."

Tamara shot her a sharp glare. Suddenly, a wand ppeared in her hand, and a duffle bag along with a backpack floated over to them. The bags opened on their own. Macey hurried to the nearest closet, pulling out a black robe. She also produced a wand, performing some kind of spell on the robe that caused it to shrink in size. She placed it into the floating duffle bag.

"How do you do that?" Ron asked curiously, pointing at her wand. "With your wand."

Lou appeared just behind him, holding two books, and placed them in the duffle bag. "That's a wand," she explained.

"A wand?"

"Wizards always use it to channel their magical power for complex spells," Gracey chimed in. She now held a brass scale and a cauldron, which she also added to the floating duffle bag. "You'll learn about that too soon."

"You mentioned it didn't work before," Ron pointed out.

"For some reason, it works with objects, but when I tried it on monsters, it didn't," she explained. Ron still had some questions, but before he could ask, Lou suddenly appeared again. He was confused by how quickly she had disappeared and reappeared on the other sides of the cabin.

"Hurry up!" Lou urged, placing the last book in the duffle bag and sealing it shut. "Ron still needs to catch a plane to London," she added, handing the duffle bag to him. Surprisingly, it wasn't as heavy as he expected.

"Put some clothes and things in your backpack," Gracey advised, handing him the backpack.

"We'll meet you at the pine tree," Macey added.

"Um, thanks?" Ron responded, feeling slightly bewildered as the four girls guided him out of the cabin.

Arriving back at his own cabin, Ron found Annabeth talking with a group of his half-siblings. When they saw him, they hurried over. Some were tearing up, while others appeared sincerely happy for him.

So, basically, Annabeth tried to explain the situation to his half-siblings without going into the details about wizards and witches. She left it up to him to decide whether he wanted to share it with his half-siblings and friends. They helped Ron pack his clothes and things, wondering why he had to attend a boarding school in London when there were similar options in New York.

Ron's friends also joined in. Nyssa helped him put on a yellow jacket, Drew kissed his cheek, and the Stolls tried to stuff snacks into his bag, trying to make them all fit.

They all made their way to Thalia's pine tree, where Peleus stood guard. Ron scratched the dragon's chin as they gathered around him.

"Don't forget to write a letter or IM us," Kayla sobbed, giving Ron and Austin a hug.

"Don't forget to bring some tea cups," Travis chimed in.

"And a saucer," Connor added.

Will added a small first aid kit to his backpack, just in case. Actually, they all add something in his bag—even arrows. Ron was confused how they managed to fit everything. Annabeth playfully ruffled his red hair and handed him a framed picture of him, Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke together.

"Stay safe," she said.

Ron nodded, wiping away a tear from his eye. He still felt overwhelmed by everything. Chiron trotted over, with Percy and Nico following behind. 

The old centaur handed Ron a hundred dollars, a pouch of drachmas and a passport with some documents before signaling that it was time to leave. Argus was waiting by the van, and Ron embraced everyone again.

"I'll be back!" Ron promised.

"You better be," Nico retorted. "Send me an I.M if things go bad there."

"Sure thing, Dad," Ron teased, earning a grumble from Nico.

He continued waving to everyone as he made his way to the van. Campers who knew Ron were all there to bid him goodbye. Once he got inside the van and it started moving, tears welled up in his eyes. 

When they arrived at the nearest airport on Long Island, Argus dropped him off. It seemed like their security camp wouldn't be guiding him on how to board the plane.

"I'll miss you, Argus," Ron said.

Ron said goodbye to him and then walked into the airport. There were only a few people in the terminal, and Ron looked around at his surroundings. He was impressed by the size of the interior. Not knowing where to begin, he approached a woman and asked for guidance. He overheard her murmuring, "What's a boy doing here alone?"

Whe he reached the counter, Ron handed over all his documents to the man there. Although Ron wasn't sure what the man could see through the mist as he checked the documents, the man nodded and directed him to the security checkpoint. He had stuff he needed to do, and eventually, once he got on the plane and stored his bags in the overhead compartment, he quickly fell asleep as the plane took off.

He woke up when he sensed someone standing next to him on the left. A flight attendant must have noticed him and placed a meal on his tray table. Ron's stomach made a noise and he blushed, but the flight attendant only smiled at him.

While he was eating, he thought about the camp. He already missed the place, but he had to go. He still had to find information about his other parent, he wasn't sure how long he had been on the plane, but he fell asleep again, only to be awakened by a loud announcement over the speaker upon reaching their destination. Ron blinked away his sleepiness as all the passengers started getting their belongings together.

"Uh... where am I again?" Ron muttered to himself, feeling a bit lost as he looked around at what seemed to be a mall. He recognized it as a mall due to the numerous shops lining each side, the white-tiled floor, and the abundance of tables and chairs where people were engrossed in their phones, working on laptops with headphones on, reading magazines, checking their bags, or just sitting alone there, waiting for their family or maybe hoping for something to happen.

Ron scanned the surroundings once more and began to walk, nervously clutching the left strap of his backpack. His plan was to find the way out, but he began to feel panicked. He read every big sign he saw as quickly as he could to figure out exactly where he was.

Then a saleswoman noticed him and asked about his parents. Ron looked at her with a desperate expression.

"The exit? Just keep walking straight down that way, and you'll come across a staircase below. Just head down there," She explained. "Are you sure you'll be alright? I can call someone to help you find your parents,"

"No!" Ron shook his head, "I'm on my own."

The saleswoman looked at him uncertainly, "If you say so, but still—"

Ron immediately thanked her and quickly headed in the direction the saleswoman had pointed him to. When he saw the stairs, he hurried down and caught a whiff of sandwiches. He glanced to his right and saw a restaurant selling sandwiches. His stomach grumbled once more. Since Chiron had given him money, so why not grab a bite?

Since he'd only had one meal on the plane, he decided to go for it. But the cashier gave him a blank look when Ron put the money there. "This is London," The cashier said. 

In the end, Ron wasn't able to get a sandwich. He did find the exit though. To his left, his dyslexia managed to read the words on the sign above the glass entrance. He made out BUSES & TAXIS and Ron knew he needed that. But when he checked his money he hurriedly looked around, he approached a man standing in the corner to ask.

So he had to exchange his currency for euros. Ron felt frustrated, wondering why they couldn't just use dollars too. He had to wait in line for that. 

He wasn't sure how long he waited because he still had to catch a bus to London. When he finally got on one, he chose a seat near the window. He took something out of his pocket: a note and his acceptance letter to Hogwarts that Gracey had returned to him.

The note was written in a messy font, but he managed to read it:

Platform 9 ¾. King's Cross.

Departs around 11 at noon. 

Don't be late! 

Good luck.

"Eleven!?" Ron mumbled, he doesn't know what time it was. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and gazed out the window instead. The road was spacious and traffic wasn't that heavy either. He even spotted a statue in the middle of the road when they turned left—the statue had both hands extended upwards reaching behind.

Then buildings lined the sides of the road, with buses stopping at the designated bus stops. The first thing he noticed was a row of bikes in front of one of the park there. Then they went underground, and when they resurfaced, Ron was greeted by buildings by buildings again. Ron noticed how different it was from New York. The buildings in London resembled modern-day castles, and several buildings were made from bricks, mostly colored in shades of white, brown, red, and orange—something like that.

The bus came to a stop, and before he got off, Ron asked the driver for the time. The driver glanced at the redhead's wristwatch.

"I can't read," Ron said impatiently.

The driver snorted, "It's ten forty-six, kid."

"Thanks," Ron replied, then hopped off the bus. The first thing he laid his eyes on was a round-roofed building. Above the large glass windows, the words KING'S CROSS were written on the blue sign around them, he remembered the time and hurried off in search of the station.