[Special] the beginning of a new adventure.

  Well, it is not easy to start this, since I am not very good at explaining things and that kind of stuff. So I will go straight to the point.

  Apparently, I am a half-blood.

  You are probably wondering what that even means. And, to be honest, I am not completely sure myself.

  But according to what my Aunt Mor explained to us, it is when a god has a child with a mortal. In this case, my mother. And yes, I said “explained to us”, because my younger brother, Harry, apparently is one too. Well, I will not go into detail about why I say “apparently”, if we are supposed to be brothers.

  But basically, that is what we are. And you might say, “That sounds awesome. I wish I were a half-blood.”

  Then I will tell you no. It is not as exciting as it sounds.

  Anyway, since I do not really know how to explain it properly, I will just summarize.

  Last year, after our birthdays, my brother Harry and I received a letter telling us that we had been accepted into a school of magic and witchcraft called Hogwarts. Yes, just like that. On top of being half-bloods, we are also wizards. A strange mix of many things.

  But getting back to the point. Being wizards was already exciting enough for about a year, you could say. Because during our time at the castle, we went through many adventures.

  Literally, on almost the very first day, I was thrown into the air like a toy by a giant squid that lives in the lake next to the castle. We were almost eaten by a three-headed dog guarding a valuable object. Harry almost died because someone tried to knock him off his flying broom. I punched a teacher.

  On Halloween, a mountain troll entered the castle and attacked the girl who would become one of our best friends, and my brother and I defeated it.

  After that, we discovered that the teacher who seemed to truly hate us might be the number one suspect trying to steal whatever the three-headed dog was guarding. But he was not the only suspect. One of my friends, named Grover, was suspicious too. Our gamekeeper friend was secretly raising a completely illegal dragon, and to keep it from ending up in Azkaban, a wizard prison, my brother Harry contacted some people to take the dragon away while I was on a spying mission keeping an eye on Grover.

  That led to all of us being punished for going out at night. Not just any punishment, but patrolling the forest that is supposedly forbidden. There, I saw what might have been the worst sight of my life, a poor animal that died in my hands.

  A creature attacked my brother and me, but we fought back before being dragged away by Hagrid, while I discovered a strange centaur.

  We learned that what the dog was hiding was a stone that could make people immortal. The idiot that is Harry fell into a trap, so I had to go and rescue him like a hero.

  We ended up fighting that creature, which turned out to be neither the teacher who hated us nor Grover, but another teacher who seemed genuinely innocent. Oh, and before that, we had to go through several different trials designed to stop us. Although, to be honest, I went through them so fast that I barely even noticed them.

  And wow. Now that I am saying all of this out loud, it really is a lot, right?

  If this were a book, it would probably take up almost a full page. And I am seriously starting to doubt that Hogwarts, the school known as the safest in the world, is actually… well, safe. Though I probably should have suspected something the moment a bloody troll walked into the girls’ bathroom.

  Then again, maybe I am misunderstanding what “safe” means in the magical world. Because wizards do not seem to be very… prudent, responsible, or careful. Those are probably the three words that best describe the entire magical world. And I know them very well, since some teachers in primary school used to say I was like that too.

  Luckily, when the school year ended, we returned to the normal world. To our normal house. In our normal neighborhood. Like normal kids.

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  With our mom, who works for a supposedly extinct order of knights that recovers, controls, and protects magical or dangerous objects from normal humans. Our aunt, who is a dark witch feared in ancient times. Our cousin, who is locked away on an island that does not exist and can only be accessed through our fireplace. Our neighbors, who are descendants of the Knights of the Round Table. And sometimes my teacher visits us, a rather grumpy goblin who also happens to be the head of the largest bank in the magical world.

  Very, very normal, right?

  So being a half-blood does not really surprise us that much.

  Or at least… that is what I thought.

  …

  “Percy, what are you doing?” Harry asked, noticing that, for some strange reason, Percy was far too quiet for his own good. Something truly unusual, in its own way.

  The two of them were at home now, fairly comfortable, to be honest. But the real reason was that they were not allowed to go out, since apparently their mother and Aunt Mor were not letting them. At best, they could go bother Dred, but that always ended with them training and getting sore all over, so they had no choice but to stay home.

  “Just thinking,” Percy said calmly.

  “Are you worried about the camp? And maybe about meeting your father?” Harry asked, as if he could see right through him.

  Percy looked at him for a moment, his expression somewhere between annoyed, confused, and hopeful. “Well… a little,” he admitted, his tone not entirely confident.

  “Well, I am a bit nervous too. About whether I will meet my grandmother or not,” Harry said, sharing the feeling. “We do not even know who they might be,” he added.

  “It is different in your case, Harry,” Percy said more seriously. “Your grandmother protected you. She gave money to Mom and told her what to do. My father just left. I never received anything, not even something to know whether he actually exists,” he added, clearly annoyed.

  “He is obviously a damn…” Percy continued, though he stopped himself before actually insulting the father he had never met.

  Harry looked at him for a moment before stepping closer and giving him a light pat on the shoulder.

  “Well, I do not really know much either, since I do not even know what my father was like. But if Mom fell in love with him, he cannot be a bad person. After all, Mom is very smart,” Harry said with a calm smile.

  Percy looked at him and nodded reluctantly, though he was still bothered by the fact that his father had abandoned his mother.

  “Grover said everything is ready for us to travel to the United States next week. Mr. Adrien and Mr. Dorien, Arthur and Luther said they would come with us, and Professor Gema as well. If your dad turns out to be an idiot, I am sure they will beat him up,” Harry said confidently.

  “Yeah… you are right,” Percy said, slowly cheering up.

  “Percy? Harry? Are you here?” Sally’s voice called out as she entered the living room with a smile. “Could you take some supplies to your cousin Dred? He must have run out by now,” she said, but paused when she noticed their expressions. “Did something happen?” she asked gently.

  Mor followed behind her, looking somewhat tired.

  “Nothing. We are just a bit bored,” Percy said, giving Harry a quick glance, making it clear that he did not want to keep talking about his father. Harry understood immediately.

  “Do you want us to take them now?” Harry asked, stepping forward with a smile.

  “Yes, please. Your Aunt Mor has been cooking all night, preparing many of his favorite things,” Sally said with a slight smile, glancing at Mor from the corner of her eye.

  Mor pretended not to notice and turned her gaze away, a faint hint of embarrassment on her face, before sitting down on her favorite sofa.

  “When we get back, do we need to keep preparing everything for the trip to the United States?” Percy asked, a bit of excitement returning.

  “Yes,” Sally replied softly.

  The two boys then grabbed the magical bag that the elf standing near Percy had left ready earlier, and ran toward the fireplace.

  Sally watched their backs with a smile as they disappeared.

  Mor looked at her for a moment, as if hesitating.

  “Sally… maybe you should stay in England and not go there,” she finally said, her expression completely serious.

  Sally frowned and looked at her. “Why?” she asked.

  Mor seemed to search for the right words. She knew how difficult it was to ask something like this of such a protective mother.

  “Sally, I will be completely honest with you,” Mor said, staring directly at her. “You know Percy is Poseidon’s son.”

  “Yes. And that is exactly why it is dangerous for him to go there,” Sally replied firmly.

  “No. It is more dangerous for you than for him,” Mor said bluntly, which caught Sally off guard.

  “Zeus will not attack Percy directly. At most, he will send monsters after him. His pride would never allow him to act with his own hands. And Poseidon’s pride matters too; harming one of his children would be a direct insult. But you are different. And there is precedent for that. Like when Zeus killed the human Hades loved the most,” Mor explained seriously.

  Sally parted her lips slightly, surprised.

  “That is why it might be better if you did not go,” Mor said, meeting her gaze.

  “I cannot let Percy and Harry go somewhere they do not know on their own,” Sally replied firmly. “Especially if you are saying Zeus will send monsters after them.”

  “Obviously, I would never allow the children to be in danger,” Mor said at once. “That is why I think it is time for you to tell your friends something about the truth of this world. The knights,” she added, looking straight at her. “Or rather, it is important that they know. Because if Percy and Harry are going to have a safe place to return to after the camp, we will need all the help we can get,” she concluded firmly.