The Ever-changing Tides~ (PJOxHP)

1:7

Sitting in the silence of the great hall Regulus couldn't hold it in anymore. He stood up from his beanbag catching the attention of the hall and causing Sirius to let out a breath and lick his lips anxiously.

The youngest Black looked between his mother and father and then his brother hesitantly as he said, "We can't just ignore what we heard. Sirius was in America, at a camp for children of the Greek Gods. I want to know why." The slight wobble in his voice had Sirius wincing in remembrance of the summer before his sixth year.

Orion and Walburga sat in their chairs stone faced. They had no intention of spilling their secrets. Just as they were going to spin a story completely dismissing Regulus' claims, Sirius stood up as well.

Sirius was tense as he turned to face his little brother. His hands clenched and unclenched in a physical representation of his anxiety. Deciding to just rip off the band aid he blurted out, "I'm not the son of Orion Black." The amount of faces full of shock that filled the hall was unbelievable. Knowing he had to keep going or else he wouldn't get through this Sirius kept talking. "My real father is one of the gods. I won't say who because you're bound to find out soon anyway." Looking at Regulus' shocked face he said, "I was blood-adopted for the sheer purpose of being an heir to the House of Black." He let out a bitter laugh as he said, "Obviously that didn't last."

Regulus rubbed a hand over his face before he asked, "So we're only half-brothers?" For a few seconds Sirius struggled to come up with an answer. He desperately wanted to tell Regulus the truth, but that would only complicate things further. When he finally came up with something he was suddenly stopped when his birth giver raised her wand at him from across the hall.

Walburga didn't think twice as she yelled, "Don't say another word, boy!" Sirius would have reached for his wand, but his father reacted quicker. All of a sudden Walburga was no longer standing, but rather face planting straight towards the stone floor. Orion followed not long after because he tried to stand up for his banshee of a wife.

The blonde god that had teleported across the hall to take care of the nuisances, slowly made his way back to his seat as he brushed off his hands and said, "There's a pressure point that knocks people out for hours. Works like a charm." Sirius lightly smiled at his father as he also started to make his way back to his seat.

Just before sitting down Sirius turned back to Regulus. With eyes that he hoped expressed just how truthful and desperate he was being, he said, "Everything will be explained in time. I know it will eat at you because you aren't learning about it immediately, but you'll get the knowledge you crave. I promise you that, Reggie." Sirius had quickly sat down after openly speaking to his brother for an extended period of time.

Regulus didn't know what to think. As he slowly moved to sit back down, he couldn't help but take a quick glance at Sirius. He was being hugged by Percy who seemed to be whispering words of comfort in his ear. Sitting down on his beanbag, Regulus rubbed his hands together in apprehension. He hated how Sirius was right about him wanting to learn what everything meant right that moment. Another, much more hidden, part was secretly happy that he remembered such a specific detail about him.

Sensing that everyone needed a break from the drama the book opened itself back up.

Chapter 7: MY DINNER GOES UP IN SMOKE

Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth and Sirius, who were still pretty much dripping wet.

They showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together of you didn't get to the top fast enough.