"𝐒𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆," Raya sighed. "It's horrible to even think that I'm related to her. Half the times, it's me and Sirius who close the curtains and she'll be switching between insults for her son, and talking about how proud I better make the Black family. I wonder what she'll do once she actually realizes I'm never gonna be like her. She'll probably call me an abomination of her lineage, a shame to her favorite son, don't you think?" Raya laughed bitterly.
Cedric didn't respond.
His chest rose and fell steadily, but he was still a little pale and much too cold. Raya had a feeling that he had gained a little bit of color since the last time she visited him, but she couldn't be sure it wasn't just wishful thinking.
The staff at St. Mungo's didn't know what was wrong with him, just that he was unresponsive to practically every spell and potion. His internal organs were working at only five percent when he'd been brought it, but it went up to about fifteen percent over the multiple weeks he'd been here.
Whatever happened to him, he was healing very slowly.
"Kreacher doesn't seem to like all the people in the house," Raya continued. "You remember Kreacher, right? I told you about him last time. He's the Black family house elf, belongs to me now. He's nice when I ask him to do anything, but living for so many years in that house — taking orders from Sirius' mess of a mother's portrait. It'd drive anyone a little crazy."
Raya imagined Cedric would agree with her.
"It doesn't help that Sirius isn't very nice to him. I'm always breaking up fights between the two of them," she shook her head. "Kreacher occasionally listens to Sirius, since you know, he was on the family tapestry at one point. He listens to me more than the others. I feel bad for him, but Gods, he can be so annoying. Just yesterday, Sirius caught him sticking a ring in his loincloth and trying to sneak it out to his room. He started bawling when Sirius took it away. He's fine when it's just me, but he's getting quite annoying around everyone else."
Raya sighed, watching Cedric's heart monitor beep steadily.
She didn't realize how much time had passed until a nurse knocked on the door, "Visiting hours are over, dear."
"I miss you," she whispered to Cedric before getting up. "Come back quickly."
She returned to Grimmauld Place quickly, wanting to stick herself in her room and maybe cry for a little bit. Unfortunately, she heard some commotion upstairs, and with a resigned sigh, made her way towards the noise. She entered the drawing room, only to see Sirius carrying Kreacher by his loincloth, looking like he was about to kick him out the window.
"Sirius!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"
Sirius and Kreacher both froze, not expecting Raya to be back.
Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Kayse stared between Sirius and Kreacher, and Raya, waiting nervously to see what would happen.
"I'm showing Kreacher some fresh air," he tried, although it sounded more like a question.
Raya had a hard time believing this was the same guy who used to get away with loads of trouble back in Hogwarts.
"Put him down," she crossed her arms, leaving no room for argument.
Sirius dropped Kreacher, who began muttering under his breath.
"Master is not the real Master," he muttered. "Must listen to my Mistress. My dear Master Regulus, oh he would be proud of Mistress to standing up against Master Sirius. He did so much for Kreacher, he would not approve Master Sirius' ac—"
"Kreacher, stop," Raya told him.
"See! He's been doing that all day!" Sirius argued. "Muttering and cursing, and calling everyone trolls. He keeps trying to steal stuff from the rubbish bags I've set out. It's just junk!"
"Mistress Walburga would not be pleased at this," Kreacher shook his head. "Master broke my Mistress' heart when he ran away."
"My mother didn't have a heart," Sirius crossed his arms. "She stayed alive on pure spite."
"Oh how Master has fallen from her good graces," Kreacher muttered reproachfully. "Oh, she wished for a great son, but Master was never good for her."
"Kreacher," Raya warned. "Stop instigating fights between yourself and Sirius. When we're done cleaning out the whole house, I'll let you go through Sirius' rubbish bags and keep whatever you want — as long as I agree to it."
"Mistress is too kind," Kreacher bowed, his eyes watery. "Mistress is like her father, kind to Kreacher, cares for Kreacher. Not like her uncle, rude and disrespectful to the one who practically raised him."
Sirius balled his fists.
"What did I just tell you?" Raya sighed. "If you keep instigating fights, you won't be able to go through the rubbish bags. For now, you can go polish the dinnerware. And no more picking fights."
"Yes Mistress," Kreacher bowed. "Thank you Mistress."
"Don't — don't call me that," Raya shivered. She didn't like being called the same thing as Walburga. "I've told you a million times, Miss or even Raya is fine."
"Yes Miss," Kreacher bowed even deeper. "Kreacher is sorry for disregarding his Miss' instructions. Kreacher doesn't deserve the Miss' kindness. Kreacher needs to punish himself."
"Good idea," Sirius muttered.
Raya shot a glare at her uncle, grabbing Kreacher before he could bang his head through the desk.
"You don't need to punish yourself," she told him. "You haven't disappointed me either. Just stop muttering mean things to everyone, and go polish the dinnerware."
"Yes Miss," Kreacher nodded, apparating out of the room with a crack.
"We've finished cleaning out the room," Sirius told Raya once Kreacher had left. "We've just got the writing desk — we're gonna get Moody to come in and take a look at what's stuck inside there — and that Black family tapestry. I think there's a Permanent Sticking Charm on that, so we're done for now."
Raya refused to look at the Black family tapestry. Taking up an entire wall in the drawing room, it was covered with faces and names of everyone related to the Blacks, dating back to approximately the Middle Ages.
Under Regulus' face, Kreacher had stuck up a picture of Raya, along with her birth date. She wasn't overly happy about that, but apparently once you stick the face of a Black onto the tapestry, it doesn't come off.
"Alright," Raya muttered, noticing the curtains had stopped shaking. They must've gotten rid of all the doxies. "Where do you think we should clean next?"
Sirius looked a little surprised that she asked him, but shrugged to himself, "The dining room on the main floor, I suppose. It's gonna take a while getting through everything in there."
"I've got to head back to Camp in I think a week or so," she said, wincing. "It's the last day, and there's the bead ceremony and everything. We can get through the dining room before then, right?"
Sirius thought about it, but nodded, "Yeah, I suppose so. As long as we don't run into anything unexpected."
They began cleaning through the dining room the next day, where they found spiders as large as saucers crawling about. Sirius dusted the china — all bearing the Black family crest — and scowled at the sight of photos of those distantly related to him.
Kreacher kept appearing wherever they were congregated, his muttering becoming more and more offensive as he attempted to remove anything he could from Sirius' rubbish sacks. Sirius went as far as to threaten him with clothes, but Kreacher fixed him with a watery stare and said, "Master must do as Master wishes. But Miss is the only one who can give clothes," before turning away and muttering very loudly, "and Master will not turn Kreacher away, no, because Kreacher knows what they are up to, oh yes, he is plotting against the Dark Lord, yes, with these Mudbloods and traitors and scum, turning Master Regulus' own blood against what he believed in..."
At which Sirius seized Kreacher by the back of his loincloth and threw him bodily from the room.
The doorbell rang several times a day, which was the cue for Sirius's mother to start shrieking again, and for Raya and the others to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitor, though they gleaned very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation they were able to sneak before Mrs. Weasley recalled them to their tasks.
"It's my house, and I barely know what's going on inside," she muttered.
Snape flitted in and out of the house several times more, though to Raya's relief they never came face-to-face; she also caught sight of the Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall, looking very odd in a Muggle dress and coat, though she also seemed too busy to linger.
Sometimes, however, the visitors stayed to help; Tonks joined them for a memorable afternoon in which they found a murderous old ghoul lurking in an upstairs toilet, and Remus, who was staying in the house with Sirius but who left it for long periods to do mysterious work for the Order, helped them repair a grandfather clock that had developed the unpleasant habit of shooting heavy bolts at passersby.
Mundungus redeemed himself slightly in Mrs. Weasley's eyes by rescuing Ron from an ancient set of purple robes that had tried to strangle him when he removed them from their wardrobe.
A week had passed by so quickly, and it was already time for Raya to return to Camp Half-Blood. She was beyond excited to go back. She'd missed it so much, but she had no choice except to stay behind for most of the summer and help the Order.
Raya arrived at the Apollo Cabin using her portkey, once again scaring the shit out of Elisha.
"Why are you always in the Cabin?" she groaned, getting up.
"Why are you always falling from the ceiling?" Elisha shot back.
"Shut up," Raya muttered, pushing herself up. "Did I miss anything?"
"Um, not really," she shrugged, leading Raya out of the Cabin. "We played Capture-the-Flag a couple of times, had some rock-climbing competitions, Ares Cabin won the volleyball competition—"
"—Without Devon?" Raya asked in shock. He had been their best player.
"Without Devon," Elisha agreed. "It was a shock to everyone, but it was surprisingly fun. We lost because you weren't there."
"Leila's better than me," Raya laughed lightly. "You guys didn't need me on the team."
"No, we did," Elisha told her. "Leila's amazing, but no one can beat your float serves. She was very annoyed that you didn't even come visit."
"I would've, but I was—"
"—Busy with the war," she interrupted. "We know. Anyways, I've got to meet Will and get ready for Arts and Crafts. You coming?"
Raya shook her head, "Nah. I think I'll check out the rock-climbing wall. See if I've still got enough practice to make it to the top without dying."
Elisha laughed, "Alright, have fun!"
"Bye!"
Raya took her time, going up and down the rock wall multiple times without getting scorched. She sparred with other Campers, and even managed to play a quick game of volleyball.
She shared in the Campers' last meal that night, before leading her cabin to the bonfire and helping Noor and Leila pass out the bead for the summer. She slipped it onto her necklace, sending Percy a smile.
The design was pitch black, with a sea green trident in the center.
"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"
The entire Camp got to their feet and cheered. Raya threw in a few whistles, immensely proud of Percy for what he'd accomplished.
Apollo was right about one thing: Percy was going to be the key to it all.
Raya was dreaming.
Not of the voice that had haunted her for many years, but another one. One that was so familiar to her it ached. The pain, the bitterness, the anger in the voice was so overwhelming it made her want to throw up.
"Why should I care about the Gods?" it asked. "I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy. Didn't you feel it — the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics — being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."
Raya recognized that voice, but she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it.
"Luke... you're talking about our parents," another voice said. It must've been Percy.
If Raya was awake, she would've stumbled at the shock. Luke... he wouldn't say things like that. He was distant with the Gods, but he... he wouldn't.
Luke laughed. It wasn't the cheery little laugh that Raya had fallen in love with once upon a time. It was dark, hiding something malicious.
"That's supposed to make me love them? Their precious 'Western civilization' is a disease, Percy," Luke said to him. "It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."
"You're as crazy as Ares."
"Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."
Raya tried to wake up at that statement. She had no idea when this was happening, but she needed to wake up, and she needed to help Percy.
"Kronos," Percy said slowly. "That's who you serve."
That was the last thing Raya heard before she jolted awake in her bed. It was early morning, and most of the Campers were packing. Raya was supposed to head back to Grimmauld Place today or tomorrow, just in time for Harry's hearing.
"Shit," she muttered, untangling herself from her bedsheets.
Most of her siblings were staying at Camp, either asleep in their beds or hanging around outside. She stuck her feet in someone's slides, running across the green in her pajamas. The problem was, Camp was huge. Percy and Luke could be anywhere.
She was saved from figuring out where they were by two dryads carrying a half-conscious Percy out of the forest and near the clearing.
"Percy!" she yelled, rushing forward. She took him from the dryads who were frantically saying something about a scorpion, "I got him. I'll take him the rest of the way."
Carrying him to the infirmary, Raya didn't even pass anyone who could help her. She dropped him on one of the beds, grabbing the supplies and calling for Chiron.
Percy's skin was turning gray.
"Chiron!" Raya yelled again, trying her best to feed him some nectar.
The sound of hooves came from somewhere, followed by Chiron. He did a double-take at the sight of Percy.
"What happened?" he asked, taking Raya's place next to his bedside.
"It was Luke," she muttered. "He's — he's working for Kronos, and he — he hurt Percy. I don't know what it was, the dryads said some kind of scorpion or something. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying enough attention."
"It's alright dear," Chiron assured. "Get Annabeth and my first-aid kit. Hurry."
Raya wasn't sure why Annabeth was needed, but she set off to find the girl anyways.
"Infirmary, now," Raya said when she spotted her packing up in the Athena.
The two never had a great relationship. Before when Raya and Luke were best friends, Annabeth hated that. When they began to date, Annabeth seemed to hate her even more. Raya thought they'd be alright once her and Luke broke up, but once again, Annabeth still seemed to hate her.
"Why?" she made a face. "I still need to pack."
"It's Percy," Raya said. "He's hurt, and Chiron asked for you. You can go head to the Infirmary, or I can tell Chiron you don't want to come."
Annabeth's eyes widened, and she rushed past Raya to the Infirmary. Too frantic to give a proper reaction, Raya went ahead to grab Chiron's first-aid kit. Once she returned to the Infirmary, he was looking a little less gray.
Chiron took the first-aid kit from Raya, beginning to work. Raya aided, sealing his wound with a hymn to Apollo. Once he was back to his normal skin color, Raya took out a glass of nectar, handing it to Annabeth.
She began feeding it to Percy.
It seemed like years passed before Percy's weak voice echoed through the Infirmary.
"Here we are again," he said, looking up at Annabeth feeding him nectar.
"You idiot," Annabeth said. "You were green and turning gray when Raya found you. If it weren't for Chiron and her healing..."
"Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."
He was sitting near the foot of Percy's bed in human form. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He'd gone to change after fixing Percy up. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."
"Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."
Between sips of nectar, Percy told them the story. Of Luke and his new sword, and exactly how he went over to work for Kronos.
The room was quiet for a long time.
"I can't believe that Luke..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him... He was never the same after his quest." She gave Raya a dirty expression, "If only you didn't—"
"If only I didn't what, Annabeth?" Raya asked. "Look, I don't know what the Hades your problem is, but stop blaming it all on me."
"You should've known!" she scowled.
"How?" Raya asked, trying to remain calm. "How the hell would I know? I was at Hogwarts during the year, I never even saw him!"
"You should've tried!"
"Did he?!" Raya got up. "Did he try to make contact with me at any point? Even while we were together, he didn't care enough to try. Why am I expected to know everything that was going on with him? I wasn't going to commit to a relationship where the other person wouldn't even try. So instead of blaming this on me, maybe accept the fact that this is on him."
Annabeth huffed, turning away.
Raya didn't mind. She was not in the mood to go around explaining herself to everyone. Kayse was right. She had the choice to say yes or no without giving an explanation. Her personal life was no one's business but her own.
"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured, looking warily between the two girls. "I will go at once. Raya, you should probably return to Grimmauld Place."
"Luke is out there right now," Percy said. "I have to go after him."
Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods—"
"Won't even talk about Kronos," he snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"
"Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."
Percy looked like he wanted to argue, but suspected Chiron was right. "Chiron... your prophecy from the Oracle... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Annabeth?"
Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place—"
"You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"
His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you..."
Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.
"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!" He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."
"We can't just sit back and do nothing," he said.
"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."
"Assuming I live that long."
Chiron put his hand on Percy's ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice... but you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision."
Percy looked like he wanted to protest, but Raya sent him a warning look. He wisely remained silent.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."
He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear... whenever you're ready, they're here."
"Who's here?" Percy asked.
Nobody answered. Raya didn't know for sure, but she had an idea.
Chiron rolled himself out of the room. She heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.
It took a moment for Raya to realize something. She hadn't told Chiron she was staying in Grimmauld Place, but he knew. Which means, he might've known something about her heritage.
Dumbledore hiding the truth from her, Raya could handle. But Chiron hiding it...
"I gotta go," she muttered distractedly, patting Percy's leg and following Chiron out.
She raced past the Infirmary and made it all the way to the Big House, where she caught him packing up. He looked up, a little surprised at seeing Raya so suddenly.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Has Percy done something?"
"How did you know I was at Grimmauld Place?" her voice shook with nerves. "You — you told me I should probably return to Grimmauld Place, but I never told you that was where I was going. I only — I only told you I was heading back because Dumbledore needed me."
Chiron looked stunned, as if he was expecting anything but that, "I — my dear, I was told by your Headmaster. He invited me to join the Order, but I had to decline the offer. It's best not to mix up the Greek and Wizarding worlds anymore than one needs to."
An angry buzzing took over Raya's senses... and yet, she managed to speak in a steely calm tone, "Dumbledore told you? You two are in contact?"
"It's necessary for certain leaders to be in contact," Chiron told her. "Even if we do not mix more than needed, it's important to have backup — just in case."
"Did he — did he tell you who my father is?" Raya asked.
Chiron tilted his head, "I assume you mean your mortal father? No, he didn't tell me. Did you find out who it is? Up until now, I didn't even know your mortal parent was also your father."
The angry buzz died away as quickly as it came, "You — you didn't know?"
Chiron shook his head, "I assure you child, I have no clue who it is. If you wish to share, you may. But you're entitled to keep that information to yourself."
Deep down, Raya knew she wanted to tell him. Maybe she shouldn't, maybe it'd all have turned out differently if she kept her mouth shut, but she wanted to tell him.
In no more than a whisper, she spoke, "Regulus Black. That's my father."
Chiron seemed to go through a multitude of emotions in just a matter of seconds — confusion, recognition, realization, perhaps a bit of fear too — before settling on a forced calm expression.
"My dear, if I had any idea—"
"—You know him," Raya muttered. "You know Regulus Black. Was he a demigod? Did he come to Camp as well?"
"No, no, I don't... I don't know him," Chiron shook his head. "I know of the Black family, and... well... I hoped this day would never come."
Raya gulped, "Chiron. What — what are you talking about? I need to know. I'm tired — I'm so tired of everyone hiding everything from me, when it's about my life. I can't — Chiron, I can't handle this anymore."
He sighed, almost as if he hated to do this, "Very well. But be warned, that what I show you is not something we've ever imagined."
Raya nodded, following him down the hall and into the basement of the Big House. She'd only been here twice before, to grab some supplies for the Infirmary when they were critically low. She didn't like it very much.
There were a few lightbulbs hanging here and there, the dusty shelves took over every wall. They were stocked with the most bizarre things you could think of. Cobwebs covered the shelves that hadn't been touched in a long time.
Chiron led Raya to the back, where a particularly dusty shelf held a number of scrolls.
"Where is it?" Chiron muttered, leafing through them.
He pulled out an ancient looking scroll, merely the size of Raya's palm. With a resigned sigh, he held it out to her.
Raya began to unfold it, stopping at Chiron's voice.
"My child, before — before you read that, there is something you must know," his voice sounded cautious. At Raya's nod, he continued, "This is an old prophecy, the oldest we have at this Camp. It is not one of the Great Prophecies, rather it is one so old it's been forgotten by many. I don't think your father would've done this on purpose."
"Which one?" Raya asked drily.
"Either of them," Chiron answered, missing the sarcasm in her tone. "Read it out, please."
Raya unraveled the scroll, staring at the words. This was a prophecy, about her. In a thick voice, she read:
"Oh poisoned daughter beware
of the burden and tragedies you must bear.
Learn the truth of your family's past,
you must give him the peace he deserves at last.
Like the sun of your father, you'll blaze,
like the star of your father, you'll shine for your days.
Fly high, fly low, fly far,
and take your place in the family of star."
Raya finished reading. She fought down a wave of panic. The only thing she ever asked for was to not be the hero. And here she was, her mere existence the result of a prophecy.
"Do not fret, child," Chiron told her. "Prophecies often have double meanings. All you can do is continue with your life as you have. They'll always come true."
Raya nodded, even though she had no idea how she was supposed to continue like normal. This prophecy marked tragedy for her life. She was born to the sun — Apollo — and to the star — Regulus. She didn't even choose this.
But there was no way out.
REY WRITES!
thanks for reading!!
don't forget to vote, comment, yadda yadda <3
idk if you guys remember, but in book one with
the prom dress dress centaur he giggles something
about 'the poisoned daughter' (just an easter egg
i wanted to point out)
also i have an exam worth 40% of my final
in like 3 hours and i didn't study for it bcz i had
another exam yesterday and i didn't realize
this one was worth so much.... anyways, wish me luck!!
also i know most of you guys don't care about hockey
but my favourite goalie is back and i need everyone to
know!
thoughts?
comments?
headcanons?
theories?
questions?