The Tragic Trio

It started with Ethan screaming like a five year old girl, which was not the way Luke wanted to wake up.

He rolled over in his perfect bed, attempting to cover his head with his perfect pillow and fall back into that perfect dream he was having. It had been nice, calm, without any worry of anyone persuading his thoughts and turning him against his friends.

Of course who would bother now that he was dead.

"ETHAN SHUT THE HADES UP!" Luke roared down the hall.

Apparently Ethan did not get the message because he took that as a "go ahead and bring your dissonant screaming into my room," and the son of Nemesis burst into Luke's perfect bedroom. He was wearing a dark leather jacket-- big surprise he almost never took that jacket off-- and jeans with holes in the knees. His sneakers were roughed up, though he never actually went anywhere in them. All in all, if he didn't know that he was the one who'd killed the poor kid,  Luke wouldn't have guessed Ethan was dead at all.

"DUDE SHE'S GONE!" Ethan yelled. Obvious panic was taking over as he nearly crumpled in Luke's doorway. Luke squinted up at him confused.

"Who?"

"Bianca!" Ethan shouted.

That woke Luke up. He flung back the covers of his perfect bed and leapt to his feet,  "How long?!"

Ethan shrugged, "It couldn't have been that long she left breakfast on the table and a note saying she was sorry but she had to go!" He ran a hand through his black locks as Luke threw a shirt on and scrambled after him.

"What an idiot!" Luke muttered. He didn't bother grabbing shoes, it would only waste time.

They your past the prefect kitchen of the prefect house the three of them normally shared. On the table was the usual breakfast Bianca liked to make for them, scrambled eggs and pancakes with a side of bacon. Sometimes she made the pancakes blueberry or chocolate chip but today they looked like strawberry under the dosing of syrup. They were still steaming

On the ground was the letter she'd left for them.

She must have forgotten that Ethan was getting up earlier today to help the lady down the street run the prefect little dinner. Ethan hated just sitting around doing nothing all day. He declared that was the only thing he regretted about dying. And yet, he was totally against the idea of washing in the River Lethe and being Reborn.

Unlike Bianca, who'd been trying to do it every other day now, since her brother had announced he was trying to bring her back.

"Hey, Luke, what's happening?" On the prefect street a young man, slightly older than Luke. He had black hair and a mischievous smile that Luke liked about him. Plus he always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time (You know, besides that moment when he and his wife got killed).

"James!" Luke gasped, "Bianca? Did you see where she went?"

James looked confused and thumbed over his shoulder, "Towards the southeast side of the Lethe. She was running like she was bloody mad. Are you two sure-"

Luke didn't here the rest of it. Ethan and him took off as soon as they heard "southeast". It was the farthest away from their prefect house, but Bianca could run like a freaking Olympic medalist. More than once Ethan had wheezed out comparisons of her to gazelles, cheetahs, and silvery panthers.

They scrambled towards the edge of town, weaving in and out of the other citizens that enjoyed getting out in the early morning. Ethan nearby pushed over an old woman. It wasn't until he started cursing their backs that Luke realized that was not an old lady, it was a guy. 

"Sorry!" Luke called over their shoulders.

"There!" Ethan yelled and pointed, just in time for Luke to see the silver of her jacket disappear down another alley. Luke bounded after her with a renewed energy. 

"Bianca!" Luke yelled. He knew she heard him. His own voice echoed so loudly in the narrow alley that there was no way she couldn't have heard him. For once Luke was grateful for the perfect little streets of the Elysium. It might have been the only time he was ever grateful for this stupidly perfect world. At least here there were no trashcans or forgotten junk littering the space to trip them up. 

Luke chased after the flash of silver, Ethan right behind him. 

The alley twisted and turned sharply but he barely lost any momentum. Too many years of running from monsters were not that easily forgotten. The alley widened between two old apartment buildings and then hit a dead end. Luke knew, even without having been here before, that on the other side of the brick wall was a plain field that was the outskirts of perfect little Elysium and the River that bordered them.

By the time Luke turned the corner, Bianca was already over the wall, tugging her cap further down her head. 

"Freaking....Kangaroo..."Ethan panted.

Luke jumped up the wall, his fingers just barely grabbing the top. He pulled himself up wedging his feet into the cement that held the bricks together. Ethan jumped and missed and, not surprisingly, cursed. 

"Bianca!" Luke yelled over the wall, "Don't you dare!" 

He pulled himself to the top. For the first time that morning he saw Bianca. She was wearing the same outfit she'd worn the day Luke had shown up in the Elysium. Silver jacket, with black pants and combat boots. Her green cap sat fitfully on her head and her hair was braided skillfully over her shoulder. 

She was easily one of the most beautiful girls in the afterlife. But Luke could never see her as anything more than a sister to him. He happened to be rather protective of his sister.

Bianca turned back to look at him. The fading yellowed grass was up to her knees blowing in wind that Luke couldn't feel. Ethan jumped again, this time managing to grab the ledge. He made some noise that sounded like a dying whale as he dragged himself over the wall. 

"Come on, Bianca!" Ethan yelled, "You made a promise!"

Luke flinched without meaning to. 

Bianca also flinched but she took another step back. "Guys I have to do this!"

"No!" Luke said, "No you really don't!" 

"Nico won't move on!" Bianca argued, "I know I promised, but I can't risk-"

Luke dropped over the side, carefully watching her to make she she didn't bolt backwards. She was only a couple feet from the sharp cliff that gave into the roaring river. One swift motion and she could be gone before Luke and Ethan could blink.

"Bianca, come on back to the house." Luke suggested, "Let's talk this over again."

She shook her head, "Luke, I know you are trying to help but you don't understand. I'm his older sister. He won't stop unless I do this."

"What about us, Bianca?" Ethan shouted, "I thought we were friends! We made a promise not to do this no matter what. We're a team right? Don't break this up."

She smiled sadly, "You two still have each other." 

"I'm not gonna make breakfast for this idiot!" Ethan pointed at Luke, "Bianca, please, don't leave me."

"Sorry, Ethan." She stepped back.

Luke yelled at her, but it was too late. She slipped over the edge and fell straight down. Ethan burst towards the edge, yelling at the top of his lungs. Luke couldn't breathe. She....she just...

She was gone.

Then something slammed into Ethan and he crashed to the ground. The grass shuddered and Ethan let out a yelp, disappearing behind their cover. "Luke!" He yelled.

Luke raced towards him feeling his heartbeat in his throat. He couldn't believe his eyes. Bianca sat there obviously disoriented. Ethan looked so happy he could've exploded. 

"What the Hades-?" Bianca asked rubbing her head, "How-?"

"I'm afraid, I can't let you do that just yet." Another voice rang in the dead silence of the field. Luke tensed, reaching for a sword that wasn't there. 

Ethan stood up protectively. "Who's there?" He demanded. His one eyes scanned the terrain, scrutinizing every detail of the plain. 

All at once a woman appeared, just two feet from them. Ethan let out another girly shriek. Luke snickered at him but then stood straighter. The woman was beautiful, with pale skin almost like Luke's ghost form. Her face was defined like an ageless statue. Her golden hair was thrown up in a high pony tail that looked to be painful and her dress seemed to be as black as the pit to Tartarus. There was no doubt about her being a goddess. 

She radiated goddessness. The air seemed to buzz and crackle with power. Luke gagged on it desperately trying to keep in what he had for dinner last night. Bianca and Ethan didn't seem to be doing much better. 

The goddess waved a torch at them, "Stop that, will you! It's rather annoying that every deceased soul does that went I meet them!"

Luke didn't know what to say. It was obvious the woman didn't know she stank with magic. Or maybe she did and didn't care. 

"You three," She said pointing at each of them, "I'm told that you are the best solution for my predicament. Bianca Di Angelo, Ethan Nakamura, Luke Castellan, I have a quest for you." 

"Uhhhh," Ethan spoke up, "Lady, we're kinda dead." 

"Don't use that tone with me." She said, "I know you're dead! Do I look like I'm some fool like that Jackson boy? I going to bring you back to life!"

"You can do that?" Luke blurted.

She gave him a glare that made him want to take every word back, "Of course! I am the Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft!"

"Hecate!" Bianca said, seemingly proud of herself, "You're Hecate! You're one of my favorite goddesses! You're Myth-o-magic card is so powerful! +5000 if fighting against any Magic based opponent and three attack forms if I have no other gods in play!"

Luke grinned at how Bianca's eyes lit up. Hecate looked pleased again, a slim smile gracing her features. Maybe she won't do something completely horrible to them. 

"It would be an honor to help you, Lady Hecate!" Ethan added, "So, uh, what can we do for you?" 

Hecate waved one of her torches in a circle, "I need...help...with a problem that is happening in my...world."

"You have you're own planet?"

"No you stupid boy! This is why I prefer girls! Many decades ago I blessed a town with magical properties. Simple things, such as conjuring spells and magical knowledge of Greek monsters.They had been helpful to me when I was in need of it. I had assumed that when they died the blessing would simply die with them, but I miscalculated and the blessing was bequeath to their children and then their children's children. Then people moved away and some when off on adventures. My blessing has spread across Europe, and my people have forgotten about me entirely. They built schools and their own corrupt government. And now one has learn to avoid Thantos! Hades will have my head if I do not fix this!" Hecate raged, sending the agitated grass into another fit of wind. Sparks burst from her torches as she paced before them. 

"You mean there are real live witches and wizards out there?" Luke said, "And you want us to do what?"

Bianca elbowed him in the side as the Goddess turned her black eyes on him, "There is a boy, Harry Potter who is destined to defeat the dark wizard who dares defy death. But he is untrained and ignorant of the magnitude of his destiny. There are people who will do anything to see his soul travel to the Underworld. I want you three to protect him."

Luke could point out half a dozen things that were wrong with this question. First off, none of them were Wizards, unless Ethan had a wand he didn't bother to tell anyone about. They knew nothing about magic. And whats to say if they did some how know about magic and have wands and all that stuff, who was going to let them out of the underworld? That was a big no-no in the Greek world. Nothing good ever came from walking out of the underworld. Ethan new that especially, after the incident with the Sword of Hades and the Titan guy Iapetus. 

"I have talked to the Oracle of Delphi and it has become obvious that the demigods alive will have bigger things to worry about in the coming months with Hera's conceited plan. You are the only one's I can rely on to do this. Not even my own son, Alabaster, will be able to take on this mission." Hecate flicked her hand and flashes of purple and gold danced from her fingertips.

Luke watched them mesmerized.

"So we do this quest, and we make sure this Harry guy doesn't die. What then? Do we come back here?" Ethan asked. 

Hecate's face was blank. Neither a yes nor a no. For some reason that made Luke anxious. "That decision will come when it comes. In the meantime, Do you three accept or will you be the reason for the fall of the world?"

"Well when you put it like that..." Ethan grumbled. 

Bianca shoved him over, "We'd be delighted Lady Hecate!"

"Good," The Goddess started to glow and before Luke could even think about looking away everything flashed purple. 

The first thing Luke noticed was the noise. It was loud and chaotic with people all around them, running and shouting and pushing carts and shoving each other. It was more noise than Luke had heard in a very long time. 

Next to him Ethan and Bianca were staring around in wonder. The awestruck looks on their faces, were drawing attention from the other people. Though it could've also been Hecate who was standing behind them with three large carts and a sour expression that read: Yes, I've brought you back to life. Stop gaping at my awesomeness, it's annoying.

"Welcome to King's Cross Station," She said instead, "Come on, we have places to be." She waved to the carts. Luke grabbed the nearest one. It was his- he just knew. The same way he knew that he had a wand in his jacket pocket that was ten inches, Maple wood, and core of a dragon heartstring. He just knew. 

Hecate probably cast a spell on the three of them. It made the most sense. Instead of explaining things, let's just cast a spell and there they already know it, poof! That's such a goddess move.

"You all be sorted when you get to the castle," Hecate said, "I've talked to the Headmaster and he agreed to this plan of mine. You will be in fifth year with Harry Potter-"

"Wait, Wait!" Ethan stopped pushing his cart and grabbed his head, "You're telling me we're going to school?" 

"A magical one." Luke said. The information flowed into his head. Hogwarts was the name and Dumbledore was the Headmaster. There was a train called the Hogwarts express that would take them to the castle were they would be sorted into one of four houses at the school: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. Harry Potter was in Gryffindor. Also there were ghosts. 

Cool.

"If anyone asks, say you are from Hecate's Elysium of the Magically Gifted, which is a school in America." Hecate said, "It focuses on battle magic instead of regular magic, so I've put a lot of defensive spells in your heads. I've also acquired possession of your demigod weapons. Simply use the Accio spell to get them if your are in need, though I doubt that will ever come to occurrence. You three should not be attacked by Greek monsters and only Luke's blade should work on muggles."

Muggles = Mortals, Luke's brain supplied. 

"Oh and one more thing!" Hecate leaned over so she was at eye height with the three of them, "Whatever you do, do not touch any of the Ghosts. No matter what. My magic can do a lot, but it will unravel at a single ghostly touch."

"Right," Luke repeated, "go to the magic school, protect the kid, don't touch the ghosts. Got it."

"I would smite you, but there are too many witnesses about, Luke Castellan." She warned, "Do not tempt me." Then she pulled back, "I must go. I wish you luck, children. Don't fail."

Luke blinked and she was gone.

Bianca, Ethan, and him shared a look. An owl from Bianca's cart hooted as if to remind them they had a quest to fulfill, which was pretty hard to forget.

"So...." Ethan shrugged, "Anyone fancy running into a brick wall?"