Piper McLean

"Dad, just listen for once. Don't make me wait for you to ask your stupid three questions. I want to go to regular school. I want you to take me to parents' night, not Jane. Or homeschool me! I learned so much when we read about Greece together. We could do that all the time! We could-"

- Piper talking to her dad

Piper McLean (αυλητής in Ancient Greek) is one of the main characters in The Heroes of Olympus. Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, and Tristan McLean. She is currently the counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin.

History
Piper has always had the ability to charmspeak and used it (without knowing) to borrow things from salesmen like a lawnmower or a car, causing her to get into trouble with the law when the people reported her for stealing. At one point, she talked a car dealer into giving her a BMW and drove it away from the lot. She only stole items because she wanted attention from her father. She and her father play "Any Three Questions" so they can grow closer. In this game, Piper always asked about her mother before she knew she was a demigod. The dealer pressed charges for theft, but Jane (her father's assistant) made a deal for her to be sent to Wilderness School instead of going to jail. The school is a place for delinquent kids, but it is here that she meets Leo and the two form a friendship, she even trusts him with the truth that her father is a movie star Tristan McLean. When Jason appears at the start of The Lost Hero, the Mist gives her a fake past where she and Jason had been dating for a few weeks, but they had been friends for at least three months, which she makes references to in the book, even if the events themselves were fake.

Piper and Leo's back-story is a rare one, since they are the only two known demigods who met and befriended each other before they even knew they were demigods.

Mist History
Leo and Piper were both given memories of Jason before he arrived at the Wilderness School. In these memories, Jason, Leo, and Piper had been friends for about three months when Jason first arrived. Piper tried to get closer to him and the two eventually shared a kiss and began dating a few weeks before the events of The Lost Hero. This reality turned out to be fake when Annabeth asked Piper some things about Jason she doesn't know, including his last name.

The Lost Hero
Piper appears the first time in the bus driving towards the Grand Canyon, holding hands with Jason. She's the first to realize something is wrong with him, and is devastated when she finds Jason doesn't remember her. This is because Hera erased his memory, as well as Percy Jackson's. Shortly afterward she is torn away by Dylan, who declares her his partner for the school work.

As a strong storm starts, Piper and Dylan help the others to leave the sky-walk, until only she, Dylan, Leo, Jason and Coach Hedge are left. As Piper loses control of the door, which suddenly seems to be magically locked, Dylan reveals to be a anemoi thuellai (Roman form ventus), a storm son of Typhon, and battles the four of them along with his fellow venti (plural form of ventus). Piper tries to fight the Venti with Jason using Hedge's baseball bat as a weapon, but when she hits Dylan to prevent him from taking Jason, she is thrown off the sky-walk. Jason jumps after her and saves her, stopping in midair before flying back up safely to the sky walk.

Dylan takes Hedge away after Hedge saved Leo. The three are picked up by a chariot, driven by Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, and Butch, Son of Iris. Soon after, they crash land in a lake at Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth gives Piper a tour of the camp and helps her pick out her weapon (a dagger previously owned by Helen of Troy) called Katoptris (Ancient Greek for looking glass) that has the ability to show much more than the users' reflection when looked at. Later that night when Jason is picking two others to come on his quest, after he picks Leo, Piper says she has to go too while trying to compete with Drew to be on the quest. She was then claimed by Aphrodite. Later she becomes friends with two of her half-siblings, Lacy and Mitchell, and learns how to use her ability to charmspeak. However Drew, the head of the cabin, keeps everyone under her thumb with her own ability to charmspeak and makes Piper so mad that when asked who her father was, Piper admits it is Tristan McLean. When the other members ask if it is true, Drew tells everyone that it is a lie, but rips his poster off the wall a short time later. Piper claimed she did not like to play the "famous dad card," and felt bad and regretted what she did after using it against Drew.

The next day, Piper, Jason, and Leo take Leo's new "pet dragon", Festus, and begin their quest. They arrive in Quebec and they Boreas and his children, including Khione (goddess of snow) and the Boreads. (Immortal children of Boreas. They look like gargoyles.) While she is sleeping, they fall off the dragon and they crash land into a supposedly abandoned car factory in Detroit. But they don't know that Cyclopes live there. Jason and Piper are held captive, but Leo rescues them and they find out he has fire abilities. After they escape, they stop to rest, but then they meet Medea, a sorceress and charmspeaker, who nearly causes Jason and Leo to turn against each other, however Piper gets them out of the trance and they fight Medea. They also find Coach Hedge and the storm spirits to trade with Aeolus. As they escape, the building explodes.

Soon, Festus crash lands again and they fall in front of a mansion. Inside they meet king Midas and his son Lit. Jason helps himself and his two friends escape after Leo and Piper get turned to gold, by calling down lightning. After they get turn back to normal they run into Lycaon (the first werewolf) and the rest of his pack, but the Hunters save them. Thalia Grace, Artemis' lieutenant and Jason's sister leads them to Aeolus' palace before getting separated when the ice vapor bridge melts. They meet Mellie the aura (Mellie has a huge crush on Coach Hedge) and they meet Aeolus who, in the end, tries to kill them on the order of Gaea. When they escaped, winds shot them to California. They confront the giant Enceladus to rescue Piper's dad, Tristan McLean. They manage to defeat the giant, but her father is mentally broken and Piper is forced to give him a potion that Aphrodite had given her, one that will erase all his short term memories. Piper then allows the medical team to take her father away while she charmspeaks a pilot into letting them borrow their helicopter to travel the wolf house to rescue Hera. They find out that Khione has been spying on them and they plan to help the rise of Porphyrion, the giant king. Leo battles against Khione and he turns out to until Porphyrion rises and Jason keeps him occupied while Leo tries to cut Hera free. Piper lulls Gaea to sleep; showing her amazing skills in charmspeaking.

After their quest is completed, Piper, Jason, and Leo return home to Camp Half-Blood. The next morning, Piper challenges Drew to a duel to be head councilor, but Drew grudgingly backs down for she does not wish to fight Piper. Later Piper video chats with Coach Hedge, Mellie and her dad who remembers nothing of his ordeal and thinks Piper is in a special school. Then Piper shares a moment with Jason, in which she accepts that she loves Jason, but she doesn't know if he feels the same way. Later, she heads into the woods with Jason, Leo, Chiron and the Hephaestus cabin, as Leo shows them Bunker 9. As the book draws to an end Piper hears Jason say that it is most likely that Percy Jackson is at the Roman camp, called Camp Jupiter.

The Son of Neptune
Piper makes a brief appearance in a dream of Percy Jackson along with Jason Grace and Leo Valdez as they construct the Argo II. Later, her voice is heard calling Leo "Repair boy!" when he asks her what his title is during a video message to Camp Jupiter asking them not to blast them out of the sky. By the end of the book, she sets out to meet Percy at Camp Jupiter.

Earlier in the book when Polybotes and the Giant Army are marching toward Camp Jupiter, Ma Gasket is shown to have reformed and joined the army. She complains that the purple and orange ones destroyed her home and she wants revenge against Piper, Leo, and Jason. While the name Jason sounds familiar to Percy, Hazel, and Frank, they don't know who Leo or Piper are.

Personality
Piper is kind, smart, and brave, but also dangerous. She is very caring and loving towards Jason and is frightened, sad and angry at anything that may pose a threat to her bond with him, such as when Drew claims that Piper needs to break his heart as an initiation into the cabin. She is greatly saddened by the possibility that her first relationship with Jason was a Mist-induced illusion and breaks down in tears when Annabeth asks her what Jason's last name is (which she doesn't know). She also likes to touch Jason in very kind and loving ways such as holding his hand, leaning against his chest, resting her head on his leg, wrapping her arms around him and having his arms around her, probably since they were together in her Mist-manipulated memories. These memories are much sharper to Piper because she is a daughter of Aphrodite, so she can sense possibilities.

Compared to the other children of Aphrodite, Piper is much more aggressive and down to earth, not constantly focused on herself or her looks. When claimed by Aphrodite, she complains that she can't get rid of her makeup or her new hairstyle and finds it to be annoying to say the least. Before she was claimed by Aphrodite, Piper expressed that she wanted to be the daughter of Athena, Artemis or any goddess that wasn't Aphrodite, and she also thought Aphrodite cabin had been a "life-sized dollhouse" where supermodels went to die, and when she was claimed, she didn't fit in at all, and still doesn't. Rachel, the Oracle of Delphi, thinks even Annabeth wants Piper to be a child of Athena. Aphrodite herself also said that she was much smarter than most of her other children. Piper hates make-up, skirts, magazines, dresses and popular girls. She said that if she started a craving for fashion magazines, she would complain to her mother.

Piper also does not like it when Drew bullies the other Aphrodite children. She feels that Drew is running her cabin like a dictatorship and she doesn't truly understand what love is. Piper is not afraid to stand up to Drew, and because they can both use the charmspeak ability, Drew cannot control her like she does with the other campers. After Piper returns from her quest, she challenges Drew for her position as cabin leader because Drew has never been on a quest and thus, Piper is able to take the leadership role.

Appearance
"Beautiful. Piper, you ... you're a knockout."

- Jason's reaction when Aphrodite claims Piper.

Piper is a gorgeous girl of Cherokee decent. At first, she has chocolate brown hair that is cut choppy and uneven with thin strands braided on either side of her hair, and got teased because of this by Drew. Piper actually cut her hair on her own with a pair of plastic Garfield safety scissors, so that she would not draw much attention. Needless to say, this 'idea' of hers was completely unsuccessful, as she was naturally extremely beautiful. Her eyes change color like a kaleidoscope going from brown, to blue and green. She wears faded jeans, a snowboarding jacket and hiking boots. Her skin color is mixed with Native American and white. She often uses her beauty and charismatic voice to distract enemies, like Midas' son Lit and Boreas' son Zethes (who both tried to impress her). After being claimed by Aphrodite, Piper appeared even more beautiful, due to Aphrodite's blessing. Piper's hair had turned thick, long, and lush, braided with gold ribbons so it fell across one shoulder. She wore a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles and a low V-neck, perfect makeup, delicate gold armbands on her biceps, a necklace of amber, coral and gold flowers on her chest. Piper said "the V neck was so low it was embarrassing." Unfortunately, when Aphrodite claimed her, this meant she had to lose her snowboarding jacket, and obtain magical makeup and hairdo, which Piper was not pleased about. Later during her quest, after her mother "fixed" her up again, she was dressed in a turquoise dress with black leggings and black leather boots, as well as her snowboarding jacket, which she said "went surprisingly well with the outfit."

Abilities

 * ADHD: Like most demigods, Piper has senses designed for battle and supernatural reflexes.
 * Dyslexia: Piper's brain is hardwired for Ancient Greek
 * Katoptris: Originally a ceremonial blade that was never meant for use in combat, Piper holds great skill with the dagger, using it to cut down several Earthborn and other monsters.

Demigod Powers

 * Charmspeak: Has the power of charmspeaking, allowing her to influence others with her opinion.
 * French Fluency: As a child of Aphrodite, Piper is fluent in French due to it being the "language of love."
 * Love: like her mother Piper is capable of varying degrees of control over love, lust, beauty, etc. though on a smaller scale.
 * She can attract the opposite gender when they walk by.
 * She may also have magical control over clothes, makeup, and jewelry like the other Aphrodite kids.
 * Minor degree of love magic.
 * May have the ability to change her physical features because Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.

Weapons/Items
Piper is the wielder of an Ancient Greek ceremonial dagger called Katoptris. Given to Helen of Troy as a wedding gift from Menelaus, Helen of Troy's first husband. The dagger seems to show a scene of something that has importance to whoever looks at their reflection in the blade. Katoptris is a Greek word meaning "Looking Glass."

Family
"...if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd all be bowing down to her screaming, 'We're not worthy!'."

- Leo

Tristan McLean
Piper's father is Tristan McLean, a well known actor with a powerful position and is of Cherokee descent. Her father is always at work and busy. Piper wants to feel recognized by him which is why she gets in trouble and "steals" things with her charmspeaking.

Aphrodite
Her mother is Aphrodite, who is as known as the goddess of love and beauty. When Piper met her mom in her dream, the two seemed to act on good terms with each other and she thinks her mother is beautiful.

Grandpa Tom
Piper also had a grandfather called Grandpa Tom. He was the one who named Piper. He named her that because she had a beautiful voice even when she cried as a baby.

Jason Grace
Piper's love interest is Jason Grace. This first happened under the influence of the Mist (Hera/Juno placed false memories) but soon blossomed into more pronounced feelings from both of them over the course of Jason's quest. She announces to the Aphrodite cabin that Jason is hers alone and that no one else should dare pursue his affections. Piper said she would catapult Drew over the Long Island Sound if she touched Jason. Piper deeply cares for Jason, so much that she stated (to herself) that she'd be willing to let go of him if he really does have a girlfriend at Camp Jupiter if it means Jason being happy. She stated that for now, she was content in simply being at his side. She could see possibilities with her having a true relationship with Jason. However, she is unaware that Jason is starting to remember a girl named Reyna, someone that Jason feels is very important but can't remember why.

Leo
Leo has been her friend long enough for her to trust him with the truth that her dad is a movie star. Piper also seems to care a lot about Leo. They seem like very close friends, not having any kind of romantic relationship.

In the Son of Neptune, they are still strong companions and still tease each other.

Lacy
Lacy is a young girl in the Aphrodite cabin. She helps Piper by building up a collection of clothes for Piper before she leaves on her quest.

Mitchell
Another cabin-mate of Piper. He also helped Piper when she first arrived and was happy when Piper took over the cabin from Drew.

Annabeth
Piper and Annabeth get along well. Piper also mentioned that Annabeth would make a cool friend in better times.

Etymology
Piper is an Old English name meaning "pipe player," a possible reference to her ability to charmspeak and the story of the pied piper. According to her Grandpa Tom, he named as had high vocal voice when she was baby, also saying that one day she as going to play the biggest tune of them all. Piper is also a synonym for a squab, particularly that of a dove or pigeon. Interestingly Piper's mother is called "Lady of Doves."

Trivia

 * Leo also once referred to her as "Pipes," which she also did not like, but apparently prefers it when her dad calls her so. Leo notices that Piper does not like any of the names he makes up for her.
 * She got her name because her grandfather thought she had a beautiful voice and would one day master all the Cherokee songs, including the snake song. Her father liked the idea and named her Piper because she had a great set of pipes.
 * She calls Jason "Sparky" in the same way that Annabeth calls Percy "Seaweed Brain."
 * Piper was the first Head Counselor to be promoted, who had other siblings, in less than 5 days. She is also the first half-blood in both series to challenge another for the right to become Head Counselor.
 * Piper is a vegetarian after passing a meat house.
 * Piper dislikes the term Half-Blood due to her being called one for years, as other kids made fun of her for being half-Native American and half-white.
 * There is somewhat an inconsistency in Piper's clothing in the American cover of The Lost Hero. She appears to still be wearing the dress Aphrodite gave her when she was claimed while she already changed it prior to riding Festus and going to Boreas castle in Quebec.
 * When she speaks French to Boreas, she doesn't realize until Jason tells her, and Boreas explains why.
 * Unlike the rest of Aphrodite's daughters, Piper is a tomboy.
 * It is thought that her charmspeak saved Jason's life when he saw Hera's divine form.
 * She is called the "mediator" when the two sides of demigods: Greek and Roman will meet, by her mother Aphrodite.
 * She is the only one in the new main characters to have her mortal parent still alive.
 * Drew calls her the Dumpster Queen (for her lack of form and her simple clothes, the very things Jason likes about her) and Miss Movie Star (for when she says her father is Tristan McLean).
 * At one point, she was interested in being a Hunter of Artemis, but she lost all interest after learning she'd have to swear off boys.
 * Like Percy, Piper often asked her mortal dad about her mom (although for Percy it is the other way around).
 * Before receiving the blessing of Aphrodite, Piper had a pimple on the base of her nose which she began to call Bob. However, Bob disappears after her claiming.
 * In her official portrait, an image of Enceladus is reflected in her dagger.