Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and the Olympians are the property of their respective owners.
Warnings: Same as the original story. Except one more. Contains 90 - 100% more Salazar. I think. That is an estimate. Feel free to calculate actual amount once both stories are finished.
And I know that this might come off as advertisement for my original fic. But I wanted to make a reading. I have seen and read other authors' works which have done the same. So, with the communication with the interested authors who wanted to post this had (still is) stopped (on both sides), I thought why not do it myself.
Reading of: Chapter One
It was a regular early morning in Olympus.
Zeus was alone in the Throne Room. He was not surprised when he had entered. Hera was mad at him for some reason (he didn't know for real this time) so she had slept in her own temple. She had not woken up yet. As for the remaining Olympians, he could only guess.
The red light told him that Apollo was bringing up his Chariot, as Artemis's was going into the garage. Or somewhere else. He had forgotten where she kept it during the day. Besides, Olympus did have multiple garages, right? If not, Hermes had a lot of explaining to do. Zeus had bought ten luxury curs through—
Zeus's eyes widened. "HERMES! GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!"
Hearing his name, said messenger god popped in. "Hey pops! Morning!"
"I need my money back, Hermes. For the ten cars." Zeus said angrily.
"Who's buying cars?" Hephaestus strolled in. "I need multiple carburetors for this next project and—"
"Why not materialise them?" Athena walked in. She took her seat at her throne and immediately took out a book.
Zeus glared at his grinning son as more and more of the Olympians popped in.
The bickering reached a new high as Hestia stepped in.
She blinked at the noise.
Then she walked out. It was more peaceful at the Camp's fire place.
"And that is why, Aphrodite, you should not use make-up while—"
Whatever Hera wanted to say was interrupted as multiple flashes erupted in the center of the room.
"Apollo!"
"Wasn't me! This time at least!" Apollo defended himself from his father.
As the light died down, the gods heard soft grunts of discomfort.
They recognised all of them.
Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Actually, all of the Athena cabin was here. Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of Artemis. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares.
And Hades himself. Much to his confusion. He was not supposed to be here. The gods were confused as to why Hades was brought in with the demigods. He wondered the same.
Before anyone could say a thing, the Fates appeared in the Throne Room.
"You may be wondering why we have gathered you all here today." said Lakhesis.
"Not really, no," Apollo replied, which went ignored.
"We have done so to make you all read a story." Atropos continued.
Athena and her children looked interested. Ares began, "We have better things to—"
"Why?" Zeus spoke. He knew better than to speak against the Fates.
"Who knows? Maybe it's an alternate reality. Maybe its just a silly little fanfiction written by a twenty-something dork to compensate for his lack of an active social life. The point is to take a break," Clotho said.
"Yes. You all work too much. Not as much as us, and Dionysus doesn't do shit, but still." Lakhesis commented.
"But first, we are bringing in some chara– I mean people from another reality, the one in which the story takes place." Atropos said. And on cue, came in more people.
Some they recognised, and some they did not.
Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus. Luke Castellan, Travis and Connor Stoll, sons of Hermes.
A tall, very beautiful black haired woman with stormy gray eyes. Most of the previously summoned demigods thought that this was another Athena, but the gods knew otherwise. A regal looking man with short, but messy black hair and sky-blue eyes. A pale skin man with straight, shoulder-length jet black hair, and green eyes. Another woman with long, blonde hair and warm, brown eyes held on a beautiful face.
"Luke?!" Percy yelled, readying his sword.
Luke was confused. He was sure that he did not play any prank on Percy. Oh right, he stole Percy's gameboy, re-painted it and sold it back to him... Maybe he found out. But that didn't explain why the others were glaring at him. Wait, was that Thalia?! Holy shit, that was Thalia. Before he could do something, the Fates spoke up.
"These people are not from your dimension. They may not be the same people you know. So, play nice," Clotho said.
"Indeed. We have frozen time outside. Because we can." Lahkesis said.
"You have no control over time," Apollo commented, only to be ignored.
"Enjoy the story. If you don't, we will make you. We have that power." Atropos said.
"No you don't," Apollo said which went ignored again.
The Fates disappeared. Zeus looked at the four men and women who were not from this dimension. "Who are you?"
"Before we answer, did you take some oath about not having demigods?" said the black haired woman.
"Yes they did," Annabeth replied.
"I guess I should state my birth year then. Godric Gryffindor, son of Zeus. Born in 867 A.D." Godric said. Hera glared at him. He was born before the oath, so she could not accuse her husband beyond adultery.
"Rowena Ravenclaw, daughter of Athena and champion of Hecate." Rowena said.
"Helga Hufflepuff, daughter of Apollo," Helga introduced herself.
"I am Salazar Slytherin, slayer of all pus—" Rowena elbowed him "—I mean son of Hermes." He then looked at Zeus. "Holy shit! Sean Bean?!"
"Now that is out of the way, lets begin. Because I am quite sure that the Fates have locked us in." Zeus commanded, ignoring Salazar. He just wanted to get this done with, even though Hermes and Apollo were stiffling laughs.
"Are you sure they did?" Athena asked.
"Yes." Zeus said.
"And my second question. What are we reading?"
A book fell from the ceiling.
"Son of Athena," read the goddess in question.
"I get a brother?" Annabeth questioned.
"Oh right, he probably doesn't exist in this dimension," Beckendorf whispered to Silena.
Which was a bad idea given that she almost chocked a sob. She wanted her boyfriend. She was also confused why Clarisse of this dimension was unresponsive to her.
"That sounds like a stupid title," Ares said. He went ignored.
Athena opened up the first page.
(31 Oct 1991)
Albus Dumbledore placed the bundle in his arms on the doorstep of a house. He knew it wasn't the best place for the baby sleeping in the bundle, but they were his only living relatives. The protection on him would not work unless he was with his blood-relatives, even if they may not treat him properly.
"This guy is enabling child neglect at the very least, if not abuse?" Percy asked. As a victim of child abuse, he wanted to kill this Dumbledore for actively putting someone through a similar experience.
Rowena shared his sentiments but did not voice them. Dumbledore was already on her shit list back in her dimension.
He had also placed letter with the baby, hoping that the residents of No. 4 Privet Drive would treat him as he, Dumbledore, hoped that they would.
He took a few steps back, allowing a giant man, Rubeus Hagrid, say goodbye to the baby. His other colleague and his right hand woman, Minerva Mcgonagall, was still telling him it was a bad idea, but it fit straight into Dumbledore's plans.
It would not do for the Boy-Who-Lived to be an arrogant, spoilt, no-good brat that he would no doubt become if he were to be placed in a magical household. And, he would come to Hogwarts weak and malleable, and not independent and strong, if he was raised here.
"Weak and malleable?" Salazar questioned. "All the strands of hair in his beard – which I think is this long to compensate for something – could not possibly be close to —"
"Shut up, Salazar," Helga chided. "Lady Athena is reading."
The three of them apparated away to Hogwarts, not noticing the lone owl watching them. While this may not raise any eyebrows - an owl gazing out in the night was a common sight - this particular owl was larger than any other owl on the planet. It had piercing stormy-gray eyes, white feathers with golden streaks, and an overall majestic appearance.
The owl flew over to the sleeping form of the baby, transforming into a woman upon reaching. The woman was undoubtedly beautiful, having long, dark hair, and eyes similar to her owl form. Her gaze was calculating, as if thinking more than a million thoughts at the same time. She was dressed in Greek battle armour, a spear and shield strapped to her back.
I, oops, I meanAthena picked her son up from the porch, bringing his small, sleeping body close to her chest. Her son, Hadrian Potter, was a survivor of the killing curse. While she was happy that he survived, it left a bitter-sweet sensation in her mind knowing that his parents, and perhaps the most intriguing mortals in Magical Britain, had crossed the river.
"Backstory time!" Apollo yelled, causing Artemis to hit him. Hard.
Athena was intrigued as well, wanting to continue.
"Eh, nothing special. She met Harry's parents in a park and they told her to make him." Salazar said. "Oops. Spoiler alert."
"Oh, fuck you Salazar!" Most of the audience yelled.
"See? That is why I don't want him anywhere near Harry," Silena muttered to Rowena.
"The fact that you are telling me this and not the other way around scares me. Honestly." Rowena replied.
Aphrodite was now really interested to see what Silena's relationship with Harry was.
To her, Hadrian was special. He was based from two mortals - James and Lily Potter, who had managed to gain her attention in a local chess tournament she participated in. While one would expect her to play the ancient strategy game against someone like Garry Kasparov, she had lost a bet against Apollo.
"That is why you do not bet against me! I know everything!"
"What is the exact number of fucks I give?" Ares asked.
"Uhh..." Apollo tried to guess. It could not possibly be zero. Everyone gave fucks when it came to him.
"Hint. Its the amount of times you have successfully beaten your sister in an argument."
"So zero, then." Hermes said.
Thinking back on it, she should not have bet against the God of Prophecies on who was going to win the FIFA world cup last year. But the sun-burnt idiot was playing on her pride. As a result, she had to play chess in a local chess tournament in England. That was also the part of the bet.
When she reached the final round of the boring tournament, she had to fight off against a red-haired, emerald eyed woman called Lily Potter.
And she almost managed to beat Athena. Or rather a bored Athena who underestimated her foe.
Athena stopped reading for a moment. A mortal woman who managed to nearly defeat her? Impressive.
"Either that woman, Lily, is really good, or Mom's losing her touch," Malcolm said. The rest of his siblings agreed.
But nonetheless, Athena was impressed by Lily, to the point that Athena revealed who she really was and granted her a wish.
Lily and her husband, James, who was also with her, both asked for a child. While she would have pulled I-am-a-virgin-goddess card, James Potter knew of her ability to create children from her mind, because he himself was a son of Hecate. And Athena had already promised them a wish.
"Anyone else feel that this James being a son of Hecate was thrown in at the last second?" Ares questioned, which drew looks of confusion from the demigods from the other dimension. Why would it be thrown in if it was fact?
"You know what else was thrown in?" Hermes asked. "Your dumb face."
Ares looked ready to pulverise the messenger, but Zeus stopped them both. "Continue, my daughter," he said.
So she agreed, and used her omnipresence to spend some time with the couple to get to know them better. She was further impressed by Lily's analytical and strategic mind, and James's mastery over magic. When she had gathered enough information on her child's future parents, she created Hadrian.
Athena was brought out of the flashback when Little Hadrian woke up in her arms. Eyes that were similar to her own stared back at her, but the ones on the young boy had a greenish tinge. It made them much more beautiful in her eyes. Perhaps she should add that to all her future children? No... Hadrian would be the only one. The gene that coded for eye colour could not be modified so as to put two colours in the same eye. It had only happened here because of his magic. Or she had done something to his genes that coded eye-colour without realizing it.
And besides, Athena was not the ones to play around with the human genome, even though she had already removed the short-sightedness of her son when he was in her mind. Since she raised the foetus in her mind, she could remove or modify genes that she felt would be detrimental to her child's well-being. She was also against making them into mutants like the X-men, for obvious reasons.
"Whoa! This has X-men?!" Nico questioned.
"No. I think the book simply used an analogy." Silena answered. Athena continued before anyone else could speak up.
Any condition of the eye was amongst 'detrimental to my child' list, and hence was fixed.
She was still trying to fix the dyslexia without taking away the ability to read and write Ancient Greek.
Hadrian giggled in Athena's arms, causing her to smile.
"He's so cute!" Most of the ladies and some men cooed.
Rowena looked at the image with heavy amounts of nostalgia. Those were simpler times. Before he was corrupted by the evil known as Salazar.
'Why do I feel insulted?' Salazar wondered.
Which turned into a frown. She recognized the look in his eyes: recognition. That should not be possible; he had never seen her. She had sent him to his parents as soon as he was born, like she did with all her children. The only way he could have recognized her was through a portrait. And she knew the Potter Manor had very accurate portraits of the Gods. Of course, they were just paintings, and not the magical talking kind. But that wasn't possible; his memory shouldn't be that developed at this stage.
"Just shows how much I underestimated his brain at first," Rowena muttered. Athena raised a brow at her daughter, deducing that she left her son with Rowena before continuing.
Unknown to her, the thought going through Harry's mind was: 'Look, Harry. This is the portrait of a very important woman who helped us. Your father and I have the honour of being her friend.'
"Again the same," Rowena said.
"Pretty sure Hadrian is not shortened to Harry. And isn't Hadrian a Roman name? And Athena hates those guys," Apollo said.
Athena chose to speak up. "I don't name my children. I leave that to their mortal parents."
"And as for the first bit, who cares?" Salazar asked rhetorically. "Stop nitpicking useless details and enjoy the show for crying out loud."
Salazar then noticed the looks everyone from his own dimension was giving him. "What?!"
"That... That was logical..." Godric said, stunned.
"You do know that I taught three generations of wizards and was the best there is at political maneuvering, potions and charms, and wooing ladies? Not necessarily in that order."
Sensing that the two demigods were about to go into a full blown argument, Athena loudly read, attempting to silence them.
Filing it away for later, she ran a finger over his lightning-shaped scar, lulling him to sleep. 'Someone trying to cheat death, huh? Oh well... It seems I will be owing Thanatos a favour.'
"Yeah, but you also wanted your office to have a special lens that could help you see through a woman's clothing!" Godric shot back.
"One more word out of both of you and you will regret ever vibrating those vocal cords, no, you will think twice before exhaling!" Rowena snapped at them.
They immediately shut up, and the Athena Cabin members looked at her with respect, along with Clarisse, Artemis and Silena. Athena shot her daughter a thankful look, before continuing.
With that, Athena vanished into nothingness with her son.
Athena (and Harry) appeared on a cold, desolate river bank. In front of the goddess was a house made from bones, skulls, and tombstones. This was the house of Thanatos, on the banks of Cocytus. The cold air didn't affect Athena much, but Harry shivered uncontrollably for a few seconds until Athena wrapped him up in a warmer blanket that was conjured within a thought's notice. Then he slept peacefully. As soon as he was notified about her presence, Thanatos walked out the front door.
He was a six-foot tall, buff man, but his face and body were covered in a dark robe. Athena knew this to be the robe he used to sleep (if he could, that is), if the 'PLEASE DO NOT DIE WHILE DEATH IS ASLEEP' written on his chest was any indication. His ever present scythe was draped over his back, the silvery black Stygian Iron blade of the scythe glowing softly, yet menacingly.
"Lady Athena," Thanatos said in a deathly rasp of a voice. "What do you require me for?"
"Take a look on my son's forehead, Thanatos," Athena replied.
Thanatos did so. And he did NOT like what he found. A soul shard?! That meant a mortal was trying to cheat him. 'CHEAT ME? THE GOD OF DEATH? I AM GOING TO - why is Athena glaring at me? Oh. The little one is crying.' Thanatos then realized that he was not only releasing a deathly aura that would have sent even the strongest of men and women crying, he was also thinking out loud. REALLY loud.
"Oh dear," Rowena whispered. She knew what was to come; it took forever to get Harry to stop crying. She pitied her mother.
Athena was glaring daggers at Death, all the while comforting her son who was crying loudly from being woken up abruptly. How she did it Thanatos had no idea, and he did NOT want to find out. So he simply (and painlessly) extracted the soul shard from Harry's forehead, and walked (ran) back into his house, knowing that the Goddess of Wisdom was still glaring at him. He even forgot to send the shard into the Soul Regenerator(tm) to begin reconstruction of the soul as more and more shards would begin to come into his (Hades's) dominion.
"He forgets normal protocol. No payment again." Hades said.
"Hades, what have we talked about paying our employees?" Zeus asked condescendingly.
"You start paying these fools on a monthly basis and then talk." Hades shot back, referring to the remaining Olympians.
"They don't want payment." Zeus said.
"Speak for yourself, I want—"
Whatever Hermes wanted to say was cut off as he was rendered unconscious, courtesy of a lightning strike from Zeus. The others took it as a cue not to protest and Athena continued.
Would it be insane if Thanatos feared Death right now?
Athena glared at Death's House one final time, before disappearing in a flash of light with her son, who was sleeping again in her arms.
"I am surprised that those jumps did not wake him up," Hera commented. She was unsure as to what to feel about Harry. Technically, he was born out of wedlock. His mortal parents were married and Athena had based him off both of them.
She would need time to think this through.
In a luxurious penthouse in Manhattan, a young woman who was possibly in her twenties went around doing her nightly activities, such as brushing her teeth, taking a shower, and the like. She was quite attractive, with raven hair that flowed down her back, and a body to make underwear models green with envy. Her eyes were the same as that of her mother, Athena.
"And its Rowena!" Godric said.
"Its stupid when you do it," Salazar said. "Let me show you how."
Salazar did not get to show him because Rowena silenced him. She would be damned before she let both of them argue again. Athena shot her a look of gratitude before continuing.
She was obviously rich; given how her furniture was made from the finest mahogany and the view outside was a beautiful picture-perfect Manhattan skyline, along with the geometry of Central Park. The utensils were either ceramic or silver, and the comfy-looking couches had the outer coat of authentic Italian leather.
While she was in a blue nightgown, she was not going to sleep just yet. They were airing a special show on a brilliant scientist and her own brother, Richard Feynman. He had, rather unfortunately, passed away three years ago, and the show was a sort of a documentary of him. There was no way she would miss something like this for the world.
"Neither would I," Annabeth said.
"I know," Percy said, wrapping an arm around her. He then felt something in his pocket. He checked and turned a beet red, much to Annabeth's confusion.
Salazar winked at the son of Poseidon. He always had an extra for others who had a chance to be lucky.
Behind her were three portraits that were arguing amongst themselves. Yes. Portraits that were arguing. Or to be more accurate, the ones depicting two males were arguing while the lone female was playing peacemaker.
One of the two males was a regal looking man with short, but messy black hair and sky-blue eyes. He had a scar running down from his left eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose, and finally stopping on his right cheek. His attire consisted of red and gold armour with a red lion crest on his chest. His name was Godric Gryffindor, a son of Zeus, and the (self-proclaimed, yet accepted) leader of the Four Founders of Hogwarts.
The man he was arguing with had straight, shoulder-length jet black hair, and green eyes. His skin was pale enough to be confused with that of a vampire. His face held a sly look, and his eyes had a mischievous glint He wore simple green robes with snake-like patterns and his hands were depicted with three silver rings. On his neck sat a locket with a fancy-looking 'S'. His name was Salazar Slytherin, a son of Hermes, and a childhood friend (and rival) of Godric. He was also the most hated man in Magical Britain, for reasons he did not know. Seriously, they believed Godric, Helga and Rowena to be some sort of heroes, and him to be a muggle-hating megalomaniac. If that was the case, he wouldn't have been with those three, and Merlin would have cast him out of his tutelage a long time ago.
The third portrait depicted the only woman. She had long, blonde hair and warm, brown eyes held on a beautiful face. Her attire consisted of black and gold robes with a single badger in the center. Her name was Helga Hufflepuff, a daughter of Apollo. She was also the greatest medical witch to date, being able to cure even the most life-threatening injuries and diseases (that were known during her time) with just a wave of her wand.
Helga was currently trying to play peacemaker in the argument that was taking place between Salazar and Godric. They were arguing about what type of cheese tasted better: cheddar or cottage. No one bothered to point out that they didn't have bodies, and hence could not have possibly known the taste.
And where was the Fourth Founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, you may ask?
"No one asked as it is freaking obvious." Apollo commented.
Why, she was the woman who owned the penthouse, and was switching on the TV. She was still alive because Hecate, the goddess of magic (amongst other things), had hired her as one of her servants, and was what she called to be a demi-immortal, i.e., she could still be killed, but she won't die due to natural causes.
The catch of this sugar-coated deal was that she had to remain a virgin. Of course, some might not consider this to be the bad thing.
"You poor thing!" Aphrodite sobbed. "Let me tell you that the pleasures of flesh are so wonderful!"
"Don't listen to this harlot," Artemis said. "You are fine the way you are."
"While I appreciate your... Offer, Lady Aphrodite, I agree with Lady Artemis on this one."
Both Aphrodite and Salazar pouted, for different reasons.
Purity of the body was a requirement for a god/goddess to grant you agelessness. This was quite evident: most assumed that Artemis only gave such blessings to maidens. But there was a reason why she couldn't induct sexual assault victims or mothers with abusive husbands, etc., into her Hunters, and this was the reason. Artemis, by Ancient Law, could not grant them immortality, because their maidenhood, no matter how tragically, had been taken from them.
Artemis scowled at the reminder.
That was the same case with Rowena. She had to stay a virgin, or else she would be 'fired' and would become mortal again.
But it had gotten quite monotonous, given how the goddess was quite workaholic. So she had recently turned to praying to her mother for an opportunity to raise a child. It had been unanswered for the most part. Her contract with her Patron Goddess said that she could do so; as long as they were her own siblings. And besides, her job was only to help the Goddess connect better with her subjects, i.e., the wizards and witches. Not much to do there, except for to send a bi-monthly IM about how the wizarding world is faring.
And yes she had a contract with Hecate. Unlike Artemis, Hecate made her demi-immortal servants (or rather servant, given that she was the only one) sign contracts detailing their job, what they were allowed to do and what they were not, etc. It was just like a regular contract. The contract was signed by Hecate, the candidate who was to be her servant, and Zeus, as unlike Artemis Hecate did not put on an adorable expression before asking for such permission. Also Hecate was not, as she put it "a spoilt, sexist brat (sometimes)."
"Well look at that!" Aphrodite smirked at Artemis.
Artemis was still scowling.
Except it was magically binding. Along with some parts being oaths on the Styx, like not abusing magic, not betraying Hecate and Olympus, and not changing pigs into dragons permanently. Rowena did not understand why the last one was even in the contract, much less an oath on the Styx.
"Merlin?" Silena asked Rowena, who simply nodded.
"Not surprising."
"That sounds interesting." Hermes had woken up. "Can we get a flashback explaining what happened?"
A note landed on his lap.
No one has the time for that.
~The Fates.
"Did you not freeze time?" Hermes questioned after he read the note.
Another note landed on his lap.
Shut up
~The Fates.
Athena shook her head and continued.
Of course, some records say she had a daughter. But Helena was her mortal cousin's daughter, to whom Rowena was like a mother-figure.
"Cottage cheese is sooo much better!" Godric yelled from his portrait, snapping Rowena's attention to the two arguing pair.
"Screw you, Godric! Cheddar all the way!" Salazar retorted.
"You're both wrong, son and brother. Mozerella all the way," Hermes said.
"Nah! Swiss is the best," Apollo cut in.
"I personally prefer Parmesan."
"And that is why you are a disgrace, Luke." Salazar said.
Percy and Annabeth, much to Luke's surprise, nodded at that. Some gods and most demigods were the same.
Seriously what the hell did he do to them?!
Rowena had enough; her show was about to begin. "Both of you...quiet" Her voice was deceptively calm, just above a whisper. She was also giving them the patented Athena glare. Since she looked like a twin sister of her own mother, it worked wonders. The two portraits went silent. Helga smirked in hers.
"I will not have any sound come from the two of you during the next two hours. If you make single, and I mean a single sound, I will summon your souls and get... imaginative..." Rowena threatened.
Godric and Salazar gulped. The Son of Zeus may be the de-facto leader of the four, but he was deathly afraid of two, well three women: his mother, wife, and Rowena. Salazar was also the same, except the difference was that he never married. Either way, they did NOT want her to get imaginative. The last time that happened - when they had bodies - was when a son of Apollo tried to take her against her will. He was declared insane soon after to the point Dionysus wasn't able to make any heads or tails of his insanity (or so he claimed). He also had multiple seizures when any girl, or anything blue or silver was brought to his attention.
Such were the wonders of Runic Magic.
So when Rowena truly got angry, you might want to stand clear.
"There's... There's two Athenas..."
Rowena looked annoyed at Apollo's comment. She was not her mother dammit!
"I know... The horror..." Ares said.
"That seems wonderful," Hephaestus grumbled. Everyone shot him weird looks, which he ignored.
"So no more sounds for the next two hours, and if I watch this show in peace, I will–"
Athena chose that moment to flash in the room. The Founders disappeared in their portraits. In reality, they had simply gone to another part of the penthouse. Rowena's house had a large amount of portraits scattered throughout the area, and all were interconnected. In this manner, all three could visit any part of the penthouse (excluding bathrooms of course), without problems.
"–gods dammit mother..." Rowena finished before she noticed the sleeping baby in her mother's hands. "Is that my sibling?" Rowena asked. She was wishing with all her heart that she was going to raise him. Athena was not so evil as to show her desire to her before taking it away.
Okay, she would probably do that teach someone a lesson.
But Rowena had not earned such an action. That much she knew.
Athena smiled at her daughter, "Yes. He is. And as answer to your prayers, I am giving you the opportunity to raise him."
"Of course! I'd love to!" Rowena replied with a smile.
Athena handed her sleeping son to Rowena, "His name is Hadrian Potter, and yes, the last surviving member of the Potter household. I wish you luck," Athena said as Rowena placed her brother in a crib she had conjured. Athena then explained how he came to be, and why he was orphaned. Athena left shortly after, explaining how her father would notice her absence.
"And like that, my young protégé enters the household."
"Come near my son, Salazar Slytherin, and I will end you."
Salazar gulped. He knew he was more than just 'near' Harry. Athena was surely going to make him feel pain later on. And not the fun kind where she would be wearing a leather outfit. Salazar groaned. He needed to get laid.
Just as Athena left, another flash illuminated the room. When the light died down, a handsome man who looked in his late teens or early twenties stood in the place of the flash. He had dark brown hair and startling green eyes, and a short stubble on his chin. This was Merlin, who was made a minor God of Magic due to his actions in subduing Hyperion when the Titan had awoken from slumber a millennium ago.
"That never happened here did it?" Percy asked.
"No, thank goodness no," his father answered.
"That also feels like a very good story that should be told," Apollo said.
"Don't bother, the Fates will cockblock you," Hermes muttered.
"Yeah, probably."
Zeus stroked his beard. He needed to know what happened!
He was also wearing a tuxedo that had two dragons flying around on it and battling one another. For the past 450 years, he had been spending a lot of time with Hermes and Apollo, going bar-hopping and the like. That was the reason for that distracting tux; it was to one-up his godly friends.
In retaliation, said gods flashed into a tux with animated snakes forming various objects (Hermes) and the entire Solar System tuned into real time (Apollo). "One up this, bastard!" both said at once.
Hera shot them a glare. They reluctantly changed back.
"Ah. So this is where my nephew is," Merlin said, stroking his beard. "Mother was worried sick as to where her adorable grandson is."
"Master Merlin..." Rowena greeted him. She could feel a headache coming, the source being the god in front of her. Merlin used to be a very wise and mature man. He was a wise, womanizing idiot as a god.
"He was what?!" Silena asked.
"Oh yes, he was quite lacking in humor and playfulness and all his perverted fantasies before," Helga said. Rowena nodded.
"I find that hard to believe," Silena replied.
"How do you know him?" Clarisse spoke to her for the first time.
Silena debated whether she should answer, but told her, "Unlike soke people, I don't want to spoil anything."
Clarisse simply nodded.
"Hello, Rowena. Glad to see you are alright. And thankfully Lady Athena has left... she keeps saying I have gone astray. And with that glare she keeps giving me makes things awkward," Merlin thought out loud.
"Why would a glare make things awkward?" Rowena questioned, rubbing her temples. Merlin used to be one of the most brilliant of researchers that studied magic. Since he had stopped doing so, Athena was understandably quite angry at him.
"That glare gives me raging boner!" Merlin exclaimed.
"Relatable." Hermes, Apollo and Salazar said together.
Athena did not glare at them. Now even she felt awkward.
For her own sanity, Rowena chose to ignore that.
"Do you know anything about my brother?" Rowena questioned, hoping to get more insight on him.
Merlin nodded, looking grave. "That terrorist, Volde-whatever, used the killing curse on him. He survived, because of his mortal mother's sacrifice. Lily Potter's final words were 'take me, take my life instead, and let Hadrian James Potter live.' You know what that means right?"
Rowena raised a brow, eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise. "The death-exchange ritual... she knew she wouldn't win against him, so she set up a trap. Clever."
The ritual, aided by many runic arrays, did exactly what the name implied, took the life of the castor instead of the target. Even if the castor was struck down before anything happened to the target, the ritual would be still in effect, as magic interpreted that as the castor losing his/her life, and made a shield of sorts around the target, preventing any fatal injuries or mortal danger. It was one of the few ultimate protective spells, and forbidden because of the threat it posed to the castor.
"Quite," Merlin said. "I'll be right back. I need to report this to mother."
Rowena sighed as he left, already making plans for her baby brother.
Salazar returned in the portrait he was in earlier, "Is your mother gone? I think she is still mad at me from the owl accident those many years ago."
"What owl incident?" Athena asked the son of Hermes.
Salazar gulped. He had gotten lucky last time, and he sure as hell was not going to tell her.
"He stole your owl." Rowena said. Athena looked apoplectic.
"Traitor!" Salazar yelled at Rowena. "And I gave it back!" He yelled at Athena. It did not lessen the impressive glare that was heating up the air around him. Literally.
"Wait! You can't harm me! The Fates decreed it so!" Salazar said to save his hide again.
Athenaa stopped trying to make him spontaneously combust.
Then he noticed the baby. "And she left you a –"
"Call my baby brother names Salazar. I dare you."
"What were you going to call him?" Godric asked. Salazar leaned over and whispered something into his ears.
"Salazar! You can't say such things to a baby! That is too much!"
Salazar gulped audibly, even though he was just a portrait. "So, uhhh, what's his name?"
"Hadrian Potter."
"That is a good, strong name," Godric commented, appearing besides Salazar. Helga appeared beside Godric, "And a Potter to boot. No doubt he will be powerful."
"Of course! He will be cunning like myself! Now how to ensure that Rowena here does not turn him into a nerd witho––"
Salazar's portrait was promptly silenced by Rowena.
"Good call," Hera said. Most agreed with her.
Salazar pouted.
It was another hour or two before Merlin returned.
He then explained to Rowena that Hecate was quite pleased to know that Harry was in her care. In fact, the entire Potter vault in Gringotts was being transferred to the Manhattan Branch, and the Goblin King was overseeing the transfer himself. There was not much he could say to a goddess's request (order) after all. The American Goblins had seen it as a better investment to open up branches in nearly every major city in USA.
The immediate effect of this was that there was no Potter clan in Magical UK any longer. But since this was the Goddess of Magic's doing, the Wizengamot would not find out, as the Potter seat would simply undergo magical lockdown instead of falling. Magical lockdown of a seat meant that the heir was still alive, but was not yet eligible to take the seat.
Merlin had also gotten three boxes, two of which he explained that were the belongings of James and Lily Potter, and the third containing all of Harry's toys. Merlin left there after, having some work of his own. Which could mean anything from picking up girls to actual work.
"Just like Apollo."
"But li'l sis!"
Before the twins could argue about age, Athena cut in, "There are just a few more lines! Can I not be interrupted for five more minutes?!"
Rowena sighed; it had been a long night. She then changed one of her rooms to a baby's room, complete with a crib and a small chandelier on top of the bed, around which were charmed glass owls that flew in circles.
She placed the sleeping form of Harry in his newly created bed, knowing full well her brother was destined for greatness.
After all, why would the Fates not cut his string even though he was hit with a sure-kill curse?
"Maybe because they missed?" Salazar asked. A note fell in his lap.
We do not miss.
~The Fates
"How did they know?" He asked, confused. Another note fell on him.
Fuck you, that's how.
~The Fates
He grinned. "Anytime! Anywhere! Hell, I don't mind right now!"
"Will someone shut him up?" Artemis asked. He was quite possibly the most annoying male she had ever met.
"Gladly," Rowena said and stunned him.
"You should have done that in the very beginning," Athena said.
"He would have found a way around it. He always does, to the point its scary," Godric said.
Hermes hmm'd. "Maybe he received my gift of finding loopholes a bit too strongly."
"Whatever the case. Someone else read chapter two. If I am interrupted while reading again, I might kill someone." Athena said.
"I'll take it."
A/N: This was actually harder than I thought. I don't know how I did. Should I continue? Should I let someone else take over? Please let me know.
Hope you enjoyed!