So, I've been re-reading The Mortal Instruments because I just got City of Heavenly Fire and it's been a while. I've also been pretty obsessed and writing a lot of Percy Jackson stuff recently. I wanted to try my hand at combining the two, and this was the result. It's purposefully vague on whether it's a actual crossover, or a Mortal Instruments AU for Percy Jackson because I couldn't decide and I may or may not continue later? I haven't decided so I wanted to leave options open, so pick whichever.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or The Mortal Instruments
Dragon Pox
Maria di Angelo never cared for her old life. She tried to stay away from it as much as she could. Still there were times when Maria's hand was forced, and she had no choice but to reconnect with aspects of her old life.
Maria di Angelo never cared for her old life. She tried to stay away from it as much as she could, honestly, and it was part of the reason why Maria left Italy for America. Other reasons included her children, and her children's father.
Maria had wanted it to be a nice severed string between her old life and the new one she was making, but she knew it wouldn't be so. Her mother was demanding a reason for her sudden departure, and her siblings wanted to know why she didn't contact more often.
Bianca hadn't minded the sudden departure from Italy, as she loved exploring, adventuring, and she adored her father and being able to see him more. Nico wasn't as happy about it, because he liked his cousins a bit more than Bianca, and because he was seven, and seven year olds never really cared for a big, sudden, change like Nico was forced into.
Still, there were times when Maria's hand was forced and she had no choice but to reconnect with aspects of her old life.
In her arms was Nico, too old to be carried, but still small enough that Maria could hold him herself with little to no trouble. He was sobbing breathlessly into her shoulder, and Maria could feel the heat radiating from him through her winter clothes and the traveling cloak. Bianca stood just behind her, gloved hands held tightly to Maria's cloak, a similar one hung over her own shoulders.
"Mamma, is Nico going to be okay?" Maria was tapping her foot impatiently, but she managed to force a smile to her features for her eldest.
"Yes, tesora, Nico's going to be fine, you'll see." If he ever opens the damn door, went unsaid, and if Maria's hands hadn't been full holding Nico, and Bianca hadn't been too small or too susceptible to carry her brother, Maria would already have barged in.
"Bianca, press the buzzer again for Mamma," Bianca detached herself from Maria's cloak at her mother's behest, and pressed the buzzer by the door, holding it for a bit longer than necessary. Any other time, Maria would have scolded her daughter, but in this situation Maria was willing to forgo niceties.
"It's three in the damned morning, what do you want?" The literal Bane of Maria's night finally opened the door, scowling and half-dressed with a cat twining around his ankles. Maria brushed past, inviting herself into the abode, Bianca trailing behind, still clinging to her cloak.
Maria never liked dealing with warlocks, but when push came to shove, Maria shoved back harder. It came with the territory of growing up with three older brothers.
"Excuse me," Was the sarcastic remark when Maria didn't deign to answer.
There were certainly other warlocks in the area, and plenty who would have done what Maria needed for cheaper than what she was going to have to pay, but there would have been one thing she would have sacrificed going to anyone else- secrecy.
"Magnus," Maria said at last, leaving her host standing by the open door while she stood in the middle of the entrance hall. The positioning made it appear as if Maria was the owner of the home, and Magnus was the late night visitor. "It's been some time. I don't suppose you remember me?"
It had been a close call in Rome when Maria been just sixteen years old. She had been so stubbornly set on proving that she was just as good as her brothers when she set out on her own. In the shadows by the Coliseum Maria had been ambushed by a Drevak demon. She had managed to kill it, but it had stung Maria before she landed the final blow. If Magnus hadn't been passing by, it was likely that Maria would have died.
"It can't be," Realization dawned across his face. "Maria di Angelo? I didn't recognize you! You look different." Magnus waved his hand, and the door shut itself.
"And you look the same." Maria replied stiffly. Nico whimpered into her neck and Bianca tugged at her cloak.
"Mamma," Bianca stage-whispered up to her mother. "Is he the guy who's gonna fix Nico?"
"Oh, and you have a kid." Magnus seemed enthralled, and Maria never understood why warlocks loved children so much. "Adorable." Bianca colored, hiding behind Maria.
"I take it though," Magnus crossed the threshold, "as much as I would rather, that this is not a social call."
"Unfortunately not," Maria agreed. "I don't believe it would be too much to presume you still do healings?" She didn't wait for him to answer as she pulled Nico's hood down.
"Yikes," Magnus observed mildly, stepping closer. "Not only is it another spawn, but dragon pox? Who did you upset Maria?" The boils on Nico's face were only but a handful of those that covered his entire body, and his face was splotched with patches of lurid green. Magnus poked Nico's cheek, accidentally causing a boil to pop, oozing thick yellow pus. Nico flinched, a whole body movement, and Magnus removed his finger, eyeing the seven year old with distaste as he wiped his finger on his pants.
"Bane, can you heal him or not?" Maria snapped impatiently.
"Yes, yes," Magnus waved his hand dismissively. "You can hand him here, Maria. Though I should tell you there are plenty of other-"
"Warlocks in the area that could heal my son for less, I know that Bane." Maria cut him off impatiently. "None of them, however, have the sense of secrecy as you do. At least I know coming to you, I know that you won't go running your mouth off to the next Downworlder or Shadowhunter you see about running into me or healing my son."
"That is true," Magnus admitted, cat eyes flashing. "Though it does come as an extra fee."
"Which I am willing to pay," Maria held Nico out for Magnus to take. Nico whined ("Mamma!") as he was handed over, and Magnus tutted as he gave the young boy another cursory glance.
"I'm surprised you allowed it to get this far," He lifted one of Nico's eyelids, practically swollen shut, eliciting a sharp yelp from him.
"Don't hurt him!" Bianca emerged from behind her mother in order to deliver a sharp kick to Magnus' shin in response to her little brother's yelp. The warlock looked between her and his shin before saying without feeling,
"Ow."
"I didn't realize it was dragon pox at first," Maria defended, doing her best to keep red from crawling across her face. "It's not exactly common these days."
"And the green skin?"
"The children have been playing with paint these days, I thought Nico painted himself," Against Maria's best attempts, her cheeks were coloring, and she wasn't taking too well to the fact that Magnus was practically accusing her of being a bad mother. "And then for the past day and a half I have been trying all the remedies I could think of and remember all while trying to find you. I knew you were in the area, but you don't make it easy to be found."
"Just how I like it," Magnus nodded in agreement, before waving at Maria and Bianca to sit.
"Sit," He clarified the order. "It'll take some time, and you might as well get comfortable, because I have a feeling you'll just be staying the night." Magnus disappeared into the other room with Nico, and Maria and Bianca sat on the couch.
Magnus' cat, which had been ignored for the majority of the exchange, hopped onto the couch, meowing.
"I don't like him." Bianca announced sourly, yanking on the cat's tail as he passed. The cat hissed at Bianca, and she hissed back.
"Don't torment his cat, Bianca." Maria scolded, taking the cat and dropping him on the floor. "And it doesn't matter whether you like him or not, you want your brother to get better, don't you?"
"You heard him though! There were others we could have gone to! Why did we have to go to him?" Bianca wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"If you heard him, then you most certainly heard me, young lady," Maria responded sharply.
"But why?" Bianca pressed. "Why did we just up and leave and cut ties with everybody?"
"Your father wanted us to come to America to be with him."
"And nobody likes him because he's a mundie," Bianca swung her feet, kicking them off the side of the couch. She wasn't very tall yet, so her feet couldn't quite reach the floor. "But why couldn't he just become an Ascendant? Jessamine said that Cassie's dad was a mundie but her mom was allowed to marry him because he agreed to become an Ascendant. Why can't dad just be an Ascendant?" Bianca was borderline whining, and crossing over into dangerous waters.
"It's not that simple," Maria sighed, dismissing the subject.
"You say that every time though!" Bianca protested.
"And that's all I will say," Maria cut Bianca off before she could say anything further. "It's the end of the discussion, Bianca." Bianca huffed, flopping back on the couch, crossing her arms across her chest.
It wasn't too long before Bianca got bored, and she wandered off the couch, too irritated at her mother to try and sleep, despite the hour. Maria watched as Bianca meandered over to the bookshelves on the one wall of the room, and started yanking books off of the shelves.
"Don't make a mess Bianca." Maria chided from her seat, and if anything that just encouraged Bianca to remove the books from the shelves even more forcefully than before.
Maria watched her daughter as, after she relieved all the books that she could reach from their shelves, Bianca proceeded to use Magnus' books as building blocks, creating rudimentary buildings and castles with the tomes. After watching a few books take harsh tumbles to the ground, Maria idly hoped that Magnus didn't keep any important books on those bottom shelves.
Once her town was finished Bianca proceeded to ravage it, storming through it like a giant, knocking all the buildings over. A few of the books emitted sparks as Bianca knocked them over, and one book that emitted a series of black sparks caught her attention, causing the nine year old to leave her town only half destroyed.
"Mamma, what does this say?" Bianca unceremoniously shoved the book in Maria's face.
"Why don't you tell me, tesora?" Maria asked her daughter. It wasn't that Bianca didn't know how to read, because Maria most certainly knew that her eldest could. Bianca (and Nico) just had trouble doing so. Bianca had told Maria that the words moved as she tried to read and she didn't like always having to squint to try and read. (It had been just yet another reason why Maria needed to leave her old life behind.)
"Tell me," Bianca whined, and Maria gave in, because she might as well give her daughter one small victory that night.
"It's one of Magnus' spell books." Maria laughed as Bianca scowled and hurled the book across the room, the text making contact with the side of one of the book structures that was still intact, causing it to fall over like a domino, causing the destruction of the other half of Bianca's forgotten town.
An hour later found Maria still awake on the couch, with Bianca curled up asleep at her side. Bianca's cloak was arranged over her like a blanket, and her soft breaths caused her bangs to flutter as she slept.
"It wasn't easy, but the kid is in the clear," Magnus announced, arriving back in the room. He was dressed in proper clothes this time, but his hair was a mess, like he had just rolled out of bed. Despite the noise Magnus made entering the room, Bianca didn't stir, and Maria had a feeling that Magnus had something to do with that.
"That's a relief," Maria sighed, smiling. The first rays of dawn were starting to peak through the window.
"So," Magnus leaned against the doorframe, eyes glittering at Maria like he was the cat who had just caught the canary. "Who's the father?"
"Pardon me?" Maria was taken aback by the suddenness of the question, and Magnus' audacity to ask the question so callously. "I apologize, but I don't see how that is any of your business, Bane."
"Call it compensation for what the older one did to my books," Magnus nodded to the mess of books, which, as he spoke, started picking themselves up and arranging themselves in order on their proper shelves. He frowned. "And kicking me. Not very polite, is she?"
"Bianca's just protective over Nico," Maria placed a protective hand of her own on Bianca's head, even though she knew Magnus wouldn't pull anything.
"Cute kid. Gonna be a heartbreaker someday." Maria nodded, agreeing despite her uncertainty of which kid Magnus was referring to. Sometimes it was better just not to ask. "So?"
Maria sighed, for Magnus was like a dog with a bone when he wanted something.
"Not a Downworlder, if that's what you are getting at," Maria finally acquiesced.
"But not a Shadowhunter either," Magnus jumped in. "Otherwise, why leave Italy? Or," he wiggled the fourth finger on his left hand. "Yet, at the same time, I doubt a mundane either." Magnus gazed at Maria with calculating eyes. "And you don't strike me the type to consort with demons, especially not twice." Because there was no denying that Bianca and Nico were made of the same mold.
"Now it seems to me as if you are fishing," Maria stood, taking care not to wake Bianca. "If you wish to accuse me of something, go ahead and do so Magnus."
Magnus hummed, a self-satisfied grin on his face, like he had already acquired the answers he desired. But instead of accusing Maria of anything, he waved his hand toward the hall.
"The kid is in there," Magnus indicated to an open door. "Grab him and leave. Don't worry about paying."
Maria eyed the warlock suspiciously.
"What?" Magnus feigned shock at the suspicion. "Can't I do a favor for an old friend?"
Maria didn't give him a response, instead shaking Bianca's shoulder.
"Wake up, Bianca," Maria said softly, picking up her daughter's cloak, "We're leaving."
"Mamma?" Bianca yawned, covering her mouth with both hands as Maria re-clasped Bianca's traveling cloak across her shoulders. "Is Nico all better now?"
"I wouldn't say 'all better'," Magnus cut in before Maria could respond. "But he is a fair deal better than if you would have waited until this morning to act." Maria glared at Magnus, and he shrugged, unfazed, even when Bianca copied her mother, glaring at him as well.
"You'll want to give him lots of water when he wakes up," Magnus instructed as Maria bundled her son up once more, pulling the hood up to cover his pock-marked face. "The pock-marks will fade within the next few days, and he's not contagious anymore." Magnus paused, cocking his head to the side as if he were debating adding something.
"He will also be irritable," Magnus apparently decided it worthwhile to add. "But that may be hard to distinguish, because I am starting to believe that irritability is just a family trait." Maria scowled at Magnus, who just laughed and waved his hand, causing the door to open with the motion.
"Farewell Maria," Magnus said.
"Goodbye Magnus," Maria nodded, pausing at the entryway. She took relief in Nico's silent sleep, his steady breathing, and the knowledge that his skin was not as burningly hot as it was before. Her baby was going to be okay. "I hope we will not have to do this again."
"Ah, but feel free to come by anytime with the children," He smiled mischievously, winking. "They are lovely kids. And it never hurts to catch up for old time's sake, does it?" He gazed thoughtfully at Bianca, before snapping his fingers, causing a book to appear. Magnus tossed it at Bianca, who caught it clumsily, scowling at him. Magnus just answered it with a grin.
"Really takes after her father, doesn't she?" Maria set her mouth, and turned her back on Magnus, leaving his home behind them.
"I hope we meet again," Magnus called distantly from behind them, and Maria quickened her pace, until Magnus' residence couldn't be seen.
"Mamma?" Bianca broke the silence after ages of walking, staring at the book in her hands. "What's the title of this?"
Maria looked, and stopped dead. She scowled, half a mind to go back, but Maria knew it wouldn't do any good. Looking at Bianca, shivering slightly in the snow, and feeling Nico tremble lightly against her, Maria knew it wouldn't be good for the children either. Sighing, she plucked the book out of her daughter's hands. Maria threw the book in the nearest trash can despite Bianca's protests.
"What was that for?" Bianca whined. "I would've read it! I just wanted to know the title of it."
"That wasn't a book for you, tesora," Maria lied easily, steadfastly staring ahead as she started walking again, not looking at her daughter. "Magnus was just teasing Mamma, and it wasn't a very funny joke, alright?" Bianca sighed heavily, kicking at the snow.
"Alright," Bianca answered.
"Now let's go," Maria smiled at her daughter. "I don't want to stand in the cold any longer, do you?"
"Nuh-uh," Bianca shook her head, and started moving, skipping ahead of her mother in the early dawn light.
"Mamma," Bianca called from ahead, pausing from her perch atop a snowdrift. "Can we go out to breakfast this morning?"
"Let's see how Nico is feeling when he wakes up, alright Bianca?" Maria shifted her son slightly in her arms, quickening her pace just a tad to catch up with her eldest.
"Aww," Bianca whined, pouting, and Maria ruffled her hair as she passed Bianca, eliciting a squeal from her daughter.
And for just that moment, Maria was able to pretend that everything in their lives was normal, and she had no secrets she had to worry about keeping.