The Crowning Jewel
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Prologue
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Looking down at the small infant that'd been left upon the door step, Hades, The Silent One, Lord of the Underworld, scowls furiously.
His precious daughter, left like a common stray, out in the dead of night in early November?!
What barbarians.
He can remember the child's mortal parents praying to him, infertile, and begging for him to grant them a child. Through those two humans, he and Persephone had come together for the first time in centuries to create new life.
The deal had been struck; the girl's mortal parents would get to raise her without their interference for a decade.
But, as soon as the child turned ten, then she would fall into their joint custody. For while her body was mortal, she had the potential to become a god upon her death. If she did something heroic enough.
Yet, here they were.
Two dead mortal parents, one toddler with the heroic dead completed in the eyes of that secret society, and the Lord of the Dead here to pick up his youngest child.
Kneeling beside the basket, Hades plucks the sleeping bundle from its innards, banishing the letter to the Underworld, so he could deal with it -and whomever dared to leave his baby girl on the doorstep- later.
Slowly brushing the fine fringe of black hair back from her forehead, Hades finds a small smile curling at the corner of his lips as he cradles the little girl closer.
There is just the lightest dusting of freckles upon her face, stretching across the bridge of her nose and fanning beneath the curve of her eyes. The scar on her forehead is unseemly though, far too alike to his brother, and upon closer inspection, Hades scowls.
That will have to go.
Banishing the soul piece that'd dared to latch onto his little girl, Hades adjusts his grip, smile widening when the girl woke for but a moment.
Bright green eyes, Persephone's eyes when the aureole of summer surrounded her. They flutter slightly, falling shut not a second after, and Hades draws the girl even closer to his chest.
Of course, if the mortal parents didn't manage to keep themselves alive -and oh yes, Tom Riddle was in big trouble- then that meant Hariel Persephone Potter has fallen into the care of her godly parents.
And in all honesty, he could think of none better to look after this little girl.
Placing a soft kiss atop the little girl's head, Hades turns on heel, striding down the drive to Number Four.
That morning, the scream of one Petunia Dursley echoes through the street, as she opened her front door just in time to witness a man disappear into the shadows.
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"Papa! Papa!"
Looking up from the numbers that were scrawling across the pages, Hades felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips as Hariel came racing into the room. Her short dark hair stuck up around her head in a halo of mad curls, bright green eyes scanning the room before they stopping on Persephone.
"Mama! You're back!" The five year old shot over, leaping up into her mother's lap with a grin stretching across her face.
Watching the reunion that happened ever autumn, Hades found a smile spreading across his face, remembering once again why it was he'd fallen in love with Persephone. She brought the light, the life, to the Underworld, a trait which she had passed onto her daughter.
Hariel remained with Hades in the Underworld throughout the entire year.
Just because she wasn't a demigod, just because she was the daughter of two gods, it did not mean that Zeus would not strike her down given the chance. Hades would not allow any other gods to know of his daughter, not until she could sufficiently defend herself.
Persephone gave a delighted little laugh as Hariel began blabbering about her work in her mother's garden, about how well the apple trees -her personal favourite- were doing. The tree itself had been a gift for Hariel's fifth birthday, which had happened mere months ago. While Persephone did enjoy going to visit her mother, she always made sure to come to Hariel's birthday, something which probably baffled Demeter.
The goddess had yet to question her daughter's absence though, and for that, Hades was thankful. For he knew his wife would lie, to protect their daughter. And then Demeter would blame him.
Surprise, surprise.
"Papa," looking down at the sudden lapful of child he had, Hades' raised a brow, Hariel responding by taking a hold of his dark robes and nestling her face within the fabric, small hands clinging to the material.
"Love you, Papa."
"I love you too, my little hero."
So, I finally got around to starting that FemHarry, HP&Percy Jackson Crossover I'd been planning. For a while, I debated on Hariel's name, wondering if I should use Halcyone or Hero or something else traditionally Greek. But in the end, I stuck with Hariel, because I struggle to write a FemHarry who hasn't gotten a name that can be shortened to Harry or another variation of it (such as the Japanese Harī)
On the topic of this story, I want to do things a little differently. Or, attempt to. Sometimes I struggle with how to open a chapter, or what it should be on. So, if you'd like to leave a review with a prompt for how the next chapter shoulder open (i.e. Should I have a little more of Harry's background, or should we jump right to the Hogwarts letter?) or even write a little opening for the next chapter, then I'd grateful.
Here's hoping you liked it,
Tsume
xxx