A/N
School: Hogwarts
Year: Four
Theme: Zeus - focused on his temper and anger issues
Prompt: Main: The Gorgons Additional: The Garden of Hesperides, Song: Venus by Shocking Blue
Wordcount: 2829
Notes: This is a birth bond fic- Harry is born with his soulmate already chosen for him. However, she is born 1 year later to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Her name is Ginny. They are forever bonded together.
Now that Harry was fifteen and Ginny was fourteen years-old, wizarding society considered them of a legal age to marry. This was mainly due to their birth bond. Ginny had been moved up a year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Transfigurations was by far their favorite class – aside from Quidditch, of course. It had not always been Harry's favorite lesson, but when Professor McGonagall had told him how his father had excelled in this very class, he threw himself into the subject enthusiastically. They walked hand-in-hand into McGonagall's classroom taking their usual seats in the front row.
Professor McGonagall had already placed a caged snake on everyone's desk before class. Ginny, curious and eager as she was, reached into the cage, her delicate fingers stretching to take the snake out of the tank to get set for the lesson. She trembled a little, she did not like snakes. Harry—the typical boy—held her hand under the desk, wanting to comfort her, but not wanting his friends to see. As soon as her fingers touched the scales, she and Harry were transported, presumably via Portkey, to a place they didn't recognize.
The grass shimmered with silvery evening light like tinsel at Christmas, and the flowers were such brilliant colors, they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led round either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples of immortality.
They were confused and a bit apprehensive, though ready to face whatever came their way. They were Gryffindors, after all. They knew they had to find a way back to Hogwarts, and so they made a plan. They mutually decided to use their telepathic communication—a useful side effect of the birth bond—as they didn't know what was out there, or what was happening.
Suddenly they noticed a congregation of tiny cherubs flying overhead. They started to sing:
The summit of beauty and love
And Venus was her name
Her weapons were her crystal eyes
Making every man mad
Harry and Ginny indistinctly drew their wands. The music swayed them into a whimsical trance of happiness and love. Ginny suddenly recalled an old tale that she had heard as a girl, that cherubs usually announce the arrival of the Greek Goddess of love: Aphrodite. She glanced at Harry, communicating through their awareness: 'It's a sign of the Goddess, Aphrodite.' Harry looked at her, and squeezed her hand, a subconscious sign that he would keep her safe.
There was a bright flash and then a beautiful blond goddess stood before them. She was perfect in every way, shape and form. She was wearing a royal purple dress with gold trim and had beautiful flowers laced throughout her hair. She had piercing purple eyes, and just from looking at her... The cherubs became silent, and flew off, leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the presence of the Greek Goddess.
"Why are you in the Garden of Hesperides?" she asked.
"We were transported here against our will. We touched a snake, and suddenly we were pulled here," Ginny answered boldly.
"I see. The snake must have come from the hair of the Gorgons. Their hair is made up of venomous snakes which are enchanted to return to their owner. It must have been dormant for some reason and your touch must have activated its magic and brought you here."
There was some rustling nearby. All three of them froze silent.
"Aphrodite, my Love! Are you here?" a deep caring voice called out.
"You two must go now and hide. If Poseidon or Zeus found you here, they would destroy you without a second thought. Mortals are not allowed here. However, there is a small cave nearby where you can hide." Aphrodite whispered.
Harry and Ginny nodded, running to find to find the cave. After taking shelter, they couldn't resist listening, and perhaps sneaking a glimpse at what was to happen next. A tall, chiseled man came into view. He wore a neatly placed fisherman's net for a loin cloth and had shoulder length dark, wavy hair. His eyes were a steely, sea blue which looked like they could pierce any soul.
"Poseidon, my love what took so long?", Aphrodite passionately said
"Sorry, Zeus detained me, and one would not want to incur the wrath of the king of the gods!" Poseidon's tone was slightly mocking, but he smiled sweetly at the goddess before him. "I am here now, my love."
"What does my father want?", Aphrodite curiously asked
"He is eager to know who his most beautiful daughter is sneaking off with. I told him I didn't know anything about it, or that you were sneaking off.", Poseidon responded
Harry could see Poseidon's smirk from here. It was unrivalled, even by Snape!
"Oh, thank the Gods! Hold me, my darling.", Aphrodite said in relief
Poseidon swept Aphrodite to the side and passionately began to kiss her with all his loves intent.
Harry and Ginny huddled quietly in the cave quiet, doing their best to stay perfectly still, listening to what was happening just feet away.
'How are we going to plan a way home?' Ginny questioned Harry, though not in a way that Poseidon or Aphrodite would ever hear.
Harry held her close and reassured her. Harry replied, 'If there was only a way to communicate with Professor McGonagall, we need to let her know where we are.'
A blinding flash and a deafening boom rattled Harry and Ginny. Harry glanced out after his eyes adjusted again to normal sight. He leaned just enough to notice a third person had arrived to where Aphrodite and Poseidon were standing.
"You!" a new voice bellowed. "Of all the gods, it is you –my own brother? You are the one courting my daughter!" thundered Zeus. Zeus stood towering over Harry & Ginny but was only a bit taller than Poseidon. He was very muscular, tan and had sun kissed, shoulder length hair.
"Zeus, brother!" Poseidon cajoled. "I was going to speak with you about this, but how was I to tell you? Aphrodite and I, we are in love.", Poseidon slowly reached for his trident.
"You will feel my thunder, brother!", Zeus' fury was terrifying to behold as he reached for his bolt.
"Father!" Aphrodite begged. "Stop this! I love him!" She rushed between her love and her father, guarding Poseidon.
"I will not allow this!" Zeus roars, aiming a smaller bolt at Aphrodite.
"You don't approve of anyone! How is that fair?" Aphrodite cried tears of anger.
"You will only be with the one I choose, my daughter. Now move!" he commanded, his tone dangerous. "I am going to teach my brother a lesson." Zeus raised his lightning bolt, aiming at Poseidon.
"I will defend myself if I have to, brother!" Poseidon snarled, thrust his trident into the ground, causing the ground to shake.
At that moment, Ginny instinctively jumped out and drew her wand, training it on Zeus. Harry chased after her.
"If you strike them down, I will strike you. Make no mistake about that," Ginny threatened.
"Who the Hades are you two?" he bellowed. "Wait, mortals in my lands? How?", Zeus questioned.
"We didn't mean to come here," Harry blurted. "It was an accident." Harry was attempting to placate Zeus – a god with serious anger issues, which he did not want aimed at Ginny or himself.
"Father," Aphrodite interrupted. "I was going to try and send them off myself before you found out." Aphrodite stated.
Zeus levelled his bolt at his daughter, the fierce glow illuminating her terrified expression. "Why do you insist on hiding things from me, child? Do you not know it is useless?" Zeus asked, his anger still bubbling under the surface.
"Maybe because you have a temper issue?" Ginny snapped suddenly.
'Gin!' Harry snapped. 'You realize this is a god, right? We don't actually stand a chance! I love you, but you need to calm down ok?'
'I'm sorry,' she sheepishly through their link
"Father, a Gorgon snake came to be in their world. When they came into contact with it, the snake awoke and they were transported here. What is more pressing is that this means the head of the Gorgon is here in the garden," Aphrodite informed.
"Zeus, sir," Ginny began, much more respectful this time much to Harry's relief. "If my memory serves me correctly, if the missing snake hair finds the Gorgon before we get the chance to destroy it, the Gorgon head can come back to life. Is that true?" she asked.
"Yes, mortal. You are wise … for your kind," acknowledged Zeus, although rather begrudgingly. His bolt was still aimed at Aphrodite, and Poseidon rolled his eyes at his older brother.
"My name is Ginny Potter! Not female mortal!" Ginny stamped her foot in anger. At that exact moment, Poseidon, with a flick of his wrist, put two water pods on either of Ginny's temples massaging them to soothe her temper.
"Calm down, Gin." Harry grabbed Ginny's hand intertwining their fingers and said "I love you Ginny."
"She is strong for a mortal," Zeus smiled, his eyes on Ginny, his temper seemed to be sated at least for the moment. "I find that attractive in a woman."
Harry was the one that needed to keep a lid on his temper now, as he shouted at Zeus, "You keep your eyes and comments to yourself, sir. Ginny is my wife!" Harry let go of Ginny, turned around and stood in front of her, pointing his wand at the thunder god.
'Now who needs to calm down! Kick his butt dear!' Ginny thought to Harry with a laugh.
"You dare challenge me, mortal?" he bellowed, his fury ignited all too quickly. "I am the mighty Zeus, King of all the Gods and Goddesses!" Zeus flexed, ensuring Harry knew just what he was going up against, and finally the bolt was aimed elsewhere – at Harry. Poseidon and Aphrodite mocked puking at the vainness of Zeus.
"I will, to defend my wife!" Harry's eyes narrowed as he stared down the god, his voice filled with pride.
"Well, well, a protective lover, I admire that of you Harry. Yes Ginny, you are correct about the Gorgon. We need to act fast, find that snake and destroy it before it reaches the head." Zeus responded.
"Brother, for a threat of this magnitude, shall we call upon some of the other gods and goddesses to assist with the mission? What about Hercules or Perseus?" Poseidon asked Zeus.
"No, I can do this by myself. You all have done enough , you mortals want to go home. I will make a deal with you Harry. You destroy the Gorgon snake hair and I will let you and your mate go home. However, you must do it alone. Ginny stays with me until the task is complete" Zeus responds ignoring Poseidon
"Father, please! Let a demigod deal with this. It's a death sentence." Aphrodite pleaded.
"No. Now go home, Aphrodite before I show you what anger really is. Poseidon, I have not forgotten your offence; I will deal with you later." He emphasized by levelling a bolt at Poseidon.
"Zeus! Listen to me. I don't care if you are the king of the gods! I will not be held prisoner like some damsel in distress! Do I look like some sort of frilly princess to you? I will not allow you to send Harry into danger without me there to help him!" Ginny yelled, furiously.
'Ginny, please, chill out! You're acting just like your mu–." Harry stuttered before he realized what he had said. "What I mean is, now is not the time to get into a battle with the King of Gods!' Harry linked to her.
She looked at him shocked, glared and finally nodded.
"I am only going along with this because we do not know which Gorgon head it came from. I will accompany both of you! Each Gorgon had different powers. Two of the Gorgons were immortal; Stheno and Euryale, however, their sister Medusa was not. She was slain by the demigod and hero, my son, Perseus." Zeus stated, there was almost a hint of pride in his voice.
While Zeus was no longer threatening, it was clear to Harry and Ginny that his temper was constantly swaying one way or the other. It took only the slightest tip one way for his fury to return.
"Oh, wonderful!" Harry rolled his eyes, his voice low so only Ginny could hear. "What would happen if we found the snake and killed it? What would happen to us?" he asked, his voice firm.
"I would grant you both the status of demigod, and transport you back to the land from which you came?" Zeus offered.
'Can we really trust him?' Harry asked Ginny, before he dared to verbally agree to the gods demands.
'I don't know, but at this point, I don't think we really have a choice.,' Ginny replied.
"We accept your offer, with one amendment. We don't want to be demigods. We want to live a normal full life, as mortals." Harry responded to the deity, fully prepared that this could offend and anger him once more.
"Are you sure?" Poseidon asked, a look of suspicion in his eye. "How do you confer without even speaking? he questioned.
"We have a telepathic link as we are soulmates. We have been bonded since birth. Our magic is doubled when we are together because of the strength of our bond. So yes, neither of us wants what you are offering, we just want to go home! Now if you don't mind we are wasting time, we should be looking for that snake hair," Ginny explained.
"Wow, I have only have heard of that rare of a bond. I have never actually seen it in real life and I am the goddess of Love and fertility. Might I say that what you two have is a absolute blessing " Aphrodite commented
"The she mortal—Ginny— is right, we need to move quickly, "Poseidon stated, raising his trident for battle.
"You, do not speak with me. I have not forgotten your transgression! Aphrodite, go home!" he bellowed, his anger just as temperamental as the storms he is the master of. "We will leave, now!" Zeus pointed a lightning bolt at Poseidon again, then with the other hand directed his daughter. "Why do you insist on ignoring your god's command!"
"Maybe it's your furious temper, Father?" Aphrodite replied sassily, and with a sashay, she disappeared in a flash of light.
"How dare you speak to your father in such a manner!" Zeus roared at empty space.
Harry held Ginny's hand and kissed her cheek and told Zeus," Okay, let get started."
Harry stood there staring into space deep in thought. Ginny noticed and tried to link with him. She saw what had happened and realized how lucky they were to be alive. Harry collapsed to the ground. Ginny caught him in time before his head hit the ground. Ginny gave Harry a love filled hug and kiss.
"Zeus we are sure the Gorgon hair is in that small cave there. When we were hiding, that is where we hid. Your thunder and lightning entrance deafend the sound of the rattle of the snake and blinded the Gorgon head for a long period of time. It was apparently long enough for us to come out and stop you. Harry somehow recalls hearing a slight rattle and it speaking Parceltongue." Ginny explained
"Alright. Poseidon I am putting things aside for the moment because I need you brother. We have to do this together." Zeus spoke
"I am with you brother, Poseidon responded
"WAIT! Harry can speak Parceltongue to lure it out, and I know a spell to freeze it then you have a better chance of destroying it." Ginny shouted
"Alright, come over here.", Zeus commanded
"Aayaa haa-ssssehhh' 'haa' 'hassaay- hasseey-aayaa-ssse-seyythaa-ssaah.", Harry said in parseltongue.
"What did he just say?", Poseidon said
"I told it I am a friend and to please come out because I would like to see them.", Harry stated
Just then rattles came from the entrance of the small cave. A snake ridden head came hopping out.
"Trificus Totallus!", Ginny bellowed and waved her wand at the Gorgon head. It froze in suspended animation.
"Well, a deal is a deal mortal. You caught the Gorgon and now I will send you home. It has been a pleasure knowing you. Farwell", Zeus said
Harry and Ginny held hands tightly while Zeus wrapped them in a cloud and lifted them up and next thing then knew they landed in their seats in McGonagall's classroom. Class apparently just ended.
"Oh, Merlin thank goodness you two are alright and safely back here. Where did you to go?", Professor asked.
"Professor, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you.", Harry said.