A/N: This is an idea that I had while eating. Not sure what that says about me, but oh well. I don't own the characters or the fandom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ZEUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing he noticed was the light. It was much, much brighter than in Gryffindor Tower. And there were oddly shaped columns of some kind of white stone surrounding him. Hearing footsteps, he swung round, ready to attack whoever it was if they were a danger. A woman, dressed in an oddly fashioned purple robe that seemed to glow, with red hair and green eyes, stood before him.

"Mum?"

Now in all fairness, Harry Potter had never met his mother. He had seen pictures, certainly, but he had never met her. And given the whole 'heavenly' feel to this place, he could be forgiven for thinking he had died and was being met by his mother at the gates of heaven. Unfortunately, while some of this was true, the woman before him was not Lily Potter.

"No, Harry. My name is Hera. I called you here because I need your help, and no one else could be trusted."

"Oh. Hera? Like the Greek goddess? And why do you need my help?"

"Yes, precisely. Hades, god of the Underworld, has challenged my husband, Zeus, to a Game. But after Zeus accepted, Hades pulled a dirty trick, and had his followers trap my husband in a nightmare that he will not awaken from before the Game starts." Even in the obviously rushed explanation, Harry could hear the capitalized letter at the start of the word 'game'.

"OK. So, you want me to break the curse? How do I do that? And what is this Game?"

"No Harry. I have tasked another of the minor gods with breaking the curse and freeing Zeus from his nightmare. What I want you to do is take my husband's place, and play the Game against Hades. To explain every nuance of the Game would take to much time, and I'm not sure mortals could even understand it, but it is essentially a chess match, except that every move you make will have an impact on the real world. To illustrate, in the last Game, which to your mind took place last year, Zeus lost a piece to Hades near the end of the Game. That piece represented Cedric Diggory. In your world, Cedric was killed by Voldemort. The two events happened simultaneously, Harry."

"You mean...every move I make could get my friends killed? No. No way. I refuse to put them in danger like that."

"No! Harry, please, understand, if you refuse to play the Game, no one can oppose Hades. Only you and Zeus have the power necessary to take him on and even hope to win. The last Game was won, but the victory was a costly one, and if you don't play, Hades wins by default. The only way your friends and family have a chance is if you play. Please, Harry, I beg of you, play this Game, even if only till Zeus awakens once more. Please?"

So it was either play against Hades, Lord of the Dead and God of the Underworld, and risk his friends lives, or refuse to play and doom them all anyway. Hera was clearly desperate, and wanted - no, needed - Harry to play. Hermione always did say he had a 'saving-people thing', he thought with a sigh.

"Alright, I'll do it. How do I play? Is someone going to teach me?"

The relief Hera felt was palpable. "No, Harry, I'm sorry. The Game starts immediately. It's a miracle in and of itself that I managed to delay the start this long. Follow me."

The goddess turned and swept through long corridors, all made of the same material - marble, Harry now realised, eventually coming to a huge hallway, filled with people - the rest of the Greek Pantheon, Harry realized, all whispering as soon as they saw him. Of course, thanks to Umbridge and Fudge's smear campaign, Harry was able to ignore them, and simply followed Hera to a large circular table.

Halting, Hera nudged him over to a blue square with the symbol of Zeus - a lightning bolt, ironically - telling him to wait there, and that a chair would be brought over for him once Hades arrived. In a corner, three women stood, decrepit and ancient. They only had one eye between them, and a pair of scissors were held in the hands of the tallest one. With a start, Harry recognized them from his History lessons in primary school - the Fates, the women who cut the threads of life when a person died.

The doors at the back of the hall were flung open, and a man - if he could be called such - walked in. The man's skin and clothes were gray, but it was his hair that caught Harry's eye - it was made of bright blue flames. In fact, Harry thought the Greek gods and goddesses all looked similar to the way they looked in the Disney movie Hercules that Hermione had recommended to him.

"So, Hera, you actually found someone to play on your behalf?" Turning to Harry, Hades spoke again. "Well, may the best player win, hmm. Not that I intend to lose, of course." Harry decided that the movie had got Hades character perfect. The man had an oily voice, like a sleazy used car salesman, a charming smirk, and could probably convince Hermione that she was a boy. How was he supposed to beat this guy in a game of chess? He couldn't beat Hermione at chess, and for all her logic, Hermione was the second-worst chess player at Hogwarts, only just avoiding last place by beating him. Hades could probably convince Harry to join Voldemort, just by talking him into it.

Offering only a shaky nod in response, Harry wondered if Hera knew how truly atrocious a chess player he was. Two chairs appeared, Harry and Hades took their places, and the Game began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HADES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Just a rabid plot bunny that bit me, though if there is interest, this may become a serious story. But hey, there is no story not worth hearing, right? That is my belief as a writer. As always, review!