"Mum?" Harry echoed slowly, wondering if he had finally snapped and gone around the bend.

"That's right," 'Eris' agreed with a blinding flash of white teeth, "Now, try saying it ten times faster."

"You're crazy," he exhaled, slowly shaking his head, as he dislodged her hand. He brought his own up to drag it down his face.

"Only a little," Eris countered dismissively, pulling his hands away from his face and staring at him intently. "Good, those are my eyes," she murmured to herself, as Harry found himself being swarmed by the half-naked bird women again.

"You must forgive them, Hadrian," Eris said with a roll of her eyes, "They've been forced to wait fourteen years to even touch their little brother, so they are a little excited."

"I'm not their brother!" Harry snapped, forcibly shoving the women away and quickly scrambling to his feet, darting away from the horde of crazy women. "And you're not my mother," he added, "My mother was Lily Evans."

"Who I just happen to look like?" Eris asked pointedly.

"I can name four glamour spells from the top of my head," Harry dead-panned coldly, glaring at the woman who dared to insult his mother's name.

"I'm the Goddess of Discord and Strife, Hadrian," Eris claimed slowly, not looking at all annoyed by his words, "Even though I fought with the Olympians during the Titanomachy, I was still looked upon coldly by Zeus. So, I swore that I would go into isolation, and to never move against Olympus. I then made myself a pocket dimension that I call Tartarus," she explained as she gestured around the temple he was in. "However, I am the Goddess of Discord and Strife," she repeated, "I am a very chaotic being. And as such, whenever I have a child their own power tears them apart before they can take their first breath. But, with the help of a Goddess who shall remain nameless, I discovered a way to ensure the survival of my next attempt

"Unfortunately, Lily Evans got distracted by mortal desires and fell in love," Eris continued as Harry watched her and his pouting 'sisters' cautiously. "Lily eventually got married to James Potter, and knowing I was incapable of having children normally, I followed the plan and engineered a situation where a God would unwittingly aid us in having a child. And thus, Hadrian James Salvator Potter was born," she finished slowly.

"Harry, my name's Harry," he corrected, "And you're still insane." He turned away from the women and running his hand down his face again. "This is just what I needed, the Triwizard Tournament and a case of extreme insanity at the same time," he muttered under his breath.

"I can help with the Tournament," Eris offered in a sing-song voice, "And the insanity? Well you're my son, so it's only a matter of time before you become slightly unhinged."

As much as he wanted to deny it, Harry couldn't help the way his body stiffened and his ears perked up at the offer of aid. Crazy the woman may be, but Harry needed all the help he could get with the upcoming Tournament, it wasn't like he had enough supporters as it was.

"Now you're listening aren't you?" Eris asked knowingly, "You may be able to win this Tournament through magic, but if you want to do it stylishly and easily, then you should begin practising your godly powers."

Harry couldn't stop his shoulders from sagging in annoyance as he turned around to scowl at Eris. "I would use my 'godly powers'?" he questioned in a snapping voice, "That would work except for one tiny matter. Since my mother is Lily Potter and not some Roman God, I'm afraid I don't have any of these 'godly powers'."

"Actually Lily was split from me, or rather, my Greek aspect," Eris explained, "And before you ask, think of the Roman and Greek aspects as one person with two personalities. Some of the Gods change drastically between aspects, but others like myself are too universal to change too much. The only differences between my aspects are that, as Discordia, I'm more violent and less mischievous."

Harry stared at the 'Goddess' for a moment, before nodding slowly, part of him wondering if it were possible that neither of them were as insane as he thought. "So if I was really some half Greek god, then shouldn't I have something to show for it?" he asked pointedly, his mouth making the decision before his mind could.

"You're one of Hecate's Blessed. A Wizard," Eris clarified, when Harry open his mouth, "To stop magical Demigods from accidentally tearing the Mist, it was decided that a magical Demigod's magic would suppress their godly powers until they're claimed by their parent. The moment your name came out of that giant egg cup, the godly power entwined within the Goblet began speeding up the natural awakening of your heritage. Going through puberty as you are, your awakening should work much faster than usual to help you catch up, as it were, with where you would be naturally. It's what allowed you to read the Latin in those books," she explained.

"And once you 'claim' me," Harry began, hiding his scepticism, "I'll begin developing my 'godly powers'?"

"Yes," Eris agreed simply, making Harry blink in shock at the blunt admission.

"Right…and, uh, what godly powers are these again?" he asked slowly.

"Unfortunately, since I was Greek during your conception it means you'll be less combat-oriented than your Roman cousins," Eris said with a shrug, moving back to sink down onto her throne, "So it's likely you'll find my gifts…lacking…considering they're not something you can club people with, but I assure you, they are powerful in the right hands.

"I'm the Goddess of Discord and Strife," she continued when Harry just stared at her. "And as my son, your heritage will be along those lines. The power to induce chaos and discord with a mere wave of your hand, the power to cast illusions and to spread strife with a snap of your fingers" she exhaled with a pleased expression on her face. Her face then turned into a frown. "I'm not sure what powers you inherited from your father though," she said, crossing her arms, "The ritual called for godly essence, which means it's 'untainted' by Roman or Greek aspects, so there is no way of telling."

Harry paused as her words slowly filtered through his mind. "Hold on, you mean my father is a God too?" he blurted, a resigned look crossing his face. "Now I know I'm crazy, having one God for a parent is unlikely enough, without having two."

"I also said that I couldn't have a child normally," Eris countered, sticking her tongue out at him childishly, "Albus Dumbledore presented us with the very ritual I had arranged for Lily to discover mere days later. It summoned a 'higher power' to help the casters conceive. In all honesty, I do not know if your father is even male, all I know is that their essence infused James' seed when he impregnated Lily".

"I dunno, it sounds kind of…convenient…to me," Harry muttered, as he tried to find a slip-up to target in her explanation. (And if that stopped him from thinking about his father impregnating his mother then that was just an added bonus).

"Perhaps, but if Dumbledore did not offer us the ritual then Lily would have 'accidentally' stumbled across it herself," Eris dismissed, "And I know not which God it was," she added as Harry's mouth opened, "Lily didn't have the power to scan the God's essence, and even if she did, doing so would have alerted the God to my essence within her. I know they were a God, simply because that is what the ritual called for."

Harry stared at the 'Goddess' for a moment longer as he searched for another argument, "Lily Evans was a model student!" he blurted quickly, "She didn't like my father because he was a prankster. And besides, I'm not a prankster, so how I can be the son of the Goddess of Discord?"

"I'm the Goddess of Discord, Had- Harry," Eris corrected slowly, "Not the Goddess of Mischief. I don't prank people, I'm more in the business of causing conflict and supporting anarchy. Though, Hermes is a laugh whenever I talk to him."

"Oh," Harry exhaled nervously, jumping as a hand touched his hair, making him flinch and jump away from the winged women.

"And you might as well let them inspect you," Eris suggested, with a small smile, as another winged woman reached for him again. "They're too simple to understand personal space and too curious to leave you alone. These are Makhai, by the way, Spirits of War. I built their bodies of ether and gifted them with a touch of my essence, just like I did your other half-siblings," she explained proudly, "While they excel at the purpose I birthed them for, they're no more than children in all other aspects of their lives."

Standing stiffly as Eris spoke, Harry tried his hardest to not flinch away from the hands that were combing through his hair and picking at his clothes. "Half-siblings?" he asked hesitantly, swatting away a hand that dipped below his belt.

"In essence only," Eris confirmed, "They have no physical bodies, so a blood connection is impossible. So, while you remain my only Demigod child, my Firstborn at that, I do have other children, in a way."

"Firstborn?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed. As such you will be more powerful than the average demigod, perhaps on par with a child of the Big Three, should there be any," Eris explained.

Swatting away the hand again, Harry watched as Eris waved a hand and a crystal ball appeared in her hand. "You must leave," she decided suddenly, "You cannot remain without a physical body for too long, and I do not wish your body to be discovered. We will meet again Harry, and we will begin training your powers. Be careful my son," she whispered gently, a longing look flashing through her eyes as she waved a hand.

Gasping in shock as both icy coldness and fiery heat rolled through his body, Harry sat up quickly, looking around the bathroom in confusion. Frowning slightly, as he slowly made his way to his feet, Harry stared at the mirror on the wall, a smiley face scrawled in the steam, instead of Eris' symbol. Hearing people yelling back in the dorm room, he snatched up his wand and unlocked the door, stepping out and freezing at the sight of Ron, Neville, and Seamus glaring each other down with their wands pointing at each other.

"Explain," he ordered coldly, "I'm not in the mood to deal with this shit right now."

"I caught Ron helping himself to your trunk," Neville reported instantly, all traces of his stutter gone, "And judging by what I heard in here, I figured he wasn't exactly welcome to your things".

"Thank you Neville," Harry said slowly, changing his wand's target to Ron and Seamus instead. "And Seamus?" he asked expectantly.

"I'm with Neville," Seamus claimed quickly, "But uh, did you put your name in the Goblet?" he asked cautiously.

"If you knew me you wouldn't have to ask that," Harry ground out. When Seamus just nodded, seemingly agreeing with him, he barely hid his shock from the other boy. After three years of rooming with him, he was honestly expecting the Irish boy to blame him anyway, instead of siding with him so quickly.

"Then it seems that Ron doesn't know you at all," Neville muttered, making Harry nod in agreement.

"So it does," he agreed coldly as Ron sneered at him. "Now put whatever you stole back, before I curse you so badly that not even Madam Pomfrey could put you back together," he threatened bluntly.

"I didn't steal anything," Ron snapped darkly, "I was borrowing your invisibility cloak. You didn't need it anyway and I wanted something from the kitchens."

"You were taking my invisibility cloak without my permission or knowledge," Harry corrected coldly, not lowering his wand from where it was pointing at Ron's face, "You weren't allowed to do that even when we were still friends."

Ron's face darkened again and the redhead stomped past him, wisely making sure he didn't brush against the angry Harry. "S'everything alright, Harry?" Neville asked softly as the door was slammed shut behind Ron.

Harry sagged down for a moment before starting towards his bed. "No," he confessed simply, "No, it's not."

"Well, if you need anything," Neville offered with a shrug, Harry faltering as he glanced up at the two boys who were preparing for bed as well.

He could feel something, a faint humming behind his eyes, whenever he looked at either boy. He hadn't felt it when he looked at Ron though, so either it was new or it was just something dependant on the person.

"So uh…what was it like?" Seamus asked suddenly, making both Harry and Neville jump awkwardly, turning to face the other boy.

"What was what like?" Harry asked cautiously, not sure about what he was talking about.

"You know," Seamus pressed as Neville flicked his wand at the doors. "You spoke to your parent didn't you?" he asked with a grin, excitement on his face as even Neville started at him eagerly, "We could feel them from down in the common room, s'why we came up and caught Ron."

"Wait, with my parent?" Harry blurted in shock, staring between the two boys in surprise. "You mean..."

"We're Demigods too," Neville confirmed nervously, "We're not the only ones either. The Gods are kind of the worst kept Pure-blood secret. A lot of old Pure-blood lines have godly heritage in them somewhere."

"Aye, there aren't many of us in England, now that the Gods moved to America, but there are a few here at Hogwarts," Seamus explained.

"So she was telling the truth then?" Harry asked softly, collapsing down onto the end of his bed, "I'm not crazy?"

"Well, she was telling the truth," Seamus corrected, grinning, as Harry scowled at him without thinking. "Nah, it's all real. Seamus Finnegan, Son of Hephaestus, at your service," he introduced with an over dramatic bow.

"My mother is Demeter," Neville explained as Harry glanced at him.

"So? Who's your mum? You said 'she' right?" Seamus asked curiously.

"Uh," Harry began hesitantly, part of him wanting to deny it and pretend it had never happened. "Eris. It was Eris," he confessed, staring down at his hands.

Silence answered him, making him bite back a wince as he looked up to his room-mates' shocked faces. "As in the Goddess of Discord Eris?" Neville finally asked, looking twice as nervous as he had before, "The Goddess that started the Trojan War?"

Harry did flinch at that. He may not know much about Greek mythology, but he did know what the Trojan War was, and the idea that the Goddess who was apparently his mother caused them didn't sit well in his stomach.

"Awesome," Seamus exhaled bluntly, "I've never heard of a child of Eris before."

"There aren't any," Neville murmured quietly, "Not Demigod ones at least. That would make you a Firstborn."

Harry sat there fidgeting for a moment, the way the two boys were staring at him making the hair and the back of his neck rise up. "It isn't bad is it?" he asked hesitantly.

"No way, this is cool!" Seamus corrected with a grin.

"It's not bad Harry. I'm uh, I'm sure Eris is a nice person," Neville agreed when the Irish boy elbowed him in the side. "You're still Harry," he added with a shrug, "Son of Eris or not, you're still my friend."

"Tell ya what Harry, we'll introduce you to the rest of us Demigods tomorrow, aye?" Seamus said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

"Yeah, we'll all be on your side for the Tournament, Harry," Neville agreed.

As Neville turned to start getting ready for bed, Seamus following after, Harry looked back down to his hands. If this was real, if Gods and Demigods were real, then Hermione would know something about them. And if he was religious (Which he felt he should be, if his mother was a Goddess), then he'd pray that Hermione believed him, because he didn't know if he could survive this Tournament without her.


PANDEMONIUM


"A Goddess."

"Right," Harry confirmed hesitantly, staring at the lake in front of him as they sat side by side in the cold air, the following morning.

"A Greek Goddess."

"Yup. And Seamus and Neville too," he agreed nervously, still not looking over at Hermione.

"Well…you said you woke up on the floor? Maybe you-" Hermione began.

"No," Harry interrupted, "It was real. I can…I can just feel it, I know it's real. I don't exactly believe it, but it was real. It happened."

Hermione didn't reply straight away, but when she did she sounded too sceptical for Harry. "I'll have to do some research, before I say anything on it Harry," she admitted, "Just be careful around her. I don't like it, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not stupid Hermione," Harry muttered quietly, feeling offended even though he knew Hermione was just being cautious, "I'm not going to trust her just because she claims to be my mother. Besides, we'll be meeting the rest of the 'Demigods', later today."

"I know you're not Harry," Hermione assured him, "I just don't want to you to agree to anything because you think you might not survive the Tournament," she explained gently. "We don't need Ron to help you through this, we can do this together and still come out on top. After all," she added with a sniff, "If you can defeat You-Know-Who three times before now, I think you can win this Tournament."

"I had help each of those times," Harry began slowly.

"And what I am now? Your cheerleader?" Hermione asked pointedly making him roll his eyes.

"Is that an offer?" he countered innocently, not fighting it when he was swatted around the back of the head in response, "Seriously though Hermione, I can't do this without you," Harry mumbled slowly.

"And I wouldn't make you," Hermione promised, making him smile as a weight he didn't know he was carrying was lifted off his shoulders, "And when Ron comes around he'll help us, and when you send that letter to Sirius he'll be able to help us in any way he can."

"No," Harry denied, "Sirius is going to run as far away as he can. I don't want him coming back and getting caught because of me. He promised we could live together," he added softly.

"Well unless Pettigrew put you in this Tournament, I think you need to put him out of your mind," Hermione suggested thoughtfully. "Do you still have that book of fire spells?" she asked curiously, "I was thinking last night and I believe that while we need to focus on offensive and defensive magic, a collection of charms and transfiguration could change the playing field."

"It's in my trunk," Harry agreed slowly, "Which was covered by my invisibility cloak and hidden under my bed," he added with a scowl, "Ron won't be able to help himself to it again."

"Seriously! That boy has the emotional range of a teaspoon and the intelligence of a dead ferret!" Hermione exclaimed, "I can't believe he'd be jealous of you like this!"

Harry choked on his breath, coughing as he turned to stare at Hermione in shock. "He's jealous?" he blurted in disgust, "He's turning his back on me because he's fucking jealous?"

"Language!" Hermione scolded instantly, "And I did say the emotional range of a teaspoon Harry. I know he's your best friend, but there are times I wonder how many times Mrs Weasley dropped him on his head as a baby, especially since his brothers are nothing like him," she explained, pulling a face as she blushed slightly.

"Well, Percy's a bit of a prat," Harry pointed out making Hermione snort.

"Come on," Hermione decided, quickly climbing to her feet and holding her hand out to help Harry up as well. "Let's go get some more books and then go talk to Professor McGonagall," she declared as Harry groaned at the thought of going to the library, "We need a place to practice these spells and I doubt Madam Pince would do anything other than eviscerate us if we tried to cast fire spells in her library."

"Eviscerate?" Harry echoed dumbly as he obediently followed his best friend towards the castle again.

"It means disembowel," Hermione explained over her shoulder, "She'd slice open our stomachs and pull out our intestines".

He froze as Hermione kept moving, staring at her back in horror. "Has anyone told you that you're scary sometimes?" he called after her.

Hermione looked over her shoulder. "Yes," she replied simply with a smile, "Many, many times."

As Harry raced to catch up, he absently noted he felt that same humming sensation behind his eyes from last night, whenever he met Hermione's eyes.