"Harry Potter and the Prince of Olympus"
By Loki Palmer
Author's Note: I am making no money off of this work of fanfiction. The Harry Potter series and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
"I have no armor left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me, all that I am, I'm yours." – James Bond to Vesper Lynd in "Casino Royale"
Chapter 3
The next morning, Patrick woke up comfortable … perhaps WAY too comfortable, but he couldn't deny that the night he just slept through was one of the best nights ever, even though he found his vision blocked by a curtain of wild, bushy hair. If he called her hair wild, however, it would be the pot calling the kettle black, seeing that his hair was no less wilder than hers! He smiled as he focused in on the warmth her body provided, the way she snuggled into him, not to mention her intoxicating aroma that filled his nostrils, her quiet little moan of pleasure …
"Wait just a minute," he thought, "is she awake yet? Can she even hear what I'm thinking? Merlin's beard, I'm so new with this – what did Mom call it? – a Bond? Yes, I suppose that is the general term used – you and your aphrodisiac charm, old boy, you've managed to get yourself quite the brainy one here, haven't you, you sly dog! She's also quite the beauty, I must admit, I've never seen anyone quite this pretty – "
"Thank you, Patrick," said a quiet Hermione, "I'm glad you think of me as being pretty."
"BLAST IT, PATRICK MICHAEL PALMER, CURSES BE UPON YOUR DROOLING, LOVEY-DOVEY, TESTOSTERONE-FILLED, EROS-INFESTED, PRE-ADOLESCENT BRAIN!" screamed Patrick in his thoughts. Hermione had to giggle at the last part – "Eros-infested?" she thought to him. "You really love me, don't you?"
"Μετα πασης καρδιας μου, σ'αγαπω" (With all my heart, I love you), replied Patrick. Through their Bond, Hermione could sense Patrick's magic verifying the truth behind his words, and her magic responded in kind as she grabbed his face in a strong kiss that left them both gasping for air. "Wow," he thought, "this Bond has so many things going for it – the ability to read my Bondmate's mind –"
"Don't forget it works both ways, love," interrupted Hermione's mind.
"Quite so, although I must confess maybe a couple possible disadvantages – it seems my aphrodisiac charm has become stronger – the crowds of females chasing me around would grow as a result – but what seems to be just as odd is that I seem to be going through an accelerated version of puberty – BLAST IT TO THE BOWELS OF BLOODY TARTARUS, DID I JUST THINK THAT?" he thought with widening eyes.
Hermione nodded, thinking, "It's only natural, Pat, that now that you've found your Bondmate – me, to be precise – the magic in your body has now decided it's time to mature in preparation for –" at this point she blushed, "mating." Seeing the panicked look on Patrick's face, she added, "Oh, Pat, don't worry – we don't need to jump right into it – "
"Really?" thought Patrick with some amusement. "I think if you wanted to, you would be jumping me right now."
"Yeah, I probably would," thought Hermione with a smirk, "but I'm happy to remain at this level – snogging – for now," as she started kissing him again. Patrick returned her kisses with equal fervor, but they would all need to get up soon. He tried to get up out of the bed, but Hermione held him down, saying, "No, don't get out of bed yet – I want you here, where it's comfortable!"
"I won't deny it's comfortable, Hermione, but the four of us need to get up," said Patrick. "Besides, if you keep me pinned down like this, it's going to become uncomfortable – and awkward – for the both of us." Hermione, with a smirk, asked, "Oh, Pat, whatever would you mean?"
"Please, Hermione, don't make me spell it out for you," groaned Patrick … then he zoomed out to the bathroom. As he ran out, Hermione heard his mind screaming out in frustration, "CURSES BE UPON THIS MALE BODY'S TREACHERY! YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN TO STOP, DO YOU?"
As he came back in, two thunderbirds came in a lightning bolt, one golden, one red, carrying with them a couple bags. The golden one stuck out its leg for Patrick to take a letter off of it – when Patrick did so, they disappeared with a nod. "What was that all about?" asked Lacey.
Patrick read the letter: "Dear Patrick, In these bags you will find clothes for Hermione and Lacey. The Grangers will be coming to pick you and Hermione up. As for Lacey, she can keep an eye on Harry out at 4 Privet Drive. We'll see the two of you soon. Love, Mom and Dad."
Harry poked his eyes open, saying, "Pat, exactly what time is it?"
"It's around 7:00 A.M. Harry … why do you ask?"
"Great," said Harry, "I get more time to sleep in."
"Don't you usually cook breakfast for the family?"
"I'm too comfortable in bed here with Lacey," groaned Harry. "Let Aunt Petunia cook the breakfast for once."
"Wait just a minute, Pat," said Lacey. "You just said – correct me if I'm wrong – Harry is the one who cooks breakfast?" Patrick nodded, wary that Lacey might explode on him, but Lacey's reaction was one of – some perplexion … "Harry cooks the meals – why doesn't Patrick?"
"NO!" said Harry in desperation. "He is NEVER to set foot inside the kitchen ever again for the purposes of cooking! Never, never, never!"
"Wow, someone's getting territorial, isn't he?" quipped Hermione with a giggle.
"Was it that bad, when he tried cooking?" asked Lacey.
"Yes, but to be more exact, his attempt at cooking was destructive, due to his impatience with the speed of the cooking process – blowing the house several feet into the air!" said Harry. Everyone laughed at this statement.
"PATRICK, YOU HAVE A VISITOR!" boomed Uncle Vernon.
"Well, we might as well get up," said Patrick. Hermione, Lacey and Harry got up and got dressed, then went out with Patrick into the living room, where they saw –
"Dr. Granger, I presume?" asked Patrick.
"Patrick – it's been a long time since I've seen you, young man!" said Ed Granger. "Hermione, princess, have you had a nice time visiting him?"
"I've slept like a baby next to him, Daddy," said Hermione. "How did you know?"
"Patrick's parents came by to see me and your mother last night, princess."
"Patrick, darling," thought Hermione, "what's the deal with Dudley over there?"
Patrick looked around for Dudley, and he found him staring at Hermione in a manner that was making her uncomfortable, so he scared him off with a feral hiss that said, "She's MINE – back off!" Dudley's response was to flee as fast as his legs could take him!
Vernon, looking at the closeness between Patrick and Hermione, as well as his defense of her, said something very stupid: "Patrick, are you sure that's all you did with this – ?" Patrick sensed that the next word out of Vernon's mouth would not be polite, because he slammed Vernon on the ground and growled: "If you EVER insult Hermione again, they will need a coroner to identify what's left of you when I'm done!"
"When WE'RE done with him, Patrick," corrected Hermione. Her eyes were burning with a fury she never knew she could show, much to Patrick's amazement and Vernon's increased terror. "You have to teach your son better behavior around ladies, Vernon – it's considered bad taste to ogle them like they're a piece of meat! Heed our warning well – or else he will answer to the police, not to us!"
Ed Granger cleared his throat. "As – charming – as this place may be, we really do have to get going, princess. Are you and Patrick ready to go?"
"Yes, we are," they replied, after hugging Harry and Lacey and wishing them the best of luck.
Vernon, however, could not keep his stupid, big mouth shut: "You two freaks deserve each other!" The room temperature dropped like a bomb, John William's "Imperial March" played, and two voices said in stereo: "NEVER – CALL – US – FREAKS!" With an angry burst of magic, they sent Vernon flying out the back door, busting it with his large frame in the process, to land in the backyard, frightened but still alive!
~HP&PO~
As the car arrived in the Granger driveway, Nikos and Michaela were already there waiting for them. Nikos's golden eyes shone bright as he said, "Πατρικιε, υιος μου (Patrick, my son!) Patrick was so excited he ran into his father's hug yelling, "Πατερ (Father!)
"Don't I get a hug as well?" asked Michaela, only to be answered by Hermione hugging her. As the four people stood there, Michaela turned to Patrick, whispering, "Διανοια φοτεινη εχει και καλη εστιν - Πατρικιε, θαυμαστην γυναικα ευρηκας (She has a brilliant mind and she's beautiful – Patrick, you've found a wonderful woman!)
Hermione blushed at the high praise, saying, "Thank you, Michaela – or is it Mum?"
Smiling, Michaela said, "Either one will do fine."
"As happy as we all are about this family reunion," said Ed Granger, "how about we head inside the house where it's more comfortable?"
~HP&PO~
Inside the house, Jeanne Granger grabbed Patrick in a heavy hug, kissed him on both cheeks, and said, "Patrick, ça fait presque dix années que nous ne te voyons pas! Où étais-tu? Hermione n'a rien dit!" (Patrick, it's been almost ten years that we haven't seen you! Where were you? Hermione has said nothing!)
Patrick could sense the worry in her voice, and responded, "Madame … " (Madam...)
"S'il te plaît, appelle-moi Jeanne. 'Madame' me fait sentir vieille." (Please, call me Jeanne. 'Madam' makes me feel old.)
"D'accord … Jeanne … j'étais avec Harry chez son oncle Vernon Dursley." (Okay … Jeanne .. I was with Harry at the home of his uncle, Vernon Dursley.)
"One moment," interrupted Hermione. "You can speak French, Pat?"
"Apparently, he can," said Nikos. "Do you have any idea just how brilliant he is, Hermione?"
"He's among the top in his year – even his foreign language teachers say he speaks like a native!" said Michaela, as Nikos ruffled Patrick's hair with a proud statement of, "That's my boy!"
"Even I must admit, his pronunciation is excellent," said a smiling Jeanne.
"Back to the topic at hand – Patrick, you were living with Vernon Dursley?" At Patrick's nod, Nikos sighed and said, "We're just relieved that you're okay – you seemed okay when we came to visit you in your dream, and that's what counts. If he hurt you, though, he will pay. If he did – we'll find that out later, Son, there's no need to worry so much."
"Why do you think I would be worried?" asked Patrick.
"Look at it this way, Patrick – the Dursleys hate anything that has to do with magic," explained Michaela. "As a powerful magical being yourself, you would be a prime target for Vernon's hatred – and as for Harry – I shudder to think about how he suffered at that fat walrus's hands."
"I don't think we need to be too concerned about Vernon hurting Harry while Patrick's gone," said Ed. "Patrick and Hermione sent him flying out the back door for calling them 'freaks'."
"I warned him – I warned him, but he just wouldn't listen!" said Patrick.
"Okay ..." said Nikos. "What about Harry?"
"Lacey is with him," said Ed.
Nikos smiled. "I could not think of a better person to guard Harry than Patrick's cousin."
Patrick was stunned, but only for a moment. "I would have thought she was a sister, but cousin makes some sense, I guess."
"Hermione, how have you been coping?" asked Michaela.
"I've been coping well so far, Michaela," answered Hermione.
"I expect my son would be quite warm, am I right?"
"MUM!" yelled a blushing Patrick. Hermione nodded with a giggle.
"Hey, now, don't you be embarrassed, young man," Michaela admonished him. "She's going to need your body heat to keep warm during the cold winter nights, don't you know!"
"BLAST IT!" thought Patrick as Hermione burst into laughter, "THIS ACCURSED PIECE OF REPRODUCTIVE MACHINERY HAS A BLOODY MIND OF ITS OWN! DOWN, BOY, DOWN!"
"It's a common problem, Son, I know," he heard Nikos say in his mind, "the increase in aphrodisiac charm filling your system is, shall we say, a magical version of puberty for us. As to why Ed isn't strangling you or anything similar, it's because we explained the situation to the both of them when we visited them last night."
"Nikos?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"I just wanted to ask – I've noticed that Michaela, you, and Patrick speak Greek. What's the explanation?"
"Hermione, you understand Greek mythology, right?"
"Yes, of course," said Hermione. After a few seconds of thought, her eyes widened. "The aphrodisiac charm, the lightning, the strength – I almost would say I don't believe it, except that I've seen it for myself – Patrick's an Olympian!"
"Yet again, you've applied your brilliant mind to the right conclusion, Hermione!" cheered Nikos. "That makes it – how many, Michaela? I've lost count."
"Just give her a few clues and she will sniff down the right solution to any puzzle," said Michaela, swatting Nikos on the arm in laughter. "I'm afraid I've lost count as well."
"To be more specific, Hermione – Patrick is the grandson of Zeus."
Yet again, it looked like Hermione's eyes would pop out of their sockets. "Zeus? Father Zeus, King of Olympus, – Zeus the Cloud-Gatherer, the Mightiest of all the Gods of Olympus?"
"All of that is right, Hermione, except for the last part. The Filii Fulminis – or Children of Lightning, of whom Patrick is one – are not gods, but are extremely powerful wizards who have lived for a long time."
"Neither of you two are mentioned in the lists of the pantheon, though," Hermione said, a smirk on her face.
"That is easily explained by the fact that the both of us are recent additions to the group of Olympians. I was born at the same time as James Potter, and Michaela was adopted from Norway – the grand-daughter of Thor, as a matter of fact," said Nikos.
"What happened to her parents?" asked Hermione.
"They died in a troll attack, sad to say. Nikos managed to kill the troll and save me – and when I'm talking about trolls, I'm talking about giant creatures at least 10 to 12 feet tall and absolutely no brains," said Michaela. "Ed, Jeanne, may we take Hermione with us to Gringotts – our bank? We would like to perform an Inheritance Test on the both of them!"
"Sure," said Ed and Jeanne. "This should be very interesting. May we come along?"
"Yes," said Nikos. "Just grab onto us and hang on ..."
The group disappeared to Gringotts in a lightning bolt ...
~HP&PO~
The group entered Gringotts Bank and Nikos approached a goblin. "Greetings, Master Griphook. May your gold flow and prosper!"
"May your anger crush your enemies, Mr. Palmer!" answered Griphook. "How may Gringotts be of service to you today?"
Bringing forward Patrick and Hermione, Nikos answered, "We would like to perform an Inheritance Test on these two kids."
"We can do that," said Griphook. "Follow me, please." He led them down a long corridor into an office. Once there, Patrick, curious, asked, "What will this test involve, Dad?"
"It won't involve much," said Nikos, "just a spot of your blood."
"That's quite right, young Master Palmer," said Griphook. "Just prick your finger and let the blood drop into this bowl."
Patrick did so, and a parchment printed out. It read thus:
NAME: Patrick Michael Palmer ( )
BIRTHDATE: 01 February 1980 A.D.
BIRTH PLACE: Godric's Hollow, England
FATHER'S NAME: Nikos Herakles Palmer ( )
MOTHER'S NAME: Michaela Torsonn Palmer ( )
SPECIES: Magical Human, Filius Fulminis
HAIR COLOR: Golden Blond
EYE COLOR: Blue
HEIR OF: Olympus, Asgard, Merlin, Ravenclaw (by Bond)
BONDED: Yes
BONDMATE'S NAME: Hermione Jean Granger
"Whoa! Hermione, I guess it's your turn!"
Hermione did the same, and this is how her test turned out:
NAME: Hermione Jean Granger
BIRTHDATE: 19 September 1979 A.D.
BIRTH PLACE: Godric's Hollow, England
FATHER'S NAME: Edward Daniel Granger
MOTHER'S NAME: Jeanne Emma Granger
SPECIES: Magical Human, Filia Fulminis (in progress)
HAIR COLOR: Brown
EYE COLOR: Brown
HEIR OF: Ravenclaw, Olympus (by Bond), Asgard (by Bond), Merlin (by Bond)
BONDED: Yes
BONDMATE'S NAME: Patrick Michael Palmer
"Does this mean am I going into Ravenclaw?" asked Hermione.
"Not necessarily," answered Michaela, "all this means is that you own Ravenclaw. Given the Bond between you and Patrick, wherever one is Sorted, the other one will go."
"What about Asgard?" asked Patrick. "If I remember the myths correctly, it was destroyed in the battle of Ragnarok."
"That's true – the only part of it left is Thor's hammer Mjøllner, which was re-fashioned into a sword by Godric Gryffindor with the help of Merlin," said Nikos.
"Hold on – Merlin was the one who advised King Arthur – were King Arthur and Godric Gryffindor one and the same?" asked Patrick.
"Yes, they were," said Nikos.
"Okay," said Patrick, "if my grandfather was Zeus, who's Merlin?"
"Zeus took 'Merlin' as a pseudonym when he visited England in the Dark Ages," said Nikos.
"Master Griphook," said Ed, "can you explain to me what a Bond is?"
"Mr. Granger, a Bond is the magical version of what Muggles call a 'match made in Heaven.' Not all magical beings are Bonded, but for those that are, it's something very special for the both of them!"
"Ed, do you notice how Hermione is shown as a 'Filia Fulminis in progress'?" asked Nikos. Ed nodded, as Nikos continued, "This means that the Bond will eventually transform Hermione – considering that Patrick is already powerful, she will be just as powerful!"
"Out of curiosity, is it possible for a Bond to be broken?" asked Ed. Everyone glared at him in disbelief, until Ed explained himself, "Don't worry, Patrick, I like you already!" Everybody sighed in relief.
"To answer your question, no, it isn't possible, but if it was, the consequences would be disastrous, including descent of the two people involve into an über-psychosis," explained Griphook. "Also, be comforted that the Bond must be chosen of the Bonded's own free will, and Miss Granger became Bonded to Master Palmer - " he ruffled the papers – "yesterday. Last of all, the Bond will be matured usually by puberty, if not later, if given appropriate nuture and time – and you don't need to worry, the maturation process does not involve intercourse," he said. The faces of Patrick and Hermione were both beet-red at this statement, and were still beet-red as the group thanked Griphook and left Gringotts.