Hey everyone,
This chapter will cover three things. Harry meeting Poseidon, Hermione making an entrance when she finds out that the Gods will mess with Harry's schedule and Poseidon giving Harry his first lesson. Also, the title will probably come up somewhere halfway through to the end of the chapter, so look out for that.
Hope you enjoy,
Venquine1990
Chapter 04
I Am Herodus Potter
2nd of September 1991
Great Hall, Hogwarts
Harry's POV
Ever since waking up, have I felt as if everything that happened last night has settled down in my mind and heart, as if my subconscious helped me acknowledge and accept the great shocks, the interesting tidbits that I found out and the confrontations that took place between the Gods and Dumbledore as well as me and the Weasleys.
I had looked up and felt glad beyond words that Ronald Weasley's bed was on the other side yet when I woke up, did I suddenly start noticing how horribly he is snoring and I wondered how on earth I had managed to get any sleep with sounds like that reverberating through the dorm room before I decided to just get ready.
I had considered waking the other boys, yet Neville was already rousing and he had told me he would make sure the others wouldn't be late. The boy still looks quite scared and intimidated by practically everything and part of me wondered how he managed not to faint when in the presence of the Gods, yet I had only thanked him and left.
At the Great Hall I had gone to sit with the Weasley twins and asked them to conjure me a well-contained flame. The twins had been confused, but had done as asked and I had thrown some food in and made a small prayer of thanks to my father as the food burned. The twins had then done the same, but prayed to Hermes.
Their stated reason had made me snicker and the rest of breakfast, I had made sure to have as many liquid forms of breakfast meals as possible, while the twins made sure to eat a lot of food that will help them be fast and we had happily started talking, regardless of how their brothers had walked past us with scowls on their faces.
"You're trying a little too hard, little nephew." I then suddenly hear as I fill another glass of water and I turn around, seeing a man with black hair, a trimmed black beard, a deep tan and sea green eyes that are surrounded by sun-wrinkles to prove that the man laughs and smiles a lot standing behind me, dressed quite casually.
"Greetings, Lord Poseidon." I say, but the man raises his hand and says: "That will only be necessary in lessons, little one. You can just call me Poseidon or Uncle Poseidon when I'm not teaching you my many skills. And trust me, you're going to love this first class that I have planned for you once you finish your – watery breakfast."
And the good-humored tone in his voice makes me feel a little silly for having been worried about the feud between him and my father possibly having an effect on my classes and yet it seems as if trouble is just meant to find me now that I am in this world as Granger has gone to sit with us when I turned around and now she snarls:
"But that can't even be possible. Harry has Transfigurations after breakfast. I have his and my schedules right here!" Yet at this the King of the Seas turns to the girl, his happy-go-lucky attitude exchanged for a stern, no-nonsense attitude and he asks: "And you are?" Shocking the girl before he turns to me and asks:
"Is she a friend?" And instantly I answer: "No, she isn't. And so, I would prefer to have my schedule back." The girl looks shocked, but then glares and says: "You can have it back when you thank me for going to get it for you." To which I raise an eyebrow and ask: "You do realize I can consider that an act of blackmailing, don't you?"
And the girl looks shocked yet again before I take my schedule from her hand and I hum as I say: "Well, what do you know. I sure have a lot of free hours in here." Yet instantly the girl snatches my schedule from my hand and looks at it as she says: "But that can't be. I read this before. Our schedules were one and the same."
At which Poseidon answers: "They were, until Lady Hecate decided that my nephew's classes as a wizard are just as important as the classes he will receive from my family. Therefore they replaced one subject at any point in the week with a class with either me or whoever will teach my little nephew once I am done."
The girl looks at this shocked and I quickly gulp down my last glass of water before deciding to be the better person and I ask: "Make sure she knows her way, okay? Your brother took a bit of a theatrical detour last night." And the left twin says: "We noticed." Before the right goes on: "And we'll be happy to."
At this I nod at them and then say: "See you twins later. And you too, whoever you are." And the girl's wide eyes follow me out the Great Hall, along with the shocked and awed looks of all those who have come down for an early breakfast. And the minute we pass the corner, pandemonium of sound erupts from the students.
"How long do you think it will take before the teachers will come to complain?" I ask as we move into the Entrance Courtyard and down the same staircase we moved up last night and Poseidon answers: "Even if they try, we will have an unbeatable argument to keep them from trying anything; at least if they have any decency."
Yet I can hear just by the tone of his voice that the man has very low expectations when it comes to the teachers and their levels of decency and when we reach the edge of the Black Lake, the man turns to me and says: "First of, ditch the robe. It will only hamper you when learning with us." At which I nod and comply.
The man nods and then says: "Okay, I have an interesting first class for you, but I also have homework for you to do until I find you ready to be claimed a Son of Poseidon. Yes, that is your actual destiny as recognized by both Apollo and Hecate; to be recognized and claimed by all Olympian Gods and obtain their powers.
Now, Hecate did tell me that I should just teach you in just one gift, but – it's been eleven years since I've laid eyes on you and I feel I have some time I need to catch up on. So instead, I will be teaching you three gifts; Water Manipulation, Healing yourself through water's touch and how to Conjure and Ride a horse."
This shocks and excites me as riding lessons were something Dudley almost signed up for when he was nine and we had even gone to some equestrian shows and stables, yet while Dudley had been scared away by the notion that these lessons would take time and effort, had I felt highly disappointed at never getting the chance myself.
"You've been dreaming of such a chance, haven't you?" Poseidon then asks and I turn a little red as I nod before the God says: "Hecate already predicted that. Said it would be evidence of you adapting to your upcoming destiny." At this I turn thoughtful and I ask: "Why was I given this destiny anyway? To learn all these gifts?"
At this Poseidon smiles, as if I prided him with being curious like this and he turns to the Black Lake as he says: "When Hecate's children first started learning the craft she gifted them with, it took them next to no-time to become as wide and varied in their crafts as the flora that covers both the land and the water world.
However, over time humanity became more and more judgmental and the terrors that the last two wars have caused have not helped that matter any. If anything, it has made Wizardkind, especially the British branch, more biased and has increased their belief that everything can be categorized as either Light or Dark.
But Magic itself, the forces that Lady Hecate gave those children of her all those millennia ago, hasn't changed; it's just stuck inside so many human bodies, wanting to come out and help keep the balance of the world. It's just that –." And I finish for him: "The mind has overcome the magic, keeping the magic stuck within."
At this Poseidon nods and I ask: "So, that's where I come in? To learn these gifts and then use them to prove that Wizard kind can do so much more?" Poseidon nods again, yet I disagree and say: "But what you are teaching me falls under Divine Gifts, not magic." At which the man smiles and says: "Perhaps, but you can make it magic."
This confuses me and Poseidon smiles as he says: "Har-Herodus, you have an incredibly unique gift. You have the ability to, if taught, learn all our skills, become us and yet, you have magic. You have a core and you have an open mind. You can truly unite magic and divine gifts, child, because you embody that ability."
This embarrasses and concerns me and I ask: "So, you – you're saying that – that with – with these gifts you all teach me, I – I could –." And the man finishes: "Create new spells and forms of magic or find ways to improve already existing forms of magic. Exactly." And this thought excites me as I ask: "So, what's today's lesson?"
And the man smiles before he turns back to the Black Lake and raises his arm in an arc, causing for a huge tidal wave to erupt from the Lake, yet before it can reach us, does it crash down and, to my utter shock, do I see horses coming out of the crashed wave and the foam left behind, neighing as the two of them trot our way.
"Horse riding lessons?" I ask, feeling excited at just the very notion that I get to do what I wanted so long ago and what Dudley never went through with and the huge smile Poseidon sends my way is answer enough as the two majestic beasts stop just a few feet in front of us, a gorgeous brown on stopping right in front of me.
"This will be an important lesson for you to learn. After all, it could very well be that you will have to one day –." Here Poseidon stops in concern and my excitement diminishes somewhat as I say: "Ride a horse into battle, I get it." And the man nods, his eyes conveying his pride at hearing how serious I take that possibility.
The God of the Sea and Horses then slowly helps me with the approach, the mounting, how to sit right and how to adjust my grip before he himself fluidly slides onto the other mount and says: "Just look at me for a few moments, Herodus, and then you can see if you can do what I do." And I nod as the man signals the horse into moving.
He rides out of the lake and across the small acre of land that lies between the lake and the Boat House, yet while the ground here is mostly made of uneven rocks, does it not seem to bother the steed my uncle is riding on one bit as he easily switches between soft movement and fast as the wind gallops and other paces.
And Poseidon himself looks incredible, even while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts as his whole face is set in a focused look with his eyes constantly looking straight ahead, yet I can tell he is scanning the area his horse is running on even before the wild beast can reach it and that he constantly looks out for hurdles.
I then hear my own horse neigh and ask: "You want to join them, don't you?" And the answering neigh sounds very wanting at which I make sure that I am seated right and that my grip is firm as I say: "Okay, let's see if we can get to them. Hijah!" And the horse neighs loudly before it starts to dash forward at great pace.
This shocks me and almost makes me lose my grip with one hand, but because the mane of the horse is quite long, do I quickly regain myself and twist some hairs around my hand to further strengthen my grip and I pull just hard enough to get the horse's attention as I said: "Hey, hey, hey there, no need to go that fast right away."
And while the beast looks at me as if I've suddenly turned into a centaur, do I gaze right back and I say: "Let's just keep it easy, we'll catch up no problem." And the horse neighs, obviously not entirely agreeing with me, yet it calms its pace nonetheless and I happily make sure I move along in equal tandem with its bopping back.
"All alright there?" I hear Uncle Poseidon ask as he comes dashing over and he easily turns to ride at my pace besides me and I say: "Fine, Uncle, don't worry. This little chick was a little overenthusiastic." At which Poseidon laughs and we just keep riding together, moving between the Boat House and the Stone Courtyard.
Yet after an hour of riding between the two – which consisted of at least two races which Poseidon both won, of course – do I see students moving into the Stone Courtyard and to my utter annoyance is Granger the first to see me as I ride into the Stone Courtyard for one last training lap through the Courtyard and back.
"This? This is what your lessons consist of? This is what the Gods are wanting to teach you? Something as –." The girl wants to object, but I interrupt her and say: "Riding the one animal that has always been used in battle and that is one of the few things Lord Poseidon is known for? Yes young lady, that is correct."
The girl looks shocked and she asks: "And they couldn't teach you something actually useful? Something that requires skill, power and – what we were born with – magic? Something that you need –." Yet here I ask: "More training for than I have currently been through? No Granger, Lord Poseidon is fierce, not stupid."
And this time the girl looks as if she's been slapped, before she screams: "WHY ARE YOU STILL DEFENDING PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST TAKING YOU AWAY FROM WHAT'S ACTUALLY IMPORTANT?" And instantly the horse neighs in fear and dashes off, horrible sounds of its terror following it behind as it leaves.
"Congratulations Missy, you scared of an innocent animal." I sneer, feeling furious that someone can be this much of an upstart on the first day and the girl snaps: "I am just trying to help!" At which I retort: "And when exactly did I ask for your help? I don't even know you and right now, you're not giving me any desire to change that."
"Harry, for Merlin's sake, will you just –." The girl sneers, but I glare at her and snap: "No." Startling her and I say: "I will not listen to some upstart. I will not change what is my destiny. I will no longer allow you to use my first name. And I will no longer leave you in the delusion that I need you or that my name is Harry.
It. Is. Not." I end and the girl, as well as many of those who have come from other classes and have gathered to see us quarrel, gasp in shock, yet I turn my back on her and say: "I am Herodus Potter, son of Zeus, nephew of Hades and Poseidon and the Demigod destined to bring magic back to what it once was; wide and varied."
I then move over to the entrance to the pathway to the Boat House, yet here I stop, turn my face and snarl: "Not stuck-up, arrogant and short-sighted." And the girl reels back, instantly catching onto the fact that I mean her more than anyone in the Courtyard and I leave, once more followed by a pandemonium of sound.
Well said, Herodus,
However, while Herodus may now have chosen to accept who he is and who he is meant to be, does that mean everyone else will as well? Of course not! Herodus is going to face challenge after challenge after challenge after challenge. Oh well, at least he won't be going into these challenges by himself, that's something.
Also, I have an important question to you all: Should I bring the PJ-HoO characters into this story? Know that, if I do, they will more than probably be halfway between Herodus' age and that of Sirius, Remus, Snape, etc. So somewhere early to mid-twenties and maybe with some of them married, expecting, stuff like that.
You like?
Venquine1990
