Harry Potter, Son of the Shadows
Disclaimer: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Plot: Response to my 'Twice-Blessed Half-Blood' Challenge: Olympus, Earth, the Underworld; from a world of lies and pain, one shall come forth with the power to rule them all. Enter Harry Potter, determined by Thanatos, Champion of Hecate and son of…wait: is that possible? That God?
Author's Note: Okay, so for those wondering where this one's coming from: it's partially from that dangerous realm of creation known as my imagination and partially from the challenge idea. I know this may seem scary and a little weird, but kindly remember that this is Fan Fiction: also, if you don't like it, don't read it.
Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to my loyal readers and reviewers; my recommended reads are Conventus Domus by Lawstudent092 and Prince of Death by The Potters of the Future; two amazing stories by two very creative minds; also, I'd like to recommend Glorious Chaos by Undercover Operative;
Key Pairing: Harry/Thalia
Other Pairings: Luke/Hermione; Others TBC
Normal Speech
'Thought'
'Voice of the Gods'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
LDR: That point is one that's usually used in most fanfics, so why wouldn't this story have it too?
StormyFireDragon: Ask and you shall receive, Storm: I hope you enjoy the action that is to come;
Pric3y: I looked up the reference and, do you know what? That's not a bad comparison to go with;
Winged Seer Wolf: I know, old friend: it's something I prefer to use for the language in my stories;
Joe Lawyer: I know; what sort of fun would that be with all those powers?
Darkth Shadow: You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?
"Yeah," Grover answered, lifting the pearl between his fingers as he asked, "What…what did you say to the Hydra to make him vanish like that?"
"I told him you weren't the Lightning Thief," Harry answered simply.
"We tried that," Annabeth snapped, "And we nearly got barbecued."
"Yeah well, I guess you couldn't speak my language," Harry sighed, smirking to himself as he added, "Rule one of Parseltongue, Annie: it's impossible to lie."
Chapter 7: What Happens In Vegas…
Of all the places that he would have loved to see before the end, Harry couldn't really put the Gambler's Mecca that was Las Vegas, Nevada at the top of his list.
The only thing he'd really ever gambled with was his life and, as his current state proved, such a gamble hadn't really given him much in return that he didn't already have. However, unlike Harry, Grover seemed to be entranced by the lure of the Strip while Percy and Annabeth were checking around for the location of the last pearl.
With not much longer to go until the solstice, Harry knew that they had to make a move as best as they could, but with the distractions of the world around them, it would be difficult.
Towards the end of the Strip, Harry managed a smirk of finality when he saw the casino appear in their sights: approaching the place, still with Grover going on about odds, bets and playing it safe, they pulled up the truck and climbed out. As soon as they neared the door, however, Harry's smirk turned into a near-full beaming smile of amusement.
Maybe it was because of his Hecate's Blessing or just because he was magical himself, but there was something about the place that told him this place had a hidden sense of magic to it. Passing through the doors, the son of Death took notice of a rather foreboding sign printed over the door: you'll never want to leave.
The inside of the casino was like a gambling addict's wet dream: machines, slots, tables and all manner of entertainment all over the place: there was even a theme park and what had to be the world's largest nightclub inside. As they wandered through, it was Percy that asked it.
"Anyone have any clue what we're doing here?"
"Looking for the pearl…maybe on a cocktail waitress or showgirl or something," Grover replied, following one of the scantily-clad girls around where, after a moment, a waiter offered the four what looked like a flower-shaped cake, naming it as their specialty.
As Harry went to take one, however, the eyes of the waiter widened before he pulled the plate back with a bow, "My apologies, sir: we were not aware that a VIP was in the building."
"A what?" asked Harry, turning to address his companions; however, to his surprise, he found them gone from his side.
Approaching the confused Shadowborne, the waiter asked, "Would you like me to show you around, young Lord? Children of the Great Mistress are welcome here always."
"Great Mistress?" wondered Harry, but just for appearances' sake, he let the guide show him around, "Do you mean Hecate?"
"Indeed," the man replied, leading Harry to a quieter area through a door that was marked Staff Only, "The Lotus Eaters have always been in tribute to Lady Hecate for her alluring magic being blessed unto us. As such, all whom hold her grace are thankfully immune to our allure and can see our home for what it is."
"So where…" Harry began, but he was cut off when he saw that the guide had led him to what looked like a security room, the screens in front of him filled with cameras, upon which there were several people and beings all enjoying themselves, ignorant of their way out or why they were there to begin with.
"And now we have Jackson," added the guide, "He'll lead us to the Lightning Bolt or war will come: either way, the son of Poseidon will be safe here with us…forever."
"No-one ages here," Harry whispered, recognising the dress of one of the guests on the camera as Victorian style while another looked like they'd come out of the war.
"And no-one notices either," added the guide, before he turned as he asked, "Would you like to visit the VIP suite, my Lord? Your comrade is still there too, enfolded in our never-aging presence."
"My…comrade?" asked Harry, but he chose to follow the man regardless; leading Harry away from the security station, the guide showed him to a private elevator, which, with a swipe of a green card, opened and led up to a row of rooms, each one marked by, to Harry's amusement, Roman numerals.
Stopping outside room VII – seven – the guide knocked once before a sharp-edged male voice asked, "Who is it?"
"Visitors, young sir," replied the guide, earning a buzz and a click from the door; edging Harry inside, the guide bowed before he left, leaving Harry to turn where, as he caught sight of the room's occupants, his eyes widened.
Mostly because one of them was a figure that he recognised instantly: sharp features, green and silver clothes, a wispy beard that was more like serpents and eyes that promised retribution and fury as they glanced at Harry.
"S-S-S-Salazar Slytherin?" asked Harry, earning a nod from the man as he faced Harry.
"I am, young child, and who might you be?" asked the exiled founder of Hogwarts.
"Harry Potter, Shadowborne, Champion of Hecate and currently-determined son of Thanatos," answered Harry, giving the man a bow of respect as he asked, "So…if you're here, then…are you…"
"I am Salazar Aloysius Slytherin," answered the man, his voice filled with pride as he added, "Twice-Blessed son of Lady Hecate…and Lord Erebus!"
"A Shadowborne?" asked Harry.
"If that is the name you choose for a child of two gods," answered Salazar, then indicating the chair next to him as he asked, "Won't you sit down, Master Potter? I promise I won't bite: also, have you met my daughter?"
Looking to his left, Harry then noticed the other girl; she was sitting in the shadows, humming contentedly to herself while her hands worked on what looked like a hexagonal-shaped tapestry or mosaic of some sort.
Her eyes were like the colour of sapphires while her hair was as dark as the night: she was dressed in a knee-length red dress and, as she looked up, a smile touched her face before she dipped her head to him.
"Hello Harry Potter, my name is Arianna Dumbledore, daughter of Demeter."
"D…D…Dumbledore?" asked Harry, looking back to Salazar before he asked, "Then how…"
"I rescued young Arianna from her grim fate," Salazar explained, inviting Harry to sit down once again as he told his story, "Bringing her here, I called upon my Mother, the Lady Hecate, and she protected the girl from the allure of the casino, but in return, she became my daughter and Hecate's blessed child, much like you are blessed by Thanatos and Hecate yourself, Harry."
"While you are the son of two gods, sir?" asked Harry, earning a nod from Salazar before Harry, unable to resist this one moment of curiosity, asked, "What about the others? The other Founders?"
"No," Salazar answered, "Godric, Rowena and Helga were just three exceptionally-gifted wizards, though it hurts me that my old friend could not see past the fact that my birth Father was the primordial of darkness. That's what caused the rift between us, you know: not my bloodlust for Muggles and Muggle-borns, which was not the case at all. I simply desired to protect out world from the wrongful influences of mortals: after all, when humans learned of magic in the past, look what happens."
"Hence things like this casino," Harry added, then noticing his companions making themselves look like drunken, gambling idiots under the influence of the casino's power. "They know it's impossible, but the Lotus Flowers keep their minds in a blissful state, much like the drugs used by Muggles, right?"
"That's right," Arianna replied, moving to sit on Harry's other side before she asked, "Father, would it be okay if I went to see the other two? I think they'd like to meet Harry too."
"They are not like us, my dear Ari," Salazar replied, running a hand through the girl's soft hair as he explained, "But you may go and see them regardless: I'm sure their paths will cross with Harry's sooner or later."
As Arianna left, Harry glanced to her retreating form before he turned back as he asked, "Is it my imagination or, for someone looking a little older than me, does she have a child's mind?"
"She does," Salazar replied, "And it will always be so: you see, Harry, when my Ari was injured in the duel between her spiteful half-brother and his lover, Gellert, her mind was broken. To save her, I took her to my Father and he let me place her in the river Lethe where she lost her memories, but not the pain and curse of her broken state. She is mentally no older than perhaps a nine or ten year old, but she does have the understanding of her nearly one hundred plus years of life."
"What about you, sir?" asked Harry, his voice calm while he watched the screen in front of them, "Are you just aging or…"
"No," Salazar answered, "Though I am immune to their allure, I still do not age and neither will you or your friends…"
"They're no friends of mine," Harry hissed, his eyes turning dark as he focused on the screen.
"Companions then," Salazar continued, "And you should watch your temper, Harry: it may cost you more than you think should you use it at the wrong time. Anyway, as I was saying, you and your…companions…will not age a day while in here, which is why I look as young as I did nearly a thousand years ago. Though because I am immune to the allure, the passage of time is…sometimes dreary, so I make my own fun."
"How?" asked Harry, earning a smirk from Salazar before he rose and, facing the boy, he held out his hand;
"Tell me, Harry: do you duel?"
Son of the Shadows
"Expelliarmus, Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry gasped as he felt the two spells strike him down, the wand that Salazar had created for him flying from his hand while Harry was petrified from the spells. It had been nearly five days since his arrival and, in that time, the twice-blessed founder had taught Harry much about the ways of magic and, as a gift for Harry's patience and desire to learn, Salazar had even crafted Harry a new wand.
Blackwood – a dark-attuned wood that honed the power of Olympus – with a scale from a Hippocampus and the tear of a dryad; 13 inches in length.
When Harry asked why this was the one for him, Salazar just smirked before he made his young protégé come out and challenge him: since then, the two had studied, had a little time in the casino – where they were left alone because of their Hecate blood/blessing – and spent time with Arianna.
At the same time, Harry counted down the days, a part of him wondering when them upstairs would help their children break free of the allure of the Lotus flowers. In the time that passed by normally for Harry, Grover got his hooves cleaned and painted, got married to a whole bunch of showgirls and even had an all-you-can-eat contest with another visitor. Percy and Annabeth danced and gambled and actually shared a moment in the pool and hot tub that had Harry's stomach turning while they also won and lost money and, whenever those flowers came around, they gorged on them like addicts seeking their next fix.
All this was very amusing for Harry, but if he was ever going to learn the truth of his parentage, he knew that he had to leave and, as Salazar removed the charms from him, helping the young Shadowborne to his feet, he seemed to get it too as he told Harry, "You should go, Harry: be where you want to be."
"It's not that I'm ungrateful, Master," Harry replied, using the term that he'd come to use for the Founder, "But the truth is out there waiting for me to find it. Plus, while I may hate Bolt Boy with a vengeance, I don't really want a war of the gods to destroy the world."
"Not before you discover the truth about your prophecy, you mean?" asked Salazar, earning a nod from Harry before he sighed as he added, "Then you should go: take yourself out of here, the Eaters will not stop you. But come back soon and visit me: I quite enjoy the thrill of battling a young man like yourself."
As Harry nodded and gave the man a bow of thanks, he rose up before he added, "Tell you what…"
Opening his jacket, Harry removed Triton from his shoulder before he switched tongues as he added, /Triton, would you mind staying with Master Slytherin until my next visit? As the first Speaker on the planet, I know he'll look after you./
/It would be an honour to stay as a part of the First's nest,/ answered Triton, before Harry handed the snake to Salazar.
/And it is my honour to meet a Grecian-blooded serpent,/ added Slytherin, earning a smile from Harry before he told the boy, /A good friend you have here, Harry: I promise that when you return here for him, you will find him stronger and better./
With another bow, Harry turned and left, waving goodbye to Arianna on the way out.
As he used the elevator to return to the ground floor of the casino, all hell broke loose: Percy, apparently with help from his old man, had broken free and was now running with the others for the car at the head of the casino.
"Miss me?" asked Harry as he raced alongside them.
"How come…" Percy began, but he closed his mouth as he added, "You know what? Forget about it: just move!"
Sliding into the car, Harry smirked as Grover was the one to drive them out of the casino where, as they neared the end of the Strip, Annabeth pointed it out to them, "Tomorrow's the solstice."
"No," drawled Harry, "Really? I never would have guessed."
"You weren't affected?" asked Annabeth, earning a smirk and a shake of the head from Harry, "How?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out," Harry laughed, before he leaned forwards and, plucking the laptop from the front seat, he added, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a call to make."
Inputting the information into the computer – having seen Annabeth do it on the road herself – Harry accessed the communications and, opening it up, he tried to find Luke, deciding to share what he'd learned with his only trusted friend.
However, to his confusion, Luke's signal was offline and, according to the information, had been destroyed at the source.
'What could have happened?' wondered Harry as the car drove on the road to their final location;
The location of the entry point to the Underworld:
Hollywood, California.
A short chapter 7 – because I couldn't really think of how else to write out this scene – and Harry seems to have learned more about himself, but what awaits him in Hades?
Also, where could Luke have gone and what is it about the guy that makes Harry trust him?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Hades beckons and the truth is revealed as Harry discovers his legacy: plus, it's off to Olympus, but not before Harry learns the truth of his trusted friend's absence, though when worlds collide, there's a shocking confession from Luke as Harry targets his quote-unquote family to tell them how it is…
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