POTTER FILES : THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Chapter 10 : The grudge match with a creepy relative

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Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Note : The timeline of the HP universe has been changed to fit PJO universe. Some slight changes have been made to HP canon to fit girl Harry. So, Iris (fem!Harry) Potter was born on 31 July 1993 and COS happened in 2005-2006.

This chapter will be in Iris' Pov unless stated otherwise.

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I entered what looked like a parody of my cabin at the camp. The door disappeared as soon as it closed behind me. I instantly felt weaker and more drained for some reason. The best way to describe the place was dreary and depressing. The air itself was stale and filled with the stench of decay. I could see many factories around me spewing out thick black smoke. The rivers were...there was less water and more radioactive waste. The ground was littered with all sorts of plastic and radioactive deposits. I could see the city line far away, tall, forboding buildings as dull and lifeless as everything else. I knew that it was day time but the pollutants had covered up the atmosphere blocking the sunlight giving the atmosphere a permanent dark grey tone. I wondered whether it was too late to quit.

"How do you like the future?"

I nearly jumped a few feet up in air on hearing the question from somewhere behind me. I was on high alert for the opponent but I still hadn't sensed her.

The woman was of average height, perhaps an inch taller than my mother. She had long dark hair down to her mid back and eyes dark enough that I could not tell whether it was green or blue. I felt wary when I noticed that she even looked very similar to my mother. There was something so sorrowful about her that even I felt sad and depressed just by being in her presence.

"Who are you?", I asked arrow positioned perfectly on the bow ready to be released.

The woman did not seem to care about the fact I could shoot an arrow at her anytime.

"I guess I am not that well known. I am Aura, the goddess of Breeze and Morning air. From the moment I have heard of you, I have been wanting to meet you."

"Why?", I asked.

I tried to remember anyone with such a name but I was unsuccessful. Perhaps, she was some minor goddess. Breeze was not such a big domain after all.

She smiled as if she was amused. I noticed that her smile seemed to intensify the sorrow and despair in the surroundings. I couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with her, something unnatural.

"Your mother is my cousin. She is the child of Leto while I am the child of Lelantos. That makes us family, isn't it great?"

Despite the words, she didn't seem to exude any enthusiasm on having me as a family, something I reciprocated. I preferred the creepy titaness woman stay as far away as possible. I did notice that she was no fan of my mother. I wonder why.

"You know, Ares had initially intended on sending you three off to the water park to fetch his shield. I convinced him to change his plans to get you alone. It wasn't that difficult to manipulate him. I just had to mention the possibility of him being mistaken as an errand boy cowardly enough to hide behind children. I also suggested to show you all around his fight club and give each of you a test to 'prove your worth' so they will know that he is a tough War God. Men and their pride."

I tightened my grip on my bow when I saw her smirk. It was the same smirk of satisfaction I had after I manipulated someone to do my bidding. Who was she exactly? I have never heard of any Aura in any stories of Artemis. Was she some evil version of my mother? I hoped not.

"Now, I know why he seemed to emphasise that he was not an errand boy. So, you don't...like my mother?"

I winced. It seemed like the question Percy would ask. But, I was, for the first time, out of my depth there.

"No. We were rivals since childhood. I was the better hunter and archer while she was the one with the right ancestry. Artemis had always been jealous of my skills. She wanted me humiliated and she knew that the best way to do that was to take away something I had always prided myself on : my maiden hood. She had me drugged and had her half-brother Dionysus violate me while I was asleep, unable to defend myself. Seeing me walk around crying tears of shame was not enough for her. She followed me around mocking me and laughing at my misfortune. It was from her that I learned the name of my violator, the father of my children. It still wasn't enough for her. When it was time for me to give birth, she used her powers over that domain to delay the birth, made it as drawn out and painful as possible. Nikaia, who suffered the same fate as I at the hands of the same man, was sympathetic to my plight but could do nothing. When I recovered from the pain of the child birth, I learned that I had ended up killing one of my kids delirious in pain and the other was stolen by the heartless goddess. I knew that she was whispering sweet poison into his innocent ears telling tales of my cruelty so that the one solace I could have had in my misery would grow up hating me. Having lost everything, I left hiding in shadows and darkness too ashamed to show myself to the light of days until now.", Aura said.

For the first time, I wished I had heeded my mother's wish and stayed in the camp like a good girl. There were a few situations in which ignorance was truly bliss and the one I was in certainly counted as such. Aura reminded me of Tom Riddle's spirit : vile, treacherous and untrustworthy. But, from the emotions I could see on her face on hearing my mother's name and Dionysus', I knew that everything she said was true.

It was hard for me to believe that my mother actually condoned the rape of another maiden when she had been championing their cause for atleast more than a millennium. I then realised I had said the thought out loud.

"So young, so naive.", she cooed causing me to shudder, "It's difficult for people to believe that Zeus is actually the God of Justice. How many Ancient Laws had he broken blatantly just to kill you three? Lets not forget that he was the first one to break the oath on river Styx. God of Justice, what a joke. Athena is the goddess of Wisdom apparently. It took just an apple for her to play stripper for the mortal Paris. Not that Hera, the so called goddess of Marriage, was any better. Aphrodite might as well be the goddess of whores. As for Artemis, your existence is proof that she was not as pure as she liked to claim."

I decided the best thing to do at present was to keep her talking. She seemed more interested in that rather than killing me anyway. I had a feeling that fighting that fighting a Titaness was much different from fighting a monster. If I don't find a weakness I can take advantage of, I had no hope.

"How are you so sure she is not still a virgin? Athena is still a virgin.", I asked.

That was something I didn't understand. Athena had been having kids for a millennium or since Ancient Greece since the rumours about Odysseys are true. If another virgin goddess wanted to join in, what was the big deal?

"It is so sweet of you to try to protect your mother's non-existent honour.", she said condescendingly, "As no one had told you anything, I will explain. Athena is a special case. She was born through forehead and she has her young the same way. Artemis was born from a womb and that's the only way she can have children. It's the way of nature. You don't see a frog giving birth or a wolf laying eggs do you? You don't realise how special you are, child. You were powerful enough to break through the bindings your mother placed on you to hide you. Have you ever wondered how many were there before you that weren't?"

I opened my mouth and closed it back. I had nothing to say. It's not like I knew anything about my mother.

There was no proof that I was her first child either. I had simply assumed that I was the first, something I had always warned others from doing.

"Nothing to say? I thought so. It seems there is some justice in the world after all. The arrogant goddess probably thought being the daughter of the King of Gods, she could get away with her lies. But, the truth always comes out. Now, she is the one hiding away in shame with everyone knowing her true character while I walk with my head held high. But I do feel sorry for you though. You don't deserve the fate awaiting you.", she said.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I knew that game very well. She had laid the bait and she would wait for my curiosity to lure me into the trap. I had done that a lot of times myself. I knew I could not stand to not know something that concerned me and so did she.

"What fate?"

"I dared cause her ridicule by having better skills than her. I paid my price. You made her a laughing stock by your mere existence. What price would she make you pay, child?"

I was speechless. I would have liked to have said that she would do nothing like that to me but I didn't know that for sure myself. I would have looked like a weak, pathetic child who was trying to delude herself because she couldn't face the truth. The fact that my mother had a former maiden for a cousin whose rape she had arranged was news to me after all. I could not trust anyone.

"There is another option. You can rescind your mother and join us. You will be protected from her and will be given the opportunity to help in taking down the arrogant Olympians.", she said.

"Us? So, this is more than your revenge against Artemis?", I asked.

I purposefully used the goddess' name to make it look like I was distancing myself from my mother, something I was sure she would notice. If there was truth in what she had implied, I need to know how far it went.

"Iris, surely you didn't think I was the only one dissatisfied with the tyranny and double standards of the Olympians. Our master is a generous man who understands my pain and suffering for he had suffered a lot himself due to the power hungry Olympians. You are looking at the beginning of the revolution, my child. The journey to the beginning of a new order. Are you going to go down supporting the oppressors or are you going to fight for the oppressed and rise to power with us?", she replied.

She used my first name for the first time which meant she did notice it. That was interesting. I now had a huge decision in front of me. I had to admit the offer was tempting. Unlike a Zeus kid, I didn't want power just to convince myself of my superiority. I wanted to change the society for the better, improve people's lives. I have only seen the camp, that too for two weeks, but it was enough for me to see the stagnation and decay that came with having rulers who had grown complacent due to many millenia of being in power and cared more about sating their big egos and even bigger lust than the welfare of their subjects.

But, I was not foolish. I knew I would be a valuable asset to any side that had my loyalty. I had to be sure that I give it to the right leader.

"Who is the leader?"

"If you accept, I will take you directly to him."

I considered playing along to know who the master was but ultimately decided not to. The master had trained his servants well. By the time I get to know who the guy was, I might end up too deep in to get out.

So, I let my action do the talking, or to be more specific my arrow. The next thing I knew I was flying backwards. I hit the ground feeling as if someone had just smashed a hammer into my stomach. I saw her standing near my previous location hand extended palm outwards kungfu style.

"Wrong decision."

I groggily turned and spit out some blood. For someone so slim, the woman packed a lot of power. She was so fast that I didn't even see her.

I slowly got up and picked up the bow and quiver. Aura was quite content to let me get up at my own pace. She knew that I was no match for her.

"I don't know why Ares thought I would have trouble with you. You are too weak to be a bother to me. Then again, you inherited it from your mother."

I gave the one response I was quite familiar with. I ran away.

"Run away, my little prey. It only makes my ultimate victory sweeter.", I heard.

I hid behind a weird machine and analysed my options. I had no instinctive understanding of how to tackle the situation since she was not technically a monster. The poisonous atmosphere seemed to have cut off my powers from the Wild domain. She was faster and stronger than me. Fighting her directly would not be a good idea. Bow and Arrow, it was.

It wasn't long before I realised the error in my judgement. When she said she was better archer than my mother, she really meant it. She did things with a bow and arrow I never thought possible. True, I could bent the laws of physics slightly as I had seen in the camp but nothing like her. I did not know how to defend myself against arrows that seemed to curve sideways, downwards and at rare times even upwards. Either the magic of the place had given her a tremendous advantage or she was using her Breeze powers to control the path of the arrow. They even had a homing component to them so that they would continue to hound me until I struck it in the air. Luckily, her arrows were not poisoned and didn't strike any important part.

I decided after many cuts that hiding behind an obstacle was more of a hindrance to me rather than her. I healed all my cuts as well as I could somehow knowing that I could only use magic on myself. I then spoke the lengthy incantation for the body enhancement charm. It would improve all my physical attributes like strength, speed, reflexes, healing temporarily. I might suffer for it later but I felt it was more important to live to suffer it.

I then faced her my daggers out ready to pay her back. She stood there calmly taking out what looked like a Chinese hand fan. She flicked it out and I instinctively turned my head. I realised I was not fast enough when I felt blood fall down my cheeks and drip onto my shoulder. The fan let out a sharp wind blade that would have split my head into two had I not been fast enough.

"You have magically enhanced yourself. It seems you are not a complete waste of my time after all."

She then attacked. I could actually see her coming now, like the tides of a black sea. I dodged the first strike and I felt her talons slice through the air right in front of my nose. I dodged the swipe at my neck and realized that it was the only thing I could do. She was too fast for me to find an opening for counter attack. I evaded her until I found myself tiring. The spell was meant to be temporary after all.

I swung my dagger at her neck but she caught the blow. She twisted my arm forcing me to drop the dagger. She choked my neck with the other hand, lifted me up and slammed me hard against the ground. By the fact that my hands were empty, I knew that I had dropped the other dagger too. She then sliced through my chest with her sharp talons making me scream in pain. I could feel my blood soaking my shirt. I knew that even if she left me alone now I would die of blood loss.

"You still believe you have a chance to win. Your defiance is amusing. But you forget that I am Aura, the hunter of bears and lionesses not your mother who is too weak to hunt anything bigger than rabbits and deers."

"Not as amusing as your impending painful death.", I replied.

I then played my last card. I lit my lighter and blew into the fire. Aura might be as fast as the wind but she was too close to me to try to defend herself against my surprise attack. The infero blasted her far away from me. There was a reason Chimera was so feared. Its fiery breath was hot enough to fry gods or in the present case titanesses to crisp. True to the fact, I saw her burnt out husk nearby and sighed in relief.

It was then that something weird happened. A wind blew around me. The smoke from the chimneys changed directions and blew towards the remains of the Titaness and so did the polluted water from the rivers. I watched in a mix of fascination and horror as the body of the Titaness was reconstructed to its former glory. Aura got up looking like she had just tripped and fell on the ground.

"That hurt. It seems you do have a bite after all even if you are staying true to your ancestry. Not that it is going to do you much good. As you have seen, I am unbeatable in this room. You can use your toy as much as you want but I will keep coming back."

Suddenly I found myself flying forward to meet the unforgiving ground but the next moment I was flying back and landed near to my previous location. The next moment, Aura was crouching on top of my chest suffocating me with her weight.

"You know, you have your mother's beautiful green eyes.", she spoke as if she was merely having a casual conversation over tea, "The same eyes that mocked me and laughed at my plight. The same eyes that lit up with glee on seeing my pain. I will tear it out of your sockets and keep it as the spoils of my victory."

Her hands, her sharp taloned hands lunged at my face much faster than I could comprehend eager to claim its prize. Surprisingly, her hands were stopped by mine. It was as if my hands had a mind of their own. My hands were glowing silver and it soon spread out to my whole body and I suddenly remembered that there was still one power I still had beside me : the power of the moon. She was frantically trying to pry her arms from my hold as if my very touch pained her, hurt her. I let go of her hands and let out a flare of my power throwing her back a few feet.

I then got up feeling power coursing through me. My wounds healed, my broken bones went back to their original alignments and mended, muscles stitched together, I was back to full health. My whole body was glowing silver and so were my eyes. I knew I was not just a demigod anymore. I was much more powerful, much more ancient.

I saw her run at me. She didn't seem so fast anymore. I waited for her to get close enough. I bend my knee enough to evade her talons and punched her stomach letting her own momentum cause the most damage. I used her moment of disorientation to get behind her and smashed my fist at the back of her head. She fell on the ground face down.

Seeing Aura staring at me in shock, I smirked, " You have been beating up a barely trained demigod asking for a proper fight. Perhaps, you should have approached someone of your power level."

She screeched angrily and charged at me. I easily dodged all of her attacks. It seemed she was so used to facing weaker opponents she could overwhelm with a power-speed combo that she had no idea what to do against an opponent who was stronger and faster than her. It was only a matter of time before her anger and frustration caused her to make a mistake. She over extended her arm slightly and the next moment she was face down on the floor with me stretching her hands behind her. With a pull, I tore apart her shoulder joints causing her to scream in pain.

"The payback is a bitch, isn't she?", I asked.

I noticed a black cloud getting absorbed into her shoulder healing the joints. The War God really wanted me dead. I was going to have to disappoint him then.

Aura slashed the air with her hand fan but I slapped the wind blade away as if it was a mere fly.

"If you think a mere demigod like you could defeat me, a Titaness, you are delusional and I would enjoy proving your delusions wrong.", she screeched.

She then started to glow. The glow soon covered her entire body and soon I was seeing her true form.

It was so ugly and repulsive that I was surprised I didn't fall dead from horror. She soon returned to her previous form and seemed surprised to see me alive.

"How are you still alive? No mortal can survive looking at a god's true form.", she asked shocked.

"Perhaps, I am no ordinary mortal."

"It doesn't matter. If I die, I will reform the next moment but for you death is permanent. I would just have to fight you until you are tired and kill you.", Aura replied.

I concentrated and I could feel the magical enchantments restricting my powers. It was my magic that was used to power the enchantments, atleast partly. Interesting.

"We will have to fix that won't we?"

I instinctively knew what to do. I didn't try to control my emotions that time. I let go and unleashed my wrath on the system for daring to restrict me. I started glowing brighter and brighter until my powers exploded out of me like a supernova.

I realised that I was sitting on a reclining chair. I could see the giant blue sphere I knew was Earth surrounded by the black emptiness of outer space. From the way ground around me seemed to glow silver, I had a suspicion about my present location. That was weird. The last I remember I was in America.

"Earth is quite beautiful, isn't it?"

I turned to see a woman sitting on another reclining chair next to me. Everything about her was silver, her hair, her eyes, the chiton she wore, the bull horns on her head and even the reclining chair she was lounging on. I should have been wary but for some reason I knew I could trust her.

"Who are you?", I asked.

"Why don't you take a guess?"

From her appearance, only one name came to my mind : my mother's predecessor Selene. I told her that which made her amused for some reason. She then changed her appearance. Her eyes turned amber and her nose and mouth morphed into a beak. Her face shifted slightly, her hair altered to fit her new face and I was soon looking at...

"Hedwig"

I looked at her in shock but on thinking about it I realised that I should not have been. Hedwig had generated a lot of interest among my dorm mates as no one else had an owl like that. Then there was the fact she was way too intelligent for an owl, even a magical one. I would have assumed that it was the result of my godly heritage inducing hers, Athena's symbol and all that, but Hedwig never got on well with her children. Then there was one thing I had never thought much of before. Hedwig had always glowed when under the moonlight.

"It is a beautiful name and I loved it. But to be honest, I am the moon spirit. As you know, there are many deities associated with moon : Selene and Artemis for Greeks becomes Luna and Diana for Romans, then there is Mani for the Norse but we will keep to what is relevant for now. The point is that I could take their appearances and their personalities but I felt Selene was the perfect person to ease you into it.", she replied after shifting back to her previous appearance.

"Ease me into what?", I asked.

"Heiress of the Moon is not just an empty title, you know. There are many powers and responsibilities that come with it but you don't need to worry about that until you become an adult at 16. It is at that time you will be physically developed enough to be able to ascend without dying in the attempt. It's still dangerous to do it but the risk is much lesser.", she replied with a calming smile on her face.

"What about my mother? Wasn't she the moon goddess?"

"No. She was merely a guardian. If she had been the heiress, her appearance and personality would have changed accordingly. Instead the only change was the colour of her eyes to indicate her new status and slight increase in power. A few powers like night vision, power boost at night were given to your mother and her Hunters as compensation for the duty. Apollo, on the other hand, was my brother's heir. Your uncle originally looked like a mini-Zeus with black hair and stormy grey eyes and acted that way too most of the time. After the merging, he took on my brother's appearance and his immature, fun loving personality. The last thing my brother did was manipulate the Mist to make the mortals believe that Apollo had always been that way though his Roman side kept some of his original personality."

It was interesting. I wondered how I would change after ascending. Then again, I am not that different from Selene, if the moon spirit is anything to go by. But then something occured to me.

"But won't I need 2/3 majority votes of the Council to ascend?"

"Usually, yes but this is a loophole. It is rare for a god to fade away and much rarer to leave their domains for a mortal to inherit. So, even if you don't need their permission, they will want to be there when you ascend to ensure that the transition goes smoothly.", she said.

"So, is it already decided or do I have to give permission or something?"

"Well, you could postpone it for a few months but it won't be wise to try for much longer. I am not sure what would happen. This is new territory after all. I think it is like puberty or old age for mortals. You can delay it but the only way to prevent it is by dying before it happens."

I nodded having already suspected something like that. I didn't know what to think. Travelling around the world every night observing everything from above sounded good to me but there was the fact that I would have to leave my friends. I decided not to worry about it at the moment.

"Do you know everything the original Selene knows?"

"Not everything but I know all necessary information. If you want to know about Aura, I will tell you."

"Was she telling the truth?", I asked.

She smiled, "Truth is a relative quantity, my child. Aura told you what she believed to be the truth omitting the facts that showed her in poor light. Aura and Artemis had a rivalry similar to our Gryffindor and Slytherin. Aura favoured the qualities of the former challenging powerful animals like bears and lionesses to fight and wrestling them to death while Artemis favoured the latter using stealth and cunning to capture swift animals like rabbits and deer. The former naturally believed the latter to be weak and cowardly for limiting herself to small animals and cheating her way to win while the latter believed the former to be uncultured and unable to understand the true meaning of the hunt. Soon, Aura, in the heat of the moment, told your mother that she was too feminine and weak willed to be truly a virgin."

I cringed. I would have gutted her for such an insult and I was not even a virgin goddess.

"Yes. She should have known that Artemis, who was as proud of her virginity as she herself was, would not take the insult lying down but Aura was a typical Gryffindor, atleast then. Artemis went to Nemesis, Goddess of Justice and Retribution, and asked her to punish Aura. Nemesis replied that she cannot punish her herself but promised Artemis that she would soon find Aura weeping for her lost maiden hood. Everything else Aura told you was correct until the birth. Aura left the children in a lioness' den hoping that they would be eaten but your mother protected them. Angered by it, Aura tore apart her first child and ate him but your mother managed to save the other child. Aura disappeared after that and has been seen till now. Perhaps, the incident reminded her of her stepmother Hera. Artemis, guilt stricken for her role in the mess, took personal responsibility for the boy Iakkhos' upbringing as a penance until he grew up and decided to join Demeter as one of her servants. It was a dark chapter in your mother's life she prefers not to be reminded of but it was crucial in shaping her into the person she is today. It was what led to Artemis officially taking on the role of 'The Protector of Maidens' and eventually to the group known as the Hunters of Artemis."

She was right. It gave me an insight into what Artemis as a person was like rather than the public figure. I now knew that my ruthlessness and vengeful streak were not completely the product of my upbringing.

"So, who is the new master she was talking about?"

Her smile dimmed.

"I don't know for certain but I have my guesses. I hope I am wrong."

Seeing me waiting for an explanation, she sighed.

"My brothers, Helios and Eos, and I were born Titans, the children of Hyperion and Theia. The situation of the world then was not good. We had a power hungry tryrant for a King who was so paranoid of someone overthrowing him by destroying his throne that he kept his throne at Mt. Etna far away from the headquarters Mt. Othyrs. He was so powerful that not many dared to go against him. Any riots that happened were quickly and ruthlessly put down and the transgressors ended up under the care of Kampe. Then came the war with the beings you know as the Elder Gods. We stayed neutral in the initial years but when we saw them still going strong with number of allies increasing with time, we placed our hope with them. In the seventh year of the war, when many of us started to feel that Kronos was simply too powerful to defeat, Zeus put forth a bold plan : a full on assault on his throne. Due to Kronos' paranoia, we did not have to deal with any Titans. There were lots of monsters defending the place but it was not beyond us. As you know, Zeus used his then new master bolt to shear the top of Mt. Etna throwing the Titan Lord and his useless throne to the ground. It was not the end of war but it marked the beginning of the end. After the war, the Titans like us who fought for them were allowed to keep their domains and were given influential positions in the new regime. Some even got more domains. Hecate, for example, was given Crossroads domain and the permission to travel freely in all the domains of the Big Three. I am hoping that he is not returning but I have to admit it is a little suspicious that a Heiress to the Moon popped out now of all times."

"A war of that scale is bad but it is not hopeless, is it? Gods have won when Kronos was all powerful and his influence reached everywhere. They can win again now that the situation is reversed."

"You believe that being in power gives you an advantage which is true in some cases but not all. Gods are not as powerful as they used to be. The loss of majority of mortal prayers and sacrifices and the split into Greek and Roman aspects had made them much weaker. Having demigods to solve their problems left their fighting skills rusty at best and non existent at worst. Many old allies had faded away as you know. Many others are disgruntled with the present rule and would jump to the other side when Kronos comes into open or had already done so if what Aura implied is true. Even the main gods who led the war effort last time are too busy fighting each other. Zeus and Poseidon are already at war for all purposes and Hades had been an outcast for so long that he might join his father when a good enough offer comes up."

"You are right. The situation is hopeless.", I replied glumly.

"I wouldn't say hopeless. Just an extremely steep path with a lot of potholes."

"While our talk was enlightening, why did you pull me here now rather than when I was asleep?", I asked.

"A mortal body is not designed to channel the power of a god. A demigod has higher limits while you, who has received the magical gifts from two beings that had different types of immortality has even higher limits. But, the power you used was beyond even your body's endurance. Luckily, when you overloaded the system, you caused the polarities to reverse. Now, as long as there is some life in you, the room will heal you back to full strength quickly but not painlessly."

"When you say pain-"

"You will scream loudly enough that your friends at Camp Half Blood will hear you."

"Ok. I believe you."

"It is time for you to go back. You are physically back to full health. Just know that I won't be able to bring you back here."

She didn't mention that it would be the last time we would see each other. That meant I would have to learn to bring myself here wherever it was.

"It is all happening in my mind, right?", I asked.

"To risk sounding like your nutty headmaster, just because it is in your mind does not make it any less real."

I rolled my eyes at her and decided to learn the Occlumency thing the Headmaster mentioned while my surroundings were fading away.

I woke up and spit out grass. Grass. It seemed she was right. I was in the woods. I looked around for my opponent and saw something moving. I realised that it was what was left of Aura after my supernova attack. She was still alive and was not recovering.

"Do not think you have won, daughter of Artemis. My servants will recognise you the moment you come within their range. They will hunt you down. They will have your soul.", she rasped out.

"If they are anything like you, I will hunt them down and destroy them. You just made my job easier.", I replied.

I noticed that all of my spoils of victory had returned to me. It seemed whatever magic that prevented it from happening was malfunctioning. I was wondering which one to use to end the menace when I noticed it. I took the hand fan that was lying nearby and smirked.

"Killed by your own weapon, nasty cousin? I am sure that is a new low for you."

I slashed the fan and her head rolled away. Her dead body soon transformed into a golden liquid and seeped through the ground. Well, you learn something new everyday. I wonder who Percy got as his opponent. Oceanus? Hyperion?

I heard the door opening and I slashed my new weapon in that direction. I turned around to see Ares looking in shock at the door slashed diagonally into two pieces. Damn! Had he not moved, it would have been him slashed into two pieces. Then I could have passed it off as an accident.

"I am sorry. I thought it was the crazy woman coming back to life."

The only thing I am sorry about is that I couldn't kill you in my first attempt, I thought.

If he heard my apology, he gave no indication of it. He was too busy staring at me and the surroundings alternatively.

"Are Percy and Annabeth alright?"

That brought him to focus. He then gave me some kind of creepy smile showing his shiny teeth. I had a feeling that he was trying to emulate uncle Apollo...and was failing.

"All three of you passed my test and have proven yourselves worthy as warriors. I have already given the reward to the daughter of Athena."

I noticed that he seemed unnerved by my presence. The woods soon faded away and the next thing I knew we were standing in the diner parking lot with Percy and Annabeth. They looked exhausted but quite relieved too. I did notice that Annabeth had a blue nylon bag on her shoulders. So that is the help the War God was giving us. I would have to check it out just in case.

"See that truck over there?", He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner.

"That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back : KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

Percy said, "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched.

"Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining."

I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us. I had the good sense to turn my head the other way.

It seemed Percy would be making the papers again tomorrow.

I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.

Despite the situation, I felt a satisfied smile creep up on my smile as I imagined Ares lying groggily on the ground, arms and legs broken, bruises all over his body.

"You owe me one more thing,", Percy told Ares, "You promised me information

about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?"

He kick started his motorcycle.

"She's not dead."

I noticed that Ares was in some kind of hurry, like he was quite eager to wash his hands off us.

"What do you mean?", Percy asked.

"If she was killed, her mutilated corpse would have been sent to you or your father as a message. As neither have happened yet, it means she is being kept alive.", Ares replied.

"Kept. Why?"

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

"Nobody's controlling me."

He laughed.

"Oh yeah? See you around, kid."

He then revved his Harley and roared off down Delancy Street.

"Guys", Annabeth said pointing towards the diner.

At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.

"If we're taking the zoo express", I said, "we need to hurry."

I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver.

We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us.

It was when I saw the sight in front of me that I realised exactly why the War God was in a hurry to leave.

X-X-X-X-X

DarkPirateKing69 :

I am a guy. So, I have no personal experience but I have heard that girls mature earlier than boys physically, mentally, emotionally. They might start being conscious of their private parts as early as 10 years old.

It is implied in PJO that Annabeth is quite well developed, perhaps much more than a girl her age, if you can read between the lines. That is the most RR could do as the book was read by children too.

Talsbreath :

I personally prefer 3rd person pov too as it gives me greater freedom to show different sides to the same incident but I have received many reviews stating that they have difficulty understanding who is the 'she' or 'he'. There is no point in writing if the readers don't understand it.

Actors/Actresses for characters

Aura : Eva Green