Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.
Consul of the Underworld: Grinding Phase
Chapter Ten: Sinning Vacation
Beta: ShadowofAxios
It was a cool early winter morning when Alkaid and her family found themselves in the hidden underground wing of San Francisco City Hall waiting for her old clique to portkey in for a visit.
Most of the group had made the trip this time. Blaise, Padma, Lisa, Anthony, Michael, Susan, Hannah, Justin, Tracy, Daphne from their year and even the newly graduated Luna, Ginny, Jane, Francis, Ethel and Bruce had all endured the unpleasant transatlantic portkey for the visit. While a skilled caster could make the trip relatively comfortable, the Ministry's staff were neither as skilled nor cared enough about travelers' comfort to bother putting in the effort.
They had brought Mina along to meet their friends. Dressed in a little sundress, said goddess was currently hiding behind Pyrrha. She was peeking her head out, eying all the new strangers.
"Miss Potter, it's a pleasure to see you again." Blaise greeted with a formal bow as the group portkeyed in. "And thank you for offering to house and guide us on our tour of the United States."
The others offered similar greetings and thanks, but Alkaid waved them off. She was more than glad to help her old schoolmates out on their graduation holiday. Considering how well they'd all done on their NEWTS it was only fair that they got a chance to celebrate.
"Welcome to the States everyone." Alkaid smiled warmly.
Pyrrha nudged Alkaid, and she turned to her lover to see her nodding towards the mob of people gathered around the room waiting for them to clear out and greet their own incoming arrivals.
"We best get moving." Alkaid said with a nod of her own to Pyrrha. "Wouldn't want to hold anyone else up."
The group squeezed through the seemingly endless throngs of wizards and other magicals that occupied the halls of the American Renaissance style building.
"We've got a limo waiting outside for us." Pyrrha said, keeping a hand on Mina as the tiny goddess eyed the crowds around her predatorily.
The demigoddesses noticed that all their friends were looking at the small girl curiously. That was going to be an interesting introduction.
"Unlike the Ministry in London, the San Francisco Department of Magical Affairs' public entrance is a specialized one-way floo that is connected to a room set up in the Civic Centre Garage." Alkaid informed the group as they approached a large hall with a set of fireplaces built into the far wall.
"Do people flooing directly in use this room too?" Padma asked curiously.
"Not safe." Mina snorted dismissively, earning her the attention of the Hogwarts graduates and in turn causing her to shyly press herself into Pyrrha's side.
"Mina is correct." Alkaid jumped in, before questions could be asked. She really wanted to save introductions for after they got out of this sardine can masquerading as a government building. "In the interests of safety, all incoming floos are redirected to a secured entryway in the Garage and then floos into the building from there."
"The staff still get to use the entrance built into the Pioneer Monument but they closed that off to the public for security reasons years ago." The daughter of war added. "Splitting it up makes screening a lot easier, apparently."
"Sounds like a waste of resources to me." Michael commented.
"Gotta agree with you." Pyrrha said with a shrug. "Betcha it was the idea of some know nothing bureaucrat."
"It usually is." Susan agreed as the friends began stepping into the floo.
"Whoever it is splurged on the gadgets though." Ethel noted as she and the others stared at the array of magical and mundane equipment the security checkpoint was using to screen visitors going in and out of City Hall.
"It's a necessary precaution." Daphne said as she shook herself out of the shocked stupor at the sight. "I doubt they want a repeat of what happened to Los Angeles."
Alkaid flinched at that. She'd mostly moved past that tragedy but the reminder still stung.
"Yeah, who'd have thought anyone would be stupid enough to set off Exploding Fluid on a major fault line?" Anthony said with a shake of his head as the group began going through security.
"Don't doubt the stupidity of terrorists." Blaise replied. "Though this was definitely a particularly foolish lot. Did they honestly think doing something like this would force the muggles' surrender?"
"As you said, they were idiots." Susan said in agreement. "All it did was push them to crack down on them."
And the muggles are opportunistic vultures. Alkaid added to herself. No sooner than the dust from the disaster settled had the muggles spun the tale that a rogue group of wizard supremacists had been responsible and used it to justify a crackdown on the admittedly preexisting groups of said racist idiots.
"Let's not talk about mass murderers, okay?" Hannah pleaded as they finally finished clearing security.
As they filtered outside and Pyrrha began leading them to the waiting limousine, Luna eyed their surroundings with a critical eye. In particular, she seemed to pay special attention to the number of poorly dressed people loitering around the parking garage.
"Alkaid, is it normal for druggies to loiter so close to City Hall?" The eccentric young woman asked in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
"This is San Francisco, so yes." Alkaid informed her friend sadly.
"That's just sad." Ginny said as she looked at the addicts sympathetically.
Pyrrha shrugged before replying. "Yeah, but life is hard. Sometimes people just get lost."
"But there's so many of them." Jane said in a disturbed whisper.
"Like Pyrrha said, life's tough like that." Alkaid said with her own helpless shrug.
"Let's not talk about them okay? It's spoiling the mood." Bruce cut in. "We're supposed to have fun on this trip, not get all gloomy at how life can suck."
"Bruce's right." Pyrrha said with a smile at the younger man. "And right on time, here's our car."
She gestured towards a parked limousine whose driver jumped to his feet from where he was leaning against the vehicle and taking a smoke break at the sight of them. He stubbed out his cigarette and hastily got into the driver's seat.
Alkaid shot the man a comforting look even as she ushered everyone to take their seats. Once everyone was comfortable, with Mina snuggly sitting on Alkaid's lap and her head buried into her mother's shoulder, Alkaid told the driver to head out.
"So, um, who's this?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Mina, introduce yourself." Alkaid whispered to her.
"Mmgh." The tiny goddess grumbled in protest.
"Mina."
At the sternness of her tone, Mina pulled away from the safety of her shoulder and turned around to face the wizards and witches.
"I'm Mina Potter. Hello." The silver haired goddess said before returning to her previous 'safe' position.
You'd think all that time at Camp would get rid of her shyness. Alkiad thought as she looked at the stunned and confused faces of her old clique.
"She's my adopted daughter. She's quite powerful for her age." Alkaid explained.
"She must be something special if you guys adopted her." Padma stated with amazement.
The daughter of Hades stroked Mina's hair, "She certainly is. She was an exciting surprise for our little family."
Pyrrha smirked, "That's for sure. It was a big surprise for our parents."
"Your parents like her." Alkaid retorted.
The redhead chuckled. "Yeah, never thought my dad would actually manage to connect with a kid like that. He definitely never did it when I was a little girl. Then again, him and Mina are on the same wavelength on a lot of things."
"Is that the Golden Gate Bridge!?" Jane said suddenly as the iconic landmark appeared in the windows.
"Yes. And there it goes." Alkaid said as the limo darted past it.
"How?" Tracy asked in surprise, before a look of comprehension crossed her face. "The limo's like the Knight Bus!"
"It does indeed makes use of much of the same magicks." Alkaid confirmed with a nod.
"We thought it would be a nice way for you to see the sights while still getting to our place without taking forever." Pyrrha added. "If you want a better look at anything just let the driver know and he'll slow down."
"Renting something like this must have cost a fortune." Daphne noted, her eyes wide.
"It was nothing." Alkaid reassured her ex-girlfriend. "Especially for my friends."
"This is going to be an amazing Grad Trip." Anthony smiled.
The demigoddesses certainly hoped it would be.
After an eventful morning of sightseeing that had them catching glimpses from their magical limousine of the tourist staples like Fisherman's Wharf, as well as the wonders of nature such as those to be found in Olompali State Historic Park, the group had grabbed lunch at the restaurant of a neighbouring vineyard that doubled as a bed and breakfast before finally arriving at the Potter home.
It was now a couple hours later and the group were regrouping for some tea.
As everyone settled, Mina walked into the room with a large tray of cookies in her hands. She set it on the table and moved to sit between her mothers.
"Alright, I love these things. Thanks Mina." Pyrrha grinned as she snagged several cookies to eat. "You guys should try some."
"I don't see why not." Luna smiled and took one for herself and nibbled on it. After a surprised noise escaped her, she had some more of it. "These are delicious."
At Luna's affirmation, the others also took a few for themselves.
"This is the best cookie I've ever had." Ginny said with a look of awe on her face. That was high praise indeed from a woman whose mother was considered something of a domestic goddess by all those who knew her.
The others all expressed similar exclamations of praise.
At the praise showered upon her, Mina smiled shyly and leaned in close to Alkaid. Patting her head, Alkaid had asked, "So how are things in the Britain?"
"Nothing major has changed so far." Blaise informed the demigoddesses. "Though Hermione has been doing interesting things lately."
That certainly piqued Alkaid's attention so she gestured for him to continue.
"Recently, after some rehabilitation, she's quit her Ministry job and started a new organization. It's called the Equal Rights Society. She's been lobbying for equal rights for all beings in Wizarding Britain."
"Yes. I've heard of that. In fact, I've been donating quite a lot to her cause to help her start up. I've also been helping her to find some other donors."
She garnered many surprised looks at this, which made her chuckle.
"I didn't think you two were talking again." Tracy confessed.
"We've been corresponding on and off. Ever since I helped with her rescue."
"So you know what she's talking about?" Ethel asked cautiously. "I'm thinking about joining but I really would like to know more about the details of her platform first."
"I'm not familiar enough to do that as I've only exchanged a couple of letters on the topic, but I'll try." Alkaid said cautiously. "What would you like to know?"
"The whole platform to be honest." Padma said. "I'm actually curious what she wants to do. It would be nice for the muggleborns to have a rallying point."
"Well, it's not just limited to muggleborns. She's aiming to push for equality for all races, be they muggleborns, centaurs, goblins, dwarves, house elves, etc."
"Centaurs still? I thought she'd want to wage war on them after what happened." Ginny asked incredulously and Ethel wrinkled her nose.
"In a way, her movement does exactly that." Alkaid reassured her friends. "After all she wants total equality between races. With wizards as the benchmark. Meaning she wants to force all other races to adopt wizarding norms in exchange for rights."
"That sounds reasonable." Hannah mused. "I mean, if they want to be part of our community then they need to accept the same norms we do right?"
"But what if they have some cultural thing that clashes with our norms?" Anthony mused.
"Like kidnapping women and enslaving them to be broodmares?" Pyrrha asked pointedly.
Some of the young women shuffled uncomfortably.
"That's not what I meant!" The man defended. "I was thinking about House Elves and their symbiosis with their magical families. Ignorant people see it as slavery."
"Because it can be." Luna said with a sharp look.
"Hermione's actually thought of that." Alkaid cut in. "For races with intolerable practices like the centaurs they either change or she'll see them hunted into extinction the way monsters like them deserve. As for races with more complex circumstances like House Elves, then she's proposing a case by case compromise. For example, she's pushing for legislation outlawing House Elf abuse enforced by regular inspections."
Daphne had a calculating look on her face.
"So if we don't meet her standards what happens?"
"What do you mean?" Tracy asked her friend.
""I mean, say some Wizarding families don't like this policy. How would Granger respond to that?"
"She is running a lobbying organization, not a terrorist organization. So she'll keep trying to convince them. That's all."
The strawberry blonde nodded, "Alright. Let's hope so."
"You don't trust her to not become a genocidal maniac?" The daughter of Hades asked with some exasperation.
"People can do things that you don't see coming."
"Hey Daph, no offense, but even I think you're being extreme here." Tracy told her best friend.
Daphne shot her friend a frustrated look and seemed prepared to continue the argument.
"Enough talk about Hermione I think." Blaise said diplomatically.
Daphne frowned but took the hint, picking up her tea cup she silently began sipping her tea.
"So what's on the agenda next, Alkaid?" Luna asked excitedly.
"Oh. We're going to have some real fun, Luna. Who's heard of Las Vegas?"
After a couple days of hedonistic fun in Sin City, wherein the British had their minds all but blown away by the many, many ways to party in America's- and the possibly the world's- entertainment capital. They had wasted money in the casinos, caught shows at the city's many venues, gone clubbing at its trendy nightclubs and had all sorts of fun.
All good things must come to an end though and after two days the friends were too exhausted to continue. They had thus returned to Alkaid's California home to rest and recover.
It was the day after and they were regrouping in Alkaid's dining room over breakfast.
"Morning everyone," Alkaid greeted with a smile as she walked into the room with Pyrrha clinging to her arm still half-asleep and Mina skipping along behind them both. "Settled in alright last night?"
As Alkaid and her family settled into their seats, the girls all gave positive replies. The boys were a lot less enthusiastic however as they merely gave sleepy grunts or tired nods.
"Mother, why are all the boys looking like Mama?" Mina asked with an innocently curious tilt of her head.
"Because they hadn't had enough partying so went out drinking last night." Alkaid explained with a superior smile at her hungover lover.
"Ah. Doesn't that make them silly?"
"Why yes they are." Alkaid giggled.
Pyrrha grunted in irritation at the barb but didn't deny it.
"It was worth it though." Michael whispered. "The beer in Healdsburg, was it?"
Several of the men nodded.
"It was great."
Anthony nodded in agreement with his friend. Padma frowned disapprovingly at her boyfriend but said nothing.
"The eye candy was pretty nice too." Francis chimed in without thinking and earning himself a glare from Ethel.
"Wasn't ogling all the girls in Vegas enough for you guys?" The usually quiet woman scathingly asked, even as all the ladies glared at the poor man.
Francis rapidly looked at his male fellows for some help and found them carefully avoiding his eyes. Left without any support, he shrunk into himself and apologized.
"Sorry. I was just making an observation is all."
Or not. Alkaid noted with amusement as her female friends' glares intensified. He's digging his way deeper into the grave.
"Not that you all aren't beautiful and all," Francis continued seemingly having found his confidence.
"Smooth." Pyrrha whispered as she nursed a fresh cup of coffee. She inhaled deeply and sighed at the pleasant scent.
"But a man needs something new once in awhile, you know?"
"Here. Here." Michael said with a cheer.
Everyone just looked at him.
"Aren't you gay? And dating Terry?" Ginny reminded the man.
Michael just smirked.
"Yup, but he isn't here and he told me to enjoy myself. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do."
"You're going behind his back?" Daphne asked with a hint of menace.
"Like I'd ever do that." Michael said as he continued to smile at some joke only he understood. "He even asked me to get a close look, if possible, at any hunks I took a liking to."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
"Man, not going to lie, that's a cool boyfriend." Francis said.
"He asked you to make up for him not being able to make this trip by collecting Pensieve memories so you can enjoy the experience when you get home, didn't he?" Alkaid deduced even as she shook her head at her friends' antics.
Michael's grin stretched from ear to ear.
"I'll say it again." Francis said with his own shake of his head. "Your boyfriend is just too cool."
"Talking about cool cucumbers, where's Blaise?" Pyrrha asked as she put away yet another cup of coffee.
Looking around and noticing that her right hand man was indeed missing, a frown marred the homeowner's face. "Yes, where is Blaise? Shouldn't he be up by now, even with a hangover?"
He was an excellent servant like that. So this was very out of character for the Italian wizard.
The men exchanged looks.
"I don't think he made it back last night." Justin said as he looked to the others for confirmation. "He hooked up with a girl and that was the last we saw him."
Alkaid quirked a brow at him.
"Dude, buddy system." Pyrrha grunted as she sipped her coffee. Mina handed her a muffin, which she happily took.
Luna threw a bread roll at the daughter of war, but Mina plucked it out of the air and started nibbling on it. The eccentric witch looked put out that her confectionary missile missed, but shrugged and addressed the redhead.
"Our friend is missing, and you're not worried?"
"Nah, Blaise can handle himself." Pyrrha replied. "Worse comes to worse, we go looking for him."
"Relax Luna," Tracy said as she put aside the newspaper she'd been reading to join the conversation. It had been anti-social of her, but from the empty plate in front of her she'd been here quite a while already. Probably long before the others arrived. That she'd bothered to stay and not wandered off to do her own thing was more than polite as it was.
"He's probably just a little too tired after a good shag to apparate back."
"Oh, was Mr. Blaise stabbing someone Mother?" Mina asked innocently as she happily nibbled her bread. Her yellowish green eyes bright with curiosity.
That got Alkaid many looks of surprise.
"She's very bright." Alkaid offered a strained smile.
She was saved from having to explain further by Pyrrha hastily redirecting the conversation back on track.
"We'll give him till lunch. If he's not back by then, Kaidy will track him down with some scrying."
The others nodded in acceptance.
"So what do we do in the meantime?" Susan asked.
"Well, first things first," Hannah said brightly and as loudly as she could. "We need to give these lushes some potions for their hangovers."
The men and Pyrrha all flinched.
"Ow, why?!" Anthony whined.
"Simple. You deserved it. You inconsiderate fools just lost us a whole morning." Padma told her boyfriend with a sadistic smile at his suffering.
"Rude." Daphne huffed.
"Alkaid, any suggestions on what we can do without the boys?" Jane asked, as she too smiled cruelly at the hungover fools.
"Ever hear of a ladies only club?" Alkaid asked jokingly. She wiggled her brows, getting a few naughty giggles from the other girls while the boys looked disgruntled.
"Pyrrha has to stay!" Bruce demanded. "She went with us last night. If we have to get punished then so does she."
"Sounds fair." Lisa agreed. "Alkaid?"
"Of course! How could she look at anyone other than me?" Alkaid said in an exaggerated haughty tone.
"Yay! Mama can stay home and play with me!" Mina cheered. "And all the boys can be target practice!"
"Ow! Squirt, a little lower on the decibels." Pyrrha hissed as she rubbed her forehead.
"Yay!" Mina scream-whispered before giggling into her hands.
"That's settled then." Alkaid said with finality as she finished her meal and stood. "Ladies, why don't you go get ready and we leave in ten minutes."
The girls stood and began to head back to their rooms.
Turning to the men and Pyrrha, Alkaid shot them a predatory smile. "As for you lot, enjoy the hangover."
With that she turned and walked off, ignoring their pleas for some relief for their suffering.
Nope. No potions this time. The daughter of Hades thought to herself vindictively. I had a whole day of activities planned today and thanks to your alcoholism, it's wasted. You need to pay for it.
"Well, how about I do come up with some hangover 'cures' for them?" Alkaid smiled, though it looked absolutely wicked as she headed towards the kitchens. "I wonder, what exactly can I get them to try? Hair of dog?"
The frightful whimpers that reached her ears were simply music to her ears.
In the end, just before lunch Alkaid had finally took pity on Pyrrha and the boys and given those still feeling under the weather some hangover relievers. She'd have helped them out more but contrary to popular belief she couldn't pull miracles out of thin air and a hangover cure was something that had eluded humanity for about as long as they had been consuming alcohol.
She'd never felt the need to take a shot at developing a hangover cure, being a light drinker herself but if the bellyaching she was subject to this morning was anything to go by then doing so might be a lucrative use for her alchemical skills.
That enticing possibility aside, there was the more pressing concern that Blaise had still failed to make an appearance by the time lunch had rolled around. Worried for her loyal servant, Alkaid promptly began searching for him.
"So, you find him yet?" Pyrrha asked as the daughter of Hades leaned over a map of the area that she was using as a medium to scry his location. Her eyes were focused on her wand as it danced in the air over the map.
"I'm pinning him down. He's still nearby thankfully." Alkaid replied as the tip of the wand stabbed into the paper. "And there he is."
"Hey, that's the hotel near where we went last night." The redhead pointed out, her finger tapping the map repeatedly.
Rubbing her eyes, the brunette sighed. "Well, let's go retrieve him. It will at least give him the excuse to ditch whatever one night stand he has."
"Ouch, that's cold Kaidy." Pyrrha teased, mirth in her eyes.
"Let's go. I have an itinerary and it's already messed up." The young woman said with a dull glare at her lover.
"Hey hey, I apologized."
"Mm, you are making it up to me later." The emerald eyed woman whispered and caused her lover to blush.
"Uh, sure. Yeah." Pyrrha nodded rapidly.
"Good. Now I'm going to pick Blaise up." Alkaid announced to the rest of her friends who were lounging around her sitting room chatting and in the case of some having second, or was it third, helpings of dessert. "Anyone want to come?"
"I'll go." Susan said, with Hannah predictably following suit. They were followed by Daphne, Tracy, Anthony, Padma, Bruce and Ginny. The others instead choosing to stay behind to rest up for their planned festivities later that night.
Alkaid had at Pyrrha's suggestion booked them front row tickets for a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. It was not something the sorceress herself would have chosen as entertainment but as a means to expose her generally sheltered Hogwarts friends to modern culture it was a decent choice.
"Excellent. I hope he has pants on." Alkaid smirked, causing her friends to laugh as they left to recover their missing friend.
"Blaise, we know you're in there. Open the door!" Alkaid demanded as she glared at the closed door to the honeymoon suite in the hotel where she'd tracked Blaise to.
After arriving, it had only taken a little charm, and a healthy dose of subtle magic that bordered on compulsion, to get the mousy young receptionist to provide her the details to her butler's room.
Though if the way she was blushing and refusing to meet my eyes is any indication, I might have gone overboard. The sorceress mused absently as she waited impatiently for her usually prompt servant to obey her command.
"Blaise, buddy. Open the door. We're worried about you mate." Anthony said, trying to use male camaraderie where Alkaid's appeal to authority had failed. "Just open up and let us check if you're okay."
"Yeah, Alkaid looks ready to burn the door down. With her eyes." Bruce added. "And I'm being literal here. They're glowing."
Alkaid shot the younger man a look, but he only gave a playful shrug.
"I-I'm a little busy at the moment!" Was the muffled reply, though it sounded strained.
Tired of this already, Alkaid blasted the door open before anyone could say anything else.
Was it rude of her? Yes. Did she care at the moment? No.
As she walked in, Blaise -face flushed- covered himself with the sheets though his female companion didn't even seem bothered, and left her nude body on display.
She was a pretty thing, with rich dark brown hair cascading off her shoulders, chocolate brown eyes twinkling with mirth and pale skin that was slick with sweat.
"I-I am so sorry, um, I just-" Blaise gulped at Alkaid's annoyed look.
His companion on the other hand lazily waved to them in greeting. "Hello~!"
"Naomi!" The young man said aghast at her exhibitionism and hastily covered her with the sheets.
The young woman rolled her eyes but then narrowed them as she looked at Alkaid.
"Hm, hey… Do I know you? You look familiar."
The sorceress ignored her as she tried to piece together why the name seemed to stir up some vague sense of recollection.
"Oh… Oh shit I do remember you." The young woman actually looked embarrassed now.
Alkaid quirked a brow.
"It's me Naomi. I, um, kinda almost raped you about ten years back."
Silence filled the room.
"There's a story there." Pyrrha noted, her voice laced with anger. "But we can worry about that later."
Naomi nodded and released a whistle while looking Alkaid up and down.
"Alright, but damn. Can I just say damn, you turned out sexier then sex, girl."
Pyrrha looked about ready to rip the girl's head off.
Revelation dawned on Alkaid, who pinched her nose and closed her eyes. "Ah. Yes. The siren girl."
"Guilty~!"
"Siren? As in the sex loving, life force sucking, wizarding kind?" Pyrrha asked, pulling out her wand. She wasn't the only one as all of Alkaid's friends followed her example.
"Yes… I learnt a lot about myself that summer." Alkaid furrowed her brow.
Naomi licked her lips. "Mm, I still remember your life force. Being grounded for a month was so worth it."
"You got attacked by a siren and didn't tell me?" Pyrrha hissed as she leveled her wand at the magical creature.
"It was right after our fight."
"As fascinating as all this is," Daphne cut in scathingly, glaring at Naomi. "Perhaps we could address the naked elephant in the room?"
"Oh, he's got an elephant alright." The siren giggled excitedly.
"Enough. Can we have our friend back now please?" Tracy asked.
"Nope." The girl said seriously. "He's my mate and he's mine. From now till the day he dies."
"Last I recalled, sirens mated with other sirens." Alkaid pointed out to the girl even as she cast a handful of diagnostic spells on the naked duo and was startled to find a magical bond between them.
Dammit, what bond did this girl form with Blaise? It's similar to some mating bonds between magical creatures, but that shouldn't be possible.
"We sirens are lucky. We get two mates at a time!" The siren explained cheerfully. "We get our siren mates, who we bond with forever and ever. Even in death. But our other mates? As long as they live our bonds are just as strong."
"I can second that." Blaise said, nodding eagerly in agreement. "I feel like she's a part of me."
Alkaid rubbed her temples, she felt a headache building and retorted. "You do know she's seventeen at best, yes?"
Blaise's olive skin paled greatly as she twisted to Naomi. "I thought you were eighteen?!"
"I am!" Naomi insisted. "I've just always looked a little younger than my proper age."
"Is he under some kind of charm effect?" Pyrrha wondered aloud.
"Not unless you count the mating bond."
Which considering it's designed to enslave someone and make them into being a siren's ready, willing and eminently replaceable meal, it totally should. Alkaid noted, but did not say. The situation was tense enough and she really wanted to avoid the need to kill Naomi and start a conflict with her flock. The girl couldn't exactly help that one of her evolutionary adaptations made her bonds to non-sirens unsettlingly predatory to its victims.
"Listen, Naomi, I understand how important this is for you, but Blaise has responsibilities back in the U.K."
The siren shrugged. "It's fine. I'll just go with him."
"You'll drop your entire life and follow him across the Atlantic?" Padma's jaw dropped a little.
"He's my mate. Of course, I'd do something as small as that. Besides, I'm sure it'll be more fun than sticking around here in the States." The teenager said confidently.
Bruce looked concerned. "Blaise, come on, your mother and the Wizarding World is never going to approve of this. There's no way they'll accept a siren, known far and wide for their promiscuity, as your wife let alone as a possible Lady to a Noble House."
The Italian wizard hardly looked convinced. "So? Why should I care? My Mum's got a reputation as being a black widow already, she probably wouldn't mind."
"I think you may be underestimating your Mother's reaction, Blaise." Susan shifted nervously on her feet. "Very few are going to be comfortable about this back home."
"So what if I can't marry him?" Naomi said with a shrug. "Why would I need a piece of paper? It's not like I'd mind just being his mate and his mistress. In fact, that might make things even better. I mean, it would make hunting a lot easier than if I was Blaise's wife."
Blaise let out a pained groaned, but nodded in agreement with his mate.
This is getting us nowhere. Alkaid noted as she rubbed her temples. Time to call in the adults.
"I'm getting your parents here. Now." The daughter of Hades informed the siren sternly.
"What?! Oh come on!" The teenager whined.
She was summarily ignored however and going to the corner of the room, Alkaid conjured a small fire. Tossing some floo powder form the small stash she always carried on her person alongside a holdout drachma for either firecalls or I.M.
As the flames turned green, she called the name of the siren matriarch. "Angela Swan-Weber."
She was thankful that the American floo system allowed for connections to people by name. It made things a lot more convenient at times even if it was a little more unsafe. Though that was mitigated by them having a much more competent magical law enforcement and thus deterrence against magical crime.
Now if only they had more competent management of the floo system itself. Alkaid thought to herself ruefully as she looked away from the risque scene in the flames. In it, the siren matron was quite busily occupied feeding and being fed from by her mate and fellow matriarch, Bella.
"Madames Swan-Weber!" Alkaid hissed out in exasperation.
Both women on the other side of the flames looked towards what to them must have been a fireplace out of the corner of their eyes but otherwise refused to acknowledge Alkaid. Instead, the pace of their lovemaking seemed to intensify until moments later they both peaked quite spectacularly right in front of their audience.
Pyrrha and the group from Britain all averted their eyes and were blushing up a storm at the display. That was in stark contrast to Naomi and Alkaid's reactions.
"Looks like I'll be getting another sister soon." Naomi noted with a sigh. "It's like they're at it every time I call. Mom, Mama, why do you breed like rabbits?!"
Alkaid in turn just rolled her eyes. And I thought my family was frisky?
If she could fire stinging jinxes through the firecall, she would have already.
"Please come here and fix this mess with your daughter. If you would be so kind of course."
Still, she had to be polite about it.
"Hello, Miss Potter." Angela said as she languidly turned to properly face the fire, even as her hands still idly roamed her mate's body as it lay on top of her and elicited mewls of pleasure from the other siren. "To what do we owe the honor of a call from you?"
"Your daughter." The peeved sorceress said bluntly.
"Oh. Has Naomi taken a fancy to you again? I thought we curbed her behavior on that front." Bella asked as she swatted Angela's hands playfully away and turned her attention to the call as well.
The siren with light brown hair frowned at being denied and flipped them over before she began quite pleasantly but determinedly expressing her displeasure to her mate's body.
"Could you two stop it!?" Pyrrha hissed. "We're trying to have a serious discussion here."
"Sorry, can't." Bella replied in a surprisingly even voice considering the situation. "You caught us while we're feeding. We can't deny our instincts once we get going."
"I can attest to that." Naomi added in.
Alkaid and friends all groaned in frustration at that. "Then let's finish this quickly so that we won't be interrupting you two any further."
"That would be, ah, much appreciated." The siren said as her breath hitched. "So what, oh, did Naomi do this time?"
"She seems to have bonded to a servant of mine that needs to return to Britain soon. Though your daughter insists that she will go with him."
The sirens seemed confused by this, even Angela paused in his ministrations for a moment to shoot the flames a bewildered look before she dived back to her task with gusto, clearly not understanding the issue at hand.
"So? Let her follow." Bella shrugged or as best as she could with her mate all over her. "What is the issue?"
"Politics." Alkaid simply said.
The dark brown haired siren was about to reply but shoved a hand in her mouth instead as she bit off a scream of pleasure and seemingly melted into an insensate mess.
Thankfully, her previously occupied mate was more than ready to take over the conversation.
"Let people think what they want." Angela said distractedly, as she eyed the state she'd left her mate in with pride.
Frustration got the better of Alkaid and she threw her hands in the air. "You know what? Take care of this yourselves. I cannot have a conversation like this."
With her declaration, she walked out of the room.
"Hey! If you ever want a threesome, let me know!" Naomi called out to her.
"Over my dead body." Pyrrha hissed as she followed her lover out and the others did the same.
"...Kinky." The siren called out as the rest of the group left.
After the matter of Blaise and his new siren mate was 'settled', as much as caving to her unreasonable demands could be called settled, the rest of the group now missing Blaise were able to enjoy a couple more days with Alkaid's family.
They had gone on tours of the wine country around her estate and sampled many great wines.
The girls of the group had also gotten plenty of shopping done. Of course they had made use of the chance to catch up on all the latest gossip and girl talk they had missed out on since they'd last regularly seen each other back in Hogwarts as well.
Not to be left out, the boys had spent the time the girls were maxing out their budgets enjoying some of the variety of sporting entertainment available in the States, both magical and mundane. They'd watched a match of Quodpot as well as as a baseball game. They knew next to nothing about either games but had enjoyed the atmosphere at both games tremendously.
Now though, it was time to head home and Blaise had finally deigned to rejoin the group. He wasn't alone though and was accompanied not only by Naomi but by another girl.
"Who's this?" Daphne asked coldly as she eyed the latest addition to their group.
"Hello," The blue eyed woman with collar-length blonde hair said shyly. "My name's Sally. I'm Naomi's cousin and siren mate."
Alkaid couldn't help giving the woman a once over at that declaration.
Dressed in a long-sleeved, knee-length polka-dot dress with a dark ribbon on her chest that artfully displayed her supermodel worthy figure, Sally was undeniably beautiful. As if that wasn't enough the way she tied her hair back with a polka-dot ribbon gave her a air of childish innocence that just seemed to make her even more attractive.
Do all sirens have to be so perfect looking? Blast the genes that allow them to be such beautiful creatures. Alkaid lamented. She was consoled however by the fact that she wasn't the only one who felt this way as she could see the same looks of envy on the rest of the girls' faces.
"Man, look at you Blaise!" Justin snickered. "Not one but two beauties? When will your lust end?"
"Yeah! Why should you be so fortunate?" Bruce joked.
"Actually, it's my harem. Not his." Naomi corrected the boys, a lecherous grin on her face. She winced though when her cousin bopped her on the head.
Sally's face was crimson as she looked shyly to the ground.
Tickling her cousin's side and earning a squeak from her mate, Naomi looked at Alkaid slyly.
"You know, you can join us anytime, Alkaid." The siren licked her lips. "My tongue's just begging to taste you again."
Pyrrha looked about ready to cut her in two, but the daughter of Hades rested a hand on her shoulder. Giving it a calming squeeze, Alkaid replied.
"No thank you. Still, I hope your stay will be… adventurous."
"Oh! It will be!"
Life continued uneventfully for Alkaid and her family after her friends left, that is until November came rolling around and Alkaid bought herself a new game as a treat, Sonic 06. The game was something of a disaster with terrible camera controls, a story that left much to be desired and a whole host of other issues, but the daughter of Hades was determined to complete it nonetheless. The completionist gamer in her would not be satisfied otherwise.
This however had caused her quite a few problems as her obsession had led to increasingly strident calls for her to stop from her family. Mina had began eying the PS3 murderously on occasion, while Alkaid had been forced to stop Pyrrha from destroying it or the game disc at least four times. Even the house elves, who were usually on her side as the owner of the house, had taken to reminding her to take breaks from the game often with a disapproving look in their eyes.
Alkaid knew that her neglect of her family, and she had enough self-reflection to see it as such, to play her game was wrong. And that her need to play the game had crossed the line into addiction, but she couldn't help herself. If she didn't finish it, then she felt like she couldn't call herself a gamer.
Then again… If this is what I need to call myself that, is it worth it? Alkaid thought to herself, and thus distracting herself. This immediately caused her avatar to get itself killed. Letting out a frustrated groan, she watched for the umpteenth time as her character was forced to use one of the extra lives she'd been hoarding. I might have to turn casual.
Dropping the controller she got up and headed out the room. The light outside made her wince a bit, but she adjusted quickly enough. "Wallas."
In a soft pop, one of her house elves appeared.
"Yes missus?"
"Store the PS3 away please. I'm getting a migraine from it. Do not give it back to me until finals are over." She declared to the elf.
Wallas bobbed his large head, making his paperboy hat nearly slip off. "'Course missus."
He eagerly ran into her room to do so.
Alkaid walked down the stairs to the kitchen and grabbed some orange juice before going in search of her lover and daughter.
"So you finally remembered that you have a family?" Pyrrha asked with an angry glare at Alkaid as the daughter of Hades walked into the living room where the redhead was seemingly using a set of knives to play darts with Mina. "Or did you finally finish that piece of trash?"
"Yes dear." Alkaid sighed as she sipped from her tall glass of OJ.
"Mother!" Mina squealed and tackle hugged the sorceress.
"Hello sweetie." The brunette cooed as she gave the little goddess a one armed hug and lifted her up. She headed over to the couch and sat down. "You want some juice too?"
"Mm! I'll get the muffins." Mina giggled and dashed away to the kitchen.
Pyrrha glared at her.
"...So I may have gotten a little obsessed."
"A little?" Pyrrha demanded fiercely. "You basically locked us out of your life for the better part of a week!"
"...A lot. And I apologize. I told Wallas to lock it away." The sorceress rubbed her eyes. "That thing was Satan."
"Good." The daughter of war said with a pleased nod of her head. "But not enough. The next time you get a game I need you to promise me something."
"What exactly?"
"That the next time you only ever play a set number of hours a week and that family time gets priority over any gaming time."
It was a reasonable request, but the gamer in Alkaid rebelled against the idea.
"How about only multiplayer games? Like Mario Party?" Alkaid weakly offered. Even as the words left her mouth, she knew it was a mistake. Her offer basically made the promise meaningless. Would the type of game matter if it distracted her from her family?
As Alkaid expected, Pyrrha just glared at her with a burning intensity upon hearing what she'd said. "Do you want us to walk out on you? Because if you're not interested in us being a family then I'll leave and I'm taking Mina with me."
A cold snap ran through the living room as Alkaid's eyes became harder than diamond. Through her teeth, she hissed. "That's going too far, Pyrrha."
The shadows in the room writhed, reacting to her anger.
"Maybe." The redhead conceded with a frown, the intensity in her eyes dimming.
"No! Not maybe. I did something wrong. I said it. That's that, but there is no need for threats. Especially not like that."
"I was trying to make a damned point!" Pyrrha shot back, even as Mina blurred into the room and between her mothers looking at them worriedly.
"What's going on?" The little girl asked, sounding confused and scared. "Why are Mama and Mother fighting?"
Alkaid's anger cooled immediately and the shadows settled in response. She turned to comfort her daughter, but it seemed Ares' blood in Pyrrha system was still burning hot.
"Your Mother was trying to wiggle out of a promise to game less and spend more time with us." The redhead accused, daring Alkaid to contradict her.
"I wasn't trying to wiggle! I was just seeing if I could incorporate both."
"You were trying to score an exception." Pyrrha scoffed in anger, her nostrils flaring. "All I asked was that you set a limit and prioritize family time and you wanted a whole type of game excluded from the promise! That's as good as not making the promise at all."
Mina's eyes full open at Pyrrha's words and shot a hurt look at Alkaid, before edging away from her.
Alkaid couldn't lie, her heart wilted at that the sight and she felt shame worm its way through her.
"Mother likes her games more than Mina?" The little goddess asked in a heartbroken whisper as she hugged herself.
Pyrrha immediately pulled their daughter into a hug and tucked her into her side, even as she shot Alkaid a glare for upsetting her.
"No!" She surprised herself as she shouted that. "I just- I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"
"You better be." Pyrrha said. "Now what are you going to do about it?"
Alkaid knew what she needed to say. However, the part of her that was obsessed with her video games refused to let her say it. Instead, she tried to wrack her brain for some other way to salvage the situation.
While she struggled, Pyrrha and Mina looked at her with expectant faces, though Mina's seemed increasingly thoughtful as time passed.
After a moment, as if suddenly realizing something, the goddess of serial killers suddenly gasped.
Both women turned their attention to the girl.
"I see it. Mother's sick." Mina said as she rushed forward to hug Alkaid. "Cousin Dionysus taught me how to see this, but I never noticed it till now because it was small before now. What did he call it? Oh right! An addiction."
The daughter of Hades visibly flinched at that.
"I...I guess I did pick games over you two for a while." Alkaid admitted. Even now, she could feel it, the intense desire to abandon this stressful situation and run back up to the game. It was almost as strong as a siren's call.
Why didn't I notice this before? The sorceress noted with horror. She felt like an idiot for not even coming to this conclusion? How could she have missed this?
Since when did her childhood hobby turn into an addiction?
"Wait, Kaidy is addicted to gaming?" Pyrrha asked her daughter incredulously. "I knew she could get weirdly obsessed with it but addicted?"
"Remember last year?"
"...Shit, yeah, that stupid thing...ugh!" The daughter of Ares grunted in annoyance.
"I'm sure, Mama." Mina declared confidently. "It's small and weak, but I think it gets stronger whenever Mother finds a game she likes. Once it does… It takes her over like it did this week."
"Is that really an addiction then?" Alkaid mused, trying to reconcile that with the definition of the term.
"I certainly think it qualifies." Pyrrha shot back.
"I suppose." The brunette agreed, still unconvinced. "Though I suppose whether it fits the standard definition isn't the issue here. Alright, so what do I need to do?"
Pyrrha turned to her daughter. "Sweetie, can you kill the addiction?"
The girl frowned and thought about it for a moment before shaking her head sadly. "I don't think so. I could try but I'm not sure it'll work. I'll need to ask Cousin Dionysus in our next lesson."
"Please don't stab me." Alkaid joking said.
"I won't Mother, I promise." The girl assured her with a cute nod. "Not unless I absolutely have to."
Pyrrha let out a snorting laugh at that.
Sending her a look that clearly said: It's not funny. Alkaid turned to Mina nervously. I wonder what else she could possibly kill.
Pyrrha continued ignoring Alkaid's look. "Alright, if that's off the table. Then you'll just have to promise."
"On the Styx?" Alkaid asked with a raised eyebrow. Considering the situation that's what I'd demand.
"No. Not yet." Pyrrha said after a moment's consideration. "A normal promise will work for now. We'll see how good you are at keeping it first."
She frowned, but Alkaid nodded nonetheless.
"Don't worry so much, Mother! We'll help you keep it." Mina cheerfully comforted her brunette parent. "The next time you forget family time, I'll make sure to stab whatever distracted you to death."
Both parents paused at that.
"...J-Just promise to wait and see if it's important to your mums first okay?"
"Mmhm!"
"Your turn, Kaidy." Pyrrha demanded.
"I promise to limit my gaming and prioritize family time, okay? Satisfied?" Alkaid asked tiredly.
"For now." The redhead agreed, before turning to Mina. "You said there were muff-"
"I'm afraid your teatime must wait, ladies," A voice cut off Pyrrha from the fireplace which flared up and turned green to reveal the face of Alabaster C. Torrington. "Though I must thank my new friend whose advice let me see this amusing scene. She said calling you lot now would give me a nice show and she was right. Now she'll be insufferable. Oh well, I suppose it was amusing enough to be worth it."
"...Fucking little turd. What are you doing in our fireplace magic boy?" The daughter of Ares frowned.
Seeing the familiar face of the son of Hecate, Alkaid frowned. "Wonderful, now I need to upgrade the house's wards again. What do you want, Alabaster?"
The face in the fireplace, shrugged -or as best it could- as he replied.
"Nothing much. Just wanted to let you know that Jane Branwen is currently in my care."
Omake: The Playroom
"I don't think we should explore guys." Padma said nervously as the group of young adults poked around Alkaid's small mansion.
Alkaid and Mina had gone out to pick up some ice cream for the lot of them. They were a cute scene as they headed out to town. Pyrrha herself had apparently decided to take the chance to workout in the gym after confirming with the group that they would be fine on their own.
As they explored, they'd been surprised by the many artifacts on pedestals all over the place, mostly Greek vases and old weapons. They had known Alkaid was such a collector, but this was well beyond their expectations. Along the way they had also found an indoor swimming pool in the basement. No doubt something Pyrrha used. They were currently searching the east wing which was apparently full of many victorian style guest rooms.
One of particular interest had a water bed and several cushions and other things. Apparently it was a spare room for Alkaid's older half-sister Melinoe. It was directly across the hall from another room that looked like something from a teenage girl's room straight out of a 90s Muggle show, complete with unicorn and oddly goat plushies. Apparently it was a room for her other half-sister, Markaria. At least that was what the elves told them.
"Come on. It's not our fault Alkaid left." Tracy huffed, far too eager to find something to rib on Alkaid with.
Daphne seemed to have a laser focus to her as she no doubt did the same, but probably without the underlying current of hostility.
"Hey guys! I've found a locked door." Ginny called out from down the hallway.
The rest of the clique walked on over and with a quick Alohomora had it unlocked.
The room was surprisingly well lit by the large number of recessed lights in the ceiling. All along the walls were glossy black cabinets.
"What do you think are in those?" Ginny asked curiously. "I mean this is Alkaid we're talking about so it could be anything."
"I'm saying rare magical artifacts." Ethel guessed.
"Grimoires too dangerous or rare to keep in her library." Bruce offered.
"Clothes?" Susan suggested.
"Nah, I'm betting on an art collection." Anthony said with a teasing grin.
"Don't be stupid Anthony." Justin said with a shake of his head. "If that were the case this place would have been set up as a gallery."
"Oh, then what's your guess?"
Justin shrugged. "I'm with Ginny. It could be anything."
"Why don't we stop guessing and just find out." Padma said with a sigh as she walked over to the nearest cabinet and pulled it open.
What she found inside made her blush hard and slam the door shut.
"What's with that reaction?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow and pulled the door open for herself. "It can't be that ba-"
She was unable to finish her sentence as she stared in shock at the various dominatrix outfits and the collection of whips hanging inside the closet. She wasn't the only one who had lost her voice at the sight as most of the party had likewise been stunned into silence
"Wow! I never knew that Alkaid was that kinky." Bruce noted with a smirk as he headed over to another cabinet. "What else does she have here I wonder."
Before the others could stop him, Bruce opened it to reveal a chest of drawers within and promptly pulled one out.
"Sweet." The man said with a whistle as he looked down at the dozen or so dildos -of different shapes, sizes, and color- packed into nice padded recesses set into the drawer. "That's quite the collection."
Luna likewise had not been frozen in shock, but unlike Bruce was taking a little longer to decide which cabinet to investigate. Finally deciding on a cabinet across the room from the one that had first flummoxed the group.
Inside she found a large number of fetish outfits neatly hung up in the cabinet. There was everything from sexualized nurse and maid outfits, naughty schoolgirl and witch outfits, and even doggy and kitty outfits with strategic cutouts that provided ample access to a woman's private areas.
"I'm most certainly going to ask Alkaid and Pyrrha where they got all these wonderful outfits." Luna said gushingly, her grey eyes sparkling. "I'd look wonderful in most of these wouldn't I, Ginny?"
The aforementioned redhead just nodded even as she blushed as red as her vibrant hair.
"I wonder if they are open to threesomes?" Luna wondered out loud. "We are at the age where we typically experiment aren't we?"
"Not now, Luna." Daphne chided her as she too went to open another drawer, but the slamming of a door stopped her.
"Hey guys! What the heck are you doing in our playroom?" Pyrrha asked angrily even as she blushed brilliantly.
"Pyrrha, do these come in a smaller size?" Luna asked as she held up a naughty kitty outfit with a sexy leopard print all over it.
"Put that back and get out of here! Now!" Was the shrill reply as Pyrrha pulled her wand on the others. "Out!"
With a hail of stinging jinxes flying after them, the former Hogwarts schoolmates fled out of the room.
Done and done!
Thanks to the team of Nameless and Axios as always!
Man, what a chapter huh? Some nice slice of life, some CD and arguing, addictions coming to light and oh yeah, a kidnapping. Just a regular friday night for our heroines and tiny goddess of murder death kill.
Nameless: So the sirens made a reappearance and Blaise has acquired one for a mate. And they give another practical demonstration of how inhuman they are, by showcasing how they are utter nymphomaniacs. Before anyone calls us out on having excessive lesbians again, please remember that we're doing this not for any political leanings but because we are totally hot for yuri.
Man, he's the luckiest butler ever huh? Until later down the line since they're sucking his life force and all. So anyway, our lovely little family had an argument. I know, sad, but we have been building up Alkaid's addiction to gaming, it's kind of her defense mechanism, her retreat in a way. Is it a good thing? No. Playing around with it is interesting at times, but it's time we addressed it. Plus, FUCK Sonic 06, woewneondniqnroquerhvqoevuh!
Nameless: Now, some readers apparently hate CD of our characters. They prefer that they remain unchanged from the start of the fic all the way till the end. To these readers, I would like to ask whether they themselves have changed as a person over the last eight years? Because that's the time that's elapsed for Alkaid. Even more so, this period involved her entire developmental years! Of course she'd change and significantly. If you do not like this then I honestly do not think any of our stories will appeal to you. We strive for a reasonably high degree of realism and so this will be something you'll encounter in all our fics. Whether that's acceptable to you or not, that's up to you.
And onto the Omake. Let's be real guys… Did you honestly think Alkaid wouldn't have one made up? Please. She likes her tools readily on hand, daddy has taught her well, along with her nannies XP And don't forget, there were more than three cabinets in there, hehehe. Though what outfit do you think Pyrrha would look in best?
Nameless: To be honest, every healthy relationship should involve some variety. For some like Pyrrha and Alkaid this includes toys. Which is actually quite a common way for couples to spice up their relationship. That they'd have a whole room dedicated to them is a little excessive, but they're rich and they are entitled to using their wealth as they see fit.
Now, for the cliffhanger… Yes, the Titans, or at least their demigod underlings, in this case Alabaster, has kidnapped Pyrrha's mom for no doubt nefarious things! Stay tuned!
Nameless: We guarantee it'll be exciting. Look forward to it.
Well, you know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! Peace of my peeps!