disclaimer: I don't own Percy or Harry

Chapter 11: We go down a drain

Harry's P.O.V.

My body felt smooth, powerful and fleible, I was gliding between shing metal bars, across dark cold stone..I was flat against the floor, sliding along on my belly..it was dark, yet I could see objects around me shimmering in strange, vibrant colors I was turning my head at first glance the corridor was empty but no...I man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping on to his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark...I put out my tongue..I tasted the man's scent on the air..he was alive but drowsy...sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor...I longed to bite him but I must master the impulse I had more important things to do. The man moved and opened his eyes he saw me I had no choice now, and I went to dodged at him.

My dream suddenly changed.

"No, you don't need to see that, my son." said a voice women's voice."Now come speak with me." I wanted to speak with her, but I wanted to know what happened to that man, I wanted to know if he was all right, I had a feeling I knew him, if only I could go back to the other dream.

"Believe me that was something you don't want to see, now come speak with me." My thoughts floated from my body, I could still hear shouting, and a deep voice calling someone's name, but it all seemed to be happening on another plan of existence, it was getting farther, and farther away, into I found myself in an earthen cage. tendrils of trees roots, and stone whirled together, confining me. outside the bars, I could see the floor of a dry reflecting pool, another earthen spire growing at the far end, and above us, the ruined red stones of a burned out house.

Next to me in the cage, a women sat cross-legged in black robs, her head covered by a shrud. She pushed aside the veil, revealing a face that was proud and beautiful, but also harden with suffering.

"Mum?" I asked, "I mean, Hera."

The goddess smiled at me, "I am your mother, you may call me mom if you wish," she held her arms out. "Welcome to my prison."

"Wha about Mr. Weasley, I have to tell Sirius, so he could contact Dumbledore." It now came to me who that man in my dream was, and Voldemort's snake, was about to attack him, but Hera raised her hand cutting me off.

"The mortal will be just fine," Hera said. "Someone else was there he can help him," she gestured at the tendrils of her cage. "There are worse triles to come, the very earth stirs against us, and please do not mention that man to me."

"Who, Sirius? I asked.

"No, child," Hera answered. "I mean, Dumbledore."

"You're a goddess." I said, looking around the cage and not liking the fact I was trapped in a cage, even if it was just a dream. "Why can't you just escape?"

Hera smiled sadly. Her form began to glow, until her brilliance filled the cage with painful light. The air hummed with power, molecules splitting apart like a nuclear explosion. If I had really been there in flesh, I would've been vaporized, everything around us should have been destroyed, but when the light died, her cage hadn't even budged. Only Hera looked different-a little more stooped and tired.

"Some powers are even greater than the gods,' she said. "I am not easily contained. I can be in many places at once. But when the greater part of my essence is caught, it is like a foot in a bear trap, you might say. I can't escape, and I am concealed from the eyes of the other gods.

"Then why the bloody hell did you come here?" I demanded. "How did they even catch you?"

Hera sighed. "I could not stay idle. Your step-father Zeus, believes if he can withdraw from the world, and thus lull our enemies back to sleep. He believes we Olympians have become too involved in the affairs of mortals. In the fates of our demigod children, especially since we agreed to claim them all after the war. He believes this is what has caused our enemies to stir. That is why he closed Olympus."

"But you don't agree?" I asked.

"No," she said. "Often I do not understand my husband's moods or his decisions, but even for Zeus, this seems paranoid. It is so unlike him, I believe he is hiding from the fact his son is back, ever since he got his powers back last year, Zeus has not been his self."

"His son is Voldemort isn't it?" I asked. Hera patted the ground in front of her.

"Have a seat my darling, I have something I wish to tell you before I grow to weak."

I looked down at my mother for a minute before I shook my head.

"What if I say no, what if I don't care what you have to say, I want answers to my questions, I want them now, not when me and my friends save your neck."

"Harry, we do not have time right now," Hera started, but I cut her off.

"Then make time." I snapped, rage flash through Hera's eyes, but I didn't give her a chance to speak

"Do you know what I've been through since I left camp, My scar has hurt me none stop, some snow goddess wanted me as her icy new toy, I've been attacked by dementors, "I've fallen of a hippogriff right through a glass roof, I've almost been eaten by Cyclopes, and right now I'm out cold from a bad head injury, all because I'm trying to save you, so you owe me." I told her.

The rage in her eyes softened, and she nodded her head, with what might be concern on her face.

"Your head will be fine, it might hurt a while, we don't have too much time, and there is something I wish to tell you before you wake up, so I can't tell you the full story, but I will tell you about your birth, that's what you really want to know isn't it."

"Yes."I said. "I need to know if there's a reason I was born, and why you needed me to be a wizard."

"Yes, I had reasons." Hera said. "James and Lily was the most powerful wizard around at that time that I could trust with my plan, yes I needed a wizard child, I needed a demigod child that was as powerful as the big three's children, I couldn't have that unless the father was a wizard."

"So, you just used my dad." I interrupted, my temper rasing "What did you do to get him to cheat on his wife, everyone I know says he was madly in love with her, and how could you do that to her, she was one of your followers."

"You need to calm your self down." Hera said. "If you want to know you will not speck to me like that." I crossed my arms and huffed.

"Now, did I ever say I had an affair with your father, no I did not." Hera said, totally confusing me. "I'm the goddess of marriage, Heracleitus, I don't go around sleeping with ever mortal or immortal I come across like the other gods do, I can control myself."

"But, then how?" I asked.

"There our others ways, I got pregnant with Hephaestus without sleeping with Zeus." Hera said. "Even mortals have ways of having children without it involving sleeping with someone."

"So, how did you, you know get pragnant with me?" I asked my face going red, at where this was going.

"I didn't." Hera said. "I never carried you."

"Okay, I'm confused." I said. "Aren't you my mum?"

, "I'm your biological mother," Hera said." But I used a surrogate mother to have you, I couldn't risk Zeus finding out what I was doing, you and your surrogate mother would have been in danger, and of course your father."

"James Potter is really my dad." I said. "So, does that mean Lily was the surrogate mother, that's way I have her eyes."

"Yes, darling." Hera said. " I magically put one of my eggs in Lily, and I'm sure you don't went to get into how James got her pragnant."

I made a face, "No, you can keep all that to your self." and Hera chuckled.

"I had it all planed out." Hera said. "I choice Lily because of a few reasons, one she was my most devoted follower, her, and James were very faithful to each other, you were to grow up in a happy home; to two loving mortal parents, I knew Lily would be a good mother, she was to raise you and be your mortal mother, and I was to be your immortal mother, you were to grow up happy, and loved, but you would also grow up knowing the truth, and know that I am your real mother, and then when the time came you would go to camp half-blood."

"but, if you needed I powerful demigod, why didn't you just use one of the other powerful demigods?" I asked "Didn't you say something about owing Jason's life?"

Hera sighed. "I have always been known for my jealous nature, so when I learned Zeus was once again fooling around with Thalia's mother, I knew another child would come from it, and I got a little jealous, and decided to have a demigod child of my own, after all who better to save me then my own son."

I looked down. "So, I was just born because you would need saving?" Hera reached out her hand, grabbed my chin and lifted my head up.

"Yes, you were born because I would need you, but don't think that I don't care for you." Hera said.

I snorted "Sure, you do."

"I do, son." Hera said, and to my surprise Hera looked sad. "Harry, I know you have had a hard life, that's something I never wanted." Hera paused and picked up a rock, it was about two sizes bigger then a snitch, grey and kind of sparkled. "I admit, that at first, I saw you as nothing more than someone who was to save me someday, but after being around, Lily the whole nine mouths, and holding you after you were born, I couldn't help, but care for you, there was only one other goddess who knew of what I was doing, and that was your sister, my daughter, Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth, and midwifery, the divine helper of women in labour, she delivered you."

"Then way were you never there, why wait into now to have me claimed, you could have brought me to camp sooner." I demanded.

"Gods are not allowed to get too involved in their kid's lives." Hera said. "But that didn't keep me away." Hera looked down at the rock in her hand.

"Did you know gods, and goddess can take different forms?" Hera suddenly asked, then a bright light shined, and when it faded, sitting across from me was Mrs. Figg, and my mouth dropped open.

"You're, Mrs. Figg?" I asked, as light shined, and Hera was now back to her normal self.

"It killed me not to be able to do anything about the Dursley's, I made up a cranky old lady, and had Argus to help keep an eye on you, but if I did too much Zeus would have taken notice, that doesn't mean I didn't in some way help you when your life was in danger; when you were in the forbidden forest your first year, I was the one that led that centaur to you when you were about to be attack, then when you were back in there your second year, I was the one that had that Weasley boy's car come to you when you were about to be ate by giant spiders, I sent the phoenix to you down in that chamber, I even helped you in the graveyard, I tricked Thanatos the god of death to let some of Tom's victims out of the underworld for a while, I knew that death is the only thing Tom fears."

"You mean, they were really there?" I asked. "It wasn't the reverse spell effect, like Dumbldore thought?"

"That old fool doesn't know half as much as he thinks he does." Hera scowled.

"Oh," I said, "What was it you wanted to tell me?" I asked, I needed time to think about all this, and I didn't think I could handle anymore right now.

"I wanted to warn you about, Tom he knows you're in America, but he doesn't know why or where, he has sent Death Eaters looking, he is trying to find a way to lure you back to London," Hera sighed. "I didn't want you to be apart of that war anymore. Tom has done something to his soul, something that we don't even speak of, he's nothing more than a monster now, Zeus no longer claims him as a son."

"What did he do?" I asked.

Hera shook her head, "It's too long to explain right now, we don't have much longer, you most hurry my son my keepers approach, and you begin to wake. I will not be strong enough to appear to you again not even in dreams."

"But way did you even come here?" I demanded.

" A voice told me to come here," Hera said. "Gods do not have what you might call a conscience, nor do we have dreams; but a voice was like soft and persistent, warning me to come here, so I slipped away from Zeus without telling him, and I came here to investigate." Hera explained.

"And it was a trap?" I asked

My mother nodded, "Only to late did I realize how quickly the earth was stirring I was foolish, I was taken captive by the giants, and my imprisonment started a war, The gods can only defeat them with the help of the greatest living heros, and the one whom the giants serve she can't be defeated, only kept a sleep."

"I don't understand." I said.

"You will soon." Hera said. "And beware of Chicago, Jason's most dangerous mortal enemy waites there, if he is to die it would be by her hand."

"Who?" I asked, Hera didn't answered, but kept talking, "If you need help finding my prison, your step-sister can help, if Jason can't remember the place"

"You mean Jason's sister Thalia?" I asked, Hera nodded took my hand and placed the rock in it. 'You will end up taking a detour, and then you'll have to get to me quickly this should help."

"A rock?" I asked.

"You're a wizard, Harry." Hera said, almost sounding like Hermione did in my first year. " All you got to do is remember the spell portis."

"Portis?" I asked. "What's that do?"

"You'll see, I most go now though I grow weaker, Hera put a hand on either side of my face, and lend forward and kissed my scar, she then whispered in my ear so soft I could hardly hear, "Please, be careful, my son." Then Hera was gone and I was waking up.

I groaned then opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that I was on the back of a hippogriff that wasn't Buckbeak, and someone was behind me holding on to me.

The second thing was my head felt like I had been hit with a bludger.

"What's going on." I asked.

"Hey, man how do you feel?" Jason's voice asked from behind me.

"My head hurts." I mumbled.

"Well, you did hit it pretty hard." Jason said. "You should have seen Piper, she was freaking out, you have a nasty cut that Leo has had to sew up two times." I reached up and felt the side of my head, and it was sticky with dry blood.

"How is Piper?" I asked, trying to look her way, but it was hard to see because I didn't have my glasses on."

"She's fine." Jason said, he let go of me. "If it hadn't been for you and Leo we would all be dinner by now."

"Leo, did most of it." I told him, which was true. "Where are we headed?"

"Chicago", Jason answered. "We still have to catch the storm spirits."

"I had a dream about Hera." I told Jason about my dream, and about Hera saying his mortal enemy was in Chicago.

"I can't think of who that would be." Jason said, after thinking a minute, "As far as I know, I haven't made anyone mad, well not that mad anyway."

"Annabeth was right." I said. "Either the gods or the demigods can't win without each other, and Voldemort had done something to his soul, she didn't say what, but she said he is nothing more than a monster now."

"Oh, Styx," Jason cursed. "That's not good, so Voldie really is a son of Zeus."

"Yep," I nodded.

"Gross." Jason suddenly said, after a long silence, "I just thought of something, that would make him my half-brother."

"I feel bad for you, mate." I told him, rubbing my eyes. "What happen to my glasses?"

"Oh, I forgot." Jason said, then I felt him move like he was getting in his pocket. "Leo gave them to me, for when you woke up." He reached around me and handed me my glasses.

"Is that duct tape?" I asked, my glasses had been taped together.

"Yeah, well, Leo kinda stepped on them." Jason said. I nodded and put them on, it's not like the first time I've worn taped up glasses, and once my head quits pounding, I'll just use Reparo on them and fix them.

We flew west and we both fell silent, my head was staring to feel a little better, at one time I looked over at Piper who smiled at me, glad to see me fully a wake. I don't know how long it was into we flew through a break in the clouds and below us, glittering in the winter sun was a city, at the edge of a massive lake. A crescent skyscrapers lined the shore. Behind them, stretching out to the western horizon, was a vast grid of snow-covered neighborhoods and roads.

"We made it to Chicago." Jason announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. I thought about what Hera had told me about Jason's worse mortal enemy would be here, if he was going to die she would be the one to do it, I just had to make sure who ever she was didn't get near my step-brother.

"One problem down." Leo yelled. "We got here a live. Now how do we find the storm spirits?"

I saw a flash of movement, at first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, and it was kind of hard to see, the thing I saw were real small, and fast, and dark., the thing spiraled toward the skyscrapers, weaving, and changing shape.

"Is that one?" I asked Jason, pointing to it.

"Yeah." Jason answered then yelled to the others, "Lets follow that one."

I felt like we would lose them, the wind thing could move faster than my firebolt.

"Speed up", Jason urged the bronze hippogriff. The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. We tried to follow, but it was hard to do with four hippogriff, but after a few minutes, Jason spotted them again, zipping through the streets with no apparent purpose-blowing over pedestrians, ruffling flags, making cars swerve.

"Oh great!" Piper suddenly yelled. "There's two."

My girl was right, a second one blasted around the corner of the Renaissance Hotel and linked up with the first. They wove together in a chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending a radio tower, then diving back down to the street, watching them was starting to make me dizzy.

"They do not need anymore caffeine," Leo said.

"Or sugar." I yelled over to him, making him smile.

"Or, chocolate." Leo yelled back, and we both started laughing. I don't know what put me in a joking mood all of a sudden, but it felt good to laugh.

"Guys, " Jason said. "Lets stop goofing around."

"I guess Chicago's a good place to hang out." Piper said."Nobody's going to question a couple more evil wands."

"More than a couple." Jason cried. "Look."

We flew over a wide avenue next to a lakeside park. Storm spirits were converging-at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.

"Which one is Dylan?" Leo asked. "I want to throw something at him."

The Storm spirits swirled together into a single funnel cloud and scattered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout, They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.

"Did they just go down the drain?" Piper asked. "How are we supposed to follow them?"

"Maybe we shouldn't." Leo said, and I agreed with him, the way I was claustrophobic and couldn't even sleep in my own cabin because there was no windows, I was not looking forward to having to go down a drain to follow some wind/storm spirit things.

"I mean that fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibs." Leo counted. "And aren't we supposed to, like beware the earth?"

I still agreed with Leo, I really didn't want to go down a drain, but we had to follow them to find my mum, and it was now only two days into the solstice.

"Lets land in the park," Jason suggested. "We can check it out on foot."

So all of us did as he suggested, landing in an open area between the lake, and the skyline, and that was the first time I noticed that Piper was on Buckbeak, and not the pinkish hippogriff she had been riding. The first thing she did when we slid off; was come over to me, and throw her arms at me in a hug

"How's your head?" she demanded, looking at my sewed up cut.

"I'm fine, my head hurts some, but I'm okay." I tried to assure her. She handed me my bag then took my hand as we walked over to join Jason, and Leo. The sign said we were at: Grant Park.

"I bet this place is pretty in the summer time." Piper said, I agreed with her, but right now it was nothing, but a field of ice, and snow, with salted walkways, and the wind coming off the lake was bitter cold.

"What happened to your hippogriff?" I asked her.

"We couldn't find her after we fell off," Piper explained. "Guess she just kept flying."

Piper took a step, and flinched letting go of my hand, "Ah."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your ankle?" Jason asked her.

"What's wrong with her ankle?" I demanded, kneeling down in front of her, and looking at it, her ankle was swollen, and all bruised up.

"Piper hurt her ankle when she fell"" Leo told me.

"What," I said."Jason, you said she wasn't hurt." I stood back up.

"No, I said she was fine." Jason said. "And I kind of forgot about her ankle."

"I'm fine, Harry." Piper said, shivering and hugging herself. "I took some ambrosia, but I gave you the only nectar I had."

I frowned at her. "You shouldn't off done that, you should have taken it."

"You were hurt worse, then I was." Piper said. "You needed the nectar more than I did."

Then I noticed all the blood on her, "Is that..."

"Your blood." Piper said. "Yes it is." I reached in my pocket for my wand, I didn't think I had enough energy to do magic without it right now, but my wand wasn't in my pocket.

"I lost my wand." I said, trying not to panic.

"I got it." Jason said, and he pulled it out off his pocket and handed it to me. "You dropped it when you fell."

I took it and pointed it at Piper's clothes, trying to think of the cleaning spell I've seen Mrs. Weasley use.

"Tergeo," I said, the name of the spell coming to me, and the blood on her clothes vanished, then I pointed the wand to my head, and did the same spell, and cleaned the blood off.

Piper smiled at me, and said thanks.

"Let's get somewhere out of the wind." Jason suggested.

"Down the drain." Piper said and I shuddered, and it had nothing to do with the wind or cold. "Sounds cozy."

We headed over to the fountain, a plaque, read crown fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. We stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop us. The drain hole was big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into dark gloom. I shivered at the thought of having to go down there, and felt a little sick.

"Hey, man you alright you look a little pale?" Jason asked. I looked over to see he was talking to me.

"Yeah,, I'm fine." I told him, and took a deep breath. This was the only way to find my mum, I could do this, if I could go down the chamber of secrets I should be able to handle a muggle drain. "I just don't fancy going down there."

"Join the club." Leo snorted.

Jason went down first, Leo soon followed him, then I helped Piper onto the ladder. I looked down the hole, I just hope we didn't have to be down there to long, I barely made it through the chamber, and it was a lot bigger then the drain.

"You don't have to go down there." A voice said, I looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Down, here."

I looked down, and jumped a little there in the snow was a face of a women, she looked to be made of dirt.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"In away, your mother, I'm the first mother," she said, and I realized her voice was in my head. "You can walk away now, while they're all down there in that drain, your hippogriff is right over there, just jump on and fly away, you don't have to go down in that deep dark in closed space, I know you don't like them."

"Shut up." I told her, it was bad enough without her reminding me about it in detail.

"Do not oppose me, just hop on Buckbeak fly away, go back to your little wizard world, and let my son Porphyrion rise and become king."

"You're mad," I told her. ""I'm not going back to people who don't want me, who call me a liar, I have friends here." I glanced down the hole my friends had went down.

"You think you can trust the daughter of Aphrodite, no, she'll turn on you just like everyone always does." she said.

"She wouldn't do that." I snapped at the face.

"No, isn't she hiding something from you now," she said. "If you don't want to go back to the wizard world you can always join my side, a powerful demigod such as yourself would be most welcomed, or you can choice to go down the drain have your heart broke by Piper McLean, she'll be the reason for your death.

"Shut the bloody hell up." I yelled, my temper rasing.

"Harry." Piper's voice came up from the drain. "Are you okay? Who you yelling at?"

The women started laughing, "Oh dear, you inherited your mother's temper."

I picked a ball of snow up off the ground and throw it at the face.

"Voldemort's already in my head I don't need you to." I told her.

I heard someone claiming back up and then Jason's head pop up out of the drain.

"You okay?" He asked. "We heard you shouting." I glanced back down, but the face was gone, I really hoped I hadn't imagined the whole thing.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said walking to the hole, "I'll explain when I get down there." Jason nodded, then disappeared down the hole, so I could climb down. I braced myself, thinking I would climb down into a room that was very dark, and so small I could hold my arms out and touch both sides of the walls, but it wasn't as bad as I thought, it didn't even smell as bad as a sewer would. I still didn't like it though, it might not be as small as I feared, but it was still small, and underground. I hoped I could handle it.

The ladder had dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north and south. The air was dry, and warm, with a trickle of water on the floor.

"Who were you yelling at?" Piper asked me, once I jumped the last step of the ladder.

I explained to them about the face I saw, and what she had said, only leaving out the parts about Piper, and my fear of in closed spaces.

"Don't worry, Uncle Harry, you're not going crazy." Leo said. "I've seen her too."

"Yeah, who ever dirt women is, she just trying to get us all fighting, and stop trusting each other." Jason said. What Jason said made a lot of sense, and I didn't believe her about Piper anyway.

"Are sewers always this nice?" Piper asked, as I took her hand.

"No," Leo said. "Trust me."

Jason frowned at him "How do you know?"

"Hey, man I ran away six times." Leo said. "Believe me I slept in some pretty weird places, okay, now, which way do we go?"

Jason tilted his head like he was listening to something, then pointed south. "That way."

"How do you know?" Piper asked.

"There's a draft blowing south." Jason said. "Maybe the spirits went with the flow."

It wasn't much of a lead, but it made sense to me, so we all went south.

"I thought you were dead." Piper said, quietly after walking a while. "When you fell I mean, it was like forty feet."

"I've fallen fifty feet of my broomstick once." I told her, letting go of her hand, and put my arm around her shoulder, she put hers around my waist. "But then again Dumbledore did magically slow me down."

"You did what?" Piper demanded. I chuckled.

We then walked in a moment of silence together, then Piper broke it.

"Harry, I was wondering."

"Yeah, Piper, what is it?" I asked.

"What are we?" I gave her a funny look, "I mean, me, and you, what are we to each other, we've held hands, we've kissed."

"And we're now walking in a sewer arm and arm." I said, trying to keep my mind off how in closed I was starting to feel, I really wanted to get out of here.

"Yeah," Piper said, laughing a little. "So are we a couple?"

"I was hoping we were." I said, it's a good thing it was dark down here, because I was sure I was blushing. "I mean if you want to be my girlfriend."

"I do." Piper said. "I mean if you want to be my boyfriend."

"I do." I answered. "But if Voldemort found out you would be in danger."

"Harry, you have feelings for me right?" Piper asked.

My face got even redder. "Yeah, I do."

"Then wouldn't I be in danger rather were together or not?" Piper asked,."If he finds out who he really is, then we're all going to be his targets anyway."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you". I told her. "Or any of my friends I've made at camp."

"You worry too much." Piper told me. "I'm not going to let Voldemort run me off."

After that we both fell silent, as we walked deeper in the sewer. Then Piper stumbled, and nearly fell, but I caught her

"Stupid ankle." She said.

"Let's rest." Jason said, from ahead of us. "We can all use it. We've been going none stop for over a day, Leo you got anymore food in that belt?"

"Chef Leo is on it." Leo said. I helped Piper to sit down on a brick ledge next to Jason, and then I sat on her other side, and took off my bag, while Leo shuffled through is pack.

I opened my bag and looked through it into I found what I was looking for, then pulled out a black leather case that had gold letters on the front that read: St. Mungo's Wizard's first aid kit for home use.

"Brilliant," I said. "I knew I never took it out of my bag at camp." I looked through it but the only thing I could find that would help Piper's ankle, was a pain relieving potion, and some bruise healing paste. I uncapped the vile, and handed it to her.

"Drink that," I told her, "it's a pain reliever, It tast nasty if you're not use to it, I've taken it so much I'm use to it, the only other thing I found to help with your ankle was a bruise paste, there's a book of heeling spells, but it's too risky if you don't know what you're doing, believe me I know, and it doesn't feel good when you must have a whole bone in your arm grown back over night."

"And how would you know that?" Jason asked, watching Piper take a drink of the potion, and she gagged at the taste, then handed the now empty vile back to me.

"Second year at Hogwarts," I said putting Piper's leg in my lap. "We had this Professor who thought he knew everything, even though the only thing he knew was how to do curl his hair." I untied Piper's boot, and she flinched when I took it off.

"Anyway, I had my arm broken when a bludger hit it during a game of Quidditch, and he thought he could heal it even though I told him I much rather go see Madam Pomfrey the school nurse, but he tried to heal it himself, but only manged to remove all the bones from my arm."

"Och." Jason said, as I rubbed the paste on Piper's ankle.

"Yeah, I think Piper would rather keep the bones in her leg." I said, now slipping her boot back on. and tieing it.

"I would." Piper agreed taking her foot off my lap, and laying her head on my shoulder.

A few feet away, Leo lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack, and tool belt.

In the fire light Piper's eyes seemed to dance, I loved how they kept changing colors: without anything to do now, I was beginning to feel claustrophobic, I rubbed the back of my neck, and begin to bounce my leg, so much Piper had to raise her head.

"Harry, are you okay?" Piper asked, looking at me.

"I'm fine." I said rubbing my legs and bouncing my knees up and down.

"You're claustrophobic aren't you?" Jason asked, looking around Piper and watching me. "That's way you got so pale up there, Harry you should have said something, Buddy, we could have figured out another way to follow the spirits.

I shook my head, "There is no other way, and besides we don't have time to fool around, I'll be okay, I've had to go underground before, it was bigger then down here, but as long as a basilisk doesn't come around the corner, I'll be fine."

"A what?" Piper asked.

"Never mind," I said, putting my head in my hands, and Piper started rubbing my back.

"It's because your family kept you lucked up isn't it." Jason asked, I looked at him startled, "The reason your claustrophobic"

"How did you know about that," I demanded.

"I dreamed it," Jason said. "I've had dreams about you ever since you came to camp."

"Oh," I said my face going red, "Yeah, that's the reason," I looked down. "So you know everything about my life, my cupboard, Uncle Vernon locking me in my room, the bars on my windows."

Jason nodded, "I even saw what happened to you in the graveyard, how did you save that?"

I shrugged."Hera helped." I said, then explained what I hadn't to him before, about how Hera said she had helped me.

"Wow." Jason said.

"All this time I thought it was some kind of spell, but it had been my mum." I said, still not knowing what to think of that, did she do it because she cared or because she would need me, either way I couldn't help but think I should be grateful, but I also couldn't help, being confused, there was a part of me that couldn't care less, I did have, Sirius, and my friends, but I also knew, that deep down I wanted her to care, I needed her to care.

I put my head back in my hands, and Piper begin rubbing my back again.

"Harry," Jason said, after a moment of silence. "You don't have a cupboard," I looked at him confused, "You said, you were locked up in your cupboard, it wasn't your cupboard, got it."

I smiled and nodded understanding what he was trying to say, Jason was a good guy, he was starting to feel more like my real brother.

"Bingo." Leo announced. He came walking over with four plates stacked on his arms like a waiter. The food looked good too, pepper, and beef taco with chips, and salsa. I have never had tacos before, that was something the Dursley's wouldn't eat, and you didn't see food like tacos at Hogwarts.

"Leo?" Piper said, in amazement. "How did you-?"

"Chef Leo's taco garage is fixing you up." Leo said, "And by the way it's tofu not beef, beauty queen, so don't freak just dig in."

It all tasted great but I could only eat one of the two tacos Leo had gave me, and just a little of the chips, being down here for so long was really getting to me now. Jason, and Leo joked around while we ate, and when we were done, Piper without saying a word laid down, and used my lap as a pillow and went to sleep. I looked up to Jason, and Leo, they were both trying not to laugh.

We sent in silence for a while drinking lemonade. Leo had made with water, and powdered mix.

"Good, huh?" Leo grinned.

"You should start a stand." Jason told him.

"Harry," Leo said. "How did you know about my fire ability?"

"I saw you doing it back at camp. I said. "When I was under my invisibility cloak."

"That thing is so cool." Leo grinned. "How come you never told us about that?"

"I don't really know," I said, running my hand through Piper's hair. "Habit, I guess."

"It's cool anyway." Leo shrugged.

"You guys get some rest too." Jason told us "I'll take first watch."

Leo cleared away the plates then laid down on the ground and went to sleep, but I stayed up, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep down here I could hardly stand sitting.

It seemed like an eternity into Leo, and Piper woke up, and we finally broke camp, and stared down the tunnel. It twisted, and turned and seemed to go on forever, and I thought we would be down here forever, but then we came up on a polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.

"M for Macy's." Piper guessed. "I think they have one in downtown Chicago."

"Or Moncle Morters still." Leo said. "Guys, read the directory, it's messed up." Like most demigods I was dyslexic, and being down here just made it worse, so Piper read it off for me."

Parking Kennels Main entrance Sewer Level

Furnishings, and café M 1

Women's fashion and Magical Applances 2

Men's Wear, and Weaponry 3

Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries 4

"Kennels for what?" Jason asked, after Piper was through reading it off.

"Monsters." I suggested.

"What kind of store has its entrance in a sewer?" Piper wanted to know.

"And who sells poisons." Jason asked.

"Severus Snape would, if the person who brought it promised to use it some on me." I said.

"And what does sundries even mean." Leo asked "Is that underwear or something."

I snorted and began to shuffle from foot to foot, by now I was ready to leave my sewer prison.

Jason took a deep breath, "When in doubt start at the top." He looked at me. " You think you can handle being in an elevator?"

"If it gets me out of here, I will try." I said, truth was I wasn't looking forward to being in that elevator with three other people anymore, then I was to going down a drain, but if it gets me out of the sewer, I was willing to get on it, and hope I don't almost panic like I did in the lift at the ministry when Mr. Weasley took me to my hearing, and it was magically expanded to fit a lot off people.

The doors opened and we all got on and I didn't know if it was my imagination from being in such a small space with three other people or what, but as the doors closed and we started going up, I got this feeling that getting on the elevator, and going up to the weird department store was something we would regret.

A.N. In case you're wondering way Hera doesn't like Dumbldore, because, she feels his two involved in Harry's life, and she blames him for what happened to Lily, and James, that will be explained later, beside I think Hera seems like someone who wouldn't like Dumbledore anyway.