Chapter 3: Lashing Out
Idk how i'm gonna manage to make supply shopping at Diagon Alley interesting but here we go.
Chapter 3: Lashing Out
"I AM GONNA KILL HER!"
A frustrated Artemis kicked the wall a bunch as Percy and Cali sat on the creaky wooden bed behind her. The goddess was currently frustrated as she had just been informed of the twins' predicament, and her anger was mostly directed towards the Order. The woman she was talking about however was Hecate.
Artemis still has not really been told much about this situation, and it was likely something Percy would run by her in bed that night. Whatever it was, she was confused as fuck, grumpy and tired. You didn't want a grumpy and tired goddess on the loose.
What she had been told? A bunch of witches and wizards - followers of Hecate - told Percy and Cali they had to go to school overseas to learn magic otherwise an ancient curse would kill them, much like breaking a Stygian oath. Needless to say this sounded like complete and utter bullshit to her, but the twins convinced her it was legit and now she thought it was complete and utter bullshit in the other figurative sense.
"It's not Lady Hecate's fault… I think…" Percy assured her, but it fell on deaf ears. Artemis fully intended to assault the goddess of magic later, but for now she didn't know what to do. She knew she had to go find some way to get out of it but she couldn't leave the twins alone with these people.
She knew her best help would be Athena, but she did not know what to tell her considering she didn't really know much herself. She would have to present her case to Athena for knowledge, and the goddess of wisdom consulted with herself on whether it was a good use of her time. That was hard to do when you weren't even sure why there was a curse.
Cali sighed. "Arty, don't worry. We'll tell you later, just.. we sorta need to figure out what's going on as well." She rubbed her neck sheepishly. Artemis whirled around.
She walked over to the two and bent forward like a mother talking to her children. "I will get you out of this, trust me. Hecate holds no power over an Olympian, much less one that can kick her ass. How long do we have? I'll force her to abolish the curse." She promised her boyfriend and his sister.
Percy leaned forwards and grabbed her by the hips. He pulled her waist towards him and wrapped his hands around her back, letting her get the message to sit on his lap. Artemis complied, straddling her boyfriend as the stress of the situation threatened to give her an aneurysm.
Percy eased the stress a bit by giving her a light kiss on the lips, making Cali gag and look away. Artemis smiled at the affection and nuzzled her head into his neck, tired and cranky. Percy hugged and comforted his girlfriend of a year. "Babe, I dunno if you can. It's- It's a complicated thing. I'll explain it all later when you're more cool but basically… we'll probably have to go to this school… maybe a whole year." He admitted in defeat.
Artemis almost had tears in her eyes. "And this shit's a boarding school?" She clarified, and the twins both nodded. She had a steely look on her face. "Then I'll come too." She decided matter-of-factly.
Both twins' eyes widened. "I- no. I don't think you can, Arty. I'm pretty sure you need to be magic or something." Cali informed the goddess. Artemis gave her a half-hearted glare from Percy's neck.
"I'm a goddess. Ain't that magic enough?" She whined, and Percy rubbed her back soothingly.
"No. I'm pretty sure it ain't, babe. These ain't supernatural powers, this is party tricks. I think you just have to be born into it?" He inquired to no one, only fueling Artemis' anger. She sat up, looking her boyfriend dead in the eye, still sitting in his lap.
"Then- then if Hecate can't get rid of the curse, she can make me magic! I'm not letting you go alone." She told him determinedly, making Cali roll her eyes. "Possessive." She muttered under her breath.
Percy looked down. "Well it would be nice to have you there…. Okay but just… think it through I guess? This is a big thing- I just wanna be sure you want to do it." He said out-of-breath.
Artemis smiled and grabbed his face. "I'll follow you wherever. I love you." She said sweetly, leaning in for a kiss. Percy reciprocated. "Love you too, baby." He bridged the gap as they began to make out.
Cali cleared her throat from beside them as she still sat leaning against the headboard. "I'm here, remember?" She waved to her twin brother and his girlfriend.
Artemis blushed while Percy rolled his eyes. "Twenty bucks says you sleep in the other room tonight." He grinned, making Cali scoff. She crossed her arms while Artemis looked annoyed at her boyfriend.
"Heh, zero bucks says you two take the other room tonight so I don't want to cry and vomit getting into my own bed tomorrow." She retorted, and Percy didn't even have to think it over. "Deal!" He said, making Artemis slap him on the shoulder.
He laughed and hugged her again. "I'm just kidding, babe. It's a backup plan." He gave the signature cheeky Jackson grin that both Cali and Percy had to 'em. Artemis glared. "You haven't even had a shower today." She muttered.
Artemis then stood up and sighed. "Well, I guess I better talk to Hecate or Athena or someone. I'll, uh, I'm gonna get going. You two gonna be good?" She asked with genuine concern on her face as her eyes softened. Percy nodded and gave a thumbs up, prompting Artemis to look at Cali.
Cali just gave her a smirk. "C'mon, Arty. Don't doubt for a second that I'll be good. Go get us out of this shitfest." She encouraged, and Artemis smiled. The goddess placed her hands over her eyes as a gesture to close their eyes, which the two demigods promptly did, the blinding light from her flash resonating through their closed eyelids. When it immediately died down, they opened them back up to find her gone.
Downstairs a good many adults stood in the dining room. "Are you quite sure you can handle them?" Dumbledore asked the Order as he stood in front of the fireplace. "I do not for a moment believe that those children are in any way normal. Nor do I believe they know much of our world aside from their childhood memories." He checked.
Lily nodded. "Of course, professor, of course. Molly and I can take care of them, we've got however many aurors guarding the building, and on top of that there's three levels of wards plus the family wards surrounding the manor so they couldn't even leave if they tried." She assured her headmaster - she was the potions teacher at Hogwarts for the juniors, partnered with professor Severus Snape who taught the seniors.
Dumbledore nodded, but James interrupted. "What's with them, professor? They had weapons, like actual medieval weapons. I knew America was America but… I didn't think they gave teenagers swords."
Most of the Order nodded along. "And that girl, they one who arrived late. How did she get in? Is she a witch? I've never seen a girl so young with that much raw power in her." Kingsley Shacklebolt was, for once, perplexed. His thoughts were shared amongst the entire Order. This group, this day even, had been weird for them all. So many questions that no one was answering, not even the culprits themselves.
Dumbledore sighed, wanting to sit down and rub his temples, but his sense of duty and leadership overtook him and he forced himself to remain standing. "You… must all get some rest. The day has been difficult on our minds. Those who are staying may wish to take shifts staying up, and I would recommend whoever's not on first get some immediate shut-eye. Lily, Molly, I'm sorry I can't stay for dinner but I need to consult the books. Make sure those children are provided for. We wouldn't want them running off just as easily as she got in." He smiled faintly.
The Order nodded and a few of them dispersed. Dumbledore smiled before flashing out with a crack, one which heavily startled the twins a few floors up. The noise caused them to unholster their weapons and sit up for a good minute in silence, looking around and waiting for any suspicious noises. Eventually after a minute Cali broke into a laugh, causing Perce to roll his eyes and lay down.
Cali smirked and brought his head over onto her knees. She looked her brother in the eyes, trying to hold back her grin. "Five bucks says when we get dinner you talk only in a British accent."
Percy smiled up at his sister. "Oi bruv, Mr Lincoln, innit? Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir." He said in his best and dumbest English accent. Cali laughed, not even caring she was gonna lose a fin today.
Dumbledore entered his office in the school weary and confused. His thoughts lingered on the missing Potter children and that girl. When he'd heard Sirius and Remus come barging in screaming bloody murder about how they'd found dear Harry and Caligula, he'd hardly believed it.
He hadn't known what to think when he'd laid eyes upon them, not that he had much time to think. The girl looked not too different from when she'd left aside from a noticeable difference in tan while the boy - who seemingly preferred the name Percy - looked much different from when he'd left. Gone was the pale skin, unkempt hair and permanent sad look. This Harry - or rather, Percy - still had messy hair but it was more likeable than the Potter mane. His skin, much like his sister's, had visibly darkened and even though he spent the entire night scowling at them all, Dumbledore could tell that he was generally a happy person judging by his face.
Their looks and the name changes were weird enough, but it was their acts that astonished him. Their weapons had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, they definitely weren't just sheathed on their bodies when he walked it. It was almost like the two had drawn their weapons - a bronze spear and sword - from thin air.
And speaking of thin air, at the dinner table when Harry had assaulted young Nero, professor Dumbledore had drawn a ward in order to block the assailant and save his student from harm, but the ward had failed. The scent of salt was strong in the room, and it appeared to Dumbledore that the boy had seemed to phase out of solid matter for only a split second, though still visible. He became ripply, and it was not certain in the headmaster's mind that it had been magic or supernatural powers, but the boy had broken basic rules of magic he had known all his life.
He was not the only one either. What had perhaps disturbed the professor the most that night was the muggle, who apparently had a relationship with young Harry. The more he thought about her, the more it made no sense. Nothing about her made sense.
The girl, who looked no older than the twins themselves, had managed to reach Grimmauld Place during the meeting, despite the fact that she was supposedly in New York and there was also no known way for her to deduce their location. These facts alone had Dumbledore doubting just how muggle she actually was, but there was more.
For starters she had kicked down the door with the force of a stick of dynamite. Despite this, none of them had seen a wand in her hand when she entered, or at all during the meeting. With almost godly speed, she'd sprung forward and grabbed James - the closest Order member to that door besides Tonks who was blown aside by the blast.
Lily had screamed in horror as she saw her husband getting taken hostage, as the woman uncannily pulled a blade out of nowhere and stuck it at James' throat. "Nobody move!" She had yelled with the volume of a megaphone.
Dumbledore himself was mentally breaking a sweat at that point as the logics he was trying to solve just now rushed to his head in that tense moment. The girl demanded the twins be let go to her, and of course they could not allow that.
Trusting for a moment in the theory that she was not actually supernatural, Dumbledore broke out his wand with lightning speed and cast an expelliarmus charm on her. The blade had noticeably twitched into the air, but her grip remained firm, and all the charm managed to do was make it seem as though she had nerve issues.
There was nothing, nothing about any of this that made sense. That girl was not a muggle, Dumbledore knew that much.
So what was she?
"So there really is nothing?" Artemis asked dejectedly as Hecate sat brewing some spirits in front of her - a strange but not too uncanny hobby for the goddess of potions. Moonshining.
"I don't know what to tell you, my lady." She said almost cheekily. "This world's one of the more independent aspects of our world. I'm not even sure if they still believe in any religions, so it's not like I have any real claim in this. It's magic, honey, a complicated business. I suppose if you could manage to find any real rulebook they might have written you could have lady Athena study it to find a loophole or something but… y'know, I wouldn't risk it. Magic is magic, a real great curse is just as bad as a stygian oath. My advice? They should probably go just to be safe, and in the meantime try and find a way out." She smiled helpfully.
Artemis sighed in defeat. "Okay then, time for plan B. I can't exactly let them go to a private British school alone, they need someone from our world to supervise them. They are the heroes of Olympus after all, we need them alive. So I need you to make me magic so I can go." She explained, instead of cutting straight to the chase.
Hecate rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that bullshit about duty to the nation and whatnot. Everyone knows you and Perseus have shacked up. You're Aphrodite's power couple of the year, probably the century. Instead of making some shit up about protection for the heroes of Olympus, just run it by me straight. You wanna go to boarding school with them because you're protective." She turned around, crossing her arms.
Artemis crossed her arms right back, a huge blush on her face as she couldn't meet her eye. She realised she had been caught out in the act. "Is that such a bad thing?" She muttered, making the goddess of magic laugh.
"No, no! Of course not! And, uh, I think I could work something out with the magic thing, in exchange for a small favor?" She asked, holding up her hand with the incy wincy gesture on point.
Artemis looked dismayed. "What is it?" She asked, needing to consider it. Hecate shrugged. "When I know, I'll call you." She said.
Artemis looked away for a moment and then back at Hecate. "Alright, let's talk business." She said matter-of-factly, putting her hands on her hips and looking at Hecate.
An hour later she reappeared in their room at 12 Grimmauld Place, startling the twins. Artemis crossed her arms. "You two haven't moved since I left!" She said as the Jackson twins lazily grinned up at her.
"We don't need to. There's nothing to do except sulk." Cali reminded her, while Percy sat up from his place resting his head on her knees. He gave Artemis a warm smile and the curious gaze of a child.
"So? Did you get us out of this? Did you become magic too?" He asked a bunch of different questions, and Artemis had to give him the good-news, bad-news look.
"Well to be frank, I didn't get you outta this. Until we know whether they're bluffing or not, Hecate recommends we follow the 'law' just to be safe. The good news is she agreed to give me some magicalness in exchange for a favor." She explained. As she said the word magicalness, Artemis' face fell and she sighed. "Gods, I'm a fuckin' fairy now."
Cali laughed while Percy grinned and he launched up for a hug, careful to not hurt his healing hand which Artemis had set on course to repair. "You're my pretty little fairy." He reminded his girl, who bashfully smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Dinner'll be soon." He notified her.
Both Cali and Artemis groaned at the news. "I do not want to socialize with these people. They fuckin' kidnapped us. I'd rather try and milk the Minotaur." Cali complained.
At the mention of something Greek, Percy turned to his girlfriend. "How are you gonna cope in a boarding school considering you're, y'know, a goddess. You can't just smite kids you don't like." He brought another topic to light, but Artemis shrugged in apathy.
"Why waste energy when fists are just as great as smiting?" She joked, bringing up her fists in a street fighter pose even though she was an inch away from Percy's chest. Thinking she looked cute when she tried to act tough, Percy laughed and hugged her closer.
Cali rolled her eyes. Great. Now not only was she living with the lovebirds, she probably wouldn't be able to get a break from them considering she didn't plan on making friends or joining clubs.
She briefly wondered about the bedding situation. Would they each get separate rooms? Or would they have gender segregated rooms with bunk beds? If the latter was true, how would the lovebirds be able to cope with not being able to sleep with each other every night?
What the hell would she do while they snuck off to fuck? As previously mentioned she wasn't gonna try for friends. She could just play on her phone, maybe?
As much as she loved philosophy, she hated thinking about her brother and almost-sister screwing each other even more than that, so connection terminated.
After another half-hour of the three of them sitting and amicably chatting, there was a short knock at the door. It opened with a loud creak and a faintly familiar auburn-haired woman opened up. "Harry, Cali, it's time for supper."
Ignoring her, the twins looked at each other. "What the hell is supper?" Percy asked, making his sister shrug while his girlfriend sighed and stood up. "It's an old term for dinner, or an evening meal." Artemis said matter-of-factly, ready to move.
Cali looked at her brother with a smirk. "You're literally dating an old woman." She snickered, making Percy roll his eyes and slap her on the arm.
Lily stood at the door nervously, feeling as though she should say more. "So I'll see you all down there?" She said, trying to sound enthused, but as she suspected the comment was met with deadpan and even annoyed expressions. She bit her lip, nodding while she left and hurried over to tell the other kids.
Artemis shook her head as she looked at the door. She still saw these people as nothing less than child kidnappers, considering she still had no knowledge of the twins' past and said twins weren't 18 yet so they were still technically children. Cali and Percy had a similar but ultimately different perspective on it. They knew what the Potters had done, they remembered what the Potters had done. Hell, they will never forgive the Potters for what they had done.
The goddess turned around and looked at them. "You guys ready?" She asked, hands on hips, and the groggy teenagers groaned as they realised they had to get up. They were not in good condition for dinner. Aside from the fact that the stress of the day had them tired and cranky, but they were still in shitty attire too.
Cali was still wearing yesterday's clothes, stained with beer and smelling like sweat, as drunk her was a lazy bitch and refused to get dressed or even crash in her own room that night. Percy on the other hand was almost half naked as a jacket was the only piece of clothing on the top half of his body. When he'd gone out to get the whiskey, he'd not put on a shirt, so underneath the jacket was bare chest. Plus he was wearing shorts not fit for London, not even in the summer.
The two dragged themselves off the bed, and since they had been there for a few hours Artemis was left to cringe as the sound of bones cracking resonated through the silent room. The twins simultaneously groaned in minor agony, bending over and stretching to try and sort their joints out.
Once they felt limble enough to walk again, Artemis led the way out of the room and into the hallway. The goddess looked around and seemed like she had so many questions, likely not just about 12 Grimmauld Place. "You two are going to tell me everything, later." She held them, pointing a finger at the twins leaving the room who nodded adamantly.
Cali led them down the stairs since Artemis didn't really know where she was going whereas the Jacksons had a faint memory from their childhood. Cali remembered playing with one of the few toys she was allowed - a wooden horse - on these very stairs, while Percy remembered the two of them playing hide and seek while their parents talked with Uncle Sirius and Nero played with his friends in their room.
The building was surprisingly tall, they were three storeys up and they were only like halfway there. They could tell when they hit the ground floor though, and through their memory of earlier in the day, they figured the door that was open only a crack down the hall was the kitchen. Cali opened it a bit and saw people seated at the table while a few others rushed around getting dinner sorted.
"They are sneaking, spying… shrivelled traitors. Treason, I say! Oh, how my lady would weep if she saw these traitors and their mudblood wandering her house, just with the rest of them!" The group jumped in fright and snapped around, but they did not find anything. Artemis caught it first, and she pointed slightly. At only waist height stood a demented little goblin thing. It looked nauseating, like a decomposing troll staring up at them. "They treasoned us, both of them. Filthy half-bloods, associating with mudbloods. American scum." The goblin spat at their feet.
Cali glared. "Scram, before I hang you from the fucking doorknob." She threatened, but the troll just scoffed and waved her off. Still brewing from the earlier comment about her being a mudblood, whatever that meant, Artemis kicked the back of it's knee as it walked off, making the creature croak in pain and fall onto the hurt knee.
Now that it was gone, Cali opened the door and they walked in single-file. Immediately the room quietened and all its occupants either looked at them or tried their best not to look at them - the only ones in the latter category being Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin and the big black guy with the yarmulke or whatever that blue cap is.
"Harry, Cali…" Sirius smiled, his black moustache furrowing as he pulled out a seat next to him and gestured for them to sit down. Remus was a few seats down, obviously hoping to sit next to his goddaughter. Choosing to go with their seating plan, the three sat down with Percy and Cali next to their respective godfathers while Artemis was in the middle.
Whether by sheer luck or Sirius and Remus' intent, their seats were directly opposite their former family's. Only two seats were vacant now, that of the cooks Molly and Lily. Artemis was slightly disgusted that the women were the only ones cooking.
The table was silent for a while as dinner was being finished, with the Greeks sitting not saying a word and eyeing everyone up warily. Their godfathers were a different story though. The twins had had a mild talk about them earlier in the room and it had divulged into the two laughing and sharing the few good memories they had of this world, most of which featured their godfathers who weren't so indifferent to them. Sure, they weren't perfect but they weren't on the Potters' level when it came to neglect.
They hadn't fully come to a conclusion on how they felt about their godfathers, and how they wanted to treat the dogs. All instincts pointed to them being ostracized just like the rest of them, but something deep inside both twins longed for the paternity they felt was achievable through Remus and Sirius - a paternity neither James nor Poseidon properly provided, though Paul was pretty good.
Not knowing how Percy really felt, Cali took the leap and turned to Remus. "Sorry… for snapping at you earlier. I was just… it's fucked." She sighed. James looked like he wanted to pick at her for cursing but Remus just smiled. "That's alright. That's quite alright. I'm… sorry for how things went back there."
Cali felt like saying don't do it again but she felt like that would ruin the moment.
Wanting to get in on the action, Percy turned to Sirius while everyone watched in stunned silence as the twins talked to their godfathers without any malice. "Yeah, sorry too." He apologized, making the dog smile warmly. "Sorry too." He repeated.
James and Nero were uncomfortable with the situation, as was Lily who was listening near the back. They should be talking to them, not Sirius and Remus. Artemis raised an eyebrow and looked between both twins, wondering why in Hades they were treating their kidnappers so nicely. Percy just smiled at her and squeezed her hand below the table reassuringly.
"So…" James cleared his throat. "Care to tell us where you've been all these years?" He asked, making the twins roll their eyes.
"We already told you," Percy said annoyedly. "Living in America for a decade. What more do you want?" He complained, not in the mood to talk to his biological father.
"Explanations. About everything. The weapons, for starters." He raised his hand to gesture at them as he that back in the chair. Cali just smiled at him from between Artemis and Remus. "Family inheritance. Cousins of ours. Well, our real family." She smirked, knowing that would piss the Potters off.
Molly could hear Lily shudder from behind her, her breath shaky, so the Weasley matriarch turned around to find the Evans daughter crying as she put food on a plate. "Oh, Lily dear." She said sadly as she went in to hug her.
"If you don't mind me asking, James, I think we are all still wondering how you got here, miss." The black guy interrupted, gesturing to Artemis. "It is strange how a muggle could get from London to America in minutes, track the children down to this residence and then break through the wards. Is there something you're not telling us, miss?" Kingsley elaborated, doing his duty as auror and investigating.
Artemis realised she was the one being spoken to and scowled. "You kidnapped my boyfriend and friend. I'm not saying shit." She said, her famous temper arising. Percy once again squeezed her hand reassuringly, making his goddess calm down.
James was glaring right back at her, mad that his son was dating a bitch like her. Sirius had a different outlook. "So you got a feisty one, huh?" He smirked, leaning over to Percy's ear who promptly grinned. "You got no idea."
Lily had calmed down now and were bringing the plates out. They brought everyone's except the three's first, and the children waited patiently for their prison gruel. Percy's eyes were flickering with disgust as he watched one of the gingers immediately start shoving roast mutton down his gullet. "Ron, use your manners." The brunette girl had said in disgust when the ginger immediately started talking and spat his food everywhere.
"Finally, a worthy opponent for your bad table manners." Cali joked, looking at Percy. Ron's face flared red in embarrassment as the hot girl down the table caught sight of his piggish behavior. Percy rolled his eyes at her and went back to staring at the table.
Their food was the last to arrive, and right after placing it in front of them they sat down. Percy looked in his cup and winced. "Is that coffee?" He asked, knowing it wasn't. Sirius smiled as he began cutting into the meat. "It's tea, Harry." He said.
Percy cringed. "I'll just have water. Call me Percy, please." He said warmly to Sirius, a far cry from his earlier behavior at being called Harry by the Potters. Cali and Artemis agreed on the water idea as Percy got up to get glasses. Molly directed him to where they were but he wasn't really listening so it took him a few tries to find the cupboard. No one was watching, so no one realised the faucet never turned on yet he came back with three full glasses of water.
With their drinks ready, the three got ready to eat. Cali rolled up her sleeves, making Lily choke on her food. "What is that?" She asked in horror, pointing at her daughter. Cali looked up in annoyance as she was reaching for her fork.
"What?" She asked, then looked down at her arms where there was some black marking here and there. "Oh that? That's a tattoo." She said nonchalantly.
Lily's mouth was agape. "I- you- you're 15! You can't have tattoos!" She said in outrage. Cali and Percy just shrugged her off. "Too late." The former said.
Lily wanted to yell at them but tensions were already high enough. "How many do you have?" She asked, putting her fork down while the entire table watched with interest, especially the kids.
The two counted in their heads. "I have six, two of 'em are matching." Percy said, counting in his head. Cali nodded in affirmation as Percy also rolled up his sleeves. They joined their wrists together so everyone could see the words written on them. On Percy's wrist was the name Cali written in an elegant font while his sister had the same tat, only with Perce instead.
"The other matching one's on our ankles." Cali explained, talking about their trident tattoos symbolizing their bond as twin children of Poseidon.
"What's the others?" The ginger girl down the table asked.
"Well we can't share two of them because of table manners or whatever you were talking about. I got one on my shoulder with a picture of the moon and her name," Percy said, gesturing to Artemis with his thumb while rolling up his sleeve to the shoulder and showing them.
"I got this." Cali said, pulling her shirt down to just below the collarbone where they could see a name written over her heart area. Estelle.
"Oh yeah, I got that too. Seven tats, three are matching." He corrected himself. The ginger boy sat in awe as he caught a glimpse of the hot girl's bra. "Wicked." He said, receiving a slap up the ear from his mother.
"I got mom and dad's name down my spine." She said to Percy, referring to the Sally + Paul that ran vertically down her vertebrae. James and Lily visibly winced as they knew it would not say James + Lily.
Percy nodded. "Oh yeah, and I got the sword and shotgun on my other boobie." He grinned, making Cali and even Artemis laugh. He pulled his shirt down just how Cali had done, showing Estelle's name on one side and a shotgun crossed with a sword on the other.
Cali took a sip of her water. "Oh yeah, and the sea dragon and Zoë's constellation on my back!" She said to Percy, not showing the table for obvious reasons. Cali and Zoë had become fast friends on the journey to save Percy's secret crush, and her death hit Cali especially hard. It was their first sight of real death in that world, and for it to happen to a new close, maybe even best friend was especially brutal. The Jackson girl had even briefly considered joining the hunt before Percy found out and broke down in their room that school year after he found a pamphlet.
Nero found himself feeling jealous as he watched his older triplets show off their cool tattoos. His mum would never let him get one of those, let alone at 15, probably not even when he was 18. As he sat looking at them his eyes picked out more stuff that sparked envy in him.
The two were tan, good looking, fit, and that was really fit. Then there was Nero, who wasn't unfit, per se, just skinny. He had glasses and shaggy hair, and an awkward face underneath much like James. Harry and Cali looked nothing like James. They had perfect jawlines, sparkling green eyes, bronze skin, pearly white teeth and silky black hair - albeit Percy's didn't seem at all combed. They honestly looked like the bad guys in a high school movie.
Not to mention the way they acted. Nero wished he had the balls to speak up to his mum like that when she got overbearing. Sure they had been nothing but brats since they got here but they were nothing if not confident. They held themselves high, but not too high like that prat Malfoy, and they walked without slouching like he sometimes did and Ron always did.
Not to mention the way Remus and Sirius were looking at them, with nothing but pride evident in their eyes. Nero remembered when Sirius and Remus would look at him like that, with so much pride. Those looks had been such a massive part of his childhood and his Hogwarts years. There was when he announced he'd made seeker on the team, when he won a game, when his report card came back excellent in DADA, when he'd saved the school and Ginny from the Basilisk, or any of his Triwizard triumphs.
He didn't know how he felt seeing his uncles give that look to other people for once.
Sirius was elated when he finally got a good look at his godson, not just because he was finally home but because of what he had grown into. Harry - or Percy as he was adamant he be called, that would take some getting used to but he would try for him - had grown well. He was buff, not overly so but still enough that any sane girl would grin like a fool at his mere presence, and he had an Adonic face to him. He'd seemingly retained James' confidence, a trait Nero hadn't really adopted, and he felt that under normal circumstances he'd be a riot to talk to.
Not to mention his godson bagged a very fine bird. That alone would have Percy being the pride of his life.
Remus was not as proud of Cali's looks as Sirius was of Percy's, though that would also leave him feeling chuffed, she had grown into a beautiful young woman. No, he was proud of how she seemed as a person. Despite the fact their reunion started off with rage and tears, he could tell she was nice, charming and had her own wit to her. She definitely seemed smarter than her brothers, which he himself could greatly admire as the designated brainiac in the group. It also helped that despite being seemingly the smart one, she was still tough enough to intimidate adults. That was pretty cool.
They had a nice dinner, well at least three quarters of the table did. The Potters sat in gloomy silence while the other half of the table talked amongst themselves. Sirius and Remus talked to their godchildren and the twins introduced Artemis to them. The goddess in question tried hard not to voice her confusion about this godfather thingy considering Sally had obviously never met these men judging by the interaction back at the apartment.
Oh shit. I forgot to tell Sally I found them. She thought to herself.
The twins were having good conversations with their godfathers. They tried to keep it away from their personal lives regarding the Greek stuff, instead talking to them about things like their life at muggle high school and their interests.
Percy told Sirius about his sporting achievements and while Sirius didn't much care for hockey or American football he smiled at the thought of his godson being this awesome successful sportsman as well as good looking. "You should try out for Quidditch, H-Percy." Sirius suggested, catching himself out as he munch on some broccoli.
Percy remembered the word faintly but couldn't put a finger on it. "Quidditch?" He asked, not being able to recall what that was. Hearing the word and seeing a chance to finally bond with his son over something, James grinned.
"Yeah! You remember, don't you Harry? The best sport in the world! The one where you fly around on broomsticks." He tried to spark recognition. Percy thought for a moment and then remembered. Well, he didn't really remember the sport, but he sure as hell remembered one time when James took Nero out to a game and left him behind home alone for hours while Cali and Lily were out somewhere.
"Oh, that. Do they play it at this school or something for PE? I've never played, or ridden on one of those brooms. How do you even play?" He informed them, and Sirius had to hold himself back from his gut instinct to say What?! Did you even have a childhood?!
That would have been in poor taste considering, y'know, they ran away.
Sirius cleared his throat before James could answer, which kinda irritated the Potter. "Well, there's the basic layout of 1-1-2-3, which is one seeker, one keeper, two bludgers and three chasers. The chasers are the scorers, the ones who bring the normal ball to the hoops at the end and score. The keeper is the goalie tryna block 'em. The two bludgers are there with bats and heavier balls trying to hit the enemy chasers to prevent them from scoring. Finally, there's a tiny little ball flying around called the golden snitch, and the seeker's job is to catch it, which is harder than it sounds. Once they do that, the game ends and 150 points are added to their team." He explained simply since Percy was living on the magical brain of a muggle.
Percy blinked once. Twice. "And you people say football's complicated." He muttered, going back to his food.
Meanwhile Cali was showing Remus the wallpaper of her phone. She had tried calling Sally earlier but there was no reception here, despite it being the middle of London. Her phone background was a selfie of her and Percy on the couch while a certain three year old slept on Percy's chest.
"She's three now, her name's Estelle. Our mom married her tutor for college who turned out to be our English teacher when we got to high school. She's super cute and never acts up." Cali was almost boasting about her cute baby sister.
Remus smiled at the photo and looked back at his goddaughter. "She is very cute." He agreed.
The rest of the dinner went by pretty normally until Percy heard talking from down the table. "-well his trial's only a few days away. We still have no idea how his defence is going to play out, we have made no preparations to keep the boy from being expelled!" A certain Molly Weasley whisper-shouted to her husband a few seats down.
Percy dipped his head past Sirius to look at them. "Trial? What trial?" He asked. Immediately that side of the table went quiet as Cali and Artemis both looked as well, curiosity overtaking them. Nero picked at his food while James and Lily bit their lips, not liking this topic.
Remus sighed, putting down his knife. "A week or so ago, Nero was out with his friends in the city when he was attacked by two dementors - I don't expect you to even know what those are, just know they're government controlled and they're absolutely horrific. He cast the spell to ward them off but did so in a public area, which is illegal, let alone the fact he's underage. Now he's in danger of being expelled from Hogwarts which would be… bad, to say the least." He said solemnly.
Percy took another bite of potato and looked between him and Sirius. "So will I still die if I get expelled and can't go there?" He asked, looking for a way out. Cali was gonna slap him upside the head for considering criminality before pausing and thinking for a moment and that he might be onto something.
James and Lily looked horrified that their son was planning on committing a crime to get out of going to school. "Yes! Nero's case was completely out of his control but that doesn't mean you should do it too." Lily scolded, making Percy and Cali roll their eyes, unaware the other was doing it too. Once again, James looked pissed but ultimately didn't say anything.
"So then what's the big fuss? Say it was self-defence. You're allowed to kill people if it was self-defence." Cali casually explained, thinking they were all just dumb.
The scary guy with the scary eye down the table grunted. It had been weird watching him eat. His eyes were never focused on the food, only other people. "Try crying self-defence to a Minister who doesn't care whether or not it's a fair trial, only that the boy shuts up for good." He growled.
The three barely managed to understand that. "Hm?" Percy asked in confusion. Artemis wasn't saying much tonight. Considering she didn't know the full story, she felt she shouldn't say much yet.
Sirius answered for them. "The Minister of Magic, the wizarding world's Prime Minister, has got it out for Nero. Ever since Nero saw Voldemort return last year Cornelius Fudge has been a royal pain in our ass. He's trying to undermine and ruin the life of a fifteen year old in order to keep his popularity up! The fool is putting the world in danger by covering this up. Honestly, disgraceful to be able to go after a boy like that without any repercussions from the rest of the Ministry. Sets a bad precedent if nothing else." He grumbled, much to the other wizards' agreement. Nero just stared face down into his food trying to ignore the conversation.
Percy didn't understand most of that, but he did understand the last bit. "What's Nixon got to do with it?" He asked in confusion, and when Sirius raised an eyebrow Percy shrugged. "You said bad president."
Remus paused his eating for a second to digest that, closing his eyes for a second or two and then opening again.
Cali, however, did get that. "Surely this ain't a dictatorship. You have any friends in the supreme court?" She asked as though she knew jack shit about politics.
Remus shook his head. "Well it's not called the supreme court - that's the American muggle judicial court. Ours is called the Wizengamot." He explained, and Percy choked on his steak.
Needless to say the rest of that dinner session was filled with chatter, though the three only talked to Sirius and Remus. When their plates were empty or they were full they dumped them on the bench and went back up to their room, much to Lily and Molly's displeasure.
Later on in their room Artemis crawled into bed with the twins after taking her hair tie out. Cali was laying on one side while Percy lay near the middle, so Artemis crawled in between so she could snuggle with her boyfriend.
When the lights were out, Artemis took the opportunity to get their attention before they passed out. "So, explain how those two are your godfathers?" She asked, making Cali sigh from beside her.
This was gonna be a hard conversation.
And indeed it was, or at least from what Percy could remember when he woke up the next morning. Artemis had… not taken some of the news well, in fact.
What she took even less well was when she woke up the next morning to peace and quiet, faint sunlight shining through the window and the warmth of her boyfriend's embrace. "Sis…. Siiis…." She heard a familiar raspily whisper from somewhere. Confused, thinking it was a dream, she drowsily opened her eyes and looked for her brother.
She didn't have to look far. Standing at the edge of the bed leaning over Cali was one blonde god of music, archery and the sun. He flashed her a grin. "Hey lil' sis!" He greeted, startling Cali awake too.
Artemis had to fight the urge not to scream and punch him as she sat up with a shock and back up into the headboard. "Apollo! What are you- how are you here?!" She cried. If what she had heard the twins talk about last night was true, there was no way someone like him should have been able to waltz on in here.
Then again, she did it too. If just took a few hits to break the forcefield or whatever you'd call it.
Apollo crossed his arms. "Well I rang the doorbell, some fat lady answered it and when I walked in she said I shouldn't be here but I just ran up the stairs to where you guys were. I think she's calling the police or something." He said, looking back at the closed bedroom door.
Percy scoffed from down beside her while Cali tried to comprehend the fact that Apollo had just arrived. Artemis didn't even know her love was awake. "Leave it up to Apollo to get the cops called on him after tryna come visit his sister." He murkily said into the pillow.
Apollo rolled his eyes, arms still crossed. "Hey, cuz. So what're you guys doing here, in London? Who was the fat lady?" He asked a barrage of questions that Artemis was struggling to even process with how tired she was.
Cali sighed as she rubbed her eyes, not wanting to give the full talk like how they did to Artemis. "Well long story short, me and Percy were adopted, our real parents are wizards but we hate them cause they neglected us, they found us and kidnapped us, we're being forced to go to a magic boarding school and Artemis made herself magic so she could come too." She gave him the rundown.
Apollo blinked once. Twice. "Can I come?" He asked, and that took the three aback.
"Why would you wanna come? You just go and learn shitty spells with a magic stick." Cali asked, and Apollo looked at her.
"It's co-ed, right?" He asked her, and the daughter of Poseidon nodded. He turned back to Artemis. "I wanna come. I don't wanna let my lil' sus go on an adventure without me." He whined.
Artemis just scoffed and properly sat up to get the sleep out of her eyes. "You're such a fucking pedophile." She verbally assaulted him, and her twin brother looked astonished at her audacity.
"Excuse me? I'm not the one routinely fucking a fifteen-year-old. You are straight up breaking the law." He accused, making Artemis gesture to herself.
Percy cocked his head from beside Artemis. "Touché." He muttered, much to Artemis' annoyance.
"Not if I'm fifteen, bitch." She said exaggeratedly. Making Cali and Percy look at each other enjoying this argument.
"Ooh, double-touché." Cali said with a grin, much to her brother's agreement.
Apollo just looked down and then back up, gesturing to his entire teenage body.
"Triple touché!" Percy countered. He and his sister were enjoying this too much. Suddenly there was a pounding at the door and it was slammed open, jolting the entire group into awareness.
"Harry! Cali!" They heard their ex-mother's voice cry out before an orange blast of energy rocketed towards the bed. Specifically it headed for Apollo, and the ball blasted him square in the face.
A large group of people stepped in, virtually the entire Order, all with their wands out pointing at Apollo. The god in question got whiplash from the magic assault, and one figure stepped out from the rest. An old man with a grey beard reaching his waist and a purple cap on held his wand threateningly to Apollo.
The three all got up to help their friend while Artemis rushed to check him for damage. She found that he did not seem burned or scarred, rather he was showing visual symptoms of a concussion. "Ow." He muttered, bringing his hand up to press against his head as though he was checking for a fever.
Confuddled at how the stupefy had seemingly not worked, Dumbledore jabbed his wand in Apollo's direction. "Obliviate." He whispered, and this time no magical ball or wisp came out. Apollo just started feeling funny
"Stop!" Artemis yelled at the Order, bringing her brother aside to make sure he was okay. Percy and Cali hadn't gotten up yet, and the former was rubbing his face tiredly while the latter yawned.
Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Lily all rushed over to the bed. "Harry, Cali, are you two alright? Were you hurt?" James asked, checking his kids for injuries even though they squirmed like hell.
"We almost did considering you opened fire on my girlfriend's brother." Percy said dryly, nodding to Apollo and the sun god's worried twin sister. This took the adults aback as they looked over to the archers.
"Her… brother?" Sirius asked in confusion, looking for the similarity between the golden model of a god and the pretty little fair pisspot of a goddess. Not that he knew either were immortals. They looked almost nothing alike.
"Yeah, her brother. Her twin brother. His name's Apollo." Cali half-introduced, not really talking to any of them except the dogs. Apollo was waking up a bit but he still felt nauseous, which Artemis was very much not happy about.
The guy with the crazy eye stepped over to Dumbledore. "Albus, this is gettin' outta hand. We could wind up in serious trouble for housing two muggles here in the presence of magic. The last thing we need is another bloody legal case on our hands. I say we obliviate them and get them out of here." He muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
Dumbledore neglected to mention his high suspicion that Artemis wasn't a muggle but he reluctantly nodded. It was in his personal interest to keep them around a bit and study them, though he was unsure if this brother of hers fit into the supernatural theory. Artemis scowled at Moody and Dumbledore. "I am not going anywhere without the twins." She stood her ground.
Dumbledore crossed his hands. "Indeed I believe you, miss, but that is not how our system works. In order to attend Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry you must possess some magical powers in you, and as you are a muggle I'm afraid as headmaster I must block your entrance." He said firmly on the inside but gently on the outside. Unbeknownst to Artemis, he was testing the waters to see if she would fess up as to her real identity.
Artemis stood up, trying to reach his eight. "As a matter of fact, old man, I am magic. I have magic in me." She said dominantly. Bingo.
Dumbledore cocked his head. "Is that right, miss? Well then I'm afraid you'll have to prove you magical capabilities before we can accept you on such a claim." He countered. Artemis paused for a second, unsure of what to say. She was perhaps the least educated on this topic in the room aside from Apollo, so with no knowledge of the inner machinations of this school, she didn't really have a good counter.
"Well… I can't show magic if I don't know it yet. That's why I need to go to this school." She crossed her arms, and of course her dear twin brother had to jump in. Apollo crossed his arms too and stood taller than his lil' sis.
"Yeah, me too!" He said confidently, and Artemis' eyes widened as he just lied about being magic.
Dumbledore had to hide his smirk. "Well if the two of you really are magic then I've no doubt an owl will arrive to inform you of your acceptance, however late it may be." He muttered the last part under his breath.
As the headmaster turned Moody looked at him incredulously. "With all due respect, Albus, you're going to leave these muggles to wander around amongst magic unattended?" He gruffed, hobbling alongside the old man as they left the room.
Dumbledore sighed. "We shall give them an hour or two. I want to learn more about these 'muggles', Alastor. I'm afraid there's more to them than we think, even the boy, whoever he is.
"Suspicious and most likely dangerous is what they are, Albus." Mad-eye Moody grunted as the two old chums walked down the steps.
Sure enough the acceptance letters came, much to the group's relief. It was a surreal experience, and definitely complicated matters for the kidnappers, as they now officially had two more residents staying with them. Percy, Cali, Artemis and Apollo had still refused to say anything - the former three had convinced Apollo into silence regarding matters unrelated to this magic business. It was definitely very much still surreal when the group had been called down from upstairs to the dining room and living room.
With Cali and Percy still wearing their stinky days-old clothes, the pairs of twins piled out of the bedroom reluctantly and down the stairs. Apollo took the chance to observe Grimmauld Place in all its glory. "Man, this place looks like crap." He admired.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Just wait till you meet the people living here." He said, internally not including Sirius and Remus in that insult, even though Sirius was the one who actually owned the house and lived there.
They actually didn't really remember where to go, as James hadn't called out what room they were in. They just knew he was downstairs. Since she was leading, Cali took the leap of faith and chose door number one on the ground floor, and sure enough when the teens got in and looked to the left they saw a small crowd waiting for them.
Lily and James smiled like they were taking a photoshoot as they saw their children. Sirius and Remus had genuine smiles however, while the rest of the present Order had solemn looks on their faces aside from one pink haired girl. There were children in the centre of the group, including Nero and what they assumed were Nero's friends. They were all giving them curious looks, as if trying to study them from afar.
Apollo hadn't properly been updated on the lore of the situation, he had been given the basics so he had a faint clue of how this worked. He was still trying to deduce how these people were the heroes of Olympus' real parents, or why they chose to name their kid Caligula. No wonder she ran away.
"What's this?" Percy asked Remus, gesturing to the group all apparently waiting for them. Remus looked down at their shoes and nodded.
"Good, you're ready to go. We're going to be travelling to Diagon Alley to get all your school supplies: to top up on these ones' equipment and to get the four of you sorted for your first, or rather fifth year at Hogwarts." He explained. The name Diagon Alley sounded familiar to the Jackson twins, and as with most wizard world names, the mere mention of it was enough to get the twins twitching with stress over their memories and childhood.
"D-Diagon Alley?" Percy asked with what sounded like fear in his voice - a sound that caught most in the room off guard. There wasn't any reason in their minds for him to be afraid of the greatest shopping hub of the English wizarding world.
The -!/white/!- girl with the bushy brown hair piped up from beside Nero and the tall lanky ginger. "It's a wizard shopping centre in London filled with shops for magical items you can't get in the muggle world. It's where almost every young witch and wizard in Britain goes to shop for school supplies." She informed them dutifully with a proud smile on her face as though that was impressive knowledge.
Apollo leaned over to Percy and muttered in his eye. "Did I say 'hey Siri'?" He joked quietly, making his sister's boyfriend snort in laughter while the nerdy girl blushed heavily in embarrassment at the handsome guy's mockery.
The ginger scowled at the boys in front of him. "Don't be a twat to Hermione." He got all defensive, and Apollo and Percy's eyes widened at the spontaneous bravery this twig was showing. Bravery, or idiocy. They weren't gonna beat him up or anything, but they couldn't help but let out a little laugh.
James glared from in front of the fireplace. "Boys!" He snapped, making them all shut up - although in the Greeks' case it was just because they wanted to get this over with, not extend it and start a fight.
Lily sighed and walked over with the pot. "Harry, Cali, you remember how the floo works? Sirius, here." She said, showing them the pot and then holding it towards Sirius. The dog took a small handful and stepped into the fireplace. Lily directed them while Sirius demonstrated. "You just step into the fireplace with the powder, and you call out where you want to go. Then you throw the powder onto the wood underneath you and you'll be transported."
Sirius demonstrated by clearing his throat and calling out in a loud and clear voice. "Diagon Alley!" He threw the black powder onto the ground and a large green inferno rose up and engulfed him, startling the twin archers. When it died down soon after, Sirius was gone, and Lily held out the pot to the twins. "Harry, you want to try?" She offered.
Percy looked at Cali and the twins locked eyes. He shrugged. "Montauk?" He asked, and she shrugged right back. Not knowing what that meant, the adults in the room just gave each other a confused glance. The twins took a handful each and Percy walked into the fireplace.
He stood up tall and cleared his throat. He looked at his sister and she gave him the nod, inching closer to the fireplace. He nodded back and then called out loud. "Montauk Cabin!" He threw the powder onto the ground and disappeared in the flames. Cali jumped in before the flames had even died down, yelling the same thing and throwing the powder.
Everyone jumped in shock, even the twin archers. The Jacksons weren't worried about them, since they could just flash away, but the magical adults in the room all sprung to action. "Holy shit! They're running away!" Tonks exclaimed, and James snatched some floo powder and nearly smashed the pot on the ground, spilling some.
"What did they say?" He asked Remus, hurrying into the fireplace. Remus was stunned, and stuttered for a moment - a very unRemus thing to do. The werewolf tried to remember exactly what they said.
"Uh, Mon… Montalk? Montauk!" He said quickly and urgently. James nodded and shouted loud and clear in a straight voice so it wouldn't be mistaken for anything else.
"Montauk Cabin!" He yelled, throwing the powder down and flooring his way to New York.
In the dark and unused cabin Percy and Cali fell out of the fireplace and headed for the down. The twins barged through and Percy closed it behind them. "The woods!" He told his sister, and the Jackson twins began sprinting for the treeline, laughing like lunatics as they escaped the grip of their former family. Through the window into the cabin a big green light could be seen as James jumped out of the fireplace.
Percy and Cali Jackson reached the forest and began the sprint for their lives in order to escape their kidnappers, an attempt to be free again.
Well I'll leave it there. Originally was gonna include the shopping but that segment will be long af and this is already over 10k words so ill do the shopping next chapter and hopefully itll be just as long. Please like the story, press that big red subscribe button and hit the bell notification to be notified whenever i upload a chapter.
Quick question: should Cali and Apollo get together in this fic. I posted the question on my page and it has a 100% yes so far so well see how the general populace feels.
Word Count: 10308