I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.
Chapter Two: The Son of the Sea
Nothing happened for the next three months. Alecto sent in daily reports to both Hades and Chrysa. Chrysa forwarded hers to Zeus through her shadows. By the time that Chrysa travelled down to the Underworld, the weather had begun getting worse, especially in New York. With the barrier of the northern Atlantic between her and Olympus, she had been able to see some sun, as rare as it was in London.
"Any news from Father?" Persephone asked as she entered the dining room for their customary lunch.
"Nothing," Chrysa replied, taking her seat at Hades' right and across from Persephone. "He's still blaming Poseidon, Poseidon is still denying it, and Alecto hasn't seen anything with the half-blood to indicate that he had anything to do with the theft or even that he is actually Poseidon's son. I believe she may be leaning towards more desperate measures soon enough."
Desperate measures came a month and a half later, at the beginning of May. Alecto reported that the class that included Percy Jackson would be taking a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She and Chiron would be the two chaperones on the trip. She thought that it could provide the perfect opportunity to separate the boy from Chiron and his satyr protector so that she could question him.
Chrysa made sure that all her paperwork was completed several days in advance, packed herself a lunch in an overly large purse, made sure she had her daggers and throwing knives, then left the Underworld for a day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was nearly noon before the hint of other pinged on her senses. She followed it all the way back to the main hall of the museum, to the wing on the left and just inside the front doors. This was the Greek and Roman art, which she had been avoiding as she knew that she would probably see it later. Besides, she had seen it all before. She had been alive for a good portion of the Greek period, and she had studied Roman art extensively as Maria di Angelo.
She spotted a group of thirty middle-schoolers being led by a middle-aged man in a motorized wheelchair. The man had thinning hair and a scruffy beard. This man was the human mask of the centaur Chiron, trainer of heroes. Nearby, wearing a black leather jacket, was Alecto. The Fury subtly looked towards her once she entered the hall and gave her a nod of acknowledgment.
Chrysa loitered near the group as they stopped near a stele so that the disguised Chiron could explain Greek funeral art. About halfway through the presentation, a freckled red-head snickered about the nudity of one of the carvings on the statue.
A dark-haired boy turned to her and burst out, "Will you shut up?"
It came out very loudly. The whole group laughed at him. Chrysa herself held back a snicker.
Chiron turned to the boy and said, "Mr. Jackson, do you have a comment?"
Chrysa's eyes went immediately to her target. This boy was the infamous Percy Jackson, potential son of Poseidon and Lightning Thief.
The boy blushed.
"No, sir."
Chiron pointed to a carving of Kronos and his children.
"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"
The boy studied the carving for a moment, and then said, "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"
"Yes," Chiron said leadingly, "and he did this because…"
"Well," Jackson said, "Kronos was the king god, and…"
"God?" Chiron cut Jackson off.
"Titan," the boy corrected.
Chrysa relaxed from where she had unconsciously tensed at the insult.
Jackson continued, "And…he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters–"
"Eeew!" one of the girls in the group exclaimed.
Jackson continued without pausing. "–and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans, and the gods won."
Others in the group snickered, and the freckled red-head from before muttered, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"
Chiron obviously heard her.
"And why, Mr. Jackson, to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"
"Busted," another kid muttered. From his wispy beard and crutches, Chrysa assumed he was the satyr. He looked familiar. Chrysa studied him the best she could without appearing to be watching the students.
Suddenly, it struck her – this was the satyr who had found Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia. This was the satyr who had failed to get her sister safely to camp.
"Of course it had to be that satyr," she muttered to herself.
Meanwhile, she had missed Jackson's reply to the question. Oh well. If he was a demigod – and he had the aura of a demigod, though an unclaimed one – he would find out soon enough.
"Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson," Chiron told him. "Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine…"
"Nectar, actually," Chrysa muttered to herself. "Get it right, nephew."
"…which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"
Chrysa stood still as the class began drifting out of the gallery. The girls were holding their stomachs, the guys were pushing each other around, acting like typical middle schoolers.
Jackson and the satyr looked ready to follow them when Chiron said, "Jackson."
He seemed to tell the satyr to go on without him before turning to the centaur in disguise.
"Sir?" he asked.
"You must learn the answer to my question," Chiron said mysteriously.
"About the Titans?" the boy asked in confusion.
"About real life. And how your studies apply it," Chiron replied.
"Oh," the boy said articulately.
"What you learn from me," Chiron said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."
The boy did not look very happy about that.
"He doesn't seem to know," Chrysa whispered to herself, even as the boy mumbled something, probably about doing better.
Chiron directed the boy to go outside with the rest of his classmates, and then wheeled himself after him.
Chrysa stayed put. Alecto had a sense for the dramatic, so she would definitely bring the boy back into this section. While she waited, she magically compelled everyone currently in the wing to leave, and then set up wards on all the entrances that would prevent mortals from entering.
Even so, it still took several minutes for Alecto to return, followed by Percy Jackson. Alecto stopped in front of a marble frieze of the gods, then turned to face her wayward student. She began to growl sub vocally.
Chrysa watched as the boy twitched uncomfortably.
"You've been giving us problems, honey," Alecto finally said.
"Yes, ma'am," Jackson said in a subdued voice, though his eyes were anything but submissive.
Alecto glared at him as she tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket.
"Did you really think you would get away with it?" she demanded.
Jackson looked nervous. Whether from guilt or because Alecto was terrifying, even in human form, Chrysa didn't know.
"I'll – I'll try harder, ma'am," the boy stammered.
Thunder shook the building, proving that Zeus was indeed keeping an eye on the conversation. Chrysa felt a slight tremor under her feet. Hades was also watching.
"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Alecto said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."
Percy Jackson looked terribly confused, and slightly panicky. If he was a typical dyslexic, ADHD demigod, he was probably thinking about some homework that he had cheated on.
"Well?" Alecto demanded.
"Ma'am, I don't…" Percy Jackson began, still looking lost.
"Your time is up," Alecto hissed as she began to transform.
Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She opened her mouth, exposing her large yellow fangs.
Of course, Chiron chose that moment to interfere. Still in his mortal disguise, he rolled his wheelchair into the doorway of the gallery, pen in hand.
"What ho, Percy!" he yelled, tossing the pen through the air.
Alecto lunged towards the boy.
He yelped, dodged, and managed to snatch the sword-that-was-formerly-a-pen out of the air. He looked at it in shock.
Alecto turned back towards Jackson with a murderous growl. The boy did not look good. He looked extremely nervous, unsteady on his feet, and about ready to drop the sword.
Alecto snarled, "Die, honey!" and flew straight towards him.
The boy did the smart thing and swung the sword. It hit her shoulder and passed through her body as she immediately turned into dust.
Chiron snapped his fingers, and the Mist took care of the rest. The centaur moved quickly away, leaving Percy Jackson seemingly alone in the Greek and Roman art gallery with a ballpoint pen in his hand.
The boy was still trembling. He looked absolutely terrified at what happened, before shaking his head slightly and going back outside.
Once he was gone, Chrysa dropped her wards and said to herself, "Well, that was interesting."
She turned on a heel and Apparated away.
She reappeared at an Italian restaurant she favored in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"Table for four, please," she told the hostess. "Under the name Theos. The rest of my party will be here in a few minutes, so please direct them to my table when they arrive."
"Of course, ma'am," the hostess agreed before leading her to a table.
It was only a few minutes later that Zeus showed up, Hera on his arm.
"Good afternoon, Father, Hera," Chrysa greeted. "I assume you were watching?"
"Yes, but I would like to hear your perspective as well," Zeus said as he helped Hera into her chair. "Being there in person is much different from watching from above."
"Is my eldest brother coming?" Hera asked stiffly. The goddess of marriage and family was not fond of the eldest of her brothers in the first place, and the fact that he was consistently breaking his marriage vows, even with mutual consent, did not sit well with her. According to Zeus, Hera also thought of Leuke as Hades' proper wife, and disapproved that she and Hades had never been truly married. Their entire branch of the family tree annoyed her greatly.
"He'll be here shortly; I hear whispers that he is trying to calm Alecto down before she sets Megaera and Tisiphone off and they burn down part of his palace," Chrysa replied calmly.
The waitress had arrived, collected their drink orders, and returned with all four drinks (Chrysa had ordered for Hades) before the man in question showed up. He arrived just as the waitress was delivering bread and asking about appetizers.
"...the mozzarella alla caprese, please," Chrysa said charmingly.
Hades waited until she had left before taking his seat beside Chrysa.
"My apologies for my tardiness; Alecto was most wroth that she had spent so many months as a schoolteacher only to be defeated by a twelve-year-old touched by Tyche," the dark god said smoothly.
Chrysa pressed a quick kiss to his cheek in greeting.
"I heard something through the shadows about Tisiphone and Megaera and potential structural damage…?" she questioned.
Hades sighed.
"We managed to avoid any major structural damage, but I would recommend avoiding the East Wing until its fully repaired," he replied. "I sent the sisters to the Fields of Punishment to calm down. I think they were going to search out Riddle and Dumbledore again. Hecate promised to keep an eye on them."
"Now that we're all here," Hera said, "can we get started?"
"Really, sister dear," Hades drawled, "some of us have jobs."
Surprisingly, it was Zeus who cut them off before it could descend into a full-blown argument.
"You wanted to report on your encounter with the boy?" he asked Chrysa.
"Yes, Father. From my observations so far, I do not think – to put it bluntly – that Percy Jackson had anything to do with the theft."
Both Hades and Zeus froze. Hades actually choked slightly on his drink.
"Why do you say that?" Hera pressed.
"He had no idea what Alecto was talking about when she accused him of being a thief. He was in complete shock that she turned into a monster, and not just the typical demigod oh-snap-my-teacher's-a-monster shock. He had no idea what was going on. Even if he did steal the missing items, he did not know what was going on," Chrysa stated, before smiling at the waitress who had just returned with their appetizer.
"Are you ready to order the main course?" the waitress asked.
"I would like the vitello osso buco, and my husband would like the modina d'agnello," Hera said, shutting her menu firmly and passing it to the waitress.
"I'll take the penne arrabiata with lobster," Chrysa said with a smile.
"And I would like the pasta al nero di seppia," Hades finished, handing his and Chrysa's menus to the waitress.
"Thank you, sir," the waitress said with a smile before turning to head back to the kitchen.
"You think Poseidon is innocent?" Zeus asked dubiously.
"In the best-case scenario, this is Poseidon throwing a fit again and he convinced his son to steal the bolt without telling him what it was about. Second-best scenario, it's still Poseidon and he convinced some other demigod to steal the items. However, Poseidon has declared his innocence in this event, so we need to be prepared for this to be something much bigger than a spat between brothers," Chrysa warned.
"What else could it be?" Hera asked incredulously.
"I don't know," Chrysa said seriously. "I'll try to find out. Secrets are my specialty, after all."
"Are you still planning on going to Camp Half-Blood?" Hades asked.
"Yes, dear. Whoever has done this, Percy Jackson is involved somehow. Whether he is the culprit or just a scapegoat, he will be involved further. With the escalating situation between Father and Poseidon, I would not be surprised if Chiron grants the boy the quest to find the Master Bolt. If he finds the Bolt, he will find the Helm. Either way, it will be most convenient for me to spend June at Camp Half-Blood, until after the solstice."
"But you'll be home until then?" Hades asked hopefully.
Chrysa pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Of course, darling. Barring any unforeseen circumstances. Yancy Academy's school term ends on June 3rd. I'll arrive at Camp Half-Blood that morning. Chiron and the satyr won't wait too long to bring him to camp. They have to know that he's in danger, especially after Alecto's attack today."
"So until then, all we need to do is make Poseidon sweat?" Zeus asked.
"And keep an eye out for any other possible culprits," Hera added. "At this point, everyone is suspect, even family."
All three turned to look at her in surprise.
She raised an eyebrow at them.
"As the goddess of family, I am very aware that ours does not get along. There are certain members that I wouldn't be too surprised to find that they had stolen the Master Bolt. Now, since we've decided our course of action, on to more pleasant subjects. How are your classes going, Chrysocomê?" she asked, redirecting attention to the demigoddess.
Between Zeus and Hades, they had pulled enough strings so that Chrysa had been accepted into Columbia University for the spring semester. With the current situation, she had wanted the proximity to Olympus.
"Everything is going very well so far, as expected. It's a bit of a joke, taking Ancient Greek when you're already fluent in it," Chrysa replied. "I also have some general studies courses: English, Mathematics, History. English and History are fine; I'm used to research and writing essays from Hogwarts, but Math is a different story. It's the only class I have trouble in. I keep recruiting Gottfried Leibniz and Isaac Newton to tutor me."
Their food arrived, and they spent a few minutes exchanging more pleasantries with the waitress. Once she was gone, Hades asked, "What is your history course focused on?"
"Ancient Rome," Chrysa responded promptly. "You all lived through it. I did not. I need to catch up. And before you ask, Father, I have been informed about the Greek/Roman split and the different aspects of all the gods' personalities."
"How did you find out?" Zeus asked, looking slightly alarmed before giving his brother an angry look.
"Hades didn't tell me," Chrysa soothed. "I just…found out. Nothing really stays secret for very long in the Underworld. The dead have no need for secrets, and they are physically incapable of lying to me. Additionally, I am – was – the goddess of secrets, so I'm very good at ferrying out such things."
"You're still the goddess of secrets and shadows, even if you're no longer immortal," Hera said sharply. "You're family, Leuke, and rebirth and temporarily missing memory doesn't change that. Shadows still come at your call. Secrets still come to your ear. No matter your form, human, Titaness, or half-blood, you will always be the goddess of shadows and secrets."
She nodded sharply, effectively dismissing the topic, and returned to her meal.
Her brothers stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Hera's right," Zeus said finally. "You're still a goddess, even if you're not immortal. Apollo and Poseidon were still gods when I sent them to earth as mortals as punishment. You're a reborn goddess, which makes you a goddess."
Chrysa did her best to hide her shock, but doing so while eating lunch with three deities capable of telepathy probably rendered it less effective than she hoped. Still, they were kind enough not to mention anything.
The rest of the meal passed in idle conversation, probably due to Chrysa's tumultuous feelings. They forewent dessert, and left the restaurant as a group. Zeus and Hera transported themselves back to Olympus, while Chrysa and Hades went through the shadows to the Underworld.
Once they were safely ensconced in their rooms, Chrysa pushed Hades onto the couch and curled up beside him so that she was nearly on his lap. She was quiet for several minutes, simply enjoying the comfort that contact brought.
"I know you still consider me to be the goddess of secrets and shadows, and that our court does the same, but I didn't expect Father and Hera to think so," she said quietly.
"You are yourself, and your domain is a part of your very being," Hades said. "You are not simply Leuke, as some on Olympus might think. Nor are you simply Maria di Angelo, or Amaranth Potter. You are Chrysa, and you are all three of those things, all at the same time. Titaness, mortal, demigod – you have been all three. You have ruled and still do rule the Underworld. You were the strongest witch since Morgana Le Fay. You were and are still a mother, even if our children are hidden for their own protection. Perhaps, with this new son of Poseidon's, the Great Prophecy will be fulfilled so that we can bring our children home. But I digress: your power is in secrets and shadows, and there is never a shortage of either across the world. Zeus knows this. Hera knows this. Hestia, Demeter, and Poseidon know this. You have all your powers without being truly immortal. You are a goddess, Chrysocomê."
At that, Chrysa burst into tears. Hades pulled her impossibly closer to himself and soothed her with gentle noises while stroking her black hair.
As her sobs quieted to sniffling, Hades pulled away slightly so he could look into her face.
"Feel better?" he asked.
She nodded, eyes still red and cheeks still wet.
"Much," she said. "It's just…nine years, and it's finally hit me that everyone cares about who I am now, not who I used to be."
She saw Hades look like he meant to protest.
"Not you, Hades! Maybe at the beginning, I wondered if you were really seeing me, or whether you were seeing Leuke or Maria, but I live with you six months out of the year. I know you love me for me. Father I also see rather often, so I know he loves me as his daughter and not just as his former teacher. Despite that, I thought Hera and all the others would simply think of me as Leuke's reincarnation. But Hera thinks of me as me, not as Leuke, just…me. Husband's bastard daughter and all."
"As you said a few months ago, Leuke could be a bit cold. You're much nicer. I'm not sure anyone can know you and not love you, my darling," Hades replied, pressing a kiss to his consort's lips.
There were no words needed for a long time afterwards.
AN: Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favorited!