Hello my wonderful readers! Welcome to chapter four of Son of the Huntress!

I know I went AWOL again, but, to make up for it, this one long, hopefully fun to read, and has a lot of humor that you might find funny, depends on your sense of humor.

Also, about the whole "Who's Harry gonna end up with and what's his sexuality?" thing, I've come to a final decision.

And I know I said that it doesn't matter yet because he's ten years old, but some of you made some very good points in the comments.

Harry James Potter is bisexual in this story and he is going to end up with Percy.

Now, I know some of you are lighting the torches and gathering the pitchforks to chase me with. But hear me out.

If you don't like anything about this story, then just read something else that you do like, or write it yourself. That's what I did, where do you think the idea of this story came from?

But, what I don't need is you attempting to drag me down in the comments, failing because I really don't care about what you think, and then hurting someone else whether you meant to or not.

And if I lose a few readers because if that, so what? I don't need you here if you don't like my story.

Anyway, sorry to make you guys read through all that, even if you probably skipped it. But, on the off chance that you didn't, I apologize for writing this long rant that I probably should've posted on Tumblr.

And I'm also sorry if I seemed like an self-righteous asshole, that happens a lot with me if you haven't noticed quite yet. Unintentionally, of course...sometimes.

Oh, and huge shout out to my new beta, James Marx, he's helping me out with making sure you guys get the best and most grammatically correct story I can possibly write.

Enjoy!

~0~

It didn't take Harry very long to pack. All he needed was extra clothes, a bit of food, a tooth brush, his bow, his pocket knife, his hunting knife, and some of the money and drachma that he's collected from bets over the years. Luckily, even if he did have a lot to pack, he had a bottomless backpack that Zoë had given to him during one of the hunts he went on with the Hunters.

After he was done packing in his cabin, he went to the infirmary to set up a first-aid kit with enough nectar and ambrosia for the three of them, plus a little extra, just in case. The camp store had also given him a hundred dollars and even more drachma (plus a few candy bars. Silena - daughter of Aphrodite and store manager – has always considered him her favorite. Her words not his).

So, the packing was the easy part, it was the goodbyes that were hard.

Sure, he's left Camp Half-Blood before, but every time he left he always knew he would come back. This time, he wasn't so sure. This time he was going to the Underworld, on a dangerous quest with the son of Poseidon, to stop a war that could possibly destroy the entire world. A lot was riding on this.

So yeah, death was a definite possibility.

He hugged Lou first, of course he did, she's his best friend! They were practically twins – no, screw that – they were twins, in literally everything but blood. Nothing ever makes sense when the two of them are apart.

"If you die," She sniffled into his shoulder, "I will go down into the Underworld and make Hades revive you just so I can kill you again myself."

Harry smiled and hugged her tighter, "No better way I want to go down." He placed a kiss on her cheek before going over to Thalia, who instantly pulled him into the tightest hug she could muster.

"I love you, Kiddo," She said.

Harry nodded, "Love you too, Thals."

She pulled away, giving him a stern look, "Don't be an idiot, alright? And try not to piss off anyone that you shouldn't piss off."

Harry raised an eyebrow before glancing over at Percy, who was talking to Chiron while Argus stood off to the side, silent as ever. "I'm not sure that I'm the right person you should be giving that advice to."

Thalia also looked over at her cousin and nodded in agreement, "You make a good point." She looked down at him again, "Just…be safe, ok?"

He shrugged, "I can try."

His sister sighed, "That's not comforting, but I'll take it."

She gave him one last smile and ruffled his hair before going off to say goodbye to Annabeth.

For a few more minutes, goodbyes were said, tears were shed (Lou would die before admitting that she cried in public), and they were about to enter the white SUV when Luke came running up the hill with a shoe box in his hands,

"Hey!" He panted, resting a hand on his knee to catch his breath, "Hey, guys! Glad I caught you in time."

Annabeth blushed like she always did when Luke was around.

"I just wanted to say good luck." The older teen said, "I'm still not happy that you're going," He threw a pointed look at Harry, who rolled his eyes at his older brother's protectiveness, "But I thought – um – you could use these." He awkwardly handed the shoe box to Percy.

Harry's eyes widened at the sight of the sneakers inside, "No way! Are those—"

Luke nodded and said, "Maia!"

The sneakers came to life and sprouted white wings at the ankles fluttering around for a bit before going back into the shoe box.

"Awesome!" Harry exclaimed.

Luke smiled, "Those were a huge help on my last quest. Gift from my dad. Of course, I grew out of them a few years ago so…" His face suddenly grew sad, and Harry stepped forward to hug him, because when was the next time he was going to get the chance to hug his brother?

When Harry finally let go, Luke ruffled his hair and said, "I'll miss you too, Kiddo."

"Hey man," Percy said, his face almost as red as Annabeth's, "Thanks."

"Look, Percy…" Luke looked a little uncomfortable. Which, despite what most people might think, is completely normal for him in social situations, he just hides it very well, "You're a good kid, and a great fighter from what I've seen. But a lot is riding on you, including the lives of my little brother and sister. So just…fight some monsters for me, okay?"

Percy gave the teen a nod and shook his hand, then Luke ruffled Harry's hair again – seriously what was with people and Harry's hair? – and hugged Annabeth, who looked like she was about to pass out. Thalia did the same thing and left with her boyfriend.

Once the two teens were out of earshot, Percy gave Annabeth a teasing smirk, "You're hyperventilating."

Annabeth's face lit up a darker red, "Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

"I—oh, why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?" She stomped towards the car, her blush so dark it was almost purple. Argus gave her what Harry thought was supposed to be a smile before he flinched when Annabeth slammed one of the doors, some of the eyes on his arm blinking in surprise.

Percy barked a laugh before picking up Luke's shoes, he looked up at Chiron, "I can't wear these, can I?"

Chiron nodded gravely, "Luke meant well, Percy. But, being in the air would be an unwise decision for any child of Poseidon."

Percy shrugged, "That's fine, I don't like being in the air anyway." He looked down at Harry, "Do you want 'em?"

Harry's eyes lit up, "Really? Me?"

Percy laughed, "I wasn't looking at anyone else."

He nodded eagerly and took the box, replacing his own beat up tennis shoes for the flying ones. Pouting when he discovered they were too big. "They don't fit."

Percy rolled his eyes, "Here." He pointed at Harry's new shoes and suddenly they shrunk to Harry's size.

Harry blushed, embarrassed that he just got shown up by someone who just started practicing wandless magic yesterday. Yes, that's the only reason why he's blushing, "Right. Magic. That's a thing." He looked down at the shoes and grinned, "Maia!"

He took to the air.

There is a very small number of people that don't know that Harry loves flying. Whether it's using magic (he got that trick from a comic book the Stolls had taken from the camp store. The look on their faces when he finally figured it out was priceless.) or the Pegasai, or even that one time he got to ride the Moon chariot on the way back from a hunt with Zoe. So, it was really no surprise that he got used to flying shoes as soon as he was in the air.

The only problem was, now he didn't want to go back down.

Oh well, Percy was still talking to Chiron anyway, might as well fly around the van for a bit until they had to go.

So, Harry did just that, pulling off really cool aerial tricks that he never could have done on a Pegasus, no offense to them or anything.

Percy finally walked down the hill, looking as nervous as Harry had ever seen him, and got in the car. Harry called off the enchanted shoes and landed on the ground with a flawless front flip, and followed.

"So," He piped up, "What did you and Chiron talk about?"

Percy was silent for a few beats before shaking his head as if to clear it, "Huh? Oh, uh, this." He held up a cheap-looking pen. What was so important about a pen?

Oh. Wait a minute.

"Cool!" Harry exclaimed, "Is that Anaklusmos?"

"Uh, yeah," Percy asked, looking surprised, "How did you—"

Harry didn't even let him finish his question, "My adopted sister - Zoë Nightshade - she's my mom's lieutenant. But she's also one of the Hesperides. That sword was hers until Hercules took it. But I think that she would be okay if someone like you had it now."

"Someone like me?" Percy asked, eyes shining with humor.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, a good hero. Hercules was – is – a total jerk. Even more so since Zeus made him a god. But you aren't."

Annabeth scoffed, "Yeah right."

Percy raised an eyebrow at the girl, "Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

Annabeth huffed in irritation and folded up her cap of invisibility, "Look…we're not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

Percy gave her a confused look, "Why?"

His sister sighed, "How many reasons do you want, Seaweed Brain? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple. Which is a huge sign of disrespect. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring and Athena invented the olive tree. The people saw that my mom's gift was better, so they named the city after her."

Percy smirked, "They must really like olives."

"Oh, just forget it."

But Percy continued on, "Now, if she had invented pizza—that I could understand."

Annabeth just rolled her eyes, "I said forget it!"

Harry and Percy sniggered as the blonde huffed and crossed her arms, staring out the window angrily.

They were off to a great start so far.

~0~

Okay, so maybe Harry had jinxed it.

As the three of them ran away from the burning bus, of which was just attacked by the Furies and blown up by lightning, Harry questioned whether it was actually a good idea to go on this quest after all.

Sure, he knew it was going to be dangerous, they were going to the Underworld for Olympus' sake, but having to fight all three Kindly Ones within the first three hours? That's just bad luck.

"All three Kindly Ones." Harry said, still in shock, "All three at once."

Percy was still looking a little pale himself, probably also in shock of what just happened, but Annabeth continued to pull them along, saying: "Come on! The farther we get away, the better."

"All of our money was back there," Percy said, "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"I mean, not everything." Harry held up his backpack, which he had managed to grab before jumping off the bus, "I still got my stuff."

"Still," Annabeth said, glaring at Percy, "We would still have the rest of our stuff if Seaweed Brain here hadn't jumped into the fight."

"Oh, so now I'm the bad guy because I wanted to save your life!" Percy shouted, "What did you want me to do? Just let you and Harry get killed?"

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"You weren't the only one I was trying to 'protect' Annabeth!" Percy said, making the blonde flinch, "In case you didn't realize while you were making everything about you, Harry was on that bus too."

Harry winced as Annabeth's gaze went from the usual grey to dark and stormy, "And whose fault is that?"

Harry stepped in between them before weapons were drawn, "Alright, that's enough! I didn't think we'd need to go so far that the ten-year-old needs to be the voice of reason, but we can't afford to argue. Like it or not, we're all on this quest together, and in order for us to come out the other end alive, we need to start working together."

They continued to glare at each other for several beats before Percy sighed, "He's right, we're on an important quest and we don't have the time to be arguing every step of the way. Truce?" He held out a hand for her to shake.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and shook it, "Fine, but I still don't like you."

Percy shrugged, "That's fine."

"Okay," Harry said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Now that we're good, let's set up Camp. Percy, let me see your arm, you got a nasty burn from that Fury's whip."

~0~

They trudged through the woods of New Jersey until they could barely walk anymore, their feet sore and shoes caked with mud. They had eaten the candy bars in Harry's backpack a long time ago, and unfortunately, Annabeth's backpack was the one that had all the food with nutritional value. So, on top of their aching feet and dirty shoes, they were starving.

And it was getting dark, so there was a large chance that something was going to jump from the shadows and try to eat them pretty soon.

"Wait, guys, what's that?" Percy asked out of nowhere, pointing to a green flashing light up ahead.

"I don't know," Annabeth said, "But wherever it's coming from, there's food, I can smell the cheeseburgers from here."

They drifted towards the smell until they were met with an open two-lane road. Next to it there was an old billboard advertising a 90's movie, a gas station that was falling apart, and one of those roadside curio shops that tourists like to visit, which was where the light and the good smell was coming from. The neon sign above the building was impossible for Harry to read. The red neon cursive made his dyslexia go haywire.

Percy leaned closer to Harry to ask, "Do you have any idea what that says?"

Harry shrugged and shook his head, "None at all."

Flanking the front door, there were two of the ugliest garden gnomes Harry has ever seen, not that he's seen very many. They were both short and stubby, smiling and waving as if they were about to get their picture taken. And one of them suspiciously looked like his cousin Dudley.

That's a face he hasn't seen in a very, very, long time.

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar." Harry agreed.

The front lawn was covered in a forest of statues: cement children, cement animals, even…wait a minute is that—

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked, as he stepped closer to the statue of the fat man, his stone face twisted in terror. Next to it, was a statue of a skinny woman with frizzy hair and a horse-like face, her eyes were wide with fear and her mouth was open in a terrified scream, "…Aunt Petunia?"

"Wait, what?" Annabeth said, stepping behind him.

"These statues—" Harry said, voice wavering, "They look exactly like my Aunt and Uncle."

"That's not possible," Annabeth said, "Besides, it's been five years since you last saw them, maybe you forgot what they looked like?"

Harry spared one last glance at the statues, "Maybe, let's just keep going. These statues are giving me the creeps."

The door creaked open, and standing in front of them was a tall woman dressed in a long black gown and a veil that covered her face. "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"They're...um…" Annabeth started to say.

"They're dead," Percy cut in before she could say anything, faking looking upset, "We're orphans."

"Orphans?" The woman asked with a gasp, "Oh, my dears, surely not!"

"We got separated from our caravan," He continued. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost. He might have forgotten, or he just meant a different gas station. So, here we are. Is that food I smell?"

"Oh my dears," She said sympathetically, "Come inside, you poor children. There is a dining area in the back of the warehouse."

"Thank you, ma'am." Harry said with a charming smile.

The woman smiled from behind her veil, "Oh, you are just darling! Please, call me Aunty Em. I'll be right with you."

As soon as they were out of earshot, Annabeth rounded on Percy with a raised eyebrow, "Circus caravan? Really?"

Percy shrugged with a smile, "Always have a strategy, right?"

She rolled her eyes and shoved him, "Your head is full of kelp."

The warehouse was filled with even more statues, all life size, all with varying outfits and facial expressions. Some looked terrified, some were smiling as if they were posing for a picture, a few of them even had some weird combination of both. But the one thing they all had in common was that they all seemed to be watching them as they walked by.

And that's when Harry smelled it: Sulfur.

It almost wasn't noticeable, the smell from the snack bar overpowering it by a lot. But, thanks to Harry's enhanced senses (Thank you, Artemis), he did notice the rotten egg stench underlying the smell of fast food.

"Guys," Harry said, "I smell monsters."

"Hold on," Percy said, turning around with furrowed brows, "you said you smell monsters?"

"Yeah," Harry shrugged, "I may not have cool powers like you do, but I do have enhanced senses. More so than demigods normally have. Perks of being a child of Artemis, I guess. But that's not the point--"

"Your nose is probably clogged from the Furies or something," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't worry about it, Harry."

Auntie Em appeared from nowhere, standing behind the fast food counter as if she was there the entire time, "So, what will it be? You poor children must be hungry."

"Three burgers, with fries," Percy said, then, as an afterthought, "Please."

The woman smiled, or, at least Harry thinks she smiled. It was really hard to tell with the veil covering her face. "Coming right up."

Harry started digging through his backpack for money, taking out a ten dollar bill and a few crumpled up ones before Auntie Em stopped him, "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, dear, it's on the house."

Annabeth spoke up, "Ma'am, you don't have to do that, we can pay."

"Nonsense, Annabeth, this is a special case, yes? This is my treat, for such kind orphans." It wasn't until later, while they were kicking themselves for their stupidity, that they questioned how this stranger knew Annabeth's name. Even though they never introduced themselves.

"Thank you, ma'am."

The lady stiffened as if Annabeth had said something wrong, but it was gone in a blink, "Quite all right, dear. And might I compliment your eyes? They are such a beautiful gray."

The blonde shifted awkwardly, "Uh, thank you?"

Their hostess disappeared into the kitchen to begin cooking. But she must have already had some things pre-prepared, because before they knew it she was carrying out plastic trays loaded with burgers, vanilla shakes, and extra-large orders of fries.

The three of them were already inhaling their food before the trays were placed on the counter. Percy seemed like he was forgetting how to breathe while Annabeth took time in between bites to take a sip from her shake.

Humans, how naive they can be. A voice hissed softly, almost as if it was muffled in some way.

Yes, they always fall for our mistress' trap. A second one said, this one somehow having an accent Harry couldn't quite place.

He looked over his shoulder, trying to place where the voices were coming from, but seeing nothing but more statues.

I don't know, ladies, the blonde one seems intelligent enough.

Well, of course, she's a child of Athena.

DON'T INVOKE HER NAME!

Harry winced at the sudden mixture of hissing voices.

Annabeth looked at him in concern, "Harry, are you ok?"

He looked over his shoulder again, not getting any results, "Yeah, I'm fine. Do you hear that?"

She tilted her head in confusion, "Hear what?"

"Those voices, they sound like they're hissing or something."

Percy furrowed his brows, sharing a look of concern with Annabeth, but they couldn't say anything before Auntie Em cut them off, "Hissing? You must hear the fryer in the back. You have keen ears, Harry."

Harry shook his head, "No, that's not it--"

"I wouldn't worry about it, darling," The woman interrupted.

The boy, the short one with the green eyes, I think he's a speaker.

He plays music?

No, you idiot! He speaks our language! Seriously, how I'm related to you is always going to be a mystery--

How do you know he's a speaker, Shara?

Because he said he heard voices, Serena! Hissing ones! Who else could he mean?

Isn't hearing random voices a human psychological disability? Maybe he has that!

Harry shook his head, trying to drown out the hissing that filled his ears. Wherever they were coming from, there were a lot of them, and the more he tries to tune them out the louder they get.

"So," Percy said, cutting through the awkward silence that had settled in the room, "You sell gnomes."

Yes, she does, and they are horrifying.

Not as horrifying as your scales.

You take that back!

No! They're in an ugly pattern and I stand by it.

How dare you!

Would you two just shut up already? It's bad enough that we're attached to the same head, I would rather not listen to your whining.

Oh, well, if you're so annoyed with us then maybe you should just reattach yourself to Hermes' stick. I'm sure George and Martha would love your company.

Yeah!

I wouldn't be caught dead--

"Oh, yes," Auntie Em said. "And animals, and people. Anything for the garden, really. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"Do you get a lot of business here?"

"Not since the highway was built...most people are in far too much of a hurry to stop by. I must cherish every customer I get."

The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up, and he suddenly felt like all the statues in the room were staring at him. All of them were incredibly detailed, and all of them had matching faces of terror etched into the stone.

He shared a look with Percy, who seemed to have noticed the same thing.

"Ah," Auntie Em said sadly, "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is always the hardest to get right."

"You make these yourself?" Percy questions.

The woman nods, "Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business. But, sadly, they have passed away, and I am alone. I only have my statues. It's why I make them, you see, they are my only company."

Annabeth had stopped eating, leaning forward in her seat, "Wait, did you say two sisters?"

"It's a terrible story, really." Aunty Em said, "Not one for children. You see, Annabeth, a very bad woman was jealous of me when I was young. I had the looks, the allure, and all she had was her wit. One day, she caught me with my… my boyfriend, I suppose you could say. She was so overcome with her jealousy that she caused a terrible accident that caused me to go blind. My sisters stayed by me. They consoled me through my suffering. But eventually, they passed, faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

Harry and Annabeth seemed to piece it together at the same time. The detailed stone statues, the veil covering her face, the hissing, two sisters that had faded away. There was one monster in the myths that seemed to fit that description:

Medusa.

Harry grabbed Percy's arm and practically dragged the taller boy off the stool, "Thank you for the food and your hospitality, ma'am, but we should really get going."

Medusa tried to act disappointed, "Oh, so soon? You haven't even finished your food.

"Yes," Annabeth said hurriedly, grabbing Percy's other arm, "The ringmaster is waiting for us."

"Please, stay," Medusa pleaded. "I rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" The blonde asked warily.

The monster nodded, "Just one photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

Harry shook his head, "I don't think we can, ma'am, we really need to get going. Come on, Percy--"

"Sure we can," Percy said, sounding irritated, "It's just a photo, Harry. What's the harm?"

The tall one isn't very bright, is he? One of the voices started hissing again. I really don't get it, the other two seem to have figured it out.

Well, Poseidon never really was the brightest egg in the bunch, now was he? Must be the bad genes. Harry clenched his fist and clenched his jaw, he did not like the way they were insulting his friend.

Oh yeah, why did we like him again?

Because he was good looking, and really good at--

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Annabeth and Percy turned to him in surprise, "What?"

"Harry," Annabeth said cautiously, "what was that?"

"What was what?"

"The hissing noise you just made, it sounded like a snake--"

"A loud snake," Percy interjected.

Annabeth ignored him, "--what was it?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't make a hissing noise!" Harry said.

"Yes, you did!" Annabeth shot back.

Huh, so he is a speaker--Skyla I swear to Tartarus if you ask if he plays music one more time--

Threat! That's a threat! I feel threatened!

Please, please, PLEASE! I beg you! Would you two be quiet!

Ooh, she's saying 'please' that's a first.

"Shut up!" Medusa shouted, causing the demigods to turn to her once again, but she kept her gaze fixed on Harry, "It's been a long time since I've met a speaker."

"A speaker?"

The woman - monster - grinned evilly and reached up to remove the wrap around her head, revealing a pile of small snakes attached to her head, "Yes, there are not many that can speak Parseltongue, much less a mortal. It's been decades since I last met one. It was a shame I wasn't able to add him to my collection, he was quite handsome. But I suppose I can settle for you." She ripped off the veil and launched herself at them.

But Annabeth was quicker, "Don't look at her eyes!" She shoved Percy and Harry out of the way before putting on her invisibility cap.

"That was a bit dramatic," Harry muttered before activating the Hermes shoes and drawing his bow.

Yeah, like you're one to talk.

"Be quiet!" Harry hissed at one of the sakes.

You don't tell us what to do, Half-Blood, only our mistress does!

"Silence, you worthless worms!" Medusa shouted at her hair, "I can't focus with your whining!"

Well, that was rude!

You know, without us you wouldn't have your "gorgeous" collection of creepy statues.

Yeah!

Percy was still on the ground, right at Medusa's feet, staring at her sandaled feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. Harry had almost thought he had finally figured it out before the idiot had slowly drifted his gaze up, stopping as Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"

Medusa chuckled, reaching down with her gnarled, bronze claws to lightly pet Percy's cheek, "Such a pity it would be to destroy a handsome face like yours, Percy." To anyone who didn't know better, anyone like Percy in that moment, she would almost sound soothing, "And those eyes, they're so much like your father's. Too bad they would lose their beautiful color when they are set in stone."

Harry felt his jaw tighten in anger as he loaded an arrow and drew back the string, but, a split second before he let the arrow fly, he was pulled into the side of the building by the shoes. He let out a strangled, surprised noise that turned into a groan of pain when he hit the concrete wall.

"Harry!" Annabeth shouted from somewhere in front of him, "Are you ok?"

"I don't kno--Ah! No no no no!" The shoes pulled him from the wall and started spinning him, upside down, above a cluster of statues. Almost making him his head on a raised club. "The shoes aren't working!"

"I thought you said you knew how to use them?"

"I do!"

"Clearly, you don't!"

"Thanks, sis, really feeling the love and support here! Aagh!" He spun into another wall.

Meanwhile, Medusa was still talking to Percy while the son of Poseidon was, apparently, super glued to the ground. Why wasn't the idiot moving? Usually adrenaline and fear would kick in at this point and make him run away!

"The Gray-Eyed one did this to me, Percy." She was still trying to sound like a soothing grandmother. The kind that would make a batch of cookies just for you and then listen to your every word like it meant everything to her. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this!"

"I'm sure she didn't have to do much work! Seeing as Poseidon has settled for the Cyclopes before!" Harry snarked from his place in the arms of a statue of a not-so-bad-looking man. Settled in the most humiliating position ever: bridal style. Of course, he also had his eyes closed, so he only heard the ear-splitting screech of anger aimed in his direction.

"Don't listen to her, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, "Run!"

"Silence!" Medusa snarled in her direction. Then, her voice modulated into a comforting purr, "You see why I have to destroy the girl, Percy. She is my Enemy's daughter. I shall crush her into statue dust. But you, Dear Percy, you and Artemis' boy need not suffer. You two seem to have a...special connection."

Harry felt his face light up. Gods of Olympus, even the stupid monsters could tell he has a crush on Percy?

No, now is not the time to think about this, Harry! He scolded himself, Focus!

"W-what would you know about 'special connections?'" Percy muttered, propping himself on his arms in an attempt to stand up, "The closest thing you had was my dad, and he left you the second Athena turned you into a monster."

Medusa roared in anger and raised her hand, her bronze claws glinting in the moonlight as she slashed down at Percy's face. But, before she even touched him, she was screeching in pain and clasping the arrow sticking out of her eye. Percy to that moment to spring up and swing his sword, effectively cutting off Medusa's head.

"Oh, so you do remember the story," Harry said, squeezing the grip of his bow and returning it to it's necklace form, "I was worried, considering it was about your namesake."

Percy blinked at him owlishly, "You saved me."

He shrugged, "It's your first quest, can't have that pretty face ruined by scars when you've barely even started."

Percy's surprised expression turned into a grin, "You think I'm 'pretty?'"

Harry's eyes widened as he realized what he said, and his face became a deep red, "N-no, I don't. I didn't say that." Harry glared at Annabeth, who had just coughed into her hand to hold back a laugh, "Shut up."

His sister held up her hands, smirking, "I didn't say anything." She looked down at Medusa's head and kicked at the writhing pile of snakes, "So...what are we going to do with her?"

Percy smirked, eyes glinting with a type of mischievousness that would send teachers running for the hills, "I have an idea."


And...that's it for the chapter! Did you like it? Did you? Huh? Did you? Am I being annoying? I'll stop now.

Hopefully, if I don't suffer from writer's block, you wonderful people will get to read the next chapter soon. But I wouldn't get your hopes up, just in case.

Anyway, I hoped you liked it, and feel free to tell me so in the comments. If you didn't, then you probably wouldn't be reading this anyway.

Love,

-LittleMissReadsTooMuch