Harry and Merope Meets Percy Jackson
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or series, only the plots that you don't recognize.
Chapter 4
Annabeth followed Harry and Merope over to the weaponry to explain the properties of the Celestial Bronze.
"All of our weapons here are made of Celestial Bronze because it's one of the few metals that can kill monsters." Annabeth explained, while Harry and Merope were picking up different swords and knives, testing their weight and seeing how they felt.
Harry nodded in understanding, as he took a practice swing with one of the swords he had picked up, grimaced at the feel of it in his hand, then put it back to try out the next one.
"So, Annabeth, what can you tell us about that mist you mentioned that we can see through?" Merope asked curiously, as she tested a dagger that she found interesting, but ended up having the same reaction as Harry, and so moved on to the next one.
"Oh, the mist is what prevents the mortals from noticing anything strange happening." Annabeth answered. "For example, Percy's half-brother Tyson is a cyclops, but mortals will only see him as a tall human, they won't notice he only has one eye because of the mist."
"I'm probably going to regret this question, but how does one have a half-brother that is a cyclops?" Harry asked curiously, as he put away the most recent sword that didn't feel right to him.
By this time, Percy and Nico had walked back over to join the conversation and Percy said, "We have the same godly parent, Poseidon."
Harry nodded in acknowledgment, taking a test swing with another sword and still not liking it. "I once knew a half-giant whose little brother was a full giant, they shared the same mother," Harry said, thinking about his once friend, Hagrid.
"How does that even work?" Percy asked in confusion, while Annabeth shot him a look that said, Shut up!
Harry shook his head with a grimace and said, "I never asked, because that definitely wasn't an image that I wanted in my head."
Percy looked at him in confusion for a minute and then started to look like he was going to be sick. "Yeah, forget I asked about it."
"Duly noted." Harry said with a nod, as he picked up the last sword available and it flashed brightly, then returned to its normal glow. "Huh, I guess I found the one, then." Harry said as he stared at it and turned it over in his hand curiously. It was roughly the size of the Sword of Gryffindor, made of Celestial Bronze rather than silver, inset with both rubies and emeralds.
Before either Annabeth, Percy, or Nico could comment, they were distracted by a bright flash coming from the dagger in Merope's hand, which ironically looked just like a miniature version of the sword that Harry held.
"I've never seen a weapon behave that way. I mean, sure, it's normal for the Celestial Bronze to glow, but I've never seen them flash like that before." Annabeth said curiously, as she scrutinized the weapons that Harry and Merope were holding.
Harry and Merope exchanged looks and shrugged. "It's probably to do with our magic," Harry explained. "Choosing a weapon seems similar to choosing a wand. The wand chooses the wizard, so you'll see sparks fly when a wand chooses their wizard. It's not too far-fetched for me to believe that choosing a compatible weapon would be the same."
Merope nodded in agreement.
Not seeing that anyone else had a response, Harry turned to Merope with a look that seemed to say, Well, are you ready? Merope nodded in response and they walked towards the middle of the sparring area to let loose.
While it had been several years since they had done any serious sparring, they did exercise regularly to keep their muscles toned, and so it was with very little difficulty that they were able to jump right in, causing quite the crowd to gather around to watch. They moved together so fluidly that they appeared to be engaging in a rather intricately choreographed dance, rather than a mock battle. They were weaving around each other, dodging and parrying with a skill the likes of the campers had never seen, no matter how instinctual their own fighting skills were.
"Wow," Annabeth breathed, as they watched. "That's amazing."
All Percy could do was nod in agreement, as his eyes remained glued on Harry and Merope.
After all the training and sparring that Harry and Merope had done together over the years, they rarely ended them in more than a draw, so after feeling as if they had gotten enough exercise in, they decided it was time to bring it to an end. Using a freshening spell to clear away the sweat and grime away, they conjured scabbards to store their weapons in and left the training area where they saw Chiron observing them, seeing him out of his chair for the first time.
"That was a most impressive display," Chiron said, as he nodded to Harry and Merope.
"Thank you, Chiron," Harry said with a respectful nod. "Forgive me for saying this, but I'm surprised to see that you're a centaur. I wasn't expecting that."
Percy jumped to Chiron's defense and said, "Why, you got something against centaurs?"
Smiling, Harry said, "Of course not. One saved my life when I was eleven after all. It's just that the one who saved me was rare amongst his species, they normally hate humans and the herds tend to keep to themselves."
Chiron nodded in acknowledgment and responded, "You're right, I am different from my brethren as well. I find much satisfaction and purpose in helping to train the young heroes to survive for as long as possible."
"Well, if they're constantly having to survive monsters attacking them every time they leave the safety of the camp, it's a good thing they have you here to help train them." Merope said with a friendly smile.
"From what I've observed from the two of you, you could perhaps be able to teach them even more than myself." Chiron said with an inquiring expression.
Harry grinned, "We'd love to help with the training. We've got nothing else to do, really."
"At least until the gods decide it's time to send us on another quest and prophecy gets made," Percy murmured almost under his breath, as Chiron and the Potters continued their discussion as they walked away and the remaining campers dispersed to other activities.
After having lunch and going through the motions of giving some food offerings to the gods, which Harry and Merope both found to be a little strange, they conjured up a table for two and talked quietly together while they ate. Speaking low enough that none of the campers were able to eavesdrop on them.
"So, do you want to go look for a spot to pitch a tent, while we decide whether or not we're going to build a cabin?" Harry asked Merope, after he finished chewing a bite of something that he didn't quite recognize, but it tasted alright.
"Why wouldn't we build a cabin?" Merope asked Harry with a confused frown, before taking a bite out of her rice.
Shrugging, Harry said, "Well, I have no intention of finding a mortal to create illegitimate demigods with. And as I have no doubts that you have any such notion either, having a cabin to ourselves seems pretty redundant, since we both know we won't be remaining here forever."
Merope blushed a bit, "Well, of course I don't have any intentions of doing such, even if I thought there was a possibility of bearing more children with another man."
Harry nodded his head as Merope added, "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't build a cabin." Looking pointedly at the Hermès Cabin table, Merope said, "I think it would be beneficial to build a cabin for all the unclaimed demigods. Say, if their godly parent doesn't claim them within a week of their arrival at the Hermès Cabin, then we'll claim them for ourselves, sort of like adoption when you think about it."
Looking thoughtful, Harry nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, we could do that. After all, if their godly parents don't care enough to claim them, they should have no reason to complain if we decide to claim their children for ourselves. There's no reason to leave children feeling unwanted like that. And even if we choose not to stay in this world overly long, we can still give those in our cabin a way to contact us after we're gone, that way they won't feel as if we've abandoned them and we can return whenever they need us."
Merope smiled happily and said, "All right." Looking around and noticing that everyone seemed to be getting ready for whatever afternoon activities the camp tended to do, so Harry and Merope cleaned up their lunch area and banished the table.
"You know, if we start adopting all the unclaimed kids, we're going to need to actually build a table to accommodate them and not keep banishing it," Merope said conversationally.
Harry gave a sidelong glance at Merope and asked, "How soon do you want to wait before we start the process?" As they leisurely followed a group of campers to the next activities section.
Tilting her head to the side in thought, Merope said, "I think a week after we arrived should be plenty of time for the gods to get off their collective arses and claim their children." Merope nodded decisively at that, and Harry gave her an amused grin in answer.
"You do recall they just went through what sounded a bit like a kind of civil war, right?" Harry asked. "Maybe all of the gods and minor gods are still organizing and passing along the news about Percy's stipulation to claiming their children. Do you think we should give it at least two weeks?"
"They're gods, it shouldn't be that difficult to pass on information. It's been at least two months since their battle or whatever, they've had plenty of time, Harry." Merope said stubbornly.
"All right. If you're sure." Harry said. "We'll take six days to build our cabin, including a version of the Room of Requirement, before we start the adoption process."
"Oh, a Room of Requirement, I like that. And the demigods should have enough magic in them to be able to use it properly." Merope said excitedly.
With that being decided, Harry and Merope broke away from the campers they had been following and went looking for a place to break ground for their new cabin.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter isn't all that long. This story is not really coming to me as easily as my other pending stories at the moment.