Disclaimer and Author's Notes:
I do not own Sailor Moon, Harry Potter or the roman myths. Not that anyone could claim copyright to the roman myths. They'd put him in the nut-house if he did. And so to not risk being put into one myself, I thought I'd point it out.
This story is HP centric and takes place after the 5th book, so the characters are 16. The Sailor Moon part is AU, and the senshi are Roman goddesses rather then humans. They are representations of their names, Mercury the goddess of wisdom, Mars of war, etc.etc.
Venus is the goddess of Love and goes by the name of Mina Love in the fic. She is 16 years old. This story is my HP version of the myth about Eros and Daphne, if you don't know the story, then you'll find out. If you do, I still hope you enjoy it.
Rated PG13 for some language and sexual sits. May go up in future
Draco/ Minako, Harry/Cho, Ron/Hermoine
"Blah blah blah" Speaking
Blah Blah Blah Thoughts
haJabaH iilShinAhA magic incantations (If they are typed like this)
Scene changes
At the bottom of each chapter I will point out any other notes or references.
Enjoy!
Fiona X
Chapter One: Mission: Improbable
"You sent for me, Mother?" Venus called, walking into the gilt laden hall, looking to and fro for her illustrious mother Aphrodite. Through a archway bearing chubby Cherubs, who's ridiculously small wings and heart shaped asses were only off set by the gossamer curtains in their fat little fingers, she saw her. She was languishing in a gaudy gold tub in the middle of the large room, only the top of her golden head and her milky white arm holding a wine goblet of ambrosia were visible above the masses of bubbles rising upwards.
No sooner had she spoke then did her mothers head rise out from the water like a gilded rocket. "Ahhhh, my darling, you came!" She cried, throwing her long creamy legs over the tubs side and gulping down the last of her ambrosia in one mouthful. No sooner had she stepped from the tub onto a seashell shaped step, the suds flowing down her voluptuous body to rest below her narrow feet, did three maidservants run forward with clothing to cover her figure (Of which she was attempting and failing to cover with only her hands).(1) Slipping her arms into the red and gold housecoat and feet into a pair of ludicrously tall gold stilettos, she then rushed forward to hug her teenage daughter, planting a chaste kiss on each of her cheeks.
Venus rolled her eyes, knowing full well her mother wanted something. She rarely allowed herself to sober up from her ambrosian stupor to even realize Venus was in the room. "What is it, mother? Do you wish me to model your newest toga's AGAIN?" She groaned.
"Oh heavens NO Child" Her mother cried, falling back onto a lounging couch that appeared out of nowhere with a look on her face like she was horrified her daughter would say such a thing, "Would I ever do such a thing?"
"Yes" Venus sighed, rolling her cerulean eyes in exasperation, "Just get on with it mother, I am late meeting Mars and Jupiter at the target range."
"Oh OK. You take all the fun out of it..." Her mother muttered, snapping her fingers so a intricate filigree mirror and brush set appeared on a glass table next to her. Picking up the mirror she gazed into it as she spoke. "As you may have heard, some of the OTHER goddesses, whom are quite jealous of my hold on Zeus I might add, have been spreading it around that I am not fit to be the Goddess of Love anymore. It's absolutely ridiculous really. I mean..." She paused and barred her teeth to check for bits of food, running the tip of her tongue over them. After a moment she smiled and continued, " As I was saying, I am in my prime! There's not a man in the heavens or on Earth that could resist my charms. However, Zeus has been inquiring into your progress as future Goddess of Love. Not that he is planning on replac..."
"Oh get on with it. What does he wish to know about me?" Venus interrupted her mothers tirade in irritation. Her mother frowned and put the mirror back on the table and snapped her fingers again, this time summoning a pair of invisible hands which picked up the brush and begin primping her long golden curls.
"Well..." She said, clasping her hands and looking at Venus seriously, "He wishes to see how well I have trained you in the art of seduction and induction of love. He wants to put you... OW DAMMIT, watch my hair will you!" The hands wavered for a moment and then went back to brushing as Aphrodite turned and plastered another of her trademark smiles at her young daughter, "As I was saying, he wishes to put you to a little... test... shall we say. In the Mortal Realm."
Venus sat alone in her favorite spot, atop the Valhalla Music Hall, running her mother's words round and round her head. She buried her head in her crossed arms and sighed sadly.
"What's all that about? Aren't you happy?" A voice yelled in her ear, causing her to nearly lose the precarious balance she had spent 3 hours trying to keep. She looked up into the grinning face of one of her best friends, Thor's athletic and bright-eyed daughter, Jupiter.
"Oh hey Jupi, what's happening over on the Mount?" Venus murmured, looking back at the bright lights of the city below.
"Well, nothing except that it is buzzing with the news." Jupiter laughed, sitting next to Venus on the edge. She swung her long runners legs over it and let them wave back and forth.
"What news?" Venus muttered, watching her friends rhythmic leg movements with blind eyes. Jupiter turned her head sharply and gawked at her friend.
"About you going to a mortal school! Come on! Are you feeling OK Ven?" Jupiter asked, pressing her hand against her comrades forehead to see if she was ill. Venus brushed it away in disgust.
"Oh that." Venus groaned, "Joy. I Guess all of Heaven knows about it. Next Yggdrasil and Olympus will hear of it too."(2)
"I'm surprised at you Ven, It's not everyday a Goddess in training gets to travel to the Mortal Realm! You should be happy!" Another voice added, this time from the pale haired daughter of the Moon goddess, Serenity. Serenity smiled peacefully at her distraught friend and tugged at a lock of her flaxen hair.
"You too? Where's the others, I'm sure they wish to give me shit about it too." Venus snapped, yanking her head to the side so the golden lock of hair slipped from Serenity's slender fingers. Serenity didn't flinch at Venus's sharp comment, instead she kept her infuriatingly calm smile and nodded at two figures running towards them. Venus sighed in resignation as the blue haired daughter of Hermes and the Raven haired daughter of Aries came into view, "Great... more people to congratulate me."
"I just heard the news Ven, it's so wonderful! You are going to learn so much down in the Mortal Realm." Mercury cried, clutching her hands to her chest and looking at the ground with a misty look in her eyes, "And not just mere mortals, but Magic Mortals! I hear you get to go to a great school for Magic!"
"Pshaw! It's not like we don't know everything about magic already. They wouldn't even have powers if it weren't for our kind!" Mars scoffed at her teary eyed friend. She flipped her long ebony mane over her shoulders and smiled at Venus. "But I hear you are going to test out your LOVE powers, am I right?"
"Yeeeees..." Venus moaned, dropping her head so her long blond hair fell over her face like a gilded curtain.
"Awesome!!!!! I hear Mortal's are easy to make fall in love!" Jupiter cried, giggling, " I bet you'll find a cute one down there!"
"I hear that male magic mortal's can't do magic when they are in love. Something causes their magic not to work right"(3) Mercury pondered, tapping her bottom lip with her fingers thoughtfully.
"Oh puh-lease! You really need to stop reading those Mortal books." Mars scoffed. Ami blushed and Jupiter glared at Mars smug expression.
"Leave her alone Marcy." Jupiter growled, standing up to her full height and glaring down at the dark haired girl. Normally the sight of the giant of a Goddess with her fists clenched and lightning swarming around her head would frighten any onlooker to death. But the feisty goddess of war was hardly threatened. Rather peevish really, she disliked the nickname Marcy quite a bit. Standing up, she glared back at the taller girl.
"Want to take this outside, Sparky?" Mars growled, her face dangerously red.
"We are outside. " Jupiter hissed, her eyes narrowing at the utterance of her most-hated nickname. Her face grew dark, as did the sky above, threatening to explode. "But I'll take you any place, any time."
The two girls started squabbling, completely forgetting their forlorn friend to run off and fling fire and thunder at each other. Mercury cried out and ran after them in hopes of using her formidable powers of wisdom to calm the two hot heads. Serenity turned, shaking her head at her friends antics, and looked back at her normally vivacious companion who at the moment was strangely silent.
"Don't feel badly Ven, you'll do fine! And we will visit you in your dreams everyday!" Serenity smiled down at Venus, patting her on the shoulder. Venus sighed and rested her head against her friends shoulder.
"I'm just worried... I haven't really practiced much. My mother refuses to believe that she will be replaced any time soon, and so she never really made me work on my powers. Now Zeus wants to see me at work, and I am afraid I will fail him and Mother." Venus chocked, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill over on her cheeks. As Serenity pulled her into a maternal side-hug, the tears spilled over and poured down her face. She just sat there and sobbed, her hot tears staining her friends white silk gown.
"It'll be all right Ven. Daddy is a fair god, he'll give you a second chance if you make a mistake. Don't beat yourself up about it!" Serenity smiled, patting her best friends head comfortingly. She reached down and cupped Venus's face in her pale palm and raised her face to hers so they were eye to eye. " you'll do great! I am absolutely sure you will. And I don't have to be as smart as Mercury to know it."
Staring up at her friends sweet smile and kind eyes made Venus feel better immediately. She smiled and hugged her friend, burying her face in her shoulder. "Thanks Sere. That means a lot."
Serenity's blue eyes glittered happily to see her friends smile and kissed the top of her golden head in a motherly way, "Any time Ven. Any time.
The other girls had long since went home, leaving Venus alone on the music hall's roof. As Dawn danced across the sky, the soft blue growing dark behind her, Venus snapped her fingers. Immediately a small tear in the air appear like a golden gash and she reached in. Bringing her arm out, she held a good-sized bag made from gold brocade embossed with glittery roses.
From it she took the things her mother gave her. A chain, an arrow and 3 golden apples. Picking up each one carefully, she remembered her mother's instructions with annoying clarity.
Flashback
" What are they?" Venus asked, staring with half-assed interest at the items her mother placed on the table between them.
Her mother took a long drag from her cigarette in it's slender golden holder, blowing the sweet smell of Yggdrasil tobacco across the table into Venus's face, and smiled " They are tools of the trade my dearest. Essential tools I might add. NOT that I ever needed them, my sheer beauty was enough. However, you might find them useful."
She picked up the yard length chain that appeared to be made of golden heart shaped links. ''This is called the Love Chain. Once you ensnare a person with it, they cannot break it. Very useful in practical applications."
"These" She smiled, dropping the chain and picking up one of the perfect golden skinned apples, "These are a favorite of mine. They are Lust Apples. From the Tree of Knowledge (4). When you chant the spell and the chosen person eats it, they will become filled with unquenchable lust for the person they secretly want. Mind you, they are very powerful, one bite will induce at least 3 hours of longing. I am giving you three so you can have a little... fun." At this her mother laughed uproariously, staring off into the distance as if she was remembering something she had done in her younger days.
'And finally, this." Her mother quickly sobered up and held up a long ornately molded golden arrow. Venus took it from her and studied it with marginally more interest. It was slim and looked fragile, yet the heart shaped arrow head looked deadly sharp. On the shaft was carved the words:
Be the love in your soul true
aim and shoot the arrow through
wait and love will be there
but if the love is just a lie
the arrow shall shoot awry
Beware, dear Cupid, Beware.
"This is Cupid's Arrow. It is the most powerful tool to our disposal. When a living being is shot with it, they will fall madly and permanently in love with whom EVER they desire in the darkest depths of their heart." her mother said quietly, her sky blue eyes reflecting the golden bolt as she took it from Venus and stared at it, running her manicured nails along the curling letters.
"B..But I thought Cupid's Arrow was a myth.... and that it made them fall for the first person of the opposite sex they see." Venus exclaimed, staring with a new found fascination at the apparently real mythical object.
"Well... yes, I suppose it is considered a myth. However, as you can see, it is very real. And the whole seeing-the-opposite-sex-and-falling-in-love-with-them thing is soooo over rated. Absolute Minotaur shit''(5) Her mother coughed slipping the arrow in the golden bag along with the rope and apples. She reached over and took her daughter by the shoulders and looked into her eyes with an intensity that made Venus nervous. " Be VERY careful my child, it can even enchant gods. If you are aiming at a person, your own thoughts of them must be unbiased and pure, otherwise it will not hit them, and may even hit another person. It can and has caused devastating effects on the world before."
"Like the enchantment poem on it said..." Venus murmured, half to herself and half to her mother, her sentence trailing off as she looked at it.
"Exactly" Aphrodite retorted, sliding the tasseled strings of the bag closed so to seal it. She then pressed the tips of her fingers together in the air and drew them apart as she enchanted a spell, "asHothinRitH hAbar'as" the air split into a gash that golden light shone from and Aphrodite placed the bag into it. With a snap of her fingers, the rip sealed itself into nothingness.
"So what you are saying is...?" Venus questioned, her eyes searching her mothers face for the answer to the rather cryptic question and more cryptic answer.
Her mother's eyes met hers and for a moment that usual sultry gleam that characterized her mother so well disappeared and she looked very old and haggard. "It means, darling, that you cannot, under ANY circumstances..." She murmured the last three words with evident pain in her voice, as if they hurt her to utter them,
... Fall in love."
End Flashback.
"Fall in love?" Venus muttered, those three words running over and over again through her mind. Suddenly, she threw back her head and laughed mockingly.
"Me? An immortal goddess? A life-time member of the Aesir's of the Golden Hall Guild?(6) The Student body Vice President of Heavenly Heights High School for four years running? In love with a mere Mortal? Even if he is a magic Mortal, the whole idea is ridiculous!" She scoffed at no one in particular, breaking back into her maniacal laughter at the idea.
"Besides." She said quietly and then fell silent, her eyes filling with tears, not from laughter but from the dread that fell upon her shoulders with the realization of the truth. Deep inside, she knew that she would welcome ANY form of love, even that of the commonest of mortals. She hadn't told Serenity the whole story. It really wasn't that she was afraid of failing, she was too proud to even consider that. Rather she was afraid her curse would come true.
Sixteen millennia ago, when she was in her mothers womb, her mother had made the fatal mistake of causing a centaur and a wood elf to fall in love. Although their love was pure, such atrocities were forbidden by both their races. To curse her mothers meddlesome ways, both the elven mages and the centaur priests put a frightful curse on her child.
"Every love she shall have will end in misery and death. She shall die with words of love upon her last breath." Venus murmured the curse they put upon her. Ever since then, her mother had tried her hardest to keep the dreaded outcome from being realized. Every time the young goddess of love even felt the slightest attraction to a male, her mother would make sure he was taken by another goddess, sent away to another part of the Heavens, or even slain.
Once, a scant three millennia ago, Venus had fallen deeply in love with a handsome mortal boy named Narcissus (7). He loved her as deeply as she loved him. In fear, her mother hatched a horrible plot. She used her powers to enchant him so when he looked into a pond one morning he fell in love with his own image. She then went to Zeus with the complaint he was claiming to be more lovely then Aphrodite herself (Which is a smiting offense in Heaven). Zeus promptly cursed him and turned him into a beautiful flower, which the Mortals named a daffodil. It became Venus's favorite flower, of which she collected in sorrow at the lost of dear Narcissus. She vowed she would never fall in love again.
The mere idea that she would even be able to fall in love was painful to think about. So, with a shrug of her narrow shoulders and a toss of her golden hair, Venus stood up and prepared to go home. Turning to look one last time at the city she loved so much, she fought back the tears of nostalgia.
"Good bye, Prometheus's Bar-B-Que (8), I'll miss your Heavenly Hot Griffon Wings. Good bye Medusa's Hair Salon (9), you're the only place I will get my snaky locks chopped off. And Good bye Valhalla Music Hall, Don't you dare have another Three Graces concert without me (10)..." She began to let the tears course down her already tear streaked face, " I..I'll miss you all. Please don't forget me..."
Turning she looked up towards her mothers great golden mansion that sat precariously on the side of Mount Olympus. Sighing, she started towards it.
"Your right Mother, "She said forlornly, "It is a beginning to a new life. And I will do my best. You'll see. You'll never have a prouder moment then the one when you see me leave on the train to my new school...." She took a deep breath and uttered the last word with a heaving sigh bordering on a sob.
"Hogwarts."
Well... I hoped you all liked the rather odd prelude to my newest story. I hope it will be as fun and interesting as it is in my head. The next chapter will come out soon!
RR
Fiona X
Author's Notes:
As you may have noticed, through out the story were passages marked with numbers. These are ones that I make an allusion in to either works of literature, mythology or other such pieces. At the end of each chapter I will explain them
This is a visual reference to the Botticelli painting of Venus. I tried to make it sound like it, but in it's own twisted way.
This is a ref to other versions of Heaven in different Mythology's. I know there are other versions then these two, but I hold that in this fic, Heaven is basically a bunch of cities like we have on Earth, Heaven (where Venus lives), Yggdrasil ad Olympus being the biggest and closest ones.
This is from a Terry Pratchett book called "Mort". The reference is to a comment made about how Male wizards can't do magic while being turned on because, well, understandably they have a bit of trouble concentrating. It's an excellent book if you enjoy comedy and fantasy.
This is of course the reference to the biblical Tree of Good and Evil. The apples cause lust, so I thought it would interesting to make them come from the tree the snake used to trick Adam and Eve. Also the three apples are part of a myth involving three goddesses, one of which I believe was Venus/Aphrodite. I don't remember the exact story however.
"Minataur shit" is basically saying "Bull shit" considering the minotaur was the body of a man and the head of a bull.
Aesirs are the main body of the gods and goddesses in Norse mythology. Basically she is part of a club for pureblood and powerful god's and goddesses.
Most people know of the story of Narcissus. This is my explanation for it. And the flower he was turned into was a Daffodil, so I made it Minako's favorite flower. Whther it is or not is besides the point, considering this is an AU fic.
Prometheus was the god who gave fire to men and Griffons were a flying mix of Eagles and lions. I thought it would be funny to have him own a BBQ and sell Griffon hot wings.
Medusa was of course the snake haired monster of greek mythology. She had her head cut off by Hercules, I believe, although I need to brush up on my mythology knowledge before I am sure. I thought the reference was pretty humourous.