Title: Empowerment
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: While waiting in the Forbidden Forrest during Third Year, Harry and Hermione meet a pair of visitors who change the course of… everything.
A/N: this concept was inspired by concepts raised in the Buffy Massive Multi-Crossover Series The Wandererverse, started by Steve Pantovich.
Vernon Dursley was a bully, but he was a moderately smart one. Moderately smart because he knew enough not to make things to obvious. No marks to the face, no broken bones. Gut punches were his preferred method. That was what made his only moderately smart in that he resorted to violence instead of the more psychological methods that the truly intelligent and sadistic bullies used. His preferred method was also his undoing.
When Harry came home from his Third Year at the freak school, Vernon decided to assert his authority, but things did not go to plan. Agonising pain and every bone in his hand being crushed when he punched what should have been Harry's soft, fleshy stomach was most certainly not part of the plan. Of course Harry was wearing his armour under his shirt.
"Well, that was an idiot move." A female voice, that was not Petunia, said as Vernon collapsed to the floor cradling his ruined hand.
"Lady Athena." Harry acknowledged. "Nice to see you again."
"Myrmidons don't suck up." Athena replied.
"It's not sucking up, I'm paying homage to my Patron." Harry shot back with a smirk.
"Nice save." Athena whispered to herself.
"Who the fuck is she?" Dudley asked.
"The Wise One." Athena said, introducing herself. "Mistress of the Vestal Virgins. The Patron. One of the twelve Olympians."
"She's an athlete?" Dudley said confused.
"She a Goddess, you moron." Harry said. "My Patron Goddess."
"Yes, and I have a word or two for you all about how you have been treating my Myrmidon." Athena announced.
Harry grunted as he took the blow on his shield as he drove his sword through the cut-out section of his shield and into the guts on his opponent. A slight push and the opponent fell to the cobblestone street and Harry took half a step back to clear himself. He had lost his spear some time ago, but he had no time to look for it as four opponents were approaching him along the wide boulevard lined with whitewashed houses with red slate roofs. He hid his grin as Hermione appeared from behind the two figures. She drove her sword into the back of the neck of the rearmost opponent and kicked the second rearmost opponent to the ground as she took a moment to clear her sword, which got stuck slightly by the vertebra as it came out.
The front two were on Harry now, so he feinted a slash at the one on his right, hit the one on his left in the face with his shield, followed quickly with a slash to the throat, and turned back to the other opponent in time to block the attack with his shield. After a short exchange of thrusts and slashes, all being blocked or deflected, Harry lashed out a kick at the opponent's knee, which connected forcing the opponent to the ground and Harry drove his sword between the ribs and into the heart.
As his opponent fell, Harry saw Hermione feint right, duck left under the opponent's sword, step behind him, grab his throat and shove her sword up under his armpit before letting him fall to the ground.
"Simulation Ended." Said the almost accentless voice of his AI, and the scene of an ancient town disappeared to be replaced with the back yard of Number 4 Privet Drive.
Harry rolled his shoulders, sheathed his sword, put his shield on the ground and shook his arms and legs gently in a vain attempt to shift some of the lactic acid build-up. He was dressed in comfortable pants and a t-shirt with his Myrmidon Armour over the top.
"That was interesting." Hermione's voice came over his helmet's communicator.
Hermione had actually been in the simulation, rather than an AI controlled 'bot' ally with her face, and she was in her own back yard in her family home, the simulation co-ordinated between Harry's AI and Hermione's AI. Spotting his spear a few metres behind him, he grabbed his shield loosely in his hand and moved to pick up his spear.
"Only you could make a battle Sim sound like you had just read a new book, Hermione." Harry said, more amused than exasperated.
"Bite me." Hermione responded.
Harry could almost hear Hermione put her hands over her mouth in shock at what she had just said. It was almost the end of Summer Break, only three days before they went back to Hogwarts for their Fourth Year, and becoming an Amazon and a Myrmidon had changed them in some ways, like making them more confident and self-assured, but it had not changed everything and inside the strong and capable Amazon, Hermione was still a bit of a rule bound know-it-all.
"I saw that last move." Harry said. "Nice one."
"Thanks." She replied. "I couldn't get through his guard so I had to improvise."
"That would have been so much easier if I had even one other Brother." Harry said.
"What, you think I wouldn't want Sisters?" Hermione half snapped.
"Not at all." He replied.
Harry had not been idle over the summer, in addition to his training he had done a fair bit of reading and had long conversations with both Hermione and Lady Athena. He had learnt a lot about both the Myrmidons and the Greek Gods. While Myrmidons were exemplary fighters on their own, they were much more effective when working with their brothers. Two Myrmidons were not just twice as effective but more like six times as effective, and the effectiveness went at almost an exponential curve up to about twenty Myrmidons, then the effectiveness rate seemed to flatten out. The Amazons were more effective in groups as well, though they were not as effective as Myrmidons in close combat but their Archery was off the charts when acting in groups. According to Lady Athena the Amazons had some kind of group awareness of targets when wielding the bow, as aspect of Lady Artemis perhaps, so much so that even when firing as fast as they could, no two Amazons would, in the snap decision of target selection, ever target an enemy that already had an Amazonian Shaft aimed or in flight towards them.
Another thing he had figured out was an alternate reason why Lady Athena and Lady Artemis had selected them for empowerment, and would select others. The Goddesses were lonely. Lady Athena knew the other Olympian Gods and Goddesses so well that for any conversation she could tell you before hand who would make what comments, or raise which objections, and the final outcome with almost infallible precision. Lady Artemis never really got on well with the other Olympians, with the occasional exception of her twin brother Apollo, much preferring the solitude of forests and The Hunt. While having Mortal followers would boost their powers slightly, Harry suspected the real reason was to have new people to talk to, people they could not predict nor had eons of history and, in some cases, animosity towards.
"I have got to go." Hermione said. "Someone's at the door."
"Ok. I'll see you on the platform if I don't speak to you before then." Harry replied.
They said their goodbyes and cut the connection. Harry walked into number 4, putting his shield and spear in their usual spots by the back door and taking off his helmet. He ignores Aunt Petunia, who is at the stove cooking something for herself, Dudley and Uncle Vernon, as he goes to the fridge and gets himself a large glass of water. He picks up an orange on the way past from the fruit bowl. There is an agreement now. The Dursleys ignore him and he ignores them. Life is good.
Hermione tossed her head to retract her interface just after breaking the connection to Harry, the eye pieces and earbuds retracting up into the headband. She was wearing jeans and a long sleaved shirt over her Amazonian Armour, as this was a Muggle neighbourhood and she liked to keep her armour on as much as possible, so apart from the metal headband the only thing out of the ordinary was the sword sheathed at her waist. The simulation had not called for archery so her bow and quiver were up in her room. As she made her way to the front door, getting the feeling of something familiar she just could not place, she stashed her sword in a small gap between a door frame and a cabinet. When she opened the door, she saw an older woman with dark red hair starting to go grey kept in a tight bun dressed in a formal pants suit.
"Hello. Can I help you?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe." The woman said, looking a little uncomfortable. "My name is Amelia Bones. I am looking for Hermione Granger. My Lad… a friend suggested that I speak to her."
It instantly clicked. The feeling of familiarity, the almost use of My Lady, the strong stance even under the discomfort.
"I am Hermione." She said with a smile. "Welcome, Sister."
TBC….