Harry Potter, Minor God.

When the post for a minor godhood fell vacant, it was decided by the council of gods to hold a lottery to fill the post. As luck would have it, the god of Lottery pronounced the victor to be Harry Potter, an eleven year old wizard. So begins the story of Harry Potter, god of… glue?

Disclaimer 1: I do not own Harry Potter.

Disclaimer 2: I do not claim originality for this idea. I vaguely remember seeing similar ideas, but don't remember the exact fanfic(s). The plot, however, is my own (hopefully).

Chapter 2.

Elysium

Harry followed Hades as they navigated the treacherous planes of Tartarus, the lowest pit of the underworld. Hades didn't speak much, except pointing out places of prominence in his abode. But he kept referring to Harry by the wrong surname. Peverell and Potter didn't even sound similar! He was sure Hades knew this as well, being a major deity with mind-reading powers, but he continued to call him a Peverell all the same.

"Here ends my realm." Hades stopped in front of a door bathed in golden light. "And begins Elysium, the abode of heroes. Your parents have found a place there and are under the rule of the titan Cronus. I will accompany you no further, but someone will escort you through Elysium to meet your parents." He stood still, folding his arms as he eyed the gate in a bored expression.

"Umm… Thank you, sir. Thank you so much."

Hades avoided his eyes. "Don't thank me. I was opposed to this, as it violated the norm. Thank Hestia if you must."

"Still, thank you for allowing her request." Harry bowed deeply and excused himself as he entered the gate to Elysium.

On the other side, he found a middle-aged man waiting for him. He had the build that rivalled any human Harry had seen so far.

"Harry Potter? A pleasure to meet you. I am Achilles." The man held out his hand.

Harry shook his hand on reflex, but his face betrayed his shock at the unexpected introduction. Achilles seemed to be enjoying Harry's reaction to his name.

"Come. I will take you to your parents. You are blessed to share blood with heroes that live in Elysium, dear child."

Harry felt a mixture of pride and sorrow at his parents' behest. Pride in them being given a place in Elysium, the place where heroes like Achilles resided, and grief in the fact that he would not be able to get to know them better. But the fact that he was even able to meet them, even for a short while, was the greatest gift anyone could have given him.

"Those who live here exist not in their bodies, but you would be hard-pressed to tell that it is so. All of us lose our bodies when we die, but our souls remain intact. From that time, a soul moves to Tartarus and is judged for its actions in life. If they are free of major sins, they are given a chance to reincarnate. If they lived a life of evil, their soul is tormented in Tartarus. If they lived and died a hero, they are given a chance to stay in Elysium as long as they wish before moving on."

"Moving on?" Harry asked curiously.

"That," Achilles smiled, "is not something I know of. I have not found Elysium lacking, so I have not ventured to explore."

They arrived at an old-fashioned mansion, the entrance to which read 'House Peverell, the abode of heroes of the Peverell line'. At this, Harry began to understand why he was called Peverell rather than Potter by Hades. That may have been the name of someone from whom he was descended.

Achilles knocked on the door, and an old woman opened it. She blinked in shock on seeing Harry.

"Another Potter? And one so young? How tragic!"

"Who is it, Grandma?" Harry heard a younger voice. He saw a man who looked remarkably like himself, who seemed equally shocked when he saw Harry.

"Is that… Harry, is that you?" He rushed to the door. The older Potter woman and Achilles wisely stepped out of the way as the young man crushed Harry in a hug.

"D…Dad?" Harry asked tentatively, hardly believing it himself.

"Harry?" Harry heard a dismayed voice. It belonged to a woman who looked equally as young as his father. She broke down in tears upon seeing him and ran to the doorway to envelope him in a hug.

Achilles cleared his throat awkwardly. "I feel I should clarify. Harry Potter is not dead, do not mourn him."

Lily and James Potter froze upon hearing the stranger's words. They looked at the man in shock.

"But then… why is he here?"

"Let them come inside, and I'm sure Prince Achilles will explain everything." An older voice sounded from the doorway. This belonged to a man who looked older than everyone present, including James' grandmother.

"Achilles?!" The old woman's eyes widened in surprise and shock. Harry's parents were equally dumbfounded.

"Ignotus Peverell. A pleasure as always." Achilles smiled as he stepped inside. "An honour to be a guest at the esteemed House of Peverell." He said as he sat down on a couch.

"The honour is hours, Hero of Trojan." The old man, now identified as Ignotus Peverell and possibly Harry's great ancestor, bowed deeply. He then gestured at the others to sit.

By this time, several other occupants of the mansion had arrived, hearing the commotion. Harry was surprised to see that at least six of his ancestors had made it to Elysium.

"Harry Potter. Lily and James told me about you, although their memories of you were as a baby. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ignotus Peverell, an ancestor of the Potter family some seven hundred years before your time."

Harry was awed at how far back that was. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir."

"Just Ignotus will do, Harry." He pointed to an older witch who had arrived after Lily. "This is Matilda Peverell, my great-granddaughter." He pointed to an old man and the woman who answered the door. "Henry and Esmeralda Potter, your great-grandparents, and of course," waving at his parents, "James and Lily Potter, your parents."

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat as he took in his family members. They viewed him with expressions ranging from pride (at his arrival in Elysium) and confusion (of his not being dead).

"You said Harry is still alive?" Lily asked hopefully. "Um… Your Highness?"

"Just Achilles is fine. I was always a warrior first rather than a prince." Achilles smiled. "As for your son, yes, he is still alive. He was allowed to visit you in Elysium as a favour from Lord Hades as requested by Lady Hestia. She asked Lord Hades this favour when Harry was elevated to godhood, as decided by the council of gods following a lottery held in this regard."

"…What?" James summed up the thoughts of everyone present.

"…I see." Ignotus Peverell.

"What do you see? That made no sense whatsoever." Matilda frowned. Widening her eyes, she addressed Achilles, "I did not mean to insult you, sire."

Achilles laughed heartily, dismissing the comment with a wave. Ignotus leaned back, trying to explain the best he could.

"All of you are, of course, aware of the existence of gods. They are beings that were initially formed by abstract ideas personified by the thoughts of many. As people in different lands personified these concepts differently, multiple gods govern the same regime. Gods gain more power with followers and lose power when people stop believing in them. They have a varying degree of control over the aspects they personify, depending on the size of their following. At some point in history, a council of gods were formed in an organised attempt to keep the gods relevant and strengthen their influence. The council regulates the functioning of various gods. It also tries to protect the divine powers of gods by increasing or at least maintaining their following. This is often achieved by a god answering the prayers of their followers or performing other miracles. What they are not allowed to do is reveal themselves in public, for reasons not known to us." Ignotus took a deep breath. "It was decided a few centuries ago by the council of gods that it would be more efficient to increase their number and divide their workload. This way, prayers can be answered efficiently. Thus, the responsibilities of minor affairs were delegated to worthy souls who were deemed worthy of godhood. I am, however, not clear on the specifics of how a god is chosen…."

"I can help you there." Achilles began. "The gods choose from a large pool of candidates based on their potential, behaviour and some other aspects that I am not entirely knowledgeable about. From this large pool, one person is selected based on a lottery."

"A lottery?!" James laughed disbelievingly.

"Yes, a lottery. The council of gods specifically instituted a god of lotteries whose main job is to select a candidate at random from eligible ones."

"So… you said earlier… that Harry…." Lily began weakly.

"Was elevated to godhood after a similar lottery." Achilles confirmed.

Harry fidgeted under the astonished stares he received. "I have no idea why I got it, to be honest. I got it the day I received my Hogwarts letter, too."

"What does it mean, godhood?" Lily asked. Achilles tilted his head towards Harry, letting him take over.

"Well, Hermes told me…."

"Hermes?!"

"Yes, that Hermes. He told me that I must follow some rules and perform some duties. I was given an office in Olympus," James' eyes were bulging out comically at this point. "and I can do my work from there. I can do whatever I want in my free time, though. Since there aren't a lot of people who believe in a god of glue, my workload is pretty low."

"Wait… what did you say you were a god of?" James said, switching from astonishment to amusement.

"Of matters that concern the sticking and unsticking of substances." Harry corrected hurriedly. It was a bit late, however, and James had already broken down to hysterics. Matilda and Ignotus were wearing amused smiles, and Harry went beet red in embarrassment.

"James!" Lily gave her husband a shove with her elbow, and James switched from howling with laughter to howling in pain. "I think that's amazing, honey." She shot a nasty look at James. "Never mind him."

James settled down, looking at Harry apologetically. "I'm sorry, Harry. I just… didn't expect that. But still, my son, a god?! Wow…"

"Our son." Lily corrected acidly, still upset that James laughed at Harry during their first meeting in ten years. "Harry," Lily's eyes were already watering. "I can't tell you how proud I am… I know we were terrible parents, never being there for you and leaving you all alone…" she began weeping in earnest.

Harry reflexively got up and hugged her. "No! Mom, Dad, I couldn't ask for better parents." He choked, his own grief overtaking him. "You gave up your lives to protect me!"

Lily calmed down after a few minutes. "So… I assume the ritual worked? You survived Voldemort's curse?"

"Umm… Yes. The curse rebounded and killed Voldemort, actually. But what ritual?"

Lily smiled in relief. That was better than what she had hoped for.

"I researched a ritual when we were warned that Voldemort could come after us, what with that stupid prophecy… There was a ritual in old magic that granted blood protection by sacrifice. That was my last resort to make it so that Voldemort couldn't lay a hand on you."

"I still can't believe you kept that from me," James muttered.

"I thought if you could escape, you could raise him…". Lily sighed.

"But I could've performed the ritual!" James protested.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't read a line of Runic." Lily snorted.

Harry was silent in shock. He knew his parents did their best to protect him from what Hagrid told him. Still, he didn't realise that it was his mother's sacrifice that actually stopped Voldemort. His mother had defeated one of the strongest dark wizards in history to protect him!

"You are truly a hero worthy of Elysium." Achilles remarked, looking at Lily with newfound respect.

The hour allotted to Harry for visiting his parents passed quickly after that, and his parents bade him a teary farewell. Harry left Elysium with a pang in his heart, knowing he probably would not be able to see his parents again in this lifetime. But he was happy knowing that they lived in Elysium with the best of his ancestors. They were now reassured of his safety due to the death of Voldemort and his newly obtained godhood.