Chapter 2:
Harry had successfully found a bus stop. But then he had to back track because he didn't have enough money for bus fare. It was simple enough for him to liberate the wallet of a passing businessman. Then it was back to the bus stop.
Now, Harry was settled on a city bus riding through the streets of London. He'd switched busses a couple of times, and even got off for a bit to get some food when the bus stopped near a food truck. It was well into the evening, and Harry had no idea what to do.
He'd mapped out a path to Privet Drive and he had enough money from the business man's wallet so he could get there if he wanted to. But Harry didn't want to. He never wanted to go back to the place where the people hated him, and kept him locked up.
There was nowhere else for him to go. He supposed he could call his friends to ask to stay with them for the summer. Harry knew either one of them would welcome him with open arms. But he still didn't want to bother them or endanger them with those snake haired ladies still out there looking for me. Harry also didn't want to risk Dumbledore finding out. The headmaster was sure to send him back to the Dursleys for his own protection.
Harry couldn't stay on the bus forever either. Those ladies with snakes for hair were still out there somewhere. It was late now. At the moment Harry and a passed out drunk man were the only people on the bus besides the driver. He would need to make his decision soon before the bus driver began to question why a twelve-year-old was on the bus all by himself so late at night.
Harry didn't want the driver to call the authorities. He could only imagine Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's reaction if the police brought him to their doorstep.
Harry's knee bounced up and down. His hands fiddled with the bobble he'd stolen earlier. He managed to hold on to it during his escape earlier. Harry wished he'd still had his trunk. His broom was in there, and he could have just flown away to wherever he wanted.
"Ah, the joy that is public transportation. One of my better ideas if I do say so myself," a male voice commented right beside Harry.
Harry jumped and whirled to look at the seat beside him. The seat, which had been empty only moments before, now contained a man. The bus hadn't stopped, and there hadn't been anyone else on the bus before now. Harry was certain it had been empty only a second ago. He'd been extra alert about who was getting on and off the bus with the Gorgon ladies still out there. No one else seemed to be able to see Stheno and Euryale so Harry needed to be aware of his surroundings.
So where had this man with an American accent come from?
The man grinned impishly down at Harry.
Harry blinked slowly, stunned as he took in the man's features. But now he wasn't shocked because of the man's sudden appearance, now it was just because of his appearance.
His unexpected visitor wore a running suit and sneakers on his tall, athletic frame. The man had black curly hair, olive skin, mischievous blue eyes, and handsome almost elfin features.
The reason for his shock over the man's appearance was because Harry recognized this stranger. He recognized him because Harry saw many of the same features in the mirror every day. Harry shared the same curly black hair and olive skin as the man but it was more than that. There were a lot of people out there with black hair and olive skin. Harry had inherited the shape and color of his mother's deep emerald green eyes but the rest of him was very similar to this stranger. They had the same sly grin, and sleek, elfin features.
"Who are you?" Harry demanded.
The man's grin widened, and he winked at Harry. "The name is Hermes, and I'm your dad."
"What!? My dad?" Harry spluttered. "I know who my dad is. You're not my dad."
"Oh, but I am. I shouldn't even be here. But I had to come. I've had my eye on you for years, and I've been waiting for the chance to make contact. There aren't as many eyes focused on Europe since we moved. Harry you need to know—"
"How do you know my name?" Harry interrupted, still quite stunned by how much he looked like this bizarre stranger.
"I told you, I'm your dad, and I'm also kind of a god," Hermes waggled his upturned eyebrows.
"Kind of a god. How can you be kind of a god?" Harry couldn't stop himself from teasing back.
"All right, well there's no kind of about it, I am a god. The God of Messengers, Travelers, Thieves, Roads, Loads, Merchants, Sports, Athletes, and a few other things," Hermes smirked.
Harry vaguely remembered learning about a god in muggle primary school whose name was Hermes. He was the messenger of the Olympian Gods. Harry remembered him because he had shoes with wings on them, and Harry had thought that was neat.
The black haired boy shifted to peer down at the man's feet, and felt a stab of disappointment. "Your shoes don't have wings on them."
Hermes let out a loud burst of laughter. The drunk snuffled in his sleep but didn't wake up. Hermes tapped his heels against the sticky bus floor. To Harry's utter amazement little feathered wings peeled themselves off the sides of his running trainers. The little wings fluttered.
Harry's mouth dropped open. "That doesn't prove gods exist."
"Are you sure about that?" Hermes quirked an upturned eyebrow at him.
It was an impressive piece of magic but not impossible by wizard standards and yet…There was something about this man that had Harry believing he might just be telling the truth. It was impossible. Gods didn't exist. But Hermes radiated power. More than even Professor Dumbledore who was supposed to be the most powerful wizard of the century. It crackled along Harry's skin where they sat so closely together on the bus bench, and felt strangely familiar.
Harry stared boldly into Hermes's silvery blue eyes. "Yes, but maybe if you did something more godly I would believe you."
"Godly?" Hermes chuckled.
"Yeah, something that only a god could do."
"The shoes aren't enough?"
Harry shook his head grinning slyly up at Hermes. He was thinking about how similar the wings on the shoes were to the wings on Harry's favorite sports ball, the snitch. A wizard could have made shoes like that if they did the proper charms.
"You're lucky you're so cute," Hermes reached over to boop Harry's nose.
"Oi," Harry tried to swat his hand away, insulted. "I'm twelve almost thirteen. I'm not cute."
Hermes laughed and before Harry knew what was happening he was presented with a large bowl of ice cream. He blinked at the hot fudge sundae that was set in his lap. Hermes hadn't used a wand. He hadn't even said a word. Harry knew wandless and wordless magic existed but wizards weren't supposed to be able to summon food like that. So effortlessly.
"This doesn't exactly prove anything," Harry lied to see if he might get something more than a sundae out of this.
He took a tentative bite of the sundae. It was delicious. Harry figured the sundae was safe to eat. If the man claiming to be a god wanted to hurt him he could have done so before Harry even knew what was happening.
Happily eating the sundae Harry surreptitiously eyed Hermes's pockets, and weighed his chances. The risk was worth it, and if this guy was claiming to be Harry's dad. Hermes wouldn't hurt him for attempting to pickpocket him if he thought Harry was his son.
"Hard customer. Well, I am a god. All of the Greek gods exist. Sometimes we have children with mortals, and those children are called demigods."
"That's what those snake haired ladies called me," Harry nodded, he settled the sundae bowl firmly in his lap, and carefully maneuvered his hand to dip into Hermes's closest pocket.
"The Gorgon sisters, I'm glad you were able to get away. But it's unfortunate that they came across you at all. It was rumored they were faded but maybe they've just been hiding out here in Europe. Anyway before now you've been lucky. Growing up in England you've been relatively protected from monsters. Gods and monsters rarely come to Europe anymore."
"Why? If you're really a god, can't you go wherever you want to?" Harry waved his sundae spoon in Hermes's face to make sure the man's eyes were firmly on Harry while his hand darted in and out of Hermes's pocket.
"It's not about can't. Most of us just don't want to anymore since Olympus moved to America. Too many bad memories," Hermes's eyes momentarily lost their twinkle.
"What kind of bad memories?" Harry slipped his stolen item up the back of his shirt in the guise of scratching his back.
"World War II."
"World War II?" Harry repeated to keep him speaking.
Hermes waved his hand dismissively. "Something you can learn about later. To make a long story short since the gorgons have seen you, and made you aware of your heritage whether you believe it or not it's made your scent stronger. Actually the gorgons finding you might have something to do with you slaying the basilisk. Nice job with that by the way. But it all means more monsters will come after you. They'll think you're fair game since we gods don't pay much attention to anything outside of America these days. Gods aren't supposed to interact with their demigod children but I figured it was worth the risk to come to get you myself. You wouldn't make it to safety if I didn't."
"To get me? And bring me where exactly?"
"To bring you where all demigods go when their scent becomes too strong: Camp Half-Blood."
"And Camp Half-Blood is…?" Half-blood made Harry think of wizards.
"A camp in America for demigods to be safe from the monsters that hunt them, and to learn how to use their powers. You have siblings there," Hermes explained.
"I don't have siblings because you're not my dad. If you're my dad that means my mum cheated on my dad," Harry scowled up at Hermes.
Harry couldn't deny his resemblance to the blue-eyed man. But it couldn't be true. Since first year everyone told him how much his parents loved one another.
Hermes ran a hand through his curly black locks. "It's not like that, Harry. Lily didn't cheat on James, and James didn't cheat on Lily for that matter either."
"What happened then? How else could you be my dad like you keep saying you are?" And like Harry was beginning to believe was true. Hermes knew his parents' names.
"Your parents were having a hard time having a child. They tried everything but nothing worked. So they used an ancient fertility ritual crafted by Hecate, goddess of magic herself, to help one of her own demigod children. After the ritual's success Hecate's daughter shared it with other witches and wizards. The ritual was only used for a couple of decades or so before the King of the Gods ordered the copies of the ritual be destroyed because of all the problems it caused."
"Then how did my parents find it?" Harry leaned forward eagerly.
"They found a copy of it. Your father came from a very old wizarding family, and your mother was a very determined woman. She searched through all of the Potter libraries and documents looking for something to aid them in their infertility. Finally she uncovered a copy of the old ritual a Potter ancestor had saved. The ritual calls on divine aid to have a child. The divine being would possess one of the would-be parents, fusing their divine essence with that of the mortal parent, which allowed them to conceive a child."
"So my parents… they used this ritual, and you're the god that helped them complete it?"
"I am. I possessed James. He and his friends were always such dedicated pranksters. I always checked in on them every now and again when I had a spare moment. Lily was beautiful. It was a win-win in my book."
"So you're my dad? Not James? Because you were possessing him?" Harry reasoned.
"Typically that's what happens in this ritual. But in your case it's a little more complicated."
"Of course it is."
"The problem with this ritual James and Lily used is that the casters can't control which divine being answers their call. They can only perform the spell and hope for someone not too monstrous. Sometimes it's a god and sometimes it's another immortal like a monster. On rare occasions two immortals would respond at once. This is why the King of the Gods wanted the ritual destroyed. He didn't want anymore Twice-Blessed to be born."
"Twice-Blessed?"
"A child with two mortal parents and two godly parents. Twice-Blessed demigods are more powerful than your run of the mill demigod."
"But if you have two mortal parents and two godly parents then you would have four parents," Harry frowned.
"Yes, very good, Harry, you can do basic math," Hermes teased, patting him on the head.
Harry scowled, "You can't have four parents."
"No you can't. Unless…" Hermes trailed off leadingly.
"Unless," Harry prompted, pulled in to the story despite himself.
"You can have four parents if there's a bit of divine intervention. But even then it's not sustainable for a mortal body. As a Twice-Blessed child grows two of their four parents will fade from their blood. By adulthood they will only have two parents just like everyone else."
"How does that work? How are the two parents who are left chosen?"
"There are three possible outcomes for a Twice-Blessed demigod," Hermes began. "The first is the more powerful immortal's ichor will over power the weaker immortal's ichor, burning out the blood of one of the mortal parents as well. The child becomes a regular demigod with one mortal parents and one immortal parent. This is the most likely outcome for a Twice-Blessed demigod."
"The second outcome is the two immortals' ichor aren't compatible with one another but they are of equal power. So when they turn on one another they end up destroying each other's ichor, leaving only the mortal parents' DNA. In this case the child ends up entirely mortal. This occurs less often than if they were to become a demigod but is still more likely than the third outcome. The last and least likely outcome is the two gods' ichor would be compatible. They would merge and work together to remove the mortal parents' blood. In this case the child would become a god."
"Was this long explanation because you're trying to tell me I'm a Twice-Blessed demigod and that's why it's more complicated for me?"
"Yup," Hermes grinned.
"Why is it always me?" Harry sighed.
"Just lucky I guess," Hermes shrugged. "You should probably take that up with your sister."
"Sister?"
"My daughter Tyche is the Goddess of Fortune."
"Right, so I have four parents?"
Hermes nodded.
"James and Lily are my mortal parents, and you're one of my immortal parents? At least for now?"
"Exactly, this will change as you grow older. It is very likely either James or Lily will no longer be your parent once you're an adult. I might not even be your parent once you're an adult. But I don't think so. You look too much like me for it to change now."
"Right," Harry tried to shake the thought away. He didn't want to think about losing one of his parents until later. "So who's my other godly parent then?" Harry questioned.
"That isn't for me to tell you. You'll just have to wait until they reveal themselves to you," Hermes answered
"You don't know, do you?"
Hermes tweaked one of Harry's messy black curls. "I do know, and they know. But for now we've both agreed that only I will reveal myself to you and claim you. It's safer for all of us if no one else knows you're a Twice-Blessed demigod. The ritual isn't exactly illegal but it is frowned upon. I'm going to claim because you look more like me you lucky duck."
Harry stuck his tongue out.
Hermes chuckled. "It's been very nice to meet you, Harry. But it's time to go. You're going to get off here. You're going to climb the hill, walk past the large pine tree, and cross the barrier into Camp Half-Blood. You'll be safe here."
"Camp Half-Blood? We're here? How are we here? I thought you said it was in America?" Harry peered out of the window.
It was dark outside but it was the grayish light from when it was so early in the morning that it was still almost night. The bus had stopped on a dirt road, and was dusted with a few trees. Just as Hermes said there was a hill beyond the few trees and at the top of the hill was a large pine tree.
"Maybe this will finally convince you I'm god," Hermes huffed. "We are at Camp Half-Blood now located in America on New Island Sound just outside of New York City."
"America!? We're in America? How?" Harry's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head.
"I see I've finally convinced you. I'm the god of travelers. A little trip like this is nothing," Hermes shrugged.
"A little trip," Harry mumbled, still unable to grasp that he was in another country. Moving a bus across the ocean in a blink of an eye certainly seemed beyond normal magic. Was everything Hermes said true? Was this man really a god and his dad?
"You have to go now, Harry. We're on American soil, and there's a greater chance for eyes to turn our way especially so close to camp. I have to go before then. Also don't tell anyone I dropped you off or about being Twice-Blessed," Hermes stood to allow Harry to step out into the aisle.
"What about him?" Harry glanced back at the drunk man. The bus driver had seemingly disappeared since the last time Harry had checked. Technically Hermes had already committed grand left auto, and kidnapping across international borders. But was it kidnapping if Harry was his kid?
Hermes waved a dismissive hand. "He'll be fine."
Hermes herded him towards the bus door. Harry shuffled along, clutching tightly to his knapsack straps still more than a little stunned by what was happening.
The bus door slid open without anyone pulling the lever. But before Harry could take a step off the bus Hermes's nimble, long fingered hand landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry turned to look questioningly up at the god.
"Before you go, Harry, I'm going to need my Caduceus back," Hermes grinned down at him, blue eyes sparkling with amusement and pride.
"Caduceus?" Harry was genuinely confused.
Hermes snorted looking even more amused than before. He reached around and tapped Harry's back. "That would be this."
"Oh," Harry had forgotten all about the thing he'd nicked from Hermes's pocket.
"Oh," Hermes mimicked. "I'm the God of Thieves, kiddo. You can't steal from me."
"I can't?" Harry sent the god a sly grin, sensing a challenge.
Hermes grinned back, eyes dancing with mirth. "You can try."
Harry resolved to get away with his theft the next time they met. But for now he slipped the object out from beneath his shirt. He was surprised to see it was a mobile phone. Frowning he handed the phone back to Hermes. The moment it was back in Hermes's hand it turned into a staff with spread feathered wings at the top, and two snakes twining around the staff.
"It's about time. I thought you were going to just let the scamp run off with us," one of the snakes complained. The voice sounded male.
Harry couldn't even find it within himself to be shocked at this point. His dad who was a god had a staff with live snakes moving up and down it.
"I wouldn't let anyone take you, George," Hermes reassured.
"You can understand them?" Harry asked, intrigued.
Was Hermes a parselmouth? Is he where Harry had gotten the ability from?
"Unfortunately," Hermes sighed.
"Oh, and just what would you do without us?" demanded the other snake in a distinctly female voice.
"I'd be utterly hopeless without you, Martha. George, eh, I could survive," Hermes smirked.
George the snake grumbled.
"I would love to stay longer, and explain things to you better, Harry. But you need to get going before anyone spots us," Hermes smiled sadly.
"Right, er, it was nice meeting you," Harry murmured awkwardly. He wasn't sure what else to say. What else did you say to the dad who was a god who you just met and had kidnapped you only to drop you off at a summer camp in a completely different country?
"I'm really glad I finally got to meet you, Harry," Hermes ruffled his hair affectionately. "Now, off you go, up the hill, and into camp. It's still early. Go to Cabin 11. It's my cabin. You should be able to get a couple of hours of rest before breakfast."
Harry nodded. He hopped down the bus steps. Harry looked behind him one last time. Hermes waved, and Harry waved back. Gripping the straps of his knapsack he began the trek up the side of hill. Harry only turned back around when he reached the large pine tree.
Hermes and the bus were gone.