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There was something wrong about Dodds. Whether it was the beady black eyes that looked at her worshipfully or the eyes of hatred and distaste whenever the woman passed Percy, Harriet was sure there was something most definitely off about the woman. And so, when a surprising invitation to dinner came up, Harriet accepted graciously, adorning the most charming smile she could do.
"You accepted an invitation from Mrs Dodds?" asked Mr Brunner, brown brows quirking up. "I thought you both hated each other."
The two of them were currently walking to their respective classes, ignoring the tick-tock of the clock that would soon signal the ending of a period and the beginning of another period.
"Well, I do have a free evening and it would be great to find something about her," replied Harriet. Her intentions for accepting were purely for finding information on the woman. It was strange when she couldn't find anything on Dodds that was actually authentic. It was even stranger when she found out the same for Mr Brunner. Despite that, she had a good feeling about Mr Brunner and reasoned that he must've just done something illegal that he just decided to forge a new identity. And besides, she did some illegal deeds in her life. But then when she informed Sally of her findings, Harriet was the told of the 'Mist', a veil that covered mortals from mythological beings.
"I suggest you be careful then," said Mr Brunner just before the school bell rang. "I don't have a good feeling about her."
Harriet gave him a wry smile. "Oh, don't worry, I will."
"I know who you are."
Harriet raised her eyes to Dodds from her plate of lasagne, which was deliciously made. When Dodds had excused herself to go the bathroom, Harriet quickly ran a spell over the food just to see whether it was poisoned. Thankfully it wasn't because Harriet hated people seeing her die and then wake up in a morgue. It happened to her once and needless to say, she wasn't partial to trying it again, as it was rather unpleasant to wake up around decaying dead bodies, no matter how much she enjoyed seeing people's gobsmacked faces.
Harriet didn't exactly understand what Dodds was trying to insinuate, but jumped to the possible conclusions Dodds could mean: 'I know you're a witch', 'I know you're immortal', 'I know you have a grandson'. Or possibly all of that. In the end, she settled on acting casually, which was something that she came to when it came to similar situations as such as this. "Of course, you do."
Dodds' eyebrows furrowed as her face twisted into a frown. "What do you mean?"
Harriet leant back in her chair with a slight smile. "Of course, you know who I am."
Silence fell upon the pair before it was broken by Dodds.
"I don't think you understand. I know who and what you are."
"Well obviously. I am Harriet Potter, a single old lady who works as a teacher."
"I know that, Mistress of Death," snapped Dodds, already irritated of the woman. Though she did respect Harriet, Dodds had a volatile temperament.
Harriet felt her smile leave her face. Had she been drinking or eating something, she would've choked. How is this possible? No one alive knows about me being Mistress of Death. Not even Sally. The only people that know are bloody dead.
Dodds gave her a mocking smile. "I'm glad to have your attention now, Mistress."
Merlin, I hate being called that.
"Miss Potter ever since you arrived in our world, you have somehow become an anomaly. But before I begin I must say something," began Dodds.
Raising an eyebrow coolly, she asked the woman, "Oh and what would it be? Humour me."
"The Gods exist, I'm talking about Greek gods, Roman gods, Norse gods and all the gods of all pantheons," revealed Dodds, in a grave voice.
Harriet paused in eating her dinner before giving Dodds a glance. She hadn't anticipated Dodds in revealing her world to her and nor did she expect Dodds knowing her status. She expected the dinner to be normal with the worst-case scenario being that Dodds was going to eat her. It was, all in all, an unexpected turn of events. If Dodds knew of her being Mistress of Death, did Mr Brunner know? But what Harriet really wanted to know was: what was Dodds' purpose in this all.
Merlin's saggy balls. Do I ever get a break from supernatural shit?
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," said Harriet, having decided on faking ignorance of the world of the immortal beings.
"The Gods exist, Miss Potter," said Dodds patiently. "They've been living and influencing the human way of life since the beginning of humanity."
Perhaps I should just go and see how far this act goes. Maybe piss her off on the way.
"Oh please, you're talking nonsense, dear."
"I mean what I say, Miss Potter, immortal beings, like you, exist and walk among us."
"So, I am a god? Is that what you're implying?" questioned Harriet with amusement glittering in her eyes.
"For Hades' sake, the Gods from the Greek myths are real and you are not part of a Greek myth!" hissed out Dodds, slamming her hands on the table.
"Ok," said Harriet, sipping on the amber liquid in her cup. "Say I do believe you, what next?"
"Next? Well, you have your obligations to our world. As the Mistress of Death, you have some duties that you are obligated to do. Though you are not technically a goddess, you are immortal like the Hunters of Artemis but you can come back to life from death. You also have some magical abilities like Hecate, some even greater than her."
"How do you know what I can do? And what would this duty entail me to do then?" asked Harriet, stressing the word 'duty'. She did not know that the Gods and Goddesses were aware of her. She did not know that they knew of her abilities. She did not know that she had some sort of 'duty'.
But the only thing on her mind now was that why they couldn't contact years earlier on.
"You are ordered by Lord Hades to meet him in the Underworld to discuss your circumstances. After that, you will be given something. I suspect you are to help Lord Hades with his duties."
"And I suppose you expect me to travel to the underworld."
"Yes, it's in Los Angeles," confirmed Dodds.
Maybe meeting an actual god would provide some unique insights into how the world works.
"Should you not go, you will be chased by the underlings of Lord Hades."
"And I assume you're an underling?"
Dodds gave her a sullen look before confirming "Yes."
"Tell me, how long have you known that I was in this world?"
"From the moment you came in. We had trouble locating you with the War going on and Lord Hades endeavoured to put a stop to the search but that was revoked decades ago. We did try and find you but you were being concealed, from what we can only assume, because of protection spells."
"You are correct," confirmed Harriet, slightly nodding her head. "But is it only Hades who knows about me?"
"Yes, it is only the gods of the Underworld who are aware of you due to you being an Underworld immortal," said Dodds, who then pursed her lips. "But Miss Potter, you should know that saying the names of the gods can bring unwanted consequences.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind for the future then," retorted Harriet coolly. What Dodds said, brought back memories she long buried. She would do whatever she wanted. Refusing to say one's name, reminded her someone a very long time ago. Harriet stood up, pushing the chair back and asked, "When do I meet this Lord of yours then?"
"Preferably now."
AN- Please do point out any mistakes you guys see in the chapter and do try and point out my faults in writing.
Next chapter- Harriet travels to the Underworld and meets Lord Hades.
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