"Half Blood Harry Potter"

By Loki Palmer

Author's Note: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Percy Jackson and all related demigods belong to Rick Riordan.

Finwitch1: Good points, although let's confess it … the two mediums of book and film can be quite different from each other. And yes, they missed any mention of Kronos until the second movie. The second movie … oy … Percy doesn't even get to encounter Kronos until about the fourth or fifth book … no wonder Riordan doesn't watch the film adaptations … he would be throwing a fit at how they're massacring his books. I don't consider myself a book purist by any means, but there is only so far that you can stretch the plot! (For the record, I do enjoy both films, in spite of any differences to the books.)

Okay, I've done enough ranting for one Author's Note. On with the story!

Chapter 3

Later on the road out to Nashville, Grover started to nod off behind the wheel. The truck swerved out of its lane, where another car could have hit it, but Harry's yelling woke him up, and it swerved back to safety.

"You know, Grover, maybe we should stop at a hotel and rest."

"Yeah, Harry," said Grover, "that's the best idea I've heard all night."

~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~

When the group arrived at the hotel, Percy said, "Hey, Harry, would you like to take a swim?"

"Well, Percy … I don't know how to swim."

Percy tried not to laugh. "Nobody taught you how to swim? I find that odd."

"Where did you grow up when school was closed for the holidays?" said Annabeth. "Did you grow up in an orphanage?"

Harry kept his silence; remembering his relatives on his mother's side was painful.

"Harry … may I tell them?"

"Go ahead, Hermione."

"He didn't grow up in an orphanage," said Hermione. "He grew up with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. They were not the nicest of people. They had him sleeping in a closet under the stairs for ten years of his life, they made him do all the chores around the house, while Dudley, his cousin, enjoyed a game called Harry Hunting …"

"Harry Hunting?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Dudley and his gang would run after me and they would have beaten me black and blue if they caught me. I was too fast for them."

Hermione smiled at him. "Before his second year at Hogwarts, his Uncle Vernon put bars on his window as if he was a criminal … hoping to keep Harry from going back to Hogwarts. Oh, he also put locks and a cat flap on his bedroom door."

Annabeth's eyes blazed with fury. "That monster! If I ever get my hands on him …"

"No need for any vows of revenge on my behalf, Annabeth. Remus, with a little help from Hermione and me, killed him on our way to America in Lord Apollo's Sun chariot."

"Wow," said Percy, "you had a rough time with your relatives. My stepfather, Smelly Gabe, was a jerk to my mom and me, but he was never that bad."

Harry snorted at the nickname. "Smelly Gabe?"

"Chiron told me that Smelly Gabe's putrid odor kept the monsters far away from me."

Annabeth nodded. "As much as your relatives mistreated you, they did keep monsters away from you. When did you encounter your first monster, Harry?"

"It was during my first year, and it was a Troll that wandered into the school on Halloween. Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom, thanks to an insult from Ron 'Troll Brain' Weasley ..."

Annabeth, Percy, and Grover could not help but laugh at Harry's nickname.

"... And by some odd coincidence, it went straight there."

"That's when he saved me," said Hermione, hugging him. "My Harry, my hero!"

"I had help."

Hermione snorted. "Yeah, your help was from that same stupid Troll Brain who was having problems with a Levitation Charm earlier that same day – the same Charm that he used to pick up the Troll's club and knock it out. I'm grateful to him for helping you, but that's it as far as he and I are concerned. You were, and will forever be, my hero."

Percy smiled. "Well, Harry, since you don't know how to swim, how about I teach you?"

Hermione released Harry from her hug. "Go on with Percy; we'll come by later."

~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~

Much to his relief, Harry found that swimming was easier than he thought, once Percy explained the motions involved. Percy, for his part, was amazed as he watched him swim around the pool.

"Wow, Harry, you are a natural. Are you sure you haven't learned to swim before?"

"I am positive on that, Percy. Even if Uncle Vernon wanted to take me out for a swim – and thank the gods he didn't – I didn't want to give him nor Dudley the chance to drown me."

"What about breathing underwater?"

Harry cracked up in laughter. "No, Percy; that's your specialty, not mine."

"Are you two having fun?" said Hermione and Annabeth.

Percy and Harry spun around and their jaws dropped. Hermione and Annabeth were standing before them wearing bikinis.

"Good gods," said Percy.

"Good giggity," said Harry.

"You might want to shut your mouths before some insects decide to camp there," said Annabeth.

"Are those wands in your swim trunks, or are you happy to see us?" said Hermione.

"Why can't it be both, Hermione?" said Harry.

The two grinning daughters of Athena made their way into the pool.

Harry noticed a bruise on Hermione's wrist, and Percy noticed the same on Annabeth's wrist. "What happened?"

"That poor lady whom Medusa petrified –"

"– Well, she had a tight grip."

Percy held Annabeth's wrist and used the water to heal her bruise. "That is cool," she said.

Harry noted the light near the swimming pool. He used the electricity within to heal Hermione's bruise, making it flicker out for a brief moment.

Hermione beamed at him. "I think I have figured out one of your gifts, Harry. Just as Percy has Aquakinesis – the gift of moving water – you have the gift of Electrokinesis – the gift of moving electrons, or the units of electricity."

"Of course," said Annabeth, "as useful as such a gift may be in avoiding Magical exhaustion, the disadvantage comes in when you consider how many electrons you would need to summon for a major feat … say, a heavy thunderstorm."

"Using Electrokinesis for a feat like that would knock out electrical power to a wide area for a fair while," said Hermione.

"How would you know about Magical exhaustion, Annabeth?" said Harry.

"Could somebody explain to me what Magical exhaustion means?" said Percy.

"In answer to the first question, Harry, Hermione taught me some elementary Magical theory. In answer to the second question, Percy, you see, wizards and witches – the people able to manipulate the force of Magic – have a Magical core within them that provides the power for the aforementioned manipulation. Think of it like a battery. Some spells use more power than others to cast. If, in the process of using Magic, you make your battery run out while casting spells – that would be Magical exhaustion in a nutshell."

"It can recharge, though, right?"

"Yes, it can," said Hermione, "but how much power you used determines the recovery time. If you used more power to cast a spell or a series of spells, it will take longer to recover."

"The Electrokinesis just gives Harry an additional power source, so he doesn't have to use his Magic all the time to summon any lightning he needs," said Annabeth.

"Being that his Dad is who He is, this makes Harry a powerhouse – in more ways than one," said a grinning Percy. "It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'thunderstruck,' eh?"

"The French have an equivalent expression: coup de foudre," said Hermione. "It means the same, though it refers to an event like love at first sight, or, as the Greeks would say it –"

"– Being struck by the bow of Eros, or Cupid, as the Romans called Him," said Annabeth.

Harry leaned into Hermione for a kiss, but Grover's voice interrupted them: "YO, HARRY! PERCY! COME ON, YOU GUYS HAVE TO SEE THIS!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "We shall have to continue this at a later time, Mione."

"I will hold you to that, you know."

Annabeth smirked at Percy. "That was some great timing on Grover's part, eh?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, his timing was impeccable."

"Just because the Troll Brained Comedy Relief has to mess up my romantic life doesn't mean your Comedy Relief deserves the same luxury, Percy."

"I don't know, Harry; it would have to be serious for him to interrupt the two of you."

Harry's glare remained on his face as the four of them went to change back into their regular clothes.

~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~

"So, Grover, what seems to be the trouble?"

"Take a wild guess, Percy."

Percy looked at the television and let out a groan. "Why now of all times does this jerk have to show his face?"

On the television was a bald man with a goatee. At the bottom of the screen were the words, GABE UGLIANO.

The newscaster said, "So, Mr. Ugliano, is Percy Jackson your son?"

"No, no, he ain't my son. He did not spring forth from these loins, you see. I don't know what his problem is, but one day, he came back home with a freak friend of his, the friend beat me up, and when I woke up, they were gone with my wife Sally and my car – a red 1974 Camaro."

"That's Smelly Gabe?" said Harry. "Wow … he sounds pleasant …"

"The sarcasm in you, young Potter, strong it is," said Grover. "Gabe's just upset because I beat him up with my crutches. Are we getting out of here?"

Percy looked at Harry, who said, "Of course we are; we don't want the cops to catch us, do we?"

~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~

The next morning, they arrived at Nashville's Parthenon.

Walking in, they saw a giant statue of Athena.

"Wow," said Hermione. "I don't know if the statue's builder ever saw Mum, but it's an incredible likeness of Her, don't you think, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "I think I see the Pearl on her headdress. There are too many people about, though, so let's come back at night."

"I could toss my crutch at it," said Grover.

Annabeth and Hermione glared at him. "Really, Grover?"

"It was just a thought, ladies …" He quailed under their glare. "Okay, let's go with Harry's idea and come back later."

~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~

When night had fallen, they came back. There was nobody around except for five black custodians.

Annabeth pulled out a crossbow.

"What do you think you're doing, Annabeth?" said Grover.

"Relax, Grover … I've got this."

She shot all five of them in the back.

"Congratulations, Annabeth, you've killed off five members of the working class!"

"I did nothing of the sort. I knocked them out for about a half hour."

"Any ideas how we're going to get up to get the Pearl?" said Percy.

Annabeth thought for a few seconds. "I think your flying shoes might help, Percy, but we need some help from Luke on how to use them. We need an Iris message; as convenient as modern technology can be, using it tends to be a beacon to any monsters in the area."

Harry looked at Hermione. "That's a small blessing that we can't use Muggle electronics at Hogwarts. Imagine how chaotic it would have been for us otherwise."

Annabeth's eyebrows rose. "Is that so? Can you tell me why?"

"The ancient wards and the large amounts of Magic there fry any electronics," said Hermione. "I'm fortunate I didn't try, but I did read about it in Hogwarts, a History."

"What does an Iris message involve, Annabeth?" said Harry.

"Given that Iris is the Goddess of the Rainbow, we need a rainbow and a drachma to pay Her."

They ran to a nearby water fountain. Percy turned the fountain on, and held it on as Harry took out his wand and said, "Lumos!"

A light shone out of Harry's wand, creating a rainbow as it hit the water. Annabeth tossed a drachma into it, saying, "Iris, receive our offering. Show us Luke Castellan."

Out of the rainbow shone an image of Luke. "Annabeth! How are you guys doing?"

"We are doing fine, Luke, but we have a quick question. How the flying shoes work?"

"That's a simple operation. The person wearing the flying shoes has to get a running start, then they take over. It's going to take some practice. Good luck, Percy!"

The rainbow faded with Luke's image. Percy strapped on the shoes.

"Okay, now I've got the shoes. How hard could this be?"

Harry smiled as he started to fly off the ground. "I don't know, Percy, but maybe you should let somebody more experienced in flight do the honors."

Annabeth looked at Hermione in amazement. "Did you know him to fly off the ground like that?"

"No," said Hermione, whose face wore an expression of equal amazement. "I knew his flight skills on a broomstick were unmatched, but this takes it to a whole new level."

"You flew on brooms?"

"I know, I know … it sounds so cliché, right?"

"Given who his Father is, it makes sense, but broomsticks … PERCY!"

CRASH!

Percy had flown after Harry, but they collided in mid-air. Harry landed on Hermione, and Percy landed on Annabeth.

Harry got up with a wince and a glare. "You and your Gods-accursed Hubris, Seaweed Brain. What were you thinking?"

Percy glared back as good as he received. "Hey, what about you, Mr. I-Can-Do-Everything-Myself?"

"Oh, yeah, that's real mature, Kelp for Brains!"

"SHUT UP!" said Hermione and Annabeth, who had made their way back onto their feet.

"Are you two okay? Thanks for breaking our falls."

"We're okay, Harry. You're welcome for the help –"

"– But that's not the point!" said Annabeth. "I know brothers can have their squabbles and all –"

"– However, you two can be –"

"– Two of those most –"

" – Immature –"

"– Tempestuous –"

"– Prideful –"

"– Αλγος εν τοις γλουτοις –" (Pain in the rear)

"– Υιοι Ολυμπου –" (Sons of Olympus)

"– Ποτε εγνωκαμεν!" (We have ever known!)

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?!" they said.

The bilingual diatribe shocked the powerful duo into hanging their heads in shame. As they lifted their heads to look each other in the eyes, Harry was the first to speak.

"Percy, they're right, you know. Sure, brothers may have their squabbles, and we may be the sons of two powerful Brothers, but that is no excuse for us to be jerks to each other."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, they are right. Each one of us may be powerful on our own, but if we join together … we can go from powerful to terrifying!"

"So, what do you say, cousin? Let's stop all the feuding between ourselves, and save the anger for those who should be afraid: our enemies!"

They shook hands. "Together," said Percy, "let us give the Gods such a show, they will marvel about it for centuries to come! My Dad is the Sea, your Dad's the Storm, but together, we will be a Sea Storm!"

Harry grinned. "I like the way you think. Are we ready for another go?"

In answer to this, Percy ran and leaped into the air towards Athena's statue. Harry flew alongside him.

"I don't know if I can make it any higher!"

"Well, Percy, allow me to help," said Harry as he grabbed Percy by the back of the shirt and threw him upwards, towards the statue's head, then he flew after him.

Percy reached up and grabbed the Pearl from the headdress. "I got it!"

"WHOO, YEAH! GO PERCY!"

"So, Harry, how do we make it down from here?"

"Hmmm … making it up here was easy, making it down is a bit … tricky."

"TRICKY?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TRICKY?! THIS STATUE'S ABOUT FIFTY FEET HIGH!"

"LET ME THINK FOR A MOMENT HERE! Let's see … how about taking it one step at a time?"

Percy's fingers slipped, and he stopped at the level of the statue's breasts, hanging onto one of them for dear life. "Oh, good grief!"

"What's the matter, Percy?" Harry was hanging from the other breast.

"Look at us, Harry. We're dangling from the breasts of a statue of Lady Athena, while the entirety of Olympus is roaring with laughter at us, and you're asking me WHAT'S THE BLOODY MATTER?!"

(For the record, Percy's guess was accurate; the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus found this image too hilarious! They would have expected Athena to be steaming mad, but She wasn't – even She was laughing!)

Harry's amused grin disappeared into a frown. "As beautiful as Lady Athena is – and I pray She doesn't take any offense when I say this – I was hoping to make it to second base with Hermione … and further on, if you get my drift! OH!"

"This assumes we make it down in one piece, Harry. We remain a fair distance in the air."

"Drop the Pearl, Percy."

"What?"

"Grover, can you catch the Pearl?"

"Yeah, Harry!"

Percy dropped the Pearl, and Grover caught it.

"Now, Percy, you can let go, and if you're having trouble, I'll catch you."

Percy let go of the statue, and it was a rough ride down to the ground and safety, though having the flying shoes made it easier and he landed in one piece.

"Oh, to be on solid ground again!" He kissed the floor.

Awake again, the five black custodians stood in a line. "We've been waiting for you, Perseus Jackson and Harry Potter."

Percy gulped; somebody using his fuller given name of Perseus was a bad sign.

"We hear you have the Lightning Bolt, Perseus Jackson. Just give it to us and we shall let you go," they said.

"How about I give you a taste of electricity, if that's what you want?" said Harry as he landed.

"Why do people accuse me of having the Lightning Bolt? I DON'T HAVE IT!"

One of the custodians coughed a fireball into his hand.

"Uh-oh," said Grover. "This is not a good sign."

Steam arose from the custodians, and when it cleared, a five-headed monster revealed itself in their place.

"Oh, Styx," said Annabeth, "IT'S A HYDRA! WATCH OUT FOR THE MIDDLE HEAD, BECAUSE IT BREATHES FIRE!"

The group ran for cover.

"Okay, Annabeth, how do we defeat a Hydra?"

"Well, you can't chop its heads off; two heads grow back for each one you chop. However, if you cauterize the head stumps with fire before they grow back, they can't grow back."

Percy turned to Harry. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Slash and burn, Percy. You and Annabeth slash the heads, while Hermione and I will burn the stumps."

The plan went off without a hitch, and a few minutes later, the Hydra was dead.

Author's Note: Another fun chapter done! Read and review! Oh, a bit of fair warning: I do think our heroes will be going somewhere else for their third destination … you'll see what I mean by the next chapter!

Smiles and laughter,

Loki Palmer