Hannah (Demeter) was pacing back and forth on the carved marble beneath her feet. Her deep red chlamys sweeping the floor as she walked and her hair was a waterfall of deep chocolate brown. Clearly, she was in a depression due to not caring about how she looked and how clearly one could see her bones.
"Calm, my sister," Neville (Poseidon) came up to her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder stopping her in her tracks. He leaned into her ear, "I think if you keep on pacing the floor like that, Harry (Zeus) will have a temper tantrum. You know how he likes his prizes kept in good shape," and he leaned away. It was true since the floor was a gift from one of the Muses.
Hannah turned around and giggled as she faced her brother, "You are right, my dear brother," and she glanced at the throne in the middle where Harry was sitting looking up at the sun, "That you are."
Neville turned to look at Harry also, "I wonder why he did it."
"Did what?" Hannah glanced up at him.
"Take your daughter," he said, "We both have known our Draco a very long time. He has never been interested in any female since Pansy (Hestia) told him to forget about her. Did you know she has been chasing after Theo (Ares)?"
Hannah laughed, "That story is very interesting. I remember Cho (Aphrodite) could not stop gossiping about it. Her words had spread the earth faster than her own son, Eros, and his love arrows. Her rage was even worse when she found out about Pansy chasing Theo."
Neville laughed also, "Oh, do I remember that," and they were silent, "No offense to you or Morpheus, but Hermione would not have been my pick to abduct something," Hannah's eyes flared, "She is too much like Lily (Athena) and her knowledge of everything."
"Sometimes, I find, that being a know-it-all is better than having the looks," Hannah said, "Brains can protect you from men whereas looks have this power to lure men when woman sometimes do not want."
Neville nodded, "But, though, can you blame men for the way that a woman looks to them?"
Hannah nodded toward their brother Harry, "I can blame him, can I not, Neville? Harry did after all create females and males to be a certain way. He also cannot stop looking at anything that walks on legs that is not his wife."
Neville laughed, "I wonder if he has ever had intercourse with anything that is not female?"
Hannah laughed again, she could not remember when she was ever this happy even if she was making fun of her brother, "Oh, he has. Carried away several youths behind Queen Ginny's back."
Neville looked at Hannah, "I am glad to see you happy again, Hannah."
"And I am glad to be glad, Neville," she said.
"You should come down to my palace someday. I know Luna misses you a lot and Hermione also," Neville offered, "She would have been here but you know how she is, duty before family."
"Yes. Of course," Hannah smiled, "I could never disobey my rule of returning others what they have given yourself. You gave me happiness during this time of sorrow for me. I shall not forget it," she said.
"And I-," but he was interrupted by the sound of Dean (Hermes), a good sign indeed.
"Father Harry!" Dean called out as he entered the throne room. Harry looked down, a sad smile on his face, "I have returned."
"Did you bring her?" Harry sounded off and the way that Ginny kept glancing at him, Hannah would not be surprised if something had happened to the King of the Gods.
"I did," and Dean stepped aside.
Behind him stood a brunette goddess who wore a white chlamys decorated along the edges in fine gold and silver. Her hair was freshly brushed and rolled down her back in chocolate waves. In her hair was a bright yellow sunflower. The goddess though, with her bright and happy and colorful outfit, did not look like her outfit. The goddess of spring time looked sad, her face pale, and her brown eyes were distant. She glanced behind her in a longing way which was noticed by several of the immortals in the room.
Hannah gasped as tears ran down her cheeks, "Hermione," and she ran forward.
Hermione heard her mother call her and she forced a smile on her face as she saw her, "Hello, mother," and they embraced. Hannah inhaled her daughter's scent of daffodils and lilies of the valley but there was a masculine smell beneath it all. Hannah let go of her daughter.
"I smell him on you," her voice was quiet and dark; "Did he touch you, Hermione?"
"No, he did not," Hermione smiled up at her mother, "In fact, he was… kind."
"Kind?" Hannah shrieked and everyone flinched at the very loud vocal noise, "Kind?" and then Hannah started to laugh, "Oh, my darling," and brought her in for a hug, "My brother cannot be kind," she said to her daughter as if she was still being taught by her aunts, "He is cruel and unmerciful and has no heart."
"You clearly do not know him, mother of mine," Hermione snapped at her mother and pulled away from her arms Hermione once associated with home. Hermione turned to look at the rest of her family, "Do you all think the same way?" everyone was silent, "Tell me!" Hermione yelled at them causing some to flinch. Blaise (Apollo) and Theo (Ares) looked at her with lust filled eyes knowing now that she had claws. They both always liked woman who looked innocent but were a raging tigress inside, "I have spent a day with him. That is more than any of you dare to even think!" that comment soared home in Lily's mind and she knew she had done wrong, "I was wrong and childish to believe in the rumor's that were told to me about him. I resisted him due to those negative comments thinking they were true! But I was wrong…," she paused looking at the ground, "He was kind and handsome and, yet, he was sad," she looked up at her family, daring them to look away from the fire burning in her eyes, "He was sad and angry because his family did not trust him. They thought he was a cruel and unmerciful god who had no heart," she looked at her mother when she said that, "You were all wrong! You all are wrong about him!"
"Enough!" Hannah was fuming beside her daughter, "You will be silent!"
"No, I will not!" Hermione growled at her mother.
"Yes, you will," Hannah growled lowly and flicked her wrist. Hermione's eyes closed and she collapsed to the ground, her head smacking against the carved marble floor. Hannah smiled wickedly down at her daughter and the others stared in horror and fear as they all watched crimson blood flow and seep into the white and black stone floor.
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Beneath the earth, Draco sat on his throne of cold metal. Lavender, Antonius, Fluffy, the Fates, Thanatos, and Hecate tried to make him feel better. Lavender and Antonius set a warm bath infused with flowers thinking it would help calm him but all it did was remind him of Her scent. Fluffy tried to get him to come outside and play but all Draco could see behind his closed eyes lids was the way that She would play with the dog as Draco came out to watch them throwing sticks back and forth. Thanatos tried to please him by throwing the excuse of work, judging the dead, would help for him to forget. Hecate tried to produce magic tricks for him but she could not even turn his mouth into a smile. The Fates were probably the worse out of all the things that reminded him of Her. They did not show him anything, though, it was just the mere sight of them that set Draco into another fit of sadness. He yelled at them to go away and they did, feeling sad and confused about their friend and master. Draco played out in his head what they could have been. Her all dressed in white for him as they promised each other to the other. Her bare skin soft beneath his hard muscle as they lay in his bed of silk. Her stomach round with their first child, a powerful immortal for sure with its parents combined force. Her playing with Fluffy and Her hair waving in the breeze as Fluffy ran back and forth in their garden. And as the centuries would go by, he could see Her sitting in the garden as she planted, Her hair pulled back, small hair tendrils falling from their hold. He could see his whole life with Her without the Fates help.
He sighed as he laid his head back against the red velvet of his chair. He felt something warm drop onto his face. His grey eyes popped open in alarm and he raised a finger to wipe it off his cheek. He stared down at the half sphere of crimson on his fingertips. He looked up and down and around to find what caused it but there was nothing. He brought the blood to his mouth and his tongue swiped out to taste it. His eyebrows furrowed together, it was golden liquor; immortal blood.
"Hecate!" he bellowed and the whole room shook as he spoke.
A woman came floating in from the elaborate door that was the entrance to the throne room. She wore a long black robe and her long black hair ending at her waist. Her lips were full and her dark black obsidian eyes were sharp.
"You call, my lord?" she bowed before him.
"Tell me, whose blood this is?" he pointed the finger with the blood at Hecate.
She reached a thin boney finger out and swiped all the blood away. She hissed as she raised her long wooden staff. A pot appeared before her and she flicked the blood into the pot. The smoky liquid turned a light lavender color and Hecate smirked, "It's hers."
"Whose?" Draco snapped at her.
Hecate stared at him, "Your soul mate."
Draco burst into laughter, "There is no such thing. Harry (Zeus) took care of that. Mortals originally consisted of four arms and four legs and so forth. Harry was afraid of them as he usually is with things and he split them apart."
"I know, Lord Draco," Hecate said, "And he banned them to forever search the world for their other half. But did you know that some actually succeed in doing so."
"What?" Draco chuckled awkwardly and placed a hand on the back of his neck.
Hecate chuckled, "Oh, Lord Draco. Clearly you still have a lot to learn," and she turned back to her pot, "This person of yours is your soul mate. She is your perfect match in every way like where you are hard, she is soft, where you are stupid, she is intelligent."
"Oi! Stupid?" Draco shrieked.
"Yes stupid," Hecate looked back at him, "Now, pay attention. I could tell you who she is but I think I would much like it if you suffer under trying to look for her."
"You are an evil goddess, Hecate," Draco glared at her. He knew better than to try and haggle with the goddess of crossroads and witchcraft.
Hecate laughed, her staff making small movements which caused the pot to disappear, "It comes in my contract," she bowed, "Lord Draco," and she was gone in a poof of dark smoke.
Draco rolled his eyes and somehow they landed on the throne beside his, "Is it you, my Hermione?"