Hey everyone,
Okay, we are at the halfway point of where I want to be when it comes to the votes of my poll. We have reached 50 votes and, once we reach a solid 100, will I fully start working on the winning story. In the mean time, will I hereby award you guys for the 50 votes with another three chapters for each story.
I also want to let you all know that, for the sake of keeping my CR stories up, I will put the title of the story, the chapter number and page number(s) in the parts of the stories that will be read as I recently acquired the English copies of all the HP series, but I will NEVER AGAIN put the JK Rowling contend in my stories.
I understand the rules, I understand the law, yet I love CR stories and if you can write one without using Copy written material, then I say GO FOR IT! I have, MySecretThoughts has and I am certain that – in due time – hundreds of other talented FF writers will again take this chance to exploit such a wonderful writers category.
Finally, do I want to give credit where credit is deserved and that is with DZ2 as he inspired me to make my own – as he calls it – Den of Delights. It will be a story where every chapter will be based on random story ideas that surge through my mind and – I am almost certain – all of them will be Harry Potter based.
THANK YOU, DZ2,

Venquine1990
PS. I just want to say that this chapter DOES NOT bash any religion whatsoever. I am merely writing my story the way I see fit. I have nothing against ANY religion and I too believe there is life after death, whether that be Afterlife, Walhalla or anything else. NO RELIGION BASHING HERE!
PPS. See Chapter 01 for Challenge Rules


Chapter 03
Exploring Olympus

Hera's POV

Fifteen years we have waited. Waited and watched the errors and mistakes of greedy and spiteful mortals. Watched as the child born of my husband and another – actual – man was tortured by those spurred on by fate itself. Watched as the child proved himself a hero and leader and the son of a God again and again in his young life.
"It was worth the wait." This is the only thing that goes through my mind as I look at how amazing my husband, a man I have come to consider my brother and their actual son embrace one another for the first time in fifteen years and because I am the Goddess of Family, do I actually feel my own powers strengthened by their union.
This makes me pink away a small tear that slowly seeps down from the corner of my eye, before I catch myself and cough loudly, making all three men look at me and actually giving me more reason to care for the child before me as he releases his parents, only to crouch down in front of me with his head bowed in honor.

This makes me smile lovingly at the boy – who's suffering has made me care for him as if he were my own – and I softly say: "No child of my husband – whether mine as well or not – should bow before me unless I so command. Rise, Harrison, for this is your home as much as it is mine." Making Zeus and Sirius smile at me.
Harrison then rises and wants to open his mouth, his eyes already telling me what goes through his young mind, yet I rise a hand and continue to softly say: "Your birth was foretold long before your parents met, Harrison. Because of that have I never felt any anger or grudge to either you or your mother, you can be assured."
And gratitude shines in the emerald depths of the young man before I turn to Zeus and ask: "When will you remove his magical glamour, my dear husband?" And while that questions shocks the boy before me, does Zeus prove himself strong and caring as he tenses in his shoulders and says loudly: "When Harrison is ready."

And while Harrison keeps looking at me in shock, proving that the thought of his looks having been altered has yet to have crossed his mind, do I nod at him before I gently ask the younger lad: "Would you like a tour, Harrison? Your father and the other Gods and I have been building something very special for your arrival."
At this Sirius sends a questioning glance Zeus' way, making my husband cough to get his own son's attention and he says: "We will get to that shortly, Hera. For now, do I wish to show Harrison and Sirius something else, something of equal importance if you don't mind." I nod at the man and turn to take my leave.

Zeus' POV

Relief beyond words is the only thing I can think of as a way to describe how I feel about this recent meeting between my ancient wife and my youngest of children as for the last fifteen years Hera has been playing with me and my fears endlessly, proving that she cares for Harrison, yet glaring at me when I try to have her admit this.
Still to finally hear from the Goddess herself that she does not blame my son for my infidelity – again – is a true relief to hear and while I wish that Hera had not grown a playful streak since meeting Sirius, do I still feel that it suits the Goddess of the Home and Family as you should always be able to tease and mess with your loved ones like that.

I then gaze at two of the three mortals that hold my heart the most and while – more than anything else – I wish for there to be a way of reviving Thalia, if only to give Harrison an actual sibling, do I know that, for now, my little boy and girl will have to be separated as I just can't think of any form of magic that can release my daughter.
I had, naturally, believed there to be a way when I found out about the Philosopher's Stone being at Hogwarts, yet this chance had been taken from me when Dumbledore – unaware of my troubles, bless him – had destroyed it in his effort to further keep other thieves from ever getting it again, seeing the danger it brought my son.
This had infuriated and relieved me as I had hated the missed chance to return my daughter to a natural human form, yet I had been relieved to know that the Headmaster had not intended for my son to be so close to the Doors of my brother, a fact that still makes a shiver of gruesome fear run down my weathered spine to this day.

I keep my gaze at my son, who now looks at me questioningly, wondering when I will start with the tour and what I have to show him that I believe to be of equal importance as the project Hera revealed to him and I think: "If there is one thing you will experience from this day forward, my son, it is peace. I promise you that, my child."
And while I know that I can't swear on the Styx on this as there are too many factors in the Mortal Realm that can make me break this vow, do I decide to show him what is so important. I walk over, lie my hand on the small part of his back and walk him up the staircase, Sirius following us both with a curious spark in his eyes.
I walk up the staircase to the near top of the mountain, pointing out several temples and homes to the Gods and Goddesses that I know my son will be in repeated contact with due to the plans we are hoping to execute at earliest convenience, not to mention how most of these often stay at Olympus for extended periods of time.

Pointing out the temple of Athena, where the Goddess herself studies the most ancient and most recent of scripts and actually writes out new ones from these, helping Mortals evolve through the scripts she writes, do I explain how this works as I say: "The scripts are directly linked to the minds of her children and grandchildren.
Whenever one of them is chosen by a scroll, they are usually off age and have grown a reputation amongst their kind, which then helps them bring this new idea into the world, thus making life simpler for the mortals around them. After this they always bless her, send her a scroll of reports and sacrifice something important in her honor."

Harrison looks at the temple in awe and asks: "So the gods still help the Mortals even if they believe the Olympians to be only myths?" And I nod before Sirius says: "It's because they believe them to be myths that the Gods still exist, Harry." This makes the boy look at his mother and Sirius looks at me before he says:
"The Gods draw their power from the mortal realm. The more Mortals that believe in them, the stronger they are. That's why they were so powerful and so strongly present during the first era in which they were discovered. All of Greece – which was back then the powerhouse of the world – believed in them."
"But what about when the Romans took over?" Harry asks confused, all of us having stopped halfway up the staircase and I answer: "I am both Roman and Greek, Harrison. I am both Jupiter and I am Zeus. I am all that the Mortals believe the King of their religion to be. The only thing I am not, is God as that religion only has one god."
Harry nods and asks: "So when the Greek were overrun by the Romans –." And I nod before I say: "We became Roman. Just like we became the Divine force of the Religion that came after that and the one after that. We have always altered ourselves to the religion that is the strongest powerhouse of the era and location where we live."

"But what about now? I mean, Roman History and Mythology is as famous and well-known as Greek and the Christians, the Yews and the Islam are even more famous than that these days." Harrison asks, his face one big cloud of confusion and I smile at him as I say: "And because of that are we allowed to chose our forms.
We get to pick what forms we feel most comfortable in whenever we so please, as long as people just keep believing in us. We just have the closest contact with our Greek Demigod children, so most of the time you will see us in our Greek forms. We might sometimes, incidentally, switch to our roman forms, but this barely ever occurs."
To this Sirius nods and says: "I think I only experienced that one time, right? That –." But then I send the man a pointed glance as I too remember the night where I lost control of my Roman self and where Jupiter took control of the relationship between myself and Sirius, the glance alone enough to silence Sirius and make Harrison blush.

I then turn back to leading my family further up the staircase and when we reach the three-quarter point, do I lead them down a single path on the right of the staircase, one that has some twists and swirls in it and that has clouds massing together and moving ever so swiftly on both sides of the path, yet never clouding over.
Harry looks at the clouds in wonder and I say: "I made those myself when I forged this path. It was a good 2500 years ago when we were still building several spots and homes on our mountain, after we became a little more honored and welcomed by the people of the Mortal Realm. Several other gods have paths like this as well."
Harry looks from the path and the clouds to me and asks: "And you control the clouds that move along this path?" To which I nod and say: "All Gods have one path on this mountain that they completely control. It leads to their own private temples and homes, while most of us also have paths leading to the homes we share with our spouses."
"What about the Mortals that the Gods bond with?" My son asks and while I feel very happy that the boy is so inquisitive as it proves that he feels at home here, do I answer: "So far is has rarely happened that we Gods take a mortal to Olympus, but when we do, most of us often do bring them to our personal quarters."

"I've been there a good dozen times, if I remember right." Sirius then says and I say: "More than a dozen. Because you were destined to bond with me, did Hera agree with me that you could live here if you so desired. It was your own self-insecurity – driven by the other mortals and the prophesy – that made you decide different."
At this the man looks down, obviously suffering with guilt and I stop, waiting for Harry to pass me before I take the man into my arms and whisper: "That prophesy was a century old before I met you, love. There was nothing you could have done to resist its power. It would have driven you insane had you tried, you know that."
Sirius nods and Harrison asks: "So this prophesy is the cause for us not meeting all these years?" And I nod at my son, still holding onto the only male mortal that ever took my heart as he asks: "Wait, was it –?" And just by the shocked look he throws at me first and Sirius second, do I know that the young man has figured it out as he asks:
"Was it a prophesy that made Voldemort come after my family? Was – was there an actual fake prophesy that caused for my – for my mortal parents to – to be hunted down and murdered? Is that what you meant when you spoke to Dumbledore and mentioned Apollo? Is Voldemort after a fake prophesy? Is that the weapon?"
And because all his questions have the same answer, do Sirius and I nod in unison at my son, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open in shock before tears start to leak from his eyelashes and Sirius and I quickly embrace the child yet again, both of us understanding how painful it must be to learn of this all of a sudden.

"They died. They died and it was all for nothing. It was all for a prophesy that – that wasn't even real!" Harry then screams into my chest as I hold him alongside Sirius, but the man beside me shakes his head and says: "That's not true, Harry. The prophesy came to be, because of the one that mentions the both of us.
The power of that first prophesy created the second one and while that second one does not hold ground anymore now that you know the truth, did it hold ground when everyone believed you Lily and James' child. That is what your father meant when he told Dumbledore how he never even faced Voldemort in the first place."
To this I continue as I softly say: "And besides, they did not die for nothing, little Spark. They died for you and that death, that sacrifice that they made while knowing you were not theirs in the first place, allowed them instant access to Elysium where they have been happily staying ever since, watching over you where they can."
And while Harry keeps crying softly in my robes, do I still see a grateful smile appear on his tear-stained face and do Sirius and I keep our gentle hold on him a little longer, until the boy himself pushes away from us and wipes his eyes, sending us an apologetic, yet grateful look to which we both nod with serene smiles.

I then take both my family members by hand and lead them further, down a few more twirls and past some parts of the mountain where the side actually blocks part of the sight, where at other points there are back doors to temples and other homes visible, some of them even filled with certain aspects loved by one God or another.
Passing one of these with a gigantic swimming pool that is actually made of transparent clouds and rainwater, do I see Harry staring at it for the entire time that it takes us to pass it and Sirius says: "Poseidon's Private Temple. We'll be passing Hades' as well before we get to your father's. They're both pretty awesome."
And while part of me feels as if my temple should be considered better than my brother's by my partner, do I still agree with the man as we pass Hades' backyard only a few turns later, having passed a good quarter of the side of the mountain and nearly reaching the part where Hera's so called Surprise is located.

Feeling relieved that this surprise will not be visible from any part of my temple bar the very top, a spot I doubt Harrison will try to reach anytime soon, do I turn another small corner and pass a temple that is surrounded with dead trees, the trees themselves standing incredibly close to one another and having the colors of leafs on their trunks.
Harrison looks at the temple in shock and I say: "Hades worked a good two centuries to get those trees to be stood like that. He used his gift over gems and stones to make them shine and look healthy like that and he used his control over the underworld to fill each and every one of them with a dead guard, set to attack any intruders."
I then move a little closer to Harrison and whisper: "Pay honor to Hades before you try getting closer, Harrison, those guards attack quite quickly. Even quicker than you are on your broom, I assure you." This startles my son and, after passing the temple, do we finally pass the last corner that blocks my own private temple from view.

Clouds as strongly shaped together as rocks form the entire structure, the temple itself being rectangular in shape, bending back quite far into the distance and having a very sharp pointed roof with a large plague at the front of the roof depicting all kinds of deeds I have committed during my years living here.
The plague and roof are being held up by pillars of swirling clouds and strong winds that blow along the pillars, making the cloudy structure within move up until it pushes itself against the bottom of the roof. Around all of this is a whole circle made of the same clouds, but then with the winds turning into tornadoes at the top.
The ground of the garden, however, is made solely of dirt, grass and all kinds of flowers, several of them which I have plucked and groomed over the years I was searching for new partners in bed, during eras of my immortal life where I desired to partner someone other than my ethereal wife, yet that Hera never blamed me for keeping.

Harrison looks at the entire temple in pure shock and I hear Sirius whisper at me as the boy takes his first steps towards his new home: "And he hasn't even seen the inside yet." Making me smirk as I had made certain to take anything and everything I could find from the Mortal, Magical and Divine world to place within my temple.
This I had been doing for the last year, using that same amount of time to guard over my son from a distance for one last time, to learn how to use the various machines and equipment that I acquired and to fashion the three rooms that I added to the temple to the liking of Sirius, Harrison and – for the last – Sirius and myself.
I then decide to tease my partner a little and walk away from him as I say: "And neither have you in the last decade, am I right?" And while Sirius looks at me with shocked curiosity, do I wrap a gentle arm around Harrison and lead him over the stone structured path to the front door, which is made of winds blowing towards each other.
The winds themselves blow massively fast and constantly seem to take a bit of the cloudy walls with them, covering the inside of the house from view, yet when Harrison looks at me warily, do I smile at the young lad and pass through the doors as if there is only a soft breeze holding me back, Harrison following me in shock.

The inside is made of white marble and summer clouds, the clouds framing the windows and the large oval shaped ceiling window at the very center of the hallway that allows for Apollo's sun to shine right on in and alight the magnificent beauty of the marble walls, floors and the marble pillars that are stationed around the room.
The hall has several doors in both the left and the right wall, along with a gigantic set of doors in the back, while a circular set of stairs, made of moving clouds, is stationed in the right back corner, leading up to the two upper floors that have marble floors and walls, yet have a banister made of thick winter clouds.
"That third floor is definitely new." Sirius then comments, having passed through the doors himself, while Harrison, his eyes wide and his mouth agape, walks to the center of the room and turns on his axis with slow steps, his emerald green eyes taking in every detail of my home temple, the wonder on his face making me smile as I say:
"It is mostly for those that are truly loyal to you. For if you have birthday parties or anything of the like and you wish to celebrate them here." This makes the man turn a raised eyebrow at me and I say: "It was war and you barely ever stayed here long enough for me to have reason to invite them." Making him shrug in agreement.
I then turn back to Harrison and mutter softly: "Second floor, third door on your right hand in the left hallway, go check it out." Harrison looks at me in wonder and when he sees my inviting smile, does he slowly take the cloudy elevator up to the second floor, where he spares another wondering look at me before vanishing around the corner.

Harry's POV

Olympus is beyond amazing and all the tales my father has told me are spectacular and remind me of how much I used to love learning about the Ancient Greek and their gods during my History Lessons in primary school, a fascination that – now that I know the truth of my heritage – makes a whole lot of sense to me.
Still, the idea that this amazing mountain, all these majestic temples and homes and all of the people living here are part of my own home and family is a thought that, the longer it takes us to reach the temple of my father, becomes harder and harder for me to believe and the sight of his own magnificent home does not help in that.
The man then inspires me to head up the stairs and while I worry for the fact that neither he nor Sirius follow me, do I feel unable to stuff my inquisitive nature and do I wander down the hallway father advised me to take, counting the doors and opening the third on my right, allowing me to walk in what I can only describe as a dream.

Dark and light grey marble with cloud patterns all over them make up the walls, the floor is made of white marble, yet has a carpet made of soft spring white clouds draped over it, the clouds keeping the cold feeling of the marble stone away from my feet, while dark greyish black clouds are draped over several large windows in the back wall.
A king-sized bed with thin clouds for curtains, a thick dark grey cloud for a blanket and a pure white cloud for the bed itself is standing against the right wall, a white painted wooden dresser on the right of it and a white wooden nightstand with black wooden drawer on the left, while my actual trunk is standing at the foot.
Two doors are build into the left wall, both of them being made of the same magical clouds as the front doors to the temple and while part of me wonders what could be behind them, do I feel too stunned and too awed to take even a single step into this room, which my father obviously decorated to be my own.
Looking at every part of the room again and again, do I barely even notice how my parents come to stand behind me on both sides, Sirius giving a proud and pleasing nod of approval as he gazes into my room before my father breaks the dam on my emotions as he lies a hand on my shoulder and whispers: "Welcome home, son."


And THE END!
Of the chapter, of course, not the story. The story still has many, MANY more chapters to go as I have a good dozen chapters planned out for this story and I have no doubt all of them will make you all happy to be my readers as so far, this story really makes me very, very proud to be the writer of this – dare I say it – masterpiece.
Now I won't go running past my shoes and saying that I am up to the standards of JK Rowling or even Rick Riordan, but I can definitely give myself a well-deserved pat on the back for the fact that I have obviously grown as a writer and for that – I have you all to thank as you reading my stories inspires me to write them.
Thank you, thank you all,

Venquine1990