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Author's Note: I would like to thank the people on my own Discord Server, as well as on the Emerald Library Discord Server for their help in making my fanfiction stories, regardless of their fandoms, become a reality.
※ Always and Forever ※
※ Ch. 01: Fly Away ※
"So," the bushy-haired bookworm, known as Hermione Granger, spoke into the silence that filled the passenger cabin on her best friend's private jet as they flew across the Atlantic Ocean and away from the expectations that came with being two of the three heroes of Wizarding Britain. "Where exactly are we headed, and why have you been all mysterious about it?"
Harry Potter glanced up from the book he had been reading, which was still a shock for Hermione, that he actually did enjoy reading, but only if he could get a hold of a good fantasy or sci fi novel. "Well, I planned on a bit of a tour of the colonies, but my home base will be the penthouse my grandparents set up in Manhattan. You're more than welcome to stay there for however long you need."
"Thanks, Harry." Hermione nodded in gratitude. "Though, I won't lie, a tour of the colonies does sound nice."
A loud cracking noise ripped through the cabin, drawing their attention away from each other and towards the diminutive woman with white feathered wings in place of her arms, equally white hair, a modest bosom and vibrant yellow eyes. She looked at Hermione for a moment, before turning to Harry and saying, "Found you. I want bacon!"
"Harry, who is this girl, and how did she manage to Apparate onto a moving aircraft like that?!" Hermione asked in a highly exasperated tone of voice.
The girl glared at Hermione and said, "Line of sight Apparition is a thing, you know! I mean sure, it was a bit of a task getting up to this altitude, but I'm made of sterner stuff than most Harpies."
"That you are, Hed. That you are." Harry remarked as he turned to Hermione and said, "I suppose a reintroduction is in order, since you've only ever seen her as a snowy owl. This is my dear Hedwig."
"Harry, Hedwig was killed during our flight from Surrey…"
"Daddy, wasn't there some sort of rabbit that would get back up and keep on going if someone tried to put it out of action?" Hedwig mused.
Harry snickered and said, "Yes, dear, the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going, and going, and going, just like you."
"You too. How many times have you been killed now?" Hedwig inquired.
"I've honestly stopped counting." Harry admitted, "Though I can say it has been just about once every year for the past seven or so years. Fortunately, none of those resulted in a complete system reboot."
Hermione's head was bouncing back and forth between the two of them, before she heaved a monumental sigh and said, "Wanna clue me in on what the two of you are actually talking about?"
"I assume you've read the theory which claims that the gods and goddesses of antiquity were simply particularly powerful Wixen, right?" Harry inquired. When Hermione nodded her head in agreement, he continued by saying, "Well, that theory is a load of crap, and I'm evidence of that fact, since I have two fathers, one mortal, who you already know the name of, and the other divine. Hermione, I am the son of Prometheus, the Titan who gave humanity the knowledge of how to make fire." To emphasize that point, Harry raised a hand and caused a small flame to flicker in his hand, a flame which somehow failed to trigger the aircraft's fire alarm.
"And Hedwig?" Hermione questioned, with narrowed eyes. "Are you about to tell me she's Athena or something?"
Hedwig scowled at her and said, "Not only is Athena dead, but she's essentially my mother."
Hermione blinked in confusion, and then had to ask, "Wait, what do you mean Athena's dead? How is that even possible? I always thought gods were incapable of dying."
"They are incapable of dying," Harry admitted, "Unless it is another god who kills them. And the less said about that travesty, the better."
He then paused and turned to look at Hedwig, before pulling out a pen and paper, which he scratched a short note onto, before saying, "Please take this to Diana. I know she's left Themyscira, but I unfortunately have no idea where she's been staying. If you could find out for me, that would be wonderful."
"Hopefully she has some bacon for me." Hedwig mused as she waited patiently for Harry to place the paper into her fanny pack. "Where will you be staying? I don't want to try getting onto a plane again, so having a normal address to go to would be appreciated."
"Potter Heights, it's both the name of both my penthouse and also the Manhattan Skyscraper that it resides within." Harry supplied.
"I'll be off then!" Hedwig enthused as she disappeared in another crack of Apparition.
Hermione looked at Harry shrewdly, "So who's this Diana person, and what is Themyscira?"
"Diana is the Princess of the Amazons, and Themyscira is where the Amazons live." Harry admitted. "Though you'd more easily recognize Diana if I referred to her as Wonder Woman."
"You… You know Wonder Woman?" Hermione asked in a rather faint tone of voice.
"I don't just know her, I'm romantically involved with her. In fact, we've been in a relationship for the vast majority of the past three thousand years." Harry explained.
"Harry, how can you expect me to believe any of this, when I know you were born less than a year after I was." Hermione protested.
"I've been cursed with a nearly unbreakable cycle of life, death and reincarnation until such time as I can achieve a full scale Apotheosis. Unfortunately, I don't really know what I need to do in order to achieve Apotheosis."
"That's simple, Harry." another woman's voice interrupted, from an adjacent seat. "You just need to find Hestia's Vestige."
Harry looked at the woman, and frowned at what he saw. She also had a modest bosom, but where Hedwig had pure white hair, this girl had a shade of hair that toed the line between dark purple and jet black. Her eyes were also purple, and she was dressed in clothing that almost looked like they had been painted onto her. "Makaria, how in the world did you manage to survive into the modern era, and why on Earth are you here?"
"Technically speaking, I'm still safe and sound in the Underworld, since I'd be suicidal to even think of getting on that death trap you call an airplane due to who my father is. As for how I managed to survive Ares' coup. I did as Daddy told me and stayed in the Underworld while he and my mother went off to get themselves killed by their homicidal nephew."
Harry nodded his head in understanding, "Okay, so at least one deity managed to survive the coup…"
"Melinoe also survived, but I haven't seen her in almost as many years as our parents have been dead. She never did manage to get over Zagreus' death, and with our parents on top of it… I actually dread to think what she's been up to."
Harry glanced at Hermione, and smiled when he saw her ignoring his ongoing conversation in favor of reading the book he had by now set aside. He then turned back to look at Makaria and said, "Why are you here?"
"Teleute decided to make me your personal handmaiden, instead of doing the job herself, since she is far too busy for such a 'menial' task." Makaria admitted. She then frowned when she saw the bemused expression Harry was now giving her, "You are the owner of Teleute's Hallows, are you not?"
Harry blinked rapidly, and then said, "You mean to tell me the whole Master of Death crap was legitimate?"
"Well, yes, but since you are a Demititan with an entirely different domain, it was decided that you would be given a Death Goddess as your personal servant. I am so very thrilled to be the one who was chosen for this task." Makaria deadpanned.
"Who is the current ruler of the Underworld?" Harry queried.
"I am." Makaria admitted. "Which means I'll now be very busy, between my normal divine duties, governing the Underworld, and doing whatever you decide I need to do on your behalf. Just please, don't ask me to return people to life."
"Is that even possible?" Harry questioned.
"Yes," Makaria admitted. "But they are never the same as they were before they died. It is much kinder to allow them to undergo a proper reincarnation."
"Then I won't ask it of you." Harry agreed.
The cabin's overhead speakers flickered to life at this moment and informed Harry, Hermione and Makaria that they were beginning the approach to Teterboro Airport, which was basically the only airport in the city that was authorized to provide service to magical patrons, and that was primarily due to how old the airport was.
※※※※※※
Diana Prince looked up as a masculine voice cried out "Gamine, tu ne peux pas entrer là!"
This was followed by a prepubescent girl with bright white hair and yellow eyes dashing through the hall leading up to her workroom and exclaiming "Theía Ntaïána! Theía Ntaïána! Sóse me!"
This prompted Diana to open her arms so the young girl could run into her embrace, "Now you are a sight for sore eyes, little one."
A security guard coughed in order to get her attention and said, "Do you know this girl, ma'am?"
"Yes, I'm very good friends with her father, though I am somewhat surprised to see her here of all places." Diana admitted and watched as the guard nodded his head and took his leave. She then glanced down to look at the girl and said, "So, little one, where is your father?"
"I have a letter!" the girl exclaimed as she opened her fanny pack and pulled the paper out and held it out to Diana. "Also, I'm supposed to stay with you until you decide whether or not to share your current address with him."
"Ah, well, let's see what he has to say, then." Diana mused as she took the letter and unfolded it, before scanning the contents and promptly blushing at what he had witten.
'Dearest Diana,
It came as quite the surprise when I saw you on a television broadcast during the fourth year of my life this time around. In fact, it was seeing you that allowed me to remember who I truly am long before I normally would have, but it was very awkward for me to see you in such a ridiculously short skirt at that age, because I simply couldn't react to it in the way I would if I had been older.
Also, who was it that managed to find the Dreamstone? I only ask because I had thought I hid it in a sufficiently remote location to prevent it from ever falling into the hands of another imbecile.
With Love,
Harilaos Prometheiou.'
Diana smiled and said, "Well, I think I'm done with work for the day, so why don't you go ahead and take me to your father, Hēdy."
"Um… he'll be in America by now, and I can't carry you that far." Hedwig admitted.
"Oh, didn't he tell you? I can fly now." Diana admitted with a smile.
"Oh that'll be fun! But first, can we go find some bacon? I'm very, very hungry!"
Diana threw her head back and laughed at the harpy-girl's childish antics. Little did she know, however, that this version of Hedwig was just under a year old.
※※※※※※
Harry and Hermione had only just arrived at Potter Heights when Makaria made a reappearance, and said, "Um… I might have found someone to fill in for Poseidon."
Harry turned to look at her with confusion, "What do you mean fill in?"
"What part of finding Hestia's vestige did you not understand, Harry? You, along with several other people, have been chosen by Destiny as a successor to the Olympian Council. I would be there right alongside you, but my father was not a member of that council." Makaria admitted.
Hermione began laughing at the dumbfounded expression on his face, and said, "You really are the chew toy of Fate, aren't you?"
Both Harry and Makaria glared at her and simultaneously said, "Please don't mention the Kindly Ones in my presence!"
They then turned to glare at each other for a moment, before releasing a simultaneous sigh, that was followed by Harry saying, "Right, so run whatever list you've come up with by me so I can see if I agree or disagree with any of your choices."
Makaria frowned for a moment, "Given her history, Helen of Troy is the obvious choice for Goddess of Love and Beauty. Your girlfriend already began absorbing her father's vestige on the day she was born, though not quickly enough to prevent the birth of Helen herself. As for the guy I think would be a good candidate to take Poseidon's place, well, he's an Atlantean who has inherited the Gift of Atlan. The problem is, he's only thirteen years old right now. As for anyone else, I haven't the faintest idea who will turn up."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but do you mean to tell me that Helen of Troy is a real person, who is also still alive?" Hermione asked, having only managed to follow along that far before her brain short circuited.
"Well yes, and she's also basically the ancestor of the entire Veela species." Harry admitted. "Though she does seem to lack their ability to transform into avian monstrosities."
"I… I think I'm going to retire for the evening," Hermione admitted. "You two have broken the foundations upon which my fragile understanding of reality once stood."
"Well yeah." Harry admitted.
"Because we rejected your reality," Makaria continued.
"And substituted it with our own." Harry finished.
"I'll take my leave as well," Makaria remarked as she walked to the door. "I have a very interesting soul waiting for admission to the Blessed Isles that I have been unable to process for an entire year due to all the paperwork surrounding you and those damned Hallows."
Harry smiled and said, "Have fun."
"Oh, I shall." Makaria remarked as she faded from the mortal realm.
※※※※※※
"So, Mister Kent, shall we get started?" Makaria inquired as she appeared in front of the rather terrified looking farmer known as Jonathan Nathaniel Kent.
※ Chapter End ※
Author's Note: For those who want to know what the timeline looks like, Harry's current incarnation was born in 1980, and he managed to awaken the memories of his past lives during the epic finale of Wonder Woman 1984. This current chapter takes place shortly after Arthur Curry shows off his ability to speak with marine life in the Boston Aquarium, which occurs at some point in the year 1999. This means that there is roughly a year and eight month gap of time between when Jonathan Kent is killed by the tornado, and the events depicted in this chapter. And for those of you who can't believe Makaria has been THAT busy, keep in mind that she's simultaneously the current Queen of the Greek Underworld, the Psychopomp responsible for ushering souls into the Greek version of Heaven, and also, as of recently, Harry's personal handmaiden. She's also been filling in for her mother as Goddess of Springtime, so she's kept quite busy all things considered.
List of Face Claims:
- I've decided that Harry will resemble Mako from Avatar: The Legend of Korra, if only because he has fire-based powers and I didn't particularly want to use Zuko as the face claim.
- The appearance I have in mind for Hermione is based on the image by ShuraKRGT that is entitled "June."
- As for Hedwig, she is being represented by an AI generated image by the DeviantArtist, Dannyblues24, that is entitled "Hibiki, the Harpy"
- Makaria's being represented by Seele Vollerei from Honkai: Star Rail.
- Diana is virtually identical to her appearance from the DC Cinematic Universe.