Out Of The Darkness
Chapter 15
Information, Worry and Powers
"Why are you here?" Harry asked warily, his magic had no affects on gods. Or maybe it was just this one, it made his heart sink. He was no match to help Acheron if it was the case. Half of Harry wanted to strangle Acheron for letting her hurt him. He was a god; he shouldn't be bowing to others. He so desperately wanted to help him see that. Ash shouldn't be ashamed of who he was. How the hell was he supposed to help Ash understand that? And better yet actually believe it? It wouldn't be easy; he had over eleven thousand years worth of self hatred to work through.
"You are the first wizard to have stumbled upon this world, you are very unmatched here…and of course you realize this do you not?" stated Hecate her voice still soft and soothing. Then again Gods didn't have to raise their voice; their presence alone would quieten a room.
Harry grimaced he hated people being able to read him so openly. It took him back to when he was fifteen years old. 'You wear your heart on your sleeve foolish boy!' he could swear he heard Severus Snape yell into his ear. He rather hoped that she couldn't read his thoughts and mind. He'd worked very had to ensure nobody could. Between Dumbledore, Severus and Voldemort he shuddered at what they'd found out about him. It was no wonder he'd been so easy to manipulate and set up to walk into traps.
"You already know, why bother asking?" asked Harry broodingly. "I'm sure that's not why you graced me with your presence."
Hecate smiled, she wasn't used to people being like that with her, and she was a god. Zeus' favourite, and many of the others feared her because of her formidable powers. She was the original goddess Hecate, many gods had been killed and had their powers absorbed by the others. She'd won every fight ever presented to her. "I am here to offer you assistance in understanding and helping you adapt to this world." said Hecate in that tone Harry was really beginning to hate. He wasn't a child who needed soothing, although he had to concede sheepishly he was compared to her.
"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Harry eyeing her strangely, nobody ever wanted to help him. She must either want something from him or wanted him to do something for her. As long as he didn't agree to her terms he was safe.
"I plan on giving you knowledge, the ability to tell who is whom. I also plan on unlocking the bond on your magic and boosting it." she said her blue eyes regarding him solemnly.
"Who is who? You mean like gods, Dark-Hunters, Dream-Hunters, Were-Hunters and Demons and Daimon's?" asked Harry, despite himself he felt hopeful. He was as she said seriously outmatched.
"That is exactly what I mean," she said smiling at him, despite his young age he was smart, thought on his feet and was very powerful. When he trained properly he'd be more powerful than her on a good day. Helped by the fact that he had admirers from his world. Once she gave him god like powers he'd work like the rest of them. The more admirers they had the stronger they became. There wasn't a wizard anywhere that didn't know who Harry was and what he'd done. The fact he hadn't succumbed to the fame he had still astounded her.
"What's the catch?" asked Harry stiffening notably; nobody did something out of the goodness of their heart. He'd learned the hard way there was a reason for every act of kindness. It was normally followed by lies, deceit, and betrayal or down right agony.
"You know that gods must keep their word? Or they will die do you not?" asked Hecate not deterred the least by Harry's suspicion.
Harry nodded his head; Ash had explained that to him.
"I swear I only want to give you these powers with no expectation or demands in turn for them." Hecate said, and so mote it be. Her word was her law, she couldn't retract them or she would die. Their words were law.
Harry relaxed feeling a lot better about the situation, "What do you mean my powers are bound?" asked Harry getting to the thing that was bothering him.
"Your powers were bound when you were one year and three months old, its tied to the event that gave you that scar I believe." said Hecate.
"Voldemort bound my powers?" asked Harry sceptically.
"Oh no, after the event, you were marked his equal at that age, did you not find it odd that your powers were mostly unremarkable?" asked Hecate.
"Unremarkable? My back will tell you otherwise," said Harry quite indignant. He'd done quite a lot of magic, shrunk things, made glass disappear Apparated at the age of eight. He could go on but really what was the point?
"Forgive me, that wasn't how I meant it. You know Voldemort's past, he was using Unforgivables before he entered Hogwarts…you were his equal and you never displayed such notable magic." said Hecate, a knowing look in her eye.
"How do you know all this?" asked Harry warily.
"Magic," said Hecate simply. "It's why you cannot control your magic; you feel it taut in anticipation, coming to the surface. Yet unable to break free, which causes your unbound magic to go haywire. Every time you get emotional, it senses its chance to break free."
Harry paused staring at her could that be the reason he had so much trouble controlling his magic? He had thought he had too much of it, having magic that didn't belong to him or something. "Won't it weaken your powers if you give me some?"
"Yes," replied Hecate much to Harry's surprise.
"Why would you risk that?" asked Harry incredulously she had to be insane. He would never part with his magic, never mind to a stranger. On another level though, it touched him deeply. Nobody had helped him for no reason, in his thirty years. Not since his mother had defended him from a mad man at the expense of her life.
"I'm not giving you a lot Harry; I'm giving you enough to survive. My powers will replenish itself. I have many devoted followers and gain more by the day. You see our powers become stronger the more people that worship us." explained Hecate. "You too will be the same after I help you."
"Why would I be the same?" asked Harry genuinely taken aback.
"You will have god powers, not a lot but enough to become a formidable opponent." said Hecate.
"Will my magic work on the gods?" asked Harry praying she said yes, he couldn't imagine it any other way.
"Yes," said Hecate, "Much like it did with the Dark-Hunters they cannot undo it." it's what made her so valuable to Zeus and his favourite. It's also why she was able to fight so well against the other gods. Hecate smiled seeing those green eyes flare. She wasn't stupid; she knew Harry was fond of the god Acheron Parthenopaeus. She also knew about Artemis, and she had a feeling the goddess of the hunt would find herself with a vengeful wizard to deal with. Yes things were going to get quite interesting up on Olympus.
"Do it." said Harry, with his powers unbound he'd give Artemis something he'd been dying to give her.
Smiling in triumph she walked forward, placing her palm against Harry's heart. Without speaking, she let her magic flow through him. Harry cried out, falling to his knees. Yet Hecate didn't let go off him, she just knelt down beside him. Unlocking his magic, she realized he was the master of death…he was immortal and immune to the three fates. Hades magic was very similar its how she realized what he was. Well, Hades would be curious about that. It was he who had come across the three Peverell brothers. It was he who had created the three precious hallows. He'd been furious they'd used magic to cross the bridge, and he'd been tricked out of three souls. He'd gotten two out of the three almost right away, but he respected the last one for eluding him for so long. The resurrection stone showed the spirits but it wasn't actually them more of an astral projection. The elder wand he'd made didn't have magical powers; it wasn't in his territory to accomplish it. Making someone believe they are powerful is enough for most part. Then of course there was the invisibility cloak, it kept them from Deaths radar and out of the three fates hands. Not that Harry had to worry about that, he'd connected all three of them and become one with them. Finally the bound magic broke free, thrumming full of life, filling the very core of his being, his soul. Once his own magic, had calmed down, she pushed her own magic in again, this time it would stay there.
Hecate waved her hand and the room was restored to its original state. Waiting patiently for Harry to come around, it didn't take long. Harry moaned, opened his eyes and sat up. He couldn't even remember falling to the floor. He could feel the full extent of his powers for the first time, man she had been right. His magic had been bound, for the first time his magic was calm, at peace. Did that mean he'd stop being ruled by his emotions?
"Now you can get angry without fear that your magic will rule you," the goddess said calmly, and very spookily answering Harry's unasked question.
"Will I be able to go to Olympus?" asked Harry standing up, the room spinning around him. He grabbed onto the edge of the bed, steadying himself until everything stayed still. His green eyes were gleaming with malice, thinking of one red headed witch in particular. He understood what Hecate meant about knowing who was who. He could sense she was a god, not just that he felt her magic he instinctively knew she was the goddess Hecate. This was cool, he could feel the were-hunters below, feel their real forms and their awesome magic. He felt the tingling sensation of Daimon's he really liked these new powers. Harry had a rather scary grin on his face. He also knew he was the Master of Death, he could feel the souls (residue) of those that had died in here.
"It's not as simple as Apparating, it doesn't take you where you want to go, you have to know where your going." said Hecate. "Not that you need it, right now." she said staring at the ceiling with a knowing look. "I wish you all the best with your quests Harry Potter, live long, live happy you deserve it and it really was a pleasure meeting you." with that she disappeared completely.
Harry stared at the spot she'd been in, if he didn't know any better he'd have said Hecate had been desperate to get out of there. He realized why, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He could feel Ash, his powers were more than he'd ever felt. Right now they were jumbled up as if he was having trouble controlling them. Turning around he saw Acheron leaning against the door jamb between the bathroom and bedroom. He did not look good at all. His face was paler than Snape's on a bad day, his hair was blonde! Golden blonde it looked extremely odd on him…but nothing could make him less hot. Right now though he didn't care about that. He had his long sleeved black shirt un-tucked. Swallowing thickly, the stance was a very familiar one. He remembered all too well leaning like that after his Uncles beatings.
"Ash remove your top," said Harry going forward slowly, his magic really was going haywire. He was sweating profusely, and he didn't seem to hear him.
"Ash?" questioned Harry, summoning a cloth he augmented some ice cold water onto it, and wiped his face. Ash leaned into it, as if his life depended on it. He'd never seen Ash like that before, he seemed very vulnerable. His heart clenched in agony for the strong powerful yet wronged god before him. His anger at what Ash had done for him had disappeared, because he knew he would have done the same bloody thing.
"My powers are unstable. I'm n too much pain to direct them accurately." said Ash, his teeth ground together and his breathing was ragged.
"I'm going to do it okay?" said Harry giving Ash advanced warning.
Ash nodded bracing himself, as if he was expecting Harry to remove it by hand. He was slightly surprised when he used magic to do it, and he relaxed marginally. "Why aren't you healing yourself? I saw you absorb those bullets, this can't be anything on them." he asked calmly, but the state of his back really was horrific.
"I promised not to," said Ash.
"You promised not to? Does that mean someone else can?" asked Harry, but another idea was coming to the forefront of his mind. A spell he'd found in the half blood prince journal. A retribution spell, no doubt created by Severus for his mother who had been abused by his father.
Ash paused, he hadn't thought of that, "Yes," he finally admitted.
"Alright then," said Harry his voice was filled with triumph and perhaps gloating? Ash wasn't certain. "This is going to hurt for a few seconds okay?" said Harry, Ash merely braced himself as Harry touched a spot on his back before he began muttering Latin. As a god he understood all languages, and he understood what Harry was saying.
Then his back began knitting itself back together, welt by welt closing. Until the pain and lacerations completely disappeared. It had happened so fast, quicker than his magic could heal him. He was despite himself impressed; normally Liza was left to tend to him. Even she had not seen him looking so vulnerable. He never let anyone else know about what he went through. Especially not Urian or Alexion. Harry was so calm and collected; it helped him and made him admire Harry even more. He had been well worth keeping safe.
"Come on, let's get you to bed," said Harry, the exhaustion didn't fade away just because the pain did. His body had still been through it, still ached. Acheron could sense something different about Harry, but in his exhaustion he couldn't figure it out. He knew that all too well, even potions didn't help fully. Everything took time; it's just how the world worked.
"Where's Simi?" whispered Acheron as Harry got him on the bed. He automatically lay on his stomach, out of habit. Harry moved a few strands of his hair behind his ear so he could see him.
"Oops sorry," said Harry, withdrawing his hand remembering Ash didn't like his hair/neck being touched. "She's down stairs, I think Sanctuary is in danger of running out of ice cream." he said in amusement.
Acheron smiled despite himself, he loved Simi to the very core of his being. Even after being beaten, Harry was still being sarcastic and funny in his own way. How the hell did he do it? Harry was acting as if he was simply tired not just been tortured. He took everything in his stride; it said a lot about Harry's character. He already knew Harry was good at keeping his head when he was in danger though. So this was probably nothing, and he'd also received his share of hurt.
"Get some rest, I'm not going anywhere." said Harry his thoughts drifting towards a certain red headed goddess…wondering if she'd liked his gift at all.
Thousands of miles above him, a red headed goddess named Artemis was screaming in agony. As bit by bit the hurt she had bestowed upon Acheron lacerated itself across her back. She arched up screaming as yet another whip felt as if it was flaying her alive. Her servants had scampered off wide eyed screaming leaving her alone and in agony. Her white dress, saturating with blood as she curled on the floor whimpering piteously wondering when it would stop.
It didn't not until the amount she'd given Ash appeared upon her back.
She couldn't heal them. She couldn't get rid of the pain.
She had no idea that this was just the beginning. She was finally reaping eleven thousand years of what she'd sown.
YAY! haha what did you think of this chapter? like it? love it? will artemis come after harry when she finds out it was him? or will there be a whole other reason for it? last chance do you want her dead? or her to live with the knoweldge she had no power anymore? that Ash was happy and she...was miserable as she always will be! would you like to see her vow of chastity real? magically speaking ;) unable to be with anyone ever again? will the other gods find out about Apollo and Artemis need for blood and have them kill the two gods? out of fear? when it gets out (harrytelling them) that they also recieve powers through the bites as well? after all its how artemis got the powers to create dark hunters wasnt it? through ashs blood and the bond? R&R PLEASE! in that time...it would enable ash to free his mother without ending the world...hehe