Out Of The Darkness
Chapter 34
Harry had a surprisingly long and through conversation with his soon-to-be mother-in-law. Family. It was something he'd always wanted, and the Dursley's sure as hell wouldn't give it to him. Now though? He had Ash and his large extended family. The Dark-Hunters – Or Ex-Dark-Hunters if the case may be – and their families, including the children were zealously regarded as precious family to Acheron. Thus, they would be family to him too, this included Acheron's daughter and her husband Sin.
Sin – pronounced 'seen' as Harry had been told when he actually proceeded to call him Sin. Ironically enough, ended up married to Katara, the daughter of Artemis, who painfully and without an ounce of pity or remorse, ripped Sin's goodlihood from him leaving him on deaths doorstep. He had spent eons just waiting for revenge on the goddess of the hunt! Talk about a shock.
Sin had been an ancient Sumerian god of fertility and ruled the moon. Now that titbit had been really interesting to learn, he wished someone had told him before. However, it just meant he'd be letting Sin on what was happening, he'd keep Katara out of it though, regardless of their relationship, she didn't need to see her mother and uncle die.
The conversation he had with Apollymi didn't stave of the rage he was feeling. If anything, it just made his violent near uncontrollable anger worse. Hearing about the things she'd done to everyone around her, including the things Ash had downplayed now that was the straw that broke the hippogriffs' back as far as Harry was concerned.
Not that he was surprised that Ash would keep how bad things had been – at least after he was brought back – he knew a lot of what Ash went through before then. The horror his own family allowed him to go through, especially his uncle. He knew he didn't have a right to Acheron's life story, but hearing the agonising truth told by Apollymi had been heart-wrenching. The pain on her face as she told him all this, all the while unable to really comfort her much loved son was so genuinely agonising.
Harry had a feeling Apollymi was egging him on to do what she so clearly suspected.
Kill Artemis and Apollo.
Not that it would be difficult to figure out what Harry intended to do, he had entered her domain with demands to know how she'd vowed to end their lives.
"Thank you," Harry sighed, standing up, his lips pursed, an impassive look on his face. Reaching over, he grasped a hold of her hand and squeezed in silent commiseration. He was so glad he wasn't Acheron; he wasn't sure he'd have his strength to stay away from his mother. Let alone for pft...how long is it? Gosh, he couldn't even begin to calculate, his mind just couldn't compute how old they all were. What? He was still relatively new to all this. Wixen society might live extremely long lives, but they eventually die. Their lives are if they're lucky into the hundreds…but the gods? Were all but immortal for Merlin's sake.
It's a good thing Voldemort hadn't known about this supernatural world.
He shuddered to think, there were enough egotistical maniacs without adding Voldemort to the list.
"Harry?" Apollymi called out just before Harry started to teleport from her realm.
Harry made a soft enquiring sound, glancing up at her in question.
"My son is quick to forgive those who harm him, he will not let you do what I suspect you might be up to." Apollymi reminded him, giving him a stark reminder of who Acheron was at heart. Acheron only ever really lost his temper a few times, admittedly with devastating results. Well, to Acheron they were, he'd lost a very good friend to that temper after learning Nick had slept with Simi.
Harry's softness disappeared in the blink of an eye, a cold, calculating look on his face, "Better to ask forgiveness than seek permission." With that dramatic declaration, Harry teleported away, finally getting used to it, Savitar was a bloody slavedriver, his body took such a long time to recover from his sessions. He was a harsh taskmaster, but it was worth it. He was beginning to feel more in-tune with this world, more so than he'd felt in his own.
The last thing Harry saw as he disappeared was Apollymi's silver eyes – so much like her sons – widening perhaps at his audacity?
Harry made himself invisible, before teleporting himself and keeping himself aloft over the Aegean Sea. More specifically over the site of Atlantis, a vindictive smirk adorned his face. Nobody could die finding it now, but it also meant that Artemis couldn't keep an eye on the items coming up from the depths of the sea.
As the Fidelius charm caster (and co-secret keeper) he knew where Atlantis was.
Which was a good thing all things considered, after all, he needed this item to take care of the problem that Artemis and Apollo posed to his life and future. He knew now that he couldn't let them live, they would never stop trying to get revenge. Sin had done it; a billion other people had done it…Artemis and Apollo would be no different.
They'd continue trying to kill him until they succeeded or died trying. They were gods, they were unrestrainedly cruel, and didn't care about the feelings of other. They were all about self-preservation but when wronged? Reason sailed out the window into the ether.
It was Voldemort all over again, but these were gods he was dealing with. Gods that were not used to being beaten or challenged in any way.
There were only a few people who'd ever known how to destroy the two gods. Ryssa had been one of them, Apollo's mistress, Acheron and himself were another, the diaries that had been pulled up from the Aegean Sea had been proof of that. Artemis had been terrified of them being found, its why she paid such close attention to what was brought up.
The diaries were scary enough, but the daggers that had sank with the destroyed continent would cause the goddess to run. Artemis supposed she owed Apollymi a lot for destroying Atlantis and Didymos. However, it had caused her a fair bit of trouble over the years. Luckily Acheron kept an eye on all items found for her, too scared that anyone might translate it and reveal his history to the world.
Not that anyone could do that, Harry had destroyed the diaries after all and banished the ashes that remained of the books. A piece of history gone just like that; historians would have wept in despair. Nothing was more important to Harry than Acheron's comfort. Even back then the thought of anything hurting him had caused him dejection.
"Accio Thanatos Xiphos!"
Harry poured all the different variations of magic he had to bring to bear into the spell. There were only a dozen Thanatos Xiphos created. Less than four had survived before Didymos had sank into the ocean floor. He knew their name, but honestly? Harry couldn't tell you what they looked like, and he hoped it didn't prevent the spell from summoning them. Using different magics he hoped would ensure they did indeed come to him.
Just as Harry had begun to lose hope, twenty minutes into the wait, his energy flagging, an item torpedoed out of the water and high into the air. Harry's breathing hitched, as he reached out, his seeker reflexes just as great as ever, he caught the bundle in his hand. Waving his hand from side to side, to slow it down, and prevent it from breaking his wrist.
It wouldn't hurt for long, he knew, but still, it would be mildly inconvenient all the same.
Especially since he still had a bit of a twinge where the blade had got him…well, yesterday now he supposed.
It was the start of a brand-new day.
A day of justice. A day of judgement being meted out.
The bundle in his hand was made of leather like material. Which was quite frankly a real possibility, Acheron had mentioned the world used to be more advanced before the destruction of Didymos and Atlantis. That it had set the world – humanity anyway – back well, a very long time, centuries.
Now he had what he came for, Harry apparated himself away from blazing sun Greece offered. He had been promised they'd return here, and Harry would ensure their honeymoon would be enjoyed in Greece. He'd leave behind any and all means of communication so they would be able to enjoy it. Even if he did have to use magic to cause everything electronic to kaput.
Greece and his quest to find Atlantis had led him to Acheron, led him to his everything. For that was what Acheron was to him, without him…well, Harry wouldn't survive the separation. He'd been through too much in his life, and this love that had lit like an inferno inside of him…would never die down. Some might say it was too soon, but nobody could predict such things. Emotions were out of our control, no matter how one tries. Even with such magical efforts like Occlumency and meditation.
Harry teleported back to the USA, more specifically his house, he hadn't been back here in such a long time. Everything was where he remembered it being, he thought, looking around. Quite a few things had never been replaced, after his house was broken into. Shaking off his thoughts, he glanced down at the black leather pouch.
It was sopping wet, which was only natural, shaking his head in admiration. Kneeling down, he put the bundle on the floor and begun to unroll it. He silently investigated the bundle that had been summoned from the dredges of the ocean.
Once Harry had an understanding, he couldn't help but laugh in vicious amusement. "Oh, just who did you piss off that time?" realizing what he had in his possession.
The cloth was still whole, each stitch meticulously completed, and as beautiful as the day he or she likely stitched it.
It was the ritual, right down to the last on how to destroy Apollo and Artemis. Whoever it was, had come really close to ending them. Even had the right runes to trap them and prevent them from escaping. His amusement died down quickly, knowing very well how bad it had to be for someone to be desperate enough to even attempt to kill them both.
How did he or she get their hands on the 'how' to kill them? There were only a few people, and it was unlikely to have come from Acheron. He was much too cautious for that, he hadn't even told him – Harry – how to do it, it was Ryssa's diaries that had revealed the how.
Was it possible that she had been the one to prepare this? Or had she been loose lipped to someone else who intended Apollo and Artemis harm? Harm? More like death. The prospect was rather fascinating, it wasn't like she could have been seeking revenge on what Apollo did to Acheron since she died that night herself. Had she become disillusioned to the life of a god's mistress? Become embittered by the fact he didn't let her become immortal? Share powers? Not that Apollo ever would, they'd killed and stole a lot of their powers. Sin likely wasn't the only one who had his powers stripped by Artemis.
They would all be getting it back though; he didn't need more power…he would relinquish it all back to their rightful owners.
Grabbing the sheathed dagger, well, sword was more accurate but it was quite small, more like a dagger in size. His wand was roughly the same size a few centimetres off he'd guess but not much more than that. He slowly eased it out of its sheath, breathing hitching, holy shit man, he could feel the magic imbued in the metal, copper, he believed, runes he shouldn't even begin to decipher, yet could.
He even knew they were Ancient Greek Runes, Runes that were lost to the world today. Nobody in the human world would be able to decipher them. Hell, nobody in the magical would could decipher them, they'd been lost when Apollymi had sank Atlantis to its depths.
The gods would know, but that was it.
Now where to do it…where to destroy them for good? Where would hold the most poetic of justice?
Oh my gosh, he was turning into Voldemort, all dramatic and shit.
Still, a little poetic justice didn't hurt anyone, he wasn't going to go on a monolog, he was just going to kill them and be done with it. He'd learned that one from Voldemort, monologing just gave them time to get away. Not that they would be able to get away, or be able to overpower him, even together, they were weakened, tragically so really given their usual power house.
Then just like that the location struck a chord in his mind. Oh, now that was even more poetic.
Harry did have a second's hesitation, he wasn't a killer, he hadn't even really wanted to kill Sirius when he thought he had betrayed his parents. Not really anyway, it had all been bluster. Same with Pettigrew when the truth had been revealed. He just didn't have it in him. Or so he thought. In the end as a terrified seventeen-year-old kid, in heart of hearts he was glad he hadn't had to learn whether he would have actually killed Voldemort.
The spell rebound, so technically it didn't count.
Here he was actually out to commit murders, the murders of two gods.
He didn't have a doubt about his capability of pulling it off either.
When you thought about it, it really was just self-defence. Likely the defence of a million others they'd likely kill over the next century just because they could. That certainly would put his self-sacrificing on notice, or as Hermione had often said his 'saving people thing' not that he was excusing what he was doing.
He was gladly going to do this for everyone he held dear. He'd lost too much already and he refused to lose to Artemis and Apollo.
Those gods could rot for all he cared, their carcasses rotting after everyone had their revenge.
For no one to lament over their passing, not a single shred of grief.
In fact, given who would emerge after they were gone, or rather during, it's safe to say there would be a very large celebration to be had.
Delicately he folded the cloth and placed it back inside of what had been its home for eons. He placed the daggers back in, putting the one he'd unsheathed back into its sleeve.
"It's time," Harry murmured, teleporting to the location he wanted to use, time to prepare.
A/N – so where will Harry prepare the ritual? It will have to be somewhere that has meaning to Apollo and Artemis and Acheron…will Harry succeed or will something go wrong? Will Harry be able to go through with it once his anger begins to wane as his power use causes his energy to flag? I'm really curious to know whether you guys can figure out where the ritual will be held ;) or if you can give me a better idea on where to hold it…I do want it to be symbolic, and unfortunately it can't be down in Apollymi's lair which my muse refuses to budge on so yeah :D I'm definitely not going to try and dislodge the muse since the last time I did I never thought I'd finish this story (truthfully someone asked for it to be finished) and I hate to disappoint! R&R please x