Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen to another installment of Bad Moon Rising, I'm glad to see the first chapter blow up like it did.
ReDoing some calculations, the summer quest may take more than seven chapters, maybe ten, but oh well, I'm sure you all don't mind.
Anyway, in this chapter we see Harry dealing with two people who know nothing about the muggle world and finds some entertainment in it.
On with the show.
Harry Potter
Harry was currently standing outside of a fish and chips shop, leaning against the building eating lunch as he thought. The fried flaky fish covered in balsamic vinegar was cooked perfectly as he popped another piece into his mouth and crunches down on it as his eyes narrowed at the entrance to the Sheffield underground in anger. They had gone down into the underground with hopes of finding somewhere that the seal to the Dé Danann could be, but from the map, Harry had found hanging on the wall, nothing had run under the park, not the railway, not a maintenance tunnel, nothing. They had even walked around with the Fea-Stone(as Theodore called it) to see if they were even close, but it hadn't even glowed.
Theodore and Lupusregina, however, were far more impressed with the underground, looking around at all the machines and trains with a look of awe and wonder, neither ever having seen anything like it before. The Hogwarts Express was one thing, but while the old steam engine was brilliant in its own right, the sleek-looking modern-day trains were something else to see up close and in person. Theodore was shocked when Harry had told them how fast some of them were, and he marveled at all the ticket machines and locking gates that the muggles had come up with to keep everything running with wide eyes, just the same as Lupusregina.
The two of them were currently sitting at a table off to Harry's right, eating their meals of fried fish and potatoes, munching away with joyful smiles on their faces.
"We never had something like this at Hogwarts," Theodore says with a grin before dipping a chip in ketchup and popping it into his mouth, "And they wrap it in newspaper to catch the oil, brilliant what the muggles come up with," he says with a smile as Lupusregina, happily eating her fish, vigorously nods her head in agreement.
Harry snorts and shakes his head in amusement before he balls up his used newspaper and tosses it into the bin off to his left, "What do we know about Sheffield?" Harry asks, walking over to the two people he was on this quest with and taking a seat at the table with them.
Theodore swallows the flaky fried fish before speaking, "From a magic perspective, not much," he says with a shrug, "Never enough witches and wizards in the area to get a proper alley down and it hasn't been important to us in the last several hundred years, though I do know Greengrass trading has an office in the city, but that's it," he informs Harry, raising a brow at the look of glum that comes over his face at the mention of Greengrass.
"Well, fuck," Harry mutters, leaning back and stroking his chin like he had seen Sirius do from time to time, there wasn't any relevant information from a magical perspective and he didn't know enough about the divine side to even guess at, so Harry sighs before looking back at the other two, "Well, time to do this the hard way, if you two are done eating it's time to hunt for some tracks the old fashion way," Harry says before standing up.
"And what way is that?" Theodore asks, balling up his oily newspaper before throwing it in the bin and Lupusregina proceeds to gulp down her own food at an alarming rate before doing the same.
"As Hermione likes to say, Research is needed," Harry says with a slight grin as Theodore looks at him confused.
Five hours later
Harry was pretty sure Hermione would be proud of him, living by her creed of "When in doubt, head to the library," and Harry was glad he did. It didn't take all that long to find city hall and the library connected to it, the first thing he saw was the large statue of a man standing next to an anvil and a brace wrapped around his leg, he had stopped an older man and asked who was the statue was supposed to be, the old man looked between the statue and Harry before speaking, "It's Volcan, the roman god of the forge and fire," he had told Harry, causing the boy to frown, Harry couldn't say he liked the Roman gods very much(with one exception,) but from the statue, Harry knew he was on the right track.
Once the questing Trio had made it through the front door of the library, Harry had made a bee-line right to the front desk where a middle age woman had sat, typing away on a computer, only looking up at Harry when he clears his throat to get her attention and making a quick excuse of a summer project for school about the history of Sheffield and a grin that had the older lady blushing, he was pointed to the backroom that held all the old newspapers, maps, and public information about the town.
It took a few hours of digging, Harry putting Theodore and Lupusregina on reading through anything involving the history of the city as he dug through the cabinets and draws for old maps of the city, but they had struck pay dirt. Theodore had found out that back in the late 18th century the city went from a small town to a steel-making town and in doing so they had to build the whole city of stonework stilts to hold it above the Sheaf River that now flowed under the town through catacombs of tunnels under the city as Harry had found a few old maps of the city over the last two hundred years or so, while there were no maps of the tunnels there was a map of all the entrances to the tunnels, all it took was finding the right map from when the tunnels were finished and a current map of the city.
Harry had marked off the park where the stone had glowed with a black marker before laying the old map over it and holding it up to the lights with a smile, "Found it!" he exclaimed as he put it down on the table and Theodore and Lupusregina looked up from the books they were holding with curious and excited looks.
"So, right here is the park," Harry says as he points it out on the old map, "from there, there are three entrances that should lead to under the park, Here, here, and here," he says pointing out one to the north, one to the west, and the last one to the south, "I bet if we take one of these it will lead us to the anvil you were talking about," Harry says with a grin as he looks up at the other two.
"Well, I'll be damned," Theodore says softly, looking at the map with a small grin of his own and excitement in his mismatched eyes, "Seems like you might be right about it being in the underground," he shakes his head.
Lupusregina, however, wasn't looking at the map, she was looking at Harry, her eyes narrowed and a frown set on her face, "Your eyes are different," she says slowly, causing Harry to blink in confusion and Theodore to look up from the map and into Harry's eyes to see them slitted.
"Oh, ah, ummm," Harry says before looking down and away from the older girl, trying to think up an excuse.
"I think it's a Demigod thing," Theodore says nonchalantly, causing Harry's head to snap to the boy across from him with a look of surprise on his face, "What?" Theodore asks with a raised brow.
"Don't you what me," Harry says after a moment, "How the hell do you know that!?" he almost shouts at the other boy.
"Blaise," Theodore says with a shrug, but begins to elaborate further as he sees the confusion on Harry's face deepen, "Blaise is the grandson of one of the Roman gods, his dad was a Demigod, he knew you were one since the third year when that one girl showed up," he says, causing Harry to blink, "Or am I mistaken and you are not a Roman Demigod?" Theodore asks with a raised brow.
"No, I'm…" Harry says, trailing off a bit before shaking his head, "I'm not a Roman Demigod, I'm a Greek Demigod," Harry tells him, to which Theodore binks, "And even if I was Roman, wouldn't you have, I don't know, a problem with it?" Harry asks.
Theodore pauses for a moment, looking as if he was processing something shocking, "Oh! No, not really," he says after a moment, "I've been friends with Blaise for years, it's not like I'm going to hold what the Roman gods did over two thousand years ago against you or him, it wasn't like either of you were doing personally," Theodore admits to Harry, "Though, since it's been brought up, I've been dying to know, which one was the god? My bet is on your mom Lily, Blaise is betting on your dad," Theodore asks as flatly and blandly as possible.
Harry pauses for a moment before slowly shaking his head, "You're both wrong and very right at the same time, my parents were mortal, but my mum, my godly mum that is, helped them out with having me," he tells Theodore who tisks and looks disappointed.
"Looks like those Galleons are going to no one then," Theodore says with a sigh before turning back to the maps as Harry just looked at him in shock, all the while Lupusregina giggles at them both.
About an hour after that, Harry, Theodore, and Lupusregina made their way out of the library just as it was closing for the day, Harry and Theodore thanked the Clerk on their way out and made their way into the evening light of the twilight to the closest openings to the waterways, with one look all three knew it wasn't an opening they could use with the rushing water below them dark, deep, and treacherous looking to even begin to think about getting through without a boat or magic. They moved on to the west tunnel entrance and found the same thing, but at the north entrance they had found the entrance almost bone dry, and with the sun setting Harry wanted to get it done sooner rather than later, so the trio had made a run to a hardware shop, stopping in front of it Harry turns to Theodore.
"Do you have any more quid on you?" Harry asks, seeing that he hadn't taken any with him and Theodore had paid for lunch.
"Quid?" Theodore asks, confused.
"Pounds?" Harry says back with a raised brow, "The paper money you paid for lunch with?" he says before the light of recognition enters his eyes.
"Oh!" Theodore exclaims before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a huge roll of banknotes all Fifty pounds sterling before offering it to Harry, "You mean this stuff?" he asks, sounding unsure as Harry just stares openly in shock at the large number of banknotes that Theodore was casually carrying with him, it was more quid than Harry had ever seen in his life, "What?" Theodore asks as Harry looks between the bills and the mismatched eyes of Theodore before he slowly reaches out and pulls out two of the fifty-pound notes.
"I have no idea why you are carrying around that much money, but put it away before you get robbed, Theodore," Harry says flatly before Theodore stuffs the quid back into his pocket while looking around a bit scared much to the amusement of Lupusregina.
"Don't worry Master Theodore," the maid says with a smile before throwing her arms around Theodore, "I won't let anything happen to you, that includes being robbed by some filthy vagrant," she says as she pulls his head between her breasts again, much to the young man's embarrassment as Harry walks into the store shaking his head at the pair's antics.
Harry returns to them both not even fifteen minutes later carrying a plastic bag to the sight of Theodore leaning against the wall of the store looking embarrassed and Lupusregina glaring at anyone who passes even remotely close to the two of them looking ready to tear any and all of them apart. Harry shakes his head at the sight before the three of them make their way back to the north entrance to the tunnels before handing them each a torch, they look at them confused before Theodore presses down the button on the Maglight and jumps a bit at the bright beam of light that shoots out the top before shining the light down into the dried river bed with a grin.
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant," Theodore says, the grin never leaving his face before Lupusregina does the same with an equally wide grin before the three of them slide down into the dried river bed and walk towards the tunnel before Harry starts to speak.
"Okay, here's the game plan," He says reaching into the plastic back before pulling out the last item in it, a can of silver spray paint, "Lupusregina, you'll be the last one in the line, your job is gonna be holding one of the torches and marking the way back with silver arrows so we don't get lost," Harry tells her as the odd maid just nods before Harry shows her how to use the can of spray paint much to the woman's eternal amusement.
Harry turns to Theodore as he was still playing with the torch with a smile on his face, "Theodore, you'll be right behind me with the torch and the Fea-Stone and helping us navigate to the anvil, but you need to pay attention to me as well," he tells his year mate who rises his brow with a questioning look, "If I stop, you stop, if I tell you to turn and run, you don't ask question you just do it, got me?" Harry tells him with a piercing look.
Theodore frowns, but nods before asking, "What about you? If we take off that will leave you with no backup," Harry shrugs, it was a fair question but he was far more experienced in this type of thing than Theodore, so to answer his question Harry simply reaches into his pocket and unfolds Serpent-Hunter.
"I've got this," Harry says with a smirk, giving Gaé Bolg a spin around his hand, noticing Lupusregina looking at the spear with wide eyes as she takes a step back from Harry, "I'm better trained and equipped to deal with any threats without magic then you are," he tells the other boy, as Theodore frowns, but nods his head.
As Harry turns and begins to lead the group into the tunnels he gets his first good look at them, the tunnels were built in a wide arch of brick and cement from nearly two hundred years ago, the vaulted ceiling stood about ten to twelve feet high off the flat cement river bed that was covered in debris and trash as it was used to divert heavy rainwater from the city and into the river that Harry could faintly hear rushing deeper into the tunnels.
Theodore speaks up behind him, "Don't you need a light too?" he asks, but Harry just shakes his head.
"No, I can see in the dark," He tells the other boy, and could practically feel the frown on Theodore's face and the unspoken question as they enter the tunnels properly, "You can ask if you want," Harry says without looking back.
Theodore pauses for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts as they continue on, "Not that I believe anything written in the Prophet, and knowing about your heritage, I'm going to guess it's a Demigod thing?" he asks, and Harry nods.
"Yeah," Harry says before kicking aside a rotting piece of wood, "Demigods aren't just born stronger, faster, or tougher than normal people, were also born with this, I don't know, connection, I guess," Harry says, his face scrunching up in thought, trying to find the right words for it, "A connection to the different domains of power that the divine parents have, My Mum, the divine one that is, doesn't have a lot that could be useful in combat," he says before he stops at the first four-way fork in the tunnels, causing Theodore to step forward with the Fea-Stone in front of him and moves it from left to right, the dim stone growing brighter when pointing down the right path after Lupusregina marks the way they came they go down the right path.
"Does it have to be for combat? Your connection or powers or whatever?" Theodore asks as he continues to walk behind Harry.
Harry shrugs, "Not always, but it's a general rule of thumb," Harry says, "Demigods are like soldiers or tools for the gods, we help them out on things they can't do or don't have time to do thanks to them being busy with running the world or whatever," Harry says waving his spear as to dismiss it.
"Is that how you see yourself, a soldier?" Theodore asks.
"No," Harry answers quickly, "I'm far too much of a rule breaker to ever fall in line like one, no, what I am is written on my back," Harry says proudly before jerking his thumb over his shoulder and down to his jacket.
Harry could almost hear the smirk in Theodore's next words, "Harry, it's all Greek to me," he says, stopping Harry as he turns to look at Theodores smiling face as Lupusregina giggles behind them.
"How long have you been holding on to that one?" Harry asks.
"About an hour or two," Theodore says, his grin never wavering, "Well worth it I must say,"
Harry snorts and shakes his head before going deeper into the tunnels, "It says Heir to the Hunt, seeing that I'm the only child that my mum has in a strictly biological sense," Harry says as he hears Theodore's footsteps slow down for a moment.
"Diana," the boy with mismatched eyes mutters to himself, "You're mum's Artemis," he says in a bit of awe, putting it together, "That means that woman I met was her?" he asks as Harry smiles.
"Yup," Harry says, looking briefly back at Theodore with a grin, "She came to watch the last task with a few of my sisters," he informs the surprised boy behind him before he hears Lupusregina let out a low whistle.
"Impressive, Boyo," She says, her voice taking on a deeper quality than before, sounding older somehow, "To have access to the Domain of the Hunt and to be as sane as you are is something of an accomplishment, most Demigods who have access to that ancient domain tend not to be the most stable of individuals by the time they hit your age," She says, stopping Harry as he turns to look at her in the dark of the tunnel, her golden eyes glowing with something that Harry couldn't put his finger on, as Theodore turns to look at her as well, casting the light of his torch over her form.
"What would you know about it?" Harry asks as his eyes narrow at Lupusregina.
"I know that amongst all of the domains, other than the higher powers that govern this reality, the Hunt is the oldest of them, it was ancient when the first monkey climbed down from its tree and walked upright, and even older than the gods that wield its power," she says in a low and steady voice as Harry watches in the light of Theodore's torch the shadow of Lupusregina begin to stretch and twist out, throwing what looked like tree limbs and grasping roots of shadow into the light that illuminated the Victorian era brickwork behind her, "Older than the mountains of the isles and the stones on the beaches, and with that age comes a cunning like no other and a treachery that cuts deeper than any fang or talon of the beasts of scales that once walked this world in the primordial past, Do be careful, I dteagmháil léi ag an mbás, or else it will take you faster than the Mallacht an bháis sealed within your spear," she says ominously with a cruel, knowing smirk forming on her lips.
"Who the hell are you?" Harry asks, redoubling his grip on his spear just before the stretching shadows snap back to normal as the woman giggles, putting her forearm to her lips and turning her body slightly away from Harry as she does.
"Why, I'm Lupusregina Beta, devoted maid and steward to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Nott of course!" she says with a different, higher tone of voice before throwing her hands around Theodore and hugging him close as one-foot kicks in the air behind her, Giggling like an airhead while she does so, but by the look Theodore gives him spoke that she was anything but that.
They didn't talk much after that.
Two and a half later.
The tunnels below Sheffield were a twisting labyrinth of old brickwork and blocked passages by debris and trash trapped in between pillars. Harry didn't know what it was or where it even began, but as they steadily walked deeper into the confines of the earth, something felt…off. He couldn't explain it, it was as if the dark tunnels went from spooky to outright malevolent and hostile after a while, and felt as if they were walking in circles for hours as the pathways would twist and turn, branching off in unexpected directions with stairs that would lead to nowhere and passages that seemed to go deeper into the earth, how the brickwork would change into worked stone or craved pathways with mosaics set in them giving off an ominous and oppressive feeling to the hallways. If it wasn't for the Fea-Stone leading them along, Harry was sure they would have gotten lost long ago, it was a strange and altogether off-putting experience, because, in one cave-like path, Harry was sure he smelled the faint hints of barbecue in the air.
But Harry wasn't the only one who noticed the change in the atmosphere, both Theodore and Lupusregina had as well, but both acted differently. Theodore became more focused, the Maglight and Fea-Stone in twin white knuckle death grip as he navigated from behind Harry, taking in only whispers when he said which way to go, while Lupusregina muttered constantly under her breath as she marked their way back. Every time Harry would turn to look at her, her brow was scrunched in concentration, as beads of sweat trickled down her brow and her hard golden eyes flicked back and forth looking into the shadows as if she was expecting something to jump from them. In the faint light of the Maglights, Harry could make out the shadow beneath her feet split off like branches and seeping deep into the stonework and shooting up the pillars as if to keep her anchored somehow.
Thankfully they arrived at their destination before too long, the Fea-Stone glowed a bright burning red as they stepped into a large chamber, it was as big as the first floor of Grimmauld Place, and high arching brick walls gave way to a large vaulted ceiling decorated in a large crumbling mosaic. While the details around the edges were lost to time and corrosion, the main picture could still be made out clearly, it was of three men who were largely built with large arms all standing around an anvil. They were each working on the same thing but at different parts, one stood above the anvil with a large hammer raised in one hand as he brought it down on heated metal, and the next one seemed to be stretching and twisting the metal delicately as he worked the metal with calipers and tongs, the last one stood between them, a piece of paper in hand as he pointed down at the creation as if he was directing the other two.
It seemed that the three of them were working on an arm of silver.
The rest of the room looked more like a Reservoir for rainwater, for around the edge of the room ran a walkway of stone leading to three other entrances with the one off to the left having a stream of rushing water that filled the large pool that dominated the middle of the room and water leaving out towards the left exit while the one they had exited from and the one right across from them were raised with two sets of stairs leading down to the stone ring that surrounded the room. Harry sighs before pulling at his collar to unstick his shirt from his body in the uncomfortably humid and got room as he looks into the large pool of water.
"How much do you want to bet that the anvil is somewhere in there?" Harry asks, turning to the other two people with him and gesturing to the water.
"I know a losing bet when I hear one, Harry," Theodore says before putting the Fea-Stone away and looking into the water with a scowl.
"So, who is going in?" Lupusregina says before turning to look at Harry with Theodore following her a second after.
"What? Why me?" Harry asks, surprise coloring his tone.
"Well, you are the Demigod," Theodore says with a shrug before Lupusregina smiles and nods after he says it.
Harry leans his head back with a sigh, before turning and walking down the steps and over to the edge of the walkway, kneeling down before putting his spear into the water. It sinks about three-fourths of the way before Harry feels the tip hit the bottom, deep enough to swim in but not deep enough to go over his head, Harry just hoped it stayed like that to the middle of the room. He stands back up before placing his spear against the wall before shrugging off his jacket and pack in one move and toeing off his boots and removing his socks.
"I'll go check it out, make sure the anvil is here, or if we have to go deeper, just stay here and get that ritual ready," Harry tells Theodore and Lupusregina as he unclips his quiver and tossing onto his pack, "And if something happens to me, grab my bag and look for the small mirror and call out for Sirius, he should answer and get here with some backup, got me?" he says looking back at the other two.
"Got it," says Theodore as Lupusregina was busy pulling out a bowl of metal from…somewhere? One moment she was holding the Maglight and spray can the next she was fiddling with the bowl and filling it with powders and herbs.
Harry sighs before rolling up the hems of his pants legs and hopping into the water. The water was dark and murky, coming up to just under his chin and, surprisingly, hot like someone had prepared a hot bath out of this giant pool. Even considering the oddity, Harry begins to wade forward into the water, hoping this was as deep as it got. And lucky enough, it was as Harry pushed himself to the middle, hopefully, that was where the anvil was, if not he would swim in an outward spiral pattern till he found it, and if he didn't find it, well, he'd burn that bridge when he crossed it.
As soon as Harry gets to the middle of the room, he screams and lets out a string of curses before back peddling, "What!?" Theodore yells, jumping at the sound of Harry's scream, "Should we start running?" he asks from where he was kneeling next to Lupusregina who hadn't even looked up from her preparations.
"No, I just stubbed my fucking toe and burned it at the same time," Harry says angrily, before reaching behind his back and pulling out his hunting knife, and swimming forward again moving it slowly till it hits something metal in the water, he taps it before tracing the outline of it with his knife and he smiles, "Found it!" he calls out to the cheer of Theodore before he swims back before climbing back up onto the stone walkway dripping wet and walking back up to them, "We all set?" he asks as Theodore nods.
"Yeah, all we need is whatever you have to do this, the Queen said it was vital to the ritual," Theodore says, looking up at Harry with a raised brow.
"Right, hate this part," Harry mutters before he brings the edge of his knife to the fleshy part of the edge of his palm right below his pinky before drawing the blade across it and letting his blood flow much to Theodore's surprise before he brings his wounded hand over the bowl and letting his blood flow into it, "Blood of the Shacklers," Harry says with a shrug to Theodore as Lupusregina chuckles.
"Vital indeed," the maid says with a dark smirk.
"Yeah, whatever," Harry says before moving his hand away from the bowl, "Since I don't speak whatever language the chants in, I'll just stand over-" Harry tries to say, but the sound of something bursting from the water and the shout of Theodore cuts him off.
"Harry! Watch out!" the boy with the mismatched eyes screams as Harry feels something wrap around him, quickly looking down he sees his arm holding his hunting knife pinned to his body by a giant fleshy hand that wraps almost around his body, the fingers looked to have too many joints and knuckles with the fingernails ending in hook and blade-like claws.
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kid-" is as far as Harry got before he is railed back and pulled back into the murky deeps of the water behind him.
Hours later, North America.
Her bags were packed, and a note was left hanging on the tent flap explaining where she was going and why, and at this time of night, the patrol was being exchanged with fresh bodies and minds, this was the best time to make her escape. She looks back at her sleeping sisters with a look of sadness, she knew if she would wake any of them, they would want to come with her, but the hunt couldn't afford to lose too many of its hunters or else it would put the rest of them in danger. The needs of the many and all that, with a deep breath and a whispered goodbye, the girl leaves the tent with her bag over her shoulder and steals out into the night.
She had argued with her Lady about it for the last four weeks, to let her leave, to let her sneak back to England to protect her little brother, but she was refused and turned down every single time no matter how much she argued, cursed, and threatened, Artemis wasn't moved by any of it, and she had enough of waiting around. Her little brother was in danger from some snake face asshole and she was going to put an arrow through his and every single one of his follower's hearts to protect him, the Queen of the Isles could get bent for all she cared.
She moved quickly and quietly through the camp, avoiding the wolves and sisters returning to camp from their patrols as she slipped from shadow to shadow before making past the treeline and taking off at a full sprint. The hunt was only a few hours away from New York City in upstate New York, she could make it to the city before dawn, and with any luck, she would get there before any of her sisters woke up and saw her note. She still had a few Galleons tucked away from her last visit to England and she was hoping it would be enough to get a portkey to Hogsmeade, and if not, that maybe she could somehow trick Agent Doe into getting her one.
But as she was passing through a clearing in the woods, illuminated by the moon above she slid to a stop with wide eyes as she saw the last person she wanted to see step from the shadows of the trees.
"Lovely night for a walk," Artemis says passively, her hands tucked away into the pockets of her silver flight jacket, "Isn't, Atalanta?" she asks the wide eye hunter standing in the clearing.
"Lady Artemis," Atalanta greets her in a cold flat tone as she quickly schools her expression.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Artemis asks with a raised brow as she continues to walk forward, seemingly not bothered by the tone that toed the line of disrespect that her hunter had greeted her in.
Atalanta stands there for a moment, her hands clenched into fists, "You know where," she says with a slight growl to her words.
"Going to protect your cub, are you?" Artemis asks, already knowing the answer from the multiple shouting matches they had gotten into in private, "Even knowing that if you do set foot on English soil that it would be seen as an act of aggression from us, even knowing that both I and Lord Zeus have forbidden it?" she asks Atalanta as she comes to a stop a few feet from the lioness, in the same flat tone, because, once again she knew the answer.
Atalanta grinds her teeth at her Lady's words, "Yes," she says, her tone like steel and unwavering in the face of Artemis, "I don't give a damn what you or the thunderfucker says, I'm going to England, I'm going to protect my little brother and I will kill anyone who tries to harm him," She tells the goddess in front of her.
"Do you think of yourself as a Hero, little hunter?" Artemis says, amusement coloring her tone, "Rushing out to save someone from some great evil for no other reason than your love for him?" She asks in an accusing tone.
"I never stopped being one, Lady Artemis and you know I love him, just as I love all my sisters" Atalanta answers back with her chin held high and pride glowing in her eyes as Artemis lets out a laugh.
"Ha! A good answer, Atalanta of the Argonauts," Artemis says with emphasis on her Hunters title she had earned so long ago before pulling something out of her pocket and tossing it to Atalanta who, with lightning-fast reflexes, catches the silver chain that wraps around her arm, much to the hunter's shock, "Do pass along my own love to Harry when you see him next and wish him a happy birthday for me," Artemis says with a smile as Atalanta looks at her confused just before she feels something hook around her sternum and pulls her away from the clearing.
After almost a full five minutes of spinning, Atalanta sees the earth rushing toward her before she braces herself for a landing, rolling across the earth and popping back onto her feet, the first thing she noticed was the rain. Thick sheets fall from the heavens around her as she turns back and forth, trying to get her bearings before she sees it as lightning illuminates the sky behind it.
Hogwarts.
Atalanta couldn't help the smile that splits her face as she sees the silhouette of the castle and the old iron gate hanging open allowing her entrance, she sends a quick prayer of thanks to her lady before moving through the gate and charging up the hill toward the school. She gets to the front door within seconds before she starts to bang on it like a mad woman.
"Dumbledore!" Atalanta screams over the thunder and the baying of hounds off in the distance before she bangs on the door again, "McGonagall!" she calls out, hoping to draw anyone's attention, "Snape, you overgrown bat, let me the fuck in!" she yells before she moves to kick the door in the heavy downpour, "Flitch! I know you live here with that cat of yours damnit!" she yells as she continues to kick the front door to the castle.
Just as she steps away from the front door, intending to run over to Hagrid's and wake up her old drinking body, the front doors of the castle open, but as Atalanta turns back around, she sees a person she doesn't recognize from her last visits to the castle. She was tall and imposing, her auburn hair hung long and Loosely over one shoulder, while one hand held a burning torch the over one was tucked behind her back as shadows were cast in the flickering firelight of the torch, a black dress hugged her frame and low off her shoulders showing off her collar bone and just above her breast where Atalanta could see a small scar starting right above her breast bone before disappearing below the silky shadow like material that pooled and trailed at her feet. But the thing that draw Atalanta's attention the most was the woman's eyes, the burning blood-red eyes that inspected her with curiosity had set Atalanta's teeth on edge as she looked into them and before she knew what she was doing, her bow was out, armed, and in her hand, ready for anything the woman may do.
But all the woman did was chuckle at the sight, confusing Atalanta even more.
"My oh My, a girl in a silver jacket brandishing a weapon at me, well this does bring back memories," the woman says with a flat and amused tone of voice, "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you're here about a certain Greaca, hm?" she asks as she quirks an eyebrow at the confused hunter.
"Who the hell are you?" Atalanta asks the woman, as she watches the flickering shadows that surround the woman begin to pool at her feet and leak out towards Atalanta in the light of the torch.
The woman's lips curl into a smirk as her eyes begin to glow with power, "Me?" she asks, sounding playfully confused, "Why, I'm just a simple teacher," she says as the shadows began to swirl and dance at her feet.
The carnival is over,
We sat and watched,
As the moon rose,
for the very first time.
Chapter done!
It seems Harry is putting the skill set he had learned over the years to good use while on his hunt and opening up to people he trusts more.
Lupusregina is far more than she looks and normally acts, but less than what most people will guess about her.
So, for those who don't know, Sheffield, England is an odd little city in England, built much like Chicago in America, it was built on stilts that hold up the whole city that date back to the late 18th century when it was becoming a steel producing city. That means under the city is a maze of tunnels where the Sheaf River flows under the city, it is so large and expansive that there are no accurate Maps of it to this day. Apparently, there is a large chamber in the middle of it all but no one knows where the hell it is because so few people have ever found it. Don't believe me? Google "Sheffield, England The Megatron" and see for yourself.
Anyway, yes, the patron god of the city is Volcan whose statue can be sitting on top of town hall to this day.
Honestly, this shit writes itself at times I swear.
And before anyone asks, yes, they entered the Labyrinth and passed by the entrance to Camp Half-Blood.
That's right folks! The Lioness is back, and she is more than ready to start stacking bodies! But first, she has to get past the Witch-Queen that guards the gate!
But with this chapter, we are going back to a chapter every week or two.
Kingsaxcul, Out!