Welcome back to another chapter of Bad Moon Rising.
In which we see something unfold that I have been planning since the fourth chapter of The Heir and the Champions.
On with the show!
Grimmauld Place.
The sitting room had fallen into a tense silence as Cernunnos entered the room and removed his helmet. He looks at Artemis with a large boyish grin, his amber eyes twinkle with mirth as Sirius steps around the giant of a man and gives a look to Artemis who rolls her eyes at the master of the house.
"What are you doing here, Cernunnos?" Artemis asks bluntly without matching the mirth that the other god had shown her.
"What? Do I need a reason to come see a fellow god in the hunt?" He asks as he crosses his arms over his large chest, the smile never leaving his face. "Why, I even brought a keg of ale to share a drink with you and your hunters this night," he says with a gesture to the barrel he had just put down.
"I am not here on business, Cernunnos," Artemis says flatly as she steps forward into the sitting room. Shielding the ones who called the old townhouse home and their guests from the massive frame of the King of the Wild Hunt. "I am here to see my son and spend time with him for the holidays, so do take this in all the wrong ways, and leave," Artemis says in a tone that brokered no argument and a glare that could set a soul aflame.
But all Cernunnos does is throw his head back and laugh, full and with all his body. It set the sound of thunder echoing throughout the home, causing most of the younger mortals to flinch at the unexpected sound. "Well put, Lady Artemis, but let me ask you something before you do something you may regret, how do you think you found yourself with an invitation to come to the Isles in the first place?" the Horned God asked with a raised brow.
"My son is the champion of The Morrígan, it is only right she would allow a few concessions to him," Artemis answers flatly and without pause. Harry had told her that he was made the champion of the Morrígan the night before, and much to his surprise, Artemis had taken the news in stride. She informed Harry that her stepmother, Hera, had named several champions throughout the eons of demigods she saw worthy of her protection and blessing and saw The Morrígan picking him as a great honor, rather than part of some wicked scheme. Artemis had gone on to explain that being a Champion of a god was not something to scoff at, for so long as Harry was her sworn champion he was under her protection.
Cernunnos chuckles a bit as he moves over to the couch and sits down on it. The mass of his bulk bends the couch in the middle as the cracking of wood is heard through the house. "That would maybe be true for a few hours or a day at most, but three?" the Horned God asks before shaking his head with a knowing grin. "No, The Morrígan is covetous and jealously guards what she sees as hers. She doesn't like other gods on her isles, what makes you think she'll let them touch her champion without a damn good reason?" Cernunnos says with a grin that causes Artemis to frown.
"No, the only reason that you're here still is-" Cernunnos begins to say before Harry speaks up.
"You," Harry says as his eyes widen a bit. "When you handed over the crown you traded it for a favor from The Morrígan. You said you wanted a hunting buddy," He says pointing at the smiling Horned God as he nods at Harry's words.
"Bingo," Cernunnos says as he points at Harry before turning back to Artemis who is now scowling at the horned god. Cernunnos smiles at the look on Artemis' face before speaking again. "And a hunting buddy is what I've come for and I've found us a beast of a hunt," he says with a dark chuckle at something he found funny in his own words.
"No," Artemis says flatly as she continues to scowl at the horned god. "I have no want or desire to go on any hunt with you alone, Cernunnos. Owing you or not, I am here to see my son and that is all," Artemis tells the King of the Wild Hunt swiftly and without pomp or flair and with a glare.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that," the horned god whines like a child. Tilting his head back to no doubt cover up rolling his eyes at Artemis' words. "You can bring the kids if you want," He says with a sweeping gesture at everyone in the room as he looks back up. "You never know when we'll need bait," he laughs again.
Her hunters could hear Artemis' teeth grind at Cernunnos' words while the horned god just smiled at her. Artemis had never considered any of her hunters as either expendable or bait for anything, they were her sisters and in some ways her daughters. The words of Cernunnos were nothing short of an insult to her and her hunt, but planting a few arrows into the horned god would do nothing but get her guest's rights rejected and her expulsion from the islands. So, Artemis takes a deep breath, reigning in her temper, before speaking.
"No," she says hard and cold with a glare that would stop a mortal's heart.
As Cernunnos scowls at Artemis, opening his mouth to say something else, before the front door opens with a crash and a cry.
"Cernunnos! Ya fuckin half-wit!" A new voice called out full of impatience and anger. "What in the name of Dana's sweet-swinging tits has taken your ass so long!" the elderly voice calls out followed by the sound of thunks and labored steps. At the sound of the crashing door, the three mortal hunters cry out in pain before grasping at their heads, as the goddess of the hunt heads whip around with wide eyes as another figure comes storming through the townhouse.
Unlike most of the other gods, who had changed how they looked and dressed for the modern era, this god, Nuadha, did not. Still dressed in fine robes and cloaks with old as-ages past, compared to Cernunnos who was dressed in riding leather and modern clothes, Nuadha looked to be a king of old returning. Cernunnos turns to Nuadha, a look of annoyance on his face as he frowns at the older god.
"I just got here, old man," Cernunnos says with a frown as he leans back onto the couch putting one arm over the back of it. "So, how about cutting me a bit of slack, huh?" he says to Nuadha as the older god begins to walk past him. Nuadha stops for a second before flipping his cane to grab it by the end and slides the crooked head under the couch before giving it a mighty heave. The couch flips, with Cernunnos still on it, and lands on the floor, topping on top of the horned god as he grunts out in pain.
"Don't ya talk back to me," Naudha snaps at Cernunnos as the larger god groans from the floor. "Or next time I'll be shoving the ridiculous mask up ya ass, got me, boy?" Nuadha growls out before walking over to the reclining chair in front of the hearth to sit down with a sigh.
As everyone in the room blinks at the old man's antics and watches him sit down. Cernunnos shoves the couch off of himself before standing back up and rubbing the back of his head. "By the storm, you old fuck, could you be any more crabby?" Cernunnos says with a growl before putting the couch back with a flip of his hand as Nuadha inspects the hearth with a frown on his face that borders on disgust.
"Enough," Artemis says as Nuadha turns back to no doubt yell at Cernunnos, drawing both god's attention back to her. "I do not know what brings either of you here, Elder, but as I've told Cernunnos, I have no interest in anything other than visiting my son," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest and sends another glare at the horned god for trying to ruin her evening.
"Oh, I doubt that, lass," Nuadha mumbles as he snuggles deeper into his cloak and looks into the flames of the hearth. "But I'm guessing the fuckwit didn't tell you why either of us are here, huh?" the old god asks without turning to Artemis.
"He wishes for a hunting buddy," Artemis says with a roll of her eyes. "But it seems he has one in you, so I don't see why-" she begins to say, hoping to talk the elder god into dragging Cernunnos from the home by his ear, but she is cut off by two words.
"Cath Palug," Nuadha says, his voice cracking with the hearth as a cold chill inexplicably blows through the warm house. Artemis' eyes widen as Britomartis, who was eyeing Cernunnos with suspicion, head snaps over to look at the old god with a gasp before turning to look at one another with worry.
"The cat monster that King Arthur killed?" Hermione asks, looking between Artemis and Nuadha with a curious look on her face.
"Bah," Nuadha immediately spits, frowning even more at the name of the king. "Arthur was nothing but a boy fucking Roman warlord and a bastard child of that cunt, Jupiter. Who, for some fucking reason, you Brits stuck the legend of my grandchild onto. It was Fianna that killed Cath Palug during our time, not some Roman cunt," the old god says with a growl as he turns to glare at Hermione, causing her to take a step back, and both Ron and Harry to step forward in front of her.
"Be that as it may," Artemis says, speaking up once more to shift Nuadha's attention back to her. "I helped kill Cath Palug not even a hundred years ago with Britomartis, Odin, Bastet, and Rudra. It shouldn't be back by now, it's far too early for it to have built the energy back up to reform," Artemis says, confusion coloring her tone.
"And normally, you'd be right," Cernunnos says while crossing his arms over his chest. "But right now it's stalking the lands in Scotland, fully manifested," he says, a smile forming on his face as his foot begins to tap on the floor.
"The fuckwit is right, it's almost like someone let the King of fucking Cats out of the cage the Romans stuffed it into," Nuadha says before his head snaps to Harry, who was now looking at the crown molding of Grimmauld Place like it was the most interest thing in the world as everyone else turns to look at him.
"You did what!?" Artemis all but hisses at her son with wide angry eyes.
"I was stuck beyond the hedge!" Harry immediately yells, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It offered me a way out and I took it! I didn't know what it was!?" Harry says as all the gods groan as if in pain as one.
Artemis pinches the bridge of her nose as she shuts her eyes. "For the love of-" she says with a sigh before looking back at Harry. "Cait-Sith is possibly one of the biggest thorns in the side of any of the divine the world over. It's a trickster that implanted itself in multiple pantheons all over the world as a monster and god, it's the reason why people in the modern era say cats have nine lives." Artemis explains and watches as the color drains from Harry's face with each word. "It was mine and Apollo's task to seal that damn thing and it took over four years to do just that,"
"Oh," Harry says before blinking twice. "Oh, no!" Harry then yells, his hands flying to the sides of his face as panic overtakes it. "That thing is Luna's cat! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" he says as all four of the gods look at one another confused.
"Are ya telling me," Nuadha says, looking over at Harry with a baffled look, "That Cait-Sith is being a lap cat for some morty?" Nuadha says sounding lost.
"We're not allowed to call them that anymore, old man," Cernunnos says with a flat look at Nuadha.
"I'll call'em what I want, you little shit," Nuadha snaps back at the horned god before turning back to Harry. "And you, where the hell did you say this, Luna, was right now?" he asks, a brow raising over his fake eye. Harry, now squatting with his eyes on the floor and his hands in his hair, mumbles out "Dún Scaith," before Nuadha throws his head back and lets out a single bark of a laugh.
"Yeah, no. Absolutely not dealing with that shit," Nuadha says before hopping out of his seat. "The seas will sink Ireland before I willingly go to Scáthach's school to start a ruckus over that fucking cat. If Scáthach doesn't already have that thing collared and leashed by now, I'll eat my arm," he says as he stretches a bit, popping his back in a few places. "But back to the problem at hand, Cath-Palug needs to be dealt with before it becomes too much to handle between the four of us," he says, turning back to look at Artemis, "Are ya two in or out?" he asks the two Greek gods of the Hunt.
Artemis sighs before running a hand down her face and looking up to face Nuadha. "Cath Palug changes everything, so yes, we will help hunt it down. It is our responsibility, after all," Artemis says with Britomartis cracking her knuckles with a smile showing she was in as well.
"Ah, but why is it your responsibility?" Hermione asks, holding up a finger with her brow furrowed and interest gleaming in her eyes. "Isn't Cath Palug a, well, Welsh or Irish legend?" she points out as the gods turn to look at her. "I was, um, just-just," she stutters as she tries to speak through the force of the Hunt bearing down on her from four gods.
It was Nuadha that answered her, in a surprisingly soft tone. "Cath Palug is just a name that we gave it and it caught on with the other gods, it translates to Clawing Bog Cat or something like that. But the truth of the matter is that Cath Palug is a Beast, with a capital B," he explains, before narrowing his eyes at the confused look still on Hermione's face. "Hn. Guess they're not teaching you younglings about higher phenomena anymore, huh?" Nuadha asks before looking over at Artemis for an explanation.
"The magical and divine worlds have been separated for a long time, I doubt any school would teach about the Beasts anymore," Artemis says with a shrug, causing the old god to scuff.
"Fucking moronic, these children and men all have a touch of the divine in them thanks to the gift of magic itself. Why would they not be warned about the Beast of Magic?" Nuadha asks as he waves his cane across most of the mortals in the room he shakes his head in disgust and Artemis shrugs for she doesn't know the answer to the older god's question.
"But what is a Beast?" Lupin asks as he leans on the wall just behind Artemis, one hand on his chin as his eyes flick between Nuadha and Cernunnos with a look of curiosity in them as well as something deeper as if he was trying to decide something.
"A Beast is what we gods call the manifestation of sin from a particular domain," Artemis says, turning back to look at Lupin who frowns at her words.
"Sin?" Lupin asks, his eyes narrowing a bit as he turns his head a bit. "Are you serious?" he says before flinching at what he just said.
"Ah, excuse me? But I'm the only Sirius here," Padfoot says from beside Atalanta with a raised finger and looking at Lupin with a fake angry look. Cernunnos is the only one who lets out a laugh while everyone else turns to look at the man with either an angry look or a groan at the pun.
"Atalanta," Artemis says before turning back to look at Lupin as her hunter elbows Sirius in the side, making him double over and groan in pain.
"Okay, I may have deserved that one," Sirius mutters with a cheeky smile and a slight gasping laugh.
"Thank you, Atalanta," Artemis thanked her hunter without turning to look at her. "But to answer your question Remus, where divinity exists so does the sin against that divine. In this case, the gods of the Hunt see something that humanity does as a sin and we become enraged by the act. All that anger and rage has to go somewhere, and it forms something like a boil in the world. A part of our duties as gods is to lance said boil, for the lack of a proper term," Artemis explains with a frown while choosing her words carefully as to avoid the mention of anything mortals need not know about. "It's not something we can control, or even truly predict when it will happen. However, once lanced, it normally takes time for the same amount of sin to build up and reform itself," she says with her tone shifting back and forth between boredom and something edging excitement.
"How long does it normally take?" Lupin asks eagerly, always the academic and looking to learn something new like Hermione, who looked enraptured by the discussion.
"Seven hundred years, give or take a few hundred," Artemis says with a shrug. "I've killed Cath Palug myself at least eight times. Though, that doesn't mean the Beast is easy to put down, in fact…" Artemis says, trailing off as her eyes drift over to Harry, who is still squatting down but looking up with interest, as they light up with a bit of excitement. "Would you like to come on the hunt, Ha-"
"Yes!" the boy who lives shouts as he jumps up with a whoop. Artemis lets out a small chuckle at her son's reaction. "I'll go get my armor!" He says before making his way over to the stairs and running up them as Hermione, Sirius, and Lupin call out after him while Ron just groans.
"Aww, man," the red-headed boy groans out while facepalming at his best friend's reaction. "Here we go again," he says with a slight smile that was covered up with his hand.
"We?" Artemis asks, turning to look at Ron who was shaking his head. "Who said I was inviting you, Ronald Weasley," she says as her eyes narrow onto the boy a bit before Hermione speaks up for them.
"Whenever Harry normally goes off on a wild adventure full of shenanigans, we tend to go with him," she says with a slight smile full of a bit of fondness. "And we're not about to let him go at it alone if we can help it," Hermione says as Ron looks up with a smile on his face and both of the teens look back at Artemis with resolve flashing in their eyes causing Artemis to frown at the two teens.
"Now hold on you two," Sirius, after recovering from Atalanta's elbow, says cutting in before Artemis says another word. "Your parents left you in my care, trusting me to see that neither of you gets hurt or does something insane like going off on a demigod adventure with Harry," he says, holding up a hand to quickly stem the tide of rebuttals and arguments from the two teens he knew that was coming. Artemis turns her head and looks at the guard dog with an impressed look at how mature and protective the man is acting. Privately thinking that maybe saving Sirius Black from the dementors was the right and true thing to do if he was this good of a role model for her son.
"Without me that is, let me go grab something and get my bike ready," Sirius says with a smile before scuttling off to do just that and dashing any hope Artemis had for the man as she watches him go as the two teens cheer. Atalanta and Daphnis both chuckle at the man's exuberance as Artemis just rolls her eyes.
"That still doesn't change the fact that this is not for mortals to get involved with without some form of divine protection which, I feel the need to remind you two, that neither of you has," Artemis points out as she crosses her arms with a frown at the two teens.
But before either Ron or Hermione could speak up to defend themselves, someone else spoke. "Can't they join the hunt? It would only be for a few hours but it would give them some form of protection," Atalanta says, her arms crossed and her hips cocked as she asked Artemis. The goddess looks over to her hunter with a frown before turning back to the two in front of her, her amber eyes flashing at them.
"I dislike the thought of handing out my blessing like it was some cheap thing that can be returned once used," Artemis says with a frown before Atalanta quickly tries to apologize for her words but Artemis brushes the apology away. She understood what her hunter had meant and knew she didn't mean any disrespect with her words. "It is fine, Atalanta. I am technically doing the same thing with Daisy, but still," she says with a sigh before uncrossing her arms. "I can extend my protection to Hermione, but not to Ron," she tells the two teens, Hermione turns to Ron with wide eyes and an agasped face as Ron throws up his hands in surrender.
"Hey, no problem here, Artemis. I didn't want to join in the first place," Ron says with a shake of his head trying to sound as polite as he could. Artemis just sniffs before looking away from Ron and turning to Hermione with a flat blank look.
"What about you, Hermione Ganger?" the goddess of the hunt asks, her brow raising in question. "Will you accept my blessing and protection if it means that you may join us on this hunt?" she asks the bookworm who still stood there with her mouth open, looking between Ron and Artemis.
"Um, I mean-I don't," Hermione says, stumbling over her words as her hands begin to fiddle with the hem of her jumper. Showing a rare moment of indecision for the normally decisive girl. "What-what about Ron?" she finally asks, her eyes flicking to one of her best friends before looking back to Artemis.
"I can do nothing for Ronald, he will have to stay behind," Artemis informs the girl as she visibly deflates at the goddess' words before Artemis turns to the other two gods of the hunt that have been watching. "Unless one of you two can help the boy out?" she asks and watches Cernunnos huffs out a laugh before answering as he sits back down on the couch.
"Not unless the boy is ready to give up everything. The Wild Hunt is a one-way trip, I don't do givebacks," Cernunnos says before leaning back on the couch, causing the poor thing to squeak and strain under his massive bulk. Ron immediately, and fiercely shook his head at the horned god, he didn't want anything to do with the Wild Hunt.
"I might," Nuadha says from the seat he had retaken by the hearth, his lips were downturned and his forehead pitched as he looked into the flames. "But it won't give him access to the Hunt, only a solid form of protection and that won't be enough with what we are going after," he says before adjusting himself in the reclining seat with his cane placed over his legs.
"Oh!" Atalanta says with a grin and a clap of her hands, "Idea!" she yells before taking off in a blur towards the stairs as everyone watches her go with a questioning look.
It doesn't take long before she and Harry come charging down the stairs. Harry shoves on his last remaining brace with a large grin before flexing his hand and channeling his magic through the Alchemic Silver that covers the inside of it. Everyone watches as the laces of the armor come to life and pull tight to secure the armor to his forearm.
"So fucking cool," Harry mutters to himself as he pulls down the sleeve of his jacket. He was wearing the Scorpio Armor that Artemis had commissioned for him the previous year. Where once the armor was featureless and practical, now each piece was lined with silver with tiny runes inscribed across it. Either the smith who had done an excellent job on lining the armor or the Guard Dog and Hunting Hound had found the time and put in the extra effort to inscribe different phases of the moon in the soft silver metal. Artemis had the armor made with practicality in mind, not looks, she needed something to protect Harry in ways other than how she failed him. But now, looking at the gleaming silver in the soft light of Grimmauld Place she can't help but smile at Harry as he adjusts the straps to the elbow pads before checking if the pauldrons were on tight.
Artemis' eyes travel down to the single item that she had not given Harry that she could see, a long black scarf. It was wound loosely around his neck to keep the evening chill off of it and hid the pendant he had added to the collar of his jacket. It looked to be woven by thick silks that were as soft as shadows with the ends hanging down the front of his chest. Barely visible in the dark fabric, at the ends of the scarf, were the visages of twin birds, whether they be crows or ravens she had no clue. Harry smiles back at her, his eyes alight with excitement as he does. "All ready," he says to her, his smile never faltering.
"Excellent, we were just discussing what to do with your friends," Artemis says, turning back to the other two teens. "They seem adamant in following you into this hunt," she tells her son as Harry just blinks at his friends.
"Oh, that answers why Atalanta grabbed-" Harry begins to say before his sister tosses something at Ron, who catches it on pure instinct before juggling it a bit before firmly grasping it in his hands. "-that," Harry says with a bit of a smile as Ron held the Sword of Peleus in his hand. Harry had given it to Atalanta for Christmas just a few days ago in private knowing how much the sword of her friend meant to her.
"There, one sword chock-full of the blessing of the Hunt to use," Atalanta says with a grin as Ron holds the sword an arm's length from him and eyes it wearily. "Just don't break it, it's the only thing I've got from the Argo and the Boar hunt left," she says, pointing at Ron and sounding more than a little serious about it.
"Hold on, what makes you think I can use this? I thought only those worthy of the hunt could draw it," Ron says looking at Atalanta, his voice turning a bit mocking as he does. He's surprised when Harry scoffs a bit before turning to look at his friend.
"Come off it, Mate," Harry says with a roll of his eyes. "You were there for the stone, you went down into the chamber to help me fight the Basilisk, and we followed the spiders right to Aragog. You were with me every step of the way, if anyone can draw that blade, it's you, mate," Harry says with a smile full of confidence in his friend as Ron flushes red from ear to ear.
"He's right, Ron," Hermione says as she nudges Ron in his side with a bright smile. "If anyone can, it's you," she tells Ron, the boy flushing even more red before sighing to himself.
"Jeez, talk about no pressure, huh?" Ron quips before resting his hand on the handle of the blade, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath. His hands shake only for a moment before he squeezes his hand tight and pulls on the blade.
The ring of a blade getting pulled from the scabbard sounds out through the living room and is quickly followed by a gasp from the red-headed boy. His pupils become slitted as he feels, for not the first time in his life, the power of the hunt. But this time it courses through him, steady and strong in his veins was the roar and hunger of the Hunt. Ron let out a slow breath, blinking as he did, the new sensation that song in the back of his mind like the howl of a churchyard hound was disconcerting as he could feel the beast's hunger and the push to have Ron feed it. Ron quickly slips the blade back into the scabbard cutting off the wildhound before looking back to Harry. He notices that Atalanta and Harry have tensed up to jump on him if needed, but relaxes as Ron puts away the sword.
"Witchfathers Frosty Bullock's, Harry," Ron curses as he reaches up to rub his forehead from the creeping headache. "Is that what you deal with all day?" he asks, his face twisting in shock as Harry just laughs and nods.
"Every day as well, mate," Harry says with a grin.
"Bloody hell," Ron says with a sigh and strain as he drops his hand. "Remind me not to bitch about my headaches with you in earshot," he says with a scoff as Harry claps on his back.
"Well," Artemis says, catching the two boys' attention as she carefully inspects Ron once more. "Color me impressed, Ronald Weasley. It seems I may have misjudged you," she says with a small smile before turning away from Ron and looking back at Hermione. "And what of you, Hermione Granger? Have you decided yet?" she asks the bookworm, who flushes with embarrassment as she looks back over at both Harry and Ron. One looked confused and the other looked at her with an encouraging smile.
Hermione turns back to Artemis, her face set into a look of unwavering conviction. For if her friends were heading feet first into death and danger, she had long resolved herself to be in the trenches right next to them; for together, they could do anything. "What do I need to do?" Hermione asks the goddess in front of her.
Artemis smiles at the young, fearless maiden in front of her before speaking. "Kneel on one knee and repeat after me," Artemis orders, before watching the young girl do just that. Harry's eyes widen as he realizes what is happening, he tugs on Ron's shirt causing him to step back with him as Atalanta and Daphnis step forward to flank Hermione.
"I, Hermione Granger, hereby and to the end of my days, swear myself to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and protector of maidens,"
"I, Hermione Granger, hereby and to the end of my days, swear myself to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and protector of maidens,"
"In doing so, I swear off the company of men and of love in all its intimate forms but those I share with my sisters and brothers in the hunt,"
"In doing so, I swear off the company of men and of love in all its intimate forms but those I share with my sisters and brothers in the hunt,"
As Artemis tells Hermione the words of the oath, a soft glow begins to emanate from her. Silver was the light that filled the room as all other forms of light waned and died. As Hermione recanted the oath in front of the Goddess in front of her kneeling form, that soft light passed from Artemis to her.
"I so swear to embrace the hunt as it embraces me, to let it guide me, but never control me, to let it empower me as I feed it, lest I be its next meal,"
"I so swear to embrace the hunt as it embraces me, to let it guide me, but never control me, to let it empower me as I feed it, lest I be its next meal,"
"So swears I, till the end of my days or until my lady releases me, to uphold this oath and hold it sacred in my heart,"
"So swears I, till the end of my days or until my lady releases me, to uphold this oath and hold it sacred in my heart,"
With the final words said, the soft silver light flowed completely from Artemis and into Hermione, until, like Daphnis and Atalanta, she glowed with the divine protection of Artemis. The Goddess smiles down at Hermione, now a daughter and sister in the hunt before reaching down for her with an open hand. "Now stand, Hermione Granger, Hunter of Artemis," Artemis informs Hermione.
"Now stand, Hermione Granger- Oh, wait!" Hermione says as she raises her head as she has bowed it half through the oath, causing most in the room to chuckle before she reaches out and grasps Artemis' forearm before being pulled to her feet by the Goddess of the Hunt. As she stands before her new brothers and sisters, and like Ron before her, she gasps as she feels the Hunt manifest like a purring cat in her mind. The soft and almost seductive sound echoes through her mind as her pupils split and her hands fly up to grasp either side of her head to cover her ears, trying futilely to block out the sound. To Hermione, it sounds like the purring of a house cat combined with the chuffing of a tiger hungry for its next meal.
Both Daphnis and Atalanta brace themselves to tackle the young girl to the floor if she cannot control the first taste of the Hunt, but to their surprise, all Hermione does is take a deep breath and pulls out a mental spray bottle. The bookworm with ruthless and cold logic crushes the need to feed the hunt in her mind, she knows it is not her, she knows it is simply the Hunt forcing that want on her. Hermione, much like her friends, is as stubborn as a brick wall with the courage to put a lion to shame and with that sense of self, she shunts the cat right into a carrier in the back of her mind.
As Hermione lets her hands drop and takes a deep breath, she opens her eyes to look at her new Lady who smiles proudly at her. "It seems Harry has some very impressive friends," Artemis says as she turns to look at her son and Ron beside him. "You should both be proud to throw off the first encounter with the hunt from your minds," she congratulates both of them with a smile.
Artemis turns back to Hermione, "Sadly, I am not a goddess of armor, so we will have to do something to get you properly dressed for this hunt," she says, eyeing the girl's jumper for a moment before Daphnis speaks up.
"She can wear mine for this hunt, My Lady," Daphnis says as he shrugs off his leathers before holding them out for Hermione.
"But-" Hermione says before looking back and forth between Daphnis' smiling face and Artemis' now passive one, "Won't you need it?" she asks, looking back at the boy in confusion.
"I'm afraid sister, that I won't be going on this hunt because I'm afraid I shot as if I was blind," Daphnis says with a grin as Atalanta, Harry, and Britomartis let out a few laughs at the commander's joke and Hermione's blushing face as she takes the jacket with a small, embarrassed, word of thanks to Daphnis. By the time Hermione pulled on the surprisingly warm jacket and turned back to the goddess she was now sworn to, Artemis was already her a silver bow and a quiver of arrows.
"I am, however, the goddess of archery, so these can be supplied easily enough," Artemis says with a small smile as Hermione takes them.
"Oh, I guess no magic, huh?" Hermione asks as she slings both items over her shoulders.
"No, if you wish to use your wand, you may Hermione," Artemis informs her newest hunter, much to the girl's surprise. "For it is not the weapon that you choose to hunt with, but the skill in which you use it in the hunt," the goddess offers the young maiden before watching her nod.
"I understand, ah, My Lady," Hermione says with a slight bow of her head before stepping away and walking towards her friends. She smiles at Harry and Ron, "So, I guess I'm your sister now, or however that works," she says to Harry, who smiles and chuckles.
"When were you not?" Harry asks with a smile and a tilt of his head, causing Hermione to blush once more.
"Are ya done yet?" Nuadha asks, looking up from the flames of the hearth with a grumpy look on his face. "Because I'd very much like to take care of this before the Senior Citizens Discount at my new favorite cafe begins," he says with a frown.
Artemis rolls her eyes at the antics of the elder in the room. "Yes, I believe that we are. All I need to do is call my sled and for that, we need to be outside," she says, before not wasting any more time on words turns to leave the house by the front door.
Harry turns to Lupin who is now looking down at the floor, deep in thought. "Are you coming too, Moony? The more the merrier as they say," Harry says with a grin, causing Lupin to look up at him for a moment before looking at the retreating Nuadha.
"Not this time, Harry. Someone needs to stay here and inform anyone who comes by to where you are, besides, it would be rude of me to leave Daphnis here all alone," The older man says with a pained smile. Harry shrugs as Daphnis thanks Moony with a smile. "Ah, excuse me, Lord Nuadha?" Moony calls out, stopping the old god as he is walking towards the door and causing the old man to turn and look at him with a raised brow.
"May I, may I speak with you, in private?" Remus asks, stepping forward as he uncrosses his arms. "It will only take a moment, I swear," Moony offers before Nuadha narrows his eyes at the younger-looking man before turning to Harry.
"Make sure that fuckwit Cernunnos has room for me, Boyo," Nuadha says before nodding toward the front door that everyone had left through already. Knowing a dismissal when Harry heard one, he nodded his head and headed to the front door. Turns back only once to see Daphnis leave the room to give the god and Moony privacy.
Harry heads out the front door and down the defrosted steps to see the sight of two motorcycles, one massive enough for Cernunnos to ride, and another smaller with a sidecar. Sirius was sitting on the smaller one and handing Ron a helmet with goggles with a grin as the boy climbed into the sidecar. Sirius had something strapped to his back, the sight confused Harry for a moment before he recognized what it was, Gramr the dragon-slaying sword Harry had gotten from Odin the year before. But before Harry could ask what the bloody hell Sirius was doing with that, he heard Atalanta call out to him.
"Oi, Harry, get your ass moving or else we'll leave you behind!" Atalanta says while waving at him and with a grin from a silver sled. Harry inspects it for a moment with wide eyes, it looks to be either made from pure silver or wood that closely resembles it. The sled was large enough to fit Hermione, Britomartis, Atalanta, and himself in the back as Artemis sat in the front gathering the reigns in her hands that led to twelve golden hinds all strapped together to pull it.
It honestly reminds Harry of Father Christmas' Sleigh from all story books he read back in primary school.
With a laugh, Harry turns to Cernunnos to tell him what Nuadha says before running forward and leaping into the sled before Artemis turns back to look at the four behind her. "Is everyone ready?" she asks, a smile on her lips grows at the cheers of three of her hunters and her old friend.
"Are we talking this all the way to Scotland? Isn't that going to attract attention? And what about the speed limit?" Hermione quickly asks from her seat in between Britomartis and Harry, leaning forward a bit as Atalanta who was on the far right to Harry's far left kicks her feet up.
"Oh, Hermione," Sirius calls out as he affixes his goggles to his eyes, "There isn't a speed limit where we're going," he says before laughing and kickstarting his bike, much to the confusion of the bookworm.
Artemis chuckles with Sirius before drawing up the reigns of her sleigh. "Come on, let's see if we can find the Beast before Cernunnos and snatch the kill away from him," Artemis says with a full blow grin while looking back at her hunter who all smile back at her, even Hermione, and with a crack of the reigns and a cry from the goddess of the hunt, the hinds that lead begin to pull the sleigh forward.
"Hey!" cried the horned god from behind them, "I heard that! That cheating damnit!" he calls out to Artemis as both she and Sirius laugh at his words as the motorcycle under Sirius charges forward with the Sleigh. "Oi, you old fuck! Get your ass out here or they'll beat us to it! Old man! Are you listening to me!" Cernunnos yells at the top of his lungs as Artemis pulls back on the reigns and the Hinds begin to pull the sleigh skyward. Sirius whoops as he pops a wheely, and Ron cries out in surprise as the bike leaves the ground and begins to fly next to the sleigh of Artemis.
And the Hunters, friends, and family all, take off into the cloudy London sky on their way to a Mid-Winter Hunt.
Chapter done!
And just in time for the Holiday season!
Drop a bunch of stuff on ya this chapter, so let's break a bit down, shall we?
So, the Beasts of the domains. Every domain has one and it is up to the gods that organize and use those domains to deal with them, they are formed from the sins against the domain and are birthed into the world to punish humanity for their crimes.
Needless to say, the next chapter is gonna get very anime.
Hermione and Ron(kinda) joining the Hunt.
This has been planned since all the way back in UtHM, I knew I wanted Ron and Hermione to be able to experience the world like how Harry experiences it. Which is why I set this whole thing up in THaTC with the sword and Cernunnos. And before anyone says anything, no, Hermione is only joining the Hunters for one night only.
Also, I've come across a rather interesting premise in a story called "Alaya, Goddess of Humanity. By ShirouKuroEmiya" and I'm not gonna lie, that lit a fire in my head in how I would do it, so I might go for a one-shot with doing that.
Anyway!
The next chapter is:
Number of the Beast
Kingsaxcul, Out!