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Good afternoon~. I didn't expect to be posting this chapter today or even this month, but as the translation of chapter 5 of TMPS will be delayed, I chose to publish it here.
Enjoy it, please.
Posted: 09/03/2024
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Since December 1, 1986, Privet Drive was white with snow and ice.
Every day, a thin layer of ice covered the street asphalt, as well as passing over the sidewalks. Andrew Connan, son of Petunia's friend Monica, was paid ten pounds to clear the ice from the sidewalks twice a day, and he went back and forth with a metal spatula and cans of potash up and down the street.
At house number four, the Christmas decorations had already been put up weeks before the holiday finally arrived: twinkling lights were covering the railing and pillars on the porch, with garlands hanging above the door and above the windows next door. Inside the house, the stair railing was wrapped with a long ribbon of lights, and the steps were covered with adhesive wallpaper with red, white and green stripes. The furniture in the hallway and living room was covered with cloths with Christmas prints, and in place of the usual Indian rug that was on the living room floor, a large round white rug was open, with deer figures embroidered along the edge. In one corner, the latest addition to the decorations, was showing off imposingly to those who entered the room: an two meters pine tree was standing proudly, wrapped in twinkles.
Harry and Dudley, dressed in fluffy red and green woolen sweaters, were sitting in front of the electric fireplace enjoying the warmth while taking decorations out of a box they had brought from the attic. Dudley had plastic spheres and artificial vines with him, as green as natural vines. Harry had bells, angels, canes and fir trees as decorations, as well as a large white porcelain star to be placed on top of the fir tree. They were tiptoeing to decorate the entire tree.
Harry was 116 centimeters tall, six centimeters taller than Dudley. He placed the decorations on top and Dudley on the bottom, playing to see who could finish faster. Fortunately, Petunia forbade them from covering the entire tree with decorations, as they had tried to do earlier after Vernon had put up the string lights.
"And now?" Dudley asked when he finished his part.
"That's all that's missing" Harry held up the porcelain star, the last ornament out of place. "But I can't reach..."
"I will help you!"
Dudley made a step by putting his hands together and Harry climbed up on it, stretching his arms and bending over the fir tree, being careful not to accidentally grab an ornament. He carefully placed the star at the very tip, and it curved slightly under its own weight, but still remained somewhat straight.
"Ready!" Harry shouted, jumping to the ground.
"OK!" Petunia called from the kitchen, where she was preparing the turkey.
Dudley straightened his back and wiped his hand on his trousers, walking away with Harry to observe the decorated tree. They smiled at the work they did.
"Snow War?" he asked.
"And hot cocoa" Harry agreed, and went out to tell his aunt that they were going to play with Peter, Jack, Thomas and Samantha.
The noise on Olympus was something to be bothered by, even for the immortals and nature spirits who were already used to the mockery of the gods. Hebe and Ganymede were dismissed, as Hestia was the one who served the gods on the Solstice, ensuring that the fire warmed them all as they celebrated and tried not to start a war due to their own egos.
Hera was sitting on her throne, a cup in her hand with a mixture of nectar and ambrosia that she drank sip by sip. To her right, Ares was arguing with Hephaestus again, some nonsense. She really didn't understand this inferiority complex that her youngest had for her firstborn, but she wouldn't interfere in their matter. In front of her throne, Poseidon was telling a crude joke to Hermes and Apollo, who were very interested in what "magazine" meant. Artemis was silently eating the cookies prepared by Hestia, pretending to be a shadow so that no one would try to bother her while she was eating. Athena was talking to Zeus, something about some research he was undertaking on architecture. Hades and Demeter were being ignored, everyone bored from their recurring fights over Persephone. Dionysus was talking to Aphrodite, but he had a sleepy look on his face that showed how much he cared.
The Queen of the Gods watched her relatives disinterestedly, tired of the bubbles they placed themselves in whenever they gathered. She wasn't hypocritical enough to deny that they were family in the simplest sense and nothing more than that. Taking a sip of the liquor, she settled down on the throne, resting her head on her hand. For a moment, Hera wondered if Harry was already eating dinner.
The Goddess of Marriage shifted in her seat, looking out the window, shifting her attention to Surrey, past Epsom to Little Whinging, through the streets named after flowers until she reached Privet Drive. Snow covered gardens and rooftops, and no cars were outside to avoid freezing. The sidewalks, defrosted in the morning, already had a thin layer of water creating a very thin layer of ice. The houses sparkled with Christmas lights and decorations.
Number 4 was really impeccable: the garlands, the lights, the reindeer statues and the silhouette of Santa Claus, everything was in an appropriate place and with the right intensity of light and hues. The snow on the roof and grass looked like a carpet, while in the garden it was like ice cream, sitting on the plants like ice cream in a cone. The light that came through the window was strong and turned yellow, allowing only silhouettes to be seen. Could say it's a perfect house from a Christmas movie.
Petunia was in the kitchen, placing the dinner plates on the table. She had just taken a platter out of the oven containing a large, perfectly browned turkey. Surrounding the platter were plates of rice, roast potatoes, beef Wellington and Yorkshire pudding. In a medium bowl, there were beans for everyone to help themselves with healthy doses of protein to help the boys grow. Hera nodded at what Petunia had done.
Vernon was sitting at the table, with his most characteristic sacred symbol in hand: the morning edition of the Daily Mail. He was extremely focused on what he was reading, making Hera curious about what was so important for him to be reading at that time. In the mortal's pocket there was a small paper barely hanging, which said:
BET CONFIRMATION – HORSE nº 7, "Black Hair"
The Goddess of the Family rolled her eyes.
In the living room, Harry and Dudley were lying face down on the Christmas rug, facing the brand new television that Vernon had bought in June when they went out to celebrate Dudley's birthday and he let the boy choose the new television when they entered a departments store in London after going to the cinema to watch The Great Mouse Detective. They were watching a special episode of DuckTales.
Hera gave a small smile, seeing her godson laughing happily at the silly drawing of ducks without pants. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that she had spent too long looking at Surrey.
Zeus was curious about what had taken his wife's attention. Normally, she would stand over the gods intently, guiding them out of their quarrels. Even he would (begrudgingly) admit her importance at parties where he had to deal with his brothers. What could have made her divert her attention from the meeting she spent most of her time on all year?
The curious King of the Gods followed his queen's gaze and beheld a small house covered in snow and shining with twinkling lights. There was nothing interesting on the outside. Inside, a family of four was gathered at the table, eating Christmas dinner. Zeus could see their positions instantly.
The man sitting at the head of the table was the head of the family. He was as portly as Dionysus, but tall as Hephaestus when in mortal form. Despite not having a beard, he had a truly admirable mustache, drawing a nod from the King of Gods.
The woman, blond and with sadly poor features, was tall, as tall as Demeter in her most favored mortal form. She had long, thin arms that, combined with her fine hair in a retro cut, made her look like a doll. She had some aesthetic appeal to mortals, Zeus thought to himself.
The other two family members were two children. One of them, blonde like the woman, was a less corpulent and shorter form of the family's father. He had a rounded face, but whether it was due to fat or because he was that way, Zeus couldn't say. He could tell, however, that the boy would certainly be a good boxer in the future.
The last boy was taller than the chubby one, but totally different from the other members of the family: his hair was glossy black and his eyes were emerald green. He had a thin, slightly upturned nose, with cheeks with a little boyish fat. He wore round glasses with a very thick frame and his hair was wild. It was obvious that he was not the son of the man and the woman, but he was also abnormally handsome. Zeus knew immediately that he was a demigod.
Partly, he found it strange that Hera was looking at a demigod. He knew very well about his wife's hatred for half-divine children (his in particular), but he was even more certain that she wouldn't look at any of them out of pure spite. Another part of him, however, was curious.
The gods were moved by their generally obtuse desires. Desire is, fundamentally, their curiosity about what they find interesting. You could say they had the attention span of a squirrel when they see a nut that is bigger than the one they were seeing before. And Zeus was one of the most inattentive squirrels on Olympus.
Baring his eyes to the spiritual world, receiving the stimulation of souls and the strength of belief typical of the mortal world, Zeus contemplated the demigod who caught his wife's attention.
For a moment of distracted curiosity, thunder devastated California in a fit of pure, uncontrolled fury unleashed on Zeus.
When dinner was over, Harry and Dudley rushed into the living room, jumping under the Christmas tree to get their presents first.
"Boys!" Petunia screamed, while Vernon just laughed.
The two boys took the packages with their names labeled and were quick to remove (or tear, in Dudley's case) the ribbons tied, pulling out their gifts full of curiosity.
"Yeah!" Dudley shouted, raising a toy sword above his head. He had been given a Famicom, a walking, talking robot, a giant box of chocolates, a foam bullet gun, and a toy sword that he was playing with, positioning himself as one of the ninjas they saw on television the other day. "Hua!"
Harry looked at the toys he had received: an electric train track with a realistic model of the 260 "Mogul", a book about car engines (surely Uncle Vernon's gift, as Harry had once been curious about how a car worked and asked his uncle), a military bag (probably Aunt Marjorie's), a box of chocolate-covered souffles and a golden coin with a female face printed on one side and an ancient temple on the other. Over her face was written: "IUNO CHAMPEON".
Harry thought the coin was the most interesting gift he received. As he was turning around to show the coin to Dudley, an intense light suddenly covered him and prevented him from seeing anything, leaving him dizzy. When he finally came to, he saw that he wasn't at home – not remotely close to Surrey either.
He was in a gigantic white marble room and in front of him were thirteen gigantic beautiful thrones that mixed stone, metals and precious jewels. On these thirteen thrones sat thirteen giants, mixed in feminine and masculine figures. They were shouting at each other with such explosive anger that Harry realized very quickly that he shouldn't be there.
Before he could discreetly walk out the door he realized was behind him, he froze entirely when he heard a scream.
"MORTAL!" There was no way it wasn't going to be him.
Harry turned nervously, not wanting to turn around. A bearded, violent-looking face stared at him with a gaze so venomous that he felt it could explode at any moment. He was wearing an expensive-looking sky-blue suit, and Harry could see that everyone there looked different.
Closest to Harry, on the left, dressed like a postman, was a giant dwarf, the smallest of all there. He had been looking at him with something between pity and curiosity. Next to him, there was a very handsome blond man wearing a deep blue toga, darker than the bearded man's suit. He looked at him with the same curiosity as the postman.
To the right, a man as fat as Uncle Vernon lay on the throne, his head resting on his hand and wearing a bored expression. He stared at Harry with a raised eyebrow.
"He has the normal inattention of the breed" He declared, a mocking drawl. Harry blinked.
"Sorry, I'm just confused," Harry meekly told the man, who blinked, apparently not expecting to be answered.
"And there's the standard sass too" The burly man snorted, opening what Harry saw to be the biggest Coke in the world.
Next to the burly man was a very pretty red-haired woman, who had a tiara that kept her hair out of her face. She wore black pants and a very nice silver sweatshirt-overcoat, and at the foot of the throne she had a quiver full of arrows upside down, leaving only the feathers and tails on top. She had no curiosity, looking at him with an impassive and calculating expression.
"We're not here about his behavior, Dionysus" The man in the suit thundered. Harry felt a strange scent waft through the room, similar to the smell of rain – and Harry made the curious connection between the thunder and the man in front of him. "He is proof of a crime!"
"Crime!" The woman to the right of the suited man shouted. "Crime! You wanna talk about crime?!"
Everyone turned to face the woman, and Harry followed them. She had long dark hair, tied back. He wore a long golden dress, and in his hands was a scepter with a jewel in the shape of a white flower on the top tip. Upon her head was a golden crown that appeared to be in the shape of feathers joined together. Despite her different appearance, Harry could still recognize her as Juno – ignoring the part about her being nine meters tall. Then, without realizing it, he shouted:
"Mummy!"
Happy to recognize someone there, Harry ignored the noise in the room and jumped from his place and, in an unnatural movement, appeared in front of the throne where Juno was and hugged her legs. The woman, however, did not speak to him – she was staring at the bearded man.
"DID YOU SHOOT HIM?!" She shouted, absolutely furious.
"HE RECOGNIZES YOU!" The bearded man shouted back, ignoring what Juno had said. "HE RECOGNIZES YOU!"
"SO WHAT?!"
"'SO WHAT'? SO WHAT? YOU CHEATED ON ME, HERA!"
"OH, AS IF YOU COULD SAY SOMETHING!" Juno, or Hera, retorted, scoffing with a bitter tone. The bearded man hesitated for a moment, looking regretful. But then he regained his look of rage.
"You've been chasing me for millennia for each of my children. Millennia. And now, when I discover your betrayal, you want me to accept it in silence?" He demanded fervently, giving Harry an electric blue look for a moment before turning back to Hera.
"I didn't cheat on you!" Hera screamed, as she hid Harry against her chest and covered it with her hands.
"Lies!" The bearded man spat angrily. "I demand retribution!"
"Oh, you demand! Look how many times I've had retribution!" She waved to the rest of the room, which was silent. From his spot on his godmother's lap, Harry could see half of the men and women there shifting in their seats.
"It was millennia ago!" The man shouted, dismissing Hera's words.
"And that will be in a few years too!" Juno shouted back.
"She got you there, brother."
"Silence, Hades!"
Harry shifted in his seat and saw, in the front row, next to a blonde woman wearing a wheat sprig crown, a man wearing an all-black suit with a red tie. He had long black hair tied down his back, and was staring at the bearded man who was shouting. Before Harry could contain himself, he asked:
"Grandpa Fleamont?"
The shouts exchanged between the bearded man and Juno stopped, their gazes turning to Harry. He could hear gasps coming from the others, followed by whispers. The man in the black suit, though, stared at Harry in shock.
"Grandpa?" He asked, half confused and half in disbelief. Harry nodded.
"Grandpa Fleamont?" Harry repeated, tilting his head curiously.
A small squeak was heard to Harry's right.
"Oh my, he's so cute!"
Harry turned to face whoever had said that, to be faced with a beautiful woman with voluminous, perfectly straight brown hair, flowing down in a cascade. She had delicate and soft features, a slightly large and upturned nose, perfectly proportioned on her face. However, in a second that Harry spared to blink, their hair turned honey brown and gained waves. Her nose became more rectangular and her cheekbones filled out slightly.
"Aunt Venus!" Harry shouted, surprised.
"Aunt?"
"Venus?!"
The strange people began to argue among themselves in a strange language that Harry thought sounded like special effects from the cartoons he and Dudley watched.
"Explain this, Aphrodite, now!"
"I cannot!" Aunt Venus, or Aphrodite, denied it.
"You can tell them, Aphrodite," Hera allowed, adjusting Harry on her lap so that he was sitting up. "Tell the truth. Tell everyone how foolish this trial is."
"Me! A fool!" The bearded man shouted, and thunder resounded with his voice.
"The greatest of fools, my lord!" Hera shouted back. "Who acts without thinking! Without knowing the truth!"
"I..."
"Enough!"
A heavier and louder voice resounded through the hall, and everyone immediately fell silent. Harry turned his head and saw a very tall woman, taller than everyone else, standing next to the fireplace in the middle of the room. Her eyes glowed a fervent yellow, like two spheres of pure fire. She wore a yellowish robe with a greenish scarf wrapped around her hair and a dark blue blanket covered her shoulders. She was staring at the bearded man with a stern expression.
"I go out to get the food I made for us to spend the night as a family and suddenly I hear the heavens almost breaking with thunder. I come running to find out what happened, I was already thinking that a tragedy had happened, and what do I see when I arrive? A show of intimidation against a child! I am totally disappointed in you, Zeus! And in all of you, who let this continue!" Her eyes circled the other people on the thrones, making them look embarrassed.
"You don't even know the story...!"
"It doesn't matter, Zeus! Nothing justifies intimidate a child!" The woman shouted again, interrupting Zeus.
"Yeah!"
Everyone turned to look at Harry, who raised his fist in support of the woman. The bearded man was being rude to everyone, he wasn't going to miss the chance to see him being scolded.
"Boy!" Zeus thundered, glaring hatefully at him.
"ZEUS!"
The bearded man shivered, and the electric blue in his eyes lost their shine. The woman took her gaze off him and turned to Harry, giving him a gentle smile.
"Hello, dear. What's your name?" She asked softly.
"Hallo! My name is Harry Potter!" Harry greeted her excitedly.
"Nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Hestia, I'm your mother's older sister." The woman introduced herself, looking at him kindly.
"Sister!" Hera complained. Harry ignored her grumble, asking spontaneously:
"As Aunt Petunia?" he questioned, curious.
"Aunt Petunia?" Hestia asked gently, her gaze shifting to the woman with the wheat crown.
"What?" The blonde woman opened her eyes wide, surprised.
"Demeter!" Zeus shouted at the blonde, who jumped in her place.
"I don't know anything!" The woman screamed, scared.
"She's not Aunt Petunia" Harry said, understand what they were suggesting. "Aunt Petunia is my mother's sister!"
Hestia stared at him in confusion.
"Who's your mother, darling?" She asked gently.
"Lily Potter!"
Hestia blinked, as did Zeus, Demeter, Hades, and the man wearing a navy blue toga with seashell prints.
"Hera, sister?" Hestia looked up at Hera, who was silent. "Could you explain, please?"
"Yes, explain" Zeus grumbled, but was silent when Hestia's gaze turned to him.
Hera adjusted Harry on her leg, sitting him down so he could look at her and have his legs down. She took a deep breath before starting.
"As I've been trying to explain for ten minutes" she said tensely. "Harry isn't my son."
"Lie!" Zeus shouted.
"Zeus, SILENCE!" Hestia shouted above the bearded man's voice, who fell back onto his throne. "Continue, sister."
"Thank you, Hestia" Hera gave a tight smile, then lowering her gaze to look at Harry. "I should have told you earlier, Harry."
"Told what, mum?" Harry asked, honestly confused about what she's talking about.
"I... I'm not a normal person." Hera carefully spoke. "I think you can tell that by the size of the room and the size of everyone in here."
Harry nodded.
"You guys ate too many beans," Someone snorted from the side. "but I already knew that."
"You knew?" Hera and Aphrodite questioned, surprised. Harry nodded.
"Aunt Venus could get you anything if she asked. You could lift a ladder by yourself."
"That... isn't abnormal, Harry." Hera pinched the bridge of her nose. Harry shrugged.
"I thought."
Hera sighed. Aphrodite laughed at her suffering, and Hestia, finding their interaction adorable, smiled kindly.
"Who is his mother, Hera?" Hestia asked, I understand what Hera had said about her not being the boy's mother. The other people on the thrones leaned forward curiously.
"Lily Potter" Hera responded, glaring at those who had leaned. "His father is James Potter. His mother prayed to me and I blessed her, so Harry is bathed in my essence because of it."
Whispers ran through the room quickly, in a language Harry didn't know. He understood, however, that they weren't arguing: the tone of voice, the speed, the giggles disguised as coughs... Harry became proficient in the supreme art of gossip, having watched for years as Petunia commanded conversations in the smoothest way that could get the most interesting information and encourage it among others.
"Gossipers!" He mocked, looking at the people on the thrones. They turned to look at him, some blushing lightly while others blinked.
"Did his mother pray to you?" The man in the black suit asked, without the amused look of the others.
"Yes, she prayed" Hera repeated. "She was… having a problem." She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Harry held on to keep from falling. "I blessed her so she could have a safe pregnancy. She ended up with the most adorable little man of the century."
Harry was all smiles at Hera's words, shining like a little star.
"That's a radiant smile," The blonde man said, smiling at Harry. His voice was melodious. "You can pull your cheeks out a little more. Dimples are killer on girls."
A shoe hit the blonde squarely in the nose, making him throw his head back.
"AH! What's that for?!" He stared at the red-haired woman in the silver coat, who was scowling at him.
"Don't teach him these things" The redhead spoke harshly, and her voice sounded like the breeze between the leaves of the trees.
"Boo! He already has a girlfriend!" Aphrodite rejected it, revealing Harry's little secret. The boy blushed deeply.
"He doesn't have a girlfriend!" Hera shouted furiously, glaring at Aphrodite. "Stop it, you degenerate!"
"Bah!"
"And how would you know that he has a girlfriend, Aphrodite?" Zeus asked irritably, ignoring Hera's complaint. "Tell me, tell me what you have been doing behind my back!"
"Crowning you with a crown of galls."
"Hades!" Hera and Zeus shouted at the man in the black suit, who laughed.
"Zeus is right." The man in the toga with seashell designs, until then very silent, spoke up. He didn't seem to particularly mean it, but he continued, "What have you been doing secretly, sister?"
Hera grumbled under her breath, but Aphrodite was quick to speak up.
"We were looking after this little one" She cooed at Harry, who smiled at her, having already lost the redness. "I found him a few years ago, shining through Hera's domain. We came to an agreement to take care of him and we've been living in his neighborhood until now."
"I have been living" Hera stared at Aphrodite. "You've just been missing your work so you can poison him with nonsense."
"It's not my fault that he likes Aunt Cool. Isn't that right, Harry?" Aphrodite winked at Harry, who laughed at her.
"Have you been mingling with mortals for years in secret?" Zeus thundered, furious.
"Oh, go polish your toy!" Hera shouted back. "You go loitering every weekend to eat that junk in that Chinese store!"
"That's different, Hera! You were hiding a child!" Zeus retorted.
"Oh, as if you could talk!"
"And here we go again" The man in the shell toga sighed, being accompanied by the rest of the people. Harry almost accompanied them too.
Leaving Juno to fight with what appeared to be her boyfriend (Harry didn't want to think that her husband would be so rude), the boy turned to look at the rest of the people he hadn't seen yet, in this case, the two men at the door. right hand of the throne he was on (or the person he was sitting on).
The nearest man was large, but he was crooked: the left part was very high and the right part was lowered, as if he were continually in a tilted position. His left foot, wearing a sandal, was crooked to the side, and his head was elongated, as if it had been fractured and healed without being in place. Despite everything, Harry could see that he had absolute strength, with his arms being the thickest of anyone there.
"What?" The man asked rudely, having noticed Harry's gaze on him. Harry noted the long beard he had.
"Hallo," Harry greeted. "I'm Harry Potter. What is your name?"
The man grunted, but still answered:
"My name is Hephaestus."
"It's nice to meet you, Vulcan."
Hephaestus blinked, as did the others who were watching their interaction.
"Why did you call him by that name?" A woman, who he hadn't seen yet, asked. She had very beautiful brown hair and a very beautiful round face.
"Isn't that his name?" Harry asked, confused. "I've heard his name before. There's a store in London with that name, but in our language they say 'Vulcan' instead."
"Our language?" The round face woman asked, narrowing her eyes. Her irises were blue-gray, almost ice.
"English is a language of the Germanic trunk, separated from Franconian and High German, followed by the Anglo-Frisian branch. Roman domination in Antiquity brought Latin to the islands, and later, with the Norman invasions, Franco-Norman was annexed and even replaced by Old English, until it became Middle English. Furthermore, the Roman Church used Latin in rituals, so Latin was the intellectual basis of Europe for many years, and still is today in a certain aspect. Use the Latin name instead of the Greek is natural to me." Harry explained. Then he realized something. "You were speaking in Greek before? I didn't understand what you were saying."
The gray-eyed woman blinked, not answering his question. Hera, however, had a proud look on her face.
"Well done, Harry." She placed her hand on his back, practically covering him completely, but giving the idea of haughtiness that she wanted.
The blond man from before, looking at the postman next to him, asked loudly:
"Are we sure he's not Athena's?"
The woman with gray eyes and Hera stared at him, eyes narrowed.
"I don't have any hidden children." The gray-eyed woman, apparently Athena, spoke coldly.
"What did you mean by that, Apollo?" Hera asked, with an offended tone.
"Nothing, nothing" The man, Apollo, raised his hands.
"Excuse me" Zeus interrupted, irritated. "Can we get back to the topic? Like what does Hades have to do with this?"
"I have nothing to do with this" Hades denied, looking at Zeus. "Unlike some, I have a job to keep busy with."
"He recognized you!"
"Ah, go get yourself under a cloud, you buffoon" The man in the suit replied, snorting. "How many won't recognize you if you show up at Camp Half-Blood?"
"We have an oath!" Zeus shouted, although he wasn't facing the man in the suit – nor Hera, for that matter.
"So?" Hades, Aphrodite and the man in toga asked.
"So, Zeus?" Hera questioned, looking intensely at Zeus. The bearded man shifted in his seat, but then blinked, looking back at Hera.
"Don't try to divert the topic, Hera!" He thundered, extremely irritated. The woman just snorted.
"He reminds me of my grandpa," Harry said, drawing attention to himself.
"Who was your grandpa, dear?" Hestia asked gently.
"Fleamont Potter. He was married to Grandma Euphemia." Harry adjusted himself on Hera's lap, placing one leg on one side of the goddess's thigh and the other leg on the other side. "He gave me a racing broom when my mum took the broom my da had given me."
"Racing broom?" Athena asked with intrigue and Apollo with a smile.
"Yes! Mum fought with Da when he gave me the broom" Harry smiled, remembering. "She made him chase me when I wouldn't hand over the broom."
"It looks like we have a young sportsman here" Apollo smiled at him. "Tell me, have you tried using a bow and arrow? I can…"
"Don't contribute to this, Apollo!" Zeus thundered.
"He practices swordsmanship" Hera ignored Zeus' words, looking at Apollo and obviously turning her nose up snobbishly. "He's almost ready to go into little league."
"That's interesting already," The man next to Hephaestus said, leaning down so he could look at Harry. He looked similar to Hephaestus, but was a little smaller, had no beard and his hair was cut in a military cut. He wore dark glasses, but it was possible to see two fiery red orbs behind him. "What's up, brat? Want to do some sword training?"
"Ares!" Hera quarreled, glaring deadly at the man.
"It's sporty!" The man defended himself, being stared at by Apollo.
Hades, who had been absorbed in thought until then, finally spoke again:
"I don't remember having any legacy named Potter." He declared, glaring at Zeus. "I have nothing to do with it, brother. It's your problem."
Zeus looked very angry, but it wasn't much different from how he had been so far after they started the fight. Hera turned towards Hades.
"I think you might have to rethink that, brother," she said slowly, preparing to comment on Harry's curious ability. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, but since they were already there, she could reveal everything at once.
"... why?" Hades asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Well" Hera coughed lightly. "Harry, dear?"
"Yup?" The boy raises his head to look at the woman, seeing her upside down.
"There's a plate with a slice of treacle tart for you in the fridge at home, you can take it if you want..."
Before she could fully finish her sentence, Harry leaned into the shadow of Hera's robes and disappeared from the waist up. When the top half returned, he had a plate with an indecently large slice of tart in hand, and a bright smile on the boy's face.
"...I see." Hades said, blinking in shock. So was everyone else, even Zeus.
"He's been doing this since he was four," Hera explained, looking a little alarmed as she spoke to Hades, "I don't really understand where this came from. His parents didn't have Umbrakinesis, so I thought it might be a legacy power from someone from family. I thought it was yours, brother."
"And I still don't remember any Potter children or legacies." Hades replied, thoughtfully. "Maybe Hecate? She is a night goddess, she may also have a son or legacy who has something gifted about the shadows."
"You don't seem worried about it" The man in toga commented.
"Can I save myself some work? Clearly not." Hades dismissed it easily, snorting.
"Regardless of ancestor or job" Zeus interrupted, irritably. "The fact still remains that you hid it." He accused, glaring at Hera and Aphrodite.
"Oh, stop this nonsense, Zeus." The man in the toga rolled his eyes, clearly indifferent to the bearded man's complaints. "Hera didn't cheat on you or plan anything. She's working on a personal project, so what? Olympus isn't going to fall because of this."
"Thank you, Poseidon" Hera thanked him sincerely, tiredly. Harry finally knew the name of the man in the toga.
The boy was silently eating the treacle tart, returning to observing the other people in the room. He realized that, just as until recently it was with Poseidon, he still didn't know the red-haired woman's name.
"Excuse me!" He waved the spoon towards the woman, who blinked in surprise.
"Yes?" She asked coldly, recovering from her surprise.
"I know everyone's name here except yours. Could you tell me?" Harry asked politely, stopping eating the candy for a moment.
The woman stared at him for a long time, her dark silver eyes not leaving his figure for even a second. Harry hoped the treacle wouldn't melt before she answered him.
"My name is Artemis" The redhead finally spoke, seeming to have decided something for herself. Harry gave him a big smile.
"I'm Harry. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Artemis."
"Oh my, how cute he is!" Aphrodite laughed, being accompanied by Ares and Apollo.
"Don't laugh about it, Apollo" Artemis glared at the blonde.
"Well, I'm just having fun with the boy's education" Apolo replied smiling.
"Artemis is single, Harry," Hestia said gently. "She's a virgin goddess, just like me."
"Oh," Harry muttered, halfway through a piece of tart. "I'm sorry, Miss Artemis." He spoke honestly, lowering his head slightly towards the redhead.
"Notice how he didn't react to the 'goddess' part" Hades commented, resting his head on his fist and staring at Harry. The boy turned to look at him.
"There is no God, sir," Harry spoke softly.
The discussion between Hera and Zeus stopped, with them and everyone else turning to face Harry.
"Why do you say that, Harry?" Hestia asked, a slightly strained tone in her voice. She seemed worried about something.
"Because I'm a wizard!" Harry replied, as if that said it all. Apollo was the first to understand.
"He's a druid!" He shouted excitedly. The postman let out a whistle.
"That's rare. How long has it been since we saw one?" Harry had just realized that he didn't know the postman's name.
"A druid?" Athena looked closely at Harry, seeming to see him as a curious piece.
"A tree boy, of course." Hades spoke impassively.
"What do you mean?" Demeter narrowed her eyes at Hades, pursing her lips.
"Chiron will love having a druid at the Camp" Artemis commented, with a slightly soft look at Harry. He was curious about it.
"He's not going to the Camp" Hera denied. "He's not a demigod..."
"There are no rules about legacies" The postman commented, smiling. Hera looked at him.
"...and he can't go there either."
"Why not?" Poseidon asked, curious. Zeus was too, now that he was distracted from his own anger.
"Harry, dear, do you have the coin I gave you?" Hera asked Harry. The boy blinked.
"It was you!" He smiled graciously. "Yes, I have it in my pocket."
"Show it to the others, yes?"
Happy to show off his most brilliant Christmas present, Harry quickly took the coin out of his pocket and held it up for everyone to see.
Again, Zeus thundered through the room.
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I noticed that it is easier to edit when I translate paragraph by paragraph instead of editing an automatic file translation. I'll do it like that again.
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