Welcome one, welcome all to another chapter of The Heir and-

*Whispers*

What?

*Whisper, whisper*

What do you mean neither Harry nor the rest of the champions are in this chapter?

*Whisper, Whisper, Whisper*

It's an Artemis chapter!

*Whisper*

Well then,

On with the show.

(This chapter is dedicated to Son of Fellblood)


Monday, December 19th, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, Artemis.

The moon hung beautifully in the sky above the world as it lit the forest below in its soft silver glow, Artemis' head was turned skyward to watch the twinkling stars of the heavens shine coldly upon the earth with an air of detachment about her. If one were to ask any but her hunters and her brother, they would describe her much like the moon and stars, cold, distant, and detached from the world at large only obsessed with her hunts. While true to some degree, it was not the whole truth, while cold, she could still feel the warmth from every one of her hunters that were both daughters and sisters to her, while distant, she was the only one of her kin that interacted with mortals regularly, while detached, she was one of the only one of her kin that would go out of her way to help the children crying out to be saved.

But they were correct on the last part, she was obsessed with her hunts, but with her main domain being that of one of the most ancient and powerful in the Domain of Hunt, it was hard not to be.

"Load," Artemis speaks into the cold air, her breath rising like smoke in the moonlight, she hears the strings of bows being pulled taught, the oiled click of a rifle sounding out soon after, Artemis finally looks away from the moon and sets her eyes on a small game trail below the ledge her and a handful of her hunters had taken up position on, her domain of the forest stretch for miles around them giving cover to her hunters on the ground, ready and waiting to spring their trap, "Hold," she says, waiting for her prey.

Artemis hears them before she sees them, their footsteps pounding against the ground, crunching leaves, and snapping twigs as they move through the woods without skill, their ragged breaths giving away their positions just as much as their untrained movements do. They finally move into the line of sight that was granted by the clearing in the canopy of trees, soaked in the light of the waning moon. There are two of them, a young boy not even in his teenage years dressed in a dirty white shirt and torn cargo pants holding a bronze short sword, an empty quiver sat on his back, and a bow slung over his shoulders, the boy's blonde hair was caked to his face with sweat and dirt and his blue eyes wild and scared. The other was a girl that looked to be no older than ten, her long brown hair and deep dark eyes reflected the moonlight, she wore an oversized jacket that the boy had obviously given to her to protect her from the stinging cold air on this winter night.

"Hold," Artemis says once more, the bait was now set and the trap for her prey was ready to spring, she could feel the anticipation in her hunters, each and every one of them hungry for the kill that was soon to come.

The small girl that was being led by the hand of the boy falls to the ground with a scream, "Elly!" The boy yells, concern sharp in his voice, "Elly, come on you have to get up," he says, tugging at the girl's hand trying to get her to stand as he stopped, his head looking between the deep woods and the girl.

"I-I can't," the girl, Elly says, her voice thick with fear and bone-deep exhaustion, "I'm too tired, I-I-I can't," the young girl admits, choking back sobs. The boy's sword dips for a second as he looks at the young girl sadly before he sighs and closes his eyes, tilting his head back and sending out a prayer before kneeling beside her.

"It's okay, Elly," the boy says softly, before pulling the young maiden to her feet, "But I need you to keep going, okay? Just follow the path," he says with a smile.

"W-what are you going to do, Jason?" Elly asks, fear in her voice.

"I'm going to hold them off just long enough for you to get away, okay?" he tells her with a smile as blinding as the sun, "Then I'll come to find you okay, you just need to keep going, can you do that for me?" the boy asks, and Artemis knew the boy was lying. He would stay and fight, killing as many as he could and buying the younger girl as much time as he could, hoping the monsters were too busy eating him to go after the girl when he fell. Emerald eyes flash in Artemis' mind, thinking of another boy with the same selfless protective nature, and she smiles softly as she hears the young boy's prayer to the gods to protect Elly.

"Sophie will lead," Artemis whispers as she hears the mad hunter redouble her grip on her rifle, a prayer in her heart of Artemis to guide her shot as Elly throws her arms around Jason hugging him close.

"Promise me you'll come to find me," Elly whispers as Jason hugs her back.

"I promise," Jason lies as he hugs her tightly back, before pulling away, "But you have to go now, start running and don't look back, okay?" he asks Elly, who nods before turning and running along the path deeper into the woods, "Goodbye, Elly," he says in a whisper as he stands up and walks to the middle of the path, drawing up his short sword and closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, a prayer on his lips for the young girl.

"Intercept the girl, make sure she doesn't give us away," Artemis commands, and her swiftest hunter answers by moving with a speed none in the hunt could match to make sure the girl didn't get too far away.

The boy stands in the middle of the trail, looking up as the three lumbering Cyclopsis walk from the shadows, large makeshift clubs, and bronze blades in hand, "Finally we caught you little half-blood, running only got we be hungrier now stupid half-blood!" one yells at the boy walking up to Jason raising his club over his head.

"Come and get it you fugly bastards!" Jason yells at them, and in the face of death shows courage and a fierceness beyond his age, and untamed black hair and a wild smile flash through Artemis' mind as another boy like that comes to her. So she decided to deliver hope to the boy under the moonlight ready to give his life to protect a maiden.

"Fear not child of the sun, your prayers have been heard," Artemis whispers into the mind of the child before her, she watches his head snap up and look around wildly, "Release," Artemis says.

Bang!


Tuesday, December 20th, Rocky Mountains, Artemis.

The children were saved, and pulled into the protective perimeter of her camp, while Elly was a child of Aphrodite she had yet to be claimed and indoctrinated in her mother's cult of Love, so Artemis allowed her to stay with her brother's son in an empty tent with a warning to the boy to follow the rules that she had laid down before him, she didn't want to explain to her brother why she had to transform one of his children into a jackalope. But in the end, the boy was nothing but thankful and respectful to the rules and had stayed inside the tent he was assigned to. They were both fed, given access to the bathhouse, and told to rest easy that night, for no monster dared to approach the camp of the Goddess of the Hunt.

Artemis had then contacted Chiron at Camp Half-Blood to send a satyr to the nearest town to help the two children on their Pilgrimage to the camp, and in the morning they were given a pack with trail rations, mortal money, and two gold Drachma and sent on their way. The boy had his quiver refilled and the girl was given a dagger, the children gave their thanks and left to head to the nearest town with eyes filled with new hope.

Soon after the children had left, an origami bird fluttered its way into her tent with a note from Agent Doe asking her to meet him nearby if she was so inclined to do so. Knowing the Agent wouldn't have asked to meet over something foolish, she had met him on the outskirts of her camp where he had bowed his head respectively and told her one thing and handed her another. What she was told was of a few reports coming out of the Rocky Mountains of hikers going missing and campsites savaged with the bodies chewed on and scattered around them, seven confirmed deaths so far, three of them just young children, and one was a demigod. Artemis immediately accepted the request, for the last hunt was unsatisfying, and like always, she was hungry for another, Agent Doe gave her all the information that he had, and told her a few auror teams were scouring the Rocky Mountains that weren't in "the know" as he put it, her hunt would have to be careful to avoid the men and women with jobs much like her own sacred Duty.

What Artemis was handed was a sheaf of old parchment that was the completed paperwork for the hunts ownership of Harry's Gaé Bolg, she glares at the paperwork with a frown but still, she tucks it away with a word of thanks to the Agent who wished her a good day and apparated back to New York, which was impressive compared to mortal standards.

Artemis had asked a few questions in return to clarify certain details of her new hunt, and if the meeting for this Sunday was still on, Agent Doe had sighed at her last question but nodded his head, telling her the MCUSA section of Point Nemo would be free for them to use.

On her way back to camp, the frown never leaves Artemis' face because of the audacity of that shadow-loving sealed bimbo! Teaching Harry, her son, the same technique that Scáthach had tried to kill her with, the insult! Artemis had half a mind to sneak back into England and put in a good attempt to try to kill that spear-loving bitch for corrupting her son like that. Being a mentor to him be damned, the woman was infuriating even at the best of times.

Artemis made it back to her camp, and in a short time it was broken down, and the hunt started to move east over the Rocky Mountains, they would break for camp at Hunters Lake, close to Gunsight Peak in Idaho. It was one of Artemis' favorite spots in America to set up camp even in the bitter chill of winter, with snow blanketing the ground and hunters lake freezing over, the quiet isolation and away from the light pollution of the mortals, one could make out the distant stars much more clearly.

Artemis was sitting by the frozen lake taking in the moon and it's soft light reflecting off the snow-covered mountaintops as she enjoys the glory of the night sky, her hunters a little ways behind her enjoying a well-deserved meal from the long trek up the mountain. She considered the events that have happened in the past year, finding out Harry was alive, their disastrous first meeting, what she had found at the house he had stayed in for ten years, sorting out her own feelings for the boy, Aphrodite's meddling, her claiming him, the summer hunt, and now Harry being drawn into the tournament. The boy honestly had the worst luck Artemis had ever seen and the most uncanny capacity to come out on top each and every time to the point that Artemis somehow thought Harry had somehow gotten the blessing of Nike, Artemis chuckles at the thought.

The crunching of snow behind her brings the goddess of the Hunt out of her thoughts as she continues to gaze into the heavens, "Yes, Atalanta?" Artemis asks the hunter approaching her without fear, "Is there something wrong?" she says as she turns her head to look at the Lioness of the Hunt. She was dressed in thick clothes for the cold weather of black and forest green, someone had talked her into wearing a pair of boots for the first time in what seemed like years, and the gold and red scarf that hung loosely around her neck clashed horribly with the silver jacket and tiara that sat upon her head in between the golden cat ears on her head.

"No, My Lady," Atalanta answers as she walks over to the Goddess to stand beside her turning her own eyes to the heavens above, "Everything is as it should be, the Hunt is eager to get this over with so we can enjoy the Saturnalia this year," the Huntress answers and Artemis hums in agreement. Saturnalia, Yule Time, Christmas, it didn't matter what her Hunters wanted to call it to Artemis, it was a celebration of another year come and gone, a year of hunts, of sisterhood, of loss and gain. It was a time to relax, to drink and feast, to hunt for sport rather than a job, to enjoy themselves after a year of hard work.

"It's not gonna be the same this year," Atalanta says, not even trying to hide her frown, and once again Artemis hums in agreement. They were missing three of their members, Strider, who gave her life to save Brittany, Zoë, who gave up her place at Artemis' side to watch over Harry, and Harry, who was spending the holidays with his godfather. Artemis did not begrudge either Harry or Sirius this, Harry would be spending the majority of the year with Sirius and only a week or two in the summer with the hunt, they need time to get used to one another.

"Have you considered my request, Lady Artemis?" Atalanta asks, looking at the goddess.

"I have," Artemis answers back, "And I'm afraid I will have to deny it, Atalanta," She says without looking at her hunter who visibly deflates at Artemis' words, "With the current hunt and the fact that I do not know how Cernunnos would see all my hunters turning up on his isles, I do not think it is a good idea," Artemis tells her (Temporary) Lieutenant.

Atalanta sighs, "Yeah, I get it, but could you imagine their faces if the hunt did show up," Atalanta says with a smirk as Artemis also smiles at the thought of the shocked look on Zoë's and Harry's faces, then the utter terror on the other Headmasters when they would meet her in person, at least that one she will get to see soon enough.

"I was informed by Albus that family is allowed to visit before the final task," Artemis says, watching out of the corner of her eye as her (Temporary) Lieutenant raises a brow at her, "I already have a portkey ready, and waiting for four people, and I plan on sending word to Cernunnos soon to see if he will give me guest rights for a day," the goddess says as she turns to Atalanta with a soft smile, "We'll see your cub soon, My Hunter," she tells the now smiling girl.


Wednesday, December 21st, Near Yellowstone National Park.

The moon was high in the sky as the scouting and tracking began, and even thirty years later, Artemis was still impressed by Brittany's skill in her realm. When she had first felt the girl's prayers coming from the Canadian wilderness, she could do nothing to help her, but still, the girl pushed on through a cold hell that even the most seasoned hunter would have died in. One wrong move, one wrong choice, and Brittany could have never made it home, but as her prayers got closer and closer to the border the more Artemis had camped along it, waiting for the girl to show up.

But what showed up that day wasn't a weak girl begging for mercy from an uncaring god, no, what showed up was a Hunter more worthy of her hunt than any Artemis offered to join in almost five hundred years. They had taken the half-wild girl into their care, her bow was carved and strung by hand, her clothes were torn and filthy under the thick hides of wolves, her old shoes wrapped in the hide of small game, and her beloved hatchet almost blunted to a knob; She had gone into a cold hell a child and came out a survivor and hunter. The moment Brittany stumbled across Artemis' camp she attacked in a wild hunger and took three of Artemis' Hunters to restrain Brittany before Artemis put her to sleep with the mist.

Artemis ordered Brittany to be washed and then fed as much as the girl could eat, bringing back what sanity was left in Brittany at the time. Artemis immediately explained who she was and offered her a place in her hunt, and to Artemis' surprise, Brittany turned the goddess' offer down, explaining that all she wanted was to return home, back to her parents. Artemis respected this and brought her back to New York herself and wished the girl well, it would be another few weeks before she saw Brittany again in upstate New York. Brittany had told Artemis that her parents had both passed away while she was lost in Canada and that she could not stand the city, with its boxed-in spaces and loud noises, she couldn't stay around the people along with their questions and fake sympathy. Brittany tracked her hunt down to join them if Artemis would still have her, and not even ten minutes later Artemis had taken Brittany in as both a daughter and a sister with the rest of the hunt welcoming her with open arms.

And now, thirty years later, Brittany still hasn't lost the edge that saw her through the greatest trial of her life, Brittany would all but vanish in the snow and forest when she went out to track and hunt, she was not the strongest or the fastest among Artemis' hunters, but Brittany didn't overpower her prey, not does she chase it down, Brittany would stalk her prey before picking the greatest opportunity to ambush them and with a single swing of her hatchet, Brittany would feed the hunt.

She was also Artemis' best tracker in the hunt, so it was no surprise to the goddess that Brittany was the first of her hunters to return with news about what was on the prowl in the Rocky Mountains.

"Werewolves," Brittany says as she melts out of the woods, causing some of her hunters to jump, "I counted around twenty different tracks, and interesting enough, one set of human tracks leading them," she said with a smirk strolling back over to the fire in the middle of camp to warm up.

Atalanta looks over to Artemis with a raised brow, "Lycaon?" she asks, and Artemis nods.

"Lycaon," the goddess says with a smirk.


Thursday, December 22nd, Yellowstone National Park.

Artemis and her hunters stood on a cliff, hidden from sight as they overlooked a small Valley; they had spent the last twelve hours getting ahead of Lycaon's pack to put him and his bloodthirsty children down. King Lycaon was one of the monsters Artemis loved to hunt, to any normal demigod he was terrifying, he was immune to any of the normal methods one can use to kill monsters, and he was fast, strong, vicious, and cunning. But had a sole weakness in silver, anything made with it would burn him as well as cut through him like a hot knife through butter, and when faced with the hunt; he would turn tail and run rather than face them but at the moment he was playing with his food.

Some poor girl was caught in Lycaon's hunt and he and his children were savoring the chase after the girl. She was fleeing from him and his pack of twisted creatures more beast them man as they ran on all four, flanking the girl and driving her near a cliff, forcing her to choose either casting herself off or being ravaged by the pack. Artemis would have neither as she watched the pack trap the girl, and Lycaon approaches her, laughing.

"Atalanta," Artemis says softly, catching her Lieutenants attention, "Fire for effect," she says looking at her once cursed hunter as she smiles ferally.

Out of the handful of divine weapons that Artemis had created over the years, none approach the destructive capability that Atalanta's bow had, Tauropolos was named the bow of promised calamity for a reason after all. While Moontide was the most powerful, it only held that title because it was created with Zoë's abilities in mind to fully harness them to a deadly edge, Tauropolos was different however. To most, it would just be an unwieldy great bow that they would find difficult to draw it back to its full draw, to someone like Atalanta who was stronger than a normal mortal and on top of that, could access the Hunt's power to the greatest degree of all of Artemis' mortal hunters, Atalanta could draw out Tauropolos' full power.

Artemis watches Atalanta notch an arrow before taking a deep breath, Atalanta pulls her bow back to half draw, which would fire as if it was a full draw on a normal bow, but then she pulls it back further. Artemis watches as veins and muscles bulge, Atalanta grunts in the effort as the thick arms of the bow bend backward, and the arrow that Atalanta notched glows with a silver light till it lengthens and twists itself into something more akin to a silver rebar.

"Watch as my arrow is the first to land," Atalanta whispers, calling upon the power of her own legend before releasing the arrow with the force of a cannon, the ground at Atalanta's feet cracks, the trees in the way of the arrow are shredded, and the hunt watches as it becomes nothing but a silver streak across the sky before it begins to fall like a star. And much like a falling star, the arrow could not be stopped, it would pierce and twist everything it hit until it stopped naturally. Artemis watches with a smirk as it rips through the flesh and fur of five of Lycaon's pack, killing them instantly.

"None of them leave this place alive," Artemis issues her orders before the rest of her hunt charges forth firing arrow after arrow, Brittany, Sophie, and Ciri all move to flank and cut off Lycaon's retreat. The King of Wolves looks back in shock as he sees his children die during Atalanta's initial shot, he quickly grabs his prey by the throat to use as a shield, the coward.

The wolves were quick and agile, weaving in and out of the path of her hunter's arrows, Artemis watches as Brittany lands on the back of one of the wolves, Brittany slams her silver hunting knife into the base of the werewolf's skull, instantly killing it before twisting the body to cover her at it falls, using it as a shield to block another of the wolves that pounced on her. Brittany kicks both the body and the living wolf off of her as Sophie charges, a silver bayonet attached to the end of her rifle which finds a home in the heart of the wolf. Artemis' hunters were supporting their sisters in the melee, cutting off all escape routes for the pack, and had even taken down three of the wolves; they were forcing the pack back towards the cliff, but then the best and worst thing happened.

A wolf bit Sophie.

Normally, Artemis wouldn't worry about it, her hunters were immune to most diseases and bloodborne curses, so a bite from one of Lycaon's werewolves wouldn't be that big of a deal, depending on where they were bitten; But it was WHO they bit that mattered, Sophie, The mad hunter. There was a good reason why Sophie wasn't allowed at Camp Half-Blood for an extended amount of time without the hunt, and there was a Very good reason why she wasn't allowed to play in any of the captures the flag games between the camp and the hunt; Sophie was a danger to everyone around her. So when Artemis watched Sophie drop her firearm, a gift from her mortal mother, she knew what was about to happen.

Artemis charges forward whistling sharply four times, a call sign for all in her hunt to fall back, and to support Sophie because the girl's fragile hold on sanity had snapped. Artemis watches as Sophie reaches out and grabs the upper jaw that was hitting down on her shoulder and pries it off of her before twisting it in a sickening crunch. The wolf cries out and tries to release Sophie, but Sophie isn't about to let her prey get away as she grabs its forearm with one hand and its head, before pulling it in half, covering the hunter in blood as she laughs madly, her eyes glowing purple in the dark.

Her hunters back away, but Sophie doesn't stop, Sophie couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to as she reaches the next wolf, grabbing its arm before kicking it in the chest, Artemis watches as its chest cage caves in and it lunches twenty feet away from Sophie minus an arm, Sophie spins on the balls of her feet with wild eyes and a laugh in her throat hitting another of Lycaon's children with the arm she had just ripped off the other. The wolf that hits dies with a scream as Sophie's sisters finally get clear of her and start to fire at the remaining wolves to force them near the rampaging mad demigod.

Lycaon, seeing his children die at the hands of her hunters, pulls his hostage head to the side and bears his fangs.

"Phoebe! Kill Lycaon now!" Artemis yells, knowing it was already too late, but if anyone could land the shot, it would be Phoebe. She has already been blessed with her father's (Artemis' brother) gifts in archery, and adding her own blessing on top of her gifts made her the best shot in the hunt. Lycaon bites down on the girl's neck and Artemis curses, the cursed mortal was making sure that Artemis wouldn't be able to save the girl by killing him, but to Artemis' surprise, the girl doesn't let Lycaon escapes unhurt, she reaches up and grabs Lycaons nose before jerking it to the side. Artemis hears the crunch of the nose breaking and Lycaon's howl of pain before, with amusement, she watches the mortal girl stomp down on Lycaon's foot before pulling herself free and kicking her attacker between the legs, "This one has spunk," Artemis thinks with a smile.

Lycaon has enough time to look up and open his mouth to no doubt curse the mortal when an arrow finds its way to the back of his throat, right before it explodes in a burst of fire and light, and like that he is reduced to a pile of gold dust.

Artemis curses as she gets to the melee, "Well, that isn't good," she thinks to herself as she turns to her mad hunter who had just popped the last wolf's head in between her hands like an overripe watermelon before she turns and charges Artemis, all reason gone from her eyes and replaced with the mad glee of slaughter.


Friday, December 23rd, Yellowstone National Park, Artemis' Camp, early morning.

It was a few hours after the killing of Lycaon that found Artemis and her hunters back at camp, Artemis had to knock out Sophie before she had harmed any of her sisters in her madness, a job that Zoë normally did because Artemis wouldn't dare send a mortal against Sophie when she was in the throws of her madness, no matter how strong that mortal may be; she tried to be gentle with Sophie, but the girl was still unconscious in the medical tent.

The other girl that the hunt tried to save from Lycaon was awake and distraught, Lycaon had killed the girl's family before deciding to play with her by way of a chase, "Sickening," Artemis thinks to herself as she makes her way across her camp, most of her hunter asleep except for a few who pulled the late shift for guard duty and her Lieutenant who was currently with the girl, "A Hunter should never play with its prey, it may be destined to die, but that does not mean you can not respect it," Artemis thinks to herself as she walks into the medical tent. Atalanta was speaking to the girl in a soft comforting tone as Phoebe was cleaning a table off of blood and gauze, "What is the prognosis doctor?" Artemis says as she walks up to her medic.

Phoebe sighs as she clears the last gauze, "Lycaon bit her so she's infected, so I would say not good until he regenerates and there's no telling how long that will take or where he'll pop up next," she says as she ties up the medical waste bag, "but other than that, she was a bit hypothermic but a nice thick blanket and some hot stew should help with that," Phoebe says before spraying the table with alcohol and starts to wipe it down, "As for Sophie, she had a mental break on top of her exhaustion she had from a bout of insomnia, and that's even before getting hit by a right hook from a god, she's doing just as well as one would expect," Phoebe says as she scrubs her area clean.

Artemis frowns at the news, Sophie was never the most stable of hunters, even at the best of times, she always walked a thin line between keeping her oaths and breaking them. She was well-known for her bouts of insomnia, Mania, depression, and borderline personality disorder, but she was a loyal, dependable, and steadfast hunter, no matter the task and no matter the hunt, Sophie would make sure the rest of her sisters made it back to camp before herself, even if she needed to give herself to her father's madness to do so. Artemis thought she judged her strike well enough to knock the mad hunter out just long enough to have her reset, but it seems like she may have judged wrong, whoops.

"If she is not awake by noon, I'll take her to Anastasia in New York myself," Artemis says and Phoebe just sighs and nods, the sun-kissed hunter hated not being able to help her patients but knew there were some things she couldn't fix, hence why a daughter of Asclepius would always accept any half-blood or hunter in her clinic no questions asked when they were hurt and was the closest thing to a divine ICU that the Greek demigods had.

Seeing that Phoebe wasn't in the mood to speak further, Artemis moved across the tent to the actual reason she was there, the girl who Lycaon had bitten, Alice Tonner.

Alice was the only survivor of her family and was now cursed to become one of the monsters that had killed them. It was a sad story that Artemis had heard time and again, but maybe this time she could help. Walking over to her lieutenant, Atalanta looks up with sad eyes and bows her head in respect toward Artemis.

"My Lady," Atalanta greets her and Artemis nods back, "I've answered all her questions, and filled her in on a few other things," Atalanta says in a solemn tone.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, you're dismissed, go get some rest," Artemis orders, and with a bob of her head, Atalanta stands, pats the knee of Alice, and takes her leave as Artemis conjures a simple chair of silver before sitting next to Alice. The girl had the look of someone who had lost everything, dried tears marks ran down her face, and her eyes that were looking down at her hands but not seeing them, too far lost in the past, playing out what had happened over and over again trying to find some answer, some way she could have done more, but the truth was; that she couldn't and the answer was simply because Lycaon could.

"Are you going to kill me?" Alice asks without looking up at the goddess.

"Is that what you want?" Artemis asks in return, finally causing the girl to look up at her, "Because I will if that is what you wish, it would be painless and instant, just like falling asleep," Artemis tells Alice as she leans back in her chair, looking back at the girl with a blank face.

Alice is quiet for a moment before she looks back down at her hands, "What else is there?" she asks, "Th-their gone and now I-I'm c-cursed by the monster that did it, becoming one of, of his fucking children," she snaps, anger, loss, and hatred deep in her voice, "So, what else is there!?" Alice Tonner yells, looking at Artemis with broken eyes.

Artemis holds back the flinch she feels by looking into Alice Tonner's eyes because it wasn't just the girl's honey-colored eyes looking at her, but emerald eyes with the same haunted and broken look as Alice's eyes hold, in cold woods just like the hunt had set up camp in. The words "LOOK AT ME!" echo in Artemis' mind thick with desperation for someone, for anyone to help them, Artemis couldn't turn back time; but she could make damn sure to never make the same mistake twice.

Artemis keeps her face relaxed and passive as she speaks, "As far as I can see, you have three choices before you," The Goddess says, "Option one, I can kill you, bring you back to your family, and make it look like a wild animal attack, you and your family will be found in a few days and you'll be buried with your last rights," Artemis explains to the girl while she turns to look back at her hands as if she was expecting claws to grow from them, "Option two, I contact an agent that I know and he helps you hide away with the other werewolves in the states until Lycaon regenerates and I can offer you a chance to cure yourself, but I have no way of knowing when or where he will appear next and the life among the packs are sometimes brutal and short," Artemis says, she doesn't lie nor does she make it sound like anything that it wasn't.

"And the third option?" Alice asks in a soft scared voice, turning her head slightly to look at Artemis.

"You join my hunt," the Goddess offers, watching as the girl's eyes grow wide, "I will help you reign in the beast that is soon to come and keep you from hurting anyone innocent, you will be trained to control it instead of it controlling you, and when Lycaon reforms, you will lead the hunt for him, to avenge your family and to cure yourself from his curse," Artemis tells the girl as she stands, "And after it is over, I will release you from your oaths and you may leave to live a normal life," she tells Alice Tonner.

The girl just looks at her with wide eyes, speechless as Artemis extends her hand to the girl, "Well, to quote a wise handmaiden, Alice Tonner, will you let the fires of perdition burn you to ash, or will you take my offer and be greater than the sum of the monsters that cast you in?" Artemis asks, looking the girl in the eye.

Alice looks at Artemis' hand for a long moment, almost long enough for Artemis to let her hand drop, but before she did, the girl spoke up, "Daisy," she says, "My dad always called me Daisy, his Daisy," Alice says looking Artemis in the eye.

"Just Daisy?" Artemis asks, raising her brow.

"Just Daisy," Daisy says before reaching out and taking Artemis' hand.


Saturday, December 24th, Camp Half-Blood, late afternoon.

Sophie had woken up an hour after the hunt had gotten a new sister with the question "Did anyone get the number of that bus that hit me?" much to Phoebe's and the rest of the hunt's relief. They had broken down camp as Artemis made her way back to the New York Office of the Department of Mist Control to inform Agent Doe of the tragedy that had happened to the Tonner family and how their daughter had joined her hunt. All the Agent did was nod solemnly and said he would handle it with care and thanked Artemis for taking care of Lycaon.

Artemis Left and made her way to Camp Half-Blood to inform Chiron of her hunter's pending arrival for the solstice meeting, the ancient centaur nodded his head and told her he would make sure the nymphs knew to cook enough food to feed the forty extra mouths.

By noon Artemis returned to the hunt with her brother in tow, awful poetry, and bad puns included. Apollo may not know when to shut up, but at least he was always free to give the hunt a lift to camp when they needed it, and not even an hour later the Sun-Bus had touched down right outside the border of camp to let the hunters off. Artemis tells him thanks before leaving with her hunters, Apollo tells her that he'll see her at the meeting later before leaving himself. The hunt makes it into the silver cabin to stay for a few days, and Artemis stays to make sure everyone settles in properly and makes a mental note to stop by her temple on Olympus to get a jacket for Daisy.

Artemis feels it coming before anything happens, a tugging at her power, the air twisting as the call of an owl fills the cabin, causing most of her hunters to jump and look around confused before, in a flash of silver light, a snowy white owl forms above Artemis. The Goddess smiles at the familiar feathered form of Hedwig's circles with a large package around the room before it gently glides down to Atalanta's waiting arms.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Queen of the roast," Atalanta says with a smile as she quickly takes the package from the owl who hoots and preens at Atalanta's words before the hunter moves the package to the bed and Hedwig moves to her arm. Atalanta reaches into her inside jacket pocket and pulls out an owl treat to feed the Snowy Queen with a word of thanks for delivering the package as Hedwig eats her snack before flying across the room to land on Artemis' shoulder with another hoot.

"Yes, Hedwig, it is nice to see you as well, have you been protecting your fledgling?" Artemis asks with a smile as the own barks proudly, saying something about scaring the redhead and bushy one, to which Artemis shakes her head with a grin, "Good girl," she tells Hedwig before scratching her under the chin and sneaking her another owl treat.

"Hey! Everyone! Harry sent booze!" Atalanta yells out holding up two bottles of something labeled Fire Whiskey, there's a pause as her hunters turn to look at the Lieutenant smiling wide before they all break out into a cheer, confusing poor Daisy, and making Artemis facepalm, "This has the guard dogs scent all over it," Artemis thinks to herself as she watches her lieutenant pass out the wraps gifts that were in with the whiskey while holding a stuffed Snowy Owl plush with a smile.

"Oi, Sophie, catch!" Atalanta yells before tossing a package at the mad hunter who was across the room, before turning to Brittany and handing her something as well, she picks up the next package, reading who it was for, before turning to Artemis, "My Lady, you're going to your temple after the meeting, right?" Atalanta asks and Artemis nods her head before her Lieutenant walks over to her and hands her two packages one for Daphnis and the other for Cecilla, Artemis then tucks them under her arm before looking at her lieutenant.

"Try not to burn down the cabin in celebration tonight, Lieutenant," Artemis tells Atalanta with a smile.

"Come on Lady Artemis, when have we ever gotten that wild?" Atalanta asks with a grin.

"Rome, 476 AD," Artemis says deadpanned, keeping her reaction in check as her lieutenant looks at her gobsmacked but smirks as she turns to leave with Hedwig, but as she leaves the cabin she sees someone she wasn't expecting.

"Dionysus," Artemis greets her half-brother as she shuts the cabin door behind her, "Can I help you with something?" she asks with a raised brow. Dionysus was one of the oddest members of the Olympian council, and subsequently, her family. He had very little interest outside of wine and partying, but would always bless any party with a good drink and good times whenever he was invoked, and when his interest was piqued it normally ended up as either a new madness or a new way to treat an old one. He was a god that was simultaneously the laziest god and the one who worked the hardest for his domains.

"Lady Artemis," Dionysus says with a nod of his head as he walks towards the cabin, his Hawaiian shirt opened at the collar with both hands behind his back looking as relaxed as ever, "I was hoping to steal one of your hunters for a moment, I wish to speak with them," he asks, barely, but he asks.

But still, Artemis narrows her eyes at the god of madness, "Which one?" she asks.

"Which one do you think, Little Sister?" Dionysus asks with an amused look on his face and a raised brow.

Artemis feels her eye twitch at Dionysus' words, "I'm older than you, little brother," she shoots back with a frown.

"In some myths, yes," Dionysus says with a nod of his head, "But in other myths, I'm the older one, besides, you're still smaller," he says, his mouth turning up with a grin as Artemis deepens her frown and glares at Dionysus before turning on her heel and walking back into her cabin.

"Stupid Dionysus, I'm just this small because I want to be," Artemis thinks to herself as she shuts the door behind her and sighs away her aggravation, "Sophie!" She calls out, having said girl turn to look at her, "Dionysus wishes to speak with you," Artemis says flatly, causing Sophie to blink in surprise.

"Really?" Sophie asks, sounding confused, but as Artemis nods the girl just shrugs and places the gift from Harry (a blade of some kind) onto her bunk before standing up and walking out of the cabin with her. Dionysus was still standing in the same spot Artemis had first found him, Artemis walks over to the side of her cabin and leans against the wall, watching the father and daughter and giving them the illusion of privacy, if Dionysus was bothered or upset by it he didn't show it, his purple eyes were locked Firmly on his daughters form as she approaches him nervously. The mad father and daughter duo had a strained relationship, not aggressive like some of the other gods and their children, it was far more passive than that.

Sophie had long come to an understanding of why she wasn't allowed at Camp Half-Blood without the hunt, why she wasn't allowed to fight in the capture the flag games, and why her father had given her to Artemis and the Hunt. And for the last one hundred years, Sophie had never spoken a word against Dionysus, but neither did she defend him when someone or another hunter spoke disrespectfully about the Mad God. Artemis watches as they meet each other, Sophie nervous and Dionysus unsure about something.

"Um, H-howdy, Dionysus?" Sophie says with an awkward wave of her hand, and a smile.

"Howdy, Sophie," Dionysus says with a bit of a fond smile, "It's good to see you well, how have you been?" he asks, standing a bit taller.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old, Hunting things, shooting them, ripping them apart with my bare hands, pretty normal stuff really," Sophie says with a smile, trying to cut the tension with a joke, but her smile falls a bit seeing Dionysus flinch at the "bare hands" she mentioned before she falls completely quiet, her shoulders sagging a bit.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Lady Artemis' hunt at the very least," Dionysus says with a slight nod before taking a deep breath, stealing himself for his next words, "The reason I wanted to talk to you is because I wanted to tell you that you're a big sister now," the mad god says calmly but with a bit of fear in his eyes as he looked a Sophie.

Both Artemis and Sophie's eyes widened at Dionysus' words, it was not often that the mad god had children thanks to the side effect of his domains, Sophie being a prime example of it. Sophie blinks as her mouth opens and closes, her face morphing and twisting between emotions, Shock, surprise, horror, fear, worry, and sadness, and after a few moments, she finally speaks.

"Is-are-are th-they like, ...me?" Sophie asks, fear lancing her tone.

"No," Dionysus says softly, "They have seemed to get everything but that," He says as he places his hand on Sophie's shoulder as she lets out a shuddering breath in relief, "Their twins, Caster and Pollux are their names, and they'll be staying at camp for the holidays, their mother is a wedding planner who has to travel out of state for the week and asked if I could watch over them," Dionysus says before swallowing a bit, "And I was wondering, hoping really, if you would be interested in a family movie night tonight with me, you, the twins and Ariadne," he asks.

"Oh, right, Immortal step-mom," Sophie says under her breath, "And she's, I don't know, cool…with us?" Sophie asks, unsure how to word the question if her father's wife wants to smite her or not.

Dionysus chuckles, "She used to babysit the twins all the time, and she's been wanting to meet you for a while now," He says with a smile, dropping his hand from her shoulder, "If you want that is, we'll be in my cabin tonight," he tells Sophie with a soft smile.

"I'm allowed in the cabin?" Sophie asks, sounding shocked as Dionysus freezes before narrowing his eyes that begin to burn with purple fire.

"Who told you you weren't allowed in my cabin?" Dionysus asks, softly, dangerously as his eyes turn to Artemis, accusations in them. Artemis just raised a brow and gave Dionysus an unimpressed look.

"No one!" Sophie yells throwing herself in between the two gods, "No one said anything like that, I-I just assumed, with the whole me not being allowed here and all that," She says looking Dionysus in the eyes as he looks back at her.

Dionysus sighs, "Yes, okay, I can see how you thought that," he says softly, looking away sadly "That is probably on me as well, I never told you you could use it, I thought you'd prefer being in cabin eight with your sisters then alone in mine," he says before coughing into his hand and looking away for a moment as the two fall into an awkward quiet.

"I'd, I'd like to," Sophie finally says, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I just need to tell the lieutenant where I'm gonna be," She says before smiling to herself, "Speaking of the lieutenant, she'll probably want to meet the twins as well," Sophie says looking back at the silver cabin as the Wine God smiles brightly at her words.

"She did know their namesake, didn't she?" Dionysus says with a slight shake of his head, "Well, go ahead, grab an overnight bag and whatnot, I'll be right here and I'll introduce you two to the twins before I need to go to the meeting," he says before Sophie nods before running back to cabin eight and running inside.

Artemis pushes herself and Hedwig off the cabin, turning to walk away, only to stop when Dionysus speaks to her.

"Pass along the message that I'll be a bit late, won't you, Big sister?" He says, and Artemis just waves her hand at him before she and Hedwig disappear in a flash of moonlight.


Several exhausting hours later.

It had been a very long solstice meeting, with eight of the twelve Olympians Gods having one thing or another they wanted to bring up and turn to a vote to do, which lead to arguments, empty threats, name-calling, and sandal-throwing like it always did. Ares bringing up his ridiculous plan on invading Canada AGAIN, Apollo wants to take another trip to Japan, Poseidon wanting help cleaning up the oceans, Athena bringing up something about the college funds, Hermes is worried about the stock market, and Aphrodite wanting to expand her clothing line into the mortal world, and over, and over, and over they went. Artemis had a divine headache dealing with it all, though she did get a few good barbs in at the goddess of air-headed bimbos. Still, her comment about "You don't know, do you?" and that unbothered smile had taken the air out of Artemis' sails.

Though she did get to behold the gloriest sight of Athena trying to command Hedwig and it backfiring on her, Athena wanted to inspect the snowy owl because she felt something off about her and because it was her divine animal. Artemis had just shrugged and told Athena it wasn't up to her, that it was up to Hedwig.

"Come little one, I want to take a closer look at you," Athena said, holding out her arm for Hedwig to land on, but the Owl doesn't even budge, "I said come," Athena said again, pouring power into the last word to order the owl to comply. Artemis smirks as Hedwig's head slowly turns to Athena before barking at her, causing the Goddess of Wisdom to gasp in shock, and Artemis fully smiling.

Athena looks between the smiling Artemis and the sassy Hedwig, "Oh, very funny Artemis, you can let your control of the owl go, I mean it no harm," Athena says, and Artemis just raised a brow and told her she wasn't controlling Hedwig at all, "That's just not, ...Owl, I am Lady Athena of the Olympians, your kind is my sacred animal, I command you to come here this instant," Athena snaps at Hedwig, who in return, barks at Athena again telling her just where she can shove her "Command" causing the Goddess of Wisdom just gape at the raw cheek of the owl, causing Artemis to laugh.

"There is only one being that Hedwig will listen to, and that person is neither of us," Artemis told Athena before walking away with a smile as the other glared at Hedwig. Artemis had stopped by her temple to drop off the gifts to Daphnis and Cecilla who smiled at them before petting Hedwig in thanks, Artemis took the jacket handed offered by Daphnis, who tells her he will be ready and waiting for tomorrow's meeting, and with a nod of her head she leaves her temple to return to her hunters, they would be staying at Camp Half-Blood for one more day do to her meeting at Point Nemo the next day, even for a god, it was still a long way to travel. But as Artemis arrives to drop off the jacket for Daisy, she sees something that makes her pause.

Her cabin was on fire.

Why was her cabin on fire!?

She walks up to the crowd of demigods and woodland spirits that were just watching her cabin burning as well as her hunters rushing around trying to put out the fire with a few of the nymphs trying to put out the blaze. Artemis walks up to her newest hunter, who was standing by watching the events unfold next to Chiron, "Daisy, Report! How did this happen!?" Artemis snaps, drawing everyone's attention.

"Oh! L-Lady Artemis, ahhh" Daisy says, who had gotten a new haircut her dirty blond hair was now cut short and close to her scalp, "Well, the drink that the Harry guy set somehow made you burp fire, and then the other hunters started to see who could burp the loudest and cause the biggest flame and well, ah, this, um…happened?" Daisy says, cringing a bit as she gestured to the burning building.

Artemis' eye was twitching in barely-contained rage, "I'm going to kill the guard dog, this was his idea, I just know it was!" She thinks to herself as she turns to watch the cabin burn before waving her hand causing the fire to snuff out, getting her hunters to turn and see her with sheepish looks as Artemis hears Chiron chuckle next to her.


Sunday, December 25th, Point Nemo, late afternoon.

Rita Skeeter.

Point Nemo, also known as the International Confederation of Wizards Headquarters, was by and large one of the greatest feats of magic known around the world. It was first constructed in 1629 and it had taken over sixty of the greatest wizards and witches of the time to raise a platform of ocean limestone that was twelve square miles large before they began to shape and enchant it into the floating city it was now, as big as the island of Inis Mór off the coast of Ireland, enchanted with every single protection known to Wixen kind to keep it safe and hidden from the muggle world, it floated over a thousand feet over sea level in the most remote part of the world. Each country representing the world over was given a section of the floating island to create and craft their ideal space for their representatives and was the only place in the world where you could find English castles next to Greco-Roman architecture and the towers of far eastern Japan. And they didn't just let anyone walk around Point Nemo, one had to be a member of the government body of their homeland to even gain access to their section, and only high-ranking government officials could go into other parts of the island.

If one did try to access Point Nemo without meeting these requirements they would meet the ICW's International Auror Task Force: I.C.E, which was short for Identify, Conceal, and Exterminate. They are THE dark wizard catchers and recruited from Auror departments from around the world, and rumor had it, they were looking to recruit Alistair Moody to their ranks back before the first war with You-Know-Who but he had turned them down as it would have taken him away from his home country when Mad-Eye knew the war was just around the corner. It took an act of a majority vote of the ICW and permission from the county they were mobilized to for I.C.E to act officially, and from the mission statements released to the public the ICE lived up to the last letter in the title, the current leader of the ICE, Makoshi Tomoe, was not known to take prisoners of any kind and was rumored to have a confirmed kill count in the hundreds.

But even the fearsome reputation of the ICE nor the strict policy of just who the ICW let onto Point Nemo would stop one Rita Skeeter from getting her scoop. For months she had been trying to find any dirt on the so-called Hunters of Artemis, and so far, she had found very little. She knew the group was over two hundred years old and once worked within the shores of the British Empire from old records from Wizengamot from well over two hundred years ago before the Hunters had moved on to North America, reaching out to contacts overseas bore no fruit as all she got were strongly worded letters either telling her such a group didn't exist or telling her to mind her own business. But then, two weeks ago, she had gotten a silver letter in the post with a time, a date, and a pass for Point Nemo with a letter from a Daphnis Arcadia inviting her to speak with him on the behalf of Hunters of Artemis, telling her that the leader of the group, Diana Phaesporia, was to be there as well. So with that, Rita had cleared her schedule for Christmas Day and went down to the Department of Magical Transportation, but before she could even walk into the offices she was stopped by a handsome young man by the name of Johnathan Doe.

He showed her his credentials, proving to be an Agent from the states and one attached to the Hunters of Artemis before informing her he was to escort her to her meeting with "Lady Phaesporia" as he called her. Rita smiled at the man and took the other end of the portkey before they were whisked off to Point Nemo, Rita never noticed that not a single person had seen her leave with the agent.

When they landed on the floating island of Point Nemo, the Agent escorted her through the barren halls of the MCUSA embassy on the island, and in Rita's opinion the embassy was very bland and muggle with plain-looking walls and arches, designed more with business then looks in mind, but still, her heels clicked on the marble floor as a satisfied smile was plastered on her face.

"So, Agent Roe," Rita began to ask before the bored and handsome-looking man cuts her off.

"Doe," He says in a bored tone of voice.

"Excuse me?"

"My last name is Doe, not Roe," he says before taking a turn from the main hallway.

"Of course it is dear," Rita says with a flattering smile, well, a flattering smile if the Agent had turned to look at her, "I was just wondering if you knew anything about Miss Phaesporia that can help smooth over the interview, the do's and don'ts, if you will," she says getting the Agent to finally turn his head to look at her with a queer look before stopping and letting out a sigh.

"Ms. Skeeter-" the Agent says.

"It's Miss Skeeter, actually," Rita says, with a few flutters of her eyes, but the agent just looks at her with the same look of bored contentment.

"I apologize, Miss Skeeter, though I already know you won't heed it, as stubborn as you've proven to be, I feel the need to give you one more chance," Agent Doe says to Her, causing Rita to raise a brow at his words, "Turn around, leave Point Nemo, go back home and Never write about the Hunters of Artemis again, Never write about Harry Potter again, and Stop digging in the connection between the two," the agent says looking at her with dark eyes that promised nothing good from continuing her path of inquiry.

Rita frowns at the man's words, she had heard them all before from both the rich and powerful, from lords and ladies, from commoners and ministers, "I'm not about to be intermediated, Agent Roe, My readers want the truth about what your Hunters have been doing to our Boy-Who-Lived, and I plan on finding out just that," Rita says as she crosses her arms over her chest and cocks her hips to glare at the man.

"And if you find out that the Hunters have done nothing to the boy and you've just been feeding them baseless speculation?" Agent Doe asks, raising his brow.

"Oh, I'm sure there's a story in all this, about how the leader of your little group might have a taste for, shall we say, younger men? And your Department is doing nothing about it but covering it up, Agent Johnathan Doe," Rita says with a positively predatory smirk, "Do you want to comment about that, agent?"

The Agent doesn't even look bothered by Rita's words, he just shrugs before continuing down the hall with Rita quickly following after him with a Victorious smile. They make their way down a few more halls before coming to private meeting rooms normally used for the different departments of the MCUSA, Agent Doe stops outside the first door before turning back to Rita.

"Lady Phaesporia and Mister Arcadia are right through here," He tells her, not smiling at all, "I'd wish you luck, but Miss Skeeter, you don't seem to need it," the Agent tells her and Rita just smiles at him as she struts by him and opens the door.

The meeting room was lush with rich dark wooden walls on one side of the room, and a dark forest was carved into the wood walls, Rita could see the animals carved into the wall move around the deep woods, a large table sitting in the middle of the room with a kettle, cups, and all the fixings for tea sitting in the middle and occupied by a young man who looks around Hogwarts graduation age sipping at a cup of tea, and on the opposite side of the room was floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the churning sea below Point Nemo for miles out with an even younger looking girl looking out over the ocean, both of them wearing the tell-tale silver jackets of the Hunters of Artemis.

The boy turns his head at the sound of the door closing behind Rita, looking in her direction, but not seeing her thanks to the long scar that was carved across his eyes with a polite smile on his face, "Ah, I'm going to assume that you're Miss Skeeter and not Agent Doe that entered the room on the account of the sound of high heels?" he asks as he sets his tea down.

"Yeeees," Rita says slowly, sounding confused, "I'm sorry young man, but I was told I was meeting a Mister Arcadia and a Miss Phaesporia here, not, well…you two," Rita says looking between the two and the young man chuckles.

"It's Lady Phaesporia to you, Miss Skeeter, and I would suggest you show a little respect to my Lady when she joins us," the boy says with a smile, "She had to step out for a moment to reign in her temper, but you have found the other half I assure you, I'm Daphnis Arcadia, and while I would normally stand to greet you, I don't wish to trip over anything, so please excuse me for that," Daphnis says with a bob of his head.

"You're a bit younger than what I was expecting, Mister Arcadia," Rita says as she moves to the seat directly across from the boy, ignoring the girl by the window.

The boy chuckles again, "Am I now?" he asks, sounding amused by something before sipping his tea, "Oh, where are my manners!" he says suddenly before gesturing to the kettle, "Please Miss Skeeter, help yourself, it's a wonderful chai blend from India," he says with a smile as Rita begins to pull out a notepad and her Quick-Quil-Notes before setting it up on the table.

"Thank you, deary," Rita tells the boy before preparing herself a cup of tea, "So, your boss has a bit of a temper does she?" she asks before taking a sip of the tea, humming a bit at the flavor, the boy was right it was wonderful.

Daphnis smiles and nods, "Yes, her temper is legendary you could say, and those who invoke her anger tend to feel it," he says.

"Oh, so she takes it out on her hunters?" Rita asks as her quil scratches away.

"Oh, Hades no, My Lady rarely has reasons to harm anyone under her protection, it's more directed at people like you," Daphnis says before taking a sip of his tea.

"Me?" Rita asks with a raised brow, "Now what in good heavens could I have done?" she says, smirking.

Daphnis sighs before placing his teacup down and leaning back in his seat, "Well, for one, the slander you've shoveled on to her name and her Hunters she does not take kindly to, for the words themselves and the lies, of course, My Lady hates when people lie," the boy says with a blank face.

"I don't write lies," Rita defends herself, "I write speculations when no real answers are forthcoming, much like anything that your…Hunt seems to be involved in," she says dismissively.

"A lie of omission is still a lie, Miss Skeeter, and when you do find a truth, you bend and twist it into something far more sensational and speculative than it is, which is a nice little segway into the other thing My Lady is angry with you about and one that I share with her," Daphnis says, his tone turning harder as he spoke, "That of your lies about one Harry Potter," he says, his smile vanishes as he speaks.

"I've, once again, written no lies, only my speculation, and my opinion, and my opinion is your little organization is practicing illegal dark magic on our national hero and twisting him into something he's not," Rita says as she leans forward placing her elbows on the table, teacup still in hand.

Daphnis frowns as he sits quietly and still for a moment before speaking, "An interesting opinion and one you would be entitled to have if you didn't splash all over the front page of a newspaper, but I must admit you've used some interesting words to describe Harry in your last few articles, the one you've used that I find most interesting is the word Dark," the blind boy says as he crosses one leg over the other, "Do you want to know why I find that so interesting Miss Skeeter?" he asks.

"Because it's true?" Rita asks sarcastically.

"No, Miss Skeeter, No it's not," Daphnis says, his tone much harder than before, making Rita smile not that he could see it, "I find it interesting because it's not the right adjective to accurately describe Harry, though I have little doubt that the one that does, most would consider it dark," the blind boy says.

"Oh, and how would you describe Mister Potter, if you even ever met him," Rita says, speaking down to the boy in front of her, hoping to get him to slip up and say something juicy before his boss showed up.

Daphnis doesn't smile, nor does he get angry, "Savage," he says quietly, "In almost every sense of the word, Harry Potter is savage, though that is to be expected from who his mother is," Daphnis says after a moment.

"Oh, does your little club not have a high opinion about muggleborns?" Rita asks, smiling like she hit pay dirt, but is surprised by Daphnis chuckling.

"You misunderstand me, Miss Skeeter, for I do not have a doubt in my mind that Lily Potter was anything less than a Saint for many reasons, one of them being her noble sacrifice to save Harry from a horrible fate," Daphis says, shaking his head in amusement, "No, I speak of Harry's other mother, one who lent Lily Potter the power to conceive a child when she was cursed barren by another, that is My Lady, of course," he says with a vicious smile as Rita Skeeter almost drops her teacup in shock.

"Lily Potter isn't the mother of Harry Potter?" Rita asks as calmly as she could but on the inside, she was screaming about the headline of the century.

"You are once again misunderstanding me, Miss Skeeter," Daphnis says, "But if you are asking me if Lily Potter carried Harry for nine months, went through labor pains for him, gave birth to him, fed him from her breast, loved him enough to give her life for him, then yes, Lily Potter was indeed the mother of Harry Potter, but what, I believe, you mean to ask is Lily Potter his only mother, then no, she is not," Daphnis says, his face like stone.

"And Harry's other mother is Miss Phaesp-" Rita begins to say, to get the boy in front of her to say it clearly, but she is quickly cut off again.

"That is!" Daphnis snaps, officially running out of patience with the reporter, "Lady Phaesporia to you!"

"Listen here, Boy," Rita snips right back, "She is not My Lady, she does not have a seat of the Wizengamot she leads a group of children in killing a bunch of monsters with primitive bows and arrows, that's it, she acts like a cult leader more than a Lady," Rita says, slamming down her teacup and glaring at the boy who leans back in his seat with his face of stone.

"You are more correct about the cult statement than you can comprehend," Daphnis says in a whisper, "But we of the hunt follow our Lady with never-ending devotion because we believe in her, because to us, who were lost and cast away, she was, is, and always will be our guiding moonlight within The Hunt, we would give our lives for her if she would only ask, and we have given our lives to The Hunt and for the hunt, for our sisters who have fallen and for those who still hunt," Daphnis says in solemn reverence and quiet voice so loud it renders Rita speechless.

"But there are three things you must understand about The Hunt, Miss Skeeter," Daphnis says, his hard tone returning once more, "While people of this modern era think of hunting as a sport, they fail in remembering what it truly is, The Hunt isn't about sport, Miss Skeeter, it's about survival, the strong eating the weak, predator and prey, in a never-ending cycle of hunger and Hunting, and it is a Savage beast to feed," the blind boy states and Rita feels a cold chill run down her spine as the rattling of broken chains start to fill the room, "The second thing is that the Hunters of Artemis are much like a pack of wolves, you attack one of us, you attack all of us and we will circle up to defend our pack by any means necessary," Daphnis growls out the last few words, but he wasn't the only thing that growls as a beast as old as the cycle of life could be heard growling with him, causing a cold sweat to break out on her forehead "and thirdly, you should have heeded Agent Doe's last warning and left, at least that way you would have lived a much shorter and painless life," The blind boy says as Rita begins to feel the great beast move, staking her, she swallows thickly, panic raising in her chest.

"I-I will not be threatened like this!" Rita snaps at the boy, "Tell your little whore of a cult leader I will be going through ICW channels to press charges for trying to silence me and threatening me," Rita says with a glare before snapping up her quil and notepad, because she had to leave and had to leave Now!

"You could have told her that yourself, Miss Skeeter," The boy says with a smirk, "You've been ignoring her this entire time after all," Daphnis says as Rita goes still for a moment in confusion, before swiftly trying to turn around, only to be stopped by a hand with a grip like iron and as she looks up into the twin burning amber cat eyes of a goddess, Daphnis speaks to her for the last time.

"People tend to forget how savage and unforgiving The Hunt can be, and just how long a Hunt can last, because yours Miss Skeeter, will be lasting for a very, very long time," the blind hunter tells her, right before Artemis' hand wraps around the throat of Rita Skeeter.


Ten minutes later.

As much as Artemis dislikes dumping toxic trash in her uncle's domain, She thinks that just this once he would forgive her for it.

"For every lie written, for every word in ink you've jotted down against me, my hunters, and my son, you will spend ten years each in the Lion Mane jellyfish's embrace, always drowning but never dying, always burning and never sleeping, you will feel every moment in The Hunt, so says Artemis of the Olympians,"

Was her curse on the vile woman before she had tossed her into the unforgiving cold of the sea, perhaps she would return in a hundred years or so to check on her, to see if she learned humility before killing her, perhaps not. But as she walks down the hallway to leave Point Nemo with Agent Doe and Daphnis in tow, she felt she should at least apologize to the person whom this would cause the most stress too.

"You and your department have my thanks for helping me with this little errand, Agent Doe, I will see if I can not do something to ease the burden that your office puts on your shoulders," Artemis tells the man walking behind her chain-smoking in the government building.

Agent Doe exhales the smoke from his lungs before speaking, "I have no idea what errand you're talking about Lady Artemis, Miss Skeeter missed her schedule portkey at the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Transportation and never showed up at Point Nemo, and London is such a large and dangerous city, don't you think?" He asks, his face not changing at all but Artemis smirks and decides to talk to Gertrude Robinson herself about giving the invaluable Agent Doe a raise and extended vacation.

As the group of three approaches the exit of the MCUSA embassy on Point Nemo, Artemis feels something off. She slows down her pace before stopping outright, looking around the hall with narrowed eyes.

"My Lady?" Daphnis asks, stopping as Artemis did, as Agent Doe turns to her with a raised brow, right before the office door to their left creeks open.

"No one else was supposed to be in the building," Agent Doe comments as his wand slides into his hand.

"That won't be necessary, Agent," Artemis says while looking at the open door, "Do me a favor and make sure Daphnis gets back to my temple on Olympus," she both asks and dismisses the mortals from the hall.

"If you are sure, My Lady," Daphnis says as he moves past her.

"I am Daphnis, and thank you for your words today," Artemis says before reaching over and placing her hand on his shoulder, "I am proud to call you both a brother in the hunt, never think otherwise, and know Harry isn't the only one I think of as a son," she says with a soft smile and Daphnis smiles back and nods his head.

"Does this mean I can call you Mommy now?" Daphnis says with a mischievous smirk.

"Absolutely not," Artemis says in a deadpan tone, causing Daphnis to laugh, "Now go, before I decide to shoot you with arrows for the cheek," she says, injecting as much humor into her voice as she could, Daphnis, still smiling, downs his head once more before departing with Agent Doe.

Artemis pushes the door open the rest of the way before walking into the dark office of some office official by the name of Farmr Galga, and leaning on the desk was a hunched figure in a cloak a walking staff in hand, beyond the cloak Artemis could make out a red polo shirt, but Artemis was no fool, she knew who this was and what his walking stick really was.

"What do you want, Old Man?" Artemis asks calmly and coldly as the hooded and cloaked figure chuckles and opens a single dark blue eye, it shifting to an amber cat's eye before it returns to normal and the man smiles at Artemis.


Chapter done!

Let's be honest here, how many of you went "Oh Shit!" When you read Rita Skeeter's name?

Anyway, this is the longest fucking chapter to date and it is worth it! We got to peak in a week with the Hunt and got Artemis' thoughts on some of her hunters. We saw Sophie snap and flesh out her character, her getting to meet her little brothers was something I wanted to do when I first thought her up.

And yes, Dionysus was 100% boinking the babysitter.

We saw the Hunt gain a new sister in Alice "Daisy" Tonner, and speaking of that, yes, she is a character from The Magnus Archives. A few months back Son of fellblood left a comment asking where this character was since I was basing some of this on TMA and I kid you not, I spent a solid week kicking myself in the ass for not making her a part of the hunt back in A Midsummer Hunt because she is fucking perfect for the Hunters of Artemis.

But yeah, now Artemis has a werewolf for a hunter.

Also, no, Artemis isn't really going to kill Sirius, she needs him.

Huh, who was the cloaked guy? Come on, it's not that hard to figure out, lets just say he's been a long time coming.

But I kid you not I wracked my brain for days trying to figure out if I could send ANYONE else but him, and the only other guy was an immediate no go, you'll see why soon enough if you can't figure out who it was, and if you did figure it out, just say "Got it!" and nothing else.

Kingsaxcul, Out!