CHAPTER 2: THE VANISHING GLASS

Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.

There were a lot of boos from the demigod crowd.

The sun rose on… the house, too.

"That's rude! Justice for Harry!" Percy said.

"Start a petition!" Annabeth laughed.

The hunters, Artemis, and Athena did not join this cause.

"If it was me, I would've thrown hands," Ares added. His children agreed.

Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.

"Up! Get up! Now!" Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.

"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.

Everyone smiled.

His aunt was back outside the door.

"Are you up yet?" she demanded.

"Nearly," said Harry.

"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."

"Duddy?" Travis and Conner snorted.

Harry groaned.

"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.

"Nothing, nothing . . ."

Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.

The entire Athena cabin, including Athena herself, froze in fear.

Poseidon took a photo.

"Now I can remember this moment for the rest of my life," he muttered.

Percy had a wide grin on his face.

Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.

Everyone's jaws dropped in shock.

"UNDER THE STAIRS? NOW THAT'S JUST ABUSE! I'm sorry milady, but i'm about to join the 'justice for Harry' petition," Thalia exclaimed.

When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody.

"Are you sure he belongs to the Dursleys, Ares?" Hermes said.

Ares glared at him.

Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.

"Percy, he's just like you!" Nico said. Everyone sighed. Nobody needed another Percy.

"If I'm Harry, you're Professor McGongall," Percy countered.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Nico sighed.

"I guess I am Professor McGonagall."

Percy's jaw dropped in disbelief.

He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.

"That's not me," Percy remarked.

"Yeah, because he got that over the years. That's still you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth countered.

"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."

Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.

"Just like mortal parents!" all of the demigods exclaimed.

Uncle Vernon… Uncle Vernon chuckled.

"Spoiled boy. Another reason to hate men," Artemis said. Athena nodded.

"Hey sis, not all me are to be hated. Take me for example. I write AWESOME haikus. Listen to this one:

Artemis hates men

Athena does too but they

should not hate on this," Apollo recited proudly.

Everyone groaned at the horrible haiku. (A/N: I can't write a haiku either, but I messed it up on purpose)

"Little tyke… "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

Dudley and Piers sniggered.

"WELL IT WAS A DREAM!" Percy pointed out, "THEY TREAT HIM LIKE TRASH!"

"Yes," Artemis agreed, "I am joining your cause, even if it's for a boy. Justice for Harry!"

"JUSTICE FOR HARRY!" Everybody echoed.

"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.

Everyone snorted.

Harry had… of the house.

At the mention of snakes, Athena perked up.

"The snakes don't deserve that!"

The snake suddenly… of them jump.

"Athena, you sure this isn't your kid," Hermes questioned.

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied sternly.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.

Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.

"Rude," Percy said with extra sass (if it were possible)

"You sure know a lot about rudeness," Zeus muttered.

Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come. . . . Thanksss, amigo."

The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

"It's not that surprising," Nico said.

Everyone just stared at him, as if they were disappointed.

"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?" Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.

"JUSTICE FOR HARRY!" The demigods cried.

Harry lay… with Dudley's gang

"That's the end of the chapter," Ares concluded.

"I wanna cry. Justice for Harry!" Percy said, actually almost in tears.

"Oh boy," Annabeth said, rubbing his back while trying not to laugh.

"I'm reading next," Poseidon said eagerly. Ares handed him the book.