23rd May 1983

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Hestia! Oh dear thank you so much for being available on such short notice, I'm so sorry to have to do this but there is simply no getting around this event Vernon and were invited to." Petunia was rushing about and not paying much attention to the girl in the door, "Marge left about an hour ago, she has Dudley for the weekend and we thought it would be best for you to hold onto Harmonia. You're by far the most qualified in the area and I really am sorry but we really must dash."

"No problem Petunia, she'll be asleep when you get back, speaking of which - when should I expect you?" Hestia asked the harried woman.

"We'll be back by midnight at the latest but if you would like the guest bedroom is always set up." Petunia responded.

"Wonderful." The two women bid eachother farewell with a swift kiss on the cheek and the door was shut in seconds. Hestia turned to the little girl and said, "Hello love, how have you been since last Friday?"

"Aunt Hestie!" Harmonia clapped, "Dudley gave me his old blanket on Monday, he said that since I was so attached to it and he had a better one, I could have it. It's my first presie from him!" The little girl was so excited that it filled the goddess with joy. That boy had been a menace until Hestia began to charm these people to be decent human beings.

Hestia looked around the house and garden, since Harmonia the wallpaper had been redone in every room. No longer were the walls awful floral prints and paisley. Now the living room was much more modern, the sofa was square and grey with mountains of pillows instead of the two old catapillars that filled the room and the walls were sky blue with multicolored crystals on the skirting, the Dursley didn't actually know where those had come from but they appealed to their minimal but still existing, snobbish side.

The garden stood out against the rest of the prim and proper, trimmed gardens along Privet drive. The grass was at least three times longer than the neighbor's and there were two tricycles beside the door.

Vernon had improved drastically and could even hold onto Harmonia for naps now. He didn't love her like he did Dudley but he was filling the bare minimum to qualify as an uncle.

Petunia was becoming a brilliant influence on her family as well, she looked as young and healthy as she ought to and spent a great deal of time with Hestia at their teas. They read book after book for the two toddlers and Hestia was slowly introducing the reformed woman to the concept of greek mythology.

Harmonia bumped into Hestia's legs and motioned that she wanted to be picked up which she did with no problem, "D'you wanna go and talk to auntie Artemis today little one?"

Harmonia clapped, " Artie, Artie! I wanna see my cuzies. " Hestia giggled at the little demigod's nickname for the hunters.

"Let's go then, put on your fire face for me please." Harmonia scrunched up her eyes and nose as a column of flame flashed around the aunt and niece duo.

17th August 1984

Harmonia and Dudley had been taken to the park by Petunia and Hestia and were playing on different equipment on opposite sides of the playground. Harmonia was sat behind a climbing frame and was humming to herself while the shadows danced to her tune.

"Impressive, getting them to listen to you like that." A voice called from above her. A boy who looked about seven was swinging upside down from one of the ropes. He had Golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes and the strangely observant four year old could've sworn he hadn't been there a second ago. Nevertheless, she did not startle.

"Who are you?" She asked looking up at him with calm, curious eyes.

"You're weird. Smart for a little kid. My names Apollo but you can call me Fred." he chuckled down at her before dissappearing for a second. Harmonia blinked and she heard a small thud as the boy jumped down next to her.

"But they're nothing alike." She argued. He grinned at her as he sat cross-legged in front of her,

"Well what do I call you?" he asked her.

She looked straight at him, "My names to long for me to say, but my middle name is Quinn. I like Quinn."

"Okay Quinny," He grinned toothily, "You got a pretty voice, not as beautiful as mine, but it's nice."

The pale girl looked puzzled, "What is the change between pretty and beau- beautiful?"

"Put simply? Beautiful is pretty times a million. But if you were describing a girl or person, my dear Quinny, a pretty woman is pretty on the outside at first glance. A beautiful person is pretty all over, in the way they look, act and treat other beings like people and dogs and kids." He smiled across to her, "Right now I think you're pretty Quinny, because I don't know you well enough to tell if you're beautiful."

Quinn scrunched her nose up, "I didn't say Quinny, Apollo, I said Quinn. My name is Quinn."

"And I said to call me Fred, but you called me Apollo. You said to call you Quinn; but if you didn't listen to me, then I won't listen to you!" he spreadhis hands out and laid down ith a flop, dust blowing out from under him, "What's the difference anyway, Quinny?"

She tried to avoid sounding like she was whining, no one she knew liked the sound of people who whined, "But I called you by your name, which you told me. You called me something I never said. I don't know if I like being called Quinny."

"I'll make you a deal." he said, "A person should never be called something they don't want to be called, they can pick and choose whatever name they like. So if I like Fred and what to be called Fred. And you like Quinn and want to be called Quinn. Then why don't we both promise that we'll call each other what the other wants?" Fred stuck his hand in her face, "Deal?"

Harmonia thought about his logic for a second before smiling and changing how she sat so she could reach his hand. She grabbed it, "Deal!"

He laughed and span to sit upright again, "Great! So, Quinn, I have an important question to ask you." She looked at him with a serious expresson that matched his own, "Do you like music, magic and archery?"

Harmonia's face lit up, "I love them, My aunt Hestia, the red haired one on the bench loves taking me to see my aunt Artie and my cuzies, the show me how they use bows and arrows and knives and stuff, and if we can stay late then we sit with them around a fire while they tell me stories about the stars and stuff they did. They look really young but they told me their super ancient. Sometimes they sing songs about cuzies or relatives I never got to meet and I swear they have magic because sometimes when their singing or really really angry they look like they glow. And they always find stuff on them that they definitely couldn't have been hiding before. I want to be just like them but apparently it's too dangerous for me to do right now even though they say I need to know how to unlesss i want to get eaten by monsters." She whispered to him, "I don't want to get eaten by monster's like the ones that they tell me about."

Apollo smiled at the little girl, fondly describing her adventures with meeting his sisters hunt and understood why Hades, Hestia and his little sister were so fond of her, "Say Quinn, I know magic too. I could show you magic that would make you really good at what your cousins do."

Harmonia stared up at him in awe, "Could you?" she looked to darn cute with that childish delight on her face, he hoped she never lost that. He decided he wasn't just going to show her a few tricks, she deserved his blessing just for being that adorable.

"Yep, close your eyes," as she did so in an instant he felt a little giddy himself, her positivity was as infectuous as a plague without all the bad parts, he made some enchanted glitter appear in his palm and blew it, as well as his blessing all over the girl and made his escape,

As Harmonia looked around in wonder her melodius giggle filled the space, "Fred!" she laughed, "This is just sparkly dust. Fred?" the four year old demigod looked around only to find her new friend missing, the barest trace of his chuckle floating along on the wind.

Harmonia made up her mind not to be mad, as fast as Fred had been and gone, the effect he had had on her would last a lifetime. She got up and ran towards Hestia who had begun to call her name, she jumped into the disguised godess' arms with another sweet giggle as she was swung around in her aunts arms,

"Wherever did all this glitter come from?" Hestia asked as she noticed the golden flecks on her hair, arms, face and dress. With a quick little flourish it all disappeared leaving only a slight tingling sensation in her niece's skin, the little girl shivered slighty and hopped down as they began to walk back to privet drive along with Dudley and Petunia, the two mortals a little ways ahead.

"My friend Fred, at least, I think he's my friend, said they were magic that would make me good at stuff like Artie and my cuzies were." She babbled on as they walked not even pausing a beat when Dudley and Petunia walked into a shop to grab them all ice creams and Hestia thought about the mythological presence she had felt in the playground. She thought about how her niece was bouncing ablong, radiating positivity with a new lightness in her tone and concluded that Apollo had made his appearance in the little demigods life.