A/N: Here is part 3 of Rising Storms! I hope you enjoy it. As for the submission, I had to send over the first 5,000 words of my story and that took a few days to write. I submitted to Harlequin on Wednesday the 22nd. Now, I just have to wait to hear back from them.
Rising Storms
A Harry Potter and Percy Jackson crossover
Part 3
Chapter 2: Date Interruption
Percy
A month after being introduced as a new god, Percy was now on his first 'official' date with Apollo. They had been on a few small dates around Camp Halfblood, but this time they were actually somewhere other than the camp, since Percy didn't need anyone's permission anymore. Percy looked around the restaurant in Paris in awe.
"Do you like the restaurant?" Apollo asked.
Percy sent him a huge grin. "I love it!"
"Great." Apollo smiled, reaching out to hold Percy's hand. They were eating dinner and drinking wine when someone walked into the restaurant and heading over to their table. "Hermes!"
Percy looked up and saw Hermes standing at their table. "Hey, Hermes, what's up?"
Hermes frowned. He had some shocking news. "Hera's gone missing again. No one knows if she was going somewhere when she disappeared, and Zeus hasn't said anything about it. The others are confused, and I had the idea to come see if you had any ideas about what could have happened."
Percy scooted over and offered the seat to Hermes. "I don't know," he said. "Are you sure that she left of her own accord? Maybe someone had her 'disappear'?"
Apollo and Hermes looked at Percy in surprise. "But, who would get rid of a goddess?" Apollo asked.
Percy laughed. "Did you remember that the giants had Hera kidnapped before?"
"Oh, yeah," Hermes said. He sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do. Could you help us, please?" He looked at both Percy and Apollo, pleading with them.
"Well, we're actually on a date," Percy said, looking over at Apollo.
Apollo looked unsure. "Percy, maybe we should find her-"
"Again," Percy interrupted.
Apollo raised an eyebrow. "Again. Maybe we should find her and she'll tell us who kidnapped her this time."
Percy frowned. "But, what about our date?" He didn't want to admit it, but he was pouting a little. The one time they got to get away from everyone on Olympus and spend some romantic time together, they get pulled into another quest. He sighed. Before Apollo could say anything, Percy looked at Hermes. "When was she last seen?"
"In the throne room two weeks ago," came Hermes's quick answer. "She was talking with Zeus, and then he left her in the room... supposedly."
"Hmm..." Percy bit his bottom lip in thought. "Let's go see if we can find out any clues. Then go from that." He looked at Hermes who was beaming.
"Sure!" Hermes slid out of the booth and stood nearby as Percy and Apollo also got up. He waited impatiently for Apollo to pay for the meal and then led the two outside the restaurant. "We can transport over here," he said, walking around the corner of the restaurant out of sight. When the couple caught up to him, they all transported themselves back to Olympus.
"Oh, good, you brought them," said Poseidon, sitting ten feet tall in his throne.
As his father stood up, Percy grew to ten feet tall and walked over to give his father a hug. He knew that everyone thought that they could be like twins, but he didn't think so. They might look alike, but not like twins. Maybe he and Harry did, when Harry finally lost the need for glasses.
Once everyone was seated on their thrones, Zeus said, "Let's get the council meeting started." Percy and Apollo gave Hermes a look that promised pain for interrupting their date for this. Hermes winced. Zeus looked at all of the other council members. "Hera has disappeared again," he said. "She was last seen here, in this room."
Percy made a noise of intent to speak. When Zeus nodded to him, Percy sat up straight to bring everyone's attention to him. "You were the last person to see her, Uncle. Do you know who might have wanted to kidnap her?"
"ARE YOU ACCUSING ME?!" Zeus started to get red in the face.
"Obviously not." Percy sent the King of the gods an exasperated look. "I believe that I said, 'Do you know who might have wanted to kidnap her?'." Percy raised an eyebrow.
"Brother," Poseidon said, looking at Zeus sharply.
Zeus huffed. "Fine. Who has any questions?"
Hermes asked, "Why didn't you answer Percy's question? Who would want to kidnap Hera?"
"Yeah, it's not like she'd be the best person to kidnap," Apollo joked.
Zeus glared at his sons. "I don't know who would want to kidnap Hera." He frowned. "There weren't even signs of a struggle or a note."
"Are you suggesting that she willingly left?" Artemis asked.
"That can't be," Aphrodite said.
Athena scoffed. "Think about it. She probably didn't leave on her own. Someone probably wants to start a war with us."
"Why would she want to leave her husband?" Aphrodite asked Artemis.
"Seriously?" Percy asked her. When Aphrodite looked at him, he continued, "Who wouldn't want to get away from someone who only thinks of themselves and acts so horribly towards you?"
Zeus was getting angry, but many didn't care. Aphrodite was looking at Percy thoughtfully. "Hmm, maybe you're right, Perseus," she said. She glanced at Apollo in confusion, but he was also confused.
Zeus stood up from his throne, red in the face, "Find Hera at all costs!"
Percy thoughtfully watched him leave the throne room, wondering what Zeus was hiding. He didn't notice his companions until his father cleared his throat. Percy looked at his dad. "What?"
Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to anger Zeus?"
Percy sighed. "Sometimes, he needs to be challenged. Especially when he's wrong. Besides," Percy paused. "He's hiding something."
"Hiding what?" Apollo asked.
He shook his head, looking at his boyfriend. "I don't know, but something seems off. He says that he's worried about Hera, but his actions seem forced." Percy thought about it for a little bit. "Maybe we should ask the Naiads, and the satyrs, if they saw something."
Poseidon nodded. "Good idea."
Apollo looked at Percy. "Is everything okay, Percy?"
Percy grinned at him. "Of course, Pollo!" He leaned over and kissed his boyfriend, ignoring his dad's throat clearing. He pulled back and smiled. "I'm going to head to the fountain area to ask around there." He waved to them as he left with a smile.