This is a God of War cross with HP, where Fem Harry is the daughter of Freya and sent away to protect her from Odin's A+ parenting skills and manipulative nature.

Incoherent grumbles could be heard coming from her mouth. She had learned long ago the necessity of being quiet, especially after being thrown into yet another adventure.

Didn't mean she couldn't bitch about it under her breath though.

Honestly, she should have known that making a barter with a God, especially one like the Morrigan would come with a hefty price tag.

Being given a one-way trip to find the answers she sought had been annoying enough, but being turned into a child no older than her godson? That was just being petty as hell in her opinion.

She could sense the protective runes on the trees. If she attempted to pass through, odds were she would alert whoever cast them and draw them to her.

Until she had a better idea of where and possibly when she was, staying under the radar was her only option.

She had wandered for what seemed like hours when she sensed it. The distinct tingle on the back of her neck that warned of an imminent attack. Not from something human.

This felt more like a sick animal than anything.

She would have avoided the area had it not been for the cry of a terrified child. A young one at that. No hesitation in her frame as she bolted towards the sound.

It was a boy about her physical age, with the looks of a scholar to him. He looked terrified, and the sick bear was trying rather hard to kill him from his already weakening sanctuary behind thick vines. The claws were making short work of the vines themselves.

She didn't even consider any other option.

Casting a quick and dirty shield spell, she blocked the bear's attack. However it seemed her reserves had taken a nasty hit...she was barely able to keep it up at even half strength.

The boy looked at her in shock and some wonder, at least until the bear reminded him of it's presence.

She got between him and the bear, and wedged herself between the vines. The shield would keep them safe, at least until she thought of something else. Keeping it small would preserve her magic.

Her magic flickered a bit with each blow. She would have to act fast to deal with this pest. She would never allow the child to be harmed.

So you could imagine her surprise and relief when she heard the distinct sound of someone coming, fast.

Her vision began to blacken as her magical reserves dwindled. She would not drop the barrier until the threat was dealt with.

A pale man with crimson markings appeared. He was far more dangerous than the bear was. He also looked beyond pissed.

Her reserves were getting low, and if this man was a threat he would take both of them out without any trouble at all.

"Atreus!"

The boy perked up at the sound of the woman's voice. Was this his mother then?

The pale man took out the bear with ridiculous ease. The woman rushed to the barrier, which she reluctantly let drop. Her reserves were so low she would have to fight to stay awake.

The woman managed to catch her before she blacked out from exhaustion.

Third POV

Kratos looked at the mageling that had protected his son. Atreus was rather vocal about how she had appeared out of nowhere and placed herself between him and the rabid bear.

The girl had been through hell, and yet had thought nothing of protecting another. The little he had been able to see through the magical barrier she had created said that she was a warrior to the core.

He looked to his wife, who had carried the girl back to their home. He owed the girl a debt for protecting his child.

"How is she?"

"She will be fine. It's simply magical exhaustion," said Fay.

Fay could tell this was the one who had crashed through her protection stave earlier.

Kratos grunted.

The girl child would become a powerful mage, of that he was sure.

Three days later, the girl woke up. Her eyes were a verdant green, and held an age to them. There was a steel in her gaze Kratos recognized immediately...it was rather similar to his own.

Fay knew the child was a godling, much like her son. However Eir felt more like one of the Vanir rather than the Asgardians.

She was also rather mature for her age, but there was still a sense of child-like innocence left in her. Eir was incredibly wary, particularly of Kratos...but seemed to treat Atreus as a younger sibling more than anything.

They owed the girl a life debt, and Fay had a pretty good idea on how to repay it.

Eir wasn't too sure on how to handle Fay's offer to let her stay with them. Kratos made her incredibly leery, for good reason. However he seemed more or less neutral in regards to her presence, likely because she had saved Atreus' life from the bear.

While he was a tad suspicious about her arrival in his territory, he was willing to ignore it for the most part.

Eir knew she would need to get her bearings, and Atreus was adorable in how he followed her around like a puppy. Besides, she could tell he was a mage as well. She was more surprised his mother hadn't started training him already.

Considering she had no idea what her new limits were, she took Fay up on her offer of staying with them. After a while it became clear she was in for the long haul, since whatever had reverted her age had yet to wear off.

Three months later...

Kratos mostly ignored the mageling in his home. He had been wary of her originally, it quickly became apparent she had taken to his son as a younger sibling of sorts. Atreus had lit up when she began teaching him how to use magic, which Kratos had been mostly unaware his son had.

So you could imagine his surprise hearing his son and the girl speak of the Greek pantheon in depth.

Needless to say he sat discreetly in a corner tending his weapons and listened in. Something told him he wasn't fooling the girl in the least.

"So the head god was a horrible person?" said Atreus.

"Let me put it this way," said Eir dryly. She held out her hands as wide as she could and said "This is what we know of Greek mythology. (She shortened her hands to a much, much smaller space of measurement) This is Greek mythology if Zeus had bothered to keep to his marriage vows that he had to trick his wife into and didn't go chasing after every pretty face he could when given even half an opportunity."

Kratos inwardly snorted, because she wasn't wrong. Most of the stories about the Greek pantheon were about Zeus sleeping with anyone and everyone he took a remote fancy to.

"Wait, how did he trick his wife into marriage vows?" asked Atreus confused.

"Zeus turned himself into a wounded bird, Hera found him and took pity on him and when she was tending to him he turned back and forced himself on her. Out of shame, Hera agreed to marry him," explained Eir patiently. "Since she was the goddess of Marriage and childbirth, she had to put up with his infidelities."

"That's horrible."

"Oh it gets better. Hera was so pissed about Zeus sleeping around that she got her own back by targeting his children. One particularly famous instance was when she convinced her husband to agree the next child born to a certain line would be the high king of a certain kingdom. When he agreed, she had the goddess of childbirth sit on a woman in labor to delay the birth of Zeus' son until another child was born first, thus denying her husband's son his birthright."

"How did she 'sit' on a woman giving birth?" asked Atreus, confused.

"Your guess is as good as mine," chuckled Eir. "My guess is that the goddess used her powers to prevent the children from coming out or something."

"What was the child's name?" asked Atreus.

"Herakles," supplied a voice. Atreus almost jumped, surprised his father had answered.

"You know this story too?" asked Atreus.

"It is a famous one from my homeland," supplied Kratos gruffly.

Seeing his father was unlikely to elaborate, and Fay had been mending clothes for some time now listening to Eir tell her son stories of other lands, a comfortable silence settled.

"So what happened to the child?" asked Atreus, eager to hear the rest.

"At first, Herakles grew up and married to have two children with his wife Megara. But Hera was still angry over what Zeus had done, so she cursed him with madness and he killed his family. Out of horror, he went to an oracle who was guided by Hera and told to serve a king for ten years and perform ten labors. However due to circumstances it was turned into twelve," said Eir. "Though when he finally died he ascended and became a god as well, and Hera stopped trying to ruin things for him."

Atreus was openly fascinated.

"Do you know any other stories?" he asked.

"Of the Greek pantheon, or others? I used to read a lot of mythology from all sorts of pantheons in my spare time...especially after I got stuck in bed from another misadventure."

Atreus' eyes lit up, as Eir was a very good story teller.

"So does that mean you know how to speak Greek?" he asked.

"I'm passable at it, and I'm not very good at reading it," she admitted. "I'm better with Latin, and I know more than a few runes that Fay has been teaching us."

"Well do you know any stories that don't involve the gods?" asked Atreus eagerly.

"I know a few," she admitted cheerfully. "Like the one where an idiot king and his wife went to an oracle and ended up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Atreus scrunched up his face.

"How did they do that?"

"They were told their son would 'marry his mother and murder his father', then they had one of their men cast him out once he was born to avert it. Only he ended up adopted by another family and when he learned about the prophecy he was horrified and left...unaware of the fact he was adopted in the first place."

Atreus winced, already seeing where this was going.

"What happened next?"

"He had an argument with a traveler that resulted in him killing the man. Then he came across a kingdom being harassed by a sphinx, and when he dealt with the problem he was married to the queen," said Eir.

Atreus was a very bright boy and he put the obvious together. He made a disgusted face.

"Let me guess...the queen was his real mom."

"Got it in one. They had no idea until after they already had three daughters and a plague hit the kingdom...so they went to the same oracle who basically pointed them in the right direction, and they were horrified to find out the truth. There was a third play about the man, but I've never read it," said Eir.

Atreus had lost interest in the Greeks for the moment. Understandable, considering what they were talking about.

"Do you know any other stories from another land?" he asked.

"They will have to wait until tomorrow," said Fay kindly. It was good to see the children bonding. "Dinner will soon be ready."

That and Eir looked a little tired from explaining.

Kratos almost started running when he heard the familiar sound of combat...at least until he realized the sound belonged to wood crashing against wood, and his son was cursing a bit as he sparred with his 'sister'.

Coming closer to the house, he found Atreus and Eir sparring with branches that had been trimmed into the rough approximation of a sword, with a makeshift shield to go with it. Atreus had the shield, Eir went without.

Fay noticed him with a smile.

"They seem to be having fun."

Kratos grunted. He observed the two for a moment, and when Atreus registered his presence he paused. From the looks of things, his son was attacking while Eir defended. When she did attack, Atreus did his best to block with the shield.

Atreus fully expected his father to be against him learning to use a sword...especially the thin one Eir had formed for him with her magic. It wasn't the broadsword that he was used to, but a sword that was long and thin. She called it a 'katana'.

Kratos eyed his son's stance and the way he held the sword. While it was an unfamiliar make to him, he still knew more than a bit about weapons. Without a word, he walked up to Atreus and adjusted his grip.

"Hold the hilt like this," he said gruffly. He adjusted Atreus' shield so it sat better on his arm. "Your shield should be braced as such, to better deflect the blow."

Atreus was stunned, as this was the most interaction he'd had with his father in months.

Kratos stood back and observed Eir. While her hold was a bit sloppy, it was acceptable considering they were merely sparring. She silently adjusted her own hold under his gaze to something better and he nodded in approval, before leaving them to it.

Far be it for him to disparage his son's attempts to learn how to fight besides the bow. And while it was a sword he was unfamiliar with, it was still a sword that could be used in proper combat.

As he turned away, he waited a moment before the sound of combat resumed. He nodded as the sound of a solid strike was heard. He could tell without looking Eir had given Atreus' shield a proper strike, which he had defended.

The mageling was a better influence on his son than he had expected.