I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

AN: Well, this is the last chapter of The Lightning Thief. After this, it's on to Sea of Monsters, which will be much shorter.

Chapter Eleven: Revelations

Chrysa Potter left Camp Half-Blood, much to the dismay of Percy and Annabeth, on June 28th, less than a week after they'd returned. Even then, she had been absent much of the previous week, having spent the 22nd preparing for her dinner party, the 23rd with Amphitrite, and the 24th helping Sally Jackson move hers and Percy's things into a new apartment in the building Chrysa owned.

"Do you have to go?" Percy asked sadly.

Chrysa laughed as she hugged her cousin.

"I do, little cousin. Don't worry. You'll see me again. I'll be back in two weeks for Annabeth's birthday, then a few weeks after that for my birthday, and I'll be sure to visit for your birthday as well. Besides, we live in the same city for six months out of the year. I'll be sure to visit you. But I have to get back to my job. I've missed nearly four weeks of work already, and I'm sure the paperwork stack reaches the ceiling. That reminds me…"

She turned to Annabeth, "So, what do you want to do for your birthday?"

Annabeth laughed.

"I think I'd just like to stay at camp this time. I've had enough excitement for one summer."

"I assume you want a birthday cake? And maybe ice cream?" Chrysa asked.

"Chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and as much junk food as you can bring," Annabeth decided.

Chrysa laughed. "I'll see it done, Annabeth. Goodbye to all of you now, I'll be back in two weeks!"

She twisted on her heel and Apparated away. In truth, she only Apparated out of their line of sight, so that she could take the easier route of shadow-travelling back to the Underworld.

Hades was waiting for her.

"The paperwork's done, both yours and mine, and barring a prison break, we have the next two days all to ourselves," he said with a smile.

Chrysa grinned and leapt into his arms.

In the end, she wasn't able to make Annabeth's birthday, or her own. At Zeus' request, Demeter had returned Persephone to the Underworld for a time so that Chrysa and Hades could venture into Tartarus to ascertain the state of the elder Titans' prisons. It had to be them to go. They were the only ones who knew where in Tartarus the Elder Titans were hidden.

Despite the fact that they started into Tartarus only two days after Chrysa returned to the Underworld, it was no easy task that they undertook. Tartarus was the home to all the worst of monsters, all of which were very attracted to trying to kill them.

Added to that, Tartarus himself disliked Hades and really hated Leuke. They had to be constantly on guard, even though Hades had on his Helm of Darkness and Chrysa was constantly cloaked in shadows. Their only respite were the few days they spent recovering in the House of Nyx.

Nyx and Erebos had never been entirely thrilled with Leuke's choice of consort, but they did like him enough to not throw him out while Chrysa was recovering from several days of being constantly attacked by monsters.

Chrysa took the time to tell her foster-parents about her new family members.

"Percy's only twelve at the moment, but he's my first cousin in my newest form – otherwise he's my step-nephew through Amphitrite or simply my nephew through Hades," Chrysa explained to Nyx. "Or he's my first cousin once removed, since Poseidon was my first cousin as Leuke. I think he'll grow up quite well – he's already good friends with Annabeth – that's my foster-daughter. She's my grandniece through Metis, and she was the ward of my half-sister, so I felt responsible for her when I first met her. Her mortal father and stepmother signed over custody to me a few years ago, but I think I'm going to be giving it back at the end of the summer. Percy seems determined to convince Annabeth to mend things with her family."

"Do you think she will?" Eris asked. The goddess of strife had been avidly listening to Chrysa's stories the entire time.

"I think she'll try," Chrysa replied. "She wants a closer relationship with her family, she just can't get over her the fact that her father and stepmother didn't believe her for when spiders were attacking her nightly. To be fair, most people wouldn't believe it, especially when the only evidence was the spider bites. Mrs. Chase was also busy with a pair of one-year-old twins and didn't have time for what she saw as the imaginings of a seven-year-old. But try to explain the reasoning to Annabeth and she'll shut down on you."

"Ah, the stubbornness of foster children who think they know better than you," Nyx said knowingly. "That sounds familiar. She'll get over it. You did."

"And it took me three thousand years," Chrysa pointed out.

Nyx waved a dismissive hand.

"You were stubborn."

They finally determined that the four eldest Titans were still locked tightly away, guarded by the three Hekatonkheires. The chains to the door of the maximum-security section of Tartarus were slightly looser than they had been thousands of years beforehand, but the Titans would not be escaping on their own. Kronos was another story.

While the Titan had been chopped into pieces and scattered across Tartarus, the biggest piece – his head and torso – had been locked up in a stone vault and chained with Stygian iron. Now, the chains were half-melted and shattered and the door had been blasted to pieces. The head and torso were gone.

"He shouldn't have been able to do that," Chrysa said with a sigh, leaning her head tiredly back onto Hades' chest.

The god rested his chin on her head.

"He shouldn't have. Do you still have the heart?"

"It was safe before we left. I'm planning on moving it someplace they're less likely to look though. Not having his heart won't stop him from reforming, but it'll slow him down," Chrysa replied.

In the end, they did not make it out of Tartarus until the last day of camp.

"I expect a very nice birthday present for this," Chrysa told her father as she reported in to him. "I had to spend my birthday in Tartarus because of you."

"You have my abject apologies, daughter," Zeus replied. "Would you like your present?"

He waved his hand, and a wrapped box appeared in front of her, floating midair. By the size of it, it was jewelry.

She opened the box to find a silver bracelet shaped like a lightning bolt, covered entirely with what looked like one-carat white diamonds. The diamond at the tip of the lightning bolt was black.

"It's beautiful," Chrysa said admiringly, taking it out of the box and putting it on her wrist.

"It's Olympian silver," Zeus stated. "And tap the black diamond."

Chrysa did, and the bracelet exploded outwards into an Olympian silver shield, decorated with lightning bolt designs and edged in diamonds.

"I know you don't normally use a shield, but I thought there might be an occasion for one eventually," Zeus said. "If it's already on your wrist, you won't have the problem of needing one but not having one."

Chrysa smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Father. I love it."

Zeus smiled in return.

"I'm glad. Now, you might want to get to Camp Half-Blood. Everyone's leaving shortly, after all."

Chrysa bowed to her father, then the shadows came up to cover her.

She reappeared on the front porch of the Big House, next to Dionysus' game table. Chiron wasn't present.

"Oh," he said, taking a sip of Diet Coke. "You're back. How was Tartarus?"

"Dark, gloomy, and filled with monsters," Chrysa replied. "Same as ever. How was camp?"

"Bright, sunny, and filled with monster-killing brats," Dionysus replied. "Oh, the Sea Brat got stung by a pit scorpion an hour ago. Chiron and Annabeth are in with him now."

"You really should have led with that, Dionysus!" Chrysa called over her shoulder as she rushed into the infirmary.

Percy was safely ensconced in one of the infirmary beds. Chiron was in wheelchair form at the foot of the bed. Argus was standing guard in the corner. Annabeth was sitting next to the bed, holding a glass of nectar that was connected to Percy's mouth by straw.

"Chrysa!" Annabeth exclaimed, looking like she wanted to get up and hug her but staying put so she didn't jostle Percy.

"Annabeth," Chrysa greeted. "Chiron, Argus."

"How was your trip?" Chiron asked. "You don't look like you've seen much sun."

"I haven't," Chrysa said flatly. "How is he? What happened? Dionysus just said he was stung by a pit scorpion."

"We don't know yet," Chiron replied.

A low groan from Percy caused them to look his direction. He had blinked his eyes open and was looking up at Annabeth.

"Here we are again," he said.

"You idiot," Annabeth said. "You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing…"

"Now, now," Chiron said, "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit. How are you feeling, Percy?"

"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved," Percy replied.

"Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom," Chiron replied.

Percy chose that moment to notice Chrysa was there.

"You're back!" he exclaimed.

She smiled sadly at him.

"For all of ten minutes. I really didn't want to come back to find out that my favorite cousin was in the infirmary after being stung by a pit scorpion. What happened, Percy?"

The younger demigod took a deep breath.

"I was still trying to decide whether I was going home or not," Percy said, taking a sip of nectar. "I'd gone down to the sword arena and I met Luke there. He'd been practicing with a new sword. He invited me to go out to the woods with him and drink some cans of Coke. We went out to the spot by the river where I got ambushed in the Capture-the-Flag game. He was…angry.

"He asked if I missed being on a quest, and I said I did. When I asked if he felt the same, he said he trained and he trained, and never got to be a normal teenager and had one quest and then was told that it was over, have a nice life. He said he wasn't going to end up like the dusty trophies in the Big House attic. He said he was leaving, and that he'd brought me out there to say goodbye. He snapped his fingers and the scorpion crawled out of a whole in the ground at my feet.

"Luke was the traitor. He said that the gods were useless, that Western civilization was a disease. He serves Kronos. Kronos spoke to Luke in his dreams and gave him instructions. Luke stole the master bolt and the helm. Ares caught him in New Jersey, but Kronos helped Luke convince Ares to hold onto them in order to start a war instead. Luke summoned the hellhound in the forest to make Chiron think Camp wasn't safe for me. I tried to talk him out of it, but he said goodbye, slashed his sword, and disappeared in a ripple of darkness. Then the scorpion lunged and I cut it in half. But I wasn't fast enough. It stung me. I tried to get back to camp, but I passed out right when the nymphs found me."

The room was quiet for a long time before Chrysa exploded.

"When I get my hands on that bastard, he's going to wish he never lived through his quest," Chrysa growled. "After all, if he died on the quest he would've ended up in Elysium. I'm going to make sure it takes him a while to make it to the Fields of Punishment."

"I can't believe that Luke…" Annabeth said, voice faltering. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him…. He was never the same after his quest."

"This must be reporter to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once. You will stay with them, Chrysa?"

"I'll guard them with my life," she swore.

"Luke is out there right now," Percy said. "I have to go after him."

Chiron shook his head.

"No, Percy. The gods…"

"Won't even talk about Kronos," Percy snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"

"In front of you, Percy," Chrysa replied quietly. "Trust me, the matter is not closed. I haven't been off for the past couple months on a pleasure trip. We're doing everything we can to stop Kronos."

"I know this is hard," Chiron said. "But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."

Percy looked down at his heavily bandaged hand.

"Chiron…your prophecy from the Oracle…it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Annabeth?"

Chiron glanced nervously at Chrysa, then at the ceiling.

"Percy, it isn't my place…"

"You've been ordered not to talk about it, haven't you?" Percy asked discerningly.

"We all have," Chrysa said quietly. "Not yet. Not until you're older."

Chiron's eyes were sympathetic, but sad.

"You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you…"

Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.

"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!" He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing!" Percy protested.

"Percy," Chrysa said with a sigh, "you're just a child."

"I'm not a child!" Percy burst out.

"Yes, you are," Chrysa said sternly. "You're twelve. Almost thirteen. You're still a child. You can sit back and do nothing. I've been in your shoes. I know it sucks. But for the moment, please, just leave it to the adults."

"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."

"Assuming I live that long," Percy said glumly.

Chiron put his hand on Percy's ankle.

"You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice….But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision. I'll be back as soon as I can. Argus will watch over you, and I suspect Chrysa will stay as well."

"Of course," Chrysa said firmly. "My boss had me for two months, including the two days I asked for off months in advance. And the past two months were not fun. I have the next week off."

Chiron looked over at Annabeth.

"Oh, and, my dear…whenever you're ready, they're here."

"Who's here?" Percy asked.

Chrysa was wondering the same thing, but nobody answered.

Chiron wheeled himself out of the room and down the front steps of the Big House.

Annabeth was staring intently at the ice in Percy's drink.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked.

"Nothing," she replied. She set the glass down on the table. "I…just took your advice about something. You…um…need anything?"

"Yeah," Percy said. "Help me up. I want to go outside."

"Percy, that isn't a good idea," Chrysa pointed out.

Percy slid his legs out of bed. Annabeth and Chrysa caught him before he could crumple to the floor.

Annabeth said, "Chrysa told you…"

"I'm fine," Percy insisted. He managed a step forward, then another, still leaning between Annabeth and Chrysa.

By the time they made it to the front porch, Percy's face was beaded with sweat. They made it to the railing and looked out over the camp.

"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked Percy.

"I don't know," Percy replied. "I get the feeling Chiron wants me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I'm not sure that's what I want. I'd feel bad leaving you alone though, with only Clarisse for company."

Annabeth pursed her lips and said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."

Percy turned to stare at her. Chrysa did as well.

"You mean, to your dad's?" Percy asked.

She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill, where a tall man stood with two little children and a woman. Chrysa recognized them as Professor and Mrs. Chase from the time she had 'rescued' Annabeth. Professor Chase was holding the backpack Annabeth had acquired in Waterland.

"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him…I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided…we'd give it another try." She looked over at Chrysa. "I wanted to get in contact with you, since you have custody officially, but Chiron said he got in contact with your lawyer."

Chrysa shrugged. "He probably did. I wouldn't know; I've been out of contact. Do you want me to come with you to say goodbye?"

"No…I – I think I've got it," Annabeth said.

"You've got my cell phone number, in case of emergencies?" Chrysa pressed.

Annabeth nodded. "Use that to contact you if I need to?"

"If I don't answer, I'm either sleeping, showering, or having sex, and I'll contact you as soon as I'm done," Chrysa said with a nod.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "I did not need to know that."

"It took guts, what you did," Percy told Annabeth.

She pursed her lips.

"You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least…not without sending me an Iris-message?"

Percy smiled at her.

"I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."

"When I get back, next summer," Annabeth said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"

"Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena," Percy praised.

The pair shook on it.

"Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "Keep your eyes open."

"You too, Wise Girl," Percy replied.

Chrysa hugged her.

"Remember, I'm just a phone call away. Even if you just want me to drop by and visit, I will…after September 21. I might drop by anyway," she said with a smile.

Annabeth smiled back.

"I'd like that."

Chrysa and Percy watched as Annabeth walked up Half-Blood Hill to join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be led over the crest of the hill and back into the mortal world.

Chrysa glanced at Percy, who had a look of firm determination on his face.

"You've made your decision, then?" she asked.

Percy nodded firmly.

"I'll be back next summer," he said. "I'll survive until then. Help me to cabin three?"

"Of course."

It took them several long minutes, but with Argus' help, they eventually made it back to Cabin Three. There, it turned out to be a good thing Chrysa came with him, because Percy did not have anything to pack his belongings into. Chrysa, of course, was capable of conjuring a trunk for him to load everything into.

Chiron met them there.

"I see you're going home," he said. There was a slight hint of disapproval in his voice, but Percy didn't appear to notice.

"I miss my mom," he said firmly. "She said she has a down payment on a school in the city for me to go to. I'll survive until next year."

"Very well then. I can have Argus drive you back to the city…"

"No need," Chrysa cut in. "I'm headed back to the city tonight. I can take him. Besides, I know where his mom's new apartment is. He doesn't."

"How do you know?" Percy asked, halting his packing to turn to look at her.

"I helped her move in," Chrysa said drily. "Keep packing. The sooner you're done, the sooner we can get you home."

"Have a good school year, Percy," Chiron offered before trotting out of the cabin.

It didn't take long for Percy to pack everything, even with the two breaks he had to take due to the pit scorpion venom making him dizzy.

"Ready?" Chrysa asked him.

He nodded.

"Alright. Take hold of one of the trunk handles. I'm going to magically transport us to my apartment. From there, I can get you to your mom's place."

She tapped the top of the trunk with her wand and ordered, "Portus." In an instant, they were in Chrysa's Manhattan penthouse.

Percy wobbled dizzily. Chrysa waved her wand again, and her desk chair zoomed out of her office and planted itself behind Percy for him to collapse into.

"Well, on the bright side, the chair has wheels," Chrysa said.

She tapped the top of the trunk, and it began to hover just above the ground. She moved behind Percy, and began to push the chair towards the elevator.

"Are you planning to push me all the way to my mom's apartment?" Percy asked once they were in the elevator.

Chrysa pushed the button for the tenth floor.

"Yep."

A wave of her wand had the trunk leaving the elevator when they reached the tenth floor. Chrysa only had to push Percy a few doors down before stopping and knocking.

A moment later, the door was opened by Sally Jackson.

"Mom!" Percy exclaimed, getting up and hugging his mother.

"Percy! Oh, I've missed you so much," Sally Jackson exclaimed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"He'll be fine," Chrysa said. "He might get dizzy at random for the next few days, so try to keep him inside as much as possible. He was stung by a pit scorpion this morning. Chiron healed him up though. It's just the after-effects now."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chrysa, I didn't see you there," Sally said with a smile. "Would you like to come in? I've just finished dinner and we have plenty."

"That would be lovely, thank you, Sally," Chrysa said with a smile.

"Is Percy fine to set the table?" Sally asked her.

"Should be," Chrysa replied.

"Percy, set the table," Sally ordered.

"Yes, Mom," the demigod replied.

Chrysa took a seat while Percy set the table and Sally finished dinner.

"We're having spaghetti tonight, I hope that's alright," Sally said from the kitchen.

"It sounds wonderful," Chrysa called back.

"What would you like to drink?" Percy asked her. "We have water, Dr. Pepper, Coke, and Sprite."

"Water's good," Chrysa told him.

A few minutes later, they were all seated and having dinner. Most of the time was filled with aimless chatter between Percy and Sally, until Percy asked, "So, Chrysa, where were you the past couple months?"

"I was on a mission with my boss for my father," she replied. "We were checking on things related to the Titans."

Percy hesitated, then said, "I haven't asked before. No one seems to know who your boss is. But…you work for Hades, don't you?"

Chrysa's eyebrows shot up. She set her fork back down on her plate.

"You're the first person to figure that out, Percy," Chrysa replied. "I think Chiron suspects, but as far as he knows, I work with Thanatos, the god of Death. He hasn't said anything about me working directly for Hades. But yes, I work for Hades. How did you figure it out?"

"You were always a lot more respectful towards him than the rest of us," Percy said. "And you weren't scared. You knew exactly where the Underworld is, and you made it inside really quickly. In Hades' throne room, he was listening to you. We were annoyances, but he listened to you. And you made it out again. You were already on Olympus by the time I got there, even though you took the Helm of Darkness back personally. Plus, what kind of summer job lasts exactly from the spring equinox to the fall equinox?"

Chrysa laughed, then tipped her glass towards Percy.

"Kudos to you. Like I said, no one else has figured it out. Everyone who frequents the Underworld knows, obviously, and the Olympian Council knows, but they were all told. Yes, I work with Lord Hades, helping him out when Persephone isn't in the Underworld. There's a lot of paperwork involved in ruling a kingdom, especially one that has a constant immigration rate without any emigration. The second pair of hands keeps him from stressing so much. I take care of Persephone's duties."

"Do you take care of Persephone's…other duties?" Sally asked hesitantly.

"Are you asking if I'm sleeping with him?" Chrysa shot back.

Sally nodded.

"I am," Chrysa admitted freely. "It's how I knew that Hades didn't steal the Master bolt. Pretty hard to hide something like that. Persephone knows, of course. I'm pretty much permanently attached to the Underworld court now. It was actually the combined idea of Persephone and Thanatos to find Hades a concubine in the first place. She had to approve of me before I took up the position."

Percy's nose was wrinkled.

"You're sleeping with our uncle?" he asked.

Chrysa shrugged.

"Gods don't have DNA. Dating within the godly pantheon is perfectly acceptable. At Camp Half-Blood, it's frowned upon to sleep with your half-siblings, but I could sleep with half of the godly pantheon and they'd be my half-siblings. I'd also like to point out that Persephone is my half-sister, and she's Hades' wife."

Percy slumped.

"I see your point. It's still weird."

"I try not to think about it," Chrysa replied. "Honestly, most of us try not to think about it a lot of the time. Our family tree is weird."

"What were you doing for the past two months?" Percy asked again.

"Hades and I went to Tartarus to ascertain the state of the Elder Titans' prisons," Chrysa said bluntly. "Tartarus…you don't just go to Tartarus, Percy. Not even the gods will go there outside of the direst need. And of the gods, none but the Elder Gods would dare, and they prefer not to. You can't go into Tartarus alone. Well, you can, of course, but it's a very bad idea. Tartarus sucks everything out of you. Without having someone else there with you, it's very easy to give into despair. We've been out of the pit itself for a week or so, but…it's hard. Very hard. We've been recovering since then. Hades was up sooner than I was, of course. He is one of the Big Three. I'm no slouch when it comes to power, but it was his power that kept me alive down there, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Anyway, it took us awhile to get through Tartarus to max-sec, and then to the spot where the biggest chunk of Kronos used to be."

"Biggest chunk?" Sally asked, at the same time Percy said, "Used to be?"

"Zeus and his brothers chopped Kronos up before they tossed him into Tartarus," Chrysa explained to Sally. "But the biggest piece, his head and the majority of his torso, they locked up. All the little parts were just kind of scattered around the rest of Tartarus. But yes, Percy, used to be. He's not there anymore, and we don't know how long he's been out."

"Does that mean he's coming back?" Sally asked fearfully.

"He is," Chrysa nodded. "But he can't come back all at once. Like I said, most of his torso was in that tomb, but the most important part wasn't. His heart was carved out before he was tossed into Tartarus, and very few people know where it was hidden. Without his heart, reforming is going to be a lot slower."

"Where's his heart?" Percy asked.

Chrysa shook her head.

"Hades knows. That's all I can tell you," she said. She turned to Sally and asked, "So, what school is it you've enrolled Percy in for next year?"

Sally didn't protest the change of subject.

"It's called Meriwether College Prep. It's a progressive school in downtown Manhattan. It's supposed to be good for kids with ADHD and dyslexia, like Percy," she explained.

"Speaking of dyslexia, if you want me to, I can give you something that will translate your homework into Ancient Greek and then back to English when you're done," Chrysa told Percy. "It'll help a lot in school if you can actually read what they're giving you."

"You can…you can give me something that will help me read?" Percy asked, hope trickling into his voice.

Chrysa smiled at him.

"Not just read. You'll be able to write your responses in ancient Greek, and then whatever I give you will translate them back to English so you can turn it in. I'll see if I can make it a mechanical pencil or something, so you can take it to school and no one will notice your papers or textbooks mysteriously changing languages."

"That would be amazing," Sally breathed.

"I've figured out the spell combos before; Annabeth asked me to the semester she was at home," Chrysa replied.

The rest of dinner consisted of much more boring topics, such as how Sally got this apartment (Chrysa) or how Chrysa moved to the US.

"Dinner was wonderful, Sally," Chrysa said with a smile as she left. "Thank you for having me."

"Thank you for coming," Sally replied.

"I'm going to be back in two days. I'm taking you both out to lunch for Percy's birthday. Anywhere you want to go, Perce, anywhere in the world. And remember, I'm rich and can teleport, so there really are no limits," Chrysa called as she walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind them.

Two days later, they were having lunch at a at a Greek restaurant Percy had seen while wandering around Los Angeles. It wasn't just the three of them, though. Last minute, Chrysa had brought along her godson and adoptive brother, Teddy Lupin-Black.

"Teddy's parents live in London, but they had some sort of emergency involving warring vampire clans and a star-crossed romance between a werewolf and a vampire. It all sounded terribly complicated, but the gist of it was that they needed me to watch Teddy for the day," Chrysa explained when she knocked on Percy and Sally's apartment door with the nine-year-old in tow. "The babies got shipped off to the distant cousins to play with the other babies, but Teddy's the oldest, so I'm struck with the little brat."

"Hey! I'm not that bad," Teddy protested.

Chrysa ruffled his teal hair.

"Hay is for horses, cub, and I know your parents have told you that. At least Remus has. I know Sirius still tries to pretend he's never had elocution training."

Despite the three-year age difference, Teddy and Percy were still close enough in age that they could figure out things to talk about, despite living in two completely different worlds: Percy as a demigod and Teddy as a half-werewolf wizard.

"Oh yes, full moons are fun," Teddy explained to an avidly listening Percy. "Humans can't be around us, but humans in the form of animals are fine. Since I'm just half, I don't have to shift. It's more like an Animagus form, except it only happens at the full moon."

"Animagus?" Percy asked curiously.

"A witch or wizard who can turn into an animal. Dad's a dog. Professor McGonagall's a cat. James, Amaranth's first dad, turned into a stag. Amaranth turns into a screech-owl," Teddy explained.

Percy's brow furrowed.

"Amaranth?" he asked.

"Me, Percy," Chrysa clarified. "Amaranth is my first name. Chrysa comes from Chrysocomê, my middle name."

A look of comprehension dawned on Percy's face.

"Right. The media kept calling you Amy Potter-Black."

Amaranth made a face.

"I do not like being called Amy."

"Dad and Papa have started suing the papers back home every time they call her 'Amy Potter.' Or 'The Girl-Who-Lived.' Or 'The Woman-Who-Conquered.' Pretty much any time they call her anything but Amaranth Potter-Black," Teddy added helpfully. "We donate the proceeds to different charities."

"Which charity we donate to depends on the month," Amaranth mentioned. "We couldn't decide on a single charity, so we picked twelve and set up a rotation. This month is the British National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Unfortunately, the media outlets in the US used 'Potter-Black' as my last name, which means we can't sue."

"Actually, Papa found one TV station that said 'Amy Potter'. Turns out that the anchor who was talking was a squib who knew about you. Aunt Andy's already working on the court case," Teddy said.

"Ah," Chrysa said with a nod.

Percy hesitated, then glanced at Teddy before looking back at Teddy.

"How much does he know…about our side of things?" he asked.

"You mean the fact that Amaranth's the demigod daughter of Zeus, the Blessed of Hecate, the Champion of Thanatos, and the girlfriend of Hades?" Teddy said with a grin. "Pretty much all of it."

"We don't keep secrets in my family," Chrysa stated. "It was one of the rules that Sirius, Remus, and I came up with when they originally adopted me. I'd had enough of secrets. So we agreed no secrets. Unless it concerned our sex lives. I assured them that I didn't want to know."

"I don't want to know," Teddy and Percy said together.

Sally and Chrysa laughed.

"Well, I don't feel the need to share," Chrysa replied. "You're still a bit young for that."

"Anyway, new topic," Percy said quickly. "What do you do when you're not in the Underworld or at Camp? I know you're only in the Underworld for six months, and Annabeth said you don't spend that much time at Camp…"

"I'm currently going to college, actually," Chrysa said. "Columbia. Father pulled some strings to get me in. I'm double-majoring in English and Classical Studies. Considering I'm fluent in ancient Greek, modern Greek, and Latin, it hasn't been very difficult so far. I also spend time back in England, guest-lecture in Scotland, and attend charity events all over the world. It's only a few hours a day, so I can attend classes even during my…summer job."

"Aren't you a little young for college?" Sally asked curiously.

Chrysa laughed.

"A little old, actually. My body is permanently seventeen, but I turned twenty-seven this past July."

"Aunt Hermione and Aunt Fleur and Aunt Ginny are all really jealous that Chrysa still looks so good," Teddy put in.

"I don't know why. I'm permanently seventeen, and I look more like fourteen or fifteen unless I do my make-up a certain way," Chrysa grumbled.

Sally patted her arm consolingly.

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about your boyfriend potentially being a pedophile. Though, considering the age difference…"

Chrysa snickered. Little did Sally know that she was actually older than Hades. They weren't entirely sure, but their best guesses said she was mentally still about a thousand years older than Hades, even after being dead for four thousand years.

Their lunch date wrapped up quickly after that. Chrysa presented Percy with his present, a celestial bronze trident necklace that would turn into an actual trident when pulled off of his neck. It was also enchanted to not come off.

"I know that your magic sword always returns to your pocket, but this way you have something if you don't have pockets. Like if you're sleeping. Or working out. Be careful practicing with it. I'm sure your mother would like to keep her curio cabinet intact."

Mid-October, Sally would be asking Chrysa to magically repair her curio cabinet after Percy destroyed it while practicing with the trident.

After dropping Teddy off back in England (and spending the next few hours playing board games), Chrysa finally returned to her empty New York apartment. She was only there for five minutes before shadow-travelling again.

She reappeared in the Underworld, just outside of Hades' office. Even though it was late, she could still hear the sound of his pen scratching at the documents he was signing.

Chrysa slipped inside of the office, shadows covering her so that she was still unseen, even to Hades. She moved silently over to his chair and released her hold on the shadows as she situated herself on his lap, curling her head into his shoulder so that she could hear his heartbeat.

She heard the pen stop scratching.

Hades leaned down and breathed his question into her ear.

"I thought you were staying topside for a few more days?"

Chrysa moved her head from his chest in order to look into his dark eyes. His face was just inches from her own.

"I missed you," she said simply, leaning in to press a brief kiss to his lips. "I realized that school starts again soon, and I'll be separated from you again, and then September will come and we'll really be separated. So I came home, beloved."

Hades' arms tightened around her.

"That's right. You're home."

"Home," Chrysa mumbled contentedly, leaning back into Hades' embrace and letting herself drift off to sleep.

AN 2: Teddy surprised me by showing up. I didn't know until it happened. But yes, in case anyone was wondering, Chrysa/Amaranth is still very much in contact with her friends and family in the British Wizarding World. As for the Statute of Secrecy and MACUSA's strict laws about magic...well, it doesn't really apply to demigods. Plus she's a fantastically wealthy celebrity, so she's the exception.

AN 3: This is going to be the last update for a few weeks. Sea of Monsters ended up being really, really short, so I need a few weeks to get more written on Titan's Curse. I've either been crazy busy, or I've ended up spending my writing time world-building for one of my original works, or something like today happens, where I sit determined to work on this and I ended up creating a timeline for ten thousand years of Leuke's life instead. Go figure. :b Anyway, I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has followed, faved, and/or reviewed. Every time I get one it makes me smile.