I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Chapter Twenty: Washington, D.C.

Even once they woke up the next morning, Thalia was obviously still not talking to her. The younger girl got dressed and finished packing her things all without looking at Chrysa.

Chrysa grimaced and did the same. It was probably best for Thalia to be the one to initiate conversation in this situation.

Once they made it to the Big House to meet up with the Hunters, there was more bad news.

"Phoebe won't be coming with us," Zoë said grimly. "It was a foolish prank. Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin sprayed the inside of the Artemis Hunting Tour t-shirt with centaur blood. She will be bedridden for weeks with hives. There is no way she can go."

"Have you chosen another Hunter then?" Thalia asked.

"There is no time," Zoe said. "We leave immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."

"In the land without rain," Rhanis pointed out. "That cannot be here."

"The magic borders do not let anything in without permission, not even weather," Zoe said. "This could be a land without rain."

"Don't tell me you actually believe that," Chrysa said dubiously.

"If we choose a fifth, I feel that their end will be worse than Phoebe's," Zoe said softly. "This is the only way. Besides, it is time to go."

"Are you driving, or am I?" Chrysa asked with a yawn.

"You are still tired," Zoe declared. "I will drive."

"I'll take over later," Chrysa said. "After all, I'm the only person here who aged past sixteen. And the only one with a valid driver's license."

Zoe sniffed.

"I have been driving since automobiles were invented."

"Not regularly," Chrysa replied, climbing into the white camp van and situating herself in the back seat. "I do. I own more than a dozen luxury cars. My driver's license is valid in the US and most of Europe. I'll take over later. Wake me up in a few hours."

She woke up when Zoe stopped at a gas station in Maryland around noon. While the others went inside to use the bathroom and buy lunch, Chrysa performed a quick tracking spell so they could follow Artemis' path. The signs pointed to Washington, D.C., her one-time home in the 1940s.

"Are you sure?" Thalia asked as they stood in line at the gas station's register. Apparently they were talking to each other again.

"Mostly," Chrysa replied. "The spell is sometimes wrong, but rarely. D.C. is about sixty miles from here."

"I dislike this," Zoe said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.

Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"

"Oh, scullion? You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"

"You two, no fighting," Chrysa said sharply. "If you don't stop, you don't get snacks."

Both girls looked annoyed, but were quiet as they placed their choices at the register. Chrysa swiped her AmEx to pay for the collection they'd acquired.

"Chrysa's right," Rhanis said. "D.C. is our best bet."

Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly.

"Very well. Let us keep moving."

They exited the gas station together, though Chrysa and Rhanis made sure to stand between Zoe and Thalia.

"Thank you," Rhanis whispered in Chrysa's ear. "They've been doing this all morning. I don't know how you slept through it."

"I had silencing charms up," Chrysa admitted. "It was the first thing I learned to do in boarding school. I can't sleep unless it's quiet."

She raised her voice to address everyone.

"I'm driving now. Thalia, you're in the passenger seat. Zoe and Rhanis, you take the back."

Despite the relatively short distance, the combination of holiday traffic and D.C. traffic meant that it took them more than two hours to make it to center of the nation's capital. Through the will of the gods, Chrysa somehow managed to find a parking space right outside the National Air and Space Museum, the very museum that her spell had tracked Artemis to.

"The last time I visited the Smithsonian, it was just four buildings and the National Zoo," Chrysa commented as she climbed out of the car. "This was the National Air Museum back then, but it didn't open until the year after I died."

"Where to now?" Thalia asked.

"I suppose we just look around for a while," Chrysa offered with a helpless shrug. "I'm sure we'll find something. How hard could it be?"

After everything she'd gone through at Hogwarts, she really should have learned not to ask that question. As Chrysa soon learned from one of the information signs that were everywhere in the museum, the National Air and Space Museum was the largest of the sixteen Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., and the most-visited museum in the United States. Even though it was holiday season, the crowds were still substantial.

They were on their way back to the lobby from the top-floor balcony when Thalia was bowled into and slammed into an Apollo space capsule.

It only took Chrysa a second to recognize the interloper.

"Perseus Richard Jackson!" she scolded. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Zoe and Rhanis already had arrows pointed at his chest, but even Chrysa's recognition didn't seem to soothe them. Neither seemed anxious to lower their bows.

"Luke," Percy panted, trying to catch his breath. "He's here."

Thalia put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"

"In the Natural History Museum – I followed Dr. Thorn, he'd been following you in a black SUV for ages. The whole place was closed for a private event, with security guards and everything. Thorn met Luke and some guy called the General there," Percy reported, still out of breath.

"The General is here?" Zoe asked, stunned. "That is impossible. You lie."

"Why would I lie? Look, there's not time. Skeleton warriors –"

"What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"

"Twelve," Percy said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate', to distract you over here. A monster."

Chrysa exchanged looks with her sister.

"We were following Artemis' trail," Chrysa said. "My spells said it led here. Some powerful monster scent…She must've stopped here, looking for the bane. But we haven't found anything yet."

"Zoe," Rhanis said nervously. "If it is the General…"

"It cannot be!" Zoe snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," Percy replied.

Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Chrysa was trying not to show that she needed to do the same. Atlas was one of the worst possible Titans to have been freed. Aside from Kronos himself, and possibly Hyperion, he would be the hardest for her to face.

"If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," Zoe said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible…We must leave now."

"Good idea," Percy said.

"I was not including thee, boy," Zoe said. "You are not part of this quest."

"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"

"You shouldn't have come, Percy," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."

"That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.

Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoe growled. "You never could leave them behind!"

Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze. A growl so loud that it could have been one of the rocket engines starting up echoed through the hall.

Below them, a few adults screamed. A child screeched with delight: "Kitty!"

Something enormous bonded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. Chrysa had glimpsed it briefly from a train, two years previously, but now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."

The lion roared so loud that their hair moved. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.

"Separate on my mark," Zoe said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Can you handle this on your own?" Chrysa asked. "I want to see if I can find the General before they leave the area."

"Go ahead," Thalia said. "We've got this."

"Ready," Zoe said. "Go!"

Percy uncapped his sword and rolled to the left. Zoe and Rhanis began firing arrows as they climbed the Apollo capsule, all of which shattered harmlessly against the lion's metallic fur. Chrysa did a backflip into the shadows and came out in the Natural History Museum, still encased in shadows.

The first thing she spotted was the crack in the floor Percy had mentioned.

Definitely not an illusion, then.

The next things she noticed was Atlas, standing with Luke and definitely not under the sky like he was supposed to be.

"Now that the spartoi have Jackson's scent instead of the Hunters, we'll have more trouble with their little quest," Luke pointed out.

Atlas didn't seem too concerned.

"Even if my darling daughter manages to survive this quest, she won't manage to rescue Artemis. Thorn, tell us more about the other Hunter and the other girl."

"The Hunter had white hair, though she looked very young," Thorn reported. "She felt older though."

Atlas hummed.

"One of the original nymphai artemisiai, I expect. One of my wife's sisters. Perhaps I'll take her as a replacement if she makes it all the way to her mistress," Atlas said with a laugh.

Chrysa's hand tightened on the hilt of her dagger, still sheathed. Atlas had already taken one of her sisters, and while Pleione had survived the experience mostly unscathed, she would not allow another one of her sisters to be taken by the monster she knew Atlas was. Rhanis had chosen her life of maidenhood. Unlike most of their other sisters, she had neither died nor chosen to leave Artemis' service. She had chosen eternal maidenhood, and Chrysa would do whatever she could to protect that.

Leuke had never forgiven herself for allowing Philyra to be taken by Kronos. Her younger sister was a bit dimwitted, but Kronos had taken her because Leuke had refused him. Philyra and Leuke had looked amazingly similar, so much so that they could have been twins were it not for the four hundred years that separated them. Leuke had stopped Kronos when he tried to get more than just a few nights of pleasure. Philyra was unable to do the same.

Chrysa would not allow another sister to be taken against her will.

"What of the last girl?" Atlas asked.

"She was the other one who was at Westover Hall," Thorn reported. "The older one. Amaranth Potter-Black."

"Chrysa," Luke said with a sneer. "She goes by Chrysa Potter. She's a daughter of Zeus, and one of Hecate's Blessed. She works for one of the gods – which one, I never learned, and she's an immortal demigod. She's been seventeen longer than I was at camp. She only comes to camp during winter, for the most part, and she doesn't stay very long, normally. I'm surprised they let her go, since she's not a typical camper."

"Two daughters of Zeus on one quest?" Atlas asked. "And the son of Poseidon as well? They certainly seem to be trying their hardest. Could this one be turned to our side?"

"She's probably going to be our biggest obstacle," Luke admitted. "She was close to Jackson, and she is probably the same with Thalia. She considers family very important. She took care of Annabeth and me simply because we were Thalia's friends, and Thalia was her half-sister. But she's loyal to the gods. The only grudge she ever held was Zeus not telling her about Thalia."

"We might be able to use that," Atlas considered, stroking his chin. "But for now, we need to keep track of the questers. They've taken care of the playmate I sent them." He looked over at the mortal paramilitary types who were guarding the doors. "Send out the helicopters after their van!" he called. "Don't let them get away!"

The mortals saluted and ran off to follow his orders. Atlas grabbed his chin and cracked his neck forcefully.

"Ah, that's better. Come, young Luke. It's time we head back to headquarters."

"Yes, sir," Luke replied. The pair strolled out of the room, followed closely by Dr. Thorn, a pair of dracaenae, and most of the mortals. Those who were left swiftly began cleaning up.

Chrysa stepped back into the shadows and out into the shadow of the Washington Monument. She looked over to where she had parked the camp van, and noticed it was gone. She focused on the backseat of the van, where she'd slept the morning away, and turned on her heel to Apparate with a sharp crack!

She appeared in the back row, causing the other four people in the car to jump.

"Chrysa!" Percy said, startled.

"So, how'd you kill off the lion?" Chrysa asked, poking Percy's new gold-colored feather duster.

"They don't like space food," Thalia said. "Percy threw a ton of it into its mouth, then Rhanis and Zoe shot enough arrows in it to make it dissolve."

"Huh," was all Chrysa could think to say in reply. "Good job."

They were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one they'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight towards them.

"They know the van," Percy said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoe swerved into the fast lnae. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Thalia said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Percy said. "how can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Percy asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoe shook her head.

"I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than they were through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard.

"Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

The sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"If it was struck by lightning, it would fall and kill innocents," Chrysa pointed out, before noticing something out of the corner of her eye. "There! That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoe said.

"Trust me," Chrysa said.

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the southern bank of the river. They left the van and followed Chrysa down the to the escalators.

"The Rosslyn Metro Station," Chrysa said. "It's the busiest station in the Metro system, and there are two different lines that stop here, meaning there are four directions we could be going. Come on. It's a long escalator ride."

It took more than a minute to get down the escalators and buy their tickets.

"Blue line towards Arlington," Chrysa instructed as she paid for all five tickets. "Let's just hope they haven't figured out how to track credit cards."

They got through the turnstiles without seeing any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later, they were safely abouard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

"Good job, thinking of the subway," Percy said wht a sigh.

"Metro," Chrysa corrected. "It's only the subway in New York. It didn't exist when I last lived in D.C., but I've been down here a few times since. Metro is really the only way to get around in the city unless you want to deal with a long list of absurd traffic laws. Apparently, the city uses revenue from traffic tickets to fund their budget. I did a lot of research on it."

"When were you…" Thalia began, but her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," Percy said. "Next station."

Chrysa shook her head.

"There isn't another line there. It's just Arlington Cemetary. But the station after that is the Pentagon station, and you can't get to that one without a security clearance except through the Metro. We can switch to the Yellow Line there."

Over the next half hour, Chrysa led them through switching trains twice: first to the Yellow Line at the Pentagon, then back to the Blue Line at Ronald Reagan airport. It took them a bit of time, but they lost the helicopter. Unfortunately, when they finally got off the train, they were in an industrial area that was currently serving as the end of the line while the official end of the line underwent renovations. There was nothing there but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It was much colder now.

They wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be a passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't been moved in years.

A homeless man was standing at a trash-can fire. They must have looked pretty pathetic, because he gave them a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need dto get warmed up? Come on over!"

They huddled around his fire. Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well, this is great."

"My feet are frozen," Rhanis complained.

"Maybe we sould contact camp," Percy said. "Chiron…"

"No," Zoe said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. There was something familiar about him. Chrysa squinted, activating her divine sight, and she noted the faint aura of godliness about him, an aura Chrysa had felt recently.

She suddenly recognized him, and a small smile came to her face. She bowed her head slightly in recognition, though none of the others noticed.

Apollo's smile became a little wider.

"You kids need a train going west?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Percy said. It was strange that he could be respectful to supposed homeless men, and then insult people he knew were gods to their faces. "You know of any?"

The god-in-disguise pointed one greasy hand to a freight train that had not been there before. It was gleaming and free of snow, one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars insdie. The side of the freight train said Sun West Lines.

The sun god failed at subtlety.

"That's…convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of them was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with them.

An hour later, they were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because everyone had their own luxury car. Zoe and Rhanis were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Thalia had hotwired the radio in a sleek, black Mercedes SLK to pick up the altrock stations in DC. Percy was with her. Chrysa was attempting to sleep in the backseat of a Range Rover. It wasn't going well.

She finally sat up and turned the lights on in the car before checking her watch. It would already be eleven o'clock at night in England, so she couldn't call her family there. She didn't really want to talk to Hades yet either. There was one person she did want to talk to though – the one person still living who remembered everything they'd gone through under Kronos' reign, especially at the end.

Chrysa pulled out her wand and magically created a rainbow before fishing out a golden drachma from her purse.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering," Chrysa said, tossing the coin in. It didn't fall out on the other side of the rainbow, so she assumed that magically created rainbows still counted. "Show me Amphitrite, in Atlantis," Chrysa requested.

The rainbow shimmered, and an image of Amphitrite appeared. She wasn't alone; Triton was with her, and several Nereids.

"Sister," Chrysa called.

Amphitrite looked up, and smiled at her call.

"Sister! It's good to see you again." She studied Chrysa's face intently, then turned to her companions. "Leave us. I would speak to my eldest sister alone."

As soon as everyone was gone, the smile on Amphitrite's face fell and she asked, "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Chrysa tried to deflect.

"The last time you called me with that look on your face, you had determined that your lover was planning to propose to you and you were trying to figure out how to tell him that you didn't want to get married," Amphitrite said. "Don't hide. Not from me."

Chrysa sighed, and let her head flop back onto the seat of the car.

"Artemis has been captured. Atlas is out from under the sky. He's threatening our sisters again, Trite. I warned Pleione, and she's promised to stay away, but…I'm on the quest to find Artemis, along with Zeus' daughter Thalia, and Poseidon's son Percy, and two Hunters: our sister Rhanis and Pleione's daughter, Zoe. I was spying on Atlas, and he threatened to take Rhanis as his new wife, if she survived that long. After Philyra – Trite, I just can't."

"Philyra wasn't your fault," Amphitrite tried to soothe.

"He took her because she looks like me!" Chrysa argued. "Because Philyra has black curls and green eyes and didn't threaten castration if he tried to sleep with her while he was married!"

"I thought you actually went through with that?" Amphitrite asked.

"I was going to," Chrysa grumbled. "But I never managed to do it before Zeus got a job at the palace. After that, I figured it would be better not to draw too much attention. I still stalked Kronos around a bit, just so he didn't realize something was up."

"Something else is bothering you," Amphitrite noted.

"My kids are at Camp Half-Blood," Chrysa said, burying her face in her hands. "Sixty-three years in the Lotus Hotel, and the Fates decide that now is when they need to come out. I wanted to wait until this war was over. That way, if everything went wrong, no one would ever need to know whose children they were. Kronos definitely has a grudge, and I don't doubt he'll take it out on my children."

"Tell me about them?" Amphitrite asked, making herself more comfortable in her chair. "They were born in your last life, yes?"

"That's right," Chrysa nodded. "Their names are Nico and Bianca di Angelo. Bianca is twelve, and Nico is ten, almost eleven. His birthday is at the end of January. Atlas – he managed to get his hands on Bianca, but I saved her. Probably exposed the fact that Leuke is alive again as well, but I couldn't let him keep my daughter."

"I'd do the same if Atlas had Triton, or Kym, or Ben," Amphitrite said. "It's part of being a mother. A bit new for you, isn't it?"

"Technically, I've had a child since I died," Chrysa pointed out. "Hades made Melinoe out of our combined essences. But since she was made from a ghost, and she herself is the goddess of ghosts…she's a bit odd. She's not quite whole."

"It's been a very long time since I've met her," Amphitrite admitted. "I stay under the sea most of the time, and she's usually in the Underworld."

"She's not very social," Chrysa agreed. "She didn't come out to meet Nico and Bianca when I brought them down there yesterday. Makaria and Zagreus were happy to meet them, and they're only half-siblings."

"Triton hasn't liked meeting Poseidon's other children," Amphitrite pointed out.

"I don't mean to be rude, but Poseidon never attempted to control his urges before," Chrysa replied. "Poseidon had hundreds of children. Mortal and immortal, Greek and Roman, my beloved has only had twenty-five. And Melinoe is Nico and Bianca's full sister. But Melinoe hasn't been very open to my attempts to get to know her either."

Chrysa let out a sigh. Then it hit her what Amphitrite had done. She glared at her younger sister.

"You distracted me."

"You needed it, Lulu," the goddess replied unrepentantly. "But you also need to realize that this isn't your fault, and you can't protect everyone."

"I was the first one to rise, Trite," Chrysa argued. "I started this, back in 1913, when the tree holding the last vestiges of my spirit in the Underworld died, and I was born again as Maria di Angelo. After that, Grandmother started stirring, the brothers' fighting nearly destroyed the world, Alcyoneus almost rose, and Kronos started reforming. I was reborn again as a shouldn't-exist daughter of Zeus, managed to become the Champion of Thanatos and gain quasi-immortality, and then regained my domain and previous memories just before Kronos really got started on his ascent. Tell me how this isn't my fault."

"Kronos would have eventually managed to piece himself back together with or without you. You might have spurred it along a bit, but I'd rather have you at our sides when we face him. We couldn't have done it without you last time. And besides, you're fighting for someone this time. Last time, you were just doing it for revenge."

Chrysa winced.

"You figured that out?"

Amphitrite shrugged.

"We all have our hobbies. Mine happens to be psychology. Lulu, you were very close to being a psychopath back then. You were possessive over anything you considered 'yours' – our sisters, your foster family – but you didn't actually put much stock in right and wrong. You went along with helping the Queen hide Zeus from Kronos, and plotting to overthrow Kronos, because it was a secret and you liked secrets. You liked playing the spy. What really committed you to our cause was when Kronos raped Philyra since he couldn't have you. She was yours, and the fact that Kronos touched her was what made you fight. It was revenge for you. But now, you have something to fight for. You have your kids. You have Hades. And you know, you've had two lifetimes of properly experiencing the full array of emotions, so there's the whole right-and-wrong aspect of it too."

Chrysa snorted.

"Before I regained my memories, when I still went by Amaranth Potter, a friend of mine told me that I had a hero complex. I could never just sit by when someone was hurt."

Amphitrite smiled.

"That's a good thing, Lulu. It means you're human. Relatively speaking, anyway."

Chrysa shook her head, she could feel her lips curving upwards. "When did you get so smart, Trite?"

"Well," Amphitrite said, tossing her hair, "Not to brag, but I have been the Queen of the Seas for over eight thousand years. And my subjects have always been more entertaining than yours are. Comes with being alive, I suppose."

"Thank you, Trite," Chrysa said heartfeltly. "I needed this."

"It's what sisters are for," Amphitrite replied with a smile. "But remember, you are allowed to call when there isn't a crisis!"

"With the way the next few years are looking, I'm not sure I'll have the time," Chrysa replied. "But I'll do my best. Maybe I'll host another dinner party. Will I see you at the solstice?"

"I'll come this year," Amphitrite nodded. "We should – we should go to the garden together."

"I'd like that," Chrysa replied quietly. "See you then."

She waved her hand through the rainbow, causing it to dissolve. She'd just settled down in the backseat again, a blanket from her bottomless purse wrapped around her, when there was a knock on the window. She startled.

Outside was Percy, looking sheepish.

"Can I come in?" he mouthed.

Chrysa unlocked the doors of the car, and her cousin climbed into the front passenger seat.

"Thalia kicked me out," he said guiltily.

"Any reason why?" Chrysa sked lightly, even as she dug through her bag for another blanket. The second one ended up being patterned with tiny cauldrons, but she gave it to him anyway.

"We were talking about Luke," Percy admitted. "About who he is now, and how that's not how Thalia knew him."

"It's hard, when a friend betrays you," Chrysa said. "It's worse when you weren't there, and you have to reconcile the friend you knew with what everyone is telling you."

"Did that happen to you?" Percy asked.

"No, but it did to my adoptive father. He was told that his boyfriend had betrayed them, and resulted in the death of his best friends before murdering a dozen people. He spent twelve years trying to reconcile the image he had of his boyfriend with the laughing mass murderer that everyone told him he was," Chrysa explained. "It worked out for them. My godfather was innocent, and they eventually got back together. But for Thalia, it's harder. Luke has definitely betrayed the gods. But Thalia isn't really going to be able to comprehend that until she sees it right in front of her eyes. It's got to be hard for her. Luke was her only companion, the only person she could trust, for two years. Now, she's got a bunch of people she's known for six months with her while she goes to confront him."

"I didn't think of it that way," Percy said quietly. "She said that…that Luke never let her down."

"He didn't," Chrysa pointed out. "Even when he poisoned Thalia's tree, it was so the Golden Fleece would be found that eventually saved her. Luke and Thalia were everything to each other back then. They kept each other alive time and time again."

"Yeah, well, Thalia doesn't seem too happy about this. Maybe you should talk to her," Percy grumbled.

"I'll give it a try," Chrysa said, sitting up properly and throwing her blanket off. "Don't touch my blanket. I'll be back in a bit."

It only took her a minute to make her way to the black Mercedes Thalia had taken refuge in. Chrysa knocked on one of the windows.

Thalia glared at her, but lowered one window anyway, allowing the blaring music to filter out into the rest of the car.

"Mind if I come in?" Chrysa asked.

Thalia grudgingly unlocked the doors. Chrysa climbed into the passenger seat and turned the music down to an acceptable level of hearing loss.

"Want to talk about it?" Chrysa asked idly.

"No."

"Do you want me to take your mind off of it?"

Thalia looked at her dubiously.

"How exactly are you planning to do that?"

"Sing you a lullaby? Tell you a story?"

"I'm not three."

"You're never too old for a good bedtime story," Chrysa said optimistically.

Thalia still looked dubious, but waved her hand.

"Tell away."

"I'll have to think of a good one then. Any preferences? Princesses? Mythology? Nonfiction?"

"No princesses," Thalia said, wrinkling her nose. "And nothing I've heard before. I don't care if it's true or not."

The perfect story came to Chrysa's mind. Somewhat true, no princesses involved, and it definitely wouldn't be something she'd heard before.

"This is an old wizarding story," Chrysa began. "I first heard it when I was seventeen, but most of Hecate's Blessed hear it as children, assuming they're born with at least one magical parent."

"Well, I probably haven't heard it before," Thalia noted, settling down further into her seat. "Go ahead."

"There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river, too deep to wade through, and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands, and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it, when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure, and it was Death."

"Death?" Thalia asked. "Seriously?"

"He is real, you know," Chrysa pointed out. "Thanatos. God of Death, son of Nyx and Erebus, twin of Hypnos. He's the lieutenant of Hades."

"Sounds like a good reason not to like him," Thalia grumbled.

"You know it had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with your father," Chrysa gently reminded.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't really matter. As it was, he's still the reason I spent six years as a tree. There's a reason nobody likes him," Thalia muttered under her breath, though Chrysa could still hear it.

Much as she wanted to defend her lover, there was nothing she could do to change Thalia's mind at the moment, and it would likely only make her angrier anyway. She instead chose to continue the story.

"He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for being clever enough to evade him."

"And they accepted?" Thalia snorted. "Idiots. You should never accept a gift from a god, not without knowing the price. That's why Percy and Annabeth got in trouble with the lightning bolt."

"But it's also difficult to turn down a gift from a god," Chrysa reminded.

"Then you accept it and lock it in a closet," Thalia said stubbornly.

Chrysa chuckled.

"Probably wise. So, the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. A wand that must always win battles for its owner. A wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death. So, Death had crossed to an Elder Tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that had hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother."

Chrysa flicked her wrist, ejecting her wand from it's holster, and held up the Elder Wand for Thalia's perusal. "Elder wood, fifteen-and-a-half inches, thestral tail core. More than eight hundred years old."

She held it out to Thalia, who took it with careful hands, before continuing the story.

"Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So, Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead."

Chrysa dissolved the Disillusionment charm on her necklace with a wave of her hand, and pulled the smooth black stone on its silver chain from underneath her shirt. The symbol of the Deathly Hallows was carved into the rock in silver. What was unknown to most was that the stone was actually taken from the riverbed of the River Styx. It could provide a temporary anchor for shades to return to the world of the living, but was only good for a short period of time before the connection would start to fade away, causing the shade misery. She had been very careful, after using the Stone to summon her parents as she walked to her death, not to use it again.

Regaining her memories had helped. As Leuke, Lady of the Underworld, it was so much easier to recognize that there is no point in disturbing the rest of spirits, especially ones such as James and Lily Potter, who were happy in Elysium.

She visited them occasionally, just as she visited Adelaide di Savoia and Michele di Angelo, her mother and stepfather as Maria di Angelo. She had once visited Louis, her biological father, but had no real interest in doing so again. He had died when Maria was five. She had no real familial obligation towards him.

Chrysa continued the story.

"Finally, Death turned to the third brother. A humble man, he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And so it was that Death reluctantly handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility."

Chrysa allowed the Invisibilty Cloak – never truly away from her, though it usually remained insubstantial until she called for it – to materialize around her shoulders.

Thalia looked skeptical of the three items she was being shown, but didn't comment.

"In due course, the brothers separated, each for his own destination . The first brother travelled for a week or more, and, reaching a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard, with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted of the powerful wand which he had snatched from Death himself and of how it made him invincible. That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay wine-sodden upon his bed. The thief took the wand, and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat. And so, Death took the first brother for his own."

Chrysa returned the Elder Wand to its holster, right beside her more familiar holly-and-phoenix-feather wand. She could no longer use it, as the wand was unable to handle her increased, semi-divine power, but she kept it with her for sentimental reasons, just as she'd carried it in the mokeskin pouch around her neck for months after it had been broken.

"Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here, he took out the stone which had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him. Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as though by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there, and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad by hopeless longing, killed himself, so as to truly join her. And so, Death took the second brother for his own."

Chrysa reactivated the Disillusionment charm on the Resurrection Stone and returned it to its place under her shirt.

"But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility, and gave it to his son. And then, he greeted Death as an old friend, went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life. The end."

"That's kind of depressing," Thalia pointed out.

Chrysa shrugged, even as she sent the Invisibility Cloak away once more.

"Most true stories are. As you said, it's more of a lesson on why not to blindly accept gifts from gods, espeiclaly wen the go isn't happy to give them in the first place. The three brothers were named Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell. As the story goes, Ignotus passed the Cloak on to his son, who then passed it on to his daughter, as she was an only child. Iolanthe Peverell then married Hardwin Potter, and the Cloak was passed down from generation to generation of the Potter family for the next eight hundred year. My blood-adopted father, James Potter, used it to play pranks while he was at Hogwarts. Thankfully, it wasn't in the house when my family was attacked and my parents were killed, so the Headmaster gave it to me for Christmas my first year at Hogwarts. I put it to good use."

"And the stone and the wand? They're actually real?" Thalia asked.

"And made by Thanatos," Chrysa confirmed. "Though according to his version of the story, there was no 'cheating Death' involved. The three brothers were necromancers who managed to summon Death and bind him, so Thanatos gave them the items in exchange for his freedom, though he wanted the items out in the mortal world anyway. Wizarding legend mixed up the story, as according to them, whoever had all three of the items – the Deathly Hallows , they're called – would become the 'Master of Death'. In truth, the master of all three items becomes the Champion of Thanatos, as I did when I was seventeen, and gains quasi-immortality in exchange for working for the gods."

"How did you get the other two items?" Thalia questioned.

"The Resurrection Stone was left to me in a will," Chrysa said. "The Elder Wand – well, that's a more complicated story. Suffice to say that I won it from its previous owner – without murdering him – and it has been in my possession ever since. And, as master of the Deathly Hallows, the curse upon the wand is broken and it no longer tempts people to kill me for it. Plus, I'm not an idiot, and I haven't spread it around that I have the damned thing."

"If you don't like it, why don't you just get rid of it?" Thalia asked.

"It's an annoyance, as is the Stone, but you can't just get rid of things like that. They're magical items. Much like Percy's sword, they return to me. I can't truly get rid of them, though I can leave them locked in a box, though they still come at my call. They're well and truly bound to me now."

Any more questions that Thalia had were interrupted by a yawn.

Chrysa chuckled.

"I suppose storytime worked after all."

Thalia tried to glare at her, but the effect was lessened by another yawn in the middle.

Chrysa leaned over and kissed her sister's brow.

"Good night, Thalia. Sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning."

Chrysa climbed out of the car, shutting the door softly, and returned to her Range Rover. Percy was already conked out in the passenger seat. She climbed back inside and shut the door, casting a quick silencing charm on it so it wouldn't wake her cousin.

"Sweet dreams, Percy," she whispered quietly. "Sweet dreams to us all. The gods know we'll need them."

AN: So...sorry about forgetting to post? I was out of town and it slipped my mind...