By the end of the week, the Hogwarts students barely acknowledged Brenna as a new transfer student. With the mounds of homework already piling on, she was grateful to not be stopped by nearly everyone just to have small talk about herself. The ones who seemed to continue to talk to her were the Weasley twins, Jordan, and her roommates. Oliver Wood was so obsessed with becoming a better captain for his first year that there were days where he barely acknowledged her and days he would speak to her. She didn't know why but his fascination with the game of Quidditch interested her.
Today was Friday, the first Friday to be exact, which meant that music was playing in the common room as a small get-together became a House party. Brenna promised to come down after she was done with the extra homework each of her professors had given her, just to see if she was all caught up with her studies. It didn't matter whether she knew the subject or not, being the daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom had its perks and one of them was high knowledge.
A gentle clearing of the voice startled Brenna as she looked up to the sound and noticed her grey owl had done that.
"Mom?"
"Hello, sweetheart" the owl said in her mother's perfect voice, "How are you?"
"Fine" Brenna replied, "Were you the owl this whole time?"
"Not as much" she answered, "I just wanted to see how you were settling in but also wanted to give you space"
Brenna couldn't help but smile, "Thank you"
The owl did a mini hop from its perch to Brenna's desk and walked over to the paper that Brenna was focusing on, "What are you doing?"
"Homework" Brenna answered, "Arithmancy"
The owl tsked a few times before she commented, "Easy"
Brenna couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at her mother's comment. At the start of the week, the whole class was full but today there was a small handful that remained. The class was so small that the professor urged them to sit in the seats closest to her instead of all scattered all over the classroom. Brenna couldn't help but notice that she was the only Gryffindor remaining with the Ravenclaws in the dual House subject.
"It's said to be one of the hardest classes" Brenna said, "Professor McGonagall even brought us to her office to tell us that and asked if we wanted to transfer out before the class started"
The owl's feathers ruffled up, "Setting themselves up for failure, what classes would they be in instead of this one? A cooking class"
Brenna couldn't help but roll her eyes before glancing over to the doorway. She listened long and hard for someone to walk by or enter the room. When she was satisfied that no one was on their way she turned back to the owl and leaned in to whisper, "I don't know who you want me to protect"
"Oh, he's not here yet"
"Come again?!" Brenna yelled out.
"Shh…" the owl hissed as they both turned to see if Brenna's raised voice somehow stopped the party.
"He's not here yet because he does not know his potential yet" Athena continued, "I brought you here early to get situated, make alliances, and see if there is anything suspicious before he comes. We couldn't have you coming at the same time as the boy, it would've raised too many suspicions. For right now, keep an eye out on people who seem to be up to no good. The First Wizarding War might be a thing of the past but that doesn't mean that their offspring were taught in their dark ways"
Brenna scoffed, "You just described everyone in Slytherin"
The owl's head cocked to the side, which for an owl, was much more exaggerated than a human's head tilt.
"All of the other Houses seem to be okay except Slytherin" Brenna explained, "They mainly talk only amongst themselves, especially the purebloods, they're the bullies of the school to be honest"
"That seems cynical" Athena commented, "Have you tried speaking to one before?"
"One" Brenna said, "Her first question was what was my blood status and when I told her I was a Half Blood, she acted like I told her I had Hepatitis"
The owl blinked, "But you're not a Half Blood, you're a Half Breed"
"It's safer to say Half Blood" Brenna argued, "Because if I tell people I am a Half Breed then the next question is what kind of Half Breed are you-"
"And you don't want to tell them about me" Athena seemed slightly insulted with what Brenna was trying to say.
Brenna looked to her mom, "Think about it from a Wizard or Witches point of view; would you have believed that I told you that my mother was a Goddess?"
"I've been in that situation before" Athena reminded her, "Plenty with my mind mates, granted not as much as my other siblings. They have so many offsprings that they don't even remember which ones are alive or dead"
Brenna shrugged, "In every myth it is said that you Gods were… promiscuous"
"Well, I wasn't," Athena said, curtly. "I knew what it meant to have a child and knew what would've happened if we kept constantly coming down to Earth to breed with humans. I mean look at what happened with the Witches and Wizards? Hecate made a whole race and now Zeus is mad that there is a whole species out there with somewhat evolved magic other than ourselves"
"Well, I am just glad that he didn't think to smite them and kill everyone off like, oh I don't know, like the last couple of times?" Brenna stated.
Athena gave a glare to her daughter. Brenna knew that the rare times that Athena would insult her father that she was just doing it because she was upset but if Brenna commented about Zeus, Athena would quickly shoot her down with a glare.
"So are you thinking about doing any extracurricular activities yet?" Athena changed the subject, "Maybe a war strategy club or archery?"
Brenna looked to the owl, "I don't believe they have those yet, the Wizards believe that the times are peaceful now"
"They shouldn't" Athena meant to shake her head but the owl spun its head around in a full circle, "Voldemort's body was never recovered at the scene of the crime. The Aurors didn't bother to look for more than a day, they were more scared of what will happen if they do run into him, but when nothing remained but just a baby with a scar, the whole World just celebrated"
Brenna shrugged, "He was a terrifying threat… they wanted it to be over"
"But now we don't know where he went off to" Athena commented, "And someone should have finished the job before it rested on your shoulders to be the guardian"
"Why mother" Brenna smiled, "Are you saying you care for me?"
"Of course, I do!" the owl ruffed up her feathers, "I make sure to have a maximum of four offsprings within their lifetimes, just so I can keep a better eye on them"
Brenna hesitated, "Thanks… I guess"
Brenna glanced at the clock and realized that it was coming up to the time that she promised Nia that she would be heading down. She rolled her shoulders and sighed as she got up from her desk and started to put her homework in separate piles. Her mother just glanced back and forth at what Brenna was doing as if she was starting a fire.
"What's this?"
"I'm going down to the party," Brenna answered.
"Why?!" her mother let out, "You still have homework to finish"
"They're not due until next week" Brenna waved off, "Besides, I have to act like I'm struggling and give it in before the deadline to blend in"
The owl seemed unconvinced just as they heard cheers from down the hallway. She could only imagine her mother being locked up in her temple or room or whatever, avoiding any sort of get together in Mount Olympus. Brenna, on the other hand, liked going out and interacting with people, especially when it sounded like they were having such a good time.
"And you chose this House instead of Ravenclaw?" Athena asked, "They're like scholars and sophisticated whereas-"
"Godric Gryffindor originally sorted not only the bravest of the lot but warriors" Brenna said, "It's in Hogwarts: A History, so this House is perfect for finding help in an upcoming War"
Brenna fluffed up her hair one last time before turning to her mother's owl. The bird was fluffed up so much just by this conversation that it looked like a ruffled doll. Brenna smiled, walked over and kissed the top of its head. Athena looked displeased but didn't say anything as Brenna went to the window and opened it to let the owl go back to the owlery.
"Be safe, Brenna," the bird said.
The owl flapped its wings before flying past Brenna and in the direction of the owl post as Brenna muttered, "I will, mom"