mizzrazz72: Harry's making a list and he's checking it twice :D

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Naedine-Daki: I've PM'd you!

Guest: Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

One gory description. If you want to skip it, keep an eye out for the dash (—).

"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it. CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.

Discworld by Terry Pratchett

"I need to talk to you," Nico whispered to Sirius.

The man only looked more distraught.

"Why are you even here?" he moaned. "You're a child! Where are your parents? Guardians?"

Nico sighed. He should have expected this.

"It's complicated," he said. "But I was sent here by Thanatos to do a job for him."

"Who the bloody hell is Tha—"

"Harry knew him as Nate," Nico interrupted.

Sirius's eyes bulged.

Nico tried to give the short version of gods and their personalities. It didn't soothe Sirius, funnily enough.

"Why?" Sirius whispered. "What would a… a god want to do with him? With any of us?"

They stood in the backyard, watching over the solemn aurors working on the house. The stench of blood had reduced thanks to some well-placed air blockers.

Nico scratched his neck. "Have you heard of the Deathly Hallows?"

Sirius made a face. His eyes roved the scene.

"You mean," he said carefully, "the fairy tale?"

"The Three Brothers," Nico nodded. "They're real. The Hallows, I mean."

Sirius stared. Nico could see him piecing things slowly.

"The cloak," he finally said. "The Invisibility Cloak… that belongs to a real God of Death?"

"Yes," Nico said, grateful that the wizard understood so fast. "Along with the elder wand and the resurrection stone."

Sirius swallowed heavily. "The stone is real?"

"All three are. Thany wanted them back. He spoke to Dumbledore and Harry—"

"I'm sorry," Sirius's voice went high. "Dumbledore knows?"

Nico didn't regret letting that slip out. "Er, yes. He has the elder wand."

Sirius slapped both palms over his face. "The deal! That's what you want from him! And in return, he asked you to search for the Horcrux!"

Finally!

"Yep," Nico answered, relieved. "My friends and I aren't thieves. We take our quests seriously. You guys were in trouble. When I figured that Harry was a Horcrux, we knew we'd made the right decision to stay and help. But we had no idea Thanatos had even known Harry then. This was news to us too."

Sirius dropped his hands, face red. "Did Dumbledore know? That… that Harry had met a god!"

Nico grimaced. "I don't think so? You'll have to ask him."

"Oh, I will!" Sirius snarled, about to march over to the old man, but Nico grabbed his robes.

"Wait!" he cried. "We need to figure out how to get that obscu—"

"Shhh!" Sirius hissed, eyes darting to the others. "Don't say it out loud!"

"Huh?"

"If the aurors know about the obscurus," Sirius said desperately. "Harry's done for. They'll hunt him down and kill him!"

Nico groaned. "What do they think?"

"Dumbledore spun the infection story. That Voldemort was trying to make a Horcrux out of Harry using the piece of soul in him. Amelia and the entire department think it's Voldemort's soul that's causing the destruction."

Nico frowned. "Won't they even try to help otherwise?"

Sirius heaved a long sigh. "It's not that easy. Obscuri have heavy stigma even though we know the cause. I'm not risking Harry's life over old prejudices."

"What if he kills an auror or another civilian?" Nico pointed out. "If they can't defend him using normal hexes or spells?"

Sirius admitted, "It's badly done, but not many people have seen an obscurus in reality. And Harry doesn't look like a usual one. The public still thinks it's a dementor."

Nico didn't agree with that, but it was better than having to fight the auror department and waste time in stopping them from killing Harry.

"Alright then. Hazel and I have a plan."

"Yeah?!"

"We think Harry's the Master of Death," Nico said.

Now, Sirius's face dropped. "What fresh hell is this?"

Annabeth and Tonks were trying to talk to Dudley. Will, Percy, and Sally watched on tenterhooks.

"Nate?" Dudley asked.

"Yes," Annabeth said, annoyed. "Tall guy, Black, hanging around with Harry and a cat?"

Dudley frowned. He was slow to talk, thanks to the shock and sedative in his blood now. Will patted his back and encouraged him to think it through.

"In a suit?" Dudley finally guessed.

Annabeth jumped to her feet. "Yes! A tux or a suit!"

"Yeah, I saw him," Dudley murmured. "He gave Harry a cat in a basket."

"Yes!"

"Then he took it back and disappeared."

Annabeth groaned and Tonks asked, "Why?"

Dudley's confusion slipped and he gulped. "Um, because of the cold things."

"The cold… the dementors?"

"The thing Harry did," Dudley whispered. "It went cold and everything was really bad."

Dudley tried to explain the dementor attack from his point of view. But he hadn't seen the creatures, only felt them.

"Harry made a deer and drove it away," he finally said.

Annabeth bounced on her toes. If Dudley could remember Nate then he might know more than he was letting on.

"A deer?" Percy mumbled.

"His patronus," Tonks explained. "That's the form it takes for him."

Will smiled. "Must be popular. Snape had that too."

Tonks reared back. The look on her face told Annabeth that the animal should not be popular.

"What?"

"You know? After Umbridge? When we ran up to check—"

"It died or something," Dudley interrupted them.

"The deer?"

"No," he eyed them oddly. "The cat."

Annabeth's heart dropped. "It died?"

Dudley shrugged. "It went all cold and stiff. Harry was worried. I couldn't get him to calm down. I thought the dementy thing did something to him. But it was just the cat."

Annabeth glared. "It must have been important to him, don't you think?"

"Sure… but it's not like he can't get another one. He was crying and everything."

Both Percy and Will held out their hands to stop Annabeth from lunging at his throat.

Tonks folded her arms, "Dudley, do you realize how bad the situation is?"

He stared at Annabeth whose temper was rising, before telling Tonks, "But I didn't do anything."

Annabeth's jaw dropped.

"What d'you think is going on here?" she fumed. "You think we're checking out your house 'cause it's on the market?"

"Annabeth," Sally warned.

"He knows!" she cried. "Tell me, did you ever sit in that closet before?"

Dudley flinched. "N—No."

"Then who did?"

"Ha… Harry was in there for a while."

"Like a punishment?"

Dudley squinted, thinking hard. "Not really. Not anymore. He has a room upstairs."

"When did he stay in the cupboard?" Tonks asked.

Dudley shrugged. "He was tiny, growing up. So he stayed there till the letters came."

"What, like a grounding?" Annabeth asked.

"Huh? No, that was his cupboard."

"Yeah, but…"

Annabeth stopped. His cupboard?

"When you say 'tiny'," Will asked slowly. "Like, when he was a kid?"

"Yeah," Dudley said, nonplussed.

Percy was the first to get it.

"He lived in that closet for how long, Dudley?" he said, voice shaking.

Dudley heard the steel in Percy's tone. He gulped. "Just until ten. Or eleven."

"Ten what? Days?"

"No? Ten-years-old."

Tonks inhaled. "Letters come at eleven."

"Oh," Dudley said, confused. "Alright, till he was eleven."

Annabeth folded her arms tightly to hold back from wringing his neck. "Is that normal, Dudley? Is it okay to put a kid in a closet for eleven years?"

Dudley frowned. "Harry isn't exactly normal. And he was in there for only ten years."

"Normal?" she snapped. "Was that your excuse for that decade? How did you feel when you were in there?"

Dudley swallowed hard. "Wait, that's not fair—"

"You were in it for an hour, maybe less! He was in it for ten years!"

"But he didn't mind!" Dudley argued. "And Dad shifted him up to a room anyway! My room, actually."

"You already have a room," Tonks said.

"Yeah, I was talking about my other room."

Annabeth's body seized up. Her arms snapped to her side and her legs walked away. Her body managed to stop her from strangling a mortal.

She couldn't listen anymore without punching him for real. The house loomed over them and she glared at the gentrified locality with a burning passion.

Percy caught up to her. "Hey. Hey, Wise Girl."

She spun around and dropped her head onto his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her and they held each other tightly.

"It was cramped," she whispered into his tee. "And it had cobwebs."

His grip tightened. Annabeth likened him to a weighted blanket. She tried not to think of the smudged stick figures in color. It was all too easy to picture a four-year-old stealing crayons to draw in the dark. One of them might have been a cat and a dog playing. Maybe, an owl too.

Harry had a lot of bones to pick. Annabeth grimaced at the literal interpretation. In a house where he'd grown up in cramped spaces, had June the cat been his only ray of sunshine?

Annabeth exhaled. Was this Nate's secret then? The cat had died and he took it away along with Harry's memories of the event.

She raised her head and shot Percy a troubled look. Without June, could they calm Harry down enough to change back to human and stay that way?

"Hazel's plan better work," Percy whispered.

The five of them were huddled close behind Hagrid's hut. The castle was mostly quiet since the teachers had asked all students to stay in the common rooms for the weekend. As though anyone would listen.

Everyone knew something had happened to the DADA professor. Malfoy's mother had come by to pick up him and she wasn't the only one. A few more students had packed up and left before dinner.

"I still can't believe this is the plan," Hermione mumbled.

Ron side-eyed her. "You're just miffed because you didn't think of one."

She bristled. "It's not funny, Ron! Harry's in real trouble and they think these supernatural things can do something?"

"Supernatural, she says," George sighed, shaking his head. "Like we're not wizards standing beside a forest full of magical creatures, on the grounds of a magical castle."

Ginny smiled reluctantly. Hermione huffed, turning away. She spotted Fawkes perched on the highest point of the hut, overseeing them. He watched her with sad eyes.

Nico's sister, Hazel appeared out of the shadows of the tall trees. She was riding the back of an enormous black hound with glowing red eyes. It towered over them with its overly long tongue hanging out as it panted from the shadowy exertion.

Ron yelped and stumbled back. He stomped on Fred and Ginny's feet and they howled, shoving him away.

"Merlin's beard!" George cried and Hermione froze, instantly recalling Fluffy the Cerebrus beast.

"It's okay!" Hazel called, shining a smile at them. She slid off the hound's back. "This is Mrs. O'Leary. She's a good girl."

The hound panted and wagged her tail like a giant fan.

"Uhuh?" Ginny said weakly.

"Do you have the Hallows?" Hazel asked, retrieving a strange compass from her bag. It was a glass case housing a golden needle, spinning wildly before pointing at Fred who was the closet.

"You do!" Hazel cried.

Mrs. O'Leary sniffed around Hagrid's hut. The phoenix watched her carefully.

"Yeah!" Ron said, wide-eyed. "You were right! Fawkes helped!"

Hazel grinned and accepted the long box George gave her.

Just an hour before, Hazel had sent them a rainbow message detailing how to call for the phoenix to lead them to the wand. As soon as the teachers had congregated in the staff room for an urgent meeting, Hermione, Ron, and George had raided Dumbledore's office for the elder wand. Ginny had gotten Harry's cloak and Fred kept an eye out for the teachers with the Extendable Ears.

Hazel figured out that ever since the encounter with Nico, the old wizard had kept his wand under lock and key and was using a substitute currently. When she'd discovered that he had a phoenix of all creatures, she knew the bird could help them out.

Hermione hadn't know phoenixes would listen to anyone else other than their masters. Maybe Dumbledore didn't reign that kind of power over Fawkes.

"And this," Fred said, shakily.

The winds changed as he presented a tiny stone. It was black with scratches resembling a triangle. Hermione made a face at it. Sure it was odd, but a Hallow? Really?

Hazel frowned. "Wait, is that…?"

"The so-called resurrection stone," Hermione mumbled.

"It's not so-called," Hazel whispered. Fred had wrapped it in a handkerchief, careful to not touch it.

"We don't know how Dumbledore found it," Ron explained. "But it was in his office, beside the wand. Fawkes was nervous about it. He flew out when we unwrapped it."

From the top of the hut, Fawkes let out a low keening caw. The sound seeped into their bones. A warning. He was on high alert now.

"Harry had it before," Hermione said. "He nearly tore up his dorm searching for it when it went missing."

"Oh, yeah," Ron added. "He was practically accusing us of stealing the stone. Harry told Hedwig to find it. And she did! Right before she flew off. We haven't seen her since."

Hazel frowned. "Did she leave?"

Hermione shifted, now uncomfortable. "We think Harry could have called her. She'd know where he is but wouldn't let us follow her."

Fawkes cawed again, sadly.

"We're working on it," Hazel told the phoenix. "We'll find him."

Hermione unfolded Harry's cloak. "You'd better. He might go after his aunt now."

Hazel accepted the strangely smelling cloak. "We're at his aunt's house. Got lots of aurors there."

"Marjorie or Petunia?" Ron wondered. " 'Cause Harry accidentally attacked Marjorie before our third year."

Hazel paused before carefully saying, "I think Dumbledore mentioned it. They took her to a safe place."

Hermione grimaced. "How safe is it?"

That didn't sound good. On the bright side, if they could catch Harry and offer him the Hallows, they could make him strong enough to overpower the obscurus part of him.

It was a big if, but Hazel was determined to do this. "We need to try something. We have to help him, not catch him."

Hermione agree with that. Ron nudged her shoulder and she sighed, less annoyed now.

"Thanks," Hazel told them. She nodded toward the phoenix. "Wanna come with?"

Fawkes's large eyes peered carefully. Then he took flight, swooping back to the castle.

Mrs. O'Leary whined. Ginny frowned. "He's been shifty this whole time. Hedwig too. She kept pecking me when I took the cloak and then took off. Haven't see her since."

"Both of them are just worried about Harry," Hermione figured. "We all are."

One of the Order members took Dudley to a muggle hospital and Sally insisted Percy go along with them. Annabeth, Will, and Lou stayed behind at the house with a few Aurors.

When Hazel was back, she and Nico followed Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus out into the night.

"Marjorie is his uncle's sister," Dumbledore explained. "Indeed, there was an altercation two years ago when Harry unintentionally inflated her."

"Inflated?" Nico muttered. How did that even work?

"She deserved it," Sirius mumbled.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "I have so many questions."

"She doesn't remember the event," Dumbledore said, as though that made things better.

He enchanted an old hat with a tap of his wand. His second wand, that is. Hazel was right. Nico recognized it as an ordinary stick (with magic of course), not the elder wand.

"Swell," Sirius said, holding the glowing hat. Remus followed and gestured to Nico and Hazel to do the same.

"Have you apparated?" Dumbledore asked mildly. He did not meet Nico's eyes.

"No," Hazel said. "Is this a portkey?"

"Yes," he answered and the world flashed away in a torrent of winds.

Nico gasped, his fingers glued to the frayed fabric. His feet had left the ground and he was flying at high speeds with Hazel by his side.

They landed on soft grass, so the tumble was fine. Nico was on his back, panting heavily.

"That was awesome," he crowed.

Hazel grinned, yanking him up to his feet. They surveyed the area: a small village with crop fields spread out on all sides. It was a far cry from the stifling scene of Surrey.

Their destination was a pretty red-brick cottage. Even under the moon and the streetlight, it shone sweetly. The door creaked just as Dumbledore stepped on the porch.

"Who goes there?" a gruff voice called.

"A magnitude of orders," Dumbledore answered. Sirius rolled his eyes.

Nico watched the man with the fancy electric blue eye hobble out the door. He glanced over the troupe and invited them in.

"Took your time," Mad-Eye growled. "Should've just stunned her and hidden her in my trunk. This is the last time I let you borrow my cloak, Albus!"

The first room was a large hall with a decent retro setup, including a box TV set. A woman in her 40s or 50s sat on the large couch, covered in dogs. Dudley resembled her greatly. Surrounded by pit bulls, rottweilers, and chihuahuas, his aunt was in peace, lounging under the puppy pile. The dogs peered up at them, heads and following the group. When the woman finally acknowledged them, she sat up furious. Her ruddy face went red and her blond streaked hair quivered in rage.

"Wait till my attorney hears about this!" she barked at them.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," he spoke politely. "Ms. Dursley, I believe you were briefed on the situation?"

"The situation is this: you kidnapped me!"

"I am incredibly sorry about this," Dumbledore tried to say.

"You will be!" she growled. "Mitsy!"

One of the dogs, a chihuahua, yapped loudly. The others barked up a din. They stood at attention and Mitsy launched herself from the couch at Nico's face.

He plucked her out of the air and raised an eyebrow. Mitsy fell silent. The dogs followed suit.

The woman stared. "What in blazes did you do to my dogs?!"

"I asked them to quiet down," he said. "Doubt it'd work on you."

"Excuse me—"

"Your brother and his wife were hurt this evening," Sirius said loudly. "We are worried you may be next."

Worried wasn't exactly the word to describe her because Marge Dursley swelled up in anger and boomed, "AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Mad-Eye exhaled. "We've been conversing pleasantly like this until she got to the telly. Thank Merlin!"

"I'm sorry for the delay, Alastor," Dumbledore murmured. "But we may have to move her again. Harry's still in the wind."

Mad-Eye swore.

"Unless he knows she's here," Nico said, "Which shouldn't be possible, right? Maybe it's better if she stays in one place."

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" Marge roared. "Don't you talk about me like I'm not listening!"

Dumbledore nodded. "You're right, of course, Ms. Dursley. My deepest apologies. We think someone is looking to hurt you."

Marge scoffed. "Please! I know who you mean. You think that Potter boy is coming after me? About time he's had some guts. I'd like to see him go up against my dogs!"

Nico swallowed. He was sure Harry wouldn't stop to pet them.

Remus shook his head and murmured, "Should we tell her?"

Sirius had an ugly look on his face.

"No!" Dumbledore argued. "Ms. Dursley, did you see Harry anywhere near here tonight?"

"Don't know, don't care!" she snarled, heaving herself off the couch. The dogs followed her obediently. "I'm leaving!"

Mad-Eye went for his wand and Nico didn't want to know what he'd planned to do. Instead, Hazel stepped close and snapped her fingers. "You will be here for a while, Marge. You will be happy to stay here. Your dogs love the outdoors. This house is perfect for you."

Marge stopped and focused on her words. Her vexed face dropped and she was suddenly smug. "Like I'd leave this place! Free real estate! You can see yourselves out!"

She sat back on the couch and switched channels on the TV.

Even Dumbledore was silent.

"We won't have a problem with her," Hazel said sweetly.

Nico stifled a smile. His sister knew when to dial up the charisma along with the Mist.

He caught the auror's eye and asked, "How's your protection charms?"

Mad-Eye cleared his throat. "Usual strength. We're far away from enough muggles that they won't wander here. We're near the border, Wales won't track us…"

His voice faded out. Nico's senses went into hyperdrive. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the dogs staring out the window, distracted by a bird in the moonlight.

Hedwig peered back at them.

"Shit!" Nico gasped.

He ran up to the window, feeling his lungs contract.

Harry stood across the road.

His shoes were partially sunken in the mud road, just a dozen feet beyond their brick wall. He was in unassuming clothes, standing motionless and watching the cottage intently.

Remus spluttered, "How did he—"

"His owl," Hazel said, clutching her bag tightly.

Mad-Eye brought out his wand. "I thought you said he didn't have control over this, Albus?"

Dumbledore had gone still. "... perhaps, he will listen."

Nico wouldn't bet on it. "Hazel, you ready?"

She didn't back down. "Yes."

They stepped out into the streetlight. Despite the scenic feel of the village, they were on high alert. Harry waited for them to approach him. The world was silent for them.

"You're protecting her?" Harry asked quietly.

"And you," Hazel said, slipping the bag from her shoulders.

Harry frowned. "I don't understand. If Nate sent you to help the Order, why're you still here?"

Nico stared hard. "We're here for you. So are Sirius and Remus. They're here to help you stop hurting yourself and anyone else."

Harry faced him. "Why did you shrink?"

"Well… I'm 15. It was a glamor that hid my real look," Nico explained.

Harry glanced at Hazel curiously. This was good. This distraction could be enough to get him to listen.

"Thanatos asked us to get the Hallows," Nico said carefully. "I guess they were meant for you."

Hazel showed him the open bag. Harry peeked inside, confused. The wand and stone were nestled in the cloak and Hazel held still until Harry reached a hand inside.

He took just the cloak.

"I have a wand," Harry murmured to himself. "This one isn't mine… but that stone? You took it from my pocket."

Nico frowned. "What?"

"The stone," Harry said, frustrated. "You took it!"

"No!" Hazel intervened, alarmed. "Hermione and Ron found it with the elder wand. This one here! Your owl, Hedwig, found it!"

But Harry wasn't paying attention. He held his invisibility cloak close. The fabric shimmered a dark rainbow. It resembled Thanatos's brilliant wings.

"Who took it first?" Harry whispered. "Hedwig?"

For a wild moment, Nico thought Harry was accusing her of taking the resurrection stone. But Hedwig perched herself on a tree and hooted softly. Harry sniffed.

The wind blew and Nico held fast. The cloak ruffled, its stench growing stronger.

"It's never smelled like this before," Harry mumbled.

The cold stab of nervousness grew in Nico's stomach. No, come on! Head up! They were so close!

"Do you want Sirius to explain things?" Hazel asked softly.

Harry was staring hard at the cloak. Goosebumps erupted all over Nico. His hair ruffled as Hedwig took off into the sky with an alarmed squawk.

"Harry?" Nico whispered.

His expression flickered. It was almost him. Then it wasn't. Then it was again.

Oh no.

"Finite Incantatem," Harry said. His voice rose above the wind.

Nico and Hazel watched in horror as the Invisibility Cloak peeled away like soft fur poorly fused into a sheet. It withered into a gray, tattered mess, no longer a beautiful and ancient thing of art.

Harry's eyes flicked up at them, utterly incensed.

"STOP TAKING FROM ME!" he roared.

Like the cloak, his body tore apart right in front of their eyes.

Hazel and Nico were flung back by the shock wave. The thing was no longer human. With the deadened cloak, the obscurus took on a dementoid shape yet again, gray fur trickling from it and falling like ash.

The door to the cottage sprang open and Nico frantically yelled, "Close it, close it!"

Hazel erected a wall of bright light between them and the gray dementor. It shrieked and flew high to avoid the brilliance. Unfortunately, it headed right for the others.

Dumbledore's voice was nearly lost to the winds but he conjured a phenomenal phoenix of pure light. The smoky mass avoided it expertly and swooped high, flying like a mass of locusts.

"Get her out of here!" Hazel shouted.

She and Nico got to their feet, running for the cottage when they saw the gray dementor dive down the chimney.

"NO!" Sirius roared.

Marge didn't even have time to scream. Her dogs scattered, barking madly as the dense gray cloud burst into sight from the fireplace. Mad-Eye lunged for Marge's arm while the obscurus caught hold of her leg.

—

Nico and Hazel burst into the house to watch Mad-Eye apparate away with most of Marge's body while the gray dementor wrenched her entire leg out of her pelvis with a nauseating squelch.

—

"Harry!" Remus cried. "Wait, we can help you! Wait!"

The thing's claws ripped into the flesh of her leg and tore it apart, unsatisfied. It turned to Nico who knew he could not use his sword.

Hazel expanded her light wall again and Nico winced, stumbling back.

By the time they got their bearings, Harry was gone.

Kingsley sat at the kitchen table now that it was cleared of pieces of dead bodies, all their insides, and the cutlery.

Lou and Will joined him.

"Even if we find him," Kingsley said worriedly. "There's no saying if we can cure him."

"Do you remember any case like this?" Lou asked. "Where people had to catch… (she whispered) an obscurus and remove it from the host?"

"None in living memory. I suppose Albus is the only one of us young enough to remember the case in America, 1920. But I believe MACUSA dealt with it."

Will tried to remember what Amelia Bones had said about MACUSA. All he could recall was Percy confusing it for the movie, Madagascar.

"The problem with this entity is that it's his own magic backfiring," Kingsley explained. "We can't separate him from his magic. We can extract the infectious aspects, but only trained healers have the license to try and even then, it can go terribly wrong."

Trained healers?

Wait a sec!

"Hold on!" Will said excitedly. "I know one!"

He whipped out his phone, eager to make this call. He'd never spoken to his half-brother, but from all the articles he'd ever read, Asclepius would jump at the chance to do the impossible (as long as Zeus was okay with it).

Will logged onto the Primum Non Nocere blog and found his contact details.

"You do mean a magical healer?" Kingsley asked, hesitantly. "A muggle one will not be able to comprehend, much less help."

"One of the best magical healers in the world," Lou realized, grinning now.

"Yup!" Will said, hitting the call button.

The line rang thrice before it was picked up and a very familiar but unexpected voice answered, "Will? Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

Will blinked. "Dad?! What are you… I mean… you're at his hospital?"

"Where are you?" Apollo demanded.

"I'm in Surrey! In England. I'm fine! I wanted to talk to Lord Asclepius."

Apollo heaved a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that, Willie! It's night time, I can't sense you that well now."

"Sorry. But I have a case here that's too difficult for us mere mortals," Will said. "Do you know if he's free?"

Apollo was quiet. Will flinched. Had he insulted his dad by reaching out to the god of doctors rather than the Olympian himself?

"Asclepius is occupied," Apollo finally said. "What's the case?"

"Obscurus," Will said immediately. "The host is still alive, we're trying to find him. But we need a clean extraction."

"Asclepius will do it," Apollo said without hesitation. "He needs the break."

Removing an infected part of magic from a live person was a break?

"Is he okay?" Will asked.

Apollo sighed. "We may lose a patient tonight. Or tomorrow. Hard to say. He's been working on this for a while and the back-up plan is not guaranteed. But you called at the right time, Willie. I'll get him now. Walk him through your case."

The line went on hold and Will lowered the phone, thinking hard.

"Well?" Lou asked when he didn't say anything at first.

"My dad's there," he said. "He promised Asclepius would help us. It's just that… apparently, they have another patient who may not make it through the night."

Kingsley commiserated. "I thought this healer is a god?"

"He is," Will defended. "But Asclepius isn't allow to raise the dead anymore. And even the best healers can lose patients. It doesn't mean they're any bad at their jobs, it just means the patients are too injured or far gone for any treatment to work."

Lou patted his arm. "But he can help Harry?"

"Yeah!"

Someone cleared their throat on the line, "Hello? William Solace?"

Will scrambled with his phone and breathlessly shouted, "Yes, Lord Asclepius! Oh my gods, it's you!"

"Yes, yes, give me the deets," the god groaned.

Will let the brashness roll off his shoulders. "Obscurus. Human. Male. 15-years-old. We have a plan to catch him, we need extraction immediately. He's fairly healthy otherwise, physically speaking."

Asclepius didn't say anything at first. Will shared a worried look with Lou and Kingsley.

"A wizard?" the god finally asked.

Will jumped. "Yes!"

"Harry Potter?"

Will stared. "Yes, how d'you—"

Asclepius released a string of invectives. Will winced and held the phone away from him. Lou and Kingsley gawked.

"THANATOS," Asclepius roared. "THIS IS THE LAST TIME I DO YOU ANY FAVORS!"

"Preliminary scans didn't reveal much," Tonks explained to Annabeth. "So we're searching by hand."

"Thanks," Annabeth said, stepping into Harry's room. It was the smallest of four bedrooms in the Dursley household which infuriated her even more. Four? For flippin's sake! It also spoke volumes that the door held nearly a dozen deadbolt locks on the outside.

The room itself was sparse.

A thin wardrobe was pushed to the corner, nearly empty except for old socks and coat hangers. A second-hand table stood below the grated window. The wooden chair was small, close to tween-sized than an adult's. The single cot was uninviting especially with its faded sheets.

Annabeth thought it resembled an undergraduate's cramped single dorm room, except a dorm room would be lively with posters, photos, and even friggin' curtains. Harry's room was cold and lonely.

"It probably looked better with his stuff here," Tonks murmured.

"You believe that?" Annabeth asked.

The auror turned away and inspected the wardrobe.

They didn't find much. A crumpled-up piece of paper was found behind the dusty wastebasket. On one side was a grocery list. The other side had writing in Ancient Greek.

Αλλ' ό γε σιγῇ δώρα θεών έχοι, όττι διδοίεν.

Tonks frowned at it.

"Take in peace the gifts the gods will send," Annabeth translated for her. A sour taste settled on her tongue. "It's an Odyssey quote."

"As in… Homer?"

"Yes," Annabeth said. "A god's gift is the highest blessing a human can receive. According to the gods, that it."

Tonks caught on, "So, the cat is a symbol for this?"

"Has to be," Annabeth handed her the note. "I'm thinking Harry and Nathan argued about June at some point. Maybe this was Nate trying to explain things."

Tonks coughed in surprise. "This is terrible!"

Annabeth smirked. "People mistake Death for Love a lot. But once he opens his mouth, no one's confused."

Tonks shuddered.

They resumed searching the room and had to conclude that nothing suspicious was left behind. Annabeth was ready to check the rest of the house when Tonks mumbled, "She must have thrown it out."

"She who? Thrown what?"

"His aunt," Tonks said. "Petunia must have thrown out the basket. Or Nate must have taken it with him."

She showed a clear distaste in referring to him by such a normal name.

The room brightened. They turned and watched the air glow as a rainbow window appeared in front of their faces.

Tonks backed away but Annabeth said, "It's okay! It's Percy!"

Percy and Sally peered into the space, smiling at them. "Hey! We got the mortal doctors looking over Dudley. Batman just arrived to pick him up. Mom'll take a cab back to the hotel and I'll wait for Mrs. O'Leary. You going back to the castle?"

"Haven't decided yet," Annabeth said. "Who's Batman?"

Percy put on a deep, gruff voice and said, "He is!"

He jerked a thumb at someone in the background. A man in a black trench coat stood off to the side. He had a pale, sallow face under greasy black hair. He watched them unhappily.

"If the muggles see this…" he warned.

"They can't," Percy assured him, exasperated. "It goes over their heads. You couldn't see it either till I pointed it out!"

The man huffed and walked away. He fiddled with the sleeves of his coat and Percy eyed him sharply.

"Where are you?" Tonks asked as she admired the lovely colors of the IM window.

"St. John's Hospital in London East," Sally answered. "It's the fastest admittance. Have you found any clues, dear?"

Annabeth scoured the sorry room again. "Not really. Just proof that 'Nathan' sucked at apologizing."

Percy snorted. "You'd think they'd be better at it after all this time."

"Wait, can you call Snape back?" Tonks asked.

Sally leaned away and brought the surly wizard into frame.

"Did Dumbledore or Kingsley say anything about a basket?" Tonks asked him.

Snape frowned, which was probably his default setting. "No. What sort of basket?"

"Maybe a wicker."

"Not to my knowledge."

Percy scrunched his eyebrows. "The cat basket that Dudley mentioned? Thany would have taken it right?"

"I guess," Tonks murmured. "It's just… Harry didn't put the cat in it on the day of the dementor attack."

Annabeth stared. "How d'you know?"

Tonks waved the crumpled note. "His shopping list. It mentions a baby blanket. The basket must have been too rough for him to use for the cat."

Sally chuckled, "He gave Harry a basket of cats?"

"One cat. Kitten, I think. His idea of a gift."

Sally's face fell. Her thinking expression was the same as Percy's and Annabeth couldn't help but admire it.

"Thanatos… gave Harry a gift?" Sally asked slowly.

Tonks shrugged. "Yes. I suppose it's a common thing?"

"Kinda," Sally said. "I got one too."

Percy stared. "When the hell did you meet Thanatos?!"

The look Sally gave him dug up an old memory from Annabeth's well.

She'd been four when her dad announced that he was inviting a lady over for dinner.

"We have to tidy up the house, Annie," Dad said. Annabeth nodded seriously, tumbling after him to shove the mess into all the closet space they had.

Annabeth had been small enough to crawl to the end of the dark space to try and push all the dirty laundry inside when she spotted it—a beautiful golden basket. Its delicate engraving danced over the sides like vines and honeysuckle.

"Daddy?" she called. "Look at it! It's all shiny!"

He flinched at the sight, growing very uncomfortable. "That's… yeah, that's a gift, sweetie. Come on out, now. We have to get ready!"

Gods didn't usually take their gifts back. But Thanatos took June the cat because she'd been severely injured. He'd taken her believing she might not come back.

He'd taken the memories to spare Harry that sadness.

But there was something else to consider.

The others were still talking but her mind buzzed with the speed of gears interconnected to separate powers. Annabeth trekked over to the tall, thin cupboard and crouched down to run her hands through the empty space.

Would Thanatos give a picnic basket? Or would he be like any other god and give the cat in a beautiful one-of-a-kind basket made of magical material.

Annabeth crawled under the cot and stretched her arms, brushing by the dust bunnies, a rolled up tie, a single sock, and…

Her fingers hit something solid.

She gasped. "Tonks!"

The auror leaped over to her, wand out in an instant. Annabeth nodded under the bed. "Move this thing."

Tonks flicked her wand and the heavy cot levitated up. It left a rectangle of dust underneath with discarded objects.

"Something's invisible here," Annabeth said, scooting forward. Her hands could feel the metal curved handle. "It's the basket!"

Tonks said, "Revelio!"

Nothing happened.

"Get it out of the shadows!" Percy suggested from the IM window.

Of course! Annabeth grinned as she yanked the heavy basket from the bed's shadow into the light of the room. Glimmering magic slid away and the Mist disappeared, revealing a gleaming black metal basket. The inside was laid with a soft green micro-fibre fleece.

"What's this?" Tonks asked urgently. She was pointing to the words engraved on the basket's side.

"To Harry," Annabeth read, breathing hard. "You've made this month of June stay alive in my mind forever. Love, Nathan."

Sally gasped.

Annabeth's brain felt disconnected from her senses. From reality.

I got one too, Sally had mentioned. She'd gotten a gift from her godly lover, just as Frederick had received one from his. Nico's mom had gotten two gifts, same as Thalia's mother and Connor's. Some deities placed their gifts in baskets, like Athena.

That's all the gods did. They apologized badly, they cursed when their egos were threatened, and they gave gifts because that was the best thing they could ever do.

Annabeth met Sally's eyes through the Iris-Message.

"June's not a cat," she whispered.

Tonks stared, uncomprehending. Snape was the same. Percy was piecing together everyone's expressions. Sally had frozen beside him. Her hand covered her mouth.

Will and Lou burst into the room.

"Annabeth!" he gasped. "Percy, hi! I was just talking to Asclepius! He runs my favorite blog, that guy! You'll never believe who his latest patient is!"

Annabeth's heart thundered. She lifted the black metal cradle. "Lemme guess. It's a two-month-old baby, June Potter?"

"What was that?" Sirius roared at Hazel. "You drove him away!"

"He would have killed Nico!" she yelled.

Nico shoved Sirius back, snatching his wand away and kicking the back of his knee. Sirius crashed to the floor and Nico grabbed his neck, shadows hovering all around.

"DON'T raise your voice at her!" he hissed.

The air pushed everyone apart. Dumbledore made a sweeping gesture and Nico and Sirius were separated.

"Fighting amongst us will not help!" he warned. "She was protecting her brother, Sirius. And Nico, he is worried about Harry, as are we all. Now, please, focus!"

Hazel caught Nico's arm silently willing him to calm down.

Nico glared at Dumbledore. "Hedwig was helping him! That's how he found Marge. Probably how he found Voldemort too!"

Remus shook his head. "Voldemort would have set up defenses against owl tracking. That was something else. But this? Yes. Still, Hedwig is simply listening to Harry, not endorsing killings."

Nico exhaled, turning away from the group. Marge's blood was splattered all over the couch, rug, and fireplace.

"Will they be able to heal her?" Hazel asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. A quick numbing and cauterizing combination will do the trick for now. We should have moved her when we had the chance."

Nico bared his teeth. "Yeah, yeah. You were right. This one time."

The Headmaster's blue eyes seared. Nico knew he'd crossed a line, but he didn't particularly care. Not when it came to Dumbledore.

"Tell me," the wizard spoke quietly. "How did you retrieve my wand?"

Nico let the shadows retreat. Hazel sighed, "We were following the prophecy. It says Yield Hallows and Master awaken. I thought that would be enough to snap Harry out of it."

Sirius groaned. "It can't be that easy!"

"It could have been," Nico murmured. "Had the cloak been real."

Sirius and Remus stared.

Hazel was stunned. "A fake? That's why it fell apart! Harry revealed the charm. He could tell something was off about it. The smell!"

"Takes a lot of energy to try and duplicate godly artifacts," Nico whispered. Maybe a powerful child of Hecate could do it. Hazel could manage. But the thing about divine powers was that they were truly unique and perfect, with none of humanity's flaws.

Nico watched Dumbledore summon the elder wand from Hazel's bag. The resurrection stone flew alongside it.

"You…" Nico whispered.

Dumbledore turned away.

"When did you switch them?!" Nico yelled. "When you picked him up from the Dursleys?"

Sirius gasped. Remus spun on his heel, staring at Dumbledore's retreating back.

"Why?" Hazel cried. "We could have ended it here!"

Dumbledore stopped at the foyer, deliberating carefully.

"You couldn't have known that," he finally said. "All this power is too much for one person to host."

"You literally have all of them now!"

"I do not use them," Dumbledore said calmly. "I do not claim them all, just my wand. I am not Master of Death. No one should be. Your mistake was thinking simply handing these items over would have solved it."

Sirius stood up. "Albus. You let Harry roam about with a fake cloak?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I was worried that Thanatos would approach him about it. I assessed it would not be safe without added enchantments."

He narrowed his eyes at them. "Enchantments which you bypassed."

Nico and Hazel kept their mouths shut. If Fawkes was helping them go against Dumbledore's commands, they'd be the last ones to squeal.

The Headmaster exhaled. "Of course, I had not realized that the god had already asked him for it."

"So you stole the cloak."

"As a precaution."

"You're full of shit."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Your services are no longer needed, Mr. di Angelo."

Nico frowned. "What?"

"The deal's off."

With that, he disapparated leaving four stunned demigods and wizards in a blood-splattered cottage.

Hazel buried her face in her hands. Nico wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort them both.

"Screw him," Sirius said.

The demigods watched him in alarm.

"I'll steal that bloody wand myself after all this," Sirius continued. "What do you need?"

Hazel brushed her hair back and smiled faintly. "We keep searching. Now that we know Hedwig is helping him, we can try and lure her to a safe place and trap him there."

Sirius exhaled. "She's rather smart. Even general post owls can sense traps."

Remus shot an arm out and shoved Sirius out of the way. The air between them split into a circle of colors. Will, Annabeth, Lou, and a few aurors popped up.

"It's a window!" Nico told Sirius and Remus who had their wands out.

"We have some unbelievable news," Annabeth announced and heaved a small, black basket into sight. It was metallic and shone unnaturally.

"Dudley said Nate gave June in this basket to Harry," she explained. "And when they were attacked in the summer, the dementors got too close to June, so Nate took her straight to Asclepius."

Ascle…

Nico's brain helpfully rewound all his conversations with Will regarding the god of doctors.

"Wait a sec," Nico said slowly. "That bird in the incubator…"

"YES!" Will shouted, absolutely unhinged. "Asclepius is always changing his patients' names and descriptions. The bird is June the cat! And the cat is a human baby!"

Nico's jaw dropped. Hazel slapped a hand over her forehead.

"Holy Pluto!" she cried. "Of course! Thanatos removed Harry's memory of his baby and turned every moment of her into a cat!"

"WHAT?" Sirius erupted.

"June's not dead," Will said hurriedly. "But she's in a bad state. It's a self-imposed stasis. Apparently, children of Thanatos can do that!"

"How do we fix it?" Nico asked heatedly.

"We can't!" Annabeth said. "She's too young for Asclepius's methods. Apollo was the one who figured it out. She needs Harry to help her."

Nico and Hazel shared looks of dread. June was close to death. Harry was the only one who could save her? But how were they going to find him?

Nico asked Sirius, "Where would Harry go next? Who else would he gun for?"

Sirius was pale and shaking. The night was clearly too much for him. Remus breathed softly, "If Marjorie is properly hidden so that neither Fawkes nor Hedwig can find her… perhaps Dudley again."

"Or another death eater," Sirius whispered.

Sally's son caught her arm and whispered, "We need to get out. I think he's coming here."

She gulped and looked up and down the hospital corridor. People rushed about, busy with patients and work. St. Johns was unbelievably populated and the gray dementor's appearance would hurt bunches of mortals in one go.

"He's coming for Dudley?" Sally gasped as they ran for the patients' block.

"Him or Snape," Percy hissed. "Snape's got that tattoo! The snake one on his arm. He's a death eater! There's no way Harry doesn't know that!"

Sally had to catch her breath. It was a good few years since she'd actually run full speed. Her daily jogs amounted to almost nothing of a demigod's training.

Dumbledore and Snape was just exiting Dudley's room. Percy yelled, "We need to get out of here! You especially!"

He stabbed a finger at Snape. Sally slowed down to hold a stitch in her stomach and that was when it happened.

The windows of the corridor blew inward. Glass panes shattered and fell over them. Sally hit the floor hard, her eardrums ruptured.

"MOM!"

She was bleeding? Her body shook as she blinked carefully. Then she screamed.

The gray-brown cloud of death hovered over them. A dark face kept appearing and disintegrating within the mass. Its whole aura was open to her eyes, unshielded by the Mist.

Her brain struggled to comprehend all of it.

This is supposed to be a child?

The metallic shink of Percy's sword echoed in the abrupt silence and he leaped in between the Sally and cloud. But Riptide harmlessly sliced through the dark haze, doing nothing to it or the blade.

The cloud shrieked and dived at him. Its skeletal arm dripped black gunk smelling alarmingly of rust and death. It grabbed Percy's throat and pulled him off the floor.

"No!" Sally screamed and scrambled to her feet to jump and wrap her hands around his legs to yank him down.

The plumbing exploded. Pipes burst out of the walls and pressured water gushed at the cloud disrupting its movements. Percy and Sally fell back and she held onto him, unwilling to let him go. He gasped and held onto his bruised neck, eyes wide and bloodshot.

Riptide clattered to the side and the gray dementor swooped in again but Sally shouted, "June is alive! She's with Nathan! She needs you!"

The cloud froze in its tracks.

"You're right, she's important to you not just because she's a cat, but because she's yours!" Sally gasped. "She's your daughter! Nate changed your memories but you knew something was wrong. You knew!"

The cloud flickered. It moaned slowly, like a kid sucking in a long desperate gulp of air.

"You didn't forget her completely," Sally continued as Percy tried to get his bearings. "Not even Thanatos could do that to you."

The cloud retreated, growing smaller like it was crouching into itself.

"You love June," Sally whispered. "The world understands, Harry. You love her. We can get you to her. It's time to come back."

The tighter she held Percy, the smaller the gray dementor became. The hospital and the world held its breath as the cloud dissipated.

Harry Potter fell onto the floor, his unconscious body jerking uncontrollably.