Chapter 52
Harry glanced at Artie, crouching in the bushes next to him, before looking out over the clearing once more.
A clearing that held a herd of aurochs.
No picture did those monsters justice, Harry thought, wondering how early humans ever managed to domesticate those beasts into the cattle people had today.
One of the beasts snorted and looked up. It stood as tall as a grown man at the shoulder, and had two huge, sweeping horns that were long and thick. It snorted again, and Harry had the uncomfortable notion that the animal lived for skewering things on them.
He swallowed, and glanced back at Artie, who seemed to be enjoying his discomfort at coming eye to eye with a herd of actual aurochs.
Amused, she gave him the sign to shoot one.
Swallowing again, he gave her a nod, and raised the bow Apollo had given him a few years back. It was starting to be a bit small for him now, as it had been sized for him when he was eight, not eleven.
Nocking one arrow, he drew back on the string. And then he pulled harder when he realized just what it was he was shooting at.
His bow gave an ominous cracking sound, and suddenly the string got really easy to pull back. Artie gave a dismayed frown. The herd of aurochs stopped grazing and looked angrily in his direction; the cracking noise had alerted them.
The cows sniffed and snorted; the bull made an interesting sort of noise that one could conceivably catalogue as a 'moo' – it had about as much resemblance to one as a regular whistle resembled a steam whistle. This bull's sound was absolutely terrifying, and Harry had encountered more than his share of terrifying things in his life. He knew terrifying when he encountered it.
Artie gave the motion to stay still, and Harry froze. When the Goddess of the Hunt told you to do something while on a hunt, you obeyed without question.
Unfortunately, it seemed that not everyone got the motion, or possessed the common sense to listen to the Goddess of the Hunt, as an arrow flew from the bushes on the side of the clearing.
Harry thought it was Thalia's position, but right now he wasn't thinking all that properly so maybe he was mistaking. Unfortunately for whatever Hunter had shot the arrow, the bull must have seen movement of some kind and it had turned toward the area.
This meant that the shooter had shot at the bull's face. The face with those huge horns. And the thick bone to support said horns.
The arrow made a unique sort of chink noise as it hit the base of the horns and veered off. Artie looked furious as the bull charged and the herd scattered.
She actually started to rise and draw her own bow, when a second arrow came from the other side of the clearing. With his thoughts starting to clear, Harry knew that was Zoë's position.
The arrow hit the bull in the neck; unfortunately the beast had so much muscle and tissue that it didn't even seem to notice that it had been shot, and just kept charging.
Thalia jumped from her cover, and tried to plant another arrow in the charging monstrous beast, and failed just as badly as the first time.
Throwing knife, plasma, Harry told Godslayer as he pulled the weapon out. No sooner had the mystical blade obeyed, or Harry realized that the bull was now basically on top of the Daughter of Zeus.
Thalia jumped and rolled away, ducking to one side while the bull charged passed her, then turned around and tried to lift her bow once more.
Harry grit his teeth and bit back a curse, because now the Hunter was blocking his view of the beast.
Zoë and Celyn charged from their hiding spots, bows raised and arrows nocked. The bull came charging back, and practically shouldered one of the trees out of its way in its made charge for Thalia.
True, it wasn't a large tree, but seeing a beast push it aside was plenty reason for Harry to gulp.
Artie stood up and readied her bow, arrow nocked and fingers on the drawstring, but didn't actually draw her bow just yet. Two more arrows planted themselves in the beast's neck, courtesy of Celyn and Zoë, but once more the huge aurochs ignored them and went for the one that shot it first.
Fortunately, the beast was now in the clearing once more, and Harry had a clean shot with his plasma-blade throwing knife called Godslayer.
Feeling for the probability of the throw, he guesstimated his target. He wanted it dead, and he wanted it dead now before it hurt anybody. His probability senses, his lucky instincts, drew upon the misfortune of his bow breaking and told him just where to throw.
"Die, beast," Harry muttered as he threw the godly weapon. It planted itself through the aurochs' eye and into its brain.
It didn't even have the capacity for further sound; the beast collapsed as if it were a puppet and its strings were cut. Its forward momentum made it slide across the earth for just a few more moments, before it lay completely still.
"Good throw," Artie said, stepping over to where her Hunters were congregating on the felled animal.
Harry grinned, recalled Godslayer, and turned it back into a ring. The godly weapon was giggling about having felled an ancient and extinct animal.
Excalibur never killed an Aurochs. I am so going to rise on the list of most badass swords in history! By the time we're done, Boss, people will go 'Excalibur? What's that?'
Harry shook his head as his weapon giggled in his mind.
"And why," he heard Zoë ask Thalia, "didst thou not wait? My Lady gave the 'hold' signal. Why didst thou disobey?"
Thalia looked like she wanted to dig at the soil with her foot, but was barely managing to restrain herself. "I didn't see it, Lieutenant," she whispered.
"Thou didst not see it," Zoë repeated. "Or wert thou not paying attention?"
"I was focused on the bull, Lieutenant," Thalia whispered.
Zoë nodded. "Keeping thy target in sight is good, but thou should also keep awareness of thy surroundings," she said, and Harry recognized her slipping into 'teaching' mode rather than 'angry' mode.
Artie ignored her Lieutenant laying into Thalia, and turned to Harry instead. "Your bow broke."
Harry nodded and pulled the broken weapon up from where he had put it aside. "Mister Apollo gave it to me when I was eight," he said mournfully.
The Goddess of the Hunter eyed it for a moment. "It was sized for an eight-year-old beginner; you're no longer eight, and you're no longer a beginner. You outgrew it, and now you outdrew it."
Harry just nodded sadly; he liked that bow. And Apollo would probably be extremely upset that he broke it, now that he thought about it!
"My idiot brother will know that you outgrew it," Artie said, causing him to look up in surprise. Had she read his mind? "No," the goddess went on with amusement. "But any good hunter knows how to pay attention and your face reads like an open book."
Harry pouted at her. She laughed at him. They both looked up when Zoë approached.
"'T is most assuredly dead," she stated, then looked squarely at Harry. "'T was an impeccable throw, one many of my sisters would have failed at. 'T is one I myself probably would have failed at, as well."
Harry grinned at her. "Thanks, Miss Zoë," he said, accepting the praise. Then, answering her unasked question, he added, "I used my gift from mom, and read the probability. I know it's technically cheating, but I wanted it dead before it hurt anybody, you know?"
Zoë nodded. "I do indeed. 'T is only cheating when done by your opponent. Now, shall we get to work?"
"Indeed," Artie said, reminding both that she was still there. "Don't leave the hard work to my Hunters," she told Harry with a teasing grin.
He smiled back, then joined Zoë as they walked back to the aurochs bull, now being circled by Celyn and Thalia – both of whom seemed to be more than just a little impressed with its size.
It took no more than a silent motion from Zoë for Harry to know what his tasks were; it wasn't the first time they had hunted together, after all. He started with gutting the beast while she started field-dressing it, and soon they had the entire bull ready for butchering.
"You can take the your choice of meat," Artie said, suddenly appearing behind them and making Harry startle out of the comfortable focus he had going. "The rest will go with me to the Hunters. I'm sure they'll appreciate the change of pace." Her tone indicated that they'd better appreciate the change of pace.
"Thanks, Artie!" Harry chirped, restraining himself from giving her a hug, considering he was covered with things one shouldn't get on a goddess.
The Goddess of the Hunt gave a regal nod, then pointed to the pile of internal organs, ready to be made into stew, or stock, or any of the myriad other dishes Harry had flowing through his mind. "You may want to eat the heart separately. You killed it, so that honor is yours."
Recognizing that something special was going on, Harry nodded softly. "Thanks, Artie," he said, solemnly. Gods continued to surprise him on occasion; he never would have guessed that the heart was something special. Zoë definitely hadn't said anything.
He went to pick it up, and thought for a few moments. "When hunting in large groups," Zoë said, suddenly at his shoulder, "the honor of the heart goeth to the one making the final kill," she explained. "Thou hath earned it."
Harry nodded, then thought of something. Within a matter of moments, he had a camp fire going and had improvised a spit using a couple of Y-branches and Godslayer turned into a miniature spear.
The godly weapon was signing a song as if it were having a hot bath and having a blast doing so. Harry refrained from commenting.
He pulled some herbs and spices from his backpack and started stuffing the heart with the herbs before seasoning it with the spices.
"Did you really drag those along, just in case?" Artie asked, amused at seeing him start cooking.
"I may have cheated a little and pulled on Hestia's domain for the extra ingredients," Harry whispered to her, before putting a finger to his lips and winking. "Please don't tell anyone."
Artie looked highly amused and shook her head. "I'm afraid my Hunters possess better than usual hearing, so I think 'too late' is the only answer I can give."
Zoë laughed, while Celyn and Thalia looked highly amused. Harry kept silent and turned his makeshift spit. Godslayer kept singing bathing songs.
The heart didn't take long to cook to the level Harry wanted, and he put it on a plate. Godslayer turned from a small spear into a carving knife and Harry starting carving up the muscle. "Since we all worked together," he said, "I think we should share."
Zoë looked like she had expected nothing less. Artie hid her surprise behind a nod of acceptance. Celyn and Thalia just shook their heads.
They ate in silence. "Thou art very good at picking herbs and finding spices," Zoë said with a straight face as she swallowed.
"Definitely no cheating going on there," Celyn added with a nod.
Harry grinned; the heart tasted very good, a bit like beef, but definitely with a deeper, stronger flavor. He was glad to see his choice of herbs and spices had been correct in elevating the flavor rather than masking or overpowering it.
"Very true," Artie finally agreed. "You have quite the skill in cooking," she complimented him.
"Thanks, Artie," Harry said, somewhat bashfully. "I learn a lot from Hestia."
"And it shows," the Goddess of the Hunt reciprocated.
After the snack, they proceeded to butcher the rest of the bull; Harry chose his cuts and took some of the organs for a nice stew.
By the time they were done, the sun was starting to set. Harry fully expected to be returned to the temple, but instead Artie told them to put up their tents. Grinning, the young demigod followed orders. Another night in the woods with some of his favorite people suited him just fine!
Harry cooked dinner, combining some of his organ meat and some of the smaller cuts of the Hunters' share, as well as some herbs, spices, and vegetables. They all diplomatically ignored him conjuring those up, and by the time the moon had risen high in the sky, they sat around and ate.
For a moment, Harry wondered if the butchered meat would attract predators, but then he glanced at Artie. Artie who, as Goddess of the Hunt, could be catalogued as the ultimate predator.
No wonder they could sit around, eat, and laugh, without worry.
After dinner, Harry started doing mysterious things to a pot standing over the fire. Three Hunters and one goddess stared at him silently. Unfortunately for their curiosity, Harry was used to cooking with an audience so paid no attention. Soon, heavenly scents started to fill the air.
"Considering we're just ignoring me cheating," he finally said as he dunked a cup in the pot, "how about some hot chocolate?" he was holding the cup out, looking for volunteers. "It's adapted from the original Mayan chocolate drink, so it will probably taste different from what you're used to."
The cup vanished only to reappear in Artie's hands. "Don't mind if I do," the Goddess of the Hunt said and drank.
Seeing this, the three Hunters couldn't wait for their own share, and Harry laughed as he dunked cups and handed them out. He loved it when people liked this food.
"What a unique flavor," the Goddess of the Hunt said. "Perhaps I was a bit hasty when I said 'no' to having a boy at camp," Artie said as she held out her cup for seconds.
"My Lady?" Zoë asked, surprised.
"Perhaps. Maybe," Artie said as she accepted her second cup. She sighed. "It's still 'no', but now it's actually a harder call to make," she added with a laugh.
Harry grinned at her, knowing she wasn't serious. He almost told her that she could come over any time, but then remembered he was off to boarding school shortly and he wouldn't be around to cook. That was going to suck, because he loved cooking.
In any case, it wasn't a good idea to make an offer he couldn't actually fulfill, so he kept it to himself.
"It's too bad I'll be off to boarding school shortly," he said instead. "I won't get to cook a lot there, I reckon."
"Perhaps I should come to librate thee, in exchange for meals," Zoë said with a grin. Artie looked liked she wished she had thought of it first.
Harry laughed. "I doubt I will need liberating, Miss Zoë," he answered. "It's a school, not a prison. Besides, with Hestia's boon, I can travel using any fire."
The Lieutenant sighed theatrically. "'T was worth a try, I suppose," she said dramatically.
"There, there, old friend," Artie said, not at all emphatically, and not even bothering to pat Zoë on the shoulder. "There, there."
They all laughed.
0000
Somewhere in Paris, in a high-class suite in a luxury hotel, the hearth flared. Five small forms stepped out, one after another.
"Here we are," Hestia said, with her usual soft-spoken voice and kindly smile as she looked at Harry and his three friends. "Now, as most of your parents have stated, adult supervision is necessary for an overnight trip."
"Not mine!" Luna chirped with a wide smile, her hand up high as if answering a question in class.
Harry snickered out loud. Luna's parents – well, her father, anyway – was awesome in Harry's opinion. The man seemed to think that everything was an opportunity for learning and research and didn't mind at all that his daughter went off somewhere. Pandora had been overruled by the combined Luna-Xeno voting bloc, proving to Harry that democracy really was the best political system, despite his misgivings.
"Yes, not yours, Luna," Hestia said in the same tone, apparently unaffected by being interrupted. There was an undercurrent of something when she went on to say, "Now, while I will not hinder you, I would like you all to be on your best behavior. I am willing to extend a lot of trust, but I would also not like to see that trust betrayed."
Harry nodded eagerly, as did Luna. Annabeth and Silena, always more than a little weary of deities, gave a more subdued and fearful nod. "Good!" Hestia said, her smile widening. "Now, Hermes recommended this charming hotel as one of the best in Paris, so let's enjoy our stay."
"Thanks, Hestia," Harry said, hugging his all-time favorite goddess. She patted his back.
"You're quite welcome. Despite everything, you wouldn't be able to see much of Paris in one day," she said.
Luna laughed, and saw her opportunity to get in on things, and wrapped her arms around Harry and Hestia. "Thank you for arranging this, it'll be ever so much fun!" the enthusiastic young witch chirped.
Silena and Annabeth stared at Luna, who was blithely hugging one of the most powerful beings in the Greek pantheon.
"You're very welcome, dear," Hestia said kindly.
"Thank you, Lady Hestia," Annabeth and Silena added, practically at the same time, neither willing to risk joining the impromptu group hug.
"You are all quite welcome," Hestia said, in her usual humble manner, as she extracted herself from the hug. "Now, before you go you and explore Paris, shall we agree on some ground rules?"
Annabeth and Silena, being more than a little wary of the gods – any of the gods – nodded humbly and subserviently.
"Sure, Hestia," Harry agreed with a grin, knowing that Hestia was reasonable and wouldn't ask for anything outrageous. Luna simply shrugged.
"I would like us all to have dinner together," the Goddess of the Home said. "Shall we say – six pm?"
"That's good for me," Harry said, looking at his friends, none of whom seemed to have a problem with that.
"I also wouldn't like young children to be out late, so I would suggest that after dinner, we refrain from exploring. Paris is still a large city and young children shouldn't be out alone, after dark," Hestia said.
Three demigods looked at each other, then shared a look with Luna. "That's fine, Hestia," Harry said, designating himself spokesman considering he knew her best. "Although I do think most muggers should be afraid of me, rather than the other way around."
Hestia gave him a look of tolerance. "Maybe it is the poor muggers I am protecting," she joked with a small laugh. "Anyway, I really would prefer that we retire to the suite after dinner. I won't stop you from socializing, of course, but considering I am nominally responsible for your safety, I would like to honor that responsibility."
Harry nodded. "Sure, Hestia. Paris will still be there tomorrow, and we can do other things tonight."
"I knew I could count on you," Hestia said. "Now, feel free to go and explore."
"Thanks, Hestia. See you for dinner!" Harry said cheerfully.
They took the elevator down to the ground floor, and exited through the lobby. Or rather, they would have if not for a blonde girl, a couple of years older than them, dressed all in yellow and white, making a scene and kicking up a fuss.
"What is that about?" Harry wondered.
"Her father owns the hotel and she's threatening to get him to fire that poor woman over something," Silena said, looking rather disgusted.
Harry simply nodded at the explanation, feeling rather awkward and wondering if there were something he could do to help. Annabeth, on the other hand, turned to Silena.
"I didn't know you spoke French," she said.
"It's the language of love, all Aphrodite's children speak French perfectly," Silena said with a wide grin. A grin that froze slightly as the blue-eyed blonde girl huffed and stomped off. "Although, right now, I wish I didn't."
"Awkward," Luna agreed with a nod.
"Come on, let's go," Annabeth stated. "There's nothing we can do about it anyway."
"True," Harry sighed, then nodded. "Come on, let's go and explore Paris."
"Who has the map?" Annabeth asked excitedly as they exited the hotel.
"A map? Why would we need a map?" Harry asked teasingly. Annabeth was about to put her hands on her hips, but Silena grabbed her before she could.
"Come on, Annabeth. We're exploring, not planning a siege," the Daughter of Aphrodite said with a giggle. "Let's go shopping!"
Harry knew this was coming, and truthfully, didn't mind all that much. However, as a member of the male of the species, he felt obligated to complain anyway. "Do we have to?" he whined.
Three girls rounded on him, and as if they had practiced, shouted together. "YES!"
"Whoa, scary," Harry said with a grin.
"I'm not much of a girly-girl, but even I know that shopping is a must," Luna said. She had a small grin, as if she knew exactly why he'd whined. Harry returned her grin; there was a reason he liked Luna.
They were about to start walking when Harry saw something from the corner of one eye; it looked red but by the time he had turned his head, it had disappeared. He looked at the rooftops for a moment, wondering if his eyes had played a trick on him. Finally, he shrugged it off, not wanting to keep the girls waiting.
They spent an enjoyable morning browsing the various shops that the girls wanted to see – and in some cases, coo over – and Harry just shrugged and tagged along. He even did his best not to sigh when the girls were drooling over some blond teenaged French model with blue eyes. And, apparently, an 'enchanting smile', whatever that was.
Still, he restrained himself from sighing too much, and while he didn't see the point in going to a store and not actually buying anything, he was happy enough that his friends were enjoying themselves.
"I think we've tortured poor Harry enough," Luna said when noon came around.
"It's not torture," Silena insisted.
Harry stayed out of it. "I think it's time to get something to eat," Annabeth decided, also determined not to be dragged into the conversation. She pointed ahead. "We could get something to eat at that cute little bakery over there," she suggested.
Silena's stomach growled, and she nodded. "Fine, let's get something to eat," she said, sounding uncharitable, but throwing her head in her neck in an over-the-top theatrical fashion to show she didn't really mean it.
"Miss Athena insists that a proper young demigod knows multiple languages," Harry said, "but unfortunately my French is only good enough to get me in serious trouble, I think. Can you order for me?"
Silena grabbed his arm. "Of course I will, Harry," she said with a smile. "You just point like an uncultured barbarian and I will translate for you."
Harry sulked exaggeratedly. "I am not an uncultured barbarian," he mock-pouted.
"Oh, Harry," Silena sighed. "You weren't born French, so of course you are. You can't help it."
He poked her side, making her squeak. "You weren't born French, either, Miss Chauvinist," he teased.
She laughed. "Daughter of Aphrodite, Harry. Daughter of Aphrodite."
"I say we get her for this," Harry suggested to Annabeth and Luna, both of whom were laughing.
"After she orders for us," Luna said with a nod.
"Too right, Luna," Annabeth agreed.
Silena playfully grumbled at them. "You are the worst friends ever."
"I don't see any other friends taking you to Paris," Harry said with a grin. Silena grumbled at him, then playfully shook her fist.
By now, the laughing group of friends had reached the bakery. "I bet the owners are a Tom and a Sabine," Harry said as he pointed to the large sign above the door that read 'Tom & Sabine Boulangerie & Pâtisserie"
"Oh, well done, Harry," Silena said, patting his head.
Luna and Annabeth laughed, and Harry chuckled.
"I know 'boulangerie' means 'bakery', but what does 'pâtisserie' mean?" he asked, instead.
"It means they also do pastries and sweets," Silena replied casually. "In other words – we can get dessert there, too."
"Cool," Harry answered as the Daughter of Aphrodite strode up to the door and pulled it open.
Tom seemed like a very jovial fellow, but unfortunately his English was about as good as Annabeth's and Luna's French was – in other words, practically non-existent. Not that Harry had a lot of bragging rights, he understood maybe one word in three, so they all let Silena do the talking.
They emerged from the shop with a box of sweets and pastries, as well as some sandwiches made with genuine baguettes.
The quartet ate their lunches at the Trocadéro, which boasted beautiful gardens and ponds, and held a truly spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower across the river.
After lunch, and the amazing dessert, Annabeth almost pulled them by force to the Notre-Dame de Paris.
"It's the Notre-Dame!" the young architect aficionado said, practically vibrating on her legs. "I never thought I'd get to see this in person!"
Silena looked up and pretended to be unimpressed. "It's an old church," she stated flatly.
Annabeth gasped and actually grasped her heart at the blasphemy. Silena burst out laughing at the reaction, which in turn triggered Harry and Luna to share a few chuckles and giggles.
"Why… you…!" Annabeth gasped out, shaking her first in impotent fury. "I ought to…" she threatened.
"You don't know what you ought to do, but whatever it is, it will not be pretty?" Luna suggested.
"Yes! That!" Annabeth said, pointing to Luna while giving Silena a mock glare.
Silena giggled again. Annabeth patted the buttress of the building. "Don't you listen to her, she doesn't know any better," she said.
They all had another laugh. "Seriously, though," Annabeth said after they finished snickering. "This is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, and it's roof is made entirely from wood. It's irreplaceable."
Knowing their friend's obsession with architecture, Silena, Harry, and Luna let Annabeth drag them inside and listened to her rambling explanation on the building's style, it's construction methods, it's history, and anything else that came to her mind.
"I still think it's just an old church," Silena teased over an hour later, strolling along the banks of the Seine after they finally were able to get Annabeth out of the cathedral.
"Humph," Annabeth huffed, theatrically looking away and sticking her nose in the air. "Just be glad you saw it, for all you know it could burn down tomorrow."
Knowing her friend wasn't nearly as upset as she pretended, Silena nudged her with her elbow. "I doubt it, it's been there for over 800 years. It's not going to run away because I called it a church."
Luna giggled. They all stopped and stared at her. "Sorry, I was just imagining the Notre-Dame picking itself up and walking off, complaining about never having been insulted that badly in its life," she explained, having another giggling fit.
Silena and Harry laughed while Annabeth looked highly amused and shook her head.
Something red dashed across the rooftops in Harry's peripheral vision, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "Did you see that?" he asked.
"See what?" Annabeth asked as they all looked at the rooftop Harry was staring at.
"Something red just dashed over that rooftop and disappeared," he explained, pointing to the rooftop in question.
"No, Harry," Annabeth said, sternly.
Harry just nodded. "Too bad," he said. "I wonder what it was."
"No, Harry," Annabeth repeated, even more stern, hands on her hips.
Realizing he had misunderstood her first denial, he turned to face her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"No zany adventures, no horrible quests that have killed hundreds, no half-faded gods. We're just having a nice and quiet city trip in Paris," the Daughter of Athena lectured.
Harry's shoulders dropped.
"I can't believe you," Luna said to Annabeth, crossing her arms and somehow looking just as stern as the Daughter of Athena was. "Harry takes us on a marvelous trip, and rather than being grateful, you lambast him over a few mishaps!"
Annabeth shuffled awkwardly, suddenly not looking very stern. "Did you even bother to thank him?" Luna asked.
"Of course I did!" Annabeth protested. "Right after we asked him to come to Paris!"
Luna's stern visage increased. "So it was, in fact, your idea to come to Paris?" she demanded; somehow she was able to loom over Annabeth despite being younger and therefore smaller.
Annabeth looked at Silena, who seemed to be torn between awkwardness and schadenfreude over seeing her friend get a stern talking-to. "Well… yeah," Annabeth admitted.
Luna turned to Harry. "Did you even want to come to Paris, Harry?" she asked, suddenly gentle and friendly as if she had thrown a switch.
Harry shrugged, appreciating Luna standing up for him but hating being put on the spot. And they had been having such a marvelous time, too! "It was a good idea," he said. "I mean, it made me remember Marduk telling me about a student of his, called Nicky, who lives here, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to visit him."
Luna apparently inherited a reporter's instincts for ferreting out when someone was trying to avoid a subject. "Where did you want to go?" she asked, directly, making him look away.
"I didn't really have any solid plans," he said. "Although I was thinking maybe Egypt or maybe India. Mel introduced me to Mister Anubis and I thought I could visit him because he's great. And I met Lady Lakshmi at my mom's club in Vegas, and she seemed nice so I wouldn't have minded seeing her again."
Annabeth gurgled. Silena was shaking her head, her shoulders vibrating, obviously trying to keep in laughter. Luna looked vindicated. "And I would have gladly accompanied you visiting strange gods in far-away lands," she said with conviction. "Just as I will enjoy meeting Nicky."
Harry smiled widely at her. "Thanks, Luna. I'm rather looking forward to the visit tomorrow."
"It will probably be more fun for you than getting dragged around window-shopping," Luna said with a decisive nod, while glancing to Silena and Annabeth from the corner of her eye, trying to make a point.
She may as well have been hammering it home with a power-hammer. Both demigoddesses shuffled awkwardly.
"Sorry, Harry," Annabeth said, looking at the ground. "I get carried away sometimes."
"That's okay," Harry said, hoping to get the bad stuff in the past and going back to them having fun. So, he hugged her, and dragged Silena in for good measure. "Like I said, I thought Paris was a good idea or I would have said 'no'. So, no hard feelings."
Luna clapped her hands joyfully. "There! That's better!" She laughed and pointed. "Why don't we get some ice cream from that vendor over there? Ice cream makes everything better!"
"Yes, it does," Harry agreed immediately, seeing his chance to get them back to having fun and running with it. "But Silena's paying!"
"Hey, why am I paying?" Silena protested laughingly.
"Because I am the one paying for the room and Annabeth paid for lunch," Harry said with impeccable logic.
"Oh, true," Silena said. For a moment, she was silent, then said as if it were her idea all along, "Come on, ice-cream. My treat!"
As they approached the vendor, they saw the best review imaginable for a street vendor – there was a line waiting next to the cart.
"Harry?" Annabeth asked, softly, as they waited patiently for their turn. It seemed the ice-cream seller was a jovial and friendly sort that liked to engage with his customers.
"Yes?" he answered, somewhat wearily.
"Why did you call Lord Anubis 'mister', but Lady Lakshmi 'Lady'?" the Daughter of Athena asked. "You usually call a god 'miss' or 'mister'."
Harry shrugged. "That's because she's really powerful. I mean, it feels like she's as far above most Greek gods as the Greek gods are above us. Marduk said that's because Hindu gods are being actively worshiped by a billion people or so, while the Greek gods tied themselves to the concepts of Western Civilization – meaning that they're not actively being worshiped."
"Oh," Annabeth answered, sharing a significant look with Silena.
"I mean, she's nice," Harry added, seeing the look. "Just powerful."
"Harry, and I mean this is the nicest possible way," Silena said. "You treat the gods – the Greek ones, I mean – like regular people. A god that intimidates you would probably scare me and Annabeth half to death."
"Oh," Harry said, wondering how he could reply to that.
"Harry wouldn't let anything happen to us," Luna said with absolute conviction. "Besides, he said Lakshmi's nice, so she wouldn't do anything to us anyway. She can't help it that she's powerful, after all."
Harry grinned. Luna was awesome. "Exactly," he added with a wide grin. "Besides, we're in Paris, not in India, so I doubt we'll run into her anyway. Come on, it's our turn next and I want to make a decision on what flavor I want."
Silena, obviously listening in on the conversation the seller was having with the customer in front of them, shook her head. "I don't think we get to make that call," she said. "He builds a unique combination for each customer, it seems."
Harry grinned widely, thinking that this could get interesting. He loved surprises.
When it was their turn, the seller looked at the four of them, and seemed to study them for a moment. He said something in a kind yet supportive tone that went straight over Harry's head, his lack of experience with French playing up big time.
Silena answered on a soft tone, then turned to the others. "He noticed we had a fight, and is going to make us a combination to cheer us up and get us over it," she said.
Harry's smile softened. Trying to cheer people up through food? He could very much relate to this man. As the vendor scooped ice cream, Harry studied him. He was rather stout, wearing a white shirt with blue stripes and a dark blue beret; almost as if he were playing up the angle of the traditional Frenchman. He even had the pencil mustache!
Finally, they ended up with cones piled with various flavors, and Silena cheerfully payed. From the first lick, Harry felt like he had met a kindred spirit, someone who loved food – in this case, ice cream – as much as he did. And the vendor was right, too; the combination of flavors brought hints of home and warmth and friendship.
With his best French pronunciation, he sincerely thanked the man. He couldn't understand a word the vendor was saying in answer, but it seemed to have made his day regardless.
They strolled along the Seine, eating their treats in companionable and friendly silence, and Harry saw they were bunching just that little bit closer together. It felt better than any words of apology ever could.
"I hope that, when I open my restaurant, I can make people as happy as that man does with his ice cream," Harry said wistfully, looking over the waters of the river.
"I'm sure you will, Harry," Silena said, nudging him with the elbow. "I've experienced your food. And I head stories about a certain goddess who doesn't like boys or men – but loves your chocolate cake."
"Artie isn't that bad," Harry said by rote. "But yes, she loves chocolate cakes of all kinds. I think that's how that ice cream man feels when he has happy customers."
"André," Silena said. "That's his name, André. At least, that was the name on the cart."
Harry, Annabeth, and Luna looked at her. "What?" the Daughter of Aphrodite asked. "Did nobody notice?"
Two girls and one boy looked at each other. Finally, it was Harry who answered. "Er… no?"
"Oh," the Daughter of Aphrodite said with a grin. "It was there, in big letters. I guess I was the only one paying attention."
"There was ice cream," Luna said. "One doesn't look around when there is ice cream."
Seeing an excuse and running with it, Harry nodded. "Definitely. Especially when it's really good ice cream."
"I'll accept your excuse," Silena said with a giggle. "So, what's next? We still have a few hours before we have to be back for dinner."
"The Louvre?" Annabeth asked.
"We're mid-afternoon," Harry said. "And I heard the waiting line's huge. By the time we get in, we may need to leave."
"That's only if you're buying tickets there," Annabeth said. "We could buy tickets in advance from one of the tourist information centers and skip the lines."
"At this time of day?" Harry asked. "Wouldn't that mean we only have a short time to look around?"
Annabeth shrugged, unwilling to concede the point.
"We could do it tomorrow," Luna suggested. "Get the tickets in advance today, and we'll go tomorrow morning, and use one of the quieter entrances."
They all looked at her. "There are four entrances, but for some reason, most people go to the central courtyard entrance. If we use a quieter entrance, like Porte des Lions, we should be able to go straight in," the blonde witch explained.
"I vote Luna for Tour Guide," Harry said, deadpan.
"Seconded," Silena immediately said.
"Motion carried," Annabeth stated with a decisive nod. "Luna, how do you know all this?"
"Daddy taught me to do my homework when we're going on location, so I read up on some things," Luna replied, just a tad shyly.
"It's a good thing you did," Annabeth said, throwing an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "Let's go buy tickets for tomorrow, and spend the rest of the day just exploring. I mean, there's loads of things to see."
They all agreed on that course of action, and a couple of hours later they were strolling through les Jardins de Tuilleries – the Tuilleries Gardens. The 16th century gardens were gorgeous, with lime-tree lined alleys and beautiful statues created by the likes of Rodin and Giacometti.
They relaxed next to one of the ponds, just chatting about the day and the things they had seen and done, just passing the time in peace and quiet after a long day of running around.
"I wish we could have cell phones," Annabeth said. "We could ask someone to take a picture. It'd be nice to remember this moment."
Silena nodded. "Too bad monsters can track the signal."
Harry grinned. "Too bad nobody thought to bring a camera," he said. Silena and Annabeth looked at him. His grin widened, and he said condescendingly, "You see, there are these things called 'cameras' that just take pictures."
Silena stuck out her tongue. "Ass," she accused with a giggle.
Luna and Annabeth laughed at the over-the-top offended look Harry gave in response, including dainty hand-to-the-heart and theatrical gasp.
"Why, I never!" he said, turning his head dramatically and sticking his nose in the air.
The three girls giggled. "We could buy a disposable camera from the gift shop, I suppose," Annabeth finally said.
Harry, Silena, and Luna fell silent and looked at her expectantly.
"Fine," the Daughter of Athena said, standing up. "But if my sign language fails me, and I return with some stuffed animal or something, don't blame me. I don't speak French." She sounded like she regretted that, and that she was very much planning on rectifying that at first opportunity.
"Okay," Harry said cheerfully.
"I am so making you carry it," Annabeth threatened as she walked off.
"Okay!" Harry yelled after her, making Silena and Luna laugh.
Ten minutes later, Annabeth returned, with a disposable camera, but without a stuffed animal.
As children were wont to do, they had loads of fun with the camera, pulling silly faces and making 'ears' behind each other's head without the other's knowledge.
"Too bad we didn't get this earlier, it could have been fun to take some pictures of the Notre-Dame," Annabeth said, when the game wore thin and they just lounged on a bench.
"Too bad the camera doesn't have a timer so we can't all be in a picture together," Harry said. "It could make for a nice souvenir."
Silena grabbed the disposable. "So I'll just ask someone!" she chirped, looking around, and making her choice of passers-by and fellow loungers.
Silena's chosen one was a girl a few years older than them, with black hair tied in pigtails and bright blue eyes. She seemed quite friendly and was more than willing to take the picture of them.
Rather than posing stiffly, the quartet ended up hanging off each other while the French girl took their picture.
After Silena thanked her, the four young people slowly started making their way back to the hotel. Right before leaving the Tuilleries, Luna pointed in a direction. "That's where the Porte des Lions entrance to the Louvre is that I told everyone about."
Annabeth sulked slightly as she looked at the disposable camera. "And we wasted most of the pictures already."
"Let's waste the rest!" Silena chirped. "That way, we can enjoy ourselves and focus on the Louvre, rather than spend our time taking pictures."
"Sure," Annabeth agreed with a shrug. "Let's keep a few for tonight."
Harry nodded. "We should include Hestia on some, and who knows what else we will get up to, locked in our hotel room?"
"I don't know what we'll be up to," Luna said, mysterious glint in her eyes. "But you'll have to take responsibility for any unfortunate fallout."
Harry frowned, wondering why he'd be the one responsible, while Annabeth and Silena obviously understood the blonde witch's double entendre and blushed bright red. Noticing this, Harry glanced from one to the other, frown deepening, before looking back at Luna. "You just said something perverted, right?"
Luna giggled. Which caused Silena to start giggling. Which caused Harry's frown to worsen still.
Annabeth, having mercy on his poor soul, leaned in and whispered in his ear. His frowning eyebrows lifted. Then lifted higher in surprise. Then, his mouth opened.
He finally snorted a laugh. "Yeah, you're a pervert," he told Luna, causing the three girls to burst out laughing at the indignity in his tone.
They lapsed into companionable silence, when suddenly something moved from the corner of Harry's eye. He looked over, but saw nothing.
The quick movement drew the attention of Luna; as always she was the observant one.
"Did you see something?" she asked.
Harry glanced at Annabeth. "Not a thing," he said with a grin.
Luna grinned in answer, and nodded quietly. "Of course you didn't," she said teasingly.
They reached the hotel, and made it back to their suite with plenty of time to spare. Hestia looked pleased at their timely return, and smiled at them in a way that made them all glow from the inside out. The homely Goddess of the Hearth was good at non-verbal communication like that.
Harry took a quick shower and changed his clothes, knowing that they'd be going up to the fancy restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.
He was the first one ready, and he recalled those mysterious girl-secrets that caused them to take longer to get ready than boys. Mel hadn't, but then again, Mel was a goddess. Maybe goddesses didn't do the secret rituals mortal girls did.
He didn't mind, honestly. Today had been rather busy so he relished some time to think and just exist without frantic activity.
When the girls finally appeared, Harry had to blink, suddenly realizing that his friends were pretty in a way that he hadn't thought about before. Apparently, Hestia had provided dresses for them that fit quite nicely.
All three of them beamed at him when he told them so, and gave him extra hugs. Which was just fine by him, because one could never receive too many hugs in his opinion.
At the same time, Hestia seemed quietly amused, which confused him.
He shook the confusion off when they all went to dinner in the fancy restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.
Dinner itself was quite interesting for Harry, as he liked to be adventurous and try new foods. Annabeth and Silena seemed more restrained and stuck to things they knew. Luna, on the other hand, simply picked something without knowing what it was.
Hestia simply made a choice based on what she knew to fit her tastes best, as far as Harry could determine.
As Harry recounted the day, while Luna assisted, and more importantly, Annabeth and Silena finally started to relax around the major goddess. Especially after the food arrived and they had something to take their minds off things.
The food was magnificent, at least in Harry's opinion, and they returned to the suite well-sated.
Hestia, as Goddess of the Home, knew all about board games and enticed them into playing a few of them.
Playing board games with Luna was hilarious, the young blonde witch was capable of out-of-the-box thinking that redefined the very concept of a box and thinking outside of it.
When a game of Monopoly descended into betting rent, double-or-nothing, on a hand of poker, Harry knew he was in for a thoroughly entertaining evening.
Turned out he was right, too, and by the time Hestia shooed them all to bed, the clock had passed midnight. Harry was asleep before his head hit the pillow. It had been a long, hard, and above all, enjoyable day.
0000
Harry looked up at the sign posted above the shop's window. Having only rudimentary French at his disposal, he was able to identify the place as a bookshop, just as Marduk had said.
For a moment, he thought he – once again – saw something move from the corner of his eye, but when he looked, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Shrugging it off, he turned back to the bookstore. No books were on display, and Harry reasoned that wasn't unusual if Nicky sold rare and valuable works. Then again, Marduk had seemed to emphasize the 'rare' and 'mystical' tomes the man supposedly sold, so maybe Nicky was really good at forging stuff.
Shrugging, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. A tiny bell tinkled in the back of the store, and Harry took a few moments to simply stand there and acclimatize. The shop reminded him a bit of that creepy wand seller's store, it was darkened and the atmosphere felt like it was filled with magic.
"Oui? Puis-je vous aider?" a woman asked in a thick Parisian accent as she emerged from the back. She didn't sound rude per se, but more resigned to the fact that he was probably lost and needed directions rather than him being an actual customer.
"Bonjour!" Harry said with a wide smile, hoping that his accent wasn't too atrocious. "Parlez-vous Anglais, s'il vous plait?" he then asked, hoping she spoke English so he wouldn't have to pick through his meager knowledge of vocabulary to make himself understood.
"Ah, British by way of America, right?" the woman asked in perfectly flawless English, actually growing a small smile. "Your accent is not bad for a beginner, I actually understood you. How can I help you?"
Harry's smile widened as well, now that it seemed that he'd been able to make himself understood without offending anybody. "Ehm, yes, I was wondering if Nicky was available."
The woman blinked, and stared at him. "Nicky," she said, her lips twitching. "You want to talk to Nicky?"
Harry nodded. "Nicky has the same teacher as me, and he told me that Nicky lived here and I should look him up if I were ever in Paris."
The woman stared at him again, then nodded slowly. "I'll go see if he's in," she said, on a strange tone, before getting up and walking to the back of the store.
"Merci!" Harry said at her back, getting nothing but a wave from the old woman. Now left to his own devices, the young demigod explored the store.
The walls were lined with locked cases containing many thick volumes written on parchment and bound in leather, bearing the most esoteric and unusual symbols he had ever seen. In fact, he didn't recognize a single symbol.
Still, they felt strange to him, almost as if the books were trying too hard to be mystical and mysterious. Athena was a strict task master with a view on what a proper demigod should know that spanned a wide variety of subjects. The fact that he didn't recognize a single symbol was telling.
"Yes?" an old man with white hair said as he came from the back. "You wanted to talk to me?"
Harry looked away from the case and the book he had been studying, and grinned at the newcomer. "Hi!" he chirped up. "Are you Nicky?"
The man's face twitched slightly, and a guffaw came from the back of the store. Harry was wondering what was up. "Nicky?" the old man asked on a deceptively level tone.
Harry nodded. "Marduk told me to come here if I were ever in Paris."
The old man punched the bridge of his nose. "Of course it would be him," the man sighed deeply, then straightened up and approached Harry. "Nicholas Flamel," the alchemist said.
Harry blinked. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, taking Nicholas' hand. "Harry Potter."
"Are you now?" Nicholas asked with a tiny smile. "That would explain a great many things."
"What kind of things?" Harry asked.
"The strange stories I have been hearing," Nicholas answered easily. "Come on through, young Harry. If Marduk has been teaching you, then you and I probably have quite a few stories to tell each other."
As Harry followed, the alchemist asked, "And how is the old man?"
"He's great," Harry replied, honestly. "But I only see him every now and then, when he's not busy. Other than that, he's great."
Nicholas showed Harry through to the back, then up a set of stairs that went up to an apartment. He gave the old woman a filthy look. "Was his face as funny as I imagined?" she asked Harry.
Harry looked ashamed. "I really didn't know," he said. "Marduk said that his student 'Nicky' was a nice guy and I should visit him."
"Now, now, don't let my husband scare you," the woman said on a grandmotherly tone that seemed to come from the pages of Hestia's manual. "I'm Perenelle. You can just call me Penny, if you want."
The alchemist gave her another filthy look. "And you can call him Nicky, of course," she continued blithely.
"It's bad enough when the old man does it," Nicholas complained.
"Stop scaring our young guest, and you're being rude," Perenelle waved his protestations off. "He's a perfectly polite young man, actually taking the effort to learn the language of a country he visits."
Harry wanted to be flattered at her statement, but at the same time, he didn't want to offend Nicholas, either. "Thank you, Penny," he told Perenelle, then turned to Nicholas. "I can keep calling you Nicholas, if you want, Sir."
"Now look what you did," Perenelle told Nicholas. The man looked surprised, obviously wondering what it was he was supposed to have done. Before he could ask, his wife had already turned back to Harry. "You just call him Nicky, if you want, Harry. It's not going to hurt him."
"Fiiiine," Nicholas said, drawing the sound out, before winking at Harry and making him snicker quietly. When Marduk said that Nicky was 'kindly', he wasn't exaggerating.
"So, learning from Marduk, eh?" he asked Harry, returning the subject to before they got stuck on the nature of nicknames. "How is that going for you?"
Harry shrugged. "Marduk keeps telling me I'm making rapid progress, but then he also says it will 'only' take me twenty years to get any good at magic, so I'm wondering about his sense of time."
Nicholas grinned. "It sounds like he hasn't changed at all," he said with a chuckle. "His way works, but it's hard work. I think he used to call me 'sharp', but it still took me decades to be reasonably proficient with his methods."
Harry nodded agreeably. "He also said that I should talk to you about immortality. He said it wasn't hard to figure out when you're skilled, but that most people let go after a few hundred years."
The old alchemist nodded. "I was lucky enough to have met my lovely wife early in life," he said. "Immortality is a lonely business if you have no-one to share it with. We met at magic-school, here in France. I think they call it 'Beauxbatons' these days; why they'd call it 'beautiful sticks' beats me."
Harry grinned. "So you went to magic school, too? I'm going to the British one, and as far as names are concerned, I think 'beautiful sticks' beats 'Hog-warts'."
Nicholas laughed. "True enough," he said. "I do have to warn you, the magic users' way is deceptive. It's ridiculously easy, and requires far less power and mental ability than Marduk's methods. As a downside, it's about as flexible as set concrete. It does exactly what it says on the box, nothing more and nothing less."
"Marduk has been grouching ever since I said I'd be going to Hogwarts," Harry added with a nod. "But my parents went there and I'm curious."
"Plus, you'll get a chance to interact with magic users you own age," Nicholas said. "That is a considerable upside, Harry. Never underestimate fellowship."
The young demigod nodded, thinking of Selena, Annabeth, and Luna. Louis and the twins had been older, and while they had been fun, the age difference was wide. And no matter how much he liked Artie and Zoë, the differences there were even more ridiculous.
"To come back to the topic of immortality," Nicholas said, "when you gain immortality by yourself, it is very lonely; everyone around you dies and you get left behind. I was lucky to have met my lovely Perenelle,"
"Stop sucking up," teased the lovely Perenelle in question.
"And I was able to teach her to reach immortality herself," Nicholas went on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Of course, the rest of the magical community hounded me once they figured out I wasn't aging, so I told them I figured out the Philosopher's Stone." He dissolved into giggling. "They've been trying to figure out how I did it for the last 500 years. It's hilarious."
Harry chuckled. "So you don't tell anyone about Marduk?"
Nicholas shook his head. "The old man values his privacy, and even if I did tell people, they wouldn't be able to find him unless he lets them. Of course, every now and then I do encounter a bright spark in the magical world, and try and teach them myself." he got up and made his way to a book case. "Unfortunately, those born and raised in the magical world don't seem able to grasp what I am trying to explain… so while they end up learning quite a lot from me, none of them ever manage to reach the level I am trying to lift them to."
"That sucks," Harry said.
Nicholas nodded. "It's given me quite a reputation, though. Those that I teach go on to bright futures in the magical community, and it's given me an aura of both mythical superiority, and a teacher of the best and brightest."
"Which is true, it sounds like," Harry said.
Nicholas shrugged. "I'm only ever trying to bring them up to my – our, now – level." he sighed again. "Oh, well. At least the teaching is fun. Others invite me to participate in their research, and if it is interesting enough I'll participate and enjoy that, too."
"Like the uses for Dragon's Blood," Perenelle sniped. "Apparently, it's a good oven cleaner, but my kitchen stank for weeks."
Harry gasped in horror at the very thought. "Oh no!"
"Oh, yes," Perenelle said. "The stench seeped into everything."
Harry's hands were on his cheeks. "How awful!"
"We had to eat out for weeks while it aired out," she said. "Of course, I made that one pay dearly by choosing the fanciest and most expensive places, just to show my immense displeasure," she added with a finger pointed at Nicholas.
"Of course," Harry said with a sage nod. "How awful. I hope the kitchen was alright afterwards?"
"A couple of weeks of airing out worked wonders," Perenelle reassured him. She patted his shoulder. "I'm glad to have someone around who understands. That one was less than apologetic." She pointed at Nicholas again, who did indeed look less than apologetic.
"I love cooking and baking," Harry told her. "I'm hoping to open my own restaurant when I grow up. I can only imagine the horror of my kitchen stinking of dragon's blood for weeks on end."
Perenelle and Harry looked over at Nicholas at the exact same time, their looks practically the same.
Nicholas was hundreds of years old and had learned to accept his mistakes. He grinned and waved. "Yeah, yeah, no more experiments in the kitchen, I know."
"Not unless you want to end up paying for weeks of meals at high-end restaurants, in any case," Perenelle said with a laugh, causing Nicholas to chuckle.
Harry smiled; he wondered if this is what being married was like. For a moment, they lapsed into companionable silence.
"Nick?" Harry asked, suddenly remembering something. "I keep seeing something from the corner of my eyes. Sometimes it's red, other times it's black, and I think I saw something yellow once, too. Do you know if something strange is going on?"
Nicholas smiled, and Harry suddenly could see why the man was sought after as a teacher. "Harry, this is the 'old country'. A lot, if not most, of the cities in Europe trace their history back thousands of years." Idly, the man picked a book of the shelf.
"When something has been around for that long, things start to… happen. Things cling to it; remnants, fragments, memories, imprints of events. Paris, Harry, is ancient. There has been some form of habitation here for thousands of years before it was ever a town; then the Parisii tribe settled it, then the Romans conquered it."
Harry nodded. Nicholas went on. "And, Harry, as most ancient things, Paris has a footprint in reality, so to say. The millions upon millions of people that have called it home left their impression on it."
"Like a Genius Loci?" Harry asked.
"Kind of," Nicholas said with a nod. "I wouldn't say the city itself is consciously aware of itself, but it is enough to attract things on a supernatural level. What I mean is, Harry, that this city is very old, and as such, it attracts all kinds of elements and beings, both good and bad."
"Oh," Harry said.
"So, it is likely that the things you see from the corner of your eyes, are some of those beings," Nicholas said. "Right now, most are benevolent and are actively protecting this city. There's no need for concern on your part, Harry."
"Oh," Harry repeated, relieved to hear that.
The alchemist walked over and handed Harry the book. "You might find this informative," he said. "It's a treatise I wrote on benevolent spirits of the Orient."
"You mean there are Asian spirits in Paris?" Harry asked, taking the book and looking surprised up at Nicholas. Now he realized the man was definitely Marduk's student; he certainly had the same ability to throw Harry's world view upside down.
"I didn't say that," Nicholas said. "I just said that the work could be of interest to you."
Harry gave Nicholas an unimpressed look. In the background, Perenelle laughed. Nicholas himself looked undisturbed.
0000
Harry finished packing his bags and stacked them by the hearth. Tomorrow, he would be fire-traveling to platform Nine and Three-Quarters of King's Cross Station in London. For a moment, and not for the first time, he wondered who the idiot was who came up with that platform number, then shrugged and ignored his own question.
He stepped back and counted his bags, mentally reviewing his checklist to make sure he had everything.
Satisfied with his packing, he stepped away and was about to sink into the couch in front of his huge-screen TV, when a knock came at the door.
Harry blinked and wondered who it could be. Feeling amusement from Helios, he curiously went to pull the front door open.
He blinked at the man that stood there.
James Potter looked rather uncomfortable, with a large red bow tied on his forehead, and a letter in his hand. "Hi Harry," he said, softly, looking more uncomfortable by the minute as he handed the envelope over.
"Hi, Dad," Harry said, surprised at seeing his father there. He carefully picked the envelope open, ignoring how James was shifting left and right, embarrassed to be in public with a giant red bow tied to his head.
It was a letter from Melinoe.
Hey Kiddo – I heard you're leaving for that magic school tomorrow. Good luck, and have fun! There are loads of ghosts there, so maybe your favorite Goddess of Ghosts will drop by sometime.
Harry grinned, that sounded like it could be either a lot of fun or a very bad idea. Or possibly both.
Anyway, I though you could use someone to have a chat about that school with, and this ghostly fellow falls under my domain and looked like he fit the bill. He also said he liked pranks; hence the bow. Enjoy the present, Kiddo!
Keep in mind, though, that he's still a ghost, so he'll fade back to Father's domain at midnight.
Mel
Harry looked up from the message, smiling from ear to ear. Mel was great. Slowly, his smile turned into a grin when he stared at his father for a bit and realized just how ridiculous the man looked. Reaching up, he pulled the string to release the bow.
"Come in, Dad," he said, shyly, before thinking of something in the letter. "What's this about pranks?"
"Thanks, Harry," James said, stepping into the temple. "Let's say Lady Melinoe has a strange sense of humor and leave it at that, shall we?"
"Alright," Harry accepted questioningly.
"Instead, let me tell you all about Hogwarts!" James said, obviously trying to change the subject.
"Sure," the demigod said, accepting the change in topic and developing a wide smile. Thanks, Mel!