When the goddess Tyche changed before his eyes, taking on a form that he had become so familiar with these last few days, Harry's brain locked up. Ever since Miss Hera had given him that picture, ever since he had first laid eyes upon his mother and father, Harry had spent more than a few hours staring at it, memorizing each and ever detail.
He was vaguely aware of a light shining above his head, and he had thrown a routine look at it, before it faded out and he stared again at the now-familiar goddess.
"Mom?" he asked, his voice as small as a little boy. A little boy who had missed his mother terribly.
Tyche, now a redhead with green eyes, gave him a tiny smile. "Yes, Harry."
her voice was familiar, too. He didn't consciously recall having ever heard it, but his subconscious definitely remembered it from his early childhood.
Two emotions raged to the surface as Harry continued to stare at her. The first was elation; he had found his mother! His mother wasn't dead!
The second emotion was dark, and sinister. It was anger. Why had she not come for him? Why had she abandoned him? What was wrong with him that she didn't want him!?
"Mom?" he asked again, his mind a muddled mess of confusing emotions.
"Yes, Harry," Tyche repeated, although her smile was a little apprehensive. "It's me."
Finally realizing that he had to do something, Harry managed to stand up from the stool he was still perched on. The four gods kept quiet, eyes going from the mortal boy to his newly-revealed mother, and back again. None of them wanted to intrude upon this moment.
"Why?" he managed to croak.
She blinked. "Why what?" she asked, confused.
The elation over finding his mother was subsumed into the anger of her vanishing on him, and playing coy about it.
"Why did you abandon me?" he asked, trying to stop his hands from balling into fists.
Tyche sighed, her shoulders dropped, and she looked sad. "Harry," she said, then hesitated. Like any goddess, she was about to repeat the Ancient Laws, about her being unable to take care of him – but in the end, the aspect of herself that had been Harry's mother realized that rules weren't what he needed to hear at that point.
"You're my son, and I love you," she finally said. What he needed was reassurance, so that is what she gave him.
Harry hiccuped. He'd longed to her those words for so long. Something within him broke, and all the anger, the fear, the jumbled mess of emotions shattered and drained away.
He had his arms around her and was crying against her chest before he knew what had happened. Her arms encircled him, and she gently rocked him back and forth. "I'm here, Harry. I'm here," she whispered.
She looked up at a curious sound from the bar. Hermes was glaring at Triton while rubbing his arm. Obviously her father had been about to make some crude remark, and the Messenger of the Seas had stopped him. She gave Triton an honest, grateful smile, and turned her focus back on Harry.
When he finally did calm down, he looked up at her, his eyes red and puffy. "Why didn't you come for me, Mom?"
She smiled faintly. "There are Ancient Laws that prohibit gods from taking care of their own children," she started to explain, but stopped when Harry's face twisted.
"Now I know why Luke is mad at Mister Hermes," he said, softly. "That rule sucks."
"Yes, it does," she agreed. "Also, you have to keep in mind that you're not a regular demigod, Harry," Tyche explained softly. "I aspected myself. You're the son of a mortal woman called Lily Potter, who just so happened to be an aspect of myself. When she died, she rejoined with me. Those memories were… traumatic. She's part of me, just like I was part of her, but I'm not completely 'Lily' any more than she was completely 'me'."
Harry just nodded, relishing in the chance to remain snuggled against his mother.
The four male gods, meanwhile, shared a look, and at a head motion of Bai, made their way to the large table and started a game of poker. This wasn't a conversation for their ears.
"I'm glad that I found you, though," the Goddess of Fortune said. "I'm surprised you're here, but I'm still glad I found you."
"Now I know," Harry whispered. "Now I know who you are."
Tyche smiled faintly, while patting his back. "Yes, Harry, yes, you do. How did you get here, by the way?"
Harry pulled back slightly so he could look her in the face, and smiled softly. "I did some work for Mister Hermes, and he invited me to his last Maths Party. His friends seemed to like having me there, so I got invited to this one by Bai."
Tyche suddenly looked slightly panicked, and glanced at the Eastern God, who appeared firmly focused on his cards. "Harry, you may want to be more polite when in the company of greater gods," she said, faintly.
The boy frowned slightly, and stepped back so her could more easily see her. "Why?" he asked, surprised. "Bai and Thor are awesome, and Mister Triton and Mister Hermes are cool."
Bai laughed and elbowed Thor. "Hear that, Thor? We're awesome!"
Thor laughed in response. "The boy has good taste," he roared.
Hermes grinned. "Yes, he does," the Messenger God said, sharing a smile with Triton. "After all, we're 'cool'."
Harry smiled as well, enjoying the sight of the four gods having fun over a game of cards. He looked back at Tyche, who seemed rather pale.
"It's cool, Mom. We're friends."
"Friends with major deities," Tyche whispered, as if she couldn't believe it.
"They're great," Harry confirmed with a nod of his head. "And they have cool stories!"
"As do you, young Harry!" Thor interjected. "You should tell the one about saving Athena's girl, that's always a nice one to break the ice!"
"That one almost killed me and put me in the infirmary," Harry complained. "I don't think Mom would like to hear that one."
The Goddess of Fortune blinked, snapped out of her shock, and sent Harry a look that he had seen on Hestia's face on occasion. "Yes, I do think that I do need to hear this story."
Harry looked uncomfortable. "Wouldn't you rather hear how I ended up squatting on Mount Olympus? That one's a more funny story."
"Oh, a new story!" Thor said. "Join us, Harry, that is one we haven't heard yet."
"Sure!" Harry chirped. He started going to the table, but then remembered his cookies. Taking the box off the bar counter, he sat it down on the table before easily plumping himself down in a chair next to the bulky Norse god. "Come on, Mom!" he invited, waving to the empty chairs dotted around the table. "I've got cookies! Made them myself this afternoon, too."
The Goddess of Fortune hesitated for a moment, before seating herself next to her father. She took a cookie, before the other gods were able to run off with all of them, and bit into it.
"This is great!" she exclaimed. "You made these yourself?" she asked in confirmation.
Harry nodded. "Hestia's a great teacher!" he replied, biting into a treat of his own.
"She definitely seems so," Tyche agreed hesitatingly.
Thor passed the cards to Harry. The boy took them, and without looking at them, started to shuffle them with an expertise that usually came from professional dealers at a casino. Tyche looked proud of her son's ability, but kept quiet.
Still without looking at them, Harry dealt the cards. "So I was in New York, and I hadn't eaten in a couple of days so I was at the point where you're so hungry you don't feel hungry anymore, you know?" he began his tale.
"One moment," Tyche interrupted. "Why were you in New York, and why were you starving?" she asked. Her tone sounded measured, carefully neutral, kinda-sorta like how Hestia's tone was when he told her about Ares' 'surprise'. It was odd how his mom and Hestia could both show so much menace in speaking softly.
"Ehm…" Harry said, picking up his cards and looking at them. "So I was living with the Dursleys-"
Tyche, who had reluctantly picked up her cards, put them down again. "Who put you with THEM?" she demanded angrily, almost-but-not-quite coming out of her chair before settling back down. "Why weren't you with Sirius?" she added, just as angrily.
Harry flinched, and seemed to shrink in his chair. He hated it when people yelled, even if it wasn't at him. "I don't know who put me with the Dursleys," he said, quietly. "I don't know anyone named Sirius, though. Who's he?" he asked, confused.
"Sirius Black. Your godfather," the goddess snapped.
Harry flinched again, and shuffled his chair a bit closer to Thor. "I have a godfather?" he asked, weakly.
Tyche sighed through her nose, still angry. "Never mind. Go on with your story," she told him.
Harry sighed as well. He didn't like it when people told him what to do at the best of times. His mother ordering him about he liked even less. This wasn't going the way he had fantasized about so often. In his imagination, his mother was like Hestia, kind, supportive, helpful, and while making suggestions and asking him to do things, she would never ever order him about.
"Why don't you know all this?" Harry asked Tyche, suddenly belligerent. "I mean, you're a goddess, you should be able to see all of this, right?"
The Goddess of Fortune winced, anger replaced with something else. She drew a breath, and let it out, then tried again. "Harry," she said, gently, "I am just a minor goddess. Goddess of Fortune. My sight is… limited. If you had walked into a place where my influence is strong, I would have seen you, yes. Like a bookie's office, or a casino, or a stock exchange. I could have seen you in the entirety of Las Vegas, that entire city is practically dedicated to my domain, but anywhere else, I am extremely limited. So no – I didn't see you. I couldn't. And the Ancient Laws prevent me from actually coming down to meet you."
Harry just nodded, accepting that answer.
"So I was living with the Dursleys," he repeated, a bit morosely, keeping an eye on his mother in case she interrupted him again. "They didn't like me much. On a business trip to New York, Uncle Vernon decided he wanted to get rid of me, so he offered 100 dollars for my passport. I took the money. It didn't last long. So I managed to get myself a blanket to sleep under, and until trash day came, I had plenty of food. But then trash day came, and the skips were empty."
"You were eating out of-" Tyche started, again coming halfway out of her chair, looking really, exceedingly, angry.
Harry nodded weakly, and shifted, yet again, a bit closer to Thor. The God of Thunder grinned at the boy and winked at him, and suddenly he felt calmer, more reassured. Thor was on his side, that was good.
"So I hadn't eaten in a few days," Harry repeated himself. "And then I came across the Empire State building. Something inside of me told me to wait. So I waited for an hour or two, you know? And then I felt the urge to go in, and I did."
"There was just one guard, and he was busy with someone, so I got into the waiting area and hid myself behind a magazine. Then the guard took the visitor to the lifts, and something told me to get ready, so I dropped the magazine and paid close attention. The guard went into one of the lifts, did something, and then someone came out of another lift and started arguing with the guard and the visitor – so I jumped up, got into the lift myself, and pushed the big red shiny button that said '600' - that's how I got onto Olympus."
The four major gods laughed, while Tyche shook her head, staring at Harry with a look that was part amusement and part pride.
Harry then told the rest of the story, how he found Helios' abandoned temple, struck a deal with him, and met Hestia.
Tyche shook her head again. "You have the strongest gift of any of my children," she finally said. "All my children are good with cards or games of chance, but what you have, Harry, is an ability to full-on manipulate probability of coming events."
The young boy blinked. "I have siblings?" he asked, focusing on the important part.
Tyche smiled weakly. "Yes and no. You are the son of an aspect of me – while Lily Potter is part of me, I am more than she is. So yes, my other children could be considered your half-siblings in some ways, but not in others."
"Oh," Harry muttered, feeling disappointed.
"Don't worry, Harry," Hermes said with a grin. "With Tyche being my daughter, that means you're my grandson, and I'm sure that my children will be more than happy to play aunt and uncle to you."
Harry shot the God of Thieves a grin. "That could be fun. I've never had real family."
Tyche seemed upset at that, and ready to interject something, when she let out an angry breath and calmed herself.
"And seeing how much Aphrodite liked you, you should know that she's your grandmother – although you may not want to call her that. So her children could be your aunts and uncles, too."
Harry grinned widely. "I so have to tell Silena. She'll laugh. And then she'll make a joke about telling me to clean my room or something."
"Oh? And who's Silena?" Tyche asked, suddenly teasing. "A girlfriend?"
Harry looked at her in confusion, not liking the insinuation that his mother was making. "She's my friend who's a girl, yes," he answered. "She's a daughter of Aphrodite, and loves Pegasi. She's funny, too. Her and Annabeth are good friends, even if they don't want to admit it out loud. Annabeth's a daughter of Athena, by the way," he supplied before his mother could ask. "There are Louis and the Guys, too, but they're older. They're sons of Apollo, and really funny."
Tyche just nodded, looking a bit sad about not knowing anything about her son's life.
"And no love lost for Luke?" Hermes asked, smiling.
"I think Luke and Thalia are too busy with each other," Harry answer, honestly. "I don't think they like me much, despite me pulling them to camp. Maybe they're upset because a kid saved them or something."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Hermes muttered quietly.
"Well, that's been an emotional rollercoaster," Bai interjected. "Let's play a few rounds, for real. It'll take our minds off things and let emotions settle."
The various deities nodded, and gold started appearing. Harry just shrugged, pulled out his bag, and took from it the exact amount of gold, in various denominations and styles, that he had won the last time they played.
"Whoa, Kid, you didn't spend a single coin, did you?" Triton asked, staring at the stacks of gold.
Harry shook his head. "Hestia's taking good care of me, I have food, drink, clothes, and Mister Helios' Temple is nice and warm. Hestia gives me a bit of spending money that I use to buy special foods if I want them, so what would I spend gold on?" he asked, as he picked up the cards that had been dealt by Hermes.
"Toys?" Bai asked.
"Never had any," Harry answered calmly as he studied his cards, discarded two, and accepted two new ones in their place. "Mister Hephaestus gave me a Meccano set for my birthday, I'm still trying to figure out what to make with it."
Tyche looked upset again, the four male gods gave him a rather pitying look, but the game continued.
"So Lady Hestia has been taking care of you ever since?" Tyche asked after they had all placed their bets.
Harry nodded. "She's was also my first teacher, she taught me reading and writing and maths and such. And when I wanted to know more, she found me people who would teach me more. Like Artie. She's great."
Tyche looked at the male gods, most of which looked confused, but Hermes was grinning. "Ask him who Artie is, Tyche," the Messenger God encouraged.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Artie's the Goddess of the Moon, of Hunting, and of girls. Everyone's scared of her, but I don't get why."
"Because she's bloody scary, maybe?" Hermes offered.
Tyche thumped his arm. "No swearing in front of my boy, please Father," she told the Messenger god. She turned to Harry, and went on to say, "I hope you show her the proper respect, Harry. Lady Artemis is a powerful major goddess, I wouldn't want you to get on her wrong side."
The boy put down his cards. "Flush," he declared. "Artie's awesome. She has a few weird things that she gets angry about, but as long as you avoid those, she's awesome. Her Lieutenant's great, too. Miss Zoë taught me a lot of things."
The various male gods groaned at the sight of the cards. Tyche smiled faintly. "Full House. Sorry, Harry."
"Now you know why Tyche doesn't get invited to poker games," Hermes teased as gold shifted hands.
Harry shrugged. "I don't use the gold anyway," he answered as the deck changed hands and Bai started shuffling.
"So how did Father find out about you living on Olympus?" Tyche asked as the cards were being dealt. "From the story so far, you were hiding."
"Oh, I got found out," Harry explained as he picked up his cards.
"That sounds like another fun story to share," Thor encouraged.
Harry focused on his cards, feeling his instincts warn him. He glanced at his mother, then back at his cards. "Fold," he said, ignoring her pout. "So I was upholding my end of the bargain with Mister Helios, and cleaning his temple, when suddenly some guards barged in..." Harry started his story.
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"So that's how I got to stay," Harry finished his tale. "Hestia's awesome."
The male gods were laughing, in Hermes' case again, at the story.
"Did you really accuse Zeus, King of the Greek Gods, of cheating? In front of his wife?" Bai asked, his tone making it clear he was just angling for a repeat and not accusing Harry of anything.
Harry nodded, then crossed his arms. "He had his tongue down that poor nymph's throat. It was disgusting. I don't get why he did it, either. Miss Hera's a lot prettier."
Tyche, in contrast, just stared at her son, in shock, unable to believe that her son had been mouthy with the King of her pantheon. And had survived. And was on first-name basis with a lot of the major gods. She was just a minor goddess, there was nothing she could do to protect him, and by the sound of it, it was too late to try now.
"She's cool, too," Harry went on. "Miss Hera told me that you and dad loved each other," he told his mother, "and that you loved me. And she showed up to my birthday with a picture of you and dad. That was awesome."
Tyche gaped. "Queen Hera. Queen of the Gods. Who hates demigods. Gave you a gift on your birthday," she said, chocking every other word.
"Miss Hera's nice. I don't get why people are so afraid of her," the boy said, resolutely.
"You may… want to be careful… around Hera, Harry," Hermes said. "She can be unpredictable."
Harry shrugged, not really understanding.
"Full House," Tyche announced, raking in more gold.
"You may want to relieve your mother of some of that money, Harry," Thor laughed, patting the boy on the shoulder.
Harry pouted. "Mom's better at it than I am," he answered. "I can feel it when the cards are being dealt."
"Your gift is that strong?" Tyche asked.
"You talked about that before," Harry said. "My gift. What does it mean?"
"I am the Goddess of Fortune," Tyche explained as Thor shuffled and dealt. "That means I am responsible for people having good fortune, and bad fortune. Most of it runs automatically, so I'm not aware of it, but my domain involves me making sure that fortune remains in balance – some people have more good luck, some people have more bad luck, but it averages out." She picked up her cards and studied them.
"So some people have as much bad luck as other people had good luck?" Harry asked, studying his own cards, cocking his head, and discarding one.
"Exactly," Tyche explained. "Most of my children just have a gift to tap into Fortune. Some of them flip a coin and behave based on the results, letting Fortune guide their actions. But you, Harry, you have a gift strong enough to allow you to manipulate events based around the probability of them happening. Like when you managed to sneak onto Olympus. The odds of you doing that successfully were-" she trailed off and thought for a second, "about 1,476,812 to one. And yet, you were able to predict the steps required and execute them at precisely the moment you had to, in order to be successful."
"But I've also had bad luck," Harry said, somewhat getting it. "I mean, I rescued Annabeth and nearly got myself killed because of it."
"And that, young man, is another story I will need to hear," Tyche said, sternly. "However, to answer your question, Fortune needs balance. Good fortune and bad. It averages out between regular mortals, but for you, who are able to manipulate events, it balances out for you, personally."
Harry nodded. "But I was able to get onto Olympus, and that didn't have any bad luck associated with it. I mean, it's been the best thing that ever happened to me. I have a home now, and Hestia's just brilliant."
Tyche sighed, and looked part pissed off, part incredibly sad. "Harry," she said, slowly, "A childhood is a most precious thing, and losing it is awful. Your time with… my aspects's sister… and her oaf of a husband… counts as misfortune."
"Oh," Harry whispered, subdued. "So I have a tank of Good Luck I can tap in to," he finally said, after thinking about it for a second.
"Basically," Tyche said. "Now, what was this about saving Annabeth and getting hurt?"
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"So I pass through the fire at Camp Half-blood, see Hestia, and basically collapse. I woke up in the infirmary the next day with Annabeth there. That's when Hestia gave me her Lasso," Harry said, putting his cards down. "Flush."
"Lady Hestia gave you her Lasso? The Lasso of truth?" Tyche asked in wonder, putting her cards down, face-down.
"I will never tire of hearing that story," Thor said with a laugh, doing the same.
Bai and Triton did the same, and Harry grinned as gold shifted hands. Somehow, he had started getting a 'feel' for his mother's influence, and had started trying out ways to circumvent it.
"Yeah, take her lunch money!" Bai cheered as Harry expertly, with deft fingers, added the gold to his various stacks of currency. Tyche pouted at the Eastern God, but he ignored her.
"Well done, Harry," she told her son. "Now, what else happened in your life? I recall hearing something about a demigod half-brother of mine called Luke?"
Harry in turn pouted at her. "Maybe someone else wants to tell a story? I don't want to spend the entire evening talking about myself."
"But I just found you!" Tyche complained. "Even if it is on an entirely separate divine plane run by a completely different pantheon so it's not – technically – in violation of the Ancient Laws."
"Let's give the boy a chance to recover, shall we?" Thor said, grinning widely and clapping Harry on the nearest shoulder. "I recall this one time my brother Loki and I had a bit too much to drink and decided on borrowing my father's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir..."
Harry grinned. Getting drunk was usually the start to the best of Thor's stories!
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"-and that was why we weren't welcome in Alfheim for a couple of decades, and why I'm not allowed to ride Sleipnir anymore," Thor finished, leaving the table in stitches. "Three of a kind," he added, putting his cards down.
Harry stared at him for a moment, then put his cards down. "I had two pair," he announced.
"Straight," Triton said with a grin, displaying his cards for all to see.
Bai threw his cards down. "I had garbage," he said, waving his hand at the pot as if to say 'begone with you'.
"Two pair, fives," Hermes said as well, dropping his cards. "Which isn't even as good as Harry's two pair of sevens."
They all looked at Tyche, who seemed to be surprised at something. "Two pair of sixes," she finally announced. "Ha-rry?" she sing-songed. "What did you do?"
Harry gave a weak smile. "Beat you?" he said and-or asked. "Mom?" he added in an effort to play on her heart strings.
She burst out laughing. "You walked the edge of probability where you would get a better hand than me, but forgot to check that it would also be the winning hand," she finally said, still giggling.
The other gods burst out laughing as well. "Be careful, Kid, some could consider that cheating," Bai said with a snicker.
Harry pouted as the gods laughed again. Finally, he pointed at his mother. He still couldn't believe it – his mother. Sure, she was different from what he had imagined her to be, but she was his mother.
The sensation just hit him, and it took more than a few seconds to get himself back together. Everyone was staring at him, pointing at Tyche, not saying anything.
"Kid? You okay?" Bai asked.
Harry blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It just hit me that I've found my mom, you know?"
The male gods nodded, suddenly all of them thinking of their own mothers. Tyche's eyes seemed suspiciously moist, but she seemed to be determined not to show emotion.
"Anyway," Harry said, refocusing them all. "If I'm the one cheating, then what is the Goddess of Fortune doing?"
Thor rubbed his chin. "That is a good question."
Bai nodded. "A very good question."
Triton seemed to agree. "I forgot what happened to the last person who came to this table and cheated."
Hermes raised his hands. "She's my daughter, I abstain."
Tyche pouted at him, then paled when the three remaining male gods stared at her.
Harry seemed to realize that his little joke was having unintended consequences, and looked from one god to the next. "Guys, please stop picking on my mom. It's not nice. I just found her, I'd like to keep her for a bit."
The Goddess of Fortune blanched at how easily her son was trying to command three major gods of different pantheons. She opened her mouth to try and apologize, when Bai grinned.
"Sure, Kid. She's the Goddess of Fortune, after all. She can't help it," the Eastern god said with a teasing smile.
"True enough," Thor agreed.
"I think we cursed the last cheater with various plagues and diseases," Triton said, seemingly off in his own world. Suddenly realizing the topic of conversation had shifted, he blinked and refocused. "Did I miss anything?"
Bai, Thor, and Hermes laughed. Harry just smiled, and explained to the Messenger of the Seas what had happened. Tyche just looked pale.
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"That's when the husband she neglected to tell me about came home," Bai said, laughing. "Unfortunately, he was completely mortal so I couldn't use my godly powers to defend myself – needless to say, 'running' was involved."
Thor laughed the loudest of them all, although Hermes and Triton was laughing too. Tyche looked upset at the subject matter of the story, while Harry was frowning, trying to figure out the moralities involved.
"Oh, and three of a kind," the Eastern god added, putting his cards on the table.
Thor, Hermes, and Triton frowned and put their cards down. Harry looked at Tyche. Tyche looked at Harry.
"Straight," Tyche finally said, showing her hand.
Harry grinned. "Flush. Sorry, mom." As he raked in the loot, the male gods gave the Goddess of Fortune some friendly ribbing for losing to her son. She didn't seem to mind all that much, which made Harry suspicious about her throwing the game. He eyed her surreptitiously.
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"- that's when I realized that the comic wasn't about fighting demons, but about demons that ripped the clothes off of poor girls and doing things to them. Hestia suddenly grew to her full adult form, grabs Mister Apollo by his ear with her right hand, takes the comic out of my hand with her left, and says, 'that's for adults, Harry. Now excuse me while I have a chat with my nephew', and drags Mister Apollo out by his ear. He was yelping all the way, it was pretty funny," Harry told. "Then Artie gets up, turns to adult form, and says she would like a chat with her brother as well."
The gods laughed, while Tyche had that look again, that look that said she didn't know whether to laugh or be upset.
"I don't know whether to be more scared of Aunt Hestia or of Artemis," Hermes said, still chuckling.
"That ties in to what happened the next day," Harry said with a grin. "So I see Mister Apollo the next day, and we have this talk about what happened. Apparently, he misjudged my puberty or something, he said I'd 'get' it when I'm a little older. Anyway, he said Artie was really upset with him, but wounds heal. Hestia was disappointed in him, and that hurt more."
The gods laughed again, and even Tyche seemed to be smiling now. "I agree with Mister Apollo," Harry added, still smiling faintly. "Hestia's the bestest, kindest, sweetest goddess ever. I don't want her disappointed in me either."
The various gods grinned, while Tyche pouted. "What about your dear old mom?" the Goddess of Fortune asked.
Harry blinked and looked at her. He opened his mouth to snap a retort, then swallowed it. He knew that saying I didn't even know you before today wouldn't go over well.
His face twisted slightly, and he was about to snap a different answer, but swallowed that, too. Hestia's taken better care of me than you ever did wouldn't go over well, either.
Screw this, he needed a break before he said something he'd regret.
Stiffly, he stood up. "Bai? Could you tell me where the restroom is?"
Bai's face softened for a moment. "Sure Kid," he said, walking Harry to the door.
Right outside that door, two impressive young people in military uniform seemed to standing guard. One was female, one was male, but they both appeared be half-european.
"Number 99," he said to the girl. "Show Harry the bathroom, will you?"
"Sure thing, Dad," the girl said. "This way, Harry."
He gave Bai a shaky sort of smile, and tried to give his guide a friendly smile. It may not have come out right.
As they walked through the hall, the girl glanced at him. "Are you alright?" she asked. "You look a little pale."
Harry felt his insides clench. "I just found out that my mom didn't die when I was one."
"That's good, right?" the girl offered.
"She still vanished, and my dad did die."
"Ouch."
"She also didn't keep tabs on me, didn't even let me know she was still alive until I found out just now."
"Double ouch."
"And now she wants to act like my mother, despite her not being around since I was one. And wants me to choose her over the kind, sweet, gentle goddess that has been taking care of me."
"Triple ouch," the girl said. "I can see why you're upset."
Harry nodded shakily, then looked up at his guide. "Are you really called 99?"
The girl smothered a laugh. "Dad is very yang. He has hundreds of wives, and many hundreds of children. He's immortal, we're not, so we keep dying on him – so he just gives us a number, he claims that it makes it less painful when we do die. Don't let that fool you, though – he loves every one of us, and he's still incredibly upset if something happens to us. So, whatever makes the old man feel better, right?"
Harry nodded, never having though about immortality in that way. It started to sound like a curse.
"My name's Sophie, if you prefer," '99' said. "You could probably tell, Dave and I have an American mom. Which is probably why he chose us to play guard tonight, considering our English is a lot better than most of dad's other children."
Harry smiled faintly. That sounded like something Bai would do. "I really like your dad. He's awesome."
Sophie grinned. "Learning you're a half Shen is a shock, but I have to admit that Dad does really care for all of us. And I agree with you, he's pretty fun to be around and to hang out with. If you can catch him – he's pretty busy."
"Half Shen?" Harry asked, not knowing the term.
"Dad's a Shen, a 'god', as you'd say. My other's mortal, so I'm half Shen," Sophie explained.
"A demigod," Harry said with a nod.
"In your terms, yes," the girl said. "Here's the bathroom. Take your time, I'll be right here to guide you back."
"Thanks, Sophie," Harry muttered and fled inside.
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"What was that about?" Tyche wondered out loud when Bai returned.
The four men glanced at each other. Finally, Triton turned to the Goddess of Fortune. "Tyche, Harry has pretty much been raised by Hestia this last year and a half. He probably sees her more as his mother than you," he stated, blandly.
Tyche looked like she was swallowing an angry sort of retort, unwilling to simply shout at a major god.
"He also doesn't do well with authority," Hermes added, putting a gentle hand on his daughter's arm. "Aunt Hestia was the first to show him kindness, and he's incredibly attached to her. You can't blame him; his life before he met her is one clusterfuck after another."
Tyche's eyes glowed. "Yes, and I will be having a discussion with various persons regarding that."
"And that's another thing," the God of Messengers went on. "You pretty much admitted to leaving him in the UK without checking in on him. Leaving him to his horrible life in the UK."
"But…!" the goddess started to complain. Hermes held up a hand.
"I know you're limited. We all know our limits. But Harry is a nine-year-old mortal. All he knows is that his life got turned around when Aunt Hestia started helping him, and he just found out that his mother didn't – or couldn't – check in on him until he was right in front of her nose. A mother that now basically asked him to choose her over the goddess that has been, for all intents and purposes, his mother for the last 18 months."
"It would be hard for anyone to accept," Thor said, about as gently as the boisterous God of Thunder ever could be. "You can't blame the lad for getting upset."
Tyche seemed to shrink in on herself. "I still remember holding him, before my aspect was killed," she muttered. "It's hard to realize that he doesn't remember me, doesn't know me, and doesn't even need me."
"Go carefully," Triton counseled. "Get to know the lad. He's honest, and caring. He's doing his best to emulate Hestia in all aspects – he'll forgive you. It may take him a while, those wounds are deep and heal hard."
"True," Hermes added. "I don't think I've ever seen a mortal do his best to keep up with Aunt Hestia as much as Harry does." He smiled faintly. "I don't think I've ever seen Aunt Hestia take to a mortal like she has to Harry, either."
"I'm grateful that Lady Hestia took care of him," Tyche whispered. "But he's my son, still."
Hermes smiled faintly. "You'll have to be happy with taking second or third place in Harry's life, I'm afraid," he said. "As far as he's concerned, Aunt Hestia's the best goddess ever, period. He's even said so in front of the entire Olympian council. Better, he's pretty much said to Artemis' face that she's his second favorite goddess."
Tyche blanched slightly. "And Lady Artemis did not strike him down for the insult?" she wondered. "I mean… telling a major goddess that she's second best? Really?"
Hermes laughed. "The boy is so open and honest that there's no subterfuge. If he says Artemis is his second favorite goddess, then he means that she's his second favorite. Artemis basically confirmed that, if ever she wanted to come in second, it would be after Aunt Hestia and that was that."
"I have a lot to learn about my son", Tyche whispered, sadly.
"And you will," Triton confirmed. "Just give the boy some time, and accept the fact that, for now, he looks to Hestia for guidance and assistance. I would counsel that you try and become his friend first, rather than try and usurp Hestia's place in his heart."
"And fail," Bai said, bluntly. When the other gods looked at him with disapproval, he huffed. "What? It's the truth. Every other words from his mouth is 'Hestia this' or 'Hestia that'. If he were older, I'd say he's in love with her. As it is now? I think you're all right and that he sees her as a mother figure – a mother figure he doesn't remember having."
Tyche flinched.
"Bai, blunt much?" Thor asked, although his lips tugged into a smile showing that he didn't care all that much.
Bai shrugged. "I like the kid, and it's the truth. The sooner we can get it through her skull, the better. I didn't like the way the kid looked earlier. Hopefully 99 can cheer him up a bit, she's good at that."
The male gods sighed, with Triton shaking his head.
"You know you have too many kids when you start giving them numbers," Thor teased. Bai made a rude hand-motion, which broke some of the tension and caused laughs at the table.
Harry, hesitatingly, opened the door and slipped inside. Seeing them laughing relaxed him, and with a relived smile he approached the table.
"Sorry about that," he offered the assorted deities. He looked at Bai, and added, "Sophie was nice to talk to. Thanks, Bai."
The Eastern god shot the others a superior look, then grinned at Harry. "Liked 99, did you? Be careful, boy – I'm protective over my brats."
Harry, who was about to slip back into his seat next to Thor, looked at Bai for a moment. "Pervert," he accused.
Tyche turned deathly pale, and already had her mouth open to shout a desperate apology to try and spare her son the wrath of a powerful deity, when Bai grinned.
"Guilty," he announced without shame. "I'm yang. It's my nature. Can't help it, so I may as well own it."
Harry laughed and sat down.
Thor slapped the deck in front of Harry. "Deal," he told the boy with a grin.
"Sure," Harry agreed with a grin, fingers already cutting the deck and starting a riffle. "Anyway, something else happened on my birthday," he said when his fingers started dealing out cards. "I don't know if it was Mister Dionysus, but I suspect it was. He seemed… happy… at my party."
"Oh? What happened?" Thor asked, even as Bai, Hermes, and Triton leaned in while Tyche sighed in resignation.
"For some reason, I'm able to perfectly know the details of any alcoholic beverage with one sip," the boy said as he looked at his cards.
Thor and Hermes laughed, Triton grinned, and Tyche rubbed her forehead. Bai, on the other hand, got up and walked to the bar. "That needs testing," he declared, returning with a glass filled with half a finger of slightly clear liquid that had a yellowish shine to it.
"Identify," he told Harry with a challenging grin.
"My Lord, please!" Tyche said.
"It's just one drink, mom," Harry countered, taking a sniff, before shrugging and draining the liquor in one gulp. He looked at Bai, who seemed impressed that Harry wasn't choking. "It's Zhuyeqing jiu, from Shanxi province in China," he told the god.
"That's one hell of an ability, Kid," Bai said, sounding impressed.
"I think it was Mister Dionysus having a laugh, but I figure it'll be a great party trick one day when people stop complaining about me drinking," he replied with a cheeky grin towards his mother. A mother who was now glaring at him.
"Oh, calm down, Tyche," Hermes said, patting her arm. "It's just one drink."
"He's too young," she stated coolly.
Harry remained quiet. His first instinct was to throw Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon under the bus, but he reconsidered it when he recalled how his mother had the tendency to yell.
Focusing back on the game, the boy instead asked if anyone wanted to change any cards. Better play a few rounds and let tempers cool.
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"So Xuan Wu and I were standing victorious, surrounded by fallen bodies, blood soaking the ground to the point we're ankle-deep in bloody mud, when I look at him and say 'when the minister asks 'if anyone objects, come forth now', that's part of the ritual, not an invitation'," Bai said, laughing.
The entire table erupted in laughter.
"Full House," Harry announced. The various gods grumbled good-naturedly. He eyed his mother, who also threw down her cards. Was she throwing the game? He couldn't be sure, his instincts didn't seem to work on her. He kept quiet.
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"So this group of mortal troublemakers start making a nuisance of themselves on Lake Tritonis, my home," Triton "How they got their vessel from the sea to my lake I'll never know, but they made such a nuisance of themselves that I open passage for them and… er… gently… assist them back to the sea."
"That was surprisingly nice of you," Thor teased with a grin.
"I later found out that those mortal troublemakers were a band of merry men following a chap called 'Jason' on his quest for the gulden Fleece," Triton said, causing Harry, Tyche, and Hermes, who recognized the sale of Jason and the Argonauts, to burst into laughter. After explaining the famous voyage to Thor and Bai, the two foreign gods laughed as well.
"Anyway, three of a kind," Triton announced, putting his card down.
Thor threw his cards down, as did Hermes. "Straight!" Bai announced happily.
Harry waited and eyed his mother. He was going to let her drop her cards first. Tyche grinned at her son. "Full House."
The boy studied her cards; a Full House of three 4s and two 5s. He put his own cards down. "Full house, 9s and 10s," he announced with a grin, shoveling in his loot.
"Better luck than the Goddess of Fortune," Bai said with admiration.
With a grin at the goddess in question, Hermes said, "better be careful or your son is going to take your place, Tyche."
She took the ribbing with good nature, and winked at Harry. "My son is merely following in his mother's footsteps, that's all," she announced.
"Cheating poor, unsuspecting gods out of their lunch money?" Thor asked with a laugh.
"Poor unsuspecting gods?" Harry asked, theatrically looking left and right. "Where? All I can see is a bunch of gods that knew exactly who they're playing cards with?"
Tyche snorted and tried to act as if she didn't laugh. Hermes was the first to break and laughed heartily. While Triton just smiled widely, Bai and Thor laughed along with the Messenger God.
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"So Miss Circe said she couldn't train me in magic," Harry said. "Hestia thinks that she may have been using this enchantment as an excuse, but who knows?" He looked at his mother, and asked, "just what enchantment did you put on me, mom? It impressed both the Goddess of Magic and her daughter, apparently."
Tyche smiled somewhat crookedly. "Well, Harry… you have to understand… even if she was my mortal, aspected, form, Lily did have access to some of my abilities. Let's say that even a mildly talented amateur can produce a legend with a bit of luck and leave it at that?"
Harry just stared at her. "So you lucked into an enchantment that locks my magic and kept monsters from finding me?"
Tyche frowned. "No," she said. "I lucked, so to speak, into an enchantment that used your magic to power a protection on the same level as being dunked in the river Styx, except there was no weak spot. Other than using up your magic, that is. And it being limited in time before it would become too unstable and break."
"Huh," Harry said. "Miss Circe did say something messed with it, making it really fragile. Apparently, it's now keeping monsters from finding me, but it no longer makes me invulnerable."
Tyche growled something low in her throat. It sounded like 'dumb door', but Harry wasn't sure as she growled really low.
She drew a breath and seemed to compose herself.
"Tyche?" Hermes asked.
The goddess blinked and looked at her father. "I think I have something I need to take care of," she said, giving a rather forced smile to the other gods. "Please excuse me, My Lords, but I think I have something that I need to take care of right now."
Bai grinned, recognizing the look on her face. "Sure," he said with a waving hand motion. "Gods are always busy, aren't they?"
"Indeed, My Lord," Tyche said, still smiling something crookedly. She rounded the table, grabbed Harry, and put a kiss on his forehead. "Don't stay up too late, harry," she told him.
"Ew! Mom!" the boy screamed. "That's disgusting!"
She just laughed, and vanished.
"I wonder what that was about," he said, looking at the place his mother had vanished from.
"Harry, take it from someone older and wiser," Hermes said. "Women are nuts."
Bai and Thor exploded in laughter, while Triton gave Hermes a stare. "You can't tell him that, Hermes!" he protested.
"Truth hurts," Hermes said sanctimoniously, nose in the air.
The Messenger of the Seas sighed and looked at the young boy. "Harry, don't believe him. Women aren't nuts. They're just different from men, that's all. And while Hermes may have meant it as a joke, women don't find it at all funny." The god gave Hermes another look, before turning back to Harry. "In fact, some women will get upset if you say that."
Harry nodded slowly. "Alright, Mister Triton. Thanks for explaining that."
"Grow a funny bone, Triton," Hermes complaining with a grin.
Triton shot back, equally amused, "stop trying to corrupt our young guest. Hestia won't appreciate it."
Hermes blanched slightly. "I… hadn't thought of that," he admitted.
They all had a good laugh at the God of Thieves' reaction.
Still somewhat laughing at the pouting God of Thieves, Triton focused on Harry. "In any case, are you alright, Harry? That revelation must have come as quite the shock."
"Yes. No. Maybe?" Harry said, starting to nod, then shook his head, and finally shrugged.
Thor put one of his bag hands on Harry's shoulder. "Perhaps you should go home and take some time to sort things out," he suggested.
Harry looked dubious about that suggestion. "But I like playing with you guys," he protested.
Bai grinned. "We'll be around, Kid. Don't worry."
"We didn't even get to play Mahjong," he muttered.
Bai laughed. "I knew you'd like that. Real men play with tiles, right Harry?"
"You should've said that when Tyche was here. Her reaction would be hilarious," Hermes said, grinning.
"Please don't pick on my mom," Harry muttered.
"She's my daughter, I'll pick on her whenever I like," Hermes declared, still grinning.
Harry just nodded for a moment, then decided that he really should go home. He needed a Hestia Hug. "I should go home," he finally said. "Sorry about hijacking the game like that."
"Meh, it's not the first time personal business followed someone to the table," Thor said, waving it off. "Besides, now we know where your incredible luck is coming from."
"We'll need to keep an eye on you next time," Bai said with a mock-threatening shake of his fist. "Or you'll take all our lunch money. Again."
Harry laughed softly. "Thanks, guys. You're all awesome."
"We know," Hermes said, preening, causing the rest to have a good chuckle.
Harry waved his goodbyes, and fire-raveled back to Helios' Temple, where he immediately fell onto the nearest couch.
He desperately needed a hug from his all-time favorite goddess, and he wondered whether he should call her or not.
She was, after all, a goddess, and she had duties, and calling her for something so minor… it felt like a waste of her time, and he didn't want her angry with him for disturbing her when it wasn't really important.
He buried his face in his hands. He still wanted that Hestia Hug.
The fire flashed gently, and he felt the warmth of it wash over him.
"You came home early," Hestia said, sounding slightly worried. "And I find you with her head in your hands. What happened?"
Harry didn't – couldn't – answer; his heart clenched with the myriad of emotions that he had kept bottled up, paralyzing his throat. Instead, he made a desperate grab for Hestia, and clung to her for dear life.
"Dear oh dear," Hestia whispered, hugging him back. "It will be alright, Harry," she said softly as she held him. "I'm here. Everything will be fine."
He still couldn't speak, and just clenched harder at her warm, supportive, safe presence… and started to sob. Now that he had started, he seemingly couldn't stop, tears continuously leaking from his eyes into Hestia's supportive shoulder.
"Oh dear," Hestia whispered again, continuing to simply hold him. "I'm here, Harry. I'm here," she said again. She didn't stop him or interrupt him, and just continued to support him and allow him to drain the emotions that were plaguing him.
Finally, finally, he felt like he could compose himself. "Sorry," he whispered, face still buried in her shoulder.
"Whatever for?" Hestia asked, gently, rubbing circles on his back.
"For… you know," he said, very softly. "Crying on your shoulder," he finished, even softer.
"Never apologize for needing comfort, Harry," the Goddess of the Home answered. "You obviously had something happen," she added, hoping that he would be able and willing to speak of whatever happened.
"I found out that Tyche's my mom," he whispered. "And I called her mom and she let me, but I don't feel it, not really, because I don't know her, not really, and she kept trying to give me orders and tried to make me choose her over you and it's all such a mess," he rambled in one breath.
Hestia just hugged him a little tighter. "No wonder you're upset," she said, softly, gently. "A demigod meeting their godly parent for the first time can be quite traumatic, especially in a case such as yours," she offered.
Harry nodded. "She didn't even know I wasn't in Britain, and stuff. She never even checked. Even if she said that she couldn't."
"It's possible that she couldn't," Hestia offered. "As Goddess of Fortune, her sight is tied to places that involve chance, a racetrack, a betting office, a casino."
"That's what she said," Harry muttered. "But if she's my mom, why didn't she check anyway? She could have just walked down the street!"
Hestia sighed. "Tyche is a minor goddess, Harry. Her powers are limited. Yes, she could have taken mortal form and walked down the street – but without knowing which street to walk down, she would have had a hard time finding you."
Harry sighed. "I guess," he said, somewhat morosely. "I just… she's my mom, but I didn't really feel like she's my mom. And she kept trying to act like my mom, but it just annoyed me."
Hestia hugged him a little tighter. "You don't know Tyche," she said. "She, or the aspect of her, rather, disappeared from your life when you were one. You don't know her, and she doesn't know you. Give her a chance to get to know you, Harry. You may find that you like her."
"But she wanted me to choose her over you. Sure, it was like a joke, but I just got so mad over it, you know? You've been taking care of me for the last year and a half. You're everything I ever hoped for when I was alone in my cupboard, and Tyche just wanted me to choose her over you."
"Oh, Harry," the Goddess of the Home whispered. "She's your mother. Please, give her a chance to get to know you, and allow yourself the chance to get to know her. Who knows, maybe you will like her more after a while."
"I doubt it," Harry refused, finally slipping out of her arms and looking at Hestia rather than at her shoulder. "I'll never choose anyone over you. You're the best goddess ever."
The humble Goddess of the Hearth gave a small shake of her head. "You're still saying that?"
Harry crossed his arms. "I'll keep saying it for as long as it's the truth," he stated, calmly.
Hestia just offered him a warm smile. "Remember what I said, though, Harry. Please, give Tyche a chance to get to know you. It's not going to come overnight, but get to know each other. As hard as it sounds, your mother is a part of her, and you may find that you like her."
The boy just nodded. While he was upset with her, he didn't want to lose her either, so giving her another chance as Hestia asked wasn't a hardship. He hoped that, like Hestia said, he'd learn to like her better. He wanted to.
Hestia patted his back. "Come on, let's bake some cookies. That will make you feel better."
Harry grinned tremulously at her. "Baking cookies with you always does," he answered.
A/N: Please Support Me On patreon.com/The_Alchemyst