19

chapter 19 Harry felt a headache stab through his consciousness, drawing him from the arms of Morpheus and thrusting him into the waking world. A groan escaped his lips, then he blinked his eyes open, immediately groaning again and squinting against the sunlight that seemed to sear his retinas. Slowly, he looked around, finding himself in the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood, trying to recall how he had come to be there. One by one, the memories filtered back; Arachne, the giant statue, the fire-travel that went wrong, his desperate bid for Hestia to help him. "Good afternoon, Harry," Hestia said, making him groan once more as he hurriedly looked around to find her seated in a chair next to his head. "Hi Hestia," he managed, voice breaking through disuse. "H-how long was I out?" The Goddess of the Home smiled faintly. "About a day," she answered softly, standing up and walking to the foot of his bed, making it easier for him to see her. For some reason, this action made him nervous. Something told him this wasn't going to be a short conversation. "I am," she finally said, "both extremely proud and rather annoyed." Harry blinked, thought for a moment, and was about to reply when Hestia beat him to it. "You were able to save Arachne," the kind goddess said. "You were able to capture your enemy without hurting her, and then you were able to see beyond her external looks. You were able to give respect and kindness to one who had been cursed not to receive any. And, in the end, you showed her compassion, restoring her humanity. I am extremely proud of those actions." Harry smiled widely. "Thanks, Hestia!" The goddess looked at him, yet did not smile. "Tell me, Harry," she finally said, after his smiled turned brittle and he started feeling uncomfortable. "What made you think it was a good idea to drag a giant statue, imbued with divine power, through the fire?" The boy looked down. "I don't know," he whispered. "I thought it would work." "You thought it would work," Hestia repeated. "Harry, you nearly killed yourself." He looked up, sharply, aghast. Before he could voice a response, Hestia pushed on. "If I hadn't given you a boost, you would have drained yourself of energy, killing yourself. You would have been lost to the fire, your soul forever part of it. You would not even have made it to the underworld. Your stunt was not just foolish. It was suicidal." Harry's head bent down, and he stared at his hands, which toyed uselessly with the covers. "Sorry, Hestia." "You were lucky that I was able to answer your prayer right when you prayed," the Goddess of the Hearth declared. "Had I been occupied, had I been distracted, had I been doing anything that would have caused me to delay answering, you would not have made it." Harry's shoulders slumped further. "Sorry, Hestia." "And even then, I nearly did not make it in time," Hestia pressed on. "I was forced to give you a boost to get you through in one piece. This may have unintended consequences down the line; the boon I gave you had exhausted all of its own energies, and had nearly exhausted your very life's energies as well. I had to supply it with my own. I'll say it again. This may have unintended results in the future." "Sorry Hestia," Harry whispered again, feeling miserable. The last thing he ever wanted to do was disappoint Hestia, and it sounded like he had done so in a major way. The goddess sighed, and walked around the bed. She patted his shoulder. "What's done is done," she said. "We'll not waste any more words on this. Just remember this for next time; fire travel is suitable for people, and small objects. Not for giant statues." He nodded miserably. "I will, Hestia," he said softly. He swallowed, then awkwardly, he asked, "How do I know if something's too big to take through the fire?" Hestia spared him a look. "A good rule of thumb to remember is, if you can't carry something, you shouldn't move it through the fire." The young boy nodded softly, then seemed to think of something. "But I can move people I can't carry?" The Goddess of the Hearth shook her head. "People move under their own power. Inanimate objects need to be carried." "Oh," Harry answered, feeling remarkably stupid for not realizing that himself. "Okay." His shoulders slumped again, and he stared at his hands. He hadn't felt this miserable in a long time. Hestia sighed softly, leaned in, and gave him a hug. "There, there, Harry. No real harm was done this time. I was able to get to you in time, and you were able to bring the Athena Parthenos here to Camp Half-Blood. Already, it's powers have put an added protective barrier around the camp, making the demigods safer here than they have ever been." He looked up at her, softly, hesitatingly. She smiled at him. "And, as I said, you did extremely well with Arachne. I am very proud of you for that." His smile was tentative, but grew to be more genuine when Hestia kept smiling at him. "I believe that Athena will want to talk with you and your party as well. It is her statue, after all, and it has been missing for nearly two thousand years." "Okay, Hestia," he whispered softly. She patted his shoulder affectionately. "You may also want to read your cards. It seems that your chocolate cakes were well-received by the deities you sent them to." Hestia smiled mischievously. "I think you will especially like the card Hera sent you," she confided conspiratorially. "I should let the others know you're awake," she said and turned to leave. "Thanks, Hestia. For helping me, I mean," Harry said. She turned back, and patted his shoulder again. "Of course I will help you when I am able," she answered. "Try not to make a habit of it, however. Gods are discouraged from assisting on quests, and this was definitely a quest. Even if it was one you lucked your way into." "Is that why I'm in the infirmary, and not at home?" Harry asked. The Goddess of the Hearth nodded. "I could not have asked Apollo to heal you as you were on a quest. On a side note, your friend Louis seemed to enjoy popping your dislocated shoulder back into place." Harry grinned. "I'm sure he did." Hestia gave a short laugh. "I will let the others know you're up," she said, and turned once more. This time, he let her go, still feeling bad about having disappointed her. Even if he made her proud, he also nearly killed himself, it seems. Left by himself, he looked at the nightstand, a nightstand which held various 'thank you' cards from the gods he had sent a cake to for helping his mother. He took the first one that came to hand. It was a soft blue, and the front had an animated school of fish that darted playfully back and forth. It was relaxing, like looking at an aquarium, and Harry found himself staring at it for longer than would be considered normal. Grinning, he opened the card up. Inside, in neat, extremely elaborate, hand-written, Ancient Greek, was a nice thank you message from Poseidon. "Harry. Thank you for the lovely cake, Amphitrite and I enjoyed it very much. You're welcome for the help, even if the outcome was regrettable." It was signed, Poseidon, God of the Sea, Storms, Earthquakes, Droughts, Floods, and Horses King of Atlantis The Earthshaker The Stormbringer Father of Horses Harry had a small laugh about that, he had the impression Mister Poseidon had signed it that way just to amuse him. The next card was pink, and he could guess who it came from. It smelled really nice, and while its front wasn't animated, it held a very nice 'thank you' in large, colorful letters. Aphrodite, his grandmother, had written a very nice thank you and you're welcome message, somewhat similar to Mister Poseidon's, and had simply signed it 'your grandmother'. He swallowed, closed the card, and held it to his chest. Miss Aphrodite acknowledged him as her grandson. It felt… warm. Smiling, he finally put the card back and took the next one. The next card was off-white, and its front was animated, various mathematical symbols forming equations that, if he squinted slightly, spelled out 'thank you'. He grinned, that was something so typically Miss Athena. Her message was short, as he had expected from the logical goddess, and thanked him for the lovely cake, and reiterated that she only said what she did because it was in the right pursuit of justice. He still smiled, because it was a lovely card and it showed that Miss Athena at least cared enough to write a nice thank-you card. The next card was decorated with an animated peacock, displaying its gorgeous tail and strutting about. He grinned and watched the animated bird prance about for a bit; it really was exceedingly lovely. "Harry, you're most welcome. Your lovely cake was delicious, and I would urge you to keep baking as you have genuine talent. I refused to share my cake with my husband, but I did take the time and effort to describe how utterly delicious it was to him, just to ease his pain. He has been pouting ever since." The card was simply signed Hera, and Harry got a good chuckle out of her refusing to share with Mister Zeus. He looked at the peacock again for a few moments, then placed the card back on his nightstand, before gently taking the next one. This card was simple, showing one of Artie's neat silver bows (which she still refused to share with him!), fully drawn and with an arrow nocked. "Harry, this cake was even better than the last one. I've said it before, and I'll say it again – I should help you more often if this is the reward for my assistance. Zoë expressed her delight at the cake as well – you may want to watch out for jealous pouting from my Hunters next time you visit. We couldn't share." The message was signed 'Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt' and 'Zoë Nightshade, Lieutenant of the Hunters'. He grinned; Miss Zoë liked his chocolate cake almost as much as Artie did. The last card held the symbol of Hermes Express, animated to rotate along its length axis. "Harry, I can see where you spent time with Aunt Hestia – you have genuine talent. I'm always happy to help family, either above or under the table, and getting this marvelous cake out of it was even better." It was signed 'Hermes, who still doesn't like 'grandfather',' which made Harry laugh softly, before putting the card back. It seemed every one of his recipients had taken the time to offer a thank you card, which made him feel happy, especially after Hestia's disappointment in him. There wasn't a card from Mister Dionysus, but Harry hadn't really expected the surly god to write him one. He could understand the god's situation and disposition a lot better now; if Zeus ever made him stay away from Hestia… Harry drew a breath to calm himself. The trip had been so eventful that he hadn't thought about the situation with his mother, but now that he had nothing to do but think, it all came flooding back. As he struggled to sort out his thoughts and his memories, the door to the infirmary opened, drawing his attention and breaking him out of his dark thoughts. His entire band of quest-mates trooped in, even Billy was there. He smiled, happy to see them. "Hi everyone!" "Harry!" Silena beat everyone to him, and grappled him into a hug, sending a shot of discomfort through him, making him wince. "Sorry," she apologized at feeling him tense. "I guess that was my dislocated shoulder," Harry explained. Louis grinned, patting Harry on his other shoulder. "It was my extreme pleasure to pop it back in, Harry," the son of Apollo confided with a grin. "After ghosts, collapsing rooms, armies of spiders, a bridge woven from party string, and a giant spider-woman, believe me, it was my pleasure." Harry grinned up at him. "It was fun, wasn't it?" Annabeth gave him a less forceful hug, while Silena grinned and nodded. "It was awesome!" the daughter of Aphrodite gushed with a small bounce. Annabeth agreed, nodding intensely. "And we got my mom's statue back! It's been missing for 2000 years!" "That should make her happy," one of the Guys said, rubbing Harry's already messy bed-hair, making it worse and causing him to pout. "Having the favor of a goddess like Athena is always good, I reckon." "Miss Athena hasn't said anything yet?" Harry asked, remembering how Hestia had once said that the goddess in question had problems saying 'thank you', the card next to his bed notwithstanding. "I'm sure Mom is waiting for you to wake up," Annabeth said, loyally sticking up for her mother. Harry grinned at her while greeting the second Guy. "Honestly, Harry, great party," the second Guy said, patting him on the shoulder. "But next time, try and leave the giant spider-women out of it, will you?" The young boy laughed at his friend. "With Arachne changed back, I don't know any other giant spider-women, so I'm sure I'll manage." They all had a good laugh, before falling silent when it became apparent that Billy wasn't laughing. Instead, the satyr was staring at Harry, who uncomfortably started to shuffle in his bed. He didn't like that look one bit. Calmly, sedately, Billy approached the bed, still staring at the slightly squirming boy. "Harry." Harry tried his best friendly smile. "Hi Billy." The satyr leaned in close; so close in fact that their noses practically touched. "Remember what I told you during our trip?" Harry's smile wavered. "Ehm… you told us a lot of things?" Billy leaned in closer, their noses now actually touching, making Harry jump back in surprise. "I. Told. You. So." The young boy let out a squirming half-laugh. Billy straightened up. "Considering what we found down there, that could have killed all of us. Now, I get that you're all demigods. You're all heroes. You're all supposed to be brave. But honestly? That was a tad much. Next time, try to listen to reason, eh? Don't just go storming off, because next time, we might be having a wake rather than a celebration." Harry's smile was extremely brittle. After Hestia, now Billy. He'd really messed up. "Sorry, Billy." The satyr sighed, and ruffled Harry's messy hair. "Well, we all survived, so don't worry too much about it. Just keep old Billy's advice in mind for next time, alright?" Harry nodded silently, looking down at his hands. "Good," the satyr said, grinning. "Then we won't spend any more words on this. Did anyone hear the one with the priest and the rabbi walking into a bar? No? Well, one day, a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar-" What happened to the priest and the rabbi would probably be lost to the mists of history, as at that precise moment, a bright golden light bloomed in the infirmary. The light fell in on itself, coalescing into an owl – an owl that looked remarkably like the fiery owl symbols that had guided them to the Parthenos. In its talons, the owl clutched a celestial bronze message tube, decorated with intricate carvings. With a hoot, the owl spread its wings when it started to fall, before banking lazily, floating over to Annabeth, and dropping the message tube in her lap. Before anyone could react, light bloomed again, taking the owl away. "Well that was different," Louis remarked. Annabeth spun the message tube around, looking at the carvings on its side. "They're the carvings from the Parthenon!" she squealed excitedly. Seeing some blank looks, she sighed. "You know, big old building in Athens, blown up a couple of times?" she asked, sarcastically. When she got sheepish nods, she added, "It has carvings of the gods on it," waving the tube about. "These carvings." A collective 'oh' went through the assorted group, making her grin. Deftly, she pulled the cap off the tube, and removed a parchment scroll. Her eyes scanned the lines with remarkable speed and precision, while everyone held their breath. "We've all been invited to my mother's temple on Olympus," the daughter of Athena finally whispered. "As thanks for returning the Athena Parthenos, we are to be honored and commended." "Olympus?" Silena cried, the first to speak. "We get to go to Olympus?" Annabeth nodded. "Mom will send a chariot for us." "When?" Silena asked. "Because I have to do my hair, and find clothes, and do my nails, and – " "After dinner," Annabeth interrupted, not really wanting a full list of what the daughter of Aphrodite had to do to get ready. "Silena's right about one thing, though," Louis said. "We do need to make sure we're all at our best. This is Olympus after all!" Harry didn't get what everyone was getting so worked up about. He moved to sit upright, then pushed his legs out of the bed. He felt stiff and sore from staying in bed for so long and from the excitement of the day before. "I could use a shower," he muttered. When you could smell yourself, it was definitely time for a shower. Silena grabbed his hand and almost pulled him to his feet with sheer strength. He barely had a chance to move himself before the excited girl had him on his feet. "I'm sure Mom will let you use her cabin to clean up, Harry," the daughter of Aphrodite practically squealed. "We need to get ready, see you all soon!" she then yanked Harry out of the infirmary. Harry had a chance to wave and yell a goodbye at the others, who were all laughing at him being woman-handled out of the room and down the camp towards Aphrodite's cabin. Silena pulled him down the rows of cabins, and before he knew it, she had entered the extremely pink cabin of Aphrodite. For a moment, he felt like she was trying to pull him through a solid wall, and it surprised him as well as her. Silena started to turn to look at the door where Harry was stuck, but then the invisible wall released and Harry practically tumbled inside, still being pulled by Silena's hand. When he crashed into her, they both exploded into laughter. Harry had a moment to take a look around the cabin. The inside walls were as pink as the outside walls were, with white trim around the windows and doors. The curtains and the beds were colored a rather attractive shade of pastels, mostly blues and greens. The main cabin seemed to be divided into two sections, separated by a curtain. On each side was a row of twin beds, made with pale blue sheets. Between each bed stood a dresser, with drawers, a mirror and various beauty products. At the foot of each bed stood a large chest, with the name of the camper emblazoned on it. From what Harry could see, the division of the main cabin was along gender lines, boys on one side, girls on the other. He had all of ten seconds to take all of this in, however, before they were swamped by very pretty girls and equally pretty boys. Silena explained the situation in under three sentences, and before Harry realized what had happened, she had released his hand. He caught a glimpse of her darting to her vanity, before one of the older Aphrodite girls grabbed him into a hug. He managed to hug her back before another girl yanked him around for her own hug. "He's precious!" the girl currently hugging him squee-ed, before trying to kiss him. He managed to dodge that, and declared kissing as disgusting, causing a ripple of laughter to pass through Aphrodite's children. "Oh, he's so cute!" a third girl squee-ed, hugging him in turn. It seemed all of his grandmother's kids, both boys and girls, were going to take turns giving him a hug. He smiled widely, he hadn't felt so accepted in a long time. By the time they were all done, he was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt. The oldest girl, the one who had hugged him first, pushed him towards a door. "Go grab your shower, Harry. We'll get you some clothes." Harry was about to say that he had his own clothes and didn't want to be a bother, but it seemed that the girl had decided on a course of action and had already shoved him through the door. He shrugged it off, his aunts and uncles seemed to like him and the hugs were great. He could see why Aphrodite was Goddess of Love if this was what her children had inherited. He found a masculine brown bottle of shower gel on a stand next to the shower. It seemed everyone had their own favorites, as the brown bottle was hidden among a plethora of others. After grabbing the bottle, he took his shower; making sure to take his time and getting himself completely clean. After the excitement on their quest, and the long nap, he needed that long and hot shower. When he finally finished, he felt like new. With his shower finished, he didn't really have a choice other than to get back into the blue-white striped pajamas he had woken up in, before leaving the bathroom. Silena pounced the moment he stepped out, and dragged him down the cabin before he found himself unceremoniously placed in front of one of the boys' beds. "You should have just wrapped yourself in a towel," Silena said. "Now we'll have to strip you again," she added with a grin. The boy whose bed it was shooed her off. "Go! Go play with your dolls and your makeup!" Silena poked out her tongue at him, before they both broke into laughter. Harry grinned, happy to see the family dynamic. "Just don't break him," Silena told her brother, who huffed and pulled himself fully upright. "I am an artist, and I have creating to do. Now shoo." "I'm going, I'm going," Silena said playfully, giving Harry a grin, and flouncing off. "Now," the boy said, turning to Harry. "We have some work to do, mon ami." He was really pretty, like all of Aphrodite's children were, and Harry found that he rather liked him, as if the boy was putting a lot of effort into being as over-the-top as he could be. "Call me Norm," the boy said, suddenly switching to proper American English rather than French-accented English. He winked at his young charge. "First, let's see what kind of style would suit you best, eh?" Norm pulled open a gigantic wardrobe and started half-lifting certain articles of clothing out if before putting them back with a 'no, no, no' statement. Harry watched him, bemusedly, not knowing what to think of the strange spectacle but finding it amusing nonetheless. "Yes, let's go with this," Norm said, pulling out a combination of dress pants, colored button-up shirt, and a jacket. He held them up against Harry, then hummed. "Wrong color. Green, to match your eyes, I think." He put the shirt and jacket back, and retrieved an identical set, but this one with a dark green shirt and a lighter green jacket that complimented it really well. "There, try those," the son of Aphrodite entreated. "There's a changing room over there; underwear is in the dresser." Harry nodded thankfully, and accepted the stack of clothes. At the same time, he heard playful complaints from the other occupants of the cabin. "Ignore those ingrates, Harry. They want to see you naked, they have to buy you dinner first," Norm said with a laugh, before giving the boy a gentle shove. "Now chop-chop. Let's see you dressed." Harry fled into the changing room, which did indeed contain a dresser. He opened the first drawer and found frilly girl's things, which made him blush. While he had an academic knowledge of the differences between male and female – thanks to Athena's biology books – seeing girls' underwear made that knowledge a whole lot more than merely academic. The second drawer had boys' underwear, and Harry sighed with relief; grabbing a set of boxers that would fit, he got out of the striped pajamas and got into the clothes Norm had selected for him. The clothes fit as if they had been tailored specifically for him, and Harry grinned at himself in the mirror. If he could pull a comb through his hair, and get some socks and shoes, he'd be all set. He still didn't get the point of dressing up to see Miss Athena, he saw her a couple of times a week dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans, after all, but if this was what would make Silena happy, he'd dress up. It was a small thing, and truth be told, he rather liked these clothes. Stepping out of the dressing room, Harry blushed when he was greeted by catcalls and whistles. "Stop teasing him," Norm admonished his siblings, before turning to Harry, and looking him over while making the circle motion with one finger. Harry sighed, and slowly turned in place. "Good fit, if I do say so myself," Norm determined. "Here's some socks and dress shoes." "Thanks, Norm, I really appreciate it," Harry said, sitting down on the bed to pull on the socks and shoes. Norm grinned, and ruffled Harry's hair. For a moment, the younger boy wondered why everyone went after his hair like that, but then dismissed it. "You're welcome, Harry. Mom's letting you in, so come back when you need anything, alright?" Harry grinned at the older boy. "Thanks, Norm. I will." He had just managed to tie up his second shoe, when Silena was suddenly right there. "Done?" she asked, looking him over. "Ehm… yeah?" Harry asked, looking up at her. She made a motion, and he obediently stood up and twirled for her. "Not bad. Not bad at all," Silena told Norm, who pretended to be wounded by the lackadaisical praise. She grinned at him, and he laughed back at her, right before Silena grabbed Harry's hand and yanked him. He had time for a startled yelp before being dumped in front of a vanity. When he got back to his senses, Silena was sitting at a vanity right next to the one he was sitting at, doing something with the mysterious articles girls called make-up. He shuddered when she went after her eyes with a pencil. He hoped nobody was going to attack his eyes with a pencil like that! A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see the oldest daughter of Aphrodite, the one who had hugged him first. "Don't worry, Harry. We just need to tame that cobweb you call hair." Harry nodded. "Okay," he answered, somewhat tremulously. He knew how hard it was to tame his hair. The girl laughed, gave him another hug, then straightened up and grab a jar-of-something. Opening it up, she scooped some kind of gel out of the jar and started attacking his hair with it. Even with the gel, it seemed, his hair had a mind of its own, and the girl frowned at it with a thoughtful look. "That's one stubborn nest of hair," she admitted. "If we had more time, I'm sure I could straighten it out. But since we don't have the time, let's go with plan B." Harry had an unsettling flashback to Aunt Petunia coming after him to shave his hair off. He shuddered. "Plan B?" he asked, trying to hide his sudden anxiety. The girl nodded decisively. "We're going to make your hair look like it's supposed to be a mess, rather than the accidental mess that it is now." She grabbed some more something from the jar-of-something and attacked his hair anew. Within minutes, his hair looked spiked up as if it were a style choice. Harry had to admit, he rather liked it. "That looks awesome," he told his hair-dresser. She laughed, and gave him a small hug. "You're welcome, Harry." when she straightened up, she asked him, "Want to try some color? Green highlights could be fun. Or red ones, to contrast with your eyes." "No!" Silena screamed. "No avant-garde experiments on my best friend! We're about to go to Olympus, not to some rave party." The girl pouted at Silena. "But he'd look so handsome!" "No!" Silena repeated. "No hair coloring!" The girl pouted deeper. "In that case, I think you're done, Harry," she told him. "Unless you're willing to override the princess and go for colors…?" Harry blinked, and shied away from the venomous look Silena was shooting over. "Eh… I think… it's best to follow Silena's suggestion? She knows a lot more about this stuff than I do," he managed to say. His hairdresser grinned. "You're half-trained already," she told him. "You'll do." After a pat on his shoulder, she flounced off. He let out a relived breath, and mouthed thank you at Silena, who appeared entirely mollified at his reply. He honestly didn't know what to think about hair coloring at this point. Silena looked good with whatever hair color she decided on wearing, but he didn't think he would be the same. By the time he left the cabin, dinner was about to be served. Feeling rather self-conscious about leaving right away, Harry stayed around to eat at the camp. He was incredibly surprised to see the other campers offer some of their food up to their divine parents, throwing it ritualistically into the fire. He didn't know what to do, to be honest – it wasn't something he'd ever done before, nor was it something Hestia had told him to do. So, winging it, he offered some of his food to Hestia, for helping him, and to Mister Helios, for letting him stay at his temple. He ate with his aunts and uncles of the Aphrodite cabin, and while most of the conversations were about things he had no interest in – fashion, relationships, Hollywood stars, and so forth, there was plenty of laughter as well. The food itself was rather nice, with lots of lean-cut barbecue. He rather enjoyed eating with others, all told. After dinner, the six questers gathered together at the Athena Parthenos, still where it had arrived; next to Hestia's Hearth, to wait for the chariot Athena was going to send. They had all dressed up in fancy clothes; even Billy had put on a Victorian style suit with a long tailcoat that looked quite fetching on him. As they waited, Chiron trotted up. "With all the excitement, I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet," Chiron said as he studied Harry. "Are you alright, lad?" The young boy nodded. "I am, Mister Chiron, thanks for asking." "Just Chiron will do," the Trainer of Heroes reminded Harry once again. "I'm glad to hear it. I also heard you were the one who dragged everyone into trouble." Harry's smile turned rather brittle. Before he could answer, Annabeth interjected. "He didn't drag us, Chiron. He said he had a feeling about going somewhere, and we all agreed to go. And he was right! We got my mother's statue back!" Chiron studied her for a few moments, and Harry had the distinct impression that he disagreed with her. "I am talking about the fact that he didn't listen when cooler heads counseled wisdom and restraint." "That's not Harry's fault either," Silena piped in. "Nobody else listened to Billy, either. By the time things got dangerous, the way back was closed so we had no choice but to keep going." Chiron nodded calmly. "And yet, why did you not travel back using Harry's unique fire-traveling ability?" "Billy asked the same thing, after Arachne changed back," Harry said. "None of us thought of it, to be honest. And the quest was exciting. And fun." Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose. "From the descriptions, that quest has killed a lot of demigods over the years." "Except for the spiders, those were really terrifying, none of it seemed that dangerous," Annabeth said. "The ghosts were more fun than scary, and weaving that bridge was a lot of fun, too." Silena nodded. "And Arachne looked scary at first, but Harry tied her up in a second, and she wasn't that scary with her legs tied together." A pinprick of light appeared in the sky, rapidly growing larger, before revealing a large chariot, drawn by four horses. It landed quickly, and the driver dismounted. She was rather tall, had brown hair, and wore a glittering sleeveless dress, her hair pulled up in braids, which were circled by a golden laurel wreath. The demigods stared at the driver, before their eyes drew to the Athena Parthenos, before going back to the driver. "Hello, kiddos!" the driver greeting them cheerfully, a wide, winning smile on her face. "I'm Nike, as you figured out, no doubt." She giggled slightly, and turned to look at the Parthenos as well. "It's a pretty decent image of me, I must admit," she said, motioning to the small statue standing on Athena's outstretched hand. "Hello, Miss Nike," Harry answered; he was used to seeing gods all the time and had no trouble talking to them at all. While his friends gathered their composure, he stepped up to the divine charioteer. "It really is a good likeness," he agreed with her. Nike grinned at him, before turning to the others. "In any case, thanks for getting it back, Kiddos. It's been lost for too long." She looked at Chiron. "I'll have them back shortly, Chiron." "Of course, Lady Nike," the Trainer of Heroes answered deferentially. "Everyone on board!" Nike said, waving to the large chariot. "Just grab a spot and hold on. I'll have you on Olympus in a jiffy." "Thanks for the save," Harry whispered softly as he climbed on board. "Chiron giving you a hard time?" the goddess asked with a teasing grin as she took the reins. "No more than anybody else," Harry muttered softly. "I don't get it. I didn't make anyone do anything, and we all had loads of fun and came out alive." Nike laughed again as the chariot rose into the air. "That's the winning spirit!" she said, patting his back – somehow – while still holding onto the reins. "Don't worry, Harry. They're probably just worried." "I wish they could just say that rather than making me feel like I did something wrong," Harry pouted. "You could have turned back when I asked you to," Billy interjected, before realizing that he was interrupting a conversation with a goddess. He paled. "My apologies, Lady Nike." The Goddess of Victory wove the apology off. "No worries, Kiddo." She shot him a grin. "Demigods are heroes by nature. Wave danger in their faces and they'll be chomping at the bit to go. You probably just egged them on by asking to turn back." "That… would explain a lot," the satyr muttered, throwing a gimlet eye at the others. Silena and Annabeth pasted the most angelical innocent looks they could muster on their faces, the Guys chuckled, and Louis shook his head. "I'm just glad that I'll be staying on Olympus," Harry said. "Mister Chiron was making me feel bad about things I didn't do." He sighed. "You convinced us to go," Billy reminded him. "You could have just said no," Harry replied. "I'm nine. If I convinced you, it's because you wanted to be convinced." Nike laughed loudly. "I'd have to give the point to the kid for that one," she told Billy. The chariot was flying over New York now, and was steadily gaining altitude without any discomfort for its passengers. Harry had done trips like these plenty of times before, mostly with Artie before Hestia taught him how to travel through fire, and was used to it. Apparently, it rated commentary by Annabeth, who started asking questions about air pressure and temperature changes. While Nike went into an explanation of divine protection, Harry looked at Billy, before stepping closer to him. "Hey, Billy." "Hey Harry," the satyr answered. "Are you really that mad at me?" he asked softly. "I mean, I don't think I fought all that hard, and the others seemed interested in going on." The satyr sighed. "No, not really," he answered after a few moments. "More… annoyed, I guess. Please be more careful in the future, things may not work out as well as they did this time." Harry nodded obediently. They landed in front of Athena's temple, and Harry just jumped down from the chariot, used to doing so. "Thanks for the lift, Miss Nike." The others dismounted a bit more tenderly, not at all used to riding a chariot, but they all thanked the goddess of Victory. "You're welcome, Kiddos. It's the least I could do for the ones who recovered the Parthenos." She waved at them as the chariot started to rattle off, staying on the ground this time. "Remember, Victory is Life!" "She's kidding, right?" Louis asked. Harry grinned. "She's fun. I like her." "Everyone? She's kidding, right?" Louis repeated. "I think Lady Nike means that 'losing' usually results in 'death'," Annabeth said, sounding a bit creeped out. They all fell silent, thinking that one through. "Maybe we should go in," Harry finally suggested. "Miss Athena doesn't like to be kept waiting." Annabeth nodded hesitatingly, a nod slowly taken up by the others. Seeing his friends still hesitant, Harry grinned at them. "Come on, Miss Nike was probably just having a laugh. Let's go see Miss Athena; she's probably really grateful to us for returning the Parthenos." They pulled themselves together, and Harry grinned as shoulders straightened. He turned to the temple, walked up its steps, and as he'd done dozens of times, pushed open the doors. "Harry, should we just barge in like that?" Annabeth asked, leaning in closer. They were all tightly packed around him, he noticed. "Oh," Harry muttered, used to just going in for his lessons. "We've been invited, so it's fine," he explained. Silently, he added, I hope. They trooped in, spreading out only slightly when they crossed the threshold. In a flare of light, Athena appeared before them. "Questers," she said. "Heroes." Immediately, they all stopped walking. "Hi Miss Athena," Harry greeted politely. The others swallowed, and respectfully made their greetings. Athena nodded at them in her usual manner. "You have returned what has been lost for thousands of years," she said, making them smile and stick out their chests. "However," she resumed, making them falter. "This quest was supposed to be one undertaken by my children." Harry shifted closer to Annabeth and dropped his arm around her shoulders. "We had one of those, Miss Athena!" he said, grinning, making the others stare at him with a 'shut up shut up shut UP!' look. Athena looked at Annabeth, and smiled faintly. "Yes. Yes, you did," she acknowledged. "It would have been very likely that, in a few years, Annabeth would have been given The Coin and asked to quest for the statue. Only the very best of my children are ever given that quest." "You mean, those bones we found, they were all my brothers and sisters?" Annabeth asked, drawing pale. Harry's arm became a comfort when he pulled her closer. The quest suddenly took on a whole other outlook, now that those weren't just random bones. "Correct," Athena replied. Her gaze shifted from Annabeth back to the others, sliding over them one by one. Each one shivered when the goddess' pale grey eyes seemed to peer directly into their souls. "However, you succeeded where they all failed. Even if the quest was not yours to complete, and you merely stumbled across it, the fact remains that you did complete it." Athena's eyes slid back across them, one by one, but now in the opposite direction. They all still flinched, until her gaze settled back on Annabeth and Harry, the latter of which was still comforting the former. "And I believe I know how you stumbled across a hidden quest for something that was lost so long ago," she stated, gaze now firmly focused on Harry. "Tell me, Harry. How did this happen?" Harry smiled. "I just had this feeling about something, Miss Athena," he replied. He was used to the goddess' stern manner now. "So I asked the others if they wanted to take a look. Billy said it might be dangerous, but he allowed himself to be convinced very easily. When we found the building, the door reacted to Annabeth, and a burnt symbol of an owl appeared." Athena nodded thoughtfully. "The quest wasn't completely active. Normally, it is tied to a coin that will guide the quester through the challenges. With the quest in an inactive state, any child of mine could have triggered it." "I… eh… thought it was a sign to a secret book club or something," Harry admitted sheepishly. "That's why we went in." Athena looked amused again. Annabeth piped in, "I thought it was something you would do, Mom," she told her mother. "I could see you creating a secret library, and hide it behind tests of merit. I just thought that Harry cheated his way to it." Athena's amusement grew visibly, but before she could say anything, Harry playfully pouted at his friend. "It's not cheating." "So we went in," Annabeth recounted, ignoring Harry's playful pouting. "I was reasonably sure it wasn't a library – or a book club – when I had to weave a ladder to drop down into an old aqueduct. It's too humid for books." Athena nodded. "Good. You can still think. I can see the original assumption, and how you stumbled upon the quest." She straightened up, and looked them all over again. "Despite everything, it was a quest for my children, only." Annabeth shivered again at the thought of the spiders, and the thought of Arachne, and facing them alone. She burrowed deeper into Harry's shoulder. "Thanks, Harry," she whispered. Apparently, not quietly enough, as Athena's laser-gaze shifted to her. "You would have done fine in a few years," the goddess admonished. "However," she went, looking at all of them again. "As stated before, you completed it successfully, and in the end, you even managed to return an enemy to proper respect for the gods. No longer will my children be haunted by arachnids. That, too, deserves praise." They all managed a smile at that. "You will always have my favor," she told the six. "And my boon. Your memories and minds will sharpen; you will retain more easily the things you read or experience, and you will make better use of the knowledge." "Thanks, Miss Athena!" Harry chirped. "That's awesome!" For a moment, he expected special effects; but then he remembered how Mister Hephaestus had given him psychometry. Gods didn't need special effects to bestow boons. The Goddess of Wisdom graced him with a small smile. "I know," she answered calmly. The others, pulled from their surprise at the sudden gift, smiled widely and thanked the goddess in turn. "Before you go, however, one more thing," Athena said as the six questers made up their mind to bid their leave. She focused on Harry. "Without one of you, this would not have happened. Without that same person, it is doubtful that my ancient enemy would have turned as she did. Without that person, my children would still be plagued by arachnids." Harry shuffled uncomfortably, not knowing where this was going. "And above all else, this person safeguarded my daughter. He stood between her and others willing to do her harm, allowing her the time to collapse a room, or weave a bridge. He captured my old enemy before she could do harm, then turned her," Athena went on. Harry swallowed. He didn't know whether this was going to be a good lecture or a bad lecture – he'd been on the receiving end of both in the last few hours. "As such, I think that person deserves an additional reward," Athena finished. Harry tried to hide his sigh of relief – it was a good lecture. Good, he liked those a lot better. Holding out her hands, Athena summoned an item. Light bloomed, slowly turning into a rounded shield, elaborately decorated with Ancient Greek designs on its front. The goddess passed it to Harry. "As a reward for a job well done, I pass to you this shield. It is made from Celestial Bronze, is virtually unbreakable, and will protect you against all attacks, both mortal and celestial." Harry smiled widely when he accepted it. "Whoa, this is awesome. Thanks, Miss Athena!" He slipped it onto his left arm, one strap in his hand, the other around his lower arm. He noticed it left enough room to emerge his bracers still, which was awesome as well! "You're welcome," Athena said. "It will retract into a ring if you-" The shield collapsed into a ring on Harry's left middle finger, in a similar way that Hestia's Lasso was a ring on Harry's right middle finger. "Awesome," the boy repeated. "It is," Athena agreed, a tiny smile on her lips. There was a measure of pride in her voice, as if she were proud of teaching him well enough to figure out the functions of divine weaponry on his own. She looked up. "I believe it is time for five of you to return to camp. I will ask Nike to return and take you." The questers shuddered slightly. Athena looked amused again. "She did the 'Victory is Life' quote, didn't she?" Harry nodded. "Ever since that show came out, she's been quoting it. Don't pay too much attention to it, heroes," the Goddess of Wisdom told them. They all relaxed, although now they were wondering what show Nike could be quoting. To a person, they all blinked when they realized the speed of their thoughts and the clarity of their memories. Athena's boon was definitely something else. They trooped out after respectfully bidding the goddess goodnight, and waited for Nike to reappear. "I think I'm going to go to college," Louis announced out of the blue. "Eh?" the guys chorused together. "You? College?" Jack – or Jim? – said alone. "With Lady Athena's boon? Damn straight I'm going to college," the older demigod replied. Harry furtively looked around to make sure Hestia wasn't there to reprimand him on his language. "That last quest? We all made it out alive, but ghosts? Man, I hate ghosts. So – I think I'll retire. Go to college. Settle somewhere, find a wife, do the whole two-point-three kids and white picket fence thing." "You can do that?" Annabeth asked, surprised. Silena nodded agreeably, that was news to her too. "For us, yes," Louis said. "The smell from our divine parents is there, but it's not that strong. We should be able to hide in a city and our smell will get lost in the masses. But if you're a child of the Big Three? Not a chance. Monsters will keep coming after you." Harry wondered who the Big Three were, but then his Athena-boosted mind came up with an answer. The Big Three were probably Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades; although then he wondered why their sisters weren't represented. Hera and Hestia didn't have demigods, but Demeter did. Shouldn't she be as powerful as her younger brothers? While he thought the whole thing through, Nike rattled up in the chariot. "Well hello there, Kiddos," the goddess greeted them. "Survived the encounter with Athena?" They all nodded obediently. Harry said goodbye to his friends as they stepped, one by one, into the chariot. With all of them aboard, the goddess gave him a wave, and the chariot took to the skies. Harry waved after them, and he noticed a few of the demigods wave back before it went out of sight. Harry grinned, despite the lectures, it had been a good day. He emerged the shield again, and studied it for a bit. It was beautiful. Grinning wider, he hid it again. Time to go back to Helios' temple. He wanted to sleep in his own bed tonight. As he walked, he suddenly stopped. Where was the tapestry from Arachne that he'd wanted to hang up in Helios' temple? He hadn't seen it, or the other tapestries, at camp, and with all the excitement, he'd completely forgotten to ask about them. He huffed, angry at himself for forgetting, and made his way to the temple. He'd fire-travel to camp tomorrow and ask; hopefully it hadn't gotten lost. When he arrived at the temple, and had gone inside, he smiled widely. The rolled-up tapestry was lying next to one of the walls of the huge central courtyard. Apparently, someone had already delivered it. That was a relief. He turned to the statue. "Hi Mister Helios! Have I got an adventure to tell you about… !"

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