Chapter 6 ~ Forming Bonds Part 2

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, etc. are the property of JK. Rowling and Rick Riordan. The OC characters and storyline are purely my imagination running wild. My story is for entertainment only and is not part of any official storylines. I do not have any association with J.K. Rowling or Rick Riordan even though I wish I had. No copyright infringement is intended.

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"I would give my whole heart, soul, and being for my family, friends, and the ones I trust," Percy answered seriously before continuing. "My fatal flaw is Loyalty, as such, I will not betray those who I am loyal to, but if anyone I trust breaks their loyalty to me, then you will find it extremely difficult to regain any trust or loyalty from me."

"Thank you, Perseus." Lady Artemis said softly before turning to Abby worried. "Abby, why ask Perseus such a question?"

"Forgive me, milady, if I overstepped. Loyalty and trust would always be a sort of trigger for me, and I will explain why when I get to my third year of Hogwarts, but I will say this, my parents are dead because they placed their loyalty into the wrong person' hands, they trusted them with their life's, someone they knew for years and they betrayed them." Abby said softly, bowing her head ever so slightly.

"Milady, please do not punish Abby for asking such a heavy and serious question," Percy said worriedly before continuing. "After her explanation, I can understand why Abby would ask about my loyalties and trust, she is only trying to ensure her new family would stay as safe as they can be in the divine world."

"Do not threat Percy, I was not planning to punish her." Lady Artemis said before looking Abby in her eyes. "Abby, you my dear have done nothing that warrants forgiveness. I would have asked something similar to Percy as well. This is always the best way to ensure my girls are safe from traitors, as the pledge prevents my girls from turning on their family Percy is in essence an outsider and your instincts are most likely pushing you to ensure we are all safe, correct?"

"Yes, milady," Abby said looking down.

Bianca looked confused at the sudden change in the conversation. "I get that traitors are a bad thing and I get that loyalty and trust is a huge thing for Abby, but there seems to be far more in this isn't there?"

"Also, what do you mean by Abby's instincts?" Zoe asked, adding to Bianca's question.

"Okay first, by my instincts Zoe, Lady Artemis means my creature instincts, as you can see by my hybrid form, I am different from those around me. I am still getting to the part on what creature I am with Lady Artemis." Abby said looking up.

"And second," Percy said, taking over from Abby. "There is a reason that I do not have any siblings or have any more cousins running around. This is also why Lady Artemis asked about my loyalty to the council and why Abby is so serious about my loyalties and trust."

Pacing slightly, Percy continued. "There is a prophecy that states that a child of the big three will reach the age of 16, they will hold the future of Olympus in their hands. For the last two years, this prophecy was placed on my shoulders but after the return of Thalia, it now lies by her, but that does not change the fact that I am still next in line. I still cannot get a clear answer on what the prophecy is though." He finished with a small amount of frustration.

"There are too many variables for the prophecy to be useful right now. As far as we know grandfather does not know and that gives us an advantage. But let's get back to the subject of the big three, can you tell us about your relationship with your father." Lady Artemis said directing the conversation back to the males in Percy's life.

"The first thing I remember him saying about me was calling me a mistake, then talking about the prophecy, and how I am rightly a wrongdoing - a walking broken oath." Percy bit out bitterly.

"After that, my father said he wished that I was never born; then more talking about being born into the life of a hero," Percy said sadly.

"I will give him that in the end he did claim me of the sea and expressed pride in me. However, I was claimed not because he wanted to but because he wanted his name cleared. That was mostly to protect me in the end I would believe. So, it came down to the thought or the important action. This is the reason that I respect you so much, milady, with you interacting with your huntresses so much there can be no doubt that you care for them, that they are more than just tools for you. That is so much better than anyone else I would think." Percy ended fondly.

"You do know that the Ancient laws stop the gods from interacting with their offspring don't you." Lady Artemis warned worriedly.

"Yes, I am aware," Percy said with a slight smile before continuing. "But it does not stop them from claiming their kids as soon as they reach the camp or stop them from ordering quests to find their kids, or stop them from giving gifts, this at least will let their kids believe that they are cared for," Percy said with frustration. "If any of those happened then grandfather would not have so much support that he already has from the demigods."

"Oh, ah… other than the claiming, I have never thought of those options for showing care." Lady Artemis said slightly shocked.

"I do not believe your fellow gods have thought about it either. Another choice for the daughters of the gods would have been to send you and have them join the hunt. This is the frustration I have with the gods, a seeming inability to think of something new." Percy said as he started to pace in agitation once again.

"Careful there, Percy," Abby said with a slight smirk. "You do not want Lady Artemis to turn you into a jackalope, now do you?"

"Apologies milady, I am not trying to offend. But I have asked around camp for what sort of quests have been given out and they were either to deal with a threat of some kind or to do something that someone else has done." Percy said with a slight tilt of his head while Artemis conceded to that point.

"While yes no new monsters are forming, meaning there is a limit on the new things that someone can fight that does not mean that there is nothing that could be done. For example, have the gods make a challenge for certain demigods to do. Demigods can create their challenge courses with approval from their godly parents, their friends or siblings can assist, they can build the course by finding what they would need from outside the camp, the whole thing could become a quest within a challenge." Percy finished off his emotional rant.

By the end, Lady Artemis looked dazed while the other girls looked shocked at how much thought Percy placed on this.

"Well. Erm. Yes…. I think that I have some suggestions to make at the council this solstices meeting." Artemis said still with a slightly dazed expression before continuing. "Thank you, Percy, this actually helped."

"Now, Bianca have you come to a decision?" Lady Artemis asked, looking at Bianca.

"I think so, but first," Bianca said before turning to Zoe. "Is it worth it?"

"Of course, I would not change a thing," Zoe said with a nod.

"Okay, so what do I need to do?" Bianca said, causing Abby to also pay attention.

"Say this," Zoe said. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis," Bianca repeated.

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."

Bianca repeated the last lines before asking. "Is that it?"

Zoe nodded. "Yes, if Lady Artemis accepts your pledge, then it is binding."

"I accept." Lady Artemis said with strength.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a slight silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath as she opened her eyes before stating. "I feel… ah stronger."

"Welcome, sister," Zoe said happily.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "This is your life now."

"Now Abby, will you take the pledge now?" Artemis said looking towards the young Potter heiress.

"Yes, of course. I am ready to take the pledge." Abby said with a slight head bow.

"Good, now speak the pledge," Artemis said softly.

"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis, I turn my back on the company of men, and accept eternal maidenhood and join the hunt," Abby said looking her Lady in the eyes.

"I accept." Lady Artemis said happily, glad that Abby finally joined the hunt.

Abby was soon enveloped in a slight silver glow, as she felt the changes in case her body making her stronger and far more agile.

"Now, with my oath comes my full blessing, and a family. You both will find that your abilities in archery will have increased as well as your speed, strength, and grace. From this day forward you will be immortal until the day you fall in battle." Artemis said softly ending with a slight sad note at the idea of losing any of her girls.

"Not to interrupt or anything, but I feel like I really shouldn't have been here, not for that. That seemed very intimate, I am not even sure if Zoe should have been here." Percy said looking on with wonder.

"Indeed, milady, this is the first time that you allowed someone other than yourself and the potential sisters to be part of the bond. May I ask why?" Zoe asked her goddess in curiosity.

"Bianca and Abby both needed you here Zoe, you were the one who Bianca opened up to, not me. You, young Percy, you gave something of yourself to us, it formed a bond between all of us. This bond was something so important that no one suspected it would happen, this is the reason that the bond shall grow and get stronger. Further, you like Zoe convinced Bianca to join the hunt, not me or Zoe and lastly, you were slowly earning the trust of Abby and for that I allowed you to witness the pledge, this was my way of respecting the bond and trust between us." Lady Artemis explained.

"Right, and for that I am thankful, but can I ask that we keep this from the campers, I have the strangest suspicion that Thalia does not like you," Percy said sheepishly.

"And what would have given you that idea?" Abby asked with a slight smirk at Lady Artemis's expression.

"What!? I thought we were like sisters." Artemis wailed. "Zoe help! Thalia has forsaken me!"

"My Lady, I do not think my word would do you any good." Zoe deadpanned, forming a smirk of her own.

"No, I believe that Zoe's word might make things worse," Abby said with a snort having witnessed the relationship between the daughter of the sky lord and Zoe before joining the hunt.

Percy glanced over to Bianca. "Were they like this before I got here?" he whispered.

"No, I am just as confused as you are. Abby was distracted before you arrived, Zoe went to fetch you and Lady Artemis looked worriedly at Abby." Bianca whispered back.

"Should we stop them?" Percy asked as the three descended in more melodramatic about family hating them. "And if so, how?"

"Didn't Zoe say that her family disowned her, and we do not know anything about Abby's family," Bianca said sadly.

"You think that they are going through this to make light of the fact that Zoe's family disowned her and half of Artemis's family thinks that she hates them for being born?" Percy asked confused.

"I mean, do you have any other ideas on what is going on?" Bianca asked.

"No, but why am I allowed to see this, after all, I am a male?" Percy asked softly.

"Well, Lady Artemis did say that we bonded with you. Maybe that was reason enough for some of the barriers to come down around you." Bianca answered softly.

"Well regardless, I am honored to be able to see this. I do not believe that anyone outside of the huntresses has seen something like this before." Percy stated in slight gratitude.

"Indeed Perseus Jackson." Lady Artemis said solemnly. "My huntresses will always be more open to you. While you do not have bonds with my girls, you do have one with me, our bonds are intertwined and will affect the others."

"What do you mean by intertwined?" Percy asked confused.

"Your bond came about, by convincing Bianca to join the hunt and by earning the trust from Abby. Seeing such a bond form is a wonderful thing. But I need you to be careful with your wording around us, any words that sounded anything like an oath of loyalty can very easily bind you to me and the hunt. Also know that Bianca, Zoe, and Abby will also be an extension to me as such I will hear any loyalty oaths through them as well." Artemis warned the son of the sea god.

"What does that actually mean, milady?" Abby asked softly.

"I am not sure," Artemis said worriedly. "No male has ever sworn an oath of loyalty to me or the hunt, I have worked with males before when the Oracle demanded it, but I have not experienced something like this before and no male has been part of the hunt before."

"I can call my godfather, maybe he will have more clarity after all loyalty oaths are more common in the wizarding world," Abby suggested to her worried goddess.

"I would appreciate that very much, but how are you going to get in contact with him?" Artemis asked in gratitude.

"Oh, don't worry, mirror calling is something we have no problem doing," Abby said with a smirk.

Percy and the girls all looked at Abby in confusion as she removed her shrunken mirror from her backpack before returning it to its original size.

"Padfoot, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Abby said a code that the two came up with when they needed to speak urgently.

"Pup, are you okay?! Please tell me you are okay! I cannot lose you as well!" Sirius answered moments later in a very frantic tone.

"Sirius, calm! I am okay, better than okay." Abby said with a fond smile as she looked up at the shocked faces of the three girls and one male.

"Are you sure? There isn't anyone I should murder for you?" The Black Lord said in a slightly calmer tone.

"I am fine, please relax," Abby said softly, trying to calm her godfather before continuing. "But I do need your advice and help."

"Oh…sure. With what can I assist my beautiful goddaughter today?" The Black Lord asked with a smile, happy to help in any way.

"Ah well, what will happen if a male swears a loyalty oath towards Lady Artemis, a maiden goddess whose hunt consists only of females?" Abby asked.

"Oh, and pray tell, why would you ask such an oddly specific question?" Sirius asked before continuing. "What trouble have you gotten into this time?"

"Hey! I do not go looking for trouble, trouble normally finds me." Abby exclaimed indignantly.

"Haha, funny and I love cuddling with dementors." Sirius deadpanned causing Abby to pout up at her godfather.

"Okay, fine… I am a trouble magnet; can you just help me and stop teasing me." Abby whined with her pout on full force.

"Okay fine, why don't you fill me in on what is going on with you while I leaf through the books on loyalty oaths," Sirius said smiling softly.

"Okay, first I am only going to give you the cliff notes version of what has happened since I last saw you," Abby said before continuing. "Well, after you left to go back to London, Hedwig and I decided it was time to move on and find our next adventure."

"That is good, you my girl need this more than anything," Sirius said softly.

"Thank you, Sirius, but anyway, I was running as Anubis for two weeks when I came upon a group of demigods fighting a group of monsters and they were slowly failing, they were outnumbered by 10 to 1 each while trying to protect 2 untrained demigods," Abby said as she slowly weaved her story to her godfather.

"Please tell me that your people-saving thing did not get in the way?" Sirius moaned.

"What!? No, I do not have a saving people thing." Abby said shocked while Percy, Zoe, Bianca, and Artemis watched on intrigued.

"Oh, you don't, do you? Then explain to me what your years at Hogwarts were?" Sirius asked softly knowing that Hogwarts would be a touchy subject but was more approachable than her life at the Dursleys.

"Okay, fine! I may have a small saving people thing; I am working on it." Abby said, looking pained.

"I know sweetie, that's all I ask. I just want you to be safe, happy, and healthy." Sirius said lovingly. "Now why don't you continue your story before I tell you what I found on the loyalty oaths, okay?"

"Okay, well things were looking bad for the demigods when all of a sudden a hunting horn was heard, this noise brought the attention to the group of hunters, the huntresses of Lady Artemis to be exact. The fight took a turn for the better as the huntresses slaughtered the monsters but one of the demigods was captured by a manticore, devastating her friends." Abby said softly as she looked up at Percy with a sad look.

"Thank you, Abby, I know she is still alive. We will get her back somehow, she is family." Percy said with an understanding smile.

"Ah, you have a friend there with you?" Sirius asked shocked.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I should introduce you." Abby said as she turned her mirror to do just that. "So, this is Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, then you have Bianca Di Angelo, an unknown godly parent, she just joined the hunt. Then you have Zoe Nightshade, she is the lieutenant of the Hunt and lastly, this is Lady Artemis the reason I called for assistance with the oath."

"It is nice to meet you all, I am Lord Sirius Orion Black, the godfather of young Abigail here," Sirius said before addressing his goddaughter. "Abby, is young Percy swearing a loyalty oath towards Lady Artemis?"

"Not yet, but there is a possibility that it would happen. We just need all the facts before he does end up swearing by mistake." Abby said with a small amount of concern.

"Okay, but first you will need to explain to me how that is even a possibility?" Sirius asked perplexed.

"Well, let me finish my story. You will get your answer then." Abby said softly.

"Okay, then proceed with your story," Sirius said with a nod.

"Well anyway, the huntress all set up camp when the wind shifted, this caused a satyr to sniff me out, apparently I smell a lot like the Cerberus," Abby said rolling her eyes at that comparison before continuing. "Lady Artemis decided to check it out and found me. We got talking, I skimmed over my life with the Dursleys, and I know that she would like to know more about my life at the Dursleys, but I did finish up with what happened in my first year at Hogwarts."

"Okay, that is good. You need to talk about this. You need to heal and that includes talking about what you endured with those people." Sirius said worriedly causing Artemis to become more concerned than she already is.

"I know, it is just easier to speak about my Hogwarts years than speaking of my life with my relatives," Abby said softly looking down.

"Hey, sweet girl. You are doing well. It takes time to truly open up, and at times it is better to speak to strangers than those that you are close to." Sirius said sadly.

"Okay, that's enough heaviness, let's move on with the story, shall we?" Zoe asked.

"Sure, well once I have covered my first year, Lady Artemis asked me to join the hunt and be part of this family," Abby said with a sad smile before continuing. "I said yes, but I only took the oath after we settled everything that had happened tonight."

"I know that you always wanted a family, and I would always give you a chance to find what you need and if the hunt is the family you were looking for, then I would always accept it even if that family is not fully with me," Sirius said sadly.

"Sirius, do not think that I do not see you as family, but I am a creature that needs a pack of their own and the hunt is just that, my pack," Abby said softly, needing Sirius to understand.

"Good, so what you are saying is that I now have more daughters to add to the Black family by blood adoption?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"What?!" Lady Artemis exclaimed shocked.

"Sirius, this is something you will have to ask the girls, this is something that would need a delicate touch," Abby warned not wanting to give her godfather much hope.

"I know, I just want to give your family a chance to achieve their dreams, if you want you can blood-adopt them into the Potter family as well," Sirius said.

"Thank you, Sirius, but I do not think this is relevant at the current moment," Abby said, confused.

"Maybe not." Sirius conceded before continuing. "But it is part of my godfatherly duties to inform you of your Potter duties, but we will discuss this at a later stage."

"Okay, well once Lady Artemis and I returned to camp, Zoe went to fetch Percy seeing that he is the facto leader of the campers of Camp Half-blood and there were things to sort out," Abby said as she looked towards Percy for confirmation.

"Abby is correct in a sense; I share the leadership at the moment with Thalia, a daughter of Lord Zeus," Percy confirmed as he moved next to Abby.

"Okay, then what happened? I still do not get why you might swear yourself to Lady Artemis with a loyalty oath?" Sirius asked as he looked between both Abby and Percy.

"We are getting to that," Abby said, rolling her eyes at her impatient godfather. "It took Zoe a few minutes to return with Percy. Once he arrived, Lady Artemis requested that he explain what transpired before the hunt arrived, which later turned into a discussion on the pros and cons of Camp Half-Blood as well as the male influences in Percy's life, this discussion helped Bianca make her choice to join Lady Artemis."

"What, they asked, and I could not refuse a request from a goddess," Percy said seeing the confusion on Sirius's face.

"This discussion, in essence, caused a bond to form, and it also showed Percy just how unhappy he is at the camp," Bianca explained further.

"Okay, now I understand a bit. Abby I would like to see your full memory of this event when we meet up again, okay my dear?" Sirius asked the young heiress.

"We can worry about that later," Abby said. "But what have you found on loyalty bonds?"

"Okay, there are quite a few different loyalty bonds out there, but I have the one bond that will match the one you asked about," Sirius said, looking Percy in the eyes.

"Percy, as you have created a bond with the girls in the tent, this bond can turn into a loyalty bond with an oath only you can say, and only you will know the wording when and if the time is right," Sirius said well seriously before explaining further. "What you need to understand is the following, by swearing a loyalty oath to Lady Artemis, you will deem yourself as a female born into the wrong body, your birth gender will change over time to that of the huntress in this case, female."

"Wait, what?!" Lady Artemis asked shocked.

"If I do swear this oath, would I become a full huntress, and what about my sexual preference?" Percy asked confused.

"No, you will become more like a guardian or a trainer, you will answer only to Lady Artemis, and you will receive a partial blessing seeing as you were born as a boy, over time the partial blessing will become a full blessing, and only if Lady Artemis agrees. This oath will give you the Title of the Guardian of the Hunt a different title than the huntresses." Sirius said as he read further in the book before continuing. "As for your sexual preference, I am not sure. You will be the only one who could have a relationship with both males and females, whereas the hunt could only have relationships with females."

"Wait, what?!" Zoe and Lady Artemis exclaimed in shock.

"What? Did you not know that your oath allows you to have relationships with females?" Sirius asked, amused.

"No, it never occurred to me." Lady Artemis murmured. "Why has no one ever informed me of this?"

"I would not know," Sirius said with a smirk before turning back towards Percy. "Only you will be able to decide which you prefer, now onto the blessing itself. This oath will give you Lady Artemis's blessing only partially, you will have increased strength, and grace but your archery and partial immortality are something you will only receive if and when you have done something for Lady Artemis that is of great importance and only time will tell."

"Do you know if there is anything else that the oath would cause?" Percy asked.

"Are you truly considering swearing an oath, Percy?" Sirius counter asked.

"Well, I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth so I might end up swearing one on accident, also I already do not see myself as a boy, I identify myself more as a genderfluid – not a boy or a girl. I am not opposed to swearing an oath to Lady Artemis, but I would like to have all the information before I do." Percy said quietly.

"Okay, as I said your gender will change to that of a female, you will become the guardian of the hunt, and you will be able to have relationships with females or males, but I do not believe you will find males attractive as the blessing will entice you more to the female gender, you will not receive the full blessing like the huntresses and will lack immortality until you have done some great deed for Lady Artemis. Also, you would most likely spend your time helping Lady Artemis in different ways, such as training yourself, training the huntress to fight in melee, hunting by yourself or with huntresses, and on rare occasions cleaning the goddess's temples and finally, you would be seen as Lady Artemis's demigod." Sirius explained to the boy.

"I do not see such a huge downside in this," Percy said looking between Sirius and Artemis.

"Most of the girls would not understand at first and will likely distrust you." Lady Artemis warned.

"Milady, wouldn't our intertwined bonds make them more accepting of me?" Percy asked.

"Maybe, but you will need to earn their trust," Artemis said in warning.

"Of course, Milady, I will not force myself onto them," Percy stated with conviction.

"You would forsake your father as your primary vote on the council for me?" Artemis continued to ask.

"I trust you far more to even know what I would want, let alone voice it." Percy counter-answered.

"What about Janitor duties?" Abby suggested.

"Your godfather already said that would be rare, and I do not mind keeping places of devotion clean." He countered with a genuine smile.

"Percy, you would need to improve your archery," Zoe said with a smirk.

"Ah, shit!" Percy exclaimed with a pout.

"You truly wouldn't mind swearing an oath to Lady Artemis, do you?" Sirius asked amused at the back-and-forth discussion happening before him.

"I would easily swear, my first summer at the camp made that clear. They only cared about me when I did great things, after my first quest everyone wanted to be my friend." He said with disgust. "That has kept me from trusting anyone of them, the only one I do trust is Thalia, she knows what I went through and she experienced the same as me."

"Well, we can't stop you from swearing a loyalty oath to Lady Artemis, but I would recommend that you see how the girls in the hunt tolerate you before you make the final decision," Abby suggested.

"Wait, would Lady Artemis not need to accept the oath as she did with us?" Bianca asked.

"In this case no. Percy cannot take the pledge like you or Abby did as he is a male. My pledge binds the blessing to you. It was set at the moment you spoke it; my acceptance was what finalized the blessing." Artemis explained to her young huntress.

"Oh, that makes sense," Bianca replied hesitantly.

"Well, I think we have delayed long enough for now. We should see if the camp is settled and get some food before we all return here, we still have a few hours before we must meet my brother." Artemis sighed as she turned to Percy. "Percy, try to help keep everyone calm at camp."

"If your camp is anything like Hogwarts, then I doubt that Percy will be able to keep the kids calm," Sirius said.

"Not without exchanging a few favors." Abby agreed.

"Calm?" Percy asked confused.

"My huntresses do not take kindly to be hit on or thought less of. Their response most often is with violence and this causes further resentment from the campers which escalates things." Artemis explained.

"Slytherin vs Gryffindor rivalry all over again." Abby sighed softly.

"I don't know what that means, Abby my dear," Artemis said looking confused.

"I will explain that later, Milady, as I go through my years at Hogwarts," Abby said, acknowledging her Lady.

"Thank you, Abby," Artemis said before turning back to Percy. "Percy, if you can keep the campers from doing anything the huntresses' stay will be more enjoyable for everyone involved."

"And there is no way you can ask them to lessen their response?" Percy asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately no. I wish I could, but most of my girls were brutally assaulted by males before and they all still carry the scars. To put it simply, they cannot see the difference between the built-up to an assault or being hit on." Artemis explained.

"Ah...yes that is a good reason for the campers to be the ones to change," Percy said with a wince. "I will see what I can do, at least I can remind everyone that the girls do not date and will take it very poorly if asked to break their pledge for a date."

"That is all that I ask for," Artemis said before turning to Abby and Sirius. "Lord Black, I would like to thank you for your help and patience today with the information regarding the loyalty oaths."

"Ah, it was no problem, Lady Artemis, I will send this book to my goddaughter if and when you might need more information about the oaths," Sirius said with a smile.

"I would like that very much." The goddess said happily.

"Abby, my dear, I will talk to you later when you are alone, alright?" Sirius asked his goddaughter.

"Sure, Padfoot. Thanks for everything." Abby said softly.

"Mischief Managed, Padfoot signing off," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Mischief Managed," Abby whispered as she returned her mirror to her bag before turning back to her companions.

"Well then, we have delayed long enough. It is time that we get settled before we go and meet my irresponsible little brother…"