Prologue

Continuous successful planning had made Albus Dumbledore very proud of himself, even to the point of hubris. This time, his plan was for a young boy to have a miserable life that was practically slavery just so that when his Hogwarts letter came, the boy would be loyal to Albus Dumbledore even to the point of death. But as much as the man planned, the gods were to decide the outcome. Lady Hecate did not approve the way it took away freedom from an innocent child, barely more than a baby. She disliked the way these wizards had locked a man into a prison without trial, and the prison guarded by Dementors no less.

By Ancient Laws she was not to interfere directly, but the Hubris of this mortal needed to be punished. Hecate decided that the best way to penalize Dumbledore, to give him a proper warning, was making sure his plans failed for once. For that reason, she was going to see that the boy was not being raised by these disgusting people. Albus Dumbledore would be able to interfere nearly anywhere on land though, so she decided that Harry wouldn't be growing up on land. The sea was an option she took.

But for that she needed a bit of help. She knew who to ask, though, for not only was Harry Potter son of Hecate, but the father, James Potter, had been son of Hermes – and the mother of James Potter, Amber, had been daughter of Poseidon. She had also been a distant descendant of the youngest Peverell and therefore that of Thanatos, but the relations was too distant to really count. Hermes and Poseidon, however, were close enough to matter so she had called a meeting since Apollo had revealed the possible destiny of Harry Potter.

"I need one that could swindle around the manipulations of Albus Dumbledore and able to keep freedom against all odds to raise my son," Hecate said, "One who is not bound by the mortal leaders."

"I think I know just the one." Poseidon said with a smile. "Captain Jack Sparrow. He even listened to Siren's Song unaffected once."

"How did he ever manage that?" Hecate asked, knowing full well the power desires had on people, and Siren Song used those desires to lure the mortals to their deaths.

"His true desire is freedom," Poseidon smirked. "One can't exactly capture someone with freedom. As it is, he already has his freedom as he sees it – sailing the sea as the captain of Black Pearl."

"I want some part in it, Poseidon," Hermes said.

"You do, nephew", Poseidon replied. "He's a pirate, and his crew speaks several different languages. So of course he won't be following mortal governments of any kind."

"Pirate you say... All right then, i don't think we could keep the boy out of mortal governments on land as it is."

"Perfect," Hecate smiled. "Do you suppose the captain would take the task?"

"Being god of the sea does have some advantages." Poseidon told her with a smirk.

So that night Hemes, Hecate and Poseidon watched a tabby cat behaving in a manner that was quite different from your regular kitty at Privet Drive in Surrey. Hecate chuckled as she saw her, not that the mortals noticed anything as she covered the three of them in the Mist.

"Not a real cat, is she?" Hermes asked Hecate.

"No, she's one of those my more distant descendants," Hecate replied.

"They use owls as mail-carriers?" Poseidon asked.

"Pigeons tend to get eaten or distracted." Hecate replied and added: "Owls can find the recipient unless he or she's in a location they can't reach."

Poseidon stared at her a moment. "How do they find the receiver?" he asked.

"Why, by magic of course," Hecate gaggled.

They watched as a slim man with long beard appeared at the end of the street and put out the lights, before addressing the tabby. The darkness did not hinder the gods' vision at all. They witnessed how the tabby turned into a woman who discussed with the man about earlier events. Hermes grieved over James Potter, but did not let it distract him. Hagrid arrived with a little boy wrapped in blankets in his arms on a huge flying motorcycle Hagrid had borrowed from Sirius Black.

When they left, leaving the baby on the doorstep, Poseidon shook his head. "Haven't these people ever heard of hypothermia?" he asked disapprovingly.

"Or traffic accidents if the toddler were to waddle into the street," Hermes added.

"All the more reason we need to save the little one," Hecate replied and picked up the toddler. She looked at the wound on the forehead and frowned. "Leaving a piece of him on my son to form a scar on his forehead, Albus Dumbledore? I don't think so."

Hecate handed the baby to Poseidon to hold while she concentrated on the healing process. She took out a piece of Tom Riddle's soul out of it, put it into a jar and handed the jar to Hermes. She kissed the wound and it healed perfectly, leaving no scar at all. This was yet another strike against Albus' plan: Harry Potter would not be marked by a scar on his forehead.

"Time to part ways, I suppose," Hecate said, eyeing the piece of Tom Riddle. "Hermes, take that to Hades and Poseidon, take Harry Potter to that Pirate of yours. I'll mess with the spells that old fool put up. He won't even notice anything is off for a few years."

They all agreed and went on their way.