Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: The Journey

Year Three: Artemis Moons Me

"Perhaps you should read next, Hades," Rhea suggested.

Hades and Demeter held a quick but subtle glare before the book relocated to the hands of the Lord of the Underworld.

Upon seeing the title, Hades smirked. He looked at the goddess of the hunt as he read it aloud. "Year three: Artemis Moons Me."

Artemis flushed so brightly, that Apollo would have had to squint from the light her cheeks gave off.

Though it wouldn't have mattered, Apollo's eyes were already closed due to how hard he, Ares and Hermes were laughing.

"How uncouth, Artemis." Aphrodite mocked.

"I didn't – I mean, I wouldn't – Grandmother, make them stop!" Artemis pleaded.

Rhea just looked at her. "Artemis, a goddess such as yourself should know better than to moon people."

"Grandmother!"

The New Years was fun, Gaige had went all out for the fireworks. As such the Year 2004 began with a blast, even more so as Luke turned seventeen. That was a real treat as he was now one of the oldest campers around. Rhode had done some growing over the first semester too, and no, not in height. She had developed in her chest area and thanks to Emily, she had a new set of bras all ready for a blooming B-cup.

"Why are we being told this?" Percy asked with a pained groan.

"If you have daughters, it helps to get to know growth. Plus, pregnancies make breast size increase." Aphrodite informed with a knowing smile.

Athena narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to say something?"

"No, but give me nine to eleven years and then I'll be skipping through Olympus." Aphrodite giggled.

It was a little awkward getting them on, but Rhode was used to it by now. She still liked sports bras more though since they were easier to wear.

Still, one of the biggest things to note were that the three demigods of Hogwarts were now armed with silver weapons. Of course Chiron was perturbed with the fact that the school's staff had a werewolf on it, but the half-bloods told him that it was okay and Lupin had shown no aggressive actions against them, besides issuing homework and detention.

"He has to die." Leo declared sternly.

"It's just a bit of homework," Annabeth said.

"...No, I'm with Leo on this one," Percy said.

"Percy!"

"What? Homework and detention? And he's a werewolf? Too many negatives."

They of course wanted the weapons, just in case.

After some farewell hugs from Rhode's favorite pair of blondes, and the promise of more letters from Annabeth via Wright, the magical demigods headed back to Hogwarts.

Upon her return to Hogwarts, Rhode was greeted with a wonderful sight: Granger and Ron shouting at each other at the top of their lungs. Repeatedly.

Apparently Crookshanks, Granger's cat, had been trying to eat Scabbers, Ron's gross rat. Rhode was genuinely confused on why he was upset so asked why he was complaining, he hated the thing after all.

"Why does she continue to hang out with him?" Frank asked.

"Because golden trio?" Piper suggested.

"...But Su and Lee are far more interesting."

He just said it was the principle of the matter. The child of the ocean just rolled her eyes at this and told him to stop whining about it. He'd flushed at that but argued that Granger had gone too far this time and even if it was over a pet rat he never wanted or liked, he wasn't going to let Granger get away with more "bullshit", all the while gesturing angrily at his sister who had timidly but steadfastly took Granger's side.

The child of the sea just sighed at this. Ron was being so dishonest about the whole thing. If he was angry at Granger for 'corrupting' his sister, then tell her so. There was no point using an excuse to shout at her just to vent his frustrations towards her. Rhode told him this, leaving him a sputtering mess,

"Bloody Hell."

"Nice one, Leo." Frank chuckled.

before she publicly declared she washed her hands of the matter. Unfortunately for everyone, it seemed Ron didn't heed her advice. As a result, the school was left with having to endure the pointless argument between the two Gryffindors. Poor them, Gryffindors were loud when they got going.

"Roaring lions." Ares mumbled through the side of his mouth.

Rhea frowned at her grandson. "What are wrong with lions?"

"...nothing?"

"I thought not."

Rhode was lying face down on her bed, attempting to get some sleep after the party down in the common room. Gryffindor had beat Ravenclaw in a Quidditch match, and her house had decided, much to her annoyance, to use it as an excuse to have a massive party. So everyone and their mother was hooting and hollering about it. Even McGonagall was down there celebrating the house's rare win, apparently too happy to let the celebration die even though it was already passed lights out. Though to her credit, she had tried and that was when Rhode had slipped off to bed though most of the Lions had merely changed to their sleepwear, went back down into the common room and continued the party, with their Head of House doing nothing but give a shake of her head at their antics before joining in. Rhode decided to blame Mr. D for all the racket, since he was the party god. It seemed to relieve her that she could blame the portly god.

Dionysus scowled. "See if she has a nice birthday party..."

"She will." Poseidon frowned at his nephew.

"Tch, maybe."

The green eyed girl had finally managed to begin to drift off to sleep when a great shout that rung throughout the dorm startled her back to full wakefulness, forcing her to jump out of her bed.

Dressed in her pajamas, a green tee-shirt and dolphin-covered boxer shorts, she rushed down the stairs, catching the tail end of a shadow running out the portrait entrance. She could hear Ron shouting something about Black and connected the dots.

She paused for but a second. He was here?! Rhode decided to pursue at that very moment.

"And cue Percy moment." Thalia smirked.

Percy scowled. "That's not a thing!"

"It unfortunately is." Annabeth sighed.

"Annabeth!"

She sprinted passed the gaggle of handful of remaining partiers as well as the odd half-asleep student that had been startled out of their dorm rooms by the shout, her bare feet thumping the stone floor as she raced out Gyrffindor Tower.

She saw movement ahead, "Hey!" she shouted. The figure startled at her cry, but instead of stopping, he just started running faster.

Pumping her arms, Rhode was hot on his heels. She reached down and mentally cursed her forgetfulness for not taking her wand. She saw a suit of armor coming up and snatched the spear it was holding. "Stop!" she shouted at the figure as it turned the corner.

Hermes hummed. "We need some epic chase music. Apollo?"

Apollo nodded and then played a very repetitive and corny sounding tune on his keyboard.

"...That's...That's not..."

Apollo glared at Hermes and continued to play the tune.

"But...That's not a chase..."

Apollo's eyes narrowed.

"...Artemis, he's scaring me."

"It's a YouTube video." Artemis drawled tiredly. "Most Metal Song or something of the sort. Terrible, really."

Apollo added an underwater effect to the keyboard and continued to play the tune.

Poseidon hummed. "I like it."

"You would." Hades groaned and read on.

She followed suit and found herself suddenly following a very large black dog that you could have mistaken for a baby hellhound, instead of the human figure she was chasing earlier.

What!? Where did he go? Wait a minute, he must be an Animagus like Lee! The dog is Black!

Black was moving faster now that he was on all fours, but that didn't deter Rhode. She acted as a predator before its prey, a wild look in her vivid eyes as she did so.

Still running, she cocked her arms back, spear aimed at the fleeing target, and threw!

Artemis smirked lightly. "She has talent."

"Do not let her sink her teeth into your daughter, Poseidon." Hades warned. He glared at the goddess, who looked pained at the reminder of her fallen hunter. "Her Hunters lack common sense."

A yip was heard as the criminal turned hound twisted around a corner once more, the scent of copper (blood) hitting her nose as she passed the spear lodged into the ground.

"Nice shot," Apollo praised. "Not as good as one of my kids or Arte's hunters, but not bad. Especially for one of Poseidon's."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Poseidon asked.

"Uh, you threw a mountain and an island at your enemies?" Apollo pointed out. "Those do not miss. Even if you do."

"...Point taken."

She turned the corner and saw the dog right in front of her. She didn't have time to dodge as the beast bit her calf, its canines going in deep.

"Ah!" Rhode cried out, her other leg snapped forward, punting the dog right in the face. The criminal whimpered at the hit, but quickly fled down some corridor. Rhode would have pursued, but the second she put pressure on her leg, she winced as a surge of pain struck her forcing her to grab onto the wall to keep standing.

Rhode's eyes flashed with chilling anger, mist escaping her lips as she snarled. She punched the wall in frustration, "You better run! Once I find you, you're dead!" She yelled, her voice thundering after the now escaped Black.

She turned around and winced after every step on her bad leg. She had learned two things tonight.

One, Black could turn into a dog, so he was an Animagus. And two, he wasn't out to kill her. He had gotten her leg, and would have had the perfect chance to kill her, but didn't. Why didn't he? What did that mean? Did he need her alive for some reason?

"Why does it sound like I'm British in my head, but not when I speak?" Leo asked.

"Schizophrenia," Dionysus said.

"...I was joking."

"I wasn't. Girl is talking to herself too often."

That couldn't be it either though, since with him latched onto her leg he could have dragged her off right there, but he didn't even try. What was going on?

These were the thoughts plaguing her as she returned to her dorm. Halfway there Percy and a bunch of older years met her in the corridors. They'd apparently run after her the moment they'd realized what was going on and how she wasn't in her dorm room. The fact that they'd only just now caught up to Rhode was proof of just how much more fit she was,

"Pampered babies," Ares said with a snort. "Even Dite's kids are in better shape than them."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"...Oh, dammit."

her own demigod awareness that let her react just that bit faster, and the head start it had given her.

Seeing she was injured, Percy had at first demanded she go to the Hospital Wing, but Rhode had refused. It was only a puncture wound, nothing serious.

Frank grinned. "Tis but a scratch."

Leo snickered. "A scratch? You're arm's off!"

"No it isn't."

"Well, what's that then?"

"I've had worse."

"You liar!"

"Come on, ya pansy!"

Apollo wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, Frank Zhang...classic. I would've been proud to claim you as my own."

"Considering your legacy tried to end the world, I can see why," Ares said with a smirk.

After a couple minutes of pointless arguing, one of the seventh year girls in the group lost her patience and just shoved Percy out of the way and cast a healing spell on Rhode's leg. Problem solved, the group marched back to the dorm as a group with their wands drawn and ready, alert for any sign of Black.

When they got back to the form, they found everyone in their PJ's and McGonagall waiting for them in the Common Room.

"Uh, sup?" she grimaced as the head of the lion house stalked up to the demigod in her old lady nightie.

"Evans, what were you thinking?!" she screamed bloody murder at the demigod.

"Chasing after the bad guy, what else." Rhode answered with a roll of her eyes.

"In the immortal words of Mr. D: Well duh!" Percy said with a smirk.

Dionysus glared at him. "Don't quote me, Princely Johannson."

"Chasing after the-young lady! Have you lost your mind?!"

"I think she has."

"No one cares what you think, Dionysus," Poseidon said dryly.

"Poseidon." Rhea frowned.

"It's true though."

Apollo ignored the look sent his way. He was not going to get in an argument with his grandmother to defend Dionysus, thank you very much!

The child of the sea pondered that for a second and then shook her head, "Don't think so." she said, nonchalantly falling into a nearby chair, "Learned that Black is an Animagus, a large black dog. Also managed to wound him with a spear I grabbed."

That had the whole house broke out into a storm of hushed whispers, but the head of house was having none of that, "Silence!" she shouted, making a pall of silence fill the common room. The woman turned her sharp eyes to Rhode, "Evans, you and Longbottom will be serving detention for the rest of the week."

Rhode looked to the shaking Neville, "Why Neville?"

"He was the one who lost that cheat sheet with the passwords on it. That's how Black got in." Ron piped up, making Neville shrink into his fluffy robes.

Rhode just gave Neville a deadpanned expression, "Seriously?"

"Sorry." The boy confessed to her.

"That wasn't entirely his fault...mostly..." Apollo mumbled.

Rhode just groaned and threw her head back as Lee handed her some water. She gave him an appreciative smile, the sudden run through the castle had left her mildly thirsty.

After a sip, Rhode was bombarded with questions by her fellow students. They asked things like what happened in her chase and what Black looked like. All things Rhode wasn't exactly happy to talk about, not yet and not to a bunch of nosy gawkers, so she just ignored the whole bunch of them.

This didn't seem to faze her inquisitive housemates and they continued to press her for answers. It was going to be a long night.

"It's always a long night." Apollo grinned. "Because the sun flies by while you have fun. While Arte just parks her chariot wherever so she can run off and hunt things."

"When's the last time you actually hit something with your bow, again?" Artemis asked.

"...Uhh...Orion?"

"I've dealt with three monsters since then, two of which were mechanical bulls." Artemis looked at Hephaestus. "Did you get the remains?"

"Yeah, useful spare parts."

No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped.

Rhode just pulled out a witty Mr. D retort, "Well, duh."

"Well she is right," Dionysus said with a smirk. "I am witty."

"Oh please, you're as witty as a squirrel," Hermes said dryly.

Throughout the day, everywhere they went they saw signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black;

"...I...Wha...Doors?" Hazel asked, baffled.

"It's a magic thing," Frank explained simply.

"...But still, doors?"

"Mortal wizard security."

Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired.

"Aw, but I liked that one." Ares frowned.

Athena rolled her eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?"

His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her.

Hermes rubbed his chin. "I could still snatch it."

"You're a god." Percy pointed out.

"...Okay, Lee could still snatch it."

Percy looked doubtful.

They unnerved Rhode who remembered the one troll she killed back in her first year, but this pair were surprisingly restrained. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs,

"In front of children!? For shame!" Ares shook his head while his brothers laughed.

Rhea scowled, but said nothing. It wasn't as if Ares said the line. Still...the innuendo was unnecessary!

but didn't give the students and staff any trouble.

Ron had become an instant celebrity for having spotted Black. Rhode had as well for chasing after Black, but she wasn't talking. So people were forced to turn to Ron for their taste of the latest gossip on Black. Thus for the first time in his life, people were paying attention to him for something he'd done and not just because he was Rhode's friend, and it was clear that Ron was rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened, with a wealth of detail.

"... I was asleep, I had one too many butterbeers I think, dozing off in a chair at the edge of the Common Room… when all a sudden I feel someone grab me, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? Or that one of the twins were up to something, you know? ... So I woke up and instead... I saw him standing over me… he was searching my pockets I think… dunno what he hoped to find in them, only had my useless rat, Scabbers, in them... he looked like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair ... holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches...

"That's something he'll never hear from a girl," Ares said.

"You are pushing your luck, Ares." Hestia warned.

Ares scowled. He thought it was funny.

and he looked at me, and I looked at him, then Scabbers ran off, and it was like the moment was broken. So then I yelled, and he scampered."

"Why, though?" Ron added to Rhode as the group of second year girls who had been listening to his chilling tale departed. "Why did he run?"

Rhode had wondered the same thing. Why had Black, having gotten the wrong person, not silenced Ron and proceeded to hunt Rhode down? Black had proved twelve years ago that he didn't mind murdering innocent people.

"Or, perhaps, there's more to the story," Annabeth suggested.

"Hey, don't go playing the high and mighty card." Nico pointed at her. "We've all been there before when we were younger. You accused my dad of being the voice in the pit."

Annabeth turned and looked at Percy, who was failing at trying to look innocent.

Was he worried about alerting everyone else at the party? Surely, someone as notorious as him could manage a clean kill, right?

"Who knows," Rhode grunted, "But I was so damn close. If he hadn't turned that corner, he'd have a new hole in his back." She had cursed her missed throw. Even if she had winged him, it didn't sate her anger.

Neville was in total disgrace. McGonagall was so furious with him that she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits,

"Can she do that?" Apollo asked Athena.

The goddess shrugged. "The amount of authority Hogwarts' staff has varies from book to book. I highly doubt it'd be allowed in America, parents would throw fits."

"Like Zeus."

"Shut up, Hades."

"Boys..." Rhea warned.

given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Neville was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. Though Rhode had taken pity on him and told him what it was the first chance she got.

None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast - a Howler. He ran out of the Great Hall with it, the screaming of his grandma heard in the distance like the volume was on max!

Lee had told Rhode about Howlers, and honestly, she found them to be very annoying and stupid. But she guessed if a parent wanted to punish their child, embarrassing them in front of their peers was a shoe-in.

"Hmm..." Athena tapped her chin in thought and looked at Hephaestus. "Do you think its possible to do something like that with science for the parents of our realm?"

"Possibly, why?"

"Think of the scholars and the rate of crime that could diminish." Athena pointed out. "One authority always trumps others and if a child acts out in school, the parent could punish without the child hiding the punishment. Future demigods would strive to do their best in classes."

Percy felt a cold chill go up his spine at Athena's thought. That kind of motivation shouldn't be a thought! If his mother had howlers available to her...If Annabeth had howlers available to her!

Color left the skin of Poseidon's son.

Rhode felt sorry for Neville, but the fact was that his clumsiness had put the whole of Gryffindor in danger and could have killed who knows how many innocents. Because of this, the demigod gave him the cold shoulder during their shared detention.

"Harsh." Leo winced.

Lee was bored.

He was hanging around the Room of Requirement, fiddling with a Zippo lighter he tweaked with some magic while leaning back on a chair, his feet on a table.

Su was there too, doing her weird Poison Ivy stuff, like crossbreeding rare magical plants, energetically taking detailed notes on them. She had many potted plants on a long table, the leaves of one of which she was checking right now.

"Rhode's detention should be over soon," the son of Hermes commented, snapping the lighter open and closed, producing some sparks that turned into dancing shapes.

"Indeed it should," Su said, after checking her watch. She turned to him, "If you're bored, I could show you how to trim some plants." She suggested kindly.

Lee shook his head, "The only thing I'm interested in trimming is pockets, not plants.

"Humph, it would do him some good," Demeter said.

Hermes smirked. "Nonsense! He's got his priorities in order."

Sorry, Poison Ivy."

Su flustered, "Please don't call me that!" she whined in protest with a pout, "I'm nothing like her."

"You splice pants like a mad scientist. It fits you."

Su planted her hands on her hips and stomped her foot, "It does not."

Lee raised an accusing eyebrow.

"…Okay, maybe a little." The daughter of Demeter confessed, but pointed her finger sternly at him, "Still, I am no villainess."

"But Su," Lee grinned at her, "Boys love the bad girls.

"Not me." Percy smirked at Annabeth. "I like the brainy ones."

"I'm content with tomboys," Jason said getting a smile from Piper.

"Unique ones," Frank said quietly, which got him a hug.

Leo scoffed. "Lovesick fools, all of you. The bad girls are where it's at! Look at Thalia. She's bad and she's hot."

"...And she's my sister."

"Semantics."

Just look at Rhode." He teased.

The daughter of agriculture turned bright red, "Lee!" she whined adorably, mustering her best glare, but the son of Hermes just laughed at her. He laughed so hard, he fell off his chair, dropping his magic Zippo.

"Oh...this is going to be amazing." Ares pulled his phone up. "And...record."

As it hit the ground, it sparked up and a fireball shaped like a platypus streaked across the air, setting fire to all the plants.

"And the Emmy goes to..."

"Shut up, Ares!" Hermes hissed while he winced at the glare Demeter sent his way. "Uh, butterfingers?"

"Your kids have butterfingers?" Apollo asked.

"Whose side are you on!?"

"No!" Su cried out, racing towards the plants. She could hear their horrific screams! She grabbed her cloak, desperately slapping out the flames and inhaling the mixed fumes released by the burning plants, causing her to cough and hack a few times.

Lee jumped up and pointed his wand at the plants, crying out, "Aguamenti!" He dosed the plants with water, and Su, making her drip from head to toe. He walked up to her, taking off his cloak to drape over her, "Su, I am so sorry. I mean, I didn't mean to do that." Lee lamely apologized as Su wrapped her damp uniform with his cloak.

Su however was just staring at him, "Lee?" she asked fearfully.

"Yeah?"

"Why is your hair on fire?"

Demeter frowned. "Is his hair on fire?"

"She did inhale a lot of the fumes..." Apollo mumbled.

Hades' mouth curled into a grin. "Oh...I can see where this is going."

"Huh?" Lee said, a stumped look on his face.

Su looked around, "And why are we underwater?"

"She's higher than a kite." Apollo deadpanned.

Hades smirked. "Well, I thought Apollo's cabin gave that speech. Seems like Demeter's daughter partakes in the illegal pastime."

"It's not illegal if it's for health purposes...or if you're in Colorado."

Demeter flushed brightly. "It was an accident!"

"She seems to be enjoying herself." Hades' smirk widened as he continued.

she breathed out in awe.

"Um, Su-!"

The daughter of Demeter let out a random giggle, but pouted, rubbing her stomach, "I'm hungry."

"That would be the munchies settling in." Hermes nodded knowingly.

Lee just looked at her, before a horrific look dawned on his features.

"Oh gods, are you high?" he hissed in a panic.

"I could really go for a taco right now."

"Oh gods, you are!"

"The real question here is how does he know?" Athena asked.

Hermes scratched his head. "God of alchemy? Alchemists get into crazy fumes, too."

"Ah, true."

"So do smiths," Hephaestus said dryly. "Never see me high."

Hermes gave him a look. "Killing metal bulls."

"...Those are machines."

"But the idea!"

Lee screamed, his fingers going into his hair as he took a step back from Su, who was padding around the room, talking to, if he was hearing her right, some rainbow Flamingos. Lee turned around, freaking out.

He was screwed, screwed! If Rhode found out about this…no, scratch that! If Demeter found out, he'd be wheat germ! Well, she did that to everyone, but still! He was too handsome to be part of a perfectly balanced breakfast!

"That's too good for him." Demeter grumbled.

"Okay, okay," Lee said to himself. "You can fix this, I'm sure its only temporary. As long as I keep her here, keep her fed and watered,

"Like the plant she is."

"Hades, enough." Rhea sighed.

it'll wear off." The son of Hermes assured himself. He turned around sharply, "Okay, Su, this is wha-" He got his answer even before he finished speaking when the door of the room slammed shut.

Lee stood there for a moment, in terrified shock as the situation slowly slipped out of his control. He was drawn out of his funk when he heard a muffled, "Wheee!"

"Better get the pesticides ready," Apollo said with a smirk.

from outside the door. Finally, his brain started working again.

"Su!"

Rhode sighed as she finally got out of her detention. Honestly, she'd have a future at shining trophies at this rate.

"Fitting for one of Poseidon's."

Poseidon laughed mockingly at Athena's joke.

It was then several students started running towards her, screaming their heads off. Wait, why had they just fled past her? Confused, Rhode reached her hand out, grabbing Justin Finch-Fletchley, some rich kid by muggle standards, from Hufflepuff, and asked, "What's going on?" she asked casually.

"I, it, she, it, he, I, tacos, mommy!" He blubbered.

Rhode slapped him across the face, "Calm down and out with it!" she ordered.

"It's a mad house!" he said in a shrill tone, "Plants, plants everywhere! The greenhouse, it's out to get us all! Professor Sprout tried to stop them," he started to cry, "But they took her, she's probably mulch by now!" he said in hysteria before pulling himself roughly from Rhode's grip and ran off.

"Bye Justin, sorry you were a one-time character!" Apollo waved. He sighed. "I had high hopes for him in the second book. Then he went to the sidelines..."

She looked towards the way he had run off for a moment before turning to the hallway he had first came running down and pulled out her spyglass. Sighing heavily, she said under her breath, "Just another day, just another day."

She turned the corner to see the hallway covered in foliage of different kinds. And there, walking towards her, was Su.

"Yes," the daughter of Demeter nodded airily to herself, "Soon I will have all the tacos! Things are going all according to plant." She said, wringing her wrists like a cliché villain while giggling maddeningly.

"...All according to plant?" Athena asked.

"GENIUS!" Apollo, Hermes and Leo declared. Apollo even pulled out a notebook to write it down.

"I knew it. Deep down, Demeter's children were psychopaths."

"Hades, be nice!" Rhea frowned at her eldest son and then turned to her daughter. "There, there, Demeter. I'm sure not all of your daughters are obsessed with tacos."

Rhode groaned, as if taking a physical blow from the terrible pun. "Su, what are you doing?" she asked. Seriously, this was so out of character for her friend.

Su looked at her, a hazy look in her chestnut brown eyes, like she wasn't all there. Suddenly, the daughter of Demeter gasped, "A wild Squirtle appeared!"

"...Does that make me a blastoise?" Percy asked with a grin.

Piper shook her head. "You're a Wartortle. Awkwardly cute."

Annabeth nodded. "Yep. Just a really high level."

Rhode gained a dumbfounded expression, "…What?"

"Fear not! For I will capture you, stuff you in a tiny red and white ball, and force you to fight for amusement against other enslaved animals!"

"It truly is a horrible idea," Demeter said with a huff.

"Blasphemy!" Apollo declared.

"…What?"

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

"Oh sweet gods," Rhode paled, "She thinks I'm a Pokémon!" She knew she should have never let Annabeth show Su that game! The daughter of Demeter claimed it was animal cruelty after all,

Demeter sniffed. "It is!"

Artemis sighed. "Aunt Demeter, it's...They're not animals. They are pocket monsters."

"See!? Even Artemis likes it!"

"I never said that, Apollo!"

"Su! Just stop and talk to me!" she shouted.

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" A tree popped up next to Su and the next thing Rhode knew, dozens of sharp leaves were sent hurtling at her. The daughter of the sea summoned her shield and blocked them all just in time.

"Su! Snap out of it!"

"Squirtle used Withdraw?" Su laughed crazily as she said this. "No matter! Vine Whip! Oh and Professor Snape isn't here!" At this, a massive pair of vines grew out of the foliage adorned hall and swung themselves at Rhode.

"Ah crap baskets."

"Oh, so she says that too?" Leo asked.

"Who do you know-?"

"Internet joke." Leo waved off Piper's question. "You, being wrapped up in your romance with Mr. Perfect over there, wouldn't understand."

"What about monster threats?" Percy asked.

Leo looked at him and snorted. "My girlfriend's a sorceress. What monster is going to attack me?"

"...Point to you."

The daughter of Poseidon couldn't dodge in time, damn Su could move those vines fast! The blow sent Rhode skidding back a few feet. Okay, that was going to leave some welts.

"Yes! A critical hit!" Su exclaimed as she suddenly did a happy dance? She was really, really out of it wasn't she? All while singing out, "When I catch you, I'll hug and cuddle you and all around smother you in my love! And then you'll be my loyal battle pet and we'll conquer the world! Mwahahaha!"

"I think there might be something more to those feelings," Aphrodite said with a thoughtful hum.

"Score!" Hermes pumped his fist.

"Valdez approved." Leo grinned. He winced when Piper smacked his arm. "Ow...why you gotta be so mean? I'd only think about it."

He was smacked again.

"Pervert." Piper huffed and Thalia glared at the boy from where she sat with Artemis doing the same.

Leo scowled and rubbed his arm. Piper hit hard!

She actually said "Mwahaha!" Didn't even laugh it out, just said it like a normal word. Ok, Su was officially bat shit insane right now. What could she do? Su was one of her closest friends, she couldn't just attack her.

Wait, maybe that was it!

Mustering her innate cunning, Rhode shouted with uncertainty, "Um, wild Squirtle flees?" She prayed it worked.

Su pouted, "Oh darn! Now what do I do?"

"...I want Rhode's enemies." Percy pouted.

The child of Demeter then began pacing in an oddly perfect circle, comically running her hands through her hair in thought.

Thank you Bethy. Never thought all that nonsense about Pokémon would ever come in handy, but this just goes to show what I know.

"Pokémon is not nonsense!" Annabeth scowled with her proclamation. The rest of demigods frowned in agreement, save for Nico, Hazel and Thalia.

Thalia merely shrugged when she received looks. "I was too busy taking care of Jason or running from monsters...or being a tree."

"I was dead. Still, I have a vague understanding of it." Hazel admitted shyly.

"Mythomagic is and always will be the best game on the planet." Nico was firm and unmoving with his comment.

"...Something is wrong with you, dude." Leo dryly retorted.

"Meh."

Rhode took advantage of Su's distraction to close in on her and when her back was turned as she paced, she surged forward and quickly put her friend into a sleeper hold. "Sorry about this Su! But this is for your own good."

"No! NO! My Tacos! My global Taco Empire…" Su managed to struggle out as she passed out.

It was then Lee showed up. "Is it safe?"

"Yes." Rhode said as she gently laid Su down. "Where were you anyway?"

"Err… Cleaning up after her?" Lee said unconvincingly.

"How?" Rhode asked distractedly as she adjusted Su, so she would be comfortable.

"The Mist?" Lee answered evasively.

"You know why she was like this in the first place?" the green eyed girl asked, gesturing to the snoozing Su. "If I didn't know better, I'd have said she was high."

"She was." Lee said with a gulp.

"Fingers crossed, it's a swift painless death," Hermes said with a hopeful look.

Rhode paused, turning to stare at him, "What? How did that happen?"

Lee quickly explained what happened.

"What? We don't get a verbal recap? No stuttering?" Ares scowled. "Fearful summaries are always hilarious!"

"True."

"Dude!" Hermes frowned at Apollo.

Apollo shrugged. "Sayin' it like it is, bro."

"Lee…" Rhode gritted out as mist wafted around her lightly. "You started this mess? You fix it. I'm taking Su to bed." With that the scion of the ocean picked up her sleeping friend gently and proceeded to walk off.

"What! How?" Lee called after the departing demigoddesses.

"Like you said, with the Mist." Rhode said dismissively. "Anything else? Deal with it yourself."

"Well damn. That's gonna be a lot of work. I deserve it though." Rhode heard Lee mutter just as she walked out of earshot. Good, at least he knew when to take responsibility.

"Did he knock someone up?" Ares asked. "Shame on him!"

"Like you're one to talk," Hera said scornfully.

After the...debacle of Su's high-induced rampage, Lee had been very, very apologetic. He'd even gone out of his way to be especially helpful to both his fellow demigods. Su in particular.

Su on other hand was beyond embarrassed over the ordeal, she even skipped a day of class out of shame! She just wanted to huddle in her bed like a cute little turtle.

"Ha! See? Turtles appeal to both genders!" Hermes smirked while Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Heroes in a half shell," Apollo said with a nod.

Rhode of course kept her company with a tub of Rocky Road ice cream and two large spoons. Thankfully, Rhode managed to talk Su into bucking up after only a day. Who knew how long she would have sulked otherwise?

Other than that though, things at Hogwarts were pretty uneventful. There were no more sightings of Black and no monster attacked the school.

Days later Rhode was sitting in the library enjoying the peace by reading a book on Ancient Runes as Su was nose deep in a law book.

"Da law?"

"No." Zeus rumbled at Hermes' attempt to start up the gag once again.

Buckbeak, the jerk of a Hippogriff, had been put on trial for injuring Malfoy. Ever since, Su was doing everything she could to help fight against the injustice of it all. She gave Hagrid notes and ideas on how to fight the legal case that the whole thing had become and even sent some letters to her father for information.

Rhode of course pointed out that the system was corrupt and how money was playing against her. Su of course didn't believe that and had faith in justice.

A smirk spread across Zeus' face. "Dedicated girl, isn't she?"

"As futile as it is," Poseidon said. He shrugged at the look the other 'justice' gods gave him. "What? Money has corrupted the mortal justice system."

Zeus scowled and bitterly admitted that was true...silently, of course.

The daughter of Poseidon heavily disagreed with that, but Su wasn't fazed at all, putting her all into the matter.

They were just chilling time, waiting for Lee to get back. He had gone to Lupin, as a sort of spy mission, and asked him for help against the Dementors. So now all the girls had to do was just read and wait.

Flipping a page, Rhode took note of someone walking by them. She looked up to see an older boy sit down by the table near them. He was rather tall and…handsome.

Aphrodite giggled eagerly.

Poseidon rubbed his face. Torture...pure torture.

He had chiseled features with dark hair and grey eyes. He was in a Hufflepuff uniform, talking in hushed whispers with his friends. She wondered who he was.

"Cedric Diggory." Su supplied, reading her mind somehow.

Rhode colored a bit, "Oh."

Su glanced at the boy and back to Rhode, raising a brow, "Oh?"

"Well," Rhode said, looking back down at her book, "He's sorta cute." She admitted to her friend.

"She's gone the road Annabeth has...doomed." Thalia drawled.

Annabeth looked at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"She's going to fall for someone who so doesn't deserve her." Thalia smirked.

Percy hummed. "Well, I can agree with that."

"The apocalypse approaches again," Nico said dryly.

Su hummed, "He's not my type." She said, looking back at her law books.

The child of the sea rested her elbow on the table, "Then what is your type?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, tell!"

"Don't!" Demeter argued against Aphrodite's eager grin.

Su looked up, mischief in her chestnut eyes. Raising a finger to her lips, she said, "Secret."

Aphrodite frowned. "Poo."

"Oh come on." Rhode whispered, sounding rather curious.

The daughter of Demeter just shook her head and returned to her reading.

Rhode pouted as she leaned back in her chair.

It was then Lee slinked into the library, making a beeline to them.

"Guys!" he said.

"Shh!" The librarian, Madam Pince, said glaring at Lee.

Giving a sheepish smile, the son of Hermes lowered his voice, "Okay, I got what we need. Let's head to the Room."

"Ugh, not the Wiseau film!" Apollo groaned.

"The what?"

"It's better if you don't ask, Percy." Hermes shuddered.

Ares scowled. "Oh, my kid makes one art film..."

"That was not art!" Apollo argued vehemently. "That was...was...ugh."

"There is no word in the mortal language or ancient language that describes that film." Athena drawled.

Ares rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Whatever."

Nodding, Rhode got up, closing her book as Su was stuffing hers into her messenger bag. They quietly left the library and listened to Lee as they headed to the Room of Requirement.

"So the spell is called the Patronus Charm," he listed off, "Helps shield you from the Dementors. You have to focus on a happy memory for it to work though."

"Rare though they are for demigods, as we've seen with Andromeda," Poseidon mentioned with a frown. "Rhode may also have difficulty with it."

"I should really read about Andromeda Potter," Rhea said thoughtfully.

Apollo snorted. "Do it now before it gets retconned like everything else."

"Can realities get retconned?" Hermes wondered.

"Duh. Marvel's been rewriting history for heroes forever. Spider-Man movies." Apollo explained. "And don't get me started on Superman."

Dionysus huffed. "The man of steel will never die."

"Seriously, why do you like him?!" Hermes groaned.

"That's for me to know and you to go mad over."

Lee stated as they scaled some stairs.

"Okay, that's good." Rhode nodded, "But did you see anything suspicious?" she asked intently.

"Well, he did have the twins' greatest pranking tool. I saw him looking it over when I showed up. He said he confiscated it." Lee frowned, "I tried to snag it, but he knew me and the twins are buddy buddy and pocketed it before I could. Can't exactly pick a pocket with a desk between me and my target after all."

Hermes frowned. "Yes you can. You just need practice."

"It's physically impossible." Athena rebuffed.

Hermes grinned at her. "Not if you got magic hands like I do."

Aphrodite tittered. "Yes he does..."

"You're both disgusting."

"Whatever," the daughter of the ocean rolled her eyes, "I mean about his furry problem."

Lee snickered at that, "Heh, furry. Well, nope, he was pretty normal."

"Like Frank," Leo said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Frank asked.

"You know what it means, furry boy."

Rhode clicked her tongue.

"What's the spell's incantation?" Su asked the boy as they finally got to the seventh floor.

"Expecto Patronum." The son of Hermes supplied as they finally made it into the Room of Requirement.

"Well, I guess we should practice it, right?" Rhode grinned.

Lee shot her one in return, "Oh yeah."

"Let's get started." Su said with enthusiasm.

The trio begun practicing the new spell. Lee, to his shock, managed a corporeal Patronus only a couple hours later. It was only a shapeless blob, so he hadn't perfected it, but according to him to get that far so quickly was incredible.

"Yeah, I'll just sit over here and keep being awesome," Hermes said as he buffed his nails on his shirt.

"That's my job!" Apollo complained

This fact comforted the girls who made far less progress. Su only managed some glowing mist and Rhode could barely conjure anything with the spell.

They also made a very frustrating discovery. This spell didn't gel with their fighting styles. It required too much focus, and so distracted them when they needed it. Su could probably work it in when she mastered it, since she mainly fought from range with her powers and could afford the distraction better but even she was leery about the Patronus. Focusing on it meant not doing so on her powers and with some of the dangerous plants she'd started using in her fights, that was very risky. If her control slipped and they attacked her allies, she'd never forgive herself.

That said, the Patronus as the only known shield against the effects of the Dementors' powers, was something all three demigods were determined to master. If for no reason then for just in case. They'd just have to keep practicing until they got it down.

"Practice makes perfect." Apollo nodded. "Unless you're one of my kids. Then you're just naturally awesome."

"Or naturally fatheaded."

"Grandmother, Artemis is bullying me!"

"Apollo, stop whining. Artemis, play nice." Rhea sighed as she rubbed her head. "I need an aspirin."

It was going like a normal Hogsmeade trip. Snacks, candy, butterbeer, and window-shopping. You know, just a good old girl's day out for Rhode and Su.

"You know, we should really do that some time," Piper said. "Without something trying to kill us."

Annabeth smirked and looked at Thalia. "Sounds good to me. How about-?"

"Not in a million years, Annie."

Apollo snickered. "No one will be around that long."

"...Dude, you did the thing again." Hermes hissed.

Apollo ignored him.

But then as they walked, Rhode stared at the trail to the Shrieking Shack with a broody look.

Su noticing her friend's look, gave her a comforting squeeze to the arm. "Hey, it's ok. Don't think about it. There are plenty of other good guys around for you to choose from."

"I know." Rhode admitted with a sigh. "It's just it was my first date, you know? I wanted it to be special."

"Don't we all?" Piper asked as she smiled at Jason.

"I get that. But we can't change the past." Su said sagely. "We just have to keep going forward."

"Thanks Su." Rhode said honestly.

"No problem." Su replied easily.

The two walked on in companionable silence for a few more minutes before an idea struck Rhode. "Hey Su, you mind going back without me? I want to do something alone."

"Sure. But what do you have in mind?" Su inquired curiously.

"I want to check out the Shrieking Shack. Alone."

"One can only wonder-"

"Ares!"

"Oh don't act like none of you thought it!" Ares argued.

Rhode said uncharacteristically somberly. "I think if I spent some time alone there I can just get some closure. I know it doesn't make any sense, but…"

"Say no more, Rhode. If that's what you need then go for it." Su said supportively. "See you back in the castle." The daughter of agriculture said as she took a step back, signaling her readiness to give Rhode her space like her friend wanted.

"Thanks a bunch, Su." Rhode said thankfully. "See you later." She said with a wave.

Su waved back and turned towards Hogwarts and started off back to the school on her own.

Rhode watched her go for a moment before she took a big fortifying breath and turned towards the Shrieking Shack.

She was passing through a part of the trail that crossed into the forest that surrounded Hogsmeade when she heard the sound of wood splintering from deeper in the forest. Turning she saw a sight that sent a shot of fear down her spine: a giant scorpion, the size of a large house.

"...Oh, this is going to end swimmingly." Poseidon grunted.

Apollo snickered. "Nice one."

It had a black exoskeleton underneath several white, bonelike plates upon its back, which were adorned with red markings. Its pincers were the size of Hummers and she really didn't want to see what those Jaws of Life could do.

"More like Claws of Death." Nico muttered. Damn, those were big.

But what really stuck out was the stinger, it was big and gold in color while gleaming in the sun. The strangest thing was that it had moss and grass growing all over its claws and torso with scars all over its carapace.

The monster was old and powerful, Rhode could figure out that much. And only one monster came to mind.

Scorpio, the monster of Gaia that slayed one of the greatest hunters in history, Orion.

He was her half-brother, right?

"Thanks for that, Poseidon." Apollo and Artemis droned.

"Oh, the first time around you were both fine!" Poseidon huffed.

So, what? Scorpio had a thing for Poseidon's kids?

Rhode had two choices: 1) Run out into the open grass just beyond the forest edge and be in full view of the whole village as she fought the massive monster; or 2) Run further into the forest where her mobility would be limited but no one was likely to see her.

In the end, there was only one choice. The demigod shot through the woods,

"Smart." Annabeth nodded.

Thalia snorted. "Not really."

evading trees and pumping her arms. There was no way she would put the whole village in danger. The shrieking behind her just forced her to run even faster.

It was official, she had the worst luck! No one had more terrible luck than her!

Percy coughed.

Seriously, it was like she offended Tyche or something!

She would honestly have preferred to fight a horde of Pit Scorpions then this one.

"Crap baskets." Rhode muttered while running faster, Scorpio plowing through trees like they were crabgrass as it pursued her.

Cursing Tyche once more, the daughter of Poseidon leapt over a log and fished out Spellbound. Biting back a snarl, Rhode brought out her trident and turned to attack, only to see a large pincer rearing back. As she went to avoid the swing of the pincer, Rhode inwardly swore as she slipped on a patch of moist earth, unbalancing her.

"...Nicely done," Leo said. "Smooth dodge."

"Dude," Percy said with a frown.

"Okay, okay...Sorry, once you start using bad jokes, you can't stop. It's a slippery slope."

The next thing she knew was pain as she flew through the air and slammed into a tree, dropping her trident at her liftoff. Pain flashed through her body as she fell to the ground. Grunting, and blocking the pain out, Rhode pushed up with her arms and felt Spellbound's weight in her pocket. The daughter of Poseidon looked up with a gasp and scampered out of the way as the large stinger of Scorpio came down.

"Like in the trailer for that terrible remake," Hermes said.

Apollo shook his head. "I told them to leave it be, but no-o-o. The Clash just had to be remade."

The golden appendage carved the tree next to her right down the middle, forcing the demigod to dodge once more to avoid the falling timber.

Getting out her weapon once more, Rhode stood her ground and leapt backwards as the stinger struck once more, lodging itself into the ground. As she looked at the tail, she noticed there was a soft part at the base of the stinger which the monster's bone plating didn't cover.

"Thank the gods," Rhode praised. Thank you for making sure monsters had exploitable weaknesses!

"I voted against it." Dionysus huffed. "Give them real challenges, like I had against the Giants!"

Hephaestus gave him a lopsided glance. "Dionysus...You were drunk during most of the fights..."

"Exactly!"

Her first job was to get rid of that stinger. As it was pulled out of the ground, Rhode ducked under the snap of a pincer and parried the strike of another, sending her skidding back from the force.

Grunting at her numbed arms, Rhode stood her ground and kept bobbing through the trees for meager cover until the tail came down again. As she continued to dodge, Rhode's confidence in the fight was dwindling. As far as she knew, Scorpio was never defeated in the stories and combining that with Orion's reputation as a beast slayer, what could a thirteen year old girl do to it?

"Nag or cry?" Ares suggested.

Artemis glared at him. "That is not all they do!"

"Uh-huh, tell that to my brats."

There was no water around. Her friends were long out of reach. It was just her, the monster, and the earth.

Wait! That was it!

And just as fast as her fading confidence was going, it burned once more, bringing a smirk to her face.

As the stinger finally came back down, Rhode moved forward. With a scything motion of her trident, she sliced the small weak point, getting Scorpio to screech in pain. It staggered back, its bleeding stumped tail waving around.

"Spraying the land with acid!" Ares added gleefully.

Hades rolled his eyes. "No."

"Aww..."

"Continue, Hades," Rhea said with a smile.

As it did, Rhode sprung her plan. Flipping Spellbound in her hands, she struck it down into the dirt while concentrating. And, like a tuning fork, the weapon began to shake with the ground.

Now, since Rhode's dad wasn't just the sea god, she had other powers than authority over water and horses.

She could make earthquakes just like Poseidon's title, the Earthshaker implied.

Hades growled the last part of the sentence and glared at his brother.

"Hades..." Rhea warned.

"He shakes my kingdom with each fit!" Hades huffed. "It's hard not to be irritated by it!"

"I did say I was sorry." Poseidon muttered.

"No you didn't! You're just covering so mother won't chew you out!"

"Hades!" Rhea frowned. "Would you like to continue reading?"

"...Yes, mother," Hades muttered.

Normally, she couldn't access this part of his powers. At least not much of it. She'd made a few very minor quakes in the past, when she was angry and lost control over her powers, but that was about it. Her powers just weren't geared towards earthshaking. But she didn't really have any other options right now. So she threw all her will into this aspect of her powers and prayed to her dad that it worked.

It was then she felt a tug in her stomach, like when she used her water powers. But this was different, instead of a tug, it was a violent pull.

"It's a huge pain," Percy said with a nod.

Hades huffed. "Well at least your spawn have a hard time with it."

"It's because I try not to shake the earth, brother." Poseidon explained.

"Sure. Suck up now..."

It was excruciating, like her insides were being torn out from her bellybutton. Worst still, it didn't seem to have much effect at first. Sure, the ground began to tremble but that was about it. So Rhode just pushed harder.

And the earth in the area groaned awake, shaking thunderously as Rhode commanded it to. The pain now though was utterly unbearable. It was like Rhode's blood was vibrating, like her bones would snap from the strain, and her guts now felt like they were being clawed at.

"At least she's not in a volcano." Percy mumbled.

Annabeth gave him a glower at the reminder.

Scorpio, still overcome by its pain, didn't notice what Rhode was doing. It got the hint when the earth began to buckle and break around it though. Screeching angrily, it tried to close in on Rhode, but patches of ground started rising and sinking, forcing it to stretch its legs out in all directions just to stay stable. It was going nowhere.

Rhode let out a cry, sinking Spellbound deeper into the ground, a massive fissure following the action and went right at the poisonous monster.

Rhode didn't know how deep the fissure was, but once it passed under Scorpio, it fell right on in.

"That's gonna take a lot of Mist to cover." Apollo hummed.

"And stay dead!" Rhode shouted, twisting her trident like a key, forcing the fissure to collapse.

"...Or not?" Apollo blinked. He looked at Poseidon. "Can you-?"

"I've never tried it, nor am I going to." Poseidon mumbled.

The daughter of the Earthshaker smiled at her victory despite the still intense pain and feeling drained.

But, there was a problem, the earth was still shaking. The realization struck her in the gut.

"No, no, no!" Rhode panicked, her sea green eyes wide as could be. She held Spellbound tightly, "Stop, stop!" she ordered, but the earthquake was too wild, nearly out of control.

"...Gaea will not be con-"

"Oh shut up." Poseidon glared at Zeus, who smirked back at him.

Twisting her eyes shut, the child of the sea concentrated and struggled to gain control once again. Impossibly the pain was even more intense now, it was like every cell in her body had suddenly started vibrating and were about to violently shake her whole body to bits all while every nerve sent unimaginable pain shooting through her mind.

Slowly, the earth seeped into a slumber once more as sweat beaded Rhode's face while she leaned against her trident, panting.

"Like wrestling a bull," she breathed out, trying to force herself up.

"Or a primordial, but you know, same thing." Apollo shrugged.

Nico snorted. "Well now we know why Gods are stubborn."

The Olympians frowned at him, save for Hestia. She completely agreed with her nephew.

Hades nodded with him. "Indeed we are, Nico. The first step to recovery is admitting it."

"And the second?" Rhea asked in amusement.

"...I haven't figured that part out yet," Hades muttered as he turned the page.

She was halfway to standing when the strain proved too much and she passed out.

Thankfully, she came to a moment later as a light drizzle started to fall over her patch of forest. The rainwater kickstarting her healing powers.

"Hax! I call Hax!" Apollo declared.

"Quiet, Apollo." Poseidon frowned. "Or I'll ensure there's no 'beach days' for you this summer."

"...Dick move, Uncle P. Dick move."

Rhode groaned, awake, and looked up. That was weird, it was clear skies just a minute ago. I dunno who helped me. But whoever it was, thanks. She thought groggily, brushing her damp dyed blonde bangs out of her eyes.

Using her trident like a walking stick, she got back to her feet and moved over to the embedded gold stinger. She sat down and leaned against it, letting go of her weapon she let it clatter to the ground.

Rhode took a break to relax and get her energy back, her body feeling numb all over. Even in places that before she wasn't sure even existed. The demigoddess fished out her phone as it vibrated, "Huh?" Looking at the phone she noticed she had a new number added with a picture of a very handsome blond dude labeled Apollo...What?

Apollo grinned. "Awesome! Poseidon's princess has me on speed dial!"

"...I'll kill you if the other you goes near her."

"Grandma!"

Rhea sighed. "Everyone is so rambunctious. Is it always like this?"

"Mother, you have no idea." Hestia shook her head.

She then read the following text, "You have unlocked the Number Reward System. Every time you do anything noteworthy in the half-blood world, you earn yourself a new number and thus a contact to cash in/barter for a favor with." Rereading the text, Rhode grinned, "Awesome!"

Best. Phone. Ever.

Going into her contacts, she dialed her dad. After a few rings, she heard the line picked up, "Hey dad!" she greeted tiredly, "You know what happened?" She said, stunned. "Well, don't worry I'm fine." the daughter of the sea tried to play it cool. "Oh, you sent the drizzle?

"...That is not over a body of water!" Zeus snarled at his brother.

"A small drizzle, nothing to feel threatened by."

"He'd be threatened by a cloud if he thought it wasn't under his control," Hades said dryly.

"I would not!"

Thanks for that, though I probably didn't need it." Rhode felt happy at his concern, but was somewhat peeved too. Maybe it was from her independent streak.

"Yeah, I'm good now. Just, lounging around." She said in what she hoped was a convincing voice. "Yes, I'm sure." She added exasperated while looking at the destroyed area, "Look, I've got a question." She said, eying the spoil she had won, "Does Hermes have a really, really big box? And does he charge extra for the weight of a package?"

"Yes and yes," Hermes said. He frowned. "Now I have to lug around the scorpion stinger..."

"I could get it," Apollo said innocently.

"Uh-huh, no. Last time I let you get a package, we had a disease break loose that inspired The Birds," Hermes said.

After talking with her dad, she sent her love and hung up after he started asking some critical questions all over again. By Olympus, it was like he didn't trust her to know when she was ok.

Grunting, Rhode moved to stand up, pushing past the exhaustion. She winced in her step and brushed her ribs, "Ah, yeah. Cracked, definitely cracked." Looks like the drizzle wasn't good enough. Well, nothing a good soak in a tub couldn't fix. Mustering her determination, she started to go back to the castle. Behind her, the large stinger disappeared with the ring of a cash register.

"...Really?" Athena asked dryly.

"Well, if Poseidon paid for it...He usually pays handsomely." Hermes grinned greedily and let out a chuckle. His hands rubbed together. "All those pearls..."

"I'd say I'm surprised by this, but I'd be lying." Athena drawled as she glared at the innocent looking god of the sea.

Chuckling as she walked away and adjusted her beanie, Rhode said, "Thanks dad."

Even as the daughter of Poseidon limped away triumphantly, a harpy bit back a snarl, though looked worried as well, her poultry standing up. Lord Zeus would need to be informed about what happened here today.

"Wow, really?" Poseidon asked with a glare.

Zeus glared at Hades. "You made that up!"

"Did not. It's right here." Hades turned the book around and showed it to his brother. He smirked as Zeus' scowl grew.

Hades took solace in not being the bad guy this time around.

The bastard of Poseidon was dangerous. Tapping into powers outside her own limits like that was unheard of! She should have killed the girl while she had been passed out but her orders to only observe and the fear of Poseidon stayed her claws. Curses, if only she had made the most of the opportunity! With one last hateful glare towards the increasingly distant scion of the sea, she took to the air. She barely made it two feet before she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back and burst into dust.

"A harpy?" Lee said quietly to himself from his place a few feet away from the tree the monster had been perching on. His winged shoes fluttering slowly, "What's it doing here? Especially after what looks like an epic fight just took place here?" the son of Hermes frowned, a serious look on his face.

"Ha! Awesome ninja skills, kid!" Hermes praised with a grin. He brushed his nose with his thumb. "Gotten from daddy, of course."

"Tch, not as cool as the toad master," Apollo said with a huff. "Nar-"

"Lord Apollo," The Seer's head popped in through a small window of light. "Please refrain from using that name here."

Apollo frowned. "How'd you sneak up on me?"

"...Would anyone like tea?"

"I'd love some!" Rhea said at the same time as Hestia.

The Seer smiled. "Back in a second."

As he vanished, Apollo's frown grew. "He never answered my question."

"Gotta talk to Rhode and Su about all this ASAP." Lee said as he raced back to Hogwarts.

May finally rolled on in. Lee and Rhode had both shared with Su and each other their run-ins with monsters that fateful Hogsmeade trip and as a group, the trio concluded that it was most likely Zeus sending Scorpio to challenge Rhode while the harpy observed. That meant Zeus was for some reason all hyped up with killing his brother's daughter again.

"With Thalia Grace as a tree, he must've considered your daughter free game," Hades said. He grimaced. "Great, I may have caused that...Dammit, and I was so happy for a second."

"It's hard being good, Hades." Poseidon frowned. He understood where his brother was coming from, but he had to blame someone for nearly killing his daughter.

"Indeed-"

"You wiped out all of humanity once, you aren't allowed to talk about being good." Hades interjected before Zeus could finish.

"Boys, we're not discussing this," Rhea said sternly.

The Big Three glared at one another before they backed down when Rhea turned to give them a stern stare.

Oh joy! Thankfully there hadn't been any other attempts since then, so Rhode and her friends could at least relax a little on that front.

Something all three greatly appreciated especially since the demigods had other concerns. The days to the finals quickly approached the students of Hogwarts, and the library was packed with all those who only studied at the last minute and were now rushing to learn what they could before it was too late.

"Cramming." Percy grimaced.

Annabeth pat him on the arm. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you study at least three hours a day."

Percy smiled at her and both ignored the titters that came from Aphrodite.

Others, like Rhode (Thanks to Su's help), looked far more calm, confident that all the studying she had done throughout the year would be enough. But as a whole all the students were a little nervous about the finals and the three friends were no exception.

Turned out she had done very well on her finals, making the daughter of Poseidon very pleased and leading her to hug Su in thanks for her support. Of course, Su was still bashful to all sorts of praise.

Sadly, it didn't do much to raise Su's sullen mood. Buckbeak as it turned out was still going to be executed, despite the daughter of Demeter's best efforts to help Hagrid. It devastated Su, someone who was brought up believing in justice due to her father, just to see an innocent animal die for the sake of one's coffers.

Rhode frowned at how corrupt the magical government was and did her best to comfort Su. She had bluntly told Su that the world wasn't always just and how money made right in this world. The reaction that followed shocked Rhode. Su Li, kind and gentle girl that she was, got angry. She stated how such a thing was abominable and needed to be fixed.

"Big time. Only way to do that, though, would be to wipe the board with a new Revolutionary War." Ares grinned at the thought.

Athena scoffed. "Or put time and effort into finding good candidates for the houses that actually give a damn."

"...Like I said, wipe the board."

Personally, Rhode found that to be impossible, but didn't want to shoot Su, whose eyes had a determined gleam to them, down like that.

Amazingly enough, the very day Buckbeak was going to get the axe, Ron got a letter from Hagrid. He had found his dumb rat, Scabbers. So going with him, Rhode arrived at the scene to see the executioner polishing his large deadly axe. Looking up, the sky was dark and cloudy, Zeus was clearly showing his displeasure at one of his animals being executed for 'Justice's' sake. Ironic considering how corrupt his own domain was, just like him.

Zeus scowled while Poseidon snickered and Hades smirked.

As Ron got Scabbers from Hagrid, Rhode decided to talk to Buckbeak, who stood tall, talons out, doing its best to look strong. The creature claimed he was not afraid to die, but Rhode could sense the fear, despite his strong front. Frowning, Rhode felt sorry for him. Sure, he was a jerk, but still…even he didn't deserve this all because that Malfoy brat was a dipshit.

Using her invisibility cloak to hide from the executioner and the government officials, she and Ron witnessed the head of Buckbeak roll.

"...They killed Buckbeak..." Apollo scowled. "Worst. Story. Ever."

"Oh come now-"

"They killed Buckbeak!" Apollo glared at Poseidon. "Buckbeak! You know how many kids grew up dreaming they could have a pet Buckbeak? How many adults were inspired by that one animal?"

"...But pegasi-"

"Just forget it," Apollo huffed. Poseidon may have a bit more of an insight to humanity's emotions and needs of heroes, but Apollo knew what inspired the mortals.

Rhode, sullen, was thankful for the blackened clouds, the gloomy afternoon reflected her mood perfectly. Oh, joy, she was bonding with her uncle. That was a rare moment.

Rhode was going to head up to find Su and gently inform her of what happened, if not for Granger's cat, Crookshanks showing up to chase Ron's rat again. Scabbers had fled as Ron gave chase. Rhode, groaning, walking after him.

Of course that had proven to be her folly as the large black dog that was Sirius Black showed up, grabbing Ron in his jaws just as the boy picked up the rat and proceeding to drag him by his leg to the foot of the Whomping Willow tree and down a hole. Which was soon followed by an audible snap and a shrill scream of pain. Rhode had tried to follow, but the tree was not being very cooperative.

"Evil tree!?" Demeter glared at Hades for his phrase.

Hades rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine...I may have paraphrased."

And just as she was about to set it on fire, Granger's cat appeared once more, snaking through the whipping branches and hit a knot on the trunk, calming the aggressive tree down.

Rhode looked at the cat suspiciously as she followed it down the hole Black had disappeared into, but cast her concerns to the side for the moment. She had more important things to do, she could worry about the cat later.

"Uh, no. Be afraid. That's a smart cat." Leo grimaced.

After heading down the hole, using her dagger as a light source, she walked a long tunnel and ended up in the Shrieking Shack. Frowning at the decayed and dusty interior, she followed the path with less dust up the staircase, her wand and bronze dagger at the ready.

Kicking the door in, Rhode scanned the room before entering. On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of Rhode. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

"We'll have to amputate."

Artemis frowned at him. "Apollo!"

"What?" Apollo shrugged. "If they can kill Buckbeak, I'm sure Ron can survive with one leg."

Cautiously, Rhode mouthed 'Where' to Ron. His eyes immediately darted to the door directly behind her.

Rhode immediately spun around, a disarming spell shooting from her wand as she did. It hit Black, who seemed half-way through the motion of slamming the door shut. Sending him flying into the wall behind the door and the door flying shut with a loud bang. The wand he had been holding, Ron's she recognized, slipped from his hold.

Rhode took a second to look at him. Black was a mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If his eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grimace.

"One of yours?"

Hades rolled his eyes and ignored Zeus' "innocent" question.

...This is what everyone had been pissing themselves over? Gods, he was as frail looking as a straw dummy. It an instant, Rhode's eyes glazed into ice chips, her breath misting, "Well, hello Black." she greeted chillingly.

Slowly, purposefully, she sheathed her dagger and drew the switchblade Luke had gifted her so long ago. All the while, she kept her wand trained squarely on a unmoving Black. Still moving with an icy determination, she flipped the blade open. "You know, I once said if I ever met you...I'd gut you like a fish. I think I will."

Mist had started to completely enshroud the room they were in by this point.

"Rhode…" Black croaked out, but only got a shoe to his jaw for his trouble.

"Shut. Up." The daughter of Poseidon said venomously, "You don't talk!" she shouted and stepped closer. "You gotta think, was it really worth it now? Huh, Black?" she swung her arm and the blade she wielded in one vicious motion.

Black cried out in pain. Ron screamed along with him, freaking out. The convict had acquired a truly massive gash across his abdomen from Rhode's handiwork. A wound that if one looked closely was frosted over.

It was at this moment that a creaking floorboard from downstairs informed the group that they weren't alone. Rhode immediately sent a Stupefy flying towards Sirius and quickly turned to face the door, preparing herself. Moments later, the door was swung open hastily and Lupin rushed in wand drawn.

Rhode remained tense but didn't act. Lupin was supposed to be one of the good guys right?

"Peter!" Lupin screamed as his eyes fell on Scabbers who Crookshanks was holding pinned to the floor at the foot of the bed. Training his wand on the rat, he directed a question, oddly enough, toward it, "Where is Sirius, you traitor?"

Rhode looked at the sight with a blink, wondering what was going on.

Not taking his eyes off the rat, Lupin spoke to the children. "Rhode, Ron, are you two alright? Where is Sirius?"

Ron started rambling at this point, telling the Professor everything that happened since Black caught him. Including Rhode taking a knife to Black, which earned a wince from the werewolf.

Rhode tensed to a hairs trigger, "Why so concerned? You in league with him, Fuzzy?" she accused at his worry over the traitor to the Potters. She was ready to get her hidden silver weapon just in case.

"No. By Merlin, no!" Lupin defended, still keeping his wand trained on Scabbers for some reason. "Look, just let me explain alright?"

"You have five seconds to start talking." Rhode said seriously, brandishing her knife threateningly.

"Wow, five seconds. She has better control than Poseidon."

Poseidon laughed dryly at Athena's jab.

He did not refute it, though.

And so Lupin explained everything. About how the true betrayer of the Potters was Peter Pettigrew aka Scabbers the Animagus, and how the rat had framed Sirius for his crimes. About how Lupin himself had figured all this out when he confiscated the Marauders' Map, some fancy magical map of Hogwarts and the people inside that he, her stepdad, Black and the real traitor had made as kids, and saw the rat's name. About how he used the Map to figure out what was happening here in the Shack and had come to help Sirius set the record straight.

Rhode listened to all this with some skepticism but had to agree that it fit together nicely. She was nevertheless cautious, "And why should I believe you?"

"I know Sirius knows a spell to force an Animagus to shift back into his human form.

"And Lupin doesn't know it because...why?" Jason asked.

"He's a werewolf." Piper reminded.

"Yeah, and?"

"Werewolves in the Harry Potter world don't have any control."

"...Oh..."

We can get Pettigrew to show himself and prove everything. Just let me revive Sirius, please?" Lupin pleaded.

After a long moment, Rhode said warningly, "Fine. But no funny business. I'm watching you."

Lupin proceeded to slowly, non-threateningly turn towards Black and with a quick "Envenrate" revived him. "Sirius, can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"Remus? What?" Black managed before Rhode interjected.

"I let you revive him to use that spell on the rat to prove your story, not so you two can chit chat. Now hurry up!"

"Scabbers ain't no Peter though."

"And apparently English ain't your language," Apollo returned flatly.

Athena snorted in amusement.

"Don't encourage him." Artemis warned her sister.

Ron pointed out, his voice a shaken mess and he looked as lost as could be.

"Shut up Ron!" Rhode snapped, her temper flaring at his idiocy right now. Admittedly, she was skeptical over the matter, but if it was true...

"Sirius, could you use the Animagus reversal spell on Pete… no, Pettigrew? Rhode won't believe that you're innocent until she sees him for herself."

Black looked at Rhode warily, especially at her switchblade. Not taking an eye off her, Black replied, "So you believe me, Remus? And I'll need a wand."

"Yes, the Map explained things for me. Rhode, could I pass him a wand?" Lupin responded.

"Give him yours. No way I'm letting both of you be armed."

"Smart." Annabeth agreed.

Rhode said harshly.

"Alright." The DADA teacher agreed, as he handed his wand to the fugitive. "Here you go, Sirius."

"Thanks Remus." Sirius said choking up. He obviously wasn't just thanking him for the wand.

"What did I say about chatting?" Rhode said testily as the mist in the room thickened further. "Get on with it!"

Hermes' eyes twinkled. His mouth opened, but before he could speak, Artemis glared at him.

"One routine from that sketch comedy and I'll have two arrows in you before you finish the first round."

"...Grandmother-!"

Rhea shook her head. "No, Hermes, we are in the midst of the climax. I agree with Artemis. For now, be quiet."

Hermes pouted. So not fair.

"Right!" Black acknowledged as both he and his reunited friend flinched from Rhode's shout. Raising the wand, Black was just about to cast the spell at Scabbers when he was interrupted.

"I think not." a cold voice said as a jet of red zipped out of no where and blasted the wand to the far end of the room.

The space by the door shimmered and out of the darkness came Snape, his wand trained on both adults in the room.

"Oh thank Merlin!" Ron cried out.

"Oh us dammit." Apollo groaned. "This is dragging on too long."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletfull along. And very lucky I did...lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus-" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Rhode -"

"Or is he?!" Hermes interrupted dramatically.

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this...He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin...a tame werewolf -"

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

"Bravo, Professor." Rhode said suddenly, surprisingly genuine in her praise. "That was some impressive magic. I didn't even notice you. But these two have an interesting story that I want to check out first before we do anything else. You mind?" she asked, showing some actual respect to the man.

"Rhode!" Ron screamed. "What are you doing? Just let the Professor handle this for Merlin's sake."

"Wow, what an idiot." Percy shook his head.

"And if Percy says it..."

"Shut up, Nico."

"Ron, stop talking. Now!" Rhode bitingly dismissed her friend.

Snape turned to Rhode, his features in the mist giving him a haunting look. His gleaming black eyes locked into her sea green ones searchingly. "And what fanciful tale have these two criminals spun that has you intrigued, Evans?"

"It's Potter, Snivellus." Black hissed.

Everyone ignored Black.

"They say Black was framed for everything. Personally, I want to just really, really kill someone right now." Rhode openly admitted calmly, getting a horrified look from Black, Lupin, and Ron,

"Note, how Snape is perfectly fine with it," Ares said with a smirk. "Now he's my kind of wizard."

"He is the ultimate spy," Apollo reluctantly agreed.

"But you see, I got this small voice in the back of my mind saying "What if they're right?" I don't like what-ifs, ya know? Plus I don't wanna kill an innocent man if I can help it."

Snape's face twisted into a sneering frown, "I thought you were more savvy than this, Evans. Criminals will say anything to save their own hides."

"Black was an unregistered Animagus," Rhode pointed out.

"And your point?" Snape uttered rather impatiently.

"What if Pettigrew was one too?" Rhode posited.

That one question floored Snape for a moment. He scanned Rhode's face, as if trying to find something. After a beat of a moment, he looked at the "criminals". Rhode didn't know what he was looking for, but his face softened, if for a second, before hardening once more.

"Look it's just one little spell, right? Lupin said so. So let's just try. If what they said is true, then great. We can make sure the right guy gets punished. If not, well… it's not like we've lost anything besides some time or effort." Rhode argued.

Snape seemed to consider this for a long moment before finally answering with, "You keep your wand on Black, I'll use the spell on the rat. Best to be cautious."

"Duh. Just hurry up will you? I've been here all day already." Rhode muttered out impatiently, as she trained her wand on Black.

Snape snorted at that, "Brat."

Smoothly the Potions Master raised his wand towards Scabbers and with a whispered incantation, a flash of blue-white light erupted from his wand. Crookshanks let go of the rat as the light engulfed it and jumped back. For a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly - Ron yelled - then the rat fell and hit the floor.

"Then it blew up!"

"If only you would." Athena grunted at Ares' cry.

There was another blinding flash of light and then -

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing near Crookshanks, who was spitting and snarling on the floor; the hair on his back standing up.

He was a very short man, a little shorter than Rhode. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Rhode saw his eyes dart to the door and back again as she took small steps to stand in front of it, glaring at the man.

"Well, lookie what we got here." the daughter of Poseidon said in pleasant surprise.

Snape looked floored, his face framed in surprise, "Peter Pettigrew...but then…" he bit back a snarl, eying the smug looking Black.

"Told you, Snivellus."

"Yes, taunt the man that has a gun aimed at your head." Ares rolled his eyes. "Stupid mortals."

"It works in the movies, what do you expect?" Apollo asked.

Snape ignored the man in favor of glaring at Peter, "So, he was the true Secret Keeper?" he deduced. For a moment, his mask broke and a look of utter rage at the rat-man flashed across his face before he mastered himself once more. "You were the one who betrayed Lily to her death?"

"Yes." Black nodded, glaring daggers at Peter, who looked ready to piss himself.

In the background and all but forgotten Ron gave a horrified gasp.

"Severus, don't believe him!" the rat-like man squealed, "He, he tried to kill me!" he rushed out, looking at Rhode, "He's bad Rhode, twisted!" he squeaked like a cornered rat.

"...Let Lupin free." Rhode said to Snape, who while frowning, nodded. With a flick of his wand, Lupin was freed and stood up, wringing his wrists. Satisfied that his blood was flowing properly again, the man wasted no time in recovering his wand (Ron's as well) and training it along with everyone else's on Pettigrew.

"So you believe us now, Rhode, Severus?" Lupin said carefully.

"Yup." Rhode said distractedly as she advanced menacingly on the traitor.

"Evans, what are you doing?" Snape asked curiously.

"Oh, just showing this little rat my displeasure is all." Rhode replied icily even as the temperature in the room dropped even further and frost began forming everywhere.

"Err… Is it just me or is it getting strangely cold in here?" Ron asked, only to be promptly ignored.

"Rhode," Lupin started, seeing the glint in her eyes. Those were not the eyes of a child, "Please, whatever you plan to do? Reconsider." he said as calmly as he could.

Rhode turned her frigid glare onto him, "Shut up." she snarled like an animal, sending both literal and metaphorical chills down the spines of those in the room. She turned and was face to face with Peter, "Well, a rat huh? Seems to fit." She looked at his hand, the one missing the finger, "So, lost a finger huh?"

Peter just nodded, looking ready to piss himself.

It was so quick, no one could stop it. Peter's hand, the one with five fingers, fell to the floor with a thud.

"...Well, I really like this one."

Poseidon snarled at Ares' offhanded comment.

The pain finally registered in Peter's mind as he howled, holding his new stump of a hand.

The wizards didn't even see her move and cried out with startled gasps at what she had done, even Snape.

Ron was crying as if he had lost his own hand.

"Tie the rat up, Professor. Let's go see the Old Goat and get this whole thing done." Rhode said, seemingly completely unfazed by what she'd done. A fact that unnerved everyone else a great deal, "Let's do so quickly, he might bleed out." she said, almost sounding disappointed.

"Don't need to worry about that, I think." Black said unexpectedly. "If it's anything like what your enchanted blade did to me, then it's frosted over so it won't bleed."

Rhode blinked in confusion, enchanted blade? She looked at the switchblade and noticed how the blade was practically frozen over and even had chilly mist wafting off it, like it had been in a freezer. Huh, that was new.

"Achievement unlocked," Leo said dramatically. "Ice Blade."

"Meh, it has to be a joke to be an Achievement." Hermes disagreed.

Lupin seemed to suddenly remember Black's injury then and rushed forward to heal him.

"She cut you?" Snape asked curiously.

Black glared at him, "Oh stop sounding so pleased."

"I would never do that." Snape said, despite his curling lips.

Black bared his teeth, but Rhode wouldn't have that, "Enough." she cut off the men, honestly, they could be such babies,

"That sounds familiar."

"Hera!" Zeus frowned at his wife.

Hera arched a brow and glanced at her brothers. "Do you deny it?"

The Big Three just grumbled in response.

"Let's get out of here."

"Right/Fine." the two men said as Snape bound Peter with some magical ropes, leashing him in a straight jacket of ropes.

"I'll take the rear." Rhode said taking control of the situation again. "I want to make sure you guys don't try anything stupid."

"You still don't trust us?" Lupin asked unhappily.

"I only trust a few. It's why the hat said Hufflepuff wasn't for me." The witch shrugged.

"Smart girl." Snape commented approvingly.

"Oh sweet Merlin, they're bonding." Black said with a horrified look on his face.

"Not Potter's girl!" Apollo cried out, scandalized. He hummed and rubbed his chin. "You know, I don't think this will end well."

"Why not?" Poseidon asked.

"Well...Black is sort of...not the best material for a godfather." Apollo admitted sourly. "Oh, there've been worse, but he doesn't really try to see Harry for who he is and only sees James. If this is going to be the same..."

Poseidon grimaced.

"Whatever! Black you're second, Lupin you're point. Then Snape and the traitor. As I said, I'll be watching you lot from the back." The girl commanded.

"Um… Guys, are you guys forgetting me?" Ron said suddenly, eying the hand near him with a white washed look.

"Oh...yeah." Rhode admitted, she totally forgot about him. "You can wait here. Your injury will only slow us down right now. We'll get someone to get you later."

"Good point, Weasley should be safe here." Snape noted. Wow, he and Rhode were on a roll.

"But there are four of you!? Can't one of you carry me?" Ron whined.

"And leave that person busy hauling your ass around when we have a slippery criminal to escort?" Rhode coldly rebutted. "No."

"We'll be back soon, Ron. Just tough it out a little longer, ok?" Lupin said kindly.

Ron frowned, but nodded. Trusting the only Professor he liked in the room. Crookshanks padded over to him and nestled by his side, eying him, "Whatcha lookin' at?" he gruffly asked, not liking the pity he could see in the stupid cat's eyes.

"He should take it." Artemis huffed. "Cats do wonders for one's mental state."

Dionysus nodded. "It's why I like jaguars."

"...That...I..." Artemis didn't get befuddled often, but when it happened, it usually happened with Dionysus' comments.

With all issues sorted out, the group began their prisoner escort. As they walked the long tunnel back to the trunk of the Whomping Willow, Black would take some glances back towards Rhode, like he wanted to say something, but her cold features made him hold his tongue.

They finally made it to the trunk and Lupin hit the knot to calm the tree, "Okay, let's continue." he said, aiming his wand along with Black at Peter as he came up with Snape. Rhode pulled herself up too, scanning the grounds cautiously.

Just as the rat-man cleared the immediate reach of the Willow, the clouds overhead cleared letting the moon shine its light upon the party.

Rhode looked up and noted it was a full moon.

...Oh shite, it was a full moon!

"She should watch her language." Hestia commented.

"Really, sister, that's what concerns you?" Hera asked.

"Of course. It may be another werewolf, but that doesn't mean she has to have foul language."

Her eyes snapped towards Lupin, Snape doing the same as well. Lupin's frame had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"The fool never took his potion," Snape cried out, his eyes held a tinge of fear in them, like he was remembering something.

Rhode was reaching into her pocket for her silver weapon, but Sirius pushed her out of the way, "Leave it to me - RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws.

"Take the shot now while he's vulnerable." Thalia muttered.

"And kill Lupin?!" Apollo asked.

"She has a point."

Apollo looked at his twin in shock. "But...But Lupin! The only genuine good DA teacher!"

"What about the disguised Moody?"

"He doesn't count, he was an assassin in disguise."

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Rhode's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf bellowed a howl, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

Just as Black and the werewolf started fighting, a unnatural chill begun to settle over the whole area. Turning sharply, both Snape and Rhode noticed a wave of darkly cloaked figures closing on them like a wave. "Dementors!" They both shouted.

Pettigrew, who must have found a way to wriggle out of his bindings, made a break for it then. Even as he ran his form begun to change. Unfortunately for him though he didn't make it far. Only a few feet along, he was savaged by a wolfed out Lupin as he himself made a mad dash into the Forbidden Forest and away from the Dementors. Peter Pettigrew, traitor to the Potters, fell dead as Lupin's jaws sank into his jugular, ripping it out in a gory storm.

"Well, there goes Black's alibi." Jason muttered.

"Snape isn't so evil as to leave an innocent man in prison." Annabeth countered. "Even if you didn't like Octavian, you wouldn't leave him to rot, would you?"

Jason grimaced. "No..."

"I would."

"That's not the point, Leo."

Leo shrugged. "Still would."

The werewolf did this so casually it didn't even break stride in its frantic dash away from the black cloaked abominations.

Black was right on his tail, tackling him as the werewolf's panicked path deviated back towards the castle. He was obviously trying to make sure Lupin got into the forest where he couldn't hurt anyone.

"Except for the foolish demigoddess that was going to chase him," Athena said.

Artemis huffed. "Nothing foolish about hunting a beast."

"Arte..." Apollo whined.

"He's a werewolf, now, Apollo. You said it earlier, he's probably going to die."

Apollo frowned. "Doesn't mean I like it."

As Snape cursed under his breath at the situation, he held his wand at the coming wave of Dementors, "Evans, run, now." he barked out.

"Can you even hold all these off?!" Rhode snapped at the man.

Snape just gave a bitter smile, "I fear not."

Rhode looked stunned and held out her wand, "I know the Patronus, too."

"How-! Lupin no doubt." the man deduced quickly.

Hermes gave an iffy gesture. "He's half-right."

Just as the swarm of Dementors were about to hit the pair, a massive tangle of vines surged out of nowhere and ensnared a whole chunk of the monsters. At the same time, dozens of the creatures suddenly died. Looking over at the castle, Rhode spotted Su and Lee. "Guys, thanks for the save!"

"Isn't that handy?" Apollo mumbled.

"What?" Hermes asked with a frown.

Apollo shrugged. "I dunno, sort of like a dues ex machina that they showed up out of the blue, isn't it?"

"No problem, Rhode." Lee shouted back as he took to the sky to give air support. "Su got a dream about Dementors and then we saw this swarm.

"See? Dues ex machina!" Apollo pointed out.

Demeter huffed. "Perhaps I warned her it would come."

"...No offense, Demeter, but-"

"Apollo, please let us see what happens next?" Rhea asked with a sigh before the god of prophecy could start gloating.

Apollo sighed. "Yes grandma."

So here we are." He quickly explained as he fired off another salvo of his knives at the monsters.

"What's going on here?" Snape said confused by what was happening. To his credit though it didn't paralyze him and he had enough sense to fire off his Patronus to help the fight. His glowing doe harassing the Dementors and keeping them too flat footed to muster a response against the demigods.

"Just heroes doing hero things." Rhode told him as she summoned her trident. She could feel the presence of the Dementors on her, but she pushed passed it, now knowing what they were doing to her. She jumped into the fray and spun the weapon like a twister, cutting cut the trio of cloaked freaks coming at her.

"Rhode, we got this. Go after the werewolf." Su shouted as she summoned more entangling vines.

"The only good werewolf, and they're going to kill it."

"Apollo, stop beating the dead horse," Poseidon said dryly.

Apollo huffed and continued to grumble to himself.

Her powers couldn't kill the Dementors directly, but she could trap them and leave them easy pickings for Lee. It was why she hadn't chose to take them out with her own sword, even though she dearly wanted to. With the numbers in the Dementors' favor she was more helpful doing what she was doing, keeping them from using their numbers to overwhelm her allies by tying them down with foliage.

"Right! Kick their butts!"

"She's Percy's sister," Jason said with a chuckle. "'Let's, um, fight stuff.'"

Percy flushed lightly. "Shut up, Grace."

Rhode shouted and ran in the direction Black followed Lupin before Snape could stop her.

As Rhode made a mad dash between the lake and the forest, she craned her head to see a small horde of flying ghouls in black coming after her. They must have broken off from the main group when they saw them getting owned.

Clicking her tongue, the daughter of Poseidon said, "I don't have time for you!" she snapped and looked at the lake, "Bob!" she cried out.

The lake was silent for a moment before a ripple suddenly appeared on the water's surface. The disturbance on the water grew steadily until it culminated thunderously with the surfacing of a giant red squid, it's large tentacles waving ominously in the air.

"And who says Aquaman has a terrible power?"

"Yes, how did that come about?" Poseidon asked with a frown.

Apollo chuckled. "A Roman said it."

Poseidon groaned. "That figures."

Rhode chuckled, "Bob! H Two Own them!"

"Percy's sister." Annabeth and Nico dryly agreed.

Percy pouted. "What? That sounded cool."

"No, Dorkulus, it didn't." Thalia snorted. "That was just lame."

Bob did just that, his tentacles whipping forward and smacking a few, even as he raised his main body out of the water so as to bring his siphon to bear. It was then it shot a massive jet of water, sending them flying back towards Lee and Su.

"Bob, you rock!" Rhode cheered as she ran into the woods. As she leapt over a bush, Rhode made it into a clearing. She turned to hear a canine cry of pain and saw Black, in dog form, fly into a nearby boulder with a crack, falling limp. He looked out of it but amazingly wasn't unconscious and even managed to hiss out a pained bark that sounded like "Remus".

"...Okay, props to the ex-con," Ares said with a nod.

Hermes grinned. "Hey, he falls under my domain and is roguishly handsome..."

"He's still a mortal wizard." Apollo guessed.

"Aw, two wizard sons in one universe would've been cool," Hermes said with a frown.

Rhode whirled around to see the beast that was her professor came right at her. She ducked under a swipe of his claws and kicked up, her foot smacking his snout, stunning it for a moment. Rhode quickly got some distance. She tossed Spellbound aside, celestial bronze did nothing to a Lycan. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a clicky pen. With one click, a shining silver short sword was in her hand.

"Hey!" Percy frowned. "Rip off..."

"It's a click-pen," Annabeth said. "Riptide is a ballpoint pen."

"Still!"

She then summoned her shield, while it was celestial bronze, it was layered with more than just metal, so it would still protect her.

"Come on Bigby." Rhode snarled at it, getting a challenging growl back. She honestly didn't want to kill him, but between him or her, Rhode wanted to live. Plus, there was no way to get Black to safety with Mr. Huff and Puff looming right here.

"I guess it's a good thing she doesn't have a red hood," Aphrodite said idly with a smirk.

Artemis scowled. "I hate that story."

"You obviously haven't found the fun variations," Aphrodite said with a smirk.

"Gross."

"Fun!"

"Ladies!" Hera snapped.

Lupin-Wolf snapped his jaws and charged once more. It was feral and erratic. He wasn't like a Lycan Chiron had taught her about. They were far more in control of themselves, were deadlier because they were beast in body, but man in mind.

Lupin was all beast.

There was no precision in his attacks, just a wild mess. Something that Rhode had dealt with for a long time.

"And is still dealing with," Athena said dryly. "She needs to acknowledge that it won't just go away, even if it seems like she is getting better."

"She's smart. I'm sure she's aware of it," Poseidon said in defense of his daughter.

Athena snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it."

She dodged his lunge with a side-step and bashed him in the face, stunning him as she sliced his thigh. A gut wrenching howl escaped his jaws as he swiped his gangly claws at her, forcing Rhode to move back, holding up her shield defensively.

It was a waiting game, she had to let him attack so she could counterattack. And once she had the chance…

Lupin frantically charged at her, but the daughter of Poseidon once more blocked the swing of his claws with her shield. There was far more force this time, and that made her skid back in surprise. The werewolf took advantage of this and quickly tackled her to the ground.

"Well this quickly turned dark." Frank grunted.

Ares grinned. "C'mon blood and gore..."

"Excuse me?"

Ares glanced at the irritated Poseidon and cleared his throat. "Er, I mean, go Rhode? Rip a new hole in that wolf?"

"..."

Ares grunted as another fish slapped his face. He really should've seen that coming.

"Ah!" Rhode cried out in surprise and stabbed forward, slashing out one of Lupin's eyes. The werewolf reeled back with a howl, staggering back at the lost eye.

Rhode's eyes narrowed as she got up and charged, quickly dismissing her shield. Her instincts screaming to go in for the kill. Leaping, she tackled the man turned wolf, sending the beast to the ground as she raised her sword hand up.

"Tell me when it's over." Apollo whimpered as he covered his ears and closed his eyes.

Artemis rolled her own eyes. "For mother's sake...Drama king."

"That's Zeus, actually."

"Shut up, Poseidon!"

"Boys!" Rhea frowned at her two youngest and sighed. "So rambunctious."

Hestia nodded. "I completely agree, mother."

With a war cry, Rhode slammed her hand down, her blade sinking into his heart.

Lupin howled once more, this time in blinding pain as Rhode ripped the silver sword out and stabbed twice more, her enemy's blood spurting onto her.

Lupin soon went rigid, his frantic movements limp as a whimper slipped through his jaws.

Rhode looked into his lone feral eye, and felt a minor lump in her gut, but quickly squashed it, "I'm sorry this happened, Lupin. You were a decent teacher."

"Worst. Story. Ever." Apollo scowled. "I like Andromeda more."

"You're just biased because it appears that girl will wind up with your son," Poseidon said with a frown.

"No! ...but damn, I almost forgot about Windi." Apollo rubbed his chin. "When do we go back to that one?"

"After we read Hades' daughter," Hestia said.

Hades rolled his eyes when Zeus prematurely glared at him. "She requested it, not I."

She confessed and raised her blade once more to end his misery.

With a final stab through the throat, the beast was slain under the moonlight.

"And Artemis asked Poseidon if she could risk one of his daughters' lives with limited immortality." Hades drawled.

"Hades, you're being far too harsh on-" Rhea began, before Hades interrupted her.

"Mother, her so-called lieutenant recruited my daughter for a quest when she was not but a week a part of the 'hunt'." Hades glared at his niece as she winced. "A more experienced huntress could've gone. One with skills that would've helped. Your hunter, Artemis, got my daughter killed as far as I see it."

Artemis winced and looked away.

"...well, that's a lot of tension in the air," Nico said dryly. He looked at his father. "Would you like someone else to read?"

Hades huffed and turned the page. "Just speaking my mind. Last I checked, there wasn't a law against it."

"Yet." Zeus mumbled.

"Don't start, Zeus." Rhea frowned.

Zeus huffed.

As Lupin finally stopped moving and slowly reverted back, Rhode removed her blade with a frown on her face. She stood up to check on Black. He was out cold, his injuries must have gotten to him while she was fighting Lupin. Her adrenaline was fading and the weariness of the situation was catching up to her. She fell onto her butt and looked up at the sky, seeing the full moon.

"Honestly a terrible time for that one, Artemis."

Hades gleefully reread the line three times before Rhea told him to hurry up or they would have a 'talk'.

she said gruffly while contemplating how much of a cluster fuck this turned into.

The whole situation was just both emotionally and physically draining, her eyes felt heavy. She turned to see Snape running towards her and offered a weak grin as she closed her eyes, just wanting to rest.

"Understandable," Annabeth said. "For any demigod, werewolves can be a hassle, especially instinctual ones."

Athena looked displeased at her daughter's words and merely grunted softly in agreement.

Rhode awoke the next day in the Hospital Wing and was visited first thing, immediately after breakfast when visiting hours started, by Su and Lee and they quickly compared notes on what happened. Rhode told them everything that happened in the Shrieking Shack and they told her all about the demigod dream about the Dementors Su had. Apparently, she'd had it while she was napping that afternoon. A guilty pleasure of hers when she had free time during the middle of the day.

"Like a flower bathing in the sunlight." Hera smirked as Demeter flushed.

"There's nothing wrong with a good afternoon nap! It helps young children grow!" Demeter refuted.

"She's almost thirteen," Hera said innocently.

"...She's still young!" Demeter huffed.

It hadn't seemed urgent so Su hadn't rushed off to find Rhode and Lee about it, though she did tell Lee at dinner that day when he had come over asking if she'd seen Rhode. When they both realized Rhode was missing, they both were on edge so when they spotted the Dementor swarm descending near the castle, they were ready. And that was why they had such good timing.

"Oh, sure. That's why. Deus Ex Machina." Apollo spat bitterly.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Stop whining!"

"What?! This is literature, it's part of my domain. I have to criticize it."

Artemis frowned at him. "Apollo, this is an account of another dimension, not a fictional story. Get your head out of your ass."

"Artemis, language!" Rhea scolded her. Even if she agreed with the goddess' words.

The next topic of discussion was sadly not so straightforward. Covering up the demigod involvement in the whole mess.

"So you Misted everyone involved?" Rhode asked Lee.

"Yeah." Lee confirmed. "They saw too much. I made them all think Snape was the hero and dealt with the Dementors, got the lot to flee to parts unknown, and killed feral Lupin all on his own all while protecting his students. Not sure it fully stuck with him though. Got a little weird responses from him when I was using it."

"Probably his Occlumency." Su interjected. "It's a defensive mind art.

"There's something I wish I could look into." Annabeth sighed. Mental defensive art? That could help so many people.

Father told me about it. All Aurors have to learn at least the basics. Snape is supposedly a master."

"Hmm… Chiron did say that something like that might mess with the Mist." The scion of Poseidon mused. "You think he remembers anything important?"

"Dammit, when was my birthday again?" Hermes asked.

"I don't think it works like that," Athena said dryly.

"What do you know?"

Athena smirked at him. "Almost everything."

"So modest." Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"I don't think so." Lee said after a moment of careful consideration. "I quizzed him a little while he was under to be sure. He doesn't remember the details. But…"

"But what? Spit it out, Lee." Rhode hissed impatiently.

"Well, I think he might suspect things are off with us from now on."

"Well, that sucks for them," Leo said. "It's not easy when you've got someone breathing down the back of your neck."

"You're telling me." Percy mumbled.

"What was that?" Annabeth asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Nothing."

Lee replied.

"Is that all?" Rhode sighed exasperatedly.

"Rhode, if Snape finds out it's a big deal." Su defended Lee's concern. "It would be a breach of the Ancient Laws and we could all be punished for it."

"Sorry." Rhode apologized for making light of things. "It's just, this is Snape. He's suspicious of everyone. If we play things right nothing'll be different."

"I hope you're right." Su said worriedly.

"Rhode's right, Su." Lee said reassuringly. "Besides it's not like we can't just Mist him again if he gets too nosy."

"Does too much Mist on the mortal mind eventually break them?" Leo asked.

Dionysus gained a gleam in his eye. "I don't know...but I want to find out.

"No." Zeus denied vehemently.

"But-!"

"No!" Zeus reaffirmed with a scowl.

"I guess." Su replied uncertainly.

"Now that the serious stuff is out of the way. Tell me what's up with the gossip mill. Yesterday must have given it plenty of fodder." Rhode asked curiously.

Before Su and Lee could answer her however Madam Pomfrey showed up to shoo the pair out by saying that visiting hours were over and Rhode needed her rest. So it was with a pair of hasty goodbyes under the disapproving gaze of the school nurse,

"She needs a pick me up," Apollo said.

Artemis groaned. "Must you really?"

"Well you won't let me 'whine'," he said with finger quotes. "So I have to say something."

Rhode's friends took their leave. Bored out of her mind now that she was alone, the daughter of the seas decided to take a nap.

"See? Even Rhode naps, Hera!"

Hera ignored her sister with a smirk on her face.

Rhode's eyes snapped open, just to see that she was on that stormy beach once more, the air supercharged with snaps of lightning dancing in the storm clouds, making the clouds appear as if they were illuminated from within.

"Alright, what do you want?" she snapped.

And just as she suspected, the voice appeared, "Temper, temper."

"Like he's one to talk," Rhea said with a roll of her eyes. "Honestly, you didn't inherit your temper from me, if anyone asks."

"Yes mother."

it chided, its voice dripping with condescension, getting Rhode to glower, "I just wished to congratulate you. Killing your enemies in such a way was truly impressive."

Frowning, Rhode said, "You told me to kill Black." she mocked.

"Well, more your enemies, which you did! The little rat's screams of pain delighted you, didn't it?"

The daughter of Poseidon glared at nothing as she said, "I wanted him to face his crimes. I maimed him just to get back at him."

"You and I both know if you were alone you would have done more." the voice crooned soothingly, "If you had your way, he would have been diced to pieces and scattered into Tartarus." the voice said darkly, as if something angered it.

"Okay, kudos to that clever irony." Apollo chuckled.

Rhode looked down, not wanting to give the voice the pleasure of hitting the nail on the head.

"But still, you didn't hesitate to slay the Lycan, despite what attachment you held towards him. Little though it was. You have a warrior's heart, child. It is no wonder the gods continue to test you."

That floored Rhode, making her look up, "What? Test?"

"Did you forget about Zeus sending The Earth Mother's beast after you?" the voice said with a throaty chuckle.

Anger flooded Rhode's veins, "Yeah, I remember. Why can't they just leave me alone!" she shouted, everything that had just happened and now this again? She hated it. All of it!

Rhode got it, her birth was forbidden. Didn't the gods have better things to do than constantly remind her of that?

"Not really, no." Percy mumbled with a frown.

"What, Percy?" Poseidon asked, having not heard him.

"Just saying that Rhode shouldn't think so negatively, dad," Percy said.

Apollo snorted, but said nothing while Poseidon nodded to his words.

"It's as I said, they fear you child. As long as you live, you are a threat to them." The voice lulled alluringly.

Rhode was about to respond, but the world around her started shaking, making Rhode fall to her knees, "What?!" she said startled, looking around as the beach was fading in blotted colors.

The voice sounded smaller, but its rage made up for it as it shouted, "No. I'm not done with her yet! You'll pay dearly for this interruption, mortal!"

"Damn you mortal!" Leo cried with a fist shaking in the air.

"Leo Valdez!" Hestia frowned. "We've already had a discussion about your mouth, must we have another?"

Leo paled and retracted his hand so fast it sounded like a whip was cracked. "N-No Lady Hestia."

Hestia nodded. "Good."

Rhode awoke with a start, shooting up to see none other than Snape shaking her shoulder.

"Wha?" she slurred out, wiping the drool from her mouth.

"You were having a nightmare." the man noted to her.

"It's good Snape. Run to the bunkers!" Hermes declared with a winged-WWI helmet on his head.

"Hermes, sit down and knock it off." Zeus ordered sternly.

Hermes pouted and descended to his throne. "You'll all be begging me to help you, and when that comes, I'll just say I told you so."

Rhode felt her face and noticed it was covered in sweat. Shaking her head and wiping her hands, she said, "Um, thanks."

A silence passed between them before Snape informed her of Sirius being acquitted thanks to Pettigrew's corpse and his testimony. Rhode nodded to this, happy that Sirius was at least free from his charges.

"Well, there's that." Apollo mumbled. He tapped his chin. "And everyone thinks Snape killed Lupin...hm, that's actually not so bad."

"And...?" Hermes fished.

"Your kid and Demeter's girl showing up at just the right time? Still Deus Ex Machina."

Hermes' smile turned into a frown.

"Is that why you came? To tell me all this?" Rhode asked.

"No." Snape replied. "I wanted to talk to you about Lupin."

Silence hung over them at those words as both wrestled over their guilt at their roles in the man's death. After a long moment though, Snape visibly gathered his courage and begun to speak.

"I...I wished to check up on you. I too was...assaulted by a werewolf in my school years here at Hogwarts."

"Oh yeah, flashback that was pointless other than to cause drama between Harry and his dead dad," Apollo said with a nod.

"It was an important eye opener for Harry." Athena disputed. "It removed the pedestal his father was set on."

"True, but still...kind of pointless."

Rhode knitted her brow and looked at him, "...Lupin?" she hazarded a guess. She received a curt nod.

"It was a truly harrowing experience. It was my first brush with death. It scared me then and still haunts me to this day." Snape said uncharacteristically honest. "The trauma lingers. I will not go into details, but I only live to this day thanks to...Potter." he admitted, a sour tone in his voice.

"So that's why you hate him so much?

Aphrodite tittered. "No, he hates James so much because Lily married him. I wonder how James feels about being a step-father?"

Poseidon pursed his lips and forced out. "It's not like she doesn't pass as Lily and James' daughter."

"Yes, but would Lily lie to James? Or not?" Aphrodite giggled. "The drama is delicious."

And me too?" Rhode stated.

"Partly. Potter and his little gaggle of friends had tormented me in my youth. I fought back. Because of that we grew to hate each other. So when he saved me… I just saw it as another act of bullying, especially since Black had been the one to set me up to be killed by Lupin.

"The godfather of Harry, ladies and gents. Trying to get classmates killed one prank at a time." Hermes drawled.

I ended up owing Potter a life debt. All for what seemed like one of their pranks. To this day I don't know whether or not it was a prank gone wrong or a deliberate attempt to gain a life debt over me. Not that it would have mattered. Either way it would have fueled my hatred for Potter."

Rhode gained a confused look, "Why...why are you telling me this?"

"Patience," Snape said quickly, "At the start, I viewed you as an incarnation of your father. Of this man I hated beyond measure." Well, the first part wasn't wrong, "But, as I looked upon you, I came to increasingly realize you took more after your mother. That temper was one such nuance. Little Lily Evans' temper was like a fire, much like her hair."

"Fiery redheads, always a blast." Apollo grinned. "If I were to get married, I'd hope it'd be to a redhead."

"Really?" Hera asked, intrigued.

"Well, most of the time. She'd have to be able to switch it up if she wanted to keep me tied down," Apollo said nonchalantly. He was quick to add. "Not that I want to be tied down, thank you."

Artemis sighed. "And so, another insight to the fathead that is my twin's mind."

"...So mean, Arte."

"Little?"

Snape actually gave a sorrowful smile, "I knew Lily as a child. I told her about magic once she showed signs of it. We both received our letters but went to different houses, which did not help in the later years of our friendship. My fighting with Potter just kept escalating. Lily tried to intervene, to stop the fighting, but I had said...something unforgivable and lost the friend I cherished as a result."

"You loved her?" Rhode asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. With all my heart.

"So beautiful," Aphrodite cooed.

Piper sighed. Her mother was screwy.

It was why her choosing to marry your father made me hate him more. Losing Lily was bad enough. But to lose her to Potter of all people? Unbearable!" Snape hissed.

"And then I came around and they died." the daughter of Poseidon added.

"And I blamed you for it. A little at least. I was rational enough to know it was not your fault. But…" Snape trailed off, his entire being radiating regret.

"Emotions aren't logical.

"The first thing I actually agree with her on," Athena said dryly.

Trust me on that one. Besides, you're not the first to blame me for being born." she chuckled weakly at that.

"I'm sorry regardless." Snape said honestly. "I'm sorry for many things."

"Like?"

Snape looked thoughtful for a moment, as if debating whether to answer her question and if so whether to do so truthfully. "Like killing Lupin."

"Mist hax come through once again!" Leo declared.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "It's not hax, Leo."

"Magic, then?"

"Sure."

"I thought you hated him?"

"I did." Snape nodded, "but now, with him gone and thinking about it...he was just the gun used by another."

"...That was a muggle analogy." she pointed out, "But since you knew Lily as a kid and knew about magic...gods, you're a half-blood!"

"A demigod?" Zeus asked.

Hades rolled his eyes. "A magical half-blood. Didn't you read the series, brother?"

"...Shut up, Hades."

Snape looked surprised, but schooled his features, "Yes, I am. I'm impressed you figured that out so quickly. You certainly can think on your feet." he complimented and then sighed heavily, "The worse thing about Lupin's death is the sheer stupidity that led up to it. If that man hadn't forgotten to drink his wolfbane before running off to help Black capture Pettigrew… Well he'd likely be alive today."

"I'm with the spy. Stupid mortals." Dionysus scoffed as he sipped his soda.

"I guess so," Rhode admitted and turned towards Snape, "Thanks. For, you know, listening to me at the shack."

Snape just nodded, "After you explained the logic behind it, I would have been foolish not to listen...If I did, the catalyst to Lily's death may have escaped. I...would not be able to forgive myself for that." he stated. After a curt nod to Rhode, a small glimmer of respect in his eyes, he took his leave.

As he was about to exit, Rhode's voice stopped him.

"You know, you're not that much of a dick."

"And once more, she shows the side of her that has to have come from Poseidon." Zeus grumbled as he rubbed his forehead.

Rhode said with a cheeky smile.

Snape craned his head to face her, an exuberant look on his face, though he hid it quickly, "Watch your tongue, Evans." he said, but Rhode could swear on the River Styx she saw a tiny smile on his face.

As Snape left, Rhode lay against her pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

"So dreamy..."

"That is not funny," Frank said to Leo.

Leo snorted. "I know, but there's people out there who think otherwise."

"Those people are weird."

"You're telling me."

There were still a few days until school let out and according to Madam Pomfrey she would be stuck here for the duration. In her words, to observe her for the effects of overexposure to Dementors. That sucked. She was bored already, how was she going to survive four days tied to a bed?

Well, at least Su left Rhode her sketchpad.

She wondered what her next comic strip should be?

"Oo! Oo! Do an Artemis getting asked out on a date!" Apollo grinned.

Artemis punched his arm. "Shut up, dunderhead."

"I'm with Apollo on this one." Aphrodite said with a grin.

Thankfully, the stay in the Hospital Wing wasn't as dreadful as Rhode had feared. The gossip mill had worked overtime apparently, and she'd been branded a innocent victim of tragic circumstances wildly out of control. So plenty of people, friends like Penelope and Dean; and even casual acquaintances like her classmates from Ancient Runes and her other classes, all stopped by to pay her a visit. The constant company upset Madam Pomfrey

"What a stuffy nurse," Hazel said.

but helped Rhode immensely in dealing with the boredom of being locked up in the infirmary. Noticeably absent in these visits though was Ron. After getting his broken leg fixed overnight and being discharged from the Hospital Wing, he was out the doors at hyper speed. He hadn't come back once to visit the child of the sea. Apparently, if what she heard was right, he was now doing everything he could to distance himself from her, calling her 'Crazy'.

Dionysus gave a shrug. "He's not wrong."

"But hey, at least Ron is gone!" Leo grinned. "Hermione is open season..."

Piper thumped him on the head.

"Ow..." Leo frowned.

"You're probably too young for her."

Leo blinked and grinned. "I like older women."

Piper shook her head. "You're loco."

"Psh, the ladies like 'em loco!"

It seemed as if he hadn't forgiven her for everything that happened in the Shrieking Shack.

Snape had gotten a fancy award from the Ministry as they had to publicly admit their screw up in sending the Dementors to a school of all places, looking like fools.

"Government has to try and make themselves look good after they messed up? Big shock," Hermes said with a roll of his eyes.

Slytherin got the cup at the end of the year, which made them cheer loudly both at their win and in congratulations to their head of house, who was actually smirking at the praise directed towards him.

Dumbledore had of course, at the End-of-Term Feast, taken the time to lament the loss of Lupin. But even then he showed how senile he was when he needlessly announced his nature as a werewolf.

"...Ugh..." Apollo pinched the bridge of his nose. "This Dumb-bledore is dumb."

"Indeed he is," Hades said with a nod of agreement. "Let the dead lie in peace."

It raised many mixed feelings among the students. Some felt outrage at his being at Hogwarts in the first place, others sadness over his death, and the rest uncertain what to think. Dumbledore had effectively ruined a good man's reputation in his death. Good job, Stupid Goat!

Poseidon nodded. "A dumb goat indeed."

Dionysus shrugged. "They're all dumb in my opinion."

"No one cares, D." Ares drawled.

"Humph, same could be said for your opinion."

"Bull!"

The rest of the pantheon chose to be quiet as Ares looked at them expectantly.

"You guys suck."

The Old Goat also took the time during the Feast to for some reason talk about Sirius Black. He had droned on and on for fifteen long minutes about how Black was innocent all along and was never a threat to anyone in the school. And how a great wrong had been corrected… blah, blah, blah. Rhode just tuned him out, it wasn't like she hadn't learnt all this already from reading about it in the Daily Prophet that Lee passed her to help her kill time in the Hospital Wing.

"So he stole his speech?" Annabeth asked with a frown.

"I wouldn't be surprised from this version of Dumb-dore." Apollo drawled.

Though the Old Goat's nonsense did remind her of her own troubles with Sirius Black. Her godfather, and by Olympus that was an odd thing to accept, was sending her mixed messages. On one hand, he wanted to stay in touch with her, even going out of his way to do so. He'd bought her a fancy communication mirror that he held the twin to and allowed them to talk to each by projecting the user's images on the mirror. And he demanded they do so at least once every week or he'd exercise his godfatherly rights and fight for custody,

"Chiron will own him in court, too." Apollo waved the threat off.

"Family has a stronger pull than an educator," Athena said.

Apollo shrugged. "He's got a criminal record."

"False-!"

"Apollo is correct." Zeus nodded. "The criminal record would hinder him in court. Doubt in the system would wanted to be avoided."

something she dearly wanted to avoid. Sure, he sounded like he was just joking when he made that demand, but Rhode wasn't risking it.

But at the same time every time they talked, their conversation were clipped and cold. It was like even though he couldn't remember that she had killed Lupin, his best friend, thanks to the Mist, something must have slipped through. Enough at least so that he was clearly uncomfortable with her now. And in the few times he warmed up to her, he had started treating her like a James Potter substitute, making her uncomfortable instead.

"So, awkward all around! Fun times," Leo said with a snicker.

She was a little bummed about the whole thing. Here was a guy who knew the Potters and could tell her loads of stuff about them, but he was distancing himself from her. She hated them for their shitty decision-making that left her orphaned and forced to live with the Dursleys, yes, but still… They were her family and had died for her. She got curious sometimes. Well, at least she and Snape got along better now. He knew them too. If curiosity struck she could always approach him.

Overall though, she wasn't that concerned. She didn't need Black. She had her own family already, she didn't need to cling to the remnants of one from a past she couldn't even remember.

"History is what defines us, and if one forgets, it often comes back to remind them what happened." Hera drawled with a pointed look to her husband.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Oh, like that was my fault."

"We were all to blame." Hera frowned. "I just tried to do something about it."

The train ride back to London was a nice change of pace. If for no reason then it was the first time that Rhode was allowed the freedom to come and go freely in almost a week. Sure, she had been allowed to attend the Farewell Feast, but she'd only been officially discharged at the very last minute, a punishment Madam Pomfrey had explained for being so very uncooperative during her stay. It was a wonder she had managed to pack all her stuff away in time to make the train.

So it was that Rhode could be found enjoying her new freedom by chilling out in a compartment with Su.

"I'm just saying it looks lovely on you, Rhode. Even with it looking messy, it just fits you." The daughter of agriculture admitted freely complimenting her friend's hair.

Over the course of the second semester, Rhode's hair had grown out to her waistline. Besides that, she had also grown another inch, reaching a height of five foot five.

"Taller than Zeus' daughter."

"Oh, what are you going to use your daughter as a competitive tool against Zeus?" Hades asked Poseidon.

"...No..."

Rhode smiled at that, feeling proud, "Yeah, but still, being called pretty lately feels weird." she chuckled sheepishly.

Su shook her head, "I think you've grown out of pretty and are outright beautiful now."

The daughter of the sea's cheeks pinked, "Su." she said and looked at her friend, "Well, you're beautiful too. Though sorta short." she teased. It was true, Su had been a budding beauty for some time now. Where Rhode was built, Su was petite, but both were acknowledged beauties.

"Now if only they got together-"

"Hermes!" Demeter and Poseidon glared at the grinning god.

She was still two inches shorter than her friend though and Rhode often teased her over that fact.

Su just gave a bashful smile at the praise and they continued to joke around until they finally reached Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

As soon as she exited the Floo, Rhode opened her arms wide and got her traditional welcome back hug from Annabeth. Looking down at the blonde bundle of joy, she said, "Wow, did you get taller?"

"Miracles do happen."

"Oh shut up, Thalia."

Annabeth nodded enthusiastically, "Yep!" she quickly gave Rhode another tight hug around the waist, "Welcome back." she said, looking happy, content and peaceful with her big sister back at their home.

"It's great to be back." the daughter of Poseidon said with a soft smile as Luke walked on over. After Annabeth released her, Rhode gave the older blond a hug as well.

"So, how did it go?" Luke asked with concern. Lee had written to him about what happened and he was worried for Rhode.

"I'm fine, Luke." the child of the sea said while Annabeth picked up Hedwig, "It was...an experience."

Luke still looked worried while he grabbed one side of her trunk and Rhode picked up the other, "Well, alright...just, if you want to talk…"

"I know," Rhode offered him a pretty smile, "I've got two blondes to fret over me." She laughed while some pegasi flew overhead.

The child of Poseidon looked over the camp with a smile. Her home was bustling with life as always and it warmed her heart.

Rhode turned her sea green eyes to the Long Island Sound and said, "I'm home, dad."

"And that marks the end of the series for now." Hades said as the book shut. He sighed. "Hopefully, I don't look foolish in the realm of my daughter."

Poseidon frowned. "I never looked foolish!"

"Rubber. Ducky."

Poseidon colored and looked away. "That..."

"Quack." Zeus added with a smirk.

"...Both of you can sleep with father..."

AN: Yeah, again. No wit today. Can't wait for E4E's daughter of Hades.

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