"Let's go talk," Harry whispered, resting his forehead against Acheron's as they stood in the great hall. His magic was still shielding them from view and he could see everyone's gaze on them, on him and Acheron. Though he got the sense that the professors, that the new Headmistress McGonagall knew or at least had some idea as to who Acheron was. No one had stopped Harry's friend when he had walked into Hogwarts a few minutes earlier.

"Somewhere hidden. I don't…"

"Way ahead of you," Harry murmured. "There's the Room of Requirement up on the seventh floor. Come on."

He curled his hands tighter around Acheron's waist and apparated them out of the great hall.

Ron and Hermione stared at where Harry had been. The aisle between the eighth years and the rest of the students was now empty. No Harry and no strange man.

"Professor?" Hermione questioned, looking up at the teacher's platform in the great hall.

McGonagall sighed, looked out over the curious students. "Acheron Parthenopaeus. He is the leader of a group, a group that most of the old pureblood families spoke of. It is best if you stay away from him for now. I shall go ask him why he took Harry."

"Hermione, he disapparated in Hogwarts," Ron whispered, nudging her shoulder. "Whoever this person is… You shouldn't cross him."

"Granger, Weasley. That was Potter disapparating."

Hermione turned to look at Draco, who was sitting at the far end of the table. Draco was sitting with Blaise and Theo, the only two Slytherin boys, besides Malfoy, who had come back for their eighth year.

"How do you know, Malfoy?"

"I just know. Don't ask. And…" Draco trailed off, his eyes wide and his skin pale. "You should listen to McGonagall. The Dark Hunters are not people you cross idly."

"You know of them, Draco?" Hermione asked.

"I know of them, yes. Know one? No. But I do know that Acheron, if that was Acheron, is the leader and not to be crossed."

"We said that about Voldemort," Ron said, his eyes narrowed in thought. "We got rid of him."

Draco snorted. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not a Dark Hunter, nor was he a god. Acheron Parthenopaeus knows gods and their world."

"Gods?" Hermione questioned, peering over at the spot where Harry and the unfamiliar man had disappeared. "There are gods?"

Draco nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Many pantheons. Artemis, the greek goddess of the hunt and wilderness. The old pureblood families know of him, the gods and the Dark Hunters."

Acheron startled as they disappeared from the great hall of Hogwarts and reappeared in a hallway. He steadied himself and looked to where Harry was pacing, after pulling away from him..

"You… I had heard of you," Acheron started. Harry stopped walking in front of a door and with a click, the door opened. Acheron could hear a fire crackling and the smell of hot chocolate wafted in from the room. "My London Dark Hunters relayed word about your fight."

"Dark Hunters?"

Acheron's lips twitched up into a slow, wary smile. "That's right. You weren't there. My sister… She wed Apollo, a few years after you… died."

"Apollo, the greek god of the sun?"

Acheron nodded, following Harry into the room and looking around at it. The room was sparse in furniture, only a couch and a fireplace within. The small table in front of the couch held two steaming mugs and Harry went right for one, before going to sit down on the couch.

"Yes." Acheron walked over to grab a mug himself, wrapping his fingers around the cup and warming them. He glanced down at Harry, seeing the man get comfortable on the couch. Harry caught his eyes and patted the seat next to him. "Ryssa… She bore Apollo a son, Apollodorus. He was adorable, my nephew."

"I heard as much from your mother," Harry offered, as Acheron sat down next to him though a few feet apart. They faced each other, Acheron trying to see some of Aodhán in Harry. The two men certainly looked different but Acheron… He could tell that Harry was the reincarnation of his former lover. There was something familiar, safe, about him. "She didn't tell me much though. All I heard were whispers on the wind."

"Ryssa died on her 27th birthday," Acheron explained wearily, taking a sip of hot chocolate and smiling at the rich taste.

Harry's eyes went soft. "I'm sorry. She cared for you a great deal, didn't she?"

Acheron nodded, sighing. "I only realized how much later on. She rescued me once or twice from Atlantis."

Harry blinked but didn't comment. "How did she die?"

"Some of Apollo's children attacked her and her child," Acheron said, grimacing at the memory of waking up that morning only to find that he couldn't have saved his sister or her child. He could still remember seeing the remains of his sister in her room. She had looked like she had been torn apart by animals. "So Apollo cursed his children."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I suppose that is the exact definition of speaking in the moment. How did he curse his children?"

"All of them only live to 27 and they die exactly the way Ryssa did."

Harry blinked, inhaling sharply. "I assume Ryssa did not… was not just stabbed, by your expression."

"No. She… It looked…" Acheron trailed off, peering at Harry before flinching visibly. Harry paled and shuffled a little closer, keeping an eye on him. Acheron dipped his head in a slight nod before Harry closed the distance between them on the couch, reached out a hand.

Acheron reached out his and they entwined their fingers. His gaze fell to their fingers, feeling the warmth radiating from Harry. "She looked like she had been attacked by animals and her son was dead too. Of course, my father and brother blamed me. I… had been drugged by Artemis, the goddess I had spent some time with."

Harry grimaced. "Artemis… Back when I was Aodhán, you mentioned a goddess. Was that her?"

"Yes. She… manipulated me into coming back to life, among other things," Acheron explained as Harry started to rub circles into his palm with his thumb. "She still calls me her whore when in the company of other gods."

Harry stared. "Wait… Coming back to life? You died? And what the fuck… I think I need to have a talk with Artemis. She has no right to describe you in that way."

"It's what I was," Acheron whispered, watching as a glow came into Harry's green eyes. Nothing else changed but Acheron could feel the power in the air, the energy that came from Harry. It was powerful and he could feel a hint of his mother's power in Harry too. "I was a whore, a tsoulus."

"I don't care. You did what you had to to survive," Harry murmured. "You were practically given to a brothel by your father. Nowadays, that is called child abuse and not practiced."

Acheron snorted quietly. "My father didn't care. He just wanted to be rid of the freak."

"You're not a freak. My aunt and uncle called me freak when I was younger," Harry said. "That doesn't mean I was a freak and it especially doesn't mean that you are one either. You are not a freak for having silver in your eyes or for hearing voices or being stronger than everyone else."

Acheron's eyes narrowed as he looked at Harry, thinking of what he knew of the boy savior of the wizarding world. The wizards and witches didn't usually have much contact with the Dark Hunters or any of the Daimons or the Apollites. The wizards thought them inferior but otherwise left them to their own world.

"You aren't a freak, Acheron," Harry repeated quietly, catching his eyes. "Or a whore. You are a human being-"

"I'm not human."

"Okay, you look like a human being. You are a person, a god. They have no right to call you that or to treat you like that. If I had had magic and the knowledge I have now back in my first life… I wouldn't have been able to restrain myself," Harry finished, his thumb rubbing circles into Acheron's palm.

Acheron sighed, rolling his shoulders out in relaxation. He took a second to try to see Harry's future and let out another deep breath of relief. He couldn't see anything in Harry's future, nothing. Harry would stick around this time and hopefully… He leaned further against Harry, dropping his head onto the wizard's shoulders.

"I missed you," Acheron whispered, feeling his heart beat quickly and his cheeks redden. Harry's other hand slowly wrapped around his back, avoiding his neck, and curling around his waist.

"I missed you too," Harry murmured, tucking his hand against Acheron's shoulders.

Acheron was content enough to stay there forever, forget about his duties as the leader of the Dark Hunters, forget about Artemis, forget about the daimons. "I never learned how you died… Or at least who killed you. No one would look into it for a whore."

"I just remember being stabbed," Harry offered, shrugging. "I did see a red-haired woman but that's it."

Acheron froze. "A red-haired woman?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"Do you remember anything else?" Acheron questioned.

"No… What's wrong?"

"Artemis. She was smug those few days. I thought it had been me but…" Acheron trailed off, grimacing. "What does your title really entail? Can you die?"

"Why would Artemis… She's a possessive goddess, isn't she? If she was having sex with someone, then no one else could." Harry scowled, his green eyes angry. "Regarding my title, I don't know for certain if I can die. I did die right before I killed Voldemort but… I don't think I can now. I mean, I met all of the death gods. They're not going to take my soul if it comes their way."

Acheron dipped his head in a nod, pulling away from Harry to look at him. "I wouldn't put it past her to have killed you. Simi's about to get angry again."

"Simi?" Harry echoed, tilting his head in confusion.

Acheron grinned. "You'll like her. She's kind of my demon daughter. Simi, I call you to human form."

Harry's eyes widened as the dragon tattoo on Acheron's arm vanished and a young woman appeared in front of them. Or rather… She would have been human looking had it not been for the wings and red and white skin. Her horns also indicated that she wasn't human, black looking things that seemed to sprout from her skull.

"Akri! The Simi is meeting a new human? Can the Simi eat him?"

Harry blinked, his eyes widening, before turning to look at Acheron, who huffed out a quiet laugh.

"She's a Charonte demon, who is bound to me. I call her my daughter," Acheron explained, his lips twitching up into a grin. "Simi, you can't eat him. I like him. His name's Harry Potter and-"

"Ooh! He's the person you told the Simi about! The Simi can see it!"

Acheron raised an eyebrow. "You can see it?"

"The Simi can see Aodhán in Harry's eyes."

"I take it there's more than one kind of demon," Harry said faintly, his eyes still wide.

Acheron snorted. "Oh, there's a lot more. My Dark Hunters can teach you. I'll figure out what to do with Artemis."