I own nothing except my original ideas. Here is the updated Prologue that I promised you guys. Looking at my notes and thinking about what I want, there will be some changes coming.

xXx

Prologue

Poseidon kept to the shadows as he made his way slowly and silently towards his destination. After months of running around in secret, he was not going to risk the chance that somebody would catch them now, especially not another one of the Olympians. After all, there as more than just his reputation at stake.

He was on his way to last place many would expect him to ever go, the temple of his arch-rival, Athena, goddess of wisdom. It wasn't that he truly wanted to go there; however, recent events had left him little choice. Luckily for his nerves, he arrived at the temple relatively quickly and knocked twice on the door. Within seconds of knocking, the door was pulled sharply open, and he was yanked inside. After regaining his balance, he came face to face with the woman that was stuck in this mess with him.

"Took you long enough to get here, kelp-head," Athena snapped as she motioned for him to follow her and keep quiet.

"Well, sorry. Amphitrite wanted to 'talk.' As though I haven't been trying for the past three decades to get her to open up to me," Poseidon responded sounding as exhausted as he looked.

Athena looked at her rival and could almost feel pity for him. The man had been trying to fix his marriage ever since the Second World War ended; however, his wife hadn't been willing to listen or talk to him.

"Give her time, she will come around," Athena advised. "She always does."

Poseidon nodded half-heartedly, before noticing that they had arrived at a door on the third floor. Athena motioned for him to look inside. Opening the door as quietly as possible, he looked inside and looked in on the reason for all the tiptoeing around. Inside, fast asleep, in a nursery made for a princess, was their little princess, Ari.

"She hasn't been giving you any problems?"

"No. She's amazingly a very quiet and easy to please child," Athena whispered in response before smirking. "She must take after me."

Not taking the bait and deciding that is was best to take their conversation downstairs, and away from the nursery, Poseidon quietly closed the door and motioned for her to lead. She lead him to her massive library that took up an entire wing of her temple.

Upon arrival, she motioned him to sit in one of the comfortable armchairs before the fireplace. They sat in an uncomfortable silence before Poseidon finally spoke up and asked the question that was bothering him.

"Are we sure we want to give her up?"

Athena gave her rival a hard look before sighing and looking away into the fireplace, "I do not like it anymore than you do, but it is for the best. We both agreed to it."

"I know," Poseidon sighed sitting back into his chair staring at the wall behind her. "There is just a part of me that wishes that it did not have to be this way, that wishes Ari could be raised with us as she is supposed to be."

Athena just stood and walked over to the window overlooking the city. It was truly a marvelous view. In a way, she agreed with her rival. She would love nothing more than to raise Ari as her own; however, that was not possible. There was already going to be an uproar over the fact that the two of them had a child together, that didn't take into account that having Ari as she did goes against everything that Athena believed in. She was a virgin goddess for a reason.

That had all gone away in one night just under nine months ago, and now, they were trying to figure out what to do. The library remained silent for a while; however, neither was eager to break it, each lost in his/her own thoughts.

"She has to go, Poseidon," she finally responded still not looking at her rival. "You and I both know Amphitrite is going to go after the girl the second that she finds out you have been unfaithful, again."

She heard a groan from behind her. Any progress that was being made between the sea monarchs and fixing their marriage would pretty much be gone the second the queen found out.

"That doesn't even mention everyone's reaction to the fact that I have had a child, the normal way," she turned around and walked back over to her seat. "I may not have taken an oath, but I have made my position clear when it comes to my children. All of my children are supposed to be brain children, the purest form of love there is. It is an expectation that I have failed, and-"

"You aren't ready to face the fact that you have gone against what has come to be expected of you and the consequences that will come with it," Poseidon interjected already knowing where Athena was going with her statement.

"When is Hecate going to be here?" He asked changing the topic.

"Any minute," Athena promptly responded giving him a look that said she knew what he was doing and that she was surprisingly grateful but wouldn't admit it out-loud.

Right as she answered him, there was a blinding purple light, and once the light had cleared, there was a taller woman who looked to be in her early thirties standing in the middle of the library of Athena. The woman had slightly wavy brown hair that fell to her mid-back. She wore a floor-length plum purple dress that seemed to blow in a non-existent breeze. The dress had a low neckline and the chest of it was decorated in silver swirls that seemed to be constantly be changing. Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, had arrived.

She looked around and quickly took note of the two Olympians sitting near the fireplace. To be honest, she had been surprised when she received the message from Athena asking her to meet them here; however, she wasn't about to admit that.

"Hecate," Athena greeted her, getting to her feet. She motioned for the other goddess to join them in sitting and summoned refreshments for all three of them. This was going to be a long conversation.

After they were all comfortable, Hecate decided to get straight to the point. She put down her cup of white tea and looked straight at the two Olympian, "Not that I do not enjoy the tea and all, but to what do I owe the honor of being invited into your library, Athena?"

It was a well known fact that Athena did not let just anybody into her library. The only known visitors were Hestia and Artemis.

Athena and Poseidon looked at each other before Poseidon sighed deeply.

"Before we tell you that, we need an oath of silence from you," Poseidon informed the Goddess of Magic while looking her straight in the eyes to show how serious he was being.

Hecate was surprised to say the least, but she was also now very intrigued, "And what would this oath entail?"

"Just that you won't mention what you find out here to anybody else until we tell you it is alright," Athena answered promptly.

"And, if I don't?"

"Then, we do not need your assistance any further, and you may leave."

Hecate thought about it for a moment. On one hand, she had no idea what they were wanting her help with and taking an oath before knowing was risky. However, the two Olympians would definitely owe her because of how major this favor seemed to be. After a bit of deliberating back and forth between the two options, Hecate nodded, "Alright-"

"On the Styx, if you please."

Hecate's eyes widened, further than before, they were really serious about this. It took a moment for her to decide if settling her curiosity was worth the oath now.

Finally, she nodded again, "I, Lady Hecate, goddess of magic, do hereby swear upon the River Styx not to inform another being about what I learn here tonight until such a time that either Lady Athena or Lord Poseidon tell me that it is alright to do so."

There was a crash of thunder overhead before the two new parents looked just a bit more relaxed.

"We need your assistance," Athena answered succinctly.

Hecate didn't bother to hide it as she rolled her eyes, "Well, that is quite obvious. The only time I am ever called on is if the Council needs my help. Plus, you just had me swear an oath! So, what is it this time? Evil, magical sorcerer? Runaway dragon? Titan king rising? Monster rebellion? Please, don't tell me it's World War III! Seriously, the last one-"

As she continued her rant, with no sign of stopping anytime soon, she was up and pacing in the space between the three chairs. Poseidon and Athena would normally not interrupt her; however, time was of the essence, and Poseidon needed to get back to Atlantis. Therefore, while she continued ranting, Poseidon went upstairs and grabbed little Ari from her bassinet. Before leaving the nursery though, he gave her a loving kiss on her forehead and promised himself and her silently that this was not to be forever, just for now.

He walked back into the library to find Hecate's ranting was down to just her muttering angrily under her breath about idiots, world domination, and balance. When he walked in with the tiny bundle in his arms, both women turned towards him, and Athena's face almost immediately broke into a sad smile.

"This, Hecate, is why we need your help," Poseidon stated softly as he showed Hecate what laid inside the bundle of blankets.

To say that Hecate was surprised would not even begin to describe what she was feeling. Here before her was a baby goddess if the power rolling off the infant was anything to judge by. A true rarity; since the fall of Rome.

"Whose-" was all that she managed to get out.

Neither answered; however, she was a smart woman and quickly put the pieces together herself.

"I think that you two need to tell me the full story before I can even begin to help."

With that, the three immortals once more made themselves comfortable, and Athena began the tale of what had transpired to get them to this point.

Her and Poseidon had got together to work on a project that they had been assigned, new housing for the southern district of Olympus. It had been going as planned after Poseidon arrived at her place. They had argued, worked on the project, argued, talked about the members of the Council, argued, drunk some very good nectar, and argued.

Everything was going as well as expected to be honest. Despite all the arguing, her and Poseidon had actually managed to come up with a plan that would get all of the dilapidated temples in the southern district fixed within the next decade. She had sent Poseidon to the kitchen to grab another bottle of nectar, and after he came back is when things started to get fuzzy.

It wouldn't be until later that she realized that the kelp-head had grabbed the bottle of nectar that was in the back of her fridge, a gift from a certain love goddess. Neither of them remembered much about what happened after about half the bottle was gone. What they did remember was waking up in Athena's bed together the following morning.

Athena had been quick to run to her bedroom ensuite, slamming the door in the process, and getting dressed. When she came back out, she saw that Poseidon was dressed and looking decidedly uncomfortable in the middle of her bedroom. They had very quickly agreed to never speak of the event again, not that anybody would have believed them. Then, Poseidon left.

Unfortunately, forgetting that night was not an option because a few weeks later, Athena began exhibiting the symptoms. After using three store bought tests, they could not deny it any longer. Athena was pregnant, and Poseidon was the father.

The next eight and a half months had been spent making sure that none of the Olympians found out about the pregnancy. Athena had to spend the last four and half months under a glamour whenever she left her temple. Luckily, people were used to her spending all her time in her temple when there was peace. It was not uncommon for her to not be seen or heard from for weeks on end.

Unfortunately, the stress of the situation had taken its toll, and on July 31st, three weeks early, she had sent a message to Poseidon telling him that it was time. He had quickly arrived on Mount Olympus with an Atlantean healer that was sworn to secrecy. About nine hours later their baby girl was born. They had actually agreed to a name for her relatively quickly, for them at least. Her name, Ari, was a show of her parentage even if she would not realize it until she was much older.

The story only took a few hours to tell; however, by the end of it, the two new parents were exhausted, and Hecate was just amazed that not only had these two immortals found themselves in this situation but that no one else had figured it out yet.

"You two have definitely got yourselves into it this time," Hecate stated now holding the child herself. "However, are you certain that you want to do this? I don't think the reaction will be nearly as bad as what you are thinking, except for Amphitrite, of course."

Poseidon flinched; he was not looking forward to his wife finding out about this. But, he knew that it would happen, eventually.

"We are certain," Athena answered not sounding certain at all but not willing to face the judgment that she knew would come when this got out.

Hecate just sighed and nodded. This was going to be another one of those times where the Olympians did what they felt was best even if it was for stupid reasons and would later regret the decision.

"Very well, I will take the child to live among my people."

A weight seemed to be lifted from both Athena and Poseidon. Their daughter would be taken care of.

Hecate then leveled them both a very stern look, "But, be warned. For her to live among my people, I am going to have to bind most of her powers and her immortality."

"It won't be forever though," Poseidon almost questioned sounding slightly desperate.

Hecate shook her head, "No, it is her birthright to be an immortal. The binding will break upon her 18th birthday."

"And, until then?" Athena questioned wanting to know all the facts.

"Until then, she will have the weaknesses and trials of a demigod. This includes being eligible for quests."

"We understand," Athena spoke for both.

"Good. Now, one more thing. With her being among my people, I don't want any direct interference until she initiates contact." Both parents moved to argue, but Hecate cut them off. "No! My people have enough issues of their own without the gods interfering. Once she has contacted you, I cannot stop you because she is obviously not a demigod and therefore doesn't fall under the laws of the demigods. But, until then, you may not interfere."

"We will at least be able to watch over her, surely," Athena challenged. There was no way that she wasn't going to at least keep an eye on her daughter and make sure that she was happy and loved.

Hecate nodded, "Of course. I would never dream of forbidding you that."

She rose to her feet and the two Olympians followed, "Now, is there anything in particular that I need to know about the child?"

Both parents shook their heads.

Hecate nodded, "Then, I believe it is time to get going. This little one needs to get to bed."

With that said, she made sure that the child's eyes were covered and flashed herself out of Athena's library. The two parents were left to silently grieve over giving up their child and go their separate ways. Athena would not leave her library for about a week, and Poseidon was forced to try and make amends with his wife, who was still giving him a hard time.

After flashing out of the library, Hecate went about binding the child's powers before making her way to the family that she had in mind. It was quite common for her to walk amongst her people to see how they were doing. Therefore, she already knew that Great Britain, where the family was located, was on the brink of a full civil war. Whilst walking among her people, she occasionally stopped and took interest in some of her more gifted. Amongst these was the family of James and Lily Potter.

Now, James and Lily had grabbed Hecate's attention back when they were just eleven years old because of how extremely gifted they both were. Of course, even she had to admit that some of the pranks played by James and his group were borderline cruel. Lily was a kind hearted girl that tried to see the good in everybody; however, she had one hell of a temper if somebody riled her up too much. The pair had just discovered that Lily was unable to have children. While the pair was understandably upset at this news, they had managed to look at the bright side and had put their names down at Saint Mungo's to be considered for adoption. It was the young Potters that Hecate had chosen to be the parents of Ari.

Hecate made her way swiftly up the path to the manor. Upon reaching the door, she knocked and was swiftly answered by a house elf.

"What can Betsy be doing for ma'am?"

"I need to speak to Lord and Lady Potter, if you please."

The house elf nodded before allowing Hecate into the manor.

"If you be following Betsy. Betsy be taking you to the parlor, ma'am."

The house was larger inside than it looked on the outside, and Hecate had to believe that more than one person had got lost in here before learning their way around. Upon arriving at their destination, Hecate entered to find not only the pair that she was looking for but also two of James' best friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.

Betsy dropped into a curtsey before her master and lady, "Betsy be bringing you the guest from the door."

"Thank you, Betsy. That will be all," Lily Potter answered while standing up to greet their guest. However, her eyes did not wander far from the bundle in Hecate's arms. "Welcome, we received the floo call from St. Mungo's saying that you would be stopping by. What can we do for you?"

Hecate took a look at the couple before her. They were both young and in their early twenties. Lily Potter was a lovely young woman with long auburn hair and bright green eyes. James Potter on the other hand had neatly cut black hair with brown eyes that were framed by slim black rectangular glasses. With the interactions that she had seen when they were children, she found it hard to believe that these two had wound up together, but she was happy for them.

A throat clearing brought her out of her observations, and she turned to look at the four young adults before her.

"Yesterday, a young couple dropped their newborn daughter off at the hospital." Lily let out a small sob, the poor child. The three men gave Hecate a look that said she better get to the point. "After giving the child a checkup, we looked at the list of candidates, and your family came up as being the best suited to the child."

At this news, all four of the gifted were in shocked silence. They had never expected for it to happen like this. Both James and Lily had wanted at least two children, but upon finding out Lily was unable to carry, they accepted the fact that they would have to adopt. And, they were perfectly ok with this. However, they had expected to adopt war orphans, not abandoned newborns.

Hecate motioned with her head to the baby in her arms, "This, is Ari. And if you wish, you may adopt her."

Both nodded. The child was practically a newborn, and it would be almost the same as if they had had the child themselves. Sirius and Remus watched on, happy for their friends and eager to spoil the new little princess.

James turned to Sirius with what looked suspiciously like tears in his eyes, "Padfoot, will you be her godfather?"

Sirius was speechless. Everybody in their group knew that he was unable to have kids thanks to a curse, courtesy of Snivellus, back in their sixth year. He could do nothing but nod.

James smiled his thanks before turning towards Remus, "Moony-"

Remus cut him off with a shake of his head and a knowing but sad smile on his scarred face, "I know, James. It's against the law for me to have custody or guardianship of any child." He stopped here and gave his friend a fake stern look, "But I am still going to spoil her as much as possible."

James laughed, "Wouldn't expect anything less."

Lily turned to look at Hecate, "I believe that gives you our answer."

Hecate just smiled and handed over the papers. Within minutes, the paperwork was signed and sent off to be filed (the perks of being a goddess). With that, Hecate left the young mortal goddess to be loved by her new parents, godfather and adopted uncle.

Hecate never imagined that the war plaguing her people would affect young Ari. She never imagined that in a year and a half, Ari would lose her new family and be left on the doorstep of her adopted aunt's house. She never imagined that Ari would spend the almost the next ten years of her life living in fear. Her parents wouldn't know about the abuse until the next time they saw Ari, and Hecate would have some explaining to do. But little Ari would have to endure much until that time came, and that is where her story truly began.