Full Moon II

Harry Potter, Hogwarts, the last day of term.

I stand outside Hogwart's main gate, waving my arm like an idiot as I watch Ron and Hermione go down the main road to Hogsmead in the carriages, as they turn out of sight I heave out a sigh and scratch the back of my head feeling awkward just standing here, so I turn on my heel and start my way back to the castle. Maybe Professor Lupin would be up for a chat over a cuppa, he could always hunt down Atalanta to see what she was up to, she was normally hunting in the forest or patrolling the ground just in case. Maybe I should go catch up on a few of the essays the Professors had assigned over the holidays, I have to admit that with the reduced inches per essay my grade has improved a lot over the weeks. I never understood why they wanted the unnecessary fluff that most of the teachers wanted in them, who cares so long as the students understood the facts about them.

As I moved up the stairs to the third floor and past the library, I heard a set of familiar voices calling out to me, Fred and George over by an unused classroom waving me over. Having nothing to do, I walked over to them, a bit wary about what they wanted.

"Harry, my good man-"

"-Brother befriender-"

"-Sister savior-"

"-and seeker extraordinaire!"

They say as I walk up to them, unable to keep the smile off my face, they always seem to know how to put a smile on my face, and I'll never even know who said it, enhanced sense of smell or not, they smell the same so I don't even know who is who.

"Hey, guys," I greet them, and their antics, "What are you guys still doing here? I thought you would be on your way to Hogsmeade?" I ask them, right before they both grab me and pull me into the abandoned classroom.

"We were, but then we saw you walking down the hall-"

"-and we figured that we might as well give you your Christmas present early." They both say, finishing each other's sentences.

"Oooookay," I say, still a bit wary of an oncoming prank by the two, their pranks were never mean-spirited or hurtful, and they never singled one student out over the rest, but that just meant everyone was fair game; even me.

"You guys know you don't have to do that, right?" I ask, I didn't save Ginny expecting them to give me anything.

"Oh, we know our good man-"

"-But we want to,-"

"-So, we decided to share with you-"

"-The secret to our success!" They finish as we walk up to the desk and one of them pulls out a folded piece of parchment and places it on top of the desk, I look down at it with a quirked eyebrow.

"A spare bit of parchment?" I ask looking back up to them, now sure this was a prank of some kind.

They both scoff, "A spare piece of parchment he says" the twin on the left says before the one on the right rolls his eyes, "Shall we Fred?" The one on the left says before the one on the right turns to him and says "Wait, I thought I was George today?"

"Were you?" The other asks before they both shrug and pull their wands out and taping the parchment in perfect synchronicity.

"We solemnly swear we're up to no good." They chant together before I watch the parchment come to life as web-like lines of ink across it, crisscrossing and twisting around before they settle on it, and I gape in astonishment.

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

are proud to present:

The Marauders Map.

I pick up the parchment and look, still in surprise, as I watch the footprints of people walk to and from places, showing off empty rooms, the common rooms for each house, and secret passages a plenty. "Did you two make this?" I ask when I look up at them.

"No, we nicked it from Filch's office during our second year-"

"-Took a bit to figure out, but our forebears of this map have helped out greatly." They both smiled at each other before telling me that they were now passing it on to me. Showed the secret passages out of the castle and how to wipe the map after I was done using it. After telling me not to do anything they wouldn't do, which was a shortlist honestly, they had left me in the empty classroom.

Leaving the classroom and moving to the statue of the humpback and one-eyed witch I checked the map and found myself on it, my footprints had a speech bubble above my head with "dissendium" in it. I tap the hump and speak the word and watch as the hump opens up with a drop down into the darkness.

Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, one hour later.

The trip through the tunnel was a long one, first dropping me down onto a platform about ten feet down, which I then had to drop down on two more platforms before I found a ladder that lead to a tunnel underneath the school which I was about sixty percent sure could lead to the Chamber of Secrets before following that to some type of maze that luckily had chalk markings leading to a ladder up to Honeydukes. After that, it was easy to sneak into the shop proper, seeing Hermione and Ron in the crowd. I stalked them a bit as they made their way through the candy store, picking out this and that.

"Do you think Harry would like these?" Ron asks Hermione as she was inspecting a rack of fudge before turning to him.

"I don't know Ron, if Harry brought you back Cockroach Clusters, would you like them?" She answers back as I walk up behind her, keeping my head low and ducking down a bit.

"No, I guess not," Ron sighs out before reaching for the Blood Pops, "What about some of these?" He says as he turns to them.

I move quickly, getting into both of their blind spots before leaning against a stand for chocolate frogs, "I know I like my meat on the rare side mate, but not that rare." I say loud enough for both of them to hear, I have to hold back a laugh as I watch them both jump at the sound of my voice and turn to me with wide eyes.

"Harry?!" Hermione hisses out and Ron cheers.

"What are you doing here?!" Hermione asks as Ron follows up with his own question.

"How did you get here?" He asks with a smirk.

I quickly pulled them aside and explained about the map, Fred and George, and the secret passage under Honeydukes.

"Hold up, why didn't they tell me about the map?" Ron asks dejectedly, I just chuckle and shrug.

"Never mind that Ron," Hermione says before quickly glancing around, "Harry, you need to get back to Hogwarts right now. It's far too dangerous for you to be here." She tells me.

"What? Hermione, he just got here." Ron tells her looking shocked.

"Ronald, use your head. Sirius Black is still on the loose, not to mention Harry isn't supposed to be here." Hermione tells us both as she continues to look around worriedly.

"Hermione," Ron begins, "Sirius Black isn't about to come out of hiding in the middle of the day, in a crowded town full of students and teachers, just to attack Harry." He explains like she is four years old, Hermione turns to him with a glare but it's a weak one.

"Besides, we both know why he couldn't get his form signed and it's bullshit." He finishes and I flinch a bit at it. Hermione closes her eyes and breathes out a sigh while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Fine," she finally says before looking up, "but we only stay for an hour or two, and you and I go into any shop beforehand to check for teachers while Harry hides outside, understand?" She tells Ron before turning to me; both Ron and I smile before nodding in agreement. "Good, Harry if you want anything just tell me or Ron, and we'll get it for you, you can pay us back later but we don't need the shopkeepers to notice you, okay?" Hermione says as she turns to me, sounding like a solid idea I just nod.

We spent a few more minutes in Honeydukes, filling up on chocolate frogs, fudge, and a few other goodies before leaving and heading down the main drag just taking in the small village of Wixen, it reminds me a lot of Diagon Alley with magic everywhere I look as Ron and Hermione argue about where to go next, Ron wanted to show me the Shrieking Shack while Hermione was adamant about their next stop being Tomes and Scrolls so she can pick up a few books she had ordered from private libraries from around England with them, so we naturally went to Tomes and Scrolls first. Honestly, the shop was interesting, a three-story building with the first floor selling parchment, ink, and quills of all kinds for students and teachers alike, from color-changing ink to anti-cheating ink, scented parchment to charmed parchment that would hide what was on it until you spoke a password, from eagle feathers quills to Griffin feather quills, the second floor was set up like a small private library holding rare books from around the world, there was even a few in Ancient Greek that I flipped through, it was all about setting up wards for ones home, way out of my understanding to be completely honest, but still neat.

Hermione had picked up her books, old tombs hand-bound the shopkeeper had warned her not to damage because they were worth a small fortune, she politely nodded and told them she would take good care of them before turning them into Madam Pince when she was done with them, apparently Pince had put in a good word or two for Hermione to get her hands on the books.

When we made it outside, my curiosity got the better of me so I asked what she had to call in favors to get.

"Oh, a personal journal of a wizard by the name of Amaranthus Black, Foedere Graecorum Deorum and Mages, magic, and magicians," Hermione says as she tucks her package into her bag.

"Black as in…" I trail off a bit confused.

"As in the Black family, apparently they're an old family whose line can be traced back to the time of Merlin, this Black was alive during the early fifteenth century during the hundred-year war." She explains and I just nod before we start heading to the three broomsticks, Hermione slipping inside to do a check for any of the Professors as Ron and I waited on the side of the building, after a few minutes she comes back out and waves us inside. The place is packed with students and locals alike, we were lucky to find a booth empty, we slide in before the bartender comes over and takes our order. I sigh out, already feeling a headache coming on from all the people around, I try to focus on the faucet and turn it back as much as I can, it helps a bit but still, the noise is almost overwhelming. By the time the drinks come my head is already resting on the table, I can feel Hermione's eyes on me but I brush her off when she asks me if I want to leave; at least the butterbeer is good.

"-honest to goodness Cerberus, and you had it as a pet?" A familiar voice cuts through the loud voices all around us, my eyes go wide as I look over to the door to the inn just to see the door shut behind Atalanta and Hagrid. I quickly slip under the table with my drink.

"Aye, his name is Fluffy! The cutest little guy you ever did see." I hear Hagrid say before I press myself to the back of the seats as far as I can go, "Oy, there be 'ermione and Ron, let's see if they're up for a bit of company."

As I sit between Hermione and Ron's feet I feel them stiffen before Atalanta unknowingly saves us.

"Let them have their day Hagrid, besides weren't you meeting some people here?" Atalanta asks him before Hagrid remembers and I breathe out a sigh of relief before the door to the inn opens again. I hear the voices of Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, and the Minister of Magic himself walking in and I curse my luck in my head.

They settle in a booth near us, I hear them all order drinks before Fudge introduces himself to Atalanta.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Claydon, I heard that Dumbledore had hired extra security after Black's break-in a few months ago," he says " Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic for England. A pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you Minster, but please call me Atalanta," she says in a bit of a cold tone, but apparently the Minister either doesn't notice or doesn't mind the tone.

"Then please, call me Cornelius." He offers back as the bartender comes back over.

"One butterbeer, three fire whiskeys, and a double pint of the house mead." I hear her say as she sets down each glass, "if you need anything else don't hesitate to call." I hear her start to turn around before Fudge calls out to her.

"Nonsense, come take a seat Rosamertta, take a load off." Fudge tells her

"Oh, well I could use a small break, are you sure Minister?" The bartender asks, but Fudge brushes off her concern before she pulls up a chair and takes a seat with them.

They make small talk for a little bit as I sit under the table sipping the butterbeer I had gotten as I listened in on and off. It wasn't until the bartender asks the Minister what he was doing in the village that I started to pay closer attention.

"Just checking in with the Dementors about how Black got past them when he had broken into the castle a few months ago." The Minister says

"I still can't believe that he had done that." The bartender says, "is it true minister, the biggest piece of Pettigrew they found was a finger?"

"Yes, it was. They found Black at the scene of the crime, the street destroyed, fire everywhere, muggles screaming, and Black in the middle of it all laughing." Fudge says

"I still remember them coming in here, they were always good for a laugh, even helped out a few times." Rosamertta sighs out in remembrance.

"That brave stupid boy, always following them around, I guess he thought he needed to get revenge for what Black did to the Potters," McGonagall says.

"I'm sorry, but what did Black do to the Potters?" I hear Atalanta ask the question I had in my own head.

There's a moment of pause before McGonagall speaks up, "I'm sorry dear, I had forgotten you don't know any of this. You see, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were the best of friends back in their school days." She says in a sad tone.

"Thick as thieves them boys never met more rambunctious troublemakers before or afta' they came to Hogwarts," Hagrid says before taking a swing of his tankard before Flitwick picks up the story.

"You see, eleven years ago when the Dark Lord was still alive he was hunting for the Potters, they went into hiding under a very powerful and complex charm called the fidelius charm, how it works is the caster imbues a target with a secret that the caster wants to hide, such as a location or an item, the target is referred to as a secret keeper." Flitwick explains as I feel a pit begin to form in my stomach, "only the secret keeper can give out the secret, I had heard that Dumbledore had offered himself as secret keeper, but James and Lily wanted Sirius Black to be it."

"He betrayed them, didn't he?" Atalanta says, her voice tight and controlled but I can feel the anger creep into her voice just as I feel my own building.

"He did," Fudge says in a solemn voice, "we don't know when he turned but a year after they went into hiding Black betrayed them and turned them over to the Dark Lord."

"My gods, that's…" I hear Atalanta pause trying to find the right words but failing as I feel rage start to fill my chest.

"That's not even the worst of it." I hear McGonagall whisper.

"How in Hades does it get worse than that?" Atalanta asks, her voice crawling with anger.

"Because James and Sirius were as close as brothers, you wouldn't see one without the other. He was James' best man when he married Lily, as soon as Harry was born James had asked him to be Harry's Godfather," McGonagall says as I stop breathing I can feel tears in the corners of my eyes (I won't cry, Vernon hated when I cried.) "And he remains Harry's Godfather to this day." I feel the empty bottle of butterbeer shatter in my hand before I hear Atalanta ask one more thing.

"Harry doesn't have a clue, does he?" Atalanta asks in an empty voice.

"No," McGonagall says sadly in a hollow voice, "and the boy shouldn't know, he's far too young to know something like this, best to let him think that he only has a madman after him rather than his godfather."

I can't take anymore, I feel my chest tighten, and my breaths are coming out in short gasps, the hunt starts to leak in because of my panic and I could practically feel every heartbeat in the room. The thump-thump, thump-thump, like a cacophony of prey around me as my anger tastes bitter on my tongue. I had to get out of here, I hated how being under the table made me feel safe, I hated the sounds around me, the people, the lies, and broken oaths.

So as soon as I see a large group of students pass in front of the table, I dash out from under the table, blending in with them as they make their way to the exit. I keep my head down and try to keep my emotions under control, but with the hunt pumping through me it's hard and the students are moving too slow, so I push past them ignoring the remarks that they said, ignoring the three sets of eyes on me, and make it out the door.

I take a deep breath of the cold air that burns my lungs, but the world spins around me and I can barely keep my footing, (it's his fault.) I pick a direction and I take off down the main street, having no idea where I was going but all I could think was I had to get away, I had to get to my cupboard, (it's his fault I need to find it.) I push my way through the crowded streets trying to find a place to catch my breath as I move, my head frantically shaking back and forth as if trying to dislodge the thoughts from it.

"Boy, how many times-"

(It's his fault.)

"Up, up, get up fre-"

(He sent us there.)

"For a week! You be lucky if we fe-"

(He was supposed to come for me, to take me away from them, but he killed them, he's the reason I'm there, he betrayed them.)

"Watch it, …Potter?"

(It's his fault, his fault, His. Fault. And I am…)

I finally come to a stop in front of an old house, my breathing still shallow and my world still spinning I collapse to the ground, trying hard to get the mess I call my mind under control, I wanted to crawl into my cupboard and stay there, I wanted to hunt, to chase, to kill, and to bleed, I wanted to go back to the castle, I wanted revenge.

That last one pumped into me so much I could feel my blood sing with the thought, and amid the panic and hunt, I have one very clear thought.

I am going to kill him.

As I'm on my hands and knees sucking air through a straw and trying to will the world to stop turning, I hear the crunch of snow behind me, he was here, he was here and he was gonna try and kill me, I grab the valve in my mind and twist it as far as I could go. I didn't care, he was going to die, I was going to hunt, I was going to kill him. So as I feel a hand on my shoulder I turn quickly to-

"No, get back!"

"Umpho!"

"Atalanta, no!"

"Granger, what in the witch mother-"

Something had hit me, tackled me right when I was gonna kill him, another death eater! I try to fight back, but they're too big, too strong, I try to hit, punch, and grab like Atalanta taught me about but before too long they're on top of me, fist cocked back and-

Harry Potter, Atalanta's room, Hogwarts.

I awaken with a groan and promptly fall off the couch I was laying on, my body felt like one big bruise, and my head was throbbing pulsing along with the pain in my jaw. As I begin to pick myself up off the floor I hear Hermione.

"Harry, oh god are yo-" she calls out before Atalanta cuts her off.

"Get back you idiot!" Atalanta cries before I hear the sound of struggling.

"What are you doing!? Ron, no let me go." Hermione complains as I push myself off the floor and open my eyes just to flinch from the light as I stand back up.

"Harry," Atalanta says in a soft voice full of concern, "I need you to say something, anything that doesn't involve hunting." I can't see her, my glasses missing from my face so everything's a mess of blurry images and smudges.

"Why does my head hurt and where the hell are my glasses?" I ask, my voice strained as I taste old blood in my mouth, the feeling of anger not leaving my chest, I hear Atalanta breathe out a sigh of relief and her hunting knife slides back into its case and she hands me back my glasses.

I slide them back onto my face and the world once again comes into focus, Ron had his arms wrapped around Hermione pulling her back behind Atalanta who was standing closer to me, she had a relieved look on her face but sported a black eye. I sit down on the couch I had woken up on clutching my head, wondering what had happened till it hit me, the Three Broomsticks, the Minister, the Professors, and Atalanta all talking, talking about…about…

"Oh." Is all I say when it all comes rushing back, Sirius Black being my godfather, his betrayal, my freak out, then it was a blur. Did I fight someone?

"Yeah, kiddo." Atalanta says, "Oh kinda covers it. What do you remember?"

I tell her everything I do remember, all the while Hermione and Ron were giving me weird looks when I get to my freak out Hermione speaks up.

"A panic attack," Hermione says in a soft voice, almost quiet, "I think. I used to have them when I was younger in social situations." She explains as Ron and Atalanta look at her a bit confused. She goes on to explain what they are and what most commonly they come from, including something that was called PTSD, but she looks at me and just shanks her head not explaining further.

"It wasn't just that," Atalanta says after a moment, "You also accessed the hunt, you almost attacked another student Harry, I had thought you had lost yourself to it." She says with worry in her voice and the say weird look Hermione and Ron have, why was she worried about me? Was it because she thought I was still dangerous?

"I'm fine now," I reassure Atalanta, but all she does is nod and keeps the same odd look on her face, I shuffle a bit in my seat uncomfortable with all of this, "di-did I hurt them?" I ask.

"No, I got there in time to make sure that didn't happen, Harry," Atalanta tells me, "Hermione ran damage control as I umm, …got you under control." She says with a grimace. "Doesn't mean I came out unhurt, however." She says as she taps just under her black eye, "Hell of a right hook you've got kiddo."

I run my hand along and flick in pain when I get to the swelling, "You knocked me out, good. Good." I say as Atalanta walks back into her room before coming back with a plastic Tupperware container, popping it open, and passing me a small yellow square, Ambrosia. I pop it in my mouth and chew slowly enjoying the taste of treacle tart before swallowing. The room is quiet for a long moment before I speak, it comes out soft and almost broken, "I'm sorry…" I say as I look at the ground between my feet, "I'm sorry for being so weak."

It was Hermione who talks next, her voice in the tone she normally uses when she was torturing me, "Harry, you're not weak." She says as she walks over to the couch and sits down next to me before pulling me into a hug, I flinch at the abruptness of it but she doesn't let me go. "You're not Harry, you had just learned something horrible that, …that reminded you of them." She says and I don't need to even guess who the them is.

"It's called post-traumatic stress disorder, it comes from the trauma you've suffered Harry, you are not weak, do you understand me?" Her tone of voice becomes scratchy and iron-clad with no hope to argue back, I just nod, but I know the truth.

I glance up to see Atalanta has turned to Ron with a questioning look on her face, Ron, much to his credit, shakes his head while looking at her. It wouldn't be much later that Ron was saying "Not now, instead of Won't tell you."

Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Common room, December 26th.

Something was wrong with Harry Potter, Hermione had this thought often but in the last week, it had come to her more and more. As most of the castle left for Yule Holidays, Harry had taken to sitting in one of the high-back chairs, one he had dragged over to one of the windows, twirling his wand in between his fingers as his slitted eyes bounced back between the portrait entrance to scan the grounds. Hermione and Ron knew what he was doing, and it made them both scared for Harry. It didn't help that Atalanta was encouraging him, she had heard back in Atalanta's room, whispering low between themselves as the Gryffindor trio were leaving to head back to the tower.

They whispered of a hunt and of bait, it wasn't too hard to put together, Harry wanted revenge and he was going to do something stupid and reckless and that woman was helping him. How had one of the greatest symbols of feminism turned out to be like this, encouraging someone to seek out his own death? It was ridiculous. It didn't even cover what else she was lying to Harry about, if her hunch was right, she really hoped it wasn't.

He hadn't even fought with her when she had pointed out the Firebolt could have been sent by Sirius Black, he had just handed it over with a shrug, Ron wasn't too happy about it but that didn't matter, the matter was keeping Harry safe, Ron, at the moment, didn't think so. It was late at night or early in the morning when Hermione descends the girl's staircase. Her jumper was pulled over her nightgown and a set of PJs pulled over her legs to keep her warm on the freezing December night, and Harry is once again sitting in the chair by the window, spinning his wand in between his fingers; the fire crackling low in the fireplace.

"Harry," Hermione calls out softly, "it's getting pretty late. Don't you think you should go to bed?" Harry doesn't react or comment back. Hermione sighs, she's seen him like this before, before the catacombs and Ron had told her about the descent into the Chamber of Secrets. Harry's single-minded focus made him such a force to fight against or hide from, she had seen it get him through a lot but it had always put her on edge with the fear he might look at her like that, and now she knows it was a very real fear to have.

But he was her friend, she cared for him and not even the Gods themselves could stop her from helping him, so with that thought in mind, she drags a chair over to the window and sat with him.

He doesn't move when she drags the chair to him, he doesn't answer when she calls him again, he does jump and realizes she's there when she touches his shoulder.

"Merlin! Hermione, you scared me." Harry says when he turns to look at her, wand gripped in his hand.

"Sorry," Hermione says softly, "I tried to call you a few times but you didn't answer me." She tells him to his confusion.

"You did?" Harry asks, and Hermione just nods, "Sorry, I was lost in thought. Hades, what time even is it? Feels early." He says as Hermione frows at his choice in curse.

"It's almost three in the morning, Harry," Hermione says as Harry yawns and looks out the window to the full moon, Hermione's eyes narrow at the flicker of silver in his eyes as he does, she was quite sure it wasn't a reflection either.

"Harry," Hermione says, hitting her bottom lip, considering her next words carefully, "I've been doing some reading, researching really." Harry snorts before turning his head to her.

"Hermione Granger? Researching and reading? What sacrilege is this?" Harry's smirk is in full effect as Hermione reaches over and slaps his shoulder calling him a prat as he laughs, Hermione smiling with him.

"I've been researching people like you, demigods that is," Hermione says to start off her rant, "for how long the wizarding world has been around, I had thought that maybe we, as a people, had crossed paths with the Gods before, and I was right. The earliest known Gods we interacted with were the Tuath(a) Dé Danann, interesting enough there's an old myth that one or more of the founders were trained by Scáthach herself before the founding of the castle." Hermione pauses to make sure she still had Harry's attention, when she sees that she does she continues. "The books I picked up from Hogsmeade were from the time that the flame of the west was located in England, where the powers of the Gods from the Mediterranean was here. I'm hoping to find out more about local Gods and Gods from all over the world because if I can find a physical description I was thinking I could narrow down who your divine parent could be." Hermione says as Harry raises his eyebrow in question, she could see the hope in his eyes, the trust he had in her, however little it was; for Harry didn't trust humans very easily.

"Have you?" Harry asks, a spark of hope in his voice.

That sound had made Hermione pause, could she tell who she suspected was his divine parent. She only had a few facts and no concrete evidence but her gut told her she was right, but what if she was wrong? She would send him charging in without thinking, it could ruin his relationship with Atalanta, no matter how much she disliked the older hunter, no matter how much Hermione didn't trust Atalanta, Hermione couldn't say Atalanta's relationship with Harry wasn't good for him.

So Hermione decides to bite her tongue until she knows for sure.

So shaking her head she says, "Sorry Harry, I haven't found anything yet, but as soon as I do, you'll be the first to know. I promise." Hermione tells him, and at his disappointed look she decides to redouble her efforts, classes be damned.

"But I did find something interesting, do you know you're what's known as a Magician?" Hermione tells Harry.

Harry sighs out, his head falling against the back of the chair with his eyes closed, "I really don't want to be known as anything but Harry, Hermione." He says

Hermione chuckles at that, because she knows that. "It's not another title or anything like that Harry, it's pretty much the technical term for you." She says and Harry just grunts.

"It's a term for someone born with both a magical and divine core, most of what I've read considers you a danger to most Gods." She says as Harry remains silent, "it's not really clear about the why, however. All I've come across is a term called Mantling, but it doesn't say what it is. Kinda infuriating, to be honest." She looks over to Harry, seeing his chest rise and fall gently under the full moon.

"Harry?" Hermione asks in a low voice, when she doesn't get an answer she smiles before getting up and heading up the stairs to grab a blanket for Harry and herself, no matter what, Harry wouldn't go through this alone.

The forbidden forest, February 11th.

(Third-person view)

It has been a full two months for Harry Potter, his Christmas was pretty good, the Firebolt situation notwithstanding, he had received his Weasley jumper with a tin of homemade fudge, a few books in ancient greek from Hermione that talked about defensive magic, and different magical creatures from around the world. Atalanta had sent him a magical quiver that she got the Headmaster to enchant, it held a truly insane amount of arrows and was small enough and light enough to be strapped to my belt without anyone noticing, along with a nice set of archery gloves. One went up to mid-forearm while the other stopped at the wrist.

Ginny got me some chocolate frogs, while Astoria had sent me a tin of homemade biscuits in a variety of flavors with a thank you note, Astoria's mum, Mrs. Greengrass had sent Harry a very nice dragonhide wand holster that had matched his jacket perfectly, enchanted to help him draw and stow his want easily, as Mrs. Greengrass had said in her note, "a good wizard is always ready." She even got his name embroidered on the inside of It.

Harry had thrown himself into training with Atalanta harder than before, they had moved on from showing how to box to actually boxing. Atalanta has said this part of the training was very hands-on as in, she was "going to put hands on him till he learned how to block, dodge, or counter." And she wasn't lying about that, it wasn't like what Harry had seen on muggle tv, there were no pads or gloves, just simple cloth wraps around their hands and knuckles as Atalanta knocked him around the clearing. It wasn't the only training he was receiving, his private lessons with Professor Lupin were going. If you were to ask the Professor he was doing amazing with his silver mist, if one were to ask Harry, he wouldn't have an answer for him. It was pretty obvious how piss-poor he was at the magic stuff, so he would just shrug and mumble something before walking away.

It was in the late evening that Harry found himself with Atalanta, the sun was starting to creep to the horizon and the clearing was starting to get darker and colder as Harry was trying to land a single hit on Atalanta, the problem was she was too damn quick. She would weave in between combos as it was he was swinging in slow motion before she lands a strike on him, normally Harry's chest or just slapping him across the face which always made him angry, which made him sloppy, which made Atalanta grab him and toss him twenty feet onto his back. This is how Harry found himself now, looking up at the darkening sky, breathing hard, with his back and face sore.

"Not bad, kiddo," Atalanta says as she walks over and sits down next to him, "you're getting better pretty quick."

"Yeah, you say that, but I can't land a hit on you," Harry says in between breaths with frustration in his voice.

"Well, yeah." Atalanta answers as if it was obvious, "I've been fighting for a very long time, Harry. There aren't a lot of people around who can go toe to toe with me in hand-to-hand or boxing." She says with no little amount of hubris in her voice.

"Is this how you learned?" Harry asks as he pushes himself up to a sitting position.

"No, not really." Atalanta says, "I learned the basics from my adopted dads, but got better in the bars and taverns of Greece when I wasn't hunting. More often or not a man would get a bit too drunk and a bit too handy, I would then proceed to break said hands." She says with a laugh as Harry chuckles with her.

"No, the teacher who taught me was a step above the rest," Atalanta says with a smirk, her eyes distant looking into the past to a ship on the Aegean sea. "The guy who taught me I met on the Argo, it was a few weeks into the journey when a few of the sailors decided to share me amongst themselves." Her voice had a flat tone, showing what she had thought of that, "well, needless to say, they didn't know who they were trying that with and they all ended up on the floor, bleeding with a few broken bones each. I stood there, on the deck of the ship, eye swelling shut, busted nose, my tunic was torn and I spit out blood on the deck and I asked who was next."

Harry laughs because it sounded just like something the tomboy would do, "did anyone say anything?" He asks.

"Oh yeah, one of the biggest men I had ever seen stands up in between two twins and tells me, Yeah, he was," Atalanta says with a fond smile, "This guy was as big as an Ox but moved like a ghost, no idea how he did it. But we faced off on the deck, people were crowding around, placing bets on who would win, cheering for me."

"Did you win?" Harry asks, enthralled with the story.

"Oh, no. I don't even remember the first round all that much." Atalanta admits freely to Harry's surprise, Atalanta wasn't one to bow before anyone she was an anything you can do I can do better type of girl, "All I do remember is seeing him move and then darkness. I woke up a day later with the guy leaning over me, and the first words he said to me was 'You're good, but you could be better.'" Atalanta says, mimicking a deep voice. "After that, I learned his name was Heracles, and he and his half-brother Pollock taught me how to fight better." She finishes with a sad smile.

"You learned how to box, from the most famous demigod the world over?" Harry asks in shock as Atalanta just laughs at the look on his face.

"Yeah, we became good friends, him, Medea, Pollock, and Castor we-" Atalanta starts but is cut off when both her and Harry hear the snapping of sticks, they jump to their feet as Atalanta moves in front of Harry as he draws his wand.

"Harry, do you remember the plan?" Atalanta asks as she draws her black and gold bow.

"Cutting curse, legs, arms, back or stomach. Slow him down so you can take him." Harry repeats the plan they had created to take down Black, Atalanta just nods readying her bow as they both tense for the fight to come. But who comes from the woods wasn't Sirius Black, but Hermione who's followed closely by Ron.

Both look grim and serious, Hermione has red-rimmed eyes as if she had been crying with a book in hand, one of her fingers stuck in it to hold her place, as soon as they make their way to the top of the clearing they stop, Hermione's face contorts in rage upon looking at Atalanta. The two hunters lower their weapons as they see who had entered the clearing.

"Hermione, you okay?" Harry asks, confused to see her, and worried about the state she was in.

Hermione ignores his question as she glares at Atalanta, "Tell him." She hisses out at the older hunter, "Tell him now before I do."

Atalanta stands there, confused as to what the bookworm was talking about, "Hermione, what are you talking about? Tell who what?" The older hunter asks.

"Who his mother is," Hermione says through gritted teeth, and Atalanta's face drops, and Harry perks up.

"I don't know the details about that, Hermione. It could be anyone, so I sugges-" Atalanta tries to say, but Hermione cuts her off.

"That's not an answer. An answer would be no, you don't know. You're dodging the question." Hermione states, before continuing "but you do know, you've known this whole time because she sent you here." Hermione then turns to Harry, "Harry, your mother is-"

But Atalanta cuts her off with a yell, "Stop! Don't you say another word, you don't even know if you're right, so stop right now before you step into something you can't back out of girl." Atalanta finishes with a growl and Ron pulls out his wand, stepping up beside Hermione.

"We're sick and tired of everyone lying to Harry, treating him as if he's just a small child unable to handle the truth about Father Christmas." Hermione tells Atalanta, "he's been through enough without people treating him like that!" She finishes with her own yell before turning back to Harry, standing confused in the middle of all this, Harry, your mother is-"

"No, don't say the name!" Atalanta says as she makes her way up the hill with a burst of speed.

"-Artemis!" Hermione finishes and Atalanta stops halfway to her, "And she was the one who sent her here to train you." Pointing at Atalanta.

"What? No, Hermione, she was sent by Diana." Harry informs his friend.

"They're the same Goddess Harry, Diana is her Roman name. But they're still the same." Hermione tells him, and Harry slowly turns his head to Atalanta.

"Is she right?" Harry asks his teacher in a low, hurt voice.

Atalanta turns around and starts making her way back to the boy who lived, "Harry, you have to under-" she begins to say, but is cut off once again, but this time by Harry.

"Is she right!? Is Artemis my mother?" Harry yells as he backs away from Atalanta, her face twisted with sorrow, but she doesn't answer, merely looks away with sad eyes, once again Hermione speaks up, reading from the book she had with her.

"And I entered the clearing, the moon hung high in the midnight sky, as my head hung low, looking at the ground to make sure not to see if any of her hunters were without clothes to avoid her wrath. When told I left my head and kneel in reverence to the Goddess of the hunt, she had taken the form of a young girl in a silver tunic, her bow strung over her shoulder as she looked at me with burning eyes like amber which was slit much like a cats eyes were, the Goddess Artemis beckoned me to raise." Hermione quotes from her book.

"There are plenty of Gods with cat-like eyes, Granger. It doesn't prove anything." Atalanta defends weakly.

Hermione tilts her head before asking Atalanta "Harry hasn't told you, has he? He can't read Gaelic, or Latin, or even old Norse ruins. He can read ancient greek." Hermione says and Atalanta closes her eyes with a look of pain on her face.

"Harry's mother is the Goddess of the hunt from the Greek pantheon, Artemis, the Eternal Maiden." Before she sorts, "not eternal anymore I guess."

"Don't you dare question her! And stop saying her name!" Atalanta hisses out at Hermione, full of venom, but Hermione doesn't flinch.

She calmly says "Artemis, Artemis, Artemis, Artemis. Why does it matter if I say her name? It doesn't detract from you lying to Harry!"

But as Atalanta opens her mouth to say something, a new voice calls out, but ancient and youthful.

"Because, Hermione Granger, names have power, and invoking them brings upon you the attention of those the name belongs to." The new voice says as Atalanta pales, Hermione's eyes go wide, and Ron jumps and points his wand at the newcomer.

Harry slowly turns his head to look at the other side of the clearing, and there, walking out between the trees was a small girl in a silver bomber jacket, her eyes like a cat with the color of amber.

Notes:

Cliffhanger bitches!

Oh, shit it's about to go down, the long-awaited meeting between Harry and Artemis.

I'm super fucking excited for the next chapter, which will be Artemis focused for the most part.

Oh man, this is gonna be great, get hyped!