I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Prologue I: Repercussions

"You did WHAT?" Hades yelled.

Thanatos and Persephone, both used to his rages, did not even flinch.

"We decided that you were lonely in the summers, so we set up a test to find a companion for you seven, eight centuries ago. I created three items associated with the powers of the dead, to find someone that would not abuse the powers that would come with being your concubine. When the three items united and accepted their owner, Lady Persephone made it so that person would automatically become your secondary consort," Thanatos explained calmly.

"She's a very nice young lady," Persephone said. "I approve."

"You've had time to meet her? But it's winter! When did this girl accomplish your 'test' anyway?" Hades questioned irritably.

The conspirators exchanged guilty looks.

"Last May," Persephone admitted.

Hades resisted the urge to grind his teeth.

"And why did you wait until now to tell me?" Hades asked.

"I was waiting until Lady Persephone was back, since this was her idea in the first place," Thanatos redirected shamelessly.

"I was trying to finish collecting information on your new companion," Persephone stated. "I am not quite done, but you need to know what I recently found out."

Hades sighed, slumped in his throne, and waved his hand for them to continue.

"Go on. Tell me about this girl."

"I wouldn't let her hear you calling her that, if I were you," Persephone warned. "She hates being called 'girl'."

"Her name is Amaranth Chrysocomê Potter," Thanatos interrupted.

Hades blinked.

"Isn't 'Chrysocomê' just Greek for 'amaranth'?" he asked.

"Well, yes," Thanatos said. "It turns out that Amaranth's father, James Potter, was only her adoptive father."

Hades groaned.

"Please don't tell me she's a demigod."

There was silence from the pair.

Hades groaned again.

"Whose is she?"

Thanatos and Persephone stared at each other, silently arguing over who should tell him.

"Spit it out!" he ordered.

Persephone sighed.

"My father's."

"WHAT?!"

"She's already seventeen, permanently seventeen," Thanatos said quickly. "She's not the prophecy child. She doesn't fit. She had her own prophecy, and it has already been accomplished."

"How did my dear youngest brother have a child that made it to seventeen without anyone noticing?" Hades asked incredulously.

"She's a witch," Thanatos offered. "One of Hecate's Blessed. She's spent almost all her life behind strong wards, and she had a blood sacrifice protecting her from the notice of the gods and muddling her aura. Zeus originally claimed her when she was a year old – she was attacked by the warlock Tom Riddle, the one who split his soul attempting avoid us and was a general pain for years – it was due to Zeus's claiming of her that the Killing Curse hit Riddle instead of her. She has a lightning-bolt shaped scar on her forehead from the claiming. The entire Wizarding World recognizes her as the "Girl-Who-Lived". She's famous. She also is the one responsible for finally sending that blasted Tom Riddle to us."

"I was glad to finally…acquire the entirety of Riddle's soul," Hades mused. "I suppose I should at the very least thank her for that. Have you told her that she unintentionally became the immortal concubine of a god?"

"Yes," the pair said as one.

"We covered the immortal part last May, a few days after she acquired the Hallows," Thanatos said.

"Hallows?" Hades asked.

Thanatos waved a hand in dismissal. "The three objects I created. The unbeatable Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone that could summon shades of the dead, and the Invisibility Cloak that was modeled after your Helm. The wizards called them the Deathly Hallows. Anyways, Lady Persephone went in person to explain the 'immortal concubine of the god of the dead' part after I visited one of Amaranth's dreams to warn her about her godly visitor."

"How did she take it?" Hades asked, hoping that they couldn't hear the anticipation in his voice. From the quick glance they exchanged, he failed.

"At first? Badly. However, the only two people she ever cared enough to date are both dead now, so she's willing to at least try to be friends. I know she'll be perfect, though. She wouldn't have been able to master the Hallows if she wasn't," Persephone claimed. "And she's going by 'Chrysa' now, not Amaranth."

Hades sighed.

"Fine. When am I supposed to meet her?"

"I was planning on arranging a date for the two of you a week from today," Persephone said helpfully. "I've already cleared your schedule."

Hades sighed again, deeper this time, well-used to his wife when she was feeling stubborn.

"Very well. It seems I have no choice in the matter."

A week later, Hades found himself sitting in a café in Manhattan, waiting for the woman his wife had set him up with.

"Excuse me?" a British-accented voice said from behind him.

Hades turned to see a woman he was instantly attracted to. She was not beautiful as Persephone was beautiful; his queen had golden hair and bright blue eyes, a bright light amidst the darkness of the Underworld. No, this was a darker beauty, though no less beautiful than Persephone. The woman had long black hair and bright green eyes. Most of Hades' lovers had similar features; usually when he took a lover it was because she reminded him of his first love. His last lover, Maria, had also had black hair and green eyes.

"Chrysa Potter?" he asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled and took the seat across from him.

"That would be me. I presume you are Hades?"

"Indeed I am," the god replied. "I admit, I was somewhat in shock that my wife set me up like this."

Chrysa let out a huff of laughter.

"I was shocked about being set up by people I'd never met. Though it did help me kill Voldemort, even if there was the unintended somewhat-marriage part of it."

Hades laughed in reply.

"I'd like to thank you for that, by the way. Thanatos and I were quite vexed with what Riddle had done. However, since it had to do with Hecate's Blessed, we were unable to interfere," Hades explained.

Chrysa tilted her head to him.

"Glad I could help, then. I had wondered, after learning that the Greek gods were real and reading some of the myths, why Thanatos had never collected the pieces of Riddle's soul on his own after his first death."

"Hecate was one of the first Titans to turn against the gods. She received two boons for her aid: the free right of travel through mine and my brothers' realms, and a second favor that she withheld for a later date. When she originally blessed the mortals who became witches and wizards, her demand – her second favor – was that they remain outside the auspices of the gods. We are not forbidden interaction with Hecate's Blessed – which is how your father was able to meet your mortal parents – but we are forbidden interference."

"That seems…problematic," Chrysa stated.

Hades tilted his head in agreement.

"It can be, especially in cases such as Riddle's. Hecate did not word her bargain well, as even she cannot interfere any longer since she is recognized as a goddess and not simply a Titaness," he said. "We can only watch."

"And demigods?" Chrysa asked. "Are they also forbidden from interference?"

Hades raised an eyebrow. She caught on quickly.

"They are not," he said. "They are, in fact, how most gods circumvent rules against interference. My last children were lost in 1945, and Thanatos has not had mortal children in many centuries, so we have had no one available to take care of the Riddle issue."

Chrysa nodded in understanding.

They sat in an awkward silence for a minute, before Hades said quietly, "I am not expecting you to do anything that you do not want to do. If you would rather avoid me on a personal level and merely work together professionally for the rest of time, I will not stop you. However, since we are both going to be working in close contact with one another in the foreseeable future – most likely for a very, very long time – I hope to at least be friendly, if not friends."

Chrysa smiled slightly, but it was bittersweet. She placed her clasped hands on the table and looked down at them.

"That makes me feel a bit better. My-my first boyfriend, Cedric, well…Voldemort killed him in front of me when I was fourteen, nearly fifteen. I saw him die. My second and last boyfriend so far, Fred – he died last May, during the Battle of Hogwarts. He died when a wall exploded in on us. Again, I was there, and I saw him die. So, I'm not really ready to jump straight into a romantic relationship just yet."

"That's completely understandable," Hades reassured, placing a hand over hers. "Besides Persephone, I have taken several lovers over the centuries, when the loneliness got to me. I never slept with as many people as my brothers did, and mine was always out of loneliness, not just an inability to keep it in my pants, unlike some people." He pointed upwards, causing Chrysa to snicker.

"My last lover's name was Maria," he continued. "We had two children: Bianca and Nico. She died in 1945, when Zeus destroyed the hotel they were staying at in an attempt to murder my children. I've never even thought of taking another lover since Maria – barring Persephone, of course."

Chrysa was silent for a moment, before slowly saying, "According to Thanatos, Zeus is my father. Do you hold that against me?"

He could. He should. But she was far past the potential of being the prophecy child, and there was something about her…

"I might have if I learned of you when you were younger," Hades said honestly. "Zeus tried to murder Nico and Bianca because of a prophecy that stated that a half-blood child of the eldest gods – the eldest gods being myself and my brothers – would reach sixteen and possibly destroy Olympus. If I knew about a child of his under the age of sixteen, I would probably try to destroy them in revenge."

Chrysa looked alarmed.

"I am already eighteen – well, Thanatos said that my body is never going to grow older than seventeen now – but I am older than sixteen. That prophecy cannot apply to me, can it?"

"No," Hades said. "The Fates have assured us that you have nothing to do with the prophecy. You are already too old, for one. For another, you're one of Hecate's Blessed, which acts as a sort of loophole for the "half-blood of the eldest gods" bit. You're not really a half-blood, and therefore ineligible."

"May I ask what the prophecy says? Having had one prophecy kept from me for most of my life, I would at least like to know what this one is, especially if it could possibly mean a sibling or child of mine in the future," Chrysa said.

Hades nodded, feeling a slight spark of excitement when she referred to her future children.

"A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep.

The hero's soul cursed blade shall reap.

A single choice shall end his days,

Olympus to preserve or raze."

Chrysa looked slightly shocked.

"Well, that's not ominous."

Hades laughed bitterly.

"You can see why my brothers were so quick to attempt to kill my children."

"You keep saying, 'attempt'. I assume Nico and Bianca survived? What happened to them?" Chrysa asked, open curiosity clear on her face.

Hades took a deep breath, trying to calm himself at the thought of what he had been forced to do to his youngest children.

"They are in Las Vegas, at a place called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. You said you had been reading up on the myths, did you ever read about the lotophagoi?" he asked her.

"In the Odyssey, yes. The sailors ate the lotus-flower and they forgot about ever trying to leave. The lotus-eaters are in a casino now?" Chrysa asked incredulously.

"Yes. Eating the lotus-flower does not just make you forget about what you were doing; it makes you not want to ever leave. It also prevents you from aging. Bianca and Nico have been trapped in limbo there for more than fifty years now."

Chrysa's face softened in pity. She reached across the table to grasp his hand.

"I can't imagine what that's been like for you. My godson, Teddy, is eight months old tomorrow, and I can't imagine being separated from him for a year, much less seventy! I don't think I could bear it."

"It is hard," Hades admitted. "Whenever I think on it overmuch, I remind myself that one day the prophecy will be fulfilled, and I'll be able to get them out of there. It will be hard; their memories are locked currently, so they won't remember that they're demigods, and they won't remember me. They won't know why it's so many decades later than they thought it was. But they'll be alive, at least."

"Why are their memories locked?" Chrysa asked.

"We were in the building when Maria – their mother – died," Hades admitted. "They had already been threatened. Zeus ordered me to send them to Camp Half-Blood, but they were potential prophecy children, and my children at that. They would have been dead within a month. I planned to move all three of them to someplace safe. Maria refused to come to the Underworld; she didn't want the children raised among the dead. I was going to protect Maria from the influence of the Lotus-flower and move all three of them into the hotel instead, until they could be safe. At least they'd still be together, and at least I could visit. Maria and I had been discussing it in the lobby they were staying in while the children played. She had finally agreed, and she went back upstairs to their rooms to get her purse. Zeus destroyed the hotel. Since I was with Nico and Bianca, I could protect them, but Maria was too far away – I had no time..."

Chrysa squeezed his hand. Up until that moment, Hades hadn't realized she was still holding it.

"I'm sure she knows you tried," she said softly. "And I'm just as sure that she would have rather you protected her children than have possibly had them injured while you tried to get to her."

Hades looked deep into her green eyes, green eyes that seemed to know more than they should.

"That's exactly what she would have said," he admitted softly. "As much as she loved me, she would have done anything to protect Nico and Bianca."

"How long were you with her?" Chrysa asked, voice equally soft.

"Thirteen years," Hades admitted. "It was about a year before Bianca was born, and I was with her until she died. Her death was so traumatic…I didn't want the children to remember. Strong memories can be enough to overcome the power of the lotophagoi, and they need to stay there to be safe. Enough depressing talk," he said firmly, shoving Maria to the back of his mind. "You mentioned your godson? Teddy? Would you tell me about him?"

Chrysa's face lit up as she began to talk about the baby. She released his hand to gesture animatedly. Hades privately mourned the loss.

Several hours later, their conversation was interrupted by a café employee, who brusquely informed them that the café was now closed and could they please depart? The pair parted amicably, making hurried plans to meet again the next week.

At the end of their next meeting, Hades broached a significant topic.

"Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice," he said.

Chrysa nodded.

"The Winter Solstice is the one day a year where I am expected on Olympus. We have a council meeting every year on that day. Some years we have additional meetings at other times in the year, sometimes none, but we always hold a meeting on winter solstice, and I am always invited. I do eventually have to announce your ascension to the position of my secondary consort and the Champion of Thanatos. Technically, I should do so this year, but if you would like, I can put it off until later," he explained.

Chrysa thought for a moment.

"Can you see how this announcement might affect me in any way?" she asked, tilting her head.

"There's nothing that I can think of," Hades replied. "You might have some curious gods showing up at your door, or stalking you through the grocery store, but threatening them with me ought to be enough to get them to back off. Nothing should interrupt your daily life, and nothing should get back to your family in England."

"Then go ahead," Chrysa said firmly. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble for no real reason."

CHRYSOCOMÊKATACHTHONIA

After Hades' revelation the night before, Zeus had one thing on his mind (besides avoiding his very irate wife): meeting his eighteen-year-old, newly immortal daughter. While the laws prohibited him seeking her out as a demigod, her quasi-immortal status made her an exemption to the rules.

He had kept an eye on his eldest demigod daughter over the years, though as she was protected behind wards as one of Hecate's Blessed, he had admittedly watched her less closely than he had Thalia and Jason. Saving her from the Killing Curse as an infant had been his only true involvement in her life. He had obviously not kept quite close enough an eye on her, since she had managed to become Hades' second consort without his notice, but that was just after Jason was left at Wolf House and Thalia ran away, so he had been a little bit occupied at the time.

Now, his little girl was all grown up. She had survived the dark prophecy of her birth, she had escaped the Great Prophecy, and she had somehow become his least favorite brother's second consort. Chrysocomê Katachthonia. Chrysocomê of the Underworld. But she was immortal now, which meant he was allowed to speak to her.

Something small within him reminded that it wasn't right that he should seek out his elder daughter on the birthday of the younger that she knew nothing about, the younger daughter who was right now on the streets, alone, but he squashed those doubts. He wanted to meet his daughter, dammit!

He had gotten so lost in thought while watching Chrysocomê from the café across the street, that he did not notice someone come up behind him and tap him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me?" a slightly British-accented voice said.

Zeus turned around, ready to tell off whoever it was that was interrupting him, only to find himself face-to-face with the very woman he had been watching.

"I can't help but notice that you've been watching me all morning," she said crisply. "Is there something I can help you with, Mr. –"

Zeus was too busy drinking in the sight of his daughter to reply immediately. She was stunningly beautiful, with curly black hair and stunning emerald eyes. She bore the greatest resemblance to his mother, with only clues in her facial features hinting at which Olympian had fathered her.

Chrysocomê snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"You can understand me, right?" she asked dubiously.

"My apologies, Chrysocomê," Zeus said hastily, hoping to smooth over his transgression. "I was just very pleased to finally meet you."

Chrysocomê frowned, and she ran her eyes over him discerningly. They lingered on his electric blue eyes before she hesitantly asked, "Father?"

Zeus smiled, resisting the urge to beam that his daughter recognized him.

"Yes, Chrysocomê," he said. He gestured towards his table. "Would you care to sit with me for a bit?"

"First, its Chrysa; Chrysocomê was a bit too clunky for me," the young woman said firmly. She glanced down at the bags in her hands from her shopping. "I really would like to stop and chat, but I have frozens I need to put away."

"Would you be willing to meet me for lunch?" Zeus asked, unable to keep the strains of hope from his voice.

Chrysocomê – Chrysa – hesitated, then smiled.

"I'd like that. There's a Thai place on East Twenty-eighth street I enjoy, if you'd like to meet there in an hour or so?"

"I'll be there," Zeus promised. "The reservations will be under the name 'Bolt'."

"I'll see you in an hour then," Chrysa said, slightly more firmly than her hesitant overtures earlier. She turned quickly from the café and began walking back in the direction Zeus knew her apartment building was in.

CHRYSOCOMÊKATAKHTHONIA

Hades was understandably nervous as he waited in the lobby of DOA Recording Studios. For the first time since Persephone, he was bringing a lover down to the Underworld. Well, potential lover. Neither he nor Chrysa had felt the need to take that particular step yet. But they had time. They had nothing but time.

But still, it was only the second time he had ever brought a lover down to the Underworld. While Leuke, his first love, had lived in the Underworld as well, she had been raised by Erebos and Nyx in Tartarus, so she had been more familiar with their home than he had for the first few centuries. Now, with all the expansion and rebuilding, he could probably get her lost. But unlike with Leuke, who had seen the Underworld when it was still one of the biggest messes in Olympian history and then helped him untangle it, Chrysa was coming to the finished Underworld. He wanted to impress her.

Every one of the servants had been instructed to clean the palace from top to bottom. Charon had built an exclusive, bejeweled barge to take her across the river on. The first cleanup project of the River Styx in more than a millennium had been instituted. Even the ghosts in Asphodel Fields had been instructed to wander the fields and pick up any debris they might find.

Instead of being offended by the lengths he was going to for a potential lover, Persephone had been amused. She had asked whether this was what he had been like before he had kidnapped her, a fact that was confirmed by Thanatos. Hades had spoken privately with her about her feelings for the new "other woman".

Persephone had taken his hands and said, "Dear, I chose to set this test up. I want you to be happy, and you can never be happy when you're alone for so much of the year. I know that's why you took your lovers, and I know that you can't help falling quickly and deeply whenever you choose to give your love away. It's one of the things I love most about you. Now that you have Chrysa, you won't be lonely anymore. You'll always have one of us down here, if not both of us! Maybe not constantly, but Chrysa won't leave you for months on end. Maybe for a few days, so she can visit her godson or her godfather, but not like I do. I'm happy for you, Hades."

The Lord of the Underworld had embraced his wife.

"Thank you, Seph."

She had laughed. "You're welcome, dear. Now, I think the servants are about to drop the vase your mother gave us as a wedding present."

Hades had stormed off, just narrowly rescuing the vase from destruction. It was a beautiful piece of work, made of obsidian and pearl and silver, but Rhea had intended it to serve as a reminder. As much as she liked Persephone, her greatest favor would always be towards Leuke, her former attendant and Hades' first consort, though they had never wed. The vase depicted several scenes from Leuke's life: her birth to Oceanus and Tethys, her service to Rhea, her participation in the Titanomachy, her life with Hades, and finally, the largest scene on the vase, her death.

Leuke had been murdered in what should have been the safest place of them all: Elysium. No one knew what had happened to her. The spirits who had inhabited that area of Elysium had been annihilated, never to be reborn. Hades had found her broken and bleeding body at the exact center of Elysium. She had still been alive, but barely. She had been waiting for him. The Titaness had only enough strength in her to whisper, "I love you," before dying in his arms. In his grief, Hades had transformed her body into a beautiful white poplar tree that had lived in the center of Elysium for millennia before succumbing to the nature of the Underworld and fossilizing. Seeds from the tree had spread into the River Acheron, and grew upon its banks both in the Underworld and above ground, especially near the Necromanteion. The reminder of Leuke was why it had always been Hades' favorite temple.

Now, Hades was waiting for the woman who reminded him so much of his lost love. In appearance, they were quite similar, with the emerald eyes and black curls both Leuke and Chrysa had inherited as descendants of Gaea. Leuke was the first grandchild of Ouranos and Gaea and resembled her grandmother and her aunt Rhea more than either of her parents. Chrysa was descended from Gaea on both sides of her family: Gaea was her great-grandmother through Zeus, and her twice-over great-great-great-great-grandmother through Lily Evans-Potter, who was a granddaughter of both Poseidon and Hecate. Somehow, everything had come together in just the right way so that Chrysa was the closest image he had to Leuke since Leuke herself, with Maria di Angelo as a close second.

In personality, they were similar in some ways, but wildly different in others. Neither had been raised by the most loving of caregivers. Chrysa had been sent to live with the abusive Dursley family when she was just fifteen months old. Leuke had been practically abandoned by Oceanus and Tethys shortly after her birth, foisted off to Gaea as a supposed "playmate" for Kronos. Leuke had not been abused as Chrysa had been, but having the bitter woman who would soon order her children to murder her husband as a caregiver did not set her up to be truly emotionally stable. Chrysa, however, had found friends at age eleven, and gained a family in Remus and Sirius at the end of her third year. By the time she reached adolescence, Leuke was coming into her own as the Titaness of shadows and secrets. Gaea had promptly sent her off to Erebos and Nyx, who raised her for the rest of her youth. While a warmer environment than Gaea and Kronos, Nyx and her children were not exactly known for their strong moral compasses. As a result, Leuke had little compassion for those she deemed "weak" and tended to be utterly ruthless and remorseless. While Chrysa had a vicious and cunning streak as large as the Underworld, she knew how to care.

There was a slight shuffle among the spirits in the lobby of the studio as the door to the outside world opened and a slight figure stepped in.

Hades quickly moved to greet her, the spirits of the dead instinctively moving out of their lord's way.

"Chrysa!" he called.

"Hades!" she replied with a bright smile, stepping towards him and embracing him briefly. "It's good to see you. How's the Underworld?"

"Anxious to meet its newest lady," Hades replied, offering her his arm courteously.

She smiled as she took it, and he led her into the elevator, where Charon was already waiting, dressed as usual in one of his Italian suits.

"Chrysocomê Potter, may I introduce you to Charon, son of Nyx and Erebos, god of boundaries and territories, and ferryman of the Underworld," Hades said politely.

Charon bowed to Chrysa.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Chrysocomê," he said.

"The pleasure is mine, Charon," Chrysa replied politely. "You're Thanatos' brother, aren't you?"

"That would be correct, Lady. One of them."

"The others are Geras, Hypnos, Aether, Phanes, Moros, Dolos, Momus, and Epiphron?" Chrysa asked, her face scrunching slightly as she tried to remember. "Hypnos is the god of sleep, Geras is the god of old age, Aether is the god of light, Phanes is the first-born king, Moros is the god of doom, Dolos is the god of deceit, Momus is the god of blame, and Epiphron is the god of prudence, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not," Hades said, amused. "You've been studying, I see."

Chrysa shrugged, looking slightly sheepish. "I've been focusing on the Underworld when going through Greek mythology. I'm sure not all my information is right, but I thought it would be best to be at least somewhat familiar with everything, since I'm going to be living down here six months out of the year."

Suddenly, the elevator morphed into a barge, Charon's suit into a long black robe, and their surroundings into a river.

"This is the River Styx," Hades explained to Chrysa, but she was no longer paying attention to their surroundings.

"I'm feeling very dizzy," she said faintly.

Hades wrapped a steadying arm around her waist and felt her nearly collapse into him.

"My lord?" Charon asked uncertainly.

"Get this boat across the river," Hades growled.

Chrysa chose that moment to pass out completely. Hades caught her easily and lifted her up into his arms.

Charon must have used some sort of magic on them, because the barge reached the Underworld side of the Styx faster than Hades had ever seen him go before.

"Call for Thanatos," Hades said, tossing a drachma to Charon. "Tell him to get to the palace now for Chrysa."

Once in the Underworld, there were no boundaries to stop Hades as he ran. He could have simply flashed to his palace, were it not for the mortal-born woman in his arms. Spirits moved away as he approached. Even Cerberus, sensing his master's worry, stepped aside. Asphodel Fields were no different. All parted from the path of their Lord.

The Furies joined as an honor guard as they approached the palace. Distantly, Hades realized that he could probably give Chrysa to one of them, as they could fly faster than he could run, but he refused to release his precious cargo.

Finally, he reached the rooms he and Persephone had prepared for Chrysa. He laid her gently on the bed. She looked peaceful in sleep, with nothing to indicate that she was ill. He knelt beside the bed, holding her hand in his.

Thanatos appeared in the blink of an eye on the other side of the bed.

"What happened?" he asked.

Hades shook his head in bemusement. "I don't know. We were crossing the Styx when she said she felt dizzy. A moment later, she fainted. She hasn't woken."

Thanatos mirrored Hades, kneeling and taking Chrysa's other hand.

"She seems simply asleep," he observed.

"But there's no reason for her to be!" Hades nearly growled.

Suddenly, Chrysa twitched violently, and power exploded around her, throwing the room into chaos. Hades gritted his teeth and weathered the waves of power – dark power – until it died down enough for them to move again. The power was not gone, but it was not exploding anymore; it rested around Chrysa like a well-worn cloak.

"She feels like Leuke," Thanatos said, slightly in awe. "Her power – Master, look at her! She holds the mantle of shadows and secrets!"

Hades stared at the young woman who had somehow taken over his first consort's domain.

"How is this possible?" he whispered.

Chrysa stirred, her eyes rapidly blinking.

"Hades?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm right here," the god replied, squeezing her hand.

In a sudden movement, the demigoddess sat up and flung herself at the Lord of the Underworld, her arms wrapping around his neck and her head nestling beside his ear.

"I remember," she said quietly in his ear. "By the Void, I remember everything – well, not everything, but I'm sure the rest will come in time. Hades, beloved…Aïdôneus, I remember that this is not my first life."

Hades froze at the name that very few people had ever called him. His mother had used it on occasion, and some of the chthonic deities used it after "Lord" in formal settings, but only one person had ever used it regularly.

"Who were you before?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

She brushed her lips against his cheek.

"In my first life, I was Leuke Apatouria. In my second life, I was Maria di Angelo."

After that shocking declaration, she moved back so that she could press her lips to his.

Hades remained frozen for a long minute, before suddenly and urgently kissing her back with all the passion that had been denied him since her death – both deaths. Here, before him, was his last love and mother of his children. Here, also, was his first and greatest love, the love he had never truly forgotten, despite the many millennia that had passed. He kissed her with everything he had, in order to show her exactly how much he had missed her.

They finally broke apart when someone cleared their throat.

Both turned to see Thanatos, looking amused.

"As heart-warming as this reunion is, I do have a job to do. Leuke, suntróphe, it is good to see you alive again. I'll be informing the others that you're back. However, as I believe you'll be busy tonight, I shall endeavor to persuade them that you will not be receiving visitors until tomorrow," he said.

"Thank you, súnteknos," Chrysa said warmly. "It's good to see you again too."

The death god leaned over the bed and pressed a kiss to Chrysa's hair.

"Shame about the room though. I suspect you won't be using it now, between the destruction from your partial ascension and your rekindled relationship," he said casually.

"Partial ascension?" Hades questioned, before immediately reaching out with his own power to check for himself.

Thanatos nodded.

"Partial. She's still only immortal through my power. She's just a demigoddess with the powers and memories of a goddess – if our Leuke could be described as just anything."

"Partial memories," Chrysa corrected.

Both gods turned to look at her.

She shrugged slightly. "I remember all of my life as Maria di Angelo, and the end of my life as Leuke. Instinct tells me that the rest of my memories as Leuke will return. It will just take time."

"I'd talk to Hypnos about that," Thanatos recommended helpfully. "He's good with memories and can probably give you a time span. I'll tell him to come by in a few days."

With a flap of his black wings, the death god disappeared.

Chrysa looked back to Hades, a coy smile playing at her lips.

"I believe we were in the middle of something?" she said.

"We were," Hades said, sweeping her into his arms again.

CHRYSOCOMÊKATACHTHONIA

Chrysa trudged up the hill and walked through the archway labelled "Camp Half-Blood." The grey light of false dawn dimly illuminated the valley below. Twelve cabins formed a "U" around a central fire pit. An open-air pavilion filled with tables and benches served as the dining area. Basketballs courts, archery ranges, an elliptic track, a truly massive rock wall, and a pastel mansion were laid out in other areas of the valley.

Chrysa headed for the mansion first. According to her sources, this was where Chiron, the activities director, and Dionysus, the nominal camp head, spent their time. By sources, she meant Persephone, who was the only one who thought to give her directions after hearing about her intentions to visit Camp Half-Blood.

She knocked sharply on the front door. While she waited, she glanced down at herself, making sure she was still presentable. She had shadow-traveled directly outside of the Camp boundaries, so she probably looked a good sight better than most demigods who arrived, who were fresh from the streets or monster attacks. She, on the other hand, was dressed in white blouse and black jeans – both tailored – along with dragonskin handbag and boots. The promise ring Hades had given her rested prominently on her left ring finger. The ring was carved from a single diamond and probably worth more than everything in her Manhattan penthouse.

The door was eventually answered by a man with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and a scruffy beard. He was also a white centaur from the waist down.

"Are you Chiron?" Chrysa asked with a friendly smile.

The man smiled at her.

"I am indeed. May I ask your name?"

"I am Chrysa Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you," Chrysa replied, extending her hand for the centaur to shake.

He did so, then offered, "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you," Chrysa replied.

Chiron opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter. She stepped into the house, looking around at the décor.

"Would you come into my office?" the centaur asked politely.

Chrysa smiled and gestured for him to lead the way.

The walls of the office were bronze. There was a large TV marked with an Η on one wall, perpendicular to the centaur-sized desk that had several papers on it. There were several chairs of various styles in front of the desk, some facing the desk, others facing the television. On the wall opposite the television was a shelf holding both a boom box and a record player. The shelves below it were filled with CDs, tapes, and records.

Chiron took his place behind the desk, and gestured for Chrysa to sit. She did so.

"I assume, since you did not seem shocked to see me, that you are somewhat familiar with your heritage?" he asked.

"I am," Chrysa nodded. "I've spoken with both my father and my patron, and they informed me of Camp Half-Blood.

"Patron?" Chiron questioned, a curious look on his face.

"I have a…summer job, you could say, working with one of the gods," Chrysa said. "Not my father. But – well, I should probably start from the beginning."

"I've often found that to be the best place to start," Chiron nodded, folding his hands on the desk.

"My full name is Amaranth Chrysocomê Potter. I was born on July 31, 1980 in Godric's Hollow, West County, England, to James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter, both of whom were of Hecate's Blessed. Lily Evans-Potter was a granddaughter of both Poseidon and Hecate. James Potter was not my biological father, which they had suspected before I was born. Apparently, while they were on their honeymoon, they had a drunken threesome with a man who identified himself as Meallán Bolt. James did not care, and blood-adopted me as his daughter and heir. The only person who knew the truth was my godfather."

She gave Chiron a quizzical look.

"Are you at all familiar with the goings-on in Wizarding Britain over the past few decades?" she questioned.

"I know there was a grandson of Hecate who declared himself a Dark Lord and was terrorizing the populace," Chiron said. "I heard he died and then came back, only to die again, but that's all I know."

Chrysa nodded.

"He called himself Lord Voldemort, but his proper name was Tom Riddle, Jr. Before I was born, there was a prophecy about a child who would be born with the power to defeat him. That child was me. When I was fifteen months old, Voldemort found my family and killed my parents. When he tried to kill me, I was protected by my father's Claim, which caused the curse to rebound and kill Voldemort instead. Unfortunately, due to his forays into dark magic, his spirit remained attached to the living world despite the destruction of his body. He was able to gain a new body when I was fourteen using my blood. I defeated him a year and a half ago after collecting three artifacts known as the Deathly Hallows. According to the legend, the person who can collect all three becomes the "Master of Death"."

Chiron raised an eyebrow.

"I cannot see Thanatos as having a Master other than Hades."

"That's correct," Chrysa replied. "The Hallows were a test set up several centuries by Thanatos and Persephone. It was meant to find a summer companion for Hades, so that he wouldn't be lonely, and so that someone could do Persephone's half of the paperwork during the summer months. I did not take up the position that first summer, but I did attend my Lord Hades in the Underworld this past summer. Also, you should probably know, as the Champion of Thanatos, I am somewhat immortal."

Chiron looked shocked, but still managed to ask, "Somewhat immortal?"

"I can die, but Thanatos will just send me back to my body if I end up at the Underworld gates. It really hurts though. He only heals me enough so that I'm not dead. I got hit by a lorry last February, and it took me weeks to stop aching, even with magic."

Chiron was looking more than a little stunned now. Chrysa waited patiently for the immortal centaur to gather his composure.

Finally, he said, "Miss Potter, I may be ten thousand years old, but this is the first time I have met an immortal demigod witch who is the legacy of two other gods. After the rest of this conversation, I'm almost afraid to ask this, but who is your father?"

Chrysa allowed the glamour charm on her forehead to melt away, revealing the lightning-bolt scar on her forehead.

Chiron sighed.

"Of course. I assume, if your father is Lord Zeus and you work with Lord Hades, you have been informed of the Great Prophecy?" he asked.

Chrysa nodded briskly.

"I have. It has also been determined that the prophecy does not apply to me, since being one of Hecate's Blessed means that I'm not quite a half-blood. The Moirai confirmed that I am not the child of that particular prophecy. I've had my own prophecy already, thank you very much."

Chiron seemed to gather his thoughts and nodded firmly.

"Well, I suppose since you are already aware of what our orientation video covers, all that is left to do is to introduce you to Mr. D. and to give you a tour of the camp," he said as he rose from his kneeling position.

Chrysa rose as well.

"That would be lovely, thank you."

AN: A note on Chrysa's memories of her past lives: she is remembering in reverse order, and she has a lot of years to cover, so she remembers her entire life as Maria di Angelo while only remembering the end of her life as Leuke at the moment. She'll remember relatively quickly though.