Harry Potter and the Norse Gods

{13} The Rightful King

STORM'S POV

Nico, Magnus, and Alex were all crowded around a single table piled with books, a large, ancient-looking tome open between them.

"It's not good," Magnus informed us grimly.

"Oh, that's so surprising," I replied dryly.

He cracked a smile at that, but it faded the moment he looked back down at the book.

"What is it?" Will asked, moving to stand beside his boyfriend.

"We found a ritual in this book - it's a collection of ancient ceremonies from a bunch of different cultures - that uses the exact same symbols as the ones they found on that mountain. It's a power transfer ritual," Magnus explained.

"Transfer power from what to what, exactly?" Will frowned.

Nico, Will, and Alex exchanged a dark look before Nico replied.

"From demigods to gods."

"Why would a god need power from demigods?" I inquired, squeezing in between Alex and Nico so I could actually look at the book.

My eyes found the right answer just as Magnus answered my question.

"Depowered gods - but this one was created for one god specifically."

"Ouranos," I filled in.

Despite the situation, I still heard a few sniggers. I couldn't blame them, to be honest. It was an objectively funny thing to say aloud.

"Maybe Caelus," Will pointed out, "I'm not sure that changes much though. They're the same god, and I'm not sure how much changes between the two versions of him."

"Nothing, because the Romans are thieves," I answered, scanning the rest of the page.

"He's one of your primordial gods, right?" Alex checked, "A big bad?"

"Basically," Will said.

"Ah. So, we're screwed then."

"Hey, we managed to defeat Gaia," Will said hopefully, "By getting her up in the sky and away from her source of power. We can just deal with Ouranos the same way as he was originally killed."

"Something tells me that he's not going to fall for that twice," I quipped.

"She's got a point," Nico conceded, "He's got help, experience, and a thirst for vengeance this time, and that can be a powerful motivator."

"Something tells me that you know a thing or two about that," Alex joked.

Nico scowled at her.

"Hey," Will jumped in, "He might not be back yet at all, in which case we just need to stop them from taking demigods, right?"

"That's easier said than done," I said grimly, "He could take demigods, known or unknown, from any mythology, and apparently Egyptian magicians as well. We don't know where he is, how he's targeting them. We don't know anything."

"We know who he is now though, and that's a step in the right direction," Magnus pointed out.

"That explains why Iris Messages might be able to be spied on," Nico piped up, "If he's slowly regaining his power, and he controls the sky..."

"No rainbows," I filled in.

"How disappointing. I love rainbows," Alex said.

I might not join in on all the rainbow jokes the hunters made, but I could at least appreciate that one.

"We need to tell people," Nico interjected, "Now."

"We'll write to the camps," Will offered, gesturing to him and Nico.

Surprisingly, Nico didn't look upset about being volunteered for something. Then again, it was Will. Had it been anyone else, he probably would have had their head.

I could appreciate that quality in a person.

"I peg the magicians," Alex exclaimed.

"Magnus, check that letter before Alex sends it," I instructed.

"Of course," he agreed immediately, "I wouldn't want to risk a diplomatic incident."

"Your lack of faith in me is disheartening."

"But not unjustified."

The only response Magnus got was Alex sticking her tongue out at him.

I rolled my eyes at their antics, although it lacked the usual annoyance. Perhaps they were growing on me.

I shuddered.

That was a scary a thought as Ouranos claiming the throne of Olympus.

And then I realised that that left me to handle both the hunters and the wizards, presuming Magnus chose to write to his fellow dead Norse demigods.

I heaved a great sigh.

"You people love backing me into a corner," I muttered, before announcing, "I'm taking the book. I hope you read it all properly."

Will looked alarmed at that, but Nico murmured something in his ear that seemed to reassure him.

I almost sighed again. I hadn't felt so damn single in a long time. Not since... that.

"I'm heading to the headmaster's office," I informed them.

They all murmured their goodbyes that I ignored as I made my way through the library and into the halls full of the students who had lingered in the great hall for too long and were scrambling to make it back to their dorms.

Everyone seemed too busy to take much notice of me, despite the fact that a) I was lugging around a giant book, and b) I was most certainly not one of them.

I was happy about it though, as I made it to the headmaster's office without talking to a single person. The statue let me in without asking for a password. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was scared of me, which was an admittedly amusing thought.

I didn't bother knocking when I reached the top, although perhaps I should have.

The door swung open at my touch and I stepped inside, fully prepared to see Albus and only Albus, but instead finding Albus and Harry.

"Hi," Harry said blankly.

I shot him a wry smile all the whilst giving Albus a sharp look.

"What's going on?" I inquired.

"Uh... lessons."

"Are you really as stupid as everyone says?"

"I - wait, what?"

"Hmm. Albus?"

"I'm teaching Harry all he needs to know about our enemy in order to better understand him, as it is the first step to defeating him."

"That is not at all what I was asking, and to be honest, I do not care. We found something thanks to a discovery by Camp Half-Blood at the site of at least one of the sacrifices."

That seemed to pique both their interests.

I eyed Harry distrustfully, but when I glanced back at Albus, I knew what he was saying even without him having to say it aloud: Harry was staying.

Whether or not I agreed with that conclusion was irrelevant in the scheme of things. We had a common enemy now.

Sure, we had had for a while, but putting a name to a faceless being made it more real than ever before, and that meant that we had to put petty differences aside.

So I placed - or rather, slammed - the book down on Albus' far too cluttered desk and opened it to the bookmarked page, letting them see for themselves what we had to go up against.

Bonus points for the people who got it off of the image alone. 

Art by vkacademy.