Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter
The Ever Twisting Wind: Of Monsters and Titans
Chapter Seventeen: I Go to Wonderland
Beta: ShadowofAxios
A few days after her depressing meeting with Dumbledore, Andi was still trying to shake off her guilt over what happened. To that effect, she was busying herself burning the midnight oil doing some studying.
Unfortunately after hours of hitting the books, she was starting to get pretty tired. It was therefore no surprise that one minute Andi was trying to fight off her exhaustion while doing some reading for her English lessons, and the next she found herself in some kind of cave that was filled with mist.
Great, I dozed off. Andi lamented with a groan. Now I'll have to pick up my reading again tomorrow morning.
"Andromeda." A familiar commanding voice called out from behind her.
Andi turned towards the source of the voice and saw a ten foot tall Hecate, seated imperiously on a throne made up of raw magic and stars.
"Lady Hecate." Andi greeted with a bow, mindful of her recent lessons, and kept speaking in the most humble tone she could manage. "I apologize for taking so long with the quest, my Lady."
The goddess quirked a brow at this, almost in pleasant surprise.
"My my, it seems Apollo's lessons have proven effective where trails and hardships have not." Hecate noted with amusement. "Truly, he is a great teacher."
Andi wisely didn't reply, which earned her another surprised look from her matron.
Seeing that she was failing to get a rise out of the girl, the goddess changed tack and decided to get down to business. "It is as you say, you've finally finished my quest." Andi resisted the urge to wince at this. "Which means that at last you can to attend to the other matter I wanted you to handle for me. A follow up to the last one in fact and one that you will hopefully finish in a more swift fashion."
The 'or else' was unsaid, but nevertheless clear as day.
"What will you have of me, Lady Hecate?"
"Before I inform you, let me make clear that this quest was requested by Hades as well."
Andi gulped nervously at hearing that. It meant this quest was a very big deal.
Alright, I gotta get it done fast. Can't disappoint two powerful gods… I've already got enough on my tail as is. On the other hand, if I do well here, I'll gain serious brownie points with them. Andi thought, even as she fretted over what would happen if she didn't meet their expectations.
"Good to see that you know how important that makes this quest." Hecate said with a pleased nod. "Your quest is simple, end Tom Riddle. Or as the self-important fool likes to style himself, Lord Voldemort, once and for all."
Andi struggled to keep from smiling, she didn't want to act out of turn in front of her boss. It was difficult though, as after everything that the ass had put her through, she couldn't help but feel that this was a long time coming.
"Your chance will be coming soon."
The demigod could read between the lines, so she just nodded. "I won't let him get away."
"See that you don't." Hecate said warningly, even as the dreamscape around them dissolved.
As a Triwizard Champion, Andi should have been exempt from the end-of-term tests. However, since Andi was being homeschooled by Ida, the best she'd managed was a delay of her final assessments -which weren't always standard tests- till after the Third Task.
This did mean however that on the morning before said Task, when the Champions' families were due to visit, Andi was practically the only person in the Great Hall. There were still a handful of stragglers trying to scarf down a few last bites or frantically doing some last minute revision, but most everyone had filed off to sit their papers.
In contrast, Andi was taking her own sweet time having a proper breakfast alongside Wendy and Ida. The latter usually didn't join them down in the Hall for meals - even Wendy tended to not do so - as she complained that the food was not to her tastes. Today however the nymphs were making an exception so they could meet whoever decided to pay Andi a visit.
Not even Ida was sure who would come, apparently having heard nothing from Olympus on the matter. And that was not even taking into account the possibility of some fickle god acting on a whim and deciding to make an appearance.
By Olympus I hope not. I've gotten enough flak for favoritism already, I don't need another unscheduled godly visit.
"Done?" Ida asked as the demigoddess finished her meal.
"Yup." Andi replied, with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Good. It's almost time." Eying the food still on the table, Ida couldn't resist commenting. "I don't understand how you can stand this sorry excuse for food, Andi."
"It's not that bad." Wendy defended loyally. "So long as it's in moderation."
"I suppose." The older nymph conceded, even as Professor McGonagall came alongside the Gryffindor table where the trio were sitting.
"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast," she said.
"Right. Thanks Professor."
The older witch just nodded and moved away.
"Well, let's go see who showed up." Andi said with a hopeful smile as she stood up.
She knew it was probably wishful thinking on her part and despite her earlier concerns about unscheduled godly visits, she really hoped her dad had found the time to make it.
"Let's." Ida agreed as the two nymphs likewise stood.
As a group, the three headed off to the chamber off the Hall that had been set aside for the meet up. Stepping in, Andi noted that they were the last to get there. Viktor Krum was over in a corner, conversing with his dark-haired mother and father in rapid Bulgarian. On the other side of the room, Fleur was jabbering away in French to her mother while her little sister was holding her mother's hand.
She didn't examine them too closely though. The daughter of Zeus was too interested in who had come to visit her to be curious about other people. Who she found was a pleasant surprise.
Just seeing the woman, Andi could tell who she was. The woman looked slightly younger than Ida, had similar crystal-like eyes that shimmered with a light all their own and long flowing purple hair that she'd styled into pigtails. She gave off a less stern vibe and in fact almost seemed to radiate cheerfulness. This was offset somewhat, but not by much, by her professional looking white skirt suit with black trimming.
"You're Adrasteia, aren't you?" Andi asked the woman as she walked up to her.
The woman in turn cocked her head at the sight of her, examining her keenly for a long moment.
"Hm, definitely lil Zeus', you've got that rascal's eyes for sure. Greetings lil Andromeda, I send greetings from your Father. As he cannot come himself, he wished to have someone represent him for this occasion."
Andi's shoulders slumped a little at that.
Adrasteia caught it and quickly continued sympathetically. "No need to fret. He will be watching this event from Olympus."
That's something I guess. Andi conceded even as she nodded sadly, the news only slightly improving her mood. She was happy that her dad would at least be watching, don't get her wrong, it was just that she'd preferred he'd come to do so in person.
"In his absence, may I personally wish you the best of luck!" The mountain nymph finished cheerfully.
Yes, far less stern than Ida.
"Sister, you're blabbering." Andi's guardian said in greeting.
"Just getting the formalities out of the way is all." The lawyer said with a playful smirk.
Ida just rolled her eyes at her sister's antics.
Wendy was too awestruck by meeting Ida's sister to do much of anything. She just stood there beside Andi looking at Adrasteia with open admiration.
Andi was faintly amused by her partner's reaction but that didn't distract her enough to stop her from asking a few important questions.
"Is anyone from Camp coming?"
Adrasteia shook her head apologetically at this.
Andi's shoulders slumped, feeling down that neither Chiron or any of her friends would be coming.
Seeing her sadness, the nymph quickly explained. "They're otherwise engaged with another matter. I'm sure if they weren't, they'd be here."
"Why? Did something happen?"
"Yes, but I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything. Chiron asked me not to inform you about what's going on yet, and to tell you that it's best that you focus on your current Task." Adrasteia offered with an apologetic smile.
Andi just pouted, but didn't raise too much of a complaint. After all the trouble she had gotten into already, -She still remembered Mr. D's rage clearly- Andi didn't want to push things too much. Besides, she trusted Chiron's judgement. If he thought she shouldn't invite more trouble than she wouldn't.
"Are you done with your rambling, dear sister?" Ida asked with crossed arms, giving the shorter nymph a look.
"Rambling? Dear elder sister, I haven't the faintest clue what you mean!" Adrasteia covered her mouth in shock. "I'm merely delivering news. Still, I see you are as inflexible as always."
Ida gave her a sterner glare. "Sister, we're not doing this here. Be professional."
The younger nymph held up her hands. "Of course, of course. All business today."
She winked at Andi playfully, which made the demigod wonder how the nymphs were in a more casual setting.
Spurred on by this curiosity Andi decided to find out more about the sisters as they headed up towards their suite to chat the day away.
Adrasteia told her stories about Zeus when he was a young god, with the occasional gush about how cute he was as a child. She even entertained Wendy - once the Aura had recovered from her daze enough to ask - with a few stories about the daily lives of mountain nymphs, which Andi found boring but left her partner enthralled.
All the while Ida looked on in a mixture of amusement and disapproval. She even scolded her sister a few times when she felt she was getting a little too rambunctious, reminding her that she was an adult and so should act like it. Said sister just brushed these chidings off with a smirk though and Ida didn't press. It seemed almost like a game the two were playing.
Andi thus had a fun time with Ida's sister. However, all good things must come to an end and as the sun set, the time for the Third Task was upon them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."
"Finally." Andi said with a sigh of relief. She couldn't wait for this silly Tournament to be over. It'd caused her enough grief as is.
It was thus with an almost giddy anticipation to finally end this farce that Andi stood from the Gryffindor table where she'd been having dinner and joined the other Champions as they headed out of the Great Hall.
"Feeling alright. Andi?" Bagman asked as they went down the stone steps onto the grounds. "Confident?"
Andi ignored the man. She didn't know him at all, so didn't feel the need to reply.
He looked put out by her brushing him off, but she didn't give a damn.
They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.
Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and this year's DADA professor came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.
"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"
The champions nodded.
"Off you go, then!" Bagman said brightly to the four patrollers.
Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick set off immediately, but the fourth lingered.
"You mind if I have a word with Potter before we get started?"
"Of course not," Bagman replied cheerfully, "Go ahead, Moody."
Andi looked at the man. He had dark grey, grizzled hair, skin covered with scars, a chunk of his nose was missing and he had a wooden leg. His eyes, however, were his most shocking feature: one was small and dark while the other was a vivid, electric blue magical eye that moved around independently from his normal eye. It was what earned him the nickname of "Mad-Eye Moody" that Andi had heard he was more commonly known by. Beyond that he was Hogwarts' new DADA Professor, but that was all she knew for sure.
Wendy scooted closer to Andi as the man approached them, her weariness of the wizard obvious.
Since Andi didn't go to Hogwarts anymore all she knew about the man was from Ron. According to the Weasley, he was supposedly some crazy ex-Auror and took a heavy hand in teaching. Even going so far as to display the three Unforgivables to his classes.
"What can I do for you, sir?" Andi asked, wondering what the man could want from her.
The grizzled man gave her an even more grizzled smile. "Just wishin' ya luck, Potter. Looking forward to you grasping that Cup."
Andi's instincts started to tingle at this. "That's pretty weird, wishing good luck to a contestant that's not representing your school. Or better yet someone I don't even know personally coming to wish me good luck, I'm not the most popular person after all."
"You'd be surprised. There are a lot of people who are rooting for you, not that they'll say it out loud. Dark horse bet you are." Moody waved off her concern. "Besides, I'm the loyal type, yer British, therefore the closest thing Hogwarts' got to a Champion right now."
"Moody, get on patrol man!" Bagman called out to them, making the old wizard glare his swirling magical eye at the plump sports announcer.
"Don't give me that look." The Ministry man said apologetically. "The clock's ticking. So just get going, would ya?"
Moody growled in annoyance but nonetheless set off, though his magical eye continued to glare at Bagman.
Andi shot Wendy a look. "He's weird."
The Aura gave a big nod to that.
Bagman waited for Moody to get out of sight before taking a breath to compose himself and then pointed his wand at his throat. "Sonorus," he muttered and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! In first place, with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" The crowd applauded wildly. "In second place for seventy two points- Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!" More enthusiastic applause. "And in third place with sixty eight points, Miss Andromeda Potter!"
All Andi got was a quiet polite applause.
The demigod rolled her eyes.
"Now, on my whistle, Krum!" said Bagman. "Three - two - one -"
He gave a short blast on his whistle and Krum ran right into the maze like he was possessed.
It was several minutes later that Andi as the Champion with the lowest score was finally allowed to enter into the maze. The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment she entered the maze.
"Wendy," Andi barked as she drew Skyline and they advanced cautiously.
The Aura nodded and immediately transformed into the Storm Mail. They had discussed this previously and both partners agreed that without knowing what was waiting for them inside the maze, it was best to maximize their defenses. Just in case something unexpected jumped them.
Her caution was rewarded when she turned around her first corner and was cannonballed by some kind of shiny bug the size of a small boulder. The Storm Mail kept her from getting hurt but the impact still sent her stumbling back, thankfully giving her some distance between her and her attacker.
It was a ten foot long giant scorpion like creature with a shiny exoskeleton and a pair of stingers instead of pincers that it held curled over its body. Andi vaguely remembered Ron mentioned something that fit the description, one of Hagrid's latest pets. A Blast-Ended Squirt? Andi couldn't recall correctly, not that she cared much.
Not when the thing was curling itself back up into a ball presumably to shoot itself - however it did that - at her again.
Andi rushed to meet it head on but was surprised when it let loose an explosive blast from, of all places, it's rear end that sent it flying towards her. Despite the unexpected move on the creature's part, Andi's training kicked in and she kept her cool. Moving like the finely honed swordswoman she was, Andi flashed Skyline's sword form at the magical beast, slicing through its exoskeleton with ease and bisecting it. Its remains crumbled into a heap, but in its last throes of life it still tried to take its killer with it as its stingers stabbed out at her.
The Storm Mail easily blocked them and Andi walked away from the dying creature unfazed. Her attention already shifting to her surroundings and on the lookout for another ambush.
"What in the world was that thing?" Wendy asked with clear disgust in her voice.
"I heard it's some kind of cross between two magical creatures."
"That half giant friend of yours has some serious problems! That was an abomination, as if we need new monsters in the world."
"I think he thought it'd be a nice pet." The demigod explained with a shrug. "He's likes to keep dangerous things as pets. The more dangerous the better.
"...I never want to come back here, Andi." The young Aura begged. "Ever."
"Good news, that's our aim here." Andi said as they turned the next bend of the maze and advanced forward. They entered a large circular clearing and immediately went to high alert at what they saw.
"Oh boy." Andi pursed her lips at spotting the creature that was across from her.
It was a monster with the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman. She would've been pretty, but her hair was tied back in a tight bun and she wore too much makeup. She had a blue ribbon badge pinned to her chest that took Andi a moment to read: this monster has been rated exemplary!
"Welcome, lucky contestants!" She announced, with a smile that was equal parts giddy and predatory. "Get ready to play…ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"
"A Sphinx, and me without Google." The demigod muttered to herself as she came face to face with the monster.
"Apologies for the lackluster set up." The Sphinx sighed. "Those awful wizards wouldn't even let me bring my props for this! How can a game show work without an applause track? Savages."
Andi nodded mutely, confused by where this was going.
A swirl of Mist conjured up a podium in front of the demigod and an electronic board materialized next to the Sphinx whose tail was wagging happily.
"Well, too bad for the dullards that I can make do with the Mist. They'll just get to see nothing but a fogbank while we enjoy the game. You don't mind do you, godling?"
"Not at all." The daughter of Zeus agreed, not wanting to set off the surprisingly friendly if seemingly crazy monster. She stood behind the podium and felt a little silly, but if the monster wasn't attacking then whatever. "I'm ready for your riddle."
"Oh, you seem to be a little out of date there dear." The Sphinx said with a fang filled smile. "It isn't one riddle, it's twenty."
"I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say the one about Man isn't included."
"Ugh, I swear! Oedipus ruined that by spreading the answer to anyone who'd listen to him! Nearly ran me out of business." The Sphinx snarled. "I guess it was for the best though, led me to work on my material. Google has been both a blessing and a curse in that regard. So now, twenty questions!" The Sphinx's tone turned sugary sweet. "Answer them all correctly, within the allotted sixty seconds each of course, and you get fabulous prizes and get to advance! Fail, and I get to eat you! "
"Oh, that's lovely."
"Isn't it? I'm even being generous and counting you and your Aura friend as one contestant since you're bonded. Aren't I nice?" The Sphinx said with that vicious smile of hers.
"Yes, very. Thank you." Andi said genuinely on behalf of herself and Wendy. Though it was as much a attempt at trying her best to butter up the monster than anything else. Hopefully, that would convince it to softball her on the questions. "It's nice to see you keeping up with the times so well too."
"Why thank you, little hero. I do try my best." The Sphinx preened. "But enough chit chat, let's start the game now."
Andi nodded.
Receiving the demigod's acknowledgement, the monster continued. "Now without further adieu, let's begin… ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"
The board whirled and a sentence appeared on it.
What element has the atomic number of sixty?
"...Andi that doesn't look like a-"
I know. Andi smiled, but hey, if she didn't have to answer an actual riddle then go Team Andi. A clock started to count down on the board and by the time that Andi had got her head back on straight, it was already down to twenty two seconds. Not wasting anymore time, Andi hurriedly thought back on her studies.
"Neodymium!"
A positive chime went off and the Sphinx clapped her paws together. "Correct! Now, next riddle!"
Who are the American continents named after?
"That's an easy one." Andi commented, hopefully without jinxing herself. "Amerigo Vespucci!"
Another positive chime and the Sphinx's tail wagged happily. "Correct again! Next riddle."
What is the square root of 3249?
This stumped Andi for a little bit as she struggled through the math in her head to get the correct answer. Just as the timer counted down to the ten seconds mark, she figured it out and shouted out. "Fifty seven!"
She was greeted with another positive chime, and the Sphinx looking disappointed as she announced the next riddle.
The 'riddles' kept coming and more than a few nearly led to Andi being part of the monster's balanced dinner, but she kept pushing towards the final question. They all seemed to be things that Andi learned in her lessons with Ida, stuff that she never thought she'd ever need to know but which she was now more than thankful for studying about.
You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present. But the future can never taint me. What am I?
"Huh? What?" Andi reeled. "Is that an actual riddle?"
"I have been known for the occasional curveball." The Sphinx said while licking one of her paws.
While Andi was trying to come to terms with the change of pace, Wendy gasped in her mind. "I know this! It's history!"
"History? What history?"
The positive chime sounded in response to Andi's confused mutterings.
Confetti showered Andi and she swatted it away. "I don't get it."
"I'll explain it to you later."
Ignoring the demigod's confusion, the grumpy looking Sphinx spoke up. "And we have a winner! Andromeda Potter has won ANSWER THAT RIDDLE! Sphinx, tell her what's she's won!" The creature said referring to herself in the third person. "Why thank you, Sphinx. Our contestant has won the right to continue forth with the Triwizard Tournament." The monster cleared her throat and then continued in an insincere voice. "We here at Answer That Riddle would like to thank our sponsors at Eleusinian Ridge, for all your favorite themed Ambrosia snack goods! Try out our bestseller, the goldfish! The latest and best in our fish theme line!"
And Andi was getting more weirded out by the second. "Uh, can I go?"
"Yes, of course-oh wait!" The sphinx said in a singsong voice and pulled out a little sheet of stickers. Using a claw, she plucked a sticker off the sheet and held out a gold star to the demigod. "Here's your secret reward for being a real trooper."
Andi cautiously walked up to the monster and took the sticker, putting it on her shirt.
"It also glows in the dark." The monster whispered. "Now get going, I'm waiting for the next contestant."
The daughter of Zeus got the hell out of there as fast as she could.
"Monsters are weird."
"You're singing to the choir on that one, Wendy." Andi replied earnestly. "I'm just glad that we didn't need to fight her. All that ended up doing was wasting time and since I don't really care about the Cup, I'm golden."
"Don't you mean you're a gold star?" Wendy teased.
Andi couldn't resist giggling at that.
"Never stop being adorable."
Andi trudged through the rest of the maze wary but largely disinterested. She spotted a few dangerous looking creatures, including what looked like a manticore, but thankfully was able to detour around them and avoid them. It was probably killing her time, but she honestly didn't give a damn.
That changed though when she stumbled over a scene that sent her blood boiling.
Andi had just turned a corner to avoid going down a path lined by statues that she was sure would come to life and attack her the moment she passed them, when she spotted a glassy eyed Krum standing over Fleur who was collapsed on the ground and shaking slightly.
"Cru-"
Wendy, protect Fleur! Andi ordered as she aimed her finger at Krum, even as the Bulgarian finished his spell. The Aura released their Storm Mail and flew towards the young woman.
-cio!"
Andi cried out, "Stupefy!" and the scarlet spell shot threw the air.
Both the Aura and the two spells covered the distance at the same time.
Wendy managed to transform into the Storm Mail over Fleur's body just moments before Krum's spell hit and caused the whirling wind armor to writhe and twist unnaturally even as a burst of pain surged through the bond Andi shared with her partner.
A moment later, Andi's own spell connected with the boy and he collapsed into a heap, passed out from the single stunner. This thankfully cut off the Cruciatus that he was using and Wendy immediately reformed next to Fleur. The young nymph was slumped to all fours as she breathed hard.
Seeing that her attacker was down and shooting her savior a fearful look, Fleur took the chance to get away and bolted.
"A thanks would be nice!" Wendy cried after the fleeing French girl as she finally caught her breath and stood back up.
"Ignore her." Andi said as she conjured up a set of chains out of a nearby bunch of pebbles, tying up Krum so he wasn't a danger to others or possibly himself when he woke up. "You alright?" The demigod asked in concern, as she followed up by firing a burst of red sparks into the sky to call for the judges to collect the bound Bulgarian.
Wendy, still upset, merged back with Andi and formed their Storm Mail.
"Yeah. That pain curse just knocked the wind out me is all."
"Aren't you made of wind?" Andi teased, getting back at her partner for earlier.
"Ha ha." Wendy shot back crankily. "You know what I meant."
"Yeah, I do." Andi said as she gave Krum a swift kick to the bits and was satisfied by his grunt of pain. The guy deserved it for using an Unforgivable in her mind.
"Come on, let's go."
She could have waited for the judges to show up, but frankly she didn't think her temper would hold if she did. She didn't like bullies on principle and torturers - and the Cruciatus Curse was the torture spell - were among the worse of the lot. She didn't want to tempt the Fates by staying next to Krum right now.
So instead the demigod set off, jogging up to a fork in the path. Going right, they walked for another few minutes until the partners were halted by a large patch of slithering green vines, each as thick as a medium sized tree trunk.
"...Devil's Snare." Andi said, sounding wistful as she was reminded her of her first year as a witch.
It brought up memories of her, Hermione, and Ron when they still were the 'Golden Trio'.
Shaking her head to clear her head of the bittersweet memory, Andi got to the task at hand and produced a flame with an Incendio spell. The heat and light of the flame caused the plant to shierk, backing away and slithering into the hedges and clearing the path.
As they advanced, Wendy said. "I can't help but pity the poor thing. All these bright lights around must be so uncomfortable for it."
"So you speak plant now? Quite the little linguist I've got for a partner, huh?."
"I don't speak plant silly, but I can at least sense its feelings. It really isn't hard if you bothered to read its body language."
Andi rolled her eyes. Plants had body language? I don't think I'll ever understand you nature spirits.
"I can give you lessons!"
Pass.
"Aw… Come on, it'll be fun! And afterwards you'll know how to read Ida too. Wouldn't that be cool?"
Now wasn't that tempting? Ida could be so difficult to read at times, and on more than one occasion Andi had wished for some kind of guide to understand her guardian.
"I'll think about it."
Yay!
"Don't celebrate just yet. I haven't agreed to anything."
There were a few more obstacles after that, but nothing major. Just some pesky Cornish Pixies and a single very upset fire spitting magical tortoise, but nothing that Andi and Wendy couldn't handle.
With those out of the way, it didn't take them long before they made it to the center of the maze.
Squinting her eyes, Andi could see the Triwizard Cup glittering in the torchlight as it sat on a pedestal at the absolute center of the maze. Stationed in front of it was an Acromantula the size of a horse. It looked furious, twitching its limbs and snapping its mandibles at the air and cursing up a storm, obviously unhappy to be there. As Andi stepped closer, it's beady little eyes all locked onto her and it snapped its mandibles at her.
"At last! Some fresh meat like the wizards promised." The giant arachnid said, sounding gleeful as it advanced menacingly towards the demigod.
"Yeah, no. Bye-bye." Andi simply slashed at it with Skyline from a distance, in the process releasing an arc of air. The horizontal arc easily took out its legs, leaving its body to roll along the ground as it cursed at her in both English and spider.
It was silenced by a wind arrow to the head that went right through the mandibles.
"You shouldn't talk to a lady like that." Andi chided the dead creature as she walked past its corpse while her bow changed back into a keychain.
"I go at this casually, and I still find it first." Andi couldn't help but feel a bit bored over the whole matter. Seriously, the biggest threat had been the Sphinx, and she got a gold star out of that!
"I guess that means the girl's fat legs couldn't carry her the rest of the way."
Are you holding a grudge?
"She was very rude after we saved her!"
The demigod agreed, if the French Champion wanted to be a bint, let her be. It was no skin off Andi's nose.
As they got nearer the Cup, Andi began feeling more and more relaxed. It seemed a little odd, almost unnatural, but there were clearly no threats around so she didn't really see the problem. Maybe she was being overconfident, but considering the situation, she felt she had every right to be.
"Wendy, why don't you release the Mail and stretch a bit?"
"You sure?" Wendy asked cautiously. "We're still in the maze."
"It's fine. We're almost done anyways."
Almost. The word rang loudly in her mind, telling her that she shouldn't let her guard down. Not yet. But she was suddenly feeling so safe, she ignored it.
"If you're sure."
"I am. Come on."
Wendy reluctantly did as requested, releasing the wind armor and reappearing next to Andi mid-stretch. She looked wary though as she eyed the various entrances to the center of the maze as if something could spring out of them at any moment.
Part of Andi shared her concern, but mostly she just though her partner was being paranoid.
"Are you that tired?" Andi teased the Aura, trying to lighten up her partner's mood.
Wendy just shrugged, before throwing her a playful smirk. "Not really. But isn't it the smart thing to cool down after exercising?"
"Is that what we were doing?" Andi joked back. "So you're a budding exercise trainer now?"
"Since I've started following you on your daily runs? Yes." Wendy deadpanned at her.
"Hey, they are good for you. You know that." Andi shot back as she unconsciously begun reaching for the Cup.
The second her fingers grasped around the Cup's handle, Andi felt as though she was being pulled by her bellybutton all while Wendy shouted her name.
Landing face first in the dirt, Andi had a sense of deja vu as she recalled how she first got to Camp.
That wasn't Apparition though, it felt like...a Portkey!
Pushing herself up, Andi could taste the stale air and as she looked around her, she came face to face with a headstone. The words carved on it were a bit jumbled thanks to weathering and her dyslexia but with some concentration she managed to make out the name: Thomas Riddle.
Shaking her head, the demigod pulled herself together, just in time to hear a spell be cried out in the distance and a powerful magic settle all around her.
Getting to her feet, Andi heard the gloating of an middle-aged woman. "Your death is nigh, Potter. Tonight we end this!"
Turning to look at the woman, she found that she was a tiny thing, just a smidge taller than the demigod herself. Her blonde hair was graying and she was dressed in unflattering black robes that served to hide her entire figure, making her look like an amorphous black blob. Her most striking feature however were her eyes, which were a familiar blood red.
Eyes that had been haunting her dreams for a while now and who she'd last seen on a certain possessed house elf.
"Voldemort?" Andi asked, feeling a bit sick in her stomach from the bumpy ride.
The woman gave her a toothy smile. "Indeed, Potter. I do hope you enjoyed the portkey. I had one of my followers rig the Cup, just to make it a bit more rough for you."
"Ugh, how sweet of you." She snapped at the now female Voldemort. "I've actually been looking for you, thanks for making it easier. You mind dying again? Because I seriously hope you don't."
"Brave words from a brave fool." Voldemort shot back. "Though I suppose at least you're better than the pathetic excuse for a witch whose body I now wear."
"Yeah, was wondering about that…" Andi muttered and refrained from making any of the snide remarks that had popped into her head, instead choosing to keep her composure. She needed to buy time to get her bearings on the situation and hopefully for Wendy to track her down and bring some reinforcements, just in case. She didn't want to set her volatile opponent off. Not yet.
"So… Who did you body jump this time, Tommy-Boy?"
"Bertha Jorkins." The dark wizard -or was he a witch now?- explained. "The idiot woman practically offered herself up to me on a silver platter. She was chasing rumors about me and ended up stumbling into where I was hiding. She might not be much, but one can't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"Looks like you're a match made in Heaven." Andi spat out. Why did so many people get possessed lately?
"It's only temporary, I assure you." Voldemort said as he advanced on her, the picture of confidence. He didn't even raise his wand, instead clutching it loosely in her right hand.
As Voldemort came within arms length, Andi decided that she really didn't want the dark lord that close to her.
"Air Hammer!" The daughter of Zeus shouted as she called on her powers to help her smite her wizarding nemesis.
Or at least she tried to. The second she fired off her attack, instead of the winds coalescing together to strike at the wizard, she was instead hit by a powerful stinging sensation that jolted down her spine.
"Ah! The shite?!" Andi hissed, her back arching as she looked around in a bid to spot what had hit her.
Nothing, there was no sign of what had attacked her whatsoever.
Voldemort cackled at this and Andi turned to glare daggers at her.
"Eager for blood aren't you, Potter? Where are your manners? Has becoming an American turned you into a savage?"
"What did you do, you hazard to life?" The child of Zeus demanded.
"Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you think so highly of my abilities." Voldemort replied with a smirk. "As for what I've done? Just a little spell to ban, for a lack of a better word, any and all violence in a given area. And which as you've experienced first hand reminds violators of this fact through some gloriously intense pain."
Andi scoffed, that level of pain was nothing compared to what she had been through in the past.
Voldemort looked proud of herself, smiling even in his own grotesque way. "Something meant to ensure peace at negotiations during wartime and here I've twisting it to my own ends. Isn't it fantastic?"
"You gonna keep giggling like a schoolgirl or are you going to get to the point?" Andi said in annoyance, trying to figure how to work around the blasted ward.
"I most certainly will!" Voldemort said gleefully. Unnerved by his apparent cheer, Andi turned to look at him and ended up staring right into her eyes. She found herself so caught up in his red eyes, that she was caught flat footed when Ladymort was sent flying right into a tombstone.
A wincing Wendy landed next to her. "Andi! I was so worried, are you okay?"
"Yeah." Andi told her partner with a reassuring smile, before becoming serious. "That's Voldemort. Let's kill him and be done with this quest. I want to go home."
"Okay."
"We can't use magic. His spell will cancel out magic and cause us pain if we attack, so just bear with it."
"Right!" Wendy gave a big nod and merged into their armor.
The demigod advanced towards Voldemort and summoned her blade, wind hissing around it like a chainsaw.
Spikes of pain began to prickle all around her body, but the demigod did her best to block it out.
"No, no! You shouldn't be able to do this!" She hissed at the teenager, trying to scurry away.
Andi didn't bother with a witty one liner or any smack talk, she just swung Skyline in silence and watched the dead man's head roll.
Pain wracked both Wendy and Andi. It was so intense that their Storm Mail came undone. Leaving the young Aura to slump to the ground as Andi fell onto her hands and knees, both fighting off the awful pain.
It was worth it, though, Voldemort was dead. At last.
"...And then Wendy and I took the Cup back to Hogwarts, where we were declared the winners of the stupid Tournament." Andi finished her tale and offered her two granddaughters a proud smile.
"What next Gran?" "Yeah, what happened after that!"
The two were being more excitable than usual, bouncing on the sides of the bed. Seeing their youthful enthusiasm made the old woman chuckle though that quickly degenerated into a wet cough. "I went right back to Camp after that. By that point, I had enough of Wizarding Britain for a few decades! But, while I was away the Titan war had gone right into the toilet."
"There had been a dozen major battles, and I'd already lost some wonderful friends." Andi grew solemn at this as she thought back to the Dionysius twins and their heroic last stand against the Titan Iapetus. "I was right upset they kept this from me, just because of some silly competition. So I jumped right into the fray! We fought for the rest of the following year, right until I turned sixteen."
"When the Great Prophecy was fulfilled!" The younger girl cheered.
"Yes, and right in the lobby of the Empire State Building, the foot of Olympus itself, I fought Kronos singlehandedly." She recalled the battle with pinpoint detail, down to every injury she had taken and returned in kind. To every painful detail of the deaths of her comrades as they fought against the other Titans. Percy being burned alive by Hyperion was something she'd never forget and would forever feel guilty for failing to prevent. "I managed to get a critical shot at Kronos, weakening him enough for a final strike that scattered his essence for good this time."
"Then what?" "Come on, Gran! Don't hold out on us!"
Andi smiled at them and raised weak hands to ruffle their hair. "After the war, your grandfather and I continued dating and right after he finished college we got married. A year later we started a family and had a beautiful little girl, your mum. Around this time, your dad managed to talk his Father into a deal to gain immortality, don't ask me how, so the two of us could be together forever after we die."
The long talk was getting the better of her, and Andi was suddenly overcome by a series of wet hacking coughs that rattled her chest and sent pain shooting through her old tired body.
"Girls!" The children's mother said admonishingly as she marched in and rushed to rub Andi's back soothingly. "You shouldn't be bothering grandma when she's ill. You know she can't get too worked up."
The elderly demigod scoffed. "I'm not ill, child. You know Thanatos is knocking on the door."
"Don't say that, mum. Knowing you, you'd outlive us all." Her daughter chided her with a smile.
Andi could barely muster a smile for her only child, she was just so tired. Her eyes felt so very heavy. Ah, there it was. Yes, her time had come, she could feel it in her bones.
She looked at the three surrounding her and reflected, her life flashing before her eyes in a sense.
Despite all the crap she had contended with until the end of the Triwizard and the ups and downs during the war, her life had been perfect. Or as perfect as a demigod's life could possibly be.
Her eyes continued to grow heavier as that word echoed in her mind.
Perfect. Perfect. Per-fect...
That word wasn't even in her vocabulary, nothing can be perfect. Especially not her life.
Where were the times that the Fates messed with her?
What about the gods?
Where was GlaDOS and Chell along with her other enemies?
It was as if everything had gone so perfectly smoothly for her after her little brush up with Voldemort.
She was hated by plenty of gods, so there was no way they'd let this happen to her.
It was slow, but the realization eventually sunk in… This is a lie, isn't it?
She looked towards her daughter and grandchildren, their faces blurred in her weakening vision. Except it wasn't her wavering eyesight. Their faces were literally changing before her eyes, seemingly stuck in a state of constant flux.
Like I can't decide what I want them to look like.
What was even worse, their names escaped her grasp each time she tried to think on them. Sure old people forgot things, but not names like that. Not without suffering dementia or some other mental illness. Andi knew she wasn't ill and that she would never forget something like that. Family was everything to her.
"Mum?" Her daughter rubbed her shoulder as a tear rolled down Andi's wrinkled cheek.
With that the demigod closed her eyes.
Andi inhaled deeply, her eyes opening only to stare at dead grass and dirt. She tasted the stale air and realized she was still in the graveyard. As reality set in, tears began to roll down her cheeks in streams as she lamented what she had just lost.
"You're seriously fucked up, Tom." Andi said in a chilling whisper as the tears of sadness at the loss of her ideal world continued to flow even as she was chilled to the bone with icy anger.
Unbridled rage filled the daughter of Zeus' veins as she attempted to push herself up. Sadly, she failed as for some reason her limbs felt akin to lead.
She moved her head, seeing Voldemort smiling down at her menacingly. "I think not, child. Not when a single spell from me just managed to send your soul to the very verge of death."
Her fingers weakly fisted the grass. "You fuck with me, how 'bout I fuck with you!"
Calling on the Mist, she had the shroud of the gods dance around Tom as she made him view his first death from her own memory.
Suddenly the world around them shifted into a small nursery and the green light of the Killing Curse was shooting through the air at Voldemort.
The man/woman/whatever was unfazed and just cocked an unimpressed brow at the illusion.
"As if a babe could recall that minor event. Did you think to scare me with a recreation based purely on your pathetic imagination? I was there, whelp!" Shaking her head in amusement and chuckling lightly, he dispelled the illusion with a wave of his hand. "It was a good try though, for an absolute amateur! That would have hardly fooled most people, let alone someone of my skill level."
Andi didn't give up, she tried again. Instead of going back to the past, this time she decided to show him what was to come.
She showed him the miles upon miles of painful torments that were the Fields of Punishment that she had seen in the Underworld that first summer at Camp. How he would be dragged before the colossally sized Hades, and sentenced by her uncle to a special punishment for being a fool to try defying death itself: that of being trapped alone in a endless empty void forever.
Again, Ladymort just laughed at her. "Now that was better, truly I think I felt a little shiver! But you forget the first thing about mind magicks. People see what they want to see. You try to force them to see something they don't believe in? It falls apart. And I know that limbo will not be my fate."
"You dumbass, I'm not trying to fool you. I'm showing you your future." She cracked a weak grin towards him.
"For a demigod, you know nothing." The wizard snorted derisively.
"...How?"
"I've been into your mind, do you honestly think I didn't see all your little secrets?"
The daughter of Zeus let out a small laugh. "So you know you're beyond screwed?"
Voldemort's smirk just grew even more triumphant. "On the contrary, at this point, even if you win here today, it'll be immaterial. After all, if gods are real… Then options that I've never before even imagined are open to me."
Andi broke out into laughter again. "You really think you can offer anything the gods care about?"
"The gods aren't the only things out there. I have other choices for allies. Some much more aligned with my own nature."
"Can you get any more stupid? You'd be chewed up and spat out in a heartbeat." The demigod mocked him, even as a shiver of unease shot down her spine.
"Shortsighted as always. But enough talk!"
The woman advanced towards her.
Knowing what was coming, Andi snapped her eyes shut as she tried to think up a plan.
"Come now child, open those pretty blue eyes. I want to see despair in them one final time."
T-That feels like some kind of Charmspeak! Andi noted as she suddenly felt compelled to obey.
Thankfully, by now she'd regained enough strength to pull off a spell, her trump card. Even as she felt herself succumb to his spell and her eyes steadily begin to slip open despite her fighting with all her will to keep them closed, she cast it.
"I've been dealing with lies for way too long, Tom. And Let me tell you, I'm bloody sick of 'em." Andi declared as she silently made a divine invocation in her own mind. One that she finished off by shouting, "Επικαλούνται: Θεία διάταγμα - Δίας (Invoke: Divine Decree - Zeus)!"
Suddenly a large white magic circle with intricate designs decorating it appeared under the whole graveyard. At the same time, the two souls in the graveyard felt themselves freeze in place.
Andi chuckled as Voldemort darted his eyes -the only thing she could still move- around in a panic.
"W-What did you do?"
Andi just chuckled even as a large scale appeared in the sky, hovering right above them such that each cup hung over each individual respectively.
Gesturing with her eyes towards it, Andi explained. "Oh that? Just a little spell I came across while doing some schoolwork. See, it invokes a god of judgement to pass their verdict on the guilty. It's a very old, very powerful bit of magic." Andi's taunting voice became serious as she continued. "Now I know I'm no saint, but I'm liking my chances a lot more than yours."
The scale rumbled in the sky and the one over Voldemort tilted towards her.
"No, no!" The genderbent villain screamed at the top of his lungs. "You cannot do this, you cannot strike me down!"
"I ain't touching you, you freaking baby...you're being judged by a higher power than you could ever hope to grasp. Or more precisely, my dad's passing judgement. And you know who that is, right Tom?"
"I'm Lord Voldemort! I accept the judgement of no one. Not even a god!" The condemned wizard raved.
"We've all got dreams, but sadly reality is knocking." Andi gave him a dark smile. "It's time to face the music. Be judged twice, both in life and death, Tom. Also, tell Uncle Hades hullo for me."
"No! I can't accept thi-" Apparently, fed up with the mortal's whining, Zeus dropped the scale directly onto Voldemort, pinning him as the clouds overhead darkened to a boiling black. Lighting streaked along them as booms of thunder filled the area.
"I am Lord Voldemort, I am immortal!"
Andi said nothing as the clouds broke open to deliver a righteous bolt of divine lightning.
It was bright and powerful, so much so that Andi was blown back by the force and tumbled until she hit a tombstone.
Even through the boom of thunder, the demigod's hearing caught Voldemort's final cry.
"I'll be back!"
"...Man, and here I thought he couldn't be any more cliche." Andi told herself as a final loud boom of thunder went off, ending the spell.
The drain from the spell hit her immediately but despite feeling spent, Andi tried to get to her feet. The best she could manage was to get to her knees while panting.
While catching her breath, she couldn't help but reflect on what she'd just gone through. As she recalled the utopia that Voldemort's illusion had showed her, she couldn't resist the sob that escaped her lips.
Will I ever be able to create a life anywhere near as good as that? Andi thought to herself uncertainly. "Don't dream about what-ifs. If you want to do something then put in all your effort to make it happen." That's what Ida told me once…
Mustering her strength, Andi forced herself to her feet. She couldn't been more right.
Her resolve restored, Andi made a vow. "If I want a future like that, then I need to damn well fight for it with everything I have."
And that was all she could do.
With that, the daughter of Zeus limped towards the Cup.