Amongst the Hunted Moons

Notes:

What? A sequel to Under the Hunters Moon? Sure, why not. Welcome to a short Story about our best boy during the summer between his 3rd and 4th year.

A Midsummer Hunt.

In which we see the long-awaited inactions between Harry and The Hunters of Artemis.

On with the show!

Artemis.

It had been a long day for the Goddess of the Hunt, first was the Olympian council that her father had called to try and remove the perceived threat her son was, thanks to the prophecy the boy was involved in, and more than half the council voting not to kill him, Harry was still breathing. Hopefully, with the rat that Artemis had left for the old Headmaster, Harry's Godfather would be cleared of all charges against him, and the mortals that her son had to stay with would heed her threats and not harm him any longer, but she hopes they step out of line, just to feed them to the Hunt. But Harry only had to stay with them for two weeks, just till the blood wards recharged, then she was going to send someone to get the boy and bring him to camp.

That was another thing Artemis was worried about, her Hunters, as Artemis made her way down the main street of Olympus, the crowds part out of both respect and fear as she made her way to her temple. She was not looking forward to the questions from her handmaiden's eyes that she knows will be there, all within the Hunt would have felt her claiming Harry as her child. She was avoiding it as long as she could by walking to her temple, but all too soon she found herself outside of it. Artemis sighs before walking up the steps to her silver temple, it was built to mirror the Artemision in Turkey from the outside, but stepping into the temple itself Artemis finds herself in her true temple, the wild forests that she has stalked since she had first walked this earth.

The roof was open, letting in the light of the moon and stars recreated to show them in their full glory as they were in the ancient times, Artemis could hear the soft sounds of feet upon the forest floor of her handmaidens going back and forth fulfilling their duties to hear and the hunt. Training to be midwives, fletchers, and Bowyers, to fix and repair tents, bows, and jackets, to be trained in how to handle the dead of the hunt. These were the girls who were not suited for the hunt, gentle souls who had mastered her blessing and their hunger for the Hunt, while they could and would hunt on her command, she often only switched out those of her hunt with her handmaidens when her handmaidens wanted a change of pace, it was rare but it happens. Two of the nymphs of the inner grove stop as she passes them, arms loading with damaged jackets to be cleaned and repaired, their heads bowing in greeting. As she passes them she could feel their questioning eyes on her back before she moves deeper into the woods.

The mortal and demigods that had her blessing move about the woods taking care of the other Hinds and wild creatures that called her temple home dressed in simple togas or nothing at all, No man save for one were allowed in her temple, not her father, not her brother, no man save the one she has come here to see. She passes the stuffed and mounted trophies to pass Hunts, from the Calydonian boar, to Scorpio, BigFoot, and The Draco she had slayed a few months prior. After her trophies, she comes upon the altar that stands in the middle of her temple, it was simply made from silver and low to the ground, a replica of her silver bow and horn from one of her Hinds lay on it with a large Cypress trees roots entangled the base, and before the altar, she finds the man she was looking for.

By looks alone, he would be considered a young adult in the modern world, but during the time he was from, he was a man. He looked no older than thirteen as he sat in a meditative position in front of the altar, chanting in ancient greek. Long brown hair pulled into a low ponytail, he wore a simple silver toga and no sandals, pinned to his toga was a silver emblem of the antlers of a stag, signifying his position as the high priest of her temple.

"...Rid me of doubts and clear my mind of needless thoughts, let my focus be on my duties and my duties alone, let the Hunt guide me, and in turn, I will feed it, …"The priest says in a murmur, that it wasn't a prayer of any kind, but a chant to rid her followers of doubt in the hunt.

"Daphnis," Artemis says softly, gaining the man's attention as his head jerks up from being lowered and turns to look at her.

"My Lady," Daphnis says, as he reaches out for the Cypress walking stick next to him, taking it up and standing before looking at Artemis, well, not really looking at her, his eyes closed with the age-old scar he has carried since long ago running across his face, from one eye to the other.

Daphnis was one of the rare males she had welcomed into her hunt, a son of Hermes and a former prince, he had run away from home when his father had tried to marry him to a princess in a neighboring kingdom, the boy had no interest in love or marrying anyone, so when he had come across herself, Zoë, and the few handmaidens at the time while out on a hunt, he had surprised her with his story and entertained her with his skills with the pan flute. He was a decent hunter, so she had offered him a place within the Hunt, much to Zoë's anger, he had eagerly accepted it. When a king was hosting his hunt in a city during a celebration for her, the king's daughter had tried to rape poor Daphnis with the help of wine, it was then that Zoë had come across the two, and in a fit of anger, she had caved out the boy's eyes. When the truth came out after, Artemis had stripped Zoë of her Lieutenant status for a while, and was sent away from Artemis until she had learned to not act so rashly. But with Daphnis blinded he could no longer hunt, so she had sent him to his temple to be trained as her priest. Daphnis had never held the act against Zoë, nor had he demanded an apology from her in all these years, that had earned him a great deal of Artemis respect, so now he served her as her high priest and logistical commander of the Hunt, Artemis' unseen hand keeping the hunt supplied and informed, helping with the training of her handmaidens.

"How may I be of service today?" Daphnis asks, as always he was happy to serve but never eager to please.

"We have a hunt that I will require all of the hunt for, an Acromantula den of great size has been located in Scotland by a school of Wixen, the Headmaster of the school has prayed to me for help in removing the danger before they decided to go after the students there," Artemis informs him, Daphnis nods his head.

"Of course, my Lady," Daphnis says, "I shall gather your handmaidens here and inform them at once, how long do you expect this to take?"

"Not long," Artemis admits, "With the full force of the hunt it should take a week, maybe a week and a half at the most, plan accordingly," she orders Daphnis.

"Understood, however, I will plan for at least two weeks," Daphnis tells her with a nod, "How are we to get there? Shall I pray and sacrifice to your father for a way and a safe journey?" He asks.

"No," Artemis says quickly, with a hint of anger in her voice, "Me and Lord Zeus are not on speaking terms at the moment,"

Daphnis pauses, eyebrow arching upwards, but continues, "Then perhaps your brother or Poseidon, either one will be open to help us so long as we sacrifice to them,"

Artemis makes a face at the mention of her brother, while she had given him leave to meet Harry so long as he did not harm him, and he knew her hunters were off limits, it didn't stop him from being obnoxious when he was around, "Pray to my brother and see if he is free to give the hunt a lift in two weeks, if he can not do it, ask of my Uncle and offer him some of the trophies we have, last we talked he was complaining about not having enough decorations for his gaming room, perhaps offer The Draco," she says.

Daphnis tilts his head, "If you are sure, My Lady, I would have thought you would have liked to keep The Draco a bit longer, seeing how it is a recent hunt," Daphnis offers his thoughts but does not question Artemis.

"True, but if there is no other way, then I will just have to hunt it again," the Goddess says, making sure her voice was light with amusement, "Besides I think my Uncle will see the poetic nature of it, having a beast of the stars under the sea,"

Daphnis chuckles, "Of course My Lady, I will see it done," he says with a bow of his head.

"Thank you, my friend, I will be glad to have your music with us once again during this hunt," Artemis tells Daphnis with a smile he can not see, but knows is there.

"Well, that just means I'll have to practice a bit beforehand to make sure I'm not too rusty, My Lady," he says with a chuckle.

"You do that, Daphnis, I will return in a few days with a meeting point, until then," Artemis says as she turns to leave, but the blind hunter speaks up.

"My Lady," he says and Artemis turns back to him, eyebrow raised, "If I may be bold and ask you a question?"

Artemis sighs, she knows what this is about, "Technically, you just have, but I will permit a second," she tells him, injecting levity into her voice.

Daphnis nods and opens his mouth, but no words come out, he closes his mouth before trying to speak again, but Artemis sees the worlds failing him, he would not question her, the Goddess he had sworn himself to. Artemis waits patiently and before long he finally asks, "You've…had a child?" Daphnis asks slowly, unsure and with a bit of fear.

"No," Artemis says and she sees the confusion blossom across his face, "I did not have a child, however, is there a child with my own divine spark within them? Yes," she says as she watches his head tilt in thought, before slowly nodding.

"I…believe," he says, carefully, "I understand, My Lady, forgive me if I have insulted you in any way," Daphnis says as he dips his head low.

"There was no insult in your question, Daphnis," Artemis tells him, "You neither question me nor my oaths," Artemis turns back around and begins to leave as she hears him whisper.

"I shall tell the others, My Lady," before Daphnis dips his head one last time before turning and heading off to fulfill her requests.

"See that you do, Daphnis," Artemis whispers back before vanishing into the moonlight, she now had to deal with the harder-headed of her two commanders.

The Hunters of Artemis' Campground.

It had happened less than a day ago, a shiver had passed through the hunt, it was not like the thrill of the Hunt after a kill, but more like a new sister joining them, but far, far more potent. An impossible thought had passed through the hunters of Artemis, "Had Artemis claimed a child?", and all had turned to Artemis' second in command for answers, but Zoë Nightshade was as shocked as they were but was adamant that their Lady had remained true to her oaths. She had ushered the hunt back to their tasks, saying that she would be the one to ask their Lady, and by their oaths, they were to keep silent about it, for none knew if the other gods knew and no one wanted another Orion incident, so the other hunters had returned to their task as Zoë had gone to Artemis' tent to wait.

Her legs folded under her, and she kept her breathing deep and even, meditating upon how to ask her Lady the question without questioning the Goddess herself. She twisted the possibilities in her head back and forth, she could not say she had seen a hint of this from her Lady in the last ten years, or even the last twenty, she had said nothing, mentioned nothing, and now suddenly there was an Heir to the Hunt, whoever she may be. Would the Lady bring her within the hunt? Or leave her at the camp? Would she be asked to step down as Artemis' second in command to allow the Heir to lead?

Zoë doubts that the last one, her Lady was a fair Goddess who believes in earning what you have, not being handed it.

But as Zoë turns her thoughts over in her mind, the tent flap opens, and she hears another enter, knowing it was her Lady, Zoë opens her eyes to see Phoebe enter.

"She has not returned yet?" Phoebe asks.

"No," Zoë says in a tone that spoke about how obvious that should be, and Phoebe sighs before sitting down on the other side of the tent, reaching her hand over to the Golden Hind as it lays by the bow stand at the head of the tent, the Hind turns it's head to look at Phoebe's offered hand before sniffing it, and turning back to lay its head down. Phoebe makes a disappointed face which Zoë can help but smirk at, the Golden Hind lets no one but Artemis touch it, Zoë had long ago given up trying to pet it. Zoë turns her head back and closes her eyes once again, intent on returning to her meditations, but Phoebe had other thoughts on that.

"Why do you think she never told any of us?" Phoebe asks quietly.

"I do not know," Zoë says, not opening her eyes.

"Do you think our Lady will let them join the hunt?" Phoebe asks.

"That is a forgone conclusion, the camp could not handle her if she is like our Lady," Zoë says.

"She?" Phoebe asks, with a bit of question in her voice.

Zoë makes a show of opening her eyes and rolling them at her, "as if our Lady would have a, …male child," the former hesperide says with a tone of disgust for the M-word.

"Oh," Phoebe says, "You have a point there," she says quietly.

A moment of quiet falls over them as Zoë tries to get back to her meditations, but there was a Demi-god with a thousand questions dancing in her head, peace whether inner or worldly was not going to happen.

"Do you think that she'll ask you to step down?" Phoebe asks.

"No, our Lady would be unlikely to do that unless her child has proven herself," Zoë says to the question that had mirrored her own thoughts from earlier, "but if she does, I will happily do as our Lady commands,"

"Do you think that's where Atalanta has been all year?" Phoebe asks, to that question, Zoë had opened her eyes, then narrowed them. That makes a certain amount of sense, and the logic was there, if the child was old enough for the Hunt to affect her, she would need to be shown how to control it before it controlled her.

While neither Zoë nor Atalanta had any delusions about who was the better hunter and warrior, Zoë would admit, in the privacy of her own mind, that the fetish had the better control of the Hunt than ever Zoë did. The fetish had been a lion for almost two thousand years and had a deep understanding of the Hunt, she would be the better teacher of the two on how to control it and understand how to ignore the call of the Hunt.

So Zoë slowly nods her head before speaking, "That makes a certain amount of sense, The Fetish would have a better understanding of the Hunt and how to control it better than any other hunter," the Lieutenant of the hunters admits.

"What do you think she's like?" Phoebe asks.

"I could not say," Zoë says, "but if she's anything like our Lady, then she will be noble, fierce, wise, and beautiful," she says with a nod, sure of it.

As Phoebe opens her mouth to ask another question, the Hind that has been otherwise quiet and unmoving lifts its head and looks towards the tent flap, Phoebe falls quiet, and the steady beating of Zoë's heart begins to pick up as she turns her head to look at the opening of the tent, waiting, and thankfully she didn't have to wait long, for soon they part and both girls bow their heads as Artemis walks into the tent, the Goddess looks between the two girls before sighing lightly and walking in and over to the head of the tent and hanging her bow before sitting down, letting the Hind come over and putting its head into her lap before Artemis begins to stroke its head.

"At ease," the Goddess says with a sigh as the two girls raise their heads.

"My Lady," both girls echo each other in greeting the Goddess, making her smile. But neither girl says a word as the Goddess continues to stroke the Hind's head with a slight smile.

"Ask," Artemis says before looking up to the girls, whose heads had turned to the Goddess before looking back at one another, "It is the reason why you have greeted me like this, so ask my hunters, because, above all others, I owe all of you answers,"

There was a beat of quiet before Zoë spoke, "How?" She asks, knowing her Lady would understand what she was asking.

"A ritual," Artemis says, "cast by two Wixen, they had tried to summon another Goddess other than myself, but through a miscalculation, that had summoned me by accident," the Goddess explains, at the mentioned of Wizen, Zoë eyes widen.

"She's a Magician?" Zoë whispered in shock.

"She?" Artemis asks, sounding confused.

"Your daughter of course," Phoebe says, as Artemis' eyes flick back and forth between the two before something flashes in her eyes too quick for the hunters to understand, Artemis kept her poker face on, but on the inside, she was laughing hysterically.

"Yes, …" Artemis says slowly, "They are a Magician," trying not to let her amusement show.

"Does Lord Zeus know?" Zoë asks, worry in her voice.

"Yes, my father knows, and he was none too happy about it," Artemis says, "He had tried to call a full vote to have them killed, but it failed in the end," Artemis explains, her tone betraying her anger she felt in herself.

Zoë sighs, the Heir of the Hunt was safe, for now.

"Why?" Phoebe asks.

Artemis pauses for a moment, thinking back to that night when Lily Evans and James Potter had bound her. She had agreed out of curiosity, and nothing else at the time, she would not say she had a motherly instinct, she did care deeply about the boy now. But not that then, so she shrugs and tells her hunters the truth.

"Curiosity more than anything," Artemis admits with a nod of her head, "It also helps that the two who had summoned me were indeed regretful of the unintentional insult they had paid me by their accidental binding, and they had not asked me to break my oaths or carry the child myself, I granted their wish,"

"How old is she?" Zoë asks.

"Thirteen, turning fourteen in a few months," Artemis tells her, Zoë's face twists into confusion.

"But why wait so long to tell us, to claim her?" Zoë asks, "Did, …did you not trust us?" Zoë asks her Goddess, but Artemis could hear the {"did you not trust me?"} in between her words.

"I thought they had died with their mortal parents," Artemis sighs, before launching into the tale of all that had happened in the Wixen world, leaving out anything that remotely sounded like gender for Harry. "And I did not hear from them because of the blood wards that protected them until they prayed in the middle of a basilisk hunt-" Artemis is cut off by her lieutenant's shout.

"A Basilisk!?" Zoë yells, as there are multiple yelps of surprise around the tent, Artemis chooses to not know the rest of the hunt and is eavesdropping on the conversation, "She hunted a Basilisk alone!? Without a divine weapon!? How old was the beast?" Zoë asks, equally shocked and enamored with the tale.

"Almost a thousand years old thanks to it hibernating under their school, but It was a magnificent beast," Artemis says with a smile, "And a magnificent hunt," eyeing Zoë with a smirk.

"She killed it by herself, …" Zoë asks, normally it would take up to six hunters to take a Basilisk that old down with any sort of hope of success, "When will she be joining the hunt, My Lady?" Zoë asks, excited to meet the Heir of the Hunt if she was able to hunt a beast like that alone, but as she sees the hard cold look come over Artemis' face a pit starts to form in her stomach.

"They can't…" Artemis admits before looking at her Lieutenant, "Do you remember the stores I ordered burned a few months ago?"

"Yes, but I do not…" Zoë begins to say before her eyes widen in understanding, "No, …" She says with horror on her face.

"Yes," Artemis says, "even if they did join the hunt, they would doom to break their oaths, Aphrodite cursed them," The goddess says, "but I do believe, even if they hadn't been cursed, they wouldn't want to join anyway," Artemis admits with a shrug.

"What!? Why not?" Phoebe asks, shocked, the daughter of Artemis turn down the hunt? How could that even be?

"They have their own reasons, I'm sure, but they also turned down going to the camp," Artemis says, "besides our relationship is…rocky, at best, we have an understanding, and that will have to do for now," the Goddess of the Hunt admits with a shrug. As Zoë opens her mouth to ask, Artemis holds a hand up, "It is not my story to share, if you wish to know, you'd have to ask them," Artemis says firmly, and Zoë nods, knowing an order when she hears one.

"Good," Artemis says, "Now, both of you go get some rest, we break camp in the morning and start traveling to Long Island South in the morning, it will take some days to get there," she says as she closes her eyes, tilting her head down, and pets the Hind.

"We are going to the camp, My Lady?" Phoebe asks, confused.

"Yes, but just for a night or two hopefully," Artemis says without looking up, or stopping her petting of her Hind, "We have a trip to make across the sea, our services have been called upon, and we are going to Scotland, but on the way, we will be picking up two wayward hunters," Artemis says as a small grin stretches over her face.

And the hunters smiled as one.

Harry Potter.

Harry Potter has had a strange last few days, ever since Atalanta and Apollo had dropped him off, both Uncle Vernon and Dudley acted as if Harry didn't exist, they didn't talk to him, they didn't look at him, they wouldn't even stay in the same room as him, always leaving as they muttered an excuse. The only one who had talked to him was his Aunt Petunia, she, like always, refuse to look him in the eyes for long. She would knock on his door in the morning and hand him a small list of chores, and by small, it was barely one-third of what he was used to doing, which confused him until he had heard Dudley arguing with her about getting a small list himself.

"Do you want Her to come back, Duddykins?" Petunia had said, with no small amount of fear in her voice. For the first time ever, Petunia was being fair.

All of Harry's chores had taken place outside, keeping him out of the house for most of the day if he stretched them out enough and took his time. Harry didn't mind, the less time he spent around the Dursleys, the better in his opinion. Harry didn't eat dinner with them, normally asking if he could eat in his room, to which his Aunt Petunia would just nod her head to and send him off with a full plate, which was another weird thing, eating a full meal during the summer in the last three years was something he would {maybe} get to eat once every two weeks. But in the last four days, Harry had not been threatened with the cupboard, the belt, or starvation, which had to be a record of some kind, not that Harry had kept track or anything. He was even offered a key to the house and told that as long as he was home before ten at night and his chores were done, he was allowed to come and go as he pleased.

Harry had turned down the key, telling his Aunt he was only here for two weeks, after that he was leaving for the last time. Harry had seen something in his Aunt's eyes he had never seen before, regret. Regret for what? Harry couldn't tell, she had opened her mouth to say something but had stopped before closing it and nodding before walking away. So Harry had just turned around and went back to his room, intent on not bothering them so they wouldn't bother him. Hades, they even let him allow Hedwig outside to stretch her wings and fly around, though Harry had only let her out at night unless he was sending a letter.

It was the night of the fifth day at Privet Drive that found Harry laying down on the grass in the backyard of Number 4, looking up at the night sky, trying to make out the constellations with the waning moon looking down at him, he had just got finished with dinner and had washed his dishes and put them away, it was not yet ten, so Harry was on his back enjoying the night air, watching as Hedwig fly around just above him, she had caught dinner for the night and was currently eating in the small tree in the corner of the backyard as Harry talked to her.

"It's just weird, you know?" Harry says to his flying friend, "them treating me like this, even when I had got my Hogwarts letter they were never this, …fair," Harry says with a sigh, "It feels like im waiting for the other shoe to drop like this is the wind up before the blow, bloody nerve-wracking, it is,"

"Hoot!" Hedwig says before Harry hears something small and wet get torn.

"I wouldn't say that girl," Harry says, "Artemis didn't put them in their place, more…scared them straight, you know?"

Hedwig barks before Harry chuckles, "Language Girl," he tells her before he hears her swallow something and barks again before Harry smiles and rolls his eyes.

"I personally think your owl has the right measure of it," a voice says coming from behind Harry, "I very much put them in their place,"

Harry doesn't jump or turn to look, all he does is smile a bit, "Please don't agree with her, that will just make her bossier than normal," Harry says as he sees the form of Artemis walk up to him from the corner of his eye, she stops beside him and looks up to the moon with him. They both bask in the quiet of the suburban neighborhood as they look at the moon, but before long the sounds of fluttering wings break the silence as Hedwig flies over and lands on Artemis' shoulder.

"Well, hello there pretty bird," Harry hears Artemis whisper and turns his head to look at the two, Artemis was petting the snowy owl on her shoulder, "Are you the one who has been protecting Harry?" The Goddess asks with a smile at the affectionate owl who was enjoying getting pets and hoots.

"Please don't do that, you're gonna give her a bigger head than she already has," Harry says, and Artemis chuckles before Hedwig turns her head and looks at Harry before barking, "That's not what I mean girl, not literally," he says before the owl barks again, "No, it's just a saying, a human one," Harry says before sighing as Hedwig glares at him, "Alright, I'm sorry girl, you don't have a big head," He says before Hedwig flies off of Artemis and lands on his chest, Harry moves his arm away opening up the crux of his shoulder so Hedwig could plop down and snuggle up on the inside of his arm and between his ribs before she lays her head on his shoulder and hooting softly.

"I love you too, girl," he tells her as she closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth.

"You have a very deep bond with her," Artemis notes, and Harry shrugs one shoulder.

"She was my very first friend, she was there before Ron and Hermione," Harry says simply and Artemis makes a sound of understanding. There was another long moment of quiet before Harry spoke again.

"Are you doing alright? With the whole disappearing in a flash of light thing?" Harry asks, and Artemis smirks.

"An odd question to ask a Goddess, Harry," Artemis says, "but, yes, I am fine. My father was just…displeased that I had claimed a child and…wanted answers," Artemis says, picking her words carefully.

"I'm guessing since you sent your twin and I'm not a deep-fried hunter, everything went well?" Harry asks the Goddess, her face passive and controlled like always.

"In a way, yes," Artemis tells him, "But speaking of hunters, I did not get to tell Albus what I was planning before I was whisked away," she says before walking closer and sitting down beside Harry.

"He had said you had something planned by how you were talking to him," Harry states, honestly curious about what she was planning.

"Yes, he is rather insightful for a mortal, that is," Artemis says, "I will be sending a pair of my hunters to collect you in nine days, you will be coming with us on a hunt," the Moon Goddess says getting directly to the point as she looks at the moon.

Harry's head snaps to Artemis, eyes wide with surprise, he had thought it was something like that, but would not dare consider it to be true. "What are we Hunting?" Harry asks.

Artemis just smiles before saying, "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise, but the hunt will be in an official capacity, I was asked to bring my hunt here through the ICW, however, when they asked they did not put a limitation on how many I was allowed to send, so I'm bringing all of them," the Goddess says, and Harry was confused for a moment before it hit him.

Eighty souls cry out in unison, …

"Oh," was all Harry could say as he turns and looks back at the night sky, he was going to meet the hunt, the entirety of the hunt and it was a bit overwhelming.

"Do, …do they know? About me, that is?" Harry asks, quietly.

Artemis nods, and her grin grows wicked, "oh, they know about you, Harry, and all are very eager to meet you," her smile fades a bit and her eyes flick to him for a moment before going back to the moon, "Harry, I will tell you now, that there are going to be rules, rules that you {must} follow. My son or not, you are still male, me letting you around my hunt is normally seen as a great honor to other demi-gods, but that does not give you free reign in it," she tells the lightning-marked boy.

"What type of rules?" Harry asks with no little trepidation.

"The type of rules that will keep both you and my hunters safe," Artemis tells him, "You must understand Harry, most of the hunt has been with me longer than you have been alive, longer than your family line has been around in some cases, they are sworn to me by sacred oaths and in exchange, I have sworn to protect them for any males, including yourself," she turns to Harry, and he could see a fear in her eyes, a fear of what she would have to do if Harry does something to force her to act, something she doesn't want to do, but something she would, if called to do.

Harry swallows the lump that had formed in his throat before nodding, "Okay, I'll, I'll try not to break any of them," Artemis nods, she trusts Harry enough to take him at his word.

"They won't be like the ones you grew up with Harry, they're there for everyone's protection, I swear," the Goddess says before she stands, "we will talk more about them when you arrive at camp, I would suggest that you get your hands on some camping equipment before my hunters show up to collect you, understand?" At her words, Harry nods again, he'd have to write to Ron and see if he knew where he could get camping supplies.

Artemis nods as well, "Nine days, Harry, that's it, and you'll be free from here, keep strong and pray if they step out of line again and I will return to keep my promise to your Aunt, blood ward be damned," Artemis then turns before walking to the gate that leads into the backyard, Harry's head tilted back to watch her go.

"Oh, one of the hunters I'm sending is my Lieutenant, she is under the assumption that you are a girl, do tell me how she reacts when Atalanta introduces you," Artemis says with a smile that spoke of amusement untold.

Harry blinks, "Umm, is she gonna take that well?" Harry asks.

It is Artemis' turn to blink, before her eyes narrow in thought, "I'll make sure she doesn't have her weapons on her when she comes to get you," Artemis says slowly after some thought before walking through the gate.

"That's not as comforting as you think!?" Harry yells out, growing a little scared about the meeting.

But all he hears is Artemis chuckle on the nighttime wind.