Harry Potter and Percy Jackson: Dark Waters

half as much as he did from the looks of it. He wasn't sure he could lift it, let alone carry it somewhere.

"Easy is where you have all the tools necessary for survival," Artie explained. "This is a standard pack that my Hunters are expected to carry. It has all the tools necessary for survival," she said, motioning to the pack. "We will be going through it, and I will being by teaching you how to put up the tent, and how to break it down and repack it."

"Cool!" Harry said, grinning widely. He thought of something, and then asked, "what are the other levels?"

Artie smiled. "Intermediate level is where I take the tent, and the sleeping bag, and the cooking utensils, and leave you with a knife, some rope, and basic implements. You'll be expected to build your own shelter, and build your own utensils from what you find in the forest."

Her smile developed a nasty edge. "Hard level is where I give you a knife and you're expected to make do."

Harry swallowed. "So that's the toughest?"

Artie laughed. "If you're really interested, I can strip you to your underwear and drop you in a forest filled with bears. You'll be expected to walk out two weeks later, well fed, and dressed in bear skin."

Harry gaped at her. "Really?"

Artie remained stoic and motioned to the backpack. "Let's begin by pitching the tent. Killing bears with your bare hands can come later."

Harry nodded.

Over the next few hours, Harry learned many things he had never thought about. He learned how to pitch a tent. He learned that there were different kinds of tents, from tents that were good in summer and were very light, to tents that were good year-round, but weighed a lot more. He learned about sleeping bags. He learned how to look at the terrain to make sure that his tent wouldn't get flooded, and would be protected by trees to be out of the wind.

Finally, after his mind was stuffed with details on tents, Artie took him on a short walk through the forest and taught him about some of the plants and flowers and what their uses were. His book was used extensively, and each plant and flower got one of its leaves pasted on its own page, along with details on what that particular plant's usefulness was.

By the time Artie took him back to Helios' temple, Harry was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open. This time, he didn't lean over the edge of the chariot to look at the world below; instead he leaned against the edge and tried to rest a bit.

By the time Artie landed the chariot at the temple, Harry was feeling a bit more awake, the short rest having worked wonders.

"You did well, for a boy," Artie said as they dismounted the chariot. She stopped, forcing Harry to stop as well and look at her. "I will come back next week for your next lesson. I expect the same level of dedication and attention to detail."

Harry, remembering Hestia's warning about Artie only willing to do one lesson before making a decision, smiled at her. "Thanks, Artie."

"I will see you next week," Artie said, dipping her head in a short kind of nod that Harry took as a goodbye, before she walked to the chariot, and disappeared.

Smiling widely, Harry entered the temple he called 'home'.

After stoking the fire in the living area, he went to the kitchen and started making himself dinner.

He used to hate cooking for the Dursleys, since he never got to eat anything he made, but ever since he met Hestia he had learned to love it. Now it was just a relaxing way to end the day, making food for himself and ensuring leftovers for either breakfast or lunch the next day.

As he cooked, he became aware of the fire in the living area flaring up, a tell-tale sign that Hestia had arrived.

As the goddess entered the kitchen, he turned to her, and gave her a hug. "Hi Hestia!" "Hello Harry," the kind goddess replied, her usual smile on her lips. "You seem to be in a good mood."

Harry nodded eagerly. "Artie is awesome!" he shouted exuberantly. "She knows so much about camping and surviving! She taught me how to pitch a tent, and what plants are good for what, and what to do first when you're surviving. It's great!" Hestia's smile grew wider at his excitement. "I'm glad to hear you two get along. Will she be back?"

Harry nodded rapidly once more. "She said I did well for a boy and that she would be back for another lesson next week!"

"I'm glad to hear it," Hestia said. She stopped closer to the pots. "What are you making?"

Harry turned to his stove, and showed her the recipe he was following; ready to start learning about his new favorite hobby.

00000

Harry eyed the target that Artie had conjured for him. Over the course of the last few months, he had gotten used to the way Artie taught him.

They no longer had 'theory' lessons at Helios' Temple. Instead, Harry would be waiting outside when Artie arrived in her chariot, and give her a hug. She used to freeze up when he did so, which made Harry think she had an Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon of her own. He never asked, because he didn't like talking about the Dursleys either, and just gave her a hug when she came to collect him, and another when she dropped him off.

Apparently, she'd gotten used to them because she now hugged him back. Slightly, and not as deeply as a Hestia Hug, but it was progress.

After the customary hug, she would take him to some random forest – a different one each time – where she would begin by having him set up and break down the tent a couple of times.

After a few lessons, she had given him a hunting knife, and started teaching him how to use it to gather plants, saw off branches, sharpen sticks, and so forth.

Last week, she had started teaching him how to use a bow. It was a rather straightforward training bow, but he still liked it.

He took an arrow from the quiver on his back, nocked it, and drew a breath as he pulled back the string. Contrary to modern bows and their pulley system, the bow Artie had given him was an old-fashioned bow-and-string configuration. This meant that Harry had to maintain the full draw strength of the bow himself when he had pulled the string fully back.

This meant that he had to fire quickly, as the bow was quite heavy for his young body. He aimed as carefully as he could, and released the string before his muscles could start twitching at the strain.

The arrow thwack-ed into the target, slightly off-center. Harry smiled; it was his best shot yet.

He repeated the motions. A second arrow lodged itself next to the first one. The next one did as well. And the next.

"I have the curious impression that you are not aiming for the center of the target," Artie noted from next to him.

Harry grinned at her. "I read in a book about a guy who could split an arrow by shooting another arrow at its back," he answered the implied question.

Artie seemed amused. "Unfortunately, unless you are shooting an arrow made of bamboo with an arrow tipped with a hunting tip, you're not going to be able to split an arrow," the goddess said.

Harry looked disappointed. "So not even a god can split an arrow?" Artie stared at him. "That sounded like a challenge," she stated coolly.

Harry rapidly shook his head. "Just a statement. You said it wasn't possible."

Artie sighed. Her bow appeared in her left hand. She brought it up, not even bringing it to eye level or in its proper vertical position, and drew back the string with her right hand. With the bow horizontal, she couldn't draw it back further than halfway, before an arrow appeared, nocked and ready.

She didn't even bother aiming, and just let loose despite her not even being directly in front of the target.

Her arrow split Harry's first arrow right down the middle. "It just takes a bit of Godly power," she amended her earlier statement.

Harry stared in slack-jawed awe at the skill and power implied by Artie's shot, before looking at her. "That was incredible!"

Artie shrugged. "I am the Goddess of the Hunt, Harry."

He pouted at her. " You didn't even try to make it look difficult." "Sorry," Harry whispered quietly, hoping that this didn't mean the end of their lessons. Artie sighed deeply. "Fine, let's forget about it." She grinned at a sudden thought. "Unless you want me to turn you into a girl. In a few years, I could bestow my blessing upon you and you could be one of my Hunters. You'd be as good as humanly possible with a bow then."

Harry blinked, and stared at her. Artie stared back, looking serious.

Said goddess shrugged again. "That's because it wasn't. For a goddess." She pointed to the target. "Back to practice," she instructed.

"Yes, Artie," Harry said, raising his bow. He nocked his next arrow. Before he drew the string back, he turned to look at his instructor. "Can I ever be as good as that?" Artie didn't look amused. "You would think yourself as good as a goddess?" she asked, angrily.

Harry hurriedly shook his head. "I know I'm not that good yet! I just want to know if it's possible, that's all!"

She eyed him, displeased, for just a few moments. "No. Mortals can never be as good as Gods. Not without help."

Harry just nodded, and rapidly focused himself on his target practice. Sometimes, Artie could get really mad over things he asked, even if he never ever meant to make her angry. He was just curious, that's all.

His arrow was way off center.

"Release your breath halfway and calm your heart. Release between heartbeats if you can," Artie instructed.

His next arrow was closer to his original grouping, but was still off.

The goddess sighed, apparently recognizing why his aim was off. "Never think yourself as good as a god," she said. "It never ends well. You're lucky I didn't change you into a jackalope for that question."

Harry seemed to shrink. "I was just curious, I didn't mean it as a challenge," he muttered. "You're progressing decently. For a boy. Unfortunately, you have a boy's tendencies to open your mouth and spew idiocy, too." He thought it over for a few moments. "I don't know what it's like being a girl," he answered. "If I say yes, will you change me back if I change my mind?"

The goddess of the hunt looked amused. "I am the Goddess of Maidens," she answered. "I can change you into a girl. I can't change you into a boy."

Harry thought that over a while longer. "In that case, I think I'll stick to being a boy."

Artie shrugged. "Your loss." She motioned for the target. "Next shot, please."

Opening one of the drawers in the living area cabinet, he extracted a small pouch. 'Spending money' Hestia has called it.

He rarely used the money. Having grown up without it, or anything else really, he was used to living frugally and he did not want to run out. Who knew what could happen, and when he found himself alone he would need the money.

This was Mister Helios' Temple, after all, and from what he had understood from Hestia, he shouldn't really be here. So far, Hestia and Artie had kept his presence a secret, and had been teaching him all kinds of neat things, but one day he was going to be thrown out and he would have to make do on his own.

His next shot fell into place with his earlier grouping.

📖📖📖

🪄✨This novel is available in pdf format with more than 600 if you want you can visit our store🪄✨

⬇️⬇️⬇️

🪄✨https://magicpages.tiendup.com/🪄✨