So... I might've thought I already posted this chapter forever ago. Sorry about that. haha... So um... Surpirse? Think of this as my Halloween gift to you! Happy Halloween! Enjoy the first new chapter of this story in nearly two years.

Seriously though, sorry about leaving you hanging for so long when this was already written. I feel like a class A jerk. So have this 6.3k word chapter as an apology.

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Hermes was a god reborn. He'd been overjoyed since the birth of his son, and some part of him wanted to scream his happiness to the world. But he couldn't really do that without getting into some serious trouble, so he opted to spend his time around his newest bundle of joy.

Though he'd lost the panicking bet, he really didn't mind changing the diapers as much as he thought he would. Yes it was nasty, but it was somehow made bearable whenever Harry would scrunch up his face. Every little thing his son did left him in awe. The tiny sounds, the hair-grabbing, the baby babbling, all of it was precious to him. They were irreplaceable memories that he'd cherish until the day he faded into memory himself.

If he'd been distant with his godly family beforehand, he was practically shunning them now. He showed up only for events he needed to show up for, though he did—upon the insistence of Sirius—continue his poker nights at the very least.

If there were two gods he trusted above most anyone else, it would be Thor and Loki. The fact that they were from a different pantheon meant that there was virtually zero chance of word getting out about Harry, and Hermes felt like he would burst if he didn't share some kind of joy with someone.

So here he was sitting down for poker with Thor and Loki, who were giving him raised eyebrows at his distracted gaze.

"All right, Hermes. What's up? You left in a near panic last time, and now you look like you've had the best lay in the world." Loki leveled him with a look.

Hermes hesitated. "You must swear to never tell anyone. I mean it—I'm not even telling my own pantheon."

The two shared a look before nodding.

"So I may have had a child with two mortals."

"O...kay?" Loki raised a delicate eyebrow. "That's normal for you Greeks. I know you have numerous demigod children."

"But this was different." Hermes insisted. "I... I was there. I held him after he was born, and... he's so adorable!" He immediately pulled out his phone and started flipping through pictures of Harry, showing them off with the prideful glowing grin of a new father. "And more than that, he's a godling."

That drew a bit more attention from the two. "A godling?" Thor hummed. "Isn't that your term for a mortal-born god?"

"Yep. Which is why you two are now the only immortals who know of his existence." Hermes grinned. "And the only two friends I've got who I can gush to."

"You had to ask." Thor shot his brother a look.

"Yeah, well you're stuck with it now too." Loki huffed. "Though I can see why you want to keep him hidden. A young god is as vulnerable as he is powerful. Best to keep that one safe."

"I know. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to little Harry." Hermes sighed. It felt good to finally have that off his chest. He felt a little calmer now, and finally started to get his head in the game. "So, who's ready for an ass-whoopin? Because I still owe hammer-time one from last time."

"Now we're talking." Loki grinned.

~~~

James grinned as he watched Hermes play peek-a-boo with Harry. They were certainly best friends. Not to say that Harry disliked James or Sirius, but it was clear that Hermes was his second favorite person, right after Lily.

Not that he minded. Really. He just knew that Harry liked the stuffed stag more than the stuffed ram, so he made sure he had it every night. That's all. Mild jealousy aside, he really couldn't hold it against the god. He'd never seen anyone look so awed or fulfilled as Hermes did when he was with Harry.

James loved Harry with all his heart, but there was a world-shaking devotion in Hermes' eyes that told him that the other man had never known this sort of love before.

Hermes had confirmed their fears soon after Harry's birth—he was, indeed, a godling. James wasn't sure he liked the fact that his son would watch all his friends grow old and die, but that was a long ways off. They'd handle that when they got there. If they got there.

Hermes had ended up creating a necklace for Harry to hide his divinity—one of those items he'd mentioned a few months ago. It was originally an emerald pendant, but Hermes had transfigured it into a rather unassuming solitary emerald. It matched the boy's eyes—which were quickly changing to match Lily's.

Hermes confirmed thereafter that Harry felt like a slightly weaker-than-average demigod—which was a good thing, because that meant that monsters wouldn't come sniffing around.

Moreover, Athena's genes were showing, as Harry was developing at a rapid pace. He wasn't even half a year old and was already toddling around a bit.

Harry's laughter floated over him as Hermes repeated the simple game for the umpteenth time. He'd been at it for almost an hour straight, and he had to commend the other man for keeping the infant entertained for so long.

Hermes paused as his phone vibrated—something he'd gotten recently, apparently. He stepped away, keeping a careful eye on Harry, to read the text. He'd once explained about a camp for demigods, and how sometimes his other children got themselves into more trouble than they could chew.

Over the last year, he'd caved and gotten himself a phone so they could contact him secretly if need be—as apparently many gods thought themselves above phones and the like.

Harry started to whimper, frustrated at the sudden lack of attention. James was getting ready to head over, but instead of crying, he started babbling—something he was becoming rather good at. Lily thought it meant he was close to his first words.

"Bababababa!!"

Hermes shot Harry a smile as he replied to one of his other kids. "Hold on, Bambi, daddy's just making sure your siblings are all right."

After introducing Hermes to Disney movies, he'd fallen in love with Bambi, and the nickname took off. James wasn't too put out about it; Bambi was a deer, after all.

"Daddy!" Harry cried suddenly, reaching out towards Hermes. James' heart skipped a beat. Sure they'd joked about which one of them would be dad and which one would be papa (or something similar), but it was a little heartbreaking to hear his son call Hermes daddy first.

Not that Hermes was any less Harry's father. It was just... hard. Hermes was the one who always had the time to play with Harry, after all. James was always out fighting Voldemort with the Order, trying to protect them. And whenever he wasn't with the Order, he was doing Auror work, which sucked.

Dumbledore had suggested that they hide under a Fidelius charm for protection. James was seriously considering it, because it meant he'd be able to stay at home more and spend more time with Harry and Lily. Right now, James realized bitterly, Hermes was the one in the position of 'daddy'.

He was the one changing the diapers and cleaning the toys and playing silly infant games and just... being a dad. James was just bringing home the proverbial bacon.

The bitter thoughts fled when he saw Hermes' face. It was pure unadulterated joy so fierce that the god was practically glowing. He looked nearly as happy as the first time he'd held Harry after he'd been born. James was half-certain that the man would cry again, but his eyes remained dry.

Hermes picked Harry up and spun him around, turning to James with a grin that would make Apollo jealous. "James! James! He said his first word!! He said his first word!! Isn't that amazing?!"

"Yeah." James grinned back. It was hard not to share in this joy.

"Daddy!!" Harry laughed, looking at Hermes. James reached out and took Harry into his own arms.

"Dada." Harry said, looking at James. It took him a moment to realize that Harry had given him the same title as Hermes, and he felt a warmth bubble up in him. Lily would kill them both for being there for his first two words and missing it, herself.

"Yeah, little Bambi. Dada's here." He shared a proud grin with Hermes. This was their son. They'd share the responsibility of fatherhood, and there seemed to be plenty of love to go around. 

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Hermes sat back on the couch with James as Lily put Harry to sleep upstairs. He was already four months old and developing much faster than a normal mortal. Ah, such was his godling heritage, he supposed.

Lily finally came down and sat beside the two, Sirius joining a moment later when he came back from cleaning the kitchen from dinner.

"I think we should take up Dumbledore's suggestion of going into hiding." James finally said.

"Are you sure?" Lily had a somewhat relieved look to her.

"Yes. Hermes may be immortal, but you and Harry are not right now—and you two are so important to me. I want to spend time here at home with you—not out there fighting in a war."

Strong and powerful words for a grandson of Ares. Their lust for war and bloodshed typically stuck around for several generations. Harry had already started showing interest in sharp pointy things that a child should not have, and gave the four of them a heart-attack when his first bout of accidental magic was summoning a knife to him.

Hermes had never thought about it beforehand, but he supposed that a demigod toddler with magic was a lot more trouble than a normal toddler. Harry was going to put them through the wringer, he was sure. Between Athena's already developing intellect, Ares' love of sharp things, and his own mischief mixed with James', this kid was going to have a serious Terrible Twos that none of them were quite looking forward to.

"Go into hiding how?" Hermes asked.

"The Fidelius Charm is the most powerful one wizards have." Lily spoke up. "It makes a location 'unplottable' for one, and makes it so that nobody but the appointed Secret Keeper can hand out the location. Even under torture or truth serum, the only person who can give out the information is the Secret Keeper."

"And until that Secret Keeper reveals the location by word of mouth or handwritten paper, that building simply will not exist." Sirius tacked on.

Hermes hummed. Something about this whole thing was bothering him, but he didn't know what. Maybe it was just the fact that they had to go into hiding at all. So long as they were safe, that's what Hermes cared about.

"Do what you must to keep safe, but please do give me the address when you've got it." He grinned.

"You really think we'd kick you out?" Lily laughed. "You'll be coming with us."

"Sirius, would you be our Secret Keeper?" James asked.

"I would be honored, but..." Sirius' brows creased. "Wouldn't I be too obvious the choice? I'm an Auror like you and always by your side. I'm the one people would look at first."

"Then Hermes, what about you? Nobody would suspect a god."

"I..." He wanted to accept. He truly did, but logic eventually won out. "I can't. It's one thing to be around magic like this, but Hecate would surely notice a spell like that tied to me. She can see magic, after all. And something like a Fidelius charm wouldn't work on her—not when she is the goddess of magic, it's as absurd as trying to drown Poseidon. I can't risk the gods finding out about Harry—especially so young. Hecate is a good person, but she's been really snappy lately. And I definitely don't want to risk my father, Zeus, finding out. He may be able to sense it, too. Magic like that can only affect an immortal if they're willing or unaware."

"Right, and you mentioned that gods are naturally magically resistant." Lily frowned. "If that's the case, then there's no guarantee it'd even work."

"What about Peter?" Sirius suggested. "Nobody would suspect him, he's so quiet and meek."

"That's brilliant!" James grinned while Hermes frowned. He didn't like trusting the safety of the Potters to someone he'd never even met, but it was bad enough that he already had three mortals who knew about him so personally, he didn't want to make that number bigger. It wasn't necessarily against the rules, but it was highly frowned upon. He didn't want the other gods to get jealous and smite them or something.

This once, he was going to quell his curiosity and trust James' and Sirius' judgment. Surely, they knew this other man well enough, and from the stories James has told him, he sounded relatively harmless, if a little too timid.

"We'll do our best to make people think it's me." Sirius grinned. "I'll have Peter scribble it on a paper in my handwriting—you know how good he is at forging that kind of stuff—and keep it nearby for the first little bit. That should be enough. I'll lead the Death Eaters around on a wild goose chase."

"Wait, they call themselves Death Eaters?" Hermes laughed. "Oh, Hades would riot if he heard that! And I'd pay to see the look on Thanatos' face!"

"If you ever get a picture, send it my way." James grinned.

And just like that, the heavy atmosphere was gone. Dumbledore would be by a few weeks later to cast the charm and help them move their things to their new dwelling—Godric's Hollow.

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Lily smiled as she poured some nutmeg into the coffee cups. It was early Christmas morning and Harry was still tucked into bed. This was their first Christmas with Hermes, as he'd been unable to make it last year.

"Didn't you say there's some kind of party during this time of the year? Is it really okay for you to miss it?" James asked worriedly.

"I'm not missing Harry's first Christmas." Hermes stated firmly. "They hold a Yule gala every year, and it's technically the afterparty's afterparty. It'll be fine."

"If you say so." Sirius sighed. "I really wish Remus and Peter could join us this year, though."

"You know Peter's mother is ill. I don't blame him for wanting to spend one more Christmas with her." Lily shook her head.

"And Remus got sent out on another mission." James informed. "Dumbledore said it couldn't wait."

Hermes sipped at his holiday coffee as he let the conversation wash over him. The tree looked marvelous, though he didn't have much to compare it to. He'd never properly seen the kind of Christmas tree that sat in a house.

It was so strange to think that this time last year, he'd been here purely out of curiosity. It was hard now to imagine living without James and Sirius pulling pranks with him and Lily's quiet debates on the finer points of magic vs gods. He rather enjoyed being chased out of the kitchen and bottle-feeding Harry.

And he couldn't imagine a life without the little fawn. He found himself entirely devoted to the tiny being that was his son. The birth of his son had unlocked a side of him he'd never known about before, and it made Hermes want to get to know his other children as well.

Of course, it was one thing to break the non-interference rule and a totally different thing to break the rule at the camp, where the other gods were always watching. So each of his kids had woken up with the newest iPhone under their pillow one morning in August.

They had one another's contact info already programmed in, along with his own. He'd purchased his first phone then. Wizards didn't use them, and the gods certainly didn't—they preferred using rainbows to communicate. There was technically no rule against calling and texting his kids using mortal means.

He'd sent them a massive group text explaining that this was a way around the 'no contact' rule, and let them know he was there should they need anything.

They hadn't believed him at all until one of his newer kids—a daughter named June—had had a nasty panic attack in the night due to how crowded the cabin was despite the unclaimed kids being kept in a separate sleeping quarters (a newer adjustment he'd implemented). She'd only been in camp for a short period of time, and hadn't developed the aversion to him that some of his other kids had.

Hermes had wasted no time in flying over to find the girl quivering in the corner, her siblings crowded around her. The others had been more than a little shocked when he showed up, crouched down, and gently coached her through it. He held her as she cried until she finally fell asleep, rocking her like he did Harry each night.

After that incident, most of them started testing their own waters, asking questions that other gods might consider rude or offensive or simply trying to get to know him. Either way, getting to know his kids in any aspect left a smile on his face. June was one of his youngest aside from Harry, so Hermes knew that there weren't going to be any more kids of his going to camp half blood anytime soon. Even still, he was going to try his best to track down any other kids he had floating around out there and do his best to be a dad to them.

He didn't whisper a word of Harry's existence to his other children, but when they inevitably asked him about the sudden change of heart, he kept as close to the truth as he could—he felt like it'd be wrong to lie to them about something so important as this. 'The life of a mortal is short to us gods. Many of us find it easier to simply watch from a distance. I've recently realized that this is no way to live. Zeus' rules be damned, you're my children. And I do love you. I want to be part of your lives while you're here. I'm new to this being a dad thing, though, so go easy on me? Your old man is seriously old.'

He may have dug himself a bit of a hole there, because most of the older kids called him Old Man exclusively. Ah, well. It was better than bastard, after all. He did warn them not to tell the other campers, though. He didn't want to draw more attention to himself if the other gods found out about his decidedly more hands-on approach to raising his demigod children.

Speaking of his demigod children, he had something special planned for them this year. The gods didn't celebrate Christmas. It was a Christian holiday, and they were an entirely different religion. But many of their demigod children grew up with it, and it was just a part of their generation. Hermes had a surprise planned for them this year, but it was still the middle of the night over there. Ah, timezones.

He kept an eye on the clock all morning, as he watched Harry gleefully tear into his presents and snapped countless photos. The boy seemed to love the gift Hermes gave him—an extremely soft blue bunny plush. He carried that around with him all morning, and only set it down when he opened James' gift—a toy broomstick.

Hermes was delighted to see his son inherited his natural love of flying and skills in the air. Maybe when he was older, he'd gift him some of his winged shoes?

"Herms. It's nearly eleven." Lily softly reminded him, and the god startled. Was it so late already?

"I'll be back for a late lunch." He promised, stopping to give Harry a kiss on the forehead.

"Just don't stir up too much trouble." Sirius barked with a laugh.

"Don't you know? Trouble is part of my domain!" Hermes laughed as he vanished to New York.

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June had been at camp half blood for only two months, but she already knew that their father's involvement in their lives was a new development. Many of them had seemed bitter when she arrived. Bitter and lonely—it was a common feeling she got from the campers regardless of parentage. She may have only been twelve, but she was good at reading people.

But then one morning, they'd all awoken to new cell phones under their pillows, and there was a contact in there listed as 'Dad'. At first, the others thought it was a joke, despite the initial text from the god. They shrugged it off and took advantage of the new modern technology they suddenly had access to (and thank you for unlimited data!).

June was a shy and jumpy child. She had been bullied for most of her life, and loathed being in enclosed spaces with so many people. When she'd had a nightmare her third day in and a subsequent panic attack, it'd startled a lot of her brothers and sisters. She'd hardly remembered pulling out her phone and shooting a quick text to her dad with an SOS before the panic really set in. And then there was a warm, gentle voice talking to her.

It was accompanied by a protective aura the likes of which she'd never felt before. When she was finally able to focus, she noted that the man before her was distinctly familiar and a total stranger at the same time. It took her a moment to realize where she'd seen him. His nose was carried by most of the people in the room. He had the same eyebrows as Nathan, Ryan, and Tina. He had the same bright blue eyes that she saw whenever she looked into the mirror.

This was her dad. And he'd come when she'd called without an ounce of hesitation. Her siblings stared in a mixture of awe and jealousy as their dad held her. She'd never felt so safe in all her life.

Thereafter, her siblings started to reach out to him, and he reached back. It was a subtle but noticeable change in all the Hermes Kids. The other campers often noted how much calmer they all were and they each kept the secret of their contact with their dad. None of them wanted to risk this new tentative connection they had with him.

It was explained to her a few weeks ago that the Greek gods weren't big fans of Christmas—it just wasn't one of their holidays. She'd been a bit disappointed—who didn't like getting presents?—but she understood. Though it seemed many campers still gifted each other things.

Either way, none of them had expected to be woken up on Christmas morning—at 6:30, nonetheless—by the light of a Christmas tree. It was marvelously decorated with ornaments that even had each of their names on it! The room was decorated in all kinds of festive garland and a wreath hung on the inside of the cabin door that separated the Hermes kids from the unclaimed ones.

A few of the other kids rubbed their eyes and stared around in an odd mixture of confusion and delight. June saw him first. "Dad!" She grinned, leaping out of bed to give him a hug.

"June! Merry Christmas." He smiled, looking over at the others who stared, slack-jawed. "What, can't a dad come visit his kids for the holidays?"

"I thought the Greeks didn't do Christmas." Nathan crossed his arms.

"Greeks don't." Hermes answered easily. "But families do. And I thought you'd all like to have a Christmas for a change." He gestured to the gifts under the tree. "Besides, who doesn't like free gifts?"

"You got us presents?" Tina gaped.

"Of course."

"No way! How'd you know that I'd been wanting this?!" Ryan cried out as he held up some kind of handheld gaming device.

"I pay attention." Hermes' grin widened. "It's been modified to run off demigod energy—you won't need to charge it."

"Best. Christmas. Ever."

It was all the incentive needed for them to tear into their gifts. Nothing was generalized; every single gift was either something they wanted or something that was meaningful to them. The gifts, more than anything, really showed that their father cared. He wasn't just trying to buy their love—he was earning it. And June was more than happy to give it to him.

Perhaps the best gift was that their dad spent hours with them in that cabin. They talked, shared stories, and all around got to know him. He was an easygoing guy with a serious streak for mischief and troublemaking, but he was so open and warm.

"Why." Nathan finally spoke up. He was the oldest among them, at nearly eighteen. "Why are you suddenly doing this? You've ignored us since we were born, why now?"

"Look." Hermes sighed. "I've been an ass, I'll admit that. I've been a shitty father and I completely understand if you never want to give me the time of day. I've never been the most responsible god, nor have I been anything a father should be. I didn't even know about some of you until you came to camp, and for that, I can't apologize enough. I'm not here to make excuses. I messed up. But I do owe each and every one of you a heartfelt apology. I'm sorry. I failed each of you, and I'd like to try to rectify that. I want to be here for you now."

They all shared looks. Gods were notoriously proud, and even an easygoing one like Hermes wouldn't easily admit to faults or wrongs, let alone apologize to mortals.

"You're right. You did fuck up." Nathan finally said. "But you admitted that, which is more than the other gods. I suppose... I can give you a chance. Just one."

Hermes lit up brighter than the Christmas tree. June felt like this was truly the best Christmas ever.

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"You've been all over the place lately... more than usual." Aphrodite mused as she and Hermes sat together in his house on Olympus. They'd been gossiping all morning, and Hermes was just about done with this. He wanted to be home with his son right now. He'd been getting more anxious lately, and didn't know why.

"I've just been busy." He shrugged.

"Busy interacting with your kids." Aphrodite grinned, and Hermes gave a slow blink. "Athena was the one to point it out to me. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone. Technically it's not quite forbidden for short visits. That's not raising them, after all. Though I'm curious... why?"

"We're gods, Aphrodite." He finally said, relaxing a bit. They hadn't found out about Harry. "Really, what pain is it to spend a couple of measly decades to make these kids' entire lifetimes better? We brought them into this world. Isn't it only right we try to step into some kind of parental responsibility?"

"You, responsible?" Aphrodite laughed for a moment. Though she seemed to sense something as she calmed down, and stared hard at him for a moment, like he was a new and intriguing love entanglement. She hummed softly in thought. "You've got bits of my domain on you, Hermes. Don't tell me you're going soft on me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Dite." Hermes chuckled. "But this is just something I feel I need to do."

"Well, it's no consequence to me." She waved him off. "But you really need to calm down. You've been flitting around so much I'm shocked you haven't burned through your entire shoe collection!"

"I haven't been that bad." He huffed. "I only went through three pairs last month."

"Only."

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Hermes sighed as he knocked on the apartment door. This was not going to be easy. In fact, he daresay it may just be the hardest thing he'd ever done.

A woman opened the door; her warm chocolate eyes and soft brown hair gave her a lovely aura of protection. A small three-year-old clung to her leg, peering up at him with familiar blue eyes.

"What do you want?" She scowled.

"Mommy?" The little boy asked, tugging on her pant leg.

"Go play in your room for a bit, sweetie." She spoke gently. The moment the child was out of sight, she leveled Hermes with a glare. "Well? I'm waiting."

"Alex. I'm here to apologize." He stated, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. "It was wrong of me to just leave you like that—regardless of if I knew about your pregnancy or not."

"So what? You want to be part of his life, now? Expect me to just forgive you?"

"No, I'm not here for forgiveness. But at least let me help somehow. You have the final say if you want me to be there for him, but at the very least, I can help financially. I think you mortals call it... child support?"

She scoffed, tucking her hair behind her ear. He noticed some of the anger fade away, leaving a hurt expression behind. "His name is Aiden." She finally stated. "As much as I hate what you did to us, it's not fair to him to turn you away. If you want to be part of his life, then fine. But he stays with me."

"I understand." Hermes smiled, reaching into his pocket. "Have him keep this on him—it'll help mask his demigod nature." He held out a small necklace. It was a simple one with a staff that resembled Hermes' own.

"Why the sudden change in heart?" She asked, finally letting him inside.

"It's... a long story. I witnessed a birth for the first time, and..." He stared at his arms for a moment, recalling the feeling of holding Harry for the first time.

Alex sighed with a soft smile. "I know that look. I felt the same when I held Aiden for the first time." She shook her head. "I suppose it is a bit... world-tilting."

"A bit?" Hermes snorted. "I've never known such joy as raising a child. It made me realize that I had been neglecting my kids all along—which is wrong on so many levels. I'm doing my best to rectify my mistakes, now."

"Well, you're off to a fair start." She handed him a slip of paper. "My phone number. I'll let you know whenever major events occur—and please let me know a week in advance before a visit."

"Of course. Here's my number. Call me for anything, even if it's not about Aiden. I meant what I said. I made mistakes—I hurt you. And that wasn't right, either."

"Hm." She smiled coyly. "Maybe there's hope for the gods yet."

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Hermes didn't have time for this bullshit. He was going to get into so much trouble for this, but at the moment, he really didn't care. He'd blown off the gods before and survived, he'd survive whatever punishment his father dished out this time, too.

He'd rather spend a year in a pot like Ares than miss Harry's birthday. As it just so happened, he managed to coerce Aphrodite in to covering for him. He owed her a small explanation later, but for now he'd called in an old favor.

Harry squealed in delight when he saw Hermes walk through the door, and the god felt all his anxiety and troubles crumble away like sand in the face of the sea.

"Hey, there, Speedy!" Hermes greeted. Harry had skipped crawling and promptly went straight to running. Hermes had saddled him with the nickname ever since as penance for missing out on all the crawling baby pictures.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Welcome home." Lily smiled, setting down a cup of coffee before the admittedly tired god.

"Hope the guys upstairs didn't wear you out too much?" James grinned.

"I don't know, he is best friends with the goddess of beauty." Sirius teased.

"Eh, we've only had one kid together." Hermes waved it off.

"Right... Hermaphroditus, wasn't it?" Lily scrunched her face in thought.

"Yep." Hermes nodded. Godly children were strange in their lineage. Godlings like Harry were much more straightforward. "But let's not get into the horrendously tangled mess of a god's family."

"Aren't you and her... siblings?" Sirius looked mildly concerned.

"Half siblings." Hermes corrected. "And like I said, gods have a very different view of what is and isn't okay. Back then, it was fine." He shrugged, pushing away such thoughts. "But today's Hadrian's first birthday. It's a time to celebrate!" He grinned, stepping aside to reveal a mountain of gifts.

"You're spoiling him too much." Lily sighed fondly.

"I only got him a gift from every major continent on Earth... and maybe one or two from Olympus."

"Ha!" James grinned. "You won't outdo me!" He promised.

"We'll see." Hermes taunted back. The two had a friendly rivalry going for Harry's affections, and it entertained Sirius and Lily to no end. Of course, Harry greatly enjoyed the extra attention.

"Daddy! Up!" Harry tugged on Hermes' pant leg, and the god happily obliged, lifting his son into his arms with great joy and fanfare. The toddler giggled happily as Hermes floated above the ground for a moment.

"How's the Birthday Boy today?"

"Neville played today!" Harry happily babbled. Hermes was able to decipher nearly all of Harry's baby talk now. He wasn't quite articulate, but he had an extensive vocabulary for his age. He blamed Athena's genes entirely.

The party was quiet and fun for them all. Harry got his mashing cake and threw half of it at Sirius and James (Hermes was fast enough to dodge), which gave the god a ton of pictures that he'd keep for when Harry was older. They only had to take a knife magically summoned away twice, which was a massive improvement to last week. Lily had finally figured out how to ward the drawers and knife blocks from summoning, so as long as nobody set it down, Harry would have to settle for the new set of rubber knives Hermes had gifted him for his birthday.

"Hermes." Lily admonished. "We're trying to teach him to stay away from knives."

"Ares' blood runs strong in him." He shrugged. "It's not worth fighting it, it'd be better to teach him how to be safe with them instead. Besides, they look pointy, so maybe it'll keep him happy?"

"He has a point, Lils." James spoke up.

"I just can't win with you two." Lily gave a half exasperated sigh with a shake of her head. She then noticed one more gift that Harry had yet to open, having been distracted with the rubber knives. "What's this?"

"I made it specially for Harry." Hermes grinned. "It's the power limiter."

"I thought he already had one?" James frowned.

"I wanted to make a better one. This one can only be removed by me or one of you three. It'll hide his divinity from even the other gods. He'll feel like a normal demigod, but his scent will be significantly weaker—less likely to attract monsters." Hermes explained, holding up the necklace. It was—unlike the solitary emerald—much more detailed. The metal gleamed a bright gold and had what appeared to be a sword charm on it.

"The sword can be enlarged when he's older so he can fight any monsters that come sniff him out. It's made from Imperial Gold—which is normally used by gods of the Roman pantheon, but I find it much more pleasing to look at than Celestial Bronze. And since it's masquerading as jewelry, nobody will look twice at gold."

"Clever." Lily grinned as she slipped the emerald necklace off Harry, and the gold one on.

"Didn't you have something to tend to this morning?" James asked, turning to look at Hermes as Harry busied himself with his new gifts.

"Yeah, there was some kind of gala or whatever going on today." Hermes waved his hand.

"You blew off the gods?" Sirius balked.

"Family is more important." Hermes smiled softly, letting his gaze roam over towards Harry. "And so are friends."

"You know, if you're going to start getting sappy, maybe we should induct you into the Marauders." James grinned.

"He'd need an animagus form for that." Sirius shook his head.

"I mean, I can turn into a ram, hare, tortoise or hawk?" He spoke up. "Most gods can take the form of their sacred animals. Those four are mine."

"Hmm... the hawk is cool?" Sirius mused. "We don't really have any flight animals."

"But we still need a name..." James agreed. "We've got Prongs, because of my antlers... Padfoot because of your gigantic paws..."

"Pa'foo!" Harry grinned as he ran up to Sirius, patting his leg gently.

"Yes, good job, Harry!" Sirius laughed as he let the toddler pull him towards some of his toys. Sirius paid as much attention to the conversation as he could while satisfying Harry's need for a playmate.

"They're all defining physical characteristics of your animals." Lily hummed. "So what's a defining characteristic of a hawk?"

"What about Talon?" James suggested. "I mean, it's pretty kick-a—awesome." He averted his word at Lily's glare. "And he's a god, so it'd only be right that his name has a bit more kick to it."

"Talon, huh? Sounds cool." Hermes grinned.

"Then, Mister Talon. Our creed of the Marauders is thus: I solemnly swear, that I am up to no good."

"I, Talon, Solemnly swear, that I am up to no good." He grinned, and Lily shook her head.

"Our fifth Marauder!" Sirius cried melodramatically. "Such a shame that Moony and Wormtail had to leave early!"

"We'll have to add you to the map."

"Map?"

"Oh, Talon, friend of mine, you've got a lot to learn..."

Hermes grinned. He couldn't remember having better friends. Too bad the good things never lasted.