Chaos Rising |BOOK 2| Harry Potter x PJO |Alexandra Marine|

PHOEBUS APOLLO

"No!" a voice groaned behind the door of Number 11, Grimmauld Place.

I smiled slightly. It was the voice of the wisest lady in the world.

The door clicked open, and a mop of tired platinum blonde hair greeted me, held back by  a strong, brunette woman in full armor and a single spear in hand.

"Mom!" Ariana pushed back, almost crashing down on me. "Let me go!"

"NO!" Athena screamed.

"Woah, woah, woah," I said, my eyes wide as Ariana finally shook herself free and landed on me. Thankfully, neither of us fell and I caught her in my arms.

The girl took shaky breaths as though she was experiencing trauma of the worst kind.

Athena huffed and puffed and stomped away into what I presumed was the living room of the messy house.

Ariana sighed. "This is officially the worst day of my life."

"Believe me, I've had it worse," I nodded.

Ariana's body shook against me, and she stepped away immediately. "Oh no."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not another one," Ariana said. She walked into the house as though she was about to slam it onto my face.

"Wait!" I said, pulling her by the wrist. "I'm here to help you!"

Ariana turned to me with storming dark gray eyes, "That's what Aphrodite said. Now she's ruining my kitchen with skeleton ashes."

That was some news to me. The image sort of rushed through my head. Aphrodite, in all her splendid pink lace gowns, jumping around a kitchen and throwing ashes like they were rose petals.

I snorted. "I swear on the Styx, I haven't gone crazy... yet."

Ariana raised an eyebrow. She shook her wrist free from my hold. "Okay," she nodded. "If you are still Apollo, tell me your deepest, darkest, secret."

My stomach dropped at once like lead falling down onto hard ground.

My deepest, darkest, secret?

Beads of sweat started to line my forehead.

"Well?" asked Ariana, smirking. "If we're done here..."

"No!" I said, my heart hammering into my chest. There were so many gods in there I had to get back to Olympus. "Okay! I'll tell you..."

"Alright then," Ariana smiled, straightening up, ignoring the loud CRASH! that echoed through the house. She crossed her hands and stared at me with curious eyes that sparkled in the moonlight.

I swallowed. "I don't marry anyone because I'm afraid," I confessed, "not because I love myself too much. Every time I truly fell in love with someone, they ended up dying. So I try to reserve myself for no one."

The smirk on her face softened to a smile of worry. "Oh, Apollo," she whispered.

I gave her a small smile. "Do you trust me now?"

She grinned. "One more question. Do you love music?"

I gasped, offended. Why- who would ask me such a question? "Of course!" I exclaimed, my ears turning hot. "I am the god of music for some reason, young woman!"

Ariana smiled. "Yes you are," she held the door wide open for me. "Step in, lord of music."

***

The first impression of Ms. Adler's house would give you the feeling that Ariana is the biggest mess of all time.

Papers lying all around, pencils rolling around. An owl or two flitted over her as she walked hazily into the living room after she had closed the door behind her.