Chapter 1
Surrey, England
9 years old
Hadrian cried out louder the harder his uncle yanked. Feathers covered the floor in his small cupboard, and Hadrian knew that the same feathers could be found in the homemade pillows that covered everyone else's bed but his and the beautiful crafts that his aunt would hang around the house.
He could feel the blood as it dripped down his back, and he felt his body give a powerful jerk when he heard the shink of a knife as it was being removed from its holder.
He could only grip the wall harder.
Only pain was coming.
After many moments of blinding pain, Hadrian grimaced in horror at the ritualistic sound of limbs hitting the floor. "Pick this up, Boy, " his uncle sneered, leaving Hadrian alone.
Hadrian stared mournfully at the bloodstained appendages on the floor of his hardwood cupboard, but he knew that if he didn't burn them tonight, his uncle would only hurt him more.
______________________________________
Manhattan, New York
5 years later
Hadrian could still smell the stench of burning feathers as he walked toward his fifth-period class. Hadrian winced when his backpack shifted the wrong way. His wings might have grown back again just like every other day, but they were always sore. He couldn't just grow back a fully functioning set of wings after his uncle ripped them out of his back.
Latin was probably the fifteen-year-old's favorite class. It was the only class in his entire school that Vernon and Petunia didn't care about. He was able to do his own work and be the best in class without the threat of a beating hanging over his head for outstanding Dudley.
"Ah, Hadrian! How's my favorite student?" The wheelchair creaked slightly as Mr. Brunner wheeled his way through the desk rows. Hadrian smiled at the one adult that seemed to genuinely care about him in any way. "Are you settling into your classes well?"
"As well as any other sophomore ever, I guess," Hadrian smiled. "It could be better, it could be worse. I'll tell you when either of those becomes a reality."
"Are you sure you're only fifteen, Hadrian?" Harry grinned sheepishly, his hand coming up to rub his nape.
"I guess it's just natural." Hadrian turned towards his usual desk. An old thing near the back of the class that was decked out in pink and glitter. He couldn't help but smile at the thought that he had put that there.
Gradually over the next three minutes, more students filled in through the door. Each student, both male and female, shot him a look. Hadrian could never really tell if it was supposed to be flirty, resentful, or hateful. He didn't know why someone would hate him, so he always had probable cause to cross that one off his list. The other two? He really couldn't figure out the difference, to be honest.
"Alright class, I want you all to welcome our new student. This," Mr. Brunner grabbed onto the boy's wrist. "Is Percy Jackson."
The kid was tall for fifteen. Frankly speaking, it didn't take much to be taller than Hadrian, but this kid had to be pushing six-four, six-five. With black hair and green eyes, Hadrian honestly wouldn't have been surprised if you told him this guy was his long-lost twin brother. The only thing, besides the height, that set them apart would have to be his eyes. Where Hadrian's were a glittering emerald green, Percy's seemed to be an ever-changing sea foam.
"I would like you to take a seat next to Hadrian, " Hadrian's arm immediately flew into the air. Percy nodded a final time at Mr. Brunner before he slowly weaved his way through the crowd of teenagers.
Hadrian noticed with an odd sense of curiosity that the other kids seemed to treat him the same way they treated Hadrian. Even Nancy seemed to be transfixed as the tall boy walked his way. It was a very rare look to see on her cheeto dusted face.
"Hey man. My name is Percy," Hadrian traced his way from the outstretched hand until he got to his face. For once, another student seemed to have an interest in him, and that alone made Hadrian take the offered hand.
"Hadrian." The touch of Percy's colder hand sent a chill down Hadrian's spine, and it took every ounce of willpower to make sure his wings didn't twitch. Percy grinned and shook his hand before he managed to slide into the desk next to him.
"Alright class, we are going to play a small trivia game. I understand that for some of you, " the man shot Hadrian a fond look, "this might be very basic. However, the rest of you are new to this class." The man turned his chair around and made his way to the front of the board. "We are going to play Olympus Trivia. I am either going to give you a name and you have to tell me their myth or I am going to give you a description and you are going to tell me who it is I am talking about."
Harry grinned. This was his favorite game, but he knew that there was an unsaid 'but' coming soon.
"But, " Ah, he knew his teacher so well. "There a catch. You all know Hadrian?" Mr. Brunner pointed towards Hadrian, who retreated further into his hoodie at the attention. "He will not get a team. Both teams will have three hints. If you are completely stumped on what the myth is or who it is I am talking about, you can ask him. You only get three of these. If you can not give me an answer within three minutes, either team, then nobody gets the point and Hadrian will explain. Any questions?"
It was Nancy's hand that flew into the air. "Why doesn't Hadrian get a team? Is he so bad at this that he can't even play?" Hadrian rolled his eyes at the group of snickering girls.
"If I were to put Hadrian on any team, that team would be guaranteed a victory. I could put him on a team all his own and he would dominate this game." Nancy and her friends shut up quickly, their mouths snapping shut with an audible click.
"Now, I will group you." Hadrian zoned out when Mr. Brunner started his numbering process. Eventually, Hadrian could tell that everyone was sorted out, and he could tell that a lot of them were not happy. On a side note, Percy just looked uncomfortable in his new seat across the room. It didn't really say much, since Percy looked uncomfortable no matter where he was apparently.
"Your first question is an easy one. Not only is he the god of the Skies, but he is also the King of Olympus." Mr. Brunner set a smile towards Hadrian, who had taken refuge on the teacher's mahogany desk. "Team One?" The older man asked, pointing towards Nancy's group.
Seven questioning stares met Mr. Brunner's own, and Hadrian couldn't help but groan.
"Would you like to use one of your Hadrian hints, or would you all like to pass?" Hadrian could tell that the older man was resisting the urge to rub at the bridge of his nose. He understood the feeling.
Hadrian was willing to bet that this was probably the easiest question on Mr. Brunner's list.
"We would like to use a Hadrian hint." Nancy's voice continued to grate on Hadrian's eardrums, but he complied anyway.
"Not only is Zeus the god of the Skies, but Zeus is also the king of Olympus." Hadrian said simply, resting his head in his hand after proving his elbow on his knee. He had made sure to put emphasis on 'Zeus' each time he said it, but that didn't mean that anyone was going to remember the answer in the future.
"Correct. That is one point to Team One, but that is a minus one Hadrian Hint." Mr. Brunner immediately handed Hadrian the dry erase marker.
Hadrian made the tally mark quickly before he cleanly swiped away a tally from the column that read 'Hadrian Hints'.
"Team Two, yours will also be quite easy. As the goddess of Marriage and Motherhood and the wife to Zeus, this goddess can also be recognized as the Queen of Olympus."
"Hera," surprisingly, it was Percy who answered. The boy looked incredibly nervous with his hands shoved into his hoodie pocket and his back hunched over.
"That is correct, Team Two." Mr. Brunner had the same smile on his face that Hadrian did, but the educators was much wider and much more noticeable. Hadrian quickly marked a tally under 'Team Two'.
The cycle continued, the questions only getting harder and harder.
"Team One, this is your final question. 'What walked with four legs in the morning, three in the afternoon, and two in the evening, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be, ' is a very famous and notable riddle. What creature spoke it, and who was it spoken to?"
Hadrian sighed, knowing they would use their last Hadrian Hint on this question. He had already answered their 'Name all of the Olympian gods in alphabetical order' question.
"We would like to use our last Hadrian Hint," Nancy mumbled, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.
"The only man to answer the Spinx's riddle was Oedipus, who answered 'Man'." Harry supplied, already erasing their final Hadrian Hint from the board. Team One still had two Hadrian Hints. The only question he had to answer was 'Zeus has many different notable children. This particular child was named after Hera herself'. The moment Hadrian said Hercules, Percy's face lit up.
"Team Two, also your last question. In the Underworld, there are five different places. Name each place and what it would take to go there." Hadrian sent Team Two an interested look. This was a hard one after all, and he honestly wouldn't mind if they used him for this one.
"You go to Elysium if you died doing good deeds all your life. Branching off of that, you can go for the Aisle of the Blessed if you are reborn three times and got to Elysium each time. You go to the Fields of Punishment when you are deemed to have lived a bad life. The Fields of Asphodel are where the good ordinary human souls go." Percy answered, ignoring his teammate's incredulous stares. Hadrian just grinned.
"Do you know the last one?" Hadrian knew that Mr. Brunner would give them the point anyway, but Hadrian was too curious.
"Tartarus," Percy said simply, and Hadrian could tell that he would say no more on the subject. He couldn't help but wonder why.
"Correct." Hadrian tallied down another pint under 'Team Two'. "Now, as a reward for not using two of your Hadrian Hints, we are going to add those points to your overall score."
Team Two cheered and high-fived. Hadrian could tell that all of the back slaps were making Percy uncomfortable, but he also couldn't help but notice the slightest flinch when a boy hit a particular spot.
Interesting.
______________________________________
"I'm sorry, but can I sit here?" Hadrian looked up from the bracelet he was weaving on the lunch table. Percy stood in front of him looking just as nervous as he did not forty-five minutes ago in Mr. Brunner's class. "I don't really know anyone else here."
"Of course," Hadrian smiled, waving to the spot in front of him. The taller boy slid awkwardly into the bench and set his meager lunch on the table.
Hadrian gave him a final smile before he turned his attention back to the bracelet in front of him. His fingers weaved pink strands over purple, and then white strands over red before he started all over again; only this time weaving purple over red and pink over white.
"What are you doing?" Percy spoke up, a bit of cheese sandwich sticking to the roof of his mouth. Hadrian gave Percy a side look.
"Relaxing, " Hadrian commented, "it helps with the ADHD."
"You have that too?" Hadrian paused in his weaving to look up at Percy. His sea-green eyes swam with understanding. "I can only calm down when I swim."
"I'm sure you will be happy to know that we have a swim team on campus then." Hadrian quickly scooped up a bit of corn after he successfully tied off the bracelet. Percy made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whine.
"I don't think that that will be a good idea."
"Why is that?" Percy fidgeted in his seat.
"I don't like taking my shirt off." Now that was understandable. Hadrian had the same sense of anxiety when it came to removing his own clothing. Frankly, his was for an out-there reason. It was hard to hide fully functional white wings without his clothing.
"Yeah, I'm not much of a fan either," Hadrian said simply, working hard to keep his inner thoughts to himself.
"So what exactly are you making?" Percy motioned to the finished bracelet and took another chunk out of his sandwich.
"A bracelet, " Hadrian said defensively. Percy immediately threw his hands into the air.
"I won't say anything. I think that's pretty cool actually."
"I'm sorry, " Hadrian muttered. "People tend to act weirdly when I tell them about my hobbies. Apparently, a 'hot guy like me' isn't supposed to like 'girly' things like this." Hadrian made air quotes every now and then and smiled when Percy laughed.
"I don't think that it is weird. Who cares if you like girly things."
"I don't think that we have formally met yet, " Hadrian commented, holding his hand out. "My name is Hadrian Black, but you can call me Harry."
Percy smiled again and took Harry's hand for the second time that day. "Nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy."