“The Scent of Truth”
“Are you okay, Harry?” Hermione asked as Neville, Percy, Harry, and she walked toward the Gryffindor common room.
“Yeah. Just… a bit tired,” Harry said as he lightly touched his forehead. He remembered the pain he had felt earlier, when he saw that creature, that being. His scar seemed to burn, as if it were warning him of something. Meanwhile, Percy was clearly still in a bad mood. After all, a life had been extinguished right in front of his eyes. The unicorn. That image kept replaying in his mind, fueling his anger even more, along with the frustration of not having defeated the evil being responsible for its death.
The four of them slipped past the Fat Lady’s portrait and entered the common room, which at that moment was so silent it felt strange, considering it belonged to one of the loudest houses in Hogwarts.
“Why would anyone hurt a poor animal like that?” Percy said suddenly, his tone tinged with something tragic and an anger he could not contain.
Harry had no answer. Neither did Neville nor Hermione. But there was someone who did.
“Unicorn blood can keep a person alive, at the cost of a horrible curse,” a voice suddenly said, startling the four of them as they immediately turned toward its source.
Sitting on one of the most comfortable sofas in the common room was a beautiful woman, with a calm, almost bored air about her. Her hair was red, red as blood, and she wore entirely black clothes, with a faintly Muggle style, except for her black hat, which made it very clear that she was a witch. Her eyes gleamed with mischief as she looked at Harry and Percy, both completely frozen upon seeing her there.
“Aunt Mor?” Percy said first, surprised, since they had not expected to see her there at all.
“Hello, little ones. Looks like you had a small adventure,” Mor said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Neville and Hermione did not know what to say or do, since they had only ever seen this woman through Harry and Percy’s mirror when they spoke with home. Having her there in person now, for some reason, made them feel an almost existential fear they could not even understand themselves.
But that was the effect Mor usually had, except on Percy, Harry, and Sally.
When Mor’s gaze shifted toward Neville and Hermione, both of them froze completely, as if they had been spotted by a serpent about to devour them. Neville even began to tremble like a startled fawn.
“I have a few things to discuss with my godchildren. Would you mind giving us a moment?” Mor said in a voice that sounded almost gentle, yet to the two children it felt like the voice of a demon ready to consume their souls.
“Yes, yes, yes,” they both said before bolting away as if their lives depended on it. Not even when they had met the three-headed dog had they run that fast.
Watching them flee like that, Percy could not help but look confused.
“Why do they act like that?” he asked.
“Well, when someone is surrounded by dark magic, it tends to have that effect, especially if you have been where I have been for a long time,” Mor said calmly, as if she did not care in the slightest about the two children’s reaction.
Percy stared at Mor for a moment.
“Are you a dark witch?” he asked.
Mor rolled her eyes at Percy’s stupid question, while Harry shot him a look that clearly said, “Are you serious?” After living so many years with Mor, not realizing something that obvious was impressive. Even the Chocolate Frog cards said it, although the picture did not do his aunt any favors, which had annoyed her back then. Even so, she had never complained about being portrayed as an ancient dark witch.
“Wait, more importantly. What do you mean by unicorn blood keeping someone alive?” Percy asked, returning to the topic that mattered most to him right now.
Mor looked at him for a moment before explaining.
“In the past, people believed unicorn blood could grant immortality, so some wizards experimented. They discovered that, indeed, unicorn blood can keep you alive even if you are on the brink of death or agonizing, almost permanently. But it came at a price. Even if you remain alive, you will stay in that agonizing state until you choose to end your life yourself. And worse than that, your suffering only keeps increasing until you can no longer endure it,” she said in a calm tone.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“So that thing, that man, is drinking its blood because he is close to death,” Harry said seriously.
“Yes. It is amusing to see how mortals always ruin everything while chasing immortality. They do not even realize that, sometimes, some beings use it as a punishment,” Mor said, her gaze drifting into the distance, as if she were speaking more to herself than to them.
Harry and Percy looked at her for a moment.
“Well, that does not matter right now,” Mor said quickly, waving a hand as a softer smile appeared when she looked at them. “I am here for something far more serious and important,” she added, before fixing Percy with a stern look.
Then her eyes fell to the pendants around their necks, now broken.
“Do you know why you have those pendants?” she asked suddenly, pointing at them.
Both boys lifted their hands to their necklaces.
“It’s the amulet Mom bought,” Harry replied, while Percy nodded. They truly did not know much more than that, only that they were supposed to wear them all the time.
“Well, yes,” Mor said calmly. “But those amulets are basically scent charms. Even if you cannot smell it, they mask your scent so it resembles the smell of spring. But now they have lost their effect, so your real scent is slowly leaking out,” Mor explained as she watched them.
Percy was the first to frown, because the way she said it made it sound like they smelled awful.
“And no, you do not stink,” Mor added, looking at him as if she already knew exactly what he was thinking. “It is a particular scent that only people like you have, and it attracts dangerous creatures that could put your lives in danger.”
Both of them looked confused at those words.
“You wanted to know what I have always kept from you, right? The truth. The one that, if you learn it, could put you in danger,” Mor said, looking at Percy, who seemed to be the one searching for that truth the most. Maybe also the one it would affect the most.
Percy nodded slowly.
“The truth is that both of you are… demigods,” Mor said, looking at them with a smile, dropping the revelation without any care at all.
Harry and Percy fell silent for a few seconds before looking at each other, then back at Mor.
“Aunt… are you drunk again?” Harry asked, a little worried.
“Maybe we should call Mom before someone gets hurt,” Percy said immediately.
“I am not drunk, idiots,” Mor said, slightly annoyed as she stepped closer and pulled both of their cheeks. “I am being serious. You are demigods, children of gods. Well, Harry is the grandson, but for some strange reason he can pass as their son,” Mor said quickly.
Meanwhile, both Harry and Percy, with their cheeks stretched painfully, let out pitiful cries.
“Wait, Aunt Mor, that hurts,” Harry said, his eyes watery.
“Aunt Mor, you old witch!” Percy shouted in anger.
That only made Mor even angrier. She let go of Harry and started pulling Percy’s cheeks with both hands.
“Aaaah!” Percy screamed in pain, while Harry ran off to hide behind a sofa. “You traitorous idiot, help me!” Percy shouted toward Harry, but Harry showed no intention of leaving his hiding place.
This caused a commotion in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, while the students who were sleeping woke up just long enough to cover their ears with pillows. Others, although curious enough to want to go downstairs and see what all the noise was about, felt a very clear instinct telling them not to, so they simply went back to sleep.
After a moment of chaos, Mor calmed down and returned to her seat, now with Harry and Percy sitting in front of her, mouths shut, listening attentively.
“The reason I could not tell you before is because the moment you learn that you are demigods, mythological monsters will try to devour you, and your parents’ enemies will want to kill you even more,” Mor said, still looking somewhat irritated.
“Aunt, I am sorry, but this is really hard to believe. Gods exist?” Harry asked, still doubtful.
“Yes, but we are not talking about Him. We are talking about another kind of gods, and their children have walked the world for a very long time,” Mor said calmly.
“Then… who is my father?” Percy asked immediately.
“And my grandmother?” Harry asked.
“That… I will not tell you,” Mor said, her tone openly mocking.
“Huh? Why?” Percy asked, frowning.
“Because just knowing that you are demigods has already increased my workload in this area a lot. Imagine if you knew who your parents are,” Mor said tiredly.
“I want to know,” Percy said immediately, his gaze serious, as if he were ready to face whatever difficulties came with it.
Mor looked at him for a moment before turning her eyes toward the curtains.
“Such memories… I once set those curtains on fire, and the Gryffindor common room used to be bigger, but that idiot Merlin blew it up,” she said, changing the subject so casually it was irritating, as she walked around the room.
“Aunt Mor, I am asking you,” Percy said, following her, while Harry remained seated, watching the two of them, knowing Percy would not get much out of her when his aunt was like this.
“I also once sneaked into the boys’ dormitory to beat up a bastard, breaking the wards. The professor was quite upset since it had taken him so long to create them, so to keep things fair, I broke the wards on all the boys’ dormitories,” she said, changing the subject yet again. “And Gryffindor reminds me of that bastard, which makes me want to burn it all down,” she added, her expression dark and her smile malicious.
Percy stopped trying to get answers and, with Harry’s help, restrained her before they actually lost their house at Hogwarts.
“Who is the bastard that made you this angry?” Percy shouted while grabbing her arm to keep her from burning anything.
“Oh… who could it be? Mordred’s father,” Mor said, her expression genuinely annoyed. “He, just like Percy, was mistaken for a wizard and sent here. Where do you think he met Merlin?” she added.
Both Harry and Percy froze completely. Mor had just dropped far too much information at once, leaving them utterly stunned.
“Wait… I am not a wizard?” Percy asked.
