Amongst the Hunted Moons

Notes:

Hello once again my dedicated readers, welcome to another chapter of A Midsummer Hunt, in which Harry meets the Hunt and nothing really goes as he thinks it would, but he does meet a new friend.

On with the show!

Harry Potter.

They had pulled over about a block away from Kings Cross, the drive was spent in a tense silence between the three of them. Neither Atalanta nor Harry had asked questions about how the last two weeks had been, Harry had spent his time just looking out the window watching the world fly by with his own mind going a mile a minute about everything that had happened as he left behind Privet Drive for the last time, hopefully. Seeing Atalanta again, his Aunts goodbye, and his almost fight with Zoë. It was the last one that had bothered him the most, the hunt was a family, but meeting Artemis second in command didn't really make that impression on Harry, it was like she had hated him on sight. Every time Harry would glance over he would see her golden eyes glaring at him in the rare view mirror, he could practically taste her hatred, like biting into a rotten apple.

When they did stop Zoë didn't say a single word to either of them, just pulling out a roll of pounds before stuffing them into the cup holder and storming off toward the pay phones as Atalanta and he pulled his things from the boot before finding a trolley and waiting at the entrance to Kings Cross. Before long Zoë shows up and the trio, without speaking, make their way over to the entrance of Platform nine and three-quarters, and Harry pushes through. The platform was as busy as always, but not with the wizard and witches learning at Hogwarts, but with hunters. Everywhere Harry looked he saw girls wearing silver jackets, carrying trunks, packs, quivers, and survival gear of all kinds, all being loaded up on the Hogwarts express. Some were chatting with one another, some were chasing each other laughing all the while, they all looked…happy.

Harry had stopped, and smiled at it all; they all seemed so happy and free, that was until he was shoved aside by Zoë.

"Move, boy," she growls out as she shoves him aside, and Harry flinches at the echo of his Uncle's voice, Zoë pays no mind before storming into the crowd of hunters.

"What a bitch," Harry says under his breath, and Atalanta chuckles.

"Yeah, just about sums Zoë up, don't let her get to you, and don't try to start anything with her Harry," The Lioness tells Harry, "The reason she gets to have an attitude like that is because she has the skills to back it up," she sighs before turning to face Harry, she puts her hand on his shoulder drawing his full attention, "Listen, Harry, there is something important you need to understand before we go wading into the crowd," She tells him before Harry raises an eyebrow in question, "The hunters aren't used to…males being around a whole lot, the only guy that some have contact with is the rare exception to the rule, so most aren't going to give you the…warmest welcome," Atalanta says, picking her words carefully.

A worried look crosses Harry's face before asking, "Like Zoë?"

"No," Atalanta tells him firmly, "Not like her, Zoë has a good reason to be the complete bitch she is, and her isolating herself with the hunt for so long has not helped with those problems, but most girls here joined the hunt after the flame of the west started to move around, where the hunt was one large gathering, not the smaller ones from when I'm from so they have had very, very little contact with males and some girls came from, well, …" Atalanta bites her lip, thinking of what to say before sighing, "Some girls came from homes like the Dursleys, they had lives like yours, in some ways better and in some ways much worse, okay?" Atalanta says softly, looking Harry in the eyes.

Harry doesn't know what to say to that, he knows his home life isn'-wasn't normal, but it wasn't the worst either, Harry was constantly reminded how good he had it with the Dursleys by his Aunt and Uncle, how there were kids worst off than him, so he just nods at Atalanta's words and shuffles his feet side to side, fidgeting where he stood, he hates standing still.

"Okay, good" Atalanta says with a smile and a nod, "Now come on, there are two more people you need to meet other than Lieutenant bitch," the Lioness says before turning around and walking into the crowd of silver jackets with Harry quickly following after.

"Oi, Brittney!" Atalanta calls out to one of the girls with a wave.

The girl, Brittney, looked to be about twelve or thirteen with shortcut light brown hair and freckles on her face turns and smiles when she sees Atalanta before running over and hugging her with a cry of Atalanta's name.

"Atalanta!" Brittney yells, throwing her arms around the other hunter, and the lioness hugs her back, "We've missed you so much, none of us knew why you left until Lady Artemis told us about the heir! Where is she? Can I meet her…" but Brittney trails off as she catches sight of Harry standing behind Atalanta with his trolley, he awkwardly raises a hand and waves at her with an equally awkward smile, Brittney's smile drops as she steps back from Atalanta her hand slow inching down to her thigh where a small bronze hatchet sat holstered on it. Atalanta's hand shoots out and grabs Brittney by the wrist, shocking the girl.

"Whoa there, Brittney," Atalanta says with a chuckle, "I know you like your axe, but please don't try and kill Harry, I don't think you would want to explain why you killed Lady Artemis' son," the swiftest in the hunt says to the hatchet girl, who's eyes go wide as her head turns back to him, her mouth opens and closes a few times before she turns back to Atalanta.

"Let me guess, not a single one of you asked for the Heir of the Hunt's name, or if she was a she?" Atalanta says with amusement coloring her tone as Brittney blushes a deep red, "Mmmhm, that's what I thought." Atalanta says with a nod and a smile, "but enough about Harry, I need to know where Phoebe and Daphnis are, have you seen them?" The lioness asks the younger girl, who nods.

"Y-yeah," Brittney says as her gaze keeps flicking to Harry and then back to Atalanta, "Phoebe is going over the medical supplies with Daphnis now, over by the front of the train," the hatchet-wielding hunter says before pointing over by the front of the train.

"Thanks, Brittney, we'll talk later, okay?" Atalanta says as she turns away with a smile and leads Harry over to the front of the train, Harry could feel the eyes of the hunters on his skin like ants crawling all over him, he could hear the whispers running through them like a live wire as they pointed at him in surprise. Near the front of the train was a small gathering of the hunters all standing in a circle, listening to one of them speak. As Harry and Atalanta get close enough Harry hears what sounds like a male voice speaking to the hunters, issuing orders, and getting a count of supplies.

"Good, I want everyone to have a basic first aid kit and anti-venom kits, check the packages and make sure they're still sealed and inside the expiration date, I don't want a cure to the venom if one of us is endangered by it, understand?" The voice says and is quickly followed by a choir of "Yes, Commander!"

As Atalanta comes to a stop just outside the circle of silver jackets, Harry slows his trolley to a stop and waits with her, standing on his tiptoes to try and get a better view of who was talking.

"Phoebe, how are we on Ambrosia and Nectar?" The male voice asks before another female voice answers.

"Six pans of Ambrosia and three gallons of Nectar, more than enough for us Half-Bloods, do any of the Handmaidens need a crash course in first aid Commander?" The female voice, Phoebe, says.

"The Handmaidens are well trained, but a refresher never hurt anyone, Cecilia, make sure the other Handmaidens know to take the refresher," the Commander says.

"Yes, Commander," a new voice says.

"Good, now I want a ration count, I don't know what's living in the forest with the Acromantula having the run of it for who knows how long," the Commander says, and Harry knows how long, but decides not to interrupt the person in charge, Atalanta, however, didn't think the same way.

"The Acromantula den is deep in the woods, located about a two-hour walk east from the castle, the place where I think we'll be camping is just inside the forest," Atalanta calls out and almost every head Harry can see turns to her, "The forest is plentiful with small game we can trap and a few deer packs we can hunt,"

The crowd parts as a male in a silver hunter jacket walks forward, he was about Harry's height but with a much leaner build, long sandy brown hair was tied and braided out of his face, and his skin was the same olive color of as Atalanta, Zoë, and Artemis'. He had a wide smile on his face that came up to a nasty-looking scar that ran across his eyes. His jacket was a bit different than what the rest of the girls were wearing, the rest of the girl's jackets were all high collared and looked to be made to wear outside in heavy weather like rain or snow, but his was thinner, more like a racer jacket that someone with a motorcycle would wear while out riding. On the breast of the jacket was pinned a simple silver ring with the antlers of a stag over it, like a badge of office.

"Atalanta of Calydon," he says with a smile as he uses a long staff of white wood to help him make sure the path was clear to him to walk as he moved forward, "You are a sight for sore eyes," the boy says with a smile, and Harry couldn't help it, he snorted.

The boy's head shifted to where one of his ears was pointed towards him with a smirk on his face, but before he could say anything, Atalanta spoke first.

"It is Daphnis, and it's good to see you as well," the lioness says with a soft smile, as Daphnis lifts one of his arms and Atalanta walks forward to embrace him.

"It's good to have you back on two legs again, sister, it's good to have you back," Daphnis whispers to Atalanta softly with a softer smile.

"It's good to be back, Brother, I've missed the hunt," Atalanta says as she pulls back, leaving one hand on his shoulder.

"As we have missed you," Daphnis says, "but do tell, is the one who found my joke amusing is the one who I think it is?" The blind hunter asks, his smile never fading.

"Yes, it is," Atalanta says with her own smile, "Daphnis, it's my pleasure to introduce you to Harry Potter, Heir of the Hunt," she says before turning back to Harry, "Harry, this is Commander Daphnis, he handles logistics for the hunt and manages the temple of Artemis on Olympus, he also has the rare honor of being the only male among the hunters," The Lioness introduces the Blind Hunter.

"It's, ah, nice to meet you," Harry says, with an awkward smile before sticking his hand out and realizing the other guy couldn't see it before dropping his hand, feeling a bit silly.

The blind hunter chuckles, "and it is good to meet you as well, Son of-" but whatever Daphnis was about to say, he abruptly stops as Atalanta quickly taps his shoulder twice, Daphnis turns his head slightly to Atalanta, not being able to see the slight wince that passes over Harry's face, before changing his words, "Heir of the Hunt," The blind hunter says slowly.

"I also wanted to introduce him to Phoebe, seeing that she'll probably be the one patching him up after he does something reckless, " Atalanta says with a smirk.

"Oi, I'm not that bad!" Harry says in his defense before Atalanta turns to him with a smirk.

"The Catacombs, the Chamber of Secrets, and You charging into the woods after Sirius," the Lioness says in an amused tone of voice.

Harry opens his mouth to defend himself, but nothing comes out, he honestly couldn't, he was pretty reckless, and maybe Snape did have a point, so the Heir of the Hunt just sighs and crosses his arm as Atalanta laughs.

"Anyway, the blonde girl is Phoebe," Atalanta says, pointing to a short stocky girl with short-cut blonde hair and blue eyes that were narrowed in suspicion at him, Harry awkwardly waves his hand to her, and she jerks her head up and down in greeting but does nothing else. Most of the girls in the circle were looking at Harry with narrowed or wide eyes, shock, suspicion, confusion, and in some cases, outright hostility.

"As much as I would like to catch up with you sister, I have many things to go over before the train departs," Daphnis says turning in the direction of Atalanta, "Perhaps later on the train over drinks, that way I can get to know Harry as well," the blind hunter as, his hand going to Atalanta's on his shoulder, tapping twice before she lets go.

"Of course Commander," Atalanta says with a smile, "Harry and I will be in the last compartment on the left if you wish to find us," she tells him before turning to Harry and nodding her head toward the train. Catching her meaning Harry maneuvers his cart towards the train and him and Atalanta start off toward the very back of the Express. Stopping right outside the door Harry opens Hedwig's cage and puts his arm out so she can jump on it and out of the cage.

"Alright, girl," Harry tells his oldest friend, "A different plan than the other times, we'll be camping in the woods, so when you get to Hogwarts just wait around Hagrid's Hut and I'll come find you okay?" And Hedwig barks as Harry pats her, before she nips his finger affectionately and takes off.

Atalanta Helps Harry load up his trunk into the luggage rack aboard the train before Harry tosses his pack onto the empty seat, before sitting down with a sigh with Atalanta.

"What's up with that anyway?" Atalanta asks after she had tossed her own pack onto the luggage rack and nodded to the black pack that Harry had brought with him.

"Oh, ah, Artemis popped by a week or so ago telling me I was going with the hunt," Harry begins to explain, "She told me to get some camping stuff, so I wrote Ron and he sent me this catalog with a bunch of Wixen Camping stuff, so I ordered a tent and a surprise," Harry says with a shrug.

"A surprise?" Atalanta asks with a raised brow.

"For the hunt, you'll see," Harry says with a smirk.

Zoë Nightshade.

Zoë Nightshade sat in the front of the train, in a compartment marked for the head boy and girl for Hogwarts, her body was tensed and coiled with anger as she glare out of the window at nothing in particular, she wasn't needed outside for going over supplies or making sure everyone was on the same page, not like Daphnis was. While he was called "Commander" during field ops, it didn't mean he held any true authority in the hunt when he joined them, he was Lady Artemis' logistical Commander and was in charge of keeping everything organized and running. Zoë only listens to him because she could, begrudgingly, admit he knew what he was doing and did it well in the service of their Lady. But even Daphnis knew the pecking order within the hunt and could not order her around, because, in the field, other than Lady Artemis, Zoë's authority was absolute within the hunt, only those like the Fetish would question her, and only if the Fetish had a good reason to do so.

So when the Fetish went off on her in the car over the boy's blatant disrespect of Lady Artemis, it had set her blood boiling. The Fetish should have never been let back into the hunt, she had broken her oaths, she had laided with a man, metaphysical weirdness of transformation aside, A broken oath was a broken oath, interference by a God aside.

Then there was the boy himself, how? How could a child of Lady Artemis, the Heir to the Hunt, be male? Zoë's teeth ground together with just the thought of it, he was unworthy of the hunt, unworthy of the spark of divine power that was in his soul, unworthy of her Lady's blessing, and she would make sure he knew it before this hunt was over.

As the train starts to roll out from the station, Zoë still doesn't relax, how could she? Not when a threat to the hunt and something so disrespectful to Lady Artemis was aboard it, she was sure that sooner or later one of her sisters would come running to her to tell of the boy's inappropriate actions to one of the members of the hunt, then Zoë would be able to erase the unseemly boy from the face of the world like she should have done with Him the moment he had stepped into the gardens. As the train begins to pick up speed, someone knocks on the compartment door, without looking Zoë speaks as she watches the city outside rush by.

"Enter," the Lieutenant says before the door opens, and Daphnis steps in, he turns to the smaller hunter that was his helper and speaks to her.

"Thank you, Cecilia, do you mind waiting outside so I may talk to the Lieutenant in private for a little while?" Daphnis asks the younger hunter.

"Of course Commander, I'll be right outside if you need me," Cecilia says before taking a step back as Daphnis enters the compartment.

"To your right, Commander," Zoë says without turning to look at him as Daphnis finds the seat on the right side of the compartment.

"Ah, thank you, Lady Nightshade," Daphnis says as he takes his seat, "Do you wish to wait for Phoebe, or do you wish for the sit-rep now?" He asks, getting right to business with her. He drops her rank within the hunt, but keeps a respectful tone, for technically they were of equal rank within the hunt but had two very different jobs, Daphnis also knows Zoë would never call him "Lord" and would never ask her to. In the past, she had told him he needed not to call her anything but Zoë, but Daphnis was just like that, respectful to all within the hunt.

"Let's wait for Phoebe so we're all on the same page, Commander," Zoë says to the blind hunter, and he nods, letting the compartment fall into silence. They didn't have to wait long, for only a few minutes later the compartment opened, and in walks the head medic of the hunters before she takes a seat next to Zoë.

"Lieutenant, Commander," Phoebe greets them both with a nod to Zoë before both Zoë and Daphnis greet her back.

"Now we can begin with the sit-rep Commander," Zoë says finally looking over to Daphnis, who nods as Zoë herself contains the wince from seeing the scars she had inflicted on him long ago, Zoë had learned her lesson from that and still waits for the day Daphnis asks for an apology for her reckless actions.

"Wait," Phoebe says, "you want a sit-rep instead of talking about the Drakon on the train?" The daughter of the sun asks, a bit surprised.

Zoë's head snaps to Phoebe, eyes wide, and for a second she had thought a Drakon was attacking the train until common sense caught up with her, it was a figure of speech, right, she was talking about the boy.

"I don't see any reason to speak of it, I'd rather know if we are ready or not to take on an Acromantula Den of unknown size, Daphnis, what's our situation looking like?" Zoë asks the Commander, trying to ignore the look from Phoebe.

Daphnis' smile drops, as he knows the tone that Zoë has taken all too well, so he answers the question she had asked.

"Our situation looks good for the moment, we are well supplied and stocked for the hunt ahead, the only thing that I'm worried about is the fact that we are cut off from Olympus in England and have no access to the temple or a supply line if this hunt goes on longer then expected," Daphnis says, sharing Zoë's concern about the lack of information they had on the Den or the leader of it.

"Agreed, we will need to focus on scouting and procuring what we need on-site, we'll have Brittney and Atalanta scout out the surrounding area and the Den, and try to get a rough estimate of what we are dealing with, and with any luck get a rough map of the Den," the Lieutenant says with a nod.

"Do you know if we'll be getting help from the local government or the ICW?" Phoebe asks.

"No," Daphnis says, "as far as the local government knows, the gods are old myths to them, most of if not all the local divine has faded here, and the ICW doesn't see any reason to tell the English government of their existence, I do know that Lady Artemis is known to the Headmaster of the school, but only because of her son attending it most of the year," the Commander explains to Phoebe, ignoring the growl from Zoë at the mention of the Heir.

"You're seriously not going to talk about him?" Phoebe asks Zoë, not ignoring the growl.

"No," Zoë says in a hard voice, "There is nothing to talk about," the lieutenant of the hunt says before crossing her arms and looking out the window.

"What I am most worried about is if there are any Unktomi among them," Daphnis says, and all three shiver, it was one thing to fight an intelligent giant spider, it was a whole other story to fight against one that could cast spells as a Wixen could.

"If there is one it has not been reported by the Headmaster, so it's either there are none or one hasn't shown itself yet," Zoë says, referencing the report that both She and Daphnis got, Daphnis frowns, and Zoë could understand why. One could plan for many things, but not for an Unktomi, while rare they were exceedingly dangerous when hunting due to their high intelligence and unpredictable spell casting. When the hunt had last faced one, they had lost eight sisters in rapid succession to the beast before Lady Artemis finally stepped in and put the creature down.

"But come on you two," Phoebe interjects, "there is a Son of Artemis and neither of you two has any comment about that?" The lead medic of the hunter says in denial.

"Male or Female, in the end, it doesn't matter to me, the jackets are unisex for a reason," Daphnis says with a sigh, finally commenting on the Heirs sex.

Zoë's head snaps to Daphnis, "You are not planning on giving that boy a jacket, are you?!" The anger entering the Lieutenants made it as hard as steel.

"I Am," Daphnis simply says.

"Absolutely not," Zoë growls out at Daphnis, who doesn't flinch in the face of her rage, "The boy can not take the oath, he is-"

"Cursed by Aphrodite, I am aware, Lieutenant," Daphnis cuts Zoë off, "But he is still a son of our Lady, which makes him an honorary member of the hunt if nothing else, so a jacket he will get," he finishes with a shrug.

"I will not allow this, it is an insult to the girls who have taken the oath, that has given their lives for Lady Artemis, and an insult to our Lady," Zoë stands, golden eyes blazing.

"Then we are in luck," Daphnis counters, "because I do not need your permission to give him one, outside field operations, we are of equal rank within the hunt, Lieutenant, and seeing that I am in charge of logistic and supplies I get to distribute them as I see fit," the blind hunter says, with steel of his own entering his voice for the first time in a long time before he stands himself with the help of his staff, "In fact, I think I will see to that now," the Commander of the hunt says while moving to the door to the compartment.

"If I see him in one in the field, I will strip it off him myself, Daphnis!" Zoë says, her form shanking with anger.

Daphnis stops for just a moment before opening the door and saying, "Then that will be your choice, Lieutenant, and the consequences will be yours to bare once more," before leaving Zoë to her rage, and Phoebe to talk her out of doing something foolish.

Atalanta.

It was almost an hour before Atalanta had noticed something off, not with Harry, no, he was fine doing the whole quiet thinking thing he does when he's looking out of the window of the train, no, it was with the express itself, she had looked up from one of the books she had picked up in the Alley, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", and noticed the city was gone and replace by rolling green hills. It was odd to Atalanta because when they had come back from Hogwarts the train took a good hour before they got through the towns and cities that surrounded Kings Cross before they stopped to depart.

"Harry?" Atalanta says, trying to get the boy's attention, but he continues to look out the window, he wasn't brooding, more lost in his own head as most demigods did, "Harry!" The Lioness yells, watching as Harry jumps and turns to her, eyes wide.

"Sorry," Atalanta says, "was trying to get your attention," as Harry opens his mouth to needlessly apologize, Atalanta cuts him off, "Is it just me, or is the Express moving faster than last time?" She asks, and Harry's brow wrinkled in confusion before checking his watch and looking back out the window.

"I think it is," He finally says, still confused.

"If it can go this fast, then why the hell did it take six Hades-damned hours to get from Hogwarts to Kings Cross?" Atalanta asks, and Harry just shrugged.

"I'll ask Hermione next time I write her, if anyone would know it would be her," Harry says before looking back out of the window.

Atalanta just sighs before turning back to her book.

"There was once Three brothers, traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight, reached a deep treacherous river where anyone who attempted to swim or wade would drown. Learned in the magical arts, the brothers conjured a bridge with their wands and proceed to cross."

But before Atalanta could read further, there was a knock at the compartment door, both Harry and her turned to look, and seeing who it was, Atalanta tossed her book aside and jumped to her feet, and threw open the door.

"Commander," Atalanta says in greeting to the young-looking man before turning to the younger-looking girl, "I don't think we've met, Atalanta of Calydon, nice to meet you," the Lioness says as she nods to the girl, who just narrows her eyes at Atalanta.

"I know of you, Atalanta, your story is told to all Handmaidens in training as a cautionary tale about crossing the Goddess of Love," the young girl says flatly.

"Cecilia," Daphnis says, reprimanding the girl with a hard tone, The young girl flinches before apologizing to Atalanta before Atalanta just laughs and waves it off.

"Don't worry about it sister, so long as you take the story to heart and learn where I had not," the Lioness says with a soft smile, the young girl blushes before telling Daphnis that she would wait outside for him.

"None of that, Cecilia, I'm here to catch up with an old friend, you're dismissed, for I have no idea how long I will be, go, enjoy your time with your sisters and the Express," Daphnis tells her softly, smiling at her.

"Y-yes, Commander, I'll come to find you once we stop," Cecilia says, before nodding to Atalanta and running down the hall toward the front of the train.

"My apologies for that Atalanta, sometimes Cecilia speaks before thinking," Daphnis says with a smile, "May I come in?" He asks as Atalanta moves back from the door.

"Of course, Daphnis," she says, and the blind hunter moves into the compartment, using his staff to find a seat on the left side of the compartment, within arms reach of Harry before Atalanta takes her own seat, the Lioness notices the silver jacket under Daphnis arm and bites her lip, she really doesn't know how that's going to go over.

"Now, by the other heartbeat in the room, I take it the Heir is here as well?" Daphnis says as he turns his head slightly to face Harry's direction.

"Oh, ah, yeah. Sorry about that," Harry says before Daphnis just chuckles.

"It is fine, Harry," Daphnis says before pausing, "it is okay if I call you Harry, right?" The Blind Hunter asks Harry.

"Oh, yeah, yeah that's fine," Harry says awkwardly, "Do, Do you want me to, ah, go?" The boy who lived asks, as Daphnis' face morphs into confusion, "So, you and Atalanta can, ah, catch up," the heir of the hunt says.

"Oh!" Daphnis exclaims, "No, Harry, no. Sorry if I came off like that, but while yes, I am here to talk with Atalanta, I also have a gift for you, and wouldn't mind getting to know you better as well, if you'll let me," the Commander of the hunt says with a smile.

"Ah," Harry's ever-intelligent mind supplies as his eyes flick over to Atalanta basically screaming for help, Atalanta just covers her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"Sure?" Harry says, not really knowing how to do that, most of the friendships he had he kinda just fell into, he didn't understand the whole "getting to know people" thing. But Daphnis just nods his head with a smile before pulling from his side something silver and handing it over to Harry.

"A hunter's jacket?" Harry asks, confused, he already had a jacket.

"From what I've been able to gather, you can't join the hunt properly, correct?" Daphnis asks.

"Oh, yeah, I got cursed? I guessed, by Aphrodite," Harry tells the Blind Hunter who just nods.

"That's what I heard as well," Daphnis says, "But you are still the Heir to the Hunt, and if that doesn't make you an honorary member of the hunt, I don't know what will," he says with a grin.

Harry looks at the silver jacket in Daphnis hand, swallowing, and doesn't say anything for a long time, before shaking his head with sadness in his eyes.

"Thank you, for, ah, the, the offer, but I ah, already have a jacket," Harry says as he fidgets in his seat before looking away and back out of the window and away from Daphnis' confused face.

Ah, now Harry was brooding.

"Harry, the jackets are more than just spray-painted leather," Daphnis explains, "practically, they double as armor for the hunt, the leather itself is Drakon hide, making it highly resistant to most mortal magic, and most types of fire, they also have Celestial Bronze microfibers much like kevlar woven under the leather for another layer of protection from all sorts of weapons and they are charmed to be for all types of weather. Nothing made by mortal hands can pierce the jacket." The Blind Hunter says.

"My jacket is like that as well, I think," Harry says, still looking away, "It's made out of dragonhide and, I'm pretty sure, basilisk hide, I can wear it all year round, and Atalanta's arrows couldn't pierce it either,"

Daphnis sighs, "A gift from Lady Artemis, I assume?" He asks

"No," Harry says, "Well, not really, I think she got it repaired, it got pretty much melted when I fought the Basilisk, then I woke up the next day with it in a gift box, so she probably upgraded it as well," The Heir of the Hunt says.

"The Jacket is more than just armor, Harry," Atalanta says softly, "back during my time they were silver tunics, and everywhere I went, all who saw it knew of whom I belong to, that I belong to the hunt, it's a symbol of family, Harry," the Lioness says with a smile.

Atalanta watches as Harry turns back to the jacket, lips pressed together and the want in his eyes, but still, the stubborn boy shakes his head and looks away, and Atalanta sighs, wishing all the more that she could kill the Dursleys.

"Well, I won't make you take the jacket, Harry," Daphnis says, before putting it on the seat between Harry and himself, "But, if you don't mind, I would like to hear more about the basilisk hunt you were on," the Blind Hunter says with a smirk, and Harry turns to him with a small smile as Atalanta relaxes into her seat, she had heard this story before, but it was still a good one.

"Well, it all started on Halloween, because nothing good ever happens on Halloween, me and my two friends, Ron and Hermione, come across a cat…" Harry says as he starts to tell the story about his hunt for the Heir of Slytherin and the monster attacking the students, it was around the time when he got to the part where he was following the spiders into the forest and meeting Aragog did Daphnis stop him.

"Wait, you've been in the Acromantula Den and left alive?" The Blind Hunter asks, half in shock and half in excitement.

"Well, yeah, I guess," Harry says, "they tried to eat me and Ron but we got away," the Heir says.

"What do you remember from the Den? The layout? Their numbers? Was there any Unktomi among them?" Daphnis asks rapidly

"Was there any what?" Harry asks, confused, looking at Atalanta.

"Spell casting Acromantula, Harry, they're extremely rare but they pop up in a big colony like the one in the forbidden forest," Atalanta tells him, before Harry's face twists into shock and horror.

"Those exist!?" Harry cries out, and at Atalanta's and Daphnis' grim nods, he continues, "that's terrifying, and I will have to tell Ron about these things the moment I see him so I can see the look on his face," Harry says and Atalanta burst out laughing.

"Harry, focus, I need to know about the Den," Daphnis says, getting Harry to turn back to him.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Harry asks.

"Everything," The Blind Hunter says with a grin.