I decided to have some mercy on poor Kendra in this chapter. It's out faster than usual simply because I got bored today and decided to write.

Apparently Kendra being a lesbian was out of nowhere "with no warning"? I mean, she said that Padma was extremely beautiful when they first met, and she forgot how to breathe when she saw Fleur for the first time.

It's not my fault people don't pay attention. Kendra being a lesbian was the plan from when I first had the idea, and I wrote it as such. Sorry that about ten people (that I counted) don't like it, but oh well. Their loss on Kendra's sass when people give her shit for it later.

kydomos: Thank you for a grand idea about the dementors. I decided to use it.

Gia: I'm glad you liked it!

Pinkypi: No, Lupin is not an immortal lycan like Lycaon. In this story, Lycaon is the only immortal werewolf, and he constantly has to replace pack members because of it. Thank you for giving me a way to explain that without needless dialogue in the story.

I do NOT own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or their universes. Those rights belong to JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, and their publishers.

ENJOY!

Kendra sat down in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express, breathing out deeply. She had met up with the Weasleys in Diagon Alley yesterday and learned that some mass-murderer by the name of Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban and was apparently after her.

She wasn't concerned –– he was just a wizard who had been around soul-sucking demons for over a decade, after all –– but everyone was treating her like a little child who couldn't take care of herself, and it was really driving her mad.

She had killed a twelve-foot mountain troll, two of her Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, a hundred-foot-long King Basilisk, and the second most powerful werewolf alive (until she had killed it, of course).

It disturbed her a little that only one of those confrontations had she sought out, really.

Technically the last one counted, but it was just the right place at the right time.

She was soon joined by Luna and Cedric, neither of which she had seen this summer, sadly, but it made her happy to see them now.

"Hi, Kendra!" Luna beamed, plopping down next to her. Then she frowned. "Your head is full of wrackspurts. Are you okay?"

Kendra smiled tiredly. "I'm fine."

"That's new," Cedric said, pointing at her wrist.

Kendra looked down at the new watch she had gotten from Nimueh for her birthday. It was capable of turning into a four-foot Stygian iron shield embossed with the head of a King Basilisk, and Kendra herself had enchanted it to terrify her enemies like Athena's Aegis, causing temporary petrification if they had a weak enough mind –– like a regular mortal. The shield was trimmed with emeralds, and the same green gem was the serpent's eye to draw attention to it.

The watch itself was black with a purple face. It didn't quite match anything, because of the color scheme, but Kendra almost always wore long sleeves anyway, so it didn't matter to her.

"It was a birthday present," she said.

Padma and Parvati arrived at that moment, the former of which sat next to Kendra and kissed her cheek with a smile before grabbing her hand.

"That's new, too," Cedric said, smirking.

Kendra felt her cheeks heat up.

The Hogwarts Express moved steadily north and the scenery outside the window became wilder and darker while the clouds overhead thickened overhead. People were chasing backwards and forwards past the door of their compartment.

At one o'clock the plump witch with the food cart arrived at the compartment door.

"I'm fine," Kendra said when asked what she wanted. "Not hungry."

That drew concerned looks from her friends, but they didn't get her anything. Padma was watching Kendra worriedly, but Kendra just smiled, her head resting against the window.

The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering grey, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still Kendra felt like falling asleep.

If anything, she felt more relaxed than she ever had, if a bit too tired.

Then the train started to slow down.

"We can't be there yet," Parvati said.

Kendra checked her watch. They were still about half an hour away from Hogwarts.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

Parvati, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" Cedric said.

Kendra suddenly felt wide awake, all of her senses on high alert. She pulled Parvati back into the compartment and stood in front of the door, watching it intently.

There was a squeaking sound, and Kendra saw the dim black outline of Luna, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Luna said.

Kendra pulled out her wand and her dagger and muttered, "Lumos." The tip of her wand lit up with a small ball of light, and her dagger was ready to attack if the danger that raised the hairs on the back of her neck entered their compartment.

And not a moment too soon.

The door slid slowly open, revealing a cloaked figure, illuminated by Kendra's wand light, that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Kendra's eyes darted downward and spotted a hand protruding from the cloak; glistening, greyish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water.

A dementor.

"Sirius Black isn't here," she told it, knowing why the creature had appeared. "He isn't on the train at all."

The demon drew a long, slow, rattling breath.

As you declare, Mistress, said a voice in Kendra's head.

She jumped slightly. There was only one being that could have said it.

"What do you mean?" she asked the dementor.

"What are you talking about Kendra?" Padma asked, her tone full of worry. "No one said anything."

You bear the Mark, the dementor whispered, in her head again. Death's Master has Marked you with his power.

Death's Master… Death was Thanatos, and he only served…

Pluto.

Who had given her…

Kendra's eyes darted to the golden ring that Pluto had given her on her seventh birthday. She had never really thought about it much before, beyond what it could do, but clearly there was something more going on here.

When she looked back up, the dementor was gone.

"Kendra?" came Padma's trembling voice. "Are you all right?"

Kendra closed the compartment door and turned around. Her friends were all staring at her with concerned, maybe even slightly fearful expressions. Luna looked like she somewhat understood what was going on –– at least, she knew it was connected to Pluto's ring on her finger, by the way her eyes kept darting to it.

Kendra would talk to her later.

"I'm fine," she told her friends, taking her seat between Padma and the window again.

A few minutes later the door of the compartment opened. A man stood there, dressed in an extremely shabby set of robes that were tattered in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. He was young, but his light brown hair was flecked with grey.

Kendra, however, immediately noticed the familiar Darkness that radiated from him, particularly the scars on his face.

He was a werewolf.

Her hand slyly moved back towards her dagger, which made her grateful that she had folded her legs beneath her when she retook her seat to be more comfortable.

"Is everyone all right in here?" the man asked in a hoarse voice.

"Who are you?" Kendra asked, watching the man warily.

His eyes looked pained when they landed on her, but Kendra couldn't think of any reason why. She had never seen this man before in her life, so how could she have hurt him?

"I am Professor Lupin," he said in the same hoarse voice. "Your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year."

Three for three kills, Kendra bet mentally, her hand resting loosely over her leg where her dagger was sheathed.

But seriously, his name was Lupin and he was a werewolf?

Why must the Fates have such a sense of humor…

"We're all fine," Parvati said. "The dementor just looked at us and left."

"Good, good," said Professor Lupin. "Have some chocolate, if you can. It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…"

He disappeared down the corridor.

They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey –– much to Kendra's relief. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and a toad croaked loudly from somewhere. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

Kendra was just glad that she would be able to dry herself quickly.

She waved at Hagrid, but had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around her was shunting her away along the platform. Kendra and her friends followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled by a thestral –– a skeletal black horse with large bat wings and a dragon-like head. Their milky white eyes locked onto Kendra as she passed; she hadn't noticed them doing that last year, but then, she hadn't paid attention to them last year.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, Kendra saw two more dementors standing guard on either side. They nodded to her as she passed, which confused Kendra greatly.

She really needed to talk to Luna.

Kendra, Padma, and Luna split off from Cedric and Parvati when they reached the Great Hall, the former three going to the Ravenclaw table while the latter two went to Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, respectively.

The Sorting Ceremony, thankfully, passed quickly. Kendra only recognized one name, though: Astoria Greengrass, who looked identical to her older sister.

Then Dumbledore to his feet, beaming around at the students.

"Welcome!" he said, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

He cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

Dumbledore didn't look too happy about that.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," he continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission." He looked right at Kendra when he said that. "Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises –– or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly. Kendra bit back a smirk. That answered her question about who sent her the silvery Cloak back in her first year, although it was a part of her ring now, so she doubted the dementors would notice her. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

Over at the Gryffindor table, Percy Weasley puffed out his chest and stared around impressively, showing off his Head Boy badge. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he said, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

Kendra wondered if Dumbledore knew of Lupin's lycanthropy. She didn't see how he couldn't, but he wasn't always the most aware of what happened in his school, as she knew from firsthand experience.

Then she saw Snape staring along the staff table at Lupin. The expression twisting his thin, sallow face was beyond anger: it was loathing. Kendra knew that expression only too well; it was the same look Snape wore every time he set eyes on her. Snape had started off her time at Hogwarts torn between hating her and liking her, but eventually settled on hatred after Kendra had humiliated his favorite Slytherin, Draco Malfoy.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

Kendra gaped at Hagrid. Then she joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Hagrid was ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

She really felt she should have known. There wasn't anyone else who would have assigned the students a book that could bite back.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," Dumbledore said. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink.

It was a delicious feast; the hall echoed with talk, laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks. Kendra just wished she had an appetite. She took little bits and pieces so it appeared that she was eating a lot, but in reality had less than half her usual portions. Padma didn't seem to notice, wrapped up in their discussion about what to expect from Hagrid's first lesson, but Luna kept staring at Kendra oddly throughout the meal.

When the meal was over, Kendra congratulated Hagrid on his new job before grabbing Luna and steering her all the way back to Ravenclaw tower and up to her room.

"Talk," Kendra ordered. "What do you know?"

"About what?" Luna asked in her usual airy tone.

"My ring!" Kendra said. "You've been looking at it a lot since the dementor on the train."

"It bears the Mark of the Deathly Hallows," Luna said, uncharacteristically serious. "In the Tale of the Three Brothers, it says that the person who combines the three Hallows –– the Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand –– becomes the Master of Death."

"But Death only has one master," Kendra said.

"Pluto or Hades, yes," Luna agreed. "This is just the folktale version. We know the Hallows are real because you're wearing one on your hand."

"And the Cloak is a part of it," Kendra added sheepishly. She quicky explained to Luna about her Christmas gift back in her first year, and how the Cloak of Invisibility had been absorbed into the ring, giving her its abilities through power, rather than an item.

"Which means you only need the wand," Luna grinned, then it fell slightly. "At least that explains why the dementor listened to you, and you seemed to understand it. You have the powers of the Master of Death." She frowned. "Or part of them, anyway."

"So where's the wand, then?" Kendra asked.

"Nobody knows." Luna shrugged. "There are records of it throughout history, but the last mention I've heard about was Mykew Gregorovitch, a wandmaker who claimed to have possessed it and recreated its powers in his own wands. Beyond that, I have no clue."

Kendra would worry about the wand later.

"How long have you known about my ring?" she asked.

"Since I first saw you," Luna admitted. "It's why I approached you last year."

Luna was clearly far more observant than anyone had given her credit for.

"Thank you," Kendra told her.

Luna just smiled and skipped out of Kendra's room.

Kendra looked at Hedwig, who stared back at her with sky blue eyes.

"Why must life be so complicated?" Kendra asked.

Hedwig blinked.

"Yeah," Kendra sighed. "That's what I thought."

She dropped into bed and fell asleep quickly.

After a rather interesting Arithmancy lesson first thing the next morning, Kendra made her way to the Transfiguration classroom with Padma. They took their usual seats in the front of the classroom and waited for the rest of the class.

Kendra listened to Professor McGonagall's lesson about animagi (wizards who could transform at will into a specific animal), hiding a smirk at the thought of how her professor would react if she revealed herself as an animorphmagus, and thus didn't need to waste all that time with the potion and complicated Transfiguration properties and whatever else was involved, much less the limitations of only a single form.

The professor transformed herself in front of their eyes into a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes.

Kendra was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain had cleared, unfortunately; the sky was a clear, pale grey, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off or their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class.

Kendra walked with Padma, Daphne, and Tracey. They would be having the lessons with the Slytherins, which made Kendra fairly happy, as they had only taken Herbology with them, aside from classes with all four Houses, until now. The only problem she had with that was the head of white-blond hair ahead of her –– Draco Malfoy.

Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

Kendra walked up and began to pet Fang, smiling.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Hagrid called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

They followed Hagrid around the edge of the forest, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock with nothing inside it.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it –– make sure yeh can see –– now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books ––"

"How?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Eh?" Hagrid said.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. It seemed like most of the Slytherins hadn't figured out how to calm their books –– all but Daphne and Tracey –– but almost every single Ravenclaw had managed it and stared at the Slytherins like they were stupid.

"Clearly Slytherin House is rather lacking in cunning nowadays," Kendra stage-whispered to her friends. Daphne and Tracey snickered while Padma bit back a smile.

Malfoy shot her a filthy look.

Once everyone had their books calmed and opened, Hagrid said, "Righ' then. Now yeh've got yer books, yeh need the magical creatures. I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…"

He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy said loudly.

"Better than the rodents," Kendra cut in pointedly before he could go further.

The Ravenclaws, Daphne, and Tracey burst into laughter. A couple other Slytherins looked like they wanted to laugh, too, but they controlled themselves.

"Whoa," Padma said, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen hippogriffs. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks, and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in Hagrid's vast hands as he jogged behind them.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood.

My Lady! the creatures started happily saying the moment they spotted Kendra. Their voices covering each other up until Kendra sent a mental command for them to calm down.

Half eagle, half horse –– no wonder she could hear them, having the blood of both Jupiter and Neptune…

Her classmates drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence, but Kendra stayed put where she was, not feeling even slightly afraid of them.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

"Yes, they are," Kendra murmured, more to herself than him. They all had gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy grey (which was Kendra's personal favorite), bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," Hagrid said, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"

No one seemed to want to, other than Kendra, who stepped right up to the fence.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," Hagrid said. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Yup, Kendra through. Definitely divine creatures.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed to touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.

"Right –– who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed farther away in answer.

Kendra, however, stepped forward. "I'll do it." She climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good woman, Kendra!" Hagrid roared. "Right then –– let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulled the stormy grey hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.

"Easy now, Kendra," Hagrid said quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink… hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much…"

Kendra bowed to the creature, and it immediately bowed back.

"Well done, Kendra!" Hagrid said, ecstatic. "Right –– yeh can touch him, Pat his beak, go on!"

Kendra smiled as she patted Buckbeak's beak. The hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, flutters of joyous pleasure being sent into Kendra's mind.

The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, Kendra," Hagrid said. "I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!"

It would be my pleasure, my Lady, Buckbeak told her.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," Hagrid told her, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that…"

Kendra put her foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted herself onto his back. Buckbeak stood up.

"Go on, then!" Hagrid roared, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.

Twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Kendra, then they were soaring upward. It was nothing like a broomstick; the hippogriff's wings beat on either side of her, rocking her back and forth as het hindquarters rose and fell with its wings.

It was amazing.

Buckbeak flew her once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground. She felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground, but she maintained her balance.

"Good work, Kendra!" Hagrid roared as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Kendra refused to get off Buckbeak's back as the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously all over the paddock. Kendra sent out a command to the hippogriffs, telling them to stay calm, no matter what happened –– she knew Malfoy was planning something, and she refused to let Hagrid's first lesson take a downturn because of a nasty rat like him.

The chestnut hippogriff had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Kendra to hear him. "I knew it must have been if Potter could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

The hippogriff squawked angrily, rearing back. Malfoy barely dodged out of the way.

HOW DARE YOU SPEAK ABOUT MY LADY THAT WAY! the hippogriff bellowed. It wasn't long before the rest of the hippogriffs joined in, screeching and slashing at Malfoy, but none of them got close enough to attack because of Kendra's command.

She steered Buckbeak to stand in the middle of them, staring contemptuously down at the blond prat on the ground like a peasant before a queen.

"I think you should apologize to the hippogriff, Malfoy," she said coldly. "I suppose you didn't hear Hagrid's warning over your own ego, but insulting a hippogriff could have been the last thing you ever did. Perhaps you should start paying attention in class –– you can't pay someone more capable to do your work forever, you know."

Malfoy's face flushed red, but he couldn't say anything against Kendra when she was literally surrounded by dangerous hippogriffs, all of them glaring down at him.

Hagrid and most of the class looked torn between baffled and awed at Kendra and her small army of hippogriffs. The only ones who appeared to know what was going on were Padma and Tracey, and even they looked somewhat confused.

"Well?" Kendra said. "We're waiting."

The chestnut hippogriff stepped forward slightly, looking imperiously down at Malfoy.

Malfoy glowered. "I… apologize," he sneered, "for my actions."

His words were spoken with barely more than a whisper, but everyone heard them. Kendra smirked at the Slytherin boy as the chestnut hippogriff squawked triumphantly, rearing back on its hind legs and flapping its wings.

That's right little rodent, it said. Grovel before our Lady!

Kendra's lips twitched and she had to consciously fight back a smile, though she did send her amused thoughts through a mental response.

The only Slytherins who looked angry about Malfoy's treatment were Crabbe, Goyle, and the pug-faced Pansy Parkinson, but she was a bitch, so Kendra couldn't care less about the girl's opinion of her.

"Remember this, Malfoy," Kendra said icily. "Next time, they may not be so merciful."

The hippogriffs all made noises of agreement, and Malfoy scampered off before they could decide they wanted to attack him anyway.

"You'll regret this, Potter," Malfoy spat.

"Try me," Kendra snarled right back. "I seem to recall every encounter we've had going in my favor, while you end up an embarrassment." She smirked cruelly. "Although, there was never anything to be proud of in the first place."

Padma, Tracey, and Daphne laughed loudly.

As Kendra patted the side of Buckbeak's head from where she sat, still on his back, she couldn't help but feel that Hagrid's first lesson was a resounding success.

Learning that hippogriffs were incredibly loyal to her was a grand experience.

AN: Anyone else want Valkyrie!Kendra riding into battle with an army of hippogriffs? Because I'm just imagining the look on Kronos's face if she does that during the Battle of Manhattan.

Add in some soul-sucking demons, too, and Kendra is one badass lesbian, wouldn't you say?

Next chapter: The Boggart in The Wardrobe and her first class with Lupin.

THANKS FOR READING!