Fluffy 2.0? More like 3.0
"Did you even read the sign at the entrance?" he asked them.
"Yeah, well… we're not lawyers," Percy said.
Those words seemed to set Charon off. He let out a roar that made the whole lobby tremble, while the ghosts around them instantly grew restless, moving for the first time since Percy and the others had arrived.
"Get out while you can. I'll keep the coins for wasting my time," Charon said, reaching for them, but Harry moved faster, snatching them back.
"No service, no tip," Harry shot back.
Charon's gaze suddenly froze the entire room… something that seemed to sink into their bones, sending a cold shiver down all of their spines. The dead around them grew agitated, trying to flee in every direction… but when they tried to open any door, their hands passed right through, unable to leave. Charon's low growl sounded like a beast about to pounce.
"What a shame," Percy said, calm, glancing at his nails for a second. "Since we had a lot more to offer. Right, Harry?" he added, looking at his brother.
Harry didn't need more words. He slipped his hand into his magical bag and pulled out a small pouch that gave a soft clink when it moved.
"Yeah… what a shame," Harry said, opening it just enough for a golden glint to spill out… while dropping the drachmas in his other hand into it one by one, making that same unmistakable sound.
Charon, seeing the size of the pouch… and hearing that sound, seemed to turn his growl into something closer to a lion's purr.
"You think you can buy me, creatures of the gods?" Charon said, sounding angry… but his eyes were locked on the pouch in Harry's hand, which he gently shook like a rattle… and Charon couldn't look away. "Just out of curiosity… how much do you have in there?" he asked.
"Enough," Harry said calmly, before sliding his other hand into his magical bag again and pulling out another pouch… identical… which made the same clinking sound when he shook it.
Charon swallowed, loud enough to echo through the room.
"I can see your suit is pretty expensive. Must cost a lot to keep it like that… especially if you want a few more," Harry said, sounding like a young tycoon. Which, technically, he was. After all, he had a vault full of gold at Gringotts… enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life without ever working.
And there were still those ingots his mother had set aside for his future… which could be turned into even more money.
"And besides…," Percy added, jumping in, knowing this only needed one last push. "We need to see Hades, my uncle. Maybe I could… I don't know… mention that a small raise for the man in charge of taking care of all these dead people wouldn't be such a bad idea," Percy said in the same tone as Harry. As brothers, even if they spent most of their time arguing, they were perfectly in sync when it mattered… especially for things like this.
"Well… the boat is almost full, but…," Charon said, both hands drifting subtly toward the two pouches in Harry's hands. "Maybe, if you don't mind being a little cramped, I could squeeze you in," he added.
"Of course we don't mind," Harry and Percy said at the same time, both smiling, as Harry handed over the two pouches, which Charon quickly tucked into his coat, like the transaction had never happened… even shooting a threatening glance at the surrounding dead for a moment.
Harry and Percy gave Annabeth and Grover a victorious smile.
Their mouths were slightly open in surprise.
"Follow me," Charon said, taking the lead straight toward the elevator.
"I thought you didn't have more drachmas," Annabeth whispered to Harry.
"I don't. Remember what Chiron said about galleons? I never said the bags were filled with drachmas," Harry said with a grin.
"Even if he figures it out, he won't care. They're still valuable. Worst case, he just buys one less suit than he planned," Percy added, wearing the same smile.
Grover couldn't help giving both of them a thumbs up.
…
The elevator they got into behind Charon was packed, just like he said, forcing them to squeeze in among the other dead waiting there. It descended instantly at a terrifying speed, making the four of them, for a moment, look for something to hold onto… and a brief panic of crashing into the ground at full speed hit them.
But not for long, because it suddenly made a soft sound as it reached the right floor.
Except the doors didn't open.
Instead, the elevator began to sway gently… like it was floating.
Right away, the walls started to fade, slowly disappearing, revealing that they were actually over water. And the metal elevator beneath their feet suddenly turned into a large wooden barge.
The group couldn't help but be startled, turning to look at Charon.
But where the elegantly dressed man had been… there was now what looked like a corpse, wearing a long black robe, turning slowly toward them, his eyes completely hollow and black.
"What?" he asked, noticing them staring.
"Nothing," the four of them said at once, quickly realizing the other dead around them had also changed, now all wearing gray robes from head to toe.
A quiet, growing fear surrounded them as they saw the shore of the Underworld getting closer, finally understanding where they were arriving.
Harry tried to distract himself by looking at the water beneath them… the River Styx.
But he couldn't help noticing it was full of floating garbage, like any random river in the mortal world.
Annabeth gripped Percy's hand tightly, closing her eyes slightly, like she needed to feel someone alive next to her. And Percy, who would normally be embarrassed by that, just held onto his own small panic.
Grover, meanwhile, seemed to be in denial, like he was convincing himself he was anywhere else but here.
As they got closer to the other side, they saw that beyond the shore of black volcanic sand, a massive wall rose all the way to the ceiling of the Underworld, lined with sharp stalactites pointing downward… and then stretching out endlessly in both directions.
"Grrrrr…"
A deep growl echoed through the entire place, making everyone look around, trying to find where it came from… like it belonged to something enormous.
"Mmm… looks like the big three-headed one is hungry. Good time to arrive," Charon said, letting out something like a laugh, though with his fleshless face it was hard to tell. "I'd wish you luck, but… that doesn't reach here," he added, just as the barge hit the sand and came to a sudden stop.
The moment it stopped, the dead quickly disembarked in lines, leaving Harry, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth for last.
"Hey," Charon said, stopping them for a moment.
Harry and Percy tensed, thinking he might have realized the gold in their pouches wasn't drachmas but galleons. But when they turned, that wasn't why he had called them.
"Don't forget to put in a good word for me with Lord Hades like you promised," he said, before easily pushing the barge away, humming to himself as he drifted off.
"Alright… technically we were invited by Hades, so this should be easy, right?" Percy said for a moment.
He took a step toward one of the three entrances in the massive wall.
But as soon as he stepped forward, something snapped under his foot.
He looked down… and saw a pile of bones scattered there.
Maybe from an animal.
"Bones… why would there be bones here?" Percy said, confused, since only souls were supposed to go to the Underworld.
"Well… maybe that's why," Harry said, looking off in another direction.
Grover had gone completely pale… and Annabeth, who had turned around, had her mouth slightly open.
Percy looked at them… then followed their gaze.
And the calm in his eyes disappeared.
They widened.
Three pairs of eyes were staring at them from not too far away… something half-buried in the sand… slowly rising.
To keep looking at its face… or rather, its faces… they had to tilt their heads way up.
Three enormous dog heads… sharing a single body.
A low growl came from all three at once as they stared at them.
"W-would you believe me if I said I know one of your relatives…?" Percy said quickly.
"Grrrrr…," the three heads growled at him.
"Yeah… and he tried to kill us too," Harry added.
"Idiots, this isn't the time… run!" Annabeth shouted immediately.
Because the one standing before them was none other than Cerberus… the guardian of the gates of the Underworld.