Hazel Levesque

"I didn't come back from the Underworld and travel thousands of miles to be told that I'm stupid for setting you free."

- Hazel to Thanatos

Hazel Levesque is one of the main protagonists in The Heroes of Olympus series and one of the seven heroes of the Prophecy of Seven. She is a Roman demigod daughter of Pluto and Marie Levesque, and the half sister of Nico di Angelo.

History
Hazel was born to Marie Levesque and Pluto in New Orleans on December 17, 1928 after Marie summoned him using a spell and they fell in love. When Pluto granted Marie one wish, Marie wished for all the riches of the earth from Pluto, despite his warning that the greediest wishes cause the greatest sorrows. Her mother's ambition to become wealthy later caused her grief, as Marie began to use Hazel's unique powers (which were given by Pluto to grant Marie's wish) for selfish reasons. The jewels that Hazel collected were cursed and would cause the buyers to suffer. Marie Levesque refused to admit her part in Hazel's curse and told her it was Pluto's fault alone.

Hazel did not have many friends during her childhood with the exception of Sammy Valdez, whom she loved and had shared a kiss just once but after moving to Alaska, where the gods had no power, she never saw him again. Her mother became unstable because she was being influenced by Gaea and when Pluto came to protect them, he'd realized he'd lost her forever. Marie moved them to Seward, Alaska, beyond the power of the gods, despite the many protests by Pluto.

It was there that Hazel was forced by Gaea to raise one of her giant sons, Alcyoneus, using the precious metals that were beneath the earth on an island. Once Hazel discovered the treachery she called down her powers and destroyed the island, killing her mother and herself in 1942 but stopping the giant who would oppose her father.

The judges of the Underworld had an argument over where to put Hazel and Marie. They decided that Hazel and her mother would go to the Fields of Asphodel after Hazel gave up her chance to go to Elysium in order to save her mother from the Fields of Punishment. Then, nearly seventy years later, Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades (her half-brother), found her there, and, seeing that she was a child of Pluto, he brought her back to the world of the living due to the Doors of Death being open. Initially, he had been there to rescue his other sister, Bianca, but he was too late as she had tried for rebirth.

Once Hazel was restored to life, she began experiencing "blackouts" of her horrible past whenever he tried to think about them. Eventually, she made it to the Wolf House and, consequently, Camp Jupiter, where she was made a guard at the entrance to the Caldecott Tunnel. The blackouts usually happened when she remembered her past or thought too deeply about her old life. Later, Hazel pulled Frank Zhang into one of her blackouts, where she replayed the time when she stood before the judges of the Underworld as they decided where she would stay. Afterwards, she seems to have no more blackouts. It was a very thankful feeling for if it happened in combat she might die. Also, Pluto had told Hazel before their departure of Alaska that a descendant of Neptune would wash away her curse. Firstly, she thought of whom to be Percy, but Frank had also been a descendant and so Hazel is not sure who it might be.

The Lost Hero
Hazel is remembered by Jason as one of his friends. She knew Jason for about a month before he disappeared.

The Son of Neptune
Hazel and Frank are the two demigods guarding Camp Jupiter's entrance when Percy Jackson defeated the Gorgons. She helped pull Frank Zhang out of the water after the whirlpool Percy created calmed down. After Juno formally introduced the sea demigod and disappeared, Reyna then orders Hazel to take Percy inside the camp to be questioned. Hazel then takes Percy to Octavian, who is revealed to be blackmailing her to get her vote to be a legion leader. She then shows Percy the various temples like Neptune and Pluto where she meets with her brother Nico Di Angelo. While talking to Nico she has a "blackout."

She then eats dinner with Dakota, Percy and Frank before the war games (which is like capture the flag at Camp Half-Blood, but with a fortress and there is only one flag). They then proceed to the war game where she, Frank, and Percy are the first ones to penetrate the fortress with the rest of their team following. They then capture the 'flag' and win the war game, but before they can celebrate Gwen is killed with a weapon that looked like it was Octavian`s weapon. With the doors of death open Gwen quickly comes back and there is much confusion. They leave the fortress and are stopped by Mars, Roman god of war, who then claims Frank and gives him a special spear. He gives him a quest and his own written prophecy to go north to the land beyond the gods and free Thanatos, a god of death. Mars picks Percy to go on the quest and Frank picks Hazel. They then go to a senate meeting to decide what to give them for the quest, but due to Octavian they are given a boat and a little bit of supplies. Hazel isn't too happy about the boat, but they take it.

When they get to the Camp marina, they find the small, old leaky boat which makes her feel even worse. After they get on the boat Hazel has a vision of her past. She is then woken up by Frank. After getting attacked by grain spirits called Karpoi and watching the giant's army go by, she and the boys arrive at Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles, a store owned and run by Iris, the rainbow goddess. While Hazel and Percy make a few Iris-messages Frank battles three monstrous snakes alone, allowing them to leave.

Then they are at the sea again. Eventually they arrive in Portland, Oregon and the trio go to find the blind seer Phineas, son of Neptune. They find him trying to smack the Harpies with a weed whacker and he then tells them to find a Harpy with red feathers named Ella. After chasing Ella they catch her on the roof of a library and they take her to Phineas. But they had no intention to give the vulnerable harpy to the blind king. Percy gets Gaea to trick Phineas into drinking a vial of Gorgon Blood (one vial heals and the other one is fatal, and Phineas drank poison) and Hazel discovers the location of Alcyoneus.

They return to the boat where she has another black out, sharing it with Frank. It involves her judgement in the underworld and when she meets Nico and Frank puts his life in her hands by entrusting her with a stick that would snuff out his life if completely burned. They are then woken up and they go find Reyna's sister, Hylla, who is Queen of the Amazons. They find the lair of the Amazons, which is really a front of the online shipping company, Amazon and Percy and Frank are captured. Hazel proceeds to talk with Hylla. She asked her if the Amazons can help the camp. but Queen Hylla declines because her own people are at war with each other due to the arrival of the dead Queen Otrera who has been revived by Gaea. But Hylla agreed to let Hazel and her friends go along with the horse from Hazel's past, Arion, who will only let Hazel ride him. It's also said by Queen Hylla that only the strongest female warrior could ride him, and that person would bring a new era of prosperity to the Amazons.

They then go north to Frank's Grandma Zhang's house. When they arrive, the house is surrounded by Laistrygonians. They talk to his grandma and escape the giants and fly north to Alaska. During the ride, Hazel kisses Percy on the cheek, but just as sisterly love. They stay in Hazel's old house for awhile after getting attacked by Griffons and take Arion to the home of the giant, Alcyoneus who imprisoned Thanatos. When they get there the threesome split up, Frank frees Thanatos, Hazel takes on the giant, and Percy handles the rest.

Frank and Hazel are able to defeat Alycyoneus after they drive him to Canada. They return to Alaska to get Percy who has the eagle of the Twelfth Legion and head back to Camp Jupiter on Arion. Upon arriving, she meets Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary. Then, she heads off into battle.

Once the monsters are defeated, Hazel goes and finds Thanatos and asks him about the escaped souls. He tells her that she is not on his list of escaped souls and believed that maybe Pluto gave her pardon so that she may do some good within the Prophecy of Seven. She also makes her feelings for Frank known and kisses him to show her affection.

Afterward, she gathers in the Forum to await the arrival of the campers from Camp Half Blood on the Argo II.

The Mark of Athena
While arriving at Camp Jupiter on the Argo II, Annabeth saw Percy on the ground with his arms around Frank and Hazel, as if they were old friends. Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Leo then enter the Forum where Annabeth worries that she and Percy may have started a relationship. She quickly dismisses the thought instead pairing her with Frank. After the attack on New Rome, Hazel and Arion cause a distraction to let their friends escape. She later reunites with the others in Utah, where she wonders if Leo is Sammy Valdez. When Leo tells the seven that they need supplies, she accompanies him to the Salt Lake. They soon come across Nemesis where Hazel sees one of her past teachers. Nemesis tells them to find her brother by the Kalends of Juno and vanishes. Hazel and Leo share many romantic awkward moments until running across Echo and Narcissus. While Leo and Echo distract the cursed boy, Hazel manages to steal a sheet of Celestial bronze with her powers and flees with Leo toward the Argo II.

Hazel is later seen when Piper attempts to get rid of the eidolons, helping to catch Jason after they are banished. She later fans her face and seems flustered after Percy and Annabeth are caught alone together in the stables. Hazel later heads with Piper and Annabeth to Charleston Park where they meet Aphrodite. The goddess tells Hazel to fix her clothes so she could look even more beautiful. The trio are later surrounded by Octavian and Romans, but Percy manages to save them. Hazel, Piper, and Percy stay on board while Annabeth heads into Fort Sumter to rescue Jason, Leo, and Frank, and find the map to help her on her quest.

After they make it into the Atlantic Ocean, Hazel shows Leo a flashback of her life. There, she explains that Sammy was her boyfriend and he and Leo look exactly the same. One of Leo's memories take over, and Sammy is revealed to be Leo's great-grandfather and that he met Hera, who told him he won't live to see Hazel's greatest danger. The flashback ends and Leo and Hazel start to talk about what they saw. However, the group is attacked by a skolopendra nicknamed Shrimpzilla, and she tries to help Leo unleash Greek fire to destroy it. Gleeson Hedge then tells the crew that Hazel and Leo were holding hands much to Frank's horror. However, Hazel, Leo, and Frank are taken overboard and land in the underwater city of the ichthyocentaur. Leo explains everything that really happened while Hazel quickly makes friends with the icthyocentaur and they reunite with their friends.

Hazel stays on the ship while Jason and Piper meet Hercules. She is later taken captive by Chrysaor along with the rest of the crew except Frank. After Percy and Frank defeat him, the crew reach Rome, Italy. Hazel, along with Frank and Leo, track Nico di Angelo into the Pantheon. Leo soon uncovers a tunnel that Hazel volunteers to investigate. However, the eidolons attack once again and force Leo and Frank into the tunnel. The trio soon enter a workshop filled with inventions created by Archimedes that Leo becomes fascinated by. Hazel and Frank are soon tasered to unconsciousness by a Taser Ball possessed by an eidolon. Two eidolons possess unworkable machines and threaten to kill Leo with them. Frank wakes up in time to guard Hazel as Leo destroys the eidolons with Archimedes' sphere. Leo sadly tells Hazel that she was tracking Nico by his sword. Hazel, grief-stricken, then asks where Nico could be. Gaea laughs in the trio's faces, and shows them that Annabeth is facing her mother's mortal enemy and Jason, Piper, and Percy are drowning.

Hazel appears again with Leo, Frank, and Coach Hedge as they enter the Colosseum, rescuing Percy, Jason, Piper, and Nico. Leo tells them he had thought of an escape plan. Hazel reunites with Nico, who informs them that the mortal side of the Doors of Death are in The House of Hades. Leo, Hazel, and Frank inform that Gaea had shown them Annabeth was in trouble and they head out to rescue her. The Argo II and its crew arrive at Arachne's lair where Annabeth has barely survived the experience. Jason, Piper, Leo, and Frank secure the Athena Parthenos to the Argo II when Annabeth is dragged into a pit. Hazel desperately warns them to cut the spider silk as Nico tries to save Percy and Annabeth. Percy grabs on to Annabeth as Hazel continues to plead for help. However, Percy makes Nico promise he'll take the four to the House of Hades while he and Annabeth fall into Tartarus.

Hazel, Jason, Piper, Leo, Nico, and Coach Hedge, all aboard the Argo II, then decide to follow Percy's orders and set sail to Eprius, Greece to save them from the House of Hades.

The House of Hades
The Argo II is being attacked by earth spirits who are attacking with boulders. Hazel is almost hit by a boulder but ducks as the mast is hit and tumbles everywhere, along with Nico. Hazel runs to go help Nico up from the debris that are on him. After Hazel tells Leo that they need to leave the mountains, she starts to think of her home, Camp Jupiter, and how much she misses it. The trio decide that they should let the others sleep and come up with a plan for going around the mountains. Hazel believes that it is Nico and her fault for not being able to go through the mountain because children of Pluto/Hades are not liked by earth spirits. Hazel suggests that they go by sea, but without Percy it would almost be impossible. After the trio has almost run out of ideas, Hazel prays to her dad for the first time asking him to give them a sign. Hazel then spots something in the distance: Arion. She tells Leo to bring the ship as close to the ground so she can talk to him.

Personality
Hazel is bright and outgoing with a love for creativity and horseback riding, but a dislike for boating and curses. Percy states that she was a great comfort to him and Frank, at times even saying she seemed confident. Percy also describes her as being very mature for her age, though he felt a little uncomfortable when he started depending on her for comfort, but he was glad she was there. Hazel tends to ignore others at times for her own preferences. For example, she carries a cavalry sword while not owning a horse to ride into battle on and she originally didn't want to like Frank because everyone at Camp Jupiter said they would end up together.

She feels a massive amount of guilt over releasing Alcyoneus, and thinks it's her responsibility to bring him down. Hazel can also be easily embarrassed, such as Frank's clumsiness and his attempts to comfort her. Hazel is extremely loyal to her friends and treats them as family, as shown through her friendship with Frank and Percy, as well as the rest of the Fifth Cohort. She also shows this when she gave up Elysium so that her mother wouldn't go to the Fields of Punishment.

Appearance
Hazel is African American with shoulder-length curly golden-brown hair and gold eyes. She is marked with a glyph, the letters SPQR, and one stripe for one year of service that she received only a few weeks before Percy arrived. Frank considers her to be very pretty, while Percy says that Hazel's mother looks just like Hazel, saying Marie Levesque was "beautiful." Percy also describes Hazel as being "darker-skinned," and when Hazel is describing her mother later on she mentions that they had the "same dark complexion, brown as a roasted coffee bean." Also, when patrolling Frank's grandmother's house, Frank talks about how Hazel wore this shirt and jacket, "that made her skin look as warm as cocoa." She is toned and fit.

Abilities

 * ADHD: Like most demigods, Hazel possesses inborn supernatural battle reflexes and senses that she uses to analyze the fighting style of her opponent.
 * Fighting skills: Hazel is a skilled user of her Spatha.
 * Dyslexia: Hazel's brain is "hard-wired" for Latin.

Demigod Powers
As a daughter of Pluto, Hazel has the following abilities:


 * Geokinesis: Hazel can find any underground caves, tunnels, trapdoors and change their shapes to suit her needs or destroy them.
 * She can also use this ability to sense and summon precious metals or materials, such as gold, silver and diamonds from the Earth. She can control tons of precious metal, as shown when she fought with the Amazons named Lulu and Doris; leaving them buried in a mountain of jewelry and when she lifted all the gold in the Gryphon's nests.
 * Ferrokinesis: Hazel can sense and summon precious metals from under the ground as well as manipulate them.
 * Death Sense: Hazel states she can sense death like her half brother Nico or a creature that has died like the basilisks that Gray killed. She was also able to sense Gray, an undead warrior that returned to the Earth after it had killed the monsters, before she saw it. Leo also noted that Hazel and Nico shared a look likely comparing children of Hades/Pluto "death radar" notes when Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartaurus.
 * Flashbacks: Hazel is able to look back at events from her life before she died. At first she is unable to control when these flashbacks would happen as they would be triggered by thinking about the past too long. Eventually she gained the ability to control them after having shared a flashback with Frank Zhang. She has some control over what she sees after this and is able to show Leo Valdez a memory of Sammy Valdez from her past, but is then taken into Leo's memory, something she didn't expect. Nico thinks this happened because of her time in the Underworld, but it is still unclear how this power works.

Frank Zhang
Hazel's current love interest is Frank Zhang. The two are shown to be good friends in The Son of Neptune and are shown to have feelings for each other, though secretly.

As the two take off on the quest together, Frank reveals that he knows of Hazel's secret that she came back from the dead. The two experience a blackout together as they live through Hazel's last moments in her previous life and her experiences in the Underworld. While they are standing in the Fields of Asphodel, waiting for Hazel to return back to life, Frank tells Hazel of his secret: that his life depends on a stick. The two wake up at the same time to a worried and slightly irritated Percy.

Later, after the battle, Hazel tells Frank of her affection and the two share a kiss. Later, the two are said to be dating, but the arrival of Leo Valdez adds a few complications to their relationship. While Frank is loyal to Hazel, she seems to be drawn to Leo because of his similarities to Sammy. This leads to Frank becoming annoyed by Leo and even starts a fight between herself and Frank.

Sammy Valdez
In her former life, Sammy Valdez was Hazel's only friend and love interest. He used to take care of horses for rich people and on weekends, would take Hazel out to ride. They became boyfriend and girlfriend for a brief period of time before Hazel moved away with her mother.

In the underworld, it is revealed that if Gaea hadn't intervened and Hazel's mother had not forced her to move away, Hazel would've married Sammy and lived a long happy life. Instead, Sammy moved to Texas, married, had kids, and died. It is said though, that he never forgot about Hazel.

Leo Valdez
Hazel and Leo first meet in The Mark of Athena, but first sees him in a video scroll during The Son of Neptune. They are very awkward around each other because she thinks that Leo looks so much like her first love, Sammy. Leo, despite thinking Hazel is beautiful, constantly feels her examining him and is confused when she acts like they have met before. He also tries to avoid her to a small degree as he knows that Frank is dating her. However, the two keep finding themselves in awkward situations that leads to a fight between Hazel and Frank.

Their connection to each other is slightly cleared up when Hazel uses her ability to show people the past to show Leo who Sammy was. During this flashback, it is shown that Sammy is Leo's great-grandfather and that he asked Leo to look after Hazel for him. Despite learning this information, the two are still somewhat shy of each other.

Percy Jackson
Percy and Hazel first met in The Son of Neptune and quickly grow to become very close friends. Hazel admits to herself that when she first saw him, she thought he was a god in disguise. Also that he had "the good looks of a Roman god" and "an aura of power." They are good friends, with Hazel looking to Percy as a friend and a leader and Percy viewing Hazel as someone he can rely on. During times of distress or confusion, Percy and Hazel comforted each other like siblings and gave advice in a sibling manner, and she gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. Hazel is at times a little awed by Percy's powers as the son of Poseidon. She was once told by her father, Pluto, that a descendant of Neptune would free her from her curse and wonders if Percy is the one he was talking about. In the The House of Hades she considers Percy the "backbone" of the Prophecy of Seven.

Marie Levesque
Marie Levesque is Hazel's mother. She is also responsible for Hazel's curse. Marie is a fortune teller and a jewel seller. Marie once summoned Pluto by accident and he courted her. Later, he swore on the River Styx that he would grant her anything she wished. Marie, who had been poor her entire life, wished for all the riches in the earth. Pluto warned her of the curse it would bring, but still granted her her wish, and thus, Hazel's curse.

Marie is said to be selfish in the beginning. She was under Gaea's spell and blamed Hazel for her curse. Under Gaea, she uses her daughter and the two go to Alaska to avoid the gods. Hazel is then used by Gaea to resurrect Alcyoneus.

In the end, Marie reveals that she loves Hazel and that Hazel is the one greatest treasure in her life. Hazel, in order to stop Alcyoneus' rise, sacrifices herself. She drowns with her mother holding her in her arms.

Nico di Angelo
Although they are only half-siblings they are shown deeply care for each other. Nico tends to look out for her and worries about her flashbacks before she is able to control them. In The Mark of Athena, when Jason and Leo express doubts about Nico's loyalty, she gets incredibly furious. She was also determined to go to Rome to save Nico despite knowing it could be a trap. After Nico is saved and she sees his broken state, Hazel tries her best to comfort him.

Pluto
Hazel has only met Pluto once. It is clear that Pluto cares about his daughter, giving her birthday presents, and apologizing for unwillingly cursing her. Also, it is Pluto who tells her that her curse will one day be washed away by a descendant of Neptune.

Later, in The Son of Neptune, after Thanatos has been freed and the monsters defeated, Hazel asks him if she is on the list of escaped souls. Thanatos tells her that she is not on the list, but offers to double check. Hazel declines the offer. Hazel is later asked if Pluto has visited her. She replies that he has not, but notes that this may be a gift to her, as if he acknowledges her existence, she may have to return to the Underworld. This shows how much Pluto cares about her.

Etymology
Hazel is an Old English female name, it means "the hazel tree" which the name for a tree and color, as there is a tree called the Hazel Witch Tree which can be used for healing purposes. As interestingly her eyes are pure gold, described as being like jewels as there is jewelry that can be hazel in color.

Lévesque is Old French for "Bishop."

Trivia

 * Her favorite food is shrimp gumbo. She says it is her "comfort food." It also reminds her about living in New Orleans.
 * Hazel feels that Nico and she represent Pluto's two spheres of control: Hazel, represents wealth and Nico represents death.
 * Hazel knows a little bit of Louisiana French because she used to live there. She tried to have a conversation with Frank, because he knew Canadian French, but it ended quickly for which the reason being the major differences in the French translations.
 * Frank, Piper McLean, and Hazel are the only three of the seven heroes to have the ability to speak French, albeit different dialects (Frank knows Canadian French, Hazel knows Louisiana French, Piper knows European French and possibly all other variations of French.).
 * Nico di Angelo and Hazel's mothers share a close resemblance in first names: Marie Levesque and Maria di Angelo.
 * Hazel's role in The Son of Neptune is vaguely similar to Piper's in The Lost Hero, as they both have a crush on a member of the quest, as well as possessing a dark secret.
 * Hazel is one of the three demigods who can speak another language not related to their godly parent. The other two are Leo Valdez, who can converse in Spanish and in Morse code, and Frank Zhang, who can converse in Canadian French.
 * She is the only known demigod to be brought back from the Fields of Asphodel to live once more.
 * Hazel was told by her father Pluto that a descendant of Neptune will wash away her curse and give her peace. However, it is unknown at this time who this descendant is.
 * Despite her being a Roman demigod, Hazel's name is French.
 * Hazel is the only one of the seven so far to not be the same gender as her godly parent.
 * Horses are the only animal that aren't afraid of Hazel, unlike her half-brother Nico, who all animals fear.
 * Hazel's mother, while being controlled by Gaea, called her a "cursed child."
 * Hazel doesn't know if she has ADHD and/or dyslexia, as when she was growing up (before she died), people would simply call those with ADHD or dyslexia lazy.
 * Hazel's birthday is December 17, 1928. However, because of her time spent in the Underworld (effectively stopping her aging while there), the day she becomes a year older may be different from her actual day of birth.
 * Hazel is the only known child of Pluto, with both Nico and Bianca being children of Hades.
 * Hazel can become seasick very easily, as shown in The Son of Neptune and The Mark of Athena.
 * In Teutonic, Hazel means "commander".