this chapter... i don't know how to feel about it. things are settling in. there will be a few filler chapters just to get around how the characters feel around each other, e.g. interaction between Percy and the rest of his family, Audrey's involvement, and the whole plotline between Marcus, Oliver, Terence and Penelope. though i didn't write the scenes, it's generally hinted that the Greek God debacle is becoming more of a common knowledge around people centered indirectly or directly into Percy's life (e.g. Holly's reaction, Oliver trying to come to terms with it, etc). the incredulity that came with it had gone and past basically. as for Penelope's point of view, i tried to go deeper into her emotions about the situation but thought that i could just use dialogue and write the narrative as it goes because there is just so much for her to say about the situation. i bet you i could probably write a whole chapter dedicated to it, but i wouldn't. mostly because it'll be overly dramatic and meaningless.

so off the plot goes!

Ares hasn't been mentioned in a few chapters, though other Greek Gods have been. the more so obvious reason is that Artemis had stole his vessel. that, and Percy did give the cut-off point being a year this is a lot of things that happen in the background between the Greek Gods, and none of it has its own point of view. the wizarding world sort of try to catch up with whatever is going on with the Greek plotline (which i wouldn't write because it requires too many fighting/duelling scenes which i am APPALLING at and the fact that this is a Harry Potter fanfiction, even if Harry only makes small guest appearances.) thus, with that out of the way... enjoy!

review reply:

Phoenixx Rising: i think this fanfiction has taken its toll on him. i almost torture him as much as i torture ole Percy. funny considering i didn't even plan for him to be that involved into this plot!

Chapter Forty-Six

The minute that Percy was apparated into the twins' shop, he felt his head pound at the assault of sheer colour. The last time he'd seen such vibrant colours was at a gay parade!

As Percy's head swirled, he nearly ran into a display (well, not exactly ran given his dodgy leg.)

Percy stared over at the array of fireworks, most of them with terrifying sounding names (why name a bunch of fireworks Diabolic Dare Devils or Thestral Thrashers? These sounded like wizarding weaponry sold to Aurors to help them keep the peace in the nation!). Momentarily, Percy wondered how loud they were before logic seemed to encumber his excitement over the fact that maybe, he might look for Pucey's residence and throw a bunch of these over just to see that a grown man piss himself. Merlin, underneath this cold, stern exterior, he was just like the rest of his brothers. What a worrisome thought.

Just as Percy turned his head away from the display, he was hit by a box of orange sweets.

Percy cautiously stared at it. Otters Fizzy Orange Juice. "Let me guess," he said, his voice flat. "If I were to consume these juice solids, I would have my mouth fizz up to the point where I can choke on the foam."

"Nope," George said. "It's just a carbonated orange drink in solid form, but—"

"—we like that idea better!" Fred exclaimed, only for Percy's cheeks to colour in deeply.

Percy turned around and saw a display of a particular purple stuffed cat staring back at him. He'd flushed into a brighter hue, especially taking in the title of these little mongrels. Penelope's Purple Pussy Cats. He couldn't even begin to believe these two. He turned around to see George snickering. Fred seemed to have disappeared and knots were beginning to form in Percy's stomach. He did not want in his few hours at home in six years to be ruined by a practical joke!

"What are these?" Percy looked at the creatures that resembled Puffskeins but were incredibly small in comparison. "And more importantly, do you have a licence to breed them?"

"Calm down, Perce. They're Pygmy Puffs!" Fred defended, as he appeared from wherever he'd disappeared off to. "They aren't dangerous. Ginny owns one."

Percy supposed that was a no to owning a licence to breed these monstrosities. Knowing the twins, ten years from now, there would be an outbreak of these creatures and their poor mum would somehow get the blunt of it. "You're making me gauge how safe a thing is based on whether or not Ginny has one?"

"I see your point," Fred said, with a snort. His hand wandered down to a box of sweets and then turned to show them to Percy, grinning wildly. "These are our most popular item, Perce—and they bloody well should be. It took us years to be able to get this done without any harmful side effects!"

"See, you take one end, and it makes you sick so you can avoid all your responsibilities," George grinned wildly as he continued, "and the other end makes you feel normal again. We've got Fever Fudge, Fainting Fancies, Nosebleed Nougat, and Puking Pastilles!"

"I seem to have lost my appetite," Percy replied, and he actually had one to begin with. "I wonder if you've considered what would happen if someone that already has an ailment consumes one of these?"

Percy supposed that someone that had fainted wouldn't fancy a sweetie and someone that was vomiting would already throw up that pastille before it became digested.

"Lee has nosebleeds sometimes," Fred explained. "I had him have a Nosebleed Nougat just to see what happens and... Merlin, he had to be sent to the emergency room in St Mungo's! He was like a tap that just wouldn't close, even when we've given him the other end! Poor bloke."

"So, when are you going to tell us about how dangerous and terrifying these are?" George asked.

Percy furrowed in his eyebrows. "Why bother when you lot have never listened to a word I said?" he asked, his voice laced with irritation.

"That's not fair, Perce!" Fred argued, frowning deeply. "We listened to you when you discreetly told mum about the rash that you had on your bottom when you were in your third year!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "That's enough sightseeing for me," he wondered how trashed the poor Ministry sod was when he came to the shop and said that it was up to Ministry standards and wasn't violating any laws. "I would like to be escorted to a room now, please. Or a vacant couch."

"Wait," George was surprised. "You're staying here?"

"With us?" Fred called out in a similar shocked tone, "where we can prank you at any time in the day, multiple times in a day with any number of these items or any prototypes in the works?"

George shook his head in disbelief. It might have something to do with the fact that all of Percy's life was revolved around staying as far away from these two as possible. "Perce, I know we're exceeding dashing and attain the interest of many, but our flat is just above our joke shop," he pointed to the stairs just beside the counter and cashier. "Do you really want to live with us?"

"You're doing what?" a familiar voice roared through the joke shop. Percy had been a fool to think that Audrey would leave him alone for a few hours without checking up on him to make sure that he hadn't snuffed it in yet. Pleasant. "No, Percival, you are not staying here! When I dropped you off at the Burrow, I did not anticipate that you'd make plans with these two hooligans about your living arrangements."

"Hey!" Fred exclaimed. "We aren't all that bad to live with."

"And who are you again?" George raised an eyebrow.

Audrey grabbed Percy by his elbow, pulling him towards her with her wrath. "At the moment, I am the one that decides where he gets to stay and where he's staying at should not have objects that he could harm himself with. This place," she gestured towards the interior of a shop, "is not ideal! I might as well have put him in a room filled with knives!"

Percy blushed deeply. "Audrey, please," he mumbled. He did not want his family to think that he should be thrown into the loony bin anymore than he wanted Audrey to be deciding where he should live. "I believe I am capable of deciding where I am to stay in for the night thank you very much."

"I believe you don't seem to recall the chat that we had three days ago!" Audrey huffed, but Percy did remember quite a few chats they had in the last few days. Given that his main attempts had been hitting himself by the wall until he bled out (his most recent form of self-harm), he had no doubt that Audrey did have a point about his (lack of) mental stability, but he was too stubborn to accept it.

"Fine," Audrey decided, her face stern and her eyes glittering underneath the vibrant lights of Fred and George's shop. Even a blind mind could see the colours in this shop no doubt. "You can stay here, but I'm staying with you... and I'm bringing Lucy here too!"

Percy's eyes seemed to widen and the twins had mirrored expressions.

"What?" Fred and George called out simultaneously. "This isn't the Three Broomsticks Inn!"

"Who are you to make decisions for him anyway? You're not his mother," George huffed.

"No, but I am his girlfriend," Audrey sounded out, surprising Percy. From what he remembered, she'd said that she'd talk about their relationship when Percy got better. Either he was quick in his recovery, or she was desperate to have him hold her in his arms again (both of which were unlikely). Still, Percy felt a warm tingling up his spine and a fluster to his cheeks as he looked down. Apparently, from that reaction alone, Fred and George could tell that there really was something between the two of them.

Fred and George's serious expression melted and two identical grins found their way to their face.

"Why didn't you say so?" Fred asked, grinning. "That changes everything! I wouldn't want to intrude between the blossoming relationships between poor Perce and his little lass!"

"And there's a Lucy you say?" George raised an eyebrow with a brazen smirk. "Is she available?"

Percy turned to look at Audrey, whom was wrapping her arms across her chest. She had slight smirk on her face, obviously directed towards Percy. "If you're looking for a playmate, she's very available, seeing as she's my eight year old daughter."

"Oh, Perce, you've been holding out on your escapades, haven't you?" George grinned wildly.

"She's not my daughter," Percy didn't know what he'd have done to himself if he really did get Audrey pregnant when he was thirteen. Appalling thought and not like him at all. They'd only snogged a few times! He had never touched her, and their kisses were extremely innocuous. He'd gotten more from his mum when he came home for the Christmas holidays. "Lucy doesn't even look like me!"

That was when he saw Audrey smirk again. He was going to kill her. Lucy was not only a redhead with multiple freckles on her cheeks, but according to Audrey, she now also wore spectacles.

Merlin, why was he attracted to a madwoman? Why couldn't he be aroused by a woman that had some shard of mental sanity in their brains? Why was he attracted to women that were not the complete personification of everything that he'd been trying to run away from all his life? Percy would never know, but he was sure a psychiatric healer would have a field day with him attempting to answer such questions.

Percy started to regret his decision to stay with the twins immediately when a firework spontaneously went off for no reason and he'd nearly pissed himself from where he was standing, rendering Fred, George and Audrey into laughter. Perhaps, that was Pucey getting back at him because nothing in the world ever happened the way that Percy Weasley wanted it to... not that he was pessimistic by nature or anything, no matter what Audrey, his mum, the whole of Hogwarts and an ancient Greek God insisted on telling him.

AT around six in the morning, a very awake Percy had found himself feeling abnormally uncomfortable in his body. He was not sure if it was even his body that he was moving. His dodgy leg showed no signs of pain and yet, he wished that it would because there would be something there to distract him from his self-destructive thoughts that very bright morning. It wasn't even seven and he already wanted to snuff it in.

As Percy started to fantasise about harming his body in the most elaborate way with one of Fred and George's many deathly contraptions (yes, Audrey told him that this would happen and yes, he was a fool for even doubting her for a second as here he was, yet again, attempting not to flip himself headfirst into the window and crash down into a bloody mess at the end of his brothers' joke shop not only twenty-four hours after his last attempt to end his miserable life). The only thought that prevented him from doing such a thing was that his parents and his siblings still did not know the extent of his lunacy. If he did fling himself headfirst into the window into a terrifying death, then they would know that he was an unstable suicidal maniac and that was such a humiliating thought. Percy refused to admit that he'd reduced himself to-to this!

At the same time, the thought of staying alive for another second seemed nearly impossible. He couldn't, he couldn't, he felt like he was suffocating under an unknown pressure and he could barely breathe. Every neuron in his body was incited with the goal of simply snapping his body into two halves. He had an exhaustion racking up in his bones that he couldn't even begin to fathom.

As Percy stood up, turning to look down at his pyjamas... or rather, Audrey's dark red pyjamas that had multiple brooms flying on them. The length was perfect on him, which meant it had to have been too long on Audrey. As for the size, it was hanging off him as not only did he have no body fat, he also had no hips or breasts to speak of... which he was glad for because he had no desire to be a woman. The only guilt that came to him was that he was doing this in Audrey's clothing, but oh well. Audrey was due wake up in an hour anyway, as she always turned to the hospital at nine on Wednesday mornings. Thus, she should be able to wash out the bloodstains off this without much of an issue. That was, if blood was in his ploy—

Percy's heart nearly stopped into his chest when he found an eight-year-old Lucy in matching pyjamas to his, fixing her spectacles, holding an old large book to her chubby frame and staring over at the Pygmy Puffs with a excited look over at them.

"I want one of theeeese!" Lucy said, pointing to the Pygmy Puffs, which were on the highest shelf. Percy might not have been able to reach them even if he attempted to stretch up on a chair to get to them, and he was six feet tall with abnormally long limbs.

Percy didn't know if he was relieved that Lucy was that, or irritated that she was there. He was momentarily a mixture of both, with leaning more towards annoyance as hard as it was for him to admit. Seeing how much one of these cost, Percy attempted to look through the pockets of Audrey's pyjamas. Yes, 'his girlfriend' (was she really?) had given him an allowance. Yes, she even trusted him enough not to buy any sharp objects along with them—well, there was the fact that she'd given him a pitiful amount, but it seemed to probably cover the cost of one of these Pygmy Puffs from what he could deduce.

He'd put the money on the counter after calculating the amount in his head (he was offered a river of Knuts) and turned to ask Lucy which one she'd wanted.

Percy's heart nearly stopped in his chest when he'd seen that Lucy had discarded the large book that she was holding (which spoke about the history of the Calming Draught, which Percy had read at round her age and had to say that he thought that it was an excellent read) and had somehow found a ladder in all the seven minutes that Percy had spent in converting knuts to sickles and making sure that he had the correct amount. She'd also had somehow not only placed the ladder without making a single sound but had reached the top end of it and had gotten to the Pygmy Puff selection, fixing her glasses ever so often. She squinted her eyes anyway and tried to pick.

"Lucy, get down from there!" Percy exclaimed, his heart racing in his chest. He thought he might die via the aneurysm that child would give him if she didn't, in fact, listen to him.

Percy went to grab a chair and stood on top, realising that he was very much off Lucy and couldn't catch her no matter how much he stretched.

Merlin, how big was this bloody shop? How could a bloody joke shop be this big? A hospital wasn't this large!

Sighing deeply, Percy placed the chair back near the counter and decided to climb up the ladder himself.

"THIS ONE!" Lucy decided happily, picking up a bright red Pygmy Puff and squeezing it like it had no complaint which to speak of.

It seemed that Lucy hadn't noticed how far away from the floor she until then was because she squeaked, letting out an ear-shattering scream in the process as Percy nearly made his way to the very top of the ladder. Fortunately, Percy had no real fear of heights. His fears were completely condensed to the dark and his mother (and he was not sure which one he was scared of more).

As Percy licked his lip, he'd reached over to grab Lucy by her legs. From great fear, she'd jumped towards him. He lost his balance completely and fell stomach first down to the ground. Lucy was fortunately cushioned by his head, which was, according to the twins, so big that it deserved its own muggle postal code.

"Ow!" Lucy frowned. Percy did not accept headaches of this magnitude unless firewhiskey was involved. "You're not very good at cushioning falls, Mr Percy, are you?"

"No, I am not," Percy said, rubbing his head. His whole life had flashed before his eyes. It was pathetic.

"What the hell is this, Percival?" Audrey exclaimed, standing there in her emerald-coloured nightgown, with eyes that were so furious that they'd somehow turned to the shade of both Percy and Lucy's hair. "I wake up literally thirty minutes after you do and you've already made a scene that might've gotten the Auror department and the St Mungo's involved! What are you doing down here at this time? Oh, if poor little Lucy wasn't here, I sense that something else would've happened that would also actually have required the Auror department and St Mungo's?"

"Audrey, please," Percy rubbed his temple. "I had just come down for a cuppa."

"Percy, the tea is upstairs," Audrey said in a stern voice, making Percy flush. "Dear Merlin, you will be the death of me. If this happens again, I swear that I'm dragging you to St Mungo's myself."

"Mum!" Lucy had grabbed her book, walking towards Audrey (and accidentally stepping on Percy's hand, which had camouflaged with the white floor apparently) and showed her the Pygmy Puff. "Mr Percy helped me get one of these! Isn't it pretty?"

Audrey grabbed the Pygmy Puff and tossed it back to the top shelf with very little effort. She could easily have been a Chaser or a Beater in Quidditch. Percy nearly wanted to curse her for doing that in such a natural manner. "Yes, love, but if Mr Percy was listening to me when I talked about you all these years back, then he would've remembered that you're allergic to Puffskeins."

PENELOPE Clearwater mind felt muzzy, wobbly and most of all, heavy— a number of ostentatious colours began to form in front of his bright blue eyes. As she came back to reality, a year's worth of bright, poignant memories encumbered in her hazy, throbbing mind. As the memories assaulted her, she curled up into a pathetic ball, hugged her knees to her chest. She buried her golden head into her fleshy thighs and sobbed recklessly. Her chest tightened with every sob that left her frail, abused body. She felt a warm hand pressing against her hair, and soft, long fingers running through those golden locks. Penelope looked up, sniffling, only to recognise a particular gentle face framed by a long wave of platinum blonde hair.

Penelope immediately sat up, wrapping her arms around Holly's frame as tightly as possible.

"Shhh..." Holly seemed surprised for a few minutes because she didn't respond until later. She then wrapped her arms around a vulnerable Penelope's frame. "It's going to be alright, Pen."

"I haven't been able to use my actual body in a year, Hol—a year," Penelope sounded out, her shoulders trembling and her lips quivering. "And I married that, that—that troll! She made me marry him! And he touched me. Godric, I've seen contaminated wounds that are cleaner than me," she shuddered in disgust.

For a year, Penelope hadn't chosen what clothes to wear, when to shower, what hair products she wanted to use, whether or not she wanted to move her hands, close her eyes, pull away a few golden strands away from her face, take a few deep breaths when the world seemed overwhelming, straighten her robes, see her mum just because she wanted to, tell her father what was really bothering her, stare at stars as she mixed in her night time porridge, eat what she wanted to, sleep when she wanted to, and most importantly, she hadn't even gotten to choose whom to bloody marry—

Her body had been used. For a year, her own body wasn't hers. The home that she'd carved for herself twenty-one years ago was... gone. She could not weep for it, for those eyes weren't hers; this skin wasn't hers.

She couldn't choose whom pressed up against her, whom listened to her, whom spoke to her, whom loved her, whom she loved. She hadn't even been really been there for the birth of her first child. Never in Penelope life would she even consider getting married to that—that thick-headed Neanderthal! Oh Merlin, she had a baby with him. And that little bundle of joy that been in her body for nine torturous months had his blood running through her arteries. Penelope thought that she was going to be bloody sick just at the thought of it!

It was like a nightmare she was watching slowly unravel before her eyes. All she wanted to do was wake up.

She could recall how nauseated she felt like the minute that Marcus had unbuttoned the first few bits of his shirt and pulled it off. Aphrodite unbuckled in his belt and bits of Penelope's souls chipped away with every piece of fabric he discarded.

Penelope had seen anatomical skeletons with more on them than he did. She wanted to scream when he'd climbed on their bed, tucking her hair into her ear (who gave him the bloody permission to do that? To kiss her? To touch her?). Every molecule of Penelope's being wanted to smack him. Instead, she just pulled down a hesitant Marcus on top of her body and said yes. She hated him she hated him SHE HATED HIM—and she hated it even more that he was just as much of a victim as she was, because how could he have known? He found it challenging to read the back of a box of Ice Mice, much less know that a woman had to have been under a some variant of a Greek Imperius curse to even consider having a romantic relationship with him! Every time he'd asked for consent, Aphrodite said yes. Penelope could not believe she lost her virginity to-to the same bloke that used to think it was funny to steel her books and hide them in the boys' filthy underpants drawers where she wasn't looking! How unpardonable, how nauseating, how absolutely gut wrenching!

A small part of Penelope would rather she had given it to Roger Davies. She'd bet she'd even be more willing. Penelope genuinely was repulsed by every second she spent with that little part-troll with the nearly translucent grey eyes and sardonic smile. Merlin. Marcus? Really? No matter how many times he scrubbed himself, he seemed to smell like he'd just taken a dip in the swamp... and from what Penelope could remember, he nearly blew up their flat trying to make her evening porridge. Four times he did that. Four times!

Holly seemed surprised by this. "Marcus?" she echoed in a small voice. "Don't talk about him like that."

Penelope felt like she'd been hit with a bucket of ice water. "What?"

Holly's face remained unchanged. She seemed stern and offended. "What did he do to you? Except probably save you from being a Greek Goddess' meat suit for another year—"

"—by stabbing me with a poisoned arrow," Penelope said, voice rising. "You don't know anything about this—"

"—Penelope, I love you but what in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" Holly cut her off, her eyes hardening. She was not the sympathetic gentle face that Penelope had seen moments ago. "I know the story. Oliver Wood clued me and I bloody believe him. He told me what Marcus did. He told me why he did it. He even told me why a Greek Goddess was interested in you in the first place! And the Auror department confirmed it. Your father confirmed it. I know everything there is to know about this—"

"—I don't want to see him," Penelope weakly stated. "Just bring me my daughter and get him to go away."

"It took us thirty-six hours to stabilise you, Pen. He was waiting outside this entire time, and hadn't moved a muscle and you want me to go outside and tell him to go away?" Holly called out incredulously, eyes wide with confusion. "Pen, you're tired. You're scared. You just went through a traumatising experience. You haven't been yourself for a year. And Avis is growing up so quick. She already is beginning to understand—"

"I'm not tired or scared," Penelope's face was still. "And he isn't touching my daughter ever again."