There's Nothing Sweeter

Disclaimer: I don't own either 'Harry Potter' or 'Percy Jackson'. All recognisable characters, content or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter Eleven:

When Percy, Annabeth and Grover returned,there were celebrations arranged in their honour. Shrouds were burned, a feast was had and the trio were the centre of it all, with laurel wreaths on their heads, stories to tell, and a little bit more jaded than they had been when they'd left. Gwen hated to see the darkness in their eyes, a veil that hung over them like the sword of Damocles, but all the same, she congratulated them on their successful quest, listened to some of their tales and returned to her friends afterwards, inexplicably weary and undeniably sad.

And strangely, Lee Fletcher could read her like a book. She didn't know how he could, or when it happened, but as he comforted her without being asked, Gwen couldn't bring herself to care. He was just one person, after all, and a particularly intuitive individual at that. It didn't mean everyone could, because if that was the case, she'd have to start knocking some skulls. Gwen Potter could never allow herself to show weakness after all.

"They'll be alright, you know," Lee informed her, easy smile on his face, "They're resilient. They'd have to be, to have gotten this far."

"They shouldn't have to be," Gwen answered bitterly, "They're only twelve."

"We all have to grow up sometime." He nudged her side. "Don't dwell on it, Sparky. We can't change the past."

Gwen didn't answer. Instead, she looked around the campsite, to Chuck and Silena slow dancing to Mick's cover of 'Each Coming Night', to Clarisse and her siblings, currently plotting ways to avenge their father, to Connor and Travis, who were currently bating Katie to their heart's content. Caster and Pollux were in conversation with a few of the other Hephaestus campers, and then there was Percy, in quiet conversation with Luke, while Annabeth blushed away nearby, and Grover admired his new seeker's license.

"Do you want to dance?"

Gwen jerked in surprised and turned to Lee, her eyes wide, his earnest. He had a hopeful smile on his face, his eyes were nervous, and despite herself, Gwen couldn't find it in her to refuse his request and so instead, she smiled.

"Sounds good."

The pair got to their feet and joined Silena and Chuck on the basketball court turned dance floor. Gwen coiled her arms around Lee's neck, the son of Apollo settled his hands at her waist, and together, they swayed along to Mick's cover of Howie Day's 'Collide'.

When Lee began to murmur the lyrics though, loud enough that only she could hear them, Gwen melted a little bit. She was a teenaged girl after all, and no matter her hardass exterior, she always enjoyed a little bit of sappy.

"Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

And out of the doubt that fills your mind

You'll somehow find that you and I collide…"

Gwen smiled, nestled herself closer to the Apollo cabin counsellor, and rested her head against his chest. He tightened his arms around her, but as the song transitioned into 'God Damn You're Beautiful', and Travis and Katie joined the dance floor, neither of them felt inclined to separate.

Lee settled his hands on her hips, took a step back from her, and met her confused gaze with nervous, but earnest, cerulean eyes. "I want to tell you something, okay?"

Gwen nodded slowly, and it hadn't even occurred to her that they'd both stopped moving, and a great deal of campers were watching them. She would kick herself later for the lack of situational awareness, but for the moment, she was a little bit too rapt up in Lee Fletcher to give a damn.

"I think you're awesome, and I'm kind of crazy about you, and I know it's kind of early, and seriously fast, but I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to the 4th of July fireworks?"

The 4th of July Fireworks, Gwen recalled, was supposedly the most romantic night Camp Halfblood had to offer. Silena and to a lesser extent, Katie, had waxed poetic about it for days, and though Gwen hadn't been particularly interested in it, she'd registered enough to know that being asked to attend them with someone was a huge deal.

More than that though, Lee Fletcher had just asked her out, and Gwen had suddenly forgotten all of the reasons why the prospect was a bad idea. So she nodded, strangely bashful, and gave the son of Apollo a smile.

"I'd like that."

Lee grinned, all pearly teeth and bright eyes. "Awesome."

They danced some more, but in a sudden whirlwind, Gwen was wrenched from Lee's arms, frogmarched towards the Aphrodite cabin, and deposited on silena's bed, where she was joined by Katie, Clarisse and Silena herself, all three of whom were eager for an inquisition.

"Alright, Sparky, I want details now," Silena declared, "We all saw what went down between you and Lee, but no one heard you two. What happened?"

Gwen rolled her eyes, flopped backwards across her friend's bed and with a sigh of long suffering, she began to explain, in painstaking detail, exactly what happened between the two. Then she left them to absorb all that she'd said and returned to the campsite, where the celebrations were still in full swing.

Connor and Travis were in the middle of some sort of game with Caster and Pollux, Annabeth was in discussion with her siblings, Lee had taken up his guitar and Mick was accompanying him. Chuck was arm wrestling with one of the sons of Aries, Grover was still admiring his new license, and most everyone else was present.

Most everyone, that is, but Luke and Percy.

Gwen swallowed hard, suddenly anxious. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and after everything she'd been through, Gwen had learned to trust her instincts.

Approaching Annabeth, Gwen queried, "Hey, Blondie, where's Shark Boy and Hermit?"

Annabeth blinked, surprised, and queried, "Do you mean Percy and Luke?" Gwen nodded. "They went hunting."

Annabeth gestured over her shoulder, to the looming, obnoxiously dangerous, forbidden forest, and Gwen grimaced her displeasure. Fear welled up in her, for Percy, and after a brief explanation of where she was going, Gwen hurried towards the tree line, still unsure of why she felt as though something was entirely wrong with this situation.

The Hermes cabin counsellor was a dick, yeah, but surely, Luke wouldn't hurt him? He'd basically become Percy's mentor, after all, and so why would he?

"Point me Percius Jackson," Gwen intoned, her wand in her palm. It pointed to north east and Gwen, with one more glance over her shoulder, began a light jog through the trees, afraid of what she'd find within. She maintained her spell though, and before she was really prepared for it, the witch came across Luke, headed back to camp without Percy.

Her dread multiplied tenfold, and she briefly asked herself what she'd gotten herself into. That self-preservation instinct, however, was quickly smothered.

Gwen broke her spell and stared at the Hermes cabin counsellor, wary. He had blood on his fingers, and a decidedly empty expression on his face, and the witch did not like where the evidence was leading.

"Where's Percy, Luke?"

Behind her, towards camp, Gwen heard a series of screams, and she was suddenly caught between a rock and a hard place. Should she return to camp, and her friends, or should she continue on to find Percy, who was most likely wounded?

The answer seemed obvious. Camp would have Chiron and Mr D, and Percy was alone, at least as far as Gwen knew.

"You won't find him," Luke said blankly, "Not in time, anyway."

"What did you do to him, Castellan?" She demanded, temper flaring. Sparks of lightning arced up her bare arms and in the static she exuded, her hair frizzed. Gwen barely noticed, and it seemed as though Luke didn't notice at all.

"Its a mercy," Luke continued, as though he'd not even heard her, "He'll be dead soon enough, anyway. No one wants a child of the Big Three around, after all."

Gwen rolled her eyes, skirted passed the fruitcake and recast her point me spell, uncomfortably aware of just how little time she had. Luke was cracked like a broken mirror, Percy was wounded with gods knew what, and somewhere behind her, trouble had reached Camp Halfblood, and all her friends therein.

There was also the monsters within the forest to consider, none of whom would hesitate to take chunks out of vulnerable demigods, and with that in mind, Gwen quickened her pace, afraid that despite her efforts, she'd be too late. She knew, without really having to think about it, that it was something she'd not be able to deal with. Not when it was sheltered, naive Percy, who was far too young to die, who's life hung in the balance.

As she pushed through the underbrush and into a clearing, the meadow full of hyacinths, and with Percy laid out to die in the centre of it, Gwen prayed that he wasn't already gone. He was lying in a pool of blood though, and there was a dead scorpion thing right next to him, and there might have been something tragically beautiful about the scene, but Gwen was never one for art, and she was a little bit too preoccupied to admire it anyway.

"Percy!"

Author's Note: With Gwen in the picture, is Percy going to die?

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Until next time, -t.