Percy
Lighting flickered outside the leaded window, briefly illuminating the Gryffindor common room with an eerie light.
"Zeus is at it again," Annabeth muttered, watching the horizon tear itself apart.
Percy buried his face in her hair. It was the night before the Second Task and they were curled up in a chair by the fire, watching the storm. In the distance, the lake heaved in the wind.
"Thank you for understanding," he whispered, "about… everything."
She sighed, "Percy we talked about this. It wasn't your fault. Voldemort was driving you crazy. Harry will understand, once you explain."
"I just wish he would talk to me," Percy bit his lip. It had been weeks since the "incident," but Harry, it appeared, was avoiding him and he didn't want to push it. If Harry needed time, he would wait.
"You did try to kill him," Annabeth reminded him gently.
"I wouldn't-"
"I know."
"Annabeth?" It was Neville. He smiled apologetically for butting in, "Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office. She said to come alone."
"Now?" Percy glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was almost 11'o'clock, past curfew, and the common room was practically empty.
"I'll be fine," she pressed her lips softly against his, "You need sleep for the morning, anyway."
He raised an eyebrow; neither of them was worried about the Task tomorrow, but she pushed him firmly in the direction of the staircase and he wandered obediently to the dormitory. Nico was snoring softly in the corner, his and Will's arms dangling in the space between their beds like they'd fallen asleep holding hands, but Harry's bed was empty.
He pulled on his pyjamas quickly and tumbled into bed, pulling the red-and-gold covers up to his chin. The British winter was colder than any of the demigods had been prepared for and the freezing air stung his exposed skin. Outside, hail ricocheted off the window like bullets as the sky continued it's relentless attack.
His dreams were filled with fragments of half-forgotten memories… "Come on, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth tugged on his hand, the Doors of Death pulsating with dark energy in the distance. The "snip!" of the thread he'd watched the Fates cut, the day he arrived at camp. He saw his pregnant mum, round and glowing like the moon. "Percy!" she yelled in a voice that wasn't her own, "Where's Percy?"
"Mum?" he called, "Mum, I'm right here!"
"Percy!" He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, reaching blindly for the light of the waking world. The first thing he saw was his pillow, damp with drool, then Harry at the end of his bed, his robes crumpled like he hadn't slept.
"Percy, wake up!"
"Wassatime?"
"What?"
"What's the time?"
"It's almost half-past nine. The Task starts in five minutes!"
Five minutes. He rolled out of bed, groaning as he fumbled with his clothes.
"Harry, listen, I need to explain-"
"That doesn't matter now!" Harry grabbed Percy's shoes from under the bed and shoved them in his direction, "They've got Ron. Percy, where's Annabeth?"
"I don't know," he admitted, "I haven't seen her since last night, McGonagall wanted to see her."
"Same thing with Ron."
"You think they've taken her?" The first tendrils of panic began to unfurl in his stomach, "They can't just take someone for a contest!"
Looking up, he saw his own worry reflected in Harry's eyes. He gave up tackling his laces, snagged Riptide from the dresser and bolted for the staircase, Harry close behind.
His thoughts were racing. He could breathe underwater, but Annabeth couldn't. The words of the song echoed in his head, now sounding uncomfortably close to a prophecy, past an hour the prospect's black… They wouldn't really endanger students as a test, would they?
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back…
He sped up, thundering down staircases, ignoring the insults the portraits hurled at him.
"Sleeping in. Typical, isn't it?"
"Teenagers these days, no respect!"
The Entrance Hall was empty, except for a few who cried "good luck!" as they passed. Everyone must already be at the lake, he realised. Harry was now struggling to keep up, his breathing ragged.
"Hogwarts should really have gym classes," Percy pointed out, reluctantly slowing down.
"Don't worry about me!" Harry panted, "Go!"
Percy shook his head stubbornly and together they sprinted across the lawn to the lake. The last of the boats sped across the water in the distance, it's passengers a group of blue-robed Beauxbatons girls, chattering excitedly in French.
"Wait!" Harry yelled, "Come back!" but either they couldn't hear him or didn't care as the boat continued skipping merrily along, leaving a silver trail in it's wake. "What do we do now? Swim?"
"No time," Percy grabbed Harry by the waist and flung him unceremoniously over his shoulder, wading into the lake. He was grateful his powers protected him from the cold as the morning had brought with it a biting wind and the water must've been freezing. The currents responded to his thoughts, propelling them through the water toward the stands on the opposite bank.
As they approached, he saw Malfoy and his cronies miming being carried. He doused them in cold water, turning their jeers into shrieks.
"Merlin's beard!" Harry muttered, as the current deposited them in the shallows near the shore. "At least now I know why you weren't worried about the Task."
"I wasn't worried… until they took Annabeth," Percy said, waving frantically at the judges, "We're here!"
As they stumbled through the water toward where Fleur was waiting, he scanned the crowd for his friends. Paolo was sat with Hermione in the front row. Further up, Nico grinned guiltily at him from beside Will. "Sorry," he mouthed.
They reached the shore. Percy was dry, but the hem of Harry's cloak was soaking, and Fleur glared at him contemptuously as they walked over to meet her, as though daring him to drip mud all over her pristine robes.
"Well, now the champions are all here," Bagman announced, shooting Percy a look that clearly said, it's your fault you're both late, "The Task will start on my whistle. The champions will have precisely an hour to recover what we've taken from them. On the count of three, one… two… three!"
The whistle was drowned out by the crowd's cheers as Percy flung himself forward into the lake. As the water closed above him, he felt more confident than he would've expected. This was his element. If Annabeth was in this lake, he would find her.
The surface wobbled above him as he swam deeper, following the steeply sloping bed. Cracks opened in the rock beneath him, underwater caves where any number of strange creatures might lurk. He uncapped Riptide, sending bronze light rippling through the gloom, and continued, sword in hand.
A scream echoed through the depths of the lake, ripping away the silence pressing down on him like cotton wool. Percy doubted whether anyone without his underwater senses could've heard it.
Annabeth.
He set off in the direction of the sound, plunging into a kelp forest, willing the currents to send him flying through the water.
Annabeth, I'm coming.
"Get off me, you 'orrible monster!"
Not Annabeth, then.
Pushing the last tall stalks of kelp away, he saw Fleur, her silvery blonde hair whipping around her as she struggled to escape the small horned demon clutching her ankle. Her face, encased by a bubble Percy supposed allowed her to breathe, was pale.
"It eez a Grindylow!" she cried upon seeing him, "I 'az lost my wand!"
Percy swung Riptide, slicing through the water demon which promptly exploded into dust. Fleur's ankle was bleeding badly, staining the water red.
"You need to get this looked at," he told her.
"No!" Her voice, echoing slightly through the bubble, cracked with determination, "My sister eez down there! I must save 'er!"
"Fleur, you'll pass out before you reach her."
"But-"
"Go. I'll find her," he regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but Fleur couldn't go on and he couldn't abandon an innocent child.
"Will you?" her face lit up with hope, "Will you, really?"
"I-I will."
She frowned, "Swear it. Swear it on something zat matters."
"I swear it on the River Styx – that's the most serious oath a demigod can make."
Her face was scrunched in pain, but her eyes shone with admiration, "I didn't believe you before now, about being a demigod," she admitted, "But I do now. You are a good man, Percy. You better bring my sister back." She kissed him on the cheek and swam upwards, flinching each time she kicked with her injured foot.
And with that promise weighing him down, Percy sank toward the lake bed, now with two missions instead of one.
Sorry it's been a while but I've been enjoying relaxing in my summer holidays. I hope everyone else is doing the same and having a lovely time! I think I'm going to update weekly from now on so stay tuned for more!
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