The owl arrived at some point and Percy got better. He could apparate again and he could hold up his wand again without any stabbing pain in his shoulder. The locket went around in turns and the feeling that got onto his shoulder made his dreams come up again.
The dreams of being under the sky, Atlas fighting and killing his own daughter, the huntress, Zoë. It was something Percy could never escape. The feeling of the locket weighed heavy on his shoulder, but the pressure from the sky couldn't compare.
Happy to finally be able to help around, he walked out of the tent and looked around, searching for his love. His heart accelerated as he saw the scenery in front of him, a man with a limp body over his shoulder, and another who stood right in front of Hermione's nose.
The man in front of her looked unaware that she even stood so closely to him. The spells must've been working or else she wouldn't be standing anymore. The darkness showed them as mere figures in the dark.
A thud sounded, Percy's eyes snapped over to the sound and he watched as the two men argued over the body. He quietly inched closer as the two men continued their way. In Hermione's reach, she stretched her arm and buried herself into the crook of his neck.
Percy leaned down and hugged her closely to him, looking at the place where the man stood inches away from her. "Oh Hermione." He whispered and he put his hands on her cheek, making her look up at him. Kissing her forehead, he muttered. "You're safe. We're all safe."
He felt tears stain his shirt and his heart sank. The encounter was close, too close. The possibilities if the spell didn't work ran through his head and he just couldn't fathom what would happen. Repeatedly pressing kisses to her forehead and finally he leaned down and pressed on against her lips, it was light, reassuring.
"He could smell my perfume." She said, quietly. Percy put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards the tent, it was time that their shift changed.
Together they laid in bed. He faced her and he reached out to stroke her cheek, "What are we doing?" He questioned, silently.
"I don't know." She whispered back, saddened. "We've got the locker, but what more?"
Percy let out a breath, they were playing the long game. It was ultimately getting a bit too long for him. He wanted to go home, see his mother, see Paul and see his little sister. All that he wanted to do at the moment was pick Hermione up and apparate back home, watch her get along with his whole family all over again.
Hermione reached over and kissed him, when she pulled away, she put a hand over his, that rested on her cheek. "We should sleep." She whispered out, "We're going to a new location tomorrow."
He nodded and reached over to kiss her forehead, "That was too close, today." Hermione hummed and he watched her brown eyes disappear behind her eyelids. He took a moment to take her in, her hair looked different than usual, she held it up differently. The girl looked so tired.
He frowned as he closed his eyes, her hand reaching out and finding her waist. Pulling her closer to him, their bodies pressed against one another. Automatically, she buried her head into his chest, he gently combed a hand through her tangled hair. He knew she enjoyed the sensation of it.
—
It was raining. Percy took in a breath and casted his eyes up to the sky, the grey clouds trekking over their new location. It was beautiful to see them around the hills and the grand lake.
Taking a dip was great, he felt energized and was generally more happy. If only the damn radio didn't ruin everything. He was deep in his thoughts as he suddenly thought of Camp Half-Blood. He snorted as he thought about how some campers were thinking that the quest he was sent on was only going to take a week, or more.
But it was way more, he had been at the school for about two years now, only being able to visit wherever Harry went.
He could hear faint snipping of scissors inside of the tent, he sprayed some water up in the air and pulled out some drachma. "Fleecy, please show mom." He muttered and threw in the coins. The image sputtered but it showed his mother.
She still looked the same, but the grey hairs were more prominent. "Hey mom." He greeted with a small smile, "How is everyone?"
His mother brightened at the sound of her son's voice, "It's been challenging." She admitted, "Half of the family left after the first month to go on their own." Sighing, she continued, "MACUSA is a bit of a mess, at the moment. They're trying to stop migrating wizards from Europe, lately, nobody knows if you're a death eater or not."
Concern swelled up inside of him but it quickly ebbed away when he saw a little girl in the back of the I.M., "Estelle!" He called out, a smile forming on his face. The little girl was growing, quite fast, gods, he is missing so much.
The little girl looked at the I.M. and smiled, "Pewcy." She called out, his mother picked her up and put her on her lap. The girl reached out and his smile dropped. The message disappeared, he chuckled in amusement and put a hand over his mouth.
Estelle always reached out to her older brother. The way that she said his name made his heart melt. He stood up and walked inside of the tent just to see the light go off. Confusion swept through him. "Yeah, I'm still here." Ron said. "But you two carry on, don't let me spoil the fun."
"What's wrong?" Percy questioned as he looked at the three, the tension was flying through the roof.
The ginger scowled and looked over at Percy, "Wrong? Nothing is wrong, not according to Harry, anyways."
He let out a breath and put a hand to his forehead, a headache building up. Shimmering light caught his eyes and the locket around Ron's neck reflected the light. He looked over at Hermione and knew that she realized the same thing.
They continued to argue and Hermione walked in front, "Ron, please take-" she reached over to the locket but was pushed aside.
"Ron." Percy scowled and took a step forward, the only thing keeping him back from the ginger was Hermione's hand on his chest. "Take it off." He ordered.
Ron looked over at him, "What do you think you're doing, ordering me around?" The ginger reached and nudged a hand into Percy's chest, "Just because you've fought in wars before shouldn't mean that I have to!" his accusing finger then turned to Harry. "Do you want to know why I'm listening to that radio all day?"
He now pressed a finger into Harry's chest, "To make sure that I don't hear Ginny's name, or Fred, or George, or Mum."
Percy backed away, the finger in his chest would've set him off if Hermione's pleading face didn't stop him. He hated seeing them like this. "-No you don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead." Ron shouted, "You have no family."
Hermione casted a shield between the two as they held out their wands at one another. Percy stepped forward and glared at the two, Harry shouted, "Go, go on then!" Ron ripped the locket off of his neck and walked over to the exit of the tent.
He turned to Hermione, "And you, are you coming or not? You know it is a lost cause." Ron spit out and Percy frowned at the boy. "Fine I get it, I saw you two the other night."
"What?" Percy spit out, "This again?" He questioned and looked at Hermione. "We've been in a relationship for nearly two years now, Ron. Get over it."
"It's the locket-" Hermione tried to say but her voice faltered when Ron glared at Percy and walked out. The godling let out a breath and shook his head as he looked over at Harry. The boy was breathing heavily and he motioned at him to sit down.
Hermione went outside, trying to call Ron back. Percy just closed his eyes, trying to dull the ache in his head. With a pounding head he warmed up the water in the kettle with the pull in his stomach.
He took the mugs and filled them up, putting in the black tea bags that he had on hand. He always brought tea for Hermione. He handed Harry one before going outside with two mugs. Her voice had long turned hoarse from shouting after the Weasley.
She sat by the dying fire and Percy held the mug out for her. "Drink, love." He whispered, glad that it was dark outside, the light would've made his headache even worse. With shaking hands she took the mug from his hand, he watched as he cradled the mug.
He sat down besides her and put an arm around her shoulder, rubbing it and pulling her closer. Pressing a single kiss to her temple, "He'll turn up." He assured her quietly, but he didn't know if Ron would.
He knows that the Weasley misses his family but the lump in his throat said that Percy missed his own as well. He had been away from them for too long, always off, fighting in wars that weren't mortal-made. The part of him that made him go inside was to tell Hermione off of Estelle's antics but the argument made him bite his tongue.
The fire in front of him flickered a bit before it turned into glowing, hot coals. His breath hitched as he thought of the fire on Olympus. It was neutral ground for all gods, to rest and not fight. This fire wasn't anything near the warmth that Hestia her fire gave off.
He longed for home, but he rested his head against Hermione's as the girl buried her head into Percy's shoulder. He frowned at hearing the quiet hiccups, Hermione was sad and his house was on fire.
All he wanted to do at that moment was drag Ron back, so that the fire and comfort of his home, which was Hermione. Would ignite again. The question he wanted to ask his mother was pushed towards the back of his head.
—
They had to move.
No longer did Percy find comfort on the beach by the lake. Instead they pitched a tent on the cliff, it reminded him of when they had to pick up Nico, and Bianca. He wondered what happened to Nico, after the war. He hadn't spoken to the son of Hades.
Hermione found comfort in the radio, she switched the frequency up to a muggle station and listened to the music, her head resting on her knees. It was a bit tense between the two, especially after Ron's comment.
With everything in his heart, Percy hopes that she doesn't break it off with him just to please Ron. Harry had told him the things that she would do for Ron and jealousy stirred underneath his skin, but he never once spoke a word about it.
It was illogical to think that way. The goddess of love had promised him a complicated love life and the only thing that Percy was thinking of at the moment was Ron taking every aspect of their relationship personally, as if he had reserved the right.
Something in hin felt glad that Ron had left, but he felt his heart break at the sight of Hermione being saddened by it. Really makes him want to yank Ron back to the damn campsite.
Hermione found comfort in the radio and he found comfort in the stars. Outside he had pitched a hammock from his bag and just looked up at the sky. Everything was coming back to him now, all of the memories of the Titan War, all of the deaths and all of the things he could've prevented from happening.
"Beckendorf, Zoë, Bianca, Michael Yew. Silena." He whispered their names, his mind needing to remember. He said them as if they were there. Zoë would glare at him and tell him to call her Lieutenant Nightshade, Bianca would smile and reply to him by repeating his name in the same tone. Michael would raise his eyebrow, unimpressed. Lecturing Percy to just call him Michael and to drop the Yew. Then he imagined that Beckendor would just laugh and clap his back.
Music came from the tent and he closed his eyes as he laid his head back to watch the night sky once again. He knew that Harry had to take the first step here, Percy was already getting better with Hermione.
The small conversations when they laid in bed together helped a lot.
When laughter came from the tent, he let out a breath of relief. He looked up to the huntress and smiled, "You would've liked her, Zoë." He hummed and rolled out of the hammock. Walking through the tent flap he saw Hermione let go of Harry.
She faced him and Percy smiled as he held his hand out. He was never the one to dance, he always stood in a corner drinking the first beverage he could get his hands on. Hermione however, made him want to celebrate every single moment he could have with her.
He doesn't care what form of affection it comes from, he just wants to show how much he is willing to do for her. She gave him a weak smile and intertwined their hands. The godling smiled as if he had won a prize and pulled her closer to him.
"Baby, I'm yours." He hummed, and put a hand on her waist as they moved back and forth. The girl was happily looking up at him, he looked down and smiled, "And I'll be yours." He sang to her, "Until the stars fall from the sky."
He was amused at that lyric, interpreting it as Zoë rushing down to take Hermione from him and over to the hunters. Stating that men are pigs, of course, that was the Zoë who hadn't even met him before. He voiced his thoughts to her, "She'd be proud." he whispered.
Hermione looked confused.
"Zoë." He hummed, "The survival in the forest skills that she taught me really came in handy, hasn't it?"
Hermione laughed softly, "She really developed a soft spot for you, hasn't she?"
Percy gasped dramatically and looked up to the ceiling of their tent, "Don't let her hear you say that, she's probably in denial." Hermione laughed and put her head on his chest.
"How are you feeling, love?" He whispered, looking at the exit where Harry was, keeping watch.
The girl let out a breath, "Lost." She admitted silently, "What are we doing here?"
"We're here to help Harry." Percy said, "Believe me when I say that all I've been able to think about was leaving with you, going to that house that Dumbledore has left us and just spending the rest of our lives there. Ignoring everyone and everything." He whispered as he lowered his head so he'd whisper by her ear.
The girl shivered and Percy smiled, victoriously. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, she leant forward and pressed a meaningful kiss against his lips. "I love you." She said.
Percy smiled and stretched his arm out, twirling her around before pulling her close once again. "I love you too, Hermione." He said. "Always."
"Until the stars fall from the sky?" She said with a teasing smile.
The godling let out a faint laugh, "Until the stars fall from the sky." He confirmed.
—
Godric's Hollow is considered to be a historically important village, it was where Voldemort was first defeated. Walking along the snowy lane, Percy hung back as they discussed the sword of Gryffindor. His motivation to do anything had long run out and away from under him.
He had drunk some polyjuice, appearing as some random muggle. He immediately took off the invisibility cloak and looked around, not wanting to be restricted by the fabric. His breath hitched when he saw the Christmas decorations among the streets. "It's Christmas." He whispered and immediately he felt distracted.
Hermione's hand found his and his breath hitched, he'd kiss her but the woman he was staring at wasn't Hermione. He just squeezed her hand, "I might have something for you, after this." He whispered.
The light reflected off of her face, different colored lights were hung up on a windblown Christmas tree. Several stores were closed along with the local post office, pubs and the village's little church.
From the church sounded a little carol that Percy immediately recognized, he hummed along the tune as he saw people struggling to walk over the road, as it was hard with ice and slippery.
"They'll be there." Hermione followed his line of sight, behind the church was a graveyard and Percy was a bit foreign with the concept of a graveyard. The burials he had been to were mostly made out of pyre's.
Hermione had let go of his hand and the cold immediately hit him. He wanted to reach out and hold her close, but he knew that it was for Harry. Harry who was going to see his father and mother's grave for the first time. He didn't mind following them, quietly, keeping the look out for them.
He felt haunted when they stopped by the statue. A man who resembled Harry, the man wore the same untidy hair as he did and the glasses perched on his nose were the same. Then the woman, with long hair and a pretty face, but Percy couldn't find a resemblance.
"They said that I have my mother's eyes." Said Harry, quietly. They looked at the statue, where the eyes were the same color as the rest of the statue. Percy waved his hand and the snow on them melted, getting rid of their snow caps.
The baby in their arms haunted him as well, it reminded him that Harry had just been a baby when it all happened, when a man had set out to kill him. Percy knows how it feels to be hunted, but not like this.
Eventually Harry continued to walk, leaving Hermione and Percy to follow after him.
The singing got louder as they got closer to the church, Percy could see the effect it had on the two of them, Harry's breath hitched and Hermione immediately reached out to Percy, holding his arm to her body.
Percy pushed open the gate at the entrance of the graveyard and they edged through it. With his water powers, he waved his hand again, clearing the path between the graves. They no longer had to move through the snow and they walked around the building and before them revealed a row of snowy tombstones.
Quietly, Percy took the scarf off from around his neck and wrapped it around Hermione's. His lips tugged up for a second before moving over to Harry, listening at his revelations. "Look at this, it's an Abbott, could be some long-lost relation of Hannah's." Said Harry.
"Keep your voice down." Percy said and put a hand on his shoulder. Following after the wizard, deeper into the graveyard. Next one to call out was Hermione. "Here!" She exclaimed.
Percy looked around the graveyard in hopes that they hadn't caught anyone's attention. "-look!" She pointed at something but Percy kept his eyes on the street and the church. The carols had long faded from his ears but continued to play in his head.
"'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'" read Harry.
They talked about Dumbledore and Percy couldn't help but feel saddened by it. The man had left his forgotten hope into his hands, to actually make something off of it. Dumbledore had seen himself as a potential great-grandfather.
Choked up he wiped away a tear, he would've loved to have a grandfather that isn't evil. He followed Hermione around the graveyard, keeping his distance from Harry as he searched for his parents. "Harry, they're here." She called out, "Right here."
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Harry read it slowly, "Isn't that a death eater idea? Why is that there?"
"It's not like the death eaters," Percy spoke up, breaking his silence that he had for the past few days. "It means living beyond death. Living after death." He said and pulled two drachma out of his pocket. He placed them on the gravestones and looked at Harry, "For Charon." He said quietly, "The waitlist can be long for mortals." He muttered.
Hermione raised her wand and moved it in a circle, a wreath of roses bloomed before them and Harry caught it, gently laying it down on the stone where his parents finally rested. The boy with the glasses turned away and they saw it as a sign to move.