Hidden Wisdom and Wizards || PJO x HP

Chapter 27: Psyche

Annabeth sat in a small cafe, dozens of miles from Hogwarts. She needed a breather. She needed out.

Lost away in her thoughts, Annabeth hardly noticed the woman come up behind her. 

"Who are you?" 

The woman sighed, "Why must we always ask such trivial questions, Mrs. Jackson- Chase?"  She looked up at the goddess with a newfound anger in her eyes. "Psyche."

~~~

Psyche's lips curled up into a smile. Annabeth didn't even wait for a response before she began to bombard her with her most important question: "What do you want with Percy?"

Psyche smirked. "The soul is a sacred thing, Annabeth. It's fragile. Hit it once, it fractures. You can glue it, and tape it, and sew it together; but every time it's hit, a small shard falls away. Eventually, even the tape and glue can do nothing. You can only hold onto so much before it's a small piece bubble wrapped in a meat suit.

"Perseus' soul is being held together by a piece of string," The goddess continued. "All that remains are tiny shards, swept up into a pile, and taped to the floor. There's not enough of anything to keep it together."

Annabeth stared at her. "So what? You're saying my husband is soulless?"

"No. Not yet, anyways."

Annabeth shook her head, as her face got redder. "He's seeing our friends. Our dead friends. I- I think I'm starting to too. Why? And you've visited him too. Threatened him! Why?"

Psyche shook her head. "For such a smart girl, you have trouble seeing the larger picture, don't you?" Annabeth fumed in her seat, as Psyche continued talking down to her. "Perseus' soul is in pieces. The ones that are left? Those are barely his."

The puzzle began to slowly take form in Annabeth's mind. "He's seeing-- we're seeing-- our friends, because those are the pieces that are left. Those are the ones weighing the most on our soul."

Psyche nodded. "When Perseus used the Resurrection stone-" Catching Annabeth's sharpened gaze, she added, "Yes, I know about that. Now what I was saying, when Perseus used that stone, he didn't just die and come back, his soul shattered. Perseus may be more god than mortal, but he is still mortal. And the mortal in him? That will be the last shard remaining if he continues down this path."

Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut. "What path? How do we save him?" She knew pleading with a goddess would get her nowhere, but she was desperate. The love of her life was in trouble.

Psyche's expression turned pitiful. "You can't."

Her heart dropped. "What? What do you mean?"

"His soul is beyond repair, and there's a war looming on the horizon." Annabeth's head was spinning. Her heart was racing. Her vision swimming in and out of color. "Where They are now, the string is running low for you and Perseus. Unless you reverse it soon, the string will be cut."

"And his powers? Why they kept going in and out last year?"

Psyche shook her head. "Beyond my control."

~~~

Annabeth sat in the cafe until the manager said it was closing time. 

As much as she desperately didn't want to, she needed to tell Percy and head back to Hogwarts. 

Once she apparated back to the castle, she went straight for their bedroom. 

Knocking on the door, she let herself in and was met with Percy lying fully clothed in their bathtub.

"What in Hades' name are you doing!?" 

"Thinking."

"IN THE BATHTUB?"

Percy sat up, water dripping down his face, as he turned to look at her. "Salt water. Homemade tiny tidepool."

Annabeth shook her head. "There's literally a lake outside our window."

Percy stepped out of the tub, water splashing all over the tile, creating a very large puddle of water. "Not the same. Needed salt water."

"Why?"

Percy shrugged. "Feels cleaner. Easier to think in."

Annabeth stared at him. She sensed he was leaving something out, but given his recent history, she didn't really feel like an update on what one of their deceased friends said. 

"We need to talk. Now."

Percy's demeanor immediately shifted. Giving her a salute and a 'yes ma'am' he dried himself off (and the floor) and followed her into the bedroom.

"What's wrong?" He said, sitting on the bed. He watched Annabeth pace a little before stopping and standing in front of him.

"I spoke with Psyche."