Phoenix of Olympus (PJO/Harry Potter) UNEDITED (PJ FANFICTION)

Ch. 12- Discoveries Can Lead to Suspicion

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*Please read the Author's Note at the end of this Chapter*

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Hestia's P.O.V 

"I promise..." I let out an involuntary sigh of relief at his words. He's no longer acting psychotic. For now at least, but I'll take it. 

I looked down at him and fell to my knees beside him, collecting him in my arms like I would a small, terrified child. He curled up against me and once again the reality of his life and his youthful age thundered against me. He snuggled his head on my chest, over my collar bones and his face tucked into the crook of my neck. He let out shaky breaths and his skin was trembling under my touch. 

We did this to him.

We robbed him of his childhood, or what little childhood he had before he was claimed. We ruined him and we noticed it too late. His mask was too perfect, and we were too complacent. We didn't care enough to look beyond his smile. 

His body lost all tension and his skin began to shimmer gold. A new layer of skin flowed like water over his entire body. Once the glow and bright light died away, his skin was unblemished, only tainted by his numerous tattoos and carved muscles. He stood up and turned his back towards me and summoned a black long sleeve shirt, gently pulling it over his head. Once it was on, he stayed turned away, almost as if he were afraid to face me. 

"You know Hestia, many, aside from Aphrodite and Apollo, think my pain is simply emotional and psychological." I looked at him, confused by where he was going with his words. "There are these string like tendons inside a human's heart. They sometimes break, or rip apart after a deep emotional trauma. This causes the heart to lose form, and as a result, it can no longer pump blood effectively. So, you can literally die from a broken heart."

I paused.

"Why are you telling me this Percy?" His unreadable gaze focused onto the waves lapping the sand from a distance. I could only see his profile, but the shadows marred his face into a scowl. 

"I am telling you this because I suffer from Broken Heart Syndrome. That was the first thing Apollo had to heal aside from my loss of energy and fading life force. My heart had literally been torn apart as Annabeth died in my arms. And even now, though it should be healed, I still feel the ghost pains, as if with every thought of her....my heart just breaks down a little more." 

There was nothing I could say to that. To die of a broken heart. It was a real, not just some story. It was real. That means if we hadn't gotten to Percy quickly, then he would have died over the loss of Annabeth. No wonder Aphrodite collapsed and broke down, mumbling and sobbing incoherently. She felt the backlash of both Percy's emotional torment and the physical pain his heart suffered as her own. It was more than just losing a soul mate for him. And we never noticed. He sounded so sorrowful, so lost and defeated but his words... they were almost casual in delivery. As if what he was saying had no importance. 

I gathered him in my arms for an unknown amount of time. I could feel him trembling, but I don't think he knew he was shaking almost uncontrollably. I heard gentle sniffles and the muffling of sobs, but did not feel my dampening shirt because of tears. He was still refusing to cry. I almost told him it was okay but, I knew he knew. While I was unsatisfied, he was still leaning on me. He trusted me enough to see him like this. Still, he is too hard on himself. He couldn't forgive himself, he was drowning in guilt, just like many mortal soldiers.