ϟ ψ ΡΣΓCY JΔCΚSΘΝ GΘΣS ΤΘ ΗΘGΨΛΓΤS ψ ϟ

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔼𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥- ℍ𝕠𝕘𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕎𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖

"Well," Hermione began, "if you need any extra help I'd be happy to." Percy was touched; he barely knew the girl, and he knew it was an offer he'd properly have to accept at some stage.

"Thanks Hermione, that'd be great." His tone was sincere, and he couldn't fully understand the scarlet cheeks and diverted gaze that followed. He found himself looking at her for a moment, not quite sure why. She was kind, maybe not the most modest but a good person none the less, and she had such a bright smile. She had trusted him when nobody else had, and he would remember that forever.

"Uggh, get a move on lovebirds," Ron groaned as they shuffled into one of the empty compartments. Percy raised his eyebrows; what was he on about? Hermione looked like she was so close to punching him until all he had left was the smallest shred of consciousness left, and Harry was trying not to laugh.

"What was Ron on about?" Percy whispered to Harry when they sat down, genuinely confused. Harry just shook his head, laughing, as Ron and Hermione made their way to the perfect carriage.

"Just forget it," he told Percy, studying him slightly as if trying to make up his mind on something. Percy just shrugged, opting to look out the window at the world that was whirring by, mind eventually wandering to what had happened last night......

ϟ ψ

The place that he had found himself standing in was simply an empty abiss. White light was all that could be seen no matter where you looked, and it appeared to be stretching on and on for all of eternity. He felt so uncomfortable when he made the stupid mistake of looking down; there was nothing to be seen, nothing resembling a floor or solid surface at all, just more nothingness. He glanced around, knowing why he was here, waiting for her to arrive.

It was like the light bent around her, folding and stretching to let her pass, causing her figure to emerge right in front of Percy without any warning. Even if he hadn't been expecting her he would be know instantly who she was. She was deathly pale, but undeniably beautiful nevertheless. Her eyes were as black as the darkest night sky, and they were seemily impenetrable, like not even the darkest light would manage to break through them. They mirrored her hair; onyx in colour, long, dark and sleek, held in a sophisticated black ponytale. Her dress almost appeared like an illusion; it was dark and sleeveless, and the way it rippled made it seem like the cloth was ink cascading haphazardly off her body. Hectate raised her head in aknowledgement, smiling ever so slightly at him.

"Well, Perseus Jackson, I'm sure you are aware that we have much to discuss, and if you base it off any encounters you have ever had with my kind, I can't assure you it will be good...." He didn't reply, simply letting the silence stretch on like the area surrounding him. She frowned slightly, feeling a little pity, but didn't act on it; there was no other way. She snapped her fingers, and for a moment it felt as if the world spun around them. Percy thought he was going to fall to the ground; there wasn't a single solid thing to be found to stabilise himself against. When the shaking, worse than that of an Earthquake, finally stopped, he found that he was standing in a completely different place again. It took him a moment to adjust to the dimmer light; the process of his consciousness being flung to and fro was beginning to become a little disorientating, even if they were just somewhere inside his peculiar mind. He now stood in a room that looked like something out of an elegant manor, with two comfortable armchairs, a flickering fire and a large oak table. Hectate too had changed, now in a long flowing robe resembling that worn by the wizards, except in a beautiful dark green, contrasting with her now deep crimson hair. Her black eyes glistened in the light of the flickering flames.

"Sit, young hero, and we shall begin," she told him, and he did as she asked, curiosity building in him. He wasn't fully sure why he was trusting her so soon, with Gods you never really knew, but she had helped them with Gaea, and Percy doubted she wanted to let her world be torn apart by a psychotic mass murderer. He just wasn't sure how far she would use him to get her aims; that was the question playing ceaselessly on his mind.