Chapter 27: Back To My Second, Broken Home
After that incredibly awkward Halloween incident, not a lot of things worth mentioning happened.
Well, that may be a lie.
However, if Percy had to pick some of the most important things, it'd definitely start with the time Harry broke his arm at Quidditch.
Yeah, not that exciting.
But needless to say, not only now Percy hated professor Lockhart, who was coming a close second to 'DADA teachers I've hated'- which is a lot, considering Quirrell was the first one, and he'd been possessed by Voldemort-; but also, he was becoming more wary of what the future held.
After all, a person- Colin Crefs? Or something like that- had been petrified.
And, in his books, that wasn't a good sign.
But now, winter break was approaching, and with that new troubles were arising.
This time, though, it was in the demigod world.
It all started when Hecate, once again, contacted him in a dream, only to say "Go back to Camp Half-Blood for the winter break". And then she disappeared.
Which, first of all, Rude.
And second, he was still kind of giving her the cold shoulder, after having his powers sealed by her.
That's what she gets.
He wasn't really expecting an apology from the goddess-they tended to be prideful like that-, but, at least, he expected to be greeted normally. You know, basic manners that apparently celestial beings don't have.
The world would be such a better place if only the higher ones would bother to greet you and ask a normal "how are you?" Before getting down to business.
And so, Percy did what was expected of him: He ignored Hecate.
Again, that's what she gets.
He was planning to leave it at that, but then, he recieved a letter to come back to Camp. Not any letter, though, Annabeth's letter.
And Annabeth would always get what she wanted from him... Though don't tell her that.
So, he packed his bags and told Moony about it. Of course, once Harry found out, he was incredibly unhappy- after all, he was going to spend time away from his brother for Christmas, the only tradition the two of them had done together since they were children, even when they lived at that house-. And after all this time, Percy was going to break that tradition just so he could go to his stupid Elite school? Why couldn't he just go during the summer? Did he not want to spend Christmas with Harry anymore?
Percy had to answer all these and more questions to his younger brother, wishing he could tell him the truth.
Just wishing, once again, that he hadn't been born a halfblood.
And with a heavy heart and a still angry brother, he left Hogwarts once again, to go back to his second home.
***
After arriving in New York, Percy Jackson found out two things:
First, his wand had been replaced with Anaklusmos, his loyal sword, which indicated the return of his demigod powers (and the less fortunate sealing of his magic ones).
And second, he wasn't too fond of his newly acquired cousin, the daughter of Zeus.
However, Grover had called them (yes, including her), to get two new powerful demigods to Camp, and Annabeth was really close to Thalia, so there was not much he could do about it.
He regretted not saying anything before, though, when she started yelling at him, after Annabeth fell off that cliff.
Well, this wasn't his year. At all.
So now not only did he have a pissed off cousin and two new unclaimed demigods; but also he had to deal with a man-hating group, that was not only powerful, but, well, despised men.
And he just happened to be a man. Yey.
Anyways, I know you all know what happens next, right?
After all, this quest in particular was one of the worse ones. And he wasn't initially supposed to go.
And once again, his life was marked by a broken promise, when the first person- Bianca, who he swore to protect- died in the quest.
At the time it happened, there was no time to fully process the fact that she was gone. The bright girl who he'd just met that winter, who had taken the decision to become a hunter for her own happiness. The girl he was considering a friend during the quest, the girl that he'd promised he would protect, was now gone.
She had died in the land without rain, as the prophecy foretold.
And Percy, for all he had trained to protect his loved ones, wasn't able to help. He wasn't enough.
He didn't know when he'd be enough.
What use did it have being a good swordsman? What use did his powers have when there was no water around him? What use did his magic have when he couldn't even use them when he needed to save Bianca?
This was a tough quest.
The only decent thing coming out of it was getting to the Hoover Dam. Needless to say, good dam jokes they said.
He also got to meet Annabeth's parents, which, awkward (specially Athena, dam). And a random readhead mortal, who almost appeared to be family of the Weasleys- if only for the hair and the painted clothes.
And then, after also getting to meet Zoë's lovely sisters, he got to take the Titan's Curse. Another extremely and totally fun experience to add to his life.
But even as much as that hurt, it could not be compared to the emotional pain that followed; when the prophecy, once again, was fulfilled, and Zoë Belladona* died by her father's hand.
The stubborn huntress who he'd managed to befriend, the one that told him her reasons for hating men-and the one who acknowledged he wasn't one of them-, had seen the last of her long life, had taken her last breath, in front of him.
The one who was now but a mere memory, to be forever remembered by the nightsky, as one of the constellations she so fondly talked of.
And, once again, Percy wasn't able to do anything about it.
That Christmas ended with two lost friends, a white streak in his hair, the resentment of a younger brother caused by a broken promise, and a heavy heart after leaving Camp Half-Blood.
That year, when returning to Hogwarts by carriage after the winter break, the thestrals seemed to glow as bright as the stars in the sky, as bright as the new constellation; as if to remind Percy, once again, that he wasn't enough.
And the saddest thing was that they would only get brighter and clearer from this point onwards.
***
Some days later, but here's the chapter!
I don't entirely like how it turned out, tbh, but I hope you do... I tend to be quite strict with my writing.
*Belladona = Nightshade
(I just like Belladona more).
Remember to be happy guys!
Until the next time ;)