27. the way you get someone to fall in love with you
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It's a lovely day outside. Fluffy clouds look down upon the castle, pushing each other to shield it from the strangely warm sun. The spring shows no sign of it's near departure. Flowers blosssom and wilt to carpet the green grass, a painting that mortals could never hope to discern but only draw pleasure from the scene.
Headmaster Dumbledore didn't linger against the window to enjoy the scenery though. No, the old wizard had much more interesting things to observe.
He peers through his half moon glasses, eyes narrowed at the figure by the Black Lake. The twinkle he is known for is put to rest at the moment. He cannot afford distractions for his matter of interest had the habit of disappearing right beneath his nose.
To her enigmatic camp on the weekends, within the Slytherin common room on the weekdays and into the Lake during detentions.
"Minerva," he exhales through his nose as he loses his target again.
The witch that has just entered the Headmaster's office nods, unknowing or perhaps uncaring that he cannot see her. The proud tilt to her chin falls with her tired sigh. "Albus,"
He doesn't turn. "Would you care for a lemon drop?"
She sniffs, an annoyed gesture that makes her nose twitch. "No thank you." She despises lemon drops. She glares at the bowl of sour delicacies from which Albus accios it from.
"It's all going quite well," he pops one into his mouth with a slight tilt to his head towards the scene he has been observing.
Minerva doesn't join him by the window. Her feet refuses to move from her place beside the window. "Yes," She doesn't look through the glass, she looks at the Headmaster.
"She has quite the affinity with water," he says it like they're discussing the weather, not at all about the individual that could shift the course of the looming war.
"From her biological father's side I suppose," Minerva doesn't wish to beat around the bush anymore, "Merman? Elemental Wizard? A sea creature we had never heard of? What is it Albus?"
Albus turns to smile at her, his eyes crease but there's no sight of the twinkle. "I was hoping I could find it from you Minerva,"
The woman clasps her hands behind her back, her shoulders rolling behind to assume her usual posture. Proud and tall, she mutters, "Sally Jackson tells me she doesn't remember the man at all." The young woman's embarrassment at the admission hadn't allowed room for doubt.
"But Perseus did ask her biological father's permission before accepting the offer,"
Confusion is an uncharacteristic look on Minerva. "I—," there is a blank in her memory at the mention of this particular fact, "I don't think so Albus. She did contact her camp but that was it,"
Albus hums, stroking his beard. He remembers the particular piece of information being mentioned that— "The camps would not let her go,"
"There don't seem to be any more to it than simple love," this doesn't make the Deputy Headmistress smile. She is quite popular and loved enough for a barrage of letters pleading against taking her away. The woman can think of another wizard that was swarmed with letters every Valentine, without fail.
Albus looks back through the window in time to see Percy resurface. She's smiling, diving into the dangerous waters of Hogwarts doesn't seem to concern her at all. She seems to enjoy it. That strikes something in his mind, "Her father remains a mystery,"
"Sally Jackson tells me she doesn't remember the man at all,"
Something niggles at the back of the old wizard's mind. He had better subjects to discuss, yes, he did. He hums. "There are stories though,"
Minerva's patience is thin when it comes to the man. "Stories like what Albus?"
"Interesting stories, extremely interesting stories," that makes Albus smile, his eyes gleam.
"Like what?"
"Something along the lines of her sword prowess,"
"Sword?" There's not the amount of surprise that the information guarantees. It's more of a confirmation. She had noticed the ease with which the girl wields her wand. There was her own admission of course.
"The very best in three centuries,"
There's the surprise Albus has been waiting for. "I see." How long she must have trained for is a question that she forgoes to ask another, "why?"
"That's another curious matter altogether,"
Minerva has never been after the Headmaster's seat but she thinks a little accident would be reasonable given the situation. "Albus?" She wouldn't mind being the Headmistress.
"There's talk of monsters, Minerva," his amusement is short lived for his own doubts show itself. "Magical, mythical beasts,"
She gasps. "That she fought?"
"Beasts she has slain," that was the description that was given to him.
"Godric's beard," she is too old to not know the Headmaster's implications. "What does it make her Albus?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkle. "The better question is what it means for us,"
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Despite popular belief, Percy does not seek out trouble. Most of the time. She doesn't plan out her day by how many dangerous situations she can get into and simultaneously impress her wide eyed easily influenced peers.
Whatever Theo might say, that's not true.
Percy was minding her own business. She had finished up her detention and had come to the Great Hall for breakfast. She had befriended the Giant Squid and regaled the first years with the said experience.
Needless to say, the Ravenclaw table where she had chosen to sit that day had been crowded. It was ridiculous enough to be entertaining.
"It's not scary at all?" A third year trails after her along with his friends after the bell. They were late already. The teachers have already left but this was important.
"Steve," she amends him with a chiding look, "Steve's not scary,"
"Steve the Giant Squid?
"Yeah," she agrees, grinning like it isn't puzzling at all. "Steve's a nice name,"
"Steve?" The Weasley twins flank her at the doors before she could join her housemates.
"Someone we should be jealous about?" Lee joins as well, smiling through his dramatic delivery.
Percy waves to her fellow snakes and moves to exit with the Gryffindors. "Yeah, he's super good looking for one,"
They don't buy it. "Really?"
"Which house is he again?"
"Oh no, he doesn't live in the castle,"
"He's outside—?"
"He lives in the Black Lake,"
Her carefully crafted blank façade makes it hard for them to decipher if it's a joke or not.
"What?" They echo.
Her mask cracks and she snorts. "He's the—" she waits behind the seventh years to open the doors, distractedly wondering why it was closed.
Whatever she's about to say is cut short by a shriek. She freezes and her hands fly to her pocket. The first yelp sets off a series of frightened screams. Chaos ensues. The twins start to smile and Lee cackles.
"What in the name of zeus?"
Thunder crackles above that she ignores to push forward to the crowd. She doesn't hear her companions' warning and she becomes an unfortunate victim of paralysing anxiety.
The need to protect herself overpowers it. She withdraws Riptide and is only stopped at last moment by the nearby chant of 'what the fuck' over and over by a sixth year.
Right, Hogwarts, she's in Hogwarts. The Wizarding school where tarantulas dance in the corridors.
"What the fuck?" She says from the bottom of her heart.
The prankster trio pause in their laughter to gaze wide eyed at the absurd scene of no less than three tarantulas moving rhythmically along the corridor.
"Uh Fred, tap dancing tarantulas were supposed to be next week?" George asks in a stage whisper. Not a conscious choice if his slack jaw is accounted for.
"Where're the candy raining clouds?"
Fred summarises the situation. "We fucked up."
"No shit!" The remark comes from the crowd.
The twins twitch in their frozen positions and Lee rummages through his bag, muttering. In the midst of the confusion, clear green eyes catch their attention.
Percy stands in front of them, not quite looming but might as well have been. She crosses her arms. "You fucked up?"
Fred and George look at each other and swallow. Lee scrambles to reason, "Percy, bestie—we had it under control—"
The demigod exhales in lieu of commenting at their obvious failure at it.
"We have lost control now,"
She holds up her hand, effectively halting their ramblings. "How do we stop it?" There's nothing more than irritation in her tone. She pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Magic's out of question—"
Even with tap dancing tarantulas marching toward them, the twins manage to hold up their way of communication, "—it's our first time messing with this particular area,"
"And we don't know what'll happen if other spells were to hit it."
Percy looks around, failing to find any competent faces. At least, she has some answers to it all and she has more reason to be grateful for her companions when Fred's eyes light up.
"Percy, you said you were good at fighting right?"
"Yeah but they might be poisonous—"
"They're not," George assures, catching on to his brother's idea. They look at each other and at the armours stationed at the sides of the Great Hall.
Lee is busy asking the others not to open the doors too wide. Its fruitless since all wants to get a peak at the commotion.
Percy doesn't frown. She doesn't appear doubtful at all. Instead, she grins, a crooked tilt to it. "I'm in,"
That's when the twins fall in love with her and pledge their allegiance forevermore. They grin as well, tying the deal. "You're going to love it!"
They're on the move then and in seconds, there's a yell, "Percy!" And the next, she has a gleaming sword in her hand.
She offers a thumbs up in thanks, testing out the blade and fully getting into her battle stance. Too long and too light but it'll do. She swings it once and cherishes the whistling sound it creates. The crowd that has been trying to push past her jumps away from her.
Percy stands with her feet planted wide and her shoulders straight. Her chin raised to gaze coolly at the frothing beasts that come at her. The sword is as much of an extension of her and she stands at the ready with the entire population of Hogwarts behind her.
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A/N: Here, you may take a break.
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28. is to slay all that had bothered them with a sword
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Percy doesn't wait. She charges head on to strike the giant tarantulas down. The first one's leg is cleaved off in a swift blow and when that brings it down, she brings the sword down to its head.
In a clean swipe, the first of the three dies. Someone faints in the Great Hall and there are too many gasps to count.
Percy doesn't heed any of it. She's unbothered to it all, including the slimy insides that soil her white shirt. That's something for future her to worry about.
At the present, she's forced to move as another one tries to shred her to pieces for killing it's friend.
"Sorry pal but he started it," she says as she jumps upon the overturned arachnid. The tarantula releases a monstrous roar. She points her sword towards it and then promptly launches herself into air.
Time stills for her and she breathes through the moment. The view of the arch of the castle is replaced with the stone walls and back to the sharp teeth of the tarantulas as she flips in the air.
The sword gleams threateningly as she raises it to the sky and brings it down, sure and graceful. The guillotined body drops to the floor. Percy lands on her feet, rolling once to ensure her ankles aren't burdened with the entirety of the force.
She's on her feet again in the blink of an eye, her sword held menacingly at the last one. It proves to be difficult for it has witnessed what she can do and that fear drives it to be reckless and unpredictable.
She chooses to crouch low and aim her blows at its underside. She avoids its sharp claws by merely sidestepping, careful to not overexert.
The tarantula wails in frustration when it loses her in the game. It wildly swings it's odd head that abruptly loses its motion when the sword is driven through its throat from underneath.
It falls to the floor lifeless. Percy stands amongst the carcasses. The generous slathering of slime upon her previously white shirt and black trousers do not conceal the warrior unleashed. Her foot is on top of the last tarantula as she retrieves the sword. There's nothing more than possible annoyance on her face. It's rather difficult to decipher the look.
The picture the scene paints of her standing tall among the beasts she had slain. Beneath the rays of sun that lights her with a glow like no other, reflecting off the sword she wields. The archway above her curves toward her and the painting is complete.
It does mess with one's concentration. Hannah would argue that it is the slime that had rendered them speechless. Luna would say that it's because it's her of course.
And since it's her of course, Percy picks at her shirtsleeves, her nose scrunching as she registers the odour finally and she says, "Yuck, I need a shower."
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"So Gryffindors get a strip tease but not us?"
Percy is in a rush. She doesn't have time for Pansy's shit. "Why don't we start with 'Hello Percy, how are you?' for a change?"
"But that's boring,"
"Really Pans? That's what you're wondering about?" Astoria storms in, her braid disheveled from the sprint from the Great Hall.
"What should I wonder about then?" The Prefect's tone remains indifferent but she does sit up at the younger Greengrass' frenzied state. That was odd.
Percy keeps her head down at the reply. "Like how this one here slaughtered some arachnids?"
"She did what now?" Blaise's quill on the parchment stops abruptly.
"What the fuck are you on about?"
"Are you high?" Theo is kind enough to produce a vial to subdue the effects of her supposed intoxication.
"Ask her!"
Another fourth year is glad to contribute with a wide grin and similarly wide eyes, "The Weasley twins with Jordan let loose some tarantulas—"
"Dancing tarantulas—" his friend amends.
"Tap dancing tarantulas," their other friend sounds more horrified.
"That does sound cool," Blaise agrees, bemused.
"Not when they get out of your control," the seventh year lingering by the door disagrees quietly, "no."
"And so—" the third year continues, "they give Jackson a sword—"
"And she obliterates them!"
Said swordsman is busy inspecting a torn sock, debating whether to throw it out or bury it in her bag.
Her friends debate whether to berate her or check her for injuries. Draco rolls his eyes at Theo's pointed look. An inane theory of the latter of how she's a Dark Wizard cannot be proved with some dead arachnids. He doesn't know they were slaughtered.
"Ten minutes," Millicent starts.
"We left you alone for ten minutes," Blaise continues.
"And you manage to get yourself a sword and fight tarantulas?"
"The twins threw me that—!"
Pansy doesn't let her reply. "And now what? You're running away?"
Percy huffs. "It's the weekend Pans, I'm going to Camp,"
"Right, your mysterious Camp,"
"But we have classes today?"
Draco speaks over Blaise, surprising himself. "Where they teach you the art of swordplay,"
"Among other things, yeah," she can recognise that its not a question but his arrogant rise of an eyebrow makes her continue, "we also learn how to climb rocks above lava."
"What,"
She ignores Theo, shouldering her backpack. "I'm late already. I've talked to Snape," she turns to Blaise with the beginnings of a grin, "he was more than happy to let me go."
Millicent guesses, "You met him with the sword didn't you?"
"Covered in tarantula insides?"
Percy shoots finger guns at Draco, her grin finally stretching across her face. "Bingo!"
"Good for nothing genius witch," Theo mutters with a dark look at her.
Pansy rolls her eyes. "What was up with that whole thing with the strip tease anyway?"
"It wasn't a strip tease Pans. Mom would never approve,"
Her tactics at evading the interrogation fails miserably. They continue to remain impassive.
"Somehow they got to know I got tattoos and you know how some of those could be," she raises her eyebrow to convey the unsaid but well known behaviour of the select few lions.
"Ravenous," Theo says helpfully.
"Right, so that happened." She brandishes her hand to the general state of the room. An unidentifiable glowing creature glides past their common room window that they all ignore. "Can I go now?"
Pansy sits up straight in her sofa, an impossible feat with how soft she had spelled it to be. She tilts her chin up, "Yes, you may." She melts to the upholstery of the sofa the next instant.
Percy rolls her eyes, unable to stop a smile. She waves and moves to the doors. She pauses by the entrance to glance at the now familiar scene of the snakes chattering amongst themselves.
It would be far fetched to call it a conversation for it was often sarcastic comments followed by jibes and more teasing and surprisingly philosophical rambles out of the blue. She's been sure that her personal life wouldn't be dragged into it and she's been proven right. She does shake her head at the relentless teasing that would follow about the tarantula attack. By the gods, someone help her.
Percy can't quite stop smiling though.
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It's a celebration. There's no other word to it. It's a full on festival. There are screaming campers, fireworks and a smoking cabin.
Percy laughs.
Grover tackles her in a fierce hug with no indication of ever letting her go. She wraps her hands around him in an instant. It's a heartwarming moment until there's a yell splitting through the air, "Group hug!"
There's chaos then. Some hundred or so teenagers bounding towards a nothing special pine tree. Beneath the tree was their beloved target, grinning at the army sprinting to her. The grin disappears in a jumble of limbs and orange t-shirts.
Percy is still laughing when she reappears, released from her campers' hold. The abnormal hollow ring to it is barely heard over the rambunctious laughter of the rest.
Even Athena would have been unable to count the number of 'miss you's uttered then.
"No you didn't." Percy is grinning and isn't that a sight. "Tell me the truth, you were glad I wasn't here to train you, weren't you?"
Clarisse flicks the pine needle that had gotten stuck in her hair at the tackle, "We missed you Jackson."
"Oh my, La Rue's gotten soft, is the world gonna end?"
"Who cares? It ends all the time,"
"And we're here to save it all the time!"
"As if the world can get rid off your annoying ass Stoll!"
"Oh but you like this ass Gardener!"
Before the conversation—a shouting match really—could stray into the territory where they'll have to cover the younger ones' ears, it is interrupted.
For Percy throws back her head and laughs. And the rest are helpless but to laugh with her.
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AN: So how much do you reckon these chapter titles will mean something in this long story? And damn, I didn't realise how many scenes are in this one.