CHAPTER SUMMARY
Revelations on the prophecy. A table is involved.
BEGINNING NOTES
Chapter Rating: Teen and Up
Content Warning: Sexual Themes (non-graphic*)
Word Count: 3021
*On the Content Warning it's NOT smut... I'm keeping my promise of nothing above "Teen and Up". But, two (or more... no, two) characters engage in sexual acts, though I describe nothing beyond kissing with clothes 100% on. But, it's not even implied... it's pretty obvious. I can't stress this enough--it's not described whatsoever, but, if you're still uncomfortable reading this, message me and I can give you the rundown of this chapter's plot so you're not confused later on.
Also, GIULIA'S BACK! She's happy to be back, and got plenty of beta commentary for us.
And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.
Credits at the end.
____________________ANNABETH____________________
On Christmas Day, Annabeth Chase finally understood.
Ever since the appearance of Nico's letter, Percy had been rather distant to Annabeth. He guarded the thing with his life, not letting anyone--even her--read a line. Beyond clarifying that Nico was both safe and helping, and that they were doing the right thing by finishing the horcrux hunt, Percy refused to speak of its content. Instead, he hid in various places around Hogwarts, sat in some corner, and read the words over and over.
The thing was, he didn't do much else. They contacted Will and Lou to tell them that Nico wrote and was okay, and to change their mission from finding him to hunting down Nagini. Even though the relief on Will's face was more than obvious, Percy never cracked a joke. He never spoke at all.
As for the horcrux hunt, without the final item, they were stuck. They had no idea of Hecate's or Hades' plans for January first, nor if the Olympic Council knew or cared. Annabeth prayed to her mom on more than one occasion, asking her to convince Zeus to do something, and to help her with her preventative measures. She urged Percy to do the same, but the most she ever got out of her boyfriend was an unintelligible grunt.
And, though not on Annabeth's priority list, their relationship? In the early days of the quest, when deadlines were iffy, and they had just one, manageable goal, Percy and she found time together. Nothing too fancy--walks around the lake, broom rides on the Quidditch pitch, finding an empty hallway and... occupying it. Little things. Something. Anything.
Now? Ever since the Solstice, they'd both been so preoccupied with the end of the world that those stupid little moments fell to the wayside. Annabeth knew that had to happen--if they saved the world, they could enjoy a million walks and snowball fights and arguments over whether Athens or Sparta was a better place to live in Ancient Greece. Annabeth missed that, even if she knew it was petty and selfish to. She missed her seaweed brain.
At least before the letter arrived, Percy was still Percy. As much time as he spent moping and mourning Nico, he also spent with her and the others--the jokes, the out-of-nowhere PDA, that stupid laugh and smile when he realized everyone was staring at them. But for the last three days, Percy had been a shell of his former self.
Annabeth wasn't hungry for Christmas dinner. Everyone else had left to eat, leaving her to review all the notes and think up new horcruxes. She thought back to every memory she'd ever seen of Tom Riddle, but couldn't think of any object that he might turn. Gryffindor's Sword? No, according to every horcrux book Blaise gave her--stolen from the Headmaster's office--no horcrux could kill another horcrux, even if the object itself had the power to. He would never tell another Death Eater of his horcruxes, knocking any living person out, and Nagini was the only animal that he had a strong enough connection with to turn. All the Hogwarts objects? Destroyed. The only artifact from the Gaunts he'd consider worthy of housing his life force? Gone too.
She was so engrossed in her own musings that she didn't realize Percy had entered the room until he grabbed her arm and pulled her from the table. She put her hands on his waist on instinct and searched his gaze for the unexplainable cloud. And though she saw it, raging in the sea green abyss of his eyes, another emotion overtook the most violent parts of the storm.
Frustration.
His lips crushed hers, showering Annabeth in the kiss she'd almost forgotten. Not the kiss he gave her after destroying the locket, nor any other time she could remember. Though most of her mind was drenched in the impromptu moment--and the mechanics of climbing and lying on a table without letting Percy go--she scanned her memories for any other moment like that one. If none came to mind, how could she recognize the kiss?
Once they got their room, Percy laid Nico down on the bed, fixing the pillows under Nico's head with care.
"Why do you do that?" Annabeth asked.
Percy looked up from Nico, his eyebrows knit together. "Do what?"
"Act like that with Nico. Like he's your little brother or something. I mean, I know he's our friend and all, but you always go the extra mile with him."
"I do? Like when?"
"Like just now, fixing the pillows and stuff. You wouldn't do that for too many other people."
Percy looked back down at Nico, chest rising and falling. He gave a small, warm smile. "I dunno. He is my first cousin, after all. I just feel protective of him, especially 'cause it's kind of my fault he's got no mortal family left. Maybe I do think of him as my brother... I just feel like he needs someone, and if that someone's me, so be it."
Annabeth couldn't help but give a smile of her own. She crossed the room, pulled him close, and placed a small kiss on her boyfriend's lips. "That's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard you say. But Bianca's death wasn't your fault. And he has Hazel."
Percy nodded, drawing Annabeth in a little closer. "I know. But Hazel can't be here all the time, and Bianca... I promised Nico I'd protect her. When I couldn't do that, I told Bianca that I'd take care of him." His eyes moved back to Nico for half a second. "I won't break that promise. It was practically Bianca's dying wish."
Annabeth understood that. Or, at least, she understood the way that kind of duty felt. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just held her boyfriend close, drinking in the moment. With her head resting on his shoulder, she felt completely and utterly at peace.
I love you, seaweed brain.
Percy lifted her head so she looked him in the eye; in the silence, they exchanged those words. Their lips met, forming a kiss which they'd never quite shared before; someone lit a fire in Annabeth's stomach, consuming her without any pain. Without ever realizing it, her hands gripped Percy's shirt and pushed him harder against the motel wall.
"Annabeth," Percy breathed, "Annabeth--stop. Not with Nico."
Annabeth slackened her grip on his shirt, and tilted her head back up, so their foreheads touched instead of their lips. Both of them were panting; Percy's eyes were shut tight like he was trying to relive the last minute. They both stood there like that, neither of them strong enough to pull away.
"I, uh..." Percy mumbled, with a bit of an embarrassed chuckle, "Need a shower..."
Annabeth shook her head at him with a laugh of her own. "We are on a quest. Find me when our lives are somehow put in mortal danger?"
"Yeah..." Percy mumbled again, scrambling away from the wall and into the bathroom.
Somehow, they'd managed the deed without falling off of the table, though Annabeth's notes were scattered all over the floor. Percy held her while he slept, his face curled by her chest. She loved him, more than she ever thought possible, she loved him. And as she thought back to that motel room that final August night, she wondered if, somehow, her stupid comment had--
"Athena!" she cried, throwing herself from the table and standing.
Half-asleep, Percy sat up and stared at her. "Wha...?"
"Nothing," she assured him, sitting back on the table and kissing him as she guided him to lie down again. "Go back to sleep."
Percy didn't seem to want to put up much of a fight, but, even so tired that he looked and sounded drunk, he knew when she lied to him. "Talk to me."
"You first," Annabeth teased, brushing his hand off her waist. "In fact, I'll cut you a deal. You sleep now, while I develop my idea, and when you wake up, we'll exchange information--letter for intuition."
"I love you."
"I know," she crooned, playing with his hair the way she knew he liked. "Now rest."
It didn't take long for him to fade back into unconsciousness. Annabeth stood up, slower this time, to keep from waking him again. She glanced around and found a mirror leaned against the corner.
Thank the gods for Room of Requirement magic.
She hummed as she tidied herself up, brushing her hair back into place with her fingers and fixing her robes so they laid as they should. Beyond the papers on the floor and Percy, asleep and looking like, well, like he would after such an act, her surroundings gave nothing away. She pled to the room not to let in anyone until long after she fixed and spoke to Percy. That would take way too much explaining.
Can I get the paper without waking Percy up...? No--don't want to risk it. I think I know the gist of those notes anyway--I can fact-check myself after he wakes up if I have to.
Annabeth grabbed a blank piece of parchment and Riptide from the desk nearby where Percy slept. She tip-toed to the other side of the room before uncapping it, cringing at the shink! as the sword drew forth. Percy was a deep enough sleeper that the noise didn't wake him, so Annabeth put the cap on the back of the pen-hilt thing, which, as Percy told her, transformed it back into a pen.
No way in Tartarus I'm using a quill.
She settled on the floor, and began to list everything of relevance; the more she wrote, the more memories popped into her head. She stopped waiting for Percy to wake up, and instead hoped he slept even longer, so she could gather more and more evidence.
After Zeus knows how long, she heard Percy wake and push himself off the table. "Jeez..." he groaned as he made his way to the mirror, flexing his shoulders. "Tables hurt."
"You're the one who decided now was the time to remember we have six days left to live."
Percy turned and flashed her a smile. " You're the one who told me to find you when I remembered we have six days left to live."
Annabeth rolled her eyes, though inside her heart and gut were doing the conga. This was the Percy she'd wished for ever since they'd returned to Hogwarts. "Stop trying to pat down your hair, seaweed brain. You need to wet it to get rid of the bedhead."
Percy made his way across the room, feigning suave, and pulled Annabeth close. "You say I need a shower--care to join me?"
They both let out a laugh, their bodies relaxing into each other. Not a roar or burst, but overwhelmed and blissful and a little scared.
"Hi."
"Hi."
Percy dropped his gaze and wet his lips. "I, um... wow."
Annabeth laughed again. "Thank you, wow to you too. If the world ends in a week--I meant all that, okay? It's not the possible apocalypse, it's... you."
Percy cracked a small, elated smile. "You too."
Annabeth pulled away and cleaned the papers on the floor in silence; she felt Percy's eyes on her back but took her time. Once she arranged them in a neat pile and put them back where they belonged, she turned back to him, leaning on the edge of the table.
"You want to tell me what's been going on the last few days?" she asked. "Why you've been so distant? Why you won't show anyone that letter? And, what changed that made you go from ignoring me to... that."
Percy let out the remaining air in his lungs and lowered his head, but said nothing.
"Please, Percy," Annabeth implored, feeling hot tears bite at her eyes, "I need you to talk to me. I need to understand. The fact is, we have no idea how to stop Hades' war. In six days, we're finished. And I am trying to keep my spirits up, trying to pretend to the others that we've got this... but I'm so scared. I need you to come back to me, I need you to help me... I can't do this anymore alone! I miss Nico too, but you can't shut down like this! If... if you're just going to mope around with that letter... you can do it at Camp Half-Blood."
Percy met her eye, not with the understanding she hoped for, but with shock, fear, and even anger. "You just said--"
"I know what I said, Percy, and I meant that! I love you, I love you, I'll say it a thousand times! But we've got six days left, and I'm not spending those six days waiting around for you to remember you're my boyfriend! If you're going to ignore me anyway, if you're going to shake off all responsibility, you need to face those consequences! And that means we're over--whether the world ends or not."
She gasped as the words left her lips, tears pouring down her cheeks. The words she thought she'd never say.
"Now communicate, or I'm breaking up with you."
Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter. He turned to the fireplace and tossed it inside, watching the black smoke fly into the air. "Most of that, no one can know about, Annabeth, that's why I'm not showing it to anyone. And they're not my secrets to tell, not when Nico made it pretty clear that he didn't want anyone else to know."
A noise came from Annabeth's throat, high-pitched and painful. She shut her eyes tight, trying to force the tears down, but pushing out more in the process. She heard Percy's footsteps get closer, and she wanted to run in the other direction but didn't have the strength to do so. She felt his strong arms close around her and push her head into his chest.
"I... I'm so sorry, Annabeth. I've been in my own world of grief these past few days... I should've been more attentive, and I shouldn't be keeping secrets. If you need to leave me... I understand. But I'm going to fight to keep you here. Just tell me how."
Annabeth lifted her head from his chest, surprised but guiltily pleased to see that he was bawling as much as she was. "Tell me--tell me what you can. That letter--what's in it that's doing this to you? Ignoring me, assaulting Harry, giving up..."
"I haven't given up. I just... needed time. I know, I know, we don't have time... but, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Instead of trying to sit at the table, they both sank to the floor, still in each other's arms. They both sat there, crying and holding each other, letting out all the anguish they never could around the followers of Hecate.
Percy laughed. "Look at us--I give you my virginity, profess my love, listen to you almost end our relationship, then cry on the floor for no apparent reason."
"The end of the world, I guess. Emotions run high."
Percy kissed her hairline, took a deep breath, and started to speak. "Nico's working for Hecate. He renounced his dad, befriended Alabaster C. Torrington, and got temporary immortality. He said everything Hades thinks or told us is paranoia, and that Hecate's not a mastermind. And... I don't know... he sounded so rational... but I saw her in my dream, and she has a way with words. I just... I don't know who to trust."
Annabeth stood, grabbed her list from the table, and resumed her position on the floor with Percy. "He's not brainwashed."
"Oookaaay... you want to explain that?"
Annabeth handed Percy the list she made and spoke as he read it. "Nico's been at war with himself for years. What you said back at the motel--you promised Bianca to take care of him. She knew Nico better than any of us-- this is what she meant! His fatal flaw--it's not grudges, it's the past. Living in the past."
Percy stared at the list--all the quotes or moments Nico had tried to somehow recapture or relive his past life--scanning it over again and again in disbelief. "I can't believe I never noticed this..."
"None of us did. At the end of the day, all the gods are good and evil. Hecate's powers can give Nico what he's always wanted--the chance to live his nostalgia. We can't compete with that. All we can do is trust that he won't put the world at risk, and when we see him again, hope he made the right decisions. It's not going to help to worry about Nico; he's a survivor and his own agent. Whether that's a good thing or a bad... time will tell."
Percy glanced up from the paper for the first time, staring at Annabeth with a revelation of his own. "No... this isn't good or bad--it's the Fates."
"What do you mean?"
" 'The child must reveal his true self in the end'--the prophecy. This is it! This is what we're supposed to do! We draw out Riddle--the one thing both gods want--and get all three armies on the same turf. Hecate brings Nico, and he's going to reveal his true self by choosing a side--Hades, Hecate, or Riddle. Whoever he chooses wins... somehow. Whatever he's doing with Hecate, it's going to give him the power to decide this. The 'weak but powerful army' is all three, powerful because they all have magic, but weak because Nico's going to decide the stakes--in which they all have equal claim. We don't have to figure out their plans, Annabeth! We just have to get Riddle to Hogwarts!"
Annabeth screamed with joy, tears of a happier nature falling from her eyes. She kissed Percy as he had after the locket, too caught up in the ecstasy of the moment to think.
On Christmas Day, Annabeth Chase finally understood. And that understanding gave her the one thing she needed.
Hope is the thing with feathers indeed.
END NOTES
Told you I'd address the letter...
And, in celebration of Giulia's return, two beta commentaries this week!
This week's beta commentary:
STORY: "Need a shower..."
LISSY: For the record--I was rewatching Code Lyoko (my childhood tbh) and they made a cold shower joke. Yumi's flirting with Géromé and he says, "You should go home--you need a hot bath--or a cold shower! A really cold shower!" And thus I make this joke here. Bc my childhood has a tendency to make WAY more adult jokes, references, and even plotpoints I did not remember.
GIULIA: Hahahahahah cold showers
SARA: May we never forget Code Lyoko
LISSY: Amen. On my list of things to one day adapt for stage and/or screen if I ever get well-known or respected enough to get the rights.
GIULIA: Do wizard condoms exist? They must exist.
GIULIA: What if there's a birth control spell?
GIULIA: How dope would that be?
LISSY: I think there must be--but I'm not going to address the protection bc idk how that would happen. RoR magic condoms? Some Greek shit? Idk--but Annabeth doesn't get pregnant or anything. Or, maybe she does, but the fic ends in 6 days, at which point she'd still have no idea.
GIULIA: hahahaha
SARA: Remember that tumblr post?
SARA: "Fetus deletus"
LISSY: LOL OMFG YES
Credits:
Melody Rose - Author (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)
Sara - Beta Reader (http://icomparemyselftoyou.tumblr.com)
Giulia - Beta Reader (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6748882/)
Please comment so I know what you think! See you next week!