CHAPTER SUMMARY
The questers return to Camp Half-Blood. Ron, Hermione, and Percy head to Diagon Alley.
BEGINNING NOTES
Chapter Rating: General Audiences
Content Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence
Word Count: 3972
And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.
Credits at the end.
____________________ANNABETH____________________
Annabeth didn't wake up until the wind pulled her blanket straight out from under her. She reached to pull the sheets off her body, but her blanket cocoon wrapped tightly around her legs kept her from moving an inch.
"Malcolm!" Annabeth screamed. If he was still in the Athena cabin, he couldn't hear her over the roaring wind.
She untwisted her blankets with the speed of a weaver, but it wasn't enough. A gust of wind flew through the windows--open and barely holding onto their metal fastenings--and knocked her from her bunk. She screamed as she fell on to the floor, landing forehead first on the oak panels below her.
Straight out of a disaster movie, the wind tore the roof of the Athena cabin from its walls and blew it into oblivion. She only had time to put her hands in front of her face before she was buried in a mountain of plaster. With every ounce of strength she had, she clawed at the debris on top of her, desperate to tunnel her way out.
Light. There was light in the distance. Annabeth tore through the debris with all her might, kicking and screaming for help. She made a makeshift lever out of a large piece of a wooden beam, found a stable place for a fulcrum between two tiles, and pushed with all her might. Plaster parted like the Red Sea, allowing a rush of fresh air and starlight.
CRAAAAACK.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
Right on cue, a tree crashed through the walls... right where Annabeth just dug herself out of prison. The enormous trunk hit her square on the nose. It would've crushed her, had she not had the mountain of plaster on top of her to support its weight.
An invisible hand squeezed the air from her lungs. Red spots turned black in an instant.
When she woke up, the sun was shining, but her cabin was little more than rubble. She lay on a mangled mattress with springs barely covered by fluff.
I need to sit up.
She felt a soft hand on her shoulder. "No, you need to rest." It came before Annabeth had time to act on her thoughts. Curious, she glanced up to see a little girl--the same girl who always tended the flames; the one Nico was so friendly with. She chanted in Ancient Greek--
A healing spell. Is she a daughter of-- oh, my gods...
Before her eyes, the Athena cabin repaired itself. It looked no different than before.
"You're a goddess."
"Yes, I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth. I may have given up my throne on Olympus, but I am still one of the elder gods. I have near unlimited power over my domain. And my domain the home and the family... until one marries, then Hera takes over the family aspect. But a cabin can't marry." Annabeth laughed. "I cannot heal you, but I can help you recover some strength. The home always helps you through the darkness." Hestia put her hand in Annabeth's. Her pain melted away.
"Thank you, Lady Hestia." Hestia nodded with a small, humble smile.
Annabeth wanted to ask her to come with her to the Apollo kids, but she knew that would be stupid. It was Hestia's magical aura that made her feel comfortable. But you're not supposed to feel comfortable around a god--they're your betters, and if you forget that, no matter how nice they are, you're history. In a way, that made Hestia the most dangerous Olympian of all.
Annabeth left. Most of the structures were damaged; campers cleaned the fallen trees and branches littering the ground. Some moved dead wildlife away. Piper readjusted the Golden Fleece on its branch.
"Piper!" Annabeth cried. The two friends embraced, tears in their eyes.
"Where were you?! We all thought-- Percy's going to be glad to see you."
"He's okay?"
"Yeah! As far as I know, no one died in the storm."
Right on cue, Annabeth was ripped from Piper's arms and ferociously kissed by Percy. Neither of them cared about the P.D.A., in fact, they weren't the only couple kissing. She passed Miranda and Travis on her way over, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Frank and Hazel in the shadow of the Big House where they thought no one could see them.
"I thought I lost you," Percy whispered in between kisses.
"I'm right here," Annabeth reassured him. Tears were falling down her cheeks. She was in shock--she'd been closer to death than she had been in a very, very long time.
One month streak. Ruined.
They parted, breathless. Percy smiled at her through tears of his own. He wiped one of hers away with his thumb. "You're stuck with me forever," he whispered.
"Forever," Annabeth agreed with a tearful, breathless laugh. Right now, the feeling of Percy playing with the engagement ring inexplicably still on her finger was the only thing keeping her grounded. She made that promise, and she was going to keep it.
They barely had time to exchange "I love you's" when they heard the sound of the conch shell. Everyone turned at the noise... to see Nico, Thalia, Alabaster, and the other Hunters walking into camp.
So that's why the storm ended. They did it.
Everyone else had the same idea. They burst into roaring applause. Alabaster enjoyed it from the sidelines with his usual sly smile. Nico shrank from the attention; he stood beside Alabaster, hands in his pockets, looking at the ground with his shoulders hunched. Thalia ate it up with a huge grin, waving and slapping the back of her fellow Hunters. The three of them kept smiling at Artemis, standing on the border of the camp, clapping along with the crowd.
Thalia made the 'zip' motion with her hands, silencing them the way a conductor silences their orchestra. They played along and stopped clapping. Laughter rippled through the crowd. Making a big show of it, Thalia grabbed Nico and pushed him forward.
"I, Thalia Grace, give you permission to enter the camp!"
Nico stumbled over the boundary line to cheers and another round of applause. He shot Thalia his signature death stare, earning an "oooo" from the crowd. He was still slouching, but he was smiling along with everyone else.
They cheered louder when Nico shouted "Paul!" and ran across the lawn and into his waiting arms. Percy let go of Annabeth's hand and joined the hug, then Sally joined with tears streaming down her cheeks.
If anyone asked, Annabeth definitely didn't hear their conversation, even though she was well within earshot.
"I thought I was going to die..." Nico whimpered into Paul's chest. "I thought I'd never see you again... I'm done, I'm never doing another quest... I missed you... I missed you..."
"Good," Paul told him through tears of his own, "because I won't let you go."
"Don't let them take me..."
"No one's taking you anywhere, Nico, never again."
That was when Thalia pulled her into a monster hug. "We're having the best campfire tomorrow," she promised. "Me and death boy have stories."
Annabeth's cheeks hurt from laughing, but she did it again. "Not much can surprise me anymore," she warned.
"Just you wait."
Over Thalia's shoulder, she saw Will Solace staring longingly at Nico. "Not now," she mouthed to him. Thankfully, he got the message and walked off.
____________________RON____________________
At two in the morning, Hermione dragged Ron out of his bed. He groaned and rolled over, but she kept shaking him. "Quiet!" she whispered. "Come downstairs."
He didn't know what to expect, but, unfortunately, he was rather fond of Hermione and thus found it really hard to say no to her. So, he pushed himself out of bed and followed her downstairs to the living room.
"You want a midnight snog?" Ron joked. His voice was scratchy.
Hermione giggled. "No. It's about the protest. I woke Percy up--he said to give him a few minutes."
"But you dragged me out?"
"You would've fallen asleep again. Besides, I want to see if he actually shows up."
"I showed up," Percy said from the doorway. He yawned as he turns the lights on with his wand. "What do you need, Hermione?"
Percy joined them on the couch. Hermione pulled a pieces of white parchment from her pocket, marked up with her cursive in navy blue ink, and a small tube the same color blue cap on top, similar to the form Percy's sword took when it wasn't a sword. Ron thought for a second--what had Percy Jackson called it?
"That's a pen," he said.
"Yes."
"What do you have a sword-holder for?"
Hermione sighed. "Percy Jackson's was special, Ron. Pens are muggle quills, and much easier to use. I wish I could use them at Hogwarts, honestly. Can you both read the paper?"
"The white parchment? Yes."
"I made a list of what we'll need for the protest." She handed them each a piece of paper. "It's not much. I can use my ski bag to carry it all. We'll have to use Muggle transport, so I wrote instructions under the list."
"Why can't Percy apparate us?" Ron asked. "Not willing to do it?"
"I can do it," Percy huffed.
"No," Hermione said. "It's too loud. So is floo powder. The bang or our yelling will wake everyone up. We're leaving now--there's no way my parents or yours will let us go; they'll say it's too dangerous. I wrote a note to my parents saying you and I went on a walk, and I don't think Molly will mind Percy--he's old enough to go where he wants. We'll have to make up an excuse when we get back."
She pulled out three cards made of hard, shiny material. "These are metro passes. I'll show you how they work when we get to the metro." She took her phone (Ron still didn't understand what it did, no matter how many times Hermione tried to explain it) and checked the map that appeared on it. "It says five-and-a-half hours. Don't worry, you'll be able to sleep on the train. We can get breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, then make our way to the Daily Prophet Headquarters for the protest at nine. That's where and when the Diagon Tribune said it would be, and I think they would know."
"Good bet," Ron agreed. "Percy can treat us for breakfast. Least he could do."
They took Percy's silence as a yes. "Great," Hermione said. "Let's get going."
____________________NICO____________________
When Nico recovered enough, he, Sally, Paul, and Percy helped Will and the Apollo kids round up the injured and sort them into the Big House infirmary. Will was too busy directing everything to give Nico more than a quick smile and nod hello. It hurt a little--every time he saw Will he felt his heart try to jump out of his chest--but he understood. Will didn't know how many times he'd almost died. And, besides, the world didn't revolve around their relationship. No matter how much he wished it did.
Percy and Nico set up a cot for Leo. Jason carried him, and Calypso was right beside him, one hand running through his hair, calming him. He was resilient, but he'd lost a lot of blood and would be dead had it not been for Will's emergency supply of nectar and excellent healing skills. And, maybe, the Golden Fleece. Just a little bit. But It was mostly Will.
A certain son of Apollo aside, Nico thanked every god on Olympus and plus some that Leo was all right. He cared about his friends. It would be much easier to be a loner--less people to get hurt by his terrible, terrible luck--but he was happy that wasn't the case anymore. That didn't mean he was used to worrying as much as he did, though. It was terrifying, thinking of all the hostages Zeus could take. When he saw Leo on the Big House bed with Calypso at his side, his heart ached and his vision turned red. No one messed with his friends. Not even the Lord of the Sky.
Chiron surprised everybody when he announced that they'd have an all-night campfire and start cleaning the camp tomorrow. Nico supposed even immortals wanted to celebrate after they came out of that disaster mostly unscathed. All the cabins were already mended--Nico had a sneaking suspicion whose fault that was--so that left the debris, fallen trees, a few fires to put out, restocking supplies, treating minor injuries, and fighting the monsters who broke into camp while the Fleece was in the Big House basement. Nothing they couldn't tackle in the morning.
Nico sat with the Jacksons on one side, Thalia and Alabaster on the other. Armed with s'mores, friends, and family, the quest was less terrifying. Thalia told most of the stories, though Nico chimed in a lot to correct, embellish, or fill in what Thalia wasn't there for. Alabaster kept his mouth shut--Hecate wasn't the most popular goddess at the moment.
Plus, he was the most entertaining part.
"Nico's poisoned on the floor, and this green mermaid is throwing herself at Alabaster. He's sitting there, eating it up, red as Tartarus--"
"You were not!" Nico interrupted, laughing at his friend.
Alabaster only shrugged... but the color of his cheeks was more than answer enough.
"Torrington wants to fuck a fish, dude!" one of the Ares kids shouted. The camp burst into taunts and snickers.
"Don't let them get to you, Al," Nico whispered.
"I know they hate me. I can take it. It's--" Alabaster's face clouded, like it always did when he thought about the Second Titan War. "It's not like I don't deserve it."
"Al..." Nico didn't know what to say.
Alabaster met his eye. He was deadly serious. "I don't want to fuck a fish. Just for the record."
Nico couldn't keep some laughter from coming out. "Sorry, sorry, but the way you said that--are you sure you don't want to fuck a fish?"
"I don't want to fuck a fish, Nico."
"Because it sounds like you're overcompensating."
"I don't want. To fuck. A fish."
"Hey, Thalia?" Nico called. Everyone else had stopped taunting Alabaster, and it was calm enough to continue the story. "What did Elladora tell Al?"
Thalia raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms smugly. She made a point to turn to Alabaster. "I don't know. Tell me, fish lover, what did she say to make you--" Thalia grimaced. "--do ...ew."
"Hunters!" An Aphrodite kid scoffed. "If you tried it you wouldn't find it so gross!"
Piper tackled her sibling. Annabeth made it just in time to hold the three Hunters back from using their bows. By the time everything went back to normal, no one, except Nico and Alabaster, remembered the question. Part of him wanted to torture his friend a little more, but Nico took the high road and continued on to the adventures of Newt and Neeks post-Elladora Ketteridge. By the time Thalia recovered enough to take the reins again, they were halfway to New Arcadia.
____________________RON____________________
Using the muggle contraptions was confusing, but Hermione was nothing but patient with him. To his annoyance, Percy got the metro card down on his first try--it took Ron twelve to get the light on the pad to turn from red to green. It didn't help that ten grumpy muggle healers started yelling at him after his second try.
"What's their deal?" he asked.
"Nothing, it's just how things are," Hermione replied.
He slept every time he sat down, so by the time they reached the Leaky Cauldron he was considerably less tired, and their pancakes and toast were better than Ron expected inn food to be. It felt good to be back with wizards. He didn't like the muggle world much.
"Ron? Hermione?" The three of them turned around. Cho Chang came up to their table with a friendly smile. She seemed surprised and happy to see them, though he saw sadness behind that smile. After Harry's death, Ron and Hermione told her in person. It was awful after what happened to Cedric, and Cho didn't take it well. This was the first time they'd seen her since.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked. "Come sit with us."
Cho pulled up a chair and put her waffle on the table. "Help yourself, I'm not very hungry. I'm here for the protest. You are too, right?"
"Yes," Percy told her. He held out his hand. "Percy Weasley, Ron's brother."
Cho didn't take his hand. "You're Fudge's assistant, the one from the Daily Prophet who said all those horrible things about Harry."
Percy pulled his hand away. "I was a spokesperson for the Ministry."
"You made his life miserable for telling the truth, all because it was hard to hear. And you're the reason that foul woman came to Hogwarts in the first place, and the reason she got enough power to start torturing him and everyone else." Her voice was deadly calm. Ron was surprised she was this composed. One word about Harry or Cedric was usually enough to push her to tears.
"I know."
Twice in two days, Ron was taken aback. Percy sounded so weak and vulnerable, so guilty. It was the first time he'd ever let a comment about You-Know-Who's return go.
"You were dating, right?" Percy asked Cho. She gave a curt nod. "I remember at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry fancied you, it was obvious. And... you must've cared about him a lot. I was wrong. I know that doesn't help your grief, but Harry was a part of my family, and I betrayed him. When he died, I realized how much of an idiot I've been. It took me a year to face my family. No, I don't think You-Know-Who returned, but that shouldn't've mattered. The Ministry went too far. I was a part of that. That's why I'm here--I'm sorry."
Cho said nothing, except, "It's almost nine. We should go."
She and Hermione gathered their things as Percy threw a few galleons on the table. Ron hung around. When Percy started towards the door, he put a hand on his arm, stopping him. "Hey, Percy? For what it's worth... I forgive you."
Percy pulled him into a hug. He didn't have to say anything--that was enough.
____________________NICO____________________
When they finished telling the story of their quest, the campfire should've ended. But, nobody wanted to go to sleep. The satyrs played Top 40 hits on their reed pipes, and the Dionysus cabin whipped up some awesome party drinks and snacks--all non-alcoholic, Chiron's orders. They partied until four in the morning, when a breakfast feast greeted them in the dining pavilion. Chiron made his morning announcements:
"I hope that we've all had a pleasant evening," he began with a humorous glint in his eye. The camp cheered. "We are blessed with the goddess Artemis. Will you be staying?"
"Until tomorrow evening," Artemis answered. "Thalia, Roszí, and Ianthe will do their share to clean the camp before we depart."
"We're grateful for their help. We give our thanks to our questers for completing their task. You five have kept the world from falling into chaos!" Again, the camp cheered. "I want to commend all of you for your bravery during the tornado. Especially Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, who couldn't be here tonight. His heroic act saved the lives of many campers--Will, we hope he gets better soon."
Will blushed and sheepishly put his hand up. "I'll make sure he does."
"I also want to thank the followers of Hecate, Blaise Zabini and Hestia Carrow, for escorting Mr. Blofis and Ms. Jackson safely to camp."
Nico eagerly clapped for his friends.
"There's not much else to say. Return to your cabins after breakfast. We will begin cleaning the camp at three. Mr. Blofis and Ms. Jackson, I will show you to the Big House." He held up a goblet, and together they shouted:
"To the gods!"
When Nico walked into the Hades cabin, he saw a figure in the darkness. "I'm not doing anything else, Persephone," he grumbled.
"Good."
Nico turned on the light. It was Will. He laughed and rolled his eyes at the same time. "How long have you been standing there, Solace?"
"Longer than I'll admit."
That was as much as they could take. Nico grabbed Will by the shirt and tackled him to the ground. If it hurt when they hit their heads, neither noticed. They'd both come so close to death--they wanted to finally feel alive.
Will crawled out from under Nico and pulled the two of them into a sitting position. One hand was on his back, the other on his cheek. Nico had both hands in his boyfriend's hair as he kissed him furiously--he loved that hair a little too much.
Nico's knee hit something sharp. "Ow!" He pulled away instinctively and grabbed his knee.
"Did I hurt you?"
"No, I sat on something."
It was his iPod. It must've fallen out of his pocket because the screen was cracked and one of those tiny glass pieces was in Nico's kneecap. "Gods damn it." He wiped it away. "Sorry I ruined the moment."
Will kissed him again, deeply. "We got all the time in the world for moments. I'm sorry we broke this dinosaur. You'll have to get a touchscreen now. Oh, the horror."
"One reparo from Blaise or Hestia and it's all good. Now come here--"
"What's in this playlist 'Literally Me?' "
Nico's eyes widened. "No, Will, don't you dare--"
He knew he should've asked for plug-in speakers instead of Bluetooth. To his horror, Will hit play, and the first song started to play:
If there's a price for rotten judgement,
I guess I've already won that.
No man is worth the aggravation!
It's ancient history--been there, done that!
Will doubled over in laughter, clutching his sides. "I can't breathe!"
"I WAS TEN!!!!" Nico tried to wrestle the iPod from Will's hands, but Will held it up too high for him to reach.
" No chaaaance, no waaaay I won't saaaay it, no no, " Will screeched with the music.
"You are the WORST!" Nico jumped for his iPod, covering his ear with one hand. Will's voice was so bad it was a marvel, really.
Will dropped the iPod on Nico's bed. "Let's dance." He held out his hand. Nico took it, blushing from embarrassment. This was so stupidly Hollywood, but he never cared where Will was concerned. They swayed to the song. "You know, I'm going to need context, Neeks."
"I was ten. I had a crush on my roommate, Matt O'Harris. I was obsessed with Mythomagic and this was my favorite movie. Now shut up."
"Awww, little baby Neeks's first crush."
"Don't call me Neeks."
Will laughed. "Do you still talk to him?"
Nico's smile faltered. "I-- I sent him a letter after I came out of the Labyrinth, but after the Titan war things just... you know. I'd changed. I couldn't go back to the mortal world after that."
Will nodded. They danced in silence for a little while, listening to the music.
No chance no way I won't say it, no no.
Give up, give in, check the grin you're in love!
This scene won't play, I won't say I'm in love.
"Hey," Will said, tucking a piece of stray hair behind Nico's ear. "I'll say it. I love you."
They stopped swaying. "I love you, too," Nico whispered. They kissed, soft and slow. When Nico opened his eyes, they were lying in his bed. "Stay," he pleaded. Will nodded and leaned in to kiss him again.
At least, out loud, I won't say I'm in love.
END NOTES
And then they have the sex.
This week's beta commentary:
STORY:"I was ten. I had a crush on my roommate. I was obsessed with Mythomagic and this was my favorite movie. Now shut up."
MELODY: Nico was a mythology geek and Hades invented Mythomagic out of petty spite so he could make all the Olympians look and act in ways they'd find insulting and no one can convince me otherwise.
MELODY: That's why Nico loves it so much it's in his DNA
OLI: headcanon fucking accepted
Credits:
Melody Rose - Author (melody0rose.tumblr.com)
Oli - Beta Reader (http://http://paradoxicalpsychic.tumblr.com)
Suhalia - Beta Reader (https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/milkandtahoney/)
Please comment so I know what you think! See you tomorrow!